If being free citizens means not being subject to an overriding power and exercising civil rights, it is clear that Italians cannot claim to be free; or rather, they are free but only as subjects or slaves can be. Over the centuries Italians have demonstrated a marked ability to invent unprecedented political and social systems. Even the transformation of a Republic into a great Court was an experiment that until recently had never been attempted. Compared with the courts of past centuries, the one that has taken root in Italy no longer involves a few hundred but rather millions of persons and the consequences are the same: obsequiousness, adulation, identification with the Lord and Master, obsessive preoccupation with appearances, arrogance, court buffoons and courtesans. Since the court system has shaped tradition, spreading the servile mentality almost everywhere, the remedy must necessarily be consistent with the nature of the evil, in other words to rediscover, or learn, the business of citizens. As hard as that may appear, it is the only way forward. The first step is to understand the value and beauty of civil duties.