2. The economic annexation of Fiume to Italy, or the care of the

Italians resident in Dalmatia.

3. The gradual economic emancipation of Italy from abroad by the

development of her productive forces.

4. The renewal of relations with the enemy countries—Austria, Germany,

Bulgaria, Turkey and Hungary—but with dignity and holding fast to the

supreme necessity of maintaining our northern and eastern boundaries.

5. The creation and intensification of friendly relations with the

peoples of the East, not excluding those governed by the Soviet and

South-eastern Europe.

6. The vindication of the rights and interests of the nation as regards

the colonies.

7. The abandonment of the old systems and the replacement of all our

diplomatic representatives with others from the special university

faculties.

8. The furtherance of the Italian colonies in the Mediterranean and

beyond the Atlantic by economic and educational means and by rapid

communications.

_Towards a New Italy._ I have enormous faith in the future greatness of

the Italian people. Ours is the most numerous and homogeneous of the

peoples of Europe.

The war has enormously increased the prestige of Italy. “Long live

Italy!” is now cried in far-off Lettonia and still more distant Georgia.

Italy is the tricolour wing of Ferrarin, the magnetic wave of Marconi,

the baton of Toscanini, the revival of Dante, in the sixth centenary of

his departure. Let us prepare ourselves by energetic everyday work for

the Italy of to-morrow of which we dream; an Italy free and rich,

resounding with song, with her skies and seas populated with her fleets,

and her earth fruitful beneath her ploughs. And may the coming citizens

be able to say what Virgil said of ancient Rome: “Imperium oceano, famam

terminavit astris” (The Empire ended with the ocean, but her fame

reached the stars.)

HOW FASCISMO WAS CREATED

ITS EVOLUTION AND ESSENCE

Speech delivered at the Teatro Comunale of Bologna, 3rd April 1921.

Bologna, the capital of the so-called red region of Emilia, a region

thought to be lost to the Italian State as far as laws and authority

were concerned, from the 2nd to the 4th of April passed through

truly memorable days.

The learned and noble city, with its fine patriotic traditions,

whose very walls recall the popular and patrician insurrection

against the Austrians, welcomed Benito Mussolini with manifestations

of solidarity and veneration such as were accorded to Giuseppe

Garibaldi. For if the latter was a liberator from foreign tyranny,

the former had been no less a liberator from an equal tyranny,

arising from similar causes, although materialised through different

means and by different agents living in our midst.

All who witnessed those enthusiastic manifestations instantly

perceived that the problem of Italian internal politics was now

solved by the definite defeat of that parasitic, anti-National

Socialism, the enemy of liberty, which had chosen the Valle Padana

as the most suitable experimental field for the fecundation of the

microbes of Collectivist Utopia, and incidentally for the

exploitation of the masses of the proletariat.

Fascisti of Emilia and Romagna—Citizens of Bologna! I feel that I might

be carried out of that sphere of eloquence which is mine by all the

circumstances of this meeting, beginning with the welcomes of yesterday

evening and the songs of last night, and ending with this magnificent

sea of heads and the greeting which I received with the greatest

veneration from the widow of our unforgettable Giulio Giordani, and the

presence of two heroic women, the widows of the two heroes, Battisti and

Venezian. (Applause.) But as I hope, and am almost certain, that you do

not expect eloquence from me, but a short abrupt speech as is my habit,

I will proceed to speak clearly in the Fascista manner.

_How Fascismo was born._ I thank my friend Grandi for having presented

me to you and with such flattering words. I do not think, however, that

I am guilty of the sin of pride if I accept them. I think I may say, in

accordance with Socrates, that I know myself. (Applause.)

How then was this Fascismo born; amid what conflicting passions,

sympathy, hatred, and lack of comprehension? It was not only born in my

mind and heart, in that meeting held in March 1919 in the little hall at

Milan, it was born of the profound and perennial need of this our

Mediterranean and Aryan race, which felt the essential foundations of

its existence threatened by a tragic folly which will crumble to pieces,

to-day, upon the ground on which it was raised.

We felt then—we, who were not penitent Magdalens; we, who had always had

the courage to uphold intervention and reason in those days of 1915; we,

who were not ashamed of having barred the way to Austria on the Piave

and having crushed her at Vittorio Veneto; we, who wished for a

victorious peace, felt at once, almost before the exultation of victory

had passed, that our task was not ended, and I, myself, felt that my

work was not done. As a matter of fact, at every turn of events it was

said that my task and the task of the forces I lead was accomplished. In

May 1915, when the Fascismo of Revolutionary Action had swept away all

neutralists from the streets and squares of Italy, even in the smallest

villages, it was said: “Mussolini has no more to say to the nation.” But

when the tragic days of Caporetto came and Milan was grey and ghastly

for those who felt that if the Austrians passed and came to the city of

the Cinque Giornate it would be the end of Italy, then we felt that we

still had a word to say. And again, after victory, when there arose the

more or less democratic school of renunciation which was intent upon

mutilating the victory, we Fascisti had the supreme and unprejudiced

courage to proclaim ourselves Imperialists and against all renunciation.

That was the first battle, fought in the theatre of the Scala in January

1919. But how did it happen? We had won; we had sacrificed the flower of

our youth, and they came to us with bills of usury and extortion! They

disputed with us the sacred boundaries of the country, and there were

Democrats in Italy, whose democracy consisted in Imperialism for others

and no Imperialism for us, who threw this ridiculous accusation at us,

because we intended that Italy should be bounded on the north by the

Brenner, as she shall be while there is Italian blood in Italy! We

intended that the eastern boundaries should be at the Nevoso, because

that is the just and natural confine of our country; and they accused us

because we did not turn deaf ears to the appeal of Fiume, because we

feel in our hearts the sufferings of our brothers in Dalmatia, because,

in fact, we feel those bonds of race to be alive and vital which bind

us, not only to the Italians of Zara, Ragusa and Cattaro, but also to

those of the Canton Ticino and Corsica, to those beyond the oceans, to

all that great family of fifty million men whom we wish to unite in the

same pride of race. (Applause.)

Already we have noticed the first signs of the Socialist offensive. On

16th February, Milan was the witness—to the fear and terror of the

trembling middle classes—of a procession of 20,000 Bolshevists, who,

after having hymned Lenin from the top of the castle towers, proclaimed

that the Bolshevist revolution was imminent.

_The Pride of Victory._ On the morrow of that day I issued an

article,[8] which made an impression also among some friends, and which

was entitled, “The Return of the Triumphant Beast.” In it was said: “We

are ready to dig trenches in the squares of Italy and set up barbed

wire, in order to win and fight to the last against the enemy.” And the

sabotage, begun with that parade, lasted all the summer.

Footnote 8:

_Popolo d’Italia_, 17th Feb. 1919.

Also, in those days, we Fascisti had the courage to defend certain

actions which, measured by the standard of current morals, perhaps were

indefensible. But, gentlemen, war is like revolution, it must be taken

as a whole; detail cannot and must not be gone into. But, meanwhile, the

campaign had its results upon the elections. One million eight hundred

and fifty thousand electors registered their vote with the symbol of the

sickle and the hammer. One hundred and fifty-six deputies were returned

to the Chamber. The catastrophe seemed imminent. Then I was fished out,

a suicide(!) of the waters—not by any means too limpid—of the old

Naviglio!

But one thing had been forgotten—our tenacious spirit and sometimes

indomitable will. I, proud of my four thousand votes—and those who saw

me in those days know how immovably I accepted that electoral

response—said, “The battle goes on!” Because I firmly believed that the

day would come in which the Italians would be ashamed of the elections

of 16th November, that the day would come in which the Italians would no

longer elect in two cities that ignoble deserter whom I do not wish to

name. And it has proved true, because this man to-day, not being able to

maintain his part in the drama, has descended from the stage and, having

despised the Guardie Regie, now asks them for protection.

But has the growth of this movement of Fascismo, this young ardent and

heroic movement, finished yet? I, who vindicate the paternity of this,

my creature so overflowing with life, feel sometimes that it has already

overstepped the modest boundaries I laid down for it. Now we Fascisti

have a clear programme; we must move on led by a pillar of fire, because

we are slandered and not understood. And, however much violence may be

deplored, it is evident that we, in order to make our ideas understood,

must beat refractory skulls with resounding blows.

_Necessary Violence._ But we do not make a school, a system or, worse

still, an æsthetic of violence. We are violent when it is necessary to

be so. But I tell you at once that this necessary violence on the part

of the Fascisti must have a character and style of its own, definitely

aristocratic, or, if you prefer, surgical.

Our punitive expeditions, all those acts of violence which figure in the

papers, must always have the character of a just retort and legitimate

reprisal; because we are the first to recognise that it is sad, after

having fought the external enemy, to have to fight the enemy within,

who, whether they like it or not, are Italians. But it is necessary, and

as long as it is necessary, we shall continue to carry out this hard and

thankless task.

Now the Democrats, the Republicans and the Socialists accuse us of

various things. The Socialists, hitherto, have said that we were sold to

the profiteers and the agrarians. Now there are not enough profiteers in

the whole of Italy to support a movement like ours, and in any case I

must say that they would be rather stupid profiteers, because from the

March of 1919 we, in our Fascista programmes, have laid down fiscal

provisions which are pretty heavy and in any case anti-profiteer. The

accusations of the Democrats are equally ridiculous, and also those of

the Republicans. I cannot explain to myself why the Republicans are

against a movement which has republican tendencies like ours. I could

understand them being against us if we were in favour of the monarchy.

They say to us: “You have no preconceptions.” We have not, and we are

proud of it. But you must explain the phenomenon of the anger and the

incomprehension of the Socialists. The Socialists had formed a State

within a State. If this new State had been more liberal, more modern,

nearer the old type, there would have been nothing against it. But this

State, and you know it by direct experience, is more tyrannical,

illiberal and overbearing than the old one; and for this reason that

which we are causing to-day is a revolution to break up the Bolshevist

State, while waiting to settle our accounts with the Liberal State which

remains. (Applause.)

_The Socialist Crisis and the Fascista Attitude to the Elections._ There

are those who think that the Socialist crisis is only a crisis limited

to a few men; but it goes deeper, my dear friends, and it represents a

general upheaval.

Among other absurd things, there has been that of baptising Socialism as

scientific. Now there is nothing scientific in the world. Science

explains the “how” of things, but does not explain the “why.” If, then,

there is nothing scientific in what are called the exact sciences, what

is more absurd than to try and pass off as scientific a vast, uncertain,

underground and dark movement such as Socialism has been, even though it

may have had a useful function at first, when it directed the oppressed

peoples towards new ways of life, because you will agree with me that

there is no turning back? Foolish reactionary and Conservative

contraband practices must not be carried on under the Fascista flag. To

wrench from the masses the conquests, they have obtained through

sacrifice would be impossible. We are the first to recognise that a

State law should grant the eight-hour day, and that there should be a

social legislation corresponding to the exigencies of the new times. And

this is not because we recognise the importance of the proletariat. We

look at the question from another point of view. We realise that there

cannot be a great nation, capable of doing great things, if the working

masses are constrained to live under brutalising conditions. It is

necessary, then, that by preaching and practising the reconciliation of

right and duty, which I call Mazzinian, this enormous mass of tens of

millions of people who work shall be raised to an ever higher level of

life.

_Brothers, not Enemies!_ It is absurd to depict us as the enemies of the

working classes. We feel ourselves to be brothers in spirit of all those

who work; but we do not make distinctions, we do not put work-worn hands

into the first rank. We do not place the new divinity, manual labour,

upon the altar. For us all work—the astronomer who in his observatory

consults the trajectory of the stars, the lawyer, the archæologist, the

student of religion and the artist, if they are increasing by their work

the sum total of spiritual wealth which is at the disposal of mankind.

We wish to see the realisation of a communion between spirit and matter,

between the arm and the brain, the realisation of the solidarity of the

race.

Fascismo is then the blast of heresy which beats at the doors of all the

churches and says to the old and more or less tearful priest: “Get out

of the way of these temples which threaten ruin to you, for our

triumphant heresy is destined to bring light to all brains and all

souls!” And we say to all men, great and small, upon the national

political scene: “Make way for the youth of Italy which wishes to affirm

its faith and passion. And if you do not make way spontaneously, you

will be overwhelmed in our universal punitive expedition, which is to

collect all the free spirits of Italy and bind them together in a

Fascio.” (Applause.)

We are now face to face with a fact, which is that of the elections. The

Chamber being old, and more than old, worn out, the protagonists of this

semi-tragedy being tired and misled, it is time to make that new appeal

to the electors which is imperative. Do you not feel that, if the

elections of 1919 had the character of sabotage, the elections of 1921

will be definitely Fascista? Do you not feel that the helm of State will

never return to the old men of the old Italy?

I received a message to-day on the strength of which I feel I can state

that the difference, more or less artificially created, which existed

between the defenders of Fiume—to whom we pay the homage of our

gratitude—and us, her defenders at home, has no more _raison d’être_.

And this difference, which, rather than by the legionaries, was created

by certain politicians who were not even at Fiume when it was attacked

seriously, will be put an end to by Gabriele d’Annunzio.

_The Day consecrated to Fascismo._ Another characteristic of Fascismo is

pride of nationality. And, in connection with this, I am pleased to tell

you that we have already decided the Fascista day. If the Socialists

have May Day, if the Popular Party have 15th May, and other parties

other days, we Fascisti will have one, too, and it shall be the day of

the birth of Rome, 21st April. Upon that day, in token of the eternity

of Rome, in memory of that city which gave two civilisations to the

world and will give a third, we Fascisti will gather together, and the

regional legions will file past in the Fascista order, which is neither

military nor German, but simply Roman. We have abolished the procession

and substituted this ancient form of manifestation, which imposes

individual control on each participator and order and discipline upon

all. For we wish to introduce strict national discipline, without which

Italy cannot become the Mediterranean and world nation of which we

dream. And those who blame us for marching like the Germans must

remember that it is not we who imitate the Germans, but they who imitate

the Romans, for which reason it is we who go back to the original, who

return to the Roman style, the Latin and Mediterranean style.

We have no prejudices, because we are not a church, we are a movement.

We are not a party, we are a band of free men. If anyone is tired of

being Fascista, there are twenty shops, twenty churches at whose doors

to knock and ask for hospitality. We have not institutions either, we

consider them superfluous. Ours is an army characterised by enthusiasm

and voluntary discipline, and known, above all, not in the light of

guardian of some party or faction, but as guardian of the nation. We are

known for the love we bear to Italy, to her history and her

civilisation, as well as to her inhabitants and geographical

constitution.

Yesterday, while the train carried me to Bologna, I felt myself in

harmony with all things and all men. I felt bound to this earth; I felt

myself an infinitesimal part of that great river which flows from the

Alps to the Adriatic; I recognised my brothers in the peasants, those

peasants with the grave attitudes of those who work the soil; I saw

myself in the blue sky, which awakened my inextinguishable passion for

flight; I recognised myself in all the aspects of nature and man. And a

profound prayer arose in my heart. It is the prayer that every Italian

should make, when the sunrise illumines the sky and the twilight

descends over the earth. “We, Italians of the twentieth century, who

have witnessed the great tragedy which has brought about the fulfilment

of our nationality; we, who carry in the depths of our souls the memory

of the dead, who are our religion; we, citizens of Italy, shall make one

oath, one single resolution: that we only shall be the modest but

persevering builders of her present and future fortunes.” (Applause.)

THE ITALY WE WANT WITHIN, AND HER FOREIGN RELATIONS

This Speech was delivered 20th September 1922.

The four following speeches are undoubtedly the most important of

this collection, because they depict Mussolini as the polemic, the

agitator, the warrior, the leader, travelling to his political

maturity. In reading them one recognises the _condottiero_ who is

quite sure of himself, who is near the end of his march, and is

certain of reaching his final goal.

Except for a gradually accelerated rhythm, proportionate to the

precipitation of events, the tone of the four speeches is almost the

same. There is no pause, no perplexity, nothing which might induce

the reader to think of a change of direction, of a truce, of the

relinquishing of the struggle. But rather one notices the close

march of a compact and well-equipped army, determined to struggle on

and to win at whatever cost.

At UDINE, that strong old town, the sentinel of the country, dear to

the heart of all Italian soldiers, the leader of Fascismo initiates

the spiritual and physical mobilisation of the “black shirts,” while

he hurls the first challenge at the old political caste and lays

down the fundamental points of the imminent national revolution.

The speech which I intend to make to-day is going to be an exception to

the rule which I have imposed upon myself of limiting my speeches, as

far as I can. Oh! if it were only possible to do as the poets advise and

strangle the verbose, inconclusive oratory which has side-tracked us for

so long! I am certain, or at any rate I hope, that you do not expect

anything from me in a speech which is not eminently Fascista, that is to

say straightforward, hard, bare facts.

_The Unity of the Country._ Do not expect a commemoration of the 20th

September. Certainly the subject would be tempting and there would be

ample material for reflection in re-examining by what prodigies of

immeasurable force, and through how many and how great sacrifices, Italy

has been able to achieve her not yet complete unity. I say not yet

complete, because perfect unity cannot be spoken of until Fiume and

Dalmatia and the other territories have come back to us, thus fulfilling

the proud dream which we carry in our hearts. Instead, I ask you to

consider that throughout the Risorgimento—which began with the first

attempt at rebellion on the part of a small section of a cavalry

regiment at Nola, and ended with the breach of Porta Pia in ’70—two

forces were brought into play: one, the traditional and conservative

force, of necessity rather stationary and sluggish, the force of the

Savoy and Piedmont tradition; the other, the rebellious and

revolutionary force which sprang from the best elements among the

bourgeoisie especially. And it was only as the result of the

reconciliation and balancing of these two forces that we were able to

realise the unity of the Country. Perhaps something of the sort can be

found to-day, and of this I shall go on to speak later.

_Rome!_ Have you ever asked yourselves why the unity of the country is

summed up in the symbol and the name of Rome? We Fascisti must forget

the more or less ungrateful welcome we received at Rome in the October

of last year, otherwise we should show ourselves to be mean-spirited,

and we must have the courage to own that part of the responsibility for

what happened belongs to us, on account of some elements among us which

were not on the high level the situation required.

And Rome must not be confused with the Romans; with those hundreds of

so-called “fugitives of Fascismo” which are to be found at Rome, Milan

and other centres in Italy, who effectively arouse harmful anti-Fascista

feeling in the country. But if Mazzini and Garibaldi tried three times

to arrive at Rome, and if Garibaldi gave his “red shirts” the tragic and

inexorable alternative of “Rome or death,” this means that, to the best

men of the Risorgimento, Rome already had an essential function of the

first importance to perform in the new history of the Italian nation.

Let us then, with minds pure and free from animosity, lift up our

thoughts towards Rome, which is one of the few spiritual cities which

exist in the world; because at Rome, among those seven hills so pregnant

with history, occurred one of the greatest spiritual miracles which have

ever taken place—that is, the transformation of an Eastern religion, not

understood by us, into a universal one, and which has succeeded, under

another form, to the Empire that the Roman legions had carried to the

extreme ends of the earth. And we want to make Rome the city of our

ideals, a city cleaned and purified of all those elements which corrupt

and defile her; we wish to make Rome the throbbing heart, the living

spirit of the Italy of which we dream.

Somebody might object, saying: “Are you worthy of Rome? Are you capable

of inheriting and transmitting the ideals and glories of an Empire?” And

then surly critics busy themselves with trying to find signs of

uncertainty in our young, exuberant organisation!

_Fascista Discipline._ People speak to us of Fascista _autonomy_. I tell

the Fascisti and citizens that this autonomy has no importance

whatsoever. It is not an autonomy of ideas and prejudice. Fascismo has

no prejudices; they are the sad privilege of the old parties,

associations scattered over all countries, whose members, having nothing

better to do or to say, end by imitating those sordid priests of the

East who discussed all the questions of the world while the Byzantine

Empire perished. The few and sporadic attempts on the part of Fascisti

to establish autonomy are either frustrated or nearly so, because they

represent only revenge of a personal nature.

We come to another question: _discipline_. I am in favour of the most

rigid discipline. We must first sternly discipline ourselves, otherwise

we shall not have the right to discipline the nation. And it is only by

the discipline of the nation that Italy can make herself heard in the

councils of the other countries. Discipline must be accepted. If it is

not, it must be imposed. We put aside the democratic dogma that one must

for ever proceed by sermonising and lecturing in a more or less liberal

manner. At a given moment discipline must show itself under the form of

a command or of an act of force.

I exact discipline, and I do not speak to the men of the Friulian

district, who are—let me say—perfect as regards sobriety and

correctness, austerity and quiet living, but I speak to the Fascisti of

all Italy, who, if they must have a dogma, must have one which bears the

clear name of discipline. Only by obedience, by the humble and sacred

pride in obedience, can the right to command be conquered. And only when

it is conquered can it be imposed upon others; otherwise, no! The

Fascisti of Italy must take note of this. They must not interpret

discipline as a call to order of the administrative kind or as the fear

of shepherds who foresee the scattering of their flock. This cannot be,

because we are not shepherds and our forces cannot be called, by any

means, a flock. We are an army, and it is just because we have this

special organisation that we must make discipline the supreme pivot of

our life and action.

_Violence!_ I come now to the question of violence. Violence is not

immoral. On the contrary it is sometimes moral. We dispute the right of

our enemies to bewail our violence, because, compared with that which

was committed in the unlucky years of ’19 and ’20 and with that of the

Bolshevists in Russia—where two million people have been executed and

another two million still pine in prison—our violence is child’s-play.

On the other hand violence is decisive, because at the end of July and

August, after having made use of it systematically for forty-eight

hours, we got results which we should not have obtained in forty-eight

years of sermons and propaganda. When, therefore, violence removes a

gangrene of this sort, it is morally sacred and necessary.

But, my Fascista friends, and I speak to the Fascisti of all Italy, our

violence must have certain Fascista characteristics. The violence of ten

to one is to be disowned and condemned. There is a violence that frees

and a violence that binds; there is moral violence and stupid, immoral

violence. Violence must be proportionate to the necessities of the

moment, and not made a school, a doctrine or a sport. The Fascisti must

be careful not to spoil with sporadic, individual and unjustifiable acts

of violence, the brilliant and splendid victories of August.

This is what our enemies are waiting for. As the result of certain

episodes—let us frankly admit disagreeable episodes—such as that at

Taranto, they have been led to believe and to hope that violence has

become a sort of second habit, and that when we no longer have a target

upon which to practise, we shall turn against ourselves and against each

other, or the Nationalists. Now the Nationalists differ from us on

certain questions, but the truth is this, that in all the battles we

have fought we have had them by our side. It may well be that among them

there are leaders who do not see Fascismo as we see it, but it must be

recognised and proclaimed that the “blue shirts”[9] at Genoa, Bologna

and Milan, and in another hundred centres, were with the “black shirts.”

In consequence the occurrence at Taranto was most displeasing, and I

hope that the leaders of Fascismo will act in such a way that it remains

an isolated incident to be forgotten in a local reconciliation and in a

national manifestation of sympathy and solidarity.

Footnote 9:

The Nationalists.

_Our Syndicalism._ Another argument which raises the hopes of our

enemies is the existence of the masses. You know that I do not worship

the new divinity, the masses. It is a creation of Democracy and

Socialism. Just because they are numerous, they must be right. Not a bit

of it, the opposite has often proved to be true that the masses are

against the right. In any case history proves that it has always been

the minorities, a handful from the first, that have produced profound

changes in human society. We do not adore the masses, even if they have

got work-worn hands and brains. We shall bring, instead, into our

examination of social life, ideas and elements new at any rate in

Italian circles. We could not turn away the masses; they came to us.

Ought we to have received them with kicks on the shins? Are they

sincere? Do they come to us as the result of conviction or fear, or

because they hope to get from us what they failed to obtain from the

Socialists? These questions are really superfluous, as no one yet has

found the way to penetrate into their inmost minds.

We have, therefore, had to adopt syndicalism, and we are doing so. They

say: “Your syndicalism will end by being in every way exactly like that

of the Socialists, and you will have, of necessity, to promote class

war.” The democracy, or a section of them, that section which does not

seem to have any better object than stirring up the mud, continue from

Rome (where they print too many papers, many of which do not represent

anybody or anything) to work in this direction. But our syndicalism

differs from that of the others, because we do not allow strikes in

public services under any pretext, and we are in favour of co-operation

among the classes, especially in a period like the present one of acute

economic crisis. We try to make this conception penetrate the brains of

our syndicates. But it must be made equally clear that the industrial

workers and their employers must not blackmail us, because there is a

limit which must not be passed; and these workers and their masters—the

bourgeoisie in a word—must take into account that the nation also

consists of the people, a mass which labours, and one cannot think of

the greatness of the nation if this portion is restless and idle. The

task of Fascismo is to make the people organically one with the nation,

so that they may be ready to-morrow when the nation has need of them, as

the artist takes his raw material in order to create his masterpiece.

Only with the masses forming an intimate part of the life and history of

the nation can we have a foreign policy.

_Foreign Policy._ And now I come to the subject which, at the present

moment, is of the greatest positive importance. It is evident that at

the end of the war it was not understood how to make peace. There were

two alternatives: the peace of the sword, and the peace of approximate

justice. But, under the influence of a pernicious democratic mentality,

the peace of the sword was not made by occupying Berlin, Vienna and

Budapest, and neither has the approximate peace of justice been

accomplished.

Men, many of whom were ignorant of history and geography (and it seems

that these famous experts who thus disarrange and rearrange the map of

Europe at their will really know as little about it as their masters),

have said: “The moment the Turks give trouble to the English, we will

suppress Turkey; but the moment that Italy, in order to become a

Mediterranean power, ought to have the Adriatic as her inland gulf, we

deny Italy her Adriatic rights.” What is the result? The result is that

this kind of treaty naturally falls to pieces before the others. But,

since everything depends upon the making up of these treaties, since

they are all connected with each other, so the failure of the Treaty of

Sèvres may possibly involve the failure of all the others. Moreover, if

the position becomes more involved, you will see the indestructible

Russian Cossack, who changes his name but not his nature, coming forward

again. Who armed the Turkey of Kemal Pasha? France and Russia. Who may

possibly arm Germany to-morrow? Russia. Considering what we aim at in

our foreign policy, it is very fortunate that besides our national army,

of glorious tradition, there is the Fascista army.

Our Ministers for foreign affairs ought to know how to play this card

too, with the warning: “Be careful; Italy no longer follows a policy of

renunciation and cowardice, cost what it may!” So it has come about that

while in other countries men are beginning to realise the force

represented by Italian Fascismo, in the field of foreign policy our

Ministers still remain in a yielding attitude. We are asked what is our

programme. I have already answered this question, which was meant to be

insidious, at a little meeting held at Levanto in the presence of thirty

or forty Fascisti, and I did not think that a little homely speech would

have such a vast echo.

_Our Programme. The Crisis of the Liberal State._ Our programme is

simple: we wish to govern Italy. They ask us for programmes, but there

are already too many. It is not programmes that are wanting for the

salvation of Italy, but men and will-power.

There is not an Italian who does not think that he possesses the one

sure method by which the most acute problems of our national life may be

solved. But I think you are all convinced that our political class is

deficient. The crisis of the Liberal State has proved it. We have made a

splendid war from the point of view of collective and individual acts of

heroism. From having been soldiers, the Italians, in 1918, became

warriors. I beg you to note the essential difference. But our political

class carried on the war as if it had been work of ordinary

administration. These men whom we all know, and whose very features are

familiar to every one of us, now appear men of the past, ruined, tired

and beaten.

I do not deny, in my absolute objectivity, that this middle class, which

might, with a world-wide title, be called Giolittian, has its merits. It

certainly has. But to-day, when Italy is still under the influence of

Vittorio Veneto—to-day, when Italy is bursting with life, vigour and

passion, these men, who are above all accustomed to Parliamentary

mystification, do not appear to us to be big enough for the situation.

It is necessary, therefore, to consider how to replace this political

class which has of late consistently surrendered to that swollen-headed

puppet, Italian Socialism.

I think that this replacement has become necessary, and that the more

complete it is the better. Certainly Fascismo, in taking the entire

forty-seven millions of Italians under its care, will assume a great

responsibility. It is to be foreseen that many will be disappointed,

because, in any case, there is always disappointment sooner or later,

whether things are accomplished or not.

Friends! Like the life of the individual, the life of the nation brings

with it a certain amount of risk. One cannot hope to run for ever on the

Decauville track of daily regularity. At a given moment both men and

parties must have the courage to shoulder heavy responsibility and to

adopt a daring policy. They may succeed; they may fail. But there are

also unsuccessful attempts that suffice to ennoble and uplift for all

time the soul of a movement such as Italian Fascismo.

_The Question of Régime. The Monarchy and Fascismo._ I had intended to

repeat this speech at Naples, but I think that I shall have other things

to deal with there. Do not let us delay, therefore, about entering on

the delicate subject of régime.

Many of the controversies which were raised by the question of the

nature of my tendencies are forgotten, and everybody is convinced that

they were not formed suddenly, but represented a settled idea. It is

always like that. Certain attitudes appear improvised to the general

public, which is neither fitted nor obliged to follow the slow changes

which take place in a restless spirit desirous of making a profound

examination of certain problems. But there is inward pain and toil,

which is sometimes tragic. You must not think that the heads of Fascismo

do not know what this individual, and above all national, travail is.

The much-talked-of republican tendency had to be a kind of attempt at

separation from the many elements which had come to us simply because we

had won. These elements do not please us. These people who always side

with the victor, and who are ready to change their flag with a change of

fortune, must be looked upon with suspicion and carefully watched by the

Fascisti. Is it possible—here is the question—to bring about a profound

transformation in our political régime and to create a new Italy without

touching the monarchic system? What is the general attitude of the

Fascisti as regards political institutions? Our attitude does not commit

us in any sense. In truth, perfect régimes are only to be found in books

of philosophy. I think that it would have been disastrous for the Greek

city if the theories of Plato had been literally applied. A people

content under a republic never dreams of having a king. A people not

accustomed to a republic longs to return to a monarchy.

It was in vain that the Germans tried to make the Phrygian cap fit their

square heads. The Germans hate a republic, and the fact that it was

imposed by the Entente and that it has been a kind of _ersatz_, is

another reason for their hating it. So that, generally speaking,

political forms cannot be approved of or condemned for ever, but must be

examined from the point of view of their direct relation with the

mentality, the economic condition and the spiritual force of any

particular people. (A voice cries: “Long live Mazzini!”)

Now, I think that the régime can be largely modified without interfering

with the monarchy. In reality—and I refer to the cry of my friend—the

same Mazzini, republican and advocate of republicanism, did not consider

his doctrines incompatible with the monarchic aspect of Italian unity.

He resigned himself to it and accepted it. It was not his ideal, but the

ideal cannot always be realised.

We shall, then, leave the monarchic institution outside our field of

action, which will have other great objects, because we think that a

great part of Italy would regard with suspicion a change in the régime

which was carried thus far. We should have regional separatism, perhaps,

because it is always so. To-day there are many indifferent to the

monarchy who to-morrow would be its supporters, and who would find

highly respectable and sentimental reasons for attacking Fascismo, if it

had dared to aim at this target.

I do not think that the monarchy has really any object in opposing what

must now be called the Fascista revolution. It is not in its interests,

because by doing so it would immediately make itself an object of

attack, in which case we could not spare it, because it would be a

question of life or death for us.

Those who sympathise with us must not withdraw into the shade; they must

stay in the light. They must have the courage to remain monarchists. The

monarchy would represent the historical continuity of the nation; a

splendid task and one of incalculable importance.

On the other hand, the Fascista revolution must also avoid risking

everything. Some firm ground must be left, so that the people shall not

feel that everything is falling to pieces, that everything must be begun

again, because in that case the first wave of enthusiasm would be

followed by a wave of panic. Now everything is very plain. The

social-democratic superstructure must be destroyed.

_The State we want._ We must have a State which will simply say: “The

State does not represent a party, it represents the nation as a whole,

it includes all, is over all, protects all, and fights any attempt made

against her inviolable sovereignty.”

This is the State which must arise from the Italy of Vittorio Veneto. A

State which does not acknowledge that the strongest power is right;

which is not like the Liberal State, which, after fifty years of life,

was unable to install a temporary printing press so as to issue its

paper when there was a general strike of printers; a State which does

not fall under the power of the Socialists; which does not think that

problems can be settled only from the political point of view, as

machine-guns do not suffice if there is not the spirit behind to keep

them going. The whole armoury of the State falls to pieces like the old

scenery in an operatic theatre when it is not inspired by the most

deep-rooted sense of the necessity of the fulfilment of duty—nay, of a

mission.

That is why we want to remove from the State all its economic

attributes. We have had enough of the State railwayman, the State

postman and the State insurance official. We have had enough of the

State administration at the expense of Italian tax-payers, which has

done nothing but aggravate the exhausted financial condition of the

country. It still controls the police, who protect honest men from the

attacks of thieves, the masters responsible for the education of the

rising generations, the army which must guarantee the inviolability of

the country and our foreign policy.

It must not be said that the State thus shorn will remain very small.

No! It will remain very great, because it will still have all the

spiritual dominion, having given up only material power.

Citizens, I have placed my ideas before you as a whole, it is enough, to

my mind, for you to individualise them.

_To Friends and Enemies._ If this mentality of ours was not sufficient,

there are our methods, there is our daily activity, which we do not mean

to give up, though watching at the same time that it is not carried to

extremes, that it does not over-reach itself and so harm Fascismo. But

when I say these words, I say them with intention, because if Fascismo

was a movement like all the rest, the attitude of the individual or of

the group would have a relative importance. But blood has been shed for

our movement, and this must be remembered when there are attempts at

autonomy and lack of discipline. The recent dead must be thought of

before all things. It must be remembered that such autonomy and lack of

discipline serve to arouse the miserable instincts of the Socialists,

who, though subdued, still secretly hatch plots for revenge, a revenge

which we shall prevent by collective action and the avoidance of

bloodshed.

After all, the Romans were really right; if you want peace you must show

yourself prepared for war. Those who are not prepared for war do not

have peace, and are defeated into the bargain. So we say to all our

enemies: “It is not enough for you to go planting the tricolour all over

the place. We wish to see you put to the proof. You will have for a

little while to undergo a sort of spiritual and political quarantine.

Your leaders, who might again infect us, must be sent where they can do

no harm.” Only by thus avoiding the lure of the mistaken idea of

quantity shall we succeed in saving the quality and the spirit of our

movement, which is no ephemeral one, since it has already lasted four

years, equal in this tempestuous century to forty. Our movement is still

in its prehistoric period and in process of formation; its real history

begins to-morrow. All that Fascismo has accomplished thus far has been

negative. Now it must begin to reconstruct. In this way its force, its

spirit and its nobility will appear.

Friends, I am sure that the Fascisti officers will do their duty. I am

sure, too, that the men will do theirs. Before proceeding to the great

task we must make an inexorable selection from the rank and file. We

cannot carry useless impedimenta; we are an army of _velites_, with a

rearguard of solid territorials. We do not wish to have untrustworthy

elements amongst us.

I salute Udine, this dear old Udine to which I am bound by so many

memories. Many generations of Italians who were the flower of our race

have passed by its broad ways. Many of its young men now sleep their

last sleep in the little isolated cemeteries of the Alps or beside the

Isonzo, now once again the sacred river of Italy.

Men of Udine! Fascisti! Italians! Take upon yourselves the spirit of

these our unforgettable dead and make of it the burning emblem of our

immortal country! (Loud applause.)

“THE PIAVE AND VITTORIO VENETO MARK THE BEGINNING OF NEW ITALY”

Speech delivered at Cremona, 25th September 1922.

Before forty thousand _contadini_ set free from the Social-Clerical

yoke, who march past in military order in closely-following

battalions, the leader’s eloquence is roused and elated, so that one

seems to hear the very sound of joy bells ringing in his speech.

Fascisti and working men of Cremona and the provinces! As so often

happens, reality has surpassed the most brilliant expectations. Your

meeting, Fascisti of Cremona, is the most impressive that I have yet

attended. I have come among you to tell you how completely I am with

you, from your fine leader Roberto Farinacci to the last man in your

ranks. (Prolonged applause.)

Here in times long past great ideas were conceived. This was the

birthplace of Democracy, which had a period of glory before it became

crippled and enfeebled by the influence of Socialism. And in spite of

the profound differences of opinion which divided us after the war, I

must call to remembrance another noble figure of your fruitful land—I

speak of Leonida Bissolati. (Frantic applause.)

Those who, as the result of being led into false ideas by incorrect

information, talk about agrarian slavery, ought to come here and see

with their own eyes this crowd of genuine workers, people with shoulders

broad enough and arms strong enough to bear the weight of the increasing

fortunes of the nation. (Applause.)

Only the rabble could accuse us of being the enemies of the people, for

we are the sons of the people; we have known what manual labour is; we

have always lived among the working classes, who are infinitely superior

to the false prophets who pretend to represent them. (Unanimous and

prolonged applause.) But just because we are the sons of the people, we

do not wish to deceive them, we do not wish to mystify them or promise

them the unattainable, although we solemnly and formally pledge

ourselves to protect them and to vindicate their just rights and their

legitimate interests.

As I watched your procession passing—disciplined, ardent and exulting—as

I watched the little Balillas, who represent the still immature spring

of life, followed by the squadrons in the full flush of youth, and

finally the men in the vigour of manhood and even old men, I said to

myself that the series was complete since all phases of life, from the

first to the last, were represented.

Fascisti! Great tasks await us. That which we have accomplished is

nothing compared to that which awaits us. There is already a strong and

manifest contrast between the Italy of the cowardly politicians and the

vigorous healthy Italy which is preparing to give the death-blow to all

inefficiency and egoism and to clear away the infected strata of the

Italian community. (Loud applause, and cries of “Rome! Rome!”)

Our adversaries must not delude themselves. They thought in the

unfortunate year of 1919, when we here in Cremona and all over Italy

were no more than a handful of men, that Fascismo would only be a

passing phenomenon. Fascismo has now been alive four years, and it has

tasks enough to fill a century. Nor must our enemies deceive themselves

by thinking that they can break up our organisation, because we intend

to make it more compact, more solid, better equipped against all

emergencies; since, my friends, if a decisive blow is necessary, every

man from the first to the last will do his exact duty. In a word, we

want Italy to become Fascista. (Clamorous applause.)

That is simple and clear. We want Italy to become Fascista, because we

are tired of seeing her governed by men whose principles are continually

wavering between indifference and cowardice. And, above all, we are

tired of seeing her looked upon abroad as a negligible quantity.

What is that feeling which stirs you when you hear the song of the

Piave? It is that the Piave does not mark an end, it marks a beginning.

(Hear, hear!) It is from the Piave, it is from Vittorio Veneto, it is

from our victory—even if it was mutilated by a mistaken diplomacy—that

our standards move on!

It was on the banks of the Piave that the march was begun that cannot

stop until Rome is reached. (Enthusiastic applause.) And there are no

obstacles, either of men or things, that can prevent us from arriving

there.

I wish to thank you, Fascisti of Cremona and people of this city, for

your reception. I know and like to think that it is not to me personally

that you pay this honour, but to the ideal, our cause, which has been

sanctified by so much blood shed by the flower of Italian youth. And

embracing my old friend Farinacci I mean to embrace all the Fascisti of

Cremona, to the cry of Long live Italy! Long live Fascismo!

(Enthusiastic applause.)

THE FASCISTA DAWNING OF NEW ITALY

Speech delivered at Milan at the “Sciesa” on 6th October 1922.

At the seat of the local Fascista group “Antonio Sciesa,” Mussolini

pays his tribute to the memory of her two dead who fell, as

Garibaldi fell, during the days of August, and then devotes himself

to the analysis of a well-matured plan, strategic and tactical, for

the coming battle.

I agreed to come and speak to the “Sciesa” group this evening for three

reasons—first sentimental, second personal, and third political. For the

sentimental reason, because I wished to pay the tribute of my admiration

and profound devotion to our unforgettable and magnificent

fallen—Melloni, Tonoli and Crespi; the first two of your squad and the

last of the “Sauro.” I remember them perfectly. Then I agreed also

because of the way in which this group has interpreted this meeting.

Lastly, in view of the general attitude of suspense all over Italy at

this moment, I did not wish to let the opportunity slip for defining

certain points, a definition which is necessary in these difficult times

through which we are passing.

You feel, to judge from your silent and austere bearing, that if the

flesh is corruptible, the spirit is immortal. You feel that here in this

little hall this evening the spirits of our fallen are still with us. We

feel their presence, because the soul cannot die, and they fell in the

most heroic action yet accomplished by Fascismo in the four years of its

history. Many times when the Fascisti have gone forth to destroy with

fire and sword the haunts of the cowardly Social-Communist delinquents,

they have only seen the backs of the flying enemy, but the members of

the “Sciesa” squad and the two fallen, whom we remember, and all the

squadrons of the Milanese Fascio, went to the assault of the offices of

the _Avanti_ as they would have attacked an Austrian trench. They had to

scale the walls, break through barbed wire, burst open doors and face

the leaden hail which the enemy poured forth from their weapons. This is

heroism. This is violence. This is the violence of which I approve and

which I uphold, and which Fascismo—and I speak to the Fascisti of all

Italy—ought to make hers. Not little, individual, sporadic acts of

violence, but the great, wonderful, relentless violence of the decisive

hour. It is necessary, when the moment comes, to strike with the utmost

decision and without pity. You must not think that I wish to hide the

very strong sympathy I have for the Milanese Fascio, because my love,

above all, is for the cause. When a cause has been sanctified by so much

pure young blood, it must not, at any cost, become defiled in any way.

Our friends have been heroes, their action has been that of warriors,

their violence saintly and moral. We exalt them, we remember them, and

we will avenge them. We cannot accept the humanitarian, Tolstoyan moral

standard, the moral standard of slavery. In times of war we adopt the

formula of Socrates: “Overcome friends with kindness, overcome enemies

with evil.”

_Nation and State._ Our line of conduct is perfectly correct. Those who

do good to us will have good; those who do ill, ill. Our enemies cannot

complain, if being such, they are treated hardly, as enemies must be

treated. We are in an historical period of crisis which every day

becomes more acute. The general strike, which was averted by the

sacrifice of blood of the Fascisti, was an episode in this crisis.

Dissension lies between the State and the nation. Italy is not a State,

she is a nation, because from the Alps to Sicily there is the

fundamental unity of our race, our customs, our language and our

religion. The war fought from 1915 to 1918 consecrates this unity, and

if this is enough to characterise the nation, the Italian nation exists,

full of power and resource and impelled towards a glorious destiny.

But the nation must create for itself the State. And there is no State.

To-day the paper which represents Liberalism in Italy, the paper with

the largest circulation—and which, for this reason, by upholding absurd

arguments has done a great deal of harm at times—stated that there are

two Governments in Italy, and if there are two, there is one too many.

There is the Liberal Government and the Fascista Government; the State

of to-day and the State of to-morrow. “Wanted, a Government,” said the

_Corriere della Sera_. We agree, a Government _is_ wanted.

_The Lesson of Two Episodes._ Two occurrences during these last days—one

characteristic of our activity in the cause of humanity, the other of

our activity in the cause of national rights—have proved the superiority

of the Fascista over the Liberal State, and have shown that Fascismo is

capable and worthy to succeed that State.

At San Terenzo of Spezia, if all the dead were buried and the wounded

taken to the hospital, if the country was cleared of débris, and the

furniture and belongings safeguarded from the base attempts of human

jackals, if the soldiers had their supplies in good time, it was by the

activity of the Fascista State. And the mayor of Lerici—who is not a

Fascista—telegraphed his great gratitude, not to the Prime Minister, but

to us, as you learnt in the _Popolo d’Italia_.

This is a question of mercy, humanity and national solidarity. Let us

transfer our attention to Bolzano. Here it is a question of our rights

and the Italian law. Who stood up for those rights and imposed the

Italian nationality in a city which ought to be Italian? Fascismo. Who

banished Perathoner who for five years held in check five Italian

Ministers? Fascismo. It has been Fascismo that has given a school and a

church to the Italians in the Upper Adige and inspired them with the

sense of their own dignity. Who placed the bust of the king in the

Council Hall? The Fascisti. The Germans are astonished at seeing before

them all these young Fascisti, splendid physically and morally.

Inhabiting as they do without right our Italian soil, they seem to

wonder: “What Italy is this?” And we answer: “By the action of the

defeatist ministers and as a result of the unfortunate peace, you

Germans are accustomed to the Italy of Abba Garima; now you must

accustom yourselves to the Italy of Vittorio Veneto, which has force and

energy, and which says: ‘We are at the Brenner, and there we mean to

stay! We do not wish to go to Innsbruck, but do not imagine that Germany

and Austria can ever return to Bolzano!’”

This is the Fascista State which reveals itself to Italian eyes in two

typical moments of everyday history, the disaster of San Terenzo and the

occupation of Bolzano.

_For the Italy of To-morrow._ The citizens wonder which State will end

by dictating its law upon the nation. We have no hesitation in answering

that it will be the Fascista State. The _Corriere della Sera_ says that

something must be done quickly, and we agree. A nation cannot live

nursing in its bosom two States, two Governments, one in action and the

other in power. But what is the way to give the nation a Government? I

say Government, because when we say State we mean something more. We

mean the spirit and not merely the inert and transitory form. There are

two ways, gentlemen. If the whole of Rome was not suffering from

softening of the brain, they would summon Parliament at the beginning of

November, and having passed the Bill for Electoral Reform, make an

appeal to the electors in December. Because the crisis for which the

_Corriere_ asks could not alter the situation. Thirty crises in the

Italian Parliament as it is to-day would mean thirty reincarnations of

Signor Facta. If the Government does not follow this path, gentlemen, we

shall be obliged to take the other. You see our tactics are now clear.

When it is a question of assaulting the State it is no longer possible

to have recourse to little plots, of which the “to be or not to be”

remains a secret to the last. We must give orders to hundreds and

thousands of men, and it would be merely absurd to try to keep it

secret. We play an open game. We leave our cards on the table until it

is necessary to lift them; and we say: “There is an Italy which you

Liberal leaders no longer understand. You do not understand it because

your mind works on old-fashioned lines, you do not understand it because

Parliamentary policy has killed your spirit. The Italy which has come

from the trenches is strong, and full of life.”

_Fascismo, the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat._ It is an Italy which

deserves to begin a new period of history. There exists, therefore, a

dramatic contrast between the Italy of yesterday and our Italy. The

conflict appears inevitable. It is a question now of developing our

forces, summoning all our energies and strength, so that the conflict

shall end in victory for us—and, as a matter of fact, upon that score

there can be no doubt.

Now the Liberal State is a mask behind which there is no face, it is a

scaffolding behind which there is no building. There is force but there

is no spirit behind them. All those who ought to uphold it feel that it

is approaching the extreme limits of incompetence, impotence and

absurdity.

On the other hand, as I said at Udine, we do not wish to stake

everything on the game, because we do not present ourselves as the

saviours of humanity, nor do we promise anything special to the people.

We may even impose greater discipline and more sacrifices upon them. And

we shall make no difference between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie,

because there is an infected proletariat just as there is a bourgeoisie

still more infected. There is a part of the proletariat that must be

chastised in order that it may be redeemed afterwards, and there is a

part of the middle class which detests us and tries to throw our lines

into confusion, which finances anti-Fascista slander, which has hitherto

ignobly courted the anti-national forces, and for which I do not feel

one ounce of pity. We are surrounded by enemies, and those who are our

open foes, and who belong to the Bolshevist parties, have now perfected

themselves in the art of ambush and assassination.

_A Warning!_ But there are other insidious enemies who try to harm

Fascismo under cover of the tricolour and other similar emblems, who try

to insinuate themselves into our movement and to create simulacra of

organisations in order to weaken us just at the time when it is most

necessary for us to remain united. Now I must say that if we do not have

mercy upon those who attack us from behind hedges, neither shall we have

mercy upon those who attack us thus insidiously. When the clock of

history strikes the hours, we must speak as the peasants do, simply,

sincerely and loyally.

We have no great obstacles to overcome, as the nation is waiting for us,

the nation hopes in us and feels itself represented in us. Certainly we

cannot promise to plant the tree of liberty in the squares. We cannot

give liberty to those who would profit by it to assassinate us. The

shortsightedness of the Free State lies in this, that it gives freedom

to all, including those who use this freedom to overthrow it. We shall

not give this universal liberty, not even if it assumes the garb of

immortal principles. Finally, it is not electoral subterfuges which

divide us from Democracy. If people wish to vote, let them vote. Let us

all vote until we are sick of it! Nobody wants to suppress universal

suffrage.

_Policy needed._ But we shall carry out a severe and reactionary policy;

we are not afraid of doing so. If the representative organs of Democracy

say that we are reactionary it does not offend us, because what

distinguishes us from the Democrats is mentality and spirit. History

does not follow a given itinerary; it is made up of contrasts and all

kinds of vicissitudes, there are no centuries which are all light and no

centuries which are all darkness. It is not possible to transport

Fascismo out of Italy, as Bolshevism has been transported out of Russia.

The Italians can be divided into three categories: the indifferent, who

will stay at home; the sympathetic, who will have freedom of movement;

and the antagonistic, who will have their freedom restricted. We shall

make no promises. We shall not give ourselves out as missionaries who

bring the revealed truth.

But I do not think that our enemies will place serious obstacles in our

way. Bolshevism is defeated. Look at the Congress of Rome. What a

pitiful sight! When the leader of a congress behaves like the lawyer of

Busto, then you understand that we are upon the bottom rung of the

ladder. There was one Socialism, to-day there are four, and there is a

tendency towards further divisions. And not only this, but each of these

divisions claims to represent the authentic party. It is no wonder that

the proletariat scatters, discouraged and disgusted by the attitude of

Socialism. As I have already said, the day of Socialism is not only past

as a party, its philosophies and doctrines no longer stand. The Italians

and the Western peoples in general must burst with logical criticism the

grotesque bubble of international Socialism. Perhaps, looking at things

from an historical point of view, it is a struggle between the East and

the West, between the chaotic, fatalistic East (look at Russia) and us,

we people of the West, who cannot be carried away by flights of

metaphysics and require hard concrete realities.

_Let us flee from Imitations._ Italians cannot be mystified for long by

Asiatic doctrines, which are absurd and criminal in their practical

application. This is the essence of Italian Fascismo, which represents a

reaction against the Democrats who would have made everything mediocre

and uniform and tried every way to conceal and to render transitory the

authority of the State, from the supreme head to the last usher in the

law courts; consequently everybody from the King to the lowest official

has suffered from this false conception of life. Democracy thought to

make itself indispensable to the masses, and did not understand that the

masses despise those who have not the courage to be what they ought to

be. Democracy has taken “elegance” from the lives of the people, but

Fascismo brings it back; that is to say, it brings back colour, force,

picturesqueness, the unexpected, mysticism, and in fact all that counts

in the souls of the multitude. We play upon every cord of the lyre, from

violence to religion, from art to politics. We are politicians and we

are warriors. We are syndicalists and we also fight battles in the

streets and the squares. That is Fascismo as it was conceived at Milan,

and as it was and is realised. And, my friends, we must maintain this

privilege, and Fascismo must be kept up to this level of strength and

wisdom. We must not abandon ourselves to imitations, because that which

is possible in a particular agricultural region in a given time and

place is not possible here in Milan. Here the situation has been

dominated more by the spontaneous maturing of events than by men’s

violence or by circumstances. Here our domination becomes more and more

decided.

But, my friends, we must prepare ourselves with hearts free from

preoccupation for the tasks which await us. To-morrow it is probable,

almost certain, that the formidable burden of the direction of a modern

State will be on our shoulders. And it will be on the shoulders not only

of a few men, it will be on the shoulders of the whole of Fascismo.

_Towards a more Glorious Destiny._ And millions of eyes, many of them

malicious, and millions of men, many of them beyond our frontiers, will

be looking at us. They will want to see how we are organised, how

justice is administered in the Fascista State, how honest people are

protected, how we deal with the problems of the school and the army. And

the wrong-doing of any man, his error and his shame will react upon the

whole organisation of the State and of necessity upon Fascismo. Have

you, my friends, realised how formidable is the task which awaits you?

Are you spiritually prepared for it? Do you think that enthusiasm alone

is enough?—because it is not enough. It is necessary, because it is a

primitive and fundamental force in human nature, it is impossible to do

anything not inspired by intense passion or religious mysticism; but

that is not enough. Together with these must work the reasoning forces

of the brain. I think that in the case of a general crisis Fascismo

would have all that was necessary to impose itself and to govern, not

according to the ideas of demagogism, but according to the ideas of

justice. And then, by ruling the nation well, by leading her towards a

more glorious destiny, by conciliating the interests of all classes

without increasing the hatred of one and the selfishness of another, by

uniting the Italian people to face the world-task, by fulfilling with

patience this hard and cyclopean task, we shall inaugurate, thus, a

really great period in Italian history. Thus will our dead be made

immortal and their names written in the gold book of the Fascista

aristocracy. We shall point them out to the rising generation, to the

children who are growing up and who represent the eternal spring of

life. We shall say: “Great was the effort and hard the sacrifice, and

pure was the blood that was shed; and it was not shed to safeguard the

interests of individuals, class or caste, it was not shed in the name of

materialism, it was shed in the name of an ideal, of all that is most

noble, beautiful and generous in the human soul.” With the example of

our dead before you, I ask you to remember to be worthy of their

sacrifice and to examine daily your own activity. Friends, I have faith

in you. You have faith in me. In this mutual trust is the guarantee and

certainty of our victory. Long live Italy! Long live Fascismo! Honour

and glory to the martyrs of our cause! (Loud applause.)

“THE MOMENT HAS ARRIVED WHEN THE ARROW MUST LEAVE THE BOW OR THE CORD

WILL BREAK!”

Speech delivered at Naples, 26th October 1922.

At this, the final stage of the pilgrimage of the ever-swelling

ranks of Italian youth, where the first trench is dug in preparation

for the imminent assault of the “black shirts,” Mussolini in the

morning, as politician, hurls his vehement reproach against “the

three black souls,” the ministerial exponents of anti-Fascista

reaction. In the afternoon he shows himself in the guise of a

warrior, and, wearing the colours of Rome on his breast,

contemplates thoughtfully his fifty thousand faithful crusaders in

Piazza Plebiscito, who shout with one insistent voice, “To Rome! To

Rome!”

Fascisti and citizens! It may be, or rather it is almost certain, that

my eloquence will disappoint you, accustomed as you are to the

impetuosity and rich imagery of your own orators. But since I realise my

incapacity for rhetoric, I have decided to limit myself, when speaking,

to plain necessity.

We have gathered together here at Naples from every part of Italy to

perform an act of brotherhood and love. We have with us our brothers

from the borderland of betrayed Dalmatia, men who do not mean to yield.

(Applause, and cries of “Long live Italian Dalmatia!”) There are also

the Fascisti from Trieste, Istria and Venezia Tridentina, Fascisti from

all parts of Northern Italy, even from the islands, from Sicily and

Sardinia, all come together to affirm quietly and positively the

indestructibility of our united faith, which means to oppose strongly

every more or less masked attempt at autonomy or separatism.

Four years ago the Italian infantry, made great through twenty years of

work and hardship, the Italian infantry in which the sons of your

country were so largely represented, burst from the Piave and, having

defeated the Austrians, surged on towards the Isonzo, and only the

foolish democratic conception of the war prevented our victorious

battalions from marching through the streets of Vienna and the highways

of Budapest. (Applause.)

_From Rome to Naples._ A year ago at Rome, at one time, we found

ourselves surrounded by a secret hostility, which had its origin in the

misunderstandings and infamies characteristic of the uncertain political

world of the capital. (Hear, hear!) We have not forgotten all this.

To-day we are happy that all Naples—this city which I call the big

safety-reserve of the nation—(Applause.)—welcomes us with a sincere and

frank enthusiasm, which does our hearts good, both as men and Italians.

For this reason I request that not the smallest incident of any kind

shall disturb this meeting, for that would be a mistake, and a foolish

one. I demand also, as soon as the meeting is over, that every Fascista

not belonging to Naples shall leave the town immediately.

All Italy is watching this meeting, because—and let me say this without

false modesty—there is not a post-war phenomenon of greater interest and

originality in Europe or the world than Italian Fascismo.

You certainly cannot expect from me what is usually called a big speech.

I made one at Udine, another at Cremona, a third at Milan, and I am

almost ashamed to speak again. But in view of the extremely grave

situation in which we find ourselves to-day, I consider this an

appropriate opportunity to establish the different points of the problem

in order that individual responsibilities may be settled. The moment has

arrived, in fact, when the arrow must leave the bow, or the cord, too

far stretched, will break. (Applause.)

_The Solving of the Problem._ You remember that my friend Lupi and I

placed before the Chamber the alternatives of this dilemma, which is not

only Fascista but also national; that is to say, legality or illegality;

Parliamentary conquest or revolution. By which means is Fascismo to

become the State? For we wish to become the State! Well! By 3rd October

I had already settled the question.

When I ask for the elections, when I ask that they shall take place

soon, and be regulated by a reformed electoral law, it is clear to

everyone that I have chosen my path. The very urgency of my request

shows that the tension of my spirit has arrived at breaking point. To

have, or not to have, understood this means to hold, or not to hold, the

key to the solution of the whole Italian political crisis.

The request came from me; but it also came from a party consisting of a

formidably organised mass, which includes the rising generations in

Italy and all the best, physically and morally, of the youth of the

country; and from a party, too, which had a tremendous following among

the vague and unstable public.

But, gentlemen, there is more. This request was made upon the morrow of

the incidents of Bolzano and Trento, which had made plain to all eyes

the complete paralysis of the Italian State, and revealed, at the same

time, the no less complete efficiency of the Fascista State.

Well! In spite of all this, the inadequate Government at Rome puts the

question on the footing of public safety and public order!

_What we have asked the Government._ The whole question has been

approached in a fatally mistaken manner. Politicians ask what we want.

We are not people who beat about the bush. We speak clearly. We do good

to those who do good to us, and evil to those who do evil. What do we

want, Fascisti? We have answered quite simply: the dissolution of the

present Chamber, electoral reform, and elections within a short time

from now. We have demanded that the State shall abandon the ridiculous

neutral position that it occupies between the national and the

anti-national forces. We have asked for severe financial measures and

the postponement of the evacuation of the third Dalmatic zone; we have

asked for five portfolios as well as for the Commission of Aviation. We

have, in fact, asked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the War

Office, the Admiralty, the Ministries of Labour and of Public Works. I

am sure none of you will find our requests excessive. But to complete

the picture, I will add that I shall not take part with the Government

in this legal solution of the problem, and the reason is obvious when

you remember that to keep Fascismo still under my control I must of

necessity have an unrestricted sphere of action both for journalistic

and polemic purposes.

_A Ridiculous Answer._ And what has been the Government’s reply?

Nothing! No; worse than that, it has given a ridiculous answer. In spite

of everything, not one of the politicians has known how to pass the

threshold of Montecitorio in order to look the problem of the country in

the face. A miserable calculation of our strength has been made; there

has been talk of Ministers without portfolios, as if this, after the

more or less miserable experiences of the war, was not the culmination

of human and political absurdity. There has been talk of sub-portfolios,

too; but that is simply laughable! We Fascisti do not intend to arrive

at government by the window; we do not intend to give up this

magnificent spiritual birthright for a miserable mess of ministerial

pottage. (Loud and prolonged applause.) Because we have what might be

called the historical vision of the question as opposed to the merely

political and Parliamentary view.

It is not a question of patching together a Government with a certain

amount of life, but of including in the Liberal State—which has

accomplished a considerable task which we shall not forget—all the

forces of the rising generation of Italians which issued victorious from

the war. This is essential to the welfare of the State, and not of the

State only, but to the history of the nation. And then...?

_A Question of Strength._ Then, gentlemen, the question, not being

understood within its historical limits, asserts itself and becomes a

question of strength. As a matter of fact, at turning-points of history

force always decides when it is a question of opposing interests and

ideas. This is why we have gathered, firmly organised and strongly

disciplined our legions, because thus, if the question must be settled

by a recourse to force, we shall win. We are worthy of it. It is the

right and duty of the Italian people to liberate their political and

spiritual life from the parasitic incrustation of the past, which cannot

be prolonged indefinitely in the present, as it would mean the death of

the future. (Applause.)

It is then quite natural that the Government at Rome should try to

divert and counteract the movement; that it should try to break up the

Fascista organisation, and to surround us with problems.

These problems have the names of the Monarchy, the Army and

Pacification.

_The Acceptance of the Monarchy._ I have already said that the

discussion, abstract or concrete, of the good and evil of the monarchy

as an institution is perfectly absurd. Every people in every epoch of

history, given the time, place and conditions necessary, has had its

régime. There is no doubt that the unity of Italy is soundly based upon

the House of Savoy. (Loud applause.) There is equally no doubt that the

Italian Monarchy, both by reason of its origin, development and history,

cannot put itself in opposition to the new national forces. It did not

manifest any opposition upon the occasion of the concession of the

Charter, nor when the Italian people—who, even if they were a minority,

were a determined and intelligent minority—asked and obtained their

country’s participation in the war. Would it then have reason to be in

opposition to-day, when Fascismo does not intend to attack the régime,

but rather to free it from all those superstructures that overshadow its

historical position and limit the expansion of our national spirit? Our

enemies in vain try to keep this alleged misunderstanding alive.

_Fascismo and Democracy._ The Parliament, gentlemen, and all the

paraphernalia of Democracy have nothing in common with the monarchy. Not

only this, but neither do we want to take away the people’s toy—the

Parliament. We say “toy” because a great part of the people seem to

think of it in this way. Can you tell me else why, out of eleven

millions of voters, six millions do not trouble themselves to vote? It

might be, however, that if to-morrow you took their “toy” away from

them, they would be aggrieved. But we will not take it away. After all,

it is our mentality and our methods that distinguish us from Democracy.

Democracy thinks that principles are unchangeable when they can be

applied at any time or in any place and situation.

We do not believe that history repeats itself, that it follows a given

path; that after Democracy must come super-Democracy. If Democracy had

its uses and served the nation in the nineteenth century, it may be that

some other political form would be best for the welfare of the nation in

the twentieth. (Well said!) So that not even fear of our anti-Democratic

policy can influence the decision in favour of that continuity of which

I spoke just now.

_The Army._ As regards the other institution in which the régime is

personified—the army—the army knows that when the Ministry advised the

officers to go about in civilian clothes to escape attack, we, then a

mere handful of bold spirits, forbade it. (Prolonged applause.) We have

created our ideal. It is faith and ardent love. It is not necessary for

it to be brought into the sphere of reality. It is reality in so far as

it is a stimulus for faith, hope and courage. Our ideal is the nation.

Our ideal is the greatness of the nation, and we subordinate all the

rest to this.

For us the nation has a soul and does not consist only in so much

territory. There are nations that have had immense possessions and have

left no traces in the history of humanity in spite of them. It is not

only size that counts, because, on the other hand, there have been tiny,

microscopic States that have left indelible marks in the history of art

and philosophy. The greatness of a nation lies in the aggregation of all

these virtues and all these conditions. A nation is great when its

spiritual force is transferred into reality. Rome was great when, from

her small rural democracy, little by little, her influence spread over

the whole of Italy. Then she met the warriors of Carthage and fought

them. It was one of the first wars in history. Then, bit by bit, she

extended the dominion of the Eagle to the furthermost boundaries of the

known world, but still, as ever, the Roman Empire is a creation of the

spirit, as it was the spirit which first inspired the Roman legions to

fight. (Applause.)

_Our Syndicalism._ What we want now is the greatness of the nation, both

materially and spiritually. That is why we have become syndicalist, and

not because we think that the masses by reason of their number can

create in history something which will last. These myths of the lower

kind of Socialist literature we reject. But the working people form a

part of the nation; and they are a great part of the nation, necessary

to its existence both in peace and in war. They neither can nor ought to

be repulsed. They can and must be educated and their legitimate

interests protected. (Applause.) We ask them: “Do you wish this state of

civil war to continue to disturb the country?” No! For we are the first

to suffer from the ceaseless Sunday wrangling with its list of dead and

wounded. I was the first to try to bridge over the gap which exists

between us and what is called the Italian Bolshevist world.

_How Peace can be obtained._ To prove this, I have just recently signed

an agreement most gladly; in the first place because it was Gabriele

d’Annunzio who asked me to, and in the second place because it was, as I

thought, another step towards a national peace.

But we are no hysterical women who continually worry themselves by

thinking of what might happen. We have not the catastrophic, apocalyptic

view of history. The financial problem which is so much talked about is

a question of will-power. Millions and millions would be saved if there

were men in the Government who had the courage to say “No” to the

different requests. But until the financial question is brought on to a

political basis it will not be solved. We are all for pacification, and

we should like to see all Italians find the common ground upon which it

is possible for them to live together in a civilised way. But, on the

other hand, we cannot give up our rights and the interests and the

future of the nation for the sake of measures of pacification that we

propose with loyalty but which are not accepted in the same spirit by

the other side. We are at peace with those who ask for peace, but for

those who ensnare us and, above all, ensnare the nation, there can be no

peace until after victory.

_A Hymn to the Queen of the Mediterranean._ And now, Fascisti and

citizens of Naples, I thank you for the attention with which you have

listened to me.

Naples gives a fine display of strength, discipline and austerity. It

was a happy idea that led to our coming here from all parts of Italy,

that has allowed us to see you as you are, to see your people who face

the struggle for life like Romans, and who, with the desire to rebuild

their lives and to gain wealth through hard work, carry ever in their

hearts the love of this their wonderful town, which is destined to a

great future, especially if Fascismo does not deviate from its path.

Nor must the Democrats say that there is no need for Fascismo here, as

there has been no Bolshevism, for here there are other political

movements no less dangerous than Bolshevism and no less likely to hinder

the development of the public conscience.

I already see the Naples of the future endowed with an even greater

splendour as the metropolis of the Mediterranean; and I see it together

with Bari (which in 1805 had sixteen thousand inhabitants and now has

one hundred and fifty thousand) and Palermo forming a powerful triangle.

And I see Fascismo concentrating all these energies, purifying certain

circles, and removing certain members of society, gathering others under

its standards.

And now, members of the Fascio of all Italy, lift up your flags and

salute Naples, the capital of Southern Italy and the Queen of the

Mediterranean.