Addresses to the German Nation

delusion for the lowest rabble, and, if it were possible, for the Ultramontanists From the Latin ultra montes ("beyond the mountains"), this term refers to Roman Catholics north of the Alps who advocated for the absolute authority of the Pope in all ecclesiastical matters., and they were liberal enough to allow every refined and educated Italian man to think, speak, and write about these things exactly as they themselves spoke about them among one another. They did not wish to deceive the educated man, and the common people did not read. It is just as easy to explain why later on other measures became necessary. The Reformers The leaders of the Protestant Reformation, most notably Martin Luther, who translated the Bible into the vernacular to encourage mass literacy. taught the German people to read; they appealed to such writers who had written under the eyes of the Popes; the example of reading became contagious for other countries, and now writers became a fearsome power, and for that very reason, a power to be kept under stricter supervision.

Also these times have passed, and currently, especially in Protestant states, many branches of authorship—for example, the philosophical presentation of general...