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.
ties and due deliberation on the systems proposed, Gregory XIII, by a
bull dated 13th February A.
Sarpi - 1868 - Life of Fra Paolo Sarpi
hathitrust.
org/access_use#pd-google
? 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.
The discovery of the valves in the veins may have led to the discovery
of the circulation of the blood; but till the finding of a treatise, which
Wesling declares he saw, on the discovery of the circulation of the blood '
by Era Paolo, it has not been hitherto proved that he did make this
discovery. To depart from truth to over-eulogize a friend is as injurious
to his character as it is-ignoble to over-charge an adversary with error,
and the biographer of Sarpi need not snatch laurels from the justly adorn-
ed brow of Harvey, who was never slow to acknowledge either the genius
or discoveries of another.
Sprengel is of opinion that Sarpi neither discovered the valves in the
veins, nor the circulation of the blood, ' so is Tiraboschi; but Griselini
differs from both. It is respectfully submitted as to the valves, that
'neither of the above authors could have seen Fulgenzio's autograph
life of Sarpi, and as to the circulation of the blood, the words to which
Valens refers, do not convey more meaning than the opinion of Galen and
his followers, who held " that the blood flowed through the different
parts of the body and returned through the same channels. "
Colombo, the friend of Michael Angelo, Servetus and Cesalpini, all
wrote vaguely on the circulation of the blood. The discovery of Harvey is
now referred to, as Gassendi refers to it in the passage before quoted, and
it is almost unnecessary to add, that the discovery justly imputed to
Harvey, who studied under Acquapendente, is " that the arteries receiving
the blood from the heart afterwards communicate it to the veins, and by
them all the blood is returned again to the heart. " This he first publicly
announced in a lecture in the year 1616. It is the opinion of the modern
physicians in Italy, whom the writer had the opportunity to consult on
the subject, that Sarpi did not discover the circulation of the blood, but
they offered no dissenting opinion as to his discoveries respecting vision,
or the valves in the veins.
Vessalius first gave a scientific description of the human body with
drawings by Titian, and this is the work to which Fra Paolo alludes in
a letter which was in the Schedae Sarpianae. It bore no date. But the
copy of it is interesting, as the transfusion of blood is a subject which
still occupies attention.
It was during this year that Sarpi was again sent to Rome as Defi-
1 Sprengel, vol. xv, p. 32- (History of Medicine).
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? 59 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1582-1585.
nitor, to represent his province in the election of a General. He is silent
on the bigotry of Gregory XIII; perhaps he coincided with the Council
of Ten of 1355, in the suppression of what ought to be forgotten. On
Friday the 17th of April in that year Malier Falier was beheaded. In
the usual course, the minutes of the trial should have been entered on
the 33rd page of that volume, but in their stead we find a blank space
and the words.
" fr. SCBATVR. "
" Be it not written. " '
Such conduct is worthy of imitation. Such be that of the tolerant towards
Gregory. Let him turn to the learning of the Pope, it was not of a kind to
enlarge his views as to religion; he was indefatigable in his preparation
of a new edition of the " Decretals of Gratian. " These Decretals did not
escape the penetration of Sarpi, he was a sound logician, he knew that
truth cannot be deduced from_false premises: throughout his treatise on
Ecclesiastical Benefices, he shows that the changes, innovations, and
additions in the church of Rome had been introduced by the Popes, and
that many abuses had been traced to the Decretals of Gratian, because,
with greater zeal than knowledge, this Benedictine of the twelfth Century
had endeavored " to reconcile " many " contradictory Canons, " and
these being received by the greater part of the Church of Rome as the
infallible decrees of the Pope, the harm that was and is occasioned thereby
is incalculable. Gregory XIII thought to uphold the power of Rome by
his Comments on Gratian, but Sarpi taxes them with inefficiency, as
well as those of Gregory IX, which he says must be allowed to be a
book " much more edifying in the skilful managing of a lawsuit, than in
the salvation of souls. " Again, " Gratian, as well as the other old collectors
of the canons, made a collection of all he thought might most contribute
to the aggrandizing the Papal authority, even to the changing, vitiating,
and even falsifying the places from whence he drew the decision. By
which means he thought he had done his utmost to exalt this power to
the highest pitch it could possibly 'bg_r, and according to the state of
those times he was not mistaken; but a change of circumstances in affairs
made this compilation no longer seasonable; and so to thie decree, or
Decretum of Gratian, which was called after him, succeeded the Decretals,
but neither of which in process of time grew to signify much, the Popes,
as they grew in authority, establishing still new Orders and regulations, so
that neither the Decretum, the Decretal, nor the Sextus were any longer
1 Calendar. R. Brown, Pref. p. 16.
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? . 51'. 30-33;] FRA PAOLO SARPI 51 '
of use as to benefioes; but other rules and methods came in request, as
will appear hereafter. " '
The death of one of the Servi demands attention, the reader will recall
to mind Capella of Cremona, the early instructor of Fra Paolo, a lover of
peace, he faithfully discharged his public duties, and learned in the Holy
Scriptures, he left behind him several theological works, one of which was
on the sacrifice of Christ. He had lived to see his pupil distinguished and
beloved, and like himself devoting many hours to the perusal of the
sacred volume.
The decease of another of Fra Paolo's patrons, the Cardinal Borromeo
gave much regret to the Pope, who exclaimed: " Extincta est lucerna in
Israel. " A few lupins and a plank on which to sleep were all that latterly
the Cardinal had allowed himself, his austerities had so undermined 'his
constitution that at the early age of forty seven he died, and was carried
to the tomb with extraordinary pomp, and afterwards canonized.
Affairs at Rome continued in an agitated state, on the fifth of May
Pope Gregory died, and was succeeded by Sixtus V, who had been ex-
pelled from Venice when Inquisitor General for witholding absolution
from those who had copies of works named in the Index Expurgatorius.
His severity was not laid aside as Pope, but he wished to be on good
terms with Venice; he doubtless remembered her summary treatment of
him. He opened his eyes to many abuses at home and abroad, he renoun-
ced several claims, remodelled the Bull In Coena Domini, and abolished
the Congregation for ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Deceived by various
reforms, Venice appeared content with the new Pope whom she had more
cause to dread, because he was too fond of power. It would be however
unjust to overlook his great talents both in civil and ecclesiastical admi-
nistration, or to omit that he required the Cardinals to participate in the
general amendment. -
Fra Paolo had now attained too great reputation to he suffered to
remain in peace in his Convent. In a general Chapter he was elected
Procurator General of his Order, and during his residence of three years
at Rome, he attracted much notice. His office was to defend the suits of
the Servi, to offer prayers before the Pope, to be employed by him in the
Congregations, and to read a public lecture. At one of these assemblies
Fra Paolo met Bellarmine, and a friendship ensued which does honor
to both. Neither made any compromise as to what he considered truth,
and when the hour did come when they stood opposed to each other,
the noble conduct of Bellarmine cast a deathless lustre around the
character of the Jesuit who dared, even in spite of the opinions of
Possevin and others of his Order, to warn Sarpi that his life was in danger.
Bellarmine was ten years his senior, and learned himself, he appreciated the
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? 52 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1585.
learning of Fra Paolo. In youth he was distinguished for his superior talents,
and in after years as a controversialist. Although short in stature, in letters
he was no dwarfish nephew of Pope Marcellus. He joined the society of the
Jesuits when only eighteen, but he differed materially from that body
as to the doctrine of justification by faith, and in this particular leant to
the opinions of Saint Augustine. He was the first of his Order who
professed theology at the University of Lonvain, and his sermons were
listened to everywhere with marked attention and applause. Although
his countenance was not prepossessing, his manners were courteous and
fascinating: he loved peace, and never joined in harsh measures against
those who differed from him; saying that he valued an ounce of
peace more than a pound of victory. He was remarkable for patience
and great perspicuity of language, both in conversation and in his
Writings, with the exception of those of 1607. He was in great
favor with the Court of Rome where his strict life did not pass unob-
served, and he might have risen to the Pontificate had not the Jesuits
been distasteful to the other Orders. He was employed by Gregory
to instruct the students in the-vast college which the Pope had esta-
blished in Rome, but although he held very exalted views of the Pa-
pacy, yet Sixtus was not satisfied that Bellarmine affirmed (which he did
at one time), that the temporal power of the Pope was indirectly given
by the Holy Saviour to the Pope. Its advocates were still on the increase.
The papal Nuncios at Paris and at Venice approved of the attempt on
the life of Queen Elizabeth of England, and Cardinal Allen advocated
the regicide of an excommunicated prince, contending that it was lawful.
Such were the opinions against- which Fra Paolo had to strive, but it
must have been consolatory to him to know, that they were unwelcome at
Venice and at Rome, where he Was still detained. He was happy in the so-
ciety of the pious and learned Spanish Canonist Novarro, who at upwards
of ninety had left his country to plead the cause of the injured Carranga
Archbishop of Toledo. Notwithstanding the extraordinary severity of
'the Cardinal San Severina, on his return to Rome, Paolo found him as
before well pleased with himself, but still wont to tell others who did
not contradict him, " that they were flatterers, and those who opposed
him and boldly gave their reasons for their opposition, that they were too
free and daring. "
But of 'all the friends of Fra Paolo at Rome, to none was his society
more acceptable than to the Cardinal Castagna, afterwards Pope Ur-
ban VII, whose life and similarity of disposition were the probable cause
of their amity. The Cardinal ever Welcomed Fra Paolo with a smile,
and the more frequent Were his visits, the more was the Cardinal well
satisfied. '
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? 81'. 33. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 53
From him Fra Paolo obtained information as to his History of the
Council of Trent; the Cardinal Castagna had been President at the forma-
tion of the decrees of that Council. "But the decrees," wrote Sarpi,
" do not agree with what the Congregation of Cardinals dictated as to the
Council. "
Paolo listened to all he heard concerning this subject, and made notes
on it, but this was not his only occupation, he appears usually to have
followed out some scientific pursuit when called to any city for the affairs
of the Servi, and thus we find that on the occasion of his going to Naples to
attend a Chapter of his Order, he became acquainted with della Porta, to
whom the discovery of the Camera Obscura is attributed. A meeting of
learned and scientific persons was held at his house, of which no one could
be a member unless he had made some new discovery; of all the members,
Sarpi was he who made the greatest research on the properties of the
magnet.
Besides da Porta of Naples, another associate also of Fra Paolo at
Rome demands notice. It is uncertain which of the original Jesuits he
met at Rome, but Fra Fulgenzio believed that he was Bobadilla, of whose
holy simplicity Fra Paolo spoke with pleasure, and it must have been
very gratifying to his devout mind to have seen this aged man at prayer
in places remote from the haunts of man. They frequently conversed, and
Bobadilla told Fra Paolo freely, " That had Ignatius returned to earth,
he would have found his Order in such 'a state that he would not have
recognized it as that Order which he had founded. " Bobadilla was one
of the seven persons who, at the instigation of Ignatius Loyola, took
a solemn vow at the Church of Montmartre, that after they had finis-
hed a course of theology, they would renounce the world, live in
poverty, labor for the glory of God and the good of souls, preach the
gospel to -the infidel, and if unable to fulfil this vow, they agreed
to offer their services to the Pope,_Ir-ivice in two years they renewed
their vows at Montmartre. Bobadilla remained steadfast to Loyola,
and when the latter summoned the ten (the seven had increased
to this number) to Venice, 1537, Bobadilla accompanied the others
habited as a pilgrim, all his worldly 'goods in a knapsack on his
back, and his Bible, breviary and rosary suspended around his neck.
He had intended to accompany Loyola and the little company to
Jerusalem, but he was hindered by the war between Turkey and
Venetia, and the ten went to Rome, 1538, Where they met with
great opposition from the Cardinal Giudici on account of the vast
increase of new Orders. At length Paul III approved the Society of
Jesuits by a bull dated the 27th of September 1540, but with this
proviso, that their number should not exceed sixty persons. The Jesuits
?
? 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.
The discovery of the valves in the veins may have led to the discovery
of the circulation of the blood; but till the finding of a treatise, which
Wesling declares he saw, on the discovery of the circulation of the blood '
by Era Paolo, it has not been hitherto proved that he did make this
discovery. To depart from truth to over-eulogize a friend is as injurious
to his character as it is-ignoble to over-charge an adversary with error,
and the biographer of Sarpi need not snatch laurels from the justly adorn-
ed brow of Harvey, who was never slow to acknowledge either the genius
or discoveries of another.
Sprengel is of opinion that Sarpi neither discovered the valves in the
veins, nor the circulation of the blood, ' so is Tiraboschi; but Griselini
differs from both. It is respectfully submitted as to the valves, that
'neither of the above authors could have seen Fulgenzio's autograph
life of Sarpi, and as to the circulation of the blood, the words to which
Valens refers, do not convey more meaning than the opinion of Galen and
his followers, who held " that the blood flowed through the different
parts of the body and returned through the same channels. "
Colombo, the friend of Michael Angelo, Servetus and Cesalpini, all
wrote vaguely on the circulation of the blood. The discovery of Harvey is
now referred to, as Gassendi refers to it in the passage before quoted, and
it is almost unnecessary to add, that the discovery justly imputed to
Harvey, who studied under Acquapendente, is " that the arteries receiving
the blood from the heart afterwards communicate it to the veins, and by
them all the blood is returned again to the heart. " This he first publicly
announced in a lecture in the year 1616. It is the opinion of the modern
physicians in Italy, whom the writer had the opportunity to consult on
the subject, that Sarpi did not discover the circulation of the blood, but
they offered no dissenting opinion as to his discoveries respecting vision,
or the valves in the veins.
Vessalius first gave a scientific description of the human body with
drawings by Titian, and this is the work to which Fra Paolo alludes in
a letter which was in the Schedae Sarpianae. It bore no date. But the
copy of it is interesting, as the transfusion of blood is a subject which
still occupies attention.
It was during this year that Sarpi was again sent to Rome as Defi-
1 Sprengel, vol. xv, p. 32- (History of Medicine).
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? 59 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1582-1585.
nitor, to represent his province in the election of a General. He is silent
on the bigotry of Gregory XIII; perhaps he coincided with the Council
of Ten of 1355, in the suppression of what ought to be forgotten. On
Friday the 17th of April in that year Malier Falier was beheaded. In
the usual course, the minutes of the trial should have been entered on
the 33rd page of that volume, but in their stead we find a blank space
and the words.
" fr. SCBATVR. "
" Be it not written. " '
Such conduct is worthy of imitation. Such be that of the tolerant towards
Gregory. Let him turn to the learning of the Pope, it was not of a kind to
enlarge his views as to religion; he was indefatigable in his preparation
of a new edition of the " Decretals of Gratian. " These Decretals did not
escape the penetration of Sarpi, he was a sound logician, he knew that
truth cannot be deduced from_false premises: throughout his treatise on
Ecclesiastical Benefices, he shows that the changes, innovations, and
additions in the church of Rome had been introduced by the Popes, and
that many abuses had been traced to the Decretals of Gratian, because,
with greater zeal than knowledge, this Benedictine of the twelfth Century
had endeavored " to reconcile " many " contradictory Canons, " and
these being received by the greater part of the Church of Rome as the
infallible decrees of the Pope, the harm that was and is occasioned thereby
is incalculable. Gregory XIII thought to uphold the power of Rome by
his Comments on Gratian, but Sarpi taxes them with inefficiency, as
well as those of Gregory IX, which he says must be allowed to be a
book " much more edifying in the skilful managing of a lawsuit, than in
the salvation of souls. " Again, " Gratian, as well as the other old collectors
of the canons, made a collection of all he thought might most contribute
to the aggrandizing the Papal authority, even to the changing, vitiating,
and even falsifying the places from whence he drew the decision. By
which means he thought he had done his utmost to exalt this power to
the highest pitch it could possibly 'bg_r, and according to the state of
those times he was not mistaken; but a change of circumstances in affairs
made this compilation no longer seasonable; and so to thie decree, or
Decretum of Gratian, which was called after him, succeeded the Decretals,
but neither of which in process of time grew to signify much, the Popes,
as they grew in authority, establishing still new Orders and regulations, so
that neither the Decretum, the Decretal, nor the Sextus were any longer
1 Calendar. R. Brown, Pref. p. 16.
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? . 51'. 30-33;] FRA PAOLO SARPI 51 '
of use as to benefioes; but other rules and methods came in request, as
will appear hereafter. " '
The death of one of the Servi demands attention, the reader will recall
to mind Capella of Cremona, the early instructor of Fra Paolo, a lover of
peace, he faithfully discharged his public duties, and learned in the Holy
Scriptures, he left behind him several theological works, one of which was
on the sacrifice of Christ. He had lived to see his pupil distinguished and
beloved, and like himself devoting many hours to the perusal of the
sacred volume.
The decease of another of Fra Paolo's patrons, the Cardinal Borromeo
gave much regret to the Pope, who exclaimed: " Extincta est lucerna in
Israel. " A few lupins and a plank on which to sleep were all that latterly
the Cardinal had allowed himself, his austerities had so undermined 'his
constitution that at the early age of forty seven he died, and was carried
to the tomb with extraordinary pomp, and afterwards canonized.
Affairs at Rome continued in an agitated state, on the fifth of May
Pope Gregory died, and was succeeded by Sixtus V, who had been ex-
pelled from Venice when Inquisitor General for witholding absolution
from those who had copies of works named in the Index Expurgatorius.
His severity was not laid aside as Pope, but he wished to be on good
terms with Venice; he doubtless remembered her summary treatment of
him. He opened his eyes to many abuses at home and abroad, he renoun-
ced several claims, remodelled the Bull In Coena Domini, and abolished
the Congregation for ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Deceived by various
reforms, Venice appeared content with the new Pope whom she had more
cause to dread, because he was too fond of power. It would be however
unjust to overlook his great talents both in civil and ecclesiastical admi-
nistration, or to omit that he required the Cardinals to participate in the
general amendment. -
Fra Paolo had now attained too great reputation to he suffered to
remain in peace in his Convent. In a general Chapter he was elected
Procurator General of his Order, and during his residence of three years
at Rome, he attracted much notice. His office was to defend the suits of
the Servi, to offer prayers before the Pope, to be employed by him in the
Congregations, and to read a public lecture. At one of these assemblies
Fra Paolo met Bellarmine, and a friendship ensued which does honor
to both. Neither made any compromise as to what he considered truth,
and when the hour did come when they stood opposed to each other,
the noble conduct of Bellarmine cast a deathless lustre around the
character of the Jesuit who dared, even in spite of the opinions of
Possevin and others of his Order, to warn Sarpi that his life was in danger.
Bellarmine was ten years his senior, and learned himself, he appreciated the
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? 52 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1585.
learning of Fra Paolo. In youth he was distinguished for his superior talents,
and in after years as a controversialist. Although short in stature, in letters
he was no dwarfish nephew of Pope Marcellus. He joined the society of the
Jesuits when only eighteen, but he differed materially from that body
as to the doctrine of justification by faith, and in this particular leant to
the opinions of Saint Augustine. He was the first of his Order who
professed theology at the University of Lonvain, and his sermons were
listened to everywhere with marked attention and applause. Although
his countenance was not prepossessing, his manners were courteous and
fascinating: he loved peace, and never joined in harsh measures against
those who differed from him; saying that he valued an ounce of
peace more than a pound of victory. He was remarkable for patience
and great perspicuity of language, both in conversation and in his
Writings, with the exception of those of 1607. He was in great
favor with the Court of Rome where his strict life did not pass unob-
served, and he might have risen to the Pontificate had not the Jesuits
been distasteful to the other Orders. He was employed by Gregory
to instruct the students in the-vast college which the Pope had esta-
blished in Rome, but although he held very exalted views of the Pa-
pacy, yet Sixtus was not satisfied that Bellarmine affirmed (which he did
at one time), that the temporal power of the Pope was indirectly given
by the Holy Saviour to the Pope. Its advocates were still on the increase.
The papal Nuncios at Paris and at Venice approved of the attempt on
the life of Queen Elizabeth of England, and Cardinal Allen advocated
the regicide of an excommunicated prince, contending that it was lawful.
Such were the opinions against- which Fra Paolo had to strive, but it
must have been consolatory to him to know, that they were unwelcome at
Venice and at Rome, where he Was still detained. He was happy in the so-
ciety of the pious and learned Spanish Canonist Novarro, who at upwards
of ninety had left his country to plead the cause of the injured Carranga
Archbishop of Toledo. Notwithstanding the extraordinary severity of
'the Cardinal San Severina, on his return to Rome, Paolo found him as
before well pleased with himself, but still wont to tell others who did
not contradict him, " that they were flatterers, and those who opposed
him and boldly gave their reasons for their opposition, that they were too
free and daring. "
But of 'all the friends of Fra Paolo at Rome, to none was his society
more acceptable than to the Cardinal Castagna, afterwards Pope Ur-
ban VII, whose life and similarity of disposition were the probable cause
of their amity. The Cardinal ever Welcomed Fra Paolo with a smile,
and the more frequent Were his visits, the more was the Cardinal well
satisfied. '
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? 81'. 33. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 53
From him Fra Paolo obtained information as to his History of the
Council of Trent; the Cardinal Castagna had been President at the forma-
tion of the decrees of that Council. "But the decrees," wrote Sarpi,
" do not agree with what the Congregation of Cardinals dictated as to the
Council. "
Paolo listened to all he heard concerning this subject, and made notes
on it, but this was not his only occupation, he appears usually to have
followed out some scientific pursuit when called to any city for the affairs
of the Servi, and thus we find that on the occasion of his going to Naples to
attend a Chapter of his Order, he became acquainted with della Porta, to
whom the discovery of the Camera Obscura is attributed. A meeting of
learned and scientific persons was held at his house, of which no one could
be a member unless he had made some new discovery; of all the members,
Sarpi was he who made the greatest research on the properties of the
magnet.
Besides da Porta of Naples, another associate also of Fra Paolo at
Rome demands notice. It is uncertain which of the original Jesuits he
met at Rome, but Fra Fulgenzio believed that he was Bobadilla, of whose
holy simplicity Fra Paolo spoke with pleasure, and it must have been
very gratifying to his devout mind to have seen this aged man at prayer
in places remote from the haunts of man. They frequently conversed, and
Bobadilla told Fra Paolo freely, " That had Ignatius returned to earth,
he would have found his Order in such 'a state that he would not have
recognized it as that Order which he had founded. " Bobadilla was one
of the seven persons who, at the instigation of Ignatius Loyola, took
a solemn vow at the Church of Montmartre, that after they had finis-
hed a course of theology, they would renounce the world, live in
poverty, labor for the glory of God and the good of souls, preach the
gospel to -the infidel, and if unable to fulfil this vow, they agreed
to offer their services to the Pope,_Ir-ivice in two years they renewed
their vows at Montmartre. Bobadilla remained steadfast to Loyola,
and when the latter summoned the ten (the seven had increased
to this number) to Venice, 1537, Bobadilla accompanied the others
habited as a pilgrim, all his worldly 'goods in a knapsack on his
back, and his Bible, breviary and rosary suspended around his neck.
He had intended to accompany Loyola and the little company to
Jerusalem, but he was hindered by the war between Turkey and
Venetia, and the ten went to Rome, 1538, Where they met with
great opposition from the Cardinal Giudici on account of the vast
increase of new Orders. At length Paul III approved the Society of
Jesuits by a bull dated the 27th of September 1540, but with this
proviso, that their number should not exceed sixty persons. The Jesuits
?
