Nobody can say that he that keeps the keys of
the house is the house itself; and in the first and second chapters of
St.
the house is the house itself; and in the first and second chapters of
St.
Sarpi - 1868 - Life of Fra Paolo Sarpi
The visits of thegood Asselineau were doubtless a solace when
in his misery. Asselineau was a physician of no small value, for he could
minister not only to the body, but to the soul, deep in the tomb Mar-
silio was laid, subtle poison had chilled his life blood, and Sarpi could
do no more than in a private letter express himself as above; his words
afford proof that death did not terrify Marsilio from his allegiance to
Heaven and to. his Prince, but that Rome was relentless to those who
challenged her power as supreme.
The words, " I believe, that if it were not for state reasons there are
1 Credo che se non fosse per ragion di stato, si troverrebbero diversi che salte-
rebbero da questo fosso di Roma nclla cima della Reforma, ma chi tema una cosa,
chi un altra, #0. --- Venice, 18th February, 1612, To M. de 1' Isole Groslot.
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? 198 THE LIFE oF [A. D. 1612
divers persons who would vault from this pit of Rome to the height of.
reform, " are words which some have severely censured, others attempt-
ed to get rid of, but this has been found impossible. The passage is
one of the strongest in the writings of Sarpi and it confirms e opi-
nion that he did wish the Church of Rome freed from the tyranny
of the Court of Rome. Perhaps these words were wrung from his pen
as he thought on Marsilio in all the agonies of a violent death, and
few knew better than Sarpi in his own person what it'was to differ
from a court which endeavored to assume the dictatorship of the world.
There can be no doubt that had the rulers of Venice declared for
absolute reform, all the powers of Europe who had commanded it
within the Church would have declared for Venice, and she would have
continued to hold her place among the nations, but Spain was strong,
and old habits and prejudices were stronger still. Venice was to pass
through a long and dreary servitude before she would awake, like the
wise of Italy, to see that a thorough reform of the church and separa-
tion from the Pope and Court of Rome is not a change of religion,
but a return to the religion taught by the Holy Apostles, and that
restoration of the Sacred Scriptures to the people is a right of which
none dare to rob them with impunity. Is there no one bold enough
now to vault over the trench or pit of Rome? Two hundred and fifty
years have passed since Marsilio died, and during all this time the
Court of Rome has kept the Church enthralled. Can men not learn
from past history? Can they not imitate the bold? Can no one, who
has not only the will, as had Sarpi, but the power, free his country
from the Court of Rome? Is there, as hasbeen lately asked, no Sarpi
left amongst the great intellects which adorn Italy, no senator who
can rise in his place like the great, the immortal Cavour, and recalling
Sarpi to their mind, as he did in one of his latest addresses to the
senators, ask them to free the Church of Rome from the Pope and
Court of Rome?
Never till the Senate of Italy is persuaded that reform within the
Church is\ only a return to the old and true religion, and that no people
can serve two masters, will the Pope become again Bishop of Rome,
and Italy disencumbered of his power be wholly free!
Still closely watched, though still closely cared for, Sarpi as usual
employed a cypher, or dictated some of his letters. In one of them be con-'
eludes thus, " because this is a letter which may be seen by all, I wish
to gratify myself by showing my respect for you, in sending you a little
of my own handwriting, ' remaining your most devoted servant. " All
1 21st 'March. 1612.
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? E1'. 60. ] . FRA PAOLO sanrr 199
his letters which the writer has seen, and they are a considerable num-
ber in MS. , are signed " F. Paolo di Venetia, " and are addressed " Al
Molto Reverendissimo Fra Paolo de Serui. " Generally speaking he
wrote to his intimate friends himself, but sometimes Fra Fulgenzio
wrote to them for him. He frequently concluded his letters by a mes-
sage from Fulgenzio, and from the noble Molino who was often in his
company.
Political events were gloomy, and Sarpi judged that the coronation
of Matthias as Emperor of Germany was overshadowed by the Pope's
insertion in the Decretals, "that now the examination of the election
and of the person elected, as well as the confirmation belongs to him;
and that the elect Emperor ought to take an oath of fidelity to him,
also that the administration of the vacant empire belongs to him,
but that God is above all, and as he wills that prayer be made to him
so will he listen, according to his divine purpose. " Further, Sarpi
surmised that . Albert would be king of the Romans, and Spain obtain
a stronger hold upon Germany.
The Turks were again in motion, the Spanish fleet kept watch at
Otranto, Sarpi supposed in the hope that the Republic and the Ot-
tomans might quarrel. The disgust between Rome and Venice grew
wider, and Sarpi was still in bad odour with the Pope, which is plain
from a despatch of M. de Breves to the King of France, of August
14th. " I omitted to write to your Majesties by the former ordinary,
that the Pope had told me that he knew for certain that Frere Paul,
who is in the employ of the Republic, had evil intentions against your
Majesties well being, as might be seen by his letters which have been
intercepted. They were addressed to some private individuals of the
Reformed religion in their service, and shown to them by the Papal
Nuncio. I have informed M. Leo Bruslart, their Ambassador at Venice,
but he will not mention the subject until their intentions are known'.
As to the differences between his Holiness and the Venetians they are
kept secret, and neither party complains, so that it is much better to
appear to know nothing of them than to think of finding a remedy,
added to which, the Venetians would distrust your Majesties, as
they do his Holiness, on account of the continued alliance with
Spain. "
One of the causes of difference certainly was the bad odour in which
the theologian of Venice Was held by the Pope, he had little rest,
his enemies were still on the watch to take his life; a secret plot had
been discovered against him by the Venetian Ambassador at Rome
of which he says little more than, " the Senate are so good as to have
heard this with disgust. "
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? 200 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1613.
But amidst his own troubles the deprivation of the Syndic Richer
had deeply affected him; he knew that the Jesuits had prevailed against
this innocent man whose defence was not permitted to be published,
which Sarpi regretted, as he hoped it might have led to more liberty
of conscience. And on this account he turned with pleasure to the
amicable terms on which Venetia and Holland were united. He had
hoped that the projected marriage between the Prince of Wales and
a Princess of the Romish Church would be a means of diminishing
the reputation of the Pope, who was by no means pleased that Princes
of the Church of Rome made alliances for their daughters with Princes
of the Reformed religion, but his hopes were disappointed by the
death of the Prince of Wales. "God grant, " he writes, "that it may
not overwhelm the King with sorrow, a greater he could not suffer. "
One might have supposed that Fra Paolo did not require any ad-
ditional employment, but by command, he now wrote his history of
the Uscochs, a horde of Dalmatians who lived chiefly in Segna, an inac-
cessible city of the Adriatic, near Spalatro. These pirates indulged in
desperate undertakings, in which they were joined by men of infamous
character Venetians, Dalmatians, Turks, Croats and English. Under
pretence of forming an advanced guard in time of war, these despe-
radoes were permitted to dwell under the sovereignty of Austria. Their
number was only one thousand, yet they were a terror to Venetia,
and on one occasion dared to send a present of sixty human heads
to the Signory: irritated by this conduct the Republic blockaded Segna,
but the pirates withdraw from the coast and ravaged Istria under
Austrian colors.
The Austrians affected ignorance, but summary justice followed.
The Uscochs retreated, but returned to the charge with redoubled
fury, and as many troops had to be despatched against them, Venetia
followed the counsel which Fra Paolo had formerly given, to employ
s&diers of the Reformed religion, and thus four thousand Hollanders
honorably kept the city from the fangs of the destroyer. He believed
that his countrymen would acquire much good from a closer ac-
quaintance with the Germans and Dutch and that thus prejudice against
the religion of those who had protested against popery would be
subdued . for himself, he stood on the broad basis of the Nicene creed.
But Paul V still persevered against Fra Paolo, and continued to
incite the French Ambassador to demand satisfaction at his own Court.
The letters of M. de Bre? ves are painful instances of intolerance/but
truth prevailed, and the integrity of Fra Paolo was a rampart against
which all the waves of envy, bigotry and persecution beat in vain.
While the affairs of Hungary and Poland became more and more
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? ET. 61. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 201
entangled by the -Jesuits, the 'Turks were constructing a bridge across
the Danube for an easy passage for their army; and the Duke of
Savoy surprised Montferrat, but his claims to it being laid aside, the
Cardinal assumed the title of Duke of Mantua.
At a somewhat later period Sarpi was commanded by the Duke- of
Savoy to be rewarded for his writings during the Interdict. He had
not yet laid down his pen, as we find a small work issue from it,
"On immunities of the Church', "- written only for his friends but
printed by the Senator Molino, besides his being known to have continued
his greater volumes.
In the beginning of the year 1614, a gleam of light burst across the
papal mind, Paul V spoke with kindness of Fra Paolo; it is pleasant to note
the change. The Bishop of Tino had been accused by the Inquisitors, he
was cited to Venice and there called upon to defend himself. The case was
referred to Fra Paolo whose advice was followed, and the Bishop was he
norably reinstated in his see, and on his way to the east he waited upon
the Pope, who when speaking of Fra Paolo said, "that he was both
temperate and just. " On hearing this the Servite remarked. "Now
we have a Pope who is friendly, I pray God that he may live longer
than I, because of his successors. "
On the 22nd of December the Doge Memmo died, and Giovanni
Bembo was elected in his room. There had been an ineffectual effort'
to introduce reformation in the Church into Venice during this year.
The Republic was shewing increased subserviency to the Pope, which
not only then weakened the government, but was one of the principal
causes of its overthrow. Sarpi raised his voice in vain, Spain was
still the foe of Venice, the Republic endeavored to avert a war, but
the Duke of Ossuna incited the Pope and Uscochs against her and
sent troops into Milan, and armed vessels into the Adriatic.
The Republic complained to the Court of Madrid, and the Duke
was commanded to disarm, but on this he invited- the Uscochs to
Naples and threatened to surprise the city of Venice: the whole year
was one of continued warfare by sword and by pen, and Sarpi furnished
a supplement to his History of the Uscochs. He also continued his
astronomical pursuits with Galileo, and in a memorandum from the
Schedae Sarpianae, "Per mia memoria, " he foretells the misfortunes
which were about to fall on the great Florentine.
" Since I hear from the M. N. and M. I. Senator Molino, that M.
Galileo Galilei is about to go to Rome, being invited there by several
Cardinals to lay before them his opinions respecting his discoveries in
the heavens; I fear that if in such circumstances he brings forward
the learned considerations which have induced him to prefer the theory
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? 202 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1616.
of the Canon Copernicus of our solar system, he will incure the ill
will of the Jesuits and of the other monks, that the physical and
astronomical question will be changed by them into a matter of _ theology
and I foresee with sorrow that he will have to recant his opinions
upon it, if he would live in peace without being regarded X a heretic.
I 4%>> Yet I am sure that the day will come when more enlightened men
mm
Z4>>-
,
will deplore Galileo's misfortunes and the injustice done to so great
a man, but in the mean time he must endure it, and complain only
M7 in secret. " Again, "the Copernican hypothesis, far from being contrary
to the word of God as revealed in the sacred pages, rather does honor
to his omnipotence and infinite wisdom, both as regards the order and
arrangement of the terrestrial mechanism, and that of all the other
orbs Which constitute the wondrous spectacle of the universe. " A later _
age acknowledged the truth of these remarks, and at Florence Leopold II,
Grand Duke of Tuscany, commanded the execution of frescoes in which
Sarpi and Galileo are delineated, as well as a collection of Galileo's
mechanical, and optical instruments with which Sarpi was conversant.
In the month of J une Sir Henry Wotton was again appointed
Ambassador from Great Britain to Venice, his esteem for Fra Paolo
continued, and to him is to be imputed his Sovereign's requests that
he should go to England. But his friend Bedell did not return to
Venice, and this was probably one reason why Paolo again welcomed
de Dominis the Archbishop of Spalatro, and steadily keeping in view
his desire for reform within the Church of Rome, it is evident that
throughout his life, he looked favourably on whoever was most likely
to aid in this laudable purpose. In the time of the Interdict, it has
been noticed, that "the Archbishop de Dominis associated with Fra
Paolo. Discontented with the Pope and Court of 'Rome, he had introduced
many wise reforms into his diocese, and where heathen orgies had
once been celebrated on the site of part of the magnificent remains
of the temple and palace of the Emperor Diocletian at Spalatro, De
Dominis had advocated many wise measures as to reformation of the
Church. He was, however, of a restless disposition, and on coming to
Venice made the acquaintance of Fra Paolo and the seven, probably in
the hope that the Republic of Venice would be freed from the Court
of Rome. Fra Paolo had such confidence in him, as actually to lend
to him his MS. of the History of the Council of Trent, in order that
he might read it. It {appears a most extraordinary act on the part
of Fra Paolo to intrust any one with a MS. which he had guarded
so carefully; which he never said that he had written, but which had
cost him so many years of toil and labor. How De Dominis acted,
will be seen in the sequel; but for the present he must be followed
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? 11*/r. 64. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 203
to Coire in the Grisons, Heidelberg, and subsequently to England.
Tidings of his manifesto appear to have reached Fra Paolo, because
he says he "suspended his judgment with regard to a prelate," as
also that he mentions a "manifesto of De Dominis; " but after observing.
"that all he printed was certain to be prohibited," he adds, "that he
knew nothing further respecting him. " At a later period he thus
writes to M. Gillotz " I have news from my friend of the Archbishop
of Spalatro. He conversed confidentially with him, and he saw some
of his books about to be published, he assured me that they were
written without any pretension, or any appearance of controversy. He
avoids all bitterness; he only maintains his own opinions distinctly,
and proves all by ancient documents. However, my friend neither
praised their prolixity (which is perhaps extreme), nor -the vacillation
or anxiety of mind, which the author ingenuously confesses, 'I should
admire it if he lived in France, where interchange of thought is not
forbidden to any, but in a place where men are- deprived from their
cradles of liberty of thought I value it highly in a Dalmatian, who
has been brought up in the dungeons of the Jesuits, that he has been
able to extricate himself from darkness. In forming my judgment of
his worth and learning, I take these difficulties into account; I could
not otherwise have spoken of them in such absolute terms. "
Thus charitably did Sarpi write of De Dominis. Having declared
himself one of the Reformed in England, De Dominis was received
with great distinction at Court by the King, entertained sumptuously
by the Universities, and lodged by royal command at the palace of the
Archbishop of Canterbury.
After the ceremony of the renunciation of his episcopacy at St.
Paul's Cathedral, London, he was presented to the Mastership of the
Savoy, London, and to the living and parsonage of West Ilsley, Berkshire;
but De Dominis was not satisfied.
His work "De Republica Ecclesiastica, " was one of great' service,
but the vacillating nature of its author impaired its usefulness lat-
terly. High authority pronounced its arguments nnanswerable, but the
Nuncio demanded a prohibition of his works, and Sarpi had again
the mortification to see one, who he had hoped might benefit his
country, leave him to struggle on without the aid of his pen or his high
dignity to assist him, but Sarpi was obedient to the commands of heaven.
Heaven had given him the key which unlocks its portals, the late
dews of night and the first breath of early morn found him sup-
plicating for his country, and the Christian patriot resigned himself to
the thought, that whatever God permitted to happen to the Church, it
would be for her benefit,-"He thus wrote:
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? 204 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1617.
" As to what I touched upon in my letter concerning the Kingdom
of Heaven, Christ is, without doubt, a King and Priest. 'He hath
made us all,' says St. Peter, 'priests and kings,' that is he hath
made his Church a royal priesthood, by making his ministers partakers
of the royal and priestly power. Admit this; he hath made his stewards
and ministers viceroys in his absence. This is certain, 'As my Father
sent me, so I send you. ' It belongs to the Kingdom of Heaven; it
neither receives nor gives anything of mutual help from, or to an
earthly King. And there is no wonder in this; they do not walk
together, they cannot meet together. Christ's minister and vicar has
his conversation in heaven, from whence we look for Christ the Saviour.
The King of France has no diminution. of power, because his dominion
does not reach to the stars. The Kingdom of Heaven is further from
the French nation than those stars are. 'The Kingdom of Heaven is
within you,' said Christ (St. Luke xvm,). But whether an earthly
prince does anything towards the Kingdom of Heaven, he will best
be able to say who learns from history, how much more it prospered
under Diocletian than under Constantine. No one comes after Christ
but one that takes up His cross.
"The Kingdom of Heaven began by the cross, it is extended and
perfected by the cross: not but that the Church may flourish in
peace, because God sometimes plants it by the favour of princes, and
sometimes by persecution; 'through honour and dishonour, by evil
report and good report,' (2 Cor. vI). 'All things work together for
good to them that love God. ' I have not taken the words of the
Kingdom of Heaven as meant of the Church on earth; and I so conceive
the Scriptures teach me to understand it. . . .
"They are Christ's ministers who have the keys of the Kingdom
committed to them.
Nobody can say that he that keeps the keys of
the house is the house itself; and in the first and second chapters of
St. John's Revelation those Words, 'Thou hast made us unto our
God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth,' are not
only spoken of his ministers, but of all else, of every tribe, language,
people, and nation that are cleansed and redeemed by the blood of
Christ. "
Sarpi speaks of those who engrossed the name of " Church" to them-
selves, who also took to themselves its goods and estates, and those
of Rome had given him a very low place, because he did " not allow
them a coercive power over sovereigns. "
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? 205
CHAPTER X.
s. n. 1618 -- s. n. 1623.
Door: or VENICE. 1618 Niccolo Donato. 1618 Antonio Priuli.
Sovanmcns or GERMANY. Matthias. Ferdinand.
GREAT B'1? irAr_N_. James I_.
S? A1? . 'Philip III. 1621 Philip IV.
Tummy. Mustapha. Osman III. Mustapha.
Porns. Paul V. 1621 Gregory XV.
WIN/I/WVVN
Conspiracy. - F. Paolo's history of the Council of Trent. - Public events. --
Death of Paul V. - Gregory XV. - Prince de Conde's visit. - Fra Paolo's
illness and death. - Public funeral. - His remains about to be disturbed are
hidden, exhumed and reburied, again raised. - Buried in the church of
S. Michele di Murano.
Fra Paolo Sarpi was not mistaken in his fears for his country. Like a
gem of matchless beauty and great value, Venetia had long been coveted
by the unscrupulous and the ambitious. The year 1618 was peculiarly
dark to her, a deep plot had been laid against her, and she seemed about
to be swept from her high place amongst the nations of Europe. Little
however of this conspiracy has been published, and they who would
explore its labyrinths must track them in the Archives of Venice. The
Senate commanded Fra Paolo to write an account of it. He had long be-
lieved that one of the powers of Europe was ready to make Venetia her
own, but it is not for his biographer to do more than express gladness
that he never saw his country beneath a foreign yoke.
N o alarm, no illness, no business however pressing, seems ever to have
severed him wholly from his studies; and amongst them at this time he
is found making notes on a treatise by the learned Scot, Anderson, Profes-
sor of Mathematics at Paris. We have also of this date some thoughts
from Paolo's pen on a well known passage of Cicero, ' and in this, as in
all his other writings, he ascribes honor to Him by whose fiat all things
were created.
1 " Est enim admirabilis quaedam continuatio seriesque rerum, ut alias ex aliis
nexee, et omnes inter se aptae colligataeque videantur. " De Natura Deorum, lib. 1.
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? 206 THE LIFE OF [AD. 1619.
His correspondence, however, met with a severe check; in his last letter
to M. Groslot he refers to the difficulty with which he sent a letter to
him, and they who are hasty in their condemnation of the government of
Venice may learn what great necessity there was for vigilance, when
their theologian and counsellor could not correspond even with a friend
in safety, watched over as he and probably every other member of the
Venetian government were by foreign spies. But his opinions were still
the same, he still sighed as much for reformation in the Church as when
Diodati, Bedell and others had urged it upon him during and subsequent
to the Interdict, although almost prevented from correspondence with its
advocates: but he still availed himself of any opportunity to show himself
friendly to those of the Reformed religion, as is evinced by his conduct to
a near relative of his old friend M. de Mornay, who far from his home and
in the prime of youth and hope lay dying.
The learned Daille? had accompanied this youth and his brother to Italy.
And. all three being of the Reformed religion, they feared to remain in
Mantua on account of the Inquisition, but proceeded to Padua. There the
youth was tended with great care by M. Assclineapi the friend of Fra
Paolo, another physician, and an apothecary, all of the Reformed religion,
but their aid was fruitless, their patient died, and Fra Paolo, to whom
they had letters of introduction from du Plessis Mornay, obtained permis-
sion from the Venetian government to furnish the mourners with what-
leave was necessary, that the body of the youth might be taken to Saumur,
and buried there.
This was no small boon and is one of the many proofs of the tolerance of
Sarpi. '
To the surprise of many, but to no one more than to the author him-
self, the History of the Council of Trent now appeared. This last Council
of the Church of Rome, Which sat at intervals from 1545 till 1563, is too
generally known to require more particular notice than that it was assembled
in order to correct, illustrate and fix with perspicuity the doctrines of the
church, to restore her discipline, and to reform the lives of the clergy.
The preponderance of papal authority, and subsequent interpretation of
the decrees of Trent being so distasteful to many of tbe'members of the
Church of Rome/Sarpi wrote an authentic account of that assemblywhicly
although called to cement the divisions in the Church, in reality widened
them.
The writer of these pages took pains at Venice to obtain particulars
respecting the History of the Council of Trent. The original MS. is in
the writing of Sarpi's amanuensis Franzano, and on the first page of the
MS. is written by Fra Paolo Sarpi " L'Ht'st0ria dell Uoncilio Tridentino,
scritta do Pietro Suave Pohmo. " The other words " L'H1'strrria' dell Con
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? Er. 67. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 207
a
cilia Tridentino, " either head the other books which are in all eight, or _
are on the margin also written by Fra Paolo as are the corrections
throughout. This is worthy of notice, as it has been alleged that the
original MS. was written by Sarpi, in place of being dictated by him and
the corrections made by others. The reverse is the fact, as is attested on
the MS. by the Secretary Fontano. ' But to any one who has examined
the MS. , it is evident that every word must have been read by Sarpi, or
to him, from the many and minute corrections by his own hand. It is in
good preservation, bound by four leather thongs and parchment cover,
and consists of one thousand and eighty three pages , closely and finely
written, and carefully pointed. Paolo Sarpi did not publish his own work.
It has been observed that this MS. was borrowed from him by the Arch-
bishop de Dominis; who it is believed had it copied, carried to England
and published in London without Sarpi's knowledge, with a dedication
to the King of Great Britain by de Dominis. This dedication gave him
great pain; many, as Sarpi wrote were the defects of the Church of Rome
he never could hear it spoken against without regret, and although his own
language against the Court of Rome was very strong, still the unprejudic-
ed have always pronounced the History of the Council of Trent as did the
learned Sir Roger Twysden, " to be written with so great moderation
learning and wisdome, as might deserve a place amongst the exactest
pieces of ecclesiastic story any age hath produced. "
In Italy, many of her scholars, and they are not few, assured the
writer, "that none but the most profoundly ignorant hold any opinion
but that of admiration for the works of Fra Paolo Sarpi, and for his efforts
to reform the Romish Church. "
No one can reasonably affirm that this History was written in haste,
who is acquainted with the difficulty of research, and with the toil and
perseverance necessary to collect, collate, and embody materials for any
Work. Fra Paolo's aim was truth, and he did not shrink from the laborious
search after it in writing and compiling his History / and he had the
peculiar advantage, as we have seen, of personal acquaintance with many
who had attended the Council, and who were in possession of many me-
morials which no one else ever saw.
' It is to be regretted that the work of Fra Buonfiglio Capra perished by
fire; he had collected with great assiduity authentic references to all the
authorities consulted by Sarpi in the History of the Council of Trent, and
it is a well known fact that the materials for that work were in the Quirini
Library.
1 Deputato alla Canceleria Segreta, 16 Feb. 1772, arid by Bettiu Librarian.
"SS. Italiani de la Marciana, Classe v, N" 26.
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? 208 " THE LIFE or [s. D. 1619.
I Besides these, there are the journal of Chiergato, N uncio of Adrian VI; the
Acts of the Legation of the Cardinal Gaspar Contarini at Ratisbon; some of
the letters of the Cardinal del Monte, President of the Council of Trent
under Paul III; those of Viscomti, agent of Pius IV; the Memoirs of the
Cardinal Amulio; the despatches of the Venetian Ambassador at the
Council; the greater part of those of the French Ambassador, collected by
the friends of Fra Paolo, M- Groslet, De Thou, and others. To these may
be added, the Relazione, letters and speeches of the prelates at Trent;
the History of the Council, by Milledonne; the Acts of Massarelli; the
papers containing the votes of the prelates and theologians during the ses-
sions of the Council; the Memorials of the Spanish ambassador Vergos;
the Conciliary Acts of Salmio, Bishop of Verdun; the MSS. of the Cardinal
Borromeo; and many other MSS. relating to the latter years of the Council,
examined by Griselini 1785, in the Collection of the Senator Gradenigo.
Sarpi had also access to the libraries of the Vatican, of Padua, of Milan,
of Mantua, and of Venice; and the rare Collections of books and MSS. of
the Grimani, Contarini, Donati, Manutii, and of the monastic bodies were
at his disposal. '
At Rome, Sarpi's work was prohibited, some say before it was publish-
ed. l If it was so, it must have been in consequence of the information
that Paul V had received from the friars who wished to poison Sarpi,
and who were told to procure leaves of his writings, but this is of little
consequence. It is probable that Sarpi. never intended to publish his work,
and that he referred to its publication after his death when he said he
would do more against those who sought his life, dead than living. Ful-
ganzio's remarks on the History are interesting. It was more read than
any ecclesiastical History that is known. " The idea prevailed, and it was
published in Rome as an undoubted fact, that he (Fra Paolo Sarpi) was
the Author of the History of the Council of Trent, in eight Books, printed
in the Italian language in London, and which was afterwards translated
into all the most common languages of Europe, an argument, that this is
no ordinary work. And it might be, that at Rome they had also taken
it as a proof that F. Paolo was its author, that for a long term of years,
the Father spared no pains, either through friendship or cost, to obtain
information concerning the celebration of this Council, not only in Italy,
but abroad. And at the time when he had free intercourse with the
Princes, he was most intimate with the Ambassadors of France, Monsieur
de Fresnes, de Mes, and Du Ferrier, and particularly the latter, who at-
tended the said Council. No judgment can be given on his writings,
unless it be done with the discretion of a skilful artizan, who by one
1 Index Lib. Prob. Gregory XVI, Romae, 1841. Deor. 22 Nov. 1619.
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? mr. 67. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 209
claw, knows the size of the Lion, and who could, as history relates, by
the measure of one finger comprehend the proportions of the Colossus of
Rhodes. "
But it is to be feared that few have the discretion of the skilful artisan
of whom Fulgenzio speaks, and while some have said that the History is
the most noble in any language, others have pronounced it but a lengthened
satire.
It was not an easy task to write without satire of a Council unlawfully
constituted, and entirely under the guidance of the Popes, their Legates
and adherents. There is much pungent satire in the work, yet the style
is dignified and agreeable, not redundant yet strictly correct, and evidently
that of a master,,'. 1iut to praise a work so long held in high esteem is as
presumptuous as to criticise it. " I would rather, " said a scholar of no mean
degree, " have been the Author of the History of the Council of Trent than
of any book I know. "
Curiosity was much excited to discover who wrote a History which was
received by scholars with enthusiasm. Although he never said so, Sarpi
was at once pronounced to have written it, and the liberal minded of the
Church of Rome ever regarded its author with admiration. It is a mistake
with respect to the work to speak of Sarpi as a partizan. /These comments
of Gibbon and d'Alembert ought sufficiently to negative the imputation.
" Since the origin of theological factions, Arminus Marcellinus, Fra Paolo,
Thuanas, Hume, and perhaps a few others, have deserved the singular
praise of holding the balance with a steady and equal hand. Independent
and unconnected, they contemplated with the same indifference the
opinions and interests of contending parties, or, if they were seriously at-
tached to a particular system, they were armed with a firm and moderate
temper which enabled them to suppress their affection and to sacrifice
their interest, " and " Fra Paolo is perhaps the only monk who has risen
above monastic prejudice, who saw and judged the interests of society
with the extensive survey of a philosopher, and the nobility of a man of
birth. "/
He had the wisdom to point out to his countrymen what they are now
beginning to believe, that the temporal power of the Pope was the great
prop of the abuses of the Church of Rome, and as this, together with his
protest against the doctrines of the Jesuits, was what throughout life he
insisted upon, he takes pains to show in the History of the Council of
Trent, by what means their false theology was inserted into its decrees.
This is seen in Father Salmeron's proceedings with regard to the
sacrifice of the Mass, ' as well as his known approval of the English Liturgy
1 Appendix.
H
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? 210 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1619.
and confessions of the Reformed Churches. And it is probable that Sarpi's
approval of opposition to Salmeron's opinions, was what drew upon him
the charge of Bossuet, " Sous un froc il cachoit un coeur Calvinists, et il
travailloit sourdement a descrediter la Messe, qu'il disoit tous les jours. "
It is hoped that sufficient has been said in this biography to prove that
Sarpi had Written much of his great work in early life. His History of
the Council has been preserved that his countrymen may read for them-
selves, and judge how one and another nation sent their prelates to Trent
to obtain the restoration of ancient doctrines and rites, and saw them
return obliged to conform to the pleasure of the Pope and his Legates,
who often were made to receive against their will what was contrary to
their conscience. It was in vain that in many of the Sessions of Trent the
Scriptures were cited as the rule of faith, they were not received as of
sufficient authority alone, unless the dogma or article of faith was sup-
ported by tradition or long use, and therefore it is not marvellous that
Sarpi dissented from some of the decrees of the Council.
It has been observed that he wished a free Council to be assembled at
the time of the Interdict, he well knew that some would have sought to
exclude the Jesuits from it, and then he and Fra Fulgenzio and some of
the seven might perhaps have seen the Holy Scriptures, the prohibited
book, unchained and open to all, and might have heard again the
eloquent Fulgenzio preaching the Gospel of Christ, as he had done before
he was hindered by the Nuncio.
Sarpi longed for freedom, he knew and felt one of the noblest sayings
ever embodied in words, that " he is the freeman whom the truth makes
free and all are slaves besides, " and to him the truth was dear. He had
laid hold of it with the full grasp of his intellect, but he felt that it need-
ed a still more powerful lever to raise his heart heavenwards, and he ever
spoke and wrote of that divine grace, which had unbarred to him the
gates of heaven, with a devotion which was as humble as it was sincere ;
he could look beyond the superstitions of an overcharged ritual, and
pray for the time when all would perceive that Heaven requires not
merely acts of devotion but the service of the heart. Throughout life We
have seen that he looked for a reformation of the visible church, a return
to its ancient usages, and that although he was disappointed at the issue
of the disputes with Pope Paul V, he was too Wise not to know that he
had given a stimulus to those who came after)( him to shun atheism as
repugnant to human nature, ' and to persevere in the struggle for re-
formation.
If then a friar, so surrounded with superstition as Sarpi was, could long
1 "L'ateismo repugna alla natura humans, " MS. Sarpi.
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in his misery. Asselineau was a physician of no small value, for he could
minister not only to the body, but to the soul, deep in the tomb Mar-
silio was laid, subtle poison had chilled his life blood, and Sarpi could
do no more than in a private letter express himself as above; his words
afford proof that death did not terrify Marsilio from his allegiance to
Heaven and to. his Prince, but that Rome was relentless to those who
challenged her power as supreme.
The words, " I believe, that if it were not for state reasons there are
1 Credo che se non fosse per ragion di stato, si troverrebbero diversi che salte-
rebbero da questo fosso di Roma nclla cima della Reforma, ma chi tema una cosa,
chi un altra, #0. --- Venice, 18th February, 1612, To M. de 1' Isole Groslot.
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? 198 THE LIFE oF [A. D. 1612
divers persons who would vault from this pit of Rome to the height of.
reform, " are words which some have severely censured, others attempt-
ed to get rid of, but this has been found impossible. The passage is
one of the strongest in the writings of Sarpi and it confirms e opi-
nion that he did wish the Church of Rome freed from the tyranny
of the Court of Rome. Perhaps these words were wrung from his pen
as he thought on Marsilio in all the agonies of a violent death, and
few knew better than Sarpi in his own person what it'was to differ
from a court which endeavored to assume the dictatorship of the world.
There can be no doubt that had the rulers of Venice declared for
absolute reform, all the powers of Europe who had commanded it
within the Church would have declared for Venice, and she would have
continued to hold her place among the nations, but Spain was strong,
and old habits and prejudices were stronger still. Venice was to pass
through a long and dreary servitude before she would awake, like the
wise of Italy, to see that a thorough reform of the church and separa-
tion from the Pope and Court of Rome is not a change of religion,
but a return to the religion taught by the Holy Apostles, and that
restoration of the Sacred Scriptures to the people is a right of which
none dare to rob them with impunity. Is there no one bold enough
now to vault over the trench or pit of Rome? Two hundred and fifty
years have passed since Marsilio died, and during all this time the
Court of Rome has kept the Church enthralled. Can men not learn
from past history? Can they not imitate the bold? Can no one, who
has not only the will, as had Sarpi, but the power, free his country
from the Court of Rome? Is there, as hasbeen lately asked, no Sarpi
left amongst the great intellects which adorn Italy, no senator who
can rise in his place like the great, the immortal Cavour, and recalling
Sarpi to their mind, as he did in one of his latest addresses to the
senators, ask them to free the Church of Rome from the Pope and
Court of Rome?
Never till the Senate of Italy is persuaded that reform within the
Church is\ only a return to the old and true religion, and that no people
can serve two masters, will the Pope become again Bishop of Rome,
and Italy disencumbered of his power be wholly free!
Still closely watched, though still closely cared for, Sarpi as usual
employed a cypher, or dictated some of his letters. In one of them be con-'
eludes thus, " because this is a letter which may be seen by all, I wish
to gratify myself by showing my respect for you, in sending you a little
of my own handwriting, ' remaining your most devoted servant. " All
1 21st 'March. 1612.
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? E1'. 60. ] . FRA PAOLO sanrr 199
his letters which the writer has seen, and they are a considerable num-
ber in MS. , are signed " F. Paolo di Venetia, " and are addressed " Al
Molto Reverendissimo Fra Paolo de Serui. " Generally speaking he
wrote to his intimate friends himself, but sometimes Fra Fulgenzio
wrote to them for him. He frequently concluded his letters by a mes-
sage from Fulgenzio, and from the noble Molino who was often in his
company.
Political events were gloomy, and Sarpi judged that the coronation
of Matthias as Emperor of Germany was overshadowed by the Pope's
insertion in the Decretals, "that now the examination of the election
and of the person elected, as well as the confirmation belongs to him;
and that the elect Emperor ought to take an oath of fidelity to him,
also that the administration of the vacant empire belongs to him,
but that God is above all, and as he wills that prayer be made to him
so will he listen, according to his divine purpose. " Further, Sarpi
surmised that . Albert would be king of the Romans, and Spain obtain
a stronger hold upon Germany.
The Turks were again in motion, the Spanish fleet kept watch at
Otranto, Sarpi supposed in the hope that the Republic and the Ot-
tomans might quarrel. The disgust between Rome and Venice grew
wider, and Sarpi was still in bad odour with the Pope, which is plain
from a despatch of M. de Breves to the King of France, of August
14th. " I omitted to write to your Majesties by the former ordinary,
that the Pope had told me that he knew for certain that Frere Paul,
who is in the employ of the Republic, had evil intentions against your
Majesties well being, as might be seen by his letters which have been
intercepted. They were addressed to some private individuals of the
Reformed religion in their service, and shown to them by the Papal
Nuncio. I have informed M. Leo Bruslart, their Ambassador at Venice,
but he will not mention the subject until their intentions are known'.
As to the differences between his Holiness and the Venetians they are
kept secret, and neither party complains, so that it is much better to
appear to know nothing of them than to think of finding a remedy,
added to which, the Venetians would distrust your Majesties, as
they do his Holiness, on account of the continued alliance with
Spain. "
One of the causes of difference certainly was the bad odour in which
the theologian of Venice Was held by the Pope, he had little rest,
his enemies were still on the watch to take his life; a secret plot had
been discovered against him by the Venetian Ambassador at Rome
of which he says little more than, " the Senate are so good as to have
heard this with disgust. "
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? 200 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1613.
But amidst his own troubles the deprivation of the Syndic Richer
had deeply affected him; he knew that the Jesuits had prevailed against
this innocent man whose defence was not permitted to be published,
which Sarpi regretted, as he hoped it might have led to more liberty
of conscience. And on this account he turned with pleasure to the
amicable terms on which Venetia and Holland were united. He had
hoped that the projected marriage between the Prince of Wales and
a Princess of the Romish Church would be a means of diminishing
the reputation of the Pope, who was by no means pleased that Princes
of the Church of Rome made alliances for their daughters with Princes
of the Reformed religion, but his hopes were disappointed by the
death of the Prince of Wales. "God grant, " he writes, "that it may
not overwhelm the King with sorrow, a greater he could not suffer. "
One might have supposed that Fra Paolo did not require any ad-
ditional employment, but by command, he now wrote his history of
the Uscochs, a horde of Dalmatians who lived chiefly in Segna, an inac-
cessible city of the Adriatic, near Spalatro. These pirates indulged in
desperate undertakings, in which they were joined by men of infamous
character Venetians, Dalmatians, Turks, Croats and English. Under
pretence of forming an advanced guard in time of war, these despe-
radoes were permitted to dwell under the sovereignty of Austria. Their
number was only one thousand, yet they were a terror to Venetia,
and on one occasion dared to send a present of sixty human heads
to the Signory: irritated by this conduct the Republic blockaded Segna,
but the pirates withdraw from the coast and ravaged Istria under
Austrian colors.
The Austrians affected ignorance, but summary justice followed.
The Uscochs retreated, but returned to the charge with redoubled
fury, and as many troops had to be despatched against them, Venetia
followed the counsel which Fra Paolo had formerly given, to employ
s&diers of the Reformed religion, and thus four thousand Hollanders
honorably kept the city from the fangs of the destroyer. He believed
that his countrymen would acquire much good from a closer ac-
quaintance with the Germans and Dutch and that thus prejudice against
the religion of those who had protested against popery would be
subdued . for himself, he stood on the broad basis of the Nicene creed.
But Paul V still persevered against Fra Paolo, and continued to
incite the French Ambassador to demand satisfaction at his own Court.
The letters of M. de Bre? ves are painful instances of intolerance/but
truth prevailed, and the integrity of Fra Paolo was a rampart against
which all the waves of envy, bigotry and persecution beat in vain.
While the affairs of Hungary and Poland became more and more
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? ET. 61. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 201
entangled by the -Jesuits, the 'Turks were constructing a bridge across
the Danube for an easy passage for their army; and the Duke of
Savoy surprised Montferrat, but his claims to it being laid aside, the
Cardinal assumed the title of Duke of Mantua.
At a somewhat later period Sarpi was commanded by the Duke- of
Savoy to be rewarded for his writings during the Interdict. He had
not yet laid down his pen, as we find a small work issue from it,
"On immunities of the Church', "- written only for his friends but
printed by the Senator Molino, besides his being known to have continued
his greater volumes.
In the beginning of the year 1614, a gleam of light burst across the
papal mind, Paul V spoke with kindness of Fra Paolo; it is pleasant to note
the change. The Bishop of Tino had been accused by the Inquisitors, he
was cited to Venice and there called upon to defend himself. The case was
referred to Fra Paolo whose advice was followed, and the Bishop was he
norably reinstated in his see, and on his way to the east he waited upon
the Pope, who when speaking of Fra Paolo said, "that he was both
temperate and just. " On hearing this the Servite remarked. "Now
we have a Pope who is friendly, I pray God that he may live longer
than I, because of his successors. "
On the 22nd of December the Doge Memmo died, and Giovanni
Bembo was elected in his room. There had been an ineffectual effort'
to introduce reformation in the Church into Venice during this year.
The Republic was shewing increased subserviency to the Pope, which
not only then weakened the government, but was one of the principal
causes of its overthrow. Sarpi raised his voice in vain, Spain was
still the foe of Venice, the Republic endeavored to avert a war, but
the Duke of Ossuna incited the Pope and Uscochs against her and
sent troops into Milan, and armed vessels into the Adriatic.
The Republic complained to the Court of Madrid, and the Duke
was commanded to disarm, but on this he invited- the Uscochs to
Naples and threatened to surprise the city of Venice: the whole year
was one of continued warfare by sword and by pen, and Sarpi furnished
a supplement to his History of the Uscochs. He also continued his
astronomical pursuits with Galileo, and in a memorandum from the
Schedae Sarpianae, "Per mia memoria, " he foretells the misfortunes
which were about to fall on the great Florentine.
" Since I hear from the M. N. and M. I. Senator Molino, that M.
Galileo Galilei is about to go to Rome, being invited there by several
Cardinals to lay before them his opinions respecting his discoveries in
the heavens; I fear that if in such circumstances he brings forward
the learned considerations which have induced him to prefer the theory
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? 202 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1616.
of the Canon Copernicus of our solar system, he will incure the ill
will of the Jesuits and of the other monks, that the physical and
astronomical question will be changed by them into a matter of _ theology
and I foresee with sorrow that he will have to recant his opinions
upon it, if he would live in peace without being regarded X a heretic.
I 4%>> Yet I am sure that the day will come when more enlightened men
mm
Z4>>-
,
will deplore Galileo's misfortunes and the injustice done to so great
a man, but in the mean time he must endure it, and complain only
M7 in secret. " Again, "the Copernican hypothesis, far from being contrary
to the word of God as revealed in the sacred pages, rather does honor
to his omnipotence and infinite wisdom, both as regards the order and
arrangement of the terrestrial mechanism, and that of all the other
orbs Which constitute the wondrous spectacle of the universe. " A later _
age acknowledged the truth of these remarks, and at Florence Leopold II,
Grand Duke of Tuscany, commanded the execution of frescoes in which
Sarpi and Galileo are delineated, as well as a collection of Galileo's
mechanical, and optical instruments with which Sarpi was conversant.
In the month of J une Sir Henry Wotton was again appointed
Ambassador from Great Britain to Venice, his esteem for Fra Paolo
continued, and to him is to be imputed his Sovereign's requests that
he should go to England. But his friend Bedell did not return to
Venice, and this was probably one reason why Paolo again welcomed
de Dominis the Archbishop of Spalatro, and steadily keeping in view
his desire for reform within the Church of Rome, it is evident that
throughout his life, he looked favourably on whoever was most likely
to aid in this laudable purpose. In the time of the Interdict, it has
been noticed, that "the Archbishop de Dominis associated with Fra
Paolo. Discontented with the Pope and Court of 'Rome, he had introduced
many wise reforms into his diocese, and where heathen orgies had
once been celebrated on the site of part of the magnificent remains
of the temple and palace of the Emperor Diocletian at Spalatro, De
Dominis had advocated many wise measures as to reformation of the
Church. He was, however, of a restless disposition, and on coming to
Venice made the acquaintance of Fra Paolo and the seven, probably in
the hope that the Republic of Venice would be freed from the Court
of Rome. Fra Paolo had such confidence in him, as actually to lend
to him his MS. of the History of the Council of Trent, in order that
he might read it. It {appears a most extraordinary act on the part
of Fra Paolo to intrust any one with a MS. which he had guarded
so carefully; which he never said that he had written, but which had
cost him so many years of toil and labor. How De Dominis acted,
will be seen in the sequel; but for the present he must be followed
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? 11*/r. 64. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 203
to Coire in the Grisons, Heidelberg, and subsequently to England.
Tidings of his manifesto appear to have reached Fra Paolo, because
he says he "suspended his judgment with regard to a prelate," as
also that he mentions a "manifesto of De Dominis; " but after observing.
"that all he printed was certain to be prohibited," he adds, "that he
knew nothing further respecting him. " At a later period he thus
writes to M. Gillotz " I have news from my friend of the Archbishop
of Spalatro. He conversed confidentially with him, and he saw some
of his books about to be published, he assured me that they were
written without any pretension, or any appearance of controversy. He
avoids all bitterness; he only maintains his own opinions distinctly,
and proves all by ancient documents. However, my friend neither
praised their prolixity (which is perhaps extreme), nor -the vacillation
or anxiety of mind, which the author ingenuously confesses, 'I should
admire it if he lived in France, where interchange of thought is not
forbidden to any, but in a place where men are- deprived from their
cradles of liberty of thought I value it highly in a Dalmatian, who
has been brought up in the dungeons of the Jesuits, that he has been
able to extricate himself from darkness. In forming my judgment of
his worth and learning, I take these difficulties into account; I could
not otherwise have spoken of them in such absolute terms. "
Thus charitably did Sarpi write of De Dominis. Having declared
himself one of the Reformed in England, De Dominis was received
with great distinction at Court by the King, entertained sumptuously
by the Universities, and lodged by royal command at the palace of the
Archbishop of Canterbury.
After the ceremony of the renunciation of his episcopacy at St.
Paul's Cathedral, London, he was presented to the Mastership of the
Savoy, London, and to the living and parsonage of West Ilsley, Berkshire;
but De Dominis was not satisfied.
His work "De Republica Ecclesiastica, " was one of great' service,
but the vacillating nature of its author impaired its usefulness lat-
terly. High authority pronounced its arguments nnanswerable, but the
Nuncio demanded a prohibition of his works, and Sarpi had again
the mortification to see one, who he had hoped might benefit his
country, leave him to struggle on without the aid of his pen or his high
dignity to assist him, but Sarpi was obedient to the commands of heaven.
Heaven had given him the key which unlocks its portals, the late
dews of night and the first breath of early morn found him sup-
plicating for his country, and the Christian patriot resigned himself to
the thought, that whatever God permitted to happen to the Church, it
would be for her benefit,-"He thus wrote:
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? 204 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1617.
" As to what I touched upon in my letter concerning the Kingdom
of Heaven, Christ is, without doubt, a King and Priest. 'He hath
made us all,' says St. Peter, 'priests and kings,' that is he hath
made his Church a royal priesthood, by making his ministers partakers
of the royal and priestly power. Admit this; he hath made his stewards
and ministers viceroys in his absence. This is certain, 'As my Father
sent me, so I send you. ' It belongs to the Kingdom of Heaven; it
neither receives nor gives anything of mutual help from, or to an
earthly King. And there is no wonder in this; they do not walk
together, they cannot meet together. Christ's minister and vicar has
his conversation in heaven, from whence we look for Christ the Saviour.
The King of France has no diminution. of power, because his dominion
does not reach to the stars. The Kingdom of Heaven is further from
the French nation than those stars are. 'The Kingdom of Heaven is
within you,' said Christ (St. Luke xvm,). But whether an earthly
prince does anything towards the Kingdom of Heaven, he will best
be able to say who learns from history, how much more it prospered
under Diocletian than under Constantine. No one comes after Christ
but one that takes up His cross.
"The Kingdom of Heaven began by the cross, it is extended and
perfected by the cross: not but that the Church may flourish in
peace, because God sometimes plants it by the favour of princes, and
sometimes by persecution; 'through honour and dishonour, by evil
report and good report,' (2 Cor. vI). 'All things work together for
good to them that love God. ' I have not taken the words of the
Kingdom of Heaven as meant of the Church on earth; and I so conceive
the Scriptures teach me to understand it. . . .
"They are Christ's ministers who have the keys of the Kingdom
committed to them.
Nobody can say that he that keeps the keys of
the house is the house itself; and in the first and second chapters of
St. John's Revelation those Words, 'Thou hast made us unto our
God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth,' are not
only spoken of his ministers, but of all else, of every tribe, language,
people, and nation that are cleansed and redeemed by the blood of
Christ. "
Sarpi speaks of those who engrossed the name of " Church" to them-
selves, who also took to themselves its goods and estates, and those
of Rome had given him a very low place, because he did " not allow
them a coercive power over sovereigns. "
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? 205
CHAPTER X.
s. n. 1618 -- s. n. 1623.
Door: or VENICE. 1618 Niccolo Donato. 1618 Antonio Priuli.
Sovanmcns or GERMANY. Matthias. Ferdinand.
GREAT B'1? irAr_N_. James I_.
S? A1? . 'Philip III. 1621 Philip IV.
Tummy. Mustapha. Osman III. Mustapha.
Porns. Paul V. 1621 Gregory XV.
WIN/I/WVVN
Conspiracy. - F. Paolo's history of the Council of Trent. - Public events. --
Death of Paul V. - Gregory XV. - Prince de Conde's visit. - Fra Paolo's
illness and death. - Public funeral. - His remains about to be disturbed are
hidden, exhumed and reburied, again raised. - Buried in the church of
S. Michele di Murano.
Fra Paolo Sarpi was not mistaken in his fears for his country. Like a
gem of matchless beauty and great value, Venetia had long been coveted
by the unscrupulous and the ambitious. The year 1618 was peculiarly
dark to her, a deep plot had been laid against her, and she seemed about
to be swept from her high place amongst the nations of Europe. Little
however of this conspiracy has been published, and they who would
explore its labyrinths must track them in the Archives of Venice. The
Senate commanded Fra Paolo to write an account of it. He had long be-
lieved that one of the powers of Europe was ready to make Venetia her
own, but it is not for his biographer to do more than express gladness
that he never saw his country beneath a foreign yoke.
N o alarm, no illness, no business however pressing, seems ever to have
severed him wholly from his studies; and amongst them at this time he
is found making notes on a treatise by the learned Scot, Anderson, Profes-
sor of Mathematics at Paris. We have also of this date some thoughts
from Paolo's pen on a well known passage of Cicero, ' and in this, as in
all his other writings, he ascribes honor to Him by whose fiat all things
were created.
1 " Est enim admirabilis quaedam continuatio seriesque rerum, ut alias ex aliis
nexee, et omnes inter se aptae colligataeque videantur. " De Natura Deorum, lib. 1.
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? 206 THE LIFE OF [AD. 1619.
His correspondence, however, met with a severe check; in his last letter
to M. Groslot he refers to the difficulty with which he sent a letter to
him, and they who are hasty in their condemnation of the government of
Venice may learn what great necessity there was for vigilance, when
their theologian and counsellor could not correspond even with a friend
in safety, watched over as he and probably every other member of the
Venetian government were by foreign spies. But his opinions were still
the same, he still sighed as much for reformation in the Church as when
Diodati, Bedell and others had urged it upon him during and subsequent
to the Interdict, although almost prevented from correspondence with its
advocates: but he still availed himself of any opportunity to show himself
friendly to those of the Reformed religion, as is evinced by his conduct to
a near relative of his old friend M. de Mornay, who far from his home and
in the prime of youth and hope lay dying.
The learned Daille? had accompanied this youth and his brother to Italy.
And. all three being of the Reformed religion, they feared to remain in
Mantua on account of the Inquisition, but proceeded to Padua. There the
youth was tended with great care by M. Assclineapi the friend of Fra
Paolo, another physician, and an apothecary, all of the Reformed religion,
but their aid was fruitless, their patient died, and Fra Paolo, to whom
they had letters of introduction from du Plessis Mornay, obtained permis-
sion from the Venetian government to furnish the mourners with what-
leave was necessary, that the body of the youth might be taken to Saumur,
and buried there.
This was no small boon and is one of the many proofs of the tolerance of
Sarpi. '
To the surprise of many, but to no one more than to the author him-
self, the History of the Council of Trent now appeared. This last Council
of the Church of Rome, Which sat at intervals from 1545 till 1563, is too
generally known to require more particular notice than that it was assembled
in order to correct, illustrate and fix with perspicuity the doctrines of the
church, to restore her discipline, and to reform the lives of the clergy.
The preponderance of papal authority, and subsequent interpretation of
the decrees of Trent being so distasteful to many of tbe'members of the
Church of Rome/Sarpi wrote an authentic account of that assemblywhicly
although called to cement the divisions in the Church, in reality widened
them.
The writer of these pages took pains at Venice to obtain particulars
respecting the History of the Council of Trent. The original MS. is in
the writing of Sarpi's amanuensis Franzano, and on the first page of the
MS. is written by Fra Paolo Sarpi " L'Ht'st0ria dell Uoncilio Tridentino,
scritta do Pietro Suave Pohmo. " The other words " L'H1'strrria' dell Con
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? Er. 67. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 207
a
cilia Tridentino, " either head the other books which are in all eight, or _
are on the margin also written by Fra Paolo as are the corrections
throughout. This is worthy of notice, as it has been alleged that the
original MS. was written by Sarpi, in place of being dictated by him and
the corrections made by others. The reverse is the fact, as is attested on
the MS. by the Secretary Fontano. ' But to any one who has examined
the MS. , it is evident that every word must have been read by Sarpi, or
to him, from the many and minute corrections by his own hand. It is in
good preservation, bound by four leather thongs and parchment cover,
and consists of one thousand and eighty three pages , closely and finely
written, and carefully pointed. Paolo Sarpi did not publish his own work.
It has been observed that this MS. was borrowed from him by the Arch-
bishop de Dominis; who it is believed had it copied, carried to England
and published in London without Sarpi's knowledge, with a dedication
to the King of Great Britain by de Dominis. This dedication gave him
great pain; many, as Sarpi wrote were the defects of the Church of Rome
he never could hear it spoken against without regret, and although his own
language against the Court of Rome was very strong, still the unprejudic-
ed have always pronounced the History of the Council of Trent as did the
learned Sir Roger Twysden, " to be written with so great moderation
learning and wisdome, as might deserve a place amongst the exactest
pieces of ecclesiastic story any age hath produced. "
In Italy, many of her scholars, and they are not few, assured the
writer, "that none but the most profoundly ignorant hold any opinion
but that of admiration for the works of Fra Paolo Sarpi, and for his efforts
to reform the Romish Church. "
No one can reasonably affirm that this History was written in haste,
who is acquainted with the difficulty of research, and with the toil and
perseverance necessary to collect, collate, and embody materials for any
Work. Fra Paolo's aim was truth, and he did not shrink from the laborious
search after it in writing and compiling his History / and he had the
peculiar advantage, as we have seen, of personal acquaintance with many
who had attended the Council, and who were in possession of many me-
morials which no one else ever saw.
' It is to be regretted that the work of Fra Buonfiglio Capra perished by
fire; he had collected with great assiduity authentic references to all the
authorities consulted by Sarpi in the History of the Council of Trent, and
it is a well known fact that the materials for that work were in the Quirini
Library.
1 Deputato alla Canceleria Segreta, 16 Feb. 1772, arid by Bettiu Librarian.
"SS. Italiani de la Marciana, Classe v, N" 26.
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? 208 " THE LIFE or [s. D. 1619.
I Besides these, there are the journal of Chiergato, N uncio of Adrian VI; the
Acts of the Legation of the Cardinal Gaspar Contarini at Ratisbon; some of
the letters of the Cardinal del Monte, President of the Council of Trent
under Paul III; those of Viscomti, agent of Pius IV; the Memoirs of the
Cardinal Amulio; the despatches of the Venetian Ambassador at the
Council; the greater part of those of the French Ambassador, collected by
the friends of Fra Paolo, M- Groslet, De Thou, and others. To these may
be added, the Relazione, letters and speeches of the prelates at Trent;
the History of the Council, by Milledonne; the Acts of Massarelli; the
papers containing the votes of the prelates and theologians during the ses-
sions of the Council; the Memorials of the Spanish ambassador Vergos;
the Conciliary Acts of Salmio, Bishop of Verdun; the MSS. of the Cardinal
Borromeo; and many other MSS. relating to the latter years of the Council,
examined by Griselini 1785, in the Collection of the Senator Gradenigo.
Sarpi had also access to the libraries of the Vatican, of Padua, of Milan,
of Mantua, and of Venice; and the rare Collections of books and MSS. of
the Grimani, Contarini, Donati, Manutii, and of the monastic bodies were
at his disposal. '
At Rome, Sarpi's work was prohibited, some say before it was publish-
ed. l If it was so, it must have been in consequence of the information
that Paul V had received from the friars who wished to poison Sarpi,
and who were told to procure leaves of his writings, but this is of little
consequence. It is probable that Sarpi. never intended to publish his work,
and that he referred to its publication after his death when he said he
would do more against those who sought his life, dead than living. Ful-
ganzio's remarks on the History are interesting. It was more read than
any ecclesiastical History that is known. " The idea prevailed, and it was
published in Rome as an undoubted fact, that he (Fra Paolo Sarpi) was
the Author of the History of the Council of Trent, in eight Books, printed
in the Italian language in London, and which was afterwards translated
into all the most common languages of Europe, an argument, that this is
no ordinary work. And it might be, that at Rome they had also taken
it as a proof that F. Paolo was its author, that for a long term of years,
the Father spared no pains, either through friendship or cost, to obtain
information concerning the celebration of this Council, not only in Italy,
but abroad. And at the time when he had free intercourse with the
Princes, he was most intimate with the Ambassadors of France, Monsieur
de Fresnes, de Mes, and Du Ferrier, and particularly the latter, who at-
tended the said Council. No judgment can be given on his writings,
unless it be done with the discretion of a skilful artizan, who by one
1 Index Lib. Prob. Gregory XVI, Romae, 1841. Deor. 22 Nov. 1619.
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? mr. 67. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 209
claw, knows the size of the Lion, and who could, as history relates, by
the measure of one finger comprehend the proportions of the Colossus of
Rhodes. "
But it is to be feared that few have the discretion of the skilful artisan
of whom Fulgenzio speaks, and while some have said that the History is
the most noble in any language, others have pronounced it but a lengthened
satire.
It was not an easy task to write without satire of a Council unlawfully
constituted, and entirely under the guidance of the Popes, their Legates
and adherents. There is much pungent satire in the work, yet the style
is dignified and agreeable, not redundant yet strictly correct, and evidently
that of a master,,'. 1iut to praise a work so long held in high esteem is as
presumptuous as to criticise it. " I would rather, " said a scholar of no mean
degree, " have been the Author of the History of the Council of Trent than
of any book I know. "
Curiosity was much excited to discover who wrote a History which was
received by scholars with enthusiasm. Although he never said so, Sarpi
was at once pronounced to have written it, and the liberal minded of the
Church of Rome ever regarded its author with admiration. It is a mistake
with respect to the work to speak of Sarpi as a partizan. /These comments
of Gibbon and d'Alembert ought sufficiently to negative the imputation.
" Since the origin of theological factions, Arminus Marcellinus, Fra Paolo,
Thuanas, Hume, and perhaps a few others, have deserved the singular
praise of holding the balance with a steady and equal hand. Independent
and unconnected, they contemplated with the same indifference the
opinions and interests of contending parties, or, if they were seriously at-
tached to a particular system, they were armed with a firm and moderate
temper which enabled them to suppress their affection and to sacrifice
their interest, " and " Fra Paolo is perhaps the only monk who has risen
above monastic prejudice, who saw and judged the interests of society
with the extensive survey of a philosopher, and the nobility of a man of
birth. "/
He had the wisdom to point out to his countrymen what they are now
beginning to believe, that the temporal power of the Pope was the great
prop of the abuses of the Church of Rome, and as this, together with his
protest against the doctrines of the Jesuits, was what throughout life he
insisted upon, he takes pains to show in the History of the Council of
Trent, by what means their false theology was inserted into its decrees.
This is seen in Father Salmeron's proceedings with regard to the
sacrifice of the Mass, ' as well as his known approval of the English Liturgy
1 Appendix.
H
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? 210 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1619.
and confessions of the Reformed Churches. And it is probable that Sarpi's
approval of opposition to Salmeron's opinions, was what drew upon him
the charge of Bossuet, " Sous un froc il cachoit un coeur Calvinists, et il
travailloit sourdement a descrediter la Messe, qu'il disoit tous les jours. "
It is hoped that sufficient has been said in this biography to prove that
Sarpi had Written much of his great work in early life. His History of
the Council has been preserved that his countrymen may read for them-
selves, and judge how one and another nation sent their prelates to Trent
to obtain the restoration of ancient doctrines and rites, and saw them
return obliged to conform to the pleasure of the Pope and his Legates,
who often were made to receive against their will what was contrary to
their conscience. It was in vain that in many of the Sessions of Trent the
Scriptures were cited as the rule of faith, they were not received as of
sufficient authority alone, unless the dogma or article of faith was sup-
ported by tradition or long use, and therefore it is not marvellous that
Sarpi dissented from some of the decrees of the Council.
It has been observed that he wished a free Council to be assembled at
the time of the Interdict, he well knew that some would have sought to
exclude the Jesuits from it, and then he and Fra Fulgenzio and some of
the seven might perhaps have seen the Holy Scriptures, the prohibited
book, unchained and open to all, and might have heard again the
eloquent Fulgenzio preaching the Gospel of Christ, as he had done before
he was hindered by the Nuncio.
Sarpi longed for freedom, he knew and felt one of the noblest sayings
ever embodied in words, that " he is the freeman whom the truth makes
free and all are slaves besides, " and to him the truth was dear. He had
laid hold of it with the full grasp of his intellect, but he felt that it need-
ed a still more powerful lever to raise his heart heavenwards, and he ever
spoke and wrote of that divine grace, which had unbarred to him the
gates of heaven, with a devotion which was as humble as it was sincere ;
he could look beyond the superstitions of an overcharged ritual, and
pray for the time when all would perceive that Heaven requires not
merely acts of devotion but the service of the heart. Throughout life We
have seen that he looked for a reformation of the visible church, a return
to its ancient usages, and that although he was disappointed at the issue
of the disputes with Pope Paul V, he was too Wise not to know that he
had given a stimulus to those who came after)( him to shun atheism as
repugnant to human nature, ' and to persevere in the struggle for re-
formation.
If then a friar, so surrounded with superstition as Sarpi was, could long
1 "L'ateismo repugna alla natura humans, " MS. Sarpi.
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