To slay men has ever been easier than to mould their thoughts anew; and Bonaparte was now striving not only to remould French thought but also to fashion anew the ideas of the Eternal City.

He soon perceived that this latter enterprise was more difficult than the former.

The Pope and his councillors rejoiced at the signs of his repentance, but required to see the fruits thereof.

Instead of first-fruits they received unheard-of demands--the surrender of the three Legations of Bologna, Ferrara, and Romagna, the renunciation of all tithes and Church lands in France, and the acceptance of a compromise with schismatics.

What wonder that the replies from Rome were couched in the _non possumus_ terms which form the last refuge of the Vatican.