B

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THE LIFE

OF

FRA PAOLO SARPI,
THEOLOGIAN AND COUNSELLOR OF STATE TO THE MOST SERENE REPUBLIC
OF VENICE, AND AUTHOR OF THE HISTORY OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT.

ARABELLA GEORGINA CAMPBELL.

FROM ORIGINAL MSS.

A MAN WHOSE FAME MUST NEVER DIE, TILL VIRTUE AND LEARNING BECOME
SO useless AS not to be Regarded. " Bishop Sanderson.

LONDON:
MOLINI £ GREEN, KING WILLIAM STREET, STRAND,
M.DCCC.LXIX.
[ The right of translation is reserved ].

Sa14l

INTRODUCTION

The following pages are the result of the investigation
and research of many years.
The autograph " Vita di Fra Paolo Sarpi, " the life of
Fra Paolo Sarpi by Fra Fulgenzio Micanzio, was only
discovered A.D. 1849 in the Archives of Venice, where I
myself examined it under special favor, and was at the
same time graciously permitted to peruse the whole col
lection of Fra Paolo's MSS. of which there are twenty
nine volumes folio.
Not more celebrated were the inhabitants of Brescia for
their fidelity to ancient Rome, than was Fra Fulgenzio of
Brescia for his fidelity to Fra Paolo of Venice, and his
name is associated for ever with Paolo> as his true and
devoted friend. The learned world owe a tribute of lasting
gratitude to Fulgenzio, as the " faithful and accurate
writer of the life of Paolo Sarpi, " 1 of whom the Cava-
liere Cicogna justly affirms, " that there is no man of
tolerable education who is ignorant. " Of the same Order,
for upwards of forty years occupant of the same convent,
Fulgenzio was no ordinary judge either of the religion,
genius* or attainments in learning and science of Fra
1 tiayle.

THE LIFE

or

FKA PAOLO SAKPI.

CHAPTER I.
a.d. 1552 — a.d. 1565.
Doges op Venice. 1545. Francesco Donate. 1563. M. A. Trevisano.
1554. Francesco Veniero.
Sovereigns of Germany and Spain. 1519. Charles V. 1555. Philip II.
1558. Ferdinand. 1564. Maximilian II.
England. 1547. Edward VI. 1553. Mary 1558. Elizabeth.
France. 1547. Henry III. 1559. Francis II. 1560. Charles IX.
Turkey. 1520. Soliman II. 1556. Selim II.
Popes. 1550. Julius III. 1555. Maroellus II. 1555. Paul IV.

Birth. - Parents. - Morelli. - Education - Capella. - Pietro resolves to be a friar,
takes the habit of a Servite, and the name of Paolo. - Disputation.
The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were remarkable eras in the
history of the world, both as to civil and ecclesiastical polity, and amid
the struggles of the nations of Europe to maintain their independence of
papal power, none offered a more determined resistance than the Republic
of Venice against Pope Paul V. This was chiefly attributable to the
counsel of Fra Paolo Sarpi, a Friar of the Order of the Servites, who was
summoned from his Convent by the Doge and Senate, and appointed their
Theologian. He was a remarkable man of his own or of aDy other age,
and his whole life is replete vith interest. Of true piety, of unsullied inte
grity, of lofty aspiration, of sound judgment, and of rare genius, if ever
there lived a man whose heart glowed with pure and disinterested love to
his country, with great and noble purpose, with calm but strong resolve
to uphold her most sacred rights, that man was Paolo Sarpi. He was
known in his earliest youth by the name of Pietro, and was born at Ve-

2 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1562-1565.
nice on the fourteenth of August A.D. 1552, and was the son of Fran
cesco Sarpi and Isabella Morelli. * His ancestors were of S. Vito, and
the small house in which his father Francesco was born, is still to be seen
on the shore of Codomada. His mother was of a family which enjoyed the
rights of the original citizens of Venice; and as the Venetians were divi
ded into three classes, nobles, citizens and people, the descendants of the
original citizens were proud of their position.
Francesco was a merchant of Venice, but his ill success there and at
Soria must be ascribed to the turbulence of a spirit, which preferred war
and bloodshed to the calm routine of a life of commerce. His dark and
terrible visage, and short stature contrasted strongly with the fair com
plexion, beautiful features, and stately form of his wife Isabella, who to the
charms of beauty added piety, wisdom, humility, and gentleness. Her
hours were given to devotion and fasting, while Francesco's were spent
in feats of arms.
Pietro resembled his mother, especially in the full dark eyes, which
even to old age lighted up his finely formed features. Their expression
was penetrating, but not inquisitive, calm yet resolute. The whole face
bespoke intellect of no ordinary power, blended with an extreme modesty,
and taught of heaven, his mind was early impressed with those principles
of religion for which throughout life he was so distinguished. In infancy,
Pietro was so small that he was called Perino, or little Peter, and he con
tinued to be short in stature.
In childhood, he was silent and grave, but early misfortune may have
contributed to cloud his brow, and for a time have robbed him of that
cheerfulness which he afterwards evinced, even in his deepest sorrows. The
death of his father left his mother and sister in reduced circumstances,
when he was of such tender age as to be unable to lend them aid, and this
could not fail to produce a deep impression on his mind.
' But generous succour came, and in this exigency his maternal uncle,
Morelli, a priest of the Collegiate church of 'S. Ermacora, nobly rescued
Isabella and her children, Perino and his sister, from their forlorn condi
tion, and not only provided for their maintenance, but devoted himself
with well directed energy to Perino's education; and both he and Isabel
la " fostered those seeds of true religion, which by divine aid were in pro
gress of time so fully developed, like the grain of mustard seed to which
our Saviour compares the kingdom of heaven. " 2
Morelli was the Head of a school of high classical repute, to which the
nobles of Venice sent their sons, and thus Perino had the advantage of
1 Vita di F. P. Sarpi, MS.
a Ibid.

.et. 1-13.] FKA PAOLO SARPI. 3
being educated with youths, who were destined in after years to fill the
most influential positions in the state ; and they, attracted by his genial
and pleasing manners, formed friendships with him which were only
severed by death.
The good Morelli soon discovered Perino's aptitude for learning,
taxed his abilities to the utmost, and, alive to the value of that rare
union which he found in Perino of a retentive memory combined with
profound judgment, resolved to cultivate both to their full extent. He
obliged him to recite much by heart, as well as to repeat verbatim what
was once read to him, and in order to exercise his judgment, required him
to write frequent compositions, but it is to be regretted that not one of
these earliest productions of his pen has escaped the destructive hand of
time. The Fathers of the Servi, who were conversant with his great lear
ning, related marvellous anecdotes of his memory, but Perino assured
them seriously, that his uncle had never asked him to repeat more than
thirty lines of Virgil, or any author, after having heard them only once.
Having soon acquired proficiency in the Latin language, as well as in
the other branches of a solid and classical education, Perino proceeded to
higher attainments. Mathematics, in youth and in age, may be said to have
been one of his favorite recreations. Philosophy, even in his boyhood, was
not left unexplored, and Logic, to a mind so capable of its perception, was
peculiarly attractive.
In this study he was assisted by Capella of Cremona, who was deeply
versed in the abstruse theology of Duns Scotus, and who having discer
ned the great genius of Perino, read logic with him. Apparently this was
an act of condescension, or at least of kindness, to the youthful student,
but Capella soon avowed that his pupil, not only advanced opinions in
opposition to his own, but proved them by such force of reasoning that
he was constrained to adopt them, and confessed that he could teach him
nothing more. Capella, however, was the means of gaining the youthful
Sarpi to the Order of the Servi. He was one of the Servites, and being
then resident at their great convent in the neighborhood of the house of
Morelli, Perino had thus constantly associated with the Friars, and was
so satisfied with their manner of life as to long to be one of their
number. His grave and silent disposition, added to his love of learning, tended to
foster in his mind a desire for the cloister. To devote his time to Cod, and
to be able to pursue his studies without molestation, appeared to him pre
ferable to the life of a priest, which his mother and his uncle Morelli had
resolved that he should be. In fact, they provided him with a habit similar
to that of the priests of S. Ermacora, and endeavored by harsh treatment
to extort submission to their wishes; but Perino was not to be overcome.

4 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1552-1565.
All their efforts were unavailing ; one of the Servi, and one of the Servi
unly, would Perino be.
The tonsure could not be given without parental authority; ' the
time of this ceremony was yet distant, but even for permission to join the
Servi as a novice, he had to wait in patient hope. He knew that being a
native of Venice, according to the rules of the- Servites, he could be receiv
ed into their principal convent, and their eagerness to display his talents
immediately after his reception, affords strong proof that these Friars wish
ed to number Perino amongst them.
The pomp and glitter of the great world seemed to have little place in
his mind. He was not insensible to the advantages of rank or position, but
even in his early youth his mind rose to the magnificence of eternity;
he weighed time and the things of time in the balance of true wisdom,
and on no occasion did he betray that love of splendour common to the
Venetians. This people, gifted by nature with a climate so favorable to
display, were accustomed in the time of Sarpi to expend their wealth upon
all that could minister either to luxury or to ease. The palaces of the
nobles were adorned within by the matchless efforts of the pencil of Ti
tian , for twenty four years Sarpi's contemporary, as well as by the
works of Paul Veronese, Tintoretto, and other great masters, by classic
sculpture, both antique and modern, by costly and gorgeous furniture, by
rich and rare plate, all reflected in the brilliant mirrors of Venetia, while
without, the graceful piles which Palladio or Sansovino, or others of lit
tle less renown had reared, drew admiration from every eye. The sun
poured down a golden flood by day, and the moon by night cast her
silvery gleams over spacious halls, where the voice of revelry and the
splendour of the festivities given by the Doges Veniero and the Priuli,
the successors of the good Trevisano, might have evoked in many a
youthful breast a taste for amusement and a desire for wealth, but they
met no response in Perino.
He had no other guides but those of the Church of Rome. They were the
interpreters of his Bible, with which every member of the Order of Saint
Augustine was, or might be, familiar. There exists no warrant for conven
tual life within its pages, and in the present age its prolongation, 2 or
revival, can only be considered as a retrograde movement in religion, but
three hundred years since, it is no marvel that Perino coveted a cell in the
Convent of the Servi in the city of Venice.
After the death of his father, his mother had associated with the Ere
mite d'Ermacora, and her life was one of great sanctity. From her and
1 Annal. Baronius.
2 Sarpi dates its rise in Italy A.D, 300, and at Rome A.D. 350. — Trattato
delle MaUrie Benefiziwie, p. 11.

¦et. 1-13.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 5
from his uncle, Pietro learned abstinence and selfdenial, and by natural
inclination as well as by early habit, having no taste either for public
amusements or the luxuries of the palate, neither comparative seclusion nor
the simple food of a convent was repulsive to him. Throughout life he had
almost a contempt for riches, and although endowed with talents which
might have commanded position and fortune, he was never seduced by
the golden bait on many occasions held out to him.
From the year of his birth until A.D. 1565 a great part of Europe
had been plunged in war, and the future prospects of the State, as well
as of the Church, were full of gloom. Contrasted with this apparently
coming struggle, the quiet and repose of a cell within the " religious Col
lege " ' of the Servi was to him like the desired haven to an expecting
mariner. He knew the wide difference between the life of a monk and that of a
friar, — the perpetual seclusion of many of the former order being totally
at variance with his feelings. Capable of strong friendship and eager for
knowledge, as a friar he could go from place to place, see his friends,
visit the various seats of learning, and responsible chiefly to the Prior of
the Convent, could enjoy more liberty within than without its walls: this
was a powerful reason to his independent mind, but he had yet another.
Although so young, Perino was gifted with acute observation, and Venice
was the resort of many who had withdrawn from the Council of Trent in
dissatisfaction. Overawed by the Ambassadors or Nuncios, or deceived by the pro
mises of the Papal Legates and their supporters, the Venetian Prelates
had given their approval of the Council and its decrees at its close (A. D.
1563): all were to be excommunicated who did not obey its dictates, and
Perino had early held the doctrines of Saint Augustine, which were cer
tainly not those enforced, through the influence of the Jesuits chiefly, at
the Council of Trent, but which nevertheless have been held by many
members of the Church of Rome, both before and since that Council.
Although there were many names of note amongst the Order of the
Servi, and they had long been esteemed an honorable body of men, yet
friars were generally of lower birth than monks; this, however, did not in
fluence Perino. He believed that as one of a mendicant body he would be a
servant of God, who has worlds and their treasures at his disposal, and
although he mistook the meaning of the demand of heaven, in laying
on its altar a sacrifice unasked, in the manner of surrender of him
self as approved by the Church of Rome, no doubt can exist on the
mind of those who study the life of " the incomparable historian of
1 Sarpi.

6 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1552-1565.
the Council of Trent , " i that his piety was as sincere, as his ge
nius was exalted. He never wavered in his resolution to enter the
Order of the Servi, though for a long and painful period he bent, as
the supple willow bends to the mountain torrent, only to rise again to
its former height when the waters have passed by.
He suffered much from the continued opposition of his mother and
uncle, but at length they yielded, convinced that his purpose was ir
revocable, and at the age of thirteen years, on the twenty fourth of
November 1565, Perino took the habit of the Servi, and assumed the
name of Paolo in lieu of Pietro. It was the custom of the times for
the learned to hold public disputations, and the day after Paolo became
a Servi te he was required to argue on the proposed theses in the
Church of the Minor Order of the Francisans, commonly called the
Frari, which was built in the fourteenth century and consecrated in 1492.
Its architecture was after a design of Pisano, of the thirteenth century,
and both its interior and exterior bear witness to the zeal with which
the Franciscans were aided by the patricians and citizens of Venice.
It was ornamented by seven columns, the gifts of the nobles Giusti-
niani, Gradenigo and the citizen Aguie, and was the mausoleum of
many of the heroes of Venetia. The Doge Dandolo, Conte della Torre,
Trevisano, Foscari, Foscarini and many more lie there.
The modern traveller or resident in Venice, as he gazes on the
tombs of Titian the Prince of Painters, and of Canova the sculptor, with
admiration, will not fail to trace the works of their predecessors Bellini
and Vivarni, or the chisel of Sansovino, who all lent their powerful aid to
beautify this venerable fane. The Palla dei Pesari was then in all its pri
stine beauty, and was justly esteemed one of the greatest works of Titian.
The sculptures of the Fratelli Bregni, tbe statue of the Doge Tro-
no, that of Benedetto da Pesaro, and above all the beautiful alto re
lievos of the crucifixion and entombment of the Holy Redeemer were
then as now objects of interest. Who has not looked on the Saint
John the Baptist, which surmounts the baptismal font, as a sculpture
which its artist Jacopo Sansovino rarely equalled and never surpassed?
There, amidst the monuments of the illustrious dead and a oon-
course of the learned living, stood Fra Paolo Sarpi. And who was he
that, amid so much to attract the eye and charm the imagination,
arrested the attention of all? He was no high dignitary of the
Church in gorgeous and dazzling robes, — he was no aged man, who
brought with him the influence of his position, and the maturity and
experience of years, — he was no well known wrestler in the learned
J Gibbon.

^ex. 1-13.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 7
encounters, — he was no victor in these hard fought strifes, — he
was but a beardless youth without station or influence, clad in the
simple black habit of a Servite friar. He was a stranger in the
lists of public controversy, he was as yet no aspirant for the palm.
Thirteen years only had passed over him, but he reasoned with an
ability which would have done honor to hoary hairs. The audience lis
tened and wondered and admired, and the youth, unused to his con
ventual habit, gave them cause to smile as, on bowing to the assem
bly, instead of taking off his cap as he had been accustomed to do, he
was so engrossed with his subject that he took off his hood, and held
it in his hand all the time of the disputations.
In this Church, the arena of his first triumph in the world of let
ters, the eye vainly seeks to rest on some monument to the fame of
Sarpi. A misconception exists as to the statue on the basement of the
tomb of Titian by Zandomenghi, that statue of an aged man is not a
representation of Fra Paolo, but an allegorical representation of the
sixteenth century ; and the book which lies at the foot of the statue is
not the History of the Council of Trent, but the Canons and Decrees
of that Council, first published by Aldus Manutius A. D. 1564.

CHAPTER II.
a.d. 1233 — a.d. 1565.

Fra Paolo's account of the origin and history of the Order of the Servites. — The
seven founders leave Florence for Monte Sanario. — Church and Conyent. —
Monaldi, first General of the Order. — S. Benizzi. — Servites sent to Venice.
— Church and Convent of the Servi there. — Government. — Rule.
Although it may perhaps be thought to be in some degree a digression
from our main subject, yet as every incident in the life of Fra Paolo, after
he took the vows, was so intimately connected with the Convent and Fra
ternity of the Servi, some acquaintance with the history of that religious
Order cannot be altogether irrelevant, and almost appears to be required,
in this stage of his biography for the proper ui derstanding of the sequel.
The reader will therefore pardon its introduction in this place, commen
cing with an extract from his autograph letter, followed by a literal
translation. " De ordine servorum quod quaeris explicabo. Origo est ex Flo-
rentia; in ea civitate mercatores qui dam se in Collegium coegerunt
Anno Dom. 1230, quo tempore ea regio huiusmodi partuum ferax
fuit. " Dicebant laudes * * primum quod in laudibus B. Virginis can-
tillandis assidue occuparentur, mendicare coeperunt, ut tunc et in ea
regione mos novorum Collegiorum fuit habito induti toto nigro, ut B. Vir-
gini mortuum filium lugenti collugerunt.
" Hsec de causis. A vulgo tunc servi B. Maria? vocati, unde ad nos suc-
cessores nomen et color vestium fuerit. " '
" Your inquiry, " says Fra Paolo to M. Gillot, " respecting the
Order of the Servi, I will explain. Their origin is from Florence.
In that city certain merchants united themselves into a College, A. D.
1230, at which period that country was fruitful in projects of this
nature. Their worship at first consisted of praises to * * and espe
cially, they were assiduously occupied in chanting the praises of the
blessed Virgin, and they commenced begging as mendicants, as was
» " Jesus Ohristus, " thus were the * * read to me by one of the Order.

FRA PAOLO SARPI fl
the oustom of new Colleges in that period and in that country, habi
ted 'entirely in black, to mark their sympathy with the Blessed Virgin
mourning for her dead Son.
" Such is their origin, and being called from that time ' Servi di Ma
ria, ' or ' Servants of Mary, ' it is from thence that the name, and color
of the vestments have attached to us, their successors. "
It is evident from this statement that the Holy Saviour was the
first great object of worship, and this is readily admitted by the Servi
who remain. As the worship of the Virgin in the twelfth and thir
teenth centuries rose to a great height, the founders of the Servi shared
in the innovation. In the statement of Fra Paolo there is no mention of
miracles or visions attendant on the institution of the Order, but there are
such in the Annals of the Servites by Gianio.
The Order of the Servi di Maria was instituted A.D. 1233, ' in the
time of Gregory IX; in the reign of S. Louis, King of France; of Alfonso,
King of Castile; Peter of Arragon; Sancius II, King of Lusitania; Henry II,
King of England; Boleslaus King of Poland, and Alexander II, King of
Scotland. 2 There were three Orders of the Servi : one for men, another
for seculars of both sexes, and a third for women living in perpetual se
clusion. The Servi were a lesser Order of the Order of Saint Augustine.
Its founders were seven in number; they were all members of the Senate,
and gifted with ample fortune. Monaldi, Manetti, dell' Antella, Amidei,
Uggucioni, Sostegni and Falconnieri, had long been accustomed to meet
together in the church of the Santa Reparata, and on " the day of the As
sumption " they were all inspired with the same wish to renounce the world.
They communicated to each other an account of the celestial visions which
they believed they had seen, and all sold their property, and gave the pro
ceeds to the poor. The sale was effected after they had received advice from
the Bishop Ardingo Foraboschi, 3 who filled the Bishopric of Florence
with credit for many years. His credulity, however, was great, and his belief
in the appearance of the Virgin Mary to himself and to the Servi was one of
the sources whence credence in miracles without proof, and the worship of the
Virgin were fostered amongst the greater part of the Order of the Servi,
especially those of Florence. Had Bishop Ardingo risen, as did Paolo Sar-

1 From a curious illuminated MS. of the fourteenth century; Lauventian
Library, Florence. " Dialogvs Fratris Pavli Florentini de Origine Ordinis Servor
ad Petrus Cosme incipit." — P. 1. Anno mcxxxiii. Gregori Noni Pontificum anno
quarto decimo. — P. 10.
a " Annalivm sacri ordinis Fratrvm Servorvm B. MariaD Virginis. Archangelo
Gianio. Florentia, 1618. Bib. Riccardi. — Magliabechi, lib. i, cap. Garbi, lib. i,
17, Annalium Servorum, Marciana.
8 Cerraohini p. 75. Nobilita di Firenze, MS.

10 THE LIFE OF
pi, above the prejudice and ignorance of his age, had he rejected the ac
counts of the visions of these Florentines, it would have been an easier
task for all who succeeded him to convince his fellow countrymen that the
worship of the Virgin had neither the sanction of Holy Writ, the Fathers,
nor the early Councils. But the Bishop, not only listened to their recital of
visions, but confirmed them in their belief of these, exhorted them not
to defer obedience to the commands of heaven, and permitted them to
have an oratory and an altar to celebrate mass wherever they judged expe
dient. He also became their Protector, and as they intended to live on
alms only, he allowed them to beg in the town of Florence and its envi
rons. Their homes were no longer sumptuous palaces within their own
beautiful city, but a miserable house without its walls, where they
exchanged their senatorial robes for habits the color of ashes, their
fine linen for hair-cloth, their jewelled girdles for chains of iron. The
people who had known their previous riches and condition regarded
them with admiration, but it is incredible that even infants, of whom
S. Philip Benizzi was said to have been one, and who was then only five
months old, pointed to the Seven in the streets and cried, " Behold the
Servants of the blessed Mary! " " Ecce Servi! Ecce Servi! B. Maria;."
However, Bishop Ardingo enjoined them to adopt " the Servants of
Mary " as the name of their Order, and appears to have believed that it
was miraculously given. They remained for a year in their wretched dwel
ling, but such was the influx of visitors which the fame of their sancti
ty attracted to their abode, that unable to obtain either quiet or seclusion,
on the thirteenth of March A.D. 1249 they retired to Monte Sanario, a
mountain situated about eight miles north of the city of Florence, and
Bishop Ardingo, with the consent of his Chapter, having bestowed a part
of Monte Sanario upon them, they began to build a church on the ruins of
an ancient castle, around which they constructed wooden cells, where roots
and herbs were their only food, and the mountain stream their only be
verage. These austerities, however, were too severe for some of his brethren,
and Monaldi sent Manetti and Falconnieri to Florence to solicit alms, from
whence they returned daily to Monte Sanario, and there, where the
Convent of the Servi now stands, they were located for some time.
The position of the Convent is very grand: it towers far above the val
ley beneath, where lies the beautiful city of Florence, from which to Mon
te Sanario there is a continuous inoline, by which it is oustomary to ascend
the highest part of the mountain in a waggon drawn by oxen, and on the
building where they are kept, there is a cross and the letter S above a
representation^ the six hills which surround the Convent.
Near this isolated retreat the road is rugged and steep, and a forest of
darkjpine trees of enormous growth, on the slope of the mountain on ei-

FRA PAOLO SARPI 11
ther side of the road, seem like an impenetrable phalanx of guards to defy
the approach of the rude tempest; but their dark frown is not reflected
within the Convent, the genial welcome of whose inhabitants to strangers
is as cordial as it is dignified. '
The initials of the hermits of Monte Sanario may still be seen, with va
rious other devices, over the entrance. The arms of the Servi in 1607 were
a lily interlaced with the letter S, as on the interior of the cloister and
on the Presbytero of the Annunciata, but in later years a crown was added.
On the writer questioning when this crown was added, the answer was,
" By a King of France, " and thus have the arms of the Servi remained.
But this addition of a crown is only one of many proofs of the increase of the
adoration of the Virgin among the Servites, and its history must be searched
into before determining what belongs to a present, what to a past age.
At length the seven founders obtained a small hospital at Florence, near
the gate which led to their solitude, and adjoining their Convent the
Church of the Annunciata was built by Falconnieri. 9 Its riches and
magnificence need no comment here, but the story of the founders of the
Servi was represented in after years by the frescoes which adorn the
court of the Church and the cloisters of the Convent, as also by the words
placed beneath the frescoes , and thus have the reports of miracles, for which
there is no divine authority, been perpetuated.
Gianio remarks, that the Virgin not only appeared in a vision to the
Servi, but showed them a black habit which she commanded them to wear
in memory of the passion of her Son, and also presented them with the
rule of Saint Augustine ; 3 but those conversant with the pages of Gianio
will agree with Helyot and others in charging him with being apt to re
peat from hearsay.
After the above mentioned vision in which Bishop Ardingo believed,
he gave the seven founders a habit similar to that which the Servites
said had been shown to them by the Virgin Mary. It was a large
black tunic together with a woollen shirt , a small white tunic , a
hood and mantle, and a girdle of leather. It was of the same form
as that still worn by the Order, and it corresponds very nearly with the
form and color of the habit as represented to have been worn by Paolo
Sarpi in his portrait by Carpioni, which till 1811 adorned the refectory of
his Convent, the only apparent difference in the dress given by Bishop
Ardingo and that represented in this portrait being, that the color of the
under garment determines it to have been linen.

3 Visited 1864.
3 Migliore. Chiese di Firenze. MS. — MSS. Magliabechi.
3 Annal. Serv. p. 11.

12 THE LIFE OF
With the exception of Falconnieri, all took orders, and the Servi enjoyed
the protection of Innocent IV and the approbation of Pope Alexander, who
permitted them to receive the Convents offered to them, and also to pos
sess churches and grounds for burial.
After filling the office of Prior, Monaldi became the first General of
his Order, and was succeeded by Manetti. In a Chapter convoked at Flo
rence A.D. 1266, the Order was divided into two provinces, but after
wards into four. Dell'Antella succeeded Jacopo di Poggibonza as fourth
General, and this distinguished Servite died in the arms of Benizzi
who was elected in his place, and as he contributed greatly to the exten
sion of the Order of Servi, he demands notice.
He was a youth of enthusiastic temperament, wont to believe in visions
and dreams, as people of warm imagination but weak judgment are apt to
do, and having attended service in the Chapel of the Annunciata, the
words " Philippe accede et adjunge te ad currum istum, " ' convinced
him that heaven called upon him to serve God more devotedly. He went
home, slept, and dreamed. In his dream he believed that he heard in a
vision the Virgin calling him to serve her. He awoke, forsook the study
of medicine, attached himself to the Servi, and became one of the most
distinguished of the Order; he preached throughout many of the towns of
Italy and of France, and taught his hearers to show that peculiar adora
tion to the Virgin Mary for which he was so conspicuous. As a lover
of peace his presence was hailed by the discordant families of Tuscany,
but he was arrested in his career by Pope Innocent V, who having appro
ved of the revival of the edict of the Lateran Council against all new
Orders, determined to abolish that of the Servi. Benizzi was forbidden to
receive any novice, or to sell any property belonging to the Convent which
was declared confiscated to the Pope", but as the Pontiff only survived
some months the Order was spared suppression, but only to receive further
vexatious treatment from several of the Pontiff's successors until relieved
by Honorius IV.
Sostegni and Uggucioni after much toil returned to Monte Sanario.
They had expressed a wish to die together, and while discoursing on sub
jects relative to their Order, they both expired on the same day and at
the same hour. Their death was followed by that of Benizzi, whose tomb
is yet to be seen near the Convent of Monte Sanario, as well as some of
the incidents of his life delineated in the paintings in its chapel.
Boniface VIII granted the same privileges to the Order of the Servi
as he had bestowed on the Hermits of Saint Augustine. Benedict XI
protected them ; Urban VI allowed them to hear confession ; Martin V
i Annal. Serv. c. 18, 22.

FRA PAOLO SARPI 13
gave them the privileges of the begging Orders, and in the year 1484,
they were called Friars. Clement VI was the first Pope who approved
of their constitutions, Innocent VIII confirmed their former privileges
and bestowed greater upon them, and like all the other mendicant
Orders, the Servi were entitled to assist at the funerals of Cardinals.
Falconnieri, having attained the age of 110, expired in the year 1310,
and shortly after this event the Order was extended to Venice.
As in after years Fra Paolo was a friar of the principal Convent of
the Servites there, that body here claims our attention.
In the year 1314, several of the Servi, men of known piety, were
sent to Venice by Fra Pietro da Todi, eighth General of the Order,
and were well received by Giovanni Avanzo , who proposed to
found a Convent for them at his own expense. The Bishop was
absent, but the Servi having procured a site, the Vicar General
allowed them to found an Oratory. The Bishop approved , pro
mised the erection of a Church, and deputed the Bishop of Scar-
ponto to lay the first stone, and to consecrate the cemetery. The
Servi being held in great repute on account of their zeal, the of
ferings were so large as to enable them to build a Convent: and
Avanzo having left a considerable revenue to the friars, they undertook
the building of their Church,
Its foundations were laid on those of the former, but it did not
reach the height of its magnificence till the close of the fifteenth cen
tury. ' In raising this structure, the Friars had spent even the money al
lotted for their food, in consequence of which the Cardinal Legate
enriched the Convent by the gift of S.. Caterina d'Isola and its re
venues, and his uncle Pope Sixtus granted plenary indulgence to all
who brought alms or offerings to the Church, 2 by this means the
stately edifice was completed. This Church and the great Convent of

1 De Monasteris S. M. Ordinis Servorum, ecc. Ecclesia Venetse, 2, 6. F.
Cornells. a " This manner of gaining money was put in practice after the year
1100, for Pope Urbane II, having granted a plenary indulgence and remission
of all sins, to whoever made warre in the Holy Land, to regaine and set at
liberty the sepulchre of Christ out of the hands of the Mahometans, was imi
tated by his successors for many hundred of years, some of which, as always
new inventions are enlarged, granted it to those who maintained a souldier in
case they could not or would not go to warre themselves in person. And in
progresse of time, the same indulgence and pardons were given for the taking
of arms against those that obeyed not the Church of Rome, although they
were Christians, and for the most part exactions were made under these pre
tences, all which, or the greater part, were applied to other uses. " — Tran
slation by Brent, and MS. His. of the Council of Trent. Marciana, Sarpi.

14 THE LIFE OF
the Servi once occupied a large area of ground on the north of the
city of Venice, and stood near the bridge of Santa Fosca, and in the
street S. Hieronomo. The Convent filled more than two sides of the
area, and the Church of the Servi was thus described by Sansovini.
" It is built in the form of a square, and is rich in sculpture,
paintings and many noble chapels dedicated to illustrious men. Here
are the B. Virgin and Saint Augustine by Paul Veronese, the As
sumption which adorns the altar by Salviati, and the Palla, the Man
ger and the three Magi by Giovanni di Perugia. There are also five
beautiful sculptures on the altar of Gabriel di Gazoni, a knight of
Malta. The Church is likewise famous on account of two princes who
lie buried here, the Doge Vedramino in a marble tomb of great
beauty, and the Doge Francesco Donato. Here also is the altar of the
Magdalene, at whose feet in mezzo relievo lies Verda daughter of
Martina della Scala, Lord of Verona, and wife of N. d'Este, Duke of
Ferrara. Near the Sacristy is the marble statue of Giovanni Emo which
surmounts his richly gilded tomb. On the other side of the window
without, is the Oratory of the Volto Santo of Lucca, built by the
Lucchese who came to Venice A.D. 1309, and the story of the Volto
Santo was painted on their Fraternity by Semitecollo. The altar table
in the Sacristy was the work of Benedetto Diana.
On the two small pannels above an altar in the Church, the Saviour
is represented in the midst of his Apostles. It seems as it Philip were
asking him, " Lord show us the Father and it sufficeth us, " and that
Christ was answering, " He that hath seen me hath seen the Fa
ther; I and my Father are one. " These words are written at the feet
of the finely executed figures by Bonifacio the Venetian. Tintoretto
painted the Annunciation on the organ, S. Paul and S. Augustine,
and underneath a fresco, Cain killing Abel, and another Annunciation
above the Altar of the Crucifixion. The altar with S. Onofrius and
S. James was the admirable work of Corona. Peranda painted the
altar cloth, S. Philip Benizzi is the subject. In the refectory is
the large painting on canvas of Christ as the guest of Simon the
leper with the Magdalen weeping for her past sins, and washing this
feet with her hair. In the back ground two angels in admirable pers
pective are pourtrayed flying in the midst bearing a scroll, and on the
scroll these words, " There is joy in heaven over one sinner that re-
penteth. " Judas in an angry attitude is in the act of reproving the penitent.
Among the persons seated at the table are the portraits of certain of
the Fathers of the Convent, all the work of the great Paolo Caliari Vero
nese. " Fra Antonio Gradenigo built an altar of great splendor iruthe Church
of the Servi for the reception of relics, and by permission of Pope

FRA PAOLO SARPI 15
John XXIII, many were removed thither. In those days of darkness,
Rome taxed the credulity of her subjects in a manner which at a
later period lessened the ties which once bound them to her rule.
But we must not omit to notice that regular discipline having declin
ed amongst the Friars of the Servi, the Doge Vendramino requested
Sixtus IV to confer the Convent of the Servi at Venice on the regu
lar Order of the Servi of Monte Sanario. This petition was granted,
and the Convent was made subject to the Patriarch of Venice, but
only till A. D. 1513, when Leo X declared it to be under the im
mediate rule of the Prior General, on condition of its being main
tained in the regular observance of established discipline.
Thirty two Generals presided successively over the Order which
had now risen to great popularity, many of its members being men of
learning and distinction. Gerardo, Bartholomeo and Calbo had many
worthy successors, but after naming the nobles Piccolomini, Stuffa, du
Bourg, du Saint Sepulchre, Adimar, the Cardinals Laurerio and Be-
nutio, Helyot adds, " there were several writers amongst them, the
most famous of whom was Paul Sarpi, better known as Fra Paolo,
Theologian and Counsellor of the Republic of Venice, deeply versed
in the Latin Greek and Hebrew tongues, as well as in Mathematics. "
And now, having brought this account down to the time when Fra
Paolo became one of the Order of the Servi, it only remains to say
a few words respecting its government. This has been called a demo
cracy although such were its restrictions that it was in reality almost
an aristocracy. Those who conducted its affairs were, a Protector, a
Vice Protegtor, a Provincial General and subject to them were Priors,
Procurators, Definitors and Syndics, whose respective duties will be
noticed in another place, but it may be observed here, that the Ge
neral resided at Rome, that the Prior General ruled the provinces, that
the Prior was Head of his own Convent and could enforce obedience
to his commands, the Procurator and Syndic took account of the tem
poral affairs of the Convent, the Sacristan had charge of all that be
longed to the service of the Church, another member of the house
hold goods, the Custode of the bread and wine, as well as of all the
food or meat eaten with bread. The Hospitaller undertook the care of
the hospitals, and the porters, who were laics, of the doors of the
infirmary. '
The Servi took the three vows common to all the religious Orders,
and continued to follow the rule called the Rule of Saint Augustine ,
of which the following is a summary.
1 Giovini.

16 THE LIFE OF
I. Union as becoming those who dwell in the same house, of
one heart and mind in God and the possession all things in common.
II. Prayer and fasting.
III. Deportment and clothing.
IV. To show great charity to all especially to the weak.
V. Brotherly love.
VI. Obedience to Prelates.
VII. Observance of the whole rule. '
1 Regula Beati Patris Agostini et conditiones Fratrum Servorum,

17

CHAPTER III.
a.d. 1565 — a.d. 1578.
Doqes or Venice. G. Priuli. 1567. Pietro Loredano.
1570. Luigi Mocenigo.
1571. Sebastiano Veniero.
1578. Nicolo da Ponte.
Sovereigns of Germany. Max.n II. Rodolph II.
England. Elizabeth.
Scolland. Mary.
France. Charles IX. 1587. Henry III.
Spain. Philip II.
Turkey. Selim II. Amurath II.
Popes. Pius IV. 1566. Pius V. 1572. Gregory XIII.

Fra Paolo Studies. - Zacheria. - Disputation. - Famine. - Fire. - Divisions. - F.
Paolo solicited to go to Mantua. - Olivo Camillo. - F. 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 ' 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, s 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, " Do-
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 inflexibility of the
high minded and ancient Roman, with an enlightenment which must ever
reflect honor on his country.

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 Ccena 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 made in 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.

Mt. 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 A.D. 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 ever 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, may here claim attention.
i " Con difendere 318 delle pii difficili proposizioni della Sacra Teologia e
della Filosofia Naturale. " MS.

20 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1570-1572.
He was fond of listening to disputations, and 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 the lawless 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. l
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
i De Porta, Tom. n, p. 486. Epist. Tob. Egliui ad Bullingerum. 2 Mart.
1568.

mi. 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 Buo-
nacolsi, then remodelled by Giulio Romano, and thus cultivating his
genius for military fortification, of which he left proofs in the Schedas
Sarpianse. 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
Marrno " 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 Julia 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 Gap, ' 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 removed from the congregation of Cardinals, who were to consult
of the affaires of Trent, the Cardinal Gonzaga, and caused F. Borromeo
to tell him that the Cardinal, his Uncle, did think to mine the Aposto-
like Sea, but should effect nothing but the mine of himselfe and of his

22 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1673.
house. He related to the Cardinal S. Angelo, who was. a great friend
to Mantua, whatsoever 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 divers 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 deserved such misfortunes. " l
" 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. " 2
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 Sarpi
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'Ascoli, who as well as other men of letters, found him, not
only learned, but equally skilled in all the soiences, as if he had made
each of them alone his peculiar study. "Nature,'" writes his untiring eulo-
1 His. of the Council of Trent.
2 MS.

*t. 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, thatjudi-
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

i July 2, 1G09,

24 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1574
prisoner took up the words of the choir which had just been chanted
Ps. cxix, 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, hy 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 their own ag-

-et. 22.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 25
gi andizement, 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 Fra 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 piu un Fra
Paolo!" 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 effrontery, his tongue must be poisoned by falsehood, and his
heart corrupted by malignity and passion. " This is strong language but
Fulgenzio well knew the aspersions, 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 awear 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, did
God preserve his life to riper years. Truly the knowledge alone of all that
human intellect can attain, however admirable it may be, does not impart
perfection; even devils are kuown to possess great knowledge, but goodness
utilizes knowledge; and piety, religion and virtue may be said to be the
life of the body, and this varied knowledge of science, united with pro-

26 THE LIFE OF [a.d 1576.
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 affairs 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 shewn 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
» MS.

*t. 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 differs 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 fllled 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
» L. iv. c. 8, 9, 10.

28 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1574
which his noble family had long borne. As Protector of many religious
Orders, the Cardinal had power to 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.
But this assault did not daunt the ardor of the Cardinal who 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 Vatican* " 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 bidden 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 effected a great apparent reformation
at Milan.
But the Cardinal was more zealous of outward reform than Fra Paolo,
not that the former was auy 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 Ciirdinal augmented the feasts and fasts of the Church, for example
instituting as he afterwards did, " The procession of the holy nail of our

^T- 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
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

30s THE LIFE OF [a.d. 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 profundity 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. II Redentore was laid by the Doge
and Patriarch, and " a solemn procession of the whole Clergy of the
city, " ' 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
^n 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,
i Sansovino. Del Sistieri di Dorsa Duro, lib. 6, continued by Martinioni.

m- S4-] FRA PAOLO SARPI 31
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 memoryof 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

32 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1576.
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. " i From intercourse with
well informed persons he had early tidings of passing events, a great boon
at a time when communication was neither rapid nor certain between any
countries. His interest in the Gallican Church was uniform, although he
did not think its liberties perfect by any means , still he thought
them very preferable to the liberty enjoyed by the Church of Rome in
Italy. It was during this year that he made the acquaintance of M. de Fer-
rier 2 who again came to Venice from Paris on an embassy from Hen
ry II to obtain a loan of money, and to announce peace between the Pa
pists and the Reformed. This bold assertion of the rights and liberties of
the Gallican Church gav6 umbrage to some of the Italian Clergy present
at the Council of Trent, where this liberal and high minded Frenchman
had not hesitated to ask the Fathers of the Council to follow the example
of Josiah, by causing the Book of the Law to be read which he said
"had been concealed by the malice of men." He had also demanded the resto-
ation of many ancient usages, that the cup in the Holy Sacrament should
be administered to the people, prayers and catechisms taught, and the
Psalms sung in the French language, he had also petitioned against plu
ralities, and had demanded a proper definition of the doctrines of images,
relics, and indulgences, with all the eloquence that charmed the parlia
ment. He had pressed these claims and maintained their justice by quota
tions from the Holy Scriptures, and from the writings of Saint Augustine,
Saint Ambrose, and Saint Chrysostom, but all in vain. These sentiments,
however, with the mature experience and unblemished integrity of de
Ferrier, made him esteemed by Fra Paolo. Equally distinguished by his
diplomacy as by his knowledge of law, de Ferrier, although a lover of
antiquity, was still a lover of reform. He knew in what odour France held
the Inquisition, and how the far sighted Chancellors Segnier and l'Hopi-
tal had prevented its introduction into France, and was therefore well able
to dilate to him on the wrongs done to France at the Council of Trent.
He had looked for reformation, not for confirmation of dogmas which had
been the additions of Popes or of former, but not general, Councils; but
i MS.
a Henriade p. 19.

^T. 24.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 33
the French ambassador, like many others in Italy, had been disappointed.
It is no difficult matter to picture Sarpi and M. de Ferrier in close con
verse in the Convent of the Servi on the affairs of the Council, when the
memory of Paolo eagerly stored up what de Ferrier related, in order to
incorporate in his history of the Council a relation of those facts to which
no one but M. de Ferrier, on the part of his royal Master, could be privy.
Among the other friends of Fra Paolo at this time, the noble du Pies-
sis Mornay may be mentioned, his piety and learning were valued by him,
as well as his wisdom in the Cabinet.
But to proceed. The Pontiff, who had high views of the Papal power,
still gave annoyance to the Republic of Venice. Rome was gradually climb
ing towards that height which she attempted to hold in the seven
teenth century, when, counselled by Fra Paolo, Venice resisted her de
mands. The death of Maximilian made no change in the aspect of public affairs,
as his son continued friendly to Venetia.
On the fourth of June A.D. 1577 the Doge Morenigo died, and was
buried with great pomp in the Church of S. Giovanni and S . Paolo, where also
are the remains of Brigandino, who, being betrayed by the Turks after the
siege of Famagosta, suffered the terrible death of being flayed alive rather
than deny the name of Christ, his Redeemer. As a trophy, his skin was
preserved by his brutal enemies, but subsequently obtained at great cost
after the battle of Lepanto and taken to this place of rest. Little had the
Turks reflected, when they suspended this trophy to the bow-sprit of one
of their galleys, that they were only extending the fame of him they had
murdered, and proclaiming the power of a deathless principle, the religion
of Christ in the soul of the noble Brigandino, that same principle which
enabled Fra Paolo so often to face death without terror. These sentiments
were shared by Sebastiano Veniero, the veteran victor of Lepanto,
who was now elected to the dignity of Doge with great unanimity.
His election supplied Pope Gregory with an occasion to propitiate the
Republic, and he therefore sent a gold rose to the Dogeressa. But as it was
the custom of the Popes to send the rose to such courts only as gave
strict allegiance to the Papacy, the Republic of Venice resented this dis
tinction respecting the gift as a reflection on her independence, and
although the Dogeressa retained the emblem of silence, the displeasure of
the Venetians slowly mouldered, like the fire which shortly after consumed
the Doge's palace, only to burst forth in greater volume. This is no figure
of speech, the olden palace, which occupied the same site as that which
now claims the attention of the curious, was a building of which the Ve
netians were justly proud; it was nearly all burned to the ground. " The
Hall of the Grand Council, that of the Senate and that of the Scrutiny suf-

34 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1578.
fered, " ' and it was not till the flames reached the celebrated picture, II Pa-
radiso, the largest oil painting in the world, that the fire yielded to human
efforts for its extinction. And great were these efforts, for which 1,500 ducats
were voted to the workmen of the arsenal, who had perilled their lives to
extinguish the flames; but they were true Venetians, men whose services
were always prompt at the call of their country, were neither selfish'
nor venal, and they refused to touch the proffered gift. The palace could
be, and was rebuilt, that palace in which Fra Paolo was so often to give
counsel, but who could repaint the pictures of Bellini, of Paul Veronese,
Tintoretto, or of Pardenone? Many of the portraits of the Doges painted
by Titian perished, and the catalogue of upwards of one hundred pictures
burned in that fatal fire, forms a dark page in the " Venetia Descritta" of
Sansovino. Amongst them were the portraits of personages familiar to
every reader of Venetian history; many of them are mentioned by Sarpi,
who saw the palace rise like a phoenix from its ashes more beautiful than
ever; but a year had not elapsed when its occupant the Doge died, leaving
a name that will go down to the latest posterity.
This Doge, Sebastiano Veniero, was succeeded by Nicolo da Ponte, and
Fra Paolo had the satisfaction to see a man of learning and science hold
the chief office in the State. During the first year of his government, Pa-
ruta was named Historiographer, but each succeeding historian, had he
chronicled the bare facts of the case, could only have told " that the in
fluence of the King of Spain throughout Italy was on the increase. " To
this may be traced the decay both of Venice and of all Italy. 2 So
said Sarpi : some have condemned his dislike to the influence of Spain, but
if such persons would consider that her monarchs curbed the liberty of
Italy, that they fostered bigotry and superstition, and upheld the power of
the Inquisition in spiritual matters, not only by encouragement of the
papal prohibitions on books, but by many other taxes, restrictions, and
vexations; would they not rather pity than blame the man who could not,
even in thought, bow beneath impending tyranny? Two strove for the
mastery, Philip of Spain and the Pope, as to who should " be absolute
sovereign of all Italy; " Fra Paolo Sarpi was afraid of both, was he wrong?
The writer must now claim the indulgent attention of the reader to
some account of Fra Paolo's studies, prefaced as it necessarily is with the
reasons for not citing from the Friars manuscripts in this instance. Many
of the MSS. of Sarpi remained at the Convent of the Servi, and they
were all collected and arranged in the year 1740, by Fra Josepho
Bergantino, who to the gifts of genius and a critical knowledge of Vene-
1 Calendar. Rawdon Brown.
2 Sismondi.

-et. 26.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 35
tian antiquity added urbanity of manners, and his veneration for the
memory of Sarpi, which was also shown by his work " F. Paolo Giusti-
ficato, " made him well fitted for his task. Besides a large volume entitled
the " Schedas Sarpiana?, " there were five small volumes bearing this
title, " Pauli Sarpi collectanea quot quot domi forisque inveniri potuerant
ab H. Josepho Berganteno H. C. A. in unum congesta 1740. "
All these perished in the fire which consumed the Library of the Servi
in the year 1769. ' But as Foscarini and Griselini had personally exa
mined these MSS. the reader is not left without their observations on
these curious writings ; both were of opinion that Paolo Sarpi had entered
on his wide field of research in the years in which he taught philosophy
in his Convent. This opinion was founded on their perusal of the " Pen
sieri, " a MS. of two hundred pages much worn and damaged, which
consisted of seven hundred thoughts on natural philosophy, metaphysics,
and mathematics, nearly all of which bore the date of 1578; and both
Foscarini and Griselini bear witness to their being " the marrow of scho
lastic doctrine, " and " the type of more modern systems. "
After noticing the high aim which Fra Paolo took in known science,
how he had extracted as well as analysed the essence of natural philo
sophy, and shewed that he had embraced all that men of the greatest
genius of the past and present century knew of the elements and nature
of bodies both terrestrial and celestial, their generation, properties and
qualities, how he bad successfully unfolded all that relates to the nu
trition of life, and of vegetable and animal matter, Griselini observes,
" What may be said of his thoughts on philosophy, may be .equally affir
med of those on mathematics, which not only belong to pure geometry,
but to synthesis, analysis, the conic sections, mechanics, statistics, hydros
tatics, hydraulics, hydrogaphy, aeromatria, pneumatics, optics, dioptrics,
catoptrics, geocatoptrics, catodioptrics, the sphere, astronomy, acoustics,
and civil and military architecture, " and Griselini adds, " that these
Pensieri not only showed that Fra Paolo was versant in the works of
Euclid, Archimedes, and Apollonius of Perga, but in those of Vitellio,
Alhazen the Arabian Mathematician and Optician of the 12th century,
and with the works of his contemporaries Ubaldo, Marquis del Monte, a
renowned writer on mechanics of the 16th century, and other philosophers
and mathematicians of note, precursors of the great Galileo. "
There was a translation of the work of this Oriental in the La
tin language in the library of the Servi, Venice, prior to its destruction.
" Optica? Thesavrvs Alhazeni Arabia, libri septem nunc primum Editi
Eivsdem liber de Crepvscvlis et Nubium ascencionibus. Item Vitellonis
1 Appendix.

36 THE LIFE OF ' [a.d. 1578.
Thuringopoloni Libri X, omnes instaurati, figuris illustrati et aucti,
adiectis etiam in Alhazenum commentarijs a Federigo Resnero. " On
the margin of this volume, especially in the second book, there were
many notes in the handwriting of Fra Paolo.
Fra Paolo shewed that a solid immersed and saturated in water cannot
acquire more gravity than it has by nature, because water in water, not
having gravity cannot give to the solid either more or less gravity. '
Such is nearly the doctrine of Galileo. Again, touching the velocity which
accelerates the fall of a heavy body attached to a cord or pendant thread,
his reasoning is similar to that adopted by the Florentine philosopher
in his Dialogues, 2 Sarpi shows that " an igneous vapor arising from the
water does not ascend quicker because the vapor is lighter than the air,
but because it is forced upwards by the water which compresses it, " and
he further remarks that " a body which weighs in the air double that of the
water, will descend in it in the same degree as the air ascends. " So Galileo
asserts that " the gravity of a solid, greater or less than that of the water,
is the true and proper sense of its sinking or not. " On comparison of
the ideas of the author of a method of Indivisibility with that of the
" Pensieri, " the same argument occurs as to the effect of mirrors whose
concavity is generated by a parabolical line; there is also similarity between
the " Pensieri " and the Lunar Astronomy of Kepler, as also Gregory in his
Comparative Astronomy. On dioptrics, Fra Paolo observes, " I have made
many experiments in this particular with looking glasses, spherical and
concave, convex and plane and having observed the effects produced by the
rays of the sun, and by the brightness of the moon and stars reflected on
the water, the reflection of the same will determine their place and dis
tance. At different times the experiments were according to my method
of reasoning, but at other times, I found I was quite contradicted, which
is one argument for the belief that in many cases the broken and diver
gent rays which meet our eyes converge, or are as if convergent.
The " Pensieri " also contained thoughts on Anatomy, although there
is presumptive proof that these threw considerable light on that science, it
is more probable that Fra Paolo's discoveries of the valves in the veins,
and the dilitation of the uvea of the eye were made during 1582-5 when
for three years he made Anatomy a principal study.
The nomination of a friend of Sarpi to the Readership of the Ducal Chan
cery must not be omitted. Aldus Manutius was one of a family held in vene
ration by every lover of classical literature. The Aldine, or Italic character
perpetuates the name of Aldus the elder, as well as his edition of the Clas-

i Pensieri MS. Sarpi. N° 13, 538.
* Opera di Galileo. Tom. i, 216.

st. 26.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 37
sics, but the studies of Aldus, the younger, of the libraries of Venice as
well as its stones, marbles and antiquities, and his arduous comparisons
of their inscriptions with upwards of 1,500 Roman inscriptions in order
to establish a correct orthography of the ancient Latin, were more than
sufficient to arrest the attention of Sarpi, and to make him seek the so
ciety of Aldus Manutius, who was at a later period librarian of the Vati
can, nor could he forget to whom he owed his knowledge of the ancient
Roman Calendar.
Fra Paolo was no stranger within the University of Padua, which was
regarded with peculiar favor by the Republic of Venice. Let the reader
view the modest Friar as he passes beneath the winged lion which adorns
its gates, and enters the College where he had so often listened to its
learned professors, now to receive a degree at their hands. The place where
Livy once dwelt, reflected honor on itself by giving honor to Sarpi, and
centuries after the Servite had received his degree, his countrymen could
point to the Matricular of that great University, and tell that there was
inscribed a name of which even Padua is proud. On his return from Pa
dua, public affairs could not fail to interest Fra Paolo, because the inde
pendence of his country was dear to him, and the rich vein of liberty runs
through his works. What then must he have thought of the King of Spain
making a hasty peace with the Netherlands that he might possess the
Kingdom of Portugal? A like usurpation might await Venetia, and Paolo
gave good reasons for this supposition long before the plot of Ossuna.
The occupation by the Pope of parts of the lands of the Romagna was
a cause of great discontent and bloodshed, nevertheless Venice was still
secure. Fra Paolo Sarpi took priest's orders when he was twenty seven years of
age, and afterwards passed much of his time in strict retirement, and in
acts of piety and meditation.
For some years subsequently he did not take wine, animal food did
not accord with his constitution, and his principal nourishment was bread
and fruit, his beverage water. The Servi partook of both animal food and
wine but Fra Paolo's abstemiousness was only on account of his health. He
was very thin in body, having grave disorders of the liver, which caused
great weakness and pain, but he was not accustomed to relax either his
habits of devotion or study, and thought it a mistake, except in cases of
extremity, when an invalid deviated from his usual rule of life. When he
was about thirty years of age he was obliged to take wine and he was
often heard to say that nothing had ever cost him so much as in this to
follow the advice of his physicians. " He always preserved the strictest disci
pline over himself, and he could so command his affections, that if his
judgment was contrary to them, they could not move him. No dainty

38 THE LIFE OF [A-D- 1679-
could excite his appetite if hurtful, and he took medicine as if it was
good food when he believed it to be beneficial. Such were his infirmities of
body that he never could be persuaded that his life would be prolonged
for a year, he thought each day might be his last, and said he never
remembered to have felt so as if he could live a year. To this may be at
tributed the great progress which he made in his studies, in which he
was so engrossed that few days passed in which they did not occupy him
eight hours, but he had no intention of publishing any work till obliged
to do so for the public good. He was not resolute in action, but rather
appeared cold and reserved, for he who has little hope of long life seldom
applies himself to actions of'great consequence. " '
Since the institution of the Order of the Servi, Fra Paolo was the only
member who had been appointed Provincial at the early age of twenty
seven, but with the unanimous applause of the Chapter held at Verona,
he was now chosen to fill that office, which was one of trust, and required
not only temper and discretion, but ability to govern. The Provincial had
supervision of all the Convents of his Older within his province, he had
a voice in the provincial Chapters with power to elect ad interim the
officials of the Convent : he had the power if he pleased to transfer any
friar from one Convent to another, to reprove, correct, or even imprison
him, but the sentence was to be remitted for approval to the General. He
might inhabit any Convent he chose, travel at the common expense and
receive some emolument from all. Except in the case of insult or personal
provocation he was exempt from all reproof, took precedence of all friars
of inferior grade, appointed a lay brother to be his servant, and was free
of all public duty.
Such was the office to which Fra Paolo was elected in the city of Ve
rona, justly termed " il Nobile. " It was of interest to a classical scholar,
such as Sarpi, from being the birth place of the magnanimous conqueror
Emilius, of Cornelius Nepos, of the poets Ernilius, Macer and Catallus, of
Pliny the Elder, the great Titus Vespasian, and of the cruel Domitian.
Some Latin authors pronounce Verona to have been a city of the
Cenomani, but Pliny places its site in Rhoetia. It was one of the twelve
cities of Etruria, and is said to have taken its name from the illustrious
family of the Vera. Its ancient amphitheatre, its fortifications, its remains
of an ancient Naumachia, all would occupy the attention of Fra Paolo,
and to this student of architecture Verona afforded many objects on
which his eye would linger with just appreciation. From his Convent there,
his abode of peace, he could look down on the plains where Caius Mar-
cius met and defeated the Cimbri and where Odoacer met the same fate

i MS.

**• 27.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 39
at the hands of Theodoric King of the Goths, but could Fra Paolo
imagine as he trode the Cathedral where the Lords of the Scala lie en
tombed, that his fame would be spread by the learned Scaliger, who boast
ed descent from these ancient governors of Verona?
Great reform had been effected in the discipline of the churches
there by Bishop Giberti, and Fra Paolo valued such. The portrait of
this exemplary Prelate must have been familiar to him during his
intercourse with Cardinal Borromeo at Milan , as it was the pen
dent, silent, but chosen monitor of the Cardinal, who endeavored to
imitate the example of one, who was a successful and venerated leader
in the cause of reform within the Church of Rome.
On] his return from Verona, Fra Paolo taught Theology at Venice,
and discharged his duties as Provincial with piety and integrity. He
was proof against bribes, refused the smallest gift if offered as such,
and in no instance were his judgments revoked even by the Cardinal
San Severina. " Partiality and division were banished from the Order
during his government, and none complained but those who presum
ed more on his friendship than upon their merit, thus in this, his
first essay in government, the germ of his future excellence in admini
stration was apparent as well as his great prudence in negotiation,
so that in all the innumerable affairs which passed through his hands,
none were so involved but that he could unravel them or else they
were wholly inextricable. Persons of all conditions placed such confi
dence in his judgment that they believed he, if any one, could extri
cate them from difficulty. Though apparently inclined to severity and
rigorous measures he was not so; he was naturally so kind and ten
der that in mature age he was not only compassionate to man but to
animals, he could not bear to see them ill treated, and if it had been
necessary for him to kill an animal for his own food, he would rather
have suffered abstinence. " l Such are the minute particulars given
to us, of the Friar whom those of the Court of Rome call " Terrible. "
Great differences still existed amongst the Servi, but Fra Paolo endea
vored to quell dissension; he loved justice but blamed too great lenity
in punishment, especially as administered at Venice, and deemed it a
cause of excess ; yet he leaned to mercy rather than to severity in the
administration of his government as Provincial.
In a general Chapter of the Order, convoked at Parma by the Prior
General Tavanti, according to custom the learned Servi held disputations
on Theology and Philosophy, Fra Paolo taking part in the discussion and
sermons; his auditors were unbounded in their applause, amongst whom
i MS.

40 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1579.
was Ottavio, the Ducal member of the house of Farnese. " In consequence
of many statutes enacted by the Pontiffs with regard to the Regulars,
especially at the Council of Trent, as to the reform of all the religious
Orders, it was now judged necessary by the Chapter to send a deputation
to Rome, and it was determined to make choice of three of the wisest and
most prudent who understood the art of government. " One of these was
Padre Paolo, ' a youth in comparison of the hoary hairs of his col
leagues. He had a greater knowledge than his companions of canonical and
civil jurisprudence and the decrees of Councils; therefore the care of
these devolved upon him, and his decisions were made with such brevity,
clearness, and depth of reasoning, that many of the greatest jurists averred
that they were made by one who had spent all his life in the study of
the law. This affords strong proof against those who affirm that the
profoundly scientific are unfit to govern, an error as gross as pernicious,
and utterly confuted by the after life of Sarpi. " 2
In the month of June A.D. 1579, Fra Paolo Sarpi, Alessandro di Scandia-
vo, and Socius, accompanied by Antonio di Borgo Procurator of the Servi,
entered the ancient city of the. Caesars; there, they were to await the man
date of the Pope, of the Protector the Cardinal Farnese, of the Vice Pro
tector the Cardinal San Severina, and the General Tavanti, whose name
is enrolled amongst the celebrated Servites of the University of Florence.
" Dirige gressus meos, " was Tavanti's motto and also his rule. His whole
energies were given to the reformation of his Order, and though forty
protested, the General assisted by Paolo carried his measures, and by
him Fra Paolo was introduced for the first time at the Court of Rome, and
had full opportunity of judging of its merits and demerits, as well as of
its Pontiff, who although by no means on the best terms with Venice, ap
preciated the talents of the Venetian friar, and there is no record of the
denial of any request which Fra Paolo made to him.
Gregory XIII was a learned Canonist and also well versed in civil law,
of strict life, but under the rule of the Theatines and Jesuits to whom he
gave large sums of money; he was indefatigable in establishing the latter
Order throughout Europe. To all he deemed " heretics " he was uncom
promising, and he permitted the Cardinal San Severina to exercise the
office of Inquisitor with great rigor. It was an ordeal of no common kind
for Fra Paolo to transact business with San Severina, who, though a man
of ability, was of harsh and austere temper and strong will, but the judg
ments of Fra Paolo were never reversed at Rome, and when redress was

i After this period Fulgenzio designates Sarpi, Padre or Father, but he dis
liked to be called by any other name than Fra Paolo.
a MS.

.bt. 27.] FRA 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 city in 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. * 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
i Annal. Servorvm. lib. I, cap. I, II, and XIV.

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 Heva?. Ad te suspiramus gementes et flentes
in hac laorymarum valle. Eja ergo advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes
oculos ad nos converte. Et Jesum benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis
post hoc exilium ostende. 0 clemens, 0 pia, 0 dulcis Virgo Maria " '
Fra Paolo knew that the Salve Regina was first said or sung A.D. 1238,2
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, 3 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, * he 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 divided 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 faithfull
made often mention of her in the Churches, as well of the East, as of the
West, with this shorte forme of wordes, in Greeke Maria e«>-oKoe, in La
tin, Maria mater Dei. This being 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-
i " Officium B. M. V. "
2 Annal. Baronius and Raynaldus.
3 Griselini, lib. i, p. 70. Foscarini, lib. hi, p. 307.
'* Pallavicini Con. di Trento, and the Latin Ediz. Marciana.

mi. 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 Blother, without the Sonne,
he remayning as an Appendix in the picture. The writers and preachers,
especially those that were contemnlatiue, 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
Office was instituted to the blessed Virgin, distinguished by seven
canonical houres, in a forme which anciently was ever, used to the Di
vine maiestie, and in the next hundred yeares, the worship so increased,
that it came to its height 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 ecclesiasticall offices. 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 Blessed 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 A.D. 1300, when John Scot, a Franciscan, putting the mat
ter into disputation, and examining the reasons, did flie 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 laid
open, they affirmed absolutely for true that which he had proposed as
possible and probable under this doubtful condition, if it lee not re
pugnant to the orthodoxe faith.
1 Novelties.

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 Sixtus IV, a Franciscan, made two Bulles in this matter, one,
in the' yeare one thousand foure hundred seventie sixe, approving a
new office, 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.
" 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. " i
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 solioit the Pope to pause ere he restored the Salve
Regina, the recitation of which had been withdrawn by one of his
predecessors Gregory XIII.

i His. Councell of Trent. Sarpi, lib. i, p. 151, etc. MS.

45

CHAPTER IV.
a.d. 1580 — a.d. 1588.
Doges of Venice. Niccolb da Ponte 1585. Pasquale Cicogna.
Sovereigns of Germany. Rodolph II.
England. Elizabeth. 106,3. James I of Great Britain.
Scotland. Mary.
France. Henry III.
Spain. Philip II.
Turkey. Amurath III.
Popes. Gregory XIII. 1585 Sixtus V.

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

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. Veta 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 A.D. 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
lation : not 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

mi. 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 1' Acquapendente confesses in his treatise on the
Eye, " De occulo, visus organo " ' 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 Fulgenzio " 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 1' Acquapendente but of the Padre, who on
considering the gravity of the blood came to this conclusion 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. " 2
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-
x " Re igitur cum amico quodam nostro communicata ille tandem forte id
observavit scilicet non modo in cato, sed in homine, et quocunque animali
foramen uvete in majori luce contrahi in minori dilatari. Quod arcanum obser-
vatum est, et mihi significantum a Rev. Patre Magistro Paulo Veneto, Ordinis
ut appellant Servorum Theologo, Philosophoque insigni, sed Mathematicarum
disciplinarum pnecipueque Optices maxime studioso, ^juem hoc loco honoris
gratia nomino atque id deiuceps ad libitum observare licuit quamvis prater
omnem opinionem id evenire judicaremus, quod lucis natura potlus sit disgre-
gare, dilatareque, tenebrarum vero constringere, densare et comprimere: at
ratio omnis cessat, ubi sensus refragatur ; quinimo in oculorum affectionibus et
diminuta visione, cum scilicet ad Consultationem de ipsis habendam, oculos
patientis forte in loco non admodum claro videremus, s;epe numero id nobis
imposuit cum patientem pupillfe dilatatione laborare opinaremur. Etenim non
solum in magna luce foramen imminuitur, in modica dilitatur; sed etiam si quis
ob humorum impuritatem diminitute videat, impendio magis adhuc dilatari
apparet ita ut dilatfe pupill;e suspicionem facile faciat et injiciat. " — " De
Oculo Visus Organo, " etc. Acquapendente, c. vr, p. 229.
2 MS.

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,
bv 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

.et. 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 Fra 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 disoover 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 Scheda? Sarpianaa. 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. iv, p. 32' (History of Medicine).

60 THE LIFE OF \i..v. 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.
" N. 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 bear, 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 the 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 Deoretum, the Decretal, nor the Sextus were any longer
1 Calendar. R. Brown, Pref. p. 16.

XI. 30-33.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 61
of use as to benefices; 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 Ccena 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 be 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

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,

«r. 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, twice 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

54 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1585.
professed poverty, but their profession and practice were at variance.
Loyola was created General of the Order on the 14th of March 1541,
and by a second bull of Paul III, the Society was allowed to be
composed of unlimited numbers, with liberty not only to make any
additions to the former constitutions, but also to change them ad
libitum. Many other privileges were also granted to Loyola, who
demanded and enforced a stricter obedience than had ever been re
quired or exacted from any members of any monastic body. Pope
Julius III confirmed the privileges of the Jesuits, on the 22nd of
October 1552. In 1555 Loyola died, but not before he had seen
his Society overspread the world. Roderigo and Xavier had the
Indies for their province; Faber, Germany; Aranez, Spain; Lainez Pas-
quier and Bobadilla, Italy; the seventh was sent with some youths to
France; Salmeron to Great Britain and Ireland, and several to Ame
rica. In 1543 there were only eighty eight Jesuits, in 1545 they had
ten religious houses, in 1549 they had two provinces, one in Portugal,
and twenty two houses, in 1556 twelve provinces.
There can be no doubt of the honesty of Ignatius Loyola, his er
rors were the result of a neglected education and a heated imagination,
usurping command over a weaker judgment. This is very evident in
his work called " Spiritual Exercises. " Sarpi never charged Loyola
with the intrigues and errors of his followers, but he did not hesitate
to condemn his theology. It was opposed to the theology of the Holy
Scriptures and of Saint Augustine.
Devotion to Ignatius appeared to be the mainspring of the obedience of
his followers, and the world witnessed a self-abnegation founded on the
observation of the Spiritual Exercises which was a just cause of astonish
ment. Ignatius aimed at nothing less than the spread of his Society, and
an entire subjugation of the will, understanding, and affection of each
member to him and to each successive General. The Jesuits were not a
body of which the members were actuated by separate impulse, one pulse
vibrated through the whole. The General could command the whole body
or the least member, equally certain that his command was law that
must be implicitly obeyed. The constitutions enlarged and recast (it is
believed by Lainez) certainly tended to the absolute bondage of the
conscience, it was made over to another, in strict parlance that so
vereign was hurled from his throne, and the man was led captive
by another, until the hour when that dethroned sovereign asserted
its forgotten rights, and demanded to be reinstated in its high place.
But by long habitude and training, the conscience was oftimes lul
led to sleep, and the Jesuits were almost unconsiously slaves and ac
customed by degrees to a novel and faculty system of morals and of

-St- 33.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 55
theology, they did what once they would have been loath to do,
not because they judged it to be right, but because it was their
duty to obey their superior, when for the weal of the Pope or of the
Church. Men so sworn to the interests of the Court of Rome were
justly feared by Fra Paolo Sarpi, and this is the reason why their rise
and progress have been entered into here. They formed an important
feature of his times, and the reader will mark the different path of
these Reformers and of Sarpi. To a lover of free thought, of liberty of
conscience, of integrity, and of justice like him the Jesuits were op
posed, he sighed for true reform within the Church of Rome, and
saw the Jesuits assume the name of Reformed when he knew they had
no right to such a title. Any reform which would tend to an abroga
tion of their novel doctrines was distasteful to an Order who were the
servants of the Popes, or rather of the Papacy, for some of the Pon
tiffs did not approve of the Jesuits, and in later times the Order was
abolished by Clement XIV ' who partook largely of the opinions of
Sarpi as to the reform of the Church of Rome. Of the reformed Church
and its members whom the Jesuits deemed " heretics " they were the
opponents, and as they ignored all human ties, their hearts were steeled
against the voice of supplication. Sarpi, both in his letters and other
writings, complains bitterly of their obduracy. They were strict obser
vers of human nature, and were distinguished for their tact, address,
and good manners. They were generally of pleasing exterior, and to
this " letter of recommendation " 2 they added considerable power of
bending those whom they addressed to their purpose.
About the year 1556, the Jesuits had obtained such knowledge
of state affairs at Venice through the confessional, that it was se
riously mooted that they should be banished from the city; but they
used all their talents and skill in persuasion to remain, and effected
their purpose, the Senators contenting themselves with forbidding their
wives and daughters to confess to them, though unfortunately some of
the Senators at a later period had recourse themselves to these attrac
tive but unsafe teachers. We shall have occasion to notice their pro
gress from time to time, their first introduction to Venice was sin
gular. During the infancy of Fra Paolo, Trevisano was Doge, he was
a good but superstitious man, and many years previous to his holding
the highest office in the state he lived in S. Marco. It is said that he
dreamed that a saint stood at his door. He awoke, went to it, and
found Loyola. Trevisano sheltered him, presented him to the Doge

1 Restored by Pius VII.
a Lord Bacon.

56 THE LIFE OF [a.e. 1587.
Gritti, who gave him a free passage to Palestine, but Trevisano did
not know the effect of that introduction, it was not long before the
Jesuits made Venice a stronghold. The genius and intelligence of
the Venetians would be a powerful instrument to the Society, and it
was not neglected, but they never won Fra Paolo to be one of their
number. The heart of Fra Paolo was deeply touched by the war against the
Reformed in Germany and in France. How would he have been glad
dened had Henry III remembered the parting advice given to him by
the Doge and Senate, to sheath his sword against his subjects, whose
only demand was in liberty of conscience to serve their God. It is a
spot of earth on which the eye loves to rest, that where the tolerant
Servite craved of Heaven's High King, that the would permit a gen
tler rule, and it may well be believed that all the persecutions and
misery that Fra Paolo either saw or heard of for the sake of religion,
not only awakened his deepest sympathy, but nerved him for the con
test which he was one day to wage against papal aggression and
wrong. He had many objects of interest; books and rare MSS. which few
saw were open to him, for example, he was at Rome when the Codex
AmiatinUs, was borrowed for the correction of the Sixtine Bible. ' Fra
Paolo speaks of the readings of Sixtus, but not in commendation; the
edition of the Scriptures published by this Pope was too much in ac
cordance with the papal interpretation of the volume to be approved by
an unprejudiced scholar. Sixtus published not only an edition of the
Vulgate, but a Bible in the Italian language against the wishes of the
Cardinals. To the people the Sacred Book was still prohibited, which was
a source of regret to Fra Paolo because there were Bibles of Venice 1471,
1477, and 1481, and Brucciolo's of 1541, and it must never be lost sight of
in his biography, that the Holy Scriptures were his guide in life, his con
solation in affliction, his refuge in danger, his support in death.
Sixtus had made large additions to the Library of the Vatican, which
at the end of the sixteenth century was esteemed the richest public library
in the world, and Fra Paolo availed himself of its treasures , the chief
families of Rome had also amassed many volumes, and the learned honor
ed him by presents of books. His eagerness to see works lately published,
or that he had not previously met with, is apparent throughout his let
ters, and as his reputation increased, authors were ambitious to send their
1 The New Testament of this valuable Copy of the Latin Vulgate was published
by Dr. Tischendorf, and the whole is about to be prepared for publication by
Dr. Heyse an accurate German scholar for Brockhaus Leipzig. The Oodex was
restored A.D. 1590, and is now in the Laurentian Library.

xi. 35.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 57
works to him, and to await his opinion of them before they were sent to
the press.
When the usual term of his office as Procurator was completed, Fra
Paolo retraced his steps to Venice. Poor he had entered the vast city
of Rome, poor he quitted it, but he had gained deep insight into the
policy of Sixtus V, he had seen that although there were men of deep
religious thought at his Court yet there was scarcely any advancement
but through intrigue, the liberality of his sentiments was even then sus
pected as the issue proved, notwithstanding his silence and prudence. He
was little likely to follow the faulty precepts of those desirous of place, he
had early shown that a Court was uncongenial to him, and the Court of
Rome partook too much of the nature of other Courts to be relished by a
man whose highest ambition was to follow the steps of a King whose
kingdom is not of this world. " Regnum meum non est de hoc mondo. "
was often repeated by him. Nor could his non-reception of the doctrines
of the Jesuits pass unnoticed at Rome, they had the power by means of
constant confession as well as otherwise, of discovering the most hidden
secrets, and as Fra Paolo was acquainted with Bobadilla and Bellarmine,
either they or other members of their Society knew his opinion of it.
It has been well observed that among those who dwelt within the walls
of convents and monasteries, " religion was usually either all or nothing, "
assuredly, that in such institutions there have been reared many of su
perior talent and vast acquirements, of great and varied science and
extensive erudition, men of whom human nature might be justly proud, is
a fact which needs no proof, but it is equally true, that within these walls
have been found others in whom that life of seclusion has fostered the
worst passions; who first corrupted by idleness have brooded over mis
chievous designs from which they would once have recoiled, until carried
on from step to step by ambition, love of gain, or other evil incentives
they have come to feel no compunction even in jeopardizing the life of an
innocent person.
But lest the reader suppose from this that in the narrative which follows
concerning Gabriello there is any desire to overcharge the failings of an
enemy of Fra Paolo, we quote from the faithful pen of Fra Fulgenzio.
,t The latter part of the charge of Fra Paolo as Procurator at Rome was
during the early part of the Pontificate of Sixtus V, who having been
himself a Friar, knew those among the Friars who were remarkable for
their talents. And knowing the Padre's genius, he employed him in the
Congregations and in other affairs more than had been usually done. On one
occasion when the Pope was being carried on his litter through the streets,
he summoned P. Paolo to him and conversed with him for some time.
Although the subject of this conversation was nothing more than some me-

58 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1587-
morials against the Generals of the Order of the Servi, this unusual oc
currence was remarked by the whole Court, and it was quickly rumoured
how muoh the Padre was in favor with the Pontiff. Idle gossip had already
created him a Cardinal. But the flattering incident, which he had never
sought or coveted, entailed on him a long and harassing persecution. On
first leaving Venice, he had commended his friends to the counsel and
direction of Gabriello Colissoni, who had formerly been associated with
him in the removal of certain abuses from the Provinces. But it often
happens that what we condemn in others we justify in ourselves, and as
Gabriello 's ruling, principal passion was self interest, he carried -on a
system of extortion during the Padre's absence from his Province to such
excess, as to acquire there an almost absolute power. There remained in
fact but one impediment in his way: the expectation of the Padre's speedy
return to Venice, by whom he knew such malpractices would not be ap
proved. He therefore thought his safest course would be to endeavour to
persuade him to remain at Rome, and to this object he at once applied
himself, and procured some of the Padre's best friends to advise him that
by a further sojourn his credit at the Court of Rome might probably ad
vance his fortunes. But the Padre, not only reproved him for the advice,
but to cut short the correspondence, answered him once for all by a letter
written in cypher (the same which was usually employed between them)
in these words, " Would you have me place confidence in Rome, where
only " Genedi " and other ministers of pleasure or of gain prosper? "
This unfortunate letter and the cypher with it were carefully treasured
up by Gabriello, and when at the end of three years the Padre returned
to his Convent, he found the extortions of Gabriello throughout the Pro
vince had been carried to such an excess as he could not possibly sanc
tion. A venal countenance of them was however obtained with some diffi
culty, and at a cost of no less than 20,000 Ducats, part of the accumu
lated plunder, from some who were paying court to the Cardinal S. Se
verina; and when at last the Padre expressed his disapproval, Gabriello
at once came to an open rupture with him. Then it was, that to save
himself and carry his point, Gabriello, who was already in favor with
the Court, and, which is yet more surprising, especially with the Car
dinal Protector, at that time Head of the Holy Office, presented to
that Court the letter of the Padre and its cypher above mentioned.
On this the Cardinal, though he did not venture to cite the Padre
before the Inquisition, evinced the most implacable anger, and as the
multitude always veer with the wind as it changes, although Fra Paolo,
seeing the abuses in his Province were now incurable, withdrew from all
further concern in its government to the privacy of his cell, he became
from this time a constant mark for persecution, if not in his own person

xt. 35.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 69
(where it was difficult to find a vulnerable point), yet in the person of his
friends, who were not only excluded from degrees and honors on the
most trifling pretences, but every fault, even the most venial, was ma
gnified into a mortal sin. " l
No doubt, this letter and cypher were never forgotten at the Court of
Rome. The resentment of such a spirit as that of the Cardinal S. Seve
rina was no light matter, but he had not at present declared himself
openly against Fra Paolo. Perhaps conscience might have admonished
him how strictly true had been the stricture against Rome expressed in
the Padre's letter, whom all her blandishments had not been able to
seduce from the path of honor and rectitude.
At all events, the tide of public opinion was not wholly against him.
He had still many friends, friends even within the " Council of the Ten, "
friends within the Senate, friends among the nobles, friends among the
merchants, citizens and people. Free and independant Venice was still
proud of Fra Paolo, and had any ventured to carry that letter before the
Inquisition at Venice, the charge would have fallen utterly powerless ,
for the Republic still required three of her patricians to be present
there to see justice done, and to control the papal officials. In all
Venice there never was found one noble capable of dragging Fra
Paolo before the Inquisition. Rome reserved to herself the shame of de
manding his presence before that most iniquitous tribunal, a tribunal
against which the outraged people of Naples, Mantua and many others
towns of Italy had often risen, but were powerless till modern times to
effect its destruction.
The Republic, or more properly speaking the Doge and Senate, knew all
that was going on at Rome, and the treachery of Gabriello had doubtless
been communicated to them by their Ambassador at that city, but it had
created no prejudice in their minds against Fra Paolo, and he was still
welcomed as usual by his friends at the Ridotto Morosini, an interesting
association which is thus described by one who frequented it. " This con
versazione had become numerous, not only as men of worth and letters
made it their resort, some of whom have since become distinguished Sena
tors and stars in the firmament of the most serene Republic, but all vir
tuosi, seculars and men of religious orders were admitted, as well as all
lovers of literature who came to Venice from Italy or from any other
country... Ceremony which in our times is so much affected, and yet is so
superfluous, was debarred: because it wearies the brains of the most quick
sighted and consumes time by an artificial method of telling untruths,
unmeaning because it means so much. But politeness, freedom and confi-
i MS.

60 THE LIFE OF [A.D- 1588.
denoe prevailed, each person was permitted to introduce his own subjeot,
without any restriction as to passing from one topic to another, thus
there was always new matter, the object in discussion being the disoovery
of truth.
Whatever subject was introduced, Paolo could not only discourse on
it without premeditation, but was equally ready to maintain a proposition,
or to impugn it, after the manner of the schools. This he did to the sur
prise of all present, and if in his riper years any one recalled these things
to his remembrance, he smiled and treated them as trifles. "
The illustrious Andrea Morosini and Sarpi had been school-fellows as
well as companions in their maturer years, and the courteous manners, as
well as the learning of the Servite, could not fail to ensure respect under
the roof of the future senator and historian of Venice. The calm dignified
and grave but not morose expression, which pervades the portrait of
Morosini is but a faithful mirror of the mind of that eloquent and distin
guished patriot. Deep thought dwells in that steadfast eye, and the whole
countenance as well as the bearing of the head bespeak, not only high birth,
but noble qualities.
Another member of the society was Leonardo Donato, he too
had been the school-fellow of Fra Paolo, and had studied at Bologna
and at Padua. He was a man of prudent and upright character, loyal
to his God and to his country. He had been sent on several embassies
to foreign powers, had given promise of the wisdom of his future career,
and no one could so well inform the society at the Morosini of the
state of affairs at the Court of Rome as Donato, who had resided
there officially. His countenance although solemn was agreeble , to
some he appeared severe, but he was not so; his head, like his hand
writing, was peculiarly small. Sir Henry Wotton remarks, " I call not
impertinently to mind that one of my time in Venice had wit enough
to become the civil head of that grave Republic who yet was called, il
Donato Testolina. " '
Sarpi held frequent discussions on grave subjects with Donato at the
Morosini, thus the future Doge had ample opportunity of discovering the
development of his talents. And well had it been if these two great men
could both have acted in future with equal fearlessness of the Court of
Spain. But while Paolo Sarpi and the company at the Morosini lamented
the growing power of Philip, and the assumptions of the Pope, all valued
these meetings, not only as a union of wise heads and indefatigable
students both of the abstruse and the lesser sciences, but of hearts which
beat high for the weal of their country.
\ l1 Letter. Arch. Ven. = Survey of Education, p. 81.

**• 86.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 61
One. of these was Mocenigo, afterwards Bishop of Ceneda, who to
qualify him for the discharge of the duties of his Bishopric studied
canon law under Fra Paolo, and took him with him to Ferrara when he
went there to meet the Pope. Marc Trevisano, an old friend of Fra
Paolo, also attended the Morosini, besides several of the Contarini, whose
ancestry not only held place amongst the most ancient nobles of Venice,
but were like themselves emulous of distinction in the world of letters.
Of Nicolo Contarini, Fra Paolo expressed himself in warm terms, that
senator shielded the Servite on many occasions from wrong.
Ottavio Buono, a distinguished citizen who declined the honor of nobi
lity, was also a friend of Fra Paolo, and the guest of the Morosini as well
as the noble Veniero: in the latter pages of this work is the last sad
tribute to their friendship from his truthful pen.
It is no easy task to draw the character of Domenico Molino. No one
can look on his portrait, and not be attracted by the countenance of this
wise and accomplished senator in his state robes of crimson, and ample
ruff. Of tender nature, this great and good man was much beloved, and
his praise is to be found in many volumes. That he was known and
valued beyond the Alps, bespoke his liberality of sentiment, which was a
strong bond of union between him and Fra Paolo, who took great pleasure
in his society, not only at the Morosini but at his Convent. He was a man
of elegant manners, a patron of letters, and highly esteemed not only by
Vortius but also by Pereisc. The Senator Antonio Quirini, a distinguished
noble who afterwards wrote in favor of the Republic, as well as Marcello,
a relation of Molino and of similar tastes, Marini Zane and Sebastian
Veniero whom Galileo classes with Agostino da Mula and Fra Paolo Sarpi
for their skill in mathematics, ' Jacopo Morosini, Leonardo Giustiniani,
Bodoaro, Antonio Malpietro, the Secretaries Dolce, Giambattista Padavino,
and others formed the society at the Morosini.
Attired in the habit of his Order, although scrupulusly nice in his person
and dress, his garments formed a strong contrast to those of the company;
but they looked deeper than the surface, it was by the stature of his mind
that they measured Fra Paolo. Tbe patricians of the Senate wore gorgeous
robes of crimson on state occasions, but in private the nobles were more
conspicuous for the costliness than the vivid color of their dress, and
beneath the ample folds of their cloaks they often wore rich apparel
and jewels of great value. The Secretaries of state were attired in blue,
the Knights in black, long sleeves, red caps and collars of lawn, their
hose and doublets of black satin or brocade.
Such was the company, and such the outward guise of the members of
> Difesa Galileo, p. 183.

62 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1588.
the Morosini, and happy was it for Fra Paolo that he had such a resort
where he could enjoy social intercourse and friendship, which was one
of the great charms of his existence. He had the true Socratic art of
drawing forth others in conversation, and thus discovering the depths of
their minds, which was perhaps to be attributed to his faculty of being
able to discourse on every subject that might arise. If he met with any one
preeminent in any art or science, he questioned him with peculiar suavity,
till he had gained all the information he could, and this he did without
either importunity or troublesome curiosity. His greatest pleasure was
to listen to travellers, who could describe other lands, their inhabitants,
religion and manners; and this information he could acquire at the Nave
d'Oro, the house of the Signor Sechini, who had studied at the university
of Lonvain and was very superior to his position in life. For one and
twenty years he welcomed Fra Paolo to his home, especially when there
were foreigners present whom Paolo loved to question, and when in later
years the family was calumniated because the elder and younger Se
chini were his friends, and Paolo would therefore have withdrawn from
their society, the Sechini, with the true nobility of disinterested friendship,
would not consent to his absence, preferring his company to any pecu
niary loss.
At the Nave d'Oro Fra Paolo met M. Perrot, who on his return from
Constantinople with the Ambassador Aramont remained in Italy, where
his amiable manners and great candor gained him general esteem. Although
he was of the Reformed Church and wrote on the Bull of Sixtus against
the King of Navarre, these were no obstacles to his acquaintance with Fra
Paolo, and the author of " L'aviso piacevole dato alia bella Italia "
had such regard for Paolo that their friendship continued through
life, thus the genial presence of Fra Paolo was not only agreeable to
those Venetians he met at the Nave d'Oro, but to those foreigners who
formed part of the company and boasted, that they " had seen the greatest
genius of his time. " He was well known to Europe before the year
1606; if he was too modest to proclaim his abilities they had not
escaped observation, and the Friar who was honored by " Popes, Princes
and their Nobility, Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops, and by the
universities of Italy, " could not be unknown.
Little has been said as to Fra Paolo's health ; he had throughout life
grave disorders; about this period he suffered from derangement of the
whole system, and violent pains in the head.
As in childhood he was small in body, and his stature short, thus he
had little strength to combat with infirmity. Notwithstanding, he bore
pain with serenity, nay even hilarity, and never intruded his sufferings in
time of illness upon others. " He looked ou it as a mark of divine favor

xi. 36.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 63
giving warning of death, and was impressed with the idea that he would
not live. His weakness did not however interfere with his division of the
day into three parts, the service of God, study and conversation. He was
always present at the church services. The furniture of his room was very
simple; its only ornament was a picture which pourtrayed Christ in the
garden of Gethsemane, a crucifix with a human skull beneath it, as
his peculiar mirror, and three hour glasses to measure the time. He had
no wish, therefore he felt no want, he was rich in his poverty, although
without income or possessed of any source whence he could obtain
money, of which he had only sufficient for the day, and that but little.
He had no books but what were given or lent to him by his friends,
but as he remembered all he read, no Prince ever had a greater library." '
" Fra Paolo was a man of the most lively sensibility, discerning objects
of which others were quite insensible. It was wonderful how quickly he
perceived of what meats were composed, whether compounded or mixed,
good or injurious, and as at certain times and for certain reasons he had
great cause to guard against poison that faculty was not superfluous. Not
that he was fastidious in his food, but because he knew that what God
keeps is well kept, he felt sure that by his exquisite taste He would
warn him whenever there was danger, and as the peril was greatest in
what he drank, he was then still more upon his guard. His passibility was
very great, every thing made a lasting impression upon him, and it was
wonderful how long these impressions remained in his mind. The form of
every place which he had seen was graven on his memory, and his friends
would question him thousands of times how it was possible to remember
such minutia. If he read a book (and he read every book of any note
which issued from the press), he knew the whole work, even the place in
a page where he had read, and as he was so easily impressed, it was more
surprising that it was as difficult to efface the impression ; and such was
his deep humility that if one praised him for this, he would say they only
praised a great imperfection and a great weakness which was injurious to
him; that his great passibility was the cause of it, that it gave him no
trouble, and that his memory being so retentive, so far from being a
perfect virtue or quality, only showed that his affections were moved, which
evinced passion, and therefore every little idea or relic of the object continued
it. His constant study of the canon law and decrees, prior and subsequent
to the time when he relinquished his office as provincial, was such
that he not only knew their date, but the cause for which they had been
enacted, the source from whence they were taken, and every particular
connected with their observance and nonobservance, as well as with the

i MS.

64 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1588;
intricate history of all beneficiary matters and the controversies concerning
them. To theory he now added the practice of the Congregations of the
tribunals at Rome, their formula and method of procedure. "
But what was most wonderful was that he retained the remembrance
of every place, site, figure, or statue that he had seen. From this passi
bility, according to Fra Paolo from this impressible temperament, but ac
cording to others from his great intellectual powers, and not so far as we
know from any study of physiognomy, " he had greater knowledge, of cha
racter, " Fra Fulgenzio proceeds to say, " than any one I ever saw, and I
could relate how only from one conversation with certain persons he formed
an opinion of them as correct as if that little window, so coveted by
Momus, was actually in their hearts. If I told of his penetration into their
nature, habits, inclinations and deportment, I fear that my statement of
the truth would bring my writing into discredit. The necessity of minute
though unwilling observation so refined his judgment, that in his latter
years especially some of the friars thought he had a familiar spirit, an idea
which needs no refutation, he was but like a skilful performer, who judges
of an instrument by one touch. I remember several virtuosi coming to see
him in his cell, when one who had made a very accurate study of the
properties of the magnet, believing with good reason that he knew as
much on this subject as any one, was introduced to the Padre and entered
into conversation with him; but on finding that there was no speculation
or experiment which the Friar was unacquainted with or could not prove,
he was overcome by surprise. Remarkable inventions of instruments, en
gines for measurement of weight or time, or for mathematical or military
purposes, all these were brought for his inspection. He immediately perceiv
ed the design, and gave his opinion as to any one of these articles being
likely to serve the intended purpose or not. Many men of great genius
(still alive) communicated their inventions of any new instrument to him,
and if it was of value, he would show in what manner it could be im
proved. " '
Fra Paolo continued to make Padua a favorite resort; besides meeting
with Acquapendente and Santorio, he had long enjoyed the society of
Pinelli, whose house was the assembly of many savans. He was there intro
duced to Ghetaldo the mathematician, who espressed much surprise at
the acquirements of Fra Paolo in mathematics, and subsequently became
his friend. Pinelli was rich, and distributed his wealth with a liberal,
hand, * and many a student was cheered by his generosity when need would
have driven him from the University. This learned Genoese had a keen
* MS.
a Life of Pinelli, Gualdo (Latin).

xi. 36.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 65
love of study, and versed in the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin tongues, as well
as Spanish, French, and Italian, he was no less master of mathematics,
philosophy, jurisprudence, and medicine; music was one of his recreations
as also was botany, his knowledge of which would recommend him to
Fra Paolo who laid out the first botanic garden at Padua.
From the time Pinelli fixed his abode there (1558), he began to collect
books, and his library was one of the finest in Europe. His cabinet of
antiquities, maps, medals, minerals, mathematical and astronomical instru
ments were at the service of all; and although of weakly constitution and
unable to leave his home except to attend church, he made all welcome
to his hospitality. His mien was graceful and modest, and his eye, despite
its weakness, was indicative of a mind of no common calibre. In letters he
found a kindred spirit in Fra Paolo, but there was yet a deeper union not
only with Pinelli, Donato, De Thou, Molino, Du Plessis Mornay, and
De Ferrier, in religion which diffused its harmony through this circle of
learned men on earth , binding them together in the harmony of
heaven. When Fra Paolo returned from Padua, he found to his grief that one
of the first objects of San Severina's.ill treatment was Fra Giulio, an aged
man of irreprehensible life. When Paolo entered the Order of the Servi,
Fra Giulio had supplied him with clothes, travelling expenses and books,
" as to clothes, he only had one suit, if he had fallen into the water, he
must have remained in bed till his habit was dried. " ' This appears but
a slender stock of clothing, but small as it was if it had not been that
Fra Paolo had supplies from the Convent, it would have been still more
limited, since from great age and loss of memory Fra Giulio forgot what
he had undertaken to supply. Fra Paolo was little disturbed by this, he
contented himself with what the Convent gave him, " one might as well
think of altering a square as of disturbing Paolo. " He heard that poor as
his allowance was, both he and Fra Giulio were to be deprived of that,
and Giulio was banished from Venice under pretext of his having excited
the nobles against the Patriarch. Hitherto Fra Paolo had submitted, but
this last act of injustice roused him; he went to Rome, pleaded for the
aged friar's return to Venice, and won his cause. The slanders of the foes
of Fra Paolo and Giulio sank as sinks the darkness of night before the
sun of morn.

i MS.

66

CHAPTER V.
a.d. 1588 — a.d. 1604.
Doges of Venice. Pasquale Cicogna.
1595. Marino Grimani.
Sovereigns of Germany. Rodolph II.
England. Elizabeth.
Gkeat Britain. 1603. James I.
France. Henry III. 1589. Henry IV.
Spain. Philip II. 1598. Philip III.
Turkey. 1595. Mahomet III. Achmet I.
Popes. Sixtus V. 1590, Urban VII. Gregory XIV.
1591. Innocent IX. 1592. Clement VLU.

Historical notice. - Urban VII. - Innocent IX. - Clement VIII consults Fra
Paolo. - Dispensation. - Fra Paolo's remarks on the origin of opinions. -
F. Gio. Battista. - Cardinals. - Paolo denied preferment. - Sir H. Wotton. -
M. de Thou.
It is now necessary to glance at the politics of Europe, and principally
at those of England, in which Fra Paolo took a lively interest; he has
pronounced " Queen Elizabeth to be wise in all her government. " Li
berty of conscience and rest had succeeded the misrule of her predecessor,
but Philip of Spain designed to win back England to the Pope, and
primarily to himself; this, however, was frustrated by the loss of the Spa
nish Armada, which was a source of joy to Venetia, as what curbed the
power of Philip was gain to the Republic. Sixtus, however, although writh
ing under the loss of England, believed that he would conquer elsewhere,
and in Germany through the influence of strong Papists and Jesuits many
had lapsed to Rome.
Compared with the former corruption of manners, there was at this
time a change for the better amongst the clergy and religious Orders, hut
the grant of free education by the Jesuits wherever they had a College
almost obliged the people to take them for instructors. There were thus
Jesuits employed in education throughout the length and breadth of the
land, and this applies to every country where they had established them
selves. The learning of the Jesuits was by some overrated, and few Were
yet well informed as to the pernioious tendenoy of their system of morals.

xi. 37.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 67
Fra Paolo accounted " their learning to be only built on the ignorance of
the people, " but they were still winning their way to be Confessors of
Kings, and masters of all the state secrets of the Courts of Europe, while
they chased the other Orders from their presence, with words but not by
actions of peace. All save Russia felt their influence, or sway: England,
France, Germany, Switzerland and the far East and West, as well as the
North and South.
While such was the state of affairs in the north of Europe, Pope Sixtus
summoned Henry III to Rome, to answer for the murder of the Cardinal
de Guise; but France was spared the humbling sight of her King a sup
pliant for mercy at the feet of the Pope in a way she little expected.
Henry III was stabbed to the heart by Jacques Clement, a half witted
man who triumphed in the regicide. ' The Republic of Venice immedia
tely desired her Ambassador 2 to congratulate King Henry IV, as sove
reign of France. This gave umbrage to Spain, but the Republic knew
that Spain was held at bay when she was in amity with France. Fra
Paolo beheld the Pope about to interfere with Venetian rights and dictate
to her because of her acknowledgment of Henry IV, who was of the
reformed religion, but he likewise lived to see him conceal his wrath.
" By me kings reign, " were words Sixtus did not well comprehend, and
when the Ambassador Leonardo Donato returned to Venice, although he
could tell Fra Paolo of the good will of Sixtus towards himself, still he
was afraid that beneath the kiss of friendship lay the smothered fire of
anger against Venetia. The Spanish Ambassador had dared the Pope
to acknowledge King Henry IV. But Venice had acted wisely, and
can now look back with pride on the time when she gave strong aid
to France, when she commanded her Ambassador to destroy the bonds
she held of Henry of Navarre for large loans, and when she was foremost
in the cause of tolerance and of liberty amongst the nations which still
adhered to Rome. In acknowledgment of this act of generosity, in
the chivalrous spirit of the times, the King sent to the Republic of
Venice the sword which he had worn at the battle of Ivry, where the injur
ed Monarch met his subjects, rebels by command of the Pope, and it was
there that Du Plessis Mornay proved himself worthy of the friendship of
Fra Paolo by his fidelity to his Sovereign. De Mornay knew that the
highest interests of his country consisted in the advocacy of a reformation
in religion, the riddance of the papal power, and the prevention of the
return of the Jesuits to France, he therefore rejected with disdain an offer
which was made to him of an allowance for life from the Grand Duke of

1 From a fitie copy of Davila's, Guerre Civili di Francia.
3 Mocenigo.

68 THE LIFE OF [a.d 1590,
Tuscany, if he would prevail upon King Henry IV to join the commu
nion of the Church of Rome; neither Fra Paolo nor Du Plessis Mornay was
to be bought by gold. Early in the year the Pope appeared to be softened
towards the King, but as the King of Spain still persisted in treating
this monarch as a heretic, and in refusing to recognize him as King of
France, Sixtus actually dismissed the French Ambassador from his Court.
Italy, however, showed strong symptoms of resistance to the Pope, but
his eventful career was near its close. He died on the 27th of August and
was succeeded by the Cardinal Castagna, from whose lowly and gentle
character great expectations were raised; and during his short government
of thirteen days, as Urban VII, he employed himself in the reform of
the Dataria, not in bestowing favors. This estimable man had corresponded
with Fra Paolo since their acquaintance at Rome, and having a high
opinion of his piety and talents, would probably 'have given him prefer
ment, if his life had been prolonged, but Fra Paolo expressed no selfish
regret on learning the premature death of Urban. One who was present
told Fra Fulgenzio that he exclaimed: " Ideo raptus est ne malitia mu-
taret intellectum ejus, " almost an echo of the words of Urban himself,
who died, thanking God " for taking him from earth ere he had been
guilty of faults into which his high position might have led him. " The
Spanish faction prevailed in the next Conclave, and news arrived at Ve
nice that the Cardinal Sfrondato was elected Pope, by the name of Gre
gory XIV. He was friendly to the League and to Spain, but after having
excited the people of France still further against King Henry IV, he died
and was succeeded by Innocent IX whose misrule only lasted two
months. Amongst the Cardinals who had long aspired to the Popedom was the
Cardinal San Severina, with whom Fra Paolo had so long been asso
ciated, and who now felt certain- that he would obtain the triple crown ;
but such was the severity of his temper that many of the Conclave so
dreaded his exaltation, that he lost his election. His disappointment
was so excessive, as he himself relates, that " his grief wrung blood from
his agonized frame. " Sarpi was thus once more bereft of hope of advance
ment, but the Romans had reason to rejoice that the stern spirit of San
Severina did not rule them.
The Cardinal Aldobrandino was chosen in his stead, and as Cle
ment VIII, exercised strong control over all the kingdoms of Europe
which had not the courage to rid themselves of usurpation. The Venetians
now mediated for Henry IV, but although there was a strong party for
the King in France, the Pope would not abate one iota of his pretensions,
and insisted that the King must renounce the form of worship in which
he had been educated. But were the lessons of Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of

xt. 38.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 69
Navarre to be forgotten? And was Clement VIII to be victorious, and
link France to Rome even to this day?
Although it will be seen in the sequel that Clement gave no reward to
Fra Paolo for his services, yet he consulted him on many occasions. His
opinion was asked as to a dispensation which was demanded by the Duke
de Joyeuse, who at the age of twenty had become a Capuchin, on the
death of his wife to whom he was tenderly attached ; but his brother
dying five years after, and the recluse remaining the only heir of his
house, he wished to renounce his monastic vows. On a meeting of a Con
gregation of Cardinals and Theologians to discuss the matter, such were
the exorbitant claims of the Pontiff, that of them the Cardinal Bellarmine
is reported to have whispered to Fra Paolo, " These are what lost Ger
many to Rome, and what will cause her the loss of France and other
kingdoms. " However, the dispensation was granted.
The correspondence of Fra Paolo was now much extended, because he
had undertaken the study of that branch of jurisprudence which deter
mines the boundaries of ecclesiastical and priestly law; and the rule of
Primes. He wished to understand " fully the great difference of opinion
of the Gallican Church with respect to beneficiary matters, as well as to
other particulars belonging to the royal jurisdiction which were raised by
the assembly of the States at Blois. " '
He also continued his study of mathematics, and his progress in this
science might be deemed by some to be exaggerated, had not proof remain
ed in the corrections which he made on the work of Vieta in the Library
of the Servi. It is however just to Vieta to add, that probably some of
these were typographical errors, as in the work published by Vieta 1579,
he states that it is inaccurately executed. Fra Fulgenzio names Vieta
with great respect, and Dr. Hutton pronounces him not only to have
been one of the most respectable mathematicians of the sixteenth century,
or indeed of any age, but to have excelled in other branches of learning.
He adds, " His writings abound with marks of great originality and the
finest genius, as well as intense application. But the theorem, known as
Vieta's property of chords, is the only one which connects his name with
the ordinary mathematics of the present day. The property connects the.
chord of a circle drawn from a point with the sums of the power of the ,
roots of a quadratic equation. " 2 From mathematics, Paolo Sarpi passed to ,
a minute study of the phenomena of the mind. Foscarini saw his MS. on,
" The origin and decline of the opinions of men, " 3 and thus writes of it. :
1 MS.
2 For this I am indebted to the distinguished Professor of Mathematics in
the University of Edinburgh, (1863).
a Della Letteiatura Veneziana, Foscarini, lib. 3. p. 310, n. 254.

70 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1592.
" The system of the author generally is as follows, he shows how external
objects act upon our senses, distinguishing the objects which cause sen
sation from sensation itself, and he maintains that odours, tastes, and
sounds are affections of the mind, not properties of the body. Thus he
makes a distinction between sensation and the sensitive quality; with these
primary elements derived from the sensitive quality which is in the
nervous body and retained in the memory, the discursive or distinctive
faculty or the intellectual agent which forms the sequence of all other
ideas abstracting, composing, comparing, et cetera, and hence species,
genera, axioms or general maxims, and argument. He proceeds to say,
that the sense is never at fault, as it conveys simply the sensation it has
received from a sensible object, but errors arise from relying on one
sense only, or from not rectifying by the other senses any idea falsely
produced by the first impression. As the senses, therefore, do not inform
the intellect as to what really exists in the sensible object, but only as to
that which is apparent, therefore we cannot always reach truth by these
means. If from the general idea of such a system, we go on to consider it
in its parts, we meet with much that is worthy of admiration in his
argumentative and geometrical method of reasoning, his procession from
one subject to another, and many of his discoveries, which were called new
after his time. The observation, for example, that sensations do not exist in
objects but in our intellect, although Plato pointed it out and it appears new
in modern philosophy, Sarpi demonstrates in a series of arguments which
fully convince without other proofs ; holding with Aristotle, that all we
have in the intellect comes from or through the senses, in fact, he brings
into the field the principle of reflection which has done so much honor to
Locke and which frees this system of many difficulties hitherto insurmoun
table. Thus from the primary ideas proceeding from the senses by means
of the intellectual or distinctive, Sarpi forms all the others which are
employed by the English author and divides into simple and compound.
Our philosopher does not omit one, and anticipates him also in his defini
tion of substance, inasmuch as he makes it to result from the mul
tiplicity of ideas which are shown without our being able to know the
foundation which sustains them. This occult foundation he says is pro
perly what we call substance. He also shows the mode in which genera
and species are formed in the mind, on which Locke enlarges so muoh,
particularly in the first chapters of his work on the Human Unders
tanding. " What he says of axioms, called by him Ipolipsi (one cannot say why,
if there be not an error in the BIS.) he says also of first truths and of
syllogisms, and this appears to be the source from whence Locke has
popied or amplified his ideas. He examines the various causes of error

xt. 40.] FRA PAOLO SA*RPI 71
which either arise from refering the object to a sensation not its own, or
from some particular defect in the sensorium, or from the discursive or
other faculties , and he moreover teaches how to shun errors as far
as human nature can do so. One remedy is, the repeated use of the
discursive faculty, or of the senses, and here he notes, men should be
careful how they associate ideas, because it often happens that an idea
called forth is accompanied by others, for the simple reason that we have
been accustomed to their union, -not on account of any such relation sub
sisting between them. The other method to correct error, Sarpi says, is
the information of others, he touches on the two modes of argumentation,
demonstration and probability, on the various degrees of which belief de
pends. These two remedies are followed by the means by which those
errors may be avoided which he considers to arise from preconceived opi
nions, from bad disposition of the will, a point which has been more largely
treated by others.
" In fine, our author does not take for granted, but deduces from true
principles the Aristotelian system, and anticipates Locke by many years,
by a method which even in the present day would have its admirers, and
that with a brevity which detracts nothing from its lucidity. He concludes
with a few apposite remarks on words, and this is one of the most
essential parts of the work of Locke, that they do not signify things but
only the ideas of the speaker, regarding which we are unable to furnish
proof as this part of the work is not forth coming. "
This passage, having been deemed striking by several learned phi
losophers, has been given entire, it is however beyond our limits to enter
upon a retrospective view of the philosophy of the sixteenth century in
Italy, but any one conversant with the subject must know the enormous
difficulties with which Sarpi had to contend. The freer political state of
Italy, and genius which would not be daunted were but clearing the way
to investigation over which the sable curtain of the dark ages had cast
its ample folds. But it was no easy task for Sarpi and Galileo to be the
pioneers on a road so rugged, and no traveller on a benighted way could
have been more gladdened by the light of the rising sun, than was Sarpi
when a sounder system of philosophy than had hitherto prevailed was
restored, and in some points introduced by himself and Galileo. They
facilitated inquiry to their successors as well as to their contempora
ries, of whom the illustrious Lord Bacon was one of the most distinguished,
and with whom Sarpi held correspondence. There were two sections of
philosophers at the University of Padua, so well known as scarcely to need
mention, Acquapendente, Mercuriale, Prospero Alpino, and Santorio. The
opposing party was Piccolomoni, Bartolozzi, Prevocio and Cremonino.
These last taught or believed the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, but

72 THE LIFE OF [a d. 1593.
mingled with " the dark riddles " of their Arabic Commentators, and the
singular hypothesis of Pietro d'Albano called the " Conciliatore, " and those
of Campanella, Pomponacius, and others who had introduced Cabalisticism
and Rabbinicalism. It is sufficient to state here, that the opinions of the anta
gonistic party were strongly opposed to the philosophy of Sarpi and Galileo.
It must not be omitted that during this year, Cardinal San Severina
honored Sarpi with an autograph letter, in which he told him that he had
recommended him to the Pope for the Bishopric of Melopotamo. This is
honorable to that prelate, and it is a curious fact that the stern head of
the Inquisition at Rome was earnest to promote the good and tolerant
Fra Paolo; but Clement VIII had no intention to bestow preferment upon
him. He was much occupied with the Jesuits, who ever since 1581 had
under Aquaviva embarked on the rough sea of politics. Gifted with
great talents and keen knowledge of human nature, Aquaviva formed
high notions for the aggrandizement of his Order. " That society was
saints before, compared with what they were in the time of Aquaviva, "
writes Sarpi, and their own historians have failed to show that the Ge
neral and his Order did not meddle with state affairs, or that they did
not foment rebellion and sedition.
Lainez had greatly advanced their power, but it was little compared
with what they acquired under Aquaviva. Some of the members remon
strated, and at the instance of Father Tayre a learned Scot, Aquaviva cal
led a General Convocation of the Jesuits, and a decree was passed at Rome
to interdict their interference in state affairs, on the fourth of November :
" To the end that we may abstain from all that may appear evil, and
that we may obviate as much as possible all complaints or false suspicions
that may rise against us, we command to all our society, by virtue of
their holy obedience, and under the penalty of their being declared in
capable of all offices, dignities, superiorities, or of losing their votes or
suffrages , either active or passive, that none presume in any matter
whatsoever, or at the desire or request of others, to meddle with the
public negotiations of secular princes, and we strictly enjoin and recom
mend to all Superiors that they permit none of the society to involve
themselves in any manner in such affairs, and if they find any of them
inclined that way, that they immediately transport them to some other
country, if they see that there is reason or danger of being entangled in
such difficulties. " ' But little attention was paid to this injunction, the
Jesuits pursued their political schemes, and what was worse, leant to the
heretical opinions of Molina. !

i Ribaden. Cat. scrip. Sos. Jes.
a Published 1588.

™- 41.J FRA PAOLO SARPI 73
In 1584 Aquaviva published his rule of studies, and from that may be
dated their further recedence from the doctrines of Saint Thomas and the
Dominicans; although Aquaviva leant more to the opinions of Molina
than any other of the Jesuits, still the charge of " novelty " in doctrine
imputed to them by Sarpi is fully borne out by their disputations with
the Dominicans at Valladolid, which were but the commencement of
the celebrated controversy on free will held before Clement VIII. '
It is now time to turn to the fact announced by M. Montmorency
to the Pope, that Henry IV, King of France had entered the com
munion of the Church of Rome, 2 and in " the hope of reforming
it, " had unwittingly and unwillingly succumbed to a foreign power.
But the Pope still refused to grant him absolution; the King had trium
phed over his enemies in the field, but he had hidden foes; Sarpi did not
misjudge the Jesuits. All Europe was startled by the tidings of an attempt
on the life of the King by Jean Chastel, who had imbibed the doctrines
held by some of that society, that it was lawful to assassinate a monarch
who was not of the dominant Church. That the King knew from whence
this blow proceeded is evidenced by the following letter copied from the
original in his own hand writing. 3
LETTRE DU ROI A M. DU PLESSIS.

Die Janvier 5. 1595.
Je suis du tout guerri de ma blessure, ce sont la les fruits des Jesuits,
mais ils vuideront mon roiaume. a Paris. Henhj.
(escrifce de la main de sa majeste).
The King of France recovered from his wound, but the Jesuits were
banished from the kingdom, a precedent which the Venetians assisted
by the counsels of Sarpi were not slow in aftertimes to imitate.
After much delay, and having been warned that he might lose the
allegiance of France altogether if he persevered in his conduct to her
monarch, Clement granted absolution to Henry IV, and the ceremony of
his reception by proxy into the communion of the Church at Rome pre
sented a humiliating sight to Europe, as it showed to what height the

i 1598.
a MS. Binda Papers. 1593, and MSS. Bib. Imp.
s MS. Bib. Imperial, Paris.

74 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1595.
power of the Pope had risen. But unfortunately for herself France did
not then, as she will not now, believe that the Pope is only Bishop of
Rome. '
There were hours of sadness at Venice, the Doge Cicogna, whose
probity had made him universally respected, died and was buried with
the accustomed ceremonial which it may not be uninteresting to describe.
The body was embalmed, and clothed in the gorgeous state robes of
crimson and gold, the ducal crown encircled the head, the baton of office
was placed in the hand, and golden spurs on the feet of the dead. The
body lay in state, and guards from the arsenal stood around.
On the evening of the day on which the Doge died, the corpse was
borne to the Salle Pioogo, and placed on a sumptuous catafalque, around
which large lighted torches blazed, and there it remained for three days.
Some of the senators attended, attired in their robes of state; and on the
fourth day the funeral of the Doge took place. The procession which ac
companied the body to the tomb was then formed.
The regular and secular clergy, six bodies of the scuole grandi, S.
Marco, S. Rocco, S. Teodoro, della Passione, each carrying a lighted
torch; the heads of the navy and arsenal; the grand standard of the Doge,
with his armorial bearings; the bier on which lay the body of the Doge
covered with a pall, the cordons borne by men of high degree; servants
clothed in black; the commandori of 'the palace; the secretary of the
chancellor; the chancellor; the counsellors of the signory; the ambassadors;
to the left, the senators in their senatorial robes of crimson; on the
right, the relations of the Doge habited in black mantles.
Of this vast assemblage one half preceded the bier, the other half
followed, and the procession closed by young girls and children from the
divers hospitals, each bearing a lighted torch.
This procession went by S. Marco. The bearers raised the coffin nine
times into the air as high as they possibly could before the great door of
the ducal chapel of S. Marco, that the body might render a sort of homage
to this church. Then the remains of the Doge Cicogna were borne to the
church of S. Giuseppe, where the body was again placed on a very high
catafalque, covered with a pall, and surrounded by an immense number
of lights. A fine tomb was afterwards placed over the grave.
The Doge Cicogna was succeeded by Marino Grimani, and joy and
festivity were again visible throughout Venice.
It was customary on state occasions to bear eight embroidered stand
ards before the Doge, two white, two red, two blue, and two green. If at
peace the standard bearers walked first and bore white, if at war red, if
x Appendix

xi. 43.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 75
leagued with any foreign power blue, and if in truce green. The new Doge
was popular, and the pure white standard which floated before him made
all hearts glad, because it told that peace was concluded with Turkey.
Clement took every opportunity to flatter Henry IV, in the hope
of being able to restore the Jesuits to France, but as yet the King
would not listen. Clement, however, showed his power in a way which
Fra Paolo lamented most bitterly. The prohibition on books con
tinued, and although the Council of Ten made exceptions to the
stringent measures of the Popes as to this deadly blight over religion
and literature, it often drew from Sarpi a strong protest which oertainly
ought to claim the acknowledgment of his countrymen. There is no
doubt but that his voice, which reechoes through the lapse of ages, has
helped to unbar the. bolts and bars of the Inquisition on those volumes,
which but for ignorance would have been eagerly sought after then. l
However, amidst war and discord abroad, fears of papal interference
at home, and the prolonged disturbances within his own Order, Fra
Paolo enjoyed peace, and that peace was not broken either by Gabriello
or San Severina, notwithstanding the untoward events which follow.
About this time a friar, Giovanni Battista Perugino, who had been
guilty of several delinquencies, fled to Venice that he might escape
punishment by order of the General. Battista was a man of great cun
ning, and had been surnamed Lagrimino, because he had always tears at
command. He had no need of concealment, because having fled from the
General, he was welcome to Gabriello the Provincial. In order to make
money, Lagrimino procured a license from the Nuncio to practise exorcism,
as was the custom of many friars who, unwilling to obey the rules of
their Orders, took to this way of life to advance their interests.
" Amongst other adventures, our Lagrimino attended the wife of a trades
man at the sign of the Gallo in the Merceria, and had not only been long
in attendance upon her, but had exorcised her in church and at her
own house. Shortly after, her husband missed a large quantity of satins
and other valuable stuffs, and his apprentice confessed that the friar had
taken a great part of these articles, with the knowledge of his wife, to
Gabriello the Provincial of the Servi, and no small quantity to the Court
of the Papal Nuncio. And so the mystery was solved. It was in vain
that the General insisted that Lagrimino was an apostate and deserved
imprisonment, neither Gabriello nor the Nuncio would listen to him, but
called him a " Persecutor. " The tradesman, Mazaro, related the above
matter to one of the Servi, and a deed was drawn out which was taken
to Rome by the General, where Gabriello then was. The General carried
I Appendix.

76 THE LIFE OF [a d. 1597.
the case before the Governor at Rome, who seeing the scandal and not
aware that Gabriello was in such favor, committed him to prison. I can
hardly believe that San Severina was ever in such a passion, but those
of the highest as well as those of the lowest rank are equally subject to
such aberrations. He screamed, stamped with his feet , cursed and
went to and from the Pope to the Governor, but he could not obtain
Gabriello's release from prison for several days. The Cardinal San Seve
rina soon perceived the impossibility of creating Gabriello General in the
Chapter about to be held at Rome, but he placed him under arrest and
kept him in prison in S. Maria, and San Severina took such violent
measures against the Order of the Servi, as no one but an eye witness
could have believed. After this a Chapter was held at Verona, and Priuli
Bishop of Vicenza was nominated President. He had great judgment
and prudence, yet not knowing what side to take, he listened to the
faction which had espoused the part of the Cardinal, and was persuaded to
consent to an innovation which was, that the Rector would admit sbirri
into the convent. This was done under pretence of keeping order, but
in reality to intimidate the other party by their presence. This only
caused greater opposition, and the Chapter, which generally held its sitting
for one day only, sat for eight days. And these sbirri (seeing that all
was quiet; that there were only eight friars unarmed, they had not even
their knives) laid down their guns, and left them carelessly in the cloister,
went to the cellars to drink, made free with the stores of the convent, or
spent their time in sport on the Mount. The friars were sorely chafed to
see such a company of idlers consume the goods of the convent, judging that
a proceeding so unusual would bring great scandal on their community.
And the language of the soldiers was very aggravating: they told
the friars that, if they did not yield soon to the Cardinal, they would
be thrown into prison, sent to the galleys, or otherwise disposed of. The
climax of this unhappy affair was, that the Bishop arrived one evening
at the Monastery of the Mount from Vicenza bearing a papal brief that
of his Presidentship. This brief was dispatched from Rome to Vicenza in
less than forty hours, empowering the President to expel the papal Vicar-
General from the Chapter, and to suspend, transfer, or prolong the Chapter
as he, the Bishop, judged proper. There were those who smiled that no
less than two papal briefs were required for a matter of such small moment
as the holding of a Chapter, and that not only the Pope took part in the
comedy, but a Cardinal, with the authority of S. Peter and S. Paul.
" The faction, so highly favoured by Rome, entered the convent in
triumph. Two swords were carried before them, with exclamations more
like those of the worst class of people than men of a religious Order. This
occasioned so great a change in matters that that night, the doors being

xi. 45.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 77
open, a party of young men introduced a number of braves, Vicentini
with whom they held intelligence, into the chambers of the friars. This
was done in great silence, and these young men were resolved, when the
Chapter met next morning in the refectory, to attack the sbirri who were
about forty in number, and to revenge their insults.
" Fra Paolo had attended the Chapter held at the Monastery of the
Mount, near Vicenza. He was an eye-witness of all these provocations;
but such was the respect of these infuriated men for him, that the only
reason for their not taking arms against their foes was that they wished '
some one to communicate their design to F. Paolo. "
Fra Fulgenzio believed " that he had insight into their designs: how
ever, this one thing is certain, that he had the fatigue and anxiety of being
on the watch the greater part of the night, to some using the language
of entreaty, to others that of command, while he endeavoured to enlighten
all as to the danger which they would evoke, the trifling nature of the
matters in question, and the scandal which it would bring upon the Order;
but it was chiefly veneration for his authority that stilled the storm. "
What a picture ! all these desparadoes quieted by the calm of wise and
holy rectitude; one amongst many proofs which Fra Paolo gave, that
" greater is he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city." Without
such words of judgment and forgiveness, the sun would have dawned
upon bloodshed, and the Convent on the -Mount, instead of being remem
bered as that place where Fra Paolo led captive by his counsel men bent
on revenge, might have been chronicled as a place where the Friars of
the Servi had fallen in dark vengeance on their foes.
But Fra Paolo, having examined the cause of these contests narrowly,
saw that there was necessity for more stringent measures. He knew of no
other mode to abolish division, but to go to Rome.
This was a bold resolve. The letter in cypher before mentioned was a
hindrance, and by the manner in which it is noticed by Fulgenzio appears
not to have been forgotten by Fra Paolo ; indeed he consulted his friends
on the danger of going to Rome, as he was likely to incur the displea
sure of the Cardinal San Severina, who was still the Head of the Congre
gation of the Holy Office, and as some considered the election of San
Severina to the Popedom to be valid, the Pope Clement allowed the
Cardinal to do as he pleased. The friends of Fra Paolo, however, were of
opinion that it would not be dangerous for him to go to Rome ; but he
smilingly related the fable of the prudent fox, who on the proclamation
of banishment against all the horned animals hid himself, saying if the
lion mistook his ears for horns who could defend him, nevertheless he
resolved to go.
Though he was wont to be as confident in Divine Providence as if

78 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1598.
second causes were of no moment, yet he was provided by his friends with
letters to the Venetian Ambassador at Rome, and to many of the
great Prelates at the Court; he also wrote to the Cardinal d'Ascoli with
whom he had always corresponded, and the Cardinal advised Fra Paolo
to go to Rome.
For the fifth time therefore he took up his residence there, and the first
notice given of the events which then took place is the mention of a general
Chapter of the Order of the Servi, in which as the Cardinal San Severina
could not succeed in the appointment of Gabriello as General, he bestowed
the Generalship on an old priest who had been shut up in his chamber for
fifteen years, and was reputed a saint. This ecclesiastic did not wish Ga
briello to succeed him, and he bitterly offended San Severina by addressing
a letter to him in which he blamed him for all the ill he had done to the
Order, crowning it all by wishing to raise a scoundrel to the Generalship,
but what touched San Severina to the heart was, that he said he had
not written to the Cardinal till after long consideration and special in
spiration of the Holy Ghost. On which San Severina exclaimed in
the Neapolitan dialect, " Tu menti Santorello. Thou tellest not the
truth etc. "
The General was called to Rome where he shortly after died, some
said by his being overheated by his visits to the seven Churches a
penance then common, others assigned a different reason.
But Fra Paolo endeavored to mollify the Cardinal San Severina when
in conversation with him, and fortunately only two subjects were mooted,
the one that Fra Paolo had joined and fomented the late disputes, the
other that he would not he reconciled to Gabriello. To these Paolo answer
ed " that he wished reconciliation, that as Lelio was created Provincial
and General by him, and as he favored him, he had always wished his
friendship, and had corresponded with him on all that he thought was
for the service of God and of religion, that he considered that it was his
duty to honor one who was raised above others, without any curious
enquiry as to the reasons why it was done, and that if things were *
changed, it was accidental. As to his having excited the General, as the
Cardinal had complained of Lelio's impetuosity Fra Paolo told him that
he was sure all this was at the instigation of others, that the Cardinal had
both discernment and prudence, and that he knew when he saw a carriage
pass whether the carriage drew the horses or they it. " Upon this the
Cardinal appeared satisfied, told Fra Paolo he had observed his conduct,
and wished that he and Gabriello were friends. This the Cardinal effected,
and thus for a time peace was restored. Fra Paolo returned from Rome to
his Convent at Venice, but with some aggravation of his bodily disorders;
happily however he obtained relief by his knowledge pf medicine and sur-

MT- 46-] FRA PAOLO SARPI 79
gery, and during the following years, though always weak in body, he was
in better health than previously.
His devotion to his religious duties and conversations with the learned
continued. He wrote notes on Aristotle and Plato, Fra Fulgenzio supposes
with the idea of embodying them in some future work ; he also examined
the opinions of the schoolmen, nominalists as well as realists. And these
notes all displayed what riches were hidden in that intellectual mine.
He also continued the study of the most abstruse parts of mathematics
and physics. " l
Both he and his learned friends experienced a severe loss in the death
of Aldus Manutius, whose fine library, which he wished to bequeath to
Venice and which contained 80,000 volumes, was entered on his death
by command of the Pope and the most valuable part of them car
ried away and now occupy the shelves of the Vatican. It was al
leged that Manutius had incurred a debt to the Pope by receiving
part of his salary as Librarian of the Vatican in advance, and this was
the pretext for that unjust measure; but Fra Paolo must have obtained
all that he required from the Vatican and other libraries of Rome
at this period, as he never again visited that City. But if there was
injustice at Rome, there were gleams of toleration elsewhere across the
dark sky of bigotry. Henry IV promulgated the edict of Nantes at the
head of his victorious troops; the air had often resounded with the voice
of triumph, but what was that triumph compared with the grateful ac
clamations of the Reformed who learned that the stake, the gibbet, the
rack, the noisome dungeon, the heavy chains, and the still heavier pangs
of separation from all they held dear would no longer be theirs.
Let the reader now turn from the pleasure with which the heart
of Paolo Sarpi thrilled at these tidings to the death of Philip II,
who was succeeded by his son Philip III , " a pious prince , but
one who did not apply himself to business and was content with the
outward signs of royalty. " To Clement, Europe was chiefly indebted for
the peace of Verviers, but he obliged Henry IV to give up his alliance
with England, this King was gradually becoming more reconciled to
the Jesuits, many of whom had evaded his commands and remained in
France. The Spaniards restored what they had taken since 1559, the
disputes of Savoy and France terminated, with the exception of the
Pope's schemes against the Turks there appeared more prospect of a ge
neral peace.
Fra Paolo, as usual, was absorbed in study, and for some time only met
with two interruptions, accompanying Leonardo Mocenigo to Ferrara, and
1 MS.

80 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1598.
examining the controversy which was being then carried on between the
Dominicans and the Jesuits " on the efficacy of divine grace. "
Fra Fulgenzio observes that Sarpi would not open his lips on the subject,
that is as to his taking part in the discussion, but that he examined it at the
request of M. Ippolito da Lucca is proved by his friend Bedell, Bishop of
Kilmore's letter. Having mentioned the propositions of Molina opposed by
the Dominicans, and the letters of Hippolytus de Monte Peloso, he adds: " I
have sent Dr. Ward the originals which Fra Paolo gave me upon occasion of
speech with him touching that controversy, reserving no copy to myself;
the occasion was the contention of the Jesuits and Dominicans before
Clement VIII, and all those letters were week by week sent from Rome to
Padre Paolo of the carriage of the business. When you find a trusty mes
senger I desire you to send me them. " All trace of these MSS. is at present
lost, but his opinions on this subject may be gathered from a short analysis
noticed by Bergantini. These opinions were in direct opposition to those
held by the Jesuits, to whom neither the Pope or his nephew bent; both,
with great blandness of manner but inflexibility of purpose, carried all be
fore them, while Aquaviva the General of the Jesuits acted independently,
and employed all his talent to secure the return of his Order to France.
Clement frankly confessed they were beyond his ken, however Fra Paolo
tells us: " There is a Scotchman here who says he understands the Jesuits,
he must be very clever. " Notwithstanding the Pope's dislike to them, he
did not overlook the talents of Bellarmine, and Fra Paolo saw him elevated
to a position which afforded him great opportunity of advancing his Order.
If Paolo felt anger on the promotion of Bellarmine to the dignity of a
a Cardinal before he had himself attained to that office, however wrong,
it would have been natural, but no such failing on the part of Sarpi is re
corded, although Clement on conferring this honor on Bellarmine ' said :
" Hunc eligimus quia parem non habet in ecclesia quoad doctrinam. "
Many of the Cardinals lived in great state and were daily acquiring greater
power. To their luxurious mode of living, however, there were great excep
tions, and amongst these may be named Bellarmine and Baronius. Sarpi
was too conversant with such matters not to know that the dignity of
Cardinal was unknown to the primitive Church, he traced this evil to its
source, and left these words of instruction which we extract from his treat
ise on ecclesiastical benefices.
" I come now to Italy, where for many ages no one was ordained to the
priesthood, who had not at the same time some particular cure assigned
him, unless in the case of some eminent one for piety and learning, who
would not accept the care of any parish at his ordination, that might di-
i Paulin Ep. I, ad Sevorum num. 10.

xi. 46.] • FRA PAOLO SARPI 81
vert him from his sacred studies. S. Jerome and S. Paulinus were thus
ordained priests, one at Antioch, the other at Barcelona, and except on
this occasion, antiquity knew no distinction between ordination and a
benefice which was always assigned him, and which gave a right to be
entertained out of the common stock of the Church. But when church
men of merit happened by the calamities of war to be driven from their
ministry and received into other churches, where they were maintained
out of the common purse, in the same manner with the clergy of the
place; as any vacancy happened, by death or otherwise, it was filled by
one of the strange clergy, who, being thus provided for, was called In-
cardinatus, 1 and he who stepped into a ministry, having none before, was
called Ordinatus.
" This custom began in Italy before the year 600, when many Bishops
and other clergymen were plundered and driven from their cures, by the
ravages of the Lombards, and were thus replaced in other churches, as
they became vacant.
" The Bishops were called Episcopi Gardinales and the Priests Presby-
teri Gardinales. 2
" Now, the greatest part of those who were so driven from their own
churches, betaking themselves to those of Rome and Ravenna, which were
the richest, and had the most employments in the ministry to give,
and these strangers, finding a welcome reception there, both in regard
of the abundance in those churches, and of the great concourse it drew to
them of the most eminent persons of all kinds (which we see continued
to this day), it rarely happened that any of their own people were ordain
ed, but commonly strangers. And this was the reason, why in these two
churches all who had any ministry were called Cardinales. A name which
still remains in the Church of Rome, but not in the Church of Ravenna,
which Paul III abrogated in the year 1543.
" Thus, the name of Cardinal," continues Fra Paolo, " which was at first
derived from a very low and abject condition, is, by a change of signifi
cation, become a title so elevated, that Cardinals are now said to be
Quasi Gardines omnium terrarum. And that which at first was no degree
or order in the Church, but introduced by mere accident of calamity, is
exalted to that pitch of human grandeur and dignity, of which we see it
in possession at this day. But whoever will look into the most celebrated
Councils at Rome, will find that the Cardinal Roman Priests in their
public writings have always signed under the Italian Bishops; and that
even in after times no Bishop was made a Cardinal Priest.
1 Admitted into a Society, transferred or transplanted.
3 Liber Dm mus summ. Pontif, Tit. II, cap. in.

82 THE LIFE OF # [a.d. 1598.
" The first Bishops who were made Cardinals were persons of note
who had been driven from their churches; for instance Conrad, Bishop of
Mentz, who having been treated as a rebel by the Emperor Frederic I,
was received with open arms by Pope Alexander III, and made Cardinal
of S. Sabin. In these days, and until the time of Pope Innocent IV, the
Cardinals wore no habit, nor any mask of distinction. He gave them the
red hat on Christmas eve in the year 1244, and Paul II added the
red cap to be worn by all the Cardinals, except such as were Monks or
Regulars; yet to these also it has since been granted by Gregory XIV.
We have thought a short deduction of this splendid Order from the
original necessary in this place, as it concerns so eminent a dignity which
at this day holds the second place in the Church, and for which the world
seems not to afford titles pompous enough. " '
But to return. The Senate had learned from the dictates of Clement
that he purposed more than to forbid all Italians to travel into countries
peopled by heretics and so it proved.
The following year was still marked by papal aggression, and with the
keen eye of an accomplished observer, Fra Paolo saw the Pope making
fresh demands on the Republic. Her newly appointed Patriarch was sum
moned to Ronde to receive approval, examination and consecration from
Clement, and after much artful dealing on the part of the Papal Nuncio,
the Patriarch was obliged to wait upon the Pontiff; but he was not per
mitted to receive either appointment or examination at his hands; yet
the Venetian Senate proceeded cautiously, afraid lest Spain might call
in the aid of Rome to crush Venetia; it was well for her, ere days of
greater pressure on the part of Rome came, that the throne of Spain was
filled by King Philip III, who had neither the talents nor bigotry of Phi
lip II. While great preparations were making for the approaching j ubilee,
the Republic was occupied with the marriage of King Henry IV. One of
the house of the Medici was likely to secure the interest of France for Italy,
but in the press of public affairs of great moment the Senate at length
thought of the weal of Fra Paolo, who at the age of forty eight was still
unhonored by any ecclesiastical dignity or preferment.
The small Bishopric of Caorle was vacant, and on the suggestion of
some of his friends in the Senate, Fra Paolo applied for it. It was of
little value and generally given to a friar. Its 6,000 inhabitants would
have had the supervision of an able teacher, who might have carried out
his ideas of reformation in the Church, but Offredi, the Papal Nuncio,
wished to have it for his Confessor. He therefore wrote to Rome and in
formed that Court that Fra Paolo had given counsels to the Senate which
1 Trattato delle Mater Benef. Opore di Sarpi, Tom. n, p. 19. Ed. fol. 1750,

**• 46-] FRA PAOLO SARPI 83
were inimical to the interests of the Pope, that he did not believe in the
philosophy of Aristotle, and advised that it should not be taught in the
University of Padua without restriction, that in the Academy of the
Morosini he had denied the immortality of the soul, and concluded by
recommending his Confessor, de Gregis. Offredo had greatly misrepresent
ed the opinions of Sarpi with regard to the immortality of the soul, and
it may be here remarked of those who now call him an atheist that they
are strong partizans of the Curia, not those who have perused his works,
or they would recognize not only his learning and talents, but his enlight
ened opinions on liberty of conscience, and his thorough faith in the
truths of the Christian religion.
Prejudice against him ought not to exist, either as to disbelief in
the immortality of the soul, or as to his being an atheist; in his
treatise on toleration, presented by him to the Senate, he distinctly
pronounces an atheist "to be the only subject of a state who ought
not to be tolerated; " and not a line nor a word has ever been seen
by the writer of these pages, throughout the unpublished folios of his
MSS. or of his printed works, which prove aught else but that Sarpi
regarded the worship of God, not only as a duty but as the highest
of all wisdom. The fact alone that atheism has generally been pro
fessed by persons of shallow understanding might have shielded Sar
pi from such an aspersion.
The Nuncio Offredi was blameable, and if such misrepresentations
were made by him as to questions of theology and philosophy, as
suredly it was so in other matters ; thus it was apparent that even at
the Morosini learned men could not express their opinions without
the liability of misrepresentation by a Nuncio.
The head of that assembly was appointed superintendent of the
Secreto Senato; this year was also memorable for the death of Pinelli
of Padua, who was universally lamented by men of literature. The
fate of his fine library must have cost regret to those who like Sarpi
had valued its volumes; it was sent to Naples in three vessels, one
was taken by a corsair, and the greater part of the books and MSS.
were thrown into the sea by the ignorant pirates; the lading of the
other two vessels was destined for those ill able to appreciate it, but
the Cardinal Frederic Borromeo, on finding the remains of Pinelli's
library in a garret, placed them in the Ambrosian library which he
founded at Milan.
But though the house of Pinelli was no longer open, Fra Paolo
still went to Padua, and held communication with Acquapendente and
others. In a curious old engraving, a representation of part of the interior
of the College, there is a view of the School of Anatomy, a skeleton

84 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1602-
is being dissected, and from the galleries the dissection might be seen. '
This Anatomical Theatre was designed by Fra Paolo Sarpi, as also a
palace in Padua; his opportunities for the study of architecture were great,
if we consider that he could daily watch what was then considered
one of the wonders of the world, the building of the Rialto, as well
as the churches and palaces designed by Palladio and Sansovino, and
when at Rome had his taste gratified and instructed by the masterly
efforts of the great Florentine whose piety cast a halo around his ge
nius, in his great works at Rome, Venice and Florence.
It was not long before another opportunity occurred which promised
preferment to Fra Paolo, but Clement refused to sanction such an act.
His letter to the Senate and their recommendation of him are given,
as they show what was the reason of his demand for the small Bishopric
of Nona.
" Most Serene Prince, Most Illustrious and Most Excellent Signory.
" Your Serene Highness and their Most Excellent Signory were
pleased when the Bishopric of Caorle was vacant last year, to dis
patch letters of recommendation for me, Fra Paolo, of the Servi in Ve
nice, to your illustrious Ambassador at Rome, for the purpose of
procuring that charge for me, and which through the great kindness
of your Serene Highness I should have obtained, had it not been
for the intervention of Monsig Reverendissimo Nuncio of His Holiness
who wished to obtain it for his Confessor.
" The Bishopric of Nona is now vacant, and as I feel sure that
you still maintain the same gracious dispositions toward me, I venture
to renew my request that you would espouse my cause, and favour me
with a recommendation to your illustrious Ambassador.
" I desire this for no other reason than to have time and oppor
tunity to attend with more leisure to my studies, and to show on every
possible occasion with what reverence and sincerity I am the servant
of the Most Serene State, of which I have always professed myself
to have been, and which I ever will be, while the Lord God preserves
my life, and commend myself to your Serenity and to your Excel
lencies  "
This was followed by a letter from the Senate to the Ambassador
from Venice to the Court of Rome. " 1602, 17th April, in Pregadi.
" The Bishop of Nona being dead, and we having learned that
R. P. M. Paolo, of the Order of the Servi, has requested our recom
mendation to obtain the Bishopric of Nona, and he being held in
1 British Museum.

xt. 50.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 85
great esteem, not only in this city but throughout Italy, and well-
known to many illustrious Cardinals, as Procurator General of his
Order, of acknowledged worth and exemplary life, of which qualities
His Holiness is well aware, we cannot doubt your good offices with
His Holiness, as to the recommendation of this Padre, who has no
other desire to obtain this charge than to pursue his studies, free from
discharging the duties of his Order. And this, being so small a matter,
we feel certain that it is easy of attainment. It is not only pressing,
but merits attention. Will you acquaint the Cardinal nephew with the
above in our name " etc.
The man, who again and again craved the lives of his murderers,
was not one who would retain rancour in his heart. It was, and it is
well, that spirits like Dante, like Petrarch, like Fra Paolo Sarpi should
sound an alarm within the bosom of the Church of Rome. Where are
the threats of the foes of Fra Paolo now? Withered as the blade of
grass which drooped and died in its first bloom. Where is . his me
mory, and where are his works? The former fresh as the fragrant
flowers of each successive season, the latter valued by all who value
what is of worth; and why is this? Because he was more engrossed
with' the worship of the Saviour, than with the forms and ritual of
that worship. In those whom the Pope called " heretics, " Fra Paolo
discerned believers in the faith of the true Church of God. In an
age of intolerance, he loved them, he welcomed them to his cell, he
corresponded with them. It cost him dear, but what was the rule of
a Bishopric, in comparison with being a tolerant advocate for a resti
tution of the Holy Scriptures to the people: if it were not in the
power of Fra Paolo to carry reformation further than he did, he
began it, and left an example to his countrymen to follow.
The year opened with great severity, the cold was so intense as to make
Fra Paolo pleasantly observe, " that in reading, the letters seemed to
freeze ere they reached his sight, " ' nevertheless, he continued to study;
and refers with satisfaction to the work of Gilbert, concerning which Mr.
Hallam remarks, " The year 1600, was the first in which England saw
a remarkable work in physical science, but sufficient to raise a lasting
reputation to its author. Gilbert a physician, in his Latin treatise 2 on
the magnet, not only collected all the knowledge which others had
collected on the subject, but became at once the father of experimental
knowledge in this Island, and by a singular felicity and acuteness of
genius, the founder of theories which have been revived after the lapse of

i Letter MS. Marciana, 1603.
a De Magnete, magnetisque corporibus.

86 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1603, 1604-
ages, and are almost universally received into the creed of science " and
again, " Sarpi, who will not be thought an incompetent judge, names
Gilbert and Vieta as the only original writers among his contempora
ries on these subjects. "
Such were his studies amid the turmoil of outward events, but he
was still sanguine; experience and the cold blights of a long life had
not yet deadened hope. Sarpi anticipated benefit from the reformed
Grisons, notwithstanding the strong party there in favor of Spain
and the Pope, the government made a league with Venetia, but it was
afterwards dissolved.
About this time the Cardinal San Severina died, and notwithstanding
the terror with which' he had inspired others, the integrity of Fra
Paolo stood unwithered before the fiery glance of the Head Inquistor.
The temper of Severina, stern as it was, melted in the genial atmo
sphere Fra Paolo breathed. No other Cardinal, as far as is known, ever
proposed Sarpi as worthy of preferment. But he heard worse tidings.
In the month of September, Henry IV permitted the Jesuits to re
establish themselves in his kingdom. This was regretted by many true
Catholics, and not a little by Fra Paolo, yet he had some consolation
in learning that the relations of England and Venetia were about- to
be renewed.
The Pope had not recognized the English Queen, and the Republic
of Venice resisted all the royal appeals to send an envoy. At length
the Secretary, Scaramelli was sent to England to demand redress for
the injuries done to the trade of the Republic, but he arrived only
six weeks before the death of Queen Elizabeth. On the succession of
James I, .King of Great Britain and Ireland, he immediately sent an
Ambassador to the Court of Venice, Sir Henry Wotton, whose piety,
learning, good manners and intimate acquaintance with the Italian
language made him welcome at the Court of the Doge Grimani.
Sir Henry was well known to Sarpi, as also his Chaplain Be
dell, but he did not go to Venice till 1607, and the estimation in
which Sarpi was held is thus described by the learned Dr. Sanderson,
Bishop of Lincoln, to whom it was a cause of regret that he
had not accompanied the English Ambassador to Venice. " 0 that I
had gone as Chaplain to that excellently accomplished gentleman, your
friend Sir Henry Wotton, which was once intended when he went
first Ambassador to the State of Venice; for by that employment I
had been forced into a necessity of conversing, not with him only,
but with several men of several nations; and might thereby have kept
myself from my unmanly bashfulness, which has proved very trouble
some and not less inconvenient to me; and which I now fear is be-

xt. 51, 52.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 87
come so habitual as never to leave me; and besides by that means,
I might also have known, or at least have had the satisfaction of
seeing one of the late miracles of mankind for general learning, prud
ence, and modesty, Sir Henry Wotton's dear friend Padre Paolo, who,
the author of his life says, was born with a bashfulness as invincible
as I have found my own to be: A man whose fame must never die
till virtue and learning shall become so useless as not to be re
garded. " '
The extreme modesty of Fra Paolo must not, however, be mistaken
for bashfulness, if awkwardness, the usual attendant on bashfulness, be
implied. " He was one of the humblest things that could be seen within the
bounds of humanity, " wrote Sir Henry Wotton, but although thoughtful
and retiring, he was neither awkward or morose, his manners bore the
stamp of high breeding. His cheerfulness is frequently noticed by Ful
genzio, he was an eager and ready listener, but ever ready to impart his
own knowledge, and ever with deference. He spoke little, but what he
spoke was always sententious and pithy, but not sarcastic.
It has been observed that he was acquainted with M. de Thou, the
learned and tolerant historian of France, the first part of whose work was
now published, and he sent copies to Fra Paolo, and to the Cardinals de
Joyense, d'Ossat, and Aquaviva, General of the Jesuits, who wrote in
the highest praise of it to the author, saying that they placed it imme
diately after the works of Sallust and Tacitus. He also sent a copy to
M. Canaye, the French Ambassador at Venice, to be presented to the
Doge and Senate, which was not done.
But M. de Thou had censured Julius II, Paul III, and had spoken too
well of the German Reformers, and of one of their number he had
written, " that he had passed to a better life." This sentence he was obliged
to change, but notwithstanding this, the book was afterwards prohibited,
to the grief of Fra Paolo, who deplored the intolerance thus displayed.
1 Life of Bp. Sanderson, p. 475. Zouch.

CHAPTER VI.
a.d. 1605 — a.d. 1606.

Doges of Venice. Marino Grimnni.
1606. Leonardo Donato.
Sovereigns of Germany. Rodolph II.
Great Britain. James I.
Spain. Philip III.
Turkey. Achmet III.
Popes. Clement VIII. 1605. Leo. XL Paul V.

Fra Paolo accused. - Leo XI. - Paul V. - MS. - Disputes of the Pope with the
Republic. - Fra Paolo consulted. - Death of the Doge. - Leonardo Donato. -
Fra Paolo appointed Theologian. - Sir H. Wotton gives information. - King
James's proffers. - Protest. - Fra Paolo writes in favor of the Republic.
Fra Polo had still enemies amongst the Servi. After the death of
Gabriello, his nephew Santo had hopes of obtaining the Generalship,
but he was of the same opinion as his late uncle, that if he would
rule the Province he must destroy the reputation of Fra Paolo; his
attempts to effect this were preposterous, one was absurd. Amidst the
indignation and laughter of the whole Chapter, the three following
charges were lodged against Fra Paolo, that he wore a cap of the
form forbidden by Gregory XIV, that he wore slippers cut after the
French fashion, that he did not recite the Salve Regina at the end of
the Mass.
Such are the statements of Fulgenzio; and in some respects they
coincide with the acts of the Chapter held at Venice 1605, which were
seen by Foscarini, in which the accusation as to the form of Fra Paolo's
slippers was registered, but there was no mention either of the accu
sations respecting the form of his cap, or of his non-recital of the Salve
Regina, for the recital was long since removed from the Servites in the
reform of their Constitutions by Gregory XIII 1579, and was not
restored again till the year 1639, by a bull of Urban VIII, after the
death of Fra Paolo. l
* Foscarini lib. in, p. 307.

xt. 53.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 89
These trivial allegations were all treated with the greatest contempt
by the Vicar General, the President, and Provincial. By order of the
judge, Fra Paolo's slippers were brought before the tribunal, and in
place of his losing his votes in the Chapter, as his accusers had hoped
he might do if it was proved that he wore slippers cut after the French
fashion, the words then uttered in his defence passed into a proverb.
" Padre Paolo is so faultless, that even his slippers have been canonized ! "
While judgment on these puerile accusations were pending Fra Paolo
was silent, and Santo, in place of taking advice as Gabriello had coun
selled him to do, became so inflated by hopes of obtaining the Generalship,
that he went to Rome, taking with him all that he could collect from
his friends, besides 500 ducats belonging to the monastery, and having
squandered all, died miserably. '
While Fra Paolo's foes were plotting against him at Venice, the
affairs of the Republic wore a gloomy aspect at Rome. Leo XI had
succeeded Clement VIII, but having died shortly after, the French faction
again triumphed in the Conclave, and the Venetian Ambassador informed
the Senate that, " after a tedious and, if he might add, a scandalous con
test, " the Cardinal Borghese was elected Pope. The Cardinal du Per
ron's exalted opinion of him differs widely to that from the pen of Sarpi
in his History of the Interdict which was written by command.
" To M. de F. Canaye,
" Counsellor of the King and Ambassador to Venice.
" Sir,
" Though somewhat late, this letter will inform you, not only that we
have a Pope, of that you must already have been informed, but that we
have an excellent Pope, and one who is well affected to France, the Cardi
nal Borghese. His father was of the French faction, and having followed
his party and the arms of France when Siena was taken by the Spanish,
he took refuge in Rome, where this Pope was born, and when Cardinal
he was, as he is, well inclined to the French interest, so that the Cardinal
d'Ossat begged the Pope to send him to the King as Legate, to manage
the affairs of Savoy. He had a pension from Spain which he received
from the Pope Clement, who both desired and designed that he should
one day be Pope, not only from his affection for France, but that his
election would be for the general good. In fact, the French elected him
Pope, excluding not only those who would have been chosen in his
place, but those who would not affix their seal to the confirmation of his
» MS.

90 THE LIFE OF [ad. 1605.
election, because the arbitration of his election having been put into the
hands of the French by the Cardinals Montalto and Aldobrandini (who
had agreed together to make Borghese Pope, if the French were agree
able to it), by their consent, he was created Pope.
" What he specially acknowledges is that God sent him the papal
crown by means of the French, and he has written to the King to thank
him. He is an angel whom the Holy Ghost has enthroned in the Holy Chair,
and from whom, by God's help, all Christendom, especially France, will
receive extraordinary edification ; who, I pray Sir, to take you into his
Holy Keeping " your very affectionate Servant
(signed) " f Cardinal du Perron.
" Rome, 21 May 1605. " '
As Sarpi was consulted even before the Pope issued his excom
munication against the Republic, a notice of the principal incidents
during the Interdict cannot be omitted in his biography. The MS. of
the History of the Interdict is in the Marciana, the writing is by
Fra Paolo's amanuensis, the corrections are his, as also the Index.
His writing is extremely distinct, as in all his MSS., with the exception
of some small note and commonplace books or diaries, which are
written in very small character. At one time it was intended to send
Paolo's MS. to France, but the Ambassador declined to receive it,
and the History of the Interdict was not published till after Paolo's death
by Mr. Bedell, in Latin.
It would have been well for Venice if Paul V had held lower
views of his position, but to protect and augment what he deemed the
immunities of the church was his object. As Pope, he believed he was
raised by the Holy Ghost to the Vicegerency of Christ.
In person he was tall and majestic, his features were well formed, and
before his elevation to the Pontificate his countenance beamed with benig
nity, nor was the appearance of humility wanting; he was of strict life,
and prior to his election held little familiar intercourse with any, either
of high or low degree; 2 he was temperate in speech, but austere, and he
discharged his duties with great exactitude and punctuality ; latterly he
had lived in deep retirement, and it is believed that his having abstained
from all participation in the politics of the Court of Rome was the chief
reason of his being raised to the Popedom. His first measures were very
1 MS. Bib. Imp. Paris.
* Molin. Relazione R. Brown (Cornet).

•et. 53.J FRA PAOLO SARPI 91
severe, and his condemnation of Piccinardi made all tremble. Although
several Ambassadors sued -for the life of the unhappy man who had com
pared the government of Clement VIII and his nephew to that of Tiberius
Caesar, their intercession was lost, as the feeble voice of sea birds amidst
the storm. Piccinardi was executed. This was a terrible beginning of a
new reign, and affords an opportunity of judging of the temper and dis
position of the Pope with whom Fra Paolo had to deal ; his opinions were
as widely removed from those of the Servite as the East is from the West.
Paul and Paolo were of the same age, beyond this it would be difficult
to trace any similitude. In the MS. of the Interdict the following is worthy
of mark.
" Paolo quinto dalli primi anni della puerizia fu dedito e nodrito in
quelli studi, che non acquisitare la monarchia spirituale e temporale di
tutto il mondo al Pontefice Romano e avanzare 1' ordine clericale. " The
words " spirituale " and " temporale " are in the hand writing of Fra
Paolo, and " avanzare " is substituted for " levare; " this, and what fol
lows, may be thus translated. " From his earliest years Paul V devoted
himself to studies which had no other aim but the acquisition of the whole
world temporal and spiritual to the Roman Pontiff, to advance the clergy
above the power and jurisdiction of princes and their supremacy over
kings, as well as the subjection of the secular to the ecclesiastical power. "
In his maturer years the office of Auditor of the Chamber was peculiarly
suited to him, the title of that magistrate being, " Sententiarum et censu-
rarum intus et extra latarum Universalis Esecutor, " and during the five
years which he held it, he issued more schedules and monitories than his
predecessors had done in fifty. His anger was chiefly directed against the
Republic of Venice, and Clement having somewhat relaxed his ecclesias
tical rigor towards her, Paul wished to institute a Congregation at Rome
for the special purpose of mortifying the secular power. To further this
design he sent Nuncios of similar opinions to all Catholic princes. The
Nuncio at Venice boasted of having said to the prince in college that
alms and other works of piety were useless without ecclesiastical liberty;
that although he had often heard of the piety of the Venetians, he had
not seen it; that Christianity does not consist in alms and devotion, unless
proof is given of it by the exaltation of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and that
he had been sent to the Nunciate as a martyr to the Papacy, but this
martyr was not without imperiousness, because to all remonstrance he
answered, as if it were a formula, ' Here I am Pope, and only wish
obedience. ' And Sarpi observes. " that when he spoke of the Pope, he
raised his cap, and called him Nostro Signore, bnt omitted to do so when
he spoke of God. "
For several months after his elevation to the Popedom, Paul lived in

92 THE LIFE OF [a d. 1605.
continual fear of death in consequence of the prognostic of an astrologer
who told him after the death of Clement, of the election of Leo and of a
Paul who would only live a short time; but his friends and relations
found a remedy for his fears, they held a numerous assembly of the
astrologers and soothsayers of Rome, and they came to the conclusion,
that the fatal time being past, he would live long. Thus freed from his
fear of death, Paul returned to his purpose, the aggrandizement of his ec
clesiastical jurisdiction. Agreeable to this, he began making proposals to
King Henry of France, who at length acceeded to the reception of the
Council of Trent; all the remonstrances of De Ferrier were forgotten, all
the just reproaches which the French made to the Cardinal of Lorraine on
his return from the Council were as if ignored, and the French nation,
against the will of nearly all the wisest of that people, was bound to obey
Rome. In Spain, the Jesuits were exempted from paying tithes. Naples,
Malta, Parma, Lucca and Genoa all felt the encroachments of Paul: this
augured ill for Venetia. The disputes as to the channel of the Po con
tinued, the sovereignty of Ceneda was not yet decided, and the Pa
triarch Vendramino had been cited to Rome.
" As yet there was no pretext to attack Venice as to things spirit
ual, " but this soon occurred. Saracena, Canon of Vicenza, was accused of
atrocious crime, and was imprisoned by order of the Council of Ten. His
cousin, the Bishop of Citta Nuova, took up his defence, and as he was
Director of all the Nuncios he sent information to the Bishop of Vicenza
at Rome, entreating him to defend the Canon and ecclesiastical liberty.
Nani, the Ambassador from Venice to Rome, had notice of these pro
ceedings. The Pope said that he would not permit the Canon to be judged by
the civil power, and Nani informed the senate that the Pope had objected
to two laws of the Republic of 1337, confirmed and renewed 1450, 1515,
1536, 1561, and again confirmed 1603.
The first of these enacted, that no one was to build churches, chapels,
monasteries or oratories, or institute any new religious Order without the
consent of the Doge, under pain of banishment and confiscation of the
property and funds. The second of these laws of 1333, extended in 1605 to
all the dominions of Venetia, decreed that no one should sell, give
or dispose of anything whatsoever to the Clergy, either regular or secular,
without special permission from a magistrate. These laws were necessary,
as a third, some affirm a fourth, of all property was actually possessed
by the ecclesiastics. Some of the convents were very rich, for example the
rental of the Benedictines was estimated at 18,000 pounds sterling per
annum. It will be found on reference to the treatise of Sarpi on Ecclesiastical

xt. 53.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 93
Benefices and Revenues, how entirely he disapproved of the riches of the
Church of Rome, and how he contrasted her revenues with the com
mands of the Holy Saviour to his Apostles. He also shows that tithes
were not to be given as in the days of Moses, but that the provision of
the Clergy was to be regulated as necessity pointed out; he appears to
have held these opinions long previous to the publication of the above
volume. The Venetians had levied tithes and taxes as they chose, but
now the Court of Rome had made still larger exemption as to their
payment in favor of the Cardinals, Knights of Malta, monastic establish
ments, and a great part of the priesthood. The revenue of the Clergy
of Venetia was estimated at eleven millions of ducats yearly! It was
therefore with astonishment that the Senate learned that the Pope al
leged that a large sum was owing to him by the Republic.
The Ambassador Nani had an audience of the Pope, and active com
munications and negotiations continued till the month of December, when
he informed the Pontiff that an ordinance did exist which directed that
the goods of the laity could not be alienated to the clergy, and he also
produced briefs of Clement VII and of Paul III, both authorizing the
jurisdiction of the Senate of Venice over ecclesiastics. There was no
intention on the part of the Republic to conform to the commands of
the Pope, and in direct opposition orders had been given for the im
prisonment of another ecclesiastic, the Count Valdemirono Abbot of
Nervesa. The Pope was angry: he treated the briefs lightly, and said the Bull
In Coena Domini revoked them entirely. It was in vain that Nani urged
the right of the Senate to make their own laws, that he declared that
the Republic had been guilty of no innovation, that he cited the
examples of kings and princes having jurisdiction over ecclesiastics,
the letter of S. Jerome, the acts of Charlemagne, Saint Louis, Henry III
of France, Edward III of England, Charles V in Flanders, and the
laws of Portugal, Aragon, Genoa, and Milan; for the Pope was deter
mined to destroy all such jurisdiction, and protested specially against a
statute which forbade a church to be built without permission of the
Senate. The Ambassador then stated the long established right of
Venetia to cite ecclesiastics before the civil authorities, that this was
founded on the Theodosian and Justinian Code, that the Pope could
not be ignorant that although from 1160 till 1220 there had been
many constitutions to establish ecclesiastical exemptions, the Republic
had exercised its full jurisdiction from 450. He also told the Pope
that God had not given him greater power than he had given to other
princes, and that as it did not belong to Venice to govern the States
of the Church, neither did it belong to the Pope to govern the States

94 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1605.
of Venice, that the laws were not secret but open to all, published
throughout the city and registered in the Chancery where all might
copy them, and he concluded by entreating the Pope not to listen to
calumny, in which case the controversy might be endless. These latter
words were in answer to the alleged retention of money by the Republic.
He further said, that although the Republic had yielded to the Pope
on trivial occasions, so she had always preserved her jurisdiction over
ecclesiastics in important matters, that this was confirmed by the Bulls
of Sixtus IV, Innocent, and Alexander VI, and that the Venetian
laws of which the Pope complained, being anterior to the ecclesiastical
exemption, no constitution of the Pope could derogate therefrom,
that no ecclesiastical exemption had ever been made of those guilty of
crimes against the person of the prince in any state, that in France
the king and magistrates, nay even a commissary, could arrest an eccle
siastic, though he could not be condemned by an ecclesiastic only, but by
the civil judge also, that in Spain an ecclesiastic could be arrested
and that although the Popes had endeavored to exercise ecclesiastical
exemption in the States of Venice it had never been permitted, that
a prince would be one but in name if he could not punish all his subjects
alike, when the public weal demanded it, that he could not accuse the
Senate of overstepping its bounds, having only acted according to its
liberties, the consent of the Popes, and of late years by their appro
bation. These, although only a small part of the communications of the Ve
netian Ambassador, are given in order to inform the reader what Sarpi
had to contend against. At one time His Excellency hoped that he had
produced some effect, and the Pope, somewhat reduced his demands,
and said he would be satisfied if these were granted, without the
payment of 50,000 scudi. His demands were, that the laws against
building churches be abrogated, as also the laws against alienating the
goods of the laity to ecclesiastics, and that the suit against the Canon
and the Abbot be cancelled.
The Pope declared he would be obeyed, and that if not, he
would dispatch an horotary brief to the Republic. While the Car
dinal Dolfino and the good Cardinal Valiero craved delay, the Car-
adinals Sfrondato and Arrigono fanned the flame; they, with the
Spanish Ambassador, were bent upon Spain waging war against Venetia
and calling in the Pope to their assistance, the Cardinal Bellarmine was
not satisfied with the Pope's measures towards Venice, and there can be
no doubt from his subsequent conduct but that he felt regret in being
opposed to his friend Fra Paolo. However the Pope did not take the
vote of the Cardinals; he expected, as Genoa had just yielded to him, Ve-

XT. 53.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 95
nice would do the same, but he was mistaken. The Genoese had no Fra
Paolo Sarpi to counsel their resistance.
The Venetian Senate returned a firm and decisive refusal to the ponti
fical demands. The unanimity of the senators showed the concord of the
Republic in the defence of her liberties, and surely Europe never saw a
more illustrious sight than that of these patriots for a time burying every
jealousy, every past feud, every minor wrong, and voting with one voice
against the encroachments of a foreign power, which was not only of much
inferior antiquity to their own, but was one, the temporal part of which,
their great theologian and counsellor Fra Paolo Sarpi told them was but
lately constituted.
You who have trod the grand council chamber of the Ducal Palace of
Venice, can well imagine the august assembly that met on the eventful
day when refusal to the Pope's demands was voted. You can see their
looks of determination, their strong resolution, their eager and indignant
expression, their lofty endurance, exchanged for promptitude as they
unhesitatingly but silently resented the insult offered to their country. The
voice of the oppression of Europe had penetrated the heavens, the dawn
of the morning of liberty had arisen, and as if the clangor of the Papal
chains which had bound the nations as they cast them from them, had
attracted the notice of the free, those who had effected their freedom
from papal tyranny rallied around Venice, determined to uphold her in
her resolve. The hopes which the Pontiff had entertained of victory were
thus withered in the dust, he had been told by the Jesuits that the
senators were divided in opinion.
The reply of the Senate was brief but conclusive, that the prisoners
could not be given up because lawfully detained, that the laws could not
be abrogated, and that the Republic recognized no superior but God only,
and Paul V, having received it and hearing the same statements from the
Ambassador Nani, immediately despatched two briefs to the Doge and
Senate. In audience he appeared benign and agreeable, but his purpose
was visible, and the end of all the painstaken audiences, deliberations and
remonstrances of the Doge and Senate by their Ambassadors was, that
the Pope informed his Consistory that Venice had violated ecclesiastical
liberty in framing the two laws, and retaining the two prisoners. The Ve
netian Ambassador at Rome was cautioned to observe a good understand
ing with the French Envoy and other representatives of the different
Courts, and the Senate, apprized by their Ambassador of the briefs, in
formed every foreign power with which they had relation of the state of
affairs. The Nuncio withheld the briefs on their arrival, but having received
positive commands from the Pope, he presented them, but they were not
opened.

96 THE LIFE OF [a.d 1606.
It was Christmas day. a day of joy and gladness to all who like Fra
Paolo Sarpi reverenced, loved and served the Redeemer of the world, but
it was a day of grief and anxiety in the ducal palace of Venice, the Doge
_ Grimani lay at the point of death. It requires little imagination to paint
the eager solicitude of the patriots of Venice, the anxious looks and eager
words of the Senators as they question Fra Paolo in this crisis, read his
looks of undismayed but thoughtful expression, and confidently trust him
as the soul of honor with their yet strictly private communications.
It was an hour of great difficulty, all felt it to be so, but the hopes of
the Venetians were shortly raised, as on the death of the good Grimani,
the Donato was elected Doge, " who unquestionably, was one of the most
eminent of all the senators for his integrity, experience in the affairs of
state, for his acquaintance with letters, and for all those noble qualities
which are now so rarely to be met with. " Such is the character which
Sarpi draws of Donato, and as a senator it is not overdrawn; well known
at foreign Courts, all the Ambassadors hastened to do him homage. The
Doge was determined to uphold the dignity and independence of the Re
public, and Paul V found that whatever might have been the policy of
Europe heretofore, she was now to derive a lasting lesson from the resis
tance of the Republic of Venice to papal demands.
In the hour of difficulty and danger to which of their subjects
could the Doge and Senate turn? To whom so confidently as to Fra
Paolo Sarpi, known through life to the Donato and to many of the
senators, and venerated by them for his piety and humility, as well
as for his talents. What was more wise than that they should now
publicly seek the aid of the patriot who, well as he loved peace and
quiet, loved his country more? He saw Venice coerced by a fellow
mortal, Venice the proudest, the wisest, the most independent nation of
any who acknowledged the Pope; he heard the distant roll of the
thunders of the Vatican, and he was too learned in the history of
his own country not to know how deadly a blight the Pope, had
spread over Venetia by former interdicts. He already saw her over
whelmed if she did not present a front of brass to the oppressive foe,
and although he preferred the silent repose of his own Convent to
the anxious and arduous life of a Theologian and Counsellor to the
State, he put his hand to the oar, he made no remonstrance, he made
no excuse, all that he did was to ask permission of the General of
his Order and his blessing, these given, Sarpi publicly gave his service
to the State.
It has been observed that he had been consulted privately; he there
fore had long carefully studied the subject, and was well aware of the
whole bearing of the disputes between Venice and Rome. On the

*T- 64.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 97
fourteenth of January, when the Senate proclaimed that protection would
be given to all who aided the Republic by their counsel, he presented
a document to the Senate in which he explained the two remedies
which might be employed against the threats of Rome; and this
document was read in the Senate with such applause that Fra Paolo
Sarpi was immediately appointed Theologian and Canonist to the Re
public of Venice.
It is not extant, but the following is a translation of the docu
ment, which was presented by Fra Paolo, at a later period, to the
Doge of Venice. " Most Serene Prince,
" In the commencement of the controversies, which are now at their
height, between your Serene Highness and the Sovereign Pontiff, when
he had only issued his first brief concerning the laws of neither building
churches nor alienating the property of the laity to ecclesiastics without
permission, in a writing of mine, presented to your Serene Highness, I
said, that there were two remedies which might be opposed to the thun
ders of Rome, one, de facto, to forbid their publication, and prevent their
execution, resisting violent force by a force which is legitimate, not pas
sing the limits of natural defence : the other, de jure, an appeal to the
future council. I expressed no doubt as to the inexpediency of the first ;
as to the second, I said that on several occasions it has been used by
many princes and private persons, and also by your Serene Highness,
but that where the first would suffice, the other need not be used which
would give unmeasured offence to the Pontiff. Still, if accidents should
ensue that might render it necessary, it could be made available, because
the superiority of the council is allowed in France and Germany; and in
Italy the celebrated doctors, although they maintain that it belongs to the
Pope, do not hold the difficulty to be decided and determined.
" These accidents seem to be now imminent, since the Pope has print
ed, published, and posted a monitory against your Serene Highness, which
is very modest in its abstinence from maledictions, but most severe in
all besides, both on account of the sentence which it pronounces against
the Senate in a body (an unusual thing), and the interdict laid upon the
whole State, and also because it threatens the ad ulteriora, in which there
is no limit at all. Although from past examples given by other Pontiffs,
we may form some conjecture of what is intended, yet, considering the
strange course adopted hitherto, we may apprehend something yet more
absurd. It is necessary, then, to balance all the reasons for or against the

98 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1606.
appeal, and to consider what may be the soundest and most advisable re
solution to form.
" Against the appeal we have the decree made by Pius II in 1459 in a
Congress held in Mantua by the advice of his Court, excommunicating all
who appeal from the decrees of the Pope to a future Council, because such
appeal is made to what does not exist, neither is it known when it shall
have existence. This decree has been always confirmed by his successors,
and placed among the clauses of [the bull In Ca?na Domini, because in
Italy the superiority of the Pope over the Council is a maintained dogma,
and an appeal can only be made as such to a higher power. We may thence be
very sure that an act of appeal to the Pontiff would draw down upon us
an additional excommunicatory brief, and would further complicate the
matter of the four points of controversy, making five. These are potent
reasons dissuasive of the appeal, but answer may be made.
" First, relative to the decree, advising that, after it was made by Pius II,
all the princes against whom it was fulminated have appealed, and this
Serene Republic has done so on two occasions, once under Sixtus IV, and
again under Julius II. For examples of other princes may be adduced,
amongst the most notable, the appeal of Louis XII of France and the
Gallican Church from the same Julius II, and that of the Emperor Char
les V from Clement VII.
" There is not an example to be found of princes in such circumstances
abstaining from appeal through respect for such excommunication. It may
also be said, with some appearance of reason, that this decree does not
include princes, if they are not, according to the rules of the chancery,
specially named in the bull In Cama Domini. In most cases they are
named, but not in this ; then it seems that there has not been aDy inten
tion of including them in it. And if any one shall say that they are includ
ed in all the others, it follows that their being distinctly named in some
has been superfluous.
" Secondly, concerning the reasons of the decree, namely, that an ap
peal is made to what has no present existence, neither is it known when
it shall exist. They certainly have no weight, since, when the Apostolic
seat is vacant, and there is no Pope then appeal is made, " ad fedis apo-
stolicse futurum pontificem, " who, in a similar manner, has no present
existence, neither is it known when he will exist. And if any one shall
say that it is the custom to create a Pope very soon, I reply, that 250
years ago the seat remained vacant for two years running, and another
time for seven years. Who knows what may occur? And as regards the
Council, one might know when it would have an existence, if the canons
were duly observed for its formation every ten years.
" Thirdly, as to the supreme power which the Pontiffs olaini, in order

XT. 54.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 99
to establish the perpetual confirmation of the decree, it will be needful to
speak at some length as to whether this resides in the Pontiff or in the
Council, and to this I will now proceed. We have only to consider, that
if the Pontiff has no judge on earth, there remains for the rest of men,
whether princes or private persons, nothing but obedience; and we must
say in the words of Tacitus, " Tibi supremum vero arbitrium Dii dedere,
nobis obsequii gloria relicta est. " He has power to make all such laws as
may seem good to him, all must be valid, nor can he be overruled by
any one. If he has a controversy with others, he has only to make a law
in favour of his own opinion, and the thing is decided.
" Some one may reply that he has supreme power in things spiritual
but not in things temporal. I might answer by showing how many [incon
veniences would arise if it were so even in things spiritual. But we are
speaking of things temporal. When the Pope wishes anything, he will
say it is spiritual, as is the case in the present controversy, because your
Serene Highness says you have made laws concerning things temporal,
and the Pope says these are things spiritual. He confesses that he is wil
ling to leave the temporal, but he claims this as spiritual. Here, however,
we are brought to a stand. If we are to own him as supreme judge, we
ought to believe him when he determines, as in the present case, that a
certain thing is spiritual; it follows then that nothing remains for us short
of obeying him in all things that come into his mind. If it is said that
we may resist de facto I agree, but it seems to me that the wisdom of
Christ our Lord was more likely to have provided a manner of obedience
dejure than de facto, as he acted when he gave supreme power to the
Church. " Si non audierit, die Ecclesiee;.si autem Ecclesiam non audierit,
sit tibi sicut ethnicus et publicanus. " For the rest, since the Pope has
commanded us under pain of excommunication not to appeal from him,
so, if he should command us, under pain of excommunication, not to dare
to contradict him, we are as much bound to obey him in the one case as
in the other, and we shall go on becoming more and more guilty. I may
doubtless say that the Popes put some limit to their enormous power
rather through fear that Italy and Spain should set forth the doctrines of
a Council's superiority maintained in France and Germany, than from any
other motive of restraint. And if they can once liberate themselves from
such danger, the world will see whether they will rest contented within
any limits whatsoever.
" The fourth and last consideration is, that if the appeal is made, the
Pope may be induced to publish a further censure. Sixtus IV issued four
successive briefs against the Republic, which appealed against them all,
and all these appeals depend one upon another. I think the same thing
was done under Julius II, though I have not seen it; however, no doubt

100 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1606.
exists about this. Who does not believe that fresh excommunications will
appear against all things done by the Prince de facto, without issuing
proclamations for all who have a copy of the monitory, and against all
that may be needful to do in future? Everybody holds for certain that
three or four may be expected, and perhaps more.
" Some one will perhaps say that the principal reason against an ap
peal to the Council is, not the fear of irritating the Pope, but of sur
rendering rights to ecclesiastics. I reply that we only appeal against the
Pope's abuse of power, and therefore we are not surrendering the laws of
the Senate. And since this consideration has not prevailed under Sixtus IV
and Julius II, nor influenced other princes similarly circumstanced, neither
is it likely to affect us now. I say, moreover, that to defend our own rights
in a Congress where so many princes are concerned who have interests
and affairs common with ourselves, cannot be so great a fault. Would to
God that this matter were treated by a free Council! Your Serene High
ness, without any increase of territory, would increase your power one-third,
but we are not worthy of such a blessing. Let us now consider the reasons
favourable to the appeal.
" The first and most powerful is following the example of so many
great princes, and of the Serene Republic. The second, that we have no
precedent of a different course of action on the part of any other State,
except that of the French under Gregory XIV, when they burned his
briefs in the public square. The third is, that it does not seem honourable
to say that the Senate would have all de facto and nothing de jure, as if it
had no show of right. The fourth, because it declares before the world
that it is determined to live in the unity of the Catholic Church, which
ought to be repeated in order to show under what authority your Serene
Highness wishes to live, whilst exempting yourself from obedience to the
Pope. The fifth reason is, that without appealing, nothing remains to be
done, and every other course would be without precedent and dangerous.
If arbiters were demanded the Pope would not accept them, for it would
be more against his dignity to submit to them than to the Council, and
what is an important consideration, if a demand were put forth for arbiters
and refused by the Pope, the act would be an empty one, serving only to
show the world that everything has been tried.
" But some one may perhaps say that the time for making the appeal
has gone by; that such a remedy should have been tried immediately after
the first brief, or even previous to it. Yet if the appeal is now made,
although it irritates the Pope, we have this advantage, that the excom
munication and the interdict are suspended. It may be answered that the
Pope will not understand it so. I own that he will not consider them
suspended, but France and Catholic Germany will, since they hold that,

xt. 54.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 101
de jure, they are suspended by appeal, so that we are of the same opinion,
and they will say that they act justly in communicating with this Govern
ment, and if the Pope complains, as he assuredly will, they will reply
that they do not consider us under an interdict, because of the appeal,
and so the quarrel will involve others as well as ourselves. If we do not
appeal, we can only war by means of manifestos, a thing not to be neglect
ed, yet neither to be used alone. I venture to affirm that if we do not ap
peal, France and Germany will laugh at our pusillanimity, and will per
haps thiuk poorly of our conscientiousness, seeing us satisfied to act by
deeds only. It would, therefore, be necessary to issue a manifesto declaring
our motives for not appealing. If we venture therein to declare the truth,
namely, that we have abstained through fear of the excommunication
contained in the bull In Ccena Domini, the world will marvel where
fore we took alarm at this one, and not at the other fulminated in the
monitory, which last was without any exclusion, whereas in the bull there
were reasons to show that we were not comprehended in it.
" If we appeal, everybody will feel according to his own view of things.
The French and Germans will be pleased that we hold their opinion of
the superiority of the Council. The English will not blame us, for they
constantly affirm that a Council is necessary to decide the matter de
auxiliis, and who knows whether they do not speak thus with the view
of forming a Council under such a protest? But it would take me too long
to speak fully on this matter.
" I have now to adduce the reasons which prove the superiority of the
Council. The first of all owes its being to Saint Peter, when alive, whose
acts are recorded by Saint Luke. A controversy having arisen whether
believers were bound to observe the laws of Moses, a Council was sum
moned in Jerusalem, at which the holy Apostles, Saint Peter and Saint
James, were present, and whither Saint Paul and Saint Barnabas had repair
ed for the same reason. Not only the Apostles and priests, but many
other believers, were present at this Council. At first there was much
disputing; then Saint Peter gave his opinion; then Saint Paul and Saint
Barnabas; and lastly Saint James. Finally, the whole Council established
a decree, and sent two legates, Barnabas and Silas, to declare it, and this
title was written on it: " Apostoli et seniores fratres; " and in the letter
was said, " Visum est Spiritui Sancto et nobis. " If then, Saint Peter in
Council expressed his opinion as any other, if the deliberation was that
of the Council , if the Council sent legates and wrote letters, who can
doubt that it had supreme power? And if we add to this the election of
the seven deacons, not by Saint Peter, but by the whole body of the
Church, and the recorded fact that when two Apostles were dispatched to
Samaria to impart to this people the gift of the Holy Ghost, Saint Peter

102 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1606.
was selected by the others; not going of his own accord, but being sent,
as the sacred text expresses it, with Saint John, by the rest of the Apos
tles; who will not conclude that the supreme authority was vested in the
Church? " In the year 200, Pope Victor, on occasion of a controversy relative to
the celebration of Easter, commanded the Asiatic Bishops, under pain of
excommunication, to conform to the Roman Church. Polycrates, Bishop
of Hieropolis, refused; and Saint Irena?us, Bishop of Lyons, in the name
of all the bishops of that province, wrote to Pope Victor a reprehensory
letter, condemning his anger and his mode of procedure.
" In the year 260, Stephen, the Roman Pontiff, in a controversy con
cerning the rebaptism of heretics, determined against it, excommunicating
all who held a contrary opinion. The martyr Saint Cyprian opposed him,
and in one of his epistles he calls him bold, impertinent, and unwise,
resolving to hold the opinion contrary to him, without, however, intending
to put any one out of communion on such account. Saint Cyprian never
thought of changing his opinion through fear of Papal excommunication,
and Saint Augustine, in four passages of his works, commends him, saying
that he was not bound to conform to Pope Stephen until the question in
agitation was decided by a General Council. The doctrine and the examples
of Saint Cyprian and Saint Augustine, men who have helped to establish
the Church, both by their learning, and one also by his blood, will, I
think, have more influence with every good Christian than the Cardinals
Torrecremata and Albano.
" In the year 312, Cecilian, Bishop of Carthage, having been absolved
by the Council of Africa, Donatus, his accuser, appealed to Constantine,
who committed the cause to the Bishop of Aries with other French bishops,
and they confirmed the first sentence. Saint Augustine, who gives this
history, speaks of having seen the authentic deeds, and, writing against
the followers of the above named Donatus, he says, " After these judges,
what more remained but a General Council? " From this narration it ap
pears first, that neither Constantine nor the French bishops saw any
impropriety in reconsidering the sentence of the Pope, therefore they did
not deem his judgment supreme; secondly, it is plain that Saint Augustine
was of opinion that the cause might be reexamined in a General Council :
he did not then think the Pope was superior to it. But we pass on to relate
a still more remarkable occurrence. About the year 425, Apiarius, an
African priest, was condemned first by the Bishop of Sicca, and afterwards
by the Council of Africa. He had recourse to Rome, to Pope Boniface. He
sent Faustinus, Bishop of Potenza, his legate in Africa, to the Council
which was then sitting in Carthage, to take the part of Apiarius, and he
sent with him some canons, purporting to be those of the Nicene Council,

**• 64.J FRA PAOLO SARPI 10B
which established an appeal to the Pope in all causes. The Fathers
answered, that in the acts which they possessed of the Nicene Council, no
such thing was to be found, but that they would send for other authentic
copies to Constantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch, and that if it were so,
they would obey. Next year the Council having met again at Carthage,
answers were presented from Saint Cyril of Alexandria, and Saint Atticus
of Constantinople, both of whom sent the acts of the Nicene - Council, in
which the suppositious canons brought by the Legate were not found.
Wherefore the African Bishops wrote to Pope Celestine, who had suc
ceeded Boniface, that it was a great error in the Roman See to have given
ear to Apiarius; that in future His Holiness should not afford such refuge,
nor imagine that the Holy Spirit should give more assistance to one man
(alluding to the Pope) than to so many brethren met together in the
name of Christ; that he should send them no more legates, and that the
acts sent from Rome under the name of the Nicene Council were not to
be found in the acts sent by Saint Cyril and Saint Atticus, and that he
should desist from introducing such haughty ambition into the Church of
Christ. This epistle deserves to be read by every one. The acts of the
said Council are extant, and (which is very important) Saint Augustine
was one of the Fathers who took part in it and affixed his signatures. A
canon was also made by these Fathers that no one in Africa should in
future appeal to the regions beyond the sea. We may well believe that
Saint Augustine, and more than 200 Bishops with him, must have under
stood the Divine Writings, and known whether Christ our Lord intended
the supreme power to reside in the Pope or in the Church.
" In the year 455, a General Council was held in Chalcedonia, in which
it was decreed that the Patriarch of Constantinople should take precedence
of the Patriarch of Alexandria and the others, in consideration of the
rank of the imperial city. The Legates of the Pope, who were in Council,
opposed this decree, as did also Leo I, who then ruled the Roman See.
Nevertheless, the determination of the Council prevailed.
" In the year 550 a Council was held in Constantinople. Vigilius, the
Roman Pontiff, was then in this city, whither he had gone to have an
audience of the Emperor; he would not take part in the Council unless
there were given to him a higher seat than that of the Patriarch of Con
stantinople. The Council decided that the two seats should be equal; to
which the Pope would never submit, and therefore he abstained from
taking any part in it. Yet this was one of the most holy Councils of the
Catholic Church, and the fifth of those termed general.
" About the year 880, the eighth General Council was held in Constan
tinople, being the last of those held in Greece. In its twentieth Canon,
it was decreed that the General Council may decide upon the causes of

104 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1606.
all the Patriarchs, adding expressly, that if there shall be any cause
against the Roman Pontiff, the same shall be treated with some reserve.
" This Council has not appeared in print, but its acts are found in
manuscript, both in Greek and Latin, and there is a Greek copy, with the
Latin translation, in the public library of your Serene Highness, amongst
the codices of Cardinal Bessarione.
" In times nearer to our own, after the Greek Church had separated
from us, when the disgraceful spectacle was exhibited of three Popes at
the same time, that is to say, John XXIII, Gregory XII, and Benedict
XIII, the Bishops who acknowledged the authority of John assembled
at Constance in a Council, convoked by him in the year 1414. At the
fourth session it was determined that the Council derives its power im
mediately from Christ, and that the Pope owes obedience thereunto in
all matters concerning faith, the extirpation of schism, or the reformation
of the Church, whether in its head or members.
" In the twelfth session Pope John was deprived of the pontificate: in
the fourteenth, the prelates who were obedient to Gregory, joined the
Council, Gregory himself renouncing the papacy, and at last those who
belonged to Benedict came over likewise, and Benedict, remaining con
tumacious, was deposed. Then all the Fathers renewed the decision that
had been already made, that in matters of faith the Council was superior
to the Pope. They extirpated schisms, reformed the Church in the head
and the members, and decreed that the Council should henceforth meet
every ten years, perpetually. Then, in the manner determined by the
Council, Martin V was elected, who obeyed it so far as to summon a
fresh one, and in its forty-fifth session, he did not take it ill that the
ambassadors of the King of Poland should declare that they would ap
peal to the Council, if he inflicted a certain grievance upon them.
" In this Council many things were ordained for the reformation of the
Roman court. Pope Eugenius IV, successor to Martin, wished to dissolve
it, and issued three successive Bulls against it, declaring himself its
superior. The Council, on the other hand, made many acts against the
Pope, and against the Cardinals who adhered to him, even going so far as
to suspend him. Afterwards a composition was entered into, the Pope
revoking the three Bulls issued against the Council, and acknowledging
its authority.
" It should here be considered how there can be any truth in the alleged
superiority of the Pope to the Council, since Pope Eugenius, who had
asserted this in his Bulls, would in this case have revoked that which
was true, and consented to false opinions.
" But let us return to the Council which, continuing to reform the
eourt, incurred anew the hostility of the Pope, and matters went on so

xi. 54.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 105
far, that the Council deposed Pope Eugenius, and put in his place Felix V.
Eugenius, however, not obeying, assembled another Council, first in Fer
rara, and then in Florence.
" After his death and the election of Nicholas V, Felix, who was a good
man, weary of contests, abdicated, and the Council of Lausanne, which
had removed thither from Basle, accepted his abdication in favour of
Pope Nicholas, and so ended the schism.
" From this time France and Germany have continued to hold the
opinion of the Fathers of Basle as to the superiority of the Council to
the Pope, while Italy has inclined to the party of Eugenius. I leave every
one to draw from this history such conclusions as it warrants.
" In 1516, Pope Leo in a Bull of his, having alleged many reasons,
decides that the Pope is above the Council, but this decision is rather
against them than against us. Therefore the Cardinal Bellarmine says that
the question is still undecided whether the Pope or the Council is the
superior, and as to the Bull of Leo, he says that the Council in which he
published it is not held to have been a general one. Thus, according to
those competent to decide a question, he concludes, that the Pope is not
superior to the Council. I invite any man of intelligence to the considera
tion of this fact, turning our adversaries' weapons against themselves,
" Finally, in the Council of Trent there is no mention made of this
doubtful point, nevertheless some have tried to infer from it also the
superiority of the Pontiff. To this end they adduce a decree in which the
Council declares that all things appertaining to reform and discipline, by
whatever clauses they may be established, it shall be in such a manner
that a reserve for the apostolic authority shall always be understood. But I
marvel at those who appeal to this decree to prove the superiority of the
Pope, when the very contrary is evidently to be deduced therefrom. Be
cause, according to their manner of speaking, if the Council had not
passed this decree, the authority of the Apostolic See would have been
treated in a derogatory manner. Then the Pope is not superior to the
Council. Let us examine this consequence more closely by means of an
example ; if the high and supreme Council of Ten were to make -a law
concerning the judgment of criminals, and were to add the clause, "with
reserve nevertheless, for the authority of the Avogadori was higher than
that of the Council of Ten." And if the Avogadori were to make a statute,
and say therein, " with reserve, nevertheless, for the authority of the Coun
cil of Ten, " who would not laugh at the folly of an inferior tribunal, as if
it feared that, without making such reserve, anybody might question
whether one of their statutes derogated from the authority of the Coun
cil of Ten, their superior? If the General Council were inferior to the
Pope, how could it fear to derogate from his authority, so as to deem it

106 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1606.
necessary to declare that it had no such interest? Then we may well con
sider that the said decree, if it concludes anything, proves the superiority
of the Council rather than the superiority of the Pontiff.
" If any one wishes to know what authors have written on this subject,
I reply that the most celebrated are the Cardinal Cameracense, Jean Ger-
son, Guglielmo Ocamo, Jacopo Almain, the Cardinal Cusano, Alphonso
Tostato. But what use is it to seek for authors, since whoever writes in
favour of the Council is immediately prohibited?
" The Abbe Panormitano is most celebrated amongst the Canonists
employed by the court of Rome, where his works are in higher esteem
(I speak freely) than those of any other author : nevertheless that part of
them which contains these opinions has been prohibited there, the rest
being held in great veneration. They have not ventured to prohibit the
Cardinal Cusano, because he is held as a martyr, but they have suspended
him, that is, ordered that his writings should not be printed any more.
Well did he say,
" Non oportet scribere in eum qui potest prohibere. "
" I say in conclusion, that if after the example of so many princes and
that of your Serene Highness yourself, an appeal should be considered desi
rable, it should not be desisted from on account of the imagined superiority
of the Pope to the Council, or through fear of the Bull In Ccena Domini. ' "
"Venice 1606."
The tidings of Sarpi's appointment were ill received at Rome, and
the Cardinals Bellarmine, Baronius, Colonna and others already felt,
how powerful would be the opposition offered by a Theologian and
Canonist, whose talents were not only great, but whose decisions had
been approved by former Pontiffs.
" Nothing was spoken of at Rome but the Interdict, " however, the
Ambassador Duodo had no better success than Nani. The Pope was
bent on extreme measures, and the Doge Donato soon received the
second brief, condemnatory of the Republic's proceedings against the
two ecclesiastics, and full of menace as to any future act against papal
supremacy. The Doge and Senate replied, spoke of their divine right,
and even advanced the fact that the predecessors of Paul had allowed
that they did not possess the power to which he laid claim; still, it
ought to be remarked that their communications were respectful, but
it was unlikely that Fra Paolo would advise one word of concession
to a Pope who had serious thoughts of not acknowledging Donato as
Doge, of this, however, he repented.
1 Venetian Archives.

xt. 54.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 107
The Pope expressed anger on receiving the reply, and cited the example
of Julius II, but Nani warned the Pope that these days were past, that
the world was no longer what it was in the time of that Pontiff. If a
gleam of light did break in upon Paul V, it was quickly overshadowed, and
he returned to his former ideas of exacting obedience from the Republic.
It will be seen that Sarpi always encouraged a good understanding
between Venetia and France. From the first, the King of France did
not foment the disputes between Venice and the Pope, on the contrary,
M. de Canaye was empowered by the King to counsel reconciliation.
But the Doge still manfully asserted the independence of Venice, and
was fully aware of her position. Sarpi too had reason to fear for his
country; if Spain decided against Venetia, all was lost, but he and
his friends hoped that the issue of this dispute might be a wider se
paration of the Republic from the power of Rome. He saw that the
temporal power of the Pope stood between Venice and true religion,
and in all his writings during the Interdict he speaks of the Pope,
the papal authority, and his temporalities, not only with the voice of
a seer, of a student of canonical law and of the Fathers, but of a
lowly follower of Him on whom the Church is built.
No notice as to the disputes had been as yet made to Sir Henry
Wotton, but the diplomatic servants of the Republic in London had
orders to communicate the matter to King James.
The first defence of Sarpi was by the Ambassador of England. The
Council of Ten were imperative in their command that no member of
the government should hold any communication with the Ambassadors
resident at Venice. But upon Sir Henry Wotton insisting upon con
versing with the Secretary Scaramelli, leave was at length given. Sir
Henry informed him that for state reasons his royal master had spies
at the Court of Rome, and that one of these had told him of mea
sures that had already been taken against Fra Paolo at Rome. To
corroborate this assertion, Sir Henry gave a letter to the Secretary, in
which were the following words written in cypher by the General of
the Jesuits to the Father Possevin, " They are instituting a suit here
secretly against Master Paul of Venice, of the Order of the Servi, on
account of a writing of his, in which he not only defends the Venetians
against excommunication, and the demands made by Nostro Signore
as to the late differences, as you, Reverend Father, well know, but in
many points he lessens the Pontifical authority by certain allegations
deduced from certain ancient privileges, for which it is said the Re
public have given him two hundred ducats per anuum for life. " '
1 1 April 1606. Esposiz, Roma.

108 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1606,
This writing was sent last week secretly to the Ambassador, with
an express order that if Nostro Signore would not be pacified, he was
to present the writing to him, and without any further treaty to leave
the Court. "
From this letter it is obvious that a copy of the writing given by
Fra Paolo Sarpi to the Senate is what is referred to by the General of
the Jesuits. The boldness of this measure is extraordinary, and from
this may be dated the extreme displeasure of the Court of Rome to
the friar who was not afraid to tell the Pope the reasons why he
thought the excommunication was null and void. This was a still
greater offence than his opinion of the Court of Rome, contained in
the letter written in cypher to Gabriello. The Senate permitted Sca-
ramelli to meet Sir Henry Wotton a second time, who took this op
portunity of assuring the Secretary that the Ambassadors believed that
the Pope would make peace with Venice, and that if the adjustment
of the differences were committed to his care, " the English would meet
the Republic with open arms. "
It is clear that Sarpi, although grateful to King James for his prof
fered aid, did not judge him able to understand the cause of dispute,
but his proposal to hold a General Council coincided with the opinion
given by Sarpi.
On the 12fch of April the state of affairs was communicated to the
Emperor, the Ambassadors of France, Spain, Savoy, and to the Secre
taries in Florence and in Milan. The Emperor thanked His Serenity;
the English Ambassador and other envoys declared the powers to be
friendly. But at Rome matters approached a climax. The Ambassador
Duodo took leave, two of the Cardinals could not procure longer delay,
it was evident that an Interdict would be fulminated against Venice,
although the Pope appeared irresolute; he addressed but few persons
on the subject, he drew out a Monitory which he ordered to be print
ed, he corrected it himself, and dispatched it to Venice.
This remarkable Brief of Excommunication of Paul V against the
Venetians, in Latin, was dated Rome, 17th April 1606. It declared
that unless within twenty seven days the Republic of Venice should
obey the Pope's dictates, the Doge and Senate together with every
inhabitant of Venetia were excommunicated by divine authority, as well
as that of Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Paul V. Their first act bore the
impress of the wise counsel of Sarpi.
The Senate immediately commanded prayers to be offered up in every
church throughout Venotia, and large sums of money wore distributed in
alms. The sincerity of the supplications of Sarpi on that occasion cannot
be doubted; it is evident with what trust in God he speaks of this com-

XT. 54.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 109
mand of the Government, and happy was it for Venetia that she had a
Councillor who could protest against an excommunication which forbade
the priests to perform any services of the Church or to administer the
sacraments. Was it likely that he would advise submission to such com
mands? Never. The Doge did not hesitate, but at once protested. The Lion
of S. Mark is engraved at the top of this protest, and none but those who
have seen it, can have any idea of the enthusiasm which the Venetians
attach to the smallest representation or mention of Saint Mark, whom they
regard as their patron Saint. The writer of these pages saw only a small
part of a draft in manuscript amongst the MSS. of Sarpi. It is full of
corrections, and it is probable that the few, but strong sentences of this
manly protest gave him, as well as the other Counsellors, much thought
It was published in Latin, also in Italian, and sent to the Ecclesiastics.
The Doge and Senate had acted independently of Rome, and that was
a proud moment for the friars of the Order of the Servi when the learned
Paolo received their public acknowledgement of his talents: the Popes of
Rome had rejected the demands of Venice for his promotion, and Donato
had the mortification of seeing his services often given to Rome
without reward, but now the case was different, Donato rejoiced that one
of the first acts of his Government was to give his friend a high place, and
the noble hearted will share the pleasure that thrilled through his breast,
when he saw Sarpi by his side, to aid and to encourage him in the long
and arduous conflict which as yet had only begun. While the friar raised
his voice and wielded his pen against aggression, the Doge declared
himself ready to take his sword in hand, aged as he was, in the defence
of the Church, as his ancestry had done to maintain the liberties and honor
of the Republic. The Cardinal Borghese told Donato, when Ambassador,
that if he were Pope he would excommunicate the Doge and Senate, to
which Donato had replied, " And I would smile at it. " He had kept his
resolution, and Paul V was awoke from his dream of aggrandizement by
the report of this protest against him being affixed to the walls of all
parts of the city of Venice.
" Leonardo Donato, by the grace of God, Duke of Venetia &c.
" To the most Rev. Patriarchs, Archbishops and Bishops throughout
our dominions of Venetia, and to the Vicars, Priors and Rectors of the
parochial churches, and to all other Prelates and Ecclesiastics, greeting.
It having come to our knowledge that by order of the Most Holy Father
Paul V, a certain brief was published and posted in Rome, fulminated
against us, our Senate, and addressed to us, of the same tenor and contents
as hitherto, we being obliged to preserve the peace and tranquillity of the
state which God has given to us to govern, and to maintain the authority

110 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1606.
of the Prince who recognizes no other authority in things temporal save
the Divine Majesty, we thus by our public letters protest before God and
the whole world, that we have not failed to use every possible means by
our Ambassador at the Court of His Holiness, as well as by our Am
bassador sent for this special purpose. But he having found the ears of
his Holiness closed to all reason, and against that which the Holy Scrip
tures, the doctrines of the Holy Fathers and Sacred Canons teach, to
the prejudice of the secular authority given to us by God, to the liberty
of this our State and to the scandal of all our faithful subjects, who by the
grace of God hold their wealth, honor and being. We therefore indubitably
hold the said brief not only as unjust, but null and void, invalid, wrathful
and illegal, in fact, we have judged fit to use the same remedy against it
which our ancestors and other princes did, sure that you who have the
care of the souls of our faithful subjects, and of divine worship, which
flourishes in this our State as much as in any other, will in future conti
nue in the same pastoral office. It being our firm resolution to continue
in the Holy and Apostolic Catholic faith, and in the observances of the
Holy Roman Church, as our ancestors have by Divine grace from the
foundation of this city till now. And it is our will that notice of all
be affixed in all public places of the city and throughout our dominion.
certain that the publication of such a manifesto will come to the ears of
all who have heard of the said brief, and to the notice of his Holiness,
whom we pray our Lord God to inspire with the knowledge of the nullity
of his brief, and of all his other acts against us, and knowing the justice
of our cause, we may and shall more devoutly reverence the apostolic
chair, as we and our ancestors always have done.
" Given at our Ducal palace, 6th May 1606. "
Sarpi affirms that the Nuncio must have seen the Protest on the
Church of S. Francesco, ' and therefore could inform the Pope that the
Doge had communicated to the nobles, citizens, and people that he
would not bend to the injustice of Rome. Those to whom Venice is
familiar can well imagine the effect which such a proclamation would
have upon the people, from place to place the news spread, with few
exceptions all were loyal. And who dared to dispute the command of the
Prince? Not the civil power, not the soldiery, not the navy. No! they were
loyal to their Prince and ready to spill their blood in defence of their
rights. Those who despised the commands of the Doge were adherents of
the Court of Rome, the Jesuits, subsequently followed by the Capuchin
and Theatine Orders, determined to obey the diotates of Paul V. But the
i M. S. Interdetto,

mt. 54.] . FRA PAOLO SARPI 111
Doge and Council of Ten were not rulers whose command could be
lightly despised, and the Jesuits who considered themselves martyrs in
the papal cause, contrary to command, encased all their worldly goods in
large coffers, together with the books, plate, and furniture of their Church,
and took them from their Convent ; what remained is summed up in a
list of articles of little value. ' On hearing of the Monitory, they had sent
Father Galiarda to Rome to consult the Pope; his decision was contrary to
the Venetian Government. The Jesuits wished to preach, to hear confes
sion, but not to celebrate mass; the Senate would listen to no such com
promise, they were commanded to leave Venice. They called their disciples
together, and from this tumultuous body they obtained a considerable
sum of money, they then concerted with the Capuchins.
With the crucifix carried before them, they endeavored to excite the
multitude in their favor, but finding this impossible, they asked the
French Ambassador to permit his people to accompany them. He refused,
and at two oclock at night, each with a " Cristo, " amidst an immense
concourse of people, the disobedient Order left the city. Never did such a
fleet breast the waters of Venice as this large company of misguided men,
and as the last was about to step into his gondola he stopped and craved
benediction, but the people were in no humor to see it granted, the strong
common sense and intelligence of the Venetian mind held no sympathy
with these disturbers, and one simultaneous cry rent the air in their own
soft Venetian dialect, " Andate in malora. " The house of the Jesuits was
searched, it did not escape the notice of Sarpi that there were piles of
burnt writings and a crucible for casting money. Passevin wrote a defence
of the latter saying it was a form for their caps. There were writings left
- at Padua, copies of eighteen rules bearing this title, " Regula? aliquot ser
vanda? ut cum Orthodoxa Ecclesia vere sentiamus, " in one of which Sarpi
remarks " that the seventeenth rule advised preachers not to preach too
much of the grace of God. " He contrasted such doctrine with that of the
Holy Scriptures, what would be thought of a king who granted pardon
to rebels, but with the condition, that of that pardon little was to be
made known? Death was still suspended over them, the grace of God is
freely given, and the Jesuits had no more power to command that it
should be little spoken of than a gaoler to deny any part of the pardon
given to a criminal, such doctrine was as novel as heterodox. In the third
rule they were ordered to believe in the Church of the Hierarchy, " which"
says Sarpi " is to believe that white is black. "
He was grieved to see, that after the Jesuits were banished from Venice
1 M. S. Arch. Venetian.
* MSS. Gesuiti.

112 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1606.
they continued to use all their influence against the Republic, both publicly
and privately, they gave indulgence to all who observed the Interdict,
forged letters from the Republic of Genoa to Venice, and from Verona to
Brescia, they tampered with all the Ambassadors of Venetia at foreign
courts, they were judged to be the cause of all the insurrections, seditions
and disorders throughout every kingdom, and the strong terms in which
Fra Paolo speaks of them throughout his works, the part which he believed
it to be his duty to take in opposition to them at this time is no matter
'of surprise to those who have studied the matter and know how long he
was cognizant of all their machinations, when he was in the capacity of
Theologian, Canonist and Counsellor to the Republic. Yet there is no vio
lent vituperation against them, calm and collected was his opinion of
them. Their political doctrines of the exaltation of the Papacy above a
monarchy or prince, and depression of the aristocracy were too contrary to
the laws of Venice to be well received there, and if to this be added their
doctrine of the sovereignty of the people, though under their guidance in
one sense enslaved, it will not be judged harsh if Sarpi affirmed that the
Jesuits were dangerous denizens of any state. Amongst other novelties
which they taught were these. That the Pope is supreme monarch of
the world, may make or rescind laws, command obedience by force, must
be obeyed right or wrong, that the people may rise lawfully against their
prince, that the right of princes is not divine, ecclesiastics are to be punish
ed if they obey the Republic, they are superior to the laity, whatever
hinders the advancement of the Church is to be punished, to employ
a soldier not of the Church of Rome is against God, it is shameful to
converse with one not of the Church, the judgment of God and his
Holiness is the same, to question it is to question God. And they revived
a prayer by Pope Leo in which the Pope is placed above God. * These
and much else drew from Sarpi the charge of " novelty, " he also tax
es them with ingratitude. The Jesuits had been honorably and gene
rously domiciled in Venetia, and in Venice they had amassed great wealth,
built a church, and secured the tuition of a great part of the sons of the
nobles. Learned men had not scrupled to lower themselves to raise their
Order, and they not only inculcated their erroneous theology on the minds
of the Venetian youth, but on those of the softer sex, some of whom were
always foremost in their defence, either unwilling or unable to enquire
into their system. " The city lies under an interdict " wrote the Jesuits,
" and consequently under an anathema of the Pope " they therefore pro
nounced all contracts both civil and ecclesiastical to be void, and that the
priests could not dispense the sacraments validly. "
1 Letters and MSS. Arch. Ven. Sarpi.

xt. 54.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 113
These invidious writings shook the faith of the weakminded in their
God and in their Prince, and to counteract the mischief done by those
works and letters, Fra Paolo was appointed a Censor, and also charged to
examine all that was written in favor of the Republic : we find his name
affixed to the bold remonstrance of the Senator Quirini in the warranty
of the Registry of the Council of Ten.
But Fra Paolo did more than examine books he wrote them; a stringent
necessity called him forth, his modesty had hitherto restrained him from
the exertion of the full power of his intellect, to oppose the aggressions of
the Pope by at once writing in favor of the Republic as he did not con
sider himself sufficiently master of the Italian language to write it well,
he therefore furnished Leoni with materials for a work, but as this author
wrote with more elegance than power, his work was inefficient. A papal
interdict required a more potent pen to answer it than Leoni's, and Fra
Paolo, having recalled to mind a Latin treatise of Gerson on excommuni
cation and shown it to some of the senators, he was commanded to trans
late it into Italian, and to prefix a short treatise of his own, it was
published anonymously. His opinions of the dispute were not hastily
formed notions of the present, but the calm and deliberate deductions of
the past. He read all the works which were likely to throw light upon
the matter. French, Italian, Spanish, German and English authors wrote
in favor of the Republic, and works which were valued at Venice were
burned at Rome; and one of many, a poem in a burlesque style, obtained
great notice, it threatened Paul V with the loss of the Republic, and
her adoption of the doctrines of the Reformed.

114

CHAPTER VII.
a.d. 1606 — a.d. 1607.
Doge of Venice. Leonardo Donato.
Sovereign op Germany. Rodolph II.
Great Britain. James I.
France. Henry IV.
Spain. Philip III.
Turkey. Achmet III.
Pope. Paul V.

Fra Paolo's loyalty. - Treatise on the Interdict. - Fra Fulgenzio Micanzio
chosen by Fra Paolo as his Coadjutor. - Opinions. - Signs of accommodation. -
Fra Paolo's works. — The Doge prepares for war. - Mediators. - Accom
modation. - Reformation in Venice.
Fra Paolo, as well as the other Friars who acted according to the
commands of their Prince, did so conscientiously : they knew that their
allegiance after God was due to him. The Pope had arrogated to himself
power over the Doge to which he was not entitled, and which therefore
was not to be obeyed; it would in fact be difficult to prove that he had
a right to exercise any authority whatever in Venetia.
Fra Paolo has shown in his works, more particularly in his letters, how
step by step the Pope had attained power, and why, although he was
obliged to tolerate the abuses of the Church of Rome, he still resolved to
remain in her communion. The Pope thought to bring Venice to his feet
by granting a jubilee to all but to her, but he little knew what was the
joy and consolation of Fra Paolo that the Gospel of Christ was preached
there in all its power, and that far above the fierce waves of controversy
he bade his fellow mortals raise their eyes to the Lamb of God who taketh
away the sin of the world. His was no semi -religion, he stripped humanity
of all vaunt, and bade his hearers trust in their Saviour in all simplicity,
and notwithstanding the varied attempts which have been made to orush
this fact, it still stands written by the pen and dictated by the heart of
one who really served his God. Sarpi knew, as few else knew, the precipice
on which Venice stood if she were again reconciled to the Pope; with
all his toleration for the Church of Rome he had little for the Court, he

xt. 54.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 115
knew that a hand divine only could free his country from the tyranny
of papal power, he had a herculean task to perform in resisting the Pope,
but there is no doubt that he did effect a great work, in being one of the
members of the Church who dared to question the temporal and spiritual
power of the Popes, as well as many innovations, especially as to their
alleged supremacy and infallibility.
He was not altogether alone, there were a valiant few who^'shared his
opinions, and their names appeared as those Theologians, who during the
first period of the Interdict were the defenders of Venice on the publication
of the treatise entitled " Trattato dell'Interdetto. "
" Fra Paolo, " writes M. de Thou, " the Theologian so celebrated in
this great affair, followed up the above work by a very learned and mo
derate one entitled " Considerazioni. "
He begins by recounting the history of this dispute, its origin, and
progress, and puts in the clearest light all the false steps which the Car
dinals caused the Pope to take, either from complacency or precipitancy.
He then shows the equity of the decrees attacked by the Holy See,
and proves victoriously the right of jurisdiction of princes over their ec
clesiastical subjects, and that from the words of S. Peter and S. Taul,
and by quotations from the Fathers; also, that ecclesiastical exemption is
only founded on the benevolence of princes, and having shown the plan of
this exemption, he cites an important passage from Pope Leo. He shows
that the power given by Christ to Peter was one to be used, but with
discretion. 'Manet ergo Petri privilegium ubicumque ex ipsis fertur asqui-
tate judicium, nee nimia est vel severitas, vel remissio, ubi nihil erit liga-
tum, vel solutum, nisi quod Beatus Petrus solverit, aut ligaverit. ' And
also by the example of S. Paul withstanding S. Peter, what is the duty
of the Church, and in another place he shows that the Saviour had no
sooner given the keys to Peter which he elsewhere shows is figurative, but
he says to him, ' Vade post me Satanas, scandalum es mihi quia non sa-
pis qua? Dei sunt sed qua? hominum. ' The privilege granted to S. Peter
was only to be in force when judgment is founded on equity.
On its title page are the words, " Maledicent illi et tu benedices. "
Ps. 109, (" Let them curse, but bless thou, ") and the eye of Sarpi was
lifted upwards, while his foes showered anathemas upon him. He was bles
sed. It is by no means to be inferred that his works are faultless; great
allowance must be made for the writings of a friar of the Church of Rome
in the 16th century, emerging from the doctrine of the schools, and oblig
ed, if his works were to be read at all by those he wished to convince, to
cite many authorities. But it must be borne in mind chat some of these
authorities were reckoned heretical at Rome, and that however encum
bered by them, there is throughout the writings of Sarpi loyalty to God

116 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1606.
and to his prince, a disbelief in the supremacy of the Pope to a council,
as also of his infallibility, and a constant appeal to the Holy Scriptures.
The writer of these pages has never seen the MS. of the " Considera-
zioni, " but the testimony of M. de Thou is a satisfactory proof that Fra
Paolo Sarpi did write this work. Fra Fulgenzio also names it, but there
is stronger proof still; Sarpi names it in his manifesto to the Cardinals
as his.
M. de Thou also notices the anonymous work generally attributed to
Fra Paolo Sarpi. It is therein proved that princes have received their
right from God to rule over all people, both seculars and ecclesiastics;
that Jesus Christ, the author of our salvation, although by his divinity
equal to His Father, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, had never,
however, either before his death, or after bis resurrection, exercised any
temporal authority, and that S. Peter, his vicar, would not arrogate a
power to himself which Jesus Christ, when clothed in our humanity,
would not take ; that the immunities of ecclesiastics, which made them
valued for their wealth, was not of divine, but human right; that the Se
nate of Venice having received its power from God, and recognizing no
other temporal power as superior, could have committed no sin in making
decrees as .to what belonged to the Church, or what might belong to it
and consequently that the Republic, seeing it was unjustly overwhelmed
by the censures of Rome, looked upon the sentence of the Pope as null
and void, both as to divine and as to human law.
As to what S. Gregory says of the sentence of a pastor, that " whether
just or unjust it is to be feared, " has nothing to do with the present af
fair, where the question was not whether it was unjust, but respecting a
sentence which was1 null and void, and according to Duns Scotus and the
learned Navarro, there was no reason to dread a sentence which was null
and void.
This writing was answered by the Cardinal Bellarmine, and M. de
Thou observes " that the strongest part of the answer of the Cardinal is
where he taxes the Senate with having submitted and solemnly accepted
the Council of Trent, and then, without any exception, having permitted
anonymous books on religious matters to be printed, which was expressly
forbidden by the Council." This connivance alone, according to Bellarmine,
made the Senate amenable to the censures of the Church, " and it must
be confessed, " continues M. de Thou, " that this acceptation of the
Council of Trent is a strong argument against the Venetians, because this
Council is regarded by the Ultramontanes as an infallible and sacred
oraele which confirmed and sealed, so to speak, all the decrees by which
the Popes had imagined to establish their power, so that all objections
against new censures fell to the ground in virtue of this Counoil, which

xt. 54.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 117
is a sort of proscription by which the partizans of the court shut the
mouths of their adversaries, and deprive them of all resource. "
Such was the bold language of the upright patriot M. de Thou, one
of the many Frenchmen who lifted their voices against the decrees of the
Council of Trent. It was true that Venice had unwittingly accepted the
decrees of the Council of Trent. Her Bishops were persuaded to do so,
and the closing sermon at Trent was preached by the Venetian Bishop
of Nazianzo.
The members of the Church of Rome are no more blameable for the
decrees of the Council of Trent, than a people whose king passes unjust
laws. But why should the rulers of a people enforce the acceptation of the
decrees of the Council of Trent upon Italy, which, when they were pas
sed, dared not refuse them, although there were many found in that
Council who told the Papal Legates very plainly, that some of its decrees
" were not according to the Holy Scriptures. " This was long since shewn
by other authors besides Sarpi and by M. de Thou. Look at all the pon
derous volumes on the Gallican liberties, which lie neglected on the
shelves of the libraries of France as if they had never been written,
and why?
When Fra Paolo was appointed Theologian to the Republic, he named
his tried friend Fra Fulgenzio Micanzio to be his coadjutor. Of all others
he appeared most eligible for such a trust, he was a man of great ability,
learning and science, he had been reader of scholastic theology at Man
tua and Bologna, and was still engaged to Bologna for three years more,
but Fra Paolo would take no denial, and Fulgenzio's friendship for Paolo
was so great that he obeyed his command, though at the loss of his li
brary and all hopes of preferment. Such a companion was a great boon to
Fra Paolo, the innate nobility of Fulgenzio's character making him
willingly share Paolo's fortunes. He thus speaks of himself.
" As soon as P. Paolo had entered on this charge, he deemed it neces
sary to have a faithful companion on whom he could rely as upon him
self; one who would refer to books for him, because the method of the
times required it. Arguments were not sufficient; it was customary to
quote the opinions, not only of the learned, but many bye-laws. And he
who would not err on the credit of another, or who would not be mis
taken, found it necessary to examine authorities from point to point, a
task which required more labour than intellect.
" To this end, P. Paolo bethought himself of Fra Fulgenzio, a
Brescian, with whom he had the privilege of close familiarity. He had
the kindness to initiate him in the Socratic method of study, not the
common, pompous, and less profitable course of reading; but, first read
ing, and then by discussion to investigate truth, as also to point out

118 THE LIFE OF [a.». 1606.
error, a true, and singularly good method of instruction which has
fallen into disuse, and has given place to pomp and ostentation. The
reader, " continues Fra Fulgenzio, " will pardon this little digression,
because it does away with an objection made to the Father, not only
by the friars, but by some of his intimate friends, that although very
learned himself, he communicated but little to others; and many went
so far as to tax him with an envious and ambitious nature, and that
he did not like others who possessed knowledge; and, also, that he
liked to hide his great talents from them. But this was not the case,
for he had the most gentle, loving, and kind mind, communicating
with the greatest readiness as required. " '
The years which they passed together were often chequered by peril
to both, but Fra Paolo had told Fulgenzio plainly that he considered him
necessary to the preservation of his existence, and there can be no doubt
but that Fulgenzio was the means, on more than one occasion, of saving
the life of Fra Paolo; and was it nothing, after the long and arduous busi
ness of the day, the discoveries of plots against himself, the contempla
tion of irreligion, the failure of plans for the good of his country, the
intolerance of the wicked, the lethargy of the weak, to meet the welcome
smile of such friendship, to converse on coming days of liberty to Italy,
to discourse on those intellectual pursuits which nerve the mind to still
stronger effort? And there was yet a stronger link than all these between
" our Fulgenzio " and Fra Paolo; religion had united them by an indis
soluble chain. They were wrestlers in the same strife, they were both
desirous of seeing their country freed from the yoke of Rome. They were
both intimately acquainted with its court. Open to conviction, Fra Ful
genzio adopted Fra Paolo's opinions, because he believed them to be true, 2
by discussion he had investigated truth, and it will be seen how eloquently
he propounded it.
His friendship for Paolo was not borne away by the breath of slander,
like the summer blossom by the summer wind. It survived both evil and
good report, as sincere as durable, and such is the praise that is ever and
anon shed by Fra Fulgenzio around Sarpi, that he is lost to sight. It
seems to be his whole aim to keep his beloved master in the most
1 MS.
2 Fra Fulgenzio had previously studied under Michael Angelo of Pistoia.
This is a curious old town of " chiare case, oscure chiese; the houses light,
the churches dark. " In a chapel in the Cathedral dedicated to the Apostle
James, is a prayer in which S. James is styled tho Head and Chief of the
Apostles. " Tu qui primatum tenes inter Apostolos imo qui eorum primus. "
He presided, and not S. Peter, in the first Apostolic Council held at Jerusa
lem. Acts xv, 13, et seq.

xi. 54.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 119
prominent part of the picture, content to remain in the deepest shade, if
Fra Paolo Sarpi be loved, honored, and admired.
Fra Paolo had not only the advantage of Fulgenzio's assistance in
making references to books for him, but also the opinions of Pellegrini
and Gratiani, Counsellors of State. Menochio lent his aid, while the most
eminent jurisconsults and lawyers of Italy and France, Servin, Lechas-
sier, Vigner, and Casanbon, and the principal universities were consulted
by the Senate. Thus it was with no rash or untried weapons that
Fra Paolo and the Senate of Venice maintained this contest with the
Pope. There is a large volume of MSS. in the Archives of Venice of Sarpi's
opinions relative to the Interdict. These as well, as correct analyses of re
ports on state matters which were supplied by him to the college,
were valuable as rendering the subjects clear, and his short and logical
expositions must have also spared their time. More than once he regrets
at the conclusion of a written opinion, that it had not fallen to the lot of
one of more ability than he to supply such; and on one occasion, when
grappling with the question as to the Pope being infallible (which Sarpi
did not believe), there are two marks of his red chalk on the words of Saint
Paul in full, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel
unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed,"
(Gal. i, 8). As in death, so it appears to have been his motto in life, " It
is not mine to live, but mine to serve, " and he did serve a state capable
of appreciating him. It is one of the distinguishing marks of this great
people, that the Venetians showed respect, nay even veneration, for their
public servants, and the Princes, the Council of Ten, and the Senate
always evinced the greatest esteem for Sarpi, and well would it be
if they were emulated by others, who seldom, till the tomb has taken
a public servant to its bosom, realize his service, and hang bays that
ought to have graced a living brow on the marble urn over his uncon
scious ashes. The Venetians had the wisdom to know the worth of
Sarpi; he had the piety and modesty to say he " only defended a just
cause, " if no temptation of the Court of Rome could induce the Vene
tians to betray him and give him into the hands of the Pope, no bribe
would move him from his allegiance to his Prince, or from the service
of his country.
There can be no doubt but that Sarpi continued hostile to the return
of the Jesuits. His advice weighed with the Senate, and in consideration
of all that has been advanced with regard to them, on the 14th June
they were excluded by an edict from Venice, not a voice was raised in the
Senate in their favor; even after the secret scrutiny of votes, not a vote
was found to have been given for their return.

120 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1606
The Pope at length published a jubilee,1 inviting all Christians to pray
with him for the wants of the Church, and conceded indulgence, absolution
and remission to all save those under the Interdict. At Vicenza an anony
mous work appeared in which the writer called the Pope, Antichrist. This,
Sarpi reports, disturbed the Senate, he did not hold this opinion.
" As to the question which you propose, I have endeavored to compass
it , but I have always considered the words of Saint John quoted
by you, as a name common to many, and by antonomasia to one ,
but whether that one was really to be, or whether it was merely a vulgar
opinion without any foundation for it, did not appear to me sufficiently
clear, but capable of both interpretations. That to the Thessalonians,
though not that name, shows that such a particular person is plainly
spoken of; but for all this, it is not sufficient to determine me, because it
is not clear, whether such an one be an individual, or many men. And I
remain still in doubt, nor have I found any other person who has met my
thoughts on this but yourself. To whom I will say that the multiplication
of acts of faith, and specifying as a subject those things which are not
specified, is to give in to old abuses. Why not leave in ambiguity what has
been left so till now? I heard say once, and I leave it to the judgment of
the intelligent, that the articles of faith are established, he who does not
receive them has no faith and is an infidel, but he that besides these
articles believes anything else for an article, and separates from others, is
a sectarian; and I do not see you are in this danger, because you leave
the matter in suspense. They have more reason to think of it who made
the article, but I do not think they will separate from one who does not
admit it as certain. Indeed the old abuses creep in still, and those which
drove away the tyrant from the Republic, though out of zeal he is offered
to acquire dominion again. Thanks be to God if he remains within
bounds. "
France again offered to aid the Doge by force of arms, but advised peace.
The Spanish Minister continued to make fair promises to Paul; s at this
Venice was disquieted, but her preparations for war both by sea and land
progressed. Her sailors were ready to serve her, her arsenal resounded
with the strokes of the hammer, and many new galleys were added to her
renowned fleet. Sarpi on no occasion displayed fear, and his intrepid
conduct and powerful arguments still continued to encourage the Doge
and Senate to resistance.
A little more, and Venice might have been lost to Rome for ever, un
fortunately for her all her great men were not wise men. Much infor-
i Sottilissima invenzione, June 19, 1606. Sarpi MS.
a Off.0 Papa in Spagna, p. 52, Sarpi, MS.

xt. 54.J FRA PAOLO SARPI 121
mation is obtained from a letter of M. Abain, ' as to the State of affairs
at Rome with respect to Venice; the Cardinal du Perron assures King
Henry, " that Donato, the Doge of Venice, is of that faction which
always kept the Republic in fear of giving offence to Spain. " He adds
that " the Grand Duke of Tuscany had lately told him that the said Donato
had hindered the Venetians from rising, and said in full Senate, 2 that
they must not trifle with the King of Spain, although, " the Cardinal
continues, " other sentiments might have drawn Donato and his party to
other ideas, " still, there is more than sufficient to prove that fear of
Spain held Donato back, and was one of the grand obstacles which stood
in Sarpi's way to severance from the Court of Rome. He looked for re
form in religion when there ivas a change in the State, and it is for his
countrymen now to ponder on what he meant. He gave honor to the Doge
Donato as a great and good man, but it must not be overlooked that he
wrote " as a Prince he was nothing. " 3 This must mean, that as Doge he
had very little power, but there can be no doubt that Sarpi hoped that
Donato would be able to exercise greater independance towards Rome.
He was too keen sighted not to know the great advantage that would
accrue to his country did she free herself from the Roman yoke, and it is
a matter of astonishment that the wise men of Italy, who have in some
measure broken the civil and ecclesiastical thraldom in which the Pope
kept their country, do not wholly free themselves by a return to the eccles
iastical polity of days gone by.
Fra Paolo soon furnished another able work in favor of the Republic,
" The Apologia," a volume consisting of 132 pages quarto. On its titlepage
is an engraving. The Saviour with his right hand points to the world at his
feet, and around the engraving are these words, " Regnum meum non est
de hoc mundo " (John xviii, 36), to which Christ draws attention by the
forefinger of the left hand. " Europe, Asia, Africa, and America," are written
on the globe. The whole is a solemn appeal to the reader, and prepares
his mind for the pages which follow, which were read with interest and
admiration. Sarpi knew the magnitude and justice of the cause he defend-
i Appendix, 10th July, MS. Bib. Imp.
2 A full Senate was composed of the Doge, six counsellors, three heads of
the forty criminal judges, six Savi of the Council of the Pregadi or Senate,
commonly called the Great Savi, five Savi of Terra Firma, and five of the
Savi. It convoked the Senate, deliberated on affairs of state, received ambas
sadors, and in fact was the principal part of the Government of the Republic.
But the reader need scarcely be reminded of the power of the Council of
Ten, which at that period took cognizance of every affair of state, and
without whom neither Doge or full Senate could act. Vide, Paolo V (Cornet's),
presented by the Abbate Valentenelli.
8 MS,

122 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1606.
ed. The rights of the Church of Rome had been advocated and exalted
beyond their limits ; God was dishonoured thereby, and this true but
humble soldier of the cross again drew from the mighty arsenal of the
Holy Scriptures well tried weapons, and from the Fathers and Councils
arguments against such infractions of the laws of heaven. The style is
simple and agreeable, the dignity of the subject is felt, and the untenable
position of the Pope is pointed out with the hand of a master; but there
is no railing or assumption, and this work is still valued. Fra Fulgenzio
praises, " the modesty of the writing, the profundity of the doctrine, and
the sufficiency of the defence. " Fra Paolo showed by the Apologia that
he was not convinced by the arguments of the Cardinal Bellarmine.
If he had listened to the offers made to him by the Court of Rome,
he would have been preferred to the highest dignities of the Church,
but he was a man of honor. He had promised to serve the State of
Venice and he did serve her; he held a place of great distinction,
which was a public acknowledgement of his piety, talents and high
character, but he found that his enemies still aimed at his des
truction. The next work which appeared, was " Le Confirmazioni. " Fra Ful
genzio ascribes all the praise of it to Fra Paolo, although it was
written by the former. The writings of the Roman Court contained
many severe calumnies against the Republic, and Fra Paolo's anonymous
work was pronounced to be " rash, calumnious, scandalous, seditious,
schismatical, and heretical. " His " Considerazioni " was prohibited at
Rome, and all were declared excommunicated who read it. However,
the French Ambassador at Venice writes, " I hear that Cardinal Bel
larmine has written in favor of the Pope, and that his book is in the
press, although what he said was as solid as a diamond, he will find
pens here to answer him. "
This work was not published anonymously, and it is to be regret
ted that the Cardinal was betrayed into expressions unworthy of his
character and his friendship for Sarpi, still such works are useful,
they convince the candid that the doctrines of the Jesuits are hetero
dox. The fact that this distinguished Cardinal endeavored to defend
what is indefensible, proved that, if for political reasons the doctrines
of the supremacy and the infallibility of the Pope, the sovereignty of
the people, probability, and many others have been occasionally sup
ported by a Pope of Rome, these doctrines cannot be proved by
sound logic, and never have been valued by the most profoundly
learned either in morals or in theology. A system of religious opinions
which requires a man to write against his will by command in favor
of the Pope Paul V (and on more than one oocasion Bellarmine de-

xt. 54.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 123
ciared that he dill not agree with the Pope), oannot be orthodox-
christianity, but is an upholder of falsehood. It is profound as the ocean,
yet clear to its utmost depths, it is as high as the heavens, and yet
is not beyond the reach of the most simple. It is wide as the universe.
and yet cannot be bound within finite limits. It is divine, and there
fore cannot be amalgamated with what is untrue.
It has been a cause of surprise that the Republic of Venice did
not, upon a perusal of the monitory of Paul V, instantly break with
the Court of Rome. She had not then discovered that if she advoca
ted reform in the Church, her civil government would have greater
strength. The Doge did indeed say to the Nuncio, that the Republic
of Venice, like other states that had embraced reform in religion, might
separate from Rome; but the Venetians believed that reform was
schism, and did not consider, as did Sarpi, that the Pope by his in
novations had changed, and also had added other articles of faith, as
well as observances and rites, to the Church of Rome. Sarpi and some
others were desirous that the Church should return to its primitive go
vernment, and in so doing, he knew that the first great step ought to
be the abrogation of the temporal power of the Pope.
It was, and is, a great mistake to say that reform is change, if
by change, novelty is meant: to desire reform within the Church of
Rome is only to return to the old religion from which the Church of
Rome has changed. As the crust of time and noisome damp may
deface a pillar, without touching its foundations; so, if these defects
be removed , the column remains entire, and more beautiful than
before. It was never pretended by Sarpi, that the Church of Rome
was not built upon Christ and His apostles. He again and again
repeats this; but he never denied that there were great abuses in
the Church, and he did not hesitate to obey the command of the Re
public to enter her service, doubtless in the hope to uphold the
liberties of his country against the Pope, who, in temporal power
as well as spiritual, desired nothing less than the sovereignty of
Italy. The power of the Pope was deemed exorbitant prior to the time
of Fra Paolo Sarpi. One of the earliest who argued against it was
Claude, Bishop of Turin, in the ninth century. He was Bishop of
the Valdesi, Waldenses, Albigenses, or Paterins. Sarpi mentions them,
and the reports of their enemies of them. " All the countries were in
communion and obedience of the Church of Rome, only, in a small
part, that is, on that tract where the Alps joined the Pyrenees, were
some remainder of the old Waldenses or Albigenses. " When Italy
succumbed to the Pope, after the valorous Arnold of Brescia suffered

124 THE LIFE OF [a d. 1606-
death, the Waldenses never yielded. In 1180, they were in Lombardy;
and in the thirteenth century, were in Rome. In 1231, Gregory IX
issued a bull against them; but in Milan, Como, Cremona, Venetia
and Naples, Sicily and Genoa, they were to be found in numbers.
In 1370, they went to Pragela, in Calabria, " enriching the land for
the space of two hundred years, and sharing in the revival of letters,"
and a learned writer remarks also, on the first gleam of light which
shone on that remote spot of Italy where they found an asylum,
It does not appear that Sarpi knew that there were in Venetia
many of this primitive Church of Italy who had held the faith
delivered by Christ the Saviour to the Apostles, but he thus pities
their sufferings elsewhere. " While they met in Trent to convince he
resies by a Council they did the same by arms against a small remainder
of the Waldenses, poor creatures who had neither weapons or thought
otherwise than to defend themselves by flight, it is certain that four
thousand were slain, who without defence desired mercy. " Sarpi notices
that the Duke of Savoy made a composition with them which displeased
the Pope, and that this took place after a battle in which the Duke lost
seven thousand men and slew but fourteen of the enemy. In 1500 the Wal
denses had a house of learning at Florence, presided over by their
Barbes or Ancients, they had Bishops from the time of Constantine
who did not receive their authority from the Pope; * they preserved
their liturgy.
The reader will pardon this digression, as any notice of the Church
of Italy must be incomplete without mention of the Waldenses, but
they have shared in the enlightened policy of Victor Emmanuel, the
valorous King pf Italy, they are again established in Florence, in an
ample college; the head of which, President Revel, unites rare qualities
of head and heart, and is able by his great knowledge of the dead lan
guages to superintend the publication of the Italian Bible of Diodati,
the friend of Sarpi.
To return, a perusal of the various histories of the Interdict, and an exa
mination of many MSS. relative to it must convince their readers that the
authority of the Pope was considerably impaired by these disputes with
Venice. Paul V had gone too far, the eyes of men were opened, at least par
tially, and Venetia beheld herself injured by one who ought to have been
her friend. Preparations to carry her cause by force of arms continued.
The Pope, flattered by the promises of Spain, determined to proceed to
extremities against Venice, and Sarpi, far from dissuading the Senate
from war, appears always to have upheld it in that resolve, if necessary.
* Card. Rainerius; Buusen's, Elementa Litargica.

*¦*¦ 54-] FRA PAOLO SARPI 125
Poland, Holland, Tuscany, Modena, France, and Savoy were ready to aid,
especially the three last mentioned; the King of Great Britain (who dis
tinguished Sarpi by inviting him to England at a later period) urged the
Doge to perseverance.
If we now cast a long gaze down the vista of past ages, what meets our
view ? The Doge Donato, on the appointment of the Admiral of the fleet,
taking his way to the arsenal, and having passed through the memorial
gates of the battle of Lepanto, proceeding to pay the sailors who were
about to fight for their country. One million and five hundred thousand
ducats in shining heaps lay before the Doge, they had been brought from
the treasury, and a chain of solid gold measuring one hundred feet in
length hung around. The people were unanimous in their loyalty to their
prince, and their acclamations were loud and long in his favor, a more
striking scene cannot well be imagined, it is one well worthy of a painter:
the Senators, the Savi, the Secretaries, the aged Doge, the countenances
and picturesque dress of his brave soldiers and sailors, nor would the Ser
vite be wanting there. J£ he had not leisure to go down from the chamber
in the Ducal palace, where Galileo says he was always to be found, and
mingle with the crowd, he could take a rapid glance of the stirring scene
from thence, he could see the expression of indignation mingled with re
solute valor, he could hear the shouts of his countrymen for their liber
ties, and surely if ever a human being had reason to be satisfied, it was
Fra Paolo who knew how large was his share in this patriotic demon
stration, it was no love of bloodshed that stimulated him to counsel war,
he had counselled peace if it could be maintained, but when the liberty
of his country was at stake, he did not scruple to raise his voice, and by
his energy to support her courage, valor and renown.
He, however, soon after learned that the adherents of the Pope at the
Court of the King of France advised him to endeavour to reconcile Venice
to Rome. Proposals were made but rejected, the Venetian counsellors
did not approve of them, and Sarpi could ill conceal his dislike against
" a congregation of war, " composed of fifteen Cardinals, all in the Spa
nish interest.
The Doge bore this news with fortitude; the King of Great Bri
tain again proffered aid, promising to incite the King of Denmark and
the Princes of Germany to join him; but a heavy blow now fell on
Venice, her Theologian was summoned to answer for his conduct at
the tribunal of the Inquisition. He excused himself from appearing
there, not only because of the little security given to him, but he pro
tested his innocence, his submission to the Church, named the works
which he had written in the service of the State, begged the inquisitors
to cite the exceptionable passages, and said he was ready to bow to the

126 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1606.
Cardinals, except Bellarmine, that if they refused this, he could only
add there was nothing in his works which deserved censure. l
No one can for an instant suppose that the Senate, much less Le
onardo Donato, would permit Sarpi to go to Rome. If he had set out
on his journey publicly, the people of Venice would have risen to
prevent him; such was their veneration for " Paul the Venetian, " and
such the strong feeling of these independent citizens against the Pope
of Rome. This is a subject too little considered; it needed but to
convince the understanding of the Venetians that their liberties were
infringed, and for a time even superstition was flung to the winds.
It was not cowardice that made Fra Paolo decline to go to Rome;
we have seen that he looked on the excommunication of the Pope
as null and void, he had defended a righteous cause, and in reply to
the charges brought against his writings in favor of the laws and
dominion of his Prince, he could point to the Holy Book of God and
repeat, " Rex qui judicat in veritate pauperes thronus ejus in eeternum
firmabitur. "
Of the citation to Rome, Fra F. Micanzio writes, " Notwithstanding
his moderation, it was not in his power to prevent his being cited to
Rome to give account of his writings. To which citation he answered
by a manifesto which is in print, wherein he proved the nullity of
the citation, and the impossibility of his going to Rome. It has never
been confuted. What followed will show whether he had reason to
trust himself there, or whether it was just, as he had humbly peti
tioned that some place be assigned where he might make his defence
before proceeding further. It seemed that God, the Just Judge, at
the time that this tempest of persecution arose against him, consoled
and comforted him; and as the Divine Majesty does not lay heavier
burdens upon His servants than what by His divine grace they are
able to bear, the fatigue of his office increasing as well as persecution,
he was cured of those grievous infirmities of body which he had borne
with admirable patience, and notwithstanding the weakness of his con
stitution, he was as well as he could desire. At this time he was about
55 years of age, October 30, 1606. "
Fra Paolo shewed great leniency to those who " either from scruples of
conscience, faction or interest disobeyed the public orders, not one of
them was punished by death at Venice, he coincided with the clemency
of the government, and excused whatever was capable of excuse in the
accused. " Two of the seven theologians " were induced to disregard the
law of conscience, and to desert the cause they once espoused, but such
1 Manifesto.

xt. 54.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 127
was the opinion even of Fra Paolo's enemies of his integrity, that
having tempted all the others by means most likely to shake their fidelity,
they dared not even address a word to him on the subject. And it is a
fact, that Alessandrini, an intimate friend of his, on going from Rome to
Venice, had strict orders to remove Paolo and Fulgenzio from the
service of the Republic. But the General of the Servi answered, " that as
to Padre Paolo he could not have the least influence, " and on his wai
ting on the Cardinal d'Ascoli, he said openly, " that he had read P. Paolo's
works; that it would be lost labor, and his removal need not be at
tempted. This great prelate knew the justice of the Venetian cause, and
that his incorruptibility was such that he was as impenetrable to the
enticements as to the bribes or threats of the Court of Rome. " '
A change now came over the state of affairs. After long delay and
circumlocution, Lerma, the Prime Minister of Spain determined to
endeavor to effect an accommodation between Venice and Rome, and
deputed his nephew, Don Cardenas, to go to Venice. Still her counsellors,
Fra Paolo and the Republic were determined not to yield, especially as
they knew that Lerma had deceived the Pope, and in reality had no
intention of making war with him against Venetia.
The Cardinal du Perron and the other French Cardinals took care
that Henry IV should not join the Republic against the Pope, the Doge
and Senate preferred to treat with French mediators, but they gave a
magnificent reception to the Spanish Ambassador extraordinary ; not one,
however, of all the high dignitaries of the Church who accompanied him
dared to broach the subject of bribery to Sarpi.
But he was mortal, and why should not he be tempted to leave the
path of honor and turn aside from his duty to his God and to his
Prince? So some thought, but they were mistaken. At the Sechini's
house a spy tried to ingratiate himself with him by abuse of the Pope, but
Sarpi was unmoved; what touched him more nearly was to see how little
good had accrued from this long and painful struggle, little to what he
had hoped, although great in reality to Europe. It was unfortunate for
Venetia that the chief mediators, who were ultimately allowed to treat
for her, had forsaken the reformed religion, and were in consequence more
zealous for their newly adopted papistical opinions, and more attached to
the Court of Rome than Sarpi.
The first of these was King Henry, IV his advisers the Cardinal du Per
ron, and M. de Canaye.
Fra Paolo was little esteemed by the Cardinal, his remarks have been
reprehended by some authors and ridiculed by others. They are at least

128 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1607.
singular. " Je ne remarquerai rien d'eminent de cet homme, je ne vois
rien que de commun et un peu plus que moine. " This criticism on Paolo
produced the retort, " M. le Cardinal du Perron etoit un bel esprit, mais
pas savant. " Let us briefly sketch his career. He was born 1 566, and
was educated by the Reformed, and at the age of twenty had made great
attainments in the Latin, Greek and Hebrew tongues, and at the court
of Henry IV was regarded as a young man of rare endowments. As a
controversialist, his talents attracted attention, but like most people given
to change, his abilities were more brilliant than profound. He embraced
Popery, and seldom has there been so zealous a proselytiser. He was the
applauded orator of the funeral oration of Mary Queen of Scots; by his
remonstrance, the Secretary of the Queen of Navarre renounced the re
formed religion; and it has been noticed that he is believed to have par
tially influenced King Henry IV in his conformation to popery. He as
sisted in the conference between the Reformed and the Papists at Fon-
tainebleau when he triumphed over de Mornay, but not without reproach
from his royal Master, who had rejected with disdain a writing drawn
up by the Cardinal and others for the King to sign as his creed on uniting
himself to the Church of Rome. Du Perron had lived at Venice before he
was deputed to arrange matters between the Pope and the Venetians.
The third mediator, de Canaye, at fifteen years of age embraced the
reformed religion, and after long travel in foreign parts, practised law
in Paris, where his appointment as Counsellor to Henry III was opposed
on account of his religion, but Henry of Navarre took him into his most
secret counsels, and intrusted him with various embassies. He discharg
ed his duties as President of the parliament of Toulouse with great
ability. In the year 1600 he reentered the communion of the Church of
Rome, upon which he was complimented hy Clement VIII, was ambas
sador to Venice in 1601, and now he bent every energy to effect a
reconciliation between her and the Pope. Truth demands the statement
of his vaccilating opinions, but it is only justice to M. Canaye to affirm
that he bore a high character, and this is apparent by the letters of
Fra Paolo.
It was useless to expect that either king Henry, du Perron or de
Canaye, but late members of her communion, would advise Venetia to
break with Rome. Fra Paolo had hoped for a better result, still he
was pleased that France and not Spain should mediate for Venice,
The Pope was uneasy at the continued differences, and seeing that
these still encouraged the perusal of works against his authority, he
began to give some signs of reconciliation, but always insisted on the
return of the Jesuits to Venice.
The year 1607, therefore, opened with some prospeot of adjustment, but

xt. 55 ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 129
with no intention on the part of the Doge, Senate, or their Counsellors
to readmit the Jesuits. The threats of the Pope, not to listen to an
accommodation unless they returned to Venetia, were summarily disre
garded. Fra Paolo knew what an array of foes he thus marshalled against
him, but he felt it to be his duty to give counsel against a measure
fraught with evil to the State. Spain and France still contended for the
honor of the final mediatorship, but it would be tedious to recount all
the delays and various rejected propositions of the Senate, there was
some hope that France would act justly, and king- Henry IV, who was
fully apprized of all concerning the Venetians, at last determined to send
Cardinal Joyeuse to Venice to affect an accommodation, which after
much discussion was agreed upon, the Venetians maintaining their re
solution not to readmit the Jesuits; this resolve had again nearly frustrated
all attempts at an accommodation, but the Senate was firm; their Coun
sellor was doubly watchful of any infringement of the honor of his
country, and these proposals were at last accepted, — that the kings of
France and Spain request the Pope to raise the Interdict; that the
two ecclesiastics be given up as a favour to the king of France, with
out any prejudice as to the power of the Doge and Senate of Venice
over ecclesiastics; that the protest against the Interdict be withdrawn, and
as in reality the Pope had been the aggressor, that he should be thanked
for asking an accommodation.
Sarpi has been censured because he would not consent to the word
" revoke " the interdict, in place of " raise " the interdict in the manife
sto of the accommodation of the protest. To admit that it was revoked was
to admit that Venice had received it, which she never did. The following
day the two ecclesiastics (prisoners) were delivered up to the Cardinal
Joyeuse, " at the. request of the king of France, and without any prejudice
to the Republic, " the French ambassador answering, " that so he receiv
ed them. " A deed being drawn out, they were then recommended to the
Ambassador, who took them under his protection, the Cardinal saying to
M. de Canaye as he passed, " These are the prisoners which are given
to the Pope, " and the Cardinal said, " Give them to such an one. "
Claudio Montano received them, and begged the Minister of Justice to
keep them in custody. This done, the Cardinal departed with the Am
bassador to find the Doge, but he had passed from the Ducal chapel,
with the Lords and Savi to the College, where they were all sitting
in their usual places.
Sarpi affirms distinctly that absolution never was given; it is plain
from the above that the Doge and Senate would not receive it, and Sarpi
drew up the small work entitled Particular information on the accom
modation, in consequence of a rumour having been spread that the Car-

130 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1607.
dinal Joyeuse gave absolution to the College; he had intended that a
great demonstration should have been made, that amid the plaudits of the
multitude, the loud voice of cannon, the thrilling tones of the cathedral
bells, the Pope of Rome should have told out to the world that Venice
had been absolved ; that she had repented and was pardoned, but the Doge
would not permit any sign of concession. Not a cannon was fired, not a bell
poured its chimes on the ear of de Joyeuse, not a sound evinced either
pleasure or regret. The churches were filled to overflowing, as they had been
all the time of the dispute between Venetia and Rome. What was really
felt was heard only in the private houses of the Venetians, and there were
not a few who secretly regretted the accommodation, and judged that their
liberties had been compromised. Venice had missed the golden opportu
nity of freeing herself from the Court of Rome; it cost her dear.
The Cardinal Joyeuse wished to visit Fra Paolo, but the Senate forbade
an interview and he did not wish it, the Cardinal remonstrated in vain,
he had bent the Pope to his purpose, but he could neither influence the
Senate or their Theologian.
Little mention has yet been made of those who shared Fra Paolo's wishes
with regard to the reformation of the Church of Venice, and who from
time to time might be found in his society.
The English Ambassador, Sir Henry Wotton, evinced anxiety on this
subject, and he was ably supported by his learned chaplain Mr. Bedell, who
arrived at Venice shortly before the accommodation. Eager to make the
acquaintance of Fra Paolo, he wrote to him, and the Servite admitted him
to his cell and to his studies, and discoursed with him on religious subjects.
Grave, but of agreeable demeanour, Bedell won the regard of Fra Paolo,
aud although Bedell was twenty five years his junior, Paolo acknowledged
with gratitude, " that he had learned more from him thau from any other
divine. "
Paolo had wished that the Doge's attention should be directed to " a
premonition to all Christian Princes and States, " lately writen by James,
king of Great Britain, but Bedell had failed to persuade Sir Henry Wotton
to present this book to the Doge ; on which the biographer of Bedell re
marks, " I have heard him say he was displeased with the Lord Ambas-
sadour, but in this one thing, when the difference between the Venetians
and the Pope was growne to the highest, and there seemed not to be one
step between their rejection of him and his Popery for ever, and none ever
forsook him that were more likely to doe it upon most rationall and Chris
tianlike terms. When the Prince, in his speech in the Senate house had
spoken in much praise and consideration of king James, and that things
were not so bad as men bare the world in hand, intending to let discord
between prince, and something also in commendation of the English Am-

\

xi. 55.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 131
bassador there present, and when the Pope's Nuntio had said that James
was not a Catholik, and not to be relyed upon, the prince immediately re-
plyed, ' that Rex de Angleterra did believe in Jesus Christ, but what
others did believe he knew not. ' P. Paolo and the seven divines, and many
others, sent for Bedell and entreated him to desire the Lord Ambassadour
to deliver the king's book immediately to the prince, and did urge him
and persuade him to doe it, by all possible motives from reason and reli
gion, keeping himself still within the bounds of modesty and moderation
towards him whose servant, most observant of his Lord and Master he
was, and referring himself still to his wisdom and better iudgment. When
he had said all that he could, the Lord Ambassadour's answer was no more
than this, that he was instructed not to deliver the king's book but on St.
James day which was approaching, and when that day came the State was
reconciled to the Pope, and then when on that fatall day the booke was
delivered, the answer was this : That they thanked the king for his goode
will, but were now reconciled to the Pope, and therefore more resolved not
to admit of any change in their religion according to their articles of ag-
greement with his Holiness. Which said answer had almost broke the hart
of D. Bedell, Padre Paulo and of many others that were ready to entertain
the gospel of reformation, as ready as the Israelites to march away from
Pharaoh. "
Considerable insight into the affairs of the church of Venice is ob
tained from the letters of Mr. Bedell to the preceptor of prince Henry,
in which he mentioned several steps which he deemed absolutely neces
sary towards reform.
" The first. To maintain the States here in heart and courage a-
gainst the Pope, and that which they most fear the power of Spain
by which he is backed.
" The second. To increase the number of those that have received
any light of the truth.
" The third. To formalize and unite into some body of a congre
gation, some part at least of that great number who now stand alienat
ed in heart and tongue from Rome, " and in a prior letter, " All
changes in religion seem to me to come from reasons of conscience or
of state, for the former it should be necessary thereto that the ma
gistrates and people in some regardable number should be informed
of the present abuses, and they offer or these call for redress, a great
work and whereto much time and many instruments would be re
quisite, save that sometimes the excellency and dexterity of a few
works more than the number of many. Some there are here as ad
mirably fitted thereto as could be wished: Master Paulo and his
scholar Fulgentio, Servites, both of great learning, piety, humility,

132 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1607.
discretion, integrity of life, and, which is specially to be considered as
to our purpose, in great account with all sorts and deservedly; having
in the late controversy served their country so faithfully as the Pope
conns them little thanks for their labour, the former for a long time
lived in Rome, and is holden for a miracle in all manner of knowledge,
divine and human, the chief counsellor of this Signory in their af
fairs ecclesiastical. The other was some time reader of Scholastic Divinity
in Bononia (Bologna), the Pope's University, out of which place he
was called home, or turned out when the quarrel began; his books are
still detained. He is said to be an excellent preacher, and of his
sermons, I think came the report out of England, in print, of certain
preaching here the last Lent. These two I know, as having practised
with them, to desire nothing in the ivorld so much as the reformation
of the Church, and in a word for the substance of religion they are
wholly ours, what effect now the force of truth may have in the
mouths of such men I leave to your consideration. Sundry of the
Senate and nobility do extraordinarly favor them and their opinions,
the general doctrines which I mentioned before did much good. Private
conferences have more freedom and no less fruit; the name of Papa-
lini, given to the Popish faction, argues somewhat the banishment of
the Jesuits, another no ill sign how the minds of men be affected, and
although it be no small disadvantage that the government here is in
the hands of so many in such sort, it will not serve to work one, or
two, or ten, yet hath it some commodity that voices being given by
balls secretly, every man doth freely, without regard of others displea
sure, sway whether his conscience leads him. Concluding then this
discourse, Reformation by that bye way, or persuasion of the conscience,
though slowlier seems no way to be dispaired of in Venice. "
Sir Henry Wotton had wished that Diodati should have come
to Venice the year before, in order to form a congregation of those
who leant to a reformation in religion, and Bedell .further informed
his correspondent that he was detained, first, because it was winter,
and then by his own engagements, and Sir Henry Wotton then wrote
to him not to come till he saw the effect of the volumes of the Holy
Scriptures which had been sent to Venice. However, Diodati did come
to Venice, in company with a gentleman of Geneva, his cousin and
nephew, both young men, and a French gentleman sent from M. du
Plessis, from Saumur.
" He had divers meetings and conferences with the Fathers, Fra
Paolo etc., at which both myself and this bearer were present, he
can report to you the particular points discoursed.
" It was told him by M. Paulo, that no fewer than 12,000 in this

xt. 50.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 133
city were enlightened more or less with the truth, and alienated
from Rome. That yet among the nobility, nothing could be moved
until there were some occasion of breach with the Pope; with them
therefore he would not that he should yet deal, but with others to
whom he should be brought, chiefly merchants, Germans, Flemings,
French, of whom not long before a certain French gentlemen had
made a list with the several sums they would contribute to a minister,
that he might try the dispositions of so many as he could. Yet for
his part he thought the matter not yet disposed to receive such a
form as was to be desired, he propounded first other meetings to be
used by way of conscience and talk, whereby men might come to
know one another and inform themselves better of religion ere any
exercises were erected.
" Now, sir, you shall understand that the French gentleman, whose
name was M. Papillon, having indeed conversed with M. Paulo and
being animated by him to take that pains, whether out of mistaking
him, or hoping to facilitate the business by that means, had used that
motive, that the Prince and Senate did not abhor herefrom but would
favour and further this course. Whereupon the merchants being not ill
affected, and seeing no fear of danger, were very forward, and would
stick for no money, hoping especially to do a thing that the Signory
should take in good part, and the gentleman being desirous that such
a good work should take place, presently, according to the humour of
some, and very common to many of that nation thought all done which
is desired; and hereupon filled the reformed churches in all France with
the noise that Venice would shortly fall from the Pope, a harder work
and of longer time, as well appeared even by those who had thus far
engaged themselves, for some when they perceived that they ran the hazard
of their goods and liberty, presently draw back : so hard a thing it is to
follow Christ with the conditions of the cross and leaving all. Others,
although making profession, were yet known to live scandalously, and what
security could there be to commit to the conscience of such men, a business
of this sort. It was urged by myself with some eanestness that at least
some beginning might he made of a congregation, although it were but of a
very few faithful and sound persons, which like a little snow falling upon
the top of a hill, would gather more and more to it in time. A form of
separation was presented, which might serve for the profession of such as
should be admitted, and for a confession of the faith, it was showed that
good advantage might be taken of a short sum of the Scripture printed
here in Venice in the year 1567, before the Bible in Italian, with the li
cense of the Inquisition, which embraces all necessary and fundamental
points of faith' without even the least touch of Popish corruption. That for

184 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1607.
a liturgy and form of ministering the Lord's Supper, if it should be thought
fit to use that of the French Churches, it was already in the Italian, and
we had the Book, if they thought ours fitter, which I had shewed the
Fathers before in Latin, and Diodati had seen, it should not be long
ere the same should be put in Italian, as indeed then I had begun it, and
since have finished.
" It was added that the affections of men since the peace with Rome grew
colder and colder, that it was a principle of war that when our strength
is at the best, and that of the adversaries may encrease, if ever, we must
fight; but Diodati thought it not fit to hazard the whole upon so small
a hope, especially considering that none of the nobility did join. They want
ed also a fit person to be minister, for both himself was none but only
reader of divinity and Hebrew, and he doubted that his travaile should
be of more use and necessity to the Church of God in Geneva, than it
could be here, altho professing his readiness to be employed in this business
if he might see hope of doing good. The Fathers prevented my offer of
myself with saying that it was not fit nor convenient with regard of jealousy
of state, no, nor that I should be present often at any such ridotti or
meetings as we before had thought of for the second intention; thus was
that deliberation broken off with this only fruit that Diodati travailed
with Fra Paulo to put more spirit and courage in him, and to stir him up to
avail himself both of the great graces that God hath given him, and that
favour and authority which he had with these Signors to the glory of God
in the advancement of the truth. He departed also with full information of
the state of this place, and prepared to send thither some young scholars,
who should be as schoolmasters in the houses of some who desired it, not
letting pass to read the Holy Scriptures, and use secret instructions until
more fit occasion should be more publicly offered, such success had that
journey, which we had well hoped should have brought with it the per
fect judgment of this Church's recovery.
" Now as physicians of our bodies are by anticipating an imperfect crisis
sometimes remitted over to another critical day, so are we.
" And that shall be I hope the preaching of Mons. Fulgentio, this Lent,
who is resolved, leaving the friarly course of the ordinary postillers, to
preach Christ Jesus and that will be the ruin of Antichrist. " '
As Mr. Bedell refers to his translation of the Cammon Prayer Book
into Latin, we again quote from the Speculum Episcoporum. This valua
ble MS. informs us, " that, by the help of P. Paulo, Mr. Bedell
learned the Italian tongue and was suddenly so much master of it as if he
had beene an Italian borne, as P. P. said to the Lord Ambassadour, in so
1 Original Letters. Bedell. " New year's day in our own style. 1607. " — Venice.

xt. 55.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 135
much that the most of his sermons in Venice are written in the Italian
tongue or in Latin, none excelled (Bedell) since Erasmus brought in the
purity of it.
" To requite P. Paulo's assistance to him in acquiring the Italian tongue.
he wrote an English Grammar, and many also desired to learn it for re
ligion's sake, and he translated the Common Prayer Book into Latin, which
P. Paolo and the seven divines that published against the Pope's authority
liked so well that they were resolved to have made it a pattern of public
worship, if they had made a full retreat from the Church of Rome, as they were
very like to do. He helped and instructed the seven Venetian divines in
the understanding of the Scriptures whereof Fulgentius was chief; whose
sermons against the Pope I have seene and are yet extant, printed in the
Italian, though upon the pacification, all such writings were called in and
anathematized. " And Fra Paolo was content to be anathematized for his
brethren, such was his answer, and that God had not given him the spirit
of the German reformer, when urged by M. Daille to take stronger mea
sures; but any one who is at the pains to make research into the history
of the attempted reformation of religion in Venice at this period, will
find, that unaided by the Council of Ten, it was impossible for Fra Paolo
to do more than he did for the dissemination of truth. The preaching of
the gospel was still permitted to him as well as to the other theologians,
who with Diodati and the Archbishop de Dominis were visitors at the
Servi. Paolo was still determined not to separate from the Church in
which he had been baptized, although he did not believe in the doctrine
of the mass as a propitiatory sacrifice, yet he patiently waited till God
would send rulers who would command that the people should no long
er be taught the commandments of men, but possess intact the Holy
Scriptures. " There was not a word in his Greek Testament that he had
not marked with his red lead, which showed that he studied the Word of
God, " and there is high interest to all who value truth, in the remem
brance of these students of the Holy Scriptures; Fra Paolo, Diodati and
Bedell associating together. A firm friendship long subsisted between
them, and when Bedell left Venice for England, after eight years residence
there, Fra Paolo bade him farewell with sorrow, and gave him a Hebrew
Bible and Psalter " wherein he wrote some expressions of love inscribed
with his heart and hand: besides this, he begged Mr. Bedell to accept his
picture. "
There were and are several authentic pictures of Fra Paolo besides this.
Sir Henry Wotton's, Sir Roger Twysden's Dr. Donne's and others. The
engraving after Zucchero about 1607, represents Paolo as of more com
manding aspect than those of later date. Full, dark, and very bright eyes,
a nose of such peculiar form as to attract the notice of Lavater, the lips

136 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1607.
thin, but the head somewhat large in proportion to the person. Though
small in stature, the bearing is dignified, and the agreeable and affable
expression of this fine countenance is pervaded by modesty and integrity.
Paolo suffered much from cold, and generally carried balls of heated
iron, enclosed in a small case, which was imitated and is to be seen in the
collections of the curions. '
1 Appendix.

137

CHAPTEE VIII.
a.d. 1607 — a.d. 1608.
Doge op Venice. Leonardo Donato.
Sovereign op Germany. Rodolph II.
Great Britain. James I.
France. Henry IV.
Spain. Philip III.
Turkey. Achmet III.
Pope. Paul V.

Embassy to Rome. - Complaints of the Pope and Cardinals against Fra Paolo. -
Despatches. - Audiences. - The Pope's resolve. - Secret communications. -
Fra Paolo attacked. - Council. Proclamations. - Despatches as to the
attack on F. Paolo. - Rewards. - State of religion in Venice. - Letters.
The Pope was still exasperated against Fra Paolo, as appears through
out the despatches of the Ambassador, ' Francesco Contarini di Bertucci
who had gone to Rome immediately after the accommodation. His Excel
lency had been] received with great pomp ; his entry into the city was
attended by the carriages of nearly one hundred nobles and prelates, and
all appeared to evince towards the Republic that good feeling which had
been so long forgotten. The Pope had welcomed the Contarini with
marked honor, permitted him to kiss his foot and hand, embraced him
and begged him to be seated: but beyond compliments, little had passed
at several successive receptions. The Cardinals, however, were more open
in their communications. Pinelli attacked the works of Fra Paolo, d'Ascoli
affirmed, " that he lay awake a whole night through fear of heresy being
introduced into Venice. " Baronius had suffered in health, since his work
had been so ill received." Bellarmine was the only one of the number who
appeared anxious to apologize, and showed, " writes the Ambassador,
" marvellous courtesy to me. He said that he wished to confide two
things to me for his own satisfaction, First that he understands it has been
divulged that he counselled the Pope to publish the Monitory against the
1 From Rome June 2. 1607. This, and the following MSS. Contarini all in the
possession of The Rawdou Brown. Venice.

138 THE LIFE OF [a d. 1607.
Republic, but that this was not true; for although the Pope is wont to
consult him in cases of conscience in religion, he nevertheless never spoke
to him on this subject, nor did he know anything thereof until his
Holiness gave account of his resolve in the Consistory, and perhaps the
Pope had not spoken to any other Cardinal thereon^ and had the decision
been communicated to him, his opinion would have indubitably have dif
fered from that which was adopted. Secondly, he merely wrote on these
matters in reply to the eight propositions of Marsilio who compelled him;
that Marsilio was a man of great daring and little learning, that he did
not consider he (Bellarmine) had offered any offence by confuting his
errors, that he advised the Pope to a reconciliation before things went too
far, and the territories of the Republic were infested with heresy, as he
well knew by what way it had entered England, France and other provin
ces. He thanked God the disputes were adjusted. "
Contarini answered, " that the provocation proceeded from Rome, and
the Republic permitted the publication of the works; " and he said the
eight propositions would not have been published but for the writing print
ed at Milan , which affirmed that marriages were invalid during the in
terdict, children illegitimate, et cetera. The Cardinal spoke of Gerson's work
being reprinted, which the reader will call to mind was done by order of
the Senate, with additions by Fra Paolo. Contarini concludes his letter
thus " all wished the Republic well. " But it was not long before he
found that urgent demands would be made to get possession of the persons
of the theologians, " Fra Paolo, Fulgenzio, Marsilio and others; although
the Pope had been expressly informed that the Doge would by no means
abandon those who supported the rights of the Republic. " Paul, however,
continued to flatter her with assurances of good will, and apparently Fra
Paolo had no cause to fear when he learned that the Pontiff said to Con
tarini " facts themselves will show, on an opportunity offering, the pater
nal affection we bear to the Republic, and our wishes for her greatness
and prosperity. " '
But the Servite knew better than to trust to these protestations, although
another of the theologians had been allured by fair promises to go to Rome,
and was at first well received. Fra Paolo saw nothing to tempt him to go
thither, although his presence was still required, the Roman court still
preserved great secresy as to the affairs of the Interdict, but the Pope thus
expressed himself to the Venetian ambassador.
" We have given commission for nothing more to be uttered about the
past, and for the cessation of all further interference about observance or
its breach, these were the first orders received from us, and we will repeat
i Rome June 9 1007. MSS. Con.

xt. 55.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 189
them again. Recedant Vetera. Let the past be forgotten, we have absolved
all by a general benediction, nor do we choose anything to be said of
what is past, promising our selves the like good correspondence in behalf
of these Lords, in replacing matters in their former state. " So spoke the
Pope to the Venetian Envoy.
Assuredly in these words, " we have absolved all by a general benedic
tion, " Fra Paolo Sarpi and the other theologians were included. The
Pope never mentioned the word Interdict, and the ambassador regard
ed this as clearly expressive of a desire to place all under perpetual si
lence. Subsequently, however, Contarini changed his opinion, when the
Pope continued to urge his demand on him to remonstrate with the Vene
tians, and said, " warn these Lords, on my behalf, to beware of heresies. " l
In fact, Paul V was evidently well informed of all that passed at Ve
nice by his spies, and that he found it difficult to stem the ourrent of pu-
plic opinion and public enquiry there; nor has it ever since been wholly
stopped. Sarpi had opened up the question, What is truth ? The reply to
which it has been seen was to be found only in the Holy Soriptures, and
he had not only explained them from the pulpit in his native language,
but had boldly expressed that the service of the Church ought to be in a
language that was understood, and in support of his assertion he appealed
to Saint Paul. Paul V did not approve, but Sarpi and his friends conti
nued to annunciate truth. It is a curious fact, but one which sets at rest a
long agitated question, that the Ambassador remarks on king James'
book (which proves it was extant in 1607), and therefore there is no reason
to doubt the statements that Fra Paolo wished Mr. Bedell to present it to
the Doge, as before mentioned.
The Pope was greatly annoyed by the king's book, but consoled by
Contarini's assurances of its destruction, and whatever hopes the Servite
had of its benefit to his countrymen were now at an end. The Venetian
Ambassador however was wearied, as well as grieved, by the tedious invec
tives against Fra Paolo and the other theologians, especially Marsilius,
whose upright conduct and firm faith to the Republic appeared likely to
bring him into trouble.
On one occasion, when Contarini complained that Fra Paolo's books
had been burned at Rome, the Pope was much moved, and affirmed so
lemnly, " that this had taken place without his knowledge, and that he
should not even have heard of it afterwards had not the Cardinal nephew
read the Avisi to him. " Here was a mark of progress by Venice, adopted
elsewhere at later period. These Avisi were not, as some state, printed,
but manuscript sheets of paper containing the news of the day. In Venice
* MSS, Contarini 23 June 1607 Borne 7 July.

140 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1607.
they were originally sold for a gazetta, a Venetian coin worth two pence,
hence called Gazettes; in Rome they bore the name of Avisi or Reporti.
They were taken from dispatches received by the Republic by the secre
taries, or others employed in the Ducal Chancery, who enjoyed the profits
of this sale as a perquisite. The Pope continued to blame the theologians,
Contarini to exonerate them, hence we learn that Fra Paolo frequented
the British embassy. This was also repeated by the Cardinal Borghese.
" We have sure intelligence from Venice how these good Theologians
assemble with the Ambassador from England, with English, Flemings,
and others infected in the linen warehouse of Cicchinelli, where they
have a room, and say the worst they can of us, of the Pope, and of the
apostolic chair. This is a thing that is public; one cannot dissemble but
that such an assembly is notorious to every one, and even the place and
the room are known, which are important details. Let the Lord Ambassa
dor now see what good will these Doctors in Divinity bear us, and be
pleased to write to Venice, whether (independently of their having been
declared excommunicated for the fine things which they wrote against us
which are known to every body, as likewise on account of this assembly
wherein from its members one can understand what they say of us) they
deserved to be protected and pensioned by the Republic. " *
The search for and prohibition of books had been relaxed at Venice,
this pleased Sarpi, but gave offence to the Pope. He complained to
Contarini, who thus wrote to the Doge.
" Most Serene Prince,
" On this occasion, when his Holiness was treating of the Inquisition,
looking at me with joyous countenance, he added, we are likewise expecting
these Lords to form some holy resolve concerning these theologians (con
allegra faccia), who, having written and preached manifest heresies, con
tinue to say mass, to frequent the churches and the choir, and to caus6
themselves to be considered saints; and that Friar Fulgentio, s (and
this he uttered laughing), he understood, has had a portrait of himself
printed in copper, with a crucifix in his hand, and it is sold about Venice;
your excellency must know it, and indeed it is a source of considerable
alms. " He is moreover excommunicated, particularly having preached that
the communion ought not to be frequented, nor confession made so often,
blaming the exercise of the Christian doctrine. There are existing here
' MSS. Contarini.
a Fulgentio Manfredi,

xt. 55.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 141
depositions to this effect, made by divers witnesses de auditu. Maestro
Paulo is considered so learned, and yet one reads in his works many opi
nions of authors condemned as heretical by the councils; and the cogni
zance of similar matters as regards the apostolic chair, as has been custo
mary for so many centuries with regard to matters of faith, wherein it can
not err, our Saviour having said, " Non deficiet fides tua. " He said it
was told him that the English Ambassador had sent the portrait of Fra
Paulo to his king, and in Frankfort, where as many Catholic as heretical
books are printed, they had placed the book entitled " Le Considerazioni "
of the said Fra Paulo amongst the heretical works. That he was urged to
permit the execution of what is usual against excommunicated persons,
who, at the expiration of a year, are proclaimed heretics and burned in
effigy publicly.
" He professed to love the Republic with all his heart, and that he wished
to gratify her, as might be deduced by your lordships from the adjustment
made, as such was contrary to the opinion of almost all the college of Car
dinals and of others, and that although he then armed for war, yet his
thoughts were turned to peace; but concerning these theologians he wishes
your Serenity to form some resolve becoming your piety. I, seeing that
lie had this time launched forth beyond his wont on former audiences,
replied — Holy father, the point that your Holiness now touches upon
is one of great importance ; were I to state my sense thereon in full, I
should say, with the greatest possible respect, that the best expedient would
be not to discuss this matter, by reason of its very great difficulties and
consequences of extreme moment as can well be imagined. I will not
speak of portraits or similar things, because I have no knowledge thereof;
neither does it seem to me of import to dwell thereon, though I shall
observe that as your Holiness has removed the occasion of war and disturb
ance, which fact obtains for you singular merit before the Lord God, and
infinite glory in the eyes of good men ; you may be pleased moreover to
withhold encouragement from those who under pretext of religion wish to
see every sort of misunderstanding between your Holiness and the most
serene Republic; but I hope in his Divine Majesty that they will not suc
ceed in their perverse designs, and of a surety it will one day be neces
sary for me to state some details hereof to your Holiness ; similar individuals
would very willingly desire the burning of effigies, and other similar de
monstrations, with a view to the introduction of the greatest possible in
convenience. I know that when that Fra Fulgentio preached, strict inves
tigation was made, and it was reported in the most excellent college that
he preached sound and Catholic doctrine, and if he himself confessed and
communicated frequently, I do not see how they could tally, the preaching
one thing in the pulpit, and the acting in contradiction elsewhere. The

142 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1607.
most serene Republic cannot abandon these who have written in her favour,
and have served her on the late occasion; so I prayed him by a single
stroke to sever or separate himself from the path of malignity, and with
his great prudence to apply the true remedy to this tortuous affair.
" The Pontiff said, even with the greatest sweetness, " Con un colpo
solo; ogni maggior piacevolezza, bisognarebbe che fosse un colpo da mae
stro. " With a single blow, it must be a master stroke.
" Such precisely I enjoined it would be, on proceeding from his Holiness
and from his great ability; nor did the same disorders even require the
same remedies, circumstances alter matters notably; when ordinary affairs
are treated, it is true that the usual terms are adopted; should a private
individual be excommunicated, and not act becomingly at the expiration
of a year, he is declared an heretic, and one proceeds according to the
canons ; but in great and extraordinary cases, and which tend beyond, it is
necessary to proceed in modes both unusual and peculiar to the time and
matter under consideration. So I made sure that with his goodness and
prudence he will find the road easy, speedily burying the whole in oblivion,
and confounding the evil-born desires of scoundrels. The Pontiff assured
me that his thoughts were frequently directed to this end; but he could
not discover the way, and that he wished that by me (to use his own words),
' by your Excellency's being replete with such great knowledge and intel
ligence, ' the mode might be suggested to him for acting well concerning
such a matter, and in the meanwhile he should continue to pray the Lord
God to be pleased to inspire him for the best, although he did not at pre
sent see what he could do, and he added those precise words, ' Let them
come, for we will willingly embrace them. ' The Pope said that I was to
write to your Excellencies what he had stated to me.
" I assured him that I would obey him, as such was my duty, but
that this was petititio principii, and a return to the original disorder. I do
not at all doubt but that if the Pontiff did discuss these matters, it was at
the instigation of others who, under the pretext of good, do not cease to
suggest these conceits to his Holiness. At the close of these topics, which
passed off with extreme tranquillity, his Holiness began to talk about the
Jesuits and their revenues, and asked why they were excluded ? To this,
amongst other replies, the ambassador Contarini referred the Pope to their
treatment of the Republic, calling her in their printed works, the most vile
and abject nation in the world. In these matters, concludes his Excel
lency, although the most disagreable that can be treated of, the Pontiff
nevertheless conducted himself as quietly as possible; and although I
every now and then kept answering him contrary to his intention, and
excluding all' discussion as much as I could, still I listened to the whole
without the slightest emotion. "

*T- 55-J FRA PAOLO SARPI 143
The Contarini despatehes of this, and subsequent dates, are but a tissue
of complaints on the part of the Pope, and of denial on that of the Vene
tian envoy. That Fra Paolo believed after the raising of the censure by
the Cardinal Joyeuse, he was no longer excommunicated by the Pope, is
confirmed by a letter to the Cardinal Borghese from the Inquistor of
Ravenna of the sixth of September 1607. The Court of Rome, however,
held that the Servite Friar was still excommunicate, and there seems no
doubt that the Pope, Camilla Borghese, broke faith with the Friar, Paolo
Sarpi. On one occasion it was proposed that he with the other theologians
should perform penance. To which the Ambassador answered, " that
penance, be it severe or light, implied sin, which the theologians affir
med they had not committed. " The state of the papal mind is clearly
shown by Contarini's despatch to the Doge. Paul was jealous of the coun
sels still given by the Servite to Venetia, and appeared resolved at all
hazards to press the Doge and Senate to give him up.
" Most Serene Prince, — It having been communicated to me by the
French Ambassador, that at his residence last week, the Pope told him
that having understood from me, in the course of divers conversations,
how slight an inclination exists for giving him satisfaction about the
theologians, he had a great desire to terminate in some way the impor
tunities and molestations received by him from sundry quarters, urging
the Ambassador to restore the dignity of the Apostolic Chair, thus
spurned; added to which he will at the same time find some remedy
against these excommunicated individuals celebrating the mass and other
divine services; and that I adduced no other remedy save that " by a
single stroke, " by which he might terminate the whole, but that I did
not condescend to any detail, and therefore it was not becoming to keep
matters in any obscurity or doubt, to which the Lord Ambassator deemed
it necessary to reply, that through his Nuncio, who is on the spot, his
Holiness might witness the end thereof, by sending him such authority as
would suffice to settle the whole, and in like manner, as many exclaimed
before the adjustment, and then were quieted, so would it be likewise in
this instance, if entirely settled without further delay, whereupon the
Pontiff remained somewhat in suspense, and thanked the Ambassador.
His Holiness added that he had thoughts of authorizing the Nuncio to
send for the theologians , but that it should be first intimated under
hand, whether they would go, so as not to risk the Nuncio's -dignity, in
case of their refusing, so the Ambassador aforesaid requested I would
write to your Serenity, being of opinion that if a promise should be made
to this effect, the whole might be shortly settled to mutual satisfaction,
meaning to hint precisely as the rest has been arranged, praying me, that
all might be kept most secret, as if the Pope's inclination were known

144 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1607
again, very great murmurs would be heard from the Cardinals, who hear
these matters according to their own views. I did not refuse to execute
what he wished, but observed, that the general reconciliation ought to
have sufficed. In virtue thereof these affairs likewise were meant to be
pacified, and although the Ambassador is well informed of the whole,
nevertheless I omitted again to tell him the necessity for the public
protection, the which, in durability, will never fail the aforesaid theolo
gians. " Gratise dec. '
Although it was partly obvious to the Ambassador that the Court of
Rome was uneasy, and it seemed as if there might shortly be a rupture
with Venice, still Contarini does not appear to have been suspicious of
any immediate danger to Fra Paolo; nevertheless he feared that all was
not well, by the multiplicity of letters which came to Rome from Venice.
Upon one occasion, the Ambassador, having warmly taken the part of the
theologians, the Pope said, " Do not exert yourself my Lord Ambassador,
I admit all that has been said, I am most ready for every good, but cannot
condescend at present. I believe you saw the drift of what I said before,
that I should have it said of me now, that I concede the tenths to the Re
public. It is but a question of three or four cases of this sort, in the course
of the year, which do not at all prejudice the authority and jurisdiction of
the Republic. The Procurator of the Servi has informed us, that in the
monastery in Venice, by order of the Lords, Chiefs of the ten, that there
have been officers to inspect all the writings; when laymen perform these
functions, there is no longer any occasion to maintain Priors, nor Generals
of the Orders. The Patriarch comes not; the Theologians still perform di
vine service in contempt of the Holy Chair, although excommunicated,
not forsooth for having written the Republic's reasons, as, had they limi
ted themselves to this alone, it would have pleased and gratified us, hut
because of the heresies which they have uttered publicly, That tempo
ral princes have power direct from God over ecclesiastics. This is an
infidel proposition, condemned by the High Pontiffs with the assent of
men remarkable for their learning who have written thereon. Monsignore,
the Nuncio mentions, having spoken in the College about a priest of
Ascola, who has been put in prison, and yet, there are the Bishops to
whom these trials should be left. " All this proved that every thing done at
Venice was known at Rome, all that Contarini could do was, to give re
spectful advice of all that might reach his notice. Of the same date is a
singularly incoherent, but curious and secret communication, addressed to
the Doge Leonardo Donato by him from Rome, September 29, 1607.
" Most Serene Prince, — I send to your Serenity, here annexed, what
» Sep. 15. 1607 — both from Rome, 28 Sep. 1607. MSS. Contarini.

xt. 55.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 145
has been told me in confidence, about a certain machination to be execu
ted in Venice, or shortly distant thence, with other details, which such as
they may be, I have not chosen to keep to myself, but for every good end
have deemed them worthy of your cognizance, and should anything else
be communicated to me, I shall not fail to give advice thereof.
" In Rome, 25th September, in the Palace of S. Mark, Messer Flavio
Martignone, of Lasso Ferrato, late ancient Cattaro, with the Lord Colonel
Guilio da Mont Abolto, now resident here in Rome for his private affairs,
having come to the Most Excellent the Lord Ambassador, deposed having
first made the greatest possible instance for its being kept very secret,
which was constantly promised him.
" I have served the Most Serene Republic; I have received good trea-
ment, and purpose re-entering her service, I shall go in a month at the
farthest, I shall betake myself either to the said Lord C'olonel at Zara, or
to Venice, from my own instinct, I revere the Most Serene Republic as
much as if it were my natural sovereign, and with zeal for her welfare, I am
come to notify what I know of an affair which I deem of great importance.
" Last year, at the time of the disturbance between the Pope and the
Republic, there was in the garrison of the Rovigo a captain named Fulvio
Cesenari, of Rieti in Umbria. He was imprisoned with an ancient of his,
called there Rotilio Orlandini of Ferni, they being accused of a plot to
surrender Rovigo to the General of Ferrara, and they were released; yet,
I am sure they had this understanding with the Signor Paulo S. Savelli,
the general of Ferrara, for here in Rome I have seen letters written at
that time in Rovigo, and signed by the said captain and ancient, whereby
they promised the said S. Savelli to give the town (Rovigo) into his Hands,
saying that they had two or three gates in their power, and that they had
the soldiers of their company (200, if I mistake not) in readiness. "
Being interrogated, he replied,
" I saw no other detail in the letters, they appeared to have been writ
ten previously, and several letters had passed, indeed, I know that the
ancient had been repeatedly to Ferrara; they said in the letter that they
were ready to give him the town whensoever he should present himself. "
Being interrogated, he replied,
" I saw this letter at the time here in Rome, when the general sent it
to his brother, for him to show it to the Pope. It was shown to me by his
secretary, my intimate friend. After that, the ancient and the captain were
released from prison, Rovigo, the captain, was sent with his company to
Padua, where he still is, and the ancient came here, with a safe conduct
from the Pope, for he was an unfrocked friar of St. Paul's " (one of those
friars dressed in black, with wide sleeves) " and a highwayman; his true
name is Achille Orlandini, of Scantriglia, a small castle in this Campagna,

146 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1607.
twenty-five miles distant from hence. In his order he was called Friar
Arsenio. He was not ordained; but at Rovigo changed his name to Roti-
lio, as I have stated. Being here in Rome (for he came for a week or a
fortnight, and resided permanently at his village), he received absolution
for himself and for two of his brothers-in-law, natives of his village, who
were banished, I know not why. Neither do I know their names. I
was acquainted with this ancient when he was a friar and since, and con
versed with him after his return to Rome, and have eaten with him seve
ral times. The last time I saw him was on Friday, the 21st inst., and he
told me that he was to leave us to-day for Venice with these two his
brothers-in-law; they are little dark men, dressed in grey or russet cloth
as peasants, I will, moreover, endeavour to bring you their names. He
invited me to go with him, and told me that he was going to do a certain
deed, and that he had been promised 8,000 crowns. I answered him as
if undecided, and this I did in order to learn the details better, but he
never spoke to me more openly, save that he was therefore taking with
him those two brothers-in-law, and on Friday he told me he had received
a letter for the said monies to be paid in Ferrara, immediately after the
execution of the deed. I am not able to discover for certain whether this
deed is to be done in, or out of Venice, but he is going te Venice. "
Being interrogated, he said,
" He is not going post, nor in haste, indeed from what he said he will
remain three or four days in Ferrara, and perhaps in passing through Fer
rara will go to his captain. "
Being interrogated, he replied,
" He is going to do this deed by order of the masters here, he says he
has spoken with the Pope, but he certainly negotiated with the Secretary
Delia Consulta, for he, that is to say the ancient, has told me so several
times. "
Being interrogated, he replied,
" I think this deed which he has to do is some murder, for he told me
he shall do all in an hour ; he moreover appeared not to intend residing
in Venice, but out in the country to await time and opportunity, and he
likewise spoke to me in such a manner that I may also suppose it his
intention to wait until that person, or those whom he may mean to kill,
shall go out. I have nothing else to communicate; but they are all three
vassals of the Signor Giovanni Orsino, in whose house I dwell, and who
is expected from his castle in ten days or a fortnight, and on his arrival,
I shall elicit something else from some of his servants, for I pass for the
confident of these men, and will come and tell your lordship. "
Being interrogated, he replied,
" Besides the letter which I saw, written by the oaptain and by this

xt- 55.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 147
man to Savelli, about betraying Rovigo to him, this said ancient spoke to
me of the plot, but without coming to details, save that he and the captain
would have been rich. "
Being interrogated, he said,
" He did not mention to me any other in the plot save himself and the
captain, neither soldiers nor others, but there must have been some con
cerned. Concerning this affair which he is now going to perpetrate, he
says, It is known to him alone, and that he has not even spoken to his
brothers-in-law, and that he does not choose to tell them anything until
the hour for action. He took them away, saying that he meant to take
them to his company, whereof he is ancient, and that they should have
pay. »
Being again interrogated about the outward apppearance of these two,
he answered,
" Little men, but very stout or corpulent, black, furrowed, black beards,
chestnut-brown, and thin ; they are both aged from thirty five to forty
years. As to the ancient, he is dressed in drab with gold lace, he has a
black cloak, and his hat likewise has a gold band. He is tall of stature,
marked with the small-pox, brown beard, very little mustachios, from thir
ty three to thirty four years old; he is lame, do not know on which side;
he lamed himself in prison at Rovigo; on the journey they carry long
arquebuses; they will subsequently supply themselves at Ferrara. I shall
endeavour also to make friends with a certain favourite of his, and shall
report with that readiness which becomes my affection .and respect. "
It is remarkable that the day after the Ambassador Contarini wrote to
inform the Doge and Senate that he had dined in the most friendly man
ner with the Cardinal Borghese at Frescati, an event took place at Ve
nice disgraceful to all concerned. The French Ambassador, who was friendly
to Fra Paolo, also entertained Contarini with an account of his late
audience with the Pope, who had then asserted that the Doge was in treaty
with him for a safe place where Fra Paolo and the other theologians
might discuss what they had published.
" Most Serene Prince. To show that I held account of the invitation
given to me by the Lord Cardinal Borghese, to go to dine with him at
Frascati, I determined on so doing yesterday, and so much the more was
I induced thus to act, inasmuch as with such an opportunity I should be
enabled to execute your Serenity's commissions to the French ambassador,
whom I likewise found in the same neighbourhood of Frascati, in a house
belonging to the Duke d'Altemps, rather more than a mile distant from the
Pontiff's. He informed me that on the preceding day his Holiness had
told him that your Serenity was making suit about a safe place for the
theologians to dispute on the topics they had published, and put into

148 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1607-
print. I expressed my surprise how this should have been uttered, since
neither in Venice nor here, had any discussion been held to this effect;
nay, that owing to your Serenity's great wish to put an end to similar and
other discourse, productive of the worst consequences, you had commanded
me to request him (since he had laboured and exerted himself so much in
the past commotions) to use his endeavours with the Pontiff to give the
finishing stroke to this matter, relying on his prudence and dexterity that,
having overcome greater difficulties, he would in like manner terminate
this, which alone remained of the past fluctuations, conferring thus a very
great obligation on the Republic.
" To this instance the French ambassador replied, that His Majesty l
had written to him about a conversation held with the Ambassador Priuli,
wherein he exhorted him to find means for finishing the disputes current
on this point, that he must speak not only in conformity with the king's
sentiments, but that he likewise, individually, views it in the same light
as similar impediments to a good understanding with the Pontiff, and
gives matter for great joy to the common enemies, and that it seems im
possible to him that your Serenity should be unable to find the means
(consisting as such do merely in appearance) for satisfying his Holiness,
who would fain justify himself with the world, and with the members of
the Inquisition in particular, to whom he cannot but make a show of
giving some sort of satisfaction, since it is a matter pertaining to that
office, to whose resolves he must defer.
" I observed thaf the whole adjustment rests merely in the Pope's
hands, who may very easily absorb and terminate the business in divers
manners, and as to the Congregation, if he settled the principal part of the
matter, without communicating with the Congregation, or, indeed, without
the whole college of Cardinals, by so much the more can he do in this
instance, in such wise as shall be well known to his prudence; and the
saying, he had regard for the congregation, was like His Most Christian
Majesty saying that the Parliament do not choose such a thing, although
when he pleases he does without them. So likewise can the Pontiff com
municate and give such share as he shall please to the Congregation, ob
serving such style as shall be deemed most fitting, by declaring these
theologians included under this universal reconciliation. It had always
been believed at Venice that they were included. Whence I passed on to
make him a very long speech about the causes that induce your Serenity
to protect them, without your being able in this respect to form any other
resolve soever; that in supporting the Republic's rights, if any proposi
tion was inserted that does not please, they purpose choosing to defend it
1 MSS. Contarini, From Rome, Oct, 6, 1607.

xt. 55.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 149
entirely; but that it was not fitting to enter thereon, as it would be a
voluntary submersion into an abyss of inconvenience and disorder, that
your Serenity is the much more bound to adhere to this, inasmuch as
the churchmen, who through your goodness have now returned into your
territories, go daily resuscitating fresh ills, whereto you are of sheer ne
cessity compelled to apply the due remedies; and I told him of the daring
attempts of those Theatines of Bergamo, at which he was much surprised,
and I came to this conclusion, that your Serenity has reason for keeping
very much on the watch, and also for supporting those who, postponing
all their own interests and regards, defended the justice of your cause,
exhorting him to persuade the Pontiff at once to cut off all negotiations,
and to dispose himself towards favouring the Republic in her honest de
mands, as since my residence at the court I experience harshness, even
in my most reasonable demands and offices, nor can I obtain that good
fruit which I expected for the common weal. The ambassador of France
evinced no slight regret at what he heard through these statements which
I made him, and in particular, remarked of his own accord, that the Pon
tiff has done ill in not giving satisfaction in the matter of this vacancy,
occasioned by the death of the lord abbot Pesaro, and he was so persuaded
in other respects, that he promised to speak thereon fully and freely, and
use his endeavours to terminate the affairs of the theologians, the which
concluded, he doubted not but that all would pass off well, and that one
would indubitably obtain from the Pontiff all that could be laid claim to;
one will keep awaiting the consequence of his offices, which, if they result
in conformity with the wish evinced by him for exerting himself stre
nuously, cannot fail to be such as desired. Gratia? &<s. "
We now pass from the friendly offers of the French envoy to Venice,
where we find another individual warning Sarpi against danger. The name
of Scioppius is almost proverbial as a satirist; embittered against the Pope
he endeavored to convince Paolo of the impossibility of his escape from his
wrath, that he, like other princes, could easily reach out his hands against
him, and if he wished to take his life, there was no lack of means; but he
thought Paul still wished to take Fra Paolo alive, to seize him at Venice
and conduct him to Rome, and he concluded by offering to bring about an
honorable reconciliation between the Pope and the Servite.
To all this Fra Paolo answered, as he had often before said, That he
had done nothing by which the Pope could be offended, that he had
pleaded for a just cause, that he was sorry the defence had met the indig
nation of the Pope, but that he was prepared to submit to the divine
will, and was not so ignorant of human affairs as not to know what he
ought to think of life and death, that if he was taken alive to Rome, all
the power of the Pope could not hinder a man being more master of his life

150 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1607.
than others could be, that he was resolved to be master of his own life,
and that the Pope should not be so. He thanked Scioppius for his good
offices, but expressed himself inseparably united to the interests of the
state. " The proposals of killing him, or taking him alive to Rome appeared
strange, but what followed clearly showed Scioppius had good grounds
for his assertions, and that designs against Paolo were already really ripe
for execution. The satirist left Venice ; and in a satire narrated his conver
sation with the Friar, and bore witness to his being non indoctum non
timidum. "
But the Father, who was so good as not to be able to think evil of any
one, believed the above menace to be merely a conceit of Scioppius, and
being a man of great intrepidity, although often warned by the Lord In
quisitors of State, who are the chief magistrates of Venice and have charge
of the most secret transaction of designs against life, yet apparently he
did not take any care of himself; either, from his great nobility of mind
of which writes Fulgenzio, " I can vouch and have often experienced it, "
or, from his certain conviction that nothing can happen without Divine
permission, and that what is appointed by God, cannot be hindered by
any human caution or foresight, but that too much anxiety and caution
are frequently the causes of contrary events, he never was inclined to
change his mode of life in the smallest particular, and would always re
mark that it was indifferent to him in what manner he died, only, that he
died justly, because he was sure that in no way death could ever find him
unprepared. " As usual he pursued his daily toil at the Ducal palace, and at this time
walked from Saint Mark's to his Convent in the evening: but his friends
would not suffer him to go alone : and this is not surprising, considering
the reports that had reached them that there were designs against his life;
he was frequently accompanied by the noble Malpietro, who although aged
was a man of intrepid spirit, and of piety and worth: if we are to judge
of Fra Paolo's friendship for him by his grief at his death, he must have
been one of his chosen friends.
" It was late on the evening of the fifth of October that Paolo, in com
pany with Malpietro, Fra Fulgenzio, and his servant, Fra Marino went on
foot from the Palace to the Merceria together; and from thence Fra Paolo,
Malpietro and Fra Marino continued their way. They had crossed the small
square of the San Fosca and had arrived at the bridge of la Guerra, very
near the Convent. Malpietro had walked a little in advance of Fra Paolo,
who was followed at a short distance by his servant, Marino. On the
bridge, while descending it on the north side, Fra Paolo was suddenly as^
saulted by five assassins, some keeping guard in a boat while the others

XT. 55.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 151
wounded him in the neck with their stilettoes, and with one in the face,
which entered the right ear and came out in the small hollow which lies
between the nose and the right cheek. The assassin could not withdraw
his stiletto, because it had passed through the bone where it remained
transfixed. It was more than three months since the Father had been ac
companied, besides Fra Marino a lay brother who was his servant, by Fra
Fulgenzio and by the valorous Malpietro. Notwithstanding the continual
warnings given to the Father to take care of himself, the Friars who ac
companied him, did so entirely regardless of personal harm because they
knew that they did well in defending a cause which was notoriously just,
believing, that when the violence of the controversy was past, no one could
be so impious as to presume after so solemn an accommodation, that
princes had not always about them learned and zealous advocates to de
fend them with as little fear of assassins, as themselves. On this evening
the Father was left by Fulgenzio and his companion, because Fra
Fulgenzio wished to see a fire which had been burning during two days
in a house in the Saliciati of San Lio, in the middle of the street which
leads to the Merceria, and on hearing that the fire was not yet extinguished,
he came back to seek the Father to take him to see it.
" But Fulgenzio, having stayed long, thought the Father might have gone
home by the San Lio, and he was thus left alone with one companion, who
being behind him, was seized by one of the murderers who held his hands,
while the other stabbed the Father, and as he expected mortally.
" The ruffian having left his stiletto in the wound, he and his compa
nions raised their guns to fire on any of the populace who might give an
alarm, after this they left Fra Marino free, but on seeing three of the as
sassins unsheath their arms, without saying a word, he ran away. "
Notwithstanding the pains thus taken by the assassins to murder Fra
Paolo while walking by himself, and then to effect their escape, the whole
transaction was seen by some women at a window, who immediately
raised a cry for help; on this Malpietro turned round, what a spectacle
met his sight ! Fra Paolo stunned, bleeding and defenceless in the midst
of armed ruffians, and wounded apparently to death by the dagger
which still lay buried in the noble head from which streamed his blood,
but happily not his life blood. His foes had not so completely triumphed, the
intrepid Servite was deeply but not mortally wounded: stunned, but not
slain, nature was exhausted but not overcome, well might his companion
and friend marvel at his escape. " Fifteen thrusts which were reckoned up
by the holes in his doublet and hood, " told to the world the deadly
aim which had been taken against Fra Paolo, but as he had only received
three wounds in the neck, besides that on his face, one cannot help seeing
a mark of divine providence which deprived the murderer both of his

152 THE LIFE OF [ad. 1607.
strength and senses, as he might with one high powerful thrust either in
his side or back have killed this innocent and helpless man. l
He afterwards said that the two first blows of the stiletto were given
as if at the same moment, and the third as if a ponderous weight had fal
len upon him and stunned him, and he was quite overcome on reaching
his Convent, although in the full possession of his senses, he was stretched
on his bed from whence it was very long before he arose again.
The tidings of his attempted assassination soon reached the ears of the
government, and immediate steps were taken to obtain evidence of this
lamentable event. That given by Malpietro is of great interest, and its
date shows that this witness was called instantly.
Having been brought before their Excellencies, the most noble Signor
Alessandro Malpietro declared as follows : —
" May it please your Excellencies — I was in the Marzaria, with Messer
Paolo di Servi, to day, about the twenty second hour. We joined com
pany to go together to our houses, being neighbours, and the Father had
a lay brother with him. We were at Santa Fosca, on the Bridge della
Guerra, at the last steps leading downwards, when a man rushed to the
right hand side where the Father was, and took aim at his face; I
thought he had given him a blow, and I heard the Father say, ' Oh!' and
the other say, ' Dog! traitor! ' and, raising my eyes, for I was walking with
my head bent downwards, I saw the Father with the stiletto, which I now
hold, fixed in the ear near his nose, and the assailant by him. I thrust
myself between them, and put my hand upon the stiletto and drew it out;
then, turning to the fellow, who had, I think, two companions, if not
more, I said, 'Ah. you traitorous dogs, do you assassinate men in this way? '
and again I turned to the people who were beginning to flock toward us,
and said, 'After them, boys!' whereupon the men, seeing me take up the
defence, stood still a minute, and then turned off towards San Marciliano.
I hastened to the Father, and led him into a house near at hand, where
his wounds were dressed by a barber ; then we took a boat, and I went
home with him to his convent, together with the physician of the convent,
that is to say, Santorio, and the barber who first dressed his wounds, the
physician arriving suddenly on the spot. The man who gave the blow was
square-built; his face seemed rubicund; his beard red, inclining to chest
nut ; his stature tall, rather than short. Some persons have affirmed that
he wore a linen mask over his face ; but, from the weakness of my sight,
I could take but little note of him, and still less of his companions, not
even of the clothes they wore. "
Being asked, if he knew any one who was present at the deed above
>MS,

xi- 55.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 153
described, he answered, that there were several women and other per
sons who dwelt near, but that he did not know them. This account from
the Processi Criminali, Council of Ten, Venetian Archives, must be ta
ken in connection with the Contarini MSS. and Count Sagredos Saggio di
R. Brown in L'Archivio di Venezia. Sir Henry Wotton told the Doge
that the blow was struck by a Scotchman, who went by the name of Gio
vanni of Florence, a son of Poma. It is impossible to describe the horror
and indignation of the people of Venice on learning that Fra Paolo was
reported to he mortally wounded; and to have seen how the matter was
taken was admirable : the whole city was in a broil, the Council was called
frequently during the night, the chiefest of the Senate flocked to the mo
nastery where the wounded Father lay, and the next day the people met
every wherein clumps and in clusters talking of this matter. The professor
of anatomy and chirugery, Acquapendente, a man of great age, learning
and experience was sent for by public counsel, from Padua, and associated
with other physicians for the cure of his woriund. ' And it must have
been painful indeed to Bedell to see his wounded friend, and to reflect
why these wounds were given! " The first thing Fra Paolo did was to
express a wish to take the Holy Communion on the following morn
ing, which he did with the deepest humility, begging all the Fathers
who wept around him, to excuse him if on account of his wound he
could not speak so much as he wished, that he might shew his grief for
his sins and seek pardon of God, and when the Advocate, Signor Giro-
lamo Trevisano came by order of the government, to take his depo
sition, the Father told him that he had no enemy that he knew of,
nor had he known any, and he entreated the Council of Ten that as
he pardoned the man who had offended him, they would do nothing
further than merely to guard him more securely, if it pleased God to
prolong his life.
" According to his usual mode of avoiding ostentation, he had wished
only one young doctor, Signor Alviso Ragosa, to attend him; he was
skilful, had a light hand, and applied light ligatures, but his condition,
and the public opinion of him constrained him to submit to the care
of all the most celebrated doctors, and surgeons in Venice, besides
those who came from Padua, and Acquapendente was commanded to
remain at the Convent till the danger was passed, but the Father
continued long between life and death. Not only were his wounds of
a very serious nature, but he was so attenuated that he was like a
skeleton, one could count his bones distinctly, his great loss of blood
left him almost bloodless and for more than twenty days he remained
i Bedell. Letter.

154 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1607.
nearly motionless and almost unable to raise his hand. There was also
another unfortunate circumstance attending Fra Paolo's illness which
must have retarded his recovery, and that was the multiplicity of
doctors, from whom the poor patient suffered as much as from the
wound, some of his advisers thought the blackness of the lips of the
wound evinced the thrust of a poisoned weapon, others that inflam
mation had been produced by treacle in the medicines given, to all
this Fra Paolo submitted without a murmur and with his usual piety
and firmness edified all who saw him. i On the same evening on which
he was wounded he asked for the stiletto which had remained fixed
in his head, and having felt it he immediately said, It is not filed!
A report afterwards spread that the assassins were taken and many
could tell how he was grieved, fearing that such a scandal would
bring discredit on religion, as it was currently said that they went
immediately to the Nuncio's house.
Throughout his illness he never once gave a sign of suffering pain,
although it was necessary to cut or probe deeply, the wounds being
very deep, and the bone of the upper jaw being broken; it remained
fractured, and when the wound appeared inclined to heal, nature
formed abscesses to discharge the splinters, and there was considerable
inflammation; there were scars both of the ingress and egress of the
weapon. " 2
Every thing was done that it was possible for devoted friends,
munificent nobles, rich citizens, and a generous people who regarded
Fra Paolo with almost superstitious veneration to do to convince him
of how much he was beloved, even his enemies could not deny this
tribute to him, they were forced to reecho the praise of their suffer
ing foe, whose lips poured forth blessings on them. Who shall tell
what lessons were gathered from that bed of agony? Around him might
be seen the greatest senators, and those in more humble life, all
listening to him, or praying that he might be restored to health.
The Signor Malpietro wished to take possession of the stiletto ,
because it was he that took it out of the wound, but in consideration

1 I examined the Processi Criminali, of 5-10 October 1607 : " Which con
tain, at great length, the investigation of the attempted assassination of Fra
Paolo Sarpi... One circumstance mentioned in the investigation curiously il
lustrates the manners of the day. A druggist was commissioned to ascertain
f the dagger was poisoned; and, in due time, reported to the Council of Ten
that he had tried it on a dog and on a chicken, and that, as both these
patients were convalescent, he hoped the theologian of the Republic would
recover also." Calendar, Rawdon Brown, Pref. , p. 37.
a MS.

**• 5^.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 155
of his preservation which if not a miracle, at least showed a particular
demonstration of Divine Providence and special care of the innocent
Father, he was content that it should be hung at the foot of a
Crucifix, l where it still hangs with this inscription,
CRISTO LIBERATORE.
The Nuncio sent early information of the attempt on Fra Paolo's
life to the Cardinal Borghese as follows. " Very late yesterday evening
Fra Paolo Sarpi was stabbed by two or three thrusts, they say that
he is not in danger, but they are not certain. The Council of Ten
have passed a law by which they say publicly that they have indicted
some persons whom they believe to have committed the offence: there
is a great uproar in the city and they shew themselves greatly
displeased, he being greatly beloved. The Servite friars have hung the
dagger with which Fra Paolo was stabbed to a Crucifix which is above
their altar in the church, with these words " Deo Filio Liberatori. "
I send the new volume by R. P. S. and his usual advisers.
" October 6, 1607. "
When with vigorous wrench the aged Malpietro drew the stiletto
from the Father's wound, he perceived two of the assassins running
down the street S. Mazziliani and thence to the Misericordia, at the
end of which lay their gondola, and their companions; they all took
refuge in the house of the Papal Nuncio resident in Venice, but it
was only by protection of the Council of Ten that the Nuncio's house
was saved from a violent assault by the infuriated people, the same
night they passed to the Lido, where they found a boat which they
had prepared waiting for them: it was a well armed flat boat, with
ten oars, in which they went towards Ferrara, but they were not
pursued with sufficient speed owing to some comedians having played
that night at the San Luigi where an opera (which they call " opera
con intermezzo ") was performed. All the neighborhood had gone to it,
so that there were not the usual passers by in the streets of Santa
Fosca, and these circumstances gave the murderers great facility to
escape, although the government was unremitting in its efforts to cap
ture them.
The chief of the murderers was Ridolfo Poma, who had been a merchant
of Venice, and esteemed a man of honour, but becoming bankrupt, he
had retired to Naples to recover some debts, and from thence he had
» MS,

156 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1607.
gone to Rome where he was welcomed. It was a cause of wonder
that he was so intimate with Cardinal Borghese, who introduced him
to his uncle the Pontiff and by whose favour two of his daughters,
who had been left in the States of Venice, were received as nuns; and
his friends were still more astonished when he wrote that he had recover
ed his debts and that they would soon see him a Cardinal. Besides Poma,
there were Alessandro Parasio of Ancona, Giovanni of Florence, the son of
Paolo, and Pasquale de Bitonto, also a soldier. They were men well fitted
for such deeds, as they were all outlaws. Their spy, or guide, was a
priest, Michel Viti, a Bergamasco, who officiated in the church of the
Holy Trinity, in Venice; and by whom there is no doubt that this
deed had been planned for many months before it came to light,
because this priest came every morning during Lent to the Convent of
the Servi, under pretence of liking the preaching of Fra Fulgenzio.
He came to the door of the pulpit, which corresponds to the inner
part of the Convent, and conversed courteously with Fra Fulgenzio,
and sought counsel as to some scruples of conscience, and he con
tinued to go to his Convent to visit him and to converse on spiritual
matters. Before the successful issue of this execrable act, Fra Fulgenzio had
observed, and that innumerable times, as he came home with the
Father and his companion, that he encountered Fra Michel Viti on
the bridge of S. Fosca, sometimes here and sometimes there, now with
one soldier, then with two, who proved afterwards to be the murderers
above mentioned.
And because Fra Fulgenzio saw him frequently look intently at
the Father, and often return to look back at him, Fra Fulgenzio
warned him, but the Father repressed his curiosity as showing too
much suspicion. '
On the tenth of October sentence against the assassins was decreed
by the Council of Ten in the form of a proclamation, promising large
rewards to those who took them alive. 2
This was followed by a public edict for the better security of Fra
Paolo who still continued in great bodily suffering.
" Proclamation by the Republic of Venice to secure the personal
safety of R. M. Paulo, Servite and Professor of Theology, according
to the resolution of the Senate, 27th day of October, 1607. "
The above Proclamation by the Prince, was laid before the Senate
for deliberation, on the 27th October, 1607.
i MS.
2 Appendix.

xt- 55.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 157
" In reference to the atrocious attempt at assassination, with design
to take the life of R. P. M. Paolo, of our Republic, by well-known
wicked and insidious means, and according to the usual gracious
protection which we are accustomed to grant to those of our subjects,
who with self devotion and fidelity render good and honourable service
to the Republic, as the worthy P. Paulo, a person of distinguished
learning, great courage and virtue, and of exemplary life has done, we
desire, in addition to the public deliberations already made, to make
known, and by still further proof to testify how dear his personal
safety is to our Republic. Therefore we cause it to be publicly proclaim
ed, that if in future, any person or persons shall be found, of any
degree or condition whatsoever, who shall be so bold, as for the future
to attempt to attack in any place or manner whatsoever, without
exception, either in this city or any other place of our State, the afore
said P. M. Paulo, he, or they, who in defence of this Father takes or
kills any such person or persons who attack him, shall claim, if he
consign them dead (they being legally proved amenable to justice), the
sum of two thousand ducats, taken from the property of the delinquent
or delinquents, if they have any (which property shall be accounted
as if confiscated) and if they have not any, from the monies of the
public treasury to be paid immediately. And on consigning them
alive, they shall receive four thousand ducats as aforesaid, from the
said monies of the public treasury, to be paid immediately. And if
any one shall make known to justice, any person or persons, who shall
treat of, plan, or Come to this city with intent to injure the said P.
M. Paolo in any way whatever, if any culprit be taken, tried, and
punished, the informer shall receive in the aforesaid manner the same
sum of two thousand ducats from the treasury, and if he be an ac
complice, he shall go unpunished, and secresy shall be observed. It
being our resolve and will, that the meritorious P. M. Paolo, as well
as any other subject, who has faithfully and effectually served and
serves the Republic, shall be respected, and entitled by his own merit
to public protection. 29th October, 1607. Published on the stairs of
S. Marco, and of the Rialto, by Paschel di Bianchi, Comandator. "
The words, " any person or persons of any degree or condition
whatsoever, who shall be so bold as to attempt, " etc., etc., the life
of P. M. Paolo, did not escape observation, and it was evident that
the Doge and Senate of Venice, intended the above proclamation to
include all.
Now let the reader turn for a little time to the Ducal palace, and
mark the countenances of the friends of Sarpi, the aged Donato, the
eloquent Morosini, and those of the Council of Ten and their Secretaries

158 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1607.
who saw the secret communications from the Contarini, no doubt but
that words of surprise or angry exclamation burst from their lips when
they read their Ambassador's letter of this date. Miserable as was the
employment, Contarini did not shrink from his duty, but recorded his
endeavors in various and numerous despatches to the Doge and Senate
and Council of Ten which testify a sincere love of his country and
justice to the man whose only crime was, that he had striven for his
country's weal.
" Most Serene Prince,
" For the due execution of what your Serenity enjoins me, by letters
dated the 6th inst., received on the day before yesterday, and moreover
for the vent of my own personal sympathy and affection, which has been
greatly agitated by so momentous an accident as has been that which has
befallen the person of M. Paul, I shall be most vigilant for the investiga
tion of everything that shall seem to me fitting, through all channels,
especially through that one which made the first statement to me, as I
respectfully notified in my letters of the 29th ult, who, moreover, told me
this week that one of the brothers-in-law of the aforesaid ancient, who
left this with him, is Grandonio. I have likewise heard from a confident
of mine, a resident in Ancona, that Alessandro Parassio, one of the pro
claimed assassins, was outlawed at Ancona about two years ago, for hav
ing harboured some homicides in his house; and, on some little property
of his being confiscated, it was saved by his sisters, resident at Venice in
the house of certain merchants, named Gottardi, his relations; and he was
a bravo by profession, having fought several times, as well in Ancona as
at Venice. Poma, likewise one of the proclaimed, was seen in this city
about the month of June last ; and, from what I have hitherto been able
to elicit, it seems that he then left for Naples, his departure being attri
buted to his finding himself half a bankrupt. Gratia? &e.
" Rome, 13 Oct., 1607. "
The next letter opens with the very warm expression of his feelings,
" on hearing of the villany committed on the person of the M. Paulo of
the Servites, " and the ambassador " trusts in God that he may be able to
penetrate it. " The Pope had again blamed the theologians; but, such was
the fear of the ambassador for the Pope, that he adds, " I have deemed it
expedient to pass the whole over in silence, waiting for a better opportu
nity. The Inquisitor deplored F. P.'s accident. I sent the Secretary to
him, who said he bore him no ill will; and said that he had asked him,

xi. 54.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 159
through the Procurator General of the Servites, to come to Rome a month
ago, and that he would be caressed and well received, and the affair ter
minate reputably for the Republic.
" He suspects, not indeed by senators and intelligent noblemen, but
by the people, that it may be supposed to proceed hence, a sup
position which could not enter the minds of judicious persons as there
is no similar example on record, either by word or deed, in any
century, for that the Church does not proceed by these indirect and
diabolical means; he, the Inquisitor, was, therefore, annoyed by the
vulgar, who are blindly carried away by every sinister idea. But he
considered it as certain that, as the crime had been committed by
three, some, if not all, would be taken; and that the truth of the
fact, moreover, would not be known through other channels; and he
observed, as Maestro Paulo was not known to have any enemies, it
may be conjectured that this may have been plotted by some of his
friars, on account of some disgust and monkish persecution, and that
his opinion was shared by the Cardinal Zappata, with whom he had
held a long conversation. "
The Ambassador, Contarini, also enclosed, for the perusal of the
Council of Ten, part of a letter from Rimini, in which the assassins
are spoken of as " those three who gave it to the theologians, and
were here on Friday evening, flying from death. God help them! " '
and further, Contarini enclosed in one of his dispatches a deposition
of Flavio's which speaks for itself. 2 " The men who wounded Fra
Paolo passed before me in two carriages with long and short arque
buses, boasting of having killed Fra Paolo, and they had a passport
from the Legate of Bologna that they might carry their weapons
through the Papal States. They had their arquebuses and pistols ready
loaded, even at table. Poma was recognized, as also his son dressed as
a Priest, and one Parasio of Ancona (all Pomas) who acted as his
oil broker at Venice. The hosts said if they had known of the sentence*
they would have killed them. " Lengthened investigations were continued
by the Ambassador and his Secretary during the darkness of night,
and all these were carefully reported. The murderers had arrived at
Rome but they were not seen in public, the Pope being perturbed on
learning what an impression was made on a leading personage by
their presence, orders were consequently given that they were not to
remain in Rome another hour. Contarini did not spare rewards, he
bestowed eight golden crowns on the aforementioned informer Flavio,
1 MSS. Contarini.
2 MSS. Contarini.

160 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1607.
who gave it as his opinion that the man who wounded Fra Paolo
in the face, was one of the most villainous and murderous beings in
the world, adding " from what I have heard he is to commit another
fine assassination besides this, he is considered a good brave by certain
outlaws from the march of Ancona. This man was to get a copy of
his absolution, and a copy of the bank bill on the monies paid. " ' The
assassins were urged to discover who sent this villain; secresy was
promised and Contarini thinks it certain these are the men. Flavio
had spoken to the Pope, and as to who sent them. " / entertain no
doubt on that score, " writes the Ambassador; and Flavio was again
appointed to come to his Secretary's apartments at a late hour. He
had also obtained information " from a postillion who stated his name to
be Giovanni Andrea, of Fano, sent with this post's letters, as postil
lion, by the courier to Venice, but had stayed behind on account of
illness; he said that the courier had told him that last Sunday evening
five persons supped and slept at the same inn , a priest namely
Michael Viti, and three men, two of these dressed as mariners. Of
these three, one was Ridolfo Poma, head assassin, the two boatmen,
named Matteo the Sclavonian, and Pietro of San Giustina, and a lad,
Poma's son, who according to his judgment as well as that of the
host are those who fled on account of the wounds given in Venice to
Fra Paolo, and that they arrived in the evening and left in the morning
in a carriage for Loretto. "
A letter to the Council of Ten from his Excellency informs us of
the rewards given to the assassins, and later, a discussion had taken
place as to the Theologians of Venice, " but the transactions of the
Inquisition were kept so secret, that all which transpired was, that
there was to be some delay. " 2 Parasio had been seen in Rome, and
it was said that Poma meant " to print that he made his determina
tion not at the instigation of others, but for the service of the
Lord God. " To the Council of Ten.
" Most Serene Prince,
" A nephew of M. Bastone, the Papal Nuncio, has informed a person
here, his confident, that by order of His Holiness the Nuncio, his
uncle has been commissioned to obtain from the Viceroy, the grant
i MSS. Contarini, October 1607.
a MSS. Contarini, Nov. 24. Dec. 10-15.

et. 55.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 161
of an annual pension to the scoundrels who committed the act of as
sassination on the person of the Father Paul, and the assignment of
1,500 crowns was to be made forthwith at Bari, and although I gave
an account to the Most Excellent Senate, I nevertheless deemed it
well to omit from what quarter such news reached me, though I
consider it my duty on every account to give respectful notice thereof
to your Serenity, and in like manner as I certify to the nephew of
the Nuncio, having made the communication aforesaid, so in other
respects I am at a loss at this moment for the means of ascertaining
the entire truth of these commissions; but present them to your Excel
lencies as I receive them, as I moreover shall give you notice, that
the news of the arrival of the said scoundrels at Bitonto, whereof I
also informed the Most Excellent Senate, is contained in a letter to
the Cardinal Gemmasio, written to him by the very Reverend the
Bishop of Bitonto, in the following precise words, 'that through the
arrival there of the man who gave the wounds to that Friar Paul of
Venice, he has discovered the individual who assassinated a brother
of his, and that he will endeavour to make him pay his weekly ac
count. ' Gratise etc. "From Rome, 24th November 1607."
The President at Naples informed the Ambassador that one of the
murderers, Pasquale of Bitonto, is in that city, and Poma is expected
there shortly to carry on a certain law suit. Poma, by a letter of his,
is in great fear for himself; he changes his place of residence frequently,
and is now at Hostia. He is said to be sent as a warder to Perugia,
which the Ambassador thinks " cannot be true, as that appointment is
generally given to people of consideration. "
While Fra Paolo was thus cared for in .Venice, Contarini 's and other
letters show that he was held in still greater esteem since he had been
so nearly lost to Venice and to Europe. Many judged that his arguments
against papal supremacy must be powerful when they had excited such
indignation at the Court of Rome.
But Fra Paolo felt no satisfaction when it was reported that Poma
and his accomplices had been imprisoned at Rome; it transpired, how
ever later ' that Parasio only had been placed in close custody in the
prisons of the Inquisition, on account of his violent language against
the Court in regard to the non-fulfilment of the promises which had
been made to him and to his accomplices. Throughout Contarini's
1 Rome, 19th July 1608.

162 THE LIFE OF [ad. 1608.
letters the same desire to discover these assassins continues and the
whole of the despatches are of great interest.
Letters of the Ambassador Contarini.
" To the Council of Ten,
" Most Serene Prince,
" To what I wrote last post I respectfully add by one, who knows
him very well.
" Poma was seen here in Rome one Sunday at the Trinita, di Monte,
an out of the Way place, and of small resort, together with a lad,
supposed to be his son, with an old man, and another with red hair,
his servant. I know that this servant goes every week with a billet
to the register of the Venice post to receive letters which, with a
feigned direction, are addressed to the said Poma. For many days I
have been pondering on the mode of having these letters withheld ;
but I do not find it safe, for this register, named Simon Bigozzi, is a
Florentine; nor do I rely on trusting this foreigner, appointed I know
not how to this charge, the which, as all the couriers are our subjects,
ought likewise to be held by one, for he sees, handles, receives, distri
butes, and notes all the letters; and in many instances it would prove
very convenient, the having there a confidential person. I have confid
ed the detail about those letters of Poma to Pietro Basis, an old
courier, and who is the vice-master of the couriers in their house
here; charging him on his life's peril, in the name of your most
excellent Council, to keep it secret, desiring him to act with caution,
so as to obtain and bring them to me; but he has not been able to
do this, wherefore I give respectful notice thereof to your Excellen
cies, so that such resolve shall be taken as may be deemed best, and
in order that your Lordship may know that I fail not to do as much
as I am permitted, by the manner wherewith we must act under
existing circumstances. It was a great light to me the information I
received from your Excellencies, about the two dismissed Franciscan
friars, when His Holiness spoke to me on the subject. As I write to
the most excellent Senate, it was of great use, as enabling me to speak
resolutely, which causeth the Pontiff not to push the matter further,
or make any other reply. Gratiae, etc. "
Again : " The imprisonment of Alessandro Parasio is confirmed, in
whose name, and in whose favour, as it has been told me, M. Napi

xt. 56.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 163
likewise a native of Ancona, spoke a few days since to the Cardinal
Borghese about some acknowledgment for the services rendered, but
not having obtained too favourable an answer, and reporting this to
Alessandro Parasio, it made him fly into the greatest wrath; and he
protested that he would go into Turkey, using other similar language,
as usual with a man dissatisfied and desperate as it were. Monsieur Napi,
though the friend and confidant of the said Parasio, and who moreover
sought him every advantage, on hearing this, had more regard for his
own than for his neighbour's interest, and so went and told the whole
in detail to the Cardinal Borghese, who immediately betook himself to
the Pontiff, where the business being discussed, it was determined that
this Monsignore should be the medium for his getting into the hands
of the Sbirri, as took place ; and Monsignore Fonti, the Cardinal Bor-
ghese's auditor, served to point him to the Barigello, who arrested him
on Sunday the 8th, immediately on his coming out of S. Sylvester's
Church, at Monte Cavallo, and having instantly put him into a car
riage, he was taken to ' Borgo ' to the prisons of the Inquisition. I
understand that it is being endeavoured to obtain certain writings which
he denies having kept. '
"By great diligence," the Contarini, "had become acquainted with
the feigned names under which the letters were addressed from Venice
to Rodolfa Poma. Of two of them he says. ' The which, having first
copied and resealed, I caused to be returned to their address, in order
not to create suspicion, ' They were letters from Poma's cloistered
daughters, signed Hipolita Poma, from Padua, January 14th, 1608;
there were also two other letters, which were forwarded to the Council.
The letters were addressed to Carlo Gattardo, Silvestro Ridolfi, Frede-
rico Bolucci, Paulo de Santi, Paulo Bortolacci, and the above copies
were sent to the Doge by Contarini. "
" Most Serene Prince,
" Herewith your Serenity will receive the substance of what Matteo
Schiavon, one of the boatmen who rowed Poma, stated to my secretary
on two occasions, when he went to seek him in his apartments, and
likewise what Tomeo di Zanon, the owner of the shallop, told a person,
my confidant, for I did not allow him to come, as he wanted to do,
and speak here in the palace, 2 both on account of the different nature
of his sentence, and because little else could have been elicited from
1 To the Council of Ten, 2nd February, 1608, from Rome.
2 The Venetian ambassador's palace, called S. Mark's, Rome.

164 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1608.
him, in addition to what has been obtained from other sources. From
these two expositions, should they contain nothing else of importance,
your Serenity will at least learn concerning Poma, how he keeps hid
den, and his situation (as I moreover have written heretofore), how
much he endeavours to remove these men to a distance, and the
confirmation of what I have previously hinted at, that Alessandro de
Franceschi is his agent, and has held intercourse with him since last
June or July, when the said Rodolfo Poma was at Rome, and when
he left a servant of his in his house, who, immediately after the deed,
went to meet him with a supply of money at Ancona.
" It seems he has some intention of returning home; should I become
aware of his reaching it, I will give account thereof to your Excel
lencies, of the mode whereby the said Matteo took to come and speak
with the Secretary, who was very cautious; so that he has not even
a thought of its having been wished for. Then with regard to the
statement of that other, namely of Tomeo, the whole is rendered intel
ligible by the statement itself. "
Here follows the statement of Matteo Schiavon. Ibid, on the 24th
February, at Rome, in St. Mark's Palace.
" Matteo Schiavon, boatman, one of those who rowed Poma, having
come by stealth to my apartments, I, Vittor Barbaro, Secretary of
the Ambassador Contarini, at the second hour of the night, told him
I was glad to see him well, but was sorry for his troubles, and to
give him confidence to speak freely, I added that I considered it
certain he had been deceived, and that one might moreover argue
thus from the nature of his sentence , and the clemency of the
alternative. " Whereupon, bewailing his fate, and the misery of his wife and
four children in Venice, and consenting to his having been in fact
deceived and betrayed, he commenced speaking to me confidentially,
and told me in substance:
" The Signor Ridolfo Pama disappeared from Venice last July, in
consequence of failure on the mart. One day unexpectedly he stood
before me and said, ' Villain, what art thou doing? ' I answered,
' God be praised, for that certain foolish people, who speaking about
you, said you had failed, lied by the throat. ' He asked me whether
I could go with him to Padua. I answered ' Yes; ' and we went there
with the gondola. He went about to one monastery and the other,
and came back to Venice; and returned in a Paduan boat which towed
the gondola, whither he took four girls of his into convents; and his
Sister di Gollardi and two . maid servants accompanied them. In
returning, we took up the Chaplain of the Nuns of Santa Giustina at

xt 56.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 165
la Mira, and came on merrily to Venice. It strikes me that the
Chaplain subsequently saved some of his property. He asked me whe
ther I would go to Loretto with him, and that he would moreover go
as far as Bitonto, I said ' yes, ' but that I must have a little money
at home. He said he had not got any, so I, who served a grocer with
my gondola, in order to pay it off, for it had been made at his cost,
took eighteen ducats from another gondolier, and made it over to him
for him to pay for. This money I left at home; and having taken
these clothes which are now on my back, I went to Poma; and at the
water entrance of his house, he embarked in a gondola by day three
or four little coffers, which I for my part thought was money he was
carrying away, and was that for which he had failed. Being thus two
oars, namely myself and Paulo de Santa Giustina, he said to us, ' I
don't choose to be seen getting into the gondola here at the entrance;
so while I go and look after the shallop on the Rio of S. Anna, do
you go and wait for me at the Fondamenta Nuova, and don't go away,
for I shall soon be there. ' * We waited as ordered; I became thirsty,
and would not go so far as my home, but sent to buy a little wine ;
then came Fra Michel Viti, and inquired for Poma, saying, ' Is uncle
come yet ? ' We told him ' no, ' and he got into the gondola to Wait
for him. " I have asked him whether Poma was really M. Fra Viti's
uncle; and he told me that he called him so, and that he knew nothing
further; and he continued: " Subsequently Poma came, with his usual
cloak wrapped up to his eyes, and said, ' Are you here my lads? '
" He got into the gondola desiring us to go towards the castle, and
said, ' I also will row a little, ' and having laid down his cloak and
a blunderbuss which he had himself fitted on the crutch, the second
astern, began rowing. We were at a very little distance from the
Fondamenta, and two men came up who also called out, ' Sir, take
us also. ' Poma made us return to the quay, and we brought them
off without any tumult of people, or any one. He made us go to the
cottage beyond the Certosa, apparently the edge of the lagoons at the
back of the Castle of S. Andrea, in fact on a strip of the Lido, across
which the murderers then made their way to the beach, where the
shallop was waiting for them, and they disembarked, and there on
shore they came towards us, the Signor Alessandro Parasio with the
1 The date of the conversation here detailed was October 5th, 1607. On the
evening of whieh day, about an hour before sunset, Poma and his accomplices
attacked Fra Paolo Sarpi at the bridge of S. Fosca, close to the Monastery of
the Servites. The Rio of S. Anna, which Poma mentions as a stand for shal
lops, 1607, continued such till very lately, and runs parallel to the public
gardens towards the land entry.

166 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1608.
crew of the shallop which was on the beach, and he had the effects
taken out of the gondola and carried overland to the shallop; and to
me, who chanced to be there, he gave a piece of forty soldi to take
the gondola to my house, but it was not mine. Having thus got on
board the shallop at sea, during the night we had almost a constant
calm, save on the fifth hour a little sirocco and swell, which soon
subsided, and at the first hour we made Goro, where Poma and Pa
rasio having disembarked desired us to go and wait for them at Ra
venna, and he took horses and went away with the said Parasio, I
believe to Padua, for they afterwards returned to Ravenna, bringing
the lad, the said Poma's son, who was certainly at Padua, and another
lad, his nephew, named Carlo Gottardo, his sister's son, who was like
wise at Padua. On the same day after they had ridden off, whilst
steering our course to Ravenna, all went to sleep, except a boy who
was at the helm, the sail being hoisted in a calm; and hard by were
the boats of the Lord Chiefs of the Ten the which, had they boarded
us, tye should all have been taken napping. At Ravenna, Father
Michael artfully, as I stated, after Poma was at the Fondamenta Nuo-
va, said Pasqual di Bitonto, and Zuane di Fiorenza should all three
sleep on shore, I believe because he expected us to learn there some
news of the assassination they had committed at Venice, and he was
afraid, and thus did it turn out; for an estafette which reached that
city divulged the fact, so I began lamenting and complaining to the
priest that I had been sacrificed, and he swore as a priest, and vowed
by the consecration of his person, that it was not true. However, one
night he went off, together with the others with the shallop without
saying a word to us, and left us there on shore, and hearing that he
was gone to Ravenna we likewise proceeded thither with fresh la
mentations and complaints, for we heard say besides that we should
all be quartered and quite lost. I had thrown myself down on the
ground there, under a portico, crying and hollowing with all my might,
one Vincencetto of the castle, a Venetian, who came up by chance
put us up to carrying off the priest to Venice with the shallop,
saying that we should be set at liberty, and get four thousand ducats
reward, and he had so well persuaded us that believing we should do
thus he went to Venice to say we were going there; but the priest
secured himself by taking the effects ashore to the governor of the
city, and observed great caution, and subsequently Poma arrived with
Parasio, and the two lads aforesaid in a carriage, and having paid the
crew of the shallop twenty six livres each, left them there, whereat
they complained and stormed dreadfully, and he merely took me and
Paulo with the carriage to Ancona, where the whole being discovered,

xt. 56.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 167
Poma said to me, 'Never fear, for as is my lot so shall be thine, if
thou art outlawed, I'll buy thee a commutation. ' One day in Ancona,
whilst walking about, I met one Roberto Fiamengo, a red-haired man,
Poma's servant, who was coming along on horseback, he is my chum,
or gossip, and when he saw me he complained, saying to me, ' Thou'rt
here, gossip, thee too, they ruin thee too ! ' and he told me that Poma
had left him last summer here in Rome, in the house of one Ales
sandro Franceschi, a Venetian, and that the said Franceschi had given
him the horse and money for him to come immediately to Venice by
Ancona to his master Poma, to convey to him a letter which this
Alessandro Franceschi had given him to receive a thousand ducats
here in Ancona, given him by the Pope, and so through this letter the
said Poma had the money which was paid him by Girolamo Scalla-
monti, the Pope's agent in Ancona, and he is moreover having the
walls of that city repaired, and he gave it him in high time, for he
had not a farthing. We then went to Loretto, and whilst I was in the
Church of our Lady, taking the communion they planted me, and all
went away without saying anything to me.
" So remaining as if lost I returned to Ancona, and first gained my live
lihood by fishing for oysters, and then coasting along that shore as far as
the Albruzzo in a Chioggian vessel, in like manner as the other boatmen
maintained themselves. I heard that Poma was at Rome; I wrote to him
to ask for what belonged to me, for he had engaged me at the rate of forty
soldi per diem, and my board. He sent me two letters in reply, and said
he would send me money, but I have never seen anything. There are the
letters, and he shewed me two, one dated 12th December from the Cam-
pagna of Rome, the other from Paliano, dated the 20th of January, where
by he exhorts him in kind terms to go and present himself at Venice,
that he will not forget him, and this is the substance of the said letters,
telling him not to come to Rome by any means as it would be bad for all.
He in like manner showed me a letter sent him by his wife, with the copy
of his sentence, which is the same one had here at the palace, and that was
opened and read, but he suspects Poma of having forged it in order to
make him so much the more easily determine to go to Venice. He then
added, latterly at Ruanati, I heard that on the 13th of January, Alessan
dro Parasio had been put in prison here in Rome (8th January, Despatch
106), and that Poma was made warder of Perugia, so seeing that he had
said he would send me money, but never remitted any to me, I resolved
on coming here, together with Tomeo di Zanon, the master of the shal
lop. We arrived here on Ash Wednesday, and went hunting for Poma,
Parasio, Poma's servant, or some one of them; nor have we been able to
find them. But we have heard that one Zan Antonio Gottardo, the ne-

168 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1608.
phew, and Zan Battista, the son of Poma, are come to Bitonto, but we
cannot get a sight of any of them, we believe they hide themselves, and
the other day there came a young man well dressed as a priest, who told
us that if we were looking for Poma that he was gone to Naples to collect
certain monies of his, but that he would cause us to receive some alms to
furnish me with the means of going to Venice, as I have the advantage of
being able to present myself, and to the master of the shallop, who lacks
this privilege, that he may go to Bitonto, where the means of support will
not fail him, and he warned us not to show ourselves here to the ambas
sador, who would give us a good dressing. We asked him his name; he
said it was Fulvio Spermato, and that he lived with the Cardinal Bevi-
lacqua, but he does not reside there, this name is not known. I keep think-
i ig he may be that Alessandre de Franceschi; he is a tidy, dark youth. I
think 'tis so, but I don't know him. We have met-him twice or thrice in
the street, and he wanted us to go on Friday to the palace at S. Peter's,
and I know not for what purpose he did not choose to go. The arrange
ment was for us to be there after dinner, but we did not go. We mean for
a certainty to discover this Poma, and be paid. Were I to go to Venice, I
imagine that my poor wife will have sold and pawned all I have in the
world to support the children, and I should but go to die with them of
want. I keep thinking of going in preference to Leghorn, and of serving
on board the Grand Duke's vessels. '' This is what he said to me, and as
he is a man in his prime, and of very fine stature, I dissuaded him to the
utmost from the thought of going to Leghorn, exhorting him not to lose
the opportunity of presenting himself at Venice, where he will at all
events be at home, and should he allow this opportunity to escape he
might possibly sigh for it in vain all the rest of his life, without being
able again to see his children and his home; and with the tears in his
eyes he concluded by saying that he would try whether he could rescue
anything out of the hands of those men, and having arranged to come to
me to report what befell him, he departed. "
" On the 26th of February, the aforesaid having returned at the usual
hour to me, my secretary added to me in substance that Poma's servant,
named Roberto, was in the palace of the Cardinal Colonna. He yesterday
kept walking in its neighbourhood such a length of time that he met
him, and after the said Roberto had complained of being himself likewise
ruined, saying that Poma and the others had fled hence, and that Ales
sandro Parasio had been imprisoned for his talk, and that he did not know
what had become of him, he informed him as a secret, that Andrea Enici,
a Genoese, late agent for Poma in Venice, was reading there in the palace,
and that he ought to go and speak to him; and whilst talking with the
servant, on sai sing his eyes, he saw at a window of the palace of the said

xt. 56.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 169
Cardinal Colonna, Gio. Battista Poma, Ridolfo's son, whom he knows
very well, and having quitted the servant and gone upstairs to the rooms
pointed out to him as those of the said Enici, he found there Paulo of
St. Giustina the boatman, and spoke with Andrea Enici, who likewise
stating that Poma was not there, answered him in reply to his demands
for payment, that he does not know what to do. He afterwards met in
the street near there the priest called Fulvio Spironati, who apologised for
not having shown himself on account of the rain that has fallen these
past two days, and made an appointment for him to meet him in the
evening when he would place him for four or six days, until some other
arrangement could be made, in a room where he would be boarded by a
certain woman, and that thus would he do out of charity, and for love of
the Signor Gio. Battista, for that he does not know the Signor Ridolfo.
He went that evening as ordered, but the priest never came, so having
returned to-day to speak to Enici he desired him to come again to-morrow
at dinner-time, and that he will give him the means for betaking himself
to Venice; and he says he considers it certain that that priest who spoke
to him does not bear the name of Fulvio, for when he mentioned him to
Enici he did not understand him, but subsequently appeared to compre
hend, which Matteo having recounted to me the details aforesaid, departed,
saying that he will go to-morrow as ordered and will come and tell me
the whole, adding in the act of departure that he had forgot to tell me
that one Lodovico who rowed in the shallop, and was outlawed at Ancona,
immediately on reaching that city, notwithstanding his outlawry, walked
about, and freely frequented every place. " Nothing need be added to this
prolix testimony unless it be that of Thomas de Zanon i who was seen
walking and talking openly in the gallery of the Vatican with the Vene
tian priest Franceschi. Zanon alledged that he had come from Leghorn in
a Florentine vessel; but he betrayed himself by complaining that he was
still unrewarded, and at last confessed that he " was the master of the
shallop in which Poma had escaped from Venice. " He affirmed that Mat
teo, the gondolier, knew all, and when Poma got into the gondola at the
Fondamenta Nuova when driven by the populace, and Matteo asked him
whether he had done the business? Poma urged him to row, saying ' Woe
to us, we shall all be quartered, ' and Matteo answered ' Never fear, sir, as
long as you see me. ' Zanon was left with the shallop; and Matteo, on whom
Zanon cast unmeasured blame, came to Rome to see what he could get. "
It is apparent from this long but important document, that description of
spies and remarks on the Pope's unwearied complaint of the theologians
filled a considerable portion of the ambassador's letters, and it is only
I All from the MSS. Contarini, 20th February 1608.

170 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1608.
wonderful that he was able to steer his course through such a labyrinth of
difficulty. While his defender was thus engaged at Rome, Fra Paolo pursued the
even tenor of his way, strong in the conviction that although his life was
hourly in danger, and there were other machinations against him, unless
by the will of God not a hair of his head would be injured. He held the opi
nion of Saint Augustine as to God being the Disposer and Controller of all
events, and although he knew that not many paces from the Convent door,
lay men ready to seize him he lived in peace, and in patience possessed his
soul. He still suffered much pain in his face consequent upon his wound,
and he felt his eyesight so much affected, that he could scarcely look
stedfastly on any object. He was obliged to wear spectacles while reading.
but happily he could avail himself of his knowledge as an optician in his
need, and he does not appear to have relaxed at all in his studies. But af
fairs of greater moment than his bodily ailments now began to engross
his attention, and the Spanish fleet which was armed with 20,000 men,
could not cruise in the Mediterranean without exciting public uneasiness.
This, however, Sarpi tried to allay, believing the armament was merely a
demonstration of strength: he was more occupied by severe disappointments
since the raising of the Interdict, one of which was, that Casanbon had not
been rewarded for his services to the Republic. Much as the Senators had
done for the security of Fra Paolo, they did more, they provided him with
means to pay a person always to accompany him, and not only increased
his salary, but decided that the public should pay for a house in Saint
Mark's where he could live in safety. But the Father was determined not
to change his abode, and entreated to be allowed to reside in the Convent
with the friars with whom he had lived so long, declaring that he should
never be able to live in any other manner, that being his vocation, in this
he was gratified, except that the Senate erected some small buildings
adjoining his chamber, from which by a little corridor and staircase he
would enter a boat, so that when he had occasion to return to the Convent
by night he might not be exposed to treachery. He was thus necessarily
obliged to make some change as to his expenses, although he did not spend
more than was absolutely needful, in no way abating the rigor of his po
verty as a friar, content with his simple food and clothing. But after
the attempt on his life he was obliged not to walk from the Servi, because
it being necessary for him to pass' through alleys which afforded an op
portunity to any one who wished to assassinate him. During the sixteen
following years he went in his gondola from his Convent to the Rialto, land
ed there, and then through the Merceria to S. Mark's, merely for daily
exercise that he might not lose the habit of walking altogether, and he found
it necessary to have two companions, one as his servant, the other as his

xt. 56.J FRA PAOLO SARPI 171
amanuensis, Fra Marco to whom he gave twelve hundred ducats, and fifty
ducats per annum, and to Fra Marino three hundred which he placed in
the bank for him at ten per cent, that he might not only have a living, but
also forty ducats per annum, and he increased his gifts of bread and wine
to the convent, and also to the cooks, to one of whom he gave sixty ducats
per annum. These gifts were made from prudential causes in self defence,
they conciliated many, as well as made them interested in the preservation
of his life, but with these expenses he could no longer persist in his deter
mination not to receive the stipend assigned to him by the public munifi
cence. He was obliged to make a great change in his reception of strangers.
He never conversed with any one but in his own chamber in the convent
or in the church, in the choir, when coming to service or to the refectory
to meals. His life was that of a hermit, he was solitary so far as his pub
lic duties permitted; his world was his poor cell, and the little path be
tween the Rialto and S. Marks, and Fulgenzio, having repeated that
his time was still divided between his devotion, uninterrupted study,
and his public duties, concludes with this rare encomium. " His life was
a singular combination of activity and contemplation, giving to God what
he could, to his prince that which was due to him, and to his neighbour
more than he ought by any other laws than those of charity. " '
The generous acts of the Doge and Senate during his sufferings drew
from Paolo a letter of deep gratitude, and while the government had been
bountiful to himself, the services of the physicians were not left unrequi
ted. Together with thanks and a silver cup graven with the arms of S. Mark,
Acquapendente was rewarded by a rich collar and medal, and was created
Cavaliere. Vedova received forty ducats, and Comino twenty.
After the Interdict, Fulgenzio enters into little minutise, and the writer
has therefore had recourse to various of the MS. letters of Paolo Sarpi as
well as others proved authentic, and as they elucidate his life, passages
from them are here quoted. The reader can easily imagine him engaged
in letter writing, seating a few moments from his daily toil to breathe
awhile more freely in the society of his friends, either by his own pen, or
that of Marino one of his amanuenses.
So highly were the letters of Fra Paolo esteemed by the learned, that
many copies and translation of them are known to have been taken. Tbe
annexed is a transcript of a copy of a letter addressed by him to the AbbS
Medard, and was written first in Latin, translated into French, then
into English, and deemed worthy of preservation by the Archbishop Usher.
" The advertisements which yours of the 18th of June doth give me
concerning the means whereby the most Christian King doth recover his

IMS.

172 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1608.
domains were most acceptable to me. I have also a great desire to under
stand when there happeneth any singular and remarkable sentence in the
court of parliament on ecclesiastical matters. It seems to me an endeavour
worthy of yourself to employ your leisure time in the study of divinity
and of the ecclesiastical history, for which I do hold you so well prepared
that you have no need to be directed by any soever, much less by me;
yet I will not omit to obey you, in writing my opinion what is the course
that a man of sincere affections should hold therein. And to begin with
the schoolmen wherein you particularly do require me, I shall tell you that
one had need to beware of those writers that do give their resolutions too
like magistrates with a Respondendum and Dicendum, as if they were ar
bitrators; and rather to read them which deliver their opinions with
reservation, and in matters not decided do not play the pedant over others.
The University of Paris hath much need to apply themselves to the best
judgments that did spring up amongst them, and the last that offered him
self was William Oceam, whom, if you lay bis barbarism aside, you will
find a judicious writer. I have still esteemed him above all the schoolmen.
His work upon the sentences doth render the conceit of him that reads
him quick and fit to judge.
" His dialogues which pass from the speculative matters to the more
pratical and in use, are much esteemed where they are permitted to be
read. Gerson teacheth well that which he teacheth, but he did not pro
pound to himself to treat of the whole subject. S. Thomas is current among
the Jesuits as a writer very easy, and who doth not entangle the mind of
the reader with doubts, but resolves indeed too much. If you resolve to
read him, it will be good very punctually to examine his Sorites, for so
are almost all his proofs, and he is in the number of those that I named
first. If you read the controversies that do at this present exercise the
world, you will do well to bear in mind that the writers do all of them
exceed in affection to their own side, and do accommodate matters to their
own taste, and in the ancient writers do not see that which is there, but
that which they desire. And therefore it is necessary to use them with
that caution that a good judge should use, not to pronounce till both par
ties be heard. As for the means to get the understanding of the ecclesias
tical history, it will be necessary to put into your head a chronology of
all the princes and famous men that have been in the world; all of them
distinguished in their times and countries.
" In the reading of the Historiographer be very wary, because for
the most part they are interested on the one hand or on the other when
they treat of any controversy. The most sincere authors are the English,
Paris, Hovedon, Walsingham. The most sincere and faithful history is to
be drawn out of the fathers and other writers of every time.

xt. 56.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 173
Above all it is necessary in reading to bear a neutral affection, and
not to suffer that which you find in one author, to take so deep in you that
it may not give place to the truth or greater probability which you may
find afterwards.
" But according to my judgment, to give a general and infallible rule
for all the difficulties that may occur in the process of your studies, I take
it to be best to consult with the Jesuits, and to resolve the clean contrary
of what they say.
" There remaineth, you say, the Parliament for a bank to keep them
from overflowing; but I still see the water to increase and the earth of
the bank to diminish, which puts me in great doubt. We indeed are free
from their persons, but not from their vexations or ambushes. I know not
whether mischief to be the greater, that which they do being absent, or
that which they do being present. I begin to believe for that which now
I see, that they have been re-accepted in France to free that kingdom
from greater mischief, which they did in their absence, and peradventure
I am not deceived.
" Your worship doth esteem me more than is fitting, in thinking that
the Jesuits have any thought of me. Assure yourself that I am not high
enough to be stricken with such a lightning, unless they were (whereof I
doubt) in the number of those curious men that do not overstep, no, not
the least matters.
" However it be, every one is subject unto danger, only it rests to rely
ourselves on God, on these things whereunto no human caution can
arrive. " I beseech your lordship to make me partaker sometimes of your let
ters, whom you will oblige thereby. You will not be obliged to write
Italian, because, however I answer you in my language, yet it is to me in
different to send yours in this or in French. Our Lord God give your
lordship all happiness, whose hands I reverently kiss. " F. Paolo.
" From Venice, this 20th July, 1608. "
It has been denied, but it cannot be disproved, that after, as during the
time of the Interdict, there was a strong inclination on the part of many
Venetians to disentangle themselves from some of the innovations of the
Jesuits and other modern teachers of the Church of Rome; they wished
more liberty of conscience, they purchased the Italian Bible whenever they
had opportunity, they desired their Church to be less fettered and looked
for its return to its ancient usage : they were attracted by and interested
in the sermons of Fra Paolo, the two Fulgenzios, Marsilio and the other

174 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1608.
theologians, " the seven. " They had greedily perused the writings du
ring the Interdict; these had exposed much that required to be known,
and intelligent minds discovered that there was not that impassable gulf
between the Church of Rome and the Church of Rome Reformed, as was
alleged, and they said, as did Fra Paolo, that there were many observan
ces and abuses of the Church of Rome which only belonged to ignorance.
Their affections were touched by the magnitude of the love of the Saviour,
and as this, Paolo tells us, was the theme on which the preachers dwelt,
it is not marvellous what he relates of the numbers who hung on the lips
of Fulgenzio Micanzio.
Those who have listened to the impassioned language of the priests of
Italy to a throng of worshippers, can best picture to themselves Fra Paolo,
or Fra Fulgenzio with all the bold eloquence of truth, addressing the
hearts and understandings of the crowd who were loyal to their prince and
had shown themselves willing to follow him in his recent protest against
Rome. It is a well authenticated fact, on one occasion when preaching
from the words of the Holy Saviour to the Jews. " Have ye not read? ' "
Fra Fulgenzio added, " If the Saviour were now to ask the question
' Have ye not read ? ' all the answer yon could make would be ' No, we
are forbidden to do so. ' " And it is a fact equally well vouched for, that
when the Church resounded with the same demand that Pontius Pilate
the Roman Governor made to the Holy Saviour, " What is truth? " Fra
Fulgenzio took a New Testament from his pocket and told his auditors
that after long search he had found it there. He held the precious
volume up with outstretched hands in the sight of all, " But, " he exclaimed
as he returned the book to its place, " the book is prohibited ! " The
effect of these words can scarcely he described, they stirred the assembly
to its depths, Fra Paolo and Fulgenzio were of the same opinion as the
learned Brucciolo, who told the Duke af Tuscany " that the reading
of the Holy Scriptures was of all means that most calculated to make his
people devout men and dutiful subjects. " There can can be no doubt but
that at the time and after the Interdict many copies of the Holy Scrip
tures' entered Venice, a but these volumes were soon strictly prohibited :
the adherents of Rome prevented their entrance, and the people were
forced to be content with the portions of Holy Writ contained in their
books of common prayer.
An associate of Fra Paolo, the Secretary of Sir Henry Wotton, who
must have had full opportunity of judging of the truth of the above
statements thus expresses himself.

i S. Matt, xn, 3.
a Edition of the Bible (Diodati) 1607

*r. 56.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 175
" Venice is like a new world ; it is the greatest consolation to find
oneself in companies and assemblies at the houses of the nobles, and
to hear them speak with so much piety and zeal of the truth of God
with those good men Father Paolo, Fulgenzio and Bedell, the Chaplain
of the Ambassador. The sermons in public are as good as could be
preached in Geneva, and they are delivered with so much earnestness,
that crowds flock to hear them, and it is necessary to go very early
to be in time to get a place. The Inquisition is kept under by a
Senator who is a member of it, and without whose voice nothing can
be decided. He is always chosen from the greatest opponents of the
Pope. The vehemence against the Pope and Court is greater than ever.
The Jesuits are denounced from the pulpit, their doctrines refuted and
denied, and they mortally disliked; many of the nobles have provided
themselves with tutors of the reformed religion. Three fourths of the
nobility are much attached to the truth and the rest favorably in
clined. " *
Here may be seen what reform within the Church of Rome can do.
Not only the nobles but the citizens and people heard Fra Paolo 'and
Fulgenzio gladly. The dislike of the Jesuits grew the stronger be
cause they still endeavored to harass Venetia, and therefore it was not
malice but love of his country that still stimulated Fra Paolo against
them, he was particularly shocked by one of their writings sent to
him from France, and boldly sajjs, ' such things would not be endured
in Italy. ' Since their banishment he knew that they were secretly oc
cupied against Church and State, and they were not so much feared
as they had been, which he regretted. Next to religion, the most
prominent topic in Fra Paolo's correspondence is freedom, he was
gratified by M. Gillot's interest in the liberty of the Church. " I will
not say, " he writes, " of the Gallican, but of the Universal Church,
and perhaps in this age God wills by a milder' method than that
adopted in the last to annihilate tyranny. A foundation was then
attempted to be laid but it was incomplete, who knows but this may
succeed better? If God blesses the work we may have hope. "
The familiar nature of Sarpi's correspondence is thus expressed by
himself, " I write to you without taking much account of what I say,
as if I spoke to you, but such is my habit, because familiar letters
ought to be the dictate of the heart without affectation. " 2
In a letter without date, but evidently prior to this period, he
remarks that Fra Fulgenzio Manfredi had left Venice for Rome. " He
1 Geneva, Aug. 10, 1608. Mem. Du Mornay, vol. x. p. 160.
2 M. Groslot, Sep. 3, 1608.

176 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1608.
had been seduced by emissaries of the Pope, and had yielded after
two years persecution; had been provided with a safe conduct, from
the Nunoio at Venice, had gone through the patrimony of the Church,
and had been met and congratulated on his way. On his arrival he
was maintained, provided with three servants by the Pope, and receiv
ed in audience, while the General of the Jesuits was kept waiting for
two hours. " But Sarpi knew how to estimate these passing honors.
" What will come of this, time will show, but possibly it will be seen
hereafter, that he who is believed by some to be infallible, may be
so in this also. " He also knew that Manfredi could not give any in
formation to the Court of Rome that would injure the Republic, and
" it was the common opinion that his life would be short. " i
About this time " command had been given to Michael Viti and
Parasio, " both Sarpi's assassins, to leave Rome, and the latter was
imprisoned a second time at Ancona. " I am very cautious, " Sarpi
writes, " more to defeat their wishes, than for any esteem I have of
myself. The Court of Rome and the Head of it have not forgotten
that we would not acknowledge his omnipotence which is the greatest
sin that can be committed against them. They long for revenge and
they spare neither pains or trouble to return to the old way. " 2
For the most part his correspondence, like the niind of Sarpi, was
cheerful, he looked on events with the eye of one who referred all to
the allwise and almighty Ruler of the universe, he did not pretend to
fathoni mysteries, to foretell future events or to question the right of
God to do what and as he willed, his great intellect bowed to the
Divine with childlike submission. His letters are filled with short but
devout aspirations of trust in God; in seeing impiety successful he
betrays no surprise, only observing, " It is what is predicted by the
Holy Spirit, and is for the fulfilment of holy prophecy. We ought to
compassionate one that is blind, unless he is wilfully so. I have
always observed that nothing more precipitates danger than too great
avoidance of it. "
Here Sarpi evidently alludes to the constant warnings of his friends
to beware of danger as he continues, after observing that affairs at
Venice went very ill, "But I am too much occupied with a certain
conceit of others to take care of myself, because I trust wholly to
God, except when the discourse of others forces me to think of it. It
is a strange thing that they still try to seize me even in my own
chamber... Fifteen days since some one went into the Colonna palace
i Sep. 30, 1608. Sarpi to M. Groslot.
a Appendix.

xt. 55.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 177
to apprehend Poma. He defended himself by killing one of the sbirri,
and wounding others; he was wounded in the body as also his son:
they are now in prison. I do not comprehend these mysterious doings,
there must be some hidden art in them which I do not understand. "
This is his only comment.
The Court of Rome had determined that the works of Baronius
should be defended; this was contrary to Sarpi's strictures on the
Cardinal's work, and he was grieved to see Italy largely supplied with
pamphlets full of untruth. Afraid of their works being prohibited,
their authors published them as if written on another subject than that
of which they treated.
He had perused the King of Great Britain's answer to Bellarmine,
and takes notice of the Catalogue of the Jesuits in which are the
names of all their houses and colleges, those which they formerly pos
sessed in Venetia are marked thus, l and underneath is written, JVo-
tata nondum recuperate, sunt. " If they say this with a vow, " adds
Sarpi, " that they will return thither, they are very bold, but perhaps
God will be for us. I hope so. "
Whatever was the rage of Sarpi's enemies without, they could not
rob him of Heaven's high peace within. It might be he was troubled
by being asked to wear mail beneath his habit, this admits of ques
tion; besides, as he persevered at times in walking, the weight of
armor would have been great for his fragile body, and if he did wear
light armor, assuredly it would have been preserved with as jealous
care as the stiletto which Malpietro drew from his wound on the 5th
of October, which is still to be seen in the Giustinian Museum
Venice. ? Catalogus illustrium virorum Societatis Jesu.

178

CHAPTER IX.
a.d. 1609 — a.d. 1617.
Doge op Venice. M. A. Memmo. 1614. G. Bembo.
Sovereign of Germany. Rodolph II. 1612 Matthias.
Gkeat Britain. James I.
France. Henry IV. Louis XIII.
Spain. Philip III.
Turkey. Achmet I. 1617 Mustapha
Pope. Paul V.

Plots. - Manfredi. - Richer. - Public events. Complaints against Fra Paolo. -
Extracts from his Letters. - Marsilio. - History of the Uscochs. - Galileo. -
De Dominis.
Fra Paolo's enemies were not yet satisfied; they were, however, un
able to seize him as they still intended in the streets of Venice on
his way to the Palace. At last, they discovered that this could not be
attempted, as he never walked but in the most frequented parts of the
city, generally accompanied by Fra Fulgenzio or other friends, and so
remarked and saluted by the inhabitants that if any had dared to attack
him, their lives would have been instantly taken by the enraged multitude.
Fulgenzio's suspicions were, hoWever, aroused by a soldier who now
made his appearance, and beneath whose military garb it was suspected
that a priest was concealed; he made many attempts to converse with
Fra Paolo, but this was difficult, as no one was admitted without
first sending his name as well as information as to his country and
profession, and being introduced by one of the nobles or an intimate
friend. This man addressed Fulgenzio, " and endeavored to tell him
that he had business of great importance to communicate well worthy
of his attention; that he would lay down his arms, or submit to
whatever the Father would require, but he would not listen to him.
However, the soldier appeared to place confidence in Fulgenzio, and
proceeded to tell him that he was a near relative of Cardinal Baro-
nius. but had fallen into disgrace, that he wished to give the Father
information which regarded his personal safety, and that he was ready
to certify the truth of what he asserted. "

XT. 57.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 179
But when Fulgenzio only offered him money if he was in want,
the soldier exclaimed, " Beware of traitors, ye have need to do so.
God takes care of you who are better friars than others wish you were ! "
This said, he disappeared.
It did not transpire whether this soldier-priest had any communica
tion with Cardinal Bellarmine, or if it was to make Fra Paolo watch
against the same intended plot that he warned the friar, but the
instance about to be given of that Cardinal's true appreciation of his
old friend not only shows how his heart warmed towards him, but
demonstrates that in both there still remained virtue and Christian
charity. The Cardinal sent his salutations twice to the Father, once
by a Roman secular, who told him by the Cardinal's command to guard
himself securely , because there was urgent need for such caution, and
again by Testoni a Venetian, a Roman friar on his way to Mantua.
He was commissioned by Cardinal Bellarmine, who mentioned Paolo
by name, to salute the Father affectionately for him, to tell him that
he still retained his affection for him and to bid him note, that two
friars under the title of, " A life of the P. Paolo, " had written a libel
lous work which they had presented to Paul V, who had given it to
the Cardinal for examination in order to obtain his opinion of it,
with a view to its publication, but as the Cardinal knew the Father
well he told the Pope to believe that the work only contained notorious
calumnies, and their publication would only bring great dishonor on
the publisher.
Testoni told many such anecdotes to Fra Fulgenzio who observes
" that every kind of scandal both against his life and honor were
published, besides numerous libels to please the Court of Rome, but
the Father showed no sign of resentment or anger, one of his great
excellencies, and that which accompanied him to the tomb being his
gentleness, and all of his Order bore witness that they never heard
him seek revenge. " One of the authors was called P. Gioseffo, but
Fra Paolo, so far from returning evil for evil, although he knew the
author of the libel above mentioned, did not punish him but permitted
him to enjoy an honorable employment; however, after Fra Paolo's
death, these calumnies and other delinquencies were the cause of his
banishment from the dominions of Venetia, but such was Paolo's charity
that when he received the greatest wrong his expression of counte
nance was most serene, and he endeavored to extenuate the offence as much
as possible, usually saying, that such an one's brain was touched, and that
in his position, or for his own interest, he could not do otherwise. '
1 MS.

180 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1609.
It has been noticed that the Archdeacon Rubetti had been well received
at Rome; five hundred ducats per annum were immediately conferred upon
him by the Pope, the recipient declaring, " that he had defended the Re
public of Venice against his will ! " ' It is easy to conceive the mischief
that this ecclesiastic could, and did do against the Republic, he was one
of the seven who had put his name to writings in her favor, he was now
an informer against her.
The Court of Rome still continued to tamper with the Republic's defen
ders. " As to me, " writes Sarpi, " I not only believe, but I have daily
proof of the snares laid for me. I do all I can by way of caution, but
without either anxiety or solicitude. Without God no design can be ef
fected, whatever pleases Him best is for good. With this I am content.
They will gain nothing by taking my life, and through me they will find
greater opposition when I am dead than when I am alive. They have used
every means lately to gain the others both by promises and by threats. I
believe they will not gain any more from them than they have done. They
do not attempt to gain me; they say openly there is no hope of me but by
daggers. " 2 What a miserable life was Sarpi's in one sense, never to know
what it was to be safe from an assassin's thrust, and yet how he was to be
envied ! Tranquil amidst revengeful passions, forgiving to his greatest ene
mies, intrepid in the midst of danger, casting the veil of charity over the de
fects of those who had once been his friends, never swerving from the path
of honor although one of peril, but living a life of faith on the Son of God,
and listening to the holy solace which has emboldened the persecuted, "All
things are yours, whether life or death, or things present or things to come,
all are yours, for ye are Christ's and Christ is God's." The Senate of Ve
nice was not so forgiving, indeed public justice required that he, who had
once defended the Republic and now betrayed her, ought to be punished
at all events in some measure, and while the Archdeacon was publicly
proceeded against, the Senate showed their approval of Fra Paolo and his
fellow supporters, by awarding two hundred ducats to each of those who
had proved themselves the stedfast defenders, faithful servants, and loyal
subjects of the Republic.
But Fra Paolo would not accept the proffered gift, " lest it should be said
that he had defended the public for gain, " and there still remained in his
heart the cherished hope that better times would dawn upon his country,
and that " if he were not alive to serve it, others would. "
In a letter of this date he takes a rapid survey of various subjects, and
mentions that the Due de Sully had withdrawn from the Reformed Church,

» Letters (Sarpi) Marciana.
a Jan. 6, to M. Groslot 1609.

xt. 57.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 181
and attaohed himself to the communion of the Church of Rome. He adds,
" This is not true. " Sarpi had admired the Duke's conduct with regard
to the Jesuits, and does not appear to have ever expressed gratification on
hearing that any had quitted the Reformed, for this he has been censured.
Was it likely that he would when he desired reform in the Church of
Rome? He expressed approval of the confession of the Reformed Church
of France, especially of the 31st article, and observed " that the book would
survive whatever pains were taken for its suppression. " His tidings from
Rome augured ill for Fra Fulgenzio Manfredi. He had demanded a bis
hopric, which had been refused, he had resisted public penance, but the
Archdeacon consented to perform it, and was seen barefooted, bearing a
candle, and visiting the seven churches. Whilst these measures were
enacted at Rome, Matthias had assumed the monarchy of Hungary, and
Sarpi comments frequently on the confusion which the Jesuits had caused
by their intrigues in Spain, France, Switzerland, and England.
It may be tedious to the reader to be obliged to read of these dis
turbers of the peace of Europe so frequently as Sarpi mentions them,
but his biography cannot be written without a consecutive notice of
this body, of whom he was eager to obtain more knowledge. He had
studied Hosenmuller, but he had long been wishful to obtain the
Constitutions of the Jesuits, which were at last copied for him by
M. Castrine.
One might have supposed this body would have desisted from their
attempts to prejudice the Pope against Venetia, but he was still loud
in complaint against Fra Paolo and the Republic, and thus expressed
his opinion to the French Ambassador.
" The Venetians employ three or four theologians at their own
charge to write against the authority of the Popes, and when the
book which the Frere Paul wrote by their command was shewn
by us to several learned theologians , they discovered eight pas
sages which are palpably heretical; and we are informed by letters
from France, that many heretical books have been introduced into
Venice from Geneva. The Venetians think they derive great benefit
from the liberty they grant to all who inhabit their States, but they
do not reflect that by this means they introduce heresy. An ambas
sador from England, resident at Venice, is accompanied by a chaplain
who tampers with the nobles and citizens, and they spread the doctrines
of Luther and Calvin in such a manner that I believe, " concluded
the Pope, " this Republic which has always been Christian, is about to
bury herself in heresy. " '
i M. de Breves to H. M. Henry IV. Bib. Imp., MS.

182 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1609.
Such bitter feelings against Fra Paolo at Rome were but a prelude
of greater evil. The time had not yet passed away when mistaken men
thought they did good service to the Most High God by destroying his
faithful servant.
" In his youth the Cardinal Borghese had studied at Perugia, Where
Fra Bernardo had so ingratiated himself with him, that on the creation
of Borghese as Cardinal, Bernardo went to Rome in hopes of prefer
ment. This friar was acquainted with two others, Francesco and Anto
nio, and under pretext of study, the General of the Servites was
prevailed upon to send Francesco to Padua; and its vicinity to Venice
gave frequent opportunity to Francesco to visit Antonio who resided
at Fra Paolo's convent.
" Although these two friars were of the same province and had
long known each other, their intimacy was not agreeable to Paolo.
but he only expressed this in general terms to Antonio, who ap
parently withdrew from Francesco; though in reality they met pri
vately without the convent, but with permission. They, however, cor
responded, and Francesco's letters were sent to Antonio by a Jew, who
having carried a letter to the convent when Fra Antonio was from
home gave it to the porter who took it to P. Paolo, telling him ' that
he had made the Jew confess that this was a common occurrence, '
and as the Jews are not only far sighted but timid, this Jew told him
' that he wished to declare that he would not be the bearer of any
more letters, because he did not know the business that was so secret
between them. ' P. Paolo called for Fra Antonio and gave him the
letters, but he charged him to break off all intercourse with Francesco
on pain of dismissal from his service. Fra Antonio endeavored to excuse
himself and turned the whole affair into ridicule, merely observing
that the only reason of his intimacy with Francesco was to get a
good dinner from him. Fra Antonio was believed to be more simple
than wicked, yet although forbidden to correspond the two friars
continued to do so privately, and also held a long conversation in the
vestry of the Servi. At parting, being too much engrossed in earnest
conversation to be conscious of what he did, Fra Francesco pulled a
parcel of soft wax out of his hose, with which it was intended to
take the impression of some keys, and from this impression false keys
were to be made. The wax had adhered to a small packet of letters;
Fra Francesco gave the wax into the hands of Fra Antonio, but unper-
ceived the packet of letters fell to the ground. The friars separated,
the one to his cell in the Servi, the other went his way.
>" The Sacristan picked up the letters and carried them immediately
to Fra Fulgenzio Micanzio, who on reading them found them to be

xt 57.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 183
written in cypher, and on business of great importance. Fra Bernardo
had written to Francesco to solicit Fra Antonio to dispatch Paolo and
Fulgenzio at the Quadragesimale, ' that 500 scudi were ready and in
hand, and' that 12,000 and more were secure. In each letter he said
that he had spoken with the Holy Father and with the Fratello etc.,
and that all were anxiously awaiting the Quadragesimale, that the
Father General of the Servites entreated him not to doubt but that
he would be beatified, that the Holy Father had made all retire to
give him audience, with many similar particulars. These letters were
shown to P. Paolo by Fra Fulgenzio, but such was his meek self-
command, that he advised Fra Fulgenzio not to move in the matter,
but to keep silence, till all was more clearly discovered. But Fra
Fulgenzio had resolved otherwise, and without saying more, carried
the letters, eight in number, to the Most Excellent Inquisitor of State
whom he informed how he had obtained them. Francesco, and soon
after Antonio were seized, and what followed remains secret in the
Archives of the State, but it was publicly known that of the six
persons named in the letter by cypher, Fathers, Friars and Cousins,
except the General of the Servi, there was not one below the degree of
a Cardinal. "
" The orders were, at the Quadragesimale: 1° To stab P. Paolo
with a razor; 2° That something should be sent from Rome to put in his
food or in what he drank, and that thus with one bean they might
catch two pigeons (P. Paolo and Fulgenzio). But it was extremely
difficult, to administer poison to Paolo, on account of the great care
which was taken as to his food, as some bruicellato had been eaten in
the convent which caused illness.
" The third and most likely way to make away with P. Paolo ap
peared to these conspirators to be, that Fra Antonio should take the
impression of the keys of his cell with the wax above referred to,
that he should have false keys made from the impression, and that
Francesco, in the still hour of the night, should bring in secretly two
or three ruffians to murder the innocent P. Paolo. But God revealed
this infamous plot, and as the excellent Council of Ten wished to
ascertain the origin of this transaction, they gave sentence that if
Francesco did not communicate all he knew by a certain date, he
would be hanged. If he confessed the whole, he was to be imprisoned
for twelve months, and then suffer perpetual banishment from Venetia.
Upon this, Francesco requested that search might be made in his
room at Padua, by a public functionary, where a large number of
1 Lent fast, also course of sermons preached during Lent.

184 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1609.
letters in cypher and counter cypher were discovered concealed in a
cabinet, where all the above was clearly proved, as well as what the
government thought fit to conceal. '' '
But lest Fra Fulgenzio be charged with exaggeration of this plot
against Fra Paolo Sarpi, will the reader permit a further corroboration
of these facts from Fra Francesco Gio. Gratiani's own pen, although
it involves some repetition? Throughout a MS. letter to Pope Paul V,
Francesco calls himself " Fra Gio. " He tells of his reception of a let
ter from Rome from Fra Bernardo of Perugia in the service of the
Cardinal Borghese; of his being asked to go to Venice to ascertain
from Antonio (Fra Paolo's secretary), if Fra Paolo was writing a
history of the Popes, as also of his being desired to advise Antonio
to leave- Paolo's service.
These injunctions he says he obeyed, and easily got access to Fra
Antonio, as he had formerly known him, and found many volumes in
his Cell of a pernicious nature, and specially notes, " Confessioni della
fede di alcune Chiese sparse in Francia, et in altre parti del mondo, "
and that there were also many other heretical books shown to him by
Fra Antonio, who at first appeared afraid, but afterwards promised to
send some of the books to Fra Gio, and also to go to Padua to pass
eight or ten days with Fra Antonio, and confided to Fra Gio that
the great aim of Sarpi was to deal a good blow to the Popes of
Rome, and to show that all the troubles in the Church came into it
by the Popes.
Fra Gio also relates, that he immediately communicated with Fra
Bernardo at Rome, and sent him the title of Fra Paolo's book, telling
him that it had been taken from Fra Antonio's table, and continues,
" One morning, after he had celebrated mass, I took him to S. Giu
stina, to the chapel of the blessed Virgin, into a remote secret place,
and reasoned with him in this manner: ' Fra Antonio, I wish to tell
you something very important, but before I tell you, you must swear
on the holy stone before the blessed Virgin. '
" Fra Antonio swore that he would not tell one living person. I
said, this negotiation was for the honour of God, for the good of our
holy Christian religion and of our Order; that I understood that they
wished to have some of the writings of Fra Paolo at Rome, and to
see under his hands his writings against the Roman pontiffs, and
that doing this would do honour to God, and to the Catholic religion.
And I showed him the said letter from Rome, and the intentions
of your Holiness, and of the Cardinal Borghese. Fra Antonio on
» MS.

xt. 57.J FRA PAOLO SARPI 185
seeing this letter, conceived high hopes of temporal weal, " and Fra
Gio states, " that towards two o'clock in the morning they consorted
how to steal the writings of Fra Paolo, and that on that occasion Fra
Antonio said, ' Fra Gio Francesco, I wish to tell you an important
matter, ' and then in lengthy phrase he related, how he had once
been asked to kill Fra Paolo ; that he then could not imbrue his hands
in his blood, but he expressed himself now willing to rid the world
both of Fra Paolo and Fra Fulgenzio, if Bernardo would send the
poison from Rome. "
He added, " that nothing was easier than to poison them, as they
dined together after the other friars had dined. Upon Fra Antonio
saying, that, he would write to Bernardo on this subject, Fra Gio
said he would write first, and expressed a wish to have a copy of
the heretical book. "
The day after, Fra Antonio returned to Venice, and Fra] Gio rose
early for matins and left the lamp burning. When he returned, Fra
Antonio had written and sealed his letter. Fra Gio opened it and read
it, and judging that its contents were not sufficiently obscure, he told
him so. On this Fra Antonio wrote him a second letter and sent it
to Rome, but other letters passed, and there is an acknowledgment
of 10 scudi. At length it occurred to Fra Antonio that it would be a
good plan if he took an impression of the keys of the room of Fra
Paolo, and it would thus be an easy matter to effect his death, and
on this being written to Rome, there came an answer to say, that
" this was the easiest and most approved way. "
Fra Gio further relates, that soon after this the impression of the
keys was taken by Fra Antonio, he intending to go afterwards to
Ferrara to have the keys made. He further promised to get some
leaves of Fra Paolo's books. Fra Gio mixed the wax and turpentine
wherewith the impression was to be made; but it was ill melted. The
reader knows the result. It was not the will of heaven that the world
should be defrauded of the writings of Fra Paolo Sarpi, and in place
of Fra Gio and Fra Antonio sending them to Rome to be committed
to the flames, and the whole body of the astonished Servi standing
around the murdered Fra Paolo, the Doge and Senate bewailing the
irreparable loss of their theologian and counsellor, just retribution over
took the deluded friar. At two o'clock, Fra Gio, when at Maria d'A-
bramo, Piazzo di S. Marco, was seized by the sbirri, dragged to prison,
and shortly after examined before three nobles who, according to the
laws of Venice, were present at this inquisitorial inquiry, and was
charged with taking the impression of the keys of the Fra Paolo Sarpi,
This these judges had learned from the letters which had been found.

186 THE LIFE OF [a d. 1609
Fra Gio laid the whole blame upon Fra Antonio, who was likewise
in prison, and from his living tomb Fra Gio complains to the Pope
of his treatment as he stood before his judges. '
Fra Fulgenzio acted wisely in giving information to the State against
Francesco, as it is certain that if he and Antonio had been at large they
would soon have found means to destroy both Fulgenzio and Fra Paolo
But what did Fra Paolo ? Did he seize a dagger and wound his foes to
death? Did he mingle a cup of poison, and brood over the deadly potion till
he bore it to the hands which had been outstretched against him ? Did he
feign himself their deliverer, and wile them to the waters around them
there to plunge them to their grave? No! The wronged, the oftstricken but
noble hearted Servite stooped to no such revenge, to his inmost soul yet
thrilled the heavenly tones of the Immaculate One, who in his agony and
death besought Heaven's forgiveness for his murderers, and never was
Paolo so truly great, so deservedly worthy of praise, so endeared to all who
loved him, as when he threw himself on his knees before the Senate and
asked forgiveness of his bitterest enemies.
Yet it is easy to perceive that Fra Paolo was grieved that friars of
his own Order had sought to do him wrong, but he did not relinquish
his task, he persevered in dictating his works, or in correcting them
with his own hand, and all who esteemed and venerated him were still
more careful of him than they had been prior to this conspiracy. No go
vernment ever took more sedulous care of the life of a public servant
than did the Doge and Senate of Fra Paolo Sarpi; but he especially
acknowledged the Higher Power that had saved him from destruction.
" I have escaped, " he writes, " another great conspiracy against my
life even the servants of my room have had a hand in it. It pleased
God to frustrate their designs, but I am greatly afflicted that men
should be imprisoned on my account. Life is little pleasing to me
when I see such difficulty in preserving it. " He continues his letter
with a few notes on public events, intermingled with remarks on a pub
lication which had interested him. He makes various comments on
Fra Fulgenzio Micanzio's sermons, and from other MSS. it is certain
that Fra Paolo continued to preach as he had formerly done; the fol
lowing epistle is interesting.
" I did not receive the packet from M. Castrine, which brought
yours of the 17th March inclosed, till the day after the courier went
away, this day fortnight, though I have letters from different friends

I The above, with many other details, is in a MS. purporting to have been
actually written by the infamous Fra Gio F. Gratiani. The MS. is authentic,
and it is believed never to have been printed.

xt. 57.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 187
within that time. I do not know how that packet came to suoh ill
fortune. This was the reason I did not write to you by the last
dispatch. As to the subject of the question which is now on foot, I won
der what is the reason that those who hold the affirmative, and see by
the Scriptures that the Lord's coming will destroy that tyranny, are not
contented therewith by waiting for that time, but would needs prevent it
by not receiving the admonition which Christ our Lord gave to S. Peter,
when by arms he endeavoured to hinder the divine decree of His death.
But no one has strength enough to keep man from building his projects
more upon human means than upon those which are divine. Even Father
Ignatius so relied upon these as if there were none superior.
" The things which happened to the Patriarch on the 1st of May have
been very important; and since that, these have been followed by others
as weighty, and so there are every day, but the Republic always main
tains its dignity. There has been some provision made as to those confes
sors who scrupled at such of their votaries as had any of the writings
which were published in defence of the Republic by them; and this pro
vision is tolerably secure, and it is ordered by a clause that friar of W 
who was turned away a year ago for this business and desired pardon, of
fering himself to be tried, be still confined in his cell.
" Father Fulgenzio has preached just as you have heard him do two
years ago. He has met with great opposition from this nuncio, who
has complained of him, saying that he could not deny but that the
doctrine was good, but nevertheless he was not bound to stay till the
preacher was declared an heretic. And the Pope, making a complaint
against him, has said that that preaching of the Scriptures is a suspicious
thing; and that he that keeps so close to the Scriptures will ruin the
Catholic faith.
" The audiences which attend his sermons have been very numerous
and increasing; there have been there sometimes six hundred of the no
bility. He has continued to speak the plain truth, proving it by the Word
of God, without reproving anyone by name; and, above all, it has been
his way to reprove that ignorance which would adopt the opinions of others
in place of understanding one's own duty. Now there cannot be a more
mortal offence to the Jesuits than this is, to have no other foundation for
all their divinity than the ignorance of the public. As for what you ask
me with regard to the mitre, I can tell you with certainty. The Pope of
Rome has two mitres, one with two points, similar to those worn by bi
shops, and this he only uses at masses, and other sacred offices. The other
is round, with three crowns, as you have seen the Pope pourtayed; this
he wears in processions out of the church, but never at divine service. The

188 THE LIFE OF [ad. 1609.
first of these, as you know, is ancient, the last is not above three hnndred
years old. l
" I have been often in the Pope's vestry, and have handled all his mitres,
and all his Regna Mundi (for so they call these round ones; the others are
called Mitres) and I can assure you that there is no letter whatsoever upon
any of them: certainly he that says so never saw any of them.
" The endeavour to gainM. Casaubon, methinks, is just like that which
iEsop's fox used to put tails out of fashion, when Reynard had lost his in
a trap. " The truce with the States, has at last delivered us from the pain
of expectation. I don't know which way the Spanish power will turn
itself. I have a good mind to think that that nation believes an uni
versal peace best for their own advantage. It is true that God oftentimes
makes things turn quite contrary to the designs of men. His sacred will
be done!
" As to the designs against my life, since they could not be without in
trigues and private practices, and they never did me any real mischief, it
is not convenient to proceed to the punishment of the offenders; the busi
ness is not yet over, but I do use, and have used, all the interest I can
(and I shall succeed in it), to have everything hushed up; and being wil
ling to commit myself to God's protection, I must also follow His com
mandments, in forgiving those who wrong me.
" I have received from M. Castrine (together with your letters of the
30th of March), some quires of paper on which are inscribed the Consti
tutions of the Jesuits. I see by them that what part was possible has been
taken out of them, and I have not yet read the whole contents, but I
already see they contain what is of use to me, and I am greatly obliged
to that gentleman for them, but more to you, sir, to whom I am first
indebted. " Monsieur Asselineau tells me that you have a mind to have a picture of
the Vice Deo. l I will do what I can to procure one for you if it be possible.
Monsieur Castrine told me a short time since that he would fain have
one or two. I tried over all the city to get one, but I could not meet with
any to be sold; and knowing of none here but one, which the owner va
lued highly. But I am in hopes that one who has been two years in Rome
will bring me a copy, and if he does I will get it from him by all means,
that I may gratify you.
" The advice of the truce makes no change to us. We are sure that if

1 It was Scaliger who wrote that the word, ' Mysterium ' was around the triple
crown. 8 Appendix.

xt. 57.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 189
the Spanish designs be to make commotions in Italy, the Pope would not
stop them, if he had any hand in it; but if they wish for peace the Pope,
with all his power, will not be able to make them stir. We are very well
satisfied by what is past and done.
" We are in such a state of things that truly we are almost come to
M. de Bourg's Litany, Sancte Turca, libera nos, (Holy Turk, deliver us!).
God grant that the Swiss do not at last quarrel among themselves. I see
the Spaniards have access to them, and the Jesuits great power over them.
This is a rugged ugly point to think of, for if two such sorts of people as
they are, get into the hearts and affections of the Swiss people, Europe
must look for perpetual revolutions, and Italy would weep bitterly. But
even the leaf of a tree never falls without the will of God the Lord, to
whom we must submit our will. And thus I leave off troubling you any
further, and kiss your hands. " '
Venice, April 28th 1609.
And in another letter to M. Groslot there is the following passage:
" The Father Fulgenzio Micanzio has done as becomes a true Catholic;
he has preached the gospel of Christ our Lord, and abstained from all
personalities. He has not therefore given satisfaction either to Rome or to
her adherents, because it is impossible to do so, unless they, instead of
Christ, be the subject preached. s The Pope latterly said of him that his
sermons were good, but also bad, that he rested too much upon Scripture,
which, if anyone did, he would ruin the Catholic faith. These words are
not much approved here, I therefore praise them and hold them true.
" I see that men, as did the Church in the Acts of the Apostles, agree
together not to do what they will, but what God wills. "
About this time Sarpi continued his correspondence with M. Hott-
man; he admired his efforts for unity in the Church. " I like M. Hott-
man much, he is a man of great understanding; I saw a collection of his
writings some months since on the matter of agreement. I praise his
zeal, and the means he proposes are excellent, but we must await a good
opportunity or the effect will be contrary. The science of opportunity, said
Socrates, is the only and great leading science in the world. I hold that
many of the differences between us are merely verbal, they make me smile,
others might be calmly endured, and others composed, but all are agreed
in this that agreement is impossible. Two litigants will never agree so long
as there is any hope of either conquering; but where both are sure they are

1 Sarpi to M. Groslot.
3 Loro e Cristo, quarto caso, come a dire: la dottrina o divinita loro, in luogo di
quella di Cristo.

190 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1610.
in the right, there is no use to talk of agreement. Both parties hold it for
certain they will be victorious, one by divine the other by human means.
At to the first, to enter into the secrets of God is a hard thing to do, nor
is it right, and the second is forbidden. "
Much as theology occupied his mind, astronomy and the other sciences still
engaged his attention, and the improved constraction of the telescope by
Galileo facilitated his study of the orbs which are seen in all their brightness
in the Venetian sky. A telescope in a very circumscribed form had been
brought from Holland, and by application united to genius Galileo produced
one greatly superior. Fra Paolo took an unwearied interest in all Galileo's
studies, and there can he no doubt but that the learned Servite afforded
him every facility in his power to prosecute his discoveries. " Venice had
the merit of patronizing Galileo. There is still existing a decree which
appoints him to the chair of mathematics in Padua, and praises him for
having lately invented an instrument derived from the secrets of per
spective for rendering objects visible at a great distance. " l
12th. Feb. 1610.
Galileo wrote to Sarpi to inform him of his discoveries as to the planet
Saturn and the motion of the planet Venus; but while he was pleased to
trace the stars and planets in their course, he was far from being sa
tisfied with the aspect of public affairs; the political sky lowered and
this acute politician feared a storm. He received his letters as usual
from M. Bruslart, and from France, and writing to M. Castrine, he
sends him a little work " On Beneficiary Matters. " It was published by
Paolo Sarpi, but without his name. Extracts from its pages prove
that he had fully studied the question of church government, as also
the rise and progress of the Papacy, and his remarks upon the Popes
evince that he was fearless in speaking truth, and showed what Italy
would be, if she regarded the Pope only as Bishop of Rome. s This
remarkable work received the unqualified praise of the learned then, as
now, and there is no doubt of its authorship, as the letter above men
tioned was seen by Foscarini amongst the MSS. of Fontanini.
Of this book Mr. Gibson writes, " In the treatise Delle Materie Be-
neficiare of Fra Paolo, in the fourth and best edition of his works,
the Papal system is deeply studied and freely described. Should Rome
and her system be annihilated, this golden volume may still survive, a
philosophied history and a salutary warning. " Mr. Hallam observes,
" Nothing was more worthy of remark, especially in literary history,
than the appearance of one great man, Fra Paolo Sarpi, the first who
i Reg. Senato Terra. 25 Aug. 1609. R. Brown.
a Appendix.

XT. 58.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 191
in modern times and in a Christian country shook the fabric not only
of papal despotism, but of ecclesiastical independence and power, for
it is to be observed that the Pope was contending for what were cal
led the rights of the Church not for his own supremacy over it. Sarpi
was a man of extraordinary genius, learning, and judgment; his phy
sical and anatomical knowledge was such as to have caused at least
several great discoveries to be assigned to him. His reasoning was con
cise and cogent, his style perspicuous and animated. A treatise, Delle
Materie Beneficiare, in other words, on the rights, revenues, and privi
leges in secular matters, is a model in its way. The history is so
short, and yet so sufficient, the sequence so natural and clear, the
proofs so judiciously introduced, that it can never be read without de
light and admiration of the author's skill. And this is the more strik
ing to those who have toiled at the verbose books of the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries, where tedious quotations, accumulated not
selected, disguise the arguments which they mean to confirm. Except
the first book of Machiavelli's History of Florence, I do not remember
any earlier summary of facts so lucid and pertinent to the object. That
object was neither more or less than to represent the wealth and pow
er of the Church as ill gotten and excessive. The treatise on bene
fices led the way, or rather was the seed thrown into the ground that
ultimately produced the many efforts both of the press and of publio
authority to break down these privileges. "
But we must pass on to an event by which Europe was alarmed,
amid preparations of war, the death of Henry IV; there was reason to
apprehend evil results; but the Servite was reassured by the nobility
of France being true to the crown, and the people peaceful.
Another painful event at Rome also demands our attention; the
wretched Manfredi, having failed to procure advancement there, was
tried for his life under pretences of which Sarpi seems ignorant.
" Fra Fulgenzio (Manfredi) went away as you know in the beginning
of August 1608, with an ample patent of safe conduct and a particular
clause in it that nothing should be done against his honor. At Rome
they tampered with him to induce him to abjure and to do public
penance, but he refused, and referred to his safe conduct. At last persis
ting in his denial to do public penance, he contented himself with
making a secret abjuration before a notary and two witnesses, and this
by a new declaration by the Cardinals that it should he understood as
done without dishonor or prejudice to him. Time passed, sometimes things
went well sometimes ill, when one evening Cardinal Panfilio the Pope's
Vicar suddenly sent some sbirri to apprehend him, pretending that he had
done something, I know not what, connected with his office. They put him

192 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1610.
in prison in the tower of Nona where men are imprisoned for ordinary
offences.They then seized and examined his papers, this done, they removed
him to the prison of the Inquisition. They then made three charges
against him, that he had prohibited books, held correspondence with the
heretics of England and Germany, and written articles against the Ro
mish Catholic doctrine, in particular' that Saint Peter was not above
the other Apostles, that the Pope is not head of the church, that the
Concil of Trent was neither a lawful nor a general Council, that there are
many heresies in the church of Rome, and many other such things.
" To these charges he answered, ' that as to the books, he did not
know they were prohibited, as to his correspondents, none of them
were declared heretics, as to the writings under his own hand, they
were imperfect, and not his real opinions, but only memoranda for
consideration of these points. ' These answers did not satisfy the
Inquisitors; they were determined to bring him to the torture, and
on this being intimated to him he answered, that he was not amenable
to torture, but that they might do as they pleased, he threw himself
upon their mercy. On the 4th of July he was brought into the Church
of St. Peter's, where there was a numerous concourse of people, and
being placed upon the ground, his crimes were read and his sentence
passed on him.
" He was sentenced to be excluded from the pale of the Church as
a relapsed heretic, and delivered over to the Governor of Rome to be
chastised, but without drawing blood. At this ceremony, which lasted
an hour, Fra Fulgentio stood with his eyes lifted up to heaven, but
never spoke a word, and it was a common opinion that he had a gag
in his mouth.
" The ceremony being finished, he was conducted to the Church of
S. Salvatore, in Laura, and there degraded, and the following morning
hanged and burned in the Campo de' Fiori. There are various opinions
as to whether these things which are laid to his charge are true, or
are calumnies; but some, presupposing that they were true, do not
hesitate to say that he was wronged, because on account of the safe
conduct, the abjuration and looking upon him as relapsed was not to be
turned to his prejudice. I know not how to judge, but the beginning
and end, a safe conduct, and a great fire; what passed in the interim is
hidden, but from this we may conclude that the Pope has little favour
to Venice. We have had many other indications of this, and therefore the
Padre Paolo had better be cautious. He therefore does not fail in or
dinary care, but leaves all to God, being certain that whatever God does
will be good.
" As to the affairs of Italy, they are in great confusion. The Pope

xt. 58.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 193
labours hard to bring about war, and an accommodation between Savoy
and Spain. I believe he will succeed, and then Savoy will fall upon
Geneva, and the Pope upon Venice; but Venice cannot be persuaded of
this, and obstinately maintains she is in no danger, which is, however, so
plain that the blind may see it. This makes me fear that she has no
longer Divine help, and is in such a state of blindness as not to see light
at noonday. But since I can only complain, I had better be silent. As
for the affairs of France, I am truly glad that they prosper. I regret to
think how many years must pass during the minority of the king, seeing
the designs already formed, and the Jesuits more insolent and more bold
than ever. If it were not for them, I would hope that the other intrigues
might be overcome, or borne with by the prudence of the queen, but when so
Inany men are resolved to do ill, it is likely, if not now or to-morrow, yet
the day after, they may succeed. The only intent of Spain is to divide
that kingdom, having so many wise and bold ministers. To see the queen
so fond of friars and Jesuits, and make so little of the Parliament, are
not good signs. I have considered what you write of a Jesuit who boasts
that he would raise an army, and of their great acquisition of money. It
appears to me a thing not to be neglected. I know well that, notwithstand
ing their banishment from Venice, they get very large sums of money
from this city, and it cannot be hindered. And if it be the will of God,
and according to the prophecies of the Holy Scriptures, men have nothing
to do but prepare for suffering. "
" I think the Huguenots are very wise who stand looking on, that
they may know how to govern themselves according to circumstances.
God bless their designs. But I was not aware of the tedium of my
letter which may perhaps arrive when you are ill. Excuse me, I beg
you to continue your kindness to me, and I shall alway remain your
devoted servant. " * " Venice, August 3, 1610. "
Fra Paolo had observed that great abuses had arisen on account of
the churches being made a refuge for offenders flying from justice; he
therefore wrote a short treatise against this practice. He divided the
work into two parts. The first comprised the right of asylum granted
and circumscribed by the Emperor, and how it ought to be understood;
the second what sanctuaries are allotted by the Canonists, who ought
to be permitted to fly there, who taken thence. From this he discours
ed on the bull of Gregory XIV, on the immunities of the Church,
demonstrated their signification and concluded with a brief epitome of
1 F. P. S. to M. Croslot.

194 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1011.
the sanctuaries amongst the Jews, Greeks and Romans, and a comparison
of them with those of Christendom. ' This is followed by a minute,
divided into twenty four heads, by which a magistrate might at once
judge who ought and who ought not to obtain refuge. He considered that
sanctuaries for offenders was an abuse, under pretext of being one of
the immunities of the Church, he advised tolerance but restricted the
above privilege to insolvent, not fraudulent debtors, and to accidental
delinquents. This work of Fra Paolo's was, however, in. advance of the age, and
the Pope, so far from hailing a step which would have prevented much
crime, prohibited the volume. Grotius however called its author, " Paolo
the great, " Frickleburg translated it into Latin. The Senate of Milan
added it to their statutes, while other Italian States did likewise and
the work had a large circulation.
The MS. of it, presented by Paolo to the Senate, was of greater length
than that in its printed form. He also wrote a work " on the Adriatic "
and it is probable, from some notes on the rainbow in his MSS., he did not
overlook the discovery of the Archbishop de Dominis, whose work " De
radiis lucis in vitris perspectivis et Iride, " was then published. " There
can be no doubt but this volume explained more of the phenomena of
the rainbow than had hitherto been understood. The rainbow was well
known to be the reflection of solar light from drops of rain, but it
belonged to the genius of De Dominis to discover that refraction was
the means of giving colour to the rays of the sun.... Placing a glass
between the eye and a bottle of water, from the lower side of which
light issued in the same order of colours as in the rainbow, De Do
minis inferred, that after two refractions and one intermediate reflection
within the drop, the ray came to the eye tinged with the different
colours, according to the angle at which it entered. " !
At a later period, Sarpi announced peace to his friend M. Groslot,
when many feared war, but he intimates that it was against the wishes
of the Duke of Savoy. The siege of Geneva having ended in nothing,
the Pope still hoped for better fortune in Germany, and treated with
the Jesuits as to war in France.
While such was the state of the political world, Sarpi and his
friends continued at times their public yet gentle remonstrances, but
a lethargy as to papal aggression had stolen over the Venetians, and
the voice of Paolo Sarpi was like the melancholy note of the bird of
night pouring his solitary moan over a darkened world. Fra Fulgenzio
1 Giovini.
2 Hallam.

xi. 59.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 195
did not preach, in Lent because dissuaded by him, but Fra Fulgenzio,
Paolo, and Marsilio preached in the church of Lorenzo, February 10th,
1611. In trivial matters the Pope continued to yield to Venice, but still
strove to retain power over Ceneda. Fra Paolo wrote an account of
this quarrel for the Senate, and the Cardinal Borghese complained that
he "was still considered an oracle!" In the end, this matter was
partially compromised, but while the flatterers of the Pope still exalted
his temporal power, Sarpi likened them " to those animals who climbed
too high and were sure to fall. " He grieved that a book of the
Jesuits had been received at Florence, which would not have been
tolerated at Venice; but no book written by a Jesuit was allowed to
circulate there, these following observations have justly been deemed
remarkable. " Seeing the disputes that arise between the Jesuits and other Pa
pists as to the Gallican liberties, if the Reformed would assist the cause
of liberty which although not perfect is less hurtful, it might be that
the Jesuits who are the great enemies of true religion might be weak
ened, and this would open up a way of Agreement with the Gallicans.
No undertaking can be greater than to bring the Jesuits into discredit.
Conquer them, Rome is lost, and without them religion will reform
itself. "
While many were occupied with the great power obtained by the
Jesuits over nearly the known world, and whilst Sarpi bewailed the
decline of true religion in his own country, the Pope gained fresh
adherents in Germany, but at Rome no Venetian was promoted to
the Cardinalate, " Good men accounted it a public service. "
To their dismay, the Italians learned that the Spaniards had seized
Capel. The Viceroy had shewn his independence by hanging an offender
who had taken refuge in the church before the Archbishop's door, but
Sarpi was more astonished that the English Ambassador obtained the
release of a captive from the Inquisition. He also wished to gain tidings
of the procedure of the French parliament against Bellarmine, as some
of his friends " amongst the Senators could scarcely bear to hear his
name, and spoke of him as one born to disturb the peace of Christ
endom. "
A controversial work of M. de Mornay was now sent to Sarpi, it
made a considerable impression at and since the time of its publication. '

1 This volume forms part of the valuable library of the late learned Lord
Handyside, to which I was permitted access by Mrs. Handyside, nee Bruce.
" Mysterium lnirrvitatis sev Histm-ia Papatus. " etc. Philipo Moruayo Pesiaci.

196 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1611
He thought " the Sorbonne might have censured it more modestly, "
but censures in large measure were dealt out to those who wielded their
pens against the Curia.
The ambassador Bruslart now offered to expedite Fra Paolo's let
ters, but he knew his character and therefore declined, he received his
letters from him but sent no answers to his care, and on the plea of
his office, refused to receive the ambassador's visits. Chagrined by
these determinations, Bruslart said, " that Fra Paolo was a man with
out religion, faith or conscience, and that he did not believe in the
immortality of the soul. " M. Bruslart also received command from M.
Villeroi to arrange matters with the Nuncio, that Fra Paolo might be
taxed with the said letters, his MSS. examined and his portfolio and
papers seized.
But no such interference was allowed, and the Senators told the
Nuncio, as to his writing to heretics, it did not follow because Fra
Paolo wrote to them that he " was what they called a heretic. " At this
the Nuncio was greatly disturbed, and informed Borghese, " that he
had great fears that the Venetians would separate from the Catholic
Church, and exclude themselves from the authority of N. S. by the arti
fices of Fra Paolo, Nicolo Contarini, Sebastiano Veneiro, and such like. "
To Fra Paolo Sarpi the name of Sir Dudley Carlton, the ambassador
from England to Venetia, sounded uncouthly, but he takes an early
opportunity to write in praise of an Englishman of whom it was said,
" though a statesman, he was an honest man. "
Plots against the life of King James continued, and Sir Dudley
informs his Majesty of Great Britain of a meditated attempt of the
kind by the Jesuits, thus, " because of an advertisement I have jfroni
many hands that the Jesuits at Rome have lately given orders to all
their society, to use prayers for quarante bore for the good successe
of a great enterprise they have in hand, the like whereof was said to
be done before November the preceding year. " Fra Paolo was not
singular in his opinion of their practices.
Intolerance was still rife elsewhere, M. Richer (a man too well
known for his abilities and works to need any further comment here),
had been assailed at Paris; his foes called aloud for his death, and the
Society of Jesus were bitter against him, but amidst the storm of me
nace that would have delivered him up to the rage of his opponents
the still small voice of mercy was heard, Pierre Cosnier an ecclesiastic of
great piety addressed an admonitory letter in favor of Richer to M. de
Harlay, Abbot of S. Victor, commencing with the touching words,
" Ego cogitationes pacis et non afflictionis. " This letter disarmed
Richer's foes; thus charity shed its soft light, and intolerance for a

xt. 59.] - FRA PAOLO SARPI 197
time withered beneath its ray, but the tumult raised on account of his
book continued long, and Fra Paolo endeavors to comfort his friend
M. Groslot on this subject. And he appears glad that there is a pros
pect of coming differences with Rome which might be beneficial to
the Republic ; the whole letter is full of interest.
The reader will call to mind the name of one of the theologians, a
Neapolitan divine, who had been cited to Rome but had not obeyed
the summons, yet answered by a manly protest. In the month of Fe
bruary 1612, Marsilio had been taken ill, and three of the physicians
who attended him declared that he had died of poison.
Giovanni Marsilio, " writes Sarpi, " died here yesterday. I think
you knew him well; he was in bed ten days; the physicians say he
was poisoned, of which I say nothing now, as I knew nothing pre
viously, some priests endeavored to make him recant what he had
written but he always remained firm, saying, he wrote what he did for
the sake of the truth, and would die in that belief. M. Assellineau
often visited him and is able to give you many particulars of his illness,
for I neither could or would search into the matter, for various reasons.
I believe that if it were not for state reasons, there are divers persons
who would vault from this pit of Rome to the height of Reform, but one is
afraid of one thing and another of another. " i Grave suspicions were
entertained by many besides the physicians, that Marsilio had met his
death by poison, while Sarpi declares this, he feels it was needless to
pursue the matter further. But he was satisfied that Marsilio, strong in
death in the principles he had advocated, was in reality a victor though
apparently among the vanquished: his name has come down to posterity
as one who boldly dared to write in favor of the Republic of Venice
when the Pope sought to defraud her of her rights, and never does this
able patriot appear more truly great than when contemplated on his
bed of death, outstretched there a victim, but a victim in a righteous
cause. The visits of the good Asselineau were doubtless a solace when
in his misery. Asselineau was a physician of no small value, for he could
minister not only to the body, but to the soul, deep in the tomb Mar
silio was laid, subtle poison had chilled his life blood, and Sarpi could
do no more than in a private letter express himself as above ; his words
afford proof that death did not terrify Marsilio from his allegiance to
Heaven and to his Prince, but that Rome was relentless to those who
challenged her power as supreme.
The words, " I believe, that if it were not for state reasons there are
1 Credo che se non fosse per ragion di stato, si troverrebbero diversi che salte-
rebbero da questo fosso di Roma nella cima della Reforma, ma chi tema una cosa,
chi un altra, #c. — Venice, 18th February, 1612, To M. de 1' Isole Groslot.

198 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1612
divers persons who would vault from this pit of Rome to the height of.
reform, " are words which some have severely censured, others attempt
ed to get rid of, but this has been found impossible. The passage is
one of the strongest in the writings of Sarpi and it confirms. The opi
nion that he did wish the Church of Rome freed from the tyranny
of the Court of Rome. Perhaps these words were wrung from his pen
as he thought on Marsilio in all the agonies of a violent death, and
few knew better than Sarpi in his own person what it was to differ
from a court which endeavored to assume the dictatorship of the world.
There can be no doubt that had the rulers of Venice declared for
absolute reform; all the powers of Europe who had commanded it
within the Church would have declared for Venice, and she would have
continued to hold her place amoug the nations, but Spain was strong,
and old habits and prejudices were stronger still. Venice was to pass
through a long and dreary servitude before she would awake, like the
wise of Italy, to see that a thorough reform of the church and separa
tion from the Pope and Court of Rome is not a change of religion,
but a return to the religion taught by the Holy Apostles, and that
restoration of the Sacred Scriptures to the people is a right of which
none dare to rob them with impunity. Is there no one bold enough
now to vault over the trench or pit of Rome ? Two hundred and fifty
years have passed since Marsilio died, and during all this time the
Court of Rome has kept the Church enthralled. Can men not learn
from past history? Can they not imitate the bold? Can no one, who
has not only the will, as had Sarpi, but the power, free his country
from the Court of Rome ? Is there, as has been lately asked, no Sarpi
left amongst the great intellects which adorn Italy, no senator who
can rise in his place like the great, the immortal Cavour, and recalling
Sarpi to their mind, as he did in one of his latest addresses to the
senators, ask them to free the Church of Rome from the Pope and
Court of Rome ?
Never till the Senate of Italy is persuaded that reform within the
Church is only a return to the old and true religion, and that no people
can serve two masters, will the Pope become again Bishop of Rome,
and Italy disencumbered of his power be wholly free !
Still closely watched, though still closely cared for, Sarpi as usual
employed a cypher, or dictated some of his letters. In one of them he con
cludes thus, " because this is a letter which may be seen by all, I wish
to gratify myself by showing my respect for you, in sending you a little
of my own handwriting, ' remaining your most devoted servant. " All
» 21st March. 1612.

xt- 60.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 199
his letters which the writer has seen, and they are a considerable num
ber in MS., are signed " F. Paolo di Venetia, " and are addressed " Al
Molto Reverendissimo Fra Paolo de Serui. " Generally speaking he
wrote to his intimate friends himself, but sometimes Fra Fulgenzio
wrote to them for him. He frequently concluded his letters by a mes
sage from Fulgenzio, and from the noble Molino who was often in his
company. Political events were gloomy, and Sarpi judged that the coronation
of Matthias as Emperor of Germany was overshadowed by the Pope's
insertion in the Decretals, " that now the examination of the election
and of the person elected, as well as the confirmation belongs to him;
and that the elect Emperor ought to take an oath of fidelity to him,
also that the administration of the vacant empire belongs to him,
but that God is above all, and as he wills that prayer be made to him
so will he listen, according to his divine purpose. " Further, Sarpi
surmised that Albert would be king of the Romans, and Spain obtain
a stronger hold upon Germany.
The Turks were again in motion, the Spanish fleet kept watch at
Otranto, Sarpi supposed in the hope that the Republic and the Ot
tomans might quarrel. The disgust between Rome and Venice grew
wider, and Sarpi was still in bad odour with the Pope, which is plain
from a despatch of M. de Breves to the King of France, of August
14th. " I omitted to write to your Majesties by the former ordinary,
that the Pope had told me that he knew for certain that Frere Paul,
who is in the employ of the Republic, had evil intentions against your
Majesties well being, as might be seen by his letters which have been
intercepted. They were addressed to some private individuals of the
Reformed religion in their service, and shown to them by the Papal
Nuncio. I have informed M. Leo Bruslart, their Ambassador at Venice,
but he will not mention the subject until their intentions are known.
As to the differences between his Holiness and the Venetians they are
kept secret, and neither party complains, so that it is much better to
appear to know nothing of them than to think of finding a remedy,
added to which, the Venetians would distrust your Majesties, as
they do his Holiness, on account of the continued alliance with
Spain. "
One of the causes of difference certainly was the bad odour in which
the theologian of Venice was held by the Pope, he had little rest,
his enemies were still on the watch to take his life; a secret plot had
been discovered against him by the Venetian Ambassador at Rome
of which he says little more than, " the Senate are so good as to have
heard this with disgust. "

200 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1613.
But amidst his own troubles the deprivation of the Syndic Richer
had deeply affected him; he knew that the Jesuits had prevailed against
this innocent man whose defence was not permitted to be published,
which Sarpi regretted, as he hoped it might have led to more liberty
of conscience. And on this account he turned with pleasure to the
amicable terms on which Venetia and Holland were united. He had
hoped that the projected marriage between the Prince of Wales and
a Princess of the Romish Church would be a means of diminishing
the reputation of the Pope, who was by no means pleased that Princes
of the Church of Rome made alliances for their daughters with Princes
of the Reformed religion, but his hopes were disappointed by the
death of the Prince of Wales. " God grant, " he writes, " that it may
not overwhelm the King with sorrow, a greater he could not suffer. "
One might have supposed that Fra Paolo did not require any ad
ditional employment, but by command, he now wrote his history of
the Uscochs, a horde of Dalmatians who lived chiefly in Segna, an inac
cessible city of the Adriatic, near Spalatro. These pirates indulged in
desperate undertakings, in which they were joined by men of infamous
character Venetians, Dalmatians, Turks, Croats and English. Under
pretence of forming an advanced guard in time of war, these despe
radoes were permitted to dwell under the sovereignty of Austria. Their
number was only one thousand, yet they were a terror to Venetia,
and on one occasion dared to send a present of sixty human heads
to the Signory : irritated by this conduct the Republic blockaded Segna,
but the pirates withdrew from the coast and ravaged Istria under
Austrian colors.
The Austrians affected ignorance, but summary justice followed.
The Uscochs retreated, but returned to the charge with redoubled
fury, and as many troops had to be despatched against them, Venetia
followed the counsel which Fra Paolo had formerly given, to employ
soldiers of the Reformed religion, and thus four thousand Hollanders
honorably kept the city from the fangs of the destroyer. He believed
that his countrymen would acquire much good from a closer ac
quaintance with the Germans and Dutch and that thus prejudice against
the religion of those who had protested against popery would be
subdued for himself, he stood on the broad basis of the Nicene creed.
But Paul V still persevered against Fra Paolo, and continued to
incite the French Ambassador to demand satisfaction at his own Court.
The letters of M. de Breves are painful instances of intolerance but
truth prevailed, and the integrity of Fra Paolo was a rampart against
which all the waves of envy, bigotry and persecution beat in vain.
While the affairs of Hungary and Poland became more and more

xt- 61.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 201
entangled by the Jesuits, the Turks were constructing a bridge across
the Danube for an easy passage for their army; and the Duke of
Savoy surprised Montferrat, but his claims to it being laid aside, the
Cardinal assumed the title of Duke of Mantua.
At a somewhat later period Sarpi was commanded by the Duke of
Savoy to be rewarded for his writings during the Interdict. He had
not yet laid down his pen, as we find a small work issue from it,
" On immunities of the Church, " written only for his friends but
printed by the Senator Molino, besides his being known to have continued
his greater volumes.
In the beginning of the year 1614, a gleam of light burst across the
papal mind, Paul V spoke with kindness of Fra Paolo ; it is pleasant to note
the change. The Bishop of Tino had been accused by the Inquisitors, he
was cited to Venice and there called upon to defend himself. The case was
referred to Fra Paolo whose advice was followed, and the Bishop was ho
norably reinstated in his see, and on his way to the east he waited upoD
the Pope, who when speaking of Fra Paolo said, " that he was both
temperate and just. " On hearing this the Servite remarked. " Now
we have a Pope who is friendly, I pray God that he may live longer
than I, because of his successors. "
On the 22nd of December the Doge Memmo died, and Giovanni
Bembo was elected in his room. There had been an ineffectual effort
to introduce reformation in the Church into Venice during this year.
The Republic was shewing increased subserviency to the Pope, which
not only then weakened the government, but was one of the principal
causes of its overthrow. Sarpi raised his voice in vain, Spain was
still the foe of Venice, the Republic endeavored to avert a war, but
the Duke of Ossuna incited the Pope and Uscochs against her and
sent troops into Milan, and armed vessels into the Adriatic.
The Republic complained to the Court of Madrid, and the Duke
was commanded to disarm, but on this he invited the Uscochs to
Naples and threatened to surprise the city of Venice: the whole year
was one of continued warfare by sword and by pen, and Sarpi furnished
a supplement to his History of the Uscochs. He also continued his
astronomical pursuits with Galileo, and in a memorandum from the
Schedas Sarpiana?, " Per mia memoria, " he foretells the misfortunes
which were about to fall on the great Florentine.
" Since I hear from the M. N. and M. I. Senator Molino, that M.
Galileo Galilei is about to go to Rome, being invited there by several
Cardinals to lay before them his opinions respecting his discoveries in
the heavens; I fear that if in such circumstances he brings forward
the learned considerations which have induced him to prefer the theory

202 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1616.
of the Canon Copernicus of our solar system, he will incure the ill
will of the Jesuits and of the other monks, that the physical and
astronomical question will be changed by them into a matter of theology
and I foresee with sorrow that he will have to recant his opinions
upon it, if he would live in peace without being regarded as a heretic.
Yet I am sure that the day will come when more enlightened men
will deplore Galileo's misfortunes and the injustice done to so great
a man, but in the mean time he must endure it, and complain only
in secret. " Again, " the Copernican hypothesis, far from being contrary
to the word of God as revealed in the sacred pages, rather does honor
to his omnipotence and infinite wisdom, both as regards the order and
arrangement of the terrestrial mechanism, and that of all the other
orbs which constitute the wondrous spectacle of the universe. " A later
age acknowledged the truth of these remarks, and at Florence Leopold II,
Grand Duke of Tuscany, commanded the execution of frescoes in which
Sarpi and Galileo are delineated, as well as a collection of Galileo's
mechanical, and optical instruments with which Sarpi was conversant.
In the month of June Sir Henry Wotton was again appointed
Ambassador from Great Britain to Venice, bis esteem for Fra Paolo
continued, and to him is to be imputed his Sovereign's requests that
he should go to England. But his friend Bedell did not return to
Venice, and this was probably one reason why Paolo again welcomed
de Dominis the Archbishop of Spalatro, and steadily keeping in view
his desire for reform within the Church of Rome, it is evident that
throughout his life, he looked favourably on whoever was -most likely
to aid in this laudable purpose. In the time of the Interdict, it has
been noticed, that the Archbishop de Dominis associated with Fra
Paolo. Discontented with the Pope and Court of Rome, he had introduced
many wise reforms into his diocese, and where heathen orgies had
once been celebrated on the site of part of the magnificent remains
of the temple and palace of the Emperor Diocletian at Spalatro, De
Dominis had advocated many wise measures as to reformation of the
Church. He was, however, of a restless disposition, and on coming to
Venice made the acquaintance of Fra Paolo and the seven, probably in
the hope that the Republic of Venice would be freed from the Court
of Rome. Fra Paolo had such confidence in him, as actually to lend
to him his MS. of the History of the Council of Trent, in order that
he might read it. It (appears a most extraordinary act on the part
of Fra Paolo to intrust any one with a MS. which he had guarded
so carefully; which he never said that he had written, but which had
cost him so many years of toil and labor. How De Dominis acted,
will be seen in the sequel; but for the present he must be followed

xt. 64.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 203
to Coire in the Grisons, Heidelberg, and subsequently to England.
Tidings of his manifesto appear to have reached Fra Paolo, because
he says he " suspended his judgment with regard to a prelate, " as
also that he mentions a " manifesto of De Dominis; " but after observing,
" that all he printed was certain to be prohibited, " he adds, " that he
knew nothing further respecting him. " At a later period he thus
writes to M. Gillot: "I have news from my friend of the Archbishop
of Spalatro. He conversed confidentially with him, and he saw some
of his books about to be published, he assured me that they were
written without any pretension, or any appearance of controversy. He
avoids all bitterness; he only maintains his own opinions distinctly,
and proves all by ancient documents. However, my friend neither
praised their prolixity (which is perhaps extreme), nor the vacillation
or anxiety of mind, which the author ingenuously confesses, I should
admire it if he lived in France, where interchange of thought is not
forbidden to any, but in a place where men are deprived from their
cradles of liberty of thought I value it highly in a Dalmatian, who
has been brought up in the dungeons of the Jesuits, that he has been
able to extricate himself from darkness. In forming my judgment of
his worth and learning, I take these difficulties into account; I could
not otherwise have spoken of them in such absolute terms. "
Thus charitably did Sarpi write of De Dominis. Having declared
himself one of the Reformed in England, De Dominis was received
with great distinction at Court by the King, entertained sumptuously
by the Universities, and lodged by royal command at the palace of the
Archbishop of Canterbury.
After the ceremony of the renunciation of his episcopacy at St.
Paul's Cathedral, London, he was presented to the Mastership of the
Savoy, London, and to the living and parsonage of West Ilsley, Berkshire;
but De Dominis was not satisfied.
His work " De Republica Ecclesiastica, " was one of great service,
but the vacillating nature of its author impaired its usefulness lat
terly. High authority pronounced its arguments unanswerable, but the
Nuncio demanded a prohibition of his works, and Sarpi had again
the mortification to see one, who he had hoped might benefit his
country, leave him to struggle on without the aid of his pen or his high
dignity to assist him, but Sarpi was obedient to the commands of heaven.
Heaven had given him the key which unlocks its portals, the late
dews of night and the first breath of early morn found him sup
plicating for his country, and the Christian patriot resigned himself to
the thought, that whatever God permitted to happen to the Church, it
would be for her benefit; he thus wrote:

204 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1617.
" As to what I touched upon in my letter concerning the Kingdom
of Heaven, Christ is, without doubt, a King and Priest. ' He hath
made us all, ' says St. Peter, ' priests and kings, ' that is he hath
made his Church a royal priesthood, by making his ministers partakers
of the royal and priestly power. Admit this; he hath made his stewards
and ministers viceroys in his absence. This is certain, ' As my Father
sent me, so I send you.' It belongs to the Kingdom of Heaven; it
neither receives nor gives anything of mutual help from , or to an
earthly King. And there is no wonder in this; they do not walk
together, they cannot meet together. Christ's minister and vicar has
his conversation in heaven, from whence we look for Christ the Saviour.
The King of France has no diminution of power, because his dominion
does not reach to the stars. The Kingdom of Heaven is further from
the French nation than those stars are. ' The Kingdom of Heaven is
within you, ' said Christ (St. Luke xviii,). But whether an earthly
prince does anything towards the Kingdom of Heaven, he will best
be able to say who learns from history, how much more it prospered
under Diocletian than under Constantine. No one comes after Christ
but one that takes up His cross.
" The Kingdom of Heaven began by the cross, it is extended and
perfected by the cross: not but that the Church may flourish in
peace, because God sometimes plants it by the favour of princes, and
sometimes by persecution; ' through honour and dishonour, by evil
report and good report, ' (2 Cor. vi). ' All things work together for
good to them that love God. ' I have not taken the words of the
Kingdom of Heaven as meant of the Church on earth; and I so conceive
the Scriptures teach me to understand it....
" They are Christ's ministers who have the keys of the Kingdom
committed to them. Nobody can say that he that keeps the keys of
the house is the house itself; and in the first and second chapters of
St. John's Revelation those words, ' Thou hast made us unto our
God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth, ' are not
only spoken of his ministers, but of all else, of every tribe, language,
people, and nation that are cleansed and redeemed by the blood of
Christ. "
Sarpi speaks of those who engrossed the name of " Church " to them
selves, who also took to themselves its goods and estates, and those
of Rome had given him a very low place, because he did " not allow
them a coercive power over sovereigns. "

205

CHAPTER X.
a.d. 1618 — a.d. 1623.
Doge op Venice. 1618 Niccolb Donato. 1618 Antonio Priuli.
Sovereigns of Gekmany. Matthias. Ferdinand.
Great Britain. James I.
Spain. Philip III. 1621 Philip IV.
Turkey. Mustapha. Osman III. Mustapha.
Popes. Paul V. 1621 Gregory XV.

Conspiracy. - F. Paolo's history of the Council of Trent. - Public events. -
Death of Paul V. - Gregory XV. - Prince de Conde's visit. - Fra Paolo's
illness and death. - Public funeral. - His remains about to be disturbed are
hidden, exhumed and reburied, again raised. - Buried in the church of
S. Michele di Murano.
Fra Paolo Sarpi was not mistaken in his fears for his country. Like a
gem of matchless beauty and great value, Venetia had long been coveted
by the unscrupulous and the ambitious. The year 1618 was peculiarly
dark to her, a deep plot had been laid against her, and she seemed about
to be swept from her high place amongst the nations of Europe. Little
however of this conspiracy has been published, and they who would
explore its labyrinths must track them in the Archives of Venice. The
Senate commanded Fra Paolo to write an account of it. He had long be
lieved that one of the powers of Europe was ready to make Venetia her
own, but it is not for his biographer to do more than express gladness
that he never saw his country beneath a foreign yoke.
No alarm, no illness, no business however pressing, seems ever to have
severed him wholly from his studies; and amongst them at this time he
is found making notes on a treatise by the learned Scot, Anderson, Profes
sor of Mathematics at Paris. We have also of this date some thoughts
from Paolo's pen on a well known passage of Cicero, l and in this, as in
all his other writings, he ascribes honor to Him by whose fiat all things
were created.
1 " Est enim admirabilis qusedam continuatio seriesque rerum, ut alia; ex aliis
nexas, et omnes inter se aptaa colligateque videantur. " De Natura Deorum, lib. i.

206 THE LIFE OF [ad. 1619.
His correspondence, however, met with a severe check; in his last letter
to M. Groslot he refers to the difficulty with which he sent a letter to
him, and they who are hasty in their condemnation of the government of
Venice may learn what great necessity there was for vigilance, when
their theologian and counsellor could not correspond even with a friend
in safety, watched over as he and probably every other member of the
Venetian government were by foreign spies. But his opinions were still
the same, he still sighed as much for reformation in the Church as when
Diodati, Bedell and others had urged it upon him during and subsequent
to the Interdict, although almost prevented from correspondence with its
advocates: but he still availed himself of any opportunity to show himself
friendly to those of the Reformed religion, as is evinced by his conduct to
a near relative of his old friend M. de Mornay, who far from his home and
in the prime of youth and hope lay dying.
The learned Daille had accompanied this youth and his brother to Italy,
And all three being of the Reformed religion, they feared to remain in
Mantua on account of the Inquisition, but proceeded to Padua. There the
youth was tended with great care by M. Assclinean the friend of Fra
Paolo, another physician, and an apothecary, all of the Reformed religion,
but their aid was fruitless, their patient died, and Fra Paolo, to whom
they had letters of introduction from du Plessis Mornay, obtained permis
sion from the Venetian government to furnish the mourners with what
leave was necessary, that the body of the youth might be taken to Saumur,
and buried there.
This was no small boon and is one of the many proofs of the tolerance of
Sarpi. To the surprise of many, but to no one more than to the author him
self, the History of the Council of Trent now appeared. This last Council
of the Church of Rome, which sat at intervals from 1545 till 1563, is too
generally known to require more particular notice than that it was assembled
in order to correct, illustrate and fix with perspicuity the doctrines of the
church, to restore her discipline, and to reform the lives of the clergy.
The preponderance of papal authority, and subsequent interpretation of
the decrees of Trent being so distasteful to many of the members of the
Church of Rome. Sarpi wrote an authentic account of that assembly which,
although called to cement the divisions in the Church, in reality widened
them. The writer of these pages took pains at Venice to obtain particulars
respecting the History of the Council of Trent. The original MS. is in
the writing of Sarpi's amanuensis Franzano, and on the first page of the
MS. is written by Fra Paolo Sarpi " L'Historia dell Concilia Tridentino,
scritta da Pietro Soave Pohno. " The other words " L'Historia dell Con

xt. 67.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 207
cilio Tridentino, " either head the other books which are in all eight, or
are on the margin also written by Fra Paolo as are the corrections
throughout. This is worthy of notice, as it has been alleged that the
original MS. was written by Sarpi, in place of being dictated by him and
the corrections made by others. The reverse is the fact, as is attested on
the MS. by the Secretary Fontano. 4 But to any one who has examined
the MS., it is evident that every word must have been read by Sarpi, or
to him, from the many and minute corrections by his own hand. It is in
good preservation, bound by four leather thongs and parchment cover,
and consists of one thousand and eighty three pages , closely and finely
written, and carefully pointed. Paolo Sarpi did not publish his own work.
It has been observed that this MS. was borrowed from him by the Arch
bishop de Dominis; who it is believed had it copied, carried to England
and published in London without Sarpi's knowledge, with a dedication
to the King of Great Britain by de Dominis. This dedication gave him
great pain; many, as Sarpi wrote were the defects of the Church of Rome
he never could hear it spoken against without regret, and although his own
language against the Court of Rome was very strong, still the unprejudic
ed have always pronounced the History of the Council of Trent as did the
learned Sir Roger Twysden, " to be written with so great moderation
learning and wisdome, as might deserve a place amongst the exactest
pieces of ecclesiastic story any age hath produced. "
In Italy, many of her scholars, and they are not few, assured the
writer, " that none but the most profoundly ignorant hold any opinion
but that of admiration for the works of Fra Paolo Sarpi, and for his efforts
to reform the Romish Church. "
No one can reasonably affirm that this History was written in haste,
who is acquainted with the difficulty of research, and with the toil and
perseverance necessary to collect, collate, and embody materials for any
work. Fra Paolo's aim was truth, and he did not shrink from the laborious
search after it in writing and compiling his History and he had the
peculiar advantage, as we have seen, of personal acquaintance with many
who had attended the Council, and who were in possession of many me
morials which no one else ever saw.
It is to be regretted that the work of Fra Buonfiglio Capra perished by
fire; he had collected with great assiduity authentic references to all the
authorities consulted by Sarpi in the History of the Council of Trent, and
it is a well known fact that the materials for that work were in the Quirini
Library. i Deputato alia Canceleria Segreta, 16 Feb. 1772, and by Bettiu Librarian.
MSS. Italiani de la Marciana, Classe v, N° 25.

208 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1619.
Besides these, there are the journal of Chiergato, Nuncio of Adrian VI; the
Acts of the Legation of the Cardinal Gaspar Contarini at Ratisbon; some of
the letters of the Cardinal del Monte, President of the Council of Trent
under Paul III; those of Viscomti, agent of Pius IV; the Memoirs of the
Cardinal Amulio; the despatches of the Venetian Ambassador at the
Council; the greater part of those of the French Ambassador, collected by
the friends of Fra Paolo, M. Groslet, De Thou, and others. To these may
be added, the Relazione, letters and speeches of the prelates at Trent ;
the History of the Council, by Milledonne; the Acts of Massarelli; the
papers containing the votes of the prelates and theologians during the ses
sions of the Council; the Memorials of the Spanish ambassador Vergos;
the Conciliary Acts of Salmio, Bishop of Verdun; the MSS. of the Cardinal
Borromeo; and many other MSS. relating to the latter years of the Council,
examined by Griselini 1785, in the Collection of the Senator Gradenigo.
Sarpi had also access to the libraries of the Vatican, of Padua, of Milan,
of Mantua, and of Venice; and the rare Collections of books and MSS. of
the Grimani, Contarini, Donati, Manutii, and of the monastic bodies were
at his disposal.
At Rome, Sarpi's work was prohibited, some say before it was publish
ed. l If it was so, it must have been in consequence of the information
that Paul V had received from the friars who wished to poison Sarpi,
and who were told to procure leaves of his writings, but this is of little
consequence. It is probable that Sarpi never intended to publish his work,
and that he referred to its publication after his death when he said he
would do more against those who sought his life, dead than living. Ful-
ganzio's remarks on the History are interesting. It was more read than
any ecclesiastical History that is known. " The idea prevailed, and it was
published in Rome as an undoubted fact, that he (Fra Paolo Sarpi) was
the Author of the History of the Council of Trent, in eight Books, printed
in the Italian language in London, and which was afterwards translated
into all the most common languages of Europe, an argument, that this is
no ordinary work. And it might be, that at Rome they had also taken
it as a proof that F. Paolo was its author, that for a long term of years,
the Father spared no pains, either through friendship or cost, to obtain
information concerning the celebration of this Council, not only in Italy,
but abroad. And at the time when he had free intercourse with the
Princes, he was most intimate with the Ambassadors of France, Monsieur
de Fresnes, de Mes, and Du Ferrier, and particularly the latter, who at
tended the said Council. No judgment can be given on his writings,
unless it be done with the discretion of a skilful artizan, who by one
i Index Lib. Prob. Gregory XVI, Roma?, 1841. Deer. 22 Nov. 1619.

xt. 67.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 209
claw, knows the size of the Lion, and who could, as history relates, by
the measure of one finger comprehend the proportions of the Colossus of
Rhodes. "
But it is to be feared that few have the discretion of the skilful artisan
of whom Fulgenzio speaks, and while some have said that the History is
the most noble in anylanguage, others have pronounced it but a lengthened
satire. It was not an easy task to write without satire of a Council unlawfully
constituted, and entirely under the guidance of the Popes, their Legates
and adherents. There is much pungent satire in the work, yet the style
is dignified and agreeable, not redundant yet strictly correct, and evidently
that of a master, but to praise a work so long held in high esteem is as
presumptuous as to criticise it. " I would rather, '' said a scholar of no mean
degree, " have been the Author of the History of the Council of Trent than
of any book I know. "
Curiosity was much excited to discover who wrote a History which was
received by scholars with enthusiasm. Although he never said so, Sarpi
was at once pronounced to have written it, and the liberal minded of the
Church of Rome ever regarded its author with admiration. It is a mistake
with respect to the work to speak of Sarpi as a partizan. These comments
of Gibbon and d'Alembert ought sufficiently to negative the imputation.
" Since the origin of theological factions, Arminus Marcellinus, Fra Paolo,
Thuanas, Hume, and perhaps a few others, have deserved the singular
praise of holding the balance with a steady and equal hand. Independent
and unconnected, they contemplated with the same indifference tbe
opinions and interests of contending parties, or, if they were seriously at
tached to a particular system, they were armed with a firm and moderate
temper which enabled them to suppress their affection and to sacrifice
their interest, " and " Fra Paolo is perhaps the only monk who has risen
above monastic prejudice, who saw and judged the interests of society
with the extensive survey of a philosopher, and the nobility of a man of
birth. "
He had the wisdom to point out to his countrymen what they are now
beginning to believe, that the temporal power of the Pope was the great
prop of the abuses of the Church of Rome, and as this, together with his
protest against the doctrines of the Jesuits, was what throughout life he
insisted upon, he takes pains to show in the History of the Council of
Trent, by what means their false theology was inserted into its decrees.
This is seen in Father Salmeron's proceedings with regard to the
sacrifice of the Mass, ' as well as his known approval of the English Liturgy
1 Appendix.

210 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1619.
and confessions of the Reformed Churches. And it is probable that Sarpi's
approval of opposition to Salmeron's opinions, was what drew upon him
the charge of Bossuet, " Sous un froc il cachoit un coeur Calviniste, et il
travailloit sourdement a descrediter la Messe, qu'il disoit tous les jours. "
It is hoped that sufficient has been said in this biography to prove that
Sarpi had written much of his great work in early life. His History of
the Council has been preserved that his countrymen may read for them
selves, and judge how one and another nation sent their prelates to Trent
to obtain the restoration of ancient doctrines and rites, and saw them
return obliged to conform to the pleasure of the Pope and his Legates,
who often were made to receive against their will what was contrary to
their conscience. It was in vain that in many of the Sessions of Trent the
Scriptures were cited as the rule of faith, they were not received as of
sufficient authority alone, unless the dogma or article of faith was sup
ported by tradition or long use, and therefore it is not marvellous that
Sarpi dissented from some of the decrees of the Council.
It has been observed that he wished a free Council to be assembled at
the time of the Interdict, he well knew that some would have sought to
exclude the Jesuits from it, and then he and Fra Fulgenzio and some of
the seven might perhaps have seen the Holy Scriptures, the prohibited
book, unchained and open to all, and might have heard again the
eloquent Fulgenzio preaching the Gospel of Christ, as he had done before
he was hindered by the Nuncio.
Sarpi longed for freedom, he knew and felt one of the noblest sayings
ever embodied in words, that " he is the freeman whom the truth makes
free and all are slaves besides, " and to him the truth was dear. He had
laid hold of it with the full grasp of his intellect, but he felt that it need
ed a still more powerful lever to raise his heart heavenwards, and he ever
spoke and wrote of that divine grace, which had unbarred to him the
gates of heaven, with a devotion which was as humble as it was sincere ;
he could look beyond the superstitions of an overcharged ritual, and
pray for the time when all would perceive that Heaven requires not
merely acts of devotion but the service of the heart. Throughout life we
have seen that he looked for a reformation of the visible church, a return
to its ancient usages, and that although he was disappointed at the issue
of the disputes with Pope Paul V, he was too wise not to know that he
had given a stimulus to those who came after to him to shun atheism as
repugnant to human nature, * and to persevere in the struggle for re
formation. If then a friar, so surrounded with superstition as Sarpi was, could long
1 "L'ateismo repugna alia natura humana, " MS. Sarpi.

-et. 67.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 211
to break through the trammels with which the Church of Rome was sur
rounded, why again we ask should not his successors do the same? Let but
one of the clergy arise, let him but follow the example given him; let
the voice of controversy be mute, but let the voice of entreaty be strong ;
let him in the full vigor of powerful intellect, but with words shorn of all
personality, with that charity which is as faithful as enduring, with that
generosity which never triumphs over another, and with all that holy
zeal which will nerve him to the noble task, let him dwell on the
benefits of the death of the Saviour, and thousands will listen now, as
they did when the Servite told out to crowds that the sacrifice of
fered on Calvary was as complete as infinite.
As the History of the Council of Trent by Pallavicino was not
published for more than thirty years after that by Sarpi, any notice
of its criticisms lies beyond our province. ' All are familiar with Vol
taire's ridicule of Pallavicino's remarks. Perhaps his foes past, present
and future cannot be better answered than by the moderate pen of Mr.
Zouch. " We have already had occasion to mention this venerable Ecclesiastic.
It was said of Father Paul that he not only knew more than other men,
but that he knew better, and that he seemed to have wisdom by habit.
" Attempts have recently been made by some modern writers amongst
the high Catholics, as they are denominated, to depreciate the fame,
and invalidate the authority of this great man. These attempts are
vain. His works will be held in veneration long after the names of his
adversaries are sunk in oblivion. "
Wc must now attend to the alliance between the Venetians and the
faithful Hollanders which was formed this year; it was probably
advised by Sarpi, and it gave him great pleasure. The diplomacy of
the seventeenth century was such as to perplex honest men, and an
honest ambassador could ill discharge his duty; still there were such
men, and none knew better than the Venetians how to appreciate them,
of which Sarpi gives many proofs. a
Again the subject was mooted, whether a power which acknowledged
the Pope could employ soldiers professing the Reformed religion. On
this question Fra Paolo supplied the Senate with a lucid reply in the
affirmative. It is needless to enter further on the history of Europe of this date
] Istoria del Concilio di Trento, scritta dal P. S. Pallavicino, della Compa-
gnia di Gesv. Roma, MDCLVI. Marciana.
2 Nor is that feeling yet dead in Venetia, as eyewitnesses of the recent
reception of the Ambassador from a great northern power can tell, when S.
Mark's palace resounded with a spontaneous tribute to talent and worth. 1866.

212 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1621.
than to remark that intolerance again burst forth, and that the hills and
dales of the Valteline reechoed with the cry of the wretched in
habitants; their mountains formed no shelter for them, and like
the apostolic, good, and learned Church of the Valdesi, many were
pursued and slain. The Papists amongst the Grisons were resolved to
free themselves from the government of the Reformed, and while Fra
Paolo, was still looking for reformation in the Church to enter from
the Grisons, he had the sorrow to behold the papal party triumphant,
and to learn that the Grisons were subdued or slain in the frightful contest.
After a reign of nearly sixteen years Paul V died, and was suc
ceeded by Alessandro di Bologna, who took the name of Gregory XV.
By the address of his nephew the papal party prevailed in France,
Italy and Austria, where the Sovereign had once been willing and
auxious for the restitution of the rights of the early Church.
This had an indirect influence upon Venice, and Fra Paolo beheld
his country settle down into comparative carelessness and indif
ference as to the abuses of the Romish Church. Those who really felt
anxiety on the subject were not of sufficient number to have weight
in the Senate; fear of offending Rome was again paralyzing freedom.
Had Paolo Sarpi then effected nothing? Had the long, weary, and
arduous life which he had led, all the persecution he had suffered, all
the brilliant hopes he had formed for his country, been as the down
of the thistle on the bosom of the blast?
No ! Seek deeper into the page of history, search longer in the
archives of his country, rend the veil from volumes which are not his,
give them back to their writers, but let the fame of Sarpi shine forth
in all the lustre that his integrity de serves. ' No one can deny but
that by Sarpi's means the reign of Paul V had been productive of good
to Italy.- Italy has never since been so blind to her political interests
and her patient suffering was one day to be rewarded. The impress
of the seal of the pontificate was to be effaced, if gradually yet surely,
from the land, the Papacy received a blow from the resistance of
Sarpi to Paul V, from which it has never recovered; no bull of
excommunication ever reached Venetia in after dajrs ; rulers and
subjects were forced to believe that the power of the Pope, and what
he termed the rights of the Church were wrongfully usurped, and
some gave credit to the opinions of Sarpi that the Pope was neither
Supreme Pontiff, nor infallible ruler of the Church, but merely Bishop of
Rome and liable to err, as did St. Peter and all men.
Sarpi enjoyed his high reputation for learning till the end of his
1 Appendix.

xt. 69.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 213
life, and when permitted, he sometimes received people of distinction.
" Many princes honored him with letters, and one royal personage, on
sending his son to Italy, told him that he must not fail to visit the
' Orbis terra? ocullus. ' ' He had however little time for visitors,
especially as he now had a new charge. The Nuncios had caused
disquiet by many infractions on existing laws, they were the medium
of the demands of the Auditor of the papal chamber, which Fra
Paolo thought were often as unlawful as superstitious, and he there
fore proposed that a scrutiny of all laws should be made by a cano
nist appointed for the purpose. The Senate immediately appointed
Paolo, who discharged this duty till his death, when a counsellor,
called " Theologian for the revision of Papal Bulls, " succeeded him.
The Nuncios were thus deprived of some power, as they had been in
the habit of yielding entirely to the interests of the Court of Rome.
These duties, however, increased the burden of labor which Paolo had
to perform, and was induced to undertake from conscientious motives,
not from gain, for as through life, so now in old age, he was indif
ferent to wealth.
" His latter years were spent very monotonously, owing to his being al
most a prisoner except when the public service or his profession required
him to go abroad. His food was a little bread toasted on coals, to escape ill
intent, and having no relation but a very old cousin, he had nothing to
wish for his family. In him ambition was wholly dead, and now he was
content that any one rather than himself, should enjoy the merit of any of
his scientific discoveries. "
" Such was his fidelity in the public service, that the prince honored him
in a manner which had never been done before; he had free access to the
two secret archives, and free permission to examine all the writings of the
State as also of the government.
" His memory was so extraordinary, that he could immediately put his
hand on any MS. he wished to examine, and as these Archives contained
public documents of laws, treaties of peace and war, truces, confederations,
negotiations, with all the despatches for centuries past from all parts of the
world, in old volumes which it was difficult to decipher, this was no easy
matter. " There could be no greater proof of the entire confidence of the Govern
ment in the integrity of Sarpi, than the permission thus given to him to
examine and arrange its most secret Archives. It was a work of interest
but very arduous, and his health suffered from it, for on Easter day, when
in his accustomed place in the Segreta, he was suddenly seized with cold
as if he had been frozen, accompanied by hoarseness and numbness. He
had never had any catarrh before, but from this and ague he now suffered

214 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1622.
severely for three months, yet he never changed his way of life, or relaxed
his laborious occupation, a diminution of his strength was apparent, and
he often said that he never was well after this illness. " '
There was little to cheer him from Rome, the power of the Jesuits being
very great there, in consequence of the countenance they received from
the Pope and his nephew. They soon gave trouble to Venice, but Fra Paolo
counselled the Senate not to give way. The Jesuits wished to be reinstated
in a Greek College which they had once possessed, but he plainly told the
government that if they were established there the sons of ignorant people
would be educated in the maxims of a society inimical to it. This remon
strance was not likely to please the Curia; but Paolo did not consult his own
interest ; he was well aware of the opinion which the new Pope held of his
being the Counsellor of the Republic, as on his accession, Gregory XV
said, " that there never would be a perfect peace between the Apostolic see
and Venetia, except such an one as Fra Paolo Sarpi chose. '' On this Fra
Paolo not only determined to relinquish the public service, but to quit the
States of Venice. He was in declining years; but on many accounts it
would have been a sacrifice if he had left his country. The King of Great
Britain had not been able to prevail upon him to leave it, and the State
certainly would not have permitted him to do so. He had however resolv
ed to go to the Levant, Constantinople, or elsewhere, and had obtained
information from travellers, particularly from a Jew who had often made
the journey; he even provided himself with a passport, and had every
thing ready to meet any adverse fortune, and was determined to depart,
rather than that his prince or country should receive any ill, although he was
sure that the Senate would rather have gone to war on his account than
withdraw their protection. It was not however so to be, and Sarpi was to
suffer neither from the threatened malevolence of the Pope Gregory, or
of his successor, Urban VIII. Ere the latter had ascended the pontifical
throne, Fra Paolo Sarpi was beyond the reach of wrong.
It was unlikely that the publication of so remarkable a work as his
History of the Council of the Church would not be productive of great
opposition by the Papal Nuncios and other adherents of the Curia, one
instance of this may suffice, and again the attack came from one who had
forsaken the reformed religion.
The Prince de Conde, immediately on the appearance of Fra Paolo's
History of the Council of Trent, had made enquiries concerning it of
the Venetian ambassador at Paris, who had informed the good Servite,
and this appears to have influenced him in not wishing to meet the
Prince when he came to Venice. It was in vain that he excused him-

i MS.

xt 70.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 216
self, the Prince insisted so peremptorily, that the Senate gave orders that
he was to be received. A meeting without the walls of the Convent
was appointed, at the house of the afore-mentioned ambassador who
was lately returned from Paris. The conversation was taken down, and
a more desultory one has seldom been heard; the Prince endeavoring
to discover Sarpi's opinions, but he left the Prior to answer for him in
general terms as to the mass, and as to his being a foe of the Jesuits, but
it is apparent that the Prince knew that he did not agree with him, he
then questioned Sarpi on the religious sects, on the Reformed Church
of France, the superiority of the Council over the Pope, the liberty of
the Gallican Church, whether it was lawful to employ men at arms of
different religions, the excommunication of Princes, but above all, who ivas
the author of the History of the Council of Trent.
" The Prince blamed the Huguenots, without even touching upon the
most trivial points of their doctrine, the Father dexterously diverted
him from this topic, by alluding to the valor and prudence of his
father and grandfather; as to the Pope and Councils and their rela
tive superiority, he put the Prince in mind of the Sorbonne and the
change and degeneracy of France since the admission of the Jesuits,
and the difference between the old and modern Sorbonnist, without touch
ing on the point of superiority, as the Father wished to have done.
And as to the liberty of the Gallican Church, the Father passed it over
in general terms, saying that the Parliament of France and the Sor
bonne had maintained these liberties as the natural right of all Chur
ches, but that in France they had been better defended than elsewhere. As
to the employment of soldiers of different opinions in religion, he only
observed that Julius II had employed the Turks at Bologna, and
Paul III the Grisons in Rome, whom he called angels sent by God to
defend him, and yet they were heretics. They then discoursed diffusely
on the excommunication of Princes, and the Father obliged the Prince to
speak of Gregory VII, and made him confess that he had seen many
public and private documents by which it appears, that if the Pope had
not made such pretensions as to forbid princes to be present at mass,
and other services of the Church, controversies would not have attained
such a height; but the chief point was as to excommunication, whether
princes under it had cause of complaint, as excommunication was only
a spiritual sentence; whether they should be exposed to the rebellion
of their subjects, and to the plots of those who watched for their lives
or sought to deprive them of their crowns.
" As to the Father being the author of the History of the Council
of Trent, he told the Prince that it was he who had divulged this in
France, and had said as much to the Venetian Ambassador then resi-

216 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1622.
dent at the Court of the Most Christian King, so that the Ambassador
was obliged to write to the State, and he only answered further, that
at Rome it was well known who was the author, and with all his
turnings and windings the Prince could get nothing more out of him.
" Such was the celebrated conversation of the Prince of Conde with
Sarpi, and such the admirable way in which he parried the attacks of
the Prince. On no occasion did he ever avow that he was the author
of the History of the Council. "
We have the account of the above from Fulgenzio, who was present
and who describes the Father as a rock against which the waves dashed
harmlessly. There is a longer account of these interviews signed by Fra
Paolo to the Senate. l Now let us notice the last work which Fra Paolo is
known to have written, the MS. is intitled, Notes on the Popes. He spoke
well of Paul V; the Pontiff was dead, and Sarpi veiled his failings.
There was also amongst his MSS. a chronological list of illustrious per
sons in the handwriting of Franzano, divided into twelve small columns,
beginning 2021 B.C. and ending A.D. 1622, with notes by Sarpi.
Plots against his life were now less frequent, but it was not unusual
for Sarpi's enemies to charge him with hypocrisy. It is a vast but easily
broken web which the envious weave over the good. And the Cardinal
Sforza, who appears to have done so but only for amusement, used to call
Fra Paolo a hypocrite, on purpose that he might hear Fra Amante defend
him. This he did, as well as Asselineau, in conversation with M. Villiers,
who plainly told the Nuncios, that Fra Paolo took an unusual me
thod from that of hypocrites, who only appeared outwardly pious, but
that he never made any outward show but lived in the strictest retirement.
That no one had ever seen him do a hypocritical action, such as telling his
beads when he went through the streets, kissing medals, speaking with
pretended spirituality, or clothing himself sordidly, that he was cleanly
in his attire which although poor was becoming, and this was the touch
stone, he did not aspire to rank nor honor, he did not care for money,
or to receive anything from any body, and he was not austere, but gentle
and agreeable to all, and that he had always heard every one speak in
commendation of his great virtue and strict integrity, but that he would
be glad to hear from the Nuncio what grounds he had for believing the
contrary that he might know what to credit. The Nuncio was suddenly
surprised by this question, and wishing to extricate himself from his
dilemma, blamed the life and actions of the Father, but here he was
foiled, because, on the Ambassador again pressing him to say in what,
and if he called it hypocrisy that he never flattered the Court, nor sought
l Arch. Yen.

xt. 70.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 217
ecclesiastical dignities, nor fled retirement, nor wore long rosaries, nor
told his beads, nor was seen at stations in the Churches, nor wore bad
clothing, the Nuncio offered no reply. "
" Similar conversations passed at the different Courts after the com
motions in Spain, between the Ambassador Contarini and the King
of France, and with the Nuncio Ubaldini, who censured the Father's
writings with great severity.
" (Angelo) Contarini on the other hand, a man of singular candor, suavity,
and gentle nature, of strong understanding and therefore not contentious,
answered him that he could not argue with his Lordship, as he was
neither a theologian nor a jurisconsult, but that as to the Father's
writings, he was certain that they were neither so void of learning nor
so impious as the Nuncio said they were, which was evident by the
learned and scientific professors who commended them, but that as to
his life and manners he was positive, not only from hearsay but from
his own knowledge, that they were both irreprehensible , and the
Ambassador concluded by repeating that he led a holy, retired, and
exemplary life. To which the Nuncio answered, that it was on ac
count of his irreprehensible life that he believed him to be a bad man
and a hypocrite. "
" Such, " exclaims Fulgenzio, " was the comparison of these prelates
of the Roman Court with the doctrines of Christ and his Holy Apos
tles, who taught us to know faith by their works, and the tree by its
fruit! " And after an enumeration of Fra Paolo's life-long virtues, his
friend concludes thus, " and if these be the signs whereby Christ has
taught us to know hypocrites, let it be referred to the judgment of
others, for neither God nor man will permit the innocent to be so
unfortunate as that those tyrants who had power over their lives,
should also have power over their fame and memory. The righteous is
like the palm tree which rises above the weight of calumny, and God
never willed that tyrants should have power over them. " l
Without pausing long on the death of Foscarini, who was Well known
to Fra Paolo, we need only notice that his letter, with a bequest to
the good Servite to pray for his soul, was refused by him. s Fra Paolo
did not believe in purgatory, of this there are many proofs besides
Pallavicino's remarks. Nor did he wish to accept money from an enemy
of the state; but it is only justice to Foscarini to add, that he was
declared innocent, which was entered on the records of the Council of
Ten, where the writer of these pages saw it. 3
1 MS.
a Letter to the Signory. F. P. S, , 28th April 1622.
s Registro 39. Criminale, Con X, 1622, Giugno 16 : " Fu dichiarato innocente. "

218 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1623.
Sarpi never recovered from the illness from which he had suffered in
his sixty ninth year, " but with his usual resolution he bore up as
well as he could, till he entered on his seventy first year ; it was then
evident that his great soul was about to dislodge.
" It was impossible to keep him warm, and he had such an entire
loss of appetite that it was impossible to procure any food for him
that he did not dislike, he was surprised at his want of self-com
mand. He masticated with difficulty, bent double, and walked with
great weariness to his gondola, or up stairs. He slept but little, and
his dreams were no longer unintelligible and incongruous, but distinct,
natural, speculative, and as he was very observant of everything, he
told his friends, that this showed a gentle rising of the soul from the
body. " '
Notwithstanding all these demonstrations of declining health, Sarpi
did not give up his studies or his work at the Ducal palace, and
when Marco Trevisano. whose freedom of speech and truth were much
liked by the Father, would often reprove him for his intemperate love
of study and toil, as *if he were insensible to approaching age, he
heard him speak with pleasure, but he went on as before. On several
occasions his strength seemed to fail him, and he was obliged, in
walking through the Merceria, to lean on the arm of Fra Marco. He
did not conceal his illness, he showed that he expected death, but spoke
of it as freely and cheerfully as if it had been a matter of indifference,
a debt to nature, a long rest after a weary day's journey. "
He was often heard to repeat, besides ejaculatory prayers, many
passages from the Holy Scriptures, and he frequently said, " Nunc
dimittis servum tuum Domine etc. " " Now lettest thou thy servant
depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. " To his familiar
friend he would say, " Ah! we are near the end of the day. " On one
occasion when they were occupied with the affairs of the province and
spoke of the nomination of a Prior, he said " I shall not be here. " s
The following minute particulars of his last illness are given by
Fra Fulgenzio. " On Christmas day, the festival of the Nativity of our
Lord, when we saluted him with the usual compliments, ' Ad multos
annos, Sancte Pater, ' he immediately answered, ' that this year would
be his last ' and he spoke so seriously, that it was evident that he
did so with greater earnestness than he usually spoke of the brevity
of life. There can be no doubt but that he felt very ill, because in
general he made no change when he had fever; but on the Epiphany s
i MS.
2 MS.
3 January 6.

xt. 71.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 219
his illness increased, and at his return from the palace, where he had
been summoned three times, he was worse. During the two following
days he could neither eat nor sleep, but he would not remain in bed.
On Sunday he rose, celebrated mass and dined in the refectory. After
dinner, Signor Sechini came to see him, and remained with him for
some time, he told the' Padre that he thought he was very ill, he
confessed he was, and that he was obliged to lie down upon a chest
in his clothes with a coverlet over him. He continued much the same
till the following Friday, occupying himself as usual in reading and
writing, and when outstretched upon his chest, and too weak to do it
himself, others read to him. On Monday morning, having dressed
himself, he was suddenly seized by a complete prostration of strength
both in his hands and feet; he could not stand without support, and
could not move his hands without tremor; this was followed by such
a loathing of food that it required all his resolution even to try to
take any. His faculties were unimpaired; his tranquillity and cheerful
ness never forsook him, and till the day on which he died he comfort
ed those around him by cheerful remarks saying. ' I have consoled you
as long as I could, and now I can do so no more, it is your part to
cheer me. ' The physicians supposed his disorder to be epilepsy, some
suspected poison, but there were no signs of either, it was rather a
decay of nature.
" On Wednesday, he wished to leave his room, as if eager to meet
all his old companions in the refectory once more, he went to dinner,
but, as it was at some distance from his rooms besides the stairs, he
was obliged to be supported thither, trembling all over. Nevertheless,
he received every visitor, conversed as usual, said nothing of his ill
ness except to his doctor and that very briefly but to his friend and
physician Asselineau be spoke of his state without any reserve, beg
ging him not to tell Fra Fulgenzio because it would grieve him, but
he knew that the Padre's last hours were near.
" On Thursday morning, l he sent for the Prior, and begged him to
commend him to the prayers of the Fathers, and when service was
finished that he would be pleased to administer the holy communion
to him, and added that he had lived in the poverty of the Order,
having nothing of his own; that all which had been granted to -him
according to the rules of the Order, remained in his rooms. The Padre
then gave the small key of a cupboard to the Prior in which was the
remainder of his salary from the Serene Republic. This cupboard, and
another where he kept state papers, were the only ones which he kept
* January 12.

220 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1623.
locked. He dressed himself as usual, and spent all the morning in
listening to Fra Fulgenzio and Fra Marco, who by turns read the
Psalms, the narrations of the Holy Evangelists, and the Passion of
Christ to him ; he made them pause at intervals while he remained in
devout meditation, but such was his languor that his efforts to kneel
were wholly ineffectual. As soon as the service in church was conclud
ed, at the sound of a small bell, the Prior and all the friars with
torches in their hands brought the most Holy Sacrament to him as he
lay on his bed dressed in his usual habit. He partook of it with that
devotion which was to be expected from one who was so sincere, it
drew tears from the eyes of all present, and the remarkable example
of one so well prepared to pass to a blessed life was deeply impressed
on all.
He did not wish any one to watch him during the night; he always had
said it was ostentatious, that it incommoded others without doing him any
good, that it disturbed him as he thought he disturbed others, and that he
could not suffer another to lose his rest for him. He would not permit Fulgen
zio to remain with him, and rose and dressed himself the following morning.
He had always scrupuously attended to all the rules of the Convent; he
would not take broth or meat or any other food but that usual in Lent,
and when eating his dinner he turned playfully to the cook saying, " Fra
Cosmo do you treat your friends thus, to make them break fast days ? "
It was not superstition, but a firm and acquired habit to observe whatever
was ordered even to the minutia in things not essential. In the evening,
three attendants remained with him, but although he required to have
some one to give him restoratives, he helped himself, remaining perfectly
quiet, and was only heard sometimes to ejaculate, " 0 God ! "
On Saturday, the only day he remained in bed, he was in great weakness
of body but in full vigor of mind. The most Serene Prince and the most
excellent Senate sent for Fra Fulgenzio to question him as to the state of
the Padre's health. The mournful answer was, that he believed his life
was drawing fast to a close, and that his case was hopeless. The most
excellent Signor Ottavino Buono wished to know what was the state of
his mind. Fulgenzio answered, that although in great bodily weakness,
his judgment and memory were the same as they had ever been when he,
Maestro Paolo, served his Serenity and the Senate for seventeen years, and
had counselled them in their greatest difficulties. The same day he recei
ved visitors; and when the Most excellent Signor Bassadonna came in,
the Padre took off his cap and thanked him for his visit; when he was
gone, he heard] reading for a considerable time with great attention.
There were then three question regarding matters of grave importance
submitted to him. Fra Paolo, two hours before midnight, wrote an an-

xt. 71.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 221
swer and sent it to the college, and the same evening it was read in
the Senate and his advice followed.
Night coming on, and weakness increasing, the Passion of our Saviour
was read to him from the gospel of John. He spoke of his own sins and of
his strong confidence in the blood of Christ, and often repeated, " Quern
proposuit Deus mediatorem per fidem in sanguine suo, " from which he
seemed to receive great consolation; he repeated, though with great faintness
various passages from St Paul, protesting " that he had nothing to present,
to God but misery and sins, yet nevertheless he desired to be plunged in
the abyss of divine mercy, " and this he expressed with so much submis
sion and yet so much cheerfulness, that all present wept. His strength
totally failing, he received extreme unction, and about three o'clock was
again visited by those physicians who had seen him shortly before. But
as he had not been previously visited by Tebaldi, the Padre told Fra
Fulgenzio to give him an account of his illness. And on his having told
this physician of his failure of strength on the previous Monday, the Pa
dre raised his head and exclaimed, " Failure of mind ? "
" No Padre " said he, " strength of body, for as for your mind it has always
retained its constancy; " but on the physician wishing to give him some
slight hope of life Fulgenzio, who knew how little the Padre regarded
either to live or to die, said, " the Father is not one to whom you need
speak either with disguise or ceremony. Tell him that he has been a pa
tient sufferer. " To this the Father gaye signs of assent. The Doctor then
said that his pulse told that life was passing away, that it would close
that night, and in a few hours. On hearing this the Father's counte
nance was overspread by a happy smile, and he said. " Blessed be God,
whatever pleaseth Him pleaseth me, and with His aid we shall rightly
perform this last act. " On the physicians wishing him to take some re
storative he said, " Let us now forget these trifles, but will you Signor explain
two things of which I am in doubt. First, I feel certain and am fully per
suaded that whatever you give me is very good, and certain of this I take
it, but whenever I taste it, it seems as if my brain was changed and as if it
became horrid and abominable. The second is " and here his breath failed
him, and his physician seing that life was ebbing away ordered some cor
dial, and at eight o'clock some rare muscat that he would send him. This
lie took about six o'clock, saying "This appears to me to be very strong. "
He continued to speak to those around him many memorable words,
and repeated passages of the Holy Scriptures with great devotion, often
saying, " Now let us go where God calls us. " His attendants, seeing that
his voice began to fail, begged him to take a little rest, at which he smiled.
Eight o'clock struck, upon which he called for Fra Cosmo and said "It is
eight o'clock, give me what the physician ordered. " But he could only take

222 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1623.
a small portion of it. He then called Fra Fulgenzio to him, and command
ed him to leave him with these memorable words which are graven for
ever on his heart, " Now stay no longer to see me in this state, it is not
needful; go to your rest, and I will go to God whence we came, " and he
desired Fulgenzio to kiss him. And although Fulgenzio knew well how much
such an example of constancy would support and strengthen his own mind, ho
left him, not indeed that he wished to leave him, but to obey his commands,
which were to ask all the Fathers to pray for him. So he called the Prior
and the other friars to come around his bed, and in their prayers to com
mend his soul to God. He could no longer speak, but with his eyes, and
by signs he shewed that he retained his senses to his latest breath.
" His death was accompanied by two remarkable circumstances. By a
last effort, for his mind was totally absorbed in God, he crossed his hands,
then fixing his eyes on the crucifix before him, he looked on it for a short
time, then looked downwards, and shutting his eyes, with a smile breathed
his soul into the hands of God. "
Such was the end of this illustrious man, and it pleased the divine Dis
poser of all events that witness of it was given by a public document upon
oath subscribed by the whole College of the Reverend Fathers of the
Servi who were present.
" Most Serene Prince, God has called his faithful servant and my be
loved M. P. Paul from the labours of this world to the repose of Paradise,
and I, who would have given my life to be the ambassador of the intelli
gence of his convalescence to your Serenity, am now but the herald of his
death, a death to me most mournful, and the severest blow I have ever
experienced, but to him fraught with happiness, as crowning all the
actions of his life.
" Living, he was ever to us all, and to all the Order of the Servi, a model
of the sublimest virtues that can adorn the Christian, and dying, he emi
nently exhibited that faith and perfect resignation to God's will, that every
true servant of Christ should possess.
" My mind is so confused and oppressed with grief, that I can ill describe
his last actions, all admirable for their true piety. This I will say that his
was a most happy death, because he obtained that to which his thoughts,
labors and studies were all directed, to die in the service of your Serenity.
" And if it be true, as is generally admitted, that death unmasks life
(because in all human actions, either through art or interest, some dis
simulation or fraud may he mingled, but death removes all falsehood and
shows every one as he is), happy was my dear master who in two circum
stances of his death exhibited the image of his life, and a most perfect
portrait of that piety which is commanded by the Holy Spirit of God,
Honora Deum et Principem. His soul was firmly fixed on God (besides his

xt. 71.J FRA PAOLO SARPI 223
having consigned all that he had for his own use into the hands of the
Prior), he asked and received the Holy Sacraments with great devotion,
confession with his Ordinary Spiritual Father, and the most Holy Eucharist
from the Prior, with the attendance of all the Chapter, and extreme
unction from the hands of his amanuensis, Fra Marco. The last words he
said to me , in a low voice, and with the greatest devotion, after he recited
his brief and usual prayers, and having kissed me and exhorted me to go
to repose, were these, " Go to rest, and I will return to God whence we
came. " With these last words his lips were closed in eternal silence. The
zeal he evinced in your Serenity's service may be learned from the fact
that in all his illness only one uncollected sentence escaped his lips.
" Let us go to Saint Mark's, for I have more than ordinary business to
do. " Thus, so intent was he on the service of your Serenity, that when he
could no longer control his speech, by force of habit he thus expressed
himself. " I ought not to omit his last act. The Prior with all the Fathers joined
in the most affecting prayers, amidst floods of unfeigned tears, and after
having remained for a long time with his hands immovable, he crossed
them on his breast and fixing his eyes on a crucifix that stood opposite
to him, he closed his lips with a smile, and looking downwards gave up
his Spirit to God.
" I have wished, by these few particulars which happened in the pres
ence of so many Fathers, to give this brief but confused account of the
last hours of your faithful and loyal servant, believing it to be my duty
to do so, in order that if it pleases you to direct any thing concerning his
funeral before we make any arrangement, on letting us know your com
mands they may be properly executed. " Grazie, etc.
The Doge immediately commanded a magnificent funeral at the public
expense, which the Prior acknowledged thus:
" Your Serenity having deigned with your usual piety and munificence
to aid our sacristy with alms for the funeral of your deceased servant, the
Fathers all united to celebrate his funeral with such demonstrations as
were in their power. The four monastic Orders, the Dominicans, Francis
cans, Eremitani, l and Carmelites, all immediately responded to the
invitation, about two hundred monks, besides those of the two monasteries,2
amidst the acclamations and tears of a -concourse of people who had come
to witness the funeral of a holy man, gifted with the rarest intellect.
1 Reformed Franciscans.
2 Of the Servi.

224 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1623.
" One may consider it as a holy impulse, that all thus wished to honor
the earthly remains of this holy man who had been received into heaven.
" These last ceremonies having been performed publicly, before such a
multitude, to the honor of God and to the consolation of your Serenity,
of whom he was the servant, I have wished to give you these particulars,
and they will be confirmed by all the Fathers of the Convent and signed
by their own hand. " Grazie.
Io Frat'AaiANTE da Brescia, Priore nel Convento dei Servi.
Io Frate Benedetto Ferro.
Io Fra Agostino, affermo quanto si contiene in detta scrittura.
Io Fra Fulgentio.
Io Fra Giovanni da Venetia.
Io Fra Sebastiano da Venetia.
Io Fra Raeaelo da Verona.
Io Fra Ambrogio Cignani da Venetia.
Io Fra Gregorio Priul da Venetia.
Io Fra Guglieljio da Venetia.
Io Fra Giovanni Francesco segurta, da Venetia.
Io Fra Guglielmo da Venetia.
Io Fra Gioseee da Venetia.
Io Fra Valentino da Venetia, Vicario di Monastero.
Io Fra Marco da Venetia.
Io Fra Pietro da Venetia, Socio della Provincia.
Io Fra Basilio da Venetia, Sacrestano.
Io Fra Fulgentio da Venetia , Sindaco e Procuratore del
Monastero.
Io Fra Pietro d'Udine.
Io Fra Pietro di Rovado.
Io Fra Zossimo da Venetia.
Mournful as was the sight, still the Venetians were permitted to
look once more on him they revered. It was the custom in Italy to
carry the dead to the grave with the face uncovered; and as few
hours had intervened between the death and burial of Fra Paolo Sarpi,
little change had taken place on the countenance, it was still over
spread by a smile, still fresh in color, and finer even in death than
in life. ' Nobles, citizens, and people attended his funeral, and wept their
1 MS.

«*• 71-] FRA PAOLO SARPI 225
common loss; although seventy one years of age, his intellect was
still so vigorous, that the Doge and Senate regarded the death of
Sarpi as one of the heaviest clouds that could' overcast the political
horizon. To many of the nobles he was a genial companion and adviser;
while those of the youthful patricians who could find access to him,
prized his society. The citizens not only loved him. but were proud
that he was one of them; the people venerated him, and had they
been permitted would have superstitiously honored him after death;
he was ever the friend of the poor.
In spite of all this, the document from the Superior of the Convent
to the Doge was necessary to refute the falsehoods which were spread,
that Paolo Sarpi " died with frightful howlings and cries at sight of
apparitions; and that dreadful noises were heard in his cell. " The
same fables had been told when the pious Doge Leonardo Donato
died, ' and probably the disbelief of Fra Paolo in the doctrine of pur
gatory incited some to spread a report that his soul was thus in tor
ment, in and after death. But as Fra Paolo had written of the great
and good Doge Leonardo Donato, "He is in glory;" so might Fra
Fulgenzio Micanzio write of " his beloved Master. "
The reader will not linger on whatever of superstition dimmed the dying
cell of the great Fra Paolo Sarpi; it was not that he had taken the habit of
a friar, it was not that he loved and served his country, it was not that he
had died in the communion of the Church of Rome that enabled him to
meet death with a smile; it was, as he had often said, by the grace of
God. He had nothing to present before God except sin, but he trusted
solely to the blood of the Immaculate One. If a pure and holy life, a life
of self-denial could have gained heaven, the life of Fra Paolo Sarpi would
have done so; but while he strove to fulfil the command of heaven to
be perfect, he freely confessed he was not. He laid all his genius, all
his learning, his life, his all, at the foot of the cross of Christ, content to be
nothing. It was not that he did not value human wisdom, but that he valued
the wisdom of heaven more, and however unintelligible to some were
his remonstrances against superstition, he persevered in his search after
and defence of the truth. He had found the mighty truths of religion
in the pages of the Holy Scriptures, and he believed and said that he
served the highest and eternal interests of his countrymen by remain-
ning in communion with the Church of Rome in the hope of reform,
if not in his time, by those who would come after him. By faith in
the Redeemer he saw that the crust of scholastic obscurity, superstition,
1 Appendix.

226 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1623.
love of money, and wordly distinction prevailed more than any desire
to make known the gospel, and like the great Cardinal Pole, Conta
rini, and many other members of the Church of Rome, he was glad
when he could present the simple tidings that the Saviour had died to
open the kingdom of heaven to all believers, to his fellow mortals. A
clear view of the particular reforms which Sarpi desired in the Church
cannot be obtained without a careful perusal of his whole works, and
few have time to undertake the task. His approval of the Liturgy of the
book of common prayer shewed what he thought of the mass and that
he did not believe in transubstantiation, he believed that the sacrament
ought to be given in both kinds. In the course of this biography his opinions
with regard to faith in the Saviour, the worship of the Virgin Mary
and of the saints, indulgences, confession, the temporal power and the
infallibility of the Pope, cannot have escaped notice. If they were only
shadowed forth, it was not because Sarpi did not distintly agree in many
of the fundamental truths of religion that he did not join the Reformed.
He was willing to suffer, that future ages should benefit by what he
left to them, a warning that he hoped would ring the knell of all that
would rob the Monarch of the Universe of that honor due only to
Deity, a warning which echoed through Europe, a warning which yet
vibrates, although ages have passed since the eloquence of Sarpi rivet-
ted the hearts of dying men on the Saviour, as He alone who died
to save all who call upon him.
He has been blamed by some for not following the steps of the
German reformer; but Sarpi had not, as the great German had, the
support of his prince.
His letters and the evidence afforded by some of his contemporaries
testify that Sarpi wished a greater separation from the Court of Rome,
but above all the fall of the temporal power of the Pope. And there
can be no doubt, that as soon as the present monarch of Italy gives
sanction to still greater reform within the Church of Rome, this will
follow. The liberality of the policy of the illustrious Victor Emmanuel
is too well known to need any comment here. For whatever Sarpi
advocated he made direct appeal to the Scriptures, and the reader
will remember bis quotation of the remark of Paul V on the sermons of
Fra Fulgenzio Micanzio. Let it be borne in mind, that Sarpi felt that
he could not conscientiously leave the Church of Rome ; he believed
. and said, that with all her defects, she was like the Church of Corinth,
a Church of Christ, and although he took the part of the Reformed, cor
responded with them, welcomed them to his cell, and showed them
many acts of friendship, yet in some instances he thought them too
vehement. It has been seen that by some of the church of Rome he

xt- 71.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 227
was called an atheist, because he refused to believe in many of the
superadded dogmas and superstitions of his own, and former times;
but it has been shown that an atheist was the only member of a com
munity whom he declared unworthy of tolerance; he was too wise not
to know that atheism is but a signal of distress torn to fragments
on the top-mast of a vessel without weight or ballast, which ventures to
cross the rough waves of time, without a rudder or without a compass.
As Sarpi went to and fro to the Ducal palace, and oftentimes to
the Ducal chapel (now St. Mark's Cathedral), at the hours of prayer,
his eyes must have rested on these words over tbe entrance: " Ego
sum illud ostium, per me si quis introierit servabitur. " S. Johan
x, 9. " Ego sum via ilia, et ilia Veritas, et vita ilia. Nemo venit ad
Patrem nisi per me " S. Johan xiv, 6. "I am the door: by me if
any man enter in, he shall be saved. " S. John, x, 9. " I am the way,
the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me. "
S. John, xiv, 6. This it was, as has been seen, which amidst all
the dark storms of life was the stay of his soul, and when the hour
came that Fra Paolo Sarpi was to leave the world, and the finite was
to stand before the Infinite, he could not regret that he had entered
heaven by the only entrance through which the countless number of
the redeemed enter, to go out no more. So long as he was permitted,
he had with all the powers of eloquence of which he was master,
pointed to the cross of Christ, and when he could no longer do so,
when his voice was mute in death, his countrymen remembered then,
and their posterity remembers now, that in that cross he triumphed.
Notice of the death of Fra Paolo Sarpi was immediately sent by
the Doge and Senate to all the Venetian Ambassadors who were re
sident at the various courts of Europe, in order that their Excellencies
might communicate the irreparable loss which the Republic had sus
tained to the Sovereigns and Princes of these States. The following is a
translation of that sent: " To the Ambassador at Rome.
" It has pleased God to call Father Paolo to himself, one endeared to
us by his noble qualities, and he having in all times and seasons shown
the greatest fidelity, virtue and devotion in our cause, we feel that deep
sorrow which the loss of one so endeared merits. He was not only adorned
with every excellence, as evinced in all his actions, but in his last illness
he consigned all that was given to him for his use into the hands of the
Prior; and surrounded by all the Chapter gave up his Spirit to God, to
the edification of all the friars who were present, who prayed with him

228 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1623.
with much affection and many tears. A great number of the four religious
Orders of mendicant friars, Dominicans, Franciscans, and Carmelites at
tended his funeral ; and a large concourse of people from all parts of the
city who spontaneously wished to accompany it.
" We, from the esteem which the Republic has always borne to him,
and on account of the important services he has at all times rendered,
together with the Senate, wish to give you this information.
" in Pregadi,
" ' 1622, 21st January. "
The following is from the pen of the Patrician Veniero.
PAVLUS VENETUS SERVITARUM
Ordinis Theologus,
Ita Prudens , Integer , Sapiens,
Ut Majorem nee Humanorum
Nee Divinorum Scientiam,
Nee Integriorem nee Sanctiorem
Vitam Desiderares
Intelligentia Per Cuncta Permeante,
Sapientia Affectibus Dominante
Prasditus,
Nulla, Unquam Cupiditate Commotus,
Nulla, Animi jEgritudine Turbatus,
Semper Constans, Moderatus, Perfectus,
Verum Innocentiae Exemplar,
Deo, Mira Pietate, Religione,
Continentia Addictus:
Tantis Virtutibus
Reipublicaa In Sui Desiderium,
Concitate Justum, Fidel em Operam
Navans :
(Religiosum Hominem, Dum Patrias servit, Haud a Deo
Separari [Existimans]:)
Summo Consilio, Rationis vi Libera
Integra Mente Publicam Causam
Defendens,
1 The date in Venetian Style, delib. 1622. Senato di Venezia, (Archives of
Venice).

xt. 71.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 229
Magnas a Libertate Veneta
Insidias Sua Sapientia
Repellens;
Majus Libertatis Presidium In Se
Quam in Arcibus, Exercitibus
Positum,
Venetis Ostendens;
Mortales
An Magis Amandus, Mirandus,
Venerandus,
Dubios Faciens ;
De Nominis Apud Probos
.ZEternitate ,
De Animi Apud Deum
Immortalitate Securus;
Morbum Negligens,
Mortem Contemnens ,
Loquens Docens, Orans,
Contemplans,
Vivorum Actiones Exercens,
LXXI .ETATIS Anno
Magno Honorum Ploratu
Non Obiit, Abiit e Vita, ad Vitam
Evolavit. JO. ANT. VENERIO, Pat. Ven. »
The Senate by decree commanded the noble Lando to arrange all
the writings of Fra Paolo Sarpi which had any reference to the State ,
a catalogue was made of them by Agostino Dolce, and they were care
fully deposited in the Archives of Venice, where they now are,
twenty nine volumes (folio) in all.
But there were some who were jealous of the honors paid to Sarpi;
they were annoyed at his public funeral, and certain disturbances were
complained of as having taken place at the Convent of the Servi. The
Senate instantly interposed, and a decree was issued taking the Convent
under the special care of the State; at Rome it was soon shewn that,
although dead, Sarpi was still to be maligned, and the Pope Gregory
deemed it his prerogative to declaim against his memory.
J MS. Studii di Foscarini, Marciana,

230 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1623.
Gregory XV died shortly after Sarpi, and was succeeded by Bar-
berini, Urban VIII, who with the Court did their utmost to vilify his
name. But they might as well have attempted to blot out the sun, as the
memory of Sarpi from the hearts of the good and the free, or his name
from its high place in the world of letters.
It is difficult to conceive more poignant grief or indignation than
that which stirred the heart of Fra Fulgenzio when he wrote the
concluding page of the life of Sarpi. It was not enough that he mourn
ed him as his teacher, his friend, his counsellor, and his companion ;
he had to bewail the narrow-minded bigotry which denied his country
men the gratification of erecting a monument to the memory of Paolo
Sarpi. Fulgenzio " was the first to wish to raise some memorial to
him, but the Convent would not permit him, wishing that it should
be done by the public. The Senate interposed, and commanded by a
public decree that a memorial bearing an inscription should be raised
to Fra Paolo, but the monument which Girolamo Campagna was desired
to execute was stopped by government, although the sculptor had
furnished a design of the work. " The Court of Rome was still triumph
ant; intolerance with broad step came forth to endeavour to fill up
the gap between the time of his death, and the end of time! In the
same palace where Fra Paolo had toiled early and late for his country,
a voice from Rome counselled the Senators not to raise any monument
to his name, " for a time; but, " concluded the speaker, " since the Pope
does not wish him to live in stone, he shall live in our annals with less
risk of his memory being consumed by the greedy hand of time. "
But notwithstanding the efforts to make his name forgotten, not
withstanding the pains taken to publish abroad that there was no
portrait of him, he was not, he is not forgotten. We have said the
lamentation for his death was great throughout Venetia, and his per
sonal friends, not content with portraits of their living friend, employed
painters and sculptors to delineate his features after death. Of these,
there is one which appears to have transmitted to our times some
what of'that radiant smile which overspread his features when the
light of heaven was breaking upon his last moments. These few words,
in Italian, surround the portrait: "We shall never again see another
Fra Paolo; " also, " Quid spectas! Dulcem credis dormire soporem.
Paulum haud falleris, hie dormit ut in -Domino. Le R. P. Paul Sarpi
pretre Docteur Theologie Religieux de l'Ordre de Servites nacquit a
Venise le 14 Aout 1553, et mourut le 7 de Juillet (Janvier) 1623. " '
But if no place was found within or without the Senate for a public
1 Bib. Imp. Paris.

'ET' 710 FRA PAOLO SARPI 231
monument to Fra Paolo Sarpi, his friends, nobles, citizens, and people
only cherished his memory the more. Their indignation was greatly
excited, that malice still pursued him to his grave; in consequence of
attempts to do injury to his remains, and to prevent the recurrence
of suoh acts, his body was hidden. It had been interred at some
distance from the usual burial place within the walls of the Convent
of the Servi, but it was removed in order to be concealed, nine months
after its first interment; on opening the coffin, the body was found
entire and the face still of a flesh color. With what an earnest gaze
would Fra Fulgenzio look on that well known visage, ere it was again
lost to his sight for ever! It seems as if we heard the stealthy foot
step, the slow-drawn breath, the almost silent whisper as some of his
chosen friends bore him to his new-made grave.
In silence and in profound secresy, they hid the remains of him
whom they dared not mourn, and they added yet this seal to inviolable
friendship, that they secured the precious deposit till one hundred
years had passed away, and till the fierce storms of persecution and
prejudice had subsided into calm.
The writer has often had occasion to note the nobility of character
of the Venetians; they felt gratitude to Paolo Sarpi, and many were
deeply grieved that in their time no deserved eulogium of him could
be graven on stone, no column of marble raised to his memory, no
statue of the individual who had so long perilled his life in the
service of his country be seen among the adornments of their beauti
ful city.
The Republic of Venice was insensible to the great injury she inflicted
upon herself by having forbidden the elevation of a public monument
to Sarpi, she did not reflect that the non-recognition of his great services
to the State was apparently a tacit disapproval of his opinions, and a
marked declension from that independent action towards the Court of
Rome which Sarpi had been so desirous that she should cultivate, it
was more, it was a step in that gradual but downward course which
Venetia and the other States of Italy then trod, when afraid of a self
constituted power, they complied with the unjust and lawless requirements
of the Pope, and the non-erection of a monument was a triumph to
that party within the Senate who were enemies to liberty of conscience,
who even after the death of Sarpi continued to be his foes; but it was
also a triumph to the Jesuits, who now looked on their return to
Venice as certain. He was dead, but his words lived on ; Fra Fulgenzio
did not forget them, and never during his long life and term of office
as theologian and counsellor to the Republic were the Jesuits readmit
ted there. But they did return, and persevere till the glory of Venice had

232 THE LIFE OF [a.d. 1623
set, but not for ever. No ! her brave hearted people are now as free as
Fra Paolo desired, free, because partakers of that freedom which is the
birthright of every man. and which makes him value Christian liberty
the more, free to follow the religion of Fra Paolo without convent walls;
and they shall be freer still.
The body of Fra Paolo remained hidden and undisturbed until the year
1722, when the altar d'Addolorata in the Church of the Servi was
repaired. It was raised for the third time, and carefully reburied in the
same grave; there it reposed till the year 1742, when the altar was
rebuilt, and then the remains were again disinterred, but again restored
to the same place with an epigraph in lead. Amidst all the political
tempests which burst over Venice, amidst the voice of cannon which
levelled even churches to the ground, the grave of Sarpi was unmoles
ted, undesecrated, unknown; the Venetian and the stranger trod uncon
sciously over his tomb. At length, in the year 1828, when the chapel
and altar of the Addolorata were demolished and sold, the bones of
Fra Paolo Sarpi were sought for, discovered and disinterred for the fifth
time, in the presence of the Count Morosini, the noble Podesta of Venice,
the Cavaliere Cicogna, the Signor Ruggieri and many others, besides the
Rector and vice rector; the epigraph which had been laid in the grave
in the year 1742 was found, and was replaced together with the bones
of the great Venetian with much care in a chest lined with lead, which
being sealed, was consigned to the Marciana till the Government assigned
a place of interment.
The entombment was on the 15th of November 1828, and an eye
witness of the ceremony writes, " that Sarpi whose name is world
wide had at length found honorable burial in a grave on which the
citizens of Venice as well as strangers can look. " '
The following is on a mural tablet of white marble, on the outer
wall of the church of the Servi, near the ruins of the great door. It
was placed there on the removal of the bones of Fra Paolo Sarpi to
the Church of S. Michele di Murano.
P. Sarpivs Th. R. P. Ven.
Hie Vbi Servor Aedes
Svrgebat, Olim Conditvs
Ad D. Mich, di Mvriano
Translatvs Est Dec. Pvb.
MDcccxxviii.
> The Cavaliere Cicogna. Inscriz. Ven.

xt. 70.] FRA PAOLO SARPI 233
It is, however, painful to relate that in the year 1846, in an unknown
hour, the tomb was disturbed, and the stone, bearing the same inscription
as now, was forcibly taken away. But if it was intended to make Paolo Sar
pi forgotten the attempt signally failed, as the government commanded an
investigation of the matter. The chest had not been touched, the hidden
stone was restored to its place, as also the defaced inscription.
The small island of S. Michael di Murano was visited with great
interest. It lies about a mile to the north of the city of Venice; the
site of the church near the rocky shore is beautiful, and the cloisters
and grounds of the monastery, adjoining which was the Franciscan, are
now the cemetery of Venice. Close to the door of the Ambulaco lie
the remains of Fra Paolo Sarpi, with the following inscription on the
tomb.

Ossa
PAVLI SARPII
Theol. Reip. Venem
Hue Translata
a. mdcccxxviii
Decreto Publico

¦r.r.

NOTES

--&g.>

Introdution — page I.
The autograph " Life ""differs in many respects from the printed
" Life. " Fulgenzio's M. S., has a preface of which the following is a
translation. It was not my intention to write the life of the Rev. M. Paul of
the Order of the Servi in Venice, except in a very brief and concise
form, with the view of prefixing it to some of his moral sayings or
maxims, and to arrange them in order under proper heads when I had
leisure to collect them from among his papers, where they are found
written down as they occurred to his mind, as rules of conduct.
I should not have been moved from my purpose by the earnest entrea
ties which have been made to me, not only by the friars of the Order but
by many different parties, even by persons in high place, all entreating
me to give them without delay this greatly desired boon. Although it is
highly to the interest of the Order, in which he of whom I speak served
God for sixty one years, of the country which gave birth to so excellent a
man, of the Prince for whom he labored for seventeen years with matchless
faith and with no unfruitful results, and of the age in which we live
(which by the singular example of so great a man repels the charge that
has been made against it, of being unproductive of heroic virtues), that
the memory of one so pious and so virtuous should be preserved, I
deemed it unnecessary to undertake such a task, believing that his
own /Works were sufficient to perpetuate his glorious memory. But,
since envy and malignity, which usually end with death even in the
bitterest enemies, still cruelly pursue his venerable remains, and have sti
mulated the same unjust fury against the dead which pursued the living
with poniards, poison and treacherous devices, that only failed of their
effect through the singular and admirable intervention of Divine Pro
vidence, on this account I have withdrawn my determination, and
I come forward to declare to the world that it is most unreasonable
that innocence is thus cruelly persecuted. I will write the life of
a man who merits a pen far superior to mine.
" The things I have to relate are so well known and have the con
current testimony of so many hundreds of monks still living, and so

236 NOTFS
many senators and nobles of this illustrious city, that whosoever shall
venture to deny them will encounter the opposition of a cloud of liv
ing witnesses and of the very facts themselves. "
" Vita di Fra Paolo 'Sarpi. Manoscritto autograft) di Fra Fulgenzio
successore di lui nella carica di consultatore della Repub. Veneta; without,
and entitled:
" Vita del Padre Paolo Sarpi dell' Ordine dei Servi, Teologo della
Serenissima Republica di Venezia, Archives of Venice. " No date, but
Fulgenzio notes, " Contarini now Most Serene Prince of Venetia. " '
Throughout this work Fulgenzio's vita di Sarpi, is cited thus MS.
The life of F. P. Sarpi by Fulgenzio published anonymously 1646, has
two clasped hands and Aeternitas on the title page. It was republished
1658. Labus had a letter of Fulgenzio to Galileo in which he speaks
of the work as his, and Sir Roger Twysden endeavored to prevail on
him to dispose of it, but Fulgenzio would not part with it. There are
some particulars respecting this, and other notes on Sarpi's works in
the Archaaolgia Cantiana from Sir R. T's papers for which I am in
debted to Mr. Rye of the British Museum.
Fulgenzio died 7th Feb. 1554, aged 83, and the inscription on his
tomb gracefully alluded to him as the Sol Fulgens and Sydus Micans.
Introduction — page vi.
Auberi C. Acquapendente. Arrighetti. Asselineau. Alhazen. S.
Augustinus. Arnulphi. Bellarmine. Baronius. Bizar. Bouhours.
Bentivoglio. De Burigny. Bonnani. Bossuet. Birch. Bergantini.
Blount. Boethius. Bovio. Bossuet. Bunsen. Contarini. Cotton.
Cicogna. Canaye. Caracciola Colomie. Cornet. Crasso. Cardella,
Castellani. Canale. Davila. De Thou. De Dominis. Donne. Do
nato. Dandolo. Dupin. Foscarini. Filian. Filosi. Fontanini Gia-
nius. Garbij. Gualdo. Guissano. Gillot. Guettee. Gilbert. Golat.
Gibbon. Gratiani. Gianotti. Giustiniani. Helyot. Haller. Hariot.
Harris. Houssaye. Herbert. Johnstone. Knolles. Llovd. Langier.
Lobeira. Lebret. Micanzio. Marsand. Maffei Manutius. Mazu-
chelli. Maurocenus. Magrini. Montanus. Muratori. Mexia. Mor
nay. Montfaucon. Nani. Niceron. Nelli. D' Ossat. Orlandinus.
Du Plessis. Paruta. Pallavicino. Pole. Raynaldus. Richer. Ri-
badencira. Rainal. Rohebacher. Sansovino. Sismondi. Salfi. Strype.
St. Pret. Scaliger. Shcooten. Simon. Sprengel. Twysden. Todd.
Valentinus. Vossius. Vieta. Vignola. Vertot. Wotton. Welwood.
Winwood. Zannetti. Chapter II. — page 8.
In one edition of F.P's Latin letters, we read, Dicebantur Laudesi
primum quod in laudibus B. M. V.
The words in Italics were probably supplied, as it is questioned if the
Servi ever were of the Laudesi. Gianus says so, but not Fra Paolo.
* 1623-5.

NOTES 237
Chapter III. — page 35.
1. Chronology.
2. Philosophy, law, government, ambassadors, the Uscochi, Avisi
and_ Mem. of the Valteline Council of Trent. MSS. of Greek Oratory,
Latin History, and Legal, and political maxims of government. Squit-
tino, Aviso, Affairs of the Republic. Spaniards and Grisons. Venetia
and its government, a book of Donato's. Relazione Riesca, de Thou's
assertions. 3. Register of F.P.S's faults.
4. Meteorology and L' arte di ben pensare, Franzano.
5. " Pensieri, " MS. on the rainbow, reflection, geometry, spots on
the moon, optics, etc. Schedaa Sarpianse the Interdict. Problems. So
lutions de Natura Deorum.
6. Small books memoranda, written by F. Paolo, 1611-12, in one
dated 4th September 1612, he notes the transmission of the dispatch
sent to the Senate by the Venetian Ambassador in Rome, in which
he gives notes of the orders of the Jesuit Passevin to assassinate Sarpi
in 1607, which adds Griselini I verified by a comparison with the
copy of the same despatch as communicated to me by the Sig. Con
Wrachien in 1779. Del Genio di F. Paolo. App. 179.
Chapter V. — page 73.
In Sarpi's time the prohibited list was some columns in length. The
Index, Gregory XVI, is 422 pages!
Chapter VII. — page 121.
"M. Abain to M. de Villeroy,
" Sir, I lost the last opportunity of writing to you that I might now
avail myself of the delay of the couriers.
" The affair of the Venetians is the only topic which occupies the
attention of this court, in alarm on account of war, but of which there
is more fear than probability.
" The Pope has shown great satisfaction on the receipt of the let
ters and offers of the King of Spain, so that there is a marked di
minution of displeasure in his countenance. He speaks of preserving
the letter in the archives of the church, but those who know the
state of affairs of the King of Spain in Italy, and who (by the sus
pension of the payment of pensions which he grants) judge of his
majesty's hopes of a fleet, believe that this letter will obtain a levy
from the Pope, which will render agreement with the Venetians more
difficult, and that they will attribute to the fear of the Spanish, the
resolute conduct which they have maintained until now, notwithstanding
the interposition of the king.
" Throughout this matter they recognize the Duke (Doge) of Venice,

238 NOTES
because so enraged is he against this Court that they think he must
have formerly received some great cause of discontent, and that he
has concealed his displeasure till now, in order to revenge himself. I
well know that  came as an ambassador  , but I have
heard no particulars. All the towns and provinces of the States of the
Church have offered the Pope to do their utmost. Rome is limited to
a million of gold; the Marches of Ancona to fifty thousand loads of
corn. His Holiness receives this as good will, without altogether ac
cepting their offers; and two days since, having called Frederic Ghisi-
lieri, a tried soldier and relation of Pope Pius V. he represented to
him that he was only anxious on account of two places, viz. Fer
rara, where Paul Savello commanded, and in whom he placed trust,
and the citadel of Ancona, where he had established him governor,
with commission to raise six hundred foot to guard the frontiers of
the Romagna. This discourse has confirmed the news which has lately
been noised abroad, of the exchange of Ferrara with some state in
tbe kingdom of Naples, which report, however, was soon dispelled or
silenced. The Ambassador of the Grand Duke is much astonished that
at the last audience the Cardinal Borghese did not speak to him of
this letter from Spain, believing that they do not trust his master,
who has always made offers, as well as the other princes, amongst
whom the Duke of Modena who had not been behind hand, a short
time since excused himself to the Pope, on account of some troops
having crossed his dominions to enter the Venetian service, saying that he
was ignorant of their intention.
" The Cardinal Bellarmine writes in Italian, by command of the
Pope, on this affair of the Venetians, and the Cardinal Baronius an
swers the letters published by the Duke and Signory of Venice against
the Interdict, and defends them by examples of the obedient piety of
our kings, Charlemagne and Lothaire, as I have seen by his book, of
which he read a part to me, and told me he was sure that the ambas
sador would take it ill, that he had given this work to the Pope
(who had seen it, and only wished that it should be printed when all
hopes of accommodation were at an -end), but I showed him that his
affection for the king was so well known that he ought not to fear its
being accounted strange, that a Cardinal in his position wrote in favour
of the church; of this I informed the ambassador.
"Every one has his pen in hand on this subject: 'The temporal
jurisdiction of the Pope. ' And even ten dajs since, Thomas Bovius,
an author who is celebrated for having published many books, showed
me a treatise which he will publish immediately, in which he holds
opinions contrary to those advanced by the Cardinal Bellarmine in
this controversy, touching the temporal power of the Pope, but the
said Cardinal will explain his opinion at greater length in the book
which he is at present writing. They say that the swordman of the
Cardinal Aldobrandini, has been killed at Ravenna, and that the Che
valier Clement has been wounded, for having wished to exert authority,
which they formerly held there. The said Cardinal will at last resolve
to buy the principality of Berignan for his nephews, and thus to
employ the money which he has at Naples, which they will not per
mit him to draw from Naples unless thus disposed of. This day, at

NOTES 239
'an early hour, the Ambassador of Savoy had an extraordinary audience
of the Pope, and of the Cardinal Borghese.
" I have not learned what passed in the Chamber of Audience, but
it is supposed that it was on the affair which is here deemed the most
important, and thus I must finish, praying God to preserve you in good
health and long life. " Ever your very humble servant, " Abain. "
" At Rome, 10th July, 1606.
Chapter VII — page 136.
Un nez dont 1' epine est large, qu'il soit droit ou courbe, annonce
toujours des facultes superieures jamais je n' y ai ete trompe, mais cette
forme est tres rare. Vous pouvez parcourir dix mille visages danS la
nature, et mille portraits d' hommes celebres sans le retrouver une
seule fois, elle reparait eependant de plus au moins dans les portraits
dn Fauste Socin, de Swift, de Cesar Borgia, de Clepseker, d' Antoine
Pagi, de Jean Charles d' Enkenberg, (personnage fameux par sa prodi-
gieuse force de corps) de Paul Sarpi, de Pierre de Medicis, de Francois
Carrache de Cossini, de Lucas de Leyde, de Titien. "
Spina dorsum nasi 163. du nez.
Lavater. L' art de connaitre les hommes par la physiognomie Tom.
vi p. 60 &e. Portraits of Paolo Sai-pi
That by Carpioni, apparently between 60 and years of age, is much
esteemed. That by Carletti Caliari is at Verona — one in the Uffizi.
Sir Roger Twysden's was till lately in the possession of his descen
dants. Dr. Donne bequeathed to the Bishop of Chichester the portrait of
of F. Paolo as well as Fulgenzio, " as of his acquaintance both men of
great note for their remarkable learning. "
There is a engraving of F. Paolo in the British Museum, and se
veral in the Bib. Imp. Paris.
A sketch when young.
One after Tinelli, by Lucas.
That after Zucchero Dickenson.
A medallion engraving was presented to me by the Abbe Valen-
tenelli, from a cameo formerly possessed by the Noble Molino, the
work of Becellio, a scholar of Sansovino, then enriched with precious
stones but now in the Marciana, without gold or gems.
There in an engraving of Fra Paolo at the Archives.
There is a fine bust of Fra Paolo Sarpi in the gallery of the Ducal
palace.

240 NOTES

Chapter VIII. — page 156.
SENTENZA DELL' ECCELSO CONSIGLIO
DEI X ETC.
10th of October, 1607.
Sentence of the Most Excellent the Council of Ten against Ri-
dolfo Poma, P. Michel Viti, Alessandro Parasio, Giovanni, Pasquale de
Bitonto. etc. , etc. ,
It is decreed on this 10th day of October, 1607, in the Council of
Ten, that Ridolfo Poma, Father Michel Vita (usually officiating in
the Church of the Holy Trinity), Alessandro Parrasio of Ancona ,
Giovanni of Florence, son of Paulo, a man of ordinary height, with
arched eyes and red beard, formerly in the company of the Governor
Bartolomeo Nieno, Vicentino, appointed to the vessels bound to Soria
and Alexandria, a deserter from the said company; Pasquale, of Bi
tonto, 32 years of age, of ordinary stature, corpulent, with black hair
and black beard, who formerly served in the company of Giovanni
Troglione, of Ancona, and of Padua. And it is proclaimed, in pur
suance of the deliberations of this Council, that (these persons) being
absent and contumacious, viz., the said Ridolfo, Father Michel, and
Alessandro, having been engaged in an atrocious conspiracy, and most
nefariously planned and contrived by them for a long period (the
more detestable and impious, because against the person of a member
of a religious order), and they, having employed the abovementioned
Giovanni and Pasquale, and kept them during many days on the watch
with intent to commit this deed; and who (assisted and supported by
the other three, and armed with stilettoes and short arquebuses, de
testable arms, and expressly forbidden by our laws), ' did deliberately
and treacherously on Friday, the fifth day of the present month, about
the twenty-third hour, assault the Father M. Paul Servite, Theologian
of our Signory, a person of great worth, and of exemplary life who
with his lay brother Fra Marino, was descending the bridge of Santa
Fosca to go to his convent, with intent to murder him, giving him
three violent thrusts with their stilettoes, whereby he received three
dangerous wounds, in the face, and in the neck; one assailant taking
the lay brother by the arms, and holding him fast, that he should not
give him any aid, moreover, discharging their arquebuses against the
people, whom this strange and horrible event had drawn to the place,
and having betaken themselves to flight, leaving the stiletto in one of
the wounds, and having by means of gondolas joined the others, they
repaired to a ten-oared pilot boat awaiting for them on the Lido,
by which they hastily passed into foreign parts, and made their escape
after the perpetration of this execrable sacrilege committed against the
1 No one in Venice might carry fire-arms; strangers might carry their
swords only.

NOTES 241.
peace and safety of a wellgoverned city, wherein all, even aliens, have
always found a sure refuge and abode.
Therefore, the above-mentioned Ridolfo, Father Michel, and Ales
sandro, are banished for ever from this city, from the Venetian ter
ritory, and from all other cities, lands, and places of our dominion,
and from our fleet, armed or disarmed.
Any one of these on crossing our boundaries shall be brought into
this city, and placed in a flat boat upon a raised scaffolding, with an
official, who shall publish his crime both by sea and land, and he
shall be brought to the bridge of Santa Fosca, where his right hand
shall be cut off, and separated from the arm, by the executioner, and
with the same tied to his neck, he shall be led by land at the tail
of a horse, " between the two columns, " of Saint Mark, where, upon
a raised scaffolding, his head shall be cut off, and separated from his
body, so that he die, and his body shall be divided into four quarters,
to be hung up on gibbets in the usual places. l
Whosoever shall take, or shall deliver up to justice, or who shall
kill in any place the aforesaid Ridolfo Poma, and proper evidence of
his death having been given, shall receive four thousand ducats from
his property, if any such there be, which shall all (both that which
belongs to him, and that of which he shall at any time become pos
sessed), be confiscated, and liable to payment of the same forfeiture ;
if not, out of the money in the Treasury of this Council appointed for
rewards, which four thousand ducats shall be immediately counted out,
and paid down to the captors, or to those who kill him, or to their
attorneys, or deputies, if they have dealings through such, and like
wise to their heirs, if there be any. And if his capture or death be
effected in any city or place' of our dominions, the aforesaid reward 2
shall be paid to him by the nearest Chancery ' in any kind of money,
and in the manner above declared.
And there is granted to him, besides the said reward, the power to
obtain the release of a person who has been banished by this Council,
or with authority therefrom, even though there be in his sentence, a
specified time of exile. 4
Whosoever shall take, or shall kill the said Poma in any place, out
of our dominions, shall receive in the manner before declared, four
thousand ducats as a reward, and the release of two persons banished
by this Council, or with authority therefrom, though there be.... 6
Whosoever shall take, or shall kill in any place within our dominions,
the afore-mentioned Father Michel, or Alessandro, proper evidence of
his death having been given, there shall be given to him for each of
them two thousand ducats, in the manner above declared, and more
over, obtain the release of one person banished by this Council, or with
authority therefrom, whatever may have been the condition of banish
ment as to time. And if he take or slay them out of our dominions,

1 Usual place of execution of criminals on the Piazzetta S. Mark's.
a The price set on the head of any one.
3 Where the public monies were kept.
* Stretezze de balotte.
5 Idem. 10

242 NOTES
besides the reward of two thousand ducats, as aforesaid, he shall
obtain the release of two persons banished by this Council.
The aforesaid indulgences are granted by this Council, and that
notwithstanding auy general decree as to banishment, or any special
decree to the contrary. And by no power either now existing, or that ever
can exist, whether in virtue of banishment, or by means or warnings,
or denunciations, or any matter concerning the affairs of state, still less
by the capture or death of any other banished party equal or superior
to himself, can either of these three ever be released from the present
decree, or can any pardon be given him of suspension, compensation,
remission, mitigation, or any imaginable diminution of the present sen
tence, neither by way of second hearing, nor of safe conduct by
the request of any prince, or for their gratification, nor by any other
public or private cause whatsoever, unless brought forward by all the
councillors &c. &n., and votes taken with their nine balls, and after
wards with all the balls of the Council, restricted to the perfect num
ber of seventeen, and in no other manner, and the processe fermato
shall first be read throughout to the said Council, which processe can
not be removed from the coffer where it shall be placed, except by
vote taken by the balls of the Council from the five nrns-the present
sentence being first read, together with the crime and the accusation of
the aforesaid persons. But if Father Michel Vita, or Alessandro Parrasio,
or either of them shall kill Ridolfo Poma in any place whatsoever,
proper evidence of the slaughter having been given, they shall obtain
their own full release, it being, however, understood that the aforesaid
Ridolfo is for ever excluded from such benefit, who cannot in any man
ner, even by the capture or the slaughter of his two companions, or
of any others included in the present sentence procure his own release,
or receive the least mitigation of penalty.
If any subject of ours, whatever be his state and condition, without
any exception, even though he be connected with either of the aforesaid
three, in whatsover degree of affinity or kindred, shall give them any
aid, either in this state or elsewhere, or shall write to them, or give
them information, or shall hold any kind of intelligence with them, he
shall incur the penalty of confiscation of all his goods of every des
cription, and shall be closely imprisoned for ten years; and if absent,
he shall be banished for the like time from all lands and places within
our territory, and the information given by the informer against these
criminals shall not only be kept secret, but he shall receive five hundred
ducats from the treasury of this Council.
Giovanni of Florence, and Pasquale of Bitonto, aforenamed; are and
shall be held as banished for ever from this city, from the Venetian
territory, and from all other cities, lands and places of our dominions
and fleets, armed or disarmed. Any one of them passing the boundaries
of the state, and being taken, shall be brought into this city, and
placed in a flat boat, in which, upon a raised scaffolding, with an
official, who shall proclaim his crime by sea and by land; he shall be
brought to the bridge of Santa Fosca, where his right hand shall be
cut off and separated from the arm by the minister of justice , with
the same tied to his neck, he shall be led by .land at the tail of a
horse to between the two columns of St. Mark, where upon a raised

NOTES 243
scaffolding his head shall be cut off, and separated from his body, so
that he die, and his body shall be divided into four parts to be hung
upon the usual gibbets, with a reward to whosoever shall take either
of them within our confines, of a thousand ducats of the money of
the treasury of this Council, appointed for reward, and the release of
one person banished by this Council, or with authority therefrom, unless
there be votes, &c. &c; and whosoever shall kill either of them in
any place of foreign jurisdiction shall receive fifteen hundred ducats
after the manner above declared, and moreover, the release of two
banished persons of tbe same kind and description granted to those
who shall take them within our confines. Neither can any one of them
by any power now existing or hereafter to exist, be released from the
present sentence, neither by means of warning or denunciations, nor
can any favour or remission be accorded to them by way of safe con
duct, or of second hearing; unless the cause be brought forward by all
the councillors, So. die, and taken first with their nine balls, and
afterwards with the whole seventeen of the Council restricted to their
perfect number. But if they shall kill Ridolfo Poma in any place
whatsoever, or shall deliver him alive into our power, they shall receive
their own full release, and moreover the rewards promised and declared
above to those who shall kill the afore-mentioned Ridolfo, to be gran
ted them in the manner before declared. " '
It has been stated that during his illness Sarpi remarked to Acquapen
dente that the wounds had been given him in Stilo Romanas Curias,
when he examined the stiletto which was drawn from the wound in his
face at the convent. This remark is not in the MS.
Chapter IX.
For note to page 176 see note to page 188.

Chapter IX. — page 186.
Margin of the MS. of the Friar.
" Si persuade Fra Antonio o'le si levi da Fra Paolo.
Fra Antonio e invitato a Padova a passarvi otto giorni per ricreazione.
Si avv'sa Roma di quanto si e trattato con Fra Antonio e delle
Scritture che lui aveva in camera.
Si mandano li fogli a Roma.
Fra Antonio in Padova.
Quel tanto che si tratta da Fra Antonio.
Lettere mostrate a Fra Antonio per darli animo.
Fra Antonio si offerisce da se di voler dare il veleno a Mro. Paolo.
Fra Antonio scrive di voler dare il veleno a tre mentre Fra Gio
Francesco e a Mattutino.
Fra Antonio scrive di voler levar tutte le scritture a Mro. Paolo.
1 The assassins all died by violence.

244 NOTES
Fra Antonio scrive un' altra lettera perche la prima parlava troppo
in aperto modo del veleno.
Lettera prima per miracolo da Dio posta nelle mani di Fra Gio
Francesco. Risposta di Roma, e uso fatto del veleno.
Scrive Fra Antonio che se li mandino denari a Padova.
Pensiero di far pigliare 1' impronta della chiave della camera di Fra
Paolo. Si ragiona da Fra Antonio in materia delle scritture, e se ci e di
pigliare 1' impronta della chiave.
Fra Antonio dice ora di voler dare dei fogli per effettuare il tradimento.
Fra Gio Francesco preso e legato, e posto in carcere.
Fra Gio Francesco posto in una sepoltura di vivi come per un morto
solo. Fra Gio Francesco costituito la prima volta.
Fra Gio Francesco alia preserrza de' tre inquisitori di Stato legato.
Capter IX. — page 188.
This letter is dated, 1st May, 1608:
" About that time, also, there came a Jesuite to Venice, called
Thomas Maria Caraffa (an. 1608), i and printed a thousand theses
of Philosophy and Divinity, and dedicated them with a blasphemous
title thus :
' PAVLO V, VICE DEO, Christiana; Reipublica; invictissimo et Pon-
tificas omni potentia conservatori acerimo. '
" The which when D. B. had seen with amazement, he retired
into his study, and by just calculation found out that it contayned
exactly, in the numerall letters of that proud-looking title, the number
666 Apoc. 17 and 18, (550 5 1100 00), so that he that runs may
read it in Pavlo v, vice Deo. He showed it to the Lord Ambassador,
to P. P., and to the seven Divines, who immediately layd hold upon
it, as if it had been by divine revelation from heaven, and acquainted
the Prince and the Senate with it. It was carryed suddenly through
the city that this was Antichrist, and that needed not look for another.
It was published and preached through all their territories, and the
Romanists were ashamed and confounded at it, and knew not what
to doe, lest this discovery should proceed further.
" But the Pope causeth a proclamation to be made, and to be sent
unto all his Vassals and Tenants, the Popish Princes of Christendom, to
let them know that Antichrist was borne in Babilon of the tribe of
Dan, and was coming with a huge army to waste and destroy all op-
posers, and therefore they should arm themselves speedily, and make
ready all their forces by sea and land, and so this ended.
Chapter IX. — page 190.
It is plain the government of the church in its beginning was
entirely democratical, all the faithful having a share in all deliberations
i 1607-8.

NOTES 245
of moment. Thus we find them all assisting at the election of Matthias
to the Apostleship and of the seven Deacons: and when S. Peter had
received the Centurion Cornelius, who was a Gentile, into the number
of believers, he gave, an account of it to the whole church. Thus the
famous Council of Jerusalem was composed of the priests and other
brethren in the faith; and the letters which were written from that as
sembly went in the name of those three Orders. But as the church
increased in numbers, the faithful neglecting to assist any longer at
those public assemblies, and withdrawing themselves to the care of
their own families, the government rested solely in the ministers of
the church, and so insensibly became aristocratical, which brought all
affairs to have their determinations by Councils excepting as to elec
tions which continued popular still. The Bishops of the same province
assembled with their Metropolitan at least twice a year, and made a
provincial Synod. The Clergy with their Bishop made a Diocesan Synod.
And almost daily they held an assembly called the Consistory, in
emulation of the Imperial Council of State and as if they affected to ,
rank themselves with the Council which carried that name.
" In this ecclesiastical consistory, which was composed of all the
principal persons of the churches in the city, assisted by the Bishop,
all the affairs of the Church were proposed, debated, and determined,
a custom which is since abolished everywhere except at Rome, and
there only the shadow of it remains. But after benefices were erected,
and the priests had tlieir maintenance apart, they made the interest of
the community so little their care, that they ceased to go any longer
to the consistory, which thus fell into disuse, and was no longer
held. " To supply this, the Bishops held an assembly of all the Clergy
of their cathedral church, to assist in their councils, or otherwise to
administer the spiritual government. And these, receiving their main
tenance out of the common stock, either annually, monthly, or daily.
were called canonici (canons), from the word canon, which is the word
used in the Western Empire to signify such a measure of corn as
was sufficient for the sustenance of a man, a family, or a city. The
institution of canons was shortly before the reign of Charlemagne, by
whom also it received some improvement as to its regulation.
" It is yet further to bo observed that, in those times, the benefices
and revenues of the Church were grown to that size that they became
rewards for the principal men of the court and cities, who were made
Bishops; so the Bishoprics fell to their share, to whom the prince had
also committed a great part of the civil government, at first only on
extraordinary occasions, but after, finding that their affairs prospered
in their hands, they were constantly employed, though not everywhere,
in the same quality or station, but as the particular affairs of the place,
the abilities of the Bishop, or sometimes the incapacity of the earl or
Comes required, which defect was then supplied by substituting the
Bishop in his room.
" And hence it came that, when the posterity of Charlemagne fell
into such a state of degeneracy as to sink at last into the most profound
ignorance of those ages, the bishops thought it advisable no longer to
acknowledge this authority as derived from the prince, from whence it

246 NOTES
really came, but to assume it to themselves, and exercise it as a right
peculiar to their function, under the name of ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
" Such was the origin of this power, which we now see so continually
and so desperately contested with Princes, even to endangering the peace
of the best civil governments, and sometimes throwing them into con
vulsions. " The want of spirit and genius in the princes of Charlemagne's pos
terity, so requisite to fit them for empire, made his statutes of no long
duration, so that the former disorders were renewed. The people, in few
places and very rarely, had any share in the election of the Bishops; and
less in that of the other ministers of the Church. The Bishops ordained
whom they pleased, and disposed of benefices with the same liberty, except
when the Priest recommended any one, and then they never failed to obey.
The Pope was always chosen by the people and confirmed by the Emperor
before consecration, and the other Bishops of Italy were never consecrated
until the Emperor had first approved them. And this was observed even
more strictly in France and in Germany. When the Pope would favour
any man's pretensions to a bishopric near Rome, he applied to the Empe
ror to desire his nomination. And if it so happened that the Pope were
applied to for his consecration of a person who had not the imperial
letters of license, he refused consecration till he obtained it. But the pos
terity of Charlemagne having been driven out of Italy a.d. 884, Pope
Adrian III ordained that the Popes should, for the future, be consecrated
without application to the Emperor at all.
" In treating on this subject of benefices, it will certainly not be foreign
to our purpose to take notice of the popedom, as we shall again have oc
casion to do in the sequel of this discourse, seeing it certainly is deservedly
to be ranked in the number of benefices, and as it has been expressly so
styled by Clement III, in a time when the Pope had not only ascended to
the highest pitch of human greatness, but had taken also a particular style
or dignity to distinguish him from other Bishops.
" Nothing is more known than that the names of Sanctus Sanctissimus,
Beatus Beatissimus, were common to all believers in Christ, when all men
of that profession were aspiring to an absolute perfection of holiness. But
when secular men became more engaged in the affairs of the world than
was expedient or decent, and so quitted their titles to those blessed names,
they fell to the ecclesiastics only.
" And after the remissness that was to be found in the inferior Clergy,
from their primitive striotness of life, these remained to the Bishops only,
but when their characters also sunk in esteem, by too eager a pursuit after
the things of this world, the Bishop of Rome alone retained these titles, not
as designations of virtue, but of grandeur and power.
As for the name of Pontifex, it was and is a name common to all
Bishops, and there are some canons still extant wherein all Bishops are
styled ' Summi Pontifices. ' And even the name of ' Papa, ' which seems
to be a title most peculiar to the ' Pontifex Romanus, 'was given indiffe
rently to all Bishops. St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, is called ' Papa, '
St. Jerome gives this title to St. Augustine; and, in later times, Sidonius
Apollinaris and many of the Bishops style one another by the name of
Popes. " And in the decretals of Gratian, we find titles of several canons

NOTES 247
where Martin, Bishop of Bragua, is called Papa. Gregory VII was the
first who, in the year 1076, decreed that the name of Pope should be pe
culiar to him and to his successors, and be ascribed to none but the Roman
Papa. And this matter was carried to such a height, and with so much
appearance of party rage and faction, that Anselm, Bishop of Lucca, one
of his followers, hath not scrupled to say that 'it is as absurd and impious
to suppose there are more Popes than one, as that there are more than
one God. ' "
Sarpi passes from the Precaria of France to the Popes who were
excommunicated by their successors. Six who were driven out and de
throned by those who aspired to their place; two who were put to death;
and Pope Stephen wounded ; and after mentioning several other painful
facts, he adds: "And in short such a series of wild disorders gave oc
casion to historians to say, that these times produced not Popes, but
monsters. "
Cardinal Baronius, being under some difficulty to treat those corrup
tions, says, that in those days the Church indeed was, for the most part,
without a Pope, but not without a Head, its spiritual head, Christ, being
in heaven, who never abandons it. In effect, it is certain that Christ hath
never yet forsaken his Church, neither can his Divine promise which He
hath made us fail; that He will be with it, even unto the end of the
world. " And on this occasion it is the duty of every Christian to believe,
with Baronius, that the same calamities which happened in the world at
that time have happened also at another; and that as the assistance of
Christ alone preserved the Church in those times, so hath He afforded
the shield of defence to the Church, and will continue it to her in all the
like events and accidents of this world. So that a Pope was not necessary
to the existence of a Church, even though there should never more have been
a Pope. "
The following passage is in many points applicable to the Jesuits of
the present day.
" Yet onr age, can boast of a production truly singular and original,
and inferior to nothing of the kind which has appeared in any age.
This is the institution of the Jesuits, who by a mixture of poverty
and abundance, conciliate to themselves the esteem and affection of the
world, rejecting with one hand what they receive, and possess as a
company and society with the other1. For though their professed houses
are not capable by their institution of possessing immoveable estates,
yet their colleges are capable of acquiring and possessing. They say,
and certainly with reason, that no government simple and unmixed is
perfect, but that admixtures are found to have their conveniences on
all occasions. That the state of poverty embraced by the mendicants
hath this defect, that it is only adapted to such as are already well
advanced in the way to godliness, whose number therefore cannot be
very great. But for their parts, their designs in receiving youth into
their college is to instruct and, by an acquisition of all virtues, to fit
it for a life of evangelical poverty, so that poverty is indeed their
design and essential end, but they grow rich by accident. But the
facts we see are yet a stronger degree of evidence than the words we
hear. They write themselves that they have at present 21 professed

248 NOTES
houses, and 293 colleges. From this disproportion, every man may
conclude which is the essential part of their institutions, and which
the accidental. Upon the whole it is not to be denied that they have
acquired vast riches, and that they are on the high road to increase
them. As all the temporalities which the church enjoyeth arose from
alms and oblations, so in the Old Testament the fabric of the sanc
tuary was supported the same way. But when the inspectors of this
work saw the people continue their oblations, though all was given
already that was needful, they said to Moses, the people give more
than is needful, and Moses straight published an order that no more
should be offered for the use of the sanctuary, because more than suf
ficient had been offered already, by which it 'is manifest that God
would have nothing superfluous and abounding in his temple. And if
it were his declared pleasure in the Old Testament, which regarded
only the things in this world, that all the goods of the Church should
not go to her ministers, it is no less declared in the New. But where
will their acquisitions end, or what bounds will be set to them? Who
among them will say the people have given enough? The ministers of
tbe temple, who made up the thirteenth part of the people, were not ca
pable of receiving or enjoying any more than the tithes. Ours who
are scarce the hundredth part of the people possess at this time perhaps
more than the fourth.
" It is impossible there could be any inconvenience in churchmen
acquiring ad infinitum, and if all the rest of the world were reduced
to hold everything by form? Among Christians humaD laws have no
where set bounds to man's estate, because he who increaseth it to-day
may alienate it to-morrow. But there is in this case a circumstance
perhaps without example: that an order of men, perpetual, and which
never dies, should be always capable of acquiring, and never alienating.
In the Old Testament the tithes were given to the Levites, because
it was the Lord's part, and therefore they were forbidden to take any
more. A rule which they who enjoy the privileges of the Levites
ought to observe, in taking upon them all the conditions required of
them, and not only such as turn to their particular advantage. "
Chapter X. — page 209.
Without remark on the alteration of the sacramental service in the
1st, 2nd, and 5th Century, and by Gregory the great, it is sufficient
to say that, the opinion as to the mass being a propitiatory sacrifice,
was not held by some. Reference to the History of the Council of
Trent by Sarpi, proves this. Lib. vi, p. 553.
" But concerning the sacrifice of the Masse, in the congregation held
until the 18th, all contended resolutely about the oblation of Christ
in the supper, and Father Salmeron was the principal man to persuade
in the affirmative. He went to the houses of those who were of the
other opinion, especially of those who had not given their voice, per
suading them to be silent, or at the least to speak remissly, and used
the name of Cardinal Varmiense principally, and sometimes of Scri-
pando, intimating the other Legates without naming them. And this
he did with such importunity, that the Bishops of Chiozza and Veglia

NOTES 249
complained of it in the congregation of the 18th of August. And
this second complained of it with very forcible reasons. He told them they
should consider well of it, because our propitiatory sacrifice being of
fered, if it be sufficient to expiate, no other is offered but only for
thanksgiving, and he that maintaineth a propitiatory sacrifice in the
supper, must needs confess that by it we are redeemed, and not by
his death, which is contrary to the Scripture and Christian Doctrine
which ascribe our redemption to this. And if any say it is all one,
begun in the Supper and ended in the cross, he falleth into another
inconvenience as great, because it is a contradiction to say that the
beginning of a sacrifice is a sacrifice, and if any one should ceas>'
after the beginning and go no further, no man would say he had
sacrificed, and it will never be believed that if Christ had not been
obedient unto his Father even unto the death of the Cross, but had
only made an oblation in the Supper, we had been redeemed, so that
it cannot be said that such an oblation may be called a sacrifice.
because it is a beginning of it. He said he would not absolutely de
fend that these arguments were insoluble, but that the Councils oughi
not to tie the understanding of any, who had conceived an opinion
upon such good reasons. He said as he made no difficulty to call the
mass a propitiatory sacrifice, so he could not by any means be satisfied.
that it should be said that Christ did offer, because it is enough to say
that he commanded the oblation.
" For he said, if the synod doth affirm that Christ did offer, the
Sacrifice either propitiatory, and so it fall into the difficulties before
mentioned, or not propitiatory, and so by that it cannot be concluded
that the jmass is propitiatory, and therefore that of the priest in the
Mass ought not to be. He concluded, that it was more secure to say
only, that Christ commanded the apostles to offer a propitiatory sa
crifice in the mass.
" The Bishop then censured the Jesuit Salmeron for being factious
on matter of faith. Sarpi adds: The Bishop persuaded so many that it
was almost the common opinion not to make mention of the propitiatory
sacrifice offered by Christ in the Supper.
" The General of the Jesuits, was wholly for the oblation of Christ...
The opinions were almost equally balanced, yet the Legates at the ear
nest entreaty of Varmiense, resolved to put the oblation into the decree,
not making use of the word propitiatory. "
There are priests of the Church of Rome who hold that the mass
is commemorative only of the death and passion of the Saviour of the
world. Chapter X. — page 212.
To avoid mistakes as to Fra Paolo's office, works, and opinions, it
may be well to observe, that, " Opinions or Maxims as to the govern
ment of the Republic of Venice, " was not written by him. There is no
trace of it amongst his MSS.; it is not named in the Index Expurga-
toris, and it is not written in his style.
" In a note in the handwriting of Father Giovanni, an Augustine,
on the article Canale, is the following, in Gradenigo's Chronicles, " Un

250 NOTES
bastardo di casa Canale, veneziana, scrisse molte opere politiche, tra le
quali, L' Opinione come debba governarsi la Repubblica di Venezia, fal
samente attribuita al P. P. Sarpi. " '
And in Cicogna's, Saggio di Bibliografia Veneziana, p. 157: " The
Opinions or Maxims falsely ascribed to P. Paolo, Servite, as to the
government of the Republic for its perpetual dominion, Meietti, 1681,
and 1685 was reprinted afterwards as if unpublished, with the title
Memorial of F. P. Sarpi, and to the Prince and Senate of Venice as
to the conduct of the Government of the' Republic, Friburg (printed
in Italy), 1767, in-12°. "
Griselini alludes to this libel, in his Memorie anedote, p. 364. "Le
Prince de F. Paolo, ou. Counseil politiques adressees a la noblesse de
Venise, par le Pere Paul Sarpi, Berlin, 1751, in-12°
" (Tran.) This work and its translation first printed in Venice, by
R. Meietti, 1681, entitled: Opinions or Maxims of F. Paolo, " etc.
was reprinted by Meietti 1685, but with this title: " Opinions falsely
attributed to F. P. Sarpi. " This same work was printed at Leghorn,
with the false date of Colonia, by P. Marteau, 1760, entitled: Memorial.
etc., as above. But notwithstanding the pains taken to sell this work
under different titles as Sarpi's, no one of the learned has ever pro
nounced it his, but have treated the assertion as did Voltaire of some
wrong dates in his History of the Council with ridicule.
Letter of Sir H. Wotton.
To the right worthy Provost, and Professor Regius of Divinity in Cam
bridge, (Dr. Collins). s
Sir, — Though my feet cannot perform that counsel which I remember
from some translation in Syracides, ' Teras limen sensati viri, ' yet I should
at least have often visited you with my poor lines: but, on the other side,
while I durst not trust mine own conceit in the power of my present in
firmity, and therefore have seldom written to any, I find myself in the
meantine overcharged with divers letters from you of singular kindness,
and one of them accompanied with a dainty Peaceful Piece, which truely
I had not seen before, so as besidesthe weight of the subject, it was welcome
even for the grace of newness; yet, let mo tell you, I could not but some
what wonder to find our Spiritual Seneca (you know who I mean) among
these Reconcilers, having read a former treatise of his (if my memory fail
me not) of contrary complexion. Howsoever, now let him have his due
praise with the rest for showing his Christian wisdom and charity; but I
fear as it was anciently said by a Roman general that " Bellum sese alit; "
so it will prove, though in a somewhat different sense, likewise as true of
this Church warfare, that the very pleasure of contending will foment
contention till the end of all flesh. But let me leave that sacred business
to our well-meaning fathers.
And now, Sir, having a fit messenger, and not long after the time
when love tokens use to pass between friends, let me bold to send
you for a new year's gift a certain memorial not altogether unworthy
, ,l Inecriz. Ven. , Tom. hi, p. 507.
a Reliquaj Wottoniana?.

NOTES 261
of some entertainment under your roof; namely, a true picture of Padre
Paolo, the Servita, which was first taken by a painter whom I sent unto
him from my house, then neighbouring his monastery. I have newly added
thereunto a title of mine own conception, Concilii Tridentini Eviscerator,
and had sent the frame withal, if it were portable, which is but of plain deal.
coloured black, like the habit of the order. You have a luminous parlour,
which I have good cause to remember, not only by delicate fare and freedom
(the Prince of dishes), but above all, by your own learned discourse ; for
to dine with you, is to dine with many good authors. In that room I be
seech you to allow it a favourable place for my sake, and that you ma}'
have somewhat more to tell than a bare image, if any shall ask, as in the
Table of Cebes, TtVoe eo-rl to b" ayaXfia ; I am desirous to characterize a
little unto you such part of his nature, customs, and abilities as I had oc
casion to know by sight or by inquiry, He was one of the humblest things
that could be seen within the bounds of humanity, the very pattern ol
precept, " Quanto doctior, tanto submission
and enough alone to demonstrate that knowledge well digested, — non
inflat — excellent in positive, excellent in scholastical and polemical divi
nity; a rare mathematician, even in the most abstruse parts thereof, as in Al
gebra and the Theoriques, and yet withal, so expert in the history of plants,
as if he had never persued any book but nature. Lastly, a great Canonist,
which was the title of his ordinary service with the state, — and certainly
in the time of the Pope's interdict they had their principal light from him.
When he was either reading or writing alone, his manner was to sit fenc
ed with a castle of paper about his chair and over head, for he was of our
Lord of St. Alban's opinion, that all air is predatory, and especially hurtful
when the spirits are most employed. You will find a scar in his face, that
was from a Roman assassinate, that would have killed him, as he was
turned to a wall near convent, if there were not a greater providence about
us it might often have been easily done, especially upon such a weak and
wearyish body. He was of a quiet and ^settled temper, which made him
prompt in his counsels and answers, and the same in consultation which
Themistocles was in action — A.'vTocr)(tiia.Zuv lixavoraroq — as will appear
unto you in a passage between him and the Prince of Conde. The said
Prince in a voluntary journey to Rome came by Venice, where to give
some vent to his own humours, he would often divest himself of his great
ness, and after others less laudable curiosities, not long before his departure,
a desire took him to visit the famous obscure Servita, to whose cloyster
coining twice, he was the first time denied to be within; at the second it
was intimated, that by reason of his daily admission to their deliberation
in the palace, he could not receive the visit of so illustrious a personage
without leave. This set a greater edge on the Prince when he saw he
should confer with one participant of more than monkish speculations, so
after leave gotten he came the third time, and then besides other volun
tary discourse (which it were a tyranny over you to repeat), he assailed
him with a question enough to have troubled any man but himself, and him
too, if a precedent accident had not eased him. The question was Aiappr/oV
this: he desired to be told by him before his going, who was the true
unmasked author of the late Tridentine History ?
You must know this, that but newly advertisement was come from

252 NOTES
Rome that the Archbishop of Spalato being then re-arrived from England.
in an interview between him and the Cardinal Ludovisio, nephew to Gre
gory the XV, the said Cardinal, after a complemental welcoming him into
the Lap ' of the Church, told him by order from the Pope, that his
Holiness would expect from him some recantation in print as an anti
dote 2 against certain books and pamphlets which he had published whilst
he stood in revolt: namely, his first Manifesto; item, two Sermons preached
at the Italian Church in London, again a little Tract, entituled his Sco-
gli: and lastly, his greater volumes about Church Regiment and Contro
versies. These were all named; for as touching the Tridentine History.
His Holiness (says the Cardinal) will not press you to any to disavowment
thereof, though you have an Epistle before the Original Edition, because
we know well enough that Frier Paolo is the Father of that Brat. Upon
this last piece of the aforesaid advertisement, the good father came fairly
off; for on a sudden laying all together, that to disavow the work was an
untruth, to assume it a danger, and to say nothing an incivility, he took a
middle evasion, telling the Prince, that he understood he was going to
Rome, where he might learn at ease who was the author of that book, as
they were freshly intelligenced from thence.
Thus without any mercy of our time I have taken pleasure to remember
that man whom God appointed and furnished for a proper instrument to
anatomize that pack of reverend cheaters, among whom (I speak of the
greater part exceptis ganioribus) religion was shuffled like a pair of cards,
and the dice so many years were set upon us. And so wishing vou very
heartily many years, I will let you breathe till you have opened the in
closed, remaining. Your poor friend to serve you,
(Jan. 17 1637)
Henry Wotton. "
The Archbishop DeJDominis was induced to return to Italy, to Rome,
where he died miserably.
" The opinion usually entertained concerning the conduct of De Dominis,
upon his return to the church of Rome, is less favourable to bis character
than he deserves, if we may judge from the narrative of Dr. J. Cosin,
Bishop of Durham, in his ' History of Transubstantiation, ' (n, § 6).
We are assured, that, on his departure from England, he left in writing
this memorable declaration : ' I am resolved, even with the danger of
my life, to profess before the Pope himself, that the Church of England
is a true and orthodox Church of Christ. ' "
Chapter X. — page 225.
Full of years, but still vigorous in mind, the Doge, Leonardo Donato,
died suddenly, and his death, amongst other tidings of importance, is con
tained in a letter from F. P. Sarpi to M. de Groslot.

1 That this recantation was to my knowledge never printed at Rome, or else
where, through more haste belike in his death. Quod metus causa.
a Thus otherwise upon further consideration, that things extorted with fear carry
no credit, even by the Pnetor's edict.

NOTES 263
" All your letters are come safe. By my former letters, I acknowledged
that of the 16th of June, and of the last of the 10th of July, which has
brought me joyful news, not only upon account of his Majesty of Eng
land's declaration, which appears to me most remarkable, but as to the
hopes it gives me of a right understanding and reconciliation amongst
all the reformed, and though it should be only in appearance, yet never
theless it will do a world of good. But I hope it will be indeed and in truth,
especially since M. du Plessis is concerned in it. who I hope for his zeal,
courage, and dexterity will be infallibly assisted in it by heaven. I have
seen the declaration of the synod, which appears to me not only generous
but somewhat bold: possibly matters at present require such. As for
matters here, you have probably heard of the death of our Doge; it was
not untimely, as to his age, he was 77, but yet afflictive, for the Re
public has lost a subject of heroic and incomparable virtue. He died on
his return one morning from college, where he had fulfilled his duties
with his usual decision. The Jesuits, who do more ill absent than present,
have spread many things to dishonour his memory, and condemning him
to eternal torment, where they are used to imprison all who do not serve
or obey them. His successor has been appointed without any disturbance,
who though not equal to the deceased in courage, is yet his equal in vir
tue. I have much to say to you, but in one word I will conclude, if God
do not help us, in whom notwithstanding, I really trust, the republic will
shortly be another Genoa.
I see I have occupied your time more than I ought; I conclude in kiss
ing your hands, as do II Signor Molino and P. Fulgenzio, etc. etc. "
Chapter X. — page 228.
I necrologi della parrochia di S. Marziale tolgono ogni dubbio intorno
alia vera epoca della morte del Sarpi. Sotto il di 15 Gennaio 1622 (M.
V.), cioe 1623, si legge:
" A di ditto il R.do Padre Fra Paulo dell' Ordine de S.ta Maria di Servi,
de anni 73, da febre maligna, gia giorni 8.
" L'anno dell'eta, non e esatto, come spesso avviene nella fede di morte.
Inscrizione di C. Cicogna, Veneziano, vol. n, pag. 438. "
Crasso bewails the death of P. Paolo to Daniel Heinsius, the eminent
Professor of Greek at the University of Leyden (born 1580), and succes
sor of J. Scaliger. There was a volume of Poems on the death of F. P.
Sarpi destroyed in the fire which consumed the library of the Servi
at Venice.

FLORENCE. F. Bassi, printer. 1869.

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