No More Learning

3 De Magneto, magnetisque' corporibus.
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? 36 THE LIFE OF ' [A-D. 1603, 1604-
ages, and are almost universally received into the creed of science " and
again, " Sarpi, who will not be thought an incompetent judge, names
Gilbert and Vieta as the only original writers among his contempora-
ries on these subjects. "
Such were his studies amid the turmoil of outward events, but he
was still sanguine; experience and the cold- blights of a long life' had
'not yet deadened hope. Sarpi anticipated benefit from the reformed
Grisons,~%t-withstanding the strong party there in favor of Spain
and the Pope, the government made a league with Venetia, but it was
afterwards dissolved.
About this time the Cardinal San Severina died, and notwithstanding
the terror with which he had inspired others, the integrity of Fra
Paolo stood unwithered before the fiery glance of the Head Inquistor.
The temper of Severina, stern as it was, melted in the genial atmo-
sphere Fra Paolo breathed. No other Cardinal, as far as is known, ever
proposed Sarpi as worthy of preferment. But he heard worse tidings.
In the month of September, Henry IV permitted the Jesuits to re-
establish themselves in his kingdom. This was regretted by many true
Catholics, and not a little by Fra Paolo, yet he had some consolation
in learning that the relations of England and Venetia were about to
be renewed.
The Pope had not recognized the English Queen, and the Republic
of Venice resisted all the royal appeals to send an envoy. At length
the Secretary, Scaramelli was sent to England to demand redress for
the injuries done to the trade of the Republic, but he arrived only
six weeks before the death of Queen Elizabeth. On the succession of
James I, King of Great Britaimand Ireland, he immediately sent an
Ambassador to the Court of Venice, Sir Henry Wotton, whose piety,
learning, good manners and intimate acquaintance with the Italian
language made him welcome at the Court of the Doge' Grimani.
Sir Henry was well known to Sarpi, as also his Chaplain Be-
dell, but he did not go to Venice till 1607, and the estimation in
which Sarpi was held is thus described by the learned Dr. Sanderson,
Bishop of Lincoln, to whom it was a cause of regret that he
had not accompanied the English Ambassador to Venice. "O that I
had gone as Chaplain to that excellently accomplished gentleman, your
friend Sir Henry Wotton, which was once intended when he went
first Ambassador to the State of Venice; for by that employment I
had been forced into a necessity of conversing, not with him only,
but with several men of several nations; and might thereby have kept
myself from my unmanly bashfulness, which has proved very trouble-
some and not less inconvenient to me; and which I now fear is be-
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? JEr. 51, 52. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 87
come so habitual as never to leave me; and besides by that means,
I might also have known, or at least have had the satisfaction of
seeing one of the late miracles of mankind for general learning, prud-
ence, and modesty, Sir Henry Wotton's dear friend Padre Paolo, who,
the author of his life says, was born with a bashfulness as invincible
as I have found my own to be: A man whose fame must never die
till virtue and learning shall become so useless as not to be re-
garded. " ' '
The extreme modesty of Fra-Paolo must not, however, be mistaken
for bashfulness, if awkwardness, the usual attendant on bashfulness, be
implied. " He was one of the humblest things that could be seen within the
bounds of humanity, " wrote Sir Henry Wotton, but although thoughtful
and retiring, he was neither awkward or morose, his manners bore the
stamp of high breeding. His cheerfuluess is frequently noticed by Ful-
genzio, he was an eager and ready listener, but ever ready to impart his
own knowledge, and ever with deference. He spoke little, but what he
spoke was always sententious and pithy, but not sarcastic.
It has been observed that he was acquainted with M. de Thou, the
learned and tolerant historian of France, the first part of whose work was
now published, and he sent copies to Fra Paolo, and to the Cardinals de
Joyense, d'Ossat, and Aquaviva, General of the Jesuits, who wrote in
the highest praise of it to the author, saying that they placed it imme-
diately after the works of Sallust and Tacitus. He also sent a copy to
M. Canaye, the French Ambassador at Venice, to be presented to. the
Doge and Senate, which was not done.
But M. de Thou had censured Julius II, Paul III, and had spoken too
well of the German Reformers, and of one of their number he had
written, "that he had passed to a better life. " This sentence he was obliged
to change, but notwithstanding this, the book was afterwards prohibited,
to the grief of Fra Paolo, who deplored the intolerance thus displayed.
1 Life of P-p. Sanderson, p. 475. Zouch.
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? 88
CHAPTER VI.
A. D. 1605 --- A. D. 1606.
DoaEs or Vamon. Marino Grimani.
1606. Leonardo Donato.
Sovannroxs or GannAnr. Rodolph II.
_/
. id" '/A (ian. g BRITAIN. James I. _ T\--,--'
SPAIN. Philip III.
TunxEr. Achmet III.
Poms. Clement VIII. 1605. Leo. XI. Paul V.
N'//I/NIIN
Fra Paolo accused. - Leo XI. - Paul V. - MS. - Disputes of the Pope with the
Republic. - Fra, Paolo consulted. - Death of the Doge. - Leonardo Donato. -
Fra. Paolo appointed Theologian. - Sir H. Wotton gives information. - King
James's protfers. - Protest. - Fra Paolo writes in favor of the Republic.
Fra Polo had still enemies amongst the Servi. After the death of
Gabriello, his nephew Santo had hopes of obtaining the Generalship,
but he was of the same opinion as his late uncle, that if he would
rule' the Province he must destroy the reputation of Fra Paolo; his
attempts to effect this were preposterous, one was absurd. Amidst the
indignation and laughter of the whole Chapter, the three following
charges were lodged against Fra Paolo, that he wore a cap of the
form forbidden by Gregory XIV, that he wore slippers cut after the
French fashion, that he did not recite the Salve Regina at the end of
the Mass.
Such are the statements of Fulgenzio; and in some respects they
coincide with the acts of the Chapter held at Venice 1605, which were
seen by Foscarini, in which the accusation as to the form of Fra Paolo's
slippers was registered, but there was no mention either of the accu-
sations respecting the form of his cap, or of his non-recital of the Salve
Regina, for the recital was long since removed from the Servites in the
reform of their Constitutions by Gregory XIII 1579, and was not
restored again till the year 1639, by a hull of Urban VIII, after the
death of Fra Paolo. '
1- Foscarini lib. III, p. 807.
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? E1'. 53. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 89
These trivial allegations were all treated with the greatest contempt
by the Vicar General, the President, and Provincial. By order of the
judge, Fra Paolo's slippers were brought before the tribunal, and in
place of his losing his votes in the Chapter, as his accusers had hoped
he might do if it was proved that he wore slippers out after the French
fashion, the Words then uttered in his defence passed into a proverb.
'* Padre Paolo is so faultless, that even his slippers have been canonized! "
While judgment on these puerile accusations were pending Fra Paolo
was silent, and Santo, in place of taking advice as Gabriello had coun-
selled him to do, became so inflated by hopes of obtaining the Generalship,
hat he went to Rome, taking with him all that he could collect from
his friends, besides 500 ducats belonging to the monastery, and having
squandered all, and miserably. 1
While Fra Paolo's foes were plotting against him at Venice, the
affairs of the Republic wore a gloomy aspect at Rome. Leo XI had
succeeded Clement VIII, but having died shortly after, the French faction
again triumphed in the Conclave, and the Venetian Ambassador informed
the Senate that, " after a tedious and, if he might add, a scandalous con-
test, " the Cardinal Borghese was elected Pope. The Cardinal du Per-
ron's exalted opinion of him differs widely to that from the pen of Sarpi
in his History of the Interdict which was written by command.
" To M. de F. Canaye,
" Counsellor of the King and Ambassador to Venice.
" Sir,
" Though somewhat late, this letter will inform you, not only that we
have a 'Pope, of that you must already have been informed, but that we
have an excellent Pope, and one who is well affected to France, the Cardi-
nal Borghese. His father was of the French faction, and having followed
his party and the arms of France when Siena was taken by the Spanish,
he took refuge in Rome, where this Pope was born, and when Cardinal
he was, as he is, Well inclined to the French interest, so that the Cardinal
d'Ossat begged the Pope to send him to the King as Legate, to manage
the affairs of Savoy. He had a pension from Spain which he received
from the Pope Clement, who both desired and designed that he should
one day be Pope, not only from his affection for France, but that his
election would be for the general good. In fact, the French elected him
Pope, excluding not only those who would have been chosen in his
place, but those who would not affix their seal to the confirmation of his
3 MS.
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? 90 THE LIFE OF ' [A D. 1605.
election, because the arbitration of his election having been put into the
hands of the French by the Cardinals Montalto and Aldobrandini (who
had agreed together to make Borghese Pope, if the French were agree-
able to it), by their consent, he was created Pope.
" What he specially acknowledges is that God sent him the papal
crown by means of the French, and he has written to the King to thank
him. He is an angel whom the Holy Ghost has enthroned in the Holy Chair,
and from whom, by God's help, all Christendom, especially France, will
receive extraordinary edificatiou; who, I pray Sir, to take you into his
Holy Keeping
" your very affeetionate Servant
(slgned)
"j Cardinal du Perron.
" Rome, 21 May 1605. " '
As Sarpi was consulted even before the Pope issued his excom-
munication against the Republic, a notice of the principal incidents
during the Interdict cannot be omitted in his biography. The MS. of
the History of the Interdict is in the Marciana, the writing is by
Fra Paolo's amanuensis, the corrections are his, as also the Index.
His writing is extremely distinct, as in all his MSS. , with the exception
of some small note and commonplace books or diaries, which are
written in very small character. At one time it was intended to send
Paolo's MS. to France, but the Ambassador declined to receive it,
and the History of the Interdict was not published till after Paolo's death
by Mr. Bedell, in Latin.
It would have been well for Venice if Paul V had held lower
views of his position, but to protect and augment what he deemed the
immunities of the church was his object. As Pope, he believed he was
raised by the Holy Ghost to the Vicegerency of Christ.
In person he was tall and majestic, his features were Well formed, and
before his elevation to the _Pontificate his countenance beamed with benig-
nity, nor was the appearance of humility wanting; he was of strict life,
and prior to his election held little familiar intercourse with any, either
' of high or low degree; ' he was temperate in speech, but austere, and he
discharged his duties with great exactitude and punctuality; latterly he
had lived in deep retirement, and it is believed that his having abstained
from all participation in the politics of the Court of Rome was the chief
reason of his being raised to the Popedom. His first measures were very
1 MS. Bib. Imp. Paris.
2 Molin. Relazione R. Brown (Cornet).
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? air. 53. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 91
severe, and his condemnation of Piccinardi made all tremble. Although
several Ambassadors sued for the life of the unhappy man who had com-
pared the government of Clement VIII and his nephew to that of Tiberius
Caesar, their intercession was lost, as the feeble voice of sea birds amidst
the storm. Piccinardi was executed. This was a terrible beginning of a
new reign, and affords an opportunity of judging of the temper and dis-
position of the Pope with whom Fra Paolo had to deal; his opinions were
as widely removed from those of the Servite as the East is from the West.
Paul and Paolo were of the same age, beyond this it would be difficult
to trace any similitude. In the MS. of the Interdict the following is worthy
of mark.
"Paolo quinto dalli primi anni della puerizia fu dedito e nodrito in
quelli studi,)? ? non Vacquisitare la monarehia spirituale e temporale di
tutto il mondo al Pontefice Romano e avanzare 1' ordine clericale. " The
words " spirituale " and " temporale " are in the hand writing of Fra
Paolo, and " avanzare " is substituted for " leuare; " this, and what fol-
lows, may be thus translated. " From his earliest years Paul V devoted
himself to studies which had no other aim but the acquisition of the whole
world temporal and spiritual to the Roman Pontiff, to advance the clergy
above the power and jurisdiction of princes and their supremacy ovel'
kings, as well as the subjection of the secular to the ecclesiastical power. "
In his maturer years the office of Auditor of the Chamber was peculiarly
suited to him, the title of that magistrate being, 'flSententiarum et censu-
rarum intus et extra latarum Universalis Executor, " and during the five
years which he held it, he issued more schedules and monitories than his
predecessors had done in fifty. His anger was chiefly directed against the
Republic of Venice, and Clement having somewhat relaxed his ecclesias-
tical rigor towards her, Paul wished to institute a Congregation at Rome
for the special purpose of mortifyiug the secular power. To further this
design he sent Nuncios of similar opinions to all Catholic princes. The
Nuncio at Venice boasted of having said to the prince in college that
alms and other works of piety were useless without ecclesiastical liberty;
that although he had often heard of the piety of the Venetians, he had
not seen it; that Christianity does not consist in alms and devotion, unless
proof is given of it by the exaltation of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and that
he had been sent to the Nuneiate as a martyr to the Papacy, but this
martyr was not without imperiousness, because to all remonstrance he
answered, as if it were a formula, ' Here I am Pope, and only Wish
obedience. ' And Sarpi observes, " that when he spoke of the Pope, he
raised his cap, and called him Nostro Signore, but omitted to do so when
he spoke of God. "
For several months after his elevation to the Popedom, _Paul lived in
1&2
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? 92 THE LIFE OF [A D. 1605.
continual fear of death in consequence of the prognostic of an astrologer
who told him after the death of Clement, of the election of Leo and of a
Paul who would only live a short time; but his friends and relations
found a remedy for his fears, they held a numerous assembly of the
astrologers and soothsayers of Rome, and they came to the conclusion,
that the fatal time being past, he would live long. Thus freed from his
fear of death, Paul returned to his purpose, the aggrandizement of his eo-
clesiastical jurisdiction. Agreeable to this, he began making proposals to
' King Henry of France, who at length acceeded to the reception of the
Council of Trent; all the remonstrances of De Ferrier were forgotten, all -
the just reproaches which the French made to the Cardinal of Lorraine on
his return from the Council were as if ignored, and the French nation,
against the will of nearly all the wisest of that people, was bound to obey
Rome. In Spain, the Jesuits were exempted from paying tithes. Naples,
Malta, Parma, Lucca and Genoa all felt the encroachments of Paul: this
augured ill for Venetia. The disputes as to the channel of the Po con-
tinued, the sovereignty of Ceneda was not yet decided, and the Pa-
triarch Vendramino had been cited to Rome.
" As yet there was no pretext to attack Venice as to things spirit-
ual, " but this soon occurred. Saracena, Canon of Vicenza, was accused of
atrocious crime, and was imprisoned by order of the Council of Ten. His
cousin, the Bishop of Citta Nuova, took up his defence, and as he was
Director of all the N uncios he sent information to the Bishop of Vicenza
at Rome, entreating him to defend the Canon and ecclesiastical liberty.
Nani, the Ambassador from Venice to Rome, had notice of these pro-
ceedings. -
The Pope said that he would not permit the Canon to be judged by
the civil power, and Nani informed the senate that the Pope had objected
to two laws of the Republic of 1337, confirmed and renewed 1450, 1515,
1536, 1561, and again confirmed 1603.
The first of these enacted, that no one was to build churches, chapels,
monasteries or oratories, or institute any new religious Order without the
consent of the Doge, under pain of banishment and confiscation of the
property and funds. The second of these laws of 1333, extended in 1605 to
all the dominions of Venetia, decreed that no one should sell, give
or dispose of anything whatsoever to the Clergy, either regular or secular,
without special permission from a magistrate. These laws were necessary,
as a third, some affirm a fourth, of all property was actually possessed
by the ecclesiastics. Some of the convents were very rich, for example the
rental of the Benedictines was estimated at 18,000 pounds sterling per
annum.
It will be found on reference to the treatise of Sarpi on Ecclesiastical
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? E1'. 53. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 93
Benefices and Revenues, how entirely he disapproved of the riches of the
Church of Rome, and how he contrasted her revenues with the com-
mands of the Holy Saviour to his Apostles. He also shows that tithes
were not to be given as in the days of Moses, but that the provision of
the Clergy was to be regulated as necessity pointed out; he appears to
have held these opinions long previous to the publication of the above
volume. The Venetians had levied tithes and taxes as they chose, but
now the Court of Rome had made still larger exemption as to their
payment in favor of the Cardinals, Knights of Malta, monastic establish-
ments, and a great part of the priesthood. The revenue of the Clergy
of Venetia was estimated at eleven millions of ducats yearly! It was
therefore with astonishment that the Senate learned that the Pope al-
leged that a large sum was owing to him by the Republic.
The Ambassador Nani had an audience of the Pope, and active com-
munications and negotiations continued till the month of December, when
he informed the Pontiff that an ordinance did exist which directed that
the goods of the laity could not be alienated to the clergy, and he also
produced briefs of Clement VII and of Paul III, both authorizing the
jurisdiction of the Senate of Venice over ecclesiastics. There was no
intention on the part of the Republic to conform to the commands of
the Pope, and in direct opposition orders had been given for the im-
prisonment of another ecclesiastic, the Count Valdemirono Abbot of
Nervesa.
The Pope was angry: he treated the briefs lightly, and said the Bull
In Coena Domini revoked them entirely. It was in vain that Nani urged
the right of the Senate to make their own laws, that he declared that
the Republic had been guilty of no innovation, that he cited the
examples of kings and princes having jurisdiction over ecclesiastics,
the letter of S. Jerome, the acts of Charlemagne, Saint Louis, Henry III
of France, Edward III of England, Charles V in Flanders, and the
laws of Portugal,'Aragon, Genoa, and Milan; for the Pope was deter-
mined to destroy all such jurisdiction, and protested specially against a
statute Which forbade a church to be built without permission of the
Senate. The Ambassador then stated the long established right of
Venetia to cite ecclesiastics before the civil authorities, that this was
founded on the Theodosian and Justinian Code, that the Pope could
not be ignorant that although from 1160' till 1220 there had been
many constitutions to establish ecclesiastical exemptions, the Republic
had exercised its full jurisdiction from 450. He also told the Pope
that God had not given him greater power than he had given to other
princes, and that as it did not'belong to Venice to govern the States
of the Church, neither did it belong to the Pope to govern the States
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? 94 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1605-
of Venice, that the laws were not secret but open to all, published
throughout the city and registered in the Chancery where all might
copy them, and he concluded by entreatiug the Pope not to listen to
calumny, in which case the controversy might be endless. These latter
words were in answer to the alleged retention of money by the Republic.
He further said, that although the Republic had yielded to the Pope
on trivial occasions, so she had always preserved her jurisdiction over
ecclesiasties in important matters, that this was confirmed by the Bulls
of Sixtus IV, Innocent, and Alexander VI, and that the Venetian
laws of which the Pope complained, being anterior to the ecclesiastical
exemption, no constitution of the Pope could derogate therefrom,
that no ecclesiastical exemption had ever been made of those guilty of
crimes against the person of the prince in any state, that in France
the king and magistrates, nay even a commissary, could arrest an eccle-
siastic, though he could not be condemned by an ecelesiastic only, but by
the civil judge also, that in Spain an ecelesiastic could be arrested
and that although the Popes had endeavored to exercise ecclesiastical
exemption in the States of Venice /it had never been permitted, that
a prince would be one but in name if hecould not punish all his subjects
alike, when the public weal demanded it, that he could not accuse the
Senate of overstepping its bounds, having only acted according to its
liberties, the consent of the Popes, and of late years by their appro-
bation.
These, although only a small part of the communications of the Ve-
netian Ambassador, are given in order to inform the reader what Sarpi
had to contend against. At one time His Excellency hoped that he had
produced some effect, and the Pope somewhat reduced his demands,
and said he would be satisfied if these were granted, without the
payment of 50,000 scudi. His demands were, that the laws against
building churches be abrogated, as also the laws against alienating the
goods of the laity to ecclesiasties, and that the suit against the Canon
and the Abbot be cancelled.
The Pope declared he would be obeyed, and that if not, he
would dispatch an horotary brief to the Republic. While the Car-
dinal Dclfino and the good Cardinal Valiero craved delay, the Car-
ndinals Sfrondato and Arrigono fanned the flame; they, with the
Spanish Ambassador, were bent upon Spain waging war against Venetia
and calling in the Pope to their assistance, the Cardinal Bellarmine was
not satisfied with the Pope's measures towards Venice, and there can be
no doubt from his subsequent conduct but that he felt regret in being
opposed to his friend Fra Paolo. However the Pope did not take the
vote of the Cardinals; he expected, as Genoa had just yielded tohim, Ve-
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? ET. 63. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 95
nice would do the same, but he was mistaken. The Genoese had no Fra
Paolo Sarpi to counsel their resistance.
The Venetian Senate returned a firm and decisive refusal to the ponti-
fical demands. The unanimity of the senators showed the concord of the
Republic in the defence of her liberties, and surely Europe never saw a
more illustrious sight than that of these patriots for a time burying every
jealousy, every past feud, every minor wrong, and voting with one voice
against the encroachments of a foreign power, which was not only of much
inferior antiquity to their own, but was one, the temporal part of which,
their great theologian and counsellor Fra Paolo Sarpi told them was but
lately constituted.
You who have trod the grand council chamber of the Ducal Palace of
Venice, can well imagine the august assembly that met on the eventful
day when refusal to the Pope's demands was voted. You can see their
looks of determination, their strong resolution, their eager and indignant
expression, their lofty endurance, exchanged for promptitude as they
unhesitatingly but silently resented the insult offered to their country; The
voice of the oppression of Europe had penetrated the heavens, the dawn
of the morning of liberty had arisen, and as if the clangor of the Papal
chains which had bound the nations as they cast them from them, had
attracted the notice of the free, those who had effected their freedom
from papal tyranny rallied around Venice, determined to uphold her in
her resolve. The hopes which the Pontiff had entertained of victory were
thus withered in the dustJ he had been told by the Jesuits that the
senators were divided in opinion.
The reply of the Senate was brief but conclusive, that the prisoners
could not be given up because lawfully detained, that the laws could not
be abrogated, and that the Republic recognized no superior but God only,
and Paul V, having received it and hearing the same statements from the
Ambassador Nani, immediately despatched two briefs to the Doge and
Senate. In audience he appeared benign and agreeable, but his purpose
was visible, and the end of all the painstaken audiences, deliberations and
remonstrances of the Doge and Senate by their Ambassadors was, that
the Pope informed his Consistory that Venice had violated ecclesiastical
liberty in framing the two laws, and retaining the two prisoners. The Ve-
netian Ambassador at Rome was cautioned to observe a good understand-
ing with the French Envoy and other representatives of the different
Courts, and the Senate, apprized by their Ambassador of the briefs, in-
formed every foreign power with which they had relation of the state of
affairs. The N uncio Withheld the briefs on their arrival, but having received
positive commands from the Pope, he presented them, but they were not
opened.
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? as THE LIFE or ' [Am 1606.
It was Christmas day, a day of joy and gladness to all who like Fra
Paolo Sarpi reverenced, loved and served the Redeemer of the world, but
it was a day of grief and anxiety in the ducal palace of Venice, the Doge
Grimani lay at the point of death. It requires little imagination to paint
the eager solicitude of the patriots of Venice, the anxious looks and eager
words of the Senators as they question Fra Paolo in this crisis, read his
looks of undismayed but thoughtful expression, and confidently trust him
as the soul of honor with their yet strictly private communications.
It was an hour of great difiiculty, all felt it to be so, but the hopes of
the Venetians were shortly raised, as on the death of the good Grimani,
the Donato was elected Doge, "who unquestionably, was one of the most
eminent of all the senators for his integrity, experience in the affairs of
state, for his acquaintance with letters, and for all those noble qualities
which are now so rarely to be met with. " Such is the character which
Sarpi draws of Donato, and as a senator it is not overdrawn; well known
at foreign Courts, all the Ambassadors hastened to do him homage. The
Doge was determined to uphold the dignity and independence of the Re-
public, and Paul V found that whatever might have been the policy of
Europe heretofore, she was now to derive a lasting lesson from the resis-
tance of the Republic of Venice to papal demands.
In the hour of difficulty and danger to which of their subjects
could the Doge and Senate turn? To whom so confidently as to Fra
Paolo Sarpi, known through life to the Donato and to many of the
senators, and venerated by them for his piety and humility, as well
as for his talents. What was more Wise than that they should now
publicly seek the aid of the patriot who, well as he loved peace and
quiet, loved his country more? He saw Venice coerced by a fellow
mortal, Venice the proudest, the wisest, the most independent nation of
any who acknowledged the Pope; he heard the distant roll of the
thunders of the Vatican, and he was too learned in the history of
his own country not to know how deadly a blight the Pope had
spread over Venetia by former interdicts. He already saw her over-
whelmed if she did not present a front of brass to the oppressive foe,
and although he preferred the silent repose of his own Convent to
the anxious and arduous life of a Theologian and Counsellor to the
State, he put his hand to the oar, he made no remonstrance, he made
no excuse, all that he did was to ask permission of the General of
his Order and his blessing; -these given, Sarpi publicly gave his service
to the State.
It has been observed that he had been consulted privately; he there-
fore had long carefully studied the subject, and was well aware of the
whole bearing of the disputes between Venice and Rome. On the
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? 51. 54. ] FRA PAQLO SARPI 97
fourteenth of January, when the Senate proclaimed that protection would
be given to all who aided the Republic by their counsel, he presented
a document to the Senate in which he explained the two remedies
which might be employed against the threats of Rome; and this
document was read in the Senate with such applause that Fra Paolo
Sarpi was immediately appointed Theologian and Canonist to the Re-
public of Venice.
It is not extant, but the following is a translation of the docu'
ment, which was presented by Fra Paolo, at a later period, to the
Doge of Venice. '
" Most Serene Prince,
" In the commencement of the controversies, which are now at their
height, between your Serene Highness and the Sovereign Pontiff, when
he had only issued his first brief concerning the laws of neither building
churches nor alienating the property of the laity to ecclesiasties without
permission, in a writing of mine, presented to your Serene Highness, I
said, that there were two remedies which might be opposed to the thun-
ders of Rome, one, defacto, to forbid their publication, and prevent their
execution, resisting violent force by a force which is legitimate, not pas-
sing the limits of natural defence: the other, de jure, an appeal to the
future council. I expressed no doubt as to the inexpediency of the first;
as to the second, I said that on several occasions it has been used by
many princes and private persons, and also by your Serene Highness,
but that where the first would sufifice, the other need not be used which
would give unmeasured ofi'enee to the Pontiff. Still, if accidents should
ensue that might render it necessary, it could be made available, because
the superiority of the council is allowed in France and Germany; and in
Italy the celebrated doctors, although they maintain that it belongs to the
Pope, do not hold the difficulty to be decided and determined.
" These accidents seem to be now imminent, since the Pope has print- -
ed, published, and posted a monitory against your Serene Highness, which
is very modest in its abstinence from maledictions, but most severe in
all besides, both on account of the sentence Which it pronounces against
the Senate in a body (an unusual thing), and the interdict laid upon the
whole State, and also because it threatens the ad ulteriora, in which there
is no limit at all. Although from past examples given by other Poutiffs,
we may form some conjecture of what is intended, yet, considering the
strange course adopted hitherto, we may apprehend something yet more
absurd. It is necessary, then, to balance all the reasons for or against the
1
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? 98 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1606.
appeal, and to consider what may be the soundest and most advisable re-
solution to form.
" Against the appeal we have the decree made by Pius II in 1459 in a
Congress held in Mantua by the advice of his Court, excommunicating all
who appeal from the decrees of the Pope to a future Council, because such
appeal is made to what does not exist, neither is it known when it shall
have existence. This decree has been always confirmed by his successors,
and placed among the clauses of jthe bull In (_};e'na Domini, because in
Italy the superiority of the Pope over the Council is a maintained dogma,
and an appeal can only be made as such to a higher power. We may thence be
very sure that an act of appeal to the Pontiff would draw down upon us
an additional excommunicatory brief, and would further complicate the
matter of the four points of controversy, making five. These are potent
reasons dissuasive of the appeal, but answer may be made.
" First, relative to the decree, advising that, after it was made by Pius II,
all the princes against whom it was fulminated have appealed, and this
Serene Republic . has done so on two occasions, once under Sixtus IV, and
again under Julius II. For examples of other princes may be adduced,
amongst the most notable, the appeal of Louis XII of France and the
Gallican Church from the same Julius II, and that of the Emperor Char-
les V from Clement VII.
" There is not an example to be found of princes in such circumstances
abstaining from appeal through respect for such excommunication. It inay
also be said, with some appearance of reason, that this decree does not
include princes, if they are not, according to the rules of the chancery,
specially named in the bull In Cggna Domini. In most cases they are
named, but not in this; then it seems that there has not been any inten-
tion of including them in it. And if any one shall say that they are includ-
ed in all the others, it follows that their being distinctly named in sonic
has been superfluous.
" Secondly, concerning the reasons of the decree, namely, that an ap-
peal is made to what has no present existence, neither is it known when
it shall exist. They certainly have no weight, since, when the Apostolic
seat is vacant, and there is no Pope then appeal is made, " adfidis apo-
stolicae futurum pontificem, " who, in a similar manner, has no present
existence, neither is it known when he will exist. And if any one shall
say that it is the custom to create a Pope very soon, I reply, that 250
years ago the seat remained vacant for two years running, and another
time for seven years. Who knows what may occur? . And as regards the
Council, one might know when it would have an existence, if the canons
were duly observed for its formation every ten years.
" Thirdly, as to the supreme power which the Pontiffs claim, in order
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? ? 1'. 54. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 99
to establish the perpetual confirmation of the decree, it will be needful to
speak at some length as to whether this resides in the Pontiff or in the
Council, and to this I will now proceed. We have only to consider, that
if the Pontiff has no judge on earth, there remains for the rest of men,
whether princes or private persons, nothing but obedience; and we must
sayin the words of Tacitus, " Tibi supremum vero arbitrium Dii dedere,
nobis obsequii gloria relicta est. " He has power to make all such laws as
may seem good to him, all must -be valid, nor can he be overruled by
any one. If he has a controversy with others, he has only to make a law
in favour of his own opinion, and the thing is decided.
" Some one may reply that he has supreme power in things spiritual
but not in things temporal. I might answer by showing how many {incon-
veniences would arise if it were so even in things spiritual. But we are
speaking of things temporal. When the Pope wishes anything, he will
say it is spiritual, as is the case in the present controversy, because your
' Serene Highness says you have made laws concerning things temporal,
and the Pope says these are things spiritual. He confesses that he is wil-
ling to leave the temporal, but he claims this as 'spiritual. Here, however,
we are brought to a stand. If we are to own him as supreme judge, we
ought to believe him when he determines, as in the present case, that a
certain thing is spiritual; it follows then that nothing remains for, us short
of obeying him in all things that come into his mind. If it is said that
we may resist de facto I agree, but it seems to me that the wisdom of
Christ our Lord was more likely to have provided a manner of obedience
' de jure than defacto, as he acted when he gave supreme power to the
Church. " Si non audierit, dic Ecclesiaa; si autem Ecclesiam non audierit,
sit tibi sicut ethnicus et publicanus. " For the rest, since the Pope has
commanded us under pain of excommunication not to appeal from him,
so, if he should command us, under pain of excommunication, not to dare
to contradict him, we are as much bound to obey him in the one case as
in the other, and we shall go on becoming more and more guilty. I may
doubtless say that the Popes put some limit to their enormous power
rather through fear that Italy and Spain should set forth the doctrines of
a Couucil's superiority maintained in France and Germany, than from any
other motive of restraint. And if they can once liberate themselves from
such danger, the world will see whether they will rest contented within
any limits whatsoever.
- " The fourth and last consideration is, that if the appeal is made, the
Pope may be induced to publish a further censure. Sixtus IV issued four
successive briefs against the Republic, which appealed against them all,
and all these appeals depend one upon another. I think the same thing
was done under Julius II, though I have not seen it; however, no doubt
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? 100 ' THE LIFE on [A. D. 1606.
exists about this. Who does not believe that fresh excommunications will
appear against all things done by the Prince de facto, without issuing
proclamations for all who have a copy of the monitory, and against all
that may be needful to do in future? Everybody holds for certain that
three or four may he expected, and perhaps more.
" Some one will perhaps say that the principal reason against an ap-
peal to the Council is, not the fear of irritating the Pope, but of sur-
rendering rights to ecclesiasties. I reply that we only appeal against the
Pope's abuse of power, and therefore we are not surrendering the laws of
the Senate. And since this consideration has not prevailed under Sixtus IV
and Julius II, nor influenced other princes similarly circumstanced, neither
is it likely to affect us now- I say, moreover, that to defend our own rights
in a Congress where so many princes are concerned who have interests
and af1"airs common with ourselves, cannot be so great a fault. Would to
God that this matter were treated by a free Council! Your Serene High-
ness, without any increase of territory, would increase your power one-third,
but we are not worthy of such a blessing. Let us now consider the reasons
favourable to the appeal.
" The first and most powerful is following the example of so many
great princes, and of the Serene Republic. The second, that we have no
precedent of a different course of action on the part of any other State,
except that of the French under Gregory'XIV, when they burned his
briefs in the public square. The third is, that it does not seem honourable
to say that the Senate would have all ole facto and nothing de jure, as if it
had no show of right. The fourth, because it declares before the world_
that it is determined to live in the unity of the Catholic Church, which
ought to be repeated in order to show under what authority' your Serene
Highness wishes to live, whilst exempting yourself from obedience to the
Pope. The fifth reason is, that without appealing, nothing remains to be
done, and every other 'course would be without precedent and dangerous.
If arbiters were demanded the Pope would not accept them, for it would
be more against his dignity to submit to them than to the Council, and
what is an important consideration, if a demand were put forth for arbiters
and refused by the Pope, the act would be an empty one, serving only to
show the world that everything has been tried.
" But some one may perhaps say that the time for making the appeal
has gone by; that such a remedy should have been tried immediately after
the first brief, or even previous to it. Yet if the appeal is now made,
although it irritates the Pope, we have this advantage, that the excom- '
munication and the interdict are suspended. It may be answered that the
Pope will not understand it so. I own that he will not consider them
suspended, but France and Catholic Germany will, since they hold that,
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