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^NEAS SILVIUS
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^ISTEAS SILVIUS
(ENEA SILVIO DE' PICCOLOMINI— PIUS II.)
ORATOR, MAN OF LETTERS
STATESMAN, AND POPE
BY
WILLIAM BOULTING
AUTHOR OP 'TASSO AND HIS TIMES,' ' SISMONDl'S HISTORY OP
THE ITALIAN REPUBLICS, COMPLETELY RE-CAST.'
ILLUSTRATED
LONDON
ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE AND CO., LTD.
10 OKANGE STREET, LEICESTER SQUARE
1908
s
m
TO PROFESSOR JAMES SULLY, M.A., LL.D,
ETC.
My dear Sully, — Years have passed since you first
held out to me the helpful hand of your friendship,
and I have long been anxious to show you how I
value it. So I venture to ofier you this little study
as a mark of admiration and deep regard. Should
its quality prove very defective, at least the senti-
ment which accompanies the volume is sincere.
You, as well as I, are interested in the great historic
forces of the fifteenth century ; you, as well as I, have
been fascinated by the personality of -^neas Silvius,
and have found it very complex and by no means
easy to understand.
It seemed to me, if I may dare say so, that bias, of
one kind or another, affected the judgement of more
than one great historian. I found the laborious
Voigt unfair and severe ; Gregorovius appeared
somewhat harsh; I was not quite satisfied that
Weiss and Pastor, or even the statesmanlike and
sympathetic Creighton, were not led a little astray
by prejudices. So I had the temerity to try my
own hand. Perhaps, thought I, to be unaffected by
vi tENEAS silvius
Protestant or Catholic prepossessions may be no
disadvantage; a very compassionate tolerance for
human frailty may not prove wholly a defect. I
tried to find out what manner of fellow- creature this
Piccolomini was, and I hope that fulness of sympathy
may, in some measure, make up for thinness in
scholarship. Since you are so keen a huntsman after
the doublings of character, I am sure you will not
fail to be interested wherever I may have hit on
success, while your quick sense of humour will, per-
haps, keep you amused where I have failed. — Believe
me, ever your attached and grateful friend.
William Boulting.
Rome, 1908.
P.S. — I regret that I could not find a really
satisfactory portrait of Pius ii. The well-executed
medal at Milan, by Andrea Guazzalotti, official
medal-designer to the Popes, is somewhat worn, and
a reproduction of it would suffer the disadvantage
of being derived from the cast of a cast. After
Pius's death, Guazzalotti struck another medal, the
obverse of which is suggestive of burlesque, although
Campano, in extravagant verse, affected to admire it.
The features in Giovanni di Paolo's Incoronazione di
Papa Pio IL, now preserved in the Archivio di Stato
di Siena, are blurred by Time.
PKEFATOEY LETTER
Vll
Bernardino Pinturicchio was employed by Cardinal
Francesco Piccolomini (Pope Pius iii.), thirty-eight
years after the death of his uncle, to paint incidents
in his life. Most of these frescoes, which, still fresh
and splendid, adorn the great library of the Duomo
of Siena, are reproduced in this volume. The por-
traiture of the earlier scenes is fanciful enough, but
the effigies of ^neas as Pope bear, in essential
lineaments, a resemblance to the aforenamed portraits
that makes me regard them as tolerably trust-
worthy likenesses of the man they profess to re-
present. Pius III., in this series, bears a strong
family resemblance to his uncle.
W. B.
NOTE
I HAVE to acknowledge my obligation, for services
of diflferent kinds, generously rendered me, to
Miss Frances Whitehead ; J. M. Rigg, M.A.,
A. K Dryhurst, Ed. Hutton, and C. L. Taylor,
Esquires, of London; and to Wm. Bliss, M.A.,
Archibald Constable, LL.D., of Edinburgh, and the
Very Eeverend Father Corney, O.S.B., of Rome.
I have also to express my gratitude to the officials
of various Italian Libraries for their unfailing
courtesy, and especially to Monsignor Wenzel and
his coadjutors at the Secret Archives of the Vatican
for the facilities they so freely gave.
W. B.
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
I. BIRTH AND PARENTAGE — EARLY YEARS . . 1
II. THE CHURCH, THE STATE, SCHISMS, HERESIES,
AND COUNCILS 22
III. THE FIRST YEARS OF THE COUNCIL — ^NEAS
ARRIVES AT BASEL — HIS EARLY EMPLOYMENT
THERE 41
IV. CERTAIN EMBASSIES AND ADVENTURES . . 50
V. .ENEAS AT BASEL — THE COUNCIL AND THE POPE . 69
VL iENEAS AT BASEL— THE SCHISM .... 84
VII. iENEAS CROWNED AS POET— THE IMPERIAL CHAN-
CELLERY—INNER STRIFE 110
VIII. ^NEAS AND THE RESTORATION OF GERMAN OBEDI-
ENCE TO EUGENIUS— HE ENTERS THE CHURCH 151
IX. iENEAS AS BISHOP AND AMBASSADOR : AS CON-
FIDENTIAL ADVISER OF THE CROWN — THE
CORONATION AND MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK III. 176
X. iENEAS AS PAPAL AND IMPERIAL AGENT — THE
EASTERN PERIL 198
XI. iENEAS AT ROME: iENEAS AS MAN OF LETTERS . 212
XII. .ENEAS AS CARDINAL 224
XIII. THE ELECTION TO THE PAPACY — THE CORONATION
OF PIUS II 235
XIV. THE JOURNEY TO MANTUA 248
U
X iENEAS SILVIUS
CHAP. PAGE
XV. THE CONGRESS OF MANTUA 264
XVI. THE RETURN FROM MANTUA — TROUBLES AT ROME 285
XVII. THE PAPACY AND FOREIGN POWERS. . . . 297
XVIII. THE PRIVATE LIFE OF THE POPE . . .317
XIX. THE CARDINALS — RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND
GOVERNMENT 332
XX. PIUS AND THE CRUSADE 338
XXI. THE JOURNEY TO ANCONA — DEATH OF PIUS . 352
INDEX 359
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK III. WITH LEONORA OF
PORTUGAL Frontispiece
.ENEAS siLVius SETS OUT FOR BASEL . . facing page 18
iENEAS SILVIUS DISCHARGES HIMSELF OF HIS
MISSION TO JAMES OF SCOTLAND . . „ 60
.ENEAS RECEIVING THE POET'S CROWN FROM
FREDERICK III „ 112
iENEAS SILVIUS AT THE FEET OF POPE
EUGENIUS IV „ 156
.ENEAS SILVIUS IS CREATED A CARDINAL BY
CALIXTUS III „ 224
.ENEAS SILVIUS, CROWNED AS PIUS II.,
BESTOWS HIS BLESSING ... „ 246
PIUS II. PRESIDES AT THE CONGRESS OF
MANTUA „ 270
CARDINAL PICCOLOMINI, NEPHEW OF PIUS II.,
IS CROWNED POPE AS PIUS III. . . „ 288
PIUS II. CANONISES ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA „ 336
PIUS II. IS BORNE TO ANCONA ... „ 352
^^
CHAPTER I
BIRTH AND PARENTAGE — EARLY YEARS
In Central Tuscany, on the ridge of three conjoined
hills that break on all sides into steep declivities, lies
Siena, the capital, in the Middle Ages, of a famous
republic. The surrounding landscape is soft and set
with vineyards ; the city is girdled by defiant walls
that belie the tranquil grace of the buildings they
enclose. The spectacle of the fair city, * sitting aloft
like a noble maiden in armour,' gives the instructed
traveller an impassioned moment, for the beauty that
takes the eye is matched by memories that crowd the
brain. The portals still bear the legend * Siena
opens her heart to thee more widely than her gates ' ;
the palace of government is still adorned with ancient
frescoes that set forth the blessings of Wisdom and
Justice and Concord ; but the city was ever one, as
Comines said, 'qui se gouverne plus foUement que
ville d'ltalie,' and Varchi justly spoke of it as 'a con-
fused muddle of separate republics rather than a
well-ordered state.' With the possible exception of
Rome and Perugia, it was the most turbulent of
Italian cities, and it retained, to a late date, the
characteristics of the Italian commune. A mass of
political and social organisations, perpetually at war,
were held together only by the ties of business and
2 iENEAS SILVIUS
by a common attachment to the same city. There
was a central government, it is true, but it was
dominated by a party and lasted only until one of the
many factions it affected to control grew strong
enough to overthrow it. The Sienese were an ener-
getic, proud, sensitive, and passionate people, but for
three successive generations, in the latter part of the
thirteenth and earlier half of the fourteenth centuries,
they submitted to be guided in their policy, and they
saw their dominion extended and their wealth in-
creased, by a haughty but capable race of merchant-
nobles. But the rule of these ' gentiluomini ' was
weakened by perpetual fighting among themselves ;
trouble arose from the claims of new men and of the
smaller traders, and even the lower classes grasped
the reins of government for a time. The *gentil-
uomini ' engaged in constant conspiracy to regain
their lost power, and in 1385 they were exiled from
the city.
Among the exiles were the Piccolomini, at this
time an impoverished family. They cherished the
tradition that, unlike most of the nobles of Italy,
they were descended, not from barbarian conquerors,
but from ancestors of Latin race. They had lost
most of their fiefs, but they still owned the greater
part of the village or townlet of Corsignano, a day's
journey to the south of the city. Here Enea Silvio,
the grandfather of the future Pope, contrived to
maintain some show of rank. But he died in early
manhood, and his posthumous son Silvio, left to
the stewardship of guardians, found, when he grew
up, that law-suits and bad management had very
much decreased his heritage. His education had
I
BIETH AND PARENTAGE 8
been so far attended to that he possessed some tinc-
ture of letters, but it was not enough to gain him
employment. So he took service as a soldier of
fortune under Gian Galeazzo Visconti, the ambitious
and intriguing Lord of Milan. His early life was
irregular ; ^ he made no great success in his profes-
sion, and he was wanting, either in the supple arts of
a courtier, or in the ability that the Visconti de-
manded of their agents. He returned to Corsignano
to till what remained to him of the paternal land,
and vented his spleen by dispensing contemptuous
remarks on the buffoons that haunted the Ducal
Court. He brought a certain Vittoria of the House
of Forteguerra, a young Sienese lady, as noble and
as poor as himself, to the little homestead that one
may still see standing on the hillside. He busily
cultivated his few acres, and devoted his leisure to
the Muses. On October 18, 1405, a son, the sub-
ject of our memoir, was born to him. The child was
baptized by the names Enea Silvio, after his grand-
father, to which was added Bartolomeo, but the last
name he dropped. Enea Silvio, best known in
literature under the Latinised form ^neas Silvius,
soon had a large company of brothers and sisters,
several of them being twins. While they endowed
the little homestead with family love, they increased
the poverty and anxiety that beset it.
Corsignano is a pleasant place. The scenery is not
remarkable, but great woods of oak lie between it
and Montepulciano, and chestnut forests invest the
hills hard by. M. Amiata, mantled in white until
quite late in the spring, and the singular cliffs of
1 -^n. Sil., Ep. ad generatorerrij September 20, 1443.
4 iENEAS SILVIUS
Rodocofani can be seen from the higher ground.
There was enough to awaken the susceptibiHties of a
lad who became, of all the men of his time, a wooer of
Nature and who, when he assumed the Tiara, was
never so happy as when he could shake off the cere-
monies of Court, put aside for a time the responsi-
bilities of his great office, and, retiring to some silent
Tuscan slope, liberate his soul as he gazed over vast,
beautiful spaces, find interest in picking out the
distant towers of cities that have memories, and
seek for peace in the shelter of noble forest-trees that
cast cool, grateful shadows over the bubbling brook.
His life as a child was that of the Tuscan peasant-
lad of to-day. He would follow the snow-white
bufialoes as they tugged at the classic plough of hard
wood, tipped with iron, watch the eye of his father
fixed on the furrow, and the skilful hand with which
he made his course, marvel at the deft, graceful swing
of the sower, and laugh at the cheerful, dancing move-
ment of the feet as men trod the vintage. And in
winter the children would squeeze together round
the focolare and listen to tales of old Siena and of
camps in Lombardy. After winter came a yearly
miracle, for the skeletons of the woods sprang into life,
and a minute of picking would give more violets than
the arms could hold. At the vintage, then, as to-day,
there would be the merry festa and the singing of
sweet, simple songs.
The little Piccolomini played with each other and
with those children of the village that were their
equals in rank. Once, it is said, they played at Pope-
making, and, strange augury, the little Enea was
chosen for the high office and the other children
BIRTH AND PARENTAGE 5
kissed his feet. He encountered and escaped the usual
perils of a country-lad. When he was three years old
he fell from a high wall on to a stone, and his scalp
was terribly lacerated; but one Niccolo Monticuli,
*"a doctor without letters," as folk call empirics,
cured him with * water- dressing, though the case
seemed without hope,' but holy water was used.
And when he was eight a bull tossed him high in
the air.^
At a very early age he had to help both parents in
farm-work, since there were so many mouths to be
fed. Yet his father found time to give the bright,
eager lad such scholarship as he himself possessed.
The rudiments Enea had already acquired from a
young priest. Of all the sixteen children of Silvio
and Vittoria, only two, Laodamia and Caterina, lived
to see Enea's rapid advancement in the Church.
Pestilence almost decimated this family, as it did
most families in the fifteenth century.
Enea must have proved himself a lad of parts, for
an uncle by marriage, one Niccolb LoUi, a man of
some position in Siena, offered to receive him into his
family, and other relatives gave him help that he
might study at Siena. So the young scholar betook
himself, through lanes, to the winding high-road that
lay not so very far off, and passing, belike, the
pilgrims of many a far-off country, all bound for Rome,
arrived at Siena full of high hope and the vague,
flattering expectations of youth, to find himself ill-
prepared to enter even so very poor a school of letters
as Siena had become. The plebeian government of
the republic was utilitarian in its views and parsi-
1 Pii 11. Comment. i I. 1.
6 iENEAS SILVIUS
monious in its rewards, and scholars forsook Siena for
the gold that was showered on them at the courts of
liberal princes. Enthusiasm for Greek, the most
important influence in the intellectual development
of the time, had not reached Siena : teachers of Greek
demanded high fees, and manuscripts in that language
were costly and difficult to acquire, and indeed the
Byzantines were held in contempt. Italian pride in
the literature and traditions of Rome held little sway
in Siena at this period.^ So Piccolomini learned no
Greek, nor did he receive first-class tuition in Latin ;
nor did he apply himself too closely to the lucrative
study of law, though Siena had a good reputation for
that subject, and it was the gate easiest to force and
most likely to yield reward. But, like most young
men of intellectual individuality, he was his own best
teacher. His powers grew rather through converse
with his companions than by the discipline of the
schools. His most intimate friend was Mariano de'
Sozzini, a distinguished member of a distinguished
race, many of whom cared for things of the mind,
and two of whom finally gave their family name
to a remarkable sect (the Socinians). Sozzini was a
few years older than Piccolomini, and had already
gained renown. A wife and other family obliga-
tions alone held him to Siena and its university.
His mind was not, perhaps, of the highest order, but
he was of that breed of universal men that the
Renaissance produced. He was short of stature, but
an all-round athlete, an accomplished dancer, and
a refined libertine. As a jurist he was really great ;
he taught Canon law so well that scholars flocked
* Voigt, Ema Silvio de^ Piccolomini als Fapst Pius II. Erster Band, 8.
EARLY YEARS 7
across the Alps to this second-rate university to sit at
his feet. He knew some Philosophy, Mathematics,
Astrology, Greek, and had dabbled in Medicine ; the
fathers of the State consulted him on grave, political
questions, but he could turn from a state-paper to
write an agreeable letter or to paint. He could
endow even law with interest for everybody but
JEneas. Yet the two became firm friends, and there
can be little doubt that the young man found the
elder an inspiring influence.^ Another associate was
Beccadelli, otherwise called Panormita, after his birth-
place, Palermo,^ a man who became a magnificent
humanist, yet who was the most corrupt of a corrupt
tribe of scholars ; one who prostituted great powers
in investing the worst sexual sins of the ancients
with voluptuous grace, and whose Hermaphroditus
is, as the title would indicate, dedicated to obscenity.
If Piccolomini eschewed law, he stole hours from
the night to read the classics, but he had come to
Siena too ill-prepared and was too ill-taught there to
achieve real scholarship. His poverty prevented him
from purchasing manuscripts, so he borrowed the
books of others and copied them out. His taste
directed him to the study of Cicero, Horace, and the
amatory poets ; of other authors he had little know-
ledge. He composed quite as much as he read : the
cacoethes scrihendi was upon him, and he practised
writing historical descriptions and orations and
letters in the style of Cicero. Latin was the way
to advancement in days when that language was
universally employed by princes, of no very high
* jEn. Sil., Comment in Anton. Panorm.., iii. 27 ; De vir. clar.y xviii.
* Ma. Sil., Ep. ad Alphonsum reg.y January 27, 1454.
8
iENEAS SILVIUS
education, in their state affairs. They were com-j
pelled to rely on diplomatists who were good Latin]
scholars. All men were then enthusiastic over the
new discoveries concerning ancient culture; they
attempted to reproduce it ; the standard of elegant
Latinity went up, and the cultivated agents of
princes conquered or were conquered by the eloquent
presentation of a case, or even by the mere felicity of
a phrase.
Piccolomini poured forth much verse, too, both in
Latin and the vernacular, most of it being such
sensuous stuff as one under the vernal impulse of
early manhood, and feeding on the amatory poets of
antiquity, would naturally write — imitations of Horace
and Ovid and Petrarch ; but these verses were highly
thought of by his contemporaries. He was a deft
imitator rather than a true poet ; the lines were
hammered out with skill; they never came singing
into his brain ; but these juvenile exercises at least
did him a service : they provided him with a large
vocabulary and made him a facile and lively writer of
prose.
Besides these agreeable diversions from severer
studies, he enjoyed much joyous social intercourse
with gifted men, most of them older than himself, but
of sparkling wit and bubbling over with levity. His
life was the irregular one of the mediaeval student ;
the ladies of Siena, too, were not harsh ; yet, what-
ever his frailties may have been, he was guiltless of
hypocrisy concerning them, and there was no coarse
debauchery, for the Italian of the period invested
even vice with grace and imagination, and was in-
capable of doing otherwise.
EARLY YEARS 9
-^neas had a nature open to every impression, alive
to all that may affect a man, swayed in every direc-
tion by all the allurements of sense and the stimula-
tions of intelligence. Such youth often grows into
weak, ineffective manhood ; but there are also rich,
susceptible natures whose pollutions settle like the
lees of a noble vintage and who are ultimately the
richer, and not the poorer, for the infirmities that
have beset them. They are more capable than
others of comprehending human weakness, readier in
compassion, juster in their estimates of men and life.
They never become the heroes of a single idea, and
therefore they never move the world as does the man
whose whole being is inspired by one enthusiasm ;
they never become 'tigers of wrath,' but always
remain as the more companionable, if less effective,
* horses of instruction.'
There came to Siena in the course of his duty the
famous missioner, Bernardino, canonised soon after
his death by the Church. Bernardino was a native
of the city ; he was now forty-five years of age.
Contemporaries bear witness to his scholarship, but
appear to have been most impressed by the over-
whelming power of his eloquence. He could induce
the fierce factions of Italy to renounce their enmities,
and all who listened to him repented of their sins.
Von Reumont says of him that ' he was one of those
men who work by the fire of love, enkindling other
hearts by the glow of their own.'
The vast market-place was crowded with men,
women, and children, assembled to hear the preacher.
A great thunderstorm threatened to shake the city,
but Bernardino prayed, and, lo ! the heavens were
10 iENEAS SILYIUS
still. It is characteristic of iEneas that he was not
ready to grant this to be a miracle.^ He never ques-
tioned the theological belief of his time, but his
temperament was sceptical, none the less. * A miracle
should always be mistrusted,' so he wrote in his
Commentaries on Panormitanus ; it was his perma-
nent conviction.
Then the great preacher began. Cards and dice
and the fripperies of fashion were cast into the flames
at his burning words ; the heirs of bitter vendetta
kissed each other and vowed brotherhood with
tears.
Bernardino struck a deep chord in ^neas's soul.
The student went to hear him again and again. He
was so deeply impressed that he desired to devote
his own life to the service of God. His friends tried
hard to dissuade him, for they knew him better than
he knew himself Asceticism was not in ^Eneas's
nature. At the end of his days, when he occupied
the Papal throne, he visited a beautiful monastery,^
and he wrote of the happiness of those who may see
it but are not compelled to remain. But nothing
would prevent him from consulting Bernardino, who
had gone on to Rome, and he took the long,
painful way on foot. Bernardino must have possessed
keen insight into character. He strongly dissuaded
the young pilgrim from carrying out his intention,
while his wise words of comfort brought balm to the
tortured spirit.^ This mission of the saint to Siena
awoke religious sensibilities that became dormant
again ; but early impressions, though they may be
^ Voigt, loc. cit. p. 15. 2 Monte Oliveto, near Siena.
3 uEn. Sil., Ep. ad Lav/rent. Leonard.^ September 13, 1445.
EARLY YEARS
obscured for a season, have wondrous vitality. It
seems to us probable that, when the insurgent stress
of impulse had abated, words neglected and forgotten
through many years came at last to fruition, and the
really vital principles of a strangely manifold nature
stood revealed.
^neas was but twenty, and he soon plunged once
again into the full stream of life. His nature was
quick, eager, fertile, and the world in which he found
himself was quick, eager, fertile too. The activities
of all Italy were concentrated on the present, and on
all things connected with the present, and, therefore,
they were concerned with the wonderful past. The soil
of the country bore the weight of many monuments
of ancient greatness ; the plough almost daily turned
up some precious, beautiful relic of antiquity ; the
very dust under -^neas's foot was the dust of an
heroic ancestry. The obscurest convent might be
found to hoard some aged wreck of wisdom, some
forgotten lore that was the instruction of centuries
long passed into oblivion. Witnesses to the might
and glory of Rome were ever before the eyes of her
sons and daughters ; the echoes of her deep voice
once again broke back from every storied hillside and
rang down each memorable valley, the very air bore
the music of great traditions. Caesar still dwelt
beyond the northern snows ; he exercised no oppres-
sive authority ; he had become a welcome name that
only echoed the ancient glory. The Papacy was
content to accept the forms of punctilious respect as
a substitute for the fervency of religious reverence,
and few men vexed their souls with questions not
directly connected with the vitality or the beauty
12
iENEAS SILVIUS
of outward things. The absence of the Papacy at
Avignon had given the Renaissance a free hand ; and,
in the main, its spirit was pagan and antagonistic to
Christian ideals. Men became sincerely interested
in the brave show of this world only. They held life
by a tenure none too secure; everything was in
hazard ; how long enjoyment might endure was at
that time even more uncertain than is usual in our
brief and deceptive life. Insecurity in possession
invariably leads to a prodigal employment of all the
means of present delight. Folk did not concern
themselves too closely with moral problems, and were
still less disposed to be interested in the subtleties of
theological or metaphysical riddles. But the very
insecurity of life and fortune that augmented the
importance of the present provoked men's wit to
preserve these endowments. Every one became pos-
sessed of an enhanced sense of the value of life to
himself; and the struggle to obtain and keep all
good things stimulated what is a natural prejudice
and impelled men to seek and exhaust all the
opulence that life may be made to yield. Mere
physical gratification was tempered by reverence for
the rediscovered wisdom of the Past. The dignity
that pertained to Pagan sires conferred it on their
Christian sons, and there was an essential fineness of
grain in the Italian that rendered him passionately
alive to every form of grace. Not enough of the past
remained, however, to bind and restrict enterprise.
Human society was putting forth new leaves and
bearing unexpected fruitage. Relieved from the
oppression of earnest religious belief, uninhibited (as
the modem man is) by the restraints of convention,
EARLY YEARS 13
the mediaeval man was a natural creature, full of hot
emotion and strong impulse. He opened the gates
of the soul wide to receive the distinction of letters,
the pride of learning, the seemliness of manners, the
grace of art, the splendour of heroism, the pathos of
our mortality ; he was alive even to the nobility that
may reside in renunciation and the dignity that may
attend on devotion. But these visitants came as
immediate and passionate convictions. The passions
were tempered by self-interest only ; otherwise they
were well-nigh as free as winds released.
Four years after the visit of Bernardino to Siena,
the one man of the western world who was a great
Greek scholar came to Florence to teach (a.d. 1429).
Francesco Filelfo, now thirty- one years of age, was
the talk of literary Italy. Two years before he had
landed at Venice, bringing a beautiful Greek bride
with him from Constantinople. His mind was by
no means remarkable for originality, and he was so
vastly vain that it pleased him to take the wall of
noble matrons, while his avarice placed his venomous
pen at the disposal of the highest paymaster. But
he had a genuine enthusiasm for letters, and an un-
questioned mastery of much of the ancient literature
of Greece. Cardinals courted, scholars flattered him,
for was he not capable of conveying that immortal
fame which Dante coveted, which had kept Virgil
and Horace alive, being dead, and had even now
restored Plato to his kingdom ?
The unexhausted kindness of relatives enabled our
poor student to travel to Florence. He sat at
Filelfo's feet, and, if he learned no Greek, he felt the
influence of that remarkable stylist. He also fell
14 iENEAS SILVIUS
under the sway of Poggio. His two years' stay in
Florence was no small factor in the development of
his mind, for it brought him into contact with the
ripest scholars and most cultivated men of the age.
But he never became a scholar of the first rank, nor
did he ever correspond with the great humanists on
equal terms, as he did with those of inferior standing.
Yet Filelfo thought so well of him that, when, in
1431, his pupil went on an academic tour to Milan,
Padua, and Ferrara, the Master gave him such an
introduction as must have opened to him the doors of
Aurispa and Guarini, and a brilliant circle of men of
position, breeding,' and high cultivation. The letter
spoke of him as * of good birth, very dear to me, one
who has not only attended my lectures for two years,
but possesses a lively wit, a ready tongue, and a
taking, polished address.' ^
His relatives urged him to make use of this oppor-
tunity and secure some lucrative post. JEneas pos-
sessed his full share of the unbounded hopefulness
and generous heedlessness of his years, though he
was often in want of money. His dependence on his
friends and the requirements of his own nature so
far influenced him that he visited a famous jurist at
Bologna, Giovanni da Imola. He found him a dull
pedant, overfed with valueless erudition.^ ^neas
prized only such intelligence as is alive. Finally he
started as a teacher at Siena, but he had barely
settled there when war broke out. The republic of
Lucca stood in the way of the Florentine merchants,
who wanted a clear high-road to the sea, and their
* Voigt, loc. cit. p. 17, note i.
2 ^n. Sil., De vir. clar.^ xix.
■
EAELY YEARS 15
designs caused a general war. Florence had the
Pope and Venice for her allies. Siena, already out-
stripped by her rival, was forced to take arms, allied
with Milan and Sigismund, King of the Germans and
titular King of Rome. The prospects of success as a
teacher, at a time of all-absorbing warfare, were small
indeed, especially for one whose heart was far away
in an ideal world of poems and orations and epistles,
where the neatness of an epigram, not the sharpness
of a sword, determined victory, and the joy of inno-
cent conquest was obtainable, at a flash, by a glowing
phrase.
But one of these curious accidents that combine
with necessity to mould human destiny launched
iEneas into a new sphere. Henceforth for many
years, with a few brief returns to his native land,
he was to find a shifting home among rude, alien
races across the Alps. The manner of this great
change came about through certain happenings in
Rome.
For centuries the Eternal City had been a centre of
disorder. Barons of the Campagna occupied and
fortified the ruins of Imperial Rome, and fought each
other for preponderance. The Popes vainly en-
deavoured to assert effective power. A tempestuous
populace, proud of the Roman name, and dimly con-
scious of their past power and glory, endeavoured
from time to time to restore them, to put an end to
the encroachments of the Papacy, and to subdue the
barons. But they had little wealth, save what the
presence of the Papal court and the multitude of
pilgrims brought them. Easily swayed to opposition,
they were as fickle as they were powerless. They
16 iENEAS SILVIUS
could neither live with Pope and Barons nor without
them. When Martin v. reached Rome (Sept. 1420),
he found his position one of extreme difficulty : it
demanded all the resolute persistence and self-control
that marked the man. The countryside swarmed
with brigands, and,* at first, he was obliged to make
Braccio, the great soldier of fortune, Vicar of the
Church, and to rely on him and his army to keep
order in the Papal possessions. Martin was of the
great family of Colonna, and he called on his powerful
house for support ; he protected his overlordship of
the kingdom of Naples by obtaining important fiefs
in that realm for his brothers ; and he secured the
Keys of the States of the Church by putting the most
important fortresses in the hands of his nephews. He
allowed the corporation of Rome to retain juridical
and municipal powers, but he dominated the city
as its monarch. The Romans prospered under his
rule, and an unfriendly biographer admits that * the
streets and roads became secure, a thing unknown
for two hundred years.' ^ Prosperity made the
Romans ready for revolt. The great family of
Orsini were bitter enemies of the Colonna, and,
at the death of Martin, the rival families came to
open war.
Now, among the many able servants of Martin was
a young man, only a few years older than -^neas, one
Domenico Pantagale, bishop of Fermo, better known
as Capranica, from a rock-fortress of that name.
Capranica belonged to a family that adhered to the
Colonna; and, indeed, the fortress was one of the
possessions of that imperious race. He had studied
1 Muratori, Eenim Italicarum ScriptoreSy iii. p. 538.
EARLY YEARS 17
at Padua under Cesarini ; von Cues (Cusa),^ the
German, was a fellow-pupil ; and there was little differ-
ence between the ages of these three distinguished
men. Capranica was shy, modest, and hardworking ;
he could do with little sleep ; he was very learned in
both Civil and Canon Law, and was also a lover of
literature. His advancement in the Church was
singularly rapid, for his great erudition was matched
by his administrative ability, and his piety was un-
questioned. For fear of jealousy, his early elevation
to the cardinalate was kept a secret, except to himself
and his colleagues in the Sacred College. Later,
Capranica's accession to the purple was published ; but
he was away at Perugia, in the capacity of legate, at
the time, and it was customary to send the Red
Hat, the ensign of office, only to those absentees who
were far away, employed in important foreign lega-
tions. On account of the unsettled state of Perugia,
Capranica remained there, but when Martin died
(February 29, 1431), he at once rode off to Rome.
Now he had once held a financial office in that city, and
the citizens regarded him, no less than the late Pope
and all his abettors, as an extortionate taxmaster.
Moreover, the ancient feud between the Colonna and
Orsini had been aggravated by the rule of a Pope
belonging to the former family — a Pope who used his
relatives to consolidate his power — and the Orsini did
not forget the close relation in which Capranica stood
to their foes. Capranica dared not enter the city,
but he remained immediately outside the walls,
and strove, through the intervention of friends, to
obtain admission to the Conclave assembled for
^ From Cues on the MoseL
B
18 iENEAS SILVIUS
the election of a new Pope. But he failed, and
Eugenius iv., immediately on his election, roused
himself against the Colonna. Capranica experienced
the full force of the storm ; his palace was sacked,
his benefices and possessions declared forfeit, and
he had to seek safety in a stronghold belonging to
the Colonna.
He determined to go to Basel, where a council of
the whole Christian Church was sitting, and seek
justice and redress. Since Siena was at this time at
war with the Papacy, while Florence was the Pope's
ally, the only safe route lay through Sienese territory.
And there Capranica heard of the talents of a young
man of twenty-six, just five years his junior, one who
was well read in the classics, could give a turn to a
clever speech, or bestow a sparkle on a letter, had a
little knowledge of law, and sought employment. So
Capranica engaged Enea Silvio Piccolomini as his
secretary, and thus the first introduction of the young
humanist to public life was under the auspices of a
man who had just cause of animosity against both
Pontiff and Curia, and whom circumstances com-
pelled to seek the protection and support of the
predominant party in the Church, a party that claimed
all oecumenical councils to be above the Pope, and
loudly demanded reorganisation of the Church and
reform in its administration. The future Pope thus
entered life in the service of an enemy to the full
pretensions of the Papacy : he was introduced to a
scene where he could witness the infant stumblings
of religious liberty.
He was destined to serve three cardinals, three
bishops, and an emperor before he came to readjust
J
/Eneas Silvius sp:ts out for Basel.
Pintitricchio, Siena.
EARLY YEARS 19
his views, adopt the conservative side, and seek the
feet of Eugenius/
On account of the war, Capranica and his little
party took ship at Piombino, intending to disembark
at Genoa, a friendly port, for it was at this time
under the standard of Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke
of Milan, a bitter adversary of the Pope. But when
the ship had sighted Elba, and lay between that
island and Corsica, a dreadful storm arose. First
the craft was driven into the Gulf of Lyons by a
violent wind, and then the hurricane turned round
on itself and blew from the north. It seemed to
^neas as if they might be driven on to the African
coast, where the lot of a slave would await them.
But the hurricane veered again, and forced them
through the Straits of Bonifaccio, and, somewhat
abating, they were happy in being able to sail at
last into Porto Venere and find shelter there. After
a while the sea became calm enough for them to set
their sails again, and they ultimately reached Genoa,
where Capranica was warmly welcomed, ^neas's
sharp eye took in all the salient points of the famous
city, and, when he reached his journey's end, he
wrote a wonderful description of the place to a young
Sienese friend.^
Thence they proceeded to Milan, where the crafty,
intriguing, pusillanimous duke received them in
person. Then they rode up the valley of the Ticino,
followed the arduous track that led over the snows
of the St. Gothard, pursued the dangerous path above
^ JEn. Sil., Ep. ad Petr. de Noxeto^ May 7, 1456. The cardinals were
Capranica, Albergati and Cervantes : two of the bishops were those of
Novara and Freising ; the third is unknown.
2 Mn. Sil., Ep. ad Geo. Andrentium, April 1432.
20 iENEAS SILVIUS
the leaping torrents that have eaten the mountains
into such awe-inspiring chasms, reached the cliffs that
line the Lake of the Four Cantons, and so passed,
through a landscape that was just returning the first
smile of spring, to Basel (a.d. 1432). Among the
little company that took this perilous journey was
another young secretary, one Piero da Noceto.
Mneas and Noceto were near of an age; they had
faced death together; they had many tastes in
common, and they formed, during these adventures,
a friendship that was intimate and enduring. iEneas
was a cordial man ; he was happy in the society of
his fellows, and turned his best side towards them ;
they found his geniality irresistible, and he acquired
unerring knacks of winning their favour. He had
a warm, large heart, and was capable of deep and
unswerving affection. If he sought the society and
favour of the great it was because he was needy,
and must set his sail to catch every favouring breeze.
But he was happiest when he could be with those to
whom he might disclose his heart and be entirely
himself. Such was his character as a young man; such
it remained throughout life. When he shall be Pope
we shall find him forgetting his dignity in the society
of two real friends with whom he had deep sympathy
— both were learned men, and in one way or another
shared his tastes. Ammanati, fond of authorship
and the chase, and Campano, loving incisive jests and
kindly satire, the one, the son of lowly people of
Peschia, the other of no nobler descent than the
peasantry of that Campagna from which he took his
name, were chosen to be his bosom-companions by
Pope Pius II.
EAELY YEAES
21
At Basel the two young secretaries found gathered
together the most brilliant representatives of the
States of Western Europe and her universal Church :
here were the ambassadors of many nations, humanists
of widest culture, scholars of profoundest learning,
and princes of the Church. Sometimes, too, the
Emperor came to preside in person over the meetings
of the famous Council.
22
iENEAS SILVIUS
CHAPTEE II
THE CHURCH, THE STATE, SCHISMS, HERESIES
AND COUNCILS
iENEAS found himself occupying a humble position,
but, at least, he was a member of a cardinal's house-
hold, and brought, thereby, into contact with princes,
ambassadors and scholars ; he had opportunity to
acquire a knowledge of men and of how to deal with
them ; he was in a school of manners and diplomacy.
The Council, too, was a great stage whereon practical
statesmen and thinkers of many shades of opinion
and of many nations played their part. Momentous
problems were presented at Basel ; divergent political
aims found expression there ; ecclesiastical discontent m
opposed itself to pontifical claims ; racial dijfferences
and national aspirations made themselves apparent ;
the revolt of the people, dimly conscious of social
injustice and oppression, manifested itself under the
guise of religious reform, ^neas found himself in
an arena of fierce theological strife. But in order to
grasp the nature of that conflict, no less than to
comprehend what was in -^neas's mind when he
became Pope, it is necessary to search for underlying
causes ; and these are best exhibited by reviewing,
in swift flight, certain aspects of antecedent history.
When the half-barbarous races that occupied the
■
THE CHUKCH AND THE STATE 23
western portion of what had been the Roman Empire
accepted the Christian faith, the Bishop of Rome
became the sole central authority of the dismembered
State, and he demanded the allegiance of the Christian
world. Leo iii. took it on himself to treat the incur-
sion and rule of Teutonic chieftains as an interregnum ;
he revived the Empire and invested Charlemagne,
the Frank, with the imperial name (a.d. 800). Nor
did it seem so very strange a proceeding, for bar-
barian conquerors had been wont to give an appear-
ance of legality to their government by ruling as
vicars of the Empire, and in the palmiest days of
Rome many a great Caesar was of foreign blood.
The Empire of Charlemagne had a feudal constitu-
tion ; and the Emperor and his feudatories fostered
and endowed the Church. The barbarians had to
be ruled as well as baptized, and, from an early
period, the Church found territorial rights, social
rank and baronial privileges indispensable to her
existence, and even the Pope himself was compelled
to reign or disappear. Hence the Church welcomed
grants of land from feudal lords, and strove and
intrigued for them until fully one-third of Western
Europe came into her possession. The Church thus
found herself immeasurably the largest landowner in
the world. And not merely did the revenues of fiefs
fall into ecclesiastical hands, but Europe was drained
of vast sums that flowed into Papal coffers in the
form of contributions. Thus, while without secular
power and wealth, there had been no effective pro-
tection of religion, with secular power and wealth
came the germs of discontent and decay. The
holders of rich benefices grew more and more worldly ;
24 iENEAS SILVIUS
they were bound to take the side of their immediate!
superiors in all quarrels (and when was the feudal
world at peace ?) ; ecclesiastical office fell to the scions
of powerful families who were very unfitted to hold
it, and who led the same kind of life as their
relatives : nor did the most piously disposed Church-
man utter loud complaint, for feudal possessions
required knightly defence. Corruption and seculari-
sation of the Church resulted.
It became the constant aim of that great statesman
Hildebrand (Gregory vii.) to set the Church free
from civil and military control, while it should retain
that wealth and power and show of splendour neces-
sary to impress so ungracious a world. He desired,
moreover, to subdue all nations to Rome, to subject
all rulers to a theocracy, wherein the Vicar of Christ
should be the redresser of wrongs, the dispenser of
justice, and the fountain of power among the contend-
ing races of Christianity. The Pope — this was the
theory of the Church — alone held supreme spiritual
sway, and the successors of Charlemagne and the Othos
were his delegates, even as he himself was the delegate
of God ; the Pope was the overlord of rulers, who,
with their underlords, administered an Empire that
was continuous with that of the antique Roman world.
The Emperor, it is true, held supreme temporal
authority, but spirit is superior to flesh, and there
are temporal matters that are subject to spiritual
dictation. * I am Emperor,' said Boniface viii. to
Albert of Hapsburg, when he sought confirmation ;
and, in the famous bull of November 18, 1302, the
same Pontifi declared every human creature to be
subject to the Pope. It was proclaimed, moreover,
THE CHURCH AND THE STATE 25
that the temporal sword was held only * ad nutum et
patientiam sacerdotis ' — * by the assenting nod and
forbearance of the Pontiff' : so spake the ambassadors
of Innocent iii. to the King of France. And, to-day,
the Pope is crowned as * Father of kings and princes ;
ruler of the world.'
But mediaeval Caesars were unwilling to submit
tamely to such limitations of their authority ; tem-
poral rulers were indignant at the presumption of
Churchmen whom they had raised to wealth and
power, and who were still their feudatories. From
the eleventh century, the swords of Pope and
Emperor were stained with blood; for princes and
barons and townships took sides to advance their
own interests, and neither Pope nor Emperor had
suflScient power to establish their claims or control
their followers. For a time victory favoured the Popes.
They humbled the proud house of Hohenstauffen to
the dust. Yet their success was a triumph of the
spirit only : they were unable to establish victory by
the force of arms. At the beginning of the fourteenth
century, the Pope had vanquished his opponents ; but,
in his own home, he was weaker than the weakest of
the barons around him. In many critical moments
he had received help from France. He sought a
haven of refuge from the menaces of the Roman
nobility and the Roman populace, and for seventy
years he found one at Avignon. But in Italy he had
dwelt in a city that retained Imperial traditions, and
exhibited Imperial magnificence, and there he was
surrounded by many wealthy states that neutralised
each other's power. At Avignon he was under the
shadow of a single crown. He still bore a name of
26
iENEAS SILVIUS
might, but the continuity of historical tradition was
fractured. He had not transferred Rome to Provence.
The city on the Rhone was no New Rome on the
Bosphorus ; his palace, however imposing, was not
the Lateran or even the Vatican ; it was only a
magnificent mansion in a provincial town. Seven
successive pontiffs were Frenchmen, holding French
fiefs, and therefore vassals of the French crown ; they
were surrounded by French influence and dominated
by French interests. A French King dared to say,
* It is I who am Pope.' ^ The influence of French
Cardinals, the disturbed state of Italy, and the con-
dition of Rome, now a ruined city, prevented the
return of the Popes. They became greedy of gold,
for the Italian states, the wealthiest in the world,
almost ceased to contribute to the Papal coffers, lest
their gold should be employed in building up the
power of France. The Church became more and more
worldly, less and less subject to authority.
Then schism broke out, and the nations took the
side of one or the other of rival Pontiffs as best suited
their own conflicting interests : the Church was riven
almost to its foundations. Both Pontiffs eagerly
sought the support of princes ; both were in financial
difficulties ; such ancient contrivances for raising
money as annates, reservations, and expectancies
assumed scandalous proportions, and the respect
given to the Papacy was undermined. The notion
of a universal Church that should bind the nations
together in a common allegiance and Christian
brotherhood, and subject them to a common authority,
1 Pastor, L., History of the Popes, English trans., 1891. vol. i,
p. 134.
SCHISMS AND HERESIES 27
was so weakened, and the spirit of nationality was
already so strong, that there were those who wished
each country to have its own Pope, and thought that
the schism was a sign that this was the intention of
the Holy Spirit.'
Nor was this all. The splendour of the throne of
the Fisherman, the pomp and arrogance of wealthy
ecclesiastics, their indolence and self-indulgence,
excited deep discontent among spiritually minded
men, and deep resentment, by no means always dumb,
among the people. It fostered heresy ; it caused a
demand for reform ; it provided a rallying cry for the
oppressed labouring classes.
For it will be found that racial differences, social
inequalities, economic pressure, and economical greed
are not merely the deep sources, or at least the sup-
port, of political antagonisms, but that they often
underlie the acrid contest of creeds. Religion has
often been the rallying cry that has gathered men to
battle for far other causes. Like the boughs cut from
Birnam wood, it has covered an unsuspected advance.
The banner that bore the sacred Cup, the loyalty due
to the King of Heaven has proved a signal to conflict
no less effective than a party-badge or a princely
name. Heresies flourished most in those parts of the
Ancient Empire where centrifugal tendencies had
most power ; it was mainly the ragmen of Milan who
became Patarines ; the dregs of the labouring classes,
deprived of the benefits of trade-associations, joined
the Cathari ; of such were the Pauvres de Lyon and
the masses that followed Pierre Valdo ; it was the
English hind that became a Lollard. One may find
* Schwab, Johannes GersoUf pp. 122, 123.
28
iENEAS SILVIUS
in all the heresies of the Middle Ages some attempt
to revive the simple brotherhood of the first Christians,
some renewal of the social doctrine of the Master,
some crude and impracticable form of Communism.
Sometimes these dangerous forces could be controlled :
ecclesiastical statesmanship enticed the Franciscans
and other orders to obedience, but the Albigensian
and various other Communistic outbreaks had to be
eradicated by fire and sword. Heresy allied itself
with social discontent, and indulged in dreams of
social reconstruction. The outbreaks of the degraded
peasantry of France against their oppressors, when
these were weakened by the wars with England, the
revolts of the wool-dressers of Florence and Siena
towards the end of the fourteenth century revealed
to thinking men the presence of concealed forces that
might wreck that institution of property, without
which neither States nor Church nor culture nor
comfort nor any form of religion might exist. Pope
and king, bishop and baron and merchant, beneficed
priest and barefooted friar, whatever their private
feuds might be, were always ready to unite in crush-
ing heresy ; for heresy was not only a religious per-
versity, but it dallied with dreams perilous to the
safety and welfare of both Church and State ; it was
frequently responsible for fierce, irrational, and alarm-
ing outbursts. And, if for no other reason than to
subdue heresy, it was very necessary to reunite the
divided Church ; to lead the peoples, still religiously
disposed, aright, and to remove sources of discontent
by reform. National ideals were still inchoate, the
spiritual bond of the Western world, though weakened,
was still unbroken; a General Council of the uni-
COUNCILS 29
versal Church should give force and authority to
principles that were universally acknowledged.
General Councils of the Church had been wont to
assemble from a comparatively early period. But
they were not without menace to the authority
claimed by the Papacy, and the principle they in-
volved could readily be turned against kings. William
of Occam, not the least distinguished of that illus-
trious group of thinkers who, for keenness of intellect,
have never been surpassed, set forth that the infalli-
bility of the Church lay in its belief at all times and
in all places; therefore a Pope might err and be
deposed by a General Council, or even by the Emperor,
acting as supreme authority over the Christian world.
While Trionfo,an Italian Guelf, and Pelago, a Spaniard,
emphasised the doctrine of Papal absolutism (for was
not the Pope the Vicar of God ?), Marsiglio of Padua,
the great Ghibelline thinker, boldly declared in his
Defensor Pads, a book dedicated to Louis of Bavaria,
that rulers, whether of the Church or of the world,
possess but delegated authority derived from the
people; the Church, as represented by a general
assemblage of its most intelligent members, is supreme
over Popes; and, moreover, since Popes have been
known to misuse their temporal power as well as to
err in spiritual matters, the property of the Church
may be regulated and even confiscated by the State.
Such a doctrine as this was a two-edged sword ; it
was convenient to use against a foe, but it might be
turned against one's self Pope and monarch, in spite
of their variances, found this and similar theories
none too agreeable, and hence the temporal ruler
always hesitated to renounce the spiritual yoke, and.
80
iENEAS SILVIUS
if he occasionally rebelled, he invariably resumed it
quietly. For the supremacy of the Papacy sym-
bolised and was a guarantee of established order.
The Universities were in favour of councils, and the
Universities carried great weight, for in them lay
the most important intellectual force of the age. The
acutest minds in Europe, men drawn from every
country and from every class, men mostly of mature
years, were to be found at these centres of learning.
The University was a democratic, self-governing body.
Students, as well as professors, voted alike in the
passing of measures, each ' nation ' having an elective
voice. The study of theology was not encouraged in
Italy, and there, as well as in Europe generally, the
Universities were chiefly occupied with the practical
studies of law and medicine. But Paris had been
remarkable for the freedom and ability of its theo-
logians, even in the time of the Schoolmen : it pursued
knowledge for its own sake. Students flocked to
Paris from every country, and the decisions of its
doctors in theology came to be regarded as authori-
tative. Still, the Papacy was not likely to forget that
Paris had produced such heretics as Abelard and
Arnold of Brescia, and might prove but a perilous
support to orthodox doctrine and Papal theory.
The proposal of a Council to put an end to the
Great Schism emanated from the University of Paris.
There was intellectual anarchy as well as heresy and
schism in Europe, and men sought to find some
lawful court of appeal, capable of pronouncing final
judgments. The rival wearers of the Tiara were asked
to refer their claims to a General Council, and they
afiected to consent. An incompletely representative
COUNCILS 31
Synod assembled at Pisa (a.d. 1409) deposed both
Popes and elected a third. But the result was that
there were now three Popes in the place of two.
Yet Plavus, a doctor in theology of Paris, had de-
clared the Pope to be the delegate of the Church ;
for, if elected by cardinals, these were originally
appointed by bishops, and therefore a General Council
must be possessed of full power to depose a Pope.
If it be not so, is not the spirit above the letter ? ^
And such was the revolution in the minds of thinking
men that some held the presence of peril to absolve
from the obligation of law.^ Sigismund, the astute
Emperor, was not slow to perceive the need of recon-
stituting authority. He was still quicker to recognise
his opportunity for recovering something of the
ancient prestige attached to his office. In default
of a Pope, he, as Defender of the Christian faith,
summoned a council to assemble at Constance, and
invited the princes of Europe, or their envoys, to
attend. It met in 1414, and he presided in person.
To counteract the predominance of the Italian clergy,
the procedure of universities was copied. Voting was
taken according to * nations,' often hostile enough
to each other. Only ecclesiastics of rank voted, but
Masters in Theology and Doctors of Canon Law had
a consultative voice. Pisa had been visited by many
of these academicians, but Constance was full of
them, and the streets resounded with the denuncia-
tion of cardinals ; there was even an attempt made
to exclude them.^ The lower clergy and the monks
were busy at every street corner, preaching revolu-
^ Schwab, loc. cit. pp. 106-108. ^ Pastor, loc. cit. pp. 192, 193.
' Zimmermann, Die Kirchlichen Verfassungskdmpfef p. 29.
32
.ENEAS SILVIUS
tionaiy doctrine and demanding reform. The revolt
of the Hussites forced on the cry. Hatred of the
corruption of the Church, conjoined with social dis-
content, found expression in heresy, and heresy
produced a revolt within the Church itself against
its existing constitution.
Reform was impossible. Everybody was eager
to reform others ; no party was willing to reform
itself. Had it been willing there were still too many
vested interests to overthrow ; in spite of a few
earnest men there was a vast inertia to overcome ;
there were intricate political and other complications
to deal with, and what one faction proposed another
rejected. But the Council declared its own supremacy
and that of all oecumenical synods over the Papacy,
burned John Hiis, the heretic, whose party inclined
towards and was in league with the advocates of
dangerous social doctrines, and so managed matters
as to give the Church a fresh start. Martin v., of
the Roman house of Colonna, ascended the Papal
throne with the consent of the whole Catholic world
(a.d. 1417).
The ideal of the men of Constance was essentially
republican, for it aimed at converting the Papacy
into a mere constitutional monarchy. Now the Pope,
hitherto supported by the Sacred College, had come
in the Middle Ages to hold himself as absolute
sovereign; but so abased was the Papacy at the end
of the Great Schism that the Sacred College tried to
place severe limits on the power of the Pontiff
and to exalt itself. The Sacred College, though
it hated the Council, imitated it. Oligarchical govern-
ment, and not absolutism, was its ideal.
OEIGIN OF THE COUNCIL OF BASEL 33
Martin was a born ruler, but the Papal States and
the Papal Exchequer were in such disorder that he
had small opportunity of effecting the smallest reform.
Had he attempted it, he would at once have driven
the Sacred College into rebellion. He was bent,
moreover, on the restoration of the Papal power, for
he saw that the battle for supremacy had not been
fought out to a finish. He fulfilled his promise to
hold a Council every seven years, and he summoned
one to meet at Pavia (a.d. 1427). Plague visited
the city, and Alfonso of Aragon, the claimant to the
throne of Naples (which was a Papal fief), intrigued
with certain of the Council against Martin; so the
Synod was transferred to Siena, and the small attend-
ance there furnished the Pope with a pretext for
its dismissal. He was too keen and far-sighted a
statesman not to perceive that the success of the
Council would mean the destruction of the unity
of the Catholic Church. The Church would break
up into fragments. The sole hope for Unity lay in
Papal absolutism. The Papacy, though restored
by a Council, was menaced by the Conciliar
principle.
Martin v. was succeeded in 1431 by Gabriello Con-
dulamaro, a Venetian, a man of somewhat intimidat-
ing appearance, but easily accessible, of simple habits,
pious, and so generous that he was in debt throughout
his life. * He was magnanimous,' wrote iEneas of
him, * but without any moderation ; his actions were
ill-considered, and regulated rather by his desires
than by any consideration of the possibility of carry-
ing them out.' The cardinals, who had suffered from
the stormy personality of Martin, signed a document
I
I
I
34 iENEAS SILVIUS
before they proceeded to elect a new Pope, whereby,
whoever of their number should be elected, bound him-
self by oath to such restrictions as made the Apostolic
Chair little more than the presidential seat of a
permanent committee.^ But such a renunciation,
though not solitary in the history of the Papacy,
could not be held valid, since it was contrary to Papal
duty, and, in fact, not one Pope only rescinded his
oath after election, and it became a dead letter.
Eugenius fulfilled his obligation to summon a new
Council. It met at Basel (a.d. 1431), and the Pope
sent a Cardinal-legate to preside at its sittings. This
legate was the famous Giuliano de' Cesarini, a man
now thirty-three years of age, eloquent, learned, and
of independent mind. Though of noble birth, he was
so poor a youth that, as a student at Perugia, he had
been obliged to collect the ends of candles to pursue
his nocturnal studies. He became a professor of Canon
Law at Padua, but Martin v. was so impressed by his
abilities that he gave him rapid promotion. Cesarini's
bearing was dignified, his features and his manner were ,
pleasing. He was of ascetic disposition, dining sparely, ■
sleeping in a hair-shirt, and keeping nocturnal vigils
in church ; yet he was neither hard nor narrow. He
could maintain the dignity of his rank with princes,
converse genially with all, and had so little disposi-
tion to scorn the humble that he was never known to
neglect paying a daily visit to his sick stable-boy.
He never forgot the days of his own poverty ; and he
rejoiced to set apart a portion of an income, that was
none too large for the great office he held, for the
support of poor students. He would even sell his
\ Kajnaldus, Ad ann. 1431.
THE HUSSITE HERESY 35
books to help the needy. He refused benefices, for
it was not consonant with his conscience to be a
pluralist. Cardinal Branda was wont to say that if
the entire Church became corrupt there was force
and purity enough in Cesarini to reform it, and
Bistucci wrote : * I have known many holy men, but
none like Cardinal Cesarini.' For the office to which
he was now appointed he had great qualifications.
He had won the respect of everybody ; he was a man
of great experience in affairs, skilful at organisation,
and, best of all, he possessed that rare gift, temperate
and unprejudiced judgment.
The Council commenced its sittings March 12,
1431, but Cesarini did not arrive at Basel before
the end of the year. He was dealing with a difficulty
that the Council would also soon have to encounter ;
one that, later on, occupied the attention of iEneas,
one that bequeathed a problem to vex his pontificate
— it was the fierce rebellion of the Hussites in Bohemia.
John Huss, or Hlis, a native of that country, taught
that no one had a right to hold property save true
believers, nor ought a ruler to be acknowledged unless
his life were such as to be approveable by God.
Strange conclusions were involved in these theological
tenets, so strange that Louis Blanc calls Hiis the
precursor of the French Revolution, and Denis says
that he was the real originator of the rebellion that
ended in the destruction of Catholic unity. But Htis
derived his views from England. Owing to the mar-
riage of a Bohemian princess to an English king,
Lollardism, a heresy that denounced luxury and in-
clined towards communism, passed over into Bohemia,
and a large majority of the followers of John Hiis
36 iENEAS SILVIUS
embraced advanced communistic doctrines. His death
at the stake was followed by universal riots, and
when Wenceslaus, the king of Bohemia, supported the
Council of Constance, which condemned Hiis, nearly
the whole Czech nation withdrew their allegiance.
Under the able statesman, Nicholaus of Pistna, and
the practised general, John Ziska, they conducted
oflPensive and defensive campaigns with perfect success.
The root of all these terrible wars is to be found in M
the presence of silver mines of almost fabulous value
near the German frontier. These attracted a German
population, the owners were Germans, and the German
race began to dominate the Czech. Even in the
rebellion against Sigismund (a.d. 1420), when Czech
and Teuton fought side by side, it was found necessary
to give them different quarters.^ But this racial
antagonism was complicated and intensified by an
antagonism of the poor to the rich. The working of M
her silver mines made Bohemia the wealthiest country
in Europe. ' I believe,' wrote ^neas, in his History
of Bohemia, ' that no land was so full of imposing and
richly decorated churches. They raised one's thoughts
to the skies. The high altars were heavily laden with
gold and silver caskets for relics ; the robes of the
clergy were rich and embroidered with pearls ; the
sacred vessels were well-nigh priceless. . . . And all
this magnificence was to be found, not in cities alone,
but in villages even.' The impoverished Czech, w^ho
hated the wealthy German, heard the doctrines of
Hiis gladly, and soon the poor of the land, German as
well as Czech, united in hate of their wealthy and
powerful Catholic oppressors, whether they were of
^ Maurice, C. E., History of Bohemia, p. 142.
THE HUSSITE HEEESY 37
German blood or of Czech. For, owing to the increase
of wealth, the peasantry paid in money and not in
kind, and so they could be squeezed and oppressed ;
common-lands were seized by an arrogant nobility,
and an attempt was made to tie the labourer to the
soil. Therefore the peasantry crowded into the towns
and filled them with a hungry host. The poorer
nobility, ruined by the Crusades, and hating the
new German magnates (who plumed themselves on a
higher civilisation), led the ranks of the discontented.
The city of Prague was near the mines ; its university
was under the control of contemptuous Germans.
The Czech armed himself against the German ; the
peasantry, aided by the poorer nobility, rose against
the rich landowners, the rich miners, the rich traders,
and the rich Church.^ But, in the fifteenth century,
ecclesiastical theory was the only theoretical system
that existed — the only expression of human thought
that was formulated. The Hussites demanded that
the Blood as well as the Body of the Saviour should
be administered to the laity at Communion, and they
were consequently known as Calixtines or Utraquists.
They bore the sacred Cup on their banners, and behind
these standards were arrayed, not merely the masses
that had been forced there by economic pressure, but
zealous reformers that were animated by an earnest
desire for the purification of the Church and the
destruction of its temporal power. Bohemia became
a democratic republic with a strong impulse towards
communism. The doctrines prevalent there extended
* Kautsky (Communism in Central Europe) gives an admirable account
of the forces at work in Bohemia, though in the author's judgement he brings
out the material factors at the expense of the spiritual.
38
^NEAS SILVIUS
to almost every part of Western Europe. It was th(
blind commencement of a social revolution, the full
force of which has not even yet hurled itself on the
world. In 1424, the Cardinal-legate sent to Poland
proclaimed that the object of his mission was the
salvation of society. * A large proportion of the
heretics,' he said, * maintain that everything should
be held in common and no tax or obedience is due to
superiors. Their purpose is to put an end to all
Divine and human rights by force, and it will come
about that neither kings, princes in their rule, citizens
in their burghs, nor individuals in their own homes
will be safe from their effrontery. This detestable
heresy not only attacks the Faith and the Church,
but, impelled by Satan, wages war on all society, and
attacks and destroys its rights.'^
The legate attributes these doctrines to ' a large
proportion of the heretics ' only. As is invariably the
case in new movements, the successful rebels were
divided among themselves by economic and social
forces. The various factions also arrayed themselves
in the garb of religious distinctions. The most extra-
vagant heresies were associated with the most radical
social experiments, and were chiefly to be found
among the poor. It was the sweated wool-sorter of
Siena and Florence that revolted in the middle of the
preceding century ; it was the weaver who was pro-
minent among the Waldenses of Southern France, the
Apostilicians of Northern France, and the Lollards of
England : the wool trade was foremost in this move-
ment also.^
^ Quoted by Pastor, loc. cit., i. 164.
* Kautsky, Communism in Central Europe, Eng. tr., pp. 54-56.
THE HUSSITE HERESY 39
Driven out by the supporters of order, these heretics
of a heresy withdrew to certain hill-tops, of which
one, Tabor, gave them their name of Taborites. Like
their predecessors in the heretical movements of pre-
vious centuries, in their endeavour to attain a rational
communism they indulged in strange doctrines and
practices, such as ordered promiscuity, or celibacy,
or voluntary destitution ; some even went about
naked. Of the Adamites iEneas writes : * They
indulged in promiscuous intercourse, but no one
might take a leman without the consent of Adam,
their chief elder. When one of these brethren
ardently desired a sister, he took her by the hand,
and, going with her to the chief elder, said, " My soul
is afire with love of this woman." Whereupon the
elder would reply, " Go, be fruitful and multiply and
replenish the earth." ' ^ Ziska, the Bohemian general,
burned fifty Adamites in one day. They entered the
flames rejoicing and exclaiming, 'This day we shall
reign with Christ.' Heretics, less progressive than
the Adamites, stormed their refuge and put them all
to the sword.
Notwithstanding these internal dissensions, the
hosts of Europe were hurled against the heretics in
vain. Over and over again the chivalry of Europe
collected together : over and over again it was
repelled and dispersed. Cesarini was employed in
the difficult task of persuading the German princes,
by no means too friendly to each other, to unite yet
once more and put an end to this rebellion against
the Papacy and Empire. He succeeded in uniting
the princes ; but this new crusade ended in crushing
^ JEn. Sil., De Ortu et Hist. Bohemiae.
40
iENEAS SILVIUS
defeat, and he came to Basel at the end of the jei
(1431) to take the President's chair at the Council.
The Council had two main duties before it — to reform
the Church and to put down heresy. The liberty of
judgement which it claimed for itself it did not
extend to others. Yet the claim expressed a revolu-
tionary movement in the Church.
FIRST YEARS OF THE COUNCIL 41
CHAPTER III
THE FIRST YEARS OF THE COUNCIL — ^NEAS ARRIVES
AT BASEL — HIS EARLY EMPLOYMENT THERE
The Council was enthusiastic for the reform of the
Church. The Papacy knew the difficulties attendant
on reform, and that, in the hands of a Council, any
serious attempt to reach the root of the evil would
induce anarchy and divide Catholicism into a multi-
tude of warring sects. Moreover, though John of
Segovia tells us that the Curia did not know that the
Council of Constance had declared itself superior to
the Papacy,^ it is difficult to believe that the lack of
official information prevented Pope and Curia from
learning what must have been so generally discussed.
Eugenius made the small attendance at the opening
of the Council an excuse to dissolve it (December 18,
1431), and proposed to summon another Council in a
year and a half But it was to meet at Bologna,
where it would be more under his control than at
Basel.
Cesarini found himself in a difficult position. He
owed fidelity to the Pope, whose legate he was. Yet
he was convinced, not merely that the Pope's action
was precipitate, but that it was wrong. ' What will
everybody say ? ' he wrote to Eugenius. ' How does
^ Creighton, History of the Papacy y toI. ii. p. 68. London, 1882.
42
iENEAS SILVIUS
everybody feel about it? Will not the clergy
judged incapable of effecting reform and pleased to
wallow in the mire of corruption ? Men's minds have
become pregnant.' ^
The Pope had committed a tactical blunder. Almost
the entire Catholic world condemned his action. The
Council reaffirmed the superiority of Councils to
Popes and declared the dissolution to be invalid. The
princes of Europe were too suspicious of Popes and
Councils to become the eager partisans of either ; but
they recognised the Council and promised to send
delegates to confer with it. There were important
questions that must be dealt with, and that without
delay : Christendom had to be pacified, morals
reformed, heresy extirpated. The doctrines of Hus
were taking root in Germany, and there had been
risings in more than one place in that country.
Cesarini told the Pope that if he, as president,
attempted to close the Council he would be stoned
to death, and another president elected. He con-
tinued to preside, the one temperate man of the
whole body, taking a wider view than Eugenius, but
remaining his friend, and ever anxious to effect a
reconciliation. The admirable organisation of the
Council was due to his genius. As an Italian, he was
aware of the unresting changes in such a constitution
as that of Florence and the faults of that of Venice.
He endeavoured to avoid these defects. He appointed
four committees, representing, with perfect fairness,
the nations of Christendom and the ranks of the
hierarchy. Each committee had a separate function.
One sat to repress heresy, another to consider reform.
1 ^n. Sil., Opera, p. 64. Basel, 1551.
FIRST YEARS OF THE COUNCIL 43
another to discuss the pacification of Europe, another
for general business. These committees elected their
own officers, but, to avoid the dominance of any-
party, their presidents vacated office at the end of
a month. Each committee elected three men to
serve on a committee of twelve, whose business it
was to decide concerning the admission of new
members to the Council, to submit business, and to
receive and present reports. Each committee also
sent a delegate to another committee of four that
sat to receive and consider letters which, unless they
could furnish good reason to the contrary, they were
bound to transmit to the Council. All the four com-
mittees first named met in general congregation, and,
if three of them were agreed, any matter could be
brought before a general session of the whole Council.
To preserve these committees from becoming stereo-
typed in their personality, and to keep them from
forming rooted prejudices, they were constantly
changed, but continuity was given to them by the
retention of a certain number of members, who might
not, however, be elected twice in succession. There
was no secrecy about any of the meetings, and the
various committees interchanged their views. The
Council was in full activity when Eugenius attempted
to dissolve it : it remained active, and was in full
opposition to the Pope when Capranica arrived.
Cesarini had seen for himself what manner of men
the heretics of Bohemia were, and he was resolved
to try whether these resolute men, who could not
be conquered in battle, might not be won by concilia-
tion. He lost no time in forwarding a message to
the insurgents, inviting them to send to the Council
iENEAS SILVIUS
peaceful, humble, god-fearing men, not self- seel
— but of minds bent towards heavenly things.' ^
jEneas saw the Bohemian envoys enter Basel.
They came very quietly by boat, accompanied by a
military guard, and bearing a banner with a chalice
for device. Their garb was a strange one, that men
had never seen before. Crowds lined the streets,
gazing on this novel procession and wondering at
the determined faces and resolute eyes of men who
had defended their liberty and hurled back the hosts
of Christendom.^ The harlots of Basel, a numerous
company, vastly increased by the presence of the
Council, had been driven from the streets; the
members of the Council were warned that their con-
duct must conform to their profession ; and gambling
and even dancing were forbidden throughout the city
while the Bohemian deputies remained there.
The young secretary beheld a Maelstrom, a clash
of contending forces that was determining more than
one mighty issue. About this time the Council
aimed two shafts at the Papacy that smote home.
They resolved that, in the event of the Apostolic
chair becoming vacant, the new election should take
place at Basel, and they appointed a Conciliar legate
to be sent to Avignon to inquire into the alleged
misgovernment of that Papal possession. Questions
of Church -government and theological issues appear
dull to the modern mind, but they were vital in the
fifteenth century, when so little social or political or
economical doctrine was formulated : they were the
only arguments that could be found to give point
1 Monumenta ConcU. Gen. sec. dec. quinti, vol. i. p. 135.
^ Mn. Sil., Hist. Bohemiae, xlix.
^NEAS AERIVES AT BASEL 45
to influences that men felt but could not express.
The great causes of human action then lay, for the
most part, concealed and dumb ; they lurked behind
many a Papal Bull and the insurgency that evoked
it ; they stimulated many a rallying cry of religion.
A hundred alien interests were bound up with the
contest between Council and Pope.
The flight of Capranica from Rome was followed
by that of several other cardinals, who also came to
Basel. On April 29, 1432, Eugenius was summoned
to appear before the Council within three months
or be deemed contumacious. Pope and Council were
at open war. Sigismund, the Emperor, honestly
strove to restore the unity of the Church and to pacify
disturbed Christendom. But the age required a man
less vain, less impulsive and less wavering, and, above
all, one provided with greater material power than
Sigismund, if he were to deal efiectively with its
difficulties. ^Eneas saw the Emperor ride into Basel
with great pomp. ' He was a remarkably tall man,'
he wrote, ' with clear, bright eyes, a broad forehead,
a pleasant, rosy face and a long, full beard — a man
of large intelligence, full of projects, but not keeping
to them — a jocose man, fond of wine, addicted to
women, guilty of adultery a thousand times over —
prone to wrath, ready to forgive, a bad economist,
too open-handed and ready to promise what he could
not perform.' ^ He had been away in Italy, bent on
coronation at Rome as Emperor. The Italians made
him painfully aware of how unreal and ironical the
authority of the Holy Roman Empire had become.
It seemed as if the Catholic world were about to
* Creighton, loc. cit.y vol. ii. p. 162, note 2.
46 iENEAS SILVIUS
break up into chaos. As Sismondi says, ' the entire
Church was at war with the Hussites ; the Holy See
was at war with the Council ; the new Pope was at
war with the Colonna, and his government was at
war with the States of the Church/ Sigismund had
little real power in Germany ; he discovered that he
had none in Italy ; he was without money, without
troops, without effective support of any kind. The
Sienese detained him for eight months as a kind of
prisoner; *they shut me up,' he said, 'like a beast
in a cage.' ^ He was in a difficult position : he
wanted to be crowned in order to refill his empty
pockets by the sale of privileges, but, if he acknow-
ledged the Pope, all hope of coming to an under-
standing with his revolted subjects in Bohemia must
be abandoned. On the other hand the Pope refused
to crown a protector of the Church who was so
disloyal to his trust as to favour Councils. But
Eugenius dreaded a renewed outbreak of schism.
He gave way and consented to crown Sigismund.
And the Emperor warned the Council that he would
die rather than see another schism break out at
Basel after he had put an end to one at Constance.^
Indeed the diplomacy of Sigismund induced the re-
luctant Pontiff to recognise the Council, although it
had ordained that henceforward no Pope should be
elected unless he took oath to obey the decrees of
Constance and acknowledged the supremacy of oecume-
nical synods. On December 15, 1433, Eugenius
annulled his preceding Bulls. On April 26, 1434,
Sigismund being present, Cesarini and four other
^ Muratori, Rerum Italicarum Scriptores, xxi. p. 140.
2 Creighton, loc. city vol. ii p. 84.
^NEAS ARRIVES AT BASEL 47
representatives of the Pope took presidential chairs
at the Council. But, in spite of all Cesarini's elo-
quence, division remained unhealed. If the Pope sent
a legate anywhere, the Council sent a legate a latere :
it was more resolved than ever to turn its back on
the accepted doctrines of Aquinas as to the Dictator-
ship of the Roman See.
In spite of his reconciliation with the Council,
affairs still went very ill with Eugenius. He was a
Venetian, and the crafty Filippo Maria Visconti,
the lord of Milan, an enemy of Venice, set Francesco
Sforza, the condottiere, against him. Sforza carved
a little state for himself out of Papal possessions in
the Marches of Ancona : ^ other states of the Church
were in rebellion. The powerful house of Colonna
was against him. In June 1434, he had to seek
safety in ignominious and perilous flight from a
turbulent Roman mob. He found refuge in Florence.^
It seemed as if the Council would experience little
difficulty in making its claim to supremacy effective.
But the Papacy has survived too many dangers
ever to lose heart. Eugenius sent Cardinal Vitel-
leschi to Rome, a stern, rough soldier, who stood at
nothing in the execution of his resolves, a man by
no means remarkable for distinctively Christian gifts.
Indeed the Papacy had to preserve its independence
and sovereignty, and it could ill afford to fill the
Sacred College with none but holy men. Warriors,
diplomatists, and scholars were to be found there,
as well as men of remarkable piety and purity of life.
Meanwhile, Capranica, who had been deprived of
^ Muratori, Eerum Italicarum Scriptores, xxi.
2 Flavius Blondus, Decades Historiarum, iii. p. 6.
48
.ENEAS SILVIUS
his goods, and therefore had an ill-furnished purse,
contrived to make peace with Eugenius. The re-
conciliation was very welcome to the Cardinal and he
left Basel. Nicodemus, bishop of Freising, a member
of the illustrious house of the Scala of Verona, took
Mneas into his service. He rode with his new master
to Frankfurt to attend a diet that never took place.
Then he entered the household of Bartolomeo, bishop
of Novara, the brother of a favourite of the Duke
of Milan, a man who was frequently employed as a
go-between by him and the Council in their diplo-
matic intrigues. iEneas seems to have found this
new service agreeable : he speaks of his master as
* not only the most eloquent man of our times, but
the most truly human. The man who dwells with
him leads a happy life.'^ Years later he wrote a
letter to him that is full of affection.^ He accompanied
the bishop to Milan, and remained some time there.
Two men, a humanist and a jurist, were candidates
at this time for the Rectorship of the University of
Pavia, and ^neas was called upon to plead for the
humanist. Need one doubt how eloquently he would
do so and the sarcastic things he would say concern-
ing law, how rejoiced he would be to bring himself
under the notice of the duke, what hopes he would
entertain of obtaining his favour ? The jurist had
been deemed likely to succeed, but the force of
jEneas's speech secured the post to the humanist.
Of the duke he would see but little, and that from
afar, since a barrier shielded his sacred person. For,
if Filippo Maria had the cunning of a fox, he was
1 ^neas Silvius in KoUar : Annal. Vindob., ii. p. 703.
2 ^n. Sil, Ep., October 19, 1443.
HIS EARLY EMPLOYMENT AT BASEL 49
timid as a hare. He surrounded himself with guards,
dwelt in retirement, and took every precaution
against assassination, of which he exhibited craven
fear. He had shrewd penetration into character, and
selected and rewarded his servants well, but he was
not the man to assist youth for its own sake, or
anybody out of kindliness or generosity. He chose
his servants for very definite ends, after subtle trials
of their qualities, of which they were unaware. He
made one serve as a check on another. All he did
was directed by some subtle, secret calculation.
iEneas was adaptable, had engaging manners, and
was a cultivated scholar, but he hardly possessed
those qualities that the Visconti required. The duke
needed faithful and able agents who would blindly
carry out his instructions, and not be so keen and
eager as to penetrate too deeply into the workings of
his mind. He pursued many ends with an intelligence
so subtle that many sides of a question were present
to him at the same time, and often he seemed to
scheme against the very projects he entertained.
Filippo Maria Visconti, like so many rulers in Italy,
had attained his position by craft, and kept it by cun-
ning and deep and tortuous designs. ^Eneas's hopes
in that quarter were foredoomed to disappointment.
To this period of ^neas's life belongs a poem which
has not been preserved. The name ' Nymphilexis '
suggests the amatory character of the work, and a
letter which has come down to us, bearing the date
March 1, 1435, addressed to Mariano de Sozzini, says,
* I have despatched a little book of more than two
hundred verses which I have called Nymphilexis.
It is in praise of your Baptista.'
50 iENEAS SILVIUS
CHAPTER IV
CERTAIN EMBASSIES AND ADVENTURES
The statecraft of the fifteenth century was a policy of
cunning and trick : the worst maxims set forth by
Machiavelli in his Prince were in daily use. That
writer only analysed and gave scientific precision to
the habitual practices of his own and the preceding
century. iEneas was made the unconscious parti-
cipant of one of the ingenious stratagems of his age.
His master, the Bishop of No vara, was a trusted
agent of the crafty Visconti, and went, in the spring
of 1435, to Florence, where Eugenius had found
refuge, bearing a show of friendly intention towards
the Pope. Niccolo Piccinino, ' the skilled and famous ' ^
captain of one of those armies of mercenary soldiers
that had replaced the militia of cities, and were
at the service of the highest bidder, was in the
pay of Milan. But he affected to have ordered his
soldiery to pile arms (for it was still winter), and to
be himself under medical treatment at certain baths
that lay in Sienese territory. A certain Biccio, a
young Florentine, who was scoundrel enough to do
any villany for gain, perhaps at the instigation of
Cosimo de Medici, approached the bishop, and un-
folded to him a plan to seize the person of the Pope.
1 Fii II. Comment.^ 1. 1.
CERTAIN EMBASSIES AND ADVENTURES 51
Sooner or later Eugenius would be going outside the
walls of the city for change of air or the performance
of certain ecclesiastical functions ; Piccinino could lie
in ambush, pounce on the unsuspecting Pontiff, and
carry him off. The bishop listened to the proposal.
He gave -^neas a letter, bidding him carry it to
Piccinino, but of what it might contain he said not a
word.^ So ^neas rode off, first to Siena, where he
had the joy of seeing his relatives and friends again,
and then to the baths. There he would make his
way through the crowd of traders and harlots and
rabble that accompanied the camp, giving it the
appearance of a kind of travelling fair. He found
himself, at last, in the presence of one of those won-
derful soldiers of fortune whose vast practical abilities
enabled them to become the despots of rude troopers,
and convert their armies into roving states. Piccinino
would be surrounded by his warriors that looked like
'moving fortresses,' for their armour was so heavy
and complete that each required two attendants, also
in full panoply, to mount and dismount him. The
secretary might hold some conversation with the
scholars that accompanied the general, executed his
diplomacy, and gave literary polish either to the
terms he exacted from the states of Italy or to the
menaces whereby he controlled them. The audience
over, ^neas rode back to Siena, only to find that
some letter of the bishop's had been intercepted and
deciphered, that Niccolb had cast himself at the Holy
Father's feet, seeking pardon and avowing his own
guilt, but not that of the Duke of Milan, and that
Riccio was in prison undergoing torture. iEneas fled
* Pii 11. Corrnnent.^ 1. 1.
52
iENEAS SILVIUS
at once to Santa Maria delle Grazie, and prayed there
to the Mother of God to save him. Then he sought
the protection of the Cardinal Niccol5 d'Albergati,
whom he convinced of his innocence, and who took
him into his household as secretary. Eugenius was
magnanimous or prudent enough to pardon the bishop.
He was sent back to Milan, and he reappeared at the
Council, still the uncompromising foe of the Pope.
Riccio was found hanging by the neck dead, probably
by his own act.
iEneas's new master, Albergati, was a Carthusian,
an ascetic who never ate meat, wore a hair shirt next
his skin, arose at midnight for prayer, yet a man of
gracious and cultivated manners, a great humanist, a
skilful diplomatist, and accounted upright in his
political dealings as judged by the standard of his
times. Like all princes and men of wealth and posi-
tion, Albergati was a patron of scholars, for whom he
found busy employment in giving point and polish to
the artifices of his statecraft. His housemaster was
Tommaso Parentucelli, the son of a surgeon, destined
to ascend the Apostolic Chair as Nicholas v. Paren-
tucelli had studied at Lucca and Bologna, and his
first employment was as tutor to certain noble Floren-
tine families. He was of small stature, with short,
feeble legs ; his face was pale, his lips heavy and
protruding; his voice was raucous; but his flashing
eyes indicated an alert intelligence. He possessed a
prodigious memory, and was gifted with a great flow
of language. *What is unknown to Parentucelli/
wrote iEneas of him, *lies beyond the sphere of
human learning.' The Cardinal and his housemaster
were on terms of deep and afiectionate intercourse ;
CERTAIN EMBASSIES AND ADVENTURES 53
Albergati confided his most secret thoughts to Paren-
tucelli. But nearer to ^neas in years and in keen
zest for life was another member of Albergati's house-
hold, a fellow-secretary, no other than his old friend
Noceto. In the service of Albergati -^neas enjoyed
glimpses into the policy of one of the most accom-
plished diplomatists of his age ; he saw something of
its best society. Fast days were rigidly observed ;
silence and self-denial were the rule of the house;
but when guests were assembled there was feasting,
accompanied by all the brave magnificence of the
age.
Albergati was instructed to go to Basel, but he
must first visit Milan on a diplomatic mission to its
duke, thence proceed to the retreat affected by the
Duke of Savoy, and so on to Arras, where a council
was summoned to discuss the settlement of the war
between France and England. Albergati and his
household started in July 1435, and, after visiting
the Court of the Visconti, rode across Western Lom-
bardy, ascended the outposts of the Alps along the
romantic chffs of the Dora, crossed the bare, desolate
St. Bernard, followed the valley of the Rhone, and,
coming to the Lake of Geneva, took boat for Ripaille.
Here dwelt a prince who had offered to mediate
between Pope and Council. The union of worldly
craft with religious zeal is no uncommon phenomenon,
but Amadeo viii. of Savoy was a very remarkable
example of this conjunction of qualities. His was a
character that might surprise those uninstructed in
the grotesque complexities of the soul. Like most
members of his able house, he had fished, not without
success, in troubled waters. He had enlarged his
54
iENEAS SILVIUS
own domains at the expense of his neighbours. By a
series of well-contrived marriages he had allied him-
self or the members of his house with some of the
most powerful princes in Europe. When his wife
died, for reasons that are variously stated, and in
which piety may have played a part, he retired from
the world, but did not deem it necessary to abandon
his title or relinquish the financial control of his
State.
The boat that bore the travellers drew up at a
beautiful spot on the southern shore of the lake.
Amadeo and the six recluses of the military order he
had founded, mantled in grey, with crosses richly
wrought in gold hanging to their necks, and leaning
on long staves, came forward with their priest to
greet the visitors. Amadeo and Albergati were not
strangers to one another. Aforetime Albergati had
found welcome at the ducal court and been received
with customary pomp and ceremony. The Hermit-
Duke embraced the Cardinal, and the visitors were
conducted to a luxurious dwelling, the Temple of St.
Maurice, a building that was half fortress, half palace.
*Here,' says ^neas,^ 'the duke lived days more
pleasant than penitential.' Perhaps, already the
experienced man of affairs foresaw schism and the
possibility of his own elevation to the Papacy. How
far Albergati trusted the royal recluse we do not
know ; how the other young secretary read him is re-
corded. Piero da Noceto, when he and ^Eneas were
alone together, went to the wall and wrote thereon a
quotation from Cicero : * The deadliest and most
deceitful wrong is that wrought by a hypocrite.'
* Fii II. Comment, i I. 1.
t
CERTAIN EMBASSIES AND ADVENTURES 55
From Ripaille the Cardinal and his household pro-
ceeded to Basel, where they found that the Council,
fixedly resolved to reform the Church, had begun with
its Head. They had just deprived Eugenius of the
time-honoured claim of the Papacy to annates and
other sources of revenue, and had thus reduced the
Pope to penury. From Basel the travellers proceeded
down the Rhine by boat, passing many a romantic
rock whereon barons had built their eyries to pounce
down on merchants and levy toll for the privilege of
passage through their dominion. Leaving the Rhine,
they came to Aachen, the ancient capital of the
Empire, and so, by Liege, Louvain, Tournai, and Douai
to Arras, a city under the sovereignty of its bishop,
and therefore selected for the diet as a neutral place.
iEneas found himself present at the most magnificent
congress that the mediaeval world had yet beheld.
The noblest knights, the most famous warriors, the
ripest statesmen were gathered to arrange peace
between France, Burgundy, and England. The
moment seemed to be opportune, for France was well-
nigh exhausted, Burgundy was on the point of con-
cluding an agreement with France, and England was
hardly in a condition to prolong an expensive war.
For her king was a minor ; the Duke of Bedford, her
chief statesman and general, was in declining health,
and the other ministers of state were paralysed by
mutual jealousy. The legate of the Council was there
as well as Albergati, his presence giving open evidence
of the strained relations that existed between Eugenius
and the Baselites. But all hostilities of every kind
were invested with a magnificent veil. There was
perpetual parade of knightly pageantry. Dazzling
56 iENEAS SILVIUS
tournaments and jousts followed each other in swii
succession ; mystery-plays, the handmaidens of re-
ligion, delighted all, and sumptuous feasts concluded
the labours of each day.
But soon jfEneas was withdrawn from these pleasures
He was entrusted with another secret mission,
his Commentaries he says it concerned a certain pre-'
late ; in his book on Illustrious Men, he says it was
to effect the liberation of a certain captive ; Campano,
the poet at his court when he became Pope, concluded
from many a chat with His Holiness that it was
urge the Scottish king to attack England, and so',
divide her forces and compel her to come to terms
with France. It is likely that this was the truth. ^
But probably the secretary was quite unaware of the
contents of the missive he carried. He was chosen
for such an important embassy because a mere secre-
tary would not be so likely to arouse suspicion on his
journey as a diplomatist of higher rank. Never was
a man less reticent by nature than ^neas ; never has
a man left so faithful a portrait of himself to posterity ;
he had neither self-consciousness nor wary vanity nor
dissimulation in his composition, but he had acquired
a knowledge of the world in a wonderful school, and
had been taught to keep a silent tongue.
The mission must have been very acceptable to one
possessing so fresh and eager a mind. He was to
visit a wild and almost unknown country. He even
dreamed of extending his journey to the almost
fabulous Orkneys. But his troubles began directly
1 The author could discover no documents in the secret archives of the
Vatican to throw light on this mission. Few letters are to be found there
bearing an earlier date than 1500 A.D.
CEETAIN EMBASSIES AND ADVENTUEES 57
he arrived at Calais. News had reached the English
garrison there of the defection of the Duke of Bur-
gundy, and he found his way barred. Soon, however,
permission to pass arrived from Henry Beaufort, Car-
dinal of Winchester.^ It is diflBcult to interpret
Beaufort's interference. He may have done so at the
request of Albergati, knowing perfectly well that the
permit would be ignored and the secretary turned
back when he arrived on English ground. On the
other hand, it might be urged that we do not know
what secret forces were in operation, so lost or con-
cealed are the workings of mediaeval diplomacy.
Beaufort stood accused by his rival, Gloucester, of dis-
honesty, and had not yet received the royal pardon ;
England was brought into disorder by the long
minority of its king ; a little later Beaufort sought
as warmly for peace with France as Gloucester opposed
it. He may have been a traitor to his country for
his country's good, or to advance his own power.
That he was ignorant of Albergati's design is hardly
probable.
One day in late autumn, then, ^neas was free
to depart, and, in a few hours, saw the white cliffs
that owed no authority to the Holy Boman Empire
or any foreign land. He was allowed to disembark
and pursue his course towards London. The
Cathedral of Canterbury was not then surmounted
by its superb central tower, but the interior would
be gay with banners of transparent painting, a
peculiarly English art, and jEneas was lost in admira-
tion of a magnificent display of jewels that have
disappeared; he tells us that the shrine of St. Thomas,
1 Mb. Sil., Comment, in Anton. Fa/norm., iii.
58 iENEAS SILVIUS
* the fame of which is spread throughout all lands,'
was all ablaze with 'carbuncles and diamonds and
precious pearls ; the meanest of the countless votive
offerings was of silver/ On the gardens of England,
though even then they were a feature of the land
and made the mean cottages look pleasant, he passes
no remark. He mentions Strood, ' whereof the natives
are reputed to be born with tails ' — a piece of informa-
tion probably intended to impose on the traveller,
but that reached amused and decidedly incredulous
ears. In London he would find many Italians, for
the external trade of the country was mainly in their
hands.
Europe in the fifteenth century was gay with
fantastic costume. Each locality had its distinctive
dress, great cities were beginning to exhibit the swift
changes of fashion, and the keen eyes of ^neas, who
had a great admiration for blondes, would note the
manners and dress of the English fair as well as their
faces and figures — the way they carried their heads
in the air, their hair, puffed out into horns with a
crown on a pad between the puffs, and their exces-
sively short-waisted gowns. But he recorded his
adventures from the dignity of the Papal Chair, and
he tells us nothing of such irrelevant trifles. He had
lived long enough north of the Alps to feel no great
surprise, perhaps, at seeing a drunken lady, nor at
hearing her discharge a volley of cacophonous oaths ; ^
he would remark the extravagantly long shoes of her
lord, the toe brought to a peak, and his turban or
* Fii II. Comment.^ 1. 1. A very complete description of this journey
was recorded by ^neas, after he had assumed the Tiara, in his Commen-
taries.
2 ' How the good wyf taughte her daughter' (a courtesy poem of 1430).
CERTAIN EMBASSIES AND ADVENTURES 59
other fantastic headgear/ He would find himself
among a cheerful and contented people, keeping a
vast number of feast days by well stocking the pot
and indulging in noisy merry-making, for even the
unskilled worker lived well. He was surprised at
the wealth of London and at the number of its
inhabitants ; he was struck by the lordliness of old
St. Paul's, and he was shown a translation of Thucy-
dides, six hundred years old, which was carefully
preserved in the sacristy.^ He visited * the wondrous
tombs of the kings ' ^ at the Abbey ; he saw, with
curiosity, the strange bridge over the broad Thames,
and noted that the current below was swiftest at flow
of the tide. But he found his progress northward
barred, and was ordered to leave the kingdom.
So there was nothing for him but to return to the
Continent and attempt the hazardous passage to
Scotland across the North Sea. He took ship again
at Sluys — the outlet for the commerce of Bruges
— a miserable little Dutch townlet now, but then
* the busiest port of all the west.' ^ It was the depth
of winter, when the winds blow fierce and strong.
The boats of those days were so clumsily built and
ill-bolted that they often foundered in a heavy sea,
or went to pieces after a little buffeting by the
waves. Nor was tempest the only danger to be
feared : the seas were infested by pirates, and ships
usually sailed together, in little fleets, for safety.
When iEneas reached the middle of the treacherous
North Sea, the wind, that hitherto had been favour-
» Harleian MSS.
^ JEn. Sil., Ep. ad Johan. de Hinderbach, June 1, 1451.
3 Pii 11. Comment, 1. 1. * Ibid.
60 iENEAS SILVIUS
able, veered and grew into a hurricane, and the little
vessel laboured for life among great waves. Many
terrible hours of suffering and fear were endured ;
even the skipper gave up praying, and all awaited
the end. The winds drove them nearer and nearer
to the cruel, iron-bound coast of Norway, where they
must have been dashed to pieces on the rocks ; but
then the blast changed its direction and set them
backward towards Scotland. And, at last, they
made Dunbar.
This terrible voyage lasted twelve days. When
peril had been at its worst, -^neas vowed to take a
pilgrimage, barefoot, to the nearest shrine of Our
Lady, if ever he might set foot on the solid land
again. Directly he landed he fulfilled his vow. He
dragged his exhausted body 10,000 paces through
the frozen air and across deep snow.^ Night over-
took him, too, for the cold sun of the North shines,
as he tells us, only for a few hours in winter. His
feet were frost-bitten, and his servants had no small
dijfficulty in dragging him back to his lodging. The
fulfilment of this pious vow brought on an attack of
gout, a complaint that, for the rest of his life, returned
again and again to torment him.
As soon as he was able, he rode on to Edinburgh
and presented himself at the E-oyal Court. James i.
then sat on the Scottish throne, a royal author, whose
Kings Quhair we still read with delight, for it is
filled with the genius of minstrelsy, and sprang from
the heart of a true poet. James was remarkable
among princes : he had married for love. When
held a prisoner in England, he had seen the Lady
1 -^n. Sil., EuTopa.
^NEAS SlI.VIUS DISCHARGES HIMSELF OE HIS MISSION TO JaMES
OF Scotland.
Pinttcricchio, Siena.
CERTAIN EMBASSIES AND ADVENTURES 61
Joan, daughter of the Earl of Somerset, through his
dungeon bars. Straightway she held him in a very
different and more agreeable kind of captivity, and
now she shared his throne. James was an able
statesman, but the turbulent Scottish nobility had
got out of hand during his long imprisonment, and
resented his attempts to institute a strong, central
government. Two years after iEneas's visit they
murdered their would-be ruler.
The king received the young ambassador kindly ;
but Campano tells us ^ that James, though he would
not help England, declined to attack her; yet he
promised to send an embassy to Arras. He presented
iEneas with fifty nobles, a pair of fine steeds, and a
pearl of price, ^neas, always devoted to his family
and full of filial affection, sent the jewel to his
mother.
The young Italian humanist found himself in a
strange land and among a crude people. He was in
a new kind of world, one full of wonder. Though he
could not understand the language, he was unwearied
in observing all things, great and small, and he was
eager to obtain information from priests and inter-
preters. Geography was one of the subjects that
found a welcome place in his encyclopaedic mind ; he
saw the connection between geography and history,
and his geographical writings were deemed so valua-
able that Christopher Columbus obtained and read
them. He noted the relation of Scotland to Eng-
land, and described it. All that he saw remained
deeply graven in his memory, and he has left us a
1 Campanus, Vita Fii IL, apud Muratori, B. I. S.y t. xxiii. Part ii.,
p. 969.
62 iENEAS SILVIUS
valuable record of the Scotland of his age. * It is a
cold land,' he says, * not very productive, and a great
part of it is covered with pine-forests. There is a
subterranean rock there, of a sulphurous character,
which the Scots dig out and use as fuel.^ The cities
are undefended by walls; the houses for the most
part are put together without cement ; the roofs are
of turf, the doors, in the country, mere ox-hides.
The people are poor and rough ; there is plenty of
meat and fish for them, which they devour voraciously ;
the men are little, but bold; the women fair and
comely, but licentious.'
This charge against the Scottish women is a grave
indictment. For in the fifteenth century, the pro-
prieties of sex were little regarded throughout all
Europe, and the blessing of the Church on a union
was usually postponed until pregnancy was far
advanced. Bastardy was very common, and, in
iEneas's own land, as one learns from the diaries of
the merchants and other sources, a husband's
bastards by another woman were kindly received
and brought up by his wife if they were born before
his marriage to her, or even if they came into the
world afterwards. Great families were strengthened
by the support their illegitimate scions gave them,
and, in Italy, the ablest man of a ruling family took
the helm of state no matter in what irregular fashion
he might have entered into it. iEneas had a great
admiration for fair women : he was swarthy, and
could never quite understand how the German came
1 Pii II. Comment^ lib. 1. It would appear as if the Scots were already
engaged in working superficial coal-seams. But peat may be the substance
referred to.
:
CERTAIN EMBASSIES AND ADVENTURES 63
to admire those that are dark ; he expresses his
astonishment that men of that country should worship
a perfectly black woman, and take her for a Venus. ^
A fair Caledonian became his mistress during his
stay in Scotland, and she bore him a child, but it
died.^
Our author goes on to say : * Women kiss one
another very rarely here ; less often in fact than they
shake hands in Italy. Wine is neither produced nor
imported. The horses are small, quiet beasts, and
there are few stallions ; they are neither shod nor
combed nor bridled. The Scots oysters are finer
than the British. The people export hides, wool,
salt-fish, and pearls to Flanders. There is nothing
that a Scotsman will listen to with greater pleasure
than abuse of the Englishman, who bears the reputa-
tion of being deceitful. The country is only partly
under cultivation, part of it is quite wild, and there is
only a little of it under the plough. The men of
the forest-district speak a different tongue from the
others, and sometimes they are so famished that
they are reduced to eat the bark of trees. Wolves
are unknown, however.' He gives us the strange
information that trees whereon rooks have built are
forfeit to the king. Creighton has pointed out that
a law was passed in 1424, by the first parliament of
James, to the effect that, since rooks do injury to corn,
the birds were to be allowed to build, but in no wise
were the fledglings to be suffered to fly ; and if an
empty nest were found by Whitsunday, the tree was
* JEn. Sil., Ep. ad Procopium, December 9, 1443 ; Ep. ad Mich, de
Fuellendorf, October 1, 1444.
* Mn. Sil, Ep. ad P. de Noxeto, May 1443.
64 ^NEAS SILVIUS
to be hewn down and become the property of the
crown. iEneas is a restless seeker after all kinds
of information : he is for ever making inquiries ;
he wants to know why Britain is so called, and
why the opposite coast of France bears the same
name.
The skipper who had brought him to Scotland
wanted to tak6 him back, but he had had enough of
the sea. He remembered his classics, and that the
man who risks a second voyage has forfeited the right
to complain of Neptune. He preferred the risk of
riding through England. It was a happy thing that
he came to this resolve, for, as he watched the vessel
putting forth to sea, he saw it heel over and founder,
and only four of the sailors were rescued.
There were plenty of Italian merchants travelling
in all parts of Europe, so he determined to pass for
one. He procured a suitable dress, rode off south-
ward, and presently found himself across the Tweed,
in a border-land, rude, uncivilised, and appallingly
unsettled. At night he arrived at a village and put
up at an inn, where he dined with the host, who
supplied him with fowl and goose and vegetables, but
wine and bread had to be fetched for him from some
monastery. A multitude of women, all of them
pregnant, came crowding into the room with their
good men, and eagerly demanded of the priest who
this man might be : Was he an ^Ethiopian or an
Indian ? Might he even be Our Lord Himself, since
he had bread and wine? The bread and wine and
all that there was had to be shared with these folk.
The feast was prolonged until the second hour of the
night, when the priest, the host, and all the men of
CEKTAIN EMBASSIES AND ADVENTUKES 65^
the jovial party took their departure, telling -^neas
that it behoved them to seek refuge in a peel-tower
some distance off, for they were afraid there might
be a raid that night of the Scots, who were wont to
cross the river at low ebb and plunder. They refused
to take ^neas with them in spite of his strong
entreaty ; not even a bribe would tempt them. And
they left him in the company of the women, for
though many of these were buxom and comely, the
men told him they could safely leave them : wicked
as the enemy was, the ravishing of women could not
be charged to him. So ^Eneas remained with his two
servants, a guide, who was also an interpreter, and
about a hundred women, who gathered in a circle as
close to the fire as they could, and many of them told
tales or chatted with the guide. When very much of
the night had worn away dogs began to bay and geese
to cackle. Then there arose a tumult, as if the enemy
were already upon them ; all the women took to their
heels, running this way and that ; the guide vanished,
and ^neas took refuge in his bedchamber, which was
the stable. There he awaited the issue, not without
trepidation, for he knew nothing of any way of escape,
and expected to be the prey of the first marauder that
should enter his place of refuge. Soon, however, the
guide and the women returned, for they found that
the animals had been disturbed by the advent of
friends, not of foes ; and when day dawned ^neas
took up his journey again. * He soon arrived at the
New Castle, which men say was constructed by
Caesar, and welcomed the sight of a habitable city ;
for Scotland and the part of England that is next to it
possess no dwellings like ours ; it is a dreadful waste-
E
66 ^NEAS SILVIUS
land, and, in winter, unwarmed by the sun.* ^ Then
he reached Durham, and was careful to visit the grave
of the Venerable Bede ; and he proceeded thence to
York, ' a large and populous city.' The great Minster
was nearly finished ; the central tower had only just
been put up, but there was no rood-screen then, nor
were the two bell-towers erected. Though the fine
taste of the early Italian Benaissance had already
returned to traditions of long level lines, vast spaces,
and cool shadows, so beautiful and suitable to a warm
climate, iEneas could appreciate the delicate, subtle
entanglement, the profound suggestiveness, and the
soaring sublimity of Gothic architecture. We have
read that he was impressed by St. Paul's; he also
speaks with enthusiasm of the churches of Niirn-
berg and the lofty and richly decorated buildings of
Liibeck.^ His taste was so catholic that, while he
admired ancient sculpture, he thought that of Orvieto
not inferior to it ; ^ he found pleasure in the suita-
bility of the English Gothic to the climate ; for a
northern church should be like a lantern of jewelled
glass, since heaven vexes it so little with its efful-
gence. * York Minster,' ^neas says, ' is a marvel for
all men ; a church full of light ; for the walls are of
glass held together by slender pillars.'
Between York and London he fell in with a party
of riders, whereof the most important was no less a
personage than a Justice in Eyre returning from
assizes. The supposed Italian merchant and the
judge rode together, and it must have amused ^neas
* Pii II. Comment. f 1. i.
* -^n. Sil., Piccolom., Opera Omn.f ed. Basel, pp. 1064-5.
3 Pii II. Comment.^ 1. iii.
I
CERTAIN EMBASSIES AND ADVENTURES 67
when his companion inveighed against that ' wolf in
sheep's clothing, Albergati, and his intrigues at
Arras/ Of course, however much ^neas may have
known or suspected concerning his mission, he
listened with the attention that is due to news, and
probably speculated on what would be done to him if
the judge knew who he was. When he reached
London it seemed, at first, as if there were no road of
escape open to him, for no one might leave England
without a royal permit ; but he pushed on to Dover,
and found that the guards of the harbour were open
to a bribe. They smuggled him on board a ship, and
so, in the springtime (a.d. 1436), he found himself
once again in Basel. Albergati was away with
Eugenius at Bologna, for the Pope had left Florence
and taken up his abode in one of his own cities
(April 22, 1436), but Albergati had left Piero da
Noceto, ^neas's co-secretary behind him. Doubtless
the two young men were rejoiced to be together once
more, and Piero would make -^neas ' fight his battles
o'er again.' * I was unwilling to go on to Bologna,'
he says, 'for I feared they would charge me with
complicity in the old aifair of the Bishop of Novara ;
so I resolved to remain at Basel among the foes
of Eugenius.'^ After a short stay with Eugenius,
Albergati returned to Basel, but he soon left again,
for the antagonism between Pope and Council was
getting more hopeless day by day. ^neas stayed on.
He was determined to succeed in life. He knew that
the elegant accomplishment of verse-making might
add to his reputation, but would hardly lead to any
1 iEn. Sil., Ep. ad Petrum de Noxeto^ May 1456 ; iEneas Silvius,
De vir. clar.j v.
68
iENEAS SILVIUS
betterment in his position ; so he read much and far
into the night, spending the hours in studies not
wholly congenial. Noceto, who shared his bedroom
with him, would come in laughing, and scoff at such
wasting labour ; * Fortune does not bestow all her
favours on the scholar,' he would say. But the light
young secretary could not divert ^neas from his
resolve.^
* JEn. Sil., EjJ. ad Petrum de NoxttOy May 1456. /
iENEAS AT BASEL 69
CHAPTER V
^NEAS AT BASEL — THE COUNCIL AND THE POPE
The Council had acquired some credit by patching up
a truce with the Bohemians. The more moderate
men on both sides honestly desired to come to terms.
The leaders of the Council at Basel, as well as those
of the Utraquists or Calixtines, had done their best.
Points of difference were threshed out by small com-
mittees. Each party remained unconvinced, but both
sides curbed themselves and forbore, though occasion-
ally a moment of excitement caused that to be said
which evoked sore feeling. When the envoys left
Basel, Cesarini blessed them. And the chief repre-
sentative of dissent, Rokycana, afterwards chosen by
his countrymen to be Archbishop of Prague, declared
his sense of the brotherhood of all Christian believers
and the independence of his sect by returning the
blessing : he raised his hands and prayed the Lord to
give peace to the Council. One fat Catholic bishop
ran, panting and weeping, after the departing heretics,
to wring their hands. But the Council was secretly
busy, fomenting all those internal differences among
the Hussites that had been revealed to them in the
negotiations. The Hussites declared, as one man, for
receiving the Communion in both kinds : the chalice
was painted on their flag ; it had become a symbol of
TO iENEAS SILVIUS
nationality. But there were those among them who
preferred to trim their beards delicately, liked their
wives to wear long trains and their daughters to be
dressed in a manner that would not spoil their charms.^
And there were those of opposite social convictions
who would seize these well-trimmed burghers in the
public streets and straightway relieve them of their
beards. Minute differences of faith gave emphasis to
social cleavage within the ranks of national dissent.
It is true that the fiercest of the precisians, the Tabo-
rites, had been expelled from the cities and dwelt on
certain hills. But there were still extremists, in sym-
pathy with the refugees of Tabor, that remained among
the Utraquists. Procop, the successor to the famous
Ziska, the warrior, and a small party of the outlaws,
cherished black resentment in their hearts ; their
minds were set on the confiscation of the property of
the Church. John of Palomar, an envoy sent by the
Council to Bohemia, wrote, in his secret report, that
the majority of Bohemians wanted peace and union
with the Church, but this faction held them back.^
The extremists were not content to be a mere drag ;
Procop raided recalcitrant districts of Bohemia ; he
besieged the German and Catholic town of Pilsen. He
was defeated, his troops mutinied, and he was com-
pelled to resign his command. The presence of envoys
at Basel put heart into the Catholics of Bohemia.
Among the Utraquists old divisions deepened and
new differences appeared. They suffered from that
lack of organised unity that is always a phenomenon
of assaults on vested interests and accepted customs.
^ C. E. Maurice, History of Bohemia, p. 253.
2 Monumenta Condi. Gen., sec. xv. Condi. Bas., i. 388, ii 431.
iENEAS AT BASEL 71
Most Bohemians got sick of perpetual strife, and
desired nothing but peace. In fact, reaction had
set in. The Taborites and irreconcileables made their
last stand in battle with the Utraquists. They were
defeated and almost annihilated : Procop and thirteen
thousand Taborites lay dead on the field. Both sides
were chargeable with cruel massacres ; and men had
become sick of slaughter.
Military adventurers of all kinds crowded into
Bohemia and lowered the tone of the army ; the zeal of
reformers waned ; to the horrors of civil warfare were
added those of famine and plague. All these causes
inclined the nation to come to terms with Sigismund.
Already, at the end of a.d. 1433, the Council had
agreed to sanction, subject to certain modifications,
the famous four articles or compacts that were pro-
pounded by the Bohemians. They were : 1st, That
they should enjoy the free preaching of the Word of
God ; 2nd, Excepting those who lived in mortal sin,
the laity were to receive the Blood as well as the
Body of Christ ; 3rd, The clergy were to be deprived
of secular overlordship and property ; 4th, Mortal
sin was to be forcibly repressed. But it is usually not
difficult to twist sanctions, however carefully they
may be drawn up, and the compact was diflferently
interpreted according to the predilections of party.
The Emperor Sigismund was equally astute in taking
advantage of the wording of these articles and of the
reaction that had set in. He put forth all his diplo-
matic skill to be recognised by Bohemia as her king,
and, on July 5, 1436, he rode up to Prague in royal
state, and gave the Bohemian nation a charter by
signing the compact.
72 iENEAS SILVIUS
The Pope, at this time, was living in exile from
Eome, supported by the alms of the faithful. Not
merely was he unable to keep up due state, but he
could barely furnish the necessary funds for embassies ;
he even paid his secretaries and officials with difficulty.
This was the pass to which the abolition by the Council
of pallium-fees, annates, and other sources of income
had reduced him. The Council had agreed that some
means of providing for the necessary expenses of the
Papacy must be arranged. Eugenius sent envoys to
expostulate with the Council for non-provision. The
only reply he got was a satiric reference to the poverty
of Peter the fisherman and his brethren. But the
members themselves had deprived their barb of its
point. They were zealous for the reform of Eugenius ;
on their own reform they were not so eagerly bent,
though it was quite as much needed. Many honest
men in the Council earnestly desired reform. But
reform, whether undertaken by Council or Pope, met
with the same insuperable difficulties. And a Council,
like any other large assemblage, whether it be a diet
of princes or a mob of priests, is hardly likely to dis-
tinguish itself in wise statesmanship. It did not
suffice the Council to sneer at the Pope : the Emperor
must needs be flouted too. The Council entered into
close relations with his crafty, shifty feudatory, the
Duke of Milan. ' I am a fifth wheel ; an impediment
to the Council,' said Sigismund, when he left it^
(May 19, 1434). He recommended a return to the
old manner of sitting as ' nations.' Reform would, he
believed, be more quickly arrived at in this way. But
an CEcumenical Council was as little disposed as a
^ Joh. Segob., Mem. Concil, 663.
iENEAS AT BASEL 73
Catholic Pope to further the development of the spirit
of nationality or aid the peoples to take a first step
towards national independence. Sigismund departed,
calling the Council *a cesspool of iniquity/
Indeed the members of the Council spoke of piety
and practised pluralism. No one could uproot one
single abuse ; so impossible was reform that the
Council issued no serious edict against simony, or the
loose life of the higher ecclesiastics, or the employ-
ment of the clergy in worldly service. No attempt
was made to raise them from their incredible ignorance.
On the contrary, Basel became notorious for its harlotry
and impurity during the stay of the Council in the
city, and Eugenius informed its members that they
gave abundant exhortation to good deeds but failed
to set an example.^
Yet men did not lose faith in a Council that
represented Western Europe and the whole body of
Catholic believers. The Council of Constance had
been successful in healing the Great Schism. The
conciliar principle was maintained by arguments drawn
from history; it was elaborated into a theory, and
supported by the Universities. Delay, perhaps was
inevitable, men thought ; the Pope was in abasement
and exile ; the sole hope of the Church resided in its
(Ecumenical Congress.
But a fatal blunder had been committed by
Cesarini and other men of liberal mind. They had
opened the doors of the Council too wide; the
democratic parliament assembled at Basel was not
of a character or constitution to rule the destinies of
ecclesiastical empire. At Pisa and Constance many
^ Hefele, Conciliengeschichte^ yii. 663.
74 iENEAS SILVIUS
of the prelates were by no means learned, and the
presence of jurisconsults, as advisers only, was
welcomed.^ At Basel, the generous Cesarini declared
that he valued men, not their rank. Nicholas of
Cusa would have no eligible person excluded, for was
not the council one designed to represent the whole
Church? Shoals of monks and priests, bent on
reform, goaded by a grievance, or seeking promotion,
flocked to Basel. Troops of scholars came from the
Universities and received a glad welcome, for their
services would be invaluable in the determination of
many a knotty point. The admission of lay envoys
sent by princes was opposed ; for did not the bishops
of their rule represent them ? iEneas tells us in his
Commentaries on the Council that he was strongly in
favour of the admission of the lower clergy, but
opposed to that of the laity. Ecclesiastics below the
rank of subdeacon, that is to say laymen (for such
have not taken upon themselves the sacred vow),
were admitted. iEneas was one of these men in
minor orders, yet he presided more than once over
the committee called the Deputation of Faith. Many
great ecclesiastics were unwilling to see themselves
overwhelmed by such a crowd. Men came to the
Council when it pleased them and left it when they
chose ; self-seekers stuck to it like burs. Basel was
full of priests and monks drawn from the immediate
neighbourhood. Long after iEneas was convinced of
the futility of the conciliar principle, he wrote, ' no
one at the Council, however lowly his rank, unless
he were a criminal or of infamous character, found
admission denied to him.' * There was so great a
1 Voigt, loc. cit., p. 106.
iENEAS AT BASEL 75
crowd that no voice was effective, no guiding in-
fluence was felt ; heads were counted and judgment
neglected.'^ 'The Council of Basel,' says Turre-
cremata, 'was a scandal to the whole Church, and
this was brought about through the unwise granting
of voting power to so many men/^ And -^neas,
with very little exaggeration, describes how ' cooks
and stablemen were to be found there/ ^ Still, holy
and wise men, who hated Papal usurpation, remained
faithful to the conciliar principle, and gave weight by
their presence and sanction to the futilities of Basel.
There were two chief parties in the Council. At the
head of one stood the judicious Cesarini, supported
by Cardinal Cervantes, whom iEneas speaks of as
' a reasonable man, one desirous of peace ; he was the
most upright of men.' * Cardinal Albergati, Torque-
mada, a Spanish canonist and theologian of high
standing, and Nicholas of Cusa also acted with
Cesarini. This party defended the Pope, but made
sincere and honest endeavours at mediation ; they
were supported by the masters in theology of the
Universities, and, for political reasons, by the
Florentine and Venetian republics. Antagonistic to
the legates of Eugenius and their party were the
subjects of Milan and Aragon, the French, who
attended in great force, and, in the main, the great
body of jurists. The leader of the opposition to the
Pope was Louis d'Allemand, Cardinal of St. Cecilia,
commonly known as the Cardinal of Aries. D'AUe-
1 Mn. Sil., Comment, de Cone. BasU.^ apud Fea, C. : Pius II. a calumniis
vindic.y p. 46. Romae, 1823. 2 Voigt, loc. cit, p. 108, note 3.
2 Mansi, Pii 11. Orationes, i. 231 : orat. adv. Austriales, 1452.
* ^n. Sil., Comment, de Concil. BadL^ apud Fea, C. : Fius II. a calumniis
vindic.y p. 40.
76
iENEAS SILVIUS
mand had been a favourite with the late Pope, not
undeservedly, for he was a scholar, a generous patron
of learning, and a man of character. * He was,' says
iEneas, 'patient of injury, not easily provoked,
remarkably generous, but a bitter hater of Eugenius.' ^
The Duke of Milan co-operated with D'AUemand
and his party, for his own purposes, it need hardly
be said, and not for the purification of religion. There
was a middle party, led by the gentle, temperate
John of Segovia, and the Spaniards at the Council
often followed his lead. But, in the counsels of the
synod, few men were temperate. The Pope was
reduced to desperate straits; he was in danger of
becoming the servant of what, in modern parlance,
might be called a fickle parliamentary majority, and
resistance might seem almost hopeless, for his sup-
plies were cut off. The Council also required money.
It usurped the Papal right of issuing indulgences
and filled its treasury with the proceeds of the sale.
The Council regarded the Papacy as the usurper of
many rights, and especially of property that was
vested in the Church ; the Head of the Church was
the source of her corruption. The Pope looked on
the Council as a ' headless, formless monster,' bent
on the spoliation of Christ's Vicar and the destruction
of His organised Church. No basis of agreement
could be found between these entirely hostile forces :
to show the least sign of weakness on either side
would have been suicidal. Both parties sought for
political support to strengthen their position ; both
were bidding eagerly for the favour of certain person-
ages who affected to represent the Eastern Church.
1 iEn. Sil, Comment, f apud Fea : Pius 11. a calumniis vindic.j p. 66.
THE COUNCIL AND THE POPE 77
Though Constantinople was deemed well-nigh
impregnable, many Greeks desired the support of the
Western powers. All was not taken by the followers
of Mahommed ; much of the ancient Empire might
still be recovered. To get the sympathy of the
West they sought for reunion with its Church. The
Pope, the Council, John Palseologus, the Emperor of
Byzantium, and certain ecclesiastics of the Eastern
Church were in negotiation concerning an European
congress for union, which was to be held in Western
Europe, and which the Greeks promised to attend.
If it met at Basel they would have to cross the Alps,
and the journey would prove too great, too difficult,
and too expensive. Rome, that would have seemed
of all places the most suitable, was out of the question.
For Eugenius had not yet dared to return thither, and
neither the Greeks nor the Council would have cared
to give the Roman Pontiff the prestige and advantage
that their appearance at the foot of the Apostolic
Chair in the Apostolic city would bestow. It was
necessary, then, to find some city, easy of access
alike for Greeks and Western Europeans, but suffi-
ciently wealthy to contribute towards the necessary
expenses. The project was keenly debated, both in
the Curia and in the Council, and the Greeks nego-
tiated with both parties to secure the best terms
possible for themselves. Florence, Avignon and Pavia
were proposed.
iEneas found himself, a man of letters, cast into
an arena of fierce theological disputation and political
warfare, where oratorical power was in eager request
and led to preferment. Like a pleader in a law-
court, he was ready to place his powers at the
78 iENEAS SILVIUS
disposal of a client, without concerning himself too
closely with the exact justice or expediency of the
cause he was to maintain. That was a question for
the Court to determine : his sole duty was to do his
best for his employer. Pavia lay in the duchy of
Milan; the orator who appeared on behalf of the
duke was an incompetent speaker, and the fathers
heard him with impatience. His cause, indeed, was
hopeless. The French party would never consent
to give up Avignon for Pavia; the Venetians and
Florentines, who belonged to the Papal party, were
foes of the duke, and were still less likely to do so.
iEneas was asked to plead for Pavia. It was a great
opportunity. He was to appear before the assembled
representatives of Europe, and could make his force
felt by the most important audience conceivable :
cardinals and ecclesiastics of rank and the envoys
of the Powers would be there. He might achieve the
special favour of the duke. He spent two days in
preparing his speech, so he tells us : ^ he sat up,
working at it the night before its delivery,^ probably
to give it its finishing touches. The product of these
labours was an oration as dexterous as it was brilliant,
and though it did not change the mind of the
assembly, they heard him with rapt attention: the
benches were as if spell-bound, ^neas says that he
was careful to avoid saying anything that might give
offence;^ and he did not omit the adulation of
princes that the etiquette of the time demanded :
indeed he gave special praise to the Duke of Milan,
* JEn. Sil., De Concil. Bas.j apud Fea, C. : Pius II. a calumniis vindic.
Komae, 1823. 2 p^^ jj Comment.^ I 1.
3 iEn. Sil., De ConciL Bas.y apud Fea, p. 66.
THE COUNCIL AND THE POPE 79
of whose patronage he entertained high hopes, but of
whose character, later, if not now, he formed a juster
estimate.^ Things were said in the fifteenth century,
in eulogy of princes, so smooth and servile that, to-
day, they would only arouse contemptuous mirth or
merited indignation, and defeat their own ends. He
won the ears of the Papal party when he said that
no one ought to disregard the Pope's authority before
the Church condemned him. Thus he adroitly yielded
due honour to the Pope while giving the Council the
supremacy it claimed.^
The reader will find the oration full of animation.
Here, instead of the dull speeches, full of scholastic
learning, to which the fathers were accustomed, was
a new style, persuasive oratory, apt quotation from
the classics, Ciceronian Latin, not perfect indeed,
not the ponderous labour of a pedant, but alive.
And it was delivered by an accomplished orator of
engaging personality and clear, resonant voice, who
always kept to the point, yet invested his argument
with scholarly dignity and relieved it with literary
reminiscences, whose periods had the grace and light-
ness of a bird's flight, yet who could drive an argu-
ment home with the precision of a skilled marksman
speeding his arrow. The speech for Pavia was the
first of a long series of oratorical efibrts, many of
which, like this, were wasted on futile subjects at a
futile Council, but some, like the one delivered at
Mantua, were noble calls to action in a worthy cause.
* No one of his time made so many speeches on so
* iEn. Sil., De Condi. Bas-^ apud Fea, p. 40; Europa; Pentalogui;
Ep. ad Procop. de Babenstein, June, 1444.
80 ^NEAS SILVIUS
many important occasions/^ They are marred for
the modern reader by the redundance of Scriptural
and classical quotations which an age that yielded
servile authority to antiquity demanded of all literary
efforts.
The speech was delivered in May 1436. Party
feeling already ran very high. The Papacy was
opposed to the selection of Avignon, for, although
a Papal possession, that city lay under the shadow
of the French Power. The Papacy bore in mind
seventy years of ' Babylonian captivity,' the proximity
of Paris, and the herds of Parisian scholars and French
priests that would flock to Avignon and dominate
the Council. The Pope and his Curia had seen shoals
of monks and copyists and unbeneficed clergy and
discontented men fill the Council at Basel, seeking
personal promotion there, and not the Church's
welfare. They wished to keep power in their own
hands ; they desired to preserve the universality of
the Church and its independence of all princes and
powers other than themselves. It was feared that if
Eugenius were to die during the sittings at Avignon,
a Frenchman would be elected and the Papacy
become bound once more, and perhaps finally, to
France. Nor were they in favour of Pavia, a city
under the control of Eugenius's foe. But the Council,
on the other hand, knew very well that what the
Pope desired was to get it to sit at some Italian city,
where Italians would predominate and dissolution be
easy to effect.
The struggle between Papalists and Baselites grew
ever more bitter. The legates pointed out that the
1 Campanus, Pii II. Vita ; see Muratori, E. I. S., iii. pars il
i
THE COUNCIL AND THE POPE 81
councils of old were attended by priests of episcopal
rank only, and, moreover, that the mental and moral
qualifications of a voter may be of some importance —
should even carry more weight in a question than a
mere number of votes. But they were howled down
by almost the whole body. Doctors of civil and
canon law, nay bishops and even archbishops, would
have none of this doctrine. The cooler heads on both
sides tried to mediate. But priests and those in minor
orders — practically laymen — came crowding in from
the immediate neighbourhood. It is said that men
knowing not a single word of Latin, and therefore
totally incapable of understanding the proceedings of
the Council, were to be found sitting on its committees :
they were taught the formula whereby they could re-
cord their vote. Masters converted their servants into
members of the Council to add to the voting strength
of their party. ^ Each meeting was stormier than
the last. Cesarini, even, lost his calm bearing ; his
measured manner gave place to excitement ; he looked
perturbed, and his words came tumbling out of his
mouth.
Eugenius and his Curia saw that the time had come
for bold and resolute action. If they did not push
their opportunity, both Papacy and Christian Church
would be ruined. The Archbishop of Taranto was
sent to Basel. He was a man of energy and convic-
tion, and he gave heart to the Papalists : they began
to see that the Council was preparing its own ruin,
and that the hour had come for the Papacy and its
followers to make a last stand. The quiet old minster
above the Rhone became a theatre of passion. It
1 Voigt, loc. cit, p. 123.
F
82 iENEAS SILVIUS
seemed as if its red stone might take a yet deeper
hue. One day it was filled by a shouting mob of
armed men : happily they were so many and so
closely squeezed together that they could not draw
their weapons. Rival prelates, pale with anxiety,
rushed to forestall each other, to seize and occupy
the altar. They gabbled the Mass, they sang in
opposition to each other ; the discord was appalling,
the din deafened the ears. As each party launched
its decree, its opponents tried to drown the voice of
the reader by raising the psalm Te Deum laudamus.
iEneas was present at these disgraceful scenes, and
has recorded them.^ ' So great was the shouting
that you would find the toss-pots of a tavern better
behaved,' wrote he to a friend.^
Voigt, quite gratuitously, accuses -^neas of having
been active for Avignon.^ Now, he definitely says in
his epistle of retractation,* ' I played no remarkable
part therein ; for I was of the settled conviction that
the frivolous Piccolomini had throughout no great
insight into the confused tangle that there was then,
and how only one point of view was admitted by
the entire government of the conciliar theory.' He
wrote on May 21, 1437, * We have become a horrid
monstrosity, such as the world has never seen or
heard before. ... If you ask my opinion, there are
few on either side whose acts are directed by their
conscience. God knows which side has the truth. I
do not see, nor, if I saw, would I dare to write it.'
* -^n. Sil., Comment, de Condi Easily apud Car. Fea, Fius II. a
calumniis vindic. Komae, 1823.
=* ^n. Sil., Ep. ad Petr. de Noxeto, May 20, 1437.
2 Voigt, loc. cit.y p. 146.
* See Fius II, a calumniis vindic.^ Csir, Fea. Bomae, 1823.
THE COUNCIL AND THE POPE 83
He was a humanist, full of love of letters and joy of
life. Fate, not inclination, had cast him into this
theological bear-garden. But his graphic pen re-
corded what his keen eyes saw, and his open ears
listened to. We can hear the quick heart-beat of
the combatants ; we are made to feel that momentous
issues are at stake ; we positively are present at the
final tempestuous scene.
84 iENEAS SILVIUS
CHAPTER VI
^NEAS AT BASEL — THE SCHISM
The last violent scene at Basel took place on May
7, 1437. On the 29tli, the Pope decreed, in open
consistory, that the meeting with the Greeks should
take place in Italy ; for his diplomatists, more skilful
than those of the Council, had prevailed ; moreover
the Eastern monarch and the Eastern Churchmen,
who were subordinate to the monarch, had a natural
bias for personal authority, and were better instructed
in the prestige that attached to the Papacy than
assured of the might of a Council. On July 31st the
Council commanded the Pope to present himself be-
fore them at Basel within sixty days. On September
18th, Eugenius declared the Council of Basel to be
closed, and ordered a new Council to assemble at
Ferrara. On January 24, 1438, the Council sus-
pended the Pope. Meanwhile the Papal legates
departed from Basel, one by one, and shook the dust
of the city from their feet. One by one, they turned
their horses' heads southward, not without sorrow,
and, in time, many of the noblest spirits at Basel
found themselves gathered together round Eugenius
and the Sacred College. The duty was not painless,
but it appeared to them to be imperative. Parentu-
celli, even when he became a Pope himself, declared
JENEAS AT BASEL 85
that 'the Roman Pontiffs have stretched their au-
thority too far, and left the other bishops no jurisdic-
tion/^ Nicholas of Cusa left early; he soon learned
to regard the Council as a degenerate, anarchical
mob, and resolved to support the regulative control
of the Papacy. Cesarini and Cervantes were slower
to admit the failure of the conciliar principle. But
they were driven to conclude that there were more
at Basel whose lips played with the magic word
'reform' than bore it in their hearts. They were
the last of the Papal party to leave. It shows how
completely one opinion prevailed at Basel — perhaps
it shows us what self-seeking was in the hearts of
most — that ^neas tells us ' there were few who de-
parted with Cesarini, and they were believed to have
done so in order to save their benefices.' ^ But there
were honest, sincere enthusiasts still left at Basel,
men who execrated Papal autocracy as an usurpation,
discredited alike by history and the existing corrup-
tion of the Church. They clung to the Council as
the only hope of amendment. The universities
remained wholly on the conciliar side. Louis d'AUe-
mand. Cardinal of Aries, presided now. The learned
jurists and theologians, Juan de Segobia and Thomas
de Courcelles, remained, and a knot of moderate men
gathered around them. These went by the nick-
name of 'the Greys,' for, while prepared to accept
logical consequences, they did not deem unconditional
submission to D'Allemand one of them. They wished
to preserve their own freedom of thought ; and were
rather inclined to take up a neutral position with
^ Muratori, Rerum Italicarum Scriptores, iii. pars ii. f. 895.
'^ Pius II., Bulla retract., ed. Fea, loc. ciL, 165.
86
^NEAS SILVIUS
regard to Baselites and Papalists alike. They
counted for very little, but they had the support of
the German princes.
The feeble occupant of the throne of Constantine, a
personage remarkable for crabbedness of temper and
dullness of intellect, arrived at Ferrara on May 7,
1438. Though reduced to a realm contained by the
walls of a single city, that city still remained the
one unconquered fragment of the Roman world, and
John Palaeologus was the successor of rulers that for
a thousand years had claimed the ancient empire as
their possession, and received the homage of no incon-
siderable part of it. He entered the city of the
Estensi in great state, 'riding a horse covered with
purple trappings, and the Princes of the House bore
a sky-blue baldacchino over his head.' ^ But Eugenius
was compelled to transfer the Council from Ferrara to
Florence, for Niccolb Piccinino was abroad ravaging
the country, and the roads were unsafe. In Tuscany,
too, the Greeks would be more in the Pope's hand
than near the sea-border ; he could be sure, also, of
getting supplies into his treasury (and of these there
was great need).
The Greeks came in the vain hope of procuring aid
from Western Christendom. They found it indifferent
to the fate of Constantinople ; indifferent even to the
schism in its own Church. Many wished to return,
but the Emperor overruled them. Months passed in
weary disputation. At last Bessarion, Archbishop of
Nicea, a liberal-minded patriot, persuaded his col-
leagues that, if the Turk were to be hurled back from
the gates of Constantinople, union with the Western
^ Geo. Phranzes, lib. ii. cap. 15.
iENEAS AT BASEL 87
Church must be effected — therein lay their only hope.
Latin supremacy was a small matter now that the
followers of Mahommed had triumphed throughout
the East. He persuaded himself and his colleagues
that the truth coDcerning the Procession of the Holy
Spirit and the use of leavened bread lay with Roman
Catholic Christianity. The Greeks abandoned dogmas
that had served as rallying cries in the antagonisms of
East and West. Bessarion moved a resolution which
declared the Roman Pontiff to be the Vicar of God,
the Father and Shepherd of all Christian peoples. It
was a striking scene. The great Duomo of Florence
was crowded with faithful adherents of Eugenius and
Greek prelates, clad in the superb silken vestments of
the Eastern Church. Submission was rendered to the
Pope, and Bessarion, stepping forward, exchanged the
kiss of peace with Cesarini. Men supposed that the
breach that had persisted for so many centuries was
healed, and Eugenius wrote to the Christian princes
that he, the Pope, had effected, not without infinite
labour, what no other agency could have brought
about.^ The submission of the Greeks restored no
small measure of authority to the Papacy, and it
diminished the prestige of the Council in equal
degree. The Pope, and not the Council, had healed
the gaping wounds of so many ages. The tide was
on the turn. Once again the unyielding policy of
Rome proved successful ; once again the forces of
attack would divide and rend each other ; once again
the precise moment for action had been rightly
judged; once again the Pope stood at the head of
Christendom (a.d. 1439).
1 Raynaldus, Ad ann. 1439.
88
iENEAS SILVIUS
But the Eastern Emperor returned to the curses of'
his people ; he had betrayed his Church, and his
Church was the bond of union of races that for cen-
turies had remained faithful to the Imperial idea.
Four years later the patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch,
and Jerusalem denounced the * robber- synod ol
Florence/
Meanwhile the principle of nationality, abandoned
by the Greeks, began to manifest a sturdy growth
among the Western peoples. Charles of France, the
feudal superior of a nobility ruined by the long wars
with England, was surrounding himself with new
men that were his creatures, thereby laying the
foundations of a consolidated France under an
absolute monarchy. He called loudly on Pope and
Council to end their differences, and then confirmed
the decisions of a national synod held at Bourges,
which, by a ' Pragmatic Sanction,' overrode all man-
dates of the Pope, cut off his revenues, determined
French ecclesiastical rights, and practically created a
French national church, subordinate to the king.
German rulers also lectured the Council, and inclined
towards the establishment of a national church for
the whole German land. John of Lysura, a German
who had been educated in Italy, was the soul of the
movement. Diet followed diet ; the princes declared
their neutrality, March 17, 1438, and, on March 26
in the following year, the Diet of Mainz copied the
example of the Synod of Bourges. Though Eugenius
was growing stronger than the Council, the power of
the mediaeval Papacy had become a little faint and
unimpressive ; the Papal taxes were resented as a
baneful outrage ; the feeling of national independence
^NEAS AT BASEL 89
was spreading throughout Europe. The Council
despatched anxious missions to Germany and else-
where. In these legations -^neas, who had mani-
fested his powers in the speech for Pavia, was called
on to take a subordinate part.
He had cast in his lot with the Council. He had
little more natural liking or aptitude for theology
than for law, but he possessed quite as much capacity
for effective action in a council- chamber as for the
quieter but more enduring communications of the
study. Environment counts hardly less than essential
nature in the development of character; it is the
chief determinant in the direction taken by power.
iEneas was cast into cross-currents of theology and
politics, and he was carried along by the momentum
of the forces which played around him. *I was like
a young bird just flown from the nest when I came
from Siena ; I was raw and inexperienced ; we deemed
that to be true which everybody said ; we did not
suspect their statements ' : it is thus that, many years
later, he wrote to the rector of the University of
Koln.^ Indeed, at first, he concerned himself very
little with theological discussion : he accepted the
view current at Basel, and he enjoyed the skill with
which he could endow dull theological propositions
with literary grace, and so gain the applause of
learned men. He was needy, and one must live as
one can, not as one would. There is even a pleasure
in adroitly steering one's bark through troubled
waters. But he never sold his soul for wealth,
though he was influenced by a love of decent comfort
and refinement and lettered ease. He spent his
^ Letter of August 13, 1447, ed. Fea, loc. cit.
90
iENEAS SILVIUS
leisure with other young secretaries and scholars,
attached to the Council, in discussing the classical
authors and philosophy and the merits of women and
wine. He was witty, good humoured and kindly,
and men sought his society. He was a popular
member of the light-hearted circle of young men
that he calls ' the Basel Academy ' ; ^ they were
occupied throughout the day in the pressure of
business or the pursuit of learning ; they sought
relaxation in the immediacy and joy of life, and
passed hilarious nights together. Half-suffocated
in the grey tide of affairs, they exulted to escape
to more cheerful fields, and it must be owned that
they held no more passionate prejudice for chastity
than other men of their time.^
Then came the schism within the Council, -^neas
was a many-sided man and could see many sides of
a question. 'The more you know of a subject the
greater may be your doubt concerning it,' he was
wont to say.^ Was the schism very serious after all ?
The Universities supported the Council ; it was by
no means certain that the breach would be permanent.
He wrote to his friend Noceto, who was still in the
service of Albergati : ' both sides have strong leaders;
both sides produce strong arguments ; a decision is
impossible. The French party has most prelates,
but which side has most probity is quite another
question. The greater number of theologians are
on the legate's side. There you have all the guidance
there is. Some are mendicantes and others would
* Mn. Sil., Ep. ad Petrum de Noxeto, September 18, 1453.
* -^n. Sil., Ep. ad Nicol. Amadamum, 1442 et 1443.
* Campanus, Vita Pii II., apud j^En. Silv. Opera. Basileae, 1551.
THE SCHISM 91
be manducantes. Do you ask my meaning ? There
are very few that I can trust as being led by their
conscience.' He believed in the conciliar principle,
and, when schism came, that the directive purpose
of the Holy Spirit would declare itself in the evolution
of events. ' It was with no venal spirit,' he assures
us, * that I held that the Council should not be at the
beck of rulers, but should submit itself to the direc-
tion of the Holy Spirit.' ^ But he also admits that
his chief desire at this time was to get on in the
world. * Then I was a layman, and I shared in the
general malice of the laity against the Church, nor
was I so anxious to discover truth as to secure my
own advancement.' He was conscious of great powers
requiring a wide field for their due exercise; his
nature was almost encyclopaedic in its scope, and
to satisfy it some secure position must be obtained.
He had a keen zest for life ; the desire of the cul-
tivated humanist to make all things go pleasantly;
to speak smoothly and avoid all causes of offence.
Many motives conflict in a complex nature; no solitary
impulse is likely to dominate it. His letters are
remarkable for their candour. That he took chiefly
an academic interest in the discussions at Basel is
clear from them. He was not, at this time, a member
of the Council. But the atmosphere he breathed
was thick with charges against the misgovernment
of Eugenius. ' No one among those at Basel might
be listened to if he defended the Roman Curia or
gave Eugenius a favourable word. But whoever
spoke ill of the Roman See, condemned Eugenius,
and detested the Curia, was held in the highest
* Ep. retract^ loc. cit.
92
iENEAS SILVIUS
consideration.'^ * We wrote letters and pamphlets
whereby we got high praise and we were very proud
of them/ 2 So wrote iEneas in his retractations.
His inner life was set on letters and success and
amusement.
The Pope was deemed by the great majority of
the Council to be contumacious. It probably never
entered ^neas's mind to desert to the Papal side.
Cesarini thought very highly of him as a scholar,^
but that great figure dominated the memory of Pius
the Pope more than it did the mind of ^neas the
secretary. 'Often we find in a footstep what we
failed to see in a face.' iEneas had no very deep
spiritual perceptions at this time ; the strife around
him was vital, but it was not of a character calculated
to stir his nature to its depths.
He was capable of great personal loyalty, and an
event now happened which bound him to the con-
ciliar side. Francesco di Picciolpassi, Archbishop of
Milan, was a man not unlearned. The light, easy,
vivid style of the secretary so took his fancy that
he asked ^neas to polish his own work. The speech
for Pavia had elicited thanks from the Duke of Milan,
and iEneas hoped to get employment in the ducal
service. The Archbishop offered him the Provostship
of S. Lorenzo in Milan — a position which could be
held by one who was practically a layman — that is
to say, one in minor orders — below the rank of sub-
deacon and untrammelled by priestly vows. But
the chapter had selected its own man, and a dispen-
^ In Fea, C, Pius II. a calumniis vindic. : Ep. retract.y p. 3.
2 Ihid.^ Bulla retract, p. 155.
5 See the letter of May 1, 1443.
THE SCHISM 93
sation was required from the Council to overrule the
chapter, ^neas petitioned the Council for a dispen-
sation, and his petition was contested. But opposi-
tion to him was directed less by principle than by
personal jealousy. He made an able appeal : * You
will act according to your sense of what is right,
Fathers/ he said. * I do not ask you to decide con-
trary to what you deem honour to require at your
hands. Should you decide in my favour, however,
I should prefer such a token of your good-will, even
if I never got the office, to the office itself as conferred
by any mere capitular election.' ^ Such sleek blan-
diloquence was irresistible. The Council readily com-
plied. But it should be remarked that, in issuing
a dispensation, it arrogated to itself a privilege which
it had denied to the Pope.
After the plague, -^neas rode to Milan only to
find the Provostship filled up by the duke, and
clamoured for by a Papal nominee. iEneas petitioned
the duke, and still hoped for success. He threw
away fifty ducats in fees besides the expenses of
more than one journey over the Alps.^ On his return
to Basel, the archbishop requested him, although a lay-
man, to preach for him on the day of St. Ambrose, that
saint being the patron of Milan. The congregation,
composed of scholarly and distinguished men, listened
with rapt attention. Here were no dull, threadbare
platitudes, no dreary outpourings of scholastic theology,
but words that were alive, happy illustrations drawn
from Holy Writ, and still happier quotations from
those heathen authors that all men loved and admired.^
iEneas tells us that he was of opinion that the Classics
» Voigt, loc. cit. 149. 2 j^i^^ Iq^ ^^i 292. ^ p^ jj Comment^ 1. 1.
94
iENEAS SILVIUS
furnish the soundest, practical guidance for life.^ His
brilliant audience were warm in their congratula-
tions.^
He soon rose rapidly in the service of the Council,
especially under the Anti-Pope it elected. In a
year or two he became scriptor, then transcriber of
protocols ; then corrector, or overseer of the scriptors ;
then he was promoted to posts usually reserved for
doctors of canon law, becoming first, abbreviator,
an officer entrusted with letters and the less im-
portant documents of the Council, and afterwards
superintendent of abbreviators. He was often
appointed to the Committee of Faith, sitting among
theologians, and was sometimes chosen to be its
President ; and, more than once, he was selected to
be of the Committee of Twelve.^ His gracious bear-
ing, his amiability, his great mental endowments, and
his discretion marked him out for diplomacy ; and he
was sent with missions, thrice to Strassburg, twice to
Constance, once, at least, both to Frankfort and
Savoy. Gratitude demanded, his duty required that
he should defend the Council that he approved, that
employed him, and that gave him advancement :
intellectual assent and obligation conspired to make
him the Councirs man. The ink flew from his facile,
willing pen in numerous tractates. *It caused me
no blush,' so he says a few years later, 'to write
pamphlets and foolishly attack Papal authority, nor,'
adds he with simple and characteristic vanity, 'was
the name of JEneas of small account among the
* Mn. Sil., Epistola ad Sigismundunij Ducem. Austriae^ December 3,
1443.
2 Mn.. Sil, De vir. clar.^ xxi. ^ p^^ jj Comment., 1. 1.
THE SCHISM 95
enemies of the Roman Curia.' ^ It may be doubted
whether these writings were inspired so much by
polemical impulse or a strong sense of obligation as
by the delight of a ready penman in his skill — the
pleasure he takes in lucid exposition and happy
illustration and clear, pregnant phrase.^ The sound
of his own sentences probably had a charm for ^neas
greater than the attraction of conciliar principles.
For this Yoigt chose to pillory him. Seldom have
three closely printed volumes of accurate research
been marred by more persistent anxiety to brand a
man with the worst motives, or by such deliberate
refusal to entertain those more charitable interpreta-
tions of human character which, oftener than not,
are nearest the truth.
His earlier literary activities had quite another
direction. At Basel as at Siena he had indulged in
day-dreams. Platina credits him with three thousand
poems. ^ He sang of wine and women ; he wrote
satires and eclogues and elegies after the manner of
the Ancients. The Nymphilexis, an erotic poem of
at least two hundred lines, has perished ; only the
dedication to his friend Mariano de Sozzini remains.*
Campano tells us it was sprightly and spirited, but
^ See the Epistle of Retractation, written to the Rector of Koln. 1447.
Ed. Fea, loc. cit.
2 His History of the Council, to some extent a polemical tract of this
period, is full of pithy, pregnant remarks : e.g., * There are none to whom
some happiness does not fall, whom God does not somehow recompense
here ; and obstacles that are like mountains may glow with celestial light ' ;
* A man is most shocked by vices that he himself is not guilty of ' ; * Worth
without power is a mockery ' ; ' Such is the essential power of goodness
that its very foe is compelled to strive for it.'
■ 3 Platina, Vita Pii 11.
* JBn, Sil., Ep. ad Mar, de Soc, March 1, 1435.
96 iENEAS SILVIUS
the metre was not too correct. In truth his verse
had not the inevitableness and spontaneity that
belongs to the born poet ; the lines did not come
singing into his brain. He merely turned eloquent
prose into passable verse. Yet his contemporaries
thought highly of him as a poet. These poetical
exercises did him the usual good service of making
him master of a large vocabulary and teaching him
the value of point. He learned how effective is
the precise epithet ; how that is the best style which
best brings the subject quite home to the reader's
mind. Later in life he wrote plays and brilliant
dialogues ; later still he indulged in hymns and
epitaphs, and, when he became Pope, he still amused
himself by capping rhymes with Campano, and he
versified on religious subjects.
But his letters have a unique charm. He was a
voluminous correspondent, and he took no pains to
put on disguise with his friends. One sees the man
just as he was, without any self-consciousness. If
he poses, it is just as a child might do. In reading
them one is attracted to a welcome personality, a
warm friend, who chats and sometimes grows elo-
quent. His style is always fresh, though, perhaps,
a little overcharged with those literary reminiscences.
Scriptural and classical, that the taste of his age
required. Ideas and emotions and prejudices chase
each other like the clouds : the momentary feeling
is there, the passing half-thought, the fleeting im-
pulse. Hence it is dangerous and unfair to fix ^neas
by a single unguarded expression. The letters reveal
a man chatty but wise, and sympathetic ; not devoid
of human frailty himself, and therefore condoning
THE SCHISM 97
the weaknesses of other folk. No painter ever fixed
the inmost soul of his sitter on canvas with greater
candour than iEneas reveals himself in his letters ;
no man has ever laid his soul more bare, or with so
little concern.
Soon after the stormy sittings at Basel, Sigismund,
who had restored some shadow of authority to his
high office, died, and on March 18, 1438, the day
after the declaration of German neutrality, Albert
of Austria, his sister s son, was appointed to fill the
vacant throne. The Council sent an embassy to con-
gratulate the new monarch, and of this legation ^neas
found himself a member. He speaks of Albert as
* a man of great stature, a mighty hunter, ready in
warfare, better at deeds than words, looking up to
men on whose opinion he confided rather than relying
on his own judgement. His complexion was dark,
his eyes fierce, he hated all manner of wickedness.' ^
^neas found his old master, the Bishop of Novara,
at Vienna, whither he had been sent as the envoy
of Milan. The bishop got him to write a Latin
speech, whereof the king understood not one word.
Eugenius sent ambassadors too, but Albert would
declare neither for Pope nor Council. His position
was too uncertain. He was King of Hungary, but
his hold of the country was not strong, and the
Turkish terror overshadowed the Hungarian crown,
while Bohemia was still in revolt. The Emperor was
feebler than any of the princes that had elected
him : the brief resuscitation of Imperial prestige by
Sigismund perished with that monarch.
-^neas was shocked at the complete ignorance of
^ ^neas Silvius in Palacky, Itolienische Eeise^ 116.
G
98 ^NEAS SILVIUS
the Austrians of all the refinements of life. He
found them innocent of learning, barbarous in their
manners, untouched by the ideality, the unsealing
of the spirit, the unveiling of beauty, the warmth
and glow of life that Italy knew. The Austrians
were still a dull, gross, and indecorous people.
He rode back through a famished country, for the
crops had failed. ' In Bavaria, children, both boys
and girls, clamoured for bread and fought for a crust
as dogs will for a bone.'^ As was usual in the
Middle Ages famine was followed by pestilence. Next
year (a.d. 1439) a grim and inexorable horror took
up its abode in Basel. It was the loathsome, dreaded
plague. Three hundred dead bodies and more were
carried every night to the pits ; in all, five thousand
people perished. The pestilence spared neither old
nor young : the Patriarch of Aquileia, well stricken in
years, the youthful Pontano, already the foremost of
jurists, succumbed. The virile illusion that man can
command his destinies — that support of vigorous man-
hood— was broken : abject fear fell on all. iEneas had
the courage to stand beside and comfort the dying
Pontano ; he gently urged him to submit to the will
of God, and meet the inevitable with manly courage.
In the watches of that same night, at the very hour
when a fellow-countryman was being borne to the
grave, he felt that he himself was ill, and, seeking for
the fatal swelling, discovered it. A friend and his
own servant bravely elected to watch by his side.
But they called in an ignorant practitioner, because a
certain Parisian doctor, who was credited with skill,
had the common weakness of his profession : he was a
^ Pii II. Comment i 1. 1.
THE SCHISM 99
sceptic. The quack, * since the left groin was affected,
opened a vein in the left foot ; sleep was forbidden for
a whole day and part of the night ; then a powder
was mixed up, and had to be drunk, but the nature
of this the physician refused to state. ' ^ Local appli-
cations were used, but ^Eneas grew worse and worse.
For six days and six nights he tossed about in fever,
and was tortured by intolerable headache. He was
supposed to be dying ; a priest was fetched ; he made
confession, took the sacrament, was anointed, and
looked death in the face. That is no unwholesome
experience for any man in the pride of life. He re-
covered by degrees, but it was reported that he was
dead, and the rumour reached Milan. And so he lost
all prospect of obtaining the provostship, for the duke
put some one else in the office. But he would not
abandon hope of recovering it, and continued to
petition Visconti. He could even deal with the
report in a spirit of grim humour. ' If I were indeed
defunct,' he wrote to the duke (long after he was
aware of the true fact), ' if I were indeed dead, as my
foes have reported to your highness, I should hardly
be now writing to you, unless such a thing is possible
to the dead. But, by the indulgence of Heaven, I
assure you that I still enjoy the upper air.'
Probably the spirit of religious prejudice that ex-
cluded the doctor from Paris also prevented his friends
from calling in a necromancer, the last resource in
such cases. But iEneas would never have permitted
it so long as consciousness remained. Once, after
one of his many journeys to Milan, he lay there, sick
of fever, for seventy-five days, and they brought a
1 FH 11. Comment, 1. 1.
100
.ENEAS SILVIUS
magic -worker to his bedside, but iEneas would have
none of him, though he was reputed to have cured two
thousand soldiers in Piccinino's camp. While still an
invalid he cured himself by riding over the high passes
of the mountains to Basel. ^ His attitude towards
necromancy is shown, as well as his painstaking courtesy
and sense of humour, by a later letter, written to his
brother: *The bearer of this came to me to ask if I
knew of a Mount of Venus in Italy, where magic arts
are taught. His master, a Saxon and a great astron-
omer, is desirous of becoming a pupil. I told him I
knew a certain Porto Venere very well ' (the Harbour
of Venus), * as being a port on the rocky coast of
Liguria, not far from Carrara, for I passed three nights
in sleep there on the road to Basel. And I found for
him that there is a mountain called Eryx, in Sicily,
which, once upon a time, was sacred to Venus, but I
could find nothing about magic being taught there.
Then, while talking, I remembered hearing that near
Nursia in the old duchy, in Umbria, beneath a preci-
pice, there lies a cave whence water flows, and that
witches, daemons, and spirits of the night frequent it,
and that a sufficiently audacious man may hold con-
verse with departed spirits and acquire magical arts
there. I had not bothered my head about it, for, if
that is the way in which knowledge is to be acquired,
one is better without it.' ^
As an officer of the Council, -^neas felt obliged to
continue the employment of his ready pen in defence
of the conciliar principle, and the Council was equally
bound to recompense his services. He was presented
1 Pii II. Comment^ 1. 1.
2 ^n. Sil., Opera omnia, p. 531, et seq.
Basileae, 1553.
THE SCHISM 101
to a canonry at Trient, a position which a layman
might hold. But when he arrived there he found a
German in possession : the chapter had ' foisted a sly,
contentious man into the office/ he tells us.^ The
declaration of neutrality had thrown the German
Church into the utmost confusion : often, as in this
case, there were rival claimants to the same benefice ;
a bishop and his chapter would take different sides,
and it was no uncommon thing to hear Eugenius
anathematised to-day, and the Council to-morrow, from
the same pulpit.^ Both ecclesiastical and political
anarchy reigned in Germany, and hence the Pragmatic
Sanction of that country failed to found a national
church.
The Council was presided over by a solitary car-
dinal (D'AUemand), but it had the strong support of
the universities, the discontented, and the great body
of reformers; and, having suspended Eugenius on
January 24, 1438, and waited a year and a half for
his submission, on June 25, 1439, it declared him
deposed. Busy negotiations were carried on with a
view to the election of a new Pope. A legation was
sent to confer with Amadeo, the hermit-duke, and
iEneas was commanded to accompany it ; so once
again he found himself sailing down the pleasant lake
and received in the country-mansion, where the recluse
enjoyed a delightful villeggiatura. There was a strong
party in the Council that favoured the election of the
duke ; there were those that believed him to be a
true hermit — one that had voluntarily abandoned
the vanities of this world. Moreover, he was wealthy,
* pan. Comment.^ 1. 1 ; ^n. Sil., Ejp. ad ^amsium, December 5, 1442.
* Piickert, Die Kurfurstliche Neutralitdt^ p. 140.
102 ^NEAS SILVIUS
his race was allied by carefully selected marriages witl
more than one royal house ; his domains, occupied
by mixed races, and lying between France, Italy,
Germany, and Spain, gave him a position of almost
cosmopolitan neutrality ; the powerful Duke of Milan
was for him, he was astute by nature and a prince of
vast experience, and seven Savoyard bishops had
joined the Council. Truly, he knew but little Latin ;
but he was clever, and would be able to pick up
enough of it to serve every practical purpose.
But, like most possessors of great wealth and power,
Amadeo was avid of more. He finessed with the
Council, for he desired to be Pope in reality as well
as in name and to have an assured income that would
more than enable him to support his pretensions. At
last he consented to become a candidate, ^neas was
now a man of so much importance that the Council
wished him to vote at the approaching election, and
offered to grant him a dispensation whereby he might
become sub-deacon and deacon in a single day. He
declined the honour. His refusal has been attributed
to interested motives. It has been said that he was
not satisfied with the security of the new Pope's
position, and was unwilling to compromise himself
But, in preceding schisms, on making submission,
Anti-Popes and their adherents always met with
honourable treatment and received due recompense.
And, indeed, so it fell out with Amadeo and his
adherents, ^neas was a keen reader of character.
Probably he was not altogether satisfied with Amadeo ;
probably, too, while he was willing to defend the
Council as its servant, he was not anxious to under-
take the direct personal responsibility of voting for an
THE SCHISM 103
Anti-Pope ; perhaps, too, he saw that by the election
of a monarch the Council would abrogate its position.
But there was a stronger reason still. So far, he was
in minor orders only ; he was really a layman ; he had
not taken the vow of celibacy. And he felt himself
little capable of keeping that vow. ' I cannot trust
myself to take a vow of continence.' It is thus that,
four years later, with the utmost frankness, he writes
concerning the priesthood to a friend : * it is truly a
virtue, but more easily honoured in lip-service than
by conduct, and is more in keeping with the philoso-
phical than with the poetical temperament.' ^ Such
a scruple had little weight with the priesthood, of his
time ! The Bishop of Ltibeck proposed at the Council
that the clergy should be allowed to marry, for, so
far from keeping their vow, hardly one priest in a
thousand could be found without a concubine, and
the confessional was suspected of abuse. Bistucci
tells us that Cardinal Cesarini stood out a marvel to
all men, for he was believed to have remained chaste
throughout his whole life.
^neas, then, refused to take the vows ; but he
accepted the post of Clerk of the Ceremony at the
election. On November 5, 1439, Amadeo was de-
clared Pope. He took the title of Felix v., and on
June 24, in the following year, he made a pompous
entry into Basel, accompanied by his two sons (to
whom he now resigned the government of his domains)
and by all the chivalry of Savoy, ^neas formed one
of the escort that conducted him thither. Precisely a
month later, Felix y. was crowned with a costly tiara
amidst the jubilation of fifty thousand spectators.
^ JEn. Sil, Ep. ad Petrum de Noxeto, February 18, 1444.
104
^NEAS STLVIUS
On the recommendation of D'Allemand, iEneas
was appointed Papal Secretary. He had to take his
part in the diplomacy of Felix's court. Each Pope
angled for the support of the European powers, but
these had little to gain from either Pontiff, and
indeed were very busy about their own affairs. The
zeal of the Duke of Milan cooled. He had secured his
end : there was now a rival to Eugenius the Venetian,
the friend of his own rivals and enemies, the republics
of Venice and Florence. The French king refused
to support Felix, and told him he would do better
to show his wonted wisdom, and employ himself in
giving back peace to the Church. The inner reason
of this excellent advice was that Eugenius favoured
the claims of the house of Anjou to the Neapolitan
throne. The rival of Anjou, the King of Aragon,
hung aloof, for he still hoped to win Eugenius over
to support his own pretensions. The universities
stood alone as the firm supporters of Felix. The
Cardinals he created were less learned, less gifted in
diplomacy, and less renowned for piety than those of
Eugenius. The Council that set out to reform the
Church had miserably failed to do so, and now it had
established a disgraceful schism. The election of
Felix vastly diminished its importance, and, though it
sat for four years longer, its time was wholly occupied
in adjudicating on wretched squabbles about benefices.
And want of means compelled both Felix and his
Council to continue the very abuses they had con-
demned, and that had called the Council into being,
^neas found he had accepted a position in which
advocacy was expected from him. His sense of
loyalty, his immediate and unquestionable duty
THE SCHISM 105
appeared to him to be the doing of his best for his
employers. And this was the easier, because it was
no light task for any man to disentangle the con-
fusion of rights and usurpations and injustices of the
ecclesiastical problem. Both sides adduced strong
theological arguments; both sheltered themselves
behind ecclesiastical theory. Felix's position was by
no means hopeless; that of Eugenius was stronger,
but by no means established ; the Holy Spirit had not
yet given unmistakeable evidence of His intention;
it was hard for any temperate thinker to come to a
conclusion. Cesarini was a learned theologian, an
acute logician, an earnest man, yet he had hesitated
for a long while before he went over to Eugenius. In
most of the great questions that divide mankind, the
precise nature of the forces that conflict, the real
issues they involve, the unchallengeable line of action
they demand, are rarely manifest to the men with
whom the momentous decision rests. The real pro-
blems at issue are revealed only to posterity, when
the fatal act is long over, when its results have come
into being and a new generation is already confronted
with new perplexities.
And Piccolomini was a humanist first. He was in
love with life, he had no inborn taste for theology, he
took no delight in ecclesiastical strife, and, so far as
his position forced the serious consideration of these
questions on him, his judgement inclined him towards
the assertion of Church freedom, and his interest
induced him to side with Felix and the Council. His
tractates of this period merely invest the arguments
of others with literary grace. They are presented in
so novel a way that they overcome the repugnance
106 iENEAS SILVIUS
of the natural man to the dryness of the subjed
matter, and hold him captive. They present the
arguments of opponents with perfect fairness, but
there is a dexterous thrust, here and there, to the end
iEneas had in view. He was convinced that in His
own good time the Holy Spirit watching over the
guidance of God's Church would manifest His will.
Perhaps the ablest of these productions is a set of
Dialogues, the occasion of which was an answer given
by the University of Koln to questions set by the
archbishop of that city. The last of these was as to
the legitimacy of the Council sitting at Basel, and
the University declared it to be legitimate — unless it
had been lawfully translated. *The sting of the
scorpion lay in its tail,' said iEneas, and he proceeded
to extract it. The Dialogues are works of consum-
mate art ; their setting is truly delightful, -^neas
had no real creative faculty ; perhaps his only original
contribution to human knowledge was his perception
of the dependence of a people's development on the
physical characteristics of their land. But he had
wit and imagination, and he never touched a theme
without endowing it with freshness and charm.
Poggio had already imitated the dialogues of Cicero,
and ^neas improved on the Italian model. He and
Martin Lefranc, a French co-secretary, have been
wandering in the country, and they are returning
towards evening to Basel. They praise the delights
of country-life : the thoughts are Virgil's, the prose
is iEneas's own. They perceive other members of the
Council, Nicholas of Cusa and Stefano di Caccia, a
jurist of Novara, standing, talking earnestly together.
So they hide behind some bushes and listen. Both
THE SCHISM 107
pairs dispute in turn. The discussions are managed
with great literary skill : we never get wearied, for
scholastic argument and quotation are relieved by
reminiscences of the classics and historical memories
and archaeological observations. Then Cusa and
Caccia stop their discussion to say the Canonical
hours, a duty which ^neas characteristically ob-
serves, ' may be a relief to the dreary life of the
monastery, but becomes an irksome task to the
scholar.' Then ^neas and Martin discover them-
selves, and ^neas contrives to hint to the Council
that he could do with more means. It is most
gracefully done : he has nothing at home for his
evening meal, so he tells the others he will invite
himself to sup with them.
The arguments are perfectly familiar and worn,
but he introduces them with a vivacity and force
very foreign to their original authors ; the interest
never flags ; there is keen thrust and satiric quip ;
the portentous activity of the religious tongue, and
the real indifference of the theologic heart are not
spared. Here is no waving of dull banners of
pedantry, but the quick clash of sharpened intellects ;
yet the antagonists fully respect each other ; they
remain friends in spite of difference, and go to take
their supper together in the heartiest good fellowship.
And the free breeze of heaven blows, all the while,
over the landscape of which the disputants are the
central figures.
Another delicate hint that iEneas remains insu£B-
ciently remunerated is conveyed to his employers in
the introduction to his History of the Council, a work
in three books, which wraps up party-advocacy in
108
^NEAS SILVIUS
the form of attractive narrative. It ends with the
election of Felix. (Later in life ^neas began to re-
write the story of the Council, but left it unfinished.)
' I really ought to be putting by money for my old
age,' runs the introduction, *and not expending my
powers on the writing of history. My friends com-
plain. They ask, "What are you about, ^Eneas?
Have you no shame at being a pauper at your time of
life ? You ought to know that a man should be in his
full vigour at twenty, become cautious by thirty, and
well-to-do by the time he has reached forty. After
then it is too late to repair mistakes." I must grant
that they are right, and, time after time, I have
turned my back on poetry and history, yet, like a
poor moth, I flutter back to the flame. Such is my
nature, and so must it remain. After all, poor people
as well as the rich manage to get through life. If it
is wretched to find oneself poor in one's old age, it is
still worse to be old without the solace of letters. So
I will put up with the will of Heaven, and take up
the burden of my old age, as Horace says, " neither
bearing it ignobly nor without a lute." '
Literature and the duties of correspondence were
by no means ^neas's sole employment. He was
frequently sent on missions to various parts of the
Continent. He learned to endure the heats of summer
and the rigours of winter, riding along unsafe roads,
and finding them always rough and sometimes well-
nigh impassable. Occasionally he would find a wel-
come at rich abbeys and be sumptuously fed ; often
he had to put up at humble priories that could only
provide scanty fare and were wretched shelters from
wind and weather, or at worse inns, where the coat-
THE SCHISM
109
of-arms, gaudily painted over the doorway, was
scarcely matched by the dirty, plain-deal furniture
within doors, but nevertheless was the token of
distinguished patronage. Here he would be kept
waiting for his meals until all possible guests were
assembled, whittle what salt fish or ham he wanted
with his own knife, take his soup or gruel with a
wooden spoon, wipe his mouth with a coarse, beer-
stained table-cloth, and be ushered by a surly land-
lord to an unclean bedchamber, and discover that he
had to lie in foul linen with human and other com-
panions. No wonder that, when he became Pope, his
cardinals complained that he was so little attentive
to comfort that he would lodge himself and them in
any miserable monastery or vile village.
no ^NEAS SILVIUS
CHAPTER VII
iENEAS CROWNED AS POET — THE IMPERIAL
CHANCELLERY — INNER STRIFE
The Emperor Albert died on October 27, 1439.
The Teutonic tradition of an elected war-chief was
preserved by the Empire, though there was a strong
tendency to favour a single family. In theory, it was
held that the Imperial office was too sacred to be
transmitted by blood : practically, it suited the
princes to confine the dignity to one House, because
the strongest candidate was rarely to be found in it,
and the reign of a weak prince undermined Imperial
authority and so left them at liberty to fight one
another. Nor was the practice quite inacceptable to
the Papacy, for a feeble secular monarchy gave all
the greater prestige to the triple crown. The electors
were seven in number : the three Archbishops of
Mainz, Trier, and Koln, who represented the Church,
the King of Bohemia, the Dukes of Saxony and
Brandenburg, and the Palgrave of the Hhine. Some-
times, in days of peril, a strong Kaiser was desirable,
but there was no need to elect a strong successor to
Albert; there was nothing to fear from France,
assailed as she was by both Burgundy and England ;
Burgundy was fully occupied with France, and the
chief desire of the electors was to reduce the Imperial
1
I
I
^NEAS CROWNED AS POET 111
power and be free to gain, each one, his own ends.
They elected Frederick, the brother of the dead
Emperor, the youthful head of the house of Hapsburg,
a poor prince, whose revenue was vastly inferior
to that of such states as Milan or Florence, over
which he was supposed to exercise the Imperial
authority.
Frederick was a big, well-built man in his twenty-
fourth year : he had been better educated than
Albert. He was a phlegmatic person, however, whose
dull feelings and slow intellect were reflected in his
stolid face. ' His expression never changes,' wrote
^neas to the Imperial chancellor.^ His nature was
cold ; he disliked wine, lived chiefly on vegetables,
and his private character was irreproachable ; but this
was less due to moral conviction than to constitutional
tepidity. He disliked the coarse jests in which his
courtiers indulged, was retiring in society, seldom
spoke, and listened with closed eyes.^ He was un-
imaginative, wanting in enterprise, and had no genius
for great aifairs. But he was industrious, methodical,
and attentive to detail, however unimportant, and he
was careful to safeguard his purse. In fact, the
burgher s habit would have become this dull, decorous
person ; he would have made a staid and successful
Niirnberg or Augsburg trader. Yet the apparent
man, as he counts more or less among his fellows, is
often grotesquely at variance with his own heart's
desire. It is strange to find this prosaic, parsimonious
monarch possessed by a passion for precious stones,
and sparing no expense to acquire them. And he
1 JEn. SiL, Ep. ad Caspar. Schlick, December 28, 1443.
' Campanus, Job. Ant., J^p., vi. 15.
112 iENEAS SILVIUS
took an interest in * the most innocent of human
occupations ' — he was fond of the garden.
The schism in the Church and the neutral attitude
assumed by the German princes caused the summon-
ing of numerous ineffective diets. ^Eneas remarks
that ' each diet was pregnant, for it gave birth to
another.' Embassies from both Popes attended these
Councils of the Empire, and iEneas, now become the
secretary of Felix v., was sent to one held at Frank-
fort in 1442. This brought him into contact with the
Bishop of Chiemsee, an ecclesiastic who prided himself
on his appreciation of style, and the wily iEneas per-
ceived in this an opportunity to secure a patron. He
sent a specimen of his own scholarship to the bishop
in the form of a letter, and begged him to condescend
to correct it. Of course there was nothing to correct ;
on the contrary, the bishop was glad to get -^neas to
write letters for him, and then he was wont to spoil
them, saying that, if he did not do so, they would not
be taken for his.^ The Archbishop of Trier also took
a great fancy to the Papal Secretary, and these patrons
brought him and his writings under the notice of the
Emperor.
There was a popular belief that the Caesars of
ancient Rome had been wont to crown the illustrious
poets of antiquity on the Capitol. Petrarch was
crowned there, in the preceding century, by reason
of this tradition; the Emperor Sigismund had crowned
Beccadelli at Siena ; and, at various times and places,
similar honours had been bestowed by Italian rulers.
The German monarch was quite willing to renew
Imperial traditions and emulate his more civilised
1 ^]n. Sil, Proem, ad Comvient in Anton. Fanormit.
^N'EAS RECEIVING THE POET's CROWN FROM FREDERICK III.
Pinturicchio, Siena.
^NEAS CROWNED AS POET 113
neighbours. So a diploma set forth that ' We, being
desirous of following in the footsteps of our pre-
decessors, who, as we believe, were wont to crown
distinguished poets on the Capitol, after the manner
of a triumph ... do now resolve to distinguish the
unparalleled and illustrious iEneas Silvius,' etc.-^
The honour was conferred with great parade ; there
would be eulogy, reading of his verses, disputation,
and finally Caesar would put a laurel wreath on his
brow. Henceforward, until he becomes a bishop, his
letters bear the superscription * ^neas Silvius, the
Poet.'
The Bishop of Chiemsee asked him whether he
would accept a post that was vacant in the Imperial
Chancellery, which was quite distinct from the
Austrian. Felix gave him much work and little
reward ; even if he put in a word for a friend it fell
on deaf ears.^ He had spent himself freely in Felix's
service and he felt aggrieved, for, at Rome, unmarried
secretaries might expect a great ecclesiastical career.
A few months later we find him writing to a friend,
complaining that at Basel they are not in the habit
of rewarding meritorious service, which causes a
thinking man to question the validity of their claims.^
^neas was not the only one in whom a latent sus-
picion of their flag has been aroused to activity by
non-recognition of their merits. But Felix was
obliged to keep all benefices in his own hands, and
the Council assented to this, for it was not always
^ The diploma bears the date July 27, 1442, and is given in Ohmela, J.
Registers, vol. i. Appendix, No. xvii.
2 Creighton, History of the Papacy, vol. ii. p. 243 and note 2. London,
1878.
^ ^n. Sil., Ep. ad amicum quemdam Basiliensem, October 1443.
H
114
^NEAS SILVIUS
easy to meet the expenses of his Papacy. There can
be little question that the impecuniosity of iEneas
helped to open his eyes to the doubtful legitimacy
of the Baselite Pope and how his authority was on
the wane. But he would not leave Felix until he
could do so honourably. He waited until Frederick
reached Basel (November 1442), and then the Emperor
asked the Pope for the service of his secretary, and
Felix consented, solely because he was unwilling to
offend so important a person. ^Eneas left Basel with
the Emperor, but Felix expected him to act as his
agent, and he did so for a few months. He must
have been aware that he would find no easy bed at
Vienna ; he knew the Cimmerian darkness that
brooded over the land, how depressing it would prove
to one brought up in the sunshine of the Italian
renaissance to dwell deep in Germany; how repul-
sive would be the habits and manners of his future
colleagues. But he found his own views about the
Schism were far from being fixed convictions ; they
were suffering alteration ; they did not justify him
in suddenly turning over to Eugenius, and it would
not have been decent to do so, even if he had been
assured of a good reception. Caspar Schlick, the head
of the Imperial Chancellery and the confidential
adviser of Frederick, had a partiality for Italian
scholars ; he had once been the guest of ^neas's aunt
and had stood godfather to her son : something might
be hoped from him. These were the reasons why he
* was unwilling to go straight over to Eugenius.' ^
iEneas was in the habit of setting down every tran-
sitory feeling, every stray thought that might visit
1 He merely records the fact. See Fii JI. Comment., 1. 1.
THE IMPERIAL CHANCELLERY 115
him while he was wielding the pen, but there would
seem to be rooted conviction in his complaint to his
friend Giovanni Campisio. He regrets the waste of
so much time at Basel : * There I found myself
stranded,' he says, 'and I knew not how to escape
save by burrowing yet deeper into German earth/ ^
Even in the miseries of his new position, he could
write how happy he felt ' to have escaped from the
bickerings of priests and to be able to get some enjoy-
ment out of life.' ^
Caspar Schlick, to whom he looked for advance-
ment, was the capable son of an incapable father.
He was of burgher descent, had acquired a knowledge
of both civil and canon law, and combined these
achievements with native shrewdness and marvellous
business capacity. He was a rare reader of men,
but he was incapable of entertaining great projects,
and his conduct of public affairs was marred by a
private vice — he was avaricious. Often he failed to
think broadly for his master, because he was thinking
narrowly for himself; but his craft was consummate,
his tact perfect, and so he was able to cover up his
defects. In other respects his private character stood
no higher nor any lower than that of the average
man of his time ; he had not disdained to add to the
other services he rendered the Emperor Sigismund
by playing the part of Sir Pandar, and, could it have
entered into his head to refuse, there were plenty of
knightly courtiers who would have replaced him in
that congenial oflSce. He was brave ; he had fought
with distinction against both Hussite and Turk ; he
1 JEn. Sil., Ep. ad Johan. Campisiurriy 1445.
2 xhid., 1443.
116 iENEAS SILVIUS
had acquired vast political experience, for lie had
been a member of many embassies, and Frederick
was the third Caesar who chose him for confidant and
adviser.
The politics of the Imperial Court presented the
familiar spectacle of two contending parties. The
nobles in the Council represented the claims of their
order; ecclesiastics and jurisconsults supported the
demands of the burghers. The Kurfurst of Mainz
was the nominal head of the Chancellery, but
Schlick was, to all intents and purposes, Chancellor.
Under him were the secretaries, and iEneas was
now appointed of their number. They received
no direct payment, nor were they allowed to ask
for presents from those who had business with
the Chancellery, but they were not prohibited from
receiving them.
It was a miserable life. In a letter to Sigismund,
the young Duke of Austria,^ ^neas complains, ' We
are all squeezed together in the same abode ; many
as we are, we eat and drink at the same table. Ants
are not more crowded in their habitation than we in
our single hall.' And then he gives an illustration of
discomfort which shows that a habit, still regarded
by the modern Italian as laudable and necessary to
health, bears the sanction of time : ' One cannot even
spit comfortably, but one must needs soil the clothes
of a neighbour.' ^ There was much jealousy among the
secretaries too, and, as one older than themselves, a
foreigner and a protege of Schlick, ^Eneas experienced,
to the full, the malice of which these young men were
^ JEa. Sil., Ep. ad Sigismund. Ducem Austriae^ December 5, 1443.
2 See also Ep. ad Johan. Freund^ June 1, 1445.
THE IMPEEIAL CHANCELLERY 117
capable. They took advantage of Schlick's being away
to give the former secretary of a Pope the lowest
place at table and the worst of their bad beds ; they
scoffed at him and flouted him at every turn. It
was as well that he did not always understand their
cacophonous jeers, for if they spoke German the
sneer missed fire ; he never gave himself the pains
to learn what was, at that time, an unlettered
language. When Schlick was away on a mission at
Niirnberg, his position became well-nigh unendurable.
One Wilhelm Tag, a Bavarian, was left in charge of
the Chancellery, and this man had a rooted antipathy
to all Italians ; he treated ^neas so contemptuously
that the Chancellor, on his return, put him under
iEneas, ' so that all might learn how easily the
humble may be exalted and the proud abased.'^
-^neas wrote to a young friend, * There is, believe
me, no more hard-hearted camp than the court of a
prince. There, envy, jealousy, calumny, hatred,
enmity, infamy, insult and ceaseless torment take up
their abode — things that only patience can subdue.'^
We are reminded of the celebrated outburst of
Guarini in 11 Pastor Fido. iEneas was dainty in his
food : he found the fare provided for him coarse and
detestable. He was naturally refined and his taste
had been cultivated : the brutal forms that vice took
in Germany offended his Italian sensibilities. He
could not suffer himself to degenerate, though he
tells us that he believes it easier for an Italian to
drop into such German ways as gobbling at table
than for a German to acquire the finer manners of
1 Pii II. Comment, 1. 1.
* ^n. Sil., JEp. ad Caspar, de Fara, October 6, 1443.
118
iENEAS SILVIUS
Italy. ^ However, he made the best of the situation,
and doubtless enjoyed the painting of his miseries,
for he does this with rare humour.^ He was only
admitted into the presence of Caesar at public
audiences. The cook, the cupbearer, the falconer,
the stable-boy, and the dog-keeper were passed on
into the royal presence, but the scholar, though poet-
laureate, was told by the porter to be about his own
business.^ * Our only concern is to curry favour with
the great, and hold on to it,' he writes. ' If men were
contented to be humble in station, and were as eager
after their soul's welfare, few would be found in-
dulging in such a scramble.' He was conscious, at
least, of the possibility of a nobler kind of life than
the pursuit of court-favour.
If he breathed an atmosphere of insult and intrigue
within doors, he had to put up with equally coarse
manners without, and submit to the scorn of an
arrogant nobility. No one seems to have had very
much polish of manner or culture of intellect to
commend him. He tells us how Heinrich, Count of
Goriz, who was the father of two little sons by a
noble and virtuous Hungarian lady, was wont to
awaken them from deep sleep in the middle of the
night, and ask them if they were not thirsty. Then
he would get out of bed and force them to drink
wine. The poor children, dead asleep, might murmur
and spew it out of their mouths, whereupon the father
would turn to his spouse in high disgust and dudgeon
and shout, * These brats be none of mine, strumpet ;
1 Mo.. Sil., De liheror. educ. apud Opera quoe extant omnia. Basileae,
1551. fol. 965 et seq.
2 Id., Tractatus de Curialium miseriis.
3 Id., Pentalogus.
THE IMPEEIAL CHANCELLEEY 119
no sons of mine would sleep the whole night through
without drinking.'^ Here, even if great folk had
patronised him, was no society for the cultured Italian
scholar ; one, moreover, who, in spite of his own noble
birth, had the true democratic feeling of an Italian.
In his novel De Duobus Amantibus, as well as in his
History of Bohemia (chap, ii.), he speaks with scorn
of mere rank, and describes the ignoble means by
which it has usually been obtained. The barons had
no other interests than hunting and fishing.^ Of
certain princes, he remarks that such people rejoice
in dogs and horses, and will be remembered when
they depart this life just as much as their animals.
He found little to commend in the professors and
students at the University of Vienna. * The students,'
he says, * give themselves over to pleasure ; they are
gluttons and wine-bibbers; they prowl the streets
at night and attack citizens ; their minds are wholly
taken up with light women.' ^ He tells us of a
Leipzig student ' who was held in high honour by his
fellows, for he had outdrunk fifty of them, and so
bore the palm. For there is a custom at the gather-
ings of the Saxons to give the place of honour to
those who can swill the most, and they call the
pastime a drinking match.' ^ He describes Neustadt
as a city of monks and Jews ; Styria, Carinthia, and
Carniola are inhabited by barbarians.^
He yearned to return to his native Italy. It set
1 JEu. Silvius, Comment, in Anton. Panorm., i.
2 Id., Ey. ad Johan. Campisium, July 22, 1444.
2 Id., Ep. 165., Opera quce extant omnia. Basileae, 1551. fol. 719.
* Id.y Comment, in Anton. Panorm., ii.
^ Id., Ep. ad Caspar SchlicJc, March 1444 ; ad Johan. Peregallum^
April 16, 1444.
120
^NEAS SILVIUS
his pulses beating to see the Itahan embassies arrive
and hear the soft, free flow of his native tongue. He
tried to reconcile himself to his fate. He is better off,
he says, dwelling with foreigners in plenty than in
indigence at home.^ But waves of severe home-
sickness swept over his soul, and, at times, almost
overwhelmed him. ' There is nothing I have dreaded
more,' he writes, *than to lay my bones in foreign
soil, though where they lie does not affect our
destination to heaven or hell. But so it is, I know
not why, death would come with less of bitterness
if I were supported by the arms of brothers, sisters,
children, and grandchildren. And is close friendship
so readily formed here as at home ? Elsewhere, I
find no intimacy possible that can be so sweet and
enduring.'^ And, later on, when his prospects had
improved, he writes, * When shall I return to my
native land ? Oh, that it could be this year ! I am
on my travels. But whither? In Germany. But
to what part ? To the Hungarian frontier. Here
am I established ; here must I live and die, without
relatives or friends or acquaintances or the friendly
talk of yourself and others. Oh, that I had never
seen Basel ; then had I died in the land that is home,
and lain in the bosom of my progenitors. A crust
of bread had been more grateful there than fat-living
here. I may say that I am dead already. My life is
no better than that of Naso, when he dwelt at Tomi, in
banishment. I admit that I shall attain a satisfactory
position in the future ; my services are recognised.
But what is the good of it without companionship ?
* ^n. Silvii, Ep. ad Hieronymum Senenserrif July 1443.
2 Id.j Up. ad Julianum Card. 8. Angelo, May 28, 1444.
THE IMPERIAL CHANCELLERY 121
Have I then no comrades? Well, truly there are
good, sincere folk enough, but thej do not take up
their abode with me among those things of the mind
that I care for.' ^
^neas was prudent and patient. He was an
eminently companionable man. He spoke all men
fair ; and the world usually returns us our own treat-
ment of it. When he became Pope, he referred to
the time as one when he * copied the much abused
ass that drooped his ears, awaiting the moment when
his back might be released from its heavy burden.'^
He found it difficult to ingratiate himself with one
man, a certain John Gers, 'a disagreeable person of
somewhat malign nature ' — so he describes him.^ Gers
was a domestic tyrant, but showed resentment when
^neas referred to his wife, a plain, stupid woman,
as more remarkable for her good disposition than for
her other endowments. He got on very well with
a certain Michael von Fiillendorf, a good-natured
Swabian, addicted to women and wine ; * but JEneas
shocked this virtuous gentleman and others by the
freedom of a comedy which he wrote in the style of
the Latin dramatists. What learning his fellow-
secretaries possessed was scholastic, not humanistic ;
and, whatever we do, a certain code of propriety must
be preserved.
The secretary did not neglect to seek the favour of
his chief. He took no pains to disguise his motives.
He told him that * a useful friend is more to be sought
^ ^n. Sil., Ep. ad Johan. Campisiurrif end of August or beginDing of
September 1445.
2 Pii II. Comment, y 1. 1. 3 ji{^^
* -^n. Sil., Ep. ad Johannem Gers, September 22 and Norember 3,
1444.
122 ^NEAS SILVIUS m
than a merely honest one ; for such friendship is of
value nowadays ; the stoic may prate in his privation
about austere virtue ; but that doctrine has been at a
discount this long while/ ^ * We must deal with men
as they are' — ^judgements of which Schlick would
heartily approve. JEneas never failed to get the
good-will of any one to whom he paid court. He
measured his man with almost unerring accuracy, said
precisely what would take him, and presented that
side of his complex character that would be most
likely to please. Schlick admitted him to his table
and gave him his confidence.^
The frequent journeys to Graz and other places,
though 'wild and barbarous races inhabited them,'^
were a source of pleasure to one who delighted in
travel and loved to see everything and record what
he saw. He rejoiced to be in the country. When he
became Pope, he spoke of himself as ' a lover of woods
and one eager for all fresh experience.'* When
pestilence once drove Frederick to Briick, ^neas
found a great charm in scenery so different from that
of his Italy. Few men have found greater kinship
with Nature in her many attires and in all her
changing moods than he. He wrote of Briick as 'a
place confronting two sister-streams that unite there,
and then flow on as one to the Piave. Here are held
fairs at Martinmas that last fully eight days, and I
and the rest, being set at liberty, sometimes go and
1 JEn. Sil., Ep. ad Caspar Schlick, November 1, 1443.
2 Ibid., December 28, 1443.
' ^n. Sil., Ep. ad Johan. Peregallum.
* ' Silvarum amator et varii vivendi cupidus,' a phrase whereon Campano
played Id a metrical pun : —
• Quod placeant silvae et magnum lustraverit orbem
Silvius hac genuit conditione Pater.'
THE IMPERIAL CHANCELLERY 123
look at the wares, and sometimes take a walk into the
country. There, with no little refreshment of soul,
you may mark the sunlight smiling on the mountain-
slope, the mystery of the forest, and the clearness and
purity of the stream.'^
iEneas never forgot to keep a smiling face and a
pleasant tongue for friend and foe, rich and poor, and,
at last, his imperturbable good-humour and kindliness
prevailed over his colleagues. They were compelled
to respect him and even give him their affection. But
he did not remain contented with his position ; he
had not yet found so wide a field as his powers
needed ; he sought greater independence than an
income derived from casual largesse might grant.
He would not abandon all hope concerning the lost
provostship at Milan; he was very persistent in his
efforts to recover it, and he persuaded the Emperor
to use his influence with Visconti. It was soon after
he entered the service of the German Caesar that he
wrote the letter to the Duke of Milan, of which a
sentence has already been given — an epistle in which
the fawning servility then required of the true
courtier is relieved by a touch of ironical humour.
A certain note of independence, even, may be read
between the lines of an epistle that is formally ob-
sequious : the letter hints that ^neas can prove
quite as serviceable to the duke as the duke to him.
It runs : ' If I were indeed dead, as my foes have told
your Highness, I should hardly be writing now,
unless by a miracle. But, by the indulgence of
Heaven, I am become secretary to the Most Serene
King of the Romans, a position which, if not satis-
1 ^n. Sil., Ejp. ad Johan. Lauterhach^ November 13, 1444.
124 iENEAS SILVIUS
factory in all respects, may enable me to do honour
to Your Excellency. But, though they have killed
me, I may yet contrive to be even more vitally ser-
viceable to your High Honour than a mere living
person. I deserve better things, for, that the right
lies with me cannot be disputed, and I could be
exceedingly useful to you. Wherefore, I beseech
your Clemency to turn the matter over and restore
my office at S. Lorenzo to me, that I may be bound
hand and foot to your Honour in a position that I
covet. If you should do so you would attach not
myself alone, but would gratify the king, who is
writing on my behalf However, whether you enter-
tain my appeal or no, I am always at your service,
but I shall be the more so if I obtain it.'
He tried to ingratiate himself with Sigismund, the
youthful Duke of Austria. He hoped to find a
Maecenas in Schlick, and wrote him letters full of
mellifluous adaptations of classical poetry. * I would
haunt a cool grove with the Muses,' he says. ' I am
out of place herding with the crowd . . . then should
my name be not all forgotten by posterity, and most
surely so if thou befriend me, O my Caspar, in whose
command over my life I cherish pride.'
Schlick was no Maecenas ; pelf and power were his
ambition, and he only toyed with the Muses, ^neas
saw that it would only be by the exhibition of busi-
ness ability and industry that he could hope to win
the Chancellor's favour ; ' nor was he deceived,' he
tells us.^ Convinced of his diplomatic skill, Caspar
employed ^Eneas in an attempt to secure the rich
bishopric of Freising for Heinrich Schlick, his brother.
^ Fii II. Comment, f 1. 1.
THE IMPERIAL CHANCELLERY 125
Nicodemus, in whose service the secretary had been
during early days at Basel, was dead, and so a bene-
fice of unusual value had become vacant. A few
months after leaving Basel, j^neas wrote more than
one appeal to D'Allemand, Cardinal of Aries, who
still remained President of the Council, setting forth
the merits of Heinrich (who was really a worthy and
excellent man). Of course Frederick had interested
himself in the success of his Chancellor's brother. * I
had thought so powerful a prince would have received
some attention' — so ^Eneas wrote. 'However, this
expectation was disappointed ; the petition met with
flat refusal. Meanwhile the chapter, whether law-
fully or unlawfully, elected the Cardinal of St. Martin,
who is on his way to you for confirmation. Once
again His Imperial Dignity writes you, desiring his
suspension, and asking you to defer his confirmation.
I, also, would urge and entreat you, for the welfare of
the Council, not to trifle with the request. For surely
it were wise to render such a Prince favourable to
yourself and the Council, he being one to whom all
eyes are turned, one that neither gifts nor entreaties
can persuade to injustice. Heaping annoyance on
annoyance will not bend His Clemency from his
course. Remember, too, the great influence that
Caspar, his Chancellor, has over him, and that, if you
gain his favour, you have little to fear from other
people.'^
Now this Cardinal St. Martin was a natural son of
Duke John of Bavaria- Munich ; he had declared for
Felix, was a personal friend of the all-powerful
D'Allemand, had influenced his brother Albert, the
* See his two Epistles to D'Allemand of September and October 1443.
126 iENEAS SILVIUS
reigning duke, in favour of the Anti-Pope, and had
written against the neutrality of Germany. The
Council still refused the Emperor's request, and stood
by St. Martin, while Eugenius supported Heinrich
Schlick. This refusal certainly prejudiced Frederick
and Caspar in favour of the legitimate Pope, and it
did not incline iEneas to remain in close sympathy
with Felix, for he deemed his action in this matter
of a piece with the failure of the Baselites to fulfil
their promises to himself. He writes to a friend,
* The last words you said to me at Basel were that
the Holy Pontiff, Felix, would secure me a benefice,
whether I were there or away, and you assured me
that you would work to that end ; but nothing has
followed, although I have been of service to our Holy
Pontiff with His Majesty the Emperor, and may
be so constantly.'^ Five months later he wrote to
his friend Campisio, who was in Eugenius's service,
* Deeds are stronger than promises. The Chancellor
is bound, hand and foot, to acknowledge this favour,
and, unless I mistake, he will do so. You may
persuade the cardinals of this.' ^ Men did not set
boundaries between the spiritual and temporal king-
doms in the fifteenth century. Both made one
single world of God. We may, perhaps, be con-
fident that the more enlightened churches of to-day
are free from such influences and intrigues of earth.
There can be little doubt that -^neas had seen and
experienced much at Basel that gave him small con-
fidence in Felix. So far, he was a self-seeker, even
as most men were self-seekers in this miserable schism,
^ October 1443. Kunde fiir (Ester Geschichtsquelltn^ xvi. 345.
2 ^n. Sil., Ep. ad Campisiumf February 18, 1444.
INNEE STEIFE 127
one unwilling to risk his own interests, in a measure a
disappointed man. There was no question of ecclesias-
tical reform now, either with Eugenius or with Felix
and the Council; each of the rival Popes was sup-
ported by a party in Europe whose loyalty sprang
from political cleavage and not at all from ecclesias-
tical conviction. The nations and their princes used
the Church to political and even to personal ends.
iEneas was no enthusiast ; he had suffered the sting
of no divine gadfly ; he was not the man to suffer
deep agony in spiritual wrestlings for truth, to delve
in search of it with painful labour, or make for it
through blood and tears. He was a man of the world,
and knew that the enthusiast, proud of possessing
absolute truth, often hugs a false jewel, a one-sided
fallacy, to his bosom. He was keenly alert to every
side of a question, and he had the defects usually
attendant on this quaUty. His character was open
to so many influences, he was tugged at by so many
forces in so many different directions, that it was not
possible for him to become quite single-minded or the
devotee of a solitary idea. For many reasons, both
personal and impersonal, his way was by no means
clear to him. No one had a stronger sense of duty
that was imposed on him ; as a servant, he fulfilled
the obligations of a servant loyally. We shall see,
however, that his mind was not at peace concerning
the Church : still less was he at peace with himself.
Diplomatic duties often imposed caution, but his
letters to his friends are so unrestrained, so entirely
without arriere pensee, that the man's soul is exposed
there, naked, to our view. It is true that he is so
sympathetic that he cannot help writing a different sort
128 iENEAS SILVIUS
of letter to each different sort of man. The discern
ing eye can read what manner of man the recipient
is more readily than the character of the writer.
Few folk are aware of how complex the nature of
the simplest man is ; most are under the illusion that
they themselves are quite single-minded ; they are
incapable of understanding a many-sided character,
and think that it cannot be ingenuous and sincere.
Now, these easy, familiar letters have little that
is disingenuous about them; there are hardly any
attempts at self-concealment, and such are quite
transparent ; ^Eneas's essential honesty shines forth in
them, and he speaks so openly of his own faults and
vices that they stand out in very high relief. The
absence of any trace of subterfuge produces a posi-
tively deceptive effect, and so ^Eneas has come to
be misjudged by scholars incapable of understanding
that complexity may be combined with candour.
And they have laid particular stress on chance words.
But isolated sentiments in the utterances of a man
of complex character must be taken in relation to the
whole mass.
Let us, with the warning not to be too much
influenced by solitary passages, see what he says
at this period concerning his relation to the Schism.
On leaving Basel, he wrote to Guidoforto, a doctor
in both laws, concerning his claim to the provostship
and the relations in which he stood to the Duke of
Milan. There is a remarkable sentence in this letter
which shows that he is seriously perturbed. * I
cannot speak of obedience in other matters, since I
follow the king, who is entirely neutral, though
I might write more if it ivere prudent.' To the Arch-
rn- ^
INNER STRIFE 129
bishop of Milan he wrote, December 5, 1442 : * Best
of Fa.thers, write me in such wise that I may come
out from among the indifferent and he made whole.
For I have an inquiring spirit, when my words and
deeds, done according to the prince's will, do not put
it out of the question (for I wish to limit myself to
his intention).' At Vienna he came across Cesarini
and Carvajal again. Eugenius had sent them, as his
legates, to advance the claims of Ladislas, King of
Poland, whom the nobles of Hungary had chosen to
be their king, while Frederick supported the legiti-
mate pretensions of his ward, also named Ladislas,
who was the son of his dead brother Albert. Cesarini
and Carvajal stayed more than once at Vienna.
Felix also sent legates, but Cesarini and Carvajal
were the better diplomatists, as we can see from a
letter that ^Eneas wrote to D'AUemand : * The Car-
dinal of Aquileia is seriously ill, nor do so many incline
to him as to Cardinal Julian, nor is Aquileia such
a strong man as Carvajal.'^ Both Cesarini and
Carvajal paid the secretary great attention. He
came into close contact and had much serious con-
verse with them, and the personalities of both men
impressed him deeply. To this intercourse, in large
measure, he attributed his conversion to the side of
Eugenius. But he held back. * If you perceive, you
should act according to your perception,' Cesarini
told him. When ^neas became Pope he wrote :
* John Carvajal was very active. He was Apostolic
Envoy, a Spaniard by birth, who, when Julian died,
succeeded him in the Cardinalate. With him we
had many a friendly dispute. Indeed, not a single
^ (Ester. Geschichtsquellen, xvi. 344.
I
130
^NEAS SILVIUS
learned person came to the Court, but we fell to
and debated these matters. Then Caesar summoned
a diet at Nlirnberg, with a view to union in the
Church, and decreed that the Pontiff should be ex-
horted to assemble a new Council at Constance and
send a legate, and, moreover, induce the Baselites
to transfer themselves thither, so as to give peace
to the Church. They were the first to refuse.
Learning this, Thomas Assalbach, a distinguished
German theologian, said, '* Now, I know that the
Baselites are not directed by the Holy Spirit, seeing
that they shrink from obeying such a reasonable
command of the Emperor." And so said many other
learned and unquestionably holy men.' ^
But ^neas hesitated for a long time. He wrote
to Carvajal, pointing out difiSculties that beset the
problem : * After my withdrawl from Basel, I kept
silence on ecclesiastical matters, for I observed that
the folk there were swayed by human passion, and
were not under the divine guidance. You urge me
to speak right out, and imitate ^neas in harness,
but I prefer to maintain my silence, because my
opinion would be satisfactory to no party, and is
indeed by no means satisfactory to myself But,
since you wish me to declare myself, I am ready,
though ^ou will hear what you do not wish. . . .
Not those are worthiest who hold fast to their
dignities, but those who are ready to lay them aside.
. . . You are a forbearing man. I want to open my
heart to you. For, if one is to speak at all, let him
speak right out. So, here am I, iEneas in panoply :
that is how I bear myself. He shall be my Anchises
* Bull of Retractation in Fea, loc. cit.
INNER STRIFE 131
whom the Universal Church shall declare. But, so
long as Germany, which is the greater part of the
Christian world, remains uncertain, I also, am doubt-
ful. I incline mine ear, awaiting unanimity ; nor
do I trust my own judgement in matters of faith.
Farewell.' '
The Schism seriously disturbed him now, and he
was desirous of seeing ecclesiastical peace restored,
no matter by what means. To the Bishop of Chiem-
see he wrote : ' If I were Caesar, I would call on all
the princes to send envoys to some appointed place
and arrange the affairs of the Church. . . . For people
and priesthood would follow the princes. If it might
not be called a Council, it is the thing, not the name,
we care for. To end the schism is all important : call
it what you please, but let it have consequences.'^
And, about this time, he wrote the Peritalogus,
wherein Frederick, the bishops, Nicodemus of Frei-
sing and Sylvester of Chiemsee, and Caspar Schlick
discuss the afiairs of the Church. The work presents
various views fairly and exhaustively, shows an earnest
desire for union, and contains noble and eloquent
digressions, and some wise observations of truly
statesmanlike quality. Of such is a passage wherein
he tells us how great deeds and great virtues can
only be duly set forth by letters, and thus remain
permanent memorials and examples for mankind.
* Letters as much as arms hold an Empire together.
And, would you know why the Papacy surpasseth
the Empire so much in these latter days? It is
chiefly because of its superior discipline in literature.
^ ^n. Sil., Ep. ad Johan. Carvajal, October 23, 1443.
2 Id., Ep. ad Sylvestr. episcopum, December 1443.
132
iENEAS SILVIUS
For the Imperial Power was always stronger in mere
arms than the Papal. As wisdom in letters exalts
the Roman Pontiff, so Imperial ignorance debases the
Empire. A people is subject to two great powers
that keep them in restraint. They are culture and
the force of arms. Those are perfect, 0 my King,
who unite civil power with mental cultivation. They
may behold their labours rewarded. For they have
acquired knowledge of what is for the public weal ;
they possess themselves, too, and are not readily
turned aside from wise counsels.'
Early in 1444, iEneas received a letter from his
old friend Noceto, who was in the employment of
Eugenius, and who, finding himself in pressing need,
begged his former companion to exercise his influ-
ence at Court, and work for Eugenius, for he, No-
ceto, would stand better with the Pope if his friend
-^neas would come round to his side. * You urge
me to favour your party on your account, if for no
other reason,' j^neas replied ; ' it is an adjuration of
almost compulsive force. But you must learn that I
serve a prince who belongs to no party ; whose sole
aim is union. Nor, if what is in the royal mind
prove successful, will you be in any way worse off,
but, as I think, far better provided for ; for, if God
shall give union, the Curia and its ojfl&cials will be
well to do, and both you and I will derive profit from
it. But I know not when that will come. Mean-
while, I try to stand well with the king. I obey
him ; I follow him ; his desire is mine. I shall oppose
him in nothing that does not directly affect myself.
I am a person of small importance now, and, if I did
otherwise, I should fall to the ground and come to
INNER STRIFE 133
nought.'^ The reader must infer from this letter
that Frederick was already inclining favourably
towards Eugenius. Four months later iEneas wrote
to Cesarini : * It will be difficult to get out of this
neutrality, because so many find it profitable. Few
follow truth ; almost everybody seeks his own per-
sonal advantage. This new doctrine of neutrality is
welcome precisely because no one can be deprived of
what he holds, whether he has come by it squarely or
not. And the ordinaries get what benefices they
desire. Believe me, it is no easy matter to tear his
prey from the fangs of a wolf. But, so far as I can
see, all Christian peoples are for Eugenius. Germany
is so divided that I would fain see union there, because
I believe the nation is not influenced by fear, but by
its own free decision/
^neas means that there is no external political
pressure there : the country is not like France or
Aragon or an Italian State, forced into partisanship
by the exigencies of foreign politics. Within the
German State, there existed, of course, the antagonism
of the Emperor and his feudatories, and this was the
chief and final determinant of Frederick's return to
Eugenius's obedience. Still, it was a free struggle in
the sense that Germany was independent of other
interests than those of its own conflicting forces.
And there were many earnest and conscientious men
in Germany, men desirous of nothing better than the
Church's welfare, and they were not without in-
fluence in the counsels of the princes. Nor was
Frederick himself inaccessible to honest conviction.
He continues : * Whithersoever the king and
* ^n. Sil., Ep. ad Petrum de Noxtto^ January 16, 1444.
184 iENEAS STLVIUS
electors incline, I and my dependants will follow, nor
have I greater trust in my own judgement than in
that of others. I am impelled to write this, or not
at all, and, henceforth, I must be excused if I main-
tain silence. Farewell, and make use of me at your
pleasure.' ^ In the same year he wrote to his old
master Capranica to the effect that he would gladly
come to the feet of Eugenius, and is endeavouring to
do so as far as his feebleness will allow.*
One observes in these letters a gathering earnest-
ness, an increased anxiety for the welfare of the Church,
a gradual and sincere change of view. But here is a
man naturally prudent, one taught caution by a large
experience of the world and by diplomatic training ;
he will not let zeal run away with him ; he is neither
a saint nor a theologian, he will not wreck his career
for a conviction that may be mistaken, and he mis-
trusts his own judgement in matters of religion. * Shall
a man take up arms and confront death in a barren
cause ? ' he asks in his book, Concerning the World,
* The safest thing is to abide by a friend's judgement,'
he wrote elsewhere.^ Evidence of an increased moral
earnestness is also present. In the autumn of 1444
he urges his friend, John Thuscon, to purchase a Bible.
' I joyfully resist worldly allurements,' he writes, ' and
would serve God alone, and, since I have ever sought
after knowledge, I know not how I can render Him
more pleasing service than as a man of letters.' * And
a benefice, though it might involve a vow hard to
keep, would not be unacceptable, nor, in those days
» Mn. Sil., E'p. ad Julian Card., May 1444.
2 Voigt, Die Brief e des Mneas Sylvius, Ep. Ixxxiii., 8. 352.
3 ^n. Sil., Comment, in Anton. Panorm., 1. 4.
* Ep. ad Johan. Thuscon, October 31, 1444.
INNER STRIFE 135
of pluralism, would it interfere with his continuance
in the king's service. He would be set free from his
disagreeable surroundings in the Chancellery ; and so
he makes himself agreeable, as he so well knew how,
to more than one possible patron. His religious zeal
has by no means subjugated self; still, he is more in
earnest for higher ends. And yet it is precisely in
these years of deepening character that we are
astounded at a remarkable outburst of erotic senti-
ments, an amazing rebellion of the natural man. What
is the explanation of this strange phenomenon ? In
order to find an answer we must pass his literary
productions, at this period, in review.
It can be hardly necessary to remind the reader
that sexual irregularity in the fifteenth century must
not be judged according to the standard of the
twentieth century as accepted by middle -class Pro-
testants. It was lax, and transgressions were by no
means anxiously concealed. We have seen how almost
universal concubinage was among the clergy. The
morals observed in a Wiltshire village to-day are a
pale survival of what was general throughout Europe
in the Middle Ages. In Italy, and, to a less extent,
in other countries, families strengthened themselves
by the welcome support of vigorous bastards. The
ablest man succeeded to an Italian throne whether
he were of legitimate birth or not. During more
than a hundred years all the rulers at Ferrara were
bastards. Chastity was regarded as the ultimate
proof of extreme sanctity. The severe Dante placed
sinful lovers in that circle of transgressors which was
the remotest from the centre of hell and in the region
of purgation which lay nearest to the Earthly Paradise.
136
iENEAS SILVIUS
Towards the close of his first year at the Chan-
cellery, we find iEneas (who, if he had no great ad-
miration for German princes, liked to stand well with
them) writing a letter to Sigismund, Duke of Austria,
a lad of seventeen, urging him to bend his mind to
letters and wisdom, and warning him against flatterers
and the temptations that beset a prince.^ Eight days
later, he sent him a novel concerning the loves of
Hannibal, Duke of Numidia, and that fairest of virgins,
Lucretia, the daughter of the King of Epirus. It was
obviously intended to amuse the young prince, but a
letter accompanied it, saying that it might enable
him to efiect the conquest of a young lady with whom
he was in love. One can hardly suppose that the girl,
if a German, would understand the Latin tongue ; the
apology for the novel is obviously a fiction, and the
tale itself was intended to gain the young duke's ear
and favour. * You importune me with some bashful-
ness ' — thus runs the accompanying letter — * to write
you such words of love as will persuade a young girl,
whom you court, to yield to you. Another man might
deny the request, fearing to corrupt you. But I
accede, for I know life. If a man does not fall in love
in youth, he is doomed to prove himself an old fool
later on, and become a public butt at a time when
love is out of place. I know, too, the power of love
to excite virtues that lie dormant in youth. One
man, in order to please his lady, will put forth his
prowess in arms ; another, in letters. For, since
reputation attaches to merit, the lad in love develops
his powers to be worthy in his mistress' eyes. Very
likely you will find your prize less valuable than you
* iEn. Sil., Ep. ad Sigismundum^ Ducem Austriae^ December 5, 1443.
INNER STRIFE 137
think ; but, with a little advice, it may be a means
whereby you may obtain some excellence. Youths
must not be held too tight, or they become degenerate
and listless ; pranks must be allowed to them ; they
need a slack rein that they may pleasure heart and
soul, distinguish good from evil, and learn the crafty
ways of the world and how to escape them. Hence I
have complied with your request, and send you what
was demanded, on condition that you do not neglect
the study of letters for love. See to it that, as the
bee gathers honey from flowers, so you disentangle
the virtues of the goddess of love from her blandish-
ments.' ^ As Pope, Pius had to pay heavily for this
letter. Probably it was written in this way : Sigis-
mund was pursuing the usual diversions of a youthful
prince, and iEneas as a man of the world took the
facts as they were, made the best of them, and followed
up his previous letter on the cultivation of the mind,
by an attempt to steer the young prince as well as he
could. He will give him a hint that may be useful
and that yet will not alienate a possible patron. But
it may have been written at some moment when he
took an attitude of defiance and bravado towards
those scruples concerning sexual relations which we
shall find were assailing him now that the question
of an ecclesiastical career was pressingly before him.
Anyhow, one should note, in this epistle, a debased
flavour of that doctrine of Love the Regenerator, which,
coming into Italy from Provence, dominated Italian
literature — a doctrine found in its highest spirituality
in the writings of Dante, and revived, in the sixteenth
century, as the ridiculous courtly service of Love.
^ iEn. Sil., Ep. ad Sigismundum^ Ducem Austriae^ December 13, 1443.
138 .ENEAS SILVIUS
In six months* time, we find him seeking to please
Schlick with the novel De Duohus Amantihus, a
work that has been translated into most European
languages. Under the guise of the loves of Euryalus
and Lucretia, certain passages between the Chancellor
and a fair wedded-lady of Siena are invested with
literary charm, ^neas took Boccaccio for his model,
and he indulged in a fair measure of the licence of
that master. The novel is one of passion and in-
trigue. The passion is the quick, hot fire of Italian
youth ; the atmosphere that which Romeo and Juliet
breathed, where sensuous emotion ripens in a night.
The intrigue is managed with a skill that reminds
one of the antique dramatists, and foreshadows Pietro
Aretino and Moli^re. The situations often have the
fun of farce; the conversations are full of genuine
humour ; the construction is less strong, forceful and
condensed than that of Boccaccio's tragic tales, but
there are graceful, eloquent, and charming passages.
The delightful inconsequence of the woman in love
is wonderfully drawn — the battle in her breast when
the tongue denies the love that fills her heart.
iEneas would appear, from his writings, to have held
no very exalted notion of womankind. * They are
frivolous, feeble, faint-hearted creatures/ he wrote. ^
He read the hearts of Glycerium and Philorcium
of the inn where he took his wine, and was acquainted
with all the workings in the bosom of a coquette.
It was, however, fashionable to repeat * Quid femina
levius,' and imitate the gibes of the Classics. He
used ancient attacks on women to enforce the
doctrine of continence. But he showed great afiec-
1 Mu. Silvius, Ep. xcix., p. 588. Ed. Basileae.
INNER STRIFE 189
tion for his mother and sisters, and he held the
Mother of Our Lord in special veneration, composing
hymns in her honour, making frequent pilgrimages
to her shrines, loading them with gifts, and relying
on her protection.^ He appreciated the comparative
freedom accorded to the German woman, and remarks
that ' it is a mistake, widespread in Italy, to safeguard
woman as a miser does his gold. In my judgement
this does more harm than good, for all women want
a thing only the more if it is denied to them. Their
nature is such that what you want, they do not desire,
and what you do not incline to is precisely what they
hanker after.' ^
Noceto asked his advice as to whether he should
marry his mistress who had borne him several
children, ^neas has learned that all women are not
angels, and furnishes precisely the argument that
would be likely to prevail with Noceto. * I have
had experience,' he replies, * and, if I were going to
marry, I should choose a mate that I knew all
about. I speak quite frankly with you.' '
About this time he wrote Chrisis, a comedy in the
style of Terence. It has perished, but we may take
it that it would serve us as another of the many
1 Pii II. Opera Omn. Basileae, 1551, p. 964. See also Pit II. Com-
mentarii Rerum Memorahilium Joanne Gobellino jamdiu compositi.
Francofurti, 1614, pp. 131, 360.
2 ^n. Silvius, De Duobus Amantihus. By the time that iEneas had
come to occupy the Apostolic Chair, the novel was copied and recopied, and
80 widely spread throughout Europe that he found it impossible to suppress
it. He deemed it necessary to urge, as some excuse for the work, that it
contains a moral lesson, and he regrets that men lay emphasis on the
indelicacy of the story and neglect what they might profit by (see Epistle
395, ed. Basel). He would be a close and attentive reader who should
easily glean a moral from a tale the sole object of which was to amuse.
3 iEn. Sil., Ep. ad Petrum de Noxeto, January 16, 1444.
140
iENEAS SILVIUS
illustrations we possess of the corrupting effect of the
baser kinds of Latin literature on the Humanists.
Many men in the Middle Ages and Renaissance wrote
lascivious works. Most of them were so ingenuous as
to do so without a blush : a few append a moral tag
to serve as an excuse, -^neas is at strange pains to
defend the irregularities of his life and writings.
He tells one friend that * he who has not been singed
by the fires of love is a stone or a beast.' ^ * Who at
thirty, with half his life gone, is without reproach ? '
he asks of another. * I cast love from me that has
brought me into a thousand troubles.'^ * By the
undying gods, what can be sharper, crueller, and more
unmanly than to separate lovers? It gives me no
surprise that a man burns for a maid, and seeks to
perpetuate his kind. It is a manly passion, implanted
by Nature. If there be a man who has never loved
a woman nor felt the sting of attraction, he is either
a god or a beast. One may be fond of dogs or jewels
or wealth, and no disgrace attaches. Where lies the
shame if one loves a woman, the highest of created
beings.'' It is quite exceptional to find an Italian
of his period conscious of any such shame or seeking
any such defence. For the hypocrisy of northern
nations was no characteristic of the Italian, whatever
his other vices may have been.
Somewhat earlier than these letters Silvio Picco-
lomini the elder received what is, perhaps, the most
astounding epistle father ever received from son.
While at Strassburg, on a mission of the Council,
^ -^n. Sil., Ep. ad Marianum Socinum, July 3, 1444.
2 Id., Ep. ad Caspar Schlick, July 3, 1444.
' Id.y Ep. ad Johan. Campisium, June 1, 1445.
INNER STRIFE 141
iEneas met a British (or Breton ?) woraan named
Elizabeth. Probably she was of our own race, for
he had a great admiration for fair women, and this
young person, lively and able to speak Italian (for
she had been in Italy), took his fancy. She bore
him a son, that first saw the light at Florence, and
iEneas wrote to his father, asking him to receive the
child, according to the wont of Italian families of
the period. The letter is adduced by Voigt as one
of the evidences of a corrupt nature. That it is
pervaded by a certain tone of bravado may readily
be granted : the deep ground of this we hope pre-
sently to make clear. iEneas, denied the joy and
affectionate intercourse of family life by his poverty
and position, makes appeal to the feelings natural to
an aged man who has become a grandfather. Silvio
would appear to have been somewhat of a rake in
the days when he was a soldier in Lombardy, and
iEneas's acquaintance with human nature had taught
him that such men are apt to take a pride in the
memories of their own unbridled youth. The whole
letter is a marvellous revelation of the paternal
character — the not unkindly man, rendered a little
severe by poverty — become with years a somewhat
rigid moralist, a little pietistic perhaps, yet whose
eye may still sparkle and the ashes of his ancient
fires revive at suggestions of the gallant, licensed
days of his youth. iEneas appeals, first of all, to a
grandparent's natural affection ; next, he reminds
Silvio that he, too, may charge himself with no less
a folly ; then, in order to show that the son is really
his, he proceeds, still preserving this second vein, to
give a detailed account of how his relations with
U2
iENEAS SILVIUS
Elizabeth arose, and he does this in such a way as
to take the chief blame on himself.^ ' You wrote,' so
the letter runs, * that you do not know whether to
be glad or sorry that God has given this little child.
But I see grounds for joy only, and none for regret.
What is sweeter than to beget offspring in one's
own image, to see one's own race continued, to leave
some one behind to fill one's place? Recollecting
one's own childhood, what is happier than to behold
a child of one's very own ? To me, at least, to have
multiplied, and to know that I shall leave offspring
on earth when I take my departure hence is full
of joy. I thank the Lord who has formed a child
in his mother's womb, so that a little Enea shall
climb your and my mother's knees, and be a comfort
to his grandparents. If my own birth gave you
delight, father, shall not my son's too? Will not
the boy's face be welcome to you when you see in
it my own again ? Will it not be charming when
a little Enea clings round your neck and cajoles
you with his childish wiles ?
' But you will say, very likely, you are angry at my
offence, since the boy is one born out of wedlock. I
do not know what you take me for. Certainly you
yourself are made of flesh and did not beget a son of
stone or iron.^ Surely you must remember what kind
of a spark (gallus) you have been in your time. I,
also, am no eunuch, nor one of the frigid sort. At
least I am no hypocrite, wishing to appear better
than I am. I frankly confess that it is a fault. I am
1 For this portion of the letter, the reader must refer to the epistle itself,
^n. SUvii, Opera Omn.y Basileae, 1551, Ep, xv., September 20, 1443.
2 An excuse drawn from Boccaccio, iv. novella 1, and iii. novella 5.
INNER STRIFE 143
not holier than David nor wiser than Solomon. It is
an old vice, bred in the bone, and I know of none
that are free from it. If it be a sin to follow natural
impulses, it is an universal one. And I do not see
why one should be severely reprehended, since Nature,
that does nothing amiss, has implanted this instinct
in all creatures.^ Mankind also desires to multiply.
But you will say — so I perceive — " there are limits
within which this is lawful, outside wedlock it is not
lawful." That is true, and, even so, incontinence will
often obtain within the matrimonial bounds. To
eating and drinking bounds are set also ; but who
regards them? Who is so upright as not to fall
seven times a day ? Let the hypocrite profess that
he is without sin. I am quite unaware of any such
merit in myself, and the Divine Compassion alone
gives me hope of pardon. God is aware that we are
all weak and prone to sin, nor will His fountain of
forgiveness cease, that flows to all.' The grandfather
was little touched by this appeal.^ There is nothing
to indicate whether the child grew up to man's estate,
or what became of him.
^neas's letters to his friends are just as devoid of
concealment as the one addressed to his father. ' I
am amused that any one should say that I lead a
* Lorenzo Vallo, in his De Voluptate ac vero BonOy puts the following
words into the mouth of Beccadelli, the author of that infamous work, the
Hermaphroditus : ' What Nature has formed and produced cannot be
otherwise than holy and deserving of praise. . . . Kindly Nature is the
same, or almost the same, as God.' He praises Plato's idea, in the Republic^
of community in women as being after Nature, condemns continence as a
crime against Nature, and pronounces all sensual pleasures to be good. It
must be remembered that Beccadelli was an intimate friend of -(Eneas
during his university days at Siena.
2 Mn. Sil., £p. ad Ghregor. Lollium, January 15, 1444.
144
iENEAS SILVIUS
chaste lite,' he wrote to one of them. ' I am a po(
not a stoic ; but I dare say I shall get discredit for
not being more discreet in what I say. What I am
I declare.' ^
The tone of bravado, of self-defence, to be found in
some of these letters is precisely that adopted by
men who are conscious of maintaining an untenable
position, or who cling to a favourite vice. If they
are naturally candid, if they love truth and are con-
scious of the demands of duty, the vigour of their
apology is often a measure of the severity of the inner
conflict. It may be taken as a proof that they find
their conduct unsatisfactory to themselves.
Now, when iEneas arrived at Vienna, he was cast
into the society of men younger than himself — men
who did not share his intellectual tastes. When set
free from the dull routine of official life they pursued
pleasure riotously, and he joined them at the tavern.
He was framed for social intercourse ; he yearned for
his home-land and his friends, for whom, as his letters
show, he entertained deep and enduring afiection ; he
could speak no German. Fate had denied him the
pleasures of domestic life; he could have made a
home very happy, as his devotion to his mother, his
sisters, and his nephews shows, but to do so was not
his lot. In many respects he was a disappointed
man ; his real intellectual interests lay in poetry, in
noting all that he saw, and conveying his own vivid
feelings about many things in fresh and forcible
phrases, and in tracking events to their causes. But
fate had cast him into the world of diplomacy ; diplo-
matic treatment of those above him in rank was the
1 JEq. Silvius, Letter to Wilhelvi von SteiUy July 1444.
INNER STRIFE 145
only way to escape from penury and a position un-
worthy of his powers. Yet he did not like diplomacy ;
he was of too candid a nature to feel quite happy in
such employment ; it did not always leave his con-
science at ease, ^neas felt it necessary to furnish
an excuse to Schlick, of all people in the world, for
Schlick's and his own conduct when the Chancellor
employed him to secure the bishopric for his brother.
Christ Himself, he urges, did not always declare all
that was in His mind or His real intention. * Nothing,'
he says in his Commentaries on Panormitanus, 4s more
wobbling than a lie, nothing so stable as the truth.'
Nature had designed him for a man of letters ; the
irony of life had condemned him to be a state-official,
had destined that his genius should waste itself on
theological subtleties, ecclesiastical squabbles, and the
machinations of policy. He was an exile from all that
rendered life most dear. What wonder that he took
refuge in sensuous pleasures 1 New convictions arose,
but he still tried hard to batter himself into enjoy-
ment. But such dissipation as his colleagues indulged
in could have given but little delight to this man of
forty, worn with the hardships of more travel in more
lands than any man of his time had undertaken;
worn, too, by work, worry, shortened sleep, and
irregular and often scanty meals. He was tortured
by frequent attacks of gout ; he was already bald,
wrinkled, perhaps feeling a little older than his years.
The blondes of a German inn brought no sunshine to
his heart ; the pleasures of sense palled on him ; he
was tasting fruit that once had been pleasant to the
palate, but the keen edge of appetite and enjoyment
pertains to more youthful years.
K
146
^NEAS SILVIUS
He was far from being at peace with his own soul.
At such moments forgotten impressions are apt to
come back. Perhaps the preaching of Bernardino,
that had once so strongly affected him, was remem-
bered. Had the saintly Cesarini, at whose table he
so often sat, and with whom he held such serious
conversation, no influence over the soul of his guest ?
He possessed the intimate confidence of the king
and his chancellor, and found himself growing in
favour with them daily. But, as a foreigner, he could
never obtain commanding employment in Germany
unless he held some position in that truly cosmo-
politan institution — the Universal Church. He never
cared for wealth, but he loved the refinements of life,
which are unobtainable without means, and he was
miserably poor : some of those tempting manuscripts,
for example, that he was always on the look-out for
and that he frequently discovered, might be his if
he were better off. He was fully conscious that he
possessed great powers, and church-craft and state-
craft would afford him a field for their exercise. He
regarded ecclesiastical matters as of vastly more
serious importance now than he did in earlier life ;
he felt the sobering influence of age and experience ;
he was a practised hand at affairs, and regarded the
political world of the Empire from its very centre.
An ecclesiastic career would furnish scope for his
powers, release him from pecuniary embarrassment,
and satisfy the deeper yearnings of his soul.
Never was there a man of more complex nature.
Simple as a child in some things, he saw all sides of a
question at once, he was drawn by diverse allure-
ments, storm-tossed by many conflicting emotions.
INNER STRIFE 147
A not unworthy ambition as well as a deepened
moral and religious sense were at variance with the
natural tendencies of a literary and joyously artistic
temperament ; the spiritual was at war with the
natural man. ^neas the theologian and philosopher
stood in arms against ^neas the poet. Even as early
as November 1444 he wrote from Ntirnberg to John
Gers that he *has become strong and can praise
chastity.' The struggle was severe, but servitude to
the flesh was weakened by disillusion and the passage
of the years. He had held back from taking orders
because he feared he could not keep his vow ; ^ now,
at last, he accepted a benefice in the remote mountains.
Once having accepted a new obligation he would
fulfil it loyally. On May 25, 1445, he informs his
friend Campisio that he has been presented to a
benefice, and is to be ordained; on March 6, 1446,
he tells him that the deed is done ; he is a sub-deacon
and soon will be a priest. * That levity of mind which
would have held me among the laity is passing away.
I wish for nothing more eagerly than to become a
priest now. . . . Therefore do I render God thanks,
and I will submit to His Will only, and conduct my
life in accordance with it.' Pastor has discovered
the record of his admission to the rank of priest in
the Liber Officiorum of Eugenius : he was ordained
presbyter in February 1447.
He bitterly repented, now, of his erotic writings,
so many of which, too, were of such recent dates.
He made the usual vain attempt at trying to undo
the past. His letters to his friends John Freund
(March 8, 1446), to Nicholas Wartenburg and Ippolito
1 iEn. Sylvii, Ep. ad Fetr. de Noxdo, February 18, 1444.
148
^NEAS SILVIUS
of Milan (December 31, 1446), and to Carolus
Cypriacus, although written in the vein that would
exactly commend themselves to their recipients, gave
evidence of sincere repentance. He learned, to his
regret, how widely his novels were circulated, and
he wrote an earnest retractation and the work De
Pravis Mulierihus, the precise dates of which are
unknown.^
The first-named of these productions is a letter
of advice to Freund, who was one of his co-secretaries
in the Chancellery. It exhibits ^neas's wonted
penetration into the recesses of the human heart, and
how unerringly he could read what other folk would
be sure to think and say concerning himself He
writes : ' As regards your light o' love whom you
have given in marriage, I commend your action.
What is better than the wedded state, with the
babes it brings ; gifts, these latter, to the State for
its defence and preservation. But it is unnatural for
you to grieve over what you have done. Repentance
should follow wrong-doing only. Why, therefore,
should you regret having done a good deed ? Deeds,
not words, tell. If you have given her to an honest
man, all is well. You have done what is pleasing to
God and disregarded the criticisms of men. Remem-
ber that Scripture couples fornication with death.
You will say, " How straight- laced iEneas has become !"
It is true that I have a different sort of reputation
now from what I used to have at Vienna and Frank-
fort. I do not deny my past, dearest John, but we
are older, nearer to death, and it behoves us to think
^ Weiss, Anton, ^neas S. Piccolomini ah Fapst Pius II., sein Lehen und
Einfluss auf die literarische Cvltur Deutschlands. Graz, 1897.
INNER STRIFE 149
less about life and more about the grave. Wretched
is that man, and devoid of the grace of God, whose
soul is never touched, who never examines his own
heart, nor seeks to amend his ways, nor thinks of
eternity. I have been a great wanderer from what
is right, but I know it, and, I hope, the knowledge
has not come too late. My fortieth year is here, and
with it the day of mercy and salvation.
' Forget all about the girl. If you wish for eternal
life, do as if she were dead. How poor would be your
joy with her, how fleeting is our delight in women,
how momentary the satisfaction, how foolish the man
who loses eternal happiness for the brief delights of
this world ! I preach to you because you are well
aware how the poets moralise on the subject. , , .'
Then ^neas appeals to John Freund's pride, reminds
him that, if he chooses another girl, he will merely
have escaped from one fire to pass into another, and
quotes from the Classics concerning the levity of
woman. He proceeds : ' But I am afraid it is useless
for me to talk seriously with you, because you will not
give me any credit for sincerity. You will say that
I am a man full fed who calls on the hungry to fast.
Yes, I must admit that this is true. I am nauseated.
But supposing that, spurned by Venus, I should seek
consolation with Bacchus. Here also were sin. I am
not, indeed, surprised that a strapping, full-blooded
fellow like yourself should fall in love (though I doubt
whether your boasts are not stronger than the facts
warrant), but, let it be as you say, then, the stronger
the temptation, the greater is the merit of resisting
it. I, by Hercules, am far from being naturally
continent, and to speak truly, Venus avoids me now
150
iENEAS SILVIUS
quite as much as I turn my back on her. But I
thank God that my temptation is lessened, so that I
can overcome it. You will say, '* Why yield the spoil
to the enemy before he is victorious ? " but this maxim
has no application to spiritual warfare.* And so the
argument is continued, with quotations from the
Bible and the Classics. Could anything be more
transparent, sincere, and candid than this letter?
Yet Voigt finds in it * eine Bordell-Comodie ' ; ^ a
' farce of the brothel ' !
iEneas judged himself by a higher standard than
that employed by his contemporaries. No one
regarded incontinence as other than a foible ; most
folk pronounced it praiseworthy, ^neas's father is
the only one who seems to have condemned his son's
irregularities. Even the austere Gregory Heimburg,
the precursor of severe German Protestantism, though
he became a bitter foe of Pope Pius, never reproached
him in this regard. He sneers, indeed, at a Pope
who is fond of bastards, because Pius favoured the
claims of Ferrante to the Neapolitan throne ; he
accuses him of defending adulterers at Mantua, he
covertly hints at the licentiousness of early writings,
but he does no more. It would hardly have occurred
to any one to hurl so trifling a matter even at the
teeth of a Pope.^ A layman might do what a man
who became Pope should not have written about.
1 Voigt, jEnea Silvio Piccolomini als Papst Pins 11.^ i. 438.
2 See Goldast, Monarchia, ii., or Freher, Rerum Germanicarum Scrip-
toreSf ed. Struvii, ii. ; Pez, Rerum Atist. Scriptores, ii., and the speech
preserved in the Munich Archives, Cod. lat. 522, fol. 161.
GERMAN OBEDIENCE TO EUGENIUS 151
CHAPTER VIII
iENBAS AND THE BESTORATION OF GERMAN OBEDIENCE
TO EUGENIUS — HE ENTERS THE CHURCH
Soon after the accession of Frederick, at one of his
innumerable diets, the majority of the Electors were
in favour of recognising whichever Pope might favour
precisely those reforms in the Church by which they
would obtain most power and advantage. At the
diet of Frankfort (a.d. 1442) five of the Electors
inclined towards Eugenius, but Frederick could not
afford to quarrel with Felix and the Baselites, for
that would imply the antagonism of Savoy and
strengthen the opposition to him that existed
throughout Switzerland. Swiss Cantons held posses-
sion of certain lands that had belonged to the House
of Hapsburg, and Frederick had not yet abandoned
hope of recovering them. The Electors still preserved
sufficient respect for Caesar to leave the matter in
his hands. Felix, through Cardinal D'AUemand,
offered the hand of his daughter Margaret, the widow
of Louis of Anjou, to Frederick, with a dowry or bribe
of 200,000 gold pieces. But Frederick held back.
When he left Basel with jiEneas in his train, he said,
* Popes have sold their rights before to-day, but Felix
would fain buy them.' ^ He, as well as other shrewd
^ JEu. Silvius, De Dictis Alfons% lib. u.
152
iENEAS SILVIUS
observers of character, held Felix in no very high
estimation. Soon after the. Anti-Pope's election
Cesarini wrote to Rome : ' Fear not. The victory
is with you. The Council have elected a man re-
vealed to them not by the Holy Spirit but by
earthly motives. I dreaded lest they should choose
some poor, learned, holy man, whose virtues had
been a danger. They have chosen a man of the
world.' ^
But a wealthy prince with a marriageable daughter
finds many friends. The Electors inclined at once
towards Felix. One of them, the Pfalsgraf of the
Rhine, secured Margaret and her huge dowry. They
all flouted their Emperor. They were less dis-
gusted with his inertia than eager to take advantage
of his supineness and push their own claims, increase
their own power, and enhance their own prestige.
Zurich had supported the claim of Frederick to the
ancient possessions of the House of Hapsburg in
Switzerland. The Swiss closely beleaguered the city,
and the Electors refused to help their monarch. The
* Armagnacs,' soldiery left unemployed by the cessa-
tion of the French war with England, were sent by
the dauphin to aid Frederick, for the French prince
was glad to get them out of France, and hoped by
their means to push forward the boundary of French
territory. But the Armagnacs met with such sturdy
resistance from the Swiss that they retired to certain
lands of the Empire in Alsace, and subjected them to
rape, fire, and pillage. Hence, at the diet of Niirn-
berg, iEneas heard Frederick overwhelmed with
* Fea, Pius II. a column, vindic. Borne, 1822 ; (Pii ii., Comnunt. de
ConcU. Basil.) J p. 79.
GERMAN OBEDIENCE TO EUGENIUS 153
invective and reproach, nor, for twenty-seven years,
did the Caesar dare to face a diet again. Four of the
Electors were now on the side of FeHx. They saw
an opportunity to take advantage of the supineness
of Frederick and aim a blow at the royal authority.
They assumed religious zeal, but it was a mere veil
for political intrigue, -^neas saw through these
stratagems of statecraft. * We are ready,' he wrote,
* at the command of a secular power, not merely to
abjure a Pope, but to deny Christ Himself For love
is dead and faith lies buried.'^ But later on, as a
practical politician, he did not disdain to utilise the
strategy of others, bent on self-advancement, to
further what he deemed the just and right cause.
Eugenius had repaired, by dogged persistency, the
damage caused by his rash obstinacy. The large-
minded policy that united the Greeks with the
Roman Church added enormously to his prestige ;
the attacks of the Council only served to throw the
most distinguished theologians, the most saintly men
on to his side, and they took up his cause with ardour;
Vitelleschi, his military lieutenant, had reduced Rome
to such order that the Pope was able to return to
his own see and dwell there; Castile and Scotland
had come over to his obedience ; the King of Aragon,
now master of Naples, had entered into alliance with
him. But the battle was not at an end in Germany ;
the Electors were intriguing with France, the natural
foe of their country, and, since Anjou was expelled
from Naples, Eugenius could expect no aid from His
Most Christian Majesty. Yet it was clear that the
traditional persistency of the Papacy had prevailed ;
1 ^n. Silyius, Ep. liv. Ed. Basel.
154
iENEAS SILVIUS
as
so often before, the dark hour had
a passing eclipse, and the authority of
once more,
proved but
Rome was, in measure, restored. Only Germany
remained to be won. Frederick had never been
unfavourable to Eugenius, and the action of the
Electors inclined him to support the Pope, for he
needed what protection Rome could give him against
domestic foes. Nor was this all. A terrible disaster
had happened in Hungary, an event that spread con-
sternation through Europe ; a danger was imminent
that demanded the union of divided Christianity : the
Turk had almost annihilated the Christian forces at
Varna ; the noble Cesarini and Ladislas, King of
Poland, were among the slain. And the Hungarian
nobility opposed the claims of the youthful Ladislas
to the Hungarian throne, which the death of Ladislas
of Poland had rendered vacant. If Frederick were
to restore the aims of Imperial authority, then, and to
check the Turkish advance, the aid of Eugenius was
necessary to him.
JEneas was present at the Diet of Nlirnberg (a.d.
1444), and there he perceived, not only how feeble
the Caesar really was, but how weak was the bond
that united the self-seeking Electors. Felix and the
Council had refused the request of the German
princes to summon a new council. iEneas, appointed
by Frederick as one of his commissioners in ecclesias-
tical affairs, was sent, though still a layman, with
three other delegates, to lay the same proposal before
Eugenius and request him to summon the Council
in a definite (namely, two years') time, .^neas had
waited for the Holy Spirit to give an unmistakeable
direction to events ; and it was now quite clear that
GERMAN OBEDIENCE TO EUGENIUS 155
Europe was passing over to the side of Kome. He
began to take a much stronger and more active part
in the attempt to determine the Schism. * Opposition
is useless/ he told Schlick, 'and will only lead to
new schism.'^ Eugenius had won Schlick over by
nominating his brother to the vacant bishopric, and
Frederick was only awaiting an opportunity to come
to terms, ^neas had acquired the close confidence
of both Schlick and the king, and he found that his
counsels had weight with them. Aforetime he had
been, he could have been, no other than an eloquent
mouthpiece ; but now he found himself in a position
where his own opinion and advice were sought.
Experience had deepened his sense of responsibility ;
he perceived that Frederick, though by no means
devoid of sound judgement, was tardy in action and
sluggish in thought — a man to be led, not to be
followed. He determined to do all that in him lay,
and conduct Germany over to Eugenius. The
greater part of the Catholic world had decided : for
the sake of religion, of Christian peace, and, above
all, for united action against the rapidly advancing
Turk, the Pope must be supported, ^neas had the
adaptable mind of the practical statesman, who will
undertake nothing that is not opportune and ex-
pedient. His large intellect enabled him to grasp
great conceptions and lofty ideas ; he honoured them,
but he believed the when and how of their realisation
must depend much on circumstance and, often, on
device. A new and noble duty was before him, but
he would undertake it with prudence and conduct
it with caution — with boldness, though, if boldness
* ^n. Silvius, Ep. liv. Ed. Basel.
156 .ENEAS SILVIUS
should become opportune. In the spring of 1445
he joyfully set out on his journey to Rome. Once
again he would behold his beloved land and the faces
of his kindred.
When he arrived at Siena, his simple-minded
relatives, ignorant of the immunity accorded to an
Imperial envoy, were struck with horror at the notion
of his venturing near Eugenius. They remembered
his entanglement in the Bishop of Novara's plot and
his many writings against the Pope. One and all,
they begged him not to venture into the lion's den ;
they clung fast to him and sought, with tearful
entreaty, to turn him from his purpose. His pontifical
pen records, with dry humour, how they told him of
*the cruelty of Eugenius, how unforgiving he was,
how no compunction, no sense of right ever restrained
him, how he was surrounded by agents that stopped
at nothing. Once in Home JEneas would never
return.' The envoy could not hold himself back ; he
entered into the spirit of the comedy. Assuming
the r61e of a hero, he proclaimed that * duty must be
performed, even at the cost of life,' and so, tearing
himself away from those that would have restrained
him, he rode off for Rome.^
The Papal legates in Germany had prepared
Eugenius for iEneas's coming, and his kindred's fears
were soon turned into joy at his success. He received
a cordial welcome at Rome, for all were aware how
very useful the Imperial secretary could be. Before
unfolding his mission, however, it was necessary to
be absolved from the Papal anathema pronounced
against adherents of the Council. Two cardinals led
* Fit II. Comment., 1. 1.
iENEAS SiLVIUS AT THE FEET OF POPE EUGENIUS IV.
Pinturicchio, Siena.
GEEMAN OBEDIENCE TO EUGENIUS 157
him into the Papal presence. When he had knelt
and done reverence to the Apostolic feet, Eugenius
presented him with both hand and cheek to kiss,
^neas then spoke to His Holiness in a singularly-
bold and manly way. * Holy Father/ he said, * before
I deliver the king's message, I wish to say a few
words concerning myself I am aware that you have
heard much about me, and that little of it is to my
credit. I must plead guilty to having spoken and
written and contrived much against you at Basel.
I did so, but it was less designed against yourself
than, as I then thought, to serve the Church. I did
wrong ; but I erred with many men of high reputa-
tion. I followed Julian, Cardinal of St. Angelo,
Niccol5, Archbishop of Palermo, and Ludovico
Pontano, Apostolic notary. These men were regarded
as the very eyes of the law and masters of truth.
Need I speak of the Universities or of other schools,
of which most were against you ? Who would not
have gone astray with such a company ? But, when
I discovered the error of the Baselites, I confess that
I did not come over to you, as most did. I was
afraid of falling from one error into another, as one
escapes from Scylla to be caught by Charybdis, and
so I joined the camp of the neutrals. I was unwilling
to pass from one extreme to another without taking
time and reflecting. I remained three years with
the king. But, as I heard more and more about the
points of difference between the Baselites and your
legates, it became clear to me that the right lay with
you. Therefore I rejoiced when the king himself
wished to open relations with Your Holiness by my
means. I hoped to be restored to your favour. So,
158
iENEAS SILVIUS
now I stand before you, and I ask your pardon for
what I did without true knowledge/
The Pope replied : * You fell into error with many.
We cannot refuse to pardon the repentant, for the
Church is a loving Mother. You have reached the
truth : take heed that you hold it fast. You occupy
a station where you may defend the truth and benefit
the Church. We will forget the injury you have
done Us and love you well, if you continue to deserve
Our love.'^ iEneas wrote about the interview to
his friends when he returned to Vienna. * When
I saw Eugenius,' he says, ' he was as well as an old
man can be. . . . He will not promise to grant the
king's request, nor allow a Council to be held in
Germany, nor fix a date for one.*^ The Papacy has
never failed to give its right value to the policy of
Quintus Fabius Cunctator.
The cardinals received him heartily and treated
him with all due honour ; but his former master in
Albergati's household, Tommaso Parentucelli, now
become Bishop of Bologna, and destined, in no short
time, to occupy the Apostolic Chair, turned aside
rather than take his hand. Perhaps Parentucelli
thought him still under censure. Of lofty spirit and
remarkable directness of mind, a plain-dealer and
plain-speaker, the bishop was a man ready to con-
front a world in arms with a single purpose in his
soul ; ready to subdue it to his will or be broken in
the attempt. He and Albergati had always been for
Eugenius. He was incapable of understanding the
subtle, complex character of w^neas, his adaptability
^ Pii [I. Comment. y 1. 1.
2 ^a. Sil., Ep, ad Leonard. Episc. Patav.^ May or June 1445.
GERMAN OBEDIENCE TO EUGENIUS 159
and circumspection, his wide, cautious outlook, his
awareness of all the difficulties of a situation, his
skilful manoeuvring to overcome them. Parentucelli
may have fallen into the error that a great and
minute scholar has not avoided.^ It may even have
seemed to him that he had before him, not the wary
politician, sincerer and less self-centred than most of
his tribe, but only a disingenuous trimmer, a time-
server and a toady.
But there was j ust enough of truth in the unspoken
judgement to cut ^neas to the heart. He resented
it. He cannot forget the incident, even when he
becomes Pope, and it is characteristic of him that
he records it. 'How ignorant we are of what the
Future is to bring about ! ' he remarks, and some-
what ingenuously adds, 'if ^neas had known that
Parentucelli was to become Pope he would have for-
given him.'I^ He would have been restrained by
respect for the Apostolic Chair, for the Chosen Vessel,
and by worldly prudence. The old experienced
statesman approves of caution in the conduct of life.
Like so many of the Pope's incidental remarks, this
admixture of simpHcity and shrewdness brings the
very man before us. Friends soon brought about a
reconciliation. Perhaps iEneas was never a favourite
with Tommaso Parentucelli, the housemaster who,
as Bishop of Bologna and Pope Nicholas v., never
took him to his heart : yet, henceforward, the two
men co-operated in perfect agreement, to great ends.
iEneas now finally takes his stand as a supporter
* The author refers to Voigt.
2 Fea, Pius II, a column, vindic, ; (Pii II. Comment de reb. Basil.),
p. 88.
160
iENEAS SILVIUS
of the theocratic throne. The Turk was fixing him-
self firmly in Eastern Europe and rapidly advancing
his forces towards its centre ; no limit seemed to be
set to his victorious progress ; the growing spirit of
nationality was adding terrible force to the existing
antagonisms of Christendom : to iEneas, there seemed
no other way to repel the Infidel and unify the
nations than by upholding Christ's Vicar as the
Father of all peoples. In the Vicegerent of Heaven
lay the sole hope of public safety and public order.
Shall we condemn his judgement ? Let it be granted
that no tyranny is so terrible as a spiritual despotism.
Is the spectacle, to-day, of feud and anarchy in the
great Empire of Constantine ; is the crushing burden
of our national debts, the oppression of militarism,
the veiled enmity of nations that, unconscious of
irony, name an armed truce 'peace' — each a conse-
quence of the failure of Papal theory to realise itself
— so entirely preferable ? We know how limited
was the power of Papal authority, even at its height,
to bring the Princes of Europe under control ; we
may perceive that the dream is one that has come
through the gate of ivory and not through that of
horn ; but the conception was no ignoble one ; it
did not seem impracticable to iEneas, nor does the
Papacy, to-day, regard it as other than a destiny not
yet fulfilled.
iEneas resolved to do all that he could to procure
union. He wrote to one of his friends at Home : ' If
my embassy can get anything from you it will be the
safer and render it easier to lead all into union. The
electors met at Frankfort on St. John's day, nor is
there any one who does not expect novel events from
GERMAN OBEDIENCE TO EUGENIUS 161
it. But God, who is wiser than we, will direct the
result/ ^ And he wrote to a German friend : * My
journey has the honest object of procuring unity.
What I shall further report concerning the Frank-
forters, time will show. My silence may be taken to
indicate what may be brought about.' ^
On his way back to Vienna, ^neas revisited Siena,
and embraced his aged father for the last time.
Eugenius replied to the Electors' request for a
council by a series of hostile measures. At the
request of the Duke of Cleves, he removed certain
lands from the jurisdictions of the Archbishop of
Koln and the Bishop of Miinster, and he denounced
the latter as a * son of wickedness.' He agreed to
purchase the aid of Frederick by giving him the right
of filling up six important German bishoprics during
his lifetime and by granting certain concessions.
Heimburg says that he promised to pay Caesar
221,000 ducats, whereof 100,000 were to be furnished
by Eugenius and the remainder by his successors.^
The expenses of the projected journey to Bome for
Imperial coronation would furnish an excuse for this
bribe. Eugenius followed all up by a Bull deposing
the Archbishop-electors of Koln and Trier (February 1,
1446). Each side miscalculated the strength of the
other. Eugenius overestimated the power of Frederick,
and the king placed too high a value on the restored
Papal authority.
The Electors, however, abandoned the intrigues
they had been carrying on with Felix, and turned to
^ ^n. Sil., Ep. ad Johan. Campisium, May 21, 1446.
2 ^n. Sil, Ep. ad Johan. Freund. From Vienna, 1446.
3 Diix, Nicolas von Cusa, i. Beilage iv.
L
162
iENEAS SILVIUS
the king, entreating him to renounce his under-
standing with Eugenius. Then they met at Frank-
fort, and agreed to forsake Felix and acknowledge
Eugenius if the Pope would accept such decrees of
Basel as related to reform, recall all censures directed
against neutrals, and agree to summon a council
within a year in a German city (March 1446). If
Eugenius refused to conform, they would accept the
Council of Basel ; but knowledge of this was to be
withheld from the Pope.^
They sent Gregory Heimburg, a zealous reformer,
and other envoys to announce their decision to
Frederick. After seeing him, the embassy was to
proceed to Rome, but by no means to show the docu-
ments they bore to Eugenius unless he accepted their
terms without reservation ; above all, their resolve to
pass over to Felix, if these were rejected, was to
remain a secret from the Pope. The king received
the envoys in the presence of six of his counsellors.
They, but not Frederick, were sworn to secrecy.
Frederick found himself placed in a difficult posi-
tion. Carvajal and Parentucelli were at his Court,
bearing with them the Emperor's treaty with Eugenius
for ratification. Frederick complained to the Electors'
envoys that it was quite a new thing for arrange-
ments to be made behind the monarch's back and
his assent demanded before he had fully and freely
discussed the questions they involved. He agreed,
however, to summon a diet in the autumn (a.d. 1446)
to receive the Pope's answer. Although he had
taken no oath, it was incumbent on the duty and
dignity of the throne to preserve secrecy ; yet he felt
1 Piickert, Die Kurfiirstliche Neutralitdt, p. 259.
GEEMAN OBEDIENCE TO EUGENIUS 163
it desirable to give Eugenius an inkling of the hidden
reservation.^ He told Parentucelli, directly the envoys
had left, that he had better hasten his departure for
Rome, relying on the astuteness of the Legate to
penetrate the meaning of such strange advice, and he
sent ^neas with him as his own envoy. As an
Imperial Secretary, Piccolomini was bound by general
oath to secrecy, but he may not have been one of the
six counsellors who took the special oath.
Sending JEneas with Parentucelli was an astute
piece of diplomacy. A little more might leak out on
the way, and it would give Eugenius a diplomatic
advantage to appear to treat the Electors' legation as
if that were one and the same with the legation of
his friend, their master. He could confound the two
together. The secretary, in his History of Frederick,
tells us that * the bishop, though he could not know
all, guessed much,' ^ which speaks well for Parentu-
celli's training in Albergati's household, for he was by
nature phenomenally straightforward in his own deal-
ings. In Piccolomini's Commentaries on the Council
we learn that * instructed by ^neas, Parentucelli
warned the Pope concerning the matter, and advised
him to give the envoys a mild answer.'^ There was
no need to speak right out. Under such circum-
stances it is easy to lead up to a question, and a
shrug of the shoulders, a single glance, a dubious tone
will answer it. ^Eneas has been charged with double
dealing. If he was the servant of the Empire, the
Electors had forced their king's hand, and he was
^ Pii II. Comment, de rehus Basil, in Fea (Pius II. a calumniis vindic.\
p. 91.
2 ^n. Silvius, Hist. Fred, in Kollar, ii. p. 122.
' Fii II. Comment, de rehus Basil, in Fea, p. 91.
164
^NEAS SILVIUS
bound to be faithful to the real interests of the?
Empire, which he identified with those of the king :
the Empire could not continue to exist if the king's
authority were flouted and curtailed by his lieges.
He knew that the king would approve of his action.
And there are few occasions when the close observer
will not discover that, so far from the course of duty
being wholly indisputable, it usually involves a de-
cision, not between plain right and plain wrong, but
between doubtful courses of action, all of which
involve some wrong. The future of Christendom was
in the balance : the unity of the Church was within
view, and, if Eugenius remained in the dark, an
unguarded reply would renew and reinforce schism,
perhaps to the destruction of Catholic Christianity.
There might be found those who would hold these
reasons as weighty, and sufficient excuse for ^Eneas's
conduct. It is a question for casuistry, and ^neas,
certainly, was never visited by the slightest misgiving
that he had acted otherwise than in the manner that
strict allegiance to duty and moral obligation de-
manded of him. To-day, even, we hardly apply the
standards of conduct and honour required in private
life to the statesman. ^Eneas held the views of a
practical politician. * Wisdom,' he says, * fears Destiny
not one jot. The wise apply their intelligence to the
events that Time unfolds, and expect men to act
according to their nature.'^ 'The fruit of a man's
life is the unfolding of his nature. What the prudent
enjoy is due to their superiority ; what the less gifted
miss is due to their inability to profit by experience.
So success does not always come from honest service,
1 -^n. Silvius, Hist. Fred, in Kollar, ii. p. 192.
GERMAN OBEDIENCE TO EUGENIUS 165
nor is failure always the result of crime. Most useful
results in human affairs are the consequences of correct
judgement.' ^
^neas, as envoy of Caesar, introduced the embassy
of the Electors, and hinted, in the vaguest way, that
a favourable reply to their requests would bring peace
to the Church. Heimburg set forth the demands of
the Electors in a hard and almost peremptory way.
Eugenius was attentive. He remained silent for a
while, and then returned an indefinite, diplomatic
answer. He must take time for consideration.
Heimburg and ^neas recognised one another as
irreconcileable foes. Their enmity endured through-
out their lives. In appearance and in character no
men could be more completely contrasted, ^neas
was of slight and unimposing figure ; he bore the
marks of travel and vigil ; his face was worn ; he was
grey and looked prematurely aged ; but his eye re-
tained its youthful fire and flashed forth keen and
brilliant glances. Heimburg was a big, bulky man,
full fed, yet of imposing presence, with a fat, honest,
German face. He was a clear, straightforward speaker
and his words came from the heart ; but, when annoyed,
he could show himself a master of bitter sarcasm and
biting irony, ^neas was fluent ; Campano tells us
that his oratory was overladen with thoughtful
digressions, and his selection of words was not always
such as an exact scholar would approve. But no one
could be more forcible when he spoke on a matter that
he held at heart. He did so now. Heimburg was an
enthusiast for reform, and he nursed the rancour of a
disappointed zealot : he detested the opportunist with
^ ^n. Silvius, Hist. Fred, in Kollar, ii. p. 256.
166
iENEAS SILYIUS
all ilia soul. To this obstinate, hot-tempered, straight-
forward precisian, JEneas appeared nothing but a
cunning, insidious, double-dealing Italian.^
Heimburg chafed at the Pope's evasive answer,
^neas tells us, with malicious enjoyment, how he
would take the air in the evening, sweating with heat
but still more from rage, and pace up and down,
panting for breath, his breast and head bared for
coolness ; he would lash himself into a still greater
fever and perspiration as he execrated Eugenius and
the cardinals. JEneas had a private interview with
the Pope and advised him to compromise. Eugenius
seemed to assent. The cardinals entertained the
envoys, and finessed to discover what they were hold-
ing back. Finally, the embassy was told that the
Pope would send his reply to the forthcoming diet at
Frankfort. An embassy that the Electors sent to
Felix and his Council met with no better treatment
than the one sent to Eugenius.
At the Diet of Frankfort (September 1446) a reply
was received from Eugenius. It was evasive. Eu-
genius and the Curia knew that, whatever the religious
zealots of Germany might desire, the princes were
actuated by no motives that were not entirely political ;
that each sought only to consolidate and extend his
own power, and that, if only time could be gained,
dissensions would assuredly arise among them. In
utmost need, in darkest eclipse, Home has never for-
gotten to maintain her pretensions, for the Pope, as a
rule, and some, at least, of the Sacred College, have
always been convinced of the justice of their claim to
universal authority, and remained unyielding in their
1 Mn. Silvius, Hist. Fred, in Kollar, ii. p. 123.
GERMAN OBEDIENCE TO EUGENIUS 167
demand for obedience. They have always refused to
establish a precedent that might abase the theocracy.
En genius was as stiffnecked before the princes as he
had been before the Council, and with greater reason.
He was able to make a firm stand because he knew
that they were to be bought, ^neas tells us frankly
that he himself paid two thousand florins to the
confidential advisers of the Archbishop of Mainz. ^
In that age bribes, under the excuse of rewards
for right-doing, were quite usual, and were not
censured.
JEneas was so earnestly energetic at this congress
and throughout all these transactions that it would
be natural for him to exaggerate his own importance,
and it is possible that he has given posterity the im-
pression that he had a greater share in bringing Ger-
many into obedience to Eugenius than was actually
the case. But he certainly drew up a proposal which,
to use a phrase of his, ' squeezed the venom ' from the
Electors.
It was evident that the peril in which the Papal
party was placed, though greatly diminished, remained
very real. Some concessions must be made. ^jEneas
prepared a document whereby, on the one hand, the
Electors should surrender their neutrality and the
deposed archbishops return to their obedience, while,
on the other hand, the Pope should restore the arch-
bishops, summon a Council within ten months, and
recognise certain decrees of Constance and Basel until
such time as the future Council might choose to re-
consider them. He acted in a manner that suggested
1 See his Hist. Fred, in Kollar, p. 128 et seq., and his Commentaries in
Fea, p. 98.
168
^NEAS SILVIUS
to the prince that he was directly commissioned by
Eugenius to make this offer. D'Allemand was present
at this diet, and Mnea.8 tried to win him over, but
was snubbed for his pains. The Cardinal requested
him to be modest and reserve his counsels for Eugenius.
Parentucelli and Nicholas of Cusa accepted his pro-
posal. Carvajal was reluctant to do so ; he and ^Eneas
came to high words, for the Secretary feared that all
might be ruined. Heimburg and Lysura asked him
whether he had come from the juridical school of Siena
to lay down the law for Germany. He kept himself
under control and did not reply. The Cardinal of
Aries was not listened to by the diet. He and his
companions rode back to Basel wholly disheartened.
On the road they were attacked by a band of robbers
and the Cardinal only escaped by the swiftness of his
steed. ' Christ,' said he, * was sold for thirty pieces
of silver : Eugenius has offered sixty thousand for
me.' ^ The league of the electors,' says Creighton,
' had been overthrown at Frankfort, and with it also
fell the cause of the Council of Basel. Germany was
the Council's last hope and Germany had failed.
The diplomacy of the Curia had helped Frederick in.
to overcome the oligarchical rising in Germany, but
the Pope had won more than the king. The
oligarchy might find new grounds on which to assert
its privileges against the royal power ; the conciliar
movement was abandoned, and the summoning of
another council was vaguely left to the Pope's good
pleasure. The ecclesiastical reforms which had been
made by the Council of Basel survived merely as a
basis for further negotiations with the Pope. If the
Papal diplomacy had withstood the full force of the
GERMAN OBEDIENCE TO EUGENIUS 169
conciliar movement, it was not likely that the last
of the falling tide would prevail against it/
In a very short time the Council ceased to exist.
Felix was made a Prince of the Church and allowed
to retain the outward honours paid to a Pontiff.
D'AUemand retired to Aries, where the sanctity of
his life brought him universal respect, and, after
his death, miracles were said to be wrought by his
corpse. John of Segovia retired to a small episcopal
see in his native country and employed the remnant
of his days in the useful task of exposing the fallacies
of the Koran.
The proposals of the diet were laid before Eugenius
by ^neas, Procopius of Rabstein, a Bohemian, who
represented the king, John of Lysura, who appeared
as vicar of the Archbishop of Mainz, and others.
They met at Siena, and rode on to Rome, a troop of
horsemen sixty strong. They were received by the
Pope and fifteen cardinals, ^neas made a speech
remarkable for its plausibility and the dexterity
with which he avoided giving ofience either to the
Germans or to Eugenius.^ The members of the
Sacred College set themselves out to entertain and
flatter the envoys. ^Eneas promised Eugenius that
the king would both recognise him and order the
city of Basel to withdraw its safe-conduct from
members of the Council. Eugenius was feeble now,
and drawing very near to death : he accepted the
general principles set forth by the Germans ; but the
astute diplomacy of the Curia drew up the articles
in so loose a manner as to open ways of escape from
their provisions ; and the Pope signed a secret state-
^ It is given in Mansi, Pii II. Orationes, i. p. 108.
170
iENEAS SILVIUS
ment that whatever concessions he might have given
were wrung from him when he was weakened by
sickness, and were never intended to derogate from
the doctrines of the Church or the authority and
privileges of the Apostolic Chair. ^ But the simple-
minded Germans, led by Lysura, believed that
Eugenius had acted in perfect good faith and that
his successor was bound by the document he signed.
Eugenius had only just sufficient strength left to
receive the envoys, and ^neas gave in a declaration
of fidelity to the Pope, who handed him his Bull. A
few days after (February 23, 1447) the Pope breathed
his last. After a stormy pontificate, during which the
Church was rent asunder, the Apostolic Chair abased,
and almost universal contempt exhibited for its
authority, Eugenius saw, in his last days, some
measure of Papal power and prestige restored and the
healing of schism close at hand. This Pisgah vision of
promise that greeted his dying eyes was due, in part,
to his resolute firmness and, in part, to the activity of
partisans that were converts to his cause. No man
is so zealous as he who has changed his convictions,
and Eugenius would hardly have triumphed but for
the zeal of ^neas and other seceders from the
Council of Basel.
It was usual to employ able ecclesiastics in the
service of the state when they happened to be
learned and experienced men, and it was well under-
stood that when ^neas became a cleric he would
still continue to serve the king. Bare at all times
is the combination of literary temperament with
^ Kaynaldus, Ad ann. 1447.
GERMAN OBEDIENCE TO EUGENIUS 171
practical ability ; far rarer is such a combination of
literary power with great capacity for statesmanship
as ^neas exhibited. Frederick rewarded him with a
parish in the Tyrol, ^neas describes it as * reached
only by a difficult pass over lofty and precipitous
mountains, a place surrounded by snow and the
horrors of ice, frozen out three parts of the year.
The husbandmen of the valley are compelled to dwell
within doors throughout the long winter. They are
dexterous workers in wood, carving chests and doing
other skilful carpentry, and they take their manu-
factures down to Bozen and Trent. But most of
their time they waste at chequers, at which they are
marvellously quick. No warfare calls them to arms,
no ambition affects, no lust for gold disturbs them.
Time creeps on while they are looking after the hay-
crop or attending to their herds ; their beasts share
their dwellings, and drunkenness is unknown, for
cheese and milk are their only meat and drink. The
church is far away, and they keep the frozen bodies
of those that die in the winter season until the thaw
comes. But, when summer is established, folk
assemble from all parts of the parish, and a long
funeral procession is formed, and everybody is busy
spreading news of what has happened meanwhile.
So simple a life should make them the happiest of
mortals, were they as good as they are primitive.
But they are given over to fornication and adultery,
nor does a man among them ever take a woman to
wife that is a maid. ^Eneas did not hold that
benefice long.'
So wrote he, when he became Pope. He could not
^ Pii II. Comment^ 1. i.
^NEAS SILVIUS
speak the patois of the Sarantaner Thai, and he felt
that his powers would be thrown away on these raw
mountaineers. The stipend was only sixty ducats a
year, and the fee for investiture was one hundred and
forty ducats. His life's work lay in far other direc-
tions. But he did not take orders to acquire this
benefice, and he was never in possession of it.
Frederick's right to bestow it was more than question-
able, and Albert of Austria, in whose dominions it
lay, asserted his rights in this and other matters,
while the local parliament would have none of the
king's nomination. So, for the third time, iEneas's
ecclesiastical hopes were doomed to miscarry. How-
ever, not long afterwards, the Bishop of Passau pre-
sented him to a benefice at Anspach, and then he
took the vow concerning which he had had so many
misgivings. On March 6, 1446, he writes to Cam-
pisio, *I have conquered that levity of mind that
kept me among the laity,' and adds that he is a
sub-deacon now, and hopes to be admitted to the
diaconate in eight days' time ; Campisio may live to
see him a bishop. His parishioners were mostly
handicraftsmen and farmers, but fine oratory was
indispensable on such an occasion, and the display of
scholarship, in season and out of season, was in
fashion, ^neas wrote a sermon in Latin that is
earnest and sincere enough, but was quite as much
intended to be read by the admirers of style as to be
listened to by the good folk at Anspach. It was
adorned by quotations from the sacred Epistles,
Lactantius, Ovid, Juvenal, Seneca, and Epicurus. * I
am deeply sensible of what manner of burden I have
undertaken,' says the new vicar, * I know the obliga-
HE ENTEKS THE CHURCH 173
tion to which I am sworn. I have taken an oath to
point out the heavenly way to you, and to care for
your souls. ... I will strive, not only to make you
better men and women, but also to improve my own
character. Thus may we gain the everlasting life
together. But I am not skilled in your speech, so,
though sometimes I will write you letters, I will
employ a vicar as my interpreter, and he shall unfold
the word of God to you, and point out the road that
leads to bliss.' ^ Pastor has discovered that eleven
months after taking orders, ^neas was admitted to
the priesthood. The record of the event is contained
in the Liher Officiorum of Eugenius, and it took place
at Eome a few days before that Pontiff's death.
It is clear that JEneas was possessed by no fierce
fire of evangelical enthusiasm. But he could be a
kindly friend to those in need of counsel or help.
His advice was sought on the very difficulty that had
delayed his own entrance into holy orders, and the
dates of his anti-erotic writings should be carefully
noted. ^ They begin with his pastorate. Once, during
this period of deepening earnestness, his duties called
him to a town in Franconia, and a woman came
running up to greet him. She was ' no great beauty,
having a strange figure, short and stumpy.' He
asked her how she was, and what she did there, and
if she came on some love-affair, for he recognised her
as one whom he had seen at Basel. She replied that
she was well, had no lover, and maintained herself
^ Pii II. Orationes, in Mansi, i. p. 54.
2 The epistles to John Freund, to Nicholas Wartenburg, and to Ippolito
of Milan, all lie between March and December 1446. His work De Pravis
Mulierihus is undated, and also his letter to Carolus Cypriacus, a nobleman,
containing an earnest denunciation of his novel De Duobus Amantibus.
174
iENEAS SILVIUS
by needlework. Then she took him to the humbh
room that she occupied, and showed him the clothes
she was working at, and, whatever his suspicions
might have been, there was no evidence of her leading
other than a decent life. ' Have you no husband ? '
asked ^neas. *Yes, but I am better away from
him,' she answered, ^neas asked more questions
and found that the husband was a certain Hermann
Aspel of Basel, from whom the woman had separated
years before. Aspel had persistently maltreated her,
beating her with fist and stick, and threatening to
kill her. ' But why do you not go back to him and
try to live with him again ? ' asked ^neas. * Because
he has taken another woman to live with him,' she
replied. ' But he may have repented, and be willing
to live with you again,' urged ^neas, and, acting
according to his lights, he offered to find out all
about her husband, and to try to effect a reconcilia-
tion. He gives the account of this little adventure
to a clergyman resident at Basel, whom he begs to
gather what information he can, and try to get the
concubine out of the house, so that the wife may be
free to return.^ As a cleric, his friends found him
precisely the same kindly, genial companion as before.
* What Michael and I chiefly long for,' he tells an
intimate, when he is away on one of his innumerable
journeys, *is that we may meet and chat, and laugh
and drink and sing together once again.'
Two months after he was ordained priest, Tommaso
Parentucelli, now become Nicholas v., advanced him
to the bishopric of Trieste. The Pope invaded the
right of the king in doing so ; for the benefice was
* ^n. SiL, Opera Omnia. Basileae, 1551, Ep. xcix. p. 588.
HE ENTERS THE CHURCH 175
one of those reserved to Caesar by the compact
between the latter and Eugenius. But Frederick
had also nominated ^neas, so no difficulty arose.
Both king and Pope were under deep obligations to
him. It was he who guided Frederick to renew to
Nicholas the obedience he had yielded to Eugenius,
and he had prepared the way for the restitution of
Papal authority in Germany. For the fourth time
he encountered the resistance of a chapter. That of
Trieste made an attempt to elect their own bishop ;
but they were powerless to oppose Pope and Caesar
in accord with one another.-^ The way now lay
open to the highest seats in the hierarchy of the
Church.^
^ Pii II. Comment.^ 1. 1.
2 Voigt's judgement on j^neas's character has been repeated recently,
without any evidence of a re- examination of the facts, by Dr. A. Meusel,
in his Enea Silvio als Publicist : Untersuchungen zur deutschen Staats- und
Eechtsgeschichte, Hft. 77. 1905. But Dr. Meusel deals exhaustively and
destructively with ^neas's treatise, On the Origin and Authority of the
Imperial Power. Yet it may be allowed to us to remark that ^neas was
no jurist — only a man alive to large ideas and skilful in finding arguments to
speed them. Scholastic quibbles and meticulous pedantry were alien to
his nature, and scientific method and historical criticism were unknown in
his age.
176
iENEAS SILVIUS
CHAPTER IX
^NEAS AS BISHOP AND AMBASSADOR : AS CON-
FIDENTIAL ADVISER OF THE CROWN — THE
CORONATION AND MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK III.
-^NEAS was present at Eugenius's funeral, and, in
spite of the solemnity of the occasion, he witnessed
much that excited his keen sense of the ludicrous :
there were customs observed quite incongruous with
a spectacle that should have been impressive, and
these, he says, he would like to see abolished.
* Servants presented to each cardinal a box painted
with his coat-of-arms and containing a repast ; his
household followed it, and then a train of priests and
parasites, that bowed to the dinner. These gaudy
dinner-boxes were borne through Eome with much
solemnity, so that each procession resembled a sepa-
rate funeral cortege. Four mourners stood beside the
coflBn of the dead Pope to flick the flies away, but, it
being winter- time, there were none : perhaps, how-
ever, a refreshing breeze was created for Eugenius,
who was not there.' ^
^neas was selected to be one of the cross-bearers
at Nicholas's coronation.^ The procession was headed
by the Blessed Sacrament, and many torch-bearers
guarded It. Three banners and an umbrella preceded
* ^n. Sil., Hist. Fred, apud KoUar, loc. tit.y pp. 104, 105.
2 ^n. Sil., Belatio apud Muratori, Berum Italicarum Scriptores
iii. 2. p. 896.
AS BISHOP AND AMBASSADOR 177
the Pope, who rode a white horse, bore the Golden
Rose in his left hand and employed his right hand
in blessing the people. The envoys of the King of
Aragon (who held Naples of the Papacy as a fief) and
the barons of Rome took turns at leading his horse.
At Monte Giordano, the Jews presented Nicholas
with their book of the Law, which he accepted, but
condemned their interpretation of it. The ceremony
took place at St. John's Lateran, and, at its close,
gold and silver medals were given to the cardinals,
prelates, and envoys. A feast followed, the Pope
dining alone in his palace, and everybody else in the
House of the Canons. ' We ' {^neas and Procopius)
* were the guests of Cardinal Carvajal.'
When u^neas arrived at Rome a rumour of the
death of the Bishop of Trieste had reached the city.
Eugenius intended to confer the benefice on him, but
the report proved to be premature. But soon after-
wards the bishop died, and Nicholas, as we have seen,
carried out Eugenius's desire. As a humanist, Nicholas
loved to advance his fellow - scholars. Vespasiano
Bistucci tells us that his eloquent oration at the
funeral of Eugenius gave him the Papacy, a state-
ment which, though not correct, is evidence of the
high estimation in which oratory was held in the
fifteenth century. ' Nicholas began all the liberal
studies early in life,' says ^Eneas in his ambassadorial
report ; * he is familiar with all the historians, poets,
and cosmographers ; he is well acquainted with the
theologians, and is well read in civil and canon law,
and even in medicine.'^ The new Pope found the
1 ^n. Silvius, Belatio, a.d. 1447, apud Muratori, Berum Italicarum
ScriptoreSf iii. 2, p. 895.
M
178 iENEAS SILVIUS
states of the Church still in disorder ; the national
church of France was practically independent of the
Papacy ; there was still a rival Pope ; the Papal
revenues were much reduced, and it was all-important
that Germany should not remain alienated. ' Nicholas
succeeds to difficulty,' wrote Poggio ; * the realm is a
hurly-burly, and, what is even more embarrassing,
quite ruined.'^ If arms had been at his command,
the new Pope would hardly have used them ; he was
essentially a man of peace ; ' he prayed Heaven that
he might never use any other weapon in his defence
than the one God had given him.' ^ This peaceful
scholar, though he was a man who loved to express
himself freely, was called to a position that required
stratagem and manoeuvre, and he found a use in the
services of ^neas, the scholarly diplomatist.
On March 30, 1447 (he was not yet nominated to
the bishopric), -^neas rode off for Germany. It was
a month later that he became Bishop of Trieste. In
July, he was sent by the king, with another repre-
sentative, to the diet of Aschaffenburg, but he, no
less than Nicholas of Cusa, the Papal Legate, repre-
sented the claims of Rome. The diet decided that
Nicholas should be recognised, and a fresh diet was
agreed on, to arrange what compensation was to be
given to the Pope in lieu of the time-honoured per-
quisites that had been withdrawn, ^neas then went
to Koln to win over the archbishop. He was success-
ful in his mission, but the University taunted him
with being a turncoat. Indeed, he found himself
regarded as a Judas who had sold his master for
^ Poggio, Ep. ix. 17.
2 See Vespasiano di Bistucci, apud Muratori, Berum Italicarum
Scriptores, xxv. 270, et seq.
AS BISHOP AND AMBASSADOR 179
silver, and he felt obliged to vindicate himself from
the charge. He wrote an open letter to the Bector
of the University. ' I am but a man,' he says, * and
therefore born to sin ; I have gone astray, and am
fully aware of it. And I give thanks to God who
rescued me from further error. No one who reads my
writings will deem that I was so perfectly convinced,
so entirely rooted in my opinions, as to be incapable
of change. It were unfortunate for men if they could
not alter their judgements ! Augustine denounced
the books he had written.^ We are free agents while
life lasts, and are judged by our final state of mind ;
the evildoer may find salvation by remorseful repent-
ance. In the spirit of Saul going to Damascus, an
enemy of Christianity, I went to Frankfort.' He
recounts his experiences at Basel ; how he came to
see that the Pope was neither heretical nor schismatic,
nor a cause of scandal, and that, therefore, he could
not be deposed, while the Council was illegal, since it
sat on at Basel when it had been translated by the
lawful head of the Church. Nor did it represent the
Universal Church, in which the Holy Spirit resides :
it was supported by Savoy alone among the nations.
Men highly revered by the Church have erred and
been forgiven. Therefore as a human being, subject
to error, he, also, might repent. * Is faith only to be
found at Basel, as Apollo gave oracles only at Delphi ?
By refusing to go elsewhere, the Council showed that
it had little faith in itself ^
Gregorovius remarks that ' this retractation, which
^ See S. Aurelii Augustini Hipponensis, Bpiscopi Betractationum lihri
duOj apud Migne, Fatrologia Latinay t. xxx. ii.
2 This epistle of retractation and also the Bull of Ketractation, which is
an expanded form of it, issued when ^neas became Pope, are both given
in Fea, Pius II. a cahLmniis vindic. Kome, 1822.
180
^NEAS SILVIUS
he addresses to the surly theologians at Koln, bears
no trace of hypocrisy nor yet the contrition of a
repentant devotee. It is a confession, written in
an elegant and rhetorical style, of a man well
acquainted with the world, who solaces himself with
the axiom that to err is human. Devout Christians
may judge whether St. Paul or St. Augustine would
have regarded Piccolomini as their equal, as a hero
whom conviction has redeemed from error. There
were, however, men of sincere piety as well as
pedants and scoffers who made Pius suffer for the
sins of iEneas. But was he not the son of the
century? The recollection of his past, which, more-
over, had not been sullied by any crime, soon vanished
in the genial humanism, perhaps in the general de-
pravity of his day, and if ever the errors of youth
may be pardoned to age, Pius ii. may claim forgive-
ness,
>i
Gregorovius should have observed, however, that
the epistle addressed to the Rector of Koln Univer-
sity is an apology for adherence to the Council only.
No one had accused ^Eneas of other sin ; least of all
of sexual offence. Who in that age would have
thought it necessary to do so ? He had been under
no vow of continence ; only recently had he taken
orders. Yet in his later renunciation — the Bull
In minorihus agentihus, published April 26, 1463,^ —
though it is based on this epistle, the Pope would
seem, implicitly, to refer to other errors than polemical
writings against Eugenius. He had written con-
demning his erotic writings. Now, he says : * The
* See Gregorovius's account of Pius ii.'s reign in his History of Eomey
English translation, pp. 171-172. ^ ^ed^, loc. cit, p. 3.
AS BISHOP AND AMBASSADOE 181
Pope is ashamed of his errors, he repents ®f the evil
that he has said and written ; yea, passionate is his
contrition ; yet he has done more harm by his writings
than by his deeds. But what shall be done ? The
word, once written, takes wing ; it cannot be called
back. Oh, that what has been published could be
blotted out. . . . We were ensnared by our own
writings, as is the weakness of poets, who love their
works as if they were their children.' The epistle
to the Rector is a manly confession of a mistake.
It may be allowed that it was eloquently written,
for ^neas would not have anything flow from his
pen that did not conform to the requirements of style.
The Bull, surely, is sufficiently remorseful to gratify
the most exacting of precisians ; only, unfortunately,
Pius was too well acquainted with the secrets of
the human heart not to be aware that much may
always be pleaded in palliation, if not in excuse, of
his own and other folk's transgressions. Perhaps,
had he omitted the excuse, the deep contrition
he assuredly felt would have been more generally
appreciated.
The princes of Germany perceived that if they
could stand well with the Pope, they might squeeze
concessions both from him and Frederick, so, at an
assembly held at Vienna (February, 1448), they
signed a concordat, wherein not one word was said
about those conciliar decrees that the Papacy had
accepted but ignored. All the princes had contrived,
in one way or another, to secure something for them-
selves, and Frederick was obliged to put up with just
what concessions the Papacy was willing to grant
him; for without Papal support he could not hope
182
^NEAS SILYIUS
to hold the electors in check. Everybody was
offered and took some kind of bribe to keep quiet.
But, if the storm had abated, an after- swell still
troubled the waters. At a congress held at Bourges
(June 1447), the King of France secured for himself
no small measure of ecclesiastical control that had
hitherto belonged to the Papacy. Burgundy, Castile,
England, and Scotland were preparing to follow his
example. In November 1448 ^neas wrote to the
Pope : ' A time of peril is before us ; on every side
bad weather is threatening, and the storms that are
coming will put the skill of the mariners to the proof.
The waves from Basel have not yet gone down ; the
winds are still struggling below the waters and
hurrying along secret channels. That consummate
actor, the devil, sometimes assumes the part of an
angel of light. I know not what attempts will be
made in France, but the Council still has adherents.
We have a truce, not peace. Our opponents say that
we have yielded to force, not conviction, and that
what we have once taken into our heads we keep
firmly fixed there. So we must expect another battle-
field and a fresh struggle for supremacy.'
If iEneas acted as an ecclesiastical agent for the
Papacy, he was also busily employed by Frederick
on purely political business. Filippo Maria Visconti,
Duke of Milan, died on August 13, 1447, and the
city soon established a republican form of government.
Milan, while owing fealty to the Empire, had once
been a self-governing commune, and Barbarossa and
his illustrious grandson Frederick, Stupor Mundi,
had tried, repeatedly but vainly, to suppress its
liberties. But local nobles had succeeded where
AS BISHOP AND AMBASSADOR 183
Emperors failed. The antagonism of classes, the
need of strong government within the walls and of an
effective and continuous policy in regard to subject-
communes and foreign powers, had enabled, aforetime,
first the Torriani, and then the Visconti, to seize the
helm of state. The title of duke had been granted
to the Yisconti by Imperial decree, and that family
had intermarried with royal houses of Europe ; but
they were regarded by their subjects as First Magis-
trates only, raised to power by election or tacit assent.
An illegitimate daughter, Bianca Maria, was the sole
issue of the late duke, and she had become the bride
of Francesco Sforza, a soldier of fortune, whose ser-
vices her father was compelled, though very unwil-
lingly, to reward by the gift of her hand. The
republic was hardly constituted when it became split
into factions by economic and social forces, and the
freedom of the city was threatened by Sforza, by the
Duke of Orleans, who claimed the throne in virtue
of his descent from the Visconti through the female
line, by Alfonso of Naples, who asserted that the late
duke had named him as successor, and by Caesar
himself, on the ground that the fief had lapsed.
iEneas Silvius had been sent, soon after the duke's
death, to bring the divided city back to its allegiance.
He found that the turbulent citizens were willing to
do homage to Frederick what time he might come to
claim the Lombard crown, but were by no means dis-
posed to concede any further privileges. And now,
again, in 1449, when the city was closely invested by
Sforza, he was sent to proffer the king's help. He
addressed a great gathering of the townsfolk and
promised that the king should advance immediately
184
iENEAS SILVIUS
to the relief of the beleaguered city, if the government
gave Frederick the full rights that an overlord might
claim from a lapsed fief. The government had no
small difficulty in calming the excited people : they
had to promise to appoint a committee and give the
proposal a favourable consideration. Then, as he had
done on the previous visit, ^neas visited Sforza in
his camp, with the hope of coming to some under-
standing with him, but received the curt reply, ' Let
the king do what he likes ; when I have taken Milan
I will be faithful to him as my overlord.' ^neas
perceived that Sforza was a man of great determina-
tion and force of character, and mutual respect seems
to have grown up between the two. Early in the
following year the condottiere entered Milan, and was
welcomed as a deliverer by the people whom he had
starved into submission, for he brought abundant
provisions with him. He assumed rule and exercised
impartial justice; and ^neas tried, though vainly, to
get Frederick to recognise him as legitimate ruler.
Later on our bishop sought for some recognition of
his services from the usurper ; for we still frequently
find iEneas resembling the pushing professional man,
who does his duty but expects his reward, is keen to
perceive when his own personal interests coincide
with larger duties, and makes his way, in no small
degree, by being useful and agreeable to all those
with whom he has to deal.
Schlick died in 1449, and, after his death. Piccolo-
mini, Bishop of Trieste, was even more busily employed
by the king and had more of his confidence than
-^neas the secretary. Frederick was now thirty-five
years old, and he thought it high time to provide an
AS BISHOP AND AMBASSADOR 185
heir for his throne. He sent his envoys in every
direction to seek for a suitable bride, and he selected
Leonora, the daughter of the King of Portugal, and
niece of the King of Naples, for the honour. She was
a girl only just entering womanhood, but she already
had other princely suitors. Frederick was preferred,
however, for, as ^Eneas tells us, * the title of Caesar
was held in more veneration abroad than at home.' ^
He was despatched to Naples to arrange the marriage,
and, on the way, he received the welcome tidings that
the Pope had made him Bishop of Siena. *The
journey,' he tells us, * was by no means without its
perils.' The river, * which rises in the Volscian moun-
tains, is a deep stream, overshadowed by woods, and
many of the trees bend in low arches over the water,
like so many natural bridges. The boats that bore
iEneas and his company were very small indeed ; the
boatmen, whom we compelled to row by night, turned
ill-tempered, and often their oars struck against these
trunks ; once, in the deepest darkness, w^e had to cling
on for dear life to a trunk, and were in danger for two
hours. A little while afterwards, a boat sank here,
and eleven men were drowned. But, not far from
Cumae, where we had to cross another river near its
mouth, and less labour was required to propel the
boat, it capsized, and men by clinging, and horses by
swimming, had to struggle for their lives.' ^
From Naples, after a successful mission, he rode
back to Bome. It was Jubilee year, and he asserts
that forty thousand pilgrims arrived every day, an
incredible statement, though Cristoforo da Soldo writes
^ JEn. Silvius, Hist. Fred, in KoUar, ii. p. 16.
^ Pii II. Comment, 1. 1.
186
^NEAS SILVIUS
that * a greater crowd of Christians was never known
to hasten to any Jubilee : kings, dukes, marquesses,
counts, knights, and people of every rank came there
daily in such multitudes that there were millions in
the city. And this lasted the whole year, except in
summer, when the plague carried off a countless
number. But hardly had it abated and the cold
season come round, when the crush began again/
^neas arrived in winter. He found a French embassy
there, urging the fulfilment of the Papal promise to
summon a fresh council, and demanding that it should
be held in France. When he announced the approach-
ing marriage of Frederick and the monarch's intention
of coming to Rome for coronation to the Pope and
Curia, he cleverly introduced a request that the council
should be held in Germany.^ This demand coming
from the Imperial Ambassador enabled Nicholas and
the Curia to postpone the threatened danger. In a
later speech, delivered at Vienna, the bishop said :
* It pleases neither the King of Aragon, nor him of
England, nor him of Portugal, that it should be held
in France. I, by the sanction of Caesar, said so in
public consistory at Home, in the Jubilee year, and
dissuaded them from it, not without good reason,' ^
and, in his Commentaries, he tells us that it was he
who put off the attempt.^ Since all the Christian
princes were not agreed as to the place of meeting,
there was a fair seeming of excuse for postponing the
meeting itself
Taking advantage of the canonisation of St.
1 Pii II. Orationes, apud Mansi, i. p. 140.
' Ihid. loc. cit. ; Or alio adversus Australes^ i. p. 234.
3 Pii II. Comment, y L 1.
AS BISHOP AND AMBASSADOK 187
Bernardino, which had just taken place, Piccolomini
advised that Fra Giovanni Capistrano, on whom
Bernardino's mantle had fallen, should be sent to
preach the word through Germany ; perhaps he
would win back Bohemia to the faith. Such was the
power of this remarkable preacher that, though his
Latin exhortations had to be interpreted to the
Germans, his mission to that country was a great
success. He was revered as if he had been one of
the Apostles come back from the dead; thousands
crowded to hear his sermons, and the sick were
brought in numbers to touch the hem of his garment
and be healed. But the penetrating eye of ^neas
perceived some swelling vanity and arrogant self-
sufficiency hiding beneath the friar's frock ; rightly
or wrongly he judged that, at bottom, the ardent
enthusiast had a shallow character, and when he
became Pope he resolutely set his face against canon-
ising Capistrano.^ From Germany Capistrano went
on to Bohemia, but his emotional methods had less
effect with the Calixtines. Cusa was there, trying
to win over heretical scholars by argument, and
^neas was sent to try his diplomacy ; for Frederick
hesitated to proceed to Bome for his coronation until
Bohemia should be less unquiet. A Bohemian party
favoured him, but the greater part of the nation
wished him to give Ladislas, the youthful heir to
their throne, into their hands, and the object of
-.'Eneas's mission was to exercise his persuasive
oratory at the Bohemian Diet. Though the miser-
able Caesar dared not face the Electors at a diet,
though he feared that his dominions would be attacked
^ JEn. Sil., Hist. Bohem.^ c. 65 ; Pii II. Comment,^ 1. xii.
188
iENEAS SILVIUS
during his absence, he yet hoped to increase hit
prestige by assuming the Imperial insignia ; he was
almost penniless, too, and hoped to fill his purse by
the sale of privileges in Italy ; further, he was
pledged to meet his bride in that country. So ^neas
was despatched to do what he could towards the^
pacification of Bohemia.
He passed through Tabor, the headquarters of the
Bohemian extremists, and he tells us of symbols, hung
over the city-gate, which set forth their separation
from the Catholic Church. They were a shield, bear-
ing a cup-holding angel for its device, and the effigies
of blind old Ziska, the heroic genius who had or-
ganised the defence of Bohemia and led her peasantry
to hurl back, so many times, the united chivalry of
Europe. He found the Taborites quite well-to-do
people, for the spoliation of the Church and booty
acquired by war had enriched them. Their system
of education was good, though the extremists despised
classical scholarship since, in a measure, it was the
distinction of a class. Yet many were instructed in
Latin, and ^neas says that their love of literature
was the one good point about the people. The Bible
was much studied by them, ^neas wrote a letter
to Carvajal giving an account of the heretics.^ ' The
Italian priests,' he says, * should be ashamed, for it
is certain that not one of them has once read the
Bible.' . . . ' They are not all of one faith, for every
one in Tabor may believe what pleases him. Nico-
laitans, Arians, Manichseans, Arminians, Nestorians,
Berengarians, and Poor of Lyons are all to be found
there. The highest in consideration, however, are
^ -^n. Silv. Piccolomini, Opera Omnia. Basil., Ep. cxxx.
AS BISHOP AND AMBASSADOE 189
those arch-enemies of the Roman see — the Wal-
densians/
From Tabor he proceeded to Beneschau, where the
diet was held, for Prague was plague-stricken at
this moment. He pointed out that young Ladislas
was too young to reign, and promised that matters
should be arranged, if Bohemia would wait peacefully
for Frederick's return from Rome ; but he was heard
with very little attention. He was more successful
with George Podiebrad, a man who was rapidly
advancing to the position of Dictator in Bohemia,
and ^neas promised him that he should receive the
recognition of Frederick as governor of that country.
He thought Podiebrad an ambitious man, yet harm-
less and easy to manage : he lived to discover his
mistake.
On his return journey he revisited Tabor, and a
disputation was arranged to take place between the
scholarly ambassador and a crowd of heretical priests.
Good humour prevailed throughout the discussion ;
but it was evident that it could lead to no good
result, and -^neas withdrew with a witty argu-
mentum ad Jwminem. 'The Pope and his cardinals
are given over to avarice and gluttony,' urged a
round, fat ecclesiastic ; * their belly is their god, and
their heaven lies in their money-bags.' ^Eneas laid
his hand gently on his adversary's comfortable paunch,
and, amid good-humoured laughter, asked if that
came of fasting and self-denial.
When the Austrian nobles learned that Frederick
intended to take the young Ladislas with him to
Rome, they threw off their allegiance ; but, being
too weak to employ force against them, the king
190
^NEAS SILVIUS
started on his journey, taking ^neas with him^
By the end of December 1451 he reached Italy, and
was soon disillusioned as to the power of the Imperial
name in that country. Caesar was still surrounded
by a halo of prestige, but Italy was no longer a mere
truss of communes : the leading cities had subdued
the territories surrounding them and become the
capitals of wealthy and powerful states. The Italian,
too, is a keen critic, and Frederick was not the most
dignified of emperors. Yet a nervous thrill went
through Italy when Caesar crossed the Alps, for the
various states feared that the delicate balance of
power, maintained by their antagonisms, would be
disturbed; but this fear soon passed away. Still,
the republic of Siena and the Pope remained appre-
hensive. Siena feared that her bishop, belonging, as
he did, to the aristocratic order of her citizens, would
use his great influence with Frederick to destroy
her liberty, and Nicholas dreaded that Frederick
would use his projected alliance with the Pope's
feudatory (the King of Naples, uncle of Frederick's
prospective bride) to the disadvantage of the Holy
See. -^neas had no small difficulty in persuading
Nicholas that his fears were groundless.^ Even so,
the Papal legates compelled Frederick to take an
oath that he would neither issue edicts nor administer
in any way during his stay in Rome. But the royal
progress through Italy proved to be a mere harmless,
antiquated parade. Poggio spoke of Caesar as * the
Imperial puppet.' Frederick swallowed all affronts
to his authority, and gave himself up to the enjoy-
ment of the pageants provided for his amusement.
1 JEn. Silvius, Hist. Fred, apud Kollar, ii. 187.
AS BISHOP AND AMBASSADOR 191
He avoided Milan, where the usurper, Sforza, reigned,
and passed through Venetia, Ferrara, and Siena.
When he arrived at Rome, he excited the derision
of the citizens by exhibiting an unkingly interest in
the wrecks of time, and, on his return journey
through Venice, he achieved contempt by going
about the city in disguise, to haggle with the shop-
keepers and purchase fancy- wares at prices that were
not Imperial.
j^Eneas was sent on to Leghorn to await the arrival
of the Princess Leonora. He had to wait a wearisome
while, for the Portuguese fleet took no less than one
hundred and four days to reach Leghorn. At last
it arrived with the bride-elect (February 2, 1452) —
a strong force of galleys with two thousand soldiers
aboard; for corsairs rendered the Mediterranean
unsafe. Now, the Portuguese ambassador stood on
punctilio, and refused to entrust his charge to any
one of less rank than the Imperial bridegroom. He
and iEneas argued the question for more than a fort-
night, and at last the matter was referred to the
princess herself, who sensibly refused to be the
victim of ceremony, and replied that she accepted
the arrangement made by her future husband. On
February 24, JEneas escorted Leonora to Siena, where
the citizens had been amusing themselves and the
Emperor with splendid entertainments, though they
almost disregarded the claims of his well-nigh
exhausted purse, and gave him but a small donation.
One is surprised to learn that, when the phlegmatic
Caesar saw his bride in the distance, he turned pale,
for she seemed such a little doll, but a nearer view
convinced him that she was of average height, really
192 iENEAS SILVIUS
lovely, and that her bearing was sufficiently regal ;
and then his colour came back, and his stolid face
beamed, for he knew that his envoys had not deceived
him. We are told that ' her beauty paled before her
mental endowments,' but we must remember this is
said of a princess. The maiden was sixteen years
old, with an open brow, black, sparkling eyes, a very
white neck, and she blushed in a delicate, becoming
way.
The comely ladies of Siena (and where is woman-
hood more gracious?) ascended platforms, indulged
in stately dances, and recited poetical compliments
to the princess, and other compositions in praise of
love and beauty ; but the Portuguese courtiers con-
ducted themselves so as to outrage their proud sense
of the proprieties, and they retired from the scene
with due dignity, ^neas showed himself at his
best in witty jest and sprightly conversation.
From Siena the cavalcade proceeded to Viterbo,
where, according to antique usage, the mob claimed
their perquisites and tried to snatch the rich panoply
that was held over the Emperor. He seized a lance
and fought his way to the hostelry, not without
receiving some blows.
At last they reached Monte Mario. Frederick was
usually impassive, but he looked down from the brow
of the hill on the classic ruins and Christian basilicas
of Rome with emotion. Can we wonder ? For Rome
garners the ages as they pass and folds them peace-
fully in her bosom ; she has seen eras depart as so
many morning mists ; change may wound, but cannot
dissolve her, for she is undying ; time is the record
of her fiats, and these have moulded the world. Even
FEEDEEICK AT EOME 193
the rude German knights exclaimed that the sight
of the ancient city repaid the journey. Turning to
^neas, the king asked him many questions, and
then, ' Methinks the time will come when you will
be a cardinal,' said he, 'nor will your good fortune
cease with that ; you will rise still higher ; the chair
of St. Peter awaits you. Have care that men do not
deride you when you reach it.' ^ Alas ! the Emperor-
elect had proved how vain is human dignity when
divested of power.
As they approached the city the cardinals came
forth to meet them, and Frederick was told that this
was an unprecedented honour, but ^neas ' thought
of the time when the Pope himself used to advance
and give welcome ; still all earthly power is subject
to vicissitude.'^ According to custom, the king
spent the night outside the walls at the house of
a Florentine banker, while ^neas visited Nicholas
to dispel his fears. ' It is wiser to fall into the error
of unjustified suspicion than into that of over-con-
fidence,' replied the Pontiff.
Next day Caesar and his bride-elect entered the
city. Already we note the vulgar side of the Eenais-
sance in its love of personal display. Leonora's horse
had trappings of cloth-of-gold, she wore a mantle of
the same costly material, and a great gold necklace
encircled her white neck. Frederick's raiment, with
its jewels, was valued at two hundred thousand
ducats. The clergy and nobility awaited them at
the gates, with the Prefect of Eome, who bore a
^ Pii II. Comment., 1. 1.
2 The greater part of this account and of what follows concerning the
coronation is taken from j^neas Silvius's History of Frederick III.
N
194
iENEAS SILVIUS
naked sword. Three thousand Papal horse and two
hundred Papal foot, under the guise of a guard of
honour, followed the German knights and soldiery,
prepared for any sudden attack or emergency. When
the King arrived at St. Peter's he dismounted, and
was conducted by the cardinals to the Pope, whose
foot he kissed and to whom he rendered a lump of
gold. The Pope presented him first with his hand,
and then with his cheek, to kiss, as Eugenius had
done to iEneas. Then the Mediaeval Caesar knelt,
and the descendant of the Fisherman blessed him
and made him sit by his side.^ ^neas says that
never before had an Emperor received such a friendly
greeting from a Pope. On March 16, Frederick
received the historic Iron Crown of Lombardy, which
contains a piece of the true Cross ; for he would not
take it in the dukedom, since Sforza was a usurper
there. ^Eneas laughed to himself at the title, * King
of the Romans,' for that * became extinct with Tarquin,
until the Germans revived and applied it to their
own German king.' During the next three days
Frederick was busy seeing the sights of Rome and
holding diplomatic interviews with Nicholas concern-
ing what service they could render one another ; but
the Pope set his face dead against a council. On
the 19th, the Imperial Coronation took place. Two
platforms were erected outside the old basilica of
St. Peter's, one being for the Emperor and the other
for his bride. Here Frederick took his oath, and
was then admitted to the College of Canons, and he
donned the Imperial robe, which ^neas thought looked
^ Enekel, quoted by Pastor, History of the Papacy^ English trans.,
ii. 15.
THE IMPERIAL CORONATION 195
rather old and shabby. Then both he and Leonora
were anointed on the shoulder and right arm. The
crowning and marriage took place in the church,
and the newly- wedded pair returned to their respec-
tive platforms to hear Mass. iEneas remarks that
the crown on Frederick's head was supposed to be
that of Charlemagne, but he knew better, for he
noticed that it bore the Bohemian lion, and was
therefore not older than Charles iv.'s time. Then
the Pope and Emperor walked, hand-in-hand, a little
way, and the Pope mounted his horse, and Frederick
held the reins for a short while. A procession then
formed and traversed the city, the Pope giving Caesar
the Golden Rose^ on the way. On the road back
to the Vatican, at the bridge in front of the tomb
of Hadrian, Frederick dubbed three hundred knights,
much to the amusement of iEneas, for they were ill
qualified to be Imperial riders, and Italy was not a
land where the institutions of chivalry flourished.
On March 24, the bridal pair set out for Naples,
where the bride's uncle, Alfonso, had prepared great
festivities ; but ^neas was left in charge of the lad
Ladislas, Frederick's ward. In the dead of night he
was summoned to attend the Pope, who informed him
that a plot to carry off his charge had been discovered.
Precautions were taken at once to keep him secure,
the very cardinals being forbidden to take the young
^ The Rose, of wrought gold, set with gems and blessed by the Pope on
the Fourth Sunday in Lent with certain ceremonies of ancient date but
obscure meaning, is mentioned in the eleventh century. Its first recipient
was the licentious Joanna of Naples (1366), and since then it has been
sent to many royal and dubious personages, including Isabella of Spain
and Louis Napoleon in the last generation. But the custom of sending a
few shavings from St. Peter's chair, set in gold, is as old as Gregory the
Great (see S. Greg., ed. 1705, lib. ii. 648, 796, and 1031).
196
.^NEAS SILVTUS
prince out hunting with them, and, on hearing the
news, the King hurried back from Naples.
When Frederick was on the point of leaving Rome,
^neas, on his behalf, thanked the Pope and cardinals
for their hospitality at an open consistory, and added
that another emperor would have insisted on a coun-
cil, but Frederick was convinced that the Pope and
his Curia were the best council. The truth was that
Frederick was compelled to be the obedient servant
of the Pope, for Austria, Hungary, and Moravia were
in open rebellion against him, and they and Milan
were intriguing with France. But the submission
was by no means unacceptable to iEneas in his
change of view as to Papal claims. He, almost alone
of any European statesmen, saw the peril to Europe
that arose from the dissensions of Christians while
the Turk pursued his career almost unchecked, and
how great was the need of complete union if he were
to be hurled out of Europe. On April 26, the Emperor
and Empress rode forth from Rome, and jiEneas
accompanied them, bearing with him a commission to
act as Papal Nuncio in Bohemia.
iEneas tells us that, though Leonora of Portugal
was wedded to Frederick, she had not become his
wife; he wished the consummation of marriage to
take place in Germany, for he was a formal man and
insisted on the punctilious observance of ceremony.^
The maiden was unhappy, for she thought her husband
indifferent to her, and she expressed her view with the
customary frankness of ladies in the fifteenth century.
1 More than a century later, in 1579, Giiglielnio ii., Duke of Mantua,
requested that the consummation of marriage between Alfonso ii., Duke of
Ferrara, and his daughter Margherita should be postponed until she entered
Ferrara. See the author's Tasso and His Times^ pp. 240, 241.
THE IMPERIAL MARRIAGE 197
For some time her uncle, Alfonso, prayed in vain that
the consummation might take place, but at last he
induced Frederick to give way. According to German
custom, the Emperor ordered the marriage-bed to be
prepared, and, in the presence of the King of Naples,
the courtiers, and the bride's maids- of-honour, both
he and Leonora being fully attired, the Empress
mounted the bridal couch and the Emperor lay by
her side and solemnly kissed her. Leonora's ladies,
who had no knowledge of German customs, became
very much alarmed, thinking they would be put to
shame, and protested vigorously, while Alfonso did
not disguise his amusement. ' Such,' says JEneas,
* was the custom of German princes.' ^ At the desire
of the Portuguese ladies, the bridal bed had been con-
secrated with holy water ; but the following night,
when the marriage was to be consummated, Frederick,
who thought the couch might have been poisoned or
placed under some necromantic spell, ordered it to be
changed for another.
^ The ceremony was a publication of the marriage whereby it became
indisputable, and was even employed in marriage by proxy.
198
^NEAS SILVIUS
CHAPTER X
uENEAS AS PAPAL AND IMPERIAL AGENT — THE
EASTERN PERIL
Frederick returned to Germany to find it in full
revolt. His ally, the Pope, threatened the rebels
with excommunication, and the menace was treated
with contempt. Germans, Austrians, and Hungarians
were ready to unite with French and demand a
Council ; Frederick was powerless to resist. The
Papacy became seriously alarmed, for it depended on
Germany for a large part of its revenues, which now
came sparingly from other countries. If Germany
were to follow the lead of France and establish a
national church, the Pope and Curia would be
reduced to penury. A General Council might limit
authority, but a German * Pragmatic Sanction,' similar
to that of Bourges, would be followed by the decay
of Catholic organisation; if supplies were cut off,
Catholicism could not continue to exist. For, as
with any other state, the entire ecclesiastic system of
the Papacy, its hierarchical ordinances, and all the
principles on which its universal government is con-
ducted, cannot endure if they be deprived of the
resources by which they are fed. Heresies without
end will flourish, and all shadow of obedience will
disappear in general religious anarchy.
PAPAL AND IMPEEIAL AGENT 199
iEneas pointed out to Frederick that he could not
keep his ward, Ladislas, for ever, and it is probable
that he advised him to bend before the storm. The
young king was released, and ^neas was despatched,
with two other envoys, to a diet held at Vienna
during the winter of 1452-3. It was a stormy
assembly. One day, when the Emperor was taking
private counsel of ^neas, Cusa and the Bishop of
Eichstadt, Albert of Brandenburg rushed into the
chamber and loudly abused everybody present, declar-
ing that he cared not a jot for Emperor or Pope. ' It
is the common fault of princes,' remarks ^neas, ' that,
being brought up among inferiors in rank, who are
ready to applaud everything they say, when they
come to mingle with their equals, they will brook no
reproof, but fly into a rage and lose all self-control.' ^
Later on, when the Emperor had asked one of his
counsellors to obtain an opinion from the princes,
Albert took the envoy by the shoulders and thrust
him out of the room, exclaiming, * Are you a prince
then, that you come in among princes ? ' ^neas
found his old enemy, Heimburg, at the diet, who
bitterly opposed him, but he concocted a crucial
dispute, and triumphed so far as to get the princes
to postpone its discussion to another diet.
It was now that ^neas made one of his ablest and
most powerful speeches. * The Austrians,' said he,
' have taken up the same position as the Waldensian
heretics ; nay, they are no better than the Saracens.
For, in their pride, they say, *' What is the Pope to
us ? Let him say his Masses ; we rely on our swords."
They demand a Council. Is the Pope, then, guilty
1 ^n. Silvius, Hist. Fred. III., apud KoUar, ii. 417.
200
^NEAS SILVIUS
of heresy or schism, or has he altered the government
of the Church ? Councils ! Why, I saw cooks and
stablemen sitting with bishops at Basel, and giving
laws to the Church. And, in your wisdom, you will
appeal from an ignorant to an instructed Pope. That
is to say, you divide the Pope into two parts, and
appeal from one half of him to the other. It is a
device worthy of Plato's Republic, but not to be
found in practical life. And I fear you will not get a
Council either, for it depends on the Pope whether it
shall be summoned, and it will be a score of years, or
perhaps a century, before he does so; for he must
judge when it is expedient and desirable. You talk
of Councils every ten years. Why, the last sat for
twenty ! I wish that the times were ripe for a
Council, and this is the Pope's desire also ; then the
dreams of these men would soon be dispelled. They
appeal to a universal Church, that is to say to men
of every station, to women and children, as well as
men ; to the laity no less than the clergy. In early
times, when the body of believers was very small,
such a thing was possible. But now, how can they
all meet together, and how are they to appoint
arbiters to resolve difficulties'? An appeal to the
Last Judgement would show just as much practical
sense.' ^
The oration produced no effect ; the progressive
abasement of Frederick remained unchecked. But
the princes were vastly more eager to aggrandise them-
selves than to reform the Church. Frederick, probably
advised by iEneas, requested the Pope to withdraw
his threats, and Nicholas consented to do so.^
* Pit II. Orat, apud Mansi, i. 184 et seq.
Voigt, loc. cit.y ii. 88.
PAPAL AND IMPERIAL AGENT 201
For many years the prescient eye of Piccolomini
had perceived the danger of Christian dissension while
the Moslem was steadily advancing his rule. As
early as 1444, a letter to Campisio shows his eager
interest in the Eastern campaign. At the Corona-
tion of Frederick, he burst forth into a passionate
exhortation to resistance. He saw how Hungary
remained the sole barrier of Christianity against the
infidels, weakened as Central Europe was by inter-
necine struggles.^ On May 29, 1453, the Crescent
supplanted the Cross at St. Sophia. The news soon
spread far and wide, and Europe learned with dismay
that the last vestige of the Empire of Constantine
had disappeared, and that the Turk had gained the
firmest foothold in all Europe for further advance.
Frederick professed, and doubtless felt, anxiety, but
he 'sat at home doing nothing; he amused himself
by catching birds and attending to his garden.' ^
But the grave danger stung JEneas the statesman
into activity ; it aroused ^neas the scholar to the
peril in which the priceless libraries of Greece stood.
' Now is the river of all culture choked,' he wrote ;
* now has the fountain of the Muses ceased ; now
are poetry and philosophy buried. Who cannot but
mourn such an overthrow of letters? Homer and
Pindar and Menander and all the illustrious poets
have died a second time. And great as this disaster
is, one yet more terrible threatens the Christian faith,
and a yoke may yet be put on Christian peoples.' ^
He wrote to the Pope, serving up excuses for Papal
^ -^n. Sil., Ep. ad Johan. Campisium^ May 5, 1444. Voigt, Collect.
S. 390.
^ Mathias Dbring, quoted by Creigliton.
3 JEn. Sil., Ep. ad Card. S. Petri ad Vincul, July 21, 1453.
202
iENEAS SILVIUS
supineness that were only a veil for reproof and exhor-
tation. * Historians of the Papacy,' said he, * when
they reach your time, will record this of you :
"Nicholas, a Tuscan, was Pope for so many years.
He recovered the patrimony of St. Peter from usurp-
ing tyrants ; he united a divided Church ; he built
the Vatican and splendidly restored St. Peter's ; he
canonised St. Bernardino of Siena ; he celebrated a
Jubilee, and crowned Frederick iii. But in his time
Constantinople was taken by the Turk and plundered "
(or, it may have to be written, " burned and razed to
the ground I "). For though you strove with all your
might to give aid to the wretched city, you were
unable to unite the Princes of Christendom in the
defence of the Faith. The danger was over-stated,
they replied ; the greedy Greeks exaggerated their
peril to get money sent over. Your Holiness did
your best : no blame can be laid at your door. Yet
the ignorance of posterity will not fail to put the
shame on you, when it shall be told that Constantinople
was taken during your reign.' Then ^neas goes on
to urge him to summon a congress of princes.^ He
also writes to the cardinals : within a month Cap-
ranica, Scarampo, Cusa, and Carvajal received stirring
appeals from him ; ^ nor, this done, did he desist from
repeated efforts to arouse them from their indiflference
and awaken them to the magnitude and imminence
of the danger. Isidor of Russia, too, warned Nicholas
that the Turk would be in Italy in eighteen months,
unless the peace of Christendom could be secured.
1 ^n. Sil., Ep. ad Stmct. Dom. Nick., July 12, 1453.
2 See the letters addressed to the Cardinals, of Fermo, July 11 ; Aquileia,
July 12 ; S. Pietro, July 21 ; S. Angelo, August 10.
PAPAL AND IMPERIAL AGENT 203
But -^neas had at heart a larger policy than the
repulse of the Moslem even. He desired Christian
union ; he perceived that the present was an unparal-
leled opportunity for the Pope to regain his prestige
and to attempt the establishment of a new Pax Homana
under the guidance of the theocracy. Nicholas pro-
claimed a universal peace, equipped a small fleet, and
promised remission of sins to Crusaders ; ^ perhaps this
was all he felt he could do in the face of so many
difficulties that beset him at home and abroad. More-
over, the most eager of his desires was to embody the
sublime truth of Christianity in the dazzling splendour
of its chief see.^
However, an Augustinian friar, sent by Venice to
her foe Sforza, the ruler of Milan, arranged a treaty
at Lodi, and the Italian states, exhausted by war,
agreed to a twenty-five years' truce. Meanwhile
iEneas was urging the Emperor to convoke an Euro-
pean Congress. ' I have spoken much with Caesar
about this disaster to the world,' he writes ; * I find
him well disposed, but wanting in power.' ^ He got
Frederick's permission to appeal urgently to the Pope
in his name. He entreated Nicholas as * representative
on earth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, from whom this
movement proceeds, to write to kings, send legates,
and warn and exhort all princes and states everywhere,
to come in person or send delegates. Now, when the
evil has only just happened, is the time for us to hasten
and call a congi^ess. Command all foes to make peace
with each other, or, at least, to agree to a truce, while
* Raynaldus, Ad ann. 1453.
- See Manetti apud Muratori, R. I. S., iii. 2. p. 945.
3 ^n. Sil., Ep. ad Sand. Bom. Nich., August 11, 1463.
204
^NEAS SILVIUS
they turn their arms against the foes of the Cross.
If your Holiness were to throw heart and soul into
the matter, there cannot be a doubt that many kings
and princes would obey your call; for zeal for God
and the Faith is not dead.'^ But, *the matter did
not please the Apostolic Chair,' ^neas tells us. * Most
likely Nicholas dreaded that such a meeting would
give an opportunity for complaint; for nothing is
secure in that high vocation. The stir of a great
assembly brings forth much : the supreme authority
is unfriendly to innovation ; for discontent is encour-
aged when there is hope of change.' ^
Though ^neas wrote to Carvajal, ' Never have I,
in my ten years' service, spoken to Caesar so much as
about this matter or found him listen so seriously,' ^
Frederick feared to face the Electors at a congress,
and he refused to go, saying that he ' could not afford
to sacrifice his own to general interests, nor did he
find any one who was more eager for the good of others
than for his own benefit.' * However, he invited the
princes of Europe to assemble or send delegates, and
he nominated certain German princes to attend the
congress, and sent iEneas to act as one of his deputies.
The congress was brought about by the exertions of
^neas, and to him, therefore, is due the honour of
founding the first assemblage of European statesmen
for a common object and the common good. But his
^ JEn. Silvius, Ep. ad Sand. Dom. Nich.y August 10, 1453. See also
Weiss, A., JEn. S. Piccol. als Papst Pius 11. , sein Leben und Einjluss auf
die literarische GultiLr Deutschl. Graz, 1897, p. 34 et seq.
^ See ^n. Silvius, De Ratesponeiisi Dieta, in appendix to Mansi, and his
letter to Leonardo de' Bentivogli, the Sienese ambassador at Venice, July
5, 1454.
3 .^n. Sil., Ep. ad Card. S. Angel.^ September 3, 1453.
* ^n. Sil., Orat.) apud Mansi, iii. 9. Lucae, 1755-59.
PAPAL AND IMPERIAL AGENT 205
energies broke themselves against a barrier of indiffer-
ence and inertia. He carried an Imperial letter to
Louis of Bavaria, and found him just ready to set out
hunting. The Prince read the missive, and said he
very much appreciated such a compliment, but he was
young and inexperienced, and would not, therefore,
accept the Emperors invitation, but he would send
representatives. Would ^neas join the hunt with
him ? The dogs were barking meanwhile, and every-
body was cursing the envoys for hindering their sport.
iEneas and his friends declined the invitation, where-
upon the huntsmen wound their horns and the Prince
and his friends galloped away.^ Cardinal Cusa, when
he drew near to Kegensburg, where the Congress was
to be held, asked whether he should go on, and who
would pay his expenses. The state of Mantua never
received an invitation ; that of Siena got one too late ;
Ferrara and Lucca sent excuses ; the other Italian
states, England and Scotland did not reply. Charles
of France was jealous of Burgundy, and he wrote to
Nicholas that he would take up arms if Germany did ;
Christian of Denmark regretted that the notice was
too short, also, he was occupied with a war against
Norway, but when the moment came for action he
would be found ready ; Poland sent envoys, but only
to protest against the Teutonic knights ; the King of
Portugal was ready, but his people murmured. The
truth was that the feudal system was breaking down ;
many lands were exhausted by war, and most rulers
were busy consolidating their own possessions and
establishing a firmer rule. Venice feared Sforza, the
^ -^n. Sil., De Ratesponensi Dieta, in Appendix to Orationes Pii 11.^
ed. Mansi, part iii. pp. 5-13.
206
iENEAS SILVIUS
formidable occupant of the adjoining state, and was
anxious to preserve her commerce with the East ; so
she made a treaty with Mahommed ; and Genoa,
weakened by faction, gave her Eastern possessions
into the keeping of the Bank of St. George. Only
Philip of Burgundy was enthusiastic for a crusade,
and he was a hot-headed windbag. He prepared for
the Holy War by an allegorical pageant, a banquet,
and a dance, and, laying his hand on an emblematical
live peacock, vowed to the All Seer that he would
turn the Turk out of Europe. The peacock, led by
two charming maidens, had for its companions an
elephant, a Paynim giant, and one Oliver de la
Marche (who tells the tale) playing the part of
the Captive Church. Oliver wept and groaned and
prayed for succour, with interludes of the famous
music of Flanders. Philip promised to send sixty
thousand men ; and, so eager did he seem, that he was
asked to allow the Congress to assemble at his castle.
But iEneas tells us that his way of life was not to
rise until noon, then to attend to some few affairs of
state before dinner, dine, take an afternoon nap, do
a few gymnastic exercises, go to supper and eat on
until very late ; then listen to music and entertain
himself with dancing : more serious business would
have quite put him out. Yet he came to the Diet.
iEneas made a stirring speech, but, as it was in Latin,
most of the hearers did not understand it. The
Bishop of Gurck translated the oration, but it pro-
duced very little effect. The Congress passed brave
resolutions which were committed to parchment, and
iEneas thanked the Duke of Burgundy for his
enthusiasm in a cause in which his ancestors had
THE EASTEEN PERIL 207
distinguished themselves. Then the assembly broke
up (May 1454).
He was bitterly disappointed. A week later he
wrote to a friend : * My desire is greater than my
hope. For I cannot persuade myself that any good
result will follow. You will ask, why ? My reply
must be, What ground do you find for hope ?
Christendom has no head that all men will obey.
Neither Pope nor Emperor receives what is due to
him ; for reverence and obedience are nowhere to
be found. Pope and Emperor have become mere
dignified but empty titles ; they are no more effective
than two impotent pictures in a frame. Each state
has its own ruler ; each ruler is dominated by his
own particular interest. What eloquence could
draw such dissentient, antagonistic powers together,
and induce them to take up arms under a single
standard ? And, if they could be gathered together
in battle-array, who would have such temerity as to
take the chief command? What common plan of
action could be devised ? What discipline could be
enforced ? There are so very many different nations,
and who could shepherd such a mixed flock? Who
has command of the multitude of tongues they speak,
or is able to deal with men of such widely different
manners and character? Where is the mortal man
that could bring England into accord with France,
or Genoa with Aragon, or conciliate Germans,
Hungarians, and Bohemians in their disputes ? Let
a small army embark in the sacred cause and it will
be annihilated by the Paynim ; let a great host set
forth and its internal enmities will destroy its
organisation, and its end will be general ruin. Look
208 ^NEAS SILVIUS
I
where you will there are diflSculties. Behold a true
picture of Christendom as it stands.' ^ Piccolomini
had hoped for such another gathering as Clermont
witnessed in the days of Peter the Hermit. But the
rulers of Europe no longer aspired to become kings
in Asia ; they were entirely occupied in making their
rule effective at home. Enthusiasm for religion,
too, chiefly animated the poorer classes, who had no
great earthly expectations.
The Imperial cause had become hopeless ; only com-
paratively unimportant services occupied Piccolomini's
powers, and he knew his talents to be such that they
could be employed more effectively and in a wider
field. Moreover, though economical, he remained
necessitous. He had been compelled to pay heavy
fees to the Papacy on accepting his bishopric ; Siena
was not a wealthy see, and he had to hire a sub-
stitute ; and he tells us that although Caesar was
gracious in all other matters, he did not make him
a sufficient allowance.^ * Eectitude in conduct is
excellent,' he had written many years before, * yet it
must be confessed that it makes considerable differ-
ence whether it is observed in comfortable circum-
stances or in penury.'^ Hitherto, in spite of the
homesickness that never left him, he had thought it
well, for Frederick's sake and his own, that he should
remain in Germany, and he loved power and position.
The preceding year he had written to a relative who
urged him to return to Italy : ' While I am with the
Emperor, the Pope and cardinals yield me some little
* Letter to Leonardo de' Bentivoglio, July 5, 1454.
2 ^n. Sil, Ep. ad Henricum Senfstleberi, January 22, 1454.
3 ^n, Sii,^ Hist. Condi. Basil., 1. ii.
THE EASTERN PERIL 209
honour ; were I at Siena they would forget all about
me. I know in how little esteem prelates are held
by the Curia. Believe me, I made no mistake. I
really cannot compliment you on your penetration in
supposing that I should be more highly thought of if
I dwelt nearer the Pope. The Roman Curia regards
position, not the man. My place impresses them
more than my personality. As an Italian prelate,
beloved by Caesar, I occupy a unique position.
Solely for that reason do I count for a little. If I
once left the Imperial Court I should be unheeded ;
and there 's an end.' ^ But it was clear now that the
alliance between Emperor and Pope had achieved no
great success ; that ^neas could do little more for
his master, who was getting more discredited by the
princes every day and was flouted by them on
every occasion. He asked Frederick to dismiss him,
but the Emperor found his services much too valuable,
and refused the request. Frederick dared not go to
the approaching diet, and he wished ^neas and the
Bishop of Giirk to represent him there.
When the next Diet was opened (October 1454) the
Hungarian envoys declared that they would accept
terms from the Turk if Christendom sent them no
aid. Piccolomini rose, and addressed the Diet in
words of burning eloquence.^ Capistrano tells us
that the speech was wonderful ; the subject was as
exhaustively and prudently treated as it could be.^
It took two hours to deliver. But the Diet was
imperturbable on such a point. It had assembled in
* ^n. Sil., Ep. ad G. Lollium, July 1, 1453.
* The speech is given in Mansi, i. p. 263. See Platina, Vita Pii II.
^ See Capistrano apud Wadding, Annal. Minor. ^ vi. p. 105. Komae.
210
iENEAS SILVIUS
a hostile spirit, and only concerned itself with the
local quarrels of Germany. With difficulty, iEneas
extracted a promise from the princes of granting
some small help towards a crusade. They said they
could do nothing until peace was restored, however ;
and since all were self-seekers, there was no hope
of peace. They ranged themselves into two parties.
The Pfalzgraf, egged on by Jacob, Bishop of Trier,
led the one ; Albert of Brandenburg, the other. The
Pfalzgraf won over Albert of Austria, by proposing
to depose Frederick in his favour ; that done, a new
Council should be summoned and ecclesiastical reform
would follow. It was agreed that a new Diet should
meet at Neustadt, in February 1455, ostensibly to
discuss the projected crusade, but really to break
up the alliance between the Pope and Emperor. It
is strange to see how tradition still rendered such a
combination alarming to the princes, ^neas wrote
to Capistrano a letter that is filled with bitter irony.
'Bring your oratorical arms to bear on the princes
at Neustadt,' he says. * There will be an amphitheatre
put up where there shall be Circensian games, sur-
passing those of Caesar and Pompey. I do not
know whether all the beasts will be those native to
Germany, or whether ferae naturae will be brought
from other countries; but this land is well stocked
with many different kinds of wild animals, and,
perchance, Bohemia will provide the Beast of the
Apocalypse. You can employ the Sword of your
Mouth. On the most moderate forecast you will
make a full bag, and every kind of animal will be
in it. And, should you come triumphant out of the
fray, having succeeded in vanquishing our vermin
THE EASTERN PERIL 211
at home, we shall be at liberty to attack those
abroad.' ^ ^Eneas did not like the emotional methods
of Capistrano, but the letter shows the friar to have
been famiUar with affairs and capable of appreciating
witty satire.
The Diet met. Everybody professed to be en-
thusiastic for a crusade ; everybody would be quite
ready when everybody else was, but no one was
willing to begin. The Archbishop of Trier then drew
up a scheme designed to frighten Frederick into
submission to the Electors. The Pope had promised
a Council, and he had failed to keep his word ; a
new Council must be insisted on ; Frederick must
summon it, as the Pope would not.^ The Emperor
found himself on the horns of a dilemma. If he were
to accede, he would yield the last vestige of his
authority to the Electors ; if he were to refuse, they
would withdraw their sanction to a crusade, and his
impotence would be manifest to all Europe. But,
in March 1455, Nicholas died, and the Emperor was
provided with a plausible excuse for delaying his
reply. The Archbishop of Trier, too, saw, in the
election of a new Pope, the possibility of vindicating
the liberties of the ecclesiastical Electors, of attain-
ing his own ends, and, possibly, of reforming the
Church. Therefore, there was temporary truce.
^ -^n. Silvius, Opera Omnia. Ed. Basil. JEp. 403. See also Wadding,
loc. city pp. 137-8.
2 Creighton, M., History of the Papacy^ iii. 153, ed. 1897.
212
iENEAS SILVIUS
n
CHAPTER XI
^NEAS AT ROME : ^NEAS AS MAN OF LETTERS
The new Pope, Alfonso de Borja (Italianised into
Borgia), who took the title of Calixtus in., was an
old man of seventy-seven years. A Catalan, he came
of a haughty, full-blooded, vigorous stock. He was
grown feeble now, but he bore in his breast an
hereditary hatred of the Mahommedans ; and the
cardinals who elected him were little aware of how
fiery and impetuous the aged can become who have
only a few days left to fulfil their purposes. He
registered, with his own hand, a solemn oath to
pursue the Turk to his destruction, and he hung it
in his bedchamber, that sleeping or waking, it might
be with him. He tore the gold and silver from the
altars of Rome, and melted them down to raise funds
for a crusade. It may be judged that such an
enthusiast did not spare his own possessions. The
last silver salt-cellar went : ' Away with it,' said he,
* take it for the crusade ; earthenware will do for me.'
Such enthusiasm for a cause that was very close to
his own heart had no little attraction for ^neas.
Jacob of Trier called on Frederick to obtain the
removal of all the grievances of the German Church
before he rendered obedience to the new Pope.
iEneas took occasion to tell his master Frederick
AS MAN OF LETTERS 213
that it was idle for any prince to truckle in an
attempt to please his people, for it is fickle and
must not be allowed to take the reins. He and
John Hinderbach, an eager reformer, were nominated
as Imperial Ambassadors to Rome. They were
detained at Venice, and reached the Apostolic city
four months after the papal election. Voigt, with
his usual venom, accuses Piccolomini of having sacri-
ficed the interests of Germany to his own personal
ambition. Undoubtedly he did not consider that
the true interests of Germany lay in the success of
the Electors; he wished for its unity, and believed
in a central authority, both for secular and ecclesi-
astical polity. But Calixtus refused to consider any
requests until Frederick had yielded his obedience.
iEneas gives a perfectly straightforward account of
what happened in a letter which he and Hinderbach
sent, in their conjoint names, to the Emperor. * We
found ourselves,' he says, ' placed in some perplexity
by the Pope's reply. To depart without giving our
obedience would set up a grievous scandal in Christen-
dom ; so we decided to yield our obedience and
then proceed in doing what otherwise were im-
possible, that is, to present your petition.' ^
At a public consistory, ^neas earnestly urged a
crusade against the Turk, but he wisely said nothing
about the requirements of Germany. The reason of
the omission was that he and Hinderbach were nego-
tiating privately with the Pope; they found their
pleadings unavailing, however, and probably iEneas's
were only half-hearted. The Emperor was discredited
* Enea Silvio and J. Hinderbach to Frederick in., September 8, 1455, in
Ougnoni, u^. S. Ficcolomini Opera i»«di<a, 121 $g. 1883.
214
iENEAS SILVIUS
and no longer of much service to Calixtus, and, more-
over, he was too closely bound to the Papacy to
withdraw from the alliance.
Hinderbach returned to Germany, but iEneas
remained at Rome. Frederick knew that ^Eneas could
do him more service there than in Germany, especially
as the Caesar could get him raised to the cardinalate.
The Bed Hat was now the object of iEneas's ambition.
The Emperor plied the Pope with requests for his
promotion, but Calixtus was bent on advancing his
own nephews to the Curia.
To Piccolomini, more than to any one, is due the
honour of having carried the torch of Humanism to
Germany.^ He found the scholars of that country
pursuing dull scholastic learning and dreary subtleties
of civil and canon law. They were dead to all really
liberal influences. * I have to forsake the muse and
stick to my desk and the cofiers of the king,' he
wrote, *for kings are wholly ignorant of the muse,
and the barbarian has nought to do with the turning
of a line. All that is buried, whatever else is pur-
sued here, and there is no pursuit of the humanities
outside Italy. Do you know how they think of
culture ? They class our speeches and poems, which
really have some Latinity, with all kinds of stuff.' ^
But his sympathetic nature and the breadth of his
understanding enabled him to take a real interest in
the rude physical exercises of the north, and he wrote
a treatise on The Nature and Care of Horses, which
^ See Weiss, A., JEneas S. Piccolomini als Papst Pius II., sein Leben
und Einjiuss auf die literarische Cultur Deutschlands. Graz, 1897,
2 Mn. Sil., Ep. ad Comitem Galeatium d^Archo. November 15, 1443.
AS MAN OF LETTERS 215
he sent in the form of a letter to Wilhelm von Stein
(July 4, 1444). He encouraged the young nobles to
try their hand at letters, and even after his arrival in
Rome he did not forget them. * You write very well/
he told Ludwig, Duke of Bavaria, ' and that is praise-
worthy in a prince of your rank.'^ In spite of the
illiteracy, the ungainly manners, and semi- barbarous
bearing of the Teuton, he perceived his high capacity
for culture. Soon after his arrival at Vienna, he
wrote to a German friend : ' I have hope for the
future of Germany. Formerly she bore learned sons,
and, even now, there are many skilled teachers of the
newer learning, who are raising the seed.'^ He told
Heimburg that, ' even as Italy raised herself after the
incursion of the barbarians, so Germany may achieve
art and learning.' ^ Germany was a singularly rich
country, as we learn from a work that -^neas wrote
at a later date."* The material conditions were there-
fore favourable to her development. He carried on a
large correspondence with many Germans, and this
did much to arouse an enthusiasm for letters; but,
although there is a freshness, a vast amount of
observation, much penetrative insight, and a wealth
of broad human sympathy displayed in -^neas's writ-
ings,— characteristics very unusual with the humanists
of his period — his education had been defective, and
his prolonged residence in a country where pure litera-
ture was so little pursued and elegant Latin so little
cultivated did much to corrupt his style. Such, at
1 Ep. dated July 15, 1457.
2 ^n. Sil., Ejp. ad Gug. de Stein, June 1, 1444.
2 -^n. Sil., Ep. ad Oreg. Heimburg, January 13, 1449.
* JEn. Sil., De ritu, situ et conditione theutonie descriptio. Lyptzick,
1496.
21(5
iENEAS SILVIUS
least, was the judgment of a friend and contem-
porary/ It fails, indeed, to be as faithfully Ciceronian
as iEneas desired it to be, but it usually secures the
interest of the reader, and often it is as full of life
and directness as the most brilliant and animated
conversation ; it is marked by breadth of thought and
ripeness of judgement, and dominated by the per-
sonality of the man.
In 1449, soon after the death of Schlick, he had a
dream so vivid that he wrote to Carvajal giving him
an account of it.^ The dead Chancellor appeared to
him, and, conducting him to heaven (where he saw
Eugenius, the Emperor Albert, and many of the
illustrious dead), expatiated on the vanity of earthly
life. The impression of this dream was so deep and
lasting, that, in 1453, it suggested a work full of
poetic fancy and reminiscences of Dante and Petrarch.
It is called The Dialogue.^ He is conducted by St.
Bernardino of Siena to the kingdom of the dead, and
Piero de Noceto joins the twain. They meet St. John
the Evangelist and the prophet Elijah, Constantino
the Great, Vegio the poet. Valla the humanist, and
the Almighty Himself appears. Dreams and the
Chase, Free Will and Predestination, Heaven and
History are among the subjects discussed. In fact a
series of short essays are strung together in a poetic
form. He also wrote a work * In Praise of Homer ' (of
whom his learned contemporaries knew but little and
iEneas still less). His interest in northern nations
induced him to epitomise Jordanes's History of the
^ Campanus, Vita Pii 11. , apud Muratori, iii. part. ii.
2 JEn. Sil., Ep. ad Card. Carvajal, November 13, 1449.
3 Enee Silvii Piccolominei qui et Pius Secundus fuit : Dialog. Rome,
1475.
I
AS MAN OF LETTEES 217
Goths, which he had come across in a German monas-
tery,^ and later, when he became Pope, he recast the
Decades of Flavio Biondo for popular use.^ It is a
work that deals with Roman antiquities, in which he
was deeply interested. Busily employed as he was
by Frederick, numerous as were the toilsome lega-
tions on which he was sent, he found time to write a
history of the reign of that monarch, which he began
in 1452, and continued to work at for three years. ^
From time to time he added a new study to his
Biographies of Illustrious Men, a remarkable series of
character-sketches of the foremost people of his time.*
A letter to the Chancellor of Hungary gives an
account of the Diet of Ratisbon, written three months
after its close. ^ And he wrote a second account of
the Council of Basel from his changed position in
relation to it in 1446.^ All these works exhibit such
encyclopaedic interest and such diversity of talent as
almost to justify the eulogium of his friend Campano,
who exclaims that ' Nature gathered up the distinc-
tions of very many different men in this one per-
sonality.' ^ No man of his time was more brilliant as
an orator; he prepared his speeches carefully, held
his audience spell-bound, and however earnest in his
exhortations, never failed to appreciate the effect he
produced ; he repeatedly records the delight he ex-
^ ^n, Silvius, Historia Oothorumj apud Duellium, Biga Uhrorum rari-
orum. 1730.
2 Pii II. Opera Omnia. Basel, 1551. P. 144, et seq. The work was
written after Biondo's death, which took place in 1463.
3 Die Geschichte Kaiser Friedrichs III. von ^neas Silvius : Uehersetzt
von T. Ilgen, 1889-90.
* ^n. Silvius, De Viris uEtate sua Claris Opusculum^ in Literarischer
Verein-Bihliotek, etc., Bd. 1. Stuttgart, 1843, etc.
^ Mansi, loc. cit., p. l,^ei seq. '^ Campano, Up. 1. 1.
218
^NEAS STLVIUS
perienced at his later successes in a work — The Com-
mentaries— that he intended to be a record for
posterity of his pontificate. Certainly no man of his
age made so many speeches on such important sub-
jects before such distinguished audiences, and, surely,
no man was ever so chatty, so friendly, and so singu-
larly incautious a correspondent ; no man could count
so many intimate friends ; certainly no wise man ever
confided in them so completely. Many of them were
Germans, and he never lost his interest in the pro-
gress of German letters. As Pope he had much to do
with the foundation of the Universities of Basel and
Ingoldstadt, as well as with those of Nantes and
Rome.
A year after his arrival in Rome, ^neas went, for
the second time, on an embassy to the Court of
Naples. There was comparative peace in Italy, for
the more important states had found out the ad-
vantages of balance of power. Siena, Florence, and
Milan were in alliance, and Jacopo Piccinino, the
son of that Niccol6 Piccinino, to whom ^neas had
been sent by the Bishop of Novara, twenty-one years
before, found himself and his mercenary band unem-
ployed. Piccinino led his condottieri into Sienese
territory and occupied Ortobello. It was generally
believed that he contemplated reducing the whole
state and constituting himself its ruler. It was
further suspected, not without good reason, that he
was supported by Alfonso, King of Naples. Italian
history yielded many examples of mercenary captains
who had thus overthrown the liberty of wealthy but
unwarlike states, and the government of Siena, a
body of traders, by no means peaceful, but quite
AS MAN OF LETTERS 219
unskilled in scientific warfare, sent to their bishop,
asking him to plead with Alfonso for the withdrawal
of Piccinino.
The bishop and other ambassadors set out for
Naples early in 1456, where the king detained them
four months, during which ^neas took the oppor-
tunity to visit Baiae and Cumae, Salerno and Amalfi,
the reputed tomb of Virgil, and all the places in the
neighbourhood that bear classic memories or preserve
actual relics of antiquity. When not so occupied or
when not in what seemed a hopeless attendance at
the Court, he was busy writing his commentaries on
Antonio Panormita, a collection of apophthegms and
anecdotes, many of which he attributed to Alfonso/
It is a piece of delicate court-flattery, but if it was
intended to get that royal favour which Panormita
(Beccadelli) had enjoyed, or to incline the royal ear
favourably to the prayer of Siena, it failed, ^neas
was handicapped in that from the beginning, for
Calixtus was unwilling to let him go at all.^ At
last Alfonso consented to recall Piccinino and employ
him in the Turkish war, but only on the payment
by the Republic of forty thousand ducats, to be
divided between himself and the Pope. Alfonso
was an extremely sagacious ruler, and quite the
equal of iEneas in diplomacy; if not a scholar
himself, he was a dilettante in scholarship and a great
patron of men of letters. Both men showed their
best sides to one another and interchanged agreeable
compliments. The intercourse resulted, not merely
in the commentaries on Beccadelli, but in a remark-
1 Commentarii in Libros Antonii Panormitae poetae de dictis et factis
Alfonsi regis. ^ Pii II. Comment. ^ 1. 1, p. 26.
220
.ENEAS SILVIUS
able History of Bohemia, which .Eneas wrote for
Alfonso, a work giving an animated and even exciting
account of the onslaught of the troops of united
Europe on the Bohemian heretics and the heroic
resistance they encountered. It was first printed
at Rome in 1475, and since then there have been
repeated editions. Here, as in the History of
Frederick, .Eneas Silvius differs from the chroniclers
of his time by his keen perception of historical causes,
thus forestalling, in some measure, the scientific
methods of Machiavelli and Guicciardini.
All the works mentioned are rich in those pregnant
phrases in the making of which JEneas was hardly
less happy than Bacon. The following are from the
commentaries on Beccadelli : —
* Nothing is ever so well said that it could not be
still better put/ ^
' It is a trifle more difficult for kings to become
philosophers than for those in a private station/ ^
'The wise, if they get ever so small a reward,
withdraw from the perils of the court and are content.
For courtiers are like sows that are fattened to pro-
vide a feast for their master ... he who, having
become rich, remains, does not do so out of gratitude;
either he cannot leave or he is still greedy.' ^
* An unlettered king is a crowned ass/ ^
* It is all-important that a war should begin well,
for the end of a war often lies in its beginning.' ^
* He is a poor ruler who cannot dissimulate.' ^
[A remark very characteristic of the fifteenth
century].
^ iEneas Silvius, Comment, in Fanorm., 1. 1.
AS MAN OF LETTERS 221
*A miracle should always be regarded with mis-
trust.'^
'Men, who deem themselves reasonable beings,
will often bow down before princes that are stupider
than beasts/^
* Princes slay their foes when they spare them :
give them a post and they are converted into friends/ ^
* Life is a play, with death for the last act/ ^
* The elected ruler has no worthy successor.' ^
' Kingcraft and self-indulgence cannot occupy the
same throne.'^
The apophthegms spread through his voluminous
writings are often remarkable and very profuse.
The following are a few, taken at random : —
' Act so that God may approve or that you could
repeat what you do in the sight of men.'
* No boldness is ever quite safe, and no injury lasts
for ever.'
' Laws are not everlasting.'
* Nothing more wobbling than a lie.'
' As you go on living, so will you die.'
* The mob always prefers utility to honour : honour
requires a pecuniary prop.'
'Not the morning nor the evening star is more
beautiful than the wisdom one can garner from
books.'
' Patience is the best remedy.'
'Fortune blunders along with blinded eyes; she
gives most of her gifts to the least worthy.'
* Time rectifies and judges all things.'
* ^neas Silvius, Comment, in Fanorm., 1. 2. * Loc. cit.j I. 3.
^ Loc. cit., 1. 4.
222
iENEAS SILVIUS
* You cannot plunder virtue.'
' When the guilty man is condemned without trial,_
the innocent man is not safe/
' The king is given to the nation, not the nation to
the king.'
* Men complain of the burden of power, but do not
relinquish it.'
' Judgement in belief follows desire.'
*The Majesty of God does nothing at random,
nothing in haste. We are stumblers in the dark ; our
discernment is infinitely small.'
'In the direction of men, the transformation of
states, the jurisdiction of empire, how feeble is
human effort, how overwhelming the divine appoint-
ment.'
* God himself cannot escape censure.*
'Every age is blind if it is without literature.'
' No book is so stupid that one cannot draw some-
thing out it.'
' That is no state wherein there is civil discord.'
' Rarely do pious men have pious heirs.'
* Human affairs have small beginnings, but, once
afoot, they run.'
' Woman is an indomitable creature ; no reins will
hold her back.'
' Every delight is dull without wine.'
*It is not wise to scribble about those that can
proscribe.'
* You must not go to courts for holiness.'
'We must deal with men according to their
natures.'
'Truth may go under with men, but not with
God.'
AS MAN OF LETTERS 223
* You cannot tell the whole truth either to a tyrant
or the people.'
* Man is so desirous of fame that he would sooner
part with riches or a kingdom.'
[Another characteristic fifteenth- century-
sen timent.]
' Men and their laws are on the side of the suc-
cessful.'
' Oftimes, in aiding another, one contrives one's
own ruin.'
' A gentleman {generosus spiritus) cannot do a mean
action.'
* It is human to sin, angelic to reform, and devilish
to persist.'
In conversation, also, ^neas exhibited similar
sparkling wit and shrewdness : Platina gives a long
list of more or less original proverbs with which he
was wont to point his remarks.^
^ Creighton has translated these in his History of the Papacy, vol. iii.
p. 338, ed. of 1897. The originals, as well as a collection of Gnomologiae,
will be found in the Basel edition of Pius's works (1551). See Enee Siluii
Senensis Poete Prouerbia : Koln, 1475, part of which is preserved in the
British Museum.
224 iENEAS SILVIUS
CHAPTER XII
^NEAS AS CARDINAL
The Emperor and King Ladislas of Hungary had
petitioned that iEneas should be raised to the purple.
Fame was his, but he remained necessitous, and power
belonged to rank. Men of powerful intelligence who
are also good-natured and good-tempered are rare,
and Piccolomini possessed all these qualities. He
skilfully steered clear of party, took care to offend no
one, and spared no pains to make himself agreeable
— a task which, to him, was not difficult. Under
ordinary circumstances, admission to the Sacred
College would soon have been granted to so able a
diplomatist and one likely to prove so agreeable a
colleague. And Calixtus was inclined to favour the
man so eager for a crusade. But nepotism was the
Pope's besetting weakness, and, instead of more
worthy candidates, he raised two of his nephews to
the purple, to the indignation of the Sacred College.
They organised a stubborn resistance to all the Pope's
projects; but, at last, December 18, 1456, Piccolo-
mini's name was among those of six new cardinals.
The list also contained the name of Castiglione. iEneas
took the title of Cardinal-Presbyter of S. Sabina.
* Never have you been in such a conflict and issued
victor from it,' he wrote to Carvajal. *The hinges
hi
--'•■%'-^^
tEneas Silvius is creatp:d a Cardinal by Callextus III.
Fiiiticricchio. Siena.
AS CARDINAL 225
(cardines) were so rusted that they would not turn,
and Calixtus had to use battering rams and every
sort of mihtary engine to force the portal/ ^ He also
wrote a letter of thanks to the Emperor for his
services. * I will show all men/ he said, ' that I am
a Cardinal of Germany rather than Italy. I shall
work for you as before, with no abatement of zeal.
For I shall spare no effort, no pains, on behalf of your
Majesty, the Sacred Imperial rule, the distinguished
House of Hapsburg, and all that lies nearest your
heart. So far as my efforts may serve you, your
interests will never be overlooked.' ^ For ^neas the
true interest of Germany was the support of the power
of its king. The Church in Germany needed reform,
but it clamoured for more than he conceived to be
justly due to it ; he knew how personal and wholly
secular were the ambitions that its demands dis-
guised, and he did not believe that practical and
desirable reforms could be effected by ways that
would derogate from the authority, as yet incompletely
established, of the Roman See.
Soon after his election secret information reached
the Curia that the German princes were preparing
to follow the example of France and establish a
national church. Jacob of Trier had died in May
1456, and the Pfalzgraf, in league with the Arch-
bishop-Electors of Mainz and Koln, strove to put one
of their partisans in the vacant chair. A great
victory, gained over the Turk at Belgrade, had
released Germany from immediate danger, and the
demand of Calixtus for tenths to finance a crusade
* ^n. Sil., Ep. ad Johan. Card. Pav ; Ep. 195, ed. Basil, 1551.
* ^n. Sil., Ep., December 22, 1457.
P
226 iENEAS SILVIUS
was resisted, and enabled the princes to pursue
their personal interests under the rallying cries of
Papal extortion and Church reform. The defence
of the Church was entrusted to iEneas.
He knew German politics thoroughly well, and
that disunion among the princes was only a question
of time. The one thing necessary in Papal and
Imperial interests was delay.
Before long, he received two letters from a personal
friend, one Martin Mayr, who was Chancellor of the
Archbishopric of Mainz. One of these, unhappily
lost, held a private offer of Mayr to serve ^neas and
procure certain sums for him, which he drew from
the diocese.^ The other was an official letter, inspired
by the Archbishop. It congratulated Piccolomini on
his accession to the cardinalate, but proceeded to
indict the Papacy for bad faith. Tenths were
arbitrarily demanded; the decrees of the Councils
were ignored. The Pope had treated Germany as a
slave ; he had laid capitular elections aside ; there
were extortions at Home, and benefices were reserved
for the cardinals and secretaries of the Curia. * You
yourself,* added Mayr, ' hold a general reservation in
the dioceses of Koln, Mainz, and Trier, amounting
to two thousand ducats a year^ — a monstrous and
wholly unprecedented grant.' ^Eneas furnished his
answer to this charge in a letter that he sent to the
Dean of Worms. ^ *We served more than twenty-
four years in Germany, and never ceased to strive
with all our might to uphold the honour of that
1 JEn. Sil., Ep. ad Mat. Mayr, August 8 (?), 1457.
a Ep. of August 21 (?), 1457.
» Mn. Sil., Ep., dated July 22, 1457.
AS CAEDINAL 227
nation ; and now that we, though unworthy, are called
to the Sacred College, we still strive for the honour,
and in the service of that country. Therefore we
opine that we do not deserve the hatred of the
German nation if we take two thousand ducats as
an annual acknowledgement/
Cardinal Piccolomini knew Germany well enough
to perceive that Mayr's letter covered some private
scheme of the Archbishop. Mayr had made a dex-
terous party attack and ^neas met it with an equally
skilful parry,^ which he afterwards expanded into
a work, De ritu, situ, conditione et morihus Ger-
maniae} The general purport of these two retorts
was as follows : Let those that have grievances
submit them to the Pope. The Pontiff was blamed
for doing what the princes had requested him to do,
in order that he might raise funds for the Turkish
war. He had interfered with capitular elections
when rapacious and ambitious men were chosen, and,
in fact, every election brought before the Curia
during the past two years had been annulled. True,
the Pope received money for indulgences, but it was
for the Turkish war and was of the nature of a free
gift. Germany had grown rich through its con-
nection with the Papacy and complained of having
to pay its dues : let Germans remember that the
Bohemians made the same complaint against the
complainers. In fact it is a weakness of human
nature that everybody objects when he is called
upon to pay, and the grievance is as ancient as it is
1 Mn. Sil., Ep. ad Mayr, August 8 (?), 1457.
2 Dated February 1, 1458, It is given in Archiv. fur Kunde (Ester-
reich. Geschichtsquellen, xvi. 420 et seq.
228
^NEAS SILVIUS
universal. Corruption exists among the officials of
the Curia as well as elsewhere ; but if they took
money they did so without the Papal sanction, and
those whose ambition led them to give it were no
less to blame.
iEneas's penetration into motives had not failed
him. In September 1457, the Archbishop sent an
envoy to him to say that he was prepared to forsake
the Electors if he were granted the right of confirm-
ing bishoprics throughout Germany. The CardinaFs
reply was courteous but sarcastic. He was delighted
to find that the Archbishop had come over to the
Pope's point of view. But he was asking for quite
a new privilege. The subjects of Christ's Vicar
should obey, not haggle. He was sure, however,
there must be some misunderstanding : the Arch-
bishop was too modest a man to have made such a
request. Anyhow, he could not lay it before so wise,
upright, and incorruptible a Pontifi* as Calixtus.^
Danger was imminent. Piccolomini exerted his
utmost powers to divert it. He wrote a conciliatory
letter to Mayr, promising that the Pope would grant
all smaller requests, and that he, iEneas, would do
him all the service in his power. He wrote to
Frederick, to Ladislas, to the German archbishops,
to Cusa and Carvajal, who were in Germany, and
to all his friends there. He pointed out to the
princes that capitular elections rarely gave a benefice
to the scions of great houses, and to the bishops,
that striking at the Head of the Church was the
way to undermine their own authority. He procured
delay, and delay was as fatal to princely intrigue
1 JEa. Sil., Ep. 338, ed. Basil. 1551.
AS CARDINAL 229
as to the hope of the German reformers. Ladislas
died soon afterwards, and the dominions of Austria,
Hungary, and Bohemia, were thrown into dispute ;
everybody's attention was directed, now, to the
question of succession and to what advantages he
could secure for himself.
The Italy of the fifteenth century was a seething,
struggling mass of warring states, factions, and
families, where personal force and personal craft alone
obtained that power without which there was no
security. As Burckhardt has so fully demonstrated,
these were the conditions that allowed Man as an
Individual to emerge. The long residence of the
Papacy at Avignon, the growing worldliness of the
Church, repeated schisms, and the decay of Papal
authority, carrying that of the clergy with it, had
left little restraining force in religion. There were
many men and women that were devout ; there were
not a few that led saintly lives ; there was much
revivalism at work, that moved the masses in spasms
of emotion ; but to most men the Catholic Faith
had become little more than an unquestioned tradi-
tion, a mere polity. Religious observance was carried
out with ceremonious exactitude, but it rarely
stimulated any natural turn for virtue, and it re-
strained no natural predilection for vice. All ' armies
of angels that soar, legions of devils that lurk* in
the human soul were set loose. There was no social
synthesis, no general bond of common obligation.
The rulers of states were insecure, especially the petty
despots of small communities, and they threw off all
ethical restraint in order to exist. Their example
230 iENEAS SILVIUS
spread throughout society. Men's consciences were
enfranchised ; every man tried to satisfy the require-
ments of his own nature in his own way. Never was
there a time when the will of the individual was so
emancipated, when the ability of the individual was
so little circumscribed by convention.
Such was the environment in which iEneas found
himself during the impressionable years of youth, nor
had he found the moral atmosphere of Germany a great
improvement on that of his native land; he only
breathed a cruder air there. He returned to Italy
and was now a Cardinal of the Catholic Church. But
the occupant of the Apostolic Chair was also the ruler
of an Italian state, and Rome was the centre of the
tangled web of Italian politics and intrigue. The
Papacy was on its way to secularisation ; the Pope and
his Curia, as secular princes, had to exercise the same
kind of wily device and cunning stratagem as other
temporal princes ; they had to plot or disappear ; the
Church reflected the world around her ; there was
much intrigue and personal ambition among her ser-
vants, and no one thought the worse of an ecclesiastic
who schemed for his own personal success. The guile-
less days had not then arrived when Church and
Senate became unaffected by ' self-regarding virtues/
We must judge all ^neas's motives and actions
by comparison with the other ecclesiastics and lay-
men of his time ; we must take an imperfect moral
ideal as the standard by which we may condone or
condemn.
He was the poorest of the cardinals and found it
difficult to maintain his position among them. When
he wrote to thank the Emperor for recommending
AS CARDINAL 231
him to Calixtus, he added, * But I am poor and on the
verge of real destitution. Your Highness can provide
for my neediness without any scruple, should you
have any vacant benefice in your dominion to spare.' ^
He wrote to Sforza, now become Duke of Milan, giving
him a similar hint. He may have manoeuvred to
obtain the Bishopric of Ermland, that lay on the
dreary shores of the Baltic ; ^ he may have interwoven
personal aims with his schemes for the complete
restoration of Papal authority in Germany. He took
the world as he found it.
It had been the practice of Popes to strengthen
their position by advancing their family to important
posts in the Church and Papal States. Calixtus
carried this principle to its extremest limits. Cardinal
Roderigo Borgia, one of his nephews, was a young
man of great energy and ability, and he had not yet
exhibited to the world the unconquerable sensuality
of his character. He asked Cardinal Piccolomini to
attend to his interests while he was away. iEneas
does not appear to have disapproved of the Papal
policy ; a Pope must strengthen himself against oppo-
sition in his own Curia and State; especially when
there is the grave task of a Turkish war before him,
and the majority of the Cardinals were bitterly opposed
to Calixtus. The great strength of ^Eneas's affection
for his own family, too, would render him exceptionally
indulgent.^ He replied to Borgia, * I will keep a sharp
look-out as regards benefices, both for you and for
myself But much news that we get turns out to be
1 JEn. Sil., Ep. ad Caesarem, March 8, 1457.
* Voigt, loc. cit.j vol. ii. p. 223 et seq.
2 See Nozz6 Adcumi-Forteguerri. Siena, 1901.
232
iENEAS SILVIUS
false. We heard of the demise of a certam person at'
Nurnberg, but he was here the other day and dined
with me. They said that the Bishop of Toul expired
at Neustadt, but he is back in Burgundy again, hale
and hearty. I will, however, keep my eyes open ; but
the best watcher for your interests will be the Pope
himself.'
But diplomacy and place-hunting did not occupy
all Piccolomini's time and energy. In the spring of
1458, when he was laid up with gout, a German book-
seller, who had settled in Rome, waited on the literary
Cardinal and suggested that he should write a book
for him. JEneas had many intellectual interests, but
his natural bent, says Campano,^ was towards poetry ;
yet in middle life he was more attracted by geography
and history. The suggestion of the bookseller led to
the commencement of a description of the whole world
as known to us in space and time, and he began the
part of it called 'Europa.' He continued, too, his
voluminous correspondence with private friends. It
should be noted that, though he attempted to make
his letters correspond with the dignity of his new
station, this was unsuccessful with his familiar friends.
He has not written many lines before he resumes the
old, chatty tone : he is as frank and unreserved and
natural as ever.^ He was, however, feeling the effects
of an exceptionally arduous life and of almost incessant
travel in days when travel was an undertaking of no
little difficulty, labour, and peril ; he had aged pre-
maturely, and he suffered from repeated severe attacks
of gout with its concomitants gravel and asthma.
* Campanus, Vita Pii II. apnd Muratori, R. I. S., vol. iii. part ii. p. 967.
* -^n. Sil., Ep. ad Petrum de Noxetum, November 7, 1456.
AS CARDINAL 233
He had been almost bald, with a little fringe of grey
hair at forty. ^ He was seeking relief from pain at the
baths of Viterbo and prosecuting his literary relaxa-
tions there when news reached him of the death of
Calixtus III. His old master, Cardinal Capranica,
whom men expected to become the next Pope, had
died two days before Calixtus.^ Although Piccolomini
was frail and diseased in body, he was still young in
mind and heart. Training had converted him into an
able diplomatist ; he had dwelt for years in the very
centre of European politics ; no one in the Curia had
a more intimate knowledge of affairs ; no one had
such close personal acquaintance with the enemies of
the Papacy, such insight into their designs, such
experience of their methods ; no one was so familiar
with all sorts of men and all kinds of nations and
their requirements ; Germany was the chief source of
Papal wealth, and, therefore, the chief sustainer of
Papal power, and who knew so well how to deal with
the menacing attitude of the princes as he ? He was a
moving speaker, a scholar, and a forcible and elegant
writer. But he was much more — he had graduated
in the school of life ; he had atoned for his former
opposition to the Papacy by becoming its ablest de-
fender ; he was the only man likely to take up the
Crusade with any warmth, for his was almost the only
eye that perceived the real magnitude and nearness of
the danger ; there were but very few men that he had
offended, and he was more than acceptable to most.
Ambition, duty, a sense of personal fitness, called him
to candidature for the Tiara. The news of Calixtus's
1 ^n. Sil, Ep. ad Petrum de Noxetum, November 7, 1456.
2 Capranica died on August 4, 1458, and Calixtus on August 6.
234
iENEAS SILVIUS
death was brought to Piccolomini in the dead of night.
He left the baths in the morning, and took horse for
Rome. Calandrini, a popular cardinal, who was also
in men's minds as having some chance of succeeding
to Calixtus, had also been taking the baths, and
accompanied him.
THE ELECTION TO THE PAPACY 235
CHAPTEE XIII
THE ELECTION TO THE PAPACY — THE CORONATION
OF PIUS II.
Rarely did an election to the Papacy present more
perplexing problems or had been attended with greater
anxiety. The political situation was unsatisfactory.
Alfonso of Naples died in the June of this year,
leaving an illegitimate son, Ferrante, to succeed to
the throne, but considerable doubt existed as to
whether Ferrante was Alfonso's son at all. Calixtus
claimed the kingdom as a lapsed fief. Jean of Anjou
revived the pretensions of his house, and urged the
discontented among the nobles of the kingdom to
rebel. The French party in the Sacred College,
headed by Cardinal D'Estouteville, Archbishop of
Rouen, was strong, and the Cardinal stood a chance
of being elected to the Tiara. Sforza of Milan and
some of the Italian powers dreaded, with reason, the
preponderance of France in Italy, and the more far-
sighted among the cardinals feared lest the election
of a French cardinal to the Papacy should lead to
its transference to Avignon, a city which belonged to
it, or, at the very least, to French predominance in
the Church. If a French cardinal became Pope,
it might well happen that the Papacy would be under
the heel of the French king. Again, Piccinino, the
236
iENEAS SILVIUS
condottiere, acting ostensibly for Ferrante, ha(
advanced into the Papal States. Assisi, Gualdo, and
Nocera were in his power, and he was credited with
the design of carving a state for himself out of the
patrimony of St. Peter. And, although the monarchs
of the West despised the Turkish danger, beUeving
that the Moslem had entirely overcome degenerate
peoples only, and that more vigorous races would
prove their ability to withstand him, his advance
was rapid. Isle after isle in the Levantine Archi-
pelago, kingdom after kingdom of Eastern Europe,
that had once owned allegiance to Rome, had, within
a few years, been compelled to accept the Crescent
for their standard. In June Athens had fallen, now
it was the turn of Corinth to succumb, and the Moslem
had obtained a foothold in Servia. Everywhere the
Pontifical authority was lowered ; national churches
had been proclaimed, and these diverted all revenues
to themselves ; wealthy Germany was ready to revolt.
The Roman mob, anxious and armed, narrowly
watched the conclave, for Piccinino and his army
were very near at hand.
The envoys at Rome of the Italian States strove
to influence the various cardinals. Sforza was
especially anxious about the forthcoming election,
for if Calixtus's policy in favour of the House of
Anjou were continued by the new Pope, and a French-
man reigned in South Italy, the French claim to
Milan would probably be revived and the duchy laid
open to attack on two sides. But Venice was for
the French, since she wished her powerful neighbour,
Sforza, to be weakened, and Florence had always
held close relations with the Angevin dynasty in
THE ELECTION TO THE PAPACY 237
Naples and derived too much commercial profit from
France to change sides.
Cardinal Piccolomini, with his usual good nature,
had done his best to get Frederick to acknowledge
the Milanese usurper/ who established a strong and
just government. Sforza's ambassador at Rome wrote
to his master : ' I am not without hope for Cardinal
Colonna, but it would be easier to carry the Cardinal
of Siena, for all parties like him and he stands well
with the envoys sent by the King of Naples/^ And
the Neapolitan ambassador wrote to his master that
he had succeeded in bringing about peace between
the houses of Colonna and Orsini (houses that headed
the two rival factions in Rome and were almost
always in active warfare with one another), and that
he was trying to get votes for Piccolomini ; ' thank
God, Cardinal Orsini has consented ' ; he continues,
Cardinals Torquemada (a Spaniard), Barbo, and
Calandrini were aspirants as well as Piccolomini.
But the most formidable candidate was Guillaume
d'Estouteville, the Frenchman.
Eight Italians, five Spaniards, two Frenchmen,
one Portuguese, and two Greeks — eighteen in all,
assembled in conclave. Each slept in a separate
chamber leading out of a large hall in the Vatican.
They dined together in the hall, but their delibera-
tions and the voting took place in a smaller room.^
The proceedings were opened by Domenico de'
Domenichi, Bishop of Torcello, who preached a sermon
that is still preserved in the archives of the Vatican,
1 Voigt, Fius IL, iii. 65.
* Otto da Caretto, given by Pastor, History of the Papacy, English
trans., iii. 378. ^ p^^ jj Comment.^ 1. 1.
238 iENEAS SILVIUS
He did not mince his words. After pointing out th<
magnitude and imminence of the Turkish peril, the
disturbed state of Europe, the sad condition of
the Church, and the exceptional gravity of the
decision they were called upon to make, he continued :
* The Christian princes are at variance, and those who
should war against the infidel rend one another, and
no one can persuade them to peace. The clergy are
morally corrupt ; they cause the laity to blaspheme
and bring them to eternal perdition ; all ecclesiastical
discipline has disappeared. Day after day the
authority of the Church becomes more despised ;
nay, the force of her censure has almost ceased to
be felt. Who shall restore it ? All these matters
require the wisest and ablest of Heads to the Church.
The Roman Curia is degenerate. Who shall reform
it?'^
Before proceeding to the election, every cardinal
was called upon to sign a declaration, that if choice
fell on him, he would observe the rights of the
College. We learn many details concerning the
election from ^Eneas, for he gives the fullest descrip-
tion we possess of any such event. ^ It would appear
that a golden chalice, the receptacle of the Blessed
Sacrament, was placed on the altar, and three guar-
dians were appointed from among the cardinals to
watch it. Each cardinal, having written down the
name of his candidate, and sealed his voting paper
with his signet-ring, advanced in an order determined
by rank, and placed it in the chalice. When all had
voted the three guardians read out the votes.
The first scrutiny took place on the third day,
1 Codex Vatic. 3675. * gee Pii II. Comment.^ 1. 1.
THE ELECTION TO THE PAPACY 239
and, as was usually the case, it yielded no result.
But it gave a basis for discussion. Calandrini and
Piccolomini headed the list with five votes each.
An interchange of views then took place in a series
of private conversations. D'Estouteville, Cardinal of
Rouen, was related on his mother's side to the royal
house of France ; he was one of those princely,
magnificent prelates that commanded so much power
and had so much to bestow. He let it be understood
that his adherents would be well rewarded. ' Can
you be going to choose -^neas ? ' he asked. ' He is
too poor to succour the impoverished Church ; too
gouty and infirm to undertake the healing of her
infirmities. He has but recently come from Germany;
we do not know him sufiiciently, and it is quite
probable that he will transfer the Sacred College to
the country he has such an afiection for. And, again,
shall we put a poet into the chair of the Apostle ?
Shall we raise a man who worships the heathen muses,
and have the Church governed on Pagan lines ? As
for Calandrini, he cannot even govern himself Now,
I am senior in the Sacred College to both these men.
I am of the royal blood of France. I am wealthy
and have many friends. When I am elected the
many benefices I now hold will be for you.'
Such is ^neas's account of what the Cardinal of
Rouen said to those who might be induced to support
him. It would be interesting could we read an
account of what occurred from D'Estouteville's pen
as well as iEneas s. However, we shall see, a little
later on, D'Estouteville oflfered definite bribes, and
probably iEneas's account gives what any intelligent
man might read between the lines of the Cardinal's
240 iENEAS SILVIUS
actual words. But very worthy men were, neverthe-
less, on his side. Of such was Bessarion, the Greek,
who remained in Italy after the Congress at Florence.
Probably Bessarion, who was a dull but conscien-
tious man, burning with zeal against the Turk, was
attracted to D'Estouteville by the hope that the
French throne would renew its ancient traditions and
lead a crusade. Perhaps, too, he felt the repulsion
that a man of slow intelligence so often experiences
from one of witty, ready mind.
The French party, eleven in number, met together
in the dead of night, and six of them bound them-
selves by oath to vote for the Cardinal of Rouen.
Calandrini got to know of this secret meeting, and
went at once to Piccolomini^s chamber and aroused
him. * iEneas, what are you doing ? * he exclaimed.
' Do you not know that D'Estouteville is as good as
chosen ? His adherents are closeted together and
only await to-morrow. Go and give him your vote,
for I know, from my experience with Calixtus, that it
is impolitic to have a Pope against you.* Calandrini
wanted to get iEneas's vote for himself.
iEneas replied that it would go against his con-
science to do as Calandrini suggested ; but he passed
a restless night. Early next morning he went to
Borgia, and asked him straight out what D'Estoute-
ville had promised him. The Spaniard answered that
it was the Vice- Chancellorship. 'Will you trust a
Frenchman, the enemy of Spain ? ' asked u^Eneas ;
* D'Estouteville has already promised that appoint-
ment to the Cardinal of Aragon. To which of you
will he give it ? ' Then he went to Castiglione, and
discovered that he also had promised his vote to the
THE ELECTION TO THE PAPACY 241
Cardinal of Eouen for a similar reason to the one
Calandrini had urged, ^neas took higher ground with
Castiglione, and pointed out the grave danger that
a French Papacy might be to the Church and Italy.
Next, he went on to Barbo, and discovered that he
had given up all hope of his own election, and was
ready to throw all his energy into the Italian cause.
Barbo got six of the Italian cardinals to meet, and
urged that they should put public duty above private
considerations, and vote for ^neas. Colonna was
not present at this meeting ; he was a scholar, a
skilled diplomatist and a man of penetrating intellect,
but Barbo had favoured the Orsini, the enemies of his
house, in the internal quarrels of Rome, and -^neas
himself had rather inclined to them. All that were
at the meeting agreed with Barbo. -^neas told them
that he felt himself to be unworthy of the great office.
It is what any man might be expected to say on such
an occasion, but a sincere sense of personal imperfec-
tion and frailty could hardly have failed to mingle
with many other thoughts and feelings in a mind of
such subtle complexity as Piccolomini's.
By this time day was advancing. Mass was said,
and then proceedings began. D'Estouteville was
appointed to be one of the guardians of the chalice,
and he stood by it, white and trembling; when
u.'Eneas went up to deposit his vote he whispered in
his ear, 'I commend myself to you, ^neas.' *Do
you rely on such a poor worm as I am ? ' replied
Piccolomini. When all had recorded their votes the
chalice was emptied, and D'Estouteville announced
that he had six votes and ^Eneas eight. 'Count
again,' said iEneas, and D'Estouteville confessed that
Q
242 ^NEAS SILVIUS
he had made a mistake : there were nine. But
three votes were wanting to the two-thirds clear ■
majority required for the election of a Pope. One I
method had failed ; that of accessus remained to be
tried. M
*A11 sat in their places, pale and silent/ wrote
iEneas, *as if they were rapt by the Holy Spirit.
Not a word was spoken by any one ; no one moved
his lips, no one stirred a limb — only eyes shifting
around; ever this prolonged silence. There was no
change ; not a sound, not a movement. ' ^
Gregorovius, commenting on this passage, remarks
that if envy and ambition be the marks of the Holy
Spirit, these were there. Pastor has shown us, from
the reports of ambassadors, how much influenced by
worldly motives many of the cardinals were. But
Gregorovius's sneer would seem to cast a doubt on the
sincerity of ^neas in penning the passage. It must
be remembered that never, for one moment, did he
question the doctrine of the Catholic Church that it
is guided by the Holy Ghost. He tells us, with the
utmost candour, about the intrigues that preceded
the election. We have seen how the Bishop of
Torcello charged the assembled cardinals, to their
faces, with corruption. We shall presently learn
what iEneas's own emotions were when he was chosen
Pope. But grave questions hung on the decision, and
these may well have weighed most in the minds of the
Curia at this supreme moment. For, if some of the
Sacred College were self-seekers, and others owed
their presence there to favouritism, some had been f
raised to the purple for their statesmanlike ability,
^ Fii II. Comment^ 1. 1.
THE ELECTION TO THE PAPACY 243
and many for their sincere and unaffected piety.
Even D'Estouteville counted holy men among his
supporters ; and there were those who were quite
single-minded in their desire to secure the powerful
support of France for the Church and the Turkish
war, or to preserve the freedom of Italy and that
of the Church.
At last the silence was broken by Roderigo Borgia.
* I vote for the Cardinal of Siena,' he said. There
was a second and still longer silence. Then an
attempt was made to adjourn the election ; Isidore of
Russia and Torquemada left the chamber, but soon
returned. Then Cardinal Tebaldo rose from his seat,
and said, * I, also, accede to the Cardinal of Siena.'
At last Colonna rose : his sense of a higher duty had
overcome his loyalty to a party. D'Estouteville and
Bessarion seized him and tried to lead him out of
the room. But, as they dragged him, he declared his
vote in a loud voice, * I also accede to the Cardinal
of Siena, and I make him Pope.'
He had uttered the final, irrevocable word. All
rose from their seats to kneel to ^neas and con-
gratulate him. Then, * the burden of the future fell
on the Pope's soul,' he tells us, 'he comprehended
the height of his calling.' He had achieved his
ambition, but there was no exultation in his heart.
Any element of joy at success was merged in the
realisation of his responsibility. The heaviest of
tasks lay before him : to heal the discords of
Christendom, to reunite the divided nations under
his paternal care, to check the fierce onslaught of the
Moslem, confident in the strength of an irresistible
soldiery, exultant with victory, and burning with
244 iENEAS STLVIUS
religious zeal, ^neas burst into tears, and it was
some time before he could regain self-command. And
then he exhibited the deep moral feeling that such
an occasion might indeed bring forth. * You,' said he
to those who congratulated him, * You see only the
honour and dignity to which I am raised : I perceive
the toil and danger. For what I have demanded of
others has fallen to me to perform.' ^ Henceforward
he was, in many respects, a very different being from
the necessitous man of aforetime, struggling for
position and means; he was sufficiently, if not
abundantly, supplied with funds to maintain his
high position ; he was called to the most responsible
office in Christendom. No one ever enjoyed more
thoroughly the dignity that attaches to the Apostolic
Throne ; but few called to the Papacy have ever been
filled with a wider, completer sense of all the duties
that are demanded of the Father of Christian peoples.
His accession brought out all the noblest elements in
his character.
Bessarion advanced to the newly elected Pope, and,
as representative of what had been the opposition,
spoke. He said : * We accept your election, and do
not doubt that it is the work of God. We believe
you to be worthy of your high office, nor have we
ever doubted it. But we were afraid of your bodily
infirmities. Your feet are crippled by gout, and
bodily activity may be needed for the Moslem peril.
Hence we preferred the Cardinal of Rouen. Had
you been strong of body, we had willingly accepted
you. But God has ordered, and we obey. He will
not allow your infirmity to interfere, nor impute our
1 Campanus, apud Muratori, B. I. 5., iii. ii. 947.
THE CORONATION OF PIUS II. 245
reluctance to us. Now that you are Pope, we will
proffer you true service and obedience.'
'You think better of Us,' the Pope replied, * than
We do of Ourselves. You speak only of Our feet :
We know fuU well that other failings might have
kept Us from the Pontificate. We know of no service
that renders Us worthy. On the contrary, We
should judge Ourselves to be wholly unworthy, but
that two-thirds of the Sacred College have chosen
Us, and so the Holy Spirit has declared His Will.
Therefore, We obey the summons of God. And you,
that held Us to be unworthy, did as you thought
right, and will be dear to Us. For We ascribe Our
election, not to this one or that one, but to the
Sacred College as a whole, and to God, whence cometh
every good and perfect gift.*
When the Pope had been invested with the white
mantle, he was asked what name he would take. His
friends, remembering Virgil's Hexameter,
Sum Pius -^neas, fama super aethera notus,i
had been wont to call him Pius -^neas in joke.^ Pic-
colomini said that he would take the title of Pius ii.
He probably desired a standing reminder of the great
duty to which he was called. Later, he earnestly
entreated that iEneas might be forgotten ; Pius alone
remembered — ' Follow what We say now ; listen to
the old man, not the youth. A Gentile name was
given Us by our parents ; We assumed a new name
on Our accession. Cast iEneas from you ; accept
Pius.'*
* See Voigt, Die Brief e des ^neus Silviics. Ep. of CampisiOf May 8,
1445, S. 361. 3 fea, loc. city p. 3.
246 iENEAS SILVIUS
At the request of the Sacred College, he renewed
the oath that related to its rights, but he added
the proviso, * as far as God enables me, and as may
agree with the honour and rights of the Apostolic
Chair; '
Pius had not to wait long before he received evi-
dence of the unruly character of his subjects in
Rome. To seize on the personal possessions of a new
Pope was a custom. The very cell he occupied was
sacked. The mob rushed to his house and tore even
the marble from its walls ; they pretended to mistake
the cry of ' II Sanese ' for * II Genovese,' and pillaged
the palace of the Cardinal of Genoa, one of the richest
members of the Sacred College. Campano gives us a
vivid description of the state of the city. He says
that any merit, there, must be ascribed to the priest-
hood only ; ' the inhabitants are more like savages
than Romans, repulsive people, ignorant boors, speak-
ing several dialects. And it is not to be wondered
at, for men are herded together from all parts of the
world, like slaves. Few citizens have retained any
vestige of ancient nobleness. The glory of arms, the
greatness of empire, simplicity and uprightness of
life lie far away in the past, and are alien to them.
They are luxurious, effeminate, poor, proud, and
sensual. . . . Such are the men you see in the
Capitol.' '
The fear of a translation of the Papacy to Avignon
was over. The Romans threw down their arms,
lighted bonfires, illuminated the city, and blew
' Rajmaldus, Ad ann. 1458.
2 Graf, A., Roma nella memoria. Letttr of Campano to Matteo Ubaldi^
i. 54.
/EXEAS SiLVIUS, CROWNED AS PlUS II, BESTOWS HIS BLESSING
Pintiiricchio, Siena.
THE COEONATION OF PIUS II. 247
trumpets and horns to their heart's content. Next
day, a great procession of the nobles and chief men
of the city came on horseback to do honour to their
new sovereign. Congratulations poured in from all
sides. But Pius was depressed, and neither saluta-
tions nor festivities removed his depression. For he
knew that France would resent the rejection of her
candidate, and that it would be necessary to do
what would increase her hostility. Piccinino, em-
ployed by Ferrante, occupied a part of the States
of the Church ; Catalan governors ruled certain Papal
towns. It was desirable to reverse Calixtus's policy
and recognise Ferrante. The question of his right to
the throne might be left undetermined, but his actual
sovereignty must be acknowledged, at the expense of
alienating France. The German princes, too, would
assuredly give trouble, and the commencement of
the Turkish war was likely to be postponed through
these dissensions.
Pius was crowned on September 3, 1458, at the
Lateran. He rode through the streets in a magnifi-
cent and solemn procession, but, according to ancient
privilege, the Roman mob claimed his horse, and
they seized it before he had dismounted. A fray
ensued, during which Pius was in grave danger, for
swords were drawn, and he was too crippled to move
quickly. In the evening he gave a banquet to all
the great people in Eome,^
The astrologers, guided perhaps as much by the
grey, worn face and crippled body of the Pope, as
by the stars, prophesied a sickly and short Pontificate
for him.
1 Pii II. Comment., 1. 1.
248 iENEAS SILVIUS
CHAPTER XIV
THE JOURNEY TO MANTUA
On October 7th Antonino, Bishop of Florence, and
other Florentine envoys arrived at Rome, to con-
gratulate the new Pope. Antonino was one of the
few truly saintly men of his time. His memory is
still held in grateful remembrance by Florentines,
and many charities that he founded still maintain
their noble service. St. Antoninus (for he was
canonised a little later) was now very old, and he
nearly fainted at the audience, but, by a strong effort
of will, he recovered himself and spoke for an hour,
dwelling on the project of a crusade. * Why do you
ask nothing for your archbishop 1 ' Pius demanded
of the envoys. ' Because he himself is his own best
recommendation,' was their reply. Milan also sent
an embassy and professed to be eager for a crusade.
Pius summoned the Sacred College and proposed
that a congress of the rulers of Europe should be
called together to consider the Turkish war. The
majority of the cardinals opposed the proposition.
Rulers, they urged, could hardly come so far as
Rome, especially as the succession to the kingdom
of Naples remained unsettled. There was disorder,
too, in the Papal States. And, if the Congress were
held across the Alps, the princes would turn it into
THE JOUENEY TO MANTUA 249
a second Council of Basel. Pius replied that these
objections could be met. Let some place in Italy
be chosen ; the state of his health would furnish an
excuse for his not crossing the Alps, while the effort
of crossing the Apennines, especially as he was aged
in body, if not in years, and sickly, would demon-
strate his zeal. Such a place as Udine, or Mantua,
would be convenient for the majority. On October 12,
he called the cardinals, the envoys, and the prelates
in Rome into his presence, and unfolded his project :
crippled as he was, he was willing to undertake
the journey to defend Christendom from the ruin
that hung over it. The proposal was listened to
with attention, but everybody remained silent. Then
Bessarion added his own entreaties, and the envoys
replied, one after another. All applauded the project
and praised Pius for his zeal, except the ambassadors
of Venice and Florence, who confined themselves to
answers that avoided committal to the undertaking.-^
Next day, in public Consistory, a bull was read
inviting the princes of Christendom to a congress
to be held at Mantua.
The bull, worded by Pius himself, occasionally
seems a little grotesque to the modern mind. An
invitation to the princes of Europe to war against
* the hosts of that false prophet and venomous dragon
Mahomet,' is quite in the approved mediaeval style.
Pius proceeds to say that * God has sent this punish-
ment on Christian peoples, but none the less has
afforded them the diflScult, but not insuperable, task
of delivering the world from its peril.' Then he rises
to a noble strain : * The ship of the Church is rocked
* Cribellus apud Muratori, B. I. 3., xxiii. ; Pii II. Comment.^ L 1.
250 ^NEAS SILVIUS
to and fro ; but it remains unsunken ; it is buffeted
about, but it is not broken ; it is attacked, but it
is not overwhelmed. God ordains that His own shall
be tried indeed, but they shall not be overcome.*^
The bull was followed by letters of personal entreaty,
sent to the various princes.^
But grave obstacles, caused by political difficulties,
called for removal before the Congress should assemble.
The French party in the Sacred College bitterly
opposed any recognition of Ferrante. The envoys
of France tried to frighten Pius by pointing out
how serious it would be to his hopes if he were to
offend their powerful master. But Pius silenced
them with a practical question, which he put to
them suddenly and to which it was impossible for
them to find an answer. *Is Anjou prepared to
drive Piccinino from his strongholds in the States
of the Church ? ' he demanded. ' We must have a
king in Naples who is able to hold his own and
defend us.' Meanwhile Ferrante was trying to
bargain and get all he could for himself, but Pius
sent him word that he should remember he was
dealing with no merchant accustomed to haggling.^
However, by October 17, everything was arranged.
Pius issued a bull that removed all the censures
Calixtus had imposed on Ferrante, and granted
him the crown 'without prejudice to the right of
another,' and, soon after, Cardinal Orsini, being sent
to Naples as Papal legate, crowned him there.
On his side the monarch de facto promised to pay
an annual tribute, to recall Piccinino (who only
1 Bull Vocabit nos Pitis^ October 13, 1458.
* Cribellus, loc. cit ; Pius, loc. cit. ^ Pii 11. Comment., 1. 1.
THE JOURNEY TO MANTUA 251
retired on the receipt of thirty thousand ducats), to
restore Benevento at once, and evacuate Terracina
(a fortified city that guarded the natural frontier
of the Papal States) at the expiration of ten years.
Pius had next to deal with the reluctance of the
Romans to let him leave the city. Rome, having no
commerce, existed on its visitors and pilgrims, and
the departure of the Pope and his Court involved
considerable pecuniary loss to the citizens. Reports
were set afloat that Pius intended to transfer his
court to Siena, and even to Germany. Strong repre-
sentations were made of the disorders that would
arise in Rome and the Papal States if the Pope were
to leave. The States were surrounded by * ravening
wolves,' but Pius replied that the Papal possessions
had been lost before and won back again, but that
Mahomet menacing the Christian Church was a far
greater danger.^ Fortunately the Colonna and Orsini
happened to be at peace, and Pius appointed one of
the Colonna, who represented the more powerful of
the two families, to the Prefecture of Rome. He
confirmed certain Papal towns in their privileges,
remitted a part of the taxes for three years, made the
Barons take oath to preserve peace during his absence,
and appointed Cardinal Nicolas von Cues, a German
and therefore unaffected by local prejudice or feud, to
be his Vicar- General. Certain of the cardinals were
to remain in Rome, and, if Pius died away from the
city, the next election was to be held there.
The Teutonic Knights of St. Mary in Jerusalem,
crusading Germans of noble birth, a body that dated
from the twelfth century, applied their energies,
^ Fit II. Comment y 1. 1.
252 ^NEAS SILVIUS
defeated in the East, to establish Christianity and
dominate the lands of the barbarian nearer home.
They occupied and ruled the shores of the Baltic, and
were at present at war with their own converted
subjects and the kingdom of Poland. Pius proposed
peace ; he desired to restore them to their original
purpose and send them as warriors against the Turk.
He also tried to found a military order of Our Lady
of Bethlehem, but both of these projects failed.
News came to Rome that the Crescent had tri-
umphed in Servia. Pius had been ill, but he was
* better,' wrote the Mantuan envoy, * and full of the
greatest zeal for the Turkish exploit.'^ He prepared
to leave Rome at once, and arranged to take six
cardinals with him.
The cares of state bore heavily on him, and gave
him no small anxiety, but we shall see, more than
once, that he had the happy faculty of being able to
cast off worry. He thoroughly enjoyed his journey,
and he tells us, with simple and not unpleasing vanity,
how gratified he was with the honour his subjects
showed him. They built a wooden bridge across the
Tiber for him, and he found it ' adorned with ivy and
green boughs.' Wherever he went an enthusiastic
people welcomed him : priests bearing sacred things
prayed that he might have a fortunate life ; lads and
maidens, crowned with laurel and bearing olive
branches, came to greet him and wish him health and
happiness, and they deemed themselves lucky if they
could but touch the fringe of his robe. The ways
were crowded with people and strewn with green ;
the streets of cities and towns were hung with costly
1 Pastor, loc.cit., iii. 45, 46.
THE JOUKNEY TO MANTUA 253
cloth, and the houses of the cities and the churches
were decorated.^ Very few, outside Rome, had ever
seen a Pope, and the farther he went the greater the
novelty was a Pontifical progress to the people. But,
at Narni, the crowd rushed to tear away the baldacchino
held over him, and swords had to be drawn. Pius
remembered the adventure of Frederick and his own
recent experience in Rome. Henceforward he ceased
to ride, and had himself borne about in a litter; it
was of purple trimmed with gold, as he is careful to
tell us, and he entered cities in full pontifical attire
and wearing a mitre. His record of these splendours
tells us how near we are to the Renaissance in fullest
flood.
His sister, Caterina, was dwelling at Spoleto, and
he stayed four days with her. He put up also at
Assisi, a place that impressed him deeply, as it does
every reverent or artistic spirit. * The holy Francis,'
he says, ' the begetter of the order of Minors, a man
who found himself rich in being poor, gave sanctity
to this city. Here, in a noble church, lie his bones.
The church is of two stories, whereof the upper one is
adorned by the paintings of Giotto, the Florentine,
who was esteemed in his day as the chief of all
painters. The adjoining monastery is the head-one
of the order founded by the blessed saint, nor, in the
whole world, may one find anything more noble
belonging to that fraternity.' ^ Pius was anxious for
the protection of the place, and ordered its fortifica-
tions to be strengthened. No Pope had visited
Perugia for three generations ; he remained there
three weeks, and gives us a vast amount of historical
1 Fii 11. Comment., 1. 2. * Ibid. L 2.
254 r^NEAS STLVIUS
digression concerning that most beautiful, yet most
tragic, of hill-towns. He did his best to compose the
embittered factions of the blood-stained city. Thence
he came to Lago Trasimeno, and visited an island
where certain Franciscans had built themselves a
monastery. The cardinals that accompanied him were
often highly disgusted at the wretched monasteries
which he chose to dine and sleep in. Pius had been
too great a traveller to care much for dainty fare or
even for comfortable shelter. Here, he thought of all
that had happened on the memorable eastern shore
of the lake. There came a fierce tempest, but, when it
had abated a little, he crossed the lake, and found
that he had undertaken a somewhat perilous enter-
prise, but he was pleased to discover that those who
dwelt around and knew what manner of waters
these were, held it for a bold adventure and admired
his courage.^
He was ' Pius ^neas ' ; a man full of devotion in
the Virgilian sense. Both his parents were dead;
his mother had survived his father, but she had been
dead four years, yet he felt he would like to look
once again on the scenes of his boyhood and revive
the memories of family life. He turned aside to
Corsignano, and the First Prince in the Christian
world visited the lowly house where he had been
born. He tells us his birthplace is ' built on a hill
that rises from the valley watered by the Urcio.
It occupies the summit, which is level, about one
thousand paces in length, but not nearly so broad.
There lies this insignificant town, but it enjoys a fine
air and produces the best of wine and eatables. . . .
^ Pii II. Comment, 1. 2.
THE JOURNEY TO MANTUA 255
Once the greater part of it beloned to the Piccolomini ;
and Silvio, the father of Pius, had a property here.
Here, indeed, was Pius born ; here he learned the
rudiments. With how much pleasure did he look
forward to the delight it would be to him to behold
the familiar scenes of his birthplace once again. But,
alas ! he found that the greater number of those
whom he remembered had departed this life, and
those that were left of the companions of his youth
were mostly confined to their homes by infirmity,
while such as came forth to greet him he could
scarcely recognise, so sorely were they changed.
Their strength was spent, their bodies were bent,
those whom he had left as boys had become grey-
headed old men.' ^ One of them came forward and
knelt at his feet. He was that Father Peter, a young
man then, who had taught him his letters.
The little town f(§ted its illustrious citizen, and
he said Mass in the humble church on Sunday. He
ordered a cathedral to be built, as well as palaces
for the Piccolomini, to serve as lasting memorials
that Corsignano was his birthplace, and he renamed
it Pienza, after himself He tells us that he gave the
architect, one Bernardo (probably Bernardo Rossellino
of Florence) and the workpeople liberal wages, and
promised plenary indulgence to such as should visit
his cathedral on the festival of the Finding of the
Cross.
Pienza is a scene of decay, but it must be even
more beautiful now in adversity than it was in its
pride. The palaces, the cathedral are mouldering ;
the loose soil of their foundations is crumbling away ;
* Pii 11. Comment.^ 1. 2.
256
^NEAS SILVIUS
Nature is quietly reclaiming her own. There is,
indeed, but little sense of transition as one passes
from a palace to the colonnades of its garden and
looks forth on the landscape beyond. And the silence
of four centuries dwells within the little square. Time
and man, the only foes of what is beautiful, have
dealt very gently with this masterpiece of archi-
tecture. The vestments of the Pope, faded indeed,
but still beautiful, and many lovely things that were
his are there : they bear evidence to his perfect taste ;
they seem to bring him very near to us. Pienza is
a gem of the Early Renaissance, of that graceful
architecture that includes the ideality of Gothic art
and the purity and simplicity of Greek. The genius
of Rossellino blends with that of Pius, for the Pope
introduced much that he had admired in northern
countries into the design.
On February 24, Pius reached Siena, and here he
abode two months. Embassies came hither to offer
him congratulations from Bohemia, Castile, Germany,
Hungary, and Portugal. The envoys of Frederick
declined to appear, and remained in Florence for a
time, for Matthias Corvinus had been raised to the
throne of Hungary, and the Emperor claimed it.
At last they were induced to come and offer obedi-
ence. They were men of inferior rank, led by
Hinderbach, the German jurist. Frederick had
sent a humanist to a humanist : how could Pius
complain ? The Pope would only be amused at the
slight so far as it was personal ; so far as his office
was concerned he swallowed his resentment, and was
at pains to point out that he only followed precedent
in recognising a king de facto, without prejudice to
THE JOURNEY TO MANTUA 257
the question of right ; he also thought it wise to confirm
the secret agreement with the Papacy which he him-
self had negotiated when he was in Frederick's service.
The presence of the Bohemian envoys presented
him with a perplexing problem. Podiebrad, of whom
he once thought so lightly, had proved to be one of the
shrewdest statesmen of his age. He had commended
himself to the moderate party in Bohemia, overthrown
the extremists, restored order, rendered Bohemia a
very powerful state, and been rewarded with its crown.
He had acquired the support of his Bohemian sub-
jects and had entered into a secret compact with the
late Pope, promising him to root out heresy and
re-establish Catholicism in Bohemia. But he evaded
his obligations, which he had taken care should be
couched in general terms. Pius required his aid,
for Podiebrad had promised Calixtus to war against
the Turk, and contrived that Frederick should rely
on him as his chief supporter. But Breslau still held
out against Podiebrad, and sent her own envoys to
Siena. Pius, then, found himself in much perplexity.
He was compelled to compromise. He received the
obedience of Podiebrad, but denied him the title of
king until such time as might see his promises fulfilled.
The wily, diplomatic Pope sent the new ruler a
summons to attend the Congress through the Emperor,
his overlord, and then awaited events, for he hoped to
induce the Congress to force Podiebrad into complete
submission. And he promised the envoys from
Breslau that they might rely on him to find a way
to put an end to their grievances. Both Pius and
Podiebrad were content, especially the king, for time
was gained : it might not fulfil Pius's hopes, but
258 iENEAS SILVIUS
it would assuredly enable himself to strengthen his
position in Bohemia and Germany.
Pius was far from being happy at Siena. The
populace had driven their nobles into exile, and the
middle class governed. They had restored the Piccolo-
mini, indeed, for without this concession the Pope
refused to visit the city. He regarded the communes
of Italy with distrust. They were unrestful, and there
was perpetual, bloody warfare, waged as for ' liberty,'
between the various parties that struggled for power.
He favoured strong, just government. Before he be-
came Pope he wrote to his friend, Mariano de' Sozzini
of Siena : ' I had rather Italy attained peace under
Alfonso's rule than that of the free cities, for kingly
generosity rewards every kind of excellence.' But
now, when certain nobles urged him to employ force,
he refused, saying he 'would do no violence to his
native city ; at the worst he would only withhold
benefits which it had been his intention to confer.'
He waited a while, and then presented the chief
prior of Siena with the Golden Pose. Then he asked
for the readmission of the nobles, for he had little
confidence in the wisdom and capacity for government
of the party in power, since it adopted the short-
sighted policy of considering its own petty trading
interests only. After much discussion, consent was
given to the nobles to occupy a quarter of some of
the offices of state and an eighth of the remainder.^
Pius was far from being satisfied, and said he hoped,
later on, the city would agree to grant him aU that
he had requested.
1 Paoli, C, article ' Siena,' Enc. Brit.^ 1887 ; Malvolti, 0., Historia d^
fatti e guerre dei Senesiy Venezia, 1599.
THE JOURNEY TO MANTUA 259
On April 23 the Pope left the city, accompanied by
Galeazzo Sforza, the youthful heir of Sforza of Milan,
then a bright, intelligent, and well-instructed lad, but
who, ascending the ducal throne too early in life,
played the tyrant, indulged in reckless dissipation,
and came to an untimely tragic end. On reaching the
Certosa near Florence, Pius was received by notable
men of the city, and they and the cardinals bore his
litter, ' none too willingly,' -^ to the monastery of
Santa Maria Novella. There he stayed a week, but
Cosimo de' Medici, the uncrowned merchant-king
of the city, avoided political discussion by pretending
to be too ill to leave his bed.
Pius cannot mention any family without telling
us all about their forebears ; he cannot mention any
place without all kinds of digression. He seizes this
visit to Florence as an excuse for literary criticism.
He speaks of Dante, * who truly is the greatest of
them all, and makes Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell
almost as vivid as reality can be.' Is there a sly
hit when he adds, ' and he gives us minute doctrine
enough to be a complete guide to life ' ? * Francesco
Petrarca stands next, who has scarcely an equal,
for in the use of Latin and Tuscan he is unapproach-
able. The third place I may, without injustice, give
to Giovanni Boccaccio, although he is often lascivious
in matter and diffuse in style. '^ Then he goes on
to give us a long list of Florentine authors. More
than once he mentions Giotto in his writings, and
shows that he was aware of the relation of artistic
to literary development. The Florentines, however,
seem to have been of opinion that a living dog is
1 Fii II. Comment^ 1. 2. 2 jj^^.
260 iENEAS SILVIUS
worth more than a dead lion. Among the spectacular
displays with which they regaled the Pope, both on
his journey to Mantua and on his return, was a real
menagerie : they turned all kinds of wild beasts into
the Piazza de' Signoria — bulls, lions, boars, dogs,
and a giraffe. Pius notes that the lions lay down
and nothing would make them budge. Nothing was
trivial in the Renaissance.
It was clear that, though he was warmly welcomed
at Florence, his visit was, politically, a failure. So he
went on to Bologna, a city that nominally belonged to
the Papacy, and at this time lodged a Papal Legate ;
but Pius tells us that 'while the city accepted a
legate that dignitary might with more truth be called
ligatus' ^ Sixteen city-fathers of Bologna professed
to govern the state and uphold its freedom, but
they were not free themselves, for the Bentivogli,
representing wealth that came of trade, were the real
directors of policy. The Bentivogli and their party
disliked the visit of the Pope, for they dreaded lest
the masses, always opposed to their masters in
Italian cities, might seize the occasion to rebel. But
if they were to refuse Pius admission the exiles might
be encouraged to attack the city, and these were
numerous ; for in Bologna, as in every Italian state,
the dominant political party proscribed its opponents.
When Pius entered the city, he found the streets
lined with mercenary troops, and the orator who
welcomed him took occasion to give vent to popular
grievances. The government exiled this too fluent
person, but the Pope succeeded in getting the ban
rescinded.^ He was glad to leave the suspicious
^ Fii II. Comment. f\. 2. ^ Campanus apud Muratori, jB. I. /S'., iii. ii. 976.
THE JOURNEY TO MANTUA 261
city, and on the 16th May he set out for Ferrara.
He tells that Borso of Este, a bastard himself, accom-
panied by six other bastard-princes of his house, rode
forth to meet him. But the Pope is mistaken : one
of the six was of legitimate birth.
* Borso,' he says, * was a man of remarkable build,
though only somewhat above middle height. He had
a magnificent head of hair and a taking face. He
was a pleasing speaker, sumptuous in his way of living,
and liberal. He entertained Frederick right royally
when the Emperor returned from his coronation,
hoping to be rewarded with the title of duke. He
never married, and it is said that his reason was
excellent and truly Christian, for there were boys that
were legitimate heirs to the sovereignty, and he
wished them to succeed to it. He was sagacious and
a lover of peace, and he executed justice with
severity. They erected a statue to him in the public
square, where he is to be seen seated, declaring the
law. The inscription stated him to be heroic and
illustrious, but the virtue of economy was not mentioned,
nor is it often found in such an association. He
cared more for a few valuable things than for a
quantity of goods. He always appeared in public set
off by gems, and his palace was filled with precious
things, while, even in the country, he used vessels of
silver and gold.'^ Pius deals justly with Borso's
character, though the Marquis had become his enemy,
for reasons which he tells us. The Bastard's mother
was a Sienese lady of the house of the Tolomei, and
akin to the Piccolomini, and her son tried every means
to induce him to grant the title of duke and remit the
^ Fii II. Comment.^ 1. 2.
262
^NEAS SILVIUS
tribute due to the Papacy. Borso even offered a
bribe of 300,000 ducats, *to outshine the rest,' says
the Pope. Pius was willing to grant the former
but by no means the latter of the two requests, and
at this Borso took great umbrage. From Ferrara
the Pope proceeded by boat to Mantua, where he
arrived (June 1) three days before the appointed
time.
He describes all the pomp and pageantry that
attended his entry into the city of Virgil, even to the
banners that were borne ; flags that would be price-
less now, for they were, doubtless, painted by great
artists, paid a w^orkman's usual wage ; he describes the
golden box that contained the Host and how a white
horse bore It on its back ; he counts the number of
white horses with gilded saddles and reins ; he
rejoices in his own vestments and the splendid jewels
that enriched them, and he is proud of nobles bearing
him in his litter ; there was a golden crucifix, too, in
the procession, and the keys of the church, and the
arms of the Piccolomini borne aloft, and carpets were
spread along the roadway that could hardly be seen
for flowers, and the streets resounded with * evvivas '
from the people. He luxuriated in all this outward
splendour, for he was a true son of the Renaissance.
Life was far more uncertain then than now, and men
were more eager to get all the enjoyment they could
out of their little hour.
Next day Hippolyta, daughter of Sforza of Milan,
half- child, half- woman, who had arrived at Mantua,
with her mother, made an elegant little speech in
Latin to the Pope, which he answered in his usual
flowing style. Both speeches are preserved in
THE JOUENEY TO MANTUA 263
Mansi's orations of Pius ii.^ The Pope tells us that
the little lady commanded admiration, and adds, in a
sly parenthesis, that she was remarkably pretty and
had a pleasing address.^ Hippolyta became one of
the learned ladies to whom Masaccio and Pulci and
other literati dedicated works that are remarkable for
their indelicacy. Masaccio's tales, all of which are
dedicated to Hippolyta, are novels with a purpose :
they are intended to exhibit the cunning and false-
ness of women, but he tells Hippolyta he hopes she
will be pleased, because she is such an illustrious
exception to her sex. Besides Bianca, the mother of
Hippolyta, there were the ladies of the house of
Gonzaga to add their grace and beauty to the Pope's
court. ^
1 Mansi, ii. 192. ^ p^i jj Comment, 1. 2.
^ See Masaccio, especially his dedication.
264
iENEAS SILVIUS
CHAPTER XV
THE CONGRESS OF MANTUA
On the appointed day (June 1, 1459) the Congress
was opened at the Duomo, and the Pope delivered an
address. But no envoys were present, for none had
arrived. ' I will stay on and wait,' said Pius ; * if no
one comes, I must accept the will of God.' Week
after week passed, but no one came. The cardinals
got weary and restless; most of them protested
against remaining on, but Pius gave no heed to their
murmurs. They complained that Mantua was un-
healthy ; that many of the retinue were sick and
some had died ; that the food and wine were poor ; the
dullness of life there was broken only by the croaking
of frogs in the marshes ; the Pope had done enough
and could retire with honour. Cardinal Scarampo
went away, and poured scorn and derision on the
unsuccessful project. Time continued to drag on
slowly, and still nobody came. It was evident that
the European powers aimed at tiring out the Pope.
But his resolve remained unshaken, and he had the
support of two cardinals, Torquemada, the Spaniard,
and Bessarion, the Greek.
Then embassies came, indeed, but it was to implore
aid, not to proffer it. Albania, Epirus, Illyria, the
larger of the islands of the Levant, sent begging for
THE CONGRESS OF MANTUA 265
succour. Palseologus, despot of the Morea, also sent
envoys. There were sixteen Turkish captives with
them, to show what he could do, if only he had more
men ; give him but a handful, he said, and he would
expel the Turk. Pius let him have three hundred
troops, who added to the woes of the Morea by plun-
dering it.
At last, after three weary months, the Duke of
Cleves and the Lord of Croye arrived from Burgundy.
The Pope asked his cardinals to ride forth and wel-
come them. They declined. Cardinals, they said,
were the equals of kings ; they would do nothing
to diminish their dignity ; but, at last. Cardinals
Colonna and Orsini offered to go. The envoys told
Pius that the Duke of Burgundy found himself too
old to undertake the journey. It was clear that his
fit of hot zeal had passed away. The Duke of Cleves
lost no time in bringing forward a personal grievance.
The town of Soest had rebelled against the Archbishop
of Koln, and the Pope had ordered it to return to its
allegiance ; it had placed itself under the protection of
the Duke of Cleves, who now requested Pius to rescind
his command. The Pope saw that all possibility of
holding a congress would be lost if he began by
quarrelling with the Duke. On the other hand, he
could not afford to offend the Archbishop. It was
one of those dilemmas in which Popes as well as tem-
poral rulers find themselves from time to time. Pius
extricated himself by complying with Cleves's request,
and writing to the Archbishop to the effect that he
had only withdrawn his support until he should be
able to renew it.
Such dissimulation was an every-day proceeding
266
iENEAS SILVIUS
in the diplomacy of the age. Similar tricks had been
practised by the Papacy before on many occasions
* States are not governed by Paternosters ' was a
favourite saying of Cosimo de' Medici's. No authority,
spiritual or temporal, could be maintained without
guile, and, on the whole, the Papacy will be found
to have acted far more honourably than any other
contemporary government. Pius relates the circum-
stances with the utmost candour, and we must remem-
ber that he wrote his memoirs for posterity to judge.
He disguises nothing, but we can see that he was
troubled by scruple. He tells us how he reconciled
his action with his conscience : ' If justice cannot be
done without entailing results that would be shameful
and injurious, it has been the rule with the Holy See
to cloak its intention until a fit season arrives for
declaring it. And this principle is admitted by those
that lay down laws for conduct, on the ground that
one ought to chose the smaller of two evils.' ^ It is
a confession freely given, and reminds one of a similar
excuse that he had thought it necessary to provide
Schlick with, in the affair of the Bishoprick of Freising.
When this matter was settled the Pope was
informed that the Duke of Burgundy thought Europe
in too unsettled a condition for anything to be done.
Pius replied that there would be unending delay if
everybody waited for pacification, and meanwhile
Hungary would go under. If each state sent a
contingent the relative strength of the Powers would
be unafiected. The Burgundian ambassadors then
promised a contingent, but refused to stay.
Summons after summons had been sent to Sforza,
^ Fii II. Comment. J 1. 2.
THE CONGEESS OF MANTUA 267
and at last, in September, he came. Filelfo spoke
for him and flattered his former pupil, hoping for
reward, and Pius replied in a similar strain. Sforza's
presence was not due to any Christian zeal, but to a
hope that he might strengthen the Pope in his decision
to support Ferrante. For, if Rene of Anjou were at
home, trifling with the Muse, his son, Jean, was on
his way to attack Naples ; and the barons of that
ill-ruled land, who had been in the habit of rebelling
for generations past, were ready to take up arms
in his name. By no means did loyal feeling towards
the house of Anjou actuate them, but they saw an
opportunity of aggrandising themselves under the
French banner. The success of the Angevin party
would mean the renewal of the French claim to Milan.
And since Sforza had received no investiture from
the Emperor, he wished, not merely to keep the Pope
on Ferrante's side, but also to secure the good offices
of Pius II. with his old master, Frederick. So he
threw himself into the scheme of a crusade. He told
his wife he was kept very busy ; he had no time to
eat his meals. -^ The Pope says that he was now sixty
years of age, but he was really fifty-eight. Pius gives
a vivid portrait of this condottiere who became a
prince. ' On horseback,' he says, ' he gave one the
impression of being still quite a young man. He was
tall and of commanding bearing ; his expression was
grave, and he was quiet and courteous in conversa-
tion. He was quite the prince. In bodily and
mental power no one, in our day, was his equal ; in
battle he was invincible. Such was the man that
rose from a humble position to sovereign power. His
^ Pastor, English trans., iii. 86.
268
iENEAS SILVIUS
wife was beautiful and virtuous, his children like
angels. He was scarcely ever ill, and whatever
he strove for he achieved. And yet he was not
without his troubles. Troilo and Brunoro, his old
friends and fellow- campaigners, forsook him to serve
King Alfonso. He was obliged to hang another,
Ciarpolline, for treason ; he had the vexation of
seeing his own brother, Alessandro, setting the
French against him ; one of his sons also conspired
against him and had to be put into confinement ;
he conquered the Marches of Ancona with his sword
only to lose them. Who is there among mortals
that enjoys only the smiles of Fortune and never sees
her frown? We may count that man happy who
has only a few sorrows.' ^ Such is the final judge-
ment on life of the man who had achieved the highest
dignity the world could offer, and had enjoyed a fuller
and more varied experience than any one of his age.
The conferences of Sforza with the Pope induced
the jealous Italian States to send envoys, and the
King of Poland also sent delegates. Venice was the
last Italian state to despatch her representatives.
Pius had already told the Ten that they were only
thinking of their trade. The Venetian ambassadors
said that when Christianity was at one their state
would not be found wanting.^ The Pope replied that
there would be no end to that excuse; Venice lay
very near to Mantua, yet the Venetian envoys had
been longest on the way.^
Four months had passed, and at last there were
enough ambassadors assembled to begin business.
1 Pii 11. Comment, 1. 3. ^ Malpiero, Ann. Venet, Arch. Stor. It, vii. i. 7.
3 Pii II. Comment, 1. 3
THE CONGEESS OF MANTUA 269
On September 26, Mass was said in the Cathedral
and Pius held his hearers for three hours. He was
suffering from a gouty cough, but the excitement
removed every trace of his ailment, nor did it once
interrupt him.^ He began with a prayer, and then
drew a vivid picture of the desecration of the land
that had witnessed the birth, life, sufferings, and
sacrifice of the Redeemer. And now, while the
nations that professed His name were sunk in sloth
or turning their arms against each other, the Infidel
had taken the royal city that Constantino founded,
defiled the great Church of Justinian, and were press-
ing on into the heart of Europe. They had torn
down the sacred images, had given the bones of the
holy saints to swine to eat, had ravished wives and
deflowered virgins, even the maidens vowed to Christ,
The Sultan had given a banquet whereto the Holy
Image of the Redeemer was brought and spat upon
while the guests shouted in derision. The beating of
a slave is sufficient to arouse kings to warfare, but
they remain unmoved when God is blasphemed. Are
you so simple as to think that the Moslem will lay
down his arms ? His character is such that he must
either be wholly victor or wholly vanquished. Piece
by piece, you are allowing Europe to become his
prey, and it will be no long time before the False
Prophet rules the world.
The Pope then passed on to show that the danger
could be overcome. Hitherto, the Turk had triumphed
over degenerate peoples only. The troops led by
Hunyadi and Scanderbeg had shown what vigorous
races could do. And one has not to rely solely on
^ Fii II. Comment, 1. 3.
270 iENEAS SILVIUS
human strength, for ours is God's side. After
demonstrating Christ's divinity, Pius proceeded to
point out what worldly advantages would accrue.
There were states and wealth to be won. (It shows
his historical insight and his knowledge of men, that
he knew how largely hunger for land and wealth had
excited the enthusiasm of the Crusaders.) Yet, after
all, they might not acquire much earthly profit, but
there was an eternal prize awaiting them, the reward
of those heavenly joys which made the blessed martyrs
accept death with gladness in their hearts. Then the
Pope rose to the highest strain of passionate eloquence.
' Oh, that Godfrey were here,' he exclaimed, ' and the
heroes that rescued Jerusalem in the days that are
gone ! There were souls that had not required such
a torrent of words to inspire them ! Could they listen
they would rise as one man and shout with one voice,
" God wills it, God wills it ! "
' You are silent. We fail to move you. You wait
for the conclusion of what We have to say. Very
likely some of you are thinking, ** The Pope is a priest :
priests are ready enough in laying burdens on others
which they will not stretch forth their own finger to
raise. It is well for them to call us to draw the
sword." If you think so, you are mistaken. Neither
in your time, nor in that of your fathers, has there
been one readier than We. We are weak, yet We
have come hither at the risk of Our life and to the
emptying of an impoverished purse; We have left
Our states naked to danger, for we deemed the defence
of the faith of higher importance. Do not think that
We take credit to Ourselves for doing so. Alas ! it is
all We can do. Had we the necessary vigour left, no
Pius II presides at the Concjress of Mantua.
Pinturjcchio, Siena.
THE CONGRESS OF MANTUA 271
battle, no peril, should affiright Us. We would assume
the Cross, We would hurl Ourself on the Infidel, bear-
ing the banner of the Lord ; We would accept death
for the sake of the Faith and account Ourselves
blessed. And, even now, though Our body is feeble
and Our soul weary. We are ready to vow Ourselves
to the holy enterprise. If you agree. We will go
forth with a high, light heart. We can be borne in
Our litter to the camp, ay, into the very thick of
battle. Take counsel together as to what is wise.
Our heart, at least, does not quail, nor do We cover
up fear with big words. Lay on us what burden you
choose. We shall not shrink from whatever task you
may appoint.' -^
Bessarion followed the Pope. He made a long, dull
speech; but he became eloquent when he described
what his own eyes had seen, and he awoke the keen
interest of his audience when he declared that the
Turks were incapable of bringing more than 70,000
men into the field. ^ Sforza followed : he spoke in
Italian with the directness and practicality of the
soldier. Then the Hungarian envoys complained
that the Emperor had increased their peril, at a
time when they were engaged in a mortal struggle
with the Turk, by claiming the crown of their country.
Pius told them that the Congress had met to discuss
a crusade, not European politics ; he knew the ex-
cellent qualities of both the Emperor and their King,
and had sent a legate to compose their quarrel.
The Congress affected an agreement. But practical
ways of carrying out its decision remained to be
1 Mansi, Pii II. OrationeSy ii. 9, et seq.
2 Contarini, Anecdota Veneta, 276-83.
272 iENEAS SILVIUS
discussed, and this gave the envoys abundant oppor-
tunities for obstruction. Sforza suggested that those
nations that were neighbours to the Turk should be
subsidised, for they had experience of his tactics and
were, therefore, best qualified to fight him. Sigis-
mondo Malatesta, lord of Rimini, a vassal of the Pope,
then put in a word for himself This extraordinary
being was one of the most notable products of a remark-
able age. He was at once a mercenary captain, a sensu-
alist, a scholar, and an enthusiast for art : one equally
ready for the vilest crime or the most magnanimous
deed ; one full of high conceptions and lusts that would
degrade a beast. Malatesta saw, in the crusade, the
possibility of getting big pay as a condottiere. He
suggested the employment of Italian troops. But
Italian troops were all mercenaries ; they chose their
battle-field with care, and levelled it before they
ventured their heavily armed persons and steeds
upon it; almost always, the worst that befel them
was to have to yield and pay ransom ; they made
battle a game of tactical skill, and well-nigh as blood-
less as chess. Pius saw through Malatesta's design
at once. He adroitly complimented Italian troops on
their well-known courage, and then cut the ground
from under the condottiere's feet, not without in-
dulging in some covert sarcasm : ' I also should be in
favour of Italian troops,' he said, ' for what soldiery is
more brave ? but what other nation than Italy could
furnish them with their pay 1 Let, therefore, other
nations provide the army and fleet, so that one back
may not have to bear all the burden. And it would
be no easy matter to induce our generals to take
service abroad. For, in Italy, the trade of war
THE CONGEESS OF MANTUA 273
pursued with no great loss of blood and with much
replenishing of the purse. But, yonder, deadly work
awaits us, and the main reward is not of an earthly
nature. We advise the imposition of a wair-tax
for three years. Let the clergy pay a tenth, the
laity a thirtieth, and the Jews a twentieth of their
income.' ^
The Florentine envoys gave distinct evidence of
how opposed their state was to the project ; for
Florentine merchants did not wish to hazard their
lucrative Eastern trade. Venice, so said her repre-
sentatives, would be ready if sixty galleys, instead of
the thirty proposed, were sent, if she were paid for
her services, and were put into possession of all con-
quests that might be made. This aroused the wrath
of the Pope. He told them they were a degenerate
people. Their ancestors made no difficulty about
providing a fleet ; they were ready enough to fight
with all their might against their rivals, Genoa and
Pisa ; but the present race of Venetians would not
use arms even if they were given them. They were
employing every stratagem they could think of to
stop the Holy War. They forgot that they would
be the first to fall before the Turkish advance. But
his words fell on deaf ears.
In the middle of October envoys arrived from the
Duke of Savoy, and a little later, from Albert of
Austria. Gregory Heimburg, the old foe of the
Pope, was the chief spokesman of the German
embassy, and he also represented the Duke of
Saxony and Sigismund, Duke of the Tyrol. Heim-
burg was one of those honest sincere people who
^ Pii II. Comment.^ 1. 2.
S
274 iENEAS SILVIUS
indulge in rude behaviour in order to emphasise the
integrity. He kept his hat on in the Pope's presence,
and took small pains to veil his contempt for him.
Sigismund, who also came, was not on good terms
with the Papacy, for Nicholas of Cusa had been A
appointed Bishop of Brixen by the late Pope, in "
violation of the compact made with Frederick. This
would have mattered little, but Cusa was bent on
reforming the monastic houses, and he proceeded to
do so with a high hand. He was a man who had
risen from a low rank of life by acquiring a just
reputation for vast learning. He was zealous and
intolerant ; well-meaning but destitute of discre-
tion. Meticulous legal considerations and scholastic
pedantry are a poor equipment for dealing with
men, and Cusa assumed the manners of a drill-
sergeant, when tact and suavity were required. The
difficulties that he encountered were due to the
intricate involution of ecclesiastical with territorial
rights, and all the ingenuity of Pius himself might
have failed to reconcile them. A breach soon oc-
curred between the Tyrolese and Sigismund, their
duke, and Cusa. Nicholas had supported Cusa, and
Pius had accepted his policy. Hence Sigismund
bore the Pope anything but good- will, and Heimburg
was emboldened to take his revenge. The reader
has been told how he reminded Pius of the erotic
writings he had sent, so many years ago, to Sigis-
mund ; his taunts covered a sneer at the Pope's
sincerity.^ Pius retained a dignified silence, but in-
wardly he was smarting with shame. He records
^ This speech is preserved in the Munich Archives. See Voigt, Fius
vol. iii. pp. 99-101, and note, p. 100.
THE CONGEESS OF MANTUA 275
the incident^ for posterity to read; he tell us that
the charge was true ; indeed, he did so ; but he
wishes us to know that it was before he took orders,
and he adds another excuse which enfolds a quiet
sarcasm on the culture of German princes, * perhaps
Sigismund did not really read what he had written.'^
It was in Latin.
The King of France also sent ambassadors to
Mantua, but only to raise the Neapolitan question.
They began by praising their country and their king,
speaking of him as * an obedient son,' so as to exclude
any notion of Papal overlordship.^ They requested
the Pope to rescind his recognition of Ferrante and
acknowledge the Angevin claim. Pius commenced
his reply by echoing the praise of France and her
monarch ; then, turning to the ambassador's demand,
he said that, in recognising Ferrante, he had acted after
consultation with the Sacred College, and must con-
sult with it again before giving his answer. Immedi-
ately after this audience he was taken very ill with
cholic, and the French declared that he pretended to
be sick to avoid giving them a definite reply. They
busied themselves in reducing their demands to
writing. Word of this was borne to Pius. ' If I die
in the effort, they shall have their answer,' said he.
He rose and summoned them into his presence. He
was very pale and trembled in every limb ; but, as
had happened in the Mantuan Duomo, he became
himself directly he began to speak, and he continued
to harangue the ambassadors for three hours. He
refused to give his decision straight away. Let the
1 Pii II. Comment, 1. 2.
2 Pii 11. Comment, 1. 3. •'' Ibid.
276 iENEAS SILVIUS
Monarch, called, by universal consent, the Most
Christian King, submit suitable propositions. Mean-
while Charles of France was imperilling the souls of
his subjects by defending and enforcing that Prag-
matic Sanction which placed the Church in the
hands of the laity to deal with as they listed. All
its powers existed on sufferance in France. If this
were allowed to continue, the Church would be trans-
formed into a nameless, many-headed beast. But his
Most Christian Majesty is blind to this, and he must be
cured of his blindness that he may amend his ways.
The envoys replied that they must repel all reflec-
tions on the honour of their sovereign. Pius answered
that he would receive them when, and as often as
they desired, and, so, dismissed them. Then the
Cardinals crowded round the Pope and expressed
their delight that he had maintained the rights of
Rome so stoutly.
Next day the ambassadors told the Pope that it
would be impossible for their master to take any part
in a crusade while there was war between him and
England. The Pope replied that, if both countries
sent an equal number of soldiers, their relative
strength would remain unimpaired. To this the
ambassadors replied that they had no power to
accept such a proposition, but they were willing to
agree to a conferr e for peace. Probably this was
a hint at a CouljiI, for, with a little intrigue, such a
conference might be turned into one.
The kings of Europe could not get on without the
Papal system, so we find ambassadors arriving from
King Ren6 and bringing his obedience. They found
Pius not too suave, for he was indignant that a fleet,
THE CONGRESS OF MANTUA ^117
prepared for a crusade by the energy of ecclesiastics
in Provence, had been captured by Jean of Anjou to
transport him to Naples. He met the envoys with
a frown, and listened to them with impatience.
Menaces were interchanged. The embassy threatened
to publish a manifesto against the Pope for his recog-
nition of Ferrante, and he replied that, in that case,
he would deal with them as heretics. Ambassadors
also came from England, but more to seek some
remedy for the wretched condition of their land, torn
by the Wars of the Roses, than to do anything for
the Christian Commonwealth.^ Pius complains that
* the credentials they bore were irregular and un-
witnessed ; the King had merely written '' I, Henry,
have witnessed this myself," and appended his seal.
The Pontiff scorned such a contemptible embassy.'^
It is true that only two priests came, though the Earl
of Worcester had been appointed as chief ambassador,
but Pius was unaware that the credentials were in
the wonted English form.^
Heimburg was active in exciting his countrymen
against the Pope, and, when the crusade was agreed
to, they relegated all details affecting Germany to
the decision of a Diet. Pius knew only too well how
incapable and ineffective German Diets were. He
nominated the Emperor Frederick to be Commander,
and the Caesar delegated his office to another prince,
Albert of Brandenburg, who took advantage of it to
curtail the power of bishops, and establish his own
position in Germany.*
1 Pii II. Comment, 1. 3. 2 jj^^,
3 Creighton, History of the Papacy, ed. of 1897, vol. iii. pp. 232, 233.
* Voigt, Pius II., iii. 105 ; Pastor, Eng. trans., voL iii. p. 97.
I
278 ^NEAS SILVIUS
By November Pius had come to perceive that the
Congress was a failure. He wrote to Carvajal :
* There is, to be frank, nothing of the zeal that We
had expected. Very few have come out of regard
for the public welfare ; all seek what they can get for
themselves. But We have given the lie to the
slander cast against the Apostolic See ; We have
shown that those who blame Us are alone blame-
worthy. At least, however, the Italian powers have
committed themselves, by signature, to this service
of God. Yet We hear that Genoa is sending a fleet
to carry the French to Naples, and we fear that this
will not merely mean the loss of all help, but drag
everybody away into the contest. If God do not
help, all will be lost in the miseries that will befall ^
Christian peoples.'^ B
However, on January 14, 1460, the Pope declared
war against the Turk. On the 19th, he made a
speech in which he said : ' All has not been done that
we hoped for, yet not every thing has been ignored.
The Christian Princes have neither promised all that
they might have done, nor utterly repudiated the
subject.'^ The ambassadors knelt before him and
repeated their promises, and then the Pope knelt
before the altar and offered up a prayer. Pius had
spent more than half a year in Mantua.
Little had he to hope from the forthcoming Diet ;
war had broken out between Anjou and Ferrante,
and it threatened to spread elsewhere ; he could
neither expect to win Podiebrad, nor quiet Sigismund,
nor triumph over France. His enemies were threaten-
^ Raynaldus, Ad ann. 1459.
2 Mansi, Orationes Fii IL, ii. 79.
I
THE CONGEESS OF MANTUA 279
ing to summon a council. He met the threat by a
master-stroke of policy. Before he left Mantua, he
called the Cardinals together, and with the pre-
science of the true statesman, issued the famous Bull
' Execrabilis.' All appeal to a future Council the
Bull declares to be useless, illegal, and wholly detest-
able, nothing but a screen for mischief. For a
Council is non-existent, and, indeed, may never come
into being. Let him that makes such an appeal, or
even consents to it, be, in the very fact of so doing,
excommunicate.
Princes disobeyed ; they still threatened to summon
a Council, but never did so. As Creighton says, the
Bull ' worked itself into the ecclesiastical system,
and became one of the pillars on which the Papal
authority rests.' ^ Pius quitted Mantua with many
forebodings. Yet he had not wholly failed. He had
taken what he deemed to be his rightful position
as the Head of Italian powers and the Princes of
Europe.
Pius retained throughout his life the wonderful
power of detaching himself from all the excitement
and anxieties and responsibilities attached to his
office : he could enjoy leisure hours in the beauty of
sunshine and the society of friends. He lived to
gather around him a few men that he found entirely
congenial, though they were neither of rank nor of
very remarkable mental power. He chose, above all,
associates before whom he could lay aside all assump-
tion of dignity and position, those with whom he
could unbend and be companionable and relapse into
the iEneas Silvius of yore. There were two that he
1 Creighton, History of the Papacy, ed. 1897, vol. iii. p. 397.
280 iENEAS SILVIUS
especially loved. One of these true friends was
Jacopo Ammanati, a Tuscan of lowly birth, whose
scholarship recommended him to the notice of
Nicholas v. Ammanati became secretary to Calixtus
and retained the office under the new Pope. So
little of aristocratic pride was there in Pius, that he
adopted Ammanati into his own ancient family. He
made him, first Bishop of Pavia, and then a cardinal ;
but, at this time, he was only a secretary. Ammanati
never abused the Pope's friendship or sought riches
for himself. He took Pius for his model, and, indeed
in many respects, the smaller man's nature resembled
that of the greater man. Both were humanists ;
both were a little vain ; both were sympathetic of
heart and had winning manners; both had a weak-
ness for belles lettres ; both delighted in life ; but
Ammanati was especially given to the pleasures of
hunting.
Another companion was Gianantonio Campano,
who took his name from the Roman Campagna where
he had been a shepherd boy. Campano became an
orphan at a very early age, but a good priest took
him into his domestic service, and, being struck by the
child's brightness, taught him what he himself knew.
Indeed, he was so well instructed that, as a mere lad,
he became tutor to a family in Naples, attended the
courses of Lorenzo Yalla in that city, and, at the age
of twenty, lectured at Perugia. Like Pius, he had
written love -poems, and he was at the service of
others to write what they wanted. He was sent
with the Perugian embassy to congratulate the Pope
on his accession, took the fancy of Ammanati, and,
through him, acquired the Pontiff's favour. Ulti-
THE CONGRESS OF MANTUA 281
mately Pius made him Bishop of Croton. He still
preserved the marks of his peasant origin, and could
play the buffoon on occasion. He gives us a portrait
of himself ' What is Campano like ? ' he asks.
' Well, he snores all the night through, a-bed and
naked, he is a more appalling sight than any wild
beast of the forest. His feet are like hooks, his hands
are gnarled and hairy, his nose is flat, v^ith great
gaping nostrils, his brow overhangs his eyes, his belly
is swollen with food and wind, he is short of limb,
fat and round as a ball.' ^ If, sometimes, he became a
little coarse, he could write clearly, speak cleverly, and
sometimes bitingly ; like Pius, while he was a master
of epigram, his disposition was truly amiable, and he
loved the Pope not less than Ammanati. It charmed
the author one day when he was engaged at the
Vatican in examining dull, dreary letters to bishops
and other people of importance concerning ecclesiastical
affairs to come across an evidence of the affectionate
sympathy that existed between the two men of letters
— Pope and Court Poet. It was a dictated letter of
Pius, of little consequence, indeed, but addressed to
* our dearest son, Campano, the well-beloved child of
Propertius.'
One day, at Mantua, the trio of friends took boat
and were rowed down the river to a monastery.
Ammanati began to read a number of congratulatory
poems that needy bards had sent the Pope on his
accession, with requests, or at least hints, that they
should be rewarded for their flattery. The verses
stimulated the three men of letters to amuse them-
selves and exercise their wit. Campano reeled off
^ Campani, Ep. iii. 47.
282 ^NEAS SILVIUS
some impromptu lines to the effect that those should
be rewarded who had not asked ; therefore, since he
had not asked, he deserved a reward. The Pope
replied : —
If gifts, Campano, should not then be sought,
You pray the deaf : your gain will be but nought.' ^
Presently he said, ' Here is something for your
poets ' : —
If poets wish but verse for verse to gain,
Learn that we '11 mend, but will not buy their strain.
Ammanati took the epigram up and altered it : —
Rhymesters who reel oflf their numbers for gold
In dealing with Pius will find themselves sold.
But Pius was too good-natured and too fond of
letters to allow this to stand : he varied his own and
Ammanati's lines once more : —
Learn, rhymesters, who offer your verses for gold,
From Pius great gifts you may hope to behold.
Unfortunately the impromptu containing the state-
ment ' We '11 mend but will not buy their strain,' got
repeated in literary circles. Great was the dudgeon
of scholarly sycophants, and many epigrammatic
1 The mcident is given by Ammanati. See Card. Jac. Ficolom. Ep. 49.
In the original the epigrams run thus : —
(1) Munera, Campane, si non sunt danda petenti,
Jure tuas surda currimus aure preces.
(2) Discite pro numeris numeros sperare, poetae !
Mutare est animus carmina, non emere.
(3) Discite pro numeris nummos tractare, poetae !
Expectata dabit munera nulla Pius.
(4) Discite pro numeris nummos sperare, poetae !
Expectata dabit munera magna Pius.
THE CONGRESS OF MANTUA 283
replies were circulated, none of them too compli-
mentary. The most biting was,
If verse for verse were fortune's fee, I trow
No such a diadem had decked thy brow.^
The scholars at Rome became the Pope's bitter
enemies. The worst of these foes was his old master
Filelfo. Filelfo said the Pope did nothing for him,
but this was a lie : Pius gave him a pension of two
hundred ducats a year. Filelfo rewarded his bene-
factor by anonymous libels, and attributed all the
most shameful vices of antiquity to him. When Pius
died he composed a poem of jubilation, and did every-
thing he could to cast obloquy on his memory.^
Filelfo was a specimen of his class, and one cannot
wonder that Pius was sparing in the encouragement
he gave to literary sycophants. It is always danger-
ous to lend one's ear to eulogy or detraction written
by scholars of the Renaissance. Such writings were,
for the most part, the productions of hungry or
greedy men who bespattered their patrons with
fulsome praise when they got what they wanted, and
tried to befoul their names when they were dis-
appointed ; they were a jealous tribe too, and dealt
each other low insults and petty vengeances that
recall a cage of enraged apes rather than the serene
behaviour which one expects on Parnassus. Pius knew
them well. He liked to get at the truth of every-
thing, even of himself, and he had little liking for the
affectations of the voluble style that became fashion-
1 ' Si tibi pro numeris fortuna dedisset,
Non esset capiti tanta corona tuo.
See Voigt, Pius 11.^ vol. iii. p. 628 as to the authorship of this.
2 See Voigt, vol. iii. p. 635, et seq.
284 iENEAS SILVIUS
able in his later years. He was wont to say to
Campano that a poet, to be worth anything, must be
original. And there was another reason, also, for his
neglect of the humanists. He repented of his own
erotic writings ; he had vainly endeavoured to recall
them, but they were more widely circulated than
ever, now that he had become Pope. He was always
possessed by a strong sense of duty, and it would be
inconsistent with his sacred office to encourage literary
aspirants who lived depraved lives and put great
abilities to base uses. His own library was chiefly
composed of Christian authors.^
In the intervals of grave and anxious business at
Mantua, then, we see the Pope delighting in pleasant
companionship and a country life. He made many
little excursions from the city, and his interest in
archaeology led him to visit the so-called villa of
Virgil.
^ Muntz, La Bihliotheque du Vatican au xv. Siecle, p. 132.
I
<
I
THE KETUEN FEOM MANTUA 285
CHAPTEE XVI
THE RETURN FROM MANTUA — TROUBLES AT ROME
While the Pope was at Mantua he was entreated by
Sigismondo Malatesta to mediate between him and
two foes who were in league against him, Federigo da
Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, and Piccinino. There
was perpetual war among the petty rulers of Eomagna,
and Pius spoke very sharply on the subject. He
made Malatesta promise to pay 60,000 ducats which
he owed Ferrante, in order to supply the King with
those sinews of war he so sorely lacked, and he took
Fano and Sinigaglia, places under the rule of Mala-
testa, in pledge. Piccinino, angered at being balked
a second time by the Pope, and obliged to withdraw
from the States of the Church, prepared to march
towards Naples to fight for the Angevins, and, though
the Duke of Urbino was on the watch and hoped to
intercept his band, he succeeded in evading that
famous condottiere and reached the kingdom. The
most formidable among the Neapolitan lords, ever on
the watch to weaken the power of the Crown, declared
for the French side and it seemed as if the cause of
Ferrante would be lost. When Pius reached Ferrara
on his return journey from Mantua, Borso of Este,
with the crafty duplicity so characteristic of the
diplomacy of the age, offered to deal with Piccinino
286 ^NEAS SILVIUS
on the Pope's behalf; but Pius perceived that the
Marquis meditated treachery and gave him a refusal.
When the Pope arrived at Florence he saw Cosimo de'
Medici, the man who, though a simple merchant in
his mode of life, really controlled the destiny of the
state. Pius tried to induce Cosimo to espouse the
cause of Ferrante, as did Cosimo's friend Sforza, but
the Florentines always held the commerce of the
kingdom in their hands when it was under the
Angevins, and Medici refused. But the city, like
every city he visited, did due honour to the Head of
Christendom. Everywhere, in honour of his coming,
spectacular displays were prepared which combined
the fine taste of the Renaissance with a child-
like and even vulgar ostentation. And Pius, like
everybody else, without exception, enjoyed whatever
was presented with a most catholic and healthy
gusto.
Instead of leading a crusade, Pius now found him-
self and his Milanese allies. at war with the Angevin
party ; and he was laid up for a time with a depressing
attack of the gout. On January 31, 1460, he was
sufficiently recovered to enter Siena, and ' was re-
ceived after the fashion of a triumph . . . especially
by the women, whose nature it is to be more religious
than men, and who bear kindlier feelings towards
the priesthood.' ^ In July news came that the troops
of Ferrante were thoroughly routed, and that the
King himself had escaped from the battle-field with
great difficulty. The only hope left lay with Naples
itself, for that city maintained unshaken loyalty to
Ferrante. Rene of Provence tried to detach the
1 Pii II. Comment, 1. 4.
THE RETUEN FROM MANTUA 287
Pope by exciting an insurrection in Avignon, but his
design failed. Then he threatened to appeal to a
General Council. The French party in the Curia
insulted the Pope directly they heard the news.
They lit bonfires in the public places of Siena, and
behaved rudely to his servants. Pius, like most
gouty men, was subject to fits of depression. For a
time he fell into doubt as to whether, for the good of
the Church, and the forwarding of the Crusade, it
might not be well to abandon Ferrante, whose cause
seemed so hopeless. Simonetta says he became
thoroughly frightened.^ He certainly wrote to the
Duke of Urbino, entreating him not to risk a battle,
' for,' said he, ' if you should sufier defeat Our states
would be thrown open to the enemy.' ^ But the
Pope and Sforza were in constant communication, and
gave one another heart, for they knew that there
were dissensions in the hostile camp ; moreover, in
the wars of Italy, conducted, as they were, by mer-
cenaries, victory ultimately fell to the longest purse.
Pius spoke boldly and firmly to the envoys sent by
Rene, and takes credit to himself for having pre-
served an unshaken mind. No doubt he took care
to appear unmoved.
He strengthened the States of the Church by
getting Ferrante to cede Castiglione della Pescia in
Tuscany, and the island of Guglio, which he placed
under the government of his nephew Andrea, and
also Terracina, a strong position at the natural
boundary of the Kingdom and the Papal States,
which he put in the hands of Antonio Piccolomini.
1 Simonetta, in Muratori, B. I. S.^ xxi. 713.
2 Raynaldus, Ad. ann. 1460, 1463.
288 ^NEAS SILVIUS
A party in Terracina had petitioned the Pope to take
their town over, and he was careful to confirm the
commune in its rights of municipal self-government.
The presence of Jews in a city was so advantageous
that the citizens further asked Pius to allow them to
settle there. He granted their request, and had such
unusual consideration for natural family rights, that
he forbade any Jew to be admitted to baptism under
the age of twelve.
In order to strengthen his authority in Siena,
establish his own political views there, and do honour
to the land of his forefathers and the place so full to
him of youthful memories, he advanced the city to
the dignity of an archbishopric, and appointed his
nephew, Francesco de Todeschini, a young man of
twenty- three, to the see. His enemies charged him
with nepotism and too much devotion to the Sienese,
but nepotism was necessary to a Pope surrounded by
foes in his own curia, and, while it gratified Pius to
advance his relatives and fellow-countrymen, he
never did so at the expense of the States of the
Church. Francesco was a talented man who attained
the Papacy himself forty years later. Pius further
strengthened his position by nominating six cardinals
(March 1460). He tells us it was arranged that
only one of these should be a nephew, and that he
refused to permit even this unless the Cardinals
should supplicate him earnestly to do so.^ No doubt
he afiected reluctance, knowing very well that he was
liked by every one, that he had increased his popu-
larity by his zeal for the Faith, and that he would
get his own way. He nominated the new Archbishop
^ Fii II. Comment., 1. 4.
Cardinal Piccolomini, nephew of Pius II, is crowned Pope
AS Pius III.
The famous frescoes were painted at his command.
Piiitjiricchio, Siena.
THE RETUEN FROM MANTUA 289
of Siena, and also Niccolo de' Forteguerra, a relative
on his mother's side, a man experienced in warfare,
and therefore able to give sound military advice.
Now, he thought it desirable to assert his authority,
and, when the Bishops of Reati and Spoleto, excel-
lent statesmen, and Burchard, Provost of Salzburg,
were agreed to, he insisted on choosing a sixth with-
out submitting his name. He was a man, said Pius,
that they would all welcome. The Sacred College
murmured, but gave way, and the Pope named Ales-
sandro Oliva, an Augustinian, famous for his piety
and learning. Five of the new Cardinals were
Italians, but, to prevent the jealousy of other nations,
and in conformity with precedent, the announcement
of the German nomination was deferred until a new
batch of Cardinals should be created.
Pius hung about his beloved Tuscan land, reviving
youthful memories, and, when his gout compelled
him to take the baths at Macerata and Petrioli, he
revelled in the delights of the countryside. ' It was
the joyous spring-time, when the valleys smile in
their garment of green leafage and flowers, and the
fields are luxuriant with young growing crops. . . .
The Pope passed through the country with happiness
in his heart, and found the baths no less dehghtful.
The river Mersa refreshes the land, a stream full of
eels, small indeed, but they are delicious eating.
You enter the valley through cultivated fields, and
pass many castles and villas. As one approaches the
baths the scenery becomes wilder and is shut in by a
massive bridge of stone and by clifis and woods. To
the right the steeps are clothed with evergreen ilex ;
to the left are forests of oak and ash, and round the
T
290 ^NEAS SILVIUS
baths are little lodging-houses. Here the Pope
stayed a month, bathing twice a day. He never
neglected his duties, however, but, two hours before
sunset, he was wont to go down to the meads by
the river and choose the most vernal spot for receiv-
ing embassies and petitions. Thither peasant-women
would come with flowers to strew along his pathway
to the bath, looking for the reward of kissing his
foot, which filled them with joy.' ^ M
While he was taking these simple pleasures, Cardinal
Eoderigo Borgia, afterwards Pope Alexander vi., was at
Siena, also enjoying himself, but in quite another way.
Word came that he had been dancing, none too
decently, with certain fair ladies of the city ; indeed,
*no incitements of passion were wanting.'^ The
Pope wrote him a severe but forbearing letter, tem-
pering his censure by a reference to Borgia's youth,
though he was twenty-nine years of age. * Beloved
son,' said the Pope, *We have learned that your
Worthiness, forgetful of the high place wherein you
are installed, was present, four days ago, from the
sixteenth to the twenty-second hour, in the gardens
of Giovanni de' Bichi, with several women-triflers of
Siena. You had with you one of your colleagues,
whom years, if not the dignity of his office, might have
reminded of his duty. We are informed that there
was dissolute dancing, wanting in none of the entice-
ments of sense, and that you conducted yourself in a
wholly worldly vein. Shame forbids the recounting
of all that took place, for the very names given to
these things are unworthy of your position. In order
that you might have greater licence, the fathers,
^ Pii II. Comment., 1. 4. '^ Raynaldus, Ad arm. 1460, N. 31.
I
THE EETUEN FROM MANTUA 291
brothers, and kinsmen of these young women and
girls were not invited. You and a few servants
organised and led the orgy. It is said that all the
talk of Siena is about your folly, which makes you
a general laughing-stock. Here, at the baths, where
there are many churchmen as well as laymen, be
sure you are sufficiently talked about. No words
can express Our displeasure, for you have brought
disgrace on the holy state and office. Folk will be
ready to say that they make us rich and important
to live blameless lives, but that we occupy ourselves
in the gratification of our lusts. This is the reason
why princes and rulers hold us in contempt and the
peoples gibe at us. Scorn falls on the Vicar of Christ,
for he would seem to permit such things. Remember,
beloved son, that you are responsible as Bishop of
Valencia, the most important see in Spain ; you are
Chancellor of the Church ; nay, more, and this makes
your conduct still worse, you are a cardinal, sitting
with the Pope as one of his counsellors. We will
leave it to your own judgement whether it befits your
dignity to play the lover to girls and send fruit and
wine to your mistresses and think of nothing but
the flesh throughout the livelong day. Folk blame
Us and the blessed memory of your uncle, Calixtus,
and there are many who charge him with wrong-
doing in having advanced you. If you excuse your-
self on the ground of youth. We reply that you are no
longer so young as to be ignorant of the duties your
office imposes on you. A cardinal should be above
reproach and an example to all. If that were so, we
could be justly indignant when princes revile us,
claim what is ours, and force us to do their will.
292 iENEAS SILVIUS
But we cause our own sufferings, for, by such conduct
as yours, we lower the authority of the Church day
by day. Our punishment is dishonour in this life
and will be deserved anguish in that which is to
come. Therefore, let your good sense prevail over
frivolity; never again allow yourself to forget your
dignity ; never let people speak of you again as a
frivolous gallant. If you repeat the offence, We shall
be compelled to show that you have disregarded
warning, that We have been much distressed, and We
shall censure you in such a way that you will blush.
We have always loved you and thought you deserved
Our defence as an earnest, modest man. Therefore,
conduct yourself from now so as to keep Our good
opinion of you and Our thought of your life as well-
ordered. We admonish you as a father, because your
years still admit of reform. Petrioli, June 11, 1460.' ^
Borgia was a man with blinking eyes,^ but of good
manners, considerable ability, and irresistible attrac-
tion for women. The admonition of the Pope had no
effect. In this very year all men knew Vanozza de
Cataneis to be his mistress, and he did not take
priest's orders during Pius's lifetime.^
But the scandal caused by Borgia was a com-
paratively small vexation. The Pope was troubled
by serious news from Eome. He had left Nicholas
of Cusa in charge there, and Cusa had appointed a
Vicar-General who was a weak man. Rome, like other
Italian cities, was full of factions, and the Republican
party was powerful and energetic. Another party
held treasonable correspondence with Anjou and
^ Eaynaldus, Ad ann. 1460, N. 31. ^ Sigismondo de' Conti, ii. 270.
3 Pastor, Hist, of the Popes, Eng. trans., vol. v. p. 363.
THE EETURN FROM MANTUA 293
Piccinino. Two bands of lawless youths murdered,
robbed, and raped at will, and the authorities did
nothing, hoping the disorders would force the Pope
to return ; for the Papal presence made a great
difference to the prosperity of the city. Pius sent a
military force to support the magistrates, and told
them it was their duty to preserve order ; obedience
would bring him back, but not turbulence ; if they
thought to force him they were vastly mistaken.^
The disorders did not diminish. One band of aristo-
cratic ruJEans carried off a girl on her way to be
married. Another band fortified themselves in the
Pantheon; others took and occupied Capranica's
palace, and only left the city at the humble request
of the authorities that it might please them to do so.
They were accompanied to the gates by a guard of
honour. Others sacked convents and violated the
nuns.^ At last Pius felt obliged to return to Rome,
and his journey was hastened by news that Piccinino
had invaded the Papal States and, aided by some of
the barons of the Campagna, was marching on the
city itself. Further, a conspiracy to take the life of
the Pope's nephew, Antonio, and capture the city
was discovered.
Pius was ill ; nothing was ready for the journey,
but he started at once, though Piccinino was threaten-
ing Rome and many cardinals were against taking the
risk. At Viterbo, a Roman deputation met him and
entreated him to pardon the turbulent youth of the
city. * What town is so free as yours ? ' he replied.
' You pay no taxes ; you bear no burdens ; you occupy
^ Pastor, History of the PopeSy Eng. trans., vol. iii. p. 107.
2 Fii II. Comment^ 1. 4.
294 iENEAS SILVIUS
the most honourable communal positions ; you fix
your own prices ; you get good rents. And who is
your ruler ? Is he a count, a marquis, a duke, a king,
an emperor ? Nay, but the greatest among them all,
the successor of St. Peter, the Vicar of Christ, one
whose very feet all men desire to kiss. You show
but wisdom when you do reverence to such a ruler ;
your prosperity comes through him, for he attracts
wealth from the whole world to your city. You
supply the Eoman Curia, too, and it brings you wealth
from every country.' ^ An escort of five hundred horse,
sent by Sforza, came to guard the Pope. Outside
Rome, a deputation, followed by many of the revolu-
tionaries, met him. They wanted to carry his litter,
and discovered him eating a humble meal, procured
with some difficulty ; he was seated by a well, enjoy-
ing it with quiet content. Cardinals and attendants
prayed him to act with caution. ' I will walk on the
asp and basilisk,' he replied, 'and trample on the
lion and basilisk.' He meant what he said ; he also
loved to produce an effect.
Hardly had he entered Rome when fresh con-
spiracies were hatched. Some of the conspirators
were captured. One Tiburzio, the nephew of Porcaro,
the republican conspirator of a previous generation,
believed his brother to be among the prisoners, and,
accompanied by a small band, rushed into the city to
release him. He shouted to the mob to arm them-
selves, but was seized, and, with some other offenders,
executed. Pius refused to allow them to be tortured.
But Piccinino still threatened Rome, aided by some
of the barons, and Sforza and Ferrante were luke-
^ Pii II. Comment.^ 1. 4.
TEOUBLES AT ROME 295
warm friends to the Pope, for both were annoyed
with him for strengthening the Papal States by the
acquisition of Terracina. The Italian States had
discovered how the principle of a balance of powers
can maintain comparative peace, and each was anxious
not to let any neighbour grow too strong. Sigis-
mondo Malatesta, too, was giving trouble, and Pius
could not raise troops, for he was little more than
nominal overlord of the Papal States, and the best
troops came from his unsettled fiefs that were held
by Malatesta and other petty despots of Romagna.
But, as usual, the real protection of the Papacy lay
in the dissensions that existed among its foes. At
last Piccinino went into winter quarters.
By the beginning of next year (1461) things looked
more hopeful. Rome was quiet and many of the
Neapolitan barons were going over to Ferrante, while
the Genoese, aided by Sforza, drove the French out of
their city. The Pope's nephew, Antonio, commanded
the Papal forces, but he did not prove a very com-
petent general. This is shown by the Pope's letters,
though they are filled with love and solicitude.^
Pius arranged a marriage between Antonio and
Maria, the illegitimate daughter of Ferrante, who was
to bring the Duchy of Amalfi as a dowry. He en-
trusted the arrangement to a legate.^ When this was
brought against him by the French as an objection-
able and crafty policy, he defended the scheme by the
curious remark that Antonio liked the maid and he
had left the pair perfectly free. Such an apology
1 See Katti, Studi e documenti della Society Storica Lomhardia, 1903,
Ey. 15, 16, 20, 41.
2 Ratti, loc. cit., letter 20 (May 17, 1461).
296
iENEAS SILVIUS
was far from common in an age when marriages
among folk of importance were determined by any
motive but that of mutual affection. Here, again, it
would seem as if the Pope were not quite at ease with
his own conscience. Such meticulous scruples strike
a very modern note ; but it can hardly be questioned
that Pius at least mentioned mutual willingness as
a condition of the bargain.
The latest Roman peace did not last long. The
palaces of the cardinals had to be fortified and filled
with troops.^ In July, the Savelli came into Rome.
They had taken the Angevin side, but peace was
granted to them on the terms they chose to ask, for
they were connected with the most powerful clan in
Rome — the Colonna.^ Pius ordered strong fortifica-
tions to be built at once, to command the city and
repel the foe. The Milanese ambassador wrote : * The
Sicilian vespers will be repeated here,' and Pius said
to Caretto that ' the mere theft of an ox set all the
people in an uproar.' ^ The Pope was ill, and Rome
was by no means a very safe place ; so, in June 1462,
when the summer heats had begun, he moved on to
Tivoli, while the work of fortification was being
pushed on with.
1 Pastor, Hist, of the Popes, Eng. trans., toI. iii. p. 114.
2 Pii II. Comment., 1. 5 ; Cugnoni, J., Pii II. op. ined., Romae, 1883,
p. 209 et seq.
3 Pastor, loc. cit., vol. iii. p. 115.
THE PAPACY AND FOEEIGN POWEES 297
CHAPTEE XVII
THE PAPACY AND FOREIGN POWERS
The Neapolitan struggle, and the attitude taken by
France and Germany towards the Papacy meant the
postponing, perhaps the abandoning, of a crusade.
We have seen that at Bourges, in 1438, a * Prag-
matic Sanction ' was declared, which Pius defines as
'a rescript of the ruler, a supreme sanction of affairs/
A 'pragmatic rescript,' according to St. Augustine,
overrides an imperial mandate. This French Prag-
matic Sanction was entirely hateful to the Papacy,
for it acknowledged the Council of Basel and de-
manded that a General Council should assemble
every ten years ; it denied the Pope annates and
firstfruits ; neither he nor the Curia was to enjoy
reservations and expectancies, and thus the revenues
of Eome were seriously curtailed. Though the Sanc-
tion attempted very moderate reform in the French
Church, such as punishing a priest who kept a
concubine with three months' suspension, it was
entirely hateful to Eome, not only on account of its
recognition of the conciliar principle, but also be-
cause it founded a national Church, an imperium in
imjperio, in opposition to the theory of the universal
Church, and placed French ecclesiastics under lay
jurisdiction. In practice it transferred power from
298
J5NEAS SILVIUS
the Roman Ecclesiastical Government to the king
and his nobles, for they filled up benefices, or, oftener,
kept them vacant to enjoy the revenues ; they
lowered the standard of qualification required for
priesthood, subjected churchmen to the civil magis-
tracy, referred questions of faith to the judgement
of the French Parliament, and practically annulled
all Papal authority/ But most Frenchmen supported
their national Church, since the University of Paris
held the gift of one-third of the benefices. Moreover,
the Sanction flattered the growing national feeling.
A third and very important reason why Frenchmen
supported it was that gold no longer flowed out of
the country to Rome. But many French clergy were
bitterly opposed to the Pragmatic Sanction.
The Sanction had the strong support of King
Charles vii. But he died, July 22, 1461, and the
dauphin, Louis, who succeeded him, had been on
very bad terms with his father. Louis xi. was a
refugee in Burgundy when news was brought him of
the death of Charles, and he resolved to be friendly
with the Papacy, since he dreaded that his accession
to the crown might be contested.
When he found himself firmly established, his first
care was to curtail the power of the nobles and in-
crease his own importance and authority. But he
was also anxious to support the Angevin claim to
Naples. The personal government of France by the
Crown was his ideal, and the way to it was smoothed
by the weakening of the French nobility owing to the
Anglo-French wars. He knew that he would have
the support of the masses that groaned under the
1 Pii II. Comment J 1. 6.
THE PAPACY AND FOREIGN POWEES 299
oppressions of feudalism, but he determined to stop
the evolution of anything like a constitution. He
refused requests made in favour of the Parliament
and University. ' By the pain of God/ he said,
^ I will do nothing of the kind. You are evil folk,
and live scandalous lives, and you breed scoffers.
Away with you, you are not such as I would mix
with.^^
We have seen that Pius believed in government
by a strong, central power, and he was ready to
support Louis's designs against his nobility. He
negotiated with him through Jean Jouffroy, Bishop
of Arras, ' a man of eloquent discourse and great pro-
jects; a schemer, but not tenacious; very lustful of
gain, one who never took up anything out of which
he could not gain something for himself ^ Pius had
afterwards to suffer for trusting this clerical diplo-
matist. The Pope also wrote an autograph letter to
Louis, in which he said, 'if your prelates or the
University want anything from Us, let them ask it
through you, for We, of all Popes, will be first in
honouring and loving your race and nation, nor will
We oppose your requests if they are consistent with
honour.' ^ This was consummate diplomacy. Pius's
object was to purchase the annulment of the Prag-
matic Sanction by seconding Louis's attempts to
exalt the throne. If the King made the Church sub-
servient to himself, little harm could ensue so long
as he remained subservient to the Pope. But
directly he failed to do so, or his rule over the clergy
1 Chastellain, (Euvres Chroniques^ ed. Kervyn de Lettenhove, 1864,
iv. 200.
2 Du Clercq, quoted by Pastor, Eng. trans., vol. iii. p. 157.
3 Pius II., Ep. ad Ludov. Reg. Fr., Oct. 26, 1461.
300
iENEAS SILVIUS
became obnoxious, the Papacy could annul its sanc-
tion, and the Church in France, helpless, since the
Pragmatic Sanction would be annulled, would find its
deliverer in the Pope.
On his side Louis wanted two things — a voice in
the Curia, and the withdrawal of Papal support from
Ferrante. In November he rescinded the Pragmatic
Sanction. Pius was unable to keep back tears of
joy. He was proud of his diplomacy, too, and wrote
to Gregorio Lolli, his secretary at Siena, saying it
was * long since a Sienese had won such a victory.'
And, not without much opposition from his cardinals,
he conferred cardinals' hats on the Bishop of Arras
and Prince Louis D'Albret, to please the French King.
For political reasons, Don Jayme de Cardona, a rela-
tive of the King of Aragon, and Francesco Gonzaga, a
lad of seventeen, belonging to the house ruling at
Mantua, also received the purple, as did Bartolomeo
Rovarella, Bishop of Ravenna, as the reward of much
official work for the Curia, and Jacopo Ammanati,
the Pope's dear friend. Louis said he was really
pleased, ' for he had obtained two cardinals from one
litter.'
The mind of the Pope was bent on the help that
the French King could give in a crusade, and he
sent him a consecrated sword on which were engraved
Latin verses of his own composition to this effect :
* Draw me forth, Louis, with your right hand against
the furious Turk. I will avenge the blood of the
Greeks. The empire of Mohammed will fall, and the
far-famed valour of the French will rise to the stars
when you shall lead.'
But Pius did not know King Louis. The monarch
THE PAPACY AND FOREIGN POWERS 301
was playing for the recognition of the Angevins ; his
revocation of the Pragmatic Sanction was nothing but
a trick ; he was by no means anxious for a crusade.
When he found that Pius would not acknowledge the
House of Anjou he turned against him. Jouffroy, too,
had got what he wanted, and, directly he took his
seat among the Cardinals, he informed the Pope that
the Pragmatic Sanction was only repealed in name :
all would be in abeyance until the King's wish in
regard to Naples was complied with.^
Pius was greatly troubled. Above all things he
desired peace in Europe, for without it a crusade were
impossible. Ferrante had no money, the Pope but
little, and they depended on mercenary troops.
Florence and Venice wished to see the Pope weak-
ened, as did his ally, Sforza. Savoy, Montferrat and
Modena were against Sforza, because he was their
neighbour. Sigismondo Malatesta of Rimini was in
revolt, and other rulers in the Papal States were
ready to cast off their allegiance. And Sforza lay ill
in Milan, and the city was disaffected. The German
Princes and Bohemia were hostile to the Papacy.
Burgundy and Spain followed the leadership of
France, and a council was threatened on all sides.
The Pope doubted whether it would not be wise to
declare neutrality in the Neapolitan question, and he
consulted Caretto, Sforza's envoy in Rome.^ Caretto
told him that his master would not abandon Ferrante,
and advised the Pope to gain time by saying smooth
things to the French envoys ; for Venice would never
consent to French predominance if it became imminent,
^ Pii II. Comment, 1. 7.
2 Pastor, Hist, of the Popes, Eng. trans., vol. iii. pp. 142, 143.
302
^NEAS SILVIUS
and Louis would never undertake a long, perilous
expedition. But, if the Pope gave way, the French
would dominate all Italy, and the next Pope would be
a Frenchman. The French cardinals were only eager
for their own personal reasons, yet the situation was
too grave for any zeal for a crusade to be allowed to
interfere. Jouflfroy, on the other side, also tried to
influence the Pope and Curia. Pius was in a state of
absolute fear, but he resolved to stand by Ferrante,
and put on a bold face, though Louis promised to send
40,000 horse and 30,000 men for a crusade if the Pope
would come over to him, ' speaking,' says Pius, * with
great swelHng words and patent guile. '^ Riverio, a
Milanese envoy, says that ' his Holiness replied with
so much gentle dignity, so sonorously, and with such
persuasive words, that the entire public consistory
remained dumb. He was, indeed, so eloquent that
there was perfect silence as if nobody at all was in the
hall.' ^ Pius pretended that he could not believe the
King could possibly change his mind and forgo his
pledged word.
Private negotiations followed. France sent menaces,
but Pius remained firm. Louis replied angrily and
sent ignorant, blustering envoys that knew no lan-
guage but their own. He called on the Pope to con-
firm a favourite of his in a benefice, and told him he
had better do so, as if he refused, he, Louis, would see
that his man kept it. The Pope refused, and asked
Louis if he would suffer an address after this style :
' Give me this castle of your own free-will ; if you deny
^ Pii II. Comment, 1. 7.
' Report of Riverius ; Pastor, Hist, of the Papacy , Eng. trans., vol. iii.
p. 150, note 1.
THE PAPACY AND FOREIGN POWERS 303
me I will take it.' ^ He was emboldened to make a
firm stand because he had private information that
Louis was not prepared to follow up his bluster with
deeds. The craft of the French King was measureless,
but he was timid at heart, like Filippo Maria Visconti
of Milan. He allowed the working of the Pragmatic
Sanction to continue so far as it strengthened his own
hand and enabled him to replace the anarchical
government of territorial lords by the autocracy of the
crown. But he had received a check through the
quiet persistency of the Papacy that awaited events
to choose its own time and give effect to its theocratic
demands.
The Neapolitan war and the attempts of Piccinino
to seize Papal territory for himself gave the insub-
ordinate, unruly feudatories of the Pope an opportunity
to take up arms against him. The people of Romagna
were a turbulent breed of men ; very small states
were controlled by despots, who exercised cruel and
vindictive authority, because they were weak and
insecure. Among the worst of these tyrants was
Sigismondo Malatesta. He now reoccupied places of
which he had been deprived at the Mantuan Congress,
and entered into a league with Piccinino. In December
1460, Pius was obliged to excommunicate him and
declare that he had forfeited his fee ; whereupon
Malatesta was anxious to know whether excommuni-
cation deprived wine of its flavour or interfered with
the pleasures of the table. He scoffed at the Pope
and filled up the holy-water basins with ink. Pius
^ Cugnoni, J., ^neae Sylvii Piccolomini Senensis^ Fii Il.y opera inedita,
Romae, 1883, pp. 144, 146.
304 ^NEAS SILVIUS
ordered that his portrait should be painted and copies
hung up throughout the states of the Church ^ (pro-
bably upside down, for that was the custom of the
times), with an inscription : ' This is Sigismondo
Malatesta, the enemy of God and man, condemned to
fire by the Sacred College/ After exhibition the
portraits were solemnly burned. ^ ' He was of a noble
family,' says the Pope, *born out of wedlock. He
was robust both of body and mind, eloquent, with a
knowledge of artistic matters as well as of warfare,
and not a little learned in history and philosophy.
In whatever he took up his great natural gifts were
manifest ; but he delighted in doing evil ; he oppres-
sed the poor and robbed the rich, and did not even
spare widows and orphans. No one lived safely under
his rule. . . . He hated priests, and believed that the
mind perishes with the body. Yet he built a noble
church at Rimini in honour of St. Francis, but it is go
filled with art of a pagan character as to seem less
fitted for Christian worship than for the adoration of
the heathen gods.' This is precisely the judgement of
our own age on the beautiful yet anything but
Christian dream of Leon Battista Alberti ; and it is
remarkable to find Pius making a remark so in
accordance with modern feeling in the century when
a vital classical revival dwelt side by side with
Catholicism without clash or arousing the slightest
sense of incongruity. ' There,' continues the Pope, * he
built a tomb for himself and his concubine, beautiful
alike in execution and the quality of the marble ; and,
after the heathen fashion, he dedicated it to the
1 Pastor, Hist, of the Popes, Eng. trans., vol. iv. p. 115.
2 Pii II. Comment., 1. 7.
THE PAPACY AND FOEEIGN POWEES 305
divine Isotta.' The fiercer side of this typical tyrant
of the Eenaissance is well exhibited by his answer to
one of his subject who prayed for peace, and pointed
out to Malatesta that he was destroying what was his
own country by rapine. The despot replied with a
cheery air, as if he were giving pleasure to others as
well as to himself, ' Never shall you have peace so long
as I am alive/ It would seem that Pius, the born
writer, who was never so happy as when employing
his fluent pen, wrote epigrams on Malatesta ; for the
despot sent a letter to the Duke of Milan : * I am
informed that His Holiness has composed certain
verses casting ignominy on me, and has sent them to
Florence to be circulated. Therefore I have resolved
to act according to the maxim, " Do honour to thine
enemy." It is my pleasure to inform His Illustrious
Holiness, as my overlord, that he may rest assured I
will not brook such things, albeit His Holiness is my
lord and I his vicar and servant. When such things
are spread abroad I will answer, so far as I can put
out my full powers. If the pen offends me, I shall re-
taliate by the pen : let the sword be drawn and I will
defend myself to the death, for, however insignificant
a person I may be, trust me, I shall remember what
has been said, "A brave death ennobles a whole life." ' ^
Malatesta fought like ' a furious bear,' says Pius, but
the Pope persisted in his efforts to subjugate him,
though Sforza desired all available forces to be
directed against the Angevins.^ So determined was
Pius to bring his own states under discipline that
when, in 1463, a French embassy proposed a truce in
1 Pastor, Hist of the Popes^ Eng. trans., vol. iii. Appendix, No. 56.
2 Ibid.f vol. iii. p. 119.
U
306
iENEAS SILVIUS
Naples, it fell through because he would not include
Malatesta in it. The despot invaded the lands of the
Pope's nephew, Antonio, but, at last his power was
broken, at Senigaglia, by his neighbour and rival,
the Condottiere-ruler, Federigo of Urbino. Florence,
Milan, and Venice, unwilling to see the Papacy too
strong, intervened on his behalf, and Pius pardoned
him. He had to humble himself before the Pope, but
remained ready to rebel if Papal promises were not
kept. Pius allowed him and his brother to retain a
much-reduced territory, and insisted on an annual
tribute (1463).
It was a relief to Pius to forget all about these
troubles beneath the shade of a tree or in the presence
of a landscape viewed from 'a merciful height,' or
listening to the murmur of a brook and that soft
music of the woods to which silence itself seems
unpeaceful, or watching the deft pen of his secretaries
as he dictated to them and indulged in what was the
least repressible of all his impulses — his passion for
authorship. And, on August 18, 1463, an event
happened which relieved him of much anxiety and
set him free for the execution of his great pro-
ject. Ferrante of Naples won a decisive victory over
Piccinino at Troja; and, as Genoa had ejected the
French from their city, many Neapolitan barons that
had fought for the Angevins forsook their colours and
made terms for themselves, though they remained
ready to give Ferrante trouble on every occasion and
prevent him from acquiring too much power. The Pope
in the course of his description of these events throws
a valuable light on the character of warfare and Italy
and the mercenary captains in the fifteenth century.
THE PAPACY AND FOEEIGN POWERS 307
After Troja, Alessandro Sforza, a condottiere, oflPered
battle to Piccinino, but the latter declined to fight.
Piccinino, however, visited Sforza in his camp and
asked his brother condottiere what he could possibly
gain by conquering him. By breaking the peace of
Italy he, Piccinino, had done Sforza a great service,
for he had given him occupation and the spoils that
come of warfare ; no one is anxious for peace, except
priests and traders ; did he, or any other soldier,
want to lose his importance and go back to the
plough ? What is a soldier out of employment to do ?
Now, if war goes on there is a chance of winning duke-
doms, like Francesco Sforza ; therefore it would be to
their mutual interest to keep the war going as long
as possible. Sforza told him that his fear about war
coming to an end was quite uncalled for — that would
never happen until Italy should be under one rule, and
that event was far enough off. Piccinino replied that
he had fought for the French for pay, he had changed
sides for pay, and he was ready to change sides again
if it were made worth his while. ^
Germany gave the Pope much concern throughout
his Pontificate. All the Teutonic powers — cities and
princes alike — were at war with each other. Pius
tried to mediate, but met with little success. In the
depth of winter 1459 he sent Cardinal Bessarion to
see what he could do, though that worthy Greek was
sixty-five years of age. Pius tells that though
Bessarion repeated the commands of Christ, and
pointed out how the Turk was profiting by the
weakness of their land, his exhortations were listened
^ Pii II. Comment. f 1. 10.
308
iENEAS SILYIUS
to as if they had been idle tales. ^ Bessarion asked
repeatedly to be recalled, but Pius refused, first urging
him to bear all things with brotherly love, and then
— this was Pius's favourite maxim — if two courses,
both evil, were before him, to choose the one that he
deemed likely to do least harm.^ Pius's large experi-
ence of life had taught him that doing what is right
almost invariably carries a wrong with it, and that
the path of duty is not always plain. Bessarion still
entreated to be allowed to return, and Pius rebuked
him somewhat more sternly. He wrote: 'If others
leave the plough, it is not fitting for us to do so.
Evil men are often turned from their course by those
who persevere in doing what is right : sometimes bad
hearts are changed. ... If you left you would give
the advantage to our foes. . . . We should appear to
be feeble and vacillating, for We have often declared
We would surrender the work of the Diet with Our
life only.' ^ The Diet referred to was one held at
Niirnberg after the Congress of Mantua. At last
Bessarion proved that his mission was hopeless, and
he returned, to his relief, from 'a barbarous land
where no one cared for Latin and Greek.'
One reason why the Germans would not listen to
Bessarion was that he was perpetually advocating a
Turkish war, and the Chronicle of Spires tells us
' they had too many quarrels among themselves to
want another with the Turk. ' *
It was customary in Germany to fill important sees
with warHke ecclesiastics. These were chosen from
1 Pii II. GommenL, 1. 5.
2 Pastor, Hist, of the Popes, Eng. trans., vol. iii. p. 168, note 3.
3 Maildth, Geschichte der Magyaren, 3. Band, App. 143 et seq.
* Quoted by Pastor, Hist, of the Fopes^ Eng. trans., vol. iii. p. 168.
THE PAPACY AND FOREIGN POWEES 309
powerful families that, none the less, only preserved
their position by the exhibition of military qualities.
Such a man of the sword was Diether, elected to the
Archbishopric of Mainz. The new prelate was a strong
partisan, but he was uneducated, and Pius ordered
him to appear personally before him for confirmation.
Diether refused, and appealed to a future council.
Pius excommunicated him ; but he defied the Pope
and continued to fulfil his oflSce. Heimburg at once
gave him trenchant support, and a long war of words
was waged, until, ultimately, Adolf of Nassau, for
personal reasons, took up the Pope's cause, captured
the city of Mainz, and set it on fire. George Podiebrad,
who was intriguing to depose Frederick the Emperor
and take his place, aided by some German princes,
supported Diether, but there were many Teutonic
rulers who stood by Pope and Emperor. Belonging
to the league against the Two Swords was Duke
Sigismund of the Tyrol, for he was incensed against
the Papacy owing to his quarrel with Cusa the Papal
legate. Sigismund had tried violent means against
Cusa, and, in consequence, was excommunicated. The
excommunication, however, was not effective, for
the Duke was supported by his subjects. It was
evident that Papal authority was no longer respected
among the peoples beyond the Alps, as of yore :
schisms and councils and the rising national senti-
ment of the northern peoples had undermined ancient
theories concerning the unity, under Pope and Em-
peror, of all Catholic peoples. But Pius, with the
traditional persistency of the Papacy in never abating
one jot of its high claim, summoned Sigismund to
appear before him in person. The Duke appealed
310
^NEAS SILVIUS
to his father-in-law, the King of Scotland, and other
rulers, and was ably backed by Heimburg, the most
incisive debater and most powerful pamphleteer of his
time. Heimburg drew up an appeal to a future Pope
and council, and care was taken that copies should
be sent to Italy and nailed up to the church doors.
Cusa had chosen to attack Sigismund's character, and
Heimburg retaliated by recalling the Pope's sayings
and doings at Basel. Pius was restrained by his
dignity from replying directly, though it must have
galled so ready a writer to withhold his pen, but he so
far surrendered his judgement to his temper as to
issue a futile order to the magistrates of Germany.
He directed them to seize Heimburg and his goods,
and couched the bull in the vigorous language so freely
used by the mediaeval Papacy ; among other oppro-
brious epithets he called Heimburg that ' child of the
devil.' The only eflPect was to give his enemy another
and better excuse for virulent personal attack. After
defining the principle of an appeal to a council not yet
in existence, and showing that an appeal quite ana-
logous to such an one is quite lawful to a Pope, not
yet elected, during a vacancy in the Chair of St. Peter,
Heimburg proceeded to charge the Pope, falsely, with
getting money under the specious pretence that it
was for the Turkish war, and sending it to Ferrante.
Pius shudders, he proceeds, at a perfectly legitimate
congress as if it were of bastard birth, yet the Pope
is a favourer of bastards and is fond of them (Ferrante
was a bastard). This Pope is a greater chatterer than
a magpie. He is an ignoramus about law, for he has
never smelt at it, whether of the civil or canon kind,
whereas he, Heimburg, knows what he is talking
THE PAPACY AND FOEEIGN POWEHS 311
about, for he, at least, has not neglected his legal
studies, nor can he be persuaded into the Pope's
delusion that everything can be glossed over by
rhetorical artifice/
Teodoro de' LoUi, one of the Papal secretaries,
replied to Heimburg in a letter which is not less
remarkable for coarse vituperation than was Heim-
burg's reply to it. The sturdy German speaks of
the secretary as the Pope's stalking-horse, content to
receive blows if he can get a cardinal's hat in pay-
ment ; the Pope and Curia are so many leeches. All
the Pope cares for is leisured ease, and to spend
money on his buildings at Corsignano. All allegiance
to the Pope should be thrown off.
It is evident that Heimburg took the same un-
sympathetic view of Pius's character that the pains-
taking biographer. Professor George Voigt, has done ;
he could see nothing in him but a ' wily Italian ' and
a ' shifty adventurer.' Pius could afford to ignore the
personal attack, but the challenge to Papal authority
must be met. He pronounced the greater excom-
munication against Sigismund and Heimburg, and
classed them with pirates, Saracens, and Wicklyfites.
Thereupon the Princes summoned a Diet to meet at
Frankfort, and Frederick wrote to Pius, ' See how
defiant the factions have become ; they presume to
dictate to us. It is of the highest importance that
we should unite to oppose their designs.'^ The
Emperor forbade the Diet, and the citizens of Frank-
fort shut their gates on the Princes when they rode
up. Meanwhile, in perfect secrecy, envoys were set
* See Voigt, Georg, Enea Silvio, iii. pp. 303-421.
2 Birk, Archiv. fur Oesterr. Gesch., xi. 158-160.
312
^NEAS SILVIUS
to work to detach this and that prince from the
League — no difficult matter, for, as Nicholas of Cusa
said, the Holy Roman Empire was suffering from
mortal disease. Ultimately, in the Emperor's hour
of direst need, when he was at the point of surrender-
ing to his brother, Albert of Austria, he was ex-
tricated from the toils set by his enemies. George
Podiebrad, King of Bohemia, found it convenient to
take Frederick's side. He marched his army to release
his liege lord from the forces that invested Vienna.
Diether, at a sacrifice of territory to his opponents,
got his numerous debts paid and came to seek Papal
absolution on his knees, and, through the Emperor's
intercession, Sigismund was absolved. But Heimburg
remained under the ban.
The turbulent rulers of Europe resembled the base
mob of Rome in this respect : they could neither
endure the Papal yoke nor do without it. The
divinely appointed Pope legitimated the European
princes by acknowledging them, and gave them no
little support against the pretensions of rivals. More-
over, strange mutterings of new doctrines were heard.
For, even in the fifteenth century, there were remark-
able theories afloat, and discontent gave birth to
marvellous inventions.
The Bohemian question remained, and gave grave
anxiety to the Papacy. George Podiebrad, by uniting
the moderates, had rendered Bohemia the strongest
power in transalpine Europe. He had got out of
coming to Mantua by urging the unsettled state
of his kingdom. But, directly he had succeeded in
inducing Pius to quell the murmurs of rebellious
THE PAPACY AND FOREIGN POWERS 313
Breslau, he solemnly accepted the doctrines of the
Bohemian Church, in order to bind the Calixtines,
who were in a majority, to him, though, by so doing,
he could not fail to alienate his Catholic and German
subjects and incur the opposition of both Emperor
and Pope. Pius retorted by threatening both to
annul the truce he had secured from Breslau and to
effect a coalition against Bohemia.-^ George became
alarmed, and sent envoys to Rome (March 1462)
offering his obedience. Pius replied that he required
that of the kingdom as well as that of the King.
Thereupon Wenzel Korada, the type of the blustering,
militant dissenter of the fifteenth century, demanded
a recognition of the compacts. Pius replied in a
brilliant speech that took him two hours to deliver.
He endeavoured to prove that heresy in Bohemia
had destroyed its prosperity, that the compacts had
never been formally recognised, and that they were
inconsistent with genuine Catholic reunion. Yet, he
would consult with his Curia out of respect for the
King. No one knew the difficulties of rule in
Bohemia so well as Pius, and he must have been fully
aware of the enormous obstacles Podiebrad had sur-
mounted, as well as the delicate statesmanship that
still lay before him. But the claims of Rome must
be maintained, in the interests of the Papacy, for the
sake of the undivided Church, to the realisation of
the great vision of a Commonwealth of Christian
peoples, and for a theological reason which he gave in
a few days when he again received the Bohemian
envoys. At this audience, he finally refused their
request. There was danger, he said, of spilling the
1 Pastor, Hist, of the Popes^ Eng. trans., vol. iii. p. 223, 224.
314
iENEAS SILVIUS
precious Blood of Our Lord if the cup were entrusted
to the laity, and they might rest satisfied that the
entire Body of the Saviour was in every part of the
Blessed Sacrament.'^ After this announcement, he
invited the envoys to a private audience in the
garden of the Vatican. They asked him to send an
envoy to Bohemia, and he acceded, naming one
Fantino de Valle, a Catholic indeed, but Podiebrad's
proctor at Eome.
Podiebrad's sole object in dallying with the Papacy
was to gain time. He had listened to a certain
Antoine Marini, a Frenchman, who was going about
Europe proposing a coalition between Bohemia, Bur-
gundy, France, Hungary, Poland, and Venice to start
the Turkish war and strike at Papal prestige and
authority by keeping Pius from sharing in the
exploit. These powers could call a General Council
to depose Pius and settle the disputes of Europe.^
Louis of France also inclined his ear to the proposal,
but only to frighten Pius into doing his bidding.
It happened that Podiebrad had not been pleased
with Fantino's conduct as his proctor at Rome.
When Fantino came into the King's presence he
found him livid with rage ; he was glared at, and it
seemed as if the King would like to strike him
down. When the envoy spoke, Podiebrad interrupted
him again and again. But Fantino was a courageous
Dalmatian, one not easily daunted by regal displeasure.
He first renounced his proctorship, and then, as the
Pope's envoy, suspended all supporters of the com-
1 Mansi, Pii II. Orationes, ii. 93-100.
2 Markgraf, Hist. Zeitschr., xii. 245 et seq.; Voigt, loc. cit, iii. 487
et seq.
THE PAPACY AND FOEEIGN POWEHS 315
pacts and warned the King that he was incurring
grave peril. George retained self-command with
diflSculty. Turning to the Bohemian nobles, 'My
Lords/ said he, 'you have elected me of your own
free-will, and you must stand by me.' He left the
Council Chamber inveighing against the Papacy and
saying that the union of Christian people was the
true Church, and not the Boman hierarchy.^ He
ordered Fantino to be cast into prison, but, finding
that his Catholic subjects refused their support, he
set him free, though he was ungenerous enough to
refuse the envoy his horse or allow his servants to ac-
company him.^ Then, perceiving that his conduct was
causing grave opposition among his Catholic subjects,
Podiebrad wrote to the Pope as his * obedient son.'
He tried all the wiles of that statecraft of which he
was past-master to get the compacts recognised.
This Pius was resolutely determined not to do. He
tried to force Podiebrad's hand by releasing Breslau
from the truce ; but Frederick, whom the Bohemian
King had just released from his perilous position at
Vienna, entreated Pius to deal gently with his pre-
server. The Pope was too consummate a statesman
not to perceive the unwisdom of trying for a pre-
mature triumph when he knew^ it must come in time,
and he acceded to Frederick's request. 'It was an
ancient and abiding principle with Bome,' says Pastor,
the Catholic historian, ' to neglect nothing but to
hurry nothing.' And, on June 6, 1464, directly Pius
had got his crusading project accepted by the Powers,
1 Urhundliche Beitrage zur Geschichte Bohmens : ' Fontes rerum Austria-
carum.' Abtheil. xx. 272 et seq.
* Pastor, Hist, of the Popes, Eng. trans., voL iii. p. 236.
316
iENEAS SILVIUS
he cited the Bohemian King to appear personally
before him, within a reasonable but fixed time, at
Rome.
So strong was the opposition against the Papacy
in Northern Europe, that, in 1463, when there was
a quarrel between the burghers of Lidge and their
bishop, and the Pope supported the latter, the
University of Koln issued an appeal to a better
instructed Pope. Pius enlarged the retractation,
written when he was Bishop of Trieste, into the Bull
In minorihus agentihus. He conceals the fact, of
which, perhaps, he was barely conscious, that, at
least in some measure, he had acted at Basel and
Vienna as a professional writer working up a case
for his employers, and that his own advancement in
life was no small spur to these exhibitions of zeal.
He certainly believed that his convictions were real,
though we can see that they were not very profound
nor uninfluenced by self-interest. He pleads his own
cause and puts it as persuasively as is consistent with
facts. Yet both the Epistle and the Bull strike a
note of earnest sincerity. Speaking of the order
given to the Church, and the supremacy of the suc-
cessors of St. Peter, Pius says : ' If you find anything
contrary to Our doctrine in Our earlier writings
(for We wrote a good deal), cast it away with scorn.
Follow what We teach now, believe in the old man,
not in the young. Accept Pius ; cast away ^neas.' ^
It is curious that he ascribes his conversion to
Thomas of Sarzana, who became Nicholas v., though
we know from his other writings that Carvajal and
Cesarini had much more to do with it.
1 Fea, Pius IL, a column, vindic. : Bulla Retract.
THE PEIVATE LIFE OF THE POPE 317
CHAPTEE XVIII
THE PRIVATE LIFE OF THE POPE
Pius was always glad to escape from his Roman
Court. Taking a cardinal or two and his friends
with him, he would seek for health in those quiet
country scenes he loved so well. But he had to
carry the heavy burden of his Pontificate with him ;
and he never neglected his duties for a single day,
except on those occasions, by no means infrequent,
when he lay on a bed of torture. He had, however,
some compensation for his sufferings in the rare gift
of being able to discharge all care from his mind, and
enjoy some brief hour of peace.
In the summer of 1461 he set out for Tivoli, for
Rome was fairly quiet again, and Piccinino had
retreated; but it was considered necessary that
Federigo of Urbino, the Pope's condottiere, and ten
squadrons of horse should escort him. He tells us
how he * enjoyed the martial splendour of the men
and their steeds ; for shield and breastplate and
nodding crest and a forest of spears flashed in the
sunlight. The young men galloped hither and
thither, and wheeled their horses round; they
brandished their swords, lowered their spears, and
engaged in mimic fight. Federigo was pretty well
read, and he asked the Pope if the great heroes of
318
iENEAS SILVIUS
antiquity bore the same kinds of armour as we. The
Pope replied that all the arms now in use are men-
tioned by Homer and Virgil, as well as many that
have been abandoned. Then their talk drifted on to
the Trojan war, which Federigo wished to belittle,
but the Pope argued that if the contest had been
unimportant it would hardly have left such an im-
perishable record. Then this topic brought up Asia
Minor, and they differed as to its boundaries. So the
Pope, having a little leisure at Tivoli, occupied it by
compiling a book to describe that region, drawing
from Ptolemy, Strabo, Pliny, the two Curtii, Solinus,
Pomponius, and other ancient authors.'
Pius thought it needful to defend himself for
occupying leisure moments in historical work. In
the introduction to his Asia, the work suggested by
this conversation with the Duke, he says : ' There
will be ill-conditioned folk who will charge Us with
defrauding Christendom of Our time, and misusing it
by devoting Ourselves to frivolous things. But Our
reply is, read Our works before you blame them, and
then do as you will. Perhaps, if elegant style does
not please them, they will be glad of information.
We have not cut Our duties short, but We have, in-
deed, robbed Our old age of rest to hand down note-
worthy things to posterity, and have given to writing
hours that have been stolen from sleep. But there
will be those who will say We might have used Our
wakefulness to better purpose. We grant that some
of Our predecessors have done so ; yet Our labours
cannot be unproductive, for out of knowledge comes
practical wisdom, and that is the guide of life.'
In truth Pius is the born writer. He cannot keep
THE PEIVATE LIFE OF THE POPE 319
his pen from recording all that he sees, and thinks
and imagines, and he takes the same delight in words
and their manipulation as a musician does in the har-
monies that he creates. He added the force of graceful
oratory to consummate statesmanship, and drew, from
his wide personal experience, all kinds of material
for wise reflection or artistic treatment. There are
always those who affect to belittle the combination
of gifts of such diverse nature in one personality.
And, indeed, it is rare that the adaptability of the
artistic temperament is found united with steadfast
purpose and unbending will in the conduct of public
affairs. As a statesman Pius was inflexible in his
aims, but wise to bend before forces that it would
have been impolitic at the moment to oppose.
It was the Pope's habit to dictate the doings of
his Pontificate to his secretaries at short intervals.
He desired that his memoirs should be his monument
for posterity. The first book of these Commentaries
covers his life from his birth to his accession, and it
is in terse and polished Latin. Then follow eleven
books, more desultory in treatment and of less
finished style. He directed Campano to polish
them,^ for he seldom spared more than two hours
at a time in the composition of what is only the first
draught of a species of diary. But Campano thought
it needed no improvement, and we are the happier
for his judgement. All he did was to divide the work
into twelve books, but he mentions the commence-
ment of a thirteenth, which has been published by
Voigt in his biography of Pius ii. This fragment
brings the history of the Pontificate up to the April
1 Campanus, Opera, Ep. i. Romae, 1495.
320
iENEAS SILVIUS
of the year in which Pius died. Twelve books were
published by Francesco Bandini de' Piccolomini,
Archbishop of Siena, in the next century. He, since
they are written in the third person, and were tran-
scribed by a German cleric, one Johannes Gobellinus
(who, according to wont, subscribed his name), attri-
buted them to that person. But internal and ex-
ternal evidence leave no doubt that they are by Pius
himself.
He crowds things great and small together, and
the Commentaries are as full of digressions as the
History of Herodotus. The Pope is so full of informa-
tion, and so eager to impart it, that he no sooner has
occasion to mention the name of a person or a place,
than all that he knows about that person and his
family, or that place and its environs, flows from
his pen. He describes scenery with the power of
painting in words and the sentiment of the modern
writer. Nothing is without interest for him ; when
at Chiusi, he sets out searching for the labyrinth of
Clusium mentioned by Pliny; when at Hadrian's
villa, he investigates the ruins with a view to a
mental reconstruction of the apartments, and the
uses to which they were put. He shows himself the
practised writer on every page. If he turns his own
portrait to the most favourable light, so that posterity
may see him at his best, he is careful to record his
defects, and not Augustine or Eousseau has been
more frank than iEneas Silvius in his letters, and
certainly not so devoid of self-consciousness. Even
his little attempts to gloss, reveal far more than they
conceal. The Pope delights in recalling the pleasure
he felt at the reverence that was paid to him, and
THE PEIVATE LIFE OF THE POPE 321
and the splendid pomp with which he was everywhere
received. His work is full of a simple, childlike
vanity that is delightful, and his foibles are of the
kind that are often more endearing than great
virtues. In reading the Commentaries, we often
experience a similar charm to that which holds us
when we sit by a cheerful fireside and listen to the
outpourings of some gifted, sympathetic friend who
unfolds himself without reserve or arriere-pensee.
He will not allow his sufferings to interfere with his
cheerfulness, he will not convey any shadow of his
own pain to his friends. We almost forget that we
are with a Pope ; we are barely conscious that we
are listening to a scholar, a graduate of Siena, but
we are aware that a man compels our attention who
has a rich nature matured by a large experience of
life. We listen to a trained observer with sharp ears
and eyes, whom little escapes.
There is nothing of the zealot, nothing of the saint
about Pius, but he is devout. He is sensitive to the
heroic side of character without losing sympathy with
all that humanity thinks and feels and does. The
warm heart and kindly disposition, the absence of
prejudice, the natural refinement that characterise
iEneas Silvius are to be found in Pius too. He
remains a man open to all that may act on humanity,
but he has become mellowed by age ; he deems it only
consonant with his priestly office to use the language
of the pulpit very freely, but it is not a garb to be put
on and off ; it is a serious obligation. He no longer
has to make his way or subdue himself to other
circumstances than those associated with his high
office ; he has achieved and attained ; he has become
X
322
^NEAS SILVIUS
earnest and takes a profounder view of life and its
responsibilities than of yore, and his evening on earth
is not without serenity.
He has not lost his passion for travel, or his eye, as
of a painter, for all that is beautiful in nature, while
he has a more catholic taste than is usual with the
professional artist. Old ruins and all that recalls the
past excite both his imagination and his powers of
investigation, and he views current events as a
thoughtful man must, who stands in the very centre
of world-politics, and has been in the inmost counsels
of those who have made world-history. His estimate
of character is profound and unerring ; he gets at the
core of a man at once. He is almost with Bacon in
* taking all knowledge to be his province ' — except
law, and to this may be added the occult arts. He
pursues etymological inquiries, he sees the importance
of monuments to historical reconstruction, and in all
that he tells us there is art, for he always endows the
tale with grace and vivacity. But he becomes a little
garrulous, a trifle vainer as Pope, and spares us not a
single speech that he can get into his Commentaries^
though, when he has to reprimand the cardinals we
only know that he did so from Mansi's collection of
his orations — he is careful to leave that part of the
speech out. Besides the Commentaries and the Asia
he wrote several Latin hymns after he became Pope.
He wrote almost up to the end of his days. The last
line of his Commentaries was dictated on the last day
of the year before he died.
Pope Pius II. remained what iEneas Silvius had
been — a firm friend. * I do not make friends lightly,'
he had said. * There must be some excellent quality
THE PRIVATE LIFE OF THE POPE 323
to serve as a basis for friendship. I am somewhat
proud and nice. A man must be my superior to
count me among his friends. I do not now dislike a
single soul to whom I have once given my love.' ^
But his friendship was more easily won than he
thought, and of his genial, approachable nature there
is ample evidence. Pulci wrote a novella about him,
which he dedicated to Madonna Ippolita, daughter of
the Duke of Milan, when she was Duchess of Calabria
— she who, as a young girl, had harangued Pius in
Latin at Mantua. ' He was indeed a most worthy and
lofty minded Pope,' says Pulci, ' nor unworthy of the
famous Trojan race.' Pulci's tale may not be strictly
a true one, but if it is founded on no actual fact, even,
it is good evidence to the Pope's approachableness
and good humour. Pulci tells us of a certain man who,
in his youth, had been a favourite servant of ^neas.
The Pope, being at Corsignano, this domestic desired
to visit him, but was perplexed as to what present he
should take. He thought of a tortoise, of which he
had many. But a Messer Goro, an officer of the Pope,
coming to Siena, he went to consult him. ' And how
goes it with that little image of a saint, Messer Enea ? '
he asked. * Has he indeed become Pope ? We have
drunk a hundred wine cups together. I want to go
and see him and remind him of the cuff that I dealt
him at Fontegaia when I knocked his cap off He
stood it as if he was the sweetest sugar in the world.'
Master Goro was invited to supper and a grave
discussion took place as to whether peacocks with
feathers on should be presented — a customary oifering
in Florence and Rome. But, not finding any peacocks,
* Fix II. Opera Omnia^ Basel ed., 1554, Ep. xxii., p. 53.
324
iENEAS SILVIUS
wild geese were selected as the nearest thing, and
their beaks cut off. Then the whilom domestic
obtained a green woodpecker, under the impression it
was a parrot, put it in a cage, which he got beautifully
painted with the Papal arms, and left it at the artist s
shop for two or three days so that everybody might
admire it. And though there was a little doubt ex-
pressed, most Sienese believed it to be really a parrot.
The bird was sent to Corsignano, where the Pope and
his court were much amused at the donor's simplicity.
After a few days the man came himself, and the Pope
saw him very willingly and kept him by his side for
some little time, much to the guest's delight. And he
recalled the memory of so many wine cups and so
many buffetings and said such stupid things that
there were repeated roars of laughter at the Papal
Court, and the worthy man retired very happy and
with the Papal benediction.
Pius would have visited Siena oftener had he been
on better terms with its government. He loved
Southern Tuscany beyond any part of Italy, for the
sake of youthful memories, but he enjoyed the romance
that clings to beautiful Tivoli. When he visited
the villa of the Emperor Hadrian he heaved a senti-
mental sigh there as he thought of what it had once
been. He tried Ho interpret the fragments of the
walls and, in imagination, to restore what they were.'
* Time has here defaced everything. The walls which
were once adorned by tapestries of bright colours and
gold and by embroidered hangings are now covered
with ivy. Thorns and briars flourish where Tribunes
were wont to sit in their purple robes, and snakes now
inhabit what was once the bower of a queen. So
THE PRIVATE LIFE OF THE POPE 325
passes the glory of all the things of time.' ^ From
Tivoli, he went to Subiaco, following the romantic
course of the Anio, enjoying its gleeful leapings, and
taking a simple wayside meal by some fresh spring,
while the peasants would fish the river and shout
aloud to let the Pope know they had secured a gift
for him. He visited the first house of the mighty
order founded by St. Benedict at Subiaco and the
convents around it that nestle in the picturesque chasm
of the mountain, and then he went on to Palestrina,
returning to Rome in the autumn.
Next June (1462) the Pope visited his birthplace
to see what progress his buildings had made and then
went to the monastery of Santo Salvadore, situated
half way up the lofty Monte Amiata. He speaks with
enthusiasm of ' the splendid chestnuts, and, higher
up, the oaks that clothe the mountain up to the edge
of the precipice,' of the wide prospect spread out
below, of fields and woods and meadows and the proud
works of man ; he tells us how the library of the con-
vent delighted him, and of a precious illuminated New
Testament that he found there. * Often he received
missions and transacted Papal business and gave
audience to ambassadors beneath some grand old
chestnut or in the shadow of an olive or on the green
sward by some murmuring brooklet.' ^
Equally charming is his description of a visit to
Monte Oliveto Maggiore, a Benedictine convent, not
then adorned with its famous frescoes, but rendered, by
the industry of the monks, a smiling oasis in a bare and
horrid land. Happy, says he, are the monks who
dwell in such a pleasant place, * though happier are
1 Pii II. Cortment., 1. 5. 2 m^,^ 1. 3.
326
^NEAS SILVIUS
they who, having seen it, are free to go away/ Here
he took a melancholy pleasure in searching for the
tombs of his ancestors, many of whom, he found, lay
buried there.
Scattered throughout the Commentaries are records
of what the man may see who has a quick eye for
natural effect, and who delights in the human form
and its graceful movements. Pius watches all
manifestations of life ; his heart beats as he watches
the struggle of oarsmen in the water-race ; his ear is
taken by ' the song of thrushes that fill the evergreen
oaks with life.'
In May 1463 he became the guest of his former
rival for the Pontificate, Cardinal D'Estouteville, who
had a small palazzo at Ostia. He rambled about the
remains of that ancient Koman port and was not
insensitive to the desolate beauty of the landscape.
But a terrible storm came on and the wind carried
away the tents of his attendants, and even in the
palace they trembled, fearing the roof would be blown
in. So Pius was wrapped up in a blanket, but just
as they were going to carry him into the open for
safety the wind abated, ' as if it were unwilling to put
the Pope to inconvenience,' he remarks in that spirit
of dry, sly, insidious humour to which we have grown
so accustomed. Not very long afterwards he made
an excursion to Albano and Castel Gandolfo, the clear
waters of Nemi, ' mirror of Diana,' and the summit
that looks down on the broad Campagna and across
it, on one side, to immortal Rome and the mountains,
and, westwards, to an immemorial sea. Returning to
Rome along the Appian Way he noticed the destruc-
tion of the monuments of antiquity for building
THE PEIVATE LIFE OF THE POPE 327
purposes, and at once issued a Bull to protect them.
In May 1462 he was at Viterbo, taking the baths,
and, being too crippled by gout to walk, he was carried
into the pastures * to enjoy the breeze and admire the
growing green, and the flax-flowers that are like
heaven for blueness and fill the beholders' hearts
with joy/
But if he delighted in the records that time has
spared us, and the beauty of wood and meadow and
stream that is for ever transforming itself into some
fresh joy, like a true child of the Benaissance he
rejoiced in all kinds of spectacular display. There is,
to us, something a little childish, something a little
vulgar, something a little pathetic about this side of
the life of the age. On Corpus Christi Day the Pope
passed from a splendid tent that had been erected for
him in one of the open spaces of Viterbo, a city of
* beautiful fountains and lovely women.' He bore the
Blessed Sacrament in his hands and proceeded to the
old Bomanesque basilica of S. Lorenzo. At diflerent
points along the route various cardinals had prepared
a surprise. One of these was a dramatic represen-
tation of the Last Supper. A little farther on a
dragon, accompanied by a herd of devils, came forth
to attack the Pope, but St. Michael descended
from the heavens and cut ofl* the dragon's head, and
the demons fell down powerless, except that they
barked. A little farther on, again, two angels
advanced and knelt before the Pope, singing, ' Lift up
your heads, 0 ye gates, that King Pius, lord of the
world, may come in.' Five kings with their warriors
tried to block the way, asking who this King Pius
might be ; whereupon, ' the lord strong and mighty,'
328
iENEAS SILVIUS
choired the angels, and they and all fell before the
Pope, singing hymns in his honour to a sweet accom-
paniment of instrumental music. Next a savage led
a lion and wrestled with him ; this was intended to
symbolise the force of Papal authority. Then the
Pope came to an array of columns whereon stood
angels singing, and there before him was the Holy
Sepulchre, guarded by sleeping soldiers. An angel
descended, a gun was fired, the soldiers awoke and
rubbed their eyes, and one that represented the
Eedeemer arose to heaven reciting Italian verse and
telling the crowd that their salvation was achieved.
Next came a representation of heaven with all its
stars and angels and the Almighty Himself And
after Mass was said at S. Francesco, and the Pope had
given his benediction, when the procession came out
of the Cathedral, a tomb opened and Our Lady
ascended to heaven, dropping Her girdle on the way,
and the Son, who is also the Father, advanced to
receive Her and kissed Her brow and led Her to Her
throne. ' Those who beheld these marvels,' says the
Pope, ' thought they had entered the glorious world
above, and that, being still in the flesh, they saw their
heavenly home.'^
Such was the life of Pius ii., when, for a short time,
he found himself unencumbered by the cares of the
Church and his States. In the performance of the
duties of a sovereign he was often long in coming to
a decision, but, his mind once made up, he rarely
vacillated ; and, if there were occasions when he was
afraid, he did not easily betray himself. He was not
elated by power and dignity, though he enjoyed both.
1 Fii II. Comment.f 1. 8.
THE PRIVATE LIFE OF THE POPE 329
Often he was in agony from gout and renal colic, but
he suppressed all controllable evidence of suffering, so
that only the pallor of his face betrayed him. He
still rose with the sun, and, after divine service, trans-
acted the public business of the day. Then he was
carried into the garden, and ate a scanty breakfast.
After this he would talk for an hour with his
attendants, and then be carried back to his room, and
rest and pray for a while. Then he would resume
business, and use what leisure remained before dinner
in reading and writing. Except in winter or wet
weather he always took his dinner out of doors, and
then read or dictated, and this he often did in the
night, for he never slept more than five or six hours.
Want of exercise caused him to grow a little fleshy in
his later years, but, in spite of almost constant illness,
he made light of toil or thirst or hunger or physical
discomfort. It was easy to gain access to him, and he
was unwilling to refuse requests. Campano tells us
that when a servant tried to stop the garrulity of an
old man the Pope rebuked him, saying, 'You forget
that I am Pope and have to live for others, not for
myself ; then turning gently to the old man, he
asked him to go on. He desired that people should
be allowed to say what they liked concerning him.
He hated luxury and was wont to say that books
were his jewels. He confessed and received the
Blessed Sacrament frequently. He was prone to
anger, and his eyes would flash with wrath when the
Church was treated disrespectfully, but he never
resented personal affronts.^ He had the broad judge-
^ Cainpanus, Vita Pii II. ; Platina, Vita Fii II. apud Muratori,
R. I. S.J xxiii. pars. ii.
330 ^NEAS SILVIUS
ment and took the impersonal view that usually
characterises the man of many interests and high
mental cultivation. * He was true, upright, and fl
candid/ says Platina ; 'there was no deceit or dis-
simulation about him.' His household expenses,
according to Gregorovius, were ridiculously small —
smaller than those of any other Pope^ — yet, owing
to the costliness of war, he was frequently in debt.
And, although he was economical in small things, he
would sometimes indulge in great expenses, and
money seemed to go as it came.
He built palaces for the Piccolomini in Siena as well
as at Corsignano, and adorned Rome with a few lovely
works that bear the impress of his refined taste and
still remain to give us pure delight. One day the
author was taking a short cut through the labyrin-
thine Vatican to the Archives. His way lay through
an arch bearing the name of Pius ii. and adorned
with beautiful putti. A palaeographist who was with
him took off his hat, and, with the unaffected sim-
plicity of the true scholar, observed, * I pass through
that gate every day of my life, yet I cannot forbear
raising my hat each time I do so : it is so beautiful a
thing.' Authors, architects, painters, goldsmiths were
employed by Pius, though far more sparingly than byi
Nicholas ; for his taste was very nice ; he cared for
quality more than quantity, and his mind was chiefly
bent on the restoration of Papal authority and on a,
crusade. Love of his family and the need of partisans |
led him to give office and extend friendship to
relatives and Sienese, much to the disgust of other]
^ Gregorovius, SybeVs Hist. Zeitschr.^ 'Das Romische Staatsarchiv,']
vol. xxxvi. pp. 168-180.
THE PEIVATE LIFE OF THE POPE 331
disappointed people. His special friends, besides
Ammanati and Campano, were Francesco Piccolomini,
a nephew ; Eroli, Bishop of Spoleto, an erudite, up-
right and even austere man ; Gregorio Lolli ; Niccol5
Forteguerra of Pistoja, and Giacomo di Luca.
832 iENEAS SILVIUS
CHAPTEE XIX
THE CARDINALS — RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND
GOVERNMENT
Plus had much trouble with his cardinals. Not
merely were many of them opposed to a crusade, not
merely did Scarampo throw contempt on the idea,
but there were those of the Sacred College who were
sunk in worldliness and lived heedless, scandalous
lives. The Papacy was on the way to secularisation,
the Pope was, almost above all things, a temporal
prince, with an insubordinate, badly organised state
to control and with many ill-wishers for neighbours,
and the Curia began to exhibit the vices and frivolity
of other worldly courts. Pius could do nothing to-
wards the furthering of his projects without the good-
will of the Curia, and though his letter to Borgia
shows his feeling on the matter, he was practically
powerless to effect any real reform.
Several remarkable events took place during his
Pontificate. Thomas Palseologus, despot of the Morea,
a prince of handsome features and grave deportment,
had broken a treaty with the Sultan, and was driven
out of Greece by the enraged Mussulman. He sought
an asylum in Italy, and brought the head of St.
Andrew with him. The relic was at least no recent
fraud, its authenticity was supported by tradition.
RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES 333
Pius, sceptical as he was, had no doubt of its being
genuine. Here lay at his hand an opportunity of
arousing enthusiasm for his Eastern project. A gen-
uine rehc of the first class had been saved by the piety
of Palseologus from the impious Turk. He deter-
mined that Rome should have the glory of possessing
the relic, and he proclaimed an indulgence to all
that should visit Rome at its reception. But, when
Palaeologus arrived in Italy in May 1461, the sons
of the she-wolf were riotous, and the Pope had to
wait until their turbulence wore itself out. By 1462
things were fairly quiet, and he was able to organise
a magnificent procession to receive the head of the
Saint. The night before Palm Sunday — the appointed
day — it rained heavily, and Pius tells us that he
made the impromptu : —
' Nocte pluit tota, redeunt spectacula mane.
Divisum imperium cum Jove Caesar habet.'
• It rains all night, the spectacles recommence to-morrow. Caesar
holds divided rule with Jove.'
But Campano thought the lines might be improved if
they were given a more Christian turn, and he altered
them to
' Nocte pluit tota, redierunt tempora nostra.
Nox fuit acta hostis, lux erit ista Deus.'
* It rains all night but our favourable season has returned. The
night was hostile ; the light will be sent of God.'^
Pius's impromptu is one of the innumerable instances
we possess of how pagan forms and Christian belief
lay side by side in men's minds, during the Renais-
sance, with scarcely any conflict. Thus die! a Pope,
1 Fit II. Comment.y 1. 8.
334 iENEAS SILVIUS
with almost childlike vanity, record the not very
brilliant lines he had made, and with frank simplicity
accept and tell us of his friend's reproof
Next day, as is so often the case in the changeable
Italian spring, was brilliantly fine. The sacred head
was received at the Ponte MoUe by the Pope and
all the clergy of Rome, who filled a huge platform.
Cardinal Bessarion, the aged Greek exile, took the
relic in his hands, and the tears ran down his face
and dropped on his long, white beard as he handed it
reverently to Pius, who advanced to meet it with
his clergy, bearing palms. The Pope was pallid and
overcome by emotion at receiving such a precious
relic. He recalled the occasion of its coming to Rome.
His voice trembled as he prayed ; he placed it on the
altar, and then exposed it to the gaze of the populace.
Then a hymn in sapphics was sung, and the procession
moved along the historic Flaminian Way. The road
was crowded with Italians and foreigners from beyond
the Alps as far as Santa Maria del Popolo, where
the relic was deposited. There the Pope passed the
night. Next day it was carried to the basilica of
St. Peter's. Certain portly cardinals wanted to ride
on horseback, but Pius commanded them to walk.
There is a dry, subacid humour in his account of
' many men brought up in luxury, who could scarcely
endure riding a horse above a hundred paces, walking
a couple of miles through the mire quite easily, and
carrying the weight of their vestments too. Devotion
enabled them to carry their burden ; it was love that
did it ; a transport of enthusiasm will overcome all
diiS&culties.' ^ On Easter Sunday the Pope exhibited
* Pit II. Comment.y 1. 8.
RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES 335
the head again to the reverent gaze of a vast crowd,
but mechanical means had to be contrived for his
support when he said Mass, so crippled had he
become.
It was an ancient dispute among theologians
whether the Blood shed during the Passion of Our
Lord ceased to be of the substance of the Godhead.
A Franciscan friar, preaching at Brescia on Easter
Sunday, 1462, asserted that, since It was separated
from the Divine Body, It was no object of worship ;
but the Dominicans, rivals of the Franciscans, at once
saw the opportunity of obtaining a victory, and a
furious battle of words ensued. Pius strove, in vain,
to suppress a strife that had become venomous, but
was obhged at last to summon both sides to argue
the matter before him^ (Christmas, 1462). He had
small interest in theological hair-splitting, and it is
clear that the natural man was somewhat amused,
though he tried to batter himself into the belief that
the question was important. But he thoroughly
enjoyed the debate. ' It was a treat,' he says, ' to
follow the contention of acute and trained intellects,
and to mark now this one, now that one making a
point. Though they argued with a measure of self-
restraint and some of the awe befitting the Papal
presence, so hot did they wax and so eager for victory
did they become that, though it was mid-winter and
the earth hard with frost, they sweated profusely.' ^
When they had done Pius told them he would confer
^ Voigt, Pius II.j iii. 592 ; Pastor, Hist, of the PopeSy English trans.,
vol. iii. p. 280, note 1.
2 Pii II. Comment y 1. 9.
336
iENEAS SILVIUS
with his cardinals. He found that most of these
espoused the Dominican view, but he says he delayed
giving a decision so as not to damp the ardour of the
Franciscans for a crusade. The strife continued,
however, and, just at the end of his life, the Pope was
obliged to forbid any further disputation on the
subject.^
Pius was chary of pronouncing censure, but in
1459 he felt compelled to issue a Bull against Reginald
Peacock, former Bishop of Chichester, for heresy ; ^
and he tried to put down certain communistic sects
that had arisen out of the Franciscan movement ;
sects that tended, in his judgement, to subvert social
order. He had no small contempt for the mis-
chievous necromancy and astrology so much credited
in his time, and he took the severe measure of im-
prisoning a man of Bergamo, for life, who taught
that the Church was controlled by the stars. ^
It was probably the happiest moment in his
Pontificate when he canonised Santa Caterina of
Siena. She was a Dominican, and the canonisa-
tion had been delayed, owing to Franciscan jealousy
and opposition. But now it fell to the most illus-
trious of all the eminent sons of Siena to do justice to
the noblest and ablest of her daughters and to confer
a new distinction on their common city. He wrote
the Bull raising her to the rank of sainthood with his
own hand, June 1461. But he resolutely refused the
Franciscans' prayer to canonise their candidate, Capis-
trano. Wonderful were the miracles said to have
^ Pastor, Hist, of the PopeSy English trans., vol. iii. p. 288, note 2.
* Raynaldus, Ad ann. 1459.
' Pastor, loc. cit.f vol iii. p. 163.
Pius II canonizes St. Catherine of Siena.
Pintiiricchio, Siena.
EELIGIOUS CEEEMONIES 337
been done, but Pius had known him ; he had seen
nothing in him that indicated supernatural power,
and he could find no sufficient proof of these alleged
miracles; the King of Hungary entreated him to
accede, but Pius remained firm. His disposition was
too sceptical, his intelligence too highly trained, his
experience of life too great to yield facile credence to
any contemporary story that contradicted the general
trend of happenings. He had learned the difficult
lesson of reserving judgement. Even of Joan of Arc
he says she was a wonder, who certainly restored the
fallen fortunes of France ; she was indubitably a
modest maiden, but whether she was directed by God
or man, he refuses to affirm. He thinks it possible
that 'some man, wiser than the others, contrived a
scheme whereby all might be induced to submit to
the captaincy of a maiden who said she was heaven-
directed,' ^ a view not so very different from the
explanation, supported by our modern knowledge of
the power of suggestion, that has been offered by a
recent and not unsympathetic critic.^
^ Pii II. Comment., 1. 6.
* Anatole France, Jeanne d'Arc, 1908.
338 iENEAS SILVIUS
CHAPTEE XX
PIUS AND THE CRUSADE
The Neapolitan war and the quarrel with France,
Germany, and Bohemia prevented the Pope from
prosecuting his project for a crusade. He could not
even support Hungary with any vigour in the noble
defence she offered to the Turk ; for there was war
between the Emperor Frederick, who claimed the
Hungarian Crown, and Corvinus, its actual possessor.
Pius wrote to Bessarion, on May 2, 1461, that all he
could do now was to try and make peace between the
twain.^ Papal authority was weakened throughout
Europe, and men disbelieved in the sincerity of Pius,
for his predecessor Nicholas had collected money for a
Turkish war and spent it on the adornment of Bome,^
while Calixtus had exhausted his resources on a war
begun without due preparation.
An Eastern embassy came in strange garb, and
startled, not merely Italians, but all Europe, by the
incredible quantities of meat they consumed. They
told the Pope, after his return from Mantua, that
they were sent by the Emperor of Trapezium, the
King of Mesopotamia, the King of Persia, the Prince
of Georgia, and other Eastern lords to arrange for
* Maildpth, Geschichte der Magyaren^ iii. p. 152.
* Oreighton, Hist, of the Papacy, 1878, vol. ii. p. 457,
PIUS AND THE CRUSADE 339
a united attack on the Turk by Asiatic and European
powers. They had come a long and perilous journey
through Scythia, and then on to Rome by way of
Hungary and Germany, and all the Christian nations
they passed through received them with warm wel-
come. These envoys promised the aid of 120,000
men. But they were led by one Fra Lodovico, a
rascally monk of Bologna, who only wanted to get
the title of Patriarch of the East. Pius soon saw
enough to make him suspicious, and only suffered the
monk to depart for his companions' sake. Lodovico
contrived to beguile the Venetians, and Pius ordered
his arrest, but the Venetians did not like Papal inter-
ference and smuggled him out of the city.^
Queen Charlotte of Cyprus, deprived of her
kingdom by a usurper who had allied himself with
the Turk, came to Rome, demanding aid of the Pope,
in 1461. Pius was much taken by the young queen.
* He received her with incredible kindness,' says an
ambassador.^ Pius says, ' She seemed to be about
twenty-four years of age, was of moderate height, her
eyes full of vivacity, her complexion pale but some-
what dark, and, as is usual with the Greeks, her
speech was voluble and of the quality to win favour.
She was dressed in the French fashion, and her bear-
ing was dignified.' ^ He paid her expenses to visit
her father-in-law, the Duke of Savoy, hoping that he
and other princes would take up her cause and that
the urgency of a crusade would be made more mani-
fest to them ; but the unfortunate lady's journeys
were fruitless.*
* Pii II. Comment, 1. 6.
2 Pastor, Hist, of the PopeSj English trans., vol. iii. pp. 253-254.
3 Pii 11. Comment, 1. 7. * Ibid,
340 iENEAS SILVIUS
A few months after the failure of the Congress of
Mantua the Pope conceived an idea that could only
have sprung from an imaginative and original mind.
He resolved to try and convert Mohammed ii. by
force of argument. He lived in an age that trusted
to an illusion : men believed in the sovereignty of
reasonable propositions; they gilded the pill with
persuasive language. There was much to make such
a plan appear feasible to Pius. In the first place, he
was a devout Christian, and believed that he held
a divinely appointed office. The Holy Spirit might
have chosen so successful an orator as himself to the
very end now set before him. The heathen Franks,
like the Turks, had conquered a portion of the Roman
Empire and had been converted. Leo i. was reputed
to have repelled Attila and his Huns by an eloquent
appeal. The Barbarian conquerors of Italy accepted
the Faith. The Turks were far more tolerant to
Christians than Christians to Turks. Pius was
acquainted with the Koran ; and he may have known
that Mohammed had ordered a statement of the
tenets of Christianity to be drawn up for his perusal.^
Mohammed had shown signs of departing from strict
Mohammedan custom.^
The letter of Pius to the Sultan was probably
written at the close of the year 1461. It is a work
of consummate power and close argument. The Pope
begins by drawing a picture of the horrors of warfare.
Then he assures the Turk that he holds him in no
implacable enmity, but is a sincere well-wisher. Can
1 Pastor, Hist, of the Popes, English trans., vol. iii. p. 256, note.
2 A little later, 1479, he sent to the Venetian Senate for an artist to
paint his portrait. A pen-and-ink drawing of the Sultan and his mother
exists in the British Museum, London.
PIUS AND THE CEUSADE 341
the Sultan dream of overcoming warlike Europe as lie
has done servile Asia ? If he is in pursuit of fame, the
easiest and best way to obtain it would be to submit
to the sprinkling of a little water in baptism, and
literature and the arts will preserve his glory through-
out the ages. Then the Pope would recognise him as
Emperor of the East, and he would bring back once
more the Golden Age of antiquity, and restore the
world to a new obedience. There are historical pre-
cedents for this course : so acted Clovis and Stephen
and Recared and Constantino himself, whom even
Rome followed in the Christian path. If the Franks
followed Clovis, and Rome Constantine, shall not the
Turks follow their Sultan ? But this is not the least
blessing that would result : there is the heavenly
promise. Then the Pope unfolds Christian doctrine
and gives arguments for its truth. The letter is full
of passionate passages, and so conspicuously sincere
that it is marvellous how the honajides of its writer
can ever have been doubted.^ It is a masterpiece of
composition and even of close logic. How Mohammed
received it, we do not know, but it was widely read
throughout Europe and kept the fire of enthusiasm
alive for a crusade.
A year later (1462) the discovery of alum at Tolfa,
near Civit^ Yecchia, added greatly to the Papal
revenue, for the commodity had hitherto only been
found in Asia. It was worked by a company, and
provided the Pope with additional funds for a crusade.
So far from being guilty of the charge levied
against him by Voigt and Creighton, that he lost
* Let the reader judge for himself. It is given in the Basel edition of
Pius's works, Epistle^ No. 396.
342
iENEAS SILVIUS
sight of the crusade for a time, in March 1462 Pius
summoned six cardinals to a private conference, and
told them to observe that he had been silent about
the crusade since Mantua and was giving the world
a false impression. He lacked, not enthusiasm, but
power. In truth the subject had given him many a
sleepless night. *Our bosom swells. Our old blood
boils,' he said, ' Our legates are mocked, and a Council
is threatened directly We wish to impose a Turkish
tithe. Cowardice is imputed to Us, and all that We
do is put down to bad motives. Folk measure Us
by themselves. Now, We wish to go Ourself. The
noise of Our plan will be as startling as a thunder-
bolt ; it will arouse all Christian peoples to fight for
the faith. ' ^
This announcement of his intention almost stunned
the cardinals. They asked time for reflection. At
last they agreed that the plan was one worthy of
the Vicar of Christ. Pius urged Louis to action, but
that Most Christian Monarch replied that he would
treat of the Neapolitan and Turkish questions to-
gether. The Pope also sent a stirring appeal to the
Duke of Burgundy. That monarch was sick and
remembered the Oath by the Peacock ; he made great
promises, which he forgot all about directly he got
well. But the internal troubles of his dukedom
called for much of his attention. The Pope also
wrote to Venice, and got a diplomatic reply. ^
Month by month passed, and the Turk was still
advancing ; province after province, island after island
of the Eastern Mediterranean fell under his sway.
* Pii II. Comment.y 1. 7.
* Pastor, Hist, of the Popes^ English trans., vol. iii. p. 310.
PIUS AND THE CEUSADE 343
But, in September 1463, Venice allied herself with
Hungary, and Burgundy promised to aid the Pope.
A Congress met at Bome. The Pope tells us that
his heart filled with hope and joy,^ for Ferrante was
triumphant, and the rebels of the Papal States were
subdued : there were no longer quite unsurmountable
obstacles blocking the path. The Pope spoke to the
Congress and unfolded a plan to divide the Turkish
Empire among the Christian powers. His eloquence
failed ; he was listened to with quiet contempt. * The
Pope spoke in his usual graceful style,' wrote the
Mantuan envoy.^ Then, as ever since, the mutual
jealousy of the powers kept them all back. The
Florentine envoy, who was opposed to a crusade,
asked the Pope to grant him a private interview, and
pointed out that if Venice triumphed she would
conquer Italy and the Holy See would become her
bond-slave. He advised Pius to let Venice and the
Turk weaken one another. But the Pope replied
that this would be an ignoble policy, and he would
have none of it ; the liberty of all Europe was in peril ;
speculation as to a merely possible future was futile ;
the future must be left to itself.^
On September 23, Pius called the cardinals to-
gether in secret conclave, for he knew that the French
party would oppose him, as well as those that only
loved pleasure. He made a long and eloquent
speech, and his voice was often broken by tears. For
six years he had reigned he said, and nothing had
been done. Even he, the most zealous of them all,
^ Pii II. Comment.y 1. 12.
2 B. Marasca, quoted by Pastor, loc. city vol. iii. p. 322.
3 Pii 11. Comment.^ 1. 12.
344 ^NEAS SILVIUS
had been silenced by troubles at home and abroad.
But he had never swerved from his purpose, and now,
at last, there was peace. The hour had come. * We
have only 300,000 ducats a year, and half of that is
swallowed up in necessary expenses, and the war will
cost more than three times that amount. But we
could raise the necessary sum if only we had the
confidence of Christian peoples. They charge us with
living for pleasure ; we pile up wealth ; we are puffed
up with pride; we ride the sleekest mules and the
handsomest palfreys ; we flaunt our rich garments,
show round red cheeks, keep our hounds, waste our
income on actors and parasites, and spend nothing on
the faith. This charge is not baseless ; it is true of
many cardinals and officials of the curia. There is
too much luxury and display among us. And so
people loathe us and will not heed what we say,
however wise our speech may be. How can we alter
this unhappy state of affairs ? How can we restore
confidence ? Solely by entering on a new path. We
must examine the means by which our predecessors
built up authority and made the Church venerated.
We must follow their course, for only so can authority
be preserved. What has raised the Roman Church
to her pre-eminent rule but temperance, chastity,
singleness of heart, zeal, contempt for death, the
spirit of the martyr ? It is not enough to preach the
truth, to denounce evil and extol virtue. We must
be like those who were ready to give up life for
Christ. We must suffer all things even to death for
the flock entrusted to Our care. The Turks are
overwhelming the Christian peoples, one by one, with
fire and sword. What shall We do ? Shall We send
PIUS AND THE CRUSADE 345
soldiers ? Where is the money to come from ? Shall
We urge the princes to drive out the foe ? We
have done so, and in vain, for Our appeal has fallen
on deaf ears. Now, it is possible that if We say,
" Come with Us," We may succeed. Therefore We
are resolved to go bodily against the Turk and, by
actual deed no less than by word, to stir up all the
rulers of Christendom to do likewise. It may be, that,
when they see their Pastor and Father, the Bishop of
Rome, the Vicar of Christ, an old man, broken and
ill, setting forth to the war, it will put them to
shame and they will join Us. If this plan fail, We
can think of no other. We know how infirm We
are, and that We shall go forth to an almost certain
death. But the issue is with God. Let His will be
done and We shall die happy in doing it.
*But you. Cardinals, who counselled war against
the Turk, you cannot remain at home in ease. The
members of the body must follow the head. What
We do is of stern necessity. Fighting is not for Us.
Like Moses, praying on the mountain top, while the
battle waged below between Israel and Amalek, so
will We on some ship's prow or some height, with the
Blessed Sacrament before Us, pray the Lord to guide
the battle to deliverance and victory. God does not
despise the contrite heart. You will be with Us to
pray with Us, save those, only, that are too old. . . .
So We commend Our grey hair and infirm body to
the loving mercy of God. He will keep Us, and
if He ordain that We do not return He wiU take Us
to Himself, and keep the See of Rome and the
Church, His bride, from harm.' ^
1 Mansi, Pii 11. Orationes, ii. 168, et seq.
346
iENEAS SILVIUS
Cusa and Carvajal were the only cardinals who
appear to have been affected by the noble resolve of
Pius or his moving words. ' It is the voice of an
angel/ the latter exclaimed. *I will follow, for you
are leading us to heaven/ Even Eroli, Pius's friend,
whom he had made a cardinal, had no confidence in the
scheme : he raised objections ' to show himself cleverer
than anybody else,' says Pius, with the intoler-
ance of the enthusiast. The French cardinals were
silent, and Jouffroy went home. Pius, with that self-
consciousness inseparable from the mobile, sensitive
literary and artistic temperament, though under
the impulse of a great emotion, and bitterly dis-
appointed that his speech had not moved their hearts,
knew it to be beautiful and recorded it in his Com-
mentaries, but his kindliness prevented him from
including a censure of the cardinals it contained.^
On October 6, a general meeting of cardinals and
ambassadors took place. Everybody assented to
a Crusade, except the envoys of Venice : that
Republic disliked to fight under the Ensign of the
Church, for she had always asserted an unusual
freedom from Papal control, and she objected to the
distribution of spoils according to service done.^ So
Pius sent Bessarion to Venice to arouse enthusiasm
there, and the people responded to his eloquence ; in
a single day he collected an enormous sum for the
war. Meanwhile, the Pope was busy trying to excite
not merely the generosity of Christian men but their
fear; for no one was quite sure, at that time, that
1 Pii II. Comment^ 1. 12.
2 Keport of the Milanese envoy, quoted by Pastor, Hist, of the PopeSy
English trans., vol. iii. p. 328.
PIUS AND THE CRUSADE 347
the Turk was only formidable so long as he was
conquering, and that his incapacity to consolidate
conquests would restrict his dominion to lands
occupied by the feebler races of the East.
On the 22nd the Papal Bull was published. * O ye
Christians, hard of heart and unmindful,^ wrote the
Pope, * ye are unworthy to die for Him that died for
you. Think on your wretched brothers, groaning in
slavery, living in hourly dread. If ye be men, let
human feeling arouse you to aid those that are
trampled underfoot. If ye be Christians, obey the
command to love your neighbours as yourself Think
of the horrors committed by the Turk — picture sons
torn away from their fathers, babes from their mothers'
bosoms, wives dishonoured before their husbands* eyes,
youths replacing cattle at the yoke. If you cannot
feel for others, feel for yourselves. The same fate hangs
over you. If you forsake them that lie between you
and the foe, you in your turn, will be forsaken ... If
Germany will not aid Hungary, can it hope for
deliverance from France ? If France will not help
Germany, shall Spaniards avail in the hour of need ?
The East has already fallen to Mohammed : the West
will follow and that quickly.'^ The Pope tells us
very frankly how pleased he was with his own
heroism, and the beautiful composition of this appeal.
* The moving style,' he says, ' the novel proposal, the
readiness of the Pope to give his life for his sheep,
caused many tears to be shed.'^ In a certain respect
he is very modern in his introspective moments.
Capable of fiery enthusiasm, of martyrdom to duty,
he knows when he has risen to the full height of his
1 Pius II., ed. Basel, 412. ^ Pii II. Comment.^ L 12.
348
iENEAS SILVIUS
calling, when posterity will applaud, when he has
written well, and he enjoys the supreme moment ;
but there is a simplicity and frankness in his admis-
sion of it to which our age is a stranger.
The common folk of Europe listened to the Bull
with enthusiasm, but rulers stood aloof. Ornaments
were taken from churches and sold : the officials of
the Curia gave up one-tenth of their income. Pius
tried to get Sforza to take the lead, hoping that
other princes would follow. To an earnest entreaty,^
the Duke replied that, though he was in full sym-
pathy, he was ill ; insufficient notice had been given,
and such a grave enterprise required prolonged and
careful preparation.* But, in spite of disappointment,
many remained full of hope. * The Pope,' wrote the
Sienese envoy (October 12), 'is indefatigable in his
efforts on behalf of a crusade. His Bull on the
subject has been sent to all Christian countries and
will, I believe, lead many to take part in it. God
has indeed sent this Pope for the salvation of his
people, whose Princes have forsaken them and left
them a prey to the attacks of the Turks.' ^
But the only success achieved by Pius was that he
had taken his place as the Head of Catholic Christen-
dom. He resolved to take up his abode in Bome,
though plague raged there. It grew more virulent,
and nearly everybody fled, but he remained. He told
the Sienese envoys that he was obliged to lead the
Crusade because the princes were lukewarm, for if
the Turk were allowed to advance as he had done
of late he would conquer Europe. ' I will do what
1 Given in Mansi, iii. 103. ^ Pius ii., Opera Omnia, ed. Basel, 393.
^ Quoted by Pastor, English trans., vol. iii. p. 337.
PIUS AND THE CRUSADE 349
lies in my power, and God will help me.' ^ He wrote
to the Doge of Venice urging him to join the Duke of
Burgundy and himself : * We shall be three old men,
and God rejoices in Trinity. Our trinity will be added
to that of Heaven, and we shall trample our foes under
our feet.' ^ The majority of the Venetian Senate were
with the Pope, but not the Head of the State. Vittor
Capello told the Doge that if he did not go of his
own free will he would be compelled, for the honour
of the State was of more importance than the person
of its chief magistrate.^
The Eomans were unwilling to let the Pope leave ;
nearly all the cardinals remained opposed to him.
Everybody in power wanted to see the matter
dropped. Italian States scented danger to them-
selves in an increased prestige of the Papacy. All
the European Powers were busy, intriguing for their
own aggrandisement at the expense of each other,
and everybody was afraid of his neighbours. On
Good Friday, 1464, news reached Pius that Ren^
of Provence would not allow tithes to be collected for
the war, and that Burgundy, in spite of his Oath by
the Peacock, would not go. He tells us that he felt
the news congruous with that Day of Passion. He
also heard that Marini and George Podiebrad of
Bohemia were actively intriguing to forestall him in
the Crusade and would call a congress of the Powers
to secure the peace of Europe.
The action that the Pope took was the resultant of
* Letter of L. Bentivoglienti, Kome, November 5, 1463, quoted by
Pastor, loc. cit, pp. 337-338.
2 Malpiero, Archiv. Stor. It.j S. 7., vii. p. 18.
' Marin Sanudo, quoted by Sisimondi, Hist, des rdpubliques italienneSj
c. 79.
350
iENEAS SILVIUS
many motives. Desire for immortal fame, so dear to
the man of the Renaissance, anxiety to give the lie to
the widespread disbelief in his sincerity, fear of losing
the prestige he had already achieved, dread of what
a congress might do to the Church, but, above all,
a strong sense of duty, a design to restore to the
Papacy the guardianship of Catholic Christianity and
of European concord, and a prescient misgiving as to
the trouble the Turks would become if not expelled
from Europe — all these were motives urging Pius to
immediate action.
He was lying ill at Siena — so ill as to be unable to
meet his cardinals.^ He was compelled to go on to
Petrioli to take the baths, but he returned to Rome
early in May. * Every day that passes seems a year
to him ; so anxious is he to go to Ancona and take
ship,' wrote the Milanese ambassador.^ Diplomatists
intrigued against him ; his cardinals tried to dissuade
him ; the Burgundian envoys found the poorest pre-
paration they had ever seen, for only two ships were
ready ; the Milanese envoy wrote that he believed
the Pope's absence would be taken advantage of to
call a General Council;^ he was so ill that Caretto
wrote to Sforza that men were already guessing at
who would be the next Pope ; he had a fresh attack
of fever, too, but Caretto told Sforza that, in spite of
all, he was resolved to die rather than break his word.*
Crowds of would-be warriors were filling Rome, Venice,
and Ancona. Many of them returned home in disgust
1 Pastor, Hist, of the Popes, English trans., vol. iii. p. 346.
2 Quoted by Pastor, loc. cit, 347, note 4.
5 Quoted by Pastor, loc. cit., 351, note 3.
* Otto de Caretto to Sforza, given by Pastor, Hist, of the Popes, vol. liL,
Appendix, No. 62.
PIUS AND THE CRUSADE 351
when they found that an indulgence was the only pay
they were likely to receive. But Pius held the pro-
mise of Venice to aid him. No time was to be lost.
He knew now that the project was predoomed to
failure ; he was suffering cruel tortures from cough
and gout and stone ; he must have suspected that
death was not far off, but he possessed that highest
kind of courage, the courage that is ready to face
failure and certain death in the fulfilment of duty.
He would uphold the Papal dignity, proclaim the
headship of Christ's Vicar, and set an example to a
reluctant world. iEneas Silvius, the * shifty adven-
turer,' had at last achieved the noblest manhood.
Calmly but intrepidly he prepared to do as he had
promised and * lay down his life for his sheep.'
352 iENEAS SILVIUS
CHAPTER XXI
THE JOURNEY TO ANCONA — DEATH OF PIUS
On June 18, 1464, Pius, accompanied by a nephew,
his friend Cardinal Ammanati, three bishops, and a
secretary, set out for Ancona, where he expected to
find the Venetian fleet awaiting him. He took boat
and was rowed up the Tiber as far as possible, for his
condition required a careful choice of the easiest modes
of travel. Every movement gave him intense pain.
The Romans thronged to see him depart, and he stood
on the prow of his barge, holding a banner with the
motto, *God arises and scatters His foe,' in his left
hand while, raising his right hand, he blessed the crowd.
He gave orders that his state of health should be con-
cealed. When night came, he found himself too ill
to land, and slept on the barge. Next day he received
the painful intelligence that little preparation had
been made for the war, and that there was mutiny
among the hordes of would-be crusaders at Ancona.
He ordered Carvajal, one of the few cardinals who
shared his enthusiasm, to go on ahead and restore
order. Carvajal was now aged and infirm, but he
replied, * Father, since you think me fit to deal with
this issue, I will imitate you and go, for you risk your
own life for the flock. You told me to come and I am
here ; you order me to go, and I am going. How can
Pius II is borne to Ancona.
Pintitricchio, Siena.
THE JOURNEY TO ANCONA 353
I refuse to Christ our Lord the few poor days that
remain to me V Pius was greatly moved at this reply,
for he and Carvajal had a great affection for one
another, and were in close sympathy.
On June 21, an unfortunate oarsman fell into the
Tiber and was drowned. The Pope was very much
agitated by the accident; tears coursed down his
cheeks, and he prayed, silently, for the soul of the dead
man.^ At Otricoli he left the barge, and was carried
the rest of the long journey in a litter. The heat was
intense ; the Pope had fever, and was so feeble, that it
was only possible to carry him six or seven miles a day.
The Crusade had aroused such enthusiasm north of the
Alps that, although Pius had asked for trained men
only, bearing their own arms and at their own cost,
to enlist for six months, bands of needy folk, filled
with crusading zeal, or lust of gain, or love of excite-
ment, but wholly incompetent to serve as soldiery,
flocked to Ancona, and were now returning. The
Pope's attendants made some pretext, and contrived
by drawing the curtains of the litter to spare the Pope
the sight of these ragged wayfarers. At Spoleto,
Ammanati fell ill, and had to be left behind. The
journey across the Apennines, in the glare and heat
of an Italian summer, tried the strong : it was terrible
for the sick Pope, but he bore up bravely. When he
reached Loreto, where, two centuries before, angelic
warders had deposited the lowly cottage of Our Lady,
he offered Her a golden cup and bowl. He was hope-
lessly ill by the time he reached Ancona. Riots were
going on there, for a report had spread through Italy
that the Crusade was nothing but the Pope's pretext
^ Ammanati, Jacobus, Card. Papiensis, EpisL et Comment, f Ep. 354.
Z
354 iENEAS SILVIUS
for seizing the city. The crusading visitors also were
more than inclined to mutiny. Many had given up
the Crusade as hopeless, and had to sell their arms to
the Jews of Ancona to get sufficient means for their
return journey.^ Pius took up his abode in the bishop's
palace, which stood on a height : there he could breathe
refreshing sea breezes that beat up the hill, and look
down on the harbour that Trajan had built, and on
the Adriatic shimmering beyond it, and watch for the
fleet.
Only six Papal ships lay in the harbour ; none from
Venice. Alarming news came from Dalmatia that the
Turkish army was advancing on Ragusa and threaten-
ing to destroy it unless the Pope surrendered his fleet
at Ancona. Pius at once sent his own body-guard to
defend Ragusa, and ordered food-supplies to be for-
warded. Ammanati, who had recovered and was now
in Ancona, tells us that Pius asked Carvajal what
should be done if the siege was commenced. ' I will
take the galleys out to-night,' answered the courageous
old cardinal. ' And what should prevent me from sail-
ing with you ? ' asked Pius. Only his mental energy,
as is so often the case with men of high-strung tem-
perament, now sustained the breaking Pope. He was
convinced that the presence of the Vicar of Christ
would be an overwhelming inspiration ; but Am-
manati, though he afterwards reproached himself for
want of faith, foresaw nothing but terrible disaster.
Day after day passed, and there were no Venetian
sails to be seen from the palace-windows. The Vene-
tians did not like the Pope to possess a fleet, and they
wished the money collected for the enterprise to be
* Peruzzi, Agostino, Storia di Ancona, ii. 362.
DEATH OF PIUS 355
sent to Hungary, where a brave and protracted
resistance was being made to the Turkish troops.
They had promised forty triremes : two transports
arrived on August 11/ when most of the crusaders
had gone home. Ammanati says this disappointment
killed the Pope. Certainly, anxiety as to whether
Venice would send a fleet after all told on him,^ and
uncontrollable dysentery soon set in.^ At last a
wretched little fleet was observed making for the
harbour, and Cristofero Moro, the reluctant Doge,
arrived. Pius, summoning all the strength that was
left to him, ordered his attendants to carry him to
the window, and looked down on the ships. He
groaned and said, ' Up till now there was no fleet for
me, and now a fleet has come, but I shall not be here.'
Happily he never heard of the death of Cardinal
Cusa, his old friend of so many years, which occurred
at Todi, two days before his own ; yet everything that
happened served to increase his gloom.
Next day, August 13, the Pope received the Sacra-
ment and said a few solemn words to his friends. At
vespers on the 14th, he felt the end approaching, and
after the custom of Popes, he summoned the cardinals
that were at Ancona to his room. They stood round
his bed-side, and he bade them farewell. The sweet,
flute-like voice was low and very broken now. * Be-
loved brothers,' said Pius, ' the end is drawing near.
God is calling me. I die, as I have lived, in the
Catholic Faith. I have kept charge, and shrunk
neither from labour nor peril. What I have begun I
* Pastor, Hist, of the Popes^ English trans., vol. iii. pp. 364, 365.
2 Pastor, loc. cit., p. 367, and notes 5 and 6.
' Von Reumont, Oeschichte der Stadt Bom.^ ill. i. 151.
356 iENEAS SILVIUS
leave for you to finish. Labour for God and the Faith,
for such is your obligation. Bend your minds to your
duty and towards the All- Seeing Redeemer, who will
render you according to your service. Keep the States
of the Church from all peril. Dear brothers, as Car-
dinal and Pope, I have done you much wrong. I have
sinned against the Almighty and against Christian
love. May God forgive my shortcomings, and I ask
you, too, to forgive me, now that T am about to die.
Look after my kindred and my servants, so long as
they shall prove worthy. . . . Farewell, my brothers.
God bless you, and give you His peace.'
No eye remained dry; no one dared trust himself
to speak. At last Bessarion managed to utter a few
words of farewell, and asked for a last blessing. All
knelt and kissed the Pope's hand, and he said, * May
the All Merciful forgive you your sins and grant you
His heavenly grace ! ' And then, sadly and quietly,
one by one, they went out of the chamber, leaving
his nephew, Andrea, Ammanati, and his secretary
alone with Pius. The sun was setting over the hills
and clothing the sea with glory. There was silence,
but the dying man broke it. He asked Ammanati to
look after his nephew. ' Do you wish your body to
be taken to Borne ? ' asked Ammanati. Tears coursed
down Pius's face : he wanted to know who would see
to that. * I will,' promised Ammanati ; and it seemed
to please him. Again there was silence for a time,
and then he beckoned to Ammanati, ' Pray for me, I
am a sinner,' he whispered. A third time there was
silence, but, at last, the feeble voice was heard again.
' Urge my brothers to go on with the Crusade,' said
Pius, * and do you, yourself, all in your power. Woe
DEATH OF PIUS 357
be to you if you draw back from God's work.' The
Cardinal was choked with tears, and could not reply,
and Pius, with great difficulty, managed to pass his
arm round Ammanati's neck, and said, * Do your duty,
my son, and pray to God for me.' ^ They had anointed
him before this ; and now the usual prayers for the
dying were read. It seemed as if he could hear and
was following them. * At the third hour of the night,'
wrote his secretary, 'it pleased God to claim the
blessed spirit of Pope Pius, who is now a happy
memory' (August 14, 1464).^
Next day the body was carried to the Cathedral,
and the Doge made a long oration, every word of it
insincere. The Crusade was at an end. Cristofero
Moro set sail for Venice immediately afterwards, and
the cardinals rode ojff to Rome to elect a new Pope.
The viscera were buried in the Cathedral of Ancona ;
the body of Pius lies in the crypt of St. Peter's ; his
monument was transferred to St. Andrea della Valle
when the Cathedral was rebuilt.
But these were his mortal remains. The flashes of
his lively wit even now burst through the heavy type
of yellow, ancient pages ; there that kindly heart still
throbs; there ^neas Silvius still lives on in genial
converse with his friends.
^ Ammanati, Jacobus, Card. Papiensis, Ep. 41-57 ; et cf. Campanns,
Vita Pii, apud Muratori, B. I. 8., xxiii. pars ii.
2 Gregorio LoUi, quoted by Pastor, Hist, of the Popes^ English trans.,
vol. iii. Appendix, No. 64.
INDEX
Abelard, 30.
Adamites, 39.
Adolph of Nassau, 309.
iEneas Silvius. See Piccolomini, Enea
Silvio.
Albano, 336.
Albergati, Niccol6 d'. Cardinal, 52,
53, 54, 55, 67, 75, 90, 158, 163.
Albert, Emperor, 97, 110, 216.
of Austria, 210, 273, 312.
of Bavaria, 125.
of Brandenburg, 199, 210, 277.
of Hapsburg, 24.
Alberti, E. B., 304.
Albigenses, 28.
Albret, Prince Louis d', 300.
Alfonso of Aragon, King of Naples,
177, 183, 185, 186, 195, 196, 197,
199, 218, 219, 220, 235, 258, 268.
Allemand, Louis d'. Cardinal, 75, 76,
85, 101, 104, 125, 129, 151, 168,
169.
Alsace, 152.
Amadeo viii., Duke of Savoy. See
Felix V.
Amiata, Monte, 3, 325.
Ammanati, Jacopo, Cardinal, 20, 280,
281, 282, 300, 352, 353, 354, 355,
356, 357.
Ancona, 47, 350, 352, 353, 354, 355,
356, 357.
Andrew, St., head of, 333 sqq.
Anjou, House of, 104, 153, 236, 267,
275, 285, 286, 296, 305, 306.
Jean d', 235, 267, 277, 278, 292.
Louis d', 151.
Margaret d', 151, 152.
R^n^ d', 267, 277, 286.
Annates, 72.
Anspach, 172.
Antonino, St. , Bishop of Florence, 248.
Apostilicians, 38.
Aragon, 75, 104, 133, 153, 207, 300.
Cardinal of, 240.
Armagnacs, 152.
Arnold of Brescia, 30.
Arras, Congress of, 53, 55, 56, 67.
Aschaffenburg, 178.
Aspel, Hermann, 174.
Assalbach, Thomas, 130.
Assisi, 236.
Astrologers, 247.
Aurispa, 14.
Austria, 229.
Austrians, the, 98, 196, 199.
Avignon, 12, 25, 44, 77, 78, 80, 82,
235, 246, 287.
Bank of St. George, 206.
Barbo, Cardinal, 237, 241.
Bartholomew, Bishop of Novara, 48,
50, 67, 97, 156, 218.
Basel, 18, 20, 21, 22, 44, 45, 48, 53,
55, 67, 73, 74, 77, 95, 98, 100, 114,
151, 173.
Academy, 90.
Council of, 22, 40, 41 sqq., 55,
69 sqq., 75 sqq., 81, 97, 104, 162,
167, 168, 169, 170, 182, 201, 216,
217, 249, 297, 310.
constitution of the, 42, 73
sqq., 84.
history of the, 95.
scenes at the, 82.
university, 218.
Bavaria, 98, 215.
Beaufort, Henry, of Winchester,
Cardinal, 57.
Beccadelli, 7, 112, 143 n., 219.
Bedford, Duke of, 55.
360
iENEAS SILVIUS
Belgrade, victory of, 225.
Beneschau, 189.
Benevento, 251.
Bentivogli, the, 260.
Bernard, St., Pass of, 53.
Bernardino, St., of Siena, 9, 10, 13,
146, 187, 202, 216.
Bessarion, Bishop of Nicea, after-
wards Cardinal, 86, 87, 240, 243,
244, 249, 264, 271, 306, 308, 338,
346, 356.
Bichi, Giovanni de', 290.
Biondo, Flavio, 217 and n. 2.
Bisticci, Vespasiano, 35, 177.
Bohemia, 36, 37, 43, 44, 46, 69, 71,
97, 187, 188, 189, 196, 207, 227,
229, 257, 301, 312 aqq., 314, 338.
Bologna, 14, 67, 159, 260.
Bonifaccio, Straits of, 19.
Boniface viii. , Pope, 24.
Borgia, Roderigo, : Cardinal (after-
wards Pope Alexander vi.), 231,
243, 290 sqq.
Bourges. See Pragmatic Sanction.
Bozen, 171.
Braccio, 16.
Brandenburg, Duke of, 110.
Breslau, 257, 258.
Briick, 122.
Bruges, 59.
Brunoro, Condottiere, 268.
Bull, Execrabilis, 279.
Ezechielis, 347 sqq.
of Retractation, 180, 181.
Burchard, provost of Salesburg, 289.
Burckhardt, historian, 229.
Burgundy, 210, 301.
Caccia, Stefano de, 106, 107.
Calais, 57.
Calandrini, Cardinal, 234, 239, 240,
241.
Calixtines, 37, 69 sqq., 187, 313.
Calixtus III. (Alfonso de Borja), 212,
213, 214, 219, 224, 225, 226, 231,
232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 240, 247,
250, 257, 291, 338.
Campagna, the, 20.
Campano, Giantonio, vi, 217, 246,
280, 281, 282, 319, 333.
Campisio, Giovanni, 115, 126, 142,
147, 172, 201.
Canterbury, 57.
Capistrano, Fra Giovanni, 187, 209,
210, 211, 336, 337.
Capranica, Cardinal (Pantagale Do-
menico), 16, 17, 18, 19, 45, 47, 134,
202, 233, 293.
Cardona, Don Jayme de, 300.
Caretto, Otto de, 301, 350.
Carinthia, 119.
Carvajal, Cardinal, 129, 130, 162, 177,
188, 202, 204, 224, 228, 278, 316,
346, 352, 353.
Castel Gondolfo, 326.
Castiglione, Cardinal, 224.
Castiglione della Pescia, 287.
Castillo, 153, 182.
Catherine of Siena, St., canonisation
of, 336 sqq.
Cervantes, Cardinal, 75, 85.
Cesarini, Guiliano de'. Cardinal, 17,
34, 36, 39, 41 sqq., 69, 73, 75, 85,
87, 91, 105, 129, 146, 152, 154, 167,
316.
Chancellery, the Imperial, 114 sqq.^
148.
Charlemagne, 23, 24.
Charles vii. of France, 88, 153, 182,
205, 275, 276.
Charlotte, Queen of Cyprus, 339.
Chiemsee, Bishop of. See Sylvester.
Chiusi, 320.
Christian of Denmark, 205.
Church and State, 29 sqq.
Civit^ Vecchia, 341.
Cleves, Duke of, 161, 265.
College, the Sacred. See Curia.
Colonna, the, 16, 17, 18, 32, 47, 237,
251, 296.
Cardinal, 241.
Communism, 28.
Compacts, the four, 71.
Constance, 94.
Council of, 31, 73, 167.
Constantinople, capture of, 201,
202.
Corsica, 19.
Corsignano, 23, 254, 311, 324, 330.
Corvinus of Hungary, 237, 338.
INDEX
361
Councils, General, 29, 42. See under
Basel, Constance, etc.
Courcelles, T. de, 85.
Creighton, Mandell, historian, v, 63,
233 n. 1, 279, 341.
Croye, Lord of, 265.
Cugnoni, J., historian, 296 w., 303 n.
Curia, 17, 32, 33, 47, 77, 80, 81, 84,
91, 163, 169, 177, 186, 194, 196,
209, 214, 224, 225, 227, 228, 229,
231, 233, 235, 238, 239, 242, 245,
247, 248, 250, 275, 287, 288, 289,
294, 297, 299, 300, 301, 304, 332.
Cusa, Cardinal (Nicholas von Cues),
17, 75, 85, 106, 107, 168, 178, 199,
202, 205, 228, 251, 292, 309, 310,
312, 346, 355.
Cypraicus, Carolus, 148, 173 n. 2.
Czechs, 36, 37.
Denmark. See Christian.
Diether, Archbishop of Mainz, 309,
312..
Domenichi, Domenico de', 237, 238,
243.
Dominicans, the, 335, 336.
Dover, 67.
Durham, 66.
Edinburgh, 60.
Elba, isle of, 19.
Electors. See German Princes.
England, 38, 55, 56, 57, 64, 110, 182,
205, 207, 276, 277.
Ericn^^adt, Bishop of, 199.
Ermland, bishopric of, 231.
Eroli, Bishop of Spoleto, 331.
Eryx, 100.
Este, Borso d', 261, 262, 285.
Estouteville, Cardinal d'. Archbishop
of Rouen, 235 sqq., 244, 326.
Eugenius iv.. Pope (Gabriello Con-
dulamaro), 18, 33, 34, 41, 45, 46,
47, 48, 50, 51, 52, 55, 67, 72, 73,
75, 76, 77, 80, 81, 84, 86, 87, 91,
97, 101, 105, 114, 126, 129, 133,
134, 147, 151, 153, 154, 155, 156,
158, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166,
167, 168, 169, 170, 173, 177, 216.
Fang, 285.
Federigo da Montefeltro, Duke of
Urbino, 285, 287, 306, 317, 318.
Felix v., Antipope, 53, 54, 101 sqq.,
104, 105, 107, 113, 123, 125, 154,
162.
Ferrante of Naples, 150, 235, 236, 237,
247, 250, 275, 277, 278, 286, 287,
294, 301, 306, 310.
Ferrara, 86, 191, 205, 261, 285.
Filelfo, Francesco, 13, 14, 283.
Florence, 13, 15, 28, 38, 42, 47, 67,
75, 77, 78, 86, 87, 104, 218, 236,
240, 248, 249, 259, 273, 286, 301,
306, 323, 343.
Council of, 86-88.
Forteguerra, Vittoria, 3, 5.
France, 25, 26, 38, 55, 57, 80, 102,
110, 133, 186, 205, 207, 235, 236,
243, 247, 250, 275, 276, 278, 286,
297, 301, 305, 314, 337, 338, 343,
346.
Franciscans, the, 28, 335, 336.
Franconia, 173.
Frankfort, 94, 112, 148, 151, 160, 162,
311.
Frederick iii.. Emperor, appearance
and character. 111 ; crowns ^neas
as poet, 112, 113; invites ^neas
to Vienna, 114, 116, 123, 129, 130,
131, 133, 151, 152, 155, 161, 162
sqq., 168, 171, 172, 175, 181, 182,
183, 184, 186, 187, 189; descends
into Italy, 190 sqq. ; coronation and
marriage, 193 sqq. ; his abasement,
200, 201, 202, 208, 209, 210, 211,
212, 213, 216, 217, 224, 225, 228,
237, 253, 257, 267, 277, 309, 311,
312, 338.
Freund, John, 147, 148, 149, 173 n. 2.
Fiillendorf, Michael von, 121.
Geneva, Lake of, 53.
Genoa, 19, 206, 207, 273, 278, 306.
Gentiluomini of Siena, 2.
German Church, 101, 212, 225, 231.
manners, 117 sqq., 197.
princes, 39, 86, 88, 110, 112, 136,
163, 181, 204, 225, 247, 301, 311.
women, 139.
362
.ENEAS SILVIUS
Germany, 36, 37, 42, 46, 102, 133,
154, 155, 156, 168, 175, 178, 186,
187, 205, 207, 208, 210, 213, 214,
215, 225, 227, 233, 268, 297, 307,
338, 339, 346.
Gers, John, 121, 147.
Giordano, Monte, 177.
Gloucester, Duke of, 57.
GobellinuB, Johannes, 320.
Gonzaga, Francesco, 300.
Gonzaga, the, 263.
Graz, 122.
Greek Church, 77.
Greeks, the, 77, 86, 87, 88, 153, 202.
Gregorovius, historian, v, 179, 180,
243.
' Greys,' the, 85.
Gualdo, 236.
Guarini, 14.
Guazzalotti, Andrea, vi.
Guglio, island of, 287.
Guinoforto, 128.
Giirck, Bishop of, 206, 209.
Hadrian's Villa, 320, 324.
Hapsburg, House of, 151, 152.
Heimburg, Gregory, 150, 161, 162,
165, 168, 199, 215, 273, 274, 277,
310, 311.
Heinrich of Goritz, 118.
Henry vi., King of England, 186,
277.
Heresies, general character of, 27,
188, 199. See under Adamites,
Albigenses, etc.
Hildebrand, Pope Gregory vii., 24.
Hinderbach, John, 213, 214.
Hohenstauffen, House of, 25.
Holy Roman Empire, 45, 57, 164.
Hungary, 154, 196, 201, 216, 224, 229,
266, 271, 338, 339, 343, 346, 355.
Chancellor of, 217.
Hunyadi, 269.
Hiis, John, 32, 35, 42.
Hussites, 32, 35, 69 sqq., 115.
Imola, Giovanni da, 14.
Ingoldstadt, University of, 218.
Innocent III. , Pope, 25.
Ippolito of Milan, 148, 173 w. 2.
Isidore of Russia, 202, 243.
Isotta da Rimini, 305.
Italy. See Separate Italian States.-
condition of, in the fifteen!
century, 229 sqq.
Jacob, Archbishop of Trier, 110, 112,
161, 210, 211, 212, 225.
James i. of Scotland, 60, 61, 63.
Jews, the, 177, 288, 354.
Joan of Arc, 337.
John of Bavaria, 125.
Jouffroy, Bishop of Arras, 300, 301,
302.
Kautsky, author, 37 w. 1.
Koln, Archbishop of, 110, 161, 225r
265.
diocese of, 226.
University of, 89, 106, 178, 316.
Ladislas, King of Poland, 129, 154.
son of Emperor Albert, 129,
154, 187, 189, 199, 228, 229.
Lake of the Four Cantons, 20.
Lateran, St. John's, 177.
Lefranc, Martin, 106, 107.
Leghorn, 191.
Leo III,, Pope, 23.
Leonora of Portugal, 185, 191 sqq.
Liege, 316.
Lodi, peace of, 203.
Lodovico, Fra, 339.
Lollards, 27, 35, 38.
Lolli, Gregorio de', 300, 331.
Niccol6 de', 5.
Teodoro de', 311.
London, 57, 58, 59, 66, 67.
Loreto, 353.
Louis XI. , King of France, 298, 299,
300, 301, 302, 303.
Lubeck, 66.
Luca, Giacomo di, 331.
Lucca, 14, 205.
Ludwig, Duke of Bavaria, 29, 205,
215.
Lysura, John of, 88, 168, 169, 170.
Macebata, battle of, 289.
INDEX
363
Mainz, Archbishop of, 110, 167, 169,
225, 226, 227, 228. See also
Diether.
diet of, 88.
diocese of, 226.
Malatesta, Sigismondo, 272, 285, 295,
301, 303, 304, 305, 306.
Mansi, scholar, 262.
Mantua, 150, 205, 249, 260, 264, 268,
278, 279, 281, 284, 285.
Congress of, 264 sqq., 303, 308,
340, 342.
Marasca, B., Florentine envoy, 343.
Marche, Oliver de la, 206.
Marini, Antoine, 314, 349.
Mario, Monte, 192.
Marsiglio of Padua, 29.
Martin v.. Pope, 16, 32, 33.
Martin, Cardinal St., 125, 126.
Masaccio, novelist, 263.
Mayr, Martin, 226, 227, 228, 229.
Medici, Cosimo de', 50, 259, 266, 286.
Mersa, river, 289.
Meusel, Dr. A., jurist, 175.
Milan, 3, 15, 19, 47, 48, 52, 53, 75,
93, 99, 182, 184, 191, 218, 231, 236,
248, 259, 267, 286, 302, 306.
Modena, 301.
Mohammed ii. , Sultan, 206, 340, 347.
Montferrat, 301.
Monticuli, Niccolo, 5.
Morals, of the Church, 103 ; of the
fifteenth century, 135 ; of the Scots,
62, 63.
Moravia, 196.
Morea. See Palseologus.
Moro, Cristofero, Doge of Venice,
349, 355, 357.
Miinster, 161.
Nantks, University of, 218.
Naples, 16, 153, 185, 195, 218, 219,
236, 248, 250, 277, 278, 285, 301,
303, 306, 338.
Necromancy, 98, 99.
Nemi, lake of, 326.
Neustadt, 119, 210, 233.
Newcastle, 65.
Niccolo, Bishop of Palermo, 157.
Nicholas v.. Pope (Tommaso Paren-
tucelli), 53, 64, 84, 158, 159, 162,
163, 168, 174 ; his coronation, 176 ;
177, 178, 181, 186, 190, 193, 194,
195, 196, 199, 200 ; and the Turkish
war, 201 sqq., 205, 210, 274, 316,
338.
Nicholaus of Pistna, 36.
Nicodemus, Bishop of Freising, 48,
131.
Nocera, 236.
Noceto, Piero da, 20, 53, 54, 67, 68,
90, 132, 139, 146.
Norway, 60, 205.
Novara, 48, 106.
Bishop of. See Bartholomew.
Niirnberg, 66, 117, 147, 162, 154, 308.
Nursia, 100.
Occam, William of, 29.
Oliveto Maggiore, Benedictine mon-
astery, 325, 326.
Olivia, Alessandro, 289.
Orleans, Duke of, 183.
Orsini, Cardinal, 237, 250.
The, 16, 17, 237, 241, 261.
Ortobello, 218.
Ostia, 326.
Otricoli, 353.
Padua, University of, 34, 48.
Paloeologus, John, Emperor, 77, 86, 88.
Thomas, despot of the Morea,
265, 332.
Palgrave of the Rhine, 110, 152, 210,
225.
Palomar, John, of, 70.
Panormita. See Beccadelli.
Pantagale, Domenico. See Capranica.
Paolo di Giovanni, vi.
Paris, 30.
University of, 298, 299.
Passau, Bishop of, 172.
Pastor, historian, v, 147, 173, 243.
Pauvres de Lyon, 27.
Pavia, 77, 78, 80.
Council of, 33.
Peacock, Oath by the, 206, 342, 349.
Peacock, Reginald, Bishop of Chi-
chester, 336.
364
^NEAS SILVIUS
Pelago, 29.
Perugia, 1, 17, 253, 280.
Pescia, 20.
Peter's, St., Basilica of, 199, 202.
Petrioli, baths of, 289, 292, 350.
Philip of Burgundy, 57, 205, 206, 266,
342, 343.
Piave, river, 122.
Piccinino, Jacopo, 218, 219, 247, 285,
293, 295, 303, 305, 307, 317.
Niccol6, 50, 51, 86, 100, 218.
Picciolpassi, Francesco di, 92, 129.
Piccolomini, the, 2, 258, 261, 262.
Andrea, 287, 356.
Antonio, 287, 293, 295, 306.
Caterina, 5, 253.
Enea Silvio, the elder,
^neas Silvius, after-
wards Pope Pius II., parentage
and birth, 2 sqq. ; childhood, 4 sqq. ;
at the University of Siena, 6 sqq. ;
under S. Bernardino's iufluence,
9 sqq. ; goes to Florence, etc., 13;
teaches at Siena, 14; journeys to
Basel, 18 sqq. ; involved in con-
spiracy, 50 sqq. ; enters Albergati's
service, 52 ; journeys to Ripaille,
53 ; to Arras, 55 ; to Britain, 57
sqq. ; his ride through England,
64 sqq. ; returns to Basel, 67 ; his
work at the Council, 74 sqq. ;
pleads for Pavia, 77 sqq. ; his ora-
tory, 79 sqq. ; is offered a provost-
ship, 92, 93 ; preaches at Basel, 93 ;
takes ofl&ce under the Council, 94 ;
is sent on missions, 94 ; ill of
plague, 98 sqq. ; loses the provost-
ship, 99 ; defends Council, 100 ;
presented to canonry at Trient, 101 ;
revisits Ripaille, 101 ; refuses to
take orders, 102 sqq. ; at Felix's
election, 103 ; becomes Papal Secre-
tary, 104 ; sent on missions, 108
sqq.; crowned as Poet, 112, 113;
invited to Imperial Chancellery,
113; accepts, 114; his position
there, 116 sqq. ; longs for Italy,
120; courts Schlick, 121 557. ; veers
towards Eugenius, 129 sqq. ; inner
struggle, 140 ; life at Vienna, 144 ;
takes orders, 147, 173 ; revisits
Siena, 158 ; submits to Eugenius,
159 sqq. ; sent to Rome, 162 sqq. ;
appointed pastor, 171 sqq. ; bishop
of Trieste, 174 ; at Nicholas's coro-
nation, 176 sqq. ; at Diets, 178 ;
his retractation, 179; at Milan, 183 ;
at Naples, 185 ; made bishop of
Siena, 185 ; at Jubilee, 185 ; in
Bohemia, 187 sqq. ; meets Em-
peror's bride, 191 sqq. ; accompanies
Frederick to Rome, 192; at his
coronation, 193 sqq. ; at Vienna,
199 ; speech there, 199 ; his view
of the Turkish danger, 201 sqq. ;
his policy, 203 sqq. ; his means,
208 sqq. ; quits Germany, 208 ;
literary relations with Germany,
214 sqq. ; is made cardinal, 214 ;
controversy with Mayr, 226 sqq. ; fl
activity in German affairs, 228 sqq. ; V
leaves baths for Rome, 235 ; is
elected Pope, 235 sqq. ; is crowned, ^
247 ; urges a Turkish war, 249 sqq. ; fl
journeys to Mantua, 252 sqq. ; re- "
builds Corsignano, 254 ; presides
at the Congress, 264 sqq. ; his
private friends, 279 sqq. ; ad-
monishes Borgia, 290 ; finds Rome
disturbed, 294 ; leaves Tivoli, 296 ;
his relations with France, 297 sqq. ;
with Malatesta, 303 sqq. ; with
Germany, 307 sqq. ; with Bohemia,
312 sqq. ; issues the Bull In mino-
ribus agentihus, 316 ; his life as
Pope, 317 sqq. ; his relations with
the Curia, 332 ; receives St. An-
drew's head, 332 sqq. ; presides at
a deputation, 335 ; measures against
heresy, 336 ; canonises St. Caterina
of Siena, 336 ; receives an Eastern
embassy, 338 ; aids Charlotte of
Cyprus, 339 ; writes to the Sultan,
340 ; enriched by a mine, 341 ;
resolves to lead a crusade, 342 sqq. ;
journeys to Ancona, 352 sqq. ; his
death, 355 sqq. ; his character, 56,
89, 90, 98, 99, 127 sqq., 320 sqq.,
337 ; his works, 49, 91, 95, 96, 97,
105 sqq., 119, 131, 134, 136, 137,
INDEX
365
138, 139, 148, 163, 172, 173, 186,
2Usqq., 227, 232, 318 sgg.
Piccolomini, Francesco (de' Tode-
Bchini), afterwards Pope Pius iii.,
288, 331.
Laodamia, 5, 140, 141.
Silvio, 2, 5.
Pienza. See Corsignano.
Pilsen, 70.
Piombino, 19.
Pisa, 273.
Council of, 31, 73.
Pius II. See Piccolomini, Enea Silvio.
Pius III. See Piccolomini, Francesco.
Plague, 98, 189.
Platina, 95.
Podiebrad, George, 189, 257, 278, 309,
312sgg.,349.
Poland, 38, 205, 252, 268, 314.
Pontano, Ludovico, 98, 157.
Porcaro, 294.
Porto Venere, 19, 100.
Portugal, 186, 205.
Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, 88,
183, 199, 276, 279, 298, 299, 301.
of Germany, 101, 199.
Procopius of Rabstein, 169, 177.
Pulci, novelist, 323.
Ratisbon. See Regentburg.
Reati, Bishop of, 289.
Regensburg, 205, 217.
Renaissance, 11, 12, 13, 260, 283, 286.
Retractation, letter of, 179, 180.
bull of, 180, 181.
Riccio, 50, 51.
Rimini, 272, 304.
Ripaille, 53, 54, 55.
Riverio, 302.
Rodocofani, 4.
Rokycana, Archbishop of Prague, 69.
Romagna, 303.
Rome, 1, 10, 11, 15, 17, 26, 47, 71, 77,
156, 160, 162, 163, 169, 173, 176,
185, 186, 187, 189, 190, 192, 193,
212, 213, 214, 246, 248, 249, 251,
252, 253, 292, 293, 294, 296, 316,
323, 326, 334, 339, 350, 357.
Rose, the Golden, 177, 195 7i. 1, 258.
Salvadore, St., monastery of, 325.
Savelli, the, 296.
Savoy, 103, 273, 301.
Duke of, 339.
Saxony, Duke of, 110, 273.
Scala, della, the, 48.
Scanderbeg, 269.
Scarampo, Cardinal, 202, 264, 332.
Schism, the Great, 26, 73.
at Basel, 60, 112, 131, 155.
Schlick, Caspar, 114; his character,
115, 116, 117, 121, 122, 131, 138,
145, 155, 184, 218, 266.
Heinrich, 125.
Scotland, 60 sqq., 65, 182, 205.
Segobia, Juan de, 76, 85, 169.
Servia, 252.
Sforza, Alessandro, 307.
Bianca Maria, ride Visconti, 183,
263.
Francesco, Duke of Milan, 47,
183, 184, 191, 203, 205, 231, 236,
259, 266, 267, 268, 271, 286, 287,
294, 301, 305, 348, 350.
Galeazzo, 259.
Ippolyta, 262, 263, 323.
Siena, vi, vii, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10,
13, 14, 28, 38, 46, 51, 89, 95, 112,
156, 161, 169, 185, 190, 191, 192,
205, 208, 209, 218, 219, 257, 258,
286, 287, 323, 324, 330, 348, 350.
council of, 33.
Sigismund, Emperor, 15, 31, 36, 45,
46, 71, 72, 73, 112, 115.
Duke of Tyrol, 116, 125, 136,
137, 273, 274, 275, 278, 309 sqq.,
312.
Simonetta, 287.
Sinigaglia, 285.
Sismondi, J. C. L., historian, 46.
Sluys, 59.
Soest, 265.
Soldo, Cristofero da, 185.
Sozzini, Mariano de', 6, 7, 49, 95, 258.
Spaniards, the, 76, 102, 301, 347.
Spires, Chronicle of, 308.
Spoleto, 253, 353.
Bishop of, 289.
Stein, Wilhelm von, 216.
Strassburg, 94.
366
iENEAS SILVIUS
Strood, 58.
Styria, 119.
Subiaco, 325.
Switzerland, 151, 152.
Sylvester, C, of Chiemsee, 112, 113,
131.
Tabor, 39, 188, 189.
Taborites, 39, 71, 188, 189.
Tag, Wilhelm, 117.
Taranto, Archbishop of, 81.
Terracina, 251, 288, 295.
Teutonic Knights, the, 205, 251, 252.
Thuscon, John, 134.
Tiber, river, 352.
Tiburzio, 294.
Ticino, valley of the, 19.
Tivoli, 296, 317, 318, 324, 325.
Tolfa, mines at, 341.
Tolomei, the, 261.
Torcello, Bishop of. See Domenichi.
Torquemada, Cardinal, 75, 237, 243,
264.
Torriani, the, 183.
Toul, Bishop of, 232.
Trasimeno, Lago, 254.
Trient, 100, 171.
Trier, Archbishop of. See Jacob.
Trieste, 173, 177, 178, 184.
Trionfo, 29.
Troilo, condottiere, 268.
Troja, battle of, 306.
Turks, the, 86, 97, 115, 201, 209, 212,
225, 227, 236, 238, 247, 248, 269,
271, 278, 307, 310, 314, 332, 333,
338, 340, 342, 343, 348, 350.
Turrecremata, 75.
Udinb, 249.
Univeraitiea, 29, 74, 75, 90, 104, 157.!
See also under Padua, Paris, etc.
Urbino, Duke of. See Federigo
Montefeltro.
Valdo, Pierre, 27.
Valla, or Vallo, Lorenzo, 143 n., 280.
Valle, Fantino de, 314, 315.
Vatican, the, 237, 330.
Venice, 13, 42, 75, 78, 104, 191, 205,
213, 236, 249, 268, 273, 301, 306,
314, 342, 343, 346, 350, 351, 354.
Verona, 48.
Vienna, 114, 129, 148, 158, 161, 215.
Visconti, the, 183.
Bianca Maria. See Sforza.
Filippo Maria, 19, 47 ; his char-
acter, 48 sqq,, 50, 51, 72, 76, 78,
99, 102, 104, 123, 182, 303.
Gian Galeazzo, 3.
Vitelleschi, Cardinal, 47, 153.
Viterbo, 192, 293.
Voigt, G., historian, 82, 95, 141, 150,
175, 213, 311, 319, 341.
Waldenses, the, 38, 199.
Wartenburg, Nicholas, 147, 173
w. 2.
Weiss, A., historian, v, and various
notes.
Wenceslaus, Emperor, 36.
Worcester, Earl of, 277.
Worms, Dean of, 226.
York, 66.
ZiSKA, John, 36, 39, 188.
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at the Edinburgh Unirersity Press
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