LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
PRINCETON, N. J.
Purchased by the
Mrs. Robert Lenox Kennedy Church History Fund.
BX 955 .P35 1891 v. 24
Pastor, Ludwig, 1854-1928
The history of the popes,
from the close of the
HISTORY OF THE POPES
VOL. XXIV.
PASTOR'S HISTORY OF THE POPES
THE HISTORY OF THE POPES. Translated from
the German of Ludwig, Freiherr von Pastor. Edited, as to
Vols. I. -VI., by the late Frederick Ignatius Antrobus, and,
as to Vols. VII -XXIV., by Ralph Francis Kerr, of the
London Oratory. In 24 Volumes.
Vols. I. and II. ad. 1305-1458
Vols. III. and IV. ad. 1458-1483
Vols. V. and VI. a.d. 1484-1513
Vols. VII. and VIK a d. i5I3-:52i
Vols. IX. and X. ad. IS22-1534
Vols XI and XII. ad. 1534-1549
Vols XIII. and XIV. ad. 1550-1559
Vols XV and XVI. ad. 1559-1565
Vols. XVII. and XVill. a d. 1566-1572
Vols. XIX. and XX. a.d. 1572-1585
Vols. XXt. and XXII a.d. 1585-1591
Vols. XXIII. and XXIV. a.d. 1592-1605
The original German text of the History of the Popes is published
by Herder ^ Co., Freiburg (Baden).
THE
Mf\y 17 1933
HISTORY OF THE POP
FROM THE CLOSE OF THE MIDDLE AGES
DRAWN FROM THE SECRET ARCHIVES OF THE VATICAN AND OTHER
ORIGINAL SOURCES
FROM THE GERMAN OF /
LUDWIG, FREIHERR VON PASTOR
EDITED BY
RALPH FRANCIS KERR
OF THE LONDON ORATORY
VOLUME XXIV
CLEMENT VIII (1592-1605)
LONDON
KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., LTD.
BROADWAY HOUSE: 68-74 CARTER LANE, E.C.
1933
PRINTED IS GRKAT BRITAIN BY THE DEVONSHIRE PRESS, TORQUAY.
CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXIV.i
PAGK
Table of Contents ....... vii.-xx.
List of unpublished documents in Appendix . . xxi.
Persecution of the Catholics in Holland and in England 1-48
Persecution in Scotland and Ireland. Clement X^III.
and James I. . . . . . . . .[9-80
Attempted Catholic restoration in Sweden . . 81-109
Progress of Catholic restoration in Poland. Reunion of
the schismatic Ruthenians. The false Demetrius 1 10-147
Clement VIII. and the interior life of the Church. The
Religious Orders. The Episcopate. The Sacred
College ........ 14S-197
The Roman Inquisition. Giordano Bruno. The
Index. The Vulgate ..... 198-236
Foreign Missions. The beginnings of Propaganda . 237-268
The great Jubilee of 1600 ..... 269-280
The Controversy on Grace ..... 281-366
The Papal States. The re-acquisition of Ferrara.
Death of the Pope. ...... 367-436
Clement VIII. and learning. Torquato Tasso . . 437-466
Clement VIII. and Art ...... 467-527
Appendix of unpublished documents . . . 530-575
Index of Names ....... 577-59-^
^ For Bibliography see Volume XXIII.
TABLE OF CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXIV.
CHAPTER I.
PERSECUTION OF THE CATHOLICS IN HOLLAND AND IN
ENGLAND.
A.D. PAGE
1592 The number of Catholics in Holland still considerable i
The Pope takes immediate steps for their assistance i
The Jesuits found the Dutch mission ; the mission-
aries are exposed to the gravest dangers . . 2
Description of their labours, by Johann Bargius . 3
Sasbout Vosmeer, vicar-apostolic for Holland, lives in
exile at Cologne ...... 4
1596 Frangipani assists the missions in Holland . . 5
Clement VIH. renounces all hope of Spanish inter-
vention in England ..... 6
This change of attitude is not immediately grasped . 7
Persons and the foundation of English Colleges in
Spain ........ 7
1592 Colleges also founded at Lisbon and Saint-Omer . 8
1594 Importance of these establishments ; death of
Cardinal Allen ...... 9
This makes the lack of episcopal authority felt by
the English clergy ...... 10
1595 Disputes between supproters of Owen I-ewis and
Persons . . . . . . . .11
Disagreement between the " Spaniards " and the
" Scots "....... 12
1597 Denunciations made on all sides — accusations made
against Holt to the Archduke Alberts . . 13
1598 Holt's obstinacy ; William Gifford and the Jesuits 14
The Pope's attitude of coldness towards the Jesuits 15
Troubles at the English college in Rome . . 16
1603 Disturbance at Valladolid ; prudent moderation of
Persons . . . . . . . .16
Disputes in Flanders ; Dr. Barrett supports the
Jesuits . . . . . . • -I?
1593 The prisoners at Wisbech treated with imusual
leniency. . . . . . . .18
1594 Beginning of the disputes : Weston and Bagshaw . 19
1595 A reconciliation effected (Nevomber 6th) . . 19
1597 Disputes renewed : the seculars and the Jesuits . 20
Proposals by Persons and the secular clergy as to
appointment of a bishop . . . .21
VOL. XXIV. vii 0
Vlll TABLE OF CONTENTS.
A.D. PAGE
1598 Clement VIII. unwilling to appoint a bishop, but
appoints an archpriest . . . . .22
Blackwell made archpriest (March 7th) ; his friendship
with the Jesuits the cause of opposition . . 23
The minority bitterly attack Persons and other
Jesuits ........ 24
The dispute carried to the Pope ; Bishop and Charnock
go to Rome ....... 25
1599 Requests of the appellants rejected ; they take a
fatal step ....... 26
1600 Imprudence of Blackwell who exceeds his powers . 27
His accusation by 33 Wisbech priests (November 17th) 27
The Jesuit Lister begins a violent polemical con-
troversy ....... 28
1 60 1 Sympathy of English statesmen with the appellants 29
Who set out on their journey to Rome . . 30
1602 The Papal brief rejects the appeal and admonishes
both parties . . . . . . -31
Discussions before the Incjuisition .... 32
Confidence of the appellants ; joy of the Protestants 33
Judgment given (July 20th) and confirmed by Papal
brief (October 5th) ...... 3^
Elizabeth's edict against the Jesuits ; its purpose . 35
1603 The distinction between " priests and ])riests " ;
William Bishop on the queen's authority . 36
Garnet's circular to his subjects . • • • 37
Many seculars give proof of their friendship for the
Jesuits ........ 38
The memorial of Malvasia on the situation . . 39
The Pope never abandons hope of the conversion of
England ....... 40
1 60 1 Question of the succession to the Enghsh throne . 41
1591 Work published by P. Wentworth, the puritan, on
this subject ....... 42
1594 Persons writes his book on the succession . . 43
Which does more harm than good . . .44
1596 Persons persists in his hopes of Spanish help . . 44
1598 Influence of France ; Henry IV. decides in favour of
James ........ 45
1600 Influence of Persons in Rome .... 46
1602 The Spanish claims ; renunciation by the Infanta
Isabella ....... 47
CHAPTER II.
PERSECUTION IN SCOTLAND AND IRELAND. — CLEMENT VIII.
AND JAMES I.
1602 Persons loses prestige in Rome ; efforts of James to
obtain the English crown .... 49
Is entirely guided by the opportunism of the moment 50
His hypocrisy and astuteness . . . .51
TABLE OF CONTENTS. IX
A.D. PAGE
1602 Catliolics rally to him ; his efforts to obtain the
good-will of the Pope ..... 52
1592 James sends two Jesuits to Rome ... 52
1595 And later John Ogilvy, who meets with no success 53
1599 Drummond arrives in Rome with a letter from James
to the Pope ....... 53
Astuteness of James with regard to Elizabeth . 54
1608 " Comedy of complicity " : James and Bellarmine 54
1600 Letter from Queen Anne to Drummond ; her pro-
fession of the Catholic faith and requests . 55
1602 Anne writes to the Pope and to the General of the
Jesuits ; the Pope replies (July i6th), and also
sends two briefs ...... 56
1603 James is no longer able to continue his double game
after his succession to the English throne . 57
The Pope is " tormented day and night " by the
thought of England . . . . .58
But moves with great caution ; James' book —
" Basilikon Doron "..... 39
A French translation sent to the Pope ; it is put on
the Index ....... 60
i5oi Lamentable state of catholics in Scotland . . 61
The memorial on affairs of Scotland drawn up by
Malvasia ....... 62
Proves that James knows how to deceive the Pope 63
And keep on good terms with him ; fear of ex-
communication ...... 64
157&-1597 The Scots' colleges at Douai and Paris . . 65
1600 Foundation of the college in Rome ... 66
Numerous foundations of Irish seminaries and colleges 67
Their development largely due to Philip II. . . 67
They are a counterweight to Trinity college, Dublin 68
1 60 1 Series of Papal briefs to confirm the Irish in their
struggle ; victory of O'Neill at Blackwater . 69
Spanish help comes too late ; devastation of Ulster 70
1603 James continues his double-dealing ... 70
1605 And once again sends Lindsay to Rome . . 70
But makes nothing but vague promises. . . 71
Clement VIII. still hopes to win over James . 72
Who keeps the Pope in suspense and deceives him
with fair words ...... 73
The " practical attitude " of James towards Catholics 74
Character of Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton 75
" We no longer have any need of the Papists " . 75
1604 James orders that all Catholic priests must leave the
country ; his speech before Parliament (March
22nd) ........ 76
Laws against Catholics made more severe (June 4th) 77
James still continues his negotiations with Rome . 78
His action against Catholics and Puritans . . 79
1605 Declares (February loth) his detestation of the
religion of Papists ; effects of this declaration . 79
Rigorous enforcement of Penal Laws ... 80
X TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER III.
ATTEMPTED CATHOLIC RESTORATION IN SWEDEN
A.D. PAGE
1592 Interest of Clement VIII. in Sweden ; at his first
consistory sends a legate for the King's marriage
(February 14th) . . . . , .81
King Sigismund's difficulties in Poland ... 82
The nunciature of Malaspina to Poland . . 83
On the death (November 17th) of John III. the
crown of Sweden falls to the King of Poland . 84
1593 Difficulties raised by Sigismund's uncle, the duke
Charles ........ 84
Who makes religion the pretext for opposing the
lawful Catholic king ..... 84
Radical decrees of the assembly at Upsala (February
25th) ■ . : 85
Satisfaction of Charles with these . . . .86
Should Sigismund undertake the journey to Sweden ? 86
The Pope sends Powsinski as special delegate to
Poland (August) ...... 87
He points out the opportunities now offered for the
restoration of Catholicism in Sweden . . 87
Sigismund's fatal mistake ..... 88
Suggestions to the nuncio Malaspina as to his course
of action ....... 8g
Sigismund with Malaspina embarks for Sweden
(September 6th) ...... 90
The demands of duke Charles .... 91
Who deliberately encourages the suspicions of the
protestants ....... 92
1594 Difficult position of the king ; Malaspina's letter to
Rome ........ 93
The endeavour to impose conditions upon Sigismund
for his coronation ...... 9 {
Firmness of the King ; his Catholic attitude . . 95
Opposition of Duke Charles and the protestants 96
Who adopt a policy of annoyance and threats ;
danger to the nuncio ; calmness of Malaspina . 97
Increasing threats ; panic of Sigismund ; he ends by
recognizing the protestant archbishop of Upsala 98
Sigismund crowned (February 19th) by the bishop of
Vcsteras ....... 99
Malaspina persuades the King to make adequate
concessions to the Catholics .... 100
Exultation of the Lutherans ; disputes between
Poland and Sweden ; Sigismund leaves for
Poland (July) and Malaspina with him . .101
Fears of the nuncio : Duke Charles is given full
powers to govern . . . . . .102
1595 Decrees of the Diet of Soderkoping against Catholics T02
Violence and unrelenting fury of the protestants . 103
Attachment of the country folk to the ancient faith 103
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
XI
1595 Brutal destruction of Catholic memorials
Remorse of Sigisrnund for his weakness.
Revived hope of recovery of Sweden for the Faith
Memorial on the importance of such an event
1597 Frustration by Charles of all projects for this recovery
Great increase of the power of duke Charles .
1598 The Diets at Upsala and Vadstena support him
Sigismund returns to Sweden with 5000 troops
And is at first fortunate ....
But finally defeated on September 25th
1599 Charles remains victor ; deposition of Sigismund
(July)
PAGE
104
105
105
106
106
107
107
108
108
109
109
CHAPTER IV.
PROGRESS OF CATHOLIC RESTORATION IN POLAND. REUNION
OF THE SCHISMATIC RUTHENIANS. THE FALSE DEMETRIUS.
1596 Consoling progress of Catholicism in Poland ;
Sigismund 's want of energy ; he yields to the
influence of the nuncio ....
1392 1598 Canonization of St. Hj^acinth ; the task confided
to Malaspina ; the league against the Turks
1596 A special embassy sent to Poland (April 25th)
The mission of the cardinal legate Caetani
His address to the envoys of the Emperor and the
King of Poland .....
Difficulties of the legate ; his first interview with
Sigismund (September 24th) .
1597 He attends the Diet at Warsaw (February) ; the
Diet does nothing ; Caetani returns to Rome
1598 Recall of Malaspina ; his final report
And just estimate of the conditions in Poland
Labours of Komulovic ; success of Malaspina's efforts
He is supported by the King ; exemplary life of
Sigismund has great effect
Attention by Malaspina to the interior renewal of the
church .......
Flourishing state of the Jesuits in Poland
High reputation of their educational work ; King
Sigismund protects them in every way .
They penetrate into Germany and Russia
Appreciation of the Jesuits by the Polish bishops
Their activity as writers and work for conversion of
the Jews ......
1 58 1 Peter Skarga and the Ruthenians .
Efforts of the Jesuits for the reunion of the
Ruthenians ......
Who are in a state of great demoralization
1586 The action of the Patriarch of Constantinople deter
mines the Ruthenians to turn to Rome
1590 Shrewdness of the Polish chancellor, Zamoiski
no
III
112
113
IT4
IT5
116
117
118
119
121
122
123
124
1-5
125
126
127
128
129
129
Xll TABLE OF CONTENTS.
A.D. PAGE
1593 Energetic action by the Polish bishops . . . 130
1595 Bishops Pociej and Terlecki deputed to go to Rome 131
Pastoral of the Polish bishops (August 27th) . . 131
Sigismund's letter to the Ruthenians (September 24th) 132
The two bishops in Rom.e ; their audience with the
Pope (November) . . . . . .132
Conditions of the reunion . . . . -133
Ceremony of the accomplishment of the reunion
(December 23Td) . . . . . .134
Joy of the Pope ; his discourse . . . -135
1596 Firmness of Sigismund ; powerful agitation against
the work of reunion . . . . .136
Synod of the Uniat Ruthenian church ; the declara-
tion of the bishops on their reunion with Rome 137
Ostrogskyj leader of the opposition to union . .138
1598-1604 Energy of Clement VIII. in defence of the
Uniat Church . . . . . -139
1 591 Prospects of uniting Russia ; Death of Ivan IV. ;
mysterious disappearance of his second son
Demetrius . . . . . . .140
1598 Death of Feodor I. ; Boris Godunov assumes the
government as Czar ; his character . . 141
1603 First appearance of the " false Demetrius " . . 142
Who meets with a great following in Poland . .142
1604 And is eventually supported by Sigismund and by
Rangoni, the Papal nuncio . . . .143
Demetrius writes (April 24th) to the Pope declaring
his adherence to the true faith . . .144
He succeeds in raising a small army . . .145
And keeps up a correspondence with Rangoni . 146
Clement VIII. maintains an attitude of reserve . 146
CHAPTER V.
CLEMENT VIII. AND THE INTERIOR LIFE OF THE CHURCH.
THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS. THE EPISCOPATE. THE SACRED
COLLEGE.
1592 The Pope orders a general visitation of Rome (June
8th)
And himself makes the visitation of the Lateran
Minute exactitude of his procedure
It is continued by Clement VIII. in person .
1593 And prolonged to 1596 ; it is repeated in 1603
^597 The Pope takes part in examination of parish-priests 151
1592 All Generals of the Orders summoned before him
1596 Various measures for reform of convents
Clement VIII. and religious discipline
He encourages the Franciscan Observants
The Congregations of reformed Benedictines
1598 The Pope on the pastoral duties of the bishops
148
149
130
151
151
152
152
153
154
155
156
He encourages the Jesuits, Theatines a,nd other Orders 157
TABLE OF CONTENTS. Xlll
A.D. PAGE
1598 Relations between Clement VIII. and the Oratorians 158
He protects Giovanni Leonardi and Joseph
Calasanctiiis . . . . . . .159
Educational work of Calasanctius . . . .162
The teachers of Christian Doctrine : M. de Sadis
Cusani and Cesar de Bus . . . .165
1593 Clement VIII. and the Jesuits ; divisions in the
Society, especially in Spain : Acosta and
Aquaviva . . . . . . .166
Struggle against the power of the General . .170
Aquaviva defends the work and ideas of Loyola . 171
Discourse of the Pope to the Jesuits (November 3rd) 173
Intervention of Philip 11. ; his demands . .174
Decisions of the General Congregation of the Order 176
1594 The Pope visits the professed house of the Jesuits
(January 4th) ; his allocution to the fathers . 177
End of the Congregation ; complete justification of
Aquaviva . . . . . . . i'79
159.5 Clement VIII. still thinks of abohshing the General-
ship for life in the Society . . . .180
1601 Mendoza continues the intrigues against Aquaviva . 181
And wins a temporary victory . . . .183
1604 The death of Clement VIII. stops these intrigues for
a time . . . . . . . . 1S4
Favours granted by the Pope to many Orders . 185
Insistence upon the duty of residence . . .186
1595 Decree of Clement VIII. upon this matter (July 5th) 187
Who realizes the difficulty of eradicating this abuse 188
Examination of bishops prescribed . . .189
Their careful selection ; some of the most eminent
reforming bishops . . . . . .190
1593 Care of the Pope in creation of new Cardinals . 193
Their merits and qualifications . . . -195
The establishment of the Congregations lessens the
power of Consistories . . . . .197
CHAPTER VI.
THE ROM.^N INQUISITION.— GIORD.\NO BRUNO. THE INDEX.
THE VUEGATE.
Independence of the Roman Inquisition . .198
The kind of questions that come before it . .199
1594 Decrees of Clement VIII. concerning its procedure 200
1595 seq. Executions of heretics during his pontificate . 201
The case of Giordano Bruno ; story of his career . 203
His published works ...... 205
His attitude of opposition to all positive religion . 208
1592 Bruno before the Venetian Inquisition . . . 209
1593 At the Pope's request he is sent to Rome . . 210
1599 His assertions before the Roman Inquisition . .211
1 600 Put to death in the Campo di Fiori (February 17th) 212
XIV
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
A.D. PAGE
1600 The Venetian government and the Inquisition . 213
Calvinist propaganda in Venice . . . .214
Clement VI 11. and Paolo Sarpi . . . .215
Vigilance of the Congregations of the Inquisition and
the Index . . . . . . .216
1596 The Index of Clement VIII. ; in what manner it
differs from the Index of vSixtus V. . .217
1593 Decrees against Talmudic and Hebrew books. . 219
Clement VIII. reverts to severe measures against Jews 220
The Pope is a firm upholder of ecclesiastical jurisdic-
tion . . . . . . . .221
1592 The complicated position of the Sixtine Vulgate . 222
Clement VIII. at once interests himself in the question 223
He orders the acquisition of copies ; all that can be
found are destroyed . . . . .224
1595 The Clementine Bible ...... 225
1596 Clement VIII. and the correction of liturgical books 227
1602 The Reform of the Breviary. . . . .228
1598 The collection of Decretals, the C/emrn/ina (July 25th) 230
Is presented to the Pope, but not published . .231
The bull on the reform of Papal elections . . 232
Clement VIII. and Canonizations ; he only celebrates
two . . 233
And is verj'^ slow to grant indulgences . . . 235
1602 His ordinances on duelling and confessions . . 236
CHAPTER VII.
FOREIGN MISSIONS THE BEGINNINGS OF PROPAGANDA.
Jesuits and Franciscans in Japan .... 237
1596 At first Taikosama is favourable to them, but in this
year a change takes place . . . .238
1597 The persecution and martyrdom of Christians . 238
1598 Better times return on the death of Taikosama . 239
The Franciscans and Jesuits able to resume work . 239
1593 The missions to China ; the Jesuit, Matteo Ricci . 240
His remarkable work in China : " the great man of
Europe " as the Chinese call him . . .241
1 60 1 Ricci excites the interest of the Emperor . . 242
1605 His success ; the fir.st Chinese Jesuits . . . 243
1595 Franciscans, Dominicans and Jesuits in the Philippines 244
The Jesuit mission to the Great Mogul . . . 245
Efforts to unite the Nestorians (Christians of St.
Thomas) . . . . . . .245
1 60 1 The Pope sends two Jesuits on a mission to Persia . 247
1604 And later on six Carmelites ..... 248
1595 The Jesuits, Monserrato and Paez in Abyssiaia . 249
1603 Influence of Paez with Za-Denghel . . . 250
Missions in the Congo, Angola and Guinea . . 251
Also in Mexico, California and Peru . . . 252
Work of the Jesuits in Chili and among the Araucani 253
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
XV
A.D.
1603
1593
1591
1602
1596
1599
1595
1599
The Franciscan, Solano, in Peru .
The Missions in Tucuman, Brazil and Paraguay''
State of the missions in Spanish and Portuguese
colonies ......
Negotiations with Coptic patriarch of Alexandria
The Copts arrive in Rome and pay homage to the
Pope .......
Who expresses his joy at their return to union
Clement VIII. sends an envoy to the Maronites
And seeks the reunion of the Serbs
Also makes provision for assistance of the Archipelago
The Pope occupies himself with the Greeks in Italy
and the Albanians ......
Who are not to be forced to adopt the Roman rite
Instruction of Clement VIII. concerning rites and
usages of the Greeks (August 31st).
Memorials on the subject of the " Propaganda Fide "
And its proposed constitution and work
The constitution of the Congregation and its first
meeting (August nth and i6th)
Its first title ; matters discussed by it .
Clement is the first Pope to create a central control
for the mxissions ......
PAGE
254
256
2.57
257
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
CHAPTER VIII.
THE GREAT JUBILEE OF 160O.
1599 The Pope appoints two Congregations of Cardinals
for the spiritual and material preparations . 269
Bulls of May 19th and 21st announcing the Holy
Year of Jubilee ...... 269
May 22nd : letters of invitation sent to all Catholic
rulers . . . . . . . .270
Arrangements for the care of pilgrims . . .270
The Carnival amusements prohibited . . .271
Illness of the Pope ; but he performs the function of
opening the Holy Door on December 31st . 272
1600 Zeal of the Pope in fulfilling the conditions of the
Jubilee Indulgence . . . . .273
His pleasure in attending the sermons . . .273
Hears confessions and is unwearied in helj^ing the
poor pilgrims . . . . . . .274
Reception of Confraternities by the Pope . .275
Some of the important personages who come to Rome 276
Amazement of Protestants . . . . .276
1600 Many of whom are converted ; Justus Calvin . 277
Hospice of the Trinity de' Pellegrini alone . .278
Cares for 500,000 pilgrims . . . . .279
Estimated total of the number of pilgrims . .279
The Jubilee a testimony to the great change wrought
bv the Catholic reform . . , , , 280
XVI TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IX.
THE CONTROVERSY ON GRACE.
A.D. PAGE
This dispute becomes steadily embittered ; Jesuits
and Dominicans . . . . . .281
Skill and energy of the Jesuits in opposing the views
of Luther ....... 282
But they use great caution in speaking of predestina-
tion . . . . . . . .283
The solution put forward by Molina . . .284
A quite different view taken by Baiies . . . 285
The " kind of grace " in dispute between Jesuits and
Dominicans . . . . . . .288
Extreme difficulty of the question. . . . 2S9
Vehemence of the discussion , intervention of the
Augustinian, Luis de Leon .... 291
Propositions laid before the Spanish Inquisition . 292
Luis de Leon and Montemayor reprimanded by the
Grand Inquisitor ...... 293
In spite of opposition, Molina obtains an
" imprimatur " for his book .... 295
It appears with the approbation of the Castilian and
Portuguese Inquisition ..... 297
T590 Bafies leads the attack upon the theses of Molina . 298
1594 The attempt to have the work put on the Index . 299
Attack upon Suarez and the works of other Jesuits 300
1594 Extreme bitterness of the dispute at Valladolid . 302
Sermon by the Dominican, Avendano ; the Jesuits
petition the Inquisition ..... 304
The superiors of both Orders receive the Pope's order
prohibiting further discussicn, under grave
penalties ....... 307
The Dominicans seem less submissive than the Jesuits 309
1596 Intervention of Philip II. in Spain . . . 310
1597 The memorial addressed by Bafies to Clement VIII. 310
Bellarmine writes an opinion upon this. . .311
1598 And a "learned discussion" is allowed. . . 312
Both parties to send to Rome an exposition and
defence of their doctrine . . . -313
Difference of opinion among the bishops . .315
Great reputation and influence of the Dominicans. 316
Transference of the discussion to Rome . . 318
Memorial of Alvarez against Molina . . .319
The in(]uiry confined to Mohna's book ; the Roman
commission . . . . . . .321
1599 Clement VIII. cites the Generals of both Orders to
appear before him . . . , . '325
The discussions in Rome. ..... 3'25
1G02 The Jesuits present a memorial to the Pope . . 337
Imprudence of the Jesuits in a discussion at Alcala
on " Infallibility " . . . . . . 341
Four Jesuits imprisoned ; anger of the Pope. . 343
TABLE OF CONTENTS. XVll
A.D. PAGE
1602 The Jesuits clear themselves. .... 344
The paneg^'ric of Banes on Clement VIII. . . 344
Disputations begin (March 20th) in the presence of
the Pope ....... 347
Letter from Bellarmine to the Pope . . . 350
Intention of Clement VIII. to put an end to the
dispute, but he will not act hastily. . -3.53
Remonstrances of Bellarmine who is removed from
Rome 354
1603 Rumours as to the issue of the controversy ; these are
a great trial to the Jesuits .... 335
Ihe Jesuit, Bastida, pours out his grievances to the
Pope ........ 356
Intervention by Spain and Bavaria . . -357
Perseverance of the Pope in the study of the
controversy . . . . . . -358
But he does not succeed in settling it . . . 359
1604 Death of Bafies (October 21st) ; his dying protestation
of faith. . . . . . . -361
Character of Molina who died four years before
Banes ........ 362
Ihe struggle between the two Orders continues for a
time ........ 363
The chapters-general of both Orders exhort to mutual
charity and a-fiection (1644-1661) . . . 365
CHAPTER X.
THE PAPAL STATES. THE RE-ACOUISITTON OF FERRARA.
DEATH OF THE POPE.
1592 The Congregation for the administration of the States
of the Church ...... 367
All Italy suffers from repeatedly bad harvests . 36S
1.593 Efforts of the Pope to meet this scarcity in the Papal
States ........ 369
Misery in the Marches and the Romagna ; who is
to blame ? . . . . . . -370
Vigilance of the Pope in preventing abuses . .371
Regulations by the Papal Constitution of 1604 . 372
Opposition of the farmers ; the popular discontent. 373
1592 Brigandage again appears ; determined efforts of the
Pope to combat it ..... 374
^595 Great number of bandits are executed ; the Spanish
government encourages the disorder . -377
The military weakness of the Paj^al States ; neglect
of the fortresses . . . . . -378
No real armed force ; the fleet in a state of decadence 379
Financial difficulties ; Clement VIII. has " no idea
of the value of money " ; the " luoghi di IMonte " 380
1595 Paruta on " the strength and weakness " of the Papal
States .,,..,,. 381
XVlll
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
A.D. PAGE
1 592 Energy of the Pope in the case of Ferrara ; he confirms
the bull of Pius V. on Papal fiefs . . . 382
■1597 Alfonso II. endeavours to induce the Pope to change
his mind ; he appoints Cesare d'Este as his
successor . . . . . . -383
But Clement VIII. remains immovable ; Cesare
assumes the government and sends envoys to
the powers . . . . . . .384
Alfonso dies on November ist ; the Pope at once
re-confirms the bull of Pius V . . . . 385
And gives immediate orders for large armaments . 386
Cesare determines to push the matter to extremes
and sends an envo}'' to Rome (December 20th) 387
He is excom.municated ; his endeavour to secure the
assistance of Philip II.. . . . . 388
Henry lY. openly supports the Pope . . . 389
This decision practically settles the question. . 390
Reaction in Ferrara against Cesare . . .391
The sentence of excommunication read in the
cathedral ....... 392
The Papal army under Cardinal P. Aldobrandmi . 393
1598 Cesare submits and restores the duchy to the Church 394
The Pope's decision to visit Ferrara and sets out on
his journey (April 13th). .... 396
His solemn entry into the city (May 8th) . . 398
Reorganization of the government ; a fortress
constructed ....... 400
Reception of ambassadors . . . . .401
Two notable marriages celebrated .... 402
Return journey of the Pope ; his reception in Rome
(December 19th) . . . . . .404
The great inundation of the Tiber. . . . 406
Causes a terrific amount of damage . . . 408
Proposed remedies and plans for regulation of the
liber ........ 412
Gradual decay of Ferrara . . . . .415
The administration of the States of the Church falls
increasingly into the hands of ecclesiastics . 416
Disadvantages of this . . . . . .417
Changed condition of the ari.stocracv of the Papal
States ' . . .418
1596 The Roman nobles ; their revenues and debts ; the
so-called " Bull of the Barons " . . -419
The Cenci family; their crimes . . . .421
1598 Beatrice ; the murder of her father . . . 423
Refutation of the legend concerning Beatrice. . 425
P. Santa Croce ; Troilo Savelli ; the tragedy of tlie
Massimi . . . . . . -427
Severe penalties enacted for many offences . . 429
Spain and the aristocracy of the Papal States . 430
Clement VIII. in subject to frequent attacks of gout 431
1603 And has attacks of arthritis. .... 432
1604 Over-exertion and anxieties seriously affect his health 433
TABLE OF CONTENTS. XIX
A.D. PAGE
1605 He has attacks of apoplexy and dies on March 5th 434
" The best defence of the Popes is the knowledge
of their lives " . . . . • • 435
CHAPTER XI.
CLEMENT VIII. AND LEARNING. — TORQUATO TASSO.
Predilection of Clement VHI. for scholars ; examples
of this . -437
Toledo, Bellarmine, Baronius, Antoniano, and others 437
Intellectual activity of Bellarmine . . . 439
Clement VIII. and Baronius. .... 446
Measures of the Pope to increase the treasures of the
Vatican library ; the archives and manuscripts 447
Legacies to the Library ; the Vatican Press . . 449
New buildings at the University ; the chair of botany 450
Scholars and poets supported by the Aldobrandini
Cardinals . . . . . • -451
Dedications and " discorsi " . . . . • 452
Ihe Pope's love of poetry ..... 454
1592 Tasso comes to Rome by invitation of Clement VIII. 455
Tasso at the Vatican ...... 456
Cinzio Aldobrandini and Tasso ; the " Gerusalemme
Ijberata "....... 457
1595 Projected coronation at the Capitol ; but Tasso dies
before this can be accomplished (April 26th). 459
Princely pomp of his burial. .... 461
Tasso 's work is penetrated with Catholic sentiment 462
The " Gerusalemme " and the Crusades. . . 463
CHAPTER XII.
CLEMENT VIII. AND ART.
The pontificate is a period of transition in the field
of art .......
Architects employed by Clement VI IT. ; D'Arpino
is his favourite painter ....
The Pope's intention of completing the work of
Sixtus V. ..... .
His care for the completion of St. Peter's
The dome finished ; its internal decoration
1594 Work at the tomb of the Apostle ; consecration of
the new altar. .....
The Pope frecjuently visits the works
The painters employed on the decoration
1592-7 Work at the Lateran basihca ; the "Nave
Clementina " .
Decoration of the altar of the Blessed Sacrament
467
467
468
469
470
471
473
474
475
476
XX
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
A.D. PAGE
The new organ by Luca Blasio ; other decorations . 478
Work of restoration at St. Mary Major's and many
other churches ...... 480
The Aldobrandini tombs in the Minerva. . .481
Foundation of new colleges : the Scots and the
" Clementinum " . . . . . . 484
Works at the Vatican palace .... 485
New buildings at the Quirinal .... 486
Decoration of the Hall of Consistories and the Sala
Clementina ....... 487
Construction of bridges ; work for protection of the
coast . . ■ . . . . . . 489
Improvement of the harbours .... 490
G. Fontana regulates the Teverone and the Vehno . 492
Fondness of Clement VIII. for Frascati. . . 493
Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini at TYascati . . 495
The Villa Aldobrandini : its description . . 496
Panorama of Rome from the hall of the villa. . 500
Illustrations recording the changes in Rome ; guide
books ........ 502
Descriptions by foreign travellers .... 503
1595 Revival of Rome ; the discovery of antiquities . 504
The use of ancient materials ; exportation of works
of art . . ..... 505
Collections of the Cardinals ; care for maintenance of
the streets . . . . . . .507
Development of splendour and luxury . . . 508
Active works of charity ; confraternities and hospitals 509
Many Cardinals great patrons of art . . .510
Palaces of the Aldobrandini in Rome . . .312
1598-1603 The carrying out of the plans for the Capitoline
palaces . . . . . . . • 513
Magnificence of the new churches. . . .514
And restoration and adornment of older ones. . 516
The work of Baronius at SS. Nereo and Achilleo . 517
Work at S. Gregorio, S. Maria in Via and the Tre
Fontane ....... 518
1599 Discovery of the body of St. Cecilia . . .521
And of other sarcophagi ..... 522
The Pope presides at the solemn burial of St. Cecilia 523
Cardinal Sfondrato restores and decorates the church 524
The revived study of Christian anticjuity . . 527
LIST OF UNPUBLISHED DOCUMENTS
IN APPENDIX.
1 . Diary of tho master of ceremonies, Paolo Alaleone,
November i8th, 1503 . . . -531
2. Statement from Sigismund, King of Poland, to
Pope Clement VIII. . . . . -532
3. Germanico Malaspina to Card. Cinzio Aldobrandini 534
4. Card. Cinzio Aldobrandini to the nuncio Malaspina 537
5. Card. C." Aldobrandini to the Card. Legate
IMadruzzo ....... 537
6. Germanico Malaspina to Card. C. Aldobrandini 538
7. Instruction by L. Taverna for Ant. M. Graziani 540
8. I-elio Arrigoni to the duke of Mantua . . 541
9. Clement VIII. to the Inquisitor Ant. Matos dc
Noronha ....... 542
ID. Avviso di Roma of July 23, 1597 . . . 542
11. Clement VIII. to the Elector of Ireves, J. von
Schonenberg . , . . . -543
12. Inscription at the portico of S. Maria in Civita
Castellana ...... 544
13. Report of G. Malaspina on the situation in Sweden 344
14. Clement VIII. to the Clergy and People of Rome 558
15. G. C. Foresto to the duke of Mantua . . 560
16. List of prisoners of the Roman Inquisition . 561
17. Clement VIII. to Philip III., King of Spain . 563
18. G. C. Foresto to the duke of Mantua . . 566
19. G. C. Foresto to the duke of Mantua . . 566
20. Clement VIII. to the Shah of Persia . -567
21. Clement VIII. to the Shah of Persia . .571
22. Clement VIII. to Justus Calvin . . . 574
23. F. M. \'ialardo to the duke of Mantua . -575
CHAPTER I.
Persecution of the Catholics in Holland and in
England.
As a result of the schism, the kingdom of Queen Ehzabeth
and the young repubhc of the Low Countries had also become
missionary countries, and the prohibition of the public exercise
of Catholic worship was all the more oppressive in that the
number of the Catholics was still very considerable. In the
greater part of the provinces of Holland, in Utrecht, Gelder-
land, Frisia and Oberyssel, the Catholics formed a large
majority.^ In the first years of his pontificate Clement VIII.
at once took steps to provide them with spiritual assistance,
and in the instructions given to the nuncio Caetani, who was
sent to Spain in the autumn of 1592, it may be seen what
care the Pope took to deal with the religious difficulties which
had sprung up in Holland and Zeeland. Clement's idea was
to provide a remedy by sending missionaries of the Society
of Jesus, and the Franciscan Order. He had already had
much at heart the establishment of the Franciscans in a
seminary founded at Tonrnai in 1592. Caetani was
instructed to obtain once more for this institution the
subsid}^ which Philip II. had suspended, and at the
same time to secure the continuance of the payment of
^ This is admitted even by so inveterate an adversary of the
Catholics as the author of the " Scriptum A" 1604 " published
in the Neuen Lausitzschen Magazin, XLI., 157 seqq. " when he
had left the Popedom and had come hither from Rome," p. 169
(maximus est numerus [catholicorum] in HoUandia, Selandia,
Frisia, etc.). Cf. also W. Knuttel, De toestand der Katholieken
onder der Republiek, I., The Hague, 1892.
VOL. XXIV. I I
2 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the contribution for the exiled priests who were living at
Louvain and Douai.^
The idea of employing the Jesuits in the mission in Holland
had been suggested to the Pope in 1592 by the Dutch priest
Jan Smith. At the same time another Dutch priest had
approached the provincial of the Jesuits in Belgium, Oliver
Manaraeus.^ The General of the Society of Jesus, Claudio
Aquaviva, welcomed the proposal, and in October two Dutch
Jesuits of the Belgian province were sent to Holland,^ and
thus founded the Dutch mission. To them, and to the
Franciscans who were already labouring there is due the
credit for the preservation of the faith in Holland. The
missionaries had no fixed abode, but travelled about the
country as apostles, but as there were severe edicts against
the celebration of mass, and especially a prohibition of giving
hospitality to the Jesuits, the latter were exposed to the
gravest dangers. They had to disguise themselves, and
constantly change their place of residence. As in the days of
the catacombs, the celebration of mass and the administration
of the sacraments could only take place at night, while, in
order to prevent a surprise, it was necessary to set guards.
At dawn the missionary went on to another place. ^
The mission would have been altogether prevented if the
large number of the Catholics who still remained, and the
greed for money on the part of the officials had not made it
^ For the *instructions for Caetani (Cod. 468, p. i seq., Corsini
Library, Rome) see Lammer, Zur Kirchengesch. 121 seq., and
R. Maere in Bull, de la Commiss. Roy. d'hist., LXXIII., Brussels,
1904, 3 ; there is also mention of the attempt of the Calvinists
secretly to introduce Protestant writings into Spain. For the
seminary at Tournai see Bull., IX., 367 seq. ; Wadding, Annales
Min., XXIII. , 414.
2 See PoNCELET, Les Jesuites en Belgique, 32.
^ See luvENCius, Hist. Soc. lesu P. V. tom. post. 414 seq.
Cf. Oliv. Man.^raeus, De initiis missionis batavae, in Allard,
Eene missiereis door Nord-Nederland en de 17*^ eeuw, 's
Hertogenbosch, 1883, 37 seq.
* See luvENCius loc. cit., 417 seq. ; Poncelet, loc. cit.
WORK OF THE MISSIONARIES. 3
possible to evade the severe ordinances. The right to public
worship, which was granted in 1603 to the Mahometan
ambassador,^ was still withheld from the Catholics born in the
same land, but by means of bribes it was possible to obtain
from the officials entrusted with the carrying out of the edict
the power to have mass said in secret.
For this reason the work of the Jesuit and Franciscan
missionaries was very arduous. This may clearly be seen
from the reports of the Jesuits, who had begun their mission
there with two fathers in 1592.^ These tell of cases where a
missionary was forced to change his residence eight times in
the course of twelve days. On the other hand the zeal of the
Catholics to hear the word of God and receive the sacraments
was very consoling, some of them having been deprived of
these things for thirty or even forty years. Sometimes the
fathers had to preach twice or three times in the day.^ The
head of the mission, Johann Bargius, who came from
Amsterdam, describes the labours that they had to undergo.
" In Frisia," he writes, " for nine weeks I had to employ the
nights as well as the days ; in the evening at dusk I set m.yself
to hearing confessions and baptizing, and then preached and
said mass ; after this there again came to me those who
wished to confess or communicate, and some whose marriages
had to be regularized.* Thus there only remained three hours
for sleep, for very early in the morning I had to set out for
another place." With such labours as this, it is not surprising
that Bargius died at the age of forty-eight. " The v;ork
increases from day to day," he says in a report of 1604 ; "if
only we had greater forces at our command ! "^
The direction of the missionaries, as appears from a brief
^ See Litt. ann. Soc. lesu, 1603, 646.
* See Tijdschrift voor Utrecht geschied., IX., 236, 266 seq. ;
Brom, Archivalia in Italie, III., 's Gravenhage, 1914, xxxviii.
* See Litt. ann. Soc. lesu, 1597, 283, 285 ; 1598, 258 seq. ;
1599. 314; 1600, 533 seq. ; 1602, 709; 1603, 625 seq.; 1604,
702 seq.
* See ibid., 1600, 532 seq.
* Ibid., 1604, 703.
4 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of Clement VIII., of 1592/ as well as from other documents, ^
was in the hands of Sasbout Vosmeer, as vicar apostolic,
who resided almost entirely at Cologne. From a report of
Frangipani of April, 1592, it appears that at that date two
Catholic priests were secretly giving the Dutch Catholics the
consolations of their religion ; at Leyden alone they confessed
about a thousand of the faithful, and brought about the
conversion of several Protestants.^ In 1594 there was an
idea of appointing a bishop for Holland,* but this was
abandoned. In 1596 the vicariate apostolic of Holland was
placed under the nunciature at Brussels.^ Vosmeer caused
northern Holland to be visited every year from 1594 onwards
by Albert Eggis, but when in 1601 Vosmeer appointed Eggis
as vicar-general of the former diocese of Haarlem, he met
with opposition from the chapter. In this way the govern-
ment of the Low Countries discovered the existence of a
Catholic hierarchy in their own country. It was impossible
to reach Vosmeer, because he was abroad, but Eggis was
arrested in March, 1602, and proceedings were taken against
him, which ended in his banishment.^ The report which
1 See N. Broedersen, Tract, hist., I. (1729), 245. This
document was missed by Friedrich ; he thought that Vosmeer
had hardly become vicar-apostolic in 1602 ; see Zeitschr. f.
Missionswissenechaft, XI. (1922), 130 seq. ; " Holland als Weige
der Missionshierarchie."
2 On April 9, 1592, Frangipani sent Clement VIII. a letter from
the " vicar-apostolic " Vosmeer ; see Brom-Hensen, Romeinsche
Bronnen, The Hague, 1922, 425 seq.
^ See ibid., 426.
* See in App. No. 5 the *Ietter of Cardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini
to L. Madruzzo, May 2, 1594, Cod. Campori 214 of the Este
Library, Modena. Ibid, concerning the mission of a Flemish
Dominican to Holland, who had received . from the Inquisition
all the needful faculties.
^ See Maere in the Rev. d'hist. eccles., VII. (1905), 822 ;
Corresp. de Frangipani, I., xv.
« See Hensen in Molhuysen-Blok, Nieuw Nederlandsch Biogr.
Woorden-boeck, III., Leyden, 1914, 320 seqq., and the literature
there cited.
CATHOLIC MISSIONS IN HOLLAND. 5
Vosmeer sent to the Pope in 1602, ^ revealed the sad state of
the Dutch Cathohcs. Vosmeer was then given the title of
Archbishop of Philippi,^ but he had to continue to live in exile
at Cologne, where he made provision for the training of priests
for Holland by the establishment of a college.^
The nuncio at Cologne, Ottavio Mirto Frangipani, took the
liveliest interest in, and gave every possible assistance to the
Catholic missions in Holland ; after 1596 he was in charge of
the nunciature at Brussels, established not long before, and
was able to help yet more from there than from Cologne.^
When disputes arose between the vicar apostolic Vosmeer and
the Jesuits, in 1598 Frangipani summoned the vicar to Brussels
where an agreement was come to, which, unfortunately, was
not of long duration.^
1 See Archief V. geschied. v. h. aartsbisd. Utrecht, XVII. (1899),
150 seqq. Cf. Fruin, Verspriede Geschriften, III., 's Gravenhage,
1 90 1, 249 seq.
2 See Uittreksel uit Francisci Dusseldorpii Annales, 1566-1616,
ed. Fruin, 's Gravenhage, 1893, 316. Cf. ibid., 284 seq., the
edict of Clement VIII. of May 26, 1601, extending the indulgence
of the holy year to the Dutch Catholics.
3 For the College of Cologne see Bijdragen v. d. geschied. v. h.
bisd. Haarlem, VIII., i seqq. ; XV., 87 seqq. ; Brom-Hensen,
Rom. Bronnen, 426, 427, 429. Eggis left the college 16,000
florins ; see Hensen, loc. cit.
* The whole correspondence of Frangipani, his reports, and his
instructions from the Secretary of State, are to be found in the
National Library, Naples. In my account of my journey in 1893
made in the interests of the Nuntiaturberichte (Hist. Jahrb., XV.,
712 seq.). I once again called the attention of scholars to this
material which had so long remained unnoticed. It is pleasant
to record that the director of the Dutch Historical Institute in
Rome, Mgr. Hensen, will shortly publish all Frangipani 's reports
concerning his own country. With regard to the publication of
the reports of Frangipani by L, v.d. Essen, see Vol. XXIII. of
this work, p. 398, While this work was in the press there
appeared : L. v. Wassenhoven 0.]\I. Frangipani en de Engelsche
Katholicken (1596-1606), Baasrode, 1925.
5 See Knuttel, loc. cit., 50 seq. Cf. Archief v.d. geschied. v.h.
aartbisd. Utrecht, XXII., 406 seq.
6 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Clement VIII., who prayed daity for the Dutch Catholics,^
during his last years entertained the hope, on the conclusion
of an armistice between the Archduke Albert and the revolted
provinces, of obtaining facilities for Catholic worship there.
He urgently begged the Archduke and his pious consort,
Isabella, not to separate the cause of God from their own, for
otherwise they would have reason to fear lest God should
abandon them.^
The pontificate of Clement VIII. was destined to be of
great importance for the situation in England, for the change
which had been inaugurated b}^ Sixtus V. attained to its full
development under the Aldobrandini Pope. The sacking of
Cadiz by the Enghsh in 1596, and the failure of the second
Spanish Armada in 1597, manifested to the whole world the
weakness of the vast Spanish empire. Under Clement VIII.
the Papacj^ definitely and finall}^ renounced all hopes of seeing
the ancient religion restored in England by means of Spanish
intervention or that of any other foreign power. A return to
former religious conditions, or at least to liberty of conscience,
could at the utmost be looked for by the Holy See from the
accession to the throne of some prince who was not hostile to
the Catholics ; in the meantime it limited itself henceforward
to an attempt to save and maintain by the peaceful means of
preaching and instruction what still remained to be saved and
preserved.^ The separation from Spain was further facilitated
1 See the *brief to " Carolus dux Croy et Areschotii " of March
31, 1599; Arm. 44, t. 43, n. 198, Papal Secret Archives. Ibid.,
n. 199 a similar *letter to Philippe de Croy, of the same date.
2 See the *brief to Albert and Isabella, January 8, 1600, Arm.
44, n. 4, Papal Secret Archives.
3 " With regard to these (the heretics) the Curia, since
Clement VIII. had ascended the throne, had changed its policy ;
it was no longer by force, but by negotiations with heretical
sovereigns, and missions to the apostate peoples, that it hoped
to overcome heresy." F. Hiltebrandt in Oiiellen 11. Forsch., XV.
(1913) ; 307 •s^{?- So too, Pollen in The Mouth, XCIV. (1899),
241 ; CouzARD, Une ambaSsade a Rome sous Henri IV., septembre
l6oi-juin 1605 (Philippe de Bethune), Paris, 1901, 103 seq.
R. PERSONS AND THE SEMINARIES. 7
by the fact that after the conversion of Henry IV. the world-
wide dominion of Charles V. steadily lost its name as the one
Catholic power, and found a serious rival in France.
The changed attitude of the Pope was not immediately
grasped and followed by the Catholics in England of Spanish
sympathies. It was only gradually, and not without a
temporary disagreement among the supporters of the ancient
religion, that this change of front could be brought about.
During the first years of the pontificate of Clement VIII. the
Spanish claims to the succession to the English throne were
still ardently maintained, especially by the Jesuit, Robert
Persons.^ It may perhaps be looked upon as a further sign
of such sentiments that just at that time there sprang up on
Spanish soil, and with the consent of Clement VIII. a number
of colleges which were to be devoted to the training of English
priests.
In 1589, a few months after the great disaster of the first
armada, Persons, who displayed unwearied courage, went
to Spain in order to obtain from Philip II., among other
things, a larger subsidy for the seminary at Douai. Soon after
this it seemed to him to be more advantageous to establish a
new college in Spain itself after the model of that at Douai.
A small party of six students was at once transferred from
Allen's great seminary to Valladolid, while many generous
benefactors were found in Spain, who gave abundant alms to
the new institute. Philip II. too, who had been described as
its " founder " by Clement VIII. in his bull of confirmation
of November 3rd, 1592,^ assigned to it an annual revenue of
1600 crowns, and on the occasion of a visit to the seminary
was profoundly moved at the sight of these youths who had
left their country for the sake of the faith, in order to face a
life of suffering and persecution ; he thereupon increased his
annual contribution, and took all the debts of the seminary
According to Couzard {ibid.) the Pope in this was following the
advice of Henry IV.
1 For Persons cf. Vol. XIX. of this work, pp. 388 seqq.
2 Bull. X., 630 ; Synopsis, 170.
8 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
upon his own shoulders. In 1592 the estabHshment had
75 students, though in 1598 there were only 53, the first three
priests being sent to England in 1593.^ English seminaries
were also established by Persons at Seville^ and Madrid,^
which, however, did not prosper very much. A special
position among the English foundations in the Peninsula was
held by the seminary at Lisbon, which was placed in the
charge of secular priests and of the vicar apostolic of England.
It owed its origin to Nicholas Ashton, who in the time of
Queen Elizabeth had the care of the English at Lisbon, but
was only endowed with sufficient revenues in 1629 by the
Portuguese, Pedro Coutinho.*
Even more important than the above-mentioned establish-
ments, which all devoted themselves to the teaching of
theology, was another foundation of Persons in Flanders.
The English Catholics were in need of a school for the teaching
of the classics and preparation for theology. Therefore in
1582 Persons founded such a school at Eu in Normandy,
which at the end of 1592 was transferred to Saint-Omer, after
the murder of its benefactor, the Duke of Guise. In 1595
the number of students was only 38, but in 1601 had risen to
^ Bellesheim, Kard. Allen, 237-244, 289-291 (letters of recom-
mendation of the Benedictine abbot Alphonsus and the nuncio
Caetani, September 10 and November 6, 1596).
2 Ibid., 244. Bull of confirmation by Clement VIII., May 15,
1594. Bull., X., 139, Synopsis, 183. A *brief of February 13,
1593. to the Cardinal of Seville " founder of the college " in
Brevia, Arm. 44, t. 38, n. 221, Papal Secret Archives.
3 Bellesheim, Allen, 248. By a pontifical decree of July 7,
1599. to Cardinals Caetani and Borghese, the internal scholastic
organization, which had been adopted for the English College in
Rome, was declared obligatory for the other English institutes
(Bull., X., 521). An ordinance of September 18, 1597 (ibid., 375)
removed certain abuses which had arisen in consequence of the
title of doctor being attained by the English students.
* Ibid., 250 ; W. Croft, Historical account of Lisbon College,
London, 1902 ; Bellesheim in Hist.-pol. BL, CXXXI. (1903),
7 85 seqq.
DEATH OF ALLEN. 9
100, and to 120 in the following year. Philip II. granted it
an annual subsidy of 1920 ducats. At first only those pupils
were taken who wished to devote themselves to the priesthood,
but this restriction was afterwards abandoned, so that
Saint-Omer became a place of education for the English
Catholic aristocrac}^ and in this way did an important work.^
The largest of these establishments were witnesses to numerous
conversions among the English Protestants,^ while they were
a support and centre for the Catholics.
All these establishments represented steps and attempts to
place the future of the Church in England upon a secure basis.
In other ways too Clement VIII. stood for a new era for the
Catholics in the British Isles, in that they now attempted to
abandon their indefinite position, which in course of time had
become intolerable, and to establish a secure state of affairs.
The}^ were also impelled to these new methods by the death of
Cardinal Allen, which took place on October i6th, 1594.^
Allen's piety, learning, gentleness and moderation were
realized by men in Rome, who nevertheless had but a faint
conception of his real powers.^ But Allen, as Clement VIII_
' This still survives in the great Jesuit college at Stonyhurst
near Blackburn. Cf. L. Willaert in the American Catholic
Quarterly Review, October, 1905, 745-758 ; O. Bled, Les Jesuites
anglais a Saint-Omer. Difficultes avec le magistrat a I'occasion
de leur premier etablissement, Saint-Omer, 1890 ; Bellesheim,
Allen, 251-264, 291 seq. (Report of the bishop of Saint-Omer,
1612), 292-294. (Report of the nuncio at Brussels Bentivoglio
October 18, 1609, of the welcome given him at the college).
Lechat, 215 seqq. ; Meyer, 148. For the dangers to which the
students were exposed when they went to the Spanish seminaries
cf. Bede Camm, o.s.b. in The Month, XCL (1898), 375 seqq. ;
XCIL (1898), 164-177 ; Stevenson, ibid., 1879 ; II., 535 ;
1880, I., 44, 392 ; II., 395- Description of life at the college,
ibid., XCIV. (1899), 167-170.
2 Bellesheim, loc. cit., 239 seq., 242, 246, 254.
=* For his death see Bellesheim, 199 seq.
* Cf. *Avviso of October 19, 1594 : On Sunday [October 17]
Allen died " santamente col giuditio retto fin all'ultimo sospiro,
lascia nome di religiosissimo altretanto dotto, esemplare, da bene,
10 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
informed the Archduke Ernest, was not only a " jewel " of
Catholic England, but had been, as the Pope justly added,
the man who had kept the English Catholics united, and one
whose death had deprived his fellow-countrymen of a strong
support.^ He was indeed a man "as it were made for the
salvation of England," and the centre round which the English
Catholics gravitated both at home and abroad^ ; " our Moses "
as the Jesuit, Holt, called him.^ All turned their e3^es to him
as to a father and venerated master, and he had the gift of
communicating to others his unswerving courage, and his
unhesitating confidence in God, and of preventing the worst
forms of discord among the Catholics of his countr}^
Thus, so long as he was alive, the English clergy did not
feel the lack of a leader armed with episcopal authority and
jurisdiction.^ Among the Catholic priests in England, who
had gradually become more numerous, there existed a relation-
ship of subordination or superiority only in so far as they
voluntarily accepted advice and instruction from men of
greater spi^itualit3^ Thus it came about that the secular
priests took their instructions from the Jesuit Persons, and
the Jesuits from Allen.
The result of this uncertain state of affairs was that every-
thing seemed to fall to pieces when death snatched away the
dolce et di altre belle parti, ma di leggiera armatura, et povero di
partite et di consiglio, senza havere mai nociuto a veruno."
Urb. lat. 1062, p. 608, Vatican Library.
1 *Letter of October 22, 1594, Brevia, Arm. 44, t. 39, n. 337.
Papal Secret Archives.
2 Cf. the expressions in Bellesheim, Allen, iii.
3 Pollen in The Month, C. (1902), 179.
^ In 1606 the Spanish ambassador wrote of 160 priests in
England. Other information at that time ranges between 400
and 900 (WiLLAERT in the Revue d'hist. eccles., VI. [1905], 569 seq.).
A report of March 9, 1600, maintains that more masses were said
and more frequent sacraments received than in Spain {ibid., 569).
In 1607 it was said that in Huly Week 600 Catholics received the
sacraments at the house of the ambassador in London {ibid., 570).
In 1584 Persons wrote of 300 priests in Engl^^^nd (Foley, I., 634K
LEWIS AND PERSONS. II
man who had been their rallying point. Many now thought
of asking Clement VIII. to give them a new " Cardinal of
England." But where was the man to be found who could
take the place of Allen ? The Scottish party turned their
thoughts to Owen Lewis, who, after he had been summoned
to Rome by the Pope, had had a share in the foundation of the
English College, had then become vicar-general of Charles
Borromeo, and finally Bishop of Cassano.^ The Spanish
party among the exiles, on the other hand, asked for Persons
The priests and seminarists took up his cause eagerly, and
letters of recommendation were even obtained from Alessandro
Farnese and others in high places, which paved the way for
the English Jesuit with the Pope and the Cardinals. A
certain Dr. Worthington collected signatures in his favour,
while Philip II. and the Protector of the English nation
seemed to have been won over to his cause. Persons, however,
who by the rules of his Order could neither aspire to the
purple nor accept it voluntarily, and who did not wish to
become a Cardinal, recommended for the position the dis-
tinguished Thomas Stapleton, who, from the summer of 1596
onwards was actually invited by the Pope three times to come
to Rome.
The struggle then became acute, especially between the
supporters of Lewis and Persons, until at last the death of
Lewis, on October 14th, 1595, and the exclusion of Persons by
Clement VIII. put an end to the disgraceful disputes. In
May, 1597, Persons himself had come to the conclusion that
there was no one who could replace Allen, and that it was
better for England to have no Cardinal at all than one who
was not fitted.^ After this the disputes among the exiles
iC/. Vol. XIX. of this work, p. 381.
2 Lechat, 177-180; Pollen in The Month, C. (1902), 180;
Bellesheim, Allen, 202-206. A *brief to Stapleton of December
2, 1595 (thanking him for sending his " Antidota "). In Brevia,
Arm. 44, t. 40, p. 338, Papal Secret Archives. On January 29
Giulio Cesare Foresto *wrote to Mantua that he expected ere long
the appointment of an English Cardinal. Gon/aga A-rchives,
Mantua.
12 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
from England, between the " Spaniards " and the " Scots "
came to an end as far as this question was concerned, but only
to be rekindled with even greater violence on other matters.
The Scottish group among the English exiles had been in
existence from about 1580 onwards, and had at first been
limited to France, which was ill-disposed towards Spain. It
was only when their leaders, Mary Stuart's agents, Charles
Paget and Thomas Morgan, removed in 1588 to Flanders,
that the Low Countries became the principal focus of the
disputes.^ Their followers called themselves the " party of
the laity and aristocracy," and spoke of their opponents as
the party of the priests or of the Jesuits. As early as 1581
Allen had had to act as peacemaker between Persons and
William Tresham, who declared that it was unworthy of a
man of noble birth to be guided in matters of politics by
priests.^ At first the disagreement between the two parties
did not seem to be insuperable : the efforts of Allen at anyrate
brought about a rapprochement, though Paget and Morgan
continued to receive annual subsidies from the Spaniards.^
But Allen himself, who was Spanish in his sympathies, became
a subject of dispute, and from the first the " Scots " worked
strongly against his appointment as Cardinal, and sought at
anyrate to oppose to him in the person of Owen Lewis, who
belonged to their party, a rival in the College of Cardinals ;
the " Spaniards " replied by accusing Paget and Morgan of
having betrayed Mary Stuart, and of having brought about
her death. It was a fact that these two, by their impetuous
thoughtlessness, had given assistance to the English govern-
ment against the unhapp}^ Queen of Scots* ; it is also certain
that Paget had on several occasions taken steps to secure the
favour of Elizabeth.^ In this violent dispute the Scottish
party lost ground all along the line, and Allen and Lewis drew
^ Lech AT, 157 seqq.
2 Ibid., 164 seq.
3 Ibid., 158.
* Cy. Vol. XXII, of this work, p. 12.
^ Lechat, 158.
ATTACKS ON THE JESUITS. I3
up a joint letter in which^ they declared before the world that
they were sincere friends and disclaimed all rivalry ; in
February, 1590, Morgan was arrested by Farnese and was
banished from Flanders in 1592 ; a search of his house had
revealed the fact that he was conspiring against Farnese, in
order to substitute for him the Duke of Savoy. ^ Moreover,
Allen himself, in spite of his moderation, had expressly asked
Farnese in 1590 to banish that disturber of the peace, Morgan.^
After the death of the Cardinal of England the attacks of the
Scottish party were directed above all against the Jesuits,
because they looked upon them as the most ardent champions
of the Spaniards. Persons had given grounds for this opinion
by publishing, a short time before Allen's death, a work
defending the Spanish rights to the English throne.* The
Jesuits were in every way held in high esteem by the Spanish
government in Flanders ; Persons could be said to be the
adviser of Philip II. in all English questions, while his confrere
William Holt was entrusted with the administration of the
Spanish subsidies to the English exiles in the Low Countries.
Soon the dispute became even more embittered, and the most
incredible accusations were put forward. Denunciations were
made on all sides, and an attempt was made to obtain from
the government and from the General of the Jesuits the
removal from the Low Countries of their hated adversaries.^
The bitter dispute reached its climax in a denunciation of the
Jesuit Holt, which was presented in 1597 to the Archduke
Albert, the governor of the Low Countries. In thirty-six
articles he was accused of attempts upon the honour, the
property, the liberty and even the lives of his adversaries !
B}' the order of the Archduke, the vice-provincial of the
Jesuits in Belgium, Oliver Manaraeus, together with John
Baptist Taxis, who did his best in the cause of peace and
^ Of May 6, 1591, ibid., 162.
^Ibid., 162-164.
3 May 4, 1590, ibid., 163.
^ See infra, p. 43.
5 Lechat, 182 seqq.
14 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
reconciliation, found himself obliged to devote his attention,
much against his will, to an examination of the accusations.
The verdict of these two was in favour of Holt, and this
should have put an end to this lamentable affair. But it was
now Holt's turn to demand a discussion of the accusations
before the courts, and the excitement only died down when
in 1598 Holt was summoned to Spain by the superiors of the
Order there, and died there in the following year.^ One of
the principal reasons for Holt's obstinacy lay in his friendship
for Hugh Owen, one of the most devoted adherents of Spain
among the English in Flanders, for he was unwilling to leave
his friend alone to carry on the struggle against the English
nobles. Things went so far that, as it would seem, to the
great displeasure of Manaraeus, some of these nobles left the
Low Countries.^ The bitterness of the dispute is shown by
the accusations which William Gifford, Dean of Lille, and
later on a Benedictine and Archbishop of Rheims, who was
usually a man of great moderation, made against the Jesuits ;
these included even homicide, simony, theft, arrogance and
ambition.^ Gifford for his part withdrew these and asked
for pardon,'* but then the Jesuits committed the error of
publishing the withdrawal far and wide.^
The agitation against the Jesuits was not limited to the
Low Countries. Their prestige, which had reached its height
under Gregory XHL, had after that much declined throughout
Europe.^ They were driven out of Paris, while in Madrid
they found adversaries in the Duke of Lerma and the Papal
nuncio Malvasia. Even more to their disadvantage was the
1 Ibid., 186 seqq.
^ Ibid., 189.
3 Pollen in The Month, XCIV. (1899), 246.
* Letter of the nuncio in Flanders, September 26, 1598, ibid.,
236 ; Lechat, 192 seqq.
^ Lech AT, 113.
8 For this cf. Pollen, loc. cit., 235-248. For the cause of the
change of opinion on account of mistakes made bv the Jesuits,
ibid., 242 seqq. ; for Persons in particular 244 seqq. ; for Creswell
in Spain 349 seqq.
THE POPE AND THE JESUITS. 15
fact that the Pope himself was not well disposed towards
them. It is true that Clement VIII. was convinced that the
reconstruction and consolidation of the Catholic religion
must be based above all on the education of youth, and he
therefore favoured the Jesuit colleges, but at the same time
he maintained an attitude of coldness towards the Order.
His modifications of the constitutions of the Society of Jesus,
even though they were only concerned with matters of
secondary importance,^ and his attitude towards the dispute
concerning the doctrine of grace, made this very clear. ^ At
times he was glad to see his advisers among the Jesuits any-
where else than in Rome ; thus Persons was allowed to
recuperate his strength at Naples, Bellarmine was made
Archbishop of Capua, and the General of the Jesuits, Aqua viva,
was often threatened with a similar promotion.^ In Spain
the Pope's dislike involved certain Jesuits of Alcala in a
severe experience of the prisons of the Inquisition.* The
marginal notes which he added at that time to the reports
of the Spanish nunciature, speak of the " pride and arrogance
of those Spaniards who devise new and dangerous doctrines "
and of the " need for the public humiliation of such people " ;
when the confessor of the Queen of Spain complained to the
nuncio of the harm that was being done to his Order on all
sides by unfounded attacks, Clement VIII. added the terse
marginal note : " God resists the proud. "^
Naturally such opinions in the most exalted ecclesiastical
circles had its influence in the most distant places. The
students of the English College in Rome once more complained
of their masters and professors ; they were discontented at
not receiving before their return to England the same spiritual
privileges as were enjoyed by the Jesuits ; they were
1 C/. infra, Chapter V., pp. 167-184,
2C/. infra, Chapter IX,
» Cf. infra. Chapter V.
* For all this see Pollen, loc. cit., 237 seqq., and infra, Chapter
V,, pp, 167 seqq,
5 Pollen, loc. cit., 238 seqq.
l6 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
embittered b}- the book concerning the succession to the
throne, which was generally attributed to Persons ; as they
had little love for the Spaniards, they rejoiced at their ill-
success, and refused to remove their hats in the presence of
the Spanish ambassador.^ Things went so far that Aquaviva
begged the Pope to release the Order from the direction of
the English College. ^ A visitation by Cardinal Sega restored
peace, at anyrate as far as external appearances went, though
only with difficult}^ but it was only in 1597, when Persons
returned from Spain to Rome, that he was able, by his prudence
and moderation, to win over the hearts of the students, who,
under his influence, were complete^ changed in a few days.^
The seminaries in Spain were not at that time in a state to
experience any such disturbances, but in 1603 the storm
burst out there as well. When a disobedient student at the
English College at Valladolid was being punished, all his
school-fellows ran to his assistance armed with sticks. Out
of seventy-one seminarists twenty-five left the college to enter
a Benedictine monastery, while it became difficult for a time to
provide bread for those who remained, as the benefactors, who
had hitherto supported the college, stopped their donations
when they heard of the occurrence. A visitation by the
Jesuit, Luis de la Puente, and a decree of the Roman
Inquisition on December loth, 1608, restored peace, which
had already been inaugurated by pacificatory negotiations
between the two Orders. The prudent moderation of Persons
also contributed greatly in Spain to the cessation of hostilities.^
A principal reason for the discontent among the students
was the fact that neither the Spaniards nor the Italians
understood the English character, and therefore did not know
^ Henry Tichborne to Th. Darbyshire, February 2, 1598, in
Foley, III., 723.
2 Pollen in The Month. C. (1902), 182; Iuvencius, I., 13,
n. 13.
3 Pollen in The Month, C. (1902), 183. For the visitation by
Sega see Ga^ouet, English College, 93.
^ B. Camm, O.S.B. in The Month, XCII. (i8g8), 364-377 :
Pollen, loc. cit., XCIV. (1899), 233-248, 348-365.
QUARRELS IN FLANDERS. I7
how to deal with them. When, by Allen's advice, those in
Rome were given Englishmen as rectors, the rebellion ceased
as though by magic. ^ The exasperation of the youths in
Rome may also have been fostered by the hostile feelings
towards the Jesuits which prevailed in Flanders, for as early
as the year 1597 the Scottish party in the Low Countries was
seeking to obtain from the Pope the recall of the Jesuits
from England and from the seminaries on the continent.^
The college at Douai, however, took no part in these attempts ;
on the contrary, Allen's successor, Dr. Barrett, went to Rome
on purpose to support the continuance of the Jesuits as
directors of the seminary in Rome. In September, 1596,
Clement VIII. spoke to him of the complaints which had
reached him from the Low Countries, and especially of the
supposed tyrannj^ and ambition of Holt. Barrett described
all this as mere suspicion and jealousy. A document which
was circulated in Flanders, and to which were attached many
signatures, begged the Pope to pay no attention to the
calumnies against the Jesuits, or at anyrate to have the
matter inquired into. Barrett was not satisfied at the want
of circumspection exercised in obtaining these signatures, but
all the same attached his own name to a similar petition
which came from the college at Douai. ^
An even greater disturbance than that of the bitter quarrels
in Flanders was occasioned by similar events on English soil,
when in the so-called " stirs of Wisbech "* disputes broke out
between the Jesuits and secular clergy, which contained the
germs of even more serious occurrences.
1 Pollen in The Month, XCIV. (1899), 353 seqq., and C. (1902),
182.
■ LEcn.\T, 195.
^ Ibid., 185 seqq.
* Pollen The stirs of Wisbech in The Month CXX. (1912)
33-48 (this was the first work written independently of the
biassed work of Bagshaw, and on the basis of the papers in the
Westminster Archives). Description of Wisbech Castle in
Foley IL (Ser. 4) 592 seq. Cf. Iuvencius, P.V. torn. post. L,
13, n. 14.
VOL. XXIV. 2
l8 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Ever since 1579 the English government had kept shut up
in the Castle of Wisbech a number of priests and laymen,
whom it was unwilling either to set at liberty or to put to
death. At first their imprisonment was very severe, but
after the appointment of a new director of prisons in 1593, it
assumed a character of leniency quite unusual in England in
the case of Catholic priests. The prisoner were no longer
supervised at their common meals, and were allowed to visit
•each other, and to form a library of books which they were
even able to lend to other priests outside ; the}^ were also able
"to receive visits and to accept presents from their visitors.
Some Catholics made long Journ^j's in order to be able to
breathe once more a purely Catholic atmosphere, as well as
to seek advice and receive the sacraments. After one such
visit the Jesuit Henry Garnet wrote to the " Confessors of
Wisbech " that he had not enjoyed such consolation for seven
years, and that during the time he had passed in their midst
he had felt as though he were in heaven.
After about two years of this common and comparatively
free existence, the disadvantages of this libert}^ began to make
themselves felt. Among the thirty-three prisoners there were
certain men of another way of thinking, and not all of them
had that intellectual greatness which for the most part
distinguished the " Confessors of Wisbech." Three of them
later on apostatized, while others, while they were still in the
seminaries, had given proof of having intractable and difficult
characters. It may be supposed that all of them had the
energy and independence which was called for by the life of a
missionary in England, but an imprisonment of so many
years with the same companions also produced in all of them
an abnormal state of tension and nerves. Thus at their meals
in common violent disputes broke out ; to those who by their
natural disposition and their training were inclined to hold a
strict idea of the sacerdotal life it seemed that a too great
liberty of thought was creeping in, and they feared, rightly
or wrongly, that this might lead in time to real scandal.
This tendency to greater freedom and the tendency to
greater strictness found their champions among the prisoners
DISPUTES AT WISBECH. I9
in two men of great intellect, the Jesuit William Weston and
the secular priest Christopher Bagshaw. The latter, during
his period of study at Oxford, Rheims and Rome, had shown
himself to be possessed of a spirit of turbulence, a defect
which robbed all his other good qualities of their efficacy.
Weston was an austere ascetic, very severe towards himself,
and not over lenient with others. After Christmas, 1594, he
began to withdraw from the common meetings, and took his
meals in his own room.^ This example was followed by the
majority of his fellow -prisoners, and twenty of them decided
upon leading a kind of community life, for which they drew
up twenty-two rules and asked Weston to be their superior.
Weston declared his readiness to accept this, provided his
superior, Henry Garnet, gave his consent. Garnet expressed
his agreement with this plan of reform, but did not wish
Weston to have the title or position of superior, nor to exercise
any power of punishment ; all that he might do in the name
of his nineteen companions and as their representative, was
to settle certain rules. From that time onward the separation
and division became more and more marked, in spite of the
remonstrances of Bagshaw and his followers, and the attempt
to remove the disunion by calling in a stranger to arbitrate
•only made the division more acute. At last on November
6th, 1595, a plan of reconciliation, which was modified more
than twenty times, was accepted, and those who had hitherto
been divided, embraced each other with tears and an emotion
which rendered them incapable of speech. A treasurer and
a steward were chosen ; fines were fixed for any excess which
might lead to a renewed rupture, and a general common rule
was agreed upon, even by those who had hitherto been
^ luvENXius {loc. cit. p. 219) says: " Mota rixa, catholicus
nescio quis [Thomas Bluet] sacerdotem palam graviterque per-
cusseiat. Hunc sancita per canones sacros poena teneii, com-
munique consortio, donee absolveretar arcendum sentiebant
ceteri praesertim P. Guillelmus Westonus . . . Dissensit acriter
Bagshaus et alii, principia pauci, mox plures, etc." When the
majority had terminated their confederation "' csores pacis primo .
Westonum et alios coniunctos e rommuni trichnis eiecerc, etc."
20 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Weston's opponents, by which act the need for some sort of
rule was recognized.
In spite of certain menaces this concord lasted until the
beginning of 1597, when there appeared at Wisbech, Robert
Fisher, who rekindled the flames. Seven of the prisoners,
who were themselves divided into parties, again withdrew
from the common meals, and from that moment men took
sides with one party or the other even beyond the confines of
England. For the disputants it was now no longer a case of
personal sympathies or antipathies, nor a question of the
Jesuit Weston and his supposed arrogance, but it became a
quarrel between the secular clergy and the Jesuits. In the
course of the years a great deal of hatred and jealousy of the
latter had rightly or wrongly grown up ; their labours and
their successes were looked upon as a usurpation of the rights
of the secular clergy, and as an unwarranted attack upon
their good name. All this now became a matter of open
discussion. The Jesuits, it was said, were making their way
into everything ; in their eyes nothing was sacred, orthodox
or lawful if it did not come from themselves ; they tried to
seize upon donations and alms for themselves alone ; in a
word, they aimed at the suppression and subjection of the
secular clergy. ^ These accusations were reproduced in many
pamphlets, some of which were printed and found their way
as far as Rome.'^
The ill-feeling against the Jesuits found its strongest
expression in the so-called " archpriest controversy,"^
^ Meyer, England, 348.
2 On October 31, 1597, Clement VIII. sent " Anglis catholicis "
a *brief highly praising their perseverance in the faith, but at
the same time exhorting them to the concord against which
Satan was striving in a special way, Brevia, Arm. 44, t. 41, n. 234,
Papal Secret Archives.
' ThOMAS Graves Law, The Archpriest Controversy. Docu-
ments relating to the dissensions of the Roman Catholic Clergy,
1597. 1602, Vol. 1-2, Edinburgh, 1896, 1898. Meyer, 351-396 ;
John Gerard, in The Month, LXXXIX. (1897), 37-53 ; Belles-
HEiM in Katholik, 1902, II., 481-495.
NEED OF A LEADER. 21
That the Catholics of England had need of a leader was
made clear to everyone by the disturbances which occurred
after the death of Allen, while the impossibility of appointing
a new English Cardinal, who should direct the affairs of his
native land from Rome, lent strength to the proposal, so
favourable for England, to set up a new centre of Catholic life
on English soil.
In order to put an end, once and for all, to so uncertain a
state of affairs. Persons brought all his influence to bear in
favour of the appointment of bishops, and as a result of his
representations Cardinal Caetani, the Protector of England,
spoke to the Pope and the Cardinals of the Inquisition, who
had been instructed to discuss the matter. But Clement VIII.
refused to accept this view.^ Persons had asked to have for
his country an archbishop with his see in Flanders, who was
to be assisted by a bishop living on English soil.^ Another
suggestion was put foi"ward by the secular clergy. They
sought before all things to increase their own influence, and
especially over the Jseuits, by forming themselves into an
association, and proposing the election of one of their number
as bishop. The money that was received in alms and from
foundations for the support of the English clergy was to be
held by a duly appointed administration, and equitably
divided, so that none should go in want of necessaries. So
far each priest had been a little Pope, and there was no one
who could demand an account, or make an admonition, and
this state of affairs was all the more deplorable because in
recent years there had come to England many priests " who
were beardless youths of twenty-four," yet had to go there
as priests in lay dress, to live in private houses among men
and women, and thus without any of those forms of control,
which elsewhere of themselves restrained priests from too
great freedom of conduct.^
•Array to Blackwell, in Law, 120. Cf. Gerard, loc. cit., 52.
For the reasons why no bishop was appointed for England, cj.
lUVENCIUS, I., 13, n. 30.
2 Pollen in The Month, C. (1902), 1S3.
^ Meyer, England, 351, 354. The youth of so many of the
22 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
But the authority possessed by a bishop in matters of
jurisdiction and orders exposed anyone who had it in the
England of those days to death, or at anyrate to a hfe of
imprisonment and concealment. It was probably for this
reason that Clement VIII. was unwilling to appoint a bishop
for England/ and for ten years the nuncios in Flanders were
ordered to oppose any suggestions of this kind.^ An attempt
was then made to satisfy the need in another way. Instead
of the appointment, as Persons had desired, of an English
archbishop in Flanders, the nuncio in Flanders was appointed
as his representative by the Cardinal Protector of England,
Caetani, with faculties to settle all juridical questions in
England as well. Instead of a bishop on English soil, Caetani
in 1598 appointed an archpriest, without episcopal consecra-
tion, in the person of George Blackwell.^ English priests
who had recently left the seminaries on the continent were
to be subject to Douai, in Spain to the superiors they had had
hitherto, and in Brussels to the nuncio.* The archpriest was
given twelve priests as his counsellors ; six of these were to
be chosen by the Cardinal Protector, while the other six were
to be appointed by Blackwell himself.
secular clergy and their youthful mistakes led to some extent
to their dependence on the Jesuits, which was so bitterly resented.
Some of the laity for example would have nothing to do with
the seminary priests, unless they brought with them the recom-
mendation of some Jesuit. Report of the visitation by Sega,
in Foley, VI., 50.
* Array, loc. cit.
2 " Perch e altre volte si e tentato di fargli [the archpriest]
dare la dignita vescovile, sotto apparenti pretesti di maggior
prcfitto della religione, non si resta di dire a lei che cio non e
stato giudicato espediente da questa Santa Sede, per ragione-
volifsinie cause ; onde se a lei ne fosse mossa nuova prattica,
dovia tioncarla come negotio risoluto o rimetterlo a Roma."
Instructions to the nuncio Gesualdo, October 23, 1615, inCAUCHiE-
Maere, 50 seq. cf. ibid., 6y, 93, the instructions of 1610 and 1635.
3 According to Cardinal d'Ossat (Lettres, II., 390), the arch-
priest was sent by the advice (a la suggestion) of Persons.
* Pollen, in The Month, C, (1902), 184,
BLACKWELL MADE ARCH-PRIEST. 23
The brief of appointment of March 7th, 1598, obviously
contains allusions to the recent controversies. The reason
why the office of archpriest was introduced, this states, was to
promote peace and concord among the brethren, and especially
with the Jesuits, who together with the other priests were
labouring in the vineyard of the Lord. They had no
supremac}^ over the secular priests, nor did they wish for it,
and were therefore in no way an obstacle. The differences
that had arisen, therefore, could only be attributed to the
cunning and deceits of the infernal foe, who wished to destroy
all that had been gained with so great labour, by making
Catholics entertain and propagate feelings of jealousy against
them.^
The same desire for harmony and the removal of all
differences had also led to the choice of Blackwell as arch-
priest. He was a friend of the Jesuits, and the idea was
perhaps entertained in Rome that if a friend of the Order was
placed at the head of the secular clergy, this would guarantee
the restoration and preservation of peace between the two
bodies. But any such idea was greatly mistaken. It is true
that the appointment of an archpriest was hailed with joy by
the great majority of the about three hundred secular priests,
but all the greater was the opposition of the minorit3^ which,
according to contemporary information, did not number, at
anyrate at first, more than ten or twelve persons,^ but which
for that reason was all the more active. Legally, no attack
was made upon the authority of the Jesuits over the priests
in the seminaries, and any attempt to do so would have been
in itself ridiculous, but it was feared that Persons, who was
then all-powerful in Rome, had sent the complaisant
Blackwell in order through him to govern indirectly the
secular clergy, and to impose upon them his hated Spanish
policy. This suspicion was increased by a passage in the
instructions which were given to Blackwell together with his
brief of appointment.
1 Meyer, 356 ; Iuvencius, I., 13, n. 150.,
^-Qerard, ho. cit., ^2 seq.
24 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The wish of the Pope, so the Cardinal Protector said, is that
there should be the fullest concord between the Jesuits and
the secular clergy in the kingdom, and as the superior of the
Jesuits, by his experience of English affairs and the reputation
which he enjoys among Catholics, can be of great help in all
decisions to be made by the clergy, the archpriest must
endeavour, in all questions of major importance, to ask for
his advice and opinion.^ A false interpretation saw in these
words a formal order to follow in all matters of importance
the advice of the superior of the Jesuits, Henry Garnet, so
that, as that blusterer William Watson, put it, in future the
Catholics would be dependent upon Blackwell, Blackwell on
Garnet, Garnet on Persons, and Persons on the devil, who was
the author of all the rebellions, treasons, homicides and
disobediences which that cursed Jesuit had raised up against
her majesty, her safety, her crown and her life.^
It was not all those who made up the minority who thought
and spoke thus bitterly. There were among them priests of
the greatest moderation and worthy of all respect, such as
William Bishop, the future vicar-apostolic, Colleton, Charnock,
Mush and Bluet. Some of the malcontents had suffered
imprisonment, and two of them death, for their faith. But
on the other hand, Watson was not the only one whose words
and actions call for our attention. Bagshaw, who now, as
formerly at Wisbech, took a prominent part, later on, in the
conspiracy of the Gunpowder Plot, made denunciations to the
government against his co-religionists ; another, John Cecil,
who was even entrusted with a mission to Rome, was only a
tool in the hands of the English statesmen, whose duty it was
to spy on the Catholics.^ It was soon evident that even the
reputable party among the minority held views on many
subjects which were anything but Catholic.
Discontent against the new leader of the English Catholics
led to a resolve to address complaints to Rome against the
1 Ibid., 50 seq.
2 Ibid., 50.
^ Jbid., 4^, 46,
JESUITS AND SECULARS. 25
appointment of Blackwell, but from the first his opponents
were guilty of an almost incredible mistake as to their motives
and reasons for such a step. It was not only said that the
appointment of the archpriest had been made by order of the
Cardinal Protector, whereas such a measure required a Papal
brief, but certain entirely Galilean assertions were made. It
was stated that the English clergy had not been asked for
their opinion before the appointment, and that this was a
violation of an ancient English right ; without the consent of
the clergy and people, who must give their opinion in a free
election, the appointment of Blackwell must be looked upon
as null and void. Galilean views were also set forth in a
little work by a certain John Bishop, which was printed in
London about that time.^
The danger of such prhiciples does not seem to have entered
the minds of the malcontents, for towards the end of the
summer of 1598 they sent William Bishop and Robert
Charnock to Rome in order to win over the Pope to their side.
The requests that they wished to lay before him privately
were concerned with the appointment of a bishop for England,
who was to be elected by 3 majority of the votes of the English
clergy, and with the consent of the association of secular
priests. The Pope was also to be asked to take away the
English College in Rome from the Jesuits, and to make the
publication of controversial writings against the queen and
the English government dependent upon the approval of the
ecclesiastical superiors.^
In the meantime the other party had naturally not remained
idle. The superior of the Jesuits, Henry Garnet, also had
recourse to Rome in a letter bearing the signatures of nineteen
Jesuits and secular priests.^ This asked the Pope to confirm
the archpriest in his office and to address a severe admonition
to the two appellants, and only to allow them to return to
England if they completely changed their views.
1 Meyer, 362.
2 Meyer, 363.
2 On October 30, 1598, ibid., 36^.
26 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The two appellants gave yet further proof of their ingenuous
confidence in the success of their undertaking when, in
December, 1598, they knocked at the gates of the English
College, in order to ask the hospitality of Persons, their most
dangerous adversary. They very soon realized that they had
found lodging in what was their prison. An order for their
arrest from the Pope forbade them to leave the seminary,
and in February, 1599, they had to appear before Cardinals
Caetani and Borghese, the Protector and vice-Protector of
England, and submit themselves to legal proceedings. With
truly English tenacity Bishop set himself to defend before the
Cardinals the plan for an association of priests, though later
on (February 20th), he advised his friends in England to
abandon this project. In April the sentence was delivered :
all the requests of the appellants were rejected. Bishop was
sent to live in Paris, and his colleague Charnock was sent to
Lorraine ; they were not to return to England, nor make their
homeward journey together, nor communicate with each
other in any way.^ They had not succeeded in seeing the
Pope, while a Papal brief of April 6th, 1599, which confirmed
the dignity of the archpriest, removed all hopes of their
obtaining from him a more favourable judgment than they
had received from his representatives.
If the appellants did not wish to become open rebels, there
remained no course open to them but to submit, which they
accordingty did. By the summer of 1599 peace seemed to
have been restored. " Thanks be to God," Persons wrote to
Bishop at that time, " for now, owing to the wise measures
taken by His Holiness, everything is systematized and in
order. "2
But the cure was not very deep, and secret agitations against
the Jesuits still continued. The rancour against the Order
now led two representatives of the extreme party to a fatal
step : abandoned by the Pope, and filled with Gallican ideas
they sought the support of the civil authorities.. Watson
^ Ibid., 364 seq.
^.Ibid. 366.,
IMPRUDENCE OF BLACKWELL. 27
denounced them to the English government, and accused
them before the King's Proctor of high treason, for having
defended the Spanish succession. Charles Paget, Mary
Stuart's former agent, got into personal touch with the
English ambassador in Paris, and worked upon his feelings
against the so greatly hated religious. ^
The imprudence of Blackwell was the cause of the dispute
breaking out in public. The archpriest was convinced that
the malcontents were guilty of schism, and had incurred the
penalties appointed by the canon law, and that they were
therefore obliged to confess their fault and ask for absolution.
The accused resisted this unjust supposition, and an opinion
of the University of Paris, of May 3rd, 1600, was given in their
favour. Blackwell, exceeding his powers, prohibited, under
pain of an interdict, any sort of defence of this decision, but
his adversaries paid no attention to his prohibition. Blackwell
then forbade two of the clergy, who were among the eldest
and most deserving, to exercise any of their sacerdotal
functions. After this fresh abuse of power, the struggle broke
out again all along the line.^ -
Feeling certain that this time they undoubtedly had right
on their side, the adversaries of Blackwell had recourse once
more to Rome, and a deed of accusation, of November 17th,
1600, summ.arized in an extremely objective form, and with
the addition of proofs, all the accusations against the arch-
priest. This document was drawn up at the castle of Wisbech,
and bore the signatures of thirty-three priests.^
While the reply of the Pope was being long awaited, an
embittered literary war broke out in England, in which, even
more than against the archpriest, the attacks were made upon
the Jesuits, whose instrument and mouthpiece Blackwell was
supposed to be. Blackwell had attempted to support his
view as to the supposed schismatics by the help of a " Roman
decision," that is to say by certain expressions of English
1 Ibid , 367.
* Ibid., 368 seqq.
3 Ibid., 371.
28 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Jesuits,^ one of whom, Thomas Lister, defended the view in
an intemperate work, which was approved by the archpriest.^
As Blackwell wrote on October 22nd, 1600, to Clement VIII.,
the Jesuits had protected him against the disturbers of the
peace, and had stood by his side in his danger, both for attack
and defence.^ All the hatred of Persons and the Society of
Jesus which had been accumulating in recent years now broke
out in the form of numerous and violent polemical writings,
which were almost equalled in the violence of their language
by some of the replies of Persons.'* This literary warfare was
begun by a polemical work of Lister.
The goal at which the malcontents were aiming was the
removal and recall of the Society of Jesus from England, and
their quarrel with the Jesuits had gradually led them far away
from those principles which hitherto had guided the attitude
of the Catholics, especially towards the government. Was it
necessary, so the appellants asked themselves, to attach such
importance to the bull of excommunication of Pius V. ? If
the question was put to the martyrs : What would you do if
the Pope were to send an Armada to conquer England ? had
it really been necessary to reply with such great caution, and
by that exaggerated caution irritate and rouse the suspicions
of the government ? In any case was it not possible now to
change their attitude, and seek for a reconciliation with the
queen ? " We ought to act towards her, our true and
legitimate queen, and towards our country, very differently
from the way adopted by so many Catholics, and above all by
^ Ibid., 368.
2 Entitled " Adversus factiosos in Ecclesia," ibid., 372.
^ Ibid., 370.
* It must be noted that Persons, at the same time, in letters
not intended for publication, expressed himself in a conciliatory
way towards his adversaries (Gerard, loc. cit., 47 seq.). With
regard to Lister, his superior, Garnet, wrote of him at the same
time that he was composing his work against the schismatics,
that he was suffering from mental over-excitement, which made
him fear for his physical health {ibid., 42, n. i). The character-
istic part of Persons' reply in Meyer, 373 seq.
THE APPELLANTS. 2g
the Jesuits," was the repl}' given to such questions in a work
by Watson. Ehzabeth, Watson insisted, had from the first
treated the Catholics with kindness and favour ; all good
sense was on her side, and all the wrong on the side of the
Catholics ; if the Pope should give orders for the conferring
of the crown on an enemy of the country, there would be no
obligation to obey him ; the bull of excommunication of
Pius v., which John Bishop described as erroneous, was
merely treated by Watson as surreptitious.^
The Jesuits formed a serious obstacle to any conclusion of
peace on the basis of such opinions, and therefore the idea
gained more and more ground among their adversaries of
suggesting to the government that they should renounce their
co-operation in England as the price of the restoration of peace
and the toleration of the old religion. The laws that were
still in force against the Catholics could be abrogated and
changed into laws against the Jesuits.
The statesmen who governed England could not fail to
rejoice that the internal quarrels of the Catholics should thus
become more and more acute, and the appellants met with the
greatest sympath}' and ready support from them. One of
the prisoners of Wisbech, the secular priest Thomas Bluet, was
summoned in the summer of 1601 to present himself before
the Bishop of London, Richard Bancroft, to explain his
views more fully ; he declared that the Jesuits were a danger
to the state, but that the secular clergy, on the contrary, were
loyal subjects and were being unjustly persecuted.- Further
negotiations with the royal councillors followed, and Bluet
was even allowed to appear before Elizabeth herself to explain
his views. Their complaisance went even further : although,
according to the English law, an appeal to the Pope was
looked upon as a crime deserving of the stake. Bluet even
dared to present a petition that he and certain other secular
priests might be allowed to go to Rome in support of the
appeal already presented there, or better still to press the
1 Meyer, 376.
* Ibid., 377.
30 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Pope for the recall of the Jesuits.^ The government accepted
this proposal ; the prison doors were thrown open, and,
furnished with English passports,^ at the beginning of
November, 1601, certain prisoners of state, who had been
declared worthy of death, went to Rome in order to induce
the Pope, who from every pulpit had been declared the greatest
enemy of England, to enter into an alliance with England
against Catholic priests. The ever astute Elizabeth even
thought it well to allow a few words of adulation from her
sovereign lips, to come to his ears : " unlike Pius, Gregory and
Sixtus, those warlike Popes " so she expressed herself to
Bluet, " Clement, as his very name shows, should be a peaceful
Pope."^ So as to make the journey of Bluet and his com-
panions less noticeable, they were " banished " from England,
after they had been given the opportunity of collecting the
necessary funds for their journey to Rome*
When they arrived in Belgium the envoys learned that
Rome had already (August 17th, 1601) given its decision on
the dispute. Blackwell too had received a Papal brief, but he
took the liberty of keeping this secret for several months,
^Ibid., 378.
2 Dated August, October and November, ihid., 379, n.
' Ibid., 379. Some further expressions of Elizabeth concerning
■' the Pope " (Clement VIII. ?), on December 24, 1597, in Prevost-
Paradol, Elizabeth et Henri IV., 170. He is supposed to have
said to two English gentlemen that Elizabeth was indeed a
heretic, but that she was in other respects the most competent
sovereign in the world, and that he would have been more ready
to place himself at her disposal than many other princes. On
the other side the queen complained of the fables that were spread
in Rome of her cruelty towards the Catholics ; that she had
never persecuted a Catholic, except in the case of persons who
were a danger to the state. The differences between the various
religious confessions were not so important after all, for there
was but one Christ and one creed, and that everything else was
a trifle, as to which it would be easy to come to an understanding,
so long as the two principles of good will and courage existed in
Christendom.
* LiNGARD, VIII., 391.
THE APPELLANTS AND THE BRIEP. 3 1
until January, 1602, when the last of the polemical writmgs of
Persons appeared in print. ^ This brief, which " unites in the
happiest way the two-fold purpose of defending both justice
and ecclesiastical discipline," rejected the appeal, ^ but admits
the reasonableness of the appellants, in that it rejected the
accusation of schism, and threatened with excommunication
an5'one that dared to make it. All further polemical writings
■on the matter were prohibited, as well as those which had
appeared so far, among these especially the work of Lister.
The brief contained a clear admonition both to Blackwell
and his adversaries, and exhorted them to obedience.^
If the English envoys had only been sent in support of their
appeal, they ought in that case to have returned home. The
nuncio in Flanders, Frangipani, who informed them of the
Papal brief, tried in every way to induce them to do so, but
only succeeded in the case of one of their number.'* Frangipani
knew perfectly what it was that the appellants were seeking,
for on August 22nd, 1602, he had already written to Rome
to say that Elizabeth had given them permission to make
the journey in order that she might be freed from the Jesuits.^
But when the latter, in February, 1602, sent a commission
of their own to Rome, which arrived there on April 9th,* it
was only natural to fear a perpetuation of the quarrel, from
which Frangipani feared the greatest evils for the Church in
England.'
But all his attempts at pacification had no effect upon the
appellants, who were still full of hope. " If I, poor worm
^ Ibid., 380 seq.
2 So Meyer (381).
' Ibid., 380 seq.
'^ Ibid., 382. Cf. L. v. Wassenhoven, O. M. Frangipani,
Nuntius van Flanderen, en de Engelsche Katholicken, 1596-
1606, Baesrode, 1925, who gives a detailed account of the efforts
of Frangipani to settle the disputes among the English Catholics,
and to improve their position.
^ Ibid., 378, n. 2.
« Ibid., 382.
'To Aldobrandini, March 8, 1602, ibid., 382, n. 3.
32 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
that I am, have obtained so much from the queen," said
Bluet later on in Rome,^ " how much may not be effected
by the prestige of His Holiness, added to the support of the
King of France, for the relief of the English Catholics ? " '^
The toleration of the Catholics was at that time a thing so
greatly desired in Rome that there were some who could well
believe that the sacrifice of the Jesuits would count for nothing.
Blackwell had laid his complaints against his adversaries
before the Inquisition in i6oi,^ and this tribunal was given
the charge of inquiring into the matter. The discussions
began in April ; some thought that they were safe in prophesy-
ing that they would be very protracted, as the Pope seemed
determined to have the whole unpleasant affair gone into
this time with all possible completeness.^ But about a month
later the rumour was spread that Clement VHI. had quickly
settled the matter. Both the Pope and the Cardinals were
weary of the affair, because the noisy complaints of the
appellants had only been caused by unworthy motives, so
that it only required the temporary absence of Persons to
quiet the whole business.^ The authors of the accusation
had therefore to listen to words of severe admonition from
the Pope, on account of the impatience with which they had
attempted at all costs to relieve themselves of persecution,
as well as on account of their relations with heretics and with
Elizabeth, whom they wrongly looked upon as their queen,
though she was excommunicated and dethroned, as well as
on account of their hostility towards an Order which was
recognized by the Church.^ It is reported that as to this
last charge the appellants refused altogether to admit in
Rome that they had ever tried to get the Jesuits driven out,
^ Ibid., 387.
^ Ibid.
3 Meyer, 372.
* " For His Holiness seemeth now to be inclined to have the
matter ripped open from the bottom." Report from Rome,
April 27, 1602, in Foley, I., 13.
^ Ibid., 14.
* Meyer, 384.
THE APPELLANTS AND THE JESUITS. 33
while they repudiated the writings of Watson and others.^
They found a powerful supporter in the French ambassador
in Rome, while the Spanish ambassador was opposed to them.^
But in England in the meantime matters were pursuing
their course, and the appellant priests were filled vdth con-
fidence in the success of their cause, ^ Bancroft, together
with certain ministers of state, continued to give them support,
while it was said of the queen herself that she gladly welcomed
the development of the quarrel, so as thus to introduce discord
into the College of Cardinals, to hold back the Pope from
making any decision, and to deprive the Spaniards of any
hope of finding their party strengthened by the English
Catholics.* To the disgust expressed by the Puritans at
her apparent rapprochement with the Catholics, the queen
replied by increasing the persecution and by executing several
priests.'' The written attacks of the appellants on the Jesuits
continued,^ and they were not ashamed to present to the
government a detailed list of the hiding places of their hated
adversaries.' The Protestants watched with joy these
disagreements among the Catholics, and the writings of the
appellants found eager readers among them.^
^ Foley, I., 14, 38. The Venetian ambassador in Rome,
Francesco Vendramin, learned that the appellants wished to
obtain liberty of conscience by the removal of the Jesuits. Reports
of March g and 23, 1602, in Brown, n. 1061, 1066.
2 Brown, n. 1061, 1066, 1078.
3 Letter of the Jesuit Rivers to Persons, in Foley, 41.
^ Ibid., 23.
^ Ibid., 23, 30. A Puritan, who had attacked the Lord
Treasurer, the Secretary of State, the Bishop of London, and
others for their relations with the Catholics, was condemned to
the pillory and the loss of his ears. The judge said to him that
Bancroft had rendered his country a much greater service than
anyone else by sowing cockle among the priests themselves.
Letter of the Jesuit Richard Blount, February 14, 1602, ibid.,
18 seq.
" Ibid., 37.
' Foley, L, 38.
* Ibid., 39.
VOL. XXIV. ^
34 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
On July 20th, 1602, the long expected judgment of the
Inquisition was delivered. By this the appellants were
justified in so far that the accusation of schism was declared
unfounded, while, for the sake of peace, the archpriest was
forbidden to take counsel with the Jesuits about the affairs
of his office, and Blackwell was advised to refer directly to
the Pope or the Cardinal Protector. He was, moreover,
warned not again to exceed his powers. But in all other
matters the appellants met with no success. They must,
when they return home, submit to the reproofs of the English
Secretary of State for not having fulfilled their promises,
and for not having obtained either the recall of the Jesuits
or the removal of the archpriest. Moreover the Jesuits were
left in possession of their English colleges on the continent,
while all further negotiations with the heretics to the injury
of other Catholics were prohibited. Anyone who disobeyed
in this matter would ipso facto incur excommunication.^
Clement VI IL waited for another two months before he
gave his final judgment on this unpleasant affair ; in the
meantime Persons attempted to obtain a mitigation for
Blackwell and his followers, but in vain, and the brief to the
archpriest, dated October 5th, 1602, was in all points in
accordance with the suggestions of the Inquisition. In two
respects it went even further : the faculties of the archpriest
were more exactly defined, and he was compelled to appoint
three of the appellants to the first three places among his
counsellors, which should become vacant. The zeal and piety
of the Jesuits were praised,^ and thus scrupulous care was
taken that none of the interested parties was wronged, and
no one was given cause for complaint.
In the meantime Elizabeth was preparing a surprise for
the appellants at home ; this was her last edict against the
Catholics.^ This distinguished between the Jesuits and their
1 Meyer, 385.
^ Ibid., 387; Foley I., 16-18.
^ Of November 5 (15), 1602, in Lingard, VIII., 391. Cf.
Andreas Philopater (Jos. Creswell, S.J.), Responsio ad edictum
Elisabethae Reg. Angliae contra catholicos, Rome, 1593.
EDICT AGAINST THE JESUITS. 35
adherents, and the secular clergy. The former were without
exception declared guilty of high treason, because they aroused
foreign princes against their country and placed the life of
the queen in danger. The secular clergy were spoken of as
anti- Jesuit and less perverse, but they too are disobedient
and dislo3^al subjects, who, under a mask of conscience, steal
the hearts of the simple and ingenuous people, and attach
them to the Pope. The Jesuits and their adherents must
therefore leave the country within thirty days, if they do not
wish to incur the punishment of the law against Catholic
priests. Other priests were allowed a period until January
1st, or at the latest, February ist, 1603 ; if by that time they
had made a formal act of obedience before the queen's court,
they would then be proceeded against leniently. The edict
complains in strong terms of the audacity of those priests
who showed themselves in the streets in full daylight, and
who brought the queen under the suspicion of intending to
tolerate two religions in the country. God, who can read
the hearts of men, knew well that she was not guilty of any
such madness, and that none of her advisers had dared to
lay any such proposal before her, which would not only
disturb the peace of the Church, but would also throw the
State into confusion.^
This edict had a two-fold purpose ; it was in the first place
to exonerate the queen in the eyes of the Protestants from
the suspicion of favouring the Catholics, and in the second,
it was to be a test as to how far the appellants had progressed
along the mistaken course which they had adopted. It had
seemed at first that the latter were in no hurry to obey the
sentence of the Pope, yet the royal edict only brought one
priest to make his act of submission, and induced another
to refuse to accept the Papal briefs.^ Even though there
were still as before comings and goings of the appellants to
the house of the Bishop of London, and Bluet was even lodged
there for a time, there is no reason to see in this a formal act
1 LiNGARD, VIII., 392 ; Meyer, 389 5^17.
2 Meyer, 393.
36 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of disobedience, because all relations with the heretics was
not forbidden. Such conduct, however, was still a matter for
suspicion, as was the fact that the appellants asked, through
one of their representatives, for the support of the French
government against the Jesuits ; the English ambassador in
Paris was kept closely informed of these negotiations. But
something more than mere suspicion was aroused by the fact
that polemical writings against the Jesuits still continued to
appear in print. ^
It was not, however, possible to be content with half
measures if the malcontents intended to remain Catholic
priests. On the other hand, the latter did not wish altogether
to reject the hand held out to them by the government ; if
in an official edict a distinction had been drawn between
priests and priests, this marked a step forward and held out a
ray of hope. Moreover, a special tribunal had been set up,
composed of the archbishop, the Keeper of the Privy Seal,
the Lord Treasurer and others, who were to summon each
priest before them and decide as to the question of his exile,
and as to the manner and terms of its enforcement ;^ this
too seemed to show a tendency to greater leniency, for it was
left to the good-will of this tribunal to change, for example,
the punishment of perpetual imprisonment for the lesser
penalty of exile. Accordingly, on the last day before the
expiration of the term allowed, thirteen priests assembled,
not to make an act of submission to the government, but
merely to declare their loyalty as subjects. The queen, it
is stated in a work by William Bishop, has the same authority
as her predecessors, and has the right to the same obedience
as is paid by Catholic priests to Catholic sovereigns, and no
one in this world can dispense them from this duty. In the
case of a conspiracy, or of an invasion of England, even in
the name of religion, they would be bound to take the part
of the queen against all her enemies, and to make known to
her all such attempts. The excommunication which might
^ Ibid., 391 seq.
2 LiNGAKD, VIII., 392.
GARNET S CIRCULAR. -^"J
in the event be launched against her they judged to be invalid.
In the Pope, however, they recognized their supreme ecclesi-
astical pastor and the successor of Peter. " Just as we are
absolutely ready to shed our blood in the defence of her
Majesty and our country, so too would we rather lose our
lives than offend against the lawful authorit}^ of the Catholic
Church of Christ."^
In spite of this last phrase there can be no mistaking the
fact that these thirteen priests were placing themselves in a
position with regard to the Pope, the danger of which was
destined to become perfectly clear in the years to come. The
attitude of the opposing party was far more logical and in
conformity with Catholic principles. When the Papal decision
of the question, which had been so long pending, was imminent,
the superior of the Jesuits, Henry Garnet, issued a circular
to his subjects, calling for a sincere and reverent obedience
to the Pope, and exhorting them to peace and concord with
the secular clergy.^ At the very beginning of the dispute,
on March ist, 1598, Garnet had issued a similar document
as well as a kind of declaration of loyalty, though this was
not addressed to the government but to the whole of the
clergy of England. " Eighteen years have gone by," he says
in this, " since our Society came to your England to join you,
who are labouring so generously in the vineyard of the Lord.
During all this time we have experienced the greatest affection
on your part towards us, and by the grace of God have lived
in such a way as to take every care that every one of you
shall receive the honour which is your due, and to assist
every one of you with all zeal, rendering to you all the services
that were in our power, and thus embracing each of you with
all the fervour of charity of which the human soul is capable.
Our consciences bear testimony to this, and I have no doubt
that more than one of you will confirm it, and that none of
you has any just ground for complaint of us. In saj/ing this
we do not venture to state that all that we have done has
1 Ibid., VIII., 393 seq. ; Meyer, 3^3 seq.
2 Meyer, 392.
38 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
been without blame, for we are but mortal men, and in a
situation that is so full of mire, it may well be that perchance
some dust has collected on our feet. But however weak
and imxperfect we may be, we at least desire to be better,
and your affection has most certainly preserved us from the
fault of having voluntarily offended against any one of you.
In spite of all this there has come into our hands a passage
from a memorial which was sent to the Holy Father, and
which contains things than which nothing more unworthy
could have come from your pen, and nothing more monstrous
could have been brought against us, not even by the heretics,
and this has been presented to His Holiness by two persons,
the one a priest and the other a layman,^ in the name of the
English clergy. To you, therefore, priests of England, I have
recourse, to you who are the nursery of our renascent Church,
the ornament of the Catholic world, and the training ground
of heroic martyrs. Tell us if these monstrous accusations
really emanate from you."-
They had not, indeed, emanated from the majority of the
secular clergy, and even if the minority, by reason of its
polemical writings, seemed to be speaking for itself, there
were not lacking the expressions of those who thought differ-
ently. Even at Wisbech, the true hot-bed of the hostility
to the Jesuits, and from whence had come the denunciation
of Blackwell in 1600, there gathered together in the following
year a number of secular priests in order to give to their
fellow labourers of the Society of Jesus a shining proof of
their friendship. As at that time the old complaints of the
arrogance of Weston had been sent even as far as Rome,
these gave, in a collective letter to the Pope, a brilliant
testimony to the accused.^
The minority of the secular clergy were guided by sound
reason when they judged that they must not count upon
1 This certainly is an allusion to Giftord a,nd Paget.
2 Gerard {cf. supra, p. 20, n. 3 ), 49.
=* On September 29, iCoi ; extract in Baktoli, Inghilterra,
I., 5, c. 17, p. 227.
OPINION OF MALVASIA. 39
violent measures, or look to the foreign princes for any help
for the old religion. In this, they coincided with the ideas
of the Pope himself, and in 1596, in a memorial to Cardinal
Aldobrandini, the nuncio in Flanders, Malvasia, expressed
himself in the same sense. ^ The nuncio was of the opinion
that it would be possible to bring pressure to bear upon
Elizabeth through Henry IV. ; it should be suggested to her
that she should put an end to the fierce persecution of the
Catholics, and, following the example of so many other
princes, who tolerated various forms of religion in their
countries, grant to them, at any rate in their own houses, if
not in public, the right of Catholic worship. The queen would
then have for the future loyal subjects in the English exiles
in Flanders, who were now dependent upon the subsidies of
Spain, which were hardly ever paid, and who often, in their
miser}^ allowed themselves to be drawn into the most desperate
undertakings ; she would be set free from a thousand dangers,
from the constant fear of conspiracies and treason, and from
the endless expense of defending herself against the King of
Spain. ^ Once she was set free from disturbances of the peace
at home, the queen need no longer fear the slow-moving and
distant foreign enemy, all the more so as jealousy of the mighty
King of Spain would attract many allies to her side, once
religious scruples no longer stood in the way.
Just as in this respect Malvasia partly forestalled the
proposals of the appellants, so was it in another matter. The
nuncio, who was not well disposed towards the Jesuits,
wondered whether it would not be wise to withdraw them
from England, at any rate for the time being, as they were
especially hateful to and suspected by the queen. So as still
1 The edict (with incomplete date) in Bellesheim, Schottland,
II., 460-468. According to Cod. Ottob. 2510 the date is "11
gennaro, 1596." Vatican Library.
^ Also the report of an English nobleman of the year 1595,
in Meyer, 309, n. i, says that almost all the exiles " data minima
securitate religionis " and from the extreme need in which they
found themselves, would leave the Spanish service and return
to their country.
40 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
further to pacify Elizabeth, it might be well, under pain of
ecclesiastical penalties, possibly even of excommunication,
to forbid the returned exiles to make any attempts upon the
crown, or to take any part in politics.^
Clement VIII. was less disposed to make such concessions, ^
and England was, and always remained for him, a child of
sorrow. " Cut off though j^ou are from us by space," he wrote
on October 31st, 1597, to the English Catholics,^ but united
to us by faith and charit}^ we ever think of you and rejoice
in 5'our steadfastness. All Catholics look to you and thanks
to you give praise to God. Persevere therefore in your
expectation of an eternal reward."^ The Pope never aban-
doned the hope that England would return to the ancient
Church, and in the meantime made use of every opportunity
of obtaining the mediation, little valuable though it was, of
the Catholic princes, on behalf of the persecuted Catholics of
England.^
1 Bellesheim, Schottland, II., 468.
a Cf. infra., pp. 59, 73.
^ *Brevia, Arm. 4^, t. 41, n. 234, Papal Secret Archives. The
Pope received news from England through the agent, Giovanni
degli Effetti, who had gone to England in the suite of the French
ambassador, the Duke of Sully, in 1603. Cf. B. Camm in Ths
Month, LXXXVIII. (1896), 251-258.
* Carte Strozz. (September, 1595), I., 2, 248; *report of the
Venetian ambassador, June 7, 1603, State Archives, Venice.
^Francesco Gonzaga wrote to Rudolph II. on July 31, 1601,
concerning the joy of Clement VIII. at the mediation of the
Emperor, State Archives, Vienna. A *iequest for the inter-
ces.sion of the King of Poland, August 23, 1594, in Brevia, Arm. 44,
t. 39, n. 94, p. 149, Papal Secret Archives ; *to the Emperor,
November 23, 1604, ibid., t. 56, p. 339. The Pope also inter-
vened many times on behalf of the English exiles in Flanders,
e.g. on March 15, 1593, with Philip II., in order that they might
be sent their monthly payments, which had not been paid to
them for many months (Brevia, Arm. 44, t. 38, n. 260, loc. cit.) ;
on January 20 and May 15, 1594, with the Archduke Ernest
{ibid., t. 39, n. 74, 196) ; On May 19, 1596, with Cardinal Archduke
Albert {ibid., t. 40, n. 39).
THE SUCCESSION TO THE ENGLISH THRONE. 4I
While Elizabeth, deaf to all entreaties, was working for the
extermination of the old religion, the signs of her own
approaching death became more and more clear. In vain
she tried to deceive the world and herself as to the steady
failure of her powers, and with the energy that characterized
her this woman of more than sixty forced her broken body
to take part in balls and hunting-parties,^ but at the opening
of Parliament in 1601, crushed under the weight and splendour
of her royal attire, she fell in the arms of the knight who was
standing near her ;2 soon after this a visitor to the court found
her worn to a skeleton and plunged in melancholy, an intoler-
able burden to herself and to those about her.^
But even now the queen remained obstinately determined
to take no steps to settle the succession to the throne. Anxiety
as to this assumed all the greater proportions in England
as the whole question had been hopelessly complicated by the
caprices of Henry VIII. The whole country had been forced
to swear allegiance to Elizabeth when she was still an infant ;
when she was three years old her own father had caused her to
be declared by Parliament incapable of succeeding to the crown,
and by his will he had left Mary Tudor heir to the throne. Mary
Stuart, on the other hand, who was legally the next heir, had
been completely passed over by Henry in his will ; after the
death of Mary Tudor, she could no longer be considered the
heir to the throne, because she was looked upon as the future
Queen of France, and France was at war with England, and
the act of Parliament which, after Elizabeth had ascended
the throne, confirmed the will of Henry VIII., once more
tacitly excluded her from the succession. From that moment
Mary Stuart assumed the arms of England, and this tacit
assertion of her rights never again fell into oblivion. After
her death it was Mary's son, the King of Scots, to whom
English statesmen for the most part turned their eyes, even
1 LiNGARD, VIII., 384 seq. Cf. the contemporary letters of
the Jesuit Rivers in Foley 24, 47.
2 LiNGARD, VIII., 379,
3 Ibid., 394,
42 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
though, besides James, many other claimants to the crown
were entitled to aspire to it.^
But besides the question of primogeniture, there was
another motive which weighed heavily in the matter of the
succession, according as men were Catholics or Protestants.
Both parties were resolved not to give the crown to anyone
who was not of their own faith. The hopes of the Catholics
had been greatly raised once Henry IV. had made his abjura-
tion, a thing which seemed to secure a preponderance in
Europe to the Catholic powers. After 1591 it seemed that
the Catholics were resolved to uphold the claims of Ferdinand
Stanle3^ but he, who was Earl of Derby from 1593, definitely
refused the honour, and an English exile who, it is said, had
gone to him with such a proposal, was handed over by him
to the government, and thus to execution, which took place
on November 29th, 1593.^
Soon after this another step was taken by the Catholic
party. Two years before (in 1591) the Puritan Peter Went-
worth had dared not only to raise the question of the succession
in Parliament, but also to publish a work on the subject ;
he had had to pay for his audacity by imprisonment in the
Tower, from which he was only freed by his death in 1596.^
The Jesuit Persons, who had not yet given up hopes of seeing
ia Catholic ascend the English throne, and with him the old
religion, also formed the idea of writing a work, asking for an
impartial examination of the various claims to the succession,
but actually emphasizing the rights of the royal house of
Spain, in that Philip II. counted Edward III. among his
ancestors,^ and before the setting out of the Armada had asked
1 Cf. Pollen, The question of Queen Elizabeth's successor, in
The Month, CI., (1903), 516-532, and especially the genealogical
tree, ibid. 520.
^PoLiKN, loc. cit., 522 ; Lechax, 169 seq.
^ Wentworth at first supported Edward Seymour, Lord
Beauchamp, and later on, when in the Tower, James of Scotland,
as the true heir. Pollen, loc. cit., 523.
* See the genealogical tree, ibid., 520. The claims oi the
daughter of Philip II., Isabella, Clara Eugenia, are spoken ou
PERSONS BOOK ON THE SUCCESSION. 43
Sixtus V. to nominate him as King of England. ^ The General
of the Order, Aquaviva, learned of this intention with dismay ;
more far-seeing than his subject, he at once realized that
Persons was exposing the whole Order to obvious peril for
the sake of an impossible project. The author of the work
could not remain unknown, he wrote to the English Jesuits,
and if it was still possible to do so, its publication must be
prevented.^
This advice of Aquaviva arrived too late, and even before
he had received Persons' reply, what he had feared had taken
place. Not all the Catholics took the part of Persons and
Spain, and a party among the English exiles in the Low
Countries, very hostile to the Jesuits and little scrupulous
about th.eir choice of means, had adopted the cause of James
of Scotland as successor to the throne. One of their agents,
Charles Paget, had been able to procure from an employe of
the printers, for a sum of money, the manuscript of the book,
while another member of the part}^ Dr. Gifford, recognized
the handwriting ; the greater part of the book was by
Verstegan, with long additions and corrections b\' Persons.^
Gifford at once laid accusations against the book before the
Papal nuncio Malvasia, who reported it to Rome in accordance
with Gifford's ideas ; Paget denounced it to the English
authorities. It would seem, however, that the government
refused to take any steps, and the book, which appeared under
the pseudonym of " Doleman,"'* did no harm to anyone
except its authors.
elsewhere. Essex wrote to James of Scotland that of the all-
powerful party of the Earl of Nottingham, Cecil, Raleigh and
Cobham would press their rights. Cf. Lingard, VIII., 362,
269 seq.
1 Letter tu Olivares, February 11, 1587. Cf. Pollen, !oc. cii.,
521.
2 Letter to Persons, March 30, 159-I, ibid., 524 ; Persons' reply,
June 4, 1594, ibid.
* Pollen, loc. cit., 525 seq. Ibid., 526, concerning the authors.
* A Conference about the next succession to the Throne, pul.\
by R. DoLEMAN, and generally entitled ; The Book ot Titles,
44 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
By this injudicious book, the authorship of which was only
partly his, though he was entirely responsible for its publi-
cation, Persons showed that he was quite out of touch with
his own country. The Spaniards had very few partisans in
England, while the appearance that the Catholics were
pledged to their interests gave their adversaries a welcome
opportunity for attacking them. " I cannot see," wrote the
Scottish Jesuit Crichton to Persons, " that this book has done
the least good, though its disastrous consequences are manifest.
The French have a proverb : You cannot catch a hare with
a drum. The preachers are hammering incessantly upon this
drum of yours, from the English as well as from the Scottish
pulpits."^
But Persons did not even yet give up his hopes in Spain ;
when in June 1596 an English fleet had sacked Cadiz, Philip II.
planned a new expedition against England. In the event of
this proving successful Persons had obtained a promise from
the King of Spain that he would leave England as an independ-
ent kingdom, or at any rate under the regency of his daughter
Isabella Clara Eugenia. ^ Persons even drew up a memorial^
as to the manner in \^'hich Catholic reform should be effected
in England, and went to Rome to get this accepted in accord-
ance with Spanish ideas.
At the Vatican, however, at the beginning of April, 1597,
he found a state of affairs that was but ill-disposed both to
the Jesuits and the Spaniards ; while France was making
every effort to undermine Spanish influence. Nevertheless
Persons' skill brought it about that at the end of May the
Secretary of State wrote to the legate in France on the subject
of the succession to the English throne in a sense that seemed
Summary of the contents in Lingard, VIII., 332. For a partially
new reprint of the book by the Puritans in 1647 cf. The Month,
1911, 270.
1 Pollen in The Month, CI., 528.
2 Dispatch from the nuncio in Spain, November 6, 1596. Cf.
Pollen, loc. cit., 528 seq.
?"A memorial of the Reformation of England," ibid., 329.
THE ENGLISH SUCCESSION. 45
to reflect the ideas of Persons.^ It is true that the suggestions
were expressed in very vague terms ; there was no mention
of definite plans, and no word of agreements or subsidies.
Evidently it was intended to await the result of the new
Spanish Armada.
When in 1598 the last attack of Philip II. upon England
met with an inglorious fate, Spanish prestige came to an end.
It was immiediately reahzed that the failure of the great
undertaking of 1588 as well could not be attributed to chance,
but to the weakness of the Spanish power. Philip II. now
sought to make peace with France, and this was concluded
on May 2nd, 1598, at Vervins.
Henceforward the Spanish preponderance passed to France,
and even Persons began to lose his confidence in Philip II.,
and in the very same 5/ear, 1598, turned to Henry IV. for
support for the English Catholics.- The question of who
should obtain the crown of Elizabeth noM' seemed to depend
upon the King of France. But Henry IV. was very far from
wishing to put himself forvv'ard as the champion of the Catholic
Church ; rather was it his aim to subjugate the Hapsburgs by
means of a league of the Protestant powers with France at
their head.^
Once Henry IV. had decided in favour of James VI. his
rights to the succession were assured, in spite of all acts of
Parliament. During the years that followed they still
continued to occupy themselves in Rome and Madrid with
the important question of the succession to the English throne,
but these negotiations were marked with but little clarity
or energy.
In Rome Persons still remained the important personality
in this matter, and a messenger from England with supposedly
important instructions was sent on by the nuncio in Madrid
to Rome, as the Pope wished to order the English Jesuit to
take this matter into his own hands, notwithstanding the fact
that the rules of his Order forbade him to interfere in any
1 Ibid., 530.
2 Ibid., 331 seq. Cf. Meyer, 383.
* Pollen, loc. cit., 577.
46 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
affairs of state. ^ On July 12th, 1600, the Pope sent three
briefs to the nuncio in Flanders, which he was to keep until
they could be made use of ; one of these exhorted the English
Catholics to concord, and the two others warned the archpriest
and the nuncio not to support any claimant to the throne who
was not a Catholic- Certain letters attached to the briefs and
containing instructions to the nuncio, were composed by
Persons. In one letter to Persons on August 19th, 1600, the
nuncio Frangipani remarked that the briefs in their indefinite
form would probably make very little impression : it was
necessary to decide upon a definite successor to the throne
and give his name. Persons had a conversation with the
Pope as to this on September 12th. It would seem that Rome
would most wihingly have supported the claims of the house
of Farnese, which could be strengthened by a marriage with
Arabella Stuart, the niece of Darnley.^ It was necessary,
however, to take Henry IV. into consideration, and the King
of France replied to his Cardinal, Ossat, by whom these
projects had been reported to him, with a definite refusal.
He wrote that the party which the Pope and the Spaniards
were supporting was so weak that the position of the English
Catholics would beconie even worse should they have recourse
to force. He added that if the Spaniards tried to obtain a
footing in England, he would oppose them.^
In Spain the burning question of the succession to the
English throne was a perpetual subject of discussion, and in
1 Ib^d., 572.
2 *Brevia, Arm. 44, t. 44, n. 190, Papal Secret Archives.
3 Cardinal d'Ossat to Henry IV., Nov. 26, 1601, Lettres, II.,
501 seqq. The claims of Farnese were also maintained in the
Low Countries ; Lechat, 167-169.
* Berger de Xivrey, Lettres missives de Henri IV., Vol. V.,
Paris, 1850, 512 ; Pollen, loc. cit. For the position ot Henry IV.
cf. Prevost-Paradol, Elisabeth et Henri IV., i595-i598, Paris,
1862 ; Laffleur de Kermaingant, L'ambassade de France en
Angleterre sous Henri IV. Mission de Jean de Thumery, sieur
de Boissise, 1 598-1 602, Paris, 1886 ; Mission de Christ, de Harlay,
comte de Beaumont, 1 602-1 605, Paris, 1895.
SPAIN AND THE ENGLISH SUCCESSION. 47
two letters of May nth and June 12th, 1600, the Spanish
ambassador called attention to the importance of the matter.
As a result of this the Spanish Privy Council decided that it
would be well to put forward the claims of the Infanta Isabella
Clara Eugenia, and to place 200,000 ducats at the disposal of
the Spanish ambassador in Flanders. But the matter ended
with this decision, and nothing further was done.^
It would seem, however, that the matter was dealt with a
little more energetically two years later. Although the
greater part of the English Catholics patiently bore the reli-
gious persecution, there were among them some who were
not averse to violent measures, especially those who, like
Lord Monteagle, Tresham, and Catesby, had either once been
Protestants, or had been brought up among Protestants.
All these names appear among those who had taken part in
the rising of Essex, names which later on became so unfor-
tunately celebrated in connexion with the Gunpowder Plot.
At the beginning of 1602 Thomas Winter was sent by this
group to Spain, to find out what could be hoped for from
Spain in the case of a rebellion. The government at Madrid
refused to allow itself to be dra\^n into making definite
promises, though it would seem that it held out certain hopes
to the envoy, and even took certain steps in the same direction.
In the same year, 1602, the Infanta Isabella, now the wife
of the Archduke Albert, Governor of the Low Countries, sent
Captain Thomas James to Madrid with orders to say that both
she and her husband were absolutely opposed to any claim
being made on their behalf to the English crown. After this
renunciation Philip III. gave up all further hopes of the
English succession, and declared his readiness to support
whatever claimant the Pope preferred.^ When Henry IV.
1 Pollen, loc. cit., 373
* Ibid., 581 ; the results of the embassy of Winter were enor-
mously exaggerated in a report from the Jesuit Creswell, as well
as in the forensic speeches of Edward Coke on the occasion of the
Gunpowder Plot (c/. Pollen, 578-580). Contemporary docu-
ments in the Archives of Simancas show that the Spanish govern-
ment made no definite promises {ibid., 580).
48 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
at last showed signs of a rapprochement with Spain, there
was again much discussion of the subject in the Spanish Privy
Council in February and March, and it seemed as though
something really would be done in the matter of the succession,
but certainly' nothing was done.^
^ Pollen, loc. cii., 582 seq.
CHAPTER II.
Persecution in Scotland and Ireland. — Clement VIII.
AND James I.
Among the English Catholics in Rome as well confidence in
the Spanish party had waned. This change had been greatly
promoted by the embassy of the appellants, sent by the
English secular clergy, which had made a stay in Rome during
1602, leaning to the support of France, and working against
the interests of Spain. ^ At the same time Persons lost that
prestige which he had hitherto enjoyed in high places in Rome.
The appellants informed the Pope through the French
ambassador, that James of Scotland would be glad to see the
English Jesuit sent away from Rome. At that time Persons
was ill in bed, but when on his recovery he went for a change
of air to Capua, to Cardinal Bellarmine, Clement VIII. forbade
him to return.^
It was indeed necessary to show every consideration towards
the King of Scots, for he had now for some time been the only
claimant to the English throne who had any serious prospect
of success. He himself had spared no effort to obtain the
dazzling crown of the neighbouring country, and would have
accepted it from the hands of the devil himself, thought a
contemporary, even though this meant the destruction of
both Catholic and Protestant preachers.^ Thus he did not
hesitate to hold out to the Pope and the Catholics the hope
of his return to the ancient faith, nor to make use of their
money and their influence.
1 Pollen, loc. cit, 581.
2 Ibid. 584.
^ Report for the year 1 601 on Scotland by the Jesuit, Alexander
MacQuhirrie, in Forbes-Leith, 270.
VOL. XXIV. 49 4
50 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
It is difficult to say definitely whether at times James
really had any inclination towards the old religion ; in any
case he detested the Presbyterian ism of his own country,
and had reintroduced episcopacy there. ^ There were many
Catholics among his courtiers ;^ he knew that his wife Anne
had become a Catholic, and exacted no more from her than
that she should keep the fact secret.^ Archbishop James
Beaton, v/ho had for many years been his mother's ambassador
in Paris, was confirm^ed by James in this office, as v/ell as
in the possession of his honours and titles ;^ the same was
true of John Leslie, the Bishop of Ross.^
But whatever may be thought of the sympathetic feeling
of James towards the Catholics, any energetic action, based
upon a real conviction, was certainly not to be looked for
from a prince of such weak character. As a report of the year
1616 describes him,^ he was extraordinarily timorous, but
at the same timie had been even from his youth autocratic
in the highest degree. Both his thoughts and his actions
were always guided by the opportunism of the moment, and
he subjected all else to this ; his conscience, his religion,
his friendships, his loyalty, the lives and deaths of his sons
and of the aristocracy, as well as the choice of his officials
and counsellors. Thus he was not really attached to any
particular form of religion, but always favoured the party
that was predominant for the moment ; as King of Scots he
had been a Calvinist, while later on in England he was an
Anglican. He aimed with all his might at the suppression
of the Catholic religion, and thought that he would be losing
1 Bfllesheim, Scliottland, II., 20S.
2 Forbes-Leith, 266.
^ Bellesheim, II., 200 seqq. and the documents ^153 seqq. For
Anne cf. \V. Plenkers in Stimmen aiis Mana-l.aach, XXXV.
(1888), 372-390, 494-504 ; W. Bliss in the Eng. Hist. Rev., 1889,
no (Paul V. spoke to the nuncio in Paris concerning his suspicions
of the Catholic sentiments of Anne).
* Bellesheim, II., 182, 190.
''Ibid., 182.
" Ibid., 249 seq.
HYPOCRISY OF JAMES. 51
half his power should the Pope once more obtam ecclesiastical
jurisdiction in Scotland, which might prove to be the case
if the number of the Catholics greatl}' increased. James was
a master of deceit and hypocrisy, and it meant nothing to
him to break his pledged word or to fail to keep an oath ; he
counted it the highest prudence to deceive the world with
lies under the appearance of good faith. He was not wanting
in astuteness, and as is wont to be the case with weak and
timorous natures, was full of cruelty and tyranny which he
vented in a horrible way upon the Catholics and upon all
those whose vengeance he feared on account of the wrongs
that he had done them. When he had filled himself with
strong and sweet v/ine he poured out abominable blasphemies
against the Pope, the religious, the Catholic Church, and even
against God and the saints, and would not desist until his
servants carried him to bed.
Already at the death of his mother in 1587 James had given
proof of his want of principle. When on receipt of the news
of the tragedy the Scottish nobles had thrown themselves
at his feet, and with clashing arms and loud curses liad
demanded vengeance on Elizabeth, and when a cry of indig-
nation had echoed through the country, it had been the only
son of the victim^ thus disgracefully sacrificed who had readily
accepted the excuses of Elizabeth, yet who, purely out of
consideration for public opinion, had for a short time professed
his willingness to give his assistance to the Armada of Philip II.,
but who, for the sake of an annual sum of five thousand pounds
from England, had shown himself forgetful of the honour of
Scotland and of his own crown, and had recently with the
support of English gold implicated the Catholic Scottish
aristocracy in a rebellion.^ Yet once again he pretended to
be favourable to the Catholics. Thus, after the above-
mentioned rising of the Catholic nobles, their property was
confiscated, but James refused to have the sentence carried
out, as well as the law threatening with loss of property those
who gave hospitality to a Catholic priest in their houses. -
1 Forbes-Leith, 215 seqq.
2 Ibid., 221 ; cf. 22b, 235.
52 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
He actually succeeded in getting the adherents of the old
religion to rally to him both in Scotland and in England ; his
own Catholic subjects were won over b)^ a promise of liberty
of conscience, and those of England b}^ the expectation of
his conversion.^ " There are great hopes of universal
toleration " runs a letter to Persons, " and the agreement of
the Catholics in recognizing the king is so complete, that it
seems as though God is about to accomplish great things.
All the religious parties are full of expectation and hope, and
the Catholics have good reasons to look for special considera-
tion being shown to their aspirations, for the Catholic nobles
are working almost to a man on behalf of the king, and have
obtained the most far-reaching promises from him."^
Nothing shows the duplicity of the king better than his
efforts to obtain the good will of the Pope.'' He had already
raised the hopes of Gregory XHI. for his return to the ancient
faith, in order to obtain subsidies from Rome.^ Under
Clement VHI. he had once again entered into negotiations,
though only through secret intermediaries, who could be
disavowed at any moment, and who were eventually thus
disavowed.
In the year 1592, we learn that James had sent two Jeusits,
the Scotsmen Gordon and Crichton, openly to Rome, to treat
of nothing less than the re-establishment of the Catholic
religion.^ In 1594 Clement VIII. sent to the king an envoy
with 40,000 ducats, and promised 10,000 ducats as a monthly
subsidy if liberty of conscience was given to the Catholics.^
But even before the Papal envoy Sampiretti set foot in
Scotland on July i6th, 1594, James had once again turned
1 A. O. Meyer in Oitellen u. Forsch., VIL (Rome, 1904), 272.
2 ZiMMERMANN in KcithoHk , 1889, IL, 256.
3 Meyer, Iqc. rit. 268-306; G. F. Warner in the Eng. Hist,
liev., XX. (1905), 124-127.
* Cf. Vol. XIX, of this work, p. 434 seq, ; Brosch, VII., 4.
^Forbes-Leith, 222, 355. CJ. Bellesheim, II., 452, 461.
See also Ranke, Engl. Gesch., I., 494.
* Walter Lindsay of Balgawies, Account of the present state
of the Catholic religion, 1594, in Forbes-Leith, 355.
ENVOYS FROM JAMES IN ROME. 53
to the Protestant preachers, and by an edict of November 12th,
1593, had confronted many thousands of CathoHcs with the
choice between apostasy and exile. ^ The papal envoy and
his companions fell into the hands of the heretics, but were
rescued by the Earls of Errol and Angus, while the subsidy
that had been sent came into the hands of the Catholic nobles.^
In spite of this, in 1595 and 1596 James sent a fresh envoy,
the Catholic Scotsman, John Ogilvy, to Rome and to Spain ;
the ends for which Ogilvy was working in Rome during
the summer and autumn of 1595, though probably he
was going beyond his instructions, were : the appointment
of a Cardinal to represent Scotland, annual subsidies
for the war against the rebels in his own country, and
against the heretics throughout Great Britain, and the excom-
munication of all the opponents of the Scottish succession
in England. This intermediary, however, met with no
success, because Clement VIH. did not trust the King of
Scots, ^ but great hopes were raised in the Pope's mhid when
in 1599 Edward Drummond arrived in Rome with a letter
in the address of which Clement VIIL was called " Most Holy
Father," and the King of Scots signed himself as " his most
devoted son."* Drummond was instructed to bring pressure
to bear upon the Pope, as well as on the Grand Duke of
Tuscany and the Duke of Savoy, to obtain the red hat for a
Scotsman, this time for the Bishop of Vaison, William
Chisholm. Clement VIII. did not grant this request, but
1 Forbef-Leith, 223.
2 W. Lindsay, loc. cit., 355 seq,
3 Ranke (Engl. Gesch., I., 494) thinks that this refers to a
going beyond of the faculties ; T. G. Law (Documents illustrating
Catholic policy in the reign of James VI., 1596-1598, Edinburgh,
1893, 5) refrains from making any judgment ; according to
A. O. Meyer [loc. cit., 271) who perceives in the mission of Ogilvy
" the typical features of the negotiations of James with the
Catholic powers." For the negotiations of Ogilvy in Venice,
Florence and Spain, cf. Lingard, VIIL, 345.
* " Eeatissime Pater . . . Obsequentissimus Filius " (Meyer,
loc. cit., 273). For Drummond, cf. Lingard VIIL, 346.
54 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
he answered the king's letter with great kindness, expressing
the hope that the king would yet find the wa}- of return to
the ancient Church.^ It is possible that the Papal briefs
to the English Catholics- were connected with the letter
of the King of Scots, ^ but Clement ^'III. would not
consent to an}- direct recognition of James' right to the
throne.
The object which the astute King of Scots had principally
had in view in v.riting his letter had thus not been attained,
and if he thought that his relations witli Rome had been
kept secret, he was equally mistaken. Queen Elizabeth
heard of his letter and demanded an explanation ; but he
was quite able to extract himself from the difficulty ; he
flatly denied his relations with Rome. A letter from the
king, addressed to a Scottish gentleman, James Hamilton,
who was at that time in England, charged him to assure all
honest people " on the word of a Christian prince " that
v.ithout any vacillation he had held firmly to his faith, and
would always hold firm to it, and that as King of England
he would never permit any other religion.^ James found
himself in fresh difficulties again in 1608, when, in connexion
with the " Test " oath, Bellamiine reminded the king of his
letter and the signature he had attached to it. Thereupon
James, while he himself remained hidden in an adjoining
room, forced his secretary- to confess that it was he who had
forged his signature. This confession had scarcely left the
lips of Balmerino when the king came out from his hiding-
place ; the secretary' threw himself at his feet, but was not
able to avert being condemned to death. But in spite of
all this James was not able to free himself from the suspicion
of having staged a comedy of complicity with the servile
secretary.^
^Letter of April 13, t6oo ; extract in Meyer, loc. cit., 2jS.
* Cf. supra, p.
9 Meyer, 278.
*Ibid., 276.
* Cf. Bellesheim, II., 192.
QUEEN ANNE AND THE POPE. 55
That James, despite his emphatic denial, had indeed written
to the Pope, is clear from a letter from his wife. This was a
letter written in her owti hand, ordering Drummond to make
the excuses of the king to Clement VIII., and sa\-ing that
Jam.es had not replied in person to the reply which the Pope
had sent to the king's letter, because Oueen Elizabeth had
learned of his relations with the Pope, and had threatened
him with the anger of the English Protestants, a thing which
might have involved for the King of Scots the loss of the
English crown. ^
The sam.e letter to Dramraond^ further contains orders
to profess before the Pope in the queen's name, the Catholic
faith in accordance v^ith the decrees of Trent, to swear
allegiance to the Apostohc See, and to recommend to the
Pope's protection the royal princes, whom their mother, as
far as it lay in her power, was bringing up in the Catholic faith.
It was neccssar}-, she said, for the king's safet\- that he should
have a bodyguard, and the Pope was asked to grant a subsidy
for this purpose, either on his own account or by obtaining it
from the King of France, or from the Dukes of Lorraine or
Tuscany. James had granted to all his subjects libert\- of
conscience, so that heresy would disappear of its ovra accord,
but in order to facilitate this action of the king the French
ambassador should, at the suggestion of the Pope, ask for
liberty of conscience for England as well. This request,
which had akeady been laid before the Curia on several
occasions by a Scottish prelate, was renewed by Anne because
in this way the quarrel between the secular clerg\' and the
Jesuits could be healed, and in the hands of Elizabeth this
1 " E.xcusato quam diiigenter regem apud eundem pontificem,
quod non rescripserit ; siquidem regina Angliae scriptionem
impedi\'it, quae priorum quas scripserat litterarum clanculario
adnionita nuncio, etiam per epistolas ad regem inscriptas minitata
est, si cum pontifice agat, sinistra in protestantium mtntibus
de eo sparsa opinioiie, etiam ab Anglici regni spe depulsuram."
Instructions for Drummond, in ^Ieyer, loc. cit., 301.
*Me\ter, 301-303. Cf. M.^RTiN, Clement \7II. et Jacques
Stuart, in the Rev. d'hist. dipL, XXV. (191 1), 368.
56 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
had become a principal means of preventing the conversion
of England. Finally, the Pope must not take it amiss if
James advanced but slowly, and especially if he and the
queen took part in the celebration of Protestant worship.
She was MTiting all this with the knowledge of James and
with his consent.^
Only a short time after her return to the old religion Anne
had had recourse by letter to the Pope as well as to the General
of the Jesuits, who was asked to re})resent her interests in
Rome. The bearer of her letters, James Wood, Laird of
Boniton, fell, however, into the hands of the Scottish Presby-
terians and was executed. King James who, when Elizabeth
had complained of the mission of Ogilvy and Drummond,
had imprisoned the envoys, again on this occasion publicly
boasted of having freed himself from the "archpapists." The
queen's letters escaped the notice of the Presbyterians, but
nevertheless, it would seem, never reached their destination.^
The exchange of letters between Edinburgh and Rome
still continued for a time, by means of a new envoy, the
Scottish Catholic, James Lindsay, and also through Lord
Sanquair. One of the queen's letters, presented this time
b}^ Drummond, safely reached the hands of the Pope.
Clement VIIL replied to it on July i6th, 1602,^ expressing
the hope that Anne would be able to win over her husband
to the Catholic faith. He took a further step in two briefs,
dated August gth, 1602, which Lindsay took back with him
from Rome ;^ in these he asked of the queen and of the king
the Catholic education of the heir to the crown, Henry (died
1 " Quo sciente et consentiente haec nos omnia praestamus et
postulamus " (Meyer,. 302). A *petition (of Drummond) to the
Pope on the basis of Anne's instructions in Borghese II., 348 :
" Viva voce et scriptis apucl V.S. egi, ut aliquando de rebus
Scotiae serio cogitaret, etc." Papal Secret Archives.
2 Alexander MacQuhirrie, The State of Scotland, 1601, in
Fokbes-Leith, 273 ; cj. ibid. 269, and Pollen, The Month, CI.
(1903), 272.
^ Published in Meyer, 303.
* Published ibid. 304 (brief to James), 305 (brief to Anne).
JAMES SUCCEEDS TO THE THRONE. 57
1612). If the king would follow the Pope's advice in this,
then Clement VIII., Lindsay reported orally, would be
prepared to assist James with subsidies in money, and
would support the king's aspirations to the English
throne.
Although this step on the part of the Pope seemed logical,
after all that had transpired, it nevertheless greatly
embarrassed the deceitful king. He now had to take up
a dehnite attitude, and could no longer continue his double
game. James therefore sought to gain time by putting off
his reph' as long as possible. He was able to do this without
fear, as Elizabeth's minister, Robert Cecil, who had formerly
opposed the Scottish succession,^ had now allowed himself
to be won over to it, without the knowledge of his sovereign,
who was growing old,^ so that James no longer had any need
of the Papists,^ as he expressed it later on. As a matter
of fact his succession to the throne after the death of
Elizabeth was accomplished without the least difficulty or
disturbance.
Clement VIII. naturally followed this event with great
hopefulness, and he addressed to the king a letter of good
wishes, in which he begged him to show himself well-disposed
towards the Catholics as he had done hitherto.* The Pope
also had recourse to the Catholic princes, whose influence
might have weighed with James, and expressed his desire
that they should combine in taking the part of their English
co-religionists. Thus on May 31st a brief was sent to the
governor of the Low Countries, the Archduke Albert, on
June 6th to Duke Charles of Lorraine, and another on
1 LiNGARD, VIII., 343, 362.
- Ibid, 377 seq.
* Ibid.. IX. 10 note.
* Bellesheim, II., 225 ; Meyer, loc. cit, 284. Cf. *" Discorso
scritto lo 20 aprile 1603, in cui si tratta se si debba credere che 11
nuovo Re dTnghilterra sia per esser aniico del Re di Spagna e se
si confederera con S. M. Catt. o col Re di Francia et se si possa
spearare che si faccia cattoljco " Urb, 860, p. 272-276, Vatican
Library.
58 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
December loth, on August 23rd to the King of Poland, and
on November 25th to the Emperor.^
Several times in these letters the request is expressed that
they should induce James, kindly and gently, to join the
Catholic Church. 2 As early as April 12th, 1603, the nuncio
in Paris wrote that he would endeavour to obtain the media-
tion of Henry IV. for this purpose, and in September he sent
in the Pope's name two letters of good wishes, one to the king
and a special one to the queen, both of which had previously
been approved by Clement VIII. ^ It certainly v/as not a
mere stereotyped expression when the Pope wrote to the
Archduke Albert that he was tormented day and night by
the thought of England and its new king, and by the question
whether that kingdom, once so celebrated for its defence of
the faith, would return to the Roman Church, a thing for
which he would willingly shed his blood.* On May 28th,
1 Meyer, loc. cit. *" Preme grandemente ancora alia Santita
Sua Tambasciata clie V. Maesta ha da mandare in Inghilterra,
ne ha disc<jrso piu volte col signer cardinale S. Giorgio, dal quale
io so confidentemente queati et niolti particolari." (Paravicini
to Rudolph IL, November 22, 1603, State Archives, Vienna,
Hofkorrespondenz, 10). To the Doge of Venice, M. Grimani,
Clement VIIL wrote on June 7, 1603 : " Magna in spe sumus
. . . sub hoc novo Angliae rege res fidei catholicae meliore multo
loco futuras, eumque se mitem et benignem praebiturum cath-
olicis, qui in eius regnis sunt." State Archives, Venice. Cf.
Brevia, Arm. 44, t. 47, n. 148, Papal Secret Archives.
' *" Quin etiam et rex ipse, si fieri possit ... ad catholicam
religionem suscipiendam blande et leniter alliciatur " (Meyer,
loc. cit., 285). Meyer translates Blande . . . alliciatur by
" schmeicheind verlocken " i.e. " to allure with flatteries," but
allicere does not mean alletare [pellicere).
^ Bellesheim, II., 224. Two letters of Clement VIII. to
Henry IV., of May 31 and July 14, 1603, concerning the succession
to the throne, and the attitude the Pope meant to take up towards
the new king, in order to bring him back to the Catholic faith,
are si mmarized in Fillon, 2452, 2433.
*The *letter to Albert, May 31, 1603, in Brevia, Arm. 44,
t, 47, n. 145, Papal Secret Archives.
CAUTION OF THE POPE. 59
1603, he published a jubilee, in order that the faithful might
pray to God for the restoration of the Catholic faith in England,
Scotland and Ireland. ^ In Rome itself, on Apirl 27th, 1603,
Clement VIII. ordered the Fort}^ Hours to be celebrated in
all the churches for England and Scotland.^ But with all
his zeal, he moved with great caution, so as not to excite
the suspicions of the king, who was extraordinarily diffident.
He rejected the project of the French nuncio to encourage
the leaders of the Scottish Catholics by briefs to struggle
for religious equality ; tlie Scottish Catholics were told, on
the contrary, to recommend themselves to the good will of
their king by their humility, loyalty and peaceful behaviour.*
When certain of the English exiles wished to avail themselves
of the change in tlie crown in order to return home, and
asked for the support of the Pope, Clement VIII. first
demanded guarantees that this was not a mere case of restless-
ness, and he even offered to deliver the king from such folk
by pontificial intervention.'* The sad case in which two
Catholic priests, the excitable Watson and Clark, had mixed
themselves up in a plot against James, probably gave
occasion for this offer.
Special hopes were raised in Rome by a work of the king's,
printed privately in 1599, ^^id publicly issued hi 1603 ; this
was entitled " Basilikon Doron " ^ and laid down for the heir
1 Ibid., p. 164 ssqq. ; Mf.Yer, 28}.
* *Avviso of May 3, 1603, Urb. 1071, Vatican Library.
* Meyer, 287.
* Ibid., 288 ; A. Zimmermann io Katholik, 1899, LT., 238.
Paratissimum esse . . . eos omnes (missionaries] e regno
evocare, quus sua. maiestas rationabi liter indicaverit, regno et
statui suo noxios fore." From the instructions to Dr. Gitford,
in LiXGARD, IX., 21.
' 0j.<Tt\iKhj A-jopoy, Divided into tliree bookes, Edinburgh,
1599 (only seven copies j>rinted). The first edition which
was generally obtainable, Edinburgh, 1603, and London, 1603,
French translation, Paris, 1603. A critique of the work in Cod.
680, pp. 64 seqq. of the Corsini Library, Rome. Cf. Lammer,
Zur Kirchengesch., 174 (it is here stated that the king was learned,
but was not clear as to his principles),
6o HISTORY OF THE POPES.
to the throne, Henry, certain rules for the better government
of the kmgdom. This condemned in severe terms the rehgious
divisions in Scotland ; these were the result of rebellion, and
were the work of men of disaffected spirit and greedy for
power ; every party that weakened the kingdom and threw
it into confusion had encouraged them. " Be on your guard "
it states, " against Puritans of this kind, who are a pest to
the Church and to society, and who are not to be won over
by gifts, nor feel bound by oaths and promises. They breathe
treason and calumny. I profess before Almighty God that
you will not find among the bandits of the mountains or of
the border greater ingratitude, a greater spirit of falsehood,
more brazen perjury, or more hypocritical sentiments, than
among these fanatics."^ On the other hand, in the French
translation of the book, which James caused to be sent to
the Pope through the French ambassador, there was not to
be found a single word against the Catholics. James informed
the Pope that he had purposely toned down such passages,
and had desired the book to be presented to him in order to
demonstrate his feeling of good will towards His Holiness.
Clement VHI. was indeed " enthusiastic:" over this work,
and was on the verge of shedding tears of joy when Persons
informed him of some of the passages in it.^ But his
" enthusiasm " was quickly cooled when he received from
London the Latin version of the book, with the passages
about the Pope and the Catholic religion unaltered. This
translation soon found a place on the Index of prohibited
books. ^ While the King of Scots was thus encouraging the
Pope by holding out constant hopes to him, the actual state
of affairs in his kingdom was even worse than in the neighbour-
1 BeLLESHEIM, II., 2IO.
2 " His Holiness, who I assure you could scarce hold tears for
comfort to hear certain passages in favour of virtue and hatred
to vice which I related to him." Persons to Garnet, May 14,
1003, in Taunton, 283.
'Meyer, 288-292. Ibid., 2C)i. Comparison of certain texts
of the edition of 1599 with the French and Latin translations of
1603 and 1604.
PLIGHT OF THE SCOTTISH CATHOLICS. 6l
ing kingdom of England under the rule of Elizabeth. In
England anyone who was not a priest, and who did not hold
public office, was able to remain of the old religion, even
though he had to pay heavy fines ; in Scotland on the other
hand, the laws only left the Catholics the choice between
apostasy and banishment.^ In the kingdom of James VI.
anyone might arrest the priests of the Society of Jesus, and
even kill them in case of resistance.^ " We live," wrote the
Jesuit Abercromby to the General of his Order, ^ " in cellars,
hiding-holes and desolate places, always changing our abode
like the gypsies, and we never sleep for two nights running
in the same place." When Abercromby had gone to the
house of a Catholic inn-keeper, the other Catholics did not
dare to enter by the door, but climbed up through the windows
at the back of the house by night by means of ladders.'* The
situation of the Scottish Catholics was only the better in
that the laws were not enforced with the same rigour as in
England. But even this apparent leniency had its limits,
wherever any determined attachment to the old religion was
detected. Among the aristocracy, who were for the most
part still Catholics at heart, the three Earls of Huntly, Errol
and Angus openly declared themselves for the Church of
their fathers, but they were persecuted and threatened until
in 1597 they, externally at any rate, and so as to prevent
the loss of all their property, signed the profession of faith
of the Scottish Church.^
In a report on Scotland in 1601,® it is stated that the king
was the true cause of this sad state of affairs. Whenever he
made a speech it was to give utterance to nothing but blas-
phemies and heresy, and the one thing that his pride aimed
at was the crown of England. He hated the Catholics except
1 Forbes-Leith, 223, 269.
^ Ibid., 271.
^ On June 9, 1596, in Forbks-Leith, 226.
* Ibid., 228. Cf. Bei.lesheim, II., 204.
^ Forbes-Leith, 233 seqq., 229 seqq.
* MacQuhirrie, ibid., 270 seq.
62 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
when they might prove useful to his designs upon the Enghsh
throne. His fears or his hopes might perhaps one day make
him a hypocrite, but nothing but a great miracle of the divine
omnipotence could make him a Catholic.
In these circumstances it seems an enigma how the Catholics
of Great Britain and the Roman Curia can have continued
to entertain hopes of the return of James to the ancient Church,
and why the king made use of so many subterfuges to win
the favour of the Pope. Both these problems are answered
in a memorial drawn up by the Papal nuncio in Brussels,
Malvasia,^
Malvasia's remarks are above all a proof of the fact that
in Rome they were more and more abandoning the point of
view of the Catholics who were favourable to Spain. Above
all things they must not seek to better the position of the
Catholics by violent measures, for such things would only
drive James VI. more and more into the arms of the English
queen and the heretics. The Holy See could not supply its
own lack of the necessary armed force even with the assistance
of Spain, which would find no support in Scotland itself, but
would on the contrary encounter armed opposition from the
jealous foreign powers, such as England, Holland, Denmark
and France. No hopes could be placed in the nobles of the
Scottish kingdom ; it was true that the Duke of Lennox and
about a dozen earls and other great nobles were Catholics at
heart, but they would never take up arms, while the three
earls who were definitely Catholic, Huntly, Errol and Angus,
had been banished.
Moreover, since the king had on several occasions shown
his good-will towards the Catholics, it would not be opportune
to em.ploy violent measures. It had only been necessary
for him to have given his consent, and they would have been
exterminated, but actually James had never done so ; he
tolerated those who were of another religion than his own ;
he willingly listened to religious discussions ; the Bishop of
'■ In Bellesueim, II., 460-468. Cf. Lammer, Analecta, 53
and Martin in the Rev. d'kist. dipl., XXV., 293.
ASTUTENESS OF JAMES. 63
Dunblane/ Colonel Semple,'^ the Jesuits Holt and Morton
and others had suffered imprisonment but no more. Moreover
he placed confidence in Catholics, since the first president,
the master of the household, the captain of the bodyguard,
some of the chamberlains and others were Catholics at heart ;
he allowed the queen to act in a similar way in the choice of
her ladies and courtiers. He had proclaimed the Duke of
Lennox as the next claimant to the throne, and had allowed
the Earl of Huntly to have mass said in the royal palace itself,
though with closed doors.
On the other hand the king was greatly opposed to the
preachers, though naturally he did not show this outwardly,
because of the populace and Queen Elizabeth, whose pro-
tection made such gentry, in spite of their lowly origin, so
arrogant and haughty that they tyrannized over the king
himself.^
The arguments of Malvasia which have been given so far
naturally prove nothing more than that James knew very
well how to deceive the Pope and the Catholics. The reason,
however, why the astute king took so much trouble to win
their syn:ipathies, is given by Malvasia as follows : James
had need of the Catholics ; if, after the death of Elizabeth,
it became a question of ensuring his claims to the English
throne, there were none upon whom he could rely except the
aristocracy of his own country. But the greater and the
more important part of the nobles of the kingdom were
either openly Catholics, or were more inclined to Catholicism
^ William Chisholm the younger " who renounced his episcopal
see in order to become a Carthusian, and was sent by Sixtus V.
to his ow^n country, where he remained in disguise for several
months, giving great edification and spiritual help, ending his
life in Rome (1593) in the udour of sanctity." Walter Lindsay
of Balgawies, in FoKBES-LcrrH, 353.
^ Alessandro Farnese attempted by his means to secure an
alliance with James ; after the defeat of the Armada the king
made him a prisoner, but Semple escaped the death that threat-
ened him by flight. Forbes-Leith, 369 ; Bellesheim, IL, 282.
3 Malvasia. loc. cit., 462.
64 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
than to any other form of religion. ^ All of them were filled
with hatred and aversion for the preachers. If, after the
death of Elizabeth, so Malvasia thought, James were to drive
them out and declare himself a Catholic, then all the most
powerful nobles would ralty to his support, and since, accord-
ing to Scottish usage, the vassals were very submissive to
and devoted to their lords, these two would follow the example
of the nobles.
According to Malvasia it was also known on the authority
of James himself that he was very anxious about the intrigues
of Spain. Even in the time of Sixtus V., Philip II. had sent
an envoy to ask for the excommunication of James VI.,
and in the eyes of the Spaniards and of many others, the King
of Scots was not fitted to wear either the English crown
or that of Scotland. For this reason James VI. greatly feared
excommunication and therefore strove to keep on good terms
with the Pope. 2 As the Earl of Huntly said to Malvasia,
a threat or admonition from the Pope would be well received
by the king, because he would then have an excuse for favour-
ing the Catholics, and by their means raising up a
counterweight to the insolence of the preachers.^ Huntly
was of the opinion that an envoy should be sent as soon as
possible to ask for toleration and liberty of conscience for
the Catholics, and, should he not obtain this, to threaten
the king with excommunication. Least disturbance would
be caused if the Duke of Lorraine, who was James' cousin,
were to send an envoy on some pretext ; the envoy could
speak privately to the king about his return to the ancient
faith, while James, out of respect for the Pope, would hear
him very willingly.^ Besides this pressure might be brought
to bear upon the king by means of the Catholic nobles, and
'■ List of the aristocracy who were still secretly Catholics
(July I, 1592) in Forbes-Leith, 361 seqq. ; Bellesheim, II., 182.
2 " Delia qaal scomniunica per qiiesti respetti ha tanta paura
il Re di Scotia, ch'egJi fara sempre gran cento del Sommo Ponte-
fice." Bellesheim, II., ^64.
2 Bellesheim, loc. cAt.
'^Ihid., 466.
THE SCOTS COLLEGES. 65
upon the latter by the Jesuit Gordon, who, as Huntly's uncle,
had access to the nobles, and who, although he was a mere
child in political matters, was learned, well-liked and
respected.^ An attempt should also be made to increase
the number of the Scottish Catholics by encouraging the work
of the Jesuits,^ though they must not interfere in affairs of
state, either in England or in Scotland, since, on account of
their friendship with Spain, they were suspected by the King
of Scots, and highly disliked by the alumni of the English
College.^ Finally, priests should be trained for Scotland
by the development of the Scots College, the scanty revenues
of which had hitherto only sufficed for seven or eight students.'*
The Scots College of which Malvasia spoke had been founded
in 1576 at Tournai by an exiled Scottish parish priest. During
the first ten years of its existence the College was successively
transferred to Pont-a-Mousson, Douai, Louvain and Antwerp,
to find at length a permanent home at Douai in 161 2.''' The
poverty of this institute was known in Rome, for the gifts
of various Scottish priests were not sufficient, while the annual
revenues assigned to it by Gregory XIII. and Mary
Stuart were discontinued after the deaths of the donors.
Clement VIII. therefore issued a circular in 1593 on behalf
of the Scottish seminary,^ and again, at the intercession of
Malvasia, obtained by the Scottish Jesuit Crichton, the Pope
had recourse to the Archduke Albert in a brief of March 8th,
I597-'
A second Scots College had existed in Paris since the XlVth
century.^ At the suggestion of Cardinal Allen, ^ the repre-
'■ Ibid., 464, 465.
''Ibid., 464.
^Ibid., 466.
* Ibid,. 464.
5 Ibid.
^ Ibid., 222.
' Brevia, Arm. 44, t. 41, n. 80, Papal Secret Archives. Cf.
Bellesheim, IL, 223.
* Belleshei?.!, II., 190.
' Ibid., 223, n. 3.
VOL. XXIV. =5
66 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
sentative of Scotland at the French court, Archbishop Beaton
of Glasgow, together with the Bishop of Ross, resolved to
restore this ancient foundation in order to meet the exigencies
of the times, and to supply it with revenues for the training
of Scottish priests. Clement VIII. supported this project
by a brief of Henr}^ IV. ^ The seminary at Braunsberg in
East Prussia,^ and the Scottish monasteries at Wiirzburg
and Ratisbon also supplied several priests to the Church in
Scotland.^
But the most important and most wealthy of these estab-
lishments was the Scots College in Rome ; this owed to
Clement VIII. not only the support which he likewise gave
to the above-mentioned seminaries in Flanders and Paris,
but also its existence and its ample endowment. On December
5th, 1600, the bull of foundation was issued,^ and two years
later it was inaugurated with ten students, who attended the
lectures at the Roman College, and were dependent upon the
Jesuits for their spiritual direction.^
None of these institutions could be compared, even
distantly, with the importance of the English seminaries.
The Scottish Jesuit Crichton, who was doing all in his power
to supply the lack of priests in his own countr}^ was of opinion
that once the seminaries were founded, many young men
would flock thither from the three universities of Scotland,
which were only lacking in the matter of theological instruction,
so that within two or three years there would be a number
of priests at his disposal.^ But this forecast was not realized ;
the enthusiasm with which the English youth flocked to the
seminaries on the continent was not reproduced in the neigh-
1 *Bnef of September i, 1601 ; Arm. 44, t. 45, n. 301, Papal
Secret Archives.
2 Bellesheim, II., 203, 456 seq.
^ Ibid., 223 seq.
* Bull., X., 625 seqq. , Synopsis, 214.
'^ Bellesheim, II., 221 ; Heimbucher, II., 150. To a later
date there belongs a second Scottish seminary in Paris, founded
in 1627. Forbes-Leith, 370 seq., Bellesheim, II., 282.
* To Cardinal Caetani, 1595, in Meyer, 459.
THE IRISH COLLEGES. 67
bouring kingdom, and the number of students in the Scottish
seminaries remained relatively small, as it had been in the
past.^ Though rather later than Scotland or England, the
sister island to the west also had its seminaries on the con-
tinent. About the middle of the XVIIth century there were
to be found Irish Colleges for the study of philosophy and
theology in Rome, Salamanca, Seville, Compostella, Madrid,
Alcala, Lisbon, Douai, Louvain, Antwerp, Paris, Bordeaux
and Rouen ; to these must be added the educational estab-
lishments at Tournai and Lille, and numerous colleges of
religious.^ But very few of these went back to the time of
the great founders of the colleges, Gregory XIIL and
Clement VI IL In Spain and Flanders these institutions
had their beginning when in 1588 the Irish Jesuit, Thomas
White, at Valladolid, and the Irish secular priest Christopher
Cusack in 1594 at Douai, gathered together the students of
their race into communities.^ Their subsequent development
was due to Philip II. ; at the request of White, on August
2nd, 1592, he granted the students at Valladohd a college
at Salamanca, while in 1596 he assigned an annual revenue
of 5,000 florins for an Irish seminary at Douai, where in 1604
a site was acquired for a new and better building.* The
beginnings of some other Irish colleges went back further
still. In 1578 there came to Paris, an exile from his countr}^
a priest named John Lee with several students, who, however,
after thirty years had hardly succeeded in establishing a
permanent abode. ^ Some Irish priests had established a
school for missionaries in 1573 at Lisbon ; after this had been
developed in 1593 under the direction of the Jesuit John
Holing, it received a permanent abode in 1595, after which
"■Ibid., 98.
2 Bellesheim, Irland, II., 217 seqq., 31.4 seqq. 357 seqq., 525,
613, 729. CJ. The Description of Ireland, in anno 1598, now
for the first time published by E. Hogan, Dublin, 1878.
* Bellesheim, II. , 221, 223.
* Ibid.
* Ibid., 217.
68 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
White assumed the direction of the estabUshment.^ When
the Archduke Albert supported a number of Irishmen in the
seminary at Antwerp, he was eulogized by the Pope in 1604,^
as was the King of Spain at the same time on account of his
generosit}^ towards the Spanish and Flemish Irish seminaries.^
The Pope had already in 1597 strongly urged the Archduke
Albert to care for the Irish students in Flanders.^ The
seminaries on the continent were rendered doubly necessary
as a counterweight to Trinity College, which Elizabeth had
established in Dublin to act as a bulwark of Protestantism,
and which was endowed, both by her and by her successors,
with enormous revenues and extensive privileges. All the
students and officials of Trinit}^ College had to subscribe to
the Thirty Nine Articles, while a third part of the students
who were educated there were trained in Anglican theology,
which was taught in a spirit entirely hostile to Catholicism.^
According to medieval ideas, Ireland was a country that
had special ties and obligations towards the Holy See. When
Paul IV. in 1555, at the request of Philip II. and Queen Mary,
raised Ireland to the dignity of a kingdom, he expressly
reserved the rights of the Apostolic See.® This was probably
the reason why Clement VIII., in dealing with Irish affairs,
departed from his customary principles. From 1590 onwards
the severit}^ and cruelt}'' of the viceroy had goaded the Irish
leaders into rebellion, and after certain successes on the part
of O'Neill, Bishop Cornelius O'Melrian addressed to the Pope
on November 4th, 1595, from Lisbon a request that, on the
1 Ihid., 222.
2 *Brief of May 28, 1604, Brevia, Arm. 44, t. 50, p. 213, Papal
Secret Archives.
^ *Brief of May 28, 1604, ibid., p. 212.
* *Letter of September 20, 1597 ; " Tibi igitur catholicos
Hybernos in universum at illos nominatim egreriae spei iuvenes
efficaciter commendamus." Negociations de Rome, I., 1582-
1597, State x\rchives, Brussels ; Brevia, Arm. 44, t. 41, n. 220,
Papal Secret Archives.
* Bellesheim, II., 215.
« Ibid., 108. Cf. Vol. XIV, of this work, p. 360.
THE POPE ENCOURAGES THE IRISH. 69
strength of the bull of donation of Adrian IV., he would
separate Ireland from England and nominate O'Neill as
king.^ Clement VIII. naturally refused this request, but
when in 1598 O'Donnell and O'Neill had defeated the troops
of Elizabeth at the battle of Blackwater, and O'Neill had
applied to the Pope for assistance, Clement, by the agency
of the Franciscan, Matteo d'Oviedo, who had recently been
appointed Archbishop of Dublin, sent O'Neill a Papal brief,
congratulating him on his victory and urging him to continue
the war " so that the kingdom of Ireland may not henceforward
be subject to the yoke of the heretics, nor the members of
Christ any longer have the impious Elizabeth as their sov-
ereign."^ A brief to the commander of the army renewed
the indulgences formerly granted for the crusades.^ There
then followed a series of Papal briefs. On Januarj' 20th,
1601, Clement VIII. again sent his eulogies, confirming the
Irish in their struggle for religion, and promising to send a
nuncio.^ On June 5th in the same year there was a further
series of briefs : to the King of Spain, to the Archduke Albert, ^
to O'Neill, to the clergy of Ireland, and to the notabilities
of the kingdom.® The Jesuit Lodovico Mansoni, who had been
chosen as nuncio, was recommended in these to the pro-
tection of the king and the archduke, but his mission was
postponed in accordance with the representations of O'Neill.'
After the battle of Blackwater O'Neill attained to the
summit of his power, and only the cities of the island still
held out against him. O'Neill thought that he could easily
overcome these as well if Spain would help him with troops,
^ Bellesheim, II., 225.
2 Ibid., 226 seq.
3 Ibid., 227, 228.
* Brevia, Arm. 44, t. 45, n. 22, printed in P. F. Moran, History
of the Catholic Archbishops of Dublin since the Reformation, I.,
Dublin, 1864, 221. Cf. Bellesheim, II., 228.
^ *Brevia, Arm. 44, t. 45, n. 221, 223. Papal Secret Archives.
* Ibid., 212-222.
' Bellesheim, II., 229. Brief of May ly, 1601, with author!;'.a-
tion foi Mansoni, see Synopsis, I., 216.
70 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
and especially with artillery. In the years that followed,
however, his position changed for the worse in an alarming
way, and the Spanish help, which arrived at last on September
23rd, 1601, under the commiand of Juan de Aguila, and
occupied Kinsale, came too late. Kinsale was invested by
the English, an Irish army that marched to its relief was
defeated, and the Spaniards were forced to surrender on
January 12th, 1602. ^ With this the capitulation of Ireland
was assured ; Munster and Ulster were devastated in such a
way by the English that the viceroy. Mount] oy, wrote to
James I. that nothing remained to his majesty in Ireland
save to rule over corpses and heaps of ashes. ^
After the King of Scots had ascended the English throne,
with the name of James I., he still carried on for a time his
undignified double-dealing towards the Pope. In the summer
of 1603 he announced to Clement VIII. his desire to resume
the negotiations.^ At the same time he chose the zealous
Catholic, Antony Standen, to be his representative in Venire
and Florence, but when Standen incautiously assisted at mass
in public, James had him thrown into the Tower, and sent
back to Rome the sacred objects which Clement VIII. had
given him for the queen ; but while everyone was expecting
that Standen would have to expiate his excessive zeal by
death, his imprisonment was quietly changed into confinement
in his own house, and he was finally set at liberty.^
The hopes of Clement VIII. rose high at the beginning of
1605, when James Lindsay once more made his appearance
in Rome, bringing replies to the briefs which he had taken
with him to London in 1602. A 3'ear before this James I.
had conveyed to the nuncio in Paris the royal instructions
which were to guide Lindsay's actions in Rome. As to the
1 Bellesheim, II., 230 ; Kelso, 55-94.
"^ Bellesheim, loc. cif. Clement VIII. once again raised his
voice on behalf of Ireland in the *letters to the nuncio in Spain
of June 18 and September 28, 1603, Aldobrandini Archives, Rome.
3 Meyer, 292.
* Jbid., 292 seq.
VAGUE PROMISES BY JAMES. 7I
principal matter, which meant most to the Pope, namely the
Catholic education of the heir to the throne, and to which
he had so often called the attention of the king, the latter
remained definitely hostile, saying that immediately after
he had received the Pope's request, James had ordered his
reply to be written, and that it was only due to Lindsay's
illness that it had come to the knowledge of the Pope so late.
In other respects the king did no more than make vague
promises, assuring the Pope of the pleasure which he felt in
his friendship, and promising to treat the English Catholics
who preserved the peace with justice and in accordance with
his duty.
Such expressions as these naturally contained very little
to cause the arrival of Lindsay to be awaited with any
particular impatience. In August, 1604, the Pope's senti-
ments towards the King of England were on the whole
unfavourable, while the great complaisance shown by Spain
in making peace with England displeased him as much as
her friendship with the heretics. ^ Nevertheless he still saw
i *" Hieri arrivo al Papa il corriero partite d' Inghilterra e
passalo air arciduca Alberto con la conclusione della pace conce-
duta da Inghilterra a supplicanti Spagnuoli ; hanno giocata di
gran somma di moneta verso li deputati e de' instantissime e
humili preghiere. II Papa non I'approva cosi grande amista con
eretici e disse all' ambasciatore di Francia le capitolationi vergog-
nose a Spagna, delle quah mi ricordo queste, che il Re d' Inghil-
terra sia per honore noininato nel primo luogo, che tenga le
fortezze che ha sotto nome per li danari che vi ha spesi, che non
si restituiranno mai, che Inglesi trafichino ne' paesi di Spagna
pagando solamente dieci per 100, che non sieno per questo nemici
a Olandesi, che il Re non mandi suoi' galioni in India, ma che
non puo impedire che Inglesi non vadano alia busca, che c 1' istessa
che p:ima." (Report of an anonymous agent to Mantua, August 14,
1604, Gonzaga Archives, Mantua). Disgust at the unfortunate
terms of the peace did not prevent the joy at the conclusion of
the peace itself which Clement VIII. expressed in a letter to the
nuncio in Spain, of August 24, 1604. Cf. Ph. Hiltebrandt in
Oiicllen u. Forsch., XV. (1913), 308, n.
72 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
in these events reasons to hope for an improvement in the
religious position in England. He therefore insistently urged
the Catholics there to give the king no grounds for suspicion.
The French nuncio, Maffeo Barberini, was instructed in
December, 1604, as his predecessor Bufalo had been, to
maintain friendly relations with the English ambassadors
in Paris, and thus prove to James I. that the Pope had no
care except the salvation of souls. ^ In this way Clement VIII.
hoped in the end to win over James I., and this hope was
paramount in his mind when Lindsay actually made his
appearance in Rome, bearing a letter from Queen Anne,^
which contained, it would appear, brilliant promises. Accord-
ing to Lindsay's report, the king was ripe for conversion, if
only the Pope would renounce his authority over the princes.^
Clement VIII. was overjoyed, and in January, 1605, replied
to the queen in a letter couched in the most friendly terms,
in which he praised her in the highest way,^ while he appointed
a special commission of Cardinals to discuss the English
situation, which held two meetings on January 17th and
25th.5
The new King of England treated the English Catholics
in the same way as he did the Pope, for with them too he sought
to arouse constant hopes, without ever intending that they
should be realized. The accession of James I. to the throne
had been hailed by the Catholics of England with the highest
hopes ; they trusted in the promises which he had repeatedly
made, since even on his way to London he had renewed his
assurance that he would not exact the fines for absence from
1 See the *Instructions in Vol, XXIII, App. n. 45, Vatican
Libiary.
2 So far not found.
3 Meyer, 296.
* Printed copy in Bellesheim, II., 469. For the date (January
23 or 28) see Meyer, 296.
* *Avvisi of January 19 and 26, 1605. Urb. 1073, Vatican
Library. The members of the commission, according to the
Avviso of January 19, were Galli (president), Medici, Baronius,
Pietro and Cinzio Aldobrandini, Avila, Bandini, A. Marzato, Du
Perron, Bufalo, Visconti and G. Agucchio.
JAMES PLAYS A DOUBLE GAME. 73
Protestant worship.^ The superior of the English Jesuits,
Henry Garnet, wrote- " the death of the queen has brought
about a great change ; our anxiety was very great, but it
has now become changed into confidence, and we are rejoicing
in a period of unhoped for hberty." Two Papal briefs
concerning the succession to the throne, which had been
entrusted to Garnet, and kept b}^ him for use in case of need,
were burned by him as useless ; in these the clergy and faithful
of England were exhorted to support no claimant to the
throne who had not sworn allegiance to the Apostolic See.^
These fair hopes, however, were nothing but beautiful
dreams. James was playing a double game : on the one
hand he hated the religion of his mother, while on the other
he feared excommunication on account of its political con-
sequences. He therefore kept Clement VHI. in suspense until
1605, deceiving him with fair words ;* things even reached
the point when the Pope offered to inflict ecclesiastical
penalties on turbulent Catholics,^ and the king put forward
the proposal, though to no purpose, that the power of inflicting
^ Gardiner, L, 100.
* To Persons, April 16, 1603, in Spillmann, IV., 5. The
Catholics united as a body in supporting the rights of James
to the throne (Lech at, 194 seq.). Cf. the *report of September
29, 1604 : " Progressi et augmenti de' cattolici in Inghilterra,"
Vallicella Library, Rome, n. 23, pp. 241-248. Ibid., 150-215,
many matters concerning the English martyrs. * Reports of
the nuncio in France, Malfeo Barberini (Urban VIIL) concerning
England, in the Barberini Library, Rome, XXXL, 75.
'Confessions of Garnet of March 13 and 14, 1606, in Foley
IV., 158-159. Particulars of these briefs, of July 5 and 12,
1600, by J. DE LA Serviere in Eludes, XCIV., (1903) 645.
^ Cf. Gardiner, L, 225.
^ Gardiner, L, 140 ,9^(7. " S.S*'^ vole e comanda che li
catholici siano obbedienti al re d' Inghilterra, come a loro signore
e re naturale." The nuncio in France must take care " che
conforme alia volonta di N.S. obedischino al suo re e non s' in-
trighino in congiure, tumulti ed altri cose, per le quali possino
dispiacere quella Maesta." Alodbrandini to the nuncio in France,
in Ranke, Engl. Gesch., I., 531,
74 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
such penalties should be conferred on an authorized agent, ^
who naturally would use his powers in accordance with the
wishes of the government. In a conversation with the French
envoy-extraordinary, the future Duke of Sully, James pointed
out^ that he had not exacted the fines for failure to attend at
church, and that he desired to remain on friendly terms with
the Pope, if the latter would recognize him as the head of the
Anglican Church.^ After the conspiracy of Watson, the
king again expressed himself unfavourably towards the
Catholics to Beaumont, the French ambassador ; he seemed,
however, to calm down when Beaumont pointed out that the
conspirators were only exceptions among a body that was
otherwise loyal to the king, and that conspiracies were difficult
to avoid unless libert}^ of conscience was allowed.'*
The practical attitude of James towards the Catholics
showed even greater unreliability than his words. His
promises were no more sincere, when he was striving to obtain
the English crown, ^ for they always concealed a condition or
limitation which escaped the notice of the too credulous
adherents of the ancient faith. " As to the Catholics," he
wrote, ^ " I do not intend to persecute any of them who main-
tain the peace and obey the laws at any rate externally, and
protection will not be denied to anyone who is worthy of it
^ " Quanto alia facolta di chianiare sotto pena di scommunica
i turbolenti, non ci par darla per sdesso, perch e trattiamo con
heretici, e corrianio pericolo di perder i securi." Reply of
Clement VIII. to the dispatch of Bufalo of December 14, 1604,
in G.\RDiNER, I., 143.
■"Ibid., 115
^ *" Adulando il Pontifice in quelle che si puo, nei regni suoi
rovina i! Pontificato " is the judgment passed on the frequent
expressions of James in favour of Rome in a " Comparatione
tra i tre gran Re dell' Europa 1' anno 1605," State Library, Berlin,
Inform, polit., XII., 450.
* Beiiumont to Henry IV., July 23, 1603, in G.^RDINER, I., 115.
* This is shown by his correspondence with Cecil, 1602 ; see
Zimmerman in the Rum. Quarfahchr., XVI. (1902), 302 seq.
* Degli Effetti to Bufalo, June 26, 1603, in Gardiner, I.,_ ioq.
THE QUESTION OF FINES. 75
on accoiint of his good services." So long as " at least external
obedience " to the laws was demanded, the king, despite these
fair words, had a free hand to do as he pleased, and in fact,
in direct contradiction to the sense of the promises which he
had made since his arrival in England, James caused the fines
for non-attendance at divine worship to be collected ; if
the Catholics, he publicly declared at that time,^ professed a
difierent religion from his own, they could not be good subjects.
When, however, on July 17th, 1603, a deputation of Catholics
made complaint before the Priv}^ Council in the presence of
the king, James promised that the fines should be stopped,
and that the Catholics, provided they obeyed the laws, should
have access to the highest offices in the service of the state. ^
For a time the wealthy adherents of the ancient Church
were no longer troubled with the fines, and those who had no
means, " to the enormous loss " of the revenues of state, were
excused from the confiscation of their lands. ^ Among the
Catholics of high estate, the king had admitted to his entourage
in a special way, Henry Howard, a man of unprincipled
character, who was later on Earl of Northampton, and was a
brother of the executed Duke of Norfolk ; he had to serve
" the royal huntsman " as a decoy, in order to cover the
king's immorality.^
The majority of the Catholics, however, proved themselves
more sound in their principles than Howard, and the apparent
favour of the king did not last very long. " We no longer
have an}- need of the Papists," the king replied, when Watson,
who had hitherto been his favourite, reminded him of his
promises.^
The fact that the number of the Catholics had considerably
1 Degli Effetti, June 23, 1603, ibid., loi.
2 Gardiner, I., 115.
' ■' The income accruing to the Crowii from this source (the
two-thirds of the property of the recusants) was enormously
diminished." Gardiner, I., 116.
^ Ibid., 115 scq. Vox Howard, ibid., 93.
^ " Na, na, we'll not need the Papists now." Lingard, IX.,
10 n. ; Gardiner, I., 100.
76 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
increased once the laws were no longer enforced, filled the
king with anxiety ; by May, 1604, the number of those who
had returned to the ancient religion had risen to 10,000 in
the diocese of Chester alone ; the number of those who did
not attend Anglican worship increased from 2,400 to 3,433.^
The fear of passing in the eyes of the public as the friend of
the Catholics then drove the unprincipled monarch openly
to declare himself against them.
On February 22nd, 1604, James, under pressure from the
Privy Council, ordered that on March 19th, the day of the
opening of Parliament, all Catholic priests must leave the
countr5^2 On March 22nd, in a speech before Parliament,^
he excused bimself for his leniency towards the Catholics,
by saying that he had allowed himself to be guided by the
hope that proposals would be laid before the Lords and
Commons for the removal of certain indefinite points in the
existing laws against the Catholics, in that these had led to
an excessive severity which was contrary to the intention of
the legislator, and to the condemnation of the innocent.
Catholic priests could not be tolerated in the kingdom so long
as they professed the doctrine that the Pope had temporal
authority over all kings and emperors,* or that excommuni-
cated princes could be killed with impunity. The laity too
must be prohibited from drawing anyone to their own religion,
in order that the Catholics might not acquire a power which
contained within it danger to the liberties of the country
and to the independence of the crown.
1 Gardiner, I., 202, 222, 231. James L had caused lists of
the recusants to be drawn up in each county (ibid., 144). " In
principatu Walliae et in provinciis septentrionalibus ....
Humerus eorum non ita pridem crevit in immensum " (Djscursus
status religionis 1605, in Ranke, England, I., 531). Cf. Gardiner.
I., 242. For the disturbances at Hereford see Foley, IV., 452.
2 Gardiner, I., 144. In less than nine months after the death
of Elizabeth it is said that 140 priests arrived in England. Ibid.,
143-
^ Ibid., 166.
i " An imperial civil power over all Kings and Emperors '
NEW EDICT AGAINST CATHOLICS. 77
In this way James revealed himself to the whole country
as a good Protestant, but the cunning monarch at the same
time did not wish to irritate the Catholics too much. After
his edict against the priests he told the Spanish ambassador
that he had not been able to act otherwise because of the Privy
Council, but that the enforcement of the law would be wanting
in any kind of rigour. ^ As a matter of fact, a month after-
wards, not one of the persons concerned had been banished,
and a priest who had been arrested for saying mass was once
again set at liberty. -
The Catholics, however, were under no illusion as to the
continuance of such a state of affairs.^ Good Protestants
bitterly complained that Catholics enjoyed a liberty such
as they had not had for years past.^ James accordingly
anticipated their wishes. On May 17th, 1604, he expressed
in Parliament his disgust at the increase of the Catholics, and
urged the passing of a law to set bounds to it. On June 4th
a proposal to that effect was laid before the House of Lords,
which was confirmed by the Commons in July.^ In this the
existing laws against the Catholics were renewed and made
more severe ; all the alumni of the seminaries over-seas were
declared incapable of possessing land or any other property'
on English soil, while all professors were forbidden to set up
a school without the approval of an Anglican bishop.® James I.
rejected a petition of the Catholic priests offering to take an
oath of allegiance to the king, as well as another in which the
laity pledged themselves for the good behaviour of the Catholic
priests whom the law should allow them to have in their
own houses ; he merely confirmed the law. ^
1 From Bulalo to Aldobrandini, March 22, 1604, in Gardiner,
I., 144.
'^ Ibid., 201.
^ From Bufalo to Aldobrandini, May 31, 1004, supplement,
ibid., 202.
* Ibid., 201 seq.
° Ibid., 203.
^ LiNGARD., IX., 28.
' Gardiner, I., 203.
78 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
In spite of this the king did not wish even now altogether
to cut his bridges behind him, and his negotiations with Rome
still continued. In dealing with the representatives of the
old Church, James I. spoke of a General Council, which should
settle the question of reunion among the churches by a free
discussion of their points of difference ;^ he assured the French
ambassador that for the moment he had no thought of enforc-
ing the laws,^ and had excused the sixteen nobles v ho refused
to attend church the monthly fine of twenty pounds.^ In a
conversation with a representative of the Duke of Lorraine
he declared his readiness to accept the Roman Church as his
mother, and the Pope as universal bishop, with universal
ecclesiastical jurisdiction. If the Roman Church would take
one step towards the restoration of unity, he would take three.
It was distasteful to him to have been forced against his will
to give his assent to the new law, and he would not enforce
its penalties on religious grounds.* In the same sense on
September 24th, 1604, even the Privy Council had decided
by seven votes to three that the persecuting laws should not
be enforced in the case of the laity. ^
Their enforcement, however, had already been entrusted
to over-zealous officials. During the years 1604 and 1605
at least six Catholics died at the hands of the executioner on
account of their faith. ^ But James I. naturally had no part
in their condemnation,'' and six other Catholics, five priests
and one layman, who had been condemned to death by the
courts during these same years, were pardoned by him.^
It was, however, easy to foresee that the leniency of the
king would not last long, and that the first concessions made
* From Bufalo, June 12, 1604, in Gardiner, I., 202.
2 Beaumont to Henry IV., July 18, 1604, ibid., 203.
* Ibid., 203 seq.
* From Bufalo, September 21, 1604, ibid., 220 seq.
^ Ibid., 222, 223, n. I.
•^ Spillmann, IV., 10-16.
' " Senza la partecipatione di quel Re " wrote Bufalo on
August 24, 1604, in Gardiner, I., 222, n. i.
* Spillman, IV., 16.
ACTION AGAINST CATHOLICS. 79
to the Protestants must soon be followed by others. At the
end of September, 1604, he caused all the Catholic priests
who were incarcerated in the English prisons to be sent out
of the kingdom over-seas.^ From November 28th onwards
absence from Anglican worship was again punished by heavy
lines.- It is possible that this measure was solely due to the
financial straits of the king,^ and as the heavy fine of twenty
pounds a month could only be paid by the most wealthy
Catholics, it only affected thirteen gentlemen.^ But when
the action taken by James against the Puritans aroused a
suspicion of his favouring the Catholics, and the public
obtained some inkling of his negotiations with the Pope, the
king preferred his rei^utation as a good Protestant to any
sense of justice towards the Catholics. On Februar}/ loth,
1605, he declared at the Privy Council that he detested in the
highest degree the superstitious religion of the Papists, and
if he thought that his son and heir would show the slightest
favour to them, he would rather see him buried before his
eyes. The Lords of the Council and the other bishops must
instruct the judges that the laws were to be enforced with all
possible severity.^
The effects of this exhortation were not long in making
themselves felt, for on the day after its proclamation by the
Lord Mayor of London, forty-nine citations were issued in
the capital and the county of Middlesex. 5,560 persons were
condemned in the various districts of England for having failed
to attend Protestant w^orship.^ Enormous fines were once
more levied upon the wealthy Catholics, while many had
two-thirds of their property confiscated." In October, 1605,
1 Gardiner, I., 222.
2 Ibid., 224.
3 Thus Gardiner {ibid.).
* Ibid.
^ Ibid., 227.
« Ibid.
' Exact details from the Receipt Books of the Exchequer, in
Gardiner, 227-230, who brings out especially the relaxation
8o HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the superior of the Jesuits wrote^ that the action taken by the
government was even more severe than in the days of
Elizabeth. 2
Strict investigations in private houses were the order of the
day, and every six weeks a special court of justice sat, which
despoiled the Catholics of their possessions ; the enforcement
of the laws was entrusted to the most rigorous Puritans, who
in other respects were disliked by the king. If one of the
" recusants " offered to buy back his confiscated property,
he exposed himself to the risk of losing the sum thus offered
as well. If this process continued, said Garnet, they would
have at last to be content with buying back every six months
the bed in which they slept. The justices openly said that
the king wanted blood ; he no longer desired caresses for the
Papists as of yore, but blows. ^ In the county of Hereford 409
families were reduced to beggary at a single blow.* The
bishops were instructed to excommunicate the more wealthy
Catholics ; these could then be thrown into prison, and thereby
lost a number of their civil rights ; they could not even
recover their debts, buy or sell anything, nor dispose of their
property by will.^
Death spared Clement VIII. the sorrow of witnessing this
last development.
of the severity. We here join with Gardiner against Lingard
(IX., 30 scqq.) although it dees not appear that Gardiner has
removed ah the difficulties.
1 Lingard. IX., Note C, p. 387 ; Foley, IV., 63.
^ " The courses taken are more severe than in Queen Elizabeth's
time." Lingard, 388. In like manner an unnamed contem-
porary in SriLLMANN, IV., 17 : " They (the Catholics) pay their
two parts more roundly than ever they did in the time of the late
queen, not any as I think being left out before Michaelmas."
Northampton in July, 1605, in Lingard, IX., 42 n.
3 " That the King has hitherto stroaked the papist, but now
will strike." Lingard, IX., 388.
* Lingard, IX., 41.
* Ibid., 42.
CHAPTER III.
Attempted Catholic Restoration in Sweden.
The principal event during the life of Cardinal Ippolito
Aldobrandini had been his legation to Poland in the year
1588, and the energy that he had then displayed had con-
tributed not a little to his elevation to the See of Peter. ^ It
is no wonder, then, that he should have taken a great interest
in, and shown a sincere sympathy for, the whole of the North,
and especially for the immense kingdom in the north-east and
its king, Sigismund III., a man of strictly Catholic sentiments.^
Clement fully realized the supreme importance for the future
of the Church in Europe of the way in which events should
develop there in that kingdom which extended from the
Warta to the Dnieper, and from the Baltic to the Carpathians.
The fact that the King of Poland intended to marry the
Archduchess Anna, of the Styrian branch of the Hapsburgs,
who was a staunch Catholic, was certain to win the sympathy
of the Pope. He therefore at once, at his first consistory on
February 14th, 1592, appointed Cardinal Georg Radziwill
as legate for the marriage,^ and afterwards sent the new queen
the Golden Rose.* At the beginning of June, 1592, the
nunciature in Poland was entrusted to the Bishop of San
iC/. Vol. XXIII. of this work, p. 23 seq.
^ See Paruta, Dispacci, I., 27, 105. Paruta, Relazione, 431.
See also Biaudet in the periodical Histor. arkisio, XIX.
(Helsingissa, 1905), 187.
* See *Acta consist, card. S. Severinae, February 14, 1592,
Cod. Barb. XXXVI. , 5, III., Vatican Library. In the suite of
the legate was P. Alaleone ; for his *Diarium cf. Arch. Rom., XVI.,
19 seq.
* See the brief of May 28, 1592, in Theiner, Mon. Pol., III.,
209 seq.
VOL. xxiv. 81 6
82 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Severe, Germanico Malaspina,^ who had already distinguished
himself in other diplomatic missions under the predecessors of
Clement VI 1 1. 2
Malaspina found a very difficult state of affairs in Poland.
King Sigismund was engaged in disputes with his nobles, and
especially in a violent altercation with the chancellor of the
crown, Zamoiski. The nuncio rightly looked upon a recon-
ciliation between these two as his first duty, and this he soon
succeeded in bringing about, after the celebrated Diet of
Inquisition in the autumn of 1592.^ The Pope was alike
gratified at this first success of his nuncio and with his attitude
at that celebrated diet.^ When in the following year there
arose another dispute between Sigismund and Zamoiski, it
was once more Malaspina who, at the Diet of Warsaw in
1 See the brief of June 6, 1592, in Theiner, Ioc. cii., 209. The
statement of Hansen (Nuntiaturberichte, I., 308 n.), that
Malaspina only became nuncio in 1595, is incorrect. The reports
of the nunciature of Malaspina from June 15, 1592, to April 20,
1598, in BoRGHESE, III., 52 a, b ; III., 66 c, d ; III., 15 a ;
III., 91 a, b ; III., 89 c ; III., 89 d ; III., 96 e, Papal Secret
Archives, were already prepared for publication in 1892-93, by
the Polish Academy of Science : cf. Am. der Krakauer Akad.,
1894, February, p. 26. Recently a scholar of Finland has
announced the publication of the acta which refer to Sweden ;
see BiAUDET, Le St. Siege et la Suede, I., viii. seq. Some reports
of Malaspina belonging to 1592 were published by ScHMURLOinhis
work, Russland u, Italien, t. II., fasc. i, Petersburg, 1908, 172 seq.
Free use was made of them recently by Sven Tumberg (Sigismund
och Sverige, 1597-1598, Upsala, 1917). L. Kartunnen, Chiffres
dipl. des Nonces en Pologne vers la fin du 16^ siecle, Helsinki,
191 1, treats both of the cypher letters of Malaspina in Cod. M.
II., 56, of the Chigi Library, Rome, which Meister missed, as
well as of the cypher letters of Caetani, Mandina and Rangoni.
For the personality of Malaspina cf. Hjarne, Sigismundus
svenska resor, 10 seqq., and Parnanen, 32 seqq.
2 Cf. Vol. XXII. of this work, pp. 73, 88.
* F. V. Wezyk, Der Konflikt des Konigs Sigismund III. Wasa
mit den poln. Standen u. der Inquisitionsreichstag vom 7 Septem-
ber, 1592, Leipzig, 1869.
* Cf. Paruia, Dispacci, I., 27-29.
MALASPINA AND SIGISMUND. S3
1593, succeeded in reconciling them. The nuncio enjoyed
the complete confidence of both the king and the chancellor,
and during the course of both Diets all important questions
that were to be brought forward for discussion were first
examined in private by the nuncio, so that he was able to
smooth over all difficulties with the tact of a skilled diplo-
matist,^ and even settled the disputes between Cardinals
Radziwill and Bathory.^
The most important question with which the Diet of 1593
was concerned was the journey of Sigismund III. to Sweden,
his native country, which he had already planned in the
previous year. At that time, on account of the difficult
position of affairs in Poland, the Pope had discouraged this.^
^ Cf. the report in Anz. der Krak. Akad., 1894, February,
where it is stated : " Les depeches de Malaspina, fort longues et
fort nombreuses, nous devoilent les dessous de toutes les intrigues
qui se nouerent pendant ces deux dietes ; elles entrent dans les
details les plus minutieux de la vie parlamentaire de cette epoque
et nous permettent de faire au jour le jour pour ainsi dire son
histoire secrete, de compendre la tactique qu'on y mettait en
Oiuvre. en un mot jettent la plus vive lumiere sur ces curieuses
assemblees. On y trouve aussi quantite d' in formations sur le roi
et la cour, Zamoyski, le primat Karnkowski, le marechal de la
couronne Opalinski, et sur beaucoup d'autres personnes. La
grande figure de Zamoyski ressort singulierement imposante de
ces correspondances. Cela est d'autant plus digne de remarque
que Malaspina, loin d'etre favorable au Chancelier, semble
plutot avoir une sorte d 'antipathic pour lui ; il est, au moins au
commencement, son adversaire declare et se porte avec chaleur
dans le parti au roi qu'il sert de toute son influence et de tout
son pouvoir. Ce n'est qu'avec le temps qu'il abandonnera ses
preventions contre Zamoyski."
* See the *briefs to the two Cardinals of April 3 and May i,
1593, Arm. 44, t. 38, p. 282, 310, Papal Secret Archives. Cf. the
summary *Attioni seguite in Polonia et in Suetia dapoi I'assun-
tione al pontificate di N.S. Clemente VIII. in Cod. N. 34, p. 433,
of the Vallicella Library, Rome.
* See the brief of August 28, 1592, in Theinek, II., Doc. p.
82 seq.
84 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
But when, on November 17th, 1592, Sigismund's father,
John III., died, and the crown of Sweden fell to the King of
Poland, the situation was entirely altered, but from the first
the greatest difficulties stuod in the way of his taking possession
of his lawful inheritance. These difficulties came above all
from his uncle, Charles, Duke of Sodermanland, who was
determined at all costs to possess himself of the Swedish
crown. This unscrupulous politician, who was both far-seeing
and a cold-blooded schemer, set himself to his task with
unparallelled astuteness ; he had an advantage in the fact
that he had already during the latter days of John III.,
practically controlled the government of Sweden, and
Sigismund III. was unable for the time being to prevent his
uncle from continuing to direct the affairs of state.
On January 8th, 1593, Duke Charles obtained from the
councillors of the kingdom a statement that they looked upon
him as the head of the government in the absence of the king.
They further bound themselves to uphold all that should be
decided with the consent of Charles without distinction, " all
for one and one for all." Even though this agreement did
not actually do any wrong to their loyalty towards the lawful
king, Sigismund, it was not only contrary to the laws, but also
the greatest imaginable usurpation of his liberty of action.
He found himself obliged to give his assent to a form of
government set up without his knowledge, and should
he disapprove of any measure taken by Charles and his
councillors, this would at once have been the signal for a
schism.^
It was easy to make use of the pretext of religion for keeping
out the lawful Catholic king,^ and this in fact Duke Charles
did as soon as possible. Its religion and its freedom, he said
to the councillors, were the benefits which my father bestowed
upon his country, and it was in recognition of this that the
States declared the crown to be hereditary in the house of
Gustavus ; therefore, only one who will maintain this in the
^ Opinion of Runs (Gesch. Schwedens, II., 258).
* See BiAUDET, I., v.
DECREES AT UPSALA. 85
kingdom, can be the true hereditary King of Sweden. As
the new king was subject in conscience to the power and will
of the Pope, it was all the more necessary to lay down, in the
interests both of religion and liberty, the conditions which
the Swedes of old had been accustomed to impose upon their
kings from the earliest times. ^
This was done at the ecclesiastical assembly held at Upsala
on February 25th, 1593, at which many persons assisted,
nobles, burgesses and peasants. This decided that the Holy
Scriptures, understood in themselves, were to be one rule of
faith ; all accepted the articles of the unreformed confession
of Augsburg. It also prohibited in its entirety the exercise
of Catholic worship, closed to Catholics access to any office,
and banished all those who had studied abroad in the Jesuit
Colleges. It is obvious that these radical decrees abolished
the liturgy of John III., which had never been approved by
the Holy See,- and the Catholic usages still retained in it, such
as episcopal vestments, ciboriums, candles, banners, and the
blessing of dead bodies and graves. Prayers for the dead were
removed from the ritual. Duke Charles was highly pleased
with all this, save that he further wished for the abolition of
the elevation of the host, and of the exorcisms at baptism.
The Lutheran pastors, however, were determined to retain
the exorcisms at baptism, as a mark of distinction from the
Calvinists. It was finally agreed to retain the exorcisms in
a modified form, and as a non-essential ceremony. It was
harder for Charles to assent to the decree which expressly
declared as heretics, not only the Catholics and Sacra-
mentarians, but also the Calvinists and Zwinglians.
But he gave way on this point, though he scornfully
remarked : " You had better join on to them all those
^ See Geijer, II., 271.
^ In a cypher *instruction from Cardinal C. Aldobrandini to
Malaspina of August i, 1593, the liturgy is described as
" mescuglio," and it is remarked that John III. " hcbbe pero
pensiero, per quanto dicono, di introdurre per quella porta 11
catholicismo." Borghese, II., 68, p. 469, Papal Secret Archives.
86 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
that you know of that kind, even the devil in hell, since
he too is my enemy. "^
On the whole Duke Charles had every reason to be satisfied
with the ecclesiastical assembly at Upsala, during the course
of which he had carefully kept in the background. He had
accomplished all that he could have hoped for in the matter
of making it impossible for his nephew to exercise the royal
power fully, for he had induced men to look upon him, not
as their king, but rather as a foreign pretender to the crown,
and as an apostate against whom they must be on their guard
as a danger to religion. ^
Duke Charles would very gladly have seen Sigismund
remain permanently in Poland. The king himself hesitated.
It was said that he had asked the advice of the Pope, but that
the latter would not take the responsibility of answering either
in the affirmative or the negative.^ This is eas}' to under-
stand, as after recent events the hope of recovering Sweden
had become very doubtful, and there was no small danger of
losing ground in Poland. There was much to be said for those
who advised Sigismund first to consolidate his position in
Poland, so that he might be able to face Duke Charles and his
other enemies in full strength in his attempt to recover the
crown of Sweden ; on the other hand Sigismund thought that
he ought not to defer his journey to his hereditary kingdom,
or his taking possession of the Swedish crown which belonged
1 Cy. MiJNTER, Magazin, II.. i, 69 '^eq. ; Runs, II., 259 seq. ;
Getjer, II., 272 seq. On the occasion of the third centenary of
the Council of Upsala K. Hildebrand published the acta of the
synod. Cf. K. Hildebrand, Upsala mote 1593. Stockholm,
1893, and Hist. Tidskrift, 1893, 89 seqq. ; A. N. Sundberg,
Om den svenska Kyrkoreformationen och Upsala mote 1593.
Sundberg", the Archbishop of Upsala, makes the confession,
doubly interesting from his lips, that in the Swedish " reform "
inaugurated by Gustavus Wasa, political motives were
param.ount.
* Opinion of R.\nke (Papste, II., 248).
'See Paruta, Dispacci, I., no.
MISSION OF POWSINSKI. 87
to him by right. Thereupon Clement VIII. did all that he
could to help him.
Immediately after the death of John III. the Pope had
appointed a congregation composed of Cardinals d'Aragona,
Galli, Bonelli, Salviati, Sforza and Montalto, in order to discuss
what should be done in ^iew of the new state of affairs.^ In
April, 1593, he reminded the nobles and bishops of Poland of
their duty to Sigismund ;^ at the beginning of August he sent
thither, in the person of Bartholomew Powsinski, a special
delegate, who was furnished with instructions and a subsidy
of 20,000 scudi.^
Powsinski was ordered to act in close conformity with
Malaspina. After he had congratulated the king on the recent
confinement of the queen and the successful issue of the Diet
at Warsaw, he was to draw the attention of the king to the
opportunity that now offered itself for the restoration of the
Catholic religion in Sweden. The sum sent by the Pope was
above all intended for this purpose, and Clement VIII. would
willingly have made it larger if his financial circumstances had
permitted. The king should avail himself of the circumstance
that the archdiocese of Upsala and the bishopric of Strengnas
were vacant, in order to appoint Catholic bishops in both cases.
^ See the reprot of Peranda, February 16, 1593, in Laemmer,
Me let., 237 n.
* See the brief to Zamoiski, April 10, 1593, in Theiner, XL,
Doc. p. 84 seq. ; ibid. 86, the brief to the episcopate, May i, 1593.
In Rome there was an idea of sending a legate to Poland for the
period of Sigismund 's absence ; see the letter of Peranda,
February 16, 1593, in Laemmer, loc. cit.
3 Cf. Paruta, Dispacci, I., 286, the *brief to the King of
Poland concerning the mission of Powsinski is dated July 29,
^593 (Arm. 44, t. 38, p. 373, Papal Secret Archives) ; the Instruc-
tion of August I (according to Borghese, I., 758 ibid.) in
Parnanen, L'ambassade de Bartol. Powsinski a Danzig en
J 593, Helsinki, 191 1, 30 scqq. To the manuscripts here mentioned
must be added IV., 34, p. 288 seq. of the Vallicella Library, Rome.
B. Powsinski restored a chapel in S. Maria degli Angeli ; see.
FoRCELi.A, IX., 160.
88 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
In case the king should find himself in a position to fill other
dioceses Powsinski gave him a list of Catholic Swedes who
seemed fitted for such positions. Sigismund was especially
urged to give thought to the training of Cathohc priests in
Sweden, who could be educated, partly at his court or with
the Polish bishops, and partly in the colleges at Riga, Dorpat
and Braunsberg. Mention was also made of the possibility
of establishing a Jesuit college at Stockholm, and of the
importance of propagating good Catholic books in the Swedish
language.^
It was fatal when Sigismund, in order to avoid any appear-
ance of coming as an enemy, or with any hostile intentions
towards his new subjects who had thus invited him, or perhaps
from a mistaken idea of economy, decided to go without any
armed force to his hereditary kingdom, ^ which had been
thrown into confusion by the intrigues of Charles. Malaspina
had vainly urged him to take some troops with him.^
After the Diet of Warsaw had been brought to a happ3^
conclusion in June 1593, and Sigismund had been reconciled
with Cardinal Bathory, the king went first of all to Dantzig,
where he was awaited by the loyal governor of Finland,
Admiral Klas Fleming, with the fleet and some ships that had
1 See Parnanen, loc. cit. In a *memonal (Urb. 860, p. 230 seq.
Vatican Library) which was drawn up immediately after the news
of the death of Sigismund, the hope is expressed of claiming for
Catholicism that liberty of religion which was so openly used by
the Protestants ; see Laemmer, Analecta, 50.
^Cf. in App. No. 13 the *Relatione dello stato di Suetia
(Vallicella Library, Rome) attention to which was first drawn by
CiAMPi (I., 92). Ranke (Papste, II., 250, 253 ; III., 9o*-9i*)
acknowledges that in this " the first undertaking of Sigismund
is described with every appearance of truth by a well-informed
person " but he has made very little use of this rich source.
Ranke, according to his wont, does not say where he found the
report. It is to be found in Cod. H 155, of the Ambrosiana
Library, Milan, and in Cod. N 33 of the Vallicella Library, Rome.
8 CJ. the cypher *report of Malaspina to Cardinal C.
Aldobrandini, dated Stockholm, January 10 (Gregor. Cal.) 1594
(decif. March 10) in Borghese, III., 91 a-b. Papal Secret Archives.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR MALASPINA. 89
been sent by Duke Charles.^ Powsinski, ^\'ho reached Dantzig
on August 28th," not only discharged all the tasks that had
been laid upon him by the Pope, but also gave to the nuncio
Malaspina a cypher letter from the Cardinal Secretary of State,
dated July 27th, concerning the manner in which Sigismund
should act in Sweden.^ This letter contained no definite
reply to Malaspina's question of January 28th, but only advice,
as the conferences in Rome had not as yet come to a definite
conclusion. It was only added that it would be well if the
king deferred receiving the ro3^al unction until a more favour-
able moment, as the Protestants had no chrism nor holy oils ;
if he found himself obliged to undergo any other civil cere-
monial, he should consent to this, without however giving any
interior assent to anything that was forbidden. As to his
coronation, which pertained to the Archbishop of Upsala,
it was the wish of Rome that Sigismund should appoint a
Catholic to perform this ceremony, and it was agreed that
should time be lacking to obtain the confirmation of the
Holy See, the nuncio should supply what was required.
During the celebrations of the obsequies of the dead king,
Sigismund must take care that no polemics against Catholic
doctrines found their way into the funeral oration. If the
king should be asked to recognize the religious constitution of
Sweden, on the lines of the Confession of Augsburg, he must
temporize. If this could not be done without danger of a
revolution, then he must avoid coming to any decision which
would render the exercise of Catholic worship more difficult
or impossible. If, however, the letter goes on to say, it should
happen that he found himself forced by necessity to take an
^ See *Ragguaglio istorico di quanto segui in Polonia quando
il Re Sigismondo voile andare a prendere possesso del Regno di
Suetia, con il racconto del medesimo viaggio e delle cose occorse
tanto circa gli affari pratici quanto intorno agli interessi della
religione cattolica, in Cod. N. 34, p. 540 seq. of the Vallicella
Library, Rome. The author is some person closely connected
with Malaspina, probably his auditor, Ruggiero Salomoni.
2 See Parnanen, 10.
' See ibid., 12 seq., where the letter is given for the first time
90 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
oath in this matter, then the formula which had been adopted
in these sad times by the German Emperor and the King of
Poland would be less blameworthy than that other " to treat
Catholics and Protestants with a like affection," a formula
which was impossible for an honourable prince. The text of
the oath should be furnished as far as possible with saving
clauses, every care being taken to avoid a formula prohibiting
the exercise of the Catholic religion. Malaspina must com-
municate these matters to the two Jesuits, Ju.stus Rabe of
Cracow and Sigismund Ernhoffer of Bavaria, who were
accompanying the king and queen as their confessors.^
Neither Sigismund nor Malaspina were under any illusions
as to the difficulties of the situation. The appointment of a
Catholic to Upsala was out of the question. The king, as well
as the nuncio, were agreed that Sigismund must in any case
claim the free exercise of the Catholic religion for himself in
Sweden.'^
The king embarked on September 6th, 1593. He was
accompanied b)^ the queen, his sister, the nuncio Malaspina,
the two Jesuits, the vice-chancellor, and a number of Polish
nobles. The military escort of the king only consisted of
400 men.^
Sigismund intended first of all to go to Kalmar, but serious
storms prevented this, and at the end of September, after a
long voyage he safely arrived at Stockholm.* There he was
received by Duke Charles and Abraham Angermann, the
Archbishop of Upsala, who had been elected in the meantime,
and who was the most violent opponent of the liturgy of
John III. Charles feigned, it is true, reverence and submis-
sion,^ but soon disclosed his true sentiments by forthwith
demanding the dismissal of the Papal nuncio, a thing which
1 See HjARNE, Sigismunds svenska resor, 42. For the inter-
preter, P. I. Rabe, see Script. Rer. Pol., XIV., 63 seqq. For
Ernhoffer see Duhr, I., 680 seq., 706.
-See Parnanen, 13 seq.
* See *Ragguaglio {supra, p. 89, n. i).
* See ibid. Cf. Hurter, III., 355.
* Cf. Hurter, III., 355 seq.
SIGISMUND REJECTS THE UPSALA DECREES. 9I
had already been demanded at Dantzig by the councillors who
had been sent to meet Sigismund. The king refused this
demand on the ground that Malaspina had not been sent to
the kingdom of Sweden, but to himself ; he had done no wrong
to Sweden, but had done good service in promoting the king's
journey ; if the envoys of the Tartars and Muscovites were
admitted, why not he as well ?^ Sigismund also refused to
confirm the decrees of the ecclesiastical assembly of Upsala,
as well as to recognize Angemiann as archbishop. The nuncio
encouraged him in this, reminding him not only of his duty
as a Catholic, but also pointing out to him how much opposed
it was to his royal authority that he should submit to decisions
which had been arbitrarily taken during his absence.^ It
was said, however, that Sigismund was already personally
pledged, in that, as a youth, together with King John, at the
request of the nobles and Duke Charles, he had signed an
undertaking that he would change nothing in Sweden as far
as religion was concerned, and would not admit Catholics to
hold public ofhce. This undertaking, however, had been
expressly revoked by King John in 1591,^ when he realized
the danger it involved to his civil authority.
^ See Geijer, IL, 278 n. i ; Hurter, III., 358.
* *Non mancava il Nuntio Apost. di rappresentarli che ne per
coscienza ne per dignita dovea confirmare decreti risoluti nel sue
regno senza 1' autorita sua ne essi havean bisogno di octal appro-
vatione in cosa che senza lui haveano stabiJita. Ragguaglio istor.
etc., loc. cit., 541 b.
3 *Ma accorgendosi Giovanni che da Carlo e da senator! in
questa lore procurata esclusione de' cattolici si era mirato ad
escludere anzi Sigisniondo e i suoi figliuoli dal dominio e dagli
ufficii del regno per tirarne tutta 1' autorita in loro stessi che ad
altro fine, havea nell' anno 1591 privati i senatori del grade e delle
facolta et tolto loro di mano lo scritto sudetto e lacerate fattolo
riporre nella cancelleria del regno, in cui pur cosi squarciato
tuttavia si serbava, ne da quell' hora in poi haveva permessa ne
r assoluta confessione Augustana ne 1' esclusione de' cattolici
(Ragguaglio ist. loc. cit., 542). It is surprising that Ranke
(Papste, II.*, 245) who had the Ragguaglio at his disposal, paid
no attention to this important source.
92 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
In the meantime the seeds of suspicion of Sigismund sown
by Charles were bearing fruit, and the Protestant clergy eagerly
encouraged it. It seemed intolerable to them that the king
should have sent a Jesuit to the Castle of Drottningholm, where
he could give the Catholics of the neighbourhood the comforts
of their religion.^ One of the preachers hurled from the pulpit
anathemas against all who had any relations with the Papists ;
when he was threatened with imprisonment, however, he
declared that he did not intend to include the king in this.^
When two Catholics of the retinue of Sigismund died, the king
had to have recourse to force in order to obtain Catholic burial
for them. The preachers then spread the rumour that Sigis-
mund intended to restore all the churches of Sweden to Catholic
worship by force ; some 4,000 armed men gathered together
and threatened the nuncio, against whom quite absurd
accusations were made, as for example that he had ordered
stones to be thrown from his house at some bo3^s who were
singing in church. Malaspina defended himself against
the accusations, but refused the guard offered to him by
Sigismund.^
Duke Charles did all he could to fan the excitement, and for
this purpose deliberately made use of foolish fables, which,
however, had their effect upon the populace. Thus he spread
the story that near Linkoping two dragons had been seen
fighting, one with a crown and the other without ; the latter
had been victorious over the one that was crowned.* The
1 See Thf.iner, II., 49.
2 See HuRTER, III., 357.
^ See *Ragguaglio ist., loc. cit. Cf. also Runs, II., 269, and
HuRTER, III., 357 seq.
* *Carlo spargeva che in Nicopia sua citta fossero aparsi in aere
due dragonj, Tunc con la corona in capo et I'altro senza e che
essendo venuti insieme a battaglia in fine dope molto sangue
rincoronato perditore e squarciato havesse lasciato I'altro
vittorioso volendo diniostrare a popoli facili a muoversi da vane
superstitioni che i cieli e gli elementi per liberare il regno di
travagli promettevano a lui la corona di Sigismondo. *Rag-
guaglio loc. cit.
DIFFICULTIES OF SIGISMUND. 93
preachers spread the calumny that on the way to Sweden,
the nuncio had been guilty of profaning the consecrated
hosts. However foolish these stories were, they did not
fail to produce their effect, and stirred up the people
against the Catholics. Some forty men and women who
had intended to return to the ancient Church, thereupon
drew back.^
Sigismund endeavoured to calm the excitement by declaring
that he would do no injury to anyone on account of his religion.
He also tried to sow dissensions between the aristocracy and
Charles, counting on the fact that the duke was hated by many
of them on account of his greed for money. In spite of this
the king's position remained very difficult ; if he were to leave
the government in the hands of the aristocracy, it was easy
to foresee a return to an elective monarchy ; if he were to
hand it over to Duke Charles, it was only to be expected that
his desire to be king would lead to a like result. " Of what
use is it to us," wrote Malaspina to Rome, " to fathom the
evil intentions of our adversaries ? Our position is like to
that of a ship without oars which fmds itself tossed about in a
storm, and unable to count upon any human help."^ The
fervour with which Sigismund fulfilled his religious duties
aroused among the Protestant population partly hatred and
partly contempt, while his great leniency was taken for
weakness.^ With all the greater insistence pressure was
brought to bear upon him to confirm the decrees of the
ecclesiastical assembly of Upsala. Duke Charles declared
^ See the *report of Malaspina to Cardinal C. Aldobrandini,
dated Stockholm, January 12 (Gregor. Cal.) 1594, Borghese, III.
91, Papal Secret Archives.
2 *" Che giova a noi conoscere li fraudulent! arteftcii di costoro
poiche siamo a guisa di naviglio senza remi in mezzo di un tem-
pestoso mare destituti da ogni humane auxilio, et non sapendo
per cio quelle che dobbianio fare non ne resta altru rifugio se non
livoltare gli cchi al Signore." Cypher report to Cardinal C.
Aldobrandini, dated Stockholm, 1594, January 25. Borghese,
III., 91 a-b, Papal Secret Archives.
^ See *Ragguaglio ist., loc. cit., 542b.
94 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
that if he would not do so he would not be present at the
ceremonies of the coronation.^ Against this both the nuncio
and the queen pointed out that he had no right to impose
laws upon the consciences of his subjects, for they too could
claim libert}^ of conscience. ^ The nuncio also advised the
few Catholics who still remained in Sweden to address
complaints to the king on account of the violations of the law
which were imposed upon them, but they could not find the
necessary courage to take such a step.^
In the reply which he made to the Council in January,
1594, Sigismund expressed his surprise at their wishing to
impose conditions for his coronation upon him, and hinted
at the difference between an hereditary and an elective
monarchy. He was the hereditary king of a kingdom which
professed a different religion from his own ; it was his intention
to leave the Protestants undisturbed as soon as they had told
him what liberty they intended to allow to his Catholic
co-religionists.^
A decision had to be come to by the beginning of February,
1594, when the king would go to Upsala, where the States
were assembled, in order to celebrate at the same time the
obsequies of John III. and the coronation of King Sigismund.
As this occasion might be made use of in order to extort the
desired concessions, Malaspina advised the king to defer the
latter ceremiony, which was not absolutely necessary in the
case of an hereditary king, and as Sigismund's predecessors
had done on several occasions. The king, however, pointed
out the difference in his own position, which obliged him to
1 See the report of Malaspina to Card. C. Aldobrandini, dated
Stockholm, 1594, January nth, loc. cit.
2 *" II Nuntio e la Reina moglie . . . facevano ogni opera della
sua riputatione a non lasciarsi da suoi sudditi mettere leggi nella
propria coscienza, la quale essi tuttavia volevano libera."
Ragguaglio, loc. cit.
3 See the remarks from the *Ragguag!io, loc. cit. already given
by Ranke (II., 247, n. 2).
* See Geijf.r, II., 279.
CATHOLIC ATTITUDE OF SIGISMUND. 95
return to Poland.^ Duke Charles also attended the corona-
tion, not as Sigismund did, with a simple body-guard, but with
a retinue of 3,000 armed men, both infantry and cavalry. ^
This fact increased the boldness of the Protestants. They
had demanded that Malaspina should not appear at Upsala,
but Sigismund remained firm on this point, despite violent
pressure that was put upon him, and in answer to the
threatening attitude of the Protestants, gave Malaspina an
armed escort.^ During the obsequies of his father in the
cathedral of Upsala, Sigismund tried to maintain, as far as
was possible, his attitude as a Catholic. He was obliged,
however, to allow Archbishop Angermann to deliver a funeral
oration from the pulpit, which was not lacking in attacks
upon the ancient Church. After this a Catholic delivered
a Latin discourse, but not from the pulpit.* The nuncio was
satisfied with the ceremonial observed, in so far that there
was no ritual of a Protestant character.^
1 *Non lascio il Nuntio di raccordare al Re che se egli pur
temeva com 'era da temersi che i suoi sudditi con coronarlo
volessero farlo servire a loro dishonesti voleri potrebbe per non
ricevere con questa corona questa servitii differirla ad altro tempo
non essendo la coronatione a principe hereditario e giurato come
lui fuorche un'atto di cerimonia che di sostanza e che Gustavo
istesso suo avo dopo I'elettione eia stato quattro anni a coronarsi
et Arrigo suo zio e Giovanni suo padre I'haveva.no pur differita
molto tempo amministrando tuttavia ogni cosa con assoluta
autorita. Replicava il Re, che a quelli che doveano continuare
la stanza nel regno era stata facil cosa, ma che a lui che dovea
partirne sarebbe molto difficile a conservarsi Re senza la corona
Ragguaglio loc. cit., 543.
* See Geijer, II. , 279.
3 See the *report of Malaspina to Card. C. Aldobrandini, dated
Stockholm, 1594, February 8, Borghese, III., 91 a-b, Papal Secret
Archives.
* See the *report of Malaspina to Card. C. Aldobrandini, dated
Upsala, February 12, ibid.
* *" Quello che in questa attione si e ottenuto di buono e stato
che non si e fatto atto alcuno secondo il rito heretico." Report
of Malaspina of February 12, 1594, ibid.
96 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Duke Charles once again declared that he would not allow
the coronation unless Sigismund first gave his assent to the
decrees of Upsala. Charles also declared himself opposed
to the cession of a few churches to the Catholics, or even of
one in Stockholm. Some of the royal councillors were in
favour of this concession, but ultimately agreed with the
duke. The latter declared to the States : " I will not separate
myself from you ; if Sigismund desires to be your king, he
must assent to j'our demands."^
Sigismund was attached with all his heart to the Catholic
religion ; it is no wonder, then, that he resisted to the end
giving his consent to demands which would not only seriously
injure his royal authority, but which would also weigh heavily
upon his conscience. He declared that he would rather lose
his crown than condemn the Catholics to forfeit all their
rights. They must at any rate be allowed the free exercise of
their own religion. The Protestant States, led by Duke
Charles and the Archbishop of Upsala, wished on the other
hand only to allow the king to have the Catholic mass cele-
brated in private, in his own chapel, during his sojourn in
the kingdom. At his departure he was to be accompanied
by all the priests, and the two Jesuits. Subsequently the
States insisted absolutely on the prohibition of all public
Catholic worship ; moreover, no Catholic must hold any public
office in Sweden, and anyone who passed over to the Catholic
religion, or caused his sons to be educated therein, was to lose
his civil rights. 2 Lastly, the States declared to their king,
in openly threatening terms, that if he would not agree to
their demands, they would not pay him homage.^
One who was well informed as to the events of the time
reports that Sigismund's sister, who was a zealous Protestant,
and the Protestant Swedes of her household, urged their
co-religionists not to desist from continuing to attack the
king, ^o make him consent to their demands, saying that
1 See RiJHs, II., 271 ; Geijer II., 279.
2 See Runs, II., 272 ; Geijer, II., 280.
3 See Ranke, II., 249.
THREATS OF THE PROTESTANTS. 97
even though at first he showed himself resolute and firm, he
would end, according to his wont, by giving way.^ This
policy of annoyance was adopted, and an attempt was further
made to deprive the king of the support of the Papal nuncio.
Six Swedish noblemen presented themselves before the latter
and asked him to leave the country. Malaspina replied that
he had come openly and had been received as the envoy of
his sovereign ; he could not, and did not intend to go away,
as he had done nothing to deserve that the rights of nations
should be violated in his case.^ Finally the Protestants openly
told the king that they would have recourse to revolution if
he did not consent to their demands ; they even went so far,
Sigismund reported to the Pope, "as to threaten me with
imprisonment, my Polish retinue with destruction, and the
Swedish Catholics with death. "^ The nuncio was in obvious
danger of death, as an assault by violence upon his house
was in preparation.
Sigismund warned Malaspina that his life was in danger,
and that there was no time to be lost, for the attack would
be made within three hours. The Pope's representative
calmly replied that the king must in that case wait quietly
for those three hours, when it would be seen whether the
threats of the Protestants were really serious. He, the
nuncio, did not fear death, and would never consent to the
king's giving way to the Protestant demands. The king's
^ *Dairinfanta sua sorella ostinatissima heretica e da Suetesi
ch'erano dimorati appresso I'Re in Polonia, heretic! anch'essi,
venivano confortati i .senatori e gl'altri a non cessare di battagliare
il Re, il quale benche di sua natura si mostrasse a primi assalti
costante e intrepido si lasciava nondimeno doppo non lunga
batteria facilmente espugnare. Ragguaglio, loc. cit., 543.
2 See in App. No. 13, the ^Relatione dello state di
Suetia, Vallicella Library, Rome. Malaspina refers to this
episode in his *Dialogo sopra li stati spirituale e politico dell'
imperio et delle provincie infette d'eresie " in Cod. N. 17, p. 31,
of the Vallicella Library, Rome.
3 See the *letter of Sigismund of March 8, 1594 (Doria Archives,
Rome) in App, No. 2.
VOL. XXIV. 7
98 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Polish councillors were of the opinion that he should give way.^
But Malaspina remained inflexible : the king must not yield
to the demands of the Protestants.
As the threats became more and more alarming, the king
turned in panic to Rabe and Ernhoffer, the two Jesuits who
had come with him from Poland. Rabe was of the opinion
that in the circumstances, and in view of the difficulties and
dangers to which Sigismund was exposing himself by his
refusal, he might yield to the Protestant demands ; Ernhoftcr,
who had hitherto been of the same opinion as Malaspina, did
not dare to oppose this definite decision.^ Sigismund made
public this decision in writing, and then, without notifying
Malaspina, gave the assent which the Protestants demanded
as to their religion, reserving to himself, however, the right
to grant later on, in accordance with the advice of the States,
more favourable conditions to his own co-religionists.^ It was
only with great difficulty that Sigismund brought himself to
recognize Angermann as Archbishop of Upsala, as the latter's
appointment had undoubtedly been an unheard of usurpation
of his royal prerogatives.^ In the end, however, he gave way
on this point as well ; he only insisted that not Angermann,
but the Protestant bishop of Vesteras should place the crown
upon his head.
The nuncio Malaspina had reported to Rome as early as
the last days of January, 1593, concerning the question of
the unction and coronation. At that time Sigismund as well
was resolved not to allow this ceremony to be performed by a
Protestant bishop, who, as he rightly thought, was only a
layman. As the Swedes, on national grounds, refused a
Polish bishop, the king for a time thought of Malaspina.^
1 Cf. the *report of Malaspina of August 15, 1594, in App.
No. 6, Papal Secret Archives.
2 See in App. No. 2, the *report of Malaspina of March «,
159/I (Papal Secret Archives) and No. 13 the *Relatione dello
state di Siietia, Vallicella Library, Rome.
* See Geijer, II., 281 n. i.
^Opinion of RtJHS (II., 273).
' See the *report of Malaspina to Card. C. Aldobrandini of
January 15, 1593, Borghese, II., 68, p. 477, Papal Secret Archives.
CORONATION OF SIGISMUND. QQ
The point of view of the Holy See had by the Pope's orders
been sent to the nuncio in a long cypher letter from Cinzio
Aldobrandini of August ist, 1593.^ They had reason to hope
in Rome that Sigismund would take these observations into
account, as Malaspina again reported in September concerning
the firm intentions of the king, and his unwillingness to receive
the crown from the hands of an heretical archbishop.^ But
the circumstances were stronger than his good will, for Duke
Charles threatened to declare any other form of coronation
than this invalid.^ On February 19th, in the magnificent
cathedral of Upsala, Sigismund had the crown placed upon
his head by the Bishop of Vesteras.* His consort did not
receive the unction, for this descendant of the Hapsburgs,
in her strong faith, refused to make an}^ compromise.^
Malaspina was quite in agreement with her. He had
threatened to enter a protest, and it was for that reason that
Sigismund had concealed from him the reply of the two
1 See ibid., pp. 469-471.
2 *Report of Malaspina, September 23, 1593, ibid.
3 See *report of Malaspina of March 8, 1594 (Papal Secret
Archives) in App. iSFo.
* Theiner (II., 348 seq.) has published the report of Malaspina's
auditor, Ruggiero Salomoni, whicu makes it clear how greatly
Sigismund felt himself to be threatened by Charles. Sigismund
described his position to the Pope by means of the nuncio : see
his *letter dated Upsala, 1594, March 8, Doiia Archives, Rome,
In this it is stated : " Occurrebant nonnulla quae S.V. quam
secretissime significanda duximus, quae quidem ill. legatus S*^*^ V.
in notam S*^* V. forman redegit. Mittimus igitur hac ipsa S.V.
hisce inclusa." The enclosed letter of the king, w^hich was read
in consistory, in App. No. 2. A second similar *letter from
Sigismund to the Pope, dated Stockholm, 1594, March 17, is also
in the Doria Archives, Rome. Even before these letters reached
Rome, Clement VHI. had expressed himself very leniently as to
the surrender of Sigisnmnd, which had been forced upon him by
the circumstances ; see in App. No. 4, the *Instruction to
Malaspina of April 30, 1594, Papal Secret Archives.
5 See *report of Malaspina of March 8, 1594 (Papal Secret
Archives) in App. No. 3.
100 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Jesuits. When two days later the nuncio learned the truth/
he wished to set out for Denmark, where the king had resolved
to prepare for him a courteous welcome, so as to show, as he
said, the barbarous Swedes, how the envoys of sovereigns
should be treated. But Sigismund succeeded in holding the
nuncio back. The latter sought to profit by the complaisance
which the king had shown before his coronation, persuading
him to put into writing a protest that the oath had been
extorted from him by force, for according to the universally
accepted doctrine an oath that is thus extorted is void.
Taking his stand upon this, Malaspina persuaded the king to
make adequate concessions to the Catholics, since, as had
been the case with himself in Poland, and v/ith the Emperor
in Germany, he was bound by oath to favour the Catholic
party. 2 In conformity with this, before his departure, the
king conferred offices and titles upon Catholics as well, and
obliged the four lieutenants, although they were Protestants,
to swear to protect the Catholics and their religion . Sigismund
acquired two houses in Stockholm and Upsala, in which he
established chapels for the Catholics who still remained, and
installed a priest. Two other Catholic priests were sent by
him to the ancient and celebrated convent of Vadstena, which
had almost miraculously survived all the storms.^
Even before this change of attitude, of which Sigismund
sent a report to the Pope,"* had become generally known, the
^ See ibid.
^ See in App. No. 13, the *Relatione dello State di
Suetia, ValliceJla Library, Rome. The text of the passage
concerned was incorrectly given by Ranke, Papste, IL, 250 seq.,
and the passage is also wrongly interpreted. It is wrong when
Ra,nke, loc. cit. says : " Sigismund, in order to free himself from
all the obligations which he had undertaken upon oath, took
a contrary oath to the opposing party." In the opinion of
Malaspina, the oath which had been extorted by force implied no
obligations.
'See in App. No. 13 the *Relatione dello Stato di Suetia,
loc. cit.
* See his *letter in App. No. 2. Doria Archives, Rome.
SIGISMUND RETURNS TO POLAND. lOI
Lutheran preachers, exulting in the victory which they had
won over the king at Upsala, had become guilty of grave
excesses. They openly deplored the fact that Sigismund had
allowed himself to be blinded by the tricks of Papistry, as
they called it. When the king and queen, in accordance with
ancient usage, had washed the feet of twelve beggars, the
Lutheran pastor, Eric Schepjerus, delivered a discourse on
Easter Sunday against this work of charity, and forbade
anyone to give alms to those beggars, so that these
unfortunates almost died of hunger.^ Again, the circumstance
that Sigismund asked the Pope to act as sponsor to his
daughter,'^ who was born in May, gave rise to fresh attacks
upon the king. Moreover, disgraceful disputes broke out
between Poland and Sweden. We cannot wonder then that
Sigismund felt the ground giving way under his feet when he
saw everyone in a state of irritation against him in his Swedish
kingdom.^
The news from Poland was such as to make the return of
the king appear to be urgently necessary,^ and when Sigismund
had provided, as far as he could, for the security of his sove-
reignty in Sweden, he embarked once more in the middle of
July, 1594.^ Malaspina took his place in the principal ship,
so that the standard of the Holy See once more floated over
the waters of the Baltic. While on the high seas the nuncio
wrote a report to Rome, in which he drew a retrospective
picture of the events of which he had been a witness. In
this the nuncio makes it appear that the complaisance shown
by Sigismund towards the religious problem at the advice
1 See Runs, II., 275.
2 See the brief of February 17, 1594, in Theiner, II., Doc.
p. 95. The *letter of thanks from Queen Anna to Clement VIII.
dated Stockholm, 1594, June 27, in which she informs him of the
death of her daughter, who had died soon after her baptism, in
Doria Archives, Rome.
3 See Theiner, II., 276 seq.
* Cf. *Ragguaglio {supra, p. 89, n. i) Vallicella Library,
Rome.
5 Cf. HuRTER, III., 363.
102 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of the Polish " politicians " of his retinue had not silenced
the political aims of the Protestants, but had rather encouraged
them. Sigismund was opposed by his powerful uncle, who
was ambitious and unscrupulous, and by the undisciplined
aristocracy, while the people, instigated by the Protestant
preachers, only recognized the new king in word. The Polish
chancellor was of the opinion that Sigismund, by residing in
Poland, would be far more respected than if he remained
where he was. This may be the will of God, says Malaspina,
but many are of quite another opinion ; Sigismund is to be
counted among the optimists, but how, concludes the nuncio,
can one have confidence in men who have been found wanting
in their loyalty to God ?^
This fear was only too well founded. Sigismund had given
Duke Charles, who had solemnly sworn fealty to him at
Upsala, full powers to govern the kingdom in conjunction
with all the councillors, though he had expressly forbidden him
to hold Diets or to introduce new ordinances.^ In open
defiance of this order, and in spite of the protest of the council
of the kingdom, with which the aristocracy associated them-
selves, Charles convoked a Diet at Soderkoping in the autumn
of 1595, which ventured upon the greatest usurpations of the
rights of Sigismund, and issued decrees for the extermination
of the Catholics who still remained in Sweden. All
" sectaries," so the ordinance ran, who are opposed to the
Protestant religion, must leave the kingdom within six weeks. ^
This ordinance was at once enforced with a rigour that
often was indistinguishable from cruelty.'*
This time the death knell had struck for one of the most
^SeeinApp. No. 6, the *report of Malaspina, August 15, 1594,
Papal Secret Archives.
2 See RiJHS, II., 279 seq., who defends Sigismund against the
accusation of having left his kingdom without having made the
necessary arrangements for its government.
^ See Baaz, Inventarium, IV., 567; Ranke, II., 151 seq.
CJ. also Messenius, Secondia illustrata, VIII., Stockholm, 1702.
30.
* Opinion of G. Droysen, Gesch. der Gegenreformation, 221.
VIOLENCE OF THE PROTESTANTS. IO3
venerated places in Sweden. After ten years of martyrdoms,
there still remained at Vadstena eleven virgins consecrated
to God, who with prayer and contemplation faithfully watched
over the tomb of one of the greatest of Swedish women, Saint
Bridget. In the e3^es of the Lutheran preachers this was an
abuse that could no longer be tolerated, and the nuns were
driven out, after they had been submitted to disgraceful
tortures in the presence of Duke Charles, in order to make
them apostatize from their religious convictions. The church
of the convent was despoiled and the library dispersed. With
the help of Sigismund eight of the exiled nuns found an
asylum in Dantzig, while three remained in Sweden ; only one
was faithless to her vows and religion.^
After the few Catholic priests who were still carrying on
their work in Sweden had been banished from the kingdom, ^
Archbishop Angermann of Upsala undertook a great visita-
tion of the churches, in the course of which all traces of the
ancient faith were destroyed with violence. " With un-
relenting fury," says a Protestant historian, " all the sacred
images were destroyed, and all the monuments of the past,
which had for long been the objects of deep veneration, were
broken down."^ The people were forcibly compelled to
assist at Protestant worship, and those who failed to do so
were scourged. Angermann had this chastisement carried
out under his own supervision.^ All Catholic ceremonial
which had remained in use since 1593 onwards was abolished.
It was then made manifest how little the Swedish people
had understood Protestant doctrines in their true significance.
Above all the country folk murmured against these proceed-
ings, and attributed the bad harvests to the abolition of the
remains of the ancient faith, which had always been dear to
them. How enduring was the attachment of the people to the
ecclesiastical usages of their fathers was shown by the fact
^ See Messenius, VIII. , 31 seq. ; Runs, II., 85.
2 See Messenius, VIII., 32.
3RUHS, II., 285.
* See Ranke, II., 252.
104 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
that even in 1602 the peasants of Svintuna remonstrated with
their parish priest because he had refused to celebrate mass
on the feast of St. Lawrence.^ Highly significant too was
the fact that the people would not hear above all of the
abolition of the elevation of the host. One who wrote from
Sweden was of the opinion that many of the country folk
would once again become Catholics, if they could be allowed
to have the mass in their native tongue.^ The brutality
with which the destruction of Catholic memories was carried
out was bound to scandalize the minds of such people. It
sounds incredible, but is vouched for by credible witnesses,
that a Lutheran preacher, who had taught a crow to babble
a few words, made it express its sorrow at being excluded
from heaven, whereupon he baptized the bird according to
the Catholic rite.^
Just as had been the case at Vadstena, where the splendid
silver reliquaries of St. Eric, St. Bridget and St. Catherine
were destroyed, no consideration was shown for the precious
memorials of the early history of the country, so was it in
other places as well. The statue of the saintly king, Eric of
Sweden, was dragged from a parish church into the open air,
and a soldier was ordered to fire his musket at it : the ball
came back and killed the man, an occurrence which made a
profound impression on the people.*
Sigismund was not blind to the attachment of the common
people to the ancient faith, nor to the indignation which the
despotic rule of Charles aroused among the nobles. But
Sigismund could not bring himself to the point of making a
fresh attempt to recover his kingdom, which his perjured uncle
1 See Geijer, II., 299 n. i. In Finland as well the peoplt;
wished to retain the old Catholic customs ; see Schybergson,
Gesch. Finnlands, Gotha, 1896, 154.
* See the *report of September 21, 1596, in Theiner, II., 68 ;
cj. ibid., .i\g.
^ See in App. No. 13, the *Relatione dello Stato di Suetia,
Vallicella Library, Rome,
* See ibid.
remorsp: of sigismund. 105
had stolen from him^ by revolutionary methods, for he was
temperamentally averse to any resolute action.^ He con-
stantly thought of returning to Sweden, and felt remorse
for the weakness which he had shown in order to bring about
his coronation. He once confessed to the nuncio Malaspina
that he saw the chastisements of God in the various calamities
which had fallen upon him since then, above all the death of .
his wife. For the future, he told the nuncio, he would at
all costs do nothing further to burden his conscience.^
This news revived in Rome the hope of the recovery of
Sweden for the Catholic faith. ^ A memorial which was drawn
^ " Very rarely were any more rebellious measures employed
to save the national {s-ic) monarchy ! Sweden stood firm amid
its glorious revolution," says Dkoysen, Gesch. der Gegensre-
formation, 222.
2 See Geijer, II., 287.
3 See in App. No. 13, the *Relatione, etc. Vallicella
Library, Rome.
* The first tidings, which were too optimistic, had raised great
hopes in Rome, see Paruta, Dispacci, II., 131, 152. To a letter
from Sigismund to the Pope, of September 16, 1593, Clement VIII.
replied on December 16 (see Theiner, II., Doc. p. 88 seq.) and
caused it to be read to the Cardinals in consistory on December 20,
1593 ; see Acta consist, card. S. Severinae, Cod. Barb., XXVI., 5,
III., Vatican Library, and the *Relatio gestorum et dictorum in
consist, die 20 December, 1593, in the Rospigliosi Archives,
Rome, t. 55. Sigismund 's ambassador for Poland and Sweden
made his obedientia to the Pope on January 1 7, 1 594 (see Theiner,
loc. cit., 90). In spite of the bad news contained in Sigismund 's
letter of March 1594 (see supra, pp. 97 seq), Clement VIII. still
hoped in the autumn of 1594 for a successful issue to Sigismund 's
efforts on behalf of the Swedish Catholics ; see the brief of
October 29, 1594, in Theiner, loc. cit., 92 seq. At the consistory
on December 2, 1594, information as to Sweden, which must have
been unsatisfactory, was given, but on the other hand, at the
consistory of June 19, 1595, Clement VIII. reported an improve-
ment in Sweden, saying that " *quod Carolus ille dux non est
adeo infestus catholicis eo quod ecclesia ilia in arce N. frequentatur
etaim ab haereticis." Acta consist, card, S, Severinae, loc. cit.,
Vatican Library.
I06 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
up in the Eternal City at that time by one who was well
acquainted with affairs in Sweden, brought out, among other
things, the European importance of such an event. ^ Finland,
in the hands of a Catholic prince, would become of decisive
importance in the relations of the Church with Russia. From
thence the Muscovite kingdom could be successfully attacked,
and that province could also furnish the infantry which was
lacking in Poland. Even if it should not come to war with
Russia, the possession of Finland would always exercise a
decisive pressure upon the Muscovites. The author of the
memorial enlarges in detail upon the importance of the ports
of Kalmar and Elfsborg in Westgothland. Anyone who
held Kalmar was the master of the Baltic, and could also
take possession of the Duchy of Prussia, as it might be taken
for granted that the house of Brandenburg would never consent
to the restoration of the ancient Church. ^ It would perhaps
be of even greater importance if the beautiful harbour of
Elfsborg, which had such a splendid situation, were in the
hands of a Catholic. If the King of Spain were to be given
a base there for his fleet, he would be in a position to cause
so much annoyance to the kingdom of Elizabeth, which was
only three days distant, that she would have plenty to do
without attacking the West Indies. An alliance between
Sigismund and Spain, on the express condition that the latter
should bear the expense of garrisoning Elfsborg, would greatly
consolidate the power of the king, both in Poland and in
Sweden.
All these projects were frustrated by the energetic if
treacherous activity of Charles, for whom Sigismund was no
match. ^ From the time of his departure from Sweden, said
Malaspina in August, 1597, Sigismund, for the protection of
1 See in App. No. 13 the *Re]atio, etc., Vallicella Library,
Rome, from which it is clear that the author knew of the
*Ragguaglio {supra, p. 89, n. i).
2 The passage concerned, from the * Relatione di Polonia by
Malaspina (Vallicella library, Rome) was given in part, though
without indication as to its source, by Ranke (II., 254).
* C/. SvEN TuNBERG 83 scqq., 142 seqq^
INCREASE OF CHARLES POWER. IO7
his rights, had confined himself to severe words, while Charles
in the meantime cleverly and astutely gathered all the power
into his own hands. ^ As Sigismund's adherents had no one
to support them they could easily be driven out. Charles
also succeeded in getting possession of Elfsborg and Kalmar,
and successfully began a war agahist Finland.^ One after
another the important positions fell into the hands of Charles,
and in proportion as the lawful king showed himself inert
did the duke seek to win popularity. The preachers were
already on his side, and he knew well how to win over the
country folk. Many were tricked by a report that he was
acting in union with Sigismund. He cleverly described the
latter as not caring about the Swedes, saying that he would
never leave Poland to come to Sweden.^ Sigismund never
really fathomed his uncle, and it may be seen from the negotia-
tions which he carried on with Charles, by means of his
ambassador, Samuel Lascy, how he still hoped to come to
terms with him."*
The Diet which assembled at Arboga in February, 1597,
had resolved that Sigismund must be invited by means of an
embassy to visit his kingdom ; but this project remained on
paper. Sigismund realized that he would have to act with
decision if he did not wish to lose Sweden. He then made
known his resolve to go thither at once, and for that purpose
summoned the fleet to Dantzig. Charles, in reply, obliged the
States to enact, at two further Diets, held in February and
June, 1598, at Upsala and Vadstena, that they pledged them-
selves, even at the cost of their lives and property to the
observation of the earlier decrees, saying that they were ready
to suffer anything rather than allow violence or persecution
to be inflicted on the duke or any of their number on that
account.^ After Sigismund had waited in vain for the Swedish
fleet, and had failed to obtain ships from the Hanseatic
1 See report of Malaspina of August 17, 1597, ibid., 146 seqq.
* See Geijer, II., 302 seq.
* See report of Malaspina cited supra, n. i.
* See SvEN TuNBERG, 40 seqq., 67 seqq.
5 See Geijer, II., 303.
I08 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
League,^ he had recourse to the desperate step of forcing
Enghsh merchant vessels to make the crossing, which was
done from Dantzig in July, 1598. He took with him 5,000
Polish troops and a brilliant court, and on Juty 30th landed
at Kalmar, which at once opened its gates to him.^
What were his prospects ? Not over favourable, according
to the description of the Swedish exiles, but at the same time
not altogether hopeless, since many Swedes, and among them
the majority of the councillors of the kingdom, even though
the}^ were Protestant in their sympathies, did not approve of
Charles governing the kingdom against the express wishes of
the lawful king, and who, throwing aside the mask, would have
raised the banner of revolt. '^ Sigismund's principal mistake
was that he had begun his enterprise too late, and with an
insufficient number of troops. An adversary so determined
and cunning as Charles had to be opposed by an overwhelming
force.
In spite of this, the undertaking, which was followed with
the greatest attention in Rome, opened favourably. A great
part of Finland remained loyal to the legitimate sovereign,
while Stockholm, the capital, declared for Sigismund.^ After
having parleyed for a month without any result, the army
took the field. At first the fortunes of war smiled upon Sigis-
mund, but his generosity towards Charles after his first
victory and his unwillingness to shed Swedish blood, led
1 C/. J. Paul in Hist. Zeitschr., CXXXIII., 448.
^ See Geijer, 304. The question whether a Papal representa-
tive should accompany Sigismund, was decided in the negative
by Malaspina, since, should affairs turn out favourably, one
could be sent at once ; see Sven Tunberg, 154 sea.
^ See BiAUDET, L, v.
* See Geijer, II., 304 ; Schafer, Gesch. Danemarks, V., 299.
In Sigismund's retinue there was to be found his court preacher,
the Jesuit Laterna, who had, however, to return to Poland for
reasons of health. On his way back he fell into the hands of the
soldiers of Duke Charles, who druwned him ; see Messenius,
Secondia illustr., VIII., 68 ; Juvencius, V., 262 ; J. Metzler,
Martyrergestalten aus der schwed, Missionsgesch., in Xaveriiis-
M'i-'>sionskalender, 1923,
DEPOSITION OF SIGISMUND. lOQ
to this initial advantage being quickly lost, and the disastrous
battle near Stangebro, not far from Linkoping, which was
fought on September 25th, 1598, obliged Sigismund to return
to Poland.^ He continued thence to carry on his struggle
with Charles, but once again his plans, which were supported
by Spain, were shipwrecked owing to the passive resistance
of the Hanseatic cities."^ Charles, who was Sigismund's
superior in energy and strength of will,^ thus remained the
victor. In July, 1599, he caused Sigismund to be deposed
by the Diet, and then began a bloody persecution of all those
who wished to remain loyal to their lawful sovereign and the
ancient religion.* Clement VIII. ^ lived long enough to see
Charles, overbearing all opposition, place on his own head
the crown,'' which he had thus taken by violence from his
nephew.
1 A still unpublished report by N. Sergardi, an Italian who
accompanied Sigismund, on his second expedition to Sweden
(*Breve compendio hist, del passaggio in Suctia di Sigismondo
III., 1598) is preserved in the Library at Siena, Cod. K. III., 58.
^ See J. Paul, loc. cit., 449 seq.
* See BiAUDET, II., i (1912) x. seq.
* See Geijer, II., 306 seq. ; Theiner, II., 70 seq. Biaudet
(I., V.) describes the measures taken by Charles as " une serie de
repressions barbares." The cruelty of Charles is also brought out
in the poem by joh. Messenius " The Catholic martyrs of Sweden "
in Vol. 9 of his Secondia illustrata, and also by Odhner, Larobok
i Sveriges, Norges och Danmarks historia®, Stockholm, 1886,
148 seq. ; Leinbeug, Cm finske studerande i Jesuitcollegier, in
the periodical Histor. arkisto, XI. (Helsingissa, 1891), 196 seq.,
203 seq. Biaudet : Cm linske studerande i Jesuitcollegier,
ibid., XIX. (1903), 178 seqq. gives further information concerning
the Jesuit missionaries.
* Cf. the *letter addressed to Clement VIII. by Count Eric of
Visinburg, March 20, 1602, Doria Archives, Rome.
* Biaudet (I., v. seq., 335 seq.) promises to give fuller informa-
tion concerning an anti-Protestant league which was projected at
that time in Rome, and which was to be especially directed
against Sweden. Steinhuber (I., 360 seq.) shows how Sigismund
endeavoured to get young Catholic Swedes to enter the
Germanicum.
CHAPTER IV.
Progress of Catholic Restoration in Poland. — Reunion
OF THE Schismatic Ruthenians. — The False Demetrius.
Some compensation for the loss of Sweden was afforded by the
consoHng progress of the Catholic religion in the Kingdom of
Poland. At first things had been by no means encouraging, for
although Sigismund III. was genuinely attached to Catholicism,
there were nevertheless serious restrictions upon freedom of
worship in Poland in consequence of the right which the aristoc-
racy had extorted from King Henry III. in 1572, and which
had been confirmed by his successors, of deciding their own
religion and that of their subjects.^ To this was added the
fact that Sigismund was in no sense a man of energy and
resoluteness.^ His weakness in the matter of distributing
the offices of State degenerated into a favouring of the
Protestants.^ But little by little the Pope's representative,
the nuncio Malaspina, as well as the higher Polish clergy,
and especially the Archbishop of Gnesen, Karnkowski (died
1603), succeeded in leading Sigismund to a different course of
action.* In course of time the change in the king became
so complete that a well-informed correspondent was able
to report to Rome in 1596 that in the whole world there was
1 For the so-called Confederation of Warsaw see Vol.
of this work. An opinion by the Jesuit Toledo " *De juramento
Stephani regis Poloniae de impunitate haereticorum " (in Borghese
III., 72b, pp. 460 scqq., Papal Secret Archives) puts forward the
view : " Juramentum tale multis ex partibus iniquam est.
Male emissum multo tamen peius est adimplere."
2 See Paruta, Relazione, 431 ; Dolfin, Relazione, 473.
' See E. Barwinski in : Reformacye w Polsce (ed. Kox) I.
(1921).
* See ibid.
110
CLEMENT VIII. AND POLAND. Ill
no such obedient son of the Church as Sigismund 1 11.^
Qlement VIII. therefore always spoke of him in terms of the
highest praise. In order to examine more fully the Polish
question, the Pope, in the first year of his pontificate, had
appointed a special congregation, composed of Cardinals
Tagliavia, Galli, Caetani, Salviati, Sforza and Montalto, to
whom was added Cinzio Aldobrandini. Minuccio Minucci
acted as its secretary. ^
It was a special joy to the Pope that he was able to satisfy
a long-standing wish of the Poles by bringing to an end in
the spring of 1594 the process of canonization of St. Hyacinth.
On this occasion he recalled how greatly St. Hyacinth was
venerated in Poland in 1588 when he had been there as
legate.^
Besides the duty of watching over ecclesiastical interests,
Germanico Malaspina, who was nuncio in Poland from 1592
to 1598, had been charged with the task of encouraging the
war against the Turks. Clement VIII. hoped to win over
Poland to the great league which he projected against the
Turks, and when the king had returned from Sweden in 1594,
Malaspina laboured in every possible way for this purpose ;
it seemed, however, that he had not reckoned sufficiently
on the difficulties.^ When, therefore, the success which the
Pope so ardently desired, and even expected on the strength
^ *Si e fatto cosi ossequente il sereniss. Re alia Sede Apost.
che in niuna parte del mondo e in maggior authorita essa sede ne
li ministri di essa ne I'ordine et giurisdittione eccles. e piu difesa
et aiutata da Re alcuno di quelle ch'e dalla M*^ del Re di Polonia,
it is stated in an account written in 1598, with the title : *Attioni
seguite in Polonia et in Suetia dopo rassontione al pontificate di
N.S^*^ Clemente VIII. a benefitio del Re, del regno et della religione,
Cod. N. 34, p. 433 seq., of the Vallicella Library, Rome. Orig. in
Borghese, III., 96b, p. 97 seq., Papal Secret Archives.
''See SiiEVE, IV., 126 n. i.
* See *Acta consist, card. S. Severinae, March 31, 1594, loc. cit.,
Vatican Library. Cf. also infra, Chapter VI.
* See Bentivoglio, Memorie, 133. Cf. Vita di Msgr. Ces.
Speciani, 181 seqq.
112 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of the reports of Malaspina/ was not attained, it was resolved
in Rome to send a special embassy. Therefore, at the
beginning of 1596, the Bishop of Caserta, Benedetto Mandina,
who belonged to the Theatine Order, was appointed, ^ and
in April of the same year, the Cardinal legate Caetani.^ The
latter left Rome on April 25th with a large retinue and reached
Vienna about a month later. The master of ceremonies,
Mucantius, who accompanied the legate, wrote a very inter-
esting description of this journey from the point of view of
history and culture.^
* Cf. *Acta consist, card. S. Severinae, December 2, 1594, and
March 6, 1595, loc. cit.. Vatican Library.
2 CJ. Vol. XXIII. of this work, p. 290. See also B. Mandinae,
congreg. cleric, regul. episc. Casertini, nuntii ad regem senatumque
Polonum Apost. Oratio de foedere cum christianis contra Turcam
paciscendo habita in comitiis Varsaviae, 3 Cal. April, 1596,
printed at Cracow, 1596, and also Roberti Turneki Orationes,
II., 80 seqq. Cf. also *" Successo de comitii di Polonia circa la
lega contra il Turco," dated Warsaw, 1596, May 14, in Cod. N. 35,
p. 133 seq., Vallicella Library, Rome. Ibid. 108 seq. *" Motivi
ne Polachi per difficoltare la conclusione della lega contro il Turco
con le risposte alii detti motivi, 1596." Lunig (Staatsconsilia, I.,
487) makes the " reflection as to whether it is better for the Poles to
break the peace with the Turks or to maintain it, and of the
disputation concerning the reasons for and against held in 1597
before Pope Clement VIII."
3 Cf. Vol. XXIII. of this work, p. 291.
* *" Itinerario o diario di tutte le cose occorse nel tempo di
Clement VII.. nella legatione del card. Gaetano al Re di Polonia
libro I e II scritto da Giov. Paolo Mucante, maestro di ceremonie,"
in Ottob. 2623, Barb. LVL, 103, and LVIL, 26, Vatican Library,
and in Arm. I., vol. 82, Papal Secret Archives, the dedicatory
letter, dated Ferrara, 1598, May 15, to Cardinal C. Aldobrandini.
Copy in Cod. 567 of the Palatine Library, Parma. Cf. Ciampi, I.,
'^57> 349 ^^l-i I1-. 49 ^^'1- '> ZocHBAUER, Ein rom. Reisebericht
liber Osterreicli aus dem Jahre 1596, in Ayckiv. f. Gesch. der Dioz.
Lim, V. (1909), 75 seq. I have not succeeded in finding the
article by O. F. Tencajoli : Un legat du Clement VIII. en
Pologne, 1596, cited in Quellen u. Forsch., IV., 407. The
THE MISSION OF CARD. CAETANI. II3
Cardinal Caetani received from Mandina more definite
information as to the position of the league while he was at
Vienna, where for eight days he enjoyed the hospitality of the
Austrian court. They both expected to meet with less
difficulties from Poland than from the Emperor, since the
Archduke Maximilian, who was intended for the office of
commander-in-chief against the Turks, still refused to renounce
the title of King of Poland. What would happen, the Poles
asked themselves, should the archduke, instead of marching
against the Turks, turn his forces against Poland in order to
vindicate his supposed claims ? To this was added, as
Caetani reported to Rome, the dilatoriness of the Emperor's
policy, which was averse to applying the proper remedies to
any evils. If Maximilian would not renounce his claims to
the throne, the legate rightly pointed out, the Poles would
offer such a resistance that all efforts would be in vain.^
*Registro di lettere scritte dal card. E. Caetano nella siia legazione
di Polonia in Cod. X.-VI., 13 and 14 of the Casanatense Library,
Rome. Ibid., 15 other *documents pertaining to this legation.
1 *Circa la lega Mons. di Caserta, che arrivo qui alii 27, me
n'ha dato gran luce. Convenghiamo in questo, che i Polacchi
siano per caminar bene, ma dubitiamo che dalla parte degli
Imperial! non si zoppichi, poiche quanto al punto della renuntia
del titolo, secondo che me ne scrive il vescovo di Cremona [C.
Speciani], arciduca Massimiliano par che non ci venga bene
attaccandosi a certe speranze che hanno piu fiori che frutti e
possono anzi deluderlo che aiutarlo oltre che il vederlo disegnato
capo e generale di questa impresa f omenta la sospettione de
Polacchi che habbiano almeno apparente ragione di dubitarne
tanto pill vedendolo armato e munito et atto a poter piegare
I'armi e le forze communi a libito de'suoi proprii e privati interessi.
S'aggionge a questo che I'espeditioni della corte Cesarea nel
presente negotio vanno lente e fredde e par che si cammini a fine
non di curare I'infermo, ma di sostenerlo co'fomenti e panni caldi
piu tosto che con remedii opportuni e gagliardi. Chiara cosa e,
che senza questa cessione i Polacchi non solo staranno duri, ma
ostinatissimi e sara vana ogni fatica che s'impieghi in questa
pratica se non si rimuove la pietra di quello scandalo. Casanatense
Library, Rome, loc. cit.
VOL. XXIV. 8
114 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Caetani decided to send Mandina to the Imperial court, after
which he was to come to Poland to report.
On June i6th the Cardinal legate reached Cracow/ but it
was not until August 8th that he was able to inaugurate the
negotiations between the Polish delegates and these of the
Emperor at the Radziwill palace. Rudolph II. had placed
the distinguished Bishop of Breslau, Andreas von Jerin, at
the head of his representatives.^
The inaugural address of Caetani to the envoys of the
Emperor and the King of Poland, besides explaining the efforts
which the Pope was making for a crusade, expressed a fervent
hope that they would give effect to his plans by coming to an
agreement as to the financial contributions and the prepara-
tions for the war. In the reply which he made in the name
of the Imperialists the Bishop of Breslau praised the zeal of
the Pope, and also brought out the efforts of the Hapsburgs
for the protection of their hereditary territories and of the
whole of Christendom against their sworn enemy, and appealed
to the chivalrous sentiments and the ancient military glory
of Poland, which in close alliance with the Imperialists, could
destroy that dreaded foe for their own salvation and that of
others. At the end the bishop called attention to an inveterate
and serious defect of Polish assemblies : namely that owing
to the vehemence of the speeches and the excessive character
of the demands, the desired object was too often lost sight of
and an alliance rendered impossible. The orator of the
Polish representatives. Bishop Goslicki of Przemysl, thanked
the Pope and the Emperor for their complaisance, but asked
of the latter, deeds instead of words, as well as the fulfilment
of the indispensable conditions.^ These were at once put
into writing. Caetani was unwearied in his efforts to reconcile
the warring interests, and in turning the attention of the
Poles from their just insistence upon Maximilian's oath of
^ Detailed description in Mucantius, *Itinerario, loc. cit.
* See Jerin-Gesess, Biscof Andreas Jerin, Neisse, 1900, 84 seq.,
and Naegele in Katholik, 191 1, I., 364 seq.
2 See Jerin-Gesess, loc. cit.
CAETANI AND KING SIGISMUND. II5
renunciation to the principal point at issue, the war against
the Turks. The Bishop of Breslau had great difficulty in
answering the attacks, which were to a great extent justified,
upon Austrian polic}^ and, in order to come to a discussion
of the league, in dealing with the just demand for a renuncia-
tion of all claims to the Polish throne. At length the Polish
representatives gave way, on condition that the Archduke
Maximilian would take an oath of renunciation within a
determined period, a period which was extended until
November nth, at the proposal of Caetani. Thus, with great
difficulty, an agreement was arrived at concerning the league
on August 31st. ^
The hopes expressed by the legate at the conclusion, that
the still outstanding difficulties would soon be overcome, were
not, however, realized, as neither the Emperor nor the King
of Poland would accept the terms agreed upon.'^
Caetani's journey to see Sigismund IIL at Warsaw, which
he entered on September loth,^ proved of no avail, and at
his first audience, which he received on the 24th, the diffi-
culties which were finally to render his mission void were
brought forward. The profound distrust of the King of
Poland was expressed in his opening words : that very morning
he had received news that peace negotiations were being carried
on between the Porte and the Emperor at Constantinople,
through the mediation of the English ambassador.*
At the end of October the legate followed the King of
Poland to Cracow, where the interment of his aunt. Queen
Anna,^ who had died on August 9th, was to take place.
Caetani again laboured on behalf of the league at Cracow,
^ See *Acta et gesta legationis Poloniae et tractionis Craco-
viensis super negotio confoederationis faciendae inter Papain,
Imperatorem, regem et regnum Poloniae, 1596, in Ottob. 3184,
pp. 226-314, Vatican Library.
2 See Jerin-Gksess, loc. oiL, 97 seq., and Naegele, loc. rAt., 369.
* Cf. the report of Mucantius, *Itinerario, Papal Secret Archives.
* Cf. the *report of Caetani, dated Warsaw, 1596, September 24,
Cod. X.-VL, 14, of the Casanatense Library, Rome.
* Described in detail by Mucantius, Itinerario, loc. cit.
Il6 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
while he also interested himself in getting Imperial repre-
sentatives sent to the Diet at Warsaw. The Poles pointed
out that a league was very dangerous since Rudolph might
die and the succession of the House of Austria to the Empire
was very uncertain. In these circumstances a league against
the Turks would expose Poland, as the weaker party, to grave
danger.^
In spite of the unfavourable conditions, Caetani went in
February 1597 to the Diet at Warsaw.^ There, in the presence
of the king and all the senators he delivered a discourse which
lasted for three quarters of an hour, in which he urged war
against the Turks, pointing out in the most emphatic way the
dangers which threatened Christendom.^ But his words fell
on deaf ears. The Diet did nothing, and the laments which
Skarga made in his celebrated discourse that followed were
only too well justified.'* Discouraged and unwell, the legate
resolved to return to Italy. He went by way of Lowicz,
Gnesen, Ostrava in Moravia, Olmiitz, Nikolsburg, Vienna,
Graz, Villach, Pontebba, Treviso, Padua and Ferrara,^ to
^ *I Polacchi dicono I'lmperatore e mortale e la successione
dellTmperio in casa d'Austria non e certa e I'esporre il regno a
queste incertezze con evidentissimo pericolo non e resolutione da
buon politico, atteso che le leghe possono scioglersi et airhora
chi puo meno suol devenir preda da chi puo piu e rimaner solo
alle botte ; e questi dubii si aumentano per non si veder fatta
I'elettione del Re di Romani. Caetani in his *report addressed
to C. Aldobrandini, dated Cracow, 1597, January 13, Cod. X.-VI.,
14, of the Casanatense Library, Rome.
2 Cf. Diaria comitiorum Poloniae anni 1597, in Script, rer.
Pol., XX., Cracow, 1907.
8 Cf. Mucanzio, *Itinierario, Papal Secret Archives.
* See Berga, 247.
^ See the detailed description of the return journey in the
*Itinerario of Mucantius, loc. cit. together with a report of the
impressions of the Cardinal legate of the religious conditions in
the places through wliich he passed, and of the honour paid to
the representative of the Pope. Mucantius also gives the whole
of the scholastic drama performed at Graz by the " scolari della
prima classe di grammatica " of the Jesuit School.
MALASPINA S PICTURE OF POLAND. II7
Rome, where he gave the Pope a full report. From this
Clement VIII. learned with sincere satisfaction that in Poland,
owing to the piety of the king, the zeal of the bishops, and
the labours of the Jesuits, religion was visibly reviving.-*-
Malaspina was profoundly disturbed by this two-fold
mission of special legates. Often made the subject of attacks
and of severe judgments,- it must have seemed to him an
emancipation when he was recalled from the Polish nunciature
in 1598. At the beginning of 1599 Clement VIII. appointed
Claudio Rangoni, Bishop of Reggio Emilia, to succeed him.^
In his final report Malaspina drew an interesting picture
of the state of affairs in the kingdom where he had resided for
eight years.* After he had described in the most lucid manner
the peculiar constitution of Poland, where the powerful
aristocracy did not permit of the development of a strong
monarchical power, as well as the dangers to which the
kingdom was exposed, threatened as it was on the north by
' In the *Relatio card. Caetani ad Papam de sua legatione
(Ott. 3184, p. 143 seq., Vatican Library) it is stated : " Religio
catholica in Polonia, ut apostoli verbis utar, fructificat ac crescit
et novis quotidie haereticorum conversionibus et animarum
lucris augetur." Then follo-ws praise of the " eximia pietas imo
sanctitas " of the king, and of the zealous labours of almost all
the bishops, whose greatest helpers are the Jesuits.
* C/. Parisi, Epistolografia, L, 196; Ciampi, II., 51.
* His *Instructions, February 22, 1599, in Nunziat. div. 239,
p. 238 seq., Papal Secret Archives, and in Cod. H. 155, n. 2 of the
Ambrosian Library, Milan. The *briefs of January 11, 1599,
concerning the legation, in Arm. 44, t. 43, n. 13-29 [cf. n. 113 :
" Regi Poloniae," dated " Cal. Mart."), Papal Secret Archives.
Cf. Theiner, III., 271 seq. For Claudio Rangoni see Cottafavi,
II seminario di Reggio nell 'Emilia, Rome, 1907, 3 seqq.
* See *" Relatione di Polonia al vescovo di Caserta del 1600,"
Cod. N. 33, pp. 120-144, Vallicella Library, Rome ; ibid. Cod.
N. 35, pp. 235-270, and in LTrb. 837, pp. 480-512, of the Vatican
Library, here with the name of Malaspina. Ranke (II., 254 ;
III., 90*) made use of the report without knowing its author,
and without giving the source. A Polish translation in Relacye
Nuncyuszow Apost., II., 75 seq.
Il8 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the Swedish Lutherans, on the east by the Orthodox Russians
and the Cossacks, and on the south by the Turks, he could
see no other hope of salvation than in an alliance with Austria
and Transylvania, and in the re-establishment of unity of
faith at home. As to the former, Malaspina, at the end of
his mission, had witnessed the oath by which the Archduke
Maximilian renounced the Polish crown (May 8th, 1598). ^
But this, as he fully realized, by no means removed all the
obstacles that stood in the way of an alliance with Austria.
Malaspina also formed a just estimate of the difficulties which
the conditions in Poland put in the way of a Catholic revival,
although he by no means despaired of the possibility of one
day seeing unity of faith restored there. He gave his
successor a number of valuable counsels for the realization
of that purpose. Above all, the nuncio should encourage
the king in his good intentions, and maintain unity among
the Catholics, so that they might oppose a united front to
their adversaries in the Diets. The nuncio, Malaspina pointed
out, must prove himself the impartial and dispassionate
servant of the Holy See, for thus he would be in a better
position to maintain unity among the Catholics, clergy, laity
and the sovereign. If disputes should break out, then he
could more easily act as peacemaker, since the Poles would
rather have a representative of the Holy See to act in that
capacity than one of their own countrymen.-
A brief but weighty summary belonging to August 1598
shows how Malaspina had devoted all his powers to the
restoration of the Church in Poland. Special credit is due
to him for having induced the bishops to follow the good
example set them by the Pope in visiting their dioceses and
holding diocesan synods, a thing that had been neglected for
a long time past.^ Clement VIII. had encouraged these
1 Cf. HiRN in Mitteil. dcs osterr. Instit., Erg. Bd., IV., 248 seq.
^ Relatione di Polonia, he. cit.
^ *" Si e indotto li ecclesiastici che a imitatione di N.S. hanno
visitate le diocesi, fatto li sinodi diocesani che da molte decine
d'anni si era tra!asciato et hora cercano di potere celebrare un
concilio nazionale o provinciale " (Attioni seguite in Polonia, etc.,
EFFORTS OF MALASPINA. II9
efforts in every way, and had taken a special interest in the
visitation of the Polish Dominicans^ and Carmelites.- The
Pope's representative, Alexander Komulovic, who was
labouring in eastern Europe on behalf of the ant i-Turkish war,
undertook by Malaspina's direction, a visitation of the great
diocese of Wilna,^ which, after the translation of Cardinal
Georg Radziwill to Cracow in 1591, had been left without a
bishop. In 1596 Komulovic succeeded in persuading Sigsmund
to appoint Bernard Maciejowski to Wilna, thus giving that
diocese a new and virtuous bishop.*
As far as was possible, Malaspina endeavoured to enforce
the decrees of the Council of Trent, which had been accepted
in Poland. In this respect too his labours were crowned with
much success.^ The nuncio had also worked for the restora-
tion of the Catholic Church in Poland in other ways as well ;
in many of the cities the heretics and schismatics had taken
away their churches from the adherents of the old faith, and
loc. cit., Vallicclla Library, Rome). For the visitation of 1596
of. Script, rer. Pol., XV., 252. The brief of praise to the Arch-
bishop of Gnesen on account of the provincial synod of July 17,
1598, in Theiner, III., 273 seq. Clement VIII. highly praised
the Bishop of Ermland in a *brief to the King of Poland, April 26,
1603, Arm. 44, t. 57, n. 104, Papal Secret Archives.
1 See the *brief to the " Cancell. Poloniae," August 7, 1593,
Arm. 44, t. 34, n. 53, Papal Secret Archives.
2 See ibid., t. 46, n. 100, the *brief to Sigismund III., April 10,
1602. Clement VIII. also intervened on behalf of the Orders,
in favour of the right of investiture of the abbeys, but did not
succeed in obtaining anything from Sigismund, all the more so
as Malaspina had adopted the Polish point of view on this matter.
See the details in the article by Luotke in Zeitschr. f. osieurop.
Gesch., IV. (1914), 7 seq.
=* See PiERLiNG, II., 359.
* See the *report of Cardinal Caetani, July 26, 1596, in Cod.
X.-VL, 14, of the Casanatense Library, Rome.
' *" Se bene il Concilio era stato ricevuto non era tuttavia
posto in essecutione onde restavano piu tosto illaqueate le anime
che assicurate. Si e in buona parte posto in uso la essecutione di
esse." Attioni seguite in Polonia, loc. cit.
120 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the number of sacred edifices which had been lost in this way
was about 4,000. Malaspina encouraged the bishops to
enforce their legal rights over the ecclesiastical buildings
which had been erected by their labours, and often with the
help of the Holy See. King Sigismund strongly supported
these efforts, and when the Protestants had recourse to him,
appealing to the confederation of Warsaw, which had ensured
equal protection to both confessions, he remarked that this
did not apply to the churches which had been usurped contrary
to all rights.^ In this way by 1598 at least half the churches
had been recovered. ^
Malaspina reported that the exemplary manner of life of
the king had brought many Protestants back to the Church.^
Great influence in this respect had been exercised by the fact
that the King of Poland had in his hands the conferring of
nearly all the civil offices as well as many ecclesiastical ones,
in all some 20,000.* Before this time Hosius, Bolognetti and
Clement VIII. himself, when he was Cardinal legate,^ had
advised the making use of this circumstance on behalf of the
Catholic cause. This was first done in the time of Stephen
Bathory,® and from 1592 onwards in an ever increasing degree
by Sigismund III. ; even to the senate, into which many
Protestants had made their way, none but Catholics were now
admitted. The change which was effected in this way was
1 Cf. Ranke, II., 244.
^ *" Havevano ]i heretic! et scismatici usurpate da quattro
mila parocchie ; se ne sono ricuperate interne a due mila."
Attioni seguite in Polonia, luc. cit.
3 *Relatione di Pelonia. Cod. N. 35, ValliceJla Library, Rome.
* *[I1 Re] ha il pane in mano et lo puo distribuire a chi h piace
et si non i Polacchi poveri di patrimonie et senza i beni regii cioe
palatinati, capitanati, castellanie et altri ufficii et dignita, che
seno al numero di circa 20,000 comprese le neminationi et dignita
ecclesiastiche non potrebbeno vivere con splendore. Relatione
di Polonia, loc. cit.
^ Cf. Vol. XXIII. of this work, App. no. 45, the instructions
for M. Barberini, Vatican Library.
« Cf. Vol. XX. of this work, p. 393,
EFFORTS OF MALASPINA. 121
so great that in a letter belonging to the latter days of
Malaspina's nunciature it was stated : "If before the pontifi-
cate of Our Lord the Pope, it seemed as though heresy were
driving Catholicism into its grave, it is now manifest that
Catholicism is burying the said heresy."^ There can be
wonder then that Clement VIII. was highly delighted. ^
In the same way as he had laboured for its external develop-
ment, so did Malaspina devote his attention to the interior
renewal and consolidation of the ancient Church. He advised
his successor Rangoni above all to see to it that the Papal
juridical authority suffered no usurpation in Poland, that
the bishops fulfilled their duty of residence, and that they
established good seminaries for the training of the secular
clergy, and paid much attention to the filling of the parochial
offices. He also drew the attention of Rangoni to the Catholics
of Livonia, the Duchy of Prussia, Dantzig, Elbing, and the
diocese of Wilna, who were oppressed by the Protestants.
Mixed marriages, which were on the increase in spite of
ecclesiastical prohibitions, called for special vigilance.^
1 *Era il senate pieno di soggetti heretici ; si e purgato di
mode che appena tre sono infatti di heresia et si e indotta S. M*^
a non dare offitii ne dignita a persone aliene dalla nostra santa
religione di mode che sicome avanti I'assontione al pontificate di
N. S'^^ pareva che la heresia conducesse il cattolicismo alia
sepultura, hera si vede manifestamente che il cattolicismo
seppellisce detta heresia. Attieni sei-,"uite in Pelonia loc. cit.,
Vallicella Library, Rome.
2 *" Nei restiame sodisfatte del vestre servitie, stimiame le
vestre fatiche et ci teniamo obligati di rimunerarle," he said to
Malaspina, accerding to the latter's report dated Ferrara, August
2o, 1598, Borghese, IIL, 96b, p. 96, Papal Secret Archives.
^ See *Attioni seguite in Polonia, loc. cit. In 1596 Cardinal
Caetani had, at the request of the Bishop of Kulm, addressed a
question to the Inquisition in Rome on a similar matter. Cardinal
Santori repUed in a *letter of December 5, 1596, that the Congrega-
tion had discussed the matter under the presidency of the Pope :
Non e parso in modo alcuno che si possa permettere ne tollerare
senza peccato che li sacerdoti cattolici coniungano in matrimonio
persone heretiche e benedicano le loro nozze poiche se bene tra
122 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
A great misfortune for Poland, of which Queen Anna had
complained in 1594 in a letter to Clement VIII., was the great
lack of priests.^ All the more important, then, was the
assistance given by the Jesuits, who had proved themselves
>he loyal co-operators in the work of restoration carried out
by Malaspina and the king.^
During the pontificate of Clem.ent VIII. the Society of Jesus
flourished in Poland to an extraordinary degree, both internally
and external^. If hitherto their members had been to a great
extent foreigners, namely Italians, Spaniards and Germans,
the number of natives now increased, among whom were
numbered many of the aristocracy. During the first years
of the pontificate of Clement VIII. there were thirteen houses
of the Order in Poland, while bj^ 1596 there were already
seventeen. There were colleges at Posen, Braunsberg, Wilna,
Poltawa, Jaroslaw, Lublin, Nieswiecz, Riga, Dorpat and
Polotzk ; professed houses at Cracow, Lemberg, Dantzig and
Thorn, and noviciates at Cracow and Riga. To these must
be added a special " station " at the Toya.\ court, which after-
wards became a professed house, when Warsaw became the
capital. As a single superior could not govern all these
houses, about the end of the century Lithuania was formed
lore il matrimonio si tiene, non di meno i cattolici e i sacerdoti,
che v'intervengono, peccano. Di piu si desidera maggiore
explicatione se quegli heretici tengano il matrimonio per Sacra-
mento come i primi heretici Luterani e non come i posteriori et i
Calvinisti. Di piii se nel dubbio [of the Bishop of Kulm] si parla
quando tutti doi coniugi sono heretici o vero uno heretico et
I'altro cattolico. Cod. X-VL, 14, of the Casanatense Library,
Rome.
1 *" Magna laboramus sacerdotum inopia." Letter of Queen
Anna to Clement VIII., dated 1594, die XVII. {sic), copy in
Doria Archives, Rome.
2 Cf. for what follows Liti. ann. Soc. lesit, 1592, 67 seq. ; 1593,
?53 seq. ; 1594-95. 318 seq. ; 1596, 11 seq. ; 1597, 45 seq. ;: 1598,
403 seq. ; 1599, 445 .';eq. ; 1600, 535 seq. ; 1601, 747 seq. ; 1602,
716 seq. ; 1603, 647 seq. ; 1604, 763 seq. ; 1605, 880 seq. ;
luvENCius, III., 239, v., 399 seq. ; Zalf.ski, Jesuici w Polsce,
J„ 2,
THE JESUITS IN POLAND. I23
into a separate province, with nine houses and about two
hundred members ; the Polish province proper contained
about the same number of members.
As before, the principal care of the Jesuits in Poland, was
devoted, besides their ministry, to instruction and education,
because they clearly realized that another generation would
have to arise before the work of Catholic restoration could be
fully effected. The greater number of the four hundred and
more members whom the Society had in Poland were occupied
in the education of the young, and they succeeded in imparting
a sound education to their pupils besides a sincere piety and
a true loyalty to the Catholic faith. The attendance at the
Jesuit schools, which soon surpassed all others, was very
large. Their academy at Posen, for example, had no fewer
than 650 pupils in 1592, of whom the greater number belonged
to the aristocracy ; four years later there were 800. The
Jesuit school at Wilna could boast of a similar number in
1597-"^ The effect of the Marian congregations which had
been set up for the pupils was very beneficial. On festal
occasions scholastic dramas in Latin were presented, a thing
which was also done elsewhere.
The high reputation enjoyed by these Jesuit institutions
led even those of another faith to entrust their children to
them. The latter were only asked to be present at the sermons,
but the fathers left everything else to their free choice, only
taking care that the non-Catholic scholars were not in any
way hurt in their feelings ; many of these returned to the
Church. 2
King Sigismund protected the Jesuits in every way he could-
It was at his expense that the beautiful Renaissance church
of St. Barbara at Cracow was erected, the architect of which
was a Jesuit, Giovanni Maria Bernardoni of Milan. This
religious, who was distinguished for his great humilit3^ lived
for forty-three years in the Society, until his death in 1605.-^
^ Liu. ami., 1592, 89; 1596, 19; 1597, 46.
* See Zaleski, I., 2, 377.
^ Litf. ann., 1605, 881.
124 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The Jesuits did not limit themselves to their ministry in
the cities, and missions "in the neighbouring and more distant
districts were undertaken by almost all their houses. As
far as the Carpathians and Hungary, and even beyond the
actual borders of Poland, they made their way into the neigh-
bouring territories of Germany and Russia,^ and brought to
those neglected peoples the knowledge of the true Church.
They spent themselves in a special way during the epidemics
which frequently broke out in Poland, and the courage which
they displayed in the service of the sick and dying won the
admiration even of their enemies. They showed themselves
equally intrepid in the way they attacked the many heresies
by means of the public disputations which were then in vogue. ^
At first the fathers found themselves in a difficult position in
Polotzk, and in the largely Lutheran cities of Riga, Dantzig
and Thorn, ^ but they courageously held their ground. At
Thorn where they preached in German, the situation improved
so greatly that it was possible in 1598 once again to hold the
procession of Corpus Domini.'* At Dantzig too they were able
to point to considerable successes, but the war with the
Swedes gave them great trouble at Riga.^
At Cracow and other places the Jesuits also visited the
prisons and hospitals. In the ancient Polish city which
was the coronation place of the kings, the Confraternity of
the Misericordia, at whose mass the king on one occasion
assisted incognito, became very wide-spread,^ while the
house of the Jesuits founded in 1598 at Warsaw attained to a
special importance.' They preached in German, Polish and
Lithuanian at Wilna, where, as at Dorpat, they established
the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament for men and
^Ibid., 1594-95. 345; 1599, 197. 453; 1601, 768.
2 Werher, Gesch. der polem. Lit., IV., 871 seq.
^ Liu. ann., 1396, 60 seq. ; 1597, 65, 82 ; 1599, 479.
*Ihid., 1598, 453.
''Ibid., 1600, 563; 1601, 786; 1604, 729.
'^ Ibid., 1594-95. 348 ; 1598, 423 seq. ; 1599, 451.
''Ibid., 1598, 403, 439, 453.
THE JESUITS IN POLAND. 125
women ;^ Livonia too, where priests were greatly lacking, was
evangelized with special zeal.-
The Polish bishops fully appreciated the valuable collabora-
tion of the Jesuits. Above all the Bishops of Luzk, Lemberg,
Posen, Riga, Dorpat, Kulm and Wenden encouraged them
in a special way. The Bishops of Posen and Luzk asked for
the fathers to make visitations of their dioceses. The Bishop
of Jaroslaw got them to give the exercises to his clergy, and
the Bishop of Pultowa entrusted to them his seminary. ^
The Jesuits in Poland also showed a special activity as
writers, and the fathers who above all distinguished them-
selves in this direction, besides Peter Skarga, whose reputation
had spread far beyond Poland, were Benedict Herbest, Adrian
Jung and Jakob Wujek, to whom Catholic Poland was in-
debted for an excellent translation of the Bible*
The conversion of the Jews, who were so numerous in
Poland, also attracted their zeal, and in this respect they met
with as notable a success as in the conversion of the heretics,
and the renewal of the clergy, who had in many wa5'S become
decadent. As missionaries, preachers, writers, controversial-
ists and educators, they kept one purpose in view : the
complete recovery of Poland for the Catholic Church.
It was not only to the moral and religious renewal of the
people, and their liberation from heresy, that the Jesuits
devoted their labours ; they also worked for the removal
of the separation which since the beginning of the XVIth
century had involved the Ruthenians (Little Russians) in
Galicia, Podolia, Wolynia and Ukrainia as well as the natives
^Ibid., 1594-95. 33^; 1599, 437-
^ Ibid., 1597, 75.
^ Ibid. 1594-95 325 seq. 334; 1596, 18, 25, 31, 41, 49, 57;
1597. 67, 78 ; 1604, 733. Light is thrown upon the state of the
various dioceses by the *reports of the Bishops of Przemysl,
Samogitia, Wilna, and Ermland of the end of the sixteenth century
and the beginning of the seventeenth, in the Archives of the
Congregation of the Council, Rome, already used by Prof.
Boratynski in 1901, but not yet pubhshed.
* See Werner, loc. cit., 344 seq.
126 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of White and Black Russia in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
The famous Peter Skarga was the first and the outstanding
champion of the project for the reunion of the Ruthenians
who were subject to the PoHsh crown with the Cathohc Church.
After he and his fellow labourers had struggled for seventeen
years in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and its capital Wilna,
both against the new errors of the Protestants, and the more
ancient ones of the Greeks, Skarga published in 1577 his
wonderful book " Of the government and unity of the Church
of God under one only pastor, and of the Greek schism."
The first volume of this celebrated work^ was dedicated by
him to the voivode of Ukrainia (Kiew), Prince Constantine
Ostrogskyj, who, as the most important Ruthenian magnate
was patron of about a thousand Ruthenian churches, and
of the dioceses of Luzk and Pinsk.^ Skarga proved to the
Ruthenians in the clearest way that their church differed from
the Roman Church, not only in external customs that were
of no great importance, but as to the truths of faith necessary
for salvation. He drew attention to the decadent state
of the Ruthenian Church which was the result of the schism,
to the contempt for the ecclesiastical state which prevailed
there, and to the rule exercised by the laity over the house of
God. No improvement could be looked for from the Greek
Patriarch, who was bound to submit himself to the will of
the Turks, but only from the lawful head, the Vicar of Christ.
He pointed out that reunion would not be difficult, and him-
self guaranteed that in the event of the metropolitan being
ordained by the Pope, and following the Apostolic See in
questions of faith, they would be allowed to retain their rite
and usages of worship, since the Church of God was clothed
with variety, like a queen with the glory of many hued
garments.
The idea of reunion, thus gloriously set forth by Skarga,
was vigorously supported by another Jesuit, Antonio Posse-
^ C/. Berga, 195 seq.
2 See LiKOWSKi, 52 seq., 68. Cf. Spillmann in Stimmeyi aus
Maria-Laach, XL, 89 ; Bekga, 195.
THE JESUITS IN POLAND. I27
vino, who had been sent in 1581 as ambassador to the King
of Poland, Stephen Bathory, and by the nuncio Bolognetti.
It was Possevino who decided Gregory XIII. to estabHsh a
seminary at Wihia for the Ruthenian and Russian youth,
and to provide free places for the Ruthenians and Russians
at the Greek College in Rome, and in the Jesuit schools at
Olmiitz, Prague and Braunsberg.^ At the same time as
Possevino, the professor of the Polish University at Cracow,
the court preacher Stanislaus Sokolowski, maintained the
necessity of reunion in two works. ^
Following the example of Skarga, the Jesuits, especially
those at Wilna, which was the principal centre for attempts
at reunion, laboured to prepare men's minds by sermons and
other forms of instruction for the process of reunion. For
this purpose they appealed to the internal renewal and revival
of the Catholic Church which had been effected within a
comparatively short time after the Council of Trent, to which
they held up by way of contrast the uninterrupted decadence
of the Greek Church. These attempts to bring about con-
viction by means of instruction and the return of the Ruthen-
inas to the Catholic Church by a completely free decision,
produced good results, but naturally met with opposition,
which principally manifested itself in the academy founded
by Prince Ostrogskyj.^ In consequence of this resistance.
King Stephen Bathory did not venture to support the move-
ment for reunion. Sigismund III. acted in a like manner at
first, until the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Ruthenian
episcopate morally forced him to come to a decision.-*
The most trustworthy sources of information leave us in
no doubt as to the fact that in the case of the Ruthenian
Church the words of St. Cyprian were verified : that a branch
^ Cf. Vol. XX. of this work, pp. 398, 415.
2 See LiKOWSKi, 76 seq.
^ See LiKowsKi, 77, who shows that no one can accuse the
Jesuits of ever havi.ig urged the Polish government to employ
rigorous measures, or to employ violence against anyone's
conscience.
* See LiKowsKi, 79.
12 8 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
that is cut off from the Hvmg tree must wither away.^ As the
greater number of the episcopal sees were filled by unworthy
men, and profaned by simony, both the secular and regular
clergy were bound to fall into a state of great ignorance, and
profound demoralization. Owing to decadence of the pastors,
the religious life of the Ruthenian people was for the most
part limited to the maintenance of external forms and the
strict observance of many rigorous fasts. The educated
classes, especially the aristocracy, had either embraced
Protestantism or had entered the Roman and Catholic Church.
Those among them who still adhered to the Ruthenian Church
looked upon their depraved clergy with profound contempt.
Only the religious confraternities, in which the inhabitants of
the cities had banded themselves together, still showed
anything of the vitality of the Ruthenian Church. These
steadily acquired greater importance and power, but interfered
in an ever increasing degree in matters that concerned the
clergy. In the end they terrorized over the parish priests
and even the bishops. Even worse was the fact that into
the schools that were maintained by the confraternities
masters found their way who taught errors of religion to the
young, as dogmas of the Rutheniar Church. Thus no religious
renewal could be looked for from that quarter.
Nor was the patriarchate of Constantinople, torn asunder
by internal discord, and oppressed and humiliated by the
Ottomans, in a position to render assistance to the Ruthenian
Church. It was only when they found themselves embarrassed
by want of money that the Patriarchs of Constantinople began
to interest themselves in the Ruthenians ; thus in 1586 an
envoy from the Patriarch of Constantinople presented himself
among them, and two years later the Patriarch himself.
On his return from Moscow, where Jeremias II. had allowed
himself to be induced to set up an independent Russian
patriarchate, he sojourned among the Ruthenians for some
^ Cf. for what follows Spillmann, loc. cit., X., 435 seq., and
above all Likowski, 30-59, and 90 seq., where many details are
given.
THE RUTHENIANS. I29
time in 1589. Sigismund III. granted him full liberty for
his ecclesiastical work, but it was soon seen that it was of far
greater concern to the patriarch to confirm them in their
already threatened schism than to reform the morals of the
decadent clergy. Yet the measures which he took for this
purpose proved unfortunate for the end which Jeremias II.
had in view. The Ruthenian episcopate had alread}^ been
divided by the appointment of an exarch, while a further
misguided blow was struck by the elevation of the religious
confraternities of Lemberg and Wilna to the " stauropigiac "
rank ; by this these lay communities were withdrawn from
episcopal jurisdiction, and they Vv'ere authorized to watch
over the orthodoxy, not only of the lower clergy, but also of
the bishops themselves !^
As a result of the general disappointment occasioned by
the action of the Patriarch Jeremias, it came about that soon
after his departure the Ruthenian bishops seriously discussed
the idea of separating themselves from Constantinople, and
of seeking for a renewal of ecclesiastical conditions by reunion
with Rome. At the same time a firm determination to detach
the Ruthenian Church from its union with the patriarchate
of Constantinople, and to unite it with the Holy See developed
in the minds of the Polish chancellor, Zamoiski and King
Sigismund. Sigismund was led to this determination princi-
pally by religious considerations, under the influence of Peter
Skarga, who in 1590 dedicated to him the second edition of
his book " On the Unity of the Church of God."^ The
chancellor was principally actuated by political considerations.
His shrewd outlook was not blind to the danger of the
Ruthenians entering into a rapprochement with Russia, a
^ See LiKOWSKi, 63 seq., 81 seq., 84 seq. The earlier opinion
that Jeremias II. had asked for large sums from the metropolitan
of Lithuania for his consecration has been refuted by the publica-
tion of MiLKOwicz : Monum. Confraternitatis Stauropigianae
Leopoliens. (I., Leopoli, 1895, n. cclviii.). But as this sum was
demanded by an intimate and companion of the patriarch,
indignation fell upon the latter as well.
2 Cf. Berga, 223 seq.
VOL. XXIV. q
130 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
people closely akin to them, in the new patriarchate established
at Moscow in 1589, the titular of which called himself the
Patriarch of the whole of Ruthenia. As for the Ruthenian
bishops, if Gedeon Balaban of Lemberg allowed himself to be
guided, in the matter of reunion, principally by private
motives, Cyril Terlecki of Luzk on the other hand, was
influenced by the consideration that the renewal of his Church
would only become possible by detaching it from the decadent
patriarchate of Constantinople, and uniting it to the Catholic
Church which was then vigorously springing into new life.^
A great influence in this matter was also exercised by the
Latin Bishop of Luzk, Bernhard Maciejowski, so that later on
Clement VIIL warmly thanked him for the part he had taken
in bringing about the reunion. ^
Of the greatest importance for the reunion with Rome was
the fact that Terlecki found a most capable, enthusiastic and
energetic collaborator in 1593 in the person of the new Bishop
of Vladimir, Hypatius Pociej. Far-seeing, prompt in his
decisions, energetic, outspoken without regard for persons,
and yet when necessary, very cautious, he was the very man
needed to attain to victory in this difficult task.^
On June 12th, 1595 (old style), the metropolitan of Kiev,
Michael Rahoza, called together the Bishops of Vladim.ir,
Luzk and Pinsk, together with the archimandrite of Kobryn,
at Brest. There they drew up a joint letter to Clement VIIL,
1 Cf. LiKOWSKi, 87 seq., 92 seq., who, especially against the
opinion maintained by the Ruthenian and Russian historians, that
the union of Brest (see further infva, p. 132 seq), was nothing but
a device of the Jesuits, proves that the chief and more important
part was the work of the Ruthenian bishops. Criticism has
confirmed the thesis of Likowski ; see Przeglad Polski, 1898,
and Kwartalnik Hist., XL, 162 seq., as well as Kaindl in Mitteil,
aus der hist. Lit., XXXIII., 499 seq. Cf. also Berg.\, 242.
* See Theiner, Mon. Pol., III., 256.
^ For Pociej, besides the earli3st biography, which L. Kiszka
added to the edition of the sermons of that prince of the Church
(Kazania i homiliye Hipacyusza Pocieja, Suprasl, 1714), see
especially Likowski, 93 seq., 102 seq., no.
THE RUTHENIANS. I3I
in which they declared that since the Patriarchs of Con-
stantinople, as subjects of the Turks, were not in a position
to do anything to restore ecclesiastical unity, in the interests
of the salvation of their own souls, and those of their flocks,
they wished, with the consent of their king, Sigismund, to
adhere to the reunion entered into at Florence, in which their
fathers had already concurred, provided that the Pope would
consent to their preserving their oriental liturgy, and the whole
of their ecclesiastical ritual. For the carrying out of this
reunion they had resolved to send Bishops Pociej and Terlecki
to Rome to the Holy Father.^ After the two above-mentioned
had persuaded the absent Ruthenian bishops to sign this
document, they entered into negotiations with the Papal
nuncio Malaspina and King Sigismund.^ The latter, on
August 2nd, granted them all that they asked, and by the
privilege accorded to them on that date, the Ruthenian Church
was to have all the rights and privileges of the Latin Church,
and protection against possible reprisals on the part of the
Patriarch of Constantinople ; henceforward the bishoprics
were only to be governed by born Ruthenians, elected from
among four candidates chosen by the episcopate. The
bishops were to have restored to them the property that had
been taken from them, and the confraternities were once more
to be subjected to their jurisdiction. They were also given
seats and votes in the senate, .though this matter had first
to be laid before the Diet.^
Once the negotiations had reached this point, it became
possible to reveal the secret which had hitherto been closely
kept. The Bishop of Luzk, Chelm, Prezemysl and Lem.berg
informed their flocks, in a pastoral letter of August 27th, that
the whole of the episcopate, including the metropolitan, had
resolved, for the salvation of the souls entrusted to their care,
^ See Theiner, loc. cit., 237 seq.
* See LiKowsKi, 116 seq.
8 See the acta relating to the history of Western Russia
published by the Archeological Commission, IV., Petersburg,
1 85 1, N. 78-79, and Likowski, 116 seq.
k
132 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
to make their obedience to the Bishop of Rome. On Septem-
ber 24th King Sigismund addressed an open letter to the
Ruthenians, in which he made known his will and desire
that all his subjects should praise God with an united voice
and heart, and that the faithful should follow the example
of their pastor, whose representatives would repair to Rome
in order to give effect to the reunion of the Ruthenian Church
with the Apostolic See, on the condition of the maintenance
of their own rite.
These words on the part of the king were rendered necessary
by the fact that the timorous metropolitan Rahoza, who was
unwilling to disturb his relations with the Ruthenian magnates,
who were opposed to the reunion, was still hesitating.^
Clement VIII., who had been informed by his nuncio of
the important events that were taking place in Poland, was
awaiting, with an anxiety that is easy to understand, the
appearance of the Ruthenain bishops in Rome. He, who
had himself once been legate in Poland, fully realized the
importance of that great kingdom as a bulwark of Christendom
against the Turks on the east, as well as against the schismatics
on the north. The reunion of millions of orthodox Ruthenians
with the Church would not only strengthen that kingdom
politically, but would give the Catholics an absolute pre-
ponderance over Protestantism, which was divided into so
many sects. ^ It might also become a natural bridge to Russia.
From the fact that the audience of the Bishop of Plock, when
he came to Rome, lasted for three whole hours on November
12th, 1595,^ it was possible to deduce that an important
decision concerning Poland was imminent. A few days later
Bishops Terlecki and Pociej arrived in the Eternal City.
Clement VIII. assigned them lodgings in a special palace,
and on November 17th the}' had their first audience.'* The
1 See LiKowsKi, 118 seq., 138.
2 See Spillmann in Stinimen aiis Maria-Laach, XL, 97 seq.
* See * A wise of November 15, 1595, Urb. 1603, Vatican
Library.
* See *Avviso of November 15, 1595, ibid.
RETURN OF THE RUTHENIANS TO UNITY. I33
Pope, so the bishops reported, welcomed them as a father
his sons, with indescribable affection and courtesy.^ On
account of its importance, the matter was first referred for
examination by Clement to the Congregation of the Inquisi-
tion. ^ The Ruthenian bishops were prepared to renounce
the schism and all doctrines rejected by the Roman and
Cahtolic Church, but they begged that, in conformity with
the Council of Florence, the administration of the holy sacra-
ments and the whole of the Byzantine rite should remain
unchanged, nor should they undergo any change in the future.
In agreement with the above-mentioned Congregation
Clement VIII. granted this request, which was in absolute
conformity with the principle admitted by the Council of
Florence : namely, unity of faith despite diversity of rite.
In his anxiety to promote the reunion the Pope desisted
from his demand for the immediate introduction of obligatory
celibacy, and thus gave up the apparently well-founded hope
that the renewal of the decadent Ruthenian Church, thus
begun with the reunion, would proceed of its own accord
as time went on. Clement VIII. also gave up the adoption
of the Gregorian calendar, as Terlecki and Pociej declared
that this would meet with determined opposition.^ The
Pope appointed December 23rd, 1595, for the definite accom-
plishment of the reunion. On that day he assembled the
thirty-three Cardinals who were in Rome, the whole of the
court and the diplomatic corps in the Hall of Constantine
at the Vatican. The historian Cesare Baronius, who had a
1 See the letter of the two bishops of December 29, 1595,
in Harasiewicz, Annales ecclesiae Ruthenicae, Leopoli, 1862,
198.
2 See Bull, X., 247. The notes referring to this question in
the Archives of the Roman Inquisition are still unpublished.
The other acta are given by G. Hoffmann : Ruthenica I. ; Die
Wiedervereinigung der Ruthenen, Sofia, 1923-24, in Orientalia
Christiana, III-2, Rome, 1924-25.
' Spillmann, loc. cit., 98 ; Likowski, 139 ; see Smolka, Die
reussische Welt, Vienna, 191 6, 162.
134 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
short time before been raised to the purple, has described
the accomplishment of the reunion as an eye-witness.^
After the two Ruthenian bishops had paid the customary
hom.age, the canon of the cathedral of Wilna, Eustace
Wollowicz, read first in Ruthenian and then in Latin the
synodal letter of June 12th, 1595, addressed to the Pope,
which had been signed by all the Ruthenian bishops. After
this Silvio Antoniano, by the Pope's command, welcomed
the Ruthenian bishops, who, for their own good and that of
their country, and to the unspeakable joy of the Pope, had,
after a separation of 150 years, once more returned to the
rock on which Christ had founded His Church, the mother
and mistress of all Churches, the holy Roman Church. " Oh
how great and how well deserved," he exclaimed, " is the
praise which you yourselves have given to the goodness and
wisdom of God, which has enlightened you to see that members
divided from the head cannot remain in life, and that he
who has not the Church for his mother, cannot have God
for his father.'"^ Then Pociej, in his own name and that of
all the Ruthenian bishops read in Latin the Catholic profession
of faith, according to a formula based upon those of Nicaea,
Florence and Trent, and then accepted it on oath.^ Terlecki
1 See Baronius, Annales, VII., Venice, 1739, 859 seq. Cf.
*Diarium P. AJeleonis on December 23, 1595, Barb. 2815, Vatican
Library.
2 The *discourse of Antoniano in Ottob. 1088, p. 142, Vatican
Library. Pichler, whose account of the union is both biassed
and inaccurate, calls Antoniano (II., 95) a Cardinal, which he
only became in 1599. False too is the statement of Pichler that
the union took place at a consistory. P. Alaleone (*Diarium,
loc. cit.) expressly calls the assembly congregatio gcncralis. The
event is not entered in the *Acta consist card. S. Severinae (Cod.
Barb., XXXVI., 5 III., Vatican Library). The publication of
the Documenta de Riithenoruin unione (1595) has been prepared by
G. Hofmann.
3 The text, omitted in Bull., X., 243, of the " Professio
fide praesulum Ruthcnorum " is in Theiner, Mon. Pol., III.,
238 seq.
RETURN OF THE RUTHENIANS TO UNITY. 135
then did the same in Ruthenian, and thereupon the Pope
repaired to the church to receive the Ruthenian bishops ;
his eyes were shining with tears of joy. " To-da}^" he said,
" a joy fills our heart on account of your return to the Church,
that cannot be expressed in words. We render special thanks
to the immortal God, Who, by means of the Holy Spirit has
guided your minds so as to lead you to seek a refuge in the
Holy Roman Church, your mother, and the mother of all the
faithful, who lovingly welcomes you once more among her
sons." In significant words the Pope paternally exhorted
these sons who had come back to him, to humility as the
groundwork of the obedience they owed to the Church,
" since, owing to her pride, Greece, which deserves our pity,
and whose misfortunes we deeply deplore, has lost the light
of truth, and now groans under the yoke of the most bitter
slavery." With the assurance that his protection and help
would never be lacking to them, and with the bestowal of the
apostolic blessing, this memorable solemnity came to an end.
On the vigil of Christmas the Ruthenian bishops appeared in
their vestments in St. Peter's for vespers,^ and on the following
day they were appointed assistants at the pontifical throne. ^
By a bull dated December 23rd Clement VHI. announced
to the Catholic world the return of the Ruthenians to ecclesi-
astical unity ; in this document he confirmed their rite in
all particulars, with the exception of anything which might
eventually prove to be contrary to the truth and the doctrines
of the Catholic faith. ^ A commemorative medal* immortal-
ized the important event by which, a centur}' and a half after
the Council of Florence, the bond of union between the
Ruthenian Church and the Roman Church was once again
formed. A similar purpose was served by a constitution of
February 23rd, 1596, which granted to the metropolitan
1 See the letter of the bishops, December 29, 1595, cited supra,
p. 133, n. I.
2 See *Diarium P. Alaleonis, Barb. 2815, Vatican Library,
3 Bull., X., 239 seq.
* Reproduced in Baronius, loc. cit.
136 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of Kiev the faculty to consecrate his bishops, but obliging
him himself to obtain confirmation from the Pope.^
"When Pociej and Terlecki made preparations, in February,
1596, for their return journey, Clement VIII. gave them letters
for King Sigismund, the civil and ecclesiastical senators, the
metropolitan Rahoza and the Ruthenian bishops. All were
warmly urged to maintain the glorious work of reunion, the
king in particular being urged to admit the Ruthenian bishops
to the senate as he had promised to do, and to grant the same
rights to the Ruthenian clergy as to the Latin. The Pope
enjoined the metropolitan to convoke a council as soon as
possible for the solemn proclamation of the union formed with
the Holy See.^
While the feeble Rahoza delayed until the autumn in
fulfilling this duty, the supporters of the schism, under the
leadership of the aged Prince Ostrogskyj, in conjunction with
declared heretics, raised a powerful agitation against the work
of pacification.^ Fortunately Sigismund stood firm, although
every attempt was made to stir up the populace against Rome,
Above all others, Cyril Lukaris, who was inclined to Calvinism,
encouraged schismatical hatred, in which he was assisted by
a Greek adventurer, named Nicephorus, who had been obliged
to leave Constantinople on account of various thefts.
In spite of the prohibition of the king, Nicephorus repaired
to Brest, while, in defiance of the royal commands, there also
appeared there Prince Ostrogskyj with an armed following,
together with Lukaris, who, by the command of the Patriarch
of Alexandria, was working against the reunion. As the
Bishops of Lemberg and Przemysl joined the party at
Ostrogskyj, the hopes of the schismatics grew stronger. This
party assembled in a Protestant house in Brest, and formed a
kind of opposition synod, under the presidency of Nicephorus,
who proclaimed himself, though quite untruly, the envoy of
1 Bull., X., 250 seq.
2 See the briefs, all dated February 7, 1596, in Theiner, Men.
Pol., III., 250 seqq. Cf. Pelesz, II., 11 seq.
3 Cf. for what follows, the excellent description of Likowski
(M3 •^^?- 151 seq.].
RETURN OF THE RUTHENIANS TO UNITY. 137
the Patriarch of Constantinople, though that see was vacant
at the moment. But neither he nor his companions were
able to prevent the lawful synod from taking place. In this
there took part, besides the metropolitan Rahoza, the Arch-
bishop of Polotzk, the Bishops of Vladimir, Luzk, Pinsk, and
Chelm, as delegates of the Pope, the Latin Bishops of Lemberg,
Luzk, and Chelm, and as theological advisers, the Jesuits
Peter Skarga, Justin Rabe, Martin Laterna and Caspar Nahaj.
On October gth (old style) the metropolitan celebrated
the sacred liturgy in the church of St. Nicholas, after which
the Archbishop of Polotzk, Hermogenes, read in his own name
and those of the other Ruthenian bishops a declaration of
their reunion with Rome. " We know well," he said, " that
the sovereignty of the Church of God, according to the gospel
and the words of Christ, founded upon Peter alone as the rock,
must be exercised and administered by one alone, that over
one body there must be but one head, over a well-ordered house
but one master and administrator of the treasures of divine
grace for the guidance of the flock, who must provide for
the well-being of all, and that this must endure in a like
manner, from the time of the Apostles through all the ages."
After the reading of this declaration the Latin and Ruthenian
bishops embraced each other, and then proceeded, as a sign
of their brotherhood, in a single procession to the Latin church
of the Mother of God, where the Te Deum was sung. The
synod then deprived the Bishops of Lemberg and Przemysl,
who had apostatized from the union, and declared Nicephorus
and all who had taken part in the opposition synod excluded
from ecclesiastical communion. The latter for their part
retaliated by depriving all those who accepted the reunion.
But King Sigismund cited Nicephorus before the courts,
which sentenced him to imprisonment for life as an impostor
and a Turkish spy. In a message dated December 15th,
1596, addressed to the Ruthenian nation, the king called upon
the people to recognize only the bishops who were in com-
munion with Rome. In this document, however, nothing
was said of a confirmation of the promises made to the
Ruthenian bishops or to the Holy See. The opposition of
138 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the Polish bishops and senators did not make it seem an
opportune moment for the king to summon the Ruthenian
bishops to form part of the senate.^
The great dangers to which the reunion was subsequently
exposed came above all from Prince Ostrogskyj, whose agents
worked indefatigably against the union with Rome. Against
the acceptance of the union it was principally urged that it
was not legal, becaiise it had been concluded without the
consent of the Patriarch of Constantinople, and without the
agreement of the whole of the clergy, nobles and people.
Although these reasons were fallacious, and were in evident
contradiction of the ancient principles of the Church with
regard to the episcopal office, nevertheless the agitation which
was skilfully directed by Ostrogskyj and his collaborators of
the protestant party, was successful in stirring up the
Ruthenian clergy, both secular and regular, and with them
the majority of the people and the aristocracy against the
uniat bishops. The constant reiteration of the same com-
plaints and grievances led the people in the end to adopt them,
to show their sympathy for the schismatics, and to withdraw
their allegiance from the uniat bishops, ^ who were described
as tyrannizing over men's consciences and as disturbers of
the public peace.
The union continued to be more and more severely
threatened, yet the powerful Prince Ostrogskyj did not attain
his true purpose, namely its complete destruction ; on the
contrary he was forced to witness two of his own sons become
Catholics.^ In Rome it was clearly understood how much
depended upon this man, and therefore Clement VIII. sought
to make the prince change his views. ^ For a long time the
1 See LiKOWSKi, 152 seq., 162 seq., 170 seq.
2 See ibid., 180 seq.
* See ibid., ig\. A *]etter of Janus Ostrogskyj, dated March
24, 1602, vouches for his zeal for the CathoHc reUgion in spite of
the calumnies ; his enemies are the heretics and the " frigidi
catholici." Original in Doria Archives, Rome,
* See Theinek, Mon. Pol., III., 285,
CLEMENT VIII. DEFENDS THE UNIATS. I39
reason why Ostrogskyj attacked the union with such fury and
hatred was supposed to be his pride, but more recent research
attributes it also to the heretical atmosphere which sur-
rounded the prince, namely the learned Greek, Cyril Lukaris,
the Arian Bronski and Motowila, and other religious inno-
vators, who exercised an evil influence over him.^
The principal champion of the union was Hypatius Pociej ,
who became metropolitan of Kiev in 1599. Difficulties only
increased his courage, and more descriptive of him than
anything else is his own saying : " Even if I had to beg my
bread, I would still continue to serve the Church of God."^
Clement VHI. too, continued to the end the loyal defender
of the union. He repeatedly sent the Archbishops of Gnesen
and Lemberg to take the part of the uniats against the
machinations of the Greeks, as for example in July 1598 and
March 1604.^ The Pope had recourse to the king on April 3rd
and July loth, 1599, with the request that he would grant
the Ruthcnians the rights and privileges promised to them,
and would protect them from the schismatics.^ Again on
March 31st, 1604, he urgently reminded Sigismund of his
promise to receive the uniat bishops into the senate ; at
any rate the metropolitan should have a place there, so that
he miight reply to the attacks of the schismatics and defend
the rights of the uniat Church.^ A further proof of the long-
suffering of the Pope and his pastoral care was the fact that
when, owing to the efforts of Maciejowski, there was a glimmer
of hope that Ostrogskyj would give up his opposition in view
of his approaching death, he addressed a letter to the prince
on January 15th, 1605, in which he once again refuted all the
^See LiKOWSKi, 198 scq.
^See ibid., 244.
^See Theiner, loc. cit., 271, 282.
*See ibid., 272 seq. ; Pelesz, II., 33 seq.
*See Theiner, Ioc. cit., 283. Cf. also the briefs to Bishop
Peter Tylicki of Ermland, of the years 1593 and 1604, in
Ehrenberg, Ital. Beitrage zur Gesch. von Ostpreussen, Konigs-
berg, 1895, 64 seq.
140 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
objections to the reunion, and exhorted him in paternal words
to accept it.^
While reunion with the Ruthenians was still in the balance,
there unexpectedly opened out a prospect of once again
uniting Russia to the Catholic Church.
With the death of Ivan IV., which took place in 1584, there
had begun in that kingdom the " period of the disturbances "
which lasted until the accession of the Romanoff dynasty. ^
Under Ivan's successor, the imbecile Feodor I., the real power
passed more and more into the hands of his cousin, the Tartar
Boris Godunov. As Feodor had no heirs, it seemed, according
to all human expectation, that the second son of Ivan, Dimitrij
(Demetrius), would ascend the throne of the Czars, but this
was not in accordance with the plans of the ambitious and
energetic Boris, who aimed at obtaining that supreme dignity
for himself. With this was evidently connected the mysterious
disappearance of Demetrius in May 1591. It was said that
the boy had, by pure accident, been mortally injured in a game,
but the suspicion was at once aroused that he had been
removed purposely. In face of the suspicion which fell
upon himself, Boris caused an inquiry to be made, which,
as might have been foreseen, went to show that the last
male descendant of the house of Rurik had met with an
accidental death. This official statement at once aroused
doubts, and later on the rumour was spread that the child
had been saved, and that his mother had substituted
another who resembled him in his place. ^
1 See Theiner, loc. cit., 286 seq.
* Cf. Waliszewski, Las origines de la Russie moderne. La
crise revolutionnaire, 1 584-1 61 4, Paris, 1906.
^ Among the more recent works on the false Demetrius mention
must first be made of the profound researches, based on
new authorities by Pierling : Rome et Demetrius, Paris, 1878 ;
Un memuscrit du Vatican sur le tzar Dimitri, in the Rev. des
quest, hist., 1894, II. ; Lettre de Dimitri dit le Faux a Clement
VIII., Paris, 1898, and La Russie et le St-Siege, III., Paris, 1901.
The problem has also frequently been dealt with by others ;
BORIS GODUNOV AS CZAR. I4I
When in 1598 the Czar Feodor I. died, Boris Godunov
attained the object of his ambitions, cleverly profiting by
the state of affairs in the country and his friendship with the
Hapsburgs.^ With feigned reluctance he yielded to the urgent
request of the Patriarch Job of Moscow, who was completely
under his influence, and that of the aristocracy, and assumed
the government as Czar. Far-reaching plans filled the mind
of the new sovereign, who was a far-seeing and highly gifted
statesman. Although he could not even read, he was never-
theless the friend of culture. At the opening of the century
he tried to establish schools and a university in Moscow, and
summoned thither German scholars ; he had his sons taught
by foreigners, and even sent Russian youths to the west to
be educated. Thus this Tartar on the throne of the Czars
stood out as the first " western " in the line of Russian
sovereigns. In his efforts to Europeanize Russia, and by
his alliance with the Protestant north of Europe, he recalled
Peter the Great. But as far as the people were concerned
he lacked the blood of the Ruriks, while he was too autocratic
for the powerful boyars.^
Diplomatic complications were added to domestic diffi-
culties. This man, who had sprung from nothing, would
gladly have seen the beautiful Xenia, his only daughter,
married into one of the ancient European dynasties, but his
proposals were courteously rejected everywhere, both at
cf. especially Hirschberg, Dymitr Samozwaniec, Leopoli, i8g8 ;
Baudouin de Courtenay in Rozprawy . . . z posiedzen wydz,
filologieznego, 2nd Series, XIV. (1898), 1S3 seq. ; Scepkin, War
v/ar Pseudodemetrius ? in Archiv. /. slaiv. Philol., XX-XXIII.
(1898-1900) ; Caro in Hi^t. Zeitschr., LXXX., 264 seq. ; Walis-
ZEWSKi, loc. cit. and also the critique of Pierling in the Rev. des
quest, hist., LXXXI. (1907), 213 seq. ; Skribanowitz, Pseudo-
Demetrius I., Berlin, 1913. Pantenius (Der falsche Demetrius,
Bielefeld, 1904), gives a number of interesting illustrations, but
adds nothing new.
^ Cf. Karamsin, X., 90 seq., 97 seq. ; Ubersberger, Oster-
reich u. Russland, I., 541 seq., 564.
" Cf. Waliszewski, loc cit.
142 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Stockholm, London and Prague. ^ The little court of
Copenhagen at last showed itself more favourably disposed,
but Prince John, the brother of King Christian IV., met with
a premature death. To this domestic disappointment there
was added a great national disaster ; the years 1601 and 1602
brought bad harvests, which resulted in terrible famine,
scarcity and disease. Brigands made their appearance, who
levied contributions from the people, who credulously listened
to the prophecies of the monks, foretelling a great catastrophe. ^
In the midst of this social and economic crisis, the throne
of Boris Godunov was seriously threatened when the alarming
news reached the Kremlin in 1603 that a youth, who gave
himself out as the son of Ivan IV., the Demetrius who had
died in 1591, had met with a great following in Poland.
The claimant to the throne had first made himself known
to the powerful Prince Adam Wisniowezki in Lithuania, and
had won the latter, who hated Boris Godunov, to his plan
for conquering the throne of the Czars which belonged to him
with the help of the Cossacks and Tartars. The ambitious
George Mniszek, voivode of Sandomir, who was gravely in
debt, and the confidant of Sigismund III., who was an ardent
supporter of the Ruthenian reunion, also put his faith in the
story of Demetrius, and received him so cordially that the
claimant to the throne asked him for the hand of his daughter
Marina. The reply was deferred until Demetrius had pre-
sented himself before the king at Cracow. Accompanied by
Mniszek and his father-in-law, Prince Adam Wisniowezki,
Demetrius went at the beginning of March 1604 to the ancient
capital of Poland. There the voivode of Sandomir prepared
a great banquet on March 13th, at which Demetrius was the
guest of honour, though, out of consideration for the still
dubious senators, the latter preserved his incognito as far as
possible. Even the nuncio Rangoni took part in the festivity.
The mysterious pretender made a good impression upon him :
his white and slender hands pointed to high birth, he was
1 See tJBERSBERGER, I., 564 scq., 568 seq. ; Pierling, IIL, Sg.
2 See PlERLING, III., 89.
THE FALSE DEMETRIUS. I43
frank in his conversation, and his whole attitude and behaviour
had something majestic about them.^ Rangoni also makes
mention of a large wart at the corner of his left eye, and the
contraction of one of his arms,^ which were said to be marks
of the missing son of the Czar.
On March 15th Demetrius had a private audience of the
King of Poland at Wawel, and this determined the attitude of
Sigismund, who had at first refused to believe in the identity
of the pretender. After this, however, the king made up his
mind to support Demetrius, and showed this by loading him
with gifts. ^ So far the nuncio Rangoni had remained com-
pletely neutral, but on March 19th he had a conversation for
the first time with Demetrius, who was successful in winning
over the Pope's representative.^ Rangoni then put the
claimant to the throne into touch with the Jesuit Caspar
Sawicki,^ and in the presence of these two Demetrius expressed
his desire to be received into the Catholic Church. When
Sawicki had satisfied himself as to the genuineness of his
intentions, he received from him, on Holy Saturday, April
17th, 1604, the Catholic profession of faith at the Jesuit
college of St. Barbara.^ All this, however, was done
1 See ibtd. 67 seq., where there is a reproduction of the portrait
of Demetrius in the Historical Museum, Msocow.
2 See PiEKLiNG, III., 68 seq.
* See ibid., 6g.
* See ibid., 73 seq.
* This fact, which is proved for the first time by Pierling
(Rome et Demetrius, 14 seq.) in the light of the documents,
destroys the older view, which was especially propagated by
Ranke (Piipste, II., 256) in a wider field, that the intrigue was
engineered by the Jesuits and the nuncio, and that it was only
later on that Sigismund was won over. The contention of Ranke
that the conversion was precipitate, is also false. For this
Ranke depends upon the Historia di Moscovia by Aless. Cilli
(Pistoia, 1627), whom he considers worthy of all credence. Pierling
has proved the contrary opinion, and has refuted the many and
grave errors of Cilli. Skribanowitz too [loc. cit. 19, 36, 38)
shows how little worthy of belief Cilli is.
* See Pierling, Rome et Demetrius, 27 seq., 183 seq.
144 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
in secret, on account of the Russian adherents of the
pretender.
With the assistance of Sawicki, two days later the convert
wrote a letter to the Pope in Polish, dated April 24th ; this
was to the following effect : " Who I am who thus venture
to write to your Holiness will have been explained to you
by the Polish nuncio, to whom I have made known all my
resolves and the motives therefor. Having been saved by
the help of God while still a child from the hands of a bloody
tyrant and from death, kindly Providence has brought me
to the realm of the King of Poland, whose acquaintance I
have set myself to make. In Poland I came to the knowledge
of the flourishing state of the Roman Catholic religion, I
became more and more drawn to it, and found in it a treasure
far more precious and a kingdom far more noble than that
which the injustice of a tyrant had robbed me of. While I
was meditating concerning the salvation of my soul I clearly
saw the grave danger in which Moscow stood by reason of
the schism, and how unjustly the authors and propagators
of that schism had attacked the pure and ancient doctrine
of the Catholic, Roman and Apostolic Church. Therefore,
by the help of divine grace I have returned without delay
to the unity of the Catholic and Roman faith, and by means of
the sacraments have become a little sheep of your Holiness,
the supreme Shepherd of all Christendom. My position
constrains me still to conceal this, and to await what God,
Who has saved me from so many perils, wishes to do with me.
I hope that God will soon be willing to assist me, the
descendant of the ancient and renowned princes of Muscovy,
to recover my inheritance. If this should not prove to be
the case, there still remains to me the consolation of Catholic
truth, and my union with the Church which will lead me to
the kingdom of heaven. If God should see fit to assist me to
win back my inheritance, then I urgently implore your Holiness
not to deny me your support. The almighty God may be
able to make use of me, however unworthy I may be, to spread
His glory, by the conversion of so many lost souls, and by
the reunion of so great a country to the Church. Who knows
THE FALSE DEMETRIUS. I45
whether it be not for that very purpose that He has led me
into the Church ? "
This letter, the author of which reveals himself as a native
of Greater Russia, and not very familiar with the Polish
language, ended with an assurance of his complete submission
to the supreme pastor of Christendom, and with the request
that he would keep silence as to its contents for a time. The
document is signed : Demetrius, son of John, Czar of Greater
Russia and heir to the Muscovite monarchy.^
When Demetrius handed his letter to the nuncio Rangoni
on April 24th, he threw himself at his feet and assured him
of his submission to the Holy See ; at the same time he
promised, in the event of his accession to the throne of the
Czars, to use all his power for the spread of the Catholic
religion. 2 Henceforward Rangoni was completely won over
to the cause of the pretender, whom Sigismund HI. also
favoured in secret, although a very strong party in Poland
would not hear of any warlike undertaking against Russia.
In the meantime the Czar Boris had taken up a defensive
attitude ; supported by the Patriarch Job he spread the
report everywhere that Demetrius was an impostor, and an
apostate monk named Gregor Otrepjev,^ who had escaped
from the Tschudow monaster}' at Moscow.
The pretender, who had become betrothed to Marina
Mniszek, was also very active. He succeeded in raising a
small army of Poles and Cossacks, with which at the end of
October 1604, he crossed the Dnieper, which then marked the
boundary between Russia and Poland. Counting on meeting
^ The letter of Demetrius to Clement VIIL has been published
from the original in the Archives of the Roman Inquisition by
Pierling in a photographic reproduction, together with a French
translation, in a little work of which only 100 copies were printed
(Lettre de Dimitri dit le Faux a Clement VIIL, Paris, 1898).
The Latin translation by Sawicki in Pierling, Rome et Demetrius,
157 seq. For the style and the authorship see Skribanowitz,
46 seq., and the literature cited there.
" See Pierling, III., 83 seq.
* See ibid., 92 seq., 96 seq.
VOL. XXIV. 10
T46 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
with support in Russia, he hoped, in spite of the small force
at his disposal, to recover the throne of the Czars. Among
his troops there were Jesuits who acted as military chaplains
for the Catholics. Demetrius kept up a correspondence with
Rangoni, who was very necessary for the attainment of his
purpose, while the nuncio cherished the hope that within a
short time there would be a Catholic ruler in the Kremlin,
who would undertake the conversion of his great kingdom by
means of Catholic missionaries.^
In contrast to the optimistic ideas of his representative,
Clement VIII. displayed his customary prudence in the matter
of Demetrius. He was perhaps confirmed in his attitude of
reserve by the fact that he had by his side, as his confessor
and friend, Baronius, the great historian. When the first
news of the appearance of the pretender reached the Curia
from Rangoni, the Pope's scepticism went so far as to attach
to the letter of Rangoni a marginal note to the effect that
this was probably a case of a person like the false Sebastian
who had come forward in Portugal. ^ Only the conversion
of Demetrius and his letter of April 24th, together with the
reports of Rangoni, brought about a change of mind in the
Pope. He handed over that important document to the
Roman Inquisition for examination ; this tribunal had to
decide whether the desire expressed by Demetrius to the nuncio
could be granted, namely whether on the day of his coronation
as Czar he could receive communion from the hands of the
Patriarch of Moscow.
While this matter was still under discussion, on May 22nd
a Papal brief was addressed to "our beloved son and noble
lord Demetrius " in which he was exhorted with paternal
kindness to persevere in the way of piety and virtue. If
Clement VIII. in this abandoned his attitude of cold reserve
which he had so far maintained, he nevertheless avoided all
mention of politics, nor were the great interests of Christendom
1 See ibid., 85, 114 seq., 220.
" " Sara un altro Re di Portogallo resu.scitato." Pierling,
III., 41.
THE FALSE DEMETRIUS. I47
even mentioned in the brief. Demetrius had looked for a great
deal more. In a letter of July 30th he treated of spiritual
matters as well as political, and expressed his thanks in
anticipation for the help offered to him. Clement VIII. left
this letter unanswered.^ The later developments of this
affair, which ended with the murder of Demetrius, do not
belong to his pontificate.
^ See ibid., 86 seq., 230 seq. The letter of July 30 in Piekling,
Rome et Demetrius, 160 scq.
CHAPTER V.
Clement VIII. and the interior life of the Church, —
The Religious Orders. — The Episcopate. — The Sacred
College,
Filled with a conviction that the clergy of the Eternal City
ought to stand out before all the world for their virtue and
piety, Clement VIII., immediately after the beginning of his
pontificate, proclaimed a general visitation of all the churches,
religious houses, and pious institutions of Rome. In the
document which was published on June 8th, 1592,^ it was
declared that just as none but a well cultivated field can
produce an abundant harvest, so was it also in spiritual
matters, and for that reason the Council of Trent had so
strongly urged canonical visitations. To this end a commis-
sion composed of cardinals and bishops was appointed, which
was to begin its labours with a visitation of the Lateran
basilica. In order to obtain the divine assistance the Pope
ordered the Forty Hours to be celebrated in the principal
churches of Rome.
Mindful of the words of Our Divine Lord, that the good
shepherd must know his sheep, ^ Clement VIII., regardless
of his high dignity, took a personal share in the visitation of
the greater number of the Roman churches. In this he was
assisted by Cardinals Medici and Valiero, as well as by three
bishops, among them the distinguished Lodovico de Torres,
Archbishop of Monreale.^ After the Pope had celebrated
1 See Bull., IX., 562 seq.
* See ibid., 564.
8 See *Commentarius visitationis Clenientis VIII. a. 1592;
Urb. 837, p. 268 seq., Vatican Library ; Borghese, I., 869 and
148
THE VISITATION OF ROME. I49
high mass in the Lateran basilica on June i8th, 1592, and
distributed holy communion to the clergy, he gathered them
together in the sacristy, and delivered a discourse to them,
in which he spoke of all the duties of their office, threatening
grave punishments to those who had failed therein. Then,
assisted by four Cardinals, he made a visitation of the church,
and especially of the tabernacle, ordering that a place of greater
honour should be assigned to it. He also demanded a more
splendid reliquary for the heads of the Princes of the Apostles.
The visitation was continued in the afternoon and on the
following day. When the Pope visited the Lateran Hospital,
he found there a sick man at the point of death, and
Clement VHI. rendered him all assistance with as much
fervour as though he had been a simple parish priest.^ The
Pope also carried out in person the visitation of the Lateran
clergy, and of the house of the penitentiaries attached to the
basilica, where he arrived quite unexpectedly. One peni-
tentiary, in whose room he found a copy of the love-
songs of Petrarch, was deprived of his office ; the same
fate befel another penitentiary who was found to be unfit.
Clement VIIL declared that he would proceed in like manner
everywhere, as he preferred to have a few well instructed
priests to many who were ignorant.'^
In the same way as the Lateran basilica, St. Mary Major's
and St. Peter's^ were subjected to a strict visitation, and
after them one by one according to their rank, all the churches
of the city. It was at once realized that Clement VIIL knew
in every case how to observe a just mean between excessive
Arm. 7 t. 4, Papal Secret Archives. Cj. ibid. t. 3 *Decreta visit,
sub Clemente VIIL See also the *report of G. Niccolini, June 19,
1592, State Archives, Florence. Med. 3303.
^ See *Avvisi of June 17 and 20, 1592, Urb. 1060, I., Vatican
Library, and the *letter of G. Niccolini of June 26, 1592, State
Archives, Florence, loc. cit.
^ See *Avviso of June 27, 1592, Urb. 1060, I., Vatican Library.
^ See *Avvibi of July 4 and 8, 1592, Urb, II., Vatican Library.
Cf. the *report of G. Niccolini, July 3, 1592, State Archives,
Florence, loc. cit. and Collectio bull., etc. Basil. Vatic, III., 186,
150 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
severity and too great leniency.^ However much he clung
to the splendour of divme worship, he energetically protested
against the exaggerated pomp displayed at processions by
the Spaniards in their national church. ^ Wherever it was
necessary he intervened with great severity.^ The exactitude
with which he proceeded could not have been greater, and he
paid attention to the smallest details.^ He made a very
searching visitation of the Hospital of Santo Spirito,^ and at
the Aracoeli he went into the cell of every one of the friars.^
The confessors were everywhere examined with special
vigilance.' The Pope preferred to make' his appearance
without warning and quite unexpectedly,^ and, as in the case
of all his reforms, he took steps on his own initiative.^
^ See *Avviso of July 8, 1592. Urb. 1060, II., Vatican Library.
2 See *Avviso of April 30, 1596, Urb. 1064, I., Vatican Library.
The Pope would not make his appearance even in St. Peter's
with the tiara ; see Studi e docum., VIII., 28.
* The *Avviso of November 25, 1592, reports: " Sabbato
N.S. visito la chiesa di S. Maria in Trastevere, et vi fece il solito
sermone con maggiore vehementia del consueto, toccando certi
tasti et minutie, che non ha costumato nell' alter chiese " (Urb.
1060, II., Vatican Library). The commandant of the Hospital
of S. Spirito was dismissed, according to the *Avviso of July 15,
1593 (Urb. 1061, ibid.).
* Examples are given by the *Avvisi of August 22, 1592, and
June 22, 1596, Urb., 1060, II., and 1064, Vatican Library. Cf.
Baumgarten, Neue Kunde, 25.
^ See *Avviso of September 23, 1592, Urb. 1060, II., Vatican
Library.
* See *Avviso of February 22, 1595, Urb. 1063, ibid.
' See *Avvisi of September 9 and November 7, 1792, Urb.
1060, II., ibid.
* See besides Bentivoglio, Memorie, 46, the *Avvisi of
September 23, 1593, February 22, 1595, and August 22, 1601,
LTrb. 1061, 1063, 1069, Vatican Library.
* *" II card. Rusticucci afferma, che quanti editti di riforme,
bandi di donne, restrittioni di camere locande et simili ha mandati
fuori in questo pontificato, sono stati tutti di ordine del S.P.
vivae vocis oraculo." *Avviso of November 25, 1592, L^rb. 1060,
II., ibid.
THE VISITATION OF ROME. 151
The visitation of the Roman churches in 1592 was
continued by the Pope in person even after the com-
mencement of the cold season,^ and the Venetian
ambassador reports that in this he displayed a zeal
that could not have been greater if he had been a simple
bishop. 2 The reforms which he prescribed were all entered
in the Acta.^
In view of the minuteness with which the visitation was
carried out, it is not surprising that it was prolonged from
1593 to 1596.^ It proved very efficacious^ so that it was again
repeated later on.^ In July 1603 Clement VIII. took part
in the visitation of the church and convent of S. Salvatore in
Lauro.'^ The Pope also insisted on taking part in the
examinations, begun in 1597 onwards, of the parish-priests of
Rome, which were entrusted to a commission of Cardinals,
even though it was pointed out to him that in so doing he
was fatiguing himself unduly.^
Convinced as he was of the importance of the religious
1 See *Diarium P. Alaleonis, Cod. Barb. 2815 ibid.
" Paruta, Dispacci, I., 21.
3 See ibid, and *Avviso of November 28, 1592, Urb. 1060, II.,
Vatican Library. Cf. *Acta. visitationis multarum ecclesiarum
Urbis sub Clemente VIII. Cod. 7, 59, Vallicella Library, Rome.
See also *Borghese, II., 51a and 52 Papal Secret Archives.
* See *Diarium P. Alaleonis, loc. cit. Cf. *Avvisi of 1596,
Jane 22 (visitation of the convent of the Minims), June 26 (convent
near S. Croce in Gerusalemme), July 10 (S. Prassede). Urb.
1064, I. and II., Vatican Library.
5 Cf. the *brief to Archbishop Ernest of Cologne of November,
1592, Arm. 44, t. 34, n. 10, Papal Secret Archives (see Vol. XXIII.,
App. n. 5), and *Vita et gesta Clementis VIII. in Inform, polit.,
XXIX., State Library, Berlin.
^ See *Avvisi of August 22, 1601, and July 2, 1603, Urb. 1069,
10 71, Vatican Library.
' See *Avviso of July 2, 1603, according to which the Pope
found in the cell of P. Massimiliano some jewels which he at once
caused to be sold. Urb. 1071, ibid.
* See *Avvisi of January 18, February 12, 15 and 22, 1597,
yrb. 1065, ibid.
152 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Orders to the Church,^ Clement VIII., in the course of his
visitations, devoted special attention to the state of the
religious houses of Rome. As early as March 1592 he had
summoned before him the generals and procurators of all the
Orders, and had exhorted them, with threats of grave penalties,
to lead an exemplary life.- This warning was repeated in the
severest terms in September, when it had transpired that the
enactments ordered during the visitation had to a great
extent not been carried out. The Pope asked for a list of all
those who failed to obey, and said that in the place of so great
a number of small houses which were difficult to supervise,
he would like to see in every province three or four large houses
in which the reform could be carried out exactly.^ In
October 1592 all the gratings and windows in the convents
of women which gave upon the street were walled up."* At
the visitation in 1593 the Capuchins in the convent on the
Quirinal had to listen to words of severe reproof.^ In 1596^
there were fresh measures of reform for the religious houses
of Rome. Later on too the Pope took advantage of his visits
to the houses of the Orders to address serious observations
to them,' though wherever he found a satisfactory state of
affairs he did not spare his praises.^
In December 1592 a prohibition, addressed for the time
^ The Pope called the Orders "ossa et medullas christianismi " ;
see Zachakiae, Iter, litt., 302. The Cod. Vat. 3565 contains
among the *discourses of Giov. Paolo Eustachio dedicated to
Clement VIII., n. i : " Delia necessita et utilita della visita che
fa N.S. alia religioni. Vatican Library.
* See *Avviso of March 14, 1592, Urb. 1060, I., ibid.
' See *AvvJso of September 19, 1592, Urb. 1060, II., ibid.
* See *Avvdso of October 21, 1592, ibid.
* See *Avviso of July 7, 1593, Urb. 1061, ibid.
* See *Avvisi of May 4, and November 16, 1596, Urb. 1064,
II., ibid.
' See *Avviso of February 24, 1599, Urb. 1067, ibid.
* See the *brief to the General of the Carthusians, in which the
Pope speaks of his visitation of S. Maria degli Angeli, November
15, 1603, Arm. 44, t. 56, n. 24, Papal Secret Archives,
DECREES ON THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS. 153
being to the religious houses of Rome, was issued against the
making of gifts, which did not appl}^ however, to alms to
the poor.i On June 19th, 1594, this ordinance was extended
to all the religious houses in the world.- In the same way the
constitutions concerning the erection of new houses,^ and the
punishment of exempt religious who had committed some
fault outside their own houses,'* were also made universal.
Clement VIII. rendered good service to the Orders by his
constitution of March 12th, 1596, and four subsequent decrees
of the years 1599, 1602 and 1603, concerning the exclusion
of those who had no true vocation, and the training in deep
piety of young religious. These contained the most salutary
prescriptions, limited for the time being to Italy, on the
reception of novices.^
With what care Clement VIII. laboured everywhere for
the re-establishment of religious discipline, where it had
become relaxed, and for its maintenance, where it still existed,
is shown by the visitors whom he sent,® by his many instruc-
tions to the nuncios, '^ and by a whole series of special enact-
ments. These applied to the Augustinian Hermits,^ the
1 See *Avviso of December 26, 1592, Urb. 1060, II., Vatican
Library.
2 Gifts to individual inhabitants of religious houses were also
prohibited ; see Bull., X., 146 seq. Cf. Pakuta, Dispacci, II.,
365. 4«5-
3 See Bull., XL, 21, and the *decla.ration of August 26, 1603,
copy in the Cod. 55 of the Theodoriana Library, Paderborn.
* See Bull., X., 348 seq.
^ See Bull., X., 769 seq. and Archiv. fiir kath. Kirchenrecht,
CXI. (1911), 696 seq.
« See Zachakiae, Iter, litt., 302.
' Especially to the nuncio at Venice were instructions given
to persevere in the work of reform ; see in App. n. 7 the
♦instructions to M A. Graziani, March 30, 1596, Graziani Archives,
Citta di Castello. Caetani devoted himself to the reform of the
religious houses in Spain from the beginning of his nunciature ;
see *Nunziat. di Spagna, 43, Papal Secret Archives.
* See " Clementis P. VIII. pro reformatione fratrum ord.
Eremitarum s. Augubtini decreta," Pisauri, 1599.
154 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Basilians/ the Camaldolese,^ the Cistercians,^ the Cluniacs,^
the Order of the Holy Ghost, ^ the Hermits of the Hieronymite
observance,^ the Knights of St. John,' the Carthusians,^ the
Servites^ and the Dominicans. ^° Clement VHI. introduced
more strict rules in the case of the Brothers of Charity and the
Fathers of a Good Death. ^^ He greatly encouraged among
the Franciscan Order the new reforms of the Observants, the
I Bull., X., 623 ^eq.
^ Ibid., 293 seq.
3 See the *brief to " capit. general, ord. Cisterc," dated March
14, 1601, Arm. 44, t. 45, n. 70, Papal Secret Archives.
* See the *brief of blame to " Abbas Cluniacensis," October 27,
1592, Arm. 44, t. 38, p. 78, ibid.
^ Cf. Brune, L'ordre du Saint-Esprit, Paris, 1892, 263, and
E. Michael in Zeitschr. J. kaih. Theo!., XXIII., 210.
* Bull., X., 34 seq.
' See the severe *briefs to the Grand Master of Malta, May 14,
1592, June 15 and September 2, 1594, and April 30, 1602, Arm.
44, t. 37, n. 304 ; t. 39, n. 214 and 258 seq ; t. 46, n. 129, Papal
Secret Archives. See also C. Fedeli, Carteggio del Gran Maestri
di Malta con i duchi d'Urbino, Pisa, 1912, 69 seq., 82 seq.
® See the *brief to the chapter general of the Carthusians,
April 15, 1599, Arm. 44, t. 43, n. 217, Papal Secret Archives.
' See Bull., X., 658 seq., 662 seq., and Decreta Clementis P.
VIII. pro reformatione fratr. ord. Serv. B. Mariae Virg., Rome,
1604.
^^ See Bull., IX., 561 seq. F'or the reform of the Dominicans
at Naples, where there were bad relations between the secular
clergy and these religious, see Arch. star, ital., IX., 441 seq. ;
MuTiNELLi, II., 176 seq. Cf. the *brief to the Cardinal of the
Dominicans, June 29, 1596, concerning the enclosure. Arm. 44,
t. 40, n 200, Papal Secret Archives. The *Avviso of June 13,
1 60 1, states : When the Dominicans went on Saturday with their
General to the Pope, " N.S. fece loro un breve ragionamento,
esortando in particolare tutti alia concordia et esso Generale al
giusto governo et a far osservar la lor regola, senza che sia bisogno
venghino d'altronde chi la facci loro osservare." Urb. 1069,
Vatican Library.
II See Bull., X., 295 seq., 63^.
FRANCISCANS AND BENEDICTINES. 155
Riformati in Italy and the Recollects in France.^ Francisco
Sousa of Toledo who in 1600 was elected General of the
Observants in Rome, presented to the Pope a memorial on
the state of his Order, in which he had lived for thirty-five
years, filling almost all the offices, and making visitations of
almost all the provinces.^ He described in detail the condi-
tion, to some extent not very consoling, of the convents in
Germany, France, Spain and Italy, and makes suggestions
for their improvement. He lays it down as a maxim for
reform that it must not be universal, but adapted to the very
varied needs of the different districts.^
In the Benedictine Order, reform had been carried out,
in accordance with the decrees of the Council of Trent, both
in Italy and Spain, by means of the institution of congre-
gations ; at the beginning of his pontificate Clement VIII.
gave some salutary ordinances to the Cassinese Congregation.^
In France, where the system of commendams had exercised
a harmful influence, they did not prove of any particular
importance, except in the case of the congregation of Saints
Vanne and Hydulphe, established in Lorraine at the
beginning of the seventeenth century, and in that of the
Feuillants. The former was confirmed by Clement VIII.,
from whom it received new and milder rules. ^ In Germany
the most important congregation was that established in 1564
1 C/. ibid., 299 seq. ; Gaudentius, Beitrage, 242 seq. ;
HOLZAPFEL, 312.
^ *" Informazione copiosa del P. Sosa ministro generale de
Min. osserv. a P. Clemente VIII. sopra il mode di reformare la
religione " in a niiscellaneous codex of the Communal Library,
Ancona, which was not yet catalogued when I made use of it in
1884.
8 *" Che in una parte sarebbe riformatione, nell'altra causarebbe
scandali et nell'altra distruttione," says Fr. Sousa in his
* Informazione, loc. cit.
* See Bull., X., 28 seq. ; Bull. Casin., I., 266 seq., 270 .'ieq.
' Cf. Bull., XL, 64 seq. ; AscHBACH, Kirchenlex, I., 653 seq. ;
ScHMiEDER in Studien aus dem Bened. Orden, XII., 60 seq. ;
Heimbucher, L, 150 seq., 242.
156 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
in Swabia, which was confirmed in 1603 with the title of the
Congregation of St. Joseph.^ The most important Benedictine
monasteries in Switzerland, St. Gall, Einsiedeln, Muri and
Fischingen, were united into one congregation in 1602.
Clement VIII. confirmed this and also invited other Swiss
monasteries to join it. Pfafers and Rheinau did so at once,
and all the others later on.^
In the matter of the reform of the regular and secular clergy,
Clement VIII. addressed himself repeatedly to the bishops.
If the latter were fulfilling their pastoral duties he expressed
his satisfaction,^ but if not, he addressed severe admonitions
to the archbishops, and sometimes even to the princes.^
Occasionally he also sent special visitors, as was the case
with Sardinia in 1598.^ His nuncios at Naples and Venice
laboured incessantly for the reform, which was very much
needed in many of the religious houses there. ^
However cold Clement VIII. showed himself towards the
1 See Heimbucher, 1., 140.
2 See Hist.-polit. BL, CV., 729 seq.
^ Cf. *briefs to the Bishop of Oria, June 20, 1598, and March 31,
1599, Arm. 44, t. 42, n. 176 ; t. 43, n. 203, Papal Secret Archives.
Ibid., t. 46, nn. 177-180 *briefs to " episc. Lausan. Constant,
Curiens. Basiliens," June 15, 1602.
* Cf. Bull., IX., 541 seq. (to the Patriarch of Venice), X., 731 seq.
(to the Bishops of Corsica) ; *brief to the Duke of Savoy, March
15. 1597 (orders the Bishop of Maurienne to reform a monastery
of Cistercians) Arm. 44, t. 41, n. 83, Papal Secret Archives.
Ibid., t. 43, n. 45 and 208, *briefs to Rudolph II., January 30
and April 3, 1599, concerning the reform of the religious houses
in Suabia. See also n. iii, *brief to the Archbishop of Crete,
February 19, 1599.
s See Bull., X., 78 seq.
* For Venice see in App. n. 7 the *instructions to the nuncio
there March 30, 1596, Graziani Archives, Citta di Castello. On
January 29, 1605, Clement VIII. recommended to the Doge the
visitor sent for the Congreg. di S. Giorgio in Alga, which was in
need of reform (*Brief in State Archives, Venice). For conventual
reform at Naples see Cod. L. 23, p. 172b, Vallicella Library,
Rome, and Carte Strozz., I., 2, 237, 290.
JESUITS AND THEATINES. I57
Jesuits/ he was not blind to their success in popular missions, ^
for which work they were especially fitted. Therefore in 1598
he induced the Jesuits in Rome to preach such missions in
the Campania, the Sabines, and the Roman Campagna. The
self-denial of the fathers in this work among the poor country
folk, in the full heat of summer, was indeed admirable, and
their success was in the highest degree consoling. The
Bishops of Civita Castellana and Montepulciano asked that
these missions might also be extended to their dioceses.^
In Rome, where the Jesuits were doing very useful work,"*
above all encouraging in their churches the devotion to the
sufferings of Christ,^ they were rivalled by the Theatines and
the Oratorians. Clement VIH. confirmed for the Theatines
their emended rule,^ and granted them many favours.'^ The
Capuchins^ and the Barnabites^ who were spreading through-
^ Cf. supra, p.
* Cj. Litt. ann. 1592, 13 seq.
' See ibid., 1598, 14 seq.
* Cf. " Domus ac pietatis opera quae B.P. Ignatius facienda
Romae curavit quaeque societas suae curae commissa habet "
(rare engraving of 1600).
* See *Avviso of January i, 1603, Urb. 107 1, Vatican Libraiy
The *Avviso of April 17, 1604 (Urb. 1072, ibid.) states : The
Jesuits have made in their church a beautiful sepulchre, like that
at Jerasalem ; " e ben vero, ch'era ogni cosa di bianco et dentro
et fuori, cosa non appro bata cosi generalmente da tutti in questi
tempi die la S. Chiesa va certando con le candele le cose meste et
di malencolia."
* Bull of July 28, 1604, Theatine Archives, Rome. Ibid, a
*brief dated " sexto Idus August! : " Clement VIII. grants to
the Theatines the church of S. Stefano at Vicenza ; also a
♦document concerning the grant of the church of S. Bartolomeo
in Porta at Bologna (1599) and a bull of Clement VIII. " per la
fundazione de Teatini nella chiesa di S. Giorgio in Rimini."
The Theatines were also brought to Florence in 1592 by
Clement VIII.
' See Carte Strozz., I., 2, 323 seq.
^ See Bull. Capuc, II., 113, 172 seqq., 223, 318, 407; III.,
19 seqq., 62 seqq., 78 seqq., 100 seqq., 116 seqq.
» Cf. Premoli, 335 seq., 355 seq.. 357 seq., 370 seq., 374 seq.,
379 seq., 381 seq., 388 seq.
158 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
out Italy, received many proofs of the good-will of the Pope.
The same was the case with the Oratorians, who were very
dear to the Pope, who had Baronius as his confessor. In the
matter of the absolution of Henry IV. it was seen what
influence that distinguished man, as well as Philip Neri, had
over him. The relations between Clement VIII. and the
holy founder of the Oratorians, who died on May 26th, 1595,
were both cordial and intimate, as between father and son.
Clement VIII., who, like all the Aldobrandini, loved cheerful-
ness, was well able to adapt himself to the joking and
humourous methods which Philip Neri loved to adopt, and
we have evidence of this in certain letters which were
exchanged between them.^ But though the Pope willingly
yielded to the wishes of Philip Neri, he nevertheless preserved
his independence even with him. Thus he remained immov-
able when the saint presented a plea on behalf of a bandit
who had been condemned to death, for Clement judged it
necessary that in this case the law should take its course in
all its rigour. 2 Nor would he suffer himself to be moved from
his intention of making the most beloved of the disciples of
Philip Neri, Tarugi, Archbishop of Avignon, and though the
saint did all he could to induce the Pope to change his mind,
he adhered to his purpose, saying that he could not give way,
because it was incumbent upon him to care for the well-being
and the betterment of the whole Church. ^
^ See Capecelatro, Der hi. Philipp Neri, revised by Lager,
Freiburg, 1886, 324 seq., where we find corrected the interpretation
which a thinker like Goethe, who otherwise so well understood
the life of men, gave to these letters.
2 Others on the other hand, who had been condemned to prison
for lesser crimes, were released in 1593 at the instance of St.
Philip ; see *Avviso of June 30, 1593, Urb. 1061, Vatican Library.
For the favour which the Oratorians enjoyed with the Cardinals,
see *Avviso of December 25, 1596, Urb. 1064, II., ibid. A
Relatione of that period tells us that the number of the
Oratorians, who in turn delivered two or three sermons every day,
was 40 ; see Carle Strozz., I., i, 393.
* See Capecelatro, loc. cit., 335.
ST. GIOVANNI LEONARDI. I59
The Minorite, Angelo del Pas, was held in high esteem by
Clement VIII. He had also been esteemed by his predecessors
on account of his theological works and the purity of his life ;
he died in 1596 in the odour of sanctity.^ The same was true
of Camillus of Lellis, the founder of the Fathers of a Good
Death. 2
Two other saints also found a fervent protector in the
Aldobrandini Pope : Giovanni Leonardi and Joseph
Calasanctius.
Giovanni Leonardi,^ who was born in 1543 in a village near
Lucca, and who first, by the wish of his parents, became a
chemist, only attained to the goal of his desires, the priesthood,
later on. Although he was already twenty-six Giovanni took
his place once more on the benches of a school in order to learn
Latin. Ordained at the end of 1572, he devoted himself with
ardent zeal in Lucca to the catechizing of poor children and
the instruction of the young in their religion. The first fellow-
labourers that he met with there were a hat-maker named
Giorgio Arrighini and Giambattista Cioni, the scion of a noble
family. Together with these he established himself in 1574
in a room near the church of the Madonna della Rosa. Among
the companions who joined them there were above all two
brothers, Cesare and Giulio, of the Franciotti family, and
related to the della Rovere. Being asked by his companions
for a written rule, Leonardi took a sheet of paper and wrote
the single word : " Obedience." Although the members
of this new company lived for nothing but their own
sanctification and the good of their fellow-citizens, they did
not lack persecution, but the Bishop of Lucca, Alessandro
Guidiccioni, supported the work of these pious men.
^ *Avviso of August 28, 1596, Urb. 1064, Vatican Library.
For A. del Pas cf. Hurter, I., 89 seq., 397.
2 Cf. Vol. XXII,, p, 398, of this work, and M. Amici, Mem. stor.
intomo S. Camillo de Lellis, Rome, 1913 ; ibid., p. 219, the
protection given to him by Clement VIII.
^ Cf. the biographies by L. Marracci (Venice, 161 7 ; Rome,
1673) and Carlanionio Erra (Rome, 1758). Cf. also Barelli,
Memorie de chierici regol. di S. Paolo, L. Bologna, 1703, 26 seqq.
l6o HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Giovanni Leonardi drew up a catechism, and did such
useful work in Lucca and the neighbourhood, that the Bishop
of Lucca called him the apostle of his diocese. With
unwearied activity he introduced into the cities, on the last
Thursday of the Carnival, a general communion, and, following
the example of Charles Borromeo, the pious exercise of the
Forty Hours during the last three days of the carnival. When
he was once again subjected to persecution, the holy man
was not discouraged, not even when he and his companions
came to lack all means, and their house was taken away from
them. His firm trust in God was not in vain ; in 1580, the
rector of the church of S. Maria Cortelandini, made over to
him, with the consent of the bishop, his presb^^tery, and in
1583 Leonardi and his zealous companions established there
a religious congregation, under the name and patronage of
the Madonna, for their own perfection and the preaching
of the word of God.^
While on a pilgrimage to Rome Leonardi formed a friend-
ship with Philip Neri. This proved very valuable to him
when a fresh persecution at Lucca forced him to have recourse
to the Holy See. On his return the inhabitants of Lucca
closed the gates of the city against him. Although Sixtus V.
had declared Leonardi innocent, the latter was unwilling to
stir up his adversaries against him any further, and he there-
fore remained in Rome, in close relationship with Philip Neri,
and furthering the work in the hospitals and schools.
Clement VHL esteemed his labours in the highest degree ;
it did not seem fitting to him that the work of a religious
society, which sought for nothing but the welfare of the
inhabitants of Lucca and its own members, should be any
longer hampered, and accordingly, on October 13th, 1595,
at Leonardi's request, he approved his congregation.^
In 1596 the Pope arranged that this zealous priest should
be able once more to return to Lucca. Since men's minds
there were not yet quite calmed, Clement VHL for the time
1 See Bull., IX., 227 seq.
^ See ibid.
ST. JOSEPH CALASANCTIUS. l6l
being made use of Leonardi as apostolic commissary for the
introduction of reforms into the Order of Montevergine in
the province of Naples. After this Leonardi also reformed
certain monasteries of the Vallombrosans, and visited Monte
Sennaro, the cradle of the Servite Order. Cardinal Tarugi
asked for him in 1597 for the reform of his diocese,^ and in
the same year he visited his house at Lucca. In 1601
Leonardi was successful in founding a second house in Rome
near the church of S. Maria in Portico. ^
Two years later the Pope entrusted to Cardinal Baronius
the protectorate of the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God,
whose first General Leonardi became. A brief of June 24th,
1604, allowed the new congregation to establish houses every-
where, provided the diocesan bishops gave their permission,
" Take care of the young," said the Pope to the founder,
when he presented himself before him with Baronius.^
There was another saint who was likewise predestined to
the priesthood, who was filled with enthusiasm for the good
of his neighbour, and whose efforts were encouraged by
Clement VIIL : this was Joseph Calasanctius,^ so called
from the mountainous hamlet in Aragon, near Petralta de
la Sal, where he was born in 1556. After the young nobleman
had studied philosophy and jurisprudence at the university
of Lerida, and theology at Valencia and Alcala de Henares,
he was urged to contract matrimony after the death of his
brother without issue, so that his ancient family might not
^ See Erra, loc. cit., 63 seqq.
^ Cf. Storia di S. Maria in Portico, Rome, 1750.
* See Erra, 81 seq., Bull., X., 229 seq.
* See the biographies by Alessio della Concettione (Rome,
1693), TosETii (Rome, 1767 ; Florence, 1917), Lipowsky
(Munich, 1820), Kellner (Skizzen u. Bilder aus der Erzichungs-
gesch., I., Essen, 1862), Timon-David (2 vols., Marseilles, 1883),
Hubart (Mayence, 1862), Tommaseo (Rome, 1898), Casanovas
Y Sanz (Saragossa, 1904), Heidenreich (Vienna, 1907). Cf.
also Heimbucher, II., 272 seq. ; Hist. pol. Bl., VII., 599, XXXIII.
746, CXX., 901 seq. ; Faloci Pulignani, Notizie del ven. G.B.
Vitelli da Foligno, Foligno, 1894, 49 seq.
VOL. XXIV. II
l62 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
die out. The young man would not hear of this, but it was
only after he had been miraculously cured of a grave illness,
that his father abandoned the project.
Having been ordained priest at the end of 1583 Joseph
Calasanctius devoted himself for nine years to the care of
souls in various parts of his native Spain. It seemed that
he might confidently look forward to some great ecclesiastical
office, but a secret desire drew him to Rome. He arrived
there in a state of poverty in the spring of 1592, for after his
father's death he had distributed the whole of his inheritance.
The inhabitants of the Eternal City were still suffering at
that time from the effects of the plague and famine, which
had scourged them from 1590 onwards ;i thus there were many
orphan children wandering about the streets, without clothing,
food or instruction. A friend of Philip Neri, the noble and
pious Giovanni Leonardo Ceruso, known as "II Letterato,"
had already in the time of Gregory XIII. founded an institute
for abandoned children, ^ of which, after his death on February
13th, 1595,^ Baronius, by the order of Clement VIII. under-
1 Cf. Vol. XXII. of this work, p. 345.
2 See *Avvisi of September 9, 1592, and February i8, 1595,
Urb. 1060, 11., and 1063. According to the *Avvi50 of April 28,
1 60 1, the number of the " poverelli dell'hospitale di Letterati "
was at that time about 200 (Urb. 1069, Vatican Library). These
children were called " i poveri letterati." See Moroni, XIV., 45.
Fra Marcello Fossataro of Nicotera, a hermit of St. Francis *asked
Clement VIII. for permission to found at Naples an asylum
" come fece il Literato in Roma," State Archives, Florence ;
see Carte Strozz., I., 2, 250). About 1600 Carlo Carafa founded a
congregation " dei pii operaii " at Naples, and converted many
Turkish servants there ; see Freiburger Kirchenlex., l^., 1231 seq.
Art. Arbeiter, and F. Ceva-Grimaldi, Delia citta di Napoli,
Naples, 1857.
3 Cf. Mansio, Vita di Giov. Leonardo Ceruso detto Letterato,
Rome, 1S34 ; Calenzio, Baronio, 103 seqq. ; Orbaan, Documenti,
151 n. and Rome under Clement VIII., 62 seqq. In the *Memoirs
relating to the Congregation of the Oratory by Pompeo Pateri, a
description of the inriuence of the " opera di Litterato " as
follows : In questo tempo s'era cominciata gia I'opera di Litterato
ST. JOSEPH CALASANCTIUS. 163
took the care.^ But this alone could not overcome the evil.
Joseph Calasanctius, who immediately after his arrival in
Rome had become a member of the confraternity for teaching
Christian Doctrine, saw with profound grief how many
abandoned children were growing up without instruction or
supervision. When he applied to the masters of the schools
to be allowed to instruct the little ones gratuitously, he was
referred by them to the magistracy. But he failed to obtain
a hearing there as well. Then it seemed to him that he heard
the words of Holy Scripture : "To thee is reserved the care
of the poor, and to the orphans thou shalt be a helper." Thus
there sprang up in his mind the idea of founding a special
school for the poor, and of becoming its director. To this
end he met with his first helper in the parish priest of the
church of S. Dorotea in Trastevere, Antonio Brendani, who
put a few rooms at his disposal, and promised to help him
with the instruction. It was in that church that the Oratory
of Divine Love had once sprung into existence, from which
the work of Catholic reform and restoration had begun. ^
(che COS! era chiamato il fondatore d'essa quale comincio a
radunare li poveri figliuoh di poc'eta ch'andavano spersi, et h
menava per le strade cantando laudi spiritual! et scopando le
strade dove era bisogno ; poi dimandava d'elemosina per quel
poveri figliuoli, quali la sera conduceva al coperto sotto le grotte
del monasterio di S. Lorenzo in Panisperna, che all'hora ci poteva
entrare clii voleva dalla parte di S. Maria Maggiore ; et cosi cosa
nuova il card. Rusticucci m'ordino ch'io m'informassi deirhuonio
et come governava quel figliuoli. Andai una sera airimproviso
alle dette grotte et trovai che teneva quei figliuoli con quell'ordine
bono che poteva in quel luogo et li governava con tanta carita
ch'io ne restai con grande edificazione, vedendo che li dava tutti
quelli soldi ch'haveva, senza pensare punto a se stesso : et con
questa relatione si lasso seguitare. Carpegna 62 p. 58^^, Papal
Secret Archives.
1 See Moroni, L., 4. Cf. ibid., IX., 203, and XIX., 247, for
the asylum of S. Eufemia founded at that time. The " Letterato "
was buried in S. Maria dell'Orazione e Morte ; see Lanciani, IV.,
68 ; FoRCEi.LA, VIII., 475.
2 Cf. Vol. X. of this work, p. 390 seq.
164 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
It was a strange coincidence that now, at the moment of the
highest development of that movement, a new and important
institution was to spring up in the same place. As soon as
some of the members of the Society of Divine Love had
promised their co-operation, the first popular free school in
Europe was able to come into existence.
Clement VIII. extended his protection to a work on
which the blessing of God visibly rested. The number
of children, of whom from the first there were about a
hundred, grew from year to year. They were given the
necessary books and writing materials gratuitously ; they
were also given clothing, since, following the example of
the open-handed Pontiff, other benefactors as well provided
ample alms.
In 1601 it was possible to hire a larger house near S. Andrea
in Valle, in which Joseph Calasanctius began to lead a
community life with his companions, who had by 1604 reached
the number of twelve. Thus were laid the foundations of
the Piaristi or Clerks Regular of the Pious Schools, afterwards
called the Poor Clerks of the Madonna, the " Scolopi " (Scuole
pie) or the Poalini. Since noble and wealthy families also
sent their children to the excellent school of Calasanctius,
jealousies and envy were aroused, but the Pope convinced
himself that the accusations made against the school of the
poor children were unfounded, and he continued as before
to be their protector.
Clement VIII. founded in Rome, for the Roman nobles and
foreigners, the " Collegium Clementinum " the direction of
which he entrusted to the Somaschi.^ This institution, the
Protector of which was Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, soon
attained great celebrity. ^
^ See Bull. XL, 90 seq.
^ Cf. Elogio del nobile e pontificio Collegio Clementine di
Roma, Rome, 1795 ; Palantrini, Notizie dei convittori illustri
del Clementine di Roma, 1595-1795, Rome, 1795 ; Donning, I
convittori del nobile Collegio Clementine di Rema, Rome, 1898.
The inscription affixed to the building, which is situated in the
TEACHERS OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. 165
The Society of Christian Doctrine, founded in 1560 by
the noble Milanese Marco de Sadis Cusani, found an ardent
protector in Clement VIII. From this sprang in 1596 the
Congregation of Clerks Secular of Christian Doctrine and a
confraternity in connexion with it. After the death of Cusani
(September 17th, 1595) the connexion between the two bodies
was severed ; the confraternity was given a director of its
own, and the Congregation was given a provost and the
church of S. Martina near the Forum. In order to confirm
both young and old in Christian doctrine, the Society of
Christian Doctrine established disputations in the churches,
which are still in use to-day in the Eternal City.^
It was of importance too that the Pope confirmed^ the
French teachers of Christian Doctrine founded by Cesar de
Bus, and in 1598 charged Bellarmine himself with the com-
position of a catechism, which by its perfection very quickly
superseded all other works of a similar nature.^
The attempts of certain Spanish Jesuits to modify the
Constitutions, drawn up by Ignatius of Loyola, met with no
success in the time of Clement VIII., although the struggle
took another aspect after the confirmation of the Constitutions
by Gregory XIV. In the time of Sixtus V. the two or three
dozen malcontents had stormed the Inquisition and the king
Piazza Nicosia, was destroyed after the college was confiscated.
For the bull for the college founded in 1596 at Aosta, see Frutaz
in the periodical Societe acad. dti duchd d'Aoste, XIX. (1905).
1 See Moroni, XX., 246 seq. ; Freiburger Kirchenlex., III.,
1871 ; Heimbucher, II., 339 seq. The e.Kemption of the
" Congreg. clericorum doctrinae christ.," dated 1596, December
29, confirmed by Clement VIII., in Bandi, V., 15, p. 95, Papal
Secret Archives. The " Confirmatio (dementis VIII.) erectionis
congreg. doctrinae christ in civitate Avenion," of December 23,
1597, in Bull., X., 411 seq.
* See HeimbtjCher, II., 338 seq.
3 See Sommervogel, I., 1182 ; T.\cchi Venturi, I., 295, 301.
A second edition of the rare Catechismo di Don Giovan Paolo da
Como, sacerd. dei chierici regoL, Cremona, 1595, mentioned
ibid., 300, in the City Library, Frankfort a M., Ital., 24 V.
l66 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
with an array of memorials, in order that with their help
their own schemes might be carried into effect. ^ But in the
time of Clement VIII. such memorials were but few,^ so that
it seemed that the grave penalties which Gregory XIV had
threatened against all attacks on the Constitutions of the
Order seemed not to have been without their effect. But
the bull of Gregory had not been able to close the last resource
to the malcontents ; it had of necessity to leave open the
way of appeal to the Pope himself, and to the general con-
gregation of the Order. ^
It was a strange thing that no less a man than Jose de
Acosta adopted this course, for it was he whom Aquaviva
had sent a short time before to Rome as his confidant, in
order to set matters straight and who had dissuaded the
King of Spain from his plan of causing a visitation of the
Orders to be made by externs, and had himself carried out
the visitation in two provinces.^ Yet Acosta was no more
pleasing to some of his brethren on account of his having
made the visitation. It was seen that he was overcome with
ambition, and was waiting until the General should confer
upon him the ofhce of provincial. The appointment did not
come, and a deep despondency and hatred of Aquaviva took
possession of him, though he was otherwise ver}^ capable and
resolute. It seemed to him that the powers of the General
ought to be limited by the General Congregation of the Order,
and he persuaded King Philip to entrust his task to him,
obtaining, should it prove necessary, a command from the
Pope for such a restriction. He arrived in Rome on December
2nd, 1592, and through the Spanish ambassador, though
without the knowledge of the General of the Order, had an
audience with the Pope. He explained to Clement VIII.
that the disputes among the Jesuits did not arise so much
from the subordinate members, who were acting from sim-
plicity, obedience and the love of God, as from the ambition
» Cf. Vol. XXL of this \vork, p. 154 seq.
2 AstrAin, III., 417.
3 Bull of June 28, 1591, §21, Bull., IX., 441.
* Cf. Vol. XXI. of this work, p. 165 seq.
CLEMENT VIII. AND THE JESUITS. 167
and worldly outlook of the superiors. The underlying cause
of everything lay in the unrestricted power of the General,
as that office had come to be in the hands of Aquaviva, and
the only means of repairing the trouble was the General
Congregation.^
At first Clement VIII. was not ill-disposed towards the
Jesuits, and recognized their services to the Church, especially
in the matter of missions, ^ while he had striven for their
re-admission to France.^ He was the first Pope to raise two
Jesuits, Toledo and Bellarmine, to the purple. Both of these
had great influence with him, and he made use from time to
time of the services of Bellarmine as his spiritual father.^
But Clement VIII. allowed himself to be influenced by the
general trend of the moment. ^ Under Gregory XIII. the
Jesuits counted for everything, and would have all been
looked upon as saints, if certain defects, which are generally
inseparable from success, had not manifested themselves
among them. They certainly stood in the first rank where
it was a question of the welfare of the Church, but there were
those who thought that they went too far in their zeal, so as
to wish to be first in everything, give their opinion on all
subjects, and intrude themselves into matters which did
not concern them.
Thus there sprang up in the time of Sixtus V. and
Clement VIII. and still more during the first years of Paul V.,
a reaction against the high esteem which they had formerly
enjoyed. One after another occurrences took place, which
were bound to affect their good name. It was certainly an
act of too great severity when Sixtus V., publicly and in the
full light of day, caused a Jesuit to be carried off to prison,
^AsirAin, III., 516-525.
^ Cf. supra, p. 157.
^ Cf. Vol. XXIII. of this work, p. 174 seq.
^ A warning from Bellarmine to the Pope, and the latter's
replies in Fuligatti, I., 3, c. 5, HH 2 seqq. ; Le Bachelet,
Auctarium, 513-518.
^ What follows is based on Pollen in The Month, XCIV. (1899),
233-248.
l68 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
and ordered another to be brought from Spain to be executed
at the Bridge of St. .Angelo, but there could be no doubt as
to the fact that at any rate one of them had allowed himself
to make use of unlawful expressions. It was unjust when
the Spanish Inquisition, in the time of Sixtus V., imprisoned
four Jesuits on vexatious accusations, and entered upon a
bitter warfare against them and their privileges,^ though it
is highly probable that the Jesuits had not been prudent in
the use of these privUeges, and in the way in which they spoke
of them. When, after the attempt of Chastel on Henry IV.,
a Jesuit had been put to death in Paris as an accomplice,
and the Jesuits were banished from Paris and other cities,
this too was a crying injustice ; but after all it was the
consequence of the fact that some of them, during the struggle
of the League, had meddled in politics. If during the struggle
with the English appellants and the secular clergy, there
had been such strong feeling against Persons and the Jesuits,
part of the blame for this was due to the political writings of
Persons. Clement VIII. had once clearly expressed the view
that he personally blamed the Jesuits, and on the occasion
of an appeal which a Jesuit, the confessor of the Queen of
Spain, had made against the attacks being made from all
quarters upon his Order, the Pope had drily written in the
margin of this document the words : God resists the proud. ^
While on the journey which Aldobrandini had made to Poland
as legate, the Cardinal was of the opinion that he had
convinced himself with his own eyes that the Jesuits were
too intimately mixed up with the court and the aristocracy.^
In a word, dislike of the Jesuits had made itself felt in Rome,
Spain, France and England ; to this fact were added the
internal disturbances of the Order itself, the rebellions in
the seminaries in Rome and Valladolid, which injured their
reputation as educators, and the accusations made by the
Dominicans against their teaching as to grace, which damaged
iC/. Vol. XXI. of this work, p. 155.
" Pollen, loc. cit., 240.
3 luvENCius, I., II, n. 5, p. 12.
DISPUTES AMONG THE JESUITS. 169
their good name as men of learning. There can be no wonder
then if even well-disposed men asked themselves whether all
was well with the Order. Charles Borromeo had long before
seen the storm approaching, and had sought to avert it,
especially by recommending the election of his confessor, the
Jesuit Adorno, as General of the Order. ^ That Clement VIII.
would have something to sa}^ concerning the Order was
placed beyond doubt by the remarks which he wrote with his
own hand on the reports of his envoys ;^ he was also personally
annoyed with Aquaviva, because the latter had refused him
the services of the skilled Possevino as his companion on his
journey to Poland.^ Nor was the learned and very influential
Cardinal Toledo a friend of the General of the Order. Even
in the time of Pius V., when he was preacher to the Apostolic
palace, Toledo had taken up his abode there, leading almost
a prelate's life,* and thus losing in a distressing way all contact
with his Order.
Clement VIII. listened attentively to the remonstrances
of Acosta ; if the General did not desire the Congregation,
said the Pope, then he himself would order it. Aquaviva,
with whom Acosta had recently spoken in great detail, was
in fact opposed to a General Congregation. In view of the
divisions in the Order, he said to Acosta, it might be that
even the Congregation might not come to an agreement, and
the foreigners would certainly bring pressure to bear to
obtain, not what was for the good of the Order, but what
would add to their own aggrandizement ; moreover deputies
could not be sent either from Flanders or France.^ But the
attempts of Aquaviva to induce the Pope to change his mind
were without effect. In his second audience with Acosta
1 AsTRAiN, III., 2:5 n. I ; Van Orirov in Anal. Boll., 1912,
51^ ; Carlo Borromeo, Lettere per la prima volta date in luce,
Venice, 1762 (a work of anti-Jesuit sentiments).
* PoLi,EN, loc. cit., 237.
^ Ittvencius, loc. cit., p. 5.
* See AstkAin, III., 573 ; cf. 652^
^ Ibid., 527, 528.
170 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Clement VIII. expressed his firm determination that the
Congregation should be held, and on December 15th Toledo
had to take orders to this effect to his General.^ Aqua viva
had not been consulted throughout the affair. Alonso Sanchez,
a Jesuit visitor of the Spanish provinces, who had gone to
Spain four months before Acosta left that countr}^ might
perhaps have prevented the carrying out of Acosta's plans,
but he was hindered by illness from speaking to the king
until F ebruary. He was able during the course of his visitation
to remove various abuses, and he changed the provincials,
but when he had succeeded in making the king better disposed
towards Aqua viva, ^ it was already too late ; the General
Congregation had already been promulgated.
Thus there was begun a fresh struggle against the Con-
stitutions of the Order, that is to say against one of its
fundamental points : the power of the General. When
Ignatius of Loyola laid down with such exactitude the choice of
the General, placing in the hands of one man the whole of the
power to appoint the superiors, he was probably influenced by
the wish to keep far from his institute the alarming decadence
of the religious Orders of his time with which he found himself
faced. His idea was that a capable General would appoint
capable superiors, and that everything else would follow of
itself. The very disputes in Spain had proved how important
it was for the Order to be firmly governed by a single hand.
The Spanish superiors were under the dominion of Philip II.
and his Inquisition ; they were in his power and did not dare
to take energetic action. Salvation could only therefore come
from Rome, and certainly was not to be found by giving the
Spaniards a special superior on Spanish soil, nor in entrusting
the appointment of the provincials and rectors to men who
were bound to be influenced by a thousand other considera-
tions. If Acosta's plans were to be acted upon, then the
great work of Loyola was ruined, and was bound to be broken
up into as many parties as there were nations ; in place of a.n,
^ Ibid., 531.
^Ibid.. 533-553-
FIRMNESS OF AQUAVIVA. I7I
impressive unity of action there would be division and discord.
But the danger of Acosta proving victorious was by no means
small ; if Clement VIII. and Philip II. seriously wished to
do so, they could bring pressure to bear, to which the General
Congregation, whether it liked it or not, was bound to yield.
Fortunately for the work of Loyola, it found a highly
intelligent and resolute defender, in the very man against
whom the principal attack was directed, the General of the
Order, Claudio Aquaviva. Alonso Sanchez was of the
opinion that if there could be fused into one man the eight
or ten most able Jesuits, both as regarded their natural and
their supernatural qualities, this would not produce another
Aquaviva. This was his own conviction, and all those with
whom he had spoken on the subject admitted that he was
right. 1 The 3'oung Duke of Bavaria, Maximilian I., later on
Prince-Elector, was enthusiastic on his behalf. " I cannot
praise him enough " he wrote from Rome to his father, ^
" one is forced, so to speak, to fall in love with him, and to
look to him alone."
Deeply penetrated with the ideas of Loyola, Aquaviva
stood like a sentinel for some thirty-four years, as his champion.
No attack could move him. A man of prayer, who sought
his recreation in the Fathers of the Church, and who looked
at everything from a supernatural point of view, he gave his
decisions clearly and firmly, and without any trace of passion
as though they were law incarnate. In the countless writings
that came from his pen, he never even once abandoned his
dignity or unalterable calm, and it is impossible to tell from
these pages whether he was well or ill, or whether they were
written by him in youth or old age.^ The esteem which he
thus won was added to by the nobility of his family which
held a ducal title, as well as by his relations with his nephews,
one of whom was a Cardinal, another Archbishop of Naples,
^ Ibid., 541 seq.
* On April 24, 1593, in Aretin, Maximilian I., Passau, 1842,
389.
3 Opinion of Astrain, IV., 738.
172 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
a third Bishop of Cajazzo, while a fourth, also a Jesuit, had
won the martyr's palm in the Indies.^ Of great advantage
to Aquaviva was the fact that before he entered the Society
of Jesus, he had been a Papal chamberlain, and thus knew
exactly the conditions of the Roman Curia. ^ If, however,
Philip II., by the advice of the Inquisition, and Clement VIII.,
by the advice of Toledo, were to impose their will upon the
General Congregation, then the hand of its most skilful pilot
would be rendered powerless.
In spite of the efforts of Acosta the malcontents were not
successful in obtaining the election of one of their number
to the General Congregation. Only in the province of the
Society at Toledo was there any probability of the election
of a man who, although he was a celebrated scholar, had never
been able to overcome the harshness and bitterness of his
haughty temperament, and who through all his life remained
a burden upon his brethren. This man, who for several years
had identified himself with the malcontents, was the celebrated
historian Juan de Mariana.^
Philip II. had not interfered with the freedom of the
elections, but he informed those who were elected that he
had submitted certain proposals to the General Congregation.*
By means of a letter addressed to Clement VIII. ,^ he arranged
for Acosta to participate in the Congregation with the right
to vote, but on the other hand the Pope would not consent
to his wish that Acosta should present his suggestions to the
Congregation in the king's name.^ More troublesome to
1 Cf. Vol. XVII. of this work, p. 168.
2 Cf. as to him Iuvencius, I., 25, par. 19, n. 33 seqq. ; p. 888
seqq. ; AstrAin, III., 211 seqq., IV., 734 seqq.
3 AsTRAiN, III., 554-562. The work of Mariana against the
institute of the Society of Jesus is authentic. When the papers
of Mariana were confiscated in 1609 on account of his writings
against the debasement of the coinage, his manuscript fell into
the hands of the enemies of the Order, and was printed by them
after the death of Mariana (1624) : ibid., 559 seq.
^AstrAin, III., 565 seq.
* Ibid., 567.
* Jbid. 570.
THE POPE AND AQUAVIVA. 173
Aquaviva than the presence of Acosta at the Congregation
was the fact that a short time before its commencement
Toledo was appointed Cardinal/ since Acosta had suggested
to Philip II. that he should ask for the elevation of Toledo so
that he might as Cardinal preside at the Congregation, and
thus act as a counterweight to the influence of Aquaviva.^
The General of the Order succeeded, however, in inducing
the Pope to abandon the much debated proposal that a
Cardinal should act as president.^
At the beginning of the Congregation, on November 3rd
1593, Aquaviva and seven other Jesuits presented themselves
before the Pope, who received them graciously. " From the
beginning of my pontificate," he said, "I have heard from,
men of judgment that your Society has relaxed its first zeal,
and I have therefore assembled the Congregation in order
that you may provide a remedy. You can do so better than
anyone else ; you have in your hands seven-eights of the
Christian people, and thanks to your care they remain firm
in the Christian faith. I am an eye-witness to this, and I
know how well you are working in Poland and Germany
for the Christian religion. If then your Order has anywhere
weakened, you must remedy this. Inquire whether the final
vows of the professed are not delayed overlong, and whether
it is wise that any should hold the office of superior so long.
As to learning it is my wish that you should follow Thomas
Aquinas, that great master whose writings were confirmed
and accepted by the Council of Trent."'*
In this discourse Clement VIII. had clearly shown his own
point of view as regards the Jesuits ; he was not guided by
any antipathy for them, but by anxiety on their behalf. He
had not formed any definite opinion as to the complaints and
accusations brought against them, and he seemed to leave
it absolutely to the Congregation to arrive at a decision as to
the truth of these.
^ Ibid. 575.
2 Ibid. 570.
8 Ibid. 575 seq.
* Ibid. 580 seq.
174 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Thus the first task of the assembly^ would have to be to
discuss abuses and the accusations against Aquaviva. Some
of the fathers wished to abstain from any judgment upon the
General, but Aquaviva insisted upon a full examination.
For this purpose Clement VIII. granted all the necessary
powers, and sent to the Congregation all the memorials against
the Jesuits which had reached him. The examination of the
charges against the General, which was carried out by a
deputation of five delegates, lasted for a whole month. No
blame of any impotrance was found to rest upon the person
or life of Aquaviva. As to his method of government the
criticism was made that he clung with too great tenacity
to his own opinions, and that he had favoured some more
than was fitting. Aquaviva begged to be allowed to present
this document to the Pope, who was favourably impressed
by it. 2
Besides the inquiries into the matter of the General, certain
points of minor importance were first dealt with. Then began
the intervention of Philip II. On November 15th he pre-
sented five demands, which were principally concerned with
the relations of the Order with the Inquisition ; none of these
touched the really burning questions, and the assembly
accepted them all without difficulty.^ But this was far from
exhausting the wishes of the Spaniards, and soon afterwards
the ambassador of Philip, the Duke of Sessa, presented a
memorial in the sense desired by Acosta, concerning certain
changes in the Constitutions ; he said that the assembly
must consider this in all freedom, but at the same time he
sought to obtain from the Pope a suggestion to the Jesuits
favourable to his wishes ; to this request Clement VIII.
would not consent at first. From November 24th to December
3rd there were no general meetings, though discussions were
held in private as to the proposals made, but between
^ Their deliberations in the Institutum Soc. Jesn, II., 262-283.
* AsTRAiN, III., 583.
'Deer. 18, 19 in Instit. Soc. Jesu, II., 266; AstrAin,
HI., 584.
DISCUSSIONS IN THE CONGREGATION. IJ $
December 3rd and 8th, these were unanimously rejected
by vote. Acosta, seeing himself powerless and completely
isolated, voted with the rest.^ In accordance with the
renewed pressure brought to bear by Sessa, the Pope had
laid down the subject of discussion for the meeting on
December 8th ; it must be decided whether the final vows
were to be made after a fixed period of time, so that once that
period had elapsed, there was a right to make them. The
Congregation declared that if it considered this essential
point, it was purely out of obedience to the Pope. There then
followed once more a unanimous resolve to adhere in this as
well to the prescriptions of Loyola. -
During the weeks that followed there was a discussion as
to the attitude to be adopted towards the theology of Thomas
Aquinas, and as to diversity of theological opinions,^ the
members of the Order were forbidden to meddle in politics,*
and the descendants of Jews and Moors were refused admission
to the Order. ^ A decisive factor in this last provision was the
discovery that out of the twenty-seven writers of memorials
against the Constitutions, at least twenty-five were so-called
* AsTRAiN, III., 585-587. luvencius on several occasions puts
matters erroneously, as though the malcontents had a party in
the Congregation. As to this see Astrain, III., 603 n.
2 Astrain, III., 587 seq.
^ Ibid. 589.
* Cf. Vol. XIX. of this work, p. 389.
* Astrain, III., 588-593 ; cf. 338, 369, 493, 498. In the case
of the Dominicans there was the same difficulty at anyrate in
the case of Spain (Bull. ord. Praed., IV., 125 ; Monumenta ord.
Praed. hist., X., 231), as well as in the Portuguese province of the
Carmelites (Antonius a Spiritu Sancto, Consalta varia, Lyons,
1675, 360). For the Franciscans cf. Bull. Rorn., VII., 918 ;
VIII., 59. The doubt felt as to the neo-Christians in general is
treated of by Ag. Barbosa, Votorum decisivorum, t. II., Lyons,
1723, I., 3, vot. 93, pp. 102-128. Cf. Clement VIII. on January
14, 1603, Bull., X., 889 : In Portugal they may not receive
canonries with a care of souls, and in Coimbra itself only those of
the third and fourth rank.
176 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
neo-Christians.i On December 31st the Order addressed
itself in severe words to its disloyal sons, the disturbers of
its peace and the stirrers up of rebellion, as well as against the
" false calumnies " which they had " without any justifica-
tion " brought against the Order. It was true that their
memorials bore these words : "So demands the whole of the
Society of Jesus," but actually they were but few in number,
and reprobate sons ; they ought as soon as possible to be
cut off from the Order as a " plague," and where this was
not possible they should under pain of expulsion, take an
oath to the institute of the Society of Jesus, and to the Papal
bulls of confirmation. Anyone who should come to learn of
their schemes must denounce them ; the Pope should be
asked for a fresh confirmation of the institute. ^
These last words show that the assembly felt full confidence
in the Pope, but it was soon to be undeceived. Clement VIII.,
as well as his adviser Toledo and the Duke of Sessa, could not
but marvel that in spite of the many memorials on the subject
of the dissension in the Order, its representatives turned as
one man against the handful of innovators, and declared
unreservedly for the Constitutions of Loyola.^ To
Clement VIII. this looked like a kind of defiance, which was
unwilling to make any change at all. The Spanish ambassador
could not feel satisfied at seeing that the exhortations of his
king had had no other effect than to cause the decree against
the innovators to be followed by a second, which was aimed
at further enlightening the king as to the state of affairs.'*
1 AsTRAiN, III., 593. Cardinal Henry of Portugal had already
on the occasion of the General Congregation of 157?, asked for the
intervention of the Pope in order that no neo-Christian should be
received by the Order, for otherwise there was reason to fear
" ne Societas ista periclitetur et destruatur " (ib id., 695).
Ignatius had only desired that care slvould be taken in the
admission of neo-Christians [Mon. Ignat., I., 336, V. 335, Zeitschr.
fur kath. TheoL, 1923, 589).
" Deer. 54, in Instit. Soc. Jesu, II., 279.
3 AsTRAIN, III., 595.
* Deer. 55, ibid., 281.
THE pope's allocution TO THE JESUITS. I77
Toledo too had expected the assembly to have recourse to
himself, the great scholar, in frequent consultations, and he
was annoyed when he found himself simply ignored. When,
on January 3rd, 1594, a fresh decree had laid down the essential
points of the Constitutions of the Order, the Duke of Sessa
sent a confidant of his to Toledo. The Cardinal complained
that the Congregation could not be in worse plight ; he said
that the Spanish demands were just, that a proof of the bad
disposition of the assembly was the fact that, despite the
Pope's orders, they had not asked for any advice, and that
they had spoken of the sovereign of Spain as though he were
a mere esquire. The Pope, however, would remedy all this
on the very next day.
On January 4th, early in the morning, Clement VI IL went
with six Cardinals to the professed house of the Jesuits,
celebrated mass there with great recollection, and then
delivered an allocution to the assembled fathers.^ He began
by bringing out the great merits of the Order, but this very
thing should be an incentive to humility. After speaking
of humility and pride, he blamed the meddling of the Order
in politics and in matters that did not concern it, its preference
for peculiar doctrines, and its censure of the doctrines of
others, and further blamed them in that they had no regard
for princes, king or Emperor, that they discussed whether
the Pope had or had not the right to do this or that, that they
despised monachism and looked upon their own constitutions
as being so perfect and inalterable that there was nothing in
them that could be improved ; they were of the opinion that
they stood in no need of visitations or reform. All this he
said with great gravity, but at the same time with a manner
that was altogether friendly, and he ended with a warning
that they must consider a remedy, for otherwise he would
himself intervene.'^
This allocution, with its enumeration of defects, threw the
^ Printed copy in J. Wielewicki S.J., Diarium domus professae
Cracoviensis. Script, ver. Pol., VII., Cracow, 1881, 180-183.
2 AsTKAiN, III., 597 seq.
VOL. XXIV. 12
178 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Congregation into confusion. Decrees had already been
issued concerning divergence of doctrines and adherence to
St. Thomas Aquinas ; but what point in the constitutions
could be changed in order to impose upon the Jesuits a greater
respect for the King of Spain and the monastic Orders ? As
far as humility was concerned, Loyola gave place to none
as an apostle of that virtue, especially in the case of his own
Order, the " lowliest " Society of Jesus, as he often called it,
thereby going a step lower even than the friars " minor." It
was decided to have recourse to the Pope himself, so that
he might point out the matters that required to be changed.
Cardinal Toledo, who was asked to further this request,
refused in his ill-temper to present it ; as he told the Spanish
ambassador, he had presented to Clement VIIL, the day
before his visit to the Jesuits, a document naming nine points
in the constitutions which called for emendation.^
But to the Pope it seemed dangerous to change the con-
stitutions of the Order by force, and on January 8th he pointed
to the Congregation four matters for their consideration, as
to which they were to come to a free decision. ^ The accept-
ance of the first two points met with no difficulty ; these
concerned the tenure of their office for only three years by
the superiors, and the account which the provincial must
render at the termination of his period of office. The third
point, the acceptance of the Papal reservation of certain sins,
was obvious.^ It was only the fourth suggestion, that in
certain cases the assistant of the General should be given the
right of decision, which met with difficulties. By a unanimous
vote, with five exceptions, the assembly decided that this
restriction of the supreme power was inopportune.
But very soon further demands were put forward, which
had their origin in conversations between Toledo, Acosta and
1 Ibid., 599.
* Deer. 64, Instit. Soc. Jesu, II., 284 ; AstrAin, III., 600.
* On May 26, 1593, Clement VIII. himself had verbally dis-
pensed the Jesuits from his decree concerning reserved cases.
Thus the dispensation was now annulled. Synopsis, 155.
JUSTIFICATION OF AQUAVIVA. I79
the Duke of Sessa.^ On January 12th Toledo informed
Aquaviva that the Congregation must come to a decision
as to two questions, namely whether another General Con-
gregation should be held after six years, and whether
Aquaviva's assistants ought not to be changed, with the
exception of a German who had only recently been appointed.
The Congregation resolved to declare to the Pope its readiness
to obey, but to beg him not to press the second demand, and
to be allowed to express their reasons against the recurrence
of General Congregations at fixed intervals, as well as against
the change of the assistants.^ This explanation was never
made, and on January 14th Toledo conveyed to the Con-
gregation an order to accept them without more ado. In
accordance with this order three new assistants were elected
on January i8tli, 1594.^
This ended the Congregation, which had brought to the
malcontents the opposite of what they desired. All their
aims, though not yet dead, had received a mortal blow.
Aquaviva had been splendidly justified, and nothing essential
had been changed in the constitutions. The order concerning
the limitation of the office of superior to three years, was
afterwards mitigated by Clement VIII. himself, and was later
on altogether abrogated.^ The fixed period for General
Congregations also seemed to the Pope, after the six years
had elapsed, to be useless, and none was held.^ The
Inquisition in Spain became reconciled with the Jesuits, while
the king as well declared himself satisfied with the course of
events.^ Even Acosta realized that his procedure had been
1 AsirAin, III., 600-602.
* Deer. 73, loc. cit. 286. Astrain (III., 602) interprets the
demand as meaning that " cada seis afios " another General
Congregation was to be held, but Deer. 73 only says : " ut post
sequens sexennium congregetur denuo generalis congregatio."
Cf. Deer. 75.
' Deer. 74, loc. cit.
* Alexander VII. on January i, 1663, Ii^stit. Soc. Jesu, I., 109.
5 AstrAin, III., 605.
^ Ibid. 607 seqq.
l80 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
a mistake, and he was reconciled with Aquaviva.^ After
the next General Congregation of the Order in 1608, no more
was heard of the party of the malcontents,^ and with Loyola's
beatification in 1609,^ his constitutions received a new
importance.
One of the principal points which had been desired by the
king at the Congregation, namely the question whether there
should not be appointed a special superior for Spain and the
Indies, and whether the life-long duration of the office of
General should not be limited, had not even been discussed
at the meetings. We learn the reason for this from Acosta,
who had been charged, in a special brief to Philip II., to report
to him concerning the Congregation. Acosta told the king
that not only the Congregation itself, but the Pope himself
had been opposed to the discussion of these matters, and that
therefore neither the Duke of Sessa nor himself had made any
mention of them.^
In spite of this Clement VIII. was still thinking in 1595 of
abolishing the life-duration of the office of General of the
Jesuits. According to what was written to the king at that
time by the Spanish ambassador, whom the Pope had
informed of his proposal, his motives were " the same as those
presented at the last General Congregation by Your Majesty "
Aquaviva must therefore be removed from his office and sent
to Naples as archbishop. Naturally the Jesuits laid their
remonstrances before the Pope, but in vain. They then
turned to Cardinal Toledo, who had boasted that he held
the Pope in his hand ; but in his case too all petitions were
at first of no avail ; it was even bitterly said that Toledo, by
getting Aquaviva removed, intended to have a free hand to
interfere in the Order. But the Portuguese assistant devised
^Ibid. 611.
2 Ibid. 667 seq.
' Ibid. 676 seq.
^ Ibid. 610, cj. 608. The brief of Paul V. of September ^,
1606, mentions in the first place the desire of the disturbers
of the peace that the duration of the office of General should be
shortened. Instit. Soc. Jesii, I., 131.
INTRIGUES OF MENDOZA. lOI
a remedy. He said to Toledo : if Aquaviva has to be an
archbishop, then the Jesuits would be very glad to see him
a Cardinal ; this could easily be managed by the intercession
of the princes, and after that it would remain to be seen which
of the two Jesuit Cardinals would have the upper hand in the
Order. Aquaviva would not have been a pleasing colleague
to Toledo, so he took steps to get the Pope to abandon his
plan.^
But this did not bring the intrigues against Aquaviva to
an end, Ferdinand Mendoza, one of the party of the mal-
contents, had already in 1592 been on the point of being
expelled from the Order on account of his unseemly behaviour,
but he had been treated indulgently and had been sent to the
lonely college of Monforte. But this step led to a fresh
dispute, in which the Pope intervened several times against
Aquaviva. Mendoza, who was well versed in the ways of
the world, was able by his savoir faire to win the high esteem
of the Count of Lemos, who possessed vast properties in the
neighbourhood of Monforte, and still more that of the
countess, a sister of the future Duke of Lerma, who was the
true king of Spain in the time of Philip III. When Lemos
went to Naples as the new viceroy, Aquaviva vainly tried
to prevent the rebellious Jesuit from accompanying him as
his confessor. Once he was in Italy, Mendoza was very soon
able to stir up against his General even the Pope, who was
unwilling to annoy the viceroy. Mendoza had addressed to
Aquaviva several arrogant letters, which he afterwards wished
to have sent back to him. By the Pope's orders the General
was forced to send them. Aquaviva had sent to Naples a
man whom he could trust to obtain information as to the
conduct of the viceroy's confessor. Owing to the insistence
of the latter, this confidant had to be recalled, and when
Mendoza spread the rumour that this had been done by the
Pope's orders, Clement VIII. did not dare to deny it. The
inquiries that had been begun had brought to light many
* AstrAin, III., 629-632. Sessa to Philip II., February 18,
1596, ibid. 717 seq.
152 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
unseemty things, but Clement VIII. forbade all interference,
and when further accusations had reached him, " on account
of more important considerations " he refused permission
even for an inquiry to be begun. After the death of the Count
of Lemos in 1601, Mendoza wished to return home with the
countess. The Spanish Jesuits made every effort, but in
vain, to be freed of his presence ; Aquaviva could only reply
that if he retained Mendoza, the Pope \vould give orders to
let him go.^ Armed with a secret brief forbidding all superiors
to make any inquiries about him, Mendoza accompanied the
countess to the court at Valladolid. There he soon began to
make his influence felt, for the all-powerful Duke of Lerma
suddenly showed himself opposed to the Jesuits.
Aquaviva took every means to remove this dangerous man
from the court. Of the two attempts he made, the first failed
to attain its purpose, while the second, even before it had been
begun, was rendered impossible by an intrigue.^ The General
then sought to obtain the consent of the Pope to a third
attempt. Clement received the remonstrances of the Jesuits
graciously, and assured them that he did not wish to hamper
the steps they were taking against Mendoza. But
Clement VIII. was above all anxious not to offend the Countess
of Lemos, as is clear from a letter of Aldobrandini to the
Spanish nuncio.^ Aldobrandini wrote that the Pope had
refused to give the Jesuits a brief against Mendoza, as he did
not wish to mix himself up with the affair, and that the nunco
must not pay any attention to it.
The Pope was not ill-advised in acting thus ; he probably
foresaw that in face of the power of Lerma, Aquaviva would
not have any more success with his third attempt, and so it
proved. Counting upon the Pope, Aquaviva had charged
the superior of the professed house at Toledo to take steps
against his presumptuous subject. When the superior
threatened him with excommunication and other penalties,
1 AstrAin, III., 634-638.
■■' Ibid. 641-644.
'Of August 23, 1604, ibid. 645.
INTRIGUES OF MENDOZA. 183
Mendoza promptly declared himself ready to leave the court.
But while the two were still in negotiation, a visit from the
nuncio Ginnasio was announced ; Lerma and the Countess
of Lemos had learned from him what had occurred, and both
of them " spat fire." Two days later Hojeda was able indeed
to repeat to Mendoza in the presence of the provincial and
other Jesuits his commands, but on the same day the nuncio
summoned the provincial and Mendoza to his presence,
forbade Mendoza under grave ecclesiastical penalties to leave
Valladolid, and ordered the provincial not to give his consent
to his departure. Ginnasio wrote to Aldobrandini that this
step had been taken in the interests of the Order itself, and
that Aquaviva had not perhaps realized the consequences
of his interference. Clement VIII. approved the action of
his nuncio, and soon afterwards issued a brief to Mendoza
withdrawing his correspondence and his relations with the
countess from the supervision of his superiors, and permitting
him to have a lay-brother and two secretaries in his service,
as well as other privileges.^
Mendoza had thus won a brilliant victory. In order to
humiliate the General yet more, and as it were display his
power, there occurred to this arrogant man the strange idea
of bringing Aquaviva to Spain and thus tying his hands
completely. Philip III. was therefore obliged to invite the
General to Spain, and a sheet attached to the king's letter
gave a number of reasons for his making the journey. On
November loth, 1604, Aquaviva thanked the king for his
kindness and sent to Spain by means of his assistants a
refutation of the king's reasons. But Mendoza found a way
out of the difficulty, and a second letter from the king asked
the Pope to order the General to set out. Clement VIII.
issued this order and adhered to it. Aquaviva pointed out
that the summons to Spain was nothing else but an act of
vengenace, but to no purpose ; the assistants set forth their
reasons verbally and in writing, but this too was useless.
The Jesuits then succeeded ui obtaining some fifty letters
^ Ibid, 644-649.
184 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
on behalf of the General, from the most distinguished persons,
among them the Kings of France and Poland. But
Clement VIII. was unwilling to deprive the sovereign of the
two worlds of the modest pleasure of a visit from the General
of the Jesuits.
Thus the head of the Society of Jesus found himself faced
with the danger of finding himself handed over with tied hands
to his rebellious subject, and this proved too much even for
the iron constitution of Aquaviva, and he fell dangerously
ill. The Pope sent his private physician to ascertain if the
illness was really serious, but the latter as well as seven other
doctors certified that there could be no question of his thinking
of the journey. When Aquaviva recovered, Clement VIII.
was dead, and there was no longer any talk of the journey
to Spain. 1
Of great importance was the impulse given by Clement VIII.
to the reform of the Carmelite Order, « inaugurated by
^ AsTRAiN, III., 649 seqq. The difficulty was not ended, even
after the death of Clement VIII. The premature death of Leo XI.
made his help against the Jesuits of the court inefficacious {ibid.
653 seq.) ; Paul V. seemed at first to wish to leave the Jesuit
superiors a free hand towards their subjects, but he probably
wished to make use of the work of Mendoza for a family marriage,
and made him (brief of June i, 1606, ibid. 655) a concession that
was perhaps even greater than that of Clement VIII., namely
that in the houses of his Order he must naturally be subject to his
superiors, but outside of them he was allowed to live in his own
way and in opposition to the will of his superiors, being subject
only to the Pope, and freed moreover from his obligation to
poverty and obedience. But this very excess of privilege brought
its own remedy. Aquaviva succeeded in getting hold of a copy
of the brief, and thus he and his assistants had the means of
persuading the Pope that Mendoza would lead a better life
outside the Order. Paul V. resolved to make him Bishop of
Cuzco in Peru, and Mendoza was at last, whether he liked it or
not, compelled to accept this unsought-for dignity. He was
preconized on January 12, 1609, and Aquaviva was able once
more to breathe freely {ibid. 654-659).
2 Cf. Vol. XIX. of this work, p. 148.
PRIVILEGES FOR THE ORDERS. 185
St. Teresa. This had spread further and further, and in 1593
had reached Rome. In that year Clement VIII. allowed the
reformed Carmelites to elect a General of their own, and in
1600 approved of their forming congregations independent
of each other, a Spanish one with the Indies, and an Italian
one called that of St. Elias, which later on included France,
Germany and Poland.^ A Spaniard, Andrea Diaz, introduced,
at the beginning of the pontificate of Clement VIII., the
discalced Augustinian Hermits into Rome, where they were
treated with favour by the Pope.^
There were few Orders to which Clement VIII. did not
extend his favour.^ The Barnabites, whom he had once
described as the best collaborators of the bishops,^ were in
several cases encouraged by him. He confirmed the privileges
of the Somaschi,^ the separation of the reformed Basilians
from the unreformed,^ the Order of Capuchin nuns,' the
statutes of the Italian Annunziate,^ and the reform,
inaugurated in Spain, of the Orders of the Trinitarians
and Mercedari,^ whose work was the liberation of the
slaves. ^'^
But however much the interests of the religious Orders
occupied the attention of Clement VIII., he did not neglect
his care for the secular clergy. Cardinal Rusticucci, who had
already been made Cardinal Vicar by Sixtus V., continued
to discharge that important office. ^^ To him was attached
a special commission of reform, which was to carry out the
^ See Freibiirger Kirchenlex., III.*, 971.
2 See Bull., X., 548 seq.
^ See Diet, de thdol. cath., III., 85. For the Capuchins see
Bull., X., 763 seq.
*See Premoli, 337, 358, 366, 378, 381, 388, 393 seq.
^ See Bull., X., 42 seq.
* See Archiv f. kath. Kirchenrecht, VIII., 82.
' See Heimbucher, I., 362.
* See ibid. 621. Cf. Aschbachs Kirchenlex.^, I., 224 seq.
* Bull. X., 184 seq., 580 seq., XL, 128 seq.
I'Bull. X., 529 seq.
11 See D01.FIN, Relazione, 463.
l86 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
ordinances made during the visitation.^ As he had already
done in the case of the Auditors of the Rota,^ so did
Clement VIIT. at the beginning of his pontificate address to
the directors and students of all the pontifical colleges paternal
exhortations to live and make progress in virtue.^ In order
to put an end to all abuses he issued salutary ordinances
concerning indulgences.* Nor did the inscriptions, nor the
tomb of the inamorata of Alexander VI. in S. Maria del
Popolo escape his attention, and these were removed in
April 1594.^ In the same way he caused to be removed from_
the cathedral of Siena the image of the so-called Pope Joan
which was there.*
From the beginning of his pontificate the Pope above all
insisted, both in the case of the parish-priests' and of the
bishops, upon their observance of the duty of residence.^
In so doing he met with the same difficulties from the bishops
as his predecessors had done. Still, as in the past, many
bishops remained without necessity at the Curia in Rome.
The verbal exhortations of the Pope that they should return
to their diocesses only had a partial effect. One made one
excuse, another another, and the requests for dispensations
grew in number.^ A new and more severe ordinance became
^ Cf. Bentivoglio, Memorie 46.
* See *Avviso 01 March 21, 1592, Urb. 1060, I., Vatican Library.
3 See Bull., IX., 573 seq.
* Rkusch, Bellarmins Selbstbiographie, 134 scq.
5 See *Avviso of April 19, 1594, Urb. 1062, p. 193, Vaticari
Library.
« See DoLLiNGER, Papstfabeln des Mittelalters^, Munich, 1863,
18.
' See *Avvisi of February 5, 1592, and November 12, 1594,
Urb. 1060, I., 1062, Vatican Library.
* See *letter of G. Niccolini of February 6, 1592, State Archives,
Florence ; *Avviso of February 12, 1592, Urb. 1060, I., Vatican
Library, and Pakuta, Dispacci, I., 93, 220.
' *S.D.N. proposuit constitutionem contra praelatos non
residentes, ut non possint esse cardinales, faciendam, an per
bullam an vero per decreturn consistoriale. . . . Dixit canones et
DECREE ON RESIDENCE. 187
inevitable ;^ this was to include even the Cardinals, and the
only diversity of opinion was whether the enactment should
be made by bull or by consistorial decree.^ After a discussion
by the Congregation of the Council and Bishops,^ on July 5th,
1595, Clement VIII. laid down a decree, which renewed all
the previous enactments concerning the duty of residence,
and laid it down that no one could receive the purple who had
failed in this respect.'*
There was then a sensible improvement, but rigorists like
Cardinal Bellarmine were not yet satisfied. To the remon-
strances made to the Pope by the Cardinal in an out-spoken
memorial,^ Clement VIII. frankly admitted that he had been
constitutiones Patriim nostrorum satis superque testari, quantum
semper optatum fuerit ut episcopi in suis ecclesiis resideant et
ad munia pastoralia incumbant. Hoc ipsum tarn concilio
Tridentino quam aliis postmodum S.P. constitutionibus sancitum
esse. Varum adhuc non satis provisum, cum se plerique variis
excusationibus ab ipsa residentia eximere conentur, et non
levi S*'®™ S. molestia atficiant, importune instantes, ut eis ab
ecclesiis suis abesse permittatur, non sine magno crediti sibi gregis
compendio. He ordered them to ponder well the constitution.
Acta consist. June 2, 1595, Cod. Barb. lat. 2171, HI., Vatican
Librar}''.
1 C/. Paruta, Dispacci, HI., 157.
2 See *acta consist, June 5, 1595, loc. cit. Cf. supra, p. 186, n. 9.
^ See Paruta, loc. cit. 171,
* *S.D.N. laudavit residentiam et eius necessitatem et utilita-
tem, et e sinu decretum proferens, illud legit, innovans onmia
decreta et constitutiones de residentia, et constituens, ne quis
episcopus vel superior non residens actu in sua ecclesia vel non
solitus residere possit in cardinalem assumi. Acta consist,
July 5, 1595, loc. cit.
^ This document, together with the " Responsiones S.
Pontificis " which show how humble the Pope was, and at the
same time how profoundly convinced he was of the great and
difficult task of his pontificate, were immediately spread abroad
by means of manuscript copies. Urb. 538, p. i seqq., and 859,
p. 504 seqq., Barb. lat. 2620, p. 58 seqq., Vatican Library ; Cod.
X,-IV., 43, Casanatense Library, Rome ; Cod. 38 B. i, p. 61 seq.,
l88 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
wrong in allowing the bishops to come to Rome so easily,
so that it was only with difficulty that they could be sent away
again. With regard to the eleven non-resident Cardinals
whom Bellarmine had named, the Pope was able to point
out that in their case there were legitimate excuses, as well as
for the employment of bishops as nuncios, because persons
suited for that office were only to be found in limited numbers,
and because the nature of their business prevented frequent
changes. That the state of affairs was very much better
than it had been, is clear from the fact, that in the whole of
the States of the Church there was only one bishop who held
a political office ; another, the Bishop of Camerino, who was
vice-legate of the Marches, did not count, because there he
was able to go every day to his diocese.
But even Clement VIII. was obliged to realize how difficult
it was to eradicate the abuse, by which bishops were absent
from their dioceses, and remained without excuse in Rome.
In spite of his warnings,^ towards the end of his pontificate,
Corsini Library ; Cod. 75 of the Library of S. Pietro in Vincoli
(see Lammer, Zur Kirchengesch. 47) ; Cod. C. IV., 21, p. 21 seqq,
Library at Siena ; Inform, polit., II., i seqq., State Library,
Berlin ; also elsewhere, e.g. among the Italian manuscripts of the
Library at Stockholm. This document was also repeatedly
reprinted, e.g. in Albericius, Baronii epist., III., 3 seqq.,
Hoffmann (CoUectio, I.), Bartoli (Opere 24, IV., 42 seqq.).
DoLLiNGER (Beitrage, III., 83 seqq.), Lammer (Melet., 367 seqq),
and Le Bachelet (Auct., 513 seqq.) from a copy revised by
Bellarmine himself. From a letter of Clement VIII. of October
14, 1600 (in Le Bachelet in Rech. de science relig., XIII., 444 seq.)
it is clear that Bellarmine had presented his memorial a short
time before, and that the replies are those of Clement VIII.
himself and not of Baronius. A. Ratti (Opuscolo inedito e
sconoscmto del card. Baronio, Perugia, 1910) has published a
memorial presented by Baronius in the spring of 1595 to the
Pope, concerning the government of the Church in accordance
with the prescriptions of Gregory the Great.
1 Cf. the * briefs of exhortation to the Bishop of Oristano
(Sardinia) Ant. Canopolo, July 5, 1600, and " Episc. S. Jacobi
insulae Capitis Viridi," March 22, 1602, Arm. 44, t. 44, n. 198,
EXAMINATION OF BISHOPS. 189
in 1603, there were so many bishops present in the Curia that
he was obhged to take fresh steps. ^ Even then it was only
with reluctance that some obeyed ; but the Pope insisted
upon his order being carried out. In April 1604 almost all
the bishops had left Rome, and only a few who had not found
the opportunity for going still remained. ^ When the Pope
informed the nuncio at Madrid of this success, he urged him
to do all he could to see that this example was followed in
the Spanish capital as well.^
Gregory XIV., who had taken part in the Council of Trent
as Bishop of Cremona, in order to comply with the feeling
of that Council, which in its twenty-second session had
required in the case of the bishops a special training in
theology and canon law, had resolved to submit the candidates
for the episcopate to a two-fold examination before they were
confirmed. In the first place, by means of an informative
process, the previous manner of life of the nominee was to be
inquired into, and then they were to be examined in their
knowledge of the above-mentioned sciences. His premature
death had prevented Pope Gregory from carrying out this
project. Clement VIII., at the very beginning of his pontifi-
cate, gave effect to this by prescribing such an examination
in the case of all the bishoprics of free collation in Italy and
the neighbouring islands, as well as for those of royal nomina-
tion. For this purpose he set up a Congregation, and to the
Cardinals appointed to it there were added certain prelates
as examiners.* The Congregation began its work as early
and t. 46, n. 75, Papal Secret Archives. Cf. also the *report of
G. C. Foresto, October 14, 1600, Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
^ See *Avviso of November 12, 1603, Urb. 1071, Vatican
Library.
''See *Avvisi of March 30, April 3 and 7, 1604, Urb. 1072,
Vatican Library.
* *Warning to D. Ginnasio, April 6, 1604, Barb. 3852, Vatican
Library.
* C/. *report of G. Niccolini, July 3, 1592, State Archives,
Florence ; De Luca, Rel. Cur. Rom. for. disc, 21 ; Moroni,
XVI., 195 seq. ; Bangen, 89 seq.
IQO HISTORY OF THE POPES.
as July, 1592. The Pope himself assisted at the examinations.
These were held with great detail and no dispensations were
allowed.^ The greater the success obtahied by this method
of procedure, the more firmly did the Pope adhere to it.^
Clement VIII. also gave proofs of extraordinary rigour in
the matter of granting resignations of ecclesiastical revenues.^
He would not allow any accumulation of benefices ; the only
exception he made was in the case of the cardinalitial dioceses,
because his predecessors since the Council of Trent had not
changed the conditions of those dioceses.*
This careful selection of bishops, as well as the example
set by the Pope, as supreme pastor of Rome, had an important
effect in the improvement of the Italian episcopate,^ and
Clement VIII. had the joy of seeing how many bishops in
Italy were labouring in the spirit of Catholic reform by
establishing seminaries, and holding synods and visitations.*
Thus the following acquired great merit as conscientious
pastors and as reforming bishops in the fullest sense
of the word : at Adria, the Carmelite Lorenzo Laureti ;
at Aquileia, Francesco Barbaro ;' at Venice, Lorenzo
1 Cf. *Urb. 839, p. 298 seq., and *Avvisi of July 4 and i.^, 1592,
Urb. 1060, II., Vatican Library, and Paruta, Dispacci, I., 35,
n., 73-
2 Cf. *brief to the Archduke Ferdinand, October 25, 1.597,
Arm. 44, t. 41, n. 232, Papal Secret Archives.
^ See *report of G. del Carretto, November 31, 1593, Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.
* See Lammer, Melet., 377 seq.
* See Zachariae Iter litt., 303.
* For the following list, which does not claim to be complete,
of. Ughelli, Italia sacra, and Moroni, Dizionario, above all for
those bishops in whose case no special works or dissertations are
given.
' For the synod held at Udine in 1596, and the pleasure it gave
to Clement VIII., see Iuvencius, V., 430. For the synodal
activity of Barbaro see Marcuzzi, Sinodi Aquileiesi, Udine,
1910, and for his activity in visitations see, besides Schmidlin,
6 seq., Joppi, Relazione d visita apost. in Carniola Stiria a
EMINENT BISHOPS. IQI
Priuli ;^ at Belluno the learned Luigi Lollini \^ at
Ceneda, Marcantonio Mocenigo ; at Treviso, Francesco
Cornaro ; at Verona, Cardinal Agostino Valiero,^ well
known as a Christian humanist ; at Pavia and Mantua,
the Franciscan Francesco Gonzaga ;* at Cremona, Cesare
Speciani;^ at Modena, Gaspare Silingardi;^ at Milan,
the great and learned Frederick Borromeo, who was a
patron of the arts ;'' at Reggio-Emilia Claudio Rangoni ;^
at Como, Feliciano Ninguarda ;^ at Pavia and Novara, the
Barnabites Alessandro Sauli^" and Carlo Bascape,^^ imitators
Carinzia, Udine, 1862. There too the report to Clement VIII.
concerning the highly necessary visitation which he had suggested.
The manuscript is preserved in the parochial archives at Cremona,
1 L. Priuli founded the seminary and held a synod in 1592 ;
c/. P. Paschini, La riforma del seppelire nelle chiese nel sec.
XVI., Monza, 1922, 20 zeqq.
2 See A. Rath, Opuscolo ined. del card. Baronio, 15.
^ See C. LiBARUi, *De vita et rebus gestis episc. Veronens.,
Cod. DCC.-LXXXIII., pp. 253, 286 seq.. Capitular Library,
Verona. For the magniticent Dialogue by Valieko " Philippus
sive de Christiana laetitia " see Kneller in Zeitschr. f. kath.
TheoL, XLIL, 186 seqq. Cf. Mai, Spicil., VIII., viii. seq., 89 seq.
118 seq.
* See the monograph by Fr. M. Paolini, Rome, 1906. Cf.
Maiocchi in Riv. di scieme stor. (Rome), 1907 ; Arch. Veneto,
N.S. XXI. (191 1), 295 seqq.
5 See Vita di Mons. C. Speciani, Bergamo, 1786, 320 seqq.,
355 seqq, 366 seqq., 497.
* See Ricci, II., 92 seq. 255 seq., where the special literature is
given.
' Cf. Mai, Spicil., VIII., 473, and more fully infra.
^ Cf. G. Saccani, I vescovi di Reggio, R. 1902, 130 seq.;
Cottafavi, II Seminario di Reggio-Emilia, R-E, 1907, 3 seq.
•See Monii, Atti d. visita past. d. F. Ninguarda, 1589-1592,
Part I., in Race. Comense, II., Como, 1882, 94. Cf. Rcim.
Quartalschr., 1891, 62 seq., 124 seq.
^"Cf Vol. XIX., of this work, p. 210.
" See J. Chiesa, Vita del ven. C. Bascape, 2 vols., Milan, 1858.
Cf. C. Bascape, Scritti publ. nel governo del suo vescovato
J92 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of Charles Borromeo ; at Asti the Franciscan Francesco
Panigarola ;^ at Saluzzo, Giovanni Giovenale Ancina ;2 at
Genoa the Benedictine Matteo Rovarola ;^ at Pisa, Carlo
Antonio Pocci ;^ at Colle, Usimbardo de' Usimbardi ;^ at
Volterra, Guido Servidio ; at Fiesole the disciple of Philip
Neri, Francesco Maria Tarugi;® at Bologna, Cardinal Gabriele
Paleotto;' at Imola, Alessandro Musotti ; at Fossombrone,
Ottavio Accoramboni ;^ at Camerino, Gentile Dolfino ; at
dall'a. 1593 al 1609, Novara, 1609. The correspondence between
Bascape and Alessandro Sauli, 1591, was published by Premoli
in Riv. di scienze stor. (Rome), 1907-8. See also Premoli, Una
gloria di Novara. C. Ba.scape, 1593 1615, in the single number,
L'Azione, Novara, 1908 ; Ratti, loc. cit., 17 seq. Premoli,
303 seq., 326 seq., 342 seq., 360 seq.
1 Cf. Vol. XIX. of this work, p. 210.
2 For this disciple of Philip Neri, who -was beatified by Leo XIII.
in 1890, and his fruitful labours in his diocese, '•/. the monographs
by Richard (Mayence, 1892) and Duver (Rennes, 1905) and
also Savio, Marchesato e diocesi di Saluzzo nel sec. XVII.,
Saluzzo, 1915.
^ In the *brief addressed to the Duke of Mantua, July 26, 1596,
the Archbishop of Genoa is described as " vir insigni vitae
integritate et zelo Dei quem multis nominibus valde amamus."
Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
* For the foundation of the seminary at Pisa (1604) see Mem.
d. accad. di Torino, Sc. nior. stor. e fil., 2nd series, I., 53.
* See Constitutiones synodales et decreta condita a rev. D.
Usimbardo Usimbardio episc. CoUensi primo in dioces. synodo
habita A. 1594, Florence, 1595. There also the decrees published
by Usimbardo in 1595 at the diocesan synod of Arezzo.
«C/. Vol. XIX. of this work, p. 169.
' For the synod of Bologna, 1594, see Lozzi, Bibl. ital., II., 49.
Cf. Archiepiscopale Bonon. auctore card. Gabr. Paleoto, Rome,
1594, and Ughelli, II. Cf. also Gabr. Paleotti *Sermones in
visitat. Alb. et Salin. dioc. 1590 to 1595, Cod. 630 (1166),
University Library, Bologna.
* Cf. *Memoria e rito dell'orazione della sera instituita da
Msgr. vescovo Accoramboni I'anno 1591 in Fossombrone e sua
diocesi. Urb. 1509 A. Vatican Library.
THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS. IQJ
Urbino, Antonio Gianotti and Giuseppe Ferreri ;^ at Gubbio,
Mariano Sabelli ;^ at Assisi, Marcello Crescenzi ; at Amelia,
Antonio Maria Graziani ;3 at Spoleto, Alfonso Visconti ;*
at Rossano, Lucio Sanseverino ; at Sarno, Antonio de Aquino ;
at Siponto, Domenico Ginnasio ;^ at Teramo, Vincenzo de
Monte Santo ; at Capua from 1602 onwards, Cardinal Bellar-
mine ;^ at Mat era, Giovanni de Mira ;'' at Reggio Calabria,
Annibale d' Afflitto f at Messina, Antonio Lombardi ;* at
Monreale, Lodovico de Torres ; at Cefalu, Francesco Gonzaga,
who there and later on at Pavia and Mantua rendered good
service and established the first Tridentine seminary in Sicily.
Clement VIII. also displayed a salutary activity in filling
the gaps which death had occasioned in the College of Cardinals.
These were very considerable, for Clement VIII. witnessed
the disappearance of altogether forty-five Cardinals, among
them men so distinguished as Scipione Gonzaga, William
Allen, Francisco Toledo, Gabriele Paleotto, Errico Caetani,
Georg Radziwill, Inigo de Avalos de Aragonia, Lodovico
Madruzzo, Giulio Santori, Alfonso Gesualdo, Silvio Antoniano,
Lucio Sassi, Arnauld d' Ossat and Antonio Maria Salviati.'^^
^ *Acta of the canonical visitation of 1578, 1587, and 1597, in
the Archiepiscopal Archives, Urbino.
'' M. S.\RTi, De Episcopis Eugubinis, Pisauri, 1755, 225 seqq.
* See Synodus Amerina ab A. M. Gratiano episc. habita, 1595,
edit. sec. cui accessit vita eiusdem, Rome, 1792. For Graziani
cf. Vol. XXI. of this work, pp. 62, 65, and Mai, Spicil., VIII.,
469 seq. A diocesan report by Graziani in Bull. stor. per I'Umbria,
XIII. (1907), 138 seq.
* Made a Cardinal in 1599.
® See C. Mezamici, Notizie d. operat. del card. Dom. Ginnasio,
Rome, 1682.
* See CouDEKC, I., 367 seq.
'For the synod held at Matera in 1597 see Arch. Napol., IX.,
366.
8 See the biography of D 'Afflitto by Minasi (Naples, 1898) and
Roma e I'Oriente, VII. (1914), iii seq.
* See *Constitutiones synodales Messanen, 1591, Cod. 20, of the
Library, Girgenti.
^^ See the list of all the Cardinals who died under Clement VIII.
VOL. XXIV. 13
194 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The number of new Cardinals appointed at the seven cardinali-
tial creations of Clement VIII. was as great as fifty-three.^
In these the Pope accorded hardly any influence to the
Cardinals, and far less to the civil governments.- " Cardinals
who are appointed at the request of the princes," he said,
" almost always follow private interests, as I have mj^self
experienced at the conclaves."^
The Cardinalitial appointments of Clement VIII. are almost
in Alberi, II., 4, 354, where, however, Bathory, who was killed
in 1599, is omitted. For this prince of the Church, who at the
end, forgetful of the duties of his ecclesiastical state, came to a
miserable end, see Kolberg, Zur Gesch. des Kard. Andreas
Bathory, and Aus dem Haushalt des Kard. A. Bathory, both
Braunsberg, 1910. For the death of Cardinal S. Gonzaga see
the *brief to Giulio Cesare Gonzaga, February 5, 1593, Arm. 44,
t. 38, n. 203, Papal Secret Archives. For the death of Allen see
Bellesheim, 201 !^eq. The sorrow of the court at the death of
Caetani is *reported by G. C. Foresto, December 18, 1599.
Gonzaga Archives, Mantua. For San tori see *Avviso of June 13,
1602, where it is stated : " the Cardinal did many good works,
and after thirty-five years of the cardinalate left 14,000 scudi of
debts " (Urb. 1070, Vatican Library). Cf. alsoDoLFiN, Relazione,
485. The tomb of Santori, with a fine bust, in his chapel in
St. John Lateran, see Forcella, VIII., 51. At the consistory
of February 19, 1603, Clement VIII. pronounced the funeral
discourse for Gesualdo. See *Acta consist, card. S. Severinae,
Cod. Barb. lat. 2871, III., Vatican Library.
1 Cf. Voh XXIII. of this work, p. 248 ; cf. Phillips, VI., 231.
* See Carte Strozz., I., 2, 269, and in App. n. 15 the *report
of G. C. Foresto of February 27, 1599, Gonzaga Archives, Mantua,
Cf. the *brief to the Duke of Lorraine, June 20, 1592, Brevia,
Arm. 44, t. 37, n. 413, Papal Secret Archives, and the autograph
*Ietter of Charles Emanuel of Savoy, August 4, 1596, State
Archives, Turin. For the most part the requests of other princes
as well were not considered, especially those of Philip II. : e.g. at
the very beginning of the pontificate the request of the King of
Spain that the Pope should confer the purple on the Archbishop
of Saragossa, Andrea Bobadilla ; see *letter of Philip II. to
Clement VIII., April 25, 1592, Doria Archives, Rome.
* Report of the Este envoy, June 8, 1596 ; see Ricci, II., 245.
THE NEW CARDINALS. I95
without exception deserving of praise. Setting aside the
too young Giovanni Battista Deti, the Cardinals appointed
by Clement VIII. proved themselves men of worth ; such
were the learned Jesuit Toledo, the venerable Sassi, the
Oratorian Francesco Maria Tarugi, whose life may be called
truly apostolic, Camillo Borghese who was afterwards Paul V.,
the Auditors of the Rota, Lorenzo Bianchetti, Francesco
Mantica and Pompeo Arigoni, the great Bonifacio Bevilacqua,
the versatile Alfonso Visconti, Domenico Toschi who had
sprung from the lowest ranks purely by his own merits,
the disinterested d'Ossat, and lastly like three brilliant stars
outshining the rest : Baronius, Silvio Antoniano and Bellar-
mine, who in their humility had refused to accept so great an
honour, so that Clement VIII. was forced to constrain them
under obedience, threatening them with excommunication.^
These three Cardinals were assigned apartments at the
Vatican, 2 since Baronius v/as the Pope's confessor, Silvio
Antoniano his secretary of briefs, and Bellarmine, after the
death of Toledo his theologian, an office which he exercised
with great freedom. ^ The lofty sentiments which animated
Cardinals Baronius and Tarugi is clear from a letter of the
last-named belonging to the 5'ear 1598, only recently dis-
covered, in which he unites himself to Baronius in his desire
to renounce the purple, so as to return once more to the peace
of the Oratory. 4
These new Cardinals vied with the older ones, such as
Valiero, Frederick Borromeo, Tagliavia, Sfondrato, Aquaviva
and Alessandro de' Medici, who was to succeed Clement VIII.
If among these many Cardinals there were to be found two of
^ See CouDERC, I., 260 seq. For Baronius see Alberici, III.,
391 seq. ; Calenzio, 419 scq., 459 seq. Cf. also the *Avvisi of
Novemter 29, 1595, and June i, 1596, Urb. 1063, 1064, Vatican
Library, See also the *letter of L. Arrigoni, June 8, 1596,
Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
" Bentivoglio, Memorie, 151.
^ Cf. CouDERC, L, 234 seq., 295 seq.
* See the text of the letter in the opusculum L'Oratorio Filippino
di Firenze, al ven. Card. Cesare Baronio, Florence, 1908, ji seq
196 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
worldly sentiments, like Sforza^ and Deti, these only served,
as Bentivoglio remarks, to bring out all the more brilliantly
the virtues of the rest. Clement VIII. for his part, left
nothing undone to bring back Deti to a better manner of hfe.^
He also made use of every opportunity that offered to remind
the Cardinals of their duties.^
However many eminent men the College of Cardinals
contained under Clement VIII., its influence as a college
visibly diminished. This was due in great measure to the
^ Sforza only became a priest in the autumn of 1614 ; see
Studi e docum., XV., 282.
2 See Bentivoglio, Memorie, 85 seq., 126 seq. The description
of the Sacred College of Clement VIII. by Bentivoglio (59 seq.,
92 seq.) is completed by Dolfin, Relazione, 479 seq., 493 seq.,
who principally discusses the political position of the Cardinals,
and their hopes at a conclave. The same is the case in the
*Informazione for the Marchese Vigliena spoken of in Vol. XXIII.
of this work, p. 254, and in the Discorso which is preserved in the
Boncompagni Archives, Rome, which was composed in view of
a conclave, and contains many Roman dicerie, and is identical
with the report published by Rath (Opuscolo ined. di Baronio,
38 seqq.). The Bolognese Fabio Albergati pubUshed Libri tre del
cardinale, Rome, 1598. Giov. Botero wrote DeH'uffitio del
cardinale libri, II., Rome, 1599, where the duties of the Caidinals
as against heresy are also discussed. Botero was not fairly judged
by Meinecke (Die Idee der Staatsraison in der neueren Geschichte,
Munich, 1924) ; see Giorn. d. lett. ital., LXXXVL, 176.
^ See *Acta consist, card. S. Severinae, March 10, 1593, March
28, 1594, and December 4, 1600, he. cit., Vatican Library ;
*Avviso of December 29, 1593, Urb. 1061, ibid. Clement VIII.
also tried to reintroduce the ancient custom by which the Cardinals
went to the Consistory on horseback ; see *Avviso of March 28,
1.594, Urb. 1062, ibid., and for the Holy Year (1600) Baumgarten,
Neue Kunde, 17 seq. According to the *Avviso of August 29,
1 60 1 (Urb. 1069), special sermons were ordered for the Cardinals.
Cardinal Este, who gave scandal by his behaviour (see Meyer,
Nuntiaturberichte, 218, 220, 223), received on June 19, 1604,
a *Monitorium in which the Pope disapproved of his intention
" longe lateque peregrinari " ; Arm. 44, t. 56, p. 250, Papal Secret
Archives.
CHANGE IN THE CONSISTORIES. I97
independence of Clement VI 11.^, which was much felt by
the Cardinals, and to the predominant position held by his
nephew, Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini ; it may also be
attributed to the increase of the Papal authority, and to the
establishment of the Congregations, by which the power of
the Consistory had been considerably lessened. Although
certain Cardinals, as for example Paleotto, complained of this
and sought to restore the ancient order, the advantages of
the new method of transacting business were nevertheless
evident. The transaction of affairs by way of process, and
the cumbrousness of a conciliar assembly, in which there were
always to be found a diversity of opinions, had rendered
the treatment of important matters by the Consistory almost
impossible.^ Once the change had been inaugurated, it
was no longer possible to stop it, all the more so as it was
based upon the strictly monarchical character of the ecclesi-
astical constitution. From this time onwards the Consistories
served more and more to give to more important ecclesiastical
matters a fitting conclusion.^
1 Cf. the Este report for June, 1594, in Riccr, II., 207.
"C/. Ranke, II. », 204.
' Cf. Paruta, Relazione, 412 seq. The work by Cardinal
Paleotto there mentioned bears the title : De sacri consistoiii
consultationibus, Rome, 1592. Cf. as to this Phillips, VI.,
293, 577- The opinion of Dolfin (Relazione, 460) that the
Congregations, except for the Inquisition, only functioned in
appearance, is wrong. The union of the " Congregatio episco-
porum " with the " Congregatio regularium," did not take place,
as Phillips (VI., 642) supposes, in the time of Sixtus V., but only
under Clement VIII. ; see Paruta, Relazione, 374.
CHAPTER VI.
The Roman Inquisition. — Giordano Bruno. —
The Index. — The Vulgate.
Of the Congregations, that of the Roman Inquisition pre-
served the greatest degree of independence, having entrusted
to it the safeguarding and surveillance of Catholic doctrine.
At the beginning of the pontificate of Clement VIII. it was
composed of Cardinals Santori, Deza, Pinelli, Bernerio,
Boccafuoco and Sfondrato,^ with whom the Pope himself was
associated as president. Toledo too, and later on Bellarmine,
were placed on the Congregation after their elevation to the
cardinalate ;2 it met twice in the week, once at the palace
of Cardinal Santori, who was the senior in rank, and at the
same time Grand Penitentiary, ^ and on the other occasion at
the Vatican.
1 See Antonius Diana, Coordinatus seu omnes resolutiones
morales, V., Lyons, 1667. The " Constantius S. Petri in Monte
Aureo Servanus " mentioned there is Boccafuoco ; see
Christofori, 193 " Quintilianus Adrianus " was at that time
notary of the Inquisition ; see Diana, V., 580. Clement VIII.
appointed " Aug. Galaminus commissarius generalis S. Inqui-
sitionis de Urbe," see Catalanus, De magistro s. Palatii, 144.
A manuscript of Clement VIII. of 1592, which assigns the Acta
of the Inquisition then kept in the Papal " guardarobba " to the
Congregation, in Gori, Archivio, VI., 4 (Spoleto, 1880), 14 seq.
2 See the *Notes of Santori, January 6, 1594, Papal Secret
Archives, I., 28 ; Couderc, I., 269. In a decree of the Inquisition
of February 5, 1598 (in Stikve, IV., 524 seq.) there are mentioned
as members : L. Madruzzo, Santori, Deza, Pinelli, Bernerio,
Sfrondato, Borghese and Arigoni. Cf. also Vol. XIX. of this
work, p. 626.
^Cf. the *letter of Giulio del Carretto, February 22, 1592,
Gonzaga Archives, Mantua, and Dolfin, Relazione, 462 seq.
198
DUTIES OF THE INQUISITION. I99
The Inquisition, in addition to its principal duty of taking
action against heresy, was also occupied with many other
matters.^ Thus it issued an ordinance against litanies which
had not been approved by the Congregation of Rites i^ it
was also concerned with the false Demetrius,^ and was also
consulted as to whether it was lawful to form an alliance with
heretics and the heterodox.^ Of very frequent occurrence
too were questions concerning relations with the heterodox,
and especially about disputes with Protestants, and mixed
marriages, that is between Catholics and those of another
religion. There also came within its competence questions
concerning Christians of Jewish origin, especially in relation
to the procedure of the Inquisition in Portugal.^ Besides
After the death of Santori, June 14, 1602) P. Aldobrandini
became Grand Penitentiary; see *Avviso of July 21, 1604,
Urb. 1072, Vatican Library.
1 Cf. besides the following cases mentioned the reports based
on the acta in the Anal, iuris pontif., XXVI. (1886), 576 seq.
676 seq., and Pastor, Dekrete, passim.
2 See Bull., X., 732 seq.
3 See PiERLiNG, La Russie, III., 214 seq.
. * See Pakuta, Dispacci, L, 232.
*A collection of *" Decreta s. Inquisitionis fere omnia sub
Clemente VIII." drawn up in accordance with the subjects, in
Barb. 1369 (copy 1370) Vatican Library. A *Monitorium of
Clement VIII. to the Inquisitor of Portugal, September 19, 1596,
to act juridically, in the Papal Secret Archives, App. n. g.
In Barb. 1369, p. 326 seq. (Vatican Library) are contained
*Responsiones ad obiecta contra Inquisi tores regni Portugalliae,
of March 28, 1598, which were presented, when translated by
Fr. Pena to the Pope. A *brief of Clement VIII. to Philip III.,
December 30, 1601, concerning the absolution of " christianos
nuevos de Portugal " which the Pope only granted with difficulty,
in the National Archives, Paris, Simancas. Ibid. K. 1631, a
♦Memorial concerning the Portuguese neo-Christians, March 24,
1602. Cf. also the *Tractatus de statu S. Inquisitionis in regno
Portugalliae, addressed to Clement VIII. (especially concerning
the neo-Christians and Jews) in Barb. XXXII., 213, Vatican
Library.
200 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
grave cases of fornication, falsifiers of Papal briefs were also
brought before the Inquisition. ^ With regard to those who
were accused of magic, the Inquisition acted with great
caution. 2
The special tribunals of the Inquisition in the various cities
were dependent upon the Roman Inquisition, by which they
were directed.^ Clement VIII. devoted the greatest attention
to the Inquisition ;* he confirmed a number of decrees
concerning the preservation of secrecy in its discussions, and
the improvement of its procedure.^ The decree by which
every month the names of those imprisoned were to be
presented to the Congregation was directed against the often
unduly prolonged imprisonment of the accused.® A decree
of November 29th, 1594, laid it down that the jailors must
not receive presents from the prisoners, even after their
release ;' another of March 14th, 1595, ordered a more
humane treatment of the prisoners.^ The decree of Sixtus V.,
that all briefs, bulls and other documei ts relating to the
Inquisition must be issued gratuitously, was renewed by
Clement VIII. ,^ and it was further ordered in 1601 that the
^ Cf. in App. n. 16, the *List of those imprisoned in the Holy
Office from 1599, Borghese Archives, Rome.
2 Opinion of Sandonntni in Giorn. stor. d. hit. ital., IX., ^.^j seq.
2 See Amabile, II S. Officio d. Inquisitione in Napoli, II., 19.
Cf. ibid. I., 337 seqq., 343 seqq. For the development of the
Inquisition at Naples, and its activity in that city, see a *Report
concerning an " Auto da fe celebrado en Palermo, 1596 " in the
Archives of the Spanish embassy, Rome, P. III. In 1595
Clement VIII. asked the Archduke F'erdinand to hand over an
ex-Dominican to the Roman Incjuisition ; see Stciermdrk.
Gesch.-BL, I., 81.
* Cf. Paruta, Relazione, 374 ; Cierario, Lettere di Santi,
Papi, etc., Turin, 1861, 243 seq.
^ See Pastor, Dekrete 51 seq.
* See ibid. 52.
' See ibid. 55.
* See tbid. 55 seq. Cf. Battistella, 85.
'■" See Pastor, Dekrete, 57. Cf. Zeitschy. f. schweiz. Kirchen-
f,esch., VII. (1914), 70.
EXECUTION OF HERETICS. 201
bishops and their officials were not to receive the smallest
emolument. 1 A decree of the same year laid it down that
the consultors of the Inquisition were not to act as advocates
of the accused. 2
The strict bull of Paul IV., against those who, without being
priests, dared to say mass and hear confessions, was confirmed,
together with another constitution of the Carafa Pope against
those who denied the Most Holy Trinity. ^ Also the bull which
forbade Italians to live in countries where they were not able
to fulfil their religious duties,* was aimed at the defence of
the faith.
The first execution of heretics under Clement VIII. took
place in 1595. On May i6th in that year twelve persons
abjured their errors in the church of the Minerva ; a relapsed
Fleming, who obstinately persisted in his error, by denying
the immortality of the soul, as well as an absent Spaniard,
were condemned to the stake. ^ In the following month a
terrible crime was committed, which deeply grieved the Pope.
An Englishman attacked with a dagger the priest who was
1 See Bull., X., 648. Cf. Carte Stroz::., I., 2, 314.
"" Die 4 aprilis 1601 lectis litteris vicarii Januensis, 111°^*
[et rev.°^* domini caidinales generales inquisi tores] decreverunt
ut consultores s. Officii non possent esse advocati reorum "
(Decreta s. Officii, 1524-1668, p. 321, State Archives, Rome, with
the further remark : " Romae tamen practicatur contrarium ").
Cardinal Bernerio was entrusted in 1593 with the arrangement
of the Archives of the Inquisition ; see Pastor, Dekrete, 52.
* These constitutions in Diana, V., 546 se.q., 574, and in Bull.,
X., 750 seq., XL, i seq.
* See Bull., X., 279 seq. Cf. Stieve, V., 310 ; Battistella,
II S. Offizio in Bologna, B. 1905, 138. The *opinion of an Augus-
tinian concerning this bull of Clement VIII., which was renewed
and amplified by Gregory XV., in Cod. Capponi, III., 19, National
Library, Florence.
* Besides the Lettres d'Ossat, L, 153, cj. the *Avvisi of May 17
and 20, 1595, Urb. 1063, Vatican Library, and *Diarium P.
Alaleonis, May 16, 1595 : " In Minerva abiuratio 12 in s. Officio
detentorum, unus relapsus obstinatus et imago Jo*^ Lopez, qui
curiae saeculari traditi." Barb. 2815, Vatican Library.
202 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
carrying the Blessed Sacrament in a procession leaving the
church of S. Agata a Monte Magnanapoli, so that the Most
Holy fell to the ground. He expiated his crime at the stake.
It was thought that this was a case of a spy of Queen
Elizabeth.^ There were also other executions, thus five
more in 1595, seven in 1596 and one in 1597.^ A heretic who
maintained his erroneous doctrines dressed as a Capuchin,
was executed in September 1599.^ There were several
imprisonments of heretics in the following years,'* and six
condemnations to death. ^ One of the latter was the case
of a Neapolitan, who was also a treasure-seeker.® Another
native of southern Italy was the philosopher, Giordano
Bruno.
The life of this unhappy man seems like that of a restless
adventurer.' Born at Nola near Naples in 1548 of poor
1 See Lettres d'Ossat, I., 153 f^eq., the report in N. Antologia,
XXXIV., (1877), 298, and the *Avvisi of June 17 and 21, 1595,
Urb. 1063, Vatican Library.
* See RoDOCANACHi, Reforme, II., 433 seqq. For G. F. Barro,
arrested by the Inquisition in 1595, cf. Tiraboschi, VIII.,
134 seq. ; Mazzuchelli, II., 3, 1790 scq.
* See *Avviso of September 14, 1599, Urb. 1067, Vatican
Library. According to Rouocan.^chi iloc. ciL, 433) there were
two other heretics executed in November, 1599.
* Cf. *Avvisi of February 23, 1600 (yesterday a heretic was
arrested at S. Marcello) ; July 21, 1601 (on Sunday at the
Inquisition, the abjuration of a German Jesuit, who denies the
Trinity ; condemned to imprisonment for life ; Bosso da Bassi,
to five years in the galleys, because he invokes the devil, and
practises treasure-seeking) ; November 6, 1604 (abjuration of an
Apulian priest, who had preached errors at S. Eustachio), Urb.
1069, 1070, 1072, Vatican Library. Cf. in App. n, 16, the
♦List of the prisoners of the Holy Office on April 5, 1599, Borguese
Archives, Rome.
^ Cf. in App. n. 16, extract from the *Diarto, from the Papal
Secret Archives.
* See *Avviso of July 9, 1603, Urb. 1071, Vatican Library.
' Cj. the special works by Chr. Bartholomees (2 vols., Paris,
1846-47), M. Carriere (Philos. Weltanschauung der Reforma-.
GIORDANO BRUNO. 203
parents, but a man of extraordinary intellect, he resolved
as a youth to enter a religious Order. He changed the name
of Philip, which he had received at baptism, to that
of Giordano when at the age of seventeen he entered the
celebrated Dominican convent at Naples.^ This convent,
in which at one time Thomas Aquinas had lived, was at that
time in a very decadent state. ^ The young religious, who
had a lively imagination and a restless spirit, studied indis-
tionszeit, Leipzig, 1847^ 1887), F. J. Clemens (G. Bruno e Nic. di
Cusa, Bonn, 1847), D. Berti (Florence, 18(38, Turin, i88y),
Chr. Sigwart {Tiibingen, 1880), H. Brunn'ho^-er (Leipzig, 1882),
L. Pkeviti (Prato, 1887), J. Fhith (London, 1887), RiEtn,
(Leipzig, 1889^ 1900), L. Kuhienbeck (Leipzig, 1890), Tocco
(in AUi dei Lincei, 1892), V. Spampanato (G. B. e Nola, Castro-
villari, 1899 ; eoncerning his country and family), Tocco (Nuovi
docum. Rome, 1902), Lewis MacLn'tyue (London, 1903). ^''^•
Gentile (Milan, 1907), Boulting (London, 191O). The writings
of G. Bruno are edited by Paul de Lagarue, 2 vols., 1888-89 ;
Opera latine conscripta ed. Fiorentino, Imbriani, Tallarigo,
Tocco et Vitelli, Naples and Florence, 1879, 1891 ; Opera ital.
p.p. G. Gentile, L and IL, Bari, 1907 1908 ; Opera ined. ed.
Tocco, Florence. 1891. German translation by Lasson in
Kirchyyianns Philus. BiblJ, Berlin, 1889, and by L. Kuhlenbeck,
6 vols., Jena, IQU4 seq. ; of the ditlerent phases in the development
of the philosophy of Bruno, we have the best account in Tocco :
Le opere lat. di G. B. esposte e confrontate con le ital., Florence,
1889. Cf. also R. Charbonnel, La pensee ital. et le courant
libertin, and L'ethic^ue de G.B. et le deuxieme dialogue du
Spaccio, both Paris, 191 9. A full biography of Bruno, based on
the plentiful archival materials was written by V. Spampanato :
Vita di G.B., con docum. editi ed inediti (Messina, 19-1) which
also at last throws light upon Bruno's youth. Cf. also Olschi in
Deutsche Vierkljahrschr. /. Literaturwissensch. u. Geistegesch., IL
(Halle, 1924), 1-79. For G. Bruno see also Zabughin, Storia
del Rinascimento cristiano in Italia, Milan, 1924, 350 seq. ;
S. Caramella, G. Bruno a Geneva e in Liguria, in Giorn. stor. d.
Liguria, I., i (1925).
* On June 15, 1565 ; profession on June 16, 1566 ; see
Spampan.\'io, Vita, 606, 608.
* See ibid. 136 seqq.
204 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
criminately the philosophers of antiquity, the Middle Ages
and the Renaissance. In so doing he formed a profound
aversion for Aristotle and scholasticism, and drifted away
from God and the Christian religion. He began to feel doubts
about the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, as well as about the
divinity of Christ. In spite of this in 1572 he was ordained
priest and exercised the priestly office in various places.
But his attitude of mind endured, and as he did not conceal
his heretical opinions, he was threatened with a trial before
the Inquisition, which he avoided by taking to flight in
February 1576.^
Giordano Bruno then completely burned his bridges behind
him, and began a life of wandering, which in three lustrums
took him half over Europe. After having travelled through
north Italy, he went to Geneva, where he passed over to
Calvinism, 2 so as to be able to enter the university. Punished
by imprisonment in 1579 for having published a defamatory
libel against a professor of Geneva, Bruno, whose nature was
as impulsive as it was presumptuous, left the head-quarters
of Calvinism, against which he thenceforward displayed an
even greater hatred than that which he had shown for the
Catholic Church. He went by way of Lyons to Toulouse,
where he succeeded in obtaining a chair at the university.
In his lectures on philosophy he especially attacked Aristotle,
whom he later on called the most stupid of all the philosophers,
whose soul after his death had passed into the body of an ass !
After two years teaching, in 1581 the restless professor turned
his steps towards Paris, where he devoted himself principally
to the art of mnemonics. In this way he attracted the
attention of Henry III., who conferred a special chair upon
him. Bruno thanked him by the dedication, filled with
adulation, of his work concerning the " shadows of ideas,"
1 See ibid. 255 seq.
** Later on before the Inquisition at Venice G. Bruno denied his
apostasy ; but the documents published by Dufour (G. Bruno a
Geneve, 1579, Docum. inedits, Genoa, 1884) show that he lied.
Cf. FiORENTiNo, G, Bruno, in Napoli lett., I, (1884), n. 32.
GIORDANO BRUNO. 205
in which could already be seen the fundamental signs of his
pantheistic philosophy. As well as shorter dissertations,
Bruno also published at that time (1582) a comedy " II
Candelaio " which proves how the loss of faith had also
brought about his moral shipwreck. The work is full of
indecencies ; according to competent judges, it surpasses
in its obscenities the most infamous productions of the
cinquecento.^
As early as 1583 Bruno left France, which was in a state of
ferment, and went to live in London, where he passed, accord-
ing to his own statement, the happiest hours of his life in the
house of the French ambassador, Michel Castelnau de
Mauvissiere. Mauvissiere brought him into contact with
many illustrious persons," and he was even presented to Queen
Elizabeth, of whom he sang as " a goddess upon earth." He
bestowed similar adulation upon her courtiers and counsellors.
This however did not prevent him later on from reviling the
English as uncouth, savage and rustic. He wrote thus :
" If an Englishman sees a stranger he becomes like a wolf
or a bear, and stares at him as furiously as a hog who sees
someone taking away his trough from him."
During his sojourn in England there appeared Bruno's
most important works in Italian : "La cena delle ceneri " ;
" Lo spaccio della bestia trionfante " ; and " Dell'infinito,
universo e mondi." " La cena delle ceneri " contains in the
form of a dialogue a popular instruction concerning the new
system of the universe according to Copernicus, of which
Bruno was an enthusiastic supporter, and together with this
^ Cf. A. Bacelli, II candelaio di G. Bruno, Rome, 1901, and
the preface by Spampanato to the Opere ital., IIL, Bari, 1909.
- It is very uncertain whether Bruno knew Shakespeare person-
ally. The influence of Bruno on the great dramatist, which is
maintained by Tschischwitz (Shakespeare-Forschungen, Halle,
1868) and by W. Konig (in Shakespeare-Jahrbuch, XL, 79 seq.)
is convincingly denied by R. Beyersdorff (G. Bruno u. Shakes-
peare, Oldenburg, 1889). For the harmful influence of Bruno on
the English at that time, as against positive religion, see the
article by Stone in The Month, L. 81.
206 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
there are rabid invectives against his adversaries, whom he
describes as " Mad, demented, beasts and sows," and especially
against the University of Oxford, which is called a " con-
stellation of the ignorant, pedantic and obstinate, and a mass
of donkey and swine." In his work, " Lo spaccio della bestia
trionfante " astronomy is only quite a secondary matter ;
polemics and satire hold the first place. Even worse than the
obscenities in which Bruno takes delight here as well, are the
scandalous blasphemies which he permits himself to utter.
This incendiary work, disgraceful in its title, was regarded by
contemporaries as being directed against the Pope, but
an3^one who studies it more attentively will see that Bruno's
attacks are not only directed against the doctrines of the
Catholic Church, but also against those taught by Luther
and Calvin. Logically enough, the pantheistic philosopher
of Nola did not break only with the Catholic Church, but also
with positive Christianity in general, pouring out against its
doctrines such a mass of hatred that it would be difficult
to go further.^ Moreover, Bruno entertained so deep an
^ Bruno, in the opinion of one of his admirers, Arthur Drews,
broke at first with the Church and Christianity with full know-
ledge, and opposed both of them with marked hostility. Especially
in the " Spaccio della bestia trionfante," he has poured forth
such venomous scorn upon Christian dogmas, that it would be
impossible to go further. Bruno did not believe in the divinity
of Christ. He only looked upon Him as the noblest of men, and
classes Him with Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato and other wise men.
But since the essence of Christianity lies in faith in the God-Man,
he could not call himself a Christian, and was sincere enough to
say so openly, seeing more clearly in this matter than many do
to-day. As well as Catholicism, he also condemns Protestantism,
and looks upon the doctrine of justification by faith as absurd.
[Beilage zur Alg. Zeitung, 1900, n. 40). Erdmann had already in
his Gesch. dev Philoiophie given the opinion : That the original
part of Bruno's action was that he had " broken with the Catholic
Church and with all Christianity. He professes to do so, and is
the first to put himself entirely outside Christianity. . . . He
himself knows that his doctrine is pagan." In accordance with
this is Bruno's defence of prostitution, and his demand for
GIORDANO BRUNO. 207
aversion for the Jews that he showed it in almost aU his works
by biting expressions.^ Thus in his blasphemous satire on
Christianity and its Divine Founder, who figures under the
title " Ass of Cyllene," he says that the Jews have always
been " a despicable, slavish, self-interested and misanthropic
people, repulsive to all other races, and very properly spurned
by them. "2
When Mauvissiere was recalled from his post in London in
1585, Giordano accompanied him to Paris, where he again
polygamy ; see Sigwart in Gott. Gel. Anz., 1883, II., 836 seq.
This same scholar says that the collection of sneers against
Christian dogmas made by Brunnhofer (226 seq.) is the best
proof of the truth of the accusations brought against Bruno by
the Venetia.n Inquisition.
^ The German translator L. Kuhlenbeck, who on this point is
of the same opinion as Bruno, brings this out in his comments
with special dehght (v., 289). Cf. also Brunnhofer, 219 seq.
Tlie freemasons and free-thinkers, to a great extent Jews, who
exulted at the erection of the monument to Giordano Bruno in
Rome in 1889, and hailed Bruno as the representative of liberty,
equality and fraternity, knew nothing of the dislike and hatred
which their hero felt for the whole of their race. The leader of
political radicalism in Italy, the Jew Barzilai, seems to have been
better informed when, on February 17, 1910, at the inauguration
of the site of the club for Roman free-thinkers facing the Vatican
(pulled down in 1925), which bore the name of Giordano Bruno,
confessed that for anti-clerical democracy the name of Giordano
Bruno was only a battle-cry, and that his other views had not
been taken into consideration. In like manner the Protestant
professor Van der Wyck, in the periodical De Gids, 1890, 342,
was of the opinion that the monument in Rome to Giordano
Bruno had not been erected on account of his learning, but
because the philosopher despised Christianity : " Het monument
will een kaakslag aan het pausdom zijn." Cf. also Z.\bughin,
who says {loc. cit.) : " Nessuno al mondo su meno ' libero
pensatore ' di quest'uomo [G. Brunoj che I'inhnita beozia dei
politicanti innalzo a simbolo sovrano del cosi detto libero
pensiero."
2 See Wyck, lou. cit.
208 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
indulged in attacks upon Aristotle.^ The restless man then
went to Germany, and tried his fortune in no fewer than eight
German cities, without, however, finding rest in any of them.
At Marburg he was refused permission to deliver public
lectures, which annoyed the philosopher so much that he
openly insulted the rector of the university in his own house.
At Halberstadt he aroused such scandal by his attitude of
opposition to all positive religion, that the superintendent-
general Mebes warned people from the pulpit to avoid all
contact with " this wolf and assassin of souls. '"^ From
Wittemberg, where he extolled Luther as the new Hercules,
and where his attacks upon the Roman " wolf," gave much
pleasure, he was driven out by the Calvinists in 1588. At
Frankfort on Maine Bruno supervised in 1591 the printing of
three didactic Latin poems, which are of importance for his
philosophical opinions ; in the same 3^ear he accepted the
invitation to go to Venice extended to him by Giovanni
Mocenigo, who was on terms of close friendship with his
publisher. Mocenigo wished to learn from Bruno the
mnemonic art, and how to read thoughts, which had already
been put forward by Raimondo Lullj in the thirteenth century,
and to the perfecting of which Bruno had devoted himself
all through his life. But now, whether because the Venetian
gentleman thought himself deceived in this matter by Bruno,
or because he felt remorse for having given hospitality to a
heretic, or because the too great interest taken in his beautiful
wife by the philosopher aroused his jealousy,^ it is certainly
i See the new information given by Auvray, G. Bruno a Paris,
Paris, 1 90 1. Cf. Tocco in N. Anlologia, XXXVII. (1902),
September.
2 See what is said by Fr. Koldewey {Braunschw. Magazin,
"Wolfenbiittel, 1897) concerning the earlier biographies.
* Fr. Albanese (L'Inquisizione religiosa nella repubblica di
Venezia, con docum. orig., Venice, 1875) endeavours to make this
last view credible ; he connects with it the circumstance that the
document of accusation against Bruno contained among other
charges " that he had taken great pleasure in women, as he did
not consider it a sin to follow the impulses of nature."
GIORDANO BRUNO. 2<J9
the fact that m May 1592 the disciple made over his master
into the hands of the Venetian Inquisition.
The view that Giordano Bruno presented himself before
the Venetian Inquisition as the bold champion of his doctrines,
and that the tribunal listened quietly to his philosophical
explanations, became obviously untenable once the acta of
his trial became known. ^ From these it is clear beyond all
possibility of doubt that the philosopher of Nola cut but a
sorry figure. In open contradiction to his own writings,
and his previous discourses, he showed himself ready to abjure
anything that was asked of him. " I reject," so he declared,
" I detest and deplore all errors and all heresies, as well as
every doubt of the doctrines of the Catholic Church." He
begged that he might be " pardoned for his weakness, and
be received into the bosom of the holy Church, and that he
might be treated with leniency." When he was brought
before the tribunal a second time, after a longer interval, he
made the same declaration, adding that he had already sought
for reconciliation with the Church from the nuncio in Paris,
and from a Jesuit ; he begged to be readmitted to her bosom,
but to be allowed to live a life of study outside his convent ;
he condemned and deplored all the harm that he had done,
and all the errors that he had thought and taught, and
promised henceforward to lead a life " which would repair the
scandal which he had hitherto given, and serve as an example
and edification to everyone."
A report of the process at Venice was sent to the Roman
^ Published for the first time by Berti in 1868 in his Vita di G.
Bruno ; later emended copies printed in Berti, Docum. intorno
a G.B,, Rome, 1880, and in Previti, 305 seqq. ; German trans-
lation in KuHLENBECK, VI., 145 scqq. The best text is now to be
found in Spampanato, 687 seqq. Broscu too, in Hist. Zeitsc/w.,
LX., 187 seq. pronounced against the attempt of Tocco to justify
the attitude of Bruno before the Venetian Inquisition. How
damning the Acta were for the philosopher is above all clear
from the fact that Fiorentino thought of falsifying them.
SiGWARi {/oc. cit.) shows how eironeous are the statements of
Brunnhofer concerning the trial by the Venetian Inquisition.
VOL. XXIV. 14
210 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Inquisition, which, by means of Cardinal Santori, asked on
September I2th, 1592, that Bruno might be handed over to it.
At first the government in Venice was unwilUng to grant this
request, but the nuncio in Venice, Lodovico Taverna, pointed
out that Bruno was not a subject of the Repubhc, but a
Neapolitan, that he had already in the past been summoned
to appear in Rome, that he was an escaped monk and an
arch-heretic ; in such cases it had often happened that guilty
persons were handed over to the supreme tribunal in Rome.
The Great Council then sought the legal advice of its pro-
curator Contarini. The latter replied that Bruno certainly
possessed rare intellectual gifts, but that he was also accused
of the most atrocious heresies ; since he was a foreigner,
and as processes against him had already been commenced
in Naples and Rome, it was possible to yield to the Pope's
request and hand Bruno over.
Thus in 1593 Bruno was taken to Rome. In the absence
of the acta of the process, we have but very insufficient
information as to his conduct there during the six years of his
imprisonment. 1 On February 27th, 1593, the case of Bruno
^ A desire has been expressed in many quarters that the Roman
Inquisition would make up its mind to render the acta of the
Roman process accessible for historical research. Recentl}'^ even
Kuhlenbeck, who is otherwise an enthusiastic supporter of
Bruno, has expressed himself in this sense when he says (VI.,
295 seq.) that : " by so doing the only ones who would suffer
would be the demonstrators at the monument of Bruno, who
make this man of Nola their saint, without in any way having
felt the breath of his spirit." It has escaped the notice of
Kuhlenbeck that G. Guttler relates in 1893 i^^ Archiv. f. Gesch.
det Pliilos., VI., 344 seq. that Pope Leo XIII., that enthusiast for
historical truth, was prepared as early as 1882 to throw open the
documents relating to Bruno, if they could be found in the
archives of the Roman Inquisition. " The result, however, of
the most careful research was that in those archives nothing
could be found on the subject ; since, owing to upsets and revolu-
tions, these archives have undergone many vicissitudes, it is not
even now possible to say whether these acta are still preserved.
GIORDANO BRUNO. 211
was discussed by the Inquisition.^ But it is only for the end
of 1599 and the beginning of 1600 that we have a few short
protocols,^ from which in each case it only appears that Bruno
asserted again and again that he " had never set forth heretical
opinions, and that the doctrines which were held by the
members of the Inquisition to be heretical, had only been
misinlerpreted." If these attempts of the philosopher to
escape the terrible penalties which threatened him are
humanly speaking easy to understand, they do not show the
smallest shadow of the courage of his opinions. Even his
bold and haughty words at the last, when all hope of pardon
had vanished : " You are perhaps pronouncing sentence upon
me with a greater sense of fear than I have in hearing it,"
do not prove much in the light of his earlier conduct, and all
the more so as they are only confirmed by a single witness
who is not over worthy of belief, Caspar Schopp.^
or whither they may have gone in the end." Encouraged by this
information, dated October 7, 1882, Guttler went to Rome,
where the archivist and commissary of the Inquisition very
courteously made repeated new search, which however, like the
researches of Giittler in the Papal Secret Archives and other
libraries of Rome, were without result. Cardinal Rampolla too,
at that time Secretary of the Inquisition, has assured me that in
the Archives of the Roman Inquisition nothing was found which
had not already been published by Berti in 1868 and by Martinori
in 1880.
^ C/. in App. n. 16, the *hst of the prisoners of the Holy
Office, Borghese Archives, Rome.
2 These extracts from the Archives of the Roman Inquisition,
made by an Italian scholar during the revolution of 1849, were
first printed in Documenti by Berti ; more recently in
Spampanato, 771 seqq. Ibid. 780 seqq. the " Sentence " of the
Inquisition on Bruno. For Bellarmine and the process against
Bruno see the periodical Gregorianum, IV. (1923), 193 seqq. Cf.
Carusi, Nuovi documenti sul processo di G. Bruno in the Giorn.
crit. d. filosofia iial., VI. (1925), 121-130, where there is also the
text of the final judgment of the Inquisition on Bruno of February
8, 1600.
* Isabella Oppenheim has given in her English biography of
212 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
After Bruno had been handed over on February 9th, 1600,
to the secular arm for punishment, as an obstinate heretic
and apostate, he was still given another eight daj^s to recant
his heresies,^ which were directed against the fundamental
dogmas of Christianity. But the theologians who were sent
to him, as well as the members of the Confraternity of
S. Giovanni Decollato, who gave the condemned man spiritual
assistance in his last hours, laboured in vain. On February
17th, Giordano Bruno, impenitent to the last, suffered death
at the stake in the Campo di Fiori.^
Bruno, under the pseudonym J. Frith, a printed and revised copy
of the letter of G. Schopp (Scioppius) to Rittershaus, based on
the manuscript at Breslau.
^ Bkosch too {Hist. Zeitschr., LX., 189) who is so great an
admirer of Bruno, judges that the philosopher of Nola was no
longer a Christian. Cf. also Renier in Giorn. star. d. htl. Ha].,
L., ^27.
2 See besides the letter of G. Schopp, cited supva, above all the
contemporary *Avvisi of February 12, 16 and 19, 1600, contanedi
in Urb. 1068 (Vatican Library). (Rodocanachi, Reforme, II.,
434 sen. ; Spampanato, 784). In spite of these absolutely
trustworthy witnesses, the Frenchman Desdouits (La legende
tragique de J. Bruno, Paris, 1885) tries to prove that the death of
Bruno at the stake did not take place ; that the sentence was
not carried out, but that Bruno was kept in prison for the
remainder of his life. This strange attempt was rightly refuted
by E. Naruucci (G. Bruno e la legenda tragica del Sig. Desdouits,
Rome, 1886) and by the Jesuit Previti {loc. cil.). Kl. Baumker
too has declared against Desdouits in his valuable dissertation on
Bruno, published in Wis.^enschaftl. Beilage zur Germania, 1900,
Nr. 7. In this he brings out the importance of Bruno as a
naturalist (he is not a naturalist who analyses, but one who uses
his imagination), while as a philosopher he estimates him fairly.
Baumker however missed the important work, also directed
against Desdouits, bj^ A. Pognisi : G. Bruno e I'Archivio di
S. Giovanni Decollato, Turin, 1891. There, p. 62 seq., we find
all the information concerning the last hours of Bruno, in the
" confrateria di ponte S. Angelo," which were in those archives,
but now removed to the State Archives, Rome, and which remove
VENICE AND THE INQUISITION. 213
Although the Venetian government had handed over
Giordano Bruno to the Roman Inquisition, it refused to do
so when in July 1593 the latter asked the same thing in the
case of the Greek Bishop of Cerigo, Massimo Marguni, saying
that the many Greeks who lived in Venice and the possessions
of the Republic in the Levant had never been the subjects
of that authority. The Venetian government, however,
offered to order the rector of Padua to demand the writings
all doubt concerning the carrying out of the sentence (16-17
February, 1600). If Kuhlenbeck calls the death of Bruno at
the stake a judicial murder, a critic has remarked in the Lit.
Beilage ziir Koln. Vo.'k>>zeifnng, 1904 n. 15, that " from the legal
point of view this act was no more a judicial murder than that of
having hanged, disembowelled and quartered 142 Catholic priests
in the course of twenty years, in the freest country in the world,
and under the auspices of an enlightened sovereign. We make
this comparison because the author does not fail to offer incense
to the era of Elizabeth, and to British society which courteously
welcomed this unbalanced guest, and showed that they understood
the trend of his ideas. If the philosopher of Nola, who, according
to what the author himself says, had every reason to be on his
guard against the Calvinists, had crossed the seas, not as an
apostate, but as a friar who had remained true to his vows, his
tonsured head would have been insulted in Ireland, or he would
have had to lay down his life at Tyburn amid tortures such as are
unheard of to-day except in China. Probably in Rome, just as a
generation later Galileo did, he irritated his judges exceedingly
by his obstinate and contradictory behaviour, men who probably
were not anxious to increase the difficulties of the time by con-
demning a heretic to the stake ; they believed — and perhaps
equally firmly as the English judges under the Virgin Queen —
that they had to perform a painful duty, without heeding the
consequences. In this sense we may interpret the words of the
condemned man : " You are pronouncing sentence with greater
fear than I feel in hearing it." Kuhlenbeck says (Vol. I., p. 1 76)
in a like sense : " Moreover the behaviour of the Roman Inquisi-
tion, which would gladly have seen Bruno saved by a recantation,
does not approach the diabolical cruelty of Calvin, who delighted
in assisting in person as a spectator at the death of Servetus at
the stake."
214 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of this man, and to inform him that should he cause scandal
by his life and doctrines, he could no longer be allowed to
remain in Padua. ^
In the same year Clement VIII. called the attention of the
Venetian ambassador to the fact that the English were
carrying on Calvinist propaganda in the city of the lagoons.
Paruta maintained that at that moment there were very few
Englishmen living in Venice, and that the government was
zealously watching over the Catholic character of the
inhabitants. Clement VIII. replied that he v/as quite ready
to believe this, but that vigilance against the Calvinists could
never be sufficient.^ Later on it was realized only too clearly
how fully justified the Pope's exhortation had been. As a
matter of fact numerous heretics were already establishing
themselves there on various pretexts. Some were living in
the palaces of the ambassadors of England and Holland,
others were employed in commerce, and not a few were
studying at Padua. ^ The meetings of noble Venetians at
the house of the Dutch merchant Gerard Nis, who possessed
many heretical books, filled Clement VIII. with anxiety.
^ See Pakuta, Dispacci, I., 256 seq., 281 seq., 291 seq.
* See ibid. 265 ; cf. III., 63 seq., concerning the dispute with
Venice about the Inquisitor of Bergamo. With regard to the
Inquisition in Venice and the position of the nuncio see in App.
n. 7, the *Instruction for A. M. Graziani, March 30, 1596,
Graziani Archives, Citta di Castello. Here belong the *acta in
Barb. 5195 and 5205, Vatican Library. Cf. also Anal, iuris
pontif., XXVI. (1886). 576 seq.
^ *" In Venetia et altre citta del suo dominio dimorano heretici
sotto diverse cause e pretesti. Alcuni vi stanno come familiari e
servitori degli ambasciatori d'lnghilterra e di Olanda ivi resident! .
Altri vi allogiano come soldati, molti vi tengono domicilio con-
tinue. Altri vi capitano alia giomata per ragione di traffico e di
mercantia. Alcuni ve ne sono di passagio e non pochi per
occasione dello studio di Padova " (Barb. 5195, p. 83, Vatican
Library). *Decrees of the Roman Inquisition " de ultramontanis
haereticis praecique Paduae commorantibus " in 1595, in Barb,
1369, P- 159 seq., loc. cit. Cf. Barb. 5195, p. 56 seq.
PAOLO SARPI. 215
There the Servite friar, Paolo Sarpi, whose father was also a
merchant, formed an acquaintance for the first time with
anti-Catholic literature. Clement VIII. was already well
aware how dangerous this man was, and when Sarpi was
suggested for a diocese in Dalmatia, he replied that friar was
deserving of punishment rather than reward. Sarpi swore
to be revenged.^ In 1604 a Calvinist preacher had the
effrontery to preach a sermon which caused great scandal in
the house of the English ambassador.^
With the exception of Venice and the Waldenses in Pied-
mont,^ Clement VIII. had no reason to fear any serious
danger to the preservation of unity of faith in any part of
Italy. ^ This happy state of affairs, which was also of value
1 Nicoletti, who is very well informed, writes in his *Vita
d'Urbano VIII. : " Questo [Sarpi"' fix gia un tempo accusato a
Clemente ottavo di esser direttore e capo di un'accademia, che si
faceva in Venetia in casa di Gherardo Nis mercatante Olandese,
di setta Calvinista, e che teneva una numerosa libreria di libri
proibiti. Frequentavano questa congrega molti nobili Veneziani,
che si credevano poco ben'affetti alia Santa Sede apostolica ; e
correva voce che non havessero sensi buoni e sinceri intorno
airimmortalita dell'anima ragionevole. Mentre Clemente andava
pensando di trovar qualche modo circospetto per disgregar quella
pratica, fu pregato a voler promuovere Fra Paolo ad un vescovado
in Dalmatia ; rispose que] saggio Pontefice, ch'egli conosceva
molto bene il Irate, e che meritava piii tosto gastigo che premio.
Alterato da questa ripulsa Fra Paolo penso sempre di vendicarsene.
Barb. LII., 7 p. 626 seq., Vatican Library.
2 See the *report in Cod. Barb. 5195, pp. 83-86, Vatican Library.
^ See Jalla, La riforma in Piemonte, 1 595-1 596, in Bull, de la
Soc. d'hist. Vaifdoise, 1924. In the *Decreta s. Inquisitionis in
Barb. T369 (Vatican Library) mention is made of other heretics in
Calabria ; p. 21 seq. : ' De haereticis in terris dioc. Cusent.
(1592, 1599, 1600).
* Cf. Tacchi Venturi, I., 85. At Vicenza, where there had
formerly been many heretics, in 1598 there was only one ; see
Secegni, Le lettere a Vicenza a tempo della reazione cattolica,
Vicenza, 1903, 17. Clement VIIL asked for the handing over of
Giov. Batt. Angelotto, a native of Vicenza, who had escaped to
2l6 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
for the preservation of national unity, was due not only to
the spread of the Catholic reform, and the zealous action of
the Roman Inquisition, which was for the most part
supported by the various governments,^ but also to the vigil-
ance of the Congregation of the Index of prohibited books,
which was closely connected with it.^ Sixtus V. had died
before the new edition of the Index which he had ordered
had been completely finished.^ At the meetings of the
Congregation of the Index which were resumed under
Clement VIII. it was decided to suspend that work, and make
a new list of prohibited books. When this was finished in
1593, it was found that Clement VIII. was not satisfied with
the work, against which objections had also been raised br-
others, especially by Baronius. The Venetian ambassador
Paruta profited by this circumstance, as the Index of 1593
contained in an appendix a prohibition of many books in
Italian, from which he feared grave loss to the booksellers'
trade in his native city. By his remonstrances Paruta
succeeded in persuading Clement VIII. to withdraw the Index
of 1593, and to order the Congregation to prepare a new list.^
Laibach, and was there stirring up trouble against the Church, in
*briefs of August 21, 1593, to the Archduke Matthias, and of
September 19, 1593, to the Archduke Maximilian ; see Arm. 44,
t. 34, p. 96 ; t. 38, p. 387, Papal Secret Archives.
1 Cf. the *briefs of praise to Genoa, March 16, 1596, for the
punishment of two heretics (Arm. 44, t. 40, n. 95, loc. cit.). By
a *brief of October 20, 1601, Clement VIII. exhorted the Duke of
Savoy to take action against the heretics in the valleys of the
marquisate of Saluzzo, the governor there being well disposed
{ibid. t. 45, n. 365). Cf. ibid. t. 46, n. 24 and 198, the *briefs of
thanks to the duke of January 12 and June 28, 1602, for having
heeded this request. See also Vier Dokumente aus rorn. Archiven,
Leipzig, 1843, 93 seq. For the mission of 1602 to the heretics of
Saluzzo see Pelissier in Piccolo Arch. slor. del marchesato di
Saluzzo, II. (1903- 1 90 5).
2 Cf. Pastor, Dekrete, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 55.
3 See HiLGERS, 12 seq., 529, where the view of Reusch is refuted.
* Cf. Paruta, Dispacci, I., 296 seq., 323, 332 seq. ; II., 180,
245 seq., 488 ; Hilgers, 13, 529 seq., 531 seq. See also
THE INDEX OF CLEMENT VIII. 217
This Index obtained the approbation of Clement VIII. ; it
was published on March 27th, 1596, in accordance with the
instructions, and was enforced for the Curia on May 17th by
an edict of the Master of the Sacred Palace.^ On the sarrie day
is dated the brief printed in the preface to the Index, which
after a short account of the origin of the new Hst, confirms it
under threat of the penalties laid down in the past by
Pius IV., and grants to the Congregation of the Index the
power to pass judgment concerning any doubts and con-
troversies that might arise. ^
The Index of Clement VIII. differs from that of vSixtus V.,
especially by the absence of the appendix of Italian books.
The list of prohibited books agrees in its contents almost
Baumgarten, Neue Kunde, 211 ^eq. Neither Reusch nor
Ottino-Fumagalli knew of the Index of the year 1593, although
copies are to be found in the Vatican and Angelica Libraries.
Hilgers was the first to draw attention to these. The description
in Brosch is misleading (I., 305) ; he wrongly transfers to 1595
the Index that was definitively approved.
^ See HiiiiERS, 536 seq. The statement of Reusch (L, 533)
that the Index was only finished in the latter part of the summer
of 1596 is irreconcilable with the *Avviso of May 4, 1596, which
speaks of the Index as already published (Urb. 1064, I., Vatican
Library) and with the *report of L. Arrigoni of June 29, 1596
(Gonzaga Archives, Mantua) in App. n. 8. Cf. also Veress,
Mon. Vatic. Hung., 228, and Baumgarten, Neue Kunde, 222 xeq.
For its carrying into efiect in Rome see Pastor in Hisi. Jahrb.,
XXXIII. , 537. The strange prohibition oJ the book by the
Capuchin Girolamo a Politio, mentioned by Hilgers (535 seq.)
and by Baumgarten (223) is also noted in the *acta consist, card
S. Severinae, December 27, 1595 (Cod. Barb. lat. 2871, III.,
Vatican Library). Clement '\TII. issued a brief against the
writings of Charles Dumoulin on August 21, 1602 ; see Du
Plessis d'Argentke, Collectio iudiciorum, Paris, 172 ^ seq.,
I., App. xl.. III., 2, 171.
''See Bull., X., 53 seq. Ibid. 230 icq. a bull of C)ctober 17,
1596, which again confirms the Index and once more confers on
the Congregation of the Index the power of passing judgment
upon doubts arising therefrom.
2l8 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
exactly with that prepared by Sixtus V. ; only Bellarmine
and Francesco a Victoria are omitted ; otherwise it
contains almost all the writings of Catholic authors, which
Sixtus V. had already declared worthy of censure. With
regard to its form and division, Clement VIII. adhered to the
so-called Tridentine Index issued under Pius IV. with its
three classes, though Clement VIII. added to each class, and
even to each letter, a considerable number b}^ way of appendix.
The Index of the Aldobrandini Pope also includes unchanged
the ten Tridentine rules, to which there is added by way of
appendix, an instruction to bishops, inquisitors, printers and
booksellers.^ As this instruction, compared with that drawn
up under Sixtus V., was made more severe in certain points,
Venice again raised opposition. Clement took into account
the energetic remonstrances of the Signoria by mitigating
the instructions for Venetian territory. ^ The Index of
Clement VIII. was accepted without any objection by the
other Catholic states, and later on its observance was made
more strict by means of synods, not only in Italy, but also in
France, Belgium and Germany.^
In the Index of Clement VIII. there are also added to the
ten Tridentine rules, certain modif3ang decrees concerning
translations of the Bible, astrological writings, the Talmud
^ See Reusch, I., 533 seq., 560 seq.
* See Parisi, II., 183 seq. ; Cecchetti, II., 257 seq. ; Reusch,
I., 546 seq.
* See Reusch, I., 543-546. L. Arrigoni wrote on October 5,
1596, that the new Index had been accepted by all the Italian
states, even Venice, and begged the Duke of Mantua to do the
same (Gonzaga Archives, Mantua). For the prohibition of books
after 1596 see Reusch, I., 552, Carte Strozz., I., 2, 318. Cf.
Cavazzuti, Castelvetro, 35 seq., Baumgarten, Neue Kunde,
230 5^^. For the prohibition of all the books of the Galilean,
Charles Dumoulin see Bull., X., 858 ; Reusch, I., 442, 605 ;
Hilgers, 252. Four letters from Cardinal San tori to the
Inquisitor at Florence, which show that these proliibitions of the
Roman Inquisition were notified to the booksellers, who had to
acknowledge their receipt, in BibUofrlo, XI. (1890), 49 se(^.
THE TALMUDIC BOOKS. 219
and other Jewish books. ^ There is also printed in it an extract
from the bull of February 28th, 1593, which prohibited not
only the Talmudic, cabalistic and irreligious books already
condemned in its predecessors, but also all books in Hebrew
or any other language, already written or printed, or to be
written or printed in future, which contain heresies or errors
against the Holy Scriptures, insults to Catholic doctrine, to
ecclesiastical usages, to priests or neophytes, or indecent tales.
All such books, it was enacted, must not be kept or propagated
by the Jews, not even under the pretext that they were
expurgated (nor even provisionally until they were expur-
gated) ; moreover the pretext must not be put forward that
these works under a different title, had been reprinted with
the permission of some member of the Council of Trent, or
on the strength of a decree of the Index of Pius IV., or of a
Papal indult, or by the permission of Cardinals, legates,
nuncios, bishops, inquisitors. At the same time the Pope
revoked all concessions made by his predecessors and others,
authorizing the retention of such books for a fixed or an
indeterminate period ; he forbade the making of such con-
cessions, and ordered the books to be handed over in Rome
within ten daj-^s, and elsewhere within two months, and that
they should be burned immediately, under the threat of
confiscation of goods, and under even more severe temporal
penalties, including, in the case of Christians, " excommuni-
catio latae sententiae."^ The Roman Inquisition also made
other decrees in the same sense on August 6th, 1592, and
May loth, 1593, and ordered their carrying out by the
inquisitors and nuncios.^
The action taken by Clement VIII. against the books of
1 See Reusch, I., 50. 333, 339, 534.
^ See Bull., X., 25 seq., and Dian.\, V., 572 seq. (with wrong
date 1599 ; cf. *Avviso of April 7, 1593, Urb. 1061, Vatican
Library). Reusch (I., 49 seq.) gives the bull the wrong date of
1592, as does A. Berliner, Zensur u. Konfiskation hebr. Biicher
im Kirchenstaate, Frankfort on Maine, 1891, 7 seq.
' See Pastor, Dekrete, 50, 52, Cf. Albitius, 296, 298, ^nd
Reusch, I., 51.
220 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the Jev/s, which they strongly resented,^ was not an isolated
administrative act. The lenient treatment of the Jews by
Gregory XIII. and Sixtus V.^ had led to grave abuses ; above
all the usury which they practised had become unbearable.^
Clement VIII. therefore resolved to revert to the severe
measures of Paul IV. and Pius V. On February 25th, 1592,
he renewed the ordinances of those Popes which had limited
Jewish commerce at Avignon.* In the summer of 1592 the
sermons for the conversion of the Jews were reintroduced,^
and the inscriptions which might offend the Christians were
removed from the Jewish cemetery near Porta Portese.^
Moreover a census of the Jews in the city was ordered, and
their commerce with Christians restricted by an edict.' As
the census showed that there were 3,500 Jews in Rome, it was
supposed that strict steps would be taken against them.®
Indeed, on February 25th, 1593, the strict ordinances of
Paul IV. and Pius V. were renewed, and they were forbidden
to live in Papal territory, except in Rome, Ancona and
Avignon." On May 25th, 1593, their usurious dealings were
^ See *Avvisi of April 7, 10 and 14, 1593, Urb. 1061, Vatican
Library. Cf. Baumgarten, Neue Kunde, 342.
2 Cf. Vol. XIX. of this work, p. 311 ; Vol. XXL, pp. 116, 197.
* Santori wrote a special dissertation concerning this ; see
Barb. lat. 4592, p. 64b, Vatican Library.
* See Bull., IX., 523 seq.
^ The sermons took place in S. Lorenzo in Damaso ; see *Avviso
of July 29, 1592, Urb. 1060, IL, Vatican Library. Cf. Hist.-polit.
BL, LVIL, 515 seq.
* See the two *Avvisi of August i, 1592, Urb. 1060, IL, Vatican
Library. Cf. *Avviso of May 4, 1596, LTrb. 1064, I., ibid.
'See *Avvisi of August i and 19, 1592, Urb. 1060, IL, ibid.
Cf. the *report of L. Arrigoni of June 29, 1596, Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua. A prohibition of entering the synagogue, March 13,
1603, in Editli, ^^, 10, p. 53, Papal Secret Archives. Descendants
of Jews were excluded from the priesthood in Spain and Portugal ;
see Bull., X., 414 ; Lammer, Analecta, 56.
^ See *Avviso of August i, 1592, loc. cit.
' Bull., X., 22 seq. Certain facilities, however, were granted
to the Levantine Jews domiciled at Ancona ; cf. Paruta, Dispacci,
CLEMENT VIII. AS JURIST. 221
repressed.^ This great strictness, however, did not prevent
the Pope from repeatedly checking by means of decrees any
unjust persecution of the Jews."
Throughout his pontificate Clement VIII. showed himself
the ardent champion of ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The strict
ideas on this matter which he held as a jurist,^ frequently
brought him into conflict with the cesaropapalism of the Kings
of Spain, ^ while conflicts with Florence and Venice became
inevitable,^ on account of the views of the governments in
those places. Clement VIII. loved Venice, and valued her
as a counterweight to Spain, ^ but the way in which the
Republic of St. Mark put before everything else a cold calcu-
lation of her own advantage, and her national selfishness, were
bound again and again to renew his annoyance. His com-
plaints of the usurpations of episcopal jurisdiction by the
1., 204 ; (Brosch, I., 306, gives this report the wroRg date of
May 25 instead of 15), II., 362. See also Rodocanachi, I.e
St. Siege et les Juifs, 189 ; Berliner, II., 24 sea. ; Blustein,
Storia degli Ebrei di Roma, Rome, 1921, 142 seqq. Cf. *Bandi,
v., 10, p. 50 seqq., Papal Secret Archives. For the Jews at
Ferrara see Frizzi, V., 90, and Capilupi, ed. Prinzivalli, 148, n. 2.
Cf. Regesti di bandi (see title infra, Cap. X, 367, n. i), I., loy
seq.
1 Bull. X., 269.
2 The first *" Bando che non si debbano molestare ne dare
fastidio alii Hebraei " bears the date January 28, 1595. Similar
*bandi were again issued in 1596, 1599, 1603 and 1605 ; see
Bandi V., 10, p. 128 seqq., Papal Secret Archives. Cf. Rev.
juive, II., 289 ; Rodocanachi, loc. cil., 189 seq.
3 *" £2 Papa Clemente fue de los mas zelosos de la jurisdicion
ecclesiastica de quantos se an conocido muchos annos," say the
♦Instructions for the Spanish ambassador " duque de Aytona "
in 1605, Archives of the Spanish Embassy, Rome, III., 9.
* Cf. Vol. XXIII. of this work, p. 195 seqq.
^ For the disputes with Florence in 1599 concerning the usurpa-
tions of ecclesiastical rights by the government there, cf.
MuTiNELLi, II., 66 seq.
* Cf. Paruta, Relazione, 435. See also Dolfin, Relazione,
495-
222 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Senate sometimes became very bitter ;^ it was these that
made the situation of the nuncios in the city of the lagoons
so difficult.^ To these were also added many disputes of a
secular character, but however strained relations may have
become, a breach was always avoided ;^ this was not to be
attributed only to such prudent diplomatists as Paruta and
Dolfin, but also to the Pope, who was as prudent as he was
peace-loving in character.'*
A year and a half had elapsed since the death of Sixtus V.
and the strange and complicated position into which the
Sixtine Bible had fallen had not yet been cleared up. The
Louvain and Paris editions of the book of books could be
freely republished, and in the time of Gregory XIV. care
had been taken not to interfere with their further diffusion
by any express prohibition, even after the definitive Roman
version had been issued. The latter edition of the Vulgate,
on the other hand, to which more care had been devoted than
to any other, and in which the Pope had personally taken
part, was left lying in the vaults of the Vatican Press like a
dangerous book, in the expectation of its being destroyed
1 Cf. e.g. Paruta, Dispacci, II., ii8 seq., 127 seq.
i»See Arch. Veneto, XXXVII., 2 (1889), 273. Cf. *instructions
of the nuncio Graziani in 1598 to the new nuncio. Cod. 1621,
Corsini Library, Rome. Some passages in Lammer, Zur Kirchen-
gesch, 123. See also in App. n. 7, the *instructions to A. M.
Graziani in 1596, Graziani Archives, Citta di Castello.
* In July 1595 he threatened the withdrawal of the nuncio on
account of a violation of the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Ceneda ;
see Arch. star, ita/., XII., xxix. Many *letters concerning this in
Nunziat. di Venezia, XVII., Papal Secret Archives. In one
♦letter preserved there (p. 182) from Pietro Levade to Cardinal
Cinzio Aldobrandini, dated Ceneda, October 27, 1 601, it is stated :
" Delle cose di questa giurisditione credo V.S. sia avisata da
Msgr. Nuntio di Venezia andando ella ogni giorno di mal in
peggio." The other side of these disputes, naturally from the
Venetian point of view, was given by Paruta and Dolfin in their
reports cited supra, p. 221, n. 6. Cf. also Romanin, VII.,
14 seqq.
* Cf. Dolfin, Relazione, 500.
THE SIXTINE VULGATE. 223
and forbidden by the Pope's orders from being presented to
the public.
For the new Pope it became one of his most pressing tasks
to interest himself in this delicate question. Clement VIII.
placed the matter in the hands of Cardinals Frederick
Borromeo and Valiero, to whom was added Toledo as a
collaborator. These re-examined the proposals for emenda-
tion made by the Gregorian commission, and decided upon
the definitive text, which they enriched with learned notes. ^
On August 28th, 1592, they were able to present their
completed work.
Cardinal Carafa had died on January 14th, 1591 ; the text
which had been drawn up under his direction, and which had
been emended in many points by Sixtus V., was no longer
accepted either by the Gregorian commission nor by that of
Toledo. Whereas Carafa and his collaborators had been
guided in their edition of the text only by scientific motives
and by consideration of the best manuscripts, other points
of view now became of decisive importance, and above all,
following the example of Sixtus V., both under Gregory XIV.
and Clement VIII. care was taken not to depart too widely
from the wording hitherto in use. Certain things, which
from the purely scientific point of view called for change, were
for this reason left exactly as they were, in order to avoid
scandal or surprise.^
Not all of those who were allowed to take part in the
discussions could be said to be satisfied by this method of
procedure. The learned Valverde addressed an impassioned
appeal to the Pope to have the text of Toledo examined once
more before it was handed over to the printers. At first
Clement VIII. seemed inclined to agree to this course, but
1 HoPFL, 169. " These notes, a fine example of the learning of
Toledo, are still of value to-day " (ibid.) According to Ghislieri,
Toledo relied especially upon Agellio (ibid. n. 2).
2 HoPFL, 166 seq. Cf. the preface to the Vulgate : "In hac
tamen pervulgata lectione sicut nonnulla consulto mutata, ita
etiam alia, quae mutanda videbantur, consulto immutata relicta
sunt, etc."
224 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
was then led to an opposite decision when it was pointed out
to him that the Church had already been waiting for the
Roman Vulgate for some fifty years, and that it was time
finally to put an end to erudite labours, and to begin with
the printing.^
Before, however, the completed work was handed over to
the printers, another ordinance against the Sixtine Vulgate
was issed. In order to avoid as far as possible the scandal
which was feared from this, Clement VIII., following the
suggestion of Bellarmine, gave orders for the acquisition of
all the copies alread}^ issued, in Venice to the Inquisitor and
the nuncio, and in Germany and the countries across the
Alps to the Jesuits ; the Pope promised to bear all the
expense. On December 22nd, 1592, the ambassador of Spain
was also asked to address to Philip II. a request that he would
hand over to the nuncio the copies that were still in his
possession. The search went on until 1595 ; all the copies
that were found were sent to Rome and burned, in accordance
with the wishes of the Pope.^ In spite of this more than forty
Sixtine Bibles have been preserved until our own day.^ But
with this all the difficulties had not been overcome. Already,
in the time of Clement VIII. the doubt had been raised as to
how the errors of the Sixtine Bible could be reconciled with
the doctrine of Papal infallibility in questions of faith and
morals.* The question assumed an even greater importance
in the time of Paul V. ;^ as early as 1600 the Protestants
1 HoPFL, 173.
2 Le Bachelet, 54 seqq. ; Santori, Diario, ibid. 150 seq. ;
Prat, Recherches, V., 10 seq. ; Baumgarien, Neue Kunde,
274 ^eqq., Amann, 79-101.
* Enumerated in Baumgarten, Vulgata, 65-91 ; Neue Kunde,
150 seq. If it was hoped that it would be possible to withdraw
the printed copies already sold, then their number cannot have
been very great.
* Le Bachelet, 56 seq.
^ The difficulty was discussed at the University of Ingolstadt
as early as 1608 {ibid. 58 seqq.). Cf. the letter of Gretser to
Bellarmine, June 23, 1608, ibid. 155-158.
THE CLEMENTINE BIBLE. 225
brought forward against that doctrine the differences between
the Clementine and Sixtine Vulgates/ although none of the
divergent texts contained any difference as to faith or morals.
The printing was begun at the beginning of September
1592, and was completed in about four months, so that the
ambassador of Spain was able to send the new Bible on
December 22nd. ^ As early as November 8th, 1592, a privilege
was granted to the Vatican Press, which only allowed other
presses to reprint it after an interval of ten years, and on
condition of exact conformity with the Vatican copy.^
Externally the Clementine Bible is altogether similar to the
Sixtine ; its format, and even the engravings on the frontis-
piece are the same,* the number of pages corresponds almost
exactly.^ Clement VIII. was not named on the title-page,
but all the honour was left to Sixtus V. alone. ^ Indeed, to
him was due the credit for the fact that the Latin Church had
now at length been given its ancient Bible with an officially
authorized text, and in spite of many differences' on various
points, it was his text that had been followed. It is obvious
that it did not occur to anyone, in spite of the dissatisfaction
aroused by the errors in his edition, to compromise in any way
the great dead Pope by the new Vulgate ; the ill-luck of the
1 Thomas James, Bellum papale, London, 1600.
2 HoPFL, 179 seq. On January 16, 1593, G. del Carretto
*reports that the Pope had given him a Bible for the duke, and
that the duke must send back the Bible of Sixtus V. Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.
3 Bull., IX., 636 seq.
* The title page of the Sistina in Amann, 135, that of the
Clementina in Hetzenauer's edition of the Vulgate, Innsbruck,
1906 ; both title-pages in Kaulen-Hoberg, Einleitung in die
Heilige Schrift, 1.^, Freiburg, 1911, 21S.
5 Vercellone, Variae lectiones, I., Ixxiii.
* Clement VIII. was mentioned for the first time in the edition
of Bonaventura Nugo, published by the heirs of Gughelmus
Rovillius, Lyons, 1604 ; also in that published at Mayence and
Cologne in 1609 ; cf. F.\lk in Katholik, 1899, I., 4 48 seqq.
' List principally in Hetze.njauer, loc. cit., io8*-i48*.
Hetzenauer estimates the number of variants at about 4900.
VOL. XXIV. 15
226 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Sixtine Bible is mentioned and excused in the preface of
Clement VIII., almost exactly in the indulgent way suggested
by Bellarmine.^
The haste with which the Vulgate of 1592 had been printed
resulted in a number of typograpical errors. In 1593 there
appeared a new edition in quarto, and in 1598 another in
octavo, which differ from each other and from the first in
many points, but for the most part only of minor importance.^
Many therefore cherished the hope that the work of perfecting
it would be continued in Rome,^ but it was onl}^ after the lapse
of three centuries that this expectation was realized in the
time of Pius X. The Clementine text is thus sufficient " for
the theological use of the Vulgate, while from the critical point
of view, even though it is not perfect and free from errors, is
nevertheless on the whole good ; in a word a text of which
the Church has no need to feel ashamed."*
^ In the autobiography of Bellarmine it is said of the Sistina :
" Irrepsisse aliqua errata vel typograpliorum vel alioyum," in his
opinion drawn up for Gregory XIV. : " Multa emendatione digna
variis de causis in iis bibliis irrepsisse." In the preface to the
Vulgate it is only stated that Si.xtus V. had understood that
" non pauca in sacra Bibbia preli vitio irrepsisse." Cf. Le
Bachelet, 90. It does not appear therefore that either in this
or in other respects was the advice of Bellarmine entirely followed.
For the rest the preface sets forth the matter, as it had been
conceived by Sixtus V. ; it was not possible to put into the
Pope's mouth what had only been the opinion of Bellarmine.
" Preli vitio " does not mean a printer's error as it does to-day
{Zeitschr. f. kath. TheoL, 1924, 150 seqq.).
^ A critical comparison of the three texts in Hetzenauer,
loc. cit., 72*-io2*, according to his estimate the second edition
differs from the first in 230 points, the third from the second
and the first in 930 points ; in an index at the end of the edition
of 1598, 94 are pointed out (ibid. 104*). For the editions of the
Clementine Vulgate cf. Gramatica in La Scida catt., X912, I.,
l86 seqq., 465 seqq. ; Kneller in Zeitschr. f. kath. TheoL, XLIII.
(1919). 391 seq.
^ HoPFL, 225 seqq.
* Reusch in Ho PEL, 186.
REVISAL OF LITURGICAL BOOKS. 227
Clement VIII. won enduring merit by his correction of the
liturgical books. Pius V. had carried out the revision of the
Breviary and the Missal demanded by the Council of Trent,
and had published in 1568 the new Breviary, and two years
later the new Missal. Sixtus V. ordered the Congregation
of Rites which he established to revise the Pontificale, the
Rituale and the Caerimoniale episcoporum.^ These labours
were energetically pushed forward under Clement VIII., and
to some extent completed. The first to appear, in 1596,
was a new edition of the Pontificale, that is to say, the episcopal
functions, exclusive of the formularies and rubrics of the Mass.
The introductory bull, dated February loth, 1596,^ points
out what vast labours had been involved in this first edition
of the Pontificale. Four years later the Pope published the
Caerimoniale episcoporum, which also eliminated certain
abuses which had been introduced into the churches with
the use of the organ, and laid down detailed rules concerning
them. Whereas the Pope, in publishing the Roman Pontifi-
cale, forbade the use of all pontificals hitherto in use, in favour
of the new one issued by him, in the case of the Caerimoniale
episcoporum he declared that he did not intend to abolish
ancient ceremonial in so far as it corresponded with the
reformed edition.^ This was probably the result of the
outspoken remonstrances of Giovan Battista Bandini against
the ecclesiastical monopoly, epsecially of liturgical books, and
1 Cf. Vol. XVII. of the work, p. 22^ ; Vol. XXI., p. 254.
2 See Bull., X., 246 seq. Baumgarten, Neue Kunde, 342.
With regard to the ideas of a reform of the chant under Clement
VIII. see the exhaustive work of Molitok, Die nachtrident.
Choralreform, II. and also Th. Schmid in Stimmen aiis Maria-
Laach, LXV., 33 seq. Clement VIII. made all steps in this
matter dependent on the opinion of the Congregation of Rites.
Four Roman musicians in 1595, by command of this Congregation,
undertook a revision of the melodies of the chant. For the
Pontificale see Moliior, II., 47 seq.
* Bull., X., 597 seq. Cf. Freiburg. Kirchenlex., III^., 16 seq ,
VIII., 53 seq., IX., 1049.
228 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
which were very graciousty listened to by the Pope, who was as
humble as he was prudent.^
In the year 1602 there appeared by the order of
Clement VIII. a new, and emended and enlarged edition of the
Breviary, together with a bull dated May loth, which ordered,
under pain of excommunication, that henceforward the
Roman Breviary should only be printed with the permission
of the bishop, and in exact conformity with the Vatican
edition, without any additions or omissions.^
The reform of the Breviary had already been begun by
Sixtus v., and energetically carried on by Gregory XIV.,
in spite of his short pontificate ;^ Clement VIII. brought it
to completion.^ The commission appointed by him for this
purpose could not have been better composed. It consisted
of Cardinals Baronius, Bellarmine and Silvio Antoniano, the
Archbishop of Monreale, Lodovico de Torres, the Barnabite
Bartolomeo Gavanti, the Theatine monk Michele Ghislieri,
and Giovan Battista Bandini, canon of St. Peter's, who acted
as secretary. The commission had partly to draw up new
critical reports, which was done by Cardinals Baronius and
Bellarmine in the case of the historical lections drawn from
^ See G. Mekcati in Rass. Greg., V. (1906), 12 seq.
"See Bull., X., 788 seq. By a *brief of October 26, 1596,
Clement VIII. had granted the use of the Proprium Salisbityg.
which had been reformed by the Archbishop of Salzburg, Wolf
Dietrich von Raitenau (Orig. in Consistoriai Archives, Salzburg).
3 Cf. Vol. XXII. of this work, p. 390.
* C/. for what follows Bkrofx in Zeitschr. /. kath. TheoL,
VIII., 293 seqq., and Baumer, 492 seq. See also Battitol,
256 seq. ; P. A. Kirsch, Die hist. Brevierlektionen, W'iirzburg,
1902 ; A. GuiTTARU in La Croix, 1908, July i ; G. Baudot,
II Breviario Rom. Origini e storia, Rome, 1909. The *Avviso
of November 17, 1593, Urb. 1061, Vatican Library, mentions the
labours of the reform commission. A *" Dissertatio de ditierentiis
inter Breviarium Pii V. iussu editum et Clementis VIII.
auctoritate recognitum 1604 " composed by the Servite Petrus
Martyr Felinus is dedicated to the Duke of Urbino, in Urb.
606, ihid.
REFORM OF THE BREVIARY. 229
the legends and lives of the saints/ and partly to examine
the opinions previouslj^ obtained from various sources, the
universities, the bishops and scholars. The report as to these
was entrusted to Baronius and his assistant, Marcello
Francolini. These discharged their task with the greatest
exactitude. If they did not in som.e matters succeed in
arriving at the truth, and left certain things to be corrected
later on, this was due to the state of historical research at
that time.
Some of the corrections suggested by Baronius and,
Bellarmine did not meet with the approval of the Congregation
and therefore not of the Pope. The latter had laid it down
as a rule for the work of reform that only those things were
to be corrected which contained a manifest error.- The
Congregation was of the same opinion.^ In the hymns very
little was changed, but two were added, of which that for the
feast of St. Mary Magdalen was composed by Bellarmine.*
The principal changes were in the lections, by the removal
of points that were historically untenable, and of expressions
which seemed unfitting. Certain things in the general
rubrics were altered and improved, the rank of certain feasts
was raised, and with the introduction of greater doubles, a
new grade of feasts was established,^ while new feasts were
extended to the whole of the western Church.
In the case of the revision of the Missal introduced by
Pius v., in which the printers were not allowed to make any
1 Cj. Bellarmine, Dubia quaedam de historiis in Breviario
Romano positis (Le Baciielet, Auct. Bellarm., 461 seq.) ; " quae
non sunt mutata, quamvis notiuilis viderentur esse mutanda "
{ibid. 467 seqq.).
2 *" g Pontifex declaravit, ut ea tantum mutentur, quae
manifestum errorem continent." Vat. 6242, p. 54, Vatican
Library.
' See Baumer, 494.
* Pater superni luminis. Cf. the autobiography of Bellarmine
in Le Bachelet, 443.
5 See Baumer, 495 seq.
230 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
changes arbitrarily, the principal work fell upon Baronius,
Bellarmine and Gavanti. The new edition of the Missal was
published together with the bull of July 7th, 1604.^
The labours begun under Gregory XIII., and continued
under Sixtus V., to form an authoritative collection of the
pontifical constitutions, ^ which had increased by another
thousand since the appearance of the Clementina, seemed
likely to be brought to a happy ending under Clement VIII.,
all the more so as the Pope himself had been a member of the
commission engaged upon this work. This work was already
well advanced. The collection of the material that was to
be included, its division into five books, and its arrangement
according to titles was so far advanced that the first book
could be printed in 1592, and in 1593 the second to the fifth,
according to the Roman usage, in forty special copies for
the use of the Congregation.^ But the whole thing had still
to be submitted once more to a general discussion. This
revision was completed on December 17th, 1593, and when
all had agreed as to the matter to be included, Cardinal
Pinelli undertook its final preparation for the press. ^ This
still required some time, and it was only on July 25th, 1598,
that the complete work was ready under the title S.D.N.D.
dementis Papae VIII. Decretales.^
1 Bull., XL, 88 seqq.
^ Cf. Vol. XIX., of this work, p. 279, and Baumgarten,
Neae Kunde, 242, 248 (list of the collaborators and the sessions,
from the 4th to the 25th, between August 3, 1589, and April 6,
1590).
3 See Sentis, Clementis VIII. Decretales, vi. seq. ; Singer in
Zeitschr. f. Rechtsgesch., Kan. Abt. VI., 113 seq. ; Baumgarten,
loc. cit. 249 seq.
* See Sentis, loc. cit., xxvii. ; Lammer, Kodifikation, 9 seq. ;
Singer, loc. cit.
5 S.D.N.D. dementis Papae VIII. Decretales, Romae ex
typographia Cam. Apost. 1598, only three copies of which are
preserved (Casanatense Library, Vatican Library, and Theiner's
copy in the Library of the University, Leip;iig ; see Singer,
loc. cit. 116; Baumgarten, 249 seq., 255 seq., 257 seq.
THE CORPUS lURIS CANONICI. 23I
This plan for the codification of the decretals and con-
stitutions of the Councils which were not included in the
Corpus luris Canonici, was presented to the Pope for his
approval on August ist. But it was not carried into effect,
even though Clement VIII., on account of his personal
participation in the work, was interested in the work in a
special way. Fagnani, who was secretary of the Congregation
of the Council from 1614 onwards, gives as the only reason
the prohibition of Pius IV. to write commentaries on the
decrees of Trent, a prohibition which was violated by including
them in the collection. But this reason was not actually
the principal nor the only one which determined Clement VIII.
as well as his successor, Paul V., not to publish the work.^
As a matter of fact other doubts had arisen ; the work did
not altogether answer all requirements, dogmatic material
was predominant, while many Papal decrees and rescripts
had been passed over. To this there had to be added another
circumstances in view of the attitude of many governments
towards questions of state, which had been manifested with
great violence, especially in Spain, France and Venice, care
had to be taken to avoid serious disagreements. The Pope
in his prudence did not wish to push things so far, and in the
end decided to abstain from the publication of the book,,
which had cost so much time, money and labour. ^
In the collection undertaken by Cardinal Pinelli there had
been included a decree of Innocent IV. concerning the Papal
election, which, however, had never been promulgated as law,
and which had certainly never become of constitutional force.
In this decree it was laid down that the vote of the person
elected could never be decisive in giving the two-thirds
majority.^ This principle, however, is recalled in the draft
1 Cf. Sentis, XV. ; Schulte, Quellen, III., I., 73 : Scheker,
Kirchenrecht, I., 275 ; Lammer, Kodifikation, 21.
'' The whole was submitted to yet another revision by a Con-
gregation which continued its labours even under Paul V. (See
proofs of 1607-1608 in Sentis, xiv.) ; in the end the whole thing
was abandoned.
^ Cf. Singer, loc cit. 11 seq., 114 seq.
232 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of a new bull concerning the election of the Pope, drawn up
under Clement VIII.^ It has not yet been found possible
to ascertain who drew up this draft, nor do we know the
circumstances which prevented its publication ; it is beyond
question that the projected reform was substantially aimed
at abolishing election by adoration, a form of election which
had become very common in the conclaves since the time
of Julius III., and at introducing the secret ballot as of
obligation. 2
Innocent IX. had already set up a Congregation for the
reform of Papal elections,^ and Clement VIII., who had been
present at the confusion of the three conclaves which had
succeeded one another in a short space of time, at once ordered
the work to be resumed. It was already fully in hand in
March, 1592,^ and it was confidently stated that the plan of
reform would be ready in August,^ but in October an opinion
of a Jesuit on the abuses in the Papal elections was submitted.^
At length in February, 1595, the bull on the reform of the
conclave had reached the point of being able to be sent to
all the Cardinals for their opinion. '^ In the end, however,
the opponents of a reform of the conclave obtained the victory:
the party leaders in the Sacred College were unwilling to
1 C/. Wahrmund in Archiv fiir kath. Kivcheurecht, XXLIL,
225 seq.
^ See ihid. 204, 207.
3 See ibid. 203 n. 3, the opinion of Maretti.
' See *Avvisi of March 14 and 18, and May 13, 1592, Urb. 1060,
Vatican Library. Cf. *report of G. Niccoiini, March 9, 1592,
State Archives, Florence.
5 See *Avviso of August 22, 1592, Urb. 1060, II., Vatican
Library. G. del Carretto in his *report dated Rome, 1593,
February 13, a prohibition oi all " le pratiche del pontiiicato "
(Gonzaga Archives.. Mantua).
* I have found the *Parere con una lettera dell'autore, Diego
Ximenes S.I., dated Delia casa, 1592, October 19, in the Doria
Archives, Rome.
^ See Paruta (February 18, 1595), Di.spacci, III., 60. The
draft itself in Wahrmund, Iqc cit, 223 seq.
CLEMENT VIII. AND CANONIZATIONS. 233
renounce their predominant and decisive position in the
election of the Pope.^
Very remarkable was the reluctance of Clement VIII.
to proceed to canonizations. Together with Philip Neri the
Roman people venerated, and had done for some time,
Ignatius Loyola, Charles Borromeo, and other representatives
of Catholic reform, as though they were already canonized.
Clement VIII. did not approve of this, and he expressly
forbade pictures which represented the miracles which were
attributed to these great men. Ver}/ often too ex votos
were offered at the tombs of Philip Neri and Ignatius Loyola.
At first Clement had made an exception in the case of Philip
Neri, the founder of the Oratorians, whom he venerated in a
special way, but in the end he extended the prohibition which
had been made in the case of the founder of the Jesuits to
Philip as well.- The Pope took as his rule of action the order
issued in 1170 by Pope Alexander III., that without the
permission of the Church no one, even when many miracles
had been worked by his intercession, might be publicly
venerated as a saint. ^ The special Congregation which was
consulted by Clement VIII. concerning the veneration of
recent saints decided in conformity with this."*
The cause for the beatification of Philip Neri had been
introduced a few months after his death, but as it was con-
ducted with great minuteness, it was not brought to a
^ See Singer, loc. cit. 120. An attempt by Clement VIII. to
put an end to the influence of Spain in the Papal elections, had
already been frustrated a year before by the Spanish ambassador,
Sessa.
2 Cf. *Avvisi of September 9, 1595, June 16, 1601, and Novem-
ber 27, 1602, Urb. 1063, 1069, 1070, Vatican Library.
* See Frsib. Kirchenlex., IP., 145.
* See *Avvisi of December 14 and 28, 1602, Urb. 1070, Vatican
Library. According to the latter the Pope said that it was not
a case of those who by a cultus " ab immemorabili " or in virtue
of a Papal brief had been numbered among the saints, but of the
moderns " Philippo, Ignacio, Philippe de Conventuali che andava
gridando lodato sempre sia il nome di Jesu e Maria, cappuccino
Felice, P. Marcellino, P. Angelo de Paz (scalzo) e card, Borromeo."
234 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
conclusion in the time of Clement VIII. The first steps for
the canonization of the founder of the Jesuits were taken by
Cardinal Farnese.^ For the beatification of Charles Borromeo
the senate of Milan, ^ as well as Cardinal Frederick Borromeo,
Philip III. and the Swiss Catholics, had interested themselves.
The Pope praised this,^ but he caused the necessary inquiries
to be made with all exactitude and without haste* by the
Congregation of Rites, as well as in the case of Philip Neri.
He acted in the same way with regard to the canonization of
Francesca Romana, the foundress of the Oblates of Tor di
vSpecchi,^ which was promoted by the Romans.
In view of the extreme care of the inquiries,^ we cannot be
surprised that Clement VIII., in spite of his long pontificate,
only celebrated two canonizations. On April 17th, 1594,
he raised to the altars the Dominican Hyacinth, 'the celebrated
^ See *Avviso of July 10, 1599, Urb. 1067, Vatican Library.
* See *Acta consist. February 4, 1604 : " Lectae litterae
senatus Mediolan. pro canonizatione Caroli card. Borromaei."
Barb. XXXVI., 5, III., Vatican Library.
* See the *briefs to those mentioned, February 15, 1604, Arm.
44, t. 56, Papal Secret Archives. In that to Philip III. it is
stated : *" Carolum card. Borr. fecimus semper plurimi dum
viveret, mortuum praecipue habuimus in honore, quod in sita
nobis et quasi in animo insculpta esset magna de eius viventi
integritate opinio, de mortui sanctitate maxima " (ibid. p. 143b).
* Letters concerning the veneration of Philip Neri, 1596-1597
are in Carte Strozz., I., 489.
* See the *report of G. B. Thesis, August 26, 1604, Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.
* For Raymond of Penafort cf. *Avviso of May 15, 1599.
Urb. 1067, Vatican Library.
' See LuBOMLius, De vita, miraculis et actis canonizationis
S. Hyacinthi Poloni, Rome, 1594, and Bull., X., 123 seq. Cf.
Paruta, Dispacci, II., 188 seq., 263 seq., the consistorial *acta
of March 14, 24 and 31, 1594, Papal Secret Archives, the *Avvisi
of March 5, April 20 and 27, 1594, Urb. 1062, Vatican Library,
and " *Vita et gesta Clementis VIII." in Inform, polit., XXIX.,
380b seq.. State Library, Berlin. For Hyacinth see al.so B.
Altanfr, Die Domini kanermissionen des 13 Jahr.,. Habelschwerdt,
1924, 196 seqq.
CLEMENT VIII. AND INDULGENCES. 235
apostle of the North, and on April 29th, 1604, he did so in
the case of Raymond of Pennafort,^ well known everywhere
as a jurist, who also belonged to the Dominican Order. In
the case of Hyacinth the Queen and King of Poland had
especially interested themselves, ^ and for Raymund
above all Phihp III. of Spain. ^ But the Pope rightly
resisted the efforts that were made for the canonization of
Savonarola.*
Clement VIII. was very slow to grant indulgences. ^ In
accordance with the spirit of the prescriptions of the Council
of Trent and of the constitution of Pius V. of 1567, in 1593
he set up a special Congregation of Indulgences, whose duty
1 See *Avviso of May 3, 1601, Urb. 1069, Vatican Library.
The " Carmen " by Mutius Ricarius " De beato Raymundo a
Clemente VIII. P.M. in divorum numerum relate " in Barb. lat.
XXIX., 142, and Urb. 1205, p. 31 seq.
* Sigismund III. bore the expense of the canonization ; see
♦Diarium P. Alaleonis, Barb. 2815, Vatican Library. Queen
Anna had already asked Clement VIII. for the canonization of
Hyacinth in a *letter of March 20, 1594, Doria Archives, Rome.
Ibid, a *letter from Sigismund III. to the Pope, dated Wilna,
September 6, 1601, asking him to promote the cultus of St.
Casimir, to insert his feast in the Missal and the Roman Breviary
and to make his feast a " duplex."
* See *acta consist, December 16, 1600 : " Advocatus petit
nomine Philippi III." the canonization of Raymund ; on Decem-
ber 22 : " S.S. habuit orationem de Raymundo " (Cod. Barb,
XXXVI. , 5, III. Vatican Library). Cf. the *brief to the
" deputati principatus Cataloniae " of September 26, 1602.
Arm. 44, t. 46, n. 297, Papal Secret Archives.
* He therefore did not even wish the Vita di Savonarola by
S. Razzi to be printed ; see Arch. stor. ital., 5th ser. XXVIII. ,
291. The " Epistola Clementis VIII. de stigmatibus S. Catherinae
de Senis," dated 1599, November 27, was published in Rome in
1599. St. Thomas Aquinas was declared patron of Naples by
Clement VIII. ; see *briefs to the viceroy of Naples and to that
city, dated 1603, Nuvember 22, Arm. 44, t. 56, n. 35 and 30,
Papal Secret Archives.
* See Paruta, Relazione, 368. Cf. Carte Slroz2., I., 2, 215.
236 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
it was to do away with long-standing abuses in this matter,
as well as to prevent them in the future. ^
With regard to the internal government of the Church
as carried out by Clement VIII., mention must also be made
of his ordinances against duelling, ^ and his condemnation
of the opinion which allowed people to confess by letter or
messenger, or to receive absolution from a confessor who
was absent, as being erroneous, temerarious and scandalous.^
1 See Paruta, Dispacci, I., 256, which removes the doubts of
Bangen (248).
2 Bull., IX., 604 seq.
' See Bull., X., 855. The decree as to this, which was issued
by the Inquisition on June 20, 1602, under the presidency of the
Pope, was published on July 19, 1602. Original printed copy in
Decreta s. Inquisitionis in Barb. 1370, Vatican Library. For the
controversy connected with this decree see Wildt in Freib,
Kircheii/ex., II., 231 seq. ; Scorraille, Suarez II., 55-116.
CHAPTER VII.
Foreign Missions. — The Beginnings of Propaganda.
An important part in the ecclesiastical activities of
Clement VIII. was taken by his propagation of the missions
in the countries outside Europe. During his pontificate
important progress was made in this respect, even in Japan,
where a persecution of the Christians had begun in 1587.^
In March, 1591, the intrepid Jesuit Alessandro Valignani
penetrated into the presence of Taikosama, as envoy of the
viceroy of the Indies, and obtained permission for the Christian
missionaries to remain there ; only public religious functions
were prohibited. The number of conversions to Christianity
continued to increase. Many Christians were to be found
in the army with which Taikosama attacked Corea ; two
religious of the Society of Jesus acted as military chaplains,
who spread the first seeds of Christianity in Corea. ^
In 1585 Gregory XIII. had forbidden all missionaries,
except the Jesuits, to set foot in China and Japan, ^ but as
Sixtus v., himself a Franciscan, had granted to that Order
the mission " to all parts of the Indies," some Franciscans
also went to Japan.'' Others soon followed them. Into the
disputes which then broke out between the two Orders, there
also entered the question of nationality, as the Franciscans
were vSpaniards, and the Jesuits Portuguese.^
iC/. Vol. XXI. of this work, p. 180.
2 See Jttvencius, V., 180 seq. ; Bartoli, Del Giappone, Turin,
1829, I., 2.
'See Synopsis, 139 seq. Cf. Vol. XX. of this work, p. 511.
* See H. BoHLEN, Die Franziskaner in Japan, Treves, 1912, 14.
^ Cf. Delplack, II., 23 seq. ; Schmidlin, Missions geschichte
283.
238 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Taikosama allowed both the Franciscans and the Jesuits
to do as they liked. In 1596 he very courteously received
the Jesuit Pedro Martinez, who had been appointed bishop,
and who presented letters from the governor of the Indies.
But in that same year a change took place which put the
Christians of Japan, who had now reached the number of
300,000, in a very difficult position. The cause of this change
is said to have been the conduct of the pilot of a stranded
Spanish ship, who, in order to save his cargo from confiscation,
allowed himself to be led into making the most rash state-
ments about the power of his king. Among other things
he said that Phihp II. was sending his priests among the
foreign nations, so as first to convert the people and thus
facilitate their conquest ! These words were reported to
Taikosama.^ They were enough for that monarch, who in
the spread of a strange religion was every day seeing more
and more danger to the national unity which he aimed at,^
to lead him to take bloody measures. Six Franciscans, the
Jesuit Paul Miki, a pupil of the seminary at Ankusiama,
two Japanese catechists, and fifteen other Japanese Christians,
among them three children, were arrested and condemned
to be crucified. On February 5th, 1597, this sentence was
carried out at Nagasaki.^
In the persecution which then broke out, the Jesuits acted
with great prudence ; being exiled they only apparently
went away. When Taikosama died in September 1598,
1 Cf. JuvENCius, v., 595 ; Delplace, II., 29 seq.
* The Japanese Mitsukuri saw in this the true cause cf the
persecution ; see Hist. Zeitschr., LXXXVII., 196.
* See the detailed report sent by P. Frees to the General
Aquaviva, printed in Acta Sand., February i, 742 seq. The acta
of the beatification (161 6-1 62 7) are used by Bouix, Hist, des
vingt six martyrs de Japon, Paris, 1862. The canonization took
place at Pentecost, 1862, and gave rise to a number of works on
the martyrs of Japan, of which I here mention those of Pages
(Paris, 1862) arid Boero (Rome, 1862). A contemporary picture
of the martyrs is to be found in the church of St. Michael at
Munich.
MISSIONS IN JAPAN. 239
and his successor Daifusama, whose succession was opposed,
showed himself favourable to the missions, better days began
for the Christians. The Franciscans as well as the Jesuits
were able to resume their work, and the number of Christians
increased considerably, even though the persecution still
continued in certain provinces. In 1599 40,000 received
baptism, and 50,000 in the following year. At the beginning
of the seventeenth century it was estimated that there were
750,000 Christians.^ At Nagasaki in 1605 it was possible to
hold the procession of Corpus Domini publicly. ^ The Jesuits,
whose college was effectively subsidized by Clement VI 11.,^
developed great literary activity : they printed religious
books, a Japanese-Portuguese dictionary, and a Japanese
grammar with Portuguese explanations.^ But they neglected
to avail themselves of the co-operation of the native secular
clergy, and it proved fatal to try and follow European
methods in teaching.^ The number of the Jesuit mission-
aries was by no means sufficient for their requirements,
and therefore Clement VIII., suspending the privilege
granted by Gregory XIII, to the Society of Jesus,
on December 12th, 1600, granted faculties® to all the
^ See Delplace, II., 129 seqq. ; Pages, Hist, de la religion
chret. au Japon depuis 1598 jusqu'a 1681, I., Paris, 1869, no.
2 Cf. JuvENCius, v., 606 seq. ; Spillmann in Freib. Kirchenlex.,
VI., 1246 seq. ; Pages, loc. cit., I.
^ Cf. the *instructions to D. Ginnasio, August 31, 1601 :
" Assegnamento fatto da Gregorin XIII. di -looo scudi annui sopra
cotesta ccllectoria di Spagna da pagarli alii seminarii et chiese
del Giappone et da Sisto V. accresciuti a Gooo et per le guerre
d'Ungheria tralasciati di pagare S.S. ordina si seguiti di pagare e
anchi li decorsi." Barb. 5852, Vatican Library.
* Cf. E. Satow, The Jesuit Mission Press in Japan, 1591-1610,
London, 1888, and Strassmeier in Siimmen aiis Maria-Laach,
XXXVII., 219 seq.
' See HuoNDER, Der einheimische Klerus in den Heidenlandern,
10 1 seq.
« See Bull., X., 631 seq. Cf. Jann, 182 seq., who well shows
how in this as well the Pope had to take into account the political
claims of the Portuguese.
240 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Mendicant Orders to work as missionaries, both in Japan
and China.
The entry of the Christian missions into the Chinese Empire
is closely connected with the labours of the talented Jesuit
Matteo Ricci, who together with his faithful companion
Michele Ruggieri, had reached Tschaoking, in the province
of Kwangtung, in the autumn of 1583, and was there held in
high esteem, without, however, being able to make more than
a few conversions.^ At the suggestion of the far-seeing
Valignani, in 1593 Ricci began to study the Chinese language.
At first this was not easy for a man who was already forty,
but, as he says in a touching letter, he willingly once more
became a schoolboy for the love of Him who became man for
the love of us.^ In an incredibly short time, Ricci, by his
determined assiduity, obtained such a mastery of Chinese
that in 1595 he was able to publish in that exceedinly difficult
and subtle language his book " The true doctrine of God,"
which later on was included in the collection of classics
undertaken by Khian-lung.^ After this Ricci continued to
labour indefatigably in the field of literature. His works were
not confined to religious subjects alone, but extended to all
manner of subjects* : arithmetic, geometry, astronomy,
^ Cf. Vol. XX. of this work, p. 469. To the literature there
mentioned may be added the article by J. Aleni in the Rev. de
ihist. des missions, I., 52 seqq.
2 Letter to Aquaviva, December 10, 1593, in Tacchi Venturi,
II., 118.
* See Dahlmann, Sprachkunde, 27 ; Baumgartner, Welt-
literatur, II., 511.
* Ricci worked out among other things a translation of the
Gregorian Calendar into Chinese. Cf. Sommervogel, XVI.,
1792 se(j., and Cokdier, Bibl. Sinica, III. (1905), 1090 seq., the
information in which has been considerably added to by the
edition of the Conimentarii (Macerata, 1911) of Ricci made by
Tacchi Venturi. For the importance of Ricci to geographical
studies see G. Caraci in Bollet. d. Geogr. Ital., V. (191 8), 8^5
seqq., Riu. Geogr. ital., XXVIII. and XXIX. (1921-1922) and H.
BosMANS in the Rev. des quest, scientif., 192 1 ; for his map
of China see Etudes, CXXXI., 217 seq., 220 seqq.
MATTEO RICCI IN CHINA. 24I
geography, music and philosophy. Even though it was only
an exaggeration when a Chinese viceroy said that Ricci knew
all Chinese books, it is beyond question that he was the first
profound sinologist. The Chinese called him the " great man
of Europe."^ But he remained as humble as a child. Witness
to this is borne by his own commentaries, in which he has
described so attractively the nascent Christianization of China.
An additional testimony is to be found in his letters, in which
he continually repeats that the easiest way to convert his
beloved Chinese was by books.-
Ricci was not only an academic scientist, but an eminently
practical man. His keen insight did not fail to grasp that
the work of the missions would always be in jeopardy owing
to the caprice of the officials, unless the Imperial court at
Pekin could be won over. The first attempt to penetrate
there, made in 1595, came to nothing, as also did the second,
in 1598. In spite o'f thi^ certain important consequences
ensued. Ricci succeeded, at Nantschang and Nanking, in
entering into important relations with Chinese scientists, and
other persons ol authority, which rendered possible the
establishment of mission stations in those two cities. If
greater results than before were now obtained, this was above
all the result of the fact that Ricci, in accordance with the
prudent advice of his companion Lazzaro Cattaneo, adopted
the costume of the Chinese scholars, thus putting an end to
his being continually confused with the despised bonzes.
The silken attire which the missionaries now adopted in place
of their poor habit had also to be accompanied by a more
distinguished appearance. Valignani, who was very far-
seeing, gave his consent to all this, and also obtained that of
the General of the Jesuits and of the Pope.^
It was characteristic of this new method of procedure that
1 See CoRDiER, Bibliographie des ouvrages publ. en Chine par
las Europeans an xviia at xviiie siecles, Paris, 1883, 33.
* Sae Tacchi Venturi in Civ. Catt., 1910, III., 47.
* Sae Tacchi Venturi, Commentarii, I., 3, cap. 9, cap. 53.
Cf. Civ. Catt., 1910, II., 558 seq.
VOL. XXIV. 16
242 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Ricci, in the house which he built at Nantschang avoided in
every way the appearance of a building devoted to divine
worship. " The house in which we preach " was the simple
inscription which he chose for it. He expressly insisted upon
his character of scholar, and it was in accordance with this
that he resumed his earlier catechism. Though he was
indefatigabl}' devoted to the work of explaining to the Chinese
scholars and grandees, hitherto unthought of ideas of mathe-
matics and astronomy, Ricci was very cautious in dealing
with religious questions. While keeping silence therefore as
to the mysteries of Christianity he sought first to convince his
hearers of the fundamental truths of the creation of heaven
and earth by God, of the immortality of the soul, of the punish-
ment of the wicked and the reward of the good. He openly
combated the doctrines of the Buddhists, but the more
cultured philosophy of Confucius were treated by him with
all due respect.^
In the midst of these labours, which produced surprising
results, Ricci did not lose sight of his project of reaching the
presence of the Emperor at Pekin. In May 1599 he undertook
for the third time his journey to that distant capital, accom-
panied by the Spanish Jesuit, Diego Pantoja, and two brothers
of Chinese origin. In spite of the manifold dangers and
obstacles of every kind, which would have discouraged
anyone else, he at last, in 1601, thanks to his indomitable
energy, reached his goal. Ricci excited the interest of the
Emperor Wanglie, who was enthusiastic over the gifts which
he had brought, striking clocks, a universal geographical map.
engravings on copper, and two paintings representing the
Redeemer and the Madonna. Although the learning of this
stranger, which was superior to that of the mandarins, won
the admiration of the Emperor, there nevertheless arose
difficulties : the tribunal set up for the surveillance of
^ So too G. Natali (Di M. Ricci, Macerata, 1905) though
anything but well-disposed towards the Jesuits, praises Ricci
highly. Other opinions have been given by us in Vol. XX.
of this work, p. 469 seq.
MATTEO RICCI IN CHINA. 243
foreigners demanded that he should be sent away. The
Emperor would not consent to this, but for the time being
left unanswered the written request which Ricci had made
to be allowed to remain permanently. It was only after some
time had passed that he caused the learned Jesuit, who had
become indispensable to him, to be informed that His Majesty
would be very unwilling for him to leave the capital, where
he had thought of taking up his abode. Thus Ricci saw
himself rewarded in a marvellous way for his perseverance
and his unshaken confidence in God.
At last the great plan for the conversion of China, which,
as Francis Xavier had already realized, would be of decisive
importance for the future of eastern Asia, in view of the
supreme influence which that land of ancient culture exercised
over Japan and the other neighbouring countries, could be
begun with the hope of permanent success. Nobody seemed
to be so well suited for this work as Ricci, since the funda-
mental traits of his character were, as his biographer tells us,
courageous and unwearied zeal that was at the same time
wise and patient ; caution and slowness, followed by action
that was equally energetic ; fear of being too daring.^
Valignani did all he could to support Ricci. In 1604 he
sent him three more fellow- workers, and in 1605 as many
more. He also made him entirely independent of the rector
of the college at Macao. His successes gradually increased
sensibly ; eminent scholars and officials were converted to
Christianity with full conviction. At Nanking Father Rocca
won over the great statesman and scholar Paul Siu, who
became the principal support of the infant Church. In 1605
the first Chinese presented themselves for admission to the
Society of Jesus. Their chapel at Pekin was found to be too
small, and after a short time there was erected in the Chinese
capital a public church, in which the sacred mysteries were
^ See Tacchi Vexturi in Cio. Catt., 1910, II., 39 seq., who
there summarizes in a beautiful article the results of his profound
studies collected in the new edition of the Commentarii. CJ. also
Brucker, in Etudes, CXXIV., 751 seq.
244 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
celebrated as in Rome and other parts of the Christian world.
To this worship of the " Lord of Heaven " there came an ever-
increasing number of converts and catechumens, and also of
pagans, whose hearts had been touched by divine grace.
The work of the missions in the Philippine Islands
developed^ in a very consoling way owing to the labours of
the Franciscans, Dominicans and Jesuits, all of whom were
able to adapt their unwearied labours to the neds of the native
population with wisdom and prudence. Clement VIII.
especially supported the Jesuits and the Dominicans.^ On
August 14th, 1595, there took place the division of the diocese
of Manila, established by Gregory XIII. ,3 and which had so
far included the whole mission, into four bishoprics, while it
was at the same time made into an archbishopric. It retained
the central part of the island of Luzon while the northern part
was assigned to the new diocese of Neuva Segovia, the southern
part to the diocese of Nueva Caceres, and the remaining islands
of the archipelago to the diocese of Cebu. This new arrange-
ment proved very advantageous ; it consolidated Christianity
in the districts already converted, and gave a vigorous unity
to missionary activity in those that were still pagan. The
missions prospered so well under the Dominican Michele
Benavides, who was appointed Bishop of Nueva Segovia in
1595, that of the three pagan provinces in his diocese in the
course of a few years two were almost entirely converted and
the third to a great extent. When Domenico de Salazar
died in 1602, Benavides succeeded him in the archiepiscopal
see of Manila. In this important position the good metro-
politan'* continued to promote the work of the missions with
1 See Cath. Encyclopedia, XII., 17, and ScJimidlin, 2.61 seqq.,
where the copious literature is given.
^ See Bull., IX., 526 seq., 529 seq. Cf. *brief to Phijip II.,
March 11, 1592, Arm. 44, t. 36, n. 277, Papal Secret Archives.
» See Vol. XX. of this work, p. 479.
" See *iicta consist. Cod. Barb. lat. 2871, III., Vatican Library ;
Gams, 113-115 and the literature there indicated; Neher in
Freib. Kirchenlex., VI*., 692 ; American Cath. Hisl Soc, XI.
1900), 455.
AKBAR, THE GREAT MOGUL. 245
indefatigable zeal. At his death, which occurred on June 25th,
1607, he was lamented as a father by Spaniards and converts
alike, and venerated as a saint.
Under Clement VIII, there revived the hope of the con-
version of Akbar, the Great Mogul of the Indies.^ In May
1595 there appeared at Lahore, Fathers Girolamo Xavier, a
relative of the Apostle of Japan, and Emanuel Pinhero, where
they were courteously received by the Great Mogul. Akbar
gave them permission to establish missions at Lahore,
Cambaia and Agra, which flourished exceedingly, in spite
of the hostility of the Mahometans. At Lahore at Christmas
1599 many catechumens, with palms in their hands, went
through the flower-decked streets of the city to the church
of the Jesuits to receive baptism. ^ There were among the
converts men of exalted station. In 1600 Akbar confirmed
in writing his permission for the free preaching of the Gospel,
which he had at first only granted orally, and then subsidized
the building of the Jesuit church which was erected at Agra
in 1602 ; he also caused a copy to be made of the picture of
the Madonna in S. Maria del Popolo which was there, and
placed it in his palace. He read with the greatest interest
the life of Jesus Christ, which had been translated into Persian
by Father Xavier, but could not bring himself to the point
of conversion ; like a real sceptic he remained until his death
in 1605 in a state of hesitation.^
The efforts to unite the Nestorian Church (Christians of
1 Cf. besides the account of Du Jarric (see vo]. IX., 737, n. 3),
G. B. Peruschi, Informatione del regno et stato del Gran Re di
Mogor, della sua persona, etc., et congietture della sua conversione
alia nostra s. fede, Rome, 1597 (lat. Mayence, 1598).
2 This occurred for the first time in 1589, but the envoys had
returned despairing of any success. This was not approved of
in Rome ; see Juvencius, 451 ; Mullbauer, 145 seq. On
December 17, 1592, Clement VIII. addressed a letter to Akbar
to recommend the Jesuits to him ; see Bull., IX., 646 seq
' Cf. Juvencius, 451 seq. ; l.itt. ann., 1597, 576 seq. ;
Mullbauer, 146 seq. ; Gruber, Aquaviva, 181 seq. ; Vath in
Kalh, Missionen, XLIX,, 201 seq.
246 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
St. Thomas) to the CathoHc Church, which were promoted
by the Archbishop of Goa, Alessio de Menezes, with the
assistance of the Jesuits, met with a happy result. This
prince of the Church, who was compared to Charles Borromeo,
won und5/ing fame by his services to the Church in the Indies.^
He at once held a visitation of the whole of the territory
subject to him, so that Clement VIII. sent him well-merited
praise.^ In 1599 Alessio held a synod at Diamper, in the
kingdom of Cochim, at which the reunion of the Nestorians
was effected. At the same time as he confirmed the synodal
decrees, Clement VIII. sent by the Jesuit Alberto Laerzio
a Syriac printing press, by means of which the Roman Ritual,
and some missals and breviaries were printed.^ The Pope
appointed the Jesuit Francisco Roz Bishop of Angamala,
which became a suffragan diocese of Goa ; the bishop by his
knowledge of the Syriac and Malabar languages had laboured
for many years for the reunion of the Nestorians. Roz at
once made a visitation of his diocese, and held a diocesan
synod, at which the errors of Nestorius were once again
condemned. In spite of this the danger of a relapse into
schism was not altogether destroyed, and therefore Paul V.
transferred the see to Cranganor and made it into an arch-
diocese. Roz remained metropolitan, and was assisted by
several Jesuits.^
Clement VIII. further showed his zeal and care for souls by
making use, in the interests of the missions, of the rapproche-
^ Opinion of Dollinger (Handbuch der Kirchengesch., II., 2,
369).
2 See *brief of praise to the Archbishop of Goa, April i, 1599,
Arm. 44, t. ^3, n. 206, Papal Secret Archives.
3 See Raulinus, Hist, ecclesiae malabaricae, Rome, 17^5;
MuLLBAUER, i66 ; ZeUschr.f. kath. TheoL, XX., 728 seq. ; Jann,
167 seq. By the *brief to "' clerus e populus christianus S.
Thomae prov. Serrae " of May 19, 1601, he sends congratulations
on the synod, and gives deserved praise to the Jesuits. Arm. 44,
t. 45, n. 147, Papal Secret Archives.
* See MuLLBAUER, 167 seq. ; Jann, 169 seq.
PAPAL ENVOYS TO PERSIA. 247
ment with the European powers which had been brought about,
in the interests of the war against the Turks, by the Shah of
Persia, Abbas I. the Great. The Portuguese Jesuit, Francisco
da Costa, informed the Pope in the autumn of 1600 that the
Shah was very well disposed towards the Christians, that he
wished for the presence of Catholic priests, and had sent
envoys to Rome. After mature reflection Clement VIII.
resolved to profit by this favourable opportunity himself to
send an embassy to Persia. For this purpose he entered
into communication with the King of Spain, Philip III.^
When the latter had given his account, in February 1601,
two Portuguese, the above-mentioned Francisco da Costa
and Diego de Miranda, who had previously been to Persia,
were sent, bearing pontifical letters to the Shah.'^ The
instructions they were given naturally referred to the common
war against the Turks, but above all dealt with religious
questions. Costa was instructed to explain to the Shah the
truths of Catholic doctrine and to urge him to enter the Church,
in which matter it was thought that it would be possible to
count upon the assistance of the queen. If the Shah should
be unwilling to be converted to the Christian faith, then the
envoys must at least obtain from him permission to preach
freely, and for the free exercise of the Christian religion, which
even the Sultan of Turkey permitted in his kingdom.^
While Costa and Miranda were on their way, there arrived
in Rome, on April 5th, 1601, the two envo^^s of the Shah.*
They brought good news both with regard to the participation
of their sovereign in the war against the Turks, and the
permission for the Christian mission in Persia. Clement VIII.
^ Brief of September 4, 1600 (Papal Secret Archives) in App.
n. 17. A letter from Persia to the General of the Augustinians,
May 24, 1599 (in Lammer, Zur Kirchengesch., 94) also refers to the
favourable dispositions of the Shah.
2 See the *letter to the Shah, February 24, 1601 (Papal Secret
Archives) in App. n. 20.
^ Lammer, Melet., 452 seq.
* See Orbaan, Documenti, 8.
248 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
thanked the Shah on May 2nd, 1601, alluding to his own
action and that of the Shah against the Turks, and announcing
the sending of missionaries to Persia.^
When in 1602 Philip III. sent three Augustinian friars to
Persia to promote the war against the Turks, ^ Clement VIII.
devoted much attention to the missions there. ^ The
Augustinians sent by the King of Spain, in addition to
arousing interest in the war against the Turks, also laboured
for the propagation of Christianity. In the summer of 1604
the Pope sent six members of the Italian Congregation of
reformed Carmelites, which had been founded a few years
before, to assist them. Among these there were three of the
most distinguished members of the Order : Paolo di Gesu
Maria, Giovanni di S. Eliseo, and Vincenzo di S. Francesco.^
The letters to the Shah with which they were furnished
indicated as the primary purpose of their missions congratu-
lations on the victories won against the Turks ; the request
for permission to preach the Gospel was reserved for oral
negotiation.^ Instead of the long and dangerous sea voyage,
the Carmelites chose the land route across Russia.
Clement VIII. followed their journey with the greatest
1 See more fully in Vol. XXIII. of this work, p. 299. (*Brief
to the Shah, May 2, 1601, Papal Secret Archives, in App. n. 21).
* See Philippson, Heinrich, IV., Vol. I., 276 seq., and Meyer,
Nuntiaturberichte, 186.
3 See the *original letter of Caid. C. Aldobrandini to the
Archbishop of Siponto, nuncio in Spain, August 28, 1603, and
November 7 and 14, 1603, Aldobrandini Archives, Rome, t. 287.
* See Diet, de theol., II., 1783. Cf. *Avviso of July 24, 1604,
Urb. 1072, Vatican Library, and the *report of G. B. Thesis,
August 26, 1604, Gonzaga' Archives, Mantua. See also Joh. a
Jesu Maria, Hist. Missionum (Opera omnia, IV., Cologne, 1650),
I., 328 seq. ; Petrus a S. Andrea, Hist, generalis fratr. Carmelit.
discalc. congreg. S. Eliae, I., Rome, 1668 ; Berihold-Ignace
DE St. Anne, Hist, de I'etablissement de la Mission de Perse par
les Peres Carmes dechausses (1604-1612), Brussels, 1885.
° See the briefs of June 30, 1604, in Meyer, Nuntiaturberichte,
177 seq. {cf. 201). See also Chardin, Voyages (1829), XV., 36.
JESUITS IN ABYSSINIA. 249
interest,^ but their great successes in the Persian kingdom
came after his death.
Much more difficult than the journey to Persia, in the then
existing conditions, was that to Abyssinia (Ethiopia), as the
Turks were masters of the Red Sea, and were fighting the
Portuguese wherever they could. In order to provide for the
Portuguese Christians and the natives scattered throughout
Abyssinia, who were entrusted to the sole care of Francisco
Lopez, the last companion of the Patriarch Oviedo, who died
in 1577, in February 1589 two Spanish Jesuits were sent, the
great linguist Antonio de Monserrato and Pedro Paez, who
was burning with youthful enthusiasm. They disguised
themselves as Armenian merchants, but were discovered, and
taken first to Terim and then to Sana'a in Arabia, where they
were kept for five and a half years, two of which they passed
in prison, because it was supposed that they were spies. At
the end of 1595 they were taken to Mocha, where they were
made to serve in the galleys, until a subject of the Indies,
representing the rector of the Jesuits at Goa, rescued them.
Thus, seven years after their departure, in December 1595,
they returned once more to Goa, the place from which they
had set out. Both the fathers were ill ; Monserrato, the
elder, died as a result of the sufferings he had undergone, but
Paez recovered. His wonderful spirit of self-sacrifice had
not grown less, and he impatiently awaited another oppor-
tunity of bringing religious help to his beloved Ethiopians. ^
^ See Meyer, 201, 211, 217 seq., 220, 259. In a *brief to
" Cancellarius Lithuaniae," on January 8, Clement VIII. thanked
him for the help given to the Carmehtes who were passing that
way (Arm. 44, t. 56, p. 390, Papal Secret Archives). Cf. the
*brief to the viceroy of Naples, January 22, 1605 {2bid. p. 405b).
Ibid. p. 430b, a *brief to the Augustinian Hermits in Persia,
February 4, 1605, in which Clement VIII. expresses his joy at the
good results of their labours ; he thought of them at the Holy
Sacrifice, " lattissimum habetis campum " ; he intended to send
them companions in the Carmelites, and they must work in
harmony with them.
^ Cf. the reports of P. Paez in Beccari, II., x. seq., and X.,
250 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
During the imprisonment of the two fathers, in the summer
of 1594, an Abyssinian priest, Tekla Maryam, who had joined
the Cathohc Church, had brought more detailed information
concerning Abyssinia to Rome.^ In the following year the
Maronite, Abram de Guerguis, who had joined the Society
of Jesus in Rome, was charged to go to the assistance of Lopez ;
he was disguised as a Mahometan, but his companion, a
merchant from the Indies, betrayed him, and as he refused
to adjure his faith, he was put to death. ^ More fortunate
was the Jesuit Melchior da Sylva, an ex-Brahmin priest, who
in 1598 reached Ma'assaua, and thence Fremona, the house
of the Jesuits on the north Tigre, near Adua.^ Lopez had
died in the previous year after an apostolate of forty years,
and Sylva now took his place.'*
After a Jesuit college had been established at Diu at the
beginning of the XVIIth century, at length in 1603 the hour
so longed for by Paez had come. Through great perils and
privations he penetrated by way of Ma'assaua to the interior
of the country ; at Fremona he encouraged the Catholics in
their faith, and finally reached the court of the Emperor
Za-Denghel, whose confidence he was all the more easily able
to win, as the Portuguese had recently rendered valuable
services to that monarch against his enemies. At a private
audience Paez learned from the Emprtor's own lips of his
intention of accepting the Roman faith, and of entering into
a treaty of alliance with the King of Spain. Therefore on
June 26th, 1604, Za-Denghel wrote letters to Clement VIII.
2-30, Hist. Aethiopiae by Almeida. See also Beccari, XL,
I seq. For Paez see also Civ. Catt., 1905, III., 562 seqq.
1 See *Avvisi of June 2, 1594 {cf. *that of June 5, according to
which a special commission was discussing the question of
Abyssinia, Urb. 1062, Vatican Library, a.s well as Thomas a Jesu
in Thesaurus theoL, VIL, 12 61 seq.
* See Almetda, loc. cit., 35 seq.
' The ruins of the Jesuit church there are still preserved ;
see the Veroffentlichungen der deutschen Aksitm-Expedition, III.,
64 seq.
* See Almeida, loc. cit., 45 seq. Cf. Litt. ann., 1597, 553.
MISSIONS IN WEST AFRICA. 251
and Philip III., asking for some Jesuits to be sent. In these
letters, which were written in the Abyssinian language,
nothing however was said for the moment of his willingness
to accept the Catholic faith ; Paez had to add this in
Portuguese. In spite of this, in Abyssinia, where four other
Jesuits had arrived in the meantime, knowledge of the
Emperor's intention had got abroad. Accordingly a rebellion
broke out and Za-Denghel was killed.^ But Paez had also
acquired such great influence over the new Emperor Jacob
that hopes could be entertained of his conversion. ^
Of great importance for the missions in west Africa was the
establishment by Clement VIII. in 1596 of a diocese for that
kingdom (San Salvador) at the request of the King of the
Congo, this diocese being detached from that of Sao Thome.
The Franciscan Rangel was given charge of the new district.^
This distinguished man, who was consumed with zeal for
souls, succumbed prematurely in 1602 to the fatigues to which
he had been exposed.
In the case of Angola, which joined the Congo on
the south, fair prospects were aroused when in 1599
the king joined himself to the tribal chiefs who had
already been converted. The same thing was true of
Guinea where the Jesuits effected many conversions, even
among the notabilities.'*
In Mexico, in addition to the Franciscans and Augustinians,
the Dominicans and Jesuits were especially active. Both
these Orders directed their efforts above all to the Indians.
Towards the end of the century the Dominicans had more
^ See the report of P. Paez of July 24, 1603, in Beccari, XL,
47 seq., and VI., 49-94 ; Almeida, Hist. Aethiopiae, where on
p. 80 seq. is printed the letter to Clement VIII.
* See Almeida, /oc. cit., 107 seq.
' See the *brief to Alvares II., King of the Congo, May 20,
1596, Papa] Secret Archives. Cf. *Acta consist., May 20, 1596,
Barb. XXXVI., 5, III., Vatican Library ; Gams, 473 ; Jann, 79 ;
Alys de Caramay-Chimay Borghese, Beiges et Africains, Rome,
1 91 6, 15 seqq.
* See ScHMiDLlN. Missionsgeschichte, 228.
252 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
than sixty houses there.-^ In 1594 the Jesuits penetrated into
the north of Mexico, and in 1596 established a mission at
Tepuhuanca, and later on another at Topia.^ Of great
assistance to the work of the missions was the support which
Clement VIII. gave to the university established in the
capital.^ At Puebla de los Angeles he granted to the
Dominican school the rights of a university.* Towards the
end of the century some intrepid Franciscans began the
missions in Lower California, New Mexico and Florida, but
did not meet v/ith any success, except in New Mexico.^
In the great kingdom of Peru, besides the Dominicans,
Franciscans and Jesuits, the Augustinians were labouring
with fervent zeal.® In concert with such excellent bishops as
Turibio of Lima, and Francisco de Vittoria of Cordoba
(Tucuman), they sensibly raised the tone of ecclesiastical life,
supported as far as possible by Clement VIIL, who had
expressed himself in favour of the liberty of the Indians of
Peru.'' The Peruvian province of the Jesuits, the members
of which increased under Clement VIII. from 240 to 340, was
repeatedly favoured by the Pope. " On account of its immense
1 See ibid. 341.
2 See AsTR.UN, IV., 437 seqq., 442 seqq. Cf. M. Cuevas,
Hist de la Iglesia en Mexico, If., Tlalpam, 1922, 371 seq.
3 See Bull., X., 225 seq. Cf. Cuevas, loc. cit. 284 seqq.
* See Bull., X., 415 seq.
* See ScHMiDLiN, /oc. cit., 347 seq.
* See ibid. 367 seq.
' Cf. Margraf, 147. Besides the literature concerning Turibio,
cited in Vol. XX. of this work, p. 503, see also Carlos Garcia
Irigoyen, Santo Toribio, 4 vols., Lima, 1906 ; Levii.lier,
Organizacion de la Iglesia y ordenes relig. en el virreinato del
Peru en el siglo xvi., 2 parts, Madrid, 1919 ; Hist. Jahtb., XLVI.,
42 seq.
* See, besides the Synopsis, 198, 200, 213, the *brief of July 31,
1592, addressed to the Archbishop of Lima, Turibio {cf. Juvencius
v., 723), on the occasion of a disagreement between him and the
Jesuits, in which it is stated : " Nos certe in eo ordine diligendo
nullius unquam caritati concessimus." Arm. 44, t. 37, n. 454,
Papal Secret Archives,
JESUITS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 253
extent it was then divided into three parts : the central part
under the equator remained the true province, to which were
added two sub-provinces, one in the north and one in the south.
The fact that the Jesuits educated the bhnd and the deaf
and dumb in the city of Cuzco, shows how thorough they were
in their mission work. At Quito, where a rebelHon against
Spain had broken out, the fathers restored peace. Besides
this they were indefatigable in preserving the Spanish
colonists from complete demoralization. ^
In 1593 the Jesuits, under the leadership of Father Luis di
Valdivia, also reached Chili, where they founded an establish-
ment which soon became very flourishing. They displayed
a most beneficial activity among the savage people of the
Araucani, who were devoted to hunting and pastoral life,
among whom the Franciscans had already laboured from 1541
onwards. 2 The Jesuit Gabriel de Vega, in the midst of his
many occupations, found time to compose a grammar and
dictionary in the Araucani tongue ; in 1602 Luis di Valdivia
published a catechism in the dialect of the Alentinos.^ He
and his companion of the same Order, Diego de Torres, who
was justly highly praised by Clement VI I L,^ won undying
merit by their efforts for the preservation and more humane
treatment of the red races ; they saved the Araucani from
complete extermination.^
^ See Liu. ann,, 1594-1595, 674 scq. ; 1596, 871 seq. ; 1603,
199 seq. ; 1604, 240 seq. ; 1605, 315 seq. Cf. Juvencius, V., 727 ;
AsirAin, IV., 532 seqq., 360 seqq. ; Schmidlin, 312.
* Cf. M. DE Olivares, Hist, de la. Comp. de Jesus en Chile,
escrita 1736, publ. p. D. B. Arania, Santiago, 1S74 ; F. Enrich,
Hist, de la Comp. de Jesiis en Chile, I., Barcelona, 1891 ; Astra.in,
IV., 668 seqq.
^ See Dahlmann, Sprachkunde, 79.
* See the *brief to the Bishop of Cuzco, Ant. de la Roya,
March 7, 1603, Arm. 44, t. 47, n. 27, Papal Secret Archives.
* CJ. the monograph by Enrich, rited supra n. 2. J. T.
Medina, on the basis of the Acta tells us of two valuable mono-
graphs concerning the Inquisition in South America : Historia
del tribunal del S. Oficio de la Inquisicion de Lima (from 1569
254 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The Dominicans and Franciscans vied with the Jesuits in
the kingdom of the Incas. Among the Franciscans there
stood out Francisco Solano, whose figure was soon made the
centre of many legends. A man of prayer and mortification,
burning with the love of God and his neighbour, this son of
St. Francis exercised an extraordinary influence over those
round him. Very soon after his death, which took place at
Lima on July 14th, 1610, the people venerated him as a saint,
and many cities chose him as their patron.^
Francisco Solano laboured as an apostle, not only in Peru
among the degenerate Spanish colonists, but also among the
Indians in the province of Tucuman. During many years
(1589-1602) he unweariedly travelled about that plateau, as
onwards), 2 vols. Santiago di Chile, 1887, and Historia del
tribunal del S. Oficio de la Inquisicion en Chile (from 1570 onwards)
2 vols., ibid. 1890. In a review in the Hist. Zeitschr. (LXVII.,
371) it is stated : "A careful study of both these works makes us
realize that the tribunal of the Inquisition, for all its terrors, and
its power to supply for the insufficient civil legislation, did great
service in the matter of customs and morals. Thus there were
cited before the court of the Holy Office bigamists and priests
who were leading immoral lives, and who abused the confessional
for this purpose. The punishments in these cases were certainly
not cruel, especially if we remember the " law " of the XVlth
and XVI Ith centuries which was in force everywhere, and the
customary punishments for all manner of faults and crimes. For
the same reason we can explain why blasphemies and outrages
against the Catholic Church were more severely punished than
they are to-day. Thus we only have the trials for heresy and
those of baptized Jews and Mahometans who had relapsed into
their former errors, and the study of which may well excite
terror. It was in these cases that torture was most frequently
applied, and death sentences passed."
^ Cf. Acta Sand., Iiilii V., 859 seq. ; Marcelling da Civezza,
Storia d. Miss. F'rancesc, VII., 2, Prato, 1891, 99 seq. ; Freib.
Kirchenlex., IV^., 1836 ; Hiral, Vie de St. FVan^ois Solano,
Lille, 1906 ; Hellinghaus, Der hi. Franziskus Solanus, Treves,
1912, and with these the critique by Schmidlin in the Zeitschr. f.
Missionswiss., III., 230.
JESUITS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 255
well as the immense plain of the Gran Chaco. His companion
Luis Bolafios was the author of the earliest catechism in the
dialect of the Guarani, and the founder of the mission in
Paraguay, properly so called.^ The Jesuits went to Tucuman
at the invitation of the Dominican bishop, Francisco de
Vittoria. Another Dominican bishop, Alfonso Guerra di
Assuncion, had summoned them to Paraguay proper. From
their house, established in 1588 in the above-mentioned city,
they undertook " mobile missions " among the savage tribes
of the immense surrounding territory. As these mobile
missions did not prove effective, in 1602 the General of the
Order Aquaviva and the visitor Paez ordered the establish-
ment of fixed missions, avoiding as far as possible men of
alien blood, a step which was approved by the Spanish
government.'^
The Jesuits too in the province of Brazil, where the cele-
brated Father Anchieta laboured until 1597,^ took part in
the missions in Paraguay. A law made by the King of Spain,
in the year in which Anchieta died, prohibited slavery in
Brazil. Thus a great hindrance to the progress of
Christianity was removed, and the messengers of the
faith now penetrated into the depths of the virgin forests
with renewed zeal.^
Clement VIII. followed with the closest attention the
progress of the missions in America, and furthered them by
many proofs of his favour. If he heard of the discovery of
^ For the Catechism of Bolano see Southey, Between the
Amazon and Andes, by Mulhall, London, 1881, 248 seq.
2 See JuvENCius, V., 732 seq. ; Huonder in Freib. Kirchenlex.,
IX^., 1464 ; AsTRAiN, IV., 614 seqq. ; 625 seqq. ; Pfotenhauer,
I., 87 ssq. ; ScHMiDLiN, Missionsgeschichte, 317 seq.
* For Anchieta cf. Vol. XX. of this work, p. 510.
* For the Jesuits in Brazil see Litt. ann. 1594-1595, 789 seq.,
1597. 492 seq. ; JuvENXius, V., 731 seq. ; F. Guerreiro,
Rela(;'am annal das cousas ijue fezeram os padres da Companhia
de Jesus nas partes da India oriental e no Brasil, Angola,
Caboverde, Guine nos annos de 1602 e 1603, Lisbon, 1605,
III., 125.
256 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
new peoples, he hastened to exhort the bishop concerned to
spread Christian doctrine among them ; if he learned of abuses,
he at once intervened. ^ His care also extended to civil
matters ; thus he urged Philip III. not to oppress the natives
by taxes. ^
From a description of Spanish America, published in Madrid
in 1601, we learn that at the beginning of the XVIIth century
the success of the missions presented externally an impressive
appearance ; there were five archdioceses, twenty-seven
dioceses, two universities, more than four hundred convents
of Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustinians, Mercedari and
Jesuits, innumerable confraternities and hospitals, parishes
and mission stations for the million pagans who had been
converted to Christianity. ^ In Mexico and other places the
building of magnificent cathedrals had been begun. ^ Naturally
there were also abuses and dark places which reacted upon
these external signs of progress, a thing which continues down
to our own times. ^
While in the colonies of Spain and Portugal the Church
could rejoice in the fullest support and protection of the civil
authorities, in all the countries subject to the Turks it had
to suffer severely from the Mohamedans and schismatics.
In spite of all the efforts of the Latin missionaries of the various
Orders there was a perceptible diminution of the Christian
population. Clement VIII. did all in his power to remedy
this. One of his first cares was to resume the question of
the reunion of the Copts which had been begun by Sixtus V..®
but which had been interrupted during the brief pontificates
of Urban VII., Gregory XIV. and Innocent IX. In March
1592 Clement VIII. sent an envoy to the Patriarch Gabriel of
1 Cf. Bull., X., 767 ; XI., 60 seq.
* See the *instructions to D. Ginnasio, September 18, 1600,
Barb. 5832, Vatican Library.
^ See A. DE Herrera, Descripcion de las Indias ocidentales,
Madrid, 1601, 80.
* Cf. Briggs, Barock-Architektur, 186 seq.
* See ScHMiDLiN, JNIissionsgeschichte, 314 seq.
^ Cf. Vol. XXI. of this work, p. 185.
REUNION OF THE COPTS. 2^7
Alexandria^ in the person of Girolamo Vechietti. As a result
of this the Patriarch sent representatives to Rome, with a
letter of November 22nd, 1593, addressed to the Pope, in
which he recognized the primacy. The same was done by
the archpriest John of Alexandria, who in a letter dated
December i8th, 1593, said that the pitiful state of the
Egyptian Church and its harassing by the Turks, was in his
opinion a punishment for its schism. ^
The Coptic envoys reached Rome in June 1594. After
the difficulties connected with the differences of rite had been
adjusted with the help of the Jesuits,^ on January 15th, 1595,
in the presence of Clement VIII. and twenty-four Cardinals
they made the Catholic act of faith, and paid homage to the
Pope,* in the name of those who had sent them. The
completion of the reunion was, however, delayed by unfor-
tunate circumstances, and it was only on October 7th, 1602,
that Clement VIII. could express to the Patriarch of
Alexandria his joy at his return to Catholic unity.
At the same time he informed him that he had
established a Coptic college in Rome, and asked that
suitable students should be sent thither ; for his part
he offered to further the printing of ecclesiastical
books in the Coptic language.^ The archdeacon of
the Alexandrian Church, Barsum, was to take this
letter with him. In the meantime, unfortunately, the
Patriarch Gabriel died, and his successor Mark, to whom
1 See *bnef of March 27, 1592, Arm. 44, t. 36, Papal Secret
Archives.
2 See Baronius, Annales, VIII. , Lucca, 1741, ad an. 452, n. 23,
and Append, p. 636 seq.
8 See *Avviso of June 9, 1594, Urb. 1062, Vatican Library.
* See *Diarium P. Alaleonis, Barb. 2815, p. 390, Vatican
Library ; *Avviso of January 18, 1595, Urb. 1063, ibid. ;
Baronius, loo. cit.
^ See *letter of October 7, 1602, Arm. 44, t. 46, Papal Secret
Archives. This and the following documents were unknown to
Renaudot (Hist. Patriarch. Alexandr. Jacobit., 612), and to
PiCHLER (II., 516).
VOL. XXIV. 17
258 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Clement VIII. addressed himself in 1604,^ held different views
from those of his predecessor.
Clement VIII. showed great affection for the Maronites,
whose college in Rome he did his best to help.^ In June 1596
he sent the Jesuit Girolamo Dandini to Lebanon,^ where he
found certain evils and abuses. In September he held a
national council at the monastery of Kanobin, at which the
Maronites protested at dogmatic errors being attributed to
them. At this assembly certain canons were laid down
concerning external worship and the administration of the
sacraments ; in future they were all to make use of the
reformed missal^ published in Rome by pontifical authority.
In 1599 Clement VIII. granted to the new Patriarch of the
Maronites the confirmation he asked for, and sent him the
pallium.^
1 See *brief of May 26, 1604, Arm 44, t. 56, Papal Secret
Archives.
* See Anaissi, Bull. Maronit., 104 seq. The Pope supplied the
college with Spanish wine ; see *instructions to D. Ginnasio in
Barb. 5852, Vatican Library.
^ See Anaissi, loc, cit., 106 seq. The instructions of the General
Aijuaviva for Dandini and his companion Fabio Bruno in
Rabbath, Documents, I., 170 seq.
* Cf. Dandini, Voyage du niont Liban par R.S.P. (Richard
Simon), Paris, 1685, 109 seq., 158 seq., Pichlek, II., 458 seq..
Coll. Lacens., II., 413 seq. A " Missale chaldaic. iuxta ritum
Maronit," dedicated to Clement VIII. and printed in 1594 at the
" Tipografia Medicea," in Vat. lat. 5477, Vatican Library.
* See Anaissi, Bull. Maronit., 107 seq. Cod. M. 8, p. 77 seq.
of the Vallicella Library, Rome, contains an " *Epistola Simeonis
patriarchae totius Iberiae et Orientis ad S.P. Clemen tern VIII.
a. 1596, de statu religionis christianae in illis partibus," especially
concerning Georgia, where some Capuchins were working at the
beginning of the XVIIth century. Cf. Beilage zur Allg. Zeitung,
1896, n. loi. May i. See also *briefs of April i, 1598, to the
King and Patriarch of Iberia (Georgia) in Arm. 44, t. 42, n. 73 seq.,
106, Papal Secret Archives. In a *brief to Philip III. of Septem-
ber 13, 1602, the Pope recommends " archiep. Dersinensis in
Armenia " who had been sent to him by the Armenian Patriarch
EFFORTS TO UNITE THE SERBS. 259
In the Balkan peninsula Clement VIII. sought to brmg
about the reunion of the Serbs with Rome, by means of the
Franciscans who were labouring there in a self-sacrificing
spirit, but national jealousies prevented the success of his
efforts.^ In the principality of Moldavia, which had been
reduced to a state of vassalage by the Turks, the efforts of
the voivode Peter the Lame, which had been begun under
Gregory XIII. and Sixtus V. to reunite his subjects to the
Catholic Church proved vain, since that prince, fearing that
the Sultan would forcibly make his son John Stefan embrace
Mohamedanism, had taken to flight."^ Clement VIII.
Melchisedech for recognition by the Holy See ; in the brief it is
stated that the archbishop had told him of the oppression and
persecution of the Armenians by the Turks. He complains that
the Armenian Catholic uniats are treated as pagans by your
representatives in the east ; at Orniuz, the port in the Persian
Gulf, where a tenth is paid as customs duty, they have to pay
double like the pagans, whereas at Ancona they are treated by
us, as by other prmces, as Christians ; they are excluded from
trading in the East Indies. The archbishop asks you to make
restitution. We recommend to you the Armenian Catholics, and
the Armenian merchants, who greatly help the bishops (Arm. 44,
t. 46, n. 281, Papal Secret Archives). A *brief to Philip III.,
October 21, 160^, recommends the Armenians, so that they may
be able to return by an indirect route, as the Turks bar their way
{ibid. t. 56, p. 326). According to the *Avviso of November 20,
1604, Stefano Sirleto, nephew of the Cardinal, of the new Order
" della continua oratione," or of S. Agnese who, being very
learned and pious, had preached to the Jews, was sent by the
Pope to Armenia as archbishop. Urb. 1072, Vatican Library.
^ Cf. Fabianich, Storia dei Frati minori in Dalmazia et Bossina,
I., Zara, 1863, 315 seq. Balan, La chiesa e gli Slavi, 207 seq. ;
HuDAL, Die serbisch-orthodoxe Nationalkirche, Graz, 1922, 13.
For Clement VIII. and the Bulgarians cf. Archiv. f. ostevr. Gesch.,
LIX., 344 seq.
2 Cf. NiLLES, Svmbolae ad ill. hist. eccl. orient., II., Lisbon,
1885, 978 seq., and Hirn in Hist. Jahrb., VII., 434 seq. Docu-
ments relating to the Catholics in Moldavia, 1600 seqq., in the
Roumanian periodical Colunna lui Traian, 1876, 299 seqq. See
26o HISTORY OF THE POPES.
repeatedly implored the help of foreign princes for the
Christians of Moldavia, Wallachia^ and the Epirus,^ who
were gravely threatened by the Turks. At the very beginning
of his pontificate he had assigned an annual subsidy to the
bishop of the Latin Catholics in Moldavia, which was to be
paid by the Apostolic Camera.^
"With a like generosity the Pope made provision for the Latin
bishops in the islands of Chios, Andros and Naxos, who found
in their poverty an obstacle to their fulfilling their duty of
residence.* To give spiritual assistance to the Christian
inhabitants of the archipelago was all the more near to the
heart of Clement VIIL, in that the Greeks living there had
not as yet formally detached themselves from the Roman
Church.^ For this purpose he made use by preference of the
Jesuits. Bishops such as the bishop of Crete, which island
still belonged at that time to the Venetians, put difficulties
in the way of the fathers, on which account they received
also Abraham in Kwartalnik Hist., XVI. (1902), 206. Jorga in
Gesch. der europ. Staaten, XXXIV., 36 ; Korolevskij in
Rev. catolica, 191 5.
1 See the *brief to the King of Poland, September 6, 1602,
Arm. 44, t. 46, n. 272, Papal Secret Archives, and ibid, the *brief
of the same date to the " episc. Argensis." The report drawn up
a short time after the death of Clement VIIL, cited by Gottlob
in Hist. Jahrh., VI., 54 seq., shows how Protestantism, by pene-
trating into Transylvania, had hastened the decline of the Catholic
Church in Moldavia.
2 See the *brief to Philip III., February 14, 1603, Arm. 44,
t. 47, n. 10, Papal Secret Archives. The brief to the Christians
of the " Cimarra " in Epirus in 1594, in Bessarione, XVII. (1913),
195-
^ Bull., IX., 549 seq. For Bishop Vincenzo Quirini, who in
1599 sent to Clement VIIL a report that was often quite incorrect
(printed in Hurmuzaki, III., i, 545 seq.) cf. Nilles, loc. cit., 1008,
1026 seq.
^ See Bull., IX., 549 seq.
^ The definite breach only took place at the beginning of the
XVIIIth century ; see Piolet, L, 133.
THE GREEK UNIATS. 261
severe admonitions.^ In 1592 Clement VIII. sent to Chios
the Jesuits Benedetto Muleto and Vincenzo Castanola. When
three years later the latter sent to Rome a report of the sad
conditions in Chios, it was decided to establish a house for
the Jesuits there, for which the Pope gave the necessary funds.
Their work in Chios was so beneficial that the inhabitants
of the island sent a letter of thanks to Rome.^ The inhabitants
of Naxos also asked that a Jesuit might be sent to them, and
Clement VIII. entrusted that mission to the learned Vincenzo
Cicada, who was a relative of the owner of the island, the
Count of Cicada.^
In a yet more comprehensive way Clement VIII. occupied
himself with the condition of the Greeks, a hundred thousand
in all, who lived in different parts of Italy, especially in
Calabria and the island of Sicily. These consisted in part of
old inhabitants, and in part of exiles, who had left their own
country on account of the Turkish rule. To these were added
a number of Albanians, who had sought a refuge in Italy after
the death of their national hero Skanderbeg, but who had
nothing in common with the Greeks but their liturgical rite.*
In common with all the Italian bishops, those of southern
' See the * brief to the Archbishop of Crete " Laurentius
Victurius," February 4, 1595, Arm. 44, t. 40, p. 41, Papal Secret
Archives. Cf. as to this Synopsis, 196 seq.
* See Juvencius V., 436 seq. ; Synopsis, 183 seq., 194, 219.
^ See the *briefs to V. Cicada and the Count C. Cicada, of
May 5 and 8, 1600, Arm. 44, t. 44, nn. 127-129, Papal Secret
Archives. Ibid. t. 43, n. 336, a *brief to C. Cicada, in which
Clement VIII. recommends to him the faithful in the island.
The direction of the Greek College in Rome, which Clement VIII.
had entrusted to the Jesuits {Synopsis, 158) was taken from them
in 1604. It is false to say that this was done on account of bad
administration, as was said (see *Avviso of September 25, 1604,
Urb. 1072, Vatican Library) ; cf. Korolevskij in Stoudion, 1929,
in course of publication. Cf. Bull., IX., 518 seq.
* Cf. J. Gay, fitude sur la decadence du rite grec dans I'ltalie
meridionale a la fin du XVI. siecle, in Compte-rendu du IV".
Congres Scientif. internal, des CatJioliqites, Sect. I., 163 seqq.
262 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Italy, encouraged by the Holy See, had again commenced
to hold regular visitations of their dioceses during the period
of Catholic reformx. In doing this they had come to know
more fully the religious conditions of the Greeks, which
frequently called for improvement. Like the magistrates
and some of the barons, not a fev/ of the bishops were guilty
of grave mistakes in dealing with the Greeks and Albanians ;
often almost force was used to compel them to adopt the
Roman rite.^ Faced with this fact, the Holy See held firmly
to its ancient principle of energetically protecting the dis-
cipline and liturgy of the Greek Catholics, so long as these
were not opposed to dogma. Just as Leo X. and Clement VII.
had strongly admonished^ those Latins who attacked the
Greeks on account of their different discipline, so had Paul IH.
forbidden under grave penalties the Bishops of Cassano,
Bisignano, Rossano and Anglona-Tursi to disturb the
Albanians in the exercise of their liturgy. But as many
abuses which affected doctrine had become introduced,
especially among the Greeks of Sicily, on February i6th,
1564, Pius IV. had expressly recalled the duty of vigilance
over their doctrines and worship which was incumbent on the
Latin bishops.^ But both he and Pius V. had insisted on the
inviolability of the Byzantine rite. In the Greek college
as in all the oriental colleges which he established, he had
the students strictly educated in their own rite.^
1 Cf. ibid.
2 See Hergenrother in Arch. f. kath. Kirchenrecht, VIL, 179.
8 See RoDOTA, DeH'origine e state presente del rito grace in
Italia, IIL, Rome, 1758, 138.
* See Hergenrother, loc. cit. 179, 355. Professor H. Gelzer,
who died in 1906, was occupied in 1903 with the manuscript
material for a history of the Greeks and Albanians in southern
Italy. For this purpose he obtained documents from the archives
of the Congregation of the Council and Propaganda, and even
some from that of the Holy Office in Rome, which is so jealously
guarded. 1 have already f'.eijuently stated, and once again in
7912 in Hist. Jahrb., XXXHL, 481 seq., that not only in the
interest of historical studies, but also in that of the Catholic
THE BYZANTINE RITE. 263
Clement VIII. too was guided by the principle that the
Byzantine liturgy had its full rights, within the limits assigned
by dogma. On August 31st, 1595, he issued a special in-
struction which dealt exhaustively with the controversy which
had arisen concerning the rites and usages of the Greeks.^
The publication of this document had been preceded by a
detailed inquiry by a Congregation expressly intended for the
reform of the Greeks. ^ Of decisive importance in this matter
were the views of Cardinal Santori, who was very expert in
these questions, and had collected detailed information.^
The instruction aimed above all things at the removal of
undoubted abuses, especially in the administration of the
sacraments. With regard to sacerdotal ordination, it laid
down that the Greeks could only receive this from a bishop
of their own rite. It was expressly ordered that one of their
bishops should reside in Rome. Clement VIII. at the same
time renewed the edicts of Innocent IV. in 1254, ^-^^ of
Pius IV. in 1564, as well as the prohibition issued by Pius V.
Church, it is ardently to be desired that these may at last be
made accessible. The researches of Professor Gelzer, which
have not as yet been published, have confirmed this. Gelzer
wrote to me from Naples on March 10, 1903, that his work would
be " an honourable page for the Roman Curia and for the Holy
Office itself. They did all they could on behalf of these exiles,
and for the safeguarding of their liturgy and privileges. The
pressure to make them accept the Latin rite always came from
the local authorities, the bishops, barons and magistrates."
Cf. KoROLEVsKTj, in Stoudion, IV., 82-91.
1 Bull., X., 2, II seq.
* Part of the protocols to be found in Barb. 2607, Vatican
Library, was published from this in the periodical Bcssarione,
XVII. (1913). 345 seq.
' Cf. the *Miscellanea de riti specialmente greci, from the
Santori bec|uest, in Cod. I-B 6 of the Brancacciana Library,
Naples (now at Propaganda) from which Gay, loc. cit., 164 seq.
gives information. Cf. also " Ant. Lombardi archiepisc. *Consul-
tatio super abusibus Graecorum degentium Messanae ad loh.
Ant. Santori ctird. s. Severinae," in Vat. 5544, Vatican Library.
Cf. also Bessarinne, XVII. (1913), 466 seq.
264 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
in 1566, of any fusion of the Roman and Byzantine rites. ^
The indefatigable Cardinal Santori remained the advocate
of the Greeks in Rome.^
Several memorials presented to the Pope show how great
was the interest taken at that time in the world-wide mission
of the Church. One of these documents treats with great
learning and knowledge of the political and religious con-
ditions of the East, and of the principles which must be firmly
adhered to in the negotiations of the Holy See with the oriental
princes in the interests of a reunion of the Patriarchs of
Alexandria and Constantinople.^ A second memorial makes
proposals for missions to be undertaken in Denmark and
Norway.* A third, whose author through modesty does
not make himself known, urges, probably in connexion with a
petition^ from the Bishop of Tournai, Jean Vendeville,
presented to Sixtus V. in 1589, the establishment of a special
Congregation, which may be called the forerunner of " Pro-
paganda fide," since its suggests to the Pope the erection of
a similar institution as the best means of propagating the
Catholic faith.® The author is of opinion that it would be
^ See Hergenkother, loc. cit. 355. The edict of Innocent IV.
in Raynalous, 1254, n. 7.
2 The reply of Santori to the Archbishop of Reggio, Annibale
d'Afflito, concerniRg the Byzantine rite in his diocese : Roma e
Oriente, VII. (1914), 106 seq., 339 seq.
^ *Discorso in Urb. 854, p. i seq., Vatican Library, used for the
first time by Lammer, Analecta, 52.
* This * memorial addressed to the Pope and to the Cardinals
of the Congregation of Propaganda Fide in Barb. 1992, Vatican
Library.
^ See Rensens, La premiere idee du college de la Propagande
ou memoire presente en 1589 par J. Vendville, etc., in Mem. de la
Soc. hist, et Hit. de Tournai, X. (1870). Cf. also Goyau, Les
initiatives Beiges dans la Fondation de la Propagande, in Revue
Generate of Brussels, July 15, 1924, p. i seq.
* *" Modus propagandi fidem Catholicam," an unsigned
manuscript from the collection of INIagliabecchi ; I made use of
this in 1879 in Florence in the Marucelliana Library ; the manu-
MEMORIALS ON MISSIONS. 265
necessary to emplo}' four or five secretaries, distinguished
for their knowledge of languages, their learning and their
piety, who should lay proposals before the Congregation and
supervise their carrying out. The first of these secretaries,
who were also to draw up a list of all persons of importance
for the work of the missions, was to be concerned with the
spiritual needs of England, Scotland, Ireland, France,
Germany, Denmark and Sweden ; the second with the
Poles, Lithuanians, Russians, Ruthenians, Hungarians and
Transylvanians ; the third was to be assigned Dalmatia,
Bosnia, and in a special way the whole of the Balkan peninsula ;
the fourth Cyprus, Asia Minor, Syria, Jerusalem, Alexandria
and Algeria ; the fifth all the missions in the Spanish-Portu-
guese colonies in America and Asia.
The memorial also treats in detail of the training to be given
to the missionaries in Rome. This work was to be divided
between the Franciscans, Dominicans and Jesuits. The
author attaches great importance to the spread of Catholic
books translated into the languages of the various peoples.
He suggests that there should be interested in this work,
besides the Generals of the above-mentioned Orders, the
Latin Bishops of Cattaro, Ragusa, Crete and Corfu, the nobles
who had remained lo3^al to the Church in Andros and Chios
the many merchants who traded with the east, and their
consuls at Pera, Alexandria and Aleppo. At the end the
author remarks that if the city of Geneva alone had been able
script was at that time to be included in the National Library,
then closed. The author of the manuscript was probably the
distinguished Provincial of the Carmelites, Tommaso a Jesu, a
friend of Santori, who in his work, " De procuranda salute omnium
gentium, " Antwerp, 1613 {cf. Schmidlin, in Zeiischr. f. Missions-
wiss., III., 112) repeats almost word for word a part of the things
set forth in the memorial (i. 3, c. i, p. 103 seq.). Tommaso a
]esu, who relates in his mtroduction that he had made use of the
library of Santori, probably saw the memorial there. For
Tommaso a Jesu (1568-1626) cf. also Salaville, LTn theoricien de
I'apostolat catholiqtie au XVII. siecle, in Eckqs d'Orient, XX.,
T29-152.
266 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
in a short space of time, by means of books and writings,
to win over so great a number of souls to Calvinism, how
much more reason there was to hope for the winning, by the
help of God, of so many immortal souls, for which Christ
had shed His blood ; it was only essential for attention to
be drawn to this argument, while the necessary power was
not wanting in Rome.
This memorial contains the germ of the great idea of
Propaganda, and it is the undeniable merit of Clement VIII.
that he sought to realize it. The Pope had already in 1594
established a similar Congregation for the missions in
Abyssinia,^ and in 1595 for the Italo-Greeks.^ In continuance
of the efforts of Pius V.,^ in 1599 he established a Congregation
composed of nine Cardinals, which was to concern itself
principally with the propagation of the faith. The president
was Cardinal Santori, together with Baronius and Bellarmine,
who also formed part of the new Congregation, but he was
undoubtedly the most important and zealous Cardinal of his
time. Besides this indefatigable supporter and proved expert
in the work of the missions, there were also added"* Medici,
Borromeo, Visconti, Antoniano, and Pietro and Cinzio Aldo-
brandini. The constitution of the Congregation took place
on August nth, 1599, in the presence of the Pope ; on August
i6th the members held their first meeting at the palace of the
president, Santori. Unfortunately only the notes of the
first ten meetings have been preserved ; the last took place
1 According to the *Avviso of June 9, 1594, there belonged
to this Congregation Cardinals Galli, Paleotto, Santori, Toledo and
the Camerario. Urb. 1062, Vatican Library.
* Cf. siipra, p. 263.
^Cf. Vol. XVIII. of this work, p. 350.
* Cf. his *Audientiae in Arm. 52, t. 17 seqq., Papal Secret
Archives. See also Castellucci in the publication (p. 162 seq.,
178 seq., 248 seq.) mentioned in the following note. The
" Catechismo generale " drawn up by Santori concerning the
treatment of catechumens and neophytes is published in the
appendix of the work on the missions by Tommaso a Jesu ; see
ZeitscJir. /. Missionsiuiss., III., T12.
THE " DE PROPAGANDA FIDE." 267
on August 14th, 1600.^ The acta were written by a secretary,
and in the margin Cardinal Santori wrote with his own hand
the Pope's repHes to the decisions of the Congregation. The
procedure was the same as that followed by the German
Congregation of Gregory XIII., and later on by Propaganda.
At its first three sessions the Congregation was called
" Congregatio super negotiis sanctae fidei et religionis
catholicae " and later on " De propagatione fidei " or " De
propaganda fide." In this latter title its scope was con-
cisely expressed. In accordance with a decision arrived at
at the first congregation, the meetings were to be held twice
a month. The questions proposed were discussed and decided.
After each meeting Cardinal Santori went to the Pope to tell
him of the decisions come to. The Pope's replies were com-
municated to the Congregation at the next meeting, and
carried out in accordance with his wishes.
The matters discussed by the Congregation were very
varied and related to every country ; the faculties of the
Archbishop of Goa, the Phihppines, New Mexico, Scandinavia,
Africa, the Greeks in south Italy, the Nestorian Christians
in the Indies, Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia, and
Persia. Above all a fresh impulse had to be given to the
missions in the East, in which Sixtus V. had placed little
^ For the " Acta Congreg. super negotiis s. fidei et relig. cath."
contained in Cod. Misc. com. 17 of the archives of Propaganda,
see SctiMiDLiN in Zeiischr. f. Missionswiss., XI. (1921), 232 seq.,
where, however, the statement that I found further Acta in the
Papal Secret Archives is based upon a misunderstanding.
Lemmens found some Acta in a Cod. Ottob. in the Vatican
Library ; see Lemmens, Acta S. Congr. de propag. fide pro terra
sancta, I., i, concerning the first session in the presence of the
Pope. A. Castellucci has recently published all the Acta pre-
served, in Le Confereme al Late'ano, marzo-aprile, 1923, p. 223 seq.
The Congiegation is mentioned in the *Avvisi, hitherto unknown,
of August 14 and 18, 1599, and June 10, 1600, Urb. 1067, Vatican
Library. Clement VIII. distinctly said in the *brief of September
4th, 1600 (Papal Secret Archives'! that the Congregation WrS
consulted because of the mission to Persia ; see App. n. 17.
268 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
hopes. The colleges founded by Gregory XIII. were also
placed under the Congregation, which was in all ways similar
to Propaganda. There was no possibility of the Congregation
being dissolved, in view of the zeal of Clement VIII. for the
missions ; the death of Santori, which occurred in 1602,
brought about an interruption,^ but this was of short duration,
as Clement VIII. ordered the Congregation to resume its
labours in 1604.2 Thus the Aldobrandini Pope must be given
the credit for having for the first time created in Rome a
central control for the missions, the ends and objects of which
corresponded with those of Propaganda, founded by his
second successor.
1 As the presidency, and therefore the Acta now passed into the
hands of another Cardinal, this explains their disappearance.
But perhaps it will still be possible to find them.
2 See m App. n. 23, the *report of Fr. M. Vialardo of December
II, 1604, Papal Secret Archives.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Great Jubilee of 1600.
A Pope so pious as Clement VIII. was certain to have much
at heart the worthy celebration of the universal Jubilee,
which fell in the year 1600. The first preparations were made
as early as the beginning of 1599.^ On March 3rd the Pope
appointed two Congregations, each composed of twelve
Cardinals ; the first, of which Santori was president, was to
devote itself to the spiritual preparations ; the second,
presided over by Galli, to the material ones.'^ Orders were
issued to all the authorities in the Papal States to provide
for the maintenance and security of the roads ; the hospices
fn Rome received ample subsidies, so that they might get
ready to receive the pilgrims.^ Clement VIII. addressed
himself to Philip III."* for a supply of grain from Sicily. The
governor of Milan was exhorted to repair the roads and assist
the pilgrims.^ All the Cardinals were to take part in the
solemnity.^ The bulls of May 19th and 21st, 1599, announced
the celebration of the Holy Year, its duration and the suspen-
1 C/. *Avvisi of January 30 and February 3, 1599, Urb. 1067,
Vatican Library.
^ See *Acta consist, card. S. Severinae, Cod. Barb. lat. 2871,
Vatican Library.
* See Bentivoglio, Memorie, 188 seqq.
* See *brief to " Vicerex Siciliae," asking liim to carry out the
promise of Philip IIL, September i, 1599, Arm. 44, t. 43, n. 352,
Papal Secret Archives. Cf. the *instructions to the nuncio in
Spain, D. Ginnasio in Barb. 5852, I., Vatican Library.
° *Brief of April 28, 1599, Arm. 44, t. 43, n. 288, Papal Secret
Archives.
* See *Avviso of March 13, 1599, Urb. 1067, Vatican Library,
269
270 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
sion of all other indulgences.^ On May 22nd letters of
invitation were sent to the Emperor, and the kings and
Catholic princes, 2 and on October 30th was published the
invitation to the whole of Christendom.^ The princes were
urgently exhorted to show themselves kind and generous to
the pilgrims from their own countries, and to those who should
pass through them, and to provide for their safety. In
November the Pope prepared a special house in the Borgo
to receive the bishops and poor priests from bej^ond the Alps ;
he also provided refuges for needy layfolk, especially from
the countries where Protestantism was predominant.^ The
prelates of the reform Congregation were ordered to visit the
national hospices in Rome, and to assist in every way the
strangers who came for the jubilee. The prelate Mona was
charged with the pilgrims who came from Spain, Sorbolongo
with those from France, Seneca with those from Germany,
Benaglia with those from Venice, Tarugi with those of the
Papal States and Urbino, and Gessi with those from Poland.^
The Pope and the Cardinals assisted in a special way the
celebrated Confraternity of the SS. Trinita de' Pellegrini.®
Other congregations, such as that of the Stigmata of
St. Francis, founded in 1594, received money for the entertain-
ment of needy pilgrims.' The Pope also gave orders that
the pilgrims should not be exploited by the inn-keepers in
^ Bull., X., 504 seq., 509 seq.
2 See *Arm. 44, t. 43, nn. 241-255, Papal Secret Archives.
The letter to Rudolph II. in Archiv f. osterr. Gesch., XV., 228.
Originals of the briefs to Mantua and Venice in the respective
archives.
8 Bull., X., 548 seq. Cf. Bull, indict, s. lubilaei cum C. Schoppi
annotat. Monachii, 1601.
* See Bentivoglio, Memorie, 188.
* " Inventione molto buona et santa " says of this ordinance
the *Avviso of December 8, 1599, Urb. 1067, Vatican Library.
Cf. Baumgarten, Neue Kunde, 22.
* See *Avvisi of November 20 and 25, December 4 and 15,
1599. Urb. 1067, Vatican Library.
'See *Avviso of December 18, 1599, ibid.
PROHIBITION OF THE CARNIVAL. 271
their greed for gain,^ and that throughout the Holy
Year Rome should display the manifestation of the
greatest religious seriousness. The Carnival amusements
were prohibited, and distinguished preachers and good
confessors were sent to all the churches.- The Cardinals
^ See Orbaan, Documenti, 91 n. For the inns of that time see
ibid. 426 seq. For the punishment of certain inn-keepers in
May, 1600, for being greedy of gain see Baumgarten, loo. cit. 23.
" See Manni, Anni santi, 159. Besides this fundamental work,
which also treats in detail of the coins of the jubilee, cf. the Liber
de anno iiibilaei 1600 dedicated to Clement VIII. by Cardinal A.
Valiero (often in manuscript, e.g. Vat. 3792 and 5479, Vatican
Library ; Cod. Sess. 236, Vittorio Emanuele Library, Rome),
printed at Verona, 1601 (a copy of this rare edition in the Vatican).
Besides other works cited by Manni (173 seq.) it is to be noticed
that RuTiL. Benzonii de anno s. iubilaei hbri VI. was printed at
Venice in 1599. In Manni there are la ckmg : i. Girol.Gratiano
(Carmelite), Trattato del Giubileo dell'Anno Santo, trad. d. Spag.
in Ital. da Jac. Bosio, Rome, 1599 ; 2. Fr. Forner, Von Ablass
und Jubeljahr, Ingolstadt, 1599 ; 3. " Tractatus de quibusdam
observationibus circa annum iubilaei a lo. Paulo Mucantio "
(dedicated to Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, 1599, Cal. Maii),
Barb. XX., 6, Vatican Library ; 4. *Diarium anni iubilaei 1600
Jacobo Grimaldo Bonon. basil. Vatic, sacrista auctore. Barb,
lat. 2210, Vatican Library, and Cod. B, iii, Capitular Archives
of St. Peter's. For the treatise by Bellarmine " De indulgentiis
etiubilaeo " see Couderc, I., 243 seqq. For C. Scioppius, who had
become a Catholic by studying the Annals of Baronius, and who
published on the occasion of the jubilee a " Commentarius de
indulgentiis " (edition of 1601 in British Museum, London) see
Forschimgen z. deutschen Gesch., XL, 408 seq. ; Rass, Konvertiten,
III., 396 seq. As a souvenir for the pilgrims was intended the
" Deliciae Urbis Romae divinae et humanae anni sacri iubilaei 1600
Dom. Custode Aug. Vindel. 1600," 29 plates with an illustrated
frontispiece and a picture of Clement VIII. by Sadeler (Venice,
1600). Another portrait of Clement VIII. engraved at that time, and
adorned with medallions, representing the absolution of Henry IV.,
the reconciliation between Spain and France, the canonization of
St. Hyacinth, the entry into Ferrara, the marriage of Philip III.,
the reunion of the Ruthenians, etc. See P. Perali, Prontuario
272 HISTORY OF THE POPE^.
were ordered not to wear their purple during this time
of penance.^
According to tradition the Holy Year should have begun
on the vigil of Christmas, with the opening of the Holy Door
at St. Peter's, but as Clement VHI. was ill with gout, this
ceremony had perforce to be postponed until the last day of
December. Even then the Pope had to do violence to himself
to leave his bed of suffering, and perform the function, at
which eighty thousand persons were present. On the following
day, after the High Mass celebrated by Cardinal Sfondrato
in St. Peter's, he gave the solemn benediction urbi et orhi.'^
Although after this the Pope was still very often unwell,^
Clement VHI. displayed the greatest zeal in gaining the
jubilee indulgence. Thirty visits to the churches had been
bibliografico per la storia degli Anni Santi, published in the
appendix to the Cronistoria dell' Anno Santo MCMXXV., Rome,
IQ28.
1 See Alaleone in Thurston, 269.
^ See the *report of G. C. Foresto, January i, 1600, Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua, and the *letters of G. Mocenigo of January i
and 8, 1600, State Archives, Venice. Cf. *Diariuni P. Alaleonis,
Barb. 2816, Vatican Library ; *Avviso of January i, 1600,
Urb. 1068, ibid. ; *Re]azione intomo alle ceremonie, in Vat.
9314, p. 889 seq., ibid. K. Low, Griindl. Bericht, was bei
Klemens VIIL mit Eroftnung und Zuthun der gold en en Porten
sich verlaufen hat, Cologne, 1601 ; Lettres d'Ossat, IL, 282, 298 ;
report of the architect Heinrich Schickhardt, who accompanied
the Protestant Duke Frederick of Wiirtemberg ; during the
ceremony Frederick was given a place near the Pope (see the new
edition of the description of the journey of H. Schickhardt pub-
lished from the first in 1602, by W. Heyd, Handschriften u.
Handzeichn. des Baumeisters H. Sch., Stutgardt, 1902 ;
Prinzivalli, Gli anni santi 1300-1925, Rome, 1925, 92 seq.).
The medal reproduced in Manni, 151, represents two shepherds
sounding a trumpet or horn before the throne of the Pope,
evidently in reference to the " Jubilee " of the ancient Jews.
' See the *reports of G. C. Foresto, March 4 and 11, May 20
and December 29, 1600, and January 6, 1601, Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua.
EXAMPLE SET BY THE POPE. 273
laid down for the Romans, and fifteen for strangers, but the
Pope made sixty. He began on January 2nd, and declared
that he intended every Sunday to visit the four great basilicas
of St. Peter's, St. Paul's, St. John Lateran and St. Mary
Major's. He also frequently made the visit to the Seven
Churches. His deep piety edified everyone. It was exceed-
ingly touching to see him ascend the Scala Santa, although his
gout caused him great pain in his hands and feet.^ He
assisted in person ^ at the celebration of the Forty Hours in
the church of the Gesu, during which Baronius preached. In
spite of his sufferings he could not be restrained from repeatedly
washing the feet of poor pilgrims, and waiting upon them at
table, together with some of the Cardinals.^ In Lent he was
especially careful to provide good preachers,* and himself
set a good example in this by having, in addition to the
customary sermon by the Capuchin Anselmo da Monopoli,
special discourses delivered in his private chapel. It gave
him special pleasure to hear the word of God there from the
lips of Cardinals Silvio Antoniano, Bellarmine and Baronius.^
^ See Bentivoglio, Memorie, 191, whose information is
confirmed by the *Avvisi (Urb. 1068, Vatican Library) and the
*Diarium P. Alaleoms (Barb. 2816, ibid.). For the beginning of
the pilgrimages see Mucantius, *Diarium, Papal Secret Archives.
2 See De Santi, Quarant'ore, 286 seq. Cf. Mon. hist. Soc.
lesu., Mon. Ignat., IL (1918), 473.
3 See *Avvisi of February 12 and 26, and May 3, 1600, Urb.
1068, Vatican Library. Cf. BaumciRTEN, Neue Kunde, 19.
* The *Avviso of February 16, 1600, mentions as the most
celebrated preachers : the Spaniards P. Scalzo at St. Peter's,
Acquapendente at S. Luigi, the Franciscan P. Rocca of Genoa
at the VaUicella, P. Paolo da Cesena (Capuchin) at S. Lorenzo in
Damaso, Mazarino at the Gesii, Tolosa at S. Andrea. In 1601
(*Avviso of March 7) the best preachers were supposed to be
P. Scalzo, the Franciscan Castelfidardo and the Theatine Cieco.
Urb. 1068, 1069, Vatican Library.
^ See Bentivoglio, Memorie, 194. The above mentioned
Cardinals, as well as Piatti, also preached at the Gesu during the
Forty Hours. See *Avviso of February 19, 1600, Urb. 1068,
Vatican Library.
VOL. XXIV. 18
274 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
In Holy Week, to the general surprise, the Pope took his place
in the seat of the Grand Penitentiary in St. Peter's and
confessed for hours together all who came.^ He was un-
wearied in helping poor pilgrims with abundant alms.^ He
also ordered that the feasts of the Church, especially Easter,
Pentecost and that of the Princes of the Apostles, should be
celebrated with the greatest solemnity.^
As had happened before, "* on this occasion as well the
Italian pilgrims came organized in confraternities, and made
their entry in solemn procession. Almost every week fresh
bodies arrived on pilgrimage to the holy places, the greatest
crowds coming during the months of May and June.^ Up
to July 408 confraternities were counted.^ The entry of
1 See *AvvJeo of April 8, 1600, Urb. 1068, ihid. This happened
on May 3, 1600 ; see *Diarium of J. Grimaldi, Barb. lat. 2210,
Vatican Library.
^ See Manni, 166. Cf. *Avvisi of January i (the Pope enter-
tains many pilgrims in the Belvedere) and April 8, 1600 (the
Pope daily sends extraordinary alms to the Trinita), Urb. 1068,
Vatican Library.
^ Cf. *Avvisi of May 25 (Easter Day ; the Pope suffering, but
forces himself to give the blessing), June 28 (feast of St. Peter
and St. Paul), and October 11, 1600 (great procession to the
Minerva), Urb. 1068, Vatican Library.
* Cf. Vol. XIX. of this work, p. 209.
* See the *Diarium of J. Grimaldi, according to which the
number of the pilgrims belonging to the confraternities during
these months was 12324 and 11695. Ba.b. 2210, Vatican Library.
* Cf. Bentivoglio, MemorJe, 194 ; Moroni, IL, 124 ; Orbaan,
Rome, 85 seqq. See also the *Avviso of May 10, 1600, for the
arrival of the Confraternity " dell'Aquila " and " della
Misericordia " from Foligno, and that of November 29 for the
Company of the Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi, who all appeared
in the Franciscan habit with black crosses in their hands (Urb.
1068, Vatican Library). The *Preces d. compagnia della morte
e della misericordia di Foligno fatte in Roma nel giubileo 1600,
in Cod. B. IL of the seminary Library, Foligno. Interesting
notes concerning the payment of travelling expenses of foreign
communes in the commentary of Giac. Cohelli on the Bull. " Del
THE CONFRATERNITIES. 275
these companies, with their crosses and banners, and
figurative representations of saints, made an imposing spec-
tacle. An extraordinary impression was made on May 9th
by the entry of the Confraternity della Misericordia from
Foligno, which was met b}^ the Confraternity of the Trinita.
Evening had akeady fallen, and by the light of many torches
there were to be seen, first, boys dressed as angels, with the
instruments of the Passion, followed by a number of cars
upon which were shown the whole of the Passion of the
Redeemer.^
For the most part the Pope received the pilgrims in the
cortile of the Belvedere.^ The confraternities from his native
city, Florence, were received with special honour, Clement
himself giving communion to the members in St. Peter's, after
which they were given a sumptuous repast in the Galleria
Gregoriana.^ Suitable honour was shown to the many
important personages who had come for the jubilee. Among
these the first place must be given to Cardinal Andrew of
Austria,* to whom in his mortal illness the Pope himself
administered the sacraments, making for him in the early
hours of a cold November morning the pilgrimage to the
buon governo " (see infra, p. 367, n. 2) ; cf. P. Perali, I peile-
grinaggi giubilari neH'antico diritto pubblico, in Corriere cV Italia,
October i, 1924, reproduced in Prontuario Bibliografico, 1199.
1 See Clementi, 307.
2 See *Avvisi of May 10 and November 29, 1600, Urb. 1068,
Vatican Library. Cf. Manni, 165.
^ See the two *Avvisi of April 29, 1600, Urb. 1068, Vatican
Library. Cf Manni, 161 seq. ; B.\umgarten, Neue Kunde, 17.
* See *Avviso of November 15, 1600, Urb. 1068, Vatican
Library. Cf. Lettres d'Ossat, II., 244 ; Freiburger Diozesan-
Archiv, XVIII., 441 seq. ; Orbaan, Documenti, 91 n. ;
ScHMiDLiN, Anima, 443 seq., where there is a reproduction of the
tomb ; Bulletin de I'liistitiit Beige a Rouie, I. (1919), 299. Oiily
the Cardinal's heart was buried in the Campo Santo de' Tedeschi,
and not, as is often said, his body. Cardinal Andrew had never
received major orders, and had not observed celibac}'' ; see
HiRN, Maximilian, 262.
276 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Seven Churches.^ Cardinal Count Dietrichstein and the
Duke of Bavaria presented themselves as simple pilgrims.^
There also came the Duke of Lorraine,^ many German prelates
and nobles,* the viceroy of Naples, Lemos,^ Archbishop
Sourdis of Bordeaux, accompanied by the historian
Spondanus,^ two Hungarian bishops, and one from Mexico.
The noble Venetian lady, Caterina Zeno, made the pilgrimage
to Rome on foot.' Among scholars mention must be made
of Claude de Peiresc, who on that occasion formed a friendship
with Bosio.^
It was a great consolation to the Pope to see the coming
of many priests, not only from Germany,^ but even more from
France.^'' The greater part of the pilgrims had been attracted
by true devotion and sincere piety, but some only by curiosity.
Great was the amazement of the Protestants who came to
Rome, whose preachers had again described the solemnity
as a mere financial speculation,^^ when they saw with their
own eyes the Pope assiduously visiting the churches, and
imitating, as the true servant of God, the humble actions of
the Saviour, and washing and kissing the feet of the pilgrims ;
1 See De Waal, Das hi. Jahr in Rom, Miinster, 1900, 51.
2 See *Avviso of January 15, 1600, Urb. 1068, Vatican Library.
* See *Avvisi of June 3 and July 13, 1600, ibid.
* See De Waal, loc. cit., 50 scq.
* See *Avviso of March 22, 1600, Urb. 1068, Vatican Library
Cf. Orbaan, Rome, 13 ; Baumgakten, Neue Kunde, 17.
* See Rass, Kcnvertiten, IIL, 292.
' See Manni, 159.
* See Valeri, Bosio, 34.
* Cf. Browerus, Annales Trevir., IL, 136; Eyzinger, Relat.
hist., 1600, XL, 49 ; Stieve, V., 587.
^' We have some information concerning the number of foreign
priests in the *Diarium of J. Grimaldi, who gives exactly the
number received in the pontifical Hospice ; there were 2545
from trance and Brittany, 109 from Poland, 32 from Belgium,
83 from Germany, 2 from Spain, 2 from Portugal, i from England,
126 Greeks and Dalmatians, 3 Serbians, 2 from Muscovy, in all
2905. Barb. lat. 2210, Vatican Library.
iicy. Stieve, V., 587.
CONVERSION OF PROTESTANTS. 277
how he furnished the needy with money, waited upon the
sick, consoled everyone, and heard the confessions of penitents
like a simple priest. Such a man could not be the Antichrist,
as the preachers had described the supreme head of the
Catholic Church. It is not surprising then that a number
of Protestants, and even some Mahometans were converted
to the Catholic faith. ^ Clement VIII. showed a special interest
in the conversion of the son of a German preacher, at the end
of 1600, who bore the same name as the founder of Calvinism.
Justus Calvin came by his invitation to Rome, and received
the sacrament of confirmation on September ist, 1602, from
the hands of the Pope, while Cardinal Baronius himself was
his sponsor in confirmation ; the latter allowed Justus to
take his name instead of that other of ill omen.^
As the Holy Year had begun on December 31st, 1599, its
completeness demanded that its closure should take place
on the same date in 1600. But a fresh attack of gout on the
part of the Pope caused a further delay, and it was only on
1 According to the *Avviso of June 17, 1600, two heretics made
their abjuration on Sunday, who had first been confessed by the
Pope. (Urb. 1068, Vatican Library). According to the *Avviso
of August 5 (ibid.) the company of the SS. Trinita de' Pellegrini
on that day brought 40 Protestants who had returned to the
Church to the Pope, who entertained them. The number of 400
converts (Manni, 169) must be an exaggeration, as according to
the *Diarium of J. Grimaldi " 122 haeretici hospitati " at the
expense of the Pope, which conversions were for the most part
the work of the Jesuits ; " 73 erano Germani, 23 Galli, et Gene-
venses, 12 Angli, 9 Scoti, i Hibemus, i Transilvanus, i Hungarus,
I Suevus, I Saxo " (Barb. 2210, Vatican Library). The Calvinist
preacher, Arnulph Martin, gave the reasons for his conversion in
a special work ; see RAss, IIL, 473 seq.
2 Cf. BuscHBELL, Zur Biographic des Justus Calvinus (Baronius)
Veterocastrensis in Hist. Jahrb., XXII. , 298 seqq., which informa-
tion I have been able to complete by the *brief of December 12,
1 60 1 (Papal Secret Archives) printed in App. n. 22. A *brief
to Philip III. of May 2, 1602, recommends to him the Genevese
convert " Petrus Boverus." Arm. 44, t. 46, n, 131, Papal Secret
Archives.
278 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
January 13th, 1601, that he was able to carry out the solemn
function. 1
According to the testimony of all contemporaries, the
number of pilgrims who went to Rome during the Holy Year
was very large, especially at Easter.^ The charitable insti-
tutions with which Rome was filled, for it possessed more than
the whole of England, stood the test.^ As before, the hospice
of the Trinita de' Pellegrini, founded by Philip Neri,^ was
^ Cf. *Avvdsi of January 3 and 18, 1601, Urb. 1069, Vatican
Library. For the extension of the jubilee to foreign countries see
Manni, 172 seq., and Noxhen, Jubeljahre, 126.
2 See Bentivoglio, Memorie, 128. Cf. *Avvisi of 1600:
March 22 (so many pilgrims that the Trinita de' Pellegrini is not
sufficient), April i (the Trinita provided for more than 6000
pilgrims), April 19, 22, 29 (" e miraculoso il concorso de' forastieri
in Roma tutto il giorno "), May 13 (the number of pilgrims
present here to-day is estimated at about 50,000), May 25 (15,000
pilgrims have gone, but there are still many here). May 31 (yester-
day at the Trinita about 2,500 women ; arrival of 13 companies ;
very many foreigners), June 7 (the crowds contmue ; every
evening at the Trinita more than 13,000 persons ; so far the
confraternity has expended 30,000 scudi), September 16 (the
arrival of companies of pilgrims is beginning anew), September 27
(2,500 persons at the Trinita), November 11 (very many pilgrims),
December 12 (satisfaction of the Pope at the great number and
the piety of the pilgrims), December 27 (the number of foreigners
is extraordinary). Urb. 1068, Vatican Library. See also the
*brief of May 12, 1600, to the " Vicerex Siciliae " (request for
more grain on account of the number of the pilgrims) and the
*brief of August2 to Philip IIL (" ingens peregrinorummultitudo";
request for corn) Arm. 44, t. 44, n. 137, 221, Papal Secret Archives.
At St. Peter's alone 41,239 masses were celebrated during the
Hoi}'- Year, and 318,900 communions given (*Diarium of J.
Grimaldi, see supra, p. 271, n, 2. For the German pilgrims see
Lang, Bruderschaftsbuch der Anima (1900), 144 ; Schmidlin,
445 seq. ; De Waal, loc. dt.
^ See Thurston, 290.
* Cf. the *Avvisi of April i. May 31, and September 27, 1600,
Urb, 1068, Vatican Library,
THE TRINITA DE PELLEGRINI. 279
pre-eminent ; the Pope, the Cardinals, the aristocracy, and
above all Flaminia Aldobrandini, gave such abundant alms^
that this institution, which hired many houses, had been
able to give hospitality to 8,000 pilgrims by the end of
January 1600. According to careful estimates the hospice
gave lodging and food to half a million pilgrims. As
many more found a welcome in the other hospices,
while there were others who were received in the
many convents and private houses. ^ Thus the estimate
of 1,200,000 pilgrims in all is not excessive.^ In this
way the Church and her head could hail the dawn
of the XVIIth century with high hopes. The past
century which, by reason of the great apostacies in the
1 In the Diario of Presutti cited in the following note, the alms
are given exactly.
* See the work by Ac. Valiero, De iubilaei {supra, p. 271, n. 2) ;
Mann I, 157 ; Presutti, Diario e memona delle cose avvenute et
governo dell'archiconfraternita del Pellegrnii della Sant™''''
Trinita a Ponte Sisto Tanno del Giubileo 1600, published from
Cod. ottob. 737 in the periodical Cosmos cath., Rome, 1900.
The charitable work of the confraternities was all the more
necessary, in that in Rome the inns were insufficient ; in 1587
there were only 687 and only 350 " camere locande," see Arch.
Rom., VII., 523 n. 2.
^ See Theod. a Spiritu Sancto (Ord. Carm.), Tractatus de
iubilaeo, Rome, 1701, 61, and Strocui, Anni Santi, Faenza, 1824.
The statement in Kraus, Kirchengesch., Treves, 1896, 576, that
there were three million pilgrims, is an exaggeration. But it is
quite wrong when in Herzogs Realenzyklop. it is stated that the
crowds at the jubilee were only moderate. Also the statement
of Brosch (I., 322) that the number of pilgrims was only moderate,
is more niggardly than the former, and quite false. In the
Diario of Presutti (previous note) such exact figures are given
that there is no possibility of doubting them. It is there estab-
lished by figures how much larger the number of pilgrims was in
1600 than it had been in 1575. The *Diarium of J. Grimaldi
{supra, p. 271, n. 2) shows that whereas in 1575 the number of
confraternities from without was about 400, this had increased
in 1600 to more than 600,
28o HISTORY OF THE POPES.
north and centre of Europe had perhaps been one of the most
disastrous in the long history of the Church, had also been
one of the most consoling, because during its second half there
had come the great change brought about by Catholic reform
and restoration.
CHAPTER IX.
The Controversy on Grace.
The dispute concerning the doctrine of grace, which had
arisen between the Dominican Order and the Society of Jesus,
and had become steadily embittered, led in the time of
Clement VIII. to very serious strife. After the celebrated
book concerning freedom and grace by the Jesuit Luis Molina
(died 1600) had stated the point at issue in the most exact
possible form, it seemed to have become necessary to transfer
the discussion to Rome, under the eye of the Pope himself,
in order to arrive at an agreement. Nevertheless, the dis-
cussions lasting through many years, and conducted by the
most learned doctors in the presence of the Pope himself,
were unable to attain the desired end or any immediate
result ; the keen expectation with which Catholics and
Protestants throughout Europe, and later on the princes and
diplomatists awaited the issue, had to remain satisfied with
seeing both opinions tolerated by the Church for the time
being. 1
^ The manuscript material for the history of the controversy
is superabundant, but consists for the most par^ of letters and
reports which relate mere hearsay, or bear the evident impress of
passion and uncertainty. The library which is richest in valuable
documents on the controversy is the Angelica Library, Rome
(H. Narducci, Catalogus codd. mss. praeter graecos et orientales
in bibl. Angelica, Rome, 1893 ; cf. Sommf.rvogel, Bibliothcque,
v., 1 1 70 seq.). The so-called Acta of the Congregations de
auxiliis, which bear the name of Pefia or of Thomas de Lemos,
were declared unworthy of credence by a decree of the Inquisition
of April 23, 1654 (published in Astrain, IV., x-xii) when the
Jansenists sought to make use of them [cf. Analecta iuris pontif.,
I., 1226). A description of the controversy from the Jansenist
281
282 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Delight in a learned scholastic dispute was not the only
reason why the Jesuits turned all their skill and energy to so
thorny and obscure a problem. Grace and free will, pre-
destination and eternal punishment, had become burning
questions during the period of the Protestant schism.
According to Calvin, God has predestined everyone a priori,
even before foreseeing his good or evil works, either to eternal
happiness or eternal flames. The views of Luther as to this
matter were almost the same, since, as man in his opinion was
not possessed of free will, it followed that not even his eternal
destiny could depend upon his own will. Accordingly this,
whether it were happy or unhappy, was allotted to him purely
by divine predestination, without his being able to change it
in the slightest degree.
To-day it will perhaps seem strange that any such doctrine
can have met with so much support in the XVIth century.
By way of explanation it may be remarked that the numerous
priests and monks who became preachers and teachers of
the people among the innovators, found some comfort in
being able to attribute their own fault to an inevitable destiny.
Moreover the immutable divine predestination was made use
of, as a proof of the fundamental principles of the innovators
concerning the denial of free will, and the uselessness of good
works. But whatever may have been the reason, the fact
point of view was first given by the Dominican Gi.^coMO Giacinto
Serky, under the pseudonym Augustin Le Blanc, Historiae
Congregationum de auxiliis divinae gratiae sub summis Pontifi-
cibus Clemente VIIL et Paulo V., libri quattuor, Mayence, 1699,
and later from the reply of Livinus de Meyere under his real
name (Antwerp, 1709). The documents from the Angelica
Library printed there are of value. De Meyere also first wrote
under a pseudonym : Historiae controversiae de divinae gratiae
auxiliis sub summis Pontificibus Sixto V, Clemente VIIL et
Paulo v., libri sex, auctore Theodoro Eleutherio. A second
edition, Venice, 1742, is a fresh defence against Serry (Historiae
controversiae . . . ab obiectionibus R. P. Hyacinth! Serry
vindicatae, libri tres, Brussels, 171 5) under his real name. Cf.
AsTRAiN, IV., x-xvi ; Schneemann, 339 seqq.
CAUTION OF THE JESUITS. 283
remains that under the influence of the Protestant preachers
this terrible doctrine penetrated among every class of the
people. " Who can resist the will of God ? " was to be heard
from the lips of quite ordinary folk. " If He wishes to save
us for all eternity, then we shall be saved, but if He does not
so wish, then we shall be lost. God knows our destiny from
all eternity ; from all eternity it has been irrevocably decreed.
Why then should we take trouble and wear ourselves out,
why should we do good works ? "^ Naturally the moral
consequences of such opinions could not fail to be deplorable.
In the Book of the Exercises, Ignatius of Loyola points out
that certain people were arriving at the above conclusion
from the doctrine of predestination, and were for that reason
neglecting good works. Nevertheless he urges caution in
speaking of such matters ; he says that ordinarily, pre-
destination should not be dealt with, but that if, as an
exception, this should be done, care must be taken to ensure
that the common folk do not arrive at erroneous conclusions.
In like manner the pow^r of divine grace must not be
exaggerated in such a way as to impair human freedom.-
The disciples of Loyola had followed this warning of their
master, and from the first, and long before Molina, had
treated the mysteries of predestination and grace in such a
way as not to infringe in the least degree on the freedom of
man ; they had from the first been opposed to those learned
^ Franc. Romakus (General of the Dominicans), De libertate
operum a necessitate, Lyons, 1638, 142, in Schnkemann, 173 seq.
* No debemos hablar mucho de la predestinacion per via de
costumbre, mas si en alguna manera y algunas vezes se hablare,
asi se hable, que le pueblo nienudo no venga en eror alguno, como
algunas vezes suele, diciendo, si tengo de ser salvo o condemnado,
ya esta determinado, y per my bien hazer o mal no puede ser ya
otra cosa, y con esto entorpeciendo se descuydan en las obras que
conducen a la salud y provecho spiritual de sus animas. . . .
Assimismo no debemos hablar tan largo instando tanto en la
gragia que se engendre veneno para cpiitar la libertad etc.
Ejercicios espirituales de S. Ignacio de Loyola. Reproduccion
fototipica del original, Rome, 1908, 63 seq.
284 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
systems in which human freedom seemed to them to be
threatened.^ This explains how it was that, when the book
and doctrine of Molina was in question, the whole Society of
Jesus rallied to his side.
Before Molina had come forward as a writer, he had long
taken counsel with himself and others as to the subject to
which he could best devote the fruits of his scientific studies
for the greater advantage of the Church. In the end he
resolved upon an exhaustive treatise as to the best way to
reconcile grace and liberty.^ The main thesis and the end
of his book is therefore an examination of that conclusion
which was at that time so often propounded : if the divine
decree which assigns to me heaven or hell is fixed and sealed
from all eternity, then my free will has no influence upon my
destiny. He aimed at scientifically examining this sophism
which denied free will, and at refuting it.
The solution of this difficulty which Molina puts forward
is fundamentally very simple. All men whom He has created
or will create, or could create are present in the mind of God
from all eternity. He also foresees the countless situations
and different circumstances in which it is possible for each
of these to find himiself ; he also foresees how each one will
act in each of these circumstances, especially under the
interior influence of grace. He foresaw, for example, that the
Apostle Peter would deny the Saviour when the servant maid
accosted him in the courtyard of the high priest, and that he
would rise again after his fall, when, together with the interior
action of grace, the look of Christ met his own. If then
God wished to permit the fall of the Apostle or bring about
his conversion, it would be sufficient that he should allow
Peter to go to the courtyard of the high priest and that the
servant maid should attack him with her provocative words ;
it would be sufficient that he should allow the grave and gentle
look of Christ to meet that of the Apostle ; if he falls the
fault is his own, since according to the will of God he could
^ ScoRRAiLLE, I., 357 scqq. ; Schneemann, 161 seqq,
^ SCORRAJLLE, I., 4-?^ n,
THE TEACHING OF MOLINA. 285
and should have resisted the temptation ; if he rises again
after his fall, the merit is his ; neither the look of the God-Man,
nor the interior action of grace have destroyed the freedom
of his conversion.
According to Molina then, so-called efficacious grace is, it is
true, infallibly united to the consent of the will, for otherwise
it would no longer be efficacious grace, but this infallible
efficacy comes from the foreknowledge of God, so that the will
really co-operates with this determinate grace in these
determinate circumstances, even though in se and per se it
could resist it.^ " God has compassion," says St. Augustine,
" upon him who is called by Him in the manner which He-
knows will be suitable to him, so long as he does not reject
His invitation."^
Molina's bitter adversary, Domenico Baiies (died 1604)
held quite a different view of the question.^ Whereas the
^ This knowledge which God has of the free acts which a creature
would do, if it finds itself in certain circumstances, was called
" scientia media," because it stands half way between the
knowledge which God has of the purely possible and of the actual.
* " Sic eum vocat quomodo scit ei congntere, ut vocantem non
respuat " (Ad Simplicianum, i. i, q. 2, in Migne, Patr. lat., XL.,
119). From this passage is derived the name of " congruism "
in the Jesuit system. As to this cf. H. Ouilliet in Diet, de
theologie cath., III., Paris, 1908, 1120-1138; concerning the
doctrine of St. Augustine E. Portalie, ibid. I. (1903), 2386-2392 ;
Hergenrother-Kirsch, Handbuch der allg. Kirchengesch., i.*,
Freiburg, 1902, 549.
* The original principles of the system of Bafies were already
to be found in Francisco de Vittona and Peter Soto {cf. Frins,
470 seqq.) but they were not fully developed before Baiies, so that
he passes for the real founder. " As the principle representative,
and also probably as the champion of the Thomist system, we
must name Dom. Baiies." (Atzberger in Scheeben, Hand-
buch der kath. Dogmatik, IV., i, Freiburg, 1898, 221 ; cj.
Gutberlet-Heinrich, Dogmatische Theologie, VIII. , Mayence,
1897, 446). While Baiies was still living not all the Dominicans
were followers of his doctrine on grace (Scorraille, I., 359 seqq. ;
Frins, 344 seqq.). For the earlier theologians from the time of
286 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Jesuit theologian started with the free will of man, the
Dominican fixed his attention before all else upon the power
and operation of God, which embraces everything and pene-
trates everything, and without which the creature is absolutely
helpless. And since the existence of the creature is incon-
ceivable without the creative and conservative power of God,
the same thing, according to Catholic doctrine, applies to the
acts of the creature ; God must co-operate in every human
act, and these must also receive from Him their origin and
their impetus ; for every act of the creature springs from
the desire for something which contains a certain good for
him who aspires to it. But this tendency of the will towards
its own good is implanted in it by God, and all man's actions
have their origin in it ; the Creator makes use of it in order
to spur men on to act. Thus even the free acts of men have
their origin in God, and it is God who causes the free will to
embrace the object of its desires.
So far there are no differences of opinion between the
Catholic schools, but in what follows they diverge. According
to some, such as Molina, this divine impulse may be affected
by the free action of the will, in so far as that, in contrast to
the original will of God, it may receive a tendency towards
illusory good. But this kind of auto-dominion on the part
of the creature was emphatically attacked by Banes. In his
view, the majesty of God, his unlimited sovereignty over all
created things, and the idea of divine omnipotence, demanded
that every manifestation of the human will, both in its essence
and its extension, down to the smallest detail, must be
completely dependent upon the influx and predisposition of
God. Free will makes its own decision, but is always and
exclusively determined to that decision to which the influx
of God has predestined and predisposed it, and it is infallibly
certain from the first that it will not decide in favour of any
other. But the influx of God into the will is not manifested
by inspirations, warnings or attractions, that is to say by
Anselm of Canterbury cf. Lud. de San, Tractatus de Deo Uno, I.,
Louvain, 1894, 426 seqq., 527 seqq.
THE TEACHING OF BANES. 287
moral means, but by direct influx, which consists, as it is
called in controversial terminology in the schools, by " physical
predetermination." Despite all this, according to Banes,
free will remains, because in all things God works in con-
formity with the nature of things ; necessary causes he makes
to operate of necessity, free causes he makes to operate with
freedom ; thus even freedom of action is produced by Him.
What has been said holds good in the case of the purely
natural actions of man, and also holds good in the case of
those acts which call for a supernatural influence, that is to
say the grace of God. According to Banes, efficacious grace
in the supernatural order corresponds to the physical pre-
determination and predisposition in the supernatural order.
Lacking this efficacious grace, the will cannot bring itself to
act ; but where it is present, then it infallibly produces
precisely that determination of the will, which is pre-ordained.
In the case of inefficacious graces, Baiies naturally adheres
to the term already in use among theologians, of " sufficient "
grace, but these " sufficient " graces only give the will the
power to act, which, however, can never be transformed
into act.^
As we can see, the scholastic dispute here touches
upon the most profound depths of the inmost life of
the soul : the mysterious mingling of divine and human
action in the heart of man, the infinite variety of the
devices which the divine love employs for the conquest of
the soul of man, the thrice incomprehensible decrees of
election and reprobation, the depths of which a Paul^ thought
that he could not better honour than by a reverent silence.
1 More fully in J. Pokle, Lehrbuch der Dogmatik, II*.,
Paderborn, 1909, 45S seqq., 474 seqq. ; Heinrich-Gutberlet,
Dogmatische Theologie, VHI., Mayence, 1897, 446 saqq. ;
MoRGOTT in Freib. Kirchenlexikoii,^ I., 1952 seqq. ; VIII., 1737
seqq. The historian cannot escape a more detailed explanation
of the controverted matter, and even Ranke found himself
obliged to attempt it (Piipste, II.*, 19/!). This is not the place to
dwell upon the many errors of Ranke.
2 Epist. ad Rom., II., 33.
288 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The necessary presupposition and foundation for under-
standing and appreciating the dispute is that doctrine of
Christianity which, intimately united to the dogmas of the
Most Holy Trinity and the Incarnation, offers the strongest
possible contrast to every kind of rationalism and superficial
naturalism, namely the doctrine of the natural and the
supernatural.
According to the Catholic doctrine man is destined to a
supernatural end, that is to an end to which he would have
no right by his nature, and to which he is incapable of attaining,
or even of imagining by his natural powers alone. This means
that he is to be admitted in eternity to the direct contempla-
tion of God, a thing to which per se none would have a right
but the only-begotten Son of God, who by His Incarnation
became the brother of man, raised him to the sonship of God,
and made him his co-heir. To this sublime end there corres-
ponds on earth a mysterious raising of the justified man in
the order of grace. He is no longer only the servant of God,
but by means of justif5dng grace he becomes His son ; his
soul is ennobled, as a wild tree by a noble grafting, his spiritual
nature is as it were transfigured by sanctifying grace, his
intellect by the infused virtue of faith, his will by the infused
virtue of charity. Eternal glory therefore is not cast to the
thus ennobled soul as a pure alms, but it is enabled on the
contrary to gain it for itself. But since the natural powers
of man are not sufficient for this purpose, God comes to his
assistance with that kind of grace, concerning which the
dispute between the Jesuits and the Dominicans arose :
prevenient and co-operating grace, which consists in the
illumination of the intelligent and the incitement of the will.
This assistance of grace is an absolutely gratuitous gift of God,
and all that man can do by means of his natural powers is
insufficient to merit it ; but once furnished with it he is in a
position, not only to merit an increase of justifying grace,
but also the crown of eternal glory.
These remarks show that the efficacy of this assistance of
grace offers further enigmas to the keen intellect. The mani-
festations of the will which are developed under its influence
DIFFICULTY OF THE QUESTION. 289
cannot of their nature be operated b}- any but God, for
otherwise they would no longer be supernatural. But at
the same time, according to the whole of their interior essence
they must come from the free will, since the question at issue
is precisely the activity of freedom. The operation of God
and that of man must therefore be united, just as in red-hot
iron the metal is united with the fire, but the manner in
which this takes place still remains obscure. To this is added
the difficulty of reconciling the rights of freedom with the
supreme authority of God, which shines forth yet more in
the supernatural order than in the merely natural order.
God cannot be deprived of his supreme sovereignty over his
creature, yet if He creates free beings, it seem.s that he is
renouncing a part of his rights over His creature. A third
and a vast difficulty is presented by the mystery of the choice
of grace. As grace cannot be mierited, the beginning of the
supernatural life as well as the distribution of graces to
individual men can only come from God. Now God in
distributing His graces sincerely wills that all men should
co-operate with them, and thus attain to eternal glory. But
in the case of many he foresees that they will not actually
attain to this by means of the graces given to them, although
they could do so. Why then does He not give them other
graces ? In every case it is for reasons dictated by His wisdom ;
and who can say or imagine what those reasons may be ?
When it was a case of the scientific discussion of the true
issue of the dispute, yet another difficulty had to be taken
into consideration : the taking into account of the opinions
of the Fathers of the Church and of the scholastics. This
was above all the case with St. Augustine, the master of grace,
and St. Thomas Aquinas. Thus both one and the other were
claimed as their own by the representatives of the tvvo
opinions.
It is no matter for surprise then that differences of opinion
should have arisen even among Catholic theologians over a
question of such difficulty, and that neither view was able
to throw light upon all its obscurities. In the view of Molina
it remained an impenetrable mystery how God could foresee
VOL. XXIV. 19
290 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the free acts of the will which were never to be realized ;
for this knowledge no satisfactory explanation is to be found.
It would not seem at first sight that the school of Baiies felt
any difficulty on this point ; according to this God had ab
aeterno predestined the free decisions of his creatures, and
therefore knows them just as He knows His own will. But
at once the question arises : to what purpose should God
make milliards of decrees of predestination concerning milliards
of possible acts ? Such decrees do not seem to have been
invented for any other purpose than to give the theologian
a way of explaining the prescience of God on the strength of
them. Other difficulties as well result from the theories
of the Dominican theologian. He w^as naturally bound to
hold firmly that man possesses free will, and that God is
not the author of sin ; he must admit with the Council of
Trent that it is also possible to reject grace if one wills. But
the explanations of this point given by the followers of Banes
seem to other theologians to be forced and artificial.^ It
was brought against them that they were teaching a sufficient
grace which was not enough for anything in practice, a liberty
which was tied hand and foot, a power to resist grace which
could never amount to a real resistance, and therefore did
not deserve the name of power. To this was added that,
according to the point of view of the Dominicans, it is difficult
to explain how God does not become the author of sin.
From these brief remarks it will in any case be understood
that the historian cannot pass over the dispute which arose,
by describing it as a mere monks' quarrel. The question
concerns one of the most sublime and profound doctrines
of Christianity, a question to which a man of intelligence
and heart might very well devote all his powers.
The dispute between the two schools had alread}/ made
itself felt in the discussions between Lessius and the theo-
1 According to some of the followers of Banes tlie infallible
efficacy of grace together with liberty is " a mystery as impene-
trable by human knowledge " as that of the Most Holy Trinity-.
MoRGOTT in Freib. Kirchenlexikon, I.^ 1957.
VEHEMENCE OF THE DISCUSSIONS. 29I
logical faculty of Lou vain. A greater uproar first arose on
the occasion of a disputation at Salamanca, on January 20th,
1582, at which the Jesuit Prudencio di Montemayor had to
defend a series of propositions, in the course of which he was
attacked by Banes. ^ These propositions contained nothing
that could have provoked the Dominicans. This is clear
from the fact that a friend and disciple of Bafies, the Trinitar-
ian Francisco Zumel, had accepted the presidency at this
ecclesiastical tourney. But while the difficult question of
the liberty of Christ was under discussion,^ the matter passed
at length from objection to objection, and from reply to repl}'
on the burning question of the doctrine of grace, and went
so far that Bailes and the Dominican Guzman described the
replies of the Jesuit as heretical. There then intervened
in the discussion the celebrated theologian and poet Luis de
Leon of the Order of St. Augustine. Under the impression
that such strong expressions were only being employed out of
hatred for the Jesuits, he chivalrously took up their defence.
Montemayor retired into the background and all eyes were
turned on the celebrated Augustinian. Even after the closure
of the theological disputation the discussion was carried
on with vehemence. Names such as " Pelagian " for Luis
de Leon, and " Lutheran " for the Dominicans, filled the air,
and when several days later it was rumoured that the dis-
cussion was to be resumed in a further disputation, the hall
was crowded with the curious. Once more Banes and Luis
de Leon battled vehemently with each other. This time
the Jesuits were silent, but in justification of their theory
they arranged for January 27th a disputation at their own
college, at which the question was discussed why, of two
men who find themselves under the influence of the same
grace, one may be converted and the other remain impenitent.
^ AsTRAiN, 129-146. (When m future we cite Astrain without
giving the volume, we are always referring to Vol. IV.). The
second trial of Luis de Leon in Ciudad de Dios, XLI. (1896),
32 seqq., 102 seqq., 182 seqq., 273 seqq.
^ See PoHLE, Lerbuch der Dogmatik, II.*, 109, for the matter
at issue.
292 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The Hieronymite Juan de Santa Cruz then laid before the
Inquisition^ sixteen propositions as having been defended
by Luis de Leon and Montemayor, and the Hcenciate Juan
de Arrese at once appeared at Salamanca to open the process
against four principal offenders. The Dominicans had in
meantime collected signatures against the accused, and
issued a warning that no one must declare himself on the
side of the Jesuits as the cause was pending before the Holv
Office. In spite of this, at Valladolid all the doctors of repute,
with the exception of the Dominicans, took the side of the
Jesuits ; in Andalusia even some members of the Order of
Preachers pronounced in their favour, so that it is evident
from this as well as from other attestations, that at that time,
at the beginning of the dispute, not all the colleagues of
Bailes shared his views concerning the doctrine of grace. ^
Arrese, who was to conduct the process, at once found
himself in an impasse. The accuser, Juan de Santa Cruz,
had not been present at the first disputation, and it was quite
clear from the statements of Luis de Leon that his theses
had been very incorrectly formulated. The opinions of the
Spanish universities, to which Arrese had appealed, were
not in agreement. At Alcala it was held that both views,
that of the Jesuits, as well as that of Bafies, were probable ;
one of Banes' was, however, found fault with, but this had
no bearing upon the doctrine of grace. ^ It would seem that
the doctors of Salamanca were of the opposite opinion.*
Then the Jesuits asked, in the name of justice, that their
reasons should be heard before a judgment was formed ;
they had gone into this question much more thoroughly
than the others, and their view was safe, or at least worthy
^ Reprinted from Ciudad de Dies, XXXVL in Astrain, 133 seq.,
and Mandonnei, O.P. in Diet, de theologie oath., II., 143.
* AstrAin, 133.
^ Ibid. .T43.
* Arrese at anyrate wrote on April 24, 1582 : " Les calificaciones
de Alcala son muy diferentes de lo que en esta Universidad
(Salamanca) se tratta " (Astrain, 143). Further particulars are
not kno-\vn.
LUIS DE LEON. 293
of preference.^ Luis de Leon even spread the report that
the propositions of the Jesuits would shortly be declared
safe in Rome.^
Almost two \ears elapsed before a judgment v/as pro-
nounced. At last, on Februar}- 3rd, 1584, Luis de Leon,
the principal culprit, was cited to appear before the Grand
Inquisitor, Cardinal Ouiroga, and was reprimanded for his
faults, wLich had been confirmed in the light of the acta.
He was warned to refrain from maintaining, either in public
or in any other way, the propositions M^hich, it would appear,
he had defended. Montemayor too received an admonition
from the Grand Inquisitor and from his Provincial ; he was
no longer to be employed in lecturing. Montema^'or com-
plained to his General, and among other things pointed out
that he had only defended what he had been taught by his
professors, among whom he named Suarez and Toledo.^
Some 3'ears later, with the consent of Quiroga, Montema3'or
was again teaching theology at Toledo.'*
The questions raised at Salamanca were only a prelude
to the great struggle that was soon to follow. It was shown
that the burning question of the efficacy of grace had for a
long time past been eagerly discussed among the Jesuits,
and that on the whole the question had been harmoniously
settled, but that there still remained certain obscure matters
1 " Porque ellos han estudiado ests materia de proposito con
mas cuidado que ottos y daran a entender que es lo cierto, e lo
menos lo qwe conviene lo que ellos dicen." Arrese, loc. cit.,
193 seq.
2 Ibid. 144.
' Lo tercero, y lo que principalmente hace en mi descargo, es
que la doctrina que yo defend! no fue inventada de mi cabeza,
sino leida, dictada y ensenada por mis maestros. . . . Asi la leyo
el P. Miguel Marcos, mas largamente el P. Francisco Suarez y el
P. Bartolome Perez [de NuerosJ que son los maestros que yo he
tenido en mis estudios. El P. Toledo tambien la leyo en su
primera parte. To Aquaviva, Medina del Campo, July 27, 1585,
in AsTRAiN, 145.
* Ibid. 146.
294 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of detail, which showed that a thorough scientific examination
of the difficult question was indispensable. The ground was
therefore prepared for that work which for ten years held
the whole of Europe in a state of suspense, the work of Molina
upon the relations between grace and liberty. This was
published at List on at the end of 1588. ^ As far as its outward
appearance was concerned it was one of the least imposing
of that author's works, yet that modest quarto volume has a
history such as few books in the world can boast. A few
years before Baiies too had set forth his views on the same
subject, not in a work specially devoted to grace, but in
various parts of his commentaries on the Summa of
St. Thomas.''^
Three Jesuits had been charged by their Portuguese
province to examine the work of Molina, among them Jorge
Serrano, who v;as held in high esteem by the Inquisition,
Molina wished that, on the strength of the favourable opinion
of Serrano, a nihil obstat might be asked for the publication
without any further censorship, because he was afraid of the
Dominicans, upon whose judgement depended the permission
to print the book. The other Jesuits, on the other hand,
thought that the usual course should be followed, and that
not the least distrust of the Dominicans ought to be shown.
Molina had hardly handed over his manuscript to the censor,
Bartolomeo Ferreira, when there began disputes about his
book, which seemed destined to be the apple of discord
between the parties.^ Ferreira was bombarded with accu-
sations against Molina ; it was naturally supposed that the
Jesuit propositions which had been found fault with at
Salamanca would be found in the took ; the confessor of the
Grand Inquisitor, the Dominican De las Cuevas, brought
1 Concordia liberi arbitrii cum gratiae donis, divina praescientia,
providentia, praedestiiiatione et reprobatione (4°, 512 pp.).
2 Scholastica commentaria in primam partem Angelici D.
Thomae usque ad sexagesimam quartam quaestionem com-
plectentia, Salamanca, 1584.
3 AstrXin, 147-175.
MOLINA GETS AN IMPRIMATUR. 295
forward the judgment in which those propositions had been
found fault with, while other Dominicans thought that the
lionour of St. Dominic demanded a refusal of the permission
to print. Ferreira, who was not opposed to the Jesuits,
informed Molina of these accusations. The latter was not
the man to stand and watch these attacks with folded hands,
and he pointed out that Ferreira had not been appointed
censor of the Inquisition in order to protect the interests of
the Dominican Order ; he had in no case taught the pro-
positions found fault with at Salamanca, and Ferreira could
satisfy himself as to this. If there were anything in his book
which called for blame, in that case he himself would ask for
its prohibition.^
The unexpected end of all this was that Ferreira was
persuaded, and gave the book that was the subject of so many
attacks a glowing imprimatur. In this he states that the work
contained nothing that was not in accordance with our religion,
and that many passages taken from the Councils and the
Holy Scriptures were explained and elucidated therein very
happily. He therefore considered the work worthy of
publication, and of advantage to the whole Church. In
accordance with this, in the middle of July the prmting was
begun, and on January 6th, 1589, Molina went to the
governor. Cardinal Albert, in order to present him with the
first copy.
While the book was being printed its adversaries did not
remain with folded hands, and Molina was soon made to
realize that their efforts had not been ineffectual. Cardinal
Albert received the first copy coldly and forbade the sale of
the edition until further orders. Molina then asked for a strict
examination of his work, adding the request that the objections
should be made only in writing, and signed with the name of
the critic. He pointed out that a favourable judgment had
been passed upon his book by three of his brethren in religion
and by Ferreira, that he had sent it to the royal council, both
1 On the streiigth of some letters from Molina to Aquaviva,
January 28, 1589, in Astrain, 152 seq.
296 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of Castille and Aragon, so that it might be examined there,
and that the objections only sprang from the jealousy of the
Dominicans.^ At a second audience Molina was able to point
out that not onl}- Ferreira, but some of the latter's colleagues
as well, who had formerly been his adversaries, had described
the work as a good book, after Ferreira had enabled them to
read it, comparing the printed edition with the manuscript.^
This proved what Molina had confidently said to Ferreira,
namely, that if only his book were read, there Vvould no longer
be any question of suppressing it.^ Naturally not all the
Dominicans passed a favourable judgment on Molina's
volume, and some thought that they could detect in the book
the theses which had been found fault with at Salamanca.
The pressure they brought to bear upon De las Cuevas, the
spiritual director of the governor, led to Cardinal Albert's
causing Molina's book to be once more examined by the
Dominican Cano. Cano thought that he discovered in it the
very theses which had been found fault with in Castille, and
thus it came about that Molina's work, which had already
been so often examined, could not be sold for three months.^
But in the meantime Molina, about the end of February
1589, had been informed of the state of the affair ; he therefore
hastened to come to the rescue of his child of sorrow, by an
apologetic work. He confessed that he was indeed the author
of some of the disputed theses, but that there was no reason
at all to suspect them of being erroneous or heretical. In
the majority of cases, however, he proved that opinions were
being attributed to him which he would never have dreamed
of defending.^ In the meantime in Spain Molina's book had
been judged by the royal council of Castille, as well as b}-
1 Molina, loc. cit. in Astrain, 154 seq.
* " Ellos la vieron y respondieron que estaba may buena y que
habia dcclarado mucho." Molina, loc. cit. 156.
^Astrain, 154.
* De las Cuevas to ()uiroga, in Norbfrt del Prado, O.P.,
De gratia et libero arbitrjo, III., Freiburg, i. t)., 1907, 579 ;
AstrAin, 157 sea,
5 Astrain, 158,
APPROBATIONS FOR MOLINA. 297
that of Aragon, in a manner highly honourable to the author,
nor were any of his theses called in question there. ^ The
Archduke Albert then gave permission for the sale of the
book.
So far, then, the attacks on Molina had had no other result
than that his book had appeared under the protection of the
Portuguese Inquisition, and with the arms and protection
of the royal council of Castille and Aragon. Later on to these
was added the approbation of the Castilian Inquisition.-
Molina might be said to have been recompensed for his past
troubles by the applause which he gained in far wider circles.
Even during his life-time his book ran into new editions at
Cuenca, Venice, Lyons and Antwerp.^ The professor of
theology at Valladolid, Garcia Coronel, said that though it
was true that the fundartiental idea of the book contained
nothing new, and was to be found, in his opinion, clearly
stated in Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, Molina was never-
theless the first who had treated of the matter in detail, by
solving the difficulties and building up the proofs ; theologians
who had to fight against the heretics were grateful for the
weapon which he placed in their hands. ^ Leonhard Lessius,
who was in conflict with the doctrines of Baius at Lou vain,
pronounced enthusiastically in favour of Molina,^ who defended
the same opinion as to efficacious grace as himself. The
opinion of Lessius is also of importance for the reason that
^ Ibid. 156.
* See infra, p. 300.
* SoMMERVOGEL, IX., 683. The Antwerp edition of 1595,
apart from some minor unessential differences, is distinguished by
the addition of an appendix in which Molina defends himself
against misunderstandings and attacks. In the editions of
Cuenca, Venice and Lyons some paragraphs are replaced by new
ones in which Molina again uses the arguments which he had
previously employed (Sommekvogel, I.^*^ partie, W, 1169).
Between 1602 and 1876 five further editions appeared.
* Letter of October 17, 1600, in Astrain, 225.
^ Letter to Bellarmine, m Le B,\CH5i,Er, BellarmJn avant son.
cardinalat, 272.
298 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Francis of Sales, who was later on declared a doctor of the
Church, declared that he ohared his views on the doctrine of
predestination.^
New ideas, however, even though they are only such from
this or that point of view, are hardly ever introduced in science
without serious disputes, and certainly Molina's book offered
man}'" points of attack. His opinions excited opposition both
from Bellarmine^ and from many Jesuits in Spain. ^ These
differences of opinion, however, do not in any way concern
the question as to how efficacious grace may be reconciled with
human freedom. Besides the principal object of his book,
Molina also treats of many other matters, and it seemed to
some that in these secondary questions he devoted too much
space to the natural powers of man in regard to supernatural
things. Others again found matte'r for blame in the expres-
sions he used, but not in the substance of what he said.*
The principal part in the struggle against Molina was under-
taken in about 1590 by a scholar who has attached his name
to the theor}^ of the Dominicans on grace as inseparably as
Molina has done in the case of the corresponding theory of
the Jesuits : Domenico Banes. Bancs was a distinguished
theologian.^ Among the Dominicans who, together with
Francisco de Vittoria, founded the so-called neo-scholasticism,
he holds an outstanding place as a shrewd dialectician, and
a profound student of metaphysics. As the influential
1 Francis of Sales to Lessius, August 26, 1613 ; Schneemann,
4 ; facsimile of the letter in Cretineau-Joly, III., 22. The
doctrine of predestination of Lessius completely excludes the
physical predetermination of Bafles ; see Schneemann, 325-327.
2 Le Bachelet, Eellarmin, 292 ; Astrain, 163. For the
attitude of Bellarmine towards Molina cf. Le Bachelet,
Auctarium, 1-31.
* Astrain, 164.
* Schneemann, 220 seqq.
'^ Cf. Morgott in Freib. Ktrchenlex., i"., 1951 seqq.;
RL\ndonnet, in Diet, de theologie cath., IL, 145 ; V. Ehrle in
Katholik, 1885, I., 415-424 ; Bei,tran de Her.edia in Im Ciencici^
lomista, XIV. (1922), 64-68.
ATTACK BY BANES. 299
adviser of St. Teresa of Jesus, he became even more widely
celebrated. By the concise and determined form which
gives an impress to his intellectual originality, and by the
positively fascinating influence which he exercised over those
around him, he seemed destined to become the leader of a
school ; he became so, in spite of his assertion that he did not
intend to depart by even a finger's breadth from Thomas
Aquinas. In the world of learning he displayed the independ-
ence of his intellect by various paradoxical opinions.^ When
confronted with the Jesuits his determination degenerated
into bitterness and rancour ; when they were not of his way
of thinking he described them as ignorant men, or men who,
against their consciences, refused to recognize better doctrines; ^
in some respects he seems the spiritual heir of his master and
fellow Dominican Melchior Cano.
During the years 1590-1594 the Spanish Inquisition was
preparing a supplement to its Index of prohibited books for
Spain. Banes and his friend Zumcl were among the scholars
whose opinion was asked concerning more recent publications.
They attempted to aim a first blow at Molina by proposing
that his MTitings, that is his book on grace, and his com-
mentaries on St. Thomas, should be included among the
prohibited books. ^ The attempt failed, and brought down
upon its authors a denunciation that was not altogether
harmless. Molina had learned of the plan, and addressed a
letter* to the Inquisition in which from the defence of his book
he passed on to the attack. He said that he had turned
against Baiics and Zumel because their teaching on grace and
free will was not reconcilable with the Council of Trent.
Starting from the principles upon which Bafies based his proofs,
the Lutherans had gone on to the absolute denial of free will.
In proof of this he brought forward a list of texts from Luther,
1 MoRGOTT, loc. cit. 195T.
2 Cf. the passages from his " Kelectio de merito et augmento
charitatis " (15Q0) in Astrain, 164 seq.
' AstrAin, 165 seqq.
* January, 1504, ihid, 166 seq.
300 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Calvin and Chemnitz, together with others from Baiies and
Zumel. The title of this collection is remarkable, for in it
Bafies is spoken of as the first to have introduced such doctrines
into Spain. ^ It was perhaps on this occasion that the Spanish
Inquisition itself examined the book of Molina and expressly
gave it its approval.^
At the same time the Dominicans Mondragon and Avendafio
sought to stir up a storm against the great Jesuit theologian
Suarez, who in 1590 and 1592 had published, as the first fruits
of his labours, two volumes on the Incarnation which had been
received with great applause.^ When in October 1593, on
the occasion of his being transferred from Alcala to Salamanca,
Suarez paid a visit to the Grand Inquisitor Quiroga, the latter
spoke to him on the subject, and thus gave him an opportunity
of showing the falsity of the accusations.^ About a 3- ear later
it was rumoured that the Dominicans were trying to get almost
all the theological books written by Jesuits included in the list
of prohibited books. ^
In the apologetic works of the Jesuits there occurs again
and again a complaint at the manifest injustice of such
attacks. The reason why they were being thus persecuted
could not be found in the doctrines which they had taught,
since others had taught the same things without their having
provoked any attack. The historian certainly cannot
describe this complaint as unfounded ; the passion displaj^ed
by some of the Dominicans against the new Order is too
manifest to allow of any such thing. On the other hand the
bitterness is easy to explain. The young and rising Society
of Jesus had in several cases entered the lists against the
older Order, which v/as already covered with renown, and had
^ Summa de las herejias de Lutero, Calbino y Chemnitio, que
hacen a este proposito, y de lo que con ellos el Maestro Banes
tiene impresa y introducido en Espana. Astrain, 168 n.
^ Ibid. 168 ; cf. 159.
^ ScoRRAiLLE, I., 251 seqq.
* In a letter to Quiroga, January 15, 1594, m AstrAin, 169-173.
^ Letter of H. de la Cerda, rector of the Jesuit college at Medina,
ihid. 173 seq.
DOMINICANS AND JESUITS. 30T
won brilliant successes, especially in the field of pastoral work
and teaching. How then could it have failed to seem unjust
to certain Dominicans, who for centuries had borne the heat
and burden of the day, that they should be left behind by
these new-comers at the eleventh hour ? The Order of
Preachers had jealously looked upon theological science as its
privileged field. But now that the work of Molina, M'hich
had made its appearance as the first book by a Jesuit on
scholastic theology, had been folloM^ed by other important
works by Molina himself and by Suarez, it seemed as though
the younger Order was preparing to storm the last fortress
of the older. The Dominicans would not have been a body
of men, if there had not been am.ong them some of choleric
temperament, who from the first looked with suspicion and
jealousy upon the works of their special rivals, and who in
their mistrust did not fail to find in their writings things
which in reality were not there. In order to increase the
tension yet further, it was only necessary for the ecclesiastical
courts to pronounce in certain other juridical questions in
favour of the Jesuits against the Dominicans.^ Bailes in
particular, the senior professor at Salamanca, had been
obliged, in the sight of the whole university, to submit to the
^ The visitor Gil Gonzales Davila, in the exhortations which he
sent in writing to the Jesuit pro\ince in Castille, says that the
doctrine and the supposed diiferences from St. Thomas are only
a pretext for the attacks of the Dominicans, and that the true
reason was to be found in the fact that at Salamanca the Jesuits
had associated themselves with the .Vugustmians, and that at
Toledo, Soria and Salamanca the Dominicans had been surpassed
by the Jesuits. The fact that Miguel ]Marcos had attacked
Banes by name, and that some spoke in disparaging terms of the
Dominicans, had served to pour oil on the Hames. " Hemos de
procurar " concludes Davila, " que si es posible, tengamos paz
con todod " (AstrAin, 174 seq.). Aquaviva had already written
to Castille on August 12, 1585, that they must avoid disputes
with the Dominicans, and should try on the contrary to treat
them with great humility and keep very much on their guard.
(ScoRKAiiXE, I., 250).
302 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
humiliation of the sentence of the Spanish nuncio on the
occasion of the dispute concerning the simple vows of the
Jesuits. But in spite of all this, it was not the whole of the
Order of Preachers, nor even perhaps a majority of its
members, as became more and more clear, who allowed them-
selves to be governed by hostility towards the Jesuits, although
actually the over-zealous excesses of a single member attracted
more attention than the moderate behaviour of a hundred
others.
The ever increasing tension reached its climax at
Valladolid.i There, at the Gregorian College of the
Dominicans, the declared adversary of the Jesuits vv^as
Diego Nuno ; he set the doctrine of Molina before the students
as being contrary to faith, and Molina himself as an ignorant,
presumptuous and blaspheming man, and often attributed
to his adversary opinions which the latter had expressly
rejected and refuted. The horror aroused against the
supposed heretic was manifested in the lecture halls by a
general stamping of feet every time the name of Molina was
mentioned.^ A colleague of Nuno prayed for the conversion
of Molina, since he might become a dragon like the one in the
Apocalypse, who swept away a third part of the stars of
heaven.^ To complete the confusion, the most bitter anti-
Jesuit among the Dominicans Alonzo de Avendafio, went to
Valladolid to preach the Lent,, and inveighed frtm the pulpit
against the new Order, though he did not mention it by name.
Gradually even the best friends of the Jesuits began to be
afraid lest not all these accusations which were hurled from
the pulpit and the lecturer's chair, should prove to be purely
imaginary. "^
The Jesuits then, to justify themselves, formed the idea
of defending the doctrines of Molina at a public disputation,
^ AsTRAiN, 176-200.
^ Gonzalo Perogila, the advocate of the Jesuits, sent it in
their name to the Inquisition (Astrain, 195 seq.).
^ Ibid. 197.
* Ibid. 177.
The disputation. 303
above all showing that he did not maintain the theses which
were being attributed to him. This disputation took place
on March 5th, 1594, but Nuno took care that it should not
serve its purpose. Since all those Vv'ho were present were
allowed to bring forward objections to the theses advanced
for the defence, Nuiio availed himself of this right and declared
certain theses which he attributed to the Jesuits to be heretical
and erroneous. The Jesuit appointed to conduct the defence,
and the president at the disputation, the Jesuit Antonio de
Padilla, declared that the theses attacked were neither
heretical nor to be found in Molina. The latter wished 1o
prove this by reading certain passages from Molina's book, but
Nuilo would not allow this ; he began to cry out in a loud
voice that he had already adduced proofs that the passage
which had been read was heretical, and continued thus to cry
out when Padilla began to read another of the passages.
Some of the bystanders tried to calm the angry man. " Let
me be," he replied, " I am fighting for the faith." Then the
Jesuit who was charged with replying to the objections lost
patience, and addressed to him the contemptuous question :
" Perhaps you have the keys of wisdom on your side ? " To
which Nuilo rejoined that to speak like that was a sign of
great pride. ^
Then Diego Alvarez began to speak, and he later on gave
the best explanation of grace from the Dominican point of
view. The Jesuits bear witness that his attitude was modest,
and that he presented his case very well.^ But Nuno would
not even now be silenced, and frequently interrupted the
discussion, until at length Padilla permitted himself to
remark that in scientific discussions it was not a question of
strength of voice, but of strength of arguments. Nuno then
rose with a clatter and said that Padilla's remark was an
insult, and that he did not intend to submit to it ; he was
going away and would not return any more, but would hold
his own disputation concerning Molina at the Dominican
^ Ibid. 179 seq.
^ Ibid. 183.
304 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
college. Not much better than the behaviour of Nuno was
that of his colleague, Jeronimo de Vallejo, the man who said
that Molina reminded him of the dragon in the Apocalypse.^
He read some passages from Molina, adding the remark that
all that he had read was erroneous. He would not suffer
anyone to reply to him, and went on reading and condemning.^
Two daj's after the disputation occurred the feast of St.
Thomas Aquinas. Avendafio was to preach the panegyric
of the saint, and if he had already on other occasions m.ade
use of the pulpit to speak against the Jesuits during those
days of commotion, he now surpassed himself. He applied
to them the words of the prophet : " Their face is now made
blacker than coals. "^ He said that certain people had begun
well, but that now they were sinners like others ; then
followed allusions to the disputation just held. " If God
made anyone the master of the sun in the firmament, that
man might say ; the light is mine." Therefore, if St. Thomas,
the sun of the Church, is one of our number, then too the light
which he radiates is ours, just as the keys of wisdom are
ours and not yours ; our key is the true one, yours is but a
pick-lock. You do not enter by the door, but enter as a
thief, unlike us who hold firmly to clear and sound doctrine
without turning aside to innovations.'*
After his sermon Avendafio could justifiably boast of the
severe blow that he had delivered against his adversaries ;
the Jesuits might expect another and perhaps deeper injury
from the disputation which Nufio had announced before he
went away. They therefore addressed themselves to the
Inquisition and asked that at least a book which had received
the approbation of the Portuguese Inquisition should not be
described by the Dominicans as an heretical book. Once
more in this petition was expressed the complaint which the
Jesuits had already put forward, namely that the reason
^ See supra, p. 302.
2 AsirAin, 183.
* Lamentations, iv., 8.
* AstrAin, 183 seqq.
THE DISPUTATION. 305
why they were being attacked was not to be found in questions
of doctrine. The same theses had been defended at the
chapter-general of the Franciscans as at their college, without
the Dominicans who had been present raising any objection.^
In a report of the disputation on March 5th, and of the attitude
taken up thereat by Nufio, this complaint was set forth in
even greater detail. In this it is stated that at the chapter-
general of the Benedictines these theses had been defended
in the presence of Dominicans without causing any scandal.
Even before the time of Molina this doctrine had been taught
by Mancio at Salamanca, and at Alcala by Juan Alonso,
afterwards Bishop of Leon. The same doctrine had been
defended at Alcala by Deza, though it had been contested by
Banes, who held a chair at that university, but he had been
unable to effect anything against the prestige which Deza
enjoyed there.-
At first the Inquisition had intended to forbid the proposed
disputation altogether, but when it was approached by the
Dominicans it only asked of them what had been suggested
in the petition of the Jesuits, namely that the doctrine of
Molina should not be called heretical. Nufio therefore
restricted himself in the theses which he brought forward
for the disputation to stating that some of the propositions
which he was combatting were " worse than false " ; thus
1 Petition of March 28, 1594, in Astrain, 186.
" AsTRAiN, 180. According to Banes himself (see QuitxiF-
EcHARD, II., 243) the Dominican Mancio (died 1576) enjoyed so
great a reputation in Salamanca " ut vel anus omnes opprimeret,
tanta erat eius auctoritas." His writings have not been published
{cf. as to this F. Ehrle in Katholik, 1885, I., 172-174). For
Juan Alonso de Moscoso, Bishop of Leon, 1593-1603, cf.
Eleutherixis, 173 seq. ; Meyer, 208. The Dominican Diego de
Deza (died 1523) was indeed " a Molinist before Molina " [cf.
Cr. Pesch in Zeitschr. f. kath. Theol., IX., 1885, 171-177 ; Frins,
465 seqq.), but according to Quetif-Echard this Deza was a pro-
fessor at Salamanca ; there is no mention of Alcala. Perhaps
another Deza is meant, who was a professor at Alcala, where
Baiies taught theology from 1567 to about 1572.
VOL. XXIV. 20
306 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the word heresy was evaded, but the accusation remained
substantially the same. At the disputation itself the Jesu't
Padilla admitted that the propositions as now enunciated
were erroneous, but he denied that they had been taught by
Molina. Even this concession was turned to good purpose
by Nufio and his followers, for when Padilla wished to prove
from Molina's book that the latter had taught the opposite
of these theses, they prevented him from reading them by
making an uproar, and when the disputation was over they
spread the rumour that Padilla had recanted at San Gregorio
what he had upheld at the previous disputation at the Jesuit
college. Naturally the Jesuits at once drew up and issued
a report contradicting this,^ and thus it seemed that the
matter would drag on indefinitely.
It was time for the ecclesiastical superiors to intervene
and put an end to this scandal. Alonso de Mendoza, who
was administrator of the church at Valladolid as Abad Mayor,
wrote on April 2nd, 1594, to the nuncio Gaetano at Madrid
and complained of Avendaiio, who on the previous day had
again preached against the new Order, which he hated so
much, as well as of the passionate behaviour of Nuiio at the
disputation on March 5th. ^ The Jesuits had alread}^ drawn
up a letter to the Grand Inquisitor ; in this they stated that
they were commonty looked upon as the defenders of doctrines
contrary to the faith, and that the students in the lecture
halls began to stamp their feet as soon as the very name of
Molina was mentioned. The rector of the college at Medina,
Hernando de Lacerda, was charged to take this letter to
Madrid, and to defend the cause of the accused before the
Grand Inquisitor and the nuncio.^ The nuncio referred the
matter of Avendafio and Nuiio to Rome, whereupon the
whole affair assumed an unlooked for aspect. On June 7th,
1 Report of the Jesuits in AstrAin, 190-194.
2 AsTRAiN, III., 312. The letter was written on a Saturday;
from the various dates {ibid. 312, 314 n.) we can only suppose
it was on April 2, 1594.
* AsTRAiN, IV., 195.
DISCUSSION FORBIDDEN. 307
1594, Gaetano was ordered to open a process in full from
against Avendaiio, which ended on January 5th, 1595, with
the condemnation of this infatuated man.^ In the meantime
Cardinal Aldobrandini wrote on June 28th, 1594, in the name
of Clement VIII. to the nuncio, on the subject of the quarrel
between the Dominicans and Jesuits. Since a question of
faith was at issue, and a matter of no small importance, the
decision pertained to the Roman See, and no one else must
interfere. The Grand Inquisitor therefore must no longer
concern himciclf with it ; the nuncio was to summon the
superiors of the two Orders to his presence, order them to lay
the matter of controversy before him in writing with full
proofs, and then send the two statements to Rome. The
nuncio was to order both superiors, under the gravest penalties,
to forbid their subjects to discuss the matter any further
pending the decision of the Pope." Gaetano communicated
the Papal letter to the provincial of the two Orders on August
15th, 1594 ; anyone who dared to discuss the question of
efficacious grace either in public or in private was to be
excommunicated.^
The superiors of both Orders set themselves to calm the
excited feelings of their subjects. The General of the Jesuits,
Aquaviva, on February 13th, 1595, urged the provincials
by circular, in emphatic w^ords, to maintain peace with the
Dominicans, and to show them all charity in word and deed."*
The Spanish provincials at once acted upon these exhorta-
tions ; their replies to Aquaviva^ constitute a justification
of the Order of Preachers, in so far as they prove that it was
by no means the majority of the Dominicans who were
allowing themselves to be actuated by antipathy for the
Jesuits.
^ Ibid. 199, 201. Cf. Vol. XXI. of this work, p. 150.
* Published in AsirAin, 811 seq. {cf. 199 seq.). A corresponding
brief to the Grand Inquisitor in CouDiiRC, I., 358.
" AsTRAiN, 200.
* Ibid. 202.
* Ibid. 202-204.
308 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Not long before the great quarrel between the two Orders
had once again been manifested. Just as the Dominicans
had previously tried to induce the Inquisition to prohibit
almost all the books of the Jesuits, so once more was this the
case with the programme of studies issued by the Jesuits
in 1591, and with the writings of Cardinal Toledo. They
were of opinion that both Aquaviva and Toledo were inno-
vators, and that if the latter were allowed to have his own
way he would destroy the Church. ^ Only the week before
the condemnation of Avendafio had caused great excitement
among his fellow Dominicans,^ but the storm thus aroused
had been quickly calmed, a thing to which an appeal to the
truce made by the king may have not a little contributed.^
The provincial of the Jesuits wrote from Aragon to Aquaviva
that in his province they had always lived in peace and
harmony with the Dominicans.^ The provincial of Andalusia
bore witness that at that time they were showing great
friendship towards the new Order, everywhere inviting Jesuits
to preach on the feasts of their Order, so that it seemed that
they took pleasure in being on good terms with them. A
Dominican Visitor at Valladolid had shown himself a great
friend of the Society of Jesus. ^ In the very pulpit at Valla-
dolid, from which in the previous year Avendafio had launched
his attacks, in 1595 there stood a Jesuit on the feast of St.
Thomas, who made a good impression on the Dominicans
when he said that the Soicety of Jesus held to the doctrine
of St. Thomas, and that it was bound to do so by the Statutes
of the Order. A similar report came from Toledo, although
a long altercation between the two Orders there had em-
bittered men's minds. ^
At Alcala a Dominican and a Jesuit provincial had a
^ Cristobal de los Cobos to Aquaviva, June 14, 1594, ibid. 197.
2 Cf. supra, p. 307.
* l-ebruary 4, 1595, Astrain, III., 315.
* Pedro de Villar, April 15, 1595, in Astrain, I\^, 202.
® Cristobal Mendez to Aquaviva, April 12, 1595, ibid.
•^ The Jesuit provincials Avellaneda and Acosta to Aquaviva,
Toledo, IMarch 20, and Valladolid, March 20, 1595, ibid. 202 seq.
PAPAL ORDER FOR SILENCE. 309
conference in order to consolidate the peace, and to consider
the best means to attain that end. They decided that the
members of both Orders should speak well of the other, and
that if anyone forgot this duty he should be admonished
by his superior in order that he might repair his fault. If
doubts concerning doctrine should arise, appeal should be
made to the Inquisition, if the matter pertained to that
tribunal ; otherwise, as became good brethren, the question
should be settled amicably. ^
If the Papal command not to discuss efficacious grace
helped the maintenance of peace, in course of time the obliga-
tion of silence was resented by both parties as a heav}^ burden,
which in the end would become unbearable. Among the
Jesuits, Molina was planning an apologetic work concerning
his doctrine, which had so often been attacked and falsified.
Gabriel Vasquez had just completed a volume of his theological
works, in which the question of grace was dealt with. To
both of these it seemed hard not to be able to express their
views. Vasquez therefore had recourse to the nuncio, but
on April ist and Nov. 29th, 1597, received a reply from Rome
that he must not print his book. Vasquez obeyed,^ nor
on the part of the Jesuits do we know of any oftence against
the Papal order of silence.
The Dominicans were less submissive. Some of them who
were of ardent temperament could not even now restrain
their tongues ; in pulpits and lecture halls and at disputations
fresh attacks on the Jesuits and their doctrine occurred, as
at Burgos, Palencia, Valladolid, Salamanca, Valencia,
Saragossa and Calatayud.^ Philip II. therefore decided to
intervene once again. By his command, at the beginning of
1 Ibid. 204.
2 Ibid. 204 seq.
' Forres in Astrain, 205. We do not know the details.
" Hanlos obedecido puntualmente los de la Compafiia ; pero in
Calatayud, despues del dicho mandato se tuvieron per los Padres
Doniinicos publicas conclusiones de esta materia, y lo mismo en
Salamanca, en los actos publicos mayor y menor de los dichos
Padres." Report of the Jesuits, in Astkain, 193.
310 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
1596, the visitor of the Jesuit province of Toledo and Castille,
Garcia de Alarcon, together with the king's confessor, Diego
de Yepes, and the provincial of the Dominicans, were ordered
to confer as to the best means to prevent these abuses. At
the suggestion of Alarcon the best means to maintain peace
would be to remove the disturbers of the peace from the work
of teaching.^ Alarcon and the Dominican provincial, Juan
de Villafranca, were to present themselves before the king's
confessor in March, 1596, and he was to communicate their
decision to Philip II. The king gave orders that only such
men should occupy professorial chairs as had the doctrine
of St. Thomas deeply at heart ; that for the present the
members of one Order should not be present at the disputations
of the other ; that they were not to be allowed to declare the
doctrine of their adversaries heretical or erroneous, and that
they should even be exhorted to speak well of the others ;
those who contravened these orders were to be punished.
Alarcon and Villafranca added a further order to burn within
eight days all writings against members of the other Order. ^
In consequence of this there were removed from the work
of teaching, Nuiio, Padilla, and another Jesuit, who had often
disputed with Baiies ; Baiies himself received a severe
reprimand and admonition. The Dominicans did all they
could to have the deprivation of Nuno revoked, in which
they savv^ an insult to their Order, but the king adhered to his
decision, and peace was restored for a whole year.^
If the Dominicans showed them.selves less submissive
than the Jesuits, this may perhaps be explained by the fact
that they looked upon it as an injustice that they should be
treated on equal terms with a younger Order. This impression
was clearly expressed in a memorial which Banes addressed
to Clement VIII. on October 28th, 1597, in the name of the
General of the Dominicans and the whole Order, in order
to obtain the removal of the prohibition in the case of the
^ Ibid. 206 seq.
2 Ibid. 208 seq.
' Ibid, 210,
MEMORIAL OF THE DOMINICANS. 3II
members of the Order of Preachers, and of them alone. ^ In
this petition it was taken for granted, as quite certain, that
the do:trine of grace taught by Bafies, including the contro-
verted question, was the ancient Catholic doctrine taught by
Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, just as that it was most
obvious that the Jesuits were introducing innovations.
Following the example of the Apostle Paul, who even res'sted
Peter, the Thomists had always shrunk from innovations,
and now prayed the Apostolic See not to condemn the true
doctrine to silence, on account of the strange theory^ that
had been set up against it. Before a decision on the part
of the Fope was made years might elapse, while the authors
of these innovations would do all they could to make the
question drag on. In the meantime the new doctrine v ould
strike deep roots. So long as the obligat'on of silence held
good, it would be impossible to teach the doctrine of grace
and predestination, a thing that would be all the more trouble-
some in that that doctrine reacted upon so many other
theological questions. Moreover this prohibition placed the
Dominicans in the universities in various practical difficulties.
By the command of Clement VIII. , Bellarmine, at that
time the Pope's theological adviser, wrote an opinion on this
memorial of the Dominicans.^ He examined all the reasons
set forth by Baiies, and above all pointed out that the
Dominican scholar took for granted those very things which
had still to be proved, namely that the Dominican doctrine
could be taken as expressing ecclesiastical tradition. Accord-
ing to Bellarmine what was above all at issue was the question
whether physical predetermination was in accordance with
the Holy Scriptures, the councils and the Fathers of the
Church or no. The theologians of the Society of Jesus denied
this conformity, and maintained that such predetermination
was especially contrary to the Council of Trent, and was
^ Printed, together with the counter-observations of Bellarmine
(see infra) in L. de Meyere, 231 seqq.
' " Ciiriosedad."
' In Le Bachelet, Auctarium 114 seqq. ; Astrain, 214 se(^.
312 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
therefore an innovation. If then the matter was still awaiting
a decision it would be very rash to condemn the Jesuits as
innovators as the memorial desired ; to do this would be to
anticipate the judgment of the Apostolic See, and to cry
triumph before the victory was won.
On one point, however, Bellarmine was in agreement with
the Dominican theologian ; he too thought that it would not
be wise to allow the prohibition to treat of efficacious grace io
go on for years. ^ The Holy See should therefore intervene
as soon as possible. Both parties could be exhorted by brief
to mutual charity, and forbidden to describe the view of the
opposing party as temerarious, erroneous or heretical, but
that a discussion which brought forward real proofs might be
allowed.^
Accordingly Cardinal Santori, Prefect of the Roman
Inquisition, in a letter to the nuncio in Spain^ of February
26th, 1598, allowed a learned discussion of the question, not
only by the Dominicans, but also by the Jesuits. The Spanish
Inquisition informed both Orders of this Papal decision,*
without, however, giving the text of Santori's letter. The
Dominicans complained of this to the Holy Office in Rome,*
because in the extract that had been published no mention
had been made of two important facts : first, that the Papal
permission, and thus the equal treatment of the two Orders
was only to continue until the final definition of the question,
and second, that the expressions used in Santori's letter
were favourable to themselves. As to this they were indeed
telling the truth ; the permission given to the Dominicans
stated " that they might freely read and dispute as they had
done in the past concerning the ' AuxiHis divinae gratiae et
eorum efficacia,' in conformity with the teaching of St.
Thomas." The Jesuits were given a like permission with
1 Le Bachelet, 119; AstrXin, 217.
* Le Bachelet, 121 seq.
» In Serry, 138.
* In AsTRAiN, 219 ; Latin translation in Serry, 141,
^ Serry, 143.
DOCUMENTS TO BE SENT TO ROME. 313
the addition " that they might continue to read and dispute
concerning this question, always however teaching sound and
Cathohc doctrine."^ In the case of both parties was added
an exhortation to abstain from litigation, from innovations,
and from any censure of the opposing opinion. It had to
be admitted, as was clear from the letter of Santori, that the
Dominicans held a predominating influence in government
circles in Rome. As a matter of fact a first Roman opinion,
though it was precipitate, was imminent at that time, even
though the documents which would have to form the basis
of the Papal decision had not as yet reached Rome.
Actually, in June and August, 1594, an invitation had been
issued by Cardinal Aldobrandini and the nuncio in Spain
to the opposing parties to send to Rome an exposition and
defence of their doctrine of grace, ^ while the Spanish Inquisi-
tion for its part had, in a circular of July 21st of the same
year, asked for the opinions of twelve bishops and of a number
of scholars as to the controverted point. ^ But it took almost
three years before the Spanish Inquisition sent (October 23rd,
1597) in a large chest an enormous number of papers in three
great packets.^ The Dominicans sent a folio volume of 135
pages, entitled : Apologia of the Friars Preachers in the
Spanish province. The first part, dated August 28th, 1596,
is signed by seven professors, among them Baiies and Nuiio,
and sets forth the doctrine of Molina ; the second part, which
was already completed on September 29th, 1595, and is there-
fore earlier than the other, bears the same seven signatures,
together with an eighth. At the end of the whole volume
sixteen other Dominicans have attached their names, among
1 AsTRAiN, 812 " che possino [the Dominicans] liberamente
circa la materia de Auxiliis divinae t,ratiae et eorum efficacia
conforme alia dottrina di S. Thomaso leggere e disputare, como
haimo fatto per il passato . . . che possino [the Jesuits] ancor
essi leggere et disputare della medesima materia, insegnando per6
sempre sana e cattolica dottrina."
* Cf. supra, p. 307.
3 AsTRAiN, 227.
* Jbid. 228. Cf. Ei.EUTHF.Rius, 180 seqq.
314 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
whom are to be found the confessors of the king and Cardinal
Albert. 1
The Spanish Jesuits naturally could not produce the
signatures of the confessors of princes. The four Spanish
provinces of the Order gave their opinion separately ; for
the province of Castille and Toledo, the speakers were Francisco
Suarez and Gabriel Vasquez, who still to-day rank as the
greatest dogmatic masters of the Order. Both of them in the
first place combat physical predetermination, and then explain
the view of the Jesuits. From certain words at the end of the
exposition of Suarez, just before the signatures, it is clear
that the disapproval of physical predetermination was quite
general among the Jesuits, and that among them there was
no doubt upon this point. ^
Not all the bishops and scholars whose views had been asked
for by the Inquisition could bring themselves to express their
views. Besides the three universities of Salamanca, Alcala
and Siguenza, only five bishops and four scholars had given
their views on this difficult question. Of the three univer-
sities, Salamanca could not be taken into consideration, since
it limited itself to stating what all Catholics held as to the
controverted matter. ^ Alcala did not pronounce any judg-
ment ; the professors there described both opinions as probable
but inclined rather towards that of the Jesuits, and did not
accept that of the Dominicans except with a proviso in
favour of free will.^ Siguenza declared openly and in all
things for Molina, and defended him against a censure which
had been sent by the Inquisition together with its circular.
According to the judgment of the University of Siguenza
the three propositions which were put forward in the censure
as being altogether blameworthy were not to be found in the
work of the Jesuit theologian.^
1 AsTRAiN, 228 seqq.
^ Ibid. 231 seqq. Cf. Lammer, Ziir Kirchengeschiclite, in.
" AsTRATN, 234 seq. The signature of the censure bears the
date June 22, 1595.
* Ibid. 235 seq.
* Ibid. 236,
VIEWS OF THE FIVE BISHOPS. 315
Of the five bishops who sent their opinion, the Bishop of
Cartagena had not even read MoHna's book ; he relied upon
the censure that had been sent to him, and took the side of
Bafies. The Bishop of Mondonedo was also altogether for
Baiies against Molina. Pedro Gonzales de Arevedo on the
other hand was all for Molina. Pacheco of Segovia blamed
Bafies as much as Molina ; both of them should be corrected
in the case of a new edition of their works. The Bishop of
Coria emphatically defended indeed the doctrine of Molina
against the suspicion of heresy, but otherwise blames it
severely ; his views were false and an innovation.^
Just as the views of the five bishops differed entirely from
each other, so was it with the four scholars who sent their
opinion. Two were opposed to Molina. A third, the
Augustinian Miguel Salon, rejected out of hand about forty
propositions of the Jesuit theologian, only to agree with him
entirely on the principal point of his teaching. Then he turns
against Baiies and condemns even more strongly the principles
from which physical predetermination is drawn. The opinion
of another Augustinian, Luis Coloma of Valladolid, is confined
for the sake of brevity to the principal point, and absolutely
rejects physical predetermination.^
All these documents reached Rome on March 28th, 1598,^
and thus the final preparations for the great duel between
the two Orders were complete ; the battle could now begin.
The General of the Jesuits, Paolo Oliva, later on was of
opinion, looking at the matter in retrospect, that the issue
had been very beneficial, but that as long as the controversy
lasted the Order had been in great danger.^
1 Ibid. 237 seqq.
* Ibid. 240 seqq.
'The signature of the notary in Eleutherius, 180.
* " Magnos motus excitavit in Ecclesia Dei P. Molina, quando
produxit novam, ut tunc videbatur, gratiae et liberi arbitrii
concordiam, et quain\ds tendem feliciter ii sedati fuerint
cesserintque in magnam Ecclesiae utilitatern, tamen gravissimum
tunc Societas adducta est in discrimen." Oliva, January 12,
1664, in Prat-Gruber, Ribadeneira, 414.
3l6 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The young Society of Jesus indeed found itself face to face
with an adversary of overwhelming power. No other body
in the Church could match the scientific laurels of the Domini-
cans ; they had in their ranks a number of scholars of the first
rank, some of whom had been adorned with the aureole of
sanctity by the judgment of the Church.
The forms of learning and the defence of dogma had become
to a great extent based upon their labours. Even in recent
times, the restoration of scholasticism^ had come from the
Dominican convent at Salamanca, the very place where Banes
had launched his attack upon the Jesuits. The Jesuits
themselves, thanks to the organizer of their studies, Toledo,
had become the pupils of the Dominicans at Salamanca.
At Trent, under Pius IV., about twenty-five bishops, and
thirty theologians of the Dominican Order, had taken a
leading part in the discussions and definition of the decrees
on faith. ^ For all these reasons the Order of Preachers
enjoyed throughout the Catholic world the reputation of being
the custodian of true Catholic doctrine. To this had to be
added the influence of the Dominicans at the Inquisition,
with many secular and ecclesiastical princes, and with
notabilities, whose confessors belonged to a great extent
to their Order.
In all these matters the Society of Jesus, which was still
young, was far from approaching the Order of Preachers.
It was true that Salmeron and above all Lainez, had held a
brilliant place at the Council of Trent ; Toledo enjoyed an
uncontested reputation as a scholar in Rome ;^ in the matter
of polemics the Dominicans could produce nothing equal
1 Mandonnet in Diet, de theol. oath., VI., 914. For the
founder of neo-scholasticism, Francisco de Vittoria, cf. the
articles in La Ciencia rouiista, I. -III. (1910-1913) ; F. Ehrle in
Kulholik, 1884, II., 497, 505-522 ; for the importance of tlie
school of Salamanca, ibid. 497.
2 Mandonnet, loc. cit., 908.
3 CJ. the extracts from the briefs of Gregory XIII., Sixtus V.
and Clement VIII, in F^ancisci Toleti in Sunimam Tbeologiae
THE CONTROVERSY AT ROME. 317
to the learned works of Bellarmine. But in the matter of the
doctrine of grace it was a question of scholastic theology, and
it was only now that the younger Order was preparing to
make a triumphant entry into that vast realm ; the first
work by any Jesuit on such matters was the book of Molina
on grace and liberty. The Jesuits could not rival the Domini-
cans in their influence in high places in Rome, nor in their
knowledge of the conduct of affairs in the Curia, for the very
reason that among them it was only by way of exception
that men were to be found who had embarked upon a
prelatical career, or even the first steps towards it. It was
true that the General of their Order was one of these exceptions.
Bishops filled with the spirit of asceticism and men of import-
ance might indeed choose Jesuits as their confessors, but
these were exceptional cases. When it was rumoured that
Philip II. had entrusted the direction of his conscience to
a Jesuit, the king wrote with his own hand : "If he intended
to change his confessor, there were too many approved Orders,
much older and well supplied with able men, to make it
necessary to seek one in the new Order. "^ At the time of
the dispute concerning grace in Rorne, besides the two
Dominican Cardinals, Bonelli (died 1598) and Bernerio, the
influential Dean of the Rota, Francisco Pena (died 161 2)
was above all their declared adversary ; he even laid it down
in his will that the revenues of a legacy which he had made
for poor students must never be given to a pupil of the
Jesuits.'^
All this explains how it was that, in the intellectual contest
that w^as beginning, it was the Dominicans whose influence
decided the place and conditions of the battle, chose the
S. Thomae Aquinatis enarration, ed. los. Maria Paria e S.I., I.,
Rome, 1869, ix. seq., xii. CJ. Synopsis, I., 77, 160, 156 ; II.,
526. 531.
1 " There are many old approved religious Orders which have
men fit for this, without seeking in this new one." Castagna to
BoneUi, December 19, 1560, in Serrano, Corresp. dipl., I., 422.
^ ScoRRAiLi.F, I., 405 seq.
3l8 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
judges of the contest, and " supplied the sun and the
wind."
The standpoint of the Jesuits from the first had been that
it was not of importance to defend at all costs all the theses
of Molina ; some of their number did not altogether agree
with Molina.^ In their opinion it was not persons or books
that were primarily at stake, but a dogmatic controversy,
and the critical point of the question consisted, to their way
of thinking, in physical predetermination. They wished for
an ecclesiastical definition as to this, and as to how it was
reconcilable with the maxims of the faith and with the Council
of Trent ; once this was cleared up, all the rest, so they
believed, wo aid not present any further difftculties.
But the Dominicans, as far as they were concerned, wished
expressly to avoid the examination of this vital point, as to
which there was not full agreement even in their own Order.
They looked upon physical predetermination as a dogma,
which simply could not be called in question ; therefore the
whole discussion, according to them, must turn upon Molina's
book, not restricting itself to the doctrine of the reconcilability
of grace and freedom, but extending to all the theses which
he had maintained. The contrary position taken up by the
two Orders with regard to physical predetermination entirely
governed the course of the struggle and all its vicissitudes.
Once Clement VIII. had transferred the dispute on grace
to Rome in 1594, it was natural that both the Dominicans
and Jesuits should send a representative to the Eternal City,
to speak on behalf of his Order as occasion should arise.
The General of the Jesuits thought of summoning Molina
himself to Rome, but the latter replied to an invitation cf
February i6th, 1595, by excuses which Aquaviva had to
admit were justified. Banes too excused himself on the score
of age, but in the place of the old master there came to Rome
in November 1596 his disciple Diego Alvarez, a young man
of great talent, who certainly did not remain idle.^ After
^ Cf. supya, p. 298.
* AstrAin, 245 seq.
MEMORIAL OF ALVAREZ. 319
he had for many days examined the matter together with
Cardinal Bonelli, the Protector of the Order, and other
friends, in June 1597 he presented a memorial to the Pope,^
which was intended not only to hasten the beginning of the
discussions, but also to set the whole question upon the hues
desired by the Dominicans.^
When in 1594 Aldobrandini transferred the discussion to
Rome,^ no mention of Molina was made in his letter ; it was
rather a matter of a dogmatic question, the decision of which
was withdrawn from the Inquisition and reserved to the Pope,
namely the question in what the efficacy of grace consists.
Alvarez, on the contrary, came forward in his memorial as
the accuser of Molina ; the books of Molina must form the
central point of the discussion ; they must be examined
and condemned, and the examination must not be restricted
to the principal question, as to which there were differences
of opinion between the Jesuits and the Dominicans, but
must extend to the whole contents of Molina's book on grace
and liberty. And whereas so far it had been intended only
to begin the discussions when the opinions that had been
asked for had arrived from Spain, Alvarez wanted the
examination to begin as soon as possible, as all delay was
full of danger ; the work of Molina was meeting with much
applause, and the younger theologians were adopting his ideas
with the enthusiasm of youth ; once this opinion had taken
deep root among them, it would be too difficult to bring them
back to the true doctrine of grace and liberty.* To put it in
another way : the Dominicans and Jesuits were not to meet
as two parties with equal rights, but the Dominicans were
to be the accusers, and the Jesuits were to sit, like poor sinners,
on the bench of the accused. The attack on Molina thus had
a vast field open to it, for not only would an error concerning
' Printed in Serry, 149.
2 AsTRAiN, 245 seq.
* See supra, p. 313.
* Lor the historical inexactitudes of what Alvarez wrote cj.
AstrAin, 248 seq.
320 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the principal question of the efficacy of grace be fatal to him,
but ever}^ mistaken or equivocal thesis in his book. Moreover
the Dominicans enjoyed all the advantages of the attack ;
the weak point of their own doctrine was for the time being
outside discussion.
In addition to his own petition to the Pope, Alvarez had
drawn up another document for Cardinal Bonelli, in which
the scandalous propositions of Molina were pointed out and
refuted.^ Bellarmine, as Papal theologian, had to draw up
an opinion which is distinguished by its calmness and its
absolute objectivity, ^ as compared with the other writings
which owe their existence to the violent struggle that had
begun. Bellarmine rejects physical predetermination, but
does not dare to condemn it absolutely,^ as it is supported
by men of eminence. He also defends the " scientia media "
of Molina ; the name indeed is a new one, but the thing itself
is very ancient.^ On the other hand it seemed to him that
several of Molina's propositions were false, or at any rate
inexactly expressed, but he will not admit that they are
deserving of any real ecclesiastical censure.^ In Bellarmine's
opinion no bitter expression against the Dominicans is used ;
the authors of the attacks on Molina are, on the contrary,
called " very pious and learned men."''
At that juncture the Pope was exceedingly pleased with
this little production of his theologian, which he afterwards
caused to be examined' by others as well,^ but from the whole
of its tenor he was confirmed in his intention of having the
1 The title in Le Bachelet, Aiictarium, 102.
2 Ibid. 101-113.
^ Ihid. 106 56'^.
* Ibid. 105 seq. Cf. supra, p. 285, n. i.
^ Ibid. loc. cil., 102 seqq. For the attitude of Bellarmine
towards Molina, ibid., 1-31.
* Ibid. 109.
' Ibid. 113 n. 6.
* " Quod opusculum Pontifici mire probatum est initio."
Autobiography of Bellarmine, c. 45, in Le Bachelet, Bellarmin
avant son cardinalat, 465.
THE ROMAN COMMISSION. 32I
serious accusations against Molina examined. For this
purpose a special commission was appointed.
The Dominicans had thus obtained what they wanted :
the inquiry was confined to Molina's book. This was for the
Jesuits a first defeat. The composition of the commission
was a second. Not a single friend of Molina was included,
although the course of affairs up to that point has shown
that there were many such.
A third defeat was soon to follow. The commission held
its first session on January 2nd, 1598 ; at its eleventh, which
took place on March 13th, it was decided that the book and
doctrine of Molina must be prohibited, as well as his com-
mentaries on St. Thomas, at any rate until they were emended.^
In the final judgment it was stated that Molina had repudiated
in a haughty manner the doctrine of St. Augustine, which
had been handed down by the Fathers, and more than once
confirmed by the Church, and that the principles on which
he based his doctrine were entirely opposed to St. Thomas.
St. Augustine and the other Fathers ; that they contained
many things which openly conflicted with the Holy Scriptures
and the Councils, but were on the contrary in agreement with
Cassian and Faustus of Riez, who had been combatted by
Augustine.^
The Roman commission could not have dreamed at that
time that the discussions concerning Molina would drag on
for years to come, and then end without coming to any definite
conclusion. Even before the materials contained in the
Spanish acta had come, they had arrived at a definite judg-
ment, as it were in the twinkling of an eye ! This was
eventually explained by the fact that among the members
of the commission there was not to be found a single man of
any scientific weight.^ Even Clement VIIL was surprised
1 AsTRAiN, 249 seqq.
* Serry, 161.
^ The members were the Franciscan Properzio Resta de Capelli,
Bishop of Cariati and Cerenza ; the Franciscan Giulio Santucci,
Bishop of S. Agata dei Goti ; Lelio Lando, Bishop of Nardo ;
VOL. XXIV. 21
322 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
at this unexpectedly rapid solution of the question, for soon
afterwards, on March 28th, 1598, when the opinions sent
from Spain had at last arrived, he ordered the commission
to study them, and then reconsider their judgment.^
Thus the members of the commission found themselves
face to face with a troublesome task. In October 1597 Bailes
had written to Rome that the mere reading of these Spanish
opinions would take two years, and that before the whole
of the material had been carefully examined more than one
pontificate might elapse, and that it was for this very reason
that he had asked that the prohibition of any discussion of
the controverted point of the doctrine of grace might be
suspended.^
The commission, however, once more made quick work of
the task. In the eight months between April and November,
in which were included the protracted vacations, all was
completed, and the former judgment, namely the condem-
nation of Molina, was substantially confirmed. That all
the Spanish opinions had actually been read by all the
members seems unlikely, especially as there were not as many
copies as there were members of the commission. The
Enrico Silvio, vicar-apostolic of the Carmelites ; the Franciscan
Francesco Brusca, later Bishop of Lettera ; Giov. Battista
Piombino, procurator-general of the Augustinians ; the
Augustinian Gregorio Nunez Coronel, doctor of theology ; Eouis
de Creil, doctor of the Sorbonne. Coronel had written several
books on the Church, on Tra.dition and on the State (Nic. Antonio,
Bibl. Hisp. nova, I., Madrid, 1783, 546). Resta had written
De vera et falsa sapientia, Rome, 1599 (Joa. a S. Antonio,
Bibl. universa Francisc, II., Madrid, 1732, 492). Lelio Landi
had been employed under Gregory XIV. on the revision of the
Vulgate. INothing else is laiown of the literary activities of the
members of the commission. Cardinals Lodovico Madruzzi and
Arigoni were the nominal presidents of the commission, but it
would seem that they took no part in the sessions. The real
president was Resta, and the secretary Coronel.
^ AstrAin, 252,
* Ibid. 212 ; DE Meyere, 231 seq.
THE ROMAN COMMISSION. 323
Jesuit Fernando de la Bastida was able later on in the presence
of the Pope to point out a single person, who was in any
case quite incapable of any such work/ as the author of the
censure. On March 12th, 1599, the secretary of the com-
mission, the Augustinian Coronel, presented a document
which purported to be the acta of the sessions, but which was
in reality a violent attack upon Molina. Whereas the
universities of Alcala and Siguenza had found nothing to
censure in Molina's book, Coronel condemns more than
60 theses. 2 Inevitably, as the result of these events, the most
unfavourable reports against the Jesuits at once became
common. It was even said that the Papal condemnation
of their doctrine had already taken place, or that at any rate
it would not be long delayed.^
Before, however, things could reach that point, the Jesuits
had to be allowed to speak. After having thus far been
kept entirely in the background, and only with difficulty
obtaining any information of what was being done by the
commission, they now prepared themselves for their defence.
In December 1598, after the second censure had been pro-
nounced in the previous month, skilful theologians of their
Order came to Rome : Cristobal de los Cobos and Ferdinando
de la Bastida, followed soon afterwards by Pedro de Arrubal
and Gregorio de Valencia, hitherto professors at Dillingen
and Ingolstadt.'* Molina himself addressed a letter to the
Pope and asked for a hearing. ^ He said that he had been
urged to write his book by the same zeal as had led others to
take up their pen against the heretics ; he intended to confute
the errors of Luther and Calvin, and had done so by relying
in all things upon the Holy Scriptures and the Councils,
especially the Council of Trent, on the Fathers of the Church,
and among them above all on St. Augustine. The attacks
1 AstrAin, 254.
2 Ibid. 253.
* Ibid. 262.
* Ibid. 256.
* From Cuenca, September 22, 1598, ibid. 257-262.
324 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
upon him were due to the fact that he had himself attacked
Bailes, whose doctrines on the controverted point he had
alwaj'S thought to be more than dangerous, and irreconcileable
with the Council of Trent. Bafies indeed accused him of
Pelagianism, but according to Luther the whole Church had
fallen into that error, since it defended free will. His book,
on the other hand, had met with much approval, but now,
when he had thought that the dispute about the book had
come to an end, it had reached his ears that he had been
accused before the Pope himself. This caused him much
anxiety, because he knew from experience how often things
had been attributed to him by his accusers which had never
entered his mind, and he therefore feared lest the same thing
should have happened in Rome. He therefore asked to be
allowed to speak, as was the right of the accused ; let the
Pope either summon him himself to Rome, or listen to the
defence which he had laid before the Inquisition in Spain.
Molina had previously connected his defence of his doctrine
with an attack upon his adversaries. He now did the same
thing. Some of his theses, he said, had been declared to be
suspect, but he too could enumerate many opinions in the
works of his accusers, which seemed to him to be manifest
errors of faith, Calvinistic in doctrine, and contrary to the
Council of Trent. He knew that the Dominicans had great
influence, being the confessors of powerful princes, and
occupying posts of importance, so that their help even in
worldly matters was often asked by highly-placed personages.
But even though they were superior in power and influence
in other matters, they must not be given a preference where
a question of faith and soundness of doctrine was at issue,
nor could they alone be listened to, and he himself rejected.
He therefore asked His Holiness to have the theses which he
had noted in their works to be examined. When these were
compared with the heresies of Calvin and Luther, it would
be clearly seen that they were errors of faith. Moreover,
according to Molina, the discussions about grace had
attracted the attention of the Protestants, and they were
waiting in expectation of a decision contrary to the Council
THE DISCUSSIONS IN ROME. 325
of Trent. ^ If, finally, the Pope was unwilling to listen to
any of his requests, would he at least examine the concise
exposition of his doctrine which he enclosed.
Perhaps a greater impression was made upon Clement VIII.
by the letters of King Philip III., the wife of the Archduke
Maximilian, and the Archduke Albert, whom the Jesuits
had won over to their side, than by the petition of Molina. ^
The Pope decided that the Jesuits as well must be given a
hearing. On January ist, 1599, he cited Beccaria and
Aqua viva. Generals of both Orders before him, and ordered
them to discuss, together with some of the theologians among
their subjects, the chief points of divergent doctrine in the
presence of Cardinal Madruzzo.^
The first meeting took place on February 22nd, 1599. The
General of the Dominicans appeared accompanied by the
procurator of the Order, and two theologians, Diego Alvarez
and Raffaele de Ripa ; Aqua viva's theologians were Pedro
de Arrubal, Michele Vasquez and Cristobal de los Cobos.
In his opening discourse, Madruzzo explained the object of
the discussions, namely to put an end to the struggle between
the two Orders, in accordance with the wish of the Pope as
well as of the King of Spain ; both Beccaria and Aquaviva
gave their opinion as to the way in which, to their thinking,
that purpose could be attained. The General of the Domini-
cans declared that his Order had nothing against the Society
of Jesus, and that it was only the theses of Molina which
were the rock of offence ; it his book were condemned and
St. Thomas followed, then everything would be smoothed
^ Ibid. 261.
^ Ibid. 263. The Spanish nuncio also wrote on November 14,
1598, to Cardinal Aldobrandini concerning the eftorts of the
Dominicans and Cardinal Davila, who wished to obtain the
condemnation of the book of Molina from the Spanish Inquisition.
The nuncio suggested, either that such attacks should be sup-
pressed in view of the earlier approbations of Molina's book, or
that Molina and Baiies should be summoned to Rome and the
writings of both examined (Scorraille, I., 411).
3 Eleutherius, 210 ; Serry, 169 ; Astrain, 265,
326 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
over. Aquaviva took up quite a different position. He
declared that Molina indeed was not the Society of Jesus,
and that therefore his cause was not necessarily their own.
The Fope might do what he liked with the works of a Spanish
theologian or with the writings of any individual Jesuit,
without the order offering any resistance. But there was a
dispute between the two Orders, arising frjm their different
explanation of " sufficient " and " efficacious " grace ; as
far as could be seen, the intention of the Pope was not to give
a judgment on Molina's book, but rather to inquire into
the differences of the doctrines in question, to establish the
true doctrine, and to settle the questions at issue between
the two great bodies.^ The conference ended with an
injunction from Madruzzo to the two Generals to prepare for
the next meeting three expositions concerning the con-
troverted point in the doctrine of grace ; the first was to
summarize in a few words the idea of his own Order, the
second was to give the objections to the opposing theory,
and the third the principal proofs in support of their own
opinion. 2
The second discussion took place on February 28th.
Aquaviva presented himself with the three expositions in
writing which had been asked for,^ but Beccaria on the other
hand only presented one ; a further accusation of Molina
divided into six points. He said that he had not thought it
opportune to prepare any others, because the only point at
issue was the book of Molina, and the Spanish Dominicans
had not taken up arms against the Society of Jesus, but
against Molina. Moreover, the Dominicans were there as the
accusers, and he could not allow them, by defending their
doctrine, to confess themselves as accused. To this
Aquaviva replied in the sense in which he had spoken at the
previous meeting, but Beccaria adhered to his opinion.
Aquaviva then placed on the table the second document he
1 ASTRAIN, 266.
" Ibid. 267.
3 Reprinted in Eleutherius, 214-217.
THE DISCUSSIONS IN ROME. 327
had brought with him, the objections of the Jesuits to the
Dominican doctrine of grace, handing over the other two
at the end of the meeting to Cardinal Madruzzo as a proof
that he had obeyed him. The conference was over ; it now
remained to be seen what the Pope would do.
On March 5th, 1599, Clement VIII. appointed the Jesuit
Bellarmine a Cardinal, and assigned him, together with the
Dominican Cardinal Bernerio to act as assessors to Cardinal
Madruzzo in the conduct of the conferences.
At the third meeting, which was held on March 29th, it
was seen that the situation had become considerably changed
in favour of the Jesuits. Bellarmine brought forward six
questions, in which he asked for an explanation as to whether
physical predetermination was necessary for the good acts
of the will, and for its evil decisions, whether the infallible
efficacy of grace was based upon phj'sical predetermination,
or upon the contact of grace with the soul in the sense of
St. Augustine.^ These questions therefore, without any
evasions, were directed to the point which formed the kernel
of the dispute on grace, and on the solution of which every-
thing depended. But now the Dominicans refused to give
an answer. They said that these six questions had evidently
been thought out and brought forward by the Jesuits, thus
arrogating to themselves a right which belonged only to the
Cardinals.^
The Dominicans, however, were no longer able to adhere
to their own standpoint, of entering into no discussion save
on the book of Molina. It would seem that, soon after the
questions of Bellarmine, they in their turn asked for an answer
to eight points on the doctrine of grace and freewill.^ But
now it v/as the Jesuits who refused to give an explanation,
until Clement VIII. obliged them to reply. To five of these
1 Eleutherius, 217; Serry, 174.
2 Eleutherius, 218 ; Astrain, 270 seqq.
3 In Eleutherius, 218; Serry, 174. Whether the Domini-
cans were the first to present their eie;ht questions, or whether on
the other hand, which is more probable, Bellarmine first proposed
his six, is variously reported. C/. Astrain, 272.
328 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
questions an affirmative reply could be given without more
ado,^ but these five questions did not touch the controverted
point of the matter, and the others only uncertainly.
Later on they declared that this had been the real reason
why they had at first refused to reply, ^ In other respects
the Jesuits took all possible pains clearly to explain their view.
When the Dominicans complained of a gap in the replies of
their adversaries, they hastened to remedy it, though in
doing so they took the opportunity thus offered them of once
again alluding to physical predetermination, which, according
to them, was opposed to the Holy Scriptures, the Councils,
the Fathers of the Church, the scholastics and philosophers,
and above all to St. Augustine and St. Thomas.^
The whole of April passed in these exchanges, and it would
seem that a kind of impatience at these fruitless negotiations
seized upon the Jesuits. They suggested to Cardinal
Madruzzo, in order to make some progress, that they should
briefly summarize the points as to which they had come to an
agreement or a disagreement at the meetings which had been
held so far."^ Madruzzo then took three theses from among
the expositions of the Dominicans, on which the Jesuits
were to pronounce at the next session ;^ actually, at that
meeting both parties agreed upon seven points ;® this at
anyrate made it clear that the Jesuits did not deny efficacious
grace. But they at once transferred the discussion to the
most critical point of the whole question by bringing forward
1 Eleutherius, 218.
" ASTRAIN, 273.
^ Ibid. 274.
* C/. the memorial of the Jesuits in Eleutherius, 221 seq. ;
" Hactenus compertum est, mutuis liisce responsionibus . . . non
solum quaestionis statum non attingi, sed rem ipsam fieri
propemodum mfinitam," etc.
* In Serry, 178; Eleutherius, 222.
* Ibid. 222 seq. Concerning an eighth thesis, as to which,
according to a manuscript in the Angelica Library, there was no
agreement (and directed against Eleutherius [223]), see Astrain,
276.
THE DISCUSSIONS IN ROME. 329
the question whether, accordmg to the Dominican view, the
infallible efficacy of grace was based upon physical pre-
determination.^ It might have been supposed that the
answer would have been a plain Yes, and that thus the question
would have been solved. But, strangely enough, the dis-
cussion of the pros and cons went on for so long that, although
the Jesuits would not allow their adversaries to escape for a
good three hours, they were unable in the end to get a definite
reply. ^
But a clear reply was absolutely necessary if the discussion
was to go on. On May 20th, 1599, therefore, the Jesuits
sent a document to Cardinal Madruzzo, divided into five points,
in which they explained, from their point of view, what they
meant by physical predetermination in the sense of the
Dominicans,^ and asked him to induce their adversaries to
reply. The latter, on May 22nd, sent a document to the
Cardinal in which they explained their view sufficiently
clearly.^ But the expression " physical predetermination "
was avoided in this. The Jesuits therefore again insisted
that they must pronounce as to this expression, and received
as a reply that the Jesuits must express themselves clearly
as to what, in their opinion, the efficacy of grace consisted,
for that so far they had only said in what it did not consist.
1 Eleutherius, 223.
* So say the Jesuits in their memorial of June 24, 1599 : Deinde
ulterius progressa est disputatio, quae eo spectabat, ut eliceretur,
quid tandem illud esset, quo auxilium efficax differret a sufficiente.
Et quoniam Patres Domimcani nihil interrogabant, illud pro-
posuimus, utrum ratio auxilii efficacis consisteret in physica
praedeterminatione voluntatis, ut hactenus docuerunt. Dum
huic propositioni respondent, tres fere horae elabuntur, nee
tamen ex eorum dictis quidquam certi colligi potuit, in quo vel a
nobis dilierrent, vel inter so convenirent. Non enim omnes
videbantur velle admittere hanc physicam praedeterminationem,
et eorum, qui eam admittebant, unus affirmabat, ea tolli aliquam
indifl'erentiam, alius negabat. Serry, 189 A.
^ Eleutherius, 224.
* Ibid. 224 seq.
330 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The Jesuits complied with this demand without any difficulty,
in an explanation of May 28th, 1599.-^
The continued insistence of the Jesuits, and the way in
which they kept on returning to the weak point in their
adversaries' doctrine of grace, irritated the Dominicans all
the more in that in their opinion it was not they but the
Jesuits who, in the whole affair, should be subjected to
examination concerning their doctrine.
Their annoyance so long suppressed, found vent in a written
protest of June 8th, 1599, in which they gave a resume of the
discussions, and described the behaviour of the Jesuits as
intriguing and deceitful.^ The Jesuits replied to this on
June 28th. ^
These two documents are among the most important
relating to the negotiations before Cardinal Madruzzo ; they
complete and confirm our knowledge of what had happened
on various points, while the intellectual outlook of both
parties is set forth m^ore clearly than usual. The Dominicans
who took part in the discussions declared that they were not
the representatives of the whole Dominican Order, and that
in order to be so they would first have had to consult their
universities and their most eminent theologians ;^ they only
presented themselves as a deputation of Dominican theologians
in Rome. They further maintained absolutely that at the
discussions nothing was at issue but Molina and his book, and
if they also pronounced upon the doctrine of grace, they only
did so as the theological advisers of the Pope, in order to give
him the benefit of their scientific opinions. But the Jesuits
maintained the opposite view with equal tenacity. They
asserted that the Pope had not transferred the controversy
' Eleuihehius, 225. Cf. AsTRAiN, 279 seq.
2 Serry, 182 seqq. ; Eleuihehius, 226.
' Serry, 185 seqq. ; Eleutherius-, 226.
* " In prima Congregatione . . . nobis prius semel et iterum
professis, non totius Predicatoriae fam-Hae nomine (cuius genrealia
studia et theologi alii praecipui temporis opportunitate concessa
fuissent consulendi), sed tantum professorum qui in Urbe essemus^
congressibus illis interesse." Eleutherius, 226..
THE DISCUSSIONS IN ROME. 33I
to Rome in order to pronounce judgment on Molina, as was
clear from the briefs to the nuncio in Spain and to the Spanish
Inquisition, and, as had been several times declared to the
Dominicans by Cardinal Madruzzo, the General of the Jesuits
had expressly stated that he had no interest in defending all
the theses of Molina.
It is also clear from the complaints and accusations of both
parties that both the Dominicans and the Jesuits refused to
reply to certain definite questions. The Dominicans tried
to avoid an explanation of physical predetermination ; this
is definitely stated several times in the memorial of the Jesuits.
" The m.ost eminent Cardinal knows " so states the document,
" how we have openly said that it is our desire that the
Dominicans should explain their view just as we ourselves
have done and will do, but they have attempted to evade
doing so on various pleas. The first time they said that they
could not speak for the whole Order, and would first have
to consult the theologians of the various provinces ; another
time they were not ready, and could not carry on the dis-
putation without preparation ; again, it did not affect the
object of the discussion ; lastly they openly declared that
they did not intend to give their opinion, because as the
accusers they did not wish to become the accused, or to admit
that they should be subjected to an interrogatory. All who
were present, and the most eminent President are witnesses
as to this."^ On a copy of this accusatory document, there
is to be found attached to these assertions of the Jesuits a
marginal note in the hand of a Dominican : " This is the
sample truth, as the General of the Dominicans cannot at
his pleasure prescribe a doctrine for his whole Order, nor had
he time or opportunity to consult the universities of the Order
on this matter."^ This passage is of great value to the
disinterested historian ; what the Jesuits had several times
1 Serry, 186, D ; Eleutherius, 227.
2 " Verissime neque enim Magister generalis Praedicatorum
doctriuam arbitratu suo toti suae religioni praescribit, neque
eiusdem Ordinis universitates super his consulendi occasio et
tempus ei oblata fuere." Astrain, 282 seq.
332 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
asserted is thus confirmed, namely that physical predeter-
mination was not yet at that time the doctrine of the
Dominican Order.
On the other hand the Jesuits refused to give an answer
to the question whether the infallible efficacy of grace came
only from God, or whether it derived to some extent from
the free will. If a proper order was to be followed in the
discussions, they remarked, first it must be established in
what the efficacy of grace consists, for only then would it be
possible to discuss whence it came.^
But on July 17th, 1599, Madruzzo proposed to both parties
this question, together with others : can the free will refuse
its consent to efficacious grace ? Both were required to reply.
Each party dealt with the question from their own point of
view.^ Further discussion at length led the theologians of
the Society of Jesus in November, 1599, to summarize in
eight propositions the points on which they could not agree
with the Dominicans, and concerning which they desired a
disputation.^ On January 28th, 1600, they also presented
to the Cardnial a number of theses which had been defended
by the Benedictines, the Augustinians, the Franciscans, the
Carmelites and the Minims, and which were in favour of
Molina.'* The last thing we know of the discussions in the
presence of Madruzzo are certain observations of the Domini-
cans concerning these eight theses of the Jesuits.^ They
were presented on February 12th, and on April 20th 1600, the
old Cardinal of eighty-e^'ght breathed his last." This ended
the conferences in which both the Generals personally took
part.
The only result which the conferences had had was that
1 Memorial of June 28, 1599, in Serry, 189.
2 Eleutherius, 232.
* Ibid. 239.
■* ASTRAIN, 286.
^ Elexjtherius, 239.
« CJ. the *reports of Fabio Maretti and G. B. Laderchi, dated
Rome, April 22, 1600, who point out what a great loss the death
of the Cardinal had been. State Archives, Modena,
THE DISCUSSIONS IN ROME. 333
the views of the two rival parties had been more clearly
defined, and had become better understood by their adver-
saries. For the moment it seemed as though a rapprochement
had been brought about. On one occasion the General of the
Dominicans, as the Jesuits report, had said that if Molina
had admitted all that the Jesuits had conceded in the presence
of Madruzzo, there would have been no reason to take action
against him. But the Jesuits thought that they could prove
without any difficulty that all the theses in question had been
expressly taught by Molina.^
But a book by the Spanish Dominican Francisco Davila,
which was printed in Rome in 1599, ^^id immediately sup-
pressed by the Pope's orders in consequence of the
remonstrances of the Jesuits, ^ showed on the contrary how
bitter the dispute really was, and how serious were the
misunderstandings and prejudices. This book made the
Jesuits appear as semi-Pelagians, and put together, without
mentioning them, the most plausible accusations against their
doctrine. In spite of this Davila had dared to dedicate his
book to the Pope, and the imprimatur, given by a fellow
Dominican, and full of encomiums, bore the signature of the
General of the Order. ^
On April 24th, 1600, the General of the Dominican Order
went to the Pope, and in the name of the whole Order
expressed his gratitude for a decision which gave the whole
dispute, now so long drawn out, a new turn, and which, at
any rate according to the statement of the adversaries of the
Jesuits, " filled all good men with incredible joy.""^ This
was because, after the death of Cardinal Madruzzo,
Clement VIII. had thought it better not to continue the
1 Memorial of June 28, 1599, in Serry, 1S8 seq.
■•^ De auxiliis divinae gratiae ac eorum efficatia, Rome, 1599.
^ Eleuiherius, 240 seqq. Astrain, 287 seqq. A writing in
which 16 of the errors attributed by Davila to Molina are refuted
as calumnies and compared with the true doctrines of the Jesuit
theologian does not belong to Bellarmine, as Astrain (289) sup-
poses. Le Bachelet. Auctarium, xxi.
* Serry, 195 (according to Pefia).
334 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
discussions between the Generals of the Orders, but to revert
to that method by which the solution of the difficult question
had first been sought, namely, that the book of Molina should
once again become the central point of the discussions. A
letter from Philip III., in which he expressed his desire for
a speedy solution of the question,^ perhaps contributed to
giving a fresh direction to the controversy. Therefore the
commission which had first pronounced judgment on Molina's
book, was completed by the addition of Bishop Ippolito
Masseri of Montepeloso, and the procurators of the Franciscan
Observants and Conventuals, Giovanni de Rada^ and Girolamo
Palantieri. Their task was to examine the voluminous
censure of Coronel, and to point out, after a careful examina-
tion, which of the objectionable theses were to be found in
Molina. This work was completed on August 31st, 1600,
and was presented to the Pope in the middle of October.
Of the eleven consultors two had refused their signature,
Piombino and Bovio, while all the others were in agreement
in condemning twenty theses taken from Molina. There still
exist a number of writings of that time from the individual
members of the commission, all of whom pronounce against
Molina,^ with the exception of Bovio.
While the commission was still engaged upon this work,
1 Among the " negotios que dex6 pendentes el Duque de Sessa "
it is noted : *E1 dicho 29. de Hebrero de 1600 scrivio Su M. al
dicho Duque pidiese a S. S. mandar que los cardinales y otros
ministros [who were treating of the controversy on grace] tomasen
en este negocio con brevedad la resolucion que mas conveniese a
servicio de Dies y bien universal de la cristiandad. ... El 29.
de Hebrero 1600 scrivio Su M. al dicho Duque pidiese a Su S.
proveyese lo que mas conveniese sobre un libro de Molina S.J. que
diz que esta ccnsido por los cardenales a quien Su B. niando le
biesen. The king wrote on the matter to the Pope on September
3, 1603. Archives of the Spanish embassy in Rome, I., g.
2 Rada (died 1608) was really the most capable theologian on
the commission ; cf. Hurter, Nomenclator, II., Innsbruck,
1907, 396.
^ AstrAin, 291 seqq.
THE DISCUSSIONS IN ROME. 335
the Jesuits succeeded in getting a sight of the censure of
Coronel, and at once saw that it was defective in many points.
In this Molina was blamed for several theses which were in
common use among other theologians, or else things were
attributed to the Jesuit theologian which he had never taught.
The Jesuits reported these discoveries to the Pope in various
expositions.^ A special impression seems to have been made
upon Clement VIII. by a writing of Aqua viva,- in which,
so as to show the censure to be unjust, Molina's own words
are compared with a number of the accusations of Coronel.
To these were added the remonstrances of Bellarmine and
others, so that Clement VIII. gave orders that the commission
must also hear the defence of the Jesuits.^
Nevertheless, in spite of this concession, the position of
the Jesuits still remained very unfavourable, and even
apparently desperate. They had asked to be allowed to
present their defence before other judges than the commission,
for otherwise the censors Mould have been bound to pass
judgment upon complaints which were directed against
themselves and their judgments. But they obtained nothing
by their request.^ By the Pope's orders the commission was
to hear the Jesuits, but the judgment was left to them, and
the Dominicans were their advisers. The discussions were
now conducted in the following way : first the censure was
read, and was then defended by the Dominicans Diego
Alvarez and Tommaso de Lemos, being then attacked by the
Jesuits Cobos and Arrubal ; at the end both Dominicans and
Jesuits briefly summarized in writing what they had said
orally. 5 Thus it seemed as though the last word lay with the
Jesuits, but the Dominicans, in addition to the writings which
were communicated to the theologians of the other party,
secretly drew up others which were intended only for the
1 Eleutherius, 248 seq.
2 In Eleutherius, 249 seq.
* AsirAin, 293 seq.
* Ibtd. 295.
° Ibid. 295. Some specimens of the negotiations, ibid. 296 seq.
336 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
members of the commission, and in which they sought to
refute anything that told in favour of MoHna. The Jesuits
learned of these intrigues, probably from their friend Bovio,
and Gregorio de Valencia, who was present at the sessions
together with Cobos and Arrubal, thereupon addressed his
remonstrances to the Pope. Clement VIII. then gave orders
that these observations of the Dominicans were also to be
handed over to the defenders of Molina. This time the
theologians of the Society of Jesus made use of very emphatic
language in their reply. At the outset it is stated : "In this
document the Dominican Fathers advance so many things
which are not in accordance with the facts, that they could
never have supposed that these observations which they have
addressed to the censors unknown to us, would one day fall
into our hands. "^
The discussions before the commission lasted until May 7th,
1601. On August 31st of the same year the censors came to
their final judgment, and, as was to be expected, this declared
that the commission adhered to the censures already pro-
nounced against Molina. Only Piombino and Bovio once
again refused their signatures. On December 5th, 1601,
the commission presented itself before the Pope to deliver
the result of its labours.-
Clement VIII. was aghast at the quantity of documents
and opinions that was laid before him. " A year may have
been sufficient for you to write all this," he said, " but a year
is not sufficient for me to read it." The commission laid the
responsibility for such prolixity upon the objections and
artifices of the Jesuits ; the Pope, however, with his great
intelligence and learning had no need to read it all. Santucci,
who after the death of Resta had acted as president, then
made the strange suggestion that it would be well not to
inform the Jesuits of their judgments, so that the matter might
not be prolonged indefinitely.^
1 Ibid. 302 seqq.
2 Ibid. 301.
2 Ibid. 301 seq.
THE POPE AND THE JESUITS. 337
Clement VIII. at once saw that this new censure, the fourth
in four years, was of no great use to him. If he was to settle
the controversy personally by his supreme authority, then he
must inform himself personally of all the details, and examine
all these voluminous opinions. The observations of the Jesuits
too could not be left unexamined ; they would know how to
lay their remonstrances before the Pope, even without being
informed of the verdict of the commission. The suspicions
which had been spread throughout the world on account of
what had happened in Rome gave an opportunity for so doing.
Molina, who died on October 12th, 1600, certainly knew
nothing of the rumour which was spread throughout Spain
that he had been condemned in Rome by a Papal sentence,
and burned in effigy. On March gth, 1601, Bellarmine had
to reassure the Spanish Jesuits on this score ;^ an edict of
the Spanish nuncio of September 21st, 1601, reminded men^
of the Papal prohibition of mutual censures, and removed the
grounds for such rumours.^ But in Italy, Germany, France
and Poland similar rumours did no little harm to the work of
the Jesuits in the exercise of their ministry.'*
In the meantime the Jesuits sought protection from the
Pope, and on February 12th, 1602, they presented a memorial
in which all the accusations which had been brought against
them during the discussions in Rome were summarized under
seven heads, together with a brief defence.^
In answer to the charge that they were exigent and would
not be satisfied in their claims, they summarized the points
in which their desires really consisted : i. Since the origin
of these discussions lies in the question : In what does the
efficacy of grace consist, may it please Your Holiness to define
what must be firmly held as to this, so that, following that
infallible rule, everything that is not in accordance with that
definition may be expunged from the books. 2. A judgment
1 Letter to Padilla, in Eleutherius, 246.
2 Ibid. 247.
* AsTRAiN, 294.
* Ibid. 304.
^ Ibid. 306-314, Eleutherius, 334-341.
VOL. XXIV. 22
33^ HISTORY OF THE POPES.
should not be pronounced on the question of Molina, without
his being heard. 3. That what we put forward on his behalf
may be submitted, in accordance with the judgment of Your
Holiness, to persons so well versed in dogma, and in such a
degree specialists in scholastic theology, as such difficult
questions demand ; men, moreover, who have not taken sides
on the question, so as to give their signature against Molina
before making a careful examination, and thus staining their
reputation in this respect. 4. If questions and replies are
not to be carried on indefinitely, let us be allowed to reply in
the last instance, as we are defending the cause of the accused,
to whom that right belongs. In forming a judgment as to
these questions, attention should be paid to the documents
which were presented at the session ; if anything has been
brought forward against Molina in secret, of which we were
not given a copy so that we might reply to it, such matter
must not be taken into consideration until it has been com-
municated to us, and we have made our reply. 5. When our
replies are examined, the judgment must not be restricted
to generic observations as to Molina, but should state in detail
which of his theses are blameworthy, so that we may know
what to be on our guard against, as well as for other reasons.
6. Anything that is found deserving of censure in Molina,
must also be deleted in those other theologians who hold the
same doctrines.^
To the further reproach, that they were not satisfied with
the judgment of the Roman censors, the Jesuits replied :
I. There are six on the commission who condemn the book,
and two who approve it, and to each of those six we can
oppose a tribunal, a university or a corporation that approves
it. The Portuguese Inquisition has approved the book twice
over, once by a majority of the votes of all the Qualiiicators,
among whom were two Dominicans. The same was done
by the supreme council of state of Castille and that of Aragon,
who based their opinions upon those of the most eminent
theologians. Moreover, the University of Alcala, which
■'■ Point 2, in Astrain, 307 seq.
THE JESUIT MEMORIAL. 339
examined the book with great care for a whole year, approved
it when, by the orders of the Spanish Inquisition, the matter
was discussed before that tribunal. On the same occasion
the book was sent to the University of Siguenza, which is one
of the four principal universities of Spain, and always has at
its command persons of distinction, since canonries are
attached to the professorial chairs ; this university approved
the book, and replied point by point to the objections. In
like manner approval came from Italy, France and the Low
Countries when the work was re-examined there for reprinting,
and an imprimatur given. Moreover it received many
approbations from prelates and doctors, to enumerate whom
would take too long, besides which it is already abundantly
clear from what we have said that the number of those who
approve is greater than that of those who condemn. 2.
Admitting that the judgment of the members of the com-
mission was completely just, yet they had not heard us when
they pronounced judgment the first time, and from that time
onwards we have been compelled in our replies to make
perpetual contradictions. As their reputation, it would seem,
was already compromised, we cannot deny that for that very
reason and from other circumstances as well,^ we must look
upon them as partizans in the question, and, in a certain sense,
in an even greater degree than the Dominicans themselves.
3. The book of Molina is concerned with doctrines of faith
of great importance, which are connected with the most
difficult questions of scholastic theology ; they demand on
the one hand a most complete knowledge of the controversies
with the heretics, and on the other a great familiarity with
the most delicate subtleties of scholasticism. And although
1 The " other circumstances " here alluded to, are more clearly
expressed in the draft of a petition to Clement VIII. " The
majority of the censors were for various reasons biassed in the
matter, and had been selected by Cardinal Bonelli : two of them
were his dependants and belonged to his famiglia : another
belonged to the famiglia of Cardinal Ascoli (a Dominican), while
there were other ties of dependence between them and the
Dominicans." Astratn, 304.
340 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
we look upon the censors as very capable in their profession,
and eminent for their learning, we take it for granted that
they themselves would not deny that they have never before
been forced to studies of this kind, either for the purpose of
printing a book, or for disputations with heretics, or for
teaching, outside their own Order, theses of this kind at any
university. They themselves say that in their day nothing
was known of such questions, and that they were not treated
of ; although, therefore, we look upon them as pious and
learned, it is not going too far if we express our doubts as
to the value of their opinions in such matters. 4. We know
by experience that they have looked upon certain theses as
being Molina's, which he himself looked upon quite otherwise,
and that they have censured others to which they could not
have attached any importance if they had sent a copy of
them to us. 5. We cannot feel satisfied with their judgment
because we see, for example, that they declare a thesis of
Molina's to be Pelagian, which the universities of Alcala,
Bologna and Siguenza hold to be true, and which has been
defended as such by the most learned men of almost all the
Orders of Spain, and the contrary theses to which Bellarmine,
Stapleton and Gregorio de Valencia, who have read so many
of the books of the heretics, and have held disputations
against them, and confuted and written against them, declare
to be a Calvinist error. In like manner, nine universities in
the countries bordering upon those of the heretics have
passed a similar judgment on that thesis.^
When the Jesuits presented this memorial, ClemxCnt VIII.
had already resolved to leave on one side the mass of judg-
ments and opinions upon the dispute. He thought that the
purpose would be more quickly attained if he were to allow
himself to be informed verbally of the reasons in support of
the two controverted opinions by those who themselves
represented them. Thus began the last and most celebrated
phase of the negotiations in Rome : the disputations in the
presence of the Pope.
^ Point 4, in Astrain, 309 seq.
IMPRUDENCE OF THE JESUITS. 34I
The fatality which had hitherto pursued the Jesuits through-
out the whole controversy, seemed destined to follow them
from the opening of the new congregations. An imprudent
act of theirs irritated the Pope against them exceedingly at
the very moment when more than ever his good-will was so
important to them. The occasion for this fresh storm was
afforded by a subtle question of scholastic theology which
had been defended at their college at Alcala on March 7th,
1602.1
If, for example, a Pope has been canonically elected and
recognized by the Church, then according to Catholic principles
it must infallibly be held that he is truly Pope and successor
of St. Peter ; but it is possible to go further and ask : is it
only infallibly certain that such and such a Pope, for example
Clement VIII., is the successor of St. Peter, or is this a truth
of faith revealed by God ? If God has revealed that all men
are descended from Adam, then He has also revealed that
such and such a man is descended from Adam. Thus, in the
phrase, which is certainly revealed : all legitimate Popes are
the successors of the Prince of the Apostles, is there in like
manner contained the other : in Clement VIII. is continued
the true succession of Peter ? On this point theologians are
of different opinions ; some reply in the affirmative, and others
in the negative. The question is of no practical importance ;
no theologians questioned that Clement VIII. was the true
Pope, not even those who could not see in this a revealed
truth in the full sense of the words. ^ Such a question was
1 Eleuthkrius, 333-337; AstrAin, 315-331.
2 This is in accordance with the expression of Ranke (Papste,
II.*, 200 n.) ; " The doctrine which they (the Jesuits) threatened
before Contarini, is that the Pope is indeed infaUible, but that it
is not an article of faith to hold this or that man to be the true
Pope." It is not a question of the Jesuits in general but only of
those of Alcala, and there is certainly no threat to be found in
their doctrine. Perhaps the passage of A. Harnack also refers to
the thesis of Alcala (or to the " threat " of a council ? Cf. infra,
P- 353. n. i) : " Not only did they threaten the Pope and seek
to intimidate him, when it seemed that he was too favourable to
342 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
treated of in the lecture halls as an example by the help of
which certain theses of the doctrine of faith could be explained. ^
The Augustinians, for example, had, on May 7th, 1601,
at Saragossa, maintained the negative view^ without anyone
being disturbed. When in the following July the same theses
had been presented before the University of Alcala by a
professor, Pefia called attention to this in Rome, and asked
for the intervention of the Roman tribunals, without any
steps being taken. ^ It was only when the Jesuits at Alcala
followed the example of the unWersity on March 7th, 1602,
at a public disputation,* that a veritable tempest broke out.
A Dominican stated at a public disputation at Valladolid
that the Jesuits had denied that Clement VIII. was truly
Pope, and that if a Papal sentence was pronounced against
them on the question of grace, they would maintain that they
had not been condemned by a lawful Pope. It was in
this sense that the matter was brought before the Pope
himself.
Clement VIII. was not a theologian, and did not understand
very much about the subtleties of scholasticism. Moreover,
in the Eternal City suspicions were held of the Spaniards,
for which their cesaropapalism and other pretensions against
Rome had afforded abundant reason.^ Clement VIII.
therefore felt violent anger against the Jesuits of Alcala.
Aldobrandini was told to write at once to Ginnasio, to upbraid
him for not having reported this unpleasant incident at
Alcala. If the Inquisition had not already interfered it must
do so at once. The nuncio must then take the matter in hand
with all speed, and he was therefore sent the censure which
the Dominicans, but even the most zealous Papalists shook the
whole system to its foundations." (Lehrbuch der Dogmengesch.
III., Freiburg, 1910, 739).
^ Fuller details e.g. in Christ. Pesch, Praelectiones dogmaticae,
VIII., Freiburg, 1910, n. 272 seqq.
^ AsTRAiN, 321 seq.
" Ibid. 315.
* In general the Jesuits maintained the opposite thesis
" CJ. Vol, XXIII. of this work, p. 195 seq.
ANGER OF THE POPE. 343
Rome had launched " against this bestiality, not to call it
a thesis."^
The Inquisition feared that unless it interfered at once,
the process would be transferred to Rome with the loss of
its own prestige ; it therefore at once caused four Jesuits
to be thrown into prison, namely the student who maintained
the thesis at the disputation, his professor, the rector of the
college, and the celebrated theologian Gabriel Vasquez.^
The nuncio would have liked first of all to have sent to Rome,
as being responsible, the three doctors of Alcala, who were
the predecessors of the Jesuits in their defence of the thesis,
but on May 8th, 1602, the king intervened on their behalf.^
Clement VIII. decided that the cause of the four Jesuits, as
well as that of the three doctors, must be judged in Spain.
But the form in which he wrote this order in his own hand,
on the last page of the letter to Ginnasio, shows once more
the anger with which the events at Alcala had filled him.
" The pride and presumption of these Spaniards in this matter
— for there is no question of inculpating the Italians — is so
great that they dare to write and print new and most perilous
doctrines ; it is therefore necessary that the Inquisition there
should keep its ej^es open . . . How true this is, is shown
by this last act of misconduct, while another proof is to be
found in the obstinacy with which they defend Molina, since
in this matter as well it is not a case of more than four
Spaniards, who spring from God knows what race.* Write
to him (the nuncio) that we are satisfied, on account of the
pressure brought to bear by the king, that the Inquisition
there should examine, not only the cause of the Jesuits, but
also that of those who have been summ.oned to Rome, but
on condition that We are kept informed of what takes place. ^
1 Letter of March 30, 1602, in Astrain, 318.
- Ibid. 319.
* Ibid. 319 seq.
* De la Bastida was of Jewish origin ; the same is asserted of
Molina in the *Annales, composed by Paolo Emilio Santori,
Vallicella Library, Rome, K. 7 seq., 615,
^ AsTKAJN, 320,
344 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
It was not difficult for the accused Jesuits to make clear
before the Spanish Inquisition the mistake of which they
had been the victims. They were able to produce a number
of skilled theologians who taught exactly the same thing. ^
After a month and a half Vasquez and the rector of the Jesuits
were set at full liberty as being innocent ; in the case of the
two others the professed house of the Jesuits at Toledo was
to serve as their prison.^
However serious the situation might be for the Jesuits
there was not wanting a humorous side to the question.^
Among the theologians whom the Jesuits had cited in their
defence was no other than their old adversary Baiies, and
thus the seventy-five year old scholar, after his long struggle
with the Jesuits, found himself entangled in the same net
as themselves. The old scholar had for a long time retired
from his chair and from disputations, but on this occasion
the old lion felt him.self moved once more to enter the lists.
On July 2nd, 1602, at Valladolid, where the court then v/as,
he organized a public disputation, which was to be as brilliant
as possible, in the Church of the Dominicans. The nuncio
and many illustrious gentlemen were present. A thesis was
discussed, which, though it did not recede from his previous
theses, left nothing to be desired in the matter of devotion
to the Roman See.'* He would have liked Spanish to have
been chosen as the language for the discussion, so that the
greatest possible number of persons might be convinced of
his true opinions, but the Constable of Castille to whom he
expressed this wish, drily replied that he preferred Greek,
because in that way even less of the question would be under-
stood. But Bafies was able to repair the loss by delivering
a panegyric on Clement VIII. after the disputation. " Before
God I am speaking the truth," he began, " when I say that I
have read of and seen many holy and good lives of Roman
1 Ibid.
2 Ibid. 322.
' Ibid. 323 seqq.
^ Text of the thesis, ibid. 323.
BANES AND THE POPE. 345
pontiffs, from the time of the Apostles to our own day, but I
have never read of greater hohness and goodness than that
of this Pope, by which I mean to say that Clement VIII.
alwaj's has been, and always wdll be a true representative
of Christ, and successor of the Prince of the Apostles." He
said that this to him was a dogma, that he had always taught
it and looked upon the contrary view as heresy and a shame-
less act of effrontery.^ Then the Constable spoke, and pointed
out that such assertions were superfluous, for no one of those
present had called the authority of the Pope in question.
Banes replied that this v/as true, but that it was necessary
to consolidate those sound sentiments, and that if anyone
should maintain the contrary it ought to be made plain to
all that for such persons there were always judges in Spain to
brand them as heretics. Baiies then wrote to the Pope that
by his disputation he had stamped out a dangerous error,
which on account of the reputation of its supporters might
have spread throughout the world, and begged him at the
same time to decide the dispute on grace by a pontifical
sentence.^ The Trinitarian Zumel also held a similar disputa-
tion with his old friend Banes, and wrote an account of it to
Rome, receiving, in accordance with the usage of the Curia,
a eulogistic reply, as did Bafies himself.^ Naturally the
Jesuits could not now be left behind. On July loth, 1602,
they also prepared a disputation at Valladolid, in which they
endeavoured to give satisfaction to the offended Pope ; this
they could do all the more easily in that probably the greater
number of them did not share the opinions of their brethren
at Alcala. They allowed themselves to say, however, without
1 " Disse di N.S. molte lodi, tra le quali la prima fu, que delante
de Dies que yo diga la verdad, disse egli, che dagli Apostoli in
qua ha letto e visto molte vita di Pontifici Romani sante e buone,
ma maggiore santita, ne bonta di qiiella di questo Papa non I'ha
giammai letta, ne vista, ne intesa dire." Ginnasio in AstrAin,
loc. cit.
^ Ibid. 325 ; ScoRRAiLi.E, I., 440.
* AstrAin, 325 seq. The brief of March 10, 1603, in Serry^
287.
346 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
naming Banes, that the thesis recently maintained by a
Dominican theologian was not altogether satisfactory.^
The nuncio, who was not a theologian, and had not a
sufficient knowledge of the state of the question, made a report
to Rome concerning the Jesuit disputation, but in rather
frigid terms. On the other hand he zealously supported at
the Inquisition the condemnation of the culprits of Alcala.
The tribunal of the faith thus found itself in a position
of much embarrassment ; it understood perfectly well that
there were no grounds for a condemnation, but on the other
hand had to take into account the irritation of the Pope
and the pressure of the nuncio. At length, in September,
1602, the sentenced was pronounced, which, however, was
not published until the summer of 1603.2 This was an
acquittal, though an exhortation and admonition were to be
addressed to the accused,^ that is to say an exhortation to
greater prudence, and an admonition for the imprudence
already committed.
In the meantime the indignation of Clement VIII. had
evaporated. Cardinal Aldobrandini wrote on April 12th,
1603, to the nuncio in Spain that the great accumulation of
papers and opinions on the theses of Alcala had been laid
aside, together with the question itself. Clement VIII.
had thus discovered that, notwithstanding the thesis of
Alcala, no one thought of calling his authority and dignity
as Pope in question.
Nevertheless, all this presaged ill for the subsequent
development of the controversies on grace.
The misapprehensions of the Pope had shown, clearly
enough, that he had no profound dogmatic knowledge. Indeed,
it is not even certain that he had ever studied dogmatics. In
his youth he had attended the University of Bologna, but
the students who intended to devote themselves to the service
1 AstrAin, 326.
" Ibid. 327 seqq.
^ ■■ Liberatoria, facta priup illis monitione seu correctione."
Jbid. 331,
DISPUTATIONS BEFORE THE POPE. 347
of the Curia studied canon law, nor is there anything to show
that young Aldobrandini was an exception. ^ Yet now
Clement VIII. intended to preside in person at the congrega-
tions at which the most thorny questions of dogmatic theology
were to be treated of. In spite of his age he plunged eagerly
into the study of theology, read far into the night, laboured
and attended disputations, so that Cardinal Pierbenedetti
laughingly remarked that in his old age he had changed from
a jurist into a theologian.^ He thought that in this way,
and by Hstening to the discussions, he would attain to that
clearness of view which was necessary in order to formulate
a dogmatic judgment ; in this matter he acted rather as a
private individual who wanted thoroughly to understand a
scientific question, than as a Pope who was preparing to make
a dogmatic definition.
The new series of disputations began on March 20th, 1602.
There were assembled in the Pope's apartments his closest
advisers, Cardinals Pompeo Arigoni and Camillo Borghese,
besides the members of the commission who had already four
times spoken in condemnation of Molina, and who were now
reinforced by four more consultors. Lastly there were the
two Generals of the Orders and the theologians chosen by
them ; the General of the Dominicans, Girolamo Javieres,
was again accompanied by Diego Alvarez ; the General of
the Jesuits brought with him as his theologian Gregory of
Valencia.
The discussions which now began followed exactly the same
course as that which had previously had so little result. This
time again the first place was not given to the dogmatic thesis
■ — in what does efficacious grace consist — but to Molina's
book. This time, in examining the book, they did not even
^ Ibid. 332.
2 *Ipse (Clement VIIT.) efferventissime vigiliis, laboribus et
IJbris incubare, disputationibus adesse, quaestiones invehere,
disputare, sibi non parcere, atque, ut Perbenedictus ioco dicere
solebat, ex iurisperito repente in senecta theologus evaserat
'Annates of P. E. Santori, Vallicella Library, Rome, K 7 seq.,
615b). Cf. CouDERc, I., 346, 352.
348 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
confine themselves to the principal question, whether Molina
was right in rejecting physical predetermination, and intro-
ducing in its stead the " scientia media " of God, but it was
once more asked whether there were to be found in the disputed
book theses which would justify its condemnation. Moreover,
in the examination of the theses of Molina, the most difficult
course was followed, namely their comparison with the doctrine
of St. Augustine. Undoubtedly St. Augustine is looked upon
by the Catholic Church as being par excellence the master
of the doctrine of grace. But he often speaks with certain
presuppositions, and refers to conditions which were well
known and familiar to his first readers, but which cannot be
understood by posterity, except by painful scientific study.
Therefore he is not easy to understand in all particulars, and
in the course of the history of the Church has given rise to
many misunderstandings.
It was therefore easy to see that the disputations would be
very long protracted, when, a few weeks after the opening
congregation the Pope proposed as the subject of the next
discussions the two questions : did Augustine or Molina
attribute greater force for good to the free will, and was the
thesis of Molina that God gives man His grace while he is
doing what is within the reach of his natural powers,^ to be
found in Augustine, or was it at anyrate in accordance with
his spirit, and recognized by him as a universal law of the
order of grace. The first of these theses proposed by the
Pope was treated of in eight congregations. The question
was discussed whether man is capable of performing by his
purely natural powers, without the help of grace, things
that are naturally good, and whether he can do so even in
difficult circumstances, for example, if he had to choose
between death and sin ; also whether man is capable of
assenting by his natural powers to the truths of faith, and
whether he is capable by his purely natural powers of aspiring
to faith and to supernatural help, of asking both from God,
and of disposing himself to receive them. Then came the
^ jEi.EUTHERius, 341 ; AstrAin, 337.
DISPUTATIONS BEFORE THE POPE. 349
question : what is the part taken by the free will in receiving
grace and in increasing it, and whether the free will is sufficient
to arouse repentance for the love of God, or in general any act
of the love of God which is purely natural, or to resist
temptations. At the ninth congregation, on September 30th,
1602, the second of the questions originally proposed was
arrived at. So far what had been always done was to first
establish the doctrine of Augustine as to all these points,
then that of Molina, and then to compare the two opinions.
At the tenth congregation Augustine was abandoned, and
until January 1603, that is to say for seven whole months,
the doctrine of Molina was compared with that of Cassian,^
who is suspect of semi-Pelagianism without scholars having
come to an agreement on the question down to the present
day. Then the doctrine of Molina as to contrition and
attrition, in accordance with the decrees of the Council of
Trent, was examined,^ after which a return was made to
Augustine, in order to discover a contradiction between him
and Molina. In this way question succeeded question, and
month after month went by, without any decision being come
to. It seemed as though the principal question was being
almost purposely evaded. The physical predetermination of
the Dominicans almost disappeared from the scene during
the discussions ; only three congregations concerned them-
selves with the " scientia media " of Molina, and these were
the only ones during the whole of the year 1604 which were
of any importance for the true point of the controvers}^
Then the matter was again allowed to lapse, and on January
4th, 1603, the question of eternal predestination was dealt with.
Another congregation was fixed for February 12th, but by
then Clement VIII. had already been seized by the malady
from which he never recovered.
Each of these congregations lasted for several hours. At
the very first Alvarez and Valencia disputed for a full four
hours ; the Avvisi of July 27th, 1602, relate that the dis-
^ AsTRAiN, 347 seq.
2 Ibid. 348.
350 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
putation lasted uninterruptedly for seven hours on end.^
After the discussion by the theologians, as at first arranged,
the Cardinals and consultors were at once to pronounce their
judgment upon what had been said. From the eighth
congregation onwards the discussions b}^ the Cardinals and
consultors were separated from the disputation by the
theologians, and transferred to one of the following days.
This explains how it is that the number of the congregations
is differently stated. Of the meetings, 68 took place under
Clement VIII. ; at 37 of these the theologians disputed, while
the Cardinals and consultors deliberated at the others. The
total number of congregations under Clement VIII. and
Paul V. was no less than 85.^ If the method so far adopted
had been continued, such congregations could have carried
on for years to come without arriving at any conclusion.
That this method was a mistake was pointed out to the Pope
with great frankness by Cardinal Bellarmine. He frequently
told the Pope not to deceive himself, and said that, as he was
not a theologian, he must not suppose that he would be able
by his own studies to penetrate so obscure a question.^ At
the end of 1601 or at the beginning of 1602, Bellarmine
addressed a letter to Clement VIII.* in which he gives him
information about Pelagius, and then implores the Pope to
free the Church from the scandal of the dispute about grace
as soon as possible, to restore unity, and to deprive the
^ *Urb. 1070, Vatican Library.
* AstrAin, 344. ScoRRAiLLE (I., 438) counts 70 Congregations
under Clement VIII., 39 for disputations, and 31 for the corres-
ponding deliberations ; under Paul V. he counts 1 1 disputations
of the theologians and 8 deliberations of the consultors, in all
therefore 89 congregations.
* " Ipse tamen N. saepe admonuit Pontificem, ut caveret
fraudem, et non putaret, se studio proprio, cum theologus non
esset, posse ad intelligentiam rei obscurissimae pervenire."
Autobiografia, 465.
* Original text in Le Bachelet, Auctarium, 143-147, and
DoLLiNGER, Beitrage, III., 83-87 ; extract in Serry, 271-273 ;
Lammer, Melet., 382.
bellarmine's letter to the pope. 351
heretics of the opportunity of rejoicing at the discord among
the Catholics. " And if it be lawful for me on a matter of
such importance to say what I think as a Cardinal appointed
by Your Holiness, and as your faithful servant, then I pray
you to consider that the way which had been adopted had
been shown to be very long and very fatiguing for Your
Holiness." The direct way is not that of secret discussions
with a few persons, but that of public discussions, and there
would be scandal if a decision were to be made without public
discussion. If a public discussion by a synod of bishops, or
at any rate by an assembly of the doctors of the various
universities, cannot be avoided, it should be summoned before
the Pope has read all that he has set himself to read. Previous
Popes, in matters of dogmatic decisions, have not relied
principally upon their own study of dogmatics, but upon the
general conviction of the Church, and especially of the bishops
and doctors ; in this way, without personal fatigue, Luther,
for example, was condemned by Leo X., and many errors
by Paul HL, Julius HL, and Pius IV. with the assistance of
the Council of Trent. The other method, that of personal
scientific study, was attempted, for example, by John XXII.,
but without result, and " Your Holiness is faced by the danger
to which Sixtus V. exposed himself and the whole Church
when he set himself to correct the Holy Scriptures in accord-
ance with his own views ; I do not know that it ever passed
through a greater danger." There were two ways to put an
end to the dispute on grace ; either to impose silence on both
parties, or to convoke a synod of bishops or of chosen scholars
from all the Catholic universities. But above all Bellarmine
asked that, until a definite judgment was given, the mouths
of those should be closed who went about spreading the
rumour that the Pope had already formed his own convictions,
that he leaned towards one of the parties, and was ill-disposed
towards the other, for otherwise no one would any longer dare
to express his own opinion.
For a long time Bellarmine had been held in high esteem
by Clement VIII., and when he was made a Cardinal^ the
^ AsiRAiN, 270.
352 HISTORY OF THE POPES,
Pope said that the Church had no one to equal him in learning.
As long as the influence of the Jesuit Cardinal lasted, the Pope
was favourable to the doctrine of grace of the Society of Jesus,
which he openly called, when talking with him " Our
opinion "^ ; but not later than April, 1600, when he ordered
the examination of Molina's book, Clement VIII. had become
subject to other influences, and altogether took the side of
the Dominicans. The whole course and result of the con-
gregations on the doctrine of grace show this. The choice
of the subject to be discussed was entirely in accordance
with the wishes of the Dominicans ; the Jesuits, on the
other hand, were forced against their will to defend Molina's
book in all its theses, and never were able to obtain their
desire to see physical predetermination brought under
discussion.
Clement VIII., against the advice of Bellarmine, never made
a secret of his own leanings. The Roman weekly news-sheet
of March 23rd, 1602, says that he declared openly against the
Jesuits ;2 a few months later it reported that he had openly
^ Autobiografia, 465 : " Sententiam Societatis Papa vocabat
sententiam Nostram."
2 *Avviso of March 23, 1602 (Urb. 1070, Vatican Library) :
This week the Pope held a congregation of Cardinals and theolo-
gians about the controversy on grace " at ci fu gran disbattere at
portare de libri hinc inde, in niodo che S.S. risolve tener anco due
altre congregationi, ove vuole che intervanghino anco li cardenali
et prelati del Concilio, e poi sapirla, et gia si vede rinclinatione,
anzi S.S. si lascia intendcre apertamente, che va contra Jesuitas,
ma ci e dubbio, clia questi vegiino et dimandino un Concilio, et
che ci sara di fare, ma in tanto il P. Monopoli la predica publica-
mente contro di loro." Bellarmine had actually suggested to
the Pope that the convocation of a council would be the proper
way to decide the controversy (Vol. XXIII., p. 358). There are,
however no proofs of what certain people assert (Serry, 270 seq.,
and following him, Ran\'e, Papsta, II.*, 200), namely that the
Jesuits wished to obtain a council against the will of the Pope,
and that they asked this in order to deny the infallibility of the
Pope. Cf. L. DE. Meyere, 289.
A DECISION IS IMMINENT. 353
declared himself against them.^ The Papal preacher of the
Apostolic Palace, Anselmo Marzato of the Capuchin Order,
who was one of the consultors at the congregations on the
doctrine of grace, openly took the part of the Dominicans
against the Jesuits in his conferences j^ in January 1603, in
the Pope's presence he expressed himself in such a way that
the coming condemnation of the Jesuits seemed to be
heralded.^ In July 1602 Clement VIII. distributed large
alms to obtain the assistance of God in an important matter,
and the decision as to the doctrine of grace seemed to be
imminent.^ When the Pope paid a visit to the Jesuits on
February loth, 1603, he was given a present of some oil from
the Indies. He asked whether Extreme Unction should be
given with this to the Dominicans or the Jesuits. He then
paid a visit to the Friars Preachers, and sent them some food
from his own table, in order to show that the Jesuits had not
affected him by their Indian oil.^
Clement VIII. undoubtedly had the intention of putting
an end to the controversy between the two Orders by means
of a dogmatic decision, but he was too conscientious to do
anything hastily in the matter, and a condemnation of
Molina seemed to become more and more impossible. It was
reported again and again that the Papal decision was
imminent, but those who looked more deeply into the question
1 *Avviso of July 27, 1602 (Urb. 1070, Vatican Library) : At
the congregation of this week seven hoars of uninterrupted
disputation about Molina " et fina]nieiite S.B. disse che
unusquisque abundet in scnsu (Rom. xiv. 5), seben per Roma
si dice pubblicamente, che hal)bia dichiarata contra Jesuitas."
The *Avviso of August 3 (ibid.) reports : "Si crede secundo
dicono tutti che andra contra li Jesuiti, li quali pero si aiutano
quanto possono, ma pur si quieteranno, come si sono quietati del
decreto fatto, che non si possa confessare per epistolam, come
essi tenevano."
2 *Avvisi of March 9 and 23, 1602, Urb. 1070, Vatican Library.
3 *Avviso of January 8, 1603, Urb. 1071, ibid.
* *Avviso of July 31, 1602, Urb. 1070, ibid.
* *Avviso ol February 15, 1603, Urb. 1071, ibid.
VOL. XXIV. 23
354 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
did not allow themselves to be deceived by such rumours.
At the beginning of 1602 Bellarmine had gone so far as to
tell the Pope that His Holiness would never give a dogmatic
decision on the question, and he had remained fixed in his
opinion, in spite of the assurances of the Pope to the contrary.^
Clement VHI. was not a little disturbed by the apparent
obstinacy of the Cardinal, and gave him a severe admonition. ^
But Bellarmine knew well enough what he was saying.
Molina in his book had always connected his theses with the
traditions of the past ; it was imipossible to condemn any
of his assertions without at the same time involving a number
of other illustrious theologians ; the Dominicans would have
to allow their own theologians to be involved if they v/ished
to obtain the condemnation of Molina. Bellarmine had
written in this sense to the Spanish Jesuits,^ and the celebrated
Jesuit theologian, Gabriel Vasquez, had spoken to the same
effect.^ The remonstrances of Bellarmine had no other effect
than to cause the Pope to appoint him Archbishop of Capua,
and thus remove him from Rome.^
^ Autobiografia, 465 : " apeite ille praedixit, a Sanctitate sua
quaestionem illam non esse definiendam ; at cum ille replicaret
se definiturum, respondit N. : Sanctitas vestra non earn definiet."
^ Pena, Diarium, in Astraiin, 340.
3 Bellarmine to Padilla, March 9, 1601, in Scouraille, 1., 421.
* Vasquez to De Hojeda, Alcala, June 20, '1601, ibid. 421 n.
^ Cf. CouDERC, 341 seq. \\'e may also make mention of other
motives for the tension between the Pope and the Cardinal.
*Ceterum Pontifex suique in arcanu infensi Bellarmino cense-
bantur, quod cum Parmensi nuptias, quod amplissiman dotem
et pauperum patrimonium inter nuptialia instrumenta distributum
improbasset. . . . Aperte ambitionem atque in maritanda tarn
praeclare pronepte elationem animi improbavit, et crebris
principem schedulis exaratis de anim.ae salute common uerat,
Baronii misertus, quod principi a sacris confessionibus, multa
reticeret, — nam ita lussum sibi faisse mihi atfirmabat — , quae ad
publicam utilitatem deferri oportebat. Horum princeps hand
inscius . . . dissimulata in Bellarminum iracundia, lesuitas
acriter agitare, tan to \dolentior Sixto, quanto honestior premendi
species videbatui [in the controversy on grace]. . . . Behar-
ANXIETY AS TO THE DECISION. 355
The view of Bellarmine and of a few others, who were
especially well versed in the matter, was not, however, that
of the great majority. All Europe was impatiently awaiting
the issue of the controversy. Even the Protestants eagerly
gave ear to the rumours that were constantly being spread
that Molina had already been condemned. Scribani, the
rector of the Jesuits, wrote from Antwerp,^ " I can find no
words to describe the expressions of joy with which this news
has been received by the heretics of our city. Some of them
have gone so far as to congratulate themselves that the view
of Calvin as to free will has at last been recognized as true,
and that the Papists who were formerly so proud of their
unity, now find themselves at issue as to the principal dogmas
of faith." Scribani does not hesitate to say that such a
condemnation would be a graver blow to the Catholic religion
in Flanders than the long and bloody years of the civil wars.
The Catholics were living in a state of fear, and were miserably
depressed by the rumours which were being spread in Holland,
and which would provide an opportunity for a flood of libels
against the Catholics at the coming fair.
These rumours, which continued to be spread, were a sore
trial to the whole Society of Jesus ; the reputation of their
teaching and their schools were bound to suffer grievous
injury on their account. The very fact that the Order had
had to sacrifice some of its most distinguished scholars for
the absolutely sterile work of the congregations on the doctrine
of grace, was in itself no small loss. Gregory of Valencia,
minuni Capuano archiepiscopatu demulsum specie honoris Urbe
amolitus, donee in vivis egit, rcgredi non est passus. [the dispute
on grace], totius Europae academiis in factiones distractis
Apostolico Dominicanis aequioie et lesuitarum opiniones pre-
mente. . . . Et cum in arcane odisset, illorum disciplinas atque
instituta palani laudare. [In view of the attitude of John XXII.
the Jesuits had no doubt as to the issue] nee aliter permissuruni
Deum credere, ieiuniis et precibus dediti ad averruncandani in se,
quamquam occultaretur, in se principis iram. Santorii Annales,
Vallicella Library, Rome, K 7 seq., 615 seq.
1 March 16, 1602, in Scorraille, I., 441.
356 HISTORY OF THE POPES,
who was first appointed to defend their cause there, fell
seriously ill after the first eight congregations. His recovery
was awaited for a month, and then he was replaced by
Pedro di Arrubal. Valencia died soon afterwards, on
March 26th, 1603, the victim, it was supposed, of the excessive
work which he had had to undergo during the hottest months
of the summer, with the oppressive feeling that the whole
honour of the Order depended upon him.^ His successor,
too, Arrubal, was taken ill in June 1603^ ; after four months
respite in the disputations, his place was taken by Ferdinando
de la Bastida. After the latter had had to carry on the
disputations at three congregations in the fourteen days
between November loth and 25th, 1603, it was only on
December ist that he received information of the subject
that he was to defend on December 8th, and poured out his
grievance to the Pope in a letter^ that was somewhat excited.
In this he said that even if he were able to study uninter-
ruptedly day and night he would not have time to prepare
so difficult a subject, in view of this hasty procedure. Nor
was the hint lacking that the Dominicans wished to wear out
their adversaries and prevent them from preparing themselves
as they should. The Pope should not permit him to lose his
health and his life by such excessive labour.
The Dominicans too replaced the defender of their cause,
immediately after the first congregation, by Tommaso de
Lemos. The reasons for this change are not known ; it is
only known that at the end of the session silence was imposed
under pain of excommunication, and that according to
De Lemos the Jesuits were satisfied with the reuslt of the
disputation. De Lemos, who is described as a man of great
physical robustness, lasted until the end of the congregations,^
although, in spite of all remonstrances, these were very long
drawn out.
1 AsTRAiN, 345.
- Ihid. 348.
^ Ihid. 351 seq.
* Ihid. 337.
THE REQUEST BY SPAIN. 357
The pressure which was brought to bear on the Pope by
the Spanish government to hasten the discussions was
especially importunate. Philip II. had already addressed
himself to Rome for this purpose ; his son, although he knew
nothing about the controverted matter, signed, under the
pressure of those interested, a whole series of similar letters,
both to the Pope and the ambassador in Rome,^ even before
the congregations in the presence of the Pope had been begun.
De la Bastida hinted, in the letter already mentioned, that
the king was acting under the influence of the Dominicans,
but there are also to be found edicts of the king to his
ambassador which can only have been inspired by the Jesuits.
Thus a royal order to the Duke of Sessa, of June 2nd, 1600,
contains a command to present to the Pope, in the king's
name, a request that he will first direct the examination to
the question of doctrine, and only then examine in the same
way, both the suspected books, that of Bafies equally with
that of Molina. 2 The Duke of Sessa wrote on July 12th,
1601, that so far there had been no talk of the principal point,
and that all that had been dealt with was the work of Molina,
its correction and its condemnation. According to the
assertion of the Dominicans, the whole discussion would come
to an end if certain theses of Molina's were condemned ; the
Jesuits were defending these theses, but asserted that the
controversy which the Pope should decide was not principally
concerned with these. ^ Such expressions obviously revealed
the point of view of the Jesuits. Duke William of Bavaria
and the widow of the Emperor Maximilian II. also intervened
on behalf of the Jesuits, but the Pope rather angrily replied :
" We are convinced," he wrote to the Duke of Bavaria,
" that your intercession can be traced to certain people who
would comply better with their office and their duty if they
1 AsTRAiN (349 seq.) mentions the letters of Philip III. of the
year 1600 : Vise February 29, Cercedilla, June 2, Medina del
Campo, July 21 ; in the year 1601 the letters of the Duke of
Sessa of July 12 and December 3, etc. Cf. Couderc, I., 360 seq.
' AstrAin, 349.
^ Ibid.
35S HISTORY OF THE POPES.
paid attention with humility and submission to the judgment
of the Holy See, instead of seeking for such intercession. "^
He wrote in the same sense to the Archduchess Maria. ^
Throughout the whole of this matter Clement VHI.
preserved a holy gravity. When at the opening of the first
congregation he recited on his knees aloud a praj^er to the
Holy Ghost, it was to be seen that he was deeply moved, and
the tears flowed from his eyes. He celebrated mass before
each congregation, or at any rate received Holy Communion
if his gout did not permit of his doing so.^ During the summer
months of 1602, which were oppressively hot, he took part
like the others at the wearisome sessions which lasted for
hours, and not even in the October of that year would he
leave Rome, so as not to be absent from the heated con-
troversy.^ He assured the Spanish ambassador, when the
latter urged him to take more care of himself, that he was
working and toiling to the best of his ability, in order to get
to the bottom of the matter.^ Some marginal notes and
underlined words in a printed copy of the book of Molina,
preserved at Tortosa, prove that he had at any rate attempted
to make a profound study of the not easily to be understood
work.^
1 In ScoRRAiLLE, I., 422 seq.
2 August 20, 1601, in Archiv. f. osterr. Gesch., XV. (1856), 233.
The University of Wtirzburg in a letter of July 7, 1601, to the
Pope regretted the report that certain Catholic theologians were
teaching that physical predetermination to which the will cannot
refuse its consent, and it feared that on account of this assertion
the heretics would become more obstinate in their errors.
(RuLAND, Series professorum theologiae Wirceburgensium (1835),
258 seq. The Duke of Sessa also said on February 28, 1603 (in
CouDERC, L, 362) that the Protestants were exploiting the
controversy against the Jesuits.
8 ScoRRAiLLE, I., 431 seq.
-I *Avviso of October 9, 1602, Urb. 1070, Vatican Library.
* Sessa, December 3, 1602, in Astrain, 350.
« Ibid. 354 seq. For the small copy of MoUna, belonging to
Clement VIII., with autograph notes by the Pope, see Razon y Fe,
XXIV. (1909), 183-194.
THE MISTAKE OF CLEMENT VIII. 359
If in spite of all this he did not succeed in settling the
controversy between the two Orders, the fault must be
attributed to those about him. Not being himself a theologian,
he had to trust to the advice of others, and he was badly
advised. Above all, the way which he chose for the solution
of the controversy was quite unusual, and never before
attempted. Previous Popes had left the judgment on literary
works either to the Inquisition or to the Congregation of the
Index, and then considered their judgment with full confidence.
But now an unheard of thing happened ; a special congre-
gation was appointed of which the Pope held the presidency
in person. The disputations were indefinitely protracted,
and all to ascertain whether a book contained heretical theses
or not. For a thousand years no such unheard of honour
had been accorded to any author. Peace between the
Dominicans and Jesuits could be restored by the condemnation
of Molina, yet the learned and careful theologian could not
be convicted of heretical thesis. Certain Jesuits, for
example Bellarmine, were not in agreement with Molina as
to all his theses, but it is one thing to hold a thesis to be
mistaken or inexact, and quite another to hold it to be heretical
and deserving of theological censure, and the congregations
held in the presence of Clement VIII. finally justified Molina
in this respect. Moreover, it was certainly a mistake to
suppose that peace would be restored between the two Orders
by the condemnation of certain theses of Molina. If this end
was to be attained by means of a dogmatic decision, the
principal question which was dividing the Order of Preachers
and the Society of Jesus would have to be directly dealt with.
But this was entirely set aside. The " scientia media " of
Molina was only briefly dealt with in comparison with other
questions of minor importance ; " physical predetermination "
was hardly discussed at all. The dispute turned always on
secondary questions, while the burning principal question was
entirely neglected. Lastly, it may be asked whether it was
fair morally to force the Jesuits to defend Molina and his
book ; they always clung firmly to the point of view that the
whole Society of Jesus as such could not be held responsible
360 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
for every thesis of Molina. Nevertheless circumstances had
worked together to embitter the quarrel in such a way that
a condemnation of Molina would have been looked upon as
a defeat of the whole Jesuit Order, and as a proof of its
scientific incapacity. The Jesuits therefore, whether they
willed or not, had to resolve upon the defence of Molina if
only to prevent a mortal blow against themselves. From
the beginning the two Orders were not treated on equal
terms. The Dominicans were allowed to come forward
as the " defenders of the doctrine of grace," and as
the accusers, while the Jesuits had to take their place
on the bench of the accused ; thus the Pope put himself
into a position which, after the end of the matter, proved
a false one.
" Pope Clement " so judged his successor Paul V.,
" regretted that he had allowed himself to be engulfed in this
business, and that after many years of disputations he could
find no way of coming out of it well."^ It could not have
been otherwise, once he had allowed himself to be led into the
mistake of making Molina's book the centre of the discussions.
It would seem, however, that towards the end of his days,
Clement VIII. regarded the opinion of the Jesuits more kindly
when there came to Rome Cardinal du Perron, after Bellar-
mine and Stapleton the greatest controversial theologian
against Protestantism, who said to him that all the Calvinists
and Lutherans in France and Germany would hold jubilee
over the condemnation of the opinion of the Jesuits, and
would see in it an acceptance of their own doctrine of free will.^
^ " Che Papa Clemen te era pentito d'esseri ingolfato in questo
negozio, et che dope molti et molti anni di dispute non trovava
il verso d'uscirne bene." Schneemann, 296 ; Scorraille, I.,
445-
2 Scorraille, I., 443. Bellarmine says in a reply to a letter
of Du Perron of February 10, 1605 : Rendo ancora a Die
Benedetto molte grazie, che abbia fatto venire a Roma in tempore
della controversia de auxiliis la persona di V. S. 111™^ perche se
bene io piu volte ho fatto sapere a N. S. quanto sia vicina al
Calvinismo I'opinione della fiscia predeterminatione, e come e
DEATH OF BANES. 361
Thus the failure of the Pope in this difficult matter seemed
to be inevitable and bej^ond doubt. In spite of this, from
another point of view, Clement is deserving of every
admiration. It is impossible not to realize his zeal to free
the Church from a troublesome disunion, nor the conscientious-
ness and perseverance with which he took upon his own
shoulders the crushing burden of personal attendance at
the congregations, nor the self-control which never suffered
him to take an}^ mistaken action of importance against the
Jesuits, in spite of his distrust of them, nor his sincere desire
to arrive at the truth. If with all this it was not granted
him to gather the harvest of his labours, he at anyrate has
the credit of having smoothed the way for his successor to a
happy solution of the question.
Both the scholars whose controversy had laid such a heavy
burden on the head of the Church preceded Clement VIII.
to the grave. Banes died on October 21st, 1604, at Medina
del Campo. It is said that a short time before he breathed
his last he protested that he believed all that he had written
concerning the question of grace as firmly as he believed in
the unity and trinity of God, but that he submitted everything
to the judgment of the Pope and the Church.^ If Bafies
really said this he has in so doing given a further proof that
his undoubtedly great intellect often allowed itself to be
guided more by his strong will than by the conviction of proof,
abborita dalla maggior parte delle Universita cattoliche, massime
da quelle, che stanno a f rente degli eretici : nondimeno la parte
contraria ha procurato, che non mi sia data plena fade per essere
Gesuita, e per conseguenza interessato. Ma in V. S. 111. non si
puo trovare eccezione alcuna essendo note a tutti, como Lei
puo giudicare meglio di qualsivoglia altro di questa controversia
e non ci ha altro interesse che della verita e fede cattolica : siche
Iddio I'ha niandata, accio le passioni de molti altri e remulazione,
che hanno coUe Gesuiti, non faccia intorbidare la verita in cosa di
tanto memento (Laemmer, Meletemata, 382). Du Perron was a
" buona lancia " for the Jesuits, wrote later on, on September 7,
Canon Gualdo to Peiresc (Prat, Coton V., 243).
^ SCORRAILLE, I., 445 seq.
362 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
since neither Dominican nor Jesuit could place his view on
the controversy about grace on the same level as the great
truths of faith.
Four years earlier, on October 12th, 1600, there preceded
him to the grave the man against whom Baiies had in life
carried on a struggle so long, and as the event proved, so
unjust. Molina was without doubt one of the most acute
minds of his time, a time so rich in great theologians. But
with all this he was not one of those who immerse themselves
in the world of their own ideas without heeding the course
of events around them ; the star which had guided him in
his scientific labours was always, in his eyes, the welfare of
the Church. Just as his work on grace and liberty aimed at
finding a foundation for a solid solution of a difficulty that
was then very popular,^ so the voluminous book to which he
devoted the labours of his latter years aimed at providing a
solid scientific basis for the decisions of the confessor and the
parish priest, dealing in six volumes with the questions of
canon law and justice. As they did in learning, so did Baiies
and Molina stand at opposite poles in character ; Baiies the
head of a school, as it were predestined to gather others round
him, to imbue them with his ideas, and fill them with enthus-
iasm for difficult undertakings ; Molina, working in silence,
as a man a picture of non-resistance, as a religious as
submissive as a child to his superiors in spite of his great
learning, yet a man according to the spirit of Thomas a Kempis,
whose Imitation of Christ he read every day. In his last
illness he no longer interested himself in scientific questions ;
when his superior asked him concerning his still unpublished
books he repHed that the Society of Jesus might do as it liked
with them. His life was filled with disputes and attacks,
but he always maintained peace of soul, in the firm conviction
that he had truth on his side. A kindly star seemed to shine
over his life, for however desperate his cause might havQ
seemed, in the end it turned steadily in his favour, ^
^ See supra, p. 284.
2 SCORRAILLE, I., 433 seqq.
THE CONTROVERSY CONTINUES. 363
The controversy between the two Orders did not end with
the death of the two leaders, and the Roman discussions
had on the contrary embittered and indefinitely prolonged
the struggle ; but we must be careful not to attribute this
unhappy result only to the imprudent impetuosity of Banes.
The struggle between the older and the younger Order took
its origin in the circumstances of the time and was difficult
to avoid.
Throughout their course of action the Jesuits were inspired
by the conviction that a new age had begun, and had brought
with it new requirements, and that it was not enough merely
to follow in all things the ways that had been trodden a
thousand times. Always in contact with tradition, and no
less than the others, mindful of the spirit of the Church,
wherever they saw their opportunity they sought for new
methods, both at home in the exercise of the ministry, and
in the foreign missions, as well as in science. Even though at
times this aim led to misunderstandings, yet their efforts
proved of great advantage to the Church. The result of their
labours in the field of learning was the development of ascetic
and moral theology, of apologetics against Protestantism, a
new manner of treating of the whole field of dogmatics, and
of Christian philosophy in accordance with the exigencies of
the times, together with vast labours on the Holy Scriptures.
But it was inevitable that their whole tendency, and their
attention to the needs of the times, which had been manifested
during the first ten years of their Order, should arouse
suspicion among those who, by the whole of their glorious
past, found themselves bound to the maintenance of those
forms in which they had hitherto moved, and by
means of which they had acquired their reputation in
the Church.
Some of this party watched with anxiety the actions of the
young Order w^hich was springing up so lustily ; its proceedings
seemed to them not to be free from an innovating and anti-
ecclesiastical spirit, and they felt themselves called upon to
apply a barrier. With his incomparable perspicacity Ignatius
of Loyola had foreseen the future development of events in
364 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
this respect, exhorting his sons at every opportunity^ carefully
to try and avoid as far as possible all conflict with the friars
and monks ; but it was not possible to do so altogether. Not
to do so might even be of use to the Church, in that the two
tendencies, that which aimed at going forward and that
which sought to hold it back, it might be saved by the very
struggle from remaining one-sided.
Molina did nothing more than to let loose the storm of
indignation which had been gathering for a long time past.
It must be admitted that in his new setting forth of the most
ancient ideas he did some extraordinary things, and in
subsidiary matters went a little too far, even in the opinion
of Bellarmine. In his overpowering zeal and in perfect faith,
such a man as Baiies might well suppose that the precious
inheritance of traditional theology was threatened by him.
After the question had been transferred to Rome, probably
contrary to the intention or expectation of Bafies, the
opposition to Molina — precisely because of the long duration
of a struggle which was fought out in the highest places and
in sight of all the world — became more and more a point of
honour for the whole Order, and the final result was that
what had never been so hitherto, as far as can be discovered,
was raised to the dignity of a doctrine of the Order.
From what was said at the chapter-general, where the
whole Order was officially represented, it is quite clear that
not all Dominicans as a whole were animated by sentiments
of hostility towards their younger colleague and rival.
Immediately after the first flashes of the dispute about grace,
when the incitements of an xA.vendafio were fresh in men's
minds, such an assembly was held at Valencia in 1596. The
conciliatory attempts which, at the suggestion of Aquaviva,
were then undertaken by the Dominicans and Jesuits, were
so to say crowned by an express order from the chapter-
^ Ribadeneira in Monumenta Ignatiana, Ser. 4, Vol. I., 434.
Out of consideration for the Dominicans he would not even have
the Immaculate Conception included among the theses to be
defended in public. Ibid,
EXHORTATIONS TO CHARITY. 365
general in favour of the Jesuits. This states^ " We exhort
in the Lord all the brethren of our Order to embrace in sincere
and fraternal affection all those religious with whom we ought
to be striving for the same end, and in particular those who
are labouring without ceasing in the midst of others for the
defence of the faith and salvation of souls, namely the Fathers
of the Society of Jesus, whom with the others we warmly
recommend to you. We desire that they should have evidence
in your deeds of the affection and charity of your hearts,
that you should be at their disposal wherever you can, and
that you should not give offence to them in any way, either
in word or deed." Those who act in any other way will be
punished.
This exhortation was repeated by the chapters-general
in Rome in the years 1644 and 1656. In 1644 it was laid
down that the Dominicans must show to individual Jesuits
and to the whole Society of Jesus " service and devotion,
with the greatest kindness and conscientiousness, so that
they may find in us the expression of an exquisite charity
and a cordial affection. Even though we may not always
be in agreement with them in their opinions and ideas, we
must nevertheless always be in will of one soul and one heart."
The chapter of 1656 asked " that the Jesuits and all others
should realize from our hospitality, confidence, cordiality
and union that we are disciples of Christ." The General of
the Order, Giovanni Battista de Marinis warmly recommended
his subjects in a circular of March 25th, 1661, to live in
harmony with the Society of Jesus : " We ought on both
sides to be one heart and one soul in Our Lord ; we ought
both of us to prove this by our rivalry in fervent charity,
while our undivided union must proclaim it."^
1 Admonitiones n. 4, in Monumenta ordinis fratrum Praedica-
torum historica, torn. X. (Acta capitulorum generalium, torn. V.),
Rome, 1 90 1, 371.
2 List of these texts in Maximi Mangold, Reflexiones in
R. P. Alexandri a. s. loanne de Cruce Carm. excalc. continua-
tionem historiae ecclesiasticae Claudii Fleurii Abbatis, I.,
Augsburg, 1 783, 449. Cardinal Zigliara, one of the most illustrious
366 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
These decrees were responded to, on the part of the Jesuit
by decrees of the General of the Order, Vitelleschi, and were
repeated by the eight general congregation of the whole Order
in 1645. The exhortation of the congregation says .^ " All
our subjects must aim everywhere at speaking, both in private
conversations and in public, in favourable terms of the vener-
able Order of Dominicans in general as well as of its institutions,
its eminent learning and its distinguished works ; they must
treat its members with such respect and courtesy as to rival
one another in mutual hospitality and other manifestations
of affection, as is becoming to our humble Society, and as is
due to an Order which is greater than ours in antiquity and
dignit}'." The same general congregation later on in 1661,
following upon the letter of the General of the Dominicans,
De Marinis, renewed and confirmed this exhortation. ^
modern theologians of the Dominican Order, writes : " Ex
sententiis autem, quae libera in contrariam partem agitantur
inter catholicos, tene quae magis conformis tibi ration! videtur,
sed contra eos, qui a te dissentiunt, cave ab iniuriis, quas sapientia
reprobat, caritas detestatur. Sequere thomistas, sequere molin-
istas, utrimque liabes magistros doctissimos et piisssmos et noli
amplecti veritatem extra caritatem, nam et ipsa caritas Veritas
est (Summa philosophica, 11.^^, Paris, 1912, 524).
^ Congr. VIII. deer. 12 (Institutum Societatis lesu, II.,
Florence, 1892, 346).
- Cong. XI. deer. 19 {loc. cit. 381) : " ut illustrissimum natuque
maiorem in Ecclesia Ordinem, sanctitate, doctrina rebusque
praeclare gestis de ilia optime meritum, peculiari benevolentia
completantur, de illo magnifice sentiant et loquantur, aliisque
venerationis significationibus et charitatis officiis prosequantur."
CHAPTER X.
The Papal States. — The Re-acquisition of Ferrara. —
Death of the Pope.
The many anxieties which the Turkish peril and the religious
conditions of all the countries of Europe caused Clement VIII.
were j'et further added to by the conditions in the States of
the Church. These were administered by the cardinalitial
Congregation of the Consulta, although the Pope also took a
direct part in their affairs.^ Carrying out a project of
Sixtus v., Clement VIII., by a bull of October 30th, 1592,
set up a special Congregation for the Administration of the
States of the Church, composed of three Cardinals.^ His
1 Cf. Paruta, Dispacci, I., 288. An Urbino *Avviso of July 24,
1593 (Urb. 1061, Vatican Library) says of the Consulta " La
Consulta a Roma e a punto I'Udientia nel nostro State." Cf.
Paruta, Relazione, 415 seq. ; Dolfin, Relazione, 461. Many
instances of the care of Clement VIIL for Rome and for the
States of the Church are now printed in the valuable publication
compiled by the communal administration of Rome : Regesti di
bandi, editti, notificazioni e provvedimiCnti diversi alia citta di
Roma e dello Stato Pontificio, 2 vols, (beginning with the Xlllth
century and going as far as 1605), Rome, 1920-1925.
2 See Bull., IX., 603 seq. The " Congregazione del Buon
governo " was as it were a daughter of the Consulta. Cf. J AC.
CoHELLi, Comment, in buUam X. Clementis VIIL de bono
regimine, Cologne, 1699 ; A. de Vecchis, CoUectio constitut.,
chirographum et brevium Rom. Pontif. pro bono regimine
universit. ac communit. status ecclesiae., 3 vols., Rome, 1732 seq. ;
Le Bret, Statistik, 224 seq., 298 ; Moroni, XVL, 158 'seq. ;
Richard in Rev. d'hist. eccles., XL, 728 seq. For the benefit of
the future historian of the Papal States, I would point out that
the Archives of the Congregazione del Buon governo, which have
368 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
ordinance for the visitation of each of the provinces, so as
to suppress the abuses in the administration of the communes,
may also be traced back to Sixtus V.^
Like the rest of Italy, the territories of the Holy See had
since 1590 repeatedly suffered from bad or quite insufficient
harvests. The scarcity of bread brought in its train a crushing
increase in the cost of all other necessities. Even though
this calamity was not so great in the Papal States, and above
all in Rome, as in the other cities of the peninsula, it was
nevertheless felt there all the more severely in that much better
conditions had prevailed there before.^
All the reports agree in saying that Clement VIII. did all
he could in the first years of his pontificate to overcome this
scarcity, especially in Rome.^ The superintendence of the
trade in food left nothing to be desired, but the scarcity was
universal, bad methods of provisioning were deep-rooted,
while very often the officials were untrustv/orthy and un-
businesslike.* The Pope was unable, as Paruta points out,
not as yet been used by anyone, were in the Vatican, and occupied
no less than 16 rooms. The acta, however, only begin about the
year 1630 ; the earlier ones are to be found in the Papal Secret
Archives. This state of affairs was changed in 1918 ; Cardinal
Gasquet, with the consent of Pope Benedict XV., who interested
himself greatly in what concerned the archives, agreed to an
exchange with the Italian government, as a result of which a
small part of the acta of the Camera in the State Archives of
Rome passed into the Papal Secret Archives, to which they
obviously belonged, while the archives of the Buon go\'erno were
handed over to the State Archives, Rome. There they were
re-arranged. Cf. the fully explanatory articles by A. Lodolini,
L'amministrazione pontificia del Buon governo, in the periodical
Gli archivi Ital., VI. (Rome, 191 9), 181 seqq., VII. (1920), 3 seq., 88.
^ Cf. Lodolini, loc. cit., VI., 214.
" See Paruta, Relazione, 388 seq.
^ See ibid. 389, the Avvisi in Baumgarten, Neue Kunde, 23,
and the *Avvisi of July 8 and 15, 1592 (Urb. 1060, II.) and of
March 20, 1593 (Urb. 1061) Vatican Library.
* See Paruta, Dispacci, II., 388, and Relazione, 389. Cf.
*Avviso of July 28, 1593, Urb. 1061, loc. cit.
SCARCITY IN THE PAPAL STATES. 369
to keep in touch with ah the details/ but he sought in this
respect to do all he could, and even, in April, 1593, had a
report made to him by his nephew whether the city was
sufficiently supplied with bread. ^ He laboured indefatigabty
to secure the importation of grain from outside,^ although
he met with great difficulties in this, as some of the provinces,
as for example the fertile Romagna, were suffering from bad
harvests.*
That the scarcity was general is shown by the fact that
even the city of Bologna, which on account of its richness was
named la grassa, was, from 1590 to 1592, the victim of serious
scarcity,^ and the number of the inhabitants fell from 90,000
to 70,000.® Clement VIII. lent the city 80,000 scudi.'^ The
legation of Bologna, from October i6th, 1592, onwards, was
in the hands of Cardinal Montalto.^ This office brought him a
fixed revenue of 6000 scudi,^ but he resided in Rome.^" The
vice-legate or governor acted as his representative. The
latter had but little influence in the administration because
1 See Paruta, Relazione, 389 ; the *Avvisi frequently refer to
the steps taken by Clement VIII. against bad officials : e.g.
June 28 and August 4, 1593, Urb. 1061, loc. cit.
2 *" Ogni sera viene date al Papa dalli suoi nepoti minute
ragguaglio del pane che si fa per tutta Roma, della quale se ne
trova hora abbondate per ciascuno." Avviso of April 10, 1593.
Urb. 1061, Vatican Library.
* C/. *Avvisi of July 8 and 15, 1592, Urb. 1060, IL, loc. cit. ;
Paruta, Dispacci, L, 28, 49, 192, 243. For the importation of
grain from the Low Countries to Civitavecchia, i593-i594. see
Maere in An. de I'Acad. Archcol. de la Belgique, 5th ser. VIII.
* See Paruta, Dispacci, II. , 81.
« Cf. Bull. IX., 553.
« See the Informazioni di Bologna in Ranke, III.*, 107.*
' See Bull. IX., 553.
» See *Acta consist, card. S. Severinae, Cod. Barb. lat. 2871,
Vatican Library.
» See the Informazioni di Bologna of 1595 by Guglielmo di
Montolon, Cod. D. 181 n. 8, Ambrosinian Library, Milan.
1" See DoLFiN, Relazione, 460.
VOL. XXIV. 24
370 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the city was very independent.^ In an instruction of the
year 1595 it is stated that the Bolognesi must be inspired
with respect, and at the same time with loyalty ; the
first will be attained if the representative of the Papal
authority devotes himself seriously to the administration
of justice and the importation of food ; devotion will best
be inspired by impartiality and the protection of good
citizens.^
In the Marches and the Romagna as well there had been a
decrease in the population in consequence of the epidemics
of 1590. A crushing state of misery was on the increase
among the survivors, because the officials exacted the taxes
with the utmost rigour. In these provinces, which in the
past had seemed to be veritable granaries, there was now an
alarming decrease in production.^ In Umbria too there was
a scarcity of food, so that there as well as in the Marches
special ordinances had to be issued in order to meet the
emergency.'*
The scarcity in Rome continued even in those years when
the harvest was good. The Pope was rightly incensed that
when the situation had improved, the people did not reap
the advantage.^ The fault was partly due to the officials
of the Camera, and partly to the speculators, whose greed it
was sought to curb by special legislation.^
The Pope's intentions were always good, as is pointed out
1 See Ranke, III.*, 107.*
* * Instructions for a new legate at Bologna, Cod. G. 63 n. 9,
Vallicella Library, Rome.
^ See Paruta, Relazione, 389; Brosch, I., 307.
* Cf. *Bando per TAbbondanza deirUmbria e della IMarca of
September, 1596, Editti, V.. 49, p. 195, Papal Secret Archives.
Le Istruzioni segrete pel governo di Perugia ed Umbria in the
Bollet. per I'Umbria, XXI. (1915), 375 seq., shows how the Papal
government endeavoured to do away with abuses, and what care
it had for its subjects.
^ See *Avvisi of July 14, 28 and 31, 1593, Urb. 1061, Vatican
Library ; Paruta, Dispacci, II., 372, and Relazione, 389.
•^ See Benigni, Getreidpolitik, 44.
VIGILANCE OF CLEMENT VIII. 371
in a report from Rome of October 3rd, 1594 .^ if in spite of
this he met with but little success, the reason was to be found
in the. extraordinary state of affairs prevailing in the Papal
States. The independence of the barons and of the communes
created such an opposition to the central government that
not even so energetic a Pope as Sixtus V. had been able to
subdue it except for a short time.^ The conditions in the
Roman Campagna, from which very little grain reached the
Eternal City, were especially unfortunate for Rome. Agri-
culture there had not entirely disappeared, but the greed for
gain on the part of the farmers, together with a type of
cultivation that was without a permanent body of tenants,
caused the arable land to pass more and more to pasturage.^
Clement VIII., like his predecessors, sought to provide for
the provisioning of Rome by strict vigilance, and by a rigorous
prohibition of exportation. A constitution of September 13th,
1597, forbade exportation of any kind, without special
permission from the Camera or the Annonaria* ; it also forbade
the hoarding of grain in private stores, and preventing its
free passage to Rome. In this document the Pope bitterly
censures the tricks of the speculators who, with abominable
usury, forced up the price of grain. He threatened the
barons and other landlords who hoarded grain, and forbade
them to keep more than a sufficient quantity for their own
domestic use for a year.^
^ See *Avviso of October 5, 1594, which adds that the Pope
" quasi vorrebbe potersi transformare in forma del grano istesso
per fare abondanza," LTrb. 1062, Vatican Library.
2 Opinion of H. Sieveking in J. Wolfs, Zeitschrift /. Sozial-
wissenschaft, IL, Berlin, 1899, 470.
* See Paruta, Relazione, 389 scq. A more favourable picture
of the conditions in the Campagna is given in *Nota della entrata
di molti signori e duchi Romani, from which Ranke (III.®, 109)
cites certain passages, without, however, saying where he found
this report. I have searched in vain for it in the Roman libraries.
* For the annona see also Reumont, III., 2, 648 seq.
5 See Bull. X., 373 seq. ; Benigni, Getreidpolitik, 45 ; Cupis,
211 seq.
372 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The Pope showed himself the sworn enemy of speculators
in grain in his constitution of December 4th, 1604, which
confirmed the celebrated bull of Sixtus IV. of Ma.rch ist,
1476, and the similar ordinances of Julius II., Clement VII.
and Pius V.^ for the development of agriculture in the
Campagna. In this constitution he allowed the free exporta-
tion of a quarter of the harvest, provided that the price of
grain in the Roman market was not more than 60 giulii a
rubbio ; he allowed the vassals of the barons to cultivate
other land than that belonging to their feudal lords, and also
decided that priests might devote themselves to agriculture
without its being considered a profane trade. He also made
provision to supply the lack of tillage oxen.^ The subsidy
for carrying on the work of draining the Pontine Marshes
was also aimed at increasing the cultivation of grain. ^
Measures of this kind could only effect an improvement
in course of time, so that in the meanwhile the conditions
remained as little satisfactory as before.'* The opposition
1 CJ. Vol. IV., of this work, p. 426 ; Vol. VI., p. 227 ; Vol.
X., p. 14 ; Vol. XVIT., p. 109.
2 See Bull. X., 622 seq. ; Benigni, 46; Cupis, 215 seq.
*Privilegia pro agricultoribus Corneti, Civitatis Vetulae, Tulphae
et Bledae, dated February 9, 1601, in Editti, V., 49, p. 31,
Papal Secret Archives. Cf. Tomassetti, I., 170.
' See NicoLAi, De' bonificamenti delle Terre Pontine, Rome,
1800, 140 seq. ; Benigni, 46.
* When the Pope set out with many Cardinals for Ferrara, the
price of bread rose in Rome ; see the *report of Fr. Maria Vialardo,
Rome, April 25, 1598, Gonzaga Archives, Mantua. The inunda-
tion of the Tiber at the end of 1598 had destroyed many stores of
grain, so that there was a considerable scarcity ; see Possevino,
Gonzaga, 824 seq. In 1598 there was also a failure in the importa-
tion of wine ; see Baumgarten, Neue Kunde, 24. The year of
jubilee in 1600 naturally involved special requirements.
Clement VIII. had to apply on January 16, 1600, to the viceroy
of Naples, with a request for immediate permission to export
grain to Rome ; " *Roma annonae inopia laborat, Roma petit "
(Brevia Arm. 44, t. 45, n. 10, Papal Secret Archives) ; on Decem-
ber 15, 1600, a similar request was again sent [ibid. n. 428).
POPULAR DISCONTENT. 373
which the well intentioned zeal of the Pope had to cope with
proved too strong. How difficult the task was has been shown
by the fact that in modern times not even the state of United
Italy, armed with far greater powers and means, has been
able to overcome the opposition of the farmers to the cultiva-
tion of the Campagna, or meet with any better success in
carrying on the efforts of the Popes. ^
The discontent of the people at these economic dis-
advantages found vent towards the end of the pontificate of
Clement VIII. in biting pasquinades.'^ The authors of such
libels overlooked the fact that it was not the government
alone that was to blame ; nor did they bear in mind that the
imposts in the Papal States were on the whole very moderate,
compared, not only with those parts of Italy which were
subject to Spanish rule, but also with the majority of the
small independent states.^ Clement VIII. fought as much
as he could against any increase in the burden of taxes,'*
and it was absolutely against his will if the subordinate
officials in the Marches and the Romagna confiscated the
Cf. supra, p. 269. The Cardinals charged with the task of
provisioning fulfilled their task so badly that there was a great
scarcity in the summer, so that Clement VIII. intended to return
once more with his court to Ferrara, in order to relieve Rome,
but this did not take place as the Pope was deceived as to the
real state of affairs ; see the information in Baumgarten, loc. cit.,
21 seq. In 1599 Baronius called the attention of the Pope to the
true state of affairs, after which Clement VIII. did not fail to
express his displeasure to P. Aldobrandini. The nephew then
complained to Baronius, but received from him a dignified reply
which is given in Calenzio, Baronio, 352. The scarcity of grain
was very great again in 1603 ; see *briefs to the viceroy of Naples,
February 12 and May 22, 1603, Arm. 44, t. 47, n. 9 and 137,
Papal Secret Archives. Cf. the *letters of Cardinal Aldobrandini
to the nuncio in Spain, January 13, April 8, June 18, September
28, November 7, 1603, Aldobrandini Archives, Rome, t. 287.
^ Opinion of Sieveking, loc. cit.
* See *Avviso of January 19, 1602, Urb. 1070, Vatican Library.
' See Paruta, Relazione, 389 ; Reumont, III., 2, 597.
* See *Avviso of March 10, 1599, Urb. 1067, loc. cit.
374 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
agricultural implements and cattle of the peasants who could
not pay. As a result of such tyranny some emigrated, while
others gave themselves over to brigandage. ^ The crimes of
such delinquents embittered for Clement VIII. the first
lustrum of his pontificate.
Brigandage had already raised its head once more at the
end of the reign of Sixtus V.^ During the pontificates of
Urban VII., Gregory XIV. and Innocent IX., which had
followed each other at short intervals, this plague had been
able to continue and spread.^ Clement VIII., who in Rome
was the rigorous champion of peace and order, ^ determined
that it must be faced energetically. As early as February,
1592, he sent troops under the supreme command of Flaminio
Dellino to the Marches, where Marco Sciarra, one of the most
terrible brigand chiefs, was carrying on his crimes.^ In
March bands of brigands pillaged the nearer and more distant
environs of Rome, and in April they burned the castle of
Subiaco.^ Terrible stories were told of the crueltv of these
1 See Paruta, Relazione, 389 seq. ; Brosch, I., 307 seq.
2 Cf. Vol. XXI. of this work, p. 88.
3 Cf. ibid. pp. 359, 366.
* Cf. besides the report in Arch, stor, Ital., XII., xxi., and the
report of Niccolini in Navenne, Rome et le Palais Farnese, I., 7,
the *letter of Giulio del Carretto, February 8, 1592 : N. S. si
dimostra rigoroso nella giustizia et non ha voluto far gratia ad
un gentilhomo Romano, che fu trovato con I'archibuggietto da
rota in sede vacante, ancorche ne sii stato pregato da molti
cardinali, dall' ambasciatore di Savoia suo parente et dal popolo
Romano, al quale ultimamente disse che I'iscuse che proponevano
a lui le proponessero alh giudici della causa che I'havrebbero in
quella consideratione che si dovrebbe per giustizia. Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.
* See *Avviso of February 12, 1592, Urb. 1060, I., Vatican
Library. For the plans for fighting the bandits see Arch, della
Soc. Rom., XXXVI., 125, n. i.
* See *Avvisi of March 11 and April 18, 1592, Urb. 1060, I.,
Vatican Library. Cf. Karttunen, Gregoire XIII., Helsinki, 1911
92.
BRIGANDAGE. 375
hordes,^ and the Pope, who was deeply distressed, insisted
upon energetic intervention. ^ He sent against them his
nephew Aldobrandini with about 2000 men, and had previously
enrolled 600 Corsican soldiers in his service,^ who, however,
pillaged almost more than the bandits.*
Marco Sciarra had entrenched himself with 500 bandits
in a convent near Ascoli, but as soon as Papal troops under
the command of Flaminio Delfino were sent to the rescue,
he succeeded, through the intervention of Count Pietro
Gabuzio, who was enlisting soldiers for the Venetian Republic
against the rapacious Uscocchi, in getting himself taken,
together with the flower of his band, into the service of the
republic. Clement VIII. asked for the ruffians to be handed
over, but in vain. In this refusal he saw a contempt for
his authority, and was all the more offended at the action of
the Republic in that Gabuzio had been born a Papal subject,
and that the Venetians had already on other occasions per-
mitted themselves innumerable usurpations of ecclesiastical
authorit}^^ In order to pacify the Pope, in June, 1592, there
^ See the report of the Urbino envoy, April 11, 1592, Urb.
1060, I., 196, Vatican Library. Monsignor Schiaffinato at
Perugia, replied with like cruelties to the cruelties of the bandits ;
see Arch. stor. ital., 3rd ser., VIII., 35.
2 " Si consuma et afflige per provedervi," says an *Avviso of
March 14, 1592 (Urb. 1060, I., loc. cit.). Another of *April 8,
1592 {ibid.) says : " Gran travaglio prende N. S. de banditi di
questo State, et lo mostra a piij segni et nel viso, vedendosi spesso
immerso in profondissimo pensiero et ansieta, che roccupi talvolta
ranimo e con ragione."
* See the *report of G. del Carretto, March 28, 1592, Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua. According to the *Avviso of April 22, 1592,
Gian Francesco Aldobrandini set out against the bandits with
1500 soldiers and 300 horsemen, as well as some Albanians and
Corsicans. The delay was because the Pope wished first to
ascertain that all the neighbouring princes were keeping a good
watch on their frontiers (Urb. 1060, I., loc. cit.). Cf. also the
Relazione dell'inviato di Lucca in Studi et docum., XXII., 201.
* See the dispatch of Donate in Brosch, L, 309 n. i.
*C/. A. Rossi in Arch. Veneto, XXXVII. , 2 (1889), 259 seq.
376 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
was once more sent to Rome Leonardo Donato, who had
just returned from the embassy which had been sent to
congratulate the new head of the Church.' We learn from
the account of his journey that organized bands of assassins
were rendering the country round Spoleto, Terni and Ostia
insecure.^ The diplomatic skill of Donato was unable at the
time to allay the Pope's displeasure, and the incident was
only closed when, on April 3rd, 1593, Marco Sciarra was killed,
and his companions sent to Candia, where some died of the
plague, and the others were dispersed.^ Gian Francesco
Aldobrandini then moved against the remainder of the bandits,
who had taken refuge in the mountains near Ascoli.^
It was only then that a certain degree of peace was restored
in the States of the Church, but it is impossible to speak of a
disappearance of the bandits. Just as during the spring of
1593 they appeared in the Romagna^ and the Abruzzi, so
did they in the neighbourhood of Rome in July,^ and in
October near Viterbo." In the summer of 1594 they again
appeared in large numbers, especially near Velletri.^ The
Venetian ambassador, Poalo Paruta, wrote in 1595 that no
one was safe from the bandits. According to trustworthy
information the number of outlaws inscribed in the public
lists was 15,000 which meant a considerable diminution in the
population of the state. The rigour of justice, Paruta con-
^ See Viaggio da Venezia a Roma di L. Donato ambasc. straord.
d. Repub. Veneta al papa Clemente VIII. I'a 1592, Venice, 1866.
2 See ibid.
^ See Paruta, Dispacci, I., xlv. seq.
* See ihid. 184. The action of Clement VIII. against the
bandits is also treated of in the letter of November 1592, in
Veress, Matric. et Acta Hung, in iiniv. Ital. student., I., Budapest,
1915, 246.
* See *Avviso of March 10, 1593, Urb. 1061, loc. cit.
® See Paruta, Dispacci, I., loi, 106, no seq., 133.
' See ibid. II., 62.
* See *Avviso of July 6, 1594, Urb. 1062, loc. cit. For the
plans of that time for combatting the scourge of the bandits see
Orbaan, Documenti, 462 n.
EXECUTION OF BANDITS. 377
tinues, is very great, and accomplices and abettors are being
put to death. Those da5^s are rare when there are not to be
seen at the Bridge of St. Angelo the bodies and heads of those
who have been executed, sometimes, four, six, ten, twenty, or
even thirty. The number of those executed, from the time
of Sixtus V. until now, is estimated at about 5000. But this
extreme severity has been of no use, and has rather made
things worse. If one is captured, others immediately take
to the woods, because the}^ recognize their accomplices. The
mountainous districts on the Neapolitan frontier were
especially affected, and the opinion was commonly held in
Rome, as Paruta reports on July 29th, 1595, that the Spanish
government was encouraging this disorder so as to bring
pressure to bear on the Pope.^
An improvement in the situation depended above all upon
a change in this state of affairs, and on the fulfilment of the
duties of neighbourliness, a thing which applied also to the
Florentine government. This was brought about later on,
but by no means completely. ^
1 See Paruta, Relazione, 392 seq., and Dispacci, III., 235
[cf. 323). See also Arch. stor. Ital., IX., 460. Many dangerous
elements were removed from the States of the Church from 1595
onwards, with the departure of the soldiers for the Turkish war.
In the army that was enrolled at the end of 1597 against Cesare
d'Este there served " banditi ed altri contumaci " who were
therefore pardoned. See the *Editto of June 8, 1598, in Editti,
v., 57, p. 68, Papal Secret Archives. Ibid. 152 seq. some *" Bandi
contra banditi " of 1 597-1 604.
^ Cf. Ademollo, II brigantaggio e la corte di Roma, in Nuova
Antologia, 2nd. ser., XXIV. (1880), 455 seq., where there are
further particulars of the harmful intiuence of the ecclesiastical
right of sanctuary, which was rightly restricted by Sixtus V.,
and again extended by Gregory XIV., of which the bandits took
advantage. Cf. also Arch. stor. ital., IX., 460 seq. An *Avviso
of May II, 1596, testifies to the good effect of the edicts against
the bandits, whose heads were exposed before the Castle of St.
Angelo (Urb. 1064, Vatican Library). Cf. *Avviso of September
17. 1597 (Urb. 1065, ibid.) and Lettres d'Ossat, I., 4.52. An
378 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The principal reason why it was not possible to come to
grips with this terrible scourge, besides the equivocal
behaviour of the Pope's neighbours, lay in the military weak-
ness of the Papal States.^ There the army had always been
neglected. The only exception had been that warlike Pope,
Julius II. This was the natural consequence of the office
and position of the head of the Church, while Clement VIII.
lacked all knowledge of or inclination for military matters.
In the whole of the States of the Church there was not a single
fortress of importance, and only the citadels of Civitavecchia
and Ancona were to a certain extent sufficiently armed. At
Perugia there was a small garrison, and at Bologna a hundred
Swiss and fifty cavalry. Places which, by their natural
position, were well suited for fortresses, such as Orvieto,
Civita Castellana and Spoleto, were so neglected that the
Venetian ambassador could never sufficiently express his
surprise. Not even Rome could be said to be adequately
defended ; the fortifications had never been completed, and
even the Castle of St. Angelo, the one safe refuge in case of
danger, had not got the necessary armament. When in the
autumn of 1592 the Huguenot Lesdiguieres crossed the Alps
to avenge himself on the Duke of Savoy with 4000 men, Rome
trembled. Later on, after the reconciliation with Henry IV.,
it was felt that the Spaniards were even more to be feared,
since the bandits were most numerous in the mountains on the
Neapolitan frontier. ^
The States of the Church were entirety without a paid and
organized army. The soldiery on paper consisted of 30,000
*Avviso of April i, 1598 (Urb. 1066 loc. cit.) also speaks of the
executions of bandits. After this there is little mention of the
bandits ; in September 1604 more troops were enlisted ; see
*Avviso of September 29, 1604 (Urb. 1072, loc. cit.), and the
♦report of Giov. Batt. Thesis, October 23, 1604, Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua.
^ In this way large sums were spent on small engagements
" instead of combatting the evil by means of a well thought out
and vigorous procedure." Baumgarten, Neue Kunde, 14.
* See Paruta, Relazione, 384 seq.
THE PAPAL FINANCES. 379
men ; each province had a colonel, and under him captains
and lower officers. But as only the colonels had a fixed pay,
it is easy to imagine the condition of the troops. A paid army
was only called into existence from time to time, when it was
a case of facing the bandits or fighting the Turks ; in 1595
the whole of the cavalry of the Papal States was employed
for this purpose, so that there only remained the Swiss Guard,
200 strong, and 1000 Corsican soldiers, afterwards reduced to
800. But these were only intended to fight against the
bandits, so that it was impossible to speak of any real armed
force. Even the captains of any experience were only enlisted
for a period, according to necessity. The office of General
of the Church, which was well paid, and held by Gian Francesco
Aldobrandini, had become a mere post of honour. The fleet,
too, of which Pius V. and later on Sixtus V. had taken such
care, was in a state of decadence. Except the arsenal at
Civitavecchia, there was no other in the Papal states. From
a false economy Clement VIIL would gladly have suspended
the payments for the six galleys, which had remained in that
harbour since the time of Sixtus V., and it was only the
necessity of protecting the coasts against the Turkish pirates
which determined him to maintain them.^
Although the States of the Church were spared the regular
cost of paid troops, such as burdened the finances of other
states, the Papal finances were nevertheless in a deplorable
condition, because of the enormous burden of debt, of twelve
million scudi, which Clement VIIL found at the beginning
of his pontificate. Of the total annual revenue, amounting
to about a million and a half, more than a million scudi, that
is two-thirds of the income, went to pay the interest on the
debts in the offices and " luoghi di Monte. "^ With a net
1 Ibid. 403 seq. Cf. Dolfin, 466.
^ See the summary of the Papal finances for 1592 which Ranke
(III.*, 98) has made use of from the manuscript in the Barberini
Library. Bart. Cesi was still treasurer (see Carte Strozz., II., 212) ;
when he became a Cardinal he was succeeded by Tiberio Cerasa
{cf. Moroni, LXXIV., 298), who died in 1601 (for this benefactor
of the Hospital of S. Maria della Consolazione see the monograph
380 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
income ol half a million, the expenses had to be met, which
were estimated at 400,000 scudi, so that there remained over
only a very small sum.^ In these circumstances the very
greatest economy was necessary, but this was absolutely
wanting. Clement \^III. was one of those men who have
no idea of the value of money, and the expenses of the adminis-
tration of the palace,- the pageants, the building works and
the endowment of his nephews,^ devoured great sums of
money. To these were added the exorbitant and manifold
demands of the Christian princes.
Clement VIII. was not the man to provide the money for
such extraordinary necessities. It was proposed to meet
the difficulty by encroaching upon the treasure deposited
in the Castle of St. Angelo by Sixtus V., which still amounted
to two and a half millions, but the Pope was adverse to any
such step.** In order to comply with the enormous demands,
which were especially in connexion v/ith the support of the
war against the Turks, there remained no other course, besides
the imposition of tenths upon the Italian clergy, than that
taken by previous Popes, namely the raising of new state loans
upon the revenues, or the so-called " luoghi di Monte."
Clement VIII. found himself compelled, in order to meet the
extraordinary needs, caused especially by the war against the
Turks, to undertake, in seven new " luoghi di Monte " a debt
to the amount of 2,893,200 scudi. ^ From an estimate of the
on that institution by Pericoli, p. 102, 120 seq.). The successor
of Cerasa was Laudovisio Zacchia ; see Moroni, loc. cii.,
Martinori, 6.
^ Cf. Paruta, Relazione, 408 seq.
2 Cf. Baumgarten, Neue Kunde, 14, 30 seq. Ibid. 32, con-
cerning the new and costly tiara. An *Avviso of November i,
1 60 1, Urb. 1069, Vatican Library, tells of a reduction of some
expenditure on the Pope's table.
» Cf. Vol. XXIII. of this work, pp. 48, 53.
* See Paruta, Relazione, 410. Cf. Ricci, II., 164. The
confirmation of the bull of the treasure of Sixtus V., dated
February 14, 1592, in Bull., X., 523 seq.
* Cf. Moroni, XL., 155, LXXIV., 299, and Martinori, 5.
For the acquisition of Nettuno, for which Marcantonio Colonna
THE STATES OF THE CHURCH. 381
year 1598 it would appear that the interest on the debt then
amounted to three-quarters of the total revenue. ^ The net
revenue, towards the end of the pontificate, fell from 500,000
scudi to 343,473. As the annual expenditure was 450,126
scudi, there was an annual deficit of 106,653 scudi. ^
The expenditure of the Pope, besides the war against the
Turks, had been increased in a special degree in 1598 by the
acquisition of Ferrara, and by the visit paid to this new terri-
tory of the States of the Church, for which, however, 150,000
scudi were taken from the treasure in the Castle of St. Angelo.^
The Venetian ambassador, Paolo Paruta, in giving his
opinion in 1595 as to the strength and weakness of the
States of the Church, says that they were not preserved
either by a good constitution, or by the conditions which
usually confer permanence and security on other states, but
rather by the fact that no one wished or dared to do anything
to their injury. " Above all " Paruta explains, " this is helped
by the majesty of the person of the Pope, and by respect for
religion : motives which have saved this State when in great
danger. There is another circumstance which contributes,
namely that there are many petty princes in Italy, who, since
they cannot aggrandize themselves, are desirous that the
neighbouring states should as far as possible maintain a
balance between each other. And since to be a protector of
the Church confers a certain dignity, each one refrains from
attacking the Papal State, fearing to find all the others against
received 400,000 scudi, and of Monte S. Giovanni, for which the
Marchese del Vasto had 350,000 scudi, cf. Coppi, SuUe finanze
della stato pontificio, Rome, 1855, 14 seq. Clement VIII, justified
the acquisition of S. Giovanni by the danger of the bandits ; see
*Acta consist. June 12, 1595, Cod. Barb. 2871, Vatican Library.
Cf. Paruta, Dispacci, III., 171 seq.
1 See DoLFiN, Relazione, 464 ; Ranke, loc. cit. The complaints
of the scarcity of money {e.g. in the instructions to D. Ginnasio,
August 22, 1 60 1, Barb. 5S52, Vatican Library) were therefore
justified.
2 See Ranke, loc. cit.
3 See DoLFiN, Relazione, 465.
382 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
him. If, however, any great change should take place in
Italy, then the States of the Church, with all their elements of
disorder, would run no little danger. May it not be that
any advance made by the French in Savoy and Piedmont
has had its echo in Rome, and aroused and encouraged
thoughts of rebellion, which might be of even greater impor-
tance to the Holy See than to the other states ? "^
In his report, Paruta also mentions the question of the
succession to the fiefs of Urbino and Ferrara, which was
imminent owing to the likelihood of the extinction of the two
reigning families. " Urbino " Paruta thought, " will cer-
tainly once again come under the direct government of the
Church, but in the case of Ferrara this will be very difficult,
and certainly will not be done without a great struggle."^
In spite of this, to the amazement of everybody, this question
was solved by the skill and energy of the Aldobrandini Pope
with a " surprising facility."^
After the election of Clement VIII., all hopes entertained
by Duke Alfonso II. of Ferrara of obtaining from the new
Pope, whose father had once been cordially welcomed at the
court of the Este, what he had once tried to obtain from
Gregory XIV., were bound to vanish : this was to obtain
for his cousin Cesare the fief of Ferrara,^ but even while he
was still a Cardinal, Clement VIII. had come to the conclusion
that such a step was illegal.^ Immediately at the beginning
of his pontificate he confirmed the bull of Pius \.,^ which
excluded illegitimate branches from succession to Papal fiefs.'
The cardinalitial congregation*^ which was appointed for
1 Paruta, Relazione, 397.
2 Ibid. 401.
3 Brosch, I., 314.
* Cf. Vol. XXII. of this work, p. 380 scq.
'Cf. Ricci, II., 183.
« See the Este report in Ricci, II., 84, 231.
' Bull. IX., 520 seq.
» See *Acta consist. April 22, 1592, Cod. Barb. lat. 2871,
Vatican Library. Cf. *Avviso of April 25, 1592, Urb. 1060, I.,
ibid. Ricci, II., 85 seqq.
THE FERRARA SUCCESSION. 383
further deliberation, was for the most part opposed to the
declaration of Gregory XIV., which had still left Alfonso
with some hopes. ^
In spite of this Alfonso and Cesare, who made the ohedientia
to the Pope in the duke's name on May i8th, 1592, ^ hoped to
attain their end all the more easily as the Emperor Rudolph II.,
who was in need of money for the Turkish war, granted in
return for a repayment of 300,000 scudi, a renewal of the fiefs
of Modena and Reggio, and the right of the duke to nominate
his successor within a certain period (August 8th, 1594).
While Alfonso's envoy was employing every means in his
power in Rome to induce the Pope to change his mind, on
July 17th, 1595, the old duke wrote his will, appointing Cesare
d'Este as his successor.^ But this information was conveyed
to Rudolph II. so secretly that not even Cesare knew of the
honour that had been done him.* It is evident that Alfonso
did not wish the court to turn to the star that was rising on the
horizon, and it was only in October, 1597, when the duke fell
m.ortally ill, that Cesare was informed that he was the heir.
The dying man said that he was leaving him a most beautiful
state, and one that was strong, both by its military power,
1 See *Acta consist, June 26, 1592, loc. cit. Cf. Capilupi, ed.
Prinzivalli, 65 ; Ricci, II., 150.
^ See Frizzi, IV., 440 seq. ; Ricci, II., 87 seq., 147 seq. Cf.
Jo. Franc. Terzanius, Ad S.D.N. Clementem VIII. P. oratio
habita cum eidem nomine Alphonsi II. Est. duels, obedientiam
praestaret ill. et ex. Caesar Estensis Marchio Monticuli et eiusdem
ducis patruelis, Rome, 1592 (copy in the Aldobrandini Archives,
Rome).
=* See Frizzi, IV., 44. Cf. Ricci, II., 96 seq.
* See the " Relatione di quelle che e successo in Ferrara dope
la morte del duca Alfonso fino al possesso preso dal signor cardinal
Aldobrandini con alcunl altri partlcolarl spettantl a tale state e
ducato," Barb. lat. 5259, p. 80 seq., Vatican Library (the relative
passage In Ranke, II. 8, 177). The author of the report Is
" Domenlco Ralnaldl, mandato da Clemente VIII. a Ferrara
al cardinale Aldobrandini," see Vat. 6196, p. 289, Vatican
Library.
384 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
and by reason of the allies, both within and without Italy,
upon whom he could count with certainty.^
Duke Alfonso, down to the year 1597, had made use of every
expedient to obtain from the Pope the investiture of Cesare,
but Clement VIII., convinced in his conscience that he could
not grant it, had remained immovable. ^ In spite of this,
after the death of the duke, which took place on October 27th,
1597, Cesare assumed the government, not only of the Imperial
fiefs of Modena and Reggio, but also, contrary to all right,
of the fiefs of Ferrara and Comacchio. The Bishop of Ferrara,
Giovanni Fontana, was forcibly compelled to take part in the
homage of the city.^ Being resolved to defend his supposed
right of inheritance against the Pope by force of arms, Cesare
put Ferrara into a state of defence and enlisted troops.^ At
the same time envoys were sent to the Emperor, the German
princes, Henry IV., Philip II. and the Italian states.^ As
both Spain and the Italian powers, especially Venice and
Florence,® did not in any way wish for an aggrandizement
of the Papal States, Cesare indulged in the most sanguine
hopes. He thought that he could count with certainty upon
^ See the * Relatione cited in previous note.
2 Cf. Ricci, II., 226 seq., 233 seq., 246 seq, 258 seq.
^ See Capilupi, ed. Prinzivalli, 76. For the festivities see
fully in *Relatione.
* " II pensier di Don Cesare fu da principio di voler ritenere
tutto lo State che possedeva Alfonso sue cugino e nel ducato di
Ferrara opporsi al Papa et alia Sede Apostolica e dimostrarsi con
armi alia scoperta " *Relatione, supra.
* See *" Expedition! fatte dopo la morte del duca Alfonso a
diversi principi dal sig. duca Cesare : II conte Girardo Rangoni a
Spagna. II marchese Scandiano in Alemagna. II conte Giulio
Tassone alia sig"^ di Geneva. II Sig. Renato Cotti alia sig"^' di
Venezia. II dott. Sasso a Fiorenza. II conte Ettore Galeazzo
Tassone a Savoia. II marchese Rangoni a Parma. II sig.
Grilenzone a Mantova." Barb. lat. 5259, p. 89, Vatican Library.
Cf. ibid. 81, the *Relatione, where Count Alvise Montecuccolo is
mentioned as the envoy to France.
* Cf. Pellegrini, Relazione ined. di ambasciatori Lucchesi
alle corti di Firenze, Genova, etc., Lucca, 1901, 130.
DEATH OF ALFONSO 11. 385
his cousin, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, and upon the powerful
Republic of Venice, and he sent Count Girolamo Giglioli to
Rome to inform the Pope that he had taken possession of
Ferrara, which belonged to him by right. ^
When the news of the death of the last Duke of Ferrara
reached Rome on November ist, 1597, the Pope at once
summoned a general congregation of the Cardinals for the
following day, at which he informed them that the legitimate
line being now extinct by the death of Duke Alfonso, Ferrara,
as a vacant lief, reverted to the Holy See in accordance with
the bull of Pius V., and that he now expressly reconfirmed
this.^ With the exception of Sfondrato and Lancellotti, who
wished for longer time for consideration,^ all the Cardinals
were in agreement with the attitude adopted by the Pope,
because the laws of feudal right were clearly in his favour.^
^ See the *Relatione cited supra. According to this Cesare
counted on the help of the Elector of Saxony and other German
princes.
2 *" Qui e venuta nuova certa della morte del sig. duca di
Ferrara et per questo domattina si fara congregazione di cardinali
inanzi S.S*''^ " (Report of Lodovico Cremaschi, Rome, November
I, 1597. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua). Cf. *Acta consist, Novem-
ber 2, 1597, Barb. lat. 2871, Vatican Library, and the Avviso in
Capilupi, ed. PrinzivaUi, 79 n. i.
' See Avviso of November 5, 1597, Urb. 1065, Vatican Library.
* As the bull of Pius V. expressly excluded all illegitimate
branches, the advocates of Este have always tried to prove
Cesare 's legitimacy. Fontanini (II dominio temporale della S.
Sede sopra Comacchio, Rome, 1709, 305 seq.) has refuted these
attempts. Against Muratori (Antiq. Est., IL, 429) and other
advocates of the Este, cf. Litta in Arch. stor. ital. App. XIL, 67 ;
SuGENHEiM, 437 n. 119; Balan, VL, 642 seq. In the light of
more recent researches Reumont (Toscana, I., 343) admits that
the feudal right was clearly with Clement VIII. ; see Balduzzi
in Aiti d. Romagna, 3rd. ser., IX., 80, 83. The last scholar to
deal with this question, G. Ballardini, considers the illegitimacy
of Cesare to be certain, and remarks [Arch. stor. ital., 5th ser.
XXXVIII. , 341) that it was not only the bull of Pius V. that
stood in the way of his succession, but also the contract which
VOL. XXIV. 25
386 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini especially defended this point of
view.^ There can be no doubt that the determined and bold
stand of the Pope was also influenced by the recollection of
the partly uncertain and partly openly hostile attitude which
the House of Este had repeatedly taken up against the Pope,
its overlord.^
In order to give force to his declaration Clement VIII.
immediately gave orders for large armaments.^ A congrega-
tion of nineteen Cardinals had been appointed to deal with
the question of Ferrara, and this decided that a monitorium
must be issued to Cesare, and that Cardinal Pietro Aldo-
brandini, who was chosen to take the supreme command of
the troops, should go to Bologna for the fitting out of the
force. The nephew set out on November 12th. On the same
day the monitorium was affixed at the cathedral of Ferrara :
this gave Cesare fifteen days in which to justify himself in
Rome, and to present his pretended claims.^ As this was not
done the canonical process was begun. The attempts of
Cesare to turn aside the Pope from his lawful attitude by
means of a letter and promises of a quit -rent, as well as of
considerable advantages for his nephew Gian Francesco
Paul III. had made with Ercole II. The very efforts which
Alfonso II. made, show that a new enfeoflment was wanted,
" 11 che " Cardinal Cinzio properly says in his letter to the nuncios,
" non havrebbe fatto senza bisogno et con ingiuria di D. Cesare "
(Carte Strozz., I., 2, 257).
^ See the *report in Miscell. XV., 37, Papal Secret Archives.
* Federici in Arch. Rom., XXL, 615, rightly points this out.
'See Capilupi, ed. Prinzivalli, 79 seq. Cf. Alti per la storia
Ferrarese, XXII., 45 seq. The *Procura of Cardinal P.
Aldobrandini to Duke Pietro Caetani to enroll 3000 infantry
soldiers and 300 cavalry, is dated November 4, 1597 ; original in
Gaetani Archives, Rome, I., 12.
* See the *Relatione in Cod. Barb, supra ; *Avvisi of November
5, 8 and 12, 1597, Urb. 1065, Vatican Library ; Cod. ital. 109
(*Ragioni d. chiesa sopra Ferrara, with the text of the monitorum),
State Library, Munich ; Capilupi, ed. Prinzivalli 79 seq. ; Frizzi,
v., 3 seq. The posting of the monitorium in Rome is *reported
by Fr. M. Vialardo, November 7, 1597, Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
USURPATION BY CESARE. 387
Aldobrandini, were of no avail. ^ The Venetian ambassador
in particular worked zealously on behalf of Cesare, while
certain Cardinals, such as Valiero and Sfondrato, pointed out
that in view of the Turkish peril a war in Italy must be avoided.
It is said that Clement VIII. hesitated for a moment in view
of this great argument, but that Cinzio Aldobrandini removed
all his scruples. 2 Taking his stand strictly on the legal point
of view, Clement VIII. declared that as soon as Cesare had
evacuated the Duchy of Ferrara his arguments could be taken
into consideration, but that otherwise he would be excom-
municated as an usurper. The armaments were pushed
forward with unexpected energy, and at the same time pra3'ers
were ordered that God would lead Cesare to give way.^ But
he, for his part, breathed threats and redoubled his warlike
preparations, as though determined to push the matter to
extremes. The Cardinals, however, were of a like opinion.
If the Holy See renounced its manifest rights, and tolerated
the usurpation of Cesare, the most fatal consequences to its
dignity and to the existence of the States of the Church were
inevitable.^ At an audience on December 20th Count Ercole
Rondinelli, who had been sent by Cesare to Rome, once again
advanced the claims of his sovereign, but annoyed the
1 Cf. Frizzi, v., 5. According to *statement of the Urbino
envoy in the A wise of November 12, 1597, the Ferrara envoy
Giglioli tried to corrupt the Cardinal with bribes. Urb. 1065,
p. 718, Vatican Library.
^ See Capilupi ed. Prinzivalli, 96 seq., loi n. Contarini also
tells of the opposition of Sfondrato in *Historie Venetiane, I.,
Cod. 6177, State Library, Venice, and Marciana Library, Venice.
How hard Clement VIIL strove to maintain peace in Italy is
shown by his efforts to arrange the disputes between Parma and
Mantua in 1593 and 1596 ; see Luzio, L'Archivio Gonzaga, II.,
218.
* See *Avvisi of December 3 and 6, 1597, Urb. 1065, Vatican
Library. The importance of getting together an armv promptly
is brought out in the *Relatione in the Miscell., XV., 37, Papal
Secret Archives.
* See Lettres d'Ossat, I., 481.
388 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Pope greatly by speaking of the right of election by the
people.^
When the canonical process had been completed, the sen-
tence was published on December 23rd. This stated that as
Cesare obstinately adhered to his usurpation, he and his
adherents incurred m^ajor excommunication, and that the
countries v/hich joined him, after the determined period had
elapsed, were placed under an interdict. ^
Cesare could not conceal his alarm when he received news
of the excommunication, but a ray of hope remained to him
in the help of the Spaniards and Venetians. The Venetian
government, though neutral, favoured his warlike preparations,
and refused to furnish the Pope with arms and munitions from
Brescia. It was only with great difficulty that Clement VIII.
obtained these from Milan. ^ The Spaniards undoubtedly
would have liked to help Cesare, and to fish in the troubled
waters. Cesare trusted to such an extent in Philip II., whose
assistance had been asked b}^ Alfonso II. at the beginning of
1597,* that he suggested the king as arbitrator, but he hesi-
1 See Capilupi ed Prinzivalli, 10 j seq. Cf. *Avvisi of December
24 and 27, 1597, Urb. 1065, loc. cit.
2 See Bull. X., 389 seq. Arch. stor. ital., XII., xxx. ; Capilupi,
ed. Prinzivalli, 85 seq., 112 seq., 117 seq. ; Lettres d'Ossat, I.,
491 ; *report of G. C. Foresto, December 24, 1597, Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.
3 *" Nel Venetiano havendo [Cesare] ample campo ni assoldare
genti et di peter cavar arme, il clie fu interdetto da quella Signoria
a ministri del Papa mandati a Brescia per armi, con gresso
numero de denari si ceme ance cen grandissima difficelta se ne
hebbe per via di IVfilano." Report in Cod. Barb, supra, 383, n. 4.,
Vatican Library.
* Cf. Negeziaziene di Giulio Ottonelli alia Corte di Spagna
(Scelta di curiesita lett. 27), Bologna, 1863. Ottonelli, who had
been sent as it would seem to Spain on account of the Turkish
war, received nothing but premises with regard to the question
of Ferrara, which were not kept. In a *repert from Madrid, on
April 10, 1567, publ. p. 31 of the above Negaziazione, it is stated :
" Qui cammina tutte adagio, il re e veccliio ed ammalate. Questa
corte con tutta la sua grandezza per mezza morta."
FRANCE SUPPORTS THE POPE. 389
tated to accept the proposal of the governor of Milan, who
offered him Spanish garrisons for his fortresses. Philip II.,
in his old age, feared the outbreak of war in Italy, and only
expressed himself with great caution, in spite of the ill-will
which he entertained towards Clement VIII. on account of the
absolution of Henry IV. Nor could Cesare look for help
from Rudolph II., as the Emperor himself was dependent
upon the help of the Pope in his war against the Turks. ^
While Cesare could only find lukewarm, friends, Clement
VIII. found a supporter in the King of France, who openly
and decidedly took his part. As he had done in the case of
the Italian States and the Emperor, ^ on Novem.ber 6th, 1597,
Clement VIII. had sent a special envoy to Henry IV. on the
matter of Ferrara.^ Even before the envoy reached France,
Henry IV. had made his decision. He realized, with the same
clearness as his representative in Rome, d'Ossat, what a
great advantage he could gain for France by adopting a correct
attitude in this matter. Any war that broke out in Italy could
not fail to be useful to the King ot France, without his mixing
^ Cf. Capilupi, ed. Prinzivalli, 104 sea.
2 The mission of Carlo Conti, Bishop of Ancona, is referred to
in the *briefs to Rudolph II., the Doge of Venice and the Duke of
Urbino, November 26, 1597, Arm. 44, t. 41, n. 243 seq., 251-252,
Papal Secret Archives. The original of the brief to the Doge
in the State Archives, Venice, Bolle. The instructions to Conti,
in Capilupi, ed. Prinzivalli, 98 n. i.
* Besides Lettres d'Ossat, I., 480 seq., the *brief to Henry IV.,
November 6, 1597, concerning the mission of " Petrus Ursinus
episc. Aversanus " in which it is stated " Agitur enim Dei honor,
agitur ius et dignitas nostra et huius s. Apostoli Sedis." Arm. 44,
t. 41, n. 253, Papal Secret Archives. Ibid. 254 seq. to the nobles
of France ; 256 " duci Parmae " ; 257 " duci Sabaudiae " ;
258 " duci Memorantii " ; 260 " Lucensibus." It v/as only much
later that Paolo Emilio Zacchia was sent to PhiHp II. ; cf. besides
HiNOjosA, 392 seq., the *brief to Philip II., November 23, 1597,
in which it is stated that the king will perhaps already know
" quae proxime apud nos Ferrariae acciderunt et quam certa et
manifesta sint iura huius S. Sedis in ea civitate et ditione optime
etiam nosti." Arm. 44, t. 41, n. 265, Papal Secret Archives.
390 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
himself up in it, because it would involve the Spaniards,
Florence and Savoy. If the Pope should then turn to the
King of France for support, he would reap even greater
advantages. In this way Henry could easily lead men to
forget how, on many occasions, he had thought it his duty
to act against the wishes of the Holy See. If he alone came
to the assistance of the Pope, he would bind him and his
successors to eternal gratitude.^ In the clear conviction
that to support Clement VIII. in the matter of Ferrara would
be the best course to adopt, as he expressed himself to d'Ossat,
in order to give new splendour to the fieur-de-lys in Rome,
and permanently to assure to France its former position at
the Curia, 2 Henry IV. forgot the former friendly relations of
France with the Este, and ordered his ambassador in Rome,
Piney, to offer the Pope the assistance of the kingdom of
France. He was not only prepared to send an army across
the Alps, but even in case of need to appear in person with
the whole of his army and give his assistance.^
This declaration made the greatest impression in Rome,
and nothing else was spoken of. D'Ossat, overcome with joy,
hoped that his sovereign would once again take up the position
of Pepin and Charlemagne towards the Church. He reported
that if the project was carried out, the enemies of France,
and above all the Spaniards, would be eaten up with envy
and jealousy ; there could be no better opportunity than
this to give the lie to the Spanish calumnies that after his
absolution Henry would show himself the greatest enemy of
the Church.^
But Clement VIII., no matter how valuable the offer of
assistance from France was, was unwilling, for the sake of
universal peace, to have French troops appearing in Italy.
In the case of his not being able to defend his rights by his
own power, he would have preferred the assistance of the
1 C/. Lettres d'Gss.'^t, I., 489.
2 Ihid. I., 490.
3 See Callegari in Riv. stor., XII., 26.
■> See Lettres d'Ossat, I., 490 seq.
REACTION IN FERRARA. 39I
Swiss. 1 He therefore breathed more freely when he saw that
the mere offer of French assistance had been enough to deprive
Cesare of all help. The Spaniards themselves showed them-
selves more accommodating to the wishes of the Pope, when
even in Venice, which at first had been opposed to the acquisi-
tion of Ferrara by the Holy See, and had forbidden Gian
Francisco Aldobrandini to pass with his troops or the
publication of the excommunication, a change had taken
place. ^
At Ferrara the reaction showed itself in a way that no one
could have dared to hope for.^ Not only was there a display
of the discontent which had been aroused by the frequently
oppressive government of Alfonso II., but Cesare himself
began to hesitate. He had hardly assumed the reigns of
government when he showed himself unfit to cope with the
complicated situation, owing to the fact that the dead duke
had deliberately excluded him from all share in the govern-
ment. In consequence of this, he only had a superficial
knowledge of many of the members of the supreme council,'^
while to those he knew best he had, almost without exception,
entrusted missions abroad.^ Undecided by nature, without
the necessary money, and quite inexperienced in military
matters, Cesare saw his adherents vanish, both among the
upper and the lower classes. The people openly expressed
the hope that under the milder government of the Church
they would be less oppressed by taxes than heretofore.^ To
1 See the letter of P. Aldobrandini of November 29, 1597, in
Capilupi, ed. Prinzivalli, 102 n. i.
2 See ibid. 104, 113. A *brief to "Orator regis cath. apud.
Caesarem," January 10, 1598, thanks him for his support in the
question of Ferrara (Arm. 44, t. 42, n. 2, Papal Secret Archives).
For the opposition of Venice cf. Horvat, 132.
^ See Lettres d'Ossat, I., 494.
* See Nice. Contarini in Ranke, II.*, 180.
5 Cf. supra, p. 385, n. 5.
« See the ^Relatione in Cod. Barb, cited supra, p. 383, n. 4,
Vatican Library. Callegari in Riv. stor., XII., 34 ; Lettres
d'Ossat, I., 495 ; Ballardtni in Arch. stor. Hal., 5th ser.,
392 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
all this had to be added the profound impression made by the
Papal excommunication. Of the friendly governments in
Italy, not one dreamed of giving any effective assistance.
They restricted themselves to giving good ad\ice, because
none of the states wished to risk a serious conflict with the
Hoty See.
Cesare had taken all possible precautions that the bull of
excommunication, which had been sent to all the bishops of
Italy, ^ should not be known at Ferrara. In spite of this the
Archbishop of Bologna succeeded in finding a courageous man
who successfully conveyed the document to Ferrara sewn
in his clothes, who handed it to the bishop there. ^ On the
following day, December 31st, the obsequies of one of the
canons took place ; the church was draped in black and filled
with a large crowd of the faithful. After the function the
bishop mounted the pulpit. He spoke of death, but much
worse than the death of the body, he suddenly said, is the
destruction of the soul. By excommunication both are lost,
and Cesare d'Este has incurred this penalty. He then had
the Papal sentence read. The impression made was tremend-
ous, and the fear of the interdict was so great that many of
those present broke out into sobs, and among them the
bishop.^
XXXVIII., 341 seq. For the burden of the taxes under
Alfonso II. see Brosch, I., 314.
1 See Capilupi, ed. Prinzivalli, 117. Cf. Carte Stvozz., I., 2,
257 seq. Venice had tried to prevent the promulgation of the
bull ; see Arch, stor., XII., xxxi.
^ The name is given differently ; see Frizzi, V., 9 seq., and the
♦Relatione in Cod. Barb, supra, p. 383, n. 4, Vatican Library.
Cf. Ranke, II. 8, 181, and Rta. stor., XII., 49.
^ *La mattina sequente, che fu I'ultimo di Decembre, giornata
anco della partenza della sig. duchessa d'Urbino con I'occasione
delle esequie d'un canonico, donde la chiesa era di negro man to
parata, fece un sermone discorrendo sopra la morte e quanto fosse
grave la perdita del corpo e maggiore dell'anima, soggiunse poi
che con la scomunica il corpo e I'anima si perdeva e manifesto
come dalla S.S*^ di S^*' era stato dichiarato escomunicato Don
THE PAPAL ARMY. 393
The news of the excommunication and interdict at once
spread through the city, and it was obvious that the majority
of the citizens had no intention of running the risk of incurring
material and spiritual destruction in order to adhere to Cesare.
Count Francesco Villa was sent to the Pope as the envoy of
the city.^ The inhabitants hastened to approach the sacra-
ments in the fear lest, should their envoy accomplish nothing
in Rome, they might be deprived for some time of this
spiritual consolation.'^
Clement VIII., to the great surprise of everyone, had in a
very short time raised a considerable army for those times,
of more than 20,000 infantry and 3000 horsemen.^ This was
already encamped near Faenza, under the supreme command
of Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini. The city of Ferrara,
although it was well defended by its low position in marshy
territory, was in need of the munitions of war, and even more
of money. No power took any serious steps to help Cesare,
while the attitude of Spain was such as to cause Cesare to fear
the loss of the Imperial fiefs of Reggio and Modena.*. The
consequences that this would entail for the Venetians were
so dangerous that they preferred to see Ferrara occupied by
the Pope.^
Cesare was bound to realize that in these circumstances
Cesare e subito ordinando che si leggesse ad alta voce tutta la
bolla e letta si affigesse alia porta del duomo. Resto il popolo
tanto attonito che vedendosi fra poco tempo come secclii tronchi
dover restare tagliati daR'arbore della spiritual vita e repudiati
dal grembo di s. chiesa mandava fiiori lacrime, gemiti e sospiri
cosi gravi che il prelate piangendo anco con loro dirottamente
empivano la chiesa di singulti e pianti. *Relatione in Cod. Barb.
supra, p. 383, n, 4, Vatican Library.
1 See the *Relatione in Cod. Barb. loc. cit. ; Frizzi, V., 10 ;
Capilupi, ed. Prinzivalli, 123.
2 See *Relatione in Cod. Barb. loc. cit.
8 See Capilupi, ed. Prinzivalli, 79 seq., 87 n. i ; cf. Corresp. de
Frangipani, L, 125.
* See Lettres d'Ossat. L, 495 seq.
' See Capilupi, ed. Prinzivalli, 140 seq^
394 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
it would be madness to attempt the fortunes of war, while
his confessor, the Jesuit Bartolomeo Palmio, advised him
not to push things to that point. ^ In order to bring about
an agreement with the Pope, Cesare had recourse to the sister
of Alfonso II. ; the old Duchess Lucrezia of Urbino had
always been his enemy, but she was on excellent terms with
Cardinal Aldobrandini.- Armed with full powers, Lucrezia
went on December 31st to Faenza, and on January 12th,
1598, she there, in Cesare's name, came to an agreement with
the legate Aldobrandini.^ By this Cesare restored the Duchy
of Ferrara to the Church, together with Cento and Pieve di
Cento, and the fiefs in Romagna. He was accordingly
absolved from the excommunication, together with his
adherents. He retained the allodial estates, the archives,
the art collections, the library, and half the artillery.^
Clement VIII. was on a visit to Palo on the sea^ when he
received the news of the agreement come to at Faenza, and
his joy was as great as it was justified. Without his arm}-
^ See ibid. 128. For Palmio cf. Ricci, II., 117; Balduzzi
{Atti d. Romagna, 3rd seq., IX., 83) thinks that Cesare even began
at last to doubt the legitimacy of his claims.
2 For this princess see Campori, Luigi e Lucrezia d'Este,
Turin, 1888. Cf. Capilupi, ed. Prinzivalli, 123 se^., 127 seq.
An *Elogio to Lucrezia, dated 159S, " prid. Cal. Febr." in Arm. 44,
t. 42, n. 23, Papal Secret Archives. Lucrezia died on February
12, 1598, before the conferring of the title of Duchess of Bertinoro,
which had been promised to her, had taken place. She made
Cardinal Aldobrandini her general heir ; see Campori, loc. cit.
' By a *brief of January 10, 1598, Cardinal Aldobrandini was
expressly authorized to make the negotiations. Arm. 44, t, 42,
n. I, Papal Secret Archives.
* C/. Theiner, Cod. dipl., III., 554 seq. ; Balduzzi in Atti e
Mem. p. la prov. di Romagna, 3rd ser., IX. (1891), 94 seq. G.
Ballardini in Arch. stov. ital., 5th ser., XXXVIII. , 339 seq. ;
ibid. 355 seq., 409 seq. For the commemorative inscriptions at
Faenza, cf. also Montanari, Guida stor. di Faenza, F. 1882,
59 seq.
^ Cf. *Avvisi of January 14, 21 and 24, 1598, Urb. 1066, Vatican,
Library.
RECOVERY OF FERRARA. 395
having fired a single shot, or lost a single man, he had succeeded
in enforcing his rights, and in recovering for the Church a
duchy, the holders of which had hitherto often opposed the
interests of their overlord. This was a matter of substantial
importance^ for the political position and the liberty of action
of the Holy See.
When he had returned to Rome, Clement VIII. had a mass
of thanksgiving celebrated in St. Peter's, and reported the
matter to the Cardinals appointed for the affairs of Ferrara.^
On the following day the treaty was read in consistory and
approved. Cardinal Aldobrandini was given the legation of
Ferrara.^ On January 29th the nephew made his entry into
Ferrara, whence Cesare had departed on the previous day.^
The first official act of Aldobrandini was to reduce the taxes,
and make other concessions. In this way he won over the
1 See DoLFiN, Relazione, 454; Atti p. la storia di Ferrara,
XXII., 68 ; Brosch, I., 320 seq. Cf. the Orazione della signora
Isabella Cervoni da Colle a P. Clemente VIII. sopra I'impresa di
Ferrara con una can zona della medesima a principi christiani,
Bologna, 1598. This rare work (copy in Aldobrandini Archives,
Rome) treats in detail of the advantages of the undertaking
against Ferrara. This " Orazione " is also in manuscript in
Vat. 5566, Vatican Library.
* See letter of C. Aldobrandini, February 4, 1598, in Capilupi,
ed. Prinzivalli, 145 n.
^ See *Acta consist. Cod. Barb. lat. 2871, Vatican Library ;
Capilupi, ed. Prinzivalli, 137 seq. The ratification of the treaty
concluded by Cardinal Aldobrandini, dated January 19, 1598, in
Bull. X., 417 seq. Many *lettcrs from Card. Aldobrandini to
Clement VIII., to Cardinals, princes and nuncios concerning the
recuperatione di Ferrara, in Barb. 5859-64, Vatican Library.
Cf. also Barb. 5365, ibid.
* See Capilupi, ed. Prinzivalli, 144 seq. ; Ballardini, loc. cit.,
343 seq. A *Sonnet on the handing over of Ferrara by Cesare,
beginning with the words " Cesare quel che venne e vide e vinse "
in Carte Strozz., CXCVIIL, p. 502, State Archives, Florence.
Many satires from the manuscripts in the Library of St. Mark's,
Venice, in Pilot, Cesare d'Este e la satira, in the Aieneo Veneto,
XXX., 2 (1907).
39^ HISTORY OF THE POPES.
populace, only the aristocracy still showing themselves to a
great extent attached to the House of Este/ which was
connected with the duchy by such ancient ties. Just as
Aldobrandini took possession of Ferrara in the name of the
Holy See, so did Cardinal Bandini of Comacchio, and the vice-
legate of Bologna of Cento and Pieve di Cento. The Pope
informed all the ambassadors of this on February 17th, 1598,
and the foreign powers through the nuncios. ^ Almost all the
princes hastened to send their congratulations. '^ In March
the Pope received in the Hall of Constantine the oath of
fealty of the four envoys from Ferrara.^ He was then
occupied with his preparations for his journey to the nevv'ly
acquired province.^
Not only the Romans, but also the ambassadors and
Cardinals, Gian Francesco Aldobrandini and his physicians,
advised him, especially on the grounds of the enormous cost,
to give up this journey and remain in Rome.^ But neither
for this reason, nor on account of his gout, could the Pope
be induced to abandon his plan, which he thought necessary'
in the interests of the States of the Church. Cardinal Pietro
^ See Capilupi, ed. PrinzivaDi, 148 seq., 152 seq. ; Frizzi, V.,
19 seq.
2 See the *report of Led. Cremaschi, February 7, 1598, Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua, and the letter of Cinzio Aldobrandini in
Carte Strozz., I., 2, 264.
=* See *Brevia, Arm. 44, t. 42, p. 6, 13, 21-38, 45, 48, 50, 52, 56,
71, 83, 84, 100, 104, 122, 129, 140, 150, Papal Secret Archives.
The originals of the briefs of February 7, 1598, to the Duke of
Mantua in Gonzaga Archives, Mantua, and to Venice in State
Arcliives, Venice.
^ Theiner, Cod. dipl., III., 571 seq. Renato Cato delivered
the Latin discourse before the Pope ; cf. *report of L. Cremaschi,
March 21, 1598, Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
^ See Lettres d'Ossat, I., 498 ; Frizzi, V., 22.
® Cf. *Avviso of April 8, 1598, Urb. 1066, Vatican Library ;
Capilupi, ed. Prinzivalli, 153. According to the *report of
L. Cremaschi, Rome, March 7, 1598, Venice tried in every possible
way to prevent the journey. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
' See *Avviso of March 14, 1598, Urb, 1066, loc, cit.
CLEMENT VIII. GOES TO FERRARA. 397
Aldobrandini, too, was in favour of the journey ; it would
be good for the Pope's liealth and for the city of Ferrara,
which had suffered so much from the burdens imposed on it
by the prodigal Duke Alfonso.^ The Cardinals at length
agreed to 150,000 scudi being taken from the treasure in the
Castle of St. Angelo for the journey.^ On April 3rd Cardinal
d'Aragona was appointed legate for the city of Rome during
the absence of the Pope from the City, while other important
provisions were made, especially for the eventuality of a
conclave.^
After Clement VIII. had celebrated mass at the tomb of
the Princes of the Apostles on April 13th, he set out on his
journey.* In his retinue were Cardinals Baronius, Monte,
Arigoni and Cinzio Aldobrandini ; others joined him after-
wards. The officials of the Rota, and all the court, made the
journey at the same time. It is no wonder that the treasurer
was in despair.^ Clement VIII. spent the first night at
Castelnuovo, the second at Civita Castellana, and then at
Narni, where he urged the completion of the building of the
^ See letter of Aldobrandini, February 5, 1598, in Atti p. la
storia di Ferrara, XXII., 76.
2 Cf. supra, p. 381.
* Bull. X., 436 seq., 440 seq., 445 seq.
* Cf. besides the summarized information given by Bentivoglio
(Memorie, 18 seq.) the exhaustive description of Capilupi, ed.
Prinzivalli, 160 seq., and the following still unpublished reports :
I. Matteo Argenti, *Giornale del viaggio di Clemente VIII. per
Ferrara, Barb. lat. 4829, and *Diario de luoghi che passa
Clemente VIII. per andare a Ferrara, Barb. lat. 4834, Vatican
Library. 2. I. P. Mucantii *" Iter Clementis VIII. Ferrariense,"
Barb. lat. 2847, also in the Corsini Library, Rome, and State
Archives, Modena, printed in part in the work of Gatticus (not
published) Acta caerem., II., 193 seq. (copy in Vatican Library).
Cf. also *Diarium Adami Klicishii miiitis s. Petri ab introitu suo
in Italiam " for the years 1 594-1 598, Barb. 2259, Vatican Library.
See also *Avvisi in Urb. 1066, which are used in part both by
Prinzivalli, 160 seq., and Argenti. The ^register of the
expenses of the journey in the State Archives, Rome.
^ See Baumgarten, Neue Kunde, 33.
39^ HISTORY OF THE POPES.
cathedral.^ His reception at Spoleto was very magnificent.
Thence he went by way of Fohgno,^ Camerino,^ Macerata
and Loreto, where he made costly gifts to the Holy House,
and, surrounded by fifteen Cardinals, gave the blessing to
the people.* At Loreto he was joined by Cardinal Pietro
Aldobrandini, who went with the Pope to Ancona, where the
feast of the Ascension was kept. Here too his welcome was
very magnificent.^ The Pope took up his abode in the bishop's
palace, high above the city, and adjoining the cathedral, where
Pius II. had died on his crusade. At Pesaro the Duke of
TJrbino paid homage to the Pope.^ On May 2nd Clement VIII.
visited Fano, his native city,' and then at Rimini received
Cesare de'Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio. He conversed
with him for an hour, and entertained him at his table. '^
After a visit to Ravenna,^ he continued his journey by
Bagnacavallo^" and Lugo^^ to Ferrara. Maj^ Sth^^ j^^d been
appointed for the solemn entry, at which an immense throng
had assembled, including many strangers from Lombardy,
Venice and Bologna. Clement VIII. was received at the
Porta S. Giorgio by the bishop and clergy, and the magistrates
delivered the keys of the city. The Pope then put on the
^ See *Avviso of April 24, 1598, Urb. 1066, loc. cit.
2 Cf. Faloci Pulignani, I priori d. cattedrale di Foligno, F.
1914, 276 seq.
^ See *Cod. A. E. XL, 74, p. 144 of the Library of S. Pietro in
Vincoli, Rome. Cf. Lammer, Zur Kirchengeschichte, 45 seq.
* See Argenti in Prinzivalli, 166, n. i.
* See Cascioli, Mem. stor. di Poli, Rome, 1896, 162 seqq.
« *Avviso of May 9, 1598, Urb. 1066, loc. cit.
' Cf. L. Masetti, Accoglienze fatte in Fano a P. Clemente VIIL,
Pesaro, 1881.
^ See Argenti in Prinzivalli, 171.
^ See Bentivoglio., Memorie, 19.
1° See Balduzzi, loc. cit., 91 seq.
1^ Cf. Vine. Milani Lugensis In adventu S.D.N.D. dementis VIIL
P.M. oratio Lugi habita 1598 Cal. Mail, Bononiae, 1598.
^* Not on the 9th, as Balduzzi states {loc. cit., 92). The *Avviso
of May 13, 1598 (Urb. 1066, loc. cit.) expressly says that the
Pope made his entry on the Friday, and the Friday fell on the 8th.
CLEMENT VIII. IN FERRARA. 399
pontifical vestments and mounted the sedia gestatoria, above
which a baldacchino was carried. In his retinue there were
eighteen Cardinals, fifteen prelates, many dignitaries of the
court, the Swiss Guard, and the ambassadors of France, Venice
and Savoy. ^ The Blessed Sacrament, at the entry and
throughout the journey, was carried in a precious portable
tabernacle, on a white mule.^ The streets through which the
cortege passed were adorned with tapestries, inscriptions
and triumphal arches. Clement VIII. went first to the
cathedral, and then to the Castello, the former palace of the
Este dukes, where he took up his abode.
The first and the most pressing care of Clement VIII.,
was to reorganize the government. For this purpose he set
^ For the entry, the day of which is often wrongly given, even
in Capilupi, 174, cf. the *Avvisi of May 9, 13 and 16, 1598,
Urb. 1066, loc. cit. ; Pregildo Piazza, *letter from Ferrara,
May II, 1598, to sig. N. Fozza, Coll. Antonelli, n. 669, Library,
Ferrara ; Rocca (next note) ; Gatticus, II., 193 ; Descrittione de
gli apparati fatti in Bologna per la venuta di N.S.P. Clemente VI 1 1.
. . . co' disegni degli archi, statue et pitture, Bologna, V. Benacci,
1598 and 1599. The first edition, unknown to Brunet and
Cicognara, is very rare. The text which describes the plates,
includes, with the title, eight pages. See also Vero disegno
dell'ordine tenuto da Clemente VI 1 1, nel fel. ingresso di S.S*^
nella citta di Ferrara, 1598, Antonio Tempesta sculp. A fresco
in the Palazzo Antici-Mattei in Rome, also shows the entry of
the Pope into Ferrara ; it is of special interest for the costumes.
The inscription is only partly preserved in Capilupi, ed. Prinzi-
valli, 173 n. The Cod. germ. 3993 of the State Library, Munich,
contains *" Pompa " and entry of Pope Clement VII I. , 1598,
into Ferrara, German translation by A. Rocca, with an anti-papal
introduction by Girolao Parco.
2 See Ang. Rocca (ord. S. Agost.), De ss. Christi corpore rom.
pontificibus iter conficientibus praeferendo commentarius anti-
quiss. ritus causam et originem, variasque ss. pontificum ss.
secum hostiam in itinere deferentium profectiones itinerarium
societatis ss. sacramenti Clemente VIII. Ferrariam, proficiscente,
Rome, 1599. Cf. Lettres d'Ossat, II., iii ; Baumgarten,
Neue Kunde, 33.
400 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
up a commanal council, which was cleverly divided into three
sections, nobles, burghers and artisans. Without restricting
the supreme authority of the Cardinal, he gave this new
council, which was to be elected every three years, certain
rights and powers, such as the provision of food, the regulation
of the rivers, the appointment of the judges and the podesta,
and even of the professors of the university, powers which the
Este had reserved to themselves. The Pope condoned many
purely fiscal debts, and v/on over citizens of importance by
conferring on them ecclesiastical dignities. ^ The inhabitants
of Ferrara were delighted by the confirmation of all their
ancient privileges and by the labours of the legate, Aldo-
brandini, to restore the finances, which had been seriously
damaged by the Este.^ On the other hand great discontent
was aroused by the construction of a fortress, to make space
for which many houses, and some churches and palaces had
to be destroyed, among them the celebrated Belvedere, so
much sung by the poets. ^ Later on Ferrara, like Bologna,
v/as given the right to have its own ambassador in Rome,'*
as well as a tribunal of its own for the settlement of causes.^
During the stay of Clement VIII. at Ferarra, which lasted
^ See Bull. X., 449 seq. ; Frizzi, V., 25 seq. ; Contarini in
Ranke, II.*, 183, n. I.
2 See Frizzi, V., 27 seq.
^ See besides Frizzi, V., 37 seq., Capilupi, ed. Prinzivalli, 184,
and the *Avvisi of July 25 and 28, and August i, 1598, Urb. 1066,
loc. cit. Frizzi [loc. cit.) rejects on the strength of the Acta in
the Communal Archives, Ferrara, the suggestion that the pro-
prietors of the demolished houses were not indemnified, as
Brosch (I., 321) claims. The number of 4000 houses mentioned
by Brosch is a huge exaggeration ; see Pardi in Atti d. Deput.
per Ferrara, XX. (1911), 8.
« Brief of March i, 1599, Bull. X., 4S1 seq. Cf. Cancellieri,
Possessi, 209 seq., 281 ; Moroni, V., 302, XXIV., 152. The
♦reports of the Ferrara envoys in Rome, preserved to 179&, are
in the Communal Archives, Ferrara ; ibid, the greater part of
the correspondence of the Cardinal legate.
5 See Bull. X., 511 seq. Cf. Moroni, XXIV., 152 seq.
CLEMENT VIII. IN FERRARA. 40I
for more than six months, the saying " ubi pontifex ibi Roma "
was fully confirmed. Envoys came from all parts, and
princes and princesses, some to express their devotion to the
vicar of Christ, and offer him their congratulations, and
some on private business. The first to come, on May 8th,
was the ambassador of the Emperor, and on the following
day the Archduke Ferdinand, on pilgrimage to Loreto, who
was received by the Pope as a son by his father. ^ There
followed the envoys of Lucca, ^ and at the beginning of June
the four representatives of the Republic of St. Mark, who were
received with special courtesy. At their farewell audience
the Pope jokingly said to them that he still hoped to celebrate
holy mass in Santa Sofia at Constantinople.^ At the same
time there came from Mantua Duke Vincenzo, his consort
Eleanora and his sister Margherita, the mother of Alfonso II.
They were engaged in a dispute with Cesare d'Este over a
matter of inheritance. On May 29th there also appeared in
Ferrara* Ferrante Gonzaga, Prince of Guastalla. On June
19th the Pope received Federigo Pico, Prince of Mirandola.^
At the end of June there came the Duke of Parma, Ranuccio
^ See *Avviso of May 20, 1598, Urb. 1066, loc. cit. Cf. *reports
of L. Cremaschi, Ferrara, May 11 and 15, 1598, Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua. See also Hurter, III., 411 seqq. ; Stieve, IV., 307;
Archiv. f. osterr. Gesch., LXXXVI., 325 seq. For the envoy
sent by the Archduke Maximilian to Ferrara see Hirn,
Maximilian, I., 69.
* See *Avviso of May 27, 1598, Urb. 1066, loc. cit.
' See Al. P. Clemen te VIII. Ambasceria Veneta straordinaria
in Ferrara nell'a. 1598, ed. R. Fulin, Venice, 1865. Cf. also
*Avvisi of June 3 and 6, 1598, Urb. 1066, loc. cit. For Cesare
Cremonino, who came aa,the envoy of Cento, and his successful
negotiations see Sighinolfi in Atti d. Romagna, 3rd ser., XXV.
(1907), 423 seq.
* See the *Avvisi of May 30, and June 6, 1598, Urb. 1066,
loc. cit. Cf. Narrazione della solenne entrata fatta in Ferrara
del ser. duca di Mantova e degli ill. ambasc. di Venezia, Rome,
1598.
^ *Avviso of June 20, 1598, loc. cit.
VOL. XXIV. 26
402 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Farnese, to pay his homage.^ He rivalled in pomp the Dake
of Mantua, who appeared with a retinue of 1200 persons.
Lastly there came the governor of Milan, who was treated
by the Pope with a like honour as the afore-mentioned
princes.^
At the end of September Clement VIII. undertook an
expedition to Comacchio.^ Everyone attempted to dissuade
him from this, partly on the ground of the expense, and partly
not to offend Venice, but he would not be moved from his
purpose.^ A month later there began the preparations for
the marriage of the Archduchess Margaret of Styria to
Philip III., who was represented by the Duke of Sessa.^ The
marriage of the Archduke Albert to the Infante Isabella
was to take place at the same time ;® the Pope wished to bless
both these marriages in person. The future Queen of Spain
made her solemn entry on November 13th, mounted on a
white palfrey, and accompanied by nineteen Cardinals, and
numerous archbishops, prelates and ambassadors.' After
1 See Descrizione del viaggio fatto dal duca Ranuccio Farnese
a Ferrara per visitare P. Clemente VIII., Ferrara, 1598. Cf.
*report of L. Cremaschi, June 30, 1598, Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua. *Avviso of July 15, 1598, loc. cit.
* See, besides *Avviso of August 29, 1598, loc. cit. Bentivoglio,
Memorie, 23-26. Cf. also Possevino, Gonzaga, 824.
* See *Avvisi of September 26 and 30, 1598, loc. cit.
* Cf. Baumgarten, Neue Kunde, 30.
^ See *Avvisi of October 7, 10, 24 and 31, and November 4,
7 and II, 1598, loc. cit. The principal hall of the palace was
decorated like the Sala Regia. The expenses of the reception
of the queen given by Orbaan in Arch. Rom., XXXVI., 119 seq.
* The Archduke Albert put aside his sacerdotal dress on July 13,
1598 ; he had never received major orders ; see Archiv. f. osterr.
Gesch., LXXXVL, 328, 333. For his laying aside of the
cardinalitial dignity see the *brief addressed to him, July 31,
1598, Arm. 44, t. 42, n. 212, Papal Secret Archives.
' See *Diarium P. Alaleonis, Barb. 2815, Vatican Library ;
*Avviso of November 14, 1598, Urb. 1066, ibid. ; *report of
L. Cremaschi, November 14, 1598, Gonzaga Archives, Mantua ;
La fel. entrata della ser. Regina di Spagna D. Margarita d'Austria
THE MARRIAGES AT FERRARA. 403
she had assisted at the Pope's mass on the following day,
together with the Archduke Albert, who had previously
renounced his cardinalate,^ on the 15th both marriages were
blessed by Clement VIII., after which the Golden Rose was
conferred on Margaret.^ The festivities which took place
on the occasion recalled the most splendid days which Ferrara
had witnessed in the time of the Este.^ Margaret left the
city on November i8th, accompanied by Cardinal Aldo-
brandini as far as the frontier of the States of the Church.
After this the Pope began to prepare for his return journey,
and on November 20th Cardinal Giovanni Francesco di
S. Giorgio di Blandrata assumed the office of pro-legate.
Giglioli was appointed ambassador of Ferrara at the Curia,
and it was resolved to set up a bronze statue of Clement VIII.
nella citta di Ferrara, Ferrara, 1598 ; Bentivoglio, Memorie,
29 seq.
^ The laying aside of the purple took place at a secret consistory :
" Ferrariae in CasteUo die ult. lulii " : *Dixit 'S>^^ Sua ipsum
cardinalem ac Philippum Hisp. regem summopere urgere pro
admissione huius modi resignationis causamque ab ipso rege
adduci optimam, nempe quia iudicat expedire conservationi
relig. oath." Cod. 75, p. 254 seq. of the Library of S. Pietro in
Vincoli, Rome.
^ See *Diarium P. Alaleonis, Barb. 2815, Vatican Library ;
*Avviso of November 18, 1598, Urb. 1066, ibid. ; Relazione di
Paolo Mucante dell'entrata solenne fatta in Ferrara per la ser.
D. Margherita d'Austria Regina di Spagna e del consistorio
publico . . . con minuto ragguaglio della messa pontificale da
S.B. e delle ceremonie delli sposalizii etc., Rome, 1598. Cf. also
Capilupi, ed. Prinzivalli, 184 seq. ; Bentivoglio, Memorie,
31 seq.
* Cf. *Avviso of November 18, 1598, according to which
maschere were also allowed " havendo nome questi Ferraresi di
fare cosa vaga in questa materia, massime che queste dame in
maschera fanno molto bella niostra." The ladies of Comacchio
performed dances in the moats around the castello, which greatly
diverted the queen. On November 17 the " tragedia di
Holoferne " was performed before the queen (Urb. 1066, loc. cit.).
Cf. also the *Diarium P. Alaleonis, loc. cit.
404 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The Pope granted further favours to the Ferrarese, and
promised them to make the Po navigable ; he showed himself
so magnanimous that the representatives of the city left
his audience chamber with tears of joy in their eyes.^ On
November 26th Clement VIII., kneeling before the Blessed
Sacrament in the cathedral, recommended the new possession
to the protection of God in a touching prayer, and then set out
upon his return journey. ^
He went first from Ferrara to Bologna, where he was
received with great honour. Guido Reni has preserved in
an etching the decorations of the festivities. Clement VIII.
remained in Bologna for three days ; he said mass at
S. Petronio, and visited the university, where he had once
made his studies.^ The return to Rome, where the Pope
was anxiously awaited, was hastened as much as possible,
and to that end the retinue was reduced.'^ On December ist
Clement VIII. reached Imola, and on the 2nd honoured
Faenza and Forlimpopoli^ with his presence ; on the 3rd he
met Cardinal Aldobrandini at Meldola ; on the 4th Cesena
we reached, and on the 5th Rimini, where, on the following
day, the Second Sunday in Advent, he said mass in the
cathedral. From Rimini he went to Cattolica, on the 7th
by Pesaro to Fano, on the 8th to Sinigaglia, on the gth to
Ancona, and on the loth to Loreto. After having stayed
^ See *Avvisi of November 21 and December 5, 1598, Urb.
1066, loc. cit.
* The *Diarium P. Alaleonis, loc. cit. gives this beautiful prayer.
3 See *Diarium P. Alaleonis, loc. cit. ; *Avvisi of December 5
and 12, 1598, Urb. 1066, loc. cit. ; Bellentani, I papi a Bologna,
B., 1857, 27 seq. For the festival decorations see Bohn, G. Reni,
3 seq., 30, and Jahrb. d. Kunstsamml. d. osterr. Kaiserhauses,
XXVI., 137. Cf. also Fr.\ti, Opere di bibliografia Bolognese, I.
(1888), 419.
* See *Avviso of December 12, 1598, Urb. 1066, loc. cit. We
have details of the return journey in the *Diarium P. Alaleonis,
Barb. 2815, ibid. Cf. also Lettres d'Ossat, I., 610, 612 seq., 614.
5 C/. Ballardini in Arch. stor. ital., 5th ser., XXXVIII.,
362 seq., 366 seq.
RETURN OF THE POPE TO ROME. 405
there for several days, and having ordained Cardinals Pietro
Aldobrandini and Bartolomeo Cesi priests, on December 14th
the journey was continued by way of Foligno, Spoleto, Narni
and Civita Castellana. On the 19th the Pope reached Rome,
where the whole of the clergy went to meet him at the Porta
del Popolo. Accompanied by them he went in procession,
through richly decorated streets, to St. Peter's. The people
were filled with exultation ; the Pope looked very well, and
had falsified the prophecies of the astrologers that he would
die on the journey. ^ On the following days the audiences
at the Vatican were very numerous, and all flocked to con-
gratulate him on the acquisition of Ferrara, which was cele-
brated by many poets and orators. ^ It was resolved to set
1 See *Avvisi of December 23 and 26, 1598, Urb. 1066, loc. cit. ;
Odoardo Magliano, L'ordine tenuto nel ricevere il SS.
Sacramento nell'entrare in Roma con la processione at apparati
delle strade da S. Maria del Popolo a S. Pietro, Rome, 1598 ;
*report of L. Cremaschi, December 25, 1598, Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua. Commemorative inscription see Capilupi, ed. Prinzi-
valli, 215 seq. Clement VIII. had expressed the wish that there
should be no expense to celebrate his return (see the *brief to
Cardinal d'Aragona, December 9, 1598) as he already knew the
devotion of the city : " Romae enim aetatem egimus." Arm.
44, t. 42, n. 370, Papal Secret Archives.
* los. Castalionis, Expeditio Ferrariensis et Ferraria recepta,
Rome, 1598 ; G. B. Genari, Rime nella venuta di Clemente VIII.
a Ferrara, Ferrara, 1598 ; los. Comarini, In S.D.N. Clementis
VIII. P.O.M. Ferrariam Bononiam, Romamque adventu.
Carmina, Ferrara, 1599; Giov. Paolo Braccino (of Ferrara),
Rime a diversi nella venuta di Clemente VIII. (Aldobrandini)
col sacro coUegio et Romana Corte alia nobiliss. citta di Ferrara,
etc., Ferrara, 1601 ; D. NizzoLi, Viaggio di S.S. Clemente VIII.
a Ferrara in ottava rima, s. /. et a. ; Ottavio Micheli da Lucca,
♦Ferrara recuperata in ottava rima (six canti), Vat. 5529, Vatican
Library ; Fab. Patritius, Oratione a N.S. Clemente VIII.
neH'allegrezza dell'acquisto di Ferrara, Venice, 1598. Other
commemorative discourses in Capilupi, ed. Prinzivalli, 214 seq.
For commemorative coins see Bonanni, I., and Agnelli, F'errara,
Bergamo, 1906, 99,
406 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
lip a commemorative inscription in honour of Clement VIII.
at the Capitol.^
In the midst of these days of jubilation, there occurred a
terrible disaster, owing to which the most fortunate year of
the pontificate of the Aldobrandini Pope ended in sorrow.^
The Eternal City was afflicted by an inundation, which far
surpassed all previous ones. On December 21st torrential
rains had fallen, owing to which the yellow and muddy waters
of the Tiber were swollen in the most alarming way. On
1 See NovAEs, IX., 38. The event was also celebrated in
inscriptions, e.^. at the Villa Aldobrandini (see infra, pp. 496 seqq.),
the castello at Spoleto, and the Palazzo del Podesta at Faenza.
The banner with the device : " Ferrara ricuperata " is preserved
at the Villa Aldobrandini at Anzio.
2 In a *note in Cod. Barb. lat. 5259, p. 132, Vatican Library,
it is stated of the year 1598 : Anno celebre e memorabile per la
christianita, ma particolarmente per la riputatione e felicita della
Sede Apost. e ni Clemente VIII. poiche in esso non solo ricupero
e ridusse sotto il dominio ecclesiastico Ferrara, et uno stato cosi
grande suo, ma nell'istesso anno si rihebbe dalle mani de'turchi
Giaverino pochi anni avanti da loro per forza occupato. Stabilissi
la pace con I'autorita del medesimo Pontefice per mezzo del suo
legato tra la corona di Francia e quella di Spagna dopo dieci anni
di guerra, anzi si potrebbe dire cento. Quietossi con I'istessa pace
il regno di Francia lacerato altretanto tempo dalle guerre civili,
et essendo morto Fllippo 2° Re di Spagna si congiunsero in
matrimonio Filippo 3. suo figliuolo a Margherita d'Austria,
facendosi solennita delle nozze in Ferrara con grandissima pompa
degna di tanti principi per mano dell'istesso Pontefice ; ne questo
sponsalitio fu solo ; poiche seco anche si celebro quelle dell'
arciduca Alberto con I'infanta Donna Isabella di Spagna. Ne fu
cosa di poca consideratione il muoversi il Papa con tutta la corte
di Roma et andare a Ferrara con decoro ecclesiastico e pontificio,
entrandovi solennissimamente, attioni, che bastarebbono ad
illustrare un secolo, e far memorabili quattro pontificati. Ne
poteva quest'anno esser piu felice per quel Pontefice, se questa
ielicita non fosse stata alquanto temperata dall'innondatione,
che fece il Tevere, nel suo ritorno a Roma, che non solo li rec6
non poco disturbo, bench e in esso anche havesse occasione di
mostrare la sua pieta, et il card. Aldobrandini la sua dilJgenza,
INUNDATION OF THE TIBER. 407
December 23rd the river began to overflow at certain points.
At first no great fears were entertained, but the waters rose
from lioiir to hour with alarming persistence ; they passed
the floodmarks of 1557, and at last even those of 1530 by
two palms. It was estimated that the level of the water
had risen by ten metres. ^ Almost the whole city suffered
in a terrible degree from the stench, which in the poetry of
Horace was attributed to the vengeance of the Tiber god.^
Only the hills and some of the higher parts of the cit}^ were
spared.^ With bewildering force the waters destroyed many
houses, especially in the Borgo, on the island of S. Bartolomeo,
and in the Ripetta. In many other cases the foundations
were so undermined that later on they had to be supported
^ C/. v. MoLTKE, Wanderbuch^, Berlin, 1890, 61.
* Already on February 2nd, 1598, there had been an inundation
which had caused damage of 200,000 scudi (see *Avviso of
February 4, 1598, Urb. 1066, loc. cit.) and another on March i
(*Avviso of ]\Iarch 7, 1598, ibid.).
* Cf. Lettres d'Ossat, V., 5 seq. ; report of the procurator of
the Anima in Schmidlin, Anima, 442 seq. ; *Avviso of December
30, 1598, Urb. 1066, loc. cit. ; *letter of Carpino Carpini, Rome,
December 30, 1598, in Vat. 8259, p. 342 seq. Vatican Library ;
Lettera di Maurizio Cataneo in Idea del Segretario, Venice, 1606,
37 seq. ; *letter of L. Cremaschi, December 26, 1598, Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua ; *report of M. Vialardo to the Archduke
Ferdinand, January 2, 1599, State Archives, Vienna. Two
*reports in Inform, polit., XVI., n. 15-16, State Library, Berlin.
See also Juvencius, V., 291 seq. ; Possevino, Gonzaga, 824 seq. ;
Grottanelli, Ducato di Castro, 21 seq. ; Lanciani, Scavi, II..
27 ; A. Pilot in Riv. di Roma, 1909. Contemporary accounts in
Archivio, V., 3 (1879), 300 seq. of Gori ; Bertolotti, Art.
Subalp., 144 seq. Of other reports mention may be made of :
the Relatione de la spaventevole inondatione fatta dal Tevere
nella citta di Roma e suoi contorni alii 23 decembre 1598, Milan,
1599 (copy in the Library of J. v. Gorres, afterwards in the
possession of Fraulein Sofia Gorres at Vienna). J. Castiglione,
Trattato dell'inondatione del Tevere, Rome, 1599, 5 seq., 44 seq.,
73 seq. ; M. Cognatus, De Tiberis inundatione, Rome, 1599.
For the inundation cf. also Miscell. d. stor. Hal., IV., 687.
408 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
by girders and beams, and new sub-structures ; older buildings,
such as the professed house of the Jesuits, had to be rebuilt
owing to the damage they had sustained.^ The two outer
arches of the Ponte Palatino, restored by Gregory XIII.,
fell before the raging waters, so that the medieval name of
Ponte S. Maria was changed to that of Ponte Rotto.^ The
Ponte S. Angelo and the Ponte Molle were also damaged,
and all the little shops of objects of devotion near the Ponte
S. Angelo were destroyed ; three salt stores belonging to the
Apostolic Camera, and nine out of the twenty corn mills on
the Tiber — according to other accounts as many as twelve —
were carried away with all their inhabitants. Two broke
into pieces at the Ponte Sisto.
In a state of indescribable confusion there floated through
the streets of Rome bales of merchandize, bundles of hay,
doors, books, furniture and domestic utensils. The waters,
which flowed with bewildering speed, frequently changed their
course, and a terrible state of panic prevailed. At the terrified
cry of " the floods " the people rushed out of their houses,
and in the lack of sufficient boats, sought safety, amid terrible
scenes, in the higher ground, at the Castle of St. Angelo, and
in the larger houses. Others took refuge on the roofs. If
the city had been carried by assault by an enemy, the terror
and confusion could not have been greater. The terrible
height to which the water reached may be seen with alarming
clearness by the marks which are still to be seen to-day on
the facade of the Minerva and in other places.^ The inunda-
tion broke with such lightning speed that the greater number
of the inhabitants were unable to provide themselves with
^ See JuvENCius, V., 292, where there are particulars of the
new building erected by Card. O. Farnese.
2 As the last trace of the bridge there is still preserved a single
arch in the middle of the river.
* See the illustrations in Pastor, Rom zu Ende der Renaissance,
29. List of the marks showing the height of the water in
Inventario, I., 86, 99, 165, 237, 305, 467. Inscription relating to
the inundation of the Tiber at S. Giovanni de' Fiorentini, in
ToTTi, 244.
THE INUNDATION. 409
food or the barest necessaries, and the Imperial ambassador
reported that even Cardinals Madruzzo and Sforza nearly
died of starvation.^
The damage done in the churches was terrible. " After
the fatal floods — thus the procurator of the Anima describes
the state of the German national church — had beaten strongly
and for a long time against the walls of our church, throwing
against them roofs, timbers from mills and ships and all
manner of things that they had carried away with them from
all parts, but in vain, because the architectural strength had
defied their efforts, they began to rage in the interior of the
church ; they overthrew all the tombs, scattered bodies,
ashes, filth, mingling them with the water in the wells, the
drinking water, earth and air, as they would ; they ruined
the stalls in the choir, and in the sacristy, as well as the images
of Our Lady which were near the altars ; as the doors could
not be torn from their hinges, they were broken, crushed
and to a great extent demolished ; the hangings which had
been attached to the pillars and other places as decoration
for the feast of the Nativity (for the water began to rise on the
vigil of the Nativity) were discoloured and spoiled to half
their height by filthy water ; almost all the marble monuments
and inscriptions were damaged, among them those of the
Duke of Cleves and of Pope Adrian VI. of holy memory." ^
The Romans passed a terrible vigil of the Nativity ; no one
slept, lights were burning in all the windows, and the rising
of the water was anxiously watched. At last a slight sub-
sidence of the flood could be detected. In spite of this on
the following day the churches were still so immersed in water
1 See the *report of Vialardo, January 2, 1599, State Archives,
Vienna.
2 ScHMiDLiN, Anima, 443. The report, as far as the churches
are concerned, is confirmed by the *letter of Carpino Carpini in
Vat. 8259, p. 342 seq. (Vatican Library), who says : " Non vi si
puo troppo dimorare per il gran fettore e puzza che rendono li
cadaveri delle sepulture sfondate dal acqua." Cf. also Panciroli,
Tesori nascosti (1600), 429, 538 ; Cavazzi, S. Maria in Via Lata,
Rome, 1908, 128.
410 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
that mass could hardly be said anywhere. Even the solemn
Papal mass had to be omitted.^ During the night before
St. Stephen's day the waters began to disappear, leaving
everywhere a deep layer of mire, which could only be removed
with great difficulty. For a long time the basements remained
filled with water, and the lower floors were uninhabitable on
account of the water which had penetrated into them.^ It
is difficult to estimate exactly the number of persons in the
city and the environs who were taken by surprise and drowned
by the floods. The estimates vary from 4,000 to 1,400.^
Immense loss was caused by the destruction of cattle, grain,
wine, oil, hay, merchandize and objects of every kind, which
were stored for the most part in the basements. It was
estimated that there was a loss of two million gold ducats.'*
The Pope, who v/as afflicted with the deepest grief at the
misfortunes of the inhabitants of the capital, and praj'cd
almost without interruption, did all he could from the first
to give every help that lay in his pov/er. He had those who
were in danger rescued by boats, and distributed food and
money in all the parishes. By his orders Cardinal Aldobran-
dini supervised the salvage works, in which Cardinals Santori,
Rusticucci, Sauli, Sfondrato and Sforza also took part, and
among the aristocracy above all the Marchese Peretti. At
the hospital of Santo Spirito, Camillus of Lellis, the founder
of the " Fathers of a good death," laboured all the night with
six companions in moving the sick to an upper floor.
It greatly afflicted the Pope when wicked men spread the
report among the people that the opening of a canal for the
1 *December 24, 1598, " non fuit Capella propter inundationem
Tyberis." Diarium P. Alaleonis, Barb. 2815, Vatican Library.
2 See *report of Carpino Carpini, loo. cit.
3 See ScHMiDLiN, Anima, 442 n. 2. The statement of Reumont
here given, of 1500 drowned, is probably based on the Relatione
della spaventevole inondatione, Milan, 1599, which mentions the
number of 1400. The same number is to be found on the back
cover of the manuscript n. 43 of the Stiftes Hohenfurth Library
in Bohemia.
4 *Avviso of December 30, 1598, Urb. 1066, loc. cit.
THE INUNDATION. 41I
draining of the water from the Velino, which he had permitted,
had been the cause of the inmidation.^ An examination
carried out on the spot later on proved the groundlessness of
these rumours. 2 In another quarter the blame for the
inundation was attributed to the works of the Florentine
government, for the draining of the valley of the Chiana.
When for this reason the Romans began to construct dykes,
which led to the flooding of some of the neighbouring districts
of Tuscany, there followed a bitter quarrel with Florence,
which threatened to develop nito a war.^
On January 8th, 1599, Clement VIII. had made a report
to the Cardinals on the catastrophe,'* and on the 23rd a circular
was issued to the clergy and people of Rome, exhorting them
to look upon the inundation as a chastisement for their sins,
and to appease the anger of God^ by leading a better life
and b}' doing penance. To this end processions were ordered
at St. Mar}' Major's and St. Peter's.^ But in order to avert
the recurrence of such a disaster by human means as well,
a congregation of six Cardinals was ordered to discuss with
experts on the subject '^ plans for the regulation of the Tiber.
^ See ibid. For the works on the Velino, hardly finished in 1601
cf. *Avviso of July 24, 1596, Urb. 1064, I., loc. cit Carrara,
La caduta del Velino nella Nera, Rome, 1799 ; Novaes, IX., 39.
2 Cf. *Avvisi of February 3 and 10, March 3 and 20, and April 3,
1599. Urb. 1067, Vatican Library.
' See Reumont, Toskana, I., 365. " Disegni piante relazioni e
visite con le transazioni fatte per le Chiane 1600 " down to 1658,
preserved in Cod. Chigi, P. VL, 6, Vatican Library, are by the
engineer Carlo Rainaldi.
* See *Acta consist. Cod. Barb. lat. 2871, Vatican Library.
* See Bull. X., 467 seq. Cf. the letter to the Romans (Papal
Secret Archives) in App. n. 14.
" See *Avvisi of January 27 and 30, 1599, Urb. 1067, loc. cit. ;
*Diarium P. Alaleonis, Barb. 2816, ibid.
' Among them was Giov. Fontana ; see Bertolotti, Art.
Subalp., Mantua, 1884 ; Art. Lomb., I., 98 seq., II., 5 seq. The
Pope had already in 1596 appointed this architect, together with
Giacomo della Porta and three Venetian architects to regulate
412 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The congregation ordered that the mire should be cleared
out of the streets, as if it remained there was reason to fear
the outbreak of epidemics.^ A very prudent step was the
prohibition to inhabit the lower floors of the houses for a
month, for these had suffered especially from the moisture.
There was also a prohibition of any increase in the price of
food. 2 The rebuilding works had to be hurried forward,
all the more so as the jubilee would occur in the following
year.
In the meantime the plans for the regulation of the Tiber
were so far advanced that in June it was possible to begin
the bed of the Tiber ; see Bertolotti, Art. Svizz., Bellinzona,
1886, II. At that time, as well as now, all manner of plans were
suggested ; see Paolo Berti, *Ragionamento sul rimedio per
impedire le inondazioni del Tevere (dated Padua, February 9,
1601), in Vat. 6357, p. I seq., Vatican Library. Cf. the rare
work : P. Beni, Discorsi sopra I'inondazione del Tevere, Rome,
1599- See also Tarquinio Pinaoro, Discorso dell'inondatione del
Tevere seguita, 1598, in Urb. 861, p. 85 seqq., Vatican Library ;
Eh RLE, Pianta di Maggi-Maupin-Losi del 1625, Rome, 1915,
8 seqq. ; Orbaan, Documenti, 121 n. The architect Carlo
Lombardi was appointed in 1599 as deputy for the clearance of the
damage caused by the inundation of the Tiber ; see Bertolotti,
Artisti Svizz., 16. In 1593 he had already been appointed
" exstimator et mensurator generalis omnium aquarum " ; see
Bertolotti, Art. Subalp., 43 seq. ; cf. Art. Lomb., I., 96, 218.
1 Cf. *Avvisi of January 3 and 6, 1599, Urb. 1067, loc. cit.
In other ways as well steps were taken in order to provide for
hygienic conditions in Rome as far as possible. Thus steps were
taken in the heat of the summer to prevent pestilence being
introduced into the city. As to this see the *report of G. C.
Foresto, July 3, 1599, Gonzaga Archives, Mantua, and the *Avvisi
of July 7 and 28, and August 24, 1599, Urb. 1067, loc. cit. The
first states that it had been decided at the Capitol to close that
part of the city which lay open (from the Porta Cavalleggieri to
the Porta Settimana) so as to be able to place guards everywhere,
on account of the plague. For an epidemic in the Celimontana
district in 1601, see Tomassetti, I., 166.
* See *Avviso of January 13, 1599, Urb. 1067, loo. cit.
THE REGULATION OF FLOODS. 413
the digging of a new channel across the Prati near Ponte
Molle. It was feared, however, that this would not
provide a reall}^ radical remedy, and that the enormous
cost of 200,000 scudi would be money thrown away.^
This plan was therefore abandoned, and it was decided
to effect another deviation of the Tiber near Orte, the
cost of which was estimated at 150,000 scudi. ^ In
December 1600 and January 1601 there were fresh
inundations, though less serious ones ;^ but the plans so
far adopted were proved to be impracticable.^ Even
though it had been possible to provide the money, there were
at that time no technical means equal to so difficult a task,
and one on which the efforts of the Roman Emperors had
already failed.^
The question of the regulation of floods also caused
Clement VIII. anxiety in the case of Ferrara. The Pope
intended to make one arm of the Po navigable, namely the
Po di Primaro, and to make its right bank cultivateable ; also
to regulate the Reno and drain the marshes of the Romagna.
The discussions® on this subject begun at Ferrara were con-
tinued in the following years. To the intrinsic difficulties
of the matter itself were added serious disagreements with
1 See *Avvisi of May 29, June 5 and 26, 1599, ibid. The two
first in Orbaan, Documenti, 121 n.
2 See *Avviso of November 27, 1599, LTrb. 1067, loc. cit.
* See *Avvisi of December 23, 1600, and January 3, 1601,
Urb. 1068 and 1069, loc. cit.
* See *Avvisi of January 3, 19 and 23, 1602, Urb. 1070, loc. cit.
Cf. also Bertolotti, Giornalisti, astrologi e negromanti in Roma,
Florence, 1878, 14 seq.
^ J. Castiglione (Trattato dell'inondatione del Tevere, Rome,
1599. 71) foretold this.
* See *Avvisi of August 15 and 29, and December 5, 1599,
Urb. 1067, loc. cit. Cf. *" Nota delle misure prese a Ferrara e
suo territorio insieme con il livello per servizio della dissecatione
di paludi et navigatione del Po di Ferrara — quali sono prese per
ordine di Clemente VIII. 1598," Barb. lat. .^379, p. 115 seq.,
Vatican Library.
414 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Venice/ but Clement VIII. would not abandon his plan for
that reason ; but it had not even begun to be carried out when
he died.^ Among the engineers to whom the problem was
entrusted was Giovanni Fontana.^
^ See the *briefs to the Doge, December 4, 1599, January 29,
May 27 and July 15, 1600, Arm. 44, t. 43, n. 418, and t. 44, n. 59,
143. 193. Papal Secret Archives (originals partly in State Archives,
Venice) ; Dolfin, Relazione, 501 ; Venier, Relazione, 23 seq.
Cf. *report of G. C. Foresto, March 25, 1600, Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua. See also *" Relazione della visita degli rev. Monsignore
Barberini, chierico di camera e di Msg. Agucchia, maggiordomo
del ill. e rev. card. Aldobiandini sul Polesine d'Ariano d'ordine
del Papa per vedere, informarli e considerare il taglio del Po, che
intendevano i sig^^ Venetiani, 1599." Barb. lat. 4351, pp. 1-17,
Vatican Library. Ibid. 4343, pp. 154-273, *Negotiato del taglio
del Po tra la S. Sede e Venezia sotto Clemente VIII. 1599, with
original letter of Maffeo Barberini, Barb. lat. 5853 {ibid.) contains
*43 letters of Cardinals (especially Blandrata) and prelates
concerning the " negotio del taglio del Po disegnato da Venetiani
1598 sq. e ridotto a perfettura."
2 Cf. Frizzi, v., 28 seq., 43 seq., 50. Many *documents per-
taining to this in Barb. lat. 4351, 4356, 4377, 4383, Vatican
Library. An anonymous *letter to the Duke of Mantua, Rome,
August 14, 1604, says : " II Papa ha sborsato 20,000 ducati per
far prova se I'ingegno del venuto di Fiandra e a proposito per lo
negotio del Po, del Rone e delle lagune di Romagna." Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.
^ Barb. lat. 4351 contains, p. 48 seq. : *Discorso e giudizio
sopra il taglio del Po, signed by Giov. Rossi, Giov. Fontana and
Bartol. Crescenzio ; p. 64 seq. : *Discorso di Giov. Fontana sopra
il ritomare la navigatione a Ferrara, far la disseccatione di tanti
terreni, che sono impaludati et di ritornarli nel stato che erano
40 anni sono, scritto a Roma 28 luglio 1600 e presentato al Cardinal
Marcello ; p. 74 seq. : *Opinion of Giov. Fontana for Clement VIII.
concerning the " disseccatione et navigatione di Ferrara, Bologna
et Romagna 1601 " (Vatican Library). *Documents concerning
the measures taken against the overflowing of Lake Trasimeno,
on which occasion Matleo Barberini acted as the Pope's com-
missary, in Barb. lat. 4353. There too an original *brief of
Clement VIII. to M. Barberini, June 13, 1602, Vatican Library.
THE CONDITION OF FERRARA. 415
In spite of the constant proofs of his favour which
Clement VIII. continued to show Ferrara to the end of his
pontificate/ the city greatly resented being deprived of its
former brilliant court. Thousands of those who belonged
there emigrated to Modena, while many of those who remained
brooded regretfully over bye-gone days. " Thus passes the
glory of the world " — wrote an aged retainer of the ducal
house — " now there is no longer any duke in Ferrara, nor
princesses, nor music nor singers."^ Even though the city
could not lose the stamp of a princely capital, it fell more and
more into that silence which to-day still powerfully affects
the wayfarer through its broad streets and its deserted piazzas.
The diminution in the population of the city, however, has
been enormously exaggerated by local chroniclers ; according
to careful research it did not amount to more than 1800
persons.^ Moreover a decrease of population was to be seen
everywhere, not excepting Rome itself.'*
This was all the more painful to Clement VIII. in that he
did all he could to promote the welfare of his people. The
greater part of what he did, however, in this matter has been
forgotten and left unrecorded.^ But in spite of this it is
1 See Frizzi, V., 40 seq. Cf. Theiner, Cod. dipl.. III., 573 ;
Moroni, XXIV., 153 ; Bull. X., 591 seq., 592 seq., 761 seq., 873.
* *Cronaca di Ferrara, MS. in the Albani Library, in Ranke,
Piipste, II.*, i8.f seq. The manuscripts of the Albani Library
were destroyed in 1857.
^ See G. Pardi, Sulla Popolazione del Ferrarese dope la devolu-
zione, Ferrara, 1911. How much this is exaggerated is clear
from the fact that according to AgnelU (Ode Carducciane alia
citta di Ferrara, Bologna, 1899, 34), 20,000 Ferraresi emigrated
with the duke.
* Cf. G. Beloch, La popolazione d'ltaha nei sec. XVI., XVII. a
XVIII., Rome, 1888, 38. Rome had in 1600 : 109,729
inhabitants ; in 1601 : 101,546 ; in 1602 : 99,312 ; in 1603 :
104,878 ; in 1604 : 99,293 ; in 1605 : 99,647 ; see Castiglione,
Delia popolazione di Roma, Rome, 1878, 167 ; Studi e docum.,
XII., 170.
^ Donato in 1592 reports a plan for establishing a single coinage
for the whole of ItaJv, in Baschei, 208. The constitution of
4l6 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
known that from the first years of his reign he interested
himself, as Sixtus V. had already done, in the revival of the
silk industry. 1 He devoted his attention to improving the
harbours of Terracina and Civitavecchia.^ If in spite of
these and other praiseworthy efforts he was unable to prevent
the decadence of the Papal States, this was not only the
result of repeated bad harvests, scarcity, the scourge of the
bandits and the burden of taxes, ^ but other factors as well
must be taken into account, which are clearly pointed out
by the Venetian ambassador, Paruta. The provinces of the
States of the Church M'ere governed in part by legates, and
in part by presidents ; the larger cities had governors and
the smaller ones a podesta. Once the offices of president
and governor had been attainable by laymen ; thus the father
of Clement VIII. had held the office of governor of Fano.
But gradually, especially in the time of Sixtus V., laymen
disappeared from the administration in such a way that they
only held the office of podesta ; all other offices were only
granted to ecclesiastics, into whose hands the whole juridical,
financial and political administration fell.* But how difficult
it was bound to be, even with the best will, for those who
had been educated for ecclesiastical purposes, to adapt them-
July II, 1595 : " Officinae omnes monetariae status ecclesiastici,
Roniana excepta, supprimantiir," in Bull. X., 202 seq. For the
coinage of Clement VIll. see Baumgarten, Neue Kunde, 34 ;
Serafini, I., 106 seq. ; Martinori, 7 seqq. Ibid. 35 seqq.,
concerning the medals of Clement VIII. For measures for
keeping away the plague from the Papal States see *Editti, V., 61,
Papal Secret Archives.
1 See the Bando of October 30, 1592, in Cuns, 211, and the
*Avviso of November 14, 1592 : " N.S. per introduttione dell'arte
della seta in Roma a beneficio della poverta vuole, che in ogni
rubbio di terra di questo stato si sementi un arbore Celso o More
sotto pena 10 so. a transgressor i, et che non si possino estrahere
sete da questo." Urb. 1066, II., Vatican Library.
2 Cf. infra, p.
* Cf. Paruia, Relazione, 394.
* See ibid. 419 seq. Cf. Reumont, III., 2, ^Sj seq.
ADMINISTRATION OF THE PAPAL STATES. 417
selves to matteis that were entire!}- foreign to their vocation.
The very mixed duties of administration also occasioned the
disadvantage that it opened out a profound gulf between
laity and clergy, and that the laity were filled with a jealousy
of the ecclesiastics that often degenerated into definite aver-
sion. Paruta says that he had often remarked, not without
amazement and disgust, how even prelates who were leading
lives that were very far from priestly, were held in high
esteem and rewarded, so long as they defended the privileges
of the clergy against the laity, and how sometimes a prelate
was blamed because he favoured the laity. He had often
heard people of eminence say, that it seemed as though the
clergy and laity did not belong to the same flock, and were
not to be found in the same Church.^ Another disadvantage
arose from the fact that a new Pope hardly ever carried on
in the civil government the system of his predecessor. ^ This
was connected with the disastrous custom by which, at every
change in the pontificate, all the more important offices were
filled by new individuals. Thus men of proved experience,
who might have been of the greatest use, lost their office.
Too often they were replaced by others who, though in them-
selves they were good and learned, had no experience of the
matters they were called upon to administer.^ This system
of change among the officials was all the more felt in that the
pontificates of the Popes, compared with the reigns of secular
princes, were for the most part ver}^ short ; the pontificate
of a Pope was on an average nine years in duration. Of the
sixteen Popes of the XVIth century, only two, Paul III. and
Gregory XIII. had been granted a longer reign (15 years in
one case and 12 in the other) ; six had reigned for less than a
year.'* Compared with the sixteen Popes whom the Church
had had during the XVIth century, Germany had had five
1 Paruta, Relazione, 375.
* C/. DoLLiNGER, Kirche u. Kirchen, 537.
8 See Paruta, Relazione, ^yzo seq.
* Cf. DoLLiNGER, loc. cU. 539, and Prince Z. V. LoBKOwrrz,
Statistik der Papste, Freiburg, 1905.
VOL. XXIV. 27
4l8 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Emperors, France seven kings, Spain four, and England fivt
kings or queens.
Unsatisfactory conditions prevailed among the aristocracy
of the States of the Church, for they sought to maintain them-
selves in their abnormal position, even after the aristocracy
of other European states had become entirely subject to the
power of the sovereign. They looked upon any serious
enforcement of the laws as an infringement of their own
rights, and therefore complained bitterly of the government
of the Popes. ^ In reality the great days of the aristocracy
had passed away even in the Papal States, and if in the treatj'
of peace concluded at Vervins in 1598 between Spain and
France, the Colonna and Orsini had participated, although
neither of these two houses had taken part in the war, this
was only an echo of bye-gone days, and an act of courtesy
towards the ancient representatives of the Guelph and
Ghibelline princes.^
The number of the nobility in the States of the Church
who devoted themselves to a military career had declined,
together with the wealth and importance of the aristocratic
families in general.^ In spite of this the new families of the
nephews of the Popes looked upon it as desirable to enter
into matrimonial alliances with the ancient aristocracy, as
had recently been seen in the time of Sixtus V., whose grand-
nephews had formed such alliances with the houses of Colonna
and Orsini.'* The nearest approach to these celebrated
families were the Conti and Savelli ; the rest of the Roman
aristocracy were for the most part of quite recent date, and
v> ere composed to a great extent of those who had made their
fortunes in the Eternal City.^ Clement VIII. too was very
free in conferring titles, so that in the course of a few years
the dignity of duke had been granted four times.
1 See Paruta, Relazione, 396.
* See Reumont, Beitrage, V., g6.
^ See Paruta, Relazione, 396 seq. ; Reumont, TIL, 2, 596.
* Cf. Vol. XXI. of this work, p. 70.
* See Paruta, Relazione, 395.
THE ROMAN NOBLES. 419
While men strove after high-sounding titles and a greater
degree of magnificence, and disputes over rank often gave rise
to grave scandals, financial conditions were going from bad to
worse. Like everywhere else, so in Rome pomp and luxury
had increased. Since the barons wished to live like princes,
very often their large revenues proved insufficient ; in 1595
they were all more or less in a state of debt. The nephew of
the victor of Lepanto was obliged, in order to paj^ his debts, to
found a Monte of 150,000 scudi in 1587, the " loughi " of which
had to pay six per cent. ; 9000 scudi had to be set aside for
the payment of interest, and after three years another 9000
for the extinction of the capital, and since the revenues of
Nettuno and Paliano were not sufficient for this, Nettuno
was sold for 400,000 scudi to the Apostolic Camera.^ Other
nobles too were forced to sell castles, lands and jurisdictions.
Thus Virginio Orsini sold the territory of Matrice to the
brother of Cardinal Montalto for 130,000 scudi. ^
The barons who had established Monti very often did not
pay the interest, and this fact determined Clement VIII. to
publish in 1596 the so-called " bull of the barons," which
ordered, to satisfy the creditors of the Monti, the sale of
allodial properties and jurisdictions without consideration for
entail or for primogeniture. ^ The sale was secured by this
measure, which at first seemed very hard.* It was in virtue
of this bull that the Apostolic Camera acquired Castel Gandolfo
from the SavelU.^
^ See Coppi, Memorie Colonnesi, passim. Cf. Parcjta, Dispacci,
II., 435.
* See Paruta, Relazione, 396.
3 The text of the bull, dated June 25, 1596, in Bull, X., 270 seq.
Cf. B. Capogrossi GtTARNA, I titoli delle provincie pontificie nella
seconda nieta del sec. XVII., Rome, 1893, 5 ; tAXiNELLi de
Fatin ELLIS, Observationes ad constitutionem XLI. Clementis P.
VIII. nuncupatam BuUani Baronum, Rome, 171.^.
* See the *report of L. Arrigoni, July 13, 1596, Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua. Cf. Dolfin, Relazione, 454.
* The cost of acquiring this was, according to the *Avviso of
December 7, 1596, the sum of 150,000 scudi. Urb. 1064, II.,
Vatican Library.
420 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
But the contracting of debts by the barons did not cease
because of this. In 1600 the Sermoneta had 24,000 scudi
of revenue as against 300,000 of debts. The heaviest burden
of debt at that time lay upon the family of the Montalto.^
Many of the nobles gave great scandal, not only by their
exaggerated prodigality, but also by their ill-regulated and
immoral lives. A terrible example of this state of affairs,
which was made worse by the abuse prevalent in Florence
and other places, of punishing deeds of blood by pecuniary
penalties, was given by the notorious story of the Cenci.^
1 See the " Nota della entrata di inolti signori e duchi Romani "
of the time of Clement VIII. in Ranke, Papste, III.*, 109,*
who however here as in many other cases, does not Scty where he
found the manuscript. I have sought for it vainly in the Roman
libraries. In 1605 Clement had to grant the Farnese permission
to estabhsh a Monte of 750,000 scudi, which was to pay 5^°/)
interest ; see Gkotx.^nelli, II ducato di Castro, 32.
" *Of decisive importance for throwing light upon the legend
of the Cenci, by wliich even Muratori allowed himself to be
deceived, have been the diligent archival researches of A.
Bertolotti (Fr. Cenci e la sua famiglia, Florence, 1877 ; 2nd ed.
enlarged, ibid. 1879). On this is based the spirited article by
A. Geffroy in Etudes Ital., Paris, 1898. Bertolotti, however,
goes too far when in his final conclusions he presents Francesco
Cenci as a father of a family jealous of the honour of his house.
This weak part of his account is attacked by Labruzzi di Nexima
in Niiova Antologia, 2, Ser. XIV. (1879), 418 seqq., against whom
Bertolotti wrote in the Riv. Enropea, XIII. (1879), 51 sea.
Bertolotti there skilfully defends the authenticity of his documents
but his conclusions nevertheless remain rather hazardous. With
regard to the attacks of Labruzzi on Clement VIII., even a writer
as anti-Papal as Brosch says that it would be wrong to speak of
the " excessive benignity " of Clement VIII., but that the charge
that the Pope and the Aldobrandini drew advantage from the
confiscation of the property of the Cenci " is unfounded." " We
must also admit," Bkosch goes on to say {Hist. Zeitschr., XLV.,
177 seq.), " that the confiscation was legitimate, and was almost
always done in such cases, ^^'e may also look upon it as an act
of extraordinary kindness when Clement assigned to the widow
of one of tl:e condemned, Giacomo the brother of Beatrice, a sum
THE CENCI FAMILY. 42 1
This noble family, whose dark palace stood not far from the
Tiber, close to the Ghetto, and near the church of S. Tommaso
dei Cenci,^ had become degenerate in the second half of the
XVIth century. Christofero Cenci, a cleric of the Camera,
and holding a canonry at St. Peter's, but not a priest, for he
had only the four minor orders, abused his office of general
treasurer of the Apostolic Camera under Pius IV. in order to
enrich himself unduly. Being near to death, and tortured
by remorse of conscience, in 1562 he reisgned his offices and
married his mistress Beatrice Arias. ^ We can hardly feel
of 100 scudi a month for her support, or when he handed over to
the sons of the said Giac&mo a capital sum of 80,000 scudi out of
the confiscated property." Recently Rinieri (B. Cenci secondo
i costituti del suo processo, Siena, 1909) has gone j>rofoundly into
the matter. Sometimes he rightly finds fault with the faulty
editing of the documents by Bertolotti (]). 26 seq.) though he
rightly looks upon the work of that scholar as very valuable.
Rinieri has found in Maiocchi (La pretesa illibatezza di B. Cenci :
Riv. d. scienze stor., VIL, 4 (1910) a defender against the attacks
of Vecchini in La £e«em//Mra, X., 1 (1910). Cheldowski (Rom.
Die Menschen des Barock, IL, Munich, 191 2) although he is not
altogether in agreement with Rinieri, calls the latter 's book
" the best account of the trial of the Cenci " (p. 80). At the end
he remarks : " Thanks to criticism European literature has lost
a tragic story. Beatrice Cenci was a common criminal, and not
a tragic heroine." Tlie large work t)y Corrardo Ricci, enriched
with many illustrations (Beatrice Cenci ; L II parricidio, II.
II supplizio, Milan, 1923) says little that is substantially new,
but gives the whole material as completely as possible. Rinieri
in CAv. Cdtt., 1924, I., 33 seqq. has rightly protested against .some
of the conclusions of Ricci. Other critical observations have
been made t>y Baron v. Bii.dt in the Swedish periodical Dag ens
Nyhetten of March 30 a.nd April 6, 1924.
^ Cf. Siudi e docum., 1881, 155 seqq. The tower of the Cenci
was destroyed in regulating the Tiber ; see Sabatini, La torre
dei Cenci e la leggenda di Beatrice, Rome, 1906. Civilta Catt.,
1925, September 19, 500 seq.
*That Cristoforo Cenci, though late, reformed and came to a
better state of mind, is proved bv his restoration of the church of
S. Tommaso dei Cenci ; cf. tor this Armellini, 573.
422 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
surprised that the son of this couple, Francesco, who was born
in 1549, soon developed the worst qualities, great immorality
and a brutal disposition. As a young man he was twice
imprisoned for deeds of blood, but recovered his liberty, as
was common enough in the justice of that time, in return
for the paym.ent of a large sum. In 1572 he was exiled
for six months from the Papal States, for ill-treating
his servants.^
The many sons whom Francesco Cenci had by his marriage,
contracted while he was still very young, with Ersilia Santa
Croce, inherited almost all the vices of their father, who was
as brutal as he was sensual, and whose depravity increased
as the years went by. Although Francesco, after the death
of his first wife, contracted a second marriage in 1593 with
Lucrezia Petroni, he had not the least idea of changing his
dissolute manner of life. A criminal process brought against
him in the following year for sodomy united to acts of violence,
ended with the payment of a sum of 100,000 scudi, and his
confinement to his own house. ^
Owing to the payment of such enormous fines, Francesco
found himself in such financial straights that he could no
longer maintain himself in Rome. He therefore retired in
1597 to Rocca Petrella,^ a castle belonging to the Colonna
on the road from Rieti to Avezzano, but situated in Neapolitan
territory. He took with him his two sons Paolo and Bernardo ;
his wife and daughter Beatrice had alread}' been sent by him
to Petrella in 1595. The other sons remained in Rome ;
the eldest, Giacomo, had married against his father's wishes,
and so had been disinherited by him. As thoroughly degen-
erate as Giacomo, who had forged his father's signature to a
document for 13,000 scudi, were the two other sons :
1 See Bertolotti, 16 seq., 20 seq.
'^ See ibid. 53 seq., 414 seq.
* Francesco Cenci intended to go to Florence as early as 1594 ;
see the periodical Roma, 1926, 241 seq. The castle, now a ruin,
is not far from the river Salto and may be reached by carriage
from Rieti in three hours. Cf. Gqri, Archivio, 1877.
CRIMES OF THE CENCI. 423
Christoforo, who fell in a duel in 1595,^ and Rocco, who was
assassinated in Trastevere in 1598 in some amorous adventure.
Even in the solitude of Rocca Petrella terrible domestic
conditions prevailed ; quarrels and altercations were the
order of the day. In the autumn of 1598, the two sons of
Francesco made their escape ; the castellan of the castle
Olimpio Calvetti had facilitated their flight. Francesco's
rage increased when he then discovered that his twenty-one
year old daughter, Beatrice, was in love with Calvetti, a
married man. The castellan was ejected, and Beatrice was
punished with brutal cruelty and kept under strict surveil-
lance, as was also her step-mother. But in spite of this
Beatrice found opportunities for continuing her relations with
her lover, and of planning with him and her brother Giacomo,
who was also burning with the desire for revenge, the murder
of her father. The horrible deed, to which Lucrezia also
consented, was carried out on September 9th, 1598, by
Calvetti and another assassin.
The authors of the murder were unsuccessful in concealing
the traces of their deed, which was discovered. Beatrice,
Lucrezia, Giacomo and Bernardo Cenci were arrested. ^ The
imprisonment of the accused was not unduly rigorous, as
was asserted later on ; they were able to provide themselves
with food and to take counsel with their defenders.^ The
trial commenced on January 14th, 1599, in the course of which,
as it was a case of homicide, torture was employed in accord-
ance with the law of the time.^ It is clear from the minutes,
that Beatrice and Giacomo were the principal culprits ;
Lucrezia had at first vainly tried to dissuade them, and had
at last given her consent.^ The death sentence which was
1 Cf. Bruzzone in Fanfulla della Domenica, V. (1883), n. 23.
* C/. RiNiERi, 143 seq., 171 seq., 209 seq.
3 See Bertolotti, 113 seq., 147 seq., 165, 280, 283, 289.
* Cf. G. Sabatini, La teoria delle prove nel diritto giudiziario,
Catanzaro, 1909; Prinzivalli in Giorn. Arcadico, I. (1910), 84.
* RiNiERi (341 seq., 401 seq.) publishes the authentic summaries
of the trial, of which one was the deposition of the prosecution,
the other of the defence. For the fate of the minutes of the
trial used by Giuseppe Spezzi see Rinieri, 59 seq.
424 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
pronounced on September nth, 1599, at the conclusion of
the trial, was deserved by all three. ^ Bernardo, who was
still a minor, was only guilty in that he had not denounced
the crime, and his punishment was commuted to that of the
galleys, though he had to assist at the execution of his relatives.
This took place on September nth on the gibbet near the
Ponte S. Angelo, now the Piazza S. Angelo. Lucrezia and
Beatrice were beheaded ; Giacomo was brained and quartered. ^
Baldassare Paolucci, the agent of the Duke of Mantua,
attests that the tragic fate of the young Beatrice Cenci aroused
general compassion in Rome. She died with great courage,
and left a number of pious bequests. The public had no real
idea of the terrible facts which the trial had brought to light.
If the publicity of judicial trials which we have to-day had
then existed, the populace would have stoned the members
of this degenerate family even before the execution, instead of
paying honour to the corpse^ of the parricide, when it was
taken to S. Pietro in Montorio. As no one had any knowledge
of the facts of the trial, it came about that in course of time
Beatrice was transformed from a criminal into a martyr.
It was stated that she had been driven into committing her
crime in order to defend her honour against the infamous
assault of her father. This view easily gained credence
owing to the notorious depravity of Francesco, and gradually
Beatrice came to be venerated as a second Roman Lucrezia.
This idea was borne out by the delightful portrait of a girl,
attributed to Guido Reni, with her yellow hair, and her head
covered by a white veil like a turban, which is preserved in
the Borghese Galler3^ The tender and profound melancholy
which fills the eyes of the person represented in the picture,
has contributed not a little to the popularity of the legend
1 See Bertolotti, 150, 431 seq. Cf. Rinieri, 311 seq.
2 See Bertolotti, 135 seq. ; Rinieri, 316 seq. Cf. Cesnola,
i manoscritti ital. di Londra (1890), 172 seqq.
* See the review of the works of Bertolotti by Ferd. v.
Hellwald under the title " The truth of the fable of the Cenci "
in the supplernent attached to Allg. Zeitung, 1899, n. 297.
THE LEGEND OF BEATRICE. 425
of the Cenci. In reality the painting can hardly be the work
of Guido Reni, who only came to Rome in 1602, while the
tradition that the person represented is Beatrice is very
uncertain.^ From the trial it is clear, beyond all possibility
of doubt, that the unhappy girl has been made into a sj^mbol
of outraged innocence without any reasonable grounds.
The defender of Beatrice, the celebrated Prospero Farinaccio,'^
put forward in defence of his client a crime on the part of
her father, who tried to lead his daughter into incest, but he
gave no proofs. Nor did Beatrice herself nor her brothers
appeal to any such crime on the part of Francesco ; on the
contrary it is clear from the minutes of the trial that not only
was there immoral intercourse between the girl and the
castellan of Petrella, the murderer of Cenci, but also that
Beatrice co-operated in the killing of her father. ^
Recent research has also destroyed that other part of the
legend of the Cenci, which made the execution an act of
judicial homicide, which had no other purpose than to secure
1 Bertolotti (143 seq.) rejects it as quite false, pointing out
that Guido Reni did not come to Rome until 1602, and that in
1623 the picture was not yet in the possession of the Barberini,
nor above all in that of the Colonna, from whom a great part of
the pictures of the Barberini came, though this does not afford
definite proof ; see Reumont iu Goft. Gel. Anz., 1880, n. 9. Cf.
also M. Crawford in The Ceniury Magazine, 1908 ; Rodani,
65 seq ; Krauss-Sauer, III., 790 ; Bohn, G. Reni, 35 se^., 40 ;
Jahrb. der Kiinstsaniml. des ostery. Kaisevhauses, XX\T., 174.
* For the portrait of Farinaccio painted by tlie Ca\ahere
d'Arpino, see Artioli in Italia modevna, III. (Rome, 1905),
233 seq. ; Prinzivalli in Giorn. Arcadico, I. (1910), 88 seq.
For Farinaccio see the periodical Roma, 1926, 243 seq.
3 Rinieri maintains that the idea of Francesco having made an
attack upon his daughter's honour must be entirely rejected ;
Vecchini defends the opposite view, and denies that Beatrice liad
a son by Calvetti. The decision of this question is riot of any
importance for the principal issue ; see Prinzivalli, loc. cit. 90.
Brosch (Kirchenstaat, 1., 311) says that even if the attempt of
Francesco had really taken place this woukl not lustify the
parricide.
426 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the enrichment of the Aldobrandini by the confiscation of
the family inheritance. The confiscation of property which
followed upon condemnation to death, and the effects of which
Clement VIII. and his successors sought to narrow down by
successive acts of grace, was no exceptional case, but was in
complete accordance with the penal laws of those days. The
State Archives of Rome contain hundreds of examples.^
Fundamentally, this law, in the case of homicide among
relatives — in which very often the desire to obtain property
was the principal motive of the crime — was very reason-
able.^ It is therefore absurd to say that Clement Xlll.
condemned the Cenci to the gibbet in order to give their
possessions to the Aldobrandini.^ Thus in this respect
as well the legend of the Cenci, which was afterwards often
made use of against the government of the Popes, falls to
the ground.'*
If Clement VIII. allowed free course to the full rigour of
justice in the case of the Cenci, he was led to do so by the
frequent repetition of such crimes, especially among the
aristocracy. Thus, about that time, a member of another
1 See Bertolotti, 32^. Against Ricci cf. Riniert in Ctv. catt.,
1924, 1., 38 seq.
* So Heelwald (loo. cit.) and Rodani (44) are unanimous in
saying.
2 See besides Rodani, 45 seq., above all Rinieri, 329 seq., and
Chledowski, II., 90. For the much discussed property of the
("enci, Terranuova, on the Via Labicana, which was for a long
time offered for sale, and was at last bought by Gian Francesco
Aldobrandini for a comparatively high price, see Tomassetti, I.,
276, and Orbaan, Documenti, 58 n.
* For Baronius and the condemnation of B. Cenci see A. Lauri,
II cardinal Baronio e il processo di B. Cenci, in Arte e storia,
XXXII. (1913). Hellwald {loc. cit.) says : " There can hardly
be any other episode which has so unfairly filled so great a place
in history, literature and art, and of which Guerazzi has made
use to undermine the prestige of the civil power of the Popes,,
or therefore in politics, than what we may (:;aU the fable of thQ
Cenci."
THE MASSIMI TRAGEDY. 427
family belonging to the Roman aristocracy, Paolo Santa
Croce, through greed of money, killed his own mother. The
assassin escaped punishment by flight, but his brother Onofrio
was later on (January, 1604)^ beheaded at the Ponte S.
Angelo for having incited him to the crime. The same penalty
had been inflicted in 1592 upon a certain Troilo Savelli, who
had become a criminal in his early youth. ^ There was also
a horrible tragedy in the house of the Massimi during the
pontificate of Clement VIII. Lelio de' Massimi, Marchese
di Prassedi, had in his old age become betrothed to a Sicilian
lady of doubtful fame. His four sons killed their step-mother
by shooting her. They took to flight, but all perished within
a short time ; the second, Marcantonio, who wished to become
the head of the house, got rid of his brother Luca by poison ;
he was condemned to death, and died repentant on January
i6th, 1599 ; the third lost his life in the Turkish wars, while
the fourth was murdered by a jealous rival. ^
In spite of the rigour of justice, crimes continued in the
^ Cf. Fr. Isoldi in Studi stor., XIX. (1910), 227 seq., who puts
full faith in the absolutely uncritical statements of Ameyden ;
Isoldi could not even be sure of the date of the execution ; this
is clear from the *report of L. Arrigoni, January 31, 1604, Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua. The Relazione which Gori [Archivio, I.,
358 seq.) published, gives i6ci !
2 C/. Cancellieki, Mercato, 286, and Possessi, 214. For the
large number of executions in the year 1591 sec Arch. d. Soc.
Rom., XXXIX., 443 seq.
3 The cases cited are related and to a great extent embroidered
at will in the Italian manuscripts of the XVI Ith century. Le
Bret (Magazin, IV., 58 seq., 63 seq., 93 seq.), has translated them
from the latter with all their original errors. More trustworthy
data in Grottanelli, II ducato di Castro, 28-29. Cf. Arch. d.
Soc. Rom., XXXIX., 444 seq. An Italian broadsheet appeared
concerning the execution of Savelli, which was translated :
Discours sur la mort de Troile Savelli, Paris, 1598. An authentic
description of the trials should now be given from the acta of the
Archivio Criminalc, now in the State Archives, Rome. Cf. also
F. Crispolti, Un giuri d'onore a Roma nel sec. XVT., in the
periodical Roma, 1922, 221 seq.
428 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
city, as we are told in a report from Rome of January, 1604.^
Clement VIII. also had bitter experiences in his struggle
against public immorality in Romc.^ He also fought against
1 *A.vviso of January 7, 1604, Urb. 1072, Vatican Library.
In other cities the state of affairs was no better ; cf. e.g. for
Bologna the Atti e Mem. d. Roniagna, ycd ser., VIII. (1890),
112 seq. See also the *instructions for a legate in Bologna in
Cod. G. 63, n. 9, Vallicella Library, Rome.
2 See the "Edict concerning prostitutes and women of ill-fame,
March 26, 1592, in Editti, V., 60, p. 274, Papal Secret Archives.
Cf. Pkinzivalli, Tasso, 82. Detailed information concerning
the first measures as to the censorship of morals taken by
Clement VIII. in the *Avvisi of February 8, 15, 19, 22, 26 and 29,
March 4 and 28, 1592, Urb. 1060, L, Vatican Library. According
to the *Avviso of Match 28 it was enacted that : " Poiche
I'isperienza ha mostrato, che i luoghi gia assegnati in Roma per
toUerarvi le meretrici non sono capaci per tanto numero, se li
assegna tutto il Rione di Piazza Padello, Ortaccio della Trinita
de Monti, cioe dal Arco di Portogallo fino alia Piazza del Popolo,
riservato 4 strade principali di essa contrada deUa Trinita " ;
this must be done within ten days, otherwise the meretrici must
leave Rome under pain of frusia and confiscation of goods.
According to an *Avviso of August 19, 1592 [loc. cit.) the Pope's
vicar prohibits everywhere the letting of cam ere iocande to women.
An *Avviso of December 2, 1592, speaks of the introduction of
special sermons for meretrici, at S. Rocco and S. Ambrogio (Urb.
1060, IL, loc. cit.). Further measures followed in 1599 in con-
nexion with the Holy Year ; all women of doubtful reputation
must leave the Borgo in July ; cf. *Avvisi of June 26, July 24,
and September 14, 1599 (Urb. 1067, loc. cit.) and the *report of
F. M. Vialardo, July 24, 1599, in Bertolotxi, Repressioni
straordinarie alia prostituzione in Roma nel socolo XVI., Rome,
1887, 15. In the report *Cose occorse sotto il Pontificato di
Clemente VIII. it is stated : " Dato principio alia riforma de
costumi, et particolarmente contro alle cortegiane, come haveva
fatto con poco frutto Pio V. ; fra le cacciate di Roma fu Frances-
chiglia Spagnola, che doveva esser frustrata, ma fuggi " with the
help of the governor, who wished to render service to Cardinal
Sforza. " II marito con la sua moglie per dar concenso che alle
fusse meretrice fu raesso sopra un asino, andaudo avanti uno che
SEVERITY OF PENALTIES. 429
the scourge of mendicity^ and against extravagance in
women's dress, but without any substantial success. He
severely punished the spreading of false news.^ He would
have liked to have entirely forbidden the amusements of the
carnival, but as this was not possible, he tried at least to
restrain them.^ and praised the efforts of the Jesuits
who sought to distract the people from such dangerous
amusements by means of the Forty Hours.* The increased
severity of ecclesiastical penalties against duelling,^
ordered by Clement VIH., and already laid down by Pius IV.
and Gregory XIII., concerned not only the Papal States,
but the whole of Christendom.
partava corne di bufalo, fu frustato at tagliatoli il naso e grocchi.
(Barb. lat. 4592, p. 64, Vatican Library). In spite of this severity
the evil could not be eradicated. Cf. the statistics in Studi e
docum., XII., 174, according to M^hich the number of prostitutes
in Rome, even though it v/as not so great as is stated in the
Avvisi themselves, was nevertheless increased. Out of a popula-
tion of 100,000 inhabitants, the number of unfortunates who
lived by vice was 604 in 1600, and had increased to 900 in 1605.
In the Archivio Criminale of Rome there are to be found many
denunciations of crimes against nature ; see Giorn. stor. d. left,
ital., II. , 148, where however it is erroneously asserted that
immorality was only punished with difficulty under Clement VIII,
^ See *Avviso of February 5, 1592, Urb. 1060, I., Vatican
Library.
2 See *Avvisi of Februarv 25, 1595, and January 22, 1597,
Urb. 1063 and 1065, loo. cit. Cf. Prinzivalli, Tasso, 283 seq. ;
Studi stor., XIX. (1910), 238.
' See Clementi, 289 seq. Many *Bandi relating to the carnival,
for the years 1592, 1599, 1601, 1603, 1605, in Editti, V., 60,
p. 10 seqq., Papal Secret Archives. Ibid. 124. *" Ordine circa
le comedie delle gelosi " of January 21, 1593. A description of
the carnival in the *report of G. B. Thesis, February 28, 1604,
Gonzaga Archives, Mantua. La festa di Testaccio I. Orlandii
formis, a rare folio of about i5oo, belongs here.
* See *Avviso of F^ebruary 24, 1599, LIrb. 1067, loc. cit.
^ Bull. IX., 604 seq. Cf. Bona Ventura Colonnesi, Tractatus
de prohibitione Duelli, in quo quidquid a Clemente VIII. P. M.
de Duello sancitum est, Florence, 1625.
430 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The relations between the aristocracy of the Papal States
and the sovereigns of other states were an anomaly. The
coats-of-arms of foreign powers on the Roman palaces, whose
owners were in their service or belonged to their party, bore
witness to this for a long time to come. A list of the Spanish
ambassador Sessa, who left Rome in 1603, shows how many
nobles were in receipt of or aspired to receive Spanish pensions.
In this, besides the Colonna, we find the Orsini, Conti, Ser-
moneta, Frangipani, Caetani and Caffarelli.^ The rebellion
of the Farnese in August, 1604^ showed how dangerous the
relations of the Italian aristocracy with Spain might become.
The events of that time caused Clement VIII. the greatest
sorrow, and had a disastrous effect upon his health.
From the beginning of his pontificate Clement VIII. had
frequently suffered from gout.^ Stone developed for the first
time in 1595,^ and again in November, 1596, causing for a
time serious anxiety for his life, especially as Clement would
not hear of not discharging all business in person as usual. ^
During a long relapse in the summer and autumn of 1597,
1 See *Memorie of the " Duque de Sessa sobre algunos cavalleros
Romanes," Archives of the Spanish Embassv, Rome. Cf. ibid.
the " Lista (drawn up a Utile later) de los barones y gentiles
hombres Romanos que se muestran aflecionados a el servicio de
su M*^."
^ Cf. Vol. XXIII. 01 this work, p. 259 scq.
^ See *Avvisi of February 8 and 26, 1592, Urb. 1060, I., loo. cit.
Cf. Baumgarten, Neue Kunde, 26. See also the *report of
Giulio del Carretto, March 28, 1592, Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
♦Avvisi 01 May 6, 1592 [loo. cit.) and January 6, 1593 (Urb. 1061).
♦Report of A. Chieppio, Mav 14, 1594, Gonzaga Archives, Mantua ;
*Avvisi of May 11 and July 6, 1594, Urb. 1062. Report of
Paruta, January 7, i595,in Dispacci, III., i ; *Avvisi of December
6, 1595 (Urb. 1063), January 24 and Mav 29, 1596 (Urb. 1064).
* See Baumgarten, loc. cit.
* See the *reports of L. Arrigoni, November 9, 18 and 23, and
December 7, 1596, Gonzaga Archives, Mantua. Cf. *Avviso of
November 9, 1596, Urb. 1064, loc. cit. Lettres d'Ossat, I., 358 ;
Baumgarten, loc. cit., 28.
HEALTH OF THE POPE. 431
which confined the Pope to his bed for a long time, this was
out of the question. During this year his state of health
caused so much anxiety that contrary to his custom he was
not able to go to Frascati.^ When he fell ill again in January,
1598, the doctors attributed this to his having resumed work
too soon. 2 The wearisome journey to Ferrara and his sojourn
there benefited the Pope a good deal, but naturally his attacks
of gout did not spare him even there. ^
The Pope's health improved still more during the following
years, although he was at times tortured by arthritis and
nephritis.* In 1599 the astrologers predicted an early change
in the pontificate, and their assertions sounded so convincing
that they commanded a wide hearing •,^ only Clement VIII.
himself paid no attention to them.® During the Holy Year
he underwent all the fatigue like a young man,' although
he was repeatedly obliged to keep his bed by gout. He
learned with great annoyance that during his illness men had
1 See *Avvisi of July 23, August 16, October 22 and 29, Decem-
ber 6, 1597, Urb. 1065. Cf. *report of L. Cremaschi, November i,
1597. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua. See also the *briefs to Cardinal
Montalto, October 10, 1597, to Duke William of Bavaria,
December 20, 1597, Arm. 44, t. 41, n. 227 and 326, Papal Secret
Archives.
2 See the *report of I.. Cremaschi, January 17, 1598, Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.
' *" Nos quidem in ipso itinere chiragra et podagra aliquan-
tulum tentati sumus " wrote the Pope from Fano on May 2,
1598, to the Duke of Mantua (original in Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua). Cf. also Baumgarten, loc. cit., 28.
* Clement VIII. repeatedlv states in his briefs that the gout
prevented him from writing with his own hand ; see *briefs to
the Duke of Parma, March 18 and May 29, 1600, Arm. 44, t. 44,
n. 90 and 148, Papal Secret Archives. Cf. also in Vol. XXIII. of
this work, App. n. 43, the *letter to Sessa, December 3, 1603,
Aldobrandini Archives, Rome.
* Cf. *report of G. C. Foresto, May 15, 1599, Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua.
* See *Avviso of March 27, 1599, Urb. 1067, loc. cit.
' Cf. supra, p. 272 seq.
432 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
been discussing the approaching conclave.^ " You would
like to see me dead — he said in January 1601 to one of the
ambassadors— but as you see, we are still alive." ^
In September 1601, Barga, who had been Clement VIII. 's
doctor for many years, and whom he greatly esteemed, died.^
The new Papal physician prescribed a diet, and recommended
the Pope to take more liquid, which did him good,** and during
1602 Clement VIII. seemed better than ever.^ In November
a more serious indisposition gave rise to all manner of rumours,
but when the Pope again made his appearance in public he
looked so well that it was said that he would yet survive®
Cardinals Rusticucci and Galli, who during his illness had
been taking a lively interest in the coming election. If
during this year and the following one there were still attacks
of arthritis Clement VIII. did not feel ill and was very
cheerful.' The year 1604 opened less hopefully, and in
January an attack of gout caused all the greater anxiety in
that it was accompanied by want of appetite and insomnia,^
and also because the seventy j^ear old Pope refused to take
any care of himself.^ In March Clement himself thought
^ Cf. *Avviso of January 27, 1601, Urb. 1069, loc. cit.
^ See *report of G. C. Foresto, January 13, 1601, Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.
* See * A wise of September 12, 1601, together with the con-
temporary *report of the envoy of Urbino, Urb. 1069, Vatican
Library.
* See *Avvisi of October 17, 1601, and January 5, 1602, Urb.
1069, 1070, ibid.
* See *Avvisi of January 5 and August 7, 1602, Urb. 1070, ibid.
* See *Avvisi of November 13 and 19, 1602, ibid.
' For his jokes at the expense of " nano PoUacco " (named
Trulla) see Orbaan, Rome onder Clemens VIII., p. 34 ; *Avviso
of July 26, 1603, Urb. 1071, loc. cit. and in Vol. XXIII., App.
n. 33 ; for his health cf. the *reports of L. Arrigoni of January 4
and December 26, 1603, Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
* See *Avviso of January 14, 1604, Urb. 1072, loc. cit.
* " Non ricusa fatticha ove va il servitio publico," Avviso of
January 17, 1604, ibid.
HEALTH OF THE POPE. 433
that his end was at hand,^ but soon afterwards he was again
restored to health.- The strictness with which he observed
the fast brought about another relapse in April, ^ but during
the summer he once again felt so much stronger as to be
able to adhere to his custom of himself carrying the Blessed
Sacrament in the procession of Corpus Domini.^ On the
vigil of the Assumption he went fasting to St. Mary Major's,
kept the fast of the vigil with all strictness and did a great
deal of work, but this exertion, which had never before
harmed him, this time had a serious effect upon him.^ In
September he was much worried by the anxieties occasioned
by the rising of the Farnese,® but when he returned on
October 5th from his beloved Frascati he felt so much better
that he spoke of making a pilgrimage to Monte Cassino, from
which however he was dissuaded.'' The winter passed fairly
well, but in January, 1605, the gout returned.^ On
January 19th the Pope unexpectedly paid a visit to the tomb
which he had erected to his mother at the Minerva, and
remained there for a full hour.^ His state of health was
still so good that Cardinal Aldobrandini was able to go to
the archbishopric of Ravenna, which had recently been
conferred on him, and where he intended to hold a synod. ^"
1 *Avviso of March 10, 1604, ibid.
2 *Avviso of March 17, 1604, ibid.
3 *Avviso of April 24, 1604, ibid. Cf. Bijdragen tot de geschied.
V. Brabant, VIL (1908), 365.
1 *Avviso of June 19, 1604, Urb. 1072, loc. cit.
5 *Avviso of August 18, 1604, ibid.
^Cf. Vol. XXIII. of this work, p. 261, n. 3, the *reports of
Vialardo (September 17) and G. B. Thesis (October 23, 1604),
Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
''See the *reports of G. B. Thesis, October 9 and 15, 1604,
Gonzaga Archives, Mantua, and *Avvisi of October 6 and 9, 1604,
Urb. 1072, loc. cit.
8 *Avvisi of January 8 and 12, 1605, Urb. 1073, loc. cit.
9 *Avviso of January 19, 1605, ibid.
10 *Avvisi of January 15, 19 and 22, 1605, ibid. For the pre-
parations for the svnod see the letter of Cardinal P. Aldobrandini
VOL. XXIV. 28
434 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
On the 2ist the Pope presided at the congregation on the
question of grace. ^ On January 30th Cardinal Palotta
congratulated him in the name of the Sacred College on the
beginning of a new year of his pontificate ; the Pope replied
that he would like soon to be delivered from the labours
and burdens of his high office. ^
This desire was soon to be granted. On February loth,
1605, during a session of the Inquisition, the old man had a
slight apopletic stroke,^ and a courier was at once sent to
Aldobrandini bidding him return immediately.^ In order
to prevent alarm in RomiC the carnival festivities were per-
mitted, and it was given to be understood that the Pope was
only suffering from a chill. ^ Clement VIII. knew that his
end was come, and had Extreme Unction administered.^
As there was then a slight improvement, those about him
once more began to hope, but this was nullified by further
attacks of apoplexy during the night between the Saturday
and Sunday, February 20th, 1605. In the evening of that
day Cardinal x\ldobrandini arrived, but the sick man had lost
consciousness. The Pope then revived, and recognized his
nephew with joy, but his mental faculties were completely
enfeebled. His strong constitution still resisted for a time,
until on March 5th, a further stroke caused his death.'
to Caligari, Rome, October 2, 1604, in Scelta di curiosita. lett.,
CXCVIIL. 250 seq.
1 *Avviso of January 2, 1605, Urb. 1073, loo. cit.
- *Avviso of February 2, 1605, ibid.
3 *Avvisi of February 12 and 16, 1605, ibid. Cf. Scorraille,
Fr. Suarez, I., 443 seq.
4 *Avviso of February 16, 1605, ibid.
5 *Avviso of February 19, 1605, ibid.
" See Scorraille, loc. cit.
'' For the last days and death of Clement VIII. see the *Avvisi
of February 19, 23, 26, March 2 and 5, 1605, Urb. 1073, loo. cit.
Cf. the *reports of G. B. Ihesis of February 19 and 26, and
March 5, 1605 ; the *report of Giov. Magno, February 25, 1605,
and the very detailed *report of G. C. Foresto, February 19, 1605,
all in Gonzaga Archives, Mantua. Cf. also *" Avvisi di Roma
DEATH OF CLEMENT VIII. 435
In spite of a pontificate lasting thirteen years, the memory
of Clement VIII., both from the ecclesiastical point of view
and the political, had fallen into oblivion.^ If he did not meet
with a worthy biographer, this was partly the fault of his
relatives, who for too long timorously prevented access to
the acta of his government. But at last the return of these
treasures to the Papal Secret Archives, due to the far-seeing
delli 21 febbraio 1605 " in the Boncompagni Archives, Rome,
Cod. C. 20. Ibid, a detailed *relatione " della morte di
Clemente VIII." See also the *letter of Cardinal P. Aldobrandini
to the nuncio in Venice, March 5, 1605, Aldobrandini Archives,
Rome, 207, n. 5. Among the doctors who attended Clenient VIII.
during his pontificate (see Marini, I., 4 76 seq.) the most celebrated
were Andrea Cesalpino {cf. infra, p. 450, n. 4) and Marsilio
Cagnati [cf. Orbaan in Arch. d. Soc. Rom., XXXVI., 137, n. 2).
See also Haeser, Gesch. der Medizin, II.', 12 ; Zappoli, Medici
celebri, 52. From the letter of Cardinal P. Aldobrandini, pub-
lished from Carte St/ozz., I., 2, 334 seq. it is evident that in the
choice of doctors great importance was attached to their moral
and religious conduct. The fable spread by Vv'olf (Gesch. der
Jesuiten, II., 308) that Clement VIII. was poisoned by the
Jesuits, was exploded by Duhr (Jesuitenfabeln, 425 seq., 735 seq.).
Werminghoti too (in Schiele, Die Religion, I. [1908], 1838)
rejects the poisoning as a fable unworthy of belief. The body
of Clement VIII. was first buried in St. Peter's (see Ciaconius, IV.,
268). Paul V. in gratitude erected to him a splendid monument
in St. Mary Major's, of which we shall speak in a future volume.
The body was only translated to St. Mary Major's in 1646, see
Moroni, XIV., 48.
1 The "Vita et gesta Clementis VIII." in Inform, polit.,
XXXIX. of the State Library, Berlin (composed while
Clement VIII. was still alive, and probably a work of Andrea
Victorelli) is as unimportant as the *Dialogue by Mons. Malaspina
in Cod. N. 17 of the Vallicella Library, Rome (cf. Ranke, III.*,
89*, 96*). Also the *Fragments of a Biography of Clement VIII.
composed by Gius. Malatesta, a summary of which is preserved
in Cod. K. 25, p. 294 seq., 315 seq. of the VaUicelliana, give little
that is new. It is often quoted [e.g. bv Walch, Hist, der Papste,
406). L. Wadding, Vita Clementis VIII., Rome, 1723, but this
work has ne\er been found (see Ciaconius, IV., 272).
436 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
care of Leo XIII., has been of great service to the memory
of Clement VIII. Thus m his case too is verified the saying,
that the best defence of the Popes is the knowledge of their
lives, a thing that is no less true of the zeal displayed by
Clement VIII. in the field of science and art.
CHAPTER XI.
Clement VIII. and Learning. — Torquato Tasso.
The predilection for scholars and writers which Clement VIII.
had already displayed while a Cardinal, was continued after
he had become Pope. How highly he esteemed intellectual
ability is shown by the preference for scholars which he
displayed in conferring the highest ecclesiastical dignities.
At his very first consistory the purple was conferred on
Francisco Toledo, who was looked upon as the most learned
man in Spain. So in subsequent creations men of learning
were always taken into consideration : for example, in 1596
the Oratorian Francesco Maria Tarugi, the canonist Francesco
Mantica, and the greatest historian of his time, Cesare
Baronius. The most distinguished of the theologians of the
day, Robert Bellarmine, received the red hat in 1599 ; at the
same time there were admitted to the senate of the Church
Silvio Antoniano and Domenico Toschi, who was well known
everywhere as a canonist. In the conferring of the purple
on Du Perron in 1604, a decisive factor were the scientific
attainments of this man, who was called the Augustine of
France.^
Among the men who formed the entourage of the Pope
there were to be found men of distinction and great literary
culture, such as Guido Bentivoglio and Giampietro Maffei.
Clement VIII. liked to have scientific works read at table ;
thus, for example, the works of the celebrated English
theologian, Thomas Stapleton, who was looked upon as one
^ For the above-mentioned cf. Vol. XXIII. of this work,
pp. 36. 46, 170, 248, and supra, p. 193. Cf. also Vol. XXIII.,
App. n. 29.
437
43*^ HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of the best controversialists against the reformers whom the
Church possessed.^
Clement VIII. took a prominent part in the activities of the
intellectual life of the time, and a number of theologians were
honoured by him with special briefs on account of their
works. 2 Writers who had returned to the Church, after
having hitherto employed their talents to the injury of the
Catholic religion, v/ere invited by him to labour on her behalf.^
The Pope showed special interest in continuing the publication
of the works of the great Doctors of the Church, begun under
Sixtus V. Of the edition of St. Bonaventure, the third, fifth,
sixth and seventh volumes appeared in 1596. The two last
volumes of the works of St. Gregory the Great had already
appeared in 1593.'* The Pope caused study of the best
manuscripts to be made with a view to a complete edition
of the writings of St. Athanasius.^ He also took a keen
interest in the collection of General Councils suggested by
Cardinal Santori in the time of Gregory XIV. ^ By his
1 See HuRTER, Nomenclator, I., 59.
^ See *briefs to " Florim. Remundi senat. Burdigal," May 7,
1599 (ill v/hich he praises his work, De anticristo, against the
innovators), Arm. 44, t. 43, p. 232, Papal Secret Archives ; to
" Schillerius," April 14, i6C'i (concerning his explanation of the
psalms), ibid. t. 45, n. 108 ; to " Cornelius Scultingius theol.
Colon.," February 9, 1602 (concerning his Bihl. cath.), t. 46, n. 54.
^ *Bnef to " Phil. Canaius," October 11, 1602, ibid. t. 46, n. 307.
* See Baumgarten, Neue Kunde, 329 seq.
^ Cf. Arch. star, ital., 5th ser. XIII. , 463.
* See Baumgarten, loc. cit. 333. Cf. also, besides the briefs
of 1603 in Fantuzzi, IV., I'/o, the *briefs to the archbishop and
chapter of Treves {cf. Serapeum, 1863, 51), September 27, 1597,
Arm. 44, t. 41, nn. 221-222, loc. cit. See App. n. 11. Significant
of the interest taken by the Pope in learned works is the *brief
to " Andr. Bacagliar, episc. Algarens," December 8, 1601, who
had sent to Rome his Latin translation of the work by St. John
Damascene, De fide orthodoxa, where it was compared with that
of Stapleton and Billius ; the Pope in consequence said that he
did not consider a new translation to be required, sending it back
to Bacagliar. Ibid. t. 45, n. 418.
ENCOURAGEMENT OF LEARNING. 439
command Christopher Clavius published a defence of the
Gregorian Calendar.^ The Theatine Antonio Agelho was
given the bishopric of Acerno in reward of the services which
he had rendered as an exegetist.^ Antonio Maria Graziani
was made nuncio at Venice, and also honoured in other ways.^
Giovanni Francesco Bordini, who had done good service to
the memory of Sixtus V., received in 1597 the archbishopric
of Avignon, while the Augustinian, Angelo Rocca, the founder
of the Angelica Library, was appointed Bishop of Tagasta.*
Among all these scholars, after Antoniano, the dearest
to the Pope were Baronius and Bellarmine ; they were
consulted in all matters of importance, and often had to
preach before him.^ Both were shining lights in the Sacred
College, and were pioneers in the world of scholarship.
Robert Bellarmine,® " one of the most learned and out-
standing theologians of his time,"^ and above all of modern
times, was born in 1542 at Montepulciano, and in 1560 entered
the Society of Jesus. It was a decisive factor in his future
intellectual activities when in 1569 his superiors sent him
as preacher and professor to Louvain. Bellarmine thus found
himself in surroundings where the struggle against Luther
1 See Vol. XIX. of this work, pp. 259, 280.
2 See Renazzi, III., 33 ; Hurter, Nomenclator, 1., 366.
' Cf. I. Niccii Erythraei Pinacotheca, I., 189.
* See Renazzi, III., 148. Cf. Celani, La Bibl. Angelica,
Florence, 1911.
^ See CouDERC, I., 293.
* Biography by Giacomo Fuligatti, trans, by Silvestro
Petrasancta, Liege, 1626 ; Bartoli in his Opere, XXII. , Turin,
1836 ; J. B. CouDERC, Paris, 1893 ; X. M. Le Bachelet,
Bellarmin avant son cardinalat, Paris, 191 1 (there, pp. 438-466,
the so-called autobiography, with note, also published by DoUinger
and Reusch, 1887) ; the same : Auctarium Bellarminiarnum,
Paris, 1913 ; J. de la Serviere, La theologie de Bellarmin,
Paris, 1909 ; Le Bachelet in Diet, de theol. cath., II., 560-599 ;
SoMMERVOGEL, Bibliotheque, I., 1151-1254, VIII. , 1798-1807;
Riviere, 11-13, 316; Hurter, Nomenclator, III., 678-695.
^ K. A. Menzel, Neuere Gesch. der Deutschen, V., Breslau,
J833, 309.
440 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
and Calvin played an all important part. After his return
to the Eternal City in 1576 he was recognized as a man able
to give the students of the German and English Colleges the
necessary training for their intellectual struggle against the
heretics in their own countries. For fifteen years Bellarmine
devoted himself to this work with all the thoroughness which
characterized him ; copies of his lectures were very soon
much sought after in Germany and England, and from these
there gradualh^ grew up his great work on the religious
controversies in which " the defence of the Roman Church
was at the same time made use of as a weapon of attack
against his adversaries, with greater power, exactitude and
skill than was done by others, both before and after him.
The assertions and arguments of the Protestants are used in
this very fully and in their own words ; to learning there is
added facility of expression, order and a pleasing style ; his
zeal is manifested with such well-weighed moderation that
the supreme disdain which the author feels for Protestantism
cannot be looked upon as an instrument of passion, but only
as the expression of his own convictions. His work thus
afforded abundant materials for the weapons which, towards
the end of the last decade of the century, were employed
by the German Jesuits in their ever renewed attacks upon
the Protestant Church."^
When Bellarmine began the publication of his " Con-
troversies " many champions had already arisen in defence
of the ancient faith. In the treatment of individual questions
enough had already been done, especially in the countries
bordering on Germany, by the Polish Hosius and the Nether-
lander Lindanus,^ while at Louvain the Englishman Stapleton,
leaving details aside, had struck at the roots of the differences
between the old and the new faiths, treating of them " in a
way not as yet surpassed "^ in his masterpiece on the sources
1 Menzel, loc. cit. 309 seq., 313.
^ Cf. HuRTER, loc. cit. 44 seqq., 187 seqq.
^ M. I. ScHEEBEN, Handbuch der Dogmatik, I., Freiburg, 1873,
447. Cf. HuRTER, loc. cit., 175 seqq.
THE WORK OF BELLARMINE. 44I
and rules of faith. There was still needed, however, a work
which should review all these special studies, and which should,
concisely and clearly, gather together their final results.
Bellarmine set himself to do this,^ but he quickly realized
that a mere collection of the works that had already been
composed would not suffice, since, as he wrote later on,^
" concerning the Word of God, the controverted points had
been dealt with by many persons, but concerning the Church
and the Pope by few, and concerning the remainder by hardly
anyone." Many questions had therefore to be dealt with
which so far had not been touched upon in controversial works.
During the struggles of the XVIth century only this or that
divergent doctrine had been dealt with ;^ the fundamentals
had been left on one side, and thus the whole doctrine of the
faith had to some extent to be brought under discussion.
" Thus Bellarmine includes almost the whole field of dogma,
in a manner entirely in accordance with this particular
purpose."^ It is possible to gather from the very extent of
the work how much it contains that is new ; in spite of its
concise nature as far as details are concerned, it extends to
three heavy folio volumes, the contents of which were after-
wards divided into four.
Bellarmine realized well enough the difficulty of his under-
taking ; in his opinion it called for almost unlimited learning ;^
but he had the necessary equipment ; acuteness of intellect,
soundness of judgment, knowledge of languages, together
with an acquaintance with the Fathers of the Church and
1 " Disputationes de controversiis christianae fidei adversus
hums temporis haereticos," 3 vols., Ingolstadt, 1586, 1588, 1593.
Ad Lectorem.
"To Greiser, October 19, 1607, Epist. familiares, 54.
* " Non uno aliquo errore, sed ipsa haeresum coUuvione
appetimur " (Dedication of the Disputationes to Sixtus V.).
" Innumerabiles haereses Ecclesiam lacerant " (Preface Ad
Lectorem).
* SCHEEBEN, loC. cit.
® Scientia prope infinita (introductory lection of Bellarmine,
1576).
442 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
with more recent tlieologians, such as to excite constant
wonder ;^ it seemed as though he retained indelibly in his
m.emory everything that he had ever read.
An especially attractive characteristic of Bellarmine, both
as a scholar and as a man, was his simple trankness. An
episode belonging to the days of his studies is characteristic
in this respect of the whole man ; at one of the disputations
which were customary for the intellectual training in philo-
sophical and theological studies, he could not find an answer
to a certain objection, and the professor suggested that he
might get out of the difficulty by calling upon his adversary
to prove a thesis for which the latter v/as probably not
prepared. But young Bellarmine would not hear of this,
and made reply that the thesis was true, and preferred to
take upon himself the humiliation of not being able to repty,
than to make use of a means which did not seem to him quite
honest.^ Thus the simple frankness which characterized
him was shown in his relations with others.^ It was in a like
spirit that he came forward in the world of learning ; he
sometimes admitted that not everyone had been happy in
their refutations of Calvin.^ In no part of his great work
does he look upon the struggle with his adversaries as easy ;
1 The vast learning, clearness, energy and solidity of the work
is even recognized by his adversaries (Scheeben, loc. cit., 447).
In like manner Kuhn m Theol. Qnartalschr., 1844, 282 seqq.
His talent for teaching, his lucidity of thought, and his skill
in disputation were beyond question (Thiersch-Hauck in
Realenzykl., 11.=*, 550). The judgment of earlier Protestants
in Bartoli, I., i, c. 13 (I., 115 seq.). Morhof (Polyhistor.,
II.*, Liibeck, 1747, 544): " Est inter Pontificios quasi Hercules
quidam Rob. Bellarminus, quo atlante coehmi suum fulciunt."
Ranke (Papste I.', 328) calls Bellarmine the greatest contro-
versialist of the Catholic Church. Hase (Kirchengesch.,^"
Leipzig, 1874, 494) says that the " most serious " attacks on
Protestantism were made by Bellarmine.
2 FULIGATTI, I., 2, c. 5 n
^ Bartoh, I., 2, c. 2 (II., 23).
^ Ibid., I., 2, c. 6, p. 64.
THE WORK OF BELLARMINE. 443
he always quotes their own words, and admits that part of
them which is true, and allows himself no rest until he has
clearly shown their weakness.-^ This very fact explains the
extraordinary success of the work. In 1588 men wrote to
the author from Mayence that at the Frankfort fair the
second volume had been bought up as soon as it was published ;
if the printer had had two thousand copies he v/ould have
sold them all down to the very last.^ The three or four huge
folio volumes had run through about thirty editions by the
end of the XVIIth century ;^ they formed the pivot upon
which the controvers}' v/ith the innovators turned, in a
almost incalculable number of works on either side.* Many
Protestants, convinced by the reasoning of Bellarmine,
returned to the ancient Church.^ Cardinal Du Perron, who,
like Stapleton and Bellarmine, was one of the greatest con-
troversialists against Protestantism, called Bellarmine and
Baronius the two stars of the Church in his time, and was
of opinion that the articles of Bellarmine concerning the
Eucharist contained all that was best that had been written
on the subject for the last five hundred years. ^ Baronius,
in his Annals, twice, so to speak, went out of his wa}^ to extol
1 The accounts given by Bellarmine of the opinions of the
Protestants are complete and accurate (Thier~ch-Hauck,
loc. cit., 553).
* H. Thyraus to Bellarmine, September 29, 1588, in Le
BACHELET, 219. Cf. Lessius to Bellarmine, December 10, 1588 :
The first volume was read everywhere, even by the councillors
and advocates. The copies that reached Lou vain were at once
bought up.
3 SOMMERVOGEL, I., II56.
* Index, ibid. 1165-1180. " For many years afterwards,
Bellarmine was held by Protestant advocates as the champion
of the Papacy, and a vindication of Protestantism generally took
the form of an answer to his works'." Encyclop. Brit., III., 695.
^ Testimony of the nuncio at Cologne, Antonio Albergati, in
Bartoli, I., I, c. 13 (I., 124) ; of Cardinal Dietrichstein, ibid.
I., 4, Testimoninanze n. 8 (IV., 21), etc.
•^ Du Perron to Bellarmine, February 10, 1605, in Bartoli, I.,
I, c. 15 (I., 144 se/.).
444 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
his friend Bellarmine.^ The exegetist Cornelius a Lapide,
was of the opinion that from the beginning of Christianity
there had been no work comparable to that of this theologian. ^
It may be added that by his defence of the Papal authority
he aroused the opposition, not only of the Protestants,^ but
also of the Galileans. His first volume was prohibited in France.
^ Ad a. 53, c. 32 (he praises the " nobilissimum opus " of the
Controversies) ; ad a. 968, n. 93, " vir doctissimus ac religiosissi-
mus Robertus Bellarminus, virtutum meritis toti christiano orbi
conspituus."
2 Opera, I., Antwerp, 1697, ^^ n. 38. Certain objections were
raised against the work by the Jesuits ; e.g. above all by Cardinal
Toledo ; they collapsed when the General of the Order had them
examined by two theologians. Le Bachelet, Bellarmin, 350,
412. For its inclusion in the Index by Sixtus V., and its removal
by Urban VH. see Vol. XXI. of this work, p. 197, n. 3.
* The doctrines of Bellarmine were also little understood by
Ranke. " In these assertions (of the plenitude of the power of
the Pope) the opinion that the power of the king was also based
upon divine right was closely approached. . . . The Jesuits had
no scruple in maldng the power of the king come from the people.
By their doctrine of Papal power they laid the foundations of the
theory of the sovereignty of the people." (Papste, 11.^, 123).
But Bellarmine, on the contrary (De membris ecclesiae, I., 3 ;
De laicis, c. 3 ; Controversiae, I., Prague, 1721, 298) expressly
teaches that the civil power comes from God, proving its rights
from the Sacred Scriptures (Pro v. viii. 15 ; Matt. xxii. 21 ;
Rom. xiii. i). Therefore according to him it is not laid down
by the will of God whether the form of government is to be
monarchical or republican, or an hereditary or elective monarchy,
or whether the sovereign must be chosen from this or that family.
The people itself must decide as to this, and since it can transmit
the sovereign power to certain persons, in this sense it must
inhere in the people before it can be so conferred. But after the
people has once transmitted this power, it is deprived of it, and
cannot resume it at pleasure. In Bellarmine 's theory nothing is
said of the sovereignty of the people in the sense of Rousseau, or
of any right of revolution. Particulars in De la Serviere,
loc. cit. 244 seqq. ; Scheeben in Staats lexikon, I.*, (1908), 761 ;
ScHNEEMANN 'n SUmmen aus Maria-Laach, II. (1872), 375 seqq.
THE WORK OF BELLARMINE. 445
After the completion of the second volume of the Con-
troversies, Bellarmine gave up lecturing. In 1589 Sixtus V.
appointed him theological adviser to Cardinal Errico Caetani,
on his mission to France. After his return, the General,
Aquaviva, employed him in the government of the Order ;
he probably saw in him his own successor, and wished to give
him an opportunity of acquiring experience in questions of
administration. Thus in 1592 he was able to complete the
third volume of the Controversies, but was then appointed
rector of the Roman College, and soon after, in 1594, superior
of the province of the Order in Naples. But Aquaviva's
plans were never realized ; the Holy See had cast its eyes
upon the clever scholar, and employed him in the preparation
of the edition of the Vulgate, and in the work of the Inquisition.
When the death of Toledo had left vacant the post of a Jesuit
Cardinal, Clement VIII. conferred the red hat upon him in
1599. " ^^^ have chosen him — the Pope said on that occasion
— because in the Church of God there is no one equal to him
in doctrine, and because he is the nephew of Marcellus 11."^
How highly Clement VIII. esteemed him at that time may be
seen from a treatise on the duties of a Pope, which he allowed
Bellarmine to present to him, and in which he wrote replies
to certain remarks.- A catechism which Bellarmine had
drawn up for the instruction of the people was made obligator}^
by Clement VIII. for the whole of the States of the Church.^
In 1602 he was appointed Archbishop of Capua ; the Pope
himself consecrated him.'* It was onty natural that a Pope
with such great knowledge of history as Pius XI. should
1 Bartoli, L, 2, c. 5 {II., 48). The mother of Bellarmine,
Cinthia, was the sister of Marcellus II. In 1620 Bellarmine was
given the titular church of Charles Borromeo, whom he greatly
venerated (S. Prassede). *Avviso of September 2, 1620, Urb.
1088, Vatican Library.
2 Cf. supra, p. 187, n. 5.
* Brief of July 15, 1598, Institutum Soc. lesu, I., 123.
* The Pope wanted to remove him from Rome, on account of
the controversies about grace (see supra, pp. 332, 354) for
their opinions were divergent as to this.
MAY 17 .
446 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
have held up Bellarmine as a star of the first magnitude in
the firmament of the Church, and as one of the most energetic
champions of CathoHc doctrine.^
How dear to Clement VIII. was Cesare Baronius, may be
seen from the fact of his having chosen him as his confessor.
Clement took a keen and active interest in Baronius' monu-
mental work, the Annals of the Church. He summoned the
learned Benedictine, Constantino Gaetano, to Rome^ to assist
him in his laborious task. Baronius showed his gratitude
for the extraordinary interest taken by the Pope, a thing
which he also showed in other ways, by dedicating to him
the fourth, fifth and sixth volumes of his gigantic work,^
which, drawing as it did upon an enormous treasury of docu-
ments, formed an entirely new basis for the history of the
Church. The Catholic point of view v/as rigorously adhered
to and courageously maintained against the attacks of the
Protestants ; at the same time, however, Baronius did not
shrink from frankness and even severity in his judgments ;
his great work is still to-day of great value to scholars.^ The
fear which was expressed by some that his elevation to the
cardinalate would hamper the great historian in his continua-
tion of the Annals was fortunately not verified. The seventh
volume appeared in 1596, which, like the eighth, published
in 1599, was dedicated to Clement VIII. After the sudden
death of the learned Cardinal Colonna, in May 1597, Baionius
1 " A star of the first magnitude, and one of the most able
controversialists of Catholic truth " (Allocution of April 15,
1923)-
2 Cf. Renazzi, III., 135.
' See Calenzio, Baronio, 348, 430. For the interest taken by
Clement VIII. in Baronio see Baumgarten, Neue Kunde, 126,
291 seq.
* Cf. the opinions of Reuter, Reumont, Bohmer, Lammer and
Mirbt, which 1 have collected under the title " Giudizi tedeschi
intorno al Baronio " in the special work, Per Cesare Baronio nel
terzo centenario della sua morte, Rome, 191 1, 15 seq. See also
Baur, Die Epochen der kirchl. Geschichtschreibung (1852),
72 seq.
THE VATICAN LIBRARY. 447
was able to thank the Pope for his appointment as head of
the Vatican Library.^
The precious collection of manuscripts which Cardinal
Sirleto had increased to a considerable number, now possessed,
thanks to the care of Sixtus V., a magnificent home in the
Papal palace ; united to them was also a part of the Papal
Secret Archives. How much imiportance Clement VIII.
attached to increasing these treasures may be seen from the
invitation which he addressed to all the bishops of the Papal
States to send to the Vatican Library all the manuscripts
and documents which came to their knowledge, so that a
selection maight be made of those which were of value. ^
Those which were preserved at the Vatican were not to be a
buried treasure. By the order of Clement VIII., and under
the superintendence of Baronius, the custodians of the
Library, v/ho belonged to the Rainaldi family, laboured with
unwearied and altruistic zeal to render it available, and above
all Domenico Rainaldi, who in the time of Clement VIII.
worked with such delight in cataloguing the manuscripts
and printed books, and the material in the archives, that in
this respect as well the Vatican was able to take the first
place among all the collections of manuscripts in the
world. ^
At the same time Domenico Rainaldi set in order the
Archives of the Castle of St. Angelo,'* for which Clement VIII. ,
soon after his election, prepared as a resting place a special
hall on the upper floor, which was richly decorated and
furnished with valuable presses. With this measure, which
was immortalized in a poem by Mafteo Barberini, was con-
^ See Calenzio, loc. cit., 471, 517; Baumgarten, loc. cit. 293,
299.
^ See Mercati, Biblioteca Apost., 22 seq. For the interest
taken in the Acta of the Council, from the literary remains of
Paleotto see Rom. Ouartalschr., IX., 396 seq.
^ See Ehrle in Hist. Jahrb., XL, 718 seq. ; Mercati, loc. cit.
9 seqq., 12 seqq., 65 seqq.
* See Kehr in N achrichten der Gott. Gesellsch. dev Wissensch.,
1903. 509. Cf. also Orbaan, Documenti, 138 n.
44^ HISTORY OF THE POPES.
nected a plan for placing all the archival treasures of the Holy
See in this safe place. ^ Even though this plan was not fully
realized, nevertheless not a little was done to make the col-
lection in the Castle of St. Angelo a real State Archivium.
Innumerable documents were removed thither from the
Guardaroba, accompanied by copies of documents on a large
scale. The Papal treasurer, Bartolomeo Cesi, who was the
real originator of this great and useful project, was appohited
prefect. After his appointment as Cardinal, on June 5th,
1596, Domenico Rainaldi took his place, which he filled with
great zeal. It is almost impossible to do justice to the
importance of the collection of documents and acta on the
most important questions of the day furnished by this
indefatigable worker for the purposes of the Secretariate of
State. They were of inestimable value, together with the
memorials attached to them, in the questions of the absolution
of Henry IV., the acquisition of Ferrara, the discussions
concerning the Papal election, and the controversies with
Spain. Again in 1604 the Pope caused documents to be
brought to Rome, so that copies might be made of
them. 2
It was of highest importance for the Vatican Librarj'
that the librarian of the Farnese, Fulvio Orsini, who
after the death of Muret held the first place in the
^ The *Acta consist, on January 29, 1593, record: S.D.N.
" proposuit bullam faciendam super scripturis Sedis Apost.
custodiendis et adservandis in Archivio, quod mandavit extrui."
Order for the drawing up of the " formula bullae et de genere
scripturarum ibi servandarum et mittetur per manus ut quisque
admoneat " (Barb. lat. 2871, Vatican Library). The bull was
never published. Cf. Marini, Archivi di S. Sede, Rome, 1825,
29 ; Cardmal Gasquet, British and allied Archives during the
war, in the Transactions of the R. Hist. Soc, 2, ser. II., London,
1920, 56.
* See Marini, loo. cit., 27. Cf. Laemmer, Anal. 58, Melet. 282 ;
Calenzio, Baronio, 722 seqq. ; Kehr, lac. cit., 1900, 371, 375 ;
1903. 514 seq., and especially Mercati, loc. cit., 78 seqq. See
also Baumgarjen Neue Kunde 119 seq.
THE VATICAN PRESS. 449
world of letters, left a legacy in 1600 of his most precious
collection of manuscripts and books to the library of
the Pope.i The former custodian of the Hbrary,
Tommaso Sirleto, also gave his manuscripts to that
collection. The acquisition of the legacies of Aldus
Manutius and the learned Dominican Alphonsus Ciaconius
added to its wealth. ^ Seme Persian manuscripts were also
acquired.^
Closely connected with the Vatican Library was the Vatican
Press, which was directed by Domenico Basa, and from 1596
by Bernardo Basa.* Sixtus V. had united several benefices
for the maintenance of the correctors of this institution, the
revenues of which, however, were employed in other ways by
Gregory XIV. Clement VIII. therefore took steps to remedy
the lack of skilled correctors of the press, by abolishing certain
posts in the library, and founding in their place five posts for
correctors of Latin and Greek works, ^ and on August 20th,
1593, he conferred these for life on the Benedictine Adriano
Cipriano, the Florentine priest Giovanni Battista Bandini,
the doctor in theology Francesco Lamata, a Spaniard, and
on Gerhard Vossius of the diocese of Liege. When this scholar,
who had done good service as editor of the v/orks of the
Fathers of the Church, resigned, his place was taken by
Maurizio Bressio. There were also employed Federico Metio,
and lastly, as unpaid corrector, the Augustinian Angelo
^ Cf. Blume, III., 39 seq. ; Sevapeuni, VII. (1846), 318 seq. ;
Belirami, I libri di F. Orsmi nella Bibl. Vatic. Rome, 1886 ;
NoLHAC, La bibliotheque de F. Orsini, Paris, 1887. There too,
p. 29 seq., the marks of kindness shown by Clement VIII. to this
celebrated scholar.
^ See Mercati, loc. cit. 23. For the library of A. Manutius
see, besides Prinzivalli, Tasso, 103 n., Baumgarten, Neue
Kunde, 145 seq.
* See Horn, Die pers. und tiirk. Handschriften der Vaticana
in Zeitschr. der morgenldnd. Gesellsch., LI. (1897), A-
* See Bertolotti, Le tipografie orientali e gli orientalisti a
Roma nei secoli XVI. e XVII., Plorence, 1878, 26 seqq.
* Cf. Bull. X., 81 seqq.
VOL. XXIV. 29
450 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Rocca.i These six correctors were also to work in the
library, as these two institutions were connected with each
other.
Clement VIII. concerned himself in various ways with the
Roman University ;2 he confirmed the union established by
Sixtus V. between the rectorate and the College of Proto-
notaries, and carried on the new buildings of the university.
In his pontificate the great hall, which was adorned with an
artistic carved wooden ceiling and a magnificent pulpit, was
completed.^
Clement VIII. did good service by summoning the cele-
brated botanist and physiologist Andrea Cesalpino from Pisa
to the Roman University, where that scholar also held the
office of principal physician to Clement VIII., an office which
he held with the greatest success until his death in 1603.
Giulio de Angelis, who was also summoned by Clement VIII.
to the medical faculty, was less celebrated than Cesalpino,
but he too was one of the Pope's physicians and accompanied
him to Ferrara.^ A disciple of Cesalpino, Michele Mercati,
had been since the time of Pius V. director of the botanical
' See Baumgarten, Neue Kunde 137 seqq. Ibid. 132 seq. for
Vossius. Cf. also t'OPPENS, Bibl. Belgica, 1., Brussels, 1739,
362, and Medcdeel. v. h. Niederl. Hist. Institiit., II. (1922), 100 sei.
* Of the Ritoli that of 1595 is published in Renazzx, II., 224 seq.
This enumerates 31 professors. In 1592 there were 29 ; iu 1593
31, but in 1601 only 27; in 1603, 26; in 1605, 28; see the
*report of Carlo Cartari in Cod. H. III. of the Chigi Library,
Rome. For favours of Clement VIII. to the University of
Perugia see Bull. X., 32 {cf. 71). For the University of Ferrara
see supra, p. 400, for that of Wlirzburg see ^^■EGELE, II., 52.
* See Renazzi, III., 21 seqq.
* Ibid. 42 seqq. For A. Cesalpino cf. Sachs, Gesch der Botanik,
45 ; [Amati] Bibliografia Rom., I., Rome, 1880, 81 sej. ; [A.
Zappoli], Illustraz. ai busti dei medici celebri posti nell'attico
deU'arcispedale di S. Spirito, Rome, 1868 ; Cicone in Riv. di
storia d. scienze mediche, 1912, 73-92. For the efforts, though
fruitless, of Clement VIII. tu obtain Thomas Stapleton for the
university of Rome, see Corresp. de Frangipani, I., 65, 94, 99 seq.,
107.
SCHOLARS AND POETS. 451
gardens of the Vatican, and professor of botany at the Roman
University. In 1593 he was succeeded by Andrea Bacci,
then by Castore Durante, and lastly by the celebrated German
scholar Johann Fabri of Bamberg. ^ The summoning of the
Platonist, Fr. Patrizi to be professor of philosophy in the
spring of 1592, ^ was not a success, as he passionately attacked
Aristotle as an enemy of the faith. ^ The attitude adopted
by the Pope in this dispute is clearly shown by the fact that
after the death of Patrizi in February, 1597, he appointed
his opponent Giacorno Mazzoni to his office at the Sapienza,'*
assigning to him the large annual stipend of 1,000 gold scudi.
Great patrons of Mazzoni were the two Aldobrandini Cardinals,
who also generously supported scholars and poets in other
ways. The best known of the poets who entered the service
of Pietro Aldobrandini was Giambattista Marini.^ Cinzio
Aldobrandini established an Academy in his palace, to which
belonged the most distinguished scholars, such as Antonio
Quarengho, Patrizi, Giovanni Battista Raimondi, and also
the composer, Luca Marenzio, who was named " the most
sweet swan " and who from 1595 was organist at the Papal
Chapel ;® later on there were Battista Guarino, the author
1 See Marini, Arcliiatri, I., 459 n. ; Renazzi, III., 44; F.
Ladelci, La storia d. botanica in Roma, Rome, 1884, 12 seqq. ;
Zappoli, loc. cit., 83 seq.
^ See *Avviso of May 2, 1592, Urb. 1060, I., Vatican Library.
Cf. SOLERTI, L, 730.
^ See TiRABOSCHi, VIL, i, 359 seqq. Cf. Querrini, Di F.
Patrizi e della rarissima edizione della sua Nova Philoso])hia, in
Propiignatore, XI J. , 1-2 (Bologna, 1879). For an autobiography
of Patrizi, though it does not include the time of Clement VIII. ,
see Arch. stor. p. Trieste, I'lstria e il Trentlno, III. (1884-1886),
275 seqq.
* See Renazzi, III., 31 seqq. Cf. Zazzeri, Sui codici d. Bibl.
Malatest. iS seqq.
^ Cf. BoRZELi.i, Giambatt. Marini, Naples, 1898, 57 seqq.
* Marenzio lived at the Vatican ; see Ruolo 19. The privat-
dozent. Dr. Johann Engel, of Munich, is preparing a niouograph
on Marenzio.
452 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of the celebrated pastoral drama // pastor fido, Gaidobaldo
Bonarelli and Tasso.^
Just as was the case with Cardinals Pietro and Cinzio
Aldobrandini,^ many works were dedicated to the Pope
himself. Among the prose works the greater number were
religious and ecclesiastical ;^ not a few were concerned with
1 Cf. CiACONius, IV., 285 seq., and Solertt, I., 736 seqq. It is
remarkable that Cardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini had manuscripts
sought for even in Moscow ; see Pierling, II., 375 seq. ; *Poesie
di Mgr. Ciampoli in lode de SS" Aldobrandini, in Barb. lat. 3671,
Vatican Library.
2 CJ. Personeni, Notizie del cardinale Cinzio Personeni de
Ca' Passero Aldobrandini, Bergamo, 1786, 131 seqq., and Osservaz.
sopra la epistolografia di Fr. Parisi, Bergamo, 1788, 54 seqq.
For the " Nautica " dedicated by Bartolomeo Crescenzi to
Cardinal P. Aldobrandini see Ciampi, Viaggiatori Romani in
Nuova Antologia, August-September, 1874.
' The greater number of the printed works are enumerated in
CiACONius (IV., 271 seq.). To these may be added numerous
unpublished works : e.g. Vat. 3565 : *Sei discorsi di Giov. Paolo
Eustachio (with dedication of January i, 1597), namely : i. Delia
necessita che fa N. S. alle religioni ; 2. Delia ragion di stato
conforme alia s. scrittura ; 3. Delia nobilta et in particolare della
nobilta d'Hebrei ; 4. Delia causa che mantien I'Hebreo in
ostinatione ; 5. Che de iure divino non si puo negare al penitente
d'esser ricevuto nel gremio di s. chiesa ; 6. Quel ch'ha da fare il
penitente per esser conosciuto per vero penitente ; Vat. 5512 :
Franc, a Sosa (ord. min.), *De iurisdictione et optimo genere
procedendi in causis regularium libri 6 ; Vat. 5452 : Philippi
Bocchii (Boncn.) *Diadema Dei in quo de principio, statu et fine
ecclesiae et totius mundi agitur ; Vat. 5490 : Petri Martyris
Felini de Cremona (ord. serv. B. M. V.) *Modus visitandi vel
faciendi scalas sanctas (also in Urb. 151 1) ; Vat. 5512 :
Scipionis lardini (Macerat.) *Tractatus de Romano Pontificatu ;
Vat. 5517: Fra Arcangelo Agostino (Capuccino), *Epitalamio in
forma d'oration mentale sopra la s. casa di Loreto ; Vat. 6386 :
Petri Lombardi Hiberni *Comment. stroinatic. de Hibernia
insula ; Vat. 6390 : Frat. Chrysostomi a Visitatioi:ie (ord. Cist.)
*Libri 5 de vero Mariae virg. partu contra opinionem Alf. Tostati
DEDICATIONS AND " DISCORSI." 453
the Turkish peril, ^ and some of the acquisition of Ferrara.^
The most important dedications, after the Controversies
of Bellarmine,^ was that of the Annals of Baronias. During
one of his sojourns at Frascati the Pope obliged Bellarmine
and Silvio Antoniano to engage in a poetical contest, in which
the palm was to be given to the one who composed the most
beautiful poem on the saint of that day, Mary Magdalen.
episc. Abulen. ; Reg. 1597 : Francesco Torina Bufalina (da
Citta di Castello), *I1 Rosario sopra i inisterii della vita di Cristo.
Vatican Library.
1 For example the discourses of G. Crispo (Rome, 1594) and of
Scip. Ammirato (Florence, 1594). In the Vatican Library there
are to be found the following, not yet printed: Vat. 5519:
Aurelii JMarinatae Ravennatae *Tre ragionamenti della S. Lega
che si doveria fare tra principi christ. contra i nemici della S.
Chiesa ; Urb. 833, p. 509 : Pompei Floriani *Relazione sopra
I'antica origine dei Turchi [also concerning the forces of the
Turks and an offensive war against them, to prevent their coming
to Italy] (Copy in Inform, polit., XVII. of the State Library,
Berlin ; see Ranke, Osmanen^, 452) ; Urb. 1492, p. i seqq.
Tarquinio Pinaoro *Sopra una lega ad impresa che potriano fare
i pnncipi italiani contro il Turco in soccorso della M. Ces. e
principe Transilvano I'a. 1 596. Very widely spread in manuscript
was a copy of the " Discorso di mons. Pietro Cedolini vescovo di
Lesina fatto alia S*^ di N.S. Clemente VIII. per la difesa contro
il Turco 1594 (January 28)," published in Tesoro Politico, III.
(Tumoni, 1605), 85 seqq. ; manuscript copies in Rome : t. Vat.
5485 ; 2. Urb. 836, p. 406 seqq., Vatican Library. In Berlin :
State Library, Inform, polit. I. ; at Copenhagen : Library. Gl.
K. S. fol. 523.
^ Only some, such as Isabella Cervoni, Orazione a papa
Clemente VIII. sopra I'impresa di Ferrara (Bologna, 1598), have
been printed ; most are in manuscript, e.g. *Relazione della citta
e stato di Ferrara data per informat. a Clemente VIII.. in Urb.
835, p. 216 seqq. {of. Barb. 5356), the *Discorso storico del Francese
Pietro Demarchis, in Vat. S551, and tbid. Comitis \lexandri
Randensis *Tractatus de s. pontificis iurisdictione et ducatus
Ferrariae devolutione ad Sed. Apost. Vatican Library. Cf. also
supra, p. 447 seq., for the labours of D. Rainaldi.
3 See Autobiographia card. R. Bellarmini, c. 30.
454 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
This was the origin of Bellarmine's magnificent hymn, Pater
superni luminis, which was afterwards inserted in the
Breviary.^
As Clement VIII. had a great liking for poetry, very many
poems were dedicated to him.^ Among these were one by
Maffeo Barberini on the Pope's gout, and another on the new
archivium hi the Castle of St. Angelo.^ Mention must also be
made of how Orlando di Lasso, who, with Palestrina'* and
Marenzio, was the most celebrated musician of the time, had
in 1597, a short time before his death, dedicated to the Aldo-
brandini Pope his last composition, Le Lagrime di san Pietro.^
To the Jesuit Pietro Maffei, who had made a name as an
historical writer, Clement VIII. assigned an apartment in the
Vatican, and charged him to write the history of his ponti-
1 See CouDERC, I., 25.
2 The printed ones in Ciaconius, IV., 271 seq., and in Cat.
Bib]. Casanat., II., 156 ; unpublished ones by Ant. Vallius in
Vat. 5515, p. 48 seqq. ; by Giov. Vine. Passerine in Vat. 5502 ;
by Girolamo Aleander in Ottob. 2431, p. 451 seq. ; by Gerundio
Liberatorio in Barb. lat. 1780, Vatican library. A *Carmen in
reconciliationem cum ecclesia catholica Henrici Galliar. regis,
ibid. Vat. 5514, p. 56, dedicated to Clement VIII. *Versi per
runione de principi christiani sotto Clemente VIII. in the
Aldobrandini Archives, Rome, 286, n. 2. The writer of satires,
Trojano Boccalini, enjoyed the favour of Clement VIII. ; see
Archiv. fur neueve Sprachen, CIII. (1899), no. For the honours
bestowed upon the Polish poet Simon Szymonowicz (1558-1629)
by Clement VIII. see Hanisch, Gesch. Polens, 229. For T.
Boccalini cf. Meinecke, Die Idee der Staatsraison in der neueren
Ge.schichte, Munich, 1924 ; A. Belloni, T. Boccalini (1924).
Cf. Nnova Riv. storica, 1924.
3 See Maphaei Barberini Card. nunc. Urbani P. VIII., Poemata,
Rome, 1631, 203, 222 seq.
* Palestrina died on February 2, 1.594- ^f- A. Mercati,
Melchiorre Major, I'autore del vibrante necrologio di P. da
Palestrina, Gubbio, 1924. It has not teen possible to find the
tomb of Palestrina in St. Peter's, in spite of the researches of
Mgr. Cascioli ; see Rassegna Gregor., 1914.
'See Janssen-Pastor, Vl}^'^^, 172.
CLEMENT VIII. AND TASSO. 455
ficate, a task which unfortunately was never carried out,
owing to the death of Maffei in 1603.^
The name of Clement VIII. is also connected with that of
Torquato Tasso. The great poet had known the Pope as a
Cardinal and had received various favours from him. From
Naples, where he was then living, he had at once celebrated
his election in a poem, in which he makes all the virtues from
heaven descend upon him.^ He composed an Italian sonnet
for the anniversary of his coronation,^ and a longer Latin
poem in which he extols the ecclesiastical and civil power
of the head of the Church.'* In this he does not omit mention
of the nephews of Clement VIII., to whom there are also
addressed three other sonnets, probably composed on this
occasion.^ After this Tasso received an invitation to go to
Rome, where he arrived at the beginning of May, 1592. As
1 Cf. Orbaan, Documenti, 55 n.
2 See SoLERTi, I., 700, who calls the poem " soperba." It begins
as follows :
Questa fatica estrema al tardo ingegno
Concedi, o Roma, e tu, che movi e reggi
L'alto del, I'umil terra e'l mar profondo,
A lui, che di tue sacre etemi leggi
£ vivo spirto, e del celeste regno
Sostien le chiavi e porta il grave pondo,
E quasi folce in Vaticano il mondo.
Sacra la mente, il cor, la penna a i carmi.
Questa e la meta eccelsa, a cui d'intomo
Si volge notte e giomo
II mio pensier : ne di vittorie e d'armi
Cantate, fama eguale e pregio attende ;
Ma fine o meta a quel valor non miro
Che fiammeggia fra noi con luce etema.
^ " Ecco I'alba, ecco il di ch'in se ritoma." Opere, V., 3, 2,
Pisa, 1822, 208.
* " Magne parens pastorque patrum, cui pascere greges,"
Carmina latina, ed. A. Martinius, Rome, 1895, 39.
* SoLERTi (I., 723) gives one of these ; the two others (Fra. il
tuo splendore and Tra Fortuna e Virtii) in Vatasso, Rime inedite,
Rome, 1 91 5.
456 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
had been the case m the time of Sixtus V., he took up his
abode with his former patron, Cardinal Scipione Gonzaga, in
the Via della Scrofa ;^ but as early as June he had removed
to the palace of the Pope's nephew, in the Via dei Banchi,
where there was an open house with scholars and poets.
When in November, 1592, Cinzio Aldobrandini removed to
the Vatican, Tasso was invited to follow him.^ Then the poet
took up his residence in the most beautiful palace in the world,
where he was waited upon with all honour, invited to the
tables of Cardinals and princes, and honoured and dis-
tinguished in every way.
If, with all this, a certain melancholy and restlessness, and
a morbid desire for change did not leave him, this was an
evident sign of his melancholia (periodical dementia), which,
however — so closely akin are genius and madness — did not
in any way interfere with his literary activity.^ Cinzio
Aldobrandini, who had a sincere veneration for the sorely
tried poet, felt a sincere compassion for him. He efficaciously
promoted the re-writing of Tasso's Gerusalemme liberata,
giving him in the person of Angelo Ingegneri an amanuensis,
who was able to decipher with facility the difficult hand-
writing of the poet.^
Besides his masterpiece Tasso also composed with feverish
activity other poems in which he has given expression to his
^ For the Palazzo Gonzaga, afterwards Negroni-Galitzin, see
Prinzivalli, 46 seqq., who however wrongly makes Tasso go to
live with the Aldobrandini at once ; see Giorn. stor. d. lett. ital.,
XXVII., 412.
" Cinzio Aldobrandini lived, as Prinzivalli shows {88-97) in the
" Appartamento della contessa Matilde." Prinzivalli also tried
to point out the poet's dwelling exactly, but was not successful ;
see Giorn. stor. d. lett. ital., XXVII., 413. Orbaan (Documenti,
457 n.) however found a second Ruolo in which the situation of
Tasso's three rooms is indicated.
^ Of. A. CoRRADi, Le infermita di T. Tasso, in Mem. dell'Ist.
Lomh., XIV. (1881), 301 seqq. ; L. Roncoroni, Genio e pazzia di
T. Tasso, Turin, 1896; Bonfigli in Arch. p. le malattie nervose,
1887, fasc. 3.
•See Soi.ERTi, I., 741.
THE GERUSALEMME LIBERATA." 457
deep sense of religion. Thus there were written at that time
the pathetic verses on the Santa Croce and Le lagrime della
beatissinia Vergine. The inspiration for the last named was
drawn from a picture attributed to Albert Diirer, which was
in the possession of Cinzio Aldobrandini.^
To this exalted patron Tasso dedicated the new version
of the Gerusalemme liberata, which was at last completed
in May, 1593, and was given the title of Gerusalemme con-
quistata. The printing was begun in July ; the expenses
were borne by Cinzio Aldobrandini, while the profits were
all to go to the author. ^ Cinzio, who became a member of
the Sacred College on September 17th, 1593, saw to it that he
received the necessary privileges to protect his rights as
author. 3 The first copies of the work, from which there had
been removed all the tributes to the House of Este, originally
in connexion with the character of Rinaldo, but which were
now replaced by others to the Cardinal nephews and the Pope,
were able to be issued in the early days of December. Of
greater importance than these external changes were the
internal ones, by which the new poetical work was intended
to be distinguished from the former one, as the heavenly
Jerusalem from the earthly one. In conformity with this
idea the religious character of the Crusades was emphasized,
by means of a dream of Godfrey de Bouillon, with the purpose
of introducing a magnificent description of heaven, and un-
folding a grandiose prophetic vision of the future development
of Christendom. The episode of Olindo and Sophronia was
omitted, but in so doing Tasso was rather influenced by
literary considerations, since a long digression such as this
did not seem opportune, especially at the beginning of the
poem. Literary considerations also led to the curtailing of
the romance of Rinaldo and Armida, as well as that of Tancred.
If the work thus received unity and harmony, on the other
hand it suffered by the omission of certain beautiful passages,
* Ibid. I., 752 seqq.
- Ibid. 760 segq.
* Ibid. 761 seqq.
458 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
such as the magnificent description of the sea voga5^e of the
two heroes, when seeking for Rinaldo on the enchanted island.
How unfortunate was such a change from the original form
of this " first daring outburst of genius " was proved by the
wretched success of the Gerusalemme conquistata, which was
unable to overshadow the Gerusalemme liherata, which was
entirely permeated by the enthusiasm of youth. ^
Stricken once more at the beginning of 1594 b}/ illness,
Tasso resolved to seek repose at Naples, whither he was also
drawn by a long-standing law-suit concerning the inheritance
of his mother. He passed the summer and autumn at the
Benedictine convent of S. Severino, engaged, despite his bad
state of health, in constant literary activity.^ While he was
still in Rome he had already completed a long Latin poem
on Clement VHI.^ Cardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini, to whom
Tasso dedicated his Discorsi del poema eroico, insisted in
September on his return to the Eternal City ;* Tasso agreed
to do so, but only after his law-suit had been happily ter-
minated bj' means of a compromise. On November loth
he wrote from Rome : "I have returned ; alive it is true,
but very ill." A week later he expressed the wish that all
his works might be printed at Venice, either before or after
his death. ^ The poet, who was at that time once again living
at the Vatican, finished during that time a religious poem on
the Creazione del Mondo, and composed two sonnets for the
^ See Baumgartner, VI., 385 seq., 416 seq. ; Solerti, I.,
754 seqq. Dejob, 155 seq., who shows that the few strophes in
the Gerusalem.me liberata, which Tasso himself described at the
time as lascive (Lettere, ed. Guasti, I., 144), and which might
have scandalized a strict critic, remained in the Gerusalemme
conquistata.
^ See Solerti, I., 776 seqq.
^ The poem does not commence, as was long thought, and as
even Martini (Carmina lat. 35) thought, with the words : " O
Deus Europae," but " O decus Europae " ; s.ee Giorn. stqr. <^,
lett. ital, XXVII., 433.
* See Lettere, ed. Guasti, V., 184.
'" CJ. Solerti, I., 790 seqq., 796 seqq.
LAST DAYS OF TASSO. 459
anniversary of the Pope's coronation.^ The latter was so
enthusiastic about these poems that he assigned to the author,
out of his privy purse, an annual pension of 200 scudi, which
was afterwards followed by other gifts of money. ^ For a long
time past a special honour had been projected for him, namely
his coronation at the Capitol, a thing that had not been done
in the case of any poet since the time of Petrarch. The news of
this had been so widely spread that it was spoken of as an
accomplished fact.^ The ceremony was probably to take
place after Easter, which in 1595 fell on March 26th. In the
meantime the poet was constantly harassed by the thought
of death. On March 15th Cardinal Altemps died, and the
sonnet which he composed on this Prince of the Church was
probabl}' the last of Tasso's poems.'* When his health became
worse after Easter he addressed a touching letter of farewell
to his friend Antonio Costantini at Mantua : " What will
Signor Antonio say — this states — when he hears of the death
of his Tasso ? I do not think that the news will be long delayed,
for I feel m3'self at the end of my life, and have not been able
to find any remedy for my wretched indisposition, which has
supervened upon my many usual ailments, like a swift stream
by which, without being able to find any foot -hold, I plainly
find myself being carried away. There is no longer any time
for me to speak of my hapless fortune, to say nothing of the
ingratitude of the world, which has willed to triumph over
me by bringing me to a beggar's grave, when I had thought
that the glory which, despite those who do not so desire,
the world will have from my writings, would not leave me in
some way without guerdon. I have had myself brought
^ The first sonnet begins : " Mentre fulmina il Trace, e i nionti
e i cam pi," in Opere, V., 3, 2, Pisa, 1822, 308 ; the second begins :
" Ecco I'alba " (see supra, p 455, n. 3), ibid. For the poem
" Mondo create " see Mazzoni in the Opere minori (of Tasso), II.,
Bologna, 1892, and Flamini, Cinquecento, 508 seq.
''See GuASTi, Lettere di Tasso, V., Florence, 1855, n. 1526.
Cf. SoLF.RTi, I., 802 n. 4 ; II., 260, 353 seqq., 390.
" Cf. SoLr.KTi, I., 762, 765, 797.
« Cf. ibid. 803.
460 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
to this monastery of S. Onofrio, not only because its air is
praised by the doctors above that of any other part of Rome,
but as it were to begin in that subHme eminence, and helped
by the conversation of these pious fathers, my own conversa-
tion in heaven. Pray to God for me, and rest assured that
if I have always loved and esteemed you in this life, I will
still do so in that other more true life, where veritable and
not feigned charity is to be found. And I recommend you
as well as myself to the divine grace. "^
Cardinal Aldobrandini did all that lay in his power to
preserve this precious life, or at anyrate to alleviate the suffer-
ings of the poet, who was not only racked by fever, but by
attacks of melancholy. The Cardinal gave him two servants
and sent to him his own physician and that of the Pope,
but all was in vain.^ The few days that still remained to
the sick man were passed by him in prayer and pious medita-
tion. It is not possible to visit without deep emotion the
simple room,^ in which the poet passed his last days ; later
on it was transformed into the " Museo del Tasso." The poet
left to the convent of S. Gregorio as well as to that of
S. Onofrio money for the celebration of masses for his soul,
while to the latter he left the bronze crucifix which had been
given him by the Pope.* On April 24th he received Holy
Viaticum and Extreme Unction with touching piet}^ ; on
hearing of this Cardinal Aldobrandini hastened to the Pope
to ask for a blessing and absolution for his dying friend.
Deeply grieved, Clement VTII. granted the request of his
nephew, who then went in person to S. Onofrio to give the
dying man, in proof of the favour of the head of the Church,
this last consolation. " This is the coach — exclaimed Tasso —
^ Lettere, ed. Guasti, V., n. 1535. For S. Onofrio see Caterbi,
La chiesa di S. Onofrio, Rome, 1858 ; Carraroli in La Fanftilla,
XI. (Turin, 1887), nn. i, 2, 4, 5 ; Baffico, ibid. XXII. (October,
1892), 25 seq.
^ See SoLERTi, I., 806.
3 Cf. Prinzivalli, 152 seq.
* See SoLERTi, I., 807.
DEATH AND BURIAL OF TASSO. 461
in whicli I shall go, not as a poet to the Capitol, but as one
of the blessed to heaven." Ever praying, and meditating
on his last moments, the poet felt the approach of death on
the morning of April 26th. Kissing the cross, he began to
repeat the words of Christ : " Into Thy hands, O lord ..."
but his words went no further, and without any agony he
breathed forth his noble soul.^
His burial, according to Italian usage, took place the same
evening. After a cast of his face had been taken in plaster,^
his b(jdy was taken with princely pomp to the parish church
of S. Spirito in Sassia, and in the cortege were to be seen the
retinues of the Cardinal nephews, many members of the
Papal court, the professors of the University, and many other
scholars, nobles, priests and religious. All of them, after
the obsequies, followed the dead poet to S. Onofrio, where the
burial took place. ^ Tasso's brow was girt with the coveted
laurels, while in his joined hands he held the sign of the
Redemption, of which he had once sung :
To the Cross my heart I consecrate, and hymns ;
Victory's great standard, and the sign
In which weak men still triumph over death.*
Tasso died a fervent Catholic, as he had always lived.
He had dedicated magnificent poems, filled with the deepest
feeling, to the Queen of Heaven.^ All the ardour of his faith
found most heartfelt expression in the sonnet in which he
^ See ibid. 808 seqq., where the anecdotes of Manso concerning
the last davs of Tasso are refuted.
^ Still preserved at S. Onofrio ; see Solerti, IIL, 92. Cf. also
Jahrb. der kiinst-hist. Samml. des osterr. Kaiserhauses, XXIX.,
216, 218.
^ See Solerti, L, 809 ; III., Doc. L., LI., LII. For the tomb
of Tasso, with his portrait, erected bv Cardinal Bevilacqua, see
TOTTI, 47.
* " Rime spirituali del signor Torquato Tasso (sonnet to the
Holy Cross), Bergamo, 1597, p. i. See Baumgartner, VI., 390.
* Cf. La Madre di Dio nella vita e negli scritti di T. Tasso, new
edition, Rome, 1903.
462 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
venerated the Most Holy Sacrament.^ His most celebrated
work, La Gerusalemme liherata, is entirely penetrated with
Catholic sentiment. 2 This was already clearly shown in the
first draft of the poem, which was intended to describe the
struggle between Christendom and Islam, in its most sublime
chivalrous achievement :
Arms, and the chief I sing, whose righteous hands
Redeem'd the tomb of Christ from impious bands ;
Who much in council, much in field sustain'd.
Till just success his glorious labours gained ;
In vain the powers of hell opposed his course,
And Asia's arms, and Libya's mingled force ;
Heaven bless'd his standards, and beneath his care
Reduc'd his wandering partners of the war.
(Hoole's Tasso.)^
* The sonnet is little known :
" NELLA COMUNIONE."
Gia fui tronco infelice in queste sponde,
Che da radice amara ha doglia, e lutto :
M'inesta hor sacro ramo, e dolce in tutto.
Per divina virtu, ch'in se nasconde.
E del tuo sangue il santo fiume, e I'onde
Giungono al cor quasi in terrene asciuttu :
Talch'egli se n'irriga, e novo frutto
Fk di giustizia, e non sol fieri, e fronde.
Era un deserto ancor I'alma dogliosa,
Hor che '1 tue corpo e I'onbra, e '1 lunie un Sole
Signor Thai fatte un Paradise adome.
Ove di caritci vermiglia resa
Ha di pura humilta bianche viele,
E di sua castitate i gigli interne.
{Rime Spirituali [vedi supra, p. 461, n. 4], p. 17).
^ See G. Spera, II sentimento religiose nella Gerusalemme, in the
special work, Torquate Tasse, XXV. (Rome, 1895, April), 65 seqq.,
and Dejob, 290 seqq.
* T. Tasso, Gerusalemme liberata, critical edition, by A.
SoLERTi, XL, 3, Florence, 1895 (Baumgartner, VI., 397).
THE WORK OF TASSO. 463
It has been rightly pointed out to what a high degree the
revival of Catholic consciousness was reflected in Tasso's
immortal poem.^ Like Petrus Angelus Bargaeus,^ he too
was of the opinion that it is better " to treat of an historical
event in a Christian manner, than to seek by deceit for a glory
that is unchristian." Therefore he did not draw his heroes
from mythology, but from Christian history. It was the
great Christian epoch that attracted him ; and he gave his
hero the impress of a true Christian. Blameless, brave, wise,
humble, generous, careless of earthly glory, filled with the true
faith and a deep love for Christ and his Church, Godfrey de
Bouillon is put before us almost in the guise of a saint. By
placing this hero in the forefront of his poem, Tasso fulfilled
in a high degree the task of composing a Christian epopee.^
He completely turned his back on ancient pagan mythology,
except for a few ])assages of secondary importance. In his
poem he accepted prodigies in the Christian sense as an
indispensable part of epic poetry, but out of deference for
Italian taste adopted a prudent middle course. Entirely
Christian in sentiment is the struggle of Godfrey de Bouillon
with his fanatical Mohammedan adversaries, which was
willed by God, for which reason the paladins of God on earth
must have by their side the great spirits of heaven, though
they too must experience the operations of the enemies of
God and of their followers. The whole power of hell is enlisted
to turn aside the crusaders from their sublime goal, and it
^ Ranke, Papste I.', 323. For the way in which these descrip-
tions of Ranke were entirely misrepresented by Voigt and
Sauer, cf. Baumgartner, VI., 364, n. i. In like manner
what is said by Hettner (Ital. Studien, Brunswick, 1879. 300
seq.) of the relations of Tasso with the counter-reformation, is
faulty.
2 For the poem on the Crusades, " Svrias " by Bargaus, see
Vol. XXII., of this work, p. 194.
^ Cf. for what follows the excellent chapters in Baumgartner,
VI., 408 seq., 412 seq. ; for the Christian character of the epic see
also Ranke, Ital. Poesie 57 seq.; Norrenberg, loc. ciL, J J.,
98 seq., 114; Flamini, Cinquecento, 518 seq.
464 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
can find no better weapon than an abandoned woman, to
confound the noblest heroes with the pleasures of sense, until
the strength of the enemy should be so increased as to render
the conquest of Jerusalem impossible. But however great
is the part played in the epic by the most powerful of all
the passions, Love, by which the heroic song of the holy
war is to a great extent transformed into a romance of
chivalry, yet it is conceived and developed in an absolutely
moral v/ay. The transgressions of Rinaldo are not extolled
in a single verse, and the latter abandons the beautiful
she-devil Armida, who is depicted in the most vivid
colours, and cleanses his conscience by confession to Peter
the Hermit :
But think not yet, impure with many a stain,
In his high cause to lift thy hand profane.
All the Christian combatants too prepare themselves bj'
confession and communion for the decisive attack. The
assault begins : victory follows the standards of the Christian
army : Armida ?ierself, held back from her intended suicide
by Rinaldo, is converted, and the poem, suddenly cut short,
concludes with the celebrated strophe of the entry into
Jerusalem :
Thus conquer'd Godfrey, and as yet the day
Gave from the western waves the parting ray :
Swift to the walls the glorious victor rode.
The domes v/here Christ had made His blest abode ;
In sanguine vest, with all his princely train.
The chief of chiefs then sought the sacred fatie ;
There o'er the hallowed tomb his arms display'd.
And there to heaven his vow'd devotions paid.
In spite of its numerous episodes, the classical unity of the
epic remains inviolate, for the recovery of the Sepulchre of
the Saviour shines forth throughout as the dominant idea
of the poem. The strong relief into which the religious aspect
of the Crusade is thrown is not indeed in accordance with
THE WORK OF TASSO. 465
history, but rather with the new spirit of reUgiou which had
become predominant in Italy.
When the inspired poet sang his song of Gerusalemme liber-
ata, founded upon a great act of Christian heroism, he bestowed
the aureole of poetry upon one of the most sublime aspects
of the Catholic restoration, and upon the idea fostered b}^ all
the Popes of the time, the defence of Christendom against
Islam. Tasso had been living as a young man in Rome on
the glorious day of Lepanto, the greatest success ever won
by Christian arms, and his celebrated poem reflects the jubilee
that filled the Catholic world on that day.^ The triumph
that it met with was fully deserved, for it contained immortal
beauties. Few creations of secular literature equal it in depth
of conception, in the intensity and variety of its episodes, in
the magnificent and impressive animation of its characters,
in the strength and veracity of its descriptions of scenery, in
its delicate touch of true lyric life, and in irresistible charm of
style. It holds an eminent place in the splendid culture of
the epoch of Catholic restoration.^ It is no longer the worldly
Ariosto, but the grave Tasso, so profoundly religious, who
was the chosen poet of that time. Even in the XVIIth century
the Gerusalemme liberata became the popular epic, and was
printed and sung in all the principal dialects of Italy.'' It
^ See CiAN in Giorn. stor. d. lett. ital., LXXVIII., 164. For
the influence of the Gerusalemme Uberata of Tasso on the part
taken by Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga in the war against the Turks,
see Aroh. stor. Lomb., XLII. (1915), 80 seq.
^ Cf. Troeltsch in Hist. Zeitschr., CX., 548 seq., who says :
' It was the Catholic culture of the counter-reformation which
was the basis of the modern scientific-philosophical, juridical and
aesthetic-artistic development, and not Protestantism." This
view is opposed to Ranke, who maintains that the spiritual
awakening of the Church helped indeed to elevate art, but had a
repressive effect upon learning (Papste, I.', 321), with which
view the Hist, polit. Blatter, XXXVL, 1019 n. may also be
compared .
^ Cf. Salvioni, La Divina Commedia, I'Grlando Furioso e la
Gerusalemme liberata nelle versioni e nei travestimenti dialettali
Bellinzona, 1902.
VOL. XXIV 30
466 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
also became the inspiration of the music^ and arf^ of
the time.
^ Cf. D'Angeli, Ea Gerusalemme liberata nel melodramma,
in I. a cronaca musical e, igog, nn. 4, 5.
- The drawings of Bernardo Castelli (see Baglione, 384, 395
seq.) for Tasso's Gerusalemme Uberata were engraved by Agostino
Caracci and Giovanm Fontana for the edition printed in 1590 at
Genoa, see Thieme, VL, 147. The Caracci, Guido Reni and
Guercino had a special predilection for the work of Tasso ; cf.
Solerti in the periodical Emporium, HE (1896), n. 16, where is
dealt with, and in part reproduced the interesting series of frescoes
by the disciples of the Caracci, of scenes of the Gerusalemme
liberata in the Palazzo Rossi at Bologna (Via Mazzini, 29).
F. Malaguzzi Valeri treats m the Rassegna d'arte, VIIE, 10 of
the paintings of Tiepolo drawn from the Gerusalemme liberata.
CHAPTER XII.
Clement VIII. and Art.
Just as was the case with reHgion and politics, the long
pontificate of Clement VIII. was a period of transition in the
field of art, during which the older tendencies gradually gave
way to new ones. Clement VIII. himself was inclined to
the former, and among architects, besides Giovanni Fontana,
he at first employed almost exclusively Giacomo della Porta ;
it was only when the latter died, in the autumn of 1602, that
Carlo Maderna took his place.
In painting the Pope favoured, in the person of Giuseppe
Cesari, known as the Cavaliere d'Arpino, the traditional
classical school, while the naturalist Carava.ggio was just
beginning his career. ^ D'Arpino enjoyed the Pope's favour
to such an extent that the painters whom he recommended,
no matter how mediocre they were, received innumerable
orders. It is still a mystery wh}^ Clement VIII. neglected
to avail himself of the services of Caracci, whose talent was
greater than that of all the rest. It is supposed that the
strained relations between the Pope and the Farncse
prejudiced him in this respect. ^ A contributory factor may
have been that Clement Vlrl., unlike Sixtus V., was not a
man with much initiative, so that even in artistic matters
he always took into account the predominant greatness ol
his predecessor.
Immediately at the beginning of his pontificate Clement VIII
declared his intention of completing all the constructions
^ In 1592 Caravaggio began to paint the Contarelli Chapel in
the left-hand nave of S. Luigi de' Frances! ; see Jahrb. der preisi,.
Kunstsamml., XLIV., 90 seq. ; Voss, Malerei, 435, 441.
2 So thinks Orbaan (Rome onder Clemens VIII., p. 206).
467
468 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
begun ander Sixtus V.^ Among these the first place was
taken by the bridge over the Tiber near Borghetto, which was
of the greatest importance for the communications of Rome
with the north. It is known that in connexion with this the
enemies of Domenico Fontana accused the latter of irregular-
ity in his account of the expenses. ^ In Way, 1592, it was
reported that a revision of all the accounts of the celebrated
and favourite architect of Sixtus V. had been ordered, and
it was asserted that many of Fontana's constructions, in
order to gain money, had been badly carried out.^ Sixtus V.
too was undoubtedly responsible for certain defects of con-
struction, as he was always urging haste. It is easy to
understand how it was that Fontana, who was deeply offended,
retired, and then left Rome in order to go in 1596 to Naples."*
His place, as the real architect of the new Pope, was taken
by Giacomo della Porta, who in the time of Sixtus V. had
successfully completed the cupola of St. Peter's, and had
thus acquired a great reputation.
One of the principal cares of Clement VIII. was the com-
pletion of the basilica of St. Peter's. It was characteristic of
the skilled jurist that the Pope should have set his hand to
the reorganization of the commission of the Fabbrica di S.
^ *" N.S^® ha date parola che si finischino tutte le fabriche
incominciate da Sisto V. tra le quali si finisce hora il ponte del
Borghetto et certe altre strutture." Avviso of February 12,
1592, Urb. 1060, I., Vatican Library.
2 Cf. Orbaan in Bollet. d'arte, 1915. For the bridge see infra,
p. 489.
^ *■' Si nveggono i conti al cavalier Fontana di fabriche e
strutture, che si pretende siano state malfatte di materie vili et
poco utile et per avanzare spesa." Avviso of May 13, 1592,
loc. cit.
^ See Orbaan, Sixtine Rome, 230, who corrects the account of
Baglione (p. 80). Ihid. a reproduction of the sepulchral
monument to Fontana, erected in 1627, twenty years after his
death, in S. Anna dei Lombardi at Naples, the inscription on
which extolls him as " Sumnius Romae architectus- -magna
moiitus maiora potuit."
ST. Peter's. 469
Pietro/ set up by Clement VII. for the administration of the
revenues of the basilica. As the clumsy system of a college
of sixty members had not been found practicable, Clement VIII.
dissolved it, and following the example of the Congregation
created by Sixtus V., he set up a special " Congregazione della
rev. Fabbrica di S. Pietro," which was given judicial powers
for carrying out its duties.^
After the lantern of the cupola of St. Peter's had been
placed in position in the time of Gregory XIV., Clement VIII.,
before anything else, had the whole of the immense construc-
tion covered, in order to protect it from the weather, with
strips of lead, joined at the edges by bands of gilt bronze.^
Sebastiano Torrigiani, who from the lime of Gregory XIII.
had superintended the Papal foundry, was ordered to cast the
colossal metal ball, in which there is room for sixteen persons,
and the great cross connected with it, which, richly gilt,
was to crown the summit of the cupola of St. Peter's.^ This
work was completed in the autumn of 1593. According to
the original intention of the Pope, the sign of the triumph of
Christianity was to have been erected on the feast of the
Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14th), ^ but in the
end Clement VIII. decided upon the day of the Dedication
of the basilica (November i8th). On that memorable morning
the Pope, accompanied by Cardinals Gesualdo, IMedici, Toledo
and Cinzio Aldobrandini, went to St. Peter's. After a prayer
before the altar of the Blessed Sacrament, and at the Con-
fession, he w-ent to the Gregorian Chapel, where the bronze
cross had been erected at the Gospel side of the high altar.
There he first consecrated two caskets intended for the arms
^ Cf. Vol. X. of this work, p. 352.
2 See Bull. bash. Vatic. III., 333. Cf. Phillips. VI., 675;
HiNSCHius, I., 482. The bull itself has not so far been found,
not even in the archives of the Fabbrica, it was already missing in
the time of Benedict XIV.
' See RoccA, Bibl. Vatic, App. 416 ; Orbaan, Documenti, 48 n
* See Baglione, 324. Cf. O. Pollak in the supplement to
the Jahrb. der preuss. Kunstsamml., XXXVI. (1915), 80 seq.
,' See *Avvi.so of September 15, 1593, Urb, ic6o, I., lo:. ci(.
470 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of the cross, containing relics and Agnus Dei, and then blessed
the cross itself with the pra3^ers of the rituaL He then
celebrated mass. After the Pope had retired to his own
apartments, the workmen set to work on erecting the cross.
When towards evening the work was completed, all the bells
were rung and the roar of the cannon of the Castle of St.
Angelo burst forth. In the piazza of St. Peter's, where the
Capella Giulia intoned hymns, '"he canons and all the other
clergy of the basilica were assembled. The shiging of the
Te Deum completed the ceremionv.^
The internal decoration of the dome had at first been assigned
by the members of the Fabbrica of St. Peter's to Cristofano
Roncalli, but Clement VIII. entrusted it to the Cavaiiere
d'Arpino.- The latter had already been in the service of
Sixtus v., and after the death of that Pope in that of Cardinal
Santori. With Clement VIII. his period of celebrity began ;
the Pope conferred many distinctions on him and took him^
with him to Ferrara.^ D'Arpino designed for the interior
of the dome of St. Peter's a scheme of decoration that was as
beautiful as it was suitable. The sixteen spaces of the dome,
which rise in diminishing width between the great gilt ribs,
were each divided into four large rectangular spaces, and
two smaller round ones ; these were filled with mosaic pictures
on a gold ground, the subjects of which form a magnificent
" Sursum corda." In the topmost ring there are beautiful
heads of angels ; in the next, angels in adoration ; then more
heads of angels, and then angels with the instruments of the
Passion of Our Lord ; below these, on a larger scale, are Christ,
the Blessed Virgin, St. John the Baptist, and the choir of the
Apostles, and lastly half-figures of the Popes and saints
whose relics are preserved in St. Peter's. In the vault of the
lantern is the figure of God the Father in the act of bene-
diction, and on the ring which completes the dome the
' See in App. n. i the *report of Alaleone. Cf. also *Avviso
of November 20, 1593, Urb. 1061, loc. cit.
* See Baglione, 290.
' See Sobotka in Thieme, VI., 310. Cf. also Voss, II., 578.
ST. PETER S. 471
inscription : S. PETRI GLORIAE SIXTUS P.P. V. ANNO
1590, PONTIFICATUS V.i
It is a striking proof of the strong sense of justice of
Clement VIII., that though he was as a rule keenly anxious
to immortalise his own name,^ in this case he left to his pre-
decessor the honour that belonged to him ; this he also did
in another way ; the ribs, which are covered with gold stars
on a blue ground, end in a lion's head in bronze, the arms of
Sixtus V.
Quite a large number of artists, among them Francesco
Zucchi, Cesare Torelli, Paolo Rossetti, and Marcello Provenzale
were employed in executing the mosaics designed by d'Arpino,-^
a work which was only completed under Paul V. Cartoons
by Giovanni de'Vecchi and Cesare Nebbia served as models
for the enormous mosaic pictures of the Evangelists in the
angles of the four pilasters.* To all this there was added, as
a completion of the dome, as dignified as it was huge, on the
gold ground of a frieze two metres in height, and in letters
of dark blue mosaic, the words of institiition of the Papacy :
TU ES PETRUS ET SUPER HANC PETRAM AEDIFI-
CABO ECCLESIAM MEAM.
Contemporaneously with the decoration of the cupola,
the pavement of the new basilica was raised, thus forming
the crypt, or the so-called " Grotte Vaticane."^
From the autumn of 1592 work was in progress on the
erection of a new altar imder the dome, and over the tomb
of St. Peter. Giacomo della Porta employed ancient marbles
for this,^ and the consecration took place with great solemnity.
This was on June 26th, 1594, after the old and the new basilica
1 See Baglionu, 372; Pistolesi, II., 256; Letarouilly-
SiMiL, I., tav. 30 (coloured) ; cf. tav. 22 and 28.
2 C/. Avviso of November 10, 1604, in Orbaan, Documenti,
47 n.
» See Baglione, 102, 129, 170, 349. Cf. Pollak, loc. cit.
72 seq., 75.
* See Orbaan, loo. cit. 46 n.
* See Baglione, 324.
* See Lanciani, IV., 181. Cf. Orbaan, loc. cit. 47 n.
472 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
had been richly adorned. All the Cardinals assisted and a
great part of the Roman clergy, together with the confra-
ternities of the cit}^ The Pope himself consecrated the altar,
in which was enclosed that erected in 1123 by Calixtus II.,
and granted a plenary indulgence on that occasion. ^ On
the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul he celebrated high mass at
the new altar. ^
During the course of the work on the new pavement,
archaeological discoveries of great interest were made near
the Confession. Some ancient inscriptions were found, ^ as
well as some ancient Christian memorials. The vague state-
ment of Francesco Maria Torrigio, that in 1594 the Pope and
several Cardinals had seen, through an opening made by
chance, the bronze tomb of St. Peter with the gold cross above
it, is quite improbable.* But what was seen at that time was
quite another matter ; at the altar of Calixtus II. openings
were made beyond which there was another still older altar,
enclosed within it, which was ascribed to St. Sylvester.
Clement VIII. had these openings closed, so reports the
contemporary writer, Giacomo Grimaldi.^
A monument that undoubtedly belonged to the ancient
Christian era came to light in October, 1597, when, under the
new altar, it was intended to erect another still deeper down,
in the Confession, which was to open directty upon the tomb
of the Prince of the Apostles. On this occasion an ancient
1 See *Diariiim P. Alaleonis, Barb. lat. 2871, Vatican Library ;
♦Liber rerum memorab. basil. Vatic. ; extract in Miscell., VIL,
45, p- 194. Papal Secret Archives ; *Avvisi of June 11 and 29,
1594, Urb. 1062, loc. cit The simple inscription on the altar, still
preserved, in Barbier, II., 439.
2 See *Avviso of June 29, 1594, Urb. 1062, loc. cit.
* See Lanciani, IV., 181 seq.
* See Duchesne in Mel. d'archeol., 1915, 9 seqq., where however
the consecration of the altar is wrongly placed on July 26. Wilpert
(La tomba di san Pietro, 1922) follows (p. 30) the opinion of
Duchesne.
^ See Cerrati, Tiberii Alpharani de basil. Vatic, structura liber,
p. 27 seq. ; cf. Duchesne, loc. cit.
ST. PETER S. 473
sarcophagus in Parian marble, richly adorned with sculpture,
was discovered. This contained the bones of the Prefect
of the City, Junius Bassus, who, according to the inscription,
" went to God while still a neophyte under the consulate
of Eusebius and Hypatius " namely in the year 359.-^
Clement VIII. followed with the greatest interest the works
in St. Peter's. So as to be able to visit the Confession un-
disturbed and pray there, a subterranean passage was
excavated from the Vatican, which was afterwards walled
up.^ In the spring of 1595 he twice visited the works in
St. Peter's. In June, 1598, the wood-work of the roof of
the ancient basilica, which was still standing, and which
threatened to fall over the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament,
was repaired. The Pope Vvcnt to see the completion of this
work in October, 1601.^
The large lateral chapel in the right hand nave, facing
the Gregorian Chapel, was richly adorned at this time
with marbles, mosaic and stucco, and given the name
of Clement VIII. Giacomo della Porta superintended the
work, to the satisfaction of the Pope, whose arms in mosaic
appear in the vaulting of the cupola there. The mosaic
figures were designed by Christofano Roncalli.'* These works
were substantially completed in the Holy Year, 1600 ;^ in
the mosaic of the pavement may be read the ^^^ear 1601.^
^ See the report of the discovery in the Royu. Quartalschr.,
XVII., 77 seq. Cf. ibid. XXL, 121 seq., and 1914, 5 seq. ; also
Grisar, I., 432 seq., and De Waal, Der Sarkophag des lunius
Bassus in den Grotten von St. Peter, Rome, 1900. In 1597
Clement VIII. gave Tor<iuato Conti a portrait in mosaic of his
ancestor Innocent III., which was in St. Peter's, and is now in the
Villa Catena near Poli ; see Arte cristiana, 191 6, 116 seq.
2 See Orbaan, Documenti, 48 n.
' See ibid. 46 n., 47 n.
* See Baglione, 81, 290 [cf. 114) ; also D'Achille, I sepolcri
dei Romani Pontefici, Rome, 1867, 18, 21 seqq. ; Mignanti, II.,
50. Cf. the periodical Roma, 1925, 519.
^ See Bentivoglio, Memone, 119, Cf. Pollak, loc. cit,,
III seq.
* See Forcella, VI., 118.
474 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Later on the Pope had the idea of translating the rehcs of
St. Clement to the Clementine Chapel, which, like that corres-
ponding to it, is as large as an imposing church.-^ At the
beginning of 1596 he had given another precious relic to the
basilica of St. Peter's, namel}^ the head of St. Damasus.^
The Aldobrandini Pope, under whom the regular meetings
of the Accademia of painting of St. Luke had been begun on
November 14th, 1593,^ nmst also be given the credit of
having begun the decoration of the basilica of St. Peter's
with altar-pieces. Cardinal Baronius, who appears to have
been the artistic adviser of Clement VI IL, suggested the
subjects for these. In order to obtain works worthy of the
size and dignity of the place, the various painters of Rome
and central Italy were consulted. None of these, however,
were able to equal the simple and grandiose art with which
Muziano had discharged his task in the two gigantic paintings
in the Gregorian Chapel.* Cristofano Roncalli depicted the
punishment of Ananias, Francesco Vani the fall of Simon
Magus, Domenico Passignano the crucifixion of St. Peter,
Lodovico Cigoli the lame man cured by St. Peter, Bernardo
Castelli St. Peter leaving the ship and adoring the Redeemer,
Giovanni Baglione the raising to life of Tabitha.^ All these
pictures were later on replaced by copies in mosaic.
1 See Orbaan, Documenti, 47 n.
2 See *Diarium P. Alaleonis, loc. cit. ; *Avviso of November 3,
1596, Urb. 1064, loc. cit. Cf. Forcella, VL, 116 ; Cancellieri,
De secret., 1673.
'See MissiRiNi, Mem. d. Accad. di S. Luca, Rome, 1823,
27 seqq. ; Hoogewerff, Bescheiden en Italie, 's Gravenhage,
1913, 61. Other associations of native artists formed the little
academy of Fed. Zuccaro, in the latter's house, and the con-
fraternity of the " Virtuosi al Pantheon," which held its meetings
high up under the roof of the Pantheon ; see Vol. XII. of this
work, p. 574, and Orbaan in Repert. f. Kiinstwissensch., XXXVII.
(1915), 17 seq.
* See Voss, II., 433 seq.
^ See Baglione, no seq., 153, 284, 290 seq. Cf. Thieme, II. ,
356 ; Voss, II., 404, 514.
THE LATERAN BASILICA. 475
It was a serious loss to the Pope when in 1602 Giacomo
della Porta died, the master who had opened out the way
to the earHest baroque. Then Giovanni Fontana and his
nephew Carlo Maderno,^ became the architects of the basilica
of St. Peter's. IMadcrno, who soon aftervv'ards appears
as the official state architect, did not follow the severe and
rather harsh taste of his uncle and master, but continued to
develop the style of Giacomo della Porta."
After the basilica of St. Peter's, it was above all that of the
Lateran to \\hich Clement VIII. devoted his attention. It
is a matter for congratulation that Giacomo della Porta,
to whom this task was entrusted, proceeded with such careful
consideration for architectural forms that these were still
preserved.^ The work was begun in the summer of 1592."*
With this restoration was conn.ected also a sumptuous
decoration of the basilica. First of all the chapel of the
Confession was constructed in 1594, the altar of which was
decorated.^ In the same 3'ear the ceiling of the transverse
nave was gilt.^ In July, 1596, still grander plans for the
decoration of the basilica were under consideration, on which
40,000 scudi were to be expended.' In 1597 the decoration
of the transverse nave with paintings, gilding and statues
was begun ; the appearance of that part of the church was,
however, so greatly changed that it was henceforward known
as the "Nave Clementina."^ The supreme direction was
in the hands of d'Arpino.
^ See Baglione, 131, 308 seq.
* See ibid. 309 seq. Cf. Munoz, C. Maderno, Rome, 1922.
' See Lauer, Latran, 326.
* See *Avviso of June 24, 1592, according to which the cost was
divided between the Pope and the chapter, Urb. 1060, I., loc. cit.
* See Rasponi, 49 ; Forcella, VIII., 46.
* *Contract between the Apostolic Camera and the gilders
GiuUo di Giov. Batt. Caporali Perugino and Camillo di Bernardo
Spallucci Fiorentino, dated June 28, 1594, Not. L. Calderinus,
1594, p. 478. Notarial Archives, Rome.
' See Avviso of July 3, 1596, in Orbaan, Documenti, 130 n.
* Cf. Lanciani, Wanderings through ancient Roman Churches,
Boston, 1924, 210.
476 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The view of contemporaries as to the position of this artist
is characterized by an anecdote left to us by Joachim Sand-
rart. This states that the Pope, having once received as a
gift from a Dutch, merchant a barrel of beer, offered his
protege a glass of this beverage, then almost unknown in
Italy. After a few sips d'Arpino refused the glass with
thanks, whereupon Clement VIH. finished it at a draught. ^
The monumental frescoes with which the transverse nave
was decorated were planned in the form of tapestries, the
walls below being decorated with plastic figures in small niches
surmounted by a tympanum. Everywhere may be seen
the name and arms of Clement VIII. D'Arpino employed
ver\^ second-rate painters to execute ^he frescoes. Christofano
Roncalli painted the Baptism of Constantine, Giovanni
Baglione the Donation of that Emperor, Giovan Battista da
Novara the laying of the first stone of the basilica. D'Arpino
himself, in addition to other decorations and the putti with
garlands of fruit near the figures between the windows, painted
on the south wall of the transverse nave, on a gigantic scale,
the Ascension of Jesus Christ. -
In the place of the doorway leading into the cloister, there
was erected from the designs of Pier Paolo Olivieri, the majestic
altar of the Blessed Sacrament.^ It was in February, 1598,
soon after the Te Deum in thanksgiving for the acquisition
of Ferrara had been sung in the ancient basilica, that the
Pope gave orders for the construction of this work of art,
which was to be great and imposing.'* He insisted on its
being speedily completed. Already by the middle of March,
one of the gigantic fluted columns of gilt bronze, which were
to support the tympanum, which v,as also of metal, had been
1 See Orbaan, Rome onder Clemens VIII., p. 30 seq.
2 See Baglione, 60, 89, 102, 117, 147, 149, 290, 371, 401 ;
CiACONius, IV., 266; ScHUDT, Manc'ni, 71. More recent
restorations have to some extent considerably altered the frescoes ;
130, 151 ; Ortolani, loc. cit. 56 seq. Cf. Voss, II., 566, 586.
^ See Baglione, 60, 76. Cf. Rasponi, 59, 107, and the accounts
in Lauer, 617 seqq.
* See *Avviso of February '', 1598, Urb. 1066, loc. cit.
THE LATERAN BASILICA. 477
erected.^ These columns had originally stood between the
apse and the high altar, and it was said that they had been
erected by the Emperor Constantine. They w-ere in any case
very ancient, though the statement given in an inscription
of the time of Nicolas IV., that they had been brought to
Rome with the rest of the booty taken from the Holy Land
by Titus, is not proved.^
The altar of the Blessed Sacrament is itself composed of
precious marbles ; the two columns at the sides are of verde
antique, and the tabernacle being very richly decorated. The
designer of the whole was the Roman, Pompeo Targone.^
Clement VIII., with significant symbolism, had the niches
at the sides of the altar filled with statues of Melchisedech,
Moses, Aaron and Elias, as " types " of the Most Holy Sacra-
ment of the Altar. The two first named were executed by
Dutch artists,'* and the statute of Ehas, which was begun by
Pier Paolo Olivieri, was completed by Camillo Mariani.^
Above the niches were placed reliefs of scenes from the Old
Testament, also relating to the Holy Eucharist.
At the beginning of 1599 ^^^ was completed, but the Pope
was not entirely satisfied, a proof that he was not lacking
in artistic perception. He found fault with the architectural
construction, and with the fact that the altar was placed at
the south end of the transverse nave, so that it was not possible
to see it on entering the church. He also made other critic-
isms, rightly seeing that the variegated and busy background
' *" II Papa sollecita che sia finita la nuova capella in S.
Giovanni Laterano per il Santissimo, ove si trasferi domenica per
vedeme la riuscita restando sodisfatto si della architettura come
dalle vaghezze che gia si vede con tutto che non si sia drizzata se
non una di (luelle colonne di bronzo tutta dorata." A wise of
March 14, 1598, Urb. 1066, loc. cit.
2 See Grisar, I., 786.
* See Baglione, 329 seq.
* Niccolo d'Arras and Egidio Fiammingo ; see Baglione, 67,
69. Cf. Orbaan, Documenti, 312 n. ; Lauer, 618.
* See Baglione, 113 seq. Cf. Bertoloxti, Art. Veneziani,
26.
478 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of the marbles killed the effect of the magnificent structure
of the columns.^
The decoration of the altar of the Blessed Sacrament was
completed by placing in a niche above it a much venerated
relic of the earliest times. This was a table in cedar wood,
which it was believed had been used by Our Divine Redeemer
at the Last Supper. ^ In front of the relic was placed a bas-
relief in silver rep.resenting that event, and supported by
two angels.^ This work, in which a thousand pounds of
silver were used, was completed in the April of the Holy Year,
1600."
A bull of February 12th, 1600, arranged for the establish-
ment of certain chaplaincies, the patronage of which was
reserved to the Aldobrandini family.^ Two commemorative
coins recorded this foundation,* by which the Pope gave
expression to his veneration for the Holy Eucharist.
The transverse nave of the Lateran Basilica was also
furnished with a new pavement in coloured marbles by
Clenjent VHL In this, as in the rest of the decorations, the
material was supplied by the old structure.''
In order to balance the altar of the Blessed Sacrament,
at the other end of the transverse nave, over the entrance
door, Clement VIII. caused to be built, by the Perugian Luca
Blasio, a new organ, which surpassed in size and magnificence
all others in Rome. The Milanese Giovan Battista Mantano
executed the gallery, with artistic decorations and rich gilding.
1 Cf. *Avviso of January 6, 1599, Urb. 1067, loc. cit. Cf.
Ortolani, loc. cit. 61.
2 See Lauer, 326 n. Cf. Barbier, II., 345 seq.
* This masterpiece, which cost 12,000 gold scudi (see Ciaconius,
IV., 266) was stolen by the French at the beginning of the XlXth
century. The bas-rehef is by Curzio Vanni ; see Martinelli,
151-
■» See *Avviso of April 22, 1600, Urb. 1068, loc. cit.
* See Lauer, 639.
* See BoNANNi, II., 464 seq.
' See RoDOCANACHi, Les monuments de Rome, 75. Cf.
*Avviso of July 23, 1597, in App. n. 10.
THE LATERAN BASILICA. 479
This rested upon two antique columns, between wijich was
the entrance door, adorned with the arms of Clement VIII.
Over the two side doors were placed half busts of David and
Ezechias, executed b}^ another Milanese artist, Ambrogio
Buonvicino.^
The Pope contributed to all the expenses from his privy
purse. The ceiling of the canons' sacristy was also adorned
with frescoes by Giovanni Alberti, who endeavoured to relieve
the gloomy character of that place. "^ Yet another decoration
of the Lateran Basilica Vv^hich was projected by Clement VIII.,
according to what we are told by Baglione, was prevented
by the slowness with which the paintings in the transverse
nave progressed.^ The Pope showed great delight with the
Ascension of Christ by d'x\rpino, which was finished in the
summer of 1600, and gave expression to this by the gifts
which he bestowed upon the artist.'* A gold coin and other
medals immortalized the decoration of the Lateran Basilica,^
which was further supplied with costly sacred vessels.® As
a mark of their gratitude the canons set up a bust of the
Pope in bronze, which is still preserved.'^
^ See Baglione, 60, iii, 171. Cf. Lauer, bij seqq. ; Bonanni,
II., 465 ; Orbaan, Rome onder Clemens VIII., p. 123 ;
Bertolotti, Art. Lomb., I., 344 seq.
2 See Baglione, 60, 70. Cf. Voss, II., 529 ; Posse in Jahvb.
der preiiss. Kunstsanmil., XL, 134. Ciampelli painted on the
walls the miracle of the water and the martyrdom of Clement I.
See TiTi, 216. Over the entrance to the sacristy are the arms
and a bronze bust of Clement VIII. Cf. Ortolani, loc. cit., 62, 67.
' See Baglione, 60, 356. The Lateran basilica was seriously
damaged in May, 1602, by a thunderbolt, which necessitated
costly repairs ; see *Avviso of May 14, 1602, Urb. 1070, loc. cit.
The accounts in Lauer, 617 seq., cover the period from 1397 to
1 60 1. The inscriptions on the altar of the Blessed Sacrament
and the organ are of 1598 (see Forcella, VIII. , 48).
* See Baglione, 371.
^ See Bonanni, II., 464 seq. ; Martinoki, 6. For the other
works in the Lateran Basilica cf. also Ortolani, loc. cit., 55.
* See Ciaconius, IV., 266.
' See Baglione, 326. The inscription in Forcella, VIII., 48.
480 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Inscriptions and coats of arms show that Clement VIII.
also devoted his attention to the restoration and embellish-
ment of the two side chapels in the Lateran Baptistery,
erected by Pope Hilary, and dedicated to St. John the Baptist
and St. John the Evangelist. Fortmiately the mosaics were
still intact. The decoration in grotesque was carried out
by Giovanni Alberti. D'Arpino supplied the two pictures
for the altars, taking their subjects from the history of St.
John the Evangelist.^
At .St. Mary Major's Clement VIII. restored the mosaics
in the principal nave, and the organ, and to balance this had
the wall of the church, above the tomb of Nicolas IV.,
decorated.^ He also gave the ancient picture of the Madonna,
attributed to St. Luke, a crown of brilliants, which was placed
there in his presence.^
In 1600 he restored to the ancient cardinalitial deaconry
of S. Cesareo, called in Palatio from the neighbouring
Baths of Caracalla, the titular dignity which had been
taken away by Sixtus V.^ This church was in such a
ruinous condition that Clement VIII. had almost entirely
to reconstruct it, as is attested by the inscription in an
ornate frame placed over the entrance.^ The canonical
visitation of the churches of Rome,^ and later on the Holy
Year, prompted the restoration of S. Maria della Rotonda
1 See Baglione, 70, 371 [cf. 321) ; Forcella, VIII., 46 seq. ;
Lauer, 326.
* See Baglione, 60 ; Adinolfi, II., 162.
* See *Avviso of July 5, 1597, Urb. 1065, loc. cit.
^ See Forcella, XII., 253 ; Inventario, I., 258 ; Baglione
(Nove chiese, Rome, 1639, 63) mentions works executed by
Clement VIII. at St. Paul's outside the Walls. For the restora-
tion of S. Maria in Monticelli see Azzurri, S. Maria in Monticelli,
Rome, i860, 29 ; for those at S. Michele in Sassia see
TOTTI, 38.
5 See Forcella, XII., 25^. Cf. Baglione, 60 ; Inventario, I.,
258; *Payments of 1597, 1601, and 1602, in Depos. gen., State
Archives, Rome.
* Cf. Cavazzi, S. Maria in Via Lata, Rome, 1908, 198.
S. MARIA SOPRA MINERVA. 481
(the Pantheon)/ S. Angelo in Pescheria,^ S. Nicolo de'
Lorenesi,^ and SS. Cosma e Damiano,* which was done at
the expense of the Pope, who also provided the endowment
for the monastery of the Carthusians in Rome.^
The church of the Dominicans, S. Maria sopra Minerva,
was adorned with a beautiful work of filial piety. In the fifth
chapel of the left-hand nave were buried the parents of
Clement VIII., and in the spring of 1600 the Pope formed the
plan of adorning this tomb more richly.® The direction of
the work, in which were employed many coloured marbles
taken from ancient monuments, was entrusted to Giacomo
della Porta,'' who also designed the beautiful monument
which Clement VIII. erected at S. Maria sopra Minerva to
his " old friend " Emilio Pucci, commandant of the Papal
fleet, who died in 1595.^ Painters were also employed for
^ See Orbaan, Documenti, 129, 130. Cf. *Avviso of July 23,
1597. in App. n. 10, Adinolfi, II., 412 seq. In the museum of
the Pantheon there is an inscription recording the restoration,
with the arms of Clement VIII. and the date 1600 ; ibid, an
inscription of Cardinal Aldobrandini.
^ See Orbaan, Documenti, 332.
* See ibid.
* *Payments of 1601 and 1602 in Depos. gen.. State Archives,
Rome. This restoration was made in order to repair the damage
done by a thunderbolt ; see *Avviso of December 25, 1599,
Urb. 1067, loc. cit.
^ Cf. the *Reply to a letter of thanks from the General of the
Order, August 9, 1604, which states : " Loci amoenitas multas
habet delectationes : Aptae dispositae res, aedificii amplitudo,
opus elegans praeclarumque animum oblectant maxime. Sed
haec humana. lUud Nos Christiana afficit voluptate, quod illic
coetus angelorum existimamus, solitudinem esse pro frequentia,
silentium instar vocum suavissimarum, ad similitudinem denique
coelestis patriae prope accedere omnia " (Arm. 44, t. 46, p. 298b,
Papal Secret Archives). Cf. also Lanciani, II., 147 seq.
* See *Avviso of April 22, 1600, Urb. 1068, loc. cit.
' See Baglione, 81.
* See Forcella, L., 477 ; Berth ier, Minerve, 147 (with
wrong date 1590). An *Avviso of February 19, 1597, says :
VOL. XXIV 31
482 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the decoration of the family chapel : Cherubino Alberti
represented in the vaulting of the ceiling the triumph of the
Holy Cross/ while Federico Barocci painted the altar-piece,
the Last Supper. In the niches at the side of the altar were
placed statues of the Princes of the Apostles, executed by
Camillo Mariani of Vicenza.^
The tombs of the Pope's parents were executed by Guglielmo
della Porta, a son of the architect. These show a like com-
position, though without repeating each other. Four precious
columns, which support an architrave adorned with figures
of angels, form the frame, and in the middle the sarcophagus
with the half recumbent figures of the deceased ; at the base
there are inscriptions inspired by filial piety, and between
the columns on either side a statue symbolizing one of the
virtues.^ The figure of the Pope's mother, Luisa Deti,
represents a venerable matron, holding in one hand a prayer
book, and in the other a rosary. It was a sculptor froni
Lorraine, Nicolas Cordier, who created this masterpiece.
He too was responsible for the statue of Love, with charming
children. The corresponding statue. Religion, the extra-
ordinary beauty of which is extolled by Baglione, is the work
of Camillo Mariani. ^ Opposite, on the right-hand side, is
the tomb of Silvestro Aldobrandini, a work of art worthy of
standing beside that of his wife, together with whom he had
brought up his five sons so successfully.^ Cordier has repre-
sented him as a grave old man with a long beard, holding in
" Si e scoperto nella chiesa della Minerva un bellissimo deposito
fatto fare da N.S. di finissima pietra al morto commendatore
Pucci," Urb. 1065. loc. cit.
1 See Baglione, 132. Cf. Berthier, iio seqq. ; Voss, II.,
329, 530. A *payment to Cherubino Alberti, January 10, 1605,
in Depos. gen. State Archives, Rome.
2 See Baglione, 113. Cf. Schmerber, Ital. Malerie, 179.
^ See Berthier, 114, where there are reproductions of the
sepulchral monuments. Cf. also I-itta, fasc. 66, and Munoz,
Roma barocca, 56.
■* See Baglione, 113, 115. For N. Cordier c/. Thieme, VII., 401.
^ Cf. FoRCELLA, I., 454, 455.
TOMBS OF THE ALDOBRANDINI. 483
his right hand a written scroll, while his left arm rests upon
two cushions placed upon folio volumes, in allusion to the
legal attainments of Silvestro ; at the sides are representa-
tions of the two virtues which distinguished the life of this
hard-working man, Prudence and Fortitude. The author of
these magnificent statues was probably Nicolas Cordier.
The heads of the angels in the tympanum were executed by
Stefano Maderno,^ while the statue of the Pope placed in the
niche on the wall, to the left of the altar, was the work of
Ippolito Buzzi.2 Clement VIII. is represented standing,
with his right hand raised blessing the tombs of his dear ones ;
the tiara lies at his feet. This statue is balanced on the other
side of the altar by that of St. Sebastian, the patron of the
Aldobrandini family, also executed by Cordier.^
Clement VIII. took the livliest interest in the decoration
of the chapel to his parents. First in June, and again in
October, 1602,'* he visited the works, which, after the death
of Giacomo della Porta, were directed by Carlo Maderno.
The first visit which he made, after a serious illness, in March,
1604, was to this chapel ;^ he personally gave directions
for the placing of the statues,® which he had already inspected
in Cordier's studio.' In December he returned once more.^
Six weeks before his death the Pope was to be seen praying
in tears for an hour at his mother's tomb,^ which was not yet
quite finished. ^°
1 See Baglione, 345 ; Thieme, VII., 403.
^ See Baglione, 341. Reproduction in Berthier, iio. For
Buzzi see Thieme, V., 313.
'See Baglione, 115; Berthier, 113.
* See *Avvisi of June 13 and October 23, 1602, Urb. 1070, loc. cit.
* See *report of Giov. Batt. Thesis, March 20, 1604, Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua. Cf. Orbaan, Documenti, 208 n.
" See *Avviso of August 7, 1604, Urb. 1072, loc. cit.
'See Baglione, 116.
* See *Avviso of December 8, 1604, Urb. 1072, loc. cit.
* See *Avviso of January 19, 1605, Urb. 1073, loc. '•At. The chapel
was completely finished in 1611 ; see Orbaan, Documenti, 187.
^** See the inscription in Forcella, L, 454, according to which
Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini finished the tomb, as well as that of
484 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Two colleges in Rome owe their foundation to Clement VIII.;
that of the Scots and the " Clementinum." The former, a
national college for the trahiing of priests, was established in
the Holy Year, 1600.^ The establishment of the " Collegium
Clementinum " which was intended for the education of youths
of the aristocracy, took place in 1595. The first rector of
this institution, which was entrusted to the Somaschi, who
in 1600 were given a house of their own in the Piazza Nicosia,
was the Neapolitan Giulio Cesare Volpino, at that time the
Pope's confessor. 2
Of the other works carried out in Rome by the Pope,
mention must also be made of the column commemorating
the return of Henry IV. to the Church,^ the restoration of
the beautiful fountain in front of S. Maria in Trastevere,*
various works at the Castle of St. Angelo,^ the erection of a
larger building for the Monte di Pieta,^ as well as the restora-
tion of the Ponte S. Angelo and the Ponte Molle.^
It was only natural that Clement VIII. should have given
orders, soon after the beginning of his pontificate, for the
completion of the Vatican Palace begun by Sixtus V.^ The
Cardinal M. Bonelli (see ibid. 486). P. M. Felini (Trattato di
cose mem. di Roma, 1610) speaks of the Aldobrandini Chapel as
" unfinished " ; in the edition of 1615, p. 93, it is spoken of as
" just finished."
^ The college was originally situated facing S. Maria in
Costantinopoli ; after 1604 in its present site facing the Palazzo
Barberini ; see Moroni, XIV., 212.
2 See O. M. Paltrinieri, L'elogio del CoUegio Clementino,
Rome, 1795; G. Donnino, I convittori illustri del CoUegio
Clementino, Rome, 1898, 11 seqq. Cf. Moroni, XIV., 156. The
inscription, removed since 1870, in Ciaconius, IV., 267.
3 Cf. Vol. XXIII. of this work, p. 137.
* See Baglione, 61 ; Ciaconius, IV., 274.
^ See Baglione, 325 ; Rodocanachi, St. Ange, 189 ; L.\nciani.
IV., 84 ; Orbaan, Documenti, 138 n. Cf. Forcella, XIII., 147,
® See the inscription in Forcella, XIII., 177.
' *Payments for this in Depos. gen. 1599, State Archives,
Rome. Cf. Ciaconius, IV., 267.
* C/. F'ontana, Trasportatione, II., 11 and tav. 11. Cf.
Ehrle, La grande veduta Maggi-Mascardi del tempio e palazzo
THE VATICAN. 485
«
histor\- of this imposing building can still to-day be recon-
structed from its external appearance. The windows with
their coats of arms recall the Pope who planned it, while
under the cornice are those of the one who completed it.^
The ceiling and the roof itself were, according to an inscription,
finished in 1595.- Since the work of furnishing this five-
store^-ed edifice, which included eighty-live large halls, lasted
until the end of 1596, at first the older parts of the palace had
to be used to live in ; of these the rooms of Pius IV. in the
Belvedere were especially adorned.^
By the advice of his doctors, and also for the convenience
of the Curia, Clement YIll. passed the first two summers of
his pontificate at the palace of S. Marco, which, however, in
Vaticano, Rome, 191 4, 12 seq. The *Conventiones super fabrica
palatii Vaticani, dated August 25, 1593, in Arch, dei segret. di
Camera (Protoc. 369, Anno 1593, Not. L. Carderini, Notarial
Archives, Rome) covenanted between the " Thesaurarius Barth.
Caesius " and the " Magister Ant. del Puteo in urbe murator."
^ See Orbaan, Sixtine Rome, 206.
2 See Taj A, 494.
^ *S.B. fa abbellire le stanze di Pio IV. in Belvedere per andarvi
tal volta a ricreatione (Avviso of March 18, 1592, Urb. 1060, I.,
loc. cit.). Cf. the accounts in Orbaan, Documenti, 52. Near the
sacristy of the Sixtine Chapel is the following inscription, adorned
with the arms of the Pope :
Clemens VIII P.M.
Tria cubicula
infimum medium et superum
ambo totidemque ambulatiunculas
cochlides et otriolum
Apostolico sacrario adiecit.
F. Ang. Rocca Camerte Ep. T.
Eiusdem sacrarii praefecto
Postulante
Anno Dom. MDCIV.
The treasure chamber of the Sixtine Chapel still preserves a
magnificent chasuble of Clement VIII., a gift from the Grand
Duke of Tuscany, the onlv vestment which was not looted by
the French.
486 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
its neglected state, was but ill adapted for the purpose.^
Therefore the summers of 1594 to 1596 were to a great extent
passed at the Quirinal, whither the Pope had already gone to
live for a time in February, 1593, so that he might rest a little. ^
He there carried on the new building, which he had adorned
with paintings by Cherubino Alberti and Paul Bril.^ In the
gardens, grottos, fountains and hydraulic devices were con-
structed, the latter being greatly in vogue at that time, and
among which an hydraulic organ especially attracted attention.
Sometimes the Pope received the ambassadors and persons
of distinction in the garden, and on those occasions the best
musicians of the day performed their compositions.^
In February, 1595, Clement VIII. gave orders for the hasten-
ing of the works at the new Vatican Palace ;^ he wished to
see these finished by Easter, but this did not prove possible.®
The halls there gave him the greatest satisfaction,' but it
was not until the end of October, 1596, that the palace could
be made use of as a winter residence.^ Shice, during the
1 See Dengel, Palazzo di Venezia, 113.
2 See Paruta, Dispdcci, I., 113. In July, 1594, Clement VIII.
removed to the palace of SS. Apostoli, as the heat was oper-
powering even at the ()uirinal ; see *Avviso of July 20, 15Q4
Urb. 1062, loc. cit. Cf. Paruta, II., 373.
3 C/. Orbaan, Documenti, 153; Hoogewerff, Nederl,
Schilders, 247.
* C/. Paruta, I., 202; Baglione, 61; Lanciani, IV., 99;
GoTHEiN, I., 314 ; HiJLSEN, Antikengarten, 93 ; Orbaan,
Documenti, 153 n., 159 n. Mededeel. v.h. Nederl. Hist. Insiitut.,
II. (1922), 118. For the fountain of the Nicchione, with its
fairly well preserved hydraulic organ, see Dami, 41 ; Baglione,
edit. 1642, p. 61 ; Moroni, L., 233, and for its frescoes of the
Old and New Testaments cf. also Dami in Bollett. d'arte XIII.
(191 9), 114 seq. Ibid, for the Fontana del Nano, to be seen on
Maggi's plan. Cf. also G. B. de Rossi and A. D. Tani, Le
fontane di Roma, Rome, s.d.
^ See *Avviso of February 4, 1595, Urb. 1063, loc. cit.
" See *Avviso of March i, 1595, ibid.
' See *Avviso of July 8, 1395, tbid.
"See *Avvisi of October 30, 1596, and January 7, i597. in
Orbaan, Documenti, 52 n.
THE QUIRINAL AND THE VATICAN. 487
summer of 1596 many members of the Pope's entourage had
fallen seriously ill with fever, it became necessary to return
once more to the palace of S. Marco during the hot weather,
though, in order to enjoy the magnificent gardens, frequent
visits were paid to the Ouirinal.^ In 1599 the Pope intended
to spend the whole of the summer at the Vatican, but hi
August all those who were not living on the sunny side fell ill,
among them Baronius. The Pope therefore went in September
to the Quirinal, but only remained there until the end of
October, which he also did in the following years, since the
doctors had told him that residence at the Vatican suited him
better than an3-where else.^ The latter then became the
principal palace,^ and visits to the Lateran were only rarely
made.'*
Two of the halls in the ^^atican are still preserved in the
same state as when they were decorated by Clement VIII.
One of these is the Hall of Consistories,^ finished in November,
1603, which was given a richly gilded ceiling, with the arms
of the Aldobrandini Pope, and paintings on the frieze. Paul
Bril there represented the most celebrated hermitages of
Italy, among them Camaldoli, La Verna and Monte Cassino ;
Giovanni Alberti painted the saints who had lived in those
places.^ The spaces between these charming landscapes
are adorned with the star of the Aldobrandini.
1 See, besides Dengel, loc. cit. 114 ; Orbaan, loc. cit. 153 n.
* See Orbaan, Rome onder Clemens VIII., p. 25 seq.
' Many particulars of the Vatican under Clement VIII. are to
be found collected in Orbaan, Documenti, 50-56, among the notes.
Clement VIII. spent 8000 scudi on the baldacchino, throne and
decoration of the altar of the Pauline Chapel ; see *Avviso of
December 4, 1596, Urb. 1064, loc. cit.
* See besides the Avvisi mentioned by Orbaan, Documenti
45 n., *that of Jnnc 25, 1597, Vrh. 1067, loc. cit. P. Bril also
painted some pictures in the Lateran Palace ; see Hoogkwerff,
la:, cit.
' Cf. Avvisi cif November 5 and 8, 1603, in Orbaan, Documenti,
52 n.
"See Baglione, 59; Taja, 49O ; Barbiek de Moxtault,
Oeuvres, II., 30.
488 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The other, called the Sala Clementina, which still st;rves as
the antecamera to the apartments of the head of the Church,
was decorated with incomparably greater splendour. For
the ornamentation of this magnificent hall, which rises through
two floors as far as the roof, various painters were employed ;
above all Giovanni Alberti, who was assisted by his brother
Cherubino, and the Netherlander, Paul Bril. A master of
perspective, Giovanni Alberti was able to transform the flat
vaulting into a marvellous scenic effect, the first example
of this illusionary decorative art, afterwards carried to the
pitch of perfection by Pietro da Cortona, the Jesuit del Pozzo,
Luca Giordano and Tiepolo.^ With masterly illusion he
placed above the cornice a balustrade broken b^^ colossal
brackets, and above these graceful colonnades which uphold
the vaulting, while in the middle appears the blue sky, in
which, surrounded by a circle of angels, and supported on
clouds, the saintly Pope Clement ascends to heaven. Resting
on a plinth of half the height, highly decorated in colours,
the side walls are treated in very simple architectural form,
painted on two levels, broken by niches containing allegorical
figures, by painted landscapes and real windows. The
entrance wall is covered in all its width, and in the upper
half of its height by a gigantic fresco by Paul Bril, which is
made to look like a picture hanging in a broad gilt frame.
This represents the martyrdom of the first Pope of the name
of Clement. The spectator sees on the vast stretch of sea
a ship with swelling sails, from which the Pope is being thrown
into the water. The long waves of the stormy sea break upon
the rocky crags of a promontory crowned by a temple, and
on which are assembled many witnesses of the cruel spectacle.
In the foreground the beach is filled by a magnificent group
of trees, to the right of some storks. In the middle may be
read the opening words of the prayer of David. Through the
grey clouds with which the sky is covered, the sun breaks,
illuminating the Vv-hole scene. An inscription at the bottom
of the fresco tells Iiow Clement VIII. had this painting carried
1 See Voss, IT, 131 seq. [cf. 528).
WORKS OUTSIDE ROME. 489
out in the year 1595. The corresponding picture, which is
smaller, on the narrower side wall, represents the baptism
of Constantine. Under the majestic chimney-piece there is
another inscription which tells how Clement VIII. finished
in 1595 the building of the palace which had been begun by
Sixtus V.^ On the walls are repeated again and again the
devices and arms of the Aldobrandini,^ balls with rays and
indented bends. In the middle of the mosaic pavement, in
coloured marbles, is inlaid the coat-of-arms of the family,
with the inscription round it : " Clemens VIII. P.M. Pontif.
Nostri anno XII." Baglione extols the whole work as one
of the best productions of the art of that time.^
Outside Rome, too, Clement VIII. turned his attention to
the completion of the works begun by Sixtus V. His first
care, as we have already said, was the great bridge over the
Tiber near Borghetto, the construction of which involved
such vast sums that the city of Rome had to contribute
towards it. On this work were employed masters who later on
attained to a great reputation : Carlo Maderno, Taddeo Landini,
C. Lambardi and G. Fontana, the brother of Domenico.^
To the latter, who was an expert in hydraulic construction,
was entrusted the supreme direction. Although the Pope
interested himself in the completion of the construction of the
1 See Taja, 494. Forcella (VI., 116) gives the inscription
inexactly. See also the description of the Sala Clementina in
Chattard, II., 153 seq. ; ibid. 174 seq. for the ceiling. Cf. also
Egger, Architektonische Handzeichnungen, 9.
2 See Barbier de Montault, II., 28 seq.
^ Cf. Baglione, 59, 70; Lanciani, IV., 184 seq. ; Posse in
Jahrb. der preitss. Kvinstsamml., XL., 133. See also Orbaan,
Documenti, 54 n. ; Mayer, M. u. P. Brill, 44 seq. and tav. 23 ;
OzzQ-LAin Ausonia, II., 308, 310. Reproductions in Hoogewerff
Nederl. Schilders, 245 and (unfortunately too small) in Voss, II.,
527. Baglione (112) mentions the paintings of Pasquale Cati,
" nelle loggie non finite e nei fregi delle stanze passata la Sala
Clementina." *Payments for the paintings to P. Cati in Depos.
gen., State Archives, Rome.
* See Orbaan, Documenti, 460 n, For Giov, Fontana of.
Thieme, XII., 179 seq.
490 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
bridge,^ the work dragged on until the beginning of the new
century. 2 A work of no less importance was the bridge over
the Nera, begun in 1602.^
Of the towers erected for the protection of the sea-coasts,
Clement VIII. completed the two that had been begun by
Sixtus v.* He also gave orders for the continuation of the
construction of the harbour at Terracina,^ begun by
Gregory XIII. and continued by Sixtus V. In 1595 the
construction of a harbour at Nettuno was projected, an
unfortunate scheme, as the place was not fitted for the
purpose.^ The Pope therefore decided instead to spend
considerable sums on improving the harbour at Civitavecchia,'
and went there at the end of April, 1597, accompanied by
Cardinals Pietro and Cinzio Aldobrandini, Farnese, Montalto,
Baronius, Cesi and Monte, on his way to Viterbo,^ also on that
^ Cf. besides the Lettres d'Ossat, L, 452, the *Avviso of January
II, 1595 '■ In court circles it was thought that the Pope would go
to Borghetto " per vedere, in che stato si trova. il lavoro di quel
ponte magnificatole grandemente dall' 111.™° di Camerino, che
sarebbe menioria eterna di laudi et gloria di S.B. da tutto il
mondo per commodo universale di quelli, che d'ogni stati vengono
a venerar questi santi vestigi, il tirarlo a perfettione." Urb.
1063, loc. cit. Cf. also App. n. 12.
* See Handschriften des wiirttemberg Baumeisters H. Schick-
hardt, Stuttgart, 1892, 165. Cf. Moroni, LXVIL, 106.
^ Completed by Paul V. in 161 9.
^ See Baglione, 130.
5 *The Pope gave orders, so it is reported, that " si facci il
porto di Terracina dove gia siano state incaminate calci ed altre
materie per si santa et necessaria opera, poiche in detto porto
farebbero scala tante mercantie et vascelli che per necessita si
fermano in Geneva, Livorno et altri porti di quella spiaggia."
Avviso of January 13, 1593, Urb. 1061, loc. cit. Cf. the reply to
the memorial of Albergati cited infra, p. 491, n. 3.
* See *Avvisi of August 21, 1594, January 10, February 17
and 24, and March 2, 1596, Urb. 1062 and 1064, I., loc. cit.
' See *Avviso of March 2, 1596, ibid.
' See the valuable article by Orbaan, Un viaggio di Clemente
\TI1. nel Viterbese in Arch. d. Soc. Rom.^ XXXVI., 113 seqq. ;
THE HARBOURS. 49I
occasion paying a visit to the bridge over the Tiber at Borg-
hetto. The Pope wished to see for himself the progress of
the works on the harbour, which were absorbing exhorbitant
sums, and were continued until the end of his pontificate.^
Clement VIII. frequently tried to revive the trade of the
beautiful and convenient harbour of Ancona, which had
become greatly diminished, ^ but the measures taken by the
officials were not, in the opinion of the inhabitants, sufficient.
The jealous anxiety with which the Duke of Urbino and
Venice followed these attempts, was therefore proved to be
groundless.^
and Documenti, 455 seq. See also Orbaan, Rome, 161 seq.
Among the copious notes of Orbaan there is missing an *Inscrip-
tion in the atrium of the church of S. Maria at CJvita Castellana
(text in App. n. 12) ; at Civitavecchia Clement VIII. reviewed
the Papal fleet which he had reorganized ; see Guglielmotii,
Squadra, 92, 171 ; Bonanni, II., 151 ; Calisse, Civitavecchia,
443-445. Civitavecchia also owes to Clement VIII. the fountain
of S. Pietro, not far from the Lazzaretto. Mention must also be
made of the care of Clement VIII. for the Apostolic Palace at
Loreto, where there is an inscription concerning him at the Holy
House, of 1595 ; see Keyssler, II., 425. The *Avviso of
September 26, 1598, Urb. 1066, loc. cit. makes mention of a silver
ornament intended for Loreto. The Pope also restored the
Rocca at Spoleto, where an inscription with his arms records the
fact.
1 See GuGLiELMOTTi, Squadra, 130 seq. ; Calisse, 443 seq. On
the mole at Civitavecchia there are still to be seen three coats-of-
arms of Clement VIII. with his name ; the inscriptions in Calisse,
445-
2 C/. Bull. X., 104 seq., 235 seq.
'See Paruia, Dispacci, II., 237, 252 seq., 329 seq., 348 seq.,
352 seq., 365, 381 seq., 394 seq. ; cf. Relazione, 386. See also
*" Discorso di Fabio Albergati a P. Clemente VIII. a nome del
duca d 'Urbino sopra il raddirzzare il commercio d 'Ancona," in
Cod. G. 63, pp. 3-25, Vallicella Library, Rome. Ibid. pp. 25-56,
*Risposta alia suddetta scrittura dell 'Albergati, which completely
refutes h's arguments : " Si vede in effetto," says the author,
" che (Albergati) ha preso a fare piii tosto (juella parte che potessi
492 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
In the spring of 1592 the Pope sent Giovanni Fontana to
Cervia to re-estabhsh the salt mines there, which had fallen
into such a state of neglect that instead of 40,000 scudi they
only brought in 10,000. With this was connected the repair-
ing of the harbour of Cervia.^
After Giovanni Fontana had successfully accomplished
the regulation of the Teverone near Tivoli, the Pope in 1596
appointed him his principal architect. ^ In this capacity
he was entrusted with the very difficult task of regulating
the Velino. This very chalky stream was constantly deposit-
ing strata of lime in its bed, which caused floods, and con-
sequently created marshes in the valleys of Rieti and Terni.
As early as the year 271 B.C. the Romans had attempted
to avert this danger by means of the drain constructed by
Manlius Curius Dentatus. More recently Paul III. had turned
his attention to the regulation of the Velino.^ In 1598
Clement VIII. once more opened up the drain of Dentatus.
This work, which had the effect of draining 35,000 rubbi of
cultivatable land, was recorded by a special commemmorative
medal. ^
The journey to the northern districts of the Papal States
in the spring of 1597 was an exception ; generally the Pope
farsi da un Venetiano per il sue proprio interesse, siccome e
verisimile che il detto sue discorso non sia state fatto senza
participatione d'alcuno d'essi, i quali difendendo il commercio di
Venetia vengono insieme a difendere Tintento del signor duca
d'UrbJno."
1 See besides Baglione, 130, the *Avviso of March 21, 1592 :
" Si e mandate rarchitetto Gio. Fontana a Cervia per ridurre al
pristine state I'artificie delle saline scadute et rovinate, che di
4em sc. I'anne, che rendevane prima, hera nen fruttano 10™."
Urb. 1060, loc. cit.
* See Baglione, 130.
^ See Vel. XII. of this work, p. 591.
^ See BoNANNi, II., 497; Baglione, 131 ; Lanzi-Alterocca,
Guida di Terni (1899), 134. Orbaan, Decumenti, 464 n., 466 n. ;
Vat. 7031, p. I seqq. contains *Censiderazieni suUe acque del fiume
Velino dirette al card. Aldobrandini, Vatican Library.
FRASCATI. 493
sought his recreation in the pleasant hills of Albano, for which
Gregory XIII. had been the first to show a great predilection.^
Under Sixtus V. all this had been changed ; only once, when
he went to see the Acqua Felice, had that Pope spent a night
at the Villa Mondragone. It was very different with
Clement VIII., who stayed nowhere so gladly as at Frascati,
which was so easily accessible from Rome. This opened
out a new period of prosperity for the ancient Tusculum,
whose pleasant heights, charming vineyards and olive-groves,
and incomparable view of Rome and the wide Campagna,
stretching to the silver band of the sea and the imposing
range of the Sabine Hills, had long since enchanted the ancient
Romans. Indeed, there were few places in the neighbourhood
of the Eternal City so well fitted to refresh the mind in the
clear mountain air after the bustle and suffocating heat of
the dusty capital. Business, which never came to an end,
could easily be discharged at Frascati by means of couriers,
while it was possible there quietly to think over difficult
problems. Baronius, who retired to a small villa at Frascati
to devote himself undisturbed to his Annals, had already
realized this. Besides the advice of Cardinal Altemps^ and
the physicians,^ it was probably this scholar, who was so highly
esteemed by Clement VIII., v»'ho decided him to seek a refuge
among the heights of Tusculum. This he did for the first
time in the autumn fo 1592, when, on September 26th the
Pope repaired to that pleasant little city, and took up his
residence at the Rocca. At first he had only intended to
remain there for eight days, but as the air proved extraordinar-
ily beneficial to him, he prolonged his stay until the middle
of October, since, as he told his friends, he found more rest
in a single night at Frascati, than in many in Rome. Every
morning he made excursions on foot or on horseback to the
churches and villas in the neighbourhood ; on returning home
he gave audiences with youthful vigour, and in the evening
^ See Vol. XIX. of this work, p. 42 seq.
^ See the Avviso in Grossi-Gondi, 221.
'See *Avviso of October 7, 1592, Urb. 1060, II., loc. cit.
494 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
generally visited some church, preferablj^ that of the
Capuchins. 1
In May, 1593, the Pope again stayed for eight days at
Frascati, where he first took up his residence at the episcopal
palace, and afterwards at the Villa Mondragone. The
anxieties of the French question and the Turkish peril kept
Clement VIII. in Rome during the whole of 1594, and it was
only in the autumn of 1595 that a three weeks' holiday became
possible, which was spent at the Villa Mondragone. The Pope's
confessor, Baronius, Cardinal Toledo and both the nephews
were also invited. ^
A great part of October, 1596, was also devoted to a holiday
at Frascati, but this was made impossible in the following
autumn by the gout from which the Pope was suffering. In
1598, from May to October, the court was at Ferrara.^ In
February, 1599, the Pope spent the days of carnival at
Frascati,* and again in May, accompanied by Cardinals
Baronius, Silvio Antoniano and Bellarmine, he again went
for fourteen days to this place that he loved so much, where
he resided at first at the Rocca and then in the Villa
Mondragone. He also stayed at the latter place, with a few
breaks, during the whole of October. ^ During the Holy Year
he gave up all thought of a holiday, but in May and October,
1601, the Pope again went to rest at Frascati.^ He resided
alternately at the Rocca and the Villa Mondragone, but the
work on the construction of a villa of his own had already
been begun.
* See *Avvisi of September 23, 26 and 30, October 10 and 14,
1592, Urb. 1060, loc. cit. partly in Grossi-Gondt, 221 seq. Cf.
also Paruta, I., 206 ; III., 321, and the *reports of Giulio del
Carretto of September 26 and October 10, 1592, Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua.
^ See the reports in Grossi-Gondi, 223 seqq.
* Cf. supra, p. 398 seq.
* See *Avviso of February 20, 1599, Urb. 1067, loc. cit.
^ See the reports in Grossi-Gondi, 227 seqq.
^ See ibid. 228 seqq.
THE VILLA ALDOBRANDINI. 495
This project had been brought forward for the first time in
1592,^ and its carrying out was made possible when in 159S
the inheritance of Monsignor Paolo Capranica came to the
Apostolic Camera. The Pope was left a small villa, called
Belvedere on account of its magnificent view, situated to the
west of Frascati. As a reward for what he had done in
connexion with the acquisition of Ferrara, Cardinal Pietro
Aldobrandini had assigned to him, on October i6th, the whole
of the hereditaments, including many pictures and some
statues.^ But it was necessary, if the Pope was to live
there, that the villa should be rebuilt. Giacomo della
Potra drew the designs ; this was destined to be
the last work of that architect, whom Clement VIIT.
had alwaj^s employed by preference.^ On September
4th, 1602, the Cardinal went with the architect to
see the works, but on his return Giacomo had a fit
of apoplexy, which caused his death.* It was onl}^ in
September, 1604, that the building, which had been continued
^ See *Avviso of September 30, 1592, in Grossi-Gondi, 222.
* See " *Istrumento pubblico della donazione della villa di
Belvedere, case, mobili e altri beni esistenti della villa fatto da
Mgr. Tesoriere di ordine di Clemente VI IL al card. Pietro
Aldobrandini per gli atti di Lodovico Martini, not. di Camera,"
dated Ferrara, October 16, 1598. There is cited the *Chirografo
(dated " nel nostro castello di Ferrara, 1598, Ottobre 14 ") in
■which it is stated : " Habbiamo deliberate di donare al card.
Pietro Aldobrandini la villa detta Belvedere posta nel territorio
della nostra citta di Frascati compreso nello spoglio di detto
Mons. Paolo Capranica," Aldobrandini Archives, Rome. Ibid.
n. 3 : " *Istrumento del possesso preso di villa Belvedere dal card.
P. Aldobrandini unitamente all'inventario dei mobili di essa,
5 Novembre 1598 " ; " *Breve di Clemente VIIL al card.
P. Aldobrandini confirmatorio dell'istrumento della donazione
delle villa Aldobrandini," dated Romae up. s. Marcum, 1601,
September 28 (orig.).
* See Baglione, 82.
* See the report in Grossi-Gondi, 229. Cf. Baglione, 82,
and Orbaan, Rome onder Clemens VIIL, p. 59 seqq.
496 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
by Carlo JMaderno, reached a point when the Pope could
go and live there. ^
The Villa Aldobrandini, which was extolled by the
contemporary poets,- still enjo3^s to-day the reputation,
although some of its beauties have disappeared, of being
the queen among the villas of Frascati.^ It covers a con-
siderable area,* and is traversed by paths with high hedges,
1 See the report in Grossi-Gondi, 81 ; Tomassetti, IV., 456 se^.
Giovannoni in his dissertation, otherwise so valuable (in L'Arte,
XVI. [1913] 81 5eg^.) wrongly places the death of Giacomoin 1604.
* The best known are the poems of Ciampoli (see Bellori,
Seicento, 54) and Marrini (printed in Propiignatore, N.S. I., 5-6,
1888). C/. Ebering in Am. f. roman. Sprachen, N.S. I. [1889]
433, and BoRZELLi, Marini, 63 seqq.) as well as the detailed
description of the beauties of the villa by Alessandro Donati, S.I.
in his Tusculanum Aldobrandinum (Carmina, I., Rome, 1625,
319-370).
^ For what follows cf. Barriere, Villa Aldobrandini Tusculana,
Rome, 1647; Falda (Rossi), Le fontane nei giardini di Frascati,
II., Rome, 1691, i-ii ; Percier et Fontaine, Clioix des plus
celebres maisons de plaisance de Rome et ses environs (1809),
51-54, pi. 64-66 ; Magni, Barrocco a Roma tav. 12-15 ; Gurlixt,
74 seqq. ; Gothein, I., 332 seqq. See also Durn, Renaissance in
Italien, 215 ; O. Raggi, I Colli Albani, e Tusculani, Rome, 1879,
392 seqq. ; A. Guidi, I paesi dei colli Albani, Rome, 1880, 124 seqq. ;
NoHL, Tagebuch, 306 ; Schrader, Rom. Campagna, Leipzig,
1 910 ; E. DE Fonseca, I castelli Romani, Florence, 1904, 104
seqq. ; Guidi, Fontane, 35 seqq., 63 seqq. ; P. Misciatelli in
Vita d'Arte, IX. (191^), 58 seqq. ; E. v. Kerckhoff, Cud.
Italienesche Villa's, Rotterdam, 1923, x-xi. ; Dami, 27 seq. and
clvii seq. ; A. Colasanti, Le fontane d'ltalia, Milan, 1926,
67 seq. ; Wolfflin, Renaissance und Barock, 162 seq., 176, 178.
* Cf. " *Bolla deU'affrancazione di villa Belvedere dall'abbadia
di Grottaferrata in favore del card. Pietro Aldobrandini," dated
Rome, 1603, September 20 ; " *Acquisto di una vigna unita alia
villa Belvedere, comprata dal cardinal P. Aldobrandini," dated
November 20, 1602 ; " *Compra di un pezzo di terra unito alia
villa Belvedere acquistato della compagnia del S. Sacramento di
Frascati," dated March 27, 1602, Aldobrandini Archives, Rome,
24, n. 6, ID, 13.
THE VILLA ALDOBRANDINI. 497
so as to conceal the plantations of olives, vines and other
trees, thus giving the illusion of being in a park. The building,
which is of the true villa type, is of three storeys, and gives a
majestic impression of size, although it has little depth. Its
site, half-way up the hill, is chosen with great skill. Visible
even from Rome, its fagade and high roof rise above a green
base of oak trees. A shady avenue, and extensive terraces,
which conceal the domestic offices,^ lead to the summit. On
the upper terrace, on both sides of the villa, there are small
plantations of oaks, and on the right a large flower garden
with a graceful basin in the shape of a boat, which was a
favourite form for fountains ever since Leo X. had reproduced
an ancient ship in marble on Monte Celio, in front of the
church of S. Maria in Domnica.
The interior of the building gives the impression of a house
much larger than the majority of edifices of the kind. Over
the hearth of the great hall on the ground floor is the bust of the
founder in bronze. D'Arpino painted scenes from the Old
Testament on the ceilings of the lower rooms. ^
Behind the building, Giovanni Fontana, the greatest
hydraulic artist of those times, employed all his skill in
creating an enchanted poetic scene, ^ combining gems of
architecture, sculpture and natural sylvan beauties. From
the wooded heights of the hill, against which there stands a
nymphaeum in the form of a great semicircular portico with
two lateral wings, there leaps a cascade breaking into smaller
ones. Statues, busts and pilasters give hfe to this strange
construction. Ionic pillars divide it into niches adorned
* The chimneys of the kitchens at the end of the terraces are
camoufiaged as ornamental towers.
* See Baglione, 370.
' See ibid. 131. Cf. Tomassetti, IV., 458 seq. H. Rose says :
" Aldobrandini must be given the special credit for having
gathered together the experience of Roman construction of
waterfalls and of having combined it in a single work, which
may be said to be the culminating point of constructions of the
kind (Spatbarock, 60) ; "in the Aldobrandini cascade this
architectural style reaches its highest point " {ibid. 62).
VOL. XXIV 32
49^ HISTORY OF THE POPES.
with fountains and mythological statues ; in the central one
an Atlas with a terrestrial globe surmounts the fountain ;
above jets of water gush from the star of the arms of the
Aldobrandini. ^ This central group is balanced above by
the cascades of the waterfall which appears to gush forth
from the ancient walls, and which is flanked by two columns
pouring out water ; at the two sides are magnificent groups
of oaks which were originally surrounded by high hedges.
On the frieze of the nymphaeum a Latin inscription^ records
how Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, nephew of Clement VIII.,
after he had restored peace to Christendom and re-acquired
the Duchy of Ferrara for the Papal States, had erected this
villa as a place of repose after the fatigues of Rome, in 1603,
and that the water had been brought from Monte Agido.
The works for the hydraulic effects had proved extraordinar-
ily difficult,^ and had involved larger expenditure than the
construction of the building itself, as it was necessary to
indemnify the losses entailed upon the landowners, and to
carry the water underground."*
^ Cf. Leghetti, Frascate nella natura, 324 ; see also
TOMASSETTI IV., 457.
2 The text of the inscription was long deliberated. In the
Aldobrandini Archives, Rome (174 n. 2), there are seven different
texts. One reads : " *Petrus card. Aldobrandinus S.R.E.
camerarius | locum prospectum coelo, collibus | ambulatione |
salubrem et gratum substructione commoda gratiorem fecit."
Another draft reads : " *Petrus Aldobrandinus cardinalis
camerarius Aedes in Tusculano extruxit | Ut naturae bona artis
ope augeretur."
3 See Lanciani, III., 55.
* " *I1 Papa ha donato 50,000 scudi a Aldobrandini per la caduta
dell'acqua della villa di Frascati . La villa non vale canto quanto
I'acqua," reports Fr. Maria Vialardo, January i, 1604, Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua. Cf. " *Chirografo di Clemente VIII. diretto
al Pro-Tesoriere generale col quale gli ordina di pagare non solo
le spere per la conduttura dell'acqua della Molara a viUa Belvedere
ma ben anchi i danni che deriverranno ai particolari di tale
operazione," dated Frascati, October i, 1603, Aldobrandini
Archives, Rome, 29 n. 31. Ibid. n. 2, the *document in which
THE VILLA ALDOBRANDINL 499
In one of tlie lateral wings of the nymphaeum there is a
chapel with frescoes representing the saints of the Aldo-
brandini family. ^ Another open space, the Sala del Parnasso,
attained celebrity in 1608, when it had been decorated by a
great master.
Here was represented in stucco the mountain of the Gods :
on the summit Apollo, and before him the nine muses with
musical instruments, while below was an organ worked by
water power. The deeds of the god, around whom melodies
seemed to echo marvellously, were illustrated by Domenichino
in ten fine frescoes of exquisite workmanship, which were
given, by means of borders and painted fringes, the appearance
of tapestries. The backgrounds, carried out by Gian Battista
Viola from the sketches of Domenichino, show landscapes
harmonizing with the gay rural character of the villa. In this
work Domenichino created a new idyllic style, which formed
an important stage towards the development of the classical
landscape painting of Poussin.^
Clement VIII. " concede al card. P. Aldobrandini la proprieta et
il dominio dell'acqua detta Giulia " for the villa Belvedere, dated
January 19, 1604 ; ibid. n. 3 : " *Istrumento col quale la com-
munita di Monte Campatri approva et conferma la donazione
deU'acqua della Molara, territ. di detto comune, fatta da
Clemente VIII. al card. P. Aldobrandini per motu proprio d.
19 gennaio 1604," dated August 21, 1605.
^ The frescoes are unfortunately so damaged by the damp that
it is not possible to form an opinion of them.
- See TiETZE, Ausgewahlte Kunstwerke der Sammlung
Lanckoronski, Vienna, 191 8, 71 seq. When the Borghese went
bankrupt, there came into the possession of the Count, a
connoisseur of art, by a.n acquisition in 1892 (see Arch. stov.
deU'arte, 1892, 143) of the ten frescoes of Domenichino, six of
which adorn the gallery of antiquities in the Lanckoronski palace,
and four another place. Two others, representing Apollo killing
the Python, and the picture of Orpheus have been lost, and are
only preserved in the fine engravings published by La Barriere m
1647 [cf. supra, p. 496, n. 3). Cf. also Serr.\, Domenichino,
17 seqq. ; Gerstenberg, Die ideale Landschaftsmalerei. Ihre
Begriindung und Vollendung in Italien, Halle, 1923, 59.
500 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
From the majestic hall which occupies the whole width of
the principal building of the Villa Aldobrandini, may be seen
on one side the enchanting creation of this nymphaeum, and
on the other the grand panorama of the Campagna as far as
the sea, with Rome enthroned in its midst.
When from this vantage point Clement VIII. looked at
the capital of the world, he must have been filled with satis-
faction at seeing how greatly it had developed. The Florentine
painter, Antonio Tempesta,^ the pupil of the celebrated
Stradanus (Ian van Straet),^ in his plan of the city has shown
with great exactness and artistic taste the appearance of
Rome at the time of the accession of Clement VIII. ^
A glance at this panorama, which is taken from the Jani-
culum, is enough to show how sparsely inhabited, in spite
of the efforts of Sixtus V., the district of the Monti still was.
Still, as in the past the life of the city was concentrated in
the level ground between the Tiber on one side, the Pincio,
the Capitol and the Quirinal. The principal piazzas were
all there : Campo di Fiori, the Piazza Navona, the Piazza del
Duca (Farnese), the Piazza della Trinita and the Piazza
Colonna ; smaller piazzas were to be found in front of the
churches and some of the palaces. The central part of the
old city, divided into two by the Tiber, still shows its medieval
density and irregular arrangement. From this labyrinth,
which had an indescribably picturesque fascination, and
from the mass of the houses of the old city, there arose supreme
^ For Tempesta of, Orbaan, Documenti Ixxix seqq., and Rome
onder Clemens VIII., p. 119 seqq.
2 See Orbaan, Stradanus te Florence, 1553-1605, Rotterdam,
1903.
* Preserved in a single copy at Stockholm, discovered by
J. CoUijn [of. J. CoLLijN, Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie Saniling
af aide Stadsoyer, Stockholm, 1915, 6 seqq. ; Hulsen, Saggio, 24)
and published by H. Schuck, Nagra ammarkningar till A.
Tempesta's Urbis Romae prospectus 1593, Upsala, 1917- Orbaan
had already given a small reproduction of it in his Documenti.
The labours of this scholar {ibid. Ixxxvi seq.) have served as the
basis of my own work.
THE VIEW OF ROME. 50I
the majestic Rotonda of the Pantheon, and the palaces of
the Altemps, Monte Giordano, the Cancelleria, Farnese,
S. Marco (Venezia), and the Capitol. The campanili which
had been erected in the Middle Ages were still to a great
extent preserved ; while of the towers of the palaces, besides
that delle Milizie, there were the Torre Argentina and the
Torre Millina, as well as the Torre del Capocci. The clock-
tower on the Palazzo Orsini near the Campo di Fiori may
also clearly be seen. The Gothic campanili of the Anima
and S. Agostino are dwarfed by the many cupolas of the
churches of the Renaissance. The columns of Trajan and
Antoninus stand out clearly by reason of the gilt statues
of the Princes of the Apostles which crown them. New
prospects are provided by the obelisks erected by Sixtus V.,
while the Lateran Palace appears exactly in its present form,
and that of the Quirinal substantial^ so.
As in the past, the Leonine City forms an ensemble of its
own.i On its periphery there stands on one side the Castle
of St. Angelo, as well as the imposing hospital and church
of S. Spirito ; on the other the mass of the " Palace of the
Popes," with the new Sixtine addition already covered with
its roof, and in a strange medley new and old St. Peter's,
with the dome now at last completed.
Special districts are formed, besides the Borgo, by Trastavere
with its numerous convents, the Island with its mills, and the
Ghetto, strictly enclosed within walls and gates, and indicated
by Tempesta as " La Giudea."
On the plan there are also clearly shown, besides the new
streets of Sixtus V., the old arteries, the so-called Via Papale
and the celebrated Via Giulia.
Ever more sparsely covered with buildings as its periphery
is approached, the Eternal City still shows, within the circle
of the Aurelian Walls, many uninhabited spaces and vast
gardens. The Villa Medici, which still ranked as the most
celebrated villa of Rome, is marked on the plan as the garden
1 Cf. M. BoRGATTi, Borgo e S. Pietro nel 1300, nel 1600 e nel
1925, Rome, 1925.
502 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of the Grand Duke of Tuscany (Viridarium magni ducis
Hetruriae), while the villa of Sixtus V. has no name. The
gardens of the Quirinal were still in their elementary state,
and the Farnese gardens on the Palatine are clearly marked.
The Palazzo de' Riarii on the Lungara adjoins a vast garden,
and there is a smaller one at the Farnesina, which from its
first owner bears the name of Palazzo Chigi.
While Tempesta was recording the transformation of Rome
by means of a drawing, others, Netherlands and Germans,
who were living there either permanently or temporarily,
were also devoting themselves to that work. Drawings
published in engravings show the many-coloured whirlpool
of public life with its ecclesiastical and secular festivals,
and its variegated street scenes. Productions of great histori-
cal interest are given us among others by Brambilla in his
folio " cries of itinerary vendors in Rome," by Giacomo
Franco, who depicts Clement VIIT. on a journey, by Villamena
with his typical Roman beggar, and lastly by Bril, with his
illustrations to the " Dolce far niente." Sadeler, Willem
van Nieulandt, and one of the young Breughels give us good
topographical material in their engravings ; Valckenborch,
De Vries and Sebastian Vrancz in their paintings.^
The guide-books and books of travel^ form a useful supple-
ment to the illustrations. Among the most sought for guides
for tourists and pilgrims in the Holy Year were the itineraries
of Hieronymus Johanninus Campugnanus (died 1604) and
Franz Schott (died 1622), which appeared in various editions
after the Holy Year of 1600.2 jy^q Deliciae Italiae of Cyprian
1 See Orbaan, Rome onder Clemens VIII., p. 97 seq. ; cf.
Documenti, 475 n., and Mededeel. v. h. Nederl. Hist. Institut, V.
(1925), 128 seq. The picture by F. de Vnes, of about 1595,
showing the Piazza of St. Peter's and the Vatican, in the possession
of Count Lanckoronski at Vienna, is deserving of publication.
2 Dr. Schudt is about to publish a collection of all the guides,
as the result of prolonged research.
* For the Itmerarium Italiae (Antwerp, 1600) by Schott, the
Baedeker of those times, see Schlosser, Kunstliteratur, Vienna,
1924. 473. 493-
VISITORS TO ROME. 503
Eiclihov was also in great demand.^ A learned and ex-
haustive work was the book Romanae Urhis topographiae
et antiquitates cum tab. a Theod. de Bry in aere incisis
by the celebrated French archaeologist Jean Jacques
Boissard,2 in which he collected inscriptions with special
interest.'^
The accounts of illustrious travellers who came from the
north also described the splendour of Rome and its art
treasures. Besides the Netherlanders Arend van BucheH
and Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft,^ mention must also be made
above all of the state architect of the Duchy of Wiirtemberg,
Heinrich Schickhardt, which is of special importance on
account of his artistic appreciation of works of art.^ All the
visitors to Rome at that time, not only the many artists,
among them Mander and Rubens, but the princes as well
^ For Eichhov see A. Kauffmann in Zeitschr. f. Kulturgesch.,
N.S., II., 674 seq.
2 1. I. BoissARD, Romanae Urbis topographiae et antiquitates
cum tab. a Theod. de Bry in aere incisis, 6 vols., Frankfort,
1597-1602 {ibid. 1603, also in German).
^ Drawings by Boissard in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris ;
see Kunstchonik, N.F., XVII., 71.
* See Diarium van Arend van Buchell uitgegeven door G. Brom
in L. A. van Langeraad, Amsterdam, 1907. Cf. also Mededeel.
V. h. Nederl. Hist. Institiit., II. (1922), 113 seq. ; IV. (1924),
153 seq., 261 seq.
* Van Vloten has published the description of this journey by
Hooft in the 2nd volume of Hooft's letters.
* The description of his journey by Schickhardt, to the import-
ance of which LuBKE especially draws attention (Gesch. der
Renaissance in Deutschland, I., 44 seq., 395 seq.) appeared for
the first time in 1602 at ]\I6mplegard, in 1603 at Tiibingen.
W. Heyd, Handschriften u. Handzeichnungen des H. Sch.,
Stuttgart, 1902, published a new and accurate edition of it,
collated with the manuscript (Stuttgart Library, Cod. Hist. Q.
148, tasc. B.C.). HtJLSEN published in his Antikengarten
(Heidelberg, 1917), p. 90, Schickhardt's description of the Quirinal
Gardens, and his notes on Florence in MUteil. des Kunsthist.
Itistituts zu Florem, II. (191 7).
504 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
showed a special interest in the gardens and incomparable
villas of the Eternal City and its environs.^
Even in 1595 the revival of the Papal capital filled the
Venetian ambassador, Paolo Paruta, with admiration. 2
The great development in building works led to the discovery
of many antiquities, and from the many accounts of excava-
tions we learn in what abundance the inexhaustible soil of
Rome continued to reveal marbles and sculptures. ^ It was
especially on the Esquiline that a rich harvest was gathered.^
There, near the Arch of Gallienus, was discovered the ancient
fresco known as the Nozze Aldobrandine, which was bought
^ Cf. OuBAAN, Documenti, 475 n. Ernstlingers Reisebuch
(Stuttgarter Liter. Verein. nn. 134-35, 1877, deals on p. 93 seq.
with Rome in 1593. Interesting accounts of Rome in 1597 are
to be found in the letters of Conradus Baro de Bemelberg et
Hohenburg Junior ; see G. Lumbroso, Viaggio di un giovane
tedesco in Italia, in Rendiconti dei Lincei, V. 3 (1896). Very
interesting is the *Description of Rome in 1601 by a young
Moravian nobleman of the celebrated name of Waldstein, who at
Florence met Prince Ludw^g von Anhalt (the descrption by
L. von Anhalt of his journey in Italy is to be found in Access,
hist. Anhalt., Zerbst, 1733, 261 seqq., of Beckmann) in Regin. 666
(Vatican Library). From Waldstein's description of his travels
Orbaan has published the parts relating to Holland and Belgium
m Bescheiden in Itahe omtvent Nedevlandsche Kunstenaars en
Geleerden, 's Gravenhage, 191 1, 170 seqq., and those relating to
the artistic German cities and art collections in Museumskunde,
1917, 43 seqq. For the method ol travelling in those days cf.
besides Hassel in Zeitschr. f. KnUuy^esch., N.S., I., 407 seq.,
E. S. Bates, Touring in 1600. A Study of the development of
travel as a means of Education, London, 1911. Reise des Barons
F. Eulenburg, published by Sommerfeldt in Lit. Gezellschaft zu
Lotzen, part 18 (1913).
2 See Paruta, Relazione, 422.
^ Cf. Reumont, III., 2, 765 seq. ; Lanciani, IV., 186 seqq. ;
Orbaan, Documenti, 129 seqq., n. The *Avviso of December 11,
1602, Urb. 1070, loc. cit. mentions the excavations near the
Colosseum.
^ See Orbaan, Documenti, 131.
ANTIQUITIES. 505
by Cardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini.^ His brother Cardinal
Pietro issued an edict as Camerlengo for the protection of
antiquities in April, 1600. Ordinances of 1599 and 1604
were directed to the preservation of the catacombs, in which
an ever increasing interest was being taken, thanks to
Baronius, Chacon, Bosio and Philip von Winghen.2
The use of ancient materials for new buildings continued,
as has been said, in the pontificate of Clement VIII. ^ Per-
mission from the government, however, was required, both
for excavations and for the exportation of works of art.^ In
spite of this prohibition so many antiquities were sent abroad,
especially to the courts of Florence^ and Mantua, that the
representatives of the city as well as the Pope himself com-
plained that Rome was being robbed of its best treasures.^
^ C/. Bartoli in Fea, Miscell. I. ccxlix ; Lanciani IV.,
207 seqq. ; Nogara, Le Nozze Aldobrandine, Milan, 1907;
Helbig, 1.3, 267 seq., where the special literature is cited. See
also Orbaan, Rome onder Clemens VIII., p. 226 seqq.
"See Orbaan, Documenti, 131 n., 133 seq. n. [cf. 463 n.).
Cf. also Orbaan, Rome onder Clemens VIII., p. 229 seqq. ;
Valeri, Bosio, Rome, 1900. Not without interest is the following
*Avviso of March 5, 1603, Urb. 10 71, loc. cit. : Per le gran pioggie,
che furono la passata settimana al Coliseo, caderno alquante di
quelle muraglie, che stavano piu sconcie, con infiniti sassi bellissimi
e bonissimi et perche alcuni andavano facendo cavare di la intomo
per trovar sassi, et si dice sia il cav^ Clemente, la Compagnia
del sant"^° Salvatore ha fatto far inhibitione, che nissuno ardischi
toccar de detti sassi, et ho inteso, come detta Compagnia intra
in questo, perche ho inteso, che da Alessandro VI fu fatto dono
di questo Coliseo alia sudetta Compagnia.
^ See Orbaan, Rome onder Clemens VIII. p. 221.
* Lanciani, IV., 180
* See Bertolotti, Esportazione di oggetti di belle arte da
Roma nella Toscana, in Riv Eitrop., 1877, II., 716. Bertolotti
]n Giorn. Ligust., 1876, 117 seq.
* Cf. especially the *reports of the Mantuan envoy, G. C.
Foresto. On October 14, 1600, he reports that he has bought a
statue of Antmous, which Cardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini would
have been very glad to have acquired. Foresto explains the
506 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Among art lovers and collectors there was a veritable rivalry
in acquiring antiquities ; besides the Aldobrandini Cardinals,
Ciriaco Mattei was especially an ardent collector. ^ As in
the past, so now ancient statues were repaired and often
copied in bronze. ^
Many pictures were also exported, not a few of which went
to Mantua ; if the originals could not be acquired, they had
perforce to be satisfied with copies, which were specially made,
from works of art which hitherto had not been allowed to
be copied. 3
Like the Duke of Mantua, Rudolph II. also sought to obtain
reason why the li:;enza to export it was still being waited for on
January 27 (see *report of January 20, 1601) ; on January 27
he says : " Puo anch'esser, che il popolo Romano si si a lasciato
intendere che si lascia spogliare Roma del]e migliori cose che si
siano et cose simili oltre che la natura di S.S^^ tenacissima non
fa piu gratia di sorte alcuna che vaglia un soldo " (Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua). For the difficulties which continued to arise
cf. in App. nn. 18, 19, the *reports of December 30, 1600, and
February 10, 1601. Leave to export was only granted in the
case of certain of the statues acquired by Foresto (see *report of
March 10, 1601). Finally on January 5, 1602, Lelio Arrigoni was
able to report : '' *Laudato il Signore, habbiamo ricupera,to il
possesso delle statue et questa sera I'hanno portato I'Antinoo a
casa insieme con gli altri pezzi di piu stima." From the *reports
of Arrigoni of 1603 it appears that statues were once again being
taken to Mantua at that time. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
^ Cf. *report of G. C. Foresto, January 27, 1601, Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.
^ Cf. BuRCKHARDT, Bcitragc, 496 seq. ; Orbaan, Document!,
133 n.
^ See, besides the reports of Arrigoni for 1 601 -1602 published
in Luzio, La galleria dei Gonzaga, Milan, 1913, 91 seq., the
further *reports of the same of March i, 1602 " quadro della
Maddalena," April 4, August 17, August 31, October 5 and 12,
copies of celebrated pictures, among them "16 pezzi tutti cavati
da disegni di Raffaelo " (Gonzaga Archives, Mantua). Cf. also
Bertolotti, Artisti in relazione coi Gonzaga di Mantova, Modena,
188.5.
PRIVATE COLLECTIONS. 507
works of art from Rome, a thing in which he was not successful,
owing to his want of money. ^
The exportation of works of art was to some extent com-
pensated by those which arrived in the Eternal City, either
by way of purchase or donation.
Princes and nobles wished to show their gratitude to
their hosts by giving them pictures, while others were
collected by prelates who were travelling. ^
Some of the Cardinals, as for example vSfondrato and
Bonelli, had valuable collections of pictures. ^ The collection
of important engravings on wood and copper, especially by
Diirer, which Cardinal Scipione Gonzaga had acquired during
a space of thirty years, was very celebrated."* In Rome
almost all private men of wealth possessed antiquities, and
rooms, court-yards and gardens were everywhere adorned
with them. 5
Of great importance to the Eternal City, especially
from the point of view of health, was the care which
Clem.ent VIII. devoted to the maintenance of the streets.
In the frescoes of the time of Sixtus V. we can see
how the profitable swine, which were to be found in
every country house in Italy, were pastured in the piazzas
and streets of Rome. An ordinance of 1599 put an end
to this abuse, and it was forbidden to keep swine in
the inhabited part of the city.^ At the same time
a weekly cleansing of the streets was ordered.' Other
edicts related to the paving of the Piazza Navona,^ and the
1 Cf. the report of Dr. Rudolf Corradus, published in Blatter, f.
Literatur. Kunst. n. Gesch., 1847, n. 33.
2 Cf. Urlichs in Zeitschr. f. bild. Kunst., 1870. 47 seq.
3 See Orbaan, Documenti, 489 seqq.
* See Luzio, Galleria Gonzaga, 273 seqq.
5 Cf. the report in Burckhardt, Beitrage, 495.
* See Orbaan, Documenti, 263.
' See *Avviso of July 24, 1599, Urb. IC67, loc. cit.
* Editto of July 10, 1600, in Editti, V., 74, p. 156, Papal Secret
Archives.
508 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
maintenance of the water channels and the fountains.^
Some new streets were also constructed. ^
The long period of peace was extremely favourable for the
material development of Rome, and the consequence was
that splendour and luxury increased to an extraordinary
degree. The Venetian Paolo Paruta noticed this even in
1595. The sumptuous manner of life, which had hitherto
been the exclusive privilege of some of the more prominent
Cardinals and barons, he wrote, had spread in a surprising
way ; he lays special stress upon the luxury of apartments^
and their extraordinarily sumptuous furniture. The envoy
of Urbino, Battista Ceci, also mentions this development
in his report of 1605. He describes how the aristocracy
dressed with the greatest splendour, and kept large numbers
of retainers in elaborate liveries and many horses and carriages;
he tells how all the nobles lived beyond their means, and how
the citizens tried to follow this bad example. He complains
how the merchants dressed their wives as gentlewomen, and
permitted themselves all pleasures, no matter what they cost ;
what wonder then that their profits, even though they sold
everything at a high price, were not sufficient for their extrava-
gant expenditure ? * It is not surprising therefore that in these
1 See the *Bando of January 22, 1600, concerning the Acqua
Felice, in Editti, V., 51, p. 4, loc. cit. Ibid. p. 69, a *Bando of
February 2, 1600, concerning the fountains of the Acqua
Vergine.
2 C/. the inscription in the Inventario, I., 274, concerning the
road leading to S. Onofrio. Cf. also Arch. d. Soc. Rom., V., 656.
An *Editto per fare la strada fuora della Porta di S. Pancrazio al
S™° Crocifisso, July 27, 1601, in Editti, V., 74, p. 386, loo. cit.
A list of expropriations of buildings below the Aracoeli as far as
Macel de' Corvi for the construction of the principal street starting
from the Capitol, in the year 1601, in Dengel, Palast u. Basilika
S. Marco, n. 55.
3 See Paruta, Relazione, 422.
* See " *Relatione delle quality et governo della citta di Roma
e dello stato eccles. I'a. 1605 di Battista Ceci da Urbino," Urb.
837, p. 468b seqq., Vatican Library. Cf. also the *Relazione
CHARITABLE ACTIVITY. 509
circumstances moral conditions left a great deal to be desired.^
This state of affairs was also contributed to by the fact that
foreigners of all nations flocked to the capital of the world,
so that the real Romans formed a minority. ^
Even though Ceci dwells upon these darker aspects of the
times, he also clearly brings out the brighter side of the picture,
and above all the rivalry in building magnificent churches,
and the activity in works of charity. ^ He points out how the
Pope took the lead by his example in the last-named ; every
month he distributed 400 scudi among the secret poor, and
the convents and hospitals ; at Christmas and Easter, on
the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, and on the anniversary of
his coronation, 2,000 scudi, and another 1,000 for extra-
ordinary alms. He also maintained the ancient custom of
feeding the poor at the Campo Santo near St. Peter's every
Frida}'. Ceci describes in detail the innumerable charitable
institutions in Rome, which were all excellently organised
and served by the confraternities.* These cared for every
class and for the sick of every kind. The lepers had a special
hospital outside the city, while the others were so skilfully
distributed that help was nowhere lacking. Those mstitutions
which did not enjoy ample means, like the ancient hospital
distintissima di Roma, anime [1593 altogether 99,627] entrate,
chiese, palazzi, casali con molte piante di ville e altre minuzie
particolari, in Cod. Strozz. 721, State Archives, Florence.
^ Cf. supra, p. 427.
* Ceci says in his *Relazione (see supra, p. 508, n. 4) : " La
citta pu6 tare 100,000 in circa anime, i due terzi e piu forestieri."
3 *Dairaltra parte se si considera ella e una citta santa : gran
carita e grand 'opere pie vi si fanno ; gran concorso si vede di chi
fa quasi a gara per potere piu splendidamente e con piu magnifi-
cenza ferigere tempii e chiese al culto di Die e luoglii e monasteri
a beneficio del prossimo et oltre all'esservi una infinita di chiese
e capelle ornate con tant'oro e pietre pretiose, vi sono anche
tanti spedali et si fanno giornalmente innumerabili elemosine.
Urb. 837, p. 469'®, loc. cit.
* See the *relazione of Ceci, ibid, 470-474. Cf. Vol. XXIII.
of this work, p. 34, for the Pope's almsgiving.
510 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of S. Spirito, the annual revenues of which amounted to
100,000 scudi, were maintained by abundant alms. It is
worthy of record that the lunatics maintained at the Madonna
della Pieta were very well treated, which was not the case
at that time in an^^ other asylum of the kind.^
The civic hospitals were accessible to all foreigners, but
besides these there had been from remote times many national
hospices for foreign visitors to Rome, where pilgrims received
gratuitously for three days lodging and food, and in case of
illness help of other kinds. Those institutions, too, such as
the Bohemian and Swedish hospices, which ov/ing to the
religious schism no longer had many coming to them, were
also maintained. 2 The number of hospitals and hospices
was forty in all.^
However worthy of condemnation the luxury was, it was
very advantageous for art. Among the Cardinals who were
conspicuous as lovers of art, besides Frederick Borromeo,
Bonelli and Colonna, Odoardo Farnese held the first place. Not
content with his magnificent family palace, which was richly
adorned with profane and religious paintings, antique statues,
medals and a valuable library,* he caused a splendid pictorial
work to be carried out between the years 1595 and 1603. On
the first floor, on the side facing the Tiber, the ceiling and
walls of the so-called gallery were adorned with magnificent
frescoes by Annibale Caracci, assisted by his brother, Agostino
and Domenichino, the subjects of which were drawn exclusively
* *Qui si tengono tutti quelli che sono scemi di cervello e pazzi
raccolti in Roma e fuor di Roma di qualunque sesso e natione di
maniera che con la cura che li si fa molti tornano in buon senti-
mento, e se pure non possono guarire h tengono perpetuamente
con carita nello spedale, ove sono custoditi, governati e proveduti
di tutte le cose necessarie standovene continumente oltre a 80
con molti ufficiali e mmistri che per servizio loro si tengono.
Ceci, loc. cit.
' See ihid.
^ Cf. Fanucci, Opere pie di Roma, 1601.
* See Navenne, Rome et le Palais Farnese, I., 29 seqq.
THE FARNESE PALACE. 51I
from pagan mythology.^ Of the three central pictures, one,
the triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne, was intended to portray
the reign of love upon the earth, the second, Aurora and
Cephalus, its power in the air, and the third, a Nereid em-
braced by a Triton, the dominion of love in the waters, just
as Guarini had sung in the prologue to his Pastor fido.'^ This
masterpiece of the Caracci is of the highest importance in the
history of culture. Men realized the paradox of a great prince
of the Church, just as though he were still living in the days
of Leo X., having his palace adorned with such erotic subjects,
and at the same time trying to make those subjects more
acceptable to the most rigid censors by means of allegories
and interpretations, attempting thus to reconcile the Christian
conscience with representations of scenes of loves of the gods
and pagan heroes, which went beyond all due limits. ^ More-
over this is a crushing retort to the unfounded assertions that
the artists of the period of the Catholic restoration were
hampered in their freedom and activities ;^ in fact they were
free to select their subjects from ancient mythology as before.
^ See the beautiful dissertation by H. Tietze : A. Carraccis
Galerie im Palazzo Farnese u. seine Werkstatte, in Jahrb. der
Kunstsamml. des osterr. Kaiserhauses, XXVI., 71 seqq. Cf. also
ScHMERBER, Ital. Malerei (1906), 187 seq. ; Jahrb. der preuss.
Kunstsamml., XI. (1919), 140 seq. ; MuNOZ, Roma barocca,
22 seqq. ; Navenne, loc. cit. I., 65-98 ; Voss, Malerei, 493 seq.
2 See Tietze, loc. cit. 94.
^ See ibid. Cf. also Vogel, Aus Goethes rom. Tagen, Leipzig,
1905, 223 seq., and Rouches, La peinture Bolognaise 1575-1619,
Paris, 191 1, 175. Navenne {loc. cit. 95) thinks that O. Farnese
himself had certain scruples : Comparez la Galatee parcourant
les mers avec le carton en grandeur d 'execution de la National
Gallery, vous noterez qu'une legere draperie se dessine dans la
fresque sous la mam du Triton et que le carton en est affranchie.
L'adjonction fut-elle imposee au moment de I'execution ou
intervmt-elle apres I'achevement des peintures ? Cela import
peu. Ce qu'il faut retenir, c'est qu'il y eut correction au profit
de la bienseance.
* See Voss, I., 24. Cf. Rouches, loc. cit., 176.
512 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Even in the matter of the representation of the nude in profane
art they were by no means restricted. The rigorous principles
which were appHed after the Council of Trent/ only referred
to pictures in churches, as is shown by an edict of the Cardinal
Vicar, Borghese, in 1603.2 Even the man who had ordered
the frescoes of Caracci conformed to these enactments ; in
1595 Cardinal Odoardo Farnese had the nude figure of Justice
on the tomb of Paul III. covered with a garment of thin
metal. ^
The increase of luxury was also shown in the fact that the
Aldobrandini, in addition to their orginal house in the Via
de' Banchi, which the Pope had given to Olimpia Aldobrandmi
in 1601,^ also possessed other palaces in Rome ; one in the
Piazza Colonna (afterwards the Palazzo Chigi),^ another near
S. Luigi de' Francesi,^ and a third, with a garden, on the
southern slope of the Quirinal (the Villa Aldobrandini of
to-day). In 1601 Clement VIII. also acquired for Olimpia
the palace of the Duke of Urbino in the Corso (afterwards the
Palazzo Doria), the chapel of which was decorated by Annibale
^ See ScHLOSSER, Materialien z. Kunstgesch., VI., Vienna,
I9i9> 97 seqq. Cf. also A. Foratti in the periodical L' Archigin-
nasio, IX. (Bologna, 1914), 15 seqq., and Repert.f. Kunstwissensch.,
XXXVII., 36 seq. As early as 1582 Possevino suggested that
the nude statues and images should be covered for the Russians
who came to Rome ; see Pieri.ing, La Russie, II., 202.
2 See Repert.f. Kunstwissensch., XXXVII., 34 seq. ; Weissbach
Der Barock als Kunst der Gegenreformation, Berlin, 1921, 12.
^ See Mel. d'archeol., IX., 68 ; Jahrb. der preuss. Kunstsamml.,
XXXIX., 178, 196; Navenne, Rome et le Palais Farnese, I.,
564-
* See Prinzivalli, T. Tasso, 67.
^ Constructed by Giacomo della Porta, completed by Maderno ;
see MuNoz, Maderno, 6. The frescoes of the life of Clement VIII.,
which adorn the frieze of the large hall on the first floor, are
deserving of a closer examination ; as far as I am aware they
have been entirely overlooked.
« By C. Maderno, now the Palazzo Patrizi ; see Frey, Archi-
tettura barocca, Rome, 1926, xxii ; see G. Zucca, Gli orti pensili
Aldobrandmi, in the periodical Capitoliiim, I. (1927), 742 seq.
THE CAPITOLINE PALACES. 513
Caracci and his pupils, among them Albani, with frescoes
of the life of the Madonna. ^
During the pontificate of Clement VIII. there was at last
undertaken, as the result of his insistence, the carrying out of
Michelangelo's plans for the Capitoline palaces. A young
architect, Girolamo Rinaldi, constructed the facade of the
Senators, so that this was given the character of severe
grandeur which distinguished the design of the great master.
All this was done on the initiative of Clement VIII. so that
he deserves the place of honour that is assigned to him in the
great inscription of 1598, placed over the principal door and
enumerating all the outstanding events of his pontificate. ^
Girolamo Rinaldi also directed the works on the third palace
designed by Michelangelo on the Capitol, of which the Pope
laid the first stone on June 27th, 1603.^ He did not live to
see its completion, but on the other hand was able to delight
in the decoration of the Palace of the Conservatori with
monumental frescoes of the ancient history of Rome. On
these the president of the Academia S. Luca, Tommaso
Laureti, and the Pope's favourite, d'Arpino, were employed.
Among the frescoes by the latter mention must be made of
the battle between the Horatii and the Curiatii as a valuable
work of art.^
The artistic activity which^prevailed during the pontificate
*■ See Cancellieri, Possess!, 505 ; Prinzivalli, 62 ; Tietze
in Jahrb. der Kunstsamnil. des osterr. Kaiserhauses, XXVI.,
155 seq. ; Orbaan, Documenti, 41, 66 seqq, 157.
2 See Forcella, I., 48. Cf. Baglione, 73 ; Lanciani, II.,
75 seqq. ; Rodocanachi, Capitole, 95 seqq., 99 seqq. ; Michaelis
in Zeitschr. f. bild. Kunst., N.S. II., (1891), 193 seq. ; Thoue,
IVIichelangelo, V., 193.
^ See CiACONius, IV., 261 ; Bonanni, I., 455 ; Rodocanachi,
Capitole, 95. An *Avviso of June 28, 1603, reports : Yesterday
the Pope went to the Capitol " per veder la nuova fabrica, che
fanno o voglion fare li Conservatori dalla banda di Araceli,
essendoci S.S. andata per buttar come fece il primo sasso nel
fondamento, nel qual sasso non era altro motto che il nome di
S.B." Urb. 1071, Vatican Library.
* See Voss, II. , 572, 585.
VOL. XXIV 33
514 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of Clement VIII. was of great advantage to the churches, to
which greater attention was now paid, partly on account
of the canonical visitations and partly because of the Holy
Year. Although the number of existing churches was already
very large, several new ones were built ; for example, S. Maria
della Scala in Trastevere,^ S. Niccol6 da Tolentino,^ S. Giuseppe
a Capo le Case,^ and S. Bernardo alle Terme.* The national
church of the Florentines, S. Giovanni de' Fiorentini, the
masterpiece of Jacopo Sansavino, was finally completed in
1600,^ only the fagade being left unfinished. The church of the
Sicilians, S. Maria in Constantinopoli, was also completed in
I593-'
The church of the Theatines, S. Andrea della Valle, promised
to become a splendid edifice of the first rank, worthy to rival
the Gesii. Cardinal Gesualdo had since 1596 expended
40,000 scuid in this church,' the first stone of which was laid
on March 12th, 1591.^ After his death in 1603 Cardinal
Peretti undertook the expense.^ The superintendence of the
building was in the hands of Pietro Paolo Olivieri, who had
also made the designs : a nave in the form of a Latin cross,
with four deep chapels on either side.^" When Olivieri died
1 See *Avviso of February 5, 1597, Urb. 1065, loc. cit.
^Cf. FoRCELLA, XL, 457. According to the *Avviso of
July 29, 1600, Clement VIII. granted the church to the " natione
Marchegiana " as their national church. Urb. 1068, loc. cit.
^ Cf. FORCELLA, X., 175.
* Cf. ibid., IX., 171 ; Ortolani, S. Bernardo alle Terme, Rome,
s.d.
^ See the hitherto unnoticed remark of Benxivoglio, Memorie,
198.
* See Galletti, S. Maria di Costantinopoli, Rome, 1889.
'See *Avviso of July 17, 1596, which says : " La fabrica in
vero sara non men bella di quella del Gesu." Urb. 1064, II.,
loc. cit.
^ See [A. BoNi] La chiesa di S. Andrea della Valle in Roma,
Rome, 1907.
* See *Avviso of March i, ib03, Urb. 1071, ibid.
i^See Baglione, 76 seq.
S. MARIA IN VALLICELLA. 515
on July 6th, 1599, his place was taken by Carlo Maderno ;
he carried out the tribune and the dome, the largest in Rome
after St. Peter's, and drew a design for the fa9ade.^ This
large and spacious temple, almost the only one of the Roman
churches of the XVIth century which has retained its original
appearance, was until 1902 a perfect example of the Renais-
ances.2 j^e restoration undertaken in that year has greatly
impaired the grave, tranc[uil and solemn effect of the interior,
as the vaulting of the central nave was covered with stucco
and paintings, the plain pilasters fluted, and the capitals gilt.
Not far from this, in the great church of the Oratorians,
S. Maria in Vallicella, great activity was shown under
Clement VIII. in carrying on the decoration of the interior,
and a noble rivalry with the church of the Jesuits in con-
structing altars and chapels of a like magnificence.^ A richly
decorated chapel was prepared to receive the body of Philip
Neri,'* and another was founded by Cardinal Silvio Antoniano^.
The solemn consecration of this third great church belonging
to religious communities was made by Cardinal Medici on
May 23rd, 1599.^
1 See ibid. 308. An *Avviso of November i, 1595, reports :
Li Padri Bamabiti detti qua di S. Biagio deirAnello, perclie li
Padri Teatini di S. Andrea con la fabrica lore, che tuttavia fanno
molto magnifica et bella, arriveranno al lore convento, necessitati
pero a cercar altro luoco, hanno comprate le case poste in faccia
della Piazza Colonna, che son contigue a Pazzarelli, ove disegnano
fabricar una bella cliiesa et un amplo convento, 11 quale sopra detta
Piazza fara bellissima vista. Urb. 1063, loc. cit.
2 See GuRLiTT, 197.
* We have information as to the construction of the altars in
the *Avviso of January 31, 1596, Urb. 1064, I., loc. cit.
* See *Avviso of November 27, 1602, Urb. 1070, ibid. Cf.
Capecelatro, St. Philip Neri, p. 585. [Kngl. ed., 1926.]
^ Cf. CiACONius, IV., 329.
* See *Diarium P. Alaleonis, Barb. 2815, Vatican Library.
In 1592 Cardinal Galli ordered the building of S. Maria della
Scala, whither in 1597 Clement VIII. summoned the discalced
Carmelites in order to make better provision for pastoral work
in the Trastevere ; see Totti, 71.
5l6 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
By the command of Cardinal Rusticucci Carlo Maderno
turned his attention to S. Susanna, and gave it a noble fagade.^
Other Cardinals as well restored and adorned churches, as
for example, Giustiniani S. Prisca,^ Albert of Austria S. Croce
in Gerusalemme,^ Madruzzo S. Onofrio,"* Salviati S. Giacomo
degli Incurabili and S. Gregorio in Celio,^ Cesi S. Maria in
Portico, Medici and Caetani S. Pudenziana.® Just as Caetani
erected in the latter church a magnificent sepulchral chapel,®
1 See Baglione, 73, 308. Cf. Gurlitt, 331 ; Munoz, Maderno,
8.
2 See CiACONius, IV., 169; Forcella, XL, 173. For the
" Amore divine ed amore profano " painted by Giov. Baglione
to accompany the " Amore vincitore " of Caravaggio see
Bertolotti, Art. Lomb., II., 63 ; Voss in Berliner Museen, 1922,
60 seq., and Malerei, 127, 467.
* Cf. besides Ortolani, S. Croce in Gerusalemme, 19, the
Reisebericht von 1598 in Mitteil. des Hist. Ve''. f. Steiermavk,
XLVIII. (1900), 64.
* See TiETZE in Jahrb. der Kunstsamrnl. des osterr. Kaiserhauses,
XXVI., 143. Cf. Arch, per I'Alto Adtge, IX., 56 seqq.
^ See Baglione, 308 ; Munoz, Maderno, 6.
^ An *Avviso of August 16, 1597, reports that : " S. Maria in
Portico e gia del tutto abbelita con molta spesa di figure et altri
ornamenti dalla molta pieta et zelo del card. Cesi suo titolare, et
cosi anche quelle di S. Pudentiana et di S. Susanna dalli card.
Caetano et Rusticucci, che veramente si scuoprono in si sant'opre
molto affettuosi et zelanti " (Urb. 1065, loc. cit.). Cf. B.
Odescalchi, Mem. d. Accad. dei Lincei, Rome, 1806, 7.
' The transformation of the ancient oratory, known as " Titulus
Pastoris " into the richly decorated Caetani chapel, had been
begun under Sixtus V. (see Forcella, XL, 138) ; according to
the *Avviso of September 13, 1595, the works were still being
carried on at that time (Urb. 1063, loc. cit.). On December 9,
1599, Cardinal Caetani went to see the place of his burial (see
*Avviso of December 11, 1599, Urb. 1067, loc. cit.) ; he died on
the 13th ; on the 14th he was buried in his " capella che ha
fatto fare bellissima et sopra ogni altra bella, se bene non e
ancora finita." (*Avviso of December 15, i ^gg, loc. cit.). Cardinal
Radziwill, who died on January 21, 1600, was buried in front of
S.S. NEREO AND ACHILLEO. 517
so did Santori in Lateran Basilica.^ Cardinal Bernerio at
S. Sabina founded a chapel to St. Hyacinth, the altar of which
was consecrated on May 23rd, 1600.- Cardinal Domenico
Pinelli restored the paintings in the upper part of the central
nave of S. Maria Maggiore.^ Some relics which were dis-
covered at S. Bartolomeo all Isola'* gave Cardinal Tarugi
an opportunity for erecting a magnificent altar. The officials
of the Curia, too, such as Gabriele Bombasio and Tiberio
Cerasa, founded chapels and altars. The chapel of S. Diego,
of the Spaniard Enrico d'Errera at S. Giacomo degli Spagnuoli,
was decorated by Francesco Albani with frescoes of the life
of the saint. ^
An important work of that period was the restoration carried
out by Cardinal Baronius in his titular church, which was in
a very dilapidated state, of SS. Nereo and Achilleo, at a cost
amounting to 7,000 scudi.® This learned expert and admirer
of antique Christian art ordered that as far as possible the
original character of the building should be preserved. In
an inscription he prayed his successor to leave in its ancient
condition this little church dedicated to the holy eunuchs
Cardinal Caetani ; he had left a legacy of 20,000 scudi for the
chapel (*Avviso of January 22, 1600, Uib. 1068, /a. cit.). Cf.
also the Reisebericht, loc. cit., p. n. 362.
^ When Santori died on June 7, 1602, h^s chapel was not yet
finished ; see *Avviso of June 13, 1602, Urb. 1070, loc. cit. For
the Santori Chapel built by Onorio Lunghi see Baglione, 147;
Pascolt, II., 513. The tomb of Santori by Giuliano FinelU (see
Pascoli, II., 57 ; Passeri, 260) has a fine bust of the dead man.
=* See MuNoz, S. Sabina, Rome, 1919, 40. Cf. *Diarium P.
Alaleonis, Barb. lat. 2816, Vatican Library.
* See WiLPERT, Mosaiken, 418 n. i. Cf. Baglione, 139, 148 ;
Voss, I., 30. Cf. also Egger, Architekten Handzeioliungen, 9-10.
4 *Avviso of August 29, 1601, Urb. 1069, loc. cit.
^ See TiETZE in Jahrb. der Kunstsamml. des osterr. Kaiserhauses,
XXVI., 133, 134, 172 seq. Caterina Nobili Sforza, Contessa di
S. Flora, built S. Bernardo alle Terme between 1598 and 1600 ;
see S. Ortolani, S. Bernardo alle Terme, Rome, s.d.
* See Calenzio, Baronio, 467 seq. Cf. Baglione, 104.
5l8 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of Flavia Domitilla, a relative of the Emperor Domitian.^
The translation by Cardinal Baronius to his titular church
of the relics of these saints, which had been discovered in
S. Adriano a Campo Vaccino, took place with great solemn "ty
on Ma}^ I2th, 1597.- Three new altars, for which C. Roncalli
painted a picture, were not finished for another three years. ^
Baronius also restored the two venerable chapels at
S. Gregorio, and adorned them with paintings by Antonio
Viviano and with statues of St. Gregory I., and his mother
St. Sylvia, executed by Nicholas Cordier.* In the actual
church of St. Gregory Cardinal Salviati founded a beautiful
chapel and a magnificent altar, adorned with a picture by
Domenichino, the Prayer of Gregory I., for the miraculous
and much venerated image of the Blessed Virgin which had
spoken to St. Gregory.^ Giovan Battista Ricci of Novara
represented in the vaulting of the dome the triumph of Mary.®
A new chapel of the Madonna was erected in S. Lorenzo in
Lucina,'^ one of the many proofs of the fervent veneration of
the Mother of God in Rome at that time.^ When in January,
1594, the Pope visited the church of the Gesu, he suggested to
Cardinal Rusticucci that he should build a chapel to match
that of the Savelli.^ Towards the end of the pontificate of
Clement VITI. we are told of the grandiose plans being enter-
tained by Cardinals Sandoval and Peretti for S. Anastasia
> FoRCELLA, XL, 423 ; Baumgarten, Neue Kunde, 297.
2 See the description in the *Avviso of May 14, 1597, Urb.
1065, loc. cit. Cf. FoRCELLA, III., 53.
^ See Baglione, 290. The inscriptions in Forcella, XL, 424 ;
Orbaan, Rome onder Clemens VIIL, n. 46.
* See Baglione, 103, 115 ; Forcella, II., 122 seqq. ; Voss, II.,
500 seqq. ; Gibelli (note 6 infra), 22 seqq. Cf. V. Moschini,
S. Gregorio al Celio, Rome, s.d. 11 seq.
* See TiETZE, loc. cit., 161 seq.
* See A. Gibelli, Mem. d. chiesa dei santi Andrea e Gregorio
al Clivo Scauro, Siena, 1888, 20.
' Cf. *Avviso of August 28, 1596, Urb. 1064, II., loo. cit.
8 Cf. *Avviso of August 21, 1604, Urb. 1072, loc. cit.
'•'See *Avviso of January 8, 1594, Urb. 1062, loc. cit.
THE TRE FONTANE. 519
and the SS. Apostoli.^ Cardinal Peretti had already shown
his interest in art by his erection of the great sepulchral
monument to his uncle Sixtus V. at St. Mary Major's^
We are not surprised to learn that Cardinal Pietro Aldo-
brandini too did not allow himself to be outdone in this rivalry.
At S. Maria in Via he had a chapel painted by d'Arpino ;^
at Avignon he ordered the restoration of the church of
S. Chiara, which had been founded by one of his ancestors ;
in Rome he gave orders for the restoration and decoration of
his titular church, S. Niccolo in Carcere.* But his principal
attention was devoted to his abbey of Tre Fontane.^ The
third of the churches on that spot, S. Paolo alle Tre Fontane,
owed its erection to the Cardinal ; this was a simple building
in the form of a portico, exactly adapted to the site of the
three recently discovered springs, and which stood upon the
site of the more ancient church built in memory of the place
where the Apostle of the Gentiles had been beheaded.^ The
fagade, adorned with Doric pilasters bears the arms of the
Cardinal ; on the attic may be seen those of Clement VIIL
Inscriptions on the fagade and in the interior mention 1599
1 See *Avviso of October 9, i6o.^, which states : "II cardinal
Montalto anco si va dicendo sia rissoluto di rifar la chiesa de
SS*'^ Apostoli, opra che doveva fare Sisto V., et dicono voglia
spendere da 200™ scudi con assegnarli per la fabrica 20°^ scudi
ranno, si che sara una bellissima et gran fabrica, et competera
et superera quella del Gesu." Urb. 1072, loc. cit.
^ Cf. Vol. XXII. of this work, p. 289.
^ See Baglione, 370.
* Cf. ibid. 359, 401 ; Forcella, IV., 115.
* Cf. CiACONius, IV., 283 seqq.
^ Cf. Grisar, I., 615 ; E. Lovatelli in the Nuaua Antologta,
CLXXXII. (1914), II seqq. Dr. Stein reports in his *Reisebericht
that the springs which had once again been enclosed in marble by
Aldobrandini had the reputation of being very salutary in diseases
of body and soul : " soletque populus matutino tempore nudis
pedibus excurrere et ex devotione banc aquam ad salutem animae
potare corallisque vel rosariis columnam attingere." Cod. 1751,
the Library, Konigsburg.
520 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
as the year of the building ; a third, on the pavement, mentions
i6oi.^ Giacomo della Porta made the designs both for this
and for the second church, ^ a rotunda, which, in accordance
with a vision of St. Bernard, bears the name of S. Maria Scala
Coeh ; this had been begun by Cardinal Farnese.^ Pietro
Aldobrandini undertook its completion, and gave the high
altar and the mosaics in the tribune, which show the Madonna
being crowned by angels, surrounded by St. Bernard and other
saints, and with Clement VIII. and the founder kneeling
before them. This splendid work was executed by the
Florentine, Francesco Zucchi, from the designs of Giovanni
de' Vecchi.'* The Pope was so greatl}^ interested in the
building of S. Paolo alle Tre Fontane, begun in February,
1599,5 that he twice paid a visit to it during the following year.^
Clement VIII. also took an active part in the discoveries
which Cardinal Sfondrato, who was living a life of strict
asceticism, devoted solely to works of piety and charity,'
had made in Trastevere during the restoration of his titular
church of S. Cecilia.^ There, on October 20th, 1599, during
1 See FoRCELLA, XII., 329 seq.
2 See Baglione, 81.
' See in Forcella, XII., 335, the inscription in the interior of
the cupola of 1584.
* See Baglione, 1&2, 128.
* *" II card. Aldobrandini rissolto di risarcire la chiesa della
sua abbadia di tre fontane vi si trasferi la settimana passata con
rarchitetto per effectuarla." *Avviso of February 20, 1599,
Urb. 1067, loc. cit.
* See the *Avvisi of April 12 and October 18, 1600, Urb. 1068,
ibid.
' An *Avviso of July 23, 1597, reports that the Cardinal fasts
and prays continually. Cf. an *Avviso of March i, 1600. For
the great munificence of Sfondrato see the *Avvisi in Urb. 1065,
1067, 1068, 10 71, loc. cit.
* Cf. the accounts of Baronius (Annales ad a. 821, n. 13 seqq.)
and Bosio (Historia passionis S. Caeciliae, Rome, 1600, 153 seqq.)
with which may be read the *Avvisi of October 23 and 30,
November 10, 17 and 27, and December i, 1599 (Urb. 1067,
loc. cit.). During this year there were discovered in the course
THE BODY OF ST. CECILIA. 52I
the course of the works near the high altar, two white marble
sarcophagi came to light, in which the Pope, on the strength
of an inscription of Paschal I. in the church, came to the
conclusion that they had discovered the bones of St. Cecilia
and of SS. Valerian, Tiburtius and Maximus, who had been
converted by that noble Roman lady and martyred with her.
Sfondrato had the sarcophagi opened in the presence of
witnesses. When the cover was removed, there was seen
the cypress-wood casket, still in a good state of preservation,
in which Paschal I. in 821 had had the virgin martyr translated
from the catacomb of St. Callixtus. The Cardinal himself
opened it. The mortal remains of the martyr were found
in the same position in which they had been placed eight
centuries before. Through the silk gauze veil there shone
the dress of the saint, embroidered in gold ; at her feet were
the small cloths stained with blood, mentioned by Paschal I.
The Cardinal resolved at once to inform the Pope, who was at
Frascati, of his discovery. \A^hen he got there he found
Clement VIII. confined to his bed with a bad attack of gout,
so that the Pope, who would have liked to have gone at once
to Rome, sent Cardinal Baronius instead. The latter's report,
and that of Antonio Bosio, the indefatigable explorer of the
catacombs, tell us what happened. It may be clearly seen
from their accounts how deeply they were moved when
Sfondrato opened the casket of cypress wood, and they saw
the reverently covered body. Cecilia's stature was extra-
ordinarily small, and as nothing could be seen of her head,
it was thought that the face was turned towards the ground ;
but from a holy reverence no further investigations were made.
Bosio expresses the opinion that the saint was found in the
same position as when she had yielded her last breath, but
Baronius says nothing as to this.^
of the repairs necessitated by the inundation of the Tiber at
S. Bartolomeo allTsola, the casket containing the bones of SS.
Exuperantius and Marcelhis ; see *Avviso of December 30, 1600,
Urb. 1068, loc. cit.
^ See the criticism of the accounts of the excavations by L. de
Lacger in Bull, de litt. eccles. p. p, I'lmtiM C(it,h^ de Toulouse,
XXIV. (1923). 218 seqq.
522 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The casket was taken to a chapel in the right nave used
for the confessions of the adjoining convent of nuns ; there
the rehcs were quite saie, and could be seen through a window
by the faithful who flocked thither from all parts of Rome.
The relics were to remain exposed there, so Clement VIII.
ordered, until the feast of St. Cecilia (November 22nd). As
soon as his health permitted the Pope came to Rome, and
immediately upon his arrival, on November loth, he went
to show his veneration for the relics of the martyr.^ He gave
further proof of this by having a silver covering placed over
the cypress wood casket, at a cost of more than 4,000 gold
scudi.2 jl^g Pope refused to allow a more detailed examina-
tion," and the body was to be buried in the same place where
it had been found ; all that was taken out was a small piece
of the gold-embroidered dress and of blood-stained linen,
together with a splinter of bone from the skull, which, with
the heads of SS. Valerian, Tiburtius and Maximus, taken
from the other sarcophagus, were preserved in precious
reliquaries.*
In the meantime Sfondrato had made further excavations,
in the course of which a third sarcophagus was discovered ;
it was believed, from the inscription of Paschal I., that this
contained the bones of Popes Urban and Lucius.
Now it was evident what a change of sentiment had taken
place. When, a centur}^ before, the body of a girl belonging
to the days of antiquity, had been found on the Appian Way
1 See *Avvisi of November 6 and 10, 1599, Urb. 1067, loc. cit.
2 Bosio, loc. cit., 168 ; 4392. It is entered in the Depos. gen.
of the State Archives, Rome, on January 8 : *" E scudi 2000 di
moneta pagati per chirografo di Nostro Signore a Curtio Vanni
orefice a sui conti, dissero che hanno da servire per la cassa
d'argento per riporre il corpo di santa Cecilia ritrovato ultima-
mente, che fu fine a conque di novembre passato."
^ See Baronius, lo:. cit. n. 16.
* Cf. Bosio, loc. cit. 163, 180. The Archduchess Maria wrote
on March 29, 1604, from Graz to Cardinal Sfondrato to ask for a
relic of St. Cecilia ; see letter in Cod, Chig. L. III. 66. Vaticar^
Library.
THE CULTUS OF ST. CECILIA. 523
the Romans of the Renaissance had been filled with so great
enthusiasm that Innocent VIII. had thought it necessary to
interfere.^ Now Clement VIII. could not do enough to satisfy
the cultus of St. Cecilia. The \^outhful martyr was celebrated
in poetry,- the casket containing her relics was adorned with
candles and flowers, and the Romans flocked thither inces-
santly to venerate Cecilia and to implore her intercession.
The crowds were so great that it was necessary to call in Ihe
assistance of the Swiss Guard. Cardinal Sfondrato remained
the greater part of the da}^ in the church, where the solemn
burial took place on November 22nd, 1599. So as to prevent
any accident among the vast throng of people, the passage
of vehicles was forbidden in the Trastevere that morning.
At the appointed liour the Pope appeared, accompanied by
all the dignitaries of the court and the Roman Senate. There
were also present all the Cardinals, forty-two in number, as
well as the diplomatic representatives of France, Venice and
Savoy. The Pope went first to the chapel where the cypress
wood casket was exposed and blessed the silver coffer which
he had had made for the purpose, and which was adorned
with a short inscription and his arms. The casket was then
taken to the high altar, where Clement VIII. celebrated high
mass. The burial took place after the communion. The
Cardinal Deacons, Farnese, Aldobrandini and Cesi, assisted
by the Pope himself, carried the casket to the small confession
below. 3 There it was placed in the silver coffer, and this
^ Cf. Vol. V. of this work, p. 331 seq.
^ *In divam Caeciliam virginem martyremque (Barb. 2092,
p. 23b, Vatican Library) dated October 31, 1601, perhaps com-
posed by P. Angelo Galuzzi. The poem of Urban VIII. to
St. Cecilia, printed in Alex. Donati Senen. S.J. Carminum
volumen primum, Rome, 1625, 147 seqq. probably belongs to this
period. After xhe discovery of the body of St. Cecilia a
" compagnia " was established in her honour at S. Andrea, which
accompanied the Blessed Sacrament to the sick ; the members
wore the image of the saint on their hats ; see Totti, 86.
=* See Bosio, loc. cit. 164 seqq. Cf. the *Avviso of November 27,
1599, Urb. 1067, loc. cit., and *Diarium P. Alaleonis, Barb. lat.
2816, ibid.
524 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
was lowered into a new and larger sarcophagus of marble,^
which was closed by the Pope himself. After a short prayer
Clement VIII. returned to the altar, where the mass was
continued. The Romans flocked thither until dusk, to pray
at the new tomb, to the decoration of which, as well as to the
further adornment of the church. Cardinal Sfondrato, who
was so fond of art, continued to devote himself.
After the restoration of the roof, Sfondrato intended to
introduce a ceiling in gilt wood, but gave up this project
when the architects declared that the central nave, which was
very broad but rather low, would appear too heavy. He
therefore contented himself with adorning the old ceiling
with paintings. The walled-up windows of the central nave
were re-opened, and the frescoes which were found there were
restored, their ancient and venerable character being carefully
respected. On the other hand the two ancient ambos were
removed, and the side naves were adorned with pictures and
new marble altars, containing pictures by Roman and foreign
artists. 2
The Netherland master, Paul Bril, decorated the corridor
leading to the second chapel on the right with representations
of the saints : Francis, Sylvia, Mary Magdalene, Mary of
Egypt, Paul the Hermit, Jerome, Antony, Onofrio, Spiridion,
Eulogius and Hilary. As these were shown among rocks and
crags, Bril was able to introduce landscapes of romantic
ruggedness, which revealed that painter's great understanding
of the beauties of nature, and at the same time a change of
style. ^ This elaborate decoration was chosen for this corridor,
because it led to one of the most celebrated sanctuaries of
Rome. Here were to be found the remains, already carefully
preserved by Paschal I., of an ancient Roman bathroom, in
^ Cf. Cabrol, Diet, d'archeol., II., 2, 2772.
* See Bosio, loc. cit., 171 seqq. Cf. also Baglione, 60, 93, iii,
168, and L'Arte, X. (1907), 305.
^ See Mayer, M. e P. Brill, 29 seq. and tav. 17-22. Cf.
Gerstenberg, Die ideale Landschaftsmalerei in Italien, Halle,
1923, 73-
SHRINE OF ST. CECILIA. 525
which it was supposed that St. CeciHa had triumphantly
survived her first martyrdom (suffocation by hot steam).
Cardinal Sfondrato carefully preserved all these remains ;
the pipes from which the steam came, and the leaden channels
for the draining of the water and restored the ancient chapel,^
for which Guido Reni, who came to Rome in 1602, painted
as an altar-piece, the martyrdom of the saint. -
The Gothic marble tabernacle over the high altar of
S. Cecilia, the work of Arnolfo di Cambio, was also preserved,
as well as the medieval candlestick for the Paschal candle.
Both of these were carefully restored. The Cardinal also
sumptuously decorated the confession in front of the high
altar with many-coloured marbles, onyx, lapislazuli, and
ornaments in gilt bronze. The altar itself was richly decorated
by Stefano Maderno with candelabra, vases, lamps, six statues
of saints and two bronze angels.^ The angels are holding up a
crown over the white marble statue of St. Cecilia, which lies
in a niche of black marble immediately in front of the high
altar, as though in an open sarcophagus. In this Maderno
created a new form of altar, which was often imitated later on.*
The statue of the saint, carved in the finest marble, and almost
transparent, is one of the most celebrated and best known
of Italian works of art. The master drew his inspiration from
the legend that the saint expired in her bath-room, three days
after receiving the mortal blow of the axe. Maderno did not
therefore represent her lying as one who was dead, but reclining
on her right side, with her knees drawn up, her hands half
folded, her head covered with a veil, and her face turned
^ See Bosio, loc. cit. 1 76 seqq.
^ See Passeri, 62. Cf. Eisler in the Burlington Magazine,
1905. 318, and TiETZE in Jahrb. der Kunstsamml. des osterv.
Kaiserhauses, XXVI., 139.
s A. MuNoz, St. Maderno, in Atti e Mem. d. R. Accad. di S. Liica,
Annuario, 1913-1^, Rome, 1915, 6 seqq.
* E.g. C. Menghini for St. Martina in SS. Luca e Martina,
Antonio Giorgetti at St. Sebastian's, Ercole Ferrata at S. Anastasia,
and Giambattista Marini for St. Anne at S. Andiea della Fratte ;
cf. MuNoz, loc. cit. 9.
526 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
towards the ground, her neck showing the stroke of the
executioner's axe. Ceciha lies in the noblest simplicity, a
picture of virginal purity, hke a flower that has been plucked.^
If in the catacombs the spirit of the first centuries of Christian-
ity appeals directly to the heart of the visitor, it has nowhere
found a more sublime artistic expression than here.^
Cardinal Sfondrato, who at the end of 1600 had already
expended more than 25,000 scudi on the restoration and
decoration of the church of S. Cecilia,^ visited it almost every
^ The common view, that Mademo represented the statue in
this way, because it was as he had seen the saint at the opening
of the cypress- wood casket, is not probable. In his remarks on
the accounts of the discovery Ouentin says : " On voit par ces
textes combien il serait exagere de regarder, par example, la
statue de Maderno comme un document ; elle n'est qu'une
artistique restitution Le Cardinal Sfondrati n'a evidemment
permis a qui que se fut d'ouvrir en son absence la chasse provisoire,
ou il avait enferme et scelle le coffre de cypres contenant le corps
de sainte Cecile, et, lui present, personne ne s'est permis de
soulever les voiles qui recouvraient et peut-etre meme envelop-
paient ce corps. Personne n'a pu se rendre compte de son etat
de conservation sauf dans les grandes lignes, et Ton ignore si les
ossements seuls se sont conserves ou si les chairs dessechees y sont
restees adherentes." (Cabrol, Diet, d'archeol., II. , 2, 2736).
L. DE Lacger {loc. cit. 221 seqq.) rightly agrees with this view.
The view that in 1599 the body of St. Cecilia was found, quite
intact with the three wounds on the neck, was expressed as quite
certain in the Reisebericht of the abate Marchstaller in 1625,
printed in Cavinthia, LXXI. (1881), 307.
* Cf. MoLiTOR-WiTTMER, 1 55. See also Cantalamessa in
Arch. stor. dell' arte, V., 200 seq. Observations against the article
by Reymond in the Gas. des beaux-arts, 1892. The full value of
Maderno's work may be seen by comparing it with the painting
in which Ft. Vanni represented the finding of the saint in the
" confessio " underneath ; see Voss, II. , 514 (with illust.) ;
Brinkmann, Barockskulptur, II., 222.
^ An *Avviso of November 25, 1600, reports that : on
Wednesday the Pope said mass at S. Cecilia and greatly praised
Sfondrato for having expended more than 25,000 scudi on thg
STUDY OF CHRISTIAN ANTIQUITY. 527
day, and chose it for his place of burial.^ Clement VIII. too,
had a special predilection for it. In the latter years of his
life he regularly offered the Holy Sacrifice at the tomb of the
martyr on St. Cecilia's feast. "^ It is easy to understand this
predilection, because among the countless tombs of the saints
there is hardly any other so graceful and so touching as that
of this noble Roman scion of the family of the Cecilii.
It was no mere coincidence that, at the moment when
Baronius was reviving the study of Christian antiquity, and
when Bosio, Philip von Winghen and Ciaconius were exploring
the subterranean sepulchral city from which the universal
kingdom of the Church had sprung,^ a great-hearted Cardinal
and a Pope should have set before the e3;'es of the faithful
of the period of Christian restoration, in the revival of the
cultus of one of the most noble martyrs of Christ, an idea
drawn from the heroic days of Christendom, thus pointing out
the way by which the Church, purified in the fires of tribulation,
has ever attained to her greatest triumphs.
restoration and decoration of the church, " havendo anch'animo
di volergliene spendere deU'altri per maggiore decoro." Urb.
1068, loc. cit.
^ See Bosio, loc. cit. 182.
■^ See *Avvisi of November 22, 1603, and November 24, 1604,
Urb. 1071 and 1072, loc. cit.
^ Cf. Cabrol, Diet, d'archcol., II., i, 1085 seqq. ; III., 2801 seq.
APPENDIX
OF
UNPUBLISHED DOCUMENTS
AND
EXTRACTS FROM ARCHIVES
VOL. XXIV 34
APPENDIX.
I. DiARV OF THE MASTER OF CEREMONIES PaOLO AlALEONE
OF THE i8tk November, i593>
Feria V^ che i8 novembris 1593. In festo die dedicationis
basilicae SS. Apostolonim Petri et Pauli S.D.N.D. Clemens
Papa VIII. crucem aeneam magnam auratam, quae posita et
collocata est supra pallam magnam auratam in cacumine
S. Petri cum sacris reliquiis et Agnis Dei intus inclusis solemni
ritu benedixit intu? sacellum Gregorianum praesentibus
quinque dd. cardinalibus cum mantellettis et rochettis,
videlicet ill"^'^ dd. Alphonso Gesualdo episcopo Ostiensi,
Alexandre Medices de Florentia nuncupato tit. S. Petri ad
Vincula, Francisco Toleto tit. S. Mariae Transpontinae
presbyteris, Petro Aldobrandino S. Nicolai in Carcere et
Cynthio Aldobrandino S. Georgii nuncupato diaconis, ac
multis episcopis, praelatis et aliis Sanctis caeremoniis praece-
dentibus. Papa a suis cameris descendit per scalas sacristiae
ad sacellum Gregorianum, in quo benedicta fuit crux, indutus
stola supra mozzettam, cruce praecedente, et in porta
Gregoriani aspersit se et alios cardinales de aqua benedicta,
de more ministrante aspersorium ill'^^ d. cardinale Gesualdo.
Deinde fecit orationem ante altare dicti sacelli Gregoriani,
supra quod altare capsula argentea erat et intus reliquiae in
cruce includendae et Agni Dei et duae capsalue plumbeae,
quarum in una erant includendae reliquiae, in altera Agni
Dei. Papa facta oratione acce^sit ad altare et visis omnibus
supradictis in altare positis deposito bireto benedixit duas
capsulas plumbeas, prout dicitur in libro Pontificali, indutus
stola supra mozzettam. Benedictis capsulis inclusit reliquias
intus unam ex capsulis plumbeis videlicet de ligno s™^® crucis
D. N. lesu Christi, de reliquiis S. Andreae Apostoli, S. lacobi
maioris Apostoli, S. Clementis Papae et Martyris, S. Callisti
Papae et Martyris, S. Sixti Secundi Papae et Martyris, S.
loannis I Papae et Mart3Tis cum tribus granis incensi. Deinde
' See supra, p. 470.
532 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
inclusit in altera capsula Agnos Dei. Hoc confecto Papa
discendens ab altare venit ante crucem collocatam extra
altare a cornu Evangelii in angulo, quam benedixit, prout in
libro Pontificali habetur, cum eisdem caeremoniis notatis et
descriptis in dicto libro Pontificali. Benedicta cruce Papa
suis manibus collocavit capsulam plumbeam cum reliquiis
intus inclusis in brachio dextero crucis et capsulam plumbeam
cum Agnis Dei intus inclusis in brachio sinistro crucis. Deinde
Papa genuflexus adoravit crucem et illam lacrimando osculatus
est. Post Papam adorarunt crucem i\V^^ dd. cardinales
supradicti, episcoli, praelati et alii. Demum Papa apud altare
deposita stola ac mozzetta lavit manus et accepit paramenta
pro missa lecta dicenda, quam dixit in altare dicti sacelli
Gregoriani de die festo dedicationis, praesentibus omnibus
supradictis. Absoluta missa oravit ante altare mains S** Petri
sub quo condita sunt corpora SS. Apostolorum Petri et Pauli.
Deinde ascendit superius ad suas cameras per eandem viam,
qua venit. Indulgentia non fuit concessa, quia in basilica
S. Petri hodie est plenaria. De libro servivit in benedictione
capsularum et crucis r°^"^ d. archiepiscopus Montis Regalis et
de candela episcopus Cassanensis mduti mantellettis et
rochettis. Crux benedicta fuit collocata supra pallam in
cacumine cuppae magnae S. Petri circa horam 21 et fuerunt
pulsatae campanae dictae basilicae S. Petri sonarunt tubycines
et timpanistae et fuerunt exoneratae bombardae in arce
S. Angeli et in platea S. Petri, et canonici et capitulum
basilicae S. Petri cantarunt hymnum, Vexilla Regis prodeuni,
dum superius crux ferebatur et trahebatur, et deinde hymnum,
Te Deum, etc. Quos hymnos cantores dictae basilicae
cantarunt praesente toto clero S. Petri.
[Barb. 2815, p. 326 ss. Vatican Librar}^]
2. Statement from Sigismund, King of Poland, to Pope
Clement VIII. ^
15 94, March 8, Upsala.
Sedis Ap'^'' autoritati tanto nos plus debere fatemur, quanto
maioribus beneficiis prae caeteris orbis christ. principibus
ab ea auctos nos esse cognoscimus ; etenim cum in turbulen-
tum regni Poloniae statum nostri initium imperii incidisset
subditisque nostris factionibus misere distractis summa rei in
> See supra, pp. 97, 98, 100.
APPENDIX. 533
lubrico versaretur, irritatis praesertim tot potentissimorum
prjncipum animis, id tandem Sedis Ap. beneficio, prudentia et
dexteritate S^*^ V. consecuti sumus, ut sublatis turbis atque
discordiis, pacato atque tranquillo regni statu potiremur ;
longum vero esset recensere, quae ac quanta beneficia post-
modum ufficia ab eadem S. Sede per legates in nos derivata
sunt.
For this reason he looks upon it as his duty to defend the
Holy See and the Faith. He has not shrunk from the difficult
journe}^ and it m^akes no difference to him that he has not
accomplished more, and this he wishes to tell you. Quam-
primum in hoc nostrum regnum appulimus, deprehendimus
inter praecipuos regni ordines non dubitanter coniuratum,
mortem se omnes malle appetere, quam publicum cath.
religion is usumi atque exercitium admittere, quod temporis
progresau semper magis magisque apparuit. Cum vero rem
serio essemus aggressi, non solum de regnis sed etiam de vita
cepimus periclitari, enimvero aperte nobis denunciarunt,
nisi eorum postulatis satislieret, se unanimes ab obedientia
et fide nostra discessuros ac nobis regressum Stockholmiam
prohibituros, et si dux Carolus, quem auctorem suorum con-
siliorum et incensorem habuerunt omnes, nostrum Stock-
holmiam reditum antevertere non posset, facile tamen futurum
tum propter anni tempus, tum propter religionis nostrae
insectationem, nos omni commeatu prohibere, neque hie fuit
modus seu meta audaciae, verum in eo processerunt perfidia,
ut carceres et vincula nobis, Polonis quos nobiscum adduximus
interitum, catholicis Suecis extremum supplicium minitaren-
tur. Inter haec tamen parum regni iacturam maerebamus
neque tanti aestimabamus vitae periculum, quin conscientiam
nostram haberemus potiorem, sed multa ac varia animo nostro
obversabantur. Explicatum nobis imprimis fuit a Polonis
publicum regni Poloniae detrimentum atque vicinam cladem
propter intestinas factiones et circumfusas tot barbarorum
copias, consortis nostrae reginae aefate, sexu, vitae periculo
non potuimus non commoveri, legati apost*^i, quem propter
3tem y g^ ipsius in nos merita unice diligimus, certissimum
vitae discrimen ob oculos versabatur aliaque non spernen-
darum rerum momenta, suis quae ponderibus examinavimus,
ob quae consultius videbatur tempori tantisper cedere, donee
Deo volente opportunior occasio rei gerendae oblata fuerit.
534 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Quam ob rem petimus a S*® V^ diligenter et obnixe, ut nos
habeat excusatos et simul apud omnes christ. principes
excuse! atque defendat ; remedia nonnulla quae huic malo
opportune adhiberi poterunt, excogitavimus, quae iudicio et
censurae S^J^ V. libeiiter submittimus, et imprimis quidem
an ea quae vi et minis totque propositis periculjs extorserunt,
quamprimum mare navigationi apertum fuit nee amplius
propter anni tempus hie inclusi et ab omni externo auxilio
exclusi erimus, revocanda sint ; deinde an quod auctoritate
nostra et accurata tractatione effici non potuit, id vi et armis
in reditu nostro tentare debeamus, quod quidem si S^^^ V^®
placuerit, obnixe petimus, ut nobis sua auctoritate et opera
praesto esse velit, quo necessaria auxilia ad hoc periiciendum
a regno Poloniae obtinere possimus ; praeterea anne hie
ahqufd moHendum, antequam denuo reversi sedem nostram
atque imperium magis stabiliremus, nam interea illorum
impetus facile defervescet et aditum nobis ad rem opportune
gerendam muniemus. In hisce omnibus ad consiHum et
auctoritatem S**^ V^® recurrimus. . .
Interea si in tractatione pacis cum Moscis ad opem et
auxihum Polonorum recurrerint Sueci, quod facturi videntur,
denegabitur illis omnino, nisi prius hberum atque pubHcum
rehgionis exercitium se inter regnum admissuros spoponderint.
Curabimus etiam summo studio et contentione, ut nemo ad
regni administrationem admittatur, qui non prius sancte
receperit se permissurum introduci rehgionis nostrae exer-
citium. luvenes praeterea ahquot e nobihtate mehoris spei e
regno emittemus, ut in pura fide educentur ad cath. rehgionis
messem, quam ahquando uberem et copiosam speramus ; iis
vero qui iam hie sunt cathohci, non modo praesidio erimus,
sed etiam auxiho, ut nihil ad convenientem vitae sustenta-
tionem desiderare possint ; dedimus iam illis assicurationem
rehgionis catholicae, cuius exemplar S*^ V^*^ misimus una cum
exemplari protestationis, quam contra haereticos fecimus. —
Egli si raccomanda al Papa.
[Orig. Doria Archives, Roma.]
3. Germanico Maiaspina to Cardinal Cinzio
Aldobrandini.^
1594, March 8, Upsala.'
Hanno finalmente li heretici estorto da S. M*^ I'assicura-
tione intorno al negotio della religione, et e cosi impia et
' See supra, p. 99.
2 Deciphered on April 20th.
APPENDIX. 535
esorbitante, come V. S. ill™^ vedera dalla copia di essa segnata
con la lettera A, che, se bene e poi ceguita la coronatione,
et che porcio molti giudicando che sia stabilito il dominio
politico, stimano assai che per mezzo di essa coronatione si
siano rotti li disegni che con le antecedenti mie insinuai u
V. S. ill™*^, dil duca Carlo et delli senatori ; et tengono per
fermo che non vi era altro modo, si per evitare la libidine
del dominare dell'uno e dell'altri, come anco per assicurare
questo regno in persona cattolica ; et si persuadeno che
confirmato che sara I'imperio di questa Maesta, sia per essere
la sollevatione del Cattolicismo tanto maggiare quanto hora
e stata tal oppressione e tanto maggiore il resentimento di
questo Seren°i° concro li heretici quanto e stata maggior la
violenza e per conseguenza I'ingiuria ; et che puoco si e
potuto perdere dove niente si puo, et sia per aportare notabile
sollevamento all'affetto et turbolento stato della Christianita.
Tuttavia havendo S. M*^ fatta uu'attione, della quale non
se ne puo adurre essempio alcuno, et essendo pero stato lo
scandalo grande et il pregiuditio della nostra santa religioiie
non inferiore, pare a me che Sua M*^^ non possa restar sicura
di non haver irritata I'ira et indignatione di Dio contro di se
et che essendo illeciti et condennati li mezzi tenuti per assi-
curarsi del politico, sia per essere puoco stabile et durabile un
dominio confirmato di questa maniera, et che, havendo levata
I'anima al corpo, sia per restare un cadavere fetente et sotto-
posto a corruttione . . .
There then follows a detailed account of events, which will
lead to this effect ; the principal point states :
... II giorno seguente poi, radunatosi insieme tutli li
Ordini, mandorno due de piu favoriti familiari di Sua Maesta,
nob'li Svedesi, ad intimare a S. M*^^ che, se lei non si risolveva
a sottoscrivere a tutte le petitioni loro, che fra tre hore sareb-
bono venuti tutti li Ordini a levarle la obedienza, et se bene li
mandati non soggiongevano altro, tuttavia non mancavano
di quelli che minacciavano a S. M*^ che non solamente ella
non potrebbe ritonar a Stocolmo, ma che la sarebbe stata
incarcerata ; per il che Sua M^^ chiamati li tre senatori
Pollacchi, li mando dalli padri Giesuiti, a quali proposero il
caso tanto pericoloso, che, se bene il confessore della regina
era sempre stato del mio parere, non dimeno, vedendo cosi
risoluto il confessore del re, non ardi di opponersi al suo parere ;
onde non solamente in viva voce il confessore di Sua M**
536 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
disse che poteva fare cio che gli heretici dimandavano, ma
diede anco in scritto il voto suo et cio fu fatto senza mia
participatione, anzi stetti due giorni senza saper cosa alcuna di
quello clie era seguito. Dopo il confessore del re si e scusato
meco, dicendo che non gli fu dato se non tre hore di tempo a ris-
pondere. lo, come quello che, havendo in Germania osservato
il stile delli heretici, non ho conosciuto pericolo di qualita
havrei desiderato che Sua M*^ havesse risposto alii due man-
dati, che Sua M*^non voleva in modo alcuno fare attione cosi
di diretto contro la sua conscienza, et die li Ordini fussero
venuti a lor posta, perche forsi non sarebbono andati, o,
quando pure fussero andati, Sua Maestra era a tempo a far
pur quello che fece ; ma perche e difficile in simili casi far
certo giuditio, io non ardisco di condennare ne riprendere
alcuno, e mi consolo di non essere stato ne autore ne promotore
ne consapevole de simili consigli. Segui poi il primo del
corrente la coronatione fatta da uno di questi vescovi, insieme
coU'untione fatta con il semplice balsamo ungendo il fronte et
polsi di S. M^^ ; ma la seren™^ regina non volse esser unta.
Permise S. M*^ d'esser coronata et unta per mano d'un ministro
heretico, perche fu avertita che Carlo voleva subito o dopo la
partita, secondo li fosse tornato commodo, far dichiarare dalli
ministri nullo I'atto della coronatione ; ma siccome noi siamo
restati afflitti, cosi esso e restato chiarito, perche non si poteva
mai persuadere che Sua M^^ fosse per accettar la corona con
simili conditioni. Hora egli ha totalmente deposta ogni
speranza ; quelle resolutioni, che Sua M*^ ha prese, V. S. ill°^^
le vedra dalla lettera sua a N™ Sig""®, et dalle proteste et
dechiarationi fatte pure dalla M*^ Sua, le quali perche con-
tengono cose di molta qualita e conseguenze per li affari di
qua, essendo necessaria secretezza grande, mi ha Sua M*^
ricercato che io le faccia mettere in cifra, il che ho fatto
volentieri. Si stara aspettando il conseglio che Nostro
Signore dara a Sua M*^ et accio V. S. ill™*^ pegga le promesse
che Sua M*^ fece, quando parti di qua per Polonia, et furono
accettate et sottoscritte dalli Ordini del regno, invio la scrit-
tura che sara con questa alia lettera M, per la quale si potra
comprendere, che, quanto al particolare della Polonia, si e
guadagnato, poiche della Estonea non se n'e fatta mentione,
et d'altre cose di non poca consideratione.
[Borghese III., 91 A B, p. 54, Papal Secret Archives.]
APPENDIX. 537
4. Cardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini to the Nuncio
Malaspina.i
1594, April 30, Rome.
" . . . Le dico che essendo S. M*^ del re stata indotta da
evidente necessita alle cose seguite, N. S^'^ con le viscere di
vero amore paterno non solo la scusa et la benedice, ma la
compassiona grandemente et confida nella divina misericordia
che non havendo peccato la volonta sara facile I'ottener
perdono. La costanza della ser^ regina in non volersi lasciar
ungere in quella profana maniera et le lagrime sparse per dolore
dell'offese che vedava fare a Dio, meritano lode grandissima
et haveranno dal cielo li debiti premii."
[Copy, Borghese II., 68, Papal Secret Archives.]
5. Cardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini to the Cardinal-
Legate Madruzzo.2
1594, May 2, Rome.
La divina misericordia va moltiplicando i servi della religione
cattolica in Olanda di maniera che se ne sperano ogni di
progressi maggiori, massime che gia pare che gli heretici
stessi, confuse nelle loro discordie et dalla Christiana patienza
de nostri, attentino quel rigore di persecutione che solevano
usar contro sacerdoti che secretamente andavano pascendo
I'anime con i santissimi sacramenti, se bene in niun tempo si
e veduta quivi la fierezza che s'e provata in altre nationi pui
prive d'humanita.
Hora quelli che travagliano in quella vigna, tornano a
ricordare il bisogno che hanno d'un vescovo che secretamente
versasse fra di loro. Ne N. S. resteria di consolari purche si
trovasse soggetto a proposito, poiche D. V. Cauchio, che pareva
idoneo, ricuso di sopporsi a quelle fatiche. Se a lei occorrera
consiglio o persona atta, ce ne scriva ; qua intendono il parere
di mons. di Tricarico, per le cui mani sono passate quelle
faccende . . .
In the meantime we send as catechist " Padre Fra Pietro
Hestelio," a Fleming of the order of St. Dominic " versato
nel paese et et nell'opera medesima." He displays zeal, he
has r2ceived faculties from the Inquisition ; the Cardinal
recommends him.
[Orig. Cod. Campori, 214, Este Library, Modena.]
' See supra, p. 99.
? See svpra, p, 4,
538 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
6. Germanico Malaspina to Cardinal Cinzio
Aldobrandini.i
1594, August 15, Di Nave.
Ill^io et rev^o sigr patron mio col™^.
Le infermita di questo regno nel politico et spirituale si
sono andate successivamente scoprendo tali che, come suol
alle volte accadere nelli corpi ripieni di humori che il rimedio
che si usa per provedere a una parte ne genera delli altri piu
pernitiosi et di maggior pericolo, cosi quelle medicine che
questo ser°io re e andato applicando hora per conservare il
politico, hora per introdurre il spirituale, non hanno sempre
fatta quella operatione in bene che il zelo et la prudenza di
Sua M^^ ricercava, anzi quel rimedio cosi commendato da
alcuni politici Polacchi, di concedere le cose desiderate intorno
al negotio della religione, non ha sminuito, ma accresciuto li
disegni dell'heretici nel politico. Onde e degno di molta lode
questo Ser™° havendo stabilito in assai buona forma il politico
et sollevato in qualche parte I'afflitto stato della religione, come
nel foglio a parte V. S. 111°^^ intendera. Ma e bene stato in
questa trattatione cosa notabile et degna di posterita il vedere
questo buon re, difeso solamente dalla mae«ta regia, rimanere
per ogni altro rispetto esposto aH'ambitione d'un zio potente
et di natura temeraria et fascinato da quel condennato et
seditioso seme di Calvino, et alia discretione d'una nobilta
che a guisa di fiera selvaggia usa ad essere ritenuta in un
serraglio, uscitane fuori recalcitra per non ritornarvi et il
resto de sudditi, se bene di natura pacati, agitati pero de
queste furie infernali de predicanti, non hanno mai dato
argumento alcuno di ricognoscere se non in parole per loro
vero signore questa Maesta, et percio, si come quanto piu e
stata ardua questa negotiatione et per rispetto di questo
regno hereditario, dove la massa e tutta corrotta et tutti gli
ordini alieni dal loro re, et per causa dell'elettivo sottopo'^to
a varie pratiche, il quale per haver prefisso, se bene ragione
volmente, il tempo del ritorno in Polonia, ha in un certo-
moda suministrato armi a questo altro, con le quali potesse
offendere questo ser™*' re, cosi a questo tempo et nelle con-
gionture che si ritrova lo stato della Christianita, niuna cosa
era piu preclara ne piu gloriosa, quanto conservare I'elettivo
et acquistare questo altro senza strepito ne tumulto, et con
' See supra, p. 98, 102.
APPENDIX. 539
la patienza et con la industria et particolarmente con la pieta
rendere vani li conati delli adversarii. Et in vero deve essere
desiderato da questa Maesta I'accrescimento della presente
grandezza, che conservara con I'aiuto di Dio volontariamente,
che quella che hanno mantenuta li suoi predecessor! con la
violenza. Et se bene non rimangono qua gli huomini con-
sideratori delle cose future liberi dal sospetto, che nell'absentia
di Sua M*'^ le cose ji siano per mutare in peggio, tuttavia
voglio sperare che la opinione del cancelliere di Polonia sia
per verificarsi, cioe che Sua M*^ sara piu obedita et stimata
resedendo in Polonia che non e stata mentre si e fermata qua,
perche, ^e bene sarebbe temerita il negare che siniil attione
non sia sottoposta a varii pericoh, nondimeno non credo che
sia degna di riprensione quesca Maesta, se non la ha regolata
come se tutti li pericoli havessero a succedere, sperando nella
Providenza Divina che non verra innanzi tutto quello di male
che puo accadere, anzi teniamo per cosa indubitata che non
saranno cosi congionti questi suditi a una ribellione manifesta,
come sono stati congionti con consegli et machinationi occulte.
Ouesto ho voluto con ogni humilta significare a V. S. ill°^^
accioche lei veda avanti quello che scrivo in altra forma che
Sua M^^ crede di haver data tal direttione al governo di questo
regno et havere incominato il negotio della religione di tal
maniera, et havere misurato et calculato quello che a lei
conveniva quanto al temporale et spirituale, che intorno al
primo tiene che la ritentione de I'uno et I'altro regno seguira ;
et nel secondo si persuade Sua M*^ d'havere gettati cosi buoni
fondamenti che Sua Beaf^^ puo restare consola a per I'augu-
mento che sotto il suo pontificate vedra deli'honore et gloria
di Dio. lo, 111°^° Sig^®, se ben conosco che si deve suspendere
I'intelletto nel fare giuditio della racolta del seminalo da noi
insin'tanto che un' altra volta si apra il mare, essendo peri-
colosa cosa il fidarsi della fede di coloro che non I'hanno
osservata a Dio, nondimeno non posso contenermi di non
sentire molta consolatione et di non rendere alia D'vina
Maesta gratie infinite per il favore ricevuto d'havere, senza
incorrere in tragedie, sostentata la carica di que.=;ta mia fontione
aquilonare con dignita, et che nella promotione et direttione
di cosi difficile, varia et odiosa trattatione la confidentia di
queste Maesta verso di me, non solo non si sia sminuita, ma
augumentata, et che li signori Polacchi habbjno a conoscere
540 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
che quanto al ritorno di Sua Maesta si sia proceduto con loro
bona fide, per il che, non come vittorioso di questa, diro cosi,
guerra d'heretici, ma come reconoscitore in qualche parte
delli beneficii divini, ho eretto il vessillo di s^^ Chiesa et le
armi di N''^ Sig'^*' in questo mar Baltico, accioche, havendomi
questo Ser™° consignata la nave generale dell'armata, in essa
risplendesse quel stendardo che meritamente in ogni, luogo
deve essere preposto a tutti gli altri . . .
Di nave il giorno dell'Assuntione 15 agosto 1594.
[Address :] Al sig"" Card^® S. Giorgio. Ger'^'° vescovo di
S, Severo.
[Borghese III., 91 A B, p. 152, Papal Secret Archives.]
7. Instruction by L. Taverna for his Successor in the
Venetian Nuntiature, Antonio Maria Graziani.^
15 96. March .30, Venice.
. . . Una delle piu importanti cure che habbi il Nuntio
qua e il tribunal della s. Inquisizione ... Si rauna tre volte
la settimana cioe il martedi, il giovedi, il sabato ; in esso sono
capi et giudici il Nuntio, il Patriarca et I'lnquisitore. V'inter-
vengono pero I'auditore del Nuntio, il vicario del Patriarca
et il commissario del s. Officio, ch' e frate eletto dall'Inquisitore
et hanno voto consultivo. Vi assistono anche tre senatori
principali nominati dall'ecc. senato per dar il braccio secolare
quando bisogna fare qualche cattura o altra esecutione. lo
per I'ordine espresso datomi da N. S"^® prima che partessi di
Roma non ho mai mancato d'andare a questo tribunale se
non il sabato per essere quel giorno ordinariamente occupato
in scrivere, se ben anco in esso si e atteso ordinariamente ad
esaminare i rei o testimonii riservandosi poi il fare il decreto et le
risolutioni martedi et giovedi accio vi fossimo tutti presenti
importando assai la presenza del Nuntio per I'autorita dell'
offitio, per il rispetto che gl'hanno li clarissimi assistenti et
per esser li Nuntii per il piu di professione legale, della quale
non sono il Patriarca et I'lnqusitore. Pero sara gran servitio
di Dio benedetto o di S. S*^ che V. S. R. ci vada quanto piu
spesso potra et procuri con la prudenza et destrezza sua di
mantenere la giurisdittione et autorita di de+to tribunale in
che li bisognera essere oculatissima. Giovera anco assai il
tenere buona intelligenza con il p. Inquisitore essendo vigilante,
' See supra, pp. 153, 156, 214, 222.
APPENDIX. 541
assiduo, di grande integritci, molto intelligente et prattico in
questi negotii oltra la notitia che potra dare delle cose di
Venetia, delle quali e molto informato per esservi stato luiigo
tempo . . .
Quando s'ha da sententiare diffinitivamente in qualche cosa
d'importanza si sogliono chiamare quattro altri consultori, due
canonisti et due theologi ch'habbino pero notitia de'canoni
et doppo esservi uditi tutti li voti consultivi il Nuntio, il
Patriarca et I'lnquisitore pronuntiano come li pare che
ricerchi il giusto et I'honesto. In tempo mio non mi ricordo
che sia mai stata differenza tra noi Ire, mas se vi nasce=.se li
voti di due prevaleriano . . .
Quando venni a Venetia li regolari vivevano con tanta
licenza et dissolutione ch'era grandissima vergogna et scandalo.
I have attempted a reform, but it is necessary to carry it on.
By order of tlie Pope I have driven out two apostates of the
" minimi conventuali, Fra Paolo della Pergola et un Fra
Fabritio Napolitano," they are now living as exiles and have
vainly tried to stir up the government against the Pope. Fra
Paolo is still in " questi contorni," he hopes after my departure
to be able to remain : the nuncio must see that Fra Paolo is
punished.
There continue " differenze di giurisdittione " between the
bishops and the magistrates. I have always upheld ecclestical
jurisdiction.
[Copy. Tstruzioni I., 11 seq., Graziani Archives, Citta di
Castello.]
8. Lelio Arrigoni to the Duke of Mantua. ^
15 9G, June 2 9, Rome.
. . . Nelle riforme che d'ordine di N. S. si vanno tuttavia
facendo d'infinite cose, et particolarmente intorno alia stampa,
annullando molte opere et altre sottomettendo a nuova cor-
retione, come appare per il nuovo indice, intendo che sihabbia
a sospendere I'opera di Merlino^ la quale per I'honore che
apporta a cotesta citta di onde e venuta et per esser anco
stata fatica assai virtuosa, potrebbe forsi essere desiderata
viva da V. A., et perche in tal caso I'autorita sua appresso
S. B°^' et questi riformatori sarebbe potente a sostenerla che
' See supra, p. 217.
* " Folengo " : see Rfusch, Index, I., 391.
542 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
non fosse lacerata affatto, ho voluto scriverlene affine se nell'
A. V. fusse pensiero che percio se ne facesse qualche ufficio,
resti servita di comandarlo . . .
[Orig. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.]
9. Pope Clement VIII. to the Inquisitor Antonio de
Matos de Noronha, Bishop of Elvas.^
1596, September 19, Rome.
Almost ever}/ day there came to Rome Portuguese, so-called
neo-Christians converted from Judaism, who witness to the
diversity of these neo-Christians ; some keep the faith in-
violate and in its entirety, while others call themselves
Christians hypocritically, but adhere to the superstitions
of their forefathers ; they hate the true Christians, their
fellow-countrymen, and seek by calumnies to involve them
in their own condemnation when they are punished by the
Inquisition. The true Christians complain that besides being
thus thrown into prison, and examined by the Inquisition
" per interrogatoria suggestiva," being thus trapped they
are compelled to admit things which they have not done.
We warn you to admonish the inquisitors and the judges of
the Inquisition to proceed in accordance with legitimate
evidence, and not upon false depositions, and that " omnino
a suggestionibus ac captiosis interrogationibus abstineant."
[Brevia, Arm. 40, t. 40, n. 379, Papal Secret Archives.]
10. Avviso DI Roma of 23 July, 1597. *
The Pope goes almost every mornjjig to a church, thus on
Sunday to the Rotonda, where the canons showed him " le
molte necessita, in che si trova quella machina et particolar-
mente la cuppola, la quale e talmente dall'antichita disfatta,
che quando piove, tutta la chiesa si riempie d'acqua, suppli-
candola pero a voler compatire alia lor'poverta, onde la
S. S. si mostro prontissimo a un'opra tanto pia havendovi di
gia destinato un'architetto, che vegga il bisogno, et in somma
dicesi, che si ricoprira la cuppola di piombo, et si abbellira
dentro de bellissime cappelle, et di fuori alia porta si fara
un'cancello di ferro et molte pietre di fino marmo, che stavano
sotterrate in quel porticale, son state discavate per condurle a
' See supra, p. 199.
' See supra, pp. 478, 481.
APPENDIX. 543
S. Gio. Laterano in servitio della nova cappella, che S. S.
fa fare in quella basilica con notabilissinia spesa."
(Orig. Urb. 1065, p. 439, Vatican Library.]
II. Pope Clement VIII. to the Prince-Elector of Treves,
JOHANN von ScHONENBERG.I
1597, September 27, Rome.
Venerabilis frater, salutem et apostolicam benedictionem.
Cathob'cae Ecclesiae, cui divjna bonitas nullis Nostris meritis
infirmitatem Nostram praeesse voluit, prodesse etiam qua-
cunque ratione, Deo iuvante, possumus, valde cupientes,
banc quoque cogitationem suscepimus ut Vetera oecumenica
concilia in Nostra Vaticana typographia quam emendatissime
imprimantur ; quorum quanta sit in eadem Ecclesia Dei
auctoritas atque utilitas, fraternitas Tua non ignorat, et iam
prima ilia quattuor, quibus tamquam quattuor Evangeliis
venerationem adhibendam esse, magnum Ecclesiae Romanae
lumen, sanctus Gregorius summus pontifex et doctor egregius
docuit, non mediocri piorum et literatorum hominum labore
emendata sunt, undique tam graecis quam latinis conquisitis
ac collatis libris, et eodem studio in aliorum eiusmodi con-
ciliorum emendatione diligenter iussu Nostro incumbetur.
Interea relatum Nobis est in bibliotheca nobilis ist^us metro-
politanae ecclesiae vetustos aliquot conciliorum codices
manuscriptos inveniri, qui magno usui esse poterunt ad banc
quam molimur editionem, in prim is vero sextam synodum
integram grandioribus litteris in membrana scriptam, synodum
item Chalcedonensem eadem forma, volumen etiam conciliorum
diversorum et decretales epistolas Romanorum Pontificum
priscorum. Ex quorum sane codicum collatione multa ad
publicam ultilitatem depromi posse speramus. Quare a Tua
fraternitate petimus, ut eosdem libros ad Nos transmittendos
cures, quod Te et dilectos filios canonicos et capitulares
eiusdem metropolitanae ecclesiae, ad quos etiam litteras
damus, libenter facturos confidimus, quod vestra erga banc
Sanctam Sedem perspecta pietas et devot^o Nostraque erga
vos paterna caritas merito poslulat. Hac quidem in re quid
spectemus vides : solam Dei gloriam et catholicae fidei, quam
sacra concilia, rite convocata, Spiritu Sancto auctore docue-
runt, propagationem quaerimus. At tam praeclarum opus
• See supra, p. 438.
544 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
et fraternitatem Tuam et canonicos convenire, vobis et
ecclesiae isti honorificuni est et Nobis pergratum erit, quemad-
modum Tibi copiosius exponet venerabilis frater episcopus
Auxerensis/ Nuntius Noster Apostolicus, cui ut fidem
cumulate habeas a Te petimus.
Datum Romae apud S. Marcum sub annulo piscatoris, die
27 Septembris 1597, pontificatus Nostri anno sexto.
[Brevia, Arm. 44, t. 41, n. 22, Papal Secret Archives.]
12. Inscription at the Portico of the Cathedral of
S. Maria in Civita Castellana.^
Clemens VIII P. O. M., qui octo praecipuis S. R. E. cardi-
nalibus comitatus poiitis molem super Tiberim inter Veyentes
et Sabinos a Sixto V fe. rec. olim deliberatam modo suo iussu
et acre constructam oculata fide exploraturus ad Veyos
divertit et in arce a Petro Aldobrandino eiusdem Smi ex
frate nepote card, ampliss. eiusdem civitatis gub. splen-
didissime receptus semel et iterum tranquille pernoctavit ;
interea cum summa lenitate magistratus ad iustitiam colendam
patritiosque ad rite et recte vivendum adhortatus proventibus
archivi et damni dati nuncupatis officiis communitati con-
donatis pia loca eleemosinis fovit superque nonnullos cives
carceribus et exilio in caput mancipatus paterne misertus
omnes libertate facile donavit, cathedralem porro ecclesiam
re sacra ad aram maiorem mira cum pietate peracta bis
illustravit et plenaria indulgentia in festo d. Georgii adventus
sui die auspicatissima quotannis cumulatissime ditavit,
populum tandem pre [sic] illius recessu moestum et solicitum
pia cum benedictione complexus itinere in pace sumpto
foelix recessit a. d. 1597.
Sim. Petronio I. U. D. lo. D. Bu. et Blu. Caio conservatori-
bus curan.
13. Report of G. Malaspina on the situation in Sweden. ^
Relatione dello stato spirituale e ploitico del regno di Svetia
di cio che segui quando di re ando a pigliare il possesso di
esso regno, et come di nuovo vi si rimpianto la fede cattolica
del beneficio che puo ricevere la Christianita della congiuntione
' Coi'iolano Garzadoro, bishop of Ossero.
» See supra, pp. 490, 491.
» See supra, pp. 88, 97, 98, 100, 104, 105, 106.
APPENDIX. 545
della Svetia con la Polonia, della provincia della Finlandia
a'confini del Mosco, del porto di Calmar chiave del mar
Baltico, del porto di Elsburg fuori dello stretto di Dania.
Gustavo che fu avo del ser™° re di Polonia, doppo di havere
con molto valore et gloria liberato il regno di Svetia, patria
sua, dalla tirannide di Cristerno re di Dania, et fattosi di
private cittadino sebene d'antica et nobile famiglia, di consenso
et applauso de'popoli re di Svetia, et ridotto il regno di elettivo
hereditario, oscuro lo splendore delle sue gloriose operationi con
una nota d'infamia perpetua, poiche mosso non tanto da depra-
vata coscienza quanto da timore di non poter sostenere con le
tenue entrate che alii re eletti di Svetia,erano assignate la dignitci
del grado dentro del regno et di fuori difendersi da Cristerno,
emulo et inimico suo, applico a se tutte I'entrate ecclesiastiche
del suo regno, et perche se i suoi sudditi fossero rimasti cattolici,
non havrebbono permesso che havesse violate il giuramento
che fece quando come cattolico fu ricevuto per re, di conservare
et protegere I'ordine eccP" et regolare, per potere esseguire
questo suo depravato desiderio apostato dalla fade catt^^ et
abbraccio la dannata setta di Lutero, et con diverse diaboliche
arti, indusse la semplice plebe (dalla quale dipendono in gran
parte le deliberationi che in quel regno si prendono) a seguire
i vestigi suoi, di modo ch'egli pote sicuramente occupare i beni
ecclesiastici. Successe a Gustavo Enrico suo figlio primogenito
il quale fu anch'e?so infetto di heresia, ma non gia di moderati
costumi come Gustavo poiche fu superbo, crudele et precipi-
toso. Per impieta faceva un'asino carico di sale a piedi
d'una montagna erta et senza via per salirvi sopra et egli era
distinto con un bastone in mano che batteva il detto asino et
interpretava detta sua impresa nella seguente forma, che
I'asino cenno i sudditi, il sale le gravezze, la montagna
significava che il suddito deve essere forzato a fare anco
quello che haveva dell'impossibile per mezzo del bastone.
Costui carcero Giovanni suo fratello duca di Fiiilandia et
stando prigione insieme con la moglie, sorella del re Sigismondo
Augusto et figliuolo della regina Bona, dotata di singolar
pieta et prudenza, nacque il presente re di Polonia et in
poverta tale che non havendo la madre con che fasciarlo,
fece di una camisa fascie. Suoleva Enrico andare alia carcere
con animo di far morire Giovanni suo fratello insieme con la
moglie et figlio, ma gionto ad essa carcere non solo non
VOL. XXIV 35
546 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
effettuava la sua mala intentione, ma si raccomandava al
fratello dicendo : So, che tu sarai re et io tuo prigione, habbimi
per raccomandato. Et non fu talso profeta perche Giovanni
con I'aiuto di Carlo terzo fratello et duca di Sudermania usci
di carcere et fece prigione Enrico et esso fu creato re morendo
poi Enrico in carcere. Fu Giovanni di natura incostante et
varia, ma ingenuo et regendo esso in Svetia fu eletto il figliuolo
re di Polonia, et perche egli era in secreto cattolico sicome al
Nuntio I'a affirm.ato il re suo figliuolo, uso ogni industria
perche il figliuolo ritornasse mentre esso viveva in Svetia,
affine di dichiararsi apertamente cattolico et ridurre il regno
ad abbracciare essa fede, ne inclinava che il figliuolo ritenesse
la Polonia, ma stimava essere piu spediente preferire
I'hereditario regno all'elettivo. Et perche quando il seT^° re
di Polonia si abboco in Revaglia col padre, i senatori Svedesi
che havevano havuto odore di questa intentione di Giovanni,
furono causa che il re di Polonia non passasse in Svetia,
sdegnato li privo della dignita, confisco loro le facolta et li
mando in esilio. Morse poi il re Giovanni et con estremo
dolore del figliuolo morse hereticamente. Afferma la M*^ Sua
che s'essa si fosse ritrovata presente haverebbe la M*''^ di suo
padre fatto fine cattolico et il regno si sarebbe ridotto alia
cognitione della vera fede. Diede il ser™° re parte alii senatori
di Polonia della morte del padre, del desiderio che mostravano
i sudditi che la M*^ Sua si trasferisse in Svetia, della protest e
che facevano, caso che non passasse et della necessita in che
era costituito di passare in quelle parti. Furono intimati i
comitii et volevano alcuni che S. M*^ andasse armata, altri
disarmata, ma prevalse I'opinione di coloro che consighorno
che non andasse armxato, quali giudicorno che I'andarvi
armato era andare come nemico et che non conveniva andare
a pigliare il possesso della sua heredita con violenza et forza,
tanto piu che tutto il regno I'aspettava, I'invitava per mezzo
di ambasciatori. Haveva inviato I'armata navale a Dansico,
ove i piu principali signori erano comparsi per incontrare et
condurre la M*^ Sua, ma il tempo fece conoscere poi che il
sopradetto consiglio non fu buono, poiche dall'essere il re
comparso disarmato, ne risulto che ando a ricevere, non a
dar legge, perche gli Ordini si unirono contra la M*'^ Sua sotto
pretesto della religione et pretendevano che per vigore del
testamento di Gustavo, i posteri di esso Gustavo, dovessero
APPENDIX. 547
essere heretici se volevano essere capaci della successione,
dimodo che il duca Carlo, la matrigna del re et la nobilta
prosupponevano che gli Ordini non fussero tenuti di prestar
giuramento di fedelta ad un re cattolico, et Carlo nella propria
persona, la matrigna del re nella persona del figliolo, fratello
da la to di padre del re aspiravano alia corona, et li nobili
riducendosi a memoria la liberta che godevano quando il
regno era elettivo et la tirannide usata con essi dopo che e
fatto hereditario, desideravano di togliersi il duro giogo da
dosso. Carlo si fondava nelle clientele che haveva dentro et
fuori del regno et nel favore de' Calvinisti et per facilitare
maggiormente le sue pretensioni comparve armato nella
dieta che si face in Upsalia, citta dove sogliono coronarsi li
re, et perche dubitava che gli Ordini non haverebbono escluso
due chiamati prima di lui nella successione, cioe il re di Polonia
et il fratello da lato di padre, si scoperse che disegnava di
essere dichiarato governatore del fratello del re et procedessero,
come gia si fece in Milano in un caso non molto dissimile.
Li senatore poi alienissimi di animo dalla familia di Gustavo
stavano aspettando che le discorde tra il duca et il re di
Polonia et la matrigna aprissero loro via di potersi estinguere.
Per il che il ser°^° re, trovandosi disarmato et duca Carlo
armato et li heretici uniti contra di esso et essendo il cuor
deH'inverno et agghiaciato il mare non potendo pensare a
ritirarsi, si trovava circondato da niolte angustie, perche da
un canto gli heretici non volevano venire all'atto della
coronatione et di prestarle giuramento di fedelta se non
confirmava il loro essercitio et non excludeva totalrnente il
cattolico et non dichiarava inhabili detti cattolici da ogni
officio et dignita del regno, et dall'altra parte essendo S. M^''''
di timorata coscienza, vedeva che il candore d'essa si saria
grandemente dejiigrato se condescendeva a cosi inique con-
ditioni. Si mostro pero animoso nel principio et risoluto di
voler piutosto perdere il regno, che macular la coscientia et
estimatione sua. Onde gli heretici attribuendo al ministro
Apost''^ la renitenza del re, mandarono dal Nuntio quattro
nobili ad invitarlo che dovesse uscire del regno, protestando
che sarebbono succeduti de' grandi inconvenienti, caso che
non I'havesse fatto. A che rispose il Nuntio ch'egli era
entrato publicamente nel regno et era stato ricevuto come
ministro di S.S. et nori poteva ne voleva uscirne, non havendo
54^ HISTORY OF THE POPES.
egli commesso cosa per la quale meritasse che si violasse il
ius gentium seco. Mandorno quasi nello stesso tempo ad
intimare a S.M*^^ per due suoi familiari et parent! che se la
M*'^ Sua non giurava le loro petitioni, che gli haverebbono
levata I'obbedientia et messo la corona del regno in capo del
duca Carlo, et che in tal caso la M*-^ Sua haverebbe fatto
esperienza delle pernitiose conseguenze che haverebbe portato
seco simile loro deliberatione. Et in spetie si lasciarono
intendere che il primo mestiere che disegnavano fare era di
assaltare la casa del ministro del Papa, per il che S. M*^ mando
dal Nuntio il palatino Laschi a significarli che se la M^^ Sua
non consentiva alle petitioni degli heretici, che nello spatio di
tre hore gli heretici haverebbono ammazzato il Nuntio et la
familia sua et che a Sua M*^ piii dispiacerebbe la morte di esso
Nuntio che quasi la sua propria. Al che rispose il Nuntio, che
Sua M*^ haveva occasione buonissima di chiarirsi se le minacce
degli heretici erano verbali et semplicemente per atterrire
Sua M*^ o pure d'altra qualita con sospendere (come il Nuntio
lo supplicava) di concedere alii heretici cosa alcuna per lo
spatio di quelle tre hore in detrimento della religione cattolica
et se in detto spatio havessero ammazzato esso Nuntio, sicome
all'hora si sarebbe chiarito, che si procedeva da essi non per
atterrire con parole, ma col far dei fatti, cosi in tal caso S. M*'^
concedesse o non concedesse, secondo che pin le fosse piaciuto ;
ma dato che non succedesse la morte del Nuntio, che in tal
caso S. M^^ haverebbe conosciuto essere verbali le minacce
degli heretici et che pero haveva potuto astenersi di far cosi
gran detrimento alia religione. Et perche il Nuntio dubito
che il palatino non riferisse I'ambasciata, mando un suo
familiare ad esporla a S. M*^ et insieme a farle una protesta
che in eterno non haveria prestato consenso alcuno che
potesse denigrare quella purita, che sempre haveva conservato
nelle cose della fede la Sede Apostolica et la simile protesta si
fece anche con la ser™^ regina. Et perche S. M*'^ era risoluta
di non volere consentire alle petitioni degli heretici senza
consenso del Nuntio, che cosi era restato di concerto cori esso
Nuntio, quando lo condusse seco di Polonia. Pero quando
Sua M*^ si chiari essere impossibile di persuadere al Nuntio di
consentire, mando alcuni senatori Polacchi da dui padri
Gesuiti ch'erano venuti con la M^ Sua a darli parte dello
stato delle cose con le sue circostanze et conseguenze et detti
APPENDIX. 549
padri dichiarorno che pur supposta la necessita et pericolo nel
quale era costituita la M*^ Sua la potesse senza offendere Dio
concedere alii heretic! cio che ricercavano et la M^*^ Sua per
sua giustificatione ne voile uno scritto da detti padri. Et
perch e era disposto il Nuntio di volere nelli publici comitii
comparire et protest are, si tenne segreta al dctto Nuntio la
risposta data dalli detti padri al re, et a notitia del Nuntio
non pervenne tal concessione se non doppo tre giorni che le
fa concessa et subito che n'hebbe odore, voile partire del regno
per la via di Dania, dove quclla M^^ lo aspettava con desiderio,
et voleva trattarlo humanissimamente per insegnare (come
diceva) alii barbari Svedesi in che maniera si trattano gli
ambasciatori de' principi. Ma S. M*^^ come quella che vedeva
volentieri che il Nuntio facesse le sopradette diinostrationi
per quello che potesse col tempo succedere, non voile che
partisse, anzi fece ordinare che non fossero dati cavalli al
Nuntio, et cosi fu necessitate a restare. Hora fatta la corona-
tione et concessione, pose ogni studio il Nuntio per applicara
qualche rimedio al disordine seguito, onde opero per sicurezza
della coscienza di S. M^'^ ch'ella facesse una protesta in scritto,
come ella non con la volonta, ma per pura forza si era indotto
a concedere cio che haveva concesso. Et perche non bastava
cercare di assicurare per questo mezzo solo la coscienza, ma
bisognava soUevare Tafflitto stato delle reliquie de' catolici,
quali restavano et senza essercitio et privi delle dignita et
ufhci del regno, persuase il Nuntio al ser™° re che coiicedesse
da parte a cattolici altretanto quanto haveva conceduto alii
heretici, di modo che a guisa dell'Im.p'^® et del re di Polonia
restasse la M*^ Sua giurata utrique parti. S. M^^ si contento
di farlo et immediate mise in esecutione le dette concession!,
perche avanti la sua partenza diede uffici et dignita a cattolici
et lascio in quattro luoghi I'essercitio delJa religione et fece
giurare a quattro governafi (se bene erano heretici) quali
lascio nel regno, che haverebbero protetto la religione et 11
cattolici. Et il Nuntio esercito tutte le funtioni episcopal!
publicamente et successe che havendo lavato li piedi a dodici
pover! in chiesa con grandissimo concorso di popoli, et
essendosi que! pover! dichiarati cattolici, furono po! bandit!
dalli heretici. Tenne anco il Nuntio in luogo publico uno
stendardo alzato, da una parte del quale era una nave con
I'immagine di s. Pietro sopra I'acque con tali parole : fluctuat
550 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
non mergitur, et dall'altra vi era I'arma di S.S*^ et a piedi di
essa questo motto : fngantur tenebrae tantis irradiatae
fulgoribus, et s'mtrodusse et mise in uso la forma di sepellire
cattolicamente con candele accese, croci et con tutto il resto
secondo il rito cattolico. Ma doppo la partita di S. M*^^ il
duca Carlo, quale non haveva voluto accettare il governo del
regno in compagnia coi senatori et pretendea non concreta,
ma suprema et assoluta autorita et che i senatori servissero
per consiglieri et non havessero ne autorita ne voto, si usurpo
con la forza tutto questo che gli era stato negato, levando
I'esercitio cattolico et il governo alii quattro governatori et
ridusse lo sta.to di quel regno a tale che a S. M*'* non rimaneva
altro che il nudo titolo di re, et la licenza et insolenza sua
procedette tant'oltre che S. M'^ giudico havere il duca violato
il giuramento prestato, onde S. M*^ e stata forzata a trasferirsi
di nuovo in quel regno, ma in differente forma della prima
volta, cioe in modo che la potesse prescrivere ad altri la legge
et non ricerverla, et pensa di lasciare tali presidii che al duca
non verra fatto quello che I'altra volta fece, havendo condotto
seco assai buon numero di soldati, et tanto piu ha speranza
che le cose siano per succedere felicemente, quantoche Carlo
ha governato cosi tirannicam^ente il regno che ha alienato da se
la nobilta et con haver cercato di levare I'elevatione dell'hostia
alii Luterani ha commossi contra di lui tutti li contadini,
quali sono divotissimi di detta elevatione, perche per mezzo
d'essa d'idolatri si fecero cristiani. II che passo nella seguente
forma : L'arcivescovo Cantaranense in Inghilterra radunato
il suo clero con li suffraganei propose la missione al regno di
Svetia per ridurlo alia fede Christiana, et rispondendo tutti
che se voleva andare che andasse et egli si risolse di farlo, et
navigando per quella volta smonto ad un'isoletta di detto
regno et celebrando messa, alcuni pastori mentre facevano
I'elevatione videro un bambino neli'hostia et subito chiamorno
li compagni li quali havendo anch'essi veduto lo stesso,
subito lo fecero sapere al governatore nella provincia, quale
dopo haver riputati per pazzi detti pastori finalmente crescendo
il numero di quelli che afferrnavano cio essere verissimo, si
dispose di chiarirsene, et ritrovo anch'egii esser vero tutto
quello che da pastori gli era stato riferito ; onde si risolse
darne parte al re, quale trasferendosi anch'esso nel detto
luogo vide il medesimo et misso dal miracolo si fece christiano
APPENDIX. 551
insieme con tutti li suoi sudditi. Per il che i contadini che
sono quasi tutti arditissimi et inclinatissimi alia religione
cattolica non hanno mai permesso che sia levata loro la detta
elevatione. Pero havendo il duca come Calvinista cercato di
farlo, tumultuorono, et sicome si alienorno da esso, cosi si
congiunsero d'animo col ser°^° re.
Oltra di questo successe anco un'altro caso mirabile, et
cio fu che havendo il duca ordinato che si levassero le imagini
delle chiese si trovava in una chiesa parrochiale una imagine di
legno del beato Enrico re di Svetia quale levata fuori di chiesa
et esposta in luogo publico, un soldato voltato alia persona
del detto santo disse : Enrico, Enrico, tu devi haver commesso
qualche gran peccato poiche non vogliono che tu stii in chiesa
et dicendo queste parole scarico I'archibugio et la palla
miracolosamente doppo di havere percossa la statua, senza
lesione alcuna, ritorno indietro et ammazzo il soldato. Li
sopradetti accident! non hanno come di sopra ho detto deterio-
rata, ma migliorata la conditione di S. M^^. Oltrache le scel-
leratezze enormi congiunte con una grandissima ignoranza che
commettono li predicanti heretici, sono tali che pare impossible
che li popoli siano per sopportarli piu lungo tempo, et per ogni
buon rispetto il Nuntio fece cavare li processi formati contra
detti predicanti atti pubblici delle communita et si lessero
eccessi non uditi commessi da detti predicanti, de'quali se ne
riferira solamente uno.
Un predicante haveva insegnato a parlare ad un corvo et
amando detto corvo grandemente, comincio a dolersi ch'esso
corvo fosse escluso dal paradiso, onde accio si salvasse s'indusse
a battezzarlo, servata la vera forma del battesimo. E ancor
cosa degna di pervenire a notitia della posterita che dopo che
I'heresia e intrata in Svetia, ne il mare ha prodotti pesci in
tanta quai^itita come faceva prima, et la terra ha persa la sua
fertilita et gli uccelli de quali era abbondanza grandissima,
hanno fatta trasmigratione in altri paesi. La M*^^ Sua come
quella che e dotata di singolar pieta et zelo et e di timorata
coscienza attribuisce alle concessioni fatte da lei agli heretici
I'haverli Dio levata la moglie et mandatile altri travagli et con
molta effusione di lacrime significo al Nuntio questo suo
timore, dicendo cli'ella doveva piuttosto morire che concedere
cosa che potesse maculare il candore della sua coscienza. Onde
trovara mons^ Nuntio buona dispositione in Sua M*^^ di
552 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
sollevare I'afflitto stato della religione, ma e ben vero ch' e
necessario che Sua M*^ stabilisca prima bene il politico dominio,
et che in questo mezzo alimenti liberalmente li poveri cattolici
fatti esuli dal duca.
Questo e quello che mi e occorso di dire circa la religione,
non pretermettendo pero di dire che si come il re Gustavo fu
riputato uno de'piu savi, sagaci et valorosi principi del suo
tempo, cosi in esso piu che in niun altro si scoperse quanto
siano incerte le providenze et timidi li pensieri humani, poiche
egli per stabilire il regno nella sua persona et posteri suoi, tenne
piu conto di detto stabilimento che della salute dell'anime,
ma non li basto atteso che non previde che della sua maculata
radice, doveda nascere un suo descendente alieno della sua
religione, quale non haverebbe potuto risiedere ne'regni ; onde
fu insieme con li suoi figli piii intento ad acquistare de facto
et mantener con violenza cio che si usurpava contra le leggi
et in pregiuditio della nobilta che sollecito a stabilirlo con
consenso de'popoli, et perche quando il regno di elettivo
fu ridotto ad hereditario, furono ben corrette le leggi del
regno in tutto quello che aspettava alia successione et altre
preminenze che toccano a principi hereditarii, ma non gia
emendate in quella parte che concerne i privilegi, essentioni
et immunita della nobilta, pero la nobilta Svedese ricercava
sapere dalla M*^ Sua, s'ella pretendea di reggere tirannica-
mente come haveano fatto i suoi antecessori overo secondo
le leggi, che se doveano havere un re di aliena religione et
absente, pretendeano ch'esso re havesse nel governo rispetto
alle leggi, in quello che sono favorevoli alia nobilta, petitioni
che quando alii Svedesi fossero fatte buone, sarebbono stati
piu liberi che non sono li Polacchi, et il re piu ristretto di
autorita. Per il che veniva la M*^*'*' Sua consigliata a con-
servarsi in quel possesso ch'erano i suoi maggiori, ma la
M^ Sua rispose, che la si contentava di osservar le leggi,
purche i sudditi anch'essi le osservassero, et che condannando
le leggi ogni altro esercito eccetto il cattolico et disponendo
che I'orduie ecclesiastico havesse le sue preminenze et in spetie
I'arcivescovo primate, che pero le cose si riducessero a quello
stato qual presuppone la legge, che Sua M*^ nel resto haverebbe
loro dato soddisfattione. A che non seppero rispondere
altro se non che Gustavo, avo del re gli haveva indotti a matar
religione. Ma lasciando da parte le cose concementi la
APPENDIX. 553
religione, trattaremo di cose politiche subordinate ad essa
religione, cioe della utilita che alii vicini regni et a tutta la
christianita puo apportare il regno di Svetia.
Tre cose sono in quel regno di grandissima consideratione
prima la provincia di Finlandia, 2" il porto di Calmar, 30
quelle di Elsburgo.
La Finlandia confina col Mosco, et non e dubbio che se i
Polacchi seguendo la norma di Stefano applicassero I'animo
a soggiogare il Mosco, che la impresa si renderebbe facile con
I'aiuto di detta provincia perch e oltre al sito d'essa la Svetia
abbonda di fanteria assai buona, di che la Polonia ha penuria,
et se il re Stefano con solo le forze Polacche ridusse il Mosco
in grandi angustie, che sarebbe se aggiungessero alle Polacche
le forze Svedesi ? Et quando anche la Santita di N. S^®
perseverasse in quel concetto che gia hebbe di unire Svedesi,
Moschi et Polacchi, non fu mai migliore occasione di quella
che e hora, atteso che in mano del re di Polonia sta, senz'anco
muover guerra al Mosco, di levarli il commercio et nel mar
Baltico et fuor di esso mare, impedendoli la navigatione alio
stretto di Dania col mezzo della Finlandia et di Calmaro.
Et perche il Mosco non ha ne rendite ne miniere, et le sue
entrate consistono in pelli et altre merci, ne le puo smaltire
se non per il mar Baltico et per terra verso Polonia, levatoli
ta'commercio restarebbe povero et infelice principe.
Quanto al porto di Calmar e la chiave del mar Baltico et
capace per ogni armata, et chi e padrone di esso porto, puo
dire di esser padrone anco del mare et di poter tenere in freno
tutte le citta aggiacenti ad esso mare come Danzico, Elbinga,
Riga et altre per impedire che non entrino le mercantie nello
stretto di Dania, et cosi ridurre quel re ad estrema poverta ;
et mentre S. M*^ possiede quel porto non e pericolo che perda
la Svetia, perche per esso puo mandare di Polonia quanta
gente vuole in quel regno. Vi e poi il porto di Elsburgo in
Vestergotia, provintia del regno di Svetia, quale e fuori dello
stretto di Dania et posto sul mare Oceano capacissimo di
qualsivoglia armata, sicuro et che ha comodita di selve, dove
e copia di varii legnami per fabricare ogni sorte di vascelli.
Dalla parte del mar Oceano ha vicino il regno di Norovegia,
quello di Inghilterra et di Scotia et delli Paesi Bassi. Non e
lontano dalla Francia et ha facile navigatione alii regni di
Spagna et a quello di Portogallo, DaU'altra parte ha lo
554 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
stretto di Dania, et passato esso il mar Baltico nel quale
entrano di Polonia, di Russia, di Pomerania, di Livonia et di
INIoscovia non solo grani, ma anco tutte le cose pertinenti alia
militare, et sono portate fuori di esso stretto in diverse parti.
Li Svedesi stimano molto esso porto per la qualita del sito et
capacita sua, et tanto piu quanto che in Svetia e copia grande
di periti marinari di artigliaria di ferro et d'ogni altra cosa
che si ricerca per la m.arinaresca, et affermano che se il Catto-
lico havesse havuto questo porto non sarebbe andato a
tra verso I'armata destinata alia impresa dTnghilterra, et che
e molto opportuno per li Paesi Bassi et per tenere in officio la
regina Lnglese, et di pii\ che chi tenesse armata nel detto porto,
potrebbe vietare che niun vascello entrasse ne uscisse dello
stretto di Dania, le quali cose se ciano vere, ognuno puo far
giuditio di che importanza sia esso porto et quanto importi
alia Cristianita che si conservi in potere di principe cattolico,
perche ersendo in mano di cattolici puo apportare utilita
grandissima, et essendo in potesta di persone aliene dalla
nostra santa religione puo apportare altrettanto detrimento,
imperoche potendo impedire il transito dello stretto di Dania,
puo ridurre quel re et li Polacclii et altri che sono al lato del
mar Baltico in estrema necessita et privare i regni fuori di
esso stretto di Dania delle cose pertinenti al vitto. II che se
si usasse per reprimere la petulantia degli heretici, saria bene,
m_a se contra cattolici saria male. Hora si puo considerare
(si come quando fui in Svetia, alcune persone di qualita mi
posero in consideratione) I'utile che la Maesta Cattolica et
suoi regni et il ser™° re di Svetia et di Polonia cavarebbono
ogni volta che a S. M*-^ Catt*^^ fosse permesso di fabricare,
mantenere et alimentare un'armata in quel porto et servirsi
delle persone et di tutto quello che il detto regno di vSvetia
puo dare pertinente alia marinaresca ; perche se bene gli
Ordini di Polonia a contemplatione di S. M*^ Catt°^ destinorno
ambasciatori alia reina et alii Paesi Bassi protestando loro
che se non permettevano che la navigatione fosse libera
haveriano fatta rappresaglia degli navigli loro, nondimeno
essendo I'autorita regia ristretta et essendo parte della popola-
rita appresso la quale e tutta I'autorita infetta dello con-
dannato seme d'heresia, si ritruoveranno delli intoppi per
indurli a far I'essecutione reale. Et pero il vero modo sarebbe
di tenere una armata nel detto porto, perche oltre le sudette
APPENDIX. 555
utilita, se la M*^ Catt^^ havesse esso porto, si potrebbe servire
con minore suo dispendio di soldati Polacchi et Svedesi che di
Tedeschi, poiche etiam si condurebbono con maggior prestezza
et facilita, oltre che alia cavalleria Pulacca non si paga piu
che sei fiorini al mese, et alia fateria Svedese si da parimente
stipendio molto tenue. Ne deve credere che la regina
d'Inghilterra quando havesse un'inimico cosi vicino qual
potrebbe pervcnire nel suo regno, nello spatio di tre giornate,
s'inducessc a convertire le forze sue in paesi cosi lontani come
sono rindie essendo certa che allontanandosi la sua armata
haverebbe nelle parti cordiali quella del re di Spagna.
Circa poi alle utilita che ne verrebbono ai re di Polonia et
di Svetia sono le infrascritte. La Maesta del re di Polonia,
con la sponda et amicitia del Cattolico reprimerebbe li heretici
di Svetia, levarebbe loro il modo di condurre gente fuorastiera
nel detto regno, come sogliono fare servendosi dell'oppor-
tunita di quel porto, chiusa del detto regno dalla parte dell'
Oceano, si come il porto di Calmar e chiave di quello del mar
Baltico. Et se bene gli heretici del detto regno di Svetia
quando il porto di Calmar fosse in loro podesta, potrebbono
impedire il disbarco delle genti Polacche, tuttavia pero
agevolmente potrebbe questo succedere loro, ogni volta che
I'altro porto di Elsburgo fosse a dispositione della Maesta del
re, atteso che privi di esterno soldato manclierebbono loro
le forze. Oltra di questo col mezzo del sopradetto porto di
Elsburgo potrebbe accrescere la sua autorita hora cosi ristretta
con Polacchi, perche sostentandosi essi col mezzo del trafhco
del mar Baltico ogni volta che fosse in mano di S. S*^ di
impedire esso traffico, non e dubbio che stimarebbono la
Maesta Sua, la quale conseguirebbe questo intento con via
piu facile che non fece il re Stefano cd procurare di impadro-
riirsi di Danzico, impresa che non gli riusci.
Hora havendo discorso delle utilita che risuitarebbono alle
M*^ del re di Spagna et di Polonia et ai dominii loro, e neces-
sario di proporre i mezzi per conseguire il fine. II primo
mezzo e che il re di Polonia ponga il porto in potesta di
soggetto cattolico, cosa che non sara molto difficile et giovara
per facilitare la trattatione ; che S. M^^ sia assicurata che
entrando gente fuorastiera in quel porto non sia in loro mano
il levarglielo, et pero si e pensato che a spese del Cattolico si
mantenga un presidio nella fortezza che guarda il porto sopra
556 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
la quale niuna superiorita habbia il Cattolico ma consegni lo
stipendio per esso presidio al re di Polonia ; et quanto da
assicurare il Cattolico che il porto restara per uso della sua
armata, forse assai assicuramento sarebbe il potersi ritenere
I'entrate Napolitane ogni volta che venisse mancato al Catto-
lico. Se bene sicome della fede del re di Polonia non si deve
dubitare cosi anco si puo havere sicurezza delli sudditi suoi,
per I'utile et commodo che risultava loro di smaltire cio che
produce il regno di Svetia.
Et perch e il re di Polonia dice che dubita che soprastia al
porto una torre del re di Diana, la quale possa impedire non
I'ingresso ad esso porto, ma far danno alle navi quando saranno
entrate, et dall'altra parte i Svedesi affermano che non vi e
impedimento alcuno, si potrebbe visitate il sopradetto porto,
et essendo tale qual viene dipinto dalli Svedesi et quale altre
volte ha riputato il re Cattolico, quando gia quindici anni fa
mando in Svetia un ambasciatore per causa del detto porto,
si potra all'hora con tondamento dar principio a trattare nella
forma predetta et quando anco fosse vero che il re di Dania
havesse quella torre si potrebbe forse indurlo a qualche intelli-
genza col Cattolico et col re di Polonia et dominii suoi. Del
che se ne puo concepire qualche speranza si per haver egli
ricusato d'entare nella lega stabilita fra la regina d'Inghilterra
et li Paesi Bassi, si anco perch e havendo inteso il poco rispetto
che il duca Carlo porta al re di Polonia, senza essere ricercato,
si e mosso a protestarli, ch'ogni volta ch'esso non sia obediente
al re, egli per vigore delli compatenti tra il regno suo et quello
di Svetia, sara forzato a risentirsene.
A Polacchi ancora non potrebbe se non piacere che il detto
porto fosse in podesta del re Cattohco, perche cessando dopo
la morte del presente duca di Prussia la linea di quei marchesi
Brandeburgensi che sono chiamati nella investitura della
ducal Prussia, et pretendendo I'elettore per alcuni privilegi
ottenuti dalli antecessori del presente re a quali il corpo della
nobilta non ha consentito di dover succedere al duca, et
essendo risoluti gli Ordini di Polonia, di non volerlo permettere
et il duca di voler conservare nella famiglia sua detto ducato
di grandissima importanza et di rendita di 60°^ et piii talleri,
si come si prevede che la cosa ha da riuscire all'armi, cosi alia
familia elettorale Brandeburgense la quale ha collocato (per
essere detta Prussia ducale cosi circondata dai dominii Poloni,
APPENDIX. 557
che non ponno venirle soldati di Germania o d'altrove) o.ijni
speranza nel soccorso del mare per la commoditci che essa
Prussia ducale ha di porti nel mar Baltico, si verrebbe per
mezzo d'un'armata a levarle et impedirle il suddetto soccorso
marittimo, onde resterebbono essi Brandeburgensi con le sole
forze della ducal Prussia, le quali non sarebbono sufficient! a
resistere a quelle de Polacchi, congiunte con quelle di Svetia,
per il che i Polacchi, se ben poco esperimentati nel mare, per
haver fatto professione i loro maggiori che bastasse loro di
haver tanta giurisditione nel mar Baltico, quanto potesse un
huomo a cavallo entrarvi et camminar dentro, come quel che
riputavano esser piu gloriosa occupatione di militare per terra
contra Turchi, Moscoviti et Tartari, formarebbono nondimeno
essercito per terra, et li Svedesi con la commodita della
Finlandia, assaltarebbono li Brandeburgensi con armata
navale, et cosi bisognarebbe che quel ducato venisse totalmente
sotto I'imperio della corona di Polonia.
Ma quando per li peccati medesimi le cose di Svetia
camminassero di male in peggio (il che Dio non voglia per sua
misericordia), niun altro rimedio si e giudicato essere piu
opportune quanto che S. M*^ unischi et incorpori la Estonia,
provincia di Livonia et la Finlandia al regno di Polonia con
conditione ch'essi Polacchi siano tenuti ad eleggere sempre
per re il primogenito di S. M*^ et di porgerli aiuto a ricuperare
il resto del regno. Di questa maniera S. M*^ per un regno
mezzo perso ne assicurarebbe due, ne ella ha tanto obligo al
fratello da lato di padre o al duca Carlo, ch'essendo sicura che
durante la sua posterita conservarebbe per essa posterita
li dominii di detti suoi regni, che dovesse premerle molto, la
consideratione che se mancasse la linea di S. M*^^ ne restareb-
bono privi il fratello e lo zio, essendo massime heretici et
inimici della M'^ Sua. Et sopra questo particolare scrisse gia
S. M*-^ alia Santita ni N. S^® proponendoli questo pensiero,
caso che le cose andassero affatto a traverso. Et accio questo
potesse in tal caso succedere sara necessario che monsig^"
Nuntio faccia ufficio con Sua M*^ che ponghi soggetti cattolici
per governatori della Estonia et della Finlandia, o ahneno tali
che della fede loro non possa dubitare.
[Copia. Cod. N. 33, p. 144 s. of the Vallicelliana Library,
Rome, Urb. 858, p. 547 ss., Vatican Library, Malaspina
is here expressly mentioned as the author A 3rd copy in
Cod. H 155, p. I s. of the Ambrosian Library, Milan.]
558 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
14. Pope Clement VIII. to the Clergy and People
OF ROME.l
Beginning: of 15 99.
Clemens PP. VIII.
Clero et populo almae Urbis Nostrae.
Dilecti filii salutem et apostolicam benedictionem. Manus
Domini, manus Patris, manus ilia potens et salutaris, quae
sola, dum iuste vulnerat, pie medetur, ipsa tetigit nos, filii
dilectissimi. Fluvius Tiberis, extra alveum ripasque suas
diffusus, tanta aquarum copia Urbem, suburbia, prata et agros
inundavit, neque in planis solum, sed in editioribus etiam
locis in tantam crevit altitudinem, quantum neque nos neque
parentes nostri meminerunt. Quae Urbis facies, quis aspectus
per hos dies fuerit, plane luctuosus et miserabilis, quae homi-
num, pecorum, aedificiorum et earum rerum, quae ad vitam
victumque quotidian um necessariae sunt, pernicies et iactura
extiterit, nee sine acerbissimo doloris sensu commemorari
potest, nee certe commemorare est necesse ; vos ipsi oculis
vestris cuncta perspexistis et passi estis, et Nos etiam vidimus
et omnium miserias paterno et miseratione complexi oculis et
manibus in coelum elevatis, cum prae doloris magnitudine
cor Nostrum disrumperetur et quasi cera colliquefactum esset.
Sed huius tantae eluvionis et calamitatis causae non ex
principiis naturalibus curiose nimis inquirendae sunt et ex
eorum opinionibus, qui, dicente^ se esse sapientes, stulti facti
sunt, tamqum si gentes essemus quas ignorant Deum, sed
potius, ut christianos decet, in timore et tremore veriorem
magisque intimam harum aerumnarum originem intra nosmet
ipsos pervestigemus, ac nisi nos ipsos fallere et decipere velimus,
peccata nostra respondebunt nobis et iniquitates nostrae,
quae multiplicatae sunt nimis coram Deo. Abyssus enim
peccatorum abyssum aquarum evocavit et inundatio inunda-
tionem peperit ; nam maledictum et mendacium et furtum et
adulterium inundaverunt et sanguis sanguinem tetigit. Ne
tamen, filii, pusillo animo sitis, neve, quod absit, cor vestrum
obduretis, ut indomiti et obstinati peccatores solent, qui plagis
Dei deteriores fiunt, quorum miseram et miserandam con-
ditionem exprimit leremias verbis illis : ' Doniine, percussisti
eos, et non doluerunt ; attrivisti eos, et noluerunt accipere
disciplinam ; induraverun.t facies suas supra petram, et
' See supra, p. 411.
APPENDIX. 559
noluerunt reverti.' Vos autem, filii, non sic, sed revertimini
ad Dominum in toto corde vestro, in ieiunnio et fletu et
planctu, et poenitentiae salutaris tabulam apprehendite, nee
pereatis in diluvio aquarum multarum irae Des et iusti iudicii
eius. Deus enim noster pius est et misericors et praestahilis
super malitia, qui non vult mortem peccatoris, sed magis ut
convertatur et vivat. Plaga haec, si sapitis, si intelligitis, si
novissima providetis, non est ad miortem, sed ad salutem.
Corripuit nos Dominus, sed non in furore suo, immo vero in
visceribus misericordiae suae, ut pater, qui hie in hac brevi et
caduca vita filiis flagella adhibet, ut in aeternum parcat.
Ouem enim diligit Dominus castigat, et flagellat omnem filium
quern recipit. Ecce Deus noster, qui dives est in misericordia,
tanquam filiis offert se vobis : surgite et vos cum filio prodigo
et ite ad Patrem, qui vos vocat, qui apertis brachiis vos
expectat et ad complexum et pacem et reconciliationem invitat.
Clamate ad Dominum in fortitudine et ex intimo corde verba
ilia pronuiitiate : ' Omnia quae fecisti nobis, Domine, in vero
iudicio fecisti, quia peccavimus tibi et mandatis tuis non
obedivimus ; sed da gloriam nomini tuo et propitius esto
peccatis nostris propter nomen tuum. Denique, filii in Christo
dilecti, convertatur miusquisque a vita sua mala et qui
Ninivitas peccantes imitati estis, imitamini poenitentes ; ite
ad matrem gratiarum, ad advocatam peccatorum, ad beatissi-
marn semper A'irginem Dei genitricem Mariam et illius opem
atque auxilium implorate, ite ad gloriosissimos apostolorum
principes, Petrum et Paulum, qui peculiares patroni huius
almae Urbis sunt, cui evangelii doctrinam cum sanguine
tradiderunt ; hi enim sunt gloriosi principes terrae et patres
et pastores tui, o Roma, qui te ad banc gloriam provexerunt,
ut gens sancta, populus electus, civitas sacerdotalis et regia
per sacram beati Petri sedem, caput orbis effecta, latins
praesideres religione divina quam dominatione terrena . . .^
obite, filii, in spiritu humilitatis et animo contrito sacras
apostolorum basilicas et fortissimorum mart^Tum, quibus
velati propugnaculis cincta est ; plorate coram. Domino et
preces cum lacrimis fundite, ut per merita et intercessionem
sanctorum, qui cum Cliristo regnant, veniam atque indul-
gentiam impetremus. Pacem igitur cum fratribus liabete ;
cessent odia et inimicitiae, ne si manus plenas sanguine
* Here is an ODiission in the MS.
560 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
extendatis, avertat Deus oculos suos a vobis ; libido, intem-
perantia, luxuries tollatur et caetera vitia, quibus Dei iracundia
provocatur ; vigeat modestia, temperantia et misericordia in
pauperes : nunc enim latissimus pietati propositus est campus,
ut ii potissrmum, qui ditiores sunt, peccata sua eleemosinis
redimant et pauperum inopiam sua abundantia sublevent,
quod ut faciant et omni cum alacritate faciant, illos quanta
possumus cum efficacia hortamur. Nam propter omnium
peccata haec plaga a Deo immissa est et ad omnes seu pauperes
seu divites pertinere debet, sive per miseriam sive per com-
miserationem, ut, dum corporis nostri, quod unum est in
Christo, membra quaedam patiuntur, caetera ccmpatiantur.
Sumite igitur, filii, arma militiae nostrae, non carnalia, sed
potentia Dei, quibus ipse Deus exercituum fortissimus et
omnipotens vincitur, poenitentiam, orationem, ieiunium et
eleemosinam ; his enim placatur Deus, qui, si viderit opera
vestra bona et quia conversi estis ab omni via mala in sinceri-
tate cordis vestri, revertetur et ipse a furore irae suae, et non
peribitis. Atque ut tanto ardentius ad divinorum sacra-
mentorum medicinam accurratis, ut veterem hominem
exuentes, ac mente et spiritu renovati ambuletis in novitate
vitae, nos spirituales Ecclesiae thesauros, quorum dispen-
satores a Deo constituti sumus, ex apostolica benignitate
aperientes, universis et singulis Christi fidelibus utriusque
sexus in eadem alma Urbe Nostra locisque adiacentibus
commorantibus etc.
[Brevia, Arm. 44, t. 43, n. 40, Papal Secret Archives.]
15. GiuLio Cesare Foresto to the Duke of Mantua. ^
155 9, February 27, Rome.
. . . All'ufficio del sodetto s. ambas^® [of Savoy] N. S.
rispose le seguenti parole, che li pareva cosa di meraviglia
che li principi secolari li quali nel crearsi un loro consigliere
vogliono cosi a pieno sodisfare a loro stessi, et che nella
creatione de card^^ li quali sono consiglieri de Pontefici,
cerchino d'astringere gli stessi Pontefici a valersi in simile
dignita di persone sopra le quali essi non disegnano. . . .
[Orig. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.]
' See supra, p. 194.
APPENDIX. 561
16. List of prisoners, trials and sentences of the
Roman Inquisition. ^
1599, April 5.'
[Lista de carcerati nel S*° Officio a di 5 Aprile 1599.]
Fra Giordano Bruni da Nola, a di 27 di Fcbraro 1593: si
ha da proporre la sua causa.
Ercole Rota Bolognese, a di 29 Luglio 1597 : fu risolu,ta la
causa coram S^^° a di 19 Febraro 1598 : debet torqueri et
rettneri in carceribus ; spora gli novi inditii sono stati repetiti
i testimonii, dimanda la copia.
Alessandro Musculeo, a 25 Giugno 1598 : ha havuto li
testimonii per repetiti ; si ha da deliberare, se deve farsi
riconoscere dalli testimonii.
Prete Pietro Orlandini, a di 6 Luglio 1598 : la causa fu
riferita a di 4 Novembre ; si hanno a vedere li testimonii
esaminati a sua difesa.
Francesco Maria Calvi alias Cavvilanuus di Alessandria, a di
26 Ottobre 1598 : si ha da riferire la causa.
Prete Giovanni Solitto della Saponara, a di 26 Ottobre
1598 : sono stati repetiti li testimonii e ha fatto le difese ; si
hanno a vedere.
Fra Bartolomeo Vite da Cantiana, a di 18 Novembre 1598 :
si ha a riferire la causa.
Orinthio AcquarelH da Riete, a di 20 Novembre 1598 : si
ha a riferire la causa.
Horatio Melillo da Vitulano, a di 14 Decembre 1598 : si e
scritto per la repetitione de testimonii.
Fra Giovanni Bosso, a di 25 Gennaro 1599 : fu risoluto a
16 Marzo quod torqueatur et abiuret de vehementi.
Claudio Giannardi Francese, a di 28 Gennaro 1599 : confessa
di essere heretico ; si ha da riferire la causa.
Prete Giovanni Tabulario Greco, a di 9 Febraro 1599 • ^
visto il processo et .-i da riferire.
Prete Claudio Gailard di Lorcna mandato dall' Liquisitore
di Malta, a di 11 Febraro 1599 : si ha per matto.
Francesco Antonio Cerato da Napoh, a 15 Febraro 1599 : e
' See supra, pp. 200, 21 1. See also Spampanato, Vita di G. Bruno 774 seq.
• On .JaniiHi'y 30, 1592, 32 accused were in the prison of the Inquisition.
VOL. XXTV 36
562 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
stata riferita la causa et ha prodotte alcune scritture in sua
difesa.^
Guglielmo Cochelles Inglese a di 10 Marzo 1599.
Egidio Cambi Romano, a 17 Marzo 1599 : e stato esaminato
et si ha da riferire la causa.
Prete Galeazzo Porta a di 26 Marzo 1599 \
Francesco Bruno della Cava a 26 Marzo 1599!
Fra Clemente Mancini da Napoli a 26 Marzo ! "^"f^'u delf"*"
jCQQ / lett. Apost.
1 • ,- 1 TT T ^ HT I dispensationis.
brate Antonio ( arrara da Napoh a 20 Marzo I
1599 /
Pompeo Florio di Radiano in Abruzzo a di 2 Aprile 1599.
Lista de processati habilitati per Roma.
Giovanni Roa d'Avila habilitato per Roma li 28 Nov. 1597.
Fra Tomaso da Picerno ; e visto il processo et si ha da
riferire la sua causa.
Fra Domenico Andreasso da Ragusa ; sono venute le
repetitioni et le difese ; si hanno a riferire.
Frate Arcangelo da Perugia habilitato nel monast. di S.
Agostino li 31 Luglio 1598.
Giovanni Santi Palombo da Terani habilitato a 16 Nov.
1598.
Giov. Angelo Santini pittore habilitato li 23 Sett. 1598.
Ginevra Pina habihtato per la parrochia li 23 Sett. 1598.
Fulginio Rerti di Casacastalda habilitato li 10 Marzo 1599.
Lorenzo Ursolino da Tossignano habilitato li 24 Marzo
1599-
Fra Ignatio da Lorena
T^ -r^ TT-i r cappiiccini habilitati al p° Aprile 1599.
Jbra rrancesco Hiberno
Nota de condennati alle carceri nel S^° Offitio.
Don Giacomo Fabrone carcerato a 7 Giugno 1582.
' In the *Diario delle giustizic fatte in Roma di persone eretiche e religiose
dair a" 1567 flno al 1057 (Papal Secret Archives, Arm. 3, t. 8, p. 3G5 se</.) the
following are recorded :
1591. A di 6 Febraro 1591, in Torre di Nona fra Andrea figlio del q™
Giovanni Angelo Forzati da Castellaccio diocesi di Capua, Flaminio del q^
Girolamo Fabrio da Mediolano, Francesco Seraflno figlio del q'" Nicolo Vene-
tiano, sacerdote professo et apostata di San Benedetto furono tutti appiccati
et abbnigiati in Campo di Flore.
15 99. A di 9 Novenibre 1599 fra Clemente Mancini e D. Galeazzo Porta
ambeduo Milanesi furono in Ponte decapitati sopra un palco.
1600. A di 9 Giugno 1600 D. Francesco Moreno da Minerbino diocesi di
Bari fu appiccato e brugiato in Ponte.
1601. A di 10 Aprile 1601 furono appiccati in Ponte D. Livio Palasto
Modanese e D. Marcello de Conti da Melfi, il quale doppo morte fu anche
ab brugiato.
APPENDIX. 563
Fra Francesco Fortunato a di 4 Nov. 1584.
Francisco Ouirico a di 18 Luglio 1593 [sic].
David Vendelio a di 28 Agosto 1592.
Don Clemente Serafino a 23 Giugno 1593.
[Copy : Cod. II., 49 50 (Raccolta di note, stiidii e diligenze di
P. Paolo V. mentre era cardniale in diverse materie), p. 32,
Borghc^e Library, Rome.]
17. Pope Clement VIII. to Philip III., King of Spain. ^
1600, September 4, Rome.
Carissime in Christo fili Noster salutem et apostolicani
benedictionem. Nihil ardentius cupimus pro Nostro Apos-
tolica.e servitutis officio, quam divina adiutrice gratia animas
multas Christo lucrari, neque eos solum, qui Christiani et
Catholici sunt et ecclesiam unam, cui Nos immcritos Deus
praeesse voluit, matrem agnoscunt, libenter hortamur et
excitamus, ut quod fide profitentur, operibus comprobent,
sed eos etiam qui extra Ecclesiam sunt, ad earn adducere, et
gentibus quoque remotissimis, quae suave Christi iugum
ignorant, evangelii veritatem annuntiare ac promulgare,
avidissime expetimus. Regum autem catholicorum ea in
primis insignis est laus, summorum Pontificum studia, labores,
sollecitudines ad fidei propagationem omni ope et opera
adiuvare ac propterea Maiestatem Tuam potissimum, tanta
potentia, tantis viribus, tanta regnorum et ditionis ampli-
tudine extulit Deus, ut lux evangelii ab hac sancta Roman a
ecclesia, omnium ecclesiarum matre et magistra, Te strenue
adiuvante, in nationes etiam a Nobis disiunctissimas quam
latissime diffundatur, neque enim dubitamus, Maiestatem
Tuam pro sua prudentia intelligere et pro sua praestanti
pietate velle, iure ac merito a Te Deum postulare, ut quae
Tibi ipse tribuit, ut ad eius gloriam et honorem praecipue
conferas et convertas. Sed quae nunc a Te petimus, nee
magna nee difftcilia sunt, sed quae tamen benedicente Domino,
ad res plane maximas aditum aperire et viam munire facile
poterunt. Audivimus saepe, quod et Maiestatem Tuam
audisse arbitramur, regem Persarum multis ac non obscuris
indiciis prae se ferre, se animo sane propenso esse erga
Cliristianam religionem, sed nuper id multo certius cognovimus
ex Lusitano sacerdote Francisco Costa, qui ex India per
' See supra, pp. 247, 2G7.
564 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
praesidem [sic] Roman venit, quern vir nobilis dux Suessae,
orator Tuus, ad No? introduxit. Is mira quaedam, et quae
vias Domini cogitanti lacrimas prae gaudio elicere possint,
de rege illo narrat, habere eum apud se aulicos et viros
primarios complures Christ ianos, quos ipsemet palani per
occasionem Christianos esse cum multa voluptate indicat,
sacerdotes et presbyteros a Nobis et a Romana ecclesia valde
expetere, eius rei causa certam ad Nos legationem misisse,
seque etiam amoris et amicitae Nostrae percupidum ostendere,
ecclepiam praeterea aedificari iussisse, ut ibi christiano ritu
Deo serviatur. Quae et aha comphira cum attentius con-
sideraremus, adhibitis etiam in consihum dilectis fihis cardin-
ahbus congregationi fidei propagandae a Nobis praefectis,
non minus piis quam prudentibus, memores a Christo Domino
aictum esse beato Petro, et Nobis in eo : Due in ahum et
laxate retia vestra in capturam, et denique scientes nullum
verbum esse impossibile apud Deam, statuimus tantam
occasionem, divinitus oblatam mdlo modo esse praeter-
mittendam, sed litteras ad regem Persarum dare, ita accurate
scriptas, quemadmodum tanti negotii gravitas requirit, ac
licet eiusdem regis legati nundum ad Nos pervenerint, ac
propter viae longinquitatem et varia pericula valde iucertum
sit, an et quando sint venturi, placet at eum nihilominus
celeriter presbyteros mittere, ne qua in Nobis mora sit,
quominus semen divinae gratiae in magni illius regis corde,
per evangelii praedicationem, ipso Deo dante incrementum
coalescat, et populis iUis, qui in tenebris et umbra mortis sunt,
vita et Veritas, si Deo omnipotent! placuerit, illucescat et
denique cum tam potent i et Turcarum tyranno tam infenso
principe ea amicitia et benevolentia concilietur, quae
Christianae reipublicae universae et Tuae Maiestati atque
inclytae domui vestrae Austriacae, ut Tu optime intelligis,
multiphces utilitates est allatura. Cum igitur de presbyteris
idoneis mittendis cogitaremus, statim oculos coniecimus in
societatem Jesu, quae veluti perpetuum seminarium est
fortium et fidelium oi)€rariorum vineae Domini, quique huic
muneri ex Nostra et Apostolicae Sedis obedientia praecipue
addicti, in ipso potissimum Oriente atque India magnam
evangelicae praedicationis laudem sunt consecuti, itaque
mandavimus dilecto filio Claudio, eiusdem societatis praeposito
general!, ut ex ipsa India Oriental! atque ex ea provintia, quae
APPENDIX. 565
Persarum regno propinquior est, aliquot presbyteros et
operarios mittat ad regem, qui, Spiritu Sancto auctore, regis
ipsius et populorum illorum corda, veluti agros ratione prae-
ditos, evangelico aratro proscindant et sementem verbi Dei
faciant ; potens est autem Dominus, eorum animos sic
praeparare et emollire, ut non solum semen accipiant, sed
fructum multum etiam ferant, quod divinae bonitatis et
potentiae proprium est, et Nos certe laboris et diligentiae
Nostrae numquam poenitebit ; optimum autem visum est
ex finitimis provintiis operarios accipere, qui praeter doctrinam
et zelum salutis animarum, multis aliis ad banc missionem
necessariis adiumentis sunt instructi, nam et regionis, et
notitiam habent nationum et linguarum usum et diuturnam
etiam ad eiusmodi functiones obeundas exercitationem, tum
ex locorum propinquitate brevi quod summopere optamus
in Persidem et in ipsius Regis conspectum pervenient ;
summam enim quoad fieri poterit, celeritatem adhiberi
cupimus, ne antiquus humani generis hostis satanas, cuius
astutias non ignoramus, difficultates aliquas interponat et
opus Dei impediat. Quo magis Maiestatem Tuam hortamur
et efficacissime in Domino requirimus, ut ad viceregem Indiae
atque ad capitaneum Ormuzii regias suas det litteras quam
diligent issime scriptas, eisque serio mandet, ut huius missionis
promovendae omnem curam et cogitationem puscipiant, et
quae in navigils parandis et ad iter et navigationem expedien-
dam opportuna aut necessaria erunt, omni alacritate et
celeritate curent, ut operarii illi, quos dilectus filius provin-
cialis Societatis in India ex sui generalis praescripto delegerit,
ut in Persidem proficiscantur, ipsius viceregis et capitanei
auxilio subleventur, ut nave quam primum conscensa Ormuz-
ium petant et deinde recta in Persidem atque adeo ad ipsius
regis aulam tuto, commode et expedite, quantum licuerit,
pergant, cum multum ommino in celeritate sit positum.
Postremo sic eos accendat Maiestas Tua, ut in re gravissima
quae ad Dei gloriam tantopere pertinet, se Catholici regis
catholicos ministros vere esse ostendant. Mandavimus autem
venerabili fratri archiepiscopo Sipontino Nostro Apostolico
Nuntio, ut de pluribus litteris eodem exemplo conscribendis
et ad Nos omni cum festinatione transmittendis et demum
de toto hoc negotio cum Maiestate Tua sic agat ut de re, quae
Nobis cordi est maxime, ut sane esse debet et Tibi quoque.
566 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
fill carissime, fore confidimus : nescit enim tarda molimina
gratia Spiritus Sancti, qiiam Tibi copiosam a Deo precamur,
et Maiestati Tuae Apostolcam Nostrara benedictionem
amantissime impartimur.
Dat. Romae apud sanctum Petrum sub annulo piscatoris
die 4. septembris anno lubilei 1600, pontificatus Nostri anno
nono.
[Brevia Arm. 44, t. 44, n. 243.]
18. GiuLio Cesare Foresto to the Duke of Mantua.^
1600, December 30, Rome.
. . . Hoggi mentre trattavo con Till™" s. Giorgio, rill™°
s. Marcello che s'e trovato in compagnia et senza ch'io glie
n'habbia data occasione, mi ha detto che innanzi che conceder
la hcenza dell'estratione delle dette statue, S. S^^, la quale
s'e ritenuta la hsta, gl'ha ordinato che s'informi come si sono
havute da diverse persone con longhezza di tempo o pure
tutte da uno, et il s^ card^® S. Giorgio non aspettando ch'io
rispondessi, non senza dimostrar un poco di passione, rispose
che si erano havute tutte in un luogo et che e stato un colpo
non piu fatto in Roma da molti anni in qua, et io ho poi
soggionto che le statue sono appresso di me, delle quali cose
il s'" card'^ S. Marcello disse che bisognava ne desse conto a
S. S-'^, et se bene non metto difficolta nella licenza, non vorrei
pero che venisse voglia a S. S*^ di veder parte di queste teste,
perche mu troveri in un labrrinto cosi fatto se havessi da
mandarlene a Palazzo, et particolarmente I'Antinoo, del quale
il s^ card^*' s. Giorgio ne parla come della piu pretiosa statua
che sia in Roma rispetto alia qualita della cosa, et pero volon-
tieri I'havrei veduto portar per terra sotta la condotta di
persona fidata . . .
[Orig. Gonzaga Archives, Manuta.]
19. GiuLio Cesare Foresto to the Duke of Mantua. «
1601, February 10, Rome.
. . . S. S*^ ha detto che non e conveniente che si lasci
spogliar Roma di quelle cose che la fanno illustre per illus-
trare altre citta, havendo di piu saputo che queste sono delle
piu nobili antiquita di Roma, et tanto che non e stata senza
' See svpra, p. 506.
' See supra, p. 506,
APPENDIX, 567
pensiero la S. S^^ di voler venire a vederle, se non che intese
che stanno incassate . . .
[Orig. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.]
20. Pope Clement VIII. to the Shah of Persia. ^
1601, February 21, Rome.
Rex potentissime et illustris salutem, et oblatum a Deo
divinae gratiae lumen toto corde accipere. Magna est vis
virtutis, magna efficacitas, cuius pulchritude mirabilem in
nobis amorem excitat, erga illos etiam quos nunquam vidimus ;
id re ipsa in Te amando experimur, nam etsi longissimo terra-
rum marisque intervallo a Te disiuncti simus, nee Te aliquando
viderimus, tamen quia a plerisque multa et praeclara accepi-
mus de Tua praestanti virtute, de Tui regalis animi magnitu-
dine, de insigni fortitudine aliisque naturae ornamentis,
quibus Te altissimus et bonorum omnium largitor Deus
cumulavit, haec de Te a nobis saepius audita, ut Te amemus
effecerunt, quin etiam ut a Te vicissim amari cupiamus,
quamquam et illud Nobis relatum est, magna Nostra cum
voluptate, iam Te erga Nos egregie affectum gratiam et
amicitiam Nostram expetere, legationem etiam misisse ad
Nos, multa cum amoris et reverentiae erga Nos significa-
tione, quae tamen legatio si missa est, nondum ad Nos
pervenit, sed illud praeterea de Te audivimus, quod
Christianum nomen honorifice appelles et propensam prae
Te feras voluntatem erga Christianam religionem, quae
sola veram salutis et felicitatis viam docet et praestat,
narrant enim et personas Tibi coniunctissimas Christianas
esse, et in aula Tua regia complures esse fortes viros tibique
carissimos, qui se Christo addictos esse proiiteantur, idque
ipsum Te iubente palam ostendant, signo salutaris et vivificae
crucis quae est gloria nostra, in qua ipse salvator mundi et
vitae auctor lesus Christus, Dominus noster, aeterni patris
aeternus filius, carne nostra mortali indutus, salutem nostram
in medio terrae mirabiliter operatus est ; quae si vera sunt,
ut vera esse speramus et toto ex animo optamus, haec certe
tanto gaudio cor Nostrum complent, ut eiusdem gaudii
magnitudinem nullis verbis satis exprimere possimus ; Nos
autem scimus nullum verbum esse impossibile apud Deum
omnipotertem, qui solus est rex regum, per quem reges
'.See supra, p. •217,
568 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
regnant et in cuius manu corda regum sunt, et quocumque
voluerit convertit ilia, qui antiquissimis temporibus et in
saeculis a nostra memoria valde remotis, Cyri fortissimi regis
Persarum manum dexteram apprehendit et subiecit ante
faciem eius gentes et dorsa regum vertit, et gloriosos ac
potentes terrae humiliavit, et ipse rex Cyrus, multis victoriis
Dei auxilio clarissimus, populum Dei qui erat captivus in
Babilone, liberum dimisit, et divino instinctu permotus,
decrevit tenriplum Domini a Chaldaeorum rege destructum
iterum aedificare in Hierusalem et vasa templi aurea atque
argentea, quae asportata fuerant, restitui iussit, quemad-
modum sacrarum litterarum monumentis memoriae comro en-
datum est. Nunc autem, o rex Persarum potentissime et
magni illius Cyri successor, audimus de Te, quod ecclesias
rito christiano, in regno Tuo aedificari cupias, aut fortasse
etiam aedificare iam ceperis, ut in eis Deus optimus assidue
laudetur et sacrosancta sacriftcia offerantur et sanctum
Christi evangelium praedicetur in salutem omni credenti, et
ob earn causam narrant Te Christianos praesbyteros et
sacerdotes expetere, qui a Romana ecclesia mittantur. Magna
haec sunt, o rex, et maiorum rerum exordia, et plane maxi-
maruni, ut in Dei summa dementia confidimus, cuius spiritu
cor Tuum ad tam praeclaras cogitationes moveri non dubita-
mus, nam si Nostram, hoc est Romani Pontificis et Christian-
orum regum patris, amicitiam vere appetis, si Christi fidem
in Tuis provintiis promulgari, ecclesias aedificari, evangelii
doctores et magistros apud Te habere, denique Christi nomen
et Christ ianam religionem in Tuo regno amplissimo vere
propagari desideras, esto bono animo, nam et Deus ipse Tibi
adiumento erit, et Nos quoque ipsius Dei adiutrice gratia his
desideriis Tuis libenter in primis suffragabimur. Recte autem
praesbyteros ad Te mitti cupis ab hac sancta Romana ecclesia,
quae omnium ecclesiarum, quae toto orbe terrarum sunt,
mater est et magistra, nam sicut unus est Deus, et una fides et
umun baptisma, ita una est ecclesia Catholica et Apostolica,
cuius caput est ecclesia Romana, magistra veritatis, firma-
mentum unitatis, domicilium Christianae religionis, in qua
beatissimus apostolorum princeps Petrus, quem Christus
dominiis ovium suarum pastorem summum constitiiit, suam
Apostolicam Sedem divino consilio coUocavit, in qua Sancta
Sede post tot aetatum curricula, post longam et nunquam
APPENDIX. 369
interruptam pontificum successionem, Nos hoc tempore,
humiles licet et indigni, Spiritu Sancto ita disponente prae-
sidemus. Ad Te vero presbyteros et sacerdotes Christi
libenter admodum mittemus, qui evangelicam veritatem Tibi
et populis Tuis annuntient, quam si corde humili audieris et
complexus fueris, et tandem Deo Te mirabiliter vocanti
perfecte obedire et lesu Christo nostrae salutis auctori et
sempiternae vitae largitori nomen dare decreveris, turn
demum et ipse vere felix eris et regnis Tuis veram felicitatem
paries, et ad regum Persarum veterem famam tantum Tuae
gloriae cumulum adiicies, ut de Tuis meritis et laudibus nulla
posteritas conticescat ; sunt autem in Oriente presbyteri et
operarii Christi fideles ac strenui, filii Nostri in Christo dilecti
ex ea societate, quae a dulcissimo lesu nomine nuncupatur,
quae sub Nostra et huius Sanctae Apostolicae Sedis peculiari
tutela Deo militat et in remotissimis etiam Orientis Indor-
umque region ibus victricem Christi crucem fixit et semen
evangelii in salutem credentium disseminavit, et Deo auxili-
ante disseminare studet, nullis parcen laboribus, ut verbo
salutaris doctrinae et vitae integerrimae exemplo, et denique
divino baptisimi lavacro et caelestibus sacramentis animas
Christo lucrifaciat, quemadmodum Tibi non inauditum neque
omnino ignotum esse arbitramur. Ex ea igitur societate et
ex iis orientalibus regionibus et locis, quae ad ditionem
pertinent potentissimi principis et filii Nostri in Christo
carissimi Philippi regis Catholici, quaeque loca a provintiis
tuis minus longe absunt, et ad commeandum opportuniorem
viam praebent, praesbyteros ad Te mitti curabiraus, et eo
numero qui erit necessarius, et iam nunc ea de re mandata
dedimus, omnia denique quae Tua populorumque Tuorum
salus postulaverit, summo studio benedicente Domino
praestabimus, nihilque aliud expectamus, nisi ut de Tua tota
voluntate Nobis planius constet, et quae fama et multorum
relatu, ut diximus, accepimus, eadem ex Te ipso, hoc est ex
litteris Tuis Tuisque etiam Nuntiis multo certius multoque
cumulatius cognoscamus. Interea ut amoris erga Te Nostri
et desiderii sincerae amicitiae inter nos conciliandae illustrior
exstet significatio, has Nostras litteras ad Te dare placuit,
testes voluntatis in Te Nostrae et veluti pignus benevolentiae
eas autem tibi reddent hi duo dilecti filii Nostri, quos ad Te
nominatim mittimus, nimirum Franc'scus Costa, religiosus
570 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
praesbyter ex eadem societate lesu, doctrina et zelo Dei
praestans, et vir industrius ac diligens Didacus de Miranda,
ambo Lusitani, ambo rerum usu praediti Nobisque probati
et valde grati, qui alias etiam in Perside fuerunt, Tuoque regie
nomini sunt addict issimi, quin etiam Didacus Venetiis
collocutus est cum Assandebechio familiari Tuo, eaque ab eo
accepta de Te Nobis retulit, quae Nobis incunda valde fuerunt,
ex iis igitur mentem Nostram, ubi ad Te, angelo Domini duce,
incolumes pervenerint, multo apertius multoque copiosius
intelliges, atque illud in primis, quam appetentes simus
salutis Tuae, quam cupidi Tuae amplitudinis et gloriae.
Quare a Te petimus, ut illis fidem plenissimam habeas
perinde ac si Nos ipsi Tecum, praesentes loqueremur ; con-
fidimus autem, quod hos nuntios Nostros et Nobis dilectos,
omi cum honore et humanitate excipies, nam et Nos erga Tuos
quos ad Nos miseris, parem humanitatem adhibebimus, ut
Noster inter Nos amor firmiores radices agat et in dies magis
coalescat ; vere enim ex Nostra animorum et voluntatum
coniunctione magnae et multiplices utilitates redundare
poterunt, quas Te pro Tua prudentia satis perspicere non
dubitamus, sed ea in primis, quae est de Tuo et Nostro et
totius nominis Christiani perpetuo atque infensissimo hoste
Turca coercendo, qui intolerabili superbia et insatiabili
cupiditate dominandi omnia regna, omnes provintias sua
tyrannide opprimere et durissimae servitutis iugo subiicere
avidissime desiderat ; sed speramus in Dei dementia, quod
humiliabit superbum et brachium eius et dentes eius conteret
in ore eius et molas leonis confringet, cuius rei non obscura
indicia annis proximis dedit Deus in Unga.ria, et leonem ilium
immanissimum superari posse ostendit ; Nos vero pro Nostro
pastorali officio praeter ea adiumenta, quae carissimo filio
Nostro Rudolpho Imperatori electo adversus teterrimum
hostem praebuimus et praebebimus, in ea cura maxime
versamur, ut reges et principes Catholicos, filios Nostros in
Christo carissimos, omni officii genere permoveamus, quo
communem inimicum communibus studiis oppugnent, et
magna spe sum us fore, ut id a divina miseracordia impetremus,
quod si Tu quoque, iusta indignatione permotus, tarn multas
et tam graves Tibi a Turcis illatas iniurias aliquando ulcisci
statueris, et avitae Persarum gloriae memor Tuaeque propriae
virtutis, summa vi summoque animi ardore bellum non minus
APPENDIX. 571
Tibi gloriosum quam necefsarium susceperis, profecto fera ilia
et immanis bellua undique vulneribus confecta prosternetur,
qiiod tanto magi's sperare Nobisque polliceri licet, quod
divinae motionis vim in Tuo corde videmur videre, dum erga
Christi nomen et Christianam religionem Te adeo propensum
esse audimus ; sic Deus et pater misericordiarum opus suum,
quod iam in Te incepit, ipse periiciat, ut unum Nobiscum et
cum principibus Christianis corpus efficiaris, ut Tecum
arctissime colligati, omnia Tua sua ducant tantoque vehemen-
tius contra communem inimicum pro communi salute et
gloria exardescant. Deum autem exercituum, in cuius manu
sunt victoriae et triumphi, toto ex animo precamur, ut que-
madmodum olim ante Cyrum, sic eat ante Te et portas aeneas
conterat et vectes ferreos confringat, Teque omnibus difficul-
tatibus su]")eratis, victorem et triumphatorem efficiat. Esto
igitur forti et excelso animo, atque ut Te decet magna meditare
et magna aggredere, ut maiorum Tuorum gloriam virtute et
magnitudine animi non solum sustineas, sed etiam adaugeas
et amplifices. Dat Romae etc.
[Brevia Arm. 44, t. 45, n. 61, Papal Secret Archives.]
21. Pope Clement VIII. to the Shah of Persia. ^
1601, May 2, Rome.
Rex potentissime et illustris, salutem et oblatum a Deo
divinae gratiae lumen toto corde accipe. Pervenerunt his
proximis diebus ad banc almam Urbem nostram, arcem
Christianae religionis et portum nationum, quos ad Nos, ut
ipsi referunt, misisti, vir nobilis Antonius Scierleius et vir
honoratus Assandebechius, quorum adventus periucundus
Nobis fuit, cum a tanto rege et tantae potentiae principe, et
tam multis, ut audimus, animi et corporis ornamentis praedito,
ex tam longinquis et rem.otis regionibus ad Nos venerint,
Tuasque, quemadmodum ipsi affirmant, litteras Nobis
gratissimas attulerint, quas accepimus singulari cum volup-
tate ; ipsos, qui eas nobis Tuo nomine reddiderunt, oculis
vultuque hilari aspeximus omnique cum benignitate excepimus,
atque a Nostris quam human issime tractari iussimus, quod
ipsi multo uberius Tuae Celsitudini referre poterunt et denique
ea benevole in primis attenteque audivimus, quae Tuo nomine
Nobis retulerunt. Paria enim Tibi in amore reddimus, et
' See supra, p. 248,
572 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
quemadmodum Tu et litteris et viva Tuorum voce profiteris,
Te gratiae et amicitiae Nostrae esse appetentem, ita Nos
vicissim pari benevolentiae affectu Tibi respondemus, ex hac
enim nostra amicitia et coniunctione, tamquam ex quodam
fonte, magna bona redundare posse intellgimus, ad totius
Christianae reipublicae, turn ad Tuam Tuaeque illustris
coronae utilitatem et gloriam, quod Tu quoque pro Tua
prudentia non ignoras, sed optime intelligis. Accedit, quod
divinae potentiae et sapientiae proprium est, non secus at que
ex parvo semine ingentes arbores procreantur, ita ex initiis
exiguis res maximas efficere, non enim viae Dei sunt sicut
viae hominum, sed omnia quaecumque vult facit in coelo et in
terra. Ac sane sperandum es in summa Dei bonitate, si forti
et excelso animo esse velimus, tempus advenisse, quo immanis-
simus Turcarum tyrannus, cuius insatiabilis dominandi libido
nullis terminis continetur, non solum coerceatur, sed plane
superetur, cuius rei manifesta extant argumenta, cum per hos
annos magnas clades terra marique a. Christianis principibus
acceperit. Unde tanto magis animi Tui magnitudo excitari
atque inflammari debet adversus teterrimum et superbissimum
hostem, qui Te ipsum et maiores etiam Tuos gravissimis
iniuriis et detrimentis affecit, et Nos sane id Tecum agimus,
quod Summi Romani Pontifices praedecessores Nostri cum
patre et maioribus Tuis saepius egerunt, ut scilicet iusto dolore
exardeecas et inimicum infensissimum regum Persarum
nomine, qui omnes quidem, sed Te potissimum durissimo
servitutis iugo opprimere molitur, ne inultum abire patiaris, sed
ita vehementer oppugnes, ut ilium aliquando audaciae et
superbiae suae poeniteat. Nam quod Te cupere significas,
quodque ii, quos ad Nos misisti, coram etiam narrarunt, ut reges
et principes Christian! Tecum contra Turcam foedus ineant,
nos idem cupimus, partesque Nostrae pontificiae auctoritatis
ad id interponemus, sed res magni momenti diligenti tracta-
tione et non modico tempore indigent. Interea non desunt
ex principibus Nostris, qui eum bello exerceant atque infestent,
et praesertim carissimus filius Noster Rudolphus electus
Imperator, qui continenter cum eo bellum gerit et iam nunc
hac ipsa aestate gesturus est, et Nos quoque illi adiumento
sumus et auxiliares Nostras copias contra Turcas mittimus et
Catholicos principes filios Nostros ad eidem electo Imperatori
opem ferendam omni officii genere permovemus ; itaque Tuae
APPENDIX 573
est prudentiae et consilii uti hac opportunitate, et dum Turca
robur exercitus sui in Ungariam niittit et armis Christian is
distinetur, Tu ilium invade et quasi illius nudatum latus ferro
aggredere, ut ille ancipiti bello distractus et pluribus in locis
oppugnatus, veluti quaedam ferox bellua raultorum vena-
torum concursu vexata, telisque cordectis saucia, tandem ad
terram prosternatur ; nihil igitur procrastinandum, ne occasio
praetereat, sed quod Nostros ex sua parte facere vides, Tu
quoque ex Tua fac et Turcam eodem tempore oppugn a quam
fortissime ; sic Tu Christianis et Chrisitani Tibi vicissim
adiumento erunt, et quod omnes spectamus, re ipsa efficietur,
ut communis hostis gcnuina oppugnatione delibitatus corruat
at que intereat, atque hoc ipsum ad foedus, quod desideras,
conciliandum maiorem et faciliorem aditum aperiet, Nosque
tanto efficacius de eo agemus, cum apud omnes constiterit,
Te summo studio, summo ardore totisque viribus in illius
hostis perniciem incumbere, quem ab aliis quoque invadi
atque opprimi concupiscis. Quod principes Christiani com-
plures, ut diximus, iam pro sua virili faciunt. Nos vero
utilitati et rationibus Tuis et gloriae Tuae valde ex animo
favemus et favebimus, quod ex eo facile perspicere potes, quod
antequam Tui, quos ad Nos misisti, Romam pervenissent, iam
Nos ad Te cum litteris Nostris, amantissime scriptis, duos
familiares Nostros miserimus, videlicet dilectos filios Francis-
cum Costam, sacerdotem Christi, et Didacum Mirandam,
ambos Lusitanos et nobis valde gratos, qui cum incolumes,
Deo duce, in conspectum Tuum venerint, quod supra quam
dici possit optamus, sane ex Nostri litteris atque ex eorum
sermone intelliges copiosius, quam praeclaram de Tua virtute
opinionem habeamus, et quam benevolo erga Te animo simus,
et quantopere cupiamus, non solum Te omni humana felicitate
esse florentissimum, sed sempiterna etiam ilia in caelo felicitate
et beatitudine frui, quam nemo potest adipisci, nisi qui ex
aqua et spiritu regeneratus, Christianae fidei veritatem
susceperit et professus fuerit. Ouamobrem incredibilem
voluptatem cepimus ex eo capite litterarum Tuarum et
colloquio eorundem duorum praestantium virorum, quod ad
Nos misisti, velle Te nimirum, ut Christianis et iis praesertim,
qui a Nobis mittentur, aditus pateat in regnum et provintias
Tuas, quodque Christianis et Persis libera sint commercia,
ipsique Christiani non solum immunitato multisque favoribus
574 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
et privilegiis a Te ample concessis gaudeant et potiantur, sed
etiam ecclesias et templa christiano ritu Deo altissimo in Tuo
regno et ditione aedificent, sacerdotes et presbyteros habeant,
qui divina officia persolvant, sacramenta administrent, verbum
Dei praedicent et lucem ac semen evangelii Christi in salutem
omni credenti ubique disseminent atque diffundant, quibus
rebus nihil Nobis gratius, nihil Deo acceptius, nihil Tibi
salutarius et magnifiicentius potest accidere ; nam cum Tu
vere et ex animo Dei gloriae servieris, ille etiam, per quem
solum reges regnant, te gloriosum et de inimicis tuis Turcis
victorem et triumphatorem efhciet ; quare brevi ad Te
presbyteros mittemus doctores veritatis et magistros salutis,
quemadmodum alteris Nostris litteris solliciti sumus, quas
Francisco et Didaco supradictis ad Te perferendas dedimus,
quos Tibi iterum et saepius commendamus, petimusque ut eos
humaniter accipias laetosque ad Nos remittas, sicut Nos Tuos
accepimus et ad Te remittimus multa cum amoris signifi-
catione et litteris Nostris, quibuscum de his ipsis rebus, de
quibus ad Te scribimus, copiose locuti sumus, qui etiam ex ore
et oculis Nostris Nostram in Te eximiam voluntatem Tuaeque
gloriae desiderium perspicere potuerunt. Deus omnipotens
qui Te in magni Cyri regis solio collocavit, det Tibi cor sapiens
et corroboret Te es: alto virtute et fortitudine, ut vincas hostes
Tuos Turcas, et lucem evangelii Christi in regiium Persarum,
ubi olim late resplenduit, restituas, omnesque reges, qui ante
Te in regno isto fuerunt, ita rerum gestarum magnitudine et
gloria superes, ut nulla aetas nullaque posteritas famam
Tuam ignoret, nee de Tuis unquam laudibus conticescat. —
Dat. Romae apud sanctos Apostolos sub annulo piscatoris die
secunda Mali 1601, pontilicatus Nostri anno decimo.
[Brevia Arm. 44, t. 45, n. 124, Papal Secret Archives.]
22. Pope Clement VIII. to Justin Calvin. ^
ICOl, December 12, Rome.
Clemens PP. VIII.
Dilecte fili salutem et apostolicam benedictionem. Litteras
Tuas et apologiam de Tuo ad gremium catholicae ecclesiae
reditu, quas ad Nos misisti, libenti animo accepimus, gra-
tumque est Nobis, quod praeclara erga Te divinae misericordiae
beneficia et pie agnoscis et magnifice praedicas et ad eandem
' See supra, p. 277.
APPENDIX. 575
veritatis lucem, quam Spiritu Sancto auctore inveni?ti, alios
adhuc tenebris involutos perducere studes. Non erit, ut
speramus, infructuosus labor Tuus, Deo ipso sementi Tuae
incrementum dante, tuum Tibi certe meritum apud patrem
misericordiarum constabit ac salvum erit. Quod venerabilis
frater Noster archiepiscopus et princeps elector Moguntinus,
et Nostra commendatione et Tua virtute adductus, benigne,
ut scribis, Tecum agat Teque foveat, id Nobis pergratum est
Nostraeque expectationi consentaneum, ad quern alteras
nunc quoque Tui causa commendatitias litteras damns ; ut
Te tanto propensius complectatur ; quin etiam et decano
illius insignis capituli Te commendamus, ut plura Tibi prae-
sidia paremus. Tu vero, si Roman venire statueris, gratus
Nobis advenies et libenter in primis Te videbimus et Tibi
adiumento erimus ; amamus enim Te in Christo paterno
affectu ; ipse autem, qui Te vocavit in admirabile lumen
suum, dona sua in te custodiat at que adaugeat, et Nos Tibi
apostolicam benedictionem Nostram ex animo impartimur.
Datum Romae apud sanctum Petrum sub annulo piscatoris
die 12 Decembris 1601, pontificatus Nostri anno decimo.
[Brevia, Arm. 44 t. 35, n. 421, Papal Secret Archives.]
23. Francesco Maria Vialardo to the Duke of Mantua. ^
1604, December 11, Rome.
... II card'^ di Perone sara qui questa sera. Gioiosa e
ammalato di lieve puntura, il Papa fa sborsare 50°^ duc^^ per
il negotio dell'acqua di Ferrara, vuole che si rimetta la con-
gregatione de propaganda fide. . . .
[Orig. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.]
' See supra, p. 268.
INDEX OF NAMES IN VOL. XXIV.
Abbas I. (Shah of Persia), 247
seq.
Abercomby, Robert ( (S.J.), 61.
Accoramboni, Ottavio (Bishop
of Fossombrone), 192.
Acosta, Jose de (S.J.), 166, 169-
175, 178 seqq., 308.
Accjuapendente (preacher), 273.
Adorno, Franc. (S.J.), 169.
Adrian IV., Pope, 69.
Adrian VI., Pope, 409.
Adrianus, QuintiUanus (notary
of the Inijuisition), 198.
Afflito, Annibale d' (Bishop of
Reggio), 193, 264.
AgelUo, Antonio (Theatine,
Bishop of Acerno), 223
439-
Agucchio, Girolamo (major -
domo of P. Aldobrandini),
Cardinal, 72, 414.
Aguila, Jiian de (Spanish
general), 70.
Alvbar the Great (Grand INIogul)
245-
Alaleone, Paolo (master of cere-
monies), 81, 151, 404, 472,
531-
Alarcon, Garcia de (S.J.), 310.
Albani, Francesco (painter),
517-
Albergati, Antonio (nuncio at
Cologne), 443.
Albergati, Fabio, 491.
Albert of Austria (husband of
Isabella of Spain, governor
of the Low Countries), 6,
13, 40, 47, 57 seq., 65, 68
seq., 71, 295 seqq., 325,
402 seq., 406, 516.
Alberti, Cherubino (painter),
482, 486.
Alberti Giovanni (painter), 479
seq., 487 seq.
Aldobrandini, Family of the,
158, 420, 426, 478, 483,
489, 512.
Aldobrandini [Passeri], Cinzio
(nephew of Clement VIII.),
Cardinal, 72, 85, 99, iii,
222, 248, 266, 386 seq., 39T,
396 seq., 451 seq., 456 seqq.,
460, 469, 490, 505.
Aldobrandini, Flaminia, 279.
Aldobrandini, Gian Francesco,
375 ^'isq., 379, 386, 391.
Aldobrandini [Detil, Lisa
(mother of Clement VIIL),
482.
Aldobrandini, Olimpia (niece
of Clement VIIL), 512.
Aldobrandini, Pietro (nephew
of Clement VIIL), Cardi-
nal, 39, 72, 164, 182 seq.,
197. 199'. 266, 307, 313,
319, 325- 342, 346 seq.,
373. 386, 393-396, 308, 400,
403 seqq., 410, 433 seq., 451
seq., 483, 490, 495-499, 505.
519 seq., 523.
Aldobrandini, Silvestro (father
of Clement VIIL), 482 seq.
Alexander III., Pope, 233.
Alexander VI., Pope, 186, 505.
Alfonso II. (Duke of Ferrara),
382 seqq., 385, 388, 391,
394. 397. 401.
Allen, William, Cardinal, 9-13,
17, 21, 65, 193.
Alonso, Juan (Bishop of Leon),
305-
Alphonsus, O.S.B. (abbot of
Valladolid), 8.
Altemps, Cardinal, 459, 493.
Alvares II. (King of the Congo),
251-
Alvarez, Diego (O.P.), 303, 318
seqq., 325, 335, 347, 349.
VOL. XXIV.
577
37
578
INDEX OF NAMES.
Ammirato, Scipione, 453.
Anchieta, Jose de (S.J.), 255.
Ancina, Giovanni Giovenale
(Bishop of Saluzzo), 192.
Andrew of Austria (Bishop of
Constance and Brixen),
Cardinal, 275.
Angelis, Giiiho de (physician),
450-
Angelotto, Giov. Batt. (heretic),
215.
Angermann (Archbishop of
Upsala), 90 sea., 95 seq.,
98, 103.
Angus, Earl of, 53, 61 seq.
Anhalt, Ludwig von, 504.
Anna (archduchess, wife of
Sigismund III.), 81, loi,
115, 122, 235.
Anne (wife of James I. of
England), 50, 55 seq., 72.
Anselmo da Monopoli
(Capuchin), 273.
Antoniano, Silvio, Cardinal,
134, 193, 195, 228, 266,
273. 437. 439, 453. 494,
515-
Aquaviva, Claudio (general of
the Jesuits), 2, 15 seq., 43,
166 seq., 169-174, 179-184,
238, 255, 258, 30T, 307
seq., 318, 2>25seq., 331, 335,
364 seq., 445.
Aquaviva d'Aragona (Bishop
of Cajazzo), 172.
Aquaviva, Ottavio (Archbishop
of Naples), 171.
A(]uino, Antonio de (Bishop of
Sarno), 193.
Aragona, Cardinal, see Tag-
liavia.
Arevedo, Pedro Gonzalez de,
3T5.
Arias, Beatrice, 421.
Arigoni, Pompeo, Cardinal, 193,
■ 198, 322, 347, 397.
Ariosto, 465.
Aristotle, 204, 208.
Arpino, Cavaliere d' (painter),
467, 470 seq., 475' seq., 479
seq., 497, 513. 519.
Arras, Niccolo (Dutch artist),
477-
x\rrese, Juan de (licenciate),292.
Arrighini, Giorgio (hat-maker),
159-
Arrigoni, Lelio, 218, 220, 427,
506.
Arrubal, Pedro de' (S.J.), 323,
325. 335 seq., 356.
Ascoli (O.P.), Cardinal, 339.
Ashton, Nicolas (co-founder of
the English College, Lis-
bon), 8.
Athanasius, St., 428.
Augustine, St., 283, 289, 297,
311, 321, 348 seq.
Avalos de Aragonia, liligo,
Cardinal, 193.
Avendaiio, Alonso de (O.P.),
300, 304, 306 seqq., 364.
Avila, Guzman de [Davila],
Cardinal, 72, 323.
Bacagliar, Andr., 438.
Bacci, Andrea (botanist), 431.
Baglione, Giovanni (painter),
474, 476, 479, 316;
Bagshaw, Christopher (secular
priest), 17, 19, 24.
Baius, 297.
Balaban, Gedeon (Bishop of
Lemberg), 123, 130 seq.,
136 seq.,' i^g.
Balmerino (secretary to James
I. of England), 34.
Bancroft, Richard (prot. bishop
of Eondon), 29, 33.
Bandini, Giovan Battista, Car-
dinal, 226 seq., 396.
Bandini, Giovan Battista
(priest), 449.
Bandini, Ottavio (Bishop of
Fermo), Cardinal, 72, 396.
Banes, Domenico (O.P.), 285
seqq., 291 seq., 298-301,
303, 310 seq., 313, 313,
318, 323 seq., 323, 344 seqq.
Barbaro, Fiancesco (Bishop of
Aquileja), 190.
Barberini, Maf'eo (later Pope
Url)an VIIL), 72, 120, 414,
447. 454-
Barga (phvsician to Clement
VII i.),' 432.
Bargaus, Petrus Angelus, 463.
Bargius, Johann, 3.
Barocci, Federico (painter), 4 82.
1
INDEX OF NAMES.
579
Baronius, Cesare, Cardinal, 72,
133, 158, 161, 188, 195,
216, 228 seq., 273, 277,
373. 397. 437. 439, 443.
446 seq.. 453, 474, 487,
490, 494- 505. 517 s^<l->
.521, 527.
Barrett, Dr. (president of Douai
college), 17.
Barro, G. F. (heretic), 202.
Barsum (Archdeacon of Alex-
andria), 257.
Basa, Bernardo (printer), 449.
Basa, Domenico (printer), 449.
Bascape, Carlo (Bishop of
No vara), 191.
Bassus, Junius, 473.
Bastida, Ferdinando de la
(S.J.), 323. 343, .3.56.
Bathorv, Andreas, Cardinal,
83,' 88, 194-
Bathory, Stephen (King of
Poland), 120, 127.
Beaton, James (Archbishop of
Glasgow), 50, 66.
Beaumont (French envoy in
England), 74.
Beccaria, Ippolito Maria (gen-
eral of the Dominicans),
325 seq.. 331.
Bellarmine, Cynthia (mother of
the Cardinal), 445.
Bellarmine, Robert, Cardinal,
15. 49, 54. 167, 187 seq..
193. 195, 211, 218, 224,
226, 228 seq., 230, 273,
31T seq., 317, 320, 327, 333,
335. 337. 34^>. 350 seqq.,
359 seq., 437, 439-446. 453.
494-
Benaglia (prelate), 270.
Benavidcs, Michael (O.P., Arch-
bishop of Manila), 244.
Benedict XIV., Pope, 469.
Benedict X\'., Pope, 368.
Bentivoglio, Guido, Cardinal,
397. 437-
Bernard of Clairvaux, St., 520.
Bernardoni, Giovanni Maria
(S.J.), 123.
Bernerio, Girolamo (O.P.), Car-
dinal, 198, 317, 327, 517.
Bethune, Maximilian de, see
Sully.
Bevilacqua, Bonifacio, Cardi-
nal, 195.
Bianchetti, Lorenzo, Cardinal,
195-
Billius (theologian), 438.
Bishop, John, 25, 29.
Bishop, William (vicar -apos-
tolic), 24 seqq., 36.
Blackwell, George (arcli-priest),
2T, 22-2 s, 27 seq., 30 seqq.,
34. 38. "
Blandrata, Francesco (Bishop
of Acqui), Cardinal, 403,
414.
Blasio, Luca (organ buuder),
478.
Blount, Richard (S.J.), 33.
Bluet, Thomas (secular priest),
19, 24, 29, 32, 35.
Bobadilla, Andrea (Archbishop
of Saragossa), 194.
Boccafusco, Costanzo (O.F.M.),
Cardinal, 198.
Boccalini, Torojano (satirist),
454-
Boissard, Jean Jacques (arche-
ologist), 503.
Bolanos"', Luis (O.F.M.), 255.
Bolognetti, Albert! (nuncio).
Cardinal, 120, 127.
Bombasio, Gabriele, 517.
Bonarelli, Guidobaldo (poet),
452.
Bonaventnre, St., 438.
Bonelli, Michele, Cardinal, 87,
317, 319 seq.. 339, 4S4,
507. 510.
Bonitor, James \\'ood, I-ord of,
56.
Bordini, Giovanni Francesco
(Archbishop of Avignon),
439.
Borghe.'^e, Camillo (later Pope
Paul v.). Cardinal, 8, 26,
195, 198, 347- 5^2.
Borromeo, Charles, St., Car-
dinal, IT, 160, 169, 192,
233 seq., 246
Borromeo, Frederick (Arch-
bishop of Milan), Cardinal,
191. 195. 223, 234, 266,
510.
Bosio, Antonio (archeologist),
505, 521, 527-
58o
INDEX OF NAMES.
Bosso da Bassi (heretic), 202.
Botero, Giov., 196.
Bovio (theologian), 334, 336.
Bozio, Tomaso (oratorian), 276.
Brambilla (painter), 502.
Brendani, Antonio (p.p. of
S. Dorotea), 163.
Bressio, Maurizio (scholar), 449.
Bridget of Sweden, St., T04.
Bril, Paul (painter), 486, 48S,
5C'2, 524.
Bronski (Arian), 139.
Bruno, Fabio (S.J.), 258.
Bruno, Giordano, 202 213.
Brusca, Francesco (O.F.M.,
Bishop of Lettera), 322.
Buchel, Arend van, 503.
Bufalo, Innocenzo (Bishop of
Camerino, nuncio), 72, 74,
78.
Buonvicino, Ambrogio
(sculptor), 479.
Bus, Cesar de (founder of the
" Doctrinnaires "), 165.
Buzzi, Ippolito (sculptor), 483.
Caetani, Family of the, 430.
Caetani, Carnillo (patriarch of
Alexandria), 82.
Caetani, Errico, Cardinal, i, 8,
21 seq., 26, III, 112 seq.,
114 seqq., 121, 153, 193,
445, 516.
Caetani, Pietro (Duke of Fer-
rara), 386.
Caffarelli, Family of the, 430.
Cagnati, I^Iarsilio (physician to
Clement YIIL), 435.
Calasanctius, Joseph, St., 139,
161-164.
Calixtus II., Pope, 472.
Calvetti, Olimpio, 423, 425.
Calvin, John, 206, 213, 282,
324-
Calvin, Justus, 277, 300, 440.
Cambio, Arnolfo di (artist), 525
Camillus of Lellis, St., 159, 410.
Campugnanu.j, Hieron. Joan-
ninus, 502.
Cano, Melchior (O.P.), 296,
299.
Caporali, Guilio di Giov. Batt.
(gilder), 475.
Capranico, Paolo, Mgr., 495.
Caracci, The (painters), 466,
467, 511.
Caracci, Agostino (artist), 466,
510.
Caracci, Annibale (painter),
510, 512 seq.
Carafa, Carlo, Cardinal, 162,
223.
Caravaggio [Amerighi], Michel-
angelo (painter), 467, 516.
Carretto, Giulio del (Mantuan
envoy), 198, 225, 232, 374.
494-
Casimir, St., 235.
Cassian, 321.
Castanola, Vincenzo (S.J.), 261.
Castelfidardo (Franciscan), 273.
Castelli, Bernardo (painter),
466.
Castelnau de Mauvissiere
Michel, 205, 207.
Catesby (conspirator), 47.
Catherine of Siena, St., 235.
Catherine of Sweden, St., 104.
Cati, Pasquale (painter), 489.
Cato, Renato (orator), 396.
Cattaneo, I.azzaro (S.J.), 241.
C e c i, Battista (envoy from
Urbino), 508 seq.
Cecil, John (spy), 24.
Cecil, Robert, 43, 57.
Cecilia, St., 320 seqq.
Cedolini, Pietro (Bishop of
I-esina), 453.
Cenci, Family of the, 420 seq.
Cenci, Beatrice, 420 seq., 422-
426.
Cenci, Bernardo (son of Fran-
cesco), 422 seqq.
Cenci, Cristoforo (clerk of the
Chamber), 421.
Cenci, Cristoforo (son of Fran-
cesco), 423.
Cenci, Francesco, 420, 422-
425-
Cenci, Giacomo, 420, 422 seqq.
Cenci, Lucrezia (second wife of
Francesco), 422 seqq.
Cenci, Paolo (son of Francesco),
422.
Cenci, Rocco (son of Francesco),
423-
Cerasa, Tiberio (Papal treas-
urer), 379, 517-
INDEX OF NAMES.
581
Ceruso, Giovanni Leonardo
(" II Lettei-ato "), 162.
Cervoni da Colle, Isabella, 395.
Cesalpino, Andrea (physician
to Clement VIII.), 435,
^50.
Cesari, Giiiseppe (painter), 467.
Cesi, Bartolomeo, Cardinal, 379,
405, 448, 490, 516, 523.
Chacon, see Ciaconius.
Charlemagne, 390.
Charles V., Emperor, 7.
Charles of Sweden, see Soder-
manland.
Charnock, Robert (English
(priest), 24 scqq.
Chastel, Jean, 168.
Chemnitz, Martin (Lutheran
theologian), 300.
Chisholm, William (Bishop of
Vaison), 53.
Chisholm, WiUiam (the
younger, Bishop of Dun-
blane), 63.
Christian IV. (King of Den-
mark), 142.
Ciaconius, Alfonsus (O.P.), 449,
505-
Ciampelli (painter), 479.
Ciampoli (poet), 452, 496.
Cicada, C. (ruler of Crete),
261.
Cicada, Vincenzo (S.J.), 261.
Cieco (Theatine), 273.
Cigoli, Lodovico (painter), 474.
Cioni, Giambattista, 159.
Cipriano, Adriano (O.S.B.), 449.
Clark (English priest), 59.
Clavius, Christopher, 439.
Clement I., St., Pope, 479.
Clement VII., Pope, 262, 372,
469.
Clement VIII., Pope, Vol.
XXIV.
Cobos, Cristobal de los (S.J.),
.323. 325. 335 seq.
Colleton (English priest), 24.
Coloma, Luis, (O.S.A.), 315.
Colonna, Family of the, 418,
430-
Colonna, Ascanio, Cardinal,
446, 510.
Colonna, Marcantonio, Car-
dmal, 380.
Como, Giovan Paolo da (Barna-
bite), 165.
Confucius, 242.
Contarini, Niccolo, 210.
Contarini, Thomas (Archbishop
of Crete), 156.
Conti, Family of the, 418, 430.
Conti, Carlo (Bishop of Ancona)
Cardinal, 389.
Conti, Torquato, 473.
Copernicus, 205.
Cordier, Nicolas (architect),
482 sea., 518.
Cornaro, Francesco (Bishop of
Treviso), Cardinal, 191.
Cornelius a I-apide (S.J.), 444.
Coronel, Garcia (theologian),
297.
Coronel, Gregorio Nufiez
(O.S.A.), 322 sea., 334 seq.
Corradus, Rudolf, 507.
Cortona, Pietro da (painter).
4S8.
Costa, Francisco da (S.J.), 247.
Costantini, Antonio (friend of
Tasso), 459.
Cotti, Renato, 384.
Coutinho, Pedro (benefactor
to the English College,
Lisbon), 8.
Creil, Louis de (Sorbonnist),
322.
Cremonino, Cesare (envoy), 401.
Crescenzi, Marcello (Bishop of
Assisi), 193.
Crescenzio, Bartol. (architect),
414. 4.52.
Creswell, Joseph (S.J.), 34, 47.
Crichton, (Jesuit), 44, 52, 65
seq.
Crispo, G., 453.
Croy, Philippe de, 6.
Cuevas, De las (O.P.), 294, 296.
Cusake, Christopher (Irish
secular priest), 67.
Cusani, Marco de Sadis, 165.
Cyprian, St., 127.
Daifusam.v (Japanese ruler),
239-
Damasus, St., Pope, 474.
Dandini, Girolamo (S.j.), 25S.
Darnlej', 46.
582
INDEX OF NAMES.
Davila, Francisco (O.F.M.),
333-
Davila, Gil Gonzalez (S.J.), 301.
De Rr}', Theodore (engraver),
503-
Delfino, Flaminio, 374 seq.
Demetrius, The false, 140, 142-
147.
Deti, Giambattista, Cardinal,
195, 196.
Deti, Lisa, see Aldobrandini.
Deza, Die^o de (O.P.), 305.
Deza, Pedro, Cardinal, ig8.
Diaz, Andrea (Augustinian
hermit), 185.
Dietrichstein, F. von (Bishop
of Olmiitz), Cardinal, 276,
443-
Dimitry [Demetrius], son of
Ivan IV., 140, 142.
Dolfin, Giovan (Venetian am-
bassador), 196, 222.
Dolfino, Gentile (Bishop of
Camerino), 188, 192.
Domitian, Emperor, 518.
Donati, Alessandro (S.J.), 496.
Donato, Leonardo (Venetian
envoy), 376.
Domenichino [Zampieri], Dom-
enico (painter), 499, 510.
Dominic, St.. 295.
Drummond, Edward, 53, 55,56.
Dumoulin, Charles (Galilean
theologian), 217, 218.
Du Perron, Jacques Davy
(Bishop of Evreux), Cardi-
nal, 72', 360, 437, 443.
Durante, Castore (botanist),
45T-
Diirer, Albert, 457, 507.
Edward III. (King of Eng-
land), 42.
Effetti, Giovanni degli, 40, 74.
Eggis, Albert (vicar general of
Haarlem), 4.
Eichhov, Cyprian, 503.
Eleanora (wite of Vincenzo,
Duke of Mantua), 401.
Eleutherius, see Meyere.
Elizabeth (Queen of England),
I, 8, 12, 29 seqq., 34, 40
seq., 51, 54 seq., 57, 61, 63
seq., 68, 80, 106, 202, 213.
Emanuel, Philibert (Duke of
Savoy), 53, 216, 37S.
Ercole II. (Duke of Ferrara),
386.
Eric, St., 104.
Ernhofter, Sigismund (S.J.),
90, 98.
Ernest of Bavaria (Elector of
Cologne), 10, 40, 151.
Errera, Enrico d', 517.
Errol, Earl of 53, 61 seq.
Escalona, Juan Fernandez
Pacheco, Duke of (Marquis
of Vigliena, Spanish am-
bassador in Rome), 196.
Essex, Robert Devereux, Earl
of, 47.
Este, Famil}' of the, 386, 390,
396, 400, 457.
Este, Alessandro d'. Cardinal,
196.
Este, Alfonso d', see Alfonso.
Este, Cesare d' (cousin to
Alfonso II.), 377, 382 seqq.,
385-389, 391-395. 398, 401.
Este, Luigi d'. Cardinal, 196.
Eulogius, St., 524.
Eustachio, Giov. Paolo, 452.
Exuperantius, St., 521.
Fabri, Johann (botanist), 451.
Fabritio Napolitano (Minorite),
541-
Fagnani (secretary to the
Congr. of the Council), 231.
Farinaccio, Prospero, 425.
Farnese, Family of the, 46, 420,
430, 448.
Farnese, Alessandro, 11, 13, 63.
Farnese, Odoardo, Cardinal,
234, 408, 467, 490, 510
seqq., 520, 523.
Farnese, Ranuccio (Duke of
Parma), 401, 431.
Faustus of Riez, 321.
Felinus, Petrus Martyr (Servite)
228, 452.
Feodor, Czar, 140 seq.
Ferdinand (Archduke of Styria)
200, 401.
Ferrata, Ercole (sculptor), 525.
Ferreira, Bartolomeo, 294 spqq.
Ferreri, Guiseppe (Archbishop
of Urbino), 193.
INDEX OF NAMES.
583
Fiammjngo, Egidio (artist),
All-
Finelli, Ciuliano (sculptor), 517.
Fisher, Roliert (S.J.), 20.
Flavia, Domitilla, St., 518.
Fleming, Klas (admiral, gover-
nor of Finland), 88.
Fontana, Domenico (architect),
468, 489.
Fontana, Giovanni (architect),
414, 466, 467, 475, 489,
492, 497.
Fontana, Giovanni (Bit^hop of
Ferrara), 38 1, 398.
Foresto, Giulio Ce-.are (Man-
tuan envoy), ii, 194, 272,
43T, 434. 505-
Fossataro, Marcello (Francis-
can hermit), 162.
Francesca Romana, St., 234.
Franciotti, Cesare, 159.
Franciotti, Giulio, 159.
Francis of Assi-si, St., 254,
524-
Francis de Sales, St., 298.
Francis Xavier, St., 243.
Franco, Giacomo (painter), 502.
Francolini, Marcello, 229.
Frangipani, Family of the, 430.
Frangipani, Ottavio Mirto
(nuncio), 4 seq., 31, 46.
Frederick (Duke of Wiirtem-
berg), 272.
Froes (Jesuit), 238.
Gabriel (patriarch of Alex-
andria), 256 seq.
Gabuzio, Pietro, 375.
Gaetano (nuncio), 306 seq.
Gaetano, Costantino (O.S.B.),
446.
Galaminus, Aug. (commissary
of the Inquisition), 198.
Galarza, Pedro Garcia (Bishop
of Coria), 315.
Galilei, Galileo, 213.
Galli, Ant. Maria, Cardinal, 72,
87, III, 266, 269, 432, 515.
Galuzzi, P. Angelo, 523.
Garnet, Henry (S.J.), 18 seq.,
24 seq., 2"8, 37, 73.
Gasquet, Aidan, Cardinal, 368,
448.
Gavanti, Bartolomeo (Barna-
bite), 228, 230.
Gessi (prelate), 270.
Gesualdo, Alfonso, Cardinal.
193. 469. 5^4-
Ghislieri, Michele (Theatine),
223, 228.
Gianotti, Antonio (Archbishop
of Urbino), 193.
Gifford, William (Archbishop
of Rheims), 14, 38, 43.
Giglioli, Girolamo (envoy from
Cesare d'Este), 385, 387.
Ginnasio, Domenico (Arch-
bishop of Siponto, nuncio),
183, 189, 193, 239, 342
seq., 381.
Giordano, Luca (painter), 488.
Giorgetti, Antonio (sculptor),
525-
Giovanni, Paolo Eustachio, P.,
152.
Giovanni, di Sant 'Eliseo (Car-
melite), 248.
Giustiniani, Benedetto, Cardi-
nal, 516.
Godunow, Boris, 140 %eq., 142,
145-
Gonzaga, Ferrante (Prmce of
Guastalla), 401.
Gonzaga, Francesco (Bishop of
Cefalu and Mantua), 191,
193-
Gonzaga, Giovanni Francesco
11. (Duke of Mantua), 192.
Gonzaga, Scipione, Cardinal,
193. 194. 45^. 507-
Gonzaga, Vincenzo (Duke of
Mantua), 218, 401 seq., 431,
465, 506.
Gordon (Jesuit), 52, 65.
Goslicki, Laurentius (Bishop
of Przemysl), 114, 125,
136 seq.
Graziani, Antonio Maria,
(Bishop of Amelia, nuncio),
153. 156, 193. 222, 439.
Gregory the Great, Pope, 188,
438, 518-
Gregory XIII., Pope, 14, 30,
52, 65, 67, 127, 166, 220,
237, 239, 244, 259, 267
seq., 408, 417, 429, 469,
493-
584
INDEX OF NAMES.
Gregory XIV., Pope, 165, 166,
189, 222 seq., 226, 228,
256, 374. 377. 382, 438,
449, 469.
Gregory XV., Pope, 201.
Grilenzone, 384.
Gretzer, J. (S.J.), 224.
Grimaldi, Giacomo, 274, 472.
Grimani, M. (Doge of Venice),
58, 156, 389.
Gualdo (canon), 361.
Guarini (poet), 51 1.
Guarino, Battista (organist),
451-
Guercino [Barbieri], Giov.
Francesco (painter), 466.
Guerguis, Abram de (Maronite,
S.J.). 250.
Guerra, Alfonso (O.P., Bishop
of Assuncion), 255.
Guidiccioni, Alessandro (Bishop
of Lucca), 159 seq.
Guise, Henri de, Duke, 8.
Gustavus Wasa, 84.
Guzman, (O.P.), 291.
Hamilton, James, 54.
Henrv (son of James I.),
56.
Henry III. (King of France),
no, 204.
Henry IV. (King of France),
7. 32, 42. 45 seqq., 55, 58,
66, 158, 168, 184, 271,
378, 384. 38956^-448.
Henry VIII. (King of Eng-
land), 40.
Henry of Portugal, Cardinal,
176.
Herbest, Benedict (S.J.), 125.
Hermogenes (Archibshop of
Polotzk), 137.
Hilary, St., Pope, 480, 524.
Hojeda (Jesuit), 183.
Holing, John (S.J.), 67.
Holt, William, (S.J.), 10, 13
seq., 17, 63.
Hooft, Pieter Corneliszoon,
503-
Hosius, Stanislas, Cardinal, 120,
440.
Howard, Henry (Earl of North-
ampton), 75, 80.
Huntly, Earl of, 62 seqq., 65.
Hyacinth, St., in, 234 seq.,
271. 517-
Ignatius Loyola, St., 165,
170, seq., 175, 178. 233,
283, 363.
Innocent III., Pope, 473.
Innocent IV., Pope, 231, 263.
Innocent VIII., Pope, 523.
Innocent IX., Pope, 232, 256,
374-
Isabella, Clara Eugenia (wife
of Albert of Austria), 42,
44, 47, 402, 406.
Ivan IV., Czar, 140, 142.
Jacob (Emperor of Abyssinia),
2.51.
James, King (I. of England,
VI. of Scotland), 41, 43,
45, 49-64, 65, 70-80.
James, Thomas (envoy to
Madrid), 47.
Javieres, Girolamo (O.P.), 347.
Jeremias II. (patriarch of Con-
stantinople), 127 seq., 129,
131. 137-
Jerin, Andreas von (Bishop of
Breslau), 114 seq.
Job (patriarch of Moscow), 141,
145-
John (brother to Christian IV.
of Denmark), 142.
John III. (King of Sweden),
84 seq., 87, 90 seq., 94.
John XXII., Pope, 351.
John Stephen (son of the
Voivode Peter) 259.
John of Alexandria (archpriest),
257-
John Damascene, St., 438.
Juan de Santa Cruz (Hierony-
mite), 292.
Julius II., Pope, 372, 378.
Julius III., Pope, 232, 351.
Jung, Adrian (S.J.), 125.
Karnkowski (Archbishop of
Gnesen), 83, no, 119, 139.
Khian-lung, 240.
Komulowic, Alexander (abbot
of Nona), 119.
INDEX OF NAMES.
585
Lacerda, Tlernando de (SJ.)-
300, 306.
Laerzio, Alberto (S.J.), 246.
Lainez (general of the Jesuits),
316.
Lamata, Francesco (theolo-
gian), 449.
Lambardi, Carlo (architect),
489.
Lancellotti, Scipione, Cardinal,
385.
I.andini, Taddeo (architect),
489.
Lando, Felio (Bishop of Nardi),
321.
Lapide, Cornelius a (S.J.).
444.
Lascy, Samuel (envoy of Sigis-
mund III.). lo?-
Laterna, Martin (S.J.), 108,
137-
Laureti, Lorenzo (Carmelite.
Bishop of Adria), 190.
Laureti, Tommaso (president
of Academy of St. Luke),
513-
Le Blanc, Aug., .9ee Serry.
Lee, John (secular priest), 67.
Lemos, Count (Viceroy of
Naples), 181 seq., 235, 276.
Lemos, Countess, 182, seq.
Lemos, Tommaso de (O.P.),
335, 356.
Lennox, Duke of, 62 seq.
Leo X., Pope, 262, 351, 497,
511-
Leo XL, Pope, 184.
Leo XIII. , Pope, 210, 436.
Leon, Luis de (O.S..'\.), 291
seqq.
Leonardi, Giovanni, St., 159
seqq.
Lerma, Duke of, 14, 181 seqq.
Lesdiguieres (Governor of
Dauphiny), 378.
Lesley, John (Bishop of Ross),
50, 66.
Lessius, Leonard (S.J.), 290,
297, 443-
Lewis, Owen (Bishop of Cas-
sano), II seq.
Lindanus (theologian), 440.
Lindsay, James, 56 seq., 70
seqq.
Lindsay, Walter, 52, 63.
Lister, Thomas (S.J.), 28, 31.
Lollini, Luigi (ISishop of Bel-
luno), 191.
L o m b a r d i, Antonio (Arch-
bishop of Messina), 193,
263.
Longhi, Andreas (Bishop of
Civita Castellana), 157.
Lopez, Francisco (S.J.), 249
seq.
Lorraine, Charles, Duke of, 55,
57, 64, 78, 194, 276.
Lucius, Pope, 522.
Lucrezia (Duchess of Urbino),
394-
Lukaris, Cyril, 136, 139.
LuUi, Raimondo, 208.
Lunghi, Onorio (architect), 517.
Luther, Martin, 206, 208, 282,
299, 324, 351. 439-
M A c I E J o w s K I, Bernhard
(Bishop of Wilna), Cardi-
nal, 119, 130, 139.
MacQuhirrie, Alexander (S.J.),
49, 56.
Maderno, Carlo (architect),
467, 475, 496, 512, 515
seq.
Maderno, Stefano (sculptor),
483. 489. 525 seq.
Madruzzo, Lodoviso (Bishop of
Trent), Cardinal, 193, 198,
322, 325-333, 409, 516.
Mallei, Giampietro (S.J.), 437,
454-
Malaspina, Germanico (Bishop
of San Severe, nuncio), 82
seq., 85, 87-95. 97-102, 105
seq., no seqq., 117-122,
13^. 435- , ^
Malatesta, Gius. (biographer),
435-
Malvasia (nunico), 14, 39, 43,
62 seqq., 65.
Manareus, V)liver (S.J.), 2, 13
seq.
Mancio (Dominican), 305.
Mander, Karel van (painter),
503-
Mandina. Benedetto (Bishop
of Caserta), 8?, 112 seqq.
586
INDEX OF NAMES.
Manlius Curiiis Dentatus, 492.
Mansoni, Lod. (S.J.), 69.
Mantano, Giov. Batt. (artist),
478.
Mantica, Francesco, Cardinal,
195, 437-
Manutiiis, Aldus (printer),
449-
Marcellus, St., 521.
Marcellus IT., Pope, 445.
Marchstaller (abate), 526.
Marcos, Miguel (S.J.), 293,
301.
Marenzio, Luca (organist), 451,
454-
Margaret (Archduchess of
Styria, wife of Philip III.),
402, 403.
Margherita (sister of Duke
Vincenzo of Mantua), 401.
Marguni, Massimo (Bishop of
Cerigo), 213.
Maria of Austria (archduchess),
3.58, 522.
Maria (wife of the Emperor
Maximilian II.), 325, 357.
Mariana, Juan de (S.J., his-
torian), 172.
Mariani, Camillo (sculptor),
477, 482.
Marini, Giambattista (poet),
451, 496, 525.
Marinis, Giovanni Baptista de
(general of the Domini-
cans), 365 seq.
Mark (patriarch of Alexandria),
257-
Mark Sittich of Holienems, fiee
Hohenems.
Martinez, Pedro (bishop in
Japan), 238.
Mary of Egypt, St., 524.
Mary Stuart (Queen of Scot-
land), 12, 27, 41, 65.
Mary Tudor (Queen of Eng-
land), 41, 68.
INIarzato da Sorento, Anselmo
(Capuchin), Cardinal, 72,
353-
Masseri, Ippclito (Bishop of
Montepeloso), 334.
Massimi, Family of the, 427.
Massimo, Lelio de (Marquis of
Prassedi), 427.
Massimo, Luca, 427.
Massimo, Marcantonio, 427.
Mattel, Ciriaco, 506.
Matthias of Austria (archduke),
216.
Mauvissiere, see Castelnau de
Mauvissiere.
Maximilian II., Emperor, 357.
Maximilian of Austria (arch-
duke), 113 seq., 118, 2t6,
325, 40T, 406.
Maximilian I. of Bavaria,
171.
Maximus, St., 521.
Mazarino (preacher), 273.
Mazzoni, Giacomo (philosopher)
451-
Mebes, 208.
Medici, Alessandro de'. Car-
dinal, 72, 148, 195, 266,
469, 515 seq.
Medici, Cosimo de' (Grand-
duke of Tuscany), 502.
Medici, Ferdinando de', Car-
dinal (Grand-duke of Tus-
cany), 53, 55, 385, 485.
Melchisedech (pati'iarch of
Armenia), 259.
Mendoza, Alonso de, 306.
Mendoza, Ferdinand (S.J.), 181
seqq., 184.
Menezes, Alessio de (Arch-
bishop of Goa), 246.
Menghim, C. (sculptor), 525.
Mercati, Michele (botanist), 450.
Metio, Federigo, 449.
Meyere, Livinus de [Theo-
dorus Eleutherius], 282.
Michelancrelo, 513.
Miki, Paul (S.J.), 238.
Minucci, Minuccio (Archbishop
of Zara), iii.
Mira, Giovanni de (Bishop of
Matera), 193.
IVIiranda, Diego de (S.J.), 247.
Mirandola, Federigo Pico della,
401.
Mitsukuri (Japanese), 238.
Mniszek, George (Voivode of
Sandomir), 142.
Mniszek, Marina, 142, 145.
Mocenigo, Giovanni, 208.
Mocenigo, Marcantonio (Bishop
of Ceneda), 191, 222,.
INDEX OF NAMES.
587
Molina, Luis (S.J.), 281, 283-
286, 294-303, 303 seq., 309,
313 seqq., 317-326, 333
seqq., 337-340. 343. 347
seqq., 352-355, 357-36o,
362, 364-
Molinens, Carolus, see Dumou-
lin.
Mona (prelate), 270.
Mondragon (Dominican), 300.
Monserrato, Antonio de (S.J.),
249.
Montalto, Family of the, 420.
Montalto [Alessandro Perettil,
Cardinal, 87, iii, 369, 419,
490, 514- 518 seq.
Monte, Francesco Maria del,
Cardinal, 397, 490.
Monteagle, Lord, 47.
Montecuccoli, Alvise (count),
381-
Montemayor, I'rudencio de
(S.J.), 291 seqq.
Monte Santo, Vincenzo de
(Bishop of Teramo), 193.
Montolon, Guglielmo, di, 369.
Morgan, Thomas (agent for
Mary Stuart), 12 seq.
Morton (Jesuit), 63.
Moscoso, Juan Alonso (Bishop
of Leon), 305.
Motowila, 139.
Mountioy (Viceroy of Ireland),
70.
Mucantius, Giov. (master of
ceremonies), 112, 115, 116.
Muleto, Benedetto (S.J.), 261.
Muret, Antoine (humanist's,
448.
Mush (English priest), 24.
Musotti, Alessandro (Bishop of
Imola), 192.
Muziano, (jirolamo (painter),
494-
Nahaj, Caspar (S.J.), 137.
Nebbia, Cesare (artist), 471.
Neri, Philip, St., 158, 160, 162,
192, 233, 278, 515.
Niccolini, Giovanni (Tuscan
envoy), i <9, 186, 232.
Nicephorus (adventurer), 136
seq.
Nieulandt, \^'illem van
(painter), 502.
Nicolas IV., Pope, 477, 480.
Ninguarda, Feliciano (bishop
of Como), 191.
Nis, Gerard, 214.
Norfolk, Duke of, 75.
Noronha, Antonio de Matos de
(Bishop of Elvas, Inquisi-
tor), 542.
Novara, Giov. Batt. da
(painter), 476.
Nottingham, Earl of, 43.
Nuflo, Diego (O.P.), 302-306,
310, 313.
O'DoNEi.L (Irish out-law), 69.
Ogilvy, John, 53, 56.
Oliva, Paolo (general of the
Jesuits), 315.
Olivieri, Pier Paolo (sculptor),
476 seq., 514.
O'Melrian, Cornelius (Irish
bishop), 68.
O'Neill (Irish out-law), 68 seq.
Onofrio, St., 324.
Opalinsld (Pohsh noble), 83.
Orlando di Lasso (musician),
545-
Orsini, Family of the, 418, 430.
Orsini, Fulvio, 448.
Orsini, I'ietro (bishop of
Aversa), 389.
Orsini, Virginio (Duke of Brac-
ciano), 410.
Ossat, Arnaud d', Cardina.],
lf>, 193, 195. 389 seq.
Ostrogskyj, Constantine (Voi-
vode of Ukrania), 126
seq., 136, 138 seq.
Otrepjew, Gregor, 143.
Ottonelli, Guiiio (envoy to
Spain), 3S8.
Oviedo, Andreas de (S.J.,
patriarch of Abyssinia),
249.
Oviedo, Matteo d' (Archbishop
of Dublin), 69.
Owen, Hugh, 14.
Pacheco, Andreas de (Bishop
of Segovia), 315.
Padilla, Antonio de (S.J.), 303,
306, 310.
588
INDEX OF NAMES.
Paez, Pedro (S.J.), 249 seqq.,
255-
Paget, Charles (agent for Mary-
Stuart), 12, 27, 38, 43.
Palantieri, Girolamo (procur-
ator of the Conventual
Franciscans), 334.
Paleotto, Alfonso (Archbishop
of Bologna), 392.
Paleotto, Gabriele, Cardinal,
192, 193, 197, 266.
Palestrina, Giov. Pierluigi, 154.
Pallotta, Giov. Evangelista,
Cardinal, 434.
Palmio, Bartolomeo (S.J.), 394.
Panigarola, Francesco (Bishop
of Asti), 192.
Pantoja, Diego (S.J.), 242.
Paravicini, 58.
Paolo di Gesu Maria (Car-
melite), 248.
Paola da Cesena (Capuchin),
273-
Paolucci, Baldassare (IMantuan
agent), 424.
Paruta, Paolo (Venetian am-
bassador), 151, 214, 216,
222, 376 seq., 381 seq., 416,
504, 508.
Pas, Angelo del (Minorite),
159. 233.
Paschal I. (Pope), 521 seq.,
524-
Passeri, see Aldobrandini,
Cinzio.
Passignano, Domenico (painter)
474-
Patrizi, Francesco (Platonist),
451-
Paul III., Pope, 262, 351, 386,
417, 492, 512.
Paul IV., Pope, 68, 201, 220.
Paul v., Pope, 50, 180, 184,
231, 246, 350, 360, 435,
471.
Peiresc, Claude Fabri de, 276,
361.
Pena, Francisco (canonist), 281,
317.342.
Peretti, Cardinal, see Montalto.
Peretti, Marchese, 410, 419.
Perez, Bartolome (S.J.), 293.
Pergola, Paolo della (Minor-
ite), 541.
Perogila, Gonzalo, 302.
Persons, Robert (S.J.), 7 seq.,
10 seqq., 13, 13 seq., 21-24,
26, 28, 31, 34, 42-46, 49,
52.
Peter the lame (Voivode of
Moldavia), 259.
Petrarch, 149, 459.
Petroni, Lucrezia, see Cenci.
Philip 11. (King of Spain), i, 7,
9 seq., 13, 39, 42, 44 ^e?-.
51, 64, 67 seq., 106, 166,
170 seqq., 173 seq., 178,
180, 224, 238, 309 seq.,
317, 357, 388 seq., 406.
Phihp IIL (King of Spain),
47, 181, 183, 199, 234 seq.,
247 seq., 251, 256, 269,
27T, 325, 334. 384. 402,
406.
Piatti, Flaminio, Cardinal, 273.
Pierbenedetti, Mariano, Car-
dinal, 347.
Pinelli, Domenico, Cardinal,
198, 230 seq., 517.
Piney, de (Duke, French am-
bassador in Rome), 390.
Pinhero, Emanuel (S.J.), 245.
Piombino, Giov. Batt. (pro-
curator-general of the
Augustinians), 322, 334,
336.
Pius II., Pope, 398.
Pius IV., Pope, 267 seqq., 231,
262, 316, 351, 421, 429,
485.
Pius v.. Pope, 28 seq., 30, 169,
220, 227, 229, 235, 262,
266, 372, 379, 382, 385,
428, 450.
Pius X., Pope, 226.
Pius XL, Pope, 445.
Pocci, Carlo Antonio (Arch-
bishop of Pisa), 192.
Pociej, Flypatius (Bishop of
Vladimir), 130-134, 136
seq., 139.
Politio, Girolamo a (Capuchin),
217.
Pollacco (a dwarf), 432.
Porta, Giacomo della (archi-
tect), 411, 467 seq., 471,
473. 475. 481, 483. 493,
512, 520.
INDEX OF NAMES.
589
Porta, Guglielmo (son of the
above), 482.
Posse vino, Antonio (S.J.), 126
seq,, 169, 512.
Poussin, Nicolas (painter), 499.
Powsinski, Barthol. (Polish
envoy), 87 seqq.
Pozzo (Jesuit and painter), 488.
Prinli, Lorenzo, Cardinal, 191.
Provenzale, IMarcello (artist),
471.
Pucci, Eniilio (commander of
the Papal fleet), 481.
Puente, Luis de la (S.J.).. ^6.
QuARENGHO, Antonio, 451.
Quirini, Vincenzo (Bishop in
Moldavia), 260.
Quiroga, Caspar de (Archbishop
of Toledo), Cardinal, 293,
300.
Rabe, Justus (S.J.), 90, 98, 137.
Rada, Giovanni de (procurator
of the Franciscan Obser-
vants), 334.
Radziwill, Georg, Cardinal, 81,
83. 119, 193. 516.
Rahoza, Michael (metropolitan
of Kiev), 130, 136 seq.
Raimondi, Giovanni Battista
(scholar). 451.
Rainaldi, Family of the, 447.
Rainaldi, Domenico, 383, 447
seq., 453-
Raitenau, Wolf Dietrich von
(Archbishop of Salzburg),
228.
Raleigh, Walter, Sir, 43.
Rangel, (O.S.F., Bishop of
San Salvador), 251.
Rangoni (marchese), 384.
Rangoni, Claudio (Bishop of
Reggio), 82, 117, 121, 142
seq., 145 seq., 191.
Rangoni, Girardo (count), 384.
Raymund of Pennafort (O.P.),
St. 235.
Reni, Guido (painter), 404,
424 seq., 466, 525.
Resta de Capelli, Properzio
(O.S.F., Bishop of Cariati
and Cerenza), 321 seq., 336.
Ricci, Giovan Battista (painter)
518.
Ricci, Matteo (S.J.), 240-243.
Rinaldi, Girolamo (architect),
513-
Ripa, Raffaele (O.P.), 325.
Rocca (Franciscan), 273.
Rocca (Jesuit), 243.
Rocca, Angelo (O.S.A.), 439,
450.
Roncalli, Cristofano (artist),
470, 473 seq., 476, 518.
Rondinelli, Ercole (envoy from
Cesare d'Este), 387.
Rossetti, Paolo (artist), 471.
Rossi, Giovanni, 414.
Rousseau, Jean Jactjues, 444.
Rovarola, Matteo (Archbishop
of Genoa), 192.
Roz, Francisco (S.J., Bishop of
Angamala), 246.
Rubens, Peter Paul (painter),
503-
Rudolph IL, Emperor, 40, 58,
100, 113 seq., 116, 270,
383. 389, 506.
Ruggieri, Michele (S.J.), 240.
Rusticucci, Girolamo, Cardinal,
150, 185, 410, 432, 516,
518.
Sadeler, Jan (painter), 271,
502.
Sadis, see Cusano, Marco de.
Salazar, Domingo de (Arch-
bishop of Manila), 24^.
Salmeron, Alfonso (S.J.), 316.
Salomoni, Ruggiero (auditor
to Malaspina), 99.
Salon, Miguel (O'S.A.), 315.
Salviati, Ant. Maria, Cardinal,
87, III, 193, 516, 518.
Sampiretti (Papal envoy to
Scotland), 52.
Sanchez, Alonso (S.J.), 170 seq.
Sandoval, Bernardo (Arch-
bishop of Toledo), 518.
Sandrart, Joachim, 476.
San Giorgio, see Bland rata.
Sanquair, Lord, 56.
Sanseverino, Lucio (Archbishop
of Rossano), 193.
Sansovino, Jacopo (architect),
514-
590
INDEX OF NAMES.
Santa Croce, Ersilia (first wife
of Franc. Cenci), 422.
Santa Croce, Onofrio, 427.
Santa Croce, Paolo, 427.
Santori, Giulio Ant., Cardinal,
121, 193, 194, 198, 210,
218, 263 seq., 266 scqq.,
269, 312 seq., 4TI, 438, 517.
Santucci, Guilio (O.S.F., Bishop
of Sant 'Agata de' Goti),
321, 336.
Sarpi, Paolo (Servite), 215.
Sassi, Lucio, Cardinal, 193, 195.
Sasso, Dr., 384.
Sauli, Alessandro (Bishop of
Pavia), 191, 410.
SavelH, Family of the, 41S.
Savelli, Lorenzo, Cardinal, 318.
Savelli, Troilo, 427.
Savelli, Mariano (Bishop of
Gubbio), 193.
Savonarola, Girolamo, 235.
Savvicki, Gaspar (S.J.), 143 seq.
Scalzo (preacher), 273.
Scandiano, Marchese, 384.
Schepjerus, Eric (Lutheran
pastor), 10 1.
Schiaffinato, Mgr., 375.
Schickhardt, Tieinr. (architect),
272, 503.
Schonenberg,Johannvon (Arch-
bishop of Treves), 543.
Schopp, Gaspar, 211.
Schott, Franz (author), 502.
Sciarra, Marco (bandit), 374
seqq.
Scioppius, C, 271.
Scribani, Charles (rector of
Jesuit College, Antwerp),
355-
Sega, Filippo, Cardinal, 16, 22.
Semple, Colonel, 63.
Sergardi, N., 109.
Sermoneta, Family of the, 420,
430.
Serrano, Jorge (S.J.), 294.
Serry, Jac. Hyacinth [Aug. Le
Blanc], O.P., 282".
Servidio, Guido (Bishop of
Volterra), 192.
Sessa, Duke of (Spanish ambas-
sador in Rome), 174 seq,
176 seq., 179 seq., 33^,
357 seq., 402, 430.
Seymour, Edward (Lord Beau-
champ), 42.
Sfondrato, Paolo Emilio, Car-
dinal, 195, 198, 272, 385,
387, 410, 507, 520-526.
Sforza, Caterina Nobili (Con-
tessa di S. Fiora), 517.
Sforza, Francesco, Cardinal,
87, III, 196, 409, 410, 428.
Shakespeare, 205.
Sigismund IIL (King of
Poland), 58, 81-96, 97-109,
no seq., 114 seq., 119, 120,
123, 127, 129, 131 seq.,
136, 142 seq., 145, 184,
235-
Silingardi, Gaspare (Bishop of
Modena, nuncio), 191.
Silvio, Enrico (apostolic vicar
of the Carmelites), 322.
Simeon (Maronite patriarch),
258.
Sirleto, Guglielmo, Cardinal,
259.
Sirleto, Stefano (Archbishop in
Armenia), 259.
Sirleto, Tommaso (custodian of
the Vat. Libr.), 449.
Siu, Paul (Chinese statesman),
243-
Sixtus IV., Pope, 372.
Sixtus v., Pope, 6, 30, 43, 64,
165, 167 seq., 185, 200,
216 seqq., 220, 222 seq.,
225 seq., 228, 237, 256,
259, 264, 267, 351, 367
seq., 371. 374. 377. 379
seq., 416, 418, 438 seq.,
444 seq., 447, 449 seq.,
456, 467, 469 seqq., 480,
484, 489 seq., 500 seq., 502,
507. 519-
Skanderberg, 261.
Skarga, Peter (S.J.), 116, 125
seqq., 129, i37-
Smith, Jan (Dutch priest), 2.
Sodermanland, Charles, Duke
of, 84 seqq., 88-93, 95 seq.,
102-109.
Sokolowski, Stanislaus, 127.
Solano, Francisco (O.S.F.), 254.
SoUkowski, Joh. Demetrius
(Archbishop of Lemberg),
137-
INDEX OF NAMES.
591
Sorbolongo (prelate), 270.
Soto, Peter, 285.
Sourdis, Henri d'Escoubleau
de (Archbishop of Bor-
deaux), 276.
Sousa, Francisco (general of
the Observants), 155.
Spallucci, Camillo di Bernardo
(gilder), 475.
Speciani Cesare (nuncio), 113,
189, 191.
Spiridion, St., 524.
Spondanus (historian), 276.
Standen, Anthony (English
envoy to Venice), 70.
Stanley, F., Earl of Derby, 42.
Stapleton, Thomas, 11, 340,
360, 437, 438, 440, 443,
450.
Stradanus [Jan van Straetl,
painter, 500.
Stuart, Arabella, 46.
Suarez, Francesco (S.J.), 293,
300 seq., 314.
Sully, Maximilian de Bethune
(duke), 40, 74.
Sundberg (Archbishop of
Upsala), 86.
Sylva, Melchior da (S.J.), 250.
Sylvia, St. (mother of St.
Gregory), 518, 524.
Sylvester, St., Pope, 472.
Szymonowicz, Simon (Polish
poet), 454.
Tagliavia, Simone, de Ara-
gona, Cardinal, 87, iii,
195. 397-
Taikosama (Japanese king),
237 seqq.
Targone, Pompeo (artist), 477.
Tarugi, Francesco Maria (Arch-
bishop of Avignon), Car-
dinal, 158, 161, 192, 195,
270. 437< 517-
Tarugi, Salustius (Bishop of
Montepulciano), 157.
Tasso, Torquato, 452, 455-466.
Tassone, Ettore Galeazzo
(count), 384.
Tassone, Giulio (count), 384.
Taverna, Lodovico (nuncio),
210, 540.
Taxis, John Baptist (Spanish
diplomat), 13.
Tekla Maryam (Abyssinian
priest), 250.
Tempesta, Antonio (painter),
399, 500, 502.
Teresa of Jesus, St., 185, 299.
Terlecki, Cyril (Bishop of
Luzk), 125, 130-13 1, 136
seq.
Thomas Aquinas, St., 175, 203,
235, 289,297, 304,311,321.
Thomas a Kempis, 362.
Tiburtius, St., 521.
T i e p o 1 o , Giov. Battista
(painter), 466, 488.
Titus (Roman Emperor), 477.
Toledo, Francisco de (S.J.),
Cardinal, no, 167, 169
seq., 172 seq., 176-182, 193,
195. 223, 266, 293, 308,
316, 344, 437, 444 seq.,
469, 494.
Toledo, Francisco Sousa de
(General of Observantines),
155-
Tolosa, Paolo (Theatine), 273.
Tommaso a Jesu (Provincial of
the Carmelites), 265 seq.
Torelli, Cesare (artist), 471.
Torres, Diego de (S.J.), 253.
Torres, Lodovico de (Arch-
bishop of Monreale), 148,
193, 228.
Torrigiani, Sebastiano, 469.
Torrigio, Francesco Maria, 472.
Toschi, Domenico, Cardinal,
195. 437-
Tresham, William, 12, 47.
Turibio, St. (Bishop of Lima),
252.
Tylicki, Peter (Bishop of Erm-
land and Kulm), 119, 121
seq., 125, 139.
Urban L, St., Pope, 522.
Urban VIIL, Pope, 256, 374,
444.
Urban VIIL, Pope, 523.
Usimbardi, Usimbardo de'
(Bishop of CoUe), 192.
Valckenborch (painter), 502.
Valdivia, Luis de (S.J), 253.
592
INDEX OF NAMES.
Valencia, Gregorio de (S.J.).
323. 336, 340. 349, 356-
Valerian, St., 521.
Valiero, Agostino (Bishop of
Verona), Cardinal, 148,
igi, 195, 223, 271, 279,
387-
Valignani, Alessandro (S.J.),
237, 240 seq., 243.
Vallejo, Jeronimo de, 304.
Valverde, 223.
Vani, Francesco (painter), 47.^.
Vanni, Curzio (artist), 478,
522, 526.
Vasto, Marchese del, 381.
Vazquez, Gabriel (S.J.), 309,
314, 343 seq.
Vazquez, Michele (S.J.). 325.
Vecchi, Giovanni de' (artist),
471, 520.
Vecchietti, Girolamo, 257.
Vega, Gabriel de (S.J.), 253.
Vendeville, Jean (Bishop of
Tournai), 264.
Vendramin, Francesco (Vene-
tian envoy), 33.
Vialardo, Francesco Maria
(Mantuan envoy), 372,
433. 498.
Victorelli, Andrea, 435.
Victoria, Francesco a, 218.
Victurius, Laurentius (Arch-
bishop of Crete), 260 seq.
Villa, Francesco (count), 393.
Viliafranca, Juan de (Domini-
can provincial), 310.
Villamena (painter), 502.
Villena, see Escalona.
Vincenzo di S. Francesco (Car-
melite), 248.
Viola, Gian Battista (painter),
499.
Visconti, Alfonso (Bishop of
Cervia and Spoleto), Car-
dinal, 72, 193, 195. 266.
Vitelleschi (General of the
Jesuits), 366.
Vittoria, F"rancisco de (Bishop
of Cordoba [TucumanJ),
252, 255, 285, 298, 316.
Viviano, Antonio (painter), 5 18.
Volpino, Giulio Cesare (con-
fessor to Clement VIII.),
484.
Vosmeer, Sasbout (Archbishop
of Philippi), 4 seq.
Vossius, Gerhard, 449.
Vrancz, Sebastian (painter),
502.
Vries, Fr. de (painter), 502.
Waldstein (Moravian noble),
504-
Wang-Lie (Emperor of China),
242.
Watson, William (English
priest), 24, 29, 33, 59, 74
seq.
Wentworth, Peter, 42.
Weston, WilUam (S.T.), 19 seq.,
38.
White, Thomas (S.J.), 67.
William V. (Duke of Bavaria),
276. 357. 431-
Winghen, Philip von, 503,
527-
Winter, Thomas, 47.
Wisniowezki, Adam, 142.
Wollowicz, Eustace (Canon of
Wilna), 13.-1.
Worthington, Dr., 11.
Wujek, Jacob (S.J.), 125.
Xavier, Girolamo (S.J.), 245.
Ximenes, Diego (S.J.), 232.
Xenia (daughter of Godunov),
141.
Yepes, Diego de (confessor to
PhiUp II.), 310.
Zacchia, Laudovisio (Papal
treasurer), 380.
Zacchia, Paolo Emilio, Car-
dinal, 3S9.
Za-Denghel (Emperor of Abys-
sina), 250 seq.
Zamoiski, Johann (Polish chan-
cellor), 82, 129.
Zbirniski, Dionys (Bishop of
Chelm), 131, 137.
Zeno, Caterina, 276.
Zuccaro, Federigo (painter),
474-
Zucchi, Francesco (artist), 471,
520.
Zumel, Francesco (Trinitarian),
291. 299, 345-
DATE DUE
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