"
It happened that a mule of one of this celebrated race of horses was
about to be foaled, and the Duke requested Fra Paolo to observe the
heavens during a whole night, especially at the moment of the birth of
the foal.
It happened that a mule of one of this celebrated race of horses was
about to be foaled, and the Duke requested Fra Paolo to observe the
heavens during a whole night, especially at the moment of the birth of
the foal.
Sarpi - 1868 - Life of Fra Paolo Sarpi
Paolo on astrology.
-
Leaves Mantua. - Life at Venice. - He goes to Milan. - The plague. - MSS. -
Fra Paolo takes a degree at Padua. - Priest's Orders. - Provincial. -- Sent to
Rome. - Reform of the Constitutions. - Worship of the Virgin.
Fra Paolo continued to pursue his studies in the quietude of his Convent
during his novitiate; at the age of fifteen he professed; and thus by solemn
promise to observe the Rule, he united himself to the Order of the Servi for
life. Fortunately for him, Zaccheria 1 was General, and his wise govern-
ment was a salutary boon after the disorder which prevailed during the
Generalship of his predecessor. Zaccheria was the friend of the noble Brac-
cio Ricasoli, ' and Fra Paolo had thus early examples of piety and
worth in men who filled high positions with zeal and integrity. In his
seclusion Fra Paolo had not forgotten his schoolfellows, nor had they for-
1 It was usual for a General to choose his motto, Zaccheria's was, " Dc-
minus suscepit me. "
2 This great man was the ancestor of the illustrious Baron Ricasoli of the
present age, the patriot who has dared to show his reverence of religion in
the highest assembly of Italy, a noble who possesses all the infl? 1bility of the
high minded and ancient Roman, with an enlightenment which must ever
reflect honor on his country.
a
2
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? 18 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1568-1570.
gotten him. They often left their palaces to visit him in his cell, and
throughout life always welcomed him with that urbanity for which the
Venetians are so distinguished.
In the month of October, he received a command to dispute in public
at Mantua, on the power of the Popes and of the Councils, and the new
opinions of the Innovators. Fra Paolo had early held the opinions of many
of his countrymen, especially of some within the Senate, who were ini-
mical to the Papal power; and if he advanced any such on this occa-
sion they would not have been unpopular with men, who, like himself,
rejoiced in the rejection of the Bull In Game Domini, which Pius V, as
well as his successors, endeavored to enforce. The Republic had also re-
sisted the Inquisition as elsewhere established; three of her Senators
were present during enquiries before that tribunal. In several instances
they had been forced to succumb to the Popes, and by their command se-
veral persons who professed the opinions of the Reformers had been given
up to death besides Algieri; but to the bigotry and superstition of the
times in their fullest extent Venice rose superior. It may have served po-
litical purposes, but assuredly it has not served the cause of just criticism
or of truth, to represent the Republic either so cruel or so persecuting as
other nations of Europe. While Philip, King of Spain, induced revolt
in the Netherlands by persecution on account of religion, While " many
also were at this time burned in France, not without the indignation
of honest men who knew that the diligence used against those poor
people was not for pietie or religion, but to satiate the covetousness of
Diana Valentina, to whom, " the King " had given all the confiscations
of goods madein the kingdom for cause of heresie; " ' while England
had witnessed deeds too direful to relate, Venice had struggled to act in-
dependently of the Pope, and sought to defeat the ambitious views of
the King of Spain, who had fixed his iron grasp upon Italy with a power
which took ages to unloose.
The year 1568 was one of distress. Fra Paolo returned from Mantua to
his Convent, but to compassionate the privations of the poor. The harvest
had failed throughout Venetia, and famine was the sad result. Bright
eyes had grown dim, countenances once radiant with health had become
wan and pallid, robust forms attenuated by want were to be seen on every
side, the voice of mirth was exchanged for the heavy plaints of the sick
and the dying. Whatever may have been the munificence of the rich in
such a calamity (and the Italians are charitable to a proverb), human aid
was inefficient, and in the lone, narrow, secluded streets of the vast and
populous city of Venice, who can tell how many suffered, drooped, and
1 Sapri.
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? M'. 16-18. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 19
died, who would not, or could not, crave aid at the beautiful gate of the
Convent of the Servi?
But famine was not the only misfortune which befell Venetia. On the
fourteenth of September AD. 1569, at the hour of midnight, the arsenal of
Venice was in flames. The strong hold of her strength and prowess seemed
about to be swept to destruction, and the noise of an explosion, as tre-
mendous as cver fell on human ear, told the sad tidings to the city and to
all within a circuit of thirty miles. Fire had been communicated to the
powder magazine and the arsenal; its towers, roofs and massive walls
had been blown to pieces. No less than four churches, and a considerable
number of buildings, were thrown down or absolutely destroyed. Even in
the most distant part, the shock was felt as if Venice had been visited by
an earthquake. It was severely felt in the Convent of Fra Paolo, where
' his midnight prayers were changed to grateful praise at early morn, that
the whole city, together with his Convent, had not been destroyed: its
. preservation was owing to a great quantity of gunpowder having been
previously removed from the arsenal. Four galleys only were lost; Ve-
nice had still two hundred vessels of war. Her navy was yet her own.
It would have been a noble deed to have spared a neighbouring kingdom,
so lately emancipated from the straits of famine and of fire, but Kuolles,
the great historian of the-Ottoman Empire, chronicles that the Sovereign
of Turkey had no such magnanimity, he continued to breathe out bloodshed
and desolation. '
Meantime, Fra Paolo endeavored to tread the path of tranquillity
and peace; but this was no easy task, for discord prevailed between the
two parties into which the Order of the Servi had divided themselves;
those who wished to retain their old constitutions were distinguished by
the name of " the Conventuali, " and those who advocated a reformation
of them by that of the " Congregazione de'Servi. " Fra Paolo belonged to
the latter body, of which there were about seventy Convents, but the two
bodies were reunited in the year 1570, and shortly after Paolo was called
upon to defend publicly three hundred and eighteen of the most difficult
propositions in Divinity and Natural Philosophy; ' on which occasion his
replies were so felicitous, and the proofs of his abilities so extraordinary,
that he not only pleased and surprised his hearers, but was rewarded by
an annual grant of seven scudi from his Convent for the purchase. of books.
More than this, his fame reached the ear of Guglielmo Gonzago, Duke of
Mantua, a munificent patron of learning and learned men who, as one of
the early and influential friends of Fra Paolo, mayhere claim attention.
1 " Con difendere 318 delle pix). difficili proposizioni della Sacra Teologia e
della Fiiosofia Naturale. " MS.
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? 20 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1570-1572.
He was fond of listening to disputationsflnd had been present at the
Council of Trent, in the hope of seeing the introduction of liberality of
sentiment, but he was disappointed. He disliked the horrors of the Inqui-
sition, he was no abettor of the severe and cruel measures of the reigning
Pope, and when he refused to send some persons suspected of heresy to
Rome, Pius V immediately threatened him with excommunication and
war, which were only prevented by the intercession of the Princes of
Italy. At a later period, when he sought the freedom of one of his relations
who had been incarcerated by thelawless Inquisition for heresy, his de-
mand was sternly repelled by the Inquisitor, who said, although he ackow-
ledged the Duke as his temporal Prince, he obeyed the commands of the
Pope, whose power was superior to that of any secular; and on the Duke
again pressing his request, the Inquisitor exhibited the tantalizing sight
of the keys of the dungeon where his victim was immured, but dared the
Ducal envoy to unlock the door at his peril. '
That the Duke had protected those accused of " heresy " could not be
unknown to Fra Paolo, but this did not hinder his compliance with the
Duke's invitation, who commanded the Superior of S. Barnaba to receive
him into the Convent at Mantua; accordingly he went thither, and was
immediately appointed Theologian to the Duke.
The stigma of heresy was, at this period of the history of Europe, chiefly
applied to the opinions of those who favored reform either within or
without the Church of Rome. There were many who clung to that Church
in which they had been baptized and nurtured, but whose learning, re-
search , intelligence and observation convinced them that, in place of
ancient truths bequeathed to the Church by the Great Head thereof, many
of the dogmas and rites of the Church of Rome had been superadded by
the Pontiffs, although opposed by many of the Clergy and Laity, as well
before and at, as after the Council of Trent.
As Chaplain and guest of the Duke, Fra Paolo had frequent opportu-
nities of conversation with him, and the Duke took delight, as also his
learned friends, in drawing out the talents of the young Friar by proposing to
him difficult questions on every variety of subject; for the court of this "good
Maecenas " was a centre of attraction to the lovers of the arts as well as of
the sciences. '
Mantua itself is classic ground, and as such it was regarded with in-
terest by Fra Paolo. The birthplace of the illustrious poet Virgil in its
neighbourhood recalled to his mind the noble lines which he had used to
commit to memory at the school of Morelli, when he little dreamed of
1 De Po1'ta,Tom. rr, p. 486. Epist. Tob. Egliui ad Bullingerum. 2 Mart.
1568.
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? zar. 18-20. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 21
being favored by the Ducal house of Mantova la Gloriosa. The reader
may now accompany him in his rambles within and without this ancient
city, crossing the waters of the gentle--flowing Mincio, looking on the
regular tetragon of the citadel, studying the gothic- pile reared by Bjo-
nacolsi, then remodelled by Giulio Romano, and thus cultivating his
genius for military fortification, of which he left proofs in the Schedce
Sarpianae. When he traversed the halls and galleries of the palace, the
" Sala di Troja " could not fail to remind him of the pages of Homer.
Throughout the five hundred apartments filled with every object that
luxury could suggest, or riches could command, magnificence reigned
supreme, as in all that the Duke of Mantua possessed. The " Sala di
-Marmo " was conspicuous to one whose practical eye was sensible of the
antique statues that it contained. But these sculptures, once sentries
between ancient and modern times, keep watch there no longer, they are
gone, and the faded gold and azure of the " Sala de' Mori " now alone
tell of departed grandeur. In the time of Fra Paolo the audience chamber
was thronged, now the beautiful consoles look down but on stillness,
the house of the Gonzagas of Mantua is no more! Nothing is left but
their fading portraits on the walls of their deserted palaces! The piety
and beauty of J ulia di Gonzaga is storied in every heart to which
goodness is dear, as well as the lettered pages of Lucretia di Gonzaga,
but with these exceptions, all are well nigh forgotten, save the Duke
Guglielmo, the friend of Fra Paolo Sarpi.
The Bishop of Mantua, Boldrino appreciated the piety and talents of
Paolo, and appointed him " Reader of Theology and also of the Sacred
Canons, " he therefore officiated at the Cathedral, and beneath its roof
taught the people for more than three years.
He solemnly renewed his vows at the age of twenty. He had many
friends in Mantua; one deserving special mention was Camillo Olivo,
Secretary of Gonzaga, Cardinal of Mantua and Papal Legate to the
Council of Trent; but whose piety and learning did not shield him
from persecution; of this affair the Friar thus writes.
"The Cardinal had given offence to Pius IV, who pronounced him
' unworthy of the Cap, 'and sent the Bishop of Ventimiglia to be his
secret minister in the Council, charged him to observe the Cardinal of
Mantua above all the Legates, and also gave order that the dispatches
to Trent, formerly addressed to him as prime Legate, should afterward be
addressed to Simoneta.
" He rempved from the congregation of Cardinals, who were to consult
of the affaires of Trent, the Cardinal Gonzaga, and caused_Fi Borromeo
to tell him that the Cardinalf his Uncle, did think to mine the Aposto-
like Sea, but should effect nothing but the ruine of himselfe and of his
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? 21 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1573.
house. He related to the Cardinall S. Angelo, who was a great friend
to Mantua, whatsoeyer had happened and shewed himself most choleri-
que against him and as much against Camillus Olivus, the Cardinal's
secretary, as not having performed the promise he made unto him when
he was sent to Rome, Which cost the poore man very deare, for
howsoever the Pope and Cardinal! were reconciled, yet after his death, re-
turning to Mantua with the corps of his master, he was imprisoned by the
Inquisition upon dijers pretences, and troubled a long time, whom after
his persecutions were ended, I knew myself to be a person very vertuous,
and that he had not deserfied such misfortunes. " '
" The chief reason that Fra Paolo took pleasure in the society of
Olivo was, that he found him a man of singular moderation and learning.
Having been with the Cardinal of Mantua at the Council of Trent, he
had management of its affairs, knew all the particulars of its most secret
negotiations, and had many memorials of them, to understand which gave
Fra Paolo great satisfaction, because the Council had then but lately
terminated, Which had held Christendom in the highest state of expectation
for a long series of years, especially men of judgment and rare intellect
who were curious to know what had passed there. " '
Doubtless the society of Fra Paolo beguiled the lonely hours of the
wronged but not friendless Olivo, and justice, though tardy, was to be
done to the honorable secretary by the pen of the illustrious Servite. Olivo
could, and did, conduct Fra Paolo through many of the hidden labyrinths
of the Council, which would have otherwise remained unexplored, and
it is probable that Olivo was the first who implanted in Sarpi's mind
the idea of writing an authentic chronicle of that Council, and that Olivo
fixed on his retentive memory' the knowledge of facts, the relation of which
has conferred signal service on the world.
These particulars are given here, as they afford evidence that the ma-
terials for his History of the Council of Trent were really acquired by Fra
Paolo at this early period of his life; while they refute the notions of
some writers, who allege that it was written at a late period, and expressly
for James I, King of Great Britain, and of others, who assert that Snrpi
penned his work in revenge because he had not received preferment from
the court of Rome.
Besides Olivo, Fra Paolo associated with Correggio, afterwards the
Cardinal d'Aseoli, who as well as other men of letters, found him, not
only learned, but equally skilled in all the sciences, as if he had made
each of them alone his peculiar study. " Nature,Z" writes his untiring eulo-
1 His. of the Council of Trent.
3 MS.
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? arr. 21. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 23
gist, "produces occasionally men of great genius in one particular science.
There have been many such in past times; in our own, Vieta in algebra,
and Gilbert in his speculations on the properties of the magnet. But Fra
Paolo excelled them all. " He had also examined astrology, and became
convinced of its inutility, because " one can neither know nor shun the
future. " At a later period he refers to this subject in writing to M.
Groslot. '
" But as for judicial astrology, one should speak of it with some Ro-
man, as it is more in vogue in that court than in this city, where, al-
though every other abuse is to be met with, this is not, because persons
rise here by ordinary means. No man has expectations above his condition,'
or when he is of too great an age. In Rome, where one sees one attain the
highest position who yesterday was as nothing, the art of divination is
in great credit. But how miserable it is that a man should be desirous
to know the future. For what end? To escape evil? Is it not labour in
vain ?
" When I was about twenty years of age, I took great pains' in this
foolish study, which, if there were any truth in it, ought to be studied in
preference to all else. It is full of false and foolish principles, and so it is
no wonder if the conclusions from such are the same; and he that would
discourse of it theologically, I believe will find it condemned in the Holy
Scriptures, Isaiah c. 7. And the reasons of St. Augustine against it are
very good in his book De Civitate Dei, lib. 5, cap. 1, 3, and 4; Confes-
sion, cap. 3, 5; and 2 Super Genesi, were cap. 16 and 17. . . . There are few
things I believe so firmly, as that I would not change my opinion on good
grounds; but if there is anything I hold for certain, this is one, that judi-
cial astrology is but mere vanity. "
He would sometimes turn it into ridicule, and in this he was cordially
seconded by the Duke, whose love of the burlesque suggested the following
incident.
Although deformed in person, the Duke inherited the taste of his an-
cestors for horses, of which he had preserved a celebrated breed, on one of
which Francis I, King of France, was mounted at the battle of Pavia, and
as war horses they were also greatly esteemed by the Emperor Charles V.
In the Castle of Ombria, there is an equestrian statue of Francis I, in
full armour on one of these celebrated horses, as the monarch went out to
the battle of Pavia. The fortunes of war were adverse; and when the
King, no longer mounted on his splendid charger, entered the convent of
the Certosa, by the breach made by the cannon into its church, the royal
9 July 2, 1609.
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? 24 THE LIFE OF [s. D. 1574.
prisoner took up the words of the choir which had just been chanted
Ps. oxrx, 70, and, kneeling before the great altar, ejaculated aloud,
" Lord, it is good for me that I have been afflicted,
That I might learn thy statutes.
"
It happened that a mule of one of this celebrated race of horses was
about to be foaled, and the Duke requested Fra Paolo to observe the
heavens during a whole night, especially at the moment of the birth of
the foal. He did so, and having reduced his observations to writing, copies
were sent to the most famous astrologers of Europe, with this notice,
" That at such a time there' was an illegitimite birth in the house of the
Duke of Mantua, " and it long afforded amusement to this Prince to
peruse the various answers which were returned to him; as some predicted
that what in reality was a foal, would be a cardinal, or a military com-
mander; would attain to a mitre, or even to the Popedom!
But there was no truth in the reports then prevalent, that Fra Paolo
left the Court of Mantua because of this story of the foal; or that he
feared banishment because a youth, who had been instigated by Codogno
a Servite, had been justly imprisoned by that prince. Both of these re-
ports were contradicted by Fra Paolo. The true cause of his leaving
Mantua was, that a life at the Court of any Prince was totally at va-
riance with his habits and tastes, and his friends were too importunate . in
their demands upon his time. The death of the good Bishop Boldrino
also might have rendered his stay in Mantua undesirable, but Boldrino
was taken to endless rest from a scene of disquiet, as every year added
'greater difficulties to those eager to tread the path of reform within the
Church of Rome.
Fra Paolo looked down with a calm and settled philosophy on
prejudice and all that opposed truth; he extracted useful knowledge from
all phases of the human race with whom he was conversant, men of every
grade and of divers climes. Moderation in all things was his scrupulous
study; he did not believe in his own infallibility, or in the infallibility of
another, but he learned as well as taught with great modesty, and loved
to applaud rather than to detract. He knew by his own observation, as
well as from his associates at Mantua, by what means the-court of Rome
had supported and continued to support its supremacy, and from this
early period of his life down to the hour of his death, although a faithful
member of the Church of Rome in its ancient usage, he was ever opposed
to the high pretensions of its Court, and on various occasions at Milan, at
Venice and at Rome, he resisted its dictates, when he conceived them to
be contrary to the Holy Scriptures, to the Fathers, or to the Civil or the
Canon law. It seemed strange to those who only sought . th'ei1'f,own'_ ag-
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? 15122. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 25
grandizement, that a humble Friar should desire to leave the Court of Man-
tua, and the reports before mentioned were probably spread by such
persons; but that Fry Paolo did leave Mantua, not only with the consent
of the Duke but regretted by all, is certain. His was no transient fame.
His blameless life, the splendor of his talents, and the faithful discharge
of his duties at the Cathedral, were indelibly impressed on the people of
Mantua, and they were often wont to say, " Non venira mai phi un Fra
Paolol "
On his return to Venice, his old associates soon perceived how indus-
triously he had been occupied, both before and after taking his degree as
Bachelor, and that he was unchanged by the flattery of the great, the
witty, or the lettered courtiers of the Duke of Mantua. But perhaps it
may be supposed that his convent life now differed from what it had been
formerly, and that he threw off restraint within the walls of his home, and
lived unworthy of his former self. Far from it. Fra Fulgenzio expressly
says, " Paolo added to his learning such integrity in his religious deport-
ment that, although so young, he was venerated by all as the embodied
idea of modesty, piety, and every Christian virtue. Some things may ap-
pear paradoxical, but as they are not only facts, but so well known to
many living witnesses to their truth, he who questions them must wear
a mask of eflrontery, his tongue must be poisoned by falsehood, and his
heart corrupted by malignity and passion. " This is strong language, but
Fulgenzio well knew the aspersiong/Which had been cast on his friend and
master, and he therefore continues. " Let the Friars tell, let these nume-
rous witnesses declare if they ever heard F. Paolo swear or say an unbe-
coming word, or ever saw him angry, and this not only in youth, but
when he was in the service of the Republic of Venice. It was marvellous
that a youth, not above twenty two years-of age, was not only versed in
the learning common to those who dwell in convents, but that he was so
profoundly skilled in science, besides humanity, logic, philosophy, and
theology. He understood the Canon law perfectly and had also a competent
acquaintance with civil law, mathematics, as also medicine; he understood
the nature of simples, herbs, minerals and their transmutations, and was
conversant with various languages, besides Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Chal-
dee. This erudition would have been extraordinary in mature age, but it re-
ceived such additional lustre from the sanctity of his manners that the
actual spring tide of his youth gave reason for still greater expectation, cl-id
God preserve his life to riper years. Truly the knowledge alone of all that
hurr/ran intellect can attain, however admirable it may be, does not impart
perfection; even devils are known to possess great knowledge, but goodness
utilizes knowledge; and piety, religion and virtue may be said to be the
life of the bo=ly, and this varied knowledge of science, united with 1pm-
44
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? 20 THE LIFE OF [. \. D1576.
bity, made this young Friar so revered for his noble qualities, that, as is
customary in Venice among the young nobles if any wearing an unsuita-
ble habit, or conversing or acting unbecomingly were required to enter
the presence of one of the Chief Senators, he would first assume a dress
befitting the occasion, so in the Order of the Servi (for even the Friars,
especially the young, are not always under rule or with their bows bent), on
the ' appearance of Fra Paolo, all became composed, all scurrility and
sport were set aside, as if his presence had been a censor's rod, so that it
passed into a common saying, " Here comes la sposa, let us change our
conversation. " Such power had the presence of this man of known probity
and purity of life over the manners of others, and yet he was so pleasing
to all and so humble that I have not known any one who could say he
had ever been heard to use a harsh word, unless in the discharge of his
public duties, or even a gesture which implied rigor to others, although he
was very severe upon himself. " '
During Fra Paolo's residence at Mantua, Aretino had succeeded Zac-
cheria as twenty third General of the Order of the Servi, and he had been
replaced by Morello. Neither of these Generals had been able to effect any
improvement in the Constitutions of the Servi, but the subject was still
agitated, and Fra Paolo only waited a favorable opportunity to forward it,
notwithstanding present opposition.
But, occupied as he was with the affairs of his own Order, he was still
an attentive observer of the public afifairs of Venetia. The boast of the
Sultan was not an idle one, and the Servite saw the ill gotten island of
Cyprus wrested from the Republic at the price of sixty thousand Turkish
lives. But the victory of Lepanto again crushed the Ottoman navy, and
delivered Venice from fear of invasion, filling the land with the melody of
a free people chanting Te Deum, in place of the bitter wail of slaves
groaning beneath the Moslem.
Fra Paolo was too valuable a coadjutor to be allowed any long respite
in the privacy of his convent, and Milan was now destined to become for a
time his place of residence. Milan, one of the most populous and opulent
cities of Italy, enclosed at that time Within its walls of ten miles circuit
between two and three hundred thousand souls, and was adorned by
upwards of one hundred churches, besides a vast number of monastic
buildings. There, the memory of Saint Ambrose was then, as now, revered
by all who,/like Fra Paolo/regarded true worth; and his veneration for
Saint Augustine is shewu by the respectful deference with which he
always cites that great Father of the Church.
On one side of the Church of Saint Ambrose at Milan is the Chapel
EMS.
' _-. ;u
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? A51'. 24. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 27
where Saint Augustine, won from error by the teaching of Saint Ambrose,
received baptism at his hands; and it was also at Milan, according to
tradition, that these two holy men were wont to sing together the noble
anthem " Te Deum laudamus, " of which Saint Ambrose is said to have
been the composer. _
The ritual of the Church of Milan differd from that of Rome except
in the office of consecration, and when Gregory VII, in the 11th century
attempted to impose celibacy on the Clergy, those of Milan strenuously
opposed it as an " innovation, " and even pronounced the Pope and his
Court to be heretics, and as Arnulphi reports, they were only prevented
from making a formal separation from the Romish Church by the arms of
Estembald. ' This innovation, unknown in the early ages of that Church,
has however remained ever since, and produced evils of great magnitude.
It was in fact only in the eleventh century that the authority of the
Pope was established in Milan, and it was not till that period that the
Archbishop received from Rome his Archiepiscopal pall. At the present
period, A. D. 1575, the see of Milan was worthily filled by the Cardinal
Archbishop Carlo Borromeo, who, bent on the thorough reformation of
his diocese, summoned Fra Paolo (though fourteen years his junior), to aid
him in that important work. Much against his will, Fra Paolo was
commissioned not only to hear confession in other churches besides
those of his own order, but in company with the other Counsellors of the
Cardinal to give judgment in cases of conscience. He did not leave any
written condemnation of it, but that he did not approve of being himself
a confessor, may be gathered from the fact, that his name having been
duly sought by a member of the Church of Rome, who was at great pains
to ascertain the truth, the name of Fra Paolo Sarpi is not to be found
amongst those who heard confession. The power exercised by the Jesuits
by constant confession was strongly censured by him, and one thing is
certain that his confessions were chiefly made to God. He trode a very
thorny path, but every step of his ascent brought him nearer that heaven
to which he climbed.
Borromeo had himself been created Cardinal and Archbishop by his
uncle Pius IV, when under twenty years of age, and though he had been
accustomed to live in splendor at Rome, and might have dreaded the
displeasure of the Pontiff for whom he held the public and privy seal and
acted as Grand Penitentiary and Legate of Bologna and Romagna, he
at once dismissed eighty of his servants immediately after reform had
been recommended by the Council of Trent, laid aside his robes of silk,
fasted weekly, often daily, and subsequently renounced the coat of arms
1 L. xv. c. 6, 9, 10.
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? 28 ' THE LIFE OF [s. D. 1574
which his noble family had long borne. As Protector of many religious
Orders, the Cardinal had powerto enquire into the abuses which had
been a cause of scandal in some of these, but Fra Paolo knew that
this inquiry had not been by all of them well received. While some
had bowed to his decisions against malpractices, others had resented
his interference, and Donato Farini of the Order of the Umiliati had
carried his resentment so far, as actually to discharge the contents of
his arquebuss at the Cardinal Archbishop, as he knelt at prayer in
his own chapel. It did not pass unobserved, that at the moment this
gross outrage was committed the words of the anthem, " Non turbatur
cor vestrum necque formidet " had just been sung; but the Archbishop _
was almost unharmed. Swift justice overtook the culprit, though against
the will of the good prelate, who besought the Pope to spare the Umiliati,
and the whole Order was suppressed. ' 4 ' ['/&/
But this assault did not daunt the ardor of the /Cardinal w-he'was-
indomitable, and when Fra Paolo went to Milan he found that he was
enforcing stricter discipline than had been known for a long period.
Borromeo also founded seminaries for youth, and deserves great credit as
the originator of Sunday schools. He also contributed to the reformation
of the music of the Church services, which had greatly degenerated, and
the harmony of earth, better attuned to sacred words, now poured its
strains on the delighted ear.
The papers of the literary Society published under the title of the
" Noctes Vaticanae " prove, that the Cardinal had a taste for literature,
but the cares of his diocese when Fra Paolo was at Milan superseded. all
else. Imitating the Saints Augustine and Ambrose, Borromeo shared his
meals with his clergy, and Fra Paolo was his hidden guest. Bread and
water formed the chief part of his food and beverage, and it is not pro-
bable that his guest was supplied with more luxurious fare. The face of
the Cardinal bore deep traces of austerity and self infliction, it was care-
worn and attenuated; the eye was eager, the nose very sharp and promi-
nent, the mouth full, large, and expressive of decision, but the whole
countenance pourtrayed more fervor than sagacity. His manners were
gentle, his humility unfeigned, sincere and upright, he pursued his plans
with unwearied energy, and at length eff'ected a great apparent reformation
at Milan. '
But the Cardinal was more zealous of outward reform than Fra Paolo,
not that the former was any less than the latter an example of holy living.
He had in fact been regarded as a saint long before he was enrolled as
such by canonization in the calendar of the Church of Rome, but while
the Cardinal augmented the feasts and fasts of the Church, for example
instituting as he afterwards did, " The procession of the holy nail; of. our
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? arr. 22. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 29-
Lord, " and endeavoring to prohibit the eating of meat on Sunday, Fra
Paolo regarded these as nonessentials, and like the great and good Car-
dinal Gaspar Contarini, turned his thoughts rather to the important
doctrine of faith in the blood of Christ, " a jewel which the Church kept
half concealed, " but equally true Cardinal de la Pole had said in
writing to the Cardinal Contarini, " that Scripture taken in its profoundest
connexion teaches nothing but this doctrine. " The writings of Fra Paolo
re echo this doctrine stated by Contarini in the treatise on justification.
This work had considerable influence, indeed that is the supposed reason
of its having been so changed and interpolated, that a copy of the original
can scarcely be found; but the treatise stands out still in bold relief, a sa-
lutary lesson to the church of Rome and to all, and these words show that
it is a mistake to allege that the above doctrine was, or is, totally lost to
the Church of Rome.
" If the question, " wrote the Cardinal Gaspar Contarini, " on which
of these two kinds of righteousness we would rely, that inherent in us,
or that imputed in Christ, a man of piety will reply, that he can trust
alone to the latter. Our righteousness is only inchoate, incomplete, full
'of defects; the righteousness of Christ, on the other hand, is true, perfect,
thoroughly and alone pleasing in the eyes of God: for its sake alone can we
be justified before God. " And these words also tell to all within the pale of the
Church of Rome what was the sound belief of a Cardinal -Legate of the
sixteenth century, " a man much esteemed for his singular worth and /4072! ;
learning, " and that the doctrine which the Church of Rome held in her
earliest age, that which the Saviour delivered to the Apostles, that which
they and some of the Fathers, especially Saint Augustine, held, is that
which her best informed and wisest members still hold, irrespective of
the decrees of the Council of Trent. It should be borne in mind that the
doctrine of " faith in Jesus Christ alone, " 'is the common ground upon
which all believers in Christ agree, or ought to agree, and then it will no
longer appear singular that Sarpi corresponded with or welcomed to his
cell, those who were, and those who were not, members of Rome's com-
munion. He debarred no one from his society, and there can be no doubt
but his mind became more expansive by intercourse with those who held
opinions which the Jesuits only had banished in the last Council.
At Milan, Fra Paolo had opportunities of acquaintance with this wide-
spread Order. The Confessor of the Cardinal Borromeo was one of the
Jesuits; fourteen of them had been invited to Milan by the Cardinal, and
they, as well as some others, were called " reformed priests. " Like many
of the faithful he had great expectations from them, but these- issued in
disappointment. At an early stage the acumen of Fra Paolo discerned that
their novel doctrines were untenable, and their teaching subversive of
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? N THE LIFE OF [A. n. 1576.
sound morality. Their great influence was gained by confession and elo-
quent sermons, for while the former overawed, the latter allured and
fascinated the weak minded and unwary, who were easily seduced by men
well trained in the art of bending the will to their purposes.
But it was not long before the services of Fra Paolo were required
in his Convent at Venice as Reader of Philosophy; and his audience
was composed, not only of the friars of his own Cloister, but of many
secular Clergy. His lectures were distinguished by " clearness of method,
lucid ideas, and pr-ofundity of thought. "
When Fra Paolo left Milan, the angel of death had not yet stricken that
devoted city, and the Cardinal Borromeo had not yet entered on his lau-
dable work of self devotion, in tending with skill and tenderness all who
were sinking beneath the noxious breath of the pestilence; but in the
early dawn of the following year the plague stalked like a mighty giant
through the fertile plains, the mountain heights, and the densely populated
cities of Italy, and desolated that beautiful land. In Venice, Titian, with
many other persons of note, fell beneath its power, and amid the general
mortality Isabella Sarpi, the mother of Fra Paolo, was numbered with the
dead.
It was in truth an era of long and deep anguish to Venetia, the land
was filled with wailing, yet every effort for the restoration of health was
as powerless as the voice of a pilot to still the rage of the storm. Seven
hundred was the frightful amount of death from sunrise till sunset, and
forty thousand was the total number of victims. But at length the course
of the plague was arrested. The Doge and the Senate proposed that the
mourning survivors should rear a church in honor of the Holy Redeemer.
Two hundred deaths had been notified to the Senate on the day previous,
but it is a well attested fact that on the day following that on which
this pious offering was made, only four persons died of the plague.
The foundation of the Church S. S. Il Bedentore was laid by the Doge
and Patriarch, and " a solemn procession of the whole Clergy of the
city, " 1 followed by the religious Orders; and if ever a human heart
was stirred to its depths, it must have been that of Fra Paolo, when
he and the prostrate and stricken assembly, amid stifled sobs, suppressed
groans, and bitter tears, knelt to crave one look, one tender look of sym-
pathy and regard from heaven.
On the following year this Church, the masterpiece of Palladio, rose
in all its fair beauty and perfect symmetry. It stands on the Island of the
Giudecca, and its fine dome is well seen from the opposite shore beyond the
Piazzetta of S. Marco. There is comparatively little change in this structure,
* Ssnsovino. Del Sistieri di. Dorsa Duro, lib. 6,, continued by Martinioni.
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? mr. 24. ] ' ma PAOLO saarr 111
its fine features have crested the waves of time. May every eye that /
rests on it rise, as did the eye of Fra Paolo, in profound adoration to the
most Holy Redeemer! It is impossible to tread its nave of vast but sim'
ple grandeur untouched by the memory of the succour lent by Heaven to
Venetia in the hour of her woe. How often on his way to the Ducal pa-
lace in after years did Fra Paolo view with emotion this votive fane! How
would his love of architecture admire its unrivalled proportions! and how
higher far would his thoughts ascend, when turned to sadness by the
scene before him, they would naturally flow towards the fond mother who
had taught him his first lessons of holy wisdom, gentleness, and humility,
now laid cold as the marbles which adorn the Church of the Redeemer!
About this time Fra Paolo heard with sorrow of the League against the
Reformed. The Pope Was about to send his troops against men who had
done nothing to provoke such treatment. Far other were the thoughts of
Fra Paolo, he bridged over all differences between them and the Church
of Rome, and discovered points of union where lesser spirits only found
cause of cavil or persecution, he judged the difference of both parties to
be exaggerated. He knew that several doctrines of the Church had been
utterly lost sight of, or not even discussed by the last Council, and he
never suffered any difference of opinion to dull the brightness of friendship.
He had many learned friends amongst the Reformed, and his expressions
of esteem for them were unfeigned. The affairs of Rome also occupied his
attention; Gregory XIII had conferred the title of Grand Duke on Cosmo
di Medici, which gave great umbrage to enlightened politicians; and
men of religion asked, " What right had an ecclesiastic to confer such a
dignity? "
But tidings from more distant climes were satisfactory, the Sultan was
on good terms with the Republic, the power of Spain decreased in the
Low Countries, and the Prince of Orange was well established in his king-
dom, and weary of the tyranny of Spain, Italy showed strong symptoms of
rebellion.
Venice, though she had suffered much by fire and famine, war and
pestilence, was now delivered from these ills; her beautiful port was crowded
with galleys, and her active commerce again flourished, it was lessened,
but still vigorous. Those who have trod her broad quays, seen the lustre' of
an evening sun light up the crafts that now enter her port, can picture to
themselves what the scene was when fleets of galleys and hundreds of
merchantmen rode at ease in that safe harbour, when the gondolas shone
in all the magnificence with which they were then adorned. No stronger
contrast can be conceived, than the noise and bustle of the harbour of
Venice and the stillness of the Convent of the Servi. Far from the place
of mart or festivity, it retains even now, in all its ruin, the stamp of deep
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? 32 ' THE LIFE or i . [A. D. i1'576-'
solemnity; its site however is not gloomy, nor in those days was one of
its inhabitants. It was not only the fame of Fra-Paolo's acquirements which
drew the learned to his cell, but also his cheerful conversation; and foreign
travellers openly said, that they " had no other object in visiting Venice
than to see Fra Paolo? Many of these carried Albums, and when requested
to write in these, he Wrote -either some wise precepts from an ancient
author or thus, from the Holy Scriptures.
Leaves Mantua. - Life at Venice. - He goes to Milan. - The plague. - MSS. -
Fra Paolo takes a degree at Padua. - Priest's Orders. - Provincial. -- Sent to
Rome. - Reform of the Constitutions. - Worship of the Virgin.
Fra Paolo continued to pursue his studies in the quietude of his Convent
during his novitiate; at the age of fifteen he professed; and thus by solemn
promise to observe the Rule, he united himself to the Order of the Servi for
life. Fortunately for him, Zaccheria 1 was General, and his wise govern-
ment was a salutary boon after the disorder which prevailed during the
Generalship of his predecessor. Zaccheria was the friend of the noble Brac-
cio Ricasoli, ' and Fra Paolo had thus early examples of piety and
worth in men who filled high positions with zeal and integrity. In his
seclusion Fra Paolo had not forgotten his schoolfellows, nor had they for-
1 It was usual for a General to choose his motto, Zaccheria's was, " Dc-
minus suscepit me. "
2 This great man was the ancestor of the illustrious Baron Ricasoli of the
present age, the patriot who has dared to show his reverence of religion in
the highest assembly of Italy, a noble who possesses all the infl? 1bility of the
high minded and ancient Roman, with an enlightenment which must ever
reflect honor on his country.
a
2
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? 18 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1568-1570.
gotten him. They often left their palaces to visit him in his cell, and
throughout life always welcomed him with that urbanity for which the
Venetians are so distinguished.
In the month of October, he received a command to dispute in public
at Mantua, on the power of the Popes and of the Councils, and the new
opinions of the Innovators. Fra Paolo had early held the opinions of many
of his countrymen, especially of some within the Senate, who were ini-
mical to the Papal power; and if he advanced any such on this occa-
sion they would not have been unpopular with men, who, like himself,
rejoiced in the rejection of the Bull In Game Domini, which Pius V, as
well as his successors, endeavored to enforce. The Republic had also re-
sisted the Inquisition as elsewhere established; three of her Senators
were present during enquiries before that tribunal. In several instances
they had been forced to succumb to the Popes, and by their command se-
veral persons who professed the opinions of the Reformers had been given
up to death besides Algieri; but to the bigotry and superstition of the
times in their fullest extent Venice rose superior. It may have served po-
litical purposes, but assuredly it has not served the cause of just criticism
or of truth, to represent the Republic either so cruel or so persecuting as
other nations of Europe. While Philip, King of Spain, induced revolt
in the Netherlands by persecution on account of religion, While " many
also were at this time burned in France, not without the indignation
of honest men who knew that the diligence used against those poor
people was not for pietie or religion, but to satiate the covetousness of
Diana Valentina, to whom, " the King " had given all the confiscations
of goods madein the kingdom for cause of heresie; " ' while England
had witnessed deeds too direful to relate, Venice had struggled to act in-
dependently of the Pope, and sought to defeat the ambitious views of
the King of Spain, who had fixed his iron grasp upon Italy with a power
which took ages to unloose.
The year 1568 was one of distress. Fra Paolo returned from Mantua to
his Convent, but to compassionate the privations of the poor. The harvest
had failed throughout Venetia, and famine was the sad result. Bright
eyes had grown dim, countenances once radiant with health had become
wan and pallid, robust forms attenuated by want were to be seen on every
side, the voice of mirth was exchanged for the heavy plaints of the sick
and the dying. Whatever may have been the munificence of the rich in
such a calamity (and the Italians are charitable to a proverb), human aid
was inefficient, and in the lone, narrow, secluded streets of the vast and
populous city of Venice, who can tell how many suffered, drooped, and
1 Sapri.
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? M'. 16-18. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 19
died, who would not, or could not, crave aid at the beautiful gate of the
Convent of the Servi?
But famine was not the only misfortune which befell Venetia. On the
fourteenth of September AD. 1569, at the hour of midnight, the arsenal of
Venice was in flames. The strong hold of her strength and prowess seemed
about to be swept to destruction, and the noise of an explosion, as tre-
mendous as cver fell on human ear, told the sad tidings to the city and to
all within a circuit of thirty miles. Fire had been communicated to the
powder magazine and the arsenal; its towers, roofs and massive walls
had been blown to pieces. No less than four churches, and a considerable
number of buildings, were thrown down or absolutely destroyed. Even in
the most distant part, the shock was felt as if Venice had been visited by
an earthquake. It was severely felt in the Convent of Fra Paolo, where
' his midnight prayers were changed to grateful praise at early morn, that
the whole city, together with his Convent, had not been destroyed: its
. preservation was owing to a great quantity of gunpowder having been
previously removed from the arsenal. Four galleys only were lost; Ve-
nice had still two hundred vessels of war. Her navy was yet her own.
It would have been a noble deed to have spared a neighbouring kingdom,
so lately emancipated from the straits of famine and of fire, but Kuolles,
the great historian of the-Ottoman Empire, chronicles that the Sovereign
of Turkey had no such magnanimity, he continued to breathe out bloodshed
and desolation. '
Meantime, Fra Paolo endeavored to tread the path of tranquillity
and peace; but this was no easy task, for discord prevailed between the
two parties into which the Order of the Servi had divided themselves;
those who wished to retain their old constitutions were distinguished by
the name of " the Conventuali, " and those who advocated a reformation
of them by that of the " Congregazione de'Servi. " Fra Paolo belonged to
the latter body, of which there were about seventy Convents, but the two
bodies were reunited in the year 1570, and shortly after Paolo was called
upon to defend publicly three hundred and eighteen of the most difficult
propositions in Divinity and Natural Philosophy; ' on which occasion his
replies were so felicitous, and the proofs of his abilities so extraordinary,
that he not only pleased and surprised his hearers, but was rewarded by
an annual grant of seven scudi from his Convent for the purchase. of books.
More than this, his fame reached the ear of Guglielmo Gonzago, Duke of
Mantua, a munificent patron of learning and learned men who, as one of
the early and influential friends of Fra Paolo, mayhere claim attention.
1 " Con difendere 318 delle pix). difficili proposizioni della Sacra Teologia e
della Fiiosofia Naturale. " MS.
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? 20 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1570-1572.
He was fond of listening to disputationsflnd had been present at the
Council of Trent, in the hope of seeing the introduction of liberality of
sentiment, but he was disappointed. He disliked the horrors of the Inqui-
sition, he was no abettor of the severe and cruel measures of the reigning
Pope, and when he refused to send some persons suspected of heresy to
Rome, Pius V immediately threatened him with excommunication and
war, which were only prevented by the intercession of the Princes of
Italy. At a later period, when he sought the freedom of one of his relations
who had been incarcerated by thelawless Inquisition for heresy, his de-
mand was sternly repelled by the Inquisitor, who said, although he ackow-
ledged the Duke as his temporal Prince, he obeyed the commands of the
Pope, whose power was superior to that of any secular; and on the Duke
again pressing his request, the Inquisitor exhibited the tantalizing sight
of the keys of the dungeon where his victim was immured, but dared the
Ducal envoy to unlock the door at his peril. '
That the Duke had protected those accused of " heresy " could not be
unknown to Fra Paolo, but this did not hinder his compliance with the
Duke's invitation, who commanded the Superior of S. Barnaba to receive
him into the Convent at Mantua; accordingly he went thither, and was
immediately appointed Theologian to the Duke.
The stigma of heresy was, at this period of the history of Europe, chiefly
applied to the opinions of those who favored reform either within or
without the Church of Rome. There were many who clung to that Church
in which they had been baptized and nurtured, but whose learning, re-
search , intelligence and observation convinced them that, in place of
ancient truths bequeathed to the Church by the Great Head thereof, many
of the dogmas and rites of the Church of Rome had been superadded by
the Pontiffs, although opposed by many of the Clergy and Laity, as well
before and at, as after the Council of Trent.
As Chaplain and guest of the Duke, Fra Paolo had frequent opportu-
nities of conversation with him, and the Duke took delight, as also his
learned friends, in drawing out the talents of the young Friar by proposing to
him difficult questions on every variety of subject; for the court of this "good
Maecenas " was a centre of attraction to the lovers of the arts as well as of
the sciences. '
Mantua itself is classic ground, and as such it was regarded with in-
terest by Fra Paolo. The birthplace of the illustrious poet Virgil in its
neighbourhood recalled to his mind the noble lines which he had used to
commit to memory at the school of Morelli, when he little dreamed of
1 De Po1'ta,Tom. rr, p. 486. Epist. Tob. Egliui ad Bullingerum. 2 Mart.
1568.
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? zar. 18-20. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 21
being favored by the Ducal house of Mantova la Gloriosa. The reader
may now accompany him in his rambles within and without this ancient
city, crossing the waters of the gentle--flowing Mincio, looking on the
regular tetragon of the citadel, studying the gothic- pile reared by Bjo-
nacolsi, then remodelled by Giulio Romano, and thus cultivating his
genius for military fortification, of which he left proofs in the Schedce
Sarpianae. When he traversed the halls and galleries of the palace, the
" Sala di Troja " could not fail to remind him of the pages of Homer.
Throughout the five hundred apartments filled with every object that
luxury could suggest, or riches could command, magnificence reigned
supreme, as in all that the Duke of Mantua possessed. The " Sala di
-Marmo " was conspicuous to one whose practical eye was sensible of the
antique statues that it contained. But these sculptures, once sentries
between ancient and modern times, keep watch there no longer, they are
gone, and the faded gold and azure of the " Sala de' Mori " now alone
tell of departed grandeur. In the time of Fra Paolo the audience chamber
was thronged, now the beautiful consoles look down but on stillness,
the house of the Gonzagas of Mantua is no more! Nothing is left but
their fading portraits on the walls of their deserted palaces! The piety
and beauty of J ulia di Gonzaga is storied in every heart to which
goodness is dear, as well as the lettered pages of Lucretia di Gonzaga,
but with these exceptions, all are well nigh forgotten, save the Duke
Guglielmo, the friend of Fra Paolo Sarpi.
The Bishop of Mantua, Boldrino appreciated the piety and talents of
Paolo, and appointed him " Reader of Theology and also of the Sacred
Canons, " he therefore officiated at the Cathedral, and beneath its roof
taught the people for more than three years.
He solemnly renewed his vows at the age of twenty. He had many
friends in Mantua; one deserving special mention was Camillo Olivo,
Secretary of Gonzaga, Cardinal of Mantua and Papal Legate to the
Council of Trent; but whose piety and learning did not shield him
from persecution; of this affair the Friar thus writes.
"The Cardinal had given offence to Pius IV, who pronounced him
' unworthy of the Cap, 'and sent the Bishop of Ventimiglia to be his
secret minister in the Council, charged him to observe the Cardinal of
Mantua above all the Legates, and also gave order that the dispatches
to Trent, formerly addressed to him as prime Legate, should afterward be
addressed to Simoneta.
" He rempved from the congregation of Cardinals, who were to consult
of the affaires of Trent, the Cardinal Gonzaga, and caused_Fi Borromeo
to tell him that the Cardinalf his Uncle, did think to mine the Aposto-
like Sea, but should effect nothing but the ruine of himselfe and of his
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? 21 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1573.
house. He related to the Cardinall S. Angelo, who was a great friend
to Mantua, whatsoeyer had happened and shewed himself most choleri-
que against him and as much against Camillus Olivus, the Cardinal's
secretary, as not having performed the promise he made unto him when
he was sent to Rome, Which cost the poore man very deare, for
howsoever the Pope and Cardinal! were reconciled, yet after his death, re-
turning to Mantua with the corps of his master, he was imprisoned by the
Inquisition upon dijers pretences, and troubled a long time, whom after
his persecutions were ended, I knew myself to be a person very vertuous,
and that he had not deserfied such misfortunes. " '
" The chief reason that Fra Paolo took pleasure in the society of
Olivo was, that he found him a man of singular moderation and learning.
Having been with the Cardinal of Mantua at the Council of Trent, he
had management of its affairs, knew all the particulars of its most secret
negotiations, and had many memorials of them, to understand which gave
Fra Paolo great satisfaction, because the Council had then but lately
terminated, Which had held Christendom in the highest state of expectation
for a long series of years, especially men of judgment and rare intellect
who were curious to know what had passed there. " '
Doubtless the society of Fra Paolo beguiled the lonely hours of the
wronged but not friendless Olivo, and justice, though tardy, was to be
done to the honorable secretary by the pen of the illustrious Servite. Olivo
could, and did, conduct Fra Paolo through many of the hidden labyrinths
of the Council, which would have otherwise remained unexplored, and
it is probable that Olivo was the first who implanted in Sarpi's mind
the idea of writing an authentic chronicle of that Council, and that Olivo
fixed on his retentive memory' the knowledge of facts, the relation of which
has conferred signal service on the world.
These particulars are given here, as they afford evidence that the ma-
terials for his History of the Council of Trent were really acquired by Fra
Paolo at this early period of his life; while they refute the notions of
some writers, who allege that it was written at a late period, and expressly
for James I, King of Great Britain, and of others, who assert that Snrpi
penned his work in revenge because he had not received preferment from
the court of Rome.
Besides Olivo, Fra Paolo associated with Correggio, afterwards the
Cardinal d'Aseoli, who as well as other men of letters, found him, not
only learned, but equally skilled in all the sciences, as if he had made
each of them alone his peculiar study. " Nature,Z" writes his untiring eulo-
1 His. of the Council of Trent.
3 MS.
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? arr. 21. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 23
gist, "produces occasionally men of great genius in one particular science.
There have been many such in past times; in our own, Vieta in algebra,
and Gilbert in his speculations on the properties of the magnet. But Fra
Paolo excelled them all. " He had also examined astrology, and became
convinced of its inutility, because " one can neither know nor shun the
future. " At a later period he refers to this subject in writing to M.
Groslot. '
" But as for judicial astrology, one should speak of it with some Ro-
man, as it is more in vogue in that court than in this city, where, al-
though every other abuse is to be met with, this is not, because persons
rise here by ordinary means. No man has expectations above his condition,'
or when he is of too great an age. In Rome, where one sees one attain the
highest position who yesterday was as nothing, the art of divination is
in great credit. But how miserable it is that a man should be desirous
to know the future. For what end? To escape evil? Is it not labour in
vain ?
" When I was about twenty years of age, I took great pains' in this
foolish study, which, if there were any truth in it, ought to be studied in
preference to all else. It is full of false and foolish principles, and so it is
no wonder if the conclusions from such are the same; and he that would
discourse of it theologically, I believe will find it condemned in the Holy
Scriptures, Isaiah c. 7. And the reasons of St. Augustine against it are
very good in his book De Civitate Dei, lib. 5, cap. 1, 3, and 4; Confes-
sion, cap. 3, 5; and 2 Super Genesi, were cap. 16 and 17. . . . There are few
things I believe so firmly, as that I would not change my opinion on good
grounds; but if there is anything I hold for certain, this is one, that judi-
cial astrology is but mere vanity. "
He would sometimes turn it into ridicule, and in this he was cordially
seconded by the Duke, whose love of the burlesque suggested the following
incident.
Although deformed in person, the Duke inherited the taste of his an-
cestors for horses, of which he had preserved a celebrated breed, on one of
which Francis I, King of France, was mounted at the battle of Pavia, and
as war horses they were also greatly esteemed by the Emperor Charles V.
In the Castle of Ombria, there is an equestrian statue of Francis I, in
full armour on one of these celebrated horses, as the monarch went out to
the battle of Pavia. The fortunes of war were adverse; and when the
King, no longer mounted on his splendid charger, entered the convent of
the Certosa, by the breach made by the cannon into its church, the royal
9 July 2, 1609.
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? 24 THE LIFE OF [s. D. 1574.
prisoner took up the words of the choir which had just been chanted
Ps. oxrx, 70, and, kneeling before the great altar, ejaculated aloud,
" Lord, it is good for me that I have been afflicted,
That I might learn thy statutes.
"
It happened that a mule of one of this celebrated race of horses was
about to be foaled, and the Duke requested Fra Paolo to observe the
heavens during a whole night, especially at the moment of the birth of
the foal. He did so, and having reduced his observations to writing, copies
were sent to the most famous astrologers of Europe, with this notice,
" That at such a time there' was an illegitimite birth in the house of the
Duke of Mantua, " and it long afforded amusement to this Prince to
peruse the various answers which were returned to him; as some predicted
that what in reality was a foal, would be a cardinal, or a military com-
mander; would attain to a mitre, or even to the Popedom!
But there was no truth in the reports then prevalent, that Fra Paolo
left the Court of Mantua because of this story of the foal; or that he
feared banishment because a youth, who had been instigated by Codogno
a Servite, had been justly imprisoned by that prince. Both of these re-
ports were contradicted by Fra Paolo. The true cause of his leaving
Mantua was, that a life at the Court of any Prince was totally at va-
riance with his habits and tastes, and his friends were too importunate . in
their demands upon his time. The death of the good Bishop Boldrino
also might have rendered his stay in Mantua undesirable, but Boldrino
was taken to endless rest from a scene of disquiet, as every year added
'greater difficulties to those eager to tread the path of reform within the
Church of Rome.
Fra Paolo looked down with a calm and settled philosophy on
prejudice and all that opposed truth; he extracted useful knowledge from
all phases of the human race with whom he was conversant, men of every
grade and of divers climes. Moderation in all things was his scrupulous
study; he did not believe in his own infallibility, or in the infallibility of
another, but he learned as well as taught with great modesty, and loved
to applaud rather than to detract. He knew by his own observation, as
well as from his associates at Mantua, by what means the-court of Rome
had supported and continued to support its supremacy, and from this
early period of his life down to the hour of his death, although a faithful
member of the Church of Rome in its ancient usage, he was ever opposed
to the high pretensions of its Court, and on various occasions at Milan, at
Venice and at Rome, he resisted its dictates, when he conceived them to
be contrary to the Holy Scriptures, to the Fathers, or to the Civil or the
Canon law. It seemed strange to those who only sought . th'ei1'f,own'_ ag-
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? 15122. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 25
grandizement, that a humble Friar should desire to leave the Court of Man-
tua, and the reports before mentioned were probably spread by such
persons; but that Fry Paolo did leave Mantua, not only with the consent
of the Duke but regretted by all, is certain. His was no transient fame.
His blameless life, the splendor of his talents, and the faithful discharge
of his duties at the Cathedral, were indelibly impressed on the people of
Mantua, and they were often wont to say, " Non venira mai phi un Fra
Paolol "
On his return to Venice, his old associates soon perceived how indus-
triously he had been occupied, both before and after taking his degree as
Bachelor, and that he was unchanged by the flattery of the great, the
witty, or the lettered courtiers of the Duke of Mantua. But perhaps it
may be supposed that his convent life now differed from what it had been
formerly, and that he threw off restraint within the walls of his home, and
lived unworthy of his former self. Far from it. Fra Fulgenzio expressly
says, " Paolo added to his learning such integrity in his religious deport-
ment that, although so young, he was venerated by all as the embodied
idea of modesty, piety, and every Christian virtue. Some things may ap-
pear paradoxical, but as they are not only facts, but so well known to
many living witnesses to their truth, he who questions them must wear
a mask of eflrontery, his tongue must be poisoned by falsehood, and his
heart corrupted by malignity and passion. " This is strong language, but
Fulgenzio well knew the aspersiong/Which had been cast on his friend and
master, and he therefore continues. " Let the Friars tell, let these nume-
rous witnesses declare if they ever heard F. Paolo swear or say an unbe-
coming word, or ever saw him angry, and this not only in youth, but
when he was in the service of the Republic of Venice. It was marvellous
that a youth, not above twenty two years-of age, was not only versed in
the learning common to those who dwell in convents, but that he was so
profoundly skilled in science, besides humanity, logic, philosophy, and
theology. He understood the Canon law perfectly and had also a competent
acquaintance with civil law, mathematics, as also medicine; he understood
the nature of simples, herbs, minerals and their transmutations, and was
conversant with various languages, besides Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Chal-
dee. This erudition would have been extraordinary in mature age, but it re-
ceived such additional lustre from the sanctity of his manners that the
actual spring tide of his youth gave reason for still greater expectation, cl-id
God preserve his life to riper years. Truly the knowledge alone of all that
hurr/ran intellect can attain, however admirable it may be, does not impart
perfection; even devils are known to possess great knowledge, but goodness
utilizes knowledge; and piety, religion and virtue may be said to be the
life of the bo=ly, and this varied knowledge of science, united with 1pm-
44
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? 20 THE LIFE OF [. \. D1576.
bity, made this young Friar so revered for his noble qualities, that, as is
customary in Venice among the young nobles if any wearing an unsuita-
ble habit, or conversing or acting unbecomingly were required to enter
the presence of one of the Chief Senators, he would first assume a dress
befitting the occasion, so in the Order of the Servi (for even the Friars,
especially the young, are not always under rule or with their bows bent), on
the ' appearance of Fra Paolo, all became composed, all scurrility and
sport were set aside, as if his presence had been a censor's rod, so that it
passed into a common saying, " Here comes la sposa, let us change our
conversation. " Such power had the presence of this man of known probity
and purity of life over the manners of others, and yet he was so pleasing
to all and so humble that I have not known any one who could say he
had ever been heard to use a harsh word, unless in the discharge of his
public duties, or even a gesture which implied rigor to others, although he
was very severe upon himself. " '
During Fra Paolo's residence at Mantua, Aretino had succeeded Zac-
cheria as twenty third General of the Order of the Servi, and he had been
replaced by Morello. Neither of these Generals had been able to effect any
improvement in the Constitutions of the Servi, but the subject was still
agitated, and Fra Paolo only waited a favorable opportunity to forward it,
notwithstanding present opposition.
But, occupied as he was with the affairs of his own Order, he was still
an attentive observer of the public afifairs of Venetia. The boast of the
Sultan was not an idle one, and the Servite saw the ill gotten island of
Cyprus wrested from the Republic at the price of sixty thousand Turkish
lives. But the victory of Lepanto again crushed the Ottoman navy, and
delivered Venice from fear of invasion, filling the land with the melody of
a free people chanting Te Deum, in place of the bitter wail of slaves
groaning beneath the Moslem.
Fra Paolo was too valuable a coadjutor to be allowed any long respite
in the privacy of his convent, and Milan was now destined to become for a
time his place of residence. Milan, one of the most populous and opulent
cities of Italy, enclosed at that time Within its walls of ten miles circuit
between two and three hundred thousand souls, and was adorned by
upwards of one hundred churches, besides a vast number of monastic
buildings. There, the memory of Saint Ambrose was then, as now, revered
by all who,/like Fra Paolo/regarded true worth; and his veneration for
Saint Augustine is shewu by the respectful deference with which he
always cites that great Father of the Church.
On one side of the Church of Saint Ambrose at Milan is the Chapel
EMS.
' _-. ;u
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? A51'. 24. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 27
where Saint Augustine, won from error by the teaching of Saint Ambrose,
received baptism at his hands; and it was also at Milan, according to
tradition, that these two holy men were wont to sing together the noble
anthem " Te Deum laudamus, " of which Saint Ambrose is said to have
been the composer. _
The ritual of the Church of Milan differd from that of Rome except
in the office of consecration, and when Gregory VII, in the 11th century
attempted to impose celibacy on the Clergy, those of Milan strenuously
opposed it as an " innovation, " and even pronounced the Pope and his
Court to be heretics, and as Arnulphi reports, they were only prevented
from making a formal separation from the Romish Church by the arms of
Estembald. ' This innovation, unknown in the early ages of that Church,
has however remained ever since, and produced evils of great magnitude.
It was in fact only in the eleventh century that the authority of the
Pope was established in Milan, and it was not till that period that the
Archbishop received from Rome his Archiepiscopal pall. At the present
period, A. D. 1575, the see of Milan was worthily filled by the Cardinal
Archbishop Carlo Borromeo, who, bent on the thorough reformation of
his diocese, summoned Fra Paolo (though fourteen years his junior), to aid
him in that important work. Much against his will, Fra Paolo was
commissioned not only to hear confession in other churches besides
those of his own order, but in company with the other Counsellors of the
Cardinal to give judgment in cases of conscience. He did not leave any
written condemnation of it, but that he did not approve of being himself
a confessor, may be gathered from the fact, that his name having been
duly sought by a member of the Church of Rome, who was at great pains
to ascertain the truth, the name of Fra Paolo Sarpi is not to be found
amongst those who heard confession. The power exercised by the Jesuits
by constant confession was strongly censured by him, and one thing is
certain that his confessions were chiefly made to God. He trode a very
thorny path, but every step of his ascent brought him nearer that heaven
to which he climbed.
Borromeo had himself been created Cardinal and Archbishop by his
uncle Pius IV, when under twenty years of age, and though he had been
accustomed to live in splendor at Rome, and might have dreaded the
displeasure of the Pontiff for whom he held the public and privy seal and
acted as Grand Penitentiary and Legate of Bologna and Romagna, he
at once dismissed eighty of his servants immediately after reform had
been recommended by the Council of Trent, laid aside his robes of silk,
fasted weekly, often daily, and subsequently renounced the coat of arms
1 L. xv. c. 6, 9, 10.
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? 28 ' THE LIFE OF [s. D. 1574
which his noble family had long borne. As Protector of many religious
Orders, the Cardinal had powerto enquire into the abuses which had
been a cause of scandal in some of these, but Fra Paolo knew that
this inquiry had not been by all of them well received. While some
had bowed to his decisions against malpractices, others had resented
his interference, and Donato Farini of the Order of the Umiliati had
carried his resentment so far, as actually to discharge the contents of
his arquebuss at the Cardinal Archbishop, as he knelt at prayer in
his own chapel. It did not pass unobserved, that at the moment this
gross outrage was committed the words of the anthem, " Non turbatur
cor vestrum necque formidet " had just been sung; but the Archbishop _
was almost unharmed. Swift justice overtook the culprit, though against
the will of the good prelate, who besought the Pope to spare the Umiliati,
and the whole Order was suppressed. ' 4 ' ['/&/
But this assault did not daunt the ardor of the /Cardinal w-he'was-
indomitable, and when Fra Paolo went to Milan he found that he was
enforcing stricter discipline than had been known for a long period.
Borromeo also founded seminaries for youth, and deserves great credit as
the originator of Sunday schools. He also contributed to the reformation
of the music of the Church services, which had greatly degenerated, and
the harmony of earth, better attuned to sacred words, now poured its
strains on the delighted ear.
The papers of the literary Society published under the title of the
" Noctes Vaticanae " prove, that the Cardinal had a taste for literature,
but the cares of his diocese when Fra Paolo was at Milan superseded. all
else. Imitating the Saints Augustine and Ambrose, Borromeo shared his
meals with his clergy, and Fra Paolo was his hidden guest. Bread and
water formed the chief part of his food and beverage, and it is not pro-
bable that his guest was supplied with more luxurious fare. The face of
the Cardinal bore deep traces of austerity and self infliction, it was care-
worn and attenuated; the eye was eager, the nose very sharp and promi-
nent, the mouth full, large, and expressive of decision, but the whole
countenance pourtrayed more fervor than sagacity. His manners were
gentle, his humility unfeigned, sincere and upright, he pursued his plans
with unwearied energy, and at length eff'ected a great apparent reformation
at Milan. '
But the Cardinal was more zealous of outward reform than Fra Paolo,
not that the former was any less than the latter an example of holy living.
He had in fact been regarded as a saint long before he was enrolled as
such by canonization in the calendar of the Church of Rome, but while
the Cardinal augmented the feasts and fasts of the Church, for example
instituting as he afterwards did, " The procession of the holy nail; of. our
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? arr. 22. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 29-
Lord, " and endeavoring to prohibit the eating of meat on Sunday, Fra
Paolo regarded these as nonessentials, and like the great and good Car-
dinal Gaspar Contarini, turned his thoughts rather to the important
doctrine of faith in the blood of Christ, " a jewel which the Church kept
half concealed, " but equally true Cardinal de la Pole had said in
writing to the Cardinal Contarini, " that Scripture taken in its profoundest
connexion teaches nothing but this doctrine. " The writings of Fra Paolo
re echo this doctrine stated by Contarini in the treatise on justification.
This work had considerable influence, indeed that is the supposed reason
of its having been so changed and interpolated, that a copy of the original
can scarcely be found; but the treatise stands out still in bold relief, a sa-
lutary lesson to the church of Rome and to all, and these words show that
it is a mistake to allege that the above doctrine was, or is, totally lost to
the Church of Rome.
" If the question, " wrote the Cardinal Gaspar Contarini, " on which
of these two kinds of righteousness we would rely, that inherent in us,
or that imputed in Christ, a man of piety will reply, that he can trust
alone to the latter. Our righteousness is only inchoate, incomplete, full
'of defects; the righteousness of Christ, on the other hand, is true, perfect,
thoroughly and alone pleasing in the eyes of God: for its sake alone can we
be justified before God. " And these words also tell to all within the pale of the
Church of Rome what was the sound belief of a Cardinal -Legate of the
sixteenth century, " a man much esteemed for his singular worth and /4072! ;
learning, " and that the doctrine which the Church of Rome held in her
earliest age, that which the Saviour delivered to the Apostles, that which
they and some of the Fathers, especially Saint Augustine, held, is that
which her best informed and wisest members still hold, irrespective of
the decrees of the Council of Trent. It should be borne in mind that the
doctrine of " faith in Jesus Christ alone, " 'is the common ground upon
which all believers in Christ agree, or ought to agree, and then it will no
longer appear singular that Sarpi corresponded with or welcomed to his
cell, those who were, and those who were not, members of Rome's com-
munion. He debarred no one from his society, and there can be no doubt
but his mind became more expansive by intercourse with those who held
opinions which the Jesuits only had banished in the last Council.
At Milan, Fra Paolo had opportunities of acquaintance with this wide-
spread Order. The Confessor of the Cardinal Borromeo was one of the
Jesuits; fourteen of them had been invited to Milan by the Cardinal, and
they, as well as some others, were called " reformed priests. " Like many
of the faithful he had great expectations from them, but these- issued in
disappointment. At an early stage the acumen of Fra Paolo discerned that
their novel doctrines were untenable, and their teaching subversive of
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? N THE LIFE OF [A. n. 1576.
sound morality. Their great influence was gained by confession and elo-
quent sermons, for while the former overawed, the latter allured and
fascinated the weak minded and unwary, who were easily seduced by men
well trained in the art of bending the will to their purposes.
But it was not long before the services of Fra Paolo were required
in his Convent at Venice as Reader of Philosophy; and his audience
was composed, not only of the friars of his own Cloister, but of many
secular Clergy. His lectures were distinguished by " clearness of method,
lucid ideas, and pr-ofundity of thought. "
When Fra Paolo left Milan, the angel of death had not yet stricken that
devoted city, and the Cardinal Borromeo had not yet entered on his lau-
dable work of self devotion, in tending with skill and tenderness all who
were sinking beneath the noxious breath of the pestilence; but in the
early dawn of the following year the plague stalked like a mighty giant
through the fertile plains, the mountain heights, and the densely populated
cities of Italy, and desolated that beautiful land. In Venice, Titian, with
many other persons of note, fell beneath its power, and amid the general
mortality Isabella Sarpi, the mother of Fra Paolo, was numbered with the
dead.
It was in truth an era of long and deep anguish to Venetia, the land
was filled with wailing, yet every effort for the restoration of health was
as powerless as the voice of a pilot to still the rage of the storm. Seven
hundred was the frightful amount of death from sunrise till sunset, and
forty thousand was the total number of victims. But at length the course
of the plague was arrested. The Doge and the Senate proposed that the
mourning survivors should rear a church in honor of the Holy Redeemer.
Two hundred deaths had been notified to the Senate on the day previous,
but it is a well attested fact that on the day following that on which
this pious offering was made, only four persons died of the plague.
The foundation of the Church S. S. Il Bedentore was laid by the Doge
and Patriarch, and " a solemn procession of the whole Clergy of the
city, " 1 followed by the religious Orders; and if ever a human heart
was stirred to its depths, it must have been that of Fra Paolo, when
he and the prostrate and stricken assembly, amid stifled sobs, suppressed
groans, and bitter tears, knelt to crave one look, one tender look of sym-
pathy and regard from heaven.
On the following year this Church, the masterpiece of Palladio, rose
in all its fair beauty and perfect symmetry. It stands on the Island of the
Giudecca, and its fine dome is well seen from the opposite shore beyond the
Piazzetta of S. Marco. There is comparatively little change in this structure,
* Ssnsovino. Del Sistieri di. Dorsa Duro, lib. 6,, continued by Martinioni.
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? mr. 24. ] ' ma PAOLO saarr 111
its fine features have crested the waves of time. May every eye that /
rests on it rise, as did the eye of Fra Paolo, in profound adoration to the
most Holy Redeemer! It is impossible to tread its nave of vast but sim'
ple grandeur untouched by the memory of the succour lent by Heaven to
Venetia in the hour of her woe. How often on his way to the Ducal pa-
lace in after years did Fra Paolo view with emotion this votive fane! How
would his love of architecture admire its unrivalled proportions! and how
higher far would his thoughts ascend, when turned to sadness by the
scene before him, they would naturally flow towards the fond mother who
had taught him his first lessons of holy wisdom, gentleness, and humility,
now laid cold as the marbles which adorn the Church of the Redeemer!
About this time Fra Paolo heard with sorrow of the League against the
Reformed. The Pope Was about to send his troops against men who had
done nothing to provoke such treatment. Far other were the thoughts of
Fra Paolo, he bridged over all differences between them and the Church
of Rome, and discovered points of union where lesser spirits only found
cause of cavil or persecution, he judged the difference of both parties to
be exaggerated. He knew that several doctrines of the Church had been
utterly lost sight of, or not even discussed by the last Council, and he
never suffered any difference of opinion to dull the brightness of friendship.
He had many learned friends amongst the Reformed, and his expressions
of esteem for them were unfeigned. The affairs of Rome also occupied his
attention; Gregory XIII had conferred the title of Grand Duke on Cosmo
di Medici, which gave great umbrage to enlightened politicians; and
men of religion asked, " What right had an ecclesiastic to confer such a
dignity? "
But tidings from more distant climes were satisfactory, the Sultan was
on good terms with the Republic, the power of Spain decreased in the
Low Countries, and the Prince of Orange was well established in his king-
dom, and weary of the tyranny of Spain, Italy showed strong symptoms of
rebellion.
Venice, though she had suffered much by fire and famine, war and
pestilence, was now delivered from these ills; her beautiful port was crowded
with galleys, and her active commerce again flourished, it was lessened,
but still vigorous. Those who have trod her broad quays, seen the lustre' of
an evening sun light up the crafts that now enter her port, can picture to
themselves what the scene was when fleets of galleys and hundreds of
merchantmen rode at ease in that safe harbour, when the gondolas shone
in all the magnificence with which they were then adorned. No stronger
contrast can be conceived, than the noise and bustle of the harbour of
Venice and the stillness of the Convent of the Servi. Far from the place
of mart or festivity, it retains even now, in all its ruin, the stamp of deep
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? 32 ' THE LIFE or i . [A. D. i1'576-'
solemnity; its site however is not gloomy, nor in those days was one of
its inhabitants. It was not only the fame of Fra-Paolo's acquirements which
drew the learned to his cell, but also his cheerful conversation; and foreign
travellers openly said, that they " had no other object in visiting Venice
than to see Fra Paolo? Many of these carried Albums, and when requested
to write in these, he Wrote -either some wise precepts from an ancient
author or thus, from the Holy Scriptures.
