And amongst these invented
nouities, ' this was one, her totall exemption from originall sinne.
nouities, ' this was one, her totall exemption from originall sinne.
Sarpi - 1868 - Life of Fra Paolo Sarpi
'
Such is nearly the doctrine of Galileo. Again, touching the velocity which
accelerates the fall of a heavy body attached to a cord or pendfnt thread,
his reasoning is similar-to that adopted by the Florentine philosopher
in his Dialogues. ' Sarpi shows that " an igneous vapor arising from the
water does not ascend quicker because the vapor is lighter than the air,
but because it is forced upwards by the water which compresses it, " and
he further remarks that " a body which weighs in the air double that of the
water, will descend in it in the same degree as the air ascends. " So Galileo
asserts that " the gravity of a solid, greater or less than that of the water,
is the true and proper sense of its sinking or not. " On comparison of
the ideas of the author of a method of Indivisibility with that of the
" Pensieri, " the same argument occurs as to the effect of mirrors whose
concavity is generated by a parabolical line; there is also similarity between
the " Pensieri " and the Lunar Astronomy of Kepler, as also Gregory in his
Comparative Astronomy. On dioptrics, Fra Paolo observes, " I have made
many experiments in this particular with looking glasses, spherical and
concave, convex and plane and having observed the effects produced by the
rays of the sun, and by the brightness of the moon and stars reflected on
the water, the reflection of the same will determine their place and dis-
tance. At different times the experiments were according to my method
of reasoning, but at other times, I found I was quite contradicted, which
is one argument for the belief that in many cases the broken and diver-
gent rays which meet our eyes converge, or are as if convergent. "-
The " Pensieri " also contained thoughts on Anatomy, although there
is presumptive proof that these threw considerable light on that science, it
is more probable that Fra'Paolo's discoveries of the valves in the veins,
and the dilitation of the uvea of the eye were made during 1582-5 when
for three years he made Anatomy a principal study.
The nomination of a friend of Sarpi to the Readership of the Ducal Chan-
cery must not be omitted. Aldus Manutius was one of a family held in vene-
ration by every lover of classical literature. The Aldine, or Italic character
perpetuates the name of Aldus the elder, as well as his edition of the Clas-
1 Pensieri MS. Sarpi. N" 13, 538.
2 Opera di Galileo. Tom. 1. 216.
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? air. 26. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 37
sies, but the studies of Aldus, the younger, of the libraries of Venice as
well as its stones, marbles and antiquities, and his arduous comparisons
of their inscriptions with upwards of 1,500 Roman inscriptions in order
to establish a correct orthography of the ancient Latin, were more than
sufficient to arrest the attention of Sarpi, and to make him seek the so-
ciety of Aldus Manutius, who was at a later period librarian of the Vati-
can, nor could he forget to whom he owed his knowledge of the ancient
Roman Calendar.
Fra Paolo was no stranger within the University of Padua, which was
regarded with peculiar favor by the Republic of Venice. Let the reader
view the modest Friar as he passes beneath the winged lion which adorns
its gates, and enters the College where he had so often listened to its
learned professors, now to receive a degree at their hands. The place where
Livy once dwelt, reflected honor on itself by giving honor to Sarpi, and
centuries after the Servite had received his degree, his countrymen could
point to the Matricular of that great University, and tell that there was
inscribed a name of which even Padua is proud. On his return from Pa-
dua, public affairs could not fail to interest Fra Paolo, because the inde-
pendence of his country was' dear to him, and the rich vein of liberty runs
through his works. What then must he have thought of the King of Spain
making a hasty peace with the Netherlands that he might possess the
Kingdom of Portugal? A like usurpation might await Venetia, and Paolo
gave good reasons for this supposition long before the plot of Ossuna.
'The occupation by the Pope of parts of the lands of the Romagna was
a cause of great discontent and bloodshed, nevertheless Venice was still
secure. _
Fra Paolo Sarpi took priest's orders when he was twenty seven years of
age, and afterwards passed much of his time in strict retirement, and in
acts of piety and meditation.
For some years subsequently he did not take wine, animal food did
not accord with his constitution, and his principal nourishment was bread
and fruit, his beverage water. The Servi partook of both animal food and
wine, but Fra Paolo's abstemiousness was only on account of his health. He
was very thin in body, having grave disorders of the liver, which caused
great weakness and pain, but he was not accustomed to relax either his
habits of devotion or study, and thought it a mistake, except in cases of
extremity, when an invalid deviated from his usual rule of life. When he
was about thirty years of age he was obliged to take wine /and he was
often heard to say that nothing had ever cost him so much as in this to
follow the advice of his physicians. " He always preserved the strictest disci-
pline over himself, and he could so command his affections, that if his
judgment was contrary to them, they could not move him. No dainty
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? 38 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1579.
could excite his appetite if hurtful, and he took medicine as if it was
good food when he believed it to be beneficial. Such were his infirmities of
body that he never could be persuaded that his life would be prolonged
for a year, he thought each day might be his last, and said he never
remembered to have felt so as if he could live a year. To this may be at-
tributed the great progress which he made in his studies, in which he
was so engrossed that few days passed in which they did not occupy him
eight hours, but he had no intention of publishing any work till obliged
to do so for the public good. He was not resolute in action, but rather
appeared cold and reserved, for he who has little hope of long life seldom
applies himself to actions offgreat consequence. " 1
Since the institution of the Order of the Servi, Fra Paolo was the only
member who had been appointed Provincial at the early age of twenty
seven, but with the unanimous applause of the Chapter held at Verona,
he was now chosen to fill that office, which was one of trust, and required
not only temper and discretion, but ability to govern. The Provincial had
supervision of all the Convents of his Order within his province, he had
a voice in the provincial Chapters with power to elect ad interim the
officials of the Convent: he had the power if ' he pleased to transfer any
friar from one Convent to another, to reprove, correct, or even imprison
him, but the sentence was to be remitted for approval to the General. He
might inhabit any Convent he chose, travel at the common expense and
receive some emolument from all. Except in the case of insult or personal
provocation he was exempt from all reproof, took precedence of all friars
of inferior grade, appointed a lay brother to be his servant, and was free
of all public duty. _
Such Was the office to which Fra Paolo was elected in the city of Ve-
rona, justly termed " il Nobile. " It was of interest to a classical scholar,
such as Sarpi, from being the birth place of the magnanimous conqueror
Emilius, of Cornelius Nepos, of the poets Emilius/Macer and Catlllus, of
Pliny the Elder, the great Titus Vespasian, and of the cruel Domitian.
Some Latin authors pronounce Verona to have been a city of the
Cenomani, but Pliny places its site in Rhoetia. It was one of the twelve
cities of Etruria, and is said to have' taken its name from the illustrious
family of the Vera. Its ancient amphitheatre, its fortifications, its remains
of an ancient Naumachia, all would occupy the attention of Fra Paolo,
and to this student of architecture Verona afforded many objects on
which his eye would linger with just appreciation. From his Convent there,
his abode of peace, he could look down on the plains where Caius Mar-
cius met and defeated the Cimbri, and where Odoacer met the same fate
1 MS.
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? E1'. 27. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 39
at the hands of Theodoric King of the Goths, but could Fra Paolo
imagine as he trode the Cathedral where the Lords of the Scala lie en-
tombed, that his fame would be spread by the learned Scaliger, who boast-
ed descent from these ancient governors of Verona?
Great reform had been effected in the discipline of the churches
there by Bishop Giberti, and Fra Paolo valued such. The portrait of
this exemplary Prelate must have been'familiar to him during his
intercourse with Cardinal Borromeo at Milan, as it was the pen-
dent, silent, but chosen monitor of the Cardinal, who endeavored to
imitate the example of one, who was a successful and venerated leader
in the cause of reform within the Church of Rome. .
On} his return from Verona, Fra Paolo taught Theology at Venice,
and discharged his duties as Provincial with piety and integrity. He
was proof against bribes, refused the smallest gift if offered as such,
and in no instance were his judgments revoked even by the Cardinal
San Severina. " Partiality and division were banished from the Order
during his government, and none complained but those who presum-
ed more on his friendship than upon their merit, thus in this, his
first essay in government, the germ of his future excellence in admini-
stration was apparent as well as his great prudence in negotiation,
so that in all the innumerable affairs which passed through his hands,
none were so involved but that he could unravel them, or else they
were wholly inextricable. - Persons of all conditions placed such confi-
dence in his judgment that they believed he, if any one, could extri-
cate them from difficulty. Though apparently inclined to severity and
rigorous measures he was not so; he was naturally so kind and ten-
der that in mature age he was not only compassionate to man but to
animals, he could not bear to see them ill treated, and if it had been
necessary for him to kill an animal for his own food, he would rather
have suffered abstinence. " ' Such are the minute particulars given
to us, of the Friar whom those of the Court of Rome call "Terrible. "
Great differences still existed amongst the Servi, but Fra Paolo endea-
vored to quell dissension; he loved justice but blamed too great lenity
in punishment, especially as administered at Venice, and deemed it a
cause of excess; yet he leaned to mercy rather than to severity in the
administration of his government as Provincial.
In a general Chapter of the Order, convoked at Parma by the Prior
General Tavanti, according to custom the learned Servi held disputations
on Theology and Philosophy, Fra Paolo taking part in the discussion and
sermons; his auditors were unbounded in their applause, amongst whom
1 MS.
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? 40 _ THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1579.
was Ottavio, the Ducal member of the house of Farnese. "In consequence
of many statutes enacted by the Pontiffs with regard to the Regulars,
especially at the Council of Trent, as to the reform of all the religious
Orders, it was now judged necessary by the Chapter to send a deputation
to Rome, and it was determined to make choice of three of the wisest and
most prudent who understood the art of government. " One of these was
Padre Paolo, ' a youth in comparison of the hoary hairs of his col-
leagues. He had a greater knowledge than his companions of canonical and
civil jurisprudence and the decrees of Councils; therefore the care of
these devolved upon him, and his decisions were made with such brevity,
clearness, and depth of reasoning, that many of the greatest jurists averred
that they were made by one who had spent all his life in the study of
the law. This affords strong proof against those who affirm that the
profoundly scientific are unfit to govern, an error as gross as pernicious,
and utterly confuted by the after life of Sarpi. " '
In the month of June 1579, Fra Paolo Sarpi, Alessandro di Scandia-
vo, and Socius, accompanied by Antonio di Borgo Procurator of the Servi,
entered the ancient city of the Caesars; there, they were to await the man-
date of the Pope, of the Protector the Cardinal Farnese, of the Vice Pro-
tector the Cardinal San Severina, and the General Tavanti, whose name
is enrolled amongst the celebrated Servites of the University of Florence.
" Dirige gressus meos, " Was Tavanti's motto and also his rule. His whole
energies were given to the reformation of his Order, and though forty
protested, the General assisted by Paolo carried his measures, and by
him Fra Paolo Was introduced for the first time at the Court of Rome, and
had full opportunity of judging of its merits and demerits, as well as of
its Pontiff, who although by no means on the best terms with Venice, ap-
preciated the talents of the Venetian friar, and there is no record of the
denial of any request which Fra Paolo made to him.
Gregory XIII was a learned Canonist and also well versed in civil law,
of strict life, but under the rule of the Theatines and Jesuits to whom he
gave large sums of money; he was indefatigable in establishing the latter
Order throughout Europe. To all he deemed " heretics " he was uncom-
promising, and he permitted the Cardinal San Severina to exercise the
office of Inquisitor with great rigor. It was an ordeal of no common kind
for Fra Paolo to transact business with San Severina, who, though a man
of ability, was of harsh and austere temper and strong Will, but the judg-
ments of Fra Paolo were never reversed at Rome, and when redress was
1 After this period Fulgenzio designates Sarpi, Padre or Father, but he dis-
liked to be called by any other name than Fra Paolo.
3 MS.
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? 5r. 27. ] FHA PAOLO SARPI 41
asked of the Cardinal, he answered, " I will do as much as I can from
favor, but nothing as matter of justice, because the judgments of your
Provincial do not admit of a question. " And When Fra Paolo was re-
quested by San Severina to show indulgence to those whom he favored,
he candidly replied " he could not, because justice -had no respect of
persons. "
The reconstruction of the old constitutions and-amendment of the new
was a difficult task, but Fra Paolo accomplished it in four months. During
his stay at Rome he attracted the attention of the Cardinal Farnese, who
was of very different bearing to San Severina, and whose suavity of man-
ners and learning, ample board and open purse obtained for him many
companions amongst men of letters; the poor, the wretched, the widow and
the orphan, even the outcasts of Palestine, found a friend in Farnese. He
had been disappointed in them, but at one time he 'had supported the
Jesuits. In A. D. 1568 he laid the foundation of their Church at Rome, and
when Fra Paolo visited that cityh A. D. 1579, they held a position which but
for Paul III and the favor of Farnese they would not so easily have at-
tained. During his stay at Rome at_this time, Fra Paolo conducted himself
with great prudence, not only in the discharge of his duties, but in his
social intercourse, indeed he seems to have had no difficulty in that respect
being always of a serious rather than a jovial turn of mind, and yet it
must have been sometimes irksome to him, for he had a keen sense of
the ridiculous, was fond of pleasant and witty remarks, and when occasion
required, like his countrymen, eloquent. " I have seen many Venetians "
said Clement XIV, " but I never knew one who was not eloquent. "
And here it is worthy of notice, that after the framing of the new consti-
tutions which were confirmed by the Pope, the Salve Regina was no long-
er recited by the Order of the Servi at Venice, a fact which shews that
Fra Paolo did not recognize this undue worship of the Virgin as command-
ed, A. D. 1233. 1 The Jesuits were specially distinguished for their devo-
tion to the Virgin, and gained by the continued exercise of this innovation
many votaries chiefly amongst the softer sex, and there is no greater proof
of his piety, talents and love of ancient usage, than that Fra Paolo and
his colleagues were able to carry out a measure so strongly opposed to
the Jesuits and other innovators as the non-recital of the Salve Regina.
He knew well from what quarter change and innovation had come, and
gentle as he appeared, he was not one to bend to either without remon-
strance. His Whole works testify the strong resistance he made against
both, and it was and is a subject worthy the contemplation of his country-
men that he availed himself of the first opportunity afforded him, to
1 Anna]. Scrvorvm. lib. I, cap. I, II, and XIV.
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? 42 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1579_
%"'
obtain leave of the Pope to omit the recital of the Salve Regina, after the
Mass, by his Order at Venice. '
" Salve Regina, mater misericordiae vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra salve.
Ad te clamamus exules filii Hevee. Ad te suspiramus gementes et flentes
in hac lacrymarum valle. Eja ergo advoceita nostra, illos tuos misericordes
oculos ad nos converte. Et J esum benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis
post hoe exilium ostende. O clemens, O pia, O dulois Virgo Maria " '
Fra Paolo knew that the Salve Regina was first said or sung A. D. 1238,'
and he was neither afraid to omit its recitation, or to leave in Writing va-
luable instruction as to the time of the introduction and progress of the
worship of the Virgin.
For sixty years the Salve Regina was not recited by the Servi at Ve-
nice. This is specially noticed by Griselini, 8 and further information con-
cerning this will be found in the Annals and Constitutions of the Order.
The Writer made a strict investigation into the matter, and has not
found any trace of worship as if she were " divine or immaculate " given
by Fra Paolo to the Virgin Mary. He expressed " that we Venetians have
great veneration for the Blessed Virgin Mary, " but there is no passage
in his writings which authorizes the worship now paid to her. It is one
thing to venerate, it is another to worship, and Fra Paolo knew that
Deity alone claims that Worship, and that undue veneration leads, at
least amongst the unlearned and uneducated, to Worship.
His account of the origin of this worship is of great importance from
the pen of one so learned as Fra Paolo, we pass over the Cardinal Palla-
vicini's remarks on Paolo's opinions on this subject, ' die was a Jesuit,
and therefore he believed himself obliged to uphold the worship of the
Virgin to the extent which he did; but that worship is an innovation
which many in the Church of Rome would be glad to forego, and to give,
as did Fra Paolo, all honor to the Deity, did they know as did he its
origin. '
" After that the impietie of Nestorius had diyided Christ making two
sonnes, and denying him to be God who was born of the blessed Virgin,
the Church, to inculcate the Catholike truth in the mindes of the faithfulll
made often mention of her in the Churches, as well of the East, as of the
West, with this shorte forme of wordes, in G-reeke Maria Georoxog, in La-
tin, Maria mater Dei. This 'Ei_n_g instituted only for the honour of
Christ, was by little and little communicated also to the Mother, and ,,. . ,
finally applyed to her alone, and therefore, when images began to multi-
1 " Officium B. M. V. "
2 Annal. Baronius and Raynaldus.
3 Griselini, lib. 1, p. 70. Foscarini, lib. m, p. 307.
" Pallavicini Con. di Trcnto, and the Latin Ediz. Marciana.
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? A51'. 27. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 43
plie, Christ was painted as a babe in his Mother's armes, to put us in
mind of the worship due unto him even in that age. But in progresse of
time, it was turned into the worship of the Mother, without the Sonne,
he remayning as an dppendirb in the picture. The writers and preachers,
especially those that were contemplatiue, carried with the torrent of
the vulgar, which is able to doe much in these matters, leaving to
mention Christ inuented with one accord new prayses, Epithetes, and
religious services, in so much, that about the year A. D. 1050 a dayly
Olfice was instituted to the blessed Virgin, distinguished by seven
canonical houres, in a forme which anciently was ever, used to the7\Di-
vine maiestie, and in the next hundred yeares, the worship so increased,
that it came to Tfiheight even to attribute that unto her which the
Scriptures speak of the Divine wisdome.
And amongst these invented
nouities, ' this was one, her totall exemption from originall sinne.
Yet this remayned onely in the breasts of some few private men,
having no place in Eccleseasticall ceremonies, or amongst the learned.
About the yeare A. D. 1136, the Canons of Lions dared to being it
into the ? cclesiasticall Qiices. Saint Bernard who lived in these times,
esteemed the most learned and pious of that age, who was most fre-
quent in the prayses of the Flessed Virgin, so as to call her the
necke of the Church, by which every grace and influence passeth from
the Head, inueighed severely against the Canons, and wrote unto
them, reprehending them for introducing a dangerous nouitie without
reason, or example of antiquitie; that there want not places to praise
the Virgin, who cannot be pleased with a presumptuous nouitie,
mother of rashuess, sister of superstition, daughter of lightuesse. The
next age had Schoole Doctors of both the Orders, Franciscan and
Dominican, who in their writings refuted this opinion, until about
the yeare AD. 1300, when John Scot, a Franciscan, putting the mat-
ter into disputation, and examining the reasons, did fiie to the Onni-
potencie, saying that God had power to free her from sinne, or to
cause sinne to remaine in her onely for an instant, or for a certaine
time; that God only knoweth which of these three is true, yet it is
probable to attribute the first to Mary, in case it bee not repugnant
to the authoritie of the Church and of the- Scripture.
" The doctrine of this famous divine was followed by the Franciscan
Order. But in the particular of the conception, seeing the way yd
open, they affirmed absolutely for true/ that which he had proposed as
possible and probable /under this doubtful condition, if it bee not re-
pugnant to the orthodome faith.
1 Novelties.
e/{We
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? 44 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1579.
"The Dominicans did constantly resist, and followed Saint Thomas
one of their Order, famous for his learning and for the approbation of
Pope John the two and twentieth, who to depresse the Franciscans,
who did for the most part adhere to the Emperor Lewis of Bavaria,
excommunicated by him, did canonize that Doctour and his doctrine.
The shew of pietie and devotion made the Franciscan opinion gene-
rally more accepted, and more tenaciously received by the Universitie
of Paris, which was in credite for eminent learning, and after long
ventilation and discussion; was afterwards approoved by the Councell
of Basill, which forbade to teach and preach the contrarie. This
tooke place in those Countreys which received the Councell. Finally
Pope Siactus M a Franciscan, made two Bulles in this matter, one,
in the yeare/one thousand foure hundred seventie sixe, approving a
new ofiice, composed by Leonard Nogarola, Protonotarie with indul-
gences to him that did celebrate it, or assist; the other, in the yeare
one thousand foure hundred eightie three, condemning the assertion
as false and erronious, that it is heresie to hold the conception, or a
sinne to celebrate it, excommunicating the preachers and others who
noted that opinion of heresie or the contrarie, because, it was not as
yet decided by the Church of Rome and the Apostolike see. . . -
" The Franciscans and Domenicans continued to contest the matter
every yeare in December and were not quieted by letters sent to
them by Leo X. The Dominicans grounded themselves upon the
Scripture, the doctrine of the Fathers and the most ancient schoole-
men, where not one iot was found in favour of the others, but they
alleaged for themselves miracles and contentment of the people.
4/7' The Papal Legate at Trent wrote to Rome as to the above conten-
tion, and lest it produced schism, and to obey the Pope the constitutions
of Sixtus IV were to be observed. "-'
In Paolo's time, the blessed Virgin being immaculate was an open
question, and justly deemed a novelty, it is not so now, Pius IX
has made it an act of faith. Fra Paolo warned all against new acts
of faith.
The recitation of the Salve Regina was restored by Urban VIII
when Fra Paolo was no more, when the voice which had been
raised against innovation was silent, and could no longer either pro-
test against it, or solicit the Pope to pause ere he restored the Salve
Regina, the recitation of which had been withdrawn by one of his
predecessors Gregory XIII.
1 His. Oouncell of Trent. Sarpi, lib:]J; p. 191, etc. 1\rs. _>? JZZ=4/ M g);//4//&e? ? V6 /49;
MW
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? 45
CHAPTER IV.
A. D. 1580 -- A. D. 1588.
DoeEs or Vmucn. Niccolo da Ponte 1585. Pasquale Oicogna.
Sovaanrcns or GnauAnr. Rodolph II.
ENGLAND. Elizabeth. 1? ti3. James I of Great Britain. J~
ScormsD. Mary. "
FRANCE, Henry III.
SpAm. Philip II.
Tuaxnr. Amurath III.
Pores. Gregory XIII. 1585 Sixtus V.
,. ,vv\>>_'_,vV'. ,-_,vv
Fra Paolo returns to Venice. - The Crusca. - Fra Paolo's discoveries in ana-
tomy. - F. Paolo at Rome. - Decretals. - Death of Capella and of Gregory
XIII. - Sixtus V. -- Fra Paolo chosen Procurator General. - Goes to Rome. -
Bobadilla. - Jesuits. - Fra Paolo returns to Venice. - Gabriello. -- The Mo-
rosini. - The Nave d' Oro. - Fra Paolo visits Padua and Pinelli, pleads for
Fra Giulio at Rome.
When Fra Paolo returned to Venice, he found the Republic ill at ease
as to the question of her boundaries, the Pope still occasioned her indirect
vexation; this state of affairs continued during the following year, and it
was visible to the liberal minded Servite, who watched events with greater
eagerness than hitherto, that both at home and abroad, the Pontiff was
acquiring more power. Austria, denied redress at the last council, succumb-
ed to his dictates, gave encouragement to the Jesuits, and treated the
Reformed with intolerance.
Nothing worthy of notice had occurred in the Order of the Servi, with
the exception of the appointment of the Cardinal San Severina in the
room of the Cardinal Farnese; but San Severina had higher views than
the Protectorship, he was anxiously looking forward to the Pontificate.
Fra Paolo had no such ambition, and his friends remarked with surprise
on his not yet having any preferment. He continued his usual occupations,
and attended learned societies as he had formerly done.
There were many learned associations in Italy about this period, besides
those which assembled at the houses of the noble Morosini, Manutii, and
others in Venice. In perpetual dread of the power of the Pope, and denied
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? 46 . THE LIFE OF [A-E- 1582.
liberty of conscience and free expression of thought in public, Italians
congregated together, not only to converse with greater freedom on learn-
ing and science and passing political events, but to endeavor to lay plans
for future emancipation. There can be no doubt but that the check given
in after times to these meetings or Academies was from the known bias
of their members to free thought and action. One of the few which
survives since the time of Sarpi is that of the Crusca, established in
the year 1582; it counted within its ranks many distinguished cha-
racters who, like the present Marchese Capponi, were eminent for their
attainments. Latin had hitherto been the medium of communication
between the learned, but the Crusca was formed with the express inten-
tion of purifying the language of Italy, Fra Paolo was not one of its mem-
bers, they were for the most part Florentines.
It would be presumption in a foreigner to pronounce on his fitness to
be of the Crusca, or of his writing of his native tongue, but if Livy, to
Whom Sarpi has been compared was charged with Patavinity, (the use of
words peculiar to the Paduese) is it probable that a Friar, who usually
wrote in Latin, would wholly avoid Venetian provincialisms?
After long examination and study, reference to the principal universi-
ties and due deliberation on the systems proposed, Gregory XIII, by a
bull dated 13th February A. D. 1582, announced that he had reformed the
Calendar. Y_e_t_a had been consulted, which may have attracted the attention
of Fra Paolo to the subject, but as there is no information relative to his
having shared in its adjustment, the reader is spared surmise.
In the month of April, having relinquished his duties of Provincial
of his Order, Paolo resumed his place in more private life, and Fulgenzio
used often to hear him say, " that the three years which followed was the
only period of repose he ever enjoyed, " but he did not waste his time in
indolence.
" The whole powers of his mind during the remainder of AD. 1582 to
A. D. 1585, were absorbed in speculations on the phenomena of nature,
in perfecting his knowledge of the transmutation of metals, and of distil-
1ation:>>i(ot that he ever supposed that he could make gold, or that any
man of sense could be induced to inquire into this subject, although the
study of alchemy was then common, but his only object was to obtain a
more intimate acquaintance with nature, in regard to which the greatest
physicians of our time can bear witness to his extensive knowledge, and
to the many discoveries which he communicated to others, who thereby
gained honor instead of him. There was no effete or occult property either
in writing or experiment, that he did not see or examine; his knowledge
was beyond all human belief!
" About this time, and for many years after, he practised all kinds of
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? arr. 30. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 47
anatomy, dissecting every species of animal with his own hand. The
anatomy of the eye particularly occupied his attention, so that l'Acqua-
pendente did not disdain to cite the authority of Padre Paolo both in his
lectures and in his printed works, and even spoke of him as " the Oracle
of the Age, " in respect to his general learning, and his knowledge of
minerals, metals, and anatomy. It was a matter of surprise to those who
know the truth, that as l'Acquapendente confesses in his treatise on the
Eye, " De otculo, visus organo " 1 to have learned from him the manner
in which vision is affected by the refraction of light When passing through
the crystalline humour, that he did not throughout his whole treatise
state that all it contains of new and rare speculations are by the Padre, " of
which I, " says F-ulgenzio " am an eye witness, and others ought at least to
have attributed praise to whom it is due, so also in respect to the blood. "
" There are many eminent and learned physicians still living, and of these
Santorio Santorio and Pietro Asselineo, who know that it was neither the
speculation nor invention of l'Acquapendente but of the Padre, who on
considering the gravity of the blood came to this conclusion I that it could
not remain stationary in the veins, without there being some barrier which
would retain it, and by opening and closing should afford that current
which is necessary to life, and therefore, under this opinion} he dissected
with still more care, and found the valves. He gave an account of them
to his friends in the medical profession, especially to l'Acquapendente, who
acknowledged it in his public anatomical lectures, and it was afterwards
acknowledged in the writings of many illustrious authors. " '
The above is the simple statement of Fra Fulgenzio Micanzio, a man
not only of profound learning but of the strictest probity and it is impos-
1 " Re igitur cum amico quodam nostro eommunicata ille tandem forte id
observavit scilicet non modo in cato, sed in homine, et quocunque animali
foramen uveae in majori luce contrahi in minori dilatari. Quod arcanum obser-
vatum est, et mihi significantum a Rev. Patre Magistro Paulo Veneto, Qrdinis
ut appellant Servorum Theologo, Philosophoque insigni, sed Mathematicarum
disciplinarum preecipueque Optices maxime studioso, quem hoe loco honoris
gratia nomino atque id deificeps ad libitum observare licuit quamvis preeter 77/
omnem opinionem id evenire judicaremus, quod lucis natura potlus sit disgre- /4;.
gare, dilatareque, tenebrarum vero constringere, densare et comprimere: at --
ratio omnis cessat, ubi sensus refragatur; quinimo in oculorum atfectionibus et
diminuta visione, cum scilicet ad Oonsultationem de ipsis habendam, oculos
patientis forte in loco non admodum claro videremus, saepe numero id nobis
imposuit cum patientem pupillae dilatatione laborare opinaremur. Etenim non
solum in magna luce foramen imminuitur, in modica dilitatur; sed etiam si quis QL
ob humorum impuritatem diminitute videat, impendio magis adhuc dilatari Z22
apparet ita ut dilatae? pupillae suspicionem facile faciat et injiciat. " -- " De
Oculo/Tisus Organo, " etc. Acquapendente, e. W, p. 229.
2 MS.
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? 48 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1582.
sible, with such testimony, not to believe with the venerable Cavaliere Ci-
cogna and others, that Fra Paolo was the first who traced the true con-
nection of the action of the iris, in its contraction and dilitation, with vi-
sion; and the valves in the veins for the circulation of the blood. There
is no more reason to doubt these assertions by Fulgenzio, than any other
throughout the autograph MS. Let it also be remembered, that Pereisc
was in Italy from A. D. 1599 to A. D. 1602, and at Padua and Venice
during the life of Acquapendente; and that he Pereisc then knew and
said publicly that the valves in the veins had been discovered by Fra
Paolo Sarpi. -
In further support of this fact, Foscarini cites from the life of Pereisc,
by Gassendi; Fabricius Acquapendente obit. 1619. " Cum simul monuis-
sem Guglielmum Harvaeum medicum Anglum edidisse praeclarum librum
de successione sanguinis ex venis in arterias, et arteriis rursus in venas
per imperceptas anastomoses inter cetera vero argumenta confirmasse illam
et venarum valvulis, de quibus ipse (Peireschius) inaudierat aliquid ab
Acquapendente, et quarum inventorem primum Sarpium Servitam memi-
nerat, ideo, " etc. Morgagni disputes this. and affirms that no one during
the life of Acquapendente had the courage to attribute it to Fra Paolo,
and Gassendi adds, that " inaudierat ab Acquapendente, " shows that Pe-
reise judged upon the spot, and purposely expresses the contrary opinion,
and that " meminerat " proves, that then, and in face of Acquapendente,
such was the opinion current in Padua and in Venice. Acquapendente
makes no mention of Sarpi in his Venarum Ostialis, A. D. 1603.
Fra Paolo's study of Anatomy is one of many proofs that he was above
the prejudices of his times, and like his great countrymen Leonardo da
Vinci and Michael Angelo Buonarotti, did not shrink from a minute dis-
section of the dead, but not in public, as we learn from a MS. in the Mar-
ciana. He also traced the study of anatomy to its origin before the
Christian era when the ancients made some attempts at its definition, and
when the successors of Hippocrates, Xenophon and Plato did the same.
It is sufficient for our present purpose not to look beyond the beginning
of the 16th Century. The anatomists who followed Galen, Achilinus,
Benedictus Benegarius and Massa, were succeeded by Vessalius who rose
to high repute in Italy, chiefly through his account of his dissection of the
human body. In A. D. 1561 Fallopius was Professor of Anatomy at Pa-
dua; and the anatomical tables of Eustachius were well known to all
students of medical science. Thus eager in his pursuit after truth Fra
Paolo followed in the steps of former anatomists, and they who have nar-
rowly examined his title to discoveries in anatomy, need not fear the
charge of being listeners to fables. There does not appear to be any truth
in the report that Fra Paolo concealed his discovery of the valves in the
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? mr. 30. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 49
veins, lest he should be accused of magic, and that he confided a volume
to the care of the Friars of the Servi on the day of his death, in which he
had inserted an account of his discovery. No such volume has as yet been
found in the Library of S. Mark's, where it was said that Fra Paolo re-
quested that it should be deposited.
Such is nearly the doctrine of Galileo. Again, touching the velocity which
accelerates the fall of a heavy body attached to a cord or pendfnt thread,
his reasoning is similar-to that adopted by the Florentine philosopher
in his Dialogues. ' Sarpi shows that " an igneous vapor arising from the
water does not ascend quicker because the vapor is lighter than the air,
but because it is forced upwards by the water which compresses it, " and
he further remarks that " a body which weighs in the air double that of the
water, will descend in it in the same degree as the air ascends. " So Galileo
asserts that " the gravity of a solid, greater or less than that of the water,
is the true and proper sense of its sinking or not. " On comparison of
the ideas of the author of a method of Indivisibility with that of the
" Pensieri, " the same argument occurs as to the effect of mirrors whose
concavity is generated by a parabolical line; there is also similarity between
the " Pensieri " and the Lunar Astronomy of Kepler, as also Gregory in his
Comparative Astronomy. On dioptrics, Fra Paolo observes, " I have made
many experiments in this particular with looking glasses, spherical and
concave, convex and plane and having observed the effects produced by the
rays of the sun, and by the brightness of the moon and stars reflected on
the water, the reflection of the same will determine their place and dis-
tance. At different times the experiments were according to my method
of reasoning, but at other times, I found I was quite contradicted, which
is one argument for the belief that in many cases the broken and diver-
gent rays which meet our eyes converge, or are as if convergent. "-
The " Pensieri " also contained thoughts on Anatomy, although there
is presumptive proof that these threw considerable light on that science, it
is more probable that Fra'Paolo's discoveries of the valves in the veins,
and the dilitation of the uvea of the eye were made during 1582-5 when
for three years he made Anatomy a principal study.
The nomination of a friend of Sarpi to the Readership of the Ducal Chan-
cery must not be omitted. Aldus Manutius was one of a family held in vene-
ration by every lover of classical literature. The Aldine, or Italic character
perpetuates the name of Aldus the elder, as well as his edition of the Clas-
1 Pensieri MS. Sarpi. N" 13, 538.
2 Opera di Galileo. Tom. 1. 216.
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? air. 26. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 37
sies, but the studies of Aldus, the younger, of the libraries of Venice as
well as its stones, marbles and antiquities, and his arduous comparisons
of their inscriptions with upwards of 1,500 Roman inscriptions in order
to establish a correct orthography of the ancient Latin, were more than
sufficient to arrest the attention of Sarpi, and to make him seek the so-
ciety of Aldus Manutius, who was at a later period librarian of the Vati-
can, nor could he forget to whom he owed his knowledge of the ancient
Roman Calendar.
Fra Paolo was no stranger within the University of Padua, which was
regarded with peculiar favor by the Republic of Venice. Let the reader
view the modest Friar as he passes beneath the winged lion which adorns
its gates, and enters the College where he had so often listened to its
learned professors, now to receive a degree at their hands. The place where
Livy once dwelt, reflected honor on itself by giving honor to Sarpi, and
centuries after the Servite had received his degree, his countrymen could
point to the Matricular of that great University, and tell that there was
inscribed a name of which even Padua is proud. On his return from Pa-
dua, public affairs could not fail to interest Fra Paolo, because the inde-
pendence of his country was' dear to him, and the rich vein of liberty runs
through his works. What then must he have thought of the King of Spain
making a hasty peace with the Netherlands that he might possess the
Kingdom of Portugal? A like usurpation might await Venetia, and Paolo
gave good reasons for this supposition long before the plot of Ossuna.
'The occupation by the Pope of parts of the lands of the Romagna was
a cause of great discontent and bloodshed, nevertheless Venice was still
secure. _
Fra Paolo Sarpi took priest's orders when he was twenty seven years of
age, and afterwards passed much of his time in strict retirement, and in
acts of piety and meditation.
For some years subsequently he did not take wine, animal food did
not accord with his constitution, and his principal nourishment was bread
and fruit, his beverage water. The Servi partook of both animal food and
wine, but Fra Paolo's abstemiousness was only on account of his health. He
was very thin in body, having grave disorders of the liver, which caused
great weakness and pain, but he was not accustomed to relax either his
habits of devotion or study, and thought it a mistake, except in cases of
extremity, when an invalid deviated from his usual rule of life. When he
was about thirty years of age he was obliged to take wine /and he was
often heard to say that nothing had ever cost him so much as in this to
follow the advice of his physicians. " He always preserved the strictest disci-
pline over himself, and he could so command his affections, that if his
judgment was contrary to them, they could not move him. No dainty
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? 38 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1579.
could excite his appetite if hurtful, and he took medicine as if it was
good food when he believed it to be beneficial. Such were his infirmities of
body that he never could be persuaded that his life would be prolonged
for a year, he thought each day might be his last, and said he never
remembered to have felt so as if he could live a year. To this may be at-
tributed the great progress which he made in his studies, in which he
was so engrossed that few days passed in which they did not occupy him
eight hours, but he had no intention of publishing any work till obliged
to do so for the public good. He was not resolute in action, but rather
appeared cold and reserved, for he who has little hope of long life seldom
applies himself to actions offgreat consequence. " 1
Since the institution of the Order of the Servi, Fra Paolo was the only
member who had been appointed Provincial at the early age of twenty
seven, but with the unanimous applause of the Chapter held at Verona,
he was now chosen to fill that office, which was one of trust, and required
not only temper and discretion, but ability to govern. The Provincial had
supervision of all the Convents of his Order within his province, he had
a voice in the provincial Chapters with power to elect ad interim the
officials of the Convent: he had the power if ' he pleased to transfer any
friar from one Convent to another, to reprove, correct, or even imprison
him, but the sentence was to be remitted for approval to the General. He
might inhabit any Convent he chose, travel at the common expense and
receive some emolument from all. Except in the case of insult or personal
provocation he was exempt from all reproof, took precedence of all friars
of inferior grade, appointed a lay brother to be his servant, and was free
of all public duty. _
Such Was the office to which Fra Paolo was elected in the city of Ve-
rona, justly termed " il Nobile. " It was of interest to a classical scholar,
such as Sarpi, from being the birth place of the magnanimous conqueror
Emilius, of Cornelius Nepos, of the poets Emilius/Macer and Catlllus, of
Pliny the Elder, the great Titus Vespasian, and of the cruel Domitian.
Some Latin authors pronounce Verona to have been a city of the
Cenomani, but Pliny places its site in Rhoetia. It was one of the twelve
cities of Etruria, and is said to have' taken its name from the illustrious
family of the Vera. Its ancient amphitheatre, its fortifications, its remains
of an ancient Naumachia, all would occupy the attention of Fra Paolo,
and to this student of architecture Verona afforded many objects on
which his eye would linger with just appreciation. From his Convent there,
his abode of peace, he could look down on the plains where Caius Mar-
cius met and defeated the Cimbri, and where Odoacer met the same fate
1 MS.
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? E1'. 27. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 39
at the hands of Theodoric King of the Goths, but could Fra Paolo
imagine as he trode the Cathedral where the Lords of the Scala lie en-
tombed, that his fame would be spread by the learned Scaliger, who boast-
ed descent from these ancient governors of Verona?
Great reform had been effected in the discipline of the churches
there by Bishop Giberti, and Fra Paolo valued such. The portrait of
this exemplary Prelate must have been'familiar to him during his
intercourse with Cardinal Borromeo at Milan, as it was the pen-
dent, silent, but chosen monitor of the Cardinal, who endeavored to
imitate the example of one, who was a successful and venerated leader
in the cause of reform within the Church of Rome. .
On} his return from Verona, Fra Paolo taught Theology at Venice,
and discharged his duties as Provincial with piety and integrity. He
was proof against bribes, refused the smallest gift if offered as such,
and in no instance were his judgments revoked even by the Cardinal
San Severina. " Partiality and division were banished from the Order
during his government, and none complained but those who presum-
ed more on his friendship than upon their merit, thus in this, his
first essay in government, the germ of his future excellence in admini-
stration was apparent as well as his great prudence in negotiation,
so that in all the innumerable affairs which passed through his hands,
none were so involved but that he could unravel them, or else they
were wholly inextricable. - Persons of all conditions placed such confi-
dence in his judgment that they believed he, if any one, could extri-
cate them from difficulty. Though apparently inclined to severity and
rigorous measures he was not so; he was naturally so kind and ten-
der that in mature age he was not only compassionate to man but to
animals, he could not bear to see them ill treated, and if it had been
necessary for him to kill an animal for his own food, he would rather
have suffered abstinence. " ' Such are the minute particulars given
to us, of the Friar whom those of the Court of Rome call "Terrible. "
Great differences still existed amongst the Servi, but Fra Paolo endea-
vored to quell dissension; he loved justice but blamed too great lenity
in punishment, especially as administered at Venice, and deemed it a
cause of excess; yet he leaned to mercy rather than to severity in the
administration of his government as Provincial.
In a general Chapter of the Order, convoked at Parma by the Prior
General Tavanti, according to custom the learned Servi held disputations
on Theology and Philosophy, Fra Paolo taking part in the discussion and
sermons; his auditors were unbounded in their applause, amongst whom
1 MS.
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? 40 _ THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1579.
was Ottavio, the Ducal member of the house of Farnese. "In consequence
of many statutes enacted by the Pontiffs with regard to the Regulars,
especially at the Council of Trent, as to the reform of all the religious
Orders, it was now judged necessary by the Chapter to send a deputation
to Rome, and it was determined to make choice of three of the wisest and
most prudent who understood the art of government. " One of these was
Padre Paolo, ' a youth in comparison of the hoary hairs of his col-
leagues. He had a greater knowledge than his companions of canonical and
civil jurisprudence and the decrees of Councils; therefore the care of
these devolved upon him, and his decisions were made with such brevity,
clearness, and depth of reasoning, that many of the greatest jurists averred
that they were made by one who had spent all his life in the study of
the law. This affords strong proof against those who affirm that the
profoundly scientific are unfit to govern, an error as gross as pernicious,
and utterly confuted by the after life of Sarpi. " '
In the month of June 1579, Fra Paolo Sarpi, Alessandro di Scandia-
vo, and Socius, accompanied by Antonio di Borgo Procurator of the Servi,
entered the ancient city of the Caesars; there, they were to await the man-
date of the Pope, of the Protector the Cardinal Farnese, of the Vice Pro-
tector the Cardinal San Severina, and the General Tavanti, whose name
is enrolled amongst the celebrated Servites of the University of Florence.
" Dirige gressus meos, " Was Tavanti's motto and also his rule. His whole
energies were given to the reformation of his Order, and though forty
protested, the General assisted by Paolo carried his measures, and by
him Fra Paolo Was introduced for the first time at the Court of Rome, and
had full opportunity of judging of its merits and demerits, as well as of
its Pontiff, who although by no means on the best terms with Venice, ap-
preciated the talents of the Venetian friar, and there is no record of the
denial of any request which Fra Paolo made to him.
Gregory XIII was a learned Canonist and also well versed in civil law,
of strict life, but under the rule of the Theatines and Jesuits to whom he
gave large sums of money; he was indefatigable in establishing the latter
Order throughout Europe. To all he deemed " heretics " he was uncom-
promising, and he permitted the Cardinal San Severina to exercise the
office of Inquisitor with great rigor. It was an ordeal of no common kind
for Fra Paolo to transact business with San Severina, who, though a man
of ability, was of harsh and austere temper and strong Will, but the judg-
ments of Fra Paolo were never reversed at Rome, and when redress was
1 After this period Fulgenzio designates Sarpi, Padre or Father, but he dis-
liked to be called by any other name than Fra Paolo.
3 MS.
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? 5r. 27. ] FHA PAOLO SARPI 41
asked of the Cardinal, he answered, " I will do as much as I can from
favor, but nothing as matter of justice, because the judgments of your
Provincial do not admit of a question. " And When Fra Paolo was re-
quested by San Severina to show indulgence to those whom he favored,
he candidly replied " he could not, because justice -had no respect of
persons. "
The reconstruction of the old constitutions and-amendment of the new
was a difficult task, but Fra Paolo accomplished it in four months. During
his stay at Rome he attracted the attention of the Cardinal Farnese, who
was of very different bearing to San Severina, and whose suavity of man-
ners and learning, ample board and open purse obtained for him many
companions amongst men of letters; the poor, the wretched, the widow and
the orphan, even the outcasts of Palestine, found a friend in Farnese. He
had been disappointed in them, but at one time he 'had supported the
Jesuits. In A. D. 1568 he laid the foundation of their Church at Rome, and
when Fra Paolo visited that cityh A. D. 1579, they held a position which but
for Paul III and the favor of Farnese they would not so easily have at-
tained. During his stay at Rome at_this time, Fra Paolo conducted himself
with great prudence, not only in the discharge of his duties, but in his
social intercourse, indeed he seems to have had no difficulty in that respect
being always of a serious rather than a jovial turn of mind, and yet it
must have been sometimes irksome to him, for he had a keen sense of
the ridiculous, was fond of pleasant and witty remarks, and when occasion
required, like his countrymen, eloquent. " I have seen many Venetians "
said Clement XIV, " but I never knew one who was not eloquent. "
And here it is worthy of notice, that after the framing of the new consti-
tutions which were confirmed by the Pope, the Salve Regina was no long-
er recited by the Order of the Servi at Venice, a fact which shews that
Fra Paolo did not recognize this undue worship of the Virgin as command-
ed, A. D. 1233. 1 The Jesuits were specially distinguished for their devo-
tion to the Virgin, and gained by the continued exercise of this innovation
many votaries chiefly amongst the softer sex, and there is no greater proof
of his piety, talents and love of ancient usage, than that Fra Paolo and
his colleagues were able to carry out a measure so strongly opposed to
the Jesuits and other innovators as the non-recital of the Salve Regina.
He knew well from what quarter change and innovation had come, and
gentle as he appeared, he was not one to bend to either without remon-
strance. His Whole works testify the strong resistance he made against
both, and it was and is a subject worthy the contemplation of his country-
men that he availed himself of the first opportunity afforded him, to
1 Anna]. Scrvorvm. lib. I, cap. I, II, and XIV.
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? 42 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1579_
%"'
obtain leave of the Pope to omit the recital of the Salve Regina, after the
Mass, by his Order at Venice. '
" Salve Regina, mater misericordiae vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra salve.
Ad te clamamus exules filii Hevee. Ad te suspiramus gementes et flentes
in hac lacrymarum valle. Eja ergo advoceita nostra, illos tuos misericordes
oculos ad nos converte. Et J esum benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis
post hoe exilium ostende. O clemens, O pia, O dulois Virgo Maria " '
Fra Paolo knew that the Salve Regina was first said or sung A. D. 1238,'
and he was neither afraid to omit its recitation, or to leave in Writing va-
luable instruction as to the time of the introduction and progress of the
worship of the Virgin.
For sixty years the Salve Regina was not recited by the Servi at Ve-
nice. This is specially noticed by Griselini, 8 and further information con-
cerning this will be found in the Annals and Constitutions of the Order.
The Writer made a strict investigation into the matter, and has not
found any trace of worship as if she were " divine or immaculate " given
by Fra Paolo to the Virgin Mary. He expressed " that we Venetians have
great veneration for the Blessed Virgin Mary, " but there is no passage
in his writings which authorizes the worship now paid to her. It is one
thing to venerate, it is another to worship, and Fra Paolo knew that
Deity alone claims that Worship, and that undue veneration leads, at
least amongst the unlearned and uneducated, to Worship.
His account of the origin of this worship is of great importance from
the pen of one so learned as Fra Paolo, we pass over the Cardinal Palla-
vicini's remarks on Paolo's opinions on this subject, ' die was a Jesuit,
and therefore he believed himself obliged to uphold the worship of the
Virgin to the extent which he did; but that worship is an innovation
which many in the Church of Rome would be glad to forego, and to give,
as did Fra Paolo, all honor to the Deity, did they know as did he its
origin. '
" After that the impietie of Nestorius had diyided Christ making two
sonnes, and denying him to be God who was born of the blessed Virgin,
the Church, to inculcate the Catholike truth in the mindes of the faithfulll
made often mention of her in the Churches, as well of the East, as of the
West, with this shorte forme of wordes, in G-reeke Maria Georoxog, in La-
tin, Maria mater Dei. This 'Ei_n_g instituted only for the honour of
Christ, was by little and little communicated also to the Mother, and ,,. . ,
finally applyed to her alone, and therefore, when images began to multi-
1 " Officium B. M. V. "
2 Annal. Baronius and Raynaldus.
3 Griselini, lib. 1, p. 70. Foscarini, lib. m, p. 307.
" Pallavicini Con. di Trcnto, and the Latin Ediz. Marciana.
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? A51'. 27. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 43
plie, Christ was painted as a babe in his Mother's armes, to put us in
mind of the worship due unto him even in that age. But in progresse of
time, it was turned into the worship of the Mother, without the Sonne,
he remayning as an dppendirb in the picture. The writers and preachers,
especially those that were contemplatiue, carried with the torrent of
the vulgar, which is able to doe much in these matters, leaving to
mention Christ inuented with one accord new prayses, Epithetes, and
religious services, in so much, that about the year A. D. 1050 a dayly
Olfice was instituted to the blessed Virgin, distinguished by seven
canonical houres, in a forme which anciently was ever, used to the7\Di-
vine maiestie, and in the next hundred yeares, the worship so increased,
that it came to Tfiheight even to attribute that unto her which the
Scriptures speak of the Divine wisdome.
And amongst these invented
nouities, ' this was one, her totall exemption from originall sinne.
Yet this remayned onely in the breasts of some few private men,
having no place in Eccleseasticall ceremonies, or amongst the learned.
About the yeare A. D. 1136, the Canons of Lions dared to being it
into the ? cclesiasticall Qiices. Saint Bernard who lived in these times,
esteemed the most learned and pious of that age, who was most fre-
quent in the prayses of the Flessed Virgin, so as to call her the
necke of the Church, by which every grace and influence passeth from
the Head, inueighed severely against the Canons, and wrote unto
them, reprehending them for introducing a dangerous nouitie without
reason, or example of antiquitie; that there want not places to praise
the Virgin, who cannot be pleased with a presumptuous nouitie,
mother of rashuess, sister of superstition, daughter of lightuesse. The
next age had Schoole Doctors of both the Orders, Franciscan and
Dominican, who in their writings refuted this opinion, until about
the yeare AD. 1300, when John Scot, a Franciscan, putting the mat-
ter into disputation, and examining the reasons, did fiie to the Onni-
potencie, saying that God had power to free her from sinne, or to
cause sinne to remaine in her onely for an instant, or for a certaine
time; that God only knoweth which of these three is true, yet it is
probable to attribute the first to Mary, in case it bee not repugnant
to the authoritie of the Church and of the- Scripture.
" The doctrine of this famous divine was followed by the Franciscan
Order. But in the particular of the conception, seeing the way yd
open, they affirmed absolutely for true/ that which he had proposed as
possible and probable /under this doubtful condition, if it bee not re-
pugnant to the orthodome faith.
1 Novelties.
e/{We
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? 44 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1579.
"The Dominicans did constantly resist, and followed Saint Thomas
one of their Order, famous for his learning and for the approbation of
Pope John the two and twentieth, who to depresse the Franciscans,
who did for the most part adhere to the Emperor Lewis of Bavaria,
excommunicated by him, did canonize that Doctour and his doctrine.
The shew of pietie and devotion made the Franciscan opinion gene-
rally more accepted, and more tenaciously received by the Universitie
of Paris, which was in credite for eminent learning, and after long
ventilation and discussion; was afterwards approoved by the Councell
of Basill, which forbade to teach and preach the contrarie. This
tooke place in those Countreys which received the Councell. Finally
Pope Siactus M a Franciscan, made two Bulles in this matter, one,
in the yeare/one thousand foure hundred seventie sixe, approving a
new ofiice, composed by Leonard Nogarola, Protonotarie with indul-
gences to him that did celebrate it, or assist; the other, in the yeare
one thousand foure hundred eightie three, condemning the assertion
as false and erronious, that it is heresie to hold the conception, or a
sinne to celebrate it, excommunicating the preachers and others who
noted that opinion of heresie or the contrarie, because, it was not as
yet decided by the Church of Rome and the Apostolike see. . . -
" The Franciscans and Domenicans continued to contest the matter
every yeare in December and were not quieted by letters sent to
them by Leo X. The Dominicans grounded themselves upon the
Scripture, the doctrine of the Fathers and the most ancient schoole-
men, where not one iot was found in favour of the others, but they
alleaged for themselves miracles and contentment of the people.
4/7' The Papal Legate at Trent wrote to Rome as to the above conten-
tion, and lest it produced schism, and to obey the Pope the constitutions
of Sixtus IV were to be observed. "-'
In Paolo's time, the blessed Virgin being immaculate was an open
question, and justly deemed a novelty, it is not so now, Pius IX
has made it an act of faith. Fra Paolo warned all against new acts
of faith.
The recitation of the Salve Regina was restored by Urban VIII
when Fra Paolo was no more, when the voice which had been
raised against innovation was silent, and could no longer either pro-
test against it, or solicit the Pope to pause ere he restored the Salve
Regina, the recitation of which had been withdrawn by one of his
predecessors Gregory XIII.
1 His. Oouncell of Trent. Sarpi, lib:]J; p. 191, etc. 1\rs. _>? JZZ=4/ M g);//4//&e? ? V6 /49;
MW
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? 45
CHAPTER IV.
A. D. 1580 -- A. D. 1588.
DoeEs or Vmucn. Niccolo da Ponte 1585. Pasquale Oicogna.
Sovaanrcns or GnauAnr. Rodolph II.
ENGLAND. Elizabeth. 1? ti3. James I of Great Britain. J~
ScormsD. Mary. "
FRANCE, Henry III.
SpAm. Philip II.
Tuaxnr. Amurath III.
Pores. Gregory XIII. 1585 Sixtus V.
,. ,vv\>>_'_,vV'. ,-_,vv
Fra Paolo returns to Venice. - The Crusca. - Fra Paolo's discoveries in ana-
tomy. - F. Paolo at Rome. - Decretals. - Death of Capella and of Gregory
XIII. - Sixtus V. -- Fra Paolo chosen Procurator General. - Goes to Rome. -
Bobadilla. - Jesuits. - Fra Paolo returns to Venice. - Gabriello. -- The Mo-
rosini. - The Nave d' Oro. - Fra Paolo visits Padua and Pinelli, pleads for
Fra Giulio at Rome.
When Fra Paolo returned to Venice, he found the Republic ill at ease
as to the question of her boundaries, the Pope still occasioned her indirect
vexation; this state of affairs continued during the following year, and it
was visible to the liberal minded Servite, who watched events with greater
eagerness than hitherto, that both at home and abroad, the Pontiff was
acquiring more power. Austria, denied redress at the last council, succumb-
ed to his dictates, gave encouragement to the Jesuits, and treated the
Reformed with intolerance.
Nothing worthy of notice had occurred in the Order of the Servi, with
the exception of the appointment of the Cardinal San Severina in the
room of the Cardinal Farnese; but San Severina had higher views than
the Protectorship, he was anxiously looking forward to the Pontificate.
Fra Paolo had no such ambition, and his friends remarked with surprise
on his not yet having any preferment. He continued his usual occupations,
and attended learned societies as he had formerly done.
There were many learned associations in Italy about this period, besides
those which assembled at the houses of the noble Morosini, Manutii, and
others in Venice. In perpetual dread of the power of the Pope, and denied
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? 46 . THE LIFE OF [A-E- 1582.
liberty of conscience and free expression of thought in public, Italians
congregated together, not only to converse with greater freedom on learn-
ing and science and passing political events, but to endeavor to lay plans
for future emancipation. There can be no doubt but that the check given
in after times to these meetings or Academies was from the known bias
of their members to free thought and action. One of the few which
survives since the time of Sarpi is that of the Crusca, established in
the year 1582; it counted within its ranks many distinguished cha-
racters who, like the present Marchese Capponi, were eminent for their
attainments. Latin had hitherto been the medium of communication
between the learned, but the Crusca was formed with the express inten-
tion of purifying the language of Italy, Fra Paolo was not one of its mem-
bers, they were for the most part Florentines.
It would be presumption in a foreigner to pronounce on his fitness to
be of the Crusca, or of his writing of his native tongue, but if Livy, to
Whom Sarpi has been compared was charged with Patavinity, (the use of
words peculiar to the Paduese) is it probable that a Friar, who usually
wrote in Latin, would wholly avoid Venetian provincialisms?
After long examination and study, reference to the principal universi-
ties and due deliberation on the systems proposed, Gregory XIII, by a
bull dated 13th February A. D. 1582, announced that he had reformed the
Calendar. Y_e_t_a had been consulted, which may have attracted the attention
of Fra Paolo to the subject, but as there is no information relative to his
having shared in its adjustment, the reader is spared surmise.
In the month of April, having relinquished his duties of Provincial
of his Order, Paolo resumed his place in more private life, and Fulgenzio
used often to hear him say, " that the three years which followed was the
only period of repose he ever enjoyed, " but he did not waste his time in
indolence.
" The whole powers of his mind during the remainder of AD. 1582 to
A. D. 1585, were absorbed in speculations on the phenomena of nature,
in perfecting his knowledge of the transmutation of metals, and of distil-
1ation:>>i(ot that he ever supposed that he could make gold, or that any
man of sense could be induced to inquire into this subject, although the
study of alchemy was then common, but his only object was to obtain a
more intimate acquaintance with nature, in regard to which the greatest
physicians of our time can bear witness to his extensive knowledge, and
to the many discoveries which he communicated to others, who thereby
gained honor instead of him. There was no effete or occult property either
in writing or experiment, that he did not see or examine; his knowledge
was beyond all human belief!
" About this time, and for many years after, he practised all kinds of
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? arr. 30. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 47
anatomy, dissecting every species of animal with his own hand. The
anatomy of the eye particularly occupied his attention, so that l'Acqua-
pendente did not disdain to cite the authority of Padre Paolo both in his
lectures and in his printed works, and even spoke of him as " the Oracle
of the Age, " in respect to his general learning, and his knowledge of
minerals, metals, and anatomy. It was a matter of surprise to those who
know the truth, that as l'Acquapendente confesses in his treatise on the
Eye, " De otculo, visus organo " 1 to have learned from him the manner
in which vision is affected by the refraction of light When passing through
the crystalline humour, that he did not throughout his whole treatise
state that all it contains of new and rare speculations are by the Padre, " of
which I, " says F-ulgenzio " am an eye witness, and others ought at least to
have attributed praise to whom it is due, so also in respect to the blood. "
" There are many eminent and learned physicians still living, and of these
Santorio Santorio and Pietro Asselineo, who know that it was neither the
speculation nor invention of l'Acquapendente but of the Padre, who on
considering the gravity of the blood came to this conclusion I that it could
not remain stationary in the veins, without there being some barrier which
would retain it, and by opening and closing should afford that current
which is necessary to life, and therefore, under this opinion} he dissected
with still more care, and found the valves. He gave an account of them
to his friends in the medical profession, especially to l'Acquapendente, who
acknowledged it in his public anatomical lectures, and it was afterwards
acknowledged in the writings of many illustrious authors. " '
The above is the simple statement of Fra Fulgenzio Micanzio, a man
not only of profound learning but of the strictest probity and it is impos-
1 " Re igitur cum amico quodam nostro eommunicata ille tandem forte id
observavit scilicet non modo in cato, sed in homine, et quocunque animali
foramen uveae in majori luce contrahi in minori dilatari. Quod arcanum obser-
vatum est, et mihi significantum a Rev. Patre Magistro Paulo Veneto, Qrdinis
ut appellant Servorum Theologo, Philosophoque insigni, sed Mathematicarum
disciplinarum preecipueque Optices maxime studioso, quem hoe loco honoris
gratia nomino atque id deificeps ad libitum observare licuit quamvis preeter 77/
omnem opinionem id evenire judicaremus, quod lucis natura potlus sit disgre- /4;.
gare, dilatareque, tenebrarum vero constringere, densare et comprimere: at --
ratio omnis cessat, ubi sensus refragatur; quinimo in oculorum atfectionibus et
diminuta visione, cum scilicet ad Oonsultationem de ipsis habendam, oculos
patientis forte in loco non admodum claro videremus, saepe numero id nobis
imposuit cum patientem pupillae dilatatione laborare opinaremur. Etenim non
solum in magna luce foramen imminuitur, in modica dilitatur; sed etiam si quis QL
ob humorum impuritatem diminitute videat, impendio magis adhuc dilatari Z22
apparet ita ut dilatae? pupillae suspicionem facile faciat et injiciat. " -- " De
Oculo/Tisus Organo, " etc. Acquapendente, e. W, p. 229.
2 MS.
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? 48 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1582.
sible, with such testimony, not to believe with the venerable Cavaliere Ci-
cogna and others, that Fra Paolo was the first who traced the true con-
nection of the action of the iris, in its contraction and dilitation, with vi-
sion; and the valves in the veins for the circulation of the blood. There
is no more reason to doubt these assertions by Fulgenzio, than any other
throughout the autograph MS. Let it also be remembered, that Pereisc
was in Italy from A. D. 1599 to A. D. 1602, and at Padua and Venice
during the life of Acquapendente; and that he Pereisc then knew and
said publicly that the valves in the veins had been discovered by Fra
Paolo Sarpi. -
In further support of this fact, Foscarini cites from the life of Pereisc,
by Gassendi; Fabricius Acquapendente obit. 1619. " Cum simul monuis-
sem Guglielmum Harvaeum medicum Anglum edidisse praeclarum librum
de successione sanguinis ex venis in arterias, et arteriis rursus in venas
per imperceptas anastomoses inter cetera vero argumenta confirmasse illam
et venarum valvulis, de quibus ipse (Peireschius) inaudierat aliquid ab
Acquapendente, et quarum inventorem primum Sarpium Servitam memi-
nerat, ideo, " etc. Morgagni disputes this. and affirms that no one during
the life of Acquapendente had the courage to attribute it to Fra Paolo,
and Gassendi adds, that " inaudierat ab Acquapendente, " shows that Pe-
reise judged upon the spot, and purposely expresses the contrary opinion,
and that " meminerat " proves, that then, and in face of Acquapendente,
such was the opinion current in Padua and in Venice. Acquapendente
makes no mention of Sarpi in his Venarum Ostialis, A. D. 1603.
Fra Paolo's study of Anatomy is one of many proofs that he was above
the prejudices of his times, and like his great countrymen Leonardo da
Vinci and Michael Angelo Buonarotti, did not shrink from a minute dis-
section of the dead, but not in public, as we learn from a MS. in the Mar-
ciana. He also traced the study of anatomy to its origin before the
Christian era when the ancients made some attempts at its definition, and
when the successors of Hippocrates, Xenophon and Plato did the same.
It is sufficient for our present purpose not to look beyond the beginning
of the 16th Century. The anatomists who followed Galen, Achilinus,
Benedictus Benegarius and Massa, were succeeded by Vessalius who rose
to high repute in Italy, chiefly through his account of his dissection of the
human body. In A. D. 1561 Fallopius was Professor of Anatomy at Pa-
dua; and the anatomical tables of Eustachius were well known to all
students of medical science. Thus eager in his pursuit after truth Fra
Paolo followed in the steps of former anatomists, and they who have nar-
rowly examined his title to discoveries in anatomy, need not fear the
charge of being listeners to fables. There does not appear to be any truth
in the report that Fra Paolo concealed his discovery of the valves in the
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? mr. 30. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 49
veins, lest he should be accused of magic, and that he confided a volume
to the care of the Friars of the Servi on the day of his death, in which he
had inserted an account of his discovery. No such volume has as yet been
found in the Library of S. Mark's, where it was said that Fra Paolo re-
quested that it should be deposited.
