There is always the possibility that at sight or thought of her Benedetto may be swept back from his ascetic vows to the life of passion.

Their first meeting in the monastery chapel is a masterpiece of dramatic climax, and Benedetto's temptation in her carriage, after the feverish interview with the cabinet officer, is a marvel of psychological subtlety.

Both scenes illustrate Signor Fogazzaro's power to achieve the highest artistic results without exaggeration.

This naturalness is the more remarkable because the character of a saint is unnatural according to our modern point of view.

We have a healthy distrust of ascetics, whose anxiety over their soul's condition we properly regard as a form of egotism; and we know how easily the unco' guid become prigs.