rarely emerged from his retirement; when he did so, it was to fight political and religious reactionaries. Herculano defended Portugal's monastic orders (advocating their reform rather than suppression) and successfully opposed the entry of foreign religious orders. He supported the rural clergy and idealized the village priest in his Pároco da Aldeia, an imitation, unconscious or otherwise, of Oliver Goldsmith's "The Vicar of Wakefield". Herculano also opposed the Concordat of February 21, 1857, between Portugal and the Holy See, regulating the Portuguese Padroado in the East. Herculano supported civil marriage, although his "Studies on Civil Marriage" ("Estudos sobre o Casamento Civil") was banned (put on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum). English historian Lord Acton and German historian Ignaz von Döllinger experienced similar problems, especially as they all fought the new dogmas of the Immaculate Conception (1854) and papal infallibility (1871). Other key documents issued by Pius IX during the ecclesiastical retrenchment include the Syllabus of Errors (1864) and Etsi multa (1873). Political legacy In the domain of letters he remained until his death a veritable pontiff, and an article or book of his was an event celebrated from one end of Portugal to the other. The nation continued to look up to him for intellectual leadership, but, in his later years, lacking hope himself, he could not stimulate others or use to advantage the powers conferred upon him. In politics he remained a constitutional Liberal of the old type, and, for him, the people were the middle classes in opposition to the lower, which he saw to have been the supporters of tyranny in all ages, while he considered radicalism to mean a return via anarchy to absolutism. However, though he conducted political propaganda campaigns in the press in his early days, Herculano never exercised much influence in politics. Character Grave as most of his writings are, they include a short description of a crossing from Jersey to Granville, in which he satirizes English character and customs, and he reveals an unexpected sense of humour. A rare capacity for tedious work, a dour rectitude, a passion for truth, pride, irritation when criticized, and independence of character are the marks of Herculano as a man. He could be broken but never bent, and his rude frankness accorded with his hard, sombre face, and he often alienated men's sympathies though he seldom lost their respect. His lyricism is vigorous, feeling but austere, and