THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA THE HANES FOUNDATION FOR THE STUDY OF THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE BOOK ESTABLISHED BY THE CHILDREN OF JOHN WESLEY AND ANNA HODGIN HANES APRIL 5 1929 :B4i£p This BOOK may be kept out TWO WEEKS ONLY, and is subject to a fine of FIVE CENTS a day thereafter. It is DUE on the DAY indicated below: PETEI DECKETUM. Trado tibi potestatem a Domino mihi traditam ligandi atque solvendi : ligabis quod opportet, solves quod expedit, tanquam qui ad liquidum EcclesisB regulas noveris, et tu in cutis seculi deditus minime reperiaris ; tibi autem empietatis est studia et sollicitudines suscipere seculares. Ad hoc non solum vocatus es ut opportune, et sine intermissione doceas Verbum Dei, et bio ante Pasca Domini Quadragesimale Jejunium tradidit, et ante Natalem tres Hebdomadas et quartam imperfectam ab omni Obristiano Populo instituit venerari in commemoratione primi et secundi adventus Domini Kostri Jesu Ohristi et ordinationes celebravit per mensem Decembrium — and you must avoid secular affairs ; there- fore, the accepting or taking secular cares or Temporal Power shall be deemed AN impiety and a crime. I submit this Work to the consideration of the whole Roman Catholic Hierarchy, and more espe- cially to the erudite CARDINAL WISEMAN, who is too learned not to appreciate the Work, and too acute not to see that the cause of the Papal Temporal Power is already lost. PAPAL CRIMINAL HISTORY: PRECEDED BY Biography of Augustus Cazsar. THE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIANITY; ALSO, NEW HISTORICAL FACTS CONNECTED WITH THE APOSTLES JOHN, PETEK, PAUL, & JACOBUS (First Bishop of Jerusalem, and Brother of Our Lord Jesus Christ). ©f jfour f^Are&j Panttfittg omfttefc in <3mzm. THE REAL DONATIONS BY THE EMPEROR CONSTANTINE TO BISHOP SYLVESTER. The whole taken from a Copy of the Unpublished MS. Codex in the Vatican. TRIAL OF POPE GREGORY IV, BY THE IMPERIAL JUDGES AND JURIES. THE HISTORIES OP THE POPESS JOANNA — THE THEODORAS AND MAROZIA'S REIGN— THE GREAT COUNTESS MATILDA, AND HER PAPAL PARAMOUR. THE ORGIES OF THE HOLY ROMAN CATHOLIC SEE. TOGETHER WITH VENICE: ITS PRESENT MARTYRDOM & ITS FORMER GLORIES. ETC., ETC., ETC. By Dr BEGGI, Commissary-Director of Police in the City and Province of Modena under the Provisional Government, and the late King Charles Albert, in the year 1848 ; and Medico-Chirurgo Applicato alia Questura di Torino, in 1849-50. LONDON: PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, AND SOLD BY W. EAST, STATIONER, 7 MIDDLE QUEEN'S BUILDINGS, BROMPTON ; ALSO BY G. BRIDGE, NEWS AGENT, 2 SHERRARD STREET, REGENT STREET; AND, BY ORDER, OP ALL BOOKSELLERS. 1862. EPISTOLARY DEDICATION. In starting you on your mission, I humbly dedicate and recommend you, my Book, to the studious youths of the Colleges of England, Italy, Prance, and other countries, with the hope that some of them, with their patient and pure bright minds, will take the trouble to read you, and compare notes with certain superstitions which have crept and insinuated them- selves into their minds, for by these inadvertencies many youths fall yearly into the mysterious abysses of Jesuitism. You will point out to those students the old Pagan and Christian authors, from whom they will learn more than they expect ; you will be as an index to them to facilitate their labour of inquiry, by which they will soon find out and learn to repro- bate the evil and to cultivate the good — ut sciant repro- bate mala et eligere bonum. But then comes the question, how are you to get free access or introduc- tion into schools, colleges, monasteries, &c. ? Each Priest, like a Cerberus, will bar your entrance, bark at you, perhaps drive you out, and have you noted in the Index JSxpurgatorius, besides which who knows what else they might not do. But let not their opposition trouble you ; enemies to humanity and anti- Christians only will wage war against you ; nevertheless, do not fear them, but frankly and freely o penetrate into society in the best way you can, and ^ there modestly tell your story. If you should be ^ opposed, cry out as loudly as circumstances may re- viii Do not forget, either, that a number of Popes, in spite of the populations and of opposing armies, suc- ceeded in impudently passing through the gates of the Vatican, and with all the cunning of foxes pos- sessed themselves of the S tercorarian chair. Should you be denied entrance to the Colleges and Schools by the doors, pass through the windows, and tell the boys that you come to unmask and reveal to them the abominations of the past and the present — that is, the Criminal History of the Papal Usurpations ; and that you will narrate to them a full historical confu- tation of all the so-called Donations to the Holy See, nemine excepta. Lastly, my dear little Book, you will remember how troublesome you have occasionally been to me, and how many laughs we have had together during our solitude, and how, at times, I have deplored the human miseries which had been brought upon mankind by the Papal follies. You will remember .also that, as a stranger in this free land, and unacquainted with the language of the people, I applied for counsel to some of my so-called friends, begging them to listen to your infantile story, and to suggest or correct some of your rude expres- sions, and how I failed to find anyone who could or would undertake to listen to more than a few of your pages, adducing by way of excuse their incapacity or want of time, and other reasons, contrary to my ex- pectations. The consequences of this disappoint- ment must be evident throughout your pages, though against my wishes. This renders it necessary for me to apologise to my readers for all our shortcomings, and in conclusion compels me to throw myself upon their charitable consideration. PREFACE. My dear little Book, you have grown up with suf- ficient strength amidst the noise and discordant sounds of pianos and brass bands in this so-called place, the Moon's fields. I am now tempted to let you out by yourself to try your fortune in the wide world, without protection and without the prestige of birth, trusting entirely to what merit and common sense you may possess. You know I have treated you with all the assiduous care and anxiety of a fond parent, and that for consecutive days and months I have never abandoned you. You know also how little mental relaxation I have had, for the better watching and tending your little wants. You are now more than four years old, and strong enough to meet the impetuosity of the tempestuous times we live in. Like a free-hearted pilot, then, I will leave you to brave the dangers, the machinations, and the daggers of your assailants. You know, likewise, that we are honestly poor and independent, that we have both had the same origin, and that we will invariably maintain that independence ; that your device is " Political and Religious Liberty," the best motto that can be engraved on the shield of a true Christian. X You know, further, that, as my predilect offspring*, you have no other protector. True, you might claim a very distant acquaintance, and perhaps relation- ship, with those ancient and immortal sages — Pythagoras, Aristoteles, Plato, Cicero, and a hundred ancient lay and ecclesiastical historians, from whom I have made copious extracts. You might call them as witnesses to what you intend to express in your cosmopolistic peregrination ; and in case of fall- ing into distress, their high respectability might be of material assistance to you, particularly if you happen to get entangled by any Jesuitical sophistry, which I desire you to avoid. Should you, however, at any time be put into such a dark corner by their arts, you must collect your mind, and imagine that you are in a, temple supported by four columns. You should then suppose the two front ones Pythagoras and Aristoteles, the two behind Plato and Cicero, and that you took up your position in one corner of this quadrilateral structure, the walls of which you should fancy were constituted by, and the interstices filled up, from one column to the other, by the Apostolic Disciples. The above Philosophers you should fur- ther imagine to be respectively supported by three of the Apostles, the better to strengthen the struc- ture. Of course you should still further conceive that Jesus Christ occupied the centre of the area. In such a temple and so constructed, with your mind steadfastly fixed upon the sublime precepts which have been enunciated by the above-named primeval teachers of the doctrine of Christianity, and the wealth thrown into it by the Apostles and the xi Eternal light, which the Immortal God would reflect upon them and upon you, you would be inspired to defend yourself frankly and fluently against any pro- blematical questions that might be put. You would also be able to announce the whole of the truth, that truth which you intend to spread broadcast to the glory of God, and thus crush for ever the abominable evils which have so long mystified and deluded humanity. You should further bear in mind that the fundamental part of your mission is to explain to your audience how the religion of the Romans origi- nated, and how venerated and respectable were its high Sacerdotes ; how wise, moral, prudent, and liberal they were, and what strenuous defenders they were of the honour and dignity of their country. Do not trouble yourself with their laws, as it wo aid impose too much labour upon you to recal them all to your memory. In order to avoid such an encum- brance, refer your new friends to the ancient digests which the Justinian Code has embodied and ex- plained for you ; it contains even the clauses which proved so unpalatable to the Christian Bishops. The period of the origin of the Religion of the Romans will comprise the first part of your infancy. The second opens to you, and to the whole known world, the most brilliant epoch that ever occurred ; and which might probably be revived if it were pos- sible to effect such an European Alliance as I have proposed elsewhere, and which I advise you to publish to the world, with its inherent reforms. My dear boy, you must not lose sight of this grandiose spec- tacle ; reflect a little, and you will see the wonderful (J 2) xii hand of God as it has descended from Heaven %o humanise and redeem the world from the false road into which it has been led through the corruption? luxury, and abuse of civilisation. You will see that He appeared with His Apostles when Csesar had con- quered and restored peace in every part of the world, which had become tributary to him and the Roman Senate. Turn to any art or science, and you will find your- self surrounded by an abundance of truly great men who have never ceased to instruct, delight, and civilise mankind with their works, and which have not yet been surpassed, although they have been imitated by their posterity in every country, as Virgil, Horace, and Ovid predicted of their mental produc- tions. Apart from them, with a higher degree of immortality, we had the Apostles and their doctrine, which was as new to the world, as it was sublimely beneficent to the whole creation. Their installation amongst us effected the suppression of the human, or rather inhuman, sacrifices, and inculcated all the other humanitarian and divine reforms which they received and preached by divine inspiration. You should here inform your audience that I have in my possession a manuscript copy of the ancient MS. Code, perhaps still extant in the Vatican Library, from which I have extracted several articles with regard to the origin of Christianity. You should likewise inform them that from this MS. Code I have introduced four Hebrew Kings (Pontiffs) who are not mentioned in the Genesis of our Lord J esus Christ ; that I have also extracted the biography of St John, Baptist sin and Evangelist, and the Decree of St Peter by which he constituted St Clement his successor at Antiochia, whilst he himself presided at the Church of Rome ; as well as many other important facts with relation to Christianity. The Christian churches Were instituted in Asia, Africa, and Europe under the auspices of the Apostles. But, alas ! for poor? humble, virtuous, pious, and beneficently honest Christianity, the Apostolic reign, as has been seen, was speedily suppressed, mystified, and supplanted by a new hypocritical, false, lying, and demoralising system which was foisted upon mankind under the mask of that Christian religion which had been so odiously perverted* It was at that time that we and our forefathers entered the third period, in spite of the warnings, the advice, and protests of the really good Christians of the period, such as Eusebius, Hiero- nimus, Origenes, Tertullianus, Cyprianus, Socrates, Sozomenus, St Augustin, St Ambrosius, St John Crisostomus, and others, who contended against and resisted those innovations which were offensive, derogatory, and detrimental to the piety and true interests of the Christian religion. My dear boy, remember that we will not make Constantine's spoliation of the Gentiles Pontifices, and his enriching the Christian Church with their spoils, a crime. His motives were probably good, and he believed he was acting for the advantage of humanity, though the result proved quite contrary, not only to the interests of the populations, but to the throne itself, which has been in jeopardy ever since, on account of the Pontifical mines which were laid xiv tinder it. You may consider it an inadvertence, a mistake on the part of Constantine, but not a crime ; the criminality rested only upon the conscience of the clergy, if they had any. It was his intention to provide for them, so that they might reform their scandalous abuses, and depart from plundering and other abominations to which they had been some- times addicted. Constantine also deluded himself in thinking to make atonement for his offences and the numerous crimes he had committed. At this point you should call attention to the real Donations of Constantine, which I have extracted from the MS. Code before mentioned, and which, although they conveyed so many precious gifts, yet did not confer a single acre or a rood of land upon which the Pope could build any pretension whatever to the temporal power* It was within the third period also that the so- called Roman Episcopate, under another blasphe- mous denomination, began to grow up rampantly, and to abuse and delude every one, styling and installing itself as the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic See. In consequence of its sacrilegious luxury, excessive pride, atheism, anti- Christian ma- noeuvres, and pharisaical vices (sometimes supported by the sword of state for various interested motives), the said apostate and unholy See became insatiably powerful, and began to aspire to the temporal power. Fortunately, however, the whole of the line of the French Monarchs proved themselves quite able to check these first attempts at Caesarean dominion, and to keep the Roman See under their protection XV and domination, endowing it with money. I will not give yon a long memorandum regarding that period, my boy, as I know yon are quite competent to explain the religio-political circumstance? of these difficult times. I am also aware that you retain all the facts I have explained to you, and that you appreciate them according to their diplomatico -historical interest. You may per- haps meet with glorious and unsullied-minded youths without experience, and who -follow their collegiate instructions, by which they are regularly taught, by stress of mind, that a cart is a near rela- tive to a donkey, that a priest is a Pope in perspec- tive, and that the Pope eclipses the sun and moon, and is as great as God himself. You will find an instance of these monstrous perversions of the human mind in the Lateran Council held under Pope Julius II, where and when, in the 9th Session, that Pope was styled the Prince of the Apostles, and similliraus Leo, et qui a jpopulis adorari debet — as more than equal to God, he ought to be adored. It is here that the finest field for successful operation presents itself to your patience and benevolence ; and I would suggest that, with calm and clear arguments, directed in a familiar and friendly way to your new acquaint- ances, you should show the cause and reason why they are in error ; you should explain to them, freely and without reticence, the facts as you understand them, and taking care not to offend their self-esteem, or to overthrow all at once their prejudices, you may hope to obtain as good a result as any humani- tarian teacher could expect. xvi Let me counsel you to avoid the old clerical parties as much as possible. Most of them have their own views and interests to support, according to tne sect to which they belong. Many of them are, nevertheless, good men, although sectarians ; and you will risk nothing in their company, while you will invariably learn something from their conversation. Your principal object will be to seek the company of the secular and theological students, and to point out to them many of the lessons you have received yourself. I know you will have some difficulty in approaching a certain class of persons, whilst you will find others easily accessible ; however, I trust that, by caution and promises of enlightening them upon certain historical facts, you may induce them to make your acquaintance. You might also instruct them as to how the Popes conspired with the French Kings to dethrone and spoliate the Lombard Kings and the Greek Emperors of their Italian possessions, and with what cunning and astuteness the Popes have succeeded in establishing their supreme ecclesiastical jurisdiction. You might likewise tell them how Pope Adrian invented the Donation by Constantine of St Peter's Patrimony, and to prove which a falsehood, you can acquaint them how his successor, Pope Gregory, was tried by the jury and the Imperial judges of Ludovic for the usurpation of the lands and territories situated within the limits of that so-called Patrimony ; you can read them the trial, if they do not believe it, and show them how he was found guilty of holding xvii unlawful possession of those lands, &c, and how ho was compelled to re -transfer them to their rightful owners. Besides this, you can give a full confuta- tion of the whole of the pretended Imperial Donations, and of the entire batch of Episcopal pamphlets which have been issued during the past two or three years. You can further tell your readers that, in the fourth part or period of your existence, though absolutely most mischievously hard and obscure, most barba- rous and anti- Christian, most depraved and demonia- cally lewd, full of wars and revolutions, of degrada- tions of Bishops, Popes, and Emperors; full of schisms and self -intrusions in the Papal chair ; full of poisonings, incest, murders, and gouging — I say you can further tell them, and your new acquaintances likewise, that they will find mention now and then, in spite of all these abominations, of some very great secular men, and ab other times of ecclesiastical writers full of religion and Christian faith, worthy of the Apostolic name, and who have elevated their voices and used their pens most nobly to interdict, denounce, and criticise the actions of Bishops and Popes, with the hope of bringing them to the right Christian path of virtue. You can still further tell your acquaintances that they will hear or read from you the history of the Popess Joanna, who died in the street whilst suddenly delivered of a child; you can tell them, too, of the Papal paramours with Theodora, and of her daughter Marozia, and their children and grand-children, who were made Bishops, Archbishops, and Popes, no matter at what xviii age, and who ruled Christianity in Italy and every- where else, and who murdered and poisoned each other whenever the opportunity was offered. In addition to all this, you can tell them that for a long century that family game was kept up, until the hydromancers and necromancers, Gerbert and Company, obtained the Pontificate. [Gerbert was a great master in the art of necromancy and hydromancy, and for a long series of years the succeeding Popes were all of them particularly expert in the magician's arts. The fashionable and felicitous novel-writers of the present day, who are fond of fantastical innovations, if they would turn their attention to this period, would find excellent scope for the exercise of their talents and their pens. With their versatile genius they might select, out of the works upon the above subjects, something worth their while, and revive some of those old scenes and effects which could not fail to astonish and amuse the readers of the nineteenth century.] Tou might then further inform your acquaintances that after them came the great man and the great Countess, who were well matched in all sorts of iniquities, and who, like old Grimaldi and many other Popes, had no religion at all — Gregory VII, alias Hildebrand, and his concubine, Matilda, who had a good long swing and many wars, with the usual farces of schism, excommunication, imperial deposition, &c. After the period of Hildebrand's death you may entertain your readers with the miraculous breeches of that immaculate Pope, and a thousand other equally monstrous episodes (which I will advise you, my boy, xix to relate one after the other), until the Roman Curia felt compelled to move away to Avignon, to hide its shame in that out-of-the-way place, where lust and the most horrible crimes of all kinds were practised in the most barefaced manner, with renewed vigour and the most consummate art ; as Petrarch a says : — " Nido di tradimenti in cui si cova Quanto mal per lo mondo oggi si spande, Di vin serva di letti e di vivande, In cui lussuria fa Tultiraa prova Per le camere tue fanciulle e vecchi Vanno trescando, e Belzebub in mezzo Co mantici e col fuoco e con li specchi," &c. I do not think it necessary to prompt your mind now as to what you should say of affairs at Avignon, as you are well stored with facts which are substan- tiated and supported by Ecclesiastical, Secular, and Diplomatic history, and you have memory enough to tell the exploits of all that so-called Roman Curia which resided there, with its audacious Grand Masters, the pretended Vicars of Christ. By way of telling a story, you might also narrate the life of Boniface, and say how well he deserved the treat- ment he received from William Nbgaretus, when at last the latter caught him and made him prisoner at Agnani, when he loaded him with torments, fastening them upon his tongue, around his neck, and on his wrists — when he tied him upon a saddled but unbridled horse, with his face towards its tail ; and that it was thus (escorted by a goodly number of troops in addition) that Pope Boniface VIII, in his pontifical dress, made his last triumphal entry into Rome, where he died soon after. I am confident (0 XX that you will remember many events which tran- spired at that Lupanarian court, and relate them as you find them, well attested by all impartial writers, excepting always the Jesuits. Should you forget any fact of material importance you can refer to the Chronicon of Monfort, to Platina, Villani, Thomas Walsingham, Mattheus Westmonas- teriensis, Stella, Blondus, Laurentius Anglicus, Onuphrius, Sigonius, Pagi, Antonini, &c, all of whom will supply you with many important dis- closures of the whole of the Papal misdeeds, some of which I have only partly narrated, whilst I have omitted altogether to instruct you upon others, as my intention was merely to sketch how the Popes ascended the ladder, and usurped the temporal power. When they arrived at that point where they refused to consecrate the Emperors who were duly elected by the Electors, for the sake of ruling the world themselves and receiving the rents of the empire, proclaiming themselves respectively, u Ego sum Imperator" I do not well see that they could have said or done anything further ; consequently, on arriving at this point, my task was ended. However, as I wished to convey through you to the public the opinions of Dante and Petrarch concerning the Papal temporal power, I was induced to carry the work on to the times of those writers ; accordingly, I have extracted passages from their poetical and prose works, which fully ratify and substantiate their denunciation and condemnation of the absurd, incongruous, and unchristian Papal mystifications and usurpations of the temporal power, in open violation of religion and law. xxi My readers will find that, at the end of this work, I have treated the Venetian Question ; and must not be surprised if, in perusing it, they discover a mixture of Papal mismanagements, of a spiritual and temporal nature, as well as various other allusions to the intemperance of the Clergy. For their information I may remark that it was my intention, in the first instance, to publish this portion of the work separately. It will also be evident to them that I commenced writing the Venetian before the Roman Question. However, as the latter appears to me to be the most urgent of the two, and offers the largest scope for treatment ; particularly as the priests are even more offensive and more insolent than the Austrians at the present moment ; and for the additional reason that both of these subjects are so intimately allied to each other as to form almost one and the same question, — I deemed it both necessary and advisable that the horrors, the crimes, and the spoliations of Papaldom should be first disposed of, and that the deliverance of the Venetians from the Austrians should follow. Besides, how could the Italians undertake to wage war against Austria, while they would leave behind their backs those Episcopal rebels who are ever on the alert to revolutionize the country and its cities, and throw confusion into society, by calling to their aid all sorts of assassins, the scum of the world, who are congregated in the centre of Italy under the control, management, and pay of that mitred and unmitred Pharisaical tribe which awaits the opportunity to pillage, sack, and murder the un- xxii fortunate inhabitants ? It is only in keeping with common sense and reason that a sensible person, npon being attacked simultaneous] y by a number of vicious animals, would strike first at the most powerful of them ; so it is with me, and I therefore aim at breaking the horns of the bull first. With regard to the barbarian hordes, I would leave them till a better opportunity, or if they should venture outside their fortifications for fresh air give them a taste of the cold steel. In the treatment of the Venetian affairs it will be observed that I have given a short descriptive sketch of the state of misery to which the Venetians have been reduced since the year 1815 ; also a few references to their genius in the arts and sciences, in legislation and in war. It will also be observed that I have referred to their conquests in the Peninsula and abroad, and related a few episodes in their history, their colonial conquests, their rapid and glorious ascendancy to wealth and power, and their unmerited downfall and barter, together with a chapter on the reason why the Italians desire re- union and nationality under that illustrious and constitutional king, the glorious Victor Emmanuel. F. 0. BEGGI, Commissary-Director of Police in the City and Province of Modena under the Provisional Government, and under the late King Charles Albert, in the year 1848 ; and Medico- Chirurgo Applicato alia Questura di Torino, in 1849-50. April, 1862. INTRODUCTION. EIDENDO CASTIGO MORES: Over the principal entrances of many of the Italian theatres I remember that I have seen thi3 old Eoman motto in vario-coloured or sculptured capital letters — I have no doubt that the theatre traditionally passed to us as the best school for the correction of manners, and the moderation of our passions ; and at the same time it has been the best place where, upon fitting opportuni- ties, advising hints have been given to the ruling Dio- nysius. These hints have been frequently given in every one of the Italian towns, I am quite sure, some- times by allegories in the plays, at others by the extem- poraneous wit of the actors, who invariably knew what would produce an effect, according to the circumstances of the political thermometer. I may be excused if I do not here produce proofs of this assertion, and refer the reader to the Index Expur gator ius. The Circenses, though they have been the indirect means, now and then, of lightly casti- gating the bold tyrant, yet at other times they have served to elevate his disdainful pride and his triumphal haughtiness; moreover, they have been one of the greatest political means adopted by the retrograde Le- gislators to ensnare and enfeeble the minds of the thinking population, and to attract them to be surveyed by an ever-present posse of armed men, well salaried, and appointed to watch and catch, if possible, the thoughts and exclamations of the unguarded and exhila- rated people. I may remark that the policy of the Governments was based upon the principle of amusing the populations to their utter exhaustion and insensi- bility, so that they might not have a moment for reflective thought about their contemptible political xxiv nonentity, and so that they should not congregate any- where that the Government spies had not access also. Of course some of the high officials were always present at these spectacles ; and this is the reason why the most Reverend and Eminent Cardinal Panzanera (or his prostituted representative) always appeared in a con- spicuous place to grace with his presence the assemblies, and'mar the popular enjoyment, by poisoning the atmo- sphere with his mephitic breath, nothwithstanding that it is strictly forbidden by Divine and Canonical laws that the priests should interfere in such matters, and ordained that they should attend solely to their ecclesiastical business, as I have elsewhere shown. When the Emperor of Austria visited Italy in 1825 I was a boy, and though I could understand reason, I could not comprehend that extraordinary display of external magnificence and rejoicing in the streets of the towns through which he passed ; neither could I divine the difference betwixt the genuine and the fictitious or forced merriment of the people. I know money was distributed amongst the poor people, so that they might have an opportunity of feasting gratis, whilst the better class were forced to disgorge the means to supply the necessaries for that festive occasion. For certain, it was not the money of Francis the Fourth, of Este, which paid those expenses, because he ordered the proprietors of certain houses in the streets, wherever his processional train was to pass, to have them white- washed, repaired, and ornamented, &c, under penalties for non-compliance. And, as a matter of course, the citizens had to pay, as the Duke of Modena could not, nor did he intend to do so, as he had no money, having employed that which he had extorted from the people* XXV after his installation in that State in 1815, in buying property in Hungary and Bohemia. He had no money of his own, for certain, when he settled there, as was evi- dent by the loan which he contracted with a private Mo- denese family of the name of Bertacehi, the representa- tive of which lent him one or two millions of francs, with or without interest, directly after he arrived at Modena, Whilst these grand spectacles were being forced upon the people I was at Eubiera, a small fortified place, whose thick walls were partly converted into political prisons, crowded with patriotic and intelli- gent men, the flower of the Duchy of Modena — men who were presumed to be liberals, and who had been incarcerated there since 1821. After the period I speak of some were still confined there, whilst others had been removed to Modena and other fortresses, where they were kept in the severest and vilest durance, and subjected to the most heartrending misery, until the 3rd of February, 1831, when Francis the Fourth of Este was compelled to decamp, surrounded by his troops, and seek a lodging for himself and family in the fortresses of Mantua. I was one of those who joined in the popular movement to disarm the garrison of the palace, and who went to open the State prisons and liberate the imprisoned citizens. From that day I experienced the greatest, the most satisfactory rejoicing of my heart. It was then that I began to feel that I was a man, capable of defending myself, and that I was bound in duty to assist oppressed humanity, created by the all- merciful God to enjoy freedom of mind and body. I must not yet quit Eubiera, because it was there I first became inspired with liberal ideas. I had driven my mother and another lady to that place upon the xxvi occasion to which I refer, when we met a lady of their acquaintance who was in tears, and who had a relative immured in one of the prisons. My mother used all her endeavours to console the unhappy lady with the hope that her brother would soon be liberated. She replied that all her family had petitioned for years, but uselessly, for the Austrian tyrant was inflexible; and she declared that it was a shame that the population should have borne the expense even of a straw to feast that demon-like and perverse ruler, who was there to rob, abominate, and destroy the population. I listened attentively to the pitiful narration of that lady, I felt compassion for her, and from that moment I began to nourish in my soul thoughts of political free- dom, which secretly grew and impressed themselves deeply in my heart, until at last the political insur- rection of 1831 burst all external appearances and reticences. Since then I have lived a new life, though sometimes a very hard one ; yet it has been gloriously happy, and will be happier still, I hope, in the future; for I see, with pleasure, the ap- proachment of the realisation of my constant and best wishes, in the interest of which I have taken the trouble, as well as the pleasure, to write this volume, and to reveal and tell, in a jocular way, as far as I was able, the most serious affairs, with the hope that society would see, without prejudice, the awful absurdities which they have supported through ignorance and superstition. Should I be fortunate enough to save a few of the young Theologians from falling into the Roman Catholic abissus abominationis, then I shall have the privilege of repeating the old motto : BIDENDO CASTIGO MOKES. DE ROMANORUM RELIGIONIS ORIGINE. ISTuma. Pohpilius Saluta.ttje Eex. Anno I, Interkegnt. Post annum Urbis Interregnum orbis conditi anno 3236, ante Christum natum 712. Trojae exustae 471. JEneae adventus in Italiam 467. Novae Urbis Romae 39 ; faederis Romuli cum Tatio Sabinorum Principe 35. Glimpiadae 16, an. 2, quo vicit in stadio Pytha- goras Lacedaemonius fuitque Manasses filius Ezechiae Eegis conceptus parentis sui an. 17. Leocratis primi Athen. Archontis 4. Tharachi iEthyopum Regis 8. Dilulaei Chaldaeorum Principis II, et Cordeacis Me- dorum Eegis an. 8, quo primum Chersonesus in Sicilia exulta viguit, et TJrbs Mylae sive Milassum, quae bellorum gloria insignis nunc Messanae urbis Eegni totius principi paret condita. Interreges Senatorum Consensu ac civium plausu Numam Pompilium revocarunt a Silvis ad Reipub- licae tunc primum florentis regimen. Aberat tunc Numa et multi jugae virtu tis fato ipsum praemovente Laus civium vota traxarat, et animos nullum ambi- tionis oraculum adfuit, nulla verborum pompa, fraus ulla regnandi cupidine premota viguit : sed tantum virtutis pondus Numam elevavit in Eegem. Haee fere Diocles Pepareticus, Portius Cato, Eabius Pictor ? 2 Zenodotus, Ennius ac Varro vulgant. Inter quos Luciana historia uno ex omnium oraculo si proelamat inclita Justitia, Beligioque ea tempestatelSTumae Pom- piiii erat Curibus Sabinis habitabat consultissimus vir, ut in ilia quisquam setate esse poterat omnis divini atque humani juris. Eeligio virtutum omnium monumentum praecipuarumque Beipublicse sanctio- num columen a Xenophonte, et Socrate scriptorum sapientissimis, omnimode pacis origo nuncupatur. Enim vero si a relegendo nomen apud Tullium de Natura Deorum sortitur, sive a religando, ut Lac- tantio placet, vel potius a relinquendo, et Masurius Sabinus psenes Gellium, lib. 4. Noctium Atticarum, cap. 9, testatur, Eeligiosum appellariid, quod propter Sauctitatem aliquem remotum, et se positum a nobis est. Eirmatque Macrobius ex Severi Sulpitii sen- tentia : Nulla Eeligio discordes hominum efformat animos, neque pacis ablegat, sed potius ex bello an- nuente ipsa pax oritur, quae, teste Pyndaro Pyth., ode 8, vers. 287, reddit urbes maximas, et ut Bac- chylides inquit, Deorum ara sonant, estque Dei munus maximum hominum generi providenter illatum, sicut Plinius ad Traianum. Julianus Imperator ad Con- stantinum, et Div. Crisostomus elegantissime tradi- derunt. Pythagoras doctjit Ntjmam, &c. De Eictis a jNttma Diis, Demonum Culttj, et Hydromaktia, ac Libris Stjperstitiosis, ojtibtjs Numa tttebatur. a sketch from the old classic authors. Eomanos a Kuma Deos accepisse, et sacrorum Cersemonias apud Plutarehum et Dionysium, Eabium Pictorem, quam pluresque alios compertum est; unde, et Deos ipsi autumare ceperunt ad instar Thuscorum, et Athsenientium, qui teste Clemente Alexandrino Deus sibi frangere prae viribus ausi sunt, hinc ex Varrone, D. Augustinus, lib. 7, Civitatis Dei ad Marcellinum ait : Arcanam fuisse Numas Doctrinam, 3 ignorantes Dsemonum amplectentur ludicra ad- monere sufficiat sacrorum causas a Eege Pompilio Eomanorum Sacrorum institutore conscriptas, nec populo, nec Senatui, nec saltem ipsis Sacerdotibus innotescere debuisse, ipsumque Numam curiositate illicita ad ea Dsemonum pervenisse secreta, et antea fictos Deos inculcat, lib. 3, c. 11, &c. Numa faustissimus Eeligionis primus instituit colere Pacem et Deos, quod Ovidius in Fastis, lib. 3, tradit. " Principio nimium promptos ad bell a Quirites Molliri placuit jure Deumque metu ; Inde data3 leges, ne fortior omnia posset Caeptaque sunt pure tradita sacra coli Exuitur feritas armisque potentius equum est Et cum vice pudet conseruisse manus, Atque aliquis modo trux, visa jam vertitur ara Yinaque dat tepidis, farraque, salsa focis : Ecce Deum genitos rutilas per nubila flammas Spargit et effusis sethera siccat aquis. ,, Messala Corvinus Orator disertissimus in libello ad Octavianum Augustum de Augustorum progenie id suo format oraculo. " Mox Numa ad Eeligionem Con versus, ut Beorura timor ad mitiora truces flecteret animos, sacra in- stituit, Saeerdotes ereat, Yirgines Vestales sacrat, Pontificem Maximum declarat primus, dies fastos, ne fastosque Condidit, annum in 12 m - menses divisit." Ovid, lib. 15, Metamorph., Pythagoram Samium Crotoniatem Kurnoe praeceptorem fuisse decantat. " Hujus amor Curse patria Curibusque relic tis Euit ut Herculei penetraret ad Hospitiisurbem," &c. Tullius, lib. 2, Tuscul. " Nam Pythagoras ob Tyrannideas Polycratis re- licta Samo Crotonem petiit, ibique leges Italis dedit, et quse cum discipulis clarus est habitas, quod at Ovidius enarrat," vers. 60. 4 " Yir fait hie ortu Samius, sed fugerat una Et Sam on, et Dominos odioque Tyrannidis exul Sponte erat, isque, licet Cseli regione rerootus, Mente Deo> adiit, et quse natura negabat Yiribus humanis oculis, ex pectoris hausit," &c. Pythagoras nuncupatur Divinus, Sapientissimus ab Apuleio — auctor naturse, verique ab Horatio, lib. 1, Oct. 28. Yir doctissirnus a Tullio, a Porphirio Celebris, et doetrinarum omnium fons. Oraculum et speculum virtutum omnium a Probo, &c. Pythagoras teste Athanseo qui, Tullio, Tertulliano, Justino Marty re, Cirillo, Arnobio Cseterisque Sacro- prophanes mutationes autumavit, et somnia. Tertul- lianus de Anima, c. 28. " Si vero Samius sophista Platoni auctor est ani- marum de recidivatu revolubili semper et alterna mortuorum, atque viventium sufectione, certe ille Pythagoras non turpi modo verum etiam temerario mendacio incubuit." Multi scribunt Pythagorse discipulum JSTumam fuisse, et quo tempore ad Regnum Eomanum yocatus est apud Crotonem egisse, ac Philosophise operam dedisse, sic etiam Livius multos id ipsum refert, et si prseviribus impugnet. Auctorem Doctrinse ejus quia non extat falso Samium Pythagoram edunt, eorumque argumenta sive ab Epimarcho, sive Diode Peparetico, ac Zenodoto Contraeta refert Plutarchus in Numa. Unde percrebuit sapientiam hanc et eruditionem ex Pythagora Numam hausisse : magna, nam ex parte hie Heipublicse institutionem Philoso- phiam in rebus Divinis posuit. Exteriorem speciem quoque, et personam eamdem, ac Pythagoras mente dicitur petiisse. Eertur ille ita mansuefisse Aquilam, ut Certis vocibus siateret, et deyocaret supervolantem. Jam in Conventu Olimpiaco transeuntem femur aureum protulisse, aliasque commemorant monstri- iices ejus artes, et facta, quare scripsit Thymon Phliasius. 5 "Pythagorani technis captantem nominis auram Vitam, et mulcentem blandis sermonibus aures." Numae fabulam Deae cujuspiara, aut Nimphae Montanae Amor, et Arcanum cum ipso Contubernium erat, mutuque cum musis consuetudo. Plerasque autem divinationes suas contulit in Camaenas, unam peculiariter, atque eximie venerari praecipit-Romanis, Tacitam earn nominavit, quae commemoratib visa est, et observatio Silentii Pythagorici-— Jam hujus de statuis scita undequaque Pythagorae placitorum sunt germana. JNeque enim ille sensui, aut ulli dolor ex positu rerum principium esse, sed invisibile sola mente existimavit apprehensibile. Hie vetuit Romanis, vel bestiae formam tribuere Deo, neque fuit ulla apud eos ante, vel picta, vel ficta imago Dei, sed primum 160, annos tempia extruxerunt et cellas Diis, simulacrum per id temporis nul- lum habuerunt, nephas putantes augustiore hu- milioribus, neque aspirari aliter ad Deum quam mente posse. Ad haec hostiae ejus respondent plane victimis Pythagoricis, incruentae enim erant, ac fere farinae libaminibus ex vino et rebus sim- plicissimis parabantur. Hactenus ille, et Pythagoram de divinis egisse cum Reipublicae administration e tradunt Socrates paenes Platonem, Apulejus de Deo Socratis, et Xenophon, mente omnia didicisse. Tertullianus de Anima refert et irridet. Eventum Aquilae, quam domuit, Jamblicus enarrat in vita Pythagorae. De femore aureo Philostratus in vita Apollinis Thianaei monstrifica plura edidisse, quam saepe Tertullianus Philostratus, Hierocles Pytha- goricus, et Eusebius Caesariensis scribunt. De ejus dulci eloquio Suidas, et Lactantius vulgant. Rerum principium mente assequendum Pythagoras in Car- minibus expressit, expenditque Hierocles Pytha- goricus Deum forma aliena animantis exutum, Psellus ex Pythagora colendum trad it, et Crotoniates simulacra damnasse Archita Tarentius, et Tymeus docuere. Hostias absque sanguine Diis litandas, B 2 6 Cyrillus Alexandr. et Clemens quam saape tradunt, victimasque incruentasPythagoramcensuisse Laertius, Porphyrius, Jamblieus, Malchus, Eusebius Caesari- ensis, et Hierocles Pythagoricus uno omnium calculo produnt, quod inquit de picturis, et Statius non solum primos 160 annos, sed quam plures enumerat Plinius, lib. 35, c. 4, ubi sic ait — Apud Romanos, quoque honos mature huic arti contigit, si quidem cognomina ex ea Pictorum Fabii clarissimee gentis Princepsque ejus • cognominis. Ipse sedem salutis pinxit anno 450, quae pietura duravit ad longam memoriam. Proxime celebrata est in Foro Boario sede Herculis Pacuvii Poetse Pietura Ennii Sorore genitus fuit hie, clarioremque earn artem Romas fuit glorias scense. Liberum Patrem depictum Lucius Mamicii cui cognomen Achaici victoria dedit, namque cum in preda vendenda Hex Attains YI. M. Sextertium emisset Aristidis tabulam Liberum Patrem continentem prastium miratus, suspicatusque aliquid in ea virtutis quod ipso nesciret, revocavit Tabulam Attalo multum querente, et in Ceteris de- lubro posuit. Antea ergo Numa Pythagoram secutus nullum simulacrum Deorum posuit. Ovid in Fastis : " Ignis in extinctus templo caelatur in illo Efngiem nullam Yesta nec ignis kabebat." Dionysius, Multa etiam ac mira de Numa prsedicant ad Deum Rom3De " Silvia Vestalis, quid enim vetat inde moveri, RileaSiivia. Sacras lavaturas mane patebat aquas Ventum erat ad mollem declivi tram it e ripam Pomitur e Summa fictilis orna coma." Ad Hydro man ties exercitium inquit Augustinus, quod licet ipse non explicat, imo dicens. Quibus hasc artibus riant ipsi viderunt, damnat et silet : ejus Scholiastes vives modum enarrat. Hvdromantia non fit simpliciter ; Nam, et in ampulla vitrea imposita aqua, quas a puero inspicitur, quam Gastromantiam dicunt a Tumore, et ventricositate ampul! as ; turn et in pelvim, aqua infusa, quas Lecanomantia dicitur — hactenus ille ex Psello de Dasmonibus, Varrone de Trallibus, Pausania de JEginensibus Achaicis, ac Stra- bone, qui in Asia hujus peritissimos plurimos esse tradit. Lucanus, lib. 6, Pharsalias Aquas ac Cruoris in impia Magorum arte meminit. j/'Pectora turn primum ferventi sanguine supple t Vulneribus laxatu novis, taboque medullus Abluit, et virus large lunare ministrat Hue quicquid fastu genuit natura sinistro Miscetur, non spuma canum quibus unda timori est Viscera non Lyncis," &c. 13 Nemesianus, De Aqua in Magicis, Eclog. 4. " Ter vittis, ter fronde sacra, ter thure vaporo Lustravit cineresque aversa effudit in amnem. ,> " Stant arse circum, et crines effusa sacerdos. Ter centum tonat ore Deos, aerebumque chaosque Ter geminamque Hecatem, tria virginis ora Diana3 Sparserat et latices simulates fontis Averni." " Lustralem sic triste facem cum lumen odorum Sulphure caeruleo, nigroque bitumine fumat Circum membra votat doctus purganda sacerdos Eore pio spargens, et dura fugantibus herbis Kumina terrificumque Jovem, Triviamque precatus Trans caput aversus manibus jaculatur in austrum Secum rapturas cantata piacula taedas." " Cumque manus puras fontana perluit unda Vertitur, et nigras accipit ore fabas." u Porte Deum variis per noctem territa monstris Virgo thoris primi jubar ad placabile phaebi Ibat et horrendas purgantia numina noctes." Superstitiosimas gentium vanitates Depromit, et multis olim modis divinatio fiebat inquit, nam vel ex terra petebatur, et erat Geomantia, vel ex igne et Pyromantia, quae eadem ignis picina, cujus auctor, ut inquit Plinius, Amphiareus, vel ex fumo, quae Capromantia, vel ex avibus quae Auguria, vel ex extis, que Auruspicina, in qua multum Hetrusci valuerunt, et Janus apud JEleos Apollinis filius, et post eum Trasibulus, qui canem inspiciebat, sectum jecur ostendentem, vel ex cribo que Coscionamentia, vel ex Securibus, quae axiomantia, ex herbis Bota- nomantia Sagarum ars, vel ex mortuis, qua3 Necro- mantia, seu Neciomantia, vel ex astris, quae Astro- nomia in qua, qui peritissimi dicuntur Chaldaei. Etiam si Chaldaea non sunt nati, ex Sortibus Clero- mantia, ex manum linementis chyromantia, ex facie ipsa, et filo totius corporis Physiognomia, vel ex piscibus, qua3 Ichthyomantia, quae objecta est Apuleio, Virgil, lib. 4, iEneid. Claudianus, lib. 1, Pa- neg. 4. Ovidius, lib. 6, Fast. ValeriusFlac- cus, lib. 5, Argon. 14 vel ex palpitatione oculorum, quae Saltatio, et Pal- micum Augurium, turn somniorum conjecturae et omnia, quae et fulgetrae monstra, voces, et sternu- tamenta, et Daemonum evocandorum mille artes, quas satius est, nominari quidem, quae omnia san- guine, et aqua indigere tradit Psellus, et ante Jam- blicus de Sacrifiiciis, Porphirius, Proclus, Pruden- tius, caeterique quamplures, quorum oraculis de aqua adduximus, nunc nonnulla Sanguine nec absre, quia D. Augustinus ex Yarrone inquit. !Numa Hydro- mantiam facere compulsus est, ut in qua videret Imagines Deorum, vel potius ludificationes Daemo- num, a quibus audiret, quod in sacris constitueret, atque observare deberet. Quod genus Divinationis idem Varro a Persis dicit allatum, quo et ipsum Numam, et postea Pythagoram Philosophum usum fuisse commemorat ; ubi adhibito Sanguine etiam inferos perhibet suscitari, Hactenus ille, et Ovidius, lib. 7, Metamorph. De Medaea. " Sacra facit cultosque in guttura velleris atri Conijcit et patulas perfundit sanguine fossas." " Scalpaere terram TFnguibus et pullam divellere mordicus agnam Caeperunt, cruor in fossam confusus ut inde Matres elicerent animas responsa daturas." "Haec facit ubi caput, spumantiaque ora levavit Protinus astrictus caluit cruor." " Vocat inde manes, teque qui mares regis Carmenque magicum voluit, et rabido minax Decantat ore quicquid, aut placat leves Aut cogit umbras irrigat sanguis focos Solidosque pecudes urit." " Postquam Deos Manes votis et praecibus Propitiavi, pecudes jugulavi in Scrobem Pluebat in earn ater sanguis Animae autem mortuorum ex Herebo congrega- bantur." Hor&t.,Sat.8. lucan, lib. 6. Sen., in .flSdipo. Homer. 15 iX Principio largos novies tellure cavata Inclinat Bacchi latices, et mimera verni Laetis et acteos imbres suadumque cruorem. ,, " Postquam evocavit omne serpentum genus Congerit in unum frugis infaustaB mala QuaBcumque generat invius saxis Eryx Quae fert opertis hyeme perpetua Jugis Sparsus cruore Caucasus Promethei Pharetraque pugnax Medus," &c. Et quamplurimi scriptores confinnavere hasc omnia supradicta, enim vero Minucius felix in Octavio ex Socrate Sosthene, ex Platone DaBmones. sic prodit — Isti impuri DaBmones sub statuis et Imaginibus con- secrati delitescunt, et afflatu suo auctoritatem, quasi praBsentis Numinis consequuntur, dum inspirantur interim Yatibus, dum fanis immolantur dum non- nunquam extorum fibras animant, avium volatus gubernant, sortes regunt, oracula efficiunt falsis plu- ribus involutu, nam et falluntur, et fallunt, ut nescientes sinceram veritatem, et quam sciunt in perditionem sui non confitentes. Sic a Coelo dorsum gravant, irrepentes etiam corporibus occulte, ut spiritus tenues morbos fingunt, terrent mentes, mem- bra distorquent, ut ad Cultum sui cogant ut nidore altarium, vel hostiis pecudum saginati, remissius quaB constringxerat curasse videantur. HaBc ille, quern ex Eritrhea Sybilla ex Trismegisto sequitur Lactan- tius, etPrudentius in HymnoD. Vincentii Martyris. " Adsit et illic spiritus Sunt sed magistri criminum VestraB et salutis aucupes Yagi, impotentes sordidi, Qui vos latentes incitos In omne compellunt scelus." Horum ergo DaBinonum cultorem fuisse Kumam, dum HydromantiaB, ac NecromantiaB studebat, com- pertum est. Nam Lares apud Plutarchum, Penates Statius, &c. Thebaide. Sen., in Medse. 16 psenes Dionysium Dii Patrii, quorum Livius raemi- nit, Trojae Numina apud Zonaram, Diique Indigetes apud Messalam Gorvinum, etiam iEgeria, de qua ejusque Vafritiae scribunt Poliaenus et Valerius quid- nam fuere quam Daemones? D. Augustinus ad Marcellinum ait. Numam Pompilium curiositate illicita ad Daemon um pervenisse secreta. Quod Lactantius firmat — Tandem haec superstitio in libro- rum nonnullo servabatur volumine, quod post obi- tum secum humari jussit, ne posteritas ilio sufful- tus mendacium retorqueret in falsae Eeligionis auctorem — fuerunt itaque Numae libri in janiculo agro reperti post Numae obitum, anno 535. P. Cornelio L. P. Caethego, M. Bebio Q. F. Pamphilo Coss. At Lucius C. Bebium Pamphilum, quern Cassius Hemina et M. Emilium Laepidum praescripsit, quern Hemina, lib. 4, Annal. apud Plinium, lib. 13, c. 13, siluit, et rem sic enarrat Cn. Terentium scribam agrum suum in Janiculo repastinarum offendisse Arcam, in qua JSTuma qui Bomae regnavit situs fuisset, in eadem libros ejus repertos. Valerius,, lib. 1, De Beligi., c. 1, JSTa. 12. Plinium .et Hemi- nam secutus eosdem Consules assignat sed duas inscriptas Areas depromit dicens. In agro L. Petilii Scribae sub Janiculi cultoribus terram altius versan- tibus duabus arcis lapideis repertis, quarum in altera scrip tura indicabat corpus Numae Pompilii filii fuisse. In altera Libri reconditi erant Latini septem de jure Pontificum, totidemque Graeci de disciplina sapientiae, Latinos magna Diligentia asservandos curaverunt ; Graecos quia alia ex parte ad solvendam Beligionem pertinere existimabantur, L. Petilius Praetor Urbanus ex Auctoritate Senatus per Victi- marios igne facto in conspectu populi cremavit. IsToluerunt enim prisci viri quicquam in hac asservari civitate qui animi hominum a Deorum cultu avvoca- rentur. Plutarchus Numamid jussisse tradit, tanquam ultimum sui testamentum. Corpus ex praecepto ejus, ut fama est non cremaverunt, verum duas areas lapi- 17 deas fuerant, quas condiderunt sub janiculo, quarum in una cadaver ejus positum fuit, in altera Libri Sacri, quos ipse ut in Graecia Legum scripturas tabulas, quos Cyrbas vocant* conscripserat, et quae in iis expressa erant quia ea tradiderant, dum viveret Pontificibus omniumque arte et sensu imbuerat eos sacras tabulas una cum corpore jusserat humari censens non tuto Arcana mortuis committi litteris. At Lactantius Firmianus, lib. 6, de Falsa Eeli- gione, c. 22, iEgeriae Nymphae conjugis septem libros de Jure Pontificio, totidein Graacos scripsisse refer t. Divus Augustinus Hydromantiam in illis obsignasse scribit, ac Daemonum cultum; in ilia igitur Hydromantia Curiosissimus Numa Eex Eoma- norum sacra didicit quae in libris suis Pontifices haberent, et eorum causas, quas practer se neminem scire voluit. Itaque eos seorsim scriptas secum quoad modo mori fecit, quando ita subtrahandas hominum notitiae sepelliendasque curavit. Aut ergo Daemonum illic tarn sordidse et noxiae cupiditates erant con- scriptaa, et ex his tota ilia Theologia civilis etiam apud tales homines execrabilis appareret, qui tarn multa in ipsis sacris erubescenda susceperant, vere execrabilis quia superstitiosa preescripserat, et ut ait Lactantius, lib. 2. Quibus libris Eeligiones non eas modo quas ipse instituerat, sed omnes praaterea dissoluit, quare ad Senatum delata decretum est ut hi libri abolerentur ita eos Q. Petilius Praetor Urbis in concione populi concremavit. Causa comburi jussisset eos Senatus, &c. The cause for which the Senate ordered that they should be burned was on account of the superstitious and diabolic notions contained in them, unfit to be divulged, and only apt to demoralize the people, as Plutarch says, that the commentaries were found in the second tomb of Numa, and that Pretor Petilius had read them, and swore in the Senate, that there was neither reason, common sense, nor decency in permitting the circulation of such books, and for c2 18 those reasons, already condemned by the Comitium, they were burned. Valerius Maximus asserts, that in order that these books should not contaminate the minds of the people, by corrupting and withdrawing them from the worship of the Gods, by the Senate's authority, they were publicly burned by the man who prepared the fires for the sacrifices. These ancient men disliked to preserve in their city any- thing tending to remove the people from the adora- tion of the Gods. Cassius Hennina, in lib. 4, Annal., raves about the Dogmas of Pythagoras. In those books were written the Pythagorean Philosophy, and they were burned by the Praetor Petilius because they were philosophical works. Piso Censorius, in his works, lib. 1, and Plutarchus said, that they were seven books on the Pontificial Jurisdiction, and seven others on the Pythagorean Philosophy. Valerius Antias says that they were two books on Pontificial Jurisdiction, written in Latin, and two others in Greek, containing the Philosophy. St Augustin, writing to Marcellinus, condemned those delirious oracles, saying that Numa, by the advice of JEgeria, learned those injurious Hydromantic Mysteries which were found written in those books. But enough of these books, and if any- one is curious to know more about them he will find it in Livy, lib. 10, Decad. 4, and other ancient writers. I may say here that the Eoman Cathol. Apostol. Popes, the successors of St Peter, must have found a copy of those books somewhere, and that will account why, for several consecutive centuries, they have practised Hydromancy, and all the other mancies so successfully, one after the other, to the astonishment of the fools who are still believing in them. "When I shall arrive towards the year 999, I shall speak of them. 19 The Oath. The oath was forbidden to the ancient Pontifices of Paganism. The present Pope, Antonelli, and all the other rebel Bishops who continually assert the story of the Donation of St Peter's patrimony, every one and all of them are perjurers, because the an- cient Pontifical institutions particularly forbid on any account to their Diales, or Priests, and a majori to the Pontifices, to swear either by Heaven or Hell, or any other thing, or to state anything unless it was truthful. How can all those protesting Bishops support and swear to the gift of Constantine of St Peter's Patrimony to the Holy See ? In proper time I shall prove it a lie, a complete false assertion. Dialem Jurare fas nunquam fuisse. And Gellius quotes the words from the perpetual edicts of the Praetor who ordered that the Ministers of Jupiter or of Vesta should never swear, and at least that he never would compel them to swear during his jurisdiction ; and the reason why it was not permitted to the High Priests or to Ministers to bind themselves by oath was because the oath was required from the downright swearers, whom nobody believed. TJnde Gellius verba Prsotoris ex edicto perpetuo de Plamina Diali, et Sacerdote Vestae, sic proscripsit Sacerdotem Yestalem, et Plamen Dialem in omnia mea jurisdictione jurare non cogam. Non licuisse itque flaminibus jure jurando se obstringere, ratio fuit, quia juramentum exposcitur cum deieranti non creditur. TJnde vel in legem jurare, ut Tullius pro Cluentio et Caelio tradit. Vel per ignam, et aras, ut saepe Livius refert, vel per alium Deorum, ut Grippus Pis« cator apud Platonem in Prudente. In affairs of law it was permitted, as did Tullius, 20 in the defences of Claentius and Caelius, as it is re- ferred frequently by Livy, that he swore either by the fire, or by the altars, or by some of the gods, like Grippus Piscator in the Prudent, of Plautus, &c. and so did every poet or orator, &c. Nam Callimacus ait — Juravit quidem, sed ut aiunt amatoria Juramenta Deorum non subeunt aures. Non parturientes enim vero Sophocles jocans, inquit, Jura- mentis mulier fugit acerbam parturiginem liberorum, ast ubi malum abierit eisdem in retibus capitur a cupiditate victa. Non scortorum, neque vana loquen- tium. De quibus Dephilus ait. Idem est Juramen- tum Meretricis et popularem captantis auram uterque jurat apud ilium quo cum loquitur. Neque Impos- toris et Puris. Unde Sophocles utrumque premit di- cens, nullum jus jur and urn grave est furi et impostori. Unde Callimachus inPerseide inquit — Jusj urandum, nec justum, nec injustum usurpandum est, quia teste iEschilo Juramenta non fidem afferunt viro, sed vir juramentis. Et Socrates ad Demonicum propter pecunias nec juret, omnino admonet, tradit Epitectus inEnchyridio, et concludit Eusebius penes Stobatum. Multi homines adhortantur, ut jure jurando probi sint et fideles, ego vero ne principio quidem facile jurare Keligiosi viri officium existimo : ob re- ligiositatem ergo Plaminibus jurare nefas censebant; eorumque verba tanquam oracula habebantur. What a difference between the priests of old, and the moderns, I might say almost of any sect, but par- ticularly the so-called Christian priests, the High Yenerables, the columns of the Roman Catholic Church : with few exceptions, not only their oath or their word of honour is insufficient, null and void at their pleasure, but their writings and deeds, signed and sealed, when it suits them, by the aid of the quib- bles of the various laws, and their subtilty and cun- ning dispositions, they will try to evade and nullify them. "We are at a period when neither Papal oaths, deeds, bonds, or even bank-notes have any value. 21 Pkiest of Jupiter. The Flamen Dialis, or Archpriest of Jupiter, used to wear long, straight hair, and what was exuberant after a certain length they used to cut it, and bury it under a propitious tree, with the cutting also of their nails. The albaspina, aubepine, for instance, was a good or sacred tree. Numa instituted these particular priests to devote their constant services to the worship of Jupiter. They were splendidly dressed, and used to sit in Curuli Begia Sella. The first of them had two assistants, one to do honour to Mars, and the other to Quirinus: so say Livy, Plutarch, and Dionysius. Varro says that there were many more : they used to derive their names from the Divinity to whom they were consecrated to do homage and sacrifices. It was considered a great honour even by the Emperors to be enumerated amongst the xv Elamina Diales, the last of whom was addicted to Pomona, and was the infimus; and Sextus Pompeius, and D. Julius Csesar, both of them were Divinized, and had obtained the sacerdotal title of Pomonalis Dialis. Itaque unusquisque Imperatorum cum inter Deos referretur Elaminem Numinis novi insignitum nomine habebat, colebaturque focis, et aris quorum primum D. Julium Csesarem eo usum honore haud vita func- tum tradit Suetonius in ejus vita, et Tullius amaru- lenter M. Antonium carpit Julii Csesaris flaminem ab adalatione inter Divos relati inquit enim in 2. Anto- nianar. Ergo flamen ut Jovi, et Marti ut Quirino, sic D. Julio, M. Antonius, cujus fastigium preter rationem Suetonius Tranquillus inculcat dicens. Non enim honores modo nimios recepit, ut continuum Consulatum, perpetuam Dictaturam, Praefecturamque morum, insuper Prsenomen Imperatoris Cognomen Patris Patriae statuam inter Eeges, sugestum inter orchestra, sed ampliora humano fastigio sibi decerni passus est sedem auream in Curia, et pro Tribunali, 22 tensam et ferculum Cirensi Pompa, Templa, Aras, Simulacra juxta Deos, Pulvinar Plaminem Lupercos, appellation em Mensis e suo nomine, &c. Porro a Julio consuetudo ista invaluerat ut omnibus pene Augustis, quibus mortuis ob merita in Reipublicam divini honores decernebantur simul Flamines cum Sodalibus constituerentur. Prudentias in Sym- mach. "Posteritas mense atque adytis et flamine et Aris Augustum coluit, vitulo placavit et agna Strata ad pulvinar jacuit." This Consular Priest sometimes was compelled to resign his office if any accident happened in his sacri- fices, or if his second wife died, or if he committed any blunder in the exercise of his office ; and Pabius Pictor and Massurius Sabinus said that these Priests never quitted their tuniques nor their caps, and if they fell from them while officiating they were dismissed. It was also considered a high punishment to deprive them of their caps or their tuniques, as they were bound to be constantly covered. In Appianus Alexandrinus, lib. 1, de Civil. Rom. Bellis, Cinna and Antonius, the familiar of Sylla, condemned the Arch-priest of Jupiter Merula to die by degrees by cutting his own veins. They pre- viously removed the cap, which was done to any of those Consul-priests, before they were conducted to the scaffold. In such cases the Pontifex Maximus would wear that cap himself, and exercise the* office of the Plamen Dialis ; even in cases of indisposition of any of the Diales the Pontifex Maximus would assume momentarily that office, as stated by Tacitus in. lib. 3, Annal. Under the Consulate of Cinna, by a Senat. Consultum, was ordered the suspension of the Plamines Diales, on account of their jealousies and quarrels, and Rome remained without these Arch -priests for 72 years. To settle the contests for supremacy, it was necessary to fix that the 23 three first ordered by Numa should have the pre- eminence, that is, the Dialis Maximus, who was the one dedicated to Mars, and then the CJuirinal followed as second, and so on ; the first being taken from the Patricians, and the minors from the people. Tacitus, •in lib. 4, describes, also, the wives of these Con- sular Priests splendidly covered with a rich hood, in the top of which was stuck a branch of the aubepine, or May-tree, as stated, also, by Massurius. AuGURra Collegium a Nttma Statttitttk. Collegium illud Augurum, urbis columen ab Antio Yalerio dictum. Deorurn omnium oraculum a Yannonio Jovis Optimi Max, Internuncium a Tullio in Philippicis velut auspicatissimum feli- citatis perpetua omsen aggredimur : Enim vero Augures Antiquitus Eeipublicse sceptra tenebant, sicut in 9, Aeneid. ostendit Yirgilius, cum Nisus et Eurialus Autulorum castra devastant — " Sic memorat vocemque premit simul ense superbum Ehamnetem aggreditur, qui forte tapetibus altis Extinctus toto proflabat pectore somnum Eex idem, et Eegi Turno gratissimus Augur/ ' This college of the Augures was instituted by Eomulus, and confirmed by JSTuma, and the other Kings, &c. Cum ergo tarn reipublicse commodum afferret in augurandi experimentum, Numa primum Eomuli secutus vestigia, tres augures selegit, ut Tribuum in Centuriis singuli essent, quod Alexand. ex Livio, Dec. 1, lib. 10, animadvertit, et ex his Giraldus subinfert. Augures summo in honore habitos, modo apud Eomanos, se et apud Grsecos et Barbaros plerosque. Nam Chaldaeos primum, et Pisidas, et Cilices, deinde Hetruscos et Graecos, mox Latinos, et Eomanos augurandi disciplina excelluisse et Augures quidem tres primum Eomse fuere propter tres ipsius Tribus Luceres, Ehamnenses, Tacienses, mox vero addito quatuor extiterunt. Sed cum post 24 plebs admissa est in partem bonorum Urbis, Quinque Plebei Augures creati, et Patricii quatuor, atque ita novem numero fuere, idque M. Yalerio et Q. Apuleio Coss., hsec ille ex Livio, Dionysio Halicarnasseo, lib. 2, Plutarcb. in Prob. Vol. Max., lib. 2, de Eelig. Tullio de Divinat. et Yarrone, ac Pesto Primi ex Plebe Augures fuerunt. C. Genucius, P. Julius Paetus, M. Minucius Eessus, C. Martius, et J. Pub- lilius. Tandem a Sylla Dictatore Collegium propa- gatum ferunt usque ad Undecim, quod Lucius Plorus in Epitome Livii, lib. 89, sic tradit. Sylla Dictator factus, quod nemo unquam fecerat cum fascibus Yi- ginti quatuor processit, rebusque novis Keipublicae statum confirmavit Pontificum, Augurumque Colle- gium ampliavit ut essent quindecim. Sed divina- tionis modum tempus est aperire ; Enim vero Tullius de Divinat., lib. 2, advers. Deistarum, cum augurandi artem disciplinam dicat, non divinationem sicut D. Augustin. ad Marcellin., c. 30, tradit eamque expendit ab ipsa rei natura incipiens. Quae est igitur, inquit natura, quae volucres hue, et illuc passim vagantes efficiat, ut significent aliquid, et tunc vetent agere, turn jubeant, aut cantu, aut Tolatu ! Cur autem aliis a dextera aliis a laeva datum est avibus, ut ratum auspicium facere possint ? quae ut lucem praeferant verba, facem desumo ab Alexandro qui lib. 19, c. 19, habitum, gestum, ac gesta Auguris ex Yarrone, Dionysio, Livio, ceterisque vetustioribus praescripsit dicens: Sedebat Augur velato capite duplici toga augurali, que Laena dicta est, vel trabea amictus ex purpura et cocco cum captabat auspicia, et litico coeli regiones notabat. Post effusas preces oculis in Ccelum fixis sedere convenit mo- mentis omnibus paratum intentumque toto animo affixum facto silentio ubique, nequid videretur, audi- returque, quod auspicium dirimeret, quod de Coelo servasset captataque auguria et signa missa forent. Quibus missis ex avibus, quae Oscines, quae Praepetes vel Inferae, et an tacitae vel strepentes advolarent, et si dextra, vel sinixtra quaeve admissive essent, et 25 quae Arculse et quae Cliviae, aut inebraB quae vetarent ; turn si motur pronus, vel obliquus supinus aut rectus, aut in latera referebat, conveniebatque ex templo Augurem adire et augurium firmari, namque unum vidisse auspicium nou erat satis. Adnotatunique exemplis est, non ubique, et passim Auguri captare Auspicia licere, quia nisi in prsescriptis destinatisque locis, quibus Thesca nomen, aut in Arce, vel ad veteres Curias Augures auspicia captare fas erat, &c, et cum certa dies auspiciis dicata esset post mediam noctem ad mediam diem futuram auspicari licere. Septima autem, aut sexta diei bora non decebat, namque incipiente, aut crescente die, non autem desinente justa auspicia fuere, licet priora sint : siquidem Cornicis, aut Columbarum auspicia Aquila superveniente irrita fiunt, Aquilarum vero augurium fulmine adveniente nullum est. Hactenus ille — ISTonnulla nihilominus auspicamur ex probis, scitisque scriptoribus animadvertere. De Yelato capite litico, ac trabea plerique meminere, Livius, lib. 1. De Numa inaugurate ad Regnum: Augur ad lsavam ejus capite velato ssedem caopit dextra manu baculum sine nodo aduncum tenens, quern Liticum appellaverunt. Idem Titus, lib. 10. Cui Deorum hominumque videri potest inquit, eis viris, quos vos sellis curulibus toga picta, et corona triumphali laureaqua honoraretis, quorum domos spoliis hostium affixis insignes inter alias feceritis, Pontificalia, atque auguralia insignia adiicere ? Qui Jovis opt. Max. ornatu decoratus, curru aurato per urbem vectus in Capitolium ascendent, si conspiciatur cum Apice et Litico capite velato victimam caedat, auguriumque ex Arce capiat, et tandem quia in Numa paulo ante multa edixi sufficit Virgilii locum apponere ubi in 7, iEneide de Pico inquit — " Ipse Quirinali Litico parvaque sedebat Succinctus Trabea.' 9 Nibil dicam de avibus quce Oscines, qua3 Praspetes D 26 yel inferse, quse Arculaa, quse Clivise, aut Inebrse designabantur prospers, et quae adversse auguriis ad meam rem satis est quod scripsi. Igitur Testae primum Templa Eomse Numa erexit, et ceremoniarum arcana tradidit Yirginibus, quas ipse legit ad Ignis perpetui obsequium, et quamvis non desint qui totam ad Romuli solertiam provinciam tribuant, nihilominus Dionysius Alicarn., lib. 2, An- tiq. Eom. Nuniam id effecisse sic tradit. Veste Numa primus apud Eomanos templum statuit, et Yirgines sacrorum ministras assignavit. Itaque Pub- lius dum Vestalia festa recenset Templum a Numa primum excitatum accinit. " Dena quater memorat babuisse Palilia Eomam Cum flammae custos, sede recepta Dea est Eegis opus placidi, quo non metuentius ullum Numinis imperium terra Sabina tulit Quae nunc sere nitent stipula tunc texta virebant Et paries lento vimine textus efat Hie locus exiguus qui sustinet atria Vestse Tunc erart intonsi Eegia magna Numse." Id Fastis, lib. " Vesta eadem est et terra subest vigil ignis utrique 6# Significant sedem terra, focusque suam." Phonmtus, Ignis perpetuus Vesta? dicatus est, quod videatur De Natura , . • r . - . • T • • m Deor. plunmis et ipsam esse ens, nimirum Ignis iste per- petuus Yestae consecratus ostendit ipsam esse causam ejus ignis, qui in mundo est, quasi ejus vi extortus sit, est et elia causa perpetui ignis, nempe quod terra faceunda mater sit animalium omnium, et suam vitam ab igne habeat. Legimus numam Vestae templum orbiculare velut Telluris signum sacrasse idque tradit Phornutus De IsTat. Deor. juxta Deae simulacrum quod rotundum censebant. Forma Vestae sicut Pictura indicant rotunda est, et per medios collocantur humeros, si quidem et terra rotunda est et in bunc modum con- globata ponitur. 27 Sextus Pompeius rotundam sedem Vestse Numa Eex consecrasse videtur, quod eamdem esse terrain, qua Vita .hominum sustineretur, crediderit. Ad quae Pomponius enarratis quainpluribus Vestss iEdi- bus hanc Eomae Numam excitasse rotundam sic ab ovo denunciat. Vestalem ignem cum Penatibus JEneas e Troja in Latium tulit condito Lavinio, Vesta3 iEdem sacravit. Postea Ascanius condita Alba, tem- plum Vestaa sedincavit in montis Albani parte, cui suberat lucus in quo Ilia Eomuli matre a Marte com- pressa fuit. Vestse Ministry Yirginitatem servabant* Mos Latinis fuit generosas ex castas Virgines legi. Post multos annos Eomulus castissimus sacrorum ceremonias constituit, et ut Varro tradit Sacerdotes LX, qui publica sacra facerent per Tribus, et Curias a yirtute, et generis nobilitate. Inopes et aliqua parte corporis, debiles Sacerdotes fieri vetuit et in Curiis singulis Yesta qusedam communis erat. Tem- plum Vestae Eomulus condidit et Virgines legit, sed frequens opinio Numam Pompilium asserit. Credi- ble est Eomulum, qui in omnibus Curiis Vestam esse voluit separatim non posuisse Eotunda Effigie, Templum est inter Capitolium et Palatium, et in eo servabatur perpetuus ignis, qui Vesta nihil est aliud quam purus ignis. Eamque enarrationem a Dionysio habes in lib. 2, De Antiq. Eom. Ignis dicatum est Vestse, quod cum Dea hasc sit Tellus mediumque mundi locum obtineat, sublime micantes ignes ipsa ex se accendit hsec ille, et ex Platone firmat, accinit- que Ovidius in Eastis, lib. 6, qui templi formam ad instar orbis librat ea qua arte sapientissimus Archi- medes Sicilian, imo Orbis totius in arte Princeps ostendit. " Eorma tamen templi quae tunc manet, ante fuisse Dicitur, et formas causa probanda subest Vesta eadem est, et Terra subest vigil ignis utrique Significant sedem terra focusque suam Terra pilse similis nullo fulcimine nixa iEre subjecto tarn grave pendet onus, 28 Ipsa volubilitas libratum sustinet orbem Qui que premat partes, Angulus omnis abest Cumque sit in media rerura Kegione locata Et tangat nullum plusve, rninusve latus. Mi convexa foret parti vicinior esset, Mec medium terra mundus baberet onus. Arte Siracusia suspensus in sere clauso Stat globus immensi parva figura Poli Et quantum a summis, tantum secessit ab imis Terra, quod ut fiat Terra Eotunda facit Par facies templi : nullus proeurrit in illo Angulus a pluvio vendicat imbre thoius." Sic templi rotunditatem indigetat, ut ne Angulus form am orbicularem irrumperet a pluvio et tholo aerem lumenque capit. Nonnulli vero preeter Ignem in JEde Vestse aliquod arcanum fecisse censent, quod tantum verosimile probat Dionysius Halicarn., ab eventu L. Caecilii Metelli dicens. Alii tradunt praeter Ignem arcana qusedam sacra in Fano Deae esse deposita, quorum notitia sit penes solos Pontifices, et Yirgines, ac pro argumento non levi afferunt, quod in asdis incendio contigit, quando primum Komano cum Pcenis ob Siciliam bellum cseperunt. In illo enim incendio Virginibus metu diffugientibus Pontificus unus L. Csecilius Metellus vir consularis (his qui devictis in Sicilia Carthaginensibus in celebri illo triumpho 138 Elephantorum traduxerat), posthabito publicse utilitati privato periculo irrupit in ardens Penetrale sacraque a Virginibus deserta a flammis eripuit. Quamobreni maximos in ciyitate honores est promeritus, sicut ex selogio patet quod scrip turn est ejus statuee in Capitolio. Haec ille, cui consentiunt fere omnes, obdubitantque precipue Plutarchus, alii alia asserunt, quorum oracula Lipsius de Yesta, c. 9, erudite admodum congerit; ideo plura prsetermitto, &c. Veritas si lucem prsefert ex antiquissimis quibus- vis historiarum scrip toribus post Trojse excidium Palladio stetisse compertum est. Unde Trojanum 29 Eomae asservari fidein non obtinet, scribit enim vera Strabo in 6 Gograph. cum Cassandra violaretur in Templo Palladium sese avertisse, quod factum ab Euripide, Homero, cseterisque recensitum post JEneae fugam auspicor, et juxta JEmilii Probi, sive Asconii Pediani de orig. Gent. Eom. sensa aufugit ipse primum qua nocte Achivi Trojam diripuere. Prse- terea Yarro in lib. quos de Pamiliis Trojanis scripsit tradit Nauticorum Eamiliam Eomaa fuisse qua3 Palla- dium custodiret, et sacra retineret. Cujus verba ut innotescant, animadverte pauca, quod scilicet Nautia gens a Nantaa iEnese Comite Palladis Sacerdote sacra Minervaa faciebat, ut Dionysius Halicanass., Lib. 6, tradit floruitque anno ccxx, ut Streimnio placet, ex cujus stirpe quamplures recenset, feruntque S. P. Nautius Eutilius, S. P. Nautius, S. P. P. Kutilius Cos. cum Sexto Eurio ann. cclxv, meminitque Dionysius, lib. 8, Cassiodorus et Livius. Insuper C. Nautius S. P. P., S. P. ST. Eutilius Consul, cum P. Valerio, ann. cclxxviii ut Dionysius, lib. 9, et Cassiodorus, simulque Livius 2, tradunt. Itemque secundo Consul fuit cum L. Minucio, ann. ccxcv, Dionys., lib. 20, Livius, lib. 3. Alter JSTautius Euti- lius Trib. Mil. Cons. Pot. fuit ann. cccxxxix teste Livio, lib. 4, et tandem ut ceteros omittam ulti- mus Nautiarum fuit Consul cum M. Claudio anno cdlxvi, ut Cassiodorus adnotat. Ergo familia hac superstite Palladium non apud Vestse servabatur iEdem. Enim vero Eautia Gens Vestam adire praa mulierum pudicitia haud poterat, et cum apud se Palladion haberet, Vestales ad hujus numinis tutela excludebatur. Cum autem scriptores id agunt, ex- pende de aliqua imagine Palladii, silicet Minerva?, sic dictse a Pallante Palude, unde orta est ; uti Eesta Pomponio placet vel ab hasta concutienda, Saltuque in bello sicut Plato ait, vel ut Arcades fabulantur a Pallante Lycaonis filio a Jove missa, ut cum ejus filia ejusdemque in sedibus educaretur. Wee mirum quia in Dei cujuscumque sede Imagines, ac signa plurimo- d 2 30 rum reposita legimus penes Pausaniam, Achillem Tatium; unde et in sede Yestae Minervse signum reponi potuit, non in aperto, sed in adyto et arcana interiore cellula, quia foris nulla imago neque Yest83 3 neque ignis ab Ovidio traditur. JSTonnulli ad Dolia se convertunt, eaque in adytis servasse Virgines tradunt, de quibus sic Pomponius de Sacerdotiis inquit. Sunt qui dicant in templo servari duo Dolia non magna, alteram clausum, alteram apertum, in quo nihil est. Plutarchus in Camillo. Qui plus, in his rebus volunt sapere duo Dolia hand magna recondi aiunt, atque unum ex bis plenum esse obsignatumque, alteram vacuum, utrumque tamen solis Virginum oculis usurpandum. Multa de Doliis dicerem sed satis est enunciare duo Dolia quae olim in sacello quodam Romae ad Cloacam maximam via quae ad Carinas ducit habebantur, quo quidem in loco spuere nefas erit, quod quidem sacellum Doliolo Plutarchus vocatum ait : nempe nihil aliud ut nonnulli tradunt, nisi duo fuisse Dolia, alteram in quo Numae sacra quaedam olim reposita fuerint, alteram inane, sed in quo Gallorum Senone irruptione sacra, quaedam a Vestalibus virginibus abscondita, servataque fuerint, cum ipsae metu perculsae, deserta urbe fuga sibi consuluissent. Haec ille de Doliis INumae. At ego ad Divinationem per Hydroman tiara Doliis usum fuisse, ut tradit D. August., quoque in lib. 7, de Civit. Dei. Dionysius Halicarn. ait has virgines necesse est per xxx annos mancre puras a nuptiis, deamque sacrifices, et ceteris ex lege ceremoniis colere, &c. Juxta portam Collinam ibi extabat terrestre super- cilium quod vocatur Tumulus, sive Campus Scele- ratus ob Yirginis Yestalis incestum ait Festus, quod in eo puniebatur. Livius eo anno Mucia Yestalis facto judicio viva sub terra ad Portam Collinam dextra via, strata, defossa scelerato Campo, ab incesto id ei loco nomen factum. Deferebatur itaque Yestae Sacerdos in Sandapilo per Urbem velut extincta feretro. Enim 31 vero ait Dionysius, quod vivse funebri ritu, et pompa deferebantur. Sic tandem vittis ac Sacerdotalibus signis a Pontifi.ee denudatis vivao cum Lucerna lacte, et melle inhumabantur. Audi Plutarchum in Numa, Strupi comperta juxta Portam, quae dicitur Collina viva defoditur Tumulus ibi intra muros terreus est, in Locgum porrectus, in eo aedicula subterranea ex- truitur modica gradus habet, quibus descenditur superne. In ea lectus ponitur stratus et Lucerna accensa eorum quoque, quse ad victum sunt necessaria pauca, ut panis, aqua in ampulla, lac, oleum, quasi corpus abominentur maximis consecratum cerimoniis fame conficere. Damnatam Leeticse induunt, atque undique obnubunt earn vinciuntque loris, et ne vocem quidem mittere ilia, quae valeat exaudiri queat. Ita earn per forum devehunt. Decedunt autem via omnes taciti prosequunturque sine voce, atque ingenti cum moestitia neque est spectaculum illic ullum magis horrendum, nec tristior facies civitatis ulla alia est die. Ubi ad locum ilium est Lectica delata appari- tores ei vincula demunt. Pontifex Maximus ante supplicium preces quasdam arcanas, tenses ad Coelum manibus peragit, inde adducit obvolutam atque in scalis, qua descensus est in domunculam constituit, turn avertit se cum aliis Sacerdotibus : postquam ipsa descendit, retrahuntur scalaa et aedicula multa injecta desuper humo, contegitur, donee complanatum solum ageris sit. Yides Livium et Ovidium et alios qui scripserunt de punitione, &c. Stupratores Virginium virgis adeo plectebantur, ut inter plagas expirarent Suetonius tradit Domitianum jussisse. Stupratores virgis in Comitio ad mortem csedi. Plinius Secundus de Celere Romano Equite, quern stuprum Cornelia? intulisse dixere inquit. Prseterea Celer eques Eo- manus, cui Cornelia objiciebatur, cum in Comitio csederetur virgis in hac voce persisterat. Quid feci ? Nihil feci. Cum defecisset ignis TJrbs turbata erat, et inquisitio aPontificibus habita, nam forte parvum caste sacrum 32 focum Sacerdos tractavisset. Fertur turn vero iEmi- liam insontem quidem, sed in tali casu inopem Con- silii Sacerdotibus, caoterisque Virginibus inspectan- tibus ad Aram man us tendentem dixisse — Yesta Komanac TJrbis custos, si tua sacra sancte et rite per xxx ferme aunos obii puro animo, et casto corpore, ades mihi nunc, et fer opem, neve despiciam tuam Sacerdotem miserrimo perituram cxitio, si quod nefas admisi in eo supplicio tollatur Civitatis piaculum. His dictis avulsam Carbusinoo Stolao quam erat in- duta Laciniam injecisse ara, post eas preces e frigido cinere, ac ne scintillam quidem rctinentem multam per carbasum emicuisse liammam, ita ut nec procu- rationc ulla, nec instaurato igne Civitati opus fuerit. Hactcnus ille, a quo et Valer. Max., lib. 2, c. 1, nu. 7, factum depromit, firmatque id ipsum Diony- sius Halicarn., exemplo Tucioc Yestalis, qua: aquam in cribro vacuo exportavit a Tyberi. De qua Divus Augustin. dc Civit. Dei ad Marc, lib. 20, c. 16, sic ait. Yirgo Yestalis dc cujus corruptione qiurstio vertebatur a qua impleto cribro de Tyberi, nequc pro- fluente, abstulit controversiam. Valerius, lib. 8, De Judiciis publicis, c. 2, nu. 4, enarratis, A. Gabinii, et Claudii Pulchri auxiliis, quoo extant apud Tulli- um, lib. 4, ad Atticum, Livium, Polybium et Zona- ram inquit; Eodem auxilii generc Tuciee Yirginis Yestalis inccsti criminis reoo castitas infamise nube obscurata emersit, qua: conscia ccrtoo sinccritatis sua: spcm salutis ancipiti argumento ausa petere est. Arrepto enim cribro Yesta, inquit, Sacris tuis castas semper amovi manus, cffice, ut hoc hauriam e Tyberi aquam, et in iEdem tuam perferam audacter, et tcmerc jactis votis Sacerdotis rerum ipsa natura cessit. Dionysius ad Pontifiotim pedes earn effudisse aquam testa tur, etPlinius, lib. 28, c. 2, hoc evenisse anno Urbis dcix, quo tandem disparuisse accusato- rcm, tanquam ad Inferos abreptum, ut pamas lucret tradit Dionysius Ilalicarnasseus dicens. Accusato- rem ejus multum, diuquc perquisitum, nec vivum 33 usque comparuisse, nec mortuum. Interim vide Eutropium, lib. 4, c. 4. Ah ! here I must rest for a while, as I am tired even of these beautiful classic readings ; besides that I have gone out of my pre- fixed sphere, as I intended only to show how the Pagans, or Gentiles, instituted their Priests and their Pontifices. These last shall have their chapter, as I have got plenty of materials to dress them in their classic style. I only regret that I am compelled to cut it short on account of the times we live in, and for fear, of losing the oppor- tunity of wishing a good voyage to Palestine to Antonelli, and to his Sacripantes and Co. But as I have expatiated so far as to reproduce two ancient miracles, perhaps it is better if I take a chair and meditate a little upon them, and compare them with those of the present eentury. These two old miracles seem to have been done with perfect success, and were authenticated by the priests and people, and reported by the above-named learned authors, who were sagacious and honest enough to write what they thought to be the truth ; but a trifling idea insinuates itself into my mind, that I can hardly believe that fire revived again without the assistance of some chemical agent ; and so it might have been done with the carrying of the water in the sieve, if it had been prepared with anything transparent or pellucid like a fine oilskin, fine enough to deceive the sight of the circumstant priests. I will say nothing more about them, because they were cleverly done, and with great result ; therefore I only will ask Mr Dupanloup, the best and most modern necro- mant, the successor and candidate to the Hydro- Necromantic Pontifical chair, if he can work two miracles so cleverly performed as these two old ones now that chemistry has made such progress as to enable Bosco and the other Wizards of the North almost to pass as the Demigods of Mythology. My doubts arise from the awkwardness of the last three 34 or four miracles that were made partly by you and part by others since the year 1851. At the time of the Great Exhibition, I saw a lamp which could be lighted only by touching a spring, and this would most certainly be a very good contrivance to apply it to a good number of large torches placed on the altar upon which you celebrate, and when the church is full of believers you could just touch the spring and light them all, to the great surprise and astonish- ment of the people, who would follow you, and, you may depend upon it, even if you placed yourself at the head of a great rebellion. Now that I have given you the hint of the ability of the Pagans to make miracles in a masterly way, I shall not be surprised if you do not surpass yourself in doing something extraordinary on the first opportunity you may have of astonishing the marines. I would recommend you to be quick, otherwise, the water-melon season soon passes, and you will not have an audience. As you are an Arch- bishop, of course you must be a prodigy of nature, if not an abortion, sui generis, endowed with extraordinary intellect; but, nevertheless, if you want any inspiration for a new miracle, you might call on me, and amongst my collection of paintings you will see one of Salvator Bosa, which was done by him to satisfy the caprices of the friars in whose convent he sheltered himself, and by that way he paid the hospitality he received, while the reaction was taking place at Naples after Masaniello's revolution. You will see, I say, St Francis preach- ing to a splendid lot of vario-coloured fishes, who float around him with open mouths, shaking their tails in the air with that same merry nonchalance as you would do if you could sing victory like you did in the year 1850. This painting might inspire you with something profitable to the holy shop, and you might gain a new red hat. I must put aside the Vestales and name, hereafter, the Sacerdotes Salios, 35 who were instituted also by Numa, and their rights and duties, and then pass on quickly to the creation of the Pontifices Maximi. ]STUMA SALIOS XII, LEGIT EISQTTE PeLTAM, SIVE Aff- CILE CL2ELITUS DELAPSTTIV1, UT SaLTTJ ET ChOEEIS YENEEAEENTUE TEAJDIT. Sapientum ratio arcano quodam intellgentise im- perscrutabilis suffulta numine non semel mortalium animos cum astris componens harmoniam effingit, sicut Aristoxenus apud Tullium 99 : Tuscul., lib. 2, edocuit. Non Aristotilem sequutus, sed Pythagoram, Architam Tarentinum, Archimedem, ac Empedoclem Agrigentinum duo Graecise Magnae columina, ac duo Siculorum sapientum numina qui Coelorum orbes armonica quadam concinnatos simetria Musicos dixere, et animos a superbis delibatos, ut virtutum sectantes ordinem undique personarent Altissimo. Hinc Numa, ut Jovi obsequiam lubenter praestaret Ancile e superis obtento Saliorum edixit Arcana, quae si Pontificum annalibus, ac Fabio Pictori credimus, tantum Choreis, Saltu, Carmine, Sonituque prsesta- bant. Pestus Pompeius dixit. Salios a Saliendo, et Saltando dictos esse, quamvis dubitari non debeat, tamen Polemon ait Arcada quemdam fuisse nomine Salium, quam iEneas a Mantinea in Italiam de- duxerit, qui Juvenes Italicos saltationem docuerit. At Critolaus Saonem ex Samothrace cum JEnea Deos Penates, qui Lavinium transtulerit saliare genus sal- tandi instituisse, a quo appellatos Salios, quibus per omnes dies ubicumque manent, quia amplse ponuntur camse, si quse alia3 magnse sunt Saliares appellantur. Hactenus ille, quorum Auctores tamquam fabulee actores premit Plutarchus in Numa. Dicti Salii sunt, non ut nonnulli fabulantur ex nomine Salii yiri Samothracis, vel Mantinsei (qui armatum tripu- dium tradit) verum ab ipso potius tripudio, quod Saltando obeunt. Nee aliter Varro, lib. 4. Ling. Lat. et Ovidius Pastor., lib. 3. 36 " Jam dederat Saliis (a saltu nomina dictu) Armaque et ad certos verba canenda modos." Virgilius, lib. 8, JEneid., ubi in gratiam August! fin git expressas in Clypeo JEnese res Italas, quern fabricasse Yulcanum futurorum praeseientem Arcana. " Hinc exultantes Salios, nudosque Lupercos Lanigerosque apices, et lapsa ancilia coelo Extuderat." "We shall see in course of time that the Pontifices Maximi were always either the Kings, the Consuls, or the Emperors, and that Christianity entirely bor- rowed the title and functions of them, and deposed them occasionally by presuming above the Kings and Emperors, and besides that, occasionally the Rom. Ca- tho. Pont, put themselves on a par and sometimes above God; as if the first monstrous impudencewas not enough to satiate their selfishness. However these Sacerdotes Salii were elected from the Patricians of Rome, as it was a great honour to be one of them, and they were dedicated to the culte of Mars Gradivus, who was the son of Juno, whosine viro fcecunda Mortem peperit. She was the oldest of all the Immaculates. I leave the story as it is, without remarks, to avoid saying anything of the young and old Immaculates, and pass under silence also the Cartas Saliares, though I am much tempted to quote the old Ode of Horace, which though beautiful to me now, yet thirty-six years ago it was a troublesome rock. " Nunc est bibendum, nunc pede libero Pulsanda tellus nunc Saliaribus Ornare pulvinar Deorum Tempus erat Dapibus Sodales," &c. Tempus quo missum Ancile tradunt, Numae reg- nantis anno vin. Pomponius, Juba, Caeterique volunt inter quos Plutarchus ait. Octavo Anno ftegni Numaa Pestilentiam Urbem vastasse, et coeli- tus Ancile inventum protinus depulisse morbum. 37 Anno Urbis condit. 46, orbis 3342. Ante Christum natum 706. Olimpiades xyiii, anno 2, completo, silicet anno Olirapiaco 69, quo vicit in stadio Tellis Sivonius. Ezechise Regis 21, et Aposandri Archontis Decennalis vi, apud Athenienses, anno i. I do not think that I have said enough of the Sacerdotes Salii, and of their pedigree, and of their Crooked Staff, which, as it had been of some use to the old Ministerial Pagan Pomp, the Eoman Catho- lic Bishops adopted it for the same purpose; and, besides that, it had been of some service in several pre- latic unchristian rows. I shall only name the Pelta, or Clypeus, here, though I have ready descriptive materials of those used by the Salios, and of those of the Amazones. Therefore I return to the Salios, and shall speak of their number, and when I come to their stick, you Bishops must mind and pay at- tention ; if I am wrong you will correct me, if I am right you ought to applaud this little bit of learned antiquity, which extols your dignity and brings it back almost, I was going to say, to the companions of the celebrated No as ; but I see that there is a trifling distance of above 3,000 years, and perhaps much more, therefore I drop it. De Saliorum numero de quibus Dionysius Halicar- nasseus, lib. 2, Antiq. lioman. inquit, Numa e Patriciis delegit juvenes, decore conspicuos duodecim numero, qui sacra in Palatio celebrant nomine Palatinorum; hsec ille et Annaeus Lucanus, lib. 9, Pharsalise Patricios fuisse recenset; iEmilius Probus, sive potius Pedianus de viris illustrious nimia brevitate enarrat numerum, ac Principis nomen : Nam in vita Numae sic scribit Salios Martis Sacerdotes, quorum primus Praesul vocatur xu, instituit unicuique Peltam tradidit, ut gestarent in Choraeis, ideo ait Plutarchus, preter caeleste illud monstruose emissum Mamurius xi reliquas perfecit, iEdes Saliorum in Palatio fuere, de quibus meminit Tullius, lib. 1, de divinitate, etportentum de Eomuli E 38 Lituo reserat ; Romulus Lituo regiones direxit, turn cum Orbem condidit, qui quidem Romuli Lituus, idest incuryura, et leviter a Summo inflexum bacil- lum, quod ab ejus Litui, quo canitur similitudine nomen invenit, cum situs esset in Curia Saliorum. quae est in Palatio, eaque denagrasset inventus est integer : hsec Tullius, ad qua3 iu fallor hsec expen- sionis ratio quadrat : est Mons Palatinus iv, Urbis Regio, ait Yarro a Palantibus qui Aborigines ex agro Reatino dicebantur, vel a Palante proavo Evandri, ut Yirgilio placet, sive a Pale Pastorum Dea, ut tradit Eulvius, vel potius Nevio teste a pecudum Balatu nuncupatus. Ibi prima Imperii sedes, quamvis apud Eulvium Sabinatem IT. Cato de Origine Urbium scribat Saturnum incoluisse, Capitolium, Italum Aventinum, Romam Palatium, Coelium Tuscum, Caelum, et Yiminalem, certum est Romulum sedifi- casse Palatium, et Exquilias : Ibi postea templum Jovi Statori excitavit. Lupercal, ob Lupse Lactantis Romulum Remumque premium ut in Fastis tradit Ovidius, et Lactantius Eirmianus adversus Gentes, et tandem templum ; Post modum JSTuma Templum Eidei fecit et Yestse, ac Saliorum Curiam, ubi Palla- dium, Ancilia, Romuli Lituum, cseteraque fatalia Urbis reposuit. Hinc Palatini dicti apud Dionysium, Arconem Horatii Scholiastem, Lactantium Dioclem ac Yerrium estque Romae rude monumentum Saliorum ubi sic ait — Mansiones Salioev^i PALATixonmr Yeteeibus Ob Akmoeum Axciliym Cvstodiam Co^stitvtas lonoa jetate Neglectas Pecusta Repaeaeunt. Meminitqet Palatinoettm: Saliobtjm P. Yictob, ac Sexttjs Rtjefus. Et bee instituisse Numam Compertum est : post modum Tullus Hostiliusnonnullosadjecit, nomenque diversum suis imposuit, et usque ad xxiy cumulavit, 39 Livius, Tullius in re trepida duodecim novit Salios, fanaque Pavori et Pallori, at non semel Quirinales dicti, nonnunquam Collini, et Agonen- ses. Servii vetus fragmentum apud Ovidii Scholias- tem rem aperit. Duo sunt genera Saliorum, ut in Saliaribus Carminibus invenitur, Collini, et Quinnales a Kuma instituti, ab Hostilio vero Pavorii et Pallorii, haec ille, et Dionysius Halicarnass., ubi Palatinos a JNuma institutos tradit, caeteros ab Hostilio dieatos autumat dicens, Agonales, sive ut quidam appellare volunt Collini Salii habent in Collino tumulo sacrarium post Wumam instituti a Eege Hostilio, sicut bello Sabino voverat. Est que Agon teste Pulvio Sabinate in centro Urbis, quern Agonern nominant, quod in eo olim Agonalia flerent, quae erant Jani sacra a Numa Eege instituta ad diem ix Januarii Agonio Deo, qui rebus agendis praeside- bat, et Agonalia ejus diei festa nuncupabatur. Ex verbis Livii esse circum flaminium nonnulli conten- dunt, eumque sequitur Pandulfus Lateranensis Ec- clesiae Hostiarius, quod Pediarus Asconius sub Mcolao V Pontifice adinventus inculcat, traditque Agonem circum fuisse, ubi Eomulus Equiria in honorem Martis Genitoris instituit ; nunc vero Templum Sanctse MariaB in Aquiro prsestat. Eestus Pompeius Locum sic dictum ait, quia preter angulum praecurrebant. Hinc Eomae mos Quirinalis Agonis, et Collina Porta JEgonensis Agonium idest Ludum, ab hoc dictum quia locus, in quo Ludi initio facti sunt fuerit sine angulo ; haec ille et plura de Agonali- bus Varro, Ovidius in Fastis, Suetonius, Diony- sius et Pedianus. Hinc Salios Herculi plerique dicasse Eumam autumant, praecipue Octavius Her- senius in libro, qui dicitur De Sacris Saliaribus Tyburtium, cujus meminit Yectius apud Macrobium, lib. 3, Satyr. Multa de Saliis dicerem sed nunc satis est. 40 De Pontifice Maximo, et de Poktif. Jtjee. Pontificem Maximum a primaava Urbis origine Sacerdotum fere omnium Principem, eoque dignum fasti gio existimabarunt Scsevola, ac Csesar, et ipsi preestantissimi Pontifices, ut Ccelorum posset culmen pertingere, arcana ISTuminum oraculis pandere, Jovis fulmen avertere, Leorum om- nium vices prseferre, ac omnia posse. Unde Pontificis nomen, omenque prsefertur ; hinc Agellius Not. Attic, lib. 1, c. 13, P. Crassum Mucianum, ut summaa felicitatis compotem ostenderet, in quit. Is Crassus a Sempronio Asellione, et plerisque aliis Romanaa historise Scriptoribus traditur, quinque habuisse rerum bonarum maxima, et prsecipua, quod esset ditissimus, quod nobilissimus, quod Elo- quentissimus, quod Juris Consultissimus, quod Ponti- fex Maximtjs haec rerum bonarum corona, dignitas Pontificia quam Sacrosanctam appellat M. Yarro in suis Pontificalibus et divinarum antiquitatum libris* Ccelestem ac Divinam Trebatius quern Labeo Antis- tius, et Actejus Capito secuti sunt penes Servium et Fulgentium, eamque ccelo sublimiorem ISuminibus dignam indigetant ; et rerum est quod Tacitus, lib. 3, Hist. Aug. cum de Dialibus duobus Julio Bleso et Servio Maluginensi in Provincias cum Imperio missis loqueretur. Deum munere Summum Pontificem etiani summum hominum esse. Id genus Sacerdotum sive Doctores Sacrorum, Administratores, Interpretes a vero non aberraverit, et ut ultima verba Dionysii intelligantur apud Pontifices (inquit Tullius, lib. 3, de Orat.) divinarum humanarumque rerum notitia Pontificibus solis cognita primum atque prospecta, T. Corruncanius Pontifex Maximus, ex omnibus qui civilem scientiam nacti sunt, primus illam publice professus est, traditque Grutberius, lib. 1, hunc secutus est P. Licinius Crassus, quern Tullius ipsi Corruncano anteponit. Post bos P. Scaavola, et P. 41 Scipio Nasica, cseterique Pontifices de jure responde- runt, ex quibus Q. Mucius, P. Filius ; Idem Pontifex Maximus jus Civile primum Constituit, cujus Audi- tores Maxirnae autoritatis Gallus Aquilius et Sextus Papirius, aliique a Pomponio diligentius numerati : Simulque Coccejus Nerva Tiberii Principis Cosultis- simus familiaris, legum oracula toto terrarum in orbe evulgavit. Unde divinitate velut compotes fuisse apprsehendo et rectitudinis semitas, legumque divi- narum itinera percurrentes ad jSuminum faustissime culmen pervenisse idque exprimo Zoroastris oraculo compertum facio — Exquire animse viam, ubi corpori inservieris eamdem rursus in locum a quo fulsisti extolles Sacro Sermari opus adjungeus sensus licet, perdifficilis utpote oraculo consonans nihilominus sacrum sermonem, ac verbum rerum divinarum notione prseditam animas ad originem unde fluxere primitus potenter transferre prodit, quod Psellus sapientissimus tradit, clariusque expendit Plethonis praescriptum in illud ubi sic ait. Huic corpori opera navata in eumdem locum a quo denuxisti excitabis eumdem, videlicet animae ductum, conjungens, et opus sacris verbis Sacrosanctum igitur Yerbum hoc loco intelligit quod sit de pietate, opus vero sacrin- cium. Dicit itaque oraculum ad hanc animi erecti- onem utendum esse una cum sermone, qui fit de cultu divino, etiam sacris mysteriis, quod ad Pontifices pertinere nulli incompertum arbitror. l^uma itaque Eex, ac majorum more Pontifex, Pontifices instituere antumavit, ut quamplures mente sublimiores e propinquo IsTuminum arcana percipe- rent, ac Reipublicae ministeria exercerent, qua de institutione Tullius orat. xxix, pro domo sua ad Pontifices inquit. Cum multa divinitus Pontifices a Majoribus nostris inventa, atque instituta sunt, turn nihil praeclarius, quod vos eosdem, et religionibus Deorum immortalium, et summaB EeipublicaB prseesse voluerunt — ut amplissimi, et clarissimi cives Rem- publicam benegerendo religiosissime Eeligiones sapi- e 2 42 enter interpretando Kempublicam conservarent, quod si ullo tempore magna causa in Sacerdotum populi Eomani judicio, ac potestate versata est : hasc pro- fecto tanta est, ut omnis Beipublicae dignitas, omnium civium solus, vita, libertas, arae, foci, Dii Penates, bona fortune domicilia vestrae sapient iae ndei, potes- tatique commissa creditaque esse videantur. Et ut a nomine incipiamus Dionys. Halicar., lib. 2, antiq. Bom. inquit: Ultima in Sacris ordinibus a jSTuma institutis classis est, Maximi apud Romanos Sacerdotii cujus potestas est amplissima : hi ab uno suorum operum reficiendo silicet Ponte Sublicio ipsorum lingua vocantur Pontifices summa autoritate praediti, hactenus ille juxta Yarronis mentem qui lib. 4, ling. Latin, ait Pontifices ego a Ponte arbi- tror, nam ab iis Sublicius est factus primum, et restitutus saepe cum ideo sacra, et uls, et cis Tiberim non mediocri ritu fiant, firmat id ipsum Pomponius ; dicitur enim hunc ex oraculo totum pontem absque ferro fuisse claveis ligneis junctum, lapideus, multis saeculis post aedifieatur ab iEmilio Questore fuit. " Sacra Ponte in hoc sublicio agebat Pontifex, et Vestales Idibus Mail," &c. Extat Pons Sublicius ad radices Aventini juxta JSTavalia ab Anco Martio primum conditur, et Subli- cius dictus a Sublicibus lignis, quibus compactus erat, Sublices enim lingua Volsca magni trabes vocantur inquit Eulvius Sabinus. Euisse tamen ante Urbem conditam, Pontam Sacrum scribit Diony- sius Halicarnasseus, dicens, nam cum per csedes honii- num Saturno sacrificarentur ad placandam Dei iram hoc more sublato ab Hercule factum est, ut pro homi- nibus, qui in Tyberim dejicebantur simulacra eorum scripca dejicerent, quos Argeos vocabant. Hunc Pontem Horatius Codes in bello Por sennas impetus hostium solus sustinens a tergo intercidi jussit, ipse- que armatus natans ad suos se recepit eumdem postea jEmylius Lapideum fecit. Unde Lapideus, et 43 JEmylius ab eo nuneupatur dicitur, qui postea Ty- beris inundationibus Laesus a Tiberio Caesare resti- tutio Antonius Pius Impevator marmoreum fecit, ut scribit Fulvius ex Capitolino, et Plinio de Yiris Illustr. In via Plaminia distabat ab Urbe ultra primum lapidem ; ubi Lupanaria erant, vel impudicae praecipitabantur, audi Juvenalem Satyr. 6, v. 38. " Certe sanus eras, uxorem Posthume ducis ? Dieque Tisiphone, quibus exagitare colubris ? Perre potes Dominam salvis tot vestibus ullam ? Cum patent aitas caligantesque fenestras ? Cum tibi vicinum se prasbeat iEmylius Pons." Sed haec a Ponte nomenclatura plausa scriptorum veterum evulgata, cum Pontificibus haud placeat, nequ£ mibi omnino placere potest, enim vero tempore quo Xuma vixit Pons Sublicius Tyberis verticem non comprimebat, quia ut ex multorum scriptis prodit Plutarchus in Kuma. Sublicium referunt ab Anco Martio Numas ex filia nepote fuisse excitatum. Ita- que a Numa vix potuerunt Pontifices nuncupari Ponte nequaquam existente. Alia est nominis ratio, quam Q,. Scaevola Pontifex Max., penes Yarronem, lib. 4, ling. Lat. exhibet. Pontifices dicti a Posse et facere. Plutarchus in jSuma. Sunt quia dictione posse deducuntexemptisquibusdam litteris, praecipiente Sacerdotibus Legislatatore, Sa* crificia facere quae possent, nec si quod intervenerit majus impedimentum fatigante eos, forsan Pom- ponius rem magis aperit, (Juidam scribunt ab eo quod potentia sacra perficiant, quod veteres cum posteritati divinitus commendasset, Plutarchus ani- madvertit. Aiunt Kumam inter eos Pontificem Maximum fuisse, unde ducto vocabulo quod Deos curent, qui potestatem et arbitrium habent omnium rerum. Nee aliter quam saepissime Tullius admonet : unde probatissimi quique scriptores veterum non semel Pontificum pro potestate usurparunt praecipue Symmachus, lib. 7, epist. 27, ad Hacedonium. Qui- 44 dem fieri oportrcre consentio, sed non catenus ut Pontificium tuum in damna nostra protendas. Solinus, c. 26, Devotionis, quam peregre prosequebantur Pontificium mox intra suos fines receperunt. Asserit- que A. Gellius, lib. 1, c. 13, ut Juretus juxta Aldi editionem animadvertit. Arnobius, lib. 2, adv. Gen. Unius Pontificium Christi est, dare animis salutem, et spiritum perpetuitatisapponere. Gelasius Pontifex, Epist. 1, ad Orientales Episcopos. Cum ne exami- nandi aut recipiendi cum haberet ipse Pontificium. Calcidius in Timseum Platonis. Effecti operis Ponti- ficium, et auctoritatem manibus magis, quam dispo- sitioni mentis solemus adscribere, et denuo Symma- ehus vir eloquentissimus, lib. 3, Epist. 1 7, Iterumque, lib. 10, Epist. 44, ad Tkeodosiuni Impcratorem factu optimum credidi, ut aftternitati vestra) causae i^ius Pontificium reservarem, et clarissime Pontificium pro potestate Juretus, Codex Theodosianus, legesque Longobardorum posuerunt. Ergo Pontitex a Ponti- ficio, sive potestate dictus fulget in Templis, nec est ratio, ut de Ponte autument, quamvis non in Tyberi, sed Congregationis in Scrobe Pontis meminerit Pru- dentius in Hymno D. Eomani Mart., velut victim arum alicujus receptaculum, quo utebantur Elamines in Pontifieis inauguratione. " Hie ut statute est immolanda belva Pectus sacrata dividunt venabula Eructat amplum vulnus undam sanguinis Eerventis, inque texta Pontis subditi Eundit vaporem flumen, et late a?stuat." Ergo Pontifices potissima in Beipublica: fiorentis Eoligione J^uma selegit, quatuor primitus ex Patriciis Urbisque Proceribus, immo ipse Principatum obtinuit, ut Plutarehus in JSTuma refert. Etiam Sacerdotum quos Pontifices vocant, abscribunt ordines, et primordium jSuma?, aiuntque ipsum inter eos Pontificem maximum fuisse, ^Eneam secutus, quern Tontificem pra?fuisse enarrat Macrobius 45 Saturnal., lib. 3, c. 2, dicens — Pontificeni iEneam, vel ex nomine referendonim laborum ejus ostendit, et ipse JEneas penes Yirgilium, lib. 12. u Ison ego nec Teucris Italos parere videbo !Nec mihi regna peto, paribus se legibus arnbee Invictre gentes seterna in foedera niittant Sacra Deosque dabo, Socer arma Latinus habeto Imperium solenne socer, mihi moenia Teucri Constituent, Urbique dabit Lavinia nomen. ,, Deinde ut posteritati consuleret, teste Pomponio, Pontifices a Patribus legit, et ex his Pontificem Maximum fecit Martium Martii filium, et ipsius Ifumae generum, et antea Livius Pontificem deinde ISFuma Marcium Marci filium ex Patribus legit, eique sacra omnia exscripta, exsignataque attribuit ; cum deinde inquit forsan Numoe Pontifi- catum prasmisit, et Penestella de Sacerdot. Kom., cap. 8, numerum tradit, fuerunt ab initio Pontifices, num. iv, post vero Maximorum quorumcumque honorum partem plebs tribunitiis rogationibus obtinuit ad Sacerdotia quoque Sacrosanctasque potestates patere sibi aditum voluit, quatuor ergo alios creari ex plebe Pontifices placuit. M. Valerio et Q. Apuleio Coss. omnes nihilominus Senatorum ex ordine legit, neque Populo jus nuncupandi Pontificem sed ipsismet Pontifiqibus tradit, asse- ritque Dionys. Halic, lib. 2, Aut. Eom. [This law we shall see adopted by the Eom. Catho. Bishops in the eleventh century, when they emancipated themselves from the Emp.] Quorum siquis e vita excesserit in defuncti locum alius solet subrogari, non populi sufFragiis sed qui maxime Collegio videtur idoneus ex omnium Civium numero elegitur,' et civium nomine Patricios intelligendos procul dubio esse conjicitur ex Tullio, qui ex Patribus selectos adscribit, et expressius ex Tullio orat. pro domo sua ubi sic ait : Itaque Populus Eomanus brevi tempore neque sacrorum, neque flaminem, neque auctores 46 Centuriarum, et Curiatorum, Comitiorum silicet, Pontifices auspiciaque Pop. Eom. sic Magistratus Patricii creati non sint intereant necesse est. At- tamen temporum varietas Eeipublicse detrimentum praefert, et Sacerdotum ordines evertit anno Urbis cdliy. Q. Apuleio Pansa, et M. Yalerio Corvo Coss. Yeterum mos descivit ab Urbe. Enim vero in quit Livius, lib. 20, Dec. 2. Inter Appium Claudium, et Publium Decium Murem certamen efferbuit, et cum undique tranquillae res essent, certamen injectum est inter primores Civitatis Patricios, Plebeiosque ab Tribb. Pleb. Q. et Cn. Ogulnys, qui undique criminandorum Patrum apud Plebem, occasionibus qusesitis Kogationem promul- garunt, ut cum quatuor Pontifices insuper de Plebe adlegerentur. Inde Decius concionem egit, et retulisse dicitur parentis sui speciem qualem eum multi, qui in concione erant viderant incinctum Gabino cultu super telum stantem, quo se habitu pro Populo, ac Legionibus Eomanis devovisset. Inde Plebeorum fastos, fascesque enarrans inquit : Noli erubescere Appi Collegam in Sacerdotio habere, quern in Cen- sura, quern in Consulatu Collegam habere potuisti cujus tarn Dictatoris Magister Equitum, quam Ma- gistri Equitum dictator esse potes. Enim vero L» Sextius primus de Plebe Consul est factus, Cajus Licinius Stolo primus Magister Equitum, C. Martius Butilius primus, et Dictator, et Censor. Q. Publius Philo primus Praetor; his plerisque dictis ille diei intercessione sublatus, postero die deterritis Tribunis ingenti consensu lex accepta est, et ex Plebe Ponti- fices creantur Suasor legis P. Decius Mus, P. Sem- pronius Sophus, C. Martius Eutilius, M. Livius Denter, nec finis ampliandi Pontificum subsellia fuit, post modum etenim teste L. Eloro in reliquas T. Livii Decades quae desiderantur Epitome, lib. 89. Sylla Dictator factus, quod nemo umquam fecerat cum fascibus viginti quatuor processit, rebusque novis EeipublicaB statum confirmavit Tribunorum 47 Plebis potestatem minuit, et omne jus legum feren- darum ademit Pontificum Augurumque Collegium ampliavit, ut essent quindecim. "Victor deinde Caesar Collegiorum omnium alterum adauxit, et ipse Pontificis Auguris, ac quindecim viri nomine coaptatus in omnia Collegia Sacerdotium praetulit. Sic usque ad Gratiani Imperatoris tempus (ut Zosimus docet) perseveravit Pontificum numerus et Plebei ac Patritii simul sacra litabant. Institutionem itaque ac Numae respectum enarrat Livius, lib. 1, Dec. 1. Pontificem deinde Numa Martium Marci filium ex Patribus legit, eique sacra omnia exscripta exsignataque attribuit, quibus hostiis, quibus diebus, ad quae Templa sacra fierent, atque unde in eos sumptus pecunia erogaretur, cetera quoque omnia publica privataque sacra Pontificis scitis subjecit, ut esset quo consultum plebs veniret, ne quid divini juris negligendo patrios ritus, pere-« grinosque asciscendo turbaretur, nec caelestes modo ceremonias, sed justa quoque funebria placacdosque Manes ut idem Pontifex edoceret. Haec Livius quae breviter Macrobius perstringit, lib. 3, Saturnal., c. 3, Inter Decreta Pontificum hoc maxime queritur, quid Sacrum, quid Sanctum, quid Ee- ligiosum. Varro Sacrum velut sacellum indigitat. Sacrum et Sacratum vel Eeligiosum, Yirgil., lib. 4., Caeterique Sacrum Polybetem, et lib. 7. Scep- trumque sacerque tiaras. Sacrum etiam sceleste ac detestabile ita consecratum Afranius fratriis. O Sacrum Scurram et malum, Plautus in Paenulo. " Yenditque has omnes, et Nutricem et Virgines Praasenti argento homini (si lene est homo) Quantum hominum terra sustinet sacerrimo." Virgil, iEneid, lib. 6. Auri sacra fames. Dionysius Aut. Eom., lib. 2. — Pontificatus fasti- gium ab ipso suae originis aevo sic prodit. Pontifices Summa auctoritate praediti omnes lites sacras judi- cant inter privatos pariter, et magistratus ac Servo- 48 rum nmristros, leges etiam ferunt de sacris, quae non- dum scriptis mandata, nec usu reeepta sunt, si digna videantur quse legibus, et consuetudinibus sanciantur. In omnes item Magistrate, quibus sacrincia, et Deo- rum cultus est commissus, et in omnes Sacerdotes inquirunt. Ministros quoque sacrorum in officio continent, ne quid contra sacras leges delinquant, &c. Sed antea ex Tertulliano in lib. de Prgescriptis ad- versus hsereses, c. 4. Similitudinem JudeorumPon- tificis, JSTuma Sathana edocente, quam prope imitatus sit adnotare necessam arbitror. Si Numse Pompilii superstitiones revolvamus, si sacerdotalia insignia officia, et privilegia, si sacrificalia ministeria, et in- instrumenta, et Yasa ipsorum sacrificiorum, et pia- cularum, et votorum curiositates consideramus, nonne manifesto Diabolus morositatem illam Judaicse legis imitatus est ? Ergo sicut primitus usque ad Samuel- em Summus Judeorum Pontifex judiciorum arbi- trer prestabat, sic et in Urbe Pontifex Maximus summa auctoritate pneditus, ait Dionysius omnes sacras lites judicabat. Livius dixit: Pontificum instituisse Collegium, ut esset quo Consultum plebis veniret, ipsique lites adjudicarent. Item in dec. 4, lib. 7, De Q. Fabio Pictore, quern refert eo anno quo creatus est Prsetor inauguratum fuisse Plamineum, ita scribit : Priusquam Provincias Praetores irent, certamen inter P. Licinium Pont. Max. fuit, et Q. Fabium Pictorem Plaminem Quirinalem quale Patrum memoria inter L. Metellum, et Postbumium Albinum fuerat, &c. Unde an Diales Plamines ire in Provin- cias possint Pontificem arbitrio res tota pendebat, et Servius Muliginensis apud Taciturn ad Tiberium Imper. inquit. Privatis olim simulatibus effectum ut a Pontificibus Maximis ire in Provincias prohibe- rentur, &c. Pontifices Sibillinos libros evolvere solebant, vel jubebant, et nonnunquam ipsissimi eorum inspicientes arcana expendebant. Aurelianus Imp. Senat., ut admoneret, scribit apud Yopiscum : Miror vos Patres Sancti tamdiu de aperi- 49 endis Sybillinis libris perinde quasi in Christianorum Ecclesia, non in Templo Deorum omnium tractaretis. Agite igitur, et castimonia Pontificum, ceremoniisque solemnibus, juvate Principem necessitate pnbliea laborantem : Inspiciantur libri, quae facienda fuerint, celebrentnr, &c. Sic etiam Ammiamis Marcellinus, lib. 22, refert — Scipionem Pontificern, quern Julius Solinus in Polyhistore, c. 7, optimum existimarunt, non privato tantum testimonio, sed totius Senatus Sacramento inspecto Sybillae carmine matris Deum simulacrum Eomam transtulisse ab Oppido Pessi- munte bello Punico Secundo, carmine Cumano mo- nente per Scipionem JNasicam simulacrum translatum est Honiara. Tunc Claudia Yirgo Yestalis, quae ob nimium corporis nitorem, externamque pompam, purum pudica habebatur, teste Lactantio Eirmiano, lib. 2, de Ealsa Eelig., c. 4. iNlavim, quam tota juventus commovere vix poterat, cingulo alligavit amovitque, ut in pudicitia3 portentum mulierem sequeretur. Hinc lectis Sybillinorum libris Sacrificia Pontificem peregisse, tradit Julius Capitolinus in Gordiano Minore, Trebellius PoIUq in Gallienis, Suetonius in Octavio Augusto aliique passim. Enim vero quamvis teste, Plinio, lib. 13, c. 13, crematis sub Tarquinio Superbo duobus Sybillaa libris, tertius cum Capitolio Syllanis temporibus exaustus est, reliqui penes Pontificem servabantur, ut cum de placanda Cerere Cracchano tumultu Ennam Decem- viros ad earn propitiandam miserunt, ut Valer. Max., lib. 1, c. 1, tradit. Pontificum accessit oraculum, quo procul nihil librorum custodes agebant, de quibus Servius ad illud Virg. Lectosque sacrabo alma viros, inquit: Sane sciendum Primum duos librorum f uisse custodes, inde Decern, inde quindecim usque ad tempera Syllana, post creavit numerus, nam quadraginta fuerunt, sed remansit quindeum virorum vocabulum : haec, ille et Gellius, lib. 1, c. 19, numerum enarrat, et accessura, libri tres in Sacra- rium conditi Sybiilini appellati ad eos quasi ad 50 oraculum quindeum viri adeunt cum Dii immortales publice consultandi sunt, silicet ut Capito Pontifex expendit, cum Pontificis jussu publice Dii sunt consulendi, ut cum ingens pestilentia Bomae saeviret, teste D. August., lib. 3, de Civ. Dei, c. 17, ex Tullio in libris de Divinat. frustra presente iEsculapio aditum est ad libros Sybillinos, et Livius, Dec. 5, lib. 2. Ob haec prodigia libri fatales inspecti, edi- tumque a Decemviri est, et quibus Diis, quibusque Hofctiis sacrificarentur, et, ut supplicatio prodigiis expiandis fieret; quae omnia tunc jubente Pontifice exequebantur. Praeterea Pontifiex Yestales sorte inter quamplurimas jacta capiebat, sicut Gellius et Pom- ponius tradunt, et Penetrale ubi teste Yarrone, lib. 5, Ling. Lat. Virgines sacrificabant Palladio sacrum et Doliis nullo adeundum viro Pontifices ingrediebantur, statisque diebus sacra peragebant, quoforsan fractus PontificatuHeliogabalusImperator, ut inquit Lampridius in ejus gestis : in Penum Yestae irrupit, et penetrale sacrum auferre conatus est additque Herodianus, lib. 5, plura facinora impio potius Ponte, quam Pontificatu digna. Yalerius Max., lib. 1, c. 1, ait, P. Licinio Pont. Max. Yirgo Yestalis, quia quadam nocte parum diligens ignis seterni custos fuisset digna visa est, quae flagro admoneretur. De Yestae, placando Numine, ac Virginum pudicitia, quibus mulcta indicebatur Yir- garum, earumque stupratores Yirgis in comitio usque ad interritum amciebant, quod produnt Livius, et Plutarchus, ipsam vero vivam humi sepeliebant cum lacte melle, ac Lucerna uti antea dixi. Pcenae de- linquentibus graves constitutae, quarum arbitri, et exactores sunt ex lege Pontifices — Insuper Begem Sacrorum et Plaminem Pontifex inaugurabat eique Augures parebant, quod Alexand., lib. 2, c. 8, sic prodit. Pontif. Max., reliquis praeest, et prope dominatur an Bex Sacrorum, Augures, et omnes Flamines, ac Yestales Yirgines parent quibus mulc- tam indicere, et poenam irrogare poterat. Dionysius, 51 lib. 5, Aut. Bom., expulsis Eegibus inquit Papyrium Begem Sacrorum Pontifices inaugurarunt Livius, lib. 4, meminit certaminis, quod Cujus Servilius Pontifex Maxim, cum L. Cornelio Dolabella in locum C. Cornelii Dolabellae Begis sacrifici suffecto, et concludit Eeligio inde Pontifieibus fuit augurandi Dolabella3 P. Cornelium Siculum inaugurarunt, qui secundo loco inauguratus erat, silicet centuriatis comitiis, quae a Pontifice Maximo siquidem in urbe esset, sin minus ab uno quodam Pontificum habe- bantur, sicut Livius, lib. 5, Decad. 3, M. Cornelium Cethegum Pontificem comitia jussisse scribit. Quaeve ad Nuptias pertinebant Pontifices firma- bantur calculo enim vero Nuptiae plenae Numine censebantur, et Sacrae ut penes Stobaecum Yates quamplures edixere ; unde Tacitus, lib. 1, hist. Consultos Pontifices, an concepto ne dum edito partu ritae nuberet ? ab impio Nerone tradit. His addenda sacra qusecumqne Eomanorum, quae per minores Pontifices curabantur, Eeipublicae silicet gesta per- scribere sepulturae loca designare, Kalendas indicere, in Curia Calabra Junoni singulis Kalendis sacrafacere, novamque lunam observare, insuper adoptionem comprobare, de quibus Tullius in Orat., pro domo sua in Sex. Clodium — Dixi apud Pontifices istam adoptionem nullo decreto hujus Collegii probatam contra omne Pontificium jus factum pro nihilo esse habendum. Pontifices insuper templa inaugurabant, cum primum, silicet erigerentur, qua de re penes Tacitus, lib. 4, hist, comperta est lectio, ubi de reficiendo Capitolio per L. Yestinum sic ait. Un- decimo Kal. Junias, serena luce spatium omne, quod Templo dicabatur, evinctum vittis, coronisque in- gressi milites, quibus fausta nomina, felicibus ramis ; Deinde Yirgines Yestales cum pueris, puellisque patrimis matrimisque aqua rivis, et fontibus amni- busque hausta perluere. Turn Helvidius Priscus Praetor praeunte Plauto JEliano Pontifice, lustrata bove, taurisque arca,et super cespitem redditis extis 52 Jovem, Junonem, Minervam, Praasidesque Imperii Deos precatus, uti caepta prosperarent sedesque suas pietate hominum inchoatas divina ope attollerent ; vittas quibus ligatus lapis innexisque furies erant contigit, &c. Et ut caetera omittam omne sacrum sive monstruo- sum deferebatur Pontifici, ut ipse decerneret, &c. His itaque leviter enarratis ad Pontificis Conse- cration em vertere calamum est operis pretium. Enim vero inter Principes Unus Maxim e praefere- batur, sicut inter Eeos Jupiter Optimus Max. tam- quam omnium Princeps, et Imperatores, teste Eulvio Sabinate, quia Pontificatum gerebant, et ipsi Maximi dicebantur. Nam hoc Maximi nomen licet Praetor Urbanus inter Praetores quam saepe praeferat abs re factum arbitror, quia Tullius in Orat. quam in Piso- nem Praetorem primum dixit. Sic Maximus Curio inter Curiones, Yirgo Yestalis Maxima, quae tamen a Tacito Vetustissima, ab Ovidio in 4 Pastor. JSTata Maxima; sic etiam Suetonius in Domitiano, c. 7. Damnatam ab eo Corneliam Virginem Maximam tradit, quae perperam in Plinii, 2 epist., lib. 4. TJnde Lipsius, vir eruditione maxima praestans inquit. — Ordo inter eas fuit Ministeriis et aetatis, una enim quae vetustissima Maxima dicebatur ad aetatem inquam id referendum. Sic Maximi nomen prae- stantissimum Pontifici omnium Principi debebatur, et Curio eademque ratione Maximus, non suffragante honoris fastigio inter Curiones tantummodo prae- stabat, quod ab antiquis usurpatum repert Alexander praecipue quia Sacerdotum Principem inter Graecos Archierosinem vocant Babylonii Isidis summum Antistitem Archigrammateum. Syciony teste Plu- tarcho in Arato, Charmium quorum Collegium Pas- tophorium nuncupat, cujus meminere Apuleius in 2 Metamorph. et Hieronymus in Esaiam qui ait Pas- tophorium est thalamus in quo habitat Praepositus Templi, &c. Unde ex his omnibus nomenclaturis Antistitis Magni dignitas renidet, quam Eomani, ut 53 commendarent Pontificem Maximum dixere — Maximi itaque Antistitis maximum consecrationis arcanum curare exigebat praestantiae culmen, id eo inaugurationis instante die Pontifex infulis, vittisque exornatus procedebat inde sub scrobe coronam cinctu Gabino consecrandus praeferens mergebatur quod sic D. Eoman. apud Prudentium enarrat. " Summus sacerdos nempe sub terram scrobe Acta profundum consecrandus mergitur Mure infulatus, festa vittis tempora Neetens corona turn repexus aurea Cinctu Gabino serica fultus togam." Super banc Scrobem pulpita sericis strata renident intextis auro tectum crebro acumine perforatum, ut ab JEra numinis aer frequens hiatibus evolaret in Scrobae praefulgens Sacrorum pompa ornabat Inde taurus ingens sertis recinctus victimas parat sacrum,, fulget et ipse bracteatus auro, flosculis vittisque pur- purascentibus sicut de Hostiis Persarum tradit Strabo, lib. 15, et Licophron in Cassandra Vaccam vittatam vocat, quia teste Luciano de Sacrifices Sacrificantes primum coronant victimam, quam absque macula legunt, ut Ovidius Metamorph., lib. 15, accinit. " Victima labe carens, praestantissima forma . . . . vittis praesignis et auro, Sistitur ante aras." Placent bae Superis Vic^imae, ideo Coelorum Antis- titi feliciter caeditur — unde Prudentius, de Pontif. Inauguratione. iC Tabulis superne strata texunt pulpita Rimosa rari paegmatis compagibus Scindunt subinde, vel terebrant aeram Crebove lignum perforant acumine Pateat minatis ut frequens hiatibus Nunc taurus ingens fronte torva et hispida f 2 54 Sertis revinctus, ant per armos floreis Aut impeditus cornibus deducitur jNec non et auro frons Coruscat hostiae Setaque fulgor bractealis inficit," Interim Victimarius apparabat cultrum aquam, et ignem simulque molam, utpote inaugurationis minis- terio opportunam, quia et ipse victimam alligans adducebat, sicut in Colnmna Trajani extat. Victi- mam adducens ad Aramsuccinctus, ideo Suetonins in Caligula, c. 32, ipsum cultrarium dixit, deinde Popa uti in eadem Columna observari licet, semi- nudus, et succinctus lauro redimitus, velatus lino ad aram denuo constringit Victimam, feritque cultro Spartianus in Yita Gaetae percussit hostiam Pojja nomine Antonius quam forsan Lanium, Plautus in Pseudolo nuncupat. Eestus Pompeius Iecumanus : nonnulli Suetonium Cultrarium nuncupasse autumat de quo sic Ovidius. "Nominis esse potest succinctus causae minister Hostia Ccelitibus, quo feriente cadit." Ej usque muneris fuisse opimam Yictimam ferire compertum est, enim vero inquit Yarro, lib. 3, de re Eustica. Eoves altiles ad Sacrificia publica saginati dicuntur opimi. Festus, Hostias opimas prsecipuas vocat. Opima, ac pingue parata Yictima, Popa, astante Pontitice, cultro Yictimam jugulabat, ac unico tantum ictu, quin si plurias feriebat pessimum inde omen oppetiebantur, quod Manto apud Senecam in (Edipo, ad Tiresiam, sic exgrimit, ** Juvenca ferro semet imposito induit Et vulnere uno cecidit at Taurus duos Propessus ictus vix reluctantem exprinlit. ,, Idem denuo Seneca — " Colla tacturus steterat Sacerdos Dum manus certum parat alta vul nu Aureo Taurus, patuit sub ictu Ponderis vasto resoluta cervix." 55 Et hunc Eomanomm morem e Testigio prose- quitur,, Dionys. Halicas., lib. 7, qui rem fere oranem immolandi denarrat. Sacerdotes quibus fas erat, lotis manibus et lustratis aqua pura victiniis, molaque conspersis earum capitibus, votisque nuncupatis, ministros eas mactare jubebant, quorum alii stantem, turn etiam hostiam vecte feriebant iu tempora, alii cadentem cultris excipiebant, mox direpti tergere concidebant membratim, delibatasque ex singulis extis, aliisque membris primitias farre obvolutas in canistris offerebant sacrifieantibus, qui aris impositis succedebant, et vinum insuper infundebant, hsec ille ex Homero in Odissea, quern Eustathius expendit, moremque refert Suidas : ex quo observandum unico ictu victimam cecidisse, deinde suppositis cultris pellem detrahere frustratim cedere et ad sacrum apponere, percutiebantur primum yel vecte, vel securi, ut Columna Trajani Popas inservientes aris exprimit: et iterum longa cum clava et manubrio victimam caedentes. Ovidius 2, Metamorph. tradit, inalleo nonnunquam percussisse. " . . haud aliter quam cum spectante juvenca Lactantis vituli dextra libatus ab aura Tempora discussit claro cava malleus ictu." Paratis itaque undique Sacris preecipue per Camillos, Taurus ad inaugurationem Pontinciis percutiebatur, et ipse capite dimisso in scrobe guttas excipiebat in capite, ut inde per vestes emissus totum corpus infunderet, inde, os, nares, linguam manusque rore sanguinis superstitiosissima Eeligione rigabat, quod sic Prudentius decantat — " Hie ut statuta est immolanda belua Pectus sacrata dividunt venabula Eructat templum vulnus, undam sanguinis Eerventis inque texta Pontis subditi Eundit vaporum flumen et lacte asstuat. Turn per frequentes mille rimarum vias 56 Illapsus imber tabidum rorem pluit, Defossus intus, quern Sacerdos excipit Guttas ad omnes turpe subjectas caput Et veste et omni putrefactus corpore. Quin os supinat, obvias offert genas Supponit aures, labra, nares, objicit Oculos, et ipsos perluit liquoribus Nee jam palato parcit, et liuguam rigat Donee cruorem totus atrum combibat. Postquam cadaver saDguine egesto rigens Compage ab ilia Elamines retraxerint, Procedit inde Pontifex visu horridus Ostentat nudum verticem, barbam gravem Yittas madentes, atque amictus ebrios Hunc inquinatum talibus contagiis, Tabe recentis sordidum piaculi Omnes salutant, atque adorant Eminus Yilis, quod ilium sanguis, et hos mortuus Eoedis latentem sub cavernis laverint. Ad quae Prudentii plura animadvertenda reor, primum, Tauri inaugurasse Pontificem sanguine. Secundo, Plamines ibi adstantes compagem retrax- isse. Tertio Pontificis denuo inaugurat honorem. Quarto Insignia Pontificis Maximi." Hujus itaque Tauri sanguine Pontifex inauguratus procedebat e Scroba perfusus undique cruore forsan quia manibus Diis sacra ilia Elamines peragebant, idem sub scrobis tegmine ideo coopertus in cavea Pontifex sanguinem excipiebat. Prudentius. " Summus Sacerdos nempe sub terram Scrobe Acta in profundum consecrandus inergitur." Philostratus, lib. 6. Yitse Apollinis, c. 6. Dii terrestres foveas amant, et Sacra in Cavis terrarum. Yirgilius, ubi iEneam Sybillse jussa rite peregisse enarrat, de sacra in Averni Cavea, lib. 6 iEneid., v. 236, sic decantat. 57 n Spelunca alta fuit vastoque immanis hiatu Scrupea tuta lacu nigro, nemoremque tenebris Quam super haud ullae poterant impune volante s Tendere iter pennis, talis sese halitus atris Eaucibus effundens supera ad convexa ferebat. Inde locum Graii dixerunt nomine Avernum Quatuor hie primum nigrantes terga juveneos. Constituit frontique invergit viva Sacerdos Et summas carpens media inter cornua setas. Ignibus imposuit sacris libamina prima Voce vocans Hecatem, Coeloque Hereboque potentem Supponunt alii cultros, tepidumque cruorem Suscipiunt pateris ipse atri Yelleris agnam JEneas matri Eumenidum, magnaeque sorori Ense ferit sterilemque tibi Proserpina Vaccam Turn Stygio Regi nocturnas inchoat aras Et solida imponit Taurorum viscera flammis." Ergo dum Pontifex sub terram consecrandus mergitur cruor subterraneis Diis infunditur, eosque os, linguam, caput et vestes inspergit, non bibit, quia Tauri cruor venenum censetur : sed Diis inferis immolabatur ob fidei publicae omen, uti Temistoclem litasse tradunt et (Edipum, Tiresiam, ac Manto, cum primum de Begni monumento futura prsescire tentarunt. TJnde Tiresias eos alloquitur apud Senecam, in (Edipo, 0 " . . . hoc prospere admove Et sparge salsa colla Taurorum mola Placido ac Yultu sacra, et admotas manus Patiuntur. ,, Ergo sanguis ille consegrationes dicebatur, nam certe a Sanguine ait Stuchius vox Santi, et Sancire videtur deducta, propterea quod Sanguine res qusevis sanctificari, atque sanciri putabatur, ergo Pontifex sanguinem excipiebat undique, ut consecraretur ab illo, et Lucianus Gentium Sacrificia irridens ait : Sacrificus ipse sanguine foedatus, neque aliter, quam 58 Cyclops ille pecudem incidit, intestina educit, cor revellit, cruorem arse circumfundit, a quo et omen excepisse compertam est. Alias sunt Infulas Sacerdotum, aliae pecudum, et vittimarum de quibus Yarro., lib. 6, Ling. Latin, inquit : Infulas dictas apparet in hostiis, quod velamenta e Lana, quae adduntur Infulas infra hos- tiarum cornua velamenta erant. Itaque cum ad sepulchra ferunt frondes, atque flores, addunt tunc Lanas, sed velatas frondentes comas. Euit insuper Infula ornatus militum, et Pretoria? dignitatis insigne, erant quoque Curules Infulae, &c. Et Prudentius, de Christi Miraculis, hymno 9. Sacerdotum Infulatum exprimit. " Christus est quern Hex Sacerdos ad futurum protinus Infulatus concinebat voce chorda et timpano Spiritum caelo influentem per medullas hauriens." Sed notandum infulas Pontificis maximi Albo- galerum ornantes se extendere tanquam concinnas, Erat Galerus ex pelle hostias Jovi caesae, et a Galea nomen desumebat, nam inter Cassidem, et Galeam Inquit, Isidorus, lib. 18, c. 14, differentia intercidit, quia Cassis de Lamina est, Galea de Corio, unde Tacitus de Germanis scribens ait. Yix uni alterive Cassis, aut Galea, unde Galerum Pontifici tribuit Alexander, lib. 2, qui ait : Pontifici propfium insigne erat Galerus sicut Lituus Auguribus, Palu- damentum Imperatoribus, Diadema Eegibus. Apu- leius, Apol. 1. Yeruntamen hoc Diogeni, et Antis- theni baculus, quod Eegibus diadema, quod Impera- toribus paludamentum, quod Pontificibus Galerum, quod Lituus auguribus : Eormam vero ex pervetustis- simis nummis prsebet Gulielmus Cholius Selphinatus Provincia? Praefectus, in lib. de Eeligione Yeter. Koman. gallice scripto et antiquam sculpturam secutus sic exhibet in Zaphiro. 59 The following is a fac-simile of the Pontif. Maximus Cap, as described by M. Choul : At Grutherus, lib. 1, c. 2, vir potius elegantia celeberrimus figuram prodit in onyce impressam cum Urceolo, et Gallogallinaceo quae Pontificatum augu- raturnque designant. Eec mirum si albo in Pontificis Galero Gallus, Urcello etcetera hujusmodi involuuntur cumThraces teste Herodoto, lib. 7. Yulpinas Cassides, Albanos, et Hiberes penes Strabonem, lib. 2, Geograph. feri- nas Eomulum uti Yirgilius, et Propertius enarrant, Lupinam Galeam gestasse compertum sit, Inquit, enim Polybius adornatur prseterea Miles, et simplici Casside cui lupi pellem imponunt. Sic Papa galea- tus, vel galeratus, aut gallus ferme lusum verborum facit cum Italico substantive Papagallo, idest parrot Anglice, aut Prench Pope, idem est. Neme plusquam Pius Papagallus fuit (de quo di- eendum est habet nomen, et omen) ex eo quo nihil plusquam, et minusquam Antonellius stuatuit, ipse repetit, usque ad nauseam. In concreto casu circa questionem Temporalem Pius supra laudatus Papagal- lus lectionem ab Antonellio acceptam stupide repetit non possumas loquendo, non volumus dormiendo. Ergo a Galero Galea nomen adinyenit, ut Varroni placet, et quia Galerus pictus, nunc TJrceolo, nunc 60 Gallo Gallinaceo, nunc Jovis fulmine, vel lauro, et hominis vultu efferebatur, sic et Galeas omni ferarum genere adopertas Duces prestantissirai habebant, et notandum ex Gellio de Elamine Diali, quod is solum Galerum habet album, non quia eaeteri ipsum gestare prohiberentur, sed tantum intra Elamines sensa scrip- torum, jurisque Pontificii recenset. Nam Suetonius de Nerone fatetur, solitum Galero post crepusculum arrepto popinas inire, et circum vicos vagari, et albo- galerum Pontificem Maximam praetulisse nulli in- compertum arbitror. Yittae enim vero in Sacris Sacerdotum ornabant tempora, sicut Virgil., lib. 7 iEneid., v. 413, de- cantat, ubi Alecto in Anum Calyben se mutat, et velut Templi Sacerdos Urbis Ardeae quam fundaverat Danae adductis ex Grecia Coloniis, ut Plinius tradit, lib. 3, c. 5. * Alectorvam faciem, et farialia membra Exuit in vultus sese transformat aniles Et frontem obscaenam rugis arat induit albos Cum vitta crines, turn ramum inectit olivaa Eit Calybe Junonis anus Templique sacerdos.'' 9 Tertullianus in Apologet., c. 15, ad Gentiles, inquit : Caeterum si adjiciam, quae non minus con- scientise omnium recognoscent in Templis adulteria componi inter Aras, Lenocinia tractari in ipsis, plerumque asdituorum, et Sacerdotum tabernaculis sub iisdem vittis et apicibus et purpuris thure flagrante libidinem expungis, &c, haec ille ubi expungi pro exprimi desumendum, sicut ex Plauto in Amphytrione, et Persio, et Martiali, quam saepe occurrit, et idem Tertullianus de Spectac, c. 12, inquit. Idem de apparatibus interpretabimur in ipsorum honorum suggestu deputandis, quod pur- puras, quod fasciae, quod Vittae, quod coronas, quod denique condones et edicta, et pultes pridianae sine pompa Diaboli, sine Invitatione Daemonum non sunt. Sic et Yittatus et Infulatus Sacerdos Daemonum 61 eultui noctuque diuque obsequenter inserviebat ut inter Aras, et focum Numina coleret. Enumerat insuper coronam auream, quae Kegias in Sacris prasstantias faustissimum terrarum in orbe monu- mentum reserat et quia teste Tertulliano multa ex Hebrasorum institutis Dasmon Eomanis transtulit lamina aurea cum Dei Omnipotentii nomine corona- batur, eorum Pontifex Corona aurea super cuput ejus expressa signo sanctitatis gloria, et honoris, opus fortitudinis signum sanctitatis, vel auri puritas, vel Dei Sanctissimum JSTomen Tetragrammaton intelligo : Tertullianus de corona militis, c. 10, ex Claudio. Sacerdotes fere omnes suas peculiares habuisse coronas ex Claudio Saturnino sic refert. Ipse fores, ipse hostias, et aras ipsi ministri, et sacerdotes eorum eoronantur. Habes ommium Collegiorum Sacerdo- talium coronas apud Claudium, et iterum de Idolatria. Igitur Purpura ilia, et aurum cervicis ornamentum eodem modo apud JEgyptios et Babylonios insignia erant dignitatis, quo nunc Prastextas, vel Trabeas, vel Palniatas, et Coronas auras sacerdotum Provin- cialum. Attamen non ideo cum ad Aras litabant, floreis corollis excludebantur. Imo et Pontificis Albogalerus, ut ex Pictura superius exhibita patet, lauro foliisque quampluribus coronatus reuidet, sic Anacreon apud Athenaeum Deipnosoph., lib. 15. Sacrificantes Baccho apium gestasse decantat, ex Sappho — "Hie te coronato pulchras comas Anethi ramos injice teneris, ac delicatis manibus Diis enim florida cariora sunt, et gratiora Eos immor tales aversantur coronam qui habent." Ita Pontifices auream Coronam, floridamque ges~ tabant, sicut videre est in Columna Trajano in qua Pontifex vittatur infulis, ac corona utraque prasditus exhibetur. Though, it is out of place to mention here the Soman Catholic Pontiffs, I may state that the Eoman G 62 Catholic primitive Bishops, up to the time of the Emperor Constantine, were exempt from the ex- penses of buying and wearing a golden Diadem, or Crown, because they used to wear the fisherman caps, which were probably of wbite wool, shaped like those still worn by the Italian and Greek sailors. It is of such ancient usage, and so remote, that it is still called the Phrygian cap, and formerly it used to be called the cap of liberty, probably on account of the immunities inherent to the wearer of it, as the Pontifices were inviolable. Long after Constantine the Bishops thought of imitating the Egyptians, the Ethiopians, and the Hebrews, and began to ornament their wool caps, resembling those of the Hebrews, whom they so much affected to con- demn, while they borrowed almost everything of them pertaining to religion, laws, and administra- tion, except only other things which belong to the religious institution of Paganism. However, for the first thousand years Christianity never dreamed of the Triregno, which was probably locked up in the box which contained Constantine's deed of the Donation of St Peter's Patrimony to the Holy See. Popes Adrian and Gregory tried very hard to pick the lock at the beginning of the ninth century, with the holy intention of stealing the contents, but their efforts were useless, because Chubb, Marr, and the other American locksmiths, would not have anything to do with the Popes ; and at that time they were engaged in an aerial excursion in a balloon with Sor. Patrycinio, the immaculate ' Tablet,' and the Notary and witnesses of Constantine's Deed to Silvester. However, the box was forced open by Damasus II, who found in it a magician's nightcap ; and as at that time necromantic performances were fashionable, and used to take place in the Vatican, as well as in the Churches and Chapels, thinking that he would look well in it, though simply of common woollen material, and without a golden Crown around it, 63 Damasus put it on, and made his first appearance at the Lateran in the year 1053. Thus it remained until Pope John XIX, thinking that it would look much better if it were ornamented with a circle of gold, had it so ornamented for his first appearance, in the year 1276. Pope Boniface YIII (with his brazen face and extra-Papal audacity), in the year 1295, raised the cap to a second gold story higher, that it might be seen and distinguished by the people, as happened when, a few years after, that William Nogareto, and Sciarra Colonna, having caught him at Agnani dressed in his Pontificalia, brought him triumphantly to Eome, riding in a new style, suitable to his haughtiness, as described in another chapter. About twelve years ago, in the Blackfriars road, London, I saw a dustman riding in the same manner upon an ass, as a punishment in- flicted by others of his confraternity for a certain immoral transaction committed by him at his com- panion's expense ; and I could not help laughing at that specimen of popular retributive justice. Another celebrated Papal scamp, Benedict XII, raised up a third story to the Pope's Crown, and hence it is called the triregno, that is, the three Kingdoms — Paradise, Purgatory, and Hell, where the Papal Demigods pretend to have jurisdic- tion, though Leo X, wittily acknowledging that he had power in the two first, but as he had not in the third, he could not extricate from it his Cardinal friend, whom Michael Angelo had confined there in his immortal work, the ' Universal Judgment.' Put let me return to Benedict XII, who enriched the triregno with precious jewels, the gifts of zealots to various Saints, and money out of the treasure left by John XXIII in the year 1334. It was this very impudent Pope who violated Petrarcha's sister, and disgusted that immortal poet and his honest contem- poraries with his immoralities, his perverted de- baucheries, and his criminal actions. I shall speak 64 further of him towards the end of this work. And this is a true sketch of the history of the Triregno. The Episcopal White Cap, as it is now, unadorned, was the first alteration in imitation of the ancient Magi, and of the Pconian and Greek Augures. For the Bishops it has remained so ; but for the Popes, it had been metamorphosed into such a superb jewel that no King can boast to match it — unless some zealous high Ecclesiastical thief has, in a saintly manner, substituted false for the precious jewels. I must not forget to mention the following Arch- Priests also instituted by Kuma. BTuma Elamines piloe insignitos segregat, eisque sacrorum secundam assignat partem. Pileum tantum Elaminibus sacrum gestare licebat, idque Elammis, ut Dionysio placet, sive infulis intextuni. Yarro id asserit, cumque sequutus Sextus Pompeius, ceterique quamplures, erat enim laneis infulis undique ornatum filisque intextum, et quam- vis plurimos pileum gestasse compertum sit sacrum laneo apice habuisse praeter Elamines neminem legimus. Enim vero JSonius Marcellus ex Plauto Dsn venisse tradit, et de omine Tarquinii Prisci ex pileo ab Aquila erepto scribunt Dionysius, ac Livius, qui ait. Ei carpento sedenti cum Uxore Aquila suspenses demissa leniter alii Pileum aufert, superque carpentum cum magno clangore volitans rursus veluti ministerio divinitus missa capiti apte reponit, inde sublimis abiit. Plautus in cap ti vis, pileum, quern habuit, diripuit, cumque ad coclum tollit. In Cor- nicula penes Nonnium Marcellum. Lyde Pileum meum, mi sodalis, mea salubritas. In Saturnalibus servos etiam pileos assumere haudquaquam illicitum, unde Martialis ad Ptomam, et Didymus scribens, lib. 9, epigr. 2, Pcomam pileatam in Saturnalibus indigetat. " Unitis falciferi senis diebus Regnator quibus impcrat Eritillus Yersu ludere non laborioso Permittis pud or Pileata Horn a.' ' 65 Pileati comedebant eo quia, ut ex Athena30, et Macrobio diximus libertatem affectabant, et pileo se liberos ostendebant, hinc Proverbium ortum ad Pileum, vocare, idest ad libertatem, cujus meminit Livius, lib. 4, Dec. 3. Plautus, Dii faxint, ut hodie calvus capiam pileum, Appian. Alexandr. quosdam ex Csesaris interfectoribus pileum inhasta suspendisse, libertatis signum, tradit, extatque Numus Bruti coelatus ejusdem Bruti imagine, pileo, ac duobus pugionibus, quo teste Dione, lib. 47. Ex his Brutus significabat ab se, et Cassio Patriam Libertatem, sic Cecinnam fecisse cum ab Octavio Consule expulsus, se exulem dedit, scribit Appian. Alexandrin. et JEmylius Probus, sive Asconius, de Viris Illustr. Cecinna primo Consulatu legem de exulibus re- vocandis ferens ab Octavio Collega prohibitus et honore privatus Urbe profugit, vocatisque ad Pileum servis adversarios vicit. De Yolonibus testatur Livius, de Plebe Komana post JNeronig csedem scribit Aurelius Yictor. De CJ. Terentio Culleone, qui a Scipione liberatus ipsum trium- phantem pileatus sequebatur Livius, quampluresque scribunt. Unde Ausonius inquit — " Triplex libertas, capitisque minutrio triplex.'* ' It is said that the Emperor Constantine decreed that Bishop Silvester should ride on horseback. " Et ut equitare posset Pontifex Constantinus Magnus Imper. D. Silvestro Pontif. decretum inscrip- sit," &c. And because St Silvester refused from Constantine a golden crown, he placed with his own hands on the head of that Bishop a splendid white Phrygian cap. " Quia Sylvester auream coronam repudiavit Phryguium candido nitore spendidum ejus sanc- issimo vertici manibus suis imposuit." Erom these quotations it is evident that the Cap (Pileum) was an object of great distinction with the et 2 66 ancient Pontifices, that with them it was always white-coloured, and that the gentlemen and the free people used it also, but of different colour. We are told also that when a slave was made a free man, that he w T as capped with a wool-cap, &c. I leave the story of the eagle taking away and bringing the cap to Tarquinius Priscus, and will say that when the people were called upon for an insurrection to recover their liberty, they used to put on the cap of liberty ; as Appianus Alexandrinus said, that, as a sign of liberty, after Caesar's assassination, the people pro- menaded the streets carrying the cap of liberty on the top of an halberd, or pole, and the cap was also engraved on the Coins of Brutus, with two poignards, to signify the recovery of the country's freedom, &c. According to historical evidences, the actual white cotton night-cap is one of the most illustrious and ancient objects of wearing-apparel, symbolical of freedom and of religion. The Phrygians, the Babylo- nians, the Hebrews, the Greeks, and Romans con- secrated it by making it an obligatory distinction to their Pontifices ; and with them it was always of wool, as they had no cotton nor silk at that time. The Secular people used to wear them also of any other colour or shape except white. I believe that the Apostles wore whitish or grey caps, to avoid notoriety and evade persecution. It was a splendid white cap that Bishop Silvester received from Con- stantine, in place of the Crown, w 7 hich was the em- blem that the Popes and Bishops wore for the first thousand years of Christianity, when Damasus altered it to the shape of the actual Episcopal Mitres, white- coloured and without ornaments. A little before the Bevolution of 1831, the Italian Liberals began to adopt various-shaped sorts of hats, as conventional signs to know each other; many young people followed that style as a fashion without knowing the cause or the consequence of it. After the revolution the use of this hat became general, and 67 various edicts were issued in the Italian States, after the Eestoration, against those who wore these hats, and fines and imprisonments failed to put them down. The use of them spread through Italy to Austria, France, and everywhere, and it is now known and called the wide-awake. I must apologise for having thus wandered from the ancient Pontiffs' caps, and treated of those of the Eoman Catholic Popes, and the ancient and modern caps of liberty. I will now return to the Pontifices vittati infulis, ac coronati. Hinc Cinctum Gabinum Prudentius praeferre Pon- tifices enarrat simulque sericam togam. " Cinctu Gabino sericam fultus togam." Sabiorum itaque cinctura unde Eomanorum Ma- jestas effulget, togam prsecingit uno ex latere, ne humi diffusa gressus impediat, Servius. Est toga sic in tergum rejecta ut una ejus lacinia revocata honiinem cingat, et nonnullorum oracula sic refert praecinxisse se Gabios, ut ad bella citius procede- rent ; cum Gabii Campanise civitas sacris operaretur bellum subito evenit, tunc cives cincti togis suis, ab aaris sunt ad bella profacti, et adepti victoriam propter quod omen tali habitu semper utebantur in bellis hcec ille Yirgilium enarrans in JEneid. 7, ubi belli Indicem Jani portani reseratam facit — "Has ubi certa sedet Patribus sententia pugnse Ipse (Juirinali trabea, cinctuque Gabino Insignis reserat stridentia limina Consul Ipse vocat pugnas, &c." Belli gloriam Templis dicandam honoremque Ducum in triumphis tribuendum Pontifici Maximo Patres censuere, et quia eloquentissimus Tertullianus in lib. de Pallio togam ab exteris Eomanos habuisse testatur, ejus verba hue evocare necessum est. In- quit vero ad Carthaginenses. Yobis post injuria 68 beneficiuni at senium Don fastigium exemptis post Gracchi obscaena omnia, et Lepidi violenta ludibria, post trinas Pompei aras, et longas Caesaris moras, ubi mceuia Statilius Taurus imposuit Sentius Saturninus enarravit cum concordia juvat Toga oblata est. Proh quantum circumeavit a Pelasgis ad Lydos, a Lydis ad Ptomanos, ut ab humeris subiimioris populi Carthaginenses complecterentur. Togam ex Togatis Senatorum et Pontificum Sta- tius, ac praecipue ex his, quae in Columna Trajani inspiciuntur Yestem fuisse usque ad Thalos comper- tum ast, deinde Octavio Augusto Imperante brevi- ores factae sunt, ut Quintilianus refer t, nonnulli tamen earn usque ad calceos praetenclebant : unde Men am Pompei libertum sic pendentem effudisse irridet Horatius super humerum revoluta sinum altera ex parte praecingebat, undulisque pariter opis- santibus brachium ad gestu exertura praestabat. Etiam adulterae ait Isidorus, ac Meretrices Togatae circumferebantur. Cherinto apud Tibullum. •* Sit tibi cura togae potior pressumque quarillo Scortum, quam Serilis filia Sulpicia." Sed nostra Pontiflcis Toga diversa a Populare, quam ignominiose denuo Togulam Martialis nuncu- pat, damnatque Satyricorum turba. Haec Candida remidebat, et liliata tamquam nix coruscabat, de qua Prudentius, lib. 1, in Symmach. " Exultare Patres videas pulcherrima muudi Lumina, Conciliumque Senum gestire Catcnum Candidiore toga niveum pietatis amictum Sumere et exuvias deponere Pontificales. ,, Quam Imperatores ut plurimum, imo semper ges- tare solebant, Spartianus de Hadriano. Ipse cum in Italia esset semper togatus processit, quod Taci- tus, lib. 4, De Druso, tradit : Julius Capitolinus de Gordiano, Plavius Yopiscus de Aureliano, et de M. Catone Livius, lib. 7, Dec. 4, et quamplurimi scrip - tores de antiquitatibus, &c. 69 Hinc grandis Pontificum Majestas, gravisque a primaeva Consultissimi Numae tempestate refulsit, unde, et Comitia indicere, Togas post Senatus Consultum impertiri, sacra Templorum explorare, ac colere inter sacrum, et saxa pietatem Maximo Pontifice relibuit, cui precipue castitas commenda- batur, &c. In cibis autem, cujus Sacerdotis abstinentior ceremonia ? In vino cujus senis mensa fragalior ? Operto conclavis tui non sanctior Ara Vestalis, non Pontificis cubile castius, nec pulvinar Flaminius tarn pudicum castum Pontificis cubile premit, quia unius uxoris vir Pontifex coelibatum immaculabilem castitate emulabatur, unde Tertul- lianus, in lib. exhort, ad Castitatem, c. 3, ait : Duo ipsi Pontifici Maximo iterare Matrimonia non licet, quod Monogamiae gloria est; et denuo lib. de Praescript. adversus hereticos, c. 40. Summum Pontificem in unis nuptiis statuit, ac Daemonem imitatione Sacrorum in Ecclesia ordinum Numam ad Monogamiae sedulitatem incitasse testatur, de qua inquit Apostolus ad Timotheum. Opportet Epis- copum unius uxoris esse virum, quae cum pudicitia prepolleret esset honestatis exemplar : hinc Pontificis jus erat impudicos ab aris expellere, profanosque coercere. Hinc vero Virgil, lib. 6 : "Turn Stygio Regi nocturnas inchoat Aras Et solid a imponit taurorum viscera* flammis Pingue superque oleum fundens ardentibus extis Ecce autem primi sub limina solis, et ortus Sub pedibus mugire solum, et juga capta moveri Sylvarum, visseque canes ululare per umbram Adventante Dea, procul o procul este profani Conclamat vates, to toque absistite loco/' Nec defuit Pontifici honos, sed praeter Galerum Easces, stolam, Infulas, Togam purpuram, Yittasque, quas in sacrifices praeferre ediximus majestatis utique ornamenta de quibus autor Panegirici dicti Maxi- miano, inquit Trabeae Vestae Triumphales, Easces 70 Consulares, et Sella? Curules, et base obsequiorum spatio, et fulgor, et iila lux Divino Tertiee claro orbe eomplectens yestrorum sunt ornamenta meritorum pulcherrima, et augustissima. Cum Carpento Capi- tolium ingredi pra3 cunetis privilegium fuit Pontificis Maximi immo serieo indutus fastigio urbem circuibat in Curru, juxta inorem Eegum Latii, qui duodecim radiis coronati in monimentum generis, quod a Circe Solis fllia pendebat curru lustrabant urbas, traditque Yirgilius, ^Eneid., lib. 12. . . ingenti mole Latin us Quadrijugo vebitur curru, cui tempora cingunt Solis avi specimen bigis it Turnus in albis, &c." In spectaculis etiam Pontifex, ejusque Asscelae primum Tbeatri fastigium occupabat, Arnobius, lib. 4, Adversus Gentiles : Sedent in spectaculis publicis et Sacerdotum omnium, magistratuumque collegia Pontiflces Maximi, et Maximi Curiones, &e. Prudentius quoque, in Martjrio D. Komani, de Ludo Tauri Europae raptoris, ac Cygni quern Jupiter assumpsit ad Ledam stupraret. 61 Cygnus stuprator peccat inter pulpita Saltat tonantem tauri cornem ludius Spectator horum Pontifex Summus sedes Eidesque, et ipse." Tandem Pontificum ccenam inter lautiora urbis scriptores referunt unde Horatius in lib. 2, od. 14, et Homerus in Iliad, 2. Macrobius in lib. 3. Idemque refert Athenseus, lib. 4. Deipnosoph. et Valerius Max., lib. 2, c. 8. Martialis, lib. 12, Epigr. 48. "ISon Albana mihi sit commessatio tanti Haac Capitolinae Poxtificumque Dapes. Imputet sibi Deus nectar, mihi rlet acetum Et Vaticani perfida Yappa cadi 71 Con vi via alios csenarum quaere magistros Quos capient mensae Regna superba tuae Ne meas ad subitas invitet amicus ofellas Haec mihi quam possum reddere caena placet." Memorise commendata est Pontificalis caena in mar more fracto apud Auximum uti vetustate testatur. AESCVLAPIO ET HYGL3B SACRVM. C. Oppio. C. L. Leofas VI. Vir Et Avg. Honoratys T. Triby. C L. Patryji et LlBERTJM Clientivm et Adversvs Patroni syis D. D. quorym Debicationes Singylis Decyrionibys XIIII. Avgvstalibys XII. et Colo^is Cae^as Debit. At si ultro quis petit, cur Imperatores tanto rerum gestarum ambitu Pontificum insignia praeferre tentas- sent in promptu est Sacerdotalis honos, uti Regia dignus, et dignitas supra Regem capita conspicua, qnis enim vero ignorat Pontifieiam Dignitatem penes I omnium nationes Eegum praBstitisse Infulas ? Mer- curius Trismegistus cum tautummodo sacrorum esset Antrites Sacerdotalem rationem, et Regiam habuisse tradit Ptolomaeus, lib. 2, de Judic. quod apud iEgyptios usui quam saepissime paruit, sic apud Graecos teste Aristotele, lib. 3, Polit. c. 10. Idem fuit Regnare, ac Sacerdotio fungi ; et Clemens Alex., lib. 5, Strom, inter Hebraeos Tiaram Regalem Potestatem portendisse tradit, nec aliter D. Leo Pontifex ad Pulcheriam Augustam Regiam et Saeer- dotalem auctoritatem penes Ecclesiae renatos esse testatur, quam D. Petrus, Regale Sacerdotium nun- cupat, et in Apocalypsi Joannes, ubi Sacerdotes Antistites alloquitur, inquit, fecit vos Reges et Sacer- dotes, et procul ambiguo ex ipsomet veritatis oraculo compertum est, Reges Sacerdotes fuisse cum ait : Quanti Reges et Prophetae voluerunt videre quae vos videtis. 72 Sacerdotes silicet PontifLees AaronemHeli, Samuelem, Oniam, caeterosque praestantes indigitat, precipue cum apud Hebroeos, ante Sauli Eegis exaltationem idem Pontifex, et Dux Castra hostium adoriebatur et urbem tamquam Princeps regebat, unde cum Esaias exclamet quasi spcmsum decoratum corona in hebraeo est, ut alibi Agellius sicut sponsum fecit me Sacer- dotem corona. Do not cry out, Mr Antonelli, saying that this has nothing to do with the old Pont. Max., and I will agree with you that, tempora mutantur ; and though the Christians have imitated the Jews, yet it is im- proper, and against the fundamental laws of Christ- ianity. Here is the verdict against you given by Gelasius. Gelasius Papa ad Anastasium Imperatorem. Duae sunt quippe Imperatrices Augustas, quibus princi- paliter mundus hie regitur, Auctoritas Sacra Ponti- cum, et Eegalis Potestas— Carolus Magnus, lib. 5, c. 167. Principalis itaque totius Sanctae Dei Ecclesiaa corpus in duas eximias personas, in Sacer- dotalem videlicet, et Eegalem, sicut a Sanctis Patri- bus traditum accepimus, divisum esse novimus. Hanc divisionem ut in unum Imperatores redigerent, et ipsi Pontificatus fastigium occuparuut, niodum juxta ordinem prosequar. C. Julius Caesar cum ^Edilis pneter Comitium, et forum Basiliasque etiam Capitolium ornasset porticibus conciliato Populi favore tentavit per partem Tribunorum, ut sibi ^Igyptus Provincia plebiscitu daretur, nactus extra- ordinarii Imperii occasionem quod Alexandrini Eegem suum socium, atque amicum a Senatu appel- latum expulerant, sed adversante optimatum factione Pontificatus Maximi dignitatem petere instituit, quod Suetonius, c. 13, sic enarrat. Deposita Provinciae spe Pontificatum Maximum petiit, non sine profusis- sima largitione in qua reputans magnitudinem aeris alieni, cum mane ad Comitia descenderet predixisse Matri osculanti fertur, Domum se nisi Pontificem 73 non reversurum, atque ita potentissimos duos com- petitores, multumque setate, ac dignitate antecedentes saperavit, ut plura ipse in eorum Tribubus SufFragia quam uterque in omnibus tulerit, hactenus ille, et sub exitum consulatus Tullii Pontificem factum Dio prodit, tunc amplissimos viros Q. Catulum, et P. Isauricum profusa largitione in tenuiores, et poten- tiorum affectatione diligentissima usque ad adula- tionis fceditatem, nam ait Dio Chrisost., lib. 37 : Quos dignitate prsecedere studebat, eosdem ut digni- tate superiores affectabatur, quod prosequitur Arrianus in Dissertationis Epicteti, lib. 1, c. 19, et Polibius, lib. 10, factum enarrat, ac hominis super- biam inculcat, quia a Matre exceptus osculo, se vel exulem, vel Pontificem omnino affuturum indixit, quod Plutarchus in Apoph. sic refert. Deductus Csesar a Matre ad fores, hodie, inquit, o Mater, aut Pontificem habebis, aut exulem, qua petulantia pro- batissimos homines superavit adhuc adolescens animositate tantummodo et genio fretus. Nam de Q. Catulo ait Tullius in Verrem, Pet. Ser- vilius, et Q. Catulus tantis rebus gestis sunt, ut in H clarissimorum hominum numero reponantur, de eodem insuper Sallustius refert, quod ex petitione Pontificatus odio incensus, quod extrema setate maxi- mis honoribus usus ab adolescentulo Csesare victus discesserat sic et P. Isaurici vitam laudatissimam fere omnes exaltant ; hinc CaBsar post Pontificatum Anno Urbis ncxcir. Prsetor effectus Cecilio Metello Trib. Plebis turbolentissimas leges adversus Collega- rum intercessionem ferenti propugnatorem se praes- titit, donee ambo administratione Keipublicse Decreto Patruum submoverentur : Inter socios Catilinse nomi- natus, et apud Novium Nigrum Questorem a L. Vectio indice, et in Senatu a Q. Curio cui constituta erant publica prsemia, implorato Ciceronis testimonio, quasdam se de conjuratione ultro ad eum detulisse dixit, sicque evasus ulteriorem sortitus Hispaniam, ex duobus Consulatus competitoribus Lucio Luceio, H 74 Marcoque Bibulo, Lucium sibi adjunxit. At opti- mates ne facinus cum sibi conjuncto auderet, Bibulum crearunt Consulem, quern sic inculcavit hastu, ut cum quid per iocum testandi gratia signarent, non Caesare, et Bibulo, sed Julio, et Caesare Coss. actum scriberent, eodemque ambitionis acumine fretus sub idem tempus Calpurniam L. Pisonis filiam successuri sibi in Consulatu duxit Uxorem, suamque Juliana Gn. Pompeio collocavit, repudiato priore Sponso Servilio Cepidne : hinc socero, generoque suffragan- tibus ex omni provinciarum copia Gallias potissimum elegit, Galliam silicet Cisalpinam Illyrico adjecto lege Vatinia accepit, Max. per Senatus Comatam quoque veritis Patribus, ne si ipsi negasset Populus, et hanc daret, tandem Imperium subripuit, et Ponti- ficis Maximi nomen, simulque Imperii posteris trans- misit, quae ex Suetonio, Dione, Chrisostomo, Plu- tarcbo, et Tullio collecta exbibeo, ut Primitias Eegni simulque Pontificatus Lector agnoscat. Nam post Lepidi mortem Octavius Augustus cum Eempub. reddere nollet Pontiiicatum Maximum Suscepit, et Imperium, inquit enim Suetonius, c. 31. Postquam vero Pontificatum Max. quern nunquam vivo Lepido ^ auferre sustinuerat, mortuo demum suscepit, &c, quod evenit An. XJrbis Cond. dccxli. Prid. ]N"on. Martii, rem vero narrat Seneca, lib. 1, de Clementia, Lepidi Pontificatum Maximum nonnisi mortuo ille transferri passus est Augustus, maluit enim ilium yocari quam spolium, forsan quia, teste Cassiodoro, ante intcritum Infulas a Pontifice auferre vetant leges. Is this true, Mr Antonelli ? Have you re- tained the same laws of the Gentiles ? And if so, how do you account for it that in past centuries so many Popes and Antipopes not only stole the Mitres, or triregnos, from each other, but the strongest unmerci- fully gouged the weakest into the bargain ? The solu- tion of these propositions is thus resolved, that the Gentile Pontifices Maximi were better Christians than the Bishops or Popes of the past ages; and 75 Popes or Bishops with the pretences of a Christianity of their own making, neither would have been tole- rated, nor would they have been competent to become bad Pagan Pontifices Maximi. I must not lose time in making further remarks here, but will show that even amongst the Gentiles there have been some Pontifices degraded and dismissed, though without the ferocity of the Christian Bishops. Lege cxxir De Decurionibus in Theodosi Codi. quod de Sacerdotibus Arvalibus a Eomulo institutis tradit Plinius, lib. 18, c. 2, quamvis aliter alter Plinius Secundus scribit lib. 4, Epist. 8. Lepidum Octavius Spoliatum exercitu Circeios in perpetuum relegaverat, sicut Suetonius, c. 16, tradit. Post Pompei fugam Collegarum alterum M. Lepidum, quod ex Aphrica in auxilium evocaverat superbientenx xx. Legionum fiducia, summasque sibi partem terrore, ac nimis vindicantem spoliavit exercitu, supplicemque concessa vita Circeios in perpetuum relegavit. Idque anno Urb. dccxviii, Orosius, Lepidus supplex Caesari factus vitam, et bona impe- travit perpetuo amandatus exilio, nec aliter Yelleius, et animadversor Suetoni Causabonus adnotat. Dio in Italia fuisse habitum non sine custodia, Appianus aperte Suetonio repugnat, vult missum a Csesare non in exilium, sed Eomam, ut privatus degeret Pontifi- catu Maximo. Sed Appiani suspecta fides, nam Dio anno demum 736. Duodecimo post conspirationem anno ab Augusto in Urbem retractum auctor est, interim ad Circeios secessit, de quibus Virgilius, lib. 7, JEneid., ait : " Praxima Cireeas vaduntur littora terras Dives in accessos ubi Solis filia Luces Assidua resonat canto." Et Strabo in 6 Geogr. Post Antium Circeium est stadiis ducentis distans, et nonaginta mons mari, et paludibus instar habens Insulse habet Castellum, et Circes Sacellum et Minervas Aram. Unde et Octa- 76 vianus August, cum Templa numinibus dicaret, Pontificatus fastigium prseferebat tradunt lapides vetustissimi eaque inscriptio, quam contulit populus anno dccci in Larium Consecratione. " Laeibus Publicis Saceum Imp. Caesae Augustus Po^TIEEX MAXIMUS Teieunis Potestatem xvin Ex stipe quam Populus Ei Contulit K. Januae. Apsenti C. Caluisio Sabino L. Possieno Eueo Cos." Sic cum Patris Patriae Cognomen obtinuit Non. Eebr. ut in East. 2, Ovidius accinit, anno urbis Cond. dcclviii. Consule Yalerio Messala de quo agit Suetonius, eodemque Pontificatus nomine insignitur ut inscriptio, quae Seduni in Yallesia visitur, clare testatur : P. Caesaei Divi i Augusto Cos. xi r Teibunicia Potesta. XV. Patei Pateiae Pontieici Maximo Civitas Sedunoeum Pateofo. Hinc Sacerdotum potestas, cui eligendum Pontificem jus antinquitus fuit, teste Dionys. Halicarnass., lib. 2, Ant. Rom. ab ipso Numae tempore usque ad an. TJrb. Con. dcli perseverans tandem desiit, et Populus ad libitum hunc, vel ilium proclamante nam Gn. Domitius Ahenobardus Domitii JNeronis Imperat. Attavus Tribunus Plebis infensior Pontifi- eibus, quod alium quam se in Patris sui locum cooptassent, Legem tulit, ut Sacerdotes quos antea 77 Collegae snfficiebant populus crearet, enarrat Legem: Valerius Paterculus, et Suetonius Tranquillus, ideo facilis fuit Julio Csesari, facilior Octavio Augusto ratio Pontificatus sibi a plebe per vim usurpare tradueemque posteri Pontificatus honorem vendicare honestum censuere; unde Symmachus TJrbis Prae- fectus in orat. pro restituenda Deorum Eeligione ad Valentinianum, Theodosium, et Arcadium Augustos, ipsos Imperatores optimos Principes Patriae Patres, et Justitiaa Sacerdotes nuncupat. Magnus Ausonius in gratiarum actione ad Gratianum Imperat. pro Consulatu, inquit : TJnus in ore omnium Gratianus Potestate Imperator, virtu te Victor, Augustus sanctitate, Pontifex Eeligione Indulgentia, Pater iEtate filius, pietate utrumque, et paulo post ele- ganter subinfert. Tu Auguste Venerabilis, districtus maximo bello assultantibus tot millibus Barbaroruni, quibus Danubii ora prsetexitur Comitia Consulatus mei armatus exerces tributa ista, quod in TJrbe Sirmio geruntur, an ut quod in procinctu centuriata dicentur, an ut quondam Pontificalia vocabuntur sine arbitrio multitudinis Sacerdotum tractata Col- legio. Sic potius, sic vocentur quae Tu Pontifex Maximus Deo participatus babuisti, et inter Gratiani Augusti titulos adbuc Eomic extantes in vetustis marmoribus legitur : "Plavius Geatiaxus Pius, Pelix, Maximus Victoe Ac Teiumphatoe Semper Augustus Pontifex Maxim. Geemanicus Maximus, Alemanicus Maximus, Peaxctscus Maximus, Gothicus Maxi- mus, Teibuxtctjs Potestatis Teetium." Plinius, 2, lib. 4, Epist. 11, ad Minutianum inquit adversus Corneliam Maximillam Virginem Vestolam, Domitianuni Pontificis Jura exercuisse, omnesque Pontificatus tamquam Infulis decoratos, coluit am- bitio, quam inculcavit Gratianus Imperator edicto ccelitus proposito, ne quis in posterum Pontificis Maximi nomen sibi posterisque suis deferret, et hsec h 2 78 de Pontificibus sufficienter dixisse orbitror. Are you at home, Mr Antonelli ? Do you hear the sound of the above sentence? You know well enough at what time Gratianus reigned, and you know also what position you would have if another Gratianus came again and said — Out of the w r ay, you old Dan Tucker, &c, with a full chorus, and accompaniments of military bands with cannons, bombs, and shells, &c. You will excuse me if I have named Gratianus here, and if I quit him abruptly ! We shall see him by-and-bye in his proper chronologic place. Tantummoneolmperatores, cumPontincatum Max. agerent religionis monimenta cseteris Pontificibus agenda curasse. Sic Plinius quern paulo ante reposui ait. Domitianum Jure Pontificis Yirginem damnasse, additque Missi statim Pontifices, qui defodiendam necandamque curarent inter quos non semel Maximi nominis viros fuisse, Tullius, in Oratio. adversus Clodium aperit, firmatque Julius Capitolinus in Macrino, dicens : Senatus Macrinum cum Scriba Pontificum fuisset, quos hodie Pontifices Minores vocant, Pontificem Max. appellavit quo nomine Imperatorem designasse scriptores unanimiter scribunt, &c. Etenim Pontificalis honor Imperio renidebat, sicut Ovidius, in Eastis, lib. 3, ubi Pridie Nonas Martias Augustum Pontificem Maximum decantat — " Csesaris innumeris quos maluit ille mereri Accessit titulis Pontificalis honor. Ignibus seternis, seterni numina praesunt Csearis : Imperii pignora juncta vides." There remain many other religious institutions which I might name, besides the festivities, the mar- riage and death ceremonies, the public games, spec- tacles, the Equiria, Eubigalia et Eornacalia, instituted byNuma, but, as all these matters might interfere with the object of the present work, and I consider it inopportune, I omit giving a proper descriptive 79 chapter of all of them ; as I omit also the mention of the Fig-tree, venerated in the Eoman Forum as sacred to Romulus (see Pliny, lib. xv), as well as the naming of the " Porrum et Cepse nefas violare et frangere morsu," and the ^Egyptio-Eoman adoration of the Crocodile, " JEgyptus portenta colat? Crocodilon adorat;" though I should like to write a good chapter on the old Eeligious Drunkards Picus et Faunus, cum J ovis poculum, ac Eoni Dsemonis decantent, &c. There is plenty to relate, and to laugh at, concerning those extraordinary drunkards — Theophrastus, lib. DeTemulentia scripsit BoniDsemonis, poculum in fine Conviviorum exhibitum, illudque a Mensa dum sum- ant Deum adorant, tanquam supplices, &c. Though I pass over these Baccanalian and Lupercalian orgies, I cannot help saying that Timseus seribit Dionysium coronam auream prcemium preebuisse ei qui prius Congium meri biberet. Theopompus said that the Macedonian Philippus, and the Great Alexander were good drinkers, &c. Atheneus refert Xenarchus Ehodius ob bibacitatem Congius appellatur : quia teste Phoenodemo Athenis festum Congiorum diem celebrabatur sub Demophonte cum Athenes Orestes petiit, ilium que Dionysius Tyrannus inquit, Timceus edidit, ac Corona exhibita bibacissimus omnium Xenocrates Philosophus oximcongium hausisset meri, illam prse omnibus meruit, et postea cum Calanus in accensum rogum coram Aiexandro, se projecisset ait, Chares Mithylenaeus Alexandrum ad ejus tumulum gymnicos ludos instituisse, ac meri potationum cer- tamen, in quo cum bibaces Indi helluonesque cer- tassent, Promachus epotis vini congiisquatuor vicit ac talentum a Eege obtinuit ; at temulentia haec mortales deturpat, et homines, unde graphice Juve- nalis bibaces sic carpit — "Prima peregrinos obscena pecunia mores Intulit, et turpi fregerunt secula luxu 80 Divitiae molles, quid enini Venus Ebria curat ? Inguinis et capitis quae sint discrimina nescit Grandia, quae mediis jam natibus ostrea mordet Cum perfusa mero, spument unguenta Falerno Cum bibitur concha, &c." And many other quotations of this kind would prove the extraordinary demoralisation attained by the encouraged Bacchanalian worshippers ; and I think that I have said enough, also, about this ; therefore, to avoid repetition, when I come to the middle ages we shall see that the so-called Eoman Catholic Pon- tifices not only kept up the ancient worship of Bacchus and Yenus, but also emulated and surpassed the ancient potationis potores avidi, alias drunk- ards, and like the ancients, who, instead of making their libations to the Gods, with honey dissolved in water, they, and the moderns also, drunk the best of wines they could get, and drunk whilst they could swallow, entirely forgetting the solution of honey and water, as was originally prescribed for the reli- gious libations by the really Greek and Eoman reli- gious Pontinces. — See Athenaeum Phylarchum, in lib. 12, Historiarum. I was pleased to read the beautiful expressions uttered by the learned American Minister, Mr Adams, in answer to a toast at the last Lord Mayor's Inauguration Dinner (9th November, 1861) and most cordially agree with his noble and humane sen- timents, though I differ from him, with regard to his saying that diplomacy is a new art. I have before me many arguments to prove that it is one of the most remote, most noble, and ancient arts, and, properly speaking, a most ancient Eeligious Institution, practised for several thousand years before Christianity, and revived and elevated to the highest degree of venerable organization by Euma Pompilius. Though it should have preceded the chapter of the Pontinces Maximi, I will insert it here to close the Eeligious Institutions of the Gentiles. 81 F^CIALES E PKJESTANTISSIMIS FAMILII8 ASSUMTTNTT7R A NlJMA PKO PACIS FGEDEBE AC JUSTO EELLO DECEK- NENDO. Ea fait semper pacis Eeligio prestantissimos pene Urbium Eectores, ut usque a primo Sapientum sdvo antequam arma consererent Numinum sciscitarentur oracula. Hinc iEgyptiorum consensus Persarum apud Xenophontem, et Atheniensium animadversio, ut ante bellum thure, et hostiis Templa yocarent, quo magis Sacerdotum preces ab aris flammas velut alas prseferrent, ac citissime festinarent ad Superos quse teste Nonia Marcello in Fsecialibus Pia Vota vocabant. Non enim absque Deo interprete inquit Solon, quern refert Grsecus author Mausonius justum quisque ex Mortalibus bellum valet decernere, in bello enim vero Compages terrarum orbis, quse teste Socrate, apud Platonem, in 2 de Legibus hominum vicissitudo sunt, et commercia dissolvuntur, arma Urbes devorant, depopulantur Eegiones, fortunae Vices prseferunt, et mors quam ssepe Parcarum omnium ordines unico ferri ictu invertit ad exitium, ut lugeat tellus, collapsa coacerventur Eegum monu- menta, moenia inculcentur ab exteris, et theatra Civium conspersa sanguine prse hominum turbis virgultis ornentur in saltu. TJndso Camillus apud Plutarchum, cum faliscos obsidione premeret, inquit Ssevares bellum est, cumulumque secum trahit injuriarum, et violentiae. Hinc Numa Eex placidissimus, qui Urbem pacis munimento firmandam censuit, et teste Livio, lib. 2, dec. 1. Omnium maximum ejus operum fuit tutela per omne Eegni tempus haud minor Pacis quam Eegni, Feciales instituit, eosque tali insignitos nomine voluit, quia ut ait Varro, lib. 4, Ling. Lat. fidei publicae inter populos prseerant, et per hos fiebat, ut Justum Conciperetur Bellum (et inde desitum) et ut foedere fides Pacis constitueretur. 82 Dionys. Halicarnass., lib. 2, Antiq. Eoman. a Numa institutum Feecialium Collegium tradit, nonienque Graeeum dicens. Septima Sacrarum legum pars dicata erat Collegio Fecialiam — called in Greek Diplomacy — quod ad foedtis sancieudum pertinet sicut Alex- ander, lib. 5, c. 3, declaravit ubi ait : Fseciales, quos foederibus sanciendis, et rebus repetendis, ac bellis indicendis Eomanos habuisse constat. Sicque afcedere pace ac bello finitimis in dicendo nomen sortiti sunt, ut Plutarchus in Camillo, Yarro, lib. 2, De Yita Pop. Eom. Apud Non. Marcellin. Servius in iEneid. 1, Aulus Gellius caeterique enarrant. Et primo animadvertere ullo non absque opere est pretio Numam inter Eomanos Grsecosque primum Fseciales instituisse, et si quamplures autument prse- stasse olim ante Numam illorum Collegium, utpote Eeipublicaa necessarium. Sic Livius ab Equiculis id accepisse testatur dicens, Jus ab antiqua gente sequicolis, quod nunc Faeciales habent descripsit, &c. Scribit Gellius; hoc tantum possum affirmare ante Numam Eegem Fsecialium Collegium Eomse non fuisse. Id ille instituit, cum Eidenates agrum Eomanum excursionibus, et latrociniis infestare ausos bello aggredi pararet, ne sine bello rem secum mallent componere, quod tandem eis facere necesse fuit : hactenus ille, qui, et causam vulgat traditque Grsecos carere Magistratu Fsecialium. Ex quo Numam instituisse compertum fit, traditque in Camillo Plutarchus, ubi Brennum Gallorum Eegem, qui clusios urgebat acie, Eomam insultasse tradit, propter necem quam unus ex Fabiis, Q. Ambu'stus cum esset de pace Legatus Gallo intulit, ubi etenim sic ait. Hos Fseciales quietissimus, et justissimus Eex instituit Numa pacis Custodes, Cognitores, Arbi- trosque causarum belli indicendi legitimarum. Et quia de pacis commodo agebatur justoque bello omnium fere maximum Collegium instituit, nam que, in Elamines, Dialem, Martialem et Quirinalem legit, yi Yestales Salios Martis Gradivi xiiy at » 83 Faeciales xx suffecit, ut vel sic in belli eventu justi- tiam prseferrent arma, traditque Yarro, lib. 3, de Yita Pop. Rom. in fragmento, quod apud JSTonium extat. Si cujus legati violati essent, qui id fecissent, quamvis nobiles essent, ut dederentur Civitati statue- runt Faecialesque xx, qui de his rebus cognoseerent, judicarent, et statuerent, et constituerent. Sic etiam cur Buma Fseciales selegerit causam expendere in promptu est ex Nonio Marcello, qui sic ait, Faeciales apud veteres Eomanos erant, qui Sancto Legatorum Officio ab his, qui adversus populum Eomanum, qui aut rapinis, aut injuriis hostili mente commoverant pignora facto fcedere jure repetebant, nec bella indicebantur, qui tamen pia vocabant priusquam fuisset, quid Faecialibus denunciatum. Yarro, lib. 2, De Yi. Pop. Eom. Itaque bella, et tarde, et nulla licentia suscipiebant, quod bellum nullum nisi pium putabant geri oportere, et prius- quam indicerent bellum iis a quibus injurias factas sciebant, Faeciales legatos res repetitum mittebant quatuor, quos Oratores mittebant : Sic etiam Cin- cius, lib. 3, de Ee Militari apud Gellium, Noct. Atticar. lib. 16, c. 4, et Plutarchus in Numa Pacis Arbitros illos nuncupat, quia disceptatione compri- mebant certamina, neque priusquam abscissa omnis Juris obtinendi spe ad arma iri sinebant. Ideoque tradit Dionysius Halicarnass., lib. 2, Aut. Eom. semper eis faciles contigisse bellorum exitus, omnia enim ille religiosissime, ac justissimis de eausis auspicati esse comperitur, ideoque Deos in perisulis habuisse maxime propitios. Sicut e contra si nunquam contigisset Fsecialium Sacerdotum spre- cuisse oracula, tunc Urbem a Superis fulminibus expetitam numina premebant ad necem sicut scribit Plutarchus in Camillo, et consumatim refert in Numa, ubi Fabium cum ex Gallis unum interfecissit sub pacis foedere, petentibus Gallis, tradi jusserunt Feciale3, negante vero Plebe, Urbs tota3 direptioni cessit, aitque Galli Eom am misso Ceduccatore voca- 84 runt Pabium in Crimen, quod non bello indicto con- tra jus gentium anna in ipsos tulisset. Ibi agen- tibus in Senatu Faeeialibus, ut Gallis dederetur confugit ad Popnlum Fabius, studioque Plebis per- rupit periculum. Mox Galli agmen Komam rapue- runt Urbemque dempto Capitolio delevere, idque in Crassum qui Parthorum fines pecuniarum affectu raptus, cnm primum adoriri ausus est capite abscisso pacis, vel tandems ecutns specimen obiit. As I fancy that the danger of a general war is not yet passed, it may not be out of place to extend this chapter, and include in it some specimens of the moral laws, and the integrity of the ancient Religio- political Diploruates commissioned to maintain the peace of the Roman Empire, and declare war when there was a just cause. The morality, the justice, and wisdom of these ancient men might be of service to some modern ambassadors, while it is a source of pleasure to me to repeat some of the old glorious deeds. Leges vero Fecialium sive ipsorum in Urbe potestas qua prestabant ad arma apud Dionys. Halicarnass. sic legitur. Cavere ne Eomani ulli fcederatse Civi- tati injustum bellum inferant, quod si qua prior contra foederis conditiones aliquid commiserit ? Legatos agere et verbis primo jus suum repetere, quod si dedignetur facere postulata, tunc vero bellum rathum habere hoc totum Xenophon, in Cinopcedia docet, et Isocrates, in Plataico, cum de Plataea ageret, quae Beotiee est Civitas Mardonii clade, atque interitu Persarum Atheniensium magis quam Thebancfrum studiosior fuit, id tandem consecuta est petentibus Thebanis, ut a Lacedsemoniis vastaretur, sicut scribit Herodotus, lib. 9, qui Calliope inscribitur, et Thuci- dides, lib. 2 et 3, acriter fcedus cum Platseensibus factum adversus Athenas impugnat, damnatque velut foedifragos : et Tullius, lib. 3, de OflSc. Se- narios Jambicos, ex Pacuvii Armorum judicio refert, quibus Ajax Ulissem sic impetit, et damnat. 4 85 '* Cuju ipse Princeps juris jurandi fuit Quod omnes scitis, solus neglexit fidem : Eurere assimulavit, ne coiret, institit ; Quod ni Palamedis perspicax prudentia Isticio percepset malitiosam audaciam Eidei servatee jus perpetuo falleret." Et Antius, in Atreo penes eumdem. "Eregisti ne fidem? neque dedi, neque do infideli cuiquam?" DeindeTullus ad versus Epicureos, qui Deum irasci negabant, ut etiam Lactantius Eirmianus, lib. de Ira Dei, animadvertit Stoicos Academicos, ac Peripateticos, secutus inquit. In Jure jurando non qui metus, sed quae vis sit, debet intelligi, est enim jus jurandum affirmatio religiosa, quod autem afiirmate, quasi Deo teste promiseris id tenendum est. Jam enim non ad iram Deorum, quae nulla est, sed ad Justitiam, et ad fidem pertinet nam prseclare Ennius. 0 Eides alma apta pinnis, et Jus Jurandum Jovis. Qui igitur Jus jurandum violat, is fidem violat, quam in Capitolio vicinam Jovis Optimi Maximi, ut in Catonis Oratione est, majores nostri esse voluerunt, forsan prope Jovis Templum, ut in pejerantes fulmina citius immiteret, quos impetere et belli duces omnino debent, et homines manus conserere in ipsos, sicut refert Livius, lib. 2, Dec. 2. Tullum Hostilium adversus Metium Suffetium Albanorum Dictatorem vindicias exercuisse; turn Tullus Meti Suffetii, inquit, si ipse discere posses fidem, ac fcedera, ser- vare, vivo tibi ea disciplina a me adhibita esset, non quoniam tuum insanabile ingenium est, aut tuo te supplicio doce humanum genus ea sancta credere, quae a te violata sunt, ut igitur paulo ante animum inter Eidenatem Eomanamque rem ancipitem ges- sisti, ita jam corpus passim distrahendum dabis : Exinde duabus admotis quadrigis in currus earum distentum illigat Metium, deinde in diversum itur equi concitati lacerum in utroque curru corpus, quae inhseserant vinculis membra portantes. Et tanta i 86 est barbaric usus, quia ut Tullius paulo ante Cives allocutus ait. Metius ille hujus Machinator est belli, Metins Foederis Romani, Albanique ruptor, audiat deinde, &c. Nec mirum, quia teste Onosandro in Strategico, c. 37, ne dum Numine, a quo violata fides vindiciam rogat, sed ab hominibus quam severe puniri debent, traditque Duci hoc monitum. Qui accepts cladis injuriam ab Diis vendicandam esse sibi fingunt, religiosa sane cogitant, at nequaquam tuta, nimiseque amentias est fcedifragos a Numine solo ulciscendos sperare, nec ullam periculorum curam sustinere velle, quasi si salvi ipsi futuri sint, simul et hostes perfidies poenas luerint. ITnde, Silius Italicus, lib. 2, EeU. Punic. " Audite Gentes ; neu rumpite fcedera pacis JSTec Eegnis postferte fidem : vagus exul in orbe Errabit to to Patriis projectus ab oris." Sequitur Dionysius : Itidem, si a Eomanis illatam sibi contra foedus queruntur injuriam, causam eorum cognoscere, et si jure queri comperiantur, Sontes comprehensos lsesis dedere, judicare item Delegatorum injuriis, et dare operam, ut religiose serventur conditiones foederum : Pacem etiam conficere, aut si juxta sacras leges non esse facta videatur, irritam reddere. Prseterea si quid Imperatores contra Juris Jurandi et foederum leges patraverint cognoscere, atque expiare j hactenus ille, quia recte inquit Tul- lius, lib. 3, de Offic. Hosti fides jusjurandi servanda est, suadetque Isocrates ubi de pace quod Eomani Maximopere coluerunt, pertimescentes Numinum jacula, imprecationesque, quas in foedere solenniter feriendo vulgabant, quos tandem Silius Italicus Ko- manorum ex penu protulit in prsesgifagos, lib. 2, dicens, " Ergo armis foedus, fasque omne abrumpitur armis Oppida quassantur, longeque in msenia nostra iEneadum arrectse mentes, disectaque pax est 87 Exagitant manes Juvenem, furiaeque patera & Ac funesta sacra, et conversi foedere rupto In caput infidum Superi, Massillaque Yates Annuit." Itaque cum belli urgebat necessitas Eomani qui (sicut in Anasthasio Eege Imperatorem quemlibet Onosander monet) tranquille ac placide cum hastibus, velut in pace degebant, providae tamen, et caute subitis casibus, velut in bello prospiciebant, antequam arenam, et scamna pararent ex Faecialibus TJnum tamquam Legatum sive Oratorem missum faciebant, ut ab hostibus jura repeteret, et foedus ritum firmarent hostiis, si vellent, secus vero belli vindieiae specimen preferrent in urbe : Hunc Patrem Patratum inquit Pomponius nuncupabant a patrando, idest faciendo foedere, et a Paecialibus creabatur tantum in foedere faciendo, cujus in delectu bominem pium ac religione, et virtute omnimode praeditum praa oculis habebant, asseritque Tullius in 7, in Verrem dicens: habemus hominem in Pecialium manibus educatum unum preter ceteros in publicis Eeligionibus foederum sanctum, ac diligentem^ ejusque munus, babitum, et gesta recenset Dionysius, lib. 2, antiqui. Eom. Unus Faecialium electus a Collegio Yestae, ac gestaminibus sacris exornatus, ut prae ceteris sit insignis versus infestam civitatem profectus, cum primum fines eorum attigit, Jovem ceterosque Deos invocans protestatur venire se, ut Romanae civitati jus suum repetat ; Deinde juratus ire se ad injustam Civitatem, et si quid mentiatur gravissimas et sibi, et Civitati diras imprecatur, fines ingrediatur, et quern primum obvium nactus fuerit, cum testatur sive is Urbanus sit, sive Eusticus, et re- petitis eisdem execrationibus ad Urbem pergit, quam prius adde quam ingrediatur, vel Portae custodem, vel primum quemque in Porta obvium similiter testatus in forum procedit ibique stans Magistratibus adventus sui causam indicat, juramento, et execrationibus usque quaque interpositis, turn si auctores injuriae 88 damnatos, deditosque acceperit, abducens eos, amicus ipse ab amicis discedit. Quod si tempus ad deliber- andum petant, decern concessis diebus revertitur, et usque ad tertiam petitionem expectat, elapsis autem xxx diebus, si non impetret jus suum obtestatus Superos, atque Inferos discedit hoc tantum profatus Populum Romanum super ea re perotium delibera- turum. Deinde assumptis caeteris PsDcialibus ad Senatum refert omnia, se rite ex Sacrorum Legum praescripto exsecutum et si Velint Bellum Decernere Licere id I His Per Deos, hactenus ille cujus verba, quse indigent animadversione, antequam expendamus notandum hunc Paecialium Maximum dixisse, imo cum non omnes possunt illud munus exercere solum- modo Pater Patratus eligebatur, qui Patre adhuc superstite nlios habebat, quod sic enucleat Plutarchus, in 99 Rom. dicens : Cur inter Pseciales Maximus est is, quern Patrem Patratum appellant. Is autem est qui liberos habet vivo adhuc Patre Suo, atque etiam- num Privilegium auctoritatemque aliquam retinet. Praetoris enim corpora, quae ab formam, et florem aetatis custodia habebant opus pudica eorum fidei commendant, et cum nonnullas assignet causas, tandem ob jusjurandum, quod icto foedere ab ipso exigitur Patrem Patratum eligendum tradit : Jure Jurandi, et Pacis Prsesidem oportet simul (ut ait Homerus). prorsus et retrorsum videre, id maximum prestare posset, qui et nlium habet de quo consul tet, et Patrem qui cum deliberet. Livius, lib. 2, de fcedere Tullus Eegis Hostilii cum Albanis. Pater Patratus ad jusjurandum patrandum, idestsanciendum fit. Ideo ex Servio Alexander, lib. 5, c. 3. Patrem Patratum Principem Paecialium nuncupat, quia Coronatius bellum indicebat. Enim vero Coronam et Verbena gestabat, a qua et Yerbenarius dicebatur, simulque et cseteri Fseciales sic coronatos describit Yirgilius, lib. 12, iEneid., ver. 115, ubi elapso quod Turnus tempore praBfinierat octo die castra proescribit et sacra : 89 u Campum ad certamen Magnse sub moenibus Urbis Diraensi Eutulique viri Tenerique parabant In medioque focos et Diis cornmunibus Aras Gramineas alii fontemque, ignemque ferebant Yelati lino, et Yerbena tempora cincti. ,, In Primis Jovem Patrem Patratum Dionysius tradit, eumque testem advocare, ut plagiaries foederis sacramentum inculcantes ejaculet. TJnde Livius, lib. 1, Dec. 2, in Anco Martio Esecialem dicentem sic facit. Jovem testem facio, si ego injuste impieque illos homines illasque res dedierim nuntio Pop. Eom. mihi exposco tarn Patriae compotem me nunquam sinas esse, et antea habitum Psecialis eleganter sic exprimit. Legatus ad fines eorum venit, unde res repetuntur capite velato (filum ianaB velamen est). Audi Jupiter inquit, audite fines (cujuscumque Gentis sunt, nominat) Audiat fas, Ego cum Publicus Nun- tius Populi Eomani juste pieque Legatus venio, ver- bisque meis verba sint, peragit deinde postulafca, Inde Jovem testem facit : Deinde Deos ceteros advocat, adhibetque ut testes, dicens: Audi Jupiter et tu Juno Quirine, Diique omnes Celestes, vosque Ter- restres omnes, Yosque Inferni audite, ego vos testor, &c. Idem refert Tulli Hostilii Yerba ad Albanos primum fcedus a majoribus ictum abrumpere tentavit : Kuntiate inquit Eegi Yestro' Eegem Eomanum Deos facere testes, uter prius Populus res repetentes Le- gates aspernatus dimiserit, ut in eum omnes expetant hujusce clades belli, et lib. 8, Manlium Torquatum si Jovem rogasse scribit, firmatque JElius Gallus apud Pestum Pompeium, et Alexander, qui ea verba solemnia fuisse indicat, a Numa composita, ut clara voce vulgarentur, ej usque vociferatio Clari- tatio nuncupabatur ; quia repetebantur, verba ut patet ex Ennio et Plinio, lib. 22, et Servius in lib. 10. JEneid., ait, Claritatem exercere hoc est per Eseciales bella indicere, et alibi ob claram vocem Claritatem dixisse. His fortiter ominosis enarratis vocibus, hastam in fines hostium emittebat belli i 2. 90 inditum, Livius, lib. 1 : Id ubi dixisset, hastam in fines eorum emittebat, sed non absque Magistrate auctoritate : unde Alexander rem plenius enarrrat, lib. 5, c. 3 : Ibat Pater Patratus ad hostium fines, et verba solemnia praefatus bellum a Populo Bomano contra Praeseriptos hostes ob legitimas, qnas cen- suerat causas, clara voce indicebat, postquam clari- tationem mos erat, ut de Senatus consilio, et populi jussu Faeciales Hastam Ferratam aut Sanguineam Prceustam ad Jines eorum jacere, et non minus tribus puberibus praesentibus bellum indicere, et ita denun- ciari, et indici justum, piumque bellum putavere, haec ille ex Livio, et Ammianus Marceliinus, lib. 19, sic inquit. Yixque ibi Grumbates Hastam infestam sanguine ritu patrio, nostroque more coniecerat Eaecialis armis, exercitus concrepans involat in muros quern in ore m Statius Thebaidos, lib. 12, ver. 634, sic facit: "Hos ubi velle acies, et dulci gliscere ferro Dux videt, atque piis raptim dent oscula natis Amplexusque breves, curru sic fatur ab alto Terrarum leges, et mundi fcedera mecum Defensura manus, dignas insumite mentes Caeptis, hacomnemDivumque hominumquefavorem Naturamque Ducem, Caatusque silentis Averni Stare palam est ; illic pcenarum exercita Thebis Agmina, et Anguicomse ducent Yexilla Sorores, Ite alacres, tantaeque precor confidite causae, Dixit, et JEmissa Praeceps Iterinchoat ITasta, Qualis hiperboreos, ubi nubilus institit axes Jupiter et prima tremefecit sidera bruma, &c." Valerius Placcus, lib. 3, Argon. " Donee hasta volans immani turbine transtris Insonuit monuitque ratem rapere obvia caeca Arma manu. ,, Apud Yirgilium, lib. 9, v. 1 0, Turnus pugnae cu- piditate inflammatus suos precurrit, et ait : 91 " Ecquis erit mecum o Juvenes qui primus in hostem? En ait ? et Jaculum intorquens eniittit in auras Principium Pugnas, et campo sese arduus infert." Claudianus, lib. 2, in Eutropium, v. 165. ''Tunc adamante gravem, nodisque vigentibus Hastam Telum ingens, nullique jaculabile torsit Pit late ruptis via nubibus ilia per auras Tot freta, tot montes uno contenta volatu Transilit, et Phrygia mediis affigitur oris." Et Statius, lib. 6, Thebaidos moris ejusdem meminit, etiani apud Carthaginenses, Pestus Pompeius, lib. 8, in usu fuisse tradit, Carthaginenses cum bellum vellent Pomam hastam miserunt, Justinus, ex Trogo, lib. 11, Alexandrum hastam emisisse. Macedonum secutus morem, cum primum Persarum hostilem terram attigit, earn que e ISTavi trajicientem primum Mace- donum in hastas ejaculasse scribit, Diodorus, lib. 17, Biblioth., c. 2. Nee aliter apud Grsecos, cum Liba- nius ubi Menelaum declamantem facit, id testatur, et Aulus Gellius, lib. 16, c. 4, ex Cincio rem mature expendit. Cincius, in lib. 3, cle re militari, Eseci- alem Populi Pom. bellum indicentem hostibus, Telumque in agrum eorum inicentem hisce verbis uti scrip sit. " Quod Populus Hermundulus Hominesque Populi Hermunduli adveesus Populum Bomanum Bel- lum FECERE, DELIQUERUNT, QUAE QUOD, Q,. PoPU- LUS BOMANUS, CUM POPULO HeRMUNDULO, BeLLUM, JUSSIT, OB, EAM REM, EGO PoPULUSQUE, BoMANUS, Populo Hermukdulo Hominibusque Hermun- dulis. Bellum, dico, eactoque." Hsec Eascialium acta cum primum bellum justum decernerent, at pacto si unquam fcedere Eomani, simul coirent cum exteris, fcedus ipsi litantes ferie- bant. Enim vero lege id sancitam refert Tullius, lib. 2, de Legibus, ubi inter quamplurimas hsec legi- tur, fcederum pacis belli, induciarum oratores Eseci- ales Judices duo sunto belia disceptante : hac igitur 92 potestate prseditus fcedera Pater Patratus componit, rationemque ferieudi enarrat Livius, lib. 2, ubi agit, de foedere Tulli Hostilii, et Albanorum procerum, ut cujus populi cives eo certamine vicissent, is alteri populo cum bona pace imperitaret, quod istum sic refert: Ita factum accepimus nee ullius vetustior foederis memoria est, Pasciales ita Eegem Tullum rogavit, jubes ne mi Bex cum Patre Patrato Populi Albani fcedus ferire ? Jubente Bege sagmina inquit ; te Bex posco ; Eex ait ; Puram tollite Facialis ex acie graminis herbam puram attulit, postea Eegem ita rogavit, Eex facis ne metu Eegium Nuntium Populi Eomani Quiritium ? Yasa Comitesque meos ? Bex respondit, quod sine fraude mea Populique Bomani Quiritium fiat, facio, Psecialis erat M. Vale- rius is Patrem Patratum S. P. Pusium fecit, Verbena caput capiliosque tangens, foedus, multisque verbis quae longo effata Carmine, non operse est referre peragit ; Legibus deinde recitatis, Audi, inquit, Ju- piter, audi Pater Patrate Populi Albani, audi tu Populus Albanus, ut ilia palam prima postrema ex illis tabulis, cerave recitata sunt sine dolo malo, utique ea hie bodie rectissime intellects sunt illis legibus Populus Eomanus prior non deficit. Si ille prior deflexit publico Consilio, dolo malo, tu illo die Jupiter Populum Eom. sic ferito, ut ego hunc Porcum hodie feriam, tantoque magis ferito, quanto magis potes, pollesque, id ubi dixit Porcum saxo silice percussit : nactenus ille cujus verba expendere opercc pretium est, ut ipsorum praelucente undique face an- tiquitatis tenebras pellamus. Interrogat Paterpatratus Begem, ut denuo Begis oraculo Begis personam pra3ferat, hine coronatus Verbena ab Alexandro describitur, et cum Sceptro ut diximus, inde jubente Bege, Sagmina, inquit, te posco, de quibus, sic Sextus Pompeius, Sagmina vocantur Verbense, idest herbse purse, quia ex loco sancto arcebantur a Consule Prsetoreve Legatis profi- ciscentibus ad foedus faciendum, bellumque indicen- 93 dum, vel ad sanciendum bellumque indicenduni, ha3C ille, et Naevius Jus sacra turn Jo vis juran- dum Sagmine idem denuo apud eumdem Scopas, atque Yerbenas sagmina sumpserunt, et Plinius, lib. 22, c. 2. Authores Imperii Eomani Conditoresque immensum quiddam et hinc sumpsere, quoniam non aliunde sagmina in remediis publicis fuere, et in Sacris Legationibusque Verbena, certe utroque no- mine idem signifieatur, hoc est gramen Arce cum sua terra evulsa, ac semper cum Legati ad hostes, clarigatumque mitterentur, idest res raptas, repetitum unus utique Verbenarius vocabatur, haec ille qui gramen, verbenas et Sagmina, velut idem desumit, et Martianus, in L. Sanctum, de Eerum Divisione ; sunt Sagmina quaedam Herbae quas Legati Populi Eomani ferre solebant, ne quis eos violaret, sicut Legati Graecorum ferunt, ea, quae vocantur Hiceteria, sive ut Budeus legit, Cerycia, quae Caduceum signi- fieat Livins, lib. 30. Sagmina herbae genus ex Arce sump tum dari Eaecialibus solet, estque gramen purum, teste Phinio, et liquet ex Verbis Livii, ubi postquam Eex ait, puram tollite. Paeciales ex arce graminis herbam puram attulit, petiit Sagmina, obtentaque gramen obtulit in Sacris quam saepe adhibitum. Yirgil, lib. 12, v. 18 : " . . . . et Diis communibus aras Gramineas . . . Horatius, lib. 2, Carm. od. 3, ad Q. Delium Gramen amarissimum decantat, in quo praediti con- stanti animo procul ab Urbe beantur : " Seu moestus omni tempore vixeris Sen te in remote gramine per dies Pestos reclinatum bearish ' Et Epod., od. 2, De Laudibus Yitae Eustic83 : " Libet jacere modo sub antiqua Ilice Modo in tenaci gramine. ,? Menalia, Ecloga 5, apud Yirgiiium, ubi Mopsi car- mina laudat : 94 M Tale tuuin carmen nobis Divine Poeta Quale sopor fessis in Gramine." Hec tamen caret arcano, quia Gramen Marti dica- runt Yeteres, unde, et Gradivuni dixere, sicuti proxirae ante adnotabarn. ex Fastis Ovidii, et festus ortum e Gramine Marteni prodit; Gradivus Mars appellatus est a gradiendo in beila ultro, vel ut alii dicunt, quia Gramine sic ortus, quia corona Grarai- nea in re militari maxime est bonorationis, ba^c ille et Plinius, lib. 22, c. 3, Corona quidem nulla fuit Graminia nobilior in Maj estate Populi terrarum Principis. prremiisque gloria?, Geinruata?, et aureae Yallares, Murales, Bostrata?, Civica\ Triumphales, post banc fuere, suntque cuneta? magno intervallo, magnaque differentia. Ca?teras omnes singuli et Duces ipsi, Imperatoresque militibus, aut aliquando Collega? dedere additque, c. 4. ZS^isi universo exercitu servato, libertate adepti obsidionalem banc Grami- neamque Senatom, ac Populum Imperatori non decernere, ex quo argumentum Encomii Corona? hujus assumit dicens, quod si Civice bonos uno aliquo. ac humillimo Civi servato pra?clarus, sacerque babetur, quid tandem existimari debet unius virtute sersratus universus exercitus. bine si triumpbantium bonos rutilat, Donatus est ca L. Siccius Dentatus sera el, cum Civicas XIV rneraisset, pugnassetque exx pra?liis semper victor : Sic etiam P. Decius Mus. Tribunus militum unam ab exercitu atteram ab bis, qui in pra?sidio obsessi fuerunt obtinuit, Fabius, qui teste Ennio, apud Tullium, de Officiis, cunctando rem omnem Eomanam ab Annibale vastatam resti- tuit, pulso Annibale communi omnium consensu Gramineam Coronam meruit. Qua? corona, inquit Plinius, adbuc sola ipsius Imperii manibus impesita est, et quod peeuliare ei est sola a tota Italia data : Preter bos contigit ejus Corona? bonos M. Cal- pburnio Flamma? Tribuno Militum in Sicilia, Cn. Perreio Atinati Centurioni Cimbrico bello. JEmyli- anum Scipionem, Varro Auctor est, donatum obsi- 95 dion&li in Africa : Augustum cum M. Cicerone filio Consulem Idibus Septembris Senatus Graminea donavit; scripsit in Sylla Dictator ab exercitu se quoque donatum apud ISTolain Legatum Bello Marsico, idque etiam in Villa sua Tusculana, quse fuit postea Ciceronis, pinxit. Quod si verum est, subjungit Plinius, c. 6, lib. 22, hoc execrabiliorem cum dixerim, quandoquidem earn capiti suo proscriptione ipse detraxit, tanto paucioribus Civium servatis, quam postea occisis, hsec ille, et Livius, lib. 30. Eseciales cum in Apbricam ad fcedus feriendum ire juberentur ipsis postulantibus, S. C. in hsec verba factum est ut Privos Lapides, Silices, Privasque Verbenas secum ferrent, et in Parnaso florere Gramen vetus scripsit auctor, ejusque floribus Corollas intexere, Xtaque Gramen petebat Paterpatratus gramenque purum ab Arce acceptum ad foedus feriendum ducebat, quia illud Marti dedit antiquitas^ et Urbis Servatoribus : unde et publics salutis omen prefert, estque sensus. Gramen tacite corona dignum declarat in fcedere apprime, Sanctseque persistentem et Martem belli Numen ad foederis munimentum advocat. Inde Paterpatratus cum a Bege Ptegius Nuntius Pop. Eom. declaratur, Verbena caput, capillosque tangens foedus peragit et Verbenis Eseciales conoratos Virgilius, lib. 12, JEneid., in- digetat. Ovidius, in Eastis, lib. 1. <( Pavis ovis pratum Verbenas improba carpsit Quas pia Dis ruris ferre solebat anus." Propertius, lib. 4, Eleg. 3, ubi de Galla, et Posthuma sub Arethusse, et Lycotse nomine. " Flore sacella tego, Verbenis Compita Velo Et crepat ad Veteres erba Sabina focos." Nunc puto de Eomanorum rebus Diplomatics satis dixisse: and if these extracts are not sufficient to prove the antiquity of that politically- sacred institu- tion, I can easily add some others from the same authentic sources. I must close these sketches of the old Popes, and 96 their manners of acting. There were a great many things that were good and useful, and would be so even now, in spite of the spurious Jupiter who now usurps the Capitolium. As long as Virtue held the Eoman sceptre, the Eepublic and the Empire ruled majestically, and so civilised the world with their religio-political power. Virtue abdi- cated in favour of corruption and usurpation, and so it has remained ever since Constantine made the blunder. My remarks may not satisfy everyone ; therefore in closing this sketch, — Solum dicam : Eo tempore simul cum pauper tat e Eeligio vigebat, et Numa ipse cum pauperes haberet Deos virtutum omnium thesaurum optimi civis servabat in pectore : Hinc Vannonius, et Diocles Pepareticus aurea ssecula inculcant, silicet ea quae Imperatorum tempestate Diis munera offerebantur ; enim vero Numa ubi est apud Scevolam, etPublium JNasonem Molam Salsam, frugesque Numinum ad aras prsestabat juxta pri- maeval oblationis adinventum a Caino exhibitum, et a Platone in 6 De Leg. expensum unde preter far fruges sanxit in sacris : Quod ex Plutarcho eligitur ubi Pythagoras ISTumaaque dogmata prodit : Ne libes Diis ex vite non putata : Ne sacrifices sine farre : Mola Salsa ex farre, et Sale constabat : Mola vocatur Ear tostum, et Sale sparsum, quod eo molito hostise aspergebantur. Inde Mola Salsa, idest hordeus tor- refactus frictusve molitus infusione commixtus Sale, Veteres legimus semper in suis Sacris Ceremoniis utebantur. 97 On the Hebrew and Koman History — Oe the First Translation oe the Bible — Of Jestts, Son of PoNTIF. SlRACH — Of THE THREE EXPUNGED Hebrew Kings — Christ's Brother the First Ordained Bishop — Concerning the Origin of Christianity and the Apostles ; and the Bio- graphy OF CAESAR, FROM THE MS. ChRON. De JEtatibus. I will now pass from profane history to the origin of Christianity. I cannot, holding in view the welfare of humanity, as well as the curiosity of the learned, resist the temptation of taking a few notes from the Chronica de Mtatibus, a rare MS. in my possession, and which has never been published, compiled partly from the ancient unpublished MS. Chronica Zongohardica, and partly from the ancient MS. Code, both extant in the Bibliotheca Yaticana, copied by the Eev. Jacobus Grimaldus, Vati- canae Basil, Clericus Beneficiatus, while Cardinal Baronius was President of the said library. The following paragraphs are, I consider, of the highest importance to Eeligion and Literature; particularly as I am ignorant of anything earlier, or of the existence of a more ancient histo- rical notice of the Bible and its translations. The information contained in the following ex- tracts will, I think, tend to elucidate the opinions set forth in this little work, and also serve as a means of strengthening the new edifice that it is my desire to erect and dedicate to Immortal Truth and Justice, the emanation and supporters of the glorious shield of the Eternal God, and to the con- fusion and destruction of the present hypocritical state of delusion and falsehood. As I am unable in my collection of rare ancient Bibles to trace the existence of these three Hebrew Pontifices, Azarias, Joas, and Ozias, I take the liberty, K 98 for the information of my readers, of introducing them with their genealogical characters, as portrayed in the MS. alluded to, leaving to the learned Divines a fuller investigation of these important facts. For my satisfaction, and in the hope of con- tributing in some manner to clear historical facts which are a little confused on account of the various opinions of the chronologists, I have introduced those three Pontiff Kings, who preceded only a few years Anius, the great uncle of Julius Proclus, who emigrated, and made a friendly acquaintance with Romulus, and afterwards became the founder of the Julian Population, anno mundi 3,140 years before the Christian Era. Those three Pontifices were predecessors about sixty years of the Great Sesostris, Pythagoras, Numa, and of Ezechias, filim Achaz. The Bibles that I have in my possession, and in which, as I have before stated, I can find no traces of these three kings, are the following : — The Geneva Bible, with the notes by Diodafci. The Italian Bible by Diodati, printed by Chovet, 1641. The Geneva Bible by Osterwald, illustrated by Picard. The Basnage Bible, illustrated by De Hoogue. The Nuremberg Bible, by Koburger, 1478. The first Bible printed at Venice, 1475. The Bible by Bishop Bedell, in Celtic types I cannot read. The Bibliorum Sacer Authenticus Novi et Yet. Test. Tigur. 1564. The Biblia Germanica, Martin Luther's, Amsterd., 1673. And several others of less rarity. MS.ciiron.de Joram filius Josaphat annis vm cujus diebus jEtat.,p.23. ■g ( j om ne egge £ j u( j a e t constituit sibi Regem, ambulavit autem Joram in viis domus Achab, filia quippe Achab erat uxor ejus Clelias curru igneo 99 rapitur quasi usque ad coelum, et Eliseus hoeres pro- phetise derelictus p°- miraculo aquam Jericho sanat. V. Abdias propheta de tribu Sichem in agro Bechaearan natus discipulus Helise fuit tertius quin- quagenarius cum quinquaginta militibus ab occhozia ad Heliam missus, cui et petitus pepercit Helias, ne eum ignis sicut duos ante quinquagenarios con- sumeret. Hie ergo Occhoziee relicto ministerio prophetavit. Micheas de tribu Ephrem in Morasti ortus : quoniam peccantem Achab ssepius arguebat sub Joram fiiio ejus precipitio valde porrecto jactatus occubuit iuxlv. .... Azarias films Joram anno primo. Hunc Azarium cum filio Joas et nepote Amasia ob enormitatem scelerum, et quia nec patrem filiumve quispiam eorum bonum habebant, inde eos Mattheus Evan- gelista a Domini Salvatoris genealogia secludit Joredam filius llechab clarus sacerdos habet qui vixit annis cxxxiUlxxi .... This page precedes the expunged Hebrew Pontifices, who were left out from the genealogy of 0. L. Jesus Christ. The introduction of them in this place will cause many pages to be turned before they will be found named amongst the Kings or Pontifices — they will supply a link to the historical chain of the Palestine Eulers previous to the Eoman Empire and the Christian era. The MS. Chronica in my posses- sion is written in a favourable manner towards the Eoman Catholic Eeligion of the Popes, and certain historical facts, which are to be found in the various Ecclesiastical and secular histories, are occasionally omitted, frcm which I am at liberty to infer that while the R. R. Jacobus Grimaldus Clericus Benefi- ciatus Vaticance Basilica scrihebat, Cardinal Baronius was President of that Bibliotheca, and was writing his Annales JEcclesiastici y and so he ordered him to omit those facts which disgraced the Popes and that Eeligion of which there remains only the name. JEthalia mater Azarise annis vi quae videns inter- 100 feetum Abstien rege Israel filium suum Azariam interfecit omnem stirpem regiam domus Joram prseter solum Joas filium Abcarise, quern Josabeth. soror Azariae uxor Joiadaa Pontificis furata est de medio filiorum Regis cum interficerentur. In sep- tuaginta Interpetribus yii annis regnasse Achalia narratur Zaccharias prophetavit men. MS.Chron., Joas filius Azarise annis xl iste bono principio et p " ' fine usus pessimo. In principio sui regni templum innovat, In extremis inter caster a facinora Zacchari cum quoque filium Joiadae tutoris quondam ac regni- ficatoris sui, inter templum, et attare prcecipit quern ob meritorum gratiam Dominus in Evangelio filium Rorachiaa idest Benedicti Domini cognominavit v Latinorum Aremus xii, Aremus filius Agrippse superioris regis filius regnavit annis xviii, qui presidium Albanorum inter montes ubi nunc Roma est posuit. Anius filius fuit proavus filii Proculi qui cum Eomulo Eomam commigrans fundavit Juliam gentem fiicxL. Amasias filius Joas annis xxix. Heliseus prophetae sepelitur in Samaria. Azabel Rex Sirise, &c. [I must continue this paragraph and the next, as I consider them important as historical notes, to know and to explain other facts which I may, in course of time, have to mention.] Azabel Rex Siriae afflixit Israel. Latinorum xin Aventinus Silvius superioris Regis filius major regnavit annis xxxvu, atqu e in eo monte, qui nunc pars est Urbis mortuus est ac sepultus : seternum loco vocabulum dedit incxcii (3192.) Azarius qui et Ozias filius Amasise annis ttt. Isaias prophetare csepit in diebus Ozise Regis Judas ante duos annos terremotus quern volunt eo tempore occidisse. Quo ingressus Ozias templum Dei sibi Sacerdotium vendicabat, et terra percussa est, et cineres altari efFusi sunt, et ipse Rex percussus. I consider the above page of the highest historical value to Ecclesiastical scholars, Hebrews and Chris- 101 tians, and to historical students. I will state here that the Hebrew Pontifices Maximi were also Kings up to the last Herod, and after Caesar August, they were only Tetrarchs. I name this now, as I may not make reference to it whon treating of the period. Although I cannot find the names of these Hebrew Pontifices Maximi in the Bible, I nevertheless insert them here in proof of the authenticity of the MS. Chronica, and in order that our literary and learned Divines, who are well versed in these studies, may make diligent research into these facts. Kegnavit judas Ezechias vir justus. Ezechias nam MS. ciiron, percussit Philistim usque Gazain et depopulatus est p * 29 * usque ad urbes munitas : quamvis Sennacherib. Assirius prius inter ceteras nationes eos devastavit Philistaeos. Sennacherib captivum duxit Israel et Nabuchadonozor subvertit Hyerusalem. Ezechias vero super dies suos xv annos ad vitam Deus adjecit. Mortuo Komulo qui xxxvin annos regnavit per quinos dies Senatores rempublicam rexerunt. Atque ita unus expletus est annus. Post quos Numa Pompilius annis xli, regnavit qui Capitolium a fun- damentis sedificavit, et leges ac mores primus com- posuit iiicccviii. Man asses filius Ezechias annis lv. Hie ob seclera sua catenatus et compeditus in Babilonia ducit, &c. Ezechias was just, and was reigning in Judea. Ezechias defeated the Philistines near Gaza, and routed them, and sacked and followed them to the fortified towns ; although the Assyrian Sennacherib had beaten them before any other nation did. Sen- nacherib took Israel into captivity, and Nebuchad- nezzar conquered Jerusalem. But after that period Ezechias survived fifteen years. By the will of God, Romulus, who had reigned thirty-eight years, died, and the Senators for twenty-five days each in turn conducted the affairs of the Eepublic, and so they completed the first year of the interregnum. After this Numa Pompilius was elected ; he reigned forty- * x 2 102 one years, and from the foundations he built the Capitol ; he was the first to institute the Laws and to reform the manners, as well as many other im- portant affairs, which I have here explained, taking the texts from the Classic Authors. Manasses, the son of Ezechias, reigned fifty-five years, and for his crimes he was chained, and sent up to Babylon, &c. There are many precious records in this MS. history of the Jews which serve as preliminaries to the introduction of the origin and history of Chris- tianity. For the present I will limit myself to the following brief extracts in proof of the contempo- rary epoch of Nunia Pompilms, who, according to history, was the Father of Eeligion, Law, Order ? and Civilization. MS. Chron., Anno ab urbe condita 477, cum clarum urbis p * ' Eomae nomen esset census est Habitus tunc inventa fuit civium capita ducenta nonaginta duo millia 334. T ver^coined ^° tempore Argenteus Nummus primum in urbe id Rome, figuratus est tunc etiam Attilius Eegulus Consul missus in Affricam post victoriam Ducum Cartha- giniensium apud fluvium Bagradam Serpentem mira& magnitudinis occidit, cujus corium centum viginti, pedum longitudinem habuit. Eomaque delatum ali- quandium cunctis miraculo fuit. mbccvn. Th firs?t b ran7 Ptolomaeus Philadelfus annis 38. Iste quidem ]ation. rans " Primus Eex JEgypti Ptolomaei superioris filius Judaeos, qui in iEgypto erant liberos esse permisit et vasa Clealaro Pontifici in Hierusalem votiva per- mittens Divinas Scriptaras ex Hebreo in Graecam Linguam cum omni studio transferre curavit quas in Alexandrina Bibliotheca habuit quas sibi ex omni gen ere Litteraturae composuerunt : cujus Biblio- thecse prefuit Demetrius Phalereus, idem apud Graecos Orator et Philosophus Ptolomaeus, tantaeque potentiae fuisse narrat ut Ptolomeum patrem vinceret. Warrant nam Historiae habuisse cum Peditum centum millia, iEquitum viginti millia, Elephantos quos primus adduxit de ^Ethiopia quadrincentos naves 103 longas quas nunc liburnas vocant millequingentas, alias a u tern ad cibaria deportanda militum mille, auri quoque et argenti grande pondus ita lit de iEgypto per singulos annos quatuordecim millia ottiugenta talenta auri, et frumenti Artabas quae mensura tres modios et tertiam partem modis habet, quinquies et decies centena millia. Sostratus Gnidius fanum in Alexandriam construxit Aratus Philosophus agnosci- tur. iiidccxxxiii. PtolomaBus Philopater fi lius Evergentis annis xviii. Antiochus Rex Syrise victo Philopatre Judeam sibi sociat. Judeeorum Pontifex Maximus Onias filius hominis insignis hebreus, atque Lacedemoniorum Eex Darius legatos mittit. Hujus tempore Pontificis Jesus filius Sirach Sapientice librwn, componens quam vocant Parameton etiam Simeonis in eo fuit mentio- nem anno ihdccl. Jesus Christ, the real Redeemer, was born in the forty-second year of Caesar August., that is, in the year hidcccclii (3952). According to this old MS., the Jesus, son of Sirach, who, under the Pontificate of Onias, wrote a book of wisdom or knowledge, which was called Parameton, in the year hidccl, must have been born at least 202 years before the Re- deemer. I see that the Parameton is the book called Ecclesiasticus, and is to be found in the Apocrypha, under the title of Book of "Wisdom. My naming it in this volume will assist theological students to ascertain if the chronological date is correct or not, and supply the corroborative information of the fact if doubtful. It will also prove that the MS Chronica in my possession is the copy of a valuable authentic MS. Ptolomaeus Philometor annis xxxv. Aristobolus natione Judaeos Peripateticus philosophus agnoscit — qui ad Philometorem Ptolomeeum explanationem in Moysem Commentarios scripsit. Antiochus JEph- phanes (sic) qui post Seleucum cognomento Philopa- trem annis xi, regnavit in Syriam Judeorum legem 104 impugnans omniaque Sordibus Idolorum complens in templo Jovis Olimpii Simulacrum ponit. Sed et in Samaria super verticem montis Gorizi Jovis Pere- grini delubrum aediflcavit, ipsis Samaritanis ut id faceret precantibus. Verum Mathathias Sacerdos leges Patrias vindicavit adversus Antiochi Duces anna corripiens. Quo mortuo Ducaturn Judaeoruni suscepit filius ejus Judas Machabeus anno cxlti, regni graecoruni Olympiade clv, qui mox Antiochi Duces de Judaea expellens et Templum ad Idolorum Imaginibus emundans patrias leges post triennium suis avibus rediit, &c. The Public Press has announced to the world that it is the intention of an Illustrious writer to pub- lish the life of Caesar, — I do not know which of them, and as I find in my Aucient Manuscript Chronica some memorable biographical notices of several of them connected with important facts rela- ting to history, and particularly to the origin of Christianity, I will endeavour to disinter them from the obscurity in which they have so long been buried, and thus throw a new light upon those venerable facts which connected them with Christianity. I will, therefore, begin with some references just pre- vious to the period of the Birth of Jesus Christ, and those references shall be strictly according to this MS. As my intentions are purely and simply to assist as much as I can those whose inclination and professional study have directed their mind to Eccle- siastical History and Theological researches, I will not alter a single word nor make any comments. I am a poor Christian myself, in mind and pocket, but, nevertheless, pure-minded, with a strong desire to fill my goblet and drink at the Fountain of Truth. For this reason I frankly and freely apologise for any blunders that I may commit according to the adopted rules of that religion, which I venerate. I beg to state that the following is a short transla- tion of a foregoing chapter. 105 In the year 661, the Eoman civil war began, and An. Urb., was not settled when the Sicilian wars, and the war Ms.chron, by Mithridates against the Romans (which lasted p. 61. thirty years) broke out. This happened under the Consulate of Cicero and of Antonius. At this epoch, the Eoman Pompeus particularly distinguished him- self, and through his bravery and excessive modera- tion in every part of the world, became illustrious. — iIIdcccciiii. [This is the anno mundi, as it is written, 3904.] Ptolomeus Dyonisius reigned thirty years. Prom the fifth year of his reign, Alexandra, the widow of the Hebrew Pontiff Alexander, reigned as Papesse, at Jerusalem, for nine years. At this time the Hebrew affairs were thrown into great confusion ; many persons were slaughtered and others oppressed. After her death, Aristobolus and Hyrcanus, her sons, disputed and fought against each other for the Em- pire, and gave a pretext to the Eomans to invade Judea. The great Pompeus arrived there, entered Jerusalem, conquered the city, and went straight to the Temple {sancta sanctorum), closed the Temple, took Aristobolus prisoner, gave the Pontificate to Hyrcanus, and then he made Governor of Palestine {Pro cur at or em Palestince) Antipatrus, the son of Herode Ascalonite. Hyrcanus remained in that Pon- tificate thirty- four years. Pompeus then made the Hebrews of Jerusalem tributaries to the Eomans ; and at this time, while Pompeus and Crassus were Consules, Yirgil was born at Mantua, and went to study at Cremona, as Orosius said, in the year ab TIrle Condita 699. Cicero and Cajus Antonius were Consuls, and Mithridates the King of Pontus, after twenty years of constant war and defeats, oppressed and exhausted by the Eomans, led on by Pompeus, was at last compelled to poison his wives, his ms. Chron^ children, and himself near the Bosphorus, at the age p * 62, of seventy-two, having reigned fifty years. After this Pompeus went to Syria, attacked the Arabs, 106 assaulted the famous City of Tyre, and conquered it at once. He then returned to the Hebrews, who, led by Aristobolus, had dethroned and expelled Hyr- canus, who had been constituted there as Pontiff. He then entered Jerusalem, and was well received by the authorities, or by the Senate (a Patribus), but the people expelled him (Pompeus) ; and it was easily done on account of the exceedingly large fosse that surrounded the place, and its natural defences. Pompeus, to revenge the offence, determined to take it by assault and siege, and succeeded, after three months of constant attacks. The 13,000 Hebrew soldiers whom he found in it were put to death by the sword. The remainder of the population, which was great, took an oath of fidelity. He seized several Hebrew Princes — I suppose as hostages — and re- stored Hyrcanus to the Pontificate. Aristobolus was taken in captivity to Pome. Here ended the Oriental war, with the conquest of twenty-two Kings by the great Pompeus. The conspiracy of Catilina against the Empire was then displayed in the Senate, as plotted in Tuscany, where Catalina retired and was slain. The known conspirators in Eome were also put to death, and Metellus decreed a triumph of such pomp and magnitude as was never equalled. MS. Chron., The great Pompeus having conquered the Pirates p - 63, and Mithridates, whose sons were chained with Aris- tobulus to his triumphal chariot, a great profusion of money in silver and gold was distributed to the people in the year TJrbe Condita 693. There is here an incongruity, as in the preceding page I have translated that Mithridates was com- pelled to poison his wives, children, and himself. Atque ad hoc coactus est ut apud Bosforum uxores ac filios et seipam veneno necaret. I must pass over this and continue. I will now speak of that greatest of great mortals, Cajus Julius Caesar, who afterwards reigned alone as Emperor, had four provinces to govern, with his Seven Legions 107 given to his Consulate from five to five years. The Gallia Transalpina, ac Cisalpina, et Hilliricum, nec non Gallia Comata, whose history Suetonius Tran- quillus has most fully detailed, and Orosius also has very graphically described in his erudite history; how many most serious and difficult battles Caesar encountered against the Germans, the Trench, and the British, who before him knew not even the name of the Eomans, and from all of whom he took hostages, and made them tributary to the Eomans. He wrote also how Caesar fought near Durazzo against Pompeus, who conquered him, and afterwards how fiercely they fought again in Thes- saly, and how in that most sanguinary battle Caesar conquered Pompeus, who withdrew to Alexandria, and thereby saved himself, in the year ab Urbe Con- dita 697. Crassus, the Consul, was a man affected with such an extraordinary cupidity for money, that for mere avarice, under any circumstances, he would extort it even from his own relatives and friends. "When near Charroes in Parthia, he was surrounded by insidiators and killed. Crassus, having heard of the enormous riches of the Temple of Jerusalem, which Pompeus had formerly left intact, went there, entered the Temple, and despoiled it of its riches, that Temple which was erected by Jorobabel, son of Salathiel, of the tribe of Juda, after the Captivity of Babylon. I will now cease translating this chapter, and con- tinue in the original Latin itself, printing in full those words which are abbreviated : Porro Zorobabel genuit Abiud. Abiudautem genuitEliachim. Elia- chim genuit Azar, et sic deorsum Mattheus produxit flexibiles easdem generationes usque quo veniat ad Jacob, et Joseph Sanctse ac Beatse Yirginis Maria9 virum quern de Spiritu Sancto concepit ac genuit Dominum in corpore venientem. In quarum gene- rationum ordine post Zorobabel usque ad Dominicae Incarnationis adventum nullum tarn prseclarum 108 tanique eminentem legimus sicut Mathatiam et filios ejus : Sed populus sub cura, et ordine Sacerdotum fuit. Ipse autem Mathatias ex Eegali ac Saeerdotali genere Yeniebat qui multas tribulationes et contu- melias pro lege Dei sustinuit, et multas pugnas et certamina habuit ipse ac filii ejus pro legitimis vel Sanctis Domini mandatis et institutionibus Divinis, et iterum filii ex ipsis sacerdotis post Parentes suos pro timore Dei et legitimis ejus principes populi effecti et summi Sacerdotis honore perfuncti sunt. Nullus tamen eorum Eegiam obtinuit dignitatem utque ad Adventum Yeri Eegis, et Salvatoris Nostri Jesu Christy de quo Prophetae omnes dudum jam prophetaverunt. Herodes autem Eex impius ex alienigenis origine ducens. indigne, et dolore sibi Eegnum usurpavit. Haec itaque ideo diximus quae omni rei tempus, et tempora sub coelo. Tempus circuncisionis patrum sub Abraham, tempus legis ordinationis sub Moysem. Tempus pugnas sub Jesu nance [I cannot make out this word, which seems a puzzle to me. Is it a contraction of Naza- reth ?~\ tempus Judicum usque ad Samuelem homini Dei. Tempus Eegum a David usque ad Captivitateni Eabyloni. Completo tempore regali Eegem certis- simum amplius Judaei non habuerunt : sed sub Sacer- dotum cura ut dictum est, consilio et ordinatione. Vix erunt usque dum Ccelestis Eex Unigenitus Dei Deus advenit. Qui novam generationem et potentiam verbo et exemplo docuit et ostendit qui est Nativitas vitae, tempus et Patientias; Cleopatra soror Phtolomseiannis ii : Postquam novem annis Caesar omnem Galliam domuit atque Brittanniam orto siquidem bello civili inter Caesarem et Pompeium, Pompeius a Csesare in Thessalia victus Alexandriam petiit, ibique ab ipso sperabat auxilia Phtolomeo percursus interiit. Mox , Caesar Alexandriam venit. Ipse quoque Phtolomeus insidias ei parare voluit : unde bello ei illato victus in illo periit sed ne Caesar de his triumpharet Cato sese apud TJticam occidit. Juba Eex pretio dato per- 109 cussori Jugulum praebuit, Petreius eodem se gladio perfodit. Scipio ipse semet jugulavit similiter et Tatius Torquatus Magni Pompei Nepos filiamque Pompeiam, et cum his Faustuni, et Sillam, et Afra- nium, et Petreium Caesar jussit occidi. Caesar Alex- andriam petitus Begnum Cleopatrae dedit. Cum qua stupri consuetudinem habuerat. Hujus 3°- anno Begni ipse primus Eomanorum singulare obtinuit Imperium a quo Caesares Eomanorum Principes sunt appellati. Inde quatuor Triumphis Urbem ingressus cum quo et Cleopatra Begio Comitatu est TJrbe in- gressa; ibique Caesar disposito Beipublicae Statu continuo in Hispanias contra Pompeios filios Pom- peii profectus xvii, die qua egressus ab urbe fuerat Saguntum pervenit : statimque adversus Pompeios duos et Labienum, atque Attilium Varum multa bella et varia sorte gessit ultimum bellum apud mundam flumen gestum est. Ubi tantis viribus dimicatum tantaque caedes acta, ut Caesar quoque veteranis et suis caedere non erubescentibus praevenire mortem cogitaret, cum subito in fugam Pompejorum caepit exercitus. Titus Labienus et Attius Yarus in hoc caesi sunt Gneus Pompeius victus fugiensque est interfectus. Munda Ciyitas cum immensa hominum caede, Caesare oppugnante, vix capta est. Quatuor annis ex quo ab TJrbe praelium aufugerat gesturus ; hoc bellum civile indesinenter toto orbe intonuit ; Caesar igitur bellis civilibus per quatuor annis toto orbe compositis Eomam rediit et insolentius agere caepit. Honores, nam qui ante a Populo dabantur ipse ex sua voluntate praestabat, et nec ad se venienti assurgebat : aliaque non Eegia sed prope Tyrannica favebat : hinc itaque in eum conjuratum est a ms. ciiron., Sexaginta vel amplius Senatoribus JEquitibusque p- 66 - Romanis : et eum die quadam inter ceteros Senatus ad Curiam yenisset viginti tribus plagis occisus est, Vir quoque nullus unquam in bello magis enituit ejus siquidem ducatu undecies centum nonaginta duo millia nostium caesa sunt, non quantum bellis civiU- L 110 bus fuderit (I do not know the meaning of this verb, I think it is a blunder of the amanuensis) noluit annotare, collatis signis quinquagies dimicavit Nullus eo quippe celerius scripsit. Nemo velocius legit, quaternas epistolas simul dictabat, tantae fuit bonitatis, ut quos armis vincerat dementia Regis viceret. Y. Orosius, Caesar post Eomam ingentem victoriani rediit, ubi Reipublicas Statum contra exempla majorum istaurat, autoribus Bruto, et Cassio, abscio (this is another unintelligible word which I inter- pret for the word conscio) et plurimo Senatu, in Curia viginti tribus vulneribus confossus interiit. In qua conjuratione fuisse amplius quam lx, conscios (or consocios) ferunt. Duo Brucii et Gajus et Cassius aliique socii strietis pugionibus in Capitolium seces- serunt dum quippe deliberatum est utrum Capitolium cum autoribus ccedis oporteret incendi. Corpus igitur ejus raptum, et populus dolore stimulatus in foro fragmentis tribunalium ac subselliorum cremavit. Victor civilis belli a Civilibus Caesar propter clemen- tiam occiditur, ac propter hoc certum erat, quia Caesar indigne peremptus plures postea habuit ultores. V. Orosius, anno ab Urbe Condita 710. Interfecto Julio Ceesare Ottavianus adolescens natus annos I have looked XYII > P a tre Ottavio Senatore genitus, matermim in vain for genus ab ^Enea per Juliam Familiam sortitus, melt. teBta ~ Caesaris ISepos quern ille testamenti Heredem reli- MS. chron., querat, idemque qui postea Augustus est dictus, et p. 67. rerum positus (perhaps lootitus) Romam venit, et Consul indolem suam bellis civilibus vovit et occisi sanguinem Avunculi vindicaret : Nam bella quinque civilia gessit. Mutinense adversus Marcum Anto- nium, Philippense adversus Brutum et Cassium, Peru- sinum adversus Lucium Antonium, Siculum adversus Sextum Pompeium Gnei Pompei filium, ac Actium adversus Marcum Antonium. Antonius namque qui Asiam et Orientem tenebat, repudiata sorore Caesaris Ottaviani, Cleopatram duxit uxorem, per quam cupiebat in Urbe regnare : Hie itaque Cleopatra Ill cogente ingens bellum iterum commovit : Qui victus a Caesare navali pugna famosissiraa apud Actium, qui locus in Cypro est, fugit in JEgyptum, et des- peratis omnibus cum omnes ad Cassarem Ottavianum transirent Ipse se interemit. Cleopatra ex ornatu diversis ornamentis ad Csesarem venit, sperans ilium quemadmodum caeteros sua spe illicere : Sed ille interea pudicitiam coartans ad ejus concupiscentiam minime inflexit earn mox custodiri mandavit. Qua custodia elapsa in Precioso sepulchro justa Antonium se collocans sibi Aspidem ademisit (quere about this yerb) et veneno extincta est. JEgyptus per Otta- vianum Imperio Eomano adjuncta est, Ottavianus itaque civilibus bellis toto Orbe confectis Eomam rediit duodecimo anno quo Consul fuerat, atque ex eo Eempublicam per quadraginta et quatuor annos solus obtinuit ; a quo tempore quidam primum annum Monarchic Augusti supputant denique cum de Oriente cum maximis opibus et pecuniarum abun- dantia victor reversus est : Urbemque triplici triumpho ingressus tunc primum Augustus, eoque Eempublicam auxerit consalutatus est, atque ex tunc summam potestatem (quam Grseci Monarchiam vocant) adeptus est nullo quippe unquam tempore ante Csesarem Eomana res tarn effloruit: nam exceptis civilibus bellis in quibus invictus fuit Eomano adjecit Imperio JEgyptum, Syriam, atque Lybiam, Musulanos quoque et Getulos, Hispaniam Aquitaniam, Eehetiam, Dalmatiam saspe ante victam, sed nunc penitus subactam Cuannalicos et Talastos, A J^5^J| omnes Ponti Marittimas Civitates, Bosforum quoque et Ponti Cappadociam, Ehodum, Siciliamque Arme- niam et Parthiam atque Galatiam. Sythi et Indi quibus ante Eomanorum nomen incognitum fuerat munera et Legatos ad eum miserunt refuderuntque in Caesarem Alexandri Magni gloriam. ISTorici Illi- M p gg 10 "'' rici, Pandonii, Moesii, Thracos, Daci Sarmatae pluri- mique et maximi Germanise populi ultra Ebenum Danubiumque superati ab eo, vel pressi sunt. Susi- 112 pates, Thecteros, Chaptos, Manomannos, Cheruscos, Suevos et Syrambros aspero bello perdomuit. Toto igitur orbe Urbi subacto Ca3sar Augustus Ovans TJrbem ingressus omnia superiora populi Eoinani de- bita donanda, literarum etiam monimentis abolitis censuit. Domini appellationem ut homo declinavit. In ipsis diebus fons Olei largissimus de Taberna meri- toria per totum diem fluxit. Hora quoque cireiter 3 a : repente liquido ac puro serenoque die circulus ad speciem celestis arcus orbem solis adiit. V. Beda. Ottavianus Caesar Augustus regnavit annis 44, et mensibus sex, atque Augusti appellati Eeges Eoma- norum quorum XV, vivente Cleopatra XLI, postea vixit annos Undecimo Augusti anno deficiente in Judaea Pontificum Principatum Herodes nihil ad eum pertinens uppote Antipatri Ascalonitae et matris Cy- pridis Arabieaa filius a Eomanis Judeorum suscepit Principatum quern tenuit annos xxvi. Quid ne ignobilis forte et a Judaeorum semine argueretur ex- traneus combussit libros omnes quibus Hobilitas Gentis Judaea in templo servabatur ascripta, ut deficientibus probamentis, et ipse ad hunc pertinere putaretur. Insuper, et ut suam Sobolem Eegio illo- rum generi commisceret projecta Doside foemina Hierosolimitana, quam privatus acceperat uxorem, et nato ex eo filio Antipatro, sociat sibi Mariamen filiam Alexandri JSTepotem Aristoboli fratris Hyrcani, qui ante eum Eex et Summus Sacerdos erat Judaeo- rum. Haec quinque ei filios genuit, quorum duos Alexandrum et Aristobolum ipse vocavit in Sama- riam. Nee mora post etiam matrem illorum qua nil carius noverat similis scelere peremit. Est quibus MS. chron., Aristobolus Herodem ex Yeronicae susceperat filium p. 69. quern in Actibus Apostolorum ab Angelo percussum legimus. Hactenus qui vocabant Lagidem in ^gypto regnaverunt annos cc, nonaginta quinque. These few pages seem to me very interesting to ecclesiastical historians, and I do not know whether it is necessary to translate them. For amor hrevitatw 113 I prefer to leave them as they are, and instead of losing time, which is shortening so rapidly for Messrs Antonelli and Co., I will pass on to the first part of the next chapter, on account of a remarkable notion about the original Herod, and the reader will take care not to make any confusion with the spurious one, also a mitred gentleman, who delights to deal in insurrectionary pastorals. We shall find that the original Herod died miserably affected all over with lepra. The birth of our adorable Kedeemer, Jesus Christ, occurred, it will be found, at the very time that Rome was in peace, and under the rule of the Great Ottavianus Caesar Augustus, who conquered and received tribute from all the sovereigns of the then known world. Sexta iEtas ab adventu Domini inchoatur cum Dei MS - g& *on. 5 Verbum caro factum est. Transactis ab exordio P * mundi Juxta Haebreos annis iliDCCCCLir. Primum Septuaginta vero Interpretes annis vdviii. Juxta This first is Eusebium annis vcxcix Anno Caesaris Augusti cyphMtomS xlii, a morte vero Cleopatrae et Antonii quando et The first bar JEgyptus in provinciam mersa est anno xxvn. crossed with Olympiadis quidem cxcin ab Urbe autem condita a . n oblique anno dcclii. Idest anno eo quo compressis per me * orbem terrae gentium moribus firmissimis veris- simumque pacem ordinatione Dei Caesar composuit. Nasci dignatus est in terris Jcesus Christies filius Dei suoque sextam mundi aetatem consecravit adventu. In cujus Ortu audientibus hominibus exultantes Angeli cecinerunt : Gloria in Excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonse voluntatis. Eodem quoque anno tunc primum idem Caesar Census singularum ubique provinciarum et censeri omnes homines jussit. Tunc igitur Natus est Christus Jesus Christ Eomano censui statim ascriptus ut natus est Anno Herod™' dies Imperii Augusti xlvii. Herodes intercutaneis aeque miserably af- et scatentibus toto corpore vulneribus, miserabiliter c e " et digne moritur. Pro quo sustitutus ab Augusto filius ejus Archelaus regnavit annis novem, idest l 2 114 usque ad ipsius Augusti finem. Tunc enim noil ferentibus ultra sed accusantibus apud Augustum MS. chron., . ferocitatem e J* us Judeis in Viennam Galliae Urbem p- 70 - relegatur, et ad comminendum Judaici Eegni potentiam insolentiamque demandam ; quatuor fratres ejus pre eo sunt Tetrarchae creati. Herodes, Anti- pater, Lysias et Philippus, et Herodes qui Antipas prius nuncupabatur etiam vivente Archelao, Te- trarchae fuerunt ordinati. Caesar autem tanto amore etiam apud Babaros fuit ut Eeges nonnulli in honorem ejus conderunt Civitates quas Csesareas vocarunt : Sicuti in Mauri- tania a Eege Juva et in Palestina, quae nunc TJrbes Clarissimae sunt et multi Eeges ex Eegnis suis venerunt ut ei obsequerentur. Hie denique turbans bella simulationes execratus est, et nisi Justis de causis nunquam genti cuiquam bellum induxit. Dicebat enim Imperatori bono quidquam minus quam temeritatem congruere ; satisque celeriter fieri quidquid commode geritur. Diligebat preterea Yir- gilium Flaccumque Pcetas, erga Cives clementissimus versabatur. In amicis liberalissimus extitit, quorum precipui ob taciturnitatem et modestiam erant Agrippa. (I understand the meaning, and will not cor- rect this last line.) Earus quidem ad percipiendum inimicitias, ad retinendas amicitias constantissimus, liberalibus studiis presertim eloquentiae in tantum incumbens, ut nullus pene laboretur dies quo non legeret scriberet, vel declamaret, ausit ornavitque Eomam iEdificiis multis isto glorians dicto : Urbem lateritiam reperivi marmoream relinquo : fuit mitis, gratus, civilis animi, sed lepidi, toto corpore pulcher, sed oculis magis quam acies elarissimorum siderum modo, et tamquam solis radiorum vibrabant, nec tamen tantus vir vitiis caruit : fuit nam paululum impatiens, leviter iracundus, occulte invidens, parum facinorosus. Porro dominandi supra quam extimari potest cupidis- simus, studiosus aleae lusor, cumque esset cibi ac vini 115 multum aliquoties alacer, somni abstinens, serviebat MS.chron., tamen libidini usque ad probrum vulgaris famae: Pv cumque esset luxuriae serviens, erat tamen ejusdem ■vitii severissimus cultor. Anno ixxxyii, vitae suae ingressus Nolam morbo interiit, cunctis vulgo cla- mantibus: Utinam aut non nasceretur, aut non moreretur. Neque nam facile ullus eo aut in bellis felicior fuit, aut in pace moderatior. Quadraginta quatuor annis quibus solus gessit Imperium civilissi- mus vixit in cunctis liberalissimus, in amicos per- fidelissimus quos tantis emixit honoribus ut suo pene aequaret fastigio : sub hoc pollebant Sapientes insignes, Virgilius, Sallustius, Livius, Horten- sius, Horatius, Anthenodorus Tharseus, et Silius Alexandrinus : Imperavit autem Caesar Augustus annis 61. Duodecim cum Antonio, Quadraginta quatuor solus, qui certe nunquam Beipublicae ad se potentiam auxisset, aut jamdiu earn potiretur, nisi magnis naturae et studiorum bonis abundasset. Eempublicam beatissimam Tiberio Successori reliquit, qui Privignus ei mox gener, postremo adoptione filius fuerat : Satisque prudens in armis satisque for- tunatus ante sumptum Imperium sub Augusto fuit, ut non immerito Reipublicse dominatus ei committe- retur iliDCcccLxvir. I pass over the first fourteen years of Tiberius Caesar's reign. I may state, however, that in the twelfth year of his reign he appointed Pilatus Pro- curator of Judcea, while Herod was the Tetrarcha, and also transacted other affairs. As I am anxious to give publicity to the very important epoch of the blessed Saviour Jesus Christ, I shall begin at the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, &c. Anno Imperii Tiberii Caesaris xv, Dominus Nos- idem, p. 73. ter Jesus Cbristus post Baptismum, quod predicavit st John is Joannes ; Mundo Eegnum Coelorum Predicando caapit cafristiaST at ; annuntiare. Anno octavo decimo Imperii Tiberii Caesaris Domi- nus Noster Jesus Christus cruci affixus, mundum sua 116 passione redemit, et predicaturi per Judaea Eegiones M p 73 ron '* Apostoli J acobum fratrem Domini Hierosolymis ordi- Jacobus is nant Episcopum, ordinant et septem Diaconos, et thlrof ^es'iw ^pi^ato Stephano Ecclesia per regiones Judaeae et firBt St, B' and ^ amar ^ 8e dispergitur. Agrippa cognomento Herodis of Jemsaim! ^ us Aristoboli filii Herodis, accusator Herodis Tetrarchae Eomam profectus a Tiberio in vincula conjicitur, ubi plurimos sibi ascivit (quere) ad amici- tiam et maxime Germauici filium Gajum, &c. The death of Jesus Christ is then related, and the reign of Gajus Callicula, or Calligula, an extraordinary libidinous and monstrous stuprator, who was killed in the Palace in the thirty-ninth year of his age, and after reigning only three years. He had liberated from prison his friend, Herod Agrippa, and made him King of Judaea, where he reigned seven years, that is to the fourth year of Claud's reign. Idest usque ad annum quartum Eegni Claud ii ; Quo ab Angelo percusso successit in Eegnum filius ejus Agrippa : et usque ad exterminium Judaeorum, annis xxvi, perse verat. Herodes Tetrarcha, et ipse Gai amiciam petens eogente Herodiade Eomam venit ; sed accusatus ab Agrippa etiam Tetrarchiam perdidit, fugiensque in Hispaniam cum Herodiade moerore periit. Pilatus autem qui sententiam damnationis in Christum dixerat, tantis irrogante Gajo angoribus coartatus est, ut sua se manu perimeret. Mattheus in Judaea praedicans eo tempore Evangelium scripsit. I pass on to the chapter that reports St Peter in Eome ; it says : Claudius Patruus Callicolae inipera- ldem,p.76. annis xin, mensibus xi, diebus 28, Petrus Apos- tolus cum primum Antiochenam fandasset Kcclesiam, Eomam pergit in Exordio regni Claudii ibique xxv, annis cathedram tenens Episcopalem idest usque ad ultimum JSTeronis annum : exinde Christiani Eomae etiam caeperunt Marcus Evangelista quod Eomae scripserat Evangelium JEgypto, Petro mittente Prae- The 'ipse* dicat. Quarto Claudii anno fames gravissima, cujus ciaudius f f rt ° Lucas meminit, facta est, eodem anno ipse Brittaniam 117 • adiens quam neque ante Julium Csesarem neque post eum quisquam attingere ausus fuerat, sine ullo prselio ac sanguine, intra paucissimos dies plurimam insula partem in deditionem recepit, Orcadas etiam Insulas Eomano adjecit Imperio, ae sexto quam prefectus erat mense Eomam rediit, &c. I pass on to the page 78, to take two or three MS. chron.* lines from Nero Callicola ; this infamous Emperor, p ' nephew of Gajus, was painted with an extra bad character. Parricida multa commisit : Pratre, Tacitus said Uxore, Matre, et Seneca Magistro interfectis TTrbem accused Eomam incendit. In re militari nihil omnino usus. of ft^ 001 ^ Brittaniam pene amisit et duo nobilissima opprida J^oilmte illic sub eo atque eversa sunt : Armeniam Parthi h ™| elf ^ rde y| substuterunt, &c. I leave Nero to kill himself, to punish, after he had been tried by the Senate, and con- J^j^g; demned to be beaten to death. It is most astonish- christians, ing that neither Lucan, Livy, or any contemporary ^Sst) C was writer, makes any reference whatever to Christianity, put to death Seneca, the Tragic writer, Mufonius, the philosopher, der P Tiberiu?s and Plutarch were also living at that time, and were ™gn. much esteemed by their contemporaries, and had the Christianity misfortune to witness the infamous monstrosities of ^tory ^pi- Nero, anno ab TJrb. Cond. 808. taph ; and At page 78 of the MS. Chronica de JEtatibus, ^^f^ another little passage occurs which states that, after ch ^ n ^ ty 0 Nero's death, Pestus was sent as Procurator to cryphai^and Judea, in succession to Pelix, who chained St Paul, entirely false, and sent him to Eome. It was in the 7th year of Nero's reign that Jacobus, the brother of Christ, who had directed the Episcopal Chair of Jerusalem for thirty years, was stoned to death in revenge by the Jews, because they did not succeed in slaying the Apostle Paul. This extract is very similar to another quotation which I have given, but as it is of the highest importance, I hope it will not be deemed superfluous to repeat the facts here. Jacobus Prater Domini cum xxx annis Hierosolimitanam Ecclsesiam Septimo Neronis anno lapidatur a Judseis : 118 f vindicantibus in illo quod Paulum interficere nequi- verunt. At that time the Hebrews had rebelled in Judea, as they disliked the Government of Albinus, who succeeded Festus in the Magistracy of that Eoman province. Therefore, the Eom. Senate sent there Yespasianus, who was then the Magister Militice, and he soon mastered the whole of the principal towns and restored order and tranquillity in Judea. Peima Peksecutio in Ecclesia. ■» Iste primus Eomse Christianos supliciis et mort- ibus affecit. Ac per omnes Orbi Provincias pari persequutione excruciari edicto Imperavit : Ipsosque extirpare conatus, Beatissimos Christi Apostolos Petrum Cruce, Paulum gladio occidit. Ilieronimus, Paulus siquidem eodem anno, quo Dominus passus est : Interfecto Stefano Diaconorum maximo ; ad Deum conversus Christum prsedicare caepit Et post annos tres a Conversione sua venit Hierosolymam videre Petrum ; mansitque cum eo diebus quindecim, et ejus authoritate cultus libere posset verbuni Dei Ecclesiis predicare. Deinde post annos 14. As- sumpto Barnaba, et Tito iterum venit Hierosolymam deferens secum Evangelium suum quod Intitulatur secundum Lucam, ut cum Apostolis maximeque cum Petro Apostolorum Principe suam conferret authoritatem. Sicque illorum authoritate roboratius Evangelium suum Ecclesiis Dei per totum Illiri- cum, Italiamque, Gallias quoque et usque Hispanias disseminavit ; sed priusquam in Hispanias iret Eomam a Eesto Prseside ductus est secundo Imperii Neronis anno, duodecimo autem ejusdem Neronis anno Secundo Eomam venit. Petrus Apostolorum princeps films Joannis. Postquam Apostoli singulas ad Predicandum sortiti sunt Eegiones, hie An- thiochenam fundavit Ecclesiam, ibique Episcopos ordinatus sedit annos septem, deinde successore 119 sibi in Antiochia . ordinato Romanam Ecclesiam suo decoravit Episeopatu, in qua per xxv, annos et menses tres, a quarto videlicet Claudii anno usque ad ultimum Neronis annum residens scripsit duas Epistolas quae Canonice nominantur, et Evangelicum Marci : Quia Marcus Discipulus ejus fuit et discipu- gg« E p v r a 0 vls lus de Baptista Evangeliorum quoque libri quorum that st John alius Hebraicis, alias Graecis alius Uteris latinis com- nominations" positifuer ant ejus .... comprobati. (In the space which I have left occurs a word almost illegible, and I preferred to leave the space rather than insert an error. I resume,) Con stituitque duos Apostolos sibi adjutores, Linum colletum cum quibus cseteros ^ ther B W g|f Episcopos ordinabat. Hie Marcum Episcopum ordi- perhaps eiec- nans in Alexandriam misit, Apollinarem vero Ea- tum * vennam ; at vero Clementem successiorem sibi con- stituit. Q,uem cum in Cathedram collocaret hoc ei decretum imposuit dicens. It is on account of this decree that I have taken the trouble of copying the above extract, which is rather puzzling, and some- what contradictory ; however, I have copied it as well as I could, and must leave the responsibility of the truth of it to the original author. I declare that I understand the decree, but do not properly com- prehend the above paragraph. Trado tibi potestatem a Domino mihi traditam p|^ j etuxn M | t ligandi atque solvendi : ligabis quod opportet, solves chron., pp! quod expedit, tamquam qui ad liquidum Ecclesiae 81 ~ 82 * regulas noveris, et tu in curis seculi deditus minime reperiaris ; tibi autem empietatis est studia et sollici- tudines suscipere seculares. Ad hoc non solum vocatus es ut opportune, et sine intermissione doceas Verbum Dei, et hie ante Pasca Domini Qudra- gesimale Jejunium tradidit, et ante Katalem tres Hebdomadas et quartam imperfectam ab omni Christiano Populo instituit venerari, in commemo- ratione primi et secundi adventus Domini Nostri Jesu Christi, et ordinationes celebravit per mensem Decembrium. Quique uno die eum Beato Paulo 120 Magistro Gentiam martirio coronatur. Post Pas- sionem Domini anno 38, Marcus autem obiit Alex- andre octavo Neronis anno. — This decree of St Peter is a most valuable document, in itself sufficiently powerful to destroy all the Papal temporal pretences — and apt to prove, and re-establish the spiritual mis- sion of the Christian Episcopate according to St Peter's intentions and orders received by him from our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore the Christian churches ought to be reformed according to this decree, and the pompous Episcopal farces now performed should be entirely abolished. Now, Messrs Dupanloup, Cullen, Antonelli, De Merode, and all the remainder of the mitred rebels, what have you to say to this decree ? Can you deny it ? Can you efface it ? 'No, never ! This is the real basis of Christianity, any- thing contrary to which is, and will ever be, a monstrously diabolical Antichristian farce ! st Peter's "I give you the power that I have received from Decree. Q 0 fi 0 f binding, and of unbinding : you shall bind what you think necessary, you shall unbind what is convenient to be free, like an Ecclesiastic who ex- actly knows the Church laws — and you must avoid secular affairs. Therefore, to you it shall be a crime the taking secular cares and Temporal Power. Your office and duty call you, only, with opportunity and without intermission, to teach the Word of God, — and these duties begin before Easter, and during absti- nence in Lent, and during the three, or nearly four weeks before Christmas, which epochs Christianity has ordered to be venerated." SeCUNDA. PeRSECUTIO Iff ECCLESIA (SUB DOMITIAITO). MS. Chron., Hie secundus post Neronem Christianos persequitur p. 89. S11D q U0 j oaimes Apostolus in Pathmos Insulam exitio relegatus est et Flavia Domitilla in Insula Pontiana ob fidei testimonium exiliatur, qui et ipsum Joannem Apostolum in ferventis olei Dolium jussit mergi, a quo omnino illesus exivit, &c. 121 Et anno ab urbe Condi ta dcccxlvi. Quamvis Eutropius quincentesimum hunc annum scripserit, Nerva in privata vita moderatus, et strenuus, nobili- tatis Mediae senex admodum, Imperator Decimus ab Angusto creatus est aequissimum se, et utilissimum Reipublicae prebuit. Qui Divina provisione consulens Trajanum sibi adoptavit in Eegnum JNerva siquidem prinio aedicto suo cunctos exules revocavit; Unde et Joannes Apostolus hac indulgentia liberatu3 ad Gohetum rediit, et quia concussam se absente per Haereticos vidit Ecclesiae fidem confestim hanc de- scriptam in Evangelio suo Yerbi Dei aeternitatem stabilivit. Nerva defectus morbo diem obiit, post annum, et quatuor menses Imperii sui JEtatis vero suae anno lxxxi, Anno Domini lxxxxviii. Teetia Peesectjtio in Ecclesia. In persequendis sane Christionis errore deceptus, MS. Chron., Tertius a Nerone cum passim reperto eogi ad sacri- p< 91 - ficandum Idolis ac interfeci praecipisset : Plinii Secundi qui inter Judices persequutor datus erat relatu admonitus, eos homines nihil contrarium Romanis legibus facere, rescriptis illico temperavit aedictis : hie ipse Plinius tunc Orator, et Historicus insignis habebatur cujus plurima ingenii opera ex- tant. Pantheon Romae, quod Domitianus fecerat fulmine crematus cui nomen ob id indictum est. Quod omnium Deorum sit ipsa Domus. Judaei per universas partes seditionem moventes digna caede prosternuntur ; quo tempore Joannes Apostolus, Anno lxviii, post Passionem Domini aetatis autem suae nonagesimo octavo JEphesi placida morte quievit. — I have not named many historical facts related in the Chronica before the death of the Apostle St John. If John the Evangelist died calmly and tranquilly at Ephesus, in the ninety- eighth year of his age, how can this fact— for such I take it to be — be reconciled with the statement 122 that he was decapitated by order of Herod and Herodiades ? It has been shown that Herod and his wife were recalled to Rome, dismissed from the government of Palestine, and then sent in exile to Spain, where they died at least about forty years before the decease of the Evangelist. I have made this statement under the conviction that St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist was one and the same, and that he was termed the Baptist only up till the period that he wrote the Evangiles, which he produced after returning from exile. It has also been shown that two other Herods died after the first Herod, and before the death of St John. I cannot explain this otherwise than by supposing that it must have been an error on the part of the writer of the Chronica ; therefore, I will not support the statements or the blunders of the old Chronica, nor any other errors that I may have committed relative to the accepted system of the Apostolic Christianity, and if, in my ignorance, or by any inadvertence, I have sinned against it, I apologise, and shall be willing to retract anything that I may have said objectionable, because my desire is to establish the truth, for the sake of the benefits that would result to humanity. I also wish to avoid collision with the laws or the Christian religion. Memoeanda. One thousand and three hundred years before the building of Rome by Bomulus, Ninus began to reign over the Assyrians. He made many wars in every part of Asia, and after reigning fifty-two years he was killed. His wife, Semiramis, survived him and reigned thirteen years. She was no less cruel than her husband. She embellished and enlarged the city of Babylon as the metropolis of Asia, her splendid Assyrian Empire, an. iixxxn (2032). Abra- 123 ham, anno ixxxvi, genuit Ishmael a quo Ishmselitae genuit auteni Ishmael duodecim duces et vixit annos cxxxvn. iixLviii. (2048). Idem Abraham cum esset annorum centum genuit Isach, qui primus, et solus in tota testament! veteris serie legitur octava die circumcisus, qui non sine magno mysterio privilegium est filio promissionis donatum et postquam genuit Itach vixit Abraham lxxy annos usque ad decimum quintum annum nativitatis Esau et Jacob ncvin. I have extracted the above from the MS. Chronic, (page 7), for the purpose of ascertaining whether these chronological epochs can be reconciled with the Bible, as well as to show what merit, or what historical importance, this old MS. volume may- possess. A Moyse vero Hebrei litteras habere ceperunt. MS. chron., The Hebrews began to receive instruction and learn p * 16, letters from Moses, a little before iidxviii (2518). Then follows Josue, who stopped the sun for a full day in order that his army might avoid an encounter with the combined armies of five kings who were hostile to him. It is said also that God poured over Josue' s enemies a shower of stones, by which most of them perished. Josue died, aged 110 years, at the time that Trous, the first King of Troy, was reigning, in the year udlviii (2558). The Olympic Games were instituted by Hercules. Idem » P* 18; Carmentes was the inventor of the Latin Letters, an. hdcclxxx (2780). At this period lived Jair, of the tribe of Manasses, who reigned twenty-two years. Achilon Zabulonides annis x, hie cum annis x suis in^ Septuaginta interpretibus non habetur. This King, Achilon Zabulonides, who reigned ten years, is not mentioned by the seventy interpreters These three nor by Eusebius, &c. Neither is reference to this noTLm^d S King to be found in the Bible. the Bible - Erom the MS. Chron. de -Mat., p. 57, Anno ab Urbe Condita dxliii. In Campanea Capua Capta est a Quinto Eulvio Proconsule : principes capua- 124 norum veneno sibi antequam subderetur mortem conscivemnt : Senatum omnem Capuse, setiam pro- hibente Senatu Romano, Eulvius Snpplitius necavit. According to the MS. Chronica, it appears that Hannibal, two years after the battle of Canne, sent his troops to reinforce the strength of the garrison of Capua, " apud Candas Apuh'ce vicum" which ■was strongly fortified. The city was at last besieged and taken by the Roman Proconsul Quin- tus Fulvius Supplitius, who found that the Princes of Capua had poisoned themselves to avoid an igno- minious death at the hands of their enemies. The Proconsul Eulvius, in spite of the contrary orders of the Roman Senate, put to death the whole of the Capuan Senators. This happened about 200 years before the Christian Era. The abduction of Helena, and the conspiracy of the Greeks against the Trojans, took place 430 years before the Roman Era ; then followed the re-union of a fleet of 1,000 ships, and the siege of Troy, the taking of which had been predicted by the Poet Homerus. The Eikst Teanslation of the Bible. By an act of liberality, Ptolomeus Philadelfus, first King of iEgypt, who reigned thirty-eight years, and who permitted the Hebrews to be free in JEgypt, having sent Votive Yases to Cleolanus, the Pontiff of Jerusalem, permitted Ptolomy to have the Divine Sckiptukes translated from the Hebrew into the Greek language, which was done with the utmost diligence, and placed in the Alexandrine Bibliotheca, which then contained a great number of MS. works, and whose Bibliothecary was the cele- brated Demetrius Phalereus, the most eminent orator and philosopher of Greece of the period. 125 The Birth of Jestjs Christ — The Apostles — The Perversion of the Primitive Eoman Catholic Clergy after the Death of the Apostles. According to the MS. Chronica de iEtatibus, ms. chron., the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, was born in the p ' 5 ~' reign of Augustus Caesar, in the year ah Urle Con- dita 752. Virgil, Sallust, Livius, Hortensius, Horace, Anthenodorus Thorseus, and Silius Alexandrinuswere the most eminent writers who flourished at that time. In the eighteenth year of the reign of the Emperor Tiberius, the Lord Jesus Christ suffered death. According also to the MS. Chronica, St Peter abandoned the Church of Antiochia, and went to Eome at the beginning of the reign of Claudius- Patruus Callicola, who reigned thirteen years, seven months, and twenty-eight days. St Peter occupied the Episcopal Eoman Chair for twenty-five years. During this time, Jacobus, the brother of Our Lord Jesus, was lapidated by the Jews in Jerusalem, in the seventh year of the Emperor Nero's reign, and about this epoch St Peter suffered death on the Cross, and St Paul perished by the sword by order of Nero. The following eminent men were then living in Eome : Lucanus, Ovidius, the Satiric Juvenal and Persius, the tragic writer Seneca, and the philoso pher Plutarch, anno ah urhe condita, 80 8, , — that is fifty- six years after Jesus Christ's birth. St John the Evangelist died sixty-nine years after the Passion of Christ, at the age of ninety-eight years — placida morte quievit JEphesi — and whilst the Emperor Trajanus was persecuting the Christians. What puzzles me is that the more I have tossed and turned over the pages of the works of these illustrious contemporary writers, the less I have profited, for I have not been able to find any men- tion whatever of either Christ or the Apostles. "Whether this is through my own ignorance or m 2 126 inability I cannot say. Neither have I been able to glean any information from the perusal of the works of the inferior contemporary writers. The earliest reference that I can easily find about Christianity, was written at the end of the second century. In the third, fourth, and fifth centuries of the Christian era, a number of ecclesiastical writers appeared, who had attended at the different councils. The Ecclesiastical zealots, and after them the Jesuits, have been industrious to inlay some trifling notices in some of the editions of the classics at the close of the fifteenth century, but that has been found out by comparing the various MS. copies with the printed editions. Had Tacitus written that little note which mentions Christ with his talent and his deep knowledge, he would have said something else. The MS. Chron. named Pliny, as will be seen by the extract. Therefore there remain no other true historiographers but the conscientious Eusebius, Cyprianus, Hieronymus, Ambrosius, Marcellinus, Augustinus, Origenes, Tertullianus, Orosius, and many others, but, unfortunately, none of them were contemporary with the Apostles, and all of them wrote more or less in accordance with their predeces- sors, and with the writings and the traditions of the holy Apostles. As I have no doubt about the sincerity of their excellent Christian intentions, and as there were no better exponents of the Christian Evangeli- cal truth, their labours stand like an unspotted monument to perpetuate Christianity, and its doc- trines. I think I cannot do anything better than lean upon that monument to contemplate the glory of the Immortal God, and extirpate the briars and thorns that have grown in proximity with it, and with them chase and chastise the wolf that attempts to approach it in future with the intention of exca- vating his Grotto thereabout, as usual polluting and contaminating the said glorious work. Before I proceed any further I have a word to say 127 about Bishop Jacobus, the brother of our Lord, whom I have named in this chapter. This statement I have extracted from the MS. Chronica de iEtatibus ; it is a new fact to me, as I have never heard of it before. I must say that if the other extracts that I have taken from the Chronica be true, I do not see why this brother Jacobus might not also have existed, and been a true brother and follower of Our Lord Jesus Christ. At all events it is stated that he officiated for thirty consecutive years in the Christian Church of Jerusalem, and I proclaim him to have been the first Christian Bishop de jure, et de facto. For the utterance of this truism I hope that I shall not be stoned to death. I have not seen Father Passaglia's book upon the Immaculate Conception, nor his last production upon the Papal Temporal power, If theologians can find proofs to corroborate the statement that Jacobus was a real brother of Jesus Christ, the new dogma of the Immaculate Conception, with regard to the niaterial fact, will stand in the same dangerous predicament that many other Papal Inventions do. With regard to the spiritual part of the dogma, I have given it a little chapter close to that of the Invention of Pur- gatory. I will not say anything more about it, but leave the subject to the investigations of learned divines. I have shown that the Pontifices of the Gentiles were modest, honest, prudent, wise, learned, and most estimable, that they avoided all sorts of dis- honourable actions, and were constantly vigilant in the welfare of the Bespublica. I have pointed out also that, at one time, great jealousy and contention arose amongst them with regard to supremacy, and who should be the Primate. This was decided, according to the first organization, by JSuma. That the same jealous disposition and invidiousness reigned also amongst the first Christian clergy soon after the death of the Apostles, is proved by the ecclesiastical 128 historians ; and, though Christianity was not origin- ated in Eome, nor Eome the first to embrace it, yet the Roman clergy, 'through impertinent assumptions and presumption, aimed by indelicate, direct, and indirect means to aspire to the Primacy — which, up to the time of Constantine, and subsequently, had always been considered an uncalled-for innovation, to which, if any one had a right, according to my notions, it should have devolved upon the Christian MS.'Chron., church of Antiochia, built by St Peter ; or upon that p. 78. 0 f j erusa i em> w here Jacobus, the brother of our Lord Jesus Christ, had officiated for thirty conse- cutive years, when he was stoned to death by the Jews in the seventh year of the Emperor Nero's reign. After that the Emperor Hadrianus de- stroyed Jerusalem, dispersed and killed the Hebrews, rebuilt Jerusalem, and gave it to the Christians, and called the new city Helta after his Hem, p. 94. own name, " Selia de nomine suo vocari precepit." St Marck, or Marcus, was installed there as bishop 107 years after the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. These two churches stood pre-eminent, maintained their prerogatives in every respect, and did not become corrupted until after the others, for a long time resisting the temptations, corruptions, and innovations of Eome, Prance, and Spain. The Carthaginian church was also one of the very first Apostolically instituted, and Eishop Cyprianus with his clergy resisted and maintained its independence apart from the Eishop of Eome or any other. The fact cannot surprise any person that the Apostles were all equal and brotherlike, that they preached the Christian doctrines of humiliation, and the precepts that they received from the infinite wisdom of God. Amongst these Divine dispositions there was not a single chapter or sentence which ordered the Apostles, or directed them to order their disciples, imposing on them and the representatives of the various churches or congregations to elect one 129 of themselves, or to deck liim up in that preciously conspicuous style, and endow him with the attributes of a semi-divinity capriciously infallible, haughty, and ferocious. I most solemnly repeat there is nothing of the kind to be found, because the Divine Eedeemer and the whole of the Apostles positively and most intentionally wanted to avoid the mundane pomp, the absurd irreligious luxury, and spectacular representations of the Gentiles Pontifices which were practised at that time, and which were at variance with God the Eternal, and his DivineWisdom human- ised for the redemption of all creatures. For this very reason Peter was equal to John, and John to Paul, &c. When St Peter built his church in Antiochia, held the chair, preached to his congregation, and corresponded with his disciples and the Apostles, he did not tell them nor write to them that they were bound to submit to him, or pay tribute of supremacy to him, or any other pretences of the class of the modern Pontifices. All the Apostles were equal, and their disciples were treated with the same courteous Christian feeling as free and independent creatures, animated by the breath of the Omnipotent Father. That same spirit was universally diffused by the Apostles in their preaching and in their writings, and it remained so for the whole of the first century of the Christian era, when Christianity was brought to Greece, Italy, France, and Africa, and wherever the Eoman eagle carried its sceptrum. Yanity, jealousy, and invidious supremacy never entered the door of their temples ; faith, hope, and charity presided at their gates, and the humble Apostle stood by the side of the altar, inspired and radiated with glory, and fluently poured out from his soul the Divine effusions that enchanted with happiness the whole of his congregation. On Calvary the Man-God identified himself with His Church. The component parts of His 130 Church were the Apostles, and the equally living Divine Truths founded by Him and them to the glory of the Eternal Pather with the mysterious Baptismal Eedemption of humanity. The Disciples were the Apostolic offspring, the divinely humanised revealed doctrines which lived only as long as a rose, a lily, a hyacinth, &c., spreading around them the celestially-received Divine fragrance, which infused peace to the immortal Christian soul, and happiness to the transitorily living body. These Disciples, or these flowers, should have grown, flourished, and perpetuated themselves infin iiurr., beneficently filing the earth with mortal and eternal bliss, and, by the propitious will of the Glorious God, have constituted the terrestrial Para- dise. Such was the state of the first century of Christianity, and so it would have remained had not the purple-dressed blaspheming prostitute, the seven- headed monster named in Eevelations, appeared, to pervert, corrupt, dishumanise, and destroy the Church, the doctrine, and the people. To begin with the history of the Papal caprices, vices, abominations, and usurpations, I must go to the fountain-head, and borrow the opinion of the honest Christian Bishop Eusebius, about the Boman Catholic Clergy of his time. He wrote that, u as long as the Apostles lived, the true Christian doctrines were preached and disseminated with profit to humanity by the holy Apostles and Disciples in Asia, Africa, and Europe, and that the Christian Church remained pure and incorrupted up to the time of the Emperor Trajanus. After the death of the Apostles then, most certainly, a false and craftily impious con- spiracy began to invade the Church of Christ. Its Priests, with their subtle frauds and knavish tricks, laboured to disseminate a perverted doctrine entirely in opposition to the Christian Church. " Ensebiu5.iib. Ad Tempora usque Trajani, Ecclesia integra et a\>\ c.il incorrupta permanserat : At pcstquam sacer Ar cs- 131 tolorum chorus, varium vitse exitum, et diversa mor- tis genera pertulerat, tunc certe falsa, et veteratoria impii erroris conspiratio exordium ceepit, idque illo- rum fraude, et astulia, qui doctrinam a veritate nenitus alienam disseminare laborarent : Quique cum nemini Apostolorum vita suppeteret, jamnudo capite sincero veritatis sermoni, falsam et commentitiam doctrinam, ex adverso opponere pro viribus nite- rentur. And this was the state to which the Christian Church had been perverted after the very first hundred years from its Divine institution. Hieronimus, one of the earliest Eoman Priests, eminent in the Christian doctrine, and a pious follower of the Apostles, who had seen the immoral tendencies of his brother Priests, and the corruptions and pervertions that were creeping into the Church of Christ, with deter- mined zeal, bold, plain speaking, preaching, and writing to Marcella, said : *' Eead the Apocalypse of John, and behold the end of the confusion of praise Hieronymus bestowed on the purple-dressed woman who has Ln. arCC blasphemy written on her forehead, seated on the seven hills, and surrounded by many rivers. Come away from her, said God to his people ; do not par- ticipate of her crimes; escape from her insidious nets ; run away from that Babylon, and each of you save your souls. Indeed it fell ; this great confusion at last it fell ! and became the Demon's see, and the keeper of the filthy Satanic spirits," &c. Lege Apocalypsim Johannis, et quid de muliere Hieronymus. purpurata et scripta in ejus fronte blasphemia, sep- tem montibus, aquis multis et Eabylonis canteretur exitu contuere : exite, inquit Dominus, de ilia populus meus, et ne participes sitis delictorium ejus, et de plagis ejus non accipiatis, fugite de medio Eabylonis et salvate unusquisque animam suam, cecidit enim, cecidit Eabylon magna, et facta est habitatio Dsemonum, et custodia spiritus immundi, &c. Eusebius, in the Eccles. Histor., lib. 5, c. 21, 132 22, and Tertullianus, inlibro de Pudicitia, c. 1, tells us that Bishop Victor, in a letter, styled himself "Ecclesiae ApostolicaB universalis Episcopus," in imitation of the Pontifices Maximi of the Gentiles, and in an edict he subscribed himself " Episcopus Romanus universalis Ecclesiee Episcopus;" and Ter- tullian seemed to laugh at that title, as it was con- sidered a novelty, and wrote to Yictor directing his letter to the " Episcopus Episcoporum." This first attempt at supremacy happened in the second century of the Christian era. In the third century the Roman Catholic clergy attained the highest degree of demoralisation, and the whole of the second century had passed in discussions and dissensions between the Roman Clergy and the Africans and Asians on account of the impudent assumptions of the R,oman Clergy. — See Cyprianus, Eusebius, Tertullianus, Athanasius, and others. Cyprian de Cyprianus writes of the clergy of his time (De 253 ia 302*. Pastor ibus Eccleszce) thus: — ISon in Sacerdotibus religio devota est, non in ministris fides integra, non in operibus misericordia, non in moribus disciplina : Quin, Episcopi plurimi, quos et ornamento esse opportet caeteris et exemplo, divina procuratione contempta, procuratores rerum secularium fieri, de- relicta cathedra, plebe deserta, per alienas provincias oberrantes negotiationis qusestuosae mundinas aucu- pari. Esurientibus in Ecclesia fratribus, habere argentum largiter, velle fundos insidiosis fraudibus rapere, usuris multiplicantibus foenus augere. Quid non perpeti tales pro peccatis hujusmodi mereremur ? — The above is a first-rate specimen, a photographic portraiture of the morality of the Roman clergy before Constantine, and at his time. Eusebius, Inter nos, petulantibus Unguis tanquam mutuis dauttba arm i s oppugnare, et casu aliquando verborum con- c .iet2,an! tumelias velut hastas unus in alium intorquere, et 302 ad 3io. p raes i^ e8 Ecclesiarum alter alterius vires infringere, et populus in populum seditionem concitare, et 133 Pastores nostri depulsa repudiataque pietatis regula, dissidio et contentione inter se exardescere, quia etiam nullas alias res praeterquam discordias, mirias aemulationem, et inimicitias, et odium inter ipsos mutuo adaugere et tyrannorum more principatum obtinere. Hieronymus plainly declared that the Boman bishops at their caprices altered and counterfeited the Divine precepts, and the Sacraments instituted by God, and that the sermons or speeches against the High Omnipotent, that is, like those expounded by Symmachus, were assumed sermons, as if God had spoken them, arrogating the power of God, in words claiming, as if for themselves, or challenging, the Divine Majesty. The laws of God and the cere- monies were shifted, and they endeavoured to submit the whole of God's religion to their power. Sermon es contra excelsum loquetur : sive, ut inter- Hieronymus pretatur Symmachus, Sermones quasi Deus loquetur, J. n ^ an '' ut qui Dei assurait potentiam, verba quoque Divinse sibi vindicet Majestatis. Leges Dei et ceremonias j dem in 2 c mutare, et Eeligionem omnem suae subjicere potes- Tness. 2. tati, conobatur. Cyrianus, speaking of the primitive Roman Catholic clergymen, said that the clergy had no devoted reli- gion, there was not any integrity of faith in them ; in their deeds they had no compassion, they had no modest discipline in their manners; moreover, the greatest part of the bishops, who, by a course of exemplary conduct, should have stood out as high and accom- plished models to the others, in contempt of their divine office, became the solicitors for legal and other secular affairs, abandoned the pulpits, the Ecclesias- tical chairs, and the people entrusted to their cares, and wandered into other provinces in search of lucrative affairs. They aimed to accumulate plenty of money, and to strip of their estates by insidious frauds their poor Christian brothers, and to augment 134 and multiply the interest of their money by usury, &c. Eusebius wrote : Among us, the clergymen fight with mutually sacrilegious tongues, like as if they used arms, and from contumelious words sometimes they come to blows with arms ; they excite the people to sedition, &c. The authority of Eusebius, Cyprianus, and of Hieronymus is the highest, and will ever stand vene- rated and uncontroverted by the whole of the modern clergymen, as it stood by the ancient ecclesiastics and secular men. They lived and attempted to cor- rect and expunge the abuses introduced into the church by their contemporary ecclesiastical brothers, soon after the death of the Holy Apostles; they laboured in vain, I am sorry to say, and the evils of their time have multiplied and swelled to the mag- nitude of a monstrous and gigantic perversion of the divine dogmas of the Christian faith, from which only a superhuman effort, a new Divine Eedemption, can restore its pure, unaffected, celes trial stream of love and charity to oppressed and deluded humanity. The Eternal Eather promised it in the Revelations, and His will shall be done. MS. Chron., Cyprianus Episcopus Carthaginensis Martyrio coro- p. 113. natur circa an. Dom. 268 — cujus vitse et passionis volumen egregium reliquit Pontius Diaconus ejus, Cypriani extant doctissima opuscula. When Bishop Silvester held the Episcopal Roman Council, it took place in the Therm as Domitianas, where he resided, and not in the Lateran Palace, as some writers have pretended. Baronius stated that Constantine gave the Lateran Palace to Bishop Mel- tiades and to his successors. It must be an error, as Constantine' s family and his successors resided in it. Bishop Cyprian held the Carthaginian Council, and it was enacted in its article the 6th, that no Bishop of his own authority should judge another, and that all the Bishops shall await the judgment of Our Lord 135 Jesus Christ, who alone has the authority of instal- ling them in the Church's Government, and of judging of their actions. Zozimus, who was one of the early Ecclesiastical ZozjmusHist. Historians, wrote that Constantine not only arrogated to himself the title of Pontifex Maximus, but he wore the Pontifical apparel, and received the Pontifical decorations and the Empire from the Popes, and the other Emperors did the same up to Gratianus. Baronius said that the Great Pontificate was an Baronius, to, adjunct to the Imperial dignity, to prevent the 3 > an - 324 - Senate, the people, or any of the Roman nobles from conspiring against the Emperor. Of course that same deification of the Emperor was originated to keep the people in subjection. Imperatores Pontificis Maximi titulum sibi arro- Zozimus. gassent, Constantinum ipsum et cseteros Imperatores deinceps, ad Gratianum usque, dictos esse Pontifices Maximos, amictum Sacerdotalem induisse, Pontifi- calia insignia a Pontificibus simul ac imperium ac- cepisse. &c. Imperatoriaa dignitati summum Pontificatum ad- Baronius. junctum, ne in Imperatorem Senatus Populusque Eomanus Gentilitise factionis, facile conspirassent, &c. The first general synod of JVicece was convoked and presided over by Constantine in the year 325. The principal learned bishops who attended it were Eusebius, Socrates, Theodoretus, Sozomenus, Cyzi- cenus, and others. About that time a quarrel arose between some bishops and others who were at the head of a sect called Donatistes. All those bishops appealed to the Emperor Constantine to decide their quarrel, and Constantine, annoyed at those clerical conten- tions, discords, and heinous intrigues answered them abruptly, "You come to ask my judgment in an ecclesiastical contention, while I, myself, await the judgment of God in my affairs ! Why do you not have more brotherly charitable feelings ?" 136 Bishop Eusebius, lib. 10, c. 5, reports the Cir- cular Letter of the Emperor Cons tan tine to the Eoman Bishops, and to the others, inviting and ordering them to attend the Boman Council. It seems that there were then two Boman bishops, and the address was as follows : " Miltiade Bomano- rum Episcopo, et Marco." E vita U Con e Constantine convoked the Universal Synod at stantini. n " ^Ticea, and issued his mandate for all bishops to attend it, &c. " Synodum (Ecumenicam Mceae Congregat Constantinus : undecumque Episcopos advocans," &c. Although Baronius thought dif- ferently, Theodoretus, Sozomenus, Socrates, Gelasius, and Cyzicenus agreed with Eusebius. It was to this Synod that the two Boman priests, Victor and Yincentius, were sent as the Legates of Bishop Sil- vester. These two priests were the persons whose names were badly spelt in the MS. of Cardinal Nava- gero, and whom he said were the first to be named cardinals, before or after the said Council. The acts that they signed there on behalf of Silvester do not contain any other title than this : " Victor et Vin- centius Bresbyteri urbis Bomce ordinati, ex directione tua," that is, of the Bope. And I have not found that either they or any other ecclesiastic used the title of Cardinal in the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th centuries. That title had a criminal origin, as we shall see. Lay, Ecclesiastic, and Diplomatic Historical Evi- dences that Constantine did not give to Silvester St Beter's Patrimony, or the Temporal Bower. This day, the 18th of September, 1861, I am happy to see that the Government of his Italian Majesty is progressively marching on the straight road to Borne, unmindful of the entraves and danger- ous traps set up by the cowardly black poachers. I never feared for a moment that the wisdom of that 137 Government would be intimidated and barred from further progress by the miserable dirty lot of black foxes who have infested the country for so many centuries. The time for a regular battue had come long ago, and should have been taken advantage of without any further consideration ; but the present Italian Government is so forbearing and generous towards an unmerciful, malignant enemy, for the Italian popular patience can be stretched ad infinitum. In attempting to reason with those who will not by any means understand reason, modern statesmen have exhausted their arguments to no purpose ; perhaps it will be better now to force into their obstinate heads the whole of the archives of reasons and arguments that have been so contemptuously rejected, and if these cannot get access through the ears they should be trumpeted against their Tuba Eudacliiana. If they will not then understand, it will be their own fault, and they must suffer for it. The Minister of Public Instruction has touched upon some Religio-Political questions which have been solved long ago by that learned gentleman Cardinal Eavagero, whose opinions I have already extracted from his manuscript, and I am glad to point them out to the public, that they may be of service on the present occasion. These are the new Ministerial Theological Propo- sitions : M. de Sanctis, Minister of Public Instruc- tion, has taken the bold step of consulting the theo- logical faculties of the different universities of Italy, on the origin of the temporal power of the Popes, and the advantages of its suppression. The text of the document submitted to the examination of the learned faculties is as follows : "Are the following propositions contrary to the faith ? " That the temporal power is a fact of an acciden- tal nature, and of human origin. "2. That the temporal power of the Sovereign n 3 138 Pontiff may be diminished, and even cease, and yet that his spiritual power and religious liberty will remain safe. " 3. That under present circumstances there is no reason for maintaining the temporal power of the Pontiff, and that far from being useful it is injurious to the Church and the State, " 4. That it is consequently necessary that the Holy Father shall not refuse to treat with the Italian Government, in order to guarantee the free and un- fettered exercise of the Catholic ministry.' ' In this chapter will also be found the opinion of Cardinal Navagero on the temporal power. A celebrated English historian, who was well versed in mediaeval literature, and perf« ctly at home with the whole of the old Italian writers, speaking of the learned Poet Laurentius Valla (a Eoman patrician, who wrote against the Donations of Con- stantine), Gibbon, in his 'Decline and Fall of the Eoman Empire/ wrote : " His contemporaries of the fifteenth century were astonished at his sacrilegious boldness ; yet such is the silent and inscrutable pro- gress of reason, that before the end of the next age the fable was rejected by the contempt of historians and poets, and the tacit or modest censure of the advocates of the Eoman Church. The Popes them- selves have indulged in a smile at the credulity of the vulgar ; but a false and obsolete title still sanc- tifies their reign, and by the same fortune which has attended the decretals and the Sybilline leaves, the edifice has subsisted after the foundations have been undermined." I can assure you, Mr Antonelli, that Gibbon was a clever, conscientious historian, and many of your right reverend confratres may learn many excellent maxims from his works, just merely turning the pages, here and there glancing at the stupendous works of some, and the follies of others, particularly the right reverends who have indulged in some ex- 139 traordinary inventions, and at other times have not told the whole of the truth, for instance — [Here I will indulge myself in quoting Earonius at the epoch of Constantine, for a reason that the reader will soon find out.] De vulgata ilia omnium ore ageremus ejusdem BaroniuMo. Constantini donatione, tot tantisque controversiis Ztii7^ agitata ; sed parcimus, quid nihil preeter ilia quas ab aliis dicta sunt, affere possumus, et eadem repetere sit onerosum atque pariter otiosum. Of that cele- brated Donation of Constantine known to everybody and discussed by so many controversialists I should now talk; but I forbear, because I cannot assert anything except what has been stated by others, and to repeat the same thing is tedious and superfluous. I will now ask the reader's opinion if he considers this the proper manner of treating this most important point of Ecclesiastical history upon which so many pretensions and so many wars have sprung up, and so many millions of human souls have been sacrificed to priestly vengeance and the ami sacra fames. Baronius should either have been silent about it alto- gether, or given the opinion of the learned and con- temporary historians of the ninth and tenth centuries on the subject ; as both before and during his Carcli- nalate he had been President of the Eibliotheca Yaticana, and had at his entire disposal all the docu- ments, real and forged, that were preserved, and there he compiled his Annals, altering and suppressing those historical facts which did not satisfy his own interest or that of the Holy See. If the Cardinal had been a secular, disinterested historian, he would have published a truthful account of events taken from documents of reliable sources, being endowed with the talent and discrimination of knowing what was true and what was false, and would have left behind him valuable treasures from which posterity might have taken the text of history to regulate itself in future events. I have copies of many 140 valuable old historical documents, amongst them a volume in MS. precisely of the time that the Cardi- nal was President of the Eoman Library, as it is stated by the rev. amansuensis, who declares, both at the end of the book and in a marginal note on the first page, that he copied that book from the old MS. Codex in the Yatican, and from another MS. of the Vatican, called the Chronica Uegum Long olar do- rum." Now with difficulty, on account of the ab- breviations and obsolete words, I have translated from it the Eeal Donations of Constantine, and have inserted them in this work. Suppose that Cardinal Baronius had been an excellent, most pious, and honourable man, in fact a miraculous Saint, and had written his voluminous Antials for the glorification of the Eoman See, or for the remittance of his venial sins, why did he not say the truth ? "Why did he put himself in antagonism with the earliest writers, Historians, Theologians, Dogmatics, Bishops, Popes, and Saints, who wrote the histories of the Holy See during their lives, contemporary to the events they narrated ? "Why did he name the Donation of Constantine, while, amongst the ancient historians, Georg. Ce- Cedrenus says that Constantine, in the years 26 and dren.,p.243 27 0 f his reign, destroyed Paganism, and transferred the income of its ministers to the Church of God. And Damasius and Anastasius, in the lives of Sil- vester, Bishop of Eome, say that Constantine rebuilt the churches from the ruins of Paganism, and en- dowed them with the hereditary gifts of the goods and chattels of the Pagan Priests. " Sacerdotum Eth- nicorum reditus in usum Ecclesise Christiana} con- verts." He did not give him Eome and two-thirds of Italy. No, no, nothing of the kind, nor ap- proaching or touching 1he Temporal Power. The whole of the ancient historians ignored the Dona- tion of the Temporal Power of the Popes, and of course did not name a thing which was invented for the first time only in the eighth century by 141 Pope Adrian when he wrote about it to Charle- magne in 776. I shall not copy down the account of the wars of the French and the Popes against the Lombard Kings, as described in my MS. volume of Hisloria Begum Long oh ardor urn y by Herempertus, as it is uncommonly tedious. I shall content myself by stating that, with the advent of Charlomagne at Home the last of the Longobard Kings ended, and the Exarchs of Kavenna also ended in the year 750, by the same pressure, after 200 years of successive existence. These last, after the line of the Erench Kings and Emperors in Italy, when the German Emperors succeeded to the Domination, were revived again for a time. But I see that I am going too far, and I shall retrace my steps to the time of the Emperor Constantine, and review the contemporary historians and writers of that and the following centuries, to ascertain if Constantine gave to Silvester, or not, any temporal power. It is certain that after that Emperor's death his son succeeded, and Eusebius says : " Quia in herciscunda familia Constantini, Eusebius de Zozimo, Zonara testibus, Italia et Roma ipsa adeo ^tjib!£ recensentur." According to these three impartial c. 49, 50,51. religious historians, almost contemporary, we have Z °ii™2. S m testimony that Rome itself was ruled over by Constant, zonaras, the heir of Constantine. Yictor, also, in Constantine' s ° m '°' life, agrees with the above. And Agatho Pontifex, multis post seculis ad Constantinum Pogonatum scribens, Urbem Imperatoris servilem vocat. This Pope Agatho states that Rome obeyed and was under the rule of the Emperors. Here, then, is good testi- monial evidence that the Popes had no temporal power at all. Antoninus Archiepiscopus, Yolterranus, Hieronymus Catalanus, Alexandri cubicularius in practica Can cell. Apost. Otho Erisingensio Epis. in annales ; Cardinalis Cusanus, de Concordia Cathol., lib. 3. Laurentius Yalla Patritius Romanus in his de Ficta Donatione; FranciscusGuicciardinus, iEneas Silvius Piccolominus, ipse qui post fuit Pius II libro 142 in earn rem edito quern citat Catalanus. Platina Ponti- ficum historiograph us donationem earn ipse tacuit pudore suffusus. All the above-named, eminent, high ecclesiastical dignitaries and historians who had a great share in the management of the spiritual and temporal power, and the affairs of Italy connected with the Popes and friendly with the Emperors, none of them ever asserted or named the patrimony of St Peter as a donation of Constantine to the Holy See. Platina himself, who dedicated his whole life to write the lives and histories of the Popes, for the want of material proofs to support the assertion of the donation, modestly preferred to be silent about it. The celebrated Pomponius Lsetus, in the second book of his Bomanse Historic Compendium, after describing the life and actions of Constantine, says that, after his death : " Quidam tradunt Constantinum orbem heredibus testamento divisisse, Quidam filios forte fecisse, Divisio Eomani Imperii, Constantino obvenere Galliaa Hispanias, et Alpes Cottiee, Brit- tanise, Orcades, Hibernia, Thyle. Constanti Italia et Aphrica cum Insulis Illuricum, Macedonia, Achaia, Peloponnessus, Grsecia ; Constantio, Oriens et Thracia cujus caput Constantinopolis et cum eo Dalmatius imperavit, &c." Whether Constantine made his will or not, this is not the question, but it is clear enough that his sons divided the Empire of the known world, and Constant had for his share Italy, Africa, the Illyrian Islands, Macedonia, Acaja, the Peloponnesus, and Greece. Such having been the case, where was the Pope's pretended donation of St Peter's Patrimony r Why did he not come forward to claim his share ? Why did not the Popes repeat their claim after every successive Emperor ? This splendid scheme was hatched at the time when Charlemagne was indebted to Pope Adrian for the title of Patricius Eomanus, and from a Erench King was, at a later period, converted into an Emperor of the Holy Eoman Empire, with an 143 addition to his income of the Italian States, for- merly belonging to the Lombard Kings and to the Greek Emperors, who had solicited the French Kings Pepins and Charlemagne to interfere in the Italian affairs and to settle the quarrels for him which the Popes had raised with the Yassals of the Greek Empire and of the Lombard Kings. While Charlemagne and Pepin received these appeals, they were receiving others from Pope Adrian stimulating them against the Greek Emperors, persuading them to spoliate the Greeks of the empire. However, Charlemagne did not dare to complete the whole of the spoliations, uncertain what the Greek Emperor might do to reinstate him- self ; therefore he left him the Principality of Apulia and the Calabrias as heretofore, and he instituted or reinstated the Dukes of Eenevento, of Spoleti, and of Eriuli, as they were before when under the Lombard Kings, and gave the power to the Pope of taking tithes, de prendre la Dime, upon Borne, the Exarchate, in the Duchy of Perugia, in Tuscany, and in the Campania, reserving to him- self the tiegiam Potestatem, the temporal Power; because the Popes could possess neither Eome nor those Duchies ; and for the right of levying the annum censum, the Popes were obliged to take an oath of allegiance to Charlemagne and his successors in the following formula : " Promitto me Domino meo Charolo, et filiis ejus fidelem futurum in tota vita sine fraude doloque malo," &c. And from the letters thirty, thirty-one, and thirty-nine, of Pope Adrian to Charlemagne, it is evident that he wished him to remember the alleged promises that the King had made to the Apostle Peter, and gives his thanks for the many benefices that the Pope had received of Charlemagne. Then up to their time, and before Adrian, no Pope had anything except for a short time the Cottian Alps, and what they had taken by force of arms, and by spoliation ; therefore the right 144 of taking, or levying tithes was the best first gift, and the best bargain that the Pope made for his oaths and assistance to the French King to get the Italian States. Charlemagne could easily dispose of part of the income of a State that did not belong to him, and the Pope would have taken twenty oaths if there had been anything to be had for them. I will not finish this chapter without quoting from a MS. which formerly belonged to the Colonna family, which had furnished for so many consecutive cen- turies Cardinals, Popes, and other civil and ecclesi- astical dignitaries, administering the affairs of Italy, . and most certainly must have had in their family archives valuable documents relating to Italy and the Holy See : and as I believe that this MS. is of great importance, on account of its giving the de- scription of every town, village, and castle, great and small estates, population and income, noble familes, &c, with a short sketch of every Pope, from the first to the last of them, Benedict XIII, in 1724. I will quote only a few lines of page 4, where, speaking about the donation of Constantine, of the patrimony of St Peter, it says : " By what manner the Popes, already rich in Evangelic poverty, have acquired such fine estates, the public opinion is various ; the vulgar opinion is that Constantine gave them the greatest part of what they possess now ; but authors, and particularly the most credited historians, believed it a false notion, and as such entirely rejected it. The first donation to the Holy See of which there is a probability was made by Arripest II, a Lombard King, who in 704 gave to Pope John YII the Cottian Alps." I have still one other quotation to take from another MS. of my library; it is an autograph of Cardinal Navagero, an eminent and a learned man, a poet and a diplomatist, raised to that social position by his merit only, and Ambassador of the Serenissima Bepubltcs of Yenice to the Court of Rome during the 145 war with the Catholic King. As it is stated in the title, " Eelazione di Roma e Stato Ecclesiastico del Cardinal Navagero in tempo della Guerra col Ee Cattolico." I shall not quote the Italian text, to avoid adding to the length of this work. I will only say that this volume contains the most useful infor- mation, and enters into every affair concerning the Pope's dominions, the Cardinals, the Prelates, the army, the administration, the policy of State, the town and villages, the income and expenses, the abuses of the Popes, the mismanagements of the officials, and the reforms that should be made ; and, lastly, I will quote a page where he writes his opinion about the temporal power of the Pope. As this was private information sent to the Doge, of course it is unpublished. He wrote : If we now consider the Pope, not as a Prince with Cardinal an estate, but as Chief of the Eeligion as he really Ms V . &g is the Head of Christianity and Successor of Peter, instituted by Christ as his Yicar — if we consider him as such, and if the Pope really should imitate the life of Christ,, and of the first Fathers — I should say that the Pope would be really a tremendous power in this world with his excommunications, maledictions, and the rest of his spiritual arms, infinitely more powerful than he is now with his leagues and armies, which of late the Popes have used clandestinely, and openly spoliated other princes to enrich themselves and their families, as did Alex- ander VI, a Spaniard by birth, when he began to elevate to a powerful state of opulence his son Valentino, with all the atrocious means that have been enumerated by those who have written the history of that period. The same spirit of Alexander descended to the succeeding Popes, and upset, spoilated, reduced, and still reduces to misery our unhappy country. On account of the Pontiffs having no sons with hereditary right or claim to the Pontifical throne, when they are in power they o 146 upset all the world to make alliances with this and that powerful prince, and by these means they obtain their aims, which consist in leaving to their families an estate, not of poverty as they were before the assumption to the Pontificate, but a great, opulent state, which cannot be accumulated in a short time except by violence, taking it from other families. Now I shall support my assertion by particular examples of some of our Italian Republics and other little States, as I see them still bleeding, and their dresses, once rich and fine, now converted into rags, &c. All this is translated ad litter am from the Italian language, and the opinion of this honest disinterested ecclesiastic needs no comment. He gave his verdict about the Temporal power 300 years ago, seeing that it was detrimental to society and religion, as it is still now, an unbearable incubus. As I shall have to speak about the times of Charle- magne, I must state again here, as a positive fact, that the invention of the Donation of Constantine to Bishop Silvester {alias the patrimony of St Peter) was originated by Pope Adrian the 1st in a letter which he wrote to Charlemagne in the year 776, in which mention was made of it for the first time. This letter is to be found inserted in the Codice Carolino, let. 49. It is quoted by the celebrated De Marca de wr ^ er ^ e Marca, who says that in his time it was Concordia, believed to be a fictitious letter, and a spurious ,ib - 3 - c l2 - Donation. [In the following Donations by Constantine there are in the MS. several grammatical errors, which I have faithfully copied without attempting to correct them.] 147 CONSTANTINE'S REAL DONATIONS TO BISHOP SILVESTER. Constantitms autem fecit ubi Baptizatus est Basi- ms. CfcgB^ licas istas : quas et ornavit Basilicam Constantinia- 31,' 32.' nam ubi posuit ista Dona : Fastigium argenteum battutile quod habet in fronte Salvatorem sedentem in sella cum pedibus quinque ponderas libras cxx, et duodecim Apostolos quos pensant singuli in quinis pedibus libras xc, cum coronis argenti purissimi. Item a tergo respiciente in Absida Salvatorem seden- tem in Throno in pedibus quinque ex argenti puris- simi ponderans libras cxxxx, et Angelos quatuor ex argento in pedibus quinque ponderantes singuli libras cv, cum gemmis alabandenis in occulis, tenentes hastas fastigium ipsum ponderantes libras duo millia 1 xxt. Fastigium ex auro purissimo cum delfinis* quinquaginta cum catena qui ponderant libras xxvy coronam ex auro purissimo cum delfinis xx, perantes libras singula quindecim. Cameram Basilica? ex auro trimitam in longum et in altum libras quin- centas altaria septem ex argento purissimo ponderan- tia singula libras cc, reliqua utensilia Basilicas qus& constituit in opus ministerii sive ex auro sive ex argento : Qui vult planiter scire inveniet in gesta Pontificum Romanorum fontem sanctum ubi baptiza- tus est Constantinus Augustus ex lapide Porphire- tico ex omni parte compertum intrinsecus et foris et desuper quantum aqua continet ex argento purissima libras tria millia et octo in medio fontis columna Porphiretica que portat phialam auream ubi candela est qua? pensat auri purissimi lib. lii, ubi ardet balsami libras ducentas : Nixum ex stippa amiantis in labio fontis Agnum ex auro purissimo fundentem aquam qui pensantes libras xxx, ad dexteram agni Salvatorem ex Auro purissimo in pedibus v, qui pensantes libras dxx, in leva agni Beatum Joannem 148 Baptist am ex Argento iu pedibus v, tenentem titu- lum scriptum : Eceo Agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccata rnundi : qui pensat libras centum. Cervos ex argento purissimo v, fundentes aquam qui pensant singuli libras lxxx, Timiamatherium ex auro puris- simo quod pensat libras x cum gemmis praxinis et hiacyntinis ex undique n°- xxxxti, reliqua dona quae obtulit Constantinus Augustus domui Sancti fontis ac massas per singula loca seu et alia plurima invenies in Gesta Eomanorum Pontificum. However Constantine made where he was baptised these temples, which he ornamented : the Easilica Constantiana, where he placed the following gifts : An elevated platform, wrought in silver, which had in front of it the Saviour, seated in a chair, five feet high, weighing 120 pounds; and the twelve Apostles, each of them live feet high, weighing ninety pounds, with their crowns of the purest silver. Moreover, the Saviour in glory looking around, seated on a throne, five feet high, of the purest silver, weighing 140 pounds, and four Angels, of silver, five feet high, each of them weighing 105 pounds, the eyes being made with coloured gems, holding the poles of a canopy, 2,025 pounds weight. The canopy, or this ornamented top, was of the purest gold, and had fifty dolphins, which with a chain attached weighed twenty-five pounds each, and had a crown of the purest gold, with twenty other dolphins, each weighing fifteen pounds. The Chamber of the Basilica (I suppose the robing-room, or vestry) was ornamented or trimmed with gold in all its length and height, with 500 pounds weight of it. There were seven altars of the purest silver, each of them weighing 200 pounds. The remainder of the utensils of the Basilica, which he gave for the use of the religious ceremonies, were part in gold, and others in silver. Those who wish to know more about it will find in the ' Gesta lloman. Pontine. ' the description of the holy Font where Constantine was baptised ; 149 which description was engraved all over on a tablet of porphyry ; they will also learn what quantity of water the font contained : that it was of the purest silver, weighing 3,008 pounds. In the middle of the fountain was erected a column of porphyry, which supported a golden cup, which contained a candelabrum of the purest gold, weighing fifty- two pounds, and upon which burned 200 pounds of balsam, by means of a wick of asbestos resting on it. On the border of the fountain there was a lamb of the purest gold, thirty pounds weight, which let out the water. At the right side of the lamb was the Saviour, five feet high, in purest gold, weighing 520 pounds. At the left hand of the lamb there was the blessed John the Baptist, five feet high, in silver, holding the written legenda, "Ecce Agnus Dei qui tollit peccata mundi." This weighed 100 pounds. There were also five stags pouring out the water, each of them weighing eighty pounds. The Censor was of the purest gold, weighing ten pounds, orna- mented with green- coloured and hyacinth gems inlaid around it, to the number of forty-two. The remainder of the gifts that the Emperor Constantine made to the temple, of the holy font, the Massa [parsonage], and other advantages for each place, and many other things, will be found in the * 1 Actions of the Eoman Popes.' ' Note upon Massa. — It occurs to me here that the word Massa requires definition, which I will en- deavour to give, but upon no other authority than that which my little share of common sense affords. The word Massa, Massce, is obsolete, and was pro* bably expunged from the Latin Dictionary when the corresponding Italian word Massa was universally adopted, and which expressed the same thing as in the original Latin. The Italians, not satisfied with this substantive alone, thought it necessary to have another derivative of the first to express the action of the person addicted to the Massis; so that the o 2 150 word Massa in Latin, is, and means Massa (Italian), alias a farm, or part of a farm, lands, or any other immovable property producing rent. The Italian word Massaro is commonly used, and means either a farmer, or a collector of rent, corresponding with the English words steward, agent, or farmer, as the case may be. The English word Messuage is the corre- sponding word with the old Latin Massa, and its antiquity must be derived from the ancient legal acts in which this word occurs, and is used to describe a part, a parcel, or the total of a measured piece of ground annexed or connected with any other im- movable property, or standing alone, or belonging to something else. Concerning these two words, Massa and Messuage, if I may be permitted a stretch of my imagination, I should say that the lands upon and around which the churches and monasteries were and are built — as well as other lands immediately connected with them/ forming either the public or private garden, with other strips or pieces of lands and fields belonging to the same tenements — each and all constituted in olden times the Massae or Messuages, and that the Messuages of old also constituted the dowry of the officiating priest re- siding in or about the same tenements, whioh were let to various parties who undertook to manage and ad- minister them in the best way to produce the rent, which was applied to the maintenance of the priests. It seems quite feasible to me that such was the case in the olden time wherever Christianity had penetrated. This will account for the etymology of Messuage, which, thoughretainedinthe nomenclature of modern deeds and documents, must have suffered a modification in the sixteenth century, when the word priest was converted into that of parson, and the old massa into messuage, which was appropriated to the uses of the parson and called the parsonage, or the house and farm of the parish parson — in other words, his residence. If these remarks should not prove 151 correct, I beg of you, my dear reader, to excuse them, and regard them only as the mere emanations of an uninformed mind anxious only of inquiring into the true nature of things as they were formerly and as they now are. Eodem tempore Constantinus Augustus fecit Basili- cum Beato Petro Apostolo in templo Apollinis : cujus locum corpus Sti. Petri ita recondidit ipsum locum, undique ea aere Cipro conclusit quod est immobile ad caput pedes quinque, ad pedes pedes quinque subter pedes quinque super pedes quinque sic inclusit corpus Beati Patri Apostoli et recondidit et exornavit supra columnas Porfireticas, et aliquas columnas Vitineas quas de Graecia perduxit, fecit autem Cameram Basilicae ex auro fulgente et super corpus Beati Petri quod sere conclusit fecit crucem auream purissimam pensantem libras cl, in mensura loci pensantem : ubi scriptum hoc, Constantinus Augustus et Helena Augusta Hoc Eonum Eeale Simili Fulgore Coreuscans Aula Circumdat. Scriptum litteris Mgellis. At about the same time the Emperor Constantino made the Basilica to the Apostle St Peter in the Temple of Apollo. That is, he converted the Temple of Apollo into St Peter's ; and he buried in it the corpse of St Peter, which he inclosed in a sarcophagus of Cyprian brass and laid it in a vault five feet square. Thus fixed and inclosed he deeply buried it. Over it, he adorned the place with columns of porphyry and other twisted columus, which he brought from Greece. He also made the Sagristia, as it is called in Italy, and ornamented it with glittering gold, and upon the corpse of St Peter, enclosed in the brass sarcophagus and already buried, he erected a cross of pure gold of 152 the dimension of the place named, five feet, weigh- ing 150 pounds, with this inscription : — This Kingly Hall, glittering with such magnifi- cence, incloses the really substantial donation of the Emperor Constantine and the Empress Helena. This is written in somewhat black letters. Eodem tempore fecit Basilicam Beato Paulo Apostolo ea fugestione Silvestri Episcopi : cujus corpus Sanctum ita secondit in JEre et conclusit — sicut corpus Beati Petri — Constantinus Augustus donum obtulit sub Tharso Cilicioe Insulam Cordianon, quam prestat solidos ottincentos. Nam omnia vasa sacrata aurea, vel argentea aut serea composuit : sicut in Basilica Beati Patri Apostoli : ita et Beati Pauli Apostoli ordinavit, sed et Crucem auream super locum Beati Pauli posuit pensantem libras cl, donavitque eodem loco sub Civitateni Tyrise posses- sionem Comitum prestantem solidos quincentos quin- quaginta. At that time Constantine ordered to be made a Church to the blessed Apostle Paul, by suggestion of Bishop Silvester. The sacred corpse of Paul was inclosed in a sarcophagus of brass, and buried in it like that of St Peter. The Emperor Constantine made a donation to this church of 800 silver pennies, to be levied from Tharsus — I suppose a town in Asia Minor in an island called Cordianon, which I cannot find in the dictionary, or in Strabo's Geog. ; and furnished it with all the necessary sacred vases, either of gold, or silver, or brass : as he did for the Church of the blessed Apostle Peter, so he did for this one ; but the golden cross that he placed upon the tomb of the blessed Apostle Paul weighed 150 pounds ; and he gave to this church, out of the possessions of the Governor of the City of Tyria, in Phoenicia, five hundred and fifty silver pennies. It is not stated if he intended it as an annual income, or as rent. 153 Eodem Tempore fecit Constantimis Augustus Basilicam in palatio Sestoriano : ubi posuit de ligno sanctse Crucis Domini nostri Jesu Christi, et in auro et gemmis conclusit : ubi et nomen Ecclesise dedicavit quod cognominatur usque hodie Hierusalem. In quo loco constituit preetiosa dona ista. Candelabra ante lignum sanctum lucentia argentea quatuor secundum numerum quatuor Evangeliorum ponder- antia singula libras lxxx. By order of Constantine, at that time the Sestorian Palace was converted into a Basilica, where he placed a portion of the wood of the Holy- Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, and covered it with gold and gems. To this church he dedicated it, and gave it the name of Jerusalem, as it* is called now. Upon this place he conferred the precious gifts of four silver candelabras glittering before the holy Cross according to the four Evangelists, each of the candelabras of eighty pounds weight. Eodem tempore fecit Basilicam St Agnetis Mar- tyr is ex rogatu filiae suae, et Baptisterium in eodem loco ubi Baptizata est soror ejus Constantia cum filia Augustus. In the meantime, at the instance of his daughter, Constantine made the Church of the Martyr St Agnes and the Baptistry in the same place where her sister Constance was baptized with the daughter of Augustus. Eodem tempore Constantinus Aug. fecit Basili- cam Beato Laurentio Martyri vita Tiburtina in Agro Yerano supra avenaria criptce : et usque ad corpus Sancti Laurentis Marty ris fecit gradus ascension is, et discensionis, in quo loco construxit absidem, et exor- navit marmoribus Porphireticis et desuper loci in- clusit de argento et cancellis de argento purissimo ornavit qui ponderant libras mille, et ceetera dona obtulit copiosa. The Emperor Constantine about that time made a Basilica to the blessed Laurence in the road near the Tiber — in the Yeranian field upon the area 154 leading by a passage up to the spot where was buried the corpse of St Laurence the Martyr, which was reached by ascending and descending steps at the . top of which there was built a circular place ornamented with porphyry, the roof of which he had inlaid with silver, and embellished and closed with gates of the purest silver, which weighed a thousand pounds. And he gave to it many other precious gifts. Eodem tempore Constantinus Aug. fecit Basilicam via Lavicana inter duos Lauros Beato Petro et Mar- cellino Martyri et Moysi Levitico ubi Beatissimam Augustam Matrem suam posuit in Sarcofaco Porphy- retico eodem tempore. About that time the Emperor Constantine made the Basilica in the road called Lavicana, between two laurel trees, to the blessed Peter and the Martyr Marcellinus, and to the Levitic Moses, where he buried at the same time in a Sarcophagus of Por- phyry the Empress his most august mother. Eodem tempore fecit Constant. Augustam Basil- icam in civitate Hostias juxta Portum Urbis Romae Beatorum Apostolorum Petri, et Pauli, et Joannis Baptistae. At this time Constantine made an Imperial church in the city of Hostia, near the seaport of the city of Rome, to the blessed Apostles Peter, Paul, and John the Baptist. Hisdem temporibus fecit Constantinus Augustam Basilicam in Civitate Albaniense Sti. Johannis Bap- tists. At that time Constantine erected to St John the Baptist the Imperial Basilica in the city of Albano. Eecit et Constantinus Augustus intra urbem Capuam Basilicam Apostolorum quam cognominavit Constantinianam, in qua plurima posuit dona; Eecit quoque Basilicam in urbe Neapolis. The Emperor Constantine made also in the city of Capua the Church of the Apostles, and called it the Constantinian Church, to which he made many 155 gifts ; and he made also a Basilica in the city of Naples. These comprise the whole of the Donations of Constantine to the Holy See, and I believe the state- ment to be true. I have copied them as faithfully as an amateur in antiquities could do, and in spite of the difficulty of comprehending the many abbrevia- tions, and the old and sometimes indistinct writing. I am most anxious that the public should become acquainted with the particulars of what these Donations of Constantine consisted, more particularly as I have never been able to meet with any author who states what they were. Many of my acquaint- ances have also perused various works in search of information on the subject, but have met with no better success than I have. With regard to the translation which I have given, I will honestly say it has been done currente calamo and according to the best of my understanding. In the course of the original MS. I may observe that there are several words used with the definitions of which I am unacquainted, and which are not given in any Dictionary. "Where they occur I have italicised them in the text, and in the translation I have therefore been obliged to use my discrimination according to the nature of the object which was to be described. There is another fact which it is quite necessary I should explain here, viz., that for the past thirty years and upwards I have abandoned my Latin and every other acquirement pertaining to scholarship, and, although I really think it an act of presumption on my part to have written Latin which I have borrowed for the most part from the Classics, and given translations of the texts of various authors of such importance as those I have quoted, and commented upon them, — yet I presume that I under- stand them sufficiently to have gained a tolerably accurate conception of the various subjects spoken of, if not the entire meaning of every particular sentence. I am most desirous, too, that my readers 156 should be acquainted with these matters, which relate to such important times. Faithful to my motto Libertas, I unhesitatingly give them pro bono publico, knowing that a certain class of my readers will take advantage of the translations, while others may themselves translate the various texts which I have quoted, perhaps more satisfactorily. Students will possibly do the same that I have done, provide them- selves with some of the Authors I have quoted, and, with the Dictionary in hand, observe if my asser- tions are correct or not. If so, I shall at least be the medium by which many well-meaning youths will be saved from the snares and the grasp of the swarming Jesuits who prowl and roost in and about the schools and colleges of these realms in search of victims. There is, besides this, another great object which I trust this work will accomplish, and I enter- tain the hope that if its success be not complete, it will, at all events, pull down the Pope's, and Anto- nelli's, cotton night-caps upon their noses, and send them to sleep, and so afford them the conception of a new dream, as that of St Peter's Patrimony has failed, disappeared, and finally evaporated. CKIMIKAL HlSTOltY OF THE PoPES. Marcus Natione Romanus ex patre Prisco Silvestro success! t in Episcopatu, seditque annis duobus, mensibus 8. Hie consfituit ut Episcopus Hostiae, cum ab eo Episcopus Urbis Romse consecraretur Pallio uleretur. MS.Chron.dc Marcus, whose father descended from an ancient jEtat. Roman family, succeeded to Bishop Silvester, and occupied the Romish Episcopal chair for two years and eight months. He first established, that while the Bishop of Ostia consecrated the Bishop of Rome, the Pallium should be used for that ceremony. The Pallium was a sort of cloak of silk, or fine white wool (I have my doubts about the use of silk at that period), ornamented with gold or silver, which the High Priest uses when he celebrates a 157 ♦ High Mass, assisted by two other priests. The Pallium is wide and long. I think it is called Piviale in Italian. The shorter cloak, used by the two other priests who assist him, is called Piancta. The Pallium is always used in high festivals in the churches and external processions. I have no idea what it is called in English. After Marcus, the next Bishop of Eome was Julius, the son of a Eoman peasant, who filled the Episco- pal chair for fifteen years and two months. During his episcopate, in the second year of the reign of the Emperor Constant (the son of Constantine), in the city of Laodicea, in Syria, a great dispute arose be- tween Athanasius and Arius, in the presence of the Judge Probrus. I will not lose time in relating this quarrel, but merely observe that in my MS. I clearly perceive that Athanasius, the Bishop of Alexandria, had to quit the place and take shelter in the house of Maximinus, the Bishop of Treverensis, to avoid the punishment of the Emperor Constant. Liberius, another Eoman of august family, succeeded Julius ; he was Bishop of Eome for ten years and seven months, but at the commencement of his pon- tificate he was exiled by Constant on account of his opposition to Arianism. During the three first years of the exile of Bishop Liberius, he managed, with the Eoman priests who were his corresponding friends, that they should congregate together and elect to the Eoman chair Eelix, who was one of their most active friends. Soon after his election, Eelix convoked a council, and finding two priests amongst them, named Ursacius and Valens, who were partizans of the Emperor Constant, he expelled them with the approbation of forty bishops. (So says the MS.) These two priests, Orsiniand Valente, in their zeal, went to the Emperor Constant, and begged of him to recal from exile Bishop Liberius. The Emperor Constant acceded to their supplication, and recalled Liberius, who went to reside at the 158 cemetery of Agnes, in the house of the Emperor's • sister. The Emperor then called a Council, to which concurred also the Arians, Orsini and Yalente. The result of that Council was the expulsion of Felix and the reinstallation of Liberius to the Bishopric of Borne, in which he remained seven years pontifica- ting in the Basilicas of St Peter and Paul, and in the Constantiniana. A great discussion and conflict now arose amongst the clergy, persecution was com- menced, and Clerici et Sacerdotes were forbidden to enter the baths or the temples under pain of death. Bishop Eelix declared that Constant was a heretic, , for which that Emperor caused him to be deposed and decapitated. I have taken this sketch from the •» MS. Chronica, which is of course written favourably to the Roman Church by the above-named reverend writer, notwithstanding which we see that in the fourth century of Christianity, soon after Con- stantine's death, the Bishops of Rome were guilty of intriguing, that they were bold, impudent, and in- sidious in their conduct and bearing, when they should have been grateful to the son of Constantine. Though rich, too, they were thirsty for both gold and power. Bishop Felix overstepped the limits of imperial toleration and censured the Emperor Constant, who, having no other alternative, ordered him to be decapitated, together with all his rebel priests, and by that example re-established order and union in the Church of Rome, and in the other parts of the empire. Previous to the decapitation of Felix, Bishop of Rome, in the year 341, the great Synod of Sardinia took place, at which were present the Bishops and amongst them the celebrated men of letters of that period, Bishops Athanasius, Osius Cordubensis, Pro- togenes, the Bishop of Sardinia, who presided at that Synod, Sozomenus, and the Archdeacon of Rome, Philozenus, who represented the Roman Bishop Felix. These historical Ecclesiastical writers had no idea of 159 the inventions of their successors, and of course they related what passed there, where they respectively presided. Baronius and others of his class have materially altered the original writings of these early Ecclesiastics. Nevertheless, many MSS. copies and the early printed editions of the said MSS., and of those of Ammianus Marcellinus, and of Euffinus, also a contemporary author who wrote the chronica called Liber Pontificalis, where everything was regis- tered with regard to the origin and development of Christianity, the Priests and the Bishops, the Church and the Canons, and Laws, in fact everything per- taining to Christianity in general, and to Eome in particular, still exist in opposition to the statements of Baronius. I have never seen a copy of this work, though I have frequently met with paragraphs ex- tracted and inlaid in the various ancient Ecclesiastical works of various periods. These early works would be invaluable now- a- days, and tend to the confusion of the Eoman Catholic Prelates, but unfortunately they will never issue from the Vatican where they are concealed. However, as I do not intend to write either a complete History of Christianity or of the Popes, I shall not have occasion to name all of them, nor all the Synods or the schisms, except those from which I may take one fact in order to establish another. For instance, in the year 362, " Athanasius Synodum percelebrem Alexandria indicit, quo Epis- copos undecumque invitat, ut veram doctrinam sta- biliat." Earonius adds to it, " de mandatu Liberii," Baronius, an. which is an untruth, because the Bishop of Alexan- 363 > art - 2 °8* dria was independent of the Bishop of Eome ; and, besides, Athanasius was honest enough to have written so had it been the case. In the year 364, Sozomenus, Sozomenus said that the Orthodox Bishops of Bitty- m'.kl' 7 ' nice et Helleponti sent Hypatianus, the Bishop of Heraclea, to beg from the Emperor Valentinian per- mission to hold a Synod, or to permit the convocation of a Synod. The Bishops depended on the Emperors, and were entirely independent of each other j thqy 160 were only the spiritual superiors of their inferior clergy, and the Bishop of Constantinople could not interfere with the authority of the Bishop of Rome, or of any other See but his own, and so it was with all the other bishops. At the Synod of Mcea, some bishops proposed and sent a letter to Liberius, the Roman Bishop, offering to him other Bishops as coadjutors. His answer to the Oriental Bishops was — Episcopum se tan turn Italiee — that he was only Bishop of Italy ; and therefore he probably could not accept coadjutors without the Imperial consent. Anno Bom. 366, when the successor to the Eoman Bishop Libe- rius was to be elected, a great number of violent contentions occurred, and many intriguing candidates aspired to the See. In the Liber Pontificalis it is stated that — Damasus was installed in that See, because he was the stronger, &c. — quia fortior et plu- Li b.Pontifi.in r i ma multitudo erat. (So said Buffinus, the con- Euffin.,' lib. temporary author. ) Quod ex facto tanta seditio, imo 2,c.io. vero tanta bella coorta sunt, alterutrum defenden- tibus populis, ut replerentur humano sanguine Ora- Ammia. Mar- tionum loca. Ammianus Marcellinus has described ceiii.,iib.27. ^ Q cause 0 f this sanguinary insurrection : Damasus et Ursicinus ad rapiendam Episcopalem Sedem ardentes, supra humanum modum scissis studiis asperrime conflictabantur, adusque mortis vulner- umque discrimina adjumentis utriusque progressis : quae nec corrigere sufficiens Yiventius nec mollire, vi This is the magna coactus secessit in suburbanum. Et in con- t&Snais! certatione supervenerat Damasus, parte quae ei who remained favebat, instante : constatque in Basilica Sicinini, ubi forfi^cen^ ritus Christiani est conventiculum, uno die centum count their ^ ri ^ m ^ a se P tem reperta cadavera peremptorum : effera- eriminal tarn que diu plebem segre postea dilinitam, &c. Erom deeds. this it is evident that the Popes began rather early to aspire to St Peter's chair by all sorts of contentions, subterfuges, commotions, and murders. We must not forget that Constant, the successor of Constantine, was compelled to have Eelix decapitated for his im- pudence and daring in threatening to excommunicate 161 him. From this we see also that the Orsini family- had already attained sufficient influence and power to cause a commotion in Rome. This ancient heraldic notice will be observed by many antiquaries, and in this work many illustrious names will be restored to the world. Marcellinus further speaks of the Roman Am. Marcel- Bishops of his time, unmasking them, and proving to., lib. 37 them ostentatious hypocrites, desirous of obtaining what belonged to others. He states that they seated themselves in their chariots, splendidly and tastefully dressed, and rode to enrich themselves by the bene- volence of the Matrons ; that they took care to have the most sumptuous banquets, almost eclipsing those of the royal tables, &c, Neque ego abnuo, ostentationem rerum considerans Marcellinus. urbanarum, hujus rei cupidos, ob impetrandum quod appetunt, omni contentione laterum jurgari debere, cum id adepti futuri sint ita securi, ut ditentur obla- tionibus matronarum, procedantque vehiculis insi- dente circumspecte vestiti, epulas curantes profusas adeo ut eorum convivia regales superent mensas : Qui esse peterant beati re vera, si magnitudine urbis despecta, quam vitiis opponunt ad imitationem An- tistitum quorundam Provincialium viverent : quos tenuitas edendi potandique parcissime, vilitas etiam indumentorum, et supercilia humum spectantia per- petuo numini verisque ejus cultoribus ut puros com- mendant et verecundos. — No, no, the Bishops of Rome of the time of Marcellinus were not so modest as to imitate the fathers of the Church, or to live like the provincial people, who ate moderately, drank very little, and dressed commonly and simply. Com- mon and cheap attire would not do. Was this not so, Mr Antonelli, and is it not partly so now ? You must keep up the " show" to be looked at and ad- mired, like the harlots who " Spectatum ornatae veniunt spectentur ut ipsse." With regard to looking modestly upon the ground, p 2 162 as becomes the followers of the Apostles, and being noted for humility, oh ! that was and is still out of the question, and I appeal to the actual Apostolic prelates whether the object of the painted and gilded coaches, horses, and asses — not those that were used by Pope Celestinus the Pifth and the Cardinals who accompanied him in the cavalcade to the Vatican to take possession of St Peter's Chair — as well as the harlequin-like, degrading dresses of the Bishops' ser- vants of the past and present day, is not to enhance the pompous vanity of the prelates, contrary to Christianity and to the laws of humanity. I refer to their show not only in the churches, but in the public walks and drives, in their boxes at the theatre, and at the /est ins (for the Devil knows where they don't make their appearance). If I have not forgotten, Stupinus said that after death he would confine the whole of the Prelacy in a certain region, the latitude and longitude of which geographers have not yet agreed upon, though the actual Cardinal Minister of the Interior of Borne seems to be pretty well acquainted with the Governor of that region, inasmuch as he said only the other day, in one of his public invectives against the redeemers of Italian liberties, in finishing his speech, that he would move Acheron in his favour ! By chance I have named Pope Celes tine's cele- brated asses, and I think that though not in chrono- logical order, it is necessary to explain to those who are not acquainted with that historical fact why I have so described it. People's minds should be brought to conceive the existence of a company of great blackguards, one sharper than the other, but all aiming to possess a capital place, with the best income and unlimited power. These infami panze- nere, as they are called in Borne, were so utterly demoralised, and had carried their unblushing impu- dence so far, that every section of society was dis- gusted. Beiigion had been superseded by debauchery, 163 pompous shams, and strife, and only a very few of the Ecclesiastics and of the monastic orders remained steadfast to the Christian religious principles, and practised them upon every opportunity that occurred. In the course of this little work I shall offer proofs of Ecclesiastics admonishing even those who held the Episcopate, Cardinalate, and the Papal See. Eeligion then was not entirely extinct, and at the death of PopeNicolaus the Eourth, in 1290, as the weather in Kome was bad, the Cardinals withdrew to Perugia. Many dissensions arose in conclave, particularly on account of the intrigues of Cardinal Gactani, who will be introduced in another chapter as Pope Boni- face, the pest of the age. In order to avoid the con- flicts, and to act in a conciliatory manner towards each Cardinal's interest, they agreed to elect as Pope a Hermit, who was a pious old man, and who had no family interest, nor any intrigues, and who had never aspired to that dignity. His name was Peter Morone, and he was elected in the year 1292. This good old man took it into his head to reform the abuses in the Roman Church, and ordered that, as he intended to imitate the manners and principles of Christ, he intended also that the Cardinals should do the same. In his Pontifical cavalcade he rode upo^ an Ass, and was followed by the Cardinals similarly mounted, and all the company stopped at the Vatican, bipeds and quadrupeds, all crociati; the only differ- ence in the party consisted in the bipeds carrying their crosses in front of them, and the quadrupeds on their back. The Eoman people enjoyed the spectacle, See Stella and were in expectation of many really good reforms ; Si^Sa?" but they were soon deceived, because the intrigues sens, Henr. and perfidy of Cardinal Gactani or Boniface caused ciSon^Aveu- Celestin to abdicate the Papacy ; he then had him ^in T h 01 in arrested, as is related by Avcutinus, Colenucius, EdVarli. m Blondus, and Platina, and when he was in prison he was basely murdered by the ambitious, insolent, and audacious ingrate Boniface the Eighth. I am not 164 acquainted with any member of the family of Gactani, but I understand that a young gentleman of that ancient family, who is a liberal-minded man, was lately married to Madlle. Piccolomini. I am glad to hear that liberalism has superseded despotism. Hieronymus, I must now return to the chronological order of tuiifa^Apoi., m y work. Hieronymus says that, at the time of c. 39.j Tertullian, the Eoman Episcopate knew no bounds to their luxuries and opulence, debauchery and impu- dence, and that the Pagan ministers used to condemn those extravagant banquets given by the Christians. Ccenulas enim, inquit, nostras prodigas suggilatis de nobis silicet Diogenis dictum est : Megarenses obso- nant, quasi crastina die morituri : Hse igitur epulae profusa, convivia regales superantia mensas Eegales. Ammianus Marcellinus also declaims against the nocturnal and extravagant banquets given by the Eoman Bishops. Hieronym. in Cum inquit, in Eabylone versarer, et purpuratae Eb?Didym!de meretricis essem colonus, et jure (Juiritum viverem, Spirit. Sanct yolui garrire aliquid de Spiritu Sancto, et cceptum Opusculum ejusdem urbis Pontifici dedicare. Et ecce ilia olla quae in Hieremia post baculum cernitur, a facie Aquilonis ccepit ardere, et Pharisaeorurn con- clamavit Senatus, et nullus Scriba vel fictus, sed omnis quasi indicto sibi praelio doctrinarum, adversus me imperitiae factio conjuravit. Illico ego velut post- liminio Hierosolymam sum reversus : Et post Bomuli casam Lupercalia, diversorium Mariae et Salvatoris speluncam aspexi. What do you think of this, Bishop Pie ? Have you anything to say against Hieronymus ? Was he a Protestant, a Chinese, or a Turk? He was not ignorant; he was the most learned of all the Holy See, and pious and honest, yet he styled the Eoman See a Babylon and a Senate of Pharisees, who were audacious and ignorant, who conspired directly against him as soon as he began to tell them the truth. Marcellinus corroborates the testimony referred to by Hieronymus, and I will 165 state here that in Orient at that time the Christian Church was in the same state of confusion, orgies, heresy, and schism ; and Athanasius and Basilius, notwithstanding the assistance given them by the Church of Occident, had plenty of work to do in opposing Arianism. Bishop Basilius, who was a good man, in his letters to Bishop Eusebius, also a good and clever man, proves that the assertion of the discord and the prevarications of the high and low clergy was correct. Basilius, in his letter, 'No. 70, Basilius, ep. speaking of the Italian and French Episcopate, says : Quos miserum suum statum, toto orbe cog- nitum ignorare non sit possibile ; — and, in his first letter, Basilius wrote : Ad vos quoque respexi- Basilius, ep. mus, fratres venerandissimi, quos in presenti tribu- 1 » maddlt * lationum tempore frequenter ad nos venturos speravimus. Yerum spe ista frustrati ipsi quoque illud nobis occinimus. Expectavi qui simul contris- taretur et non fuit, et qui consolaretur, et non inveni. Sunt enim ejusmodi nostrse afflictionis, ut et hi, qui extremum Occidentem incolunt, merito ad hunc nostrum orbem sese recipere deberent. And farther on he said that it was already the thirteenth year of that heretic war which was going on, &c, before saying anything of the above quotation. Marcellinus has already told us that the Eoman Clergy amused themselves with the money of the Matrons: Ditatos Episcopos Eomanos oblationibus Matronarum. Hieronymus, in a letter ad JSusto- Hieronymus, chium, and in the 2nd ad Nepotianum, says : Clerici ep ' ipsi, quos magisterio esse oportuerat pariter, et timori, osculantur capita matronarum, et extenta manu, ut benedicere eos putes velle, si nescias, praetia accipiunt salutandi. Mas interim, quae Sacerdotes suo viderint indigere praesidio, eriguntur in superbiam : Et quia maritorum experta domi- natum viduitatis prseferunt libertatem. Quidam hoc intendunt toto vitse cursu, ut nomina, domos, et mores matronarum teneant. And he did not fear 166 having an action for defamation of character brought against him by Antirnus, Sophronius, and others, that he had named and described. We have seen, through that honest Don Basilio's letters, that the Episcopates of Italy and of France were in the same state of disorder, intrigue, and abomination, as those of every other part of the world ; and that accounts for the Eeverend Don, in the letter which I have quoted, saying : " I come to you, most Eeverend Brothers, whom I have uselessly awaited. I was in hopes that you would have come in these days of tribulation, but you have frustrated that hope. I expected that some of you would have come to condole over the iniquities, and to bring us consolations, but no one came, nor could I find anyone;" and the reason why they did not, nor ever intended to do, is plainly told by the quota- tion which I have made from the good old Jerome in his letters to Nepotianus, which I have named above, and says that " the Clergy used frequently to kiss the Matrons, and extend the hand like as if they pretended to give them the benediction ; but if you want to know why, this is the reason, — because in that action they took the prices of their salutations. Those Matrons who sought the assistance of the Priests and enriched them, did so because it fed their vanity. There are some Prelates even who prefer women who have fools of husbands to domineering and expert widows." Capital ! bravo, Jerome ! You were a sober, honest man, a patriarch, a saint, and I shall always admire your frankness, and esteem you above the whole of the Ecclesiastic tribe. You have told to posterity what your brothers in Christ were doing instead of attending to their duty ; you have plainly shown that, instead of being fathers of the Church, they were the disseminators of scandals, the corrupters of the women, adulterers, ruffians that were capable of any enormity for money, which enabled them to con- 167 summate their caprices, to possess their chariots, palaces, dresses, gold and jewels, land and states, as will be seen by other quotations. When I reflect that a thousand years ago it was exactly the same as it had been from the year 370 (about the time when Hieronymus wrote), and when I see that from the fifteenth century we have not improved in anything except hypocrisy, ask all conscientious persons what use it is for society, and for the moral and political welfare of states, to keep up such a lot of parasitic, libidinous, envious, vain, rapacious, and miserable gluttons, who seem to be on earth only to perpetuate the list of human miseries, and to suck the blood of the people whom they constantly toss about for the opportunity of better and easier spoliat- ing their victims ? Some people say that they are a necessary evil, and you must not say or do anything against them, but at the same time they coincide with me that the wrongs and injuries that they in- flict upon society are infinitely greater than the little good or assistance that they give to the people in compensation for what they get out of them. For my part, I am ready to protest that, from the death of Constantine the Great to the present time, Chris- tianity has never been properly and purely exercised by the Court of Eome, alias the Holy See, and the numerous Episcopates in the other states and coun- tries, though great numbers of private individuals, at all times and in every country, with pious, benevo • lent, and humane disposition of heart and mind, have constantly toiled for the welfare of the Christian Church and of the people, by their constant practice of the Evangelical precepts and all other humanita- rian Christian rules, in spite of misery, ruin, and persecution of all kinds. In proof of this assertion, instead of naming many other Christian congregations and of individualising particularities, I will instance the Waldenses, of whom in some other chapters I shall speak further. The Bishops of Eome had 168 accustomed themselves so much to intimidate their victims — -the women whom they had corrupted, both married and single — either by blandishments or by threats (and where this was not the case, by gratify- ing their lustful appetites), as to cause them to will to them or transfer to them their property, and to such an extent, that they actually ruined several families ; whereupon the Emperor Valentinianus, to stop this abuse, made a law, and his successors (Valeus, Gratianus, and others) confirmed it — That the Ecclesiastics, and those who undertake to be conti- nent or profess celibacy, should abstain from going to visit the widows and unmarried women, that they might not receive anything belonging to them, either privately or by the pretext of having joined them in a religious association, or by any liberal gift, &c. And here I will insert the text, because it formed the groundwork upon which the Mortmain Laws of Pauiinus, lib. modern nations have been built : ~Ne ecclesiastici, cop. D et cieri" ve ^ which will assist in fixing the chronology of those divines : ms. Chron., Et ab urbe condita mcxxxii. Gratianus cum fratre P- 143 - Valentiniano xl ab Augusto post mortem Yalentis sex annis Imperium tenuit. Quamvis jamdudum antea cum Patruo Yalente et cum Yalentiniano fratre regnaret. Gratianus itaque admodum juyenis^ cum inestimabilem multitudinem Hostium Eomanis in- fusam finibus cerneret : Eretus Christi Potentia, loDge in pari militum numero sese ostendit, et continuo apud Argertaream Galliarum oppidum for- midabilissimum bellum incredibili felicitate confecit. Nam plusquam triginta millia Alemannorum, nimio Romanorum detrimento in eo prselio interfecta narrantur. Hoc itaque Deus suse rectae fidei ultorem contribuit : Cum usque ad id tempus Italia Arianse fidei morbo langueret. Hoc itaque tempore post Auxentii seram mortem cum Ambrosius Mediola- nensis Episcopus pro fide Catholica libros Gratiano Imperatori porrexisset, ac veneratione qua debuerat susceptus esset. Universam statim ad rectam fidem Italiana reparavit. Eo tempore in Gallia Turonis multis Beatissimus Martinus radiabat virtutibus. Totoque orbi doctrinis et Scientia clarus apud Beth- leem civitatem Palestine situs, pollebat Hieronymus, Mediolani vero Beatus Ambrosius Episcopus, Pictavis quoque Beatus Hilarius. Hispanise autem Beatus Augustinus Episcopus. Constantinopoli vero Beatus 177 Joannes Chrisostomus, quorum prseclaris opusculis, hodie usque Ecclesia floret Bomse etiara Paulus Orosius dissertissimus temperum scriptor. I should say that, according to my notion, these pious men after the Apostles formed a new era by themselves, which, unfortunately, hardly survived them. From this MS. Chronica I have already noticed three Herods and two St Johns. The Herods died before St John the Evangelist, who lived ninety-eight years ; and from this Evangelist to St John Chrisos- tomus there is an interval of full 300 years. In the reign of Gratianus there was no Herod either in Palestine or anywhere else, and it is positive (always according to this MS. Chronica) that St John Chri- sostomus lived till, and probably survived the anno Domini 400. Such being the case, and being de- sirous to learn the truth of the facts, or the falsity of the statements of this MS. Chronica, may I inquire which was the St John who was the victim of Herod and Herodiades ? To reconcile these statements with the Christian notions that I have, I am compelled to believe that there must have been another St John living at the time of the Herods, and that this third St John was sacri- ficed by Herod before Herod and his w T ife were exiled, and went to die in Spain, and that this sup- posed third St John had not been taken notice of by the writer of the Chronica. — In another chapter I have emitted the opinion that St John the Baptist was so called up to the time that he wrote his Evangile, and after that he was termed the Evan- gelist, and this appears to be confirmed by the writer of the said MS. Chronica, in a passage alluding to St John, where he terms him the Baptist of the Evangile (Baptisto a Evangeliorum) . — Unless I premise the above supposition it would be impossible for me to explain or understand the above conflicting statements. I should % therefore feel obliged to any 178 one who could suggest a better explanation of these matters, which are only clear enough to create con- fusion in my mind. I leave Boniface the First doing penance for his mis- deeds, and pass on to the next tenacious pretender to the Primacy, Leo the First, Bishop of Rome, in the year 450, and during his episcopacy he strongly stimulated the other bishops, by letters, to assist him in the attempt to consummate that usurpation ; he had first of all written to them in friendly and most courteous terms, thinking by these means to secure their kindly assistance and sympathy, so as to be enabled to ascertain what sort of benefit he could derive from their concurrence in his views about this political scheme of elevating himself above the others. It seems that Leo had the courage to call himself Pope of the Roman Catholic and Universal Church : — Papam se Ecclesise Urbis Romse cognominat et universalem, &c. About the same epoch, the Bishop of Constantinople, in a general Synod, was named Bishop of the Second See. All these abuses of power had already been forbidden by various Councils and Emperors; nevertheless, the priestly impudence carried the point at the moment that the Emperor was either indifferent to the effect that would result from this new title, or that he was engaged in other occupations more serious, or in war, or other causes which I cannot momentarily ascertain by historical investigation. It is not necessary to relate the contentions that took place at the various Councils amongst the bishops, who dis- approved of these innovations of the Roman and Constantinopolitan bishops. Before I proceed further, I will revive a trifling law which served for a time to paralyze the extra- vagant assumptions of the bishops, who, not satis- fied with having had as a concession the Imperial authority of adjudicating in Theological and other Ecclesiastical cases, by the, abuse of that same 179 Synodal power, but they now and then arrogated to themselves the adjudication of civil cases, not only between ecclesiastics and lay people, but even in cases entirely within the cognizance of the regular judges alone, whether civil or criminal, and of secular per- sons. As this was a breach of the temporal power, the Emperors Valentinianus and Theodosius remedied the evil by the enactment of the following law, which was inserted in the Codex Theodosn, in the Novellas Valentiniani, lib. 2. It is also reported by Baronius, art. 52 and 50, anno 452. It runs thus : Anno 452. De Episcopali Judicio diversorum ssepe causatio est. In d o° d ' Tlieo " 3Se ulterius querela procedat necesse est presenti lege sanciri. Itaque cum inter Clericos jurgium ver- titur, et ipsis litagatoribus convenit, habeat Episcopus licentiam judicandi: praeunte tamen vinculo com- promissi. Quod et Laicis, si consentiant, authoritas nostra permittit. Aliter eos judices esse non patimur, nisi voluntas jurgantium, interposita, sicut dictum est, conditione prsecedat. Quoniam constat Episco- pas et Presbyteros forum legibus non habere, nec de aliis causis secundum Arcadii et Honorii Divalia constituta, quae Theodosiarum corpus ostendit, prgeter religionem cognoscere. Si ambo ejusdem officii liti- gatores nolint, vel alter uter, agant publicis legibus et jure commune. Sin vero petitor Laicus, seu in civili, seu criminali causa cujuslibet loci Clericum adversarium suum, si id magis eligat, per authori- tatem legitimam in publico judicio respondere com- pellat. Quam formam etiam circa Episcoporum personam observari oportere censemus. Ut si in hujusmodi ordinis homines actionem persuasionis et atrocium injuriarum dirigi necesse fuerit, per procuratorem solemniter ordinatum apud judicem publicum inter leges et jura confligant, &c. The moral wisdom of this law is quite enough to convince the obstinate Eather of the non possumus non volumusy that in the olden time it was different to what it is now, and that, what has been done 180 during the last five hundred years in Borne and in the Roman Slates, instead of administering justice, the Popes have usurped and still usurp the right and privilege of administering injustice. I am not fond of retrogression, nor of any barbarism of old, but I contend that the above law seems to me an admira- ble specimen of equity and justice founded upon a most impartial basis, and would answer uncommonly well even at the present day, although we are so much civilised. If we were not provided with a good Statuto, I would propose the total renovation of this law for all Italy, and would not be silent until I saw it readopted in the Italian Courts of Law, in spite of the Belgian Jesuit, the Sacrijpante, alias the first Sicary of the Eoman States. I know that Mr Antonelli would protest against this, as usual, and that the great Crocodile would shed a few more tears on the occasion of losing the means and oppor- tunity of skinning, more antiquo, his unfortunate subjects ; but this would be a trifling consideration amounting to nothing, as it is only a specimen of hypocrisy always ready at hand, which costs un zero, and serves only to delude the fools who believe it to be a genuine specimen of humane feeling. Such things are well known now, and there are many precedents with respect to other States. I could quote, for in- stance, a late Monarch who used to receive every depu- tation avec un nouveau plaisir, although their mission was to ask things which the Monarque tenaciously denied to grant, and although he promised in the first bulletin that he issued to the nation that "La Charte sera desormais une verite." (See the first Bulletin of Louis Philippe, 29th July, 1830.) Before I dismiss the subject of this law, which com- pelled the Ecclesiastics to adjudicate only in Eccle- siastical affairs, and to submit to be adjudicated in their civil and criminal affairs to the common courts of Justice, I will just state that Baronius, with his usual partiality to the cloth, made the Jesuitical 181 remark that " that law indignated God to restore the strength to Attila and to Gesnerieus, who went to destroy Rome, finding the roads clear and the gates open" I have quoted this remark of Baronius, so that any one may see how far the spirit of party can be carried in its monstrous absurdities. About the year 472 Odoacre, Rugiorum Dux, possessed himself of Italy. To avoid a commotion in Borne, on account of Simplicius the Eoman Bishop's death, he insti- tuted a law, by virtue of which Basilius was named his Yicar, and it was promulgated in the Vatican in the presence of a great concourse of Bishops : " Si Simplicium de hac luce exire contigerit, propter ilium strepitum, et venerabilis Ecclesise detrimentum, sine nostra consultatione cujuslibet non celebreturElectio." (Sigonius de Occident. Imper., 1. 15 et 16.) And so it was, and during the thirteen years of his reign and authority in Eome and Italy everything was tranquil. According to Sigonius, in the year 498, after the death of Anasthasius the Second, a quantity of money was distributed in Eome amongst the clergy to buy their votes and influence for the election of a Bishop favourable to the interest of the Oriental Emperor, Anasthasius. There were two parties in Eome ; one elected Symmachus, the other Laurentius, and here again for some years we had dissensions, strife, and a regular cataclysm with all its concomitant evils Councils and Synods were abrogated, together with all former good laws, for bad ones, and the usual per- secutions, spoliations, &c, were the result, until, after four years of fierce contentions, Theodoricus put an end to this horrible state of things by expel- ling both the pretending Bishops, and constituted in their place the Bishop Peter Altinus, as stated by Faidus Diaconus, in lib. 15, and by Micephorus : Ex utrisque partibus innumerae strages, et rapinse pa* tratse sunt, plerique ex Sacerdotali numero, multi etiam Clericorum plures civium Eomanorum ex- E 182 tincti — and Sabellicus (En. 8, L 2) added to it: " ne virginibus quidem sacris parsum." Eusebius, in lib. 6, c. 37, and Dionysius, also confirm the existence of the iniquitous dissensions of the Eccle- siastics, and of the victims of the schism. In the year 501, Theodoricus convoked a great Synod, in which most of the Italian Bishops concurred. Baro- nius related the convocation of this Synod, but with his usual tact controverted the facts, and dressed them with new white linen instead of black and scarlet. The French and German Bishops were alike discontented and insurrectionary, and refused obedience to the mandates of King Clodoveus, as stated by Bishop Anasthasius the Second, and as demonstrated by their formal letter, sent to him and reported in Epistol. Episc. Gall, et Germ, ad Anasthas. 2, in the Collectanea Aventini. I need not insert it here, as it is too long ; it must suflice, therefore, merely to point it out to those who are fond of investigating the truth of past events. After the reinstation of Symmachus to St Peter's chair, and his subsequent death, Bishop Hormisidas was elected : he sent letters, and delegated various of his Yicars in Italy, France, and other States in the year 518, and ecclesiastical affairs went on quietly for a time, but when the Emperor Justinus wrote to Bishop Hormi- sidas, styling him Hormisidse Archiepiscopo et Patri- archse, of course this new title was taken notice of, and gave umbrage to the other Bishops, causing jea- lousy and some dissensions. Erom that moment, and not before, the Bishop of Borne was officially elevated a step higher, not in power, but in title or dignity. The Papal dignity, we have seen, was for- bidden by Synodal convention, which had decreed that the Roman Bishop should style himself or should be addressed only as Bishop of the Eirst See, and Hormisidas Episcopus Romanus Johanni Episcopo Constantinopolitano, in writing to his brother Bishop, used the above heading in the year 518 and 519, and 183 as soon as he was named by the Emperor Archbishop and Patriarch he adopted that title, and never forgot the use nor the abuse of it. I fix, then, the epoch of 519 or 520 as the period when the Episcopate commenced to usurp the Papal dignity. The Bishop of Constantinople we see also was called at that time Patriarch. Sub an. 530. Eelice Johannis successore vita functo, rursus in Urbe tumultus, dum alii Bonifacium alii Dioscorum poscunt. [Anno 530, Liber Ponti- fical, in Bonifa.] Here again, we have the usual cabals and riots for the election of the new Boman Archbishop. Two parties were contending for the berth, some wanted to elect Boniface, others Dios- corus ; but as it frequently happened in the Pontifi- cal elections, or soon after, that the elected were suddenly taken ill and departed, so it happened in this case that Dioscorus after eighteen days travelled to the other world. Boniface then accommodated himself in the Eoman chair, convoked a Synod, and obtained from some of the Bishops the power of elect- ing his successor to avoid the usual esclanders of the elections and the schism. Having named his suc- cessor, Vigilius, who was his Diaconus, and finding him fully disposed, as well as ambitious of power, he persuaded himself of the danger of having a rival so near his person; so he convoked a Council, and stated that he had reconsidered his projects, acknow- ledged that he had acted erroneously in electing a successor, as the power belonged only to the Holy Spirit to elect the Pontiff, and accordingly, with a new Chirograph, he revoked and burned the previous Syno- dal decree, as if it had been an act of Zcesce Majestatis. Money was still the greatest power and medium to obtain any object, and with money the Bishops were inspired to speak and do all the miraculous things that have enchanted the credulity of the ignorant classes of every nation. At the death of Boniface the Second, the intrigues and the corruptions 184 extorted by the distribution of money to all classes, even among the Senators, called forth from that dignified body, offended and degraded by some of its members, a Senatus Consultum, which was reported by Cassiodorus (lib. 9, epist. 15), and which would have had good effect if it had always been enforced, to prevent the Eishops corrupting the people with money or promises at the time of the elections, &c. Quicumque in Episcopatu obtinendo sive per se, sive per aliam quamcumque personam, aliquid promisisse declarator, aut execrabilis contractus cunctis viribus efferatur. Si quis autem in hoc scelere deprehenditur fuisse versatus, nullam relinquimus vocem, verum etiam si aut repetendum, aut quod acceptum est, non reddendum esse crediderit, sacriiegii reus protinus habeatur, accepta restituens compulsione judicis competentis. When this law was issued it is quite certain that the Episcopal corruption was at its highest point; therefore I make no remarks. Italy was then kept in subjection by the Goths, the Greeks, and the Lombards; so that the state of confusion must have been very great without the increment of the constant rampant and fighting attitude of the Popes, who were struggling for Ecclesiastical supremacy, and making occasional attempts to usurp the civil power. Agapetum vix electum, et a se confirmatum, Theodatus Constan- tinopolim Legatum ad Justinianum mittit, Amalas- unthae uxoris, Theodorici filiae necem excursaturum : Sic et idem Theodatus Agapeto successorem instituit Silverium ex legitimo matrimonio Hormisidse Papae filium. (Anasthasius in Agapeto, anno 536.) As soon as Agapetus was elected he confirmed himself in the Papal Throne, and was sent by Theodatus as his Legate to Justinian, at Constantinople, to justify or to excuse him for the death of his wife Amala- sunthae, daughter of Theodoric ; — and so Theodatus constituted Silverius, son of Pope Hormiside by legitimate matrimony, to succeed to Agapetus. I 185 shall omit the relation of the great intrigue, scandal, and schism, which took place at the instigation of Augusta (Eutychiana), who corrupted Belisarius to name Vigilius as Pope, and to displace and seize the elected Silverius. This serious affair was under- taken for the promised |sum of septem centenaria, to be divided between Belisarius and Yigilius, who, for ambition and money, had promised that as soon as he assumed the Papal power he would faithfully declare that Theodosius, Anthemius, and Severus were heretics ; and Belisarius stained his honourable name in that infamous transaction. See Liberatus Archidiaconus Carthaginens, in 13reviario, c. 22, who gives a very good account of this monstrous plot, and of its success in the year 538. Earonius (to. 7, anno 538, art. 20) notices it also, and states that before that time there had not been so great a schism. Popa, inquit, nulla nisi saecularis hominis authoritate cathedram insidens, fur et latro, non per ostium sed aliunde conscendens, Lupus gregem invadens, Pseudoepiscopus contra legitimum Episcopum stans, Antichristus contra Christum jure appellandus, &c. Superat hoc scelus quodlibet id genus antea perpetratum, cedit huic novati impietas, pertinacia XJrsicini, Laurentii prse- sumptio ac denique aliorum omnium Schismaticorum antistium superbia, arrogantia atque facinorosa temeritas. Now, my dear old friend Dupanloup, what do you think of these splendid actions of your old .illustrious colleagues and brothers ? Yoii see that even Earonius, although he belonged to the black and scarlet cloth, did not hesitate to give to the Pope the highest synonyme, Fur et latro, thief and assassin, lupus invadens gregem, the wolf assailing the flock, Antichrist fighting against Christ, &c. Pray, Dupanloup, do translate the text yourself, and as these are capital invectives, use them in your next Episcopal JEncyclica against the Liberals, and I shall be spared the trouble of translation, and continue k 2 186 my work to discover and prepare you another dish of the same rare palatable prelatic luxuries. The iniquities of this last Pope were so many and so great that I will refer the reader to several old ecclesiastic writers, "that he may not think that modern people like to write prejudicially against him." Therefore, after Baronius, see Anasthasius, the bibliothecary of the Eoman See, in Yigilio, and Procopius, de Bello Gotthorum, lib. 3. Nicephorus, lib. 17, c. 26, added to what Baronius stated, that Yigilius, instead of calming his first violence, rather increased it, and excommunicated the Patriarch Menna, who had been consecrated in the place of the heretic Antimus by Agapetus, his predecessor, &c. Addit JSficephorus de pristina ilium violentia nihil renitentem, Patri- archam Mennam, in Anthimi haeretici locum *ab Agapeto decessore consecratum, excommunicasse, Mennam vicissim ipsum — ut tandem terminandis his controversiis, quae pravis partium animis accen- debantur, Synodo Chalcedone convocata opus esset. Baronius (anno 555) further observes : Eutychium Mennse suffectum fidei suse professionem Yigilio tradidisse. This dear Yigilius, or wide-awake, was so discontented and so perverse that he sought cause for quarrel even in the Constantinopolitan Synod ; and he would not sit down for the vanity of being higher than the others. See Synod Constantinopolit., 5 act., 4 Bellarmin., lib. 1, de Cone, c. 19. At that time there were only three Patriarchs, Yigilius at Eome, Eutychius at Constantinople, and Apollinaris at Alexandria, so says Zonara, torn. 3, pp. 55 et 74. Onuphrius, in the "Life of Pelagius," lib. 2, gives a little insight into the state of the political affairs of the Eoman See and the Empire, and I will quote it because it is the basis upon which the Eoman See stood for several centuries in obedience to the Imperial will. It says: Grotthis in Italia omni per Narsetem Patricium expulsis eaque cum TJrbe Eoma Orientalis Imperii facta parte, 187 sub Justiniano Imperatore, et Anthoritate, Papse Yigilii motus quidam in Comitiis Pontificiis mos inolevit. Is fait, ut mortuo Papa, nova quidem electio, more majorum, statim a Clero, Senatu, et Populo Romano fieret, verum electus Rom amis Pon- tifex non ante consecrari atque ab Episcopis ordinari posset, quam ejus electio ab Imperatore Constanti- nopolitano eonfirmata esset, ipseque literis suis patentibus licentiam electo Pontifici concederet ut ordinari et consecrari posset, atque ita jurisdictionem Pontificatus turn obtineret. I am pleased to state here, what will be repeated in the chapter on the Papal elections, and which will serve also to corrobo- rate what I have written about them — and it must be remarked, as it is explained, that it is according to the ancient custom (more majorum) — that the Clergy, the Senate, and the People elected the Pope, and the Emperor either confirmed, or annulled the election, &c. Onuphrius was a conscientious writer, and left many valuable records of the Ecclesiastical History; though partial to the interests of the church and clergy, yet he exposed many of their vices and abuses ; even in the case quoted here, he plainly said that the Imperial Patent to the Pope's free Pontifical Jurisdiction was not obtained without the payment of a certain sum of money to the Emperor. I will continue the quotation, as it is interesting for many reasons : Pro qua licentia obti- nenda electo necesse erat certam pecuniae quantita- tem Imperatori transmittere : Qua venia obtenta, ipse postea consecrabatur et Romanum administrabat Pontificatum. Antea enim idem dies comitiorum et consecrationis Pontificis renuntiati erant. Hoc autem ideo Justinianum Imperatorem, vel ex ejus authoritate Vigilium Papam instituisse credendum est, ut Imperator certus esset de conditionibus novi Pontificis, cujus turn maxima esse authoritas cceperat, Imperatoribus prassertim Italia absentibus, ne aliquo Pontifice factioso, vel Imperatoris hoste ordinato 188 Urbs, et Italia eo authore ab Orientali Imperio deficeret, seque finitimus Barbaris traderet, quod Sylverium Papam aliquando qusesisse sibi persuaderet. These Imperial and Papal conven- tions were simple, and a good guarantee to both Church and State, and for the welfare of the people ; and if they had been properly maintained in every particular, there would have been no schism, no wars, and no invasions, and the Papal influence and the Imperial arms would have ex- pelled any insolent intruder in Italy. However, these old-established conventions lasted till the time of Benedict the Second, though now and then there happened many dissensions and interruptions of peace. To close with the case of Yigilius, I must state that he went to the Universal Synod of Constanti- nople, where the other Bishops were shocked and scandalised by his actions, and having also treated the Imperial authority with contempt, he was con- demned to exile. By the intercession of JNarsete he was afterwards recalled to Eome, but he died in Sicily, when travelling on the road thither. Con- cilium Constantinopol. 5, Collatio. 8, protestantur gravissimis verbis adversus cum patres, Scandalum imminens timendum iis, qui vel unum ex minimis scandalisant, quanto magis Imperatorem Christianis- simum et populos, et Ecclesias totas. All these Papal attempts to reach the Primacy had not yet generated the idea of the Papal temporal power, nor could it be the case, because the Emperor Honorius resided so frequently at Eavenna, that he would have been soon ready to crush any such attempt ; and generally, while he was at Eavenna, his delegate, the Exarch, was in Eome to look after the political movements of the Ecclesiastics, and report them to his Imperial master. Gregorius Turonesis, in lib. 8, c. 20, said that up to this time the Eoman Bishop had not the least 189 temporal power in Eome or anywhere eke, as he was watched and kept in subjection by the Exarch's vigilance. Ravenna rursum in qua hoc ipso tempore Justinus Secundus Exarcham, id est, summuni in Italia Yicarium, Longinum Patritium constituit, qui omni- bus Ducibus et Provinciarum Prsefectis et Magis- tratibus imperitet, ingruentibus in Italiam Longo- bardis prsecipuas quasque urbes prsesidio communiat, Eomam adeo Eavennam ipsam. Quo factum, ut ex una parte Episcopus Eomanus in temporalibus nihil omnino juris haberet, ne Eoma3 quidem, quern Exarcha in ordinem subinde cogeret. In Spiritualibus ex altera parte intra suos limites coerceretur, quatenus Spiritualis Potestas, non secus ac umbra corpus, temporalem subsequi solita, prout Eavenna adcres- cebat, declinare videbatur. Do you hear, Mr Me- her ode, the sound of the above sentences ? Is this clear enough to your intelligence, or do you want an interpreter ? The Eoman Bishop, in the middle of the sixth century, had not yet any temporal power in Eome, and much less anywhere else, and in the Spirituals he was controlled and kept in check, so quietly and so effectually, that he was completely in the dark, and never knew what was St Peter's Patrimony ! If Yigilius had known of the alleged Constantine's Donation, when he turned insolent against the Emperor, would he not have claimed it as his right ? Paul Bedford says, " I believe you, my boy." Narsete did many things for the welfare of Italy, and I therefore regret that this is not the opportunity to notice anything else than what I have stated. Sigonius, in his works de Regno Italice, repeats the same thing about the nullity of the Pope's temporal power, and Guicchardinus, in his Hist., lib. 4, corroborates the same facts in these words : " Hac tempestate qua uni Exarcho obtemperabant, Eomani Pontifices civilis potestatis penitus expertes, atque in mortalium animis admiratione et observantia, 190 moribus] ipsorum ab ilia pristina puritate jam fatis- centibus, obsolescente, tamquam Imperatoribus sub- jecti setatem agebant : sine quorum, et eorum, quos Hexarchos diximus appellatos, authoritate, quamvis Sacerdotum populique Eomani suffragiis renuntiati, lieque se pro Pontificibus gerere, neque Pontificatum Sabdiicus, capere audebant," quin etiam Episcopi Constantino- Ubjs?* 8 ' politanus et Eavennas, quoniam religionis sedes imperii atque armatorum potentiam sequi consuevit cum Eomano Episcopo saapenumero de principatu disputabant. Every historian agrees that up to that time the Eoman Bishops had not any power at all, and that even in Ecclesiastical affairs they were subject to rules, regulations, and censures. At the Synod of Narbonne, convoked in 589, and presided over by Bicharedus, was established a canon forbidding the clergy to wear any purple dresses, as unbecoming religious persons and only fit for lay persons, &c., and if any clergyman transgressed that order that he would be forced to abide by the law. — Baronius, 8, anno 598, art. 30, extra locum, also reports it so. Ut nullus Clericorum vestimenta purpurea induat> quse ad jactantiam pertinent mundialem, non ad religiosam dignitatem, ut sicut est devotio in mente, ita et ostendatur in corpore, quia purpura maxime laicorum potestate prseditis debetur, non religiose ; quod si quis non observaverit, velut transgressorem legis coercendum. Even this point we see settled by a Canonical law, which clearly established that the purple ornaments and dresses designated the temporal power, and were unbecoming to the Clergymen of any hierarchic degree. Gregorius Magnus was appointed to the Eoman See about the year 590. He was a prudent, good, and most honest Ecclesiastic, and all his letters prove that he was conciliatory, humble, and inclined to do good to humanity : he exerted himself to reform 191 and correct the abuses of the Clergy, and to persuade them to follow Christianity, without pomp and vanity. Gregorius Magnus's intentions were excellent, and it is a great misfortune to mankind that his suc- cessors degenerated so much, and adopted the opposite system. These few lines, extracted from the fourth book of his Epistola 32, are a specimen of his humility, and of the high esteem which he enter- tained for the Emperor Mauritius. In writing to another Bishop, he says : Cura ei totius Ecclesise et principatus comraittitur et tamen universalis Apos- tolus non vocatur, et vir sanctissimus consacerdos meus Johannes vocari universalis Episcopus conatur. Exclamare compellor, ac dicere, 6 tempore, 6 mores : Ecce cuncta in Europse partibus Barbarorum juri sunt tradita destructse urbes, eversa castra, depopu- late provineiae nullus terram cultor inhabitat, et tamen Sacerdotes qui in pavimento et cinere flentes jacere debuerunt, vanitatis sibi nomina expetunt et novis ac prophanis vocabulis gloriantur. This little fragment contains much of moral philosophic salt, and that accounts for its being unpalatable to the Clergy ; it says that " God gave to the Emperor the care of the Church and State, and yet he did not call himself Universal Apostle, and my most saintly ecclesiastic brother John makes every effort to style himself universal Bishop. I am compelled to ex- claim, Oh times, oh manners ! Now that all Europe is invaded and subjected to the jurisdiction of the barbarians who destroyed the towns and castles, depopulated the provinces, and dispersed and murdered the peasants; now that the Ecclesiastics -should prostrate themselves to the earth and shed tears for these calamities, instead of that they are looking for vain names, and gloriate themselves with new profane titles." In his letter 36, Gregorius Magnus endeavoured that, at the Calcedonian Synod, a canonic law should be issued to quash his title of 192 TJjiiversalis Bishop ; he would not have Universal because he said that it was an innovation of a few years date only, and, moreover, a profane appellation which his predecessors did not like to consent to, and never bore before him, &c. Nullus unquam decessorum meorum hoc tarn prophano vocabulo uti consensit, quia videlicet si unus Patriarcha universalis dicitur, Patriarcharum nomen casteris derogatur. Sed hoc absit, absit a Christiana mente, id sibi velle quempiam arripere. Propterea sanctitas vestra in suis Epistolis neminem unquam universalem nominet, &c. This was really the man and the only one fit to be the Pope, because he was good and pure, and attempted to bring to the Christian path the traviated Bishops, who were engulphed in vices and pompous vanities, and in all sorts of demoralising excesses. Gregorius Magnus also wrote (Epist. 38) very strongly to John, Bishop of Constantinople, to exhort him to humility, and to co-operate with him to reform the clergy and the Church abuses, and reproached him : Eo tempore, quo indignum te esse fatebaris, ut Episcopus appetas solus vocari, &c. He reminded him also of the day of judgment, and of what avail it would be to him to style himself universal Bishop. Tu quid Christo, universalis silicet Ecclesiae capiti, in extremi judicii es dicturus examine, qui cuncta ejus membra tibimet conaris universalis appellatione supponere ? — And he said that with that perverse word Universalis, the Bishop imitated the Devil. Further on he said that Peter, Paul, Andreas, and John the Apostles, were nothing more than the heads or chiefs of the people, and that all the Churches were members under one of those chiefs, and, nevertheless, neither of them called himself universal, or presumed to be so called ; they were truly saints, neither of them had the temerity to arrogate to himself that name. Certe Petrus Apostolus Primum membruni sanctae et Universalis est. Paulus, Andreas, Johannes, quid 193 aliud quam singularium sunt plebium capita ? Et tamen sub uno capite omnes membra sunt Ecclesise. Tamen n alius eorum unquam se universalem vocare voluit, quo nomine vocari nullus preesumpsit, qui veraciter sanctus fuit, nullus hoc temerarium nomen sibi arripuit, &c. What a difference between the Bishops of the present day and Gregorius Magnus ! What would he say if he were to see an Antonelli, a Me-herode, or any other of the so-called Cavalieri di Cristo ? I am sure that he would exclaim, with ample reason — Mirai ! ite ad inferos, hoc vestrum iniquitatis est emporium — full of blasphemy and in- dulgences and all other sorts of sacred and profane things that have nothing to do with the Christian religion. Go and bury with yourselves your anti- christian dogmas, and let the world live in peace and at leisure to contemplate the glory of God Eternal, pure, and just — go to the Jordan, divest yourselves of the mantles of abomination, wash and clean yourselves of your miserable assumptions and presumptuous cabals, and, like the reptiles, drop your skins or external envelopes. If you are capable of living honestly, and of becoming real Christians, exercise the precepts of Christianity and its divine inspirations; then, and only then, the people will appreciate and believe you, according to the good that you will confer upon humanity. To compare the works and the intentions of Gre- gorius Magnus with what has been done and is still being done by his posterity, it requires a very calm, reflective mind, and, unfortunately, the mere thought of the task makes me giddy, and J regret much that I have not been able to attempt it, for fear of mental excitement. Nevertheless, I will point out to any- one w T ho is competent, and who feels inclined to do so, that such a work would open a wide field of theological treasure, and compensate the vineyard labourer for his trouble, as every one of these letters contains real gems that will last almost to perpetuity. s 194 Take, for instance, from letter 30, to the Alexandrian Bishop, this little passage, which reproduces and shows to you in full the heart of the man, when he Greg. Magn., said : Ego enim non verbis qusero prosperari, sed i* epist30.' mor ihus. Nec honorem esse deputo, in quo fratres meos honorem suum perdere cognosco. Meus nam- que honor est honor universalis Ecclesiee. Meus honor est fratrum meorum solidus vigor. Tunc ego vere honoratus sum, cum singulis quibusque honor debitus non negatur. Si enim universalem me Papam vestra sanctitas dicit, negat se hoc esse, quod me fatetur universum. Sed absit hoc. Eecedant verba quae unitatem instant, charitatem vulnerant. Yet this good man was a Pope, and so extraordinarily different from the others that I doubt if he were a man. Look now-a-days; if, for instance, you chance to omit a title, or write too freely to a priest, in a commonly respectful manner, such as you would do to any other person ; or if in addressing the superior Clergy you should inadvertently neglect the saluta- tion of taking off your hat, or fail to prostrate your- self should the Pope pass you in the street, see what vexation and trouble you get into for such inadvert- ence. "Wait until you get the priestly spirit moved for an answer to your untitled, unhonied letter to Eight Eeverend unto e bisunto, as we say in Italian. Though these are trifling things that a layman would not notice, yet the priests make it almost a crime, and take vengeance according to circumstances and to persons, and they are the most exacting class of people in every respect, or in the world. Gregorius Magnus, also in letter 30, to the Em- peror Mauritius, exhorting his assistance to avoid the occurrence of any scandal amongst the ecclesiastics, begs that he would spare him useless and vain titles, all superfluous words, and address him as if he were speaking to him, ordering what he wished him to do without any other nonsense, for (he says) "I' know who I am and who you are : " — quia scio 195 qui sum, qui estis. " I never order, but I do indi- cate to others what I think is good to be done, and this is my particular case. In your letter directed to me you style me with the vain appellation of Universal Pope. You know that I dislike it, that it is unbecoming. What I want from your goodness is that you should not give to me what is detracting, and what belongs to you only, you should not give to others, as it is more than what they are entitled to, and what is required. I do not care to prosper with ambitious titles, it is good manners I care for ; and I do not think that it is honourable to adopt the dishonourable manners of my brothers, because my honour is that of the Universal Church, and it is more solid and lasting than that of my brothers. Therefore, I am really honoured, while I have individually that honour which is not denied to others ; but if your Holiness calls me Universal Pope, you deny me to be what you call me, Uni- versal. But vanish the thought, withdraw the words that are opposed to the unity of the Church, and offensive to charity. 0 Now, my dear grumbling Bishops, what do you say of the moral manners of this real Father of the Church ? I have given you an idea of his style, and I dare say you will translate it properly, and penetrate deeper into his thoughts than I have done, and compare his actions with yours. My desire is merely to open the eyes of those youths who have the leisure, and the means, intelligence, and determination to search for the truth. Do not say that the times have changed ; we know all that, as we know that God is eternal, that Truth is one of his emanations, and, unfor- tunately, for your confusion, invariably unchangeable and always the same ! Gregorius Magnus was the real model bishop, and should have been constantly imitated by his followers ; he not only assiduously endeavoured to keep the Italian bishops in peaceful and brotherly accord with each other, but he offered 196 his ever-ready assistance and mediation to all the ecclesiastics in their contentions, and received hos- pitably those who had been badly treated by their Metropolitan bishops, and his kindness extended itself to the clergy of Trance, Spain, the Orient, and various other parts. I must now pass on to relate one other historical fact of great importance, and also to pave the way to the advancement and the establishment of the Papal greatness ; but, as usual with the progress of the Roman Church, it was connected and based upon enormous crimes. The Emperor Mauritius, we have seen, was willing to give to Gregorius Magnus more than he liked to receive, and that both were friendly, courteous, and in perfect harmony. This fact might be a good argument to establish that, if Gregory was so exquisitely good and honest, of course Mauritius must have been also of that temper and habit, otherwise there could not have been har- mony for any length of time between them and their subjects. However, I will not say anything more of the Emperor Mauritius ; I will merely state that the Imperial soldiers were getting dissatisfied with him, and that the Centurion Phocas took advantage of that insubordination and military disorder, and caused a revolution, compelling Mauritius and his wife and family to take to flight. John, the Patriarch of Constantinople, had had a little contention with the Roman Gregorius Magnus, and they had settled it, when Phocas, the chief of the revolution, was proclaimed Emperor and crowned by that Patriarch, who was one of the principal actors in the conspiracy and revolution. After his coronation he lost no time in prosecuting, following, and taking prisoner Mauritius, who was compelled to see his own family put to death under his eyes, and amongst them even his infant ; after which the Emperor Mauritius, when almost dead with grief at the horrible sight, was beheaded. Gregorius Magnus 197 in this affair showed himself in danger on account of the resentment that the Patriarch of Constantinople might nourish against him, and in this case Gregory was not up to the mark of a thorough honest and upright man, to stand up to defend his friend Mauritius, and to remonstrate against the Patriarch John. It may be that exceedingly good men in the presence of great dangers lose all thought and energy, through want of presence of mind, and firmness of character. This was the case with Pope Gregorius Magnus, who, according to the modern Florentine Horace "perde la Bussola e V Alfdbetto — and immediately wrote a letter to Phocas, congra- tulating him on his elevation, which begins with " Gloria in excelsis Deo," &c. This was really a great blunder on the part of that good man. The letter referred to is No. 36 of the lib. 11. After this he wrote another to Leontia Augusta, the wife of Phocas, also in the same strain. These two letters, Nos. 36 and 48, are real stains on his cha- racter, and show that the priesthood, though some- times good and honourable, are often ready to turn their coats when they think it advisable for inte- rested motives. Gregory did not long survive his friend Mauritius. He was succeeded by Sabinianus, who lived only a few months, and Boniface the Third, who was the friend of Phocas, was installed in St Peter's Chair in the year 605. This Boniface was endowed with good cheeks, ambition, impu- dence, and a good dose of rampant flattery, with which he captivated the favours of Phocas, and ob- tained from him not only a declaration that the Bo- man Church should be the head of all the churches, but that the Boman Bishop should be called the First, and the Universal Bishop, and this was statu ted in an Imperial Synod composed of sixty- two Bishops. Bony-face the Third, with his impu- dence, was the first in his mandates, ecclesiastical and diplomatic, to adopt the words volumus, et jubemus s 2 198 — as stated by Platina, in Bonif. III. Poor Gregorius Magnus had so much declaimed against the Bishops who aspired to titles, protesting that he would not be called Universal, when the title was spontaneously given to him by Mauritius : Gregory wrote, that, if any Bishop either allowed himself to be called, or called himself Universal, he would be the precursor of Antichrist. Quicumque universalis Episcopus appellari vult, Antichristi praecursor est. What would he have said if he had lived at the time of this audacious impostor ? For my part, I place him in the category of the modern pulpit orators, who are so fond of political tirades, conspiracy and treason, without enquiring any further as to whether he would be worthy or unworthy of the position. Be- fore I proceed any farther, with your permission, most honourable Bishops, I will corroborate the evi- dence adduced of the murder of the Emperor Mau- ritius and his family, by that most worthy and Christian Emperor Phocas, which is to be found in one of Gregory's letters, "No. 1, lib. 2, Indict. 6, when he reports the case in these words : Phocas et Le- ontia Augusta Septimo in palatio quod dicitur Se- cundianas, coronatus est, et occisus est Mauritius Imperator cum omnibus filiis suis masculis, idest, Theodosio jam coronato, Tiberio, Petro, Paulo et Justiniano, simul et Petro fratre supradicti Mauritii Augusti, sed et aliqui procerum, qui ei cohaerebant idest, Constantinus Patricius et Curator, et Placidas, sed et Gregorius Notarius Principis, &c. And all these murders were committed by black treason. Theodosius, who was at that time at the court of Chosroen, the King of Persia, by stratagem was recalled, waylaid half way on the road by the Sica- ries of Phocas, and slain. The ladies of Mauritius's family, that is, his wife Constance and her three daughters (who had momentarily been saved by the intercession and protection offered by Bishop Cyri- acus, who sheltered them in a Church, and who 199 resisted the sanguinary attempts of Phocas), were, after obtaining assurance from Phocas that he would spare their lives, received by Cyriacus into a monastery, where, in the following year, by violent treason, Phocas had them put to death. — See Cedre- nus and Theofanes, and JBaronius also (in to. 8, an. 606, art. 1, &c), who could not help reporting this fact in his Annales. Cyriacus autem Patriarcha Tyranno resistit, minime passus e Templo tyrannice abduci, quin Phocas juramentis eum certum redderet, quod non eas laesurus esset, &c, The resistance that the Patriarch Cyriacus offered to Phocas on this occasion was the cause that induced him to incline more favourably to the friendship of Boniface, who was then attending at his Court, and was full of flattery and ambitious hypocrisy. Phocas, out of spite to Cyriacus, and requiring powerful assistance in Italy, after naming Boniface to the Roman See — as up to that time Constantinople was the first See, " he decreed that Rome should be the chief of all the Apostolic Churches," as stated by Paulus Diaconus (lib. 4, c. 37), who was a conscientious and authori- tative historian. Phocas, regnante Papa Bonifacio, statuit sedem Romanse et Apostolicse Ecclesiae caput esse omnium Ecclesiarum, quia Ecclesia Constantinopolitana pri- mam se omnium Ecclesiorum scribebat. There is no way of denying these facts, because they have been repeated also by subsequent historians, Ereculfus, Regino, Anasthasius, Hermanus Contractus, Mari- anus Scotus, Sabellicus, Blondus, Pomponius Lactus, Platina, Author Compilationis Chronologicee, Otho Frisingensis in Chronico, lib. 5, c. 8 ; and Sigonius, in Regno Italiee, lib. 2, said : Bonifacius legationem ad Phocam misisse, qua Decretum obtinuit, ut sedes Apostolica beati Petri Apostoli prima esset omnium Ecclesiarum, id est, Romana Ecclesia. The farther we proceed the more clearly will it be seen that the foundation of the Roman Church was raised on 200 crimes, and that the more atrocious these crimes were, the more the Church profited by them, and the more she aggrandised herself and advanced her material interest ; her spirituality thus diminished until there was not a shred of Christian life left. Christianity became a complete farce, and those Eight Reverend Prelates were the actors in it in different versions, at different places, and with a different degree of ex- citement, according to those occasions and places. Yes, M. Antonelli, the concrete used by the ancient Reverend Fathers to widen the foundations of the Roman Church were the most energetic, the blackest crimes that mankind could perpetrate, and to wipe them away as an atonement, the ecclesiastics used to get as much as they could from the criminals, whe- ther secular or ecclesiastic, in the shape of expiatory offers or gifts, and besides these all sorts of conces- sions suitable to their pomp and capricious vanity. By these means the holy shop got rich and powerful, without taking notice as to how, or by what means, they acquired their riches, right, titles, and privi leges. One strange fact is that these extraordinary ecclesiastical wolves were not even faithful to the principles of their own tribes, for we see that in a Synod they determined to abolish what had been statuted in previous Synods, as if the ecclesiastic laws and Canons of to-day were not suitable to the morrow. Besides this I will mention here, that the Episcopal jealousy, which was of ancient standing amongst the Italian Prelates, so far from having been extinguished by Phocas's concessions to the Roman Bishop, had reached the apex of hostility, and the Patriarch of Aquileja never would condescend to acknowledge the supremacy of that of Rome, as he never did before. The Patriarch of Grado was always against the Patriarch of Aquileja; the Milan- ese Archbishop, the Yenetian Patriarch, the Bishops of Istria, of Brescia, of Mantua, and of Parma, were also independent of the Bishop of Rome, and recog- 201 nised only the mandates of their Metropolitan of Patriarch, and occasionally opposed the Roman Bishop. We find that the Bishops were quarrelling amongst themselves, and with the Roman See at the Synod of Mantua in the year 605, when the election of the Patriarch of Aquileja took place in opposition to the Roman See, through the influence and protec- tion of the Lombard Xing, Agilulphus, who supported Bishop John.— See Baronius, anno 605, art. 2, 3, 4. Farewell Boniface, and now for your successor, Honorius. The Lombard Kings were harassing Italy; the Emperor's vicar, the Exarch, was ruling at Ravenna; and the Roman Bishop, though he had received from the Emperor Phocas the already-named title of Universal, yet he seemed to enjoy less of power on account of the Exarch's control, and of the pressure of the Lombard King on the Papal ambition of domination, which seemed innate with him, and had grown to an immoderate desire. Honorius's ambition had reached such a pitch, that like one seized with hydrophobia, he attacked the other Bishops, under a paltry pretext, in the year 623. As we have seen, the Roman Bishops were in bad odour, and mostly disagreed with the Lombard, Venetian, and Istrian Bishops, who never would depend on the Roman Bishop ; perhaps he did so purposely to es- tablish a precedent for his power above the others. Adalwaldus V, King of Lombardy, had become an imbecile, through the abuse of drinking (like the last Prussian Phoenix, who for a few years was immortalised by the public prints with a bottle as his family arms), and it was said that Eusebius, the Le- gate of the Emperor Heraclius, with twelve of the magnates of the kingdom, while this monarch was step- ping out of the bath, surrounded him quietly and removed him without the public appearance of a revolution or dethronisation. In the next year, to avoid the rising of factions, and to check the tumults that were beginning to create discord and confusion, 202 the true Lombard patriots met together and expelled from the throne Adalwaldus, and placed there in his stead Arioaldus, his wife's brother. Upon this the population, the clergy, and the nobles became divided into two different opinions, and as the Transpadan Bishops were for Arioaldus, the Pope (Honorius) chose to oppose them, and to favour Adalwaldus, and by his advice the Exarch Isacius began to defend the ex -King. Honorius at first urged the Exarch to send to Rome those Bishops to explain why they in- terfered, and declared that they should be punished for their crime. But Isacius could not persuade Adalwaldus to abandon his claim to the throne, as Arioaldus had already began to reign, and the efforts of Honorius were uselessly provoking the Transpa- dan Bishops, who were further irritated by his petu- lance. So said Sigonius, in his history of the Italian Kingdom, lib. 2, anno 623. Ne malum longius ser- peret veriti Longobardi, postero anno, consilio habito, et inde tumultu excitato eum regno exigunt, inque ejus locum Arioaldum levirum sufliciunt. Interim quia non omnibus idem consilium universi tarn Ec- clesiastici, quam seculares sive Proceres, in duas partes distrahuntur : et Transpadani quidam illi Epis- copi, quia Arioaldum complectuntur : Honorius Pon- tifex eos hac occasion e oppressurus, ejusque hortatu Isacius Exarchus Adalwaldum sibi defendendum sus- cipiunt. In primis vero id urget Honorius, ut trans - padanos Episcopos Isacius Romam ad dicendam causam mittat, ne, in quit, scelus ejusm odi tmpunitum relinquamus. Yerum, cum Adalwaldum Isacius re- ducere non posset, Arioaldusque regnum obtineret, et Honorii irritus conatus fuit, et eos magis in eura Transpadani Episcopi accenduntur. So Pope Hono- rius, instead of displaying his pomposity with eclat to his own satisfaction, and to elevate the dignity of the Roman See, made a fool of himself, and brought the Roman See into the greatest contempt with the Bishops and the people, who had not 203 yet, nor ever did intend to submit to his dicta- tion. The decree of Boniface the Third did not obtain any value or credit anywhere else, and the other Bishops, as usual, were ordained without the con- sent or the diploma of Boniface, who could interfere only in the ordination of his suffragan Bishops. Each Metropolitan Bishop was independent of the Boman See and of each other, and all of them had jurisdiction over their respective suffragan Bishops, and nothing more. Evidence of this fact is to be found in the Spanish Councils, the fourth and the sixth, which took place at Toledo, and in the first and second Concilium Bracarense, which were held at Narbonne, in Provence, at the time of Pope Honorius, and it appears that he had hardly any, or very little, influence in them, as is attested by the same Councils, whereas the Bishops freely acknow- ledged to have congregated by the discretion of King Sisenaldus — ut ejus imperiis atque jussis comraoniti de disciplina Ecclesiastica tractent — to treat on Ecclesiastical discipline, according to his authority and orders, and as advised by him. Quintum etiam et Sextum, Chintillas salutaribus hortamentis, &c. Ex praecepto Begis. It was then in the second Council of Narbonne, under the presidency of its Bishop Martin, that the chapters of the Greek Synod were changed for those which are to be found in the second volume of the Councils, and which were strengthened. In the chapters of this same Council the Metropolitan of each Province ordained the Bishops, who did nothing without consulting the suffragans, if they had not been to Borne. It was altered, and agreed that there was no such necessity, and that it would be a Papal subterfuge if any of them went there under any pretext, either to procure the Pope's Bull or the Pallium, as it would be a Papal and secret intrusion or trespass on his power. And if it happened that a Bishop was accused of anything, 204 and if there were doubts in the minds of the Provin- cial Council seated on the benches before passing judgment, it will be found, that they never applied to Home for the means of dissipating them, or removing and clearing their minds in the matter. On the contrary, in such cases as the above, this was the solution to clear up any doubts. (Concil. Tolet., vol. 2, c. 13.) Pro definitione huju3 discussionis, hoc placuit sancto Concilio, ut de provincia vicina, alter Metropolitanus convocatur Episcopus, ut per eum confirmetur quod secundum rectum placuerit canonem. It pleased this Holy Council, to settle all the dissen- sions and remove the doubts from their minds, to convocate the Metropolitan Bishop of the next province, and leave to him the power of adjudication and confirmation, according to the proper Canon, as he thought "most advisable. It is necessary to remark here that, by the Decree of Phocas, given a few years before to the Roman Bishop, entrusting him with a degree of superiority above the others, it was dangerous to depend on the judgment or caprice of a single person. We have seen that Gregorius Magnus did not like, and would not accept, title and power above his brother Bishops, because he said, and had foreseen and prophesied, that if a Bishop calls himself Universal, the Universal Church falls together with him, if he tumbles : Si unus Episcopus vocatur universalis, universa Ecclesia corruit, si unus universus cadit. Gregorius Magnus was perfectly right in his proposi- tion, as it was soon proved in the case of Pope Honorius, who was convicted of heresy from his own letters which he had addressed to Sergius, the Constantinopolitan Patriarch. Honorius was a Monothelite, which was a new sect, and which denies two w r ills to Christ, and does not acknow- ledge two natures in him. These letters were produced in the Sixth universal Synod. Actione duodecima, et decimatertia, omnium Patrum judicio 205 igni darnnantur, and were condemned to be burned by the unanimous votes of the Bishops. Honorius adeo ipse, tamquam Sergio, Cyro et aliis verbis et sensu omnimode cohaerens ejusce haereseos patronis, anathemate percellitur. Therefore Hono- rious, Sergius, Cyrus, and others who had agreed entirely upon the sense and words, and were the chief promoters of this heresy, were excommuni- cated. Quae omnia ex to to hujus Synodi contextu cuivis manifesta sint. Quin et Honorius eadem de causa in Synodo universali septima, Nicena secunda, Actione ultima, anathemati subjicitur — in octava demum ab Adriano secundo Pontifice — et in aliis porro actionibus. Idem vero pro Occident alibus testantur Beda, et Anasthasius in Pontificali, pro Orientalibus, Psellus in septem Synodis, Beda and Anasthasius attested, in the acts of these Synods, the already exposed fact of Hono- rius and Co.'s damnation by the vote of 289 Bishops, and amongst them were the Legates of Pope Agatho. At this time, in the fourth Synod of Toledo, (c. 16) was sanctioned the Book of Kevelations, &c. Apocalypsim librum si quis non receperit, et a Pascha usque ad Pentecostem Missarum tempore in Ecclesia non predicaverit, excommunicationem sen- tentiam habebit. Baronius, Bellarminus, and others attempted uselessly to cover, to excuse, or to palliate the conduct of Honorius and Co., pretending that the former was not a heretic. Of course there was no> other reason for this but for the honour of the cloth,, and that may have been good enough to hush it up> and controvert the facts as they have done in their works ; but to those who can read the Councils and everything that was enacted in them, and trace the honourable names of those who were present at them, as well as the secular writers of those times, what has Bellarminus and Baronius to say ? I leave this to the judgment of the reader, and continue the Criminal History, as revealed in the Episcopal or Papal elections. t 206 After Honorius, Severinus the First became Pope, and Blondus said: Servabatur mos, ut non prius coronaretur in Pontificem electus, quam eum adve- niens a Eavenna Exarchus Italiee confirmaret. Vo- catus Itaque Isacius Exarchus anno et ferme dimidia accedere distulit. It was the custom to suspend the consecration of the Elected Pope until the Exarch of Italy had come to Eome from Eavenna to confirm him. The Exarch Isacius had been called for more than half a year, and he refused to comply. This is confirmed also by Platina. Martinus Primus was suspected of being a Monothelite, and the Emperor Constantine caused him to be arrested in Eome and brought to Constan- tinople, where, in 650, he was arraigned and tried also for conspiring with the Saracens against the Emperor. He was condemned to exile, where he soon died. His letters to Theodoras were the prin- cipal proofs of his guilt. See Martinus Epist. ad Theod., 14. At the time the Erench King Clodo- veus reigned, the Archbishop of Aries, Theodoras, received a Synodal letter (although he was doing penance, abstaining from his Episcopate and from all his goods), which ordered that, in the event of his death, no Bishop should be elected except by the comprovincial Bishops, the clergy, and the citizens ; if otherwise, the election would be considered null and void : Episcopus ne successor eligatur, ab alio nisi a comprovincialibus, Clero, et civibus suis alte- rius habeatur electio: sin aliter, hujus ordinatio irrita habeatur. (Epistola Synodalis ad Theod. Arelateus, c. 12, in Vita S. Eligii, S. Odoeno Scripta.) This is another instance of the old formula, or the old system of election of the Bishops and Popes, which had prevailed for many centuries in every part of the globe where Christianity had penetrated. About the same period, in Spain, occurred the Seventh Synodus Toletana, and, soon after, the Eighth, which were convoked by the authority and solicitude of the King. The Eighth Synodal letter 207 had this inscription : Decretum Concilii universalis, editum in nomine Principis — Item, Lex edita in eodem Concilio imperante Principe Glorioso. This law was enacted to suppress the concussiones, that is, the Episcopal extortion from the people ; to mode- rate their intrusions, that is, to prevent them inter- fering in the lay people's affairs, and many other Episcopal abuses, under penalty of deposition, &c. To make copious quotations from these Synods would be a loss of time; therefore I will quote briefly to prove that the Kings, or local Princes, were the only persons who had the power to convoke them, and that the Bishops and other Ecclesiastics, high and low, attended them because they were regularly summoned so to do. Nothing particular happened at the Ninth Synod of Toledo ; but in the Decima Toletana Synodo it occurred that Potamius Episcopus Bracarensis gave a new example by ac- cusing himself, and was disseized of the Episcopate, and Eructuosus Dumensis was substituted in his place, in the year 656. Constituimus Eructuosum communi omnium nos- trum electione ecclesise Bracarensis gubernacula continere: ita ut omnem Metropolim provincise Gallecise, cunctosque Episcopos populosque con- ventus ipsius in suam euram suscipiant. Thus wrote the Bishop to Pope Yitalian, who was then at Borne, but they never asked him his permission to elect Eructuosus, nor for any Papal Diploma of Confirma- tion of such election, as at that time the Boman See had not yet extended her rapacious claws so far away ; in fact, it had not yet domineered over the Italian Bishops in toto. Anasthasius, the learned Bibliothecary, in the Life of Vitalianus, anno 663, says that the Pope had not yet attained such a high point of domination : Yitalianum utique, qui ad summum illud fastus Pontificii fastigium nondum pervenerat. The Emperor Constant, in that year, went to Borne, and the Pope and his Clergy met 208 him six miles from Eome with great reverence and pomp: so says Anasthasius; and Baronius called this Emperor sacrilegious and parricide, having deposed and exiled Pope Martin before Yitalian occupied the Eoman See : Constante Imperatore Bomam accedente, Apostolicus accurrit ei, cum clero suo milliario sexto ab urbe Eoma et suscepit eum, &c. We shall see in course of time that this was the manner in which the Pope paid servitude to his master, the Emperor Constant. Things are a little changed now, but, nevertheless, they could be restored to their original state, and be settled and rivetted in such a manner that if any one dared to alter and unsettle them again they would be crushed, destroyed, and dispersed as unfit for further use. I hope so, and say in advance, Amen* The times had materially altered, and it was a rare occurrence in the middle of the seventh century to find one of those good old bishops who would, as some really did, edify the church of God by moral example, and by the predication of the Gospel, teaching its moral to the people. Those times and occurrences, though scarce, had already passed, and the church was in a state of corruption and degra- dation, breathing nothing else but vain pomp and supremacy, attempting to domineer everywhere by every pretext, and by the most barefaced and im- pudent acts. No living column, no model ecclesiastic saint was to be found anywhere. History shows that the clergy were busy everywhere building stupendous ecclesiastical fabrics, chapels, temples, oratories, and convents, finished with vaulted gilt roofs, ornamented with splendid marble statues and all sorts of costly and elegant paintings, indeed with everything pleasing to the sight and taste of those lazy voluptuaries ; while at the same time it en- chanted, surprised, and awed the minds of the bigoted idiots who paid the expense of them by all sorts of vassalage and money contributions, volun- 209 tarily or forcibly wrung from them — no matter how, provided the buildings were completed and the caprices of the bishops satisfied according to the episcopal intentions. Marble tablets now came into vogue, enumerating a long list of ecclesiastic virtues which they never had, instead of telling the real pedigree of vices that they really did possess. The princes grew jealous of the posthumous glory of the clergy and imitated them, hiding sometimes their infamy with a whole legend of dreamed virtues, and in this manner they wiped away all the ignominious stains of their characters, taking no notice that marbled legends written in gold would fade away in course of time, and that in the manuscripts real historical facts would remain to shine and proclaim to posterity the true portraiture of all their virtues and all their vices, with the addition, by way of discount, of the corruption that they had practised and bequeathed to posterity. Beda, in his Eccle- siastic History, tells us that there was no sanctity at all amongst the clergy, and that, even if the Roman bishops had to delegate another bishop to distant lands — like Gregorius Magnus did, and after him Honorius and Yitalianus, who sent missions to England — it was not to promulgate there the Evan- giles, as that had already become an obsolete thing, but it was for instituting and spreading the eccle- siastic rites and ceremonies of the Roman Church, viz., the chaunting, the Latin office, the hours, the organ-playing, the showy altars, the wax candles, the ointments, and every other ecclesiastic frivolity, all which had nothing whatever to do with real evangelical principles — and if the people did not readily swallow their nonsense, which they did not on account of being steadfast to the simplicity and the ancient purity of the Evangiles, then these ecclesiastical missionaries corrupted the princes, and excited them against their people. Si templum aliquod aut extruxerint, aut ador- t 2 210 narint, virtutis etiam et pietatis laudem sibi conse- quturi videantur. Episcopi speciatim Bomani, si in exteras regiones quosdam a latere delegent, ut in Angliam Gregorius Magnus, et post eum Honorius, Yitalianus, alii : non eo sane, ut Evangelium pro- mulgent, quod jam obsoletum illis, sed ceremonias ritusque suos, Bomanum Cantum, Latinum officium, Horas, Organa, Altaria, Cereos, unction em et nuga- menta ejus generis propagent. Quae si minus interim recipiuntur, excitare continuo videas prin- cipes in subditos, priscae puritatis, simplicitatis Evangelical tenaces, &c. Up to this time the Oriental Church had univer- sally rejected the Decree of Phocas in spite of the tenacious persistence of the Eoman Church, which did not neglect to use every means in her power to enforce it whenever and wherever she could. We see, too, that the Archbishop Paul of Creta, with the authority obtained at his Synod, deposed and expelled Johannem Lampedonensem Episcopum, and did not permit him to appeal to Eome. This fact is attested by the letters of Pope Vitalian him- self, who abrogated the Synodal sentence, absolved him from excommunication, and gave him back what belonged to him, having first implored and obtained the assistance of the Emperor to restore him his property. This incident proves that though. Eavenna is not far from Eome, yet its Archbishop would not submit to nor recognise the superiority of the Eoman. Bonus being dead, Maurus was canoni- cally elected by three Suffragan Bishops, and was consecrated without having recourse to Eome, either for the Pallium, or for the permission of the con- secration. Pope Yitalianus excommunicated him, and he retorted by excommunicating the Pope, and the Church of Eavenna remained in that state up to the time of Pope Dumnus, in the year 680. During the Pontificate of Martin the Eirst, Eugenius the First, Yitalianus, and Adeodatus, the Eoman and 211 Eavennan impostors, maintained a saintly war, damn- ing each other according to Mr Cullen, or Dupanloup, in the best and most efficient Christian way that could be done, except only that they could not gouge each other, for the reason that they never met together ; otherwise they would have done so, as it was a Pontifical trick which had been done before and after by various very Christian Popes and Bishops. The fact is that the decree of the usurper Phocas had upset every vestige of cordiality amongst the bishops, and most of them, if not all, were against any one who assumed supremacy above the others. All these contentions were noted by the historians, secular and ecclesiastic. I will here give a little of the original text from torn. 2, Con- cilios Epis. Vitalian. 1, 2, 3, 4, &c. Sic Paulus Archiepiscopus Cretensis Johannem Lampedonensem Episcopum, authoritate Synodi suse depositum, Bomam appellare non patitur, quod ipse Vitaliani Pontificis litterse testantur, qui Sententia interim Synodali abrogata, eum proterve absolvit, et quoad ejus est restituit, restituendo Imperatoris auxilium implorat. Sic et in ipso quasi Bomse vestibulo Ecclesia Eavennensis ejus potentiam non agnoscit ; Bono enim vita functo Marcus canonice electus a tribus Episcopis Suffraganeis consecratur. jSTon ei aut Pallio, aut unctione Bomana opus — suffraganeos contra suos eo inconsulto consecrat, a Vitaliano etiam excommunicatus, vicissim eum excommunicat : Quo in statu Ecclesia Eavennensis ad Dumnum usque Pontificem, ad annum inquam usque 680 : Sigonius, 1. 2. Blondus, Decad. 1, 1. 9 : Pontificibus Martino Primo, Eugenio Primo, Yitaliano, et Adeodato per- eeverat : Hsereticam idcirco clamitabant Eomani, et hanc haeresim Autocephaliam vocabant, quasi sui caput esse vellet, quod Bomanse imperium detrec- taret, non celaturi si qua vere haeresi laborasset: sumpserit, Exilio tradatur. This seems a clear and imperative order to allow the Romans to elect the Pope themselves alone. This order does not even name the Clergy's right to interfere in the election. I will now return to the MS. of Cardinal JNavagero, although he is discrepant in the epoch with the above-cited historians. This may have been on account of some innovations which occurred under Pope Eugenius the Second in 824, as the year 819 corresponds with the date of the election of Paschal. z 2 258 Here we have a law reported by Gratianus, which tells the truth regarding the Papal election : *£iitiiicf 68* ^ u * a sanc ^ a R° mana Ecclesia, cui Deo Authore c/28. ' ' prsesidemus, a pluribus patitur violentias, Pontifice obeunte, quae ab hoc inferuntur, quia absque Impe- riali notitia Pontilicis fit electio et consecratio : nec canonico ritu et consuetudine ab Imperatore directi sunt nuntii, qui vetent scandala fieri, volumus, ut cum Instituendus est Pontifex convenientibus Epis- copis et uniyerso Clero eligatur, prsesente Senatu et Populo, qui ordinandus est, et sic ab omnibus electus, prsesentibus legatis imperialibus consecretur. The above law was revived by the Emperor Ludowick the Eirst, son of Charlemagne, in the year 816, because Pope Paschal, during his Ponti- fical election, had frustrated and set aside all other anterior laws. It is true that, after his election, Paschal wrote letters of apology to the Emperor, and threw the blame upon the people to excuse his infraction of the Imperial laws ; nevertheless, Ludowick knew well enough that it was merely an attempt to emancipate himself from the rules and regulations established and sanctioned by many Emperors in past centuries, and to prevent for the future the repetition of Papal insubordination, he revived, framed, and enacted the above law. It will not be out of place to state here what was written about the Episcopal investitures of Erance by the old Bishop of Nuremberg, Waltramus. (De Investituris Episcoporum, anno 1100.) According to this Bishop's writings it appears that, for several centuries before Charlemagne, the Erench Kings used to invest their Bishops without ever dreaming of saying a word about it to the Roman Bishops. Erom this quotation it is clear also that they did not require their permission. — Waltramus Episc. Naum- burgensis de hisce investituris; Gregorius Magnus Theodorico, Theodoberto, et Brunichildi scripsit, ut 259 absque simonia investituras Episcoporum faciant. The following clearly demonstrates that the Eranek Kings used to maintain their privileges in the elec- tions and investitures : — Longe ante Decretum Adriani Papse ejusque successorum Eeges, qui erant uncti, et Majores domus, investituras Episco- porum fecerunt, Dagobertus, Sigibertus, Theodoricus, Hildericus, Pipinus filius Beggse major domus, Theodobertus. Ab his intronisati sunt, Eemaches, Amandus, Andomarus, Antpertus, Eligius, Lam- pertus, aliique sanctissimi prsesules. Postquam autem Eomani, ingruentibus vicinis et gravibus bellis, desciverunt a Graecis Imperatoribus, Papa Stephanus ob infestationem Longobardorum venit Parisios, et assensu Romanorum et Erancorum in Eegem et Imperatorem unxit Pipinum : Legitur etiam de Episcopis Hispanise, Scotiae, Angliae, Ungariee, quomodo ex antiqua institutione usque ad modernam novitatem per Eeges introjerint. The Pamphleteering Bishops will learn from the above extract how long they have been in the Eoyal and Imperial net, and I hope they may keep in it for ever and a day. Erederick the Eirst was also considered by his Imperial Yicars the special advocate of the Eoman See, when they intimated to the Erench King that they should take care that his Bishops did not inter- fere in the Papal elections. Baronius (ad an. 1162) reports this fact in these words : " Mandat vobis Dominus noster Eredericus Impe- rator Eomanorum, et Specialis Eomanae Ecclesiae Advocatus, quod ad nullos Ecclesiarum Prselatos de causa electionis Eomani Pontificis facere pertinet, nisi ad eos tantum, qui sub Eomano Imperio existunt," &c. This evidently shows that the Emperor was the protector, the fidei defender, and, at the same time, the master of Eome, as well as of any other States of the Holy Eoman Empire. 260 Ey Otho Frisingensis, Gunterus, and the Eev. Monsigneur Fontanini, it is clearly stated that the Emperors had at this period their fiscal offices in Rome, Eavenna, and other places, &c. " When Frederick had already passed the triumphal arches on his way to be crowned at Eome, the Pope again sought to allure him by means of his eloquence : 6 The first city of the universe beseeches you to revive its former time, that is to say, its former privileges, and to grant it the government of the whole world. You know that Eome, by the wisdom of the Senate and by the valour of the order of knights, has ex- tended its dominion from one sea to the other, and even over the most distant islands. In a word, in- vincible herself, Eome has vanquished everybody, and subjected everything to her rule. You, yourself, oh Prince, when you were but her guest, she created you a citizen ; when you were but a foreigner she established you as her Prince ; she only gave you what belonged to her/ " ' You greatly vaunt the antiquity of your city, and the former splendour of your republic/ replied the Emperor, i I am ignorant of nothing of all this ; I am also aware that formerly there was some worth in your Eepublic. I would that I could say the same to-day. But your Eome, or rather our Eome, has been like everything subject to human vicissi- tudes — she has passed under the rule of the Greeks and of the French ; she now belongs exclusively to me, with all her dependencies. When I took the reins of the empire I was put in possession of all ; the empire was not given to me naked. Thus the consuls, the Senate, the soldiers, all are in my power. Eome is proud of having created me her citizen and her prince, and even of having given me that which belonged to her. We have only to read the history of my predecessors, Charlemagne and Otho, to be convinced of the contrary. We shall learn that Eome was never yielded up to the Popes as a gift since 261 they dispossessed the Greeks. The Romans were not only subjected to the French, but they even grew old, and ended their lives in this subjection. It does not belong to the people to prescribe laws to their sovereigns, but to the sovereigns to prescribe to their people.' " Cardinal Navagero wrote that Ludowick the Second, pro-nephew of Charlemagne, renounced the authority of electing the Pontifices. Under the reign of Pope Paschal the First, in 819, it was ordered that the Eoman people should in future elect the Popes, entirely omitting to mention the Cardinals or Clergy. In the year 1059, Nicolaus the Second, in one of his Constitutions, registered in the Decree distinction, xin, orders that on the death of the Popes, — Cardinales, Episcopi diligentissime simul de electione tractent. Mox Christi Clericos Cardinales adhibeant, sicque reliquus clerus et Populus ad consensum more electionis accedat. Later, in 1268, Pope Gregory the Tenth instituted the Conclave, giving the care of the election solely to the Cardinals. Then follows a long description explaining that the election of the Pope could be made, in three various manners : first, by the People and Clergy ; second, by the Conclave ; and third, by adoration. The latter was a capital farce, which had been played by several Cardinals on various occa- sions, when it suited the purpose of the most impu- dent of them to grasp the Papal power. I shall spare the mention here of the names of several of them, and, continuing to use the name of Cardinal Navagero, I shall mention that sometimes the Popes used to name their successors, and sometimes they used to note in their memoranda charges of heresy against those who were their political enemies, and most likely to be elected as their successors. By these means they were excluded from succession ; consequently, the dissipations, the squandering, and the abuses of the former Popes were not made known, but allowed to pass in oblivion. Navagero gives an 262 instance of these bad practices, and quotes, as an exceptional case, that of Alexander the Sixth, who noted the Cardinal of Siena and Cardinal St Peter in Yincula, but, nevertheless, Pius and Julius the Second both succeeded him. There are many pretty things in this volume scored to the account of this Spanish monster in the shape of a Lamb of Grod. I doubt whether he was even a man, by reason of his monstrous ingratitude to the Spanish Monarchy, to which he owed means, favours, blood, and everything, and by way of recompense he betrayed and robbed them, and assisted their enemies to dethrone them with savage and ferocious violence. I will cease to animadvert upon this monarch for the present, but may remark that I have reserved a dish for him, the compounds for which cost me more than six months' labour to collect. If I did not fear that it would abuse the patience of my readers, I could furnish them with a couple of days of pain- ful and sorrowful pastime ; however, I refrain from doing so at present, but as the abundance of material is too great to do justice to the subject in this work, I shall on a future occasion again take it up, when I will contrive to show some of the most ^loly, Eminent, and Reverend faces under various aspects as they were reflected by their contemporary Eccle- siastical mirrors. I will here take notice of what I saw the other day in the Globe, condensed from the fertile and imaginary vision of a Belgian paper, viz., that the present Pope has already named his successor in case he should abdicate or retire into a convent. Eor myself I really wonder why he don't go to Palestine to supplant the Patriarch in the very first See, "the Promised Land," " the Holy Land," not far from which he could have a good supply of manna. This place is nearly vacated by the Turks now, and it is said that they have left behind them a good flock of sheep without a shepherd, and that they will stand a good shearing and yield a good 263 produce in milk and wool ; besides, the people are tired of Mahomet, and want a new infusion of superstition and blunders. This is a capital oppor- tunity, Mr Antonelli ; do not lose it, I pray you ; or Mr Me-herode, you go. There you will find plenty of fields to exercise the Cavallieri di Cristo of the present time; there you will be quite at home to do as you like. You will not find another Perugia, but I dare say any other town would serve Jrou. You would not be far from the Eed Sea, nor a great distance from the Jordan; and you could make miracles with or without machinery, provided you had an assistant. You could have an excursion to the Eed Sea, and cross it and recross it, only you would have to mind the tide. If the Sun should have taken a chair and sat down and refused to move, you would have no need to trouble yourself about it ; but try the Moon instead, for that would be just the same thing. You would find there also greater rivers than the Eubicon or the Tiber, and you could stop to contemplate them, to apostrophise them if you chose, and as the summer approached you could take a bath in which of them you liked, and not study the distance from your new abode ; only you would have to beware of certain in- dividuals who practise in those places ; but I dare say you would soon make acquaintance with them, and very likely become good friends in no time, particularly if you reminded them that you and your master have got something in common with them, with regard to disposition of mind and body. As they are rather hard of understanding, you might also explain that you have had an extra long lease of an amphibious power; and if you should not have the proof ready you might forge an old deed, ad instar of those that are in the Vatican, and show them that all your leases expired anno Domini 1860, and that since then you have been a tenant-at-will, and merely on sufferance. To increase the scenic effect, you might show them that you can shed 264 crocodile tears like them at your pleasure ; you might also hash up for them a kindred mytho- logically divine story, flattering to their and your own origin ; and I am quite sure they would* in- stantly recognise you, your master, and followers, as individuals of the same family or tribe, and sign with you a treaty of perpetual alliance, and let you settle and live as you liked for the future. If you take the advice I have given you, and really go, surely the Italians will give you their best thanks, though you do not deserve them ; but to get rid of you this time, in the hope that it would be for ever, they could afford to sing in chorus of your Fuga, the celebrated Amen. Eeaders, I must beg your pardon, as I have not yet concluded my argument. I have to state here that after the death of Alex- ander the Sixth the Clergy agreed to insert in their Canonic Laws a decree forbidding for the future any foreign Cardinal to become Pope, or even to exercise that power ad interim. If I do not mistake, there is also some mention of this in the first Session of the Council of Trent. That law was agreed and passed to avoid for the future the grassation and spoliation of the Italian nobles and rich families by the Popes, which they effected with the assistance of the armies of their foreign friends. Therefore, the story of the Belgian papers is a silly invention, thrown out as a feeler from that Jesuitical Rookery, and their candidate, the Hibernio -Spanish Erisich- thon, must continue where he is, to exercise his mouth in vain, and to tire his ever- grinding teeth, deluding his throat with imaginary meats cooked at the shades of the "Westminster soup-kitchens instead of those at the Vatican. Note. — In allusion to that candidate, Cardinal Worldly Wiseman, of diabetical propensities, as Ovid says of Erisichthon, in lib. 8, Metamorph. : $■ cibus omnis in illo Causa cibi est, semperque locus fit inanis edendo." 265 DIPLOMATIC, HISTORICAL, AND ECCLESI- ASTICAL NEGATIVE PROOES OE THE PAPAL TEMPORAL POWER. Malgre the industry of the Popes, they never had the temporal power in any of the Ecclesiastical States, not even in Rome itself, because the Greek Emperors, or their delegates, always exercised it, and after them the Carlovingian Monarchs ; then the Austro and German Emperors succeeded in always retaining under their sway the temporal power or supreme dominion, despite the schisms, depositions, revolu- tions, and spoliations which opened the doors to the Popes to secure the victim so much desired and so long premeditated. In these short intervals of in- ternal commotion, they have often grasped momen- tarily at the temporal power, but their malversations and misadministrations compelled them to give it up as forfeit to the real owner ; it was, therefore, as useless for Adrian to invent the Donation of Constan- tine, as it was some century after to forge deeds of Donations by Pipin, by Ludovicus Pius, by Otto the Eirst, and by Arrrigus or Henricus the Second, as we shall find by and by. Let us see how Pope Adrian's invention can stand, and permit me to ask Antonelli and Co. how it was that the Popes Constan- tine, Gregory the Second and Third, the Stephens, and the succeeding Popes down to Adrian (such deter- mined enemies of the Greek Empire, of the Lombard Kings, and of the Exarchs, that they leagued them- selves together in a conspiracy with Charles Martel and his successors to spoliate and dethrone the Lom- bards and the Greek Emperors of their Italian States), should have ignored the Donation of Constantine, which would have been the best motive for a war of spoliation ? How was it that Pope Constantine and the Grego- ries, Zacharia, &c, who were such audacious enemies, 266 and so malignant and so fraudulent— did not claim Constan tine's Donation ? Mr Antonelli cannot answer and say that they had probably forgotten all about it, nor can he plead their ignorance of it, because it -was their business to know what belonged to the Church and what to the Emperors and Kings. There was, in fact, no excuse whatever for those Popes, and there is none now for Antonelli. The gigantic swindle of Adrian was still in nulibus, and this dodge first came out after the coronation of Charlemagne, when Adrian saw that the lion took for himself the whole of the prey, and left the skin only as the share of his companion and abettor. It was then, and not before, that this fraud was invented. So Constan- tine and the Gregories, though rogues enough, did not invent gunpowder, nor the Donation of St Peter's Patrimony. While the mountain was giving birth to this ridiculous mouse, Adrian was so inebriated with his expectations, that he never even thought of preparing any documents, real or forged, to support his invention. When Charlemagne, astonished at his demand, asked him to show his title to it, the Pope of course could not produce any. He thus found himself much deluded in his calculation of the French monarch's credulity. Though this invention failed then, yet subsequent Popes thought it a good scheme, and had a fine deed prepared for the ominous gift ; but when it was produced, it was found out to be so elaborately drawn up, and so fresh in gold, and so like a new work of art — added to which the signature of Constantine, as well as that of the Im- perial notary, was still wanting — that, as a matter of course, the diploma and St Peter's Patrimony made a second fiasco. The Popes likewise pretended that there was a Donation of the Exarchate by Pipinus ; but this is also proved a fictitious donation, because Charle- magne, who succeeded Pipin, can be proved to have been master of the Exarchate, and also of Kome, 267 before and after his coronation. This fact is also traced by Baronius, anno 726, who reports the letter of Pope Gregory the Second to the Doge of Yenice, entreating him to recover the Exarchate from the Lombard King, and to restore it to the Greek Em- peror, the master of Home, and of the other States belonging to the holy Imperial Eepublic. This letter was still preserved in the Venetian Archives at the beginning of the present century, and was printed in the Italian Histories, &c. The Doge complied with the request, and took Eavenna from the Lombards : " Gregory, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to Ursus, his dearest son, Duke of Venice. — The city of Eavenna, the first of all, having been taken because of our sins by the wicked nation of Lombardy, and our dearest son and excel- lent master the Exarch, residing at Venice, we entreat your Highness to join yourself to him and to labour together in order to reduce the city of Eavenna to the Imperial dominion, so that full of zeal and love for our holy faith, we may, with the help of the Lord, remain inviolably attached to the service of our masters and dearest sons, the great Emperors Leo and Constantine. ,, Quia Eavennatium Civitas, quse caput extat omnium, a nec dicenda gente Longobardorum capta est, et Eilius noster eximius Dominus Exarchus apud Venetias moratur ; Debeat nobilitas tua ei adhserere, et cum eo nostra vice pariter decertare, et ad pris- tinum statum Sanctse Eeipublicse in Imperiali Ser- vitio I)ominorum Imperatorum ipsa revocetur Civitas, ut in statu Eeipublicse, et Imperiali Servitio firmi persistere valeamus. In this letter it is candidly acknowledged by Pope Gregory the Second that Eome and the Eccle- siastical States were under the temporal rule of the Emperors, and that they remained so up till the time of the Erench kings. In another place I shall show that the Popes passed from' the subordination of the 268 Greek to that of the French Emperors. "Without travelling very far to ratify this assertion, it will be sufficient for the moment to quote letter 84 of Adrian the First to Charlemagne, inserted in the Codex Carolinus, in which occurs this passage : Yestra Eegalis in Triumphis victoria Prascipiendum emisit, ut a partibus Eavennse, seu Pentapoleos ex- pellerentur Venetici. Nos illico in partibus illis emisimus, Vestram adimplentem Begalem Voluntatem. "We see here most distinctly that Adrian obeyed the orders sent to him by Charlemagne, whom you see, Mr Antonelli, was the master. The Popes never could prove that Pipin and Charlemagne made the donation of the Eoman States to the Holy See as a real and valid donation de facto et jure, and such thing really could not take place, nor did it have effect, because up to the time of Pipin the dominion of the Greek Emperors extended itself to Eome and to every other part of the States of the Church ; and if Pipin had conquered the Lombard King, and taken part of those States from his possession, and given them to the Pope, such gift must have been null and void, because they did not belong to the Lombard King, but to the Greek Emperor. It is therefore clear that the Lombard King usurped what belonged to the Greek Emperor, and that he protested against it, and besides wrote letters inviting the French King to undertake the war on account of the Greek Empire for the restoration of the States. The Greek Empe- ror also offered to defray the expenses of the war. These facts were so notorious that the Popes them- selves admitted them on various occasions. Cardinal Sfondratus, in Gallia Yindic. Diss. 2, c. 2, wrote : Longobardos injusto bello Italiam invasisse. Non ergo ejus Dominium Grsecus Imperator amiserat : neque Carolus retinere earn poterat, quippe legitimo invitoque Dominio ablatam. According to this neither Pipin nor Charlemagne could give to the Pope a portion nor the whole of those States, nor to any- 269 body else, nor keep them for themselves, because they belonged to the Greek Emperor, who was their friend, and was not at war with any of them ; con- sequently he had not lost those States that Pipin conquered from the Lombards. And Monsign. Vin- cenzo Pietra Eeferendasio della Signatura, e Luogo- tenente della Rev. Camera Apostolica nel Tomo 3, Comment, ad Constitut. Apostol. Constit. 7, Alex. IV (Stampato in Roma) said that Charlemagne pos- sessed de facto Italy, but not de jure, and he added that portions of those States — nam legitimi Impera- tores Occidentis erant tunc Grseci, and he afterwards goes on to say that it was only from the time in which Charlemagne was crowned Emperor, that is, in 800 — accessit Carolo Jus retinendi, quod Longo- bardis eripuerat — that he acquired the right of re- taining what he took from the Lombards. And so he retained himself the temporal power ; and Guic- ciardini, Muratori, Maimbourg, and other celebrated historians, as well as Eginhard, the Arch-Chaplain of Charlemagne, in his Erench Annales, say that the Emperor Charlemagne preserved inviolate his autho- rity over Rome and the Exarchate ; that he nomi- nated the judges and the magistrates to make the laws and to administer justice in his own name. This is positively shown in the sixth chapter of the Rights of the Empire on the Ecclesiastical States, by that extraordinarily conscientious and learned histo- rian, the Modonese L. Muratori. I see clearly that as there was a political intrigue with the Popes and the Erench royal family, very likely many mutual promises, written and verbal, were made by both parties. The Popes kept faith with Martel, Pipin, and Charlemagne. These monarchs, in the transport of their victory and joy, promised more than they gave, but soon found the means of deluding their copartners in the spoliation by retaining possession of the gifts, and forgetting the promises. It results evidently that in the year anno A A 2 270 Dom. 800 the Imperial dignity was changed and transferred from the Greek to the French Emperor Charlemagne, and his Sovereign power was exer- cised in Home with the approbation even of Pope Leo the Third, who never thought of raising the least opposition or objection to it, as he never had nor his predecessor never had dared before Popes Constantine and the Gregories to oppose the Greek Emperor in any manner with regard to the Temporal Power. Leo the Third committed himself on various occasions most brutally and despotically towards some Eoman Nobles, who retaliated about that time by giving him a good thrashing in the public streets of Home ; besides which he was well tossed by the mob, who treated him with contempt and would not obey him. Eor these reasons the Pope was glad that Carlo Magno should be invested with the high dignity ; so that he would be able to screen himself under the Emperor's protection. By this means he hoped to recover some influence and power. Eginhard, Arch- Chaplain of Carlo Magno, speaking of the Will of his August Master, assures us that Eome, Bavenna, and Milan were three of the twenty-one Metropolitan cities of his Empire, and St Theophanus, Confessor, who lived at that time, wrote in his Chronographia Hist. Byzant. (p. 599) ab anno 800— Eomam in Francorum Potes- tatem cessisse. These two brief quotations from two such cele- brated contemporary authors should be quite sufficient to establish the fact that in the year 800 Carlo Magno was really the master of Eome, and of the Eoman States, as well as of other parts of Italy, and that the Donations of Constantine and of Pipin were half a dream. If any further proof •of ancient date is needed to corroborate the above statement, Otto Erisingensis, in his Chronica, lib. 5, c. 36, states — Francos Mundi caput Eomam ad suam Ditionem transfudisse. This evidence is quite 271 sufficient to settle the point, without quoting any- other author ; for the present, therefore, I will pass on to some other Donation or dream, and may say- something more on the subject in a future chapter. History plainly tells us that the Greek Emperor offered to pay Pipin the expenses of his expedition and war against the Lombard King for the recovery of the Exarchate, and the restitution of it to the Caesarean dominion. But Pipin was deaf, and would not listen to the proposal ; the Emperor wrote to Pope Stephen the Second, with the same result ; and Pope Paul the Eirst, successor of Pope Stephen the Second, wrote to Pipin telling him that King Desidery and the Greek Emperor had concocted a scheme to repossess the States. In the Carolinian code, the letter 31 contains this passage : ut utrique dimicantes Ravenna- tium civitatem comprehendere queant. The same Pope Paul the Eirst, in his letter 31, also in the Codex Carolinus, writing to Pipin, says : qui quotidie in ipsam Bavennatem ingredi civitatem ; he repeats this also in his 33rd and 34th letters. In letters S, 20, and 26, of the same Codex Car., it is shown that the Greeks pressed Pipin to the restitution, and had some warfare with Charlemagne about it, which continued for some years, from about 803, till at last, in 810, the Greeks and the Erench succeeded in making some arrangements ; a treaty of peace was concluded by which the Erench remained mas- ters of Home, the Exarchate, and the other Roman provinces, as well as the States of the Lombard Kings, already dethroned and extinct. The industry of the Popes in the way of pretended donations con- tinued prolific, and in the tenth and eleventh cen- turies, nay, even before, they claimed these donations which they had created by their own wit and forgeries. Eirst came the gift of Ludovico Pio, secondly that of Otto the Eirst, and thirdly that of Henry the Second. The blunders committed by the Popes in these forgeries were so inconsistent that 272 they served to the overthrow of the claims that they made with them. The Popes said that Ludovicus Pius gave to the Holy See a donation of the Eccle- siastic States, of Calabrias and Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, and had a capital diploma forged to prove it ; but, unfortunately for them, as they never did half measures, they overstepped the mark, and in this ex- treme liberality to themselves took not only all what Ludovicus could give them of his own, but (on the supposition that a Sovereign can dispose of the States in which he has only a life-inWest) they took what he could not give them, because they belonged to somebody else ; in fact, the Calabrias and Silieian States were the property of the Greek Emperor, and were ruled by his Imperial vassals, while Sardinia and Corsica was ruled by the Francks, who never dreamed of allowing the Popes to interfere, or dispose of any of their properties or affairs. This diploma was false or apocryphal, and the Donation null and void, because Ludovicus continued to rule as supreme master in Rome and the Eoman States ; because he continued to live in peace and harmony with the Greek Emperor ; because the Erancks were never dis- possessed by him or the Popes of the Islands ; because the bibliothecary Anasthasius, who was alive and intimate with the Pope and at the Vatican, neither registered nor named that diploma or Donation, and if such a Donation really had been made, of course the Pope would have been bound in duty to sound his trumpet and proclaim it to the world. Conse- quently, this diploma fell to the ground, and was evidently a forgery, written at about the time of the quarrels and schisms of Gregory the YII with the Empire. From that time, of course, the Pope's partizans, and flatterers, and other partial writers, who would not take the trouble to investigate the truth, as they found that diploma inserted in the deeds of the Popes, did not hesitate to insert it also, or to name it in their works ; for instance, Ivo, Gra- 273 tianus, Cardin. Deusdedit, Dandulus, and others of later dates, did so either by ignorance or inadver- tence. As Anasthasius could not speak of what did not exist at his time, and would have been of such im- portance if it had existed, I shall say no more about it, but condemn this imaginary Donation to deserved oblivion. In the diploma of Otto the First, which confirms to the Holy See the Donation of privileges granted by Ludovicus Pius, there is much discrepancy with the pretended original by Ludowick. In truth, this time the forger found out the mistake, that Ludowick could not dispose of Sardinia and Corsica; conse- quently he thought prudent to leave it out, and it was left out also in the pretended diploma by Henricus the Second. These two diplomas confirm or pretend to confirm to the Holy See all the States and privi- leges granted to it previously by others, and give to the Popes all their patrimonies. Ubicumque in partibus Eegni atque Imperii a Deo nobis concessi Patrimonia Nostra esse noscuntur. It is impossible to swallow such a large piece of incredulity, and the historian Pagi remarked that the formulae or style of writing of these diplomas were different from the others ; that the one of Otto seemed to be a copy of that of Henry, which should be posterior to it, and other circumstances which persuaded him that they were forgeries, without even the authen- ticity of the Imperial Notary to certify that they were either original or copies of regular deeds. Baluzius, Capital., t. 2, p. 1 1 04, and Mabillon, De Re Diplom., lib. 2, c. 3, have also thrown many doubts upon the originality or the truth of them ; while others have not feared to commit an error in stating that they were apocryphal. On the supposition that these two diplomas were original and true, Otto the Pirst reserves to himself the privilege that the Pope, before he is consecrated, shall promise, in the presence 274 of the Emperor's Envoys, for the satisfaction and security of everybody, that he will maintain in future everything that was conventionally agreed upon by Pope Leo, as it was known he did. In another place I shall report the oath of fidelity and submission to the Emperor that Leo the Third an- nually agreed to take to Charlemagne for the conces- sion that he obtained of taking tithes in some places. Besides these precautions, in every one of the Impe- rial documents occurs the clause, salvo tamen jure Imperii, &c. And it is clear that Otto would not omit the opportunity of reserving to himself and successors the rights of the Empire, which had always been exercised by him and by all his succes- sors. There is also another passage in these false diplomas which shows plainly that the Emperors had all the power, even in many things of which they had partly disposed, and that they never abandoned the privilege of exercising their rights when they thought it convenient. It is written in the diploma that Otto promised to the Pope : In urbe Eomana nullum Placitum, aut ordinationem faciam de om- nibus, quae ad te, aut ad Eomam pertinent, sine tuo Consilio ; that is, that, when he exercised in Rome his Imperial rights and adjudicated upon anything belonging to Rome, he would listen to the advice of the Pope, and almost submit his authority to him ; and this very circumstance proves indisputably that he was the absolute master even in that ; and if he condescended to declare to the Pope that in future he would take his advice upon the affairs that regarded Rome, he would do so as a respectful and a vene- rable tribute to the nominal representative of. Chris- tianity, to enhance his dignity in the public opinion, by giving an example of respectful obedience to the Holy See. With regard to the other towns and pro- vinces of the Ecclesiastical States, it was a different thing with him, as he never missed an opportunity of doing or ordering anything to be done, according 275 to his will, without consulting the Pope, or giving notice to him of what he intended doing or dis- posing ; and truly he never had promised to any person that he would take their advice in the exer- cise of his Imperial power and judgment in his estates. For the present I think I have said enough to overthrow the pretended Donations or privileges of Otto the First and of Henry the Second ; that of Ludovicus Pius is already buried — and as the Holy See could not prove the existence of any of these Donations six or eight hundred years ago, nor at any period previous to that, not even at the very time when the people were monocult, and unable to dis- tinguish anything in its proper shape and form, through one cause or the other, yet those near- sighted persons could not swallow their own credulity, in spite of their ignorance and darkness, nor could they be induced to believe in the abdi- cation of the Imperial power in favour of the Popes, nor be persuaded, nor coerced to it, malgre the super aspidem ambulans High Priest. What shall we say now that people have two eyes, and besides can read and write their own opinion, or listen to that of others without the prejudices and fears of excom- munication ? As for me, I firmly believe that Europe is fully persuaded of the nullity of the pretences of relationship between the Pope and St Peter, on account of the demoralization, degeneration, irre- ligious doctrines and practices, and anti- Christian principles inculcated by ninety-nine per cent, of all the Popes from Pope Silvester to the present day. The Emperors used also to style themselves Advo- cates, or special Defenders of the Holy See, Eoman Patricians, and Pii, Augusti, and sometimes also Pontifices Maximi — as seen by the ancient coins and medals, and in the various histories and documents. Baronius notes (Annal. ad. an. 1162) that Frederick the First was also accustomed to call himself Speci- alis Romans Ecclesiae Advocatus, as well as Im- 276 perator Eomatiorum ; and so the French Emperors called themselves. Before I quit the subject of the nullity of the Donations or privileges of Ludowick, Otto, and Henry, in confirmation of what I have stated already, I must add, — to prove that the former Emperors, themselves and their successors, for some years never lost a particle of their dignity and power, — that it is plainly demonstrated by the Emperor's free exercise of the high dominion and the advocacy of the lloman Church ; by their title, and the acclamations at their coronations, and by the oath of fidelity to them by the Popes and the Roman people ; by the Emperor's authority to send at any time and in any towns of their States the Imperial Missi etJudices, the Envoys and Judges, to administer justice, and particularly in Rome ; by the Imperial Legates, who used annually to revise and scrutinize the accounts of the Pope's officials (and this practice the Emperors used to carry out also in France, and in the various Italian Duchies, as well as in any other part of their States out of Italy) ; by the full sub- mission and obligation that the Popes had of obeying, and of causing others to obey and execute, the orders and the edicts of the Emperors in all temporal matters. The reader may see these details in the decrees of Gratianus, Dist. 10, c. 9, and Baluzius, Capital., n. 21. By the Pope being compelled to give a yearly account to the Emperor of the administered justice, as stated by Gratianus at c. 141, 2, 9, 7. By the orders forbidding the Romans to consecrate the newly elected Pope before the Imperial consent was given. This consent, under the Greek Emperors in former times, was always transmitted to Rome by the Ex- archs, who were the Imperially appointed persons ad hoe, and who had specific orders either to approve or give the veto, according to circumstances, and with- out which no Pope could be consecrated. The French Emperors did almost the same thing, even in the remainder of their States. By the coins and medals 277 struck in Bome, on all of which was the effigy of the Emperor, though in some few instances there was also the effigy of the Pope. Tor instance, no coin has yet been found with the effigy of Charlemagne upon it before he was crowned Roman Emperor ; and as soon as he was crowned the coins had his effigy upon them with the Imperator Eomanorum; and these things prove his supreme temporal power, as stated by the Anonymous Salernitanus (Hist. Princ. Lang., par. 1, p. 27), in Camillo Pellegrino, that Charlemagne conferred upon Grimoaldus the Princi- pality of Benevento, and imposed upon him, as an obligation, that in all legal affairs, and in all diplo- mas and deeds, as well as upon the coins, there should always be the Imperial effigy : TJt Chartas, nummosque sui JNTominis charactenbus superscribi semper juberet. And Herempertus, in his History, "No. 4, asserts that Grimoaldus : In suis aureis ejus nomen aliquandiu figurari placuit, schedas simi- liter aliquanto jussit exarari, &c. The Emperors sometimes privileged a city or a Bishop to coin money with the same obligation. Epr instance, Henry the Second, by some called the Third, in the year 1094, privileged the Bishop of Padua to coin — as asserted by Sigonius, and by IJghelli (Italia Sacra, to. v, p. 413), and other historians. Charlemagne appears to have privileged also the city of Pavia to coin, with the same obligation of impressing on them his effigy; and other Emperors gave to that city a similar privilege, as related in the works of Gatti (Gymn. Ticin. Hist., c. 1, v. 11). In the Pope's Bulls, as well as in the deeds, and other official documents stipulated in the Ecclesias- tical States, as a sort of veneration to the head of the Church, was noted the names and years of reign of the Popes ; though, on the other side, or in the first place, there was always the years of reign of the Imperante Domino Nostro Piissimo Augusto, as related in the Bertinian Annales ad an. 868 B B 278 (Concil. T. 8, pp. 103-114), and by Labbe, and as found in many ancient documents. Another proof of the Imperial dominion is deduced from the de- mands made by the Popes to the Emperors, and the concessions of the Emperors to the Popes, of the Con- firmation to them of the Government of Churches, not only in the Roman States, but in the Imperial States, and this was the custom. These Imperial conces- sions to the Holy See were called by the Popes Privilegia. Another proof is to be found in the fact that the Emperors granted Privilegia to the Churches in the Ecclesiastical States, in the same manner and form as to the Churches of the French or any other territory, and imposed fines upon the transgressors of their Imperial orders. The Greek, the French, and German Emperors continued to maintain in Home, and in other Italian towns, their Fiscal Offices and Courts, as is proved by many documents. The Popes, the Dukes, the Marquises, and the Bishops, or any other person who had States, had their Fiscals in Rome, and in other towns, although the Imperial Fiscals resided, adjudicated, and transacted their business in the same places. See Fiorentini (Mem. di Matild., lib. 3, p. 94), and TJghelli in the fifth volume, appendix to Ital. Sacr., p. 1487, who relates a deed in which the Imperial and the Papal Fiscals appeared against a third party, though separately, in the year 1056. The temporal power was constantly maintained in Eome and in the Ecclesiastical States by the consecutive exercise of it by the Emperors, the descendants of Charlemagne, and Eginhard says that Pope Paschal the First, in the year 823, gave to Lotharius — Potestatem quam prisci Imperatores habuere, super Populum Eomanum. Pope Leo the Third, in the year 815, was compelled to make an apology, and plead many excuses to Ludowick Pius, who had sent Bernardt, King of Italy, to Rome, to express to the Pope his anger and sorrow at 279 having heard that he had condemned to death some Eoman nobles. Pope Leo was compelled to send to the Emperor Ludowick messengers to justify himself in having ordered the execution of the murdered nobles, and of the usurped authority ; and this would be suffi- cient to prove that up to that time, at least, the Pope had not a shred of temporal power, and that he was accountable for his actions, and for the administration of justice, to the supreme master the Emperor. In the year 855 it was related by Anasthasius that the election of Pope Benedict the Third was announced to the Invictissimis Lothario et Ludovico Augustis, and that the Emperors directly sent their messengers to Eome to intimate to the whole clergy, to the Senate, and to the people that they should come to meet them on the other side of the Miivian Bridge by order of the Emperor, and to let them understand that they would be punished if they disobeyed. — " Omni clero, cunctoque Senatu, et universo Populo maxdaverunt, ut obviam illis trans Milvium pontem Imperatoris jussionibus irent," &c. Anasthasius relates also that in the same year, 855, Ludowick the Second ordered that several gentlemen* should be severely tried in Rome for attempting to restore to the Greeks the temporal power of Eome and of the Italian States. Eeginone and Marianus Scotus wrote that Lotha- rius the Eirst, father of Ludowick the Second, in the division which he made with his brothers, obtained the whole of the Italian kingdoms, and Eome itself. " Omnia Eegna Italise cum ipsa Eomana Urbe ohtinuit," and in his Epitaph, reported by Duchesne, Script. Franc, t. 2, p. 398, occurs this: — " Qui Francis, Italis, Eomanis praefuit ipsis." And the Epitaph of the Emperor Ludowick the Second, re- ported by Baronius, anno 844, reads thus : " Hie ubi firma virum mundo produxerat setas " Imperii nomen Subdita Eoma dedit." 280 Moreover, Baronius reports a letter of Ludowick the Second to the Greek Emperor, anno 871, in which he attempts to palliate his pretext for the assumption of the title of Emperor, and the dignity of Defender of the Holy See, — the mother of all the Christian churches, and in this way he proved to us that he was not only the depositary of the Cae- sarean dominion, but the only temporal Sovereign in Eome, and in all his States, as well as the Advocate and Defender of the Holy Roman See. Miraris, quod non Eraneorum, sed Eomanorum Imperator appellemur, &c. A Eomanis hoc nomen, et Dignitatem assumpsimus, apud quos profecto primo tantae culmen sublimitatis et appellationis effulsit, Quorum que Gen tern et Urbem divinitus Gubernandam, et Matrem omnium Ecclesiarum Dei Defendendam atque sublimandam assumpsimus. Carolus Calvus, and after him the Emperor Charles le Gros, exercised temporal power in Eome, in the Exarchate, and the other Eoman States, in the same manner as their ancestors, without any restraints or impediments of the Popes or of the Prelates, who would have been uncommonly happy to find an opportunity to emancipate themselves " from the supremacy of the Erench Emperors ; but, fortunately for the Italians, the Erench Caesars were not so bigoted as to permit the Popes to overstep their mark and their duty ; and they were strong enough, vigilant enough, and prompt enough, to repress any transgression of the laws, and to re- pristinate in its proper order the social and moral condition and the welfare of the nation. As long as the line of the Erench Caesars lasted, not only in Eome but in the other Italian provinces, the religio-political affairs and the administration of justice went on smoothly enough, though now and then occurred the necessity for Imperial interference to moderate the priestly efforts at innovations, or their pretexts for innovations, and the attempt at revolution and usurpation by the Pope and Clergy. 281 To balance the wrong that the French did by destroying the Lombard Kings and their Eoyal and Imperial vassals, there is to be found a compensation in the sparing of those victims which the priestly craft would have continued to make if the nation had continued under the rule of the Lombard Kings and the Greek Emperors, who were always wanting in energy and promptitude in enforcing the Bishops and the Popes to respect the laws of humanity and religion. For this reason only I regret that French domination ended ; but I regret also the substitu- tion of the Austro-German power, which proved incompetent in most instances to restore law and order, and permitted the monstrosities that polluted not only Italy itself but spread soon after in every corner of Europe, and after Columbus and Vespucci's discoveries infected and stained the whole of the world with its crimes, Papistic blasphemies, vices, and an ti- Christian immoralities. There are other important political facts which occurred at the time of Pipin and Charlemagne which I might state, but for the sake of order I must go back again and resume the thread, and come up again to the suc- session of the Austro-German Emperors to the Holy Eoman Empire. I have said that the JExarcha of Eavenna was the alter ego of the Greek Emperors in Italy, well informed of the will of his master, and learned enough to control the Pope. His duty was to restore everything to its proper equilibrium, to keep order in all the Eoman States, to inform his master of everything of political or of religious importance, and to confirm or prohibit the consecration of the Pope, if the election had been irregular, or if it had fallen on an enemy of the Greek Empire. The Exarcha was always Archbishop of Eavenna, with temporal and spiritual power, and a small army at his disposition, and the Popes considered them like their own nightmare, and were exceedingly jealous bb2 282 of those rivals who had more power than they had themselves. I could state here that the Popes did all they could to have them abolished or brought under their own submission, but the French Emperors preferred the suppression to the degradation of the dignity. However, the Exarchs received the news of the elections of the Popes, or assisted at them ; and regularly received also the letters signed by the Roman clergy and people, as stated by Girolamo Rossi in his History of Ravenna, and as most dis- tinctly expressed also by the historian Anasthasius. These letters to the Exarch were — Supplicantes celsse ejus Dominationi, ut nos famulos voti compotes celeriter fieri prseeipiat, &c, ut celerius Apostolicam sedem de perfecta ejusdem nostri Patris atque Pas- toris ordinatione adornare praecipiatis, utpote minis- terium Imperialis fastigii feliciter, atque fideliter peragentes, &c- A monumental document of the temporal power of Charlemagne in Rome was still extant a few years ago. " In the famous hall constructed by Leo in the palace of the Lateran (says an historian) is to be found an immense mosaic, which is still in existence." M. de Saint Marc gives the following description of this piece of antiquity : — " This mosaic represents Jesus Christ giving with his right hand the keys to St Peter, and with the left hand a standard to a prince wearing a crown. The inscrip- tion 1 Constantino Y./ shows that the prince is Constantine, the son of Irene. A frame placed behind the head of the figure indicates, according to the antiquarians, that this prince was still in existence and in power at the time the mosaic was constructed. This representation is a proof that the power of the Emperor was still respected at Rome, and that he was the supreme lord. On the other side of the mosaic is a Pope kneeling, to whom St Peter is giving, with his right hand, the Pallium, while a prince, also kneeling, with moustaches, the 283 sword, the mantle, and bands of divers colours round his legs, such as Charlemagne was accustomed to wear, is receiving a standard from the left hand of the same Apostle. The frames placed behind the heads of the kneeling persons show that they represent living people, whom the following inscrip- tions, ' Sacratum D. N". Leo et D. N". Carolo regi/ announce to be Leo III and Charlemagne." Before quitting the subject of Charlemagne's supremacy in the temporal power in Rome and the Ecclesiastical States, I think it will not be inoppor- tune to insert his last will and testament, by which it will be seen that he gave no temporal power what- ever to the Pope, and that he invested his son Ludovicus Pius with the disposition of that power and the Empire, &c. Disposition de l'Empeeeue Chaelemagne, poue ETABLIE, ET CONSEEVEE LA PaIX ENTEE SES Eneans, et leue divisee ses Etats. Eaite atjx Etats tentjs a Thionville : In nomine Patris, et Eilii et Spiritus Sancti. Goidast, 1. 1, fc* p. 145. Imperator Caesar Carolus, Eex Erancorum invictissi- Fauchet mus, et Eomani Rector Imperii, Pius, Eelix, Yictor A^de ifa," ac Triumphator, semper Augustus, omnibus fidelibus 806. sanetse Dei Ecclesise et cuncto populo Christiano, presenti et futuro, gentium ac nationum, quae sub (*) imperio ac regimine constitute sunt. 1. Sicut omnibus vobis notum esse, et neminem vestrum latere credimus, quomodo nos divina dementia, cujus nutu ad occasum tendentia ssecula per successiones (a) generationum reparantur, tres nobis dando filios, magno nos miserationis ac benedic- tionis suae ditavit munere, quia per eos secundum vota nostra et spem nostram de Regno confirmavit, et curani oblivioni obnoxise posteritatis leviorem fecit. Ita et hoc vobis notum fieri volumus, quod eosdem per Dei gratiam filios nostros Regni a Deo 284 nobis (h) concessi, donee in corpore sumus, et post nostrum ab hac mortalitate discessum hujus a Deo conservandi Eegni vel Imperii JSTostri hseredes relinquere, si sic Divina Majestas annuerit, optamus. "Nob. ut confuse atque inordinate, aut sub totius Eegni dominatione jurgii controversiam eis relin- quamus ; sed trina partitione totum Eegni corpus dividentes, quam quisquis illorum tueri vel regere debeat, portione (e) distribuere et designare voluimus, eo videlicet modo, ut sua quisquis portione contentus juxta ordinationem nostram et fines Eegni sui, qui ad alienigenas extenduntur, cum Dei adjutorio nitatur defend ere, et pacem atque caritatem cum fratre custodire. 2. Divisiones vero a Deo conservati et conservandi Imperii vel Eegni nostri tales facere placuit, ut Aquitaniam totam id) et Vuasconiam (excepto pago Turonico), et quicquid inde ad Occidentem atque Hispaniam respicit, et de civitate Mvernis, quae sita est super fluvium Ligerim cum ipso pago Mvernense, pagum (e) Avalensem, atque Alsensem, Cabillionen- sem, Matisconensem, Lugdunensem (/) Gabojam, Moriennam, Tarentasium Montem Cinisium, Yallem Gegusinam usque ad Clusas, (g) et inde per terminos Italorum montium usque ad mare, vel usque ad Hispanias continetur, hoc est, illam portionem Eur- gundise et Provinciam ac Septimaniam, vel Gothiara, Ludovico dilecto filio nostro consignavimus. 3. Italiam vero, quaB et Longobardia dicitur, et (A) Bojoariam, sicut Tassilo tenuit, exceptis duabus villis, quarum nomina sunt Ingoldestat, et Lutra- hahof, (i) quas nos quondam Tassiloni beneficavimus, et pertinent ad pagum, qui dicitur Nortgouve, et de Alemannia partem, quas in Australi ripa Danubii fluminis est, et de ipso fonte Danubii, currente limite, usque ad Ehenum fluvium in confinio pagorum Clergouve et Hegouve in locum quo dicitur Auge : et inde per Ehenum fluvium sursum versus usque ad Alpes, quicquid intra hos terminos fuerit, et ad 285 Meridiem vel Orientem respicit una cum Ducatu Curiensi et Pago Burgove, (7c) Pipino dilecto filio nostro ordinamus. 4. Quicquid autem de Eegnp Nostro extra hos terminos fuerit, id est Franciam et Burgundiam, excerpta ilia post quam Ludoyico dedimus, atque Alamaniam, excepta ilia portione quam Pipino (J) adscripsimus, Austriam, Neustriam, Thuringjam, Saxoniam, Frisiam et partem Bojoarias, qua3 dicitus Northgouve, dilecto filio nostro Carolo (m) concessi- mus, ita ut Carolus et Ludovicus viam habere possint in Italiam ad auxilium (n) faciendum fratri suo, si ita necessitas extiterit, Carolus per yallem Augus- tanam, quae ad Eegnum ejus pertinet, et Ludovicus per vallem Segusianam. Pipinus vero et exitum et ingressum per Alpes JNoricas atque curiam. 5. Hasc autem tali ordine disposuimus, ut si Carolus, qui major est natus, priusquam ceteri fratres diem obierit, pars Begni quam habebat, dividatur inter Pipinum et Ludovicum, sicut quondam divisum est Kegnum inter nos et fratrem nostrum Carlomannum, eo modo ut Pipinus illam portionem habeat, quam frater noster Carlomannum habuit, Ludovicus vero illam partem, quam nos in ilia partitione suscepimus. Si vero Carolo et Ludovico viventibus, Pipinus debitum humanse (o) naturae compleverit, Carolus et Ludovicus dividant inter se Eegnum, quod ille habuit. Et haec divisio tali modo fiat, ut ab Ingressu Italise per Augustam civitatem accipiat Carolus Eboreiam, Vercellas, Papiam, et inde per Padum fluvium termino currente usque ad fines Eegiensium et Ipsum Eegium, et civitatem Novam atque Mutinam usque ad terminos Sancti Petri. Has civitates cum suburbanis, et territoriis suis, atque Comitatibus, quas ab ipsas pertinent, et quic- quid inde Eomam (p) pergenti ad laavam respicit de regno quod Pipinus habuit, una cum Ducatu Spole- tano, hanc portionem, sicut praediximus accipiat Carolus 286 6. Quicquid autem a prsedictis civitatibus vel Comitatibus Eomam eunti ad dexteram jacet de praedicto Regno, id est portionem quae remansit de (q) regione Transpadana, una cum Ducatu Tuscano usque ad mare Australe, et usque ad Provinciam, (r) Ludovicus ad augmentum sui Eegni sortiatur. Quod si ceteris superstitibus Ludovicus fuerit de- functus earn partem Burgundiae, quam Eegno ejus adjunximus, cum Provincia, et Septimania sive Gothia usque ad Hispaniam Pipinus accipiat, Carolus vero Aquitaniam atque Yasconiam. 7. Quod si talis nlius cujuslibet istorum trium fratrum natus fuerit, quern populus eligere velit, ut patri suo succedat in Eegni haereditate, volumus ut in hoc consentiant patrui ipsius pueri, et regnare permittant filium fratris sui in portione Eegni, quam Pater ejus eorum frater habuit. 8. Post hanc nostrae auctoritatis dispositionem, placuit inter praedictos hlios nostros statuere atque praecipere propter pacem, quam inter eos perpetuo manere desideramus, ut nullus eorum fratris sui terminos vel regni limites invadere praesumat, neque fraudulenter ingredi ad conturbandum regnum ejus, vel m areas minuendas, sed adjuvet unusquisque illorum fratrem suum, et auxilium ei ferat contra inimicos ejus juxta rationem et possibilitatem, sive intra patriam, sive contra exteras nationes. 9. JNeque aliquis illorum hominem fratris sui pro quibuslibet causis, sive culpis ad se confugientem suscipiat ad intercessionem pro eo faciendam : quia volumus, ut quilibet homo peccans et intercessione indigens intra Eegnum Domini sui, vel ad loca sancta, vel ad honoratos homines confugiat, et inde justam intercessionem mereatur. 10. Similiter praecipimus, ut quemlibet liberum hominem ; qui Dominum suum contra ejus volunta- tem dimiserit, et de uno regno in aliud profectus fuerit, neque ipse Eex suscipiat, neque hominibus suis consentiat, ut talem hominem recipiant, vel 287 juste retinere praesumant : hoc non solum de liberis, sed etiam de servis fugitivis statuimus ordinandum, ut nulla discordiis relinquatur occasio. 11. Quapropter praecipiendum nobis videtur, ut post nostrum ab hac mortalitate discessum, homines uniuscuj usque eorum accipiant beneficia unusquisque in regno Domini sui, et non in altero, ne forte per hoc, si aliter fecerit scandalum aliquod accidere pos- sit. Haereditatem autem suam habeat unusquisque illorum hominum absque contradictione in unoquoque regno, quam eum legitime habere contigerit. 12. "Ut unusquisque liber homo post mortem Domini sui licentiam habeat se commendandi inter hsec tria regna ad quodcumque voluerit : similiter et ille, qui nondum alicui est commendatus. 13. De traditionibus autem, et venditionibus, quae inter partes fieri solent, praecipimus ut nullus ex his tribus fratribus suscipiat de regno alterius a quolibet homine traditionem, yel venditionem a quolibet homine, hoc est, terrarum, vinearum, sylvarum, atque libertatem, servorumque qui jam casati sunt, sive caeterorum, qua3 haereditatis nomine censentur, auro, argento, et gemmis, armis, et his speciebus, quae proprie ad negotiatores pertinere noscuntur : caeteris vero liberis hominibus hoc minime inter- dicendum putamus. 14. Si quae autem feminae, sicut fieri solet, inter partes et regna fuerint ad conjugia postulatae, ne denegentur juste poscentibus, sed iiceat eis vicissim dare et accipere, et affinitatibus populos inter se sociati. Ipsae vero feminae potestatem habeant rerum suarum in regno, unde exierant, quando in alio propter mariti societatem habitant. 15. De obsidibus autem, qui propter credentias dati sunt, et a nobis per diversa loca ad custodiendum destinati sunt, volumus ut ille Hex, in cujus regno sunt, absque voluntate fratris sui de cujus regno sunt sublati, in patriam eos redire non permittat, sed potius in futurum in suscipiendis obsidibus alter 288 alteri mutuum ferat auxilium, si frater fratrem hoc facere raticmabiliter postulaverit. Idem jubemus de his, qui pro suis facinoribus in exilium missi vel mittendi sunt. 16. Si causa vel intentio controversiae talis inter partes propter terminos et confinis regnorum ortae fuerint, quae hominum testimonio declarari vel denniri non possint : tunc volumus ut ad declara- tionem rei dubiae, judicio crucis, Dei voluntas et rerum Veritas (*) exquiratur, nec unquam pro tali causa cujuslibet generis pugaa vel campus ad exami- nationem (t) judicetur. Si vero quilibet homo de uno regno hominem de altero regno de infidelitate, contra (u) Dominum suum accusaverit, mittat eum Dominus suus ad fratrem suum, ut ibi comprobet, quod de homine illius dixit. 17. Super omnia autem jubemus, ut ipsi tres fratres curam et Defensionem Ecclesiae Sancti Petri simul suscipiant, sicut quondam ab avo nostro Carolo et beatae memorise genitore Pipino Hege, et a nobis postea suscepta est, ut earn cum Dei adjutorio ab hostibus defendere nitantur, et justitiam suam quan- tum ad ipsos pertinet et ratio postulat, habere faciant. Similiter et de ceteris Ecclesiis, quae sub illorum fuerint potestate, precipimus, et justitiam suam et locorum habeant potestatem rerum, quae ad ipsa loca pertinent, in quocumque de his tribus regnis illarum Ecclesiarum possessiones fuerint. 18. Quod de his statu tis atqueconvenientiis aliquid casu quolibet vel ignorantia (quod non optamus) fuerit irruptum, praecipimus ut quam citissime se- cundum justitiam emendare studeant, ne forte propter dilationem majus damnum possit accidere. De Piliabus autem nostris, sororibus silicet praedictorum filiorum nostrorum, jubemus ut post nostrum ab hoc corpore discessum, licentiam habeant eligendi, sub cujus fratris tutela et defensione se conferre velint. Et qualiscumque ex illis monasticam vitam elegerit, liceat ei honorifi.ce vivere sub defensione fratris sui, 289 in cujus regno degere voluerit. Quae autem juste et rationaliter a condigno viro ad conjugium quaesita fuerit, et ei conjugalis vita placuerit, non ei denegatur a fratribus suis, si et viri postulantis et fceminae consentientis honesta et rationabilis fuerit voluntas. 19. De Nepotibus vero nostris, silicet filiis prae- dictorum filiorum qui eis vel jam nati sunt, vel adhuc noseituri sunt, placuit nobis praecipere, ut nullus eorum per quaslibet occasiones, quemlibet ex illis apud se accusatum sine justa discussione atque exami- natione aut membris mancare aut excaecare, aut in- vitum tondere faciat : sed volumus ut honorati sint apud patres vel patruos suos, et obedientes sint cum omni subjectione, quam decet in tali consanguini- tate esse. 20. Hoc postremo statuendum nobis videtur^ ut quicquid adhuc de rebus et constitutionibus, quae ad profectum et utilitatem eorum pertinent, his nostris decretis atque praeceptis addere voluerimus, sic a praedictis dilectis filiis nostris observatur atque cus- todiatur, sicut ea quae de his jam statuta et descripta sint, custodire et observare praecipimus. 21. Haec autem omnia ita disposuimus, atque ex ordine firmare decrevimus, ut quam diu divinae Majestati placuerit nos hanc corporalem agere vitam, potestas nostra sit super a Deo conservatum regnum atque Imperium istud, sicut actenus fuit in regimine atque ordinatione, et omni dominatu Eegali atque Imperiali, ut obedientes habeamus praedictos filios nostros, atque Deo amabilem populum nostrum cunt omni subjectione, quae patri a filiis, et Imperatori ac Eegi a suis populis exhibetur. — Amen. Notes to Chaelemagne's "Will. (*) Al. ejus. (a) Generationum reparationes generantur. (b) Al. conservati. (c) Al. describere. c c 290 (d) Al. usque Yascon. (e) AL ananen. (/) Sanbandia. (g) Al. et inter ternis. (h) AL Bajone. (i) Al. quas quondam Tassilo nostro Beneficio tenuit. (Jc) Pepin mourut avant son pere en 810 n'ayant laisse qu'un fils natural nomme Bernard qui lui sueceda au Boyaume d'ltalie. (I) Al. dedinus. (m) Charles mourut avant son pere en 811 sans avoir laisse d'enfans. (n) AL ferendum. (o) Al. sortis. (p) Al. genuam. (q) Al. Regno transpadano. (r) AL Ludovico cedat. (s) AL inquiratur. If) AL indicatur. (u) Al. fratrem Dominis sui. This is a capital document, but as I do not see where are the donations of Borne, of the Exarchate, and of the other Boman States made by Charlemagne to the Holy See, and as this document is of great importance, by which a fair division of the Boman Empire was made, and distributed accordingly to his three sons only, and as those States are not even named, I presume I am at liberty to inquire who had them by right, or who pretended to annex them to the Boman See, or how it happened that the Pope never had them ? Eor certain, he was not named in this will, or in any other memorandum. Perhaps Mr Anto- nelli or Dupanloup can throw some light upon this fact, and if they persist in stating that Charlemagne gave them to the Holy See without producing the deed of gift or donation, then they will compel me to tell them a trifling fact, which consists in this 291 little bit of narrative, — that Charlemagne gave to the Holy See those States as truly and really as Con- stantine did before him, exactly in the same manner ; and to corroborate that fact, Charlemagne made a Postscriptum of Confirmation upon the very same parchment upon which was forged the donation of Constantine to the Holy See. If this story does not satisfy the pretentious Bishops, then I will refer them to the Secretary, Arch-Chaplain, and Chancellor of Charlemagne, Eginhard, who recorded all those affairs, and other political facts that are purposely ignored by the upper clergy, and there they will read that Charlemagne, in the year 813, convoked a great assembly of the notability, and, while living, resigned and crowned his son Ludovicus Pius as Em- peror of the Eomans, renouncing to him Eome and the States, as I have written in another chapter. There is also another Testament of the Emperor Charlemagne, by which he disposes of his treasures, money, habiliments, books, furniture, and any other things belonging to him, for the benefit of his chil- dren, his servants, and the poor, made in the year 811. I have read it, and I have it in full; but as there is nothing for the Pope, I think it time lost to copy it or to translate it, this last being in French. Pipin and Charlemagne were Patrizi of Eome, and that title not only conferred the citizenship of Eome, but the jurisdiction and dominion of Eome, as also the duty of defending and protecting the Eoman Church, as is asserted by the historian De Marca (De Concord. Sac. et Imp., lib. 1, c. 12). Anas- thasius says that Pope Adrian the Eirst sent to meet Charlemagne : Universos Judices ad fere triginta milia ab hac urbe Eomana, et venerandas cruces, idest signa, sicut mos est ad Exarcham seu Patricium suscipiendum ; — that is, that the Pope sent all the Judges nearly thirty miles from Eome to meet Charlemagne, as was the custom to receive the Ex- archs or Patricians. And when Leo the Third was 292 created Pope in 798, Eginhard (seu Adelm.) says, in Annal. Franc, ad an. 776 : Per Legatos suos claves Confessionis S. Petri, ac vexillum Romanae Urbis, cum aliis muneribus Eegi misit ; et rogavit ut aliquem de suis Optimatibus Romam mitteret, qui populum Romanum ad suam fidem, atque subjec- tion em per sacramenta firmaret. — "What do you think of that, Mr Antonelli ? Paulus Diaconus, who was almost a contemporary author, wrote in lib. de Me ten. Episc. that : Carolus Magnus Romanos, ipsamque Urbem Romuleam quae aliquando Mundi totius No- mina fuerat, et tunc a Longobardis oppressa gemebat duris angustiis eximens Suis addidit Sceptris. Egin- hard, in the life of Charlemagne, says that that great Prince extended the kingdom of Prance beyond-— Aquitaniam et Vasconiam, deinde Totam Italiam, turn Saxoniara, &q. (Here I beg to state that a blunder occurs, because the States of Naples and Sicily were under the Greek Emperor still, and re- mained so for some time after.) Histriam quoque, &c, et ita perdomuit, ut eas tributarias effecerit. And by the testimony of the said monk Adelmo, in the said French Annals, in the year 786, Charle- magne made Benevento and its lands also tributary : conveniens esse arbitratus, ut illius Regni residuam portionem suse Potestati subjiceret. As I have already stated that Pipinus and Charlemagne made dona- tions, and confirmed them by diplomas to the Popes, it occurs to me that I may state here what these donations consisted of. Prom the Epist. 96 of the Codex Carolmus, written by the Pope to Charle- magne, to thank him for the donation of some cities in the territory of Benevento, it resulted that the King's Commissioners or Governors gave him only the monasteries, the convents, the churches, and the keys, and not the towns and populations of them, as appears from that letter, and from the subsequent letter, No. 90, of the said Adrian to Charlemagne, in which he begs that he would not give the Duchy of 293 Benevento to Grimoaldus. As Adrian does not state what keys they were, and as the King's Commis- sioners retained the temporal power in Benevento, the keys alluded to by Adrian must have been the keys of the wine-cellars of the convents and monas- teries, because soon after Charlemagne gave the Duchy of Benevento (already disposed of to Adrian) to Duke Grimoaldus, in spite of the begging-letter of Adrian, and of the already-named donation to the Holy See. I should not be at all surprised at the truth of my supposition, as I see the Primitive Bishops were particularly fond of the bottle, and flasks of every sort of colour and size, as I shall show when I have occasion to speak of a miraculous flask hereafter. The Greek Emperor wrote to Pipinus to restore to the Greek Empire Ravenna, and the other cities of the Exarchate, usurped by Astolphus, and it is clearly evident that up to the coronation of Charle- magne the Exarchate was the absolute property of the Greek Emperors, and after that they lost the dominion of those States and of Rome. The Popes pretended that Pipin and Charlemagne had given them the Exarchate, &c. ; but these assertions were false under various aspects, because the Ex- archate and other cities in Italy were still under the dominion of the Greek Emperors, who were the de jure masters when Pipin and Charlemagne made the promise of those donations to the Popes, and common sense will not admit that they should have made a donation of what belonged to others ; legally speaking they could not even detain those States for their own use and purposes unless they aspired to the dignitoso titolo of Usurpers ; and to become the de facto masters of those States, it was necessary to be crowned as Roman Emperors. In presence of such facts, the donations made by them previous to their coronation were perfectly ridiculous, as only after their coro- nation they could acquire any rights for themselves, c c 2 294 and not before, as they had not a legal right, having conquered those States from the Lombards, at the instance of their friend the Greek Emperor, as I have stated. In proof that Pipin and Charlemagne made no such donation of those States, and that the assertion is false, it is enough to say that Charle- magne used to send to Borne, Eavenna, and the other Italian towns the Judges, the Chancellors, the Governors, and other dignitaries to arrange and conduct affairs with regard to the temporal power : the only privilege that he gave to the Pope was full and ample permission to act freely in the administration of ecclesiastical affairs, which privilege has been swelled into a donation of the Ecclesiastical States. This is corroborated by the Ecclesiastical admissions, as affirmed by Egin- hard, that Charlemagne after his coronation invested the Popes with the power of the Exarchs. Admit- ting this to be the real fact, the conclusion which will naturally be drawn is that the Popes were then nothing more than the Imperial Vicars, administering a part of the Imperial secular affairs during the absence of the Imperial master. But the Popes have not had any opportunities of exercising, pro tempore, the power of the Exarchs, as can be proved by the various investitures of the following Emperors to the Princes, Dukes, and Yicars of the Empire. About the year 800 the Boman people, the Senate, and the Pope proclaimed and invested Charlemagne with the authority and supremacy which the Greek Emperor exercised in the cities of the Exarchate and of Borne itself. Pope Leo the Third supported this investi- ture because the Greek Emperor was indolent, and neglected to support his Jus, and by such neglect the nobility and the Papisme had fallen into such contempt, that the people not only refused obedience to the laws and the orders of the Pope, but mocked and ill-treated him most barbarously, and nearly blinded him. 295 Charlemagne was crowned Emperor in Eome in the year 801, so says Albericus Monacus in Chronic, ad an. 801 : TJno omnium consensu, Carolo Eegi Imperatorias laudes acclamant, eumque per manus Leonis Papse Coronant, Caesarem Augustum appel- lant. Eginhard also confirms this (Annal. Franc, ad An. 801) adding, that soon after the Emperor administered public justice in Eome against the sacrilegious offenders of Pope Leo, and that the Judges of the Emperor were called Missi Domini Imperatoris, and were engaged — ad liberandas liti- giosas contentiones — and that they had full power from the Emperor ad Justicias faciendas, exequendas, ad recta judicia determinanda, ad oppressiones popu- lorum relevandas, &c. And so it was after Leo's death j when Pope Stephanus was elected he ordered the Eoman people to take oath of fidelity to the Emperor Ludowick, as stated by Teganus : Jussit, Stephanus, omnem Populum Romanium fidelitatem cum Juramento promittere Ludovico. In the year 815 Ludovicus Pius was informed of many dissen- sions that had happened in Eome with Pope Leo the Third, who had ordered and had several Eoman nobles executed. As soon as the Emperor heard of this he sent to Eome his nephew (Bernard, King of Italy) — ad cognoscendum quod nunciabatur. Paulus Diaconus notes also that Ludovicus Pius went to Eome in company with his son Lotharius, that he had him crowned by Paschal as a partner in ruling the Empire, and that "Paschalis quoque Apostolicus Potestatem, quam prisci Imperatores habuere, ei super populum Eomanum concessit." In the same year, 815, as soon as the Emperor learnt that by order of the Pope two nobles of the Eoman Clergy had been decapitated, he sent his Judges to Eome, and the Pope was privately tried, when he exculpated himself. Eginhard, or Adel- mus, evidently demonstrated with the above facts that the temporal power, or high supremacy, and the 296 full jurisdiction of the Emperors was extended and maintained, not only in Eome, but also in every town of the Exarchate. All the Carlovingian Emperors maintained the same sovereign power in Italy ; and Anasthasius, in his Life of Pope Sergius the Second, in the year 844, notes that, " omnes Primates Eomanorum Fidelitatem Lothario magno Imperatori promiserunt." In the Life of Leo the Fourth Anasthasius certi- fied that that Pope was accused of various crimes to the Emperor Lotharius ; and he named, for instance, what he had privately said of the French Emperors : " The French never do any good for us, nor give us any assistance, but they prefer to take what belongs to us. Why do we not call again the Greeks, and expel the King of the French and his people from our kingdom, and get rid of their domination?" Franci nihil nobis boni faciunt, neque adjutorium praebent; sed magis quae nostra sunt, tollunt. Quare non advocamus Graecos, et Francorum de nostro Eegno et Dominatione expellimus ? Pope Leo the Fourth was tried for this and other accusa- tions by the Judges of Lotharius ; he defended him- self, and was exonerated from the charges brought against him. Soon after, Leo wrote to Lotharius, and concluded his letter as follows : " De Capitulis, vel Praeeeptis Imperialibus, Yestris, Vestrorumque Prasdecessorum irrefragabiliter custodiendis et con- servandis, quantum valuimus, et valemus, Christo propitio, et nunc, et in asvum conservaturos modis omnibus proiitemur. Et si fortasse quilibet aliter vobis dixerit, vel dicturus fuerit sciatis eum pro cer- tum mendacem." !Now, Mr Antonelli, I shall not let you sleep upon these fine quotations. You evi- dently see that I have got a good nose, and that I have really found out what is required to put you in a corner, with all your false documents of Donations and possessions since Constantine. Tou know very well that I have not made any 297 remarks upon the trial of Leo the Third, nor even named his Imperial Judges, who were sent by Ludo- vicus Pius ; that I leave to you to find out, as it was reported by Gratianus, Decrees, c. 141. You see also that I only name the trial of Leo the Fourth, and his finely humble epistle in which he promised most faithfully to obey for the future and for ever the Imperial orders and commandments as much as he could, with the assistance of God ; and it seems that the presence of the Imperial Judges had made a strong impression upon that Pope's mind, because he took care to attempt to persuade Lotharius, that in case any one had reported to him, or should report any- thing against him, he was not to believe them, that they were liars. These statements are so clear that it is* hardly necessary to mention that the Popes, under the French Kings and Emperors, never exer- cised the temporal power; the fact having been attested and proved by the whole of the contem- porary historians, lay and ecclesiastical, that the elected Popes could not be consecrated unless they took oath of fidelity to the Emperor : coram missis Imperatoris — that is the Imperial Yicars and the Judges — Canonico ritu et consuetudine ab Imperatore diriguntur. Such being the case, it requires very little intelli- gence to decide who were the masters of Eome, the Exarchate, and all the other Provinces which are now under the Purgatorial abomination of the so- called Holy See. By-the-bye, pray, most miraculously Eeverend Loup d' Orleans, tell me of what avail to the Holy See were the Donations of Constantine, of Arripert, of Pipin, of Charlemagne, and of Ludovico Pio, if under Lotharius' reign they required so much sub- mission ? But I think I must spare you yet for the best dish, which was cooked long ago by the Imperial Maitre de Cuisine of the son of Charlemagne, the illustrious Emperor Ludovicus Pius. Though I have momentarily passed its chronologic place, yet I have 298 not forgotten it, and I will give it here in full, and with a cur rente calamo translation — the Pope's trial by jury before the Imperial Judges, Juries, and Imperial Yicars of Ludowick in the Lateran Palace of Rome in the year of our Lord 827. The Com- pendium of this trial is to be found in Duchesne, to. 2, page 656, and in the Capitulares by Balusius. This celebrated trial is the real Philosopher's Stone, the real jewel that will silence all the unruly Bishop?, because these little States, lands, towns, and cities for which Pope Gregory the Fourth was tried are situated in the territory of Sabina, which com- prises or composes the so-called Patrimony of St Peter. Pope Gregory the Fourth's Trial for Usurpations, &c. Dum a pietate Domini et a Deo coronati Hludovici (sic) ]Magni Imperatoris (it should be Ludovici) a nnibus Spoletanis, seu Eomania directi fuissemus nos Joseph Episcopus et Leo Comes, Missi ipsius Augusti singulorum hominum causas audiendas et deliberan- das et conjunxissemus Roma3, residentibus nobis ibidem in judicio in Palatio Later anensi in presentia Domini Gregorii Papse et una simul nobiscum ad- erant Leo Episcopus et Bibliotecarius Sanctae Ro- mance Ecclesice, Theodorus, Episcopus, Cirinus Pri- micerius, Theophilactus Kumiculator, Gregoriu& filius Mercurii, Petrus Dux de Ravenna, Ingobaldus, et Aceris Abbates, Alboin, Lanfrid, Emmo, et Max- imus, Yassi domini Imperatoris, Aldo, Odo, Argeris, Joseph, Abbo, et Sigefrit Castaldus, Omnipert, et Madelpert germairi, Joannes de Eunsova, Traregio, Constantinus et Helpianus germani, Goldelprant Clericus, Teudipert, Johannes, Campo, Statius, Picco, Probatus de Reate, et reliqui plures Vassi Impera- toris. — Ibique veniens ipse Ingobaldus Abbas Monasterii Sanctoe Dei Genitricis ilaria3, quod si turn est Sabinis in loco qui nuncupatur Acutianus, cum Adulfo Advocato suo, retulit nobis "Quod Dominus Adrianus, et Leo Pontifices per fortia invasissent res 299 ipsius Monastery," idest Curtem Comianianum, Cur- tem Sancti Viti, quae est in Palmis, sen Curtem Sanc- tae Mariae, quae est in Eiconovo, et Curtem in Basili- ano, et Curtem quae dicitur Pontiana, cum rebus et faniliis, et omnibus ad eas pertinentibus. Unde tempore Stephani, Paschalis, et Eugenii semper rf ft reclamavimus, et justitiam, sicutDominus Imperator precedent* in verbis vobis mandavit. Nos autem qui supra ^°P es - Missii et Judices talia audientes, presente Domino Apostolico interrogavimus Advocatum ipsius Domini Apostolici Sanctae Eomanae Ecclesiae nomine Gre- gorium, quid inde dicere voluisset. At ubi responde- bat ipse dicendo ipsas Curtes praedictas, quas vos dicitis, nos tenemus ad partem Sanctae Eomanae Ecclesiae, sed non contra legem, et ad partem Monas- terii Sanctae Marias nihil pertinuerunt. ISTos vero qui Missi et Judices talem responsionem audientes, interrogavimus jam dictum Ingobaldum Abbatem cum Audulfo Advocato suo, si aliqua pertinentia, aut testes de ipsis praedictis Curtis haberent. Qui respondentes dixerunt : Quia monimina et testes exinde habemus, et praesentialiter ostendimus : et ipsa monimina pro manibus ostenderunt. Et cum ipsa monimina relegi fecissemus, continebatur in eis, qualiter Ansilberga Abbatissa Monasterii S. Salva- toris de Erixia ipsas Curtes in ipso Monasterio Sanctae Mariae per ipsa monimina delegaverat. Et ostenderunt monimina, quae Teudicus Dux eidem Ansilbergae de ipsis Curtis emiserat. Et monimina qualiter Ansa Eegina Curtem Sancti Yiti a Teutone Episcopo Eeatinae Civitatis in concambium acceperat, et postea eidem Ansilbergae filiae suae donaverat. Et praeceptum Desiderii Eegis, seu Domini Caroli Im- peratoris, qualiter ipsas Curtes cum rebus et familiis et cum omnibus ad eas pertinentibus in ipso Sancto Monasterio confirmaverunt. Ubi respondebat ipse Gregorius advocatus jam dicti Pontificis, et dicebat : Non est verum, quod istas praedictas Curtes ad partem Monasterii Sanctae Mariae per ista monimina 300 habuissetis, vel tenuissetis. Ad haec respondebat praedictus Ingobaldus Abbas cum Audulfo Advocato suo, et dicebat. Quia per ista monimina ipsas Curtes ad partem Sanctae Mariae tenuissemus, usque- dum praenominati Pontifices per fortia eas tollere fecissent, et testimonia exinde habemus, qui sciunt, qualiter ad partem Sanctae Mariae pertinerunt, et possessaa fuerunt, et qualiter per fortia nobis tultae sunt. Nos qui supra Missi, et Judices, dum talem altercationem inter eos audissemus, ereguadiare eos fecimus, et fidejussores ponere uterque secundum suam legem, ut alia die in judicio ante nos parati essent. Alia vero die dum simul convenissemus in supra- dictum Palatium Later anensem in presentia jam Dicti Pontificis, venit praedictus Ingobaldus Abbas cum Audulfo advocato suo, et dixit : Domini ecce nos parati in vestris presentiis cum ipsis testimoniis, sicut inter nos guadia/re fecistis. Et cum ipsa testi- monia ante nos venire fecissemus, interrogavimus, quae sunt nomina eorum Qui dixerunt : Itto, Gradol- phus, Gauspertus de Reate, — Iterum interrogavimus eos, si voluissent de ipsa causa testimonium reddere, aut non, aut si aliquid de ea scirent. Illi vero dixerunt : istam causam bene scimus, et testimonium reddimus. Deinde interrogavimus Gregorium Advo- catum ipsius Pontificis, si aliquid contra ipsa testi- monia dicere voluisset. Ipse vero respondit : contra ipsa testimonia nihil contrarium dicere volo, nec possum, quia boni homines mihi esse videntur. Iterum fecimus venire Joseph Castaldus ipsius Civitatis Reatinae et alios bonos et veraces homines in eadem Civitate commorantes, et interrogavimus eos per ipsum sacramentum, quod Domino Impera- tori factum habebant : si ipsi testes suum testi- monium affirmare potuissent, aut non. Qui respon- dentes dixerunt : Per ipsum Sacramentum Domino Imperatori factum habemus, quia isti homines boni, et veraciores sunt, et suum testimonium 301 ante. Dominum Imperatorem, et ante vos affirmare possunt. Tunc nos jam dicti Missi et Judices talia audientes, fecimus eos secundum legem sepa- rare, et Evangeliis positis juraverunt. Primus ita dixit. Quia ego scio, et bene memoror, quoniam tempore Longobardorum, et postea tempore Domini Karoli Imperatoris, ipsas praedictas Curtes ad par- tem Monasterii Sanctae Mariae tenere ; et memoror ibi praepositos Johannem et Petrum et Christianum Monachum de ipso Monasterio, usque dum per fortia AdrianusPapa, et Leo ipsas Curtes de ipso Monasterio tollere fecerunt. Gradolphus similiter dixit. Gaus- pertus similiter dixit. Deinde fecimus venire homines bonos et veraciores xii, et heec sunt nomina eorum : Johannes, Clarissimus, Musio, Teuto, Castinus, Auda- ceus, Alboin Medicus, Qualipertus, Constantinus Notarius, Petrus Eratellus, Hildericus, Tarvinus. Et fecimus eos jurare, et interrogavimus eos, quid de ipsa causa scirent. Et ipsi similiter dixerunt. Postea Andolphus Advocatus ipsius Monasterii j ura- vit dicens : per ista sancta quatuor Evangelia, quia sicut isti testes dixerunt, sic fuit verum. Nos qui supra Missi et Judices talia audientes, rectum com- paravit et judicavimus, ut ipse Gregorius Advoca- tus Domini Apostolici, seu Sauctse RomanaB Ecclesiae, retradere debuisset ipsas Curtes Adulfo Advocato ad partem ipsius Monasterii Sanctaa Mariae. Quod facere noluit. Verum etiam et ipse Dominus Apos- tolicus dixit, nostro judicio se minime credere, usque dum in presentia Domini Imperatoris nobiscum simul venire t. Cum talia nobis Dominus Apostoli- cus renuntiasset, pro firmitate jam dicti Monasterii Breve exinde facere jussimus, ut in futuris tempori- bus ipsum Monasterium easdem Curtes minime per- dere debuisset. Haec autem inquisitio facta est per Joseph Episco- cum, et Leonem Comitem Missos Imperiales. Quam quidem et ego Paulus Notarius scripsi, Anno Im- perii Domini Hludovici xvi. Mense Januario per D D 302 Indictionem fit, Bomae feliciter. X Ego Joseph Epis- copus Missus Domini Imperatoris in his actis in- terfui et me subscripsi. X Ego Leo Missus Domini Imperatoris concordans subscripsi. X Ego Heleute- rius Yassus Domini Imperatoris ibi fui. X Ego Pro- batus ibi fui. X Ego Immo Yassus Domini Impera- toris ibi fui. X Ego Lanfrid Yassus Domini Eegis ibi fui. xEgo Acerisius Abbas interfui. XEgo Omniper- tus ibi fui. XEgo Maximus ibi fui. XEgo Statius ibi fui. xEgo Lampo ibi fui. XEgo Lantbertus Saligus ibi fui. X Ego Alboinus Castaldus ibi fui. . « . Translation of Pope Gregory's Trial by the Imperial Judges for Spoliation and Robberies (the murders in those cases were not con- templated) of Estates, Lands, and Cities committed to the detriment of the real pro- prietors, the Abbots of Santa Maria, &c. "While we had been directed to the borders or confines of the Duchy of Spoleto, that is near Eomagna, by the Great Ludovick, by the Grace of God, Crowned Emperor and our Lord — We, Joseph Bishop and Count Leo, Envoys of the said Majesty, sent to hear, and to deliberate on the Law- suits of each person ; having met together in Rome, and residing here in the Lateran Palace, in the presence of Pope Gregory, and being present with us the Bishop Leo, and the Bibliothecary of the Holy Roman Church, and Bishop Theodor, and the Torchbearer Cirinus, Theophilactus the Treasurer, or Minister of Finance, Gregory, the son of Mercury, Peter, Duke of Eavenna, the Abbots Ingobald and Aceris, Alboin, Lanfrid, Emmo and Maximus, vassals of the Emperor, Aldo, Odo, Argeris, Joseph, Abbo, and Sigefrit, Governor of the Eorts or Chastelain, and the brothers Omnipert and Madelpert, John de 303 Funsova, Traregio, Constantinus et Helpianus brothers, Hildeprant, Otenpert, Otteramus, and Sinteramus germani, the Ecclesiastic Goldelprant, Teudipert, John, Campo, Statius, Picco, Probatus, of Eieti, and many others. And there having come to the same Ingobaldus, the Abbot of the Monastery of Santa Maria, the mother of God, which is situated in the territory of Sabina and is called Acutianus, having with him his Advocate Adolphe, he told us, that both the Popes Adrian and then Leo, by force invaded the properties of the said Monastery, that is the Courts of or territory of Comianianum and the Court of or territory of St Yitus, which is situated in Palmis, and the Court of Santa Maria, which is in Eiconovo, and the Court in Basiliano, and the Court which is called Pontiana, taking all the pro- perties, and all the families, and everything belonging to them; for which usurpations at the time of Popes Stephen, Paschal, and of Eugenius we have always made reclamations, and we never could obtain justice or restitution. Now, if you please, try our case, and from this time make prompt justice as our Lord the Emperor has ordered you verbally. We, the above-named Envoys and Judges, having heard these expositions, being present the Apostolic Lord, we interrogated the Advocate of the said Lord Apostolic of the Holy Eoman Church, named Gregory, and asked him what he had to say about it. And he then answered saying, that those Courts or territories of which you speak we hold on behalf of the Holy Eoman Church, but not against the law, as they do not belong to the Monastery of the Holy Mary. But we, the above Envoys and Judges, hearing such answer, interrogated the above- named Abbot Ingobaldus, and his Advocate Adolphe, if any other things appertained to them, and if they had witnesses that such Courts belonged to them. In answering they said : — " Because we have the documents, and we have also personal witnesses 304 to produce ;" and they showed the documents which they had in their hands. Having been ordered to read these documents, which contained that : "Ansil- berga, Abbess of the Monastery of St Saviour of Brescia, had assigned the above-named Courts to the said Monastery of Santa Maria with these documents." Then they showed the Document by which the Duke Teudicus had given those Courts to Ansilberga ; and another document with which the Queen Ansa proved that she had received in exchange the Court of St Yitus from Teuton, the Bishop of the city of Rieti, and the Queen afterwards made a gift of it to her daughter Ansilberga. Then they showed the Prsecept or Diploma of King Desidery, and of the Lord Emperor Charles, to prove in what manner he had confirmed to the above holy Monastery those Courts or Territories, with all the property, and all the families, and everything that belonged to them. To which Gregory, the Advocate of the already-named Pontiff, answered, saying : " It is not true, that you have had, or that you have held, the above-named Courts on the part of the Mo- nastery of the Holy Mary by the power of those Documents." To this denegation the already-named Abbot Ingobaldus, with his Advocate, answered and said: " Precisely by these Documents we held the above-named Courts per part of the Monastery of Saint Mary, until the above-named Popes ordered them to be taken from us by force of arms, and we have, not far off, living witnesses, who know that those Courts, or Territories, belonged to Saint Mary, and how they were possessed, and when they were taken from us by force." We, the Envoys and Judges, hearing such contention amongst themselves, com- pelled them to separate on bail, and each party to give surety, according to law, for their re- appearance before us on the next day ready to be judged. The next day, whilst we were meeting in the named Lateran Palace, being already in the 305 presence of the Pontiff, the Abbot Ingobaldus, with his Advocate Adolphe, arrived, and said : " My Lords, here we are ready in your presence with these our witnesses, as you did order us to appear by the bail." Having ordered these witnesses to stand before us, we interrogated them and inquired their names. They answered : " Itto, Gradolphus, Gaus- pertus of Bieti." Again we interrogated them " if they wished to offer any testimony, or to be witnesses in this case or not, or if they knew anything about this law-suit." " Truly (they said) we know all about this law-suit, and we are here as witnesses." Then we interro- gated Gregory, the advocate of the Pontiff, if he had anything to say against these witnesses. He an- swered, " Indeed, against such witnesses I will not say anything contrary, nor can I, because they seem to me to be good, honest men." Again we ordered to appear the Chastelain, or Governor Joseph, of the said city of Eieti, and the other good, honest, and truthful men residing in the said city, and we inter- rogated them, by virtue of the oath that they made to our Lord the Emperor, if as witnesses they could affirm anything on their solemn testimony, or not. In answer, they said : " By the solemn oath that we made to the Emperor we affirm, because these are good and most truthful men, and they can confirm their testimony before our Lord the Emperor and before you." Then we, the above-named Envoys and Judges, hearing such assertions, ordered them ac- cording to the law to separate, and the Evangels being placed before them, they swore. The first said as follows: ' 'Because I know and remember well that at the time of the Lombard Kings, and after, at the time of the Emperor Charles, these above-named Courts or Territories belonged to the Monastery of St Mary ; and I remember the Provosts, or Governors, John and Peter, and the Monk Chris- tian, of the said monastery there, until, by force of dd 2 306 arms, Popes Adrian and Leo forcibly took posses- sion of those said Courts from the said monastery." Gradolphus stated the same thing, and so said Gauspertus. Then we ordered to appear before us twelve honest and most truthful men, and these are their names : John, Clarissimus, Musio, Teuto, Castinus, Auda- ceus, Alboin the Physician, Qualipertus, the Notary Constantin, Peter his brother, Hildericus, Travinus. And we made them take oath, and we interrogated them, asking what they knew of this law-suit ; and they in like manner said as the others. After that Adolphe, the Advocate of the said Monastery, took oath saying : " Upon these four Evangels, I swear that it is true, what these witnesses have stated." "We, the above Envoys and Judges, having heard all these declarations, and they appearing to us just and correct, we gave sentence, " that the said Gregory, the Advocate of the Apostolic Lord, or of the Holy Roman Church, shall give up or transfer by deed the above-named Courts or Territories to Adolphe, the Advocate on the part of the Monastery of St Mary. Gregory said that he would not do it. And truly the Apostolic Lord said that he would not comply with our sentence, until he had come with us in the pre- sence of the Lord Emperor. While the Apostolic Lord renounced those States to us, for the conserva- tion or stability of the already-named Monastery, we ordered to be made directly a Brief securing for the future these named Courts or Territories to the Monastery in a manner that they shall not lose them. However, this inquisition was made by Eishop Joseph and Count Leo, Imperial Envoys, and I also, Peter, Notary, wrote it, in the happy year xvi of Our Jjord the Emperor Ludowick, in the month of January, per Indictionem vu, Romse. X I, Joseph, Eishop Envoy of the Lord Emperor, was present at these proceedings, and I subscribed. X I, Leo, Envoy of the Lord Emperor, agreeing with 307 the above subscribed. X I, Heleuterius, vassal of the Lord Emperor, was present. X I, Probatus, was present. X I, Immo, vassal of the Lord Emperor, was present. X I, Lanfrid, vassal of the Emperor, was present. X I, Abbot Acerisius, was present. X I, Omnipertus, was present. X I, Maxi- mus, was present. X I, Statius, was present. X I, Lampo, was present. X I, Lantbertus Saligus, was present. X I, Alboimis Castaldus, was present. Notes to Obsolete Woeds. Alboifins Castaldus, according to my idea, signifies Alboin, Governor of the City, or Chastelain, or Governor of the Forts. The word germani also occurs several times, and I do not know positively when it means brothers, or of Germany. The word Numiculator I cannot find in two edi- tions of the Catholicon which I have in my posses- sion, nor can I find it in the Parisian edition of A. Calepinus of 1505; therefore, I have translated it Treasurer, or Finance Minister. Neither can I find Primicerius ; therefore, I take it from primus cereus (the first torch), and make a dignity of the torchbearer, as it might have been the custom at that time, and is so now. — Vassus, si, is not to be found, though I fully believe it means Vassal, as I have traced it in more than fifty other documents of ancient date. Monimina is not to be found anywhere, but it must mean documents or deeds. Per fortia is an Italianism, which shows, with other words now entirely obsolete, that at the time this trial took place the Latin language was much corrupted through ignorance, and for this decadenza delle a/rti e scienze we have to remonstrate with the Popes. Per fortia corresponds with the Italian per forza, in French wither force ; and even in English it is now used as " by force " and the compound per- 308 force, and therefore I translate it " by force of arms," or " by violence." Ereguadiare I cannot find anywhere, but it must mean to disperse, to separate, to disappear, to go away on bail, or something similar, as it occurs soon after the verb guadiare, which must have a contrary meaning, that is to appear on bail, or according to bail. Curtes-tis, or Curtis-tis is not to be found in the Catholicon ; but in the Parisian edition, of 1505, of Ambros. Calepini, I find this : Cures tantum pluralis numeri Sabinorum Oppidum cui imperabat T. Tacius cujus cives Quirites dicebantur— Conveneruntque Romulus et Tacius in hanc sententiam : ut a duobus populis unus efficerent : et Sabini Romam nigrarent — Romaque nomen retineret : sed Romani et Sabini Quirites appellentur. From this I have every reason to believe that Curtes is a derivative of Cures — and that it means town, or city, or territory, and occasionally town and territory, and in other instances the Sabi- nian population, but more frequently the city in the territory of Sabina. It means also a lance or halberd. I think it opportune to take this note from the Geogr. of Strabo. lib. 5 : Sabinos quartam Italiam Regionem inicolere vix procul a Roma de quibus Sabini augustam incolunt regionem in longum ad cio stadia porrectam a Tyberi et Momento oppido usque ad Vestinos. De eorum origine Zenodotus Trecenius qui Vinbricas gentis historiam conscripsit narrat. Indigenas primo in Rheatino habitasse, et unde Pelasgonum armis expulsos venisse in terram, quam nunc habitant mutatoque cum sedibus nomine, Sabinos pro Umbris apppellatos. At Plinius, lib. 3, c. 12 : Non casu nomen demigrantes immutasse con- tend it. Sed potius Religione inquit etenim ex plurimorum consensu Sabini (ut quidam existi- mavere) a Religione et Deorum cultu Senini appellati Vellinos incolunt Lucos roscidis Collibus, Portius Cato clarius prendit. JSTomen Sabinis impositum a Sabo Sanci filio Sancum vero istum fuisse Re- 309 gionis Genium, et a nommllis (Dium Fidium) Greece Ala wimov appellari, quod in Romulo ex Silio Italico, et Ovidio firmavi, apud quern Sanctus J Eidius, Semipater nuncupatur. " Nomina terra fero, sic voluere Cures." At Dionysius Haelicarnasseeus de eoram numine portentum enarrat dicens. In llheatino agro, quo tempore Aborigines eum tenebant, Yirgo, queedam Indigena primario genere nata Enyalii Secuti Romani Quirinum nominant nondum satis certi, Mars, ne is an alius quispiam, cui similes Marti honores defe- rantur. Nam quidam uni Deo bellicorum Certami- num prsesidi nomen utrumque tributum aiunt, alii duo Sumina bellica his appellationibus significata censent. In hujus Dei Area saltans puella repente divino furore correpta Chorum deseruit, et in Dei Sanctuarium proripuit. Deinde a loci Genio Com- pressa, ut vulgo visum est filium edidit nomine, Modium, Fabidium Cognomine, is virilem SBtatem in- gressus, et formam supra hominem fuit, et in re mili- tari longe clarissimus evasit. Cumque captus esset condendse Urbis cupidine magna e finitimis agris manu collecta intra par breve tempus. Cures con- didit imposito TJrbis nomine. Ut quidam putant a Genio, cujus dicebatur filius, aut ab hasta, ut malunt alii. Cures enim Sabini hastas nominant. Usee ille qui addit. Terentius Yarro scrip turn reliquit. Quern sequuntur Ovidius in Fastis, Festu's Pompeius, Yerrus Flaccus, Cseterique quamplures, nec inutilis fuit ob- servatio, quam habuit in lectura Boetii. Is enim vero, lib. 4, de Consolatione, c. 2, in quit : Qui Greece Curetes sunt appellati, alii Corybantes a Curete Genio Nomen TJrbi Modius Fabidius imposnit. De qua sic Strabo, Cures nunc Yiculus est, quondam Urbs Illustris, ex qua orti sunt T. Tatius, et Numa Pom- pilius, Romae Regno potiti, unde qui populum Roma- num affantur Quirites appellant, quam aliter sedifU 310 catam Portius Cato apud Dionysium Halicarnass. scribit. Ait, nam, Sabinorum primam sedem fuisse Vicum quern dam Testrinam Domine, non procul Ami- terna situm, unde expeditione facta Sabinos Reati- num agrum invasisse tunc habitatum Aboriginibus, Urbemque ipsorum nobilissimam Curilias armis occu- passe ab Adriatico mari distantem stadiis circiter 280, a Thyrreno autem 200 et 40, in Longitudinem patere paulo minus cio stadiis. I hope these few extracts which I have taken from the classic authors will be quite sufficient to establish various points of great importance, and de- termine the exact geographic locality of the Sabinian territory, in which the Popes* great invention of the Donation of Constantine, alias the Patrimony of St Peter, was built, and that the named Curtes in the Act $ Accusation contre le Pape, that is, the towns and lands named at the time of the trial, were part and parcel of the Imperial and Royal Patrimony of the Greek Emperors and of the Lombard Kings, ille- gally usurped by the violence of the Papal arms, and partly supported by the French Kingly and Imperial arms, to the detriment of the feudal abbots and popu- lations. Note. — In the treaty of peace between the Empe- ror Henry the Fifth and Pope Paschal the Second, anno 1111, the latter swore to maintain inviolate to the former the whole of — Advocationes Imperii, Cen- turionum jura, Curtesgue essent Imperii cum pertinen- tiis suis, et militaria Imperii castra. I have found this word employed in other documents with almost the same meaning. By-the-bye, Monsieur le Cure, vous et voire Cure etez-aussi derivatives de ce mot, and that accounts for it why you fatten whether you are in the Cure or in the Ecurie. I doubt if any of the reverend belligerent Bishops can deny or quash this trial ; though with their sub- tility they might succeed in mystifying some persons with the value of the word Curtem. To better ex- 311 plain and confirm my statement, I will now take another quotation from a MS. in my library. It is the copy of Historiarum Heremperti viri Illust*- ex Prosapza Principum Longobardorurn. At the end of this volume in folio, there are the details of a treaty of Peace between Sicardi, Duke of Benevento, and John, Eishop of Naples, and Andrew, Duke and General of Naples, and the people of Naples, and of the Duchy of Sorrento, and of the Duchy of Amalfi. I have read this treaty, and find it very equitable and good, but, as it is too long to quote entire, I shall extract only the exordium and the conclusion, where occur two of the obsolete words that are employed in the Pope's trial— Curtem and Munimina. In the meantime I am uncommonly pleased to record and pay here a tribute of admiration to the liberal genius and wisdom of the illustrious Count Sicardi, who brought out, in the year 1850 (when I was still at Turin, attached to the Questura, as a Medico- Chirurgo), that great beneficent law which has been the touch- stone to correct so many ecclesiastical abuses in Italy. In nomine Dom 1 - Dei et Salvat 9 - Nostri Jesu X th I ^-s™J ,e ^ 1 n et Beatse et Gloriosee Dei Genitricis semper Virginis go bard'.MS Mariae. Dum eaque Dei precepta sunt partes obaudiunt, ^ 0 ca an tuncipsius adimplere probantur mandata, et pacis con- cordiam pro salute Christianorum animarum perve- nisse monstrantur, pro quo promittimus nos Dominus vir gloriosissimus Sicardus Longobardorurn Gentis Princeps vobis Johanni electo Sanctse Ecclesiae Nea- politanae et Andreaa magistro militum, vel populo vobis subjecto Ducatus Neapol. et Sorrento, et Amalfi, et ceteris Castellis vel locis in quibus Domi- nium tenetis terra marique pacem veram et gratiam nostram vobis daturos ab hoc quarta die mensis Julii Indictione, &c. Towards the end of this treaty, and after the above few lines, comes the enumeration of the towns and castles of his States, to the number of sixty-four. 312 Ego Petrus de Curtis et vetus subditantise mese quas mihi nunc pertinere videntur inde notitiam facimus vobis filiisque nepotibusque meis de hiis curtis nostris quae per singula loca habuimus. In primis Cur tern in Terra. Cur tern in Perticata. Curtem in Casale Joannis. Curtem ad Rubianum. Curtem in Butteclari. Curtem in Potesanu. Curtem in Campo famelico ad Sanctum Dominicum vocatur. Curtem ad Bivalvini. Curtem in Pitilianu. Curtem ad Lunatri. Curtem ad Buinianum. Curtem in Padule. Item suprascripte curtse. Puerunt Causi- lioni datse. Puerunt nobis per actulum Jurificum. Curtem ad Marmani. Curtem in Molia Rimou. Curtem in Criti qui dicitur de criverissi, quern per Donatum et Joannem eruptam habuimus, &c. After the enumeration of these and others, the treaty ends with the following words : Haec omnia superscripts curtis quae habuimus in finibus Bene- ventaneis, excepto ipso Curti quae habuimus in Latinianum quas non sunt hie abbreviate. Usee omnia superscripts Curti quando vobis opportune fient, inquirite ipsa Hunimina et invenietis ibidem quod vobis necesse erit facere et orate pro me potiore genitore vestro. I have copied the errors in this specimen of old Latinity without correcting either the original MS. or this extract, and I have done so to prove its authenticity and my good faith. I have no doubt that the institution of trial by jury was originated in the manner specified in this trial, and that this custom was in vogue a long time before the arraignment of Pope Gregory the Pourth. This is clear from the fact that the Judge at this trial ordered the disputing party to retire and give surety — in the usual manner as established by law — for their reappearance on the following day. The progress of time and civilization has improved this custom ; but there are still some incongruities that require revision now-a-days; for I recollect some time since that a distinguished English judge 313 stated that, in the event of a jury, after being locked up some hours, coming into court and saying they could not agree, it would be in his power, on dis* charging them, to treat them in a less gracious manner than he would be disposed to do ; that he could have them locked up for the whole of the night — that if, after having set up all night without eat* ing or drinking and without fire, candle-light ex- cepted, they came into court the next morning, pale and ghastly, still saying they could not agree, he could then, according to the rigour of the law, order them to be locked up again as before till the close of the assizes, and then sentence them to be put in a cart to accompany him in his progress towards the next assize town, and to be shot into a ditch on the confines of the county ! Antonio Pagi, the celebrated Franciscan monk, wrote in his Critic. Annales, anno 817, s. 7 : Donatio quae a Gratiano dicitur facta Ecclesise Romanse a Ludovico Pio, non minus commentitia, quam quae a Constantino Magno aftingitur, ut jam aliqui viri eruditi viderunt, qui hoc tamen omnibus persuadere non potuere. You see, my most eminent and reverend friends, that I have not abandoned the ground yet, and that with this short quotation I intend to persevere and endeavour to destroy the pretended Donation by Ludovicus Pius. The above learned right reverend monk clearly tells us that the pretended Donation of Ludowick is as fabulous as was that of Constantine, and it was believed to be so by every one of the ancient learned writers. In the name of reason and of common sense I ask by what logical argument can the Roman See support that pretension when the result of the trial by the Judges of Ludowick for the restoration of the cities and lands which the Popes Adrian, Leo, and Gregory had usurped, compelled the last-named Pope to transfer them again by legal documents to their proper owners ? Those estates E E 314 and lands are immediately situate in the proximity of Eome, and of course would have been in the so-called St Peter's Patrimony ! The whole of the witnesses and the jury at the trial clearly proved by legal documents, and by personal testimony, that for three generations at least those States had been the legal possessions of the monks of Farfa and Santa Mary to whom they had been bequeathed, as stated in the trial, &c. Besides,* the trial itself com- pletely denies the donations of Ludovico Pio of the Patrimony to the Holy See. The forged Papal Diploma of the Donations by Ludovico Pio was dated sixteen years before the trial, and this blunder was not pardoned by any one of the critical writers, who detected the fraud, and used it to stamp that diploma with the lie. These Donations are the foundation-stone upon which so many Popes, and Jesuitic writers, and lately the French bishops, as well as the bishops of other countries, have built their Spanish castles, protesting that the actual Pope is the absolute master, and the Spiritual and Tem- poral Dominator of all the so-called Ecclesiastical States ; that, like his predecessors, he enjoys an in- alienable dominion, and that he is bound to transmit it intact to his successors, and other trash of the like sort, &c. If the Pope and his confederates desire to know what the Donations by Pipin, Charlemagne, and Ludovicus Pius really consisted of, I can easily tell them, and without loss of time. They consisted in the power of levying the Tithes upon the lands of the Convents and Monasteries, and of the Churches. Some Ecclesiastical writers have stated that this power extended to other lands of the Empire in several cities ; but I doubt this much. Besides, we must not forget those Magic Keys which Adrian received for the Duchy of Benevento, and which were the only things it can be proved were given by Charlemagne : though that Emperor soon after 315 disposed of the temporal power of that Duchy in favour of the Norman Duke Grimoaldus, in spite of the entreaty of Adrian, who wrote to him begging that he would not give the Norman Duke that Duchy. It may be remarked also, that in those lands and towns, monasteries and convents where the Popes took the Dime or tithes, the Emperors, and occasionally the Imperial Vicars, also levied theirs upon the same people and upon the same property, the owners of which paid tithes to the Popes. This is a splendid proof of the sovereign power that was invariably maintained by the Emperors in every part of the Imperial States. I shall return to this subject in another chapter, when I will give proofs in confirmation of my statements. I should say that the Imperial Yicars could not levy the money tribute for the fodrum and telonem on the property where the Popes took the tithes as an Imperial gift to the Papal See, but only on the private property of the lay people. The Regalia, or Imperial Investitures to the Popes and Bishops, of the Episcopates, Abbacies, of monasterial and Church properties in various pro- vinces, the Bishops, Abbots, and Popes interpreted and swelled into donations of States and provinces, but they never were such at any time, and the proofs are founded on the facts that the following Emperors sometimes confirmed, and at others refused to confirm the Investiture given by their predeces- sors to one or the other Pope or bishop of such town or province ; and even after having given it, or con- firmed it, the Emperors invested with the useful, or temporal power, another person as an Imperial feudatory or Yicar. Every history that I have read, except those written by the Jesuitical clique, demonstrate that the Popes never had on any occasion, or at any time, the temporal power, ex- cepting when they usurped it ; though in some cases they were the alter ego of a few Emperors upon some 316 particular points, whilst engaged in the wars in Palestine, or from other causes ; and when this was the case, it was to afford, in particular, the oppor- tunity of doing homage to the Chair of St Peter, already honoured by many other privileges. Cardinals Deusdedit and Baronius, Holstenius, the Franciscan Monk Pagi, and other historians, state that the Emperor Lotharius gave and made public in Rome a Constitution in 824, in which occurs the following : Volumus etiam, ut Missi constituantur a Domino Apostolico, et a Nobis qui annuatim Nobis renuncient, qualiter singuli Duces et Judices Justi- tiam populo faciant, et quomodo Nostra Constitutio servetur. Decrevimus itaque, ut primum omnes clamores qui negligentia Ducum, aut Judicum fuerint ad notitiam Domini Apostoliei referuntur, ut statim aut ipse per suos nuncios eosdem emendare faciat, aut Nobis notificet, ut Legatione a Nobis directa emendentur. And further on it says : Placuit etiam Nobis, ut cuncti Duces, et Judices, sive alii qui cseteris prseesse debent, in Nostram prsesentiam, dum Romae sumus, conveniant ; Volumus enim eum numerum, et nomina scire, et singulis de ministerio sibi credito admonitionem facere. I really cannot help being so impertinent as to ask you, Mr Anto- nelli, why the Emperor Lotharius took the liberty of giving a Constitution to the Roman people without asking the permission of his Beadle of the Yatican ? and as you have stated, and constantly repeated, that that Beadle was the master, why did he not step out and say, non Volumus, non possumus ? Now, Mr Cullen, is there any loop-hole here out of which you can make your escape ? I think not ; therefore be candid, and at once acknowledge yourself to be in a " fix." Lotharius said, Volumus quia potebat et potuit, being absolute master, not only of the Roman States and of Rome, but even invested with the power of dismissing or sending away all the drones, and the would-be masters of the Yatican. I translate 317 the following brief extract from the Constitution given to the Romans by the Emperor Lotharius, to enable those of my readers who are not acquainted with the Latin language to form some idea of the real state of things, and to show them who was the tem- poral master of Eome and of all the Eoman States, anno 824. We desire or wish also that our Legates should present themselves to the Apostolic Lord, and to us in whose hands they shall annually give account of their labours, and resign ; the like must be done also by the Yicars, or Governors, or Dukes, and by the Judges, who administer justice to the people, who shall report to us how our constitution is observed. We decree, therefore, that as soon as any complaint is raised against the negligence of the Governors, or of the Judges, that it should be sent to the Pope, that he might redress the wrongs immediately with the assistance of his Legates, or to give notice to us that we might send other Legates to correct the errors, or to re-establish order. It will please us also, while we are at Rome, to see all the Governors and the J udges, that is all those who are delegated to superintend and govern the peo- ple, assembled in our presence ; we wish to know their number, their names, and give to each of them the convenient advice to conduct properly the affairs of the States entrusted to their administration. — The absolute Imperial power in Eome is perfectly established by the above quotation. I will take a farther extract from this same Author, Pagi, who stated that at the time of the Emperor Ludovicus Pius many quarrels happened in Eome, and that Lotharius redressed the wrongs that had arisen out of the inexplicably blind cupidity and ignorance of the Popes and the Judges, who confiscated to their own account the people's property, usurping the lands, and that the Emperor Lotharius, in compelling the Popes and the Judges to restore the confiscated £ e 2 318 predial properties, caused a great rejoicing to the Pagi in "Vita Roman population : Quare tantse querelae adversus Lotharu. R 0 manorum Pontifices, judicesque sonarent. Reper- tum est quod quorundam Pontificum vel ignorantia, vel desidia, sed et Judicum coeca, et inexplicabili cupiditate multorum praedia injuste fuerint con- fiscata. Ideoque reddendo quae injuste erant sublata, Lotharius magnam populo Romano creavit lsetitiam. Statutum etiam juxta antiquum morem, ut ex latere Imperatoris mitterentur, qui Judiciariam exercentes potestatem, Justitiam Omni Populo facerent, et tempore quo visum foret Imperatori a?qua lance penderent. I will take another quotation from the same historian Pagi in reference to the same Imperial power in Rome and the Exarchate in the year 875. He wrote thus : Summos Pontifices supre- mum Urbis et Exarchatus Ravennat. Dominium in Imperatores contulisse tot sparsim rationibus com- probavi, ut tantum supersit demonstrare, Carolum Calvum huic juri non renunciasse. Are not these Diplomatic, Ecclesiastic, and His- torical extracts sufficiently argumentative to con- vince any or every one of you, my most reverendly obstinate Bishops, supporters of the non possumus, non volumus f I leave you to translate and distort them as you like. I have merely taken the sense of them myself for the sake of brevity, and to be enabled to give other extracts equally forcible and expressive of the Imperial power in Rome. low, Mr Pie, of Herodian origin, if only for once be kind and candid if you can, and confess that up to the year 875 the Roman Bishops were the servi servorum Dei, and particularly of the Emperors, who made the laws, and kept in check and invariably adminis- tered to the Ecclesiastics the emetic suitable to cause their disgorgement of the swallowed robberies of States, Churches, and Monasteries. Such being the case, up to that time the temporal power of the Pope, I must repeat, was still looming in the future. 319 In the MS. Chronica of Andrea Dandolo occurs a chapter written in the following terms : Leo Octavus in Concilio tradidit Ottoni, ej usque successoribus Italicum Regnum, &c, et Donationes factas a Justi- niano Arriperto, Pipino et Carolo Ecclesiae Romanse in Regno Italico, de consensu Cardinalium, Cleri et Populi Romani Ottoni remisit. The above quotation is also inserted in the history- called Magnum Chronicum Belgium. Some Eccle- siastic partisans might suppose from this, that the Popes had at about that time such dominion and absolute power, and I intend to disillusion them, because it was a mistaken zeal of Leo on account of Otho's welfare, who was de facto Emperor and needed no Pontifical concession or cession, being ab- solute master with or without the Papal concurrence. Otho had all the jus, authority, and supreme dominion in all and every part of the Ecclesias- tical States, like all his predecessors. It appears that at every Imperial coronation the Emperors made Donations or confirmed the Regalia to the Roman See of towns and lands. How is it that such Donations, or Regalia, required confirmation by every succeeding Emperor ? Was it because those Donations were revocable, and did not convey the useful dominion, much less the temporal power ? and in spite of such Donations the Emperors main- tained over them, and exercised in them, the sove- reign authority at their pleasure. Or was it be- cause the Emperors, after having invested the Pope with such towns and provinces as a Regalia, after- wards gave the temporal and useful dominion to other persons, investing the Pope with a vicarial and sub- ordinate authority over them, with the limited power only of levying money tributes upon them for the maintenance of the Church dignity and decorum. It is notorious that the Emperors, in spite of the Donations to the Roman See, disposed invariably of the Exarchate and of the Romagna, In Rome these 320 were the Imperial Dukes. In other parts of Italy they acted as they pleased, it being considered by themselves that they were the absolute masters, and that they could do as they liked with their own pro- perty. For instance, the Emperors Otho the First and Second, and Arrigus or Henricus the Second, made Donations or Regalia to the Holy See, with this reservation clause in every document of dona- tion, and this formula was adopted by other Em- perors : Salva in omnibus Potestate nostra, Poste- rumque Nostrorum. It is recorded by the historians that Otho the Second frequently resided at Eavenna in the same manner as if he had been in his own native town. Ravenna and its province was the dowry of his mother the Empress Adelaide, who lived there many years ; and Sigonius, in lib. vii, De Regno Italico, anno 972, certifies that at that time — Pontifex Romam Ravennamque, et ditiones reliquas tenebat auctoritate magis, quam Iraperio, quod Civitates Pontificem, ut Reipublice Principem, Regem vero ut summum Dominium intuerentur, atque ei tributa obsequiaque praeberunt. Sigonius tells us that the Pope ruled in Rome, at Ravenna, and at other places with the authority of a Prince of the Roman Republic, while the Emperor exercised the real Temporal Power of those States, and that to him was paid the tribute-money, and the obsequious obedience due to the supreme ruler. The farther I advance the more I am convinced that the Popes were constantly playing second part to the Emperors, and that, though some of them were well disposed in favour of the Popes, yet they never gave them absolute temporal power in any town or province, though the Emperors had given it to several secular Imperial Yicars in various provinces of Italy, and particularly in some of the States which are now comprised in the so-called Ecclesiastical dominions. In the year 916 Pope John the Tenth crowned £21 Emperor Berengarias the First, who continued in the track of his Eranck predecessors, confirming the Privilegia to the Popes, that is the usual gifts of pomp and the ostentatious presents, which did not prevent other people from enjoying the real revenue of the town or province ceded to the Pope by anterior gifts, with the right of levying the tithes in some towns and monasteries, at the usual rate, on con- dition that the Popes obeyed the Imperial orders, rules, and regulations, and took the usual oath of fidelity to the Supreme Master. Of course such donations always reserved the rights and privileges of the Empire, and of that particular epoch. I shall quote only a few lines from the Panegyric written in honour of this Emperor by Adrianus Valesius — " .... Valeat tuus Aurea Princeps Roma diu Imperiumque gravi sub pondere pressum Erigat, et supera Sternat virtute rebelles." Erom Peregrinus Priscianus (Collectan. Bereng. MSS.) I will also take this fact, that at the time of Pope John and of the Emperor Berengarius, the Archbishop of Eavenna appeared before Odelricus Wilpertus, Egiturfus, and Lanfrancus, the Yassals and Envoys of the Emperor, and demanded that justice should be done to him against the people of Massa Fiscalia who refused to serve and obey the Church of Eavenna. The Judgss having heard both sides, pronounced in favour of Ravenna. About this time Pope John and the Emperor were at Ravenna, and took part in a Council which took place in their presence, as referred to by the historian Rossi (Hist. Raven, lib. 5), and by it this decree was issued: — Si quis Romanus, cujuscumque sit ordinis, sive Clero, sive de Senatu, ad nostram majestatem venire voluerit, aut necessitate compulsus nostrum auxilium implorarit, nemo ei impedimentum afferat, et liceat Imperatori, aut per se, aut per Legatos suos causam. 322 ejus cognoscere. Qui secus fecerit, ab Imperatore puniatur. At this Council was confirmed the ancient rule and regulation that the Pope elected could not be consecrated without the consent and in the presence of the Imperial Legates— presen tib us Legatis Jmjperialibus : which custom and regulation lasted until the beginning of the ScJ\isma between the Church and the Empire, as noted and proved by Baluzius in the 3rd Yol. Miscellanea. The same Baluzius also says that Berengarius the Second, in the year 950 — Begnum una cum Adelberto filio iniit, illique titulum Bavennatis Dominatus peculiarem adjungit. It is also confirmed by the historian Blondus, that Adalbert governed the people of Ravenna exactly as he did his other subjects. As I have already gone too far, I must retrace my steps and put forth other facts of importance in sub- stantiation of what I have already advanced. The Emperor Ludowick the Second, in one of his Privileges or Diplomas dated 861, and which is reported in the Bollasius Cossinen., to. 2, Constit. 36, says : Omnibus fidelibus Nostris in parti bus LombardiaB Bomanise sive Benevento, atque Tuscia, necnon Venetia consistentibus, notum sit. It is evident from this that all these States belonged to Ludowick, and were parts of his Empire. I must say here that I do not understand why he named Venice in this diploma, unless he meant the province near Venice, as I am fully persuaded he did. Besides I have been unable to trace any statement or proof by any of the historians that Venice belonged to any other power than the Venetian citizens. In addition to this I shall also show that Pipin dared to attempt intrusion there, and that his army and navy were Beverel} r thrashed and destroyed and never landed in the Rialto, and Pipin was one of the first to save himself in Bavenna. As I shall also prove, after this Pipin, and after him Charlemagne, went to Venice as friends, not as enemies ; they went there to 323 witness and to admire the Venetians, not to con- quer them, but to make treaties of alliance and friendship for the mutual protection of the popula- tions, and of the commercial interests. The Popes likewise pretended that Yenice belonged to them, as indeed they pretended that all the world did, but the solution of their pretences must be reduced to this interrogation — Did they ever get it ? and when, and who did get it? Perhaps some of the modern saints, the latest Ecclesiastic pamphleteers, will undertake to prove that Venice belonged to Peter, though Peter, according to tradition, was very poor, and Venice was not yet built, nor at the time of Constantine. Venice was built in the year 481 of the Christian era, so says Sabellicus. We can readily find in history that Pipin constituted Ravenna the metropolis of his Italian Kingdom, that he resided in it, and that Charles le Gros, in the year 877, wrote to Pope John the Eighth, asking him to take care of his Italian Regnum during his absence. We see that Charles le Gros renewed the pacta with the Venetian Republic, in which are named the Comaclenses and the Ravennenses as his subjects. We see also that Ugo, Lotharius, Berengarius, Adalbert, and other Kings, confirmed their alliances with the Venetians, and were Sovereign masters of Ravenna, Romagna, and other Italian States ; that they occasionally resided in Rome, Ravenna, and in Erance. We may besides quote the Emperor Lotharius the Eirst, anno 840, who con- firmed the Pacta with Peter, Doge of Venice, and nominated amongst his Imperial subjects the Arimi- nenses, Forojulienses, et Comaclenses, Ravennates, &c. Andreas Dandolo, in his Chronica MS., takes notice of this fact, and draws a distinction between the feudal lands and the Duchies, and the lands of the Italian Kingdom. His remarks have much en- lightened posterity, and helped to solve many diplomatic questions that the astute Roman See 824 have occasionally initiated ; but this sentence — Lo* tharius Pactum inter Venetos, et vicinos eorum Subjectos Imperii, per quinquennium confirm avit, Terrasque Ducatus distinxit a Terris Italici Regni — is powerful enough to stifle the insinuations in the very mouths of the reverend Roman prelates. In addition to this, there is the close of Charlemagne's will, by which he bequeathed to his son Charles, not only Torea, Vercelli, Pavia, Reggio, and Modena, up to the confines of St Peter, but also everything that was situate there on the left hand on the road to Eome, as belonging to the Italian Kingdom, and which also had belonged to his father, Pipin, with the Duchy of Spoleto. (Even Baronius admits this.) There is another trifling proof in the Diploma given by King Lotharius to Guidus, Bishop of Modena, dated 947, in which he gave him, as a Donation, the Salinas Comaelenses. I am pleased to take note of the above fact, because at the begin- ning of the sixteenth century Julius the Second, the Pope- warrior, sought a pretext for war, and fought against Alphonso the First, Duke of Ferrara. And so did Pope Leo the Tenth, under the same pretext of right and jurisdiction upon that which evidently belonged to others, that is to the Empire, and to the Imperial Vassal, the Duke Alfonso. This reverend blackguard's quarrel is much too long to be detailed here ; it will therefore suffice to say that by the Papal intrigues and influence with the whole of the Franck Clergy assembled at the Turonensis Council in the year 1510, the pretended rights of the Pope to make salt at Comacchio, and to supersede the rights of the Duke and of the Empire, were introduced and discussed. With all this Papal influence, how- ever, the opinion given by the Council was contrary to the Pope's expectations, as reported by Labbe, to. 13, p. 1482. This article is written in these words : Si quod jus tale Pontifex ad se pertinere ^ontendat ut Patrimonii S, Rom. Eccl. partem: 325 Contra Princeps Imperii juris sui esse dicat, et de ea controversia paratus sit, et offerat stare orbitrio, vel judicio bonorum virorum et, &c. The celebrated historian, Mezeray, in his French History, p. 330, after narrating the controversy of the Salt, says that Alphonso still possessed the town of Comachio, which was an Imperial feud. He likewise reports the Articles V and YI of the Coun- cil of Tours, which ruled : Art. V. S'il estoit per- mis au Prince de proteger un autre Prince son allie, dont il auroit a bon droit entrepris la defense, &c. Art. VI. Si ce Prince allie se defendant d'une Pre- scription de cent ans pour la chose contested, la quelle d'aillieur est de droit de l'Empire, et non de TEglise : et de plus ayant offert de s'en remettre a. F arbitrage, &c. The historian, lean Serres, in his Trench History, to. 2, anno 1510, also wrote : Le Roy ne se veut deporter de la protection qu'il a prise du Due de Eerrare ; et Jules convoite extremement la possession de sa Duche, fonde, bien que la directe seigneurie de Comacchie, d'ou Alphonse tiroit le sel, appartinst a l'Empire, sur le differend des salines, et gabelles, &c. Certes c' estoit bien grossierement pallier sa convoitise. Moreover, Varillas dans l'Hist. de Louis the Twelfth, to. 4, p. 94, says that the Pope had no right at all to what belonged to the Empire, and that Maximilian alone was the Supreme Judge and possessor, and had the right to invest the Dukes of Eerrara, or any other Imperial vassal whom he pleased, with the administration of that feud. However, Alphonso, who had been excommunicated, to avoid a long war with the Holy See, gave up his rights of Imperial Feudatory with regard to making Salt at Comacchio in this manner, protesting and reserving the right and privileges of the Empire. " The Illustrious Duke of Eerrara, Alphonso the First, gives and renounces all his rights to Pope Leo the Tenth, and every faculty in regard only to making Salt in 326 Comacchio, with this declaration and modification, reserving all the chapters, and protesting that he does not intend to prejudice the rights of the Empire, and of the Csesarean Majesty," &c. This convention was drawn in Italian and in Latin, because Alphonso was not acquainted with Latin, by Cardinal d'Este and Cardinal de Medici, and signed on the 15th of June, 1514. The historian Guicciardini, who was in the ser- vice of the Holy Eoman See, and most acutely pene- trated the designs of many Popes, and wrote faith- fully about everything concerning Italian history, has also related this quarrel, and says that Alphonso did not like, nor could he give up the privilege which was asked, and that in 1510 he answered the Pope, saying : " that he could not cease to make salt at Comacchio because he did not wish to prejudice the reasons and rights of the Empire, to which belonged the direct dominion of Comacchio, of which he was the Imperial Feudal Lord, &c." The Pope pre- tended that in the year 967 Otho the First gave to Pope John the principalities of Benevento and Capua, as stated by Luitprandus, the historian and Papal Legate at the Court of the Greek Emperor ; but they omit to state that Luitprandus asserted and wrote that the — Principes Capuanus et Beneventonus ap- prime nobiles et Domini mei (Othonis) sunt milites ; that is, that these " Dukes are vassals of my master, Emperor Otho;" ergo, this Donation is another fausse conche ; as usual, it was a Donation of Pomp, which did not convey any right of dominion to the receiver. At this time Bavenna was a considerable city, and the Emperors frequently resided there, and it seems that the neighbouring peoples of Comac- chio rebelled, and Peter, Doge of Venice, in the year 970, as stated by the historian Nicholaus Crassus, in his Annales, p. 464, went there with a great fleet, &c. Magna cymbarum classem armavit, Comac- lum cito recipit, ibique arcem cedificandam curavit. 327 As Peter consigned Comacchio to the Imperial au- thorities of Eavenna, this also proves that Eavenna was still independent of the Popes. The Emperors still continued to reside there occasionally, and to maintain there their Fiscal Officers, as already stated by Eossi, in his History of Eavenna. In the Bulla- rium Cassinensis it is also affirmed that at that epoch all the public deeds made at Eavenna, Eomagna, Tuscany, Eome, Lombardy, &c, were headed with this anti-Antonellian motto, "Imperante Domino Othone Secundo which appears to have been pretty well understood in all the Imperial villages, towns, and provinces, without the assistance of a single in- terpreter. We have seen that the Emperor Otho the Third made the exchange of the Badia of Pomposa, and made it Imperial property by his Sovereign Power, which was confirmed by diplomas by the fol- lowing Emperors, Henry the Third, in 1045, Henry the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth, and Frederic the First and Second, who confirmed also, with their diplomas, what had been done by Otho. In the Tabularium, alias the Eoman Archives, there were many documents which proved the absolute Temporal Power of the Otho's in the Exarchate in Eomagna, in Eome, and other Italian provinces ; for instance, a Privilegium Othonis III de Moneta cu- denda, given to the Archbishop of Eavenna in the year 993 ; another diploma given to him — Ejusdemlmp. de fundamentis Salinarum inComado, dated 994 ; another diploma — Ejusdem Imp. super concessiones Csesense Cervise, dated 995 ; and another — Idem concedit Eavennatibus, quod nullus audeat sedificare Castrum a Civitate Faventise, Foroliv. Populien. ac Csesenat, usque Eavennam ; and this was also dated the year 995. Many public acts of this Emperor are registered in the history of Eavenna by Eossi, and in the Bullarius Cassinensis. Labbe, in his work, likewise speaks of a Council which was held at Eavenna in the year 995 — sub Clementissimo Imperio memorati 328 Principis Ottonis 3tn, &c. All these facts or state- ments are quite sufficient to establish, with the acts of the Emperor Otho, that he was the supreme indepen- dent Potentate who reigned, excluding the Pope in the Exarchate, Eomagna, and all other Italian States except Eome, which had rebelled at that time, but which was soon subdued by the Imperial Arms. I will confirm this assertion by the attestation of Bishop Ditmarus, a contemporary historian, who said of Otho the Third, that he — Imperium Suorum Priorum More gubernavit. He also says that Eome was in rebellion, and that the remainder of the Italian towns and states were quietly subjected and governed by him — Omnes Eegiones quae Eomanos et Longobardos respiciebant suae Dominationi fideliter subditas habebat. Another great contemporary testimony of the Emperor Otho the Third's supreme power, in every part of Italy, and in Eome itself, in spite of the Papal dissensions and their sturdy attempts at usurpation, is given by subsequent Popes who canonised as a Saint, Heribertus, the Chancellor and Secretary of Otho the Third, and this Arch- bishop Heribertus in all his works prized his master's mild disposition and government. I now pass on to the period of Henry the Second. This Emperor was also considered a Saint, and almost honoured as such by the Clergy; and in the year 1017 he invested with a diploma the Archbishop of Eavenna, with the feudal power of many towns of the Exarchate and Eomagna. Henry the Second was crowned Emperor in the year 1014. Ditmarus, lib. 5, and Bishop Adelboldus, in his Life of the Holy Emperor Henry, states that Eedericus, Archbishop of Eavenna, was one of the vassals of the Emperor — inter ceteros fideles Heinrici Eegis — and that the Imperial Officers, in the presence of a great number of noblemen, invested him with the counties of Bologna, of Imola, of Faenza, &c, de comitatu Bononiense et de Comitatu Corneliense, et Comitatu Eaventino, &c. 329 And this is a first-class specific certificate of the supreme temporal power of that Emperor in those States, and of the uselessness of the pretended rights of the Bom an See in any of those places. Take notice too, reader, that at that time Church and State were at peace, though at Borne then, and for many years be fore, the Pope faisait le citable cl quattre. It was for this reason that the Emperors resided so long and so fre- quently at Kavenna, and avoided being present in Rome from disgust at the Pope's debaucheries, de- moralizations, and crimes. Besides, at Eavenna, in case of need, or the Popes proclaiming themselves independent of the Empire, they were ready, at the shortest notice, to proceed to Borne to reinstate themselves and retake the town, if such a course had been necessary. This is the reason why these Emperors were praised as good men by the Eccle- siastics, because they would not witness their crimes, nor reside in Eome, nor stop the current of their demoralizations, which, through habit, had become the fashion and the laws of the epoch. As there are so many facts to state regarding that time, as well as of the deeds of the Johns, the Gregories, Silvester and Gerbert, Hildebrand, their criminal paramours, and the other atrocious amenities of the Popes' repertoire, I shall pass them all in silence now, as well as the Marozie, the great Countess Mathilde, and the rest of them. I shall therefore devote a special chapter to them in its proper chronological order, and not associate them with the foregoing diplomatic proofs of the Imperial power in the Holy States, and of the nonentity of the Papal rights and pretended Donations. I will now return to the Saint Emperor, Henry the Second, who had invested the Archbishop of Eavenna with the States that I have named, and show that in the year 1022 he freely disposed of the Principality of Capua and of the County of Teanum, and of other States, now belonging to the kingdom of Naples; though the F F 2 330 Popes, many years after his reign, pretended that Henry had confirmed to the Holy See Teanum and Capnam with a Diploma dated the year 1014. About this contradiction see the Hostiensis, in his Chron. Cassinensis, lib. 2, c. 41, and Glabrus Rudolphus, in his History, lib. 3, c. 1. Of Conradus, the Salicus, it is stated by "Wippo, a contemporary historian, that he entered Ravenna and reigned there as the supreme authority, after which he adds that he went to Rome, and subjected Rome entirely to his power : Ravennam intravit, et cum magna Potestate ibi regnavit. " Roma subjecit se primum a summo usque ad imum, Experti sunt Ravennates in bello suo primates,' 1 &c. In connection with this Emperor, Conrad, is men- tioned an authentic document given in the year 1032 to the Marquis Boniface, father of the great Countess Mathilda, in that Placet to Boniface juxta ripam Padi in loco qui dicitur Caput de Reda, in the State of Eerrara, that Prince decided a civil affair, and im- posed a penalty payable, one half to the Chamerae Imperatoris, and the other half to the Chamerae Archiepiscopi. There was nothing for the Pope, which surely proves that he had no business there. In the year 1052 Henry the Third confirmed the Pacta with the Republic of Venice, as seen in the Chronica of Dandolo, and named in it all the States subject to him. Henry the Eourth, in the year 1063, before he entered upon his wars with the Pope, gave to Henry, Archbishop of Ravenna, a diploma con- firming to him the Counties of the Exarchate and all its States of Ravenna, as well as the Comitatum Comaclensem, and other Regalia — sicut nostri ante- cessors Reges et Imperatores constituerunt. The Pope kept very quiet, and said nothing about this, and never dreamt of interfering in what belonged to the Empire. But in the year 1106, that is, fifty- four years afterwards, the Pope complained at the 331 Council of Guastalla that the Archbishop of Eavenna had usurped the spiritual jurisdiction upon some of the Bishoprics, and a few Praedia of the Holy See. At this time (1106) the Popes attempted to usurp, invade, and destroy the Temporal Imperial Power by every means in their power ; no calumny or crime was sufficient for their wicked purposes, and they invented the greatest rascalities. They prompted the sons of princes to dethrone their fathers ; they dragged the Imperial authorities and their dignity in the mud. All these crimes were just cause for the Emperors to retaliate upon the Popes as soon as the opportunity presented itself. Consequently war and devastation became the order of the day for many years, and once, twice, and three times in each cen- tury the Popes were invariably the aggressors upon the Emperors or their vassals. Thus the populations had to endure the capricious and unbounded inso- lence and violence of the priests, and expose and forfeit by their provocation substance, honour, and life. In another chapter will be found ample con- firmation of the violence of the priesthood against the Emperor Henry the Eourth, and against Conrad his son, the young Emperor Henry the Eifth, by some historians called the Sixth. If the Bishops, Abbots, Counts, or Vicars had been invested with the Governments of towns or of provinces by the Exarchs, or by the Emperors, these invested gentlemen would have been perfectly independent of the Popes ; although the city or province of which they had received the inves- titure belonged to the so-called Eoman Estates, they were bound only to recognise and pay homage to the Emperors, and were independent of the Popes. Labbe Collect. Concil., to. 9, p. 774, anno 998. In the year 998, the Emperor Otho the Third issued an Edict directed to the Eoman Senate, and to all the Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, Marquises, Counts, and to the Judges of Italy, prohibiting the 332 Bishops and Abbots to alienate the Church property, saying — quia status Ecclesiarum Dei annullantur, Nostraque Imperialis Majestas non minus patitur detrimentum, dum Subditi Nobis debita non possunt exhibere obsequium. This confirms the fact that some of these Mitred Vicars were not satisfied with the exercise of the Spiritual and Temporal Power, with which they had been invested by the Emperors, but several of them actually converted the lands of the Estates that they were to administer in the interest of the Empire into money, thus defrauding the Church of God, and the Imperial Majesty of the Eaith, and of the honest servitude due from them as subjects. I have said that the Empress Adelaide lived at Ravenna, and I must add that she resided also for some time at Comacchio, and in other cities of the Exarchate, and that she exercised there the Imperial Dominion, which fact is diplomatically and historically authenticated by the Imperial Document of Donation which she made to the Monastery of Saint Saviour of Pavia of the following, as noted in the Bull. Cassin., t. 2, Consti. 32 : Monasterium construc- tion in loco, qui dicitur Pomposa, et omnia, que in Comaclio sunt, quae intra Castrum sunt, quaa vel extra cernuntur, &c, et omnes Salinas, &c. This Diploma was inserted in the Bollario Cassinese, and Puricelli introduced it in the Chronica della Badia Florentina, p. 18, and it proves that the Empress and the Emperor had the power to invest a3 their Feudatories, in the Exarchate, at Comacchio and in other cities, whom they liked, and from that time it will be seen that the Archbishops of Eavenna were invested with the Exarchate and Comacchio by the Emperors as Imperial Eeudatories. The Empress Eleanora died at Eavenna, in the year 999. Pope Benedict the Twelfth, in the year 1339, whilst residing at Avignon, caused to be collected from the secret archives of the "Vatican all the Docu- ments that were preserved there, and had them registered for the sake of proving the Privileges of 333 the Holy See ; and at that time was forged there a Diploma of a pretended Donation made by Otho the Third, in the year 999, giving to the Pope eight counties (idest), Pisaurum, Panum, Senogaliam, An- conam, Possambrum, Callium, Hesium, et Ausimum. Of this famous forged document Cardinal Paronius did not dare to say a word or take any notice about it, he being persuaded that it was a forgery. This assertion is supported by the following remarks, attested by Ditmarus in lib. 4 of his History. That the Emperor Otho the Third, in the year 1001, visited the Italian towns of the Roman Empire, and found out that all the towns and provinces belonging to Lombardy and the Eoman States were faithfully submitted to his Imperial domination, except only Rome, where the clergy and citizens were preparing for him insidias. The above Latin word was uttered by Otho himself when he arrived at Rome. In the same year, 1001, Otho the Third donavit Sanctse Ravennati Ecclesia3 omnia placita, et dis- trictus, et bannum de omni terra S. Apollinaris, et de omnibus Episcopatibus, sive comitatibus de quibus praecepta habentur in Sancta Ravennate Ecclesia; and then he transferred the Badia of Pomposa, which was in the district of Comacchio, already subject to the Archbishop of Ravenna, and made it entirely subject to himself and the succeeding Emperors : ut Regali s sit, nulli Dominantium personarum subjecta. These positive facts are related in the Bullarium Cassinensem, which contains the Diplomas, and also in the Italia Sacra of Ughelli. The untramelled, absolute Imperial dominion is patently shown not only in the Exarchate but also in Rome, in spite of the Papal pretenders, who were not able to show, even at that period, any trace of dominion or juris- diction of any kind whatever. "With all this Im- perial domineering in Rome and the Roman States, yet at that time Pope St Romoaldus never com- plained either of pressure or of Imperial usurpations 334 of the goods, chattels, and States of the Holy See, nor did he ever call upon Emperor Otho to make penance or restitution. I now return to Emperor Arrigus, or Henricus the Second, named the Holy, who succeeded Otho. It is said that this Emperor confirmed the Donations to the Apostolic See, with a document bearing no date, as stated by some Papal writers. As he was a very good man and a Saint, according to the Church of Eome, to which he gave a Diploma without date, I will suppose that it was out of pomp and veneration, according to the usual formalities, to the Holy See, and nothing more, because I find that the said good Saint Emperor soon after, precisely in the year 1017, as stated by Giro- lamo Eossi, in his History of Eavenna, lib. 5, p. 275, issued an Imperial Document, which contained the following Investitures : Pellegrinus Missus Henrici Imperatoris, et Tatho Comes item Missus Imperialis — they were sent to Eavenna to decide — lites et altercationes — and an Imperial officer, in the presence of all the assembled nobility, giving into the hands of these Imperial Commissioners or Legates — apprehendens in manibus illoram virgam, et misit earn in manibus suprascripto Harnaldo gratia Dei Sanctissimo et coangefico Archiepiscopo et] Investivit ipsum et Ecclesiam Eavennatem ex parte Henrici Imperatoris de omni Pisco, et de omni publica re Eavennate, sive ripae aut portse et de Comitatu Bononiense, et de Comitatu Corneliense, et Comitatu Paventino et Comitatu et Comitatu Picolense cum omni Pisci, et publicis Comitatibus, &c. (Nota. — The points denote the word to be illegible in the original Diploma copied by Eossi.) How is it that in this dated Diploma we see the whole of the Eomagna and the Exarchate given by this regular investiture to the Archbishop of Eavenna, reserving nothing for the Pope ? Why did not the Pope come forward with the false Diploma of Donation of those States 335 by the previous Emperor ? And if Henry had con- firmed to the Pope the Donations in a Diploma without date, why did he not claim the precedence of the same Donation ? Further, if the Pope was ashamed to claim those States as the Donation of Constantine, why did he not claim them as Donations by Pipin, Charlemagne, Ludovicus, or Lotharius ? The reason is clear enough : the documents of the Investitures were not yet forged, and if they had already been prepared the Pope and his partisans would not have dared to produce them as it was too early : living historians would have disavowed them, and the Imperial Chancellors, the Imperial Vicars, and the other Italian Princes could have easily con- futed and annihilated all such pretences by produc- ing their own and their forefathers' regular Imperial Investitures of the same lands, towns, and provinces, and the Pope would have made a regular fiasco. The conclusion of this affair was that Henry the Second confirmed nothing to the Pope in his Diploma dated 1014, or not dated, as some said, for the grand reason that he gave to the Archbishop of Ravenna what he should have given to the Pope. To Henry the Second a contemporary writer dedicated the Life of S. Matilda, Queen of Germany; it was printed from the MS. by P. P. Euschenius and Papebrochius. The author of that Life stated that Otho the Great, son of Matilda, was called to Home — a Prsesule Apostolicae sedis, ut gloriam Act. Sanct,, Imperialis Coronse preciperet, et Homanos praeesset ^jjj^i — then he adds that, "Coronam accepit munere Martu. Christi, et totus Populus Eomanorum se sponte subjugavit Ipsius Domini, et Sibi solvebant tributa; et post ilium cseteris Suis Posteris." In this instance, even the Jesuits have given evidence against them- selves, and without being aware that the above few lines are just the very thing to prove that Otho the Great was the Master, and that after him his succes- sors were also equally so. 336 From the author of Queen Matilda's life, a con- temporary of her son, and of the Emperor Henry the Second, we see that he was the Supreme Master of Eome, of the Exarchate, and of every town of the Roman Empire, and that he could dispose of the Provinces as he liked, and that even Eome paid him tributes of money and obedience. Under the mild rule of this Saint Emperor, may I ask what power had the Pope in Rome or in any other town of the Roman States, what was he doing, and where was he ? "Was he using those magic keys given to his predecessor by Charlemagne's Yicar at Benevento, or was he doing something else ? I must refer the reader to the collateral part of these historical readings, as I could not conveniently keep in step with the gigantic Ecclesiastical deeds, on account of my inability, from inexperience, to conduct and develope the political, together with the Ecclesiastical and Secular affairs. In this lengthy chapter I shall continue for the present to confine myself to the politico-historical or diplomatic Imperial transactions with reference to the Papal States, and proceed progressively to show the variations and the investi- tures ; while in the chapters on the Ecclesiastical usurpations the reading will be a progressive historical sketch of criminal actions, and other nefarious amenities, also proving that they were invariably fighting against reason, common sense, honesty, justice, honour, and Christianity, that they were either scheming plots against the Empire, or were in open warfare with it or with its subjects. Lament- ing my deficiency of knowledge, I must sincerely apologise to the reader, and continue my work. The Popes of that century were all necromancers, with propensities equal to the habitues of certain saloons, and of other places in the Haymarket. I leave these to follow the politico-historical part of my work. After the death of Henry the Second, Conrad the 337 First ordered his judges, — Andreas Judex Imperii et Gerardus Judex Imperatoris, et Alexander Chuonardi Missus Caesaris, — to assemble a Court at Bologna, composed of Princes and Bishops, and there, in the year 1030/ were decided the questions of law, and sentences passed and laws made in the name of that Emperor. In the year 1034 the said Emperor, Conrad the Eirst, gave to the Archbishop of Ravenna (Gabeardus) the Diploma of the Investiture of the County of Eaenza — Imperiali Largitione — Comita- tum Eaventinum cum omni districtu suo, et Legali placito, et Judicio, omnibusque publicis functionibus, angariis redhibitionibus, teloncis, fodris ripaticis, aquis, &c. Hactenus Juri Regio legaliter attinentibus Sanctae Eavennati Ecclesise offerimus et JYostro Jure et Dominto in ejus jus in perpetuum Dominiumque transfundimus, &c. Eossi, in the History of Ra- venna, lib. 5, p. 278, reports this Imperial Diploma, which on this occasion is as valuable as the States of Eavenna itself, and will close the barking fauces of the mitred effrenated dogs. * Eead it again, and see if there is anything left to be desired in this docu- ment Ponder over these few words : Hactenus Juri Eegio legaliter attinentibus. Up to the present, 1034, not attainable except by legal Imperial juris- diction, and from our dominion and jurisdiction we transfer it in perpetuity to Gabeardus and his succes- sors, &c. This diplomatic act is the real pietra losofale that was required, and which proves that the Papal possession of those States was nothing more or less than an escamotage, or robbery. Progressing we arrive to the year 1047, and find that Henry the Third acted as independent and absolute Master in the States of Naples, Capua, Benevento, and others, as was related by the Historian Hermannus (Con- tract. Chron., ad an. 1047.) Eoma egressus nonnulla Castella Sibi rebellantia cepit, Provincias illas, prout videbatur, disposuit; Duces Nordmannis qui in illis partibus commorantur a a 338 constituit ; and he punished the people of Benevento, and gave them up to be ruled of the JSTormans, and also subjected the Capuans, and gave their Princi- pality to Pandolfo in spite of the anterior pretended donation to the Popes. See the account given also by Leo Ostiensis in the Chronica Cassinensis, lib. 2, c. 81, in the said year, 1047. Pope Benedict the Eighth made no protest against the disposal of those States by Henry the Third. Prom Aimonius, Book 5, or from the Continuator of the Chronicles of Begione, and from other ancient historians, it will be seen that from Charlemagne downwards for several centuries, Benevento and Spoleti had their proper Dukes submitted and dependent only upon the Emperors to whom they used to pay homage and money tribute, without having any dependence on the Holy See. And this fact proves that the anterior pretended donations to the Popes of those States were perfectly chimerical with regard to the jurisdiction and its Sovereign power ; and if the Popes had any right upon them it must have been that of levying some trifling tributes upon the lands of the Churches and of the Monasteries according to those already named cele- brated magic keys. At this time (anno 1055) the Imperial Legate and Supreme Judge, Ugo, was making assemblies of the Bishops and the nobility in the States of Bomagna, where he had been sent by the Emperor, and decided various political ques- tions and quarrels ; amongst them he decided a case in favour of the Archbishop of Bavenna. The Emperor, Henry the Fourth, in the year 1063, as it appears from a diploma named and inserted by Ughelli in his Italia Sacra, copied from the Archives of the Vatican, gave to the Archbishop of Bavenna many cities of the Exarchate, and amongst them the — Comitatum Comaclensem et omnem potestatemin omnibus intra et extra Civitatem Eavennatem sicut Nostri Antecessores lieges et Im- 339 peratores constituerunt. This diploma disposed pretty clearly of these States without the least reference to the Pope, who seems to have had no jurisdiction over them, and never had any before that time, as proved by the consecutive Imperial possession and disposal of them by the Emperors to their favourites without ever giving them to any Pope. I may repeat that Pipin and Charlemagne retained those States for themselves and occupied them, and when absent delegated their alter ego to prevent the Popes installing themselves there as masters. Henry the Fifth, Lotharius the Second, Frederick the First, Henry the Sixth, Otho the Fourth, and Frederick the Second, and all their predecessors, not only maintained, but exercised supreme jurisdiction and dominion in Eome and the Exarchate and in the other Eoman States so called of the Holy See. The whole of the above-named Emperors in their re- spective reigns confirmed this diploma of Henry the Fourth, dated 1063, which contained the names of the cities as follows : — Hi sunt qui ex nostro silicet Jure, Papienses, Mediolanenses, Cremonenses, Lucen- ses, Pisani, Gennenses, Placentini, Ferrarienses, Eavennates, Comaclenses, Florentini, &c, et cuncti de Nostro Eegno Italico. Andreas Dandolus, in his celebrated Chronica, reported this diploma, and the confirmation as usual of the Pacta between Henry the Fourth and the Venetian Eepublic. Henry the Fifth and the Sixth did the same in the year 1197, confirming the named diploma, and the Pacta cum Henrico Dandulo duce Sexto anno 1197, apud Castrum Joannis Yenetorum antiqua fcedera cum Subjectis Imperii renovavit. — Sansovinus, in the Venetian history, stated and confirmed the above facts of the named Emperors in lib. 11, page 322. In the named year, 1063, many dissensions and wars arose between the Emperor Henry the Fourth and the Ecclesiastical party, principally provoked by the craftiness of the Popes and the intrigues of the Countess Matilda, which lasted many years, and 340 continued with the wars brought against the Empire by Pope Paschal the Second, These diplomatic transactions are too voluminous to introduce in this little work, but as I considered it was necessary to show the public the contemptible rascality of the Ecclesiastics of that time and their Chief, I have not spared myself the trouble of copy- ing many documents that passed between the Pope and the Emperor Henry IY, who was called the Yth by other historians. I shall likewise call him the Eifth myself, according to the documents that follow here : Traite de Paix entre L'Empereur Henry Y et le Pope Paschal II, to regulate the affairs of the Empire and of the Church, made in the year 1110. (See Goldast, to. 1, p. 252.) Inter Nuncios Imperatoris, et Petrum Leonis et caeteros Nuncios Pontificis in Porticu Sancti Petri convenit, ut Imperator in die Coronationis suae omne male usurpatum Ecclesiasti- cum Jus in manibus Pontificis, astante Clero et Populo et per scriptum deponeret cum ipsum Papa de negociis regalibus faceret, idque Sacramento firmaret, dimitteret Ecclesias liberas cum oblationibus et possessionibus suis, quae ad Eegnum non pertinent, et absolveret Papa ab juramentis Populos, quae contra Episcopos facere compulsi sunt, &c. And the Em- peror, in proof of his good faith to the Pope for the maintenance of this treaty, would give him as hos- tages a number of named gentlemen of his Court and some of his relations, &c, and the Pope on his part (as stated in the second chapter of this treaty, which is not copied in full) w r ould give to the Emperor the following : 2. Quae postquam omnia impleverit Eex, Papa juberet Episcopis adstantibus in die Coronationis ejus, ut Eegalia Imperatori dimitteret, quae a temporibus Caroli Ludovici, Henrici, aliorumque praedecessorum ad Eegnum pertinebant ; scripto flrmaret sub anathe- matis poena, auctoritate sua, ne quis eorum, vel prae- sentium vel absentium vel successores eorum Eegni se intromit terent juribus, neque invaderent Civitates 341 Ducatus, Comitatus, monetas, vectigalia, mercata, Advocationes Imperii, Centurionum jura, curtesques essent Imperii cum pertinentiis suis, et militaria Im- perii castra. Nec ipse Imperatorem nec Bomanum Imperium, super his alterius inquietaret, et privilegio sub anathemate ista confirmaret, ne posteri sui ultra inquietare praesumeret. Imperatorem benigne et cum honore susciperet, et more praedecessorum ipsius Catholicorum Imperatorum, scienter et non subtracto coronaret, et ad tenendum Imperium officii sui auxilio juvaret. Hoc si Papa non impleret Petrus Leonis cum suis omnibus se ad Imperatorem teneret. Obsides, nisi effugerent, altero post Coronationem die restitueret : si ex ipsius Papas parte remanserit, ut non coronatur, similiter redderet. Haec ita con- st! tuta jurejurando firmavit Imperator : Adalbertus Cancellarius, Herimannus, Eridericus et Gothofridus Comites, and five other gentlemen, took oath after the Emperor to execute the above, &c. A printed note in the margin of the above treaty stated the following : " Le Pape ne fit ce Traite que pour amuser TEmpereiir qui etoit entre en Italie avec une armee de 80,000 pour lereduire alaraison, et qui etoit deja fort pres de Eome. II fut conciu environ les fetes de Noel, que TEmpereur passa a Plorence. ,? After the Emperor had left for Florence the Pope and the Bishops broke faith with him, when he returned and made them prisoners, with all their adherents. Goldast, in to. 1, page 253, gives the second treaty, called — Transaction entre TEmpereur Henry Y, et Paschal II, par lequel le Pape accorde a l'Empereur les Investitures, et TEmpereur promet de mettre en liberte le Pape, et tous ses adherens, qu'il avait fait prisonier. Eait Tan 1110. It commences thus : Ex verbo Pontificis juratum est in agro juxta Pontem Mammeum, qui Eomanos Teutonesque diri- mebat, hoc videlicet modo : Quod ulterius non in- Q Gt 2 342 quietaret Imperatorem ej usque Imperium de pre- Bumpto de temerato Ecclesiarum jure, et de iujuria sibi suisque irrogata in persona Imperatoris, ac bonis malum aliquod sibi vel alicui personae non redderet, neque pro hac causa Imperatorem anathemati sub- deret, eidemque Imperatori privilegio sub anathemate confirmaret, ut Episcopos, et Abbates libere eleetos absque Symonia, idem Imperator annulo et virga investiat, Episcopusque sic investitus libere eonse- cratione abArchiepiscopo, ad quern pertinuerit, sumat. Si quis vero a Populo et Clero eligatur, et non ab Imperatore investiatur, a nemiue consacretur, et Archiepiscopi et Episcopi libertatem habentem si curandi ita amissos ab Imperatore, Regnumque et Imperium ac Principatum officii sui auxilio ilH con- servabit. 2. Et cum hsec Sacramento firmasset, Imperator demum, quod eundem Pontificem cum Episcopis et Cardinalibus, et omnes, qui cum eo vel pro eo capti essent, obsidesque et securos perduceret intra portas Transtyberinse Civitatis, neque ulterius aut caperet, aut capi permitteret, juravit his, qui in fide sedis Apostolica? manerent : et Populo Romano tarn per se, quam per suos, pacem servaret, eundem Papam fideliter juvaret, ut Papatum secure et quiete teneret, patrimonia et possessiones Ecclesias Romanae resti- tueret, csetera quae de jure habere debet, more ante- cessorum recuperare ac tenere adjuvaret bona fide, et Imperii et Regni, sicuti Catholici Imperatores Catholicis Ronianis Pontificibu3 solent. (Post haec) Fredericus Coloniensis Archiepisc. COMITES. EPISCOPI. Fredericus, Gebehardus Tridentinen3is, Herimanus, Burchardus Monasteriensis, Albertus, Bruno Spirensis, Fridericus, Albertus Cancellarius. Berengarius, Fridericus, Gothfridus, et Guarnerius, ac Bonifacius Marchio ia nunc modum juraverunt. 343 Another Convention was made by the Emperor, Henry the Fifth, and Pope Paschal the Second, which is reported by Goldast, to. 1, page 254. It was made in the year 1111 ; and the Emperor begins with the following oath : Ego Henricus Imperator liberos dimittam quarta vel quinta feria Dominum Papam Paschalem, et Episcopos, et Cardinales et omnes captivos et obsides, qui pro eo et cum eo capti sunt, et iiberos secure produci faciam intra portam Transtiberynse civitatis : nec ulterius capiam, aut capi faciam vel permittam eos, qui in fidelitate Domini Papas Paschalis perma- nent : et Populo Eomano, et Trans tiberyn 83 Insulaa civitati pacem et securitatem servabo tarn per me, quam per meos, et in personis et in rebus qui pacem mihi servaverint. 2. Patrimonia et Possessiones Sanctaa Romanae Ecclesiaa, quae abstuli, restituam; et cuncta quaa habere debet, more antecessorum meorum recuperare et tenere adjuvabo bona fide. Et Domino Papas Paschali obediam (salvo tamen honore Regni et Imperii) sicut Catholici Imperatores Catholicis Pon- tificibus Eomanis. Haec omnia observabo bona fide, sine fraude et malo Ingenio. Et isti sunt juratores ex parte Imperatoris Henrici, &c. This document is signed by thirteen Archbishops, Bishops, and Imperial Vicars. In this document, under oath, the Emperor promised to let out of the cage the Pope, the Bishops, the Cardinals, and all the Pope's partisans, and to restore to the Holy See what belonged to it, as in the time of his old Impe- rial predecessors. Moreover, the Emperor promised to obey the Pope, but he reserved to himself the honour of the kingdom and of the Empire, like all other Catholic Emperors. Then follows the Investitures accorded to the Emperor by the Pope. Dominus Papa Paschalis concedit Domino Im- peratori Henrico, et Regno ejus, privilegio suo sub 344 anathemate et confirmabit, et corroboravit, Episcopo vel Abbate libere electo sine Symonia assensu Im- peratoris, quod Dominus Imperator cum aimulo et virga investiat. Episcopus autem vel Abbas ab Imperatore investitus libere accipiat eonsecrationem ab Episcopo, ad quern pertinuerit. Si quis vero a Clero et a Populo eligatur. nisi ab Imperatore in- vestiatur, et a nemine consecretur, et Archiepiseopi et Episcopi libertatem habeant consecrandi ab Im- peratore Investitos. Super his etiam Dominus Papa Paschalis non inquietabit Imperatorem Henri- cum, nec ejus Eegnum et Imperium. Here is the Papal oath to the Emperor : Dominus Papse Paschalis non inquietabit Dominum Imperatorem Henricum, nec ejus Regnum, de Inves- titura Episcopatuum et Abbatianum, neque de in- juria sibi illata et suis in personis et bonis, neque aliquod malum reddet sibi vel alicui personae pro hac causa; et penitus in personam Imperatoris Henrici nunquam anathema ponet, nec remanebit in Domino Papa, quin coronet cum, sicut in Ordine continetur, et Eegnum et Imperiium officii sui auxilio eum tenere adjuvabit pro posse suo. Et has adimplebit Dominus Papa sine fraude et malo ingenio. Haec sunt nomina illorum Episcoporum et Car- dinalium qui praeeepto Domini Papae Paschalis privi- legium et amicitiam Sacramento coniirmaverunt Domino Imperatori Henrico — Petrus Portuensis Episcopus, Centius Sabiniensis Episcopus, Bobertus Cardinalis Sancti Eusebii, Bonifacius Cardinalis Sancti Martini, Anasthasius Cardinalis Sancti Clementis, and eleven others. In this document the Cardinalitian dignity, still besmeared with human blood, emerging from its origin, exhibits itself in witness to an official document, 345 and assumes an importance which it did not possess before the ninth century, but is evident in the twelfth. A printed note in the margin of the above docu- ment gives the following valuable information. — In spite of this oath, the Lateran Council opened on the 28th of May, 1112, when the Emperor was in Germany, and ordered the Bull accorded for the Investitures to be burned, and excommunicated the Emperor. This was confirmed in another Council. The Emperor heard of this faithless proceeding, and complained that the Pope had violated his oath. Paschal answered that he promised him that he would not excommunicate him, but that he did not promise that he would not order others to excom- municate him. This little bit of roguery is a capital specimen of priestly, cowardly, political treachery, an illustration of their ancient moral character, as well as an endorsement of the political faith of the modern successors and rulers of the Boman Catholic Court and Church. I shall continue to copy from the Becueil des Traites de Paix de Treve d' Alliance, vol. 1, p. 171, &c, the Bref du Pape, Paschal II — qui accorde les Investitures a TEmpereur Henri V, donne en 1111. Paschalis Episcopus, servus servorum Dei, caris- simo in Christo filio Henrico Teutonicorum Begi, et per Dei omnipotentis gratiam Bomanorum Impera- tori Augusto, salutem et Apostolicam benedictionem. 1. Begnum vestrum Sanctae Bomanae Ecclesiae singulariter cohaerere dispositio divina constituit. Praedecessores siquidem vestri probitatis et pru- dentiae amplioris gratia Bomanae Urbis coronam et Imperium consecuti sunt. Ad cujus videlicet coronae et Imperii dignitatem, tarn quoque personam Eilii Carissime Henrice, per Nostri Sacerdotii ministerium Majestas Divina provexit. Illam igitur dignitatis praerogativam, quam praedecessores nostri, 346 vestri prsedecessoribus Catholicis Imperatoribus con- cesserunt, et privilegiorum paginis confirmaverunt, nos quoque tua3 dilectioni eoncedimus et presentis privilegii pagina confirmamus ut Regni tui Episcopis et Abbatibus libere prseter violentiam et Sj^moniam electis, investituram virgse et annuli conferas ; post investitionem vero canonice consecrationem accipiant ab Episcopo, ad quern pertinuerit. 2. Si qui autem a Clero, yel a populo prseter assensum tuum electus fuerit, nisi a te investiatur, a nemine consecretur : (exceptis nimirum illis, qui vel in Arcbiepiscoporum, vel in Eomani Pontincis solent dispositione consistere). 3. Sane Archiepiscopi et Episcopi libertatem habeant a te investitos Episcopos et Abbates cano- nice consecrandi. 4. Prasdecessores enim vestri Ecclesias Eegni sui tantis regalium suorum beneficiis ampliarunt, ut Regnum ipsum Episcoporum maxime et Abbatum prsesidiis oporteat communiri, et populares dissen- siones, quae in electionibus ssepe contingunt, regali oporteat Maj estate compesci. Quamobrem pru- dentias vestrae et potestati cura debet sollicitus imminere, ut et Bomanae Ecclesiae magnitudo, et csetera salus, tuis (praestante Domino) beneficiis et servitiis con serve tur. 5. Si qua igitur Ecclesiastica vel Secularis potentia aut persona hanc nostras concessionis paginam sciens contra earn temerario ausu venire tentaverit, anathe- matis vinculo, nisi resipuerit, innodetur honorisque ac dignitatis suae periculum patiatur. Observantes autem hoc misericordia Divina custodiat, et personam ac Majestatem potestatemque tuam ad honorem suum, et gloriam feliciter imperare concedat. After this comes another Papal solemn promise made before the altar, &c. 347 CONFIRMATIO. Usee sunt verba quae dixit Dominus Apostolicus Domino Imperatori Henrico in communione corporis et sanguinis Christi, die Coronationis mm. Domine Imperator Henrice, Corpus Domini natum, ex Maria Yirgine, passum in cruce pro nobis, sicut Sancta Catholica tenet Ecclesia damus tibi in confirma- tionem verse pacis et concordise inter me et te, Amen. Anno verbi Incarnati mcxi hoc confirmatum est in Basilica Sancti Petri xvi Cal. Martii, regnante in Ccelis Domino nostro Jesu Christo cum Patre iEterno et Spiritu sancto, Amen. The next, document is the Edict de l'Empereur Henry V, en consequence de son Accord fait avec le Pape Paschal II, anno 1111. Henricus Dei gratia Eomanorum Imperator Au- Goldast,to.i, gustus, omnibus Christi fidelibus in Ecclesia. P* 355, 1. Eotum esse voiumus dilectioni et discretion! vestree ea, quae inter nos et Dominum ilium Pas- chalem erant, quomodo incepta tractata sint : Silicet de conventione inter me et ipsum, de traditione Bomanorum in me et meos, ud audita intelligatis, intellecta examinetis, examinata dijudicetis. 2. Igitur dum in eo tutus essem, ut me ad Eccle- siae utilitatem et ipsius votum si justum esset, com- ponerem, ccepit exaltationem et dilatationem regni super omnes antecessores meos promittere. Studebat tamen subdole, quomodo Eegnum et Ecclesiam a statu suo discinderet, tractare. Quod sic facere aggressus est. Eegno quidem jam a Carolo qua- dringentis et amplius annis et sub sexaginta tribus Apostolicis investituras Episcopatuum, eorundem authoritate et privilegiorum firmitatao tenenti absque omni obedientia auferre volebat. 3. Et quum per Nuncios nostros ab eo quserere- mus, quid de Nobis fieret in quo Eegnum nostrum constat, quomodo fere omnia antecessores nostri 348 Ecclesiis eoncesserunt et tradiderunt, subjunxit: Fratres, JScclesice decimis et oblationibus suis con- tents sint : Rex vero praedia et regalia, quae a Ca- rolo et Ludovico, Ottone et Henrico Ecclesiis col- lata sunt, sibi et successioribus suis recipiat et de- tineat. Ad hoc quum nostri respond erent, Nos quidem nolle violentiam Ecclesiis inferre, nec ista subtrahendo tot sacrilegia incurrere, fidueialiter promisit et sacramento pro ea firmavit Dominica Esto mihiy se omnia haec cum justitia et authoritate Ecclesiis auferre Nobisque et Regno cum justitia et authoritate reddere. Nostris itidem firmantibus, si hoc, ut praemissum est, ita complesset, quod tamen ullo modo fieri posse sciebat : me quoque, uti quae- rebat investituras Ecclesiorum resignaturum : sicut in charta conventionis plenius poteritis videre. The subj oined diplomatic document follows the above, and I consider it very important on account of being most explicit in determining what belongs to the Empire, and what to the Pope. It is taken also from Gold as t, in the same page, 255. Haec est Charta Conventionis ejus ad me. Dominus Papa praecipiet Episcopis praesentibus in die Coronationis Regis, ut dimittant Regalia Regno, quae ad Regnum pertinebant tempore Caroli, Henrici, et aliorum praBdecessorum ejus ; et scrip to firmabit sub anathemate ne quis eorum vel praesentium vel absentium, vel successorum eorum intromittat se ullo modo, vel invadant eadem regalia, id est, Civi- tates, Ducatus, Marchias, Comitatus, Monetas, Teloneum, Mercatum, Advocatias, omnia jura Cen- turionum, id est Yillicorum, turres, et Yillas, quae Regni erant ; cum omnibus pertinentiis suis, militiam et castra. Nec ipse Regem et Regnum super hiis alterius inquietabit, sed privilegio suo sub anathe- mate confirmabit, ne posteri sui inquietare praesu- mant: Regem benigne et honorifice suscipiet, et more praedecessorum suorum Catholicorum scienter 349 non subtracto coronabit, et ad tenendum Eegnum cum hiis omnibus officii sui auxilio adjuvabit. Si Dominus Papa haec Eegi non adimpleverit ; ego Petrus Leonis juro, quod tota potentia mea tenebo ad Dominum Eegem. Obsides autem, nisi effugerint, reddemus altero die post Coronationem Eegis. Si per Papam remanserit, ut non coronetur, similiter reddemus Dominico die quam Eex ad pro- cessionem venerit. Obsides dabo Gratianum filium meum, et filium Yizonis filii, et filium Sororis mex? si eum habere potero. The Pope took the Oath in the following words by his alter ego Peter of Leon, or Peter son of Leon — Haec sunt Sacramenta ex parte Domini Papse : Ego Petrus Leonis juro vobis, quia Dominus Papa? proximo die Dominico adimpiebit Eegi, quod in Charta conventionis scriptum est. I, Peter of Leon, take oath that the Pope will fulfil next Sunday everything that is stipulated in the agreement. This is followed by the Imperial oath in these words : Haec sunt Sacramenta ex Parte Eegis. Ego Comes Hermanus. Ego Comes Gotfridus. Ego Volmarus. Ego Adalbertus. Juro vobis quia Dominus Eex proxima quarta veb quinta feria ita Principes jurare faciet, et obsides dabit, sicut in Charta conventionis scriptum est. Et sic observabunt Domino Papse, eo tenore, si Dominus Papa proximo die Dominico sic adimpleverit Eegi per omnia sicut in Charta conventionis scriptum est. 4. Ego vero ut ostenderem, nullam Ecclesiarum Dei disturbationem ex velle nostro procedere, in cunctorum oculis astantium et auribus hoc Decretum promulgavi. Ego Henricus Dei Gratia Eomanorum Imperator Augustus, affirmando et beato Petro, omnibus Epis- H H 350 copis et Abbatibus; et omnibus Ecclesiis omnia, quae antecessores mei Beges vel etiam Imp era tores eis concesserunt vel tradiderunt, et quae illi pro spe seternse retributionis obtulerunt, do. Ego peceator pro timore terribilis Judicii nullo modo subtrahere recuso. 5. Hoc decreto a me lecto et subscripto petii ab eo, nt, sicut in Charta conventionis ejus scrip turn est, mihi adimpleret. Quum ergo supradictse postula- tioni insisterem, silicet ut cum justitia et auctori- tate, promissa mihi conventione, firmiter universis in faciem ejus resistentibus, et Decreto suo palam haeresim inesse clamantibus, silicet, Episcopis, Abbatibus, tarn suis quam nostris, et omnibus Ecclesiae filiis : hoc, si salva pace Ecclesiae dici potest privilegium proferre yoluit. After the Papal and the Imperial oath, binding themselves mutually to the maintenance of the peace between Church and State, and the Papal renunciation of the Temporal Power, and of the Episcopal Investitures, follows as a conclusion the Decree of Paschal, which is the proper panacea that should be adopted in the present circum- stances, which of itself is sufficiently powerful and active to cure perfectly and to eradicate the constitu- tional distemper which affects the system of Pio JSono. This is the mixture and the lotion for the skin disease called non possumus non volumus. Paschalis Pap^e Deceetum. Paschalis Episcopus, servus servorum Dei, dilecto filio Henrico Begi, et ejus successor ibus Impera- toribus, &c. Divinse legis institutionibus sancitum est, et Sacris Canonibus interdictum, ne Sacerdotes curis secularibus occupentur. What do you think of that, you Most Eight Reverend, Most Holy eminent, unto e lisunto Iraghiere trovaroba Generale in Capo dell' Armata Herodiana. I beg your pardon, I must not interrupt this decree with any remarks, 351 therefore I resume ife: — Neve ad Comitatum, nisi pro damnatis eruendis, atque pro aliis qui injuriam patiuntur accedant. Unde et Apostolus Paulus inquit : Judicia si habueritis contemptibiles qui sunt Corinth, i, 6, in Ecclesia, illos constituite ad judicandum. In vestri autem Eegni partibus Episcopi vel Abbates adeo curis secularibus oecupantur, ut Comitatum assidue frequentare, et militiam exercere cogantur : quae nimirum aut vix aut nuilo modo sine rapinis, sacrilegiis, incendiis, aut homicidiis exhibentur. Ministri vero altaris, ministri curiae facti sunt : quia Civitates, Ducatus, Marchionatus, monetas, turres, et caetera ad Eegni servitium pertinentia a Eegibus acceperunt. Unde etiam nos Ecclesiae intolerabilis inolevit, ut electi Episcopi nullo modo consecrationem acciperent, nisi prius per manum Eegiam investiren- tur* (Bravo Don Pasquale.) Aliquando etiam vivis Episcopis investiti sunt. Hiis aliis plurimis malis, quae per investituram plerumque contigerant, prae- decessores nostri Gregorius Octavus et Urbanus Secundus, felicis memoriae Pontifices, excitati, col- lects frequenter Episcopalibus Conciliis, investituras illas manus Laicao damnaverunt : et si qui Clericorum per earn tenuissent Ecclesias, deponendos, datores quoque communione privandos percensuerunt, juxta illud Apostolicorum Canonum capitulum, quod se ita habet. Si quis Episcopus seculi potestatibus usus Ecclesiam per ipsos obtineat, deponatur, et segre- getur, omnesque qui illi communicant. (Two other capital precedents spontaneously given here by Paschal.) Quorum vestigia subsequentes et nos eorum sententiam Episcopali Concilio confirm amus. Tibi itaque, filii eharissime Henrice Eex, et nunc per ofncium nostrum Dei gratia Eomanorum Impera- tori, et regno regalia ilia dimittenda praecipimus que ad Eegnum manifeste pertinebant tempore Caroli Ludovici, Ottonis, et caeterorum predaecessorum tuorum. Interdicimus etiam et sub anathematis districtione prohibemus, ne quis Episcoporum sive 352 Abbatum, praesentium vel faturorum, eadem regalia invadant, id est Civitates, Ducatus, Marchias, Comi- tatus, monetas, teloneum, mercatum, Advocatias, Jura Centurionum, et turres, quae Kegni erant, cum pertinentiis suis, militiam et castra : et ne se deinceps, nisi per gratiam Regis, de ipsis regalibus intromit- tant. Sed nec posteris nostris liceat, qui post nos in Apostolica Sede successuri erunt, aut Te aut Kegem super hoc inquietare negocio. Porro Eeclesias cum oblationibus, et hsereditariis possessionibus, quae ad Kegnum manifeste pertinebant, liberas manere decrevimus, sicut in die coronationis tuae Omnipotenti Domino in conspectu totius Ecclesise promisisti. Oportet enim Episcopos curis secularibus expeditos, curam suorum agere populorum, nec Ecclesiis suis abesse diutius. Ipsi enim, juxta Paulum Apostolum, pervigilant, tamquam rationem pro animabus eorum reddituri. So at last I arrive at tbe end of this most splendid document, which I consider a perfect gem, suitable at all times and particularly so now. The veneration I have for God, religion, and truth gave me the patience to transcribe it, and I feel relieved of the anxiety that I had of procuring suffi- cient evidence to establish the incongruency and the incompatibility of the Ecclesiastical administra- tion of the Temporal Power. In this really Golden Document the humbled Paschal points out all the disorders and detriments brought upon the Church of God and upon Christianity by that Ecclesiastical abuse, and he forcibly shows the necessity of his renunciation of it, and takes care to give a proper definition to the Ecclesiastics of their duties to God, to the Empire, and to their flocks. I am fully satis- fied that the fulfilment of these rules, as laid out by Paschal, would re-establish the necessary peace and tranquillity of Europe, and I take the liberty of addressing myself and of pointing out this document to the Illuminated Senate and Italian House of Commons, proposing to them that, at the first opening 353 of the Legislative Houses, they should propose and pass, purely and simply, this Paschal Decree as the order of the day. I will not profane with any remarks of my own the above document, which in itself contains all and everything that is at stake now ; I shall say only that at the end of the decree there is a post scriptum which says that as soon as it was signed and sealed an Episcocal semi-revolu- tion took place, in which many persons were wounded and killed; and this proves that San Chiavone has had many predecessors as great brigands as he is himself, and that the Popes, Cardinals, Abbots, and Prelates have always had some ready at hand for their dirty jobs, when they themselves abstained for the moment from executing the office of San Chiavone. Conrad, the son of the dethroned Henry theEifth, be- came Emperor, and was called Henry the Sixth, after his many political vicissitudes with Paschal, as already related ; in the year 1118, through the influence of his wife, Queen Matilda, he reacquired all his Imperial States, and exercised his Imperial power and jurisdiction in the Eoman States, as demon- strated by a document inserted by Ughelli in his Italia Sacra, t. 2, p. 364. William Malmesburiensis, in his work De Gest. Eeg. Anglise, lib. 5, details that document ; and Lotharius the Second, by the attestation of P. Diaconus, a contemporary author of the Chronica Capinensis, lib. 4, c. 106, states that in the year 1136, Lotharius the Second, Eomam ^grediens IJmbriam, JEmiliam, Elaminiam, Picce- numque Provincias sub suo jure redegit. Eor all these submissions to the Imperial Power, the Pope said nothing, nor did he remonstrate with the people who submitted to the Emperor, because he knew that he had no right whatever so to do, and besides* he was on good terms with the Emperor Lotharius, as I can substantially prove. Trithemius, in his work De Seript. Ecclesiast.', he2 354 condemns Pope Gregory, Victor, TJrbanus, and Paschal for their schisms and attempts to encroach upon the Imperial power, &c. Sigebertus, in his 'Chronic. An. 1111, also strongly reproves and con- demns Paschal the Second for his impudent daring in continuing the schism, wars, and usurpations of his predecessors, Hildebrand, Victor, and Urban. The Popes knew very well that they had no right or title to trench upon the Imperial privileges of the Episcopal Investitures, which had been, from the time of Charlemagne, and before that Emperor, a regular Imperial right of the Greek Emperors, &c. " Rex Eomam vadit propter sedandam discordiam -quae erat inter Eegnum et Sacerdotium quae ccepta a Papa Gregorio Septimo qui et Hildebrandus nomi- natus est, et exagitata a successoribus ejus, Victore et Urbano et prae omnibus a Paschali, magno scandalo erat toti mundo," &c. In the year 1132, after the death of Pope Ho- norius, the usual ecclesiastical contentions, schism, and revolutions took place, and we see there were again two pretenders to St Peter's chair — Innocent the Second and Anacletus the Second. Both of these two priests were Roman citizens. Anacletus invaded the Vatican, and took therefrom the Papal diadem, the chalices, the crosses, and the crucifixes of gold and objects of silver and every other precious ornament that he could find. — Anacleto •interim Vaticanum invadente, inque coronas, calices, cruces, crucifixos aureos argenteos, et alia praetiosa ornamenta, involante, quae fusa, cusaque in suos olientes elargitur ; which he melted and coined into money, and divided amongst his partizans. I have returned to this particular subject, because it is really too serious, or, as those who read only the police reports in the public papers say, it is a beau- tiful robbery; and I cannot persuade myself that the so-called Vicar of Christ, the follower of St Peter, could be such a villainous thief as to commit so 355 enormous a sacrilege. The Maestro Terribile of Erosinone, so highly seated, and so learned in Eccle- siastical history, might possibly condescend to give me a little information about those reverendly valuable and precious twelve Apostles which were placed in St Peter's Church by a gentleman named Constantine, about the year 310 of the Christian Era. Besides the Apostles there were placed there also the Yenerable Image of the Eedeemer in gold, upon an Altar of silver, and a certain Fountain of gold and silver called the Baptismal Eont, a*s well as the dolphins, the stags, and the enormous Chandelier or Candelabrum ; excuse me if I blunder in the no- menclature of things that I have already named in the Ileal Donations of Constantine. In fact, I want to know from you, Mr Antonelli, or from the Belgian Sacripante, who stole the Apostles and the Ee- deemer, who melted the Altar, who stripped the Vestry Eoom, who took away all the gold and silver utensils, all the valuable etcetera forming the corredo of the Constantinian Donation to St Peter ? Are they still there, or did they go into the crucible on the occasion of Pope Anacletus's robbery ? Answer — speak loud ; or else, if I should be delegated to come to Eome, as assistant to the new broker to make out the Inventory, and find the old and precious fixtures gone, I should indubitably lock you up until all those valuables are properly accounted for. We will not have any mystery about these things; only tangible facts and reasons will be accepted. A revelation in full will be demanded, and proper atonement have to be made, and no mistake; we know what there should be, and we know also where to find something equivalent to what is already gone. You may repeat to us that the Jews — diviserunt sibi vestimenta mea, et miserunt me ad sortem ; but I shall respectfully decline to believe even that, because I see that the wardrobe of our Lord Jesus Christ was taken by the Emperor Erederick the Eirst into his native country and given by him to the Monasterio 356 Loricensi, which I can prove to you by the History of Frederick, written by a very old and very Eight Reverend Prelate, which I have already quoted in this work, as I shall show in a future page. If it be true that the Jews divided the dresses of our Saviour and put Him up for sale by auction, how could Frederick have found and bought so many articles belonging to Christ and taken them to the Monasterio Loricensi ? I find myself compelled to ask of what materials could they have been made to have lasted in a state of preservation so long, and what trouble that Emperor must have been put to to explore the regions where they were hid? If I cannot prove this satisfactorily by the History of Frederick the First, at all events I will prove that the thieves and spoliators and murderers of our Lord were his infamous, presumptuous, and pretended followers, styling themselves his Vicars, — yes, it was you — " Che al mio Signor deste la morte." I beg of you, Mr Antonelli, to excuse my digres- sion. After this I do not feel inclined to write how these two Popes went on for some years fulminating dam- nable squibs for each other, though at a respectful distance, as Innocent was at Pisa with his Cardinals, See p. Diaco- and Anacletus at the Yatican. What is still more c U 99. Ub ' important is that when Lotharius went to Italy to be Crowned, in 1133, he found a Pretender in the Norman Prince Rogerius, who was supported by Anacletus, and by the Archbishop of Milan, Ansel- mus, and his Suffragans ; also by Sinoretus, the Abbot of Monte Cassini, and all his confraternity, which at that time were very powerful. The honest, clever, and good St Bernard sustained a great share of the troubles of the wars that ensued out of this general conflagration, and he supported most power- fully with his influence and advice Pope Innocent the Second. At that time Henry the First, King of 357 England, was in France, and was persuaded by St Bernard, against the opinion of the English Bishops, to take the part of Pope Innocent. In the year 1134 Innocent held a great Council at Pisa, where the Anathema was fulminated against Anacletus ; Henry, Duke of Bavaria, nephew of the Emperor Lotharius, went to Italy with his Army in 1137, and I leave him besieging the Monastery of Monte Cassini, which was defended by the Abbot Rainaldus. As the Emperor Lotharius died in the year 1137, and the war was not finished, but had spread to a general conflagration, I shall direct the reader to refer to Paulus Diaconus, who wrote these transactions most accurately and beautifully, detailing all the circum- stances that arose out of this Papal quarrel. It may be of some service to take a few fragments from the letters of St Bernard to some other Eccle- siastics whom he was constantly exhorting to peace, and to contribute to the maintenance of the unity and the edification of Christ's Church. Hildebertus, the learned Archbishop of Tours, was one of those who wavered in his opinion about Innocent's rights to the Papal See. Erom St Bernard's letter 124 to Hilde- bert, these few words will convey his good inten- tions, and explain the state of the Church : Ad hoc sane et vestra, Pater expectatur, sicut pluvia in vellus, vel sera sententia. Non improbamus tardita- tem, quae gravitatem redolet levitatis abolet notam, &c. Dico tamen ego notus Pontifici : Ne quid nimis : dico ut familiaris et notus, non plus sapere quam opportet sapere. Pudet fateor, quod Serpens vetus- tissimus nova audacia relic tis insipentibus mulier- ribus, etiam robur pectoris vestri visus est attentare : Et tamen Ecclesise columnam ausus concutere — Et hie Bernardo magnus sacerdos, et excelsis in verbo gloriae. This same St Bernard, in a letter (219) directed to some Eoman Bishops whom he suspected of dissent- ing from him and inclined to a schism, admonished them in these words : Quod pejus est, ad tarn malum 358 habitum humanae res devenerunt, ut nec rei humi- liari velint, nec judices misereri : Dicimus inquis, nolite inique agere, et delinquentibus, nolite exaltare cornu, et non audiunt nos, quia domus exasperans est. Supplicamus iis quorum est peeeata arguere, peccantes servare, ne calamum quassatum conterant, et linum fumigans non extinguant, et magis in spiritu vehementi conterunt naves Tharsis, &c. The above tallies very much, with the present state of the Boman Church ; but who is to blame for it ? The Pope knows ; he has been repeatedly told by every- body, publicly and privately, by Italians and foreigners, and yet he persists in the attempt to swim against the current, at the risk of drowning him- self and his perverse and obstinate followers ! Well, let them take the consequences. I will now give another extract from Bernard's letter 176 to Pope Innocent, who was affected with the same obstinate fits as Pio Nono. Bernard wrote to him thus : Vox una omnium qui fideli apud nos cura populis prae- sunt, Justitiam in Ecclesia deperire, annullari Eccle- siae, claves, Episcopalem omnino vilescere auctorita- tem, dum nemo Episcoporum in promptu habeat iilcisci injurias Dei, nulli liceat illicita quae vis, ne in propria quidem parochia castigare. Causam referunt in vos, Curiamque Bomanam: Recte gesta ab ipsis, ut aiunt, destruitis, juste destructa, statutis, &c. St Bernard's letters afford us many other evident proofs of the Papal and Episcopal intrigues and corruptions. Eor the present I have perhaps quoted enough to support my argument; if not I will take an extract from the Cantica in suis Sermonibus, Sermone 33, which is a masterpiece of evidence. Here is a sweet bun for you, my moral, mitred Herod ; look at this mirror, and see what you are, for Bernard tells you : Ecce tempora ista libera quidem, Deo miserante, ab utraque ilia malitia, sed plane foeda, a negotio perambulante in tenebris. Yae generationi huic a fermento Phariseorum, quod 359 est hypocrisis, si tamen hypocrisis dici debeat, quaa jam latere prae abundantia non valet, et prae irapu- dentia non quaerit. Serpit (listen to this capital analogy to the present Ecclesiastic State) hodie putida tabes per omne corpus Ecclesiae, et quo totius eo desperatius, eoque periculosius, quo interius. !N"am si insurget aperte inimicus, mitteretur foras et aresceret; si violentus inimicus, absconderet se forsitan ab eo. !Nunc vero quern ejiciet, quern, aut a quo abscondet se : Omnes amici (that is in words, and not in facts), et omnes inimici, omnes necessarii et omnes adversarii, omnes domestici et nulli pacifici, omnes proximi, et omnes quae sua sunt quaerunt : Ministri Christi sunt, et serviunt Antichristo. Hono- rati incedunt de bonis Domini qui Domino honorem non deferunt. Judeis, quern quotidie vides, mere- tricius nitor, histrionicus habitus, Regius apparatus : inde aurum in fraenis, in sellis et calcaribus : et plus calcaria quam altaria fulgent, &c. Oh, most excellent man of God, good, and truth- ful— " Yenerabile del capo sino ai pie" — to thee I give my humble and sincere homage for the benefits that thou didst disseminate in this earth to the comforts and welfare of humanity, and for the frank exposition of the crimes of the Papacy; to thee I give the whole of my affectionate heart, and my best thanks for the eternal lamp that thou hast bequeathed to posterity to avoid our falling into the infernal abysses of the Papacy ! I will quote a few more lines of this Sermon, as it is so good and so appropriate to the actual circumstances, and withal so beneficent in its doctrines : Pro hujusmodi volunt esse et sunt Ecclesiarum praepositi, Decani, Archi- diaconi, Episcopi, Archiepiscopi. Nee enim haec merito cedunt, sed negotio illi quod perambulat in tenebris (viz., in hypocrisy) olim praedictum est, et nunc tempus impletionis advenit : Ecce in pace 360 amaritudo mea amarissima : Amara prius in nece Marty rum, amarior post in conflictu ha3reticorura, amarissima nunc in moribus domesticorum. !Non fugare, non fugere eos potest ita invaluerunt et multiplicati sunt super numerum. Intestina et insanabilis est plaga Ecclesiae ; et ideo in pace amaritudo ejus amarissima ; sed in qua pace ? Et pax est et non pax, pax a paganis, et pax ab hasre- ticis : sed no profecto a filiis. Vox plangentis in tempore isto : filios enutrivi et exaltavi ipsi autem spreverunt me, spreverunt et maculaverunt me, a turpi vita, a turpi quaestu, a turpi commercio, a negotio denique perambulante in tenebris. Superest ut jam de medio Doemonium moridianum ad sedu- cendos, si qui in Christo residui sunt, ad hue permanentes in simplicitate : siquidem absorbuit fhivios sapientium, et torrentes potentium et habet fiduciam, ut Jordanis influat in os ejus, id est, simplices et liumiles, qui sunt in Ecclesia. Ipse enim est Antichristus, qui se non solum diem sed et meridiem mentietur et extolletur supra id quod dicitur, aut quod colitur Deus, quern Dominus Jesus interflciet spiritu oris sui et destruet illustratione adventus sui, utpote yerus et seternus meridies sponsus et advocatus Ecclesiae. The above con- stitutes the most suitable antidote to the poisonous stuffs called Bulls, Episcopalian Gallico-political pamphlets, and Papal hallucinations; at leisure I ■will translate it, and circulate it amongst the Christian Communities, so that they may learn what differ- ence exists between those ancient Episcopal and those modern rogues, who have assumed the shape of lambs. In a letter of St Bernard, written in the year 1135, to the Emperor Lotharius the Second, he exhorted him to come to Italy with a powerful army and liberate the Church from the usurpations of King Euggieri of Sicily. It being his duty, as Bom an Emperor and advocate defender of the 361 Church, he solicited his assistance particularly to free the Church from the remainder of the schism of the Anti-pope Anaclatus, and told him that he was elected by God as Emperor : ad repurandum Imperii decus, ad subveniendum Ecclesiae suae in tempore malo ; and repeated to him that when he first came to Italy in the year 1132, it was also pro pace regni et liberatione JEcclesice ; and promised him a host of victories for his trouble and expenses. He 1 says : Animabit honestas causae : immo duplex provocabit necessitas. Non est meum hortari ad pugnam; est tamen (securus dico) Advocati Ecclesiae arcere ab Ecclesiae Schismaticorum rabiem — (this was the first motive). Est Caesari Propriam vendicare coronam ab Usurpatore Siculo — (this was the second). Ut enim constat Judaicam sobolem (meaning the Anti- pope Anacletus) sedem Petri in Christi occupasse injuriam : sic procul dubio omnis, qui in Sicilia regnum se facit, contradicit Caesari. Si autem utrumque incubuit Caesari, restituere scilicet, quae sunt Caesari, Caesari (that is, Sicily and Naples) ; et quae sunt Dei, Deo (that is, to give the Chair of St Peter to Pope Innocent, who was the legally-elected Pontiff). Cur apud Tullum res Dei minuitur ? &c. Nothing can be clearer than these passages to prove by a contemporary and saintly writer that the Nea- politan Kingdom and Sicily belonged to the Empire. In another letter of this St Bernard to the same Emperor (Letter 140) he informed him that King Euggieri of Sicily was engaged in defending himself from the attacks of the Eepublicans of Pisa, who had gone by themselves to defend the rights of the Empire and the Imperial Crown, and had expelled Euggieri from Naples, Amalfi, Ee vellum, and Scalam. The priests cannot deny these letters, nor say that St Bernard was not correct in the exposition of these facts, because he was a learned man and a contemporary, and because he was very religious and was a Saint ; and in his time the II 362 Roman See had no territory in the Sicilian King- doms. In the year 1146 St Bernard wrote another letter to Conrad the Third, snccessor to Lotha- rius (Epist. 244), in which he exhorts that Emperor to undertake proceedings against the Roman people, because, at the instigation of Arnold of Brescia, they wanted to re-establish the ancient Bom an Republic, and would not recognise the Emperor's rights, except in some trifling things, and would not allow the Pope to enjoy those Regalia that he had received. They had also already expelled from Rome Pope Engenius the Third. Here, again, he tells the Emperor that he is bound to come to Italy for two causes — first, to defend the rights of the Holy See, as the advocate of the Church ; and, secondly, as Emperor to restore to the Imperial dominion Rome, which had rebelled, and was the Metropolis of the Temporal or Imperial Power, as well as the Metropolis of the Spiritual Apostolic See. Quomodo vos communem contumeliam communem dissimulatis injuriam ? Nonne ut Apostolica Sedes, ita Caput Imperii Bom a est ? Ut ergo de Ecclesia taceam, nunc honor Regi est truncum in manibus tenere Imperium? He afterwards says that God liberated his wife — Deus liberabit sponsam suam : sed si in manibus alterius ; viderint Begni Principes, idne honor Regis, Regnive utilitas sit. Non est utique, &c. ; and then he perorates with these words — Quamobrem accingere gladio tuo super femur tuum potentissime ; et restituat Sibi Caesar, quae Caesaris sunt (that is Rome) et quae sunt Dei, Deo (that is St Peter's Chair to the Pope). Utrumque interesse Caesaris constat et Propriam Tueri Coronam, et Ecciesiam defendere Alterum Regi, alterum con- venit Eccleiae Advocato. This is one of the most incontrovertible proofs that Rome up till that time was still totally subject in temporal affairs only to the Emperors,, and that the Popes when they were there attended only to the Spiritual. There is no 363 other way of translating these letters than that in which I have demonstrated them ; no human mind and no Jesuitic subtility could prove the contrary. The Pope's regalia were mere nominal rights, amounting to trifles. The Donations were all a farce, and, as I have stated, but a pompous show of respect to St Peter's Chair, or a mark of veneration to Eeligion, nothing more. After this period there were no more donations named ; the last was that of the Great Countess Matilda, and we shall see how it happened, and the reason why she gave it. We shall see, also, how the subsequent Emperors dis- posed of that property in proof that they were the masters, and that the Imperial States could not be alienated. As the Popes could not get any real donation, they began a century before that stated epoch to dethrone the Emperors, in expectation of keeping the Empire for themselves, as we have seen, and we shall see still later than 1150. I have proved that Lotharius the Second, who was friendly with the Popes, and one of their great pro- tectors, as stated by the celebrated contemporary writer P. Diaconus (Chron. Cassin., lib. 4, c. 106), and other ancient historians — that Lotharius went to Eavenna, entered Umbria, then visited the Emilian Province, the Picenum, the Elaminian, and subjected to his Empire and his rule all those provinces which are comprised in the Eoman States. — Lotharius interea Imperator eo tempore Eavennam egrediens, TJmbriam, iEmiliam, Elaminiam, Picenum que Pro- vincias sub suo Jure redegit — and after this he addled also these words : Civitates obedientes sub Eomani Imperii Jure redegit ; contradicentes ad solum usque prostravit. It was Pope Innocent who wrote to Lotharius to hasten to Italy, as the Empire was in danger; so said P. Diaconus in his Chronica, and Baronius (Annal., anno 1135), agreeing with the above, made this remark upon it — that the Empire in Italy was in as great danger as was the Spiritual 364 Power — nimirum periclitantis Imperii in Italias rebus, et periclitantibus rebus Ecclesiae. The state- ment of P. Diaconus is confirmed also by the ancient Abbot, Urspergensis, in his Chronica, who wrote of this second Imperial expedition to Italy : Papiam veniens, cives illos pactione pecuniae in gratiam suscepit. Bononienses quoque et JEmilienses supplices, Duce interveniente recepit. Post usque ad Taurinum progrediens, totam citeriorem Italiam sine ferro subegit. Inde apenninum transiens, Anconam, Spoletum cum aliis urbibus ulterioris Italiae in deditionem accepit, &c. At that time the Duchy of Spoleto and the Marquisate of Ancona were still regarded as Imperial States ; and a proof of this is that the Dukes and Marquises, or Governors of those places, were appointed, and depended only upon the Emperors ; and so it continued until the time of Frederick the First, and by the same rule were administered the States of Tuscany, and there are extant various documents where it can be seen that the Marquis of Tuscany was also Duke of Eavenna. Fiorentini, in his Memorie di Mathilde, lib. 2, p. 346, introduced a Document stipulated in Lucca in which the above fact is confirmed. In the year 1129, Conradus Divina Gratia Eavennatum Dux, et Thusciae Praeses et Marchio, made some concessions of lands to the Monastery of St Pontianus. Another proof of the Imperial Dominion of Frederick the First in the Exarchate is particularly expressed in this manner in a privilege given in the year 1175, the 5th of February, to the Prior of St Saviour's Church of Figuerolo in the Marquisate of Ferrara. Thi& Privilege, or grant, was written by Presbiterinus, Bishop of Ferrara, and can be found in the Collec- tanea MSS. Peregrini Prisciani, p. 323. After recit- ing many things, it says : Immunitates vero, seu libertates, quas vobis illustris memorise Lotharius Eomanorum Imperator, et Ferrariae Consules conces- serunt, et scriptis suis firmaverunt, nos nihilominua 365 confirxnamus — and the Emperor Lotharius, it is stated, on his second advent to Italy in 1136, con- firmed the Pacta with the Eepublic of Yenice, and in them are named as his subjects the Eerrarienses Eavennates, Comaclenses, &c. Andreas Dandolo, in his MS. Chronica, stated and attested these facts in these words, that Petrus Polano Dux, anno septimo per suos Legatos a Lothario Augusto in viridi Cor- rigia Districtus Parmae approbationem soliti Foederis obtinuit. Eranciscus Sansovini, and the other his- torian, Mcolaus Crassus, confirms it. In the year 1138 the people of Eavenna and of Porli established a league to defend themselves miduo auxilio against every one, except the Emperor and the Churches of the States of Eavenna and Eorli. They excluded the Pope, as they did not recognise him in temporal affairs. This treaty is inserted by Eossi in his His- tory of Eavenna, lib. 5, p. 327. "When the Emperor Conrad went to Eome, anno 1143, the Ecclesiastical Dignitaries met him at the Milvium Pontem, where they had been waiting his arrival to form an escort with dignified pomp for his triumphal entrance. Otho Erisingensis, Onuphrius, and Sigonius report that the Eoman people cele- brated his advent with great rejoicings; and these few lines will tell posterity how the Eomans of that time properly discriminated what belonged to the Temporal and what to the Spiritual power. "Imperium teneat Eomas, sedeat, regat Urbem Princeps terrarum, seu fecit Justinianus Csesaris accipiat Csesar, quae sunt sua Prsesul XJt Christus jussit, Petro solvente tributo." The familiarity of these verses causes me to sup pose that I have quoted them somewhere else; nevertheless, I will report them again, as they de- serve to be written on St Peter's gates, and at the head of every liberal Italian newspaper, to the con- fusion of the Armonia, the Tablet, La Gazette de ii 2 366 France, and all other Ecclesiastico -political abortions. At that time Pope Innocent tried every means in his power to cause the people to rebel against the Empire, but he did not succeed, and died of bilious grief, which was accelerated by the annoyances of his antagonistical pretender. Guidus Castellanus succeeded Innocent, and this new Papal beauty, who called himself, mal-apropos, Celestin the Third, was elected by the Cardinals, and the Roman people were excluded from taking part in that election. The people feeling dissatisfied and insulted by that exclusion, elected another Pope in opposition to Celestin, who had been elected by the Cardinals. The popular Pope called himself Lucius the Second, and lost no time in besieging the Senators and Celestin in the capital. The Patrician Giordanus, at the head of some Roman troops, dispersed the popular army of Pope Lucius, who received a severe blow on the head from a stone, which caused his death soon after. This happened in the month of March, in the year 1145, as reported by Gotofridus Yiterbiensis, in parte 17, Chronic, ad annum 1145. The Eoman people would not give way nor lose their rights, and elected another Pope, who called himself Eugenius the Third, who for the next seven consecutive years gave plenty of trouble to Celestin. The celebrated Arnoldus Brixiensis went to Rome, and attempted to settle Ecclesiastical affairs, but failed; he most vigorously defended the Empire against the Ecclesiastical usurpations, but at a great Council in the Lateran Palace, which was attended by a thousand Bishops, Arnoldus was excommuni- cated. I fear I have allowed myself to be transported too far with these diplomatic historical evidences, which go to prove that the Emperors never gave the Popes the temporal power in any of the so-called Ecclesiastical States. I think that it is now oppor- tune to go back a few hundred years, and relate 367 some other facts from Ecclesiastical and Secular History, which I could not conveniently mix with the Diplomatic facts which I have already given. I will now present the reader with a few biographical sketches of the Popes, Bishops, Abbots, &c, and on arriving again at the period which I have momentarily quitted, I will resume the diplomatic and historical proofs. The Ecclesiastical writers, themselves, backed by the Lay Historians, ' shall furnish the evidence, and what capital evidence there is ! Enough to condemn the whole line of Popes with the indelible brand of felons and murderers, as they have richly deserved, with the exception of a few rare and exemplary honest Christians. The Doctbine of Tbanstjbstantiation and the Invention oe Puegatoey. The doctrine of Transubstantiation and the In- vention of Purgatory originated in the ninth century, and were going a-head, to use an American phrase, absorbing the mind and draining the pockets of the fools, at such a rate, that it was necessary to make application to the Imperial authority of Char- lemagne to compel, arrest, and forbid the peregrina- tions of those empty heads who, starting from any part of Europe (draining the means of their families), were flocking to Eome and to Jerusalem to fill the pockets of the Reverends of every degree, and when their silver was gone in smoke or incense, returned home with empty stomachs, heads, and pockets, with a chaplet hung to their belts and hands full of holy perfume. Here is a bit of the original text for those who have got time and space to translate and insert it where they like : — Sacramentum in sacri- ficium sensim abibat, cui robur additura Trans- substantiatio, jam caput exerebat, Purgatorium item 368 Condi. saltern inter vulgus ad fastigium pervenerat : unde swTub" 1, fundationes crebrse immensaB opes, nec non Romanae CarohMagno, peregrinationes, quibus omnium peccatorum attributa an -788. remissio, ut majores nostri annum 813, in Concilio Turonensi graviter commoti ad immanasm ilium abusum coercendum Imperiale Caroli authoritatem implorare cogantur. In superstititionibus denique cumulum sub annum 788, habetur in Oriente Kicsena secunda Synodus, universalis dicta septima, sub Constantino Septimo et Irene matre, in qua post multa ultro eitroque certamina imaginibus adoratio decernitur : Aderat vero Adrianus primus in Legatorum suorum persona, cujus in gratiam id enixe curabat Irene Augusta, spe fore, ut ejus authoritate in Italia vires resumeret. From the time of Charlemagne I must leap over to the time of the Second Meeting of the Great Council of Trent, in the reign of Pope Julius the Third, on the 3rd September, 1551, when the Doc- trine of Transubstantiation was confirmed in spite of some nice theological questions and scruples raised by the Protestant delegates. In the Third Meeting of that Council, in December, 1563, the Doctrine of Purgatory was ratified and confirmed, with a great many very pretty things. I shall name some of them, because they tend to confirm most of the impious, arbitrary measures committed at various epochs by former Popes ; for instance, the case of King Lothaire dismissing his wife for a concubine, as I have related ; and Pope Stephen the Third for- bidding King Charles to marry Bertha, also reported in this work ; with other cases of the same sort that I shall not trouble myself to notice any farther. As I was saying, in this Third Meeting, in the Eighth Session, Marriage was declared a Sacrament, and it was further decreed that the Church of Rome, or her representative the Pope, has power to dispense with the eighteenth chapter of Leviticus ; not only in granting licenses to persons to marry who are 369 there forbidden to do bo, but also to forbid the banns between such as by the law of God, and nature, are permitted to marry. After that, in the last Session of the year 1563, to establish and maintain the in- fallibility of the Papal authority, and of the Holy Eoman See over and above everything, were ratified and confirmed the Doctrines of Invocation of Saints, of "Worshipping Images and Eeliques, of Granting Indulgencies, of Superstitious Fasts, and I must add some others of my own, — of Feasting with gluttony at the expense of the people, and of making Farces in and out of the Churches. These things done, signed, and sealed, the Pope's Legate declared him- self perfectly satisfied, as it did accord with the pro- gramme of Eome, though the Hungarian Bishop present and some others declared themselves dissatis- fied, and protested against it, stating that " the Holy Ghost was sent to them in a Cloak-bag from Eome." The Legate, however, would not hear anything more of it, and declared the Seance est levee, bowed to the company, and, in putting upon his head his large red fungus, sang to them the song " All around my hat," and made his exit, taking the road to Eome. I cannot refrain reporting here the remarks that were made by many of the learned men of the time, and by the disappointed Sovereigns. The celebrated historian, Pietro Soave Polano, wrote in his history Poian*, Hist, of this Council: ' ' This Council, desired and pro- g™ t f of cured by godly men, to reunite the Church, which began to be divided, hath so established the schism, and made parties so obstinate, that the discords have become irreconcileable, and being managed by Princes, for Eeformation of Ecclesiastical Discipline, hath caused the greatest deformation that ever was since Christianity began ; and hoped for by the Bishops to regain the Episcopal authority' (usurped for the most part by the Pope), hath made them lose it altogether, bringing them into greater servitude. On the contrary, ieared and avoided by the See of 370 Eome, as a potent means to moderate the exorbi- tant power, mounted from small beginnings tby divers degrees unto an unlimited excess, it hath es- tablished and confirmed the same over that part of it which remaineth subject unto it, that it was never so great nor so soundly rooted. 99 After this authority I think it much better to say nothing more of it ; and to put my hat on for a walk, leaving to the Bishops the consideration of revoking the whole of these proceedings with another new great Council, in which should interfere, in equal propor- tion, People and Clergy, as in the good olden time. I am tempted to add the following long postscript to the invention of Purgatory, and will speak my opinion about its origin. I have already pointed out in another chapter when was opened, for the first time, the Holy Shop called Purgatory, and quoted several of the first-rate customers who were taken in, I must not say and done for — souls, sub- stances, and bodies — to swell the capital of the Holy Dealer in heresies and indulgences of every kind and price. If I were to treat the Purgatorial invention in a regular historical manner, I would trace its origin from the Pythagoric and Platonic Philosophical schools where it really originated ; and to support this statement I would show that Yirgil was per- fectly acquainted with this mythological fact, when, in his lib. vi of the iEneid, he placed iEneas in company with the Sibilla to visit Hell, and the Elisios, Purgatory and Limbo, and meeting there his father Anchises he accompanied them, and explained the various punishments of the sinners, and the most notorious characters they met with, &c. Viegil, JEneid, lib. 6. Quin, et supremo cum lumine vita reliquifc, Non tamen omne malum miseris, nec fundibus omnes. Corporese excedunt pestes penitusque necesse est. 371 Multa diu concreta modis inolescere miris. Ergo exercentur pcenis ; veterumque malorum Supplicia expendunt, alias pandutur inanis, Suspensae ad ventos, aliis sub gurgite vasto Infectum eluitur scelus, aut exuritur igtii. Quisque suos patimur Manis : exinde per amplum Mittimur Elysium, et pauci laeta arva tenemus : Donee longa dies, perfecto temporis orbe, Concretam exemit labem purumque reliquit Aetberium sensum, atque aura'i simplicis ignem, Has omnes, ubi mille rotam voluere per annos. Letbaeum ad fluviura Deus evocat agmine magno, Scilicet immemores supera ut convexa revisant, Rursus et incipiant in corpora velle reverti. So tbat we bave bere tbe Purgatory so beautifully described by Yirgil, tbat I do not dare to profane it by my translation, and I satisfy myself by stating tbat tbe human souls tbere confined to various mild punishments, after a thousand years, came out again white- washed, bleached, and purged, to begin new life again, unconscious of the past, just like a fraudulent bankrupt after a year or two of seclusion. This is the original description of Purgatory, as understood by the ancient Greeks and Romans. I leave to Bishop Cullen to trace its origin, and as the Roman Catholic and Apostolic sinners of the first nine centuries of Christianity had no such place to resort to after death, because the said Roman Catholic and Apostolic Purgatory was not yet invented or described, I will indulge in question- ing the Right Reverend Prelate where the devil did go the souls of those sinners of the class that are now my thologically deserving the pains of purgatory? If I were to treat this said invention as a Christian ought to do, I would use Biblical argumentative evidence to combat this fallacious dogma, and place my proposition with the following hypothesis : If Jesus Christ with his passion redeemed the world, what need have the mortals of another expia- 372 tion ? Again : if humanity, already redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, is to undergo another washing or expiation or redemption, what need had God to sacrifice his Son for a useless work, and cut hono did he sacrifice him ? The Bible tells, without mystery, that God had forgiven all our sins with the sacrifice of his Son. In Isaiah, chap, liii, v. 8, it is written, "Eor the transgression of my people was He stricken." That is, that God sacrificed Christ for the atonement of all our sins. Such being the case, God's justice was reasonably satisfied, and nothing more was demanded. Isaiah, speaking of Christ, in chap, xliii, v. 25, says, " I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy trans- gressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins." If Isaiah spoke the words of God, or if God spoke by the mouth of his Prophet, and stated that not only God had been satisfied with the Redeemer's blood, but that he will ask for nothing more, in this instance we must rely upon his words that such must be truth, and that God, once satisfied, will not call a second time for the settlement of an already paid account. I am not aware that the real Christian Apostolic doctrine instituted such a place and such pains, and I confess that I have not found it out in the Evan- gels, and I am quite positive when I state that Jesus Christ and the Apostles positively laboured to avoid the adoption of the blunders and superstitions of the Gentiles, and that they expunged and avoided naming the Purgatory, — the Apostles perfectly knowing that the Divine justice was satisfied by the expiation of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross ; and, as the Bible says that Christ paid that debt by his expiation, consequently no farther claim could be demanded without risk of upsetting, denying, and destroying the aforesaid Christian Redemption. I will ask, What would Cullen or Cardinal Viceman 373 say if their milliners would send them a second bill for so many frilled and embroidered petticoata which they had settled for the previous week, as per bills already receipted and stamped ? I beg the reader to excuse the stinking com- parison, and believe, as I do, that the Purgatory is a real mythological dogma of about 3,000 years ago, and that God, omnipotent, eternally just, the Causa Causarum, is invariably the same, per secula seculorum, towards all humanity, and that any one who believes in the doctrine of Purgatory indirectly and directly accuses Him of partiality, and venal injustice towards humanity, and particularly towards his beloved Son, whom he never sacrificed for ven- geance or interested motives such as influence the pretended burlesque demigod who reigns at the Yatican, gets all the profit and a quintuple interest from the fictitious stock of that Societe en Com- mandite established in the ninth century. Ok the Obigktn" of the Caedinals. Though I do not agree with the opinion of Car- dinal Navagero about the origin of the Cardinals, as I possess one of his unpublished MS. which contains many high political and ecclesiastical notions, yet I feel bound to extract from it his opinion, which I translate thus : Of the origin of the Cardinals nobody ever made Cardinal Na- any mention, except under Pope Silvester in the year va s eroMS « 344, at which time all the acts of the Council of Nicea were approved, and the Roman priests were named Cardinals. Pope Silvester had sent to that Council two Roman priests named Vettore and Vicenzo (probably Yittore and Yincenzo) as his Legates, without naming them Cardinals. (This means, perhaps, that they were named Cardinals at that Council, or by Silvester after their return to x E 374 Kome.) I continue the Cardinal's narration. — These Cardinals were very few at first, and with very little income, and little reputation, e di jooca ri- putazione ; but afterwards they began to be increased, and obtained the authority of electing the Pontiff from one of their number, and acquired great dignity ; which was enhanced by Pope Paul the Second (Barbd), who ordered that they should have a par- ticular costume, with a Eed hat, and that they should be esteemed and preferred to any other person. For a time they were only six, and it was a matter of great consideration and of the highest regard and importance the naming or making a Car- dinal, because it was necessary to belong to the highest nobility, and to be reputed good and vir- tuous, and it was also a great honour for a family, a town, or a province, to have a Cardinal, &c. I have a great respect for Cardinal Navagero's political opinions, and for what he wrote on the affairs of the Court of Rome at the time of the Emperor Charles the Fifth, but I differ with him with regard to what he wrote about the Cardinal's origin. I know perfectly well that in the year 1057 Bishop Johannes Yelitrensis, a man perfectly ignorant, as it was well attested by the learned writers of that period, was elected Pope and took the name of Benedictus the Tenth. Cardinal Hildebrand, vexed at having been discarded, and at the ignorance of the elected, managed with others to name an Anti- Pope, and selected Gerardum Burgundum, Ploren- tinum Episcopum, who took the name of Nicholas the Second, and associated himself with Hildebrand, and the blessed ignorant Benedict blushed, and with- drew. Sigoniusde Sigonius said: Johannes Velitrensis Episcopus E«g.ltia. p r0 pi n q UUS succedit, quod authores seculi palam testantur, bonarum literarum plane ignarus, Petrum vero Damianum Episcopum Hostiensem nequicquam protestantem, ad eum consecrandum adigunt, in- 375 deque populo per largitionem corrupto, adorandum proponunt. Is fuit Benedictus decimus, &c. Hilde- brand, satisfied with his joint success with Nicholas the Second, they called a Synod at the Lateran, in which they treated of the best means to emancipate the Eoman See from the Imperial Power, and amongst various other acts they issued a decree regulating the Papal election, and enacted that for the future no one should be elected unless he was a Cardinal ; and it is since this decree that the Cardinals began to acquire that importance which they have since had. In that decree there are these sentences, "TJt D.23,c.m obeunte Bomanae Ecclesiae universalis Pontifice in n primis Cardinales Episcopi diligentissime simul de electione tractantes mox Christi Clericos Cardinales adhibeant sicque reliquus Clerus et populus ad con- sensum novae electionis accedant ; Eligatur autem de ipsius Ecclesiae gremio, si reperitur idoneus, vel si de ipsa non invenitur ex alia sumatur. ,, This is the grand step that they made for the first time ; and concluded the decree with adulations of the Emperor and reserving the Imperial rights, as they knew the danger to which they were exposing themselves— " salvo debito honore et reverentia dilecti filii nostri Henrici qui impraesentiarum Bex habemus et futurus Imperator Deo concedente speratur, &c." The same Peter Damianus, the Bishop who was drawn in to consecrate the Benedict whom we have seen turned out, says, that in his time the Cardinals elected the Pope and had other prerogatives, and he knew perfectly well that it was a novelty and an usurpa- tion encroaching on the Imperial statute laws. "Cardinales principaliter et Bomanum Pontificem eligunt, et quibusdam aliis praerogativis, non modo quorumlibet Episcoporum, sed et Patriarcharum atque primatum jura transcendunt." The above fact, though it points out their influence and when they acquired it, yet does not explain its 376 origin. Therefore, though against the rules of chro- nological order, I must go back, not to the Council of Nicea, as named by Cardinal jSTavagero, but to the time of the election of Bishop Damasusto theKoman Chair, when Ursicinus and his partizans fought against him in the Basilica Sicinmi, as stated by Buffinus and Ammianus Marcellinus, contemporary authors, that in one single day 137 cadavers were left in that church, as the result of that disputed election. If it is true that the Cardinals originated as early as the year 336, it must also be true that the red hat, petticoat, gloves (I doubt if at that time they were in use), and all the red etcetera of the Cardinalistic costume, were then adopted to com- memorate that splendid sanguinary An tri christian deed, and it must be also true that the Cardinalitian dignity was of very little importance and little credit, as Cardinal Xavagero said, because I see that for the next five centuries they were not named any- where, unless it was in the Criminal Calendar. I thought to have avoided giving my opinion about the institution of Cardinals, butl see it is an impossi- bility for me to keep silence any further, and am com- pelled to question the moral or public opinion of the Cardinals' utility, and will say cui bono to spend so much per annum out of the public revenue to keep up a set of luxurious men sixty or seventy in number, each of them with a suite of followers of both sexes, all of them more or less inclined to swallow good sinecures, excluding the really meritorious from any berths under government, thereby barring progress and civi- lisation by the neglect of due provision for the scien- tific, artistic, and other men of genius. Is it because the Cardinals are so clever that some of them bien- nially publish works on morals, domestic economy, upon physic, or the mathematical sciences, geography, astronomy, legislation, &c. Where are the Cardinals Galileo, Eomagnosi, Filangieri, Beccaria, Gioja, Volta, &c, where are their ecclesiastical luminaries ? 377 Out of the many millions spent to keep up these red individuals, what has humanity received in exchange ? The best amoDgst the Cardinals and prelates at various epochs have had the honesty to write the history of their own times, and expose the inhuman monstro- sities of their confreres, in expectation of correcting the abuses and vices which have crept amongst the Ecclesiastics, and been introduced into religion as fundamental principles ! Did they ever succeed in obtaining a reform of the abuses and sins of the Popes and clergy in general? JSo, never, never* The Church was brought into contempt and degrada- tion by them a long time ago, and religion decked with all the apparatus of a comico-serious farce, with all the pompous dignity suitable to the occasion ; imposing on ignorant and weak-minded persons, but exciting ridicule and contempt in those whose minds were elevated to God, whenever Church or religion is alluded to. For these there remains no other alter- native than to have recourse to the Evangels, to be brought into immediate relation with the Eternal God, to assist, enlighten, and inspire them in this vale of miseries to seek the peaceful footpath to the road of salvation. What are the truly Christian works of the Eoman Catholic Prelates written in this last century for the moral improvement of the Chris- tian family ? Is there any of them exempt from a parcel of unheard-of, inconsistent, hypocritical stories, or exempt from invectives against every other class of Christians who profess the same religion, but with a trifling modification of its tenets ? And where are preached the Evangelic morals, and by whom and why such constant denunciations in the Eoman Catholic churches against this or that other congre- gation or creed ? Is not the Eoman Church open to all ; and its clergy, are they not bound to pray for all ? and if so, why the denunciations and maledic- tions against that or this people and State ? Ac- cording to my notions, this inconsistency, this inhu- kk2 378 man priestly aberration of mind cannot produce any- bad effect upon the excommunicated or interdicted because the Eternal God is ever just and wise, and cannot listen to the wrath and malignant ravings of some of his perverted creatures. I know very well that a great number of highly educated and clever men have belonged to the tribe of Cardinals for the last 800 years, but I know also that most of those gentlemen had not been educated intentionally and exclusively for that office, and that it had been a constant practice of the old Episcopates and of the Jesuits, for the last 300 years, to entrap and ensnare, with the most polite and seductive arts, the brightest minded men that they could find in their respective dioceses. At any time they have had ample means at their disposal for the seduction and abduction of intellects of the first-rate and highest order ; and many men of genius as seculars, once admitted to the Conclaves, their minds became infirm, debilitated, dried and void of intellect, like a fine old poplar seized with the dry-rot. In the middle ages they found several strong intellects who resisted the temptation and the vanitas vanttatum, but such men alas are rare now. Oh ! Divine Petrarch, thou art immortal ; the sun shall illumine daily and shine upon the youthful intellect, whilst thou shalt enlighten and inflame their noble feelings with love and faith, and the moon, like a guardian, shining upon thy monumental works, will forbid the Ecclesiastical vandalic hand from plotting their destruction, that the mature- minded men in the stillness of night may ponder and penetrate the sublimity of the effusions of thy immortal soul, and admire, venerate, and worship the Immortal God that inspired thee to expound most nobly and eloquently the Truth and Justice, and reveal to perpetual scorn and condemnation the nefarious deeds of the age, the corruptions of the clergy and of their doctrine, the iniquitous scandals, 379 the crimes, the abominable usurpations of the heresiarcally pharisaical Papal system. I have omitted to name in this work, Dante, the great political master, the quasi -predecessor of Petrarch ; although he wrote much against the Popes in his " Divina Commedia," and in his " Monarchia." The exceedingly dangerous times he lived in, and his excessive religious feelings, did not allow him to express himself more explicitly, although allegori- cally he hinted, regretted, and condemned the whole of the Papal abominations, and prophesied their down- fall and the resurrection of the Church of God ; and according to his prophecy and my humble interpre- tation, as printed on the 16th of October, 1860, the Papal fall should have happened that year ; and if it has not yet come to the ground, it is on account of the immense altitude that it has attained, which requires the same space of time for its descent as Phaeton with his car. It is stated by the Astronomers that he will choose to fall on the soft waters of the Perugian lake, which are as classic as those of the Po, and equally ensanguined with the innocent Christian blood sacrificed by Ecclesiastical hands to Nemesis and Nox. I beg to apologise to my reader for my constant digressions, and will resume my argument on the Cardinals' origin. Prom Sigonius de Regno Italiaa, lib. 7, from the Fascicul. Temporum ad annum 900, and from Gra- tianus, D. 63, it appears that up to that time the Cardinals were hardly instituted, and rarely named in the Ecclesiastical Acts ; at all events I have not been able to trace that nomenclature in any document at the time of the Lombard Kings, of the Greek Empe- rors, of Charlemagne, or during the period of the Carlovingian Monarchs. Had they been in existence at that time they would have been named, unless that dignity was either insignificant or disgraceful, 380 so as to cause their exclusion from interference with their signatures to any public Ecclesiastical deed* All documents and Papal Elections were made and signed by Popes, Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, Priests, Deacons, but the word Cardinal is not to be found until later. How the Cardinals superseded the authority of the Bishops, who were every- thing, and all equally independent, even of the Koman Bishop, up to this time, this I do not know, unless it originated from the just named Decree issued by Pope Nicholas the Second, Hilde- brand, and Co. One of the first instances in which I plainly see named a Cardinal is when Eulcus Comes Andegavensis built in Erance a Church P at his own expense, and went to Borne, bringing with him to John the Seventeenth an immense sum of money, and begged of that Pope to send there a Legate to consecrate it. John took the money, and said Yes, and directed a Cardinal to go there accord- ingly; and the Historian Glaber, in lib. 2, c. 4, says that, as soon as the Erench Bishops knew of this sacri- legious presumption of John, originating from the execrable cupidity of money — that is, while one thief was conveying to the other the theft — they provoked a schism in the Eomish Church, detesting each other most cordially — permit me to say, most saintly, Mr Dupanloup. I give you here the text, you can finish translating it : Eulco, &c, Eomam ipse cum ingenti pecunia iter suscipit, quam Johannes decimo septimo tradit, ut Legatum in partes mittat, qui earn dr abC an^96 consecre ^ Annuit Johannes et Cardinalem eo dirigit 'jussum facere, quod Eulconi videretur : Verum in- quit Glaber, hoc utique audientes Galliarum quique Praesules prsesumptionem sacrilegam cognoverunt, ex cceca cupiditate processisse, dum videlicet unus rapiens, alter raptum suscipiens, recens in Eomana Ecclesia schisma creavissent. Universi etiam pariter detestantes, quoniam nimium indecens videbatur, ut is qui Apostolicam regebat sedem, Apostolicum 381 primitus ac Canonicum transgrederetur tenorem. Cum insuper multiplici sit antiquitus authoritate roboratum, ut non quisquam Episcoporum in alterius. Diocesi prsesumat exercere, nisi Praasule, cujus fuerit compellente seu permittente. Baronius condemned the above statement by Glaber, though he was ex- ceedingly disgusted with the execrable Papal infamous practices of that time ; in fact, Otho the Third had named the Archbishop of Ravenna, Brunon, one of his relatives, to be Pope, who was consecrated with the name of Gregory the Eifth. Crescens, at the head of the Roman faction, with the assistance of the people, had him turned out of Rome, and named to the Pontificate a Greek, the Bishop of Piacenza, who was called John the Eighteenth, and who was blinded when Gregory the Eifth was reinstated in St Peter's Chair by Otho. In the meantime there was in Erance Bishop Gerbert, a clever man, but one of those extraordinarily impudent and enterprising men, as mischievous as a pestilence, who, for the sake of money and honours, would have done anything, sur- passing even the Ministers and financiers, gentlemen who were blazoned in the Gazette de Tribunaux at the time of Louis Philippe, and in the present Erench reign the mis -managers of the Dock Napoleon scheme, whom the tribunals called upon to refund ; and this Gerbert moved Pelion and Ossa, and obtained the Pontificate about the year 1000. Baronius, so partial to the red cloth, could not help giving a de- scriptive epitaph of that century to avoid discrepancy with all the anterior Ecclesiastical writers. Though it is out of place, yet I will transcribe it ; — from the year 900 to the year 1000, we shall see what was the physiognomy of the Roman See. Quae tunc facies Romanaa Eeclesiaa ? quam Baronii An- foedissima cum Romse dominarentur potentissimse Smarts, seque ac sordidissimae meretrices ? Quarum arbitrio mutarentur sedes, darentur Episcopi, et quod auditu horrendum et infandum est, intruderentur in sedem 382 Petri earum amasii Pseudo-Pontifiees, qui non sint nisi ad consignanda tanta tempora in Catalogo Bomanorum Pontificum scrip ti. Quis enim a scortis hujusmodi intrusus sine lege legitimos dicere posset, Romanos fuisse Pontifices ? Nusquam Cleri eligentis vel consentientis postea aliqua mentio, Canones pressi silentio, decreta Pontificum suffocata, pro- scriptae antiquse traditiones veterosque ineiigendo summo Pontifice consuetudines, sacrique ritus et pristinus usus prorsus extincti. Sic vindicaverat omnia sibi libido seculari potentia freta, insaniens oestro percita dominandi. Dormiebat tunc plane alto (ut apparet) sopore Christus in navi, cum ipse stantibus validis ventis, navis ipsa fluctibus operi- retur. Dormibat, inquam, qui ista non videre dis- simulans, sineret sic fieri, dum non exurgeret vindex. Et quod deterius videbatur, deerant qui Dominum sic dormientem clamoribus excitarent discipuli, stertentibus omnibus. Qualesnam reris delectos ab hisce monstris Presbyteros et Diaconos Cardinales Suisse putandum, cum nihil tarn naturae insitum sit, quam unumquemque sibi similem generare ? Quos in omnibus his, a quibus delecti fuerint, consensisse dubitare quis poterit ? Imitatosque esse ipsos, sec- tatosque eorum vestigia quis non facile credat, et optasse hos omnes Dominum dormisse semper, et nunquam in judicium surrecturum, evigilaturum nunquam ad ipsorum cognoscenda et punienda facinora quis non intelligat? The above extract plainly tells to the whole world that for a long century the Clergy had converted the Church of God and St Peter's Chair into an iniquitous brothel for the prostitution of souls and bodies, without laws or order, and without fear of God, treating Him with contempt, as if he had gone to sleep or sunk shipwrecked in his Apostolic boat; these lewd creatures making and dismissing Bishops at their pleasure, against the canonic laws and regulations, and doing any other sacrilegious mischief that they 383 could possibly do under such ungodly, immoral propensities. Such being the case, I fully believe that the Cardinalistic tribe originated and made itself gigantically ignominious in the above cen- tury ; at all events, in the year 963 Pope Leo the Eighth took an oath of fidelity to the Emperor Otho the Eirst, and renounced all the abuses and all the usurpations of his predecessors, the Eoman Bishops, into the Imperial hands. This Eoman Bishop, servant of all the servants of God, in the presence of the whole clergy and of the Eoman people, renounced the Episcopal investitures and every other Imperial prerogative, as we shall see ; and in that document, signed and countersigned by many Bishops and Priests, there does not occur in it, nor in others of anterior date, the name of Cardinal. This circum- stance seems to me demonstrative that if the institu- tion of Cardinals had been in existence, their influence and power was null and invalid to witness an official act, which otherwise would be valid witnessed by a Bishop, a Priest, and a Soldier. My opinion is strengthened by the scarce usage of the word Cardinal, made by the learned Petrus Damianus, Bishop of Ostia, in his ninth century of the Pontifical History, while in the tenth and eleventh it is con- stantly used. It is upon such facts that I infer that Cardinal Navagero's opinion upon the origin of the Cardinals is rather preposterous, and that an error must have occurred somewhere, when he wrote about the origin of the Cardinals which I have quoted. By what I have cited in the foregoing pages, I think I have satisfactorily proved that up till this period the Popes exercised no temporal power what- ever in Italy or anywhere else. The incidents that I have detailed I have carefully culled from authentic histories and documents, written by wise and truth-telling men, and they become reduced, as a consequence, to the complexion of stubborn facts, 384 fact3 which are indisputable and indissoluble. There is no mere supposition of my own in any- thing which I have put forth, but all is the solid evidence of the real history of the time and the customs of the various Emperors and the Popes of whom I have had occasion to speak, and these evidences I have been enabled to bring to light by delving into the history of the past, and by con- siderable laborious research. The rule of the Popes extended no further than the spiritual care of the people ; and we have seen and shall see how admirably they fulfilled the positions of God's messengers. Of so deep a dye were their crimes and their debaucheries that the Emperors — because they would not be witness to them — forebore to reside in proximity with the Popes. Further evidence in support of my statements is afforded in the fact that the Cardinals were never called upon (except in one or two instances) to sign any docu- ments of importance connected with the State until a long time after Charlemagne. This, if anything, is a more solid proof, perhaps, than any other that could be adduced, that this in- fluence or concern in temporal matters was next to nothing. The Pope's duties and business, therefore, was to attend to the spiritual culture of their flocks, and the temporal power belonged only to the Emperors. Mr Antonelli and Mr Cullen must digest this burden ; and, indocible as they are, I induct them to it. Had things remained the same with Italy and with the Vatican in modern times as they did at the epochs which I have been tracing, there would have been no need for the first Napoleon to have protested that it was his opinion that the clergy should " confine themselves to matters connected with Heaven ; that theology, which they had studied from their youth, entitled them to authority in spiritual affairs, but did not give them any right to 385 meddle in army or Government matters. The decline of Italy (said the Emperor) dates from the day when the priests got the management of the finances, police, and army in their hands" Evidences of Ecclesiastical and Seculae Histoey, in Continuation of the Papal Ceiminal Histoey. Legimus hunc ipsum Paschalem Pontificem, Theo- Aimonius, ^ dorum Ecclesise Romanse Primicerium et Leonem aa'sir! Nomenclatorem ejus generum in Patriarchio Later- anensi, primo excsecasse, deinde deeollasse. Et hoc eis ob hoc contigisse, quod se in omnibus fideliter erga partes Lotharii juvenis Imperatoris agerent, quern Ludovicus socium Imperii sibi adsciverat. A friend of mine who had just dropped in to see me, and to whom I read the above quotation, wished to persuade me not to write that Pope Paschal was a rogue of the first class. To comply with his request, I shall call him a Saint, in imitation of others not so ancient, and I say that, though a Saint, and friend and partner of the Emperor Ludowick, he had no right to administer justice, and to commit the atrocious injustices and murders that he did to the above-named Church Dignitaries, the torch bearer, and the other Bishop, the Datary, because they were partizans of the young Lotharius. Hemoldus sane insigne fastus Ecclesiastici incre- Hemoldus, in mentum sub Ludovico connotat : Eecit inquit, liber- ^J*™^^ alitate sua ut Episcopos, qui propter animatum c. £ regimen principes sunt cseli, ipse eosdem nihilominus Principes efficeret regni. So that the Bishops from that time to the present have been sporting the title of Princes ; and that accounts for their arro- gance and absurd notions of pompous supremacy. Michael and Theophilus, the Envoys of the Greek l l 386 Emperor, went to Paris to attend a Synod which was convoked by Ludowiek and Lotharius, anno 824, to which concurred all the French Bishops, and others besides the Envoys of Pope Eugunius the Second. At this Synod was attempted an arrange- ment with the Greeks concerning the original quarrel about the abolition of the Images from the Churches. The result was contrary to their ex- pectations, and it was agreed that — ut homo omnis eorum ditioni subjectus imagines adoraret, aut certe exilio, penisve diversis discruciaretur. The French majority carried the point, and they enacted to enforce the Idolatry under the pains of exile, dis- cruciation, or by any other torment. From this, probably, Loyola, at a later period, originated the infernal Inquisition. Gregorius the Fourth was elected Pope in 827. He could not be consecrated until the election had been properly examined by the King's Vicar, accord- ing to the old and new laws made by Lotharius. ( See Sigonius, lib. 4, de Regno Italiae.) And so Gregory had to wait. (This is the Pope who was tried by the Emperor Ludowiek.) In 833 the sons of Ludowiek conspired against him, and Gregory, to bind to him- self Lotharius, prepared part of that conspiracy, and went to France under the pretext of recon- ciling them to the father, &c. I prefer giving the Latin, because the Saints perhaps might assert that it is an invention of mine. Aliquo post tempore sub anno 833 conspirant in Ludovicum filii Gregorius, ut Lotharium sibi devinciat pars ipse conspirationis fit, et in Franciam trajicit, specie quidem, ut eos patri conciliet, re ipsa, ut parva eorum consilia foveat, prsesertim ut Concilio, quod filii patrem solio exturbaturi compendii coegerant, authoritatem addat : Facinus si coactanecis authori- uus fides, vero Diabolicum, opus, aiunt, Satanse per suos satellites in corde filiorum contra Imperatorem operantis. Et Episcopi sane Galliarum studiis scissi, 387 pravis moribus in quern exclaniat Historicus : 0 viteeLudovic. qualem remunerationem reddidisti ei, fecit te libe- ^Sganus rum, non nobilem, quod irnpossibile est post liberta- De Gest.Lud. tern : vestivit te purpura, et pallio, et tu euro, indu- isti cilicio. Ille pertraxit te immeritum ad culrnen Pontificale, tu eum falso judicio voluisti expellere a solio patrum suorum. Quamobrem contempsisti praecepta Apostolica illius, qui horninibus sic prseci- pit: Omnibus potestatibus sublirnioribus subjecti estote, Deum tiinete, Eegem honoriflcate, &e. Cru- delis, quis eonsiliaris tuus fuit, aut doctor tuus? Bonne ille qui est Eex super omnes fllios super- bise ? qui dice bat creatori suo : haec omnia tibi dabo, si procidens adoraveris me. Pars altera pro patre, inter quos Drogo Metensis Episcopus, vir ea eatate percelebris, qui Gregorium parricidio favere aperte €Ognoscebant, Dicebat Imperator ; si more praede- cessorum aderat suorum, cur tantas necteret moras, non sibi occurrendo ? Dicebant Episcopi : Si ex- Ludoy. Vita communicaturus adveniret, excommunicatus abiret. ^fJX iq?' 5 Unde et Hincmarus Arcbiepiscopus Phemensis ad Adrianum secundum scribens, malo ilium consilio venisse non dissimulat, pro filiis adversus patrem. In Eranciam venit, inquit, et pax postea in Francia ut antea non fuit. Ipse Papa cum tali honore, sicut decreverat, et sui antecessors fecerunt, non rediit, &c. So that Gregory made a tremendous fiasco in this conspiracy, and proved himself a most ungrate- ful vagabond and a perjured rascal, thus keeping in step with his homonyme predecessors, and only sur- passed by Hildebrand, and the other Hydromants, and by Alexander the Sixth, who has stood a porta Inferi since the beginning of the sixteenth century, to serve there as porter, and receive his confratres when they alight there. — As a trifling observation, made en passant, is it likely that Ludovicus would have made a Donation to the Pope of the Roman States, and other prerogatives ? What he obtained by it was the general condemnation of the Erench 388 Bishops, and the just resentment of the Emperor, and he was compelled to holt away like a beaten dog, running fast with his tail between his legs, and caused the dismissal and the exile of Hebo, the Archbishop of Eheims, and of Agobardus, Bishop of Sion, and others of the confederates, &c. I have already demonstrated the fact that Ludovicus put Pope Gregory upon his trial for usurpation and spoliation, and convicted him and his predecessors, whereby he was compelled to restore the towns and lands, kc. The Pope and the Emperor died. The Emperor's sons divided amongst themselves the empire, and Lotharius had Italy. Pope Sergius was fraudulently elected and consecrated, and there was another row between the Emperor, the Bishops, and the Pope,who, elected in 844, died in 847. Leo the Eourth was also elected against the law, on the day of the death of his predecessor, Sergius the Second. Lotharius sent his son to Pome to make inquisition, and find out if it were true that the Pope desired to transfer the Roman Empire to the Greeks, when Leo found means to defend himself from the accusation, &c. The Evidences of the Popess Joasna's Reign. As eveiy reader of this little work may not be provided with Platina, I will pass a quarter of an hour in taking from his History of the Popes, anno 854, this biographical extract of the Popess Joanna, alias Pope John the Eighth. Prodigium jam, quod in hoc tempus incidit, mysterii Eomani gradum an offendiculum adscribere debeam, hie ambigo et offendiculuni quidem esse debuerat, si aut Romanae Ecclesice Irons adhuc aliqua, aut Christiano populo saltern oculos. Id auteni est quod anno 854 post Leonis quarti obitum accidit, Platinie Pontirlcii His- 389 torici verbis commodius reprsesentandum, qui Sixto 4 Pontifici Historiam suam dicavit. Mulier, imo meretrix, in Sede Romana collocata, quae Missas celebrat, Episcopos ordinat, pedes suos Principibus, Gentibus osculandos exhibet, ut in hac viva imagine Deus pro sua providentia universo orbi Matrem illam fornicationum ostendere voluisse videatur, de qua Johannes in Apocalypsi pluribus verbis. Johannes igitur Anglicus, inquit Platina, ex Maguntiaco oriundus, malis artibus, ut aiunt, Pontificatum adeptus est. Mentitus enim sexum, cum fcemina esset, adolescens admodum Athenas cum amatore viro docto prorlciscitur : ibique prseceptores bonarum artium audiendo tantum profecit, ut Eomam veniens paucos admodum etiam in sacris Uteris pares haberet, ne dum superiores. Legendo autem et disputando docte et acute tantum benevolentise et authoritatis sibi comparavit, ut mortuo Leone, in ejus locum, ut Martinus ait, omnium consensu Pontifex crearetur. Verum postea a servo compressa, cum aliquandiu occulte ventrem tulisset, tandem, dum ad Lateran- ensem Basilicam proficisceretur, inter Theatrum (quod Colosseum vocant a Neronis Colosso) et Sanctum Clementem, doloribus circumventa peperit, eoque loci mortua Pontirlcatus sui anno secundo, mense uno, diebus quatuor, sine ullo honore sepellitur. Sunt qui ob hoc scribunt, Pontificem ipsum, quando ad Lateranensem Basilicam proficiscitur detestandi facinoris causa, et viam illam consulto declinare, et ejusdem vitandi erroris causa, dum primo in sede Petri collocatur, ad earn rem perforatam genetalia ab ultimo Diacono attrectari. De primo non abnuerim : de secundo ita sentio, sedem illam ob id paratam esse, ut qui in tanto magistratu constituitur, sciat se non Deum, sed hominem esse, et necessitatibus naturae utpote egerendi subjectum esse, unde merito sedes stercoraria vocatur. I cannot resist the temptation of giving a short translation of this last quotation from Platina, the L L 2 390 celebrated writer of the History of the Popes, who dedicated his work to Pope Sixtus the Fourth ; and, of course, if this had not been an historical fact, Pope Sixtus would not have allowed that history to be published, and would have severely punished Platina for his audacity in making such a statement. Pope Sixtus was a man who knew that oil would invariably float when mixed with water, and that Platina collected his information from the documents of the Vatican, and from the other histories written and published from MSS., and printed histories anterior to writing his own ; he knew also and pro- bably had compared it with what had been written on the subject by Martinus Polonus ad annum 855, in the year 1270, in a MS. which was printed at Ulma3 in the year 1486, containing verbatim the very same fact, with the only difference that Polonus stated ut asseritur and Platina wrote ut aiunt, always wishing to palliate the assertion of it, as the offen- diculum is a fact likely to give offence to the believers of the pretended immaculate manners and morals of the Fathers of the Church. Onuphrius said that he read that fact in the Commentaries, written at that period by the Pisan writers, Dama- sius and Pandulphus. Marianus Scotus, Fuldensis Monachus, ordine Benedictinus Chronologus eximius, plainly wrote, in lib. 3, Chron., that in the year 854 to Pope Leo succeeded a woman, Joanna, who ruled two years, five months, and four days, &c. It is to be noted also that this Papess was for some years educated in this same Fuldensis Monastery. Mar. Scotus died in the year 1080. Sigebertus Abbas Ganblacensis, circa annum 1100, scripsit, in Chron. in anno 854. Fama est hunc Johannem fceminam fuisse, et uni soli familiari cognitam qui earn com- plexus est. Gravida facta peperit Papa existens. Qua re earn inter Pontifices non numerat quidam. Martinus alter ex ordine Minorum in Chronico cui titulus Flores Temportim huic Joannse DaDmonem 391 conjuranti, et quando exiturus esset sciscitanti, responsum his versibus. Papa Pater Patrum, Papissse pandito partum Et tibi nunc edam, de corpore quondo recedam. Scribebat hie annum circa 1360, Petrarcha Mar- p^ a c ; ch ^ tini hujus coactaneus in literis politioribus apprime chronic' educatus, fabulam ab historia distinguere satis JJjf^jt gnarus : Bern affirmat. Boccatius in libro de Claris ren. excuso, Mulieribus, c. 99, nobis earn graphice describit, e t annoU78, ejus effigiem puerperiumque exhibet : obstetricantes etiam Cardinales et Episcopos : ad cujus detestandam spurcitiem, inquit, et nominis continuandam memo- riam in hodiernum usque, summi Pontifices Bogati- onum cum Clero et Populo sacrum agentes eum locum partus, medio ejus itinere positum, abominantur, eo omisso declinant per diverticula vicosque, et sic loco destabili postergato reintrantes iter perficiunt quod coepere. Addit Antoninus Archiepiscopus, Tit. 16, c. 1, parag. 7, quoddam signum sculp turse marmorse in via, ubi contigit, ob rei memoriam positum, Otho Episcopus Irisingensis, libro septimo cataiogum texens Pontificum Johannem septimum fceininam memorat, loco tamen septimi non octavi collocatum, ex Communi Chronologicorum abusu, qui in nume- randis iis, qui hoc nomen sortiti plerumque falluntur. Now for the version of the extraordinary prodigy that happened in the year 854, after the death of Pope Leo, to the blind, unblushing Boman See, which allowed a prostitute to occupy the Boman Chair, to celebrate Masses, to ordain the Bishops, who offered her foot to be kissed to many Princes, and who acted by the consent of God exactly like the Mother of Fornication described by John in the BevelatioDs. Platina then says that Pope John's family was named English, originating from Mayence; that she obtained the Pontificate by fraud, having concealed her sex, and being really a woman. Still young, she went to Athens, in company with a 392 learned amateur of belles-lettres ; and, by attending the lectures of the Professors of the Fine Arts, she learned so much, that she quitted Athens for Rome, there to study theology, and the other sacred branches of learning, and became so clever that there were few or none superior to her. In reading, and in the philosophical discussions, she was so cleverly and astutely benevolent, that she captivated to herself the authority of others ; and Pope Leo being dead, she was created Pope by the consent of everyone, so said Martin. Soon after, secretly cohabiting with her companion, she became enceinte, but contrived to hide her pregnancy, until, at last, when one day she was going to the Basilica of the Lateran, between the Theatre of ]Sero called the Colosseum, and St Clement, in that street she was seized and oppressed by the pains of labour, when she suddenly gave birth to a child, and died upon the spot, after a Pontificate of two years, one month, and four days. She was buried without any honour. Some who have written upon this subject tell us that, in consequence of this abominable mishap, when the Popes had occa- sion to go to the Basilica of the Lateran they refused to pass through that street, and that, to avoid a repetition of the same abominable error, the first time that the Pope, after election, sits on the Chair of St Peter (now perforated in the centre for the purpose) the youngest Diaconus feels his genitalia. I do not believe the first popular saying, but with regard to the second, that the chair is so prepared, and for such an object, I believe it is for the purpose that the person who is to occupy such high magis- tracy should know that he is a mortal, and not a God, that he is subject to the laws and necessities of nature, inasmuch as he or any may require; and for which, with very good reason, this is called the Stercorarian Chair. The evidence already produced ought to be sufficient to stamp as a positive fact the 393 truth of the existence of the quondam Popesse Johanna ; and supposing that some malevolently idiotic gorillas of the class of the obstinate unbe- lievers of historical facts, like the I-don't-knoiv-who- go-tO'Baths, persist in denying the fact, to persuade and convince them in spite of themselves, if they can read. I refer them to the Annales Augustonos, by Eaphael Yolterranus ; to Sabellicus, Ennead. 9 ; to Philip Bergomateus, in supplement; to Matheus Palmerius, in continuat. Eusebii et Prosperi ; to Tri- themius, in Vita Luitprandi ; to Abbas Johan. Stella, in Yitis 230 Pontific. ; to JSauclerus Universitatis Tubingensis Cancellarius ; to Krautius Hamburgensis Decanus in Catalogo Pontificum in Fasciculo Tem- porum; to Coelius Eodiginus, lib. 4, Antiquarum Lectionem Continuator; to Johannis Lucidus, in Chronico, and many other more modern writers, not forgetting the ancient and Eeverend Carmelite Baptiste Mantuanus, who wrote about it, tres hosce versiculos, and quiininferni suivestibulo hocpostri- bulum collocat, They may not be palatable to the modern Cavalieri di Cristo, but I cannot help it, as they are exactly the thing, quite ad rem ; so I transcribe them : " Hie Pandebat adhuc Sexum mentita virilem Bapt. Man- Eoemina, cui triplici Phrygiam diademate Mitram Aiphon^' Extollebat apex, et Pontificalis adulter." Of St Peter's Chair, or Throne, as I have not said enough, and the evidence that I have pro- duced rests only upon the relation of Platina, before I quit this subject I will give the opinion of another writer (Laonicus Chalcondilas in Historia) more ancient than Platina, who describes the election of the Popes according to his time in these words : Ubi suffragia, inquit, collegerunt, et Pontifex fuerit declaratus, domi eum continent, explorantes, num et reliquis placeat electio. Pontificem pro- nuntiatum insidere jubent sedili foramen habenti, ut testes ex eo propendentes aliquis, cui hoc muneris 394 injunctum est, tangat, unde appareat Pontificem viruni esse. ISTam constat, mulierem quondam in Pontificatum esse subvectam, quia sexus ignorabatur. Namque Jtalise Occidentales pene omnes barbas radunt. Cum autem ilia mulier gravida esset facta, et ad festum sive Sacrificium prodiissset, peperit infantem inter sacrificium in conspectu universi populi. Quapropter ne decipiantur iterum, sed rem cognoscant, neque ambigant, Pontificis ereati virilia tangunt, et is qui tangit acclamat : Mas nobis est Dominus, et exinde alios ritus observari solitos, persequitur. Ad annum, I was reading this chapter to a friend of mine last night, when he persuaded me to suppress the translation of it as a monstrous thing, and I ques- tioned for a long time whether the monstrosity had not depended upon the Popes themselves while seated in the Stercorarian Chair, and if this was a monstrous and abominable exhibition, why did they not suppress it. This is exactly what I do not understand, unless the perpetration is continued on purpose, until the use and the abuse of the Chair are suppressed altogether. Of all the ancient writers, Gioanni Boeaccio alone paid homage to Popess Joanna's noble sex by placing her amongst the Illus- trious Women, and I wonder that the historians have been so ungenerous to her splendid talents ; but ad meliora, or pejora, veniamus. After the Popess Joanna, Pope Benedictus the Third was quickly elected without previous consultation with the Emperor, and a schism originated, which, however, resulted in very little damage to the people, for the reason that this Pope lived so short a time, that he neither had the opportunity to do any great good, or any material harm. The Emperor Ludowick hastened to Borne in the year 858, to endeavour by his presence there to influence the election of a new Pope, and from that time we come to the usurpation of the supreme Ecclesiastical jurisdiction by the Popes. 395 How the Pope usurped the Supreme Ecclesias- tical Jurisdiction. In the year 858, when the Emperor Ludowick Anastas. in heard that Pope Benedict was dead, he went to annoSl' Rome, and used all his influence and various strata- gems to cause the election as Pope of Nicholas the Eirst, against the wishes of the Romans. Ludowick succeeded in getting Nicholas elected, and was pre- sent in Rome at his consecration. This was the Pope who for his intelligence was compared to Gregory the Great ; however there was a great dif- ference between them, and Sigonius, anno 860, wrote that John, the Archbishop of Ravenna, renewed the quarrel with the Pope, on account of being subjected to him ; that Nicholas taxed him with heresy, and sent some suffragan Bishops to watch him, to des- titute and divest him of Ecclesiastical authority, and, in fact, to take everything from him. Archbishop John went to complain to Emperor Ludowick, who interceded for him, and sent his Legates to Rome to convoke a Synod, by which the Archbishop was con- demned to submit to Nicholas. Anastasius, in Nicolao Primo, says that John was compelled to sign a docu- ment promising to pay a yearly sum of money as a tribute to the Pope, according to the custom of Ms predecessors, before he could be reinstated. There was no such precedent, because the Exarchs were the representatives of the Emperors, who nominated them to control the Popes, being superiors, as is in many instances fully proved by the historians ; but the Erench Emperors acted occasionally in oppo- sition to the established rules of the Greek Emperors ; and this was a case in point to prove the preconcerted plan between the Pope and Emperor, to the detriment of the Exarch. There was an understanding be- tween them (as stated by a contemporary historian) 396 to depose John, for fear that he should crown the Emperor Carolus Calvus : it was then natural for them to invent a pretext to ensure to themselves a mutual interest to the detriment of another. Besides, at that time there were many intrigues going on be- tween various Kings related by blood ; and Gunterus, the Archbishop of Cologne, a relative of a prostitute who lived openly with the Lotharingian King Lotharius, supported him in repudiating his legitimate wife Thiet- berga. The concubine, Valdrada, was very active and influential with many personages, and many esclanders and much commotion ensued, in consequence of which a Synod was convoked to arrange the affair. Sy- nodus igitur Mediomatricibus habetur, ad quam se Begina sistit, sed productis et auditis testibus, de flagitioso cum fratre incsestu, a Lotharii thoro idcireo sejungitur. I imagine that in this case the witnesses had been bought. Soon after another Synod took place at Aix-la-Chapelle, where — Supplex adit, liberos suscipere, quanti sua regnique intersit, exponit, ao proinde uxoris ducendas facultatem consecutus, Val- dradam protinus sibi sociat, quae jurgii pridem origo fuerat. This is most certainly a splendid piece of Christian priestly legislation, tolerated, or rather winked at, by the famous emulator of the Great Gregory, the then Pope [Nicholas. But the relatives of Thietberga would not put up with any more non- sense ; and taking the affair seriously in hand, they caused a third Synod to take place at Rome. Even- tually the acts of the Synods of Metz and of Aix were Annales in- quashed ; and Lotharius was compelled to abandon rijLanno t 86*6 Valdrada, and take back his wife Thietberga, other- ' wise he would have been excommunicated, and lost his kingdom. So Monsieur Lothaire was compelled to comply, in spite of the intrigues, interest, and sympathy that he had with the Pope and the Empe- ror. One thing of great importance must not be for- gotten here, viz., that the Pope was induced to take that determination for the sake of establishing a 397 precedent of Supremacy in favour of his Ecclesiasti- cal jurisdiction, in imitation of the highest courts of appeal in Europe. Up till that time, according to the laws of all the Asian, African, and European Synods and Ecclesiastical Councils, no appeal could be made by any Ecclesiastic, of whatever degree or dignity, except to his provincial Archbishop ; and when the delinquent was a Bishop or Archbishop, he was tried by a Council of Ecclesiastical dignitaries, convoked for the purpose by the Kings or Emperors. In the affair as above related the Church of Rome concurred most happily, forgetting how she had acted, in the first and second trials ; but as she had a great stake to play for in the third, of course she prevari- cated as usual, and by that means established for the future, to her own privilege and advantage, the right of supreme Ecclesiastical jurisdiction or appeals. This is what Rome gained by her prevari- cation. This enables me to establish historically and satisfactorily that up to that time the Pope had no such right or power, and that everything was decided by the Missi and Judices Imperatoris in the provinces as well as at Rome. In confirmation of my present assertion, I may state that it happened in 867 that Bishop Rhotardus Suessonensis committed himself, and was tried and dismissed by Hincmarus, Archbishop of Rheims. He appealed to Pope Nicholas, who was glad to quash the sentence, although he affected that he did not like to interfere with the first judgment. After that, this same Pope Nicholas was not ashamed to receive and give the friendly kiss to Bauldwin, the Count of Elanders, who carried away the daughter of Charles le Chauve, King of Erance, after having first seduced her. In corrobo- ration of these assertions, that Pope Nicholas usurped the supreme Ecclesiastical jurisdiction, I will quote here an unknown Italian author of that time, who wrote the history of Rome, and which is to be found as an appendix to the History of Eutropius. M M 398 Igitur Johannes Eavennse Archiepiscopus hsereseos dicitur accusatus. Imperator ne gravaret eos, qui depraedati ab Agarenis erant quassivit solatium Eavennae, sed quaesivit etiam solatium, quae vicina erat etiam, Yenetiae, quatenus navali adjutorio fultus posset abundanter terre Apuliam, Praesidebat tunc Eavennae Eccle. Johannes Archiepiscopus, qui serviens Imperatori familiarior erat. Uncle invidia ductus Eomanus Pontifex nomine Nicolaus, exarsit in iram contra ilium vocans eum subdole Eomam, ut quasi Ecclesiastico judicio posset hunc eondemnare, et alterum subrogare : His quippe auditis Archiepis- copus confugit ad Eeginam Egelbertam, quae suos legatos direxit Apostolico, rogans ut redderet gratiam Archiepiscopo. Quod cum impetrare nequisset, suo Domino humiliter intimavit, ut gratiam interferret suae tuitionis Archiepiscopo, vetans Apostolicum ei nullam inquietudinem facere. Et quia inaudito Principe Apostolicus excommunicationem in eum protulit, gravis inimicitia inter eos facta est. Erectus est denique Eegius honor contra Apostoli- cam dignitatem, objiciens ei antiqua Patrum Statuta non licere Praelato exeommunicare Episcopum, in- Anno 867-68. eonsulto Synodali Concilio ; et quia Synodus non a Papa, sed ab Imperatore vocari deberet. Plurimse denique interrogationes pro tali occasion e illatse sunt Pontifici Eomano: Nam Pentapoli' beneficiales ordines suis distribuit, praecipiens nullam adminis- trationem impendere Eomaa, exceptis suffragiis navali deportatione, multa enim juvamina Im- periales habuerunt fideles. Eecit etiam occupare nonnulla patrimonia in CampaniaB partibus, regio usui, suorumque fidelium, &c. Constituit denique Consultu Eomanorum Principum in urbe Eomaa Arsenium quendam Episcopum, sanctitate et scientia adornatum, et Apocrisarium sedis Eomanse, deditque illi adjutorium Johannem Diaconum et Archican- oellarium, suumque Secretarium, qui postea Eeatinus Episcopus factus est, unde jam electus erat. Tempore 399 igitur congruo Imperator veniebat Eomam, et sus- cipiebatur ab omnibus tarn majoribus quam minori- bus honorifice, veniebat que cum eo jam dictus Archiep. Eavennse nil metuens minas Pontificis. Unde evenit major discordia inter Pontificem et Imperatorem. Erat quippe Imperator in Palatio Sancti Petri Apostoli et Papa ad Sanctos Apostolos. Cumque omnes illius insidise contra Eegiam digni- tatem pro nihilo ducerentur, constituit Monachas seu Christo dicatas virgines ex JVEonasteriis Eomse ut quasi sub obtentu religionis quotidianas celebra- rent Lactanias per circuitum murorum, et missas canerent contra Principes male agentes. His auditis primarii Eegi humiliter accedentes ad Papam, roga- verunt eum familiariter, ut talia prohiberet. Et cum nihil ab eo impetrare"possent, reversi sunt mcerentes. Quadam vero die, cum quidam milites prsefati Prin- cipis irent ad Sanctum Paulum et reverterentur, accidit eos occurrere talibus Lactaniis qui instinctu antiqui hostis in iramversi sunt, et pro fidelitato sui senioris vindictam exercerunt contra illos, percu- tientes et csedentes cum fustibus, quos manibus deferebant. Qui fugientes projecerunt cruces, et iconas quas portabant, sicut est mos Graecorum, e quibus nonnullse conculcatse, nonnullse diruptae sunt. Unde et Imperator graviter est permotus in iram et pro qua causa Apostolicus mitior effectus est. Pro- fectus est denique idem Pontifex ad Sanctum Petrum, rogans Imperatorem pro suis talia patrantibus, et vix obtinere valuit ; Jam itaque inter se familiares effecti sunt, tamen dignitas Eegia semper fuit Eoma. Itaque quod in Episcopum Eavennatem fulminarat anathema, frustra fuit, &c. The Emperor, to reduce the expenses of the people of Eavenna, who were so frequently exposed to the depredations of the Saracens, went to recreate him- self at Eavenna, because it was near Venice; to ascertain, also, what support he could obtain from the Venetians, in the shape of a Eleet for the con- 400 quest of Apulia. John, Archbishop, was then the President of Eavenna, and was the familiar friend and vassal of the Emperor. Pope Nicolaus, stimu- lated by envy, burst in a rage against him, and cunningly summoned him to appear at Eome, as if he could submit him to an Ecclesiastical judgment, and arrogate the rights of the Emperor. The Arch- bishop, having heard of this summons, took refuge in Queen Engelberta's palace, who sent her Legates to the Pope, asking him to restore his grace to that Archbishop. As she could not obtain it, the Queen intimated to her husband to interfere for the grace and security of the Archbishop, and he ordered the Pope not to molest him. When the Pope received the message of the Prince, he launched excommuni- cations against the Archbishop, and great enmity amongst them ensued. At last the offended Eoyal dignity assumed a standing attitude against the Apostolic dignity, and opposed the Pope with the statutes of the old Fathers, which forbad a Prelate to excommunicate a Bishop without the advice of the Council of the Synod. The Pope's injunction to the Archbishop was irregular, because the Synod should have been con- voked by the Emperor, and not by the Pope. On this occasion the Pope also brought upon himself many other penalties. The Emperor then distributed the Benefices of Pentapolis to his partizans, and ordered them to give no account nor any profit out of them to Eome, except the dues arising out of the exporta- tion by ships. He also gave the whole of the per- quisites to his faithful Imperialists. He likewise ordered the occupation of several Patrimonies in the Campania for his Eoyal use, and that of his faithful servants. At last he reorganized a Senate of Princes in Eome, under Bishop Arsenius, a most learned man and of saintly habits, and who was Legate of the Eoman See, and gave him as a coadjutor his Secretary, John, Deacon and Arch- Chancellor, who 401 afterwards became Bishop of Rieti, to which Bishopric he had already been elected. At his leisure the Emperor returned to Eome, and was received most honourably by the rich and the poor, and with him in his suite he had John, the Archbishop of Ravenna, who did not care about the whims of the Pope. This provoked greater discord between the Emperor and the Pope. The Emperor took his place in the Palace of the Apostle St Peter, and the Pope in the Palace of the holy Apostles. As all the priestly annoyances did not sufficiently provoke the Imperial dignity, the Pope instituted those companies of Nuns dedicated to Christ from the various Monasteries of Rome, so that, under the mere pretext of religious devotion, they should daily processionally make the circuit of the walls of Rome, singing litanies and ribaldries against the Princes. The Emperor's Minister, hearing of these proceedings, humbly ap- proached the Pope, and asked him in a friendly way to discontinue those practices ; but he returned home, mortified with a refusal. One day, when some of the Imperial soldiers, who had been to visit St Paul, were returning home, they accidentally met the pro- cession singing the insulting litanies, which irritated them as much as if they had met with an old enemy, and, on the fidelity they owed to their Lord, they inflicted summary vengeance upon them, beat- ing and killing them with the sticks which they had. in their hands. The Nuns and Eriars threw away the crosses and images which they were carrying like the Greeks ; some of them got trampled on, and some were broken. On hearing of this melee the^ Emperor fell into a great passion > while the Pope was not so much annoyed at it. Einally, the Pope went to St Peter, and begged the Emperor, on his part, to compromise these affairs ; but he hardly succeeded in obtaining it. Soon after they became reconciled, but the Emperor retained his power in Rome. Up to this time, anno 868, it is evident who was. ii 2 402 the master of Eome, of the Exarchate, and other provinces of the now so-called Papal States. I have not been able to trace anything that was done particularly great or honorificent by Pope Nieo- laus to gain him the merit of comparison with Gregory the Great. "What I can find is, that at his time the clergy, high and low, with few exceptions, were the most disgraceful set of voluptuary vaga- bonds in existence, or of any other class of crimi- nals, beating them at the rate of twelve to one. This is the only comparison that I can find of the character of Nicolaus and the Ecclesiastics of his time. It is true that Mcolaus found some literary characters who wrote panegyrics in his favour, and others that applauded his actions, and attempted to extol him above many others ; but the morale of this was, that money and expectation of Court favour prompted many poetical ideas in the heads even of the most sturdy, hypocritical imbeciles. What Nicolaus did, consisted in issuing severe laws against the open lewdness of the clergy, and forbidding them, under high penalties, to marry — compelling them to celibacy. These laws gained him credit amongst a few honest but unthinking persons, who were disgusted by the inveterate demoralization of Churchmen, and who conceived that he would reform society and manners, and bring back the Golden Age. They were mis- taken, for if he had compelled the clergy to marry, and, if they refused, punished them severely and expelled them from the Church, that would have been a much better remedy and a much better law, and would have tended much more effectually to suppress the vices and the saintly, insinuating hypocrisy of the Clergy. This would have been the only way of satiating their appetites, and would have stopped their amatory career. Many Eccle- siastical writers wrote books against the women's insatiability, instability, &c. "Why did they not call a Synod, and, with the concurrence of the Popes and 403 Temporal Governors, agree to compel the Clergy to marry? I am fully persuaded that such a law would be a godsend, even now, and tend to mora- lise a nation in a few generations. As there is no effect without a cause, and as three or four hundred thousand healthy, robust, and fat idlers, physiologi- cally and anatomically organized like others, feel the same wants, propensities, and necessities under cer- tain circumstances, and maintain a scandal, — compel the clergy to marry, and the cause of the scandal will be removed, and cease of itself. Amongst the clergymen lately condemned in Italy, in two or three cases we have seen that they did not content them- selves with the seduction of one or two women ; they were each of them accused of having seduced thirty and upwards. But enough of this for the present. In the mean- time I will enjoy in expectation the thought that the wisdom of Yictor Emmanuel the Great, the first King of Italy, the beloved descendant of a hundred generations of kingly blood, and assisted by the flower of the nation in Parliament assembled, after mature consideration, with a preconcerted, intelligent, and liberal deliberation, will one day proclaim Liberty of Marriage to the Ecclesiastics, and thus remove for ever from this class of persons the causes for seduction. The science of legislation does not consist in the punishment or the suppression of crimes, but in foreseeing and removing the causes of crimes ; and acting upon such principles we must un- doubtedly ameliorate the social position and condition of the human family of Italy. Sigonius, de Reg. Ital., scripsit ad an. 875, obiit sine mascula prole Imper. Lodovicus. Notant interim Historici, Sigonius ipse, quicquid decessores Pontifi- cibus donatum voluissent, jus Prmczpatum, ditionem, diserte retinuisse : In Exarehatum, in Ducatum Romanum ipsum : quae jam regula in Calvo fatiscere ccepit, a successoribus licet identidem repetita. Item 404 hue usque imperium a patre ad filium transisse, et primogenitum illico demortui locum coepisse sicque Pipino Carolum, Carolo Ludovicum, Ludovico Lothariura, Lothario Ludovicum secundum succes- sisse ; quodque ab Archiepiscopo Mediolanensi Eeges Longobardorum, aut ab Episcopo Romano Imperatores coronarentur et consecrarentur eo tantum institutum, ut solemniori ritu populo commendarentur. So that, according to Sigonius and many other historians, after the death of the Emperor Ludo wick, Carolus Calvus went to Rome, was crowned, and gave to the Pope some privileges, but retained for himself and successors, as usual, the Supreme Dominion or Temporal power, not only in the Exarchate and Roman States, but in Rome itself. It appears this was a regularly established rule by all his predecessors, as Pipin transmitted the power of succession to Charlemagne, and Charlemagne to Ludo wick, &c, as did the Lombard Kings before the French Emperors. At all events, they never gave the Popes the temporal power — malgre toutes les actions de generositee vers les Papes. I will not relate the quarrels and wars which took place between the Kings Charles le Chauve and Charles le Gras, for the succession to the Roman Empire ; nor will I state how the Popes on that occasion produced the fictitious documents of the pretended Donation of Constantine ; as Trithemius, who lived at that time, and wrote the life of Pope Gregory the Pirst, and other things, in speaking of that Donation, called it longi mendaeii tempora finxit, &c, penitus Commentitiam, pror- susque falsam pronunciat. I have already spoken largely in other chapters, perhaps at too great length, of the real Donations by Constantine to Sylvester, and shown in what they consisted ; therefore it will be seen that Pope John the Ninth took useless trouble to perpetuate the fiascos. Charles le Chauve died in the year 878. Pope John went to see Ludovicum Balbum, the son of Calvus, and made a treaty, the 405 Pope guaranteeing to crown him Emperor, and the Emperor agreeing to support the Pope against the Bishop Eormosus, who had assumed the Papal authority, and was supported by other Ecclesiastical dignitaries. Ludovick was crowned in Prance, and while the Pope was returning to Rome, Ludovick died. Carolus Crassus, the King of Germany, hearing of his death while marching into Italy with an army to expel the Saracens who had invaded Italy, agreed with Pope John to stop and be crowned Emperor of the Roman Empire ; and this was the third that that unlucky Pope had crowned, and who had had a very short reign, he dying in the year 882. At that time, in Orient, there was a schisme, of which I shall not say anything, though the Roman Pope had a great share in that intrigue in the death of Basilius. That schisme was echoed from the Orient to the Occident. During the life of John, Rome was almost divided into two factions — quarum una Comitum Tusculano- rum, qui modo aperta vi, modo per ambitum agnatos suos, aut amicos ad Pontificatum evehebant, dum Principes sese partim mutuo obturbabant. To Pope John succeeded Pope Marinus or Martinus, as Platina says, qui malis artibus Pontificatum adeptus. I shall say that Christianity had no pros- pect of any good from this rogue. He reinstated in his dignity the Bishop Eormosus, and absolved him of the excommunication. Marinus died, and Agapetus, another of that faction, partly pushed and persuaded by the Romans, ambitious of the Papal dignity, was evectus in sedem in the year 885, as stated by Sigonius in de Reg. Ital., and Platina in Adriano 3°. He took the name of Adrian the Third. At that time died Carolus Crassus, sine prole, unaque desinit et Erancorum imperium, et Carlovingiorum in Italia decus. Pope Adrian the Third did not lose time ; while the Germans and the French were quarrelling between themselves for the succession of 406 the Roman Empire, lie made two decrees : the first was to the purpose that in the creation of the Popes no Imperial authority should in future be consulted, as he intended to emancipate the Papacy from the Imperial authority ; the second was, that as Carolus Crassus had died without issue, the reign should pass to the Italian Princes, with the title of Emperor ; which scheme had already been originated and pre- pared by Albert, the Marquis of Tuscany, the chief of the Tusculan party, who had aspired to it for several years, and had been also the principal author of Adrian's fortune. This plan did not suit Beren- garius Dux Forojulii; nor the other, Dux Spoleti Vido, who had more rights and power than Albert, — so says Simoneta, lib. 5, c. 15, and Martin Polonus, in Adriano 3 Q ; licet causa Justtor, says Sigonius, authoritate suffulta. Stephani Papce qui Adriano tertio successerat. Quare, post aliquot certamina, in quibus superior evaserat anno 891. Romse Coronatur, ea tamen lege, ut donationes, quae Pipini, Caroli, et Ludovici primi dicuntur, Stephanus ab eo confirmari velit. And these were the ways and means by which the Popes, in the year 891, got all the donations that they could obtain from their best friend and confederate in the usurpa- tion. I am sorry to have driven the reader up to this point, but I think it was necessary to fix the epoch from which the Popes succeeded in this grand attempt to usurp the Temporal Power in Home and the Roman States ; it is true that it did not last long, but they momentarily succeeded in their intent. As I have called the attention of my readers to this period, I will give them a specimen of the sublime hypocrisy, of the uncharitable demoniacal spirit of vengeance, of the first pillars of the so-called Christian edifice — the holy Fathers, the Yicars of Christ. After the death of Stephanus Sextus, the two contending Roman factions elected their Popes; the Tusculan party elected Sergius, 407 the other elected Bishop Formosus, whom we have seen previously degraded, and dismissed from his Ecclesiastical offices. He was supported by Vido, the Duke of Spoleti, and obtained St Peter's Chair. At that time Rome was in a state of the most horrible confusion on account of the constant fights of the two parties, and of the assassinations and the Latro- cinium perpetuum. Formosus, tired of these alter- cations and the constant dangers to which he was exposed by the violence of his rival, secretly entered into a treaty with Arnulphum Regem, Bojorum JDucem, Carlomanni filium, et Coroli Crassi nepotem, et statuit eum in Italiam venturum eum exercitu, et per vim ingredere Romam, ut coronetur Imperator. And so he came and entered Rome, and Sigonius, in lib. 6, says : se a Formoso Augustum inungi im- peravit, ac populum Romanum in hsec verba jure- jurando adegit : Testor Deum, omnesque Divos, et per divina misteria juro, me quoad vivam, fore in potestate Imperatoris Arnulphi, neque Lamberti, aut matris ejus rebus adfuturum, neque ut dignitatem aliquam adipiscantur aut hanc urbem servitute pre- mant, operam daturum. Indeque Sergium eadem via Roma exegit: at non multo post Ageltrudam Lamberti matrem cum obsideret, mulier ad vim impar, ad dolum se confert, occulteque per minis - trum pecunia corruptum soporiferum ei poculum prsebet, quo sumpto repente somno captus post triduum demum excitatus, cum neque sentiret, neque quae sentiret exprimere commode posset, ac mugitus potius quam voces ederet, bello relicto in Lombardiam sese recepit. Towards the end of December, Pope Boniface the Sixth succeeded to Formosus, and Boniface lived only fifteen days. Now I have arrived at this period, I will just show the ignorant idiots of the present day that the statements they are always putting forward about the good old times when there lived so many saints and so many venerable ecclesiastics, — that in their 408 manners the people in general were much better than they are now, and that the Church and the Ecclesiastics led a life that was the model of every believer in true Christianity — is all a fallacy. Now, my dear harlots, now the shop is open, Von ne paye qu'un sou, entrez Messieurs et Dames — first of all, while the new Pope, the model of Christianity, puts on his Pontificalian dresses, and before he sits in the Stercorarian Chair, the Cardinal and Bishops will enliven your hearts with the old tune of u Venez, venez,petits enfans,Yenez voir lemarchandd' Images and after the song Pope Stephanus the Seventh will take a Bath with I don't-knoiv-ivho, two new characters of the celebrated Irish Brass Band, and make his appearance, and desecrate, defame, and destroy the name, deeds, and the memory of his departed predecessor, Pope Formosus. And as there is nothing blacker in history, or more condemnatory than this, listen attentively to what he did to satiate his execrable thirst for vengeance. He ordered that the cadaver of Pormosus should be exhumed, that it should be dressed in Pontificals, and brought to the Pontifical Chair ; and when so dressed, he had it placed in the middle of the Synod, and ordered it, and all its acts, to be condemned. The authors of his time state, horrendum auditu, that this impious monster, ignorant of the holy Doctrines, would have compelled the poor cadaver to answer for when he was Bishop of Oporto, addressing it sarcastically, and inquiring why, or for what spirit of ambition, he had usurped the Universal Eoman Throne ? After this the cadaver was immediately divested of its Pontifical dresses ; then the three fingers used in giving the benediction were torn away, and ordered to be thrown into the Tiber ; and the whole of the Clergymen who had been ordained by him were first degraded, and then re-ordained. This already-told monstrosity I will repeat here in the original words of Sigonius, in lib. 6 : Turn vero quo spiritu anima- 409 rentur nemo non videt, quando vix in solio collocatus est iste, nihil antiquius habet, quam nt Eormosimemo- riam aut infamet, aut extinguat, cadaver ejus ex se- pulchre- extrahi, inque sedem Bomani Pontificatus, Sacerdotibus indumentis in media Synodoponi jubens damnandum utique cum suis Actis. Warrant sane Authores hujus temporis, horrendum auditu, impium doctrinarumque sanctarum inscium, miserum cadaver per sarcasmum compellasse. Cum Porttiensis Epis* copus esset, inquit, cur ambitionis spiritu, Bomanam universalem sedem usurpasti ? Quibus expletis, sacratis mox exutum vestimentis, digitisque tribus abscissis, quibus benedicere moris erat, in Tyberim jactare prsecepit, cunctosque quos ipse ordiuaverat gradu proprio depositos, iterum ordinavit. I do be- lieve that some, if not the whole of those true Bishops of the modern era, who are accustomed to lie about everything that does not particularly please them, and who have written lately so many edifying pamphlets, will say that it is not true that such an occurrence took place ; but to bar them from the op- portunity of denial, I will corroborate the statement with the assertion of the same thing by a writer who was contemporary with the victim and the execu- tioner. This celebrated writer was an Ecclesiastic. Hie Luitprandus Ticinensis Ecclesise Diaconus, qui turn Piatina in vivebat, ad tantum scelus mirum quam commovetur, ^nuphrius. oris hujus deploratis- simum statum cum Theodora senior, nobile scortum, monarchiam obtineret in TJrbe ; Sed unde infami mulieri tanta dignitas, inquit, Erat ista nobilis Romana foemina, senatoria orta propagine, exceilens pulchritudine, ingenio versatissima ex adulteri Sergii Pontificis potentia sibi peperit monarchiam — (take notice here of the succession, and also that the word Urbs means the Holy See or Rome, according to circumstances) — hsec pessima foemina, ea arte domi- nium est consecuta, possidens arcem, illudque in posteros propagare curavit, filias prostituens Pontifi- cibus, sedis ApostolicsG invasoribus, et Tusciae Mar- chionibus, ex quibus tantarum invaluit meretricum imperium, ut pro arbitrio legitime creatos dimo- verent Pontifices, et violentos ac nefarios homines illis pulsis intruderent; et hunc porro miserum Ecclesise statum quam meretricum, inquit, arbitrio Deus permisit infamari dicamus cum Johanne mere- tricis magnce Imperium per totum hoc seculum extendisse. What will the twice-crossed Bishop of o o 422 Angouleme, of the "good olden time " celebrity, say to this ? Though I intend to pass over the acts and deeds of the progenies of the Theodoras and Marozia, yet, before I come to the year 1000 of the Christian era, I deem it as necessary as it is important that I should notice the oath and deed of Pope Leo the Eighth to the Emperor Otho, in which he renounced for ever to him and his successors the right of nomination and of investiture of the Popes, Archbishops, and Bishops, and threatened, if any one dared to do or flay to the contrary, to excommunicate him, &c. I must say that this affair was provoked by the Pope himself, who seemed to be honest enough, and who was hoisted in the place of Pope John, who was tried by a Synod at Borne, presided over by the Emperor, who had convoked it for that purpose, at the demand of the Bishops, Cardinals, and the Eoman people, who were unable to tolerate any longer the numerous execrable crimes of John the Eleventh, of the Marozian breed. Lambert Sehauffnaburgensis, anno 963, calls this a great Synod held in the Church of St Peter, in presence of the Emperor Otho the Eirst, and a great number of the highest Church dignitaries and the Eoman people. Eor amor hrevitatis, I shall not relate what he wrote, nor what the Dean Luitprand (lib. 6, c. 7) said about this Synod ; suffice it to say that the Pope was regularly tried, and proved guilty on twenty different counts ; that he was duly oondemned and dismissed, and that Leo was elected mstanter, and confirmed in his place. Of this Pope, Leo the Eighth, I shall give here the oath that he took to the Emperor Otho the Great, or Otho the Eirst. Sigonius also reports this, and Gratianus, in Eascicul. Tempor., an. 964. Exemplo beati Hadriani Apostolicse sedis antistitis qui D. Carolo victoriosissimo Begi Erancorum et Longobardorum Patriciatus dignitatem ac ordinem 423 Apostolicae Sedis, et investituram Episcoporum concessit; Ego Leo quoque servus Servorum Dei r Episcopus, cum toto Clero, ac populo Komano con- stituimus ac confirmamus et corroboramus et per nostram Apostolicam authoritatem concedimus atque largimur D. Othoni Eegi Teutonicorum ejusque successoribus regni Italic in perpetuum, facultatem eligendi successorem atque Summae Sedis Apostolicae Pontificem ordinandi ac per hoc Arehiepiscopos seu Episcos, ut hii ab eo investituram accipiant, et con- secrationem unde debent exceptis iis, quos Imperator Pontificibus, et Archi-episcopis concessit, ut nemo deinceps cujuscumque dignitatis vel religionis eli- gendi, vel Patricium vel Pontificem Summae Sedis Apostolicae, aut quemcumque Episcopum ordinandi habeat facultatem, absque consensu ipsius Im- peratoris, quod tamen fiat absque omni pecunia, et ut ipse sit Patricius et Eex. Quod si a Clero et populo quis eiigatur Episcopus, nisi a supradicto Kege laudetur et investiatur, non consecretur. Si quis contra hanc Apostolicam autoritatem aliquid moliretur, hunc excommunicationi subjacere decre- vimus, et nisi eripuerit, irrevocabili exilio puniri vel ultimis suppliciis affici. Summa Canonis apud Gratianum: Electio Romani Pontificis ad jus per- tinet Imperatoris. Testatur vero Theodoricus a ISyem, qui sub Johanne Yigesimo tertio, se diploma ipsum vidisse Elorentiae, unde excerpta est, pro dig- nitatis Imperialis privilegio asservatum (ut et apud Krantium integra proponitur) cum hac clau- sula : Quod hoc Concilium sub poena excommuni- cationis universalis Ecclesiae latae sententiae servari debeat. The law enacted by Charlemagne to repress the libidinous dispositions of the Clergy having been, revived, the people, following the Clergy's in- clinations, having become fully demoralized and corrupted, could not maintain themselves in the path of morality for a long time, and they broke again that pact of allegiance to the new Pope and Emperor ; and while the Imperial troops and the 424 Sovereign absented themselves from Rome, a revo- lutionary tumult, headed by the discarded John, seized the supreme power, deposed Leo and all those whom he had ordained, abrogated all his and their acts, and converted Rome again in novum postribulum* It is gratifying to learn what followed, and I am much pleased to see how this infernal scamp of a Pope ended his nefarious career. Ine- briated by his successful amorous efforts, while he was sleeping with a married woman in a house out of Eome, the conjugal and revengeful knife struck him mortally, and he died within eight days of the wounds, — as stated by Sigebertus, anno 963; and Luitprand, lib. 6, c. 11, the Eascicul. Tempor. ; and others. Tandem vero quadam nocte, extra Romam dum se cum cujusdam viri uxore oblectat, a Diabolo adeo percutitur, ut intra dierum octo spatium, eadem vulnere moriatur : Et hie exclamat Author, Eja Deus seterne quam dispares sunt illi prioribus. 0 abyssus judiciorum Dei, quis investigabit ea. Now that I have disposed of this rascal, killed by the Devil, as the historian says, I claim the atten- tion of the reader to the act of renunciation of the investitures made by Leo the Eighth, whom we have seen elected by the people and Clergy, and con- firmed by Otho the Great. In that deed was reca- pitulated the oath that Adrian took to Charlemagne, which I have noticed in its proper place. I have named also the oath taken by Leo the Third. And it was established in those compacts between the Church and State, that they should go hand in hand in certain things, and that others, that is, what regarded the Sovereign dominion or Temporal power, should be entirely submitted to Caesar, as well as the Imperial rights of the Episcopal Investitures. As I have already said, the corrupted Roman population, unfaithful to itself and unmindful of the oath taken to Otho, after John's death elected Benedict as Pope, against the Laws, and the orders of the Emperor ; who, displeased and enraged, sent 425 an army which surrounded Eome, took prisoner Benedict, tried him, degraded him, forced him to confess his crime, and finally expelled him from the Church and from Eome, and reinstated in the Papal Chair Leo the Eighth, who (as reported by Luit- prand, lib. 6, c. 11, and in the Fascicul. Tempor., anno 964, and also by Sigonius, de Eegno Italiae), renounced at that time — with a diplomate inperpetao valituro in Imperatoris, posterorumque turn Impera- torum turn Eegnum Italic, gratiam — all the Dona- tions given before to the Holy See by Carolus, Pipinus, Aripertus, and Justinianus : seu illae instru- ment© a Notariis excepto constant, seu Imperial! diplomate, seu quovis alio pacto cujus quasi testes- adhibet Sacrorum Evangeliorum Codices, reliquiae complures, sanctam crucem, caligas pedum, vestem Domini inconsutibilem, et corpus beati Petri cum terribilibus Sacramentis a Papa predicto, et suis Car- dinalibus, per consensum et autoritatem totius populi Komani, tarn Clericorum quam Laicorum de omnibus ordinibus Eomanis, ex unaquaque regione presen- tibus ac comfirmantibus. Quin et exprimuntur sigillatim in hac renunciatione omnes provincial Insulae Civitates, Urbes, Castella, quae in Imperatoris Ludovici Donatione recensentur nulla plane excep- tione, nulla etiam quae ibi nominatim non habeban- tur : Et hasc omnia habeatis, et possideatis, inquit, ad usus curias et militarium vestrarum, ad bellan- dum et expugnandum contra predictos Paganos, et contra rebelles Eomani Imperiis. Addito, si quis ejus effectum impedire voluerit, eum pre ter quam quod ex Lege Julia Laesae Majestatis poenam incur- reret, etiam Divi Petri iram experturum. Denique in fine post solemne illud fiat fiat Disaerte et nomi- natim subscribunt omnes Archiepiscopi, Episcopi, Cardinales, Presbyteri et Diaconi, praecipui qui que Ecclesiae Eomanae Officiarii Consules etiam, excon- sultes Senatores et alii Patricii Eomani, Principesque Eegionum quicumque huic Bullae sua authoritate o o 2 426 robur addere posse visi. A copy of this Bull was to be found in several of the old Libraries, as it was referred to by Theodoric de Nyem, Pontifical Secre- tary, who found one entirely perfect. I should not like to lose time in making some reflections or obser- vations about this Bull, if there were not many important things to be remarked ; therefore, I will briefly state that in this Bull it was premised that the Donations by Ludovicus Pius were bona fide ones. I have already proved that the Donations were fictitious, and the Documents forged. Again, the Pope forgot to comprise in his renunciation the pre- tended Donation by Constantine. This also proves the falsity of that Donation, and of the pretended Donations of Charlemagne, Pipin, and Justinian; and of the Islands, Provinces, Towns, Villages, Castles, &c. Where are the Documents ? what were the names of the places, and when did the Popes possess them ? Have I not already plainly demonstrated that the Popes never had any temporality but what they have forcibly taken by usurpation, by spolia- tion, and by murder, as I have clearly shown, during the intervals of the various commotions that they themselves had prepared and provoked for the purpose of over- thro wing the Temporal Government, and associating it with the Spiritual ? The Emperor Otho seems to have been naturally a well-disposed man, and in the plenitude of his Temporal sway he allowed the Pope, in his effu- sion of gratitude, to name everything that he intended to renounce, all that his predecessor usurped, either real or fictitious, just to fill la tasse de reconnaisence that he intended to offer to his benefactor. Now, Mr Me-Herode, and you, Mr Antonelli, what have you to say to this Bull or Pope' s diplom a in Perpetuo Yalituro ? Can you wipe it out ? If I were writing a complete history of the Popes, I could note here, soon after this time, a 427 sequence of the usual high crimes of the succeeding Popes and Clergy ; but I am anxious to arrive at another extraordinary epoch, and therefore refer the reader to the Fasciculus Temporum for the rest, at anno 965 : Iste Leo statuit, quod nullus Papa fieret sine consensu Imperatoris propter malitiam Roman- orum, &c. Leo the Eighth died in the year 966, and John the Fourteenth was elected by the people and the clergy. He being of austere and severe manners, the people revolted, and imprisoned him; but the Emperor Otho, hearing of it, returned to Italy and liberated him. In this interval Pope Benedictus the Sixth was substituted for John. The Emperor Otho died anno 967, when his son was engaged in the wars against France and Germany. Eome was in a state of insurrection, headed by Cardinal Boniface, who, with the assistance of Cincius, a powerful and influential Roman citizen, strangled Pope Benedict. After this, Boniface installed himself in the Pontifical chair, with the numerical title of Boniface the Seventh. At the same period, to annoy Boniface, the Tusculan Count, with his usual power and monetary influence, corrupted the comitia, and elected another Pope, with the name of Benedict the Seventh ; and the confusion in Eome was at its usual apex, so that Otho the Second was compelled to proceed to Eome to restore order ; which he did, and died soon after, being soon followed by Benedict the Seventh. Peter, Bishop of Pavia, was then elected Pope, and was called by Platina John the Fifteenth. As soon as he was installed in the Pontifical chair, the expelled Pope, Boniface the Seventh, reappeared ; and having corrupted many of the officials and in- fluential people, he imprisoned John the Fifteenth. After eight months of imprisonment, John was either starved, or, as some assert, hung. Boniface had no opportunity of rejoicing at his triumph, as he also died suddenly a few days afterwards. 428 John the Seventeenth, according to Platina, was elected Pope, and endeavoured directly to reconcile himself with the Emperor, inviting him to come to Eome to be crowned. Otho the Third came to Italy when John the Seventeenth died. Otho arrived at Ravenna, and by his right elected the Archhishop Bruno as Pope, who was a relative of his, and took the name of Gregory the Pifth. He went to Eome, and was consecrated. Otho the Third and his wife Maria were also crowned in that year in Borne, anno 996. As soon as Otho had returned to Ger- many, Crescentius, with the people's assistance, expelled the Pope, on the pretext that he had not been elected by the people, and made himself a Consul Suprenius, and elected by the concurrence of the people a Greek Bishop, who held the Bishopric of Piacenza ; he was a clever man, and a very mis- chievous one, Platina says : non minus pemiciosum quam doctum. Gregory the Pifth hastened to Ger- many to complain to his kinsman, Otho the Third; who sent directly an army to Eome, to besiege Crescentius and John the Eighteenth, who withdrew into the Castle. John was taken prisoner, and had his eyes torn out ; and Gregory the Pifth was rein- stated on the Papal throne. Martinus and Platina tell us that Gregory made a law for the future to the effect that, Solis Germanis licere Principem deligere, qui Caesar et Eomanorum Eex appellatus, turn d em urn Imperator et Augustus habere tur, si eum Eomanus Pontifex confirmasset. Baronius, anno 996, art. 71, in quit : eo redit, non creasse quidem ilium Electores Imperii, sed statuisse Im- peratores deinceps a Germanise Principibus eligendos fore. This may be a good law, but the Italians will invariably say that this was Cicero pro domo sua-, and nothing else, and that the Italians alone ought to be the principal depositary of the right and privilege of naming the Popes and Eoman Emperors, as they have their expenses to pay, and their laws and 429 caprices to put up with. Therefore, the Germans have no right to make laws for the Italians ; and this is my opinion in contradistinction to the above. Shortly before this time, that is, in 991, the Carlo- vingian Prosapia became extinct in France, and Carolus Lotharingise, Dux Galliam Ingraditur jus suum armis disceptaturus : ac primum Arnulphi opera, Canonici Laudunensis, Lotharii Begis noblis, qui ultimi Ludovici pater ; urbem occupat, et Adal- beronem Episcopum in vinculis retinet, qui mox elapsus ad Begem TJgonem se confert : Nee id sane strage, et direptione, ut ex Gerberti ad Othonem Imperatoren Epistola claret. (Gerberti Epist. ad Othon. et ad Wilderodon. Episc.) Episcopum suum, inquit, dolo et fraude circumventum cum propria TJrbe Laudunensi captivavit, post multum cruorem humani sanguinis a se effusi, post prsedas et incendia, &c. Tides etiam Synod. Bhemeus, c. 16. Begnum Erancise ad TJgonem cognomine Capetum transfertur. The National Synod was called at Bheims, anno 991 ; the Bishops had conspired against the new King, and with them many other persons of note. In this Synod Bishop Gerbertus played the great role of traitor, and accuser of others for the sake of obtaining the Archbishopric of Eheims. At this Synod, also, Arnulphus was regularly tried and solemnly deposed, and Gerbertus got the berth. Gerbert was a great and most intriguing humbug, than whom there is no better example than the Me- Herode of the present day. We shall see this impudent Monsieur pass partout, and at last ascend the Stercorarian Chair, and dirtily commit himself, more prwdecessorum suorum, with all sorts of crimes, and particularly by Cabalistic, Hydromantic, and Necromantic performances, in which he excelled all his contemporaries and predecessors, as we shall see by-and-bye. Gerbert was a man of precocious talents, and a great mathematician ; and it appears 430 that he was one of the tutors of the Emperor when he was quite young. This circumstance paved the way for his accession to the Pontificate. Sinodus Ehemensis, c. 1 et 2, anno 991, con- reniunt Rhemis, sub Ugone et Roberto fiiio cele- briores Provinciorum Episcopi in hac Synodo recensiti, &c. Arnulphus Aurelianensis qui Syno- dum dirigebat in oratione sua, inquit, c. 27 and 28, Nos Reverendissimi Patres Romanam Ecclesiam propter beati Petri memoriam semper honorandum decernimus, nec decretis Romanorurn Pontificum obviare contendimus, salva tamen authoritate Nicaeni Concilii, &c, hicque enumerat csedes, strages, vin- dictus, scelera flagitiaque patrata a Pontificibus, regnante Othone, et de Bonifacio Pontifice, inquit, Succedit Romae in Pontificatu horrendum monstrum Bonifacius, cunctos mortales nequitia superans, etiam prioris Pontificis sanguine cruentus, sed hie etiam fugatus atque in magna Synodo damnatus, &c. I have thought it important to name this Synod, as there were revelations in it which will illuminate the present public about the moral and political conduct of the high clergy of the olden time, and give likewise a master-touch with a black brush to the face of the monstrous Pope Boniface. Newgate and old Tyburn never saw or never had an equal or a more worthy customer than Boniface, nor did any other gallows ever have such a candidate ; and yet Pope Boniface occupied the so-called Peter's Chair, and styled himself the Vicar of Jesus Christ, and decreed ex cathedra, like all the other monstrous mockeries. Without pursuing this subject any farther, I will now proceed with Gerbert, anno 998, when he was not yet metamorphosed into Pope Silvester the Second. In writing to Wiiderodonem Episcop. Argentinensem, towards the end of his letter, he affected such nice Christian manners and principles that his own words are quite sufficient to 431 convict him as a great and infamous hypocrite, without taking into consideration what I have already said about him. Gerbert in Epist. ad Wilderodonem Epis. Argent.: Licuit ergo Episcopis Galliarum viventi Arnulpho, confesso et convicto, ut Ethnico et publicano dixisse anathema : licuit, inquam, sequi Evangelia, Apos- tolos, Prophetas, Sacra Concilia virorum Apostolorum decreta, ab his quatuor non discordantia, semper in usu habita, semper habenda, &c. Pressa jacet tyrannidis omnis Ecclesia Gallorum, atque non Gallis, sed ab illis a quibus sperabatur salus. Sed una salus hominis o Christe tu es. Ipse Roma, omnium Ecclesiarum hactenus habita mater, malis benedicere, bonis maledicere fertur, et quibus nec ave dicendum est, communicare, tuamque legem zelantes damnare, abutens ligandi et solvendi potes- tate a te accepta, &c. I do not know whether the rebel Archbishop Franzoni is living : I well remem- ber when he was regaled by a couple of Charivari, and then sfratato by the public of Turin, as a Church and State offender: that man should be a Cardinal now, he being a victim of Constitutional liberty, and an unsuccessful anti-christian Eather; though he is not talented as was Gerbert, yet he has got sufficient maliciousness and perversity, — but all this is not enough to entitle him to succeed to St Peters Chair now-a-days. Euture Popes will be chosen from those who have not yet stained their Episcopal petticoat with immoral, uncivil, and anti- christian predilections. You will excuse me, if I drag you out again from your solitude, or from your splendid obscurity : it is merely to tell you that you will not be a Pope, even if you had a million of foreign bayonets to prop you up, because the Italian Nation will in future have the privilege of giving their Veto or their consent to the Servus Servorum before he — enuncietur Pontifex Maximus. Baronius (vol. 11, anno 1002, art. 6 and 31) sane 432 postquam in to to antecedente volumine Pontifices, quotquot sedem his 100 annis tenuerant monstra execrabilia prononciavit. In vol. 10, art. 8, anno 912, he had already said: Quae tunc facies Eccle- sia Rom. quam fcedissima cum Romae dominaruntur potentissimae mere trices ? Quarum arbitrio mutaren- tur sedes, darentur Episcopi, &c. The Millennium begins, the witches prepare the cauldron, though Macbeth is absent, and has nothing to do in the affair. Pope Silvester beats Shakespeare in witch- Fasciculus craft. Tempus effeminatum incipit circa annos i irent, plerique absolute, hanc Gerbertum artem ex libro hausisse, authores sunt, quern Hispali in 433 Hispania suffuratus erat, Diabolo inde fidem et homi- num praestitisse, caput aeneum per quod Daemon consultus responderet in conolavi habuisse, quern cum, quamdiu regnaturus esset, consuleret, non prius moriturum asseverasse, quam in Hierusa- lem Missam celebraret; qua3 profectio cum ab ejus mente plurimum abesset, longasvam sibi vitam haud dubie spondebat. At febre correptum Romaa 'in Ecclesia sanctas Crucis, cui nomen Hie- rusalem, dum Missam in Quadragesima celebrat ex strepitu daemonum mortem adesse sentisse, et oraculi demum ambiguitatem animadvertisse, indeque tanti peccati gravitate commotum, quibus- dam Cardinalibus rem aperuisse, satisfactionisque loco mandasse, ut post mortem, truncum corporis sui laceri et disjecti, quemadmodum merebatur, biga3 superim- ponerent, eoque loci sepelirent, quo sponte ab equis vectum foret ; Equos igitur ipsos sponte ad Lateranen- semBasiiicam substitisse, eoque lociCardinalium man- datu sepultum fuisse. Ejus porro sepulchrum collisione ossium, et sudore emisso, ab eo tempore dicitur semper Pontincam mortem praedixisse. The above narrated fact has been doubted by a few writers, and par- ticularly by Baronius, but the Monachus Malmels- buriensis tanquam extra omnem controversial^ positam proponit, et omnes ejus circumstantias describit, quin et penes se veterum librum esse quo Pontificum nomina continentur : qui de Sylvestro — Yitam turpiter finivisse dicit — Et Benno Cardinalis (in vita Hildebrandi) Gerbertus paulo post completum millenarium ascendens de abisso permissionis divinae. quatuor annis sedit, mutato nomine dictus Sylvester Secundus, et per quae multos decepit per eadem Daemonum responsa deceptus morte improvisa Dei judicio est interceptus. Et mox historiam illam, subjungit. Addit Benno discipulos habuisse Theo- phylactum, et Laurentium, qui Daemouibus sacrifi- cabant, interque eos et plures alios, post ipsins obitum, certatum uter iisdem artibus Papatum p p 434 obtineret, quin et successores longo post tempore, Magiarn idcirco professos, quod deinceps accuratius exponetur. Here is a case in which I think I ought to be allowed to ask, who was the confederate who used to answer to his questions through the brass head that Sylvester had with him in conclave ? In this case, as related, the oracular answer was really pro- phetic, and Sylvester ended almost like the original Mazeppa. Instead of translating the above long quotation, I prefer to be inquisitive, and I ask again what were the Cardinals doing in conclave, while their chief consulted the brass head ? Were they themselves putting on asses' heads to form a Senate or a quorum, to respond to his nod, or to dissent to his proposals ; or had they agreed to continue to deceive themselves, while they allowed their chief to perpetrate such devilish practices, and such gigantic swindles upon the credulous population, defying God and humanity in everything, sacred and profane ? Ey the evidence of Cardinal Eenno, we see that Theophylactus and Lawrence were Sylvester's disci- ples ; and both of these Necromancers succeeded to the Pontificate, one after the other; and many more of these affiliated rogues and vagabonds ruled the world according to their dishonest caprices and libidinous practices, until God was nauseated and disgusted with them. The Ecclesiastical history of that period proves how rare it was to find an honest man amongst the Ecclesiastics ; that the virtuous and conscien- tiously pious Ecclesiastics were rarissimi; and this is really the most charitable conclusion that any one can come to. Henry, Eishop of Erford, and particu- larly the Monk of Malmesbury (both Englishmen and honest Ecclesiastical writers), nearly contemporaries, condemned those practices, and deserve honourable mention, with other historians to whom I am happy to pay tribute of respect and veneration. I will not name many other Popes, but I cannot pass in silence what Cardinal Eenno wrote of that 435 period, that — Gerardum Brazutum, Benedict! noni familiarem, subdola familiaritate sex Boinanos Pon- tifices, intra spatium tredecim annorum veneno suffo- casse, quorum nomina haec sunt — Clemens, Damasius, Victor, Leo, Stephanus veneno, Benedictus decimus, per vim et fraudem sublati. This man, Gerard Brazutus, must have had a great many intrigues with influen- tial persons, to have been able to do away with six Popes in thirteen years. I was going to remark something else, but for the present it is better to leave it in the inkstand, — n'est ce pas vrais, Mr Antonelli? Therefore, I shall not say anything about those six victims, as they had not much time to do great damage to the Christian cause, nor any good, on account of the corruptions of their times. I shall come to Hildebrand, as I have many things to say about him, and this is his proper chronological place, where I shall frame him with this biographical item by Cardinal Benno : " Erat Hildebrandus ille natione Hetruscus, professione Cluniacensis Mo- nachus malis artibus, Benno Cardinalis et Archi- presbyter Eomanus testatur, earn dignitatem adeptus. Anno 1066, Hildebrandus, Inconsulto Imperatore, Pontificatum adeptus. As soon as the Emperor Henry heard of it, he was much displeased, and said that he never would con- sent to the consecration of Hildebrand, unless his election was conducted according to the established rules ; and after that, that the election should be investigated and examined by his Imperial delegates, and according to their reports he would give them his orders. Hildebrand was not frightened at this message, and called a Synod at the Lateran, and he actually had the impudence to introduce at that Synod the Countess Mathilde. Dignum vero notatu, huic Synodo interfuisse Comitissam Mathildam fceminam, quod Historise testatur, non minus impu- dicitia, quam superbia infamem. This is the first character to the Great Countess Mathilde; others 436 called her the Great Marchioness Mathilde, on account of being the Sovereign of the Marcha of Ancona, or the Marquisate of Ancona and other States. This Mathilde, according to history, was then a powerful, rich, intriguing, impudent harlot, who played a^reat role in the Italian politico-religious commotions, and who was the concubine of the Anointed Hildebrand, after she had run away from her husband, as we shall see by and by. I was anxious to arrive at this historically tumul- tuous epoch, and to pass over unnoticed many other Popes and Ecclesiastical dignitaries, for various reasons. The first of these reasons is the upsetting and prov- ing invalid and null the Donations by the Countess Mathilde of her States to the Holy See, or rather to her paramour Hildebrand, alias Gregory the Seventh. I could state other causes, but, for the sake of brevity, I will pass them in silence for the present moment, as I may have occasion to speak of them as I proceed with my narrative. Hildebrand called a Synod in the Lateran, and, with his organised Ecclesiastical band — not the brass band of Irish notoriety, but an old black-leaden audaciously impudent band, who were determined, at the risk of breaking their necks, per vetitum nefas, to run precipitously — and they succeeded in esta- blishing in that Synod these two points — "That it was not permitted to the Clergy to be married," and " that the Ecclesiastics should not receive the Investi- tures from the Laity." This was passed in the year 1074 — non liceat Clerico uxorem ducere, nec per laicos EcclesiaB investitutam accipere sub anathenatis poena. In the next year Hildebrand, at the Easter festivals, permitted only Luitprand, a Priest of St Paul, and another Ecclesiastic named Erlembald, to 'have some of the Sacred oil; which gave great offence to the people, who tumultuated, and with- drew from Pome. They, however, soon returned (anno 1075), and murdered the two favourite 437 Ecclesiastics of Hildebrand, and many orgies were committed by the discontented people and Clergy. In the mean time the Emperor Henry sent to Italy Theobald Castilioni, whom he had named Bishop, and was well received by the Milanese population. Gregory, to act the counterpart to the Emperor, would not permit his consecration, and sent to Germany various emissaries and letters playing upon the credulity and ignorance of those populations, who actually believed that it was a sin to attend a mass which was celebrated by a married clergyman, and actually caused commotions in various towns, when the people took the consecrated host from the altars, and broke them and trampled them under foot, and began to reason about it; and some began to persuade themselves that the real presence could not be in a host at the will of a priest. See Aventinus, who noticed this affair, and stated that a number of new Prophets started up on that occasion, and besides many other matters named in this quotation. Aventinus inquit, hinc vero occasione arrepta, multi falsi Prophetse nebulas offendunt, fabulis, miraculis exempla vocant a veritate plebem Christi avertunt, sacras literas interpretando suo negotio servire cogunt, et porro paucissimis Yeneri bellum indicen- tibus, quibusdam castitatem jactantiae qusestus ergo simulantibus, maxima pars sub honesto castimoniee nomina stupra, incestus, adulteria passim et impure committebant. Take notice that from these schisms originated the first symptoms of the Church Eeformation and Protestantism. Gregory was a highly intelligent, active, and strongly corrupted man, who carried Pelion and Ossa into Italy and Germany, and divided the Church from the State with a great schisma. Synods upon Synods were held by both parties against each other ; the princes and people of Saxony, having some griefs against the Emperor, took this opportunity to coalesce with Hildebrand, and so did p p 2 438 the Norman Dukes of Calabria and of Apulia, seeing that the rich Countess Mathilde was disposing of her property to Gregory for the sake of supporting him in the war against the Empire. This was a good thought on her part, to ensure to herself her own States, for fear of losing them in the wars in which she embarked wii^i Hildebrand against the Emperor Henry. Diplomatically speaking, the transfer or cession of these States was made to the Holy See; but the Holy See retained them only as long as Mathilde lived in concubinage with Hilde- brand. After his death she married one of the sons of the Marquis of Este, and enjoyed her property again, and after her own death her States devolved to the Empire ; and we shall see that the various Emperors possessed them, and disposed of them to ther persons as they liked. Quare, in quit Leo Ostiensis (in lib. 3, c. 48), Mathilda Comitissa Henrici Imperatoris exercitum timens, Liguriam et Tiguriam, et Tusciam provincias Gregorio Papa et Sanctse Roime Ecclesia3 devotissime obtulit. Unde in primis causa seminandi inter Pontificem et Imperatorem odii initium fuit. (Juapropter Pontifex opportunitatem nactus, eundem Imperatorem quod sibi jura usurparet Ecclesiaa communione privavit. The Monk of Malmesbury, speaking of this Gregory, in his work (de Gestis Begum Anglorum, lib. 3), said that Gregory did most openly what the other Popes always attempted to do clandestinely, that is, to excommunicate those elected Ecclesiastics who had received the investitures with the ring and Pastoral from secular hands : hie, inquit, quod alii musitaverunt palam extulit, excommunicans electos, qui investitura Ecelesiarum de manu laici per annulum et baculum acciperent. Clerus Leodiensis, in Apologia in Epistola, anno 1106, addit, prsecepisse Mathildi Marchionissse in remissionem peccatorum suorum, ut bellarat Hen- ricum Imperatorem. This was a good excuse to tell 439 the ignorant people, that the Marchioness Mathilde gave her property to the Church for the remission of her sins. It would have been much better had the real truth been told — that she gave her property to Gregory, in order that he miglft make war against the Emperor. Aventinus (lib. 5, Annal. Bojor.) says that the Emperor sent messengers to Eome, and that they were treated in this infamous manner, &c. : Aven- tinus in quit, nuncios ille Csesareos objecta crimina a Saxonibus confutaturos, conatibusque ejus obsti- turos in vincula conjicit, frigore fame, siti excruciat, per urbem circumductos Eoma pellit, eoquod, inquit, ipsemet venire debuerat. Lambert Schaffnaburgensis (in de Eeb. Germa.) also says that the Emperor, hearing of this insult, lost patience, and called a great Council at Worms, to which concurred many Italian, Erench, and Ger- man Bishops, and from Eome Cardinal Hugo Blancus, who had with him letters of many of the optimates of Eome, secular and ecclesiastics, who accused Hildebrand of ambition, perjury, avarice, and other crimes, and that they demanded another pastor. The Saxon Bishops were excluded from that Council. Itaque exausta patientia Henricus Wor- matiaa conventum indicit cui intersunt ex Italia plerique Episcopi ex Gallia, &c, quibus Hilde- brandum accusabant ambitus et perjurii, eundemque pleraque avare, superbe facere conqueruntur, hocque rejecto alium pastorem postulant. By that Council, after mature deliberation, sentence was pronounced against Hildebrand, who called himself Gregory ; first, for having, without the consent of the Eoman Emperor, and against the Imperial authority, &c. (see this sentence in the original words of Sigonius, lib. 9) : Ibi re deliberata Author Vitse ssententia in Hildebrandum pronunciatur. — Hilde- HennclIV * brandus qui se Gregorium nuncupat, primus sine con- sensu nostro adversus Imperatoris Eomani, rerum 440 Domini a Deo constitute, voluntatem contra morem majorum, contra leges, contra auspicia Pontificatum Maximum quern primum ambivitet judicioconvictus, perpetuo objuravit, invasit ; Monachus desertor est, novis dogmatibus sacrosanctam philosophiam adul- terat, Divinas literas falso interpretando suse causae servire cogit, concordiam Collegii scindit, sacra, profana divina humana commiscet utrumque juxta polluit. Diabolicis, hoc est, acerbissimorum hostium, spurcissimis criminationibus iniquorum maledictis aurem commodat et credit — Testis, judex, accusator, inimicus idem est. Maritos ab uxoribus separat, scortae judicis conjugibus, stupra, incestus, adulteria, casto praefert connubio, populares adversus Sacer- dotes, vulgus adversum Episcopos concitat. Eeminem rite initiatum esse docet, nisi qui ab eo sacerdotium emendicaverit, atque ab ejus aurifugis mercatus fuerit : vili plebeculae gratificari studet vulgi imperiti auram captat, simulata religione decipit, defraudat circumvenit in Senatulo muliercularum de sacra- tissimis religionis misteriis pertractat, supremi numinis legem, qua se idem quoque ligavit, solvit, utrumque et Imperium et Pontificatum, sicuti Decii et falsorum Deorum cultores factitare consueverant, usurpat, &c. The translation of this I leave to you, Mr Cullen. Divinae majestali refragatur Christianissimo Prin- cipi divinitus constituto, et a Deo inaugurato resistit, versutus, fallax, obscurus, callidus imperium orbis, titulo Christi, sub ovina pelle ambit. Hasce ob causas sanctissimus Imperator, Pontifices, Senatus, populusque Christianus ilium Hildebrandum abdi- candum, sibi eundem non placere, neque oves lupo committendas censent. Do you hear, Messrs les Eveques Pampheletistes rebelles aux lois et aux Souverains qui vous supportaint ? la conclusion de cette sentence vous vous regarde particulierement, et je la raccomande a la consideration des actuels Ministres de Interieurs de France et d'ltalie. 441 After this, the Synod of Worms wrote to Hilde- brand, sending him a copy of the sentence, and intimating to him that he must abdicate the Eoman Chair, retire into private life, and resign himself to divine wrath. The Synod of Pavia confirmed the sentence passed by that of "Worms, and it was countersigned by the oath, signature, and seal of every Bishop and the other dignitaries present. Therefore, Hildebrand had no excuse of any worth, with which to oppose the general cry for his expul- sion from the Church ; nor could he plead ignorance of this, as at the moment he received his sentence, the Eoman people and the whole of the Italian and other clergy also received notice of these Synods, and of the condemnation and destitution of Hilde- brand. As soon as Gregory heard of this new Ecclesiastical tune, he doubled his energy, and became excessively bold ; he pressed Mathilde to give him a larger sum of money to distribute to the people ; which she did, and doubled the stipend to his soldiers, and flattered the Eoman population with promises, even of freedom (as if such a con- cession could have been possible from a priestly ruler). This was a blasphemy, but never mind ; it was a new one, and suited to the occasion. He wrote again, and sent messages to his friends, who were the enemies of Henry, and there were many among his German relatives and vassals in expectation of becoming Emperors themselves. Foremost amongst these was Eodolphus Dux Sueviae, Imperatoris Sororius, imperii spe lactatus, Bertholdus Zaringise Dux ipsius gener, Welfo Dux Bavariae, Ugo Alsatiae Dux, Maguntinus, Metemsis et Wor- maciensis Episcopi, nec non aliquot Abbates, seu anathematis terrore percussi ; or rather, for the hope and expectation of a better berth, they joined Hildebrand, and betrayed their anterior and better friend, rebelling against his Imperial authority, and carrying great sedition, fire, and death 442 into every town and German State to such a pitch that Henry began to feel himself in danger of losing his crown. While he was marching with his troops in Italy, having started from Spira and arrived in Lombardy, the Pope, feeling rather uncomfortable at the approach of the Imperial army, like a clever diplomatist, invented a treacherous stratagem— pro- bably prompted to him by his night-and-day com- panion, the Countess Mathilde, who never quitted him a single hour, — or by some other of his confede- rates (the Abbot of Clunny, and the Marquis Azzo of Este) ; they devised that Gregory should write a mild letter to the Emperor, in which he should pretend that what he bad done he did for the advantage of the Empire, and that he was willing to prove it, if the Emperor had only been better disposed towards him ; protesting in advance that if the Emperor would bury the past in oblivion, he would again re- ceive him into Church Communion. Henry, sen- sible of the false position in which he was placed, on account of the pressure of so many enemies, and the danger of losing the throne, listened to the proposal of the Pope's letter, and, accordingly, fell into the trap. The Emperor and the Pope approached each other prope Conusium ; the Abbot of Clunny and the Marquis of Este, in the interest of the Pope, nego- tiated, first, that he should withdraw the excommu- nication, and that the Emperor should regain the good graces of the Pope ; who answered them that if the Author in Emperor — Si ex animi pcenitet sententia, coranam, i V ta Henrlcl et reliqua omnia regni insignia in argumentum vera? pcenitentise tradat, et se post tantam contumaciam regio nomine et honore postbac indignum profitea- tur. And they showed to the Pope, after a long discussion, that that condition was really too hard. The Pope then said, "Let him approach, and the penalty which he brought upon himself in detracting the honour of the Apostolic See, let him expiate by revoking his decrees." At illi duram banc esse sen- 443 tentiam multis verbis ostendunt. Prope, in quit, accedat et culpam, quam imperium detrectando ad- versus Apostolicam sedem contraxerit, Decretis ejus obtemperando expurget. Henry, poor fool, consented to do as he was told by the friends of the Pope, and, of course, unescorted, like a dupe, was taken in be- tween a walled place all alone, having left outside all the followers of his suite. There he was com- pelled to cast away his Eoyal garments, and without shoes, in spite of the fearful winter, without break- fast and without dinner, in that condition he waited the answer of the Pope until the hours of vesper (evening). This cold treatment was nothing ; listen to the Malmelsburiens. account, who says that, to add to that insult, he was compelled to hold in his hands the broom and scissors, thereby modestly showing himself ready to be broomed or well beaten, and have his hair cropped. After this, I do not hesitate to believe that the old Prench song, which stated that the good Roy cVAgobert mis ses coulottes d Venver, might have been written to perpetuate a foolish historical fact, as we have a case in point here, beating le Roy d'Agobert, in the person of the Emperor in his shirt, with the rod and scissors in hand, waiting for the barbarous executioner. "0 tempora, 0 mores ! " you should cry out, Mr Anto- nelli. What a pity that you cannot get such a cus- tomer, now that you are so much in want of a victim ? "What a pity, indeed ; the situation of the drama is nearly the same ; that old, so much trodden Italian soil is still the same, still beautiful, still dear ; but the population now sing other songs, the warrior songs, and instead of hearing the bells ringing for the mass, they hear the drum, the musket shooting, the cannon roaring ; they run, they fly to the camp, and to the streets, to exterminate the execrated stranger, who pollutes the soil and devours its pro- duce, and then leave you, M.v Antonelli, and your 444 abominable sect, to sing the song of the Count in i La Sonambula/ " Cari luoghi io vi trovai Ma quei di non trovo piu." Miser igitur Henricus proprius, ut jussus erat, aeeedit, atque intra secundum murorum ambitum receptus, omni comitatu extra relicto, Regium cultum abjicit, ac sine calceis saeviente hyeme, jejunus usque ad vesperam responsum Gregorii expectat. Addit Malmelsburiensis, nudis pedibus forfices et scopas in manu habuisse, aut se attunderi et flagellari paratum ostenderet. Yerum ad vesperam usque in secundo illo ambitu (triplex enim urbi erat) respon- sum frustra expectantem reliquit ; Redit secundo et tertio, idemque experitur : Quarto demum, partim constantiam homini admirans, partim aspera hominum adversus se convitia veritus, eum in conspectum admittit. Turn vero res ita convenit : Henricus anathemate solveretur ac se die et loco, quern Gre- gorius constitueret, in communi Germanorum Prin- cipum conventu in judicio sisteret et criminibus, quae objiciebantur, questionem exercente Pontifice, responderet atque extremo ejus judicio staret: Interea omnia Regise dignitatis ornamenta deponeret, ac de rebus publicis nihil pro suo j ure statueret ; quorum consilio hactenus usus erat, Bamburgensem Episcopum Ulricum de Cosheim et caeteros a sua familiaritate in perpetuum depelleret, et qui Sacra- mentum ei dixissent ejus religione omnes exsolveret. Quod cum per omnia sacra jurasset, Gregorius anathemate solutum pronuntiat : Nec Henricus quidem, quae hominis atrocitas, parum se consecutum arbitrabatur. Yerum, ut hunc principem pcedibus conculcavit, ex ejus humilitate eo superbior, fide infidelior factus, ad confederates suos in Germaniam, Saxones prassortim Legatos expedit, Pernardum Cardinalem Romanum, et Abbatem quondam 445 Massiliensem : quod cum Henrico pepigerat non esse quod attenderent, nam licet reconciliatus sit Curia? coelesti, non tamen regno, unde auspicato ftomse desti tutus, restitutum esse. Itaque cum Legatis socii conjuncti, Eorchamii illico ad mensem Martium, anni 1077, conveniunt, communique consilio Eo- dolphum Suevise et Burgundie Dacem. Henrici sororium Tmperatorem eligunt, hac tamen lege, ut comitia Pontificalia abjure t, clientelas Episcoporum abdicet, neve velut hereditario jurefilios suos succes- sors declaret. Id perpetuo animo fixum, cui non multo post, in confirmationis signum coronam Im- perialem hac inscriptione mittet. Petra dedit Petro, Petrus Diadema Rodulpho. "When Gregory found his adversary was so dull- pated, he continued his arrogant, disgusting, and insulting manner towards him, and he bore all sorts of contumelious indignities for three consecutive days, until the Pope himself, disgusted at the Imperial humility, to close this lamentable scene, received him on his knees, and while prostrated the Pope put his foot upon his neck, pronouncing the verse : Super aspidem et basilicum ambulabo, &c. He then dismissed him from his presence, spoliated him of his honour, dignities, and Empire, leaving him merely with his shirt on. After this, with the intrigues of the Pope's German confederates and his own assistance, they elected to the Empire Rudolph, the Dux Suevise, and of Burgundia?. I feel so disgusted with these proceedings, that I have not the patience to finish translating the above quota- tions. Therefore, I continue the history. At last Henry was so insulted, so vilified, and degraded, that he rallied his manly spirit, pressed by his friends and relatives, who felt more offended than himself; and, reconciling himself with some of those German Princes who had deserted him, he collected his army and went furiously against Eudolph, and defeated him in a fierce battle, where many of his a q 446 adversaries found a well-deserved death. Gregory was exasperated, but did not lose his hopes when he heard of the defeat of his protege. However, the table was turning against his expectations, and a great Synod, which was attended by most of the European Bishops, was held at Brixia. (Aventinus, anno 1080.) Here Hildebrand was accused of ambi- tion, heresy, magics, anti-christian principles. &c, and was condemned and deposed. See also Sigonius, who reports the decree, and adds that Gregory was manifestly a necromancer, inbued with demoniacal spirit. Rudolph, pressed by Gregory, sought another battle, and lost his life by it. At that Synod of Brescia, the Emperor Henry elected as Pope, Ghilbert of Corregio, Bishop of Eavenna, who took the name of Clement the Third. Henry then turned his troops towards Eome, in the winter of the year 1081. In the spring of the fol- lowing year he besieged Eome, and took it in the year 1083, he being one of the first to enter the city. Guilielmus Malmelsburiensis remarked that Godefroy de Bouillon was the first to enter Eome by means of a ladder, and that Gregory and the Nor- man Duke escaped by the Elaminian Gate, &e. At last Gregory died in 1085, in the month of May (a pretty flower indeed to die in May). I shall not write you an epitaph, though I am ready to transcribe what many of your contemporaries wrote about you, and your Countess and other Confederates, and to prove also to the present public how you came by the Donations of the States of the Countess Mathilde. I have already stated the facts myself, but as there are several historians who unmistakably and plainly described you and her, and showed what transactions you had with her, — -how you and her made one by your intimate connection ; how she ruled Eome when you usurped it, when she attended the con- sistories and councils of Cardinals and Bishops, whom 447 she decreed and ordered, and how foolish you looked towards those who knew everything that passed at the Yatican ; how discontented were the few really Christian Prelates, who saw the mismanagement, and the perversion of Christianity, — when I have shown historically how her things belonged to you, and yours to her, it will be plainly conclusive and fair enough to believe also, that she gave to you her estates because she could not carry them with her death into her tomb. Fortunately, she survived you, and continued the administration of her States ; and, besides that, the succeeding Emperors claimed, obtained, and ruled those States without opposition, giving parts of them to several Imperial Yicars to be administered, retaining part of them exclusively for themselves, connecting them with the Empire, while those portions bestowed upon the Yicars were given as Imperial Eeuds. The succeeding Popes, with a great deal of trouble now and then, had from other Emperors the nominal investitures, the gifts of pomp and of ostentatious show, as was customary at those times, as a mark of respect to the head of Christianity, of various towns, and occasionally even of provinces that had belonged to Mathilde. Those Donations, as I have shown in other chapters, never conferred the Temporal or Imperial Dominion, on account of the usual clause, Salvo tamen Jure Imperii nostro posterorumque nostrorum. If we consider in what then consisted the Imperial Donations to the various Popes, we shall see that they conveyed to the Pope the power of taking tithes upon the lands of the Churches or monasteries of such towns as were named in the Donations ; whilst, as we find by public records and documents that, though the Pope's officers were taking tithes in one or the other town, the Imperial Yicar's officers used also to take their tithes, and even inferior Princes had their officers to levy the tithes on their States for the sake of con- tributing to the maintenance of the Empire, if 448 such states, towns, or provinces, were named in the Donations. As I shall speak of those Donations more demonstratively in another chapter, for the present I have said enough, and so return to my dear Gregorio, to tell him it is true that while he upset the Imperial Power he enjoyed the useful as well the Imperial and Spiritual Power ; but when peace was re-established the Popes were always put into a corner, and left to glory in the contemplation of the Spiritual Power, or to think of new cabals for the overthrow of the Temporal Power, whilst the Em- perors and their Yicars were feasting on the useful and Temporal Dominion. ISow for some contemporary historians w r ho have furnished posterity with the real truth of the partly related facts, whilst I add to it, with their assistance, other important facts to be known. Baronius was extraordinarily partial to Gregory, and would have given anything to be able to clean the face and garments of Gregory the Seventh ; he would make him a Saint in every way ; but, un- fortunately, he lived in the seventeenth century, and Guttenberg and Paust, and the co-Burghers of Nuremberg, and Jenson, Bernard of Cologne, Zainer of Eutlingen, Pranck de Heilborn, and Mcholas of Prankford, and all the early Venetian, Parisian, Swiss, Eoman, and other printers, had already, in the last quarter of the fifteenth century, printed a great number of the Ecclesiastic annals, and many of those religious historical legends of the Pathers of the Church, and the Councils, and the various dia- tribes of the ancient Clergy, who, more or less, told the tales as they were at their times. All these works are in antagonism to Baronius and others of his class, and give us a full insight into the state of society the writers of them were living in, telling good and bad, in expectation of reforming the human family. Baronius (an. 1073, art. 16) says: Hildebrandus 449 Soanensis e Tuscise civitate, natus humili loco, pa- rente fabro, &c. This can pass, and it is reasonable and unobjectionable that he was the son of a smith. Certainly, it was not necessary that he should have been born of parents in a higher sphere of society, for even noblemen now- a- days are not all talented men, although I have nothing in particular to say against them, as I have known a great number to be not only talented, but as liberal-minded as any other person could be in every respect, and I have admired most of them. In the year 1085, art. 14, Baronius said of Gregory that, Yestimenta silicet Gregorii post ipsius mortem miracula edidisse, sicuti Pauli semecinctia : ej usque sudaria ad pellendos lan- guores, Daemonesque fugandos usui fidelibus fuisse Acta testari, eandem Gregorii indumentis a Deo indita virtutem. After reading this passage, I had a good laugh, and a good walk, as I could not stand, nor keep seated, nor quiet, on account of the enor- mous absurdity of this mastodontic lie, the analysis of which would be quite sufficient for a man of wit and versatility to write a Komance in two 8vo. volumes. I regret the difference between speaking and writing my opinion about this magic falsehood, and the absence of the opportunity; besides, this work will contain things that may perhaps be con- sidered exceedingly lewd without the filth of the dresses of this rapacious Ourang-outang, self- elected Pope. The most laconically accountable translation that can be made of the expression of Baronius is that, after Hildebrand's death, probably Mathilde was subject to hysterical fits, and that her maids of honour, to relieve her from them, used to show her Hildebrand's breeches ; and that was the medicine ad pallendos languores. "With regard to the trebly infernal blasphemy, that the miraculous actions emanating from the habiliments of Gregory, testified his virtue by the will of God, I hope that Baronius did not get any one to believe it, as I am sure that qq2 450 none of the present generation will believe it, in spite of the zeal and audacious impostures practised by the so-called Beverend and Eminent miracle- makers of the day. I must apologise to the reader for introducing such monstrosities, but at the same time I must remark that they are facts which should not be suppressed. I will now quote another mon- strosity of much the same character, which I take from a very rare book in my library. It is the History of Friderici Imperatoris magni hujus nominis primi ducis Suevorum, et parentale suaa. This Emperor, Frederick the First, who was also Duke of Sweden, and called Barbarossa, had a brother named Conrad, and another named Otho, who was Bishop of Ar- gentina ; their family name was Staulfen, and they were related to St Eides, Virgin and Martyr. This Emperor married the daughter of the Emperor Heinrick the Fourth (the victim of Hildebrand), after the death of Eudolph, the Dux Suevorum Note.— Some mortuo in bello — Dictus Heinrichus Imperator quar- worSrecon- tus ducatum Suevie prefato Friderico contulit. This is tracted in the the gentleman whom we have seen settled by Hilde- ongma. brand's victim. Frederick was the founder of the Monasterii Loricensi ordinis Sti. Eenedicti; where he and all his family were buried. He endowed that Church with so many cartloads of pretended religious relics, that the belief of it baffled the ima- gination of every beholder, unless he was a deeply confirmed idiot. That book was written about the beginning of the thirteenth century, and the first edition was published in the Augsburg Monastery of $S. Udalric and Afer, about the year 1475 — absque ulla nota, et sine authoris nomine. I shall not name all those relics which the unknown author said that he saw in that Church and Monastery, because they are more numerous than the most ample and varied catalogue of a bric-a-brac shop. I shall only say that the things pretended to have belonged to Jesus Christ there, are enough to furnish 451 two rooms, without putting in it — de sancta cruce magna pars, et camisia Christi; but what makes me laugh and puzzled is, how they could have preserved the " Item, de lacte beate Marie Virginis." And listen to this — De cruce que crevitin ■utero sancte Margarethe ; and — De prepucio domini nostri ihesu Xpi, [sic] &c. I positively refuse to believe these monstrous, blasphemous, and fanatic assertions, out of respect and veneration to Religion and Christianity ; and I firmly declare that a religion that has recourse to such falsehoods must be a very poor and despicable form of religion, fit only for zanies, and for those who pretend to be such for other motives. Therefore, I am not surprised that 13aro- nius wrote that, by God's will, the breeches of Hildebrand performed miracles ! Yes, to the horse- marines, and to Mathilde, as I have said. I quit this subject for the present, to return to Gregory, and to endeavour to fix his character as given by his contemporary historians. Hildebrand, alias Gregory, before dying, desired to be succeeded in the Pontificate by one out of a dozen friends whom he named, and Siegebertus sane Abbas Gemblacensis author contemporaneus (in Chon. Mathil., et Math. Paris in Hist. Anglica, ann. 1085) diserte appellasse cum Cardinales quos supra alios diligebat duodecim professumque — suadente Diabolo se contra humanum genus odium, et iram concitasse. This Abbot then gives a character to Hildebrand that not only explains what he was, but even what the people and Clergy thought of him. Lambertus Schaffnaburgiensis Hirtzangiensis Abbas, de Comitissa Mathilda ejus, Gregori, arnica loquens, scripsit, Hsec vivente adhuc viro suo, quandam viduitatus speciem longissimis abeo spatiis exclusa prsetendebat, cum nec ipsa maritum in Lotharingiem extra natale solum sequi vellet, et ille Ducatus, quern in Lotharingia administrabat, nego- tiis implicitus, vix post tertium vel quartum annum 452 semel Marchiam Italicam inviseret; post cujus mortem Romani Pontificis lateri pene comes indivi- dua adherebat, eumque miro colebat affectu ; cumque magna pass Italiaa ejus pareret imperio et omnibus quae prima mortales ducunt, supra cseteros teme illius Principes abundaret ubicumque opera ejus Papa indignisset, ocyus adserat, et tamquam patri vel domino sedulum exhibebat officium ; Unde nec evadere potuit incesti amoris suspicionem, passim jactandibus Eegis fantoribus, et prsecipue clericis, quibus illicita, et contra scita Canonum contracta conjugia prohibebat, quod die ac nocte impudenter in ejus voluntaretur amplexibus ; at ilia furtivis Papse, amoribuspraeocupata post amissum conjugem, ultra secundas contrabere nuptias detrectaret. What do you think of this, Mr Antonelli? "Was it not charming for Pope Gregory to be so well attended, served, and caudled day and night by such a dearly affectionate companion as the great Countess Mathilde ? It is clearly told here that the priests of old, particularly the highest, were as debauched as the modern, and this accounts why there is little chance nowadays for secular persons, as the clergy absorb a good share of the women's amativeness. The reason may be because they can put on hypocrisy with or without any notice, and that is just the thing that did in the olden time, as well as it does at the present, and this hypocrisy suits a certain class of women even now, though well educated. Even lately several examples have been given in the public press of married clergymen and priests seducing both married and unmarried women. I was told the other day by a gentleman who was lately in Home, that he there heard it almost publicly said that in the Nuns' Convents there were no less than twelve or fifteen young ladies in a very interesting state. Is this true, Mr Antonelli ? or are they more numerous ? State the facts as they are, and the people will excuse you, as you are not able to put any 453 control upon it. The public know the fragility of humanity, and the mission that women had from God, when he said crescite, et multiplicamini, et replete terram ; therefore, the sins lie in not fulfilling the duty, or in smuggling children in the monasteries, or any other dark, forbidden places. Sigonius, speaking of Mathilde, says — Addunt alii, cum Azzoni Marchioni Atestano nuprisset, Pon- tificus prse impatientia, anno sequenti matrimonium solvisse propter detectum sanguinis conjunctionem. Unde suspicio in plenam adulterii cestitudinem evasit — that others stated that Mathilde married Azzo, Marquis of Este, and that Gregory, in the following year, impatiently dissolved that marriage, having discovered that there was a degree of con- sanguinity between them. The moral of the case was, that he impatiently wanted her himself, and as she went to live with him, instead of remaining with her second husband, of course that fact doubled the suspicion of the adultery, instead of the evasit* Suppose that the consanguinity existed; why did they not obtain a brief of permission, like any other Sovereigns had done, and are still doing in such, cases ? The fact is, Gregory could not dispense with her, or her money, which he required to wage war with the Emperor. Besides, she could not her- self dispense with a man that pleased her in every- thing ; and who allowed her to rule Rome and the Roman Empire. The Tractatus de TJnitate Eccl. Conservanda, speaking of Matilda and Gregory, says : Itaque est qui liberius adhuc propter frequens cum ea et familiare colloquium generavit plurimis scsevse suspicionis scandalum, dum non observavit attentius divinum illud Lucii Papse Mandatum : Duo Presbyteri, inquit, et tres diaconi in omni loco, non deserant Episcopum, propter testimonium Ecclesiasticum. Quod sane eo studiosius observare debuerat, quo in legitima matrimonia sseviebat magis. In eo sane consentiunt 454 Authores omnes, Mathildem Papatum, ne dum Papam gubernasse, Ecclesias etiam bona administrasse ; unde Cardinalis Eenno (in Yita Hildebrand.) : Roma videt et audivit qualiter vixerit, cum quibus diu et noctu consilia habuerit, qualiter a se Cardinales, qui testes vitas et doctrinee ejus esse debuerant removerit. And Sigonius (lib, 9) did not hesitate to write — that Gregory permitted Mathilde to have a chair in the Councils — Ilium Mathildi in Conciliis sedem concessisse. Godefridus Monachus, in Annales ? refert : Mathilda circumventu a Papa tunc temporis Mar- chiam Anconitanam beato Petro tradidit, magistra- tibus, et potestatibus insciis et inconsultis. Godfrey says that Mathilde, surrounded, or rather infatuated, by the Pope's love, gave up to the Holy See the Marquisate of Ancona without consulting the magistrates and the people, who knew nothing about it. Gerochus, who lived at that time and belonged to the sect of Hildebrand, describes (in vita Hildebr.) the Eomans as bold, arrogant, and disobliging — Eomani, in quit, sibi divinum usurpant honorem, rationem actorum reddere nolunt, nec sibi dici aequo animo ferunt, cur ita agis ? Iliud satyricum incul- cant, sic volo, sic jubeo, sit pro ratione voluntas — et id vero ingenium ejus erat, ut ab omnibus describitur. Sigebertus eo tempore testatur — suo exemplo et Deere tis inauditis multa contra jus et fas in Ecclesia gesta fuisse, et hac occasione multos pseudomagis- tros exurgentes in Ecclesia prophanis novitatibus plebem ab Ecclesiastica disciplina aversisse : Eum- que Imperatorem excommunicasse sub hoc obtentu, ut primates regni quasi juxta ex causa, excommuni- cato Eegi contradicant ; Item : Ipse Papa occurrens Imperatori in Lombardia sub falsa eum pace absolvit. Omnes enim qui prius Hildebrandum objuraverant, perjurium perjurio cumulantes Imperatorem abjurant, et Eodulphum Ducem Burgundinum super se Eegem statuunt, corona ei a Papa missa. How fierce and 455 prepotent was Hildebrand may be plainly seen by his Apophthegma, which he wrote in a letter to his Saxon friends. Speaking of the Emperor, he said : Aut moriar, aut tibi animum regnumque tollam — Either I shall perish, or take from thee thy soul and thy Empire (see Historia Saxonica). Leo Episcopus Hostiensis (lib. 3, in Chron. Cassinen., c. 48) qui turn florebat in Historia candide scripsit. Cumque negotium efFectui mandatum esset, Pontifex Mathildae consiliis adjutus, quendam ex suis ultra montes dirigens, et Ehodolpho Duci coronam imperii Mittens, adversus Augustum rebellare suasit. The presumption of Gregory had assumed such magnitude that nothing was impossible to him ; and when he wrote to his Saxon friends to be quiet and certain, he told them that he would very shortly subject the Emperor, and that he would give him to them even more culpable, and that if Henry resigned his Eoyal prerogatives and insignia, and submitted tamely to him, they should have him more contemptible than ever ; that if he resisted, and should resume his Eoyal power, then he (the Pope) was sure that he would have another new cause for excommunicating him. "When Gregory was penning this letter to the Saxons, I repeat that he was giving himself the character of one of the greatest intriguing vagabonds that ever managed affairs of State or Eeligion. In Historia Saxon. Apologia Henr. — Ne solliciti, inquit, scitis, quia culpabiliorem cum redo vobis : contemptibilior enim erit ipsius Eegis in regno per- sona, si satisfaciens, regni insignia deponat, aut si non permissus a se Eegalia resumat ornamenta, cer- tiorem perinde habebo exercendse circa eum causam excommunicationis, &c. The testimonies of Hilde- brand' s monstrous career of crimes are so many, that it would be a very heavy task to collect them all. What I have noted would be more than sufficient now to expel from society a gentleman, or from the throne a Sovereign, who conducted himself in so 456 revolting and insulting a manner towards his subjects. "We had a specimen lately, when a debauched ruling vagabond lived under the sway of Lola Montes. I forget now who had to run, but this is not the ques- tion. Hildebrand was most culpable, and if it is in^ decorous for a gentleman, and for a ruler a fortiori, it was much worse for a Pope to live a life of scandals, crimes, and murders. This Mathilde deserted two husbands, the hunchback Lotharingian Duke first, and then the Marquis of Este, to live with Gregory, as she did from 1066 till the time of his death in 1085 ; a pretty long lease, and from report it seems that she liked him, and he was much to her satisfac- tion. There was no reason for abandoning her first husband, because as soon as Hildebrand divorced them for his own pleasures, the hunchback Duke married another princess, who gave him several chil- dren. Gregory dispensed both husbands from the necessity of asking for the Dispensation Licenses, appropriating to himself the undispensed object at the expense of his unspoused companion, who spent her cash and honour until the spendthrift spent his light. Besides the testimony of Cardinal Benno, there was living contemporaneously the Abbot Sigebertus, who with many others are reported by Aventinus, and the Bishops that condemned Gregory in the Synods of Brescia, and none of them excused him for his amours, for his violence, ambition, presumption, and necromantic mysteries. I leave him to show how Mathilde's intrigues, money, and influence were kept up by her and a few others, and a friend already named and designated by Gregory to succeed him to the Pontifical honours. Desiderius Abbas Cassinen- sis was the new favourite, in spite of the really elected Clement, who was in possession of the Spiritual power. Sigonius says that the new favourite of Hathilde, Victor the Third, had a colloquy with her, and that 457 he actually stood for eight days in the Vatican ; but he was not fortunate, or perhaps he had not sufficient impudence and courage to resist the machinations that were moved against him. A Synod was called at Benevento, and there he was excommunicated. William Malmelsburiensis says (lib. 4) that poison was placed in the chalice when Yictor celebrated the first mass, and that that settled his account, at the same time that the news was given to Clement and to the Emperor Henry of the excommunication of Desidery, alias Pope Victor the Third. Veneno sublatum, dum primum missam caneret, in calice pro- pinato : qui tamen per id intervalli nova in Clemen- tern et Henricum anathemata procuderat, &c. Ma- thilde, that enterprising and courageous woman, did not lose her spirits, and, as usual, with money and intrigues, elected another of her friends amongst those designated by Gregory — Otho, Bishop of Clunny, who succeeded anno 1088. This Pope took the name of Urbanus the Second. Cardinal Benno called him the valet of Hildebrand. As he could not enter into Rome on account of Clement being in possession of the See, he withdrew into Terracina to study the opportunity. The Monacus Malmelsburiensis says : Juxta statutum Gregorii electum ; aequiori, ut vide- batur, causae affuit militia Mathildis Marcissas quae oblitu Saxus, nec dispar antiquis Amazonibus fer- rata virorum agmina in bellum agebat fcemina : Ejus posteriori tempore suffragio Urbanus Thronum adep- tus Apostolicum. Mathilde, forgetting her sex, like an ancient Amazon, conducted a corps of well-armed cavaliers, and by her martial valour she placed in the Roman See Urban the Second, after many intrigues and difficult battles. Sigonius says : Mathildam, quae filiam Petri se dicebat, Urbanum defendendum suscepisse profitetur : Urbanum vero ei authorem fuisse ut Weifoni Bavariae Duci nuberet : nempe ut quern Henrico in Germania opponerent, haberent. Bertholdus, in his Chronicle, to excuse Gregory, 458 Const-int' sa ^ : ^ on ^ am P ro i ncon ti nen ^ a > & c - — that Gregory Presbyter, in was ambitious to possess the States, and not the Cfaron. Countess ; and this was the only aim of that connu- bial alliance. The Emperor Henry, after he had reconquered his Italian States, and part of those of Mathilde, left his son Conrad in Italy to govern them, while he went to Germany to set straight other affairs that his adversaries had upset there, anno 1092. During this interval Urban and Mathilde found the means of upsetting the mind of Conrad, and of setting him against his father ; and they did this by insinuations and threats, and promises that unless he allied him- self with them and betrayed his father, he would never have the Imperial Crown. Conrad, seduced and flattered, was ensnared, and to prevent him emancipating himself from them, they married him to the daughter of Eogerius, the King of Sicily, one of the greatest enemies of his father, Henry the Eourth. Aventinus, lib. 5, reports that the Emperor was at Cologne when he learnt these proceedings, and said : Eilius meus illecebris foemineis captus, non solum dignitate, sed vita me privare conatur. This unfortunate Emperor was really to be pitied, and it is not to be wondered at that the malignity of Urban and Mathilde placed him in that dilemma, the more sorrowful on account of the affectionate feeling en- tertained, by chance or by art, by the Princess for Conrad. Henry, in his grief, likewise said that his son, infatuated with the love of that woman, was attempting to deprive him not only of his Imperial dignity, but also of his life. (See Aventinus, Sigo- nius, and Dodechinus, ad annum 1093.) At this epoch the world was in the greatest confusion. Urban went to Milan, and Peter the Hermit invented his scheme for the recovery of Palestine. This great enterprise has been a constant and fruitful means of discord, of perfidy, of intrigues, and of the greatest 459 calamities that have befallen Christianity. The Popes and Kings have constantly used this gigantic scheme as a basis for all the political swindles, and even now it is not over, and never will be, because it served the purpose of the rulers, and because the Turks say — " Don't you wish you may get it ? " Bertholdus wrote in his Chronicle (anno 1093) that Urban went to Milan, and there confirmed and ordered that Archbishop Arnulphus should preside over his church, and be decorated with the Pallium ; he had been previously created and installed in that place, according to the custom, by the Emperor Henry, with baculo et annulo, and withdrew to a Csenobio, because the Bishops refused to consecrate him. Urban did this act of grace to Arnulphus for the sake of obtaining from him the submission of the Archbishopric of Milan to that of Eome ; which fact I deem of sufficient importance to be known, because Milan was never before subject to Eome, so far as regarded the Spiritual Power. If the reader refers to the Testament of Charlemagne, he will find that Milan was one of the twenty-one Metropolitan Churches of his Empire. The Monk of Malmesbury wrote that Urban went to Germany to visit some churches, and made proselytes for the Expedition against the Turks, making himself most industrious in this enterprise, as he could not put his nose into Eome, and Boamundus, anno 1095, Illyriam and Macedoniam pervaderet. The first General Council of the West was ordered at Clermont in the year 1095, and it was the very first that had been called by the Pope ; and this was the object of its indictment : £Tos fidelibus Christi- ans, qui contra infideles arma susceperint immensas pro suis delictis pcenitentias relaxamus, et sub Ecclesiae defensione, beatorum Petri et Pauli protec- tione, tamquam verae obedientiaa filios recepimus. With this programme they made up an army, and started for Palestine. I have no business to 460 speak here of their success ; but I will ask Mr Anto- nelli if, with such a prospect, he could have enrolled the twelve thousand brigands that he has now got, in expectation of making them cavalieri di Cristo, after the second edition of the sack of Perugia, or any other town, as it matters not to those wandering knights of the road and forest. I pass on to the year 1099, when the unfortunate Emperor, Henry the Fourth, died, through vexation and grief. Sigonius says (anno 1100, lib. 9) : Eec multo post anno 1100 Conradus Henrici filius eo nomine succedit, qui nun- quam a consiliis Mathildis et TJrbani discesserat. • At that time Pope Clement was still in Rome, and the pretended Pope, Urban, was at Clermont Perrant, and both of them playing their parts in the most tragico -comical way, excommunicating each other, instituting and destituting each other's favourites and adversaries, to the amazement and consternation of the people; thereby proclaiming the falsity of their principles and morals, and spreading anarchy, crime, and corruption, instead of love and charity — a motto which they and their predecessors had oblite- rated from their escutcheons. About the year 1096 the first famous expedition took place for the liberation of Palestine. What those famous knights did as a first exploit it does not become me to state here ; and, though they con- sisted of really educated persons, and belonged to the most civilised States of Europe, yet their first work was that of — but I will let Aventinus relate it himself, in words as unequivocal as they are expressive : Deus vult, inquit, relictis regno urbibus, castellis, sacer- dotiis, templo, contuberniis, uxoribus, liberis, prse- diis, aratro, in Asiam gregatim migrant duces, prefecti, tetrarchse, dynasthse, Episcopi, sacrificuli, monachi : sub specie religionis, nefanda scelera impune perpetrant, Anserem proeferunt, Spiritum Sanctum esse, Carolum Magnum revixisse predicant. And every Hebrew family they found in their way, 461 or in any place where they went, were treated in this manner : Ubicumque eos, haabreos, occidunt, nisi ^^^ Ui .\j l u illico convertantur, recusantes compliant, et bonis ic9«, '* 1 omnibus spoiiant. Pars Judaaorum, am ore legis sua3 mutuis se vulneribus considerunt: alii simulacro Christianismo rursus deserto Christo ad Mosem re- lapsi sunt. This was the result of the famous in- vention of Peter the Hermit's first expedition ! Sigonius (in lib. 9) speaks of this expedition also, and says that Urban calculated to establish for him- self a monument out of it : yes, an execrable one, which turned out as profitable to Christianity as the hereditary disease of Lepra. And the Monk of Malmesbury (lib. 4) says of this expedition, that it was necessary to bind up perpetually superstition with hypocrisy. England, till the year 1103, was equally subject to the capricious will of the Popes. But William See Mattb. the Second was no fool ; and as he was not ambi- eSk tious to become a Saint, he thought of opposing Urban the Second, when he declared he had the right to confirm Anselm Archbishop of Canterbury, who had already been elected by the King's consent. The Archbishop went to Italy against the will of the King, who had already given him notice that if he went to the Pope for the investiture of the Pal- lium, he would exile him, and prevent him re-occu- pying his See. The Archbishop went to Pome, and the King kept his word ; and as long as he lived Anselm remained an exile at Lyons. The French Government has given a warning to its Bishops to abstain from going to the Pom an in- surrectionary Episcopal Congress, which will take place after Easter, under the pretext of the Canonisa- tion of some meddlers in the business and consciences of other people. Will the French Government keep its word to the Bishops who absent themselves with- out permission, or will the Government be afraid of the Red Woman who pulls the first strings of the B It 2 462 bell at the Imperial Council-room ? This problem we shall see solved very soon, after the Idus " Mai" (Italice) . At last Urban the Second died in the year 1099, and Eainerius Hetruscus, who took the name of Paschal the Second, succeeded to the Koman See. He was a pupil of Hildebrand, and highly commended by Urban ; therefore, the reader must prepare to read new scenes of commotions and horrors. Platina was rather favourable to Paschal the Second when he wrote : S. Petrus Eainerium virum optimum Pontificem elegit. We must not forget that Clement the Third was still occupying St Peter's Chair, in opposition to the young Emperor, and with greater right than Paschal the Second. Young Henry, or Henry the Fourth, according to some historians, and to others, Henry the Fifth, called a general Synod at the Lateran, with the intention of devising the best means of getting rid of Pope Cle- ment; and Clement excommunicated him again, and excited a number of his German enemies against him, particularly as he had not gone to Palestine. I have passed under silence the battle which the Emperor Henry the Fourth fought against his son, instigated and assisted by the Pope and the Bishops. The son was defeated, but the Bishops and the Legates of Paschal, when the Emperor entered Mayence, traitorously took him prisoner, having taken care to exclude the Emperor's followers in the town, and having left strong guards at the gates to prevent the Emperor's army entering it. While the Emperor was unconscious of the treason, the Pope's Legates with fifty Bishops reunited in Synod and traitorously deposed him, excommunicated him, and deprived him of the Crucem, Sceptrum, Scurim, Pegnum Ensem, et Coronam ; and when he asked them why they did so, they answered because he — Heimoid. lib. eum in conferendis Episcopatibus et Abbatiis Simonia i,c.32. usum fuisse. Then the Emperor said, " Now you 463 Maguntine Bishop, and you Bishop of Cologne, speak the truth, by the Eternal God, what did you give me ?" They dared not to answer ; then the Emperor said, " Glory be to thee, 0 God, that at least you are faithful in this." It will not be amiss to extract from Krantzius (lib. 5, c. 10, in Saxon Hist.), a few lines to convey to the reader the truth of the facts which passed at that time in the City of Mayence, where the Papal conspiracy succeeded in putting in the trap the Emperor Henry the Fourth, after he had conquered his son who revolted against him, instigated and supported by Pope Paschal, the old Countess Mathilde, and fifty Bishops, who were then the scourge of humanity. — Mandatum, inquit, Moguntino, Coloniensi, et Wormacensi Episcopis, ut eum adeuntes Imperialia insignia auferrent invito. Crucem Sceptrum, Securim, Begnum Ensem, et Coronam, Imperatori autem causam requirenti (respondent), eum in conferendis Episcopatibus et Abbatiis Simonia usum fuisse. Tunc Imperator; Die Maguntine, die Coloniensis, per nomen Dei seterni, quid a vobis acceperim. Dixerunt, Nihil; Tunc Imperator, Gloria Deo in excelsis, quia vel in hac parte fideles inventi sumus : Certe maximse vestrse dignitates potuissent magnum cameras nostras, si ita quaereretur, qusestum prestitisse.. Dominus Wormacensis novit et nos non ignoramus, quaestus an gratis ilium receperimus : Nolite patres temerare fidem vestram. Ecce jam senio laboramus, sustinete modicum, et nolite in confusione gloriam vestram terminare : Generalem Curiam expetimus ; Si ceden- dum propriis manibus filio coronam trademus. Illis renitentibus et vim ostendentibus, parumper secedens Imperialibus se vestivit insigniis et reversus, Haec, Inquit, Imperialis honoris sunt insignia, haec mihi praestitit aeterni Begis pietas ; et Principum electio. Potens est Deus, nos in his conservare, et manus vestras ab opere ccepto cohibere, quamvis sumus armis et militia nostra destituti; Securi de tali 464 violentia nobis non prospeximus : Sed timor Dei vos coerceat, quos pietas non revocat. Quod si neutrum reveremini, ecce presentes sumus ; non possumus viribus refragari. Hsesitant Pontifices, sed invicem cohortantes, accepto conaraine Imperatorem adeunt, coronam capiti detrahunt, et sede detract urn omnibus Imperialisms exuunt Imperator, ab alto dactis suspiriis, sic eos alloquitur : Deus ul~ tionum Dominus videat, et vindicet iniqui- tatem quam facitis ignominiam sustineo ante inauditam, sed delicta juventutis apud justum Judicem Deum luo. Yos tamen immunes a crimine non eritis, quia jusjurandum praevaricati, justi vindicis ultionem non effugietis. Non prosperetur honor vester, sit portio vestra cumeo quitradidit Christum. Hsec est, inquit Krantius, narratio nostrorum anna- lium. And I will say, these were the actions of the incarnate thieves who wore mitres at that time, and whose manners and tastes have not much improved even now on the Continent, and who would be ready to do the same if the opportunity was offered. They are preparing the plan now, and for a rehearsal they have come out with pastorales and bulls to excite the populations, as they find that there are fools enough to believe in their mysterious and miraculous power, and rogues ready to be bought at so much per day or month, to be in prompt attendance for the execution of their villainous and unchristian plots. "We are now in the same identical political circum- stances ; the plan would be mature enough for them, but they must defer the execution of it, to give time to the substitute to grow up a man at least of seven- teen years of age, when his virgin mind can be easily inebriated with glory and power by the Jesuitical inspiration which will then confuse, sieze, and oppress the whole of his mental faculties, which are trained up now with a cautious administration of doses of Jesuitical milk. As history repeats itself perpetually, I shall not be surprised at the events, and for the 465 present I turn another historical leaf, pitying, with Sigonius, the betrayed Emperor Henry the Fourth, by those very Bishops whom he had invested and loaded with honours which they did not deserve. Conrad, his son, who, after his father's death, was called Henry the Fifth, before and during the time that his father was in prison, led a miserable life, full of dangerous vicissitudes and spite, provoca- tion, and Episcopal oppression. The Ecclesiastics, having used him as a tool, now thought of snubbing him ; and set themselves to work with determined animosity and persevering political cabals, still managed by Pope Paschal the Second. They found it hard work, and were compelled to use their great micidial bomb, the excommunication. They came to war, and Henry, who had taken lessons of roguery from them, with 80,000 men, went to Rome and locked them up, until they became reasonable and crowned him Emperor, and renounced all and every- thing that they had absorbed belonging to the Empire. When everything was settled, he returned to Germany; and in his absence with the troops, the Popes and Bishops tore and burned the treaties that they made with him, and excommunicated him again ; and these Reverend Ecclesiastical Fathers, Popas or Papas, showed Christianity that they were a lot of perjured liars, dressed up in an ti- Christian parapher- nalia, fit for nothing else except scandalous usurpa- tions, discord, and crime. I have copied the diplo- matic documents that were made by Paschal the Second and the Emperor Henry the Fifth, in the years 1110 and 1111, which will illuminate the people about those affairs, and support my assertions. I have placed them in another chapter, containing many other diplomatic documents, and in this one I will be satisfied by saying that Paschal was a second Hildebrand, that he excommunicated two Emperors, that he was an usurper and perjurer, a rebel to the throne, to the altar, and to his flock. After all his 466 Papal opposition to Henry the Fifth, in France, in Germany, in Italy, and everywhere ; after preaching sedition openly in the Koman pulpits ; attempting to call again the Greek Calojohannis, son of the Emperor Alexis, to reinstate him in the Roman Empire ; expelling the seditious and stupid Teutons, as he called them ; after upsetting everything sacred and profane, and spreading so many calamitous wars and miseries, Henry the Fifth returned to Rome, was consecrated by Mauritius Episcopus Bracarensis, and Paschal ran away to the province of Apulia, where he died in 1118. Sigebertus, and the Abbas Urspergensis in his Chronicles, the Monacus Malmels- buriensis, Petrus Diaconus in Chronic. Cassineus, and others, have left a pretty good account of this rascal, and Aventinus (lib. 6) wrote of Paschal, " that the Greek Emperor sent Legates to Paschal, exhorting him to expel — ut relictis furibundis et ebriosis Ger- manis sasvissimis prsedonibus — the ferocious German drunkards and atrocious assassins, and to return under the ancient legitimate Emperor ; and that Paschal placed by his right side those Legates while he addressed the Roman people, saying, — Perplacet, reddamus diadema legitimo et antiquo verum Roma- narum Principi : Deficiamus a Teutonibus seditiosis et stolidis ad veterem Romani Imperii moderatorem vetus Roma cum nova, Occidens cum Oriente, rursus conjungatur. Post quae Paschalem Papam concio- natum in Imperatorem Henricum quartum atque ej us filium quintum, crimina injurias, vitia commemorasse. Before I leave Paschal, I will state that Matthew Paris, in his English History, left written that Pas- chal gave plenty of trouble to King Henry the First, with regard to the Episcopal Investitures, and was the cause of Archbishop Anselm losing for a time all his property in England. The King consficated it; but he restored it in the year 1107. After Pas- chal the Second's death, in 1118, Pope Gelasius the Second was surreptitiously elected. The Emperor, 467 Henry the Fifth, as soon as he heard of it, quitted Padua for Eome; and when he arrived there he found Gelasius had already hurriedly departed for Terracina, where he was consecrated by a number of his partizan Bishops. The Emperor, in the mean- time, elected, and had consecrated in Eome, one of his favourite friends, Bishop Burdinus, as Pope Gre- gory the Eighth. Schisms and excommunications were freely dealt with by both Popes ; the Emperor was also excommunicated, and in the year 1119, a Synod was held at Vienna, where the Erench, German, -and Italian Bishops concurred, as well as those Cardinals who were the supporters of Gelasius. About that time the Abbot of Clunny died, those Prelates who had been at the Synod reunited again, and elected — Widonem Yiennse Episcopum eligunt — as Pope, who called himself Calistum Secundum. This new Caliste was a man of great influence, being the brother of Stephen, Duke of Burgoyne, uncle of Baldwin, Count of Elanders, and a near relative of the Emperor Henry. "With three Popes the Emperor soon found him- self confused, and in danger of losing both crown and life ; therefore he determined to settle affairs as best he could, making concessions against his will and interest, in expectation of obtaining a few years of peace and happiness. To this effect, by the inter- ference of his and Caliste' s friends, they agreed mutually to the following concessions. The Abbas Urspergensis reports the treaty or agreement, and at the end of it is the following oath : — Ego Hen- Abbas Urs- ricus Dei gratia Eomanorum Imperator Augustus £hrK'. m pro amore Dei et Sanctse Eomanse Ecclesiee et Domini Papse Calisti ; et pro remedio animse mese, dimitto Deo et Sanctis ejus Apostolis Petro et Paulo, SanctaB Catholicse Ecclesise omnem investituram per annulum et baculum, et concedo in omnibus Ecclesiis fieri electionem et consecrationem, &c. The Emperor signed, sealed, and had this treaty witnessed, &e. 468 uSteta?* The . Po P e Caliste wrote > si S ned > and sealed the fo1 - Sigonius qiio lowing : — Ego Calistus, &c, Concedo electiones ltd. m Regn ' Episcoporum et Abbatum Teutonici regni, qui ad Regnum pertinent in prsesentia tua fieri absque Simonia et aliqua violenta, &c. Electus autem Regalia a te per sceptruni recipiat, exceptis omnibus quae ad Romanam Ecclesiam pertinere noseuntur, et quae ex his tibi jure debet, faciat, &c. When Caliste came from Prance, and went to Rome, the anti-Pope, Gregory the Eighth, was given to him a prisoner by a few facinorous gentlemen who wanted to captivate the new Pope's favour. The Abbot, Sugerius, in the life of Ludovicus Crassus (anno 1119), described the anti-Christian triumph of Caliste over his victim (Gregory the Eighth) in the following words : — Tortuoso animali camelo, tor- tuosum Antipapam, imo Antichristum, crudis et sanguinolentis pellibus caprinis amictum, trans- versuni supposuerunt, et ignominiam Eeclesiae Dei ulciscentes per medium civitatis via Regia ut magis publicarentur aducentes, imperante Domino Papa Calixto, perpetuo carcere in montanis Campaniae prope S. Benedictum captivatum damnaverunt et tantas ultionis memoriae ad conservationem in camera Palatii sub pedibus Calixti conculcatum depinxerunt. This is a capital specimen of Papal humility towards another who had occupied St Peter's Chair for more than three years. If a Pope did not respect another who had been invested with the same dignity a few years previously ; if, to satisfy his priestly and jealous vengeance and rivalry, he treated him so contemptuously and degradingly, what good did he obtain for himself and the Holy See ? I am per- suaded that the degradation fell upon himself instead of his victim, and that the scandal and demoraliza- tion of his own acts fully demonstrated the imposture of the one as w 7 ell as of the other, the pretended Vicars of that Christ whom they never ceased cruci- fying with their ambitious desire for pomp, power, 469 and rapacity, to attain which they perpetrated the blackest crimes. Here follows a chapter of Ecclesiastical rascalities, and a few admonitions, which may be useful to the gentlemen in black or scarlet. Petrus Blasiensis de Institutione Episcopi. Legimus inquit : Christum dixisse ad Petrum, si amas me, pasce oves meas, hseres es et Yicarius meus, pasca oves meas, Evangelizando fac opus Evangelistse et pastoris, non erubescas Evangelium, si erubescendum non credis Pastoris officium. Ministerium tuum plus oneris habet, quam honoris. Si affectas honorem, mercenarius es, si onus ani- plecteris, potens Deus est augere gratiam suam, ut lucra ex lucris, et ex profectibus profectus accedant. Quod si abhorreas onus et insufficientem te reputes, sera quaerela est. Dixerat antea — Modus omnibus cave, ne secularibus te involvas, nulla enim con- sonantia est spiritus Dei, ad spiritum hujus mundi, permane in vocatione tua. Mundus in maligno positus est. JEt hoc repetit paulo post : Animabus PRJELATUS ES, NON CORPORIBUS, NIHIL PKJELATO COM- MUNE EST CUM PlLATO, CHRISTI YILLICUS ES, ET PETRI VlCARIUS ; NEC TE RESPONDERE OPORTET C^ESARI DE COMMISSA TIBI JURISDICTIONS, SED ChRISTO. P. Blasius said, we read that Christ told Peter : If thou loTest me, take care of my flock ; thou art my heir and Yicar ; Peter, feed my flock. In spreading the Evangels, thou dost the work of the Evangelist and of the Shepherd. If the office of Shepherd is humble, don't be ashamed of the Evan- gels. Thy ministry is more of responsibility than of honours. If thou attemptest at riches, thou art mercenary. If thou acceptest the responsibility, the Lord, all-powerful, shall increase His grace to thy profit, and accumulate benefits to thee ; and if s s - 470 thou abhorrest the responsibility, thinking thyself incompetent to the work, later thou shalt account for it. He had said before this, — Take care by every means to avoid meddling in Temporal affairs, because the Spirit of God is inconsonant with the Spirit of this world ; follow thine avocation. The world is plunged in abominations. And soon after he re- peated : Thou art elevated to the care of the souls, not of the bodies. The exalted has nothing in common with Pilate. Thou art the Farmer of God's land and Vicar of Peter, and to Christ, and not to Caesar, thou shalt answer for the jurisdiction that thou hadst accepted of Him. cfeon Avent -^P 11 ^ Joannem aperte, apud Matthaaum Marcum, lib. 5." ^ n ' Lucam apertissime explicat. " Pax vobis, in quit, sicut misit me Pater, et ego vos mitto; accipite Spiritum. Sanctum, quibus remiseritis peccata, remittuntur quorum retinueritis, retenta sunt. Et ut concordiam assereret, et unum se verum Pastorem esse indicaret uni dixit, ' Si quidem amas me, pasce oves meas,' id est, ite in mundum universum, predicate Evangelium omni creaturas ; atque data est mihi omnis potestas in ccelo et in terra, ite ergo docere omnes gentes." Hanc ob causam aperuit discipulis men tern ccelestis doctor ut intelligerent Scrip turas, Moysem, Pro- phetas, et Psalmos, jussitque eos nomine suo pcenitentiam et remissionem peccatorum prse- dicare apud omnes gentes, testesque horum esse. What have you to say, Monsieur Pie, of Pilate renown ? Have you followed the above doctrine, or your own caprices ? Here are some more Christian Apostolic arguments to convince you of your crimin- ality against Church and State — take the trouble to translate the preceding quotation from Sigebert ; who, with his history, intended to read a lesson to the infamous Pope Urban and his followers, Cardinals, Bishops, and Company. Rebels to the State and to the Church, like you, they were attempting by disorder and revolution to overthrow the Royal and 471 Imperial rights ; and as your situation is analogous to theirs, I have no doubt that the same iniquitous cap that fitted them will fit you, even after eight centuries, and it will serve to prove to the people of the present age that by their vices and corruptions the high Ecclesiastics were then what they are still, a rotten, incorrigibly mendacious lot, much in want of great reform, if not of extirpation. I charge you again, before your Ecclesiastical tribunal, and condemn you with your own judges. Mr Foot, of Pilate renown, pray read these few pages. Eor the edification of the present Bishops, rebels to the Church and State, I will point out, before I go any farther with these historical excerpta, two works written by two exceptionally good Ecclesi- astics ; the first of them was by Peter Damianus, a learned and pious hermit, who had at heart the welfare of society, and who wrote many letters to Bishops, Abbots, and Popes, begging their assistance and interference to reform the abuses and crimes of the Clergy. Demoralization, vice, and crime were the principal ornaments of the Prelates and Clergy, and Peter was inspired to write a book — qui inscri- bitur Gomorraens, cui prefixa est Epistola Leonis IX, anno 1049 ; and Leo the Ninth actually received the book, and, according to Peter Damian's advice, made a few laws to attempt to suppress that abominable crime ; but to what purpose, and for how long ? and Baronius (art. 10 et sequent.) said of the Clergy, in the year 1049, " Vepres infausti, spinae et urtica? agrum Patrisfamilias in immensum appleve- rant, qui ex putore carnis, corruptionis fimo turpiter excreverant ; omnis quippe caro corruperat viam suam, ut non tantum ad eas abluendas sordes vide- retur satis esse diluvium, sed nefanda scelera ignem a Ccelo Gommorrhseum, quo exusta est Pentapolis, postularent. If the Erench Rebel Bishops had attended to their duties, instead of meddling with secular and political affairs, they would have done 472 much better, and might have succeeded in eradicating from their clergy that ancient abomination which stained their characters for so many centuries ; and in the year 1861 society would have been spared reading in the Gazette des Tribuneaux of about 100 of those infamous and abominable cases which have been prosecuted and condemned by the laws of Prance. Prom Leo the Ninth, in 1049, to Pius the Ninth, in 1861, the Ecclesiastical moral progress is imperceptible, and it is visible only in the hypo- critical manner of s avoir fair et savoir corrompre sens esclandre ; and, nevertheless, now and then surpassing all bounds of human toleration, they are caught in flagrante crimine, and brought to trial. An ancient really pious and learned Ecclesiastic, devoted to humanity, is found in William, Bishop of Paris, at about the year 1250. He wrote a work — De Collatione Beneficiorum et de Clero, of his time, in which he says that the Priests had neither piety nor erudition ; that they were learned in all the Diabolical turpitudes, and in all sorts of monstrously dirty and filthy vices and crimes; that their sins were not common sins, but horrible crimes ; that the Prelates and the Clergy did not edify the Church of God, because they were fond of Babylon, Egypt, and Sodoma, and instead of sancti- fying and venerating the Church, they were destroy- ing it, as if they could delude God ; and, with the other high and low priests, they profaned and polluted the Body of Christ ; that the Prelates were the members of the Devil, loaded with Ecclesiastical honours ; that they honoured the enemies of God, and, finally, that they would place Lucifer in heaven, instead of the Christian Church. In eis nihil pietatis ac eruditionis apparere, sed potius Diabolicas turpitudines, omnium spurcitiarum ac vitiorum monstruositatem : eorum peccata non simpliciter peccata esse, sed peccatorum monstra terribilissima, eos non Ecclesiam, sed Babylonem 473 JEgyptum ac Sodomam esse. Praslatos non edificare Ecclesiam, sed destruere ac Deo illudere, cumque aliis sacerdotibus prophanare ac polluere Corpus Christi, Prselatos omnibus Ecclesiasticis honoribus membra Diaboli, et Dei hostes honorare, in ccelura denique Ecelesise Christi Luciferum restituere. And Bishop "William takes particular care of those Eccle- siastical parasites, who are constantly flattering the Pope to obtain a greater number of prebends and Canonries and other sources of income ; and some of them are not ashamed of having as many as seventy, and others as much as a hundred of them. This seems to me to beat by far a certain nobleman whom the f Times/ about six years ago, severely excruciated, while he was peacefully and charitably devouring Christ's Cross. Although this Ecclesiasti- cal rat did not belong to the same species, yet he seemed to resemble the original kind, inasmuch as he devoured at the same rate for at least a hundred years before he became affected with dyspepsia. But as this is not in any way connected with the above cases, except by a trifling analogy in taste, I pass on to ask the opinion of the. modern immaculate Eight Eeverend eminent rebels, the Erench pamphlet- eers, who have been condemned by public opinion and other tribunals. Monsignor Pie e Grugno di For co, and others of that class, can, if they will, con- firm these statements, and at their leisure write another pamphlet, swelling it with the enormous progress made by the Clergy from the above-named periods to the present day ; and they are particularly re- quested to insert in it the list of all the good that they pretend to have done to society, against the catalogue of the iniquities that they have committed to its detriment ; they are at liberty to use all the rhetorical figures and the flowers of language that they generally use in their printed hallucina- tions and bulls, at the banquets and in the pulpits, in bivio, in trivio et Synagoga. s s 2 474 A Miraculous Bottle. A miraculous tale, which suited many ancient fools, might be a relief to the modem reader, who may be fatigued of the Papal criminal history. I take this from the Dialogo of (sic) Miser Sancto Gre- gorio Papa ; a rare book, printed at Venice by John de Colonia in the year 1475. It is full of that arrant and gross superstition and ignorance which the Ecclesiastics have constantly forced on the minds of their parishioners. St Gregory tells of a miracle performed by Bishop Boniface to two Goths, pilgrims, who called on him for charity and hospitality while they were passing from Florence on their way to Eavenna. Boniface gave them a flask of wine, which might have been sufficient for them for a single dinner ; however, "they miraculously drank out of it as the Goths do, being good drinkers, and continued to drink, until they travelled, and stayed for some time at Eavenna, and back again ; and the more they drank the more the flask was filled, and they never ceased drinking out of the said flask — e nallo di ces- sarono di here del dicto fiasco, e sempre il trovarono moltiplicato, si die parea che vi nascesse" (sic). I do not think that the editors of the holy Tablet, of the Gazette de France, of that of Augsbourg, and others of the class, possess each of them one of these holy flasks ; though it might be inferred from the raving stuff that they offer daily to the public that they really are under the mesmeric influence of the mysterious flask. I have given this extract to show, by the testimony of the ancient holy writers, that the ancient Eoman Catholic Prelates as well as the modern, and particularly the Northern, have been, and are still, celebrated for their drinking propen- sities. Without illustrating the above assertion with recent cases, to avoid exposing names, I take 475 the case of the German Bishop who was travelling to Borne, and, to avoid being deceived by hotel- keepers about the best wines to be drunk during his pilgrimage to the Holy City, he took care to choose a courier who was a good judge of wines, and instructed him to be always in advance of him, and, stopping at every town, that he should have a bottle of the best choice wine ; if he found it good, being well provided with chalk and money, he should write visibly on the walls and door of the inns the word Est, Est. The Episcopal scheme answered uncommonly well to the prelatic palate ; and, arriving at Montefiascone, and finding the magic Est, Est, Est, superlatively written, he decided on halting, and resting for some time. Joannis de Euer was in his highest glory when he reached the temple of his God, Bacchus. The exqui- siteness of the nectar of Montefiascone soon brought him miraculously to his end, in a state of perfect drunkenness. It was supposed that an apoplectic fit carried him to the Stygian Eiver all at once; whether his courier gave him the penny to pay Mr Caronte's barque or not, the historians have not stated; though it is almost certain that his zealous servant had done so, as he took the trouble of having him most reverently buried in that parish churchyard, and placed a sumptuous monument over his wine- barrelled bones, on which was sculptured his es- cutcheon, and on each side of the sarcophagus, besides his family arms, were also sculptured a couple of drinking-glasses : On the lid lies the portrait of the Bishop, with his mitre on his head. His pedigree is engraved in Gothic characters at his feet in the following manner : Est, Est, Est, propter nimium Est, Jo. De Euer D. Meus mortutjs est. Bishop John de Eueris, my master, died, and is buried here, for having drunk too much of this best wine. 476 The Episcopal squibs succeed each other with insolent rapidity ; but as it is not very easy to obtain them, I obstinately refuse to read any of them, and satisfy myself to know that the liberal public press announce their appearance and their condemnation. Therefore, I think it waste of time and paper to read or answer any of the tirades of the Praeclarus custos ovium, lupus, the Lycaon of Orleans, or of his last Confrater the Pie de Co. . . . who is now standing in the pillory of public opinion, — for them it is a sufficient punishment to know that the springs of the miracle-machinery are much out of order, and so worn out that they do not work at all, and that the machinery itself must shortly be set aside altogether, to make room for something working entirely upon a new principle, that will just suit the time we live in, going speedily and straight a-head like a steam-engine, and as fast as public opinion, with economy of combustibles, and engineers who will not have any more opportunities of fattening so rapidly, thereby incurring premature death by the superabundance of perquisites and surreptitious pilferings of all sorts. The press have condemned loudly enough the last Allocution of 1860, and I spare my time and feelings by refusing to read the effusions of Antonelli or the Pope, knowing them to be nothing better, but cer- tainly much worse, than Tisiphone's doings in the fourth book of Ovid's Memamorphosis, by order of Juno. These splendid lines are quite ad rem, and much shorter : . . . . Mens est, quae diros sentiat ictus. Attulerat secum liquidi quoque monstra veneni, Oris Cerberei spumas, et virus Echidnse ; Erroresque vagos, csecaeque oblivia mentis, Et scelus, et lacrymas, rabiemque et csedis amorem ; Omnia trita simul : quae sanguine mixta recenti Coxerat sere cavo, viridi versata cicuta. 477 D urn que pavent illi ; vertit furiale venenum Pectus in amborum ; prsecordiaque intima movit. Turn face j aetata per eundem ssepius orbem, Consequitur motos velociter ignibus ignes. It is the mind alone that feels the cruel contagion. Tisiphone brought with her also a strong compound of liquid poison ; that is, some foam of Cerberus' s mouth, some poison of the Hydra, and the wandering blunders and forgetfulness of an ignorant mind ; a few villainies, tears, rage, and the love of murder ; the whole well pounded together, and mixed with fresh blood, she cooked it in a brass cauldron, stirring it with a stick of green hemlock. "While they are trembling, she pours on both their breasts the raging poison, and tortures the internal viscera. Then run- ning round them several times with a lighted torch, she threw it on the fires, to add flame to flames. The only difference that occurs in this passage is that, in applying it to the Italian people, instead of trembling, they are imperturbably bold, demanding their sovereign rights with the eternally blessed Charter in their hand, regulating the laws — laws of justice, equity, and moderation, as becomes a people entitled to it, after having spread so much civilization in the world. The unmistakably firm and noble attitude of the Italian population, in contempt of the degraded government's repeated provocations, shows that the people are sovereignly mastering the situations, and as calm as Jupiter's answer to the vile provocators — Adveniet justum pugnce ne lacessite temjpus. All of you Blacks, you have tried too many times lately, and by all sorts of savage deeds, and infernal means, with the assistance of mercenaries, the refuse of all nations, misled by a few honest, but fanatic men, for a bad cause ; instead of cor- recting, or of attempting to mend partially your faults, you have aggravated your dangerous situation, 478 and burned your tattering garments with your lighted torch of discord ; while the people, full of noble contempt for your madness, silently approving and applauding to your own destruction, have deter- mined to leave you to your irrevocable fate, baffling entirely all your dishonest efforts, attesting to you and to the world in general that a people endowed with wisdom and moderation, strong in its moral progress, and the justice of its cause, with these simple arms and determined will, is powerful enough to overpower, upset, and burst all the infernal machinations of its unscrupulous and demoralized enemy. The times of the Gregories, Pascal, Alexander, Syl- vester, Boniface, Innocent, the Johns, Benedict, and Maledict, and other sanguinary usurpers of States and Empires, with their excommunications and hilles, are entirely forgotten, and the present people know how to master the bull, and the drover too ! Moreover, the people are aware that ex- communication now fattens, and brings good fortune to the excommunicated, — and wherever the Pope's blessings reach and take root they bring discord, family disunion, demoralisation, poverty, and misery in all its worst features. Look, for instance, at the richest lands, where God has most kindly and most liberally distributed all sorts of treasures, and every- thing necessary to human life ; the Promised Lands, for instance, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, and go to the ^ew World, Mexico, and the other Southern States, &c. ; in spite of the abundance of the natural riches, you see the populations reduced to constant strife and miseries through the insatiability of the ruling Priestcrafts. Isow look at the reverse of the medal, and see the power and influence of this country since the Reformation, and compare it with the time when Queen Eleonora sent her son Richard to Palestine. When King Richard was returning from Palestine he passed through the territory of 479 the Duke of Austria, who made him prisoner, and gave him into the hands of the Emperor Henry the Sixth. The Emperor awarded a sum of money as a ransom, although Richard was a friend of the Pope and the Emperor. The King's mother wrote to the Pope and the Emperor in a splendid style — see these letters 144, 145, and 146 in the works of Petri Elasiensis — De Institut. Episc. and De Peregrinat. Tractat. To the Pope. Queen Eleanora wrote, saying : — Give me back my son, you man of God, if you are such an one,, and not inclined to be a sangui- nary man, &c. See the Latin text, which is infinitely superior to what I could write if I were to translate it — Redde mihi filium meum, vir Dei, si tamen vir Dei es, et non potius vir sanguinum, si filii mei liberatione torpeas, ut sanguinem ejus de manu tua requirat altissimus, Heu Eeu si summus Pastor in mercenarium pervertatur, si a lupi facie fugiat, si commissam sibi oviculam imo arietem electum, ducem dominici gregis in faucibus cruentse bestise derelin- quat. Sane sero vestram pro eo poneretis animam, qui pro eodem adhuc unum verbum dicere aut scribere noluisti, &c. See when Erance was partly emancipated from Rome, how that country prospered in those epochs, when the Gallician Church was strictly adhered to by the power and will of the Ruling Sovereign. If the Sovereign slackens the reins to the Bishops, they soon emancipate themselves from the State, and curb it with the Church, as they have done whenever they have found a fool or a rogue to connive with them ; when they patum per Cleri et populi electionem simul et ejusdem Provincise Exarchatum, laboris sui magnifl- cam recompensationem a Principe accepit. We see that the Emperor disposed of the Exarchate to the Archbishop of Ravenna, and in the year 1160 Erederick the Eirst confirmed most specially to Guido, the succeeding Archbishop of Ravenna, the — Comitatum Comaclensem, et districtum Ravennse ex- ceptis illis nostris Regalibus, &c. ; as reported by v u 494 TJghelli, who quoted this and another Diploma in his work (Ital. Sac.) given by the Emperor Frederick to the people of Comacchio, dated the 17th of May, 1177, recognising them as Imperial subjects. The Popes, through jealousy, subsequently attempted to deny and ignore that Diploma, but they entirely failed, and could not succeed because the people had already accustomed themselves to live in freedom, and had all their official acts registered and intro- duced in their history, and took good care to adhere strictly to the law, and abide by the Imperial com- mandments (see TJghelli, Ital. Sac, 1177). Erederick, in that Privilege or Diploma, reconveyed and recon- firmed to those people all their property and rights, and absolved them a Ripatico et a Teloneo in foro, and ordered that no person should dare to put any penalty upon them for more than 100 denarii, and that no one should enter upon their property, except his Judges once every two years, to administer the law and justice to the people : Msi Noster Nuntius semel per omne biennium ad legem et justitiam faci- endam, &c. At last he fixed the penalty to be paid to his Cameras Nostras ; and after the peace with the Eoman See in the year 1177, he continued to recog- nise and possess the Eoman States as of the Empire. In another chapter I shall speak of the schism and wars of this Emperor, Erederick the Eirst, against the Popes. Adrian and Pope Alexander the Third had a lengthy war against Erederick, which is too long to relate in full here, and I shall give only a few sketches of that event. Many cities were destroyed in Italy during these frightful events. "While Erederick was coming to Italy to be crowned by Pope Adrian, he settled in peace the Terdonenses sibi rebelles. After his coronation, he established peace at Spoleto ; then he quelled many rebellions in Lombardy ; and while he, with his army, was passing near Yerona, the people rolled stones from a mountain upon his troops, 495 and gave him cause of stopping for another peaceful settlement before he returned to Germany to divorce the daughter of the Marquis of Wobburg, and to marry Beatrice of Burgoyne, daughter of Comitis Bisuntini, who was very rich, and had besides 5,000 soldiers to add to those of the Emperor. He after- wards returned to Lombardy, and made war against the Milanese and the people of Brescia ; and the Tor- tonians, who had already rebuilt their town walls, also arrayed themselves against him. The people of Cremona and of Pavia, commanded by their Bishop, Obertus, gave to Frederick 30,000 soldiers, to augment his army, and the Novarienses cum copioso et splendido exercitu junguntur also against the Milanese and the Brescians ; and it was a very serious battle and a tremendous loss to Brescia, and much worse to Milan, whose faubourgs were burned by Frederick's troops, and they were compelled to make submission to the Emperor. After this the Emperor went to Germany, and the Milanese revolted again ; when he returned, and with his Lombard troops besieged Crema, and with all his Teutonic hordes he destroyed the farms, the crops, and cut the trees, and burnt and laid waste the castles and villages which he had not destroyed in the first war : Tunc relictis Lombardis in obsidione Cremae cum Editio exercitu Teutonicorum jam secunda vice processit ad ab^qu^uiia vastandam omnem segetem mediolanensium, et arbo- nota mstor res extirpandas et oppida quae remanserant funditus pS^S? 01 destruenda. In obsidione autem Cremae plures de principalibus Alamaniae remanere permisit pre- fatum videlicet Conradum fratrem suum et Welfum avunculum suum qui praeter alias divitiarum et militum opulentias ex possessione comitisse Mathildis habebat militum duo milia ; Bohemorum quoque regem nepotem suum et ducem de Austria. At ipse secum in expeditione Heinricum ducem cum Bavariis et militibus uxoris suae cum quibus hanc devasta- tioneni perfecit. The reader will find out the two 496 objects that I have in view of exposing in this quota- tion, — that is, the excessive barbarity of the Northern savages ; and that the successor to the property, and the temporal power over the subjects of the late great Countess Mathilde, was one of the Welfs of the Teutonic branch of the stock of the family of Este of Ferrara ; and if this "VTelf, or Guelph, had her property and her vassals, it is evident that the [Roman See had it not, and that the Donation of the great Countess Mathilde to the Apostolic Koman See was a dream, or a subterfuge to escape confisca- tion of her estates, while she united her arms and money with Hil deb rand to wage war against the Emperor. This stratagem succeeded for the moment, but after her death this fact proves that the States devolved part to the Empire and part to her late husband's family, and I am not sure whether I have already stated it in another chapter. At all events, I have proofs enough respecting this for another long chapter. These monstrosities happened in the year 1158, and I see that after this event Pope Adrian received an immense sum of money from "Wilhelmus, King of Sicily, to place himself at the head of a great con- spiracy with the Princes, Dukes, Cardinals, Bishops, and all the nobility of Milan and Brescia, against the Emperor Frederick. First of all, Adrian excom- municated Frederick, and persuaded the people of Crema to join the league ; and as their town was strongly fortified by a castle, the populations fell in that priestly intrigue, and from the friendly alliance and support that they had given to Frederick, they became his greatest enemies. Unfortunately, they had ultimately to pay the highest penalty. Town and citizens were destroyed ; only a few women, with whatever they could carry away, were saved from total destruction, and this inhuman proceeding happened in the year 1160. The author from whom I take this extract calls Frederick, Imperatorem 497 Christianissimum, because he allowed the women and children to come out, and saved their lives. Per- pendat jam quilibet lector prudens, quanta miseria ibi fuerit, ubi mulier parvulos suos gressu uti non volentes, potius quam res exportavit, vir quoque mulierem febricitantem, aut mulier virum profide conjungi exportarunt, pregnans quoque jam par- turientes semivivum puerum eduxit. Everything was then destroyed, anno Domini 1160. I have now found the author of this ancient book, and I will insert here his words, which serve to confirm the sentences expressed above concerning the conspiracy against Frederick. Kefert supradictus scriptor Cre- monensis, videlicet Johannes Sacerdos, quod supra- dictis testimoniis bonorum virorum didicerit qui interfuerunt, quod illo conspiratio cum Apostolico Adriano, juramentis adeo firmata sit ut nullus ab altero recedere posset vel Imperatoris gratia sine omnium consensu requirere. Quod si mortuus est Papa ille de numero conspiratorum alium eligerent Cardinales. And so it was, as stated by our ancient author, Priest John of Cremona, that after Adrian's death, Pope Alexander, another conspirator, was elected, who carried on the war most resolutely, and with all the ferocity of the times, and added to the scisma his own anti- Christian spite. In the same year, 1160, I see that Frederick, for the third time, devastated and ravaged Lombardy, and at last Imperator a Medialanensibus anno 1161, fugatus est — " Ah ! at last," the Milanese must have said, " here we are quite free. What shall we do now that the incubus is gone ! ' ' Foolishly they did nothing for their preservation, and they neglected to organize themselves or to arm, and be ready for any other event. And I hope that the moderns will take a lesson from History, to avoid the same fatality, as Frederick, upon learning their inactivity and their disorganization, returned the next year with a powerful army, anno Domini 1162, and Imperator TJ TJ 2 498 mediolanum destruxit. The following year he went to Constance to attend a Council called to divorce Duke Henry from his wife Constance, daughter of Conrad, Duke of Zaringia. This Prince afterwards married the daughter of Henry, who killed Thomas- a'Becket, Bishop of Canterbury, and thereby made him a worthy martyr to God. I should feel inclined to extract a little more of this old work, but I am afraid of going out of the question, and of swelling too much this book of horrors. Here is another trifling proof that the so-called Patrimony of St Peter belonged to the Empire. Frederick returned from Germany after the Bohemian wars, and went to conquer the Bom an States, and placed in various towns some of his confederate Princes and Vassals, and several Generals of his army. In some parts of Tuscany and of the Boman States he built several Castles, and left them gar- risoned with troops, principally Teutonics. In 1168, he built in Badicofani, in a most elevated situation, a Castle to command the road and the Bomans ; so that Pope Alexander found himself so checked that he thought it prudent to abandon Borne and Italy itself. Ut Alexander papa coactus secederet ab urbe et in partes Prancias seu Anglia3 vel Aquitanise sive Hispaniag se conferret, nam exortum seism a durabat intantum, ut mortuo Octaviano Yido in Papam eli- geretur, quo defuncto tercius successit Johannes Frunensis quos Imperator fovit et manu tenuit in Apostolica Dignitate. So says my Priest, John of Crema ; and as he was a contemporary, he gives this evidence that at his own time the Popes were very cheap and very numerous; and somebody else will perhaps say the rest for me. Alexander had been here and there to prepare another revolution. In the meantime the Milanese rebuilt the town, which had been destroyed by Frederick, and called it Alex- andria, in honour of Pope Alexander. The Cre- 499 monese and those of Pavia, who were Imperialists, in mockery called it Alexandria of Straw. Many Lombards flocked to Alexandria to prepare them- selves again to resist Frederick, who, in the year 1175, as soon as he learnt that the Milanese had sent away the Imperial officers from various towns and had hung some others to provoke him, hastened there with all his army and war implements, machi- neries, &c, and regularly besieged them. After a long year of useless efforts and loss of men, finding- it difficult to resist the activity of the besieged and their frequent sorties, Frederick gave it up, as it happened also that his nephew, Henry, Duke of Saxony, had deserted him, and had received a good sum of money for his treason. Frederick then dis- missed his army in the road of Novara and Turin, and went to Bourgoyne to his wife's estates. In the year 1 176 he returned, and again fought the Milanese; but without any victory, and was once more com- pelled to retire. In the same year, as Alexander's partizans had increased in many parts of Italy, through the mediation of the Yenetians, he made peace with the Milanese and with Pope Alexander, who went to Yenice ; and there they also made a treaty, which is reported in the Chronica MS. of And. Dandolo, and in those of many other illustrious secular and Ecclesiastical writers. In the year 1181 his son Frederick married the daughter of the King of Hungary, and King Henry, another of his sons, married the daughter of the defunct Pugerus, King of Sicily. This lady, called Constance, was brought up under the care of her Uncle Wilhelmus, who was one of the chief conspirators with the Pope against Frederick. Anno 1181. — Imperator Magonciam maximum festum et convivium celebravit convocatis ibidem principibus et baronibus totius regni, sed et de aliis regnis quarnpiurimis. In quo conventu duo de filiis ipsius, videlieet, Henricus Eex, et Fridericus dux 500 gladios accinxerunt. Desponsavit quoque postmo- dum predicto Henrico filio suo dominam Constan- tiam filiam Eogerii quondam regis sicilise, quam tunc in potestate habebat Wilhelmus patruus ejus, qui earn enutrivit et ipsius nomine regnum gubernavit. Alteri quoque filio suo Federici duci desponsavit filiam regis ungarise qui tamen morte perventus ipsam non traduxit. Frederick, the son, died before he consummated the matrimony. Pope Alexander held a great Synod or Council- General in Eome in the fol- lowing year ; and as my Priest John, from whom I have borrowed these few accounts of Prederick the Pirst, does not give me any information about the Anti-Pope, and of other important affairs of that time, I must leave him, and take up my ancient MS. Chronica, which will supply me and my readers with some further information. Chronica MS. Pope Alexander made his triumphal entry into de tat. ]£ ome> w ith gorgeousness and pomp, on St Gregory's day, in the year 1176 — juxta more Eomanorum Pon- tificum. I leave him there ; and the Emperor from Eavenna, he went to Spoleti, and from there to Tus- cany and Genoa, usque ad Lombardiam rediit. He then went and stayed at Turin during the summer, to arrange affairs peacefully with the Lombards, and at last departed for Germany. At that time John de Struma, who was the Anti-Pope, called Callistus, having heard that Alexander and Prederick had made peace, became frightened of his rival — timore correptus Biternum deserens. Counselled by the Prefect, and assisted by an escort, he went to Monte Albano ; and John, the proprietor of the Castle, re- ceived him with tolerable kindness. As soon as the Archbishop of Magonza heard of it, however, he went there to besiege him, and destroy the vineyards and the crops. The few troops Callistus had deserted him, and he was compelled to abandon the place and go back to Biternum, when the people of that city gave him into the hands of the Pope. The nobles 501 of that town were in opposition to the people, and would not submit to the Pope ; and they were still adhering faithfully to the dominion of Conrad, the son of the Marquis of Montferrato. The Eoman people and the Senate sent an army to Biternum, headed by the Eishops Maguntinus and Biternensis, to conquer the nobles who manfully resisted the Papal attempts to subdue them and that town ; but Alex- ander, seeing that many murders and disagreeable consequences might arise from this war, prudently ordered his subjects to desist and withdraw. Soon after, the Prefect of that city went to Eome quietly to make his submission, and was reconfirmed by the Pope as Prefect. Alexander considered and reflected that during the past nineteen years of scisme many things must have been innovated ; and to regulate all the Ecclesiastic affairs he convoked all the Italian Bishops in a great Council in P a - Dominica Quadra- gesimaB. Eomualdus Secundus, Archiepiscopus Salernitanus, MS. Chronica and Count Eugerius, on the part of the King of Mat ' Sicily, had met and agreed with the Emperor Erederick in the city of Adria, near Venice, to establish peace between the Empire and Sicily, and all the principal points were then settled between themselves. Then the Emperor named and delegated Count Hugolinus Boni and Eodegarius Magister Camerarius to proceed to Sicily with the already stipulated treaty of peace for fifteen years, to obtain the Eoyal signature, and to exact the oath of fidelity to the Empire for the specific term. The King received the Imperial Envoys kindly, signed the treaty, and in their presence caused Count Eugerius of Avellino to take oath of fidelity to Erederick and to the whole Empire, and promised that he would maintain a real peace with him for fifteen years. Eleven of the principal inhabitants also took the same oath. After this, in confirmation of the said peace, a privilege was ordered to be 502 drawn up : et bulla aurea insignitum eisdem fecit nunciis assignari. When this transaction was con- cluded, they received the licence to depart, and were escorted by the Eoyal Sargeant-at-Arms. When they arrived at a Castle, near a certain black lake, a row ensued between the Sargeant-at-Arms and the peasants, who soon accumulated and surrounded the house where the Imperial Messengers and the Armi- geri had sheltered themselves ; they assaulted the house with stones, and most temerariously broke in, opened the box of the Count Hugolinus Boni, took away his silver cup and the Eoyal privilege that was destined for the Emperor, and acted like true robbers, to the great dismay of the Imperial Envoys, who were compelled to return to Salerno to de- mand justice for this indignity; and they accused Gualterius Ammiratus and the Archbishop of per- petrating this violence. It was a fatality in the olden time, as well as it is now, that this same locality was infested with brigands and assassins, under the orders of the highest Ecclesiastical authorities. When the King heard of the proceeding, he was highly indignant and offended ; and to prove to the Imperial messengers his good intentions to the Em- peror and to themselves, he ordered the judges to deal criminally and most severely, and to hang im- mediately all the culpable parties. King William was fond of justice and of equity, and never would tolerate — maleficia in regno — in his kingdom any malefactor, nor let them pass under silence or with impunity. The King had made another privilege to confirm the peace, and had it decorated with the Bulla Aurea ; and sent with it also the Notary Tan- credi, to consign it to the Emperor. In the year 1178, according to the MS. Chronica de JEtat., in August, on St John's-day, John de Struma, the Anti-Pope, called Callistus, knowing his faults, descended from Mount Albano (near Cicero's villa), and went and threw himself at the feet of 503 Alexander, with soxne of his clerical adherents. They were received by the Pope, in presence of his Cardinals. Calliste confessed his sins, professed repentance, and supplicated the absolution, abjuring heresy and scisma. Pope Alexander, who was good in this instance, or pretended to be so, after an exordium which is too long to quote in this work, concluded saying, Ecclesia te hodie pcenitentem in filium recipit, et pro malis bona tibi retribuente pro- curabit. " The Church receives thee to day as a penitent son, and will provide to retribute good, to thy evil actions." De coetero Alexander Papa eum in curia et in mensa sua honorifice habuit. Then Alexander received him at his table, and introduced him to the Curia, and treated him with honours. This conclusion is the greatest piece of hypocrisy that I have ever read, and from what I find in history is the only case where a Pope, or an Anti- Pope, received kindly and treated with distinction his antagonist, and allowed him a place at his table. It is a parallel case with the " happy family " that used to reside daily (I don't know where nocturnally) in Charing Cross. Secunda autem die stante ejusdem mensis Luna Ms. Chronica in signo Yirginis post mediam noctem passa est deiEtat - Ecclipsim et pene in 3 a parte sui obscurata est. EccKpsatio Tertio decimo vero die intrantis mensis Septembris EccUpsatio in XII. Sol in signo Yirginis circa horam. SoUs. in an. Those who are fond of superstition will perhaps make some remarks about these two eclipses that happened in the same year, and within a month. At that time we have seen peace was established between the Empire and the Eoman See, &c, and the celestial phenomena might account for the startling terrestrial fact of the Pope and Anti-Pope's peace. Note. — Here ends the ancient MS. Chronica in my possession. There is a note in the margin which says that in the original Chronica of the 50i Vatican (from which this one is copied) there are still 314 pages so obliterated with ink, that it is not possible to copy any further ; however, that if with patience and other means it can be read, it shall be faithfully copied in the space left on purpose in my copy. The Colophon says that it was copied while Cardinal Baronius was President of the Vatican Library, and was writing his Annales, &e. From what I can read in my copy it is evident that there are things in it which may not be strictly in accordance with the general notions of Christianity, although it is in favour of Papism, as it has skipped over parti- cularly the many historical misdeeds of the Popes. I suppose the Eeverend Vandal found out that it was not possible to continue to enumerate any good actions of the superior Clergy, and of the Popes, from that time to his own, and that a history of the Papal deeds would read to posterity like a long list of accusations of great crimes. As these Ecclesias- tical sins, and faults of all kinds, were unpalatable to him — in a saintly fit, and perhaps when nearly drowned through the abuse of the bowl, he con- demned and destroyed that most ancient and most valuable book, which had no parallel (as it differs from Orosius and others, who wrote about the origin of the world), and contains a sketch of the Jewish history, of the Roman history, the history of Christianity, and of the Popes, &c. The Donations of Constantine and other things I have taken from this Chronica, which the Popes had taken good care should never be published. I resume again the Secular, Ecclesiastical, and Diplomatic history, to continue the Criminal History of the Popes. Undoubtedly Frederick the First was Sovereign Lord of Rome, Ravenna, and the Roman States, because he not only disposed of them as he pleased, but Pope Adrian the Fourth did not complain or interfere in any way ; so much so, that on the same day that he was crowned Emperor in Rome by that 505 Pontiff in the year 1154, Frederick invested with the Exarchate Archbishop Anselmus, of Ravenna, and Pope Adrian the same day, also, invested that Arch- bishop with the Pallium. This Anselme was an honest and pious man, a friend to the Ecclesiastical hierarchy, and was esteemed by the people. His name is also found in the Eoman Martyrology. I have repeated this fact, but have used the words of the histo- rian, Ughelli, Italia Sacra (to. 2, page 367) : Eodem die quo Eridericus ab Adriano IY. Pontifi.ee Imperii insignia accepit, et ipse Anselmus Archiepiscopus inauguratus in Roma, ac Pallio insignitus Ravenna- tensis Provinecise Exarchatum laboris sui magnificam recompensationem a Principe accepit. Here is the corroboration of another fact which I shall repeat also in the words of another historian : "Whilst Frederick was still friendly with Pope Adrian, in 1152, as soon as he was created King of the Romans, he gave to his uncle on his mother's side, Guelf, " We^nus," one of those Princes of the German line, a branch of the family of Este of Eerrara, the Duchy of Tuscany and that of Spoleti, the principality of Sardinia, and the States of the late great Countess Mathilde. This happened two years before Adrian crowned him Emperor, and he never objected that he should do such things, either before or after his coronation. We have seen how he disposed of the Exarchate, and of the other States in the Roman territory ; therefore it remained a mag- nificent nothing to the Pope. With regard to the Temporal power, as Erederick was de jure et facto absolute Sovereign Lord of Rome and of the Roman Empire, so Pope Adrian was the esteemed Sovereign Ruler of the Spiritual Power. The city of Eerrara, in the year 1158, had revolted, and Frederick sent there Otho, Count Palatine, with an army which soon settled affairs, as Radevicus states in De Gest. Freder. 1, lib. 1 — " Supervenit improvisus ac inopinatus Otho Comes x x 506 Palatinus qui ordinatisque ad votum omnibus rebus xl vadibus acceptis rediit." In the same year, 1158, some few trifling disagreements had happened between the Pope and the Emperor, which had been arranged by themselves, without the interference on either side of their Legates or Ministers. Besides, we must not forget what Otho Frisingensis and Gunterus wrote about the coronation in 1158; and the cele- brated Radevicus Canonicus Frisingensis, the most renowned of the historians of that epoch, wrote that Adrian had sent two Legates to Frederick to recog- nise him as the Lord Sovereign — " Salutant vos universi Cardinales tamquam Dominum, et Impera- torem Urbis et Orbis." Gunterus mentions the same fact, and corroborates it with these two hexameters : " Totaque Eomani nunc maxima Curia Cleri Te velut eximium Eegem, Dominumque salutant." "Who was the Master of Rome ? Answer, Mr Cullen. The Pope, excited by some of the Bishops, Cardinals, and Italian Princes and Barons (who were jealous of Frederick's supremacy and success), leagued himself with them, and prepared a secret conspiracy ; and at last Pope Adrian broke out with Frederick in the following manner, which I take from Radevicus, lib. 2, c. 30. It was in the year 1 159 that the Pope raised his pretensions — " Nuncios ad Urbem Ignorante Apostolico, ab Imperatore non esse mittendos, cum omnis magistratus inibi B. Petri sit cum universis Regalibus. De Dominicalibus Apostolici fodrum non esse colligendum, nisi tempore suscipiendas Coronas. Neque Nuncios Imperatoris in Palatiis Episcoporum suscipiendos. De Possessionibus Eeclesiae Romanas restituendis, et tributis Ferrarise, Massas Ficorolse, totius terrae Comitisse Mathildis, Ducatus Spoletani, Insularum Sardinia?, Corsica?/' &c. This insolent request of the Pope sounds like an ancient cartel, and it will do very well to take the chance of deriving good from bad, because we see, first of all, that up to that year, 1159, the Emperors 507 continued to send their Judges and Messengers, or Legates, as they were sometimes called, to Rome, without saying a word about it to the Popes or the magistracy; and the administration of Eome and of everything was still in the Imperial hands and power. The taxes for the maintenance of the army were still levied there, and when the Judges or Legates were in Eome, they occupied the Episcopal Palaces. The Pope wanted to recover possession of the Roman Church, and the tribute- money upon Ferrara, Massa, the lands of the Countess Mathilde, the Duchy of Spoleto, Sardinia, and Corsica, and this great Papal lamentation goes only so far as to show that at that time he had nothing of the kind ; and I think that I have sufficiently proved already how the Greek Emperors and the Lombard Kings were absolute masters of those States ; that after them the Carlovingians, then the German Emperors had them, and disposed of them as they thought convenient ; and I am puzzled how to explain why the Pope called restituenda, the demand for a thing or things that he never had before. This is one of the particular cases in point now, and by and by I shall take the liberty to recommend and sub- mit it to the wisdom and consideration of the liberal-minded minister Eicasoli, and to the eminent Antonelli. I ask if he is prepared to upset the above-stated fact, and with what means, and with what proofs ? It is not enough, and it will not do to say in this case that the prescription and pos- session constitute the point of law ; because it is universally admitted that what has been stolen, or taken by violent hands, can be recovered at any time. The reader will excuse me if I go back to relate the following facts concerning the Templars. Barpnius says that the Order of the Templars was instituted in the year 1118, in Jerusalem ; and he copied the words of William, Archbishop of Tyro, that, Eex cum suis Proceribus, Dominus quoque 508 Patriarcha cum Praelatis Ecclesiarum, de propriis Dorninicalibus certa eis pro victu, et amictu beneficia contulerunt. As we have seen from Adrian's Cartel to Frederick, not only the people paid this Domini- calian tax, or tax to support the troops, but the Pope himself, the Cardinals, and Bishops used to pay it not only for the lands and States that they governed, but they all paid it equally upon their private and allodial possessions. It seems to me to be synonymous with the Queen's taxes, which I think are paid also by the Archbishop of Canterbury out of his private property. This Dominicalian tax was exacted by the Imperial collectors from all the Church States in Italy, and everywhere the Imperial jurisdiction extended. When Frederick the First received the Pope's warlike message^ he understood directly that it was the premonitory symptom of serious affairs ; he did not lose his temper, but coolly sat down and wrote a letter to the Archbishop of Salzburgh, in which he told him that the Pope had sent to demand of him— K ^ ev 2 ic £ s > 30 Nova, et gravia, et Nunquam Prius audita, &c, ' new things, serious and never before heard. He told the Papal Legates who brought the message, concerning the first proposition contained in it, that Hsec res fateor, magna est, et gravis, graviorique et maturiori egens consilio. Nam cum Divina ordinatione ego Bomanus Imperator, et Dicar, et Sim, speciem tantum Dominantis effingo, et inane utique porto nomen, ac sine re, si Urbis Bomse de manu Nostra Potestas fuerit excussa. " This affair, I confess, is too serious, too great, and greater, and it requires more mature consideration. But as long as I am by Divine ordination the Boman Emperor, and can say I am, I shall not be any sort of Puppet w T ith an empty name, nor, without cause, shall I allow any one to take from my hands the Imperial Power that I have over Borne." Bravo, Emperor ! I would have uttered if I had been there, though I do not know 509 what Anton elli and Co. would have said ; but if I were the King now, I would call Antonelli on one side, or his master, and repeat to him, word by word, this little ancient ditty, as a premonitory, that should teach them to beware of any act of their accustomed imprudence. In fact, Frederick was not badly disposed towards the Pope, though he was provoked and aggravated by this priestly insolence : it appears, after consideration, he sent word that, to meet in some way the Pope's demands, he would condescend to have these questions decided by just and honest arbitrators ; and as the Pope would not accept this proposal of settling the differences, it confirmed Frederick and the whole of the historians that the Papal provocation was instigated by the coalesced conspirators. Gunterus, in Ligurino, lib. 9, supports what I have stated about this fact in these three lines : Sed nec in hoc Prsesul consensit et omnia nutu Ire suo cupiens, justse se subdere legi Bespuit, ut magnaB causas qui qusereret irse. Bishop Otho Frisingensis, that venerable con- temporary historian, was considered a holy man on account of his pious actions, and his learning made him also estimable to posterity. Otho, St Bernard, and Gunterus blamed the acts of Adrian against Frederick ; and from their writings it is evident they did not intend to make apologies in favour of the Imperial Power in Borne and in the Boman States, because at that time there was no question whether Borne belonged or not exclusively to the Pope, with the remainder of the Boman States; there were only trifling differences, arising through the impetuosities of the Popes against the Imperial Power. Though these differences sometimes assumed a gigantic attitude, and brought on wars, yet the Emperors invariably succeeded in recovering their influence, [and the Estates, with Borne itself, and x x 2 510 kept them always under their Imperial Power, and had Eome and the Eoman States ruled by their Imperial Yicars, under various titles of Dukes, or Princes, Ecclesiastics or Seculars, and left always the Pope to manage freely and despotically the spiritual power in Rome, and anywhere else he .pleased, except only in the few cases named in other chapters, where the Popes, with the Kings and Emperors, had mutually agreed to leave the Episcopal Inves- titures in the hands of the Sovereign Rulers. Schism and war resulted from this, but, nevertheless, Frederick did not give up possession in the Exarchate and the Roman States, as we may see by a doeu- i ment, dated Eerrara, after the year 1159, which was in the Archives of the family of Este at Modena, and was dated 12th February, anno 1161. In that Document it is stated Judge John administered jus- tice in that Marquisate in the name of the Emperor Frederick, and in which the Judge styled himself, Eriderici Imperatoris Legatus ad partem Ferrarise. In another Document, dated 1162, Conrad de Eela- mite was invested as Governor of Eerrara, per part of Frederick, and attested by the relation of the contemporary historian, Acerbus Morena, in his work, De Rebus Laudabilibus, &c. : Comitem Con- radum.de Eelamite prasposuit Ferrarise. The said Emperor Frederick, after the year 1168, invested with , the .Marca of Ancona and the : Duchy of Ravenna, Conrad of Luzelinort, and this fact is supported in tthe writings of the Abbot TTrspergensis : Marchiam quoque Anconse, et Principatum Ravennss Cunrado de Luzelinhar Federicus contulit. Ughelli, in the . Italia Sacra, to. 2, pp. 679 and 682, also notes two privileges . granted by Frederick to the City of Iniola, in which he recognised the citizens as subjects of the Empire, one dated 1159, and the other 1177. - No writer has stated that Frederick abandoned that city, or any other of the Romagna, to the Holy See ; on the contrary, he always retained 511 these States under his Imperial sway ; and in the celebrated peace of Constance in 1183, Ferrara and the other cities of the Eomagna were considered Im- perial domains : it was so agreed with the Milanese, and they promised Frederick that they would assist him to maintain under the Empire, Lombardy, the Marquisates, and Eomaniola, as fully detailed by Puricelli (in Mon. Eas. Ambr., ad anno 1185). Im- perium in Lombardia, Marchia, et Eomaniola, &c. All this clearly confirms the fact that in the peace signed at Venice, Frederick continued his Imperial Domination over those States, as named by Puricelli. We must also take into consideration that at that epoch the people of Lombardy were exceedingly religious, and inclined to favour the Holy See ; nevertheless, for the justice of the Imperial rights, they bound themselves to recognise the Imperial Sovereignty of those States. Moreover, in confirma- tion of the above, I relate here the words of the impartial historian Claromont, who affirms the Caesarian Domination of these States by the Em- peror Frederick, in the year 1185. Ex his constat, Totam Eomaniolam sub Impera- Claromont. toris Ditione turn fuisse, quod et subinde magis con- c*sar.', lib. firmabitur. < * 7,p.260. ' He then proceeds to say that his son, Henry the Sixth, remained in Italy to govern the province of Emilia, in lieu of his father : Henricus in Italia re- man sit, JSmiliamque, quo Pater, Imperio rexit. This historian had taken these facts from the An- cient Chronica of Cesena, which contained also, in anno 1185, — D. Eertoldus D. Imperatoris Legatus cum Eavennatibus, Ariminensibus, Csesenatibus, Ficolensibus, &c, super Faventinos incessit, &c. — that Earth old, the Imperial Legate, with the above people, went to make war, and subjected the people of Faenza to the Imperial obedience. In the year 1184, at the Council of Verona, Pope Lucius and Frederick treated and conferred together 512 about the Patrimony of the great Countess Mathilde ; but the Pope did not pretend to have any title to the States of Romagna, as was stated by Arnoldus of Lubeck, a contemporary historian, in his Chron. Slav., lib. 3, c. 10. And this was another proof that neither Alexander nor Lucius felt that they had any rights in the Eomagna, and recognized that those cities should remain under the Imperial dominion : tractabant inter se D. Papa, et Imperator de Patrimonio D. Mathildis. Of these Imperial Conferences there exist some documents which were written in an Ancient Kegister kept by the commu- nity of Modena ; one of them is headed with these words : Petitio Rectorum Lombardiae et Marchiae, atque Veneciae et Romanise a D. Imperatore. Then it begins — ISTos civitates, silicet Cremona, Medio- lanum, &c. Eerraria, Brixia, et Bononia, Ravenna, Ariminum, Mutina, Regium, &c. volumus facere D. Imperatori F. accepta ab eo pace, et recuperata ejus gratia, omnia quae Antecessores nostri a tempore mortis posterioris Henrici Imperatoris, Anteces- soribus suis sine violentia vel metu fecerunt, &c. silicet Eodrum Regale et consuetum, et consuetam paratam cum vadit Romam, &c. et consuetum Tran- situm, et sufficiens Mercatum, et transeat pacifice, &c. et fidelitatem a Vassallis recipiat, omni offensione remissa. A civibus quoque secundum mores cujus- que Civitatis Eidelitatem suscipiat, omni offensione remissa, &c. These Documents speak for themselves, and require no observation ; therefore, I shall proceed to name another fact, a concession, which I had almost forgotten, made by the Emperor through the inter- cession of Pope Alexander when they met at Venice ; and this concession is evidence that Alexander acknowledged the Emperor's exclusive Sovereign Dominion. It is inserted by Sigonius in his work De Regne Italico, lib. 14, ad ann. 1177 : Nos Eridericus Imperator interventu Venerabilis 513 Patris D. Alexandri Pontificis promittimus Lom- bardis, Marchionis, Eomaniolis et reliquis de Societate ipsorum Yassallis nostris et iis, qui debent esse Yassalli Nostri, nos pro Eidelitate Nobis non praestita, vel opera non navata, vel Investitura non petita, quamdiu induciae manebunt, neminem de Societate Judicaturum, aut judicari jussurum, nec Eeudum alicui adempturum, &c. ; and after this, Pope Alexander — has tabulas ad Magistros Societatis misit vi. Id. Octobr. Venetiis ex Eivoalto 1177. And so also did the Monks of the Abbey of Pomposa, who went to Venice to ask for and obtained the confirmation of their lands and States from the Emperor a few days after the above act, with a special declaration that that Abbey was entirely subject to the Emperor in any temporal affairs whatever. In full confirmation of these Imperial Acts, as the Emperor remained a few days at Venice, he renewed the Pacta with the Bepublic of Venice, and in it were named, as his subjects, the above populations, and the Eavennates, the Comaclenses, &c, as stated by Erancis Sansovinus in his history (Venet., lib. 2, p. 322) and before him it was written by Andreas Dandolo (in his MS. Chronica) in these words : Imperator vero Erede- ricus in Palatio Ducis residens, et per ea quae secuta erant, Venetorum opera grata habens, solita illorum Eoedera die xvn Augusti renovavit. The Emperor Frederick the First, in the celebrated peace made at Constance, known to all legislators, comprised Eerrara, and other towns of the Eoman States, as part of the country reserved to the Empire ; and in the year 1185, in the peace made with the Milanese, he specified more clearly his rights, saying in this document, inserted by Puricelli (Monument. Basil. Anibr., p. 1032) : Adjuvabunt Nos et Eegem Henricum filium Nostrum manutenere Imperium in Lombardia, Marchia, et Eomaniola, et specialiter in Terrain 514 quondam Comitissse Mathildis. Si quos etiam pos- sessiones, Justitias, jura et rationes in praedictis terris, silicet Lombardia, Marchia et Romaniola et nominatim de Terra quodam Comitiss83 Mathildis amiserimus, adjuvabunt Nos bona fide recuperare. In the years 1191 and 1195 his son Henry the Sixth had the same Estates, and gave Diplomas of Donations of various cities to several Imperial vicars, as shown by Eossi, in the history of Ravenna, lib. vi. Can the defenders of the Papal Pretences, with their Episcopal and Jesuitic pamphlets, quash the above historical and diplomatic proofs ? Let us see what Pope Pish was doing at that time. Pope Lucius the Third, in 1185, excommuni- cated the Waldenses and the Albigenses — quod cappam et sandalia in pedibus induerentur — and this was merely a pretext of jealousy ; the fact being that these men were honestly religious : follow- ing the Evangels they had done a vast deal of good to society in general, avoiding all the scandals of the Roman Prelates, and had attracted to their congre- gations the elite of the intelligent communities. If such acts could constitute a crime, that was what they did, and they never denied to have done good to humanity. In spite of the horrible persecutions, they practised and spread Christianity, with caution and prudence, all over the various districts into which they penetrated. The Abbas Urspergensis, in his Chronic, reports the following satire upon the Pope : " Lucius est piscis Rex atque Tyrannus aquarum A quo discordat Lucius iste parum Devorat ille homines, hie piscibus insidiatur Esurit hie semper, hie aliquando satur, Amborum vitam si laus sequata notaret, Plus rationis habet, qui ratione caret. Frederick's son, Henry the Sixth, in 1191, as stated by Sigonius in a Diploma given to the people of Ferrara (Hist. Bonon., lib. 4), recognised them as 515 his subjects — and in the year 1195, the Emperor con- firmed, as I have already said somewhere else — to the Archbishop of Eavenna, all his States, including in it Comacchio, as narrated by the historian Sigo- nius. In the same year, 1195, by the testimony of the Abbot Urspergensis, the Emperor Henry gave to Marquardus, one of his officers, Ducatum Eaven- nse cum Eomania, Marchiam quoque Anconas. It was not for this transfer of the Duchy of Eavenna and Eomagna, and the Marquisate of Ancona, that he was excommunicated, but because he detained prisoner Eichard, King of England, whom I have named in another chapter. Eossi, in the history of Eavenna, lib. 6, p. 361, relates the transaction agreed to by the people of Eavenna, of Eomagna, and of Ancona, with Marquard, and concludes with this — Salvis Eegalibus, quas Imperator et ipse Marqualdus in civitate Eavennas et ejus districtu habere Consuevit, &c. Salva in Omnibus his fideli- tate Domini Kostri Imperatoris. Nothing can show more forcibly the Imperial Dominion in those States than the above transaction, and though the proofs that I have already produced are even more than the necessary, yet I will give some others. In the year 1197, Henry the Sixth con- firmed the Pacta with the Yenetian Eepublic in the same manner as the former Emperors Otho, Lotha- rius, and Erederick, his father, compelling his sub- jects to adhere strictly to his injunctions, to maintain fidelity to him and his allies, and named amongst his subjects the Comaclenses, Eavennenses, &c, as written by Andreas Dandolo. Henricus an- tiqua fcedera apud Castrum Johannis Venetorum cum Subjectis Imperii renovavit, &c. Pope Innocent the Third was very sharp, and studied every opportunity to acquire States and jurisdiction over them. Upon the death of Henry the Sixth, he raised claims upon various provinces, but he did not obtain them. 516 Otho the Fourth, of the Este family, the branch of the Guelph of Brunswick, was named Emperor, and Philippe, brother of the late Henry the Sixth, was also elected Emperor. The Pope fomented the discord in those elections for the motive, pure and simple, of possessing what he could obtain by trea- chery of the Imperial States, after the old proverb — inter duos litigantes tertius gaudet ; and in fact he possessed himself of several castles and towns belong- ing to the Empire. Otho was chosen in preference to Philippe, and was crowned, and after his corona- tion repossessed himself of the whole of the Imperial States ; and the Pope again found himself with empty hands. Otho was skilful enough to baffle the Roman Ecclesiastics. At his time they had such extra- ordinary pretences, that any one aspiring to the Empire was obliged to give way, in many cases, to some of their extraordinary claims. The Imperial sagacity conquered the priestly inventions, and the Emperor having repossessed himself of everything belonging to the Empire, Pope Inno- cent the Third, seeing his own delusion, and thinking to frighten Otho, excommunicated him, and brought against him a terrible war. — See the apology of the Emperor Otho the Eourth, written by the celebrated Henry Meibomius, in the torn. 3, Germ. Script., a Meibm. edit. Matthew Paris, the contemporary English historian, in his Hist. Angl., ad an. 1210, says — Eo tempore, quo vacabat Imperium, idem Papa Castella plurima cum rebus aliis occupaverat, quae ad dignitatem Imperii pertinebant. TJnde Im- perator, qui quod suum erat, revocare studuit, ipsum Papam sine merito ad odium provocavit. Otho was advised to act in that manner by the counsel of the most eminent men of his time, yet he said — Si Summus Pontifex Imperii jura injuste possidere desiderat, a Sacramento, quod tempore consecrationis mese ad dignitatem Imperialem me jurare compulit, absolvat, quod videlicet dispersa Imperii jura revo- 517 carem, &c. These irrefragable testimonies proved the folly and usurpations of Innocent, as well as the rights of the Imperial dominion vindicated by the Emperor Otho. I need, therefore, say nothing further about it. Sansovinus, in his Venetian History, lib. 2, p. 322, says that Otho renewed the Pacta with the Venetian Signoria, in the year 1209, and the historian Ughelli, in Italia Sacra, T. 3, p. 374, copied the Imperial Diploma of Investiture of Ravenna, and of many other little States to that Archbishop, named Ubal- dus, dated in the same year 1209 : Otho gave him — Comitatum Cesenat. Comitatum Ficolens. Comitatum Bobii, Foropompilii, Forolivii, &c. Comitatum Coma- clensem cum ripa et piscariis suis et Districtum Bavennae cumportis, ripis, et excerptis illis J^ostris Hegalibus cum Districtu, quorum custodiam homo, et Missus Foster, qui in eadem Civitate manere Con- suevit, in feudo a nobis habere dignoscitur, &c. All these things the Emperor gave with the usual Imperial clause — Salvo jure Imperii. In the following year, 1210, he gave to Azzo, Marquis of Este, the Marquisate of Ancona. The conclusion of these Donations by the Emperor Otho the Fourth to any other person in preference of the Pope, shows that he knew that he could dispose freely of what belonged to the Empire, reserving always to himself the Supreme Temporal power ; and that he did not want to give anything to the Pope, because he knew that it would establish a precedent, and that it would be difficult to get anything returned by the Holy See, which was, as usual, more than industrious to find intrigues and pretexts to usurp the Imperial States. In fact, Urban invoked the Donations of Ludovicus Pius, and Otho proved that Ludovick, as well as the other Emperors, and amongst them several who had been reckoned Saints by the Popes themselves, had given nothing, except nominal Donations of Pomp ; and regarding temporal y t 518 jurisdiction and power, there is no document to be found, nor any mention made by any contemporary writer, that Otho gave any town or States to the Holy See, nor was there any complaint raised by the former Popes against the late Saint-Emperor's ingra- titude, or avarice, or egotism. I have taken this quotation from the Historia Erederici Imperatoris Magni huic nominis Primi ducis suerorum et parentale sue. The original is full of abbreviations, and without any diphthongs. At this time two Emperors reigned — Otho the TJsurper, and Frederick, who was elected, and made war against him, in the reign of Pope Innocent the Third. Eo tempore, 1211, mundo jam senescente exorte sunt due religiones in ecclesia cujus ut aquile renovantur inventus que etiam a sede apostolica sunt confirmate videlicet minor fratrum et predicatorum que forte hac occasione sunt approbate. Quia olim due secte in Ytalia exorte adhuc perdurant quorum alii hu- miliatos alii pauperes de luduno se nominabant. Quos lucius papa quondam inter hereticos scribebat eo quod supersticia dogmata et observationes in eis reperirentur. In occultis quoque prsedicationibus quas faciebant plerumque in latibulis ecclesie dei et sacerdocio derogabatur. Yidimus tunc temporis ali- quos de numero eorum qui dicebantur pauperes de luduno apud sedem apostolicam cum magistro suo quodam ut puto bernhardo et hii petebant sectam suam a sede apostolica confirmari et privilegiari. Sane ipsi dicentes se gerere vitam apostolorum nichil volentes possidere aut locum certum habere circuibant per vicos et castella. Ast dominus papa quedam supersticiosa in conversation e ipsorum eisdem objecit videlicet quod calceos de super pede praecidebant et quasi nudis pedibus ambulabant, preterea cum portarent quasdam cappas quasi religionis capillos capitis non attendebant nisi sicut laici. Hoc quoque proprosium videbatur in eis quod viri et Tnulieres simul ambulabant in via et plerumque 519 simul manebant in domo una et de eis diceretur quod quandoque simul in lectulis accubabant. Que tamen omnia ipsi asserebant ab apostolis descendisse, &c. This must have been a very pretty specimen of a religious sect, and I dare say that these pretended new followers of the old Apostles regularly selected the finest girls to sleep with them in order to per- form the miracle of abstinence, or of what I will not say; however, it is evident that in the Middle^ Ages, as well as in the present day, the most immoral or criminal acts were and are always perpetrated by the most assuming religious impostors. We have had a great many specimens within the year 1860 of an extraordinary number of very Reverend Par- sons and Priests who have nauseated society more than sufficient with their crimes. It is useless to make a catalogue of them, because society is consti- tuted in such a manner as to give such annual results, and it would be out of the way to say here anything against it. Therefore I shall merely remark that the notorious Mormon, Mr Prince, who was prose- cuted on the 9th June, 1860, for bamboozling the persons and money of the three sisters Nottidge, at the Agapemone, must have known and taken the basis of his own swindle from the above- cited old one. Frederick the Second came to power about 1213, at which time the Holy See had taken care to have ready a number of forged Imperial Diplomas of pretended anterior Donations ; and no person will be surprised to hear that the Holy See had dared to adopt such dishonest practices, they were long before accustomed to do such work, therefore they did not in the least scruple about it. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries there was a great, a principal Papal industry, which was carried on to such an excess, that in the next century historical readers found themselves so puzzled by all those fictitious legends inlaid in so many different works, that it 520 was difficult for the superficial reader to find the truth of the real history. However, the truth of the facts of the positive history are to be found still in the many contemporary authors, in spite of the forged Documents of the EE. P.P. Germont, a very- industrious French Jesuit, who wrote many things in favour of the Holy See, putting aside the evidence of the ancient contemporary writers, inventing the most extraordinary falsities, to the amazement of the living authors, who buried him and his Jies under a thousand convictions of well-meant and truthful arguments, and proving, with the contemporary ■writers of Frederick the Second, his real deeds and his Imperial power in the Roman States, as well as in others belonging to the Empire. Therefore, the Diplomas dated 1213, 1218, 1224, and 1231, by Frederick to the Holy See and to the Archbishop of Eavenna, are forgeries, and are com- pletely stigmatised as such by the writers of the subsequent epochs, because the real, impartial, and truthful historians proved that Frederick the Second continued, like his predecessors, to possess the Eoman States, and disposed of them as he pleased to any other persons, except the Holy See ; and that he resided at Eavenna the whole of the month of January, 1231, as stated by the ancient writer, the Monachus Gotfredus, in his Annales, and by Eicardus de Sanct. Germano, and by the documents inserted by Eossi in his History of Eavenna, lib. 6, p. 401. From the History of the Duchy of Brunswick, published by Henry Meimbomius, Eev. German, t. 3, p. 206, it will also be seen that Frederick the Second's Secretaries and Chancellors, who used to sign his Imperial acts and documents, were — Conradus Metensis et Spirensis Episcopus, Imperialis Aulae Cancellarius, S. Eatisponensis, Imperialis Aula? Can- cellarius, who used to sign the Diplomas in this manner — Ego Sigfridus, Eatisponensis Episcopus, Aula? Im- peratoris Cancellarius vice, &c. ; and in others, — Ego 521 Sifridus Eatisponensis Episcopus Imperialis Aulas Can- cellarius, viceDomini SifridiMoguntini Archiepiscopi, et totius Germanise Archicancellarii. In the works upon Jurisprudence by John Schilter, to. 2, Tit. 1 5 and 16, speaking of and referring to the official documents by the Emperor Frederick the Second, that writer noticed also amongst the signatures at- tached to them that of Bishop Conradus Metensis as Imperial Chancellor ; and the forged documents, with the Donations to the Holy See, either bore no signatures at all, or those of Chan- cellors who had not existed, and which was the principal cause of the discoveries of those forgeries by the learned ancient historians and ecclesiastical and secular writers. Frederick the Second occasionally granted Diplomas without the signature of his Chan- cellor, but then, in such instances, there were the signatures of several Bishops and Archbishops as witnesses, which will account for the absence of the Chancellor's. An instance of this kind is noted by Margarinus in the Bollarius Cassin., to. 2, Constit. 246 and 252. It was the grant of a Privilege; and it was witnessed by — testes sunt Magdeburgen- sis, Mediolanensis, etEeginus Archiepiscopi, Curiensis, et Cicensis Episcopi. Ughelli, in his Italia Sacra (to. 1, p. 469; to. 2, pp. 712, 713; to. 3, p. 732, &c), also notes six or seven of those concessions, and Privileges, and Diplomas, granted by the Emperor Frederick the Second without the Arch- Chancellor's or Chancellor's signature, and without the day of the month, but noting the month and the year of reign, and the inditions, and signed by the Bishops and Archbishops as witnesses. It was his own style, and it passed without any one daring to make remarks. Some of the predecessors of Frede- rick the Second had occasionally granted Diplomas witnessed in that manner. In the year 1495 the Notary and Mayor (Pode&ta) of Comachio, by order of the Council, made a memorandum in a book T Y 2 522 signed with the letter H, number 1492, in the Archives of that community, extracting the Privi- lege accorded to that city, in the year 1177, by Frederick the First, which was also without the day of the month. Nevertheless, that Privilege of Frederick the First was confirmed by Henry the Sixth and by Frederick the Second, and other Emperors, as stated in the extract made by the above-named Notary and Mayor of Comachio, who wrote it in Italian, (almost in patois) and it ends so : Masse, rason, giurisdizion possession, et esenzion, che furon azunte et confermade da Hinrigho il Sesto, et Fidirigo il Secondo et altri Imperatori, &c. I repeat that Frederick the Second was the Sovereign Lord of Ravenna and the other Eoman States, in spite of the scisma and wars which raged most fearfully in the year 1239, when Gregory the Ninth fulminated his excommunication against Frederick the Second, because he had occupied Ferrariam, Pigonnagam, Bondenum, MassamLucensis Diocesis, et terram Sardinise. He had already disposed of many other little States in favour of Azzo, Marquis of Este, of Ferrara and Ancona, with a Diploma of Investiture, dated anno 1221, which is inserted by Sigoniusin his works deEpisc. Bonon., lib. 2. It would require too much time to enumerate all the different dispositions by that Emperor to his adherents, of cities and lands here and there, always avoiding to give anything to the Eoman See, which conspired and named a rival King of the Romans amongst the German Princes, and Henry, the Landgrave of Turingia, at the instigation of the New Pope, Innocent the Fourth, was elected in the year 1246, as the Imperial antagonist King. At last, after some years of war, Rubeus (or Rossi), in the Hist, of Rav., says, in the year 1253, that that population took solemn oath of fidelity and subjec- tion to Philippe, the Legate of the Apostolic See, Matthew Paris, in Henry the First, says that it was 523 in the year 1239 that the Emperor Frederick the Second complained in public letters to the Pope that he had subverted from his Dominion the citizens of Kavenna (very likely this is a trifling error of date) : Civitatem Nostrum Ravenna? per Paulum Traversa- rium antea fidelissimum nobis, et factum postmodum per corruptionem Papalis pecuniae proditorem. I must note this fact, that some arrangements were concluded between the Empire and the Roman See, and that an anonymous contemporary historian, in a Chronica which he wrote and which was lately in the Archives of Modena, stated that the Emperor Frederick, in his will and testament (which was written in full in that MS.), left to the Roman Church the restitution of everything that belonged to it, reserving in full for himself and his successors, and for the honour of the Empire, all his Imperial rights, on condition that the Church restored to the Empire all its due. I happen to have in my Library, three MS. official relations of the Venetian Ambassadors at the Courts of Rome, of King Philippe, and at the Court of the Emperor Charles the Eifth (and these private informations about the political and private affairs of these Courts were never published, though they contain the most minute accounts of those Monarchs and their political intentions and views, and would be invaluable to the statesmen of the present time), in which I have chanced to find two Biographical sketches of the origin of the Austrian house founded by Ridolph or Rudolph the First. I will insert here a part of his biography, as written by the Ambassador, the Illustrious Marino Cavallo, when he returned from his mission to Charles the Fifth, in the year 1551. He wrote : " The present house of Austria has not been many years established in greatness, because Rudolph, who was the first to make it illustrious, and to enrich it — possessed nothing more of his own than the County of 524 Hapsburgh, -which at that time gave the name to that family, and was situated in Switzerland, near the Canton of Berne, and Rudolph had served as Major domo (Palace Chamberlain) to Ottoacre, King of Bohemia, when fortune elevated him and his family to such greatness.'' Christendom had been iu commotion, and without an Emperor, nearly eighteen years, through the discords of the Electors and others ; one party had already elected Eichard, brother of the King of England, and the other party had elected Alphonso, King of Castillia ; neither of whom could obtain the Imperial possession. At last, in 1223, the Electors agreed to elevate to the Empire Rudolph, on account of his services to Germany during the reign of Frederick the Second, and of his virtue and ability in arms, and administrative capacity; and because at that time a great confusion reigned all over Germany on account of Ottoacre, the Bohemian king, having possessed himself of Austria and of Styria, under the pretext of his marriage rights with the widow of Henry son of Frederick the Second. This lady was, Margaret, of the ancient house of Bamberga, whom King Ottoacre married for her patrimony, and put her aside, as she was too old, and could not have children. This pretext for a divorce was good, and Rudolph, with the assistance of the Hungarian King Stephen the Second's army, in several battles succeeded iu expelling Ottoacre from the States, and in installing himself in the Empire — and we shall see that it was not a bed of roses, because the Pope served him with the usual tricks of scisma, excommunication, and war. Giovanni Villani, the Florentine historian, bor- rowed from the history written by Ricordano Malespini, the contemporary of the Emperor Rudolph, the chapters 98 and 99, in which he gives a Biography of Rudolph in these translated words : "In the year 1272 the Imperial Electors elected 525 Eudoiph, Count of Furinborgo, a valiant man at arms, though of little power. Pope Ghirigoro (sic) confirmed Kidolph, Count of Furinborgo (perhaps he meant Freiburg), King of the Romans, so that he might come to Eome to be crowned, and to go as Captain-General of the expedition to Palestine. The said Count promised that he would be at Milan for that object on a certain day, under pain of excommunication— which promise his private affairs, and the wars in Germany prevented him fulfilling and coming to Italy, and, of course, he never had the Crown nor the Papal Benediction of the Empire, but he remained excommunicated ; and at last, to make peace with the Pope and with the Church, and to be absolved from excommunication, he was compelled to* grant some privileges to the Pope, and he gave him the privilege of the County of Eomagna — as though he could privilege the Eoman Church. This is what the contemporary Eicordano and Villani repeat about this Emperor : and in this privilege granted, many legal questions could be raised, and were raised, because Rudolph could not dispose of what he had not yet acquired, and never did acquire, and cannot be acquired except after the Coronation as Eoman Emperor. I leave Eudoiph for a time, and I will explain as well as I can, by means of official acts, in what con- sisted the Privileges or Donations to the Holy See. In the olden time many States, cities, isles, and pro- vinces were given as a gift of pomp to the Holy See, as a mark of respect to the Pontiff, or to the Arch- bishops and Bishops as the venerated representatives of Christianity. Emperors, Kings, and Princes, knowing what were the Eoman Curia, to keep them in order and quiet, they adopted the political strata- gem of ostentatious generosity by the gifts of pomp and the so-called Privilegia, or donations to the Holy See. Whether the Emperors or Princes made the gift, or confirmed the gift made previously by their 526 predecessors, the Popes, Bishops, or Archbishops knew well enough what rights and privileges they would acquire by such gift, donation, or privilege ; while they would know also perfectly well that the given city, estate, or province would still remain under the control and high jurisdiction or dominion of the Emperor or the Prince who had 'granted the privilege or donation of pomp. Por instance, it is said by several Papal partitanti writers that the pro- vinces of Yenice and of Istria, in ancient time, were given and confirmed to the Holy See, with the ex- press condition that the said Holy See should not take possession of them ; and in fact, the Roman See never had them, nor took possession, nor was ever offered possession of those States. Anastasius asserts that Charlemagne denned the limits of the Estates that he gave to the Holy See in these words : " a Lunis cum insula Corsica, deinde in Suriano, deinde in Monte Bardone, inde in Yerceto deinde in Parma, deinde in Rhegio, et exinde in Mantua atque Monte Silicio, simulque et universum Exarchatum Eavennatium, atque Provincias Venetia- rum, et Histriam, nec non et cunctum Ducaturn Spoletinum et Beneventanum." I refer the reader to the Will of Charlemagne, which I have copied in extenso in a former part of this work, and which contains the above expressions in part only, but then these provinces were left to his son Charles, and not to the Holy See, as observed by Anastasius. The assertion of Anastasius, though erroneous and false, was maliciously inserted in the spurious Diploma of Donations to the Holy See by Otho the First, and in that of Henry the Second, also apocry- phal ; I shall remark only that the concessions or privileges to the Holy See, when made, were so frivolous and useless that they were entirely ridicu- lous, and of no effect with regard to the transmission of the high Dominion of those places. The fact is, that such concessions contrasted too much with the 527 historical truth, and will serve only to confirm and establish my opinion that, in the olden time, the Monarchs and Princes used to grant and give Dona- tions and Privileges to the Holy See, and to other high Ecclesiastics, merely as gifts of Pomp. This assertion is corroborated so powerfully by undeniable historical facts, that no one will dare disprove that the Emperors ruled and enjoyed the Supreme Do- minion of the Provinces of Lunigiana, Montebar- done, Berceto, Parma, Eeggio, Mantova, Monselice, Le Provincie di Venezia, that is, Padova, Vicenza, Verona, and other cities {except Venice and, other places), like Comacchio, the other Provinces of the great Countess Mathilde that are not yet named, and the Exarchate, although several of the above-named towns had been, at various times, made the object of ostentatious gift, or privileges upon them had been granted by the Emperor or Princes to the Holy See. These pretended Donations were then quite useless, for the great reason that most of them did not convey with them either the possession or the useful dominion, much less the high, supreme, or Imperial dominion. The Holy See was not put in regular possession of the Cities and Provinces given to her as Privi- leges, Eegalia, or Donations : on the contrary, the Holy See had frequently seen with indifference and calmness the Imperial Investitures of those same cities^and provinces given to various princes, Counts, Archbishops, and Abbots, who were put in posses- sion of them by the Imperial Judges and Chancellors without any complaint being raised by the various Popes to whom the said cities had been conceded before, as an ostentatious show of Pomp, alias Dona- tion. Anastatius was a clever man, to be sure, and worked very hard for the Holy Shop ; but with all that he did not know that ancient prescription, how to cook a hare, and forgot that before he could roast 528 it, he should catch it, and that then he might have it prepared as he liked. Pipin and Charlemagne could dispose of Yenice and of Histria as I can dis- pose of the money of the Bank of England, just in the same manner; with only this difference, that Pipin tried very hard, and the Venetians defeated and dispersed his naval army, as I have related somewhere else. Charlemagne and his Father had been at Yenice only as friends, and it seems that Charlemagne much esteemed the friendship of the Venetians, and never attempted to molest the His- trian and Dalmatian provinces, which were then friendly, and soon after under the protection of the Venetians. In this work I have reproduced cases corrobora- ting my assertions, and demonstrated also a few cases in which the Popes, and other Ecclesiastics, had received Donations of cities and lands, followed by regular Investitures and Possession of the given places, with the usual Imperial reserve — " Salvo tamen jure Imperii;" and later, the Emperors added to this clause — "more antecessorumnostrorum." That is, ex- cepting always on our behalf the Imperial Dominion over these gifts, according to our ancestor custom. When such Donations were made with these clauses, sometimes the Popes, and at others not, enjoyed only the Useful Dominion over them, that is the right of levying tithes upon such Estates or Cities. I may even assert that sometimes the right of levy- ing tithes, according to the privileges of the Useful Dominion, did not extend any further than upon those lands which were the property of the Episco- pate, Churches, and Monasteries, and the Popes could not interfere with the remainder of the Pro- perties in the same Towns and Provinces. I have already given many proofs, and will still continue to give others, that some of the Emperors never intended to give the High Dominion or the Useful Dominion of certain States to the Holy See, 529 although they had granted the privileges to it, and sworn to be in favour and maintain friendship with the Popes ; they, the Emperors, have retained the rights of disposing of such Estates in favour of other parties, and have actually done so several times, as can be proved by the Diplomas of several Emperors, who were much esteemed, and considered pious men, and were in capital odour with the Pontifical Courts. For instance, I will take the case of Rudolph the First, who was very religious and virtuous, and was much lauded by the Eoman Court. The Holy See said that ia 1274 and 1275 he made the Donation of the Exarchate of Ravenna ; nevertheless, the Emperor continued master in possession of almost every town and province, without the least lamentation or quarrel on the part of the Popes, who had attempted domi- nation also in the lands of the great Countess Mathilde, but the Emperor disposed of them as he liked, although anterior and subsequent Popes had pretended to those States on account of previous Donations. The states of the great Countess Mathilde con- sisted in great part of the Duchy of Mantua, of of Parma, Reggio, Modena, Garfagnana, and other towns and lands which before her death she had given to Hildebrand, so that he might have the means to carry on the war against the Emperor, &c< But the Holy See never possessed her estates. It was pretended also that Rudolph the First and his prede- cessors had granted to the Roman See the provinces of Yenetia, Histria, Montebardone, Monselice, the counties of Gavello and Adria, and that those Emperors had sworn to maintain and protect it in such possessions. In spite of the protestations of the Holy See, and of such concessions and Donations by the predecessors of Rudolph and of Rudolph himself, we see that the Emperor Rudolph the First, by three of his Diplomas, gave to Obizzo, Marquis of Este, one of his Imperial Vicars, two diplomas, z z 530 one of them dated 1281, the other dated 1285, reported by Eossi, in the history of Ravenna, lib. 6, from which this extract, showing to whom the Emperor gave those States, is taken. Causas appel- lationum per totam Marchiam Tarvisanam, sive Yeronae in rectum feudum, &c. Castrum Montis Silicis, Eustum Caloanum et Montagnanam, &c, Comitatum Ehodigi et Adriam et Adrian um, using the words concedimus et donamus. In the third Diploma he conferred upon him Lendenara, &c, and in the year 1280, Bonifacius Archiepiscopus suo Ecclesiae Eavennatis et successorum nomine, auctoritate sibi ab Imperatore concessa, si Eespublica Eavennas tentasset, permisit societati Amanatorum, ut Mone- tam Eavennae excuderent. What was the Pope doing or talking about, all the time that the Emperor Eudolph was disposing of those provinces, which, according to alleged previous Donations, had been given to the Pope or to the Holy See ? The Pope never came forward to claim them as his property, nor dared to say anything even when Eudolph disposed of the Exarchate, nor did he interfere in any manner, or even remonstrate with the Archbishop Boniface when he granted to others the power of coining money. All this proves, then, that the Pope knew perfectly well that he had no right of any sort, nor the least pretext for interference. Therefore, the Donations of Pipin, Charlemagne, Ludovicus Pius, the Othos, Mathilde, the Henries, Frederick, and the other Imperial predecessors, made to the Holy See, were as good and as valid as a sack of fresh air. The same thing happened in 1320, on the 3rd of April ; when Erederick of Austria was elected King of the Eomans, in opposition to the Bavarian Ludovick, he granted, in a Diploma dated as above, to Castruccio Castraeane degli Antelminelli, the In- vestiture of Lucca and Garfagnana. That Diploma is reported in the MS. history of that place by the historian Micotti, and Aldus Manutius also inserted 531 it in the life of Castruccio ; it is also inserted in full in the Recueil des Traitez de Paix de Treves et d' Alliances, &c. Again, I will notice here that, at a later period, the Emperor Charles the Fourth, although he had confirmed to the Holy See the Lands and States of the Countess Mathilde, yet, with a Diploma dated 1355, on the 11th of June, he invested the family of Valvassori of Garfagnana with all their Estates, confirming to them a privilege already granted by Frederick the Second. In the Archives of the family of Este still exists that Investiture, and the historian Micotti reported the Diploma with which the Emperor, in the year 1369, on the 8th of July, confirmed the Province of Garfagnana to the Council of Lucca in the name of the Holy Eoman Empire. Where was the Pope ? What did he say ? Nothing I Moreover, in the year 143 3, the Emperor Sigismond invested the family of Este with the said Province of Garfagnana by an Imperial Diploma, which was successively renewed to the D'Este family by every succeeding Emperor up to the beginning of the eighteenth century ; and they remained always in possession of that Province until they were expelled at the end of the last century, and again and for ever by the last Italian war. The Popes never made any opposition or any lamentation upon this Investiture. The Emperor Charles the Fourth likewise invested the D'Estes with several Estates which had been given previously as Donations of Pomp to the Holy See. Sigonius, De Episc. Bonon., lib. 3, relates that Aimericus, Bishop of Bologna, begged of Charles the Fourth to be reconfirmed in the Investitura of Cento, of St Giovanni, TJnzola, Rocca, Badalo, Masiniatico, Poggio, Dugliolo, and other places, which was executed by the Emperor in the presence of the Electors and other Princes of the Empire by a Diploma, bearing date 1365, Indizione 3 a , 4 t0 , Id., 532 Feb*. The Bishop of Bologna, Arrigus, had been invested with such places by a Diploma of the Emperor Frederick the Second, in the year 1220, which Diploma was printed by TJghelli in his Italia Sacra, to. 2, p. 22. The Emperor Charles the Fourth, in that Diploma, called Bishop Aimericus — Nostrum et Si. Emi. Im- perii Principem ; and in it he ratified, renewed, confirmed, and gave to him — de Imperialis potestatis plenitudine, ex certa nostra scientia animo deliberate non per errorem, aut improvide, sed ex mere liberali- tatis arbitrio, — the above Investiture. A small portion of this territory, through a revolution, was lost by the Bishop, when the Pope got hold of the city of Cento (the birthplace of Guercino), but, nevertheless, the Emperors considered that territory as part and parcel of the Boman Empire. What is to be remarked as singular in the above Investiture is, that the Emperor gave it to the Bishop, and not to the Pope, nor yet to the Holy See. That this Donation, which conferred on the Bishop the Useful Dominion, was made to an Ecclesiastic well acquainted with etiquette, and who was a friend to the Roman See, with which he was on the best terms, and the Pope or his Legates did not complain. Charles the Fourth, about the same year, also made a Donation of Privileges to the city or municipality of Perugia, and that population recognized the Imperial Dominion and protection, as stated by Extrav^d*' Bartholus, who was sent as an Ambassador in these Reprim. v. affairs. Several other cities were governed as Heges. Republics under the protection and with an Imperial privilege granted to them, at various epochs by the Emperors ; and at that time the Popes did not, and knew that they could not, say anything to the contrary. Before proceeding any farther, I think it necessary to recapitulate the statement that Pipin, Charle- magne, Ludowick, Lotharius, and, more particularly, 533 the Othos, Henry the Second, and Rudolph the First, were great friends with the Popes, and were considered by them as pious saints, and I don't know what ; yet the whole of them were masters of Rome, Ravenna, and all the Roman States, and disposed of them as they liked, and, as I have shown, to other persons to enjoy the Useful Do- minion, while they always retained for themselves and their posterity the Imperial Dominion, in spite of having made to the Popes the pompous Donations of those States, which amounted, as I have said, in many different ways, only to the privilege of levying tithes upon the lands of the Churches and of the monasteries. I must not forget to state that Charles the Fourth was also considered a pious Emperor and a great friend of the Pope ; though he did not give him the temporal power in any province, although he had plenty at his disposal. In fact, he gave to the Marquis of Este the Con- firmation of the Investitures of Eerrara and of Comacchio, the Counties of Rovigo, of Adria, of Adriano, and many other little States that had belonged to the great Countess Mathilde. The Pope said nothing, as usual, and was satisfied with the Confirmation of the privileges of the Holy See, which we have seen amounted only to pompous pretences. In 1355, when Charles the Fourth made a journey to Rome with the object of being crowned, he did not hold up his Imperial dignity, and, instead of leaving Rome as a master, he left it as an humble and obedient servant. He, therefore, deserved the following remonstrance from Petrarch : " You have then promised the Pope by oath never to return to Rome ? How shameful for an Emperor that Rome should have the power, or rather the audacity, to constrain him to be satisfied with the title of Caesar ! What an affront for him to whom the universe ought to be subject, not to be his own master, and z z 2 534 to see himself reduced to obey the commands of his vassal ! " Jesus has said, "My kingdom is not of this world." Jesus would not consent to be armed with the sword. Charles the Fourth betrayed St Peter by betraying himself. Of all religions, that which excludes in the greatest degree priests from all civil authority is assuredly that of Jesus : " Eender unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. There will be among you neither first nor last. My kingdom is not of this world." The quarrels between the Empire and the Papacy, which have covered Europe with bloodshed for more than six centuries, have therefore only been, on the part of the priests, rebellion against God and man, and a continual sin against the Holy Ghost. I must now go back a little to notice some other affairs with regard to the motives of the Popes in sending the Emperors to Palestine, which they did in order that, whilst they were absent from their German and Italian States, they (the Popes) might avail themselves of the opportunity of swindling the Empire out of their interest and revenue in those States, and of establishing laws, regulations, and usages palatable to themselves, and poisonous to the populations and to the Empire. If I were not afraid of overswelling this volume, I could select from the materials that I have at my disposal many forcible historical facts to convince any one of these obstinately incredulous Papists, who deny everything on principle, and prove nothing by malice and ignorance. However, I will say that TJdalricus, alias Henricus Mutius historicus, in his Chron. Germ., lib. 21, states that at the time of Rudolph, many of the Italian Princes were in great contention with the Pope Nicholas the Third; because, during the absence of the Emperor, the Pope, abusing the Imperial authority, accomplished 535 whatever he thought of or desired ; and amongst hig pretty deeds named and constituted Charles, King of Sicily, King also of Tuscany, entirely in defiance and against the will and rights of the Emperor Eudolph : usus auctoritate Eudolphi absentis, effecit quidquid cupiebat, &c. Nicholas was not satisfied with the expectations of his protege, and soon after he disturbed him in those States ; and Pope Honorius the Fourth, who succeeded Nicholas in the year 1286, had the impudence to name, as Vicar- General of the Empire, the Genoese Count Pinzivallem De Elisco, and to send him to Germany with Papal letters to take the Imperial confirmation from Eudolph, who was much annoyed at it, and would have preferred to name another person to the one derogatorily named by the Pope : Honorius fecit Comitem HonoriusMu- Januensem nomine Pinzivallam (Prinzivallam) de l™ S i286° n ' Elisco Yicarium Generalem Imperii, misitque eum in Germaniam ad Eudolphum Imperatorem eum mandatis, ut Eudolphus hunc Yicarium confirmaret. Quod fecit in gratiam Pontificis Imperator quam- quam invitus ; male enim habebat eum, quod Pontifex hoc jus in Imperio sibi arrogabat, alium enim Vicarium Eudolphus maluisset. Pope Innocent the Eifth, in the year 1276, succeeded Honorius, and was endowed with the same unlimited holy impudence as his predecessor, and had the courage to write a letter to Eudolph in which he ordered him not to go to Italy, and if by chance he was then travelling towards that country, bid him go back. That letter is inserted in the Dissertazione Historica (No. 11, p. 38), published in Eome in 1710, by the Papal Lawyer defending the Holy See against the Imperial rights violated by the Popes Gregory, Clement, and Innocent. The historian Einaldi, concerning the political events of the year 1277, says that Pope John XXI wrote another letter to that Emperor, telling him imperatively to stay in Germany. Ptolomeus 536 Lucensis (Bibliot. Patr., to. 23, p. 966), a Dominican friar, Bishop of Torcella, and contemporary historian, wrote in his short Annales the innovations of Pope Nicholas the Third in the following words : Nicolaus nmltas Novitates fecit in Mundo. Primo Eodulphum requirit de Comitatu Romagnolse, et obtintiit ex jure Ecclesise concesso per Ludovicum Imperatorem. Lncensibus molestias intulit de "Vicariatu Vallis Nebulae, &c. He had already said of Pope John, pre- decessor of Nicholas, that he also had attempted many novelties, and that he hazardously did many things. And in the year 1282 the same Bishop Ptolomeus says that the people of Lucca burned Pescia, because they had submitted to the Imperial Chancellor of Rudolph, and that they should not have done so without the confirmation of the Pope. Causam autem combustionis fuerunt fuisse, quia se subjecerunt Cancellario Imperatoris Rodulphi, cui subjici non debebant, nisi appareret confirmatio ejus- dem per Summum Pontificem. It is reported by Blondus (Dec. 2, lib. 8), who took it from Ptolomeus Lucensis, that Bishop Ptolomy registered an historical fact which had a great analogy to the political state of Italian affairs two years ago, and which were entirely baffled by the prevoyance, diplomatic ability, and patriotic spirit of Baron Ricasoli, supported by the Florentine popula- tions, backed by the universal applause of the whole of Italy, and the sympathy of Europe. However, I thank Napoleon the Third for the good intentions evinced in the whole affair, though the present scheme which superseded his own meets most satis- factorily the wants of the Italian nation, and will prevent in future new causes of European dissension and of internal strife. In fact, it has been the dream of every patriot for upwards of a thousand years, and cannot be respited, except at the risk of a general European conflagration in the style of that of 1848, with the exception that the people will know now 537 what to do with their conflicting elements. Expe- rientia docet. And it is natural enough that there shall be unity and force to resist the attacks of the enemies and the strangers, and that that land so many times baptised with the blood of its liberal martyrs, shall be manured with the bones of its future tyrants. — The scheme that the imagination of Nicholas the Third conceived was this splendid specimen of priestly interested motives, favourable to his two nephews of the Orsini family. I relate here the words of Blondus, as it is the same sentence written by the Bishop Ptolomy : Scribit Phtolomeus Lu- censis Nicolaum Pontificem, nisi ejus consilia mors occupasset, Beges duos, unum Lombardiae, alterum Hetruscis fuisse daturum, quo Begibus Siciliae, atque Germanis Imperii titulo abutentibus, evertendi Italiam, sicut ssepe fecerant, facultas adimeretur. Platina, the Pontifical historian (in Yita Nicol. Ill), repeats the same facts, that two nephews of the Popes of the Orsini family were to be made Kings of Italy, one in Lombardy and the other in Tuscany, and he adds that they might keep back with their armies in due obedience the Germans and the French. In animo fuerat duos Beges creare, utrumque Ursinum, quorum alterum Hetrurise, alterum Lombardise pra> ficeret, qui inde Teutonicos, sive G alios armis in officio continerent. There is not the least shadow of doubt that this bold Pope would have expelled the Emperor and the other Princes, and ruled Italy in his own way, independent of foreign arms ; but his independent calculations were stopped by his unex- pected death, when the political affairs of Italy assumed another shape and modification. I take this political fact as the first precedent against the Papal non possumus non volumus, and I shall follow this hereafter with a long chapter of its kind. The reader will easily understand that these were really the times when the Popes assumed a power which was threatening to the people and to th§ 538 Emperors themselves, and to such an extent that the really intelligent political Princes, instead of opposing with the whole of their might the indomitable Papal thirst for reign, stood indifferently looking on at what was being done, and complied with many of the Papal caprices, to avoid civil war and excom- munication, and their concomitant consequences ; therefore it was not to be wondered at if, under such circumstances, some of the Emperors made a few concessions against their will and interest. Nevertheless the Emperors always avoided acting prejudicially to the Imperial Dominion. As I have shown in many other instances, the Emperors con- firmed many Donations to the Holy See, but retained invariably the Temporal Power for themselves, and invested with the Useful Dominion other Princes who were the Vicars or Yassals of the Empire. Look, for instance, at this last Emperor, Rudolph the Eirst, who knew uncommonly well the temper of the Roman Bishop, and knew also that he was quite ripe for a great revolution, and a schism. With indifference, patience, and flattering concessions he disarmed his rival, and compelled him to be peace- ful ; and by securing the Imperial Italian States to those Princes who could well defend them, and keeping himself passively ready for any emergency, his reign was comparatively a good and peaceful one. He confirmed to the Pope the Donations, as I have already said ; but for all that he kept for his own use the States of the Countess Mathilde. Again, in the year 1281, after having confirmed to the Pope or Holy See the privileges of Adria and Gavello, he invested with Sovereign power over them the Marquis Obizzo of Este, the Lord of Ferrara, as he had pre- viously only been invested with those feudal towns by the Imperial Chancellor, Rudolph. In conclu- ding this chapter, I repeat that the Emperor Rudolph merely confirmed the Donations to the Apostolic See, as usual, out of Pomp and Yenera- 539 tion (real or affected, I know not which) ; that he never put the Church of Borne in possession of those said Donations, but gave them to other persons. I have already hinted that from the Middle Ages to the eighteenth century the Popes were very industrious in inventing and causing a great number of Documents to be forged for the purpose of proving a number of fictitious Donations by the various Emperors to the Holy See. I will add here, as a post-scriptum to the above declaration, that there was a private office in the Vatican dedicated to that object; that the most notorious and the most expert and laborious of those religious forgers was Al- fonso Cecarelli, who worked for several Popes, and was finally condemned to death by Gregory the Thirteenth. Carlo Galluzzi was also another famous forger, and executed many Documents and Diplomas by order of Clement the Eleventh. He was condemned to death and burned alive by the Senate of Milan, about the year 1707 ; and it is a remarkable fact that the Inclement Clement, after he had used this man for his own purposes, was one of the accusers, and begged the Senate to condemn him. Guglielino Yallawas another clever forger of Bulls and Diplomas ; he was an associate of Cecarelli. Le Pere Jermon, a French Jesuit, was also another forger of Bulls and Deeds, &c. I have been unable to trace the period or the circumstances of his death ; but, as he was a Eeverend, and probably a Saint of the Boman school, I suppose that an apotheosis transported him from this sinful world to that Avernian bolgia where his confederates and predecessors were condemned. I need say nothing more of these celebrities : I therefore leave them in their abode to discount with pains the dirty Papal work which they did in their lives. I wish I could borrow from the rebel Bishops some phrases of that religious cant which is so 540 common to them, and employ them here as a Miserere to their departed martyrs. I intended to have placed here a list of the forged Papal Diplomas of Donations ; but, unfortunately, now that I want it for press, I cannot find it. I remember that there were at least thirty-five of them, all which I had duly noted in seven or eight pages ; but I do not remember where I placed them, and probably I shall not be able to print them. Peecedents and Confutations of the " jston possumus, non voltjhus." Oh, ye consecrated, perjured liars ! you sing about " non possumus " when it does not suit your in- terest to let the Emperor dispose of the towns and lands as he pleases ; but if the Emperor proposes to name some of your relatives in any State (though you pretend that those States belong to the Church) as Imperial Vicars of independent Sovereigns, then you withdraw the negative particle, and find out that you can and will — and are most anxiously disposed to do — to agree and confirm what is to be done or what others have done (as it is their special right and privi- lege to do) ; and for the sake of poking your noses into other people's business, and of keeping up the shadow of a power which you never possessed, you issue Bulls confirmatory of the Imperial grants, as you have constantly done to confirm the Imperial investiture of Ferrara, Ancona, and other States, to the Este family for several centuries. Pope Nicholas the Third wanted to divide Italy into two kingdoms, for the benefit of his kindred. In the year 1247, after Frederick the Second's death, was elected Emperor "William Count of Holland, who was a great friend of Pope Innocent the Fourth, and pleased him and satisfied many of his Papal caprices. Amongst the Imperial concessions that he made, he gave a 541 Diploma to the Pope, bearing date 1249, in which he confirmed to the Roman See the Donations made from the time of Ludovicus Pins to his time ; and to increase the Papal satisfaction, soon after, in the same year 1249, the Emperor gave a Diploma to Thomas da Pogiiano. In that Imperial Diploma occurs these words : Tibi tuisque heredibus jure Peudi, sive in Eeudum, concedimus in perpetuum, et donamus integro Statu omnes res mobiles, et immo- biles, omniaque jura, justitias, omnesque redditus et proventus quas in futurum nobis acquireretur, vel aperiretur, &c, in Civitate, Districtu et Episcopatu Cerviensi, et in Bertonoro et Territorio et Districtu suo, in Sale, aquis, &c, ita quod ex nunc tu, et tui heredes in perpetuum possitis precipere, ordinare, disponere, frui, et uti in predictis et de predictis, sicut Domini feudatarii predictorum, et sicut 11a- tione Imperii facere personaliter in eisdem, et de eisdem Eos possemus. What is to be remarked, as very singular, is that the Emperor William, although so friendly and affectionately inclined to Pope Inno- cent the Fourth, after having given to him the Ex- archate, and other towns of Eomagna, a few months later (as proved by the above-quoted document), gave Bertinoro and the County of Cervia to the Pope's nephew, as a feud. In so doing, he again disposed of part of what he had previously ceded in favour of the Pope. Instead of complaining of this, the Pope took no objective notice, and even forgot that the Emperor had taken oath to maintain to the Holy See those States which he had already given. In the above Diploma there are a few words which are totally antagonistic to the sayings of the Popes, "Eon possumus, non volumus;" and if Pope Innocent had been consequent to the traditional obstinacy of his predecessors, Thomas de Foliano might have had an Imperial feud in some other parts of the Imperial Dominion, without disturbing and dismembering the Papal Donation, and I should AAA 542 liave been at a loss to find such a precedent if Pope Innocent had said to his nephew, Non possamus, non volumus. As I have said, in that Imperial Diploma there are words which plainly prove the kind dis- position of the Emperor to comply with the Pope's request, which was to enrich his nephew at the ex- pense, in this case, of the Holy See. Considerata still, I take this opportunity of publicly thanking them now with all the affectionate feelings of my soul, fully rejoicing in the freedom and regeneration of the country, under the auspices of the glorious- champion of Italian liberties, the illustrious and gallant King Victor Emmanuel. The reader will perhaps excuse me saying a word or two more about Scandiano, which, though a small place, and, compared with other boroughs a modem one, with a population of about two thousand souls, is called Terra Nobile. It is a feud which for more: than the last three hundred years belonged to the family d'Este of Perrara, Modena, Eeggio, &c. It was their family villeggiatura in their glorious time,, and renowned for the delicacy of its wine, and the. extraordinary number of eminent men and celebrated, ladies it produced. I have not entirely forgotten, the history of Scandiano ; consequently, I will name a few of its celebrities, and say that Count Mattea Maria Bojardo, and, before him, his father, Peltrino,, were the feudal Lords before the Este family. That A A A 2 546 Count Matteo wrote the celebrated poem, L' Orlando Innamorato, and introduced the art of printing at Scandiano, and printed there his own work, with the assistance of Pellegrino de Pasquali, in the year 1495. Before the close of that century various other works were also printed at Scandiano. I have seen here in England only one copy of that rare and incomplete edition, about three years ago, at a public sale, and I gave way to a competitor for it. The Marquis of Este succeeded to the Imperial feud, and at the time of Bojardo many illustrious literary men congregated at Scandiano during the summer time, as an agreeable and most healthy locality, and a rendezvous for the lovers of art and literature. The immortal Ariosto, enraptured with Bojardo' s original and glorious work, was inspired by it to continue that poem with his own extravagantly sub- lime and ever-pleasing chivalric conceptions. Ariosto was a neighbour, only an hour-and-a-half's walk from Eeggio to Scandiano ; he was a frequent visitor, and with him the flower of patriotism and chivalry which always abounded in that town. Tasso, another immortal genius, was a frequent summer visitor. The pretty ladies and the beautiful Eleonora of Scandiano, celebrated for her talent and elegance, must have inspired him with many of the sweetest descriptive passages in his sublime work. Soon after them, the renowned poetess, Laura Eassi, of Scandiano, who held the chair of literature, was the glory of her sex. But I will now retrace my steps, to name a follower of JEsculapius, the celebrated surgeon and principal reformer of great operations, who in the fifteenth century published a work entitled "De Eara Vulnerum lledicatione." His name was Csesar Magati. Antonio Allegri was born at Scandiano. His father died whilst he was in his infancy, and his mother returned to Correggio, to reside with her family; and as her son was brought up there, he was called Correggio. The great legist Corti was of Scandiano, and so was Cardinal Zani, 547 who attained that dignity by merit. I 'forget the name of another Cardinal, but I will not forget the names of the Abbate Lazzaro Spallanzani, and of Vallimeri. As long as science lasts these two great luminaries will lead the philosophical mind to inquire into the secrets of Nature, for the better understanding of God, and for the amelioration and instruction of humanity. There is also still living an excellent sculptor, Luigi Mainoni, whose monu- mental works will speak for themselves. This digression came spontaneously to my mind, and has afforded me some pleasant recreation, and the opportunity of paying my debt of gratitude. If my memory failed to assist me in recollecting the names of other great men, my heart will not permit me to miss this opportunity of returning my best thanks to the whole of the citizens of Scandiano, and in doing so I wish them happiness, freedom, and prosperity under the new Italian reign, and a second edition of the glorious Bojardo, Yallimeri, and Spal- lanzani. I find that I cannot rest at Avignon, and that I must continue this chapter, including in it other precedents taken from the history of the last four or five centuries of Papal mismanagement, and dismemberment of the Ecclesiastical and Imperial States, in favour of their relatives, friends, and ille- gitimate children. Therefore I resume once more the precedents against the Papal Non possumus, non volumus. In the Eecueil des Traitez de Paix, &c, is in- Vol. i, p. 220, serted in full the Constitution of the Emperor Louis and p - 221 * the Bavarian to the Imperial Eoman States, in which he declares that the Eoman Empire depends only upon God, and is perfectly independent of the Popes. I will quote here only a few lines, that my readers may see the spirit of them : Ideo ad tantum malum evitandum de consilio et consensu Electorum et ali- orum Principum Imperii declaramus, quod Imperialis 548 Dignitas et potestas est immediate a solo Deo; et quod de jure et Imperii consuetudine antiquitus approbata, postquam aliquis eligitur in Imperatorem sive Eegem ab Electoribus Imperii concorditer, vel majori parte eorundem, statim ex sola electione est Bex verus et Imperator Romanorum censendus et nominandus, et eidem debet ab omnibus Imperio subjectis obediri ; et administrandi Jura Imperii et csetera faciendi, quae ad Imperatorem verum perti- nent, plenariam habet potestatem, nec Papce sive Sedis ApostoliccB, aut alicujus apjprobatione conjirma- iione auctoritate indiget vel consensu. Et ea propter hac haec in perpetuum valitura lege decernimus ut electusin Imperatorem concorditer vel a majori parte Electorum ex sola electione censeatur et habeatur ab omnibus subjectis Imperio debeat obediri, &c. What arguments can the Holy See oppose to this ; and you incorrigible rebel, Pie and Grugno di Porco, what do you think of this Imperial Document ? This was done at Erankfort the 8th of August, 1338. In confirmation of the above, there is the letter of the Imperial Electors, which is strong and explicit, and tells Pope Eenoit the Twelfth that the Diet had resolved to support the Empire in all its rights and privileges against the Papal encroachments, and that they had resolved to do so to avoid the numerous execrable dangers to the souls and bodies of the Im- perial subjects, and for the preservation of their property, as well as for the removal of many enor- mous scandals from the Church of God. Propter quce in diversis mundi partibus, provinciis et terris ipsis regendas, gubernandas commissis, innumera execrabilia pericula animarum, personarum et rerum et diversa scandala in Dei Ecclesia (quod dolenter referimus) sunt subornata, &c. This is really a capital Diplomatic Document, and might serve as a model now. Do you approve of it, Mr Antonelli r You can read it in extenso in G. G. Leibnitz Codicis Diplomatic!, p. 119; and as this is not exactly a 549 precedent against the Non possumus, I shall lead you further on to the year 1382, when Pope Clement the Seventh, with his Bull without horns, had the impudence to dispossess the Imperial Vicars of the various Eoman and Imperial States, and to reunite and form them into a separate kingdom, which he gave to his protege, Louis Due d'Anjou, naming him, in perpetuo, King of Adria. Some right reve- rend curious priest might enquire if D'Anjou got it, and for how long? Well, let him enquire about it, while I extract from that celebrated Bull the third clause, which names and contains all the Towns and Provinces that were intended to constitute that new kingdom. It runs thus : 3. Hiis et aliis justis considerationibus moti, de Fratrum Nostrorum consilio et assensu, terras ipsas videlicet Provincias Marchiae Anconitanea, Eoman- diolse Ducatus Spoletani, Massae Trabari, nec non civitates Bononiam, Ferrariam, Eavennam, Peru- sium, Tudertum, cum eorum omnibus pertinentiis Comitatibus territoriis et districtibus, et omnes alias et singulas terras, quas ad nos et Ecclesia Eomana in Italia extra Eegnum Sicilise habemus et habere deb emus, per quoscumque et quacumque auctoritate possideantur seu detineantur ad praesens, exceptis dumtaxat urbe Eomana cum ejus districtu et pro- vinces Patrimonii Sancti Petri in Tuscia, Campaniae et maritima ac Sabina, seu Eectoratibus dietarum Provinciarum Eegi solitis quae terras specialium com- missionum vocantur, nostrisque successoribus et Eomanae Ecclesiae expresse, et specialiter retinemus, in unum Eegnum erigimus, ipsas Provincias et civi- tates cum earum Comitatibus, Districtibus seu terri- toriis, dignitate Eegia decoranras, ac Eegnum Adrise ordinamus, statuimus et decernimus perpetuo nun- cupari. Bravo ! Papa. Bravo ! again ; you give here a solemn proof that you did not know how to dispose of your own property, though you knew how to f 550 dispose of that belonging to others ; and this is the manner in which you acted throughout, just in the same way that a thief would do if he gained access to a banking-house, where there happened to be plenty of gold — fill his pockets and his hat, but, find- ing it an encumbrance, think it convenient to drop the surplus to a friend to take care of it for his own pleasure and safe keeping. The similitude is quite analogous to the anterior and posterior Papal actions, and if I were not afraid of going too far, — as I intended to rest myself and this little work when the Roman Court settled at Avignon, to survey and collect materials for the continuation of it at a future period, — I would immediately prove that Alexander the Sixth not only committed the same robberies, but murdered, poisoned, and ordered the assassina- tions of Counts, Barons, Princes, Bishops, and Car- dinals, to the number of between forty and fifty; destroying and razing little towns and villages for the sake of better spoliating and reducing to sub- mission the survivors of those places who had been accustomed to a mild rule, and to obey their Lords, the Imperial Vicars, for a consecutive number of generations. Alexander the Sixth, of infernal memory, committed those excesses to make a State for the Duke of Candia, for Valentino, and for Lu- crezia Borgia, his bastards by Catterina, or Bosa Vanozza. He married his daughter Lucrezia no less than four times, for the sake of the property of the husbands, and the pleasure of doing away with them, when he could succeed ; but, in some instances, he and Valentino failed. The Aragona families, the Sforzas of Milan, those of Paenza, the Savellis, the Orsini, the Colonnas, all these families lost several victims from his Papal violence. The Proton otarius Apost, Jacopo Gaetani, and his nephew, the son of Nicholas Gaetani, were strangled by his orders, and many others. Don Juffre, another of Alexander's bastards, was married to Donna Sancia of Aragona, 551 and, to begin with, Cardinal Delia Eovere, who was despoiled of his property to enrich them. Charles the Eighth, that iniquitous French Monarch, for the sake of obtaining Lombardy and Naples, made him- self subservient to Alexander and Valentino, and, with the assistance of the French troops and Swiss mercenaries under the command of the Bailiff of Dijon, and the Papal army, the flower of the Italian nobility was destroyed. Those who did not perish on the field of battle followed the others by treason, murder, and assassination, or were poisoned in a friendly way by Alexander or Valentino, or by the orders of one of them. Although there was a great interval of time between Clement the Seventh and Alexander, yet we see that the object of both was the same, that is to enrich their relatives. But enough for the present, as this is not its chronological place. I should now mention that Clement was a spurious Pope, an anti-Pope, who usurped the place of Urban the Sixth, who had been elected in 1378; and that the Italians would not have him, as he was a stranger, and was elected by in- trigues and cabals at a time when schism and tumult reigned supremely in Rome, and his antagonist elected Clement. Soon after, the usual story of pelting each other with maledictions of every size and kind began, and went on in regular form, to the great amazement of the Boman mob, as well as to the serious detriment of honest families, inas- much as their lives and property were in constant jeopardy. The miracle machineries had all stopped work for the time being, as there was no one to come down with the penny subscription for the oil to keep them moving. Urban the Sixth had d eprived Queen Giovanna of her Neapolitan reign, and had conferred it upon Charles De Durazzo, with conditions very favourable to that Pope's relatives ; which con- ditions were not maintained, as the Cardinals con- spired against Urban, and he was very nearly locked 552 up by them ; but he acted severely and promptly, and had two or three Cardinals put to death, and by that solemn manner of procedure he settled every- thing, and reigned on the Stercorarian chair eleven years and six months. I have taken this last state- ment from the Colonna MS., at page 76, and have changed only one word. The next precedent, in chronological order, is Pope Sixtus the Fourth, who spoliated others to enrich his family, and particularly his nephew, Geronimo Eiario, whom he made a Prince in the year 1480, and endowed him with the towns of Forli and Imola at the expense of the Imperial Feudatory, the Orde- laffi family, who had received several regular Impe- rial investitures of those towns. Cecco Ordelaffi was the first of that family to seize the Temporal power of Porli in the year 1315, and was supported by that population. He assumed the title of Captain of the Province. After him his successors ruled the same little States until Sixtus the Fourth took it by force of arms for his above-named nephew, who did not enjoy it long, as he was assassinated. His widow was one of the cleverest women of that age ; which was amply proved a few years after, when she began to experience a great number of vicissitudes, and when she intrepidly resisted the attacks and the siege by Yalentino and the French troops in a long struggle extending over a period of two years, and _lhen capitulated, as I shall relate in a future page. I will now take a few pages from the History of Pope Alexander the Sixth, and as it is impossible to separate it from his illegitimate children, particularly Yalentino and Lucrezia Borgia, I beg to be excused if I trespass a short time on my reader's patience with the two latter, who, though not belonging to the category of the Popes, yet by their position, descent, and intrigues with their father, are entitled to a conspicuous place in this book of horrors. I must furnish the reader with an idea of the political state of Italy under the reign of Calistus the Third, 553 in order to show the degraded situation of the Eoman people of that period. At the same time I will also prove how the Popes managed to reign and rule with absolute temporal and spiritual power. Ciacconius, in the Life of Pope Caliste the Third, he being a contemporary writer, said, " Calisto tertio vitio datum, quod permitteret se gubernari a Eoderico Cardinali, &c., qui vigesimo quinto setatis anno Dux Generalis Ecclesiae Praefectus Komaa, et Dux Spole- tanus, toto Pontificatus tempore adeo se nequiter gessit, ut vix ulla esse posset pejor ad minis tratio, quod homo esset parvus, injustus praedationes, furta, homicidia in Urbe, et extra assidua eertamina, et contentiones frequenter erant, neque videbantur nisi Catalani in TJrbe vagari, qui deinde omnes fugati, mortui depredati, &c. Ipse Eodericus confugit ad Ostia Tiberina, deinde ad Centum- Cellas, Ursinae familiae odia declinans quse contraxerat dum alteri factioni magis faveret." Eoderigo Lenzolino, of a noble Catalan family, and born of a sister of Pope Caliste the Third, was the predilect nephew of that Pope, and was allowed to take the family name of Borgia, and to have the Sovereign Eegency of Eome. He was a very clever and shrewd man, fully competent to conduct the highest affairs of State, with a prompt and energetic mind, seconded by a ferocious and indomitable ambi- tion, with such a perverse spirit, fomented by de- bauchery, luxe, and riches, that, in the absence of any trace of virtue, he lived publicly with the barefaced concubine Eosa Vanozza, as if she had been his legitimate wife. She had many children : Alexander made the eldest Duke of Candia; Caesar Borgia, alias Valentino, was the second. Lucrezia Borgia was another of that stock, and the eldest of the other daughters whom Alexander had by other mistresses. At the death of Caliste the Third, Innocent the Eighth, of the princely family of Cibo, succeeded to the Pontificate ; he reigned eight years, and died in B B B 554 1492. Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia was then the eldest of twenty-seven others, the most powerful in authority and wealth, though the least in Christian merit. With cunning artifices, humiliations, and lucrative promises to the Eoman Barons, and the most influential Cardinals, such as the Sforzas, the Orsini, the Eiarii, Cardinals Michiel, Savelli, and others who had sold their votes, some for the office of the Cancelleria, some to obtain sumptuous palaces, some for the precious wardrobes, and others for the opulently endowed Churches, seduced and corrupted by ambition and power, they elected Rodrigo as Pope. But in this election the Cardinals did not carry their impunity very far, for they soon had cause to repent, as observed by Cardinal Egidius, of Viterbo, when he wrote of them — in qua quidem re nemo unquam erravit impune. "Nemo corruptione aut dolo mala usus, qui non ultorem senserit Deum, qui quo serius eo gravius in sontes animadvertit, &c, and truly the Cardinals did not escape unpunished for their corrup- tions and bad actions — they were punished by God. The new Pontifex Maximus changed his name for that of Alexander the Sixth, and every one was astonished to hear of the election of the ferocious Regent, who was most dissolute, rapacious, and violent, and great only in the perpetration of the most execrable atrocities. Ferdinand the First, King of Naples, who was then much esteemed for his wisdom and his justice to the people, and who nearly lost his kingdom through the Regency of Roderigo, under the reign of Calistus, when he heard of his election to the Pontificate, said to his attendants, " I cannot congratulate myself upon his elevation, nor can any honest man do so, because he has always been a bad man, and no doubt he will be a bad Pontiff." The Cardinal of Yiterbo, another contemporary of Alex- ander, has left the following statement : Numquam in civitatibus sacrse ditionis Seditio immanior, nunquam direptio crebrior, nunquam 555 caedes crusentior, nunquam in viis grassatorum vis liberior, nunquam in TJrbe plus malorum fuit, nunquam delatorum copia, sicariorum licentia, latronum vel numerus, vel audacia major, ut portas TJrbis prodire fas non esset ; Urbem ipsam incolere non liceret, pro eodem tunc habitum Majestatem laedere, hostem habere, auri aut formosi aliquid domi cohibere, non domi, non in cubiculo, non in turri tutus : nihil jus, nihil fas ; aurum, vis et Venus imperabat. This was the state of Eome'and Eoman affairs in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ 1493. There have been some changes, now and then, but, never- theless, the real improvements have always been in perspective, and there never has been any actual desire to reform the crimes and monstrous abuses which have shocked humanity for so many centuries. The rooks, the foxes, and the serpents change their feathers, their hair, and their skins, but nevertheless they remain the same ; and so it was, and is still, with the so-called Holy See. The above sketch really seems to have been written for the benefit of posterity, that we might know the danger to which any one would expose himself by living in Rome, or near it, under the domination of priestly rule. Instead of trans- lating the above quotation, I pass on to say that in the year 1494, Madlle. Sancia, an illegitimate daughter of Alfonso d'Aragone, King of Sicily, was married to Don Giuffre, minor illegitimate son of Pope Alexander. The demoiselle's dowry consisted of the Principality of Squillaci, and the County of Cariati, and an income of ten thousand ducats, &c. Besides this, the King of Sicily engaged himself to provide an income of twelve thousand ducats for the eldest illegitimate son of Alexander, the Duke of Candia, and one of the seven principal berths that should be vacant in the Neapolitan kingdom ; also to keep three hundred soldiers at that Duke's 556 service, and at the King's expenses. Don Alfonso d'Aragone evidently bought a dear whistle for his daughter, particularly when we consider that at the time of this transaction Pope Alexander had secretly concocted the scheme with the French King Charles the Eighth, for despoiling Alfonso of his kingdom. I regret I must omit the details of these political affairs, as they are out of my proposed narrative, but proceed to report a pretty scene which was enacted in the Basilica of the Apostles at Borne while the nuptials of Donna Sancia were celebrated. The Vatican's Master of Ceremony, who saw every- thing, and took his share of the general amusements, on that occasion seemed to have been disgusted at the lewd and indecent ceremonies which took place on the eve of Pentecoste in that Church, and wrote the following remarks in his Diary : Yenit Papa in Basilica Apostolorum. Steterunt apud eum super Pulpitum marmoreum, in quo Canonici S. Petri Epistolam et Evangelium decantare consue- verunt, Sancia, et Lucretia filia, cum multis mulieri- bus, totum ipsum Pulpitum, et terram circum circa occupantibus, cum magno dedecore, ignominia, et scandalo populi. "Where were St Peter and the other Apostles? Why did they permit the pros- titution and desecration of the pulpit by that shameless set ? That temple should have been closed, purified, and reconsecrated after such a scandalous exhibition. And in this case Antonelli deserves a certificate, for he has never permitted such scandals, and has always been very cautious, and has inva- riably celebrated his bacchanals as clandestinely and as Jesuitically as he could possibly do within the double gates of the nunneries, monasteries, and other houses of pleasure for the High Clergy, without exciting or giving cause for public scandal. Antonelli knows that the Middle Ages and Alex- ander's times are past, and that public opinion would not countenance such gross immoralities ; 557 consequently, he preferred ordering violation and murder in the public Churches of Perugia, and rewarded the heroic authors of such deeds, promising them besides, that as Cialdini's cannons did not attain them, that they should be canonically ca- nonized within 150 years, and sanctified in course of time when there shall be a vacant place in the Calendars of Newgate. Eor the present, the Blessed Anthony Smidth and Co., smotherers, will remain in aspettativa with San Chiavone, the French Chouans, the Borgians Sine Patrocinio, and I regret to add to these a great number of deluded good-natured men. I should like to insert here the secret treaty between Bajazet and Pope Alex., concluded by the entremise of George Buzardus, the Pope's Legate to that Turkish Emperor. This would be a capital plot for a tragedy. The Pope was allied with Charles the Eighth, and preached the crusade against the Turks. The Erench King, the Vene- tians, and others were preparing an expedition against the Turks. The Pope was leagued in an underhand manner with the Sultan, and received a sum of 40,000 gold ducats for the yearly main- tenance of Genie, the Sultan's brother, who was a prisoner of the Venetians, who were foolish enough to give him to the Pope as a gift, and the Pope rogue enough to speculate upon that gentleman's life. The Sultan feared that if the Erench King took with him in his Turkish expedition Geme, he would very likely risk losing the Constantinopolitan throne, as Geme was much esteemed, and liked by the Turks better than himself. To secure himself on his throne, it was necessary that the Sultan should have in his power, dead or alive, his brother Geme ; and for this object he stipulated to pay the Pope 300,000 gold ducats for the corpse of Geme, or to pay a yearly pension of 40,000 gold ducats, provided he would keep him quite secured in a tower. B B B 2 558 All this was capitally managed. The French King demanded of the Pope that Geme should be given up to him, as he wanted to take him with him to Turkey, to facilitate the dethronisation of Bajazet. Geme was given up, but before King Charles quitted Italy he was poisoned by the Pope, who wanted to secure the promised gold ducats, which he obtained when he sent the dead body. As the Papal Legate was returning with the gold, he was ship- wrecked on the coast of Sinigaglia, and Giovanni Delle Eovere, Lord of that town and Prefect of Eome, who was in opposition to Pope Alexander, as he had been swindled out of part of his Estates, being at Sinigaglia, and knowing the transaction between the Sultan and the Pope, took prisoner the Legate Buzardus and Company, seized the money, the correspondence, and the treaty. He had the letters and documents translated by the celebrated Lascarus (as everything was written in Greek), and published them at Florence, where the French King was staying on his way to Naples and Turkey. All those traitorous affairs caused much consternation to Alexander, and opened the eyes of King Charles. Delia Eovere took care to keep the money, in spite of the Papal threats and violence, as a compensation for his lost property. It is a thousand pities that I cannot publish here those letters, and the treaty where the Sultan swears — per verum Deuni quern adoramus, et super Evan- gelia vestra observare vestrae potcntiaa omnia, &c, and the Pope's promises to the Sultan that, with the assistance of Alfonso of Aragon, with the Spaniards, the English, with Maximilian of Austria, the Hun- garians, the Poles, and the Bohemians, with all he would use his influence to persuade them to oppose the French King's enterprises and success; and pro- mised Bajazet the most loyal and sincere friendship, and good offices in all that transaction, &c. I must now quit these intricate affairs of the Pope and the Sultan, and proceed to expose the dis- 559 graceful actions which took place between the Pope and the French Kings, Charles the Eighth and his successor, Louis the Twelfth. It will be seen that the French Monarchs carried on their love of rapacity as usual, and by every means in their power ; that they were not satisfied with Lombardy, but that they also lent their arms and their influence to the Pope, for the purpose of affording him assistance to spoliate the Italian Princes and Eepublics, obtain- ing in exchange the assistance of the Pope in dethroning the Aragona family from the kingdom of the Two Sicilies. At this period Loyola was born, but the Jesuitical spirit had already reigned supreme for several centuries at the French Court. As Pope Alexander, Yalentino, and Lucrezia were constantly plotting together, devising which was the next best or richest Prince, or Baron, to be despoiled of his Estate, they hit upon again marrying Lucrezia, and this time to Don Alfonso D'Este, the hereditary Prince of the Estates of Ferrara, Modena, Eeggio, &c, as the most influential and powerful that could be chosen. With the support of that family, too, Yalentino knew he could easily maintain his new ill-gotten acquisitions of the Provinces of Eomagna, Piombino, and other properties in Tuscany, which he had also lately treasonably and forcibly taken from the Imperial Yicars. The marriage of Don Alfonso and Lucrezia was celebrated with extraordinary pomp at Eome, and joy was apparently manifested by the populations, through fear of that above-named infernal triad. To increase the apparent happiness of the Eoman people, the Pope ordered the Carnival to open in October, and to be prolonged to Quadragesima. Eaces were ran several times in Eome, even by women. Eull-fights also took place. In the Lateran Palace and in the Yatican comedies and tragedies were played daily ; and even in the Papal apartments infernal orgies and obscene exhibitions of all sorts took, place. It is 560 stated also that Valentino, on the eve of All Saints' Day, gave a banquet in that Papal apartment to all kinds of dissolute and scandalous persons, whose deeds of lewdness and whose debaucheries were so extraordinarily disgusting that the historians did not dare to describe them, considering that they were too revolting to decency and humanity to permit them to do so. I have proceeded thus far with the intention of explaining the following politico-diplomatic fact, which demonstrates another dismemberment of Im- perial Feudal States, on the occasion of Lucrezia's marriage with Don Alphonso d'Este: — The Arch- bishop of Eologna, in fear of Pope Alexander, and at the same time to captivate him and gain his friendship, agreed to dismember a portion of the Im- perial Feudal States and to renounce them to the Pope, and Alexander gave them in dowry to his daughter. — The City of Cento and Castel delta Pieve before that time had invariably belonged to the Im- perial States, and we have seen that the Emperors invested the Archbishops of Eologna as perpetual Commendataries. I will add, that I doubt much whether the Archbishop and the Pope could have legally made this transfer without the Imperial consent. On the 6th of October, 1499, the King of France made his triumphal entry into Milan with much splendour and show, being accompanied by a great number of his Knights and Earons and his victorious army, which had taken Milan without losing a drop of blood, through the treason of Jacopo Trialzio, who seduced the Commander of the Castle with a large sum of gold, through which Duke Sforza was compelled to abandon his capital and estates. The King had started from Lyons in company with the sanguinary son of Pope Alexander the Sixth, Valen- tino, and their entry into Milan was ennobled by the pompous company of Cardinal Borgia, Legate of 561 the Pope at Venice, Cardinals Delia Eovere, Bohan, the Dukes of Savoy, of Ferrara, the Marquises of Mantova, of Monferrato, and of Saluzzo, the Am- bassadors of Venezia, Genoa, and other nobles. The whole of these nobles were so splendidly dressed, and their horses were so richly caparisoned, .and the liveries of their servants and retainers were so superbly and richly decorated, that no greater mag- nificence had ever been seen before that time in Milan. As Milan had spontaneously surrendered, and was a very considerable city, full of opulence and noble families who had not suffered either by the siege nor by the sack, they made also a corre- sponding gorgeous show. It is stated that Valentino was the most conspicuously and the most extrava- gantly dressed, and wore a profusion of jewels of all sorts and of immense value. All this ostentation of Valentino was made in honour of the King, as he flattered himself that he would thereby gain his good graces, and better accomplish his designs for the prompt execution of the secret treaties which he had already stipulated with him at the instigation of his father, Alexander the Sixth. The mutual agreement between Kings Ludovick and Valentino and Alexander consisted in assisting each other to subjugate, destroy, and spoliate all the Vicars of the Holy Eoman Empire, under various pretexts, and to appropriate , to themselves their estates and fortunes. The French King was to have Lombardy and the kingdom of Naples, and Alexander the remainder of the Peninsula for his family, or as much * as he could conveniently subdue with the assistance of the French. For this purpose the French King gave to Valentino 300 of his Lancers, who were commanded by Ivo d'AUegri at the ex- pense of the King, and 4,000 Swiss, commanded by the 13ailifF of Dijon, to be maintained at the expense of the Pope. The Community of Milan also lent the 562 Pope 45,000 ducats to support them, and Cardinal Delia Rovere gave surety for this money. In 1499, Alexander occupied Nepi, thereby depriving Cardinal Ascanio Sforzas of that city. Lucrezia Borgia, with Don Alfonso d'Este, her husband, visited him there, and Alexander seeing that the opportunity had arrived for stripping of their property the Roman Barons, ordered the strangulation of Consignor Jacomo Cattaneo, Apos- tolic Protonotary, and his only son Kicolaus, for the sake of confiscating their Estates, and Sermoneta in favour of Lucrezia Borgia, whom he soon in- vested with them, leading the public to believe that Lucrezia had bought those Estates from the Apostolic Chamber for the sum of 80,000 scudi. In November, 1499, Valentino, with his troops, and some of those of the Erench Xing, easily took Imola, which had been abandoned by Catterina Sforza and her son, as unsafe, and for the better defending the city of Eorli. This lady defended herself most nobly and most heroically, and was a second Giovanna D'Arco. After a long siege and many glorious deeds, the city surrendered. The diabolical massacre of the population by Valentino, which followed, was most heart-rending. Catterina was taken prisoner to Eome ; but, through the in- tercession of the Elorentine Republic, she was soon liberated. She was afterwards married to Giovanni de Medici, and became the mother of the famous Giovanni de Hedici, the most valiant Captain of his epoch, and Aunt of Cosmo, Primo Grand Duke of Tuscany. It was at this time that Valentino poisoned Cardinal Borgia, who was his nephew- cousin, and Legate a Latere. Valentino, being in the camp, also ordered his assassins to take the life of Chevalier Don Jean Cerviglion, one of the Erench King's Captains, who was then in Rome. This gentleman's crime consisted in having most honestly 563 defended the honour and pudor of his wife against the attempts of Valentino. By his orders, also, the life of Monsignor delli Spiriti da Viterbo, a Proto- notary Apostolic, who was very rich, was likewise attempted ; but he defended himself with his sword, and, wounded, he sheltered himself in the Palazzo Orsihi. Monsignor Agnelli Mantovano, Archbishop of Cosenza, and Vice-Legate at Viterbo, was poisoned by order of the Pope, for the sake of taking his property and distributing it to Valentino, though absent, and to two others of the Pope's nephews and favourites. After an interval of six months, the Sforzas repossessed themselves of Lombardy; but they speedily lost it again, and though it was the year of the Jubilee, and Passion Week, the Pope, with monstrous impiety and impudence, ordered public amusements and rejoicings in Eome, and feasts and acclamations and vivas for Prancia and Orso, heralded by the public trumpeters. Poisoning, assassinating, and spoliating all the rich families, and the principal Barons and Princes, and even the Church Dignitaries, however, did not produce a sufficient income to enrich the inexhaustible auri sacra fames of the Pope's family. It was therefore necessary to concoct something else, and so in that year (1500) the Pope, with two Bulls, invented the Income Tax. In the first Bull he imposed for three years the Decime upon Ecclesiastics of every degree, and upon people of every condition, not even excepting the Pious Institutions, the Military Orders, the Cardinals, nor any person ; upon every sort of Bent, or Revenue, either from profes- sions, or lands, or commercial transactions. The second Bull ordered all the Jews to pay for three years the twentieth part of all their properties ; and my historian says that it is impossible to calcu- late the enormous sums of money that were raised by these two Bulls. All this money was collected un- der the pretext of making war against the Turks ; 564 instead of which it was used to prepare a war which was to carry destruction to all the Italian Princes, Counts, and Barons, the Vicars of the Holy Eoman Empire. The Pope did not deem all this money sufficient for his purpose ; he therefore had recourse to the inexhaustible merits of Jesus Christ, selling his precious blood for gold and silver, giving indul- gences to the buyers, and selling indulgences to those who did not come to Eome in that year of the Jubilee to do penance and to pray, on condition that they should pay the collectors one half of the money that they would have spent in travelling from their homes to Pome and back again, and also the ex- penses of staying there a few days, for which they would receive Plenary Indulgence. 0 ! monstrous impostor ; incarnated demon ; you found the wretched dupes who came to pay, or sent their money to the Collector-General, the !Nunzio Commissary Gene- ral, who had full power to receive it ; his name was Fra Lodovico delict Torre Minor Osservante. "We are told by the historian, Tomaso Tomasi, that from the Yenetian territory alone by this subterfuge was col- lected the exorbitant sum of 799 pounds weight of gold. It is also related that God wished to give Alexander a monitorium on San Peter's day, and that whilst he was in a room of the Yatican with Cardinal Capuano and Monsignor Porto, a storm came on, which blew down one of the highest chim- ney-stacks on the room above it, and that its weight broke the beam that supported the roof of the room where the Pope was present, and that the roof and beam both fell upon the throne, killing nearly every one present. Almost a similar accident occurred a few years ago to Pio iSTono and Antonelli ; when, in- stead of the roof falling upon them, the floor gave way, and they were obliged to hold by the windows to save themselves. But these warnings of Divine • justice were useless to Alexander and to Pius; therefore I pass on to name the assassination, 565 by order of Valentino and Alexander, of Don Al- fonso D'Aragona, the husband of Lucrezia Borgia. He was assailed on the steps of St Peter by forty armed men belonging to Valentino, who thought they had killed him, as they inflicted upon him many wounds ; but they left him alive. He was discovered and carried to the palace, and Valentino took care that he should not get cured of his w T ounds. A splendid piece of villainy on the part of Valentino was that, in order to ward off any suspicion that might have fallen upon him of causing this at- tempted murder, he immediately ordered to be arrested, and soon after decapitated, D. Francesco Maria Gazella, the maternal uncle of Don Alfonso, as the author of this deed. When Valentino saw that Don Alfonso was likely to recover from his wounds, he ordered the atrocious assassin and confi- dant of his crimes, Don Micheletto, to strangle him in his bed. After this crime was perpetrated, a pom- pous funeral took place, and Don Alfonso was buried according to his rank in San Pietro. It hap- pened that the medical attendants of Don Alfonso publicly stated that the patient was nearly cured, for which Valentino ordered them to be locked up, as well as the private valet of Don Alfonso. Although Lucrezia Borgia was accustomed to change husbands, according to the caprice and interest of her relatives (this being the third), she resented this act so furiously, that she abandoned Rorne, and retired to JSTapi with her family and 600 horsemen. Giovanni Sforza, Principe Signore di Pesaro, ex-husband of Lucrezia Borgia, hearing that Valentino had conquered Forli, and knowing the fatalities of his family, and the rapacious and deter- mined character of his brother-in-law, knowing also that the town could not have long resisted the attacks and siege of a powerful army, recommended the citizens to submit to the approaching tyrant, as the best policy to spare their lives and property, and c c c 566 withdraw safely before Valentino's arrival. Pandolfo Malatesta, the Sire of Rimini, did the same to spare the lives of the citizens. Valentino soon took pos- session of both cities, and left Presidies in them, while with his powerful French and Italian army, he returned to Faenza for the purpose of besieging it. But Astorre Manfredi, the young Sire of this town, though not yet eighteen years of age, and though abandoned by his intimate relatives, the Signori Eentivoglio of Bologna, and by the Venetians and the Florentines, his allies, yet, with his faithful troops and the citizens, he most heroically defended himself, repelled all the attacks, destroyed a great number of his enemies, and reduced Valentino's army so much, that he was compelled to abandon the siege, and retire with his army to spend the remainder of the winter at a distance in safe quarters. Valentino's rage for this check to his ambition was very great, and he indulged his furor in unlimited debaucheries, amusements, and criminalities in the subdued towns of Cesena, Forli, and Imola, at the expense and to the detriment of the citizens. It was at this period that a most atrocious episode was committed by Valentino and his bravos. Elizabetta Gonzaga, Duchess of Urbino, sent to Venice, under an escort of her Court ladies and Cavaliers, one of her most noble, highly accomplished, and most beautiful Demoiselles d'honneur, to be married to Chevalier Gio. Bat. Caracciolo, Captain- General of the army of the Serenissima Bepublica of Venice. Valentino having heard of this intended journey, sent a band of his horsemen from Cesena, who attacked the escort and carried away the ladies, half dead with fear, to the camp of that libidinous monster. General Caracciolo soon learnt the sad news, and went instantly to the Ducal Palace, where he found the Doge Barbarigo with the Consiglio de Died. His soul being full of emotion and of noble vengeance, he begged to resign his office, and to fly to revindi- 567 cate his honour by going to the rescue of the ladies, and taking blood vengeance upon Valentino. The Doge and every honest man made it an affair of State, as it was a direct insult to one of its highest officers. Diplomacy, however, forbade his departure, and obtained nothing, not even the restitution of the ladies, as Yalentino denied everything, and pretended to entirely ignore his own misdeed. The spring was approaching, and the hero monster brought out his troops again in the vicinity of Faenza ; he tried the Borgo, but not succeeding, he distributed his troops about in occupation of the land around the town. He then speedily took Buffi, and all the other little villages, and began the siege by placing his cannons and the greater number of his soldiers in front of the fort of Faenza. For several days a constant fire was kept up, which destroyed a portion of the walls; he then ordered his French and Spanish mercenaries to assault it, but they were repelled with great loss. Three days after he returned to the assault with all his troops, the Italians in the front supported by the French, Spaniards, Gascons, &c. He succeeded, with a great number of his men, in mounting the wall himself, but the valorous exertions of the men and women of the town compelled him and his mercenaries to retire, after having filled the ditch with more than two thousand of their bodies. Valentino lost many distinguished soldiers here, amongst them Ferdinando Farnese. The historian then tells us that, what the army of Valentino and the excommunication of his father could not do, was completed through want of the means of subsistence, and ammunition to con- tinue the defence. Besides, the citizens knew that ultimately they would have had to succumb; therefore a commission of soldiers and citizens pre- sented themselves to Astorre, and with his consent par- lamented with Valentino for an honourable capitulation. It was agreed that the citizens should be spared their 568 lives and property, and that Astorre should retire freely where he liked, reserving for himself his landed property, and giving up the town and fort. The paragraph that follows is so atrocious that I am tempted to translate it. To the Paentini Valentino kept faith, but deceived Astorre on account of his relations with the powerful family of Bentivoglio, and of his connections with the Venetians and the Florentines ; besides, he was so loved and so esteemed by the citizens, that Valentino never dared to enter the town of Eaenza. Therefore Astorre was kept prisoner, and sent to Castello St Angelo, in Home. It is said that Astorre Manfredi, apart from his virtues, was a youth of extreme beauty, and that his equal was not to be found anywhere, A year after this, poor Astorre was found drowned in the Tiber with a stone tied to his neck, and near him two other fine young gentlemen, one fifteen and the other about twenty-five years of age, both tied together by one hand. One of them was probably a bastard brother of Astorre. JS"ear to them was found also a woman, who had been very pretty and young, and a few other human beings who had suffered the same misfortune, and who, after having served the capricious pleasures of the monster, who upset all the laws of nature and of God, had met the same tragic end. In this year, 1500, the Pope, arbiter between the King of Castille and that of Portugal, divided between them the then just discovered ISTew World. Valentino, in virtue of the Inves- titures received from his father of the newly appropriated cities and lands conquered by arms and treasons, with the approbation of the Con- sistory, assumed the title of Duke of Eomagna, and of the Confederation established by the Hun- garian Apostolic Legate, between that King, the Pope, and the Venetian Republic against the Sultan Bajazette. Not satisfied with all these fortunate 569 events, Valentino meditated turning his army against Bologna, which was ruled by Giovanni Bentivoglio and his sons. He tried with all his strength to accomplish this, and was assisted in his enterprise by the noble and disaffected family of Marescotti. The siege had begun ; the citizens were well armed, and well disposed to defend themselves ; when an injunction arrived from the French King to Valentino, ordering him to desist from aggres- sion against the city and citizens, who were his friends, to whom the King was indebted by obligations of former date, and by services and courtesies received from them. Valentino and his dear father, the Pope, quarrelled through this with the King, but for that time they were compelled to abandon the projected spoliation. Valentino did not remain idle, but immediately directed his army to the invasion of Tuscany, under the pretext of changing that Government, as it was a republic. Of course he did not mean to take possession of any city. He had already sent messengers to Florence, and Flo- rence had sent Pietro Soderini, Alemanno Salviati, and Jacomo Nerli as Ambassadors to meet him, and policy dictated that he should be exceedingly civil and affable until he had brought his army over the Apennines with- out exciting any suspicion or resistance on the part of the Eepublic ; but as soon as they arrived at Bar- berino, he spoke audaciously to the Ambassadors, and made them understand that he wanted to compel them to become Confederates with him, and to give him a portion of their soldiers at his salary and dis- position ; as he wanted particularly to compel them to change that form of Government, and re-establish Pietro de Medici. This last argument was a trick, as Pietro de Medici was one of his enemies, and he dreaded him much on account of his power and influence with his Italian nobles and politicians. In the mean time, as soon as the French King heard of this enterprise of Valentino, fearing that he should c c c 2 570 succeed, and become too powerful and ungovern- able, he sent Qbigni, who was commanding the French army in Lombardy, to Yalentino, to order him to suspend any offensive action or treaty with the Florentians, and to compel him to quit Tuscany, even by the force of arms. Valentino obeyed, because he had not sufficient troops to resist, and to carry out his ideas ; but being encamped only six miles from Florence, and ashamed of his failure, in revenge, he took the road to Piombino, and sacked and fired every town and village on his way there. Yitelozzo was a famous condottiere, in the service of Valentino, and a friend of the Pisans, and at his inter- cession Valentino borrowed their artillery to besiege Piombino; he had already occupied Sughereto, Scarlino, and the isles of Elba and Pionosa, when he began the siege of Piombino, where its Sire, Jacopo Appiano, had collected all his forces and prepared for the defence. Alexander, overjoyed and exulting in the various successful rapacities of his son, and as he felt sure of the confederation that he had made with the French King for the conquest of the Sicilian kingdoms, — knowing, moreover, that the Eoyal troops were marching towards them, under the command of Obigni, — his ferocious Papal joy knew no bounds, he dropped the mask, and spoke im- peratively and acted violently towards everyone who had power and property, threatening extermination to them. The Colonna family, informed of the fatality awaiting them, and knowing that they were hated by the French King, and that they had lost the friendship of the King of Spain, to avoid a greater misfortune, after deliberation, determined voluntarily to dispose of all their States in the hands of the Sacred College. The Pope, informed of this by the College, disdained the proposition, and threatened the Colonnas with imprisonment and death if they did not give up to him alone, and in- stantly, the keys of all their towns and States. Fabrizio 571 and Prospero obeyed immediately, sending the keys by the Bishop of Cesena, who was sent to thern for that purpose by Alexander. Cardinal Colonna spontaneously resigned the Ablatio, of Subjaco, with all its jurisdictions and lands, which consisted of fifteen little Estates, with which he was invested with the title of perpetual Comendatary. Alexander dispatched directly one of his valets with some soldiers to take possession of all the property, and to send back to Borne all the vassals of the Colonna family to take oath of fidelity to the Pope, who had already transferred all that property, and erected it in Jus Patronato to the Borgia family. Cardinal Cosenza, with a body of soldiers, went to take pos- session of the remaining lands and property of the other members of the Colonna family. P. Alexander had the audacity to order a general Council in the Capitol, and all his civil, military, and Ecclesiastical adherents attended it. At his suggestion they pro- posed the destruction of the town of Marino, as it had belonged and served as a Piazza d'Armi to the Colonnas. This act of vandalism was perpetrated soon after by Valentino's and the Royal French troops, when they passed there on their road to the conquest of Naples. The Orsini family were leagued with the Pope in these rascally affairs, but were unaware of the doom that awaited them. The Savelli family being of the same political colour as the Colonna, suffered the same spoliation of their property in and about Eome, with the same violence, and saved only, their lives in expectation of better times. Cardinal Dominic Delia Rovere, with the title of St Clement of Turin, who was very rich, and resided in Eome, died just about this period. A few hours after his death, at midnight, the Pope sent the Cardinal of Capua to take possession of, and immediately transport to the Vatican, all the money, the silver, and everything precious, as well as the furniture, and any kind of property that could be 572 found, without regard to any will or testament, or the remonstrances of the friends and relatives of the deceased Cardinal. In this way every sort of property was invariably confiscated to the Pope and his family. This same Cardinal of Capua was also very rich, and dying soon after had his property con- fiscated by these robbers (idest, the Pope Alex- ander family), for the Pope and Valentino were not aware that the Cardinal, foreseeing how his goods and estates would be disposed of, had left a will, in which he placed everything he possessed at the dis- position of the Pope. The death of Cardinal Zeno, called of Santa Maria in Portico, took place when he was residing quietly in Padova. This Cardinal made a will leaving 25,000 ducats to be distributed to some pious institutions, and a portion of his goods to the Holy See, besides 100,000 ducats to the Vene- tian Republic, to assist them in the war against the Turks. As soon as Alexander learned the testamen- tary dispositions of Zeno, he wrote to the Venetian Senate, telling them that the Cardinal could not dispose of his property, as he had refused to him the right of willing it to any one else but to himself, Alexander, and threatened with excommunication the Senate and anyone else if, within a certain time, the money and property were not delivered to him. Pope Alexander obtained from the Senate a portion of the money only, but found compensation for it in a Monastery of Nuns at Ancona, where Zeno had deposited, long before his death, two chests of drawers full of jewels and gold, which he intended to bequeath to a young Anconitan gentleman, who was his private Camerer (probably one of his illegi- timate sons, but who chanced to die before him).. The money alone amounted to 20,000 scudi d'oro; which were soon delivered to Alexander, with every- thing else. At the death of every rich Ecclesiastic or dignitary, the spoliation by the Borgia family had assumed such a customary form, that no will, testa- 573 merit, or law could prevent it ; because the will or Alexander, or of any of them, abrogated every law. An anecdote is related in proof of this assertion, which baffled the rapacious Alex, and Co. The Cardinal of Lisbon, a very old and rich prelate, rode to the Pontifical Palace to dine with the Cardinal of Santa Prassede, who lodged there. After dinner they were to be admitted to the presence of the Pontiff, for the usual Udiema. The old gentleman was seized with such a violent pain just after dinner, that every one thought he would soon die. The Pope visited him, as he was at his palace, and as this affected condescension cost nothing. The patient improved a little, and was carried to his own palace, but growing worse again* he sent a letter supplicating the Pope for permission to make his will. This the Pope refused ; the supplication was renewed, and again met with denial. The Cardinal then, having his reasons for seeing that his property should not go to the Pope's benefit, sent for his friends, the Cardinals Santa Prassede and Santa Croce, and begged of them to become his executors while he was alive. This they agreed to do, and he willed more than 50,000 ducats, in ready money, to several pious institutions, and many more thousands of ducats, all the silver and gold services, and all the house furniture and everything else, amongst the whole of his servants, with the condition that the property should be instantly divided, distributed, and carried away from where it was situated, and that nothing should remain there at the moment of his death. His familiars soon executed his will, and took away their shares. Shortly after, to his surprise, the Cardinal recovered from his indisposition, and sur- vived some time, preferring to endure his complete poverty, to the uncongenial knowledge of sacrificing his property to the benefit of the Borgias. The spoliation of the dead was a very good budget, much desired by the Borgias, and a frequent cause of 574 quarrel amongst them ; for instance, at the death of Pietro Caranza, the secret Camerer of the Pope, who possessed more than 20,000 ducats in money, and much property of various kinds, Lucrezia Borgia had demanded and obtained from the Pope this spolia- tion ; but Valentino, being more acute, imitated the fable of iEsop, "ego tollo primam quia nominor Leo," — and did not care for the anger and recrimina- tions of Lucrezia or her father. All these historical facts I think are quite suffi- cient to demonstrate what was the political state of Borne in the year 1500. I will not dare to say a word of comment about them, as it might spoil their originality, and deprive them of that value and influence they ought to have with the parallel moral state of public opinion of the present day. I left Valentino with his army at the siege of Piombino ; but as Alexander saw that the Eoyal Prench Army were advancing towards Home, with the intention of going to Naples to deprive Frederick of Aragona of that kingdom, he called him, with a portion of his troops, to come to Rome to escort and assist the Royal arms in that enterprise. Valen- tino fled by post to Rome, while a portion of his troops followed him by forced marches, and the other portion remained to maintain the siege, though at a rather long distance from the place of attack. Mon- signor Ebarard Stuart (a Scotchman, and who was called Obigni), Monsignor d'AUegri, and the Count of Cajazzo, 'and other condottieri of the Royal army, arrived in Rome, after Valentino, and were lodged in the Palazzo Sforza. The whole of thei.r allied army amounted to 10,000 infantry, composed of Swiss, Gascons, and others from various French provinces, with 2,000 cavalry, and thirty-six pieces of artillery, which defiled before Castello St Angelo, where the Pope looked at them with exquisite satis- faction. The next day was the feast of the holy Apostles, and the league between the Pope and the 575 Kings of France and Spain was published with great pomp, and a Te Deum was sung in the churches, &c. The Pope, in a Secret Consistory, had already declared and decreed that he would deprive Frederick d'Aragona of his crown, and had given the Investi- ture of it to the French King, not of both Sicilies, as was usual, but only of the Kingdom of Naples and of Jerusalem ; and to King Ferdinand of Spain he gave the Duchies of Pulias and the Calabrias. Valentino's allies departed from Rome towards Naples, and he remained in Eome for five days, to await his troops coming up to rejoin him, and to settle with the Pope what share he was to have out of that enterprise. For the moment, the Pope advised him to be satisfied with the complete spolia- tion of the Colonnas, whose estate of Tagliacozzo had already been momentarily given to Gio-Giordano Orsino, son of Virginio, and to abide the time when dissensions amongst the allies would happen, with regard to the division of the spoils of the Aragona's. A portion of Yalen tine's troops, with those of and under the command of Gio. Paolo Baglioni, and some of those of the Orsini, in passing through Yiterbo, all of a sudden were ordered to attack and assassinate the most respectable of its inhabitants, on account of their partiality for their ex-masters, the Colonnas. After these unprovoked, unexpected, and nefarious deeds, they continued marching until they arrived at Eome. Yalentino, on their arrival, took the com- mand, and proceeded on towards Naples, and soon met the Eoyal array, under the walls of Capua, where Frederick, in despair, had locked himself up in its fortresses, with the intention of resisting and defend- ing them to the last, as they constituted the greatest stronghold of that time ; and he had collected there the whole of his army, with the exception of those he had left to defend Naples. This chapter was written before the year 1860, and I regret that I have neglected the opportunity of 576 extracting from the public press (the best modern historian) the details of the fall of Capua, under Garibaldi, Cialdini, and Menabrea, and making a comparison between these modern heroes and the taking of Capua in 1500 by Valentino and the French King Louis the Twelfth. The celebrated Captain Fabrigio Colonna, with his own troops and those of his ally, Frederick d'Ara- gona, whom the French Kings, with the assistance of Valentino, had almost despoiled of the kingdom of the Two Sicilies, had withdrawn his soldiery into the town and forts, and sustained the siege for some time, defending themselves with great bravery, until, by treason, the gate was opened to the French soldiers, who had suffered much, and were much ex- asperated by the loss of their friends in the various useless assaults that they attempted. At last they entered the town, and began to murder, right and left, without respect to age or sex, sacking the town, and forcing their way into the churches, convents, and monasteries, committing the most atrocious violences upon the women, and afterwards murdering them. It is stated that a great many of them, to save their honour, preferred finding a prompt death in the river, or in the wells. Valentino, having been told that a great number of the prettiest and most noble of the ladies had retired and enclosed them- selves in a tower, forced his way there with his soldiers, and soon mastered them. He had the bar- barous effrontery to look them all in the face, and, according to the exquisiteness of his libidinous appe- tite, he selected forty of them for his own depraved pleasures and desires ; others he renounced to various of his particular friends; the remainder of the unfortu- nate ladies that were in the tower he gave up to the caprices of the sfrenatissima libidine dei soldati. It is stated that the number that were put to death on that occasion amounted to 0,000. All the notable Captains were taken prisoners, with Fab. Colonna. 577 It may be remarked that Valentino wished Fabrizio to be given up to him ; but Giovanni Giordano Orsino generously interfered with the French General, to spare the life of that most illustrious Eoman Baron, although he was his rival. JEn passant, I may ob- serve here that Yalentino and his father (Pope Alexander), after having contributed to deprive the family of Sforza of Lombardy, in favour of the French King Ludovick (who took that country a few years previously), stripped them, and even Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, of all their other property. Alex- ander also poisoned Luigi Capra, Bishop of Pesaro. and Cardinal Lorenzo Cibb, as they were friends of the Sforzas. With the town and Duchy of Spoleto (the property of Sforza) he invested Lucrezia Borgia d'Aragona, his daughter, as perpetual Governess, with all the emoluments, &c. I do not feel disposed to extract anything more concerning the history of Pope Alexander, though there are many things that really should be named, which would further confirm that the Non possumus, non volumus, is, and always was, a miserable excuse ; and that when the Popes could not legally and honourably make a transfer or an appropriation of lands and States, that was precisely the time that they illegally did so, and willed so, solely for their capricious interest and personal satisfaction, or the aggrandizement of themselves and their families, &c. I must conclude this chapter by relating how Pope Alexander, through mistake of his under-butler, was poisoned, as well as Valentino, by drinking some wine which they had already prepared for the pur- pose of poisoning some of the nine rich Prelates and several other opulent Cardinals, who were to attend on a certain day at a supper in the garden of the Palazzo of Cardinal Adrian of Corneto. Nine Pre- lates were to be elected Cardinals on that evening, and were to be entertained at a supper which was decreed by the Pope to be their last. The chief DDD 578 butler, who knew the Borgian wine, and its magic effects, had labelled the bottles with the adjective " exquisite" and put them aside, having received the Pope's instructions to administer the contents only to those persons whom he should designate with the toasts. It was in August, on a warm evening, when Yalentino arrived in that garden, to see the Pope, who had gone there a few hours previously to ascer- tain if everything was disposed according to his orders. Yalentino was anxious to communicate to his father some successful operations of his siearies upon some new victims ; both of them were thirsty. The chief butler had gone to fetch a golden dish of peaches, and Alexander ordered the under-butler to bring them two goblets of the best wine. The ser- vant obeyed, and, ignorant of what he was doing, filled the glasses with the poisoned wine, seeing that it was labelled as the best, and thinking, of course, his masters should have the best ; and so they had, and deserved it long before. Immediately after drinking the wine Alexander lost his senses ; he was then seized with excruciating pains, and survived only eight days. Yalentino recovered, although he was much crippled by disease for a long time, dur- ing which he was stripped of a great portion of his former spoliations, by the relations of his victims. At last he went to Spain, and whilst besieging Yienna, was shot to death. I grieve I am able to give only a poor sketch of the infamies perpetrated by Yalentino, under the advice of Alexander, after the surrender of the fort of Sinigaglia by the valiant and brave Giovanna di Montefeltro, who held it on behalf of her child, Francis Maria della Eovere, who was sent to France to be educated, and to escape the violence of Valen- tino. It was at Sinigaglia, where Yalentino, under the plea of signing, sealing, and confirming a treaty of alliance 579 with Vitelozzo Vitelli, Paolo Orsino, Duke Gravina, the Chevalier Orsino, Liverotte da Permo, Gio. Paolo Baglioni, and Pandolfo Petrucci, that these gentlemen, Lords of various States, were, by the order and most perfidious treason of that monster, seized, strangled, and slain, in an apartment of the palace where Yalentino had left them whilst he retired, under some pretext, into an adjoining room. Baglioni and Petrucci would have attended the meeting, but, suspecting the nefarious treachery of Valentino, they wisely abstained from entering the town of Sinigaglia, and thus saved their lives. The retainers and followers of these Lords were partly imprisoned, and partly murdered by Valentino's army, which entered the town at a given signal. This fact happened on the last day of the year 1502, and is fully detailed by Machiavelli, and in the fifth book of Guicciardini's history of Italy, also by Muratori, and various other celebrated authors. Is not the substantiation of so many facts in proof of the iniquitous, diabolical, and assassin-like acts of the Popes and their infidel compatriots, sufficient to make honest men writhe under the bare relation of their acts, and, with Marc Antony, cry " Havoc ! and let slip the dogs of war !" Let the student of history search far and wide, and he will not find the record of anything amongst any nations or peoples to cap the remorseless and fiendish perpetrations of an Alexander or a Yalentino. Having arrived at this point, let me ask you, Mr Antonelli and Mr Cullen ? what you think of your progenitors ? Is not the relationship of such Christian, such very religious hinds, disgraceful to the canaille and superfiux of the worst members of society ? The world stood aghast when it was bruited about that the great and erudite scholar, Aram, had stained his hands with human blood, and it was looked upon as a thing almost incredible. How much more cause, then, for the world to marvel when it reflects that the most 580 barbarous and the most atrocious of crimes have been committed — not singly but wholesale — by those who have worn the Robes of the Lamb ? I have by me ample materials to trace the lives of these two extraordinary monsters, Alexander and Valentino ; but I regret much that the insertion of them here would be out of place. I regret, also, that I have not the time or the means to publish them in any other form. I may, also, state here that, for the sake of brevity, I have been compelled to pass over many extraordinary episodes, much affecting the happiness and the welfare of Italy and, indeed, of all Europe. The reader may surmise that I have somewhat "digressed from the argument of the "Non possurnus, non volumus," but I will beg of him to reflect, and he will find this is not the case, as the matters which I have taken occasion to relate are in keeping with the subject, as it will be seen that the Pope despoiled Princes, Barons, and Eepublics, for his own aggrandizement, and that of his family, thereby proving that he " could and would " whenever it suited him so to do. Before the period of Alexander the Estates of the Holy See were very limited, and those which they possess now were seized and attached to it by Alex- ander and the succeeding Popes, Julius the Second, Leo the Tenth, &c. I shall now pass on to relate the part played by Julius the Second in the game of spoliation, and to show how he invested his rela- tives with the spoils, thus affording further prece- dent of the "Non possurnus, non volumus." Julius the Second was elected Pope through the influence of the Venetians, who assisted him with all the money necessary for his success. This ungrate- ful scamp organised the League of Cambrai against them, to recover some of the towns of Pcomagna which had emancipated themselves from the Borgian tyranny, and sought the protection of the Venetians. 581 As soon as Julius recovered those towns, with the assistance of the armies of the League, he commenced working in an underhanded way against his allies, brought to a close that iniquitous war, and insisted that all the foreign powers should withdraw from Italy. As the French would not quit Italy, Julius, with the assistance of the Swiss mercenaries, after some severe fights, expelled them, and for the sake of obtaining assistance from Italy, he restored to the relatives of the slain and poisoned Italian Barons and Imperial Yicars, betrayed by the Borgias, all their towns and provinces, and he did this in such a manner that soon after these same Estates again devolved to the Holy See. Julius acted in this apparently generous manner merely to secure the interest of the most influential families of Italy, and to avail himself of their assistance and material support in his own political schemes. Julius was an intriguing diplomatist, and a pugnacious Pope, who would have done as much mischief as his prede- cessors, had he not been controlled by his relatives, the illustrious family of Delia Eovere, to whom he had restored the Duchy of Urbino, as Francis Delia Eovere was the right heir to that State. Popes Leo the Tenth and Clement the Seventh were of the Medicis family. Leo the Tenth dis- possessed Francis Delia Eovere of the Duchy of Urbino, and about the year 1513 he gave it to his relative, Lorenzo de Medici. This Duchy is a nice little State, and comprises the City of Urbino, the County of Montefeltro, the Signoria of Pesaro, and the Principality of Sinigaglia, which is a renowned seaport town. Leo did not say " Non possumus " to Lorenzo ; on the contrary, he said " Yolumus ; fatten yourself at the expense of the Empire, and the Holy See." After Leo came Pope Paul the Third (plim Alex- andre Famese), and this Pontiff furnished a good strong link to the chain of precedents against the D D D 2 582 "Non possumus," Pope Paul had a bastard son, named Luigi Earnese, to whom he gave the Duchies of Castro, of Parma, and Piacenzain the year 1540; he did not say " ]Son possumus ;" he said, as usual, " Possumus " and " Volumus" and pocketed the negative particle, as he did the rents of the remainder of the Roman Estates. This audacious impostor organised the Council of Trent, and gave the last death-blow to the whole of the Municipal laws that had survived during the constant trials of martyrdom in the various towns and provinces of the Eoman States. I may here say that this Pope enriched all his relatives (and he had a goodly number of them), and, unfortunately, that he lived eighty-two years. I think it is now time that I should close this list, as it comprises more than is required to confuse, silence, persuade, and convince the modern Saints of the Tablet. I hope this statement is clear enough to show the precedents of dismemberment of the so-called Eoman States volun- tarily made by the various Popes to satisfy their illegitimate and legitimate relatives. I must say that the last Austro-German Emperors, through their negligence and fear of the Popes, allowed them to do all their dirty work, and made themselves liable to the censure of honest critics, who will be justified in placing them amongst the guilty party, and condemn them, as I have said somewhere else, under this clause — "Agentes, et consentientes pari poena puniuntur." Continuation- of the Papal Criminal History. At the Imperial elections there were usually two parties, and so it was in this case. A portion of the Ecclesiastics elected Adolphe, Count of Nassau, to succeed the Emperor Eudolph, and another portion elected his son Albert. Ezovius, in his Annales Ecclesiastici, ad an. 1281, no. 6, gives a 583 little bit of information, which shows that the suc- ceeding Popes were still made of that same bad piece of stuff as their predecessors were. It was said by the Homan See's last-named writer that Pope Martin the Fourth ordered the populations of Tuscany to obey the orders of the new Emperor — ut Bzovius, An- idem Imperium et suorum integritate gaudeat, et nal - Eccles - prosperis successibus amplietur. Bishop Ptolomy wrote saying, that Adolphe, after having succeeded his father Eudolph, sent one of his Yicars to Tuscany, who was benignantly received by Pope Boniface the Eighth, and whose good Papal offices were to be used towards the Tuscans. But as the Tuscans intended to free themselves from the Imperial domination, they gave Boniface the 80,000 florins ; as if it were not necessary to pay them as a tribute to Adolphe, because he was not yet confirmed in the Empire, idest crowned, and he was not yet competent to administer the Imperial Affairs, except with regard to what pleased his German subjects. Eor this reason the Pope put into a corner that Im- perial Yicar, and put the money collected for the Imperial dues into his own pocket ; showing in this manner, that the Papal berth was preferable to the Imperial one — Adolphus misit Vicarium quern Papa Bish. ptoi. Bonifacius consentanee recepit, unde dictus Boni- 25^.^70!*°' facius Thuscos requirit; et dicti Thusci volentes excutere jugum de manibus Imperii, eidem Bonifacio obtulerunt lxxx mille florenos, quamvis non esset necessarium, quia adhuc Adulphus Confirmatus non erat in Imperio ; et ideo eidem administrationis non competebat officium, nisi quantum suae genti placebat. Propter quam causam vicarium ilium Papa remisit ad propria, et pecuniam sibi retinuit pro Terris Imperii eidem collatara, in hoc volens ostendere, dominium Papse dominio Imperatoris prseferri. Boniface was not satisfied with taking the money due to the Empire, but soon after pretended that Tuscany was a province of the Holy See, and sent a 584 Brief to the Duke of Saxony containing that pretence, begging him to exhort the Emperor Albert to restore to the See that same province, which belonged to it, and not to the Empire, as related by Ptolom, Bib. P.P. to. 25, &c. — Breve continens quod Dom. Bonifacius Papa VIII scripsit Duci Saxoniae hortando eum gratiosae, ut induceret Albertum Ducem Austriae, natum Rodulphi quondam Romanorum Regis ad Restituendam Ecclesiae Po- rn anse Provinciam Thusciae, quae licet ad Imperium fuisset translata, antea ad eamdem Ecclesiam perti- nuerat. Super hoc Pro Bono Pacis et Patriae cum 38% Episcopo Anconitano ad partes illas pro hoc destinato concordanti. Datum Anagniae III. Id. Maji. Pontificat. Sui Anno VI. This exquisite document was copied from the Register of the Ponti- fical Archives, and inserted in the Bibliotheca Estensis, anno 1367. Any observer will find that Boniface was an astute and enterprising man, and to avoid losing time with the above document he sent the Bishop N. of Ancona, who was well in- structed how to treat about that affair, and to settle it with a Concordat. Boniface was so proud and so independent that he did not even deign to style Albert King of the Romans, though he was legally elected by the proper authorities (the Electors); and when he received the official news of that election, Boniface, in a contemptuous manner, sent away the ambassadors, telling them — " I am the Caesar, I am the Emperor " — " Ego sum Imperator." This fact was, about the year 1330, written in the Chronica preserved till very recently in the Moden- ese Bibliotheca, and at the time I am writing I presume that the "last of the Mohicans" (as he had time enough to pack up his things and go) has probably taken it to Vienna, with many other valuable records belonging to Italian history. That Chronica is one of the most ancient historical monu- ments, and had been continued from time to time. 585 In my youth I was told the names of many of the last contributors to it. Boniface made a compact with King Eobert of Naples, who thought they could upset and destroy the Imperial power in Italy ; they did great damage to themselves, but much more to the nation, which was compelled to side one half with one belligerent, and the other with his opponent : my opinion is that both were enemies to Italian welfare and to religion, as they have always been, more prcedecessorum eorum ; rgo ad inferos memoriam illorum trado. There I send them with the memory of their deeds, after I have named the schism, the civil wars, in Germany, Italy, France, and everywhere. There are so many atrocities to relate, which were committed by the orders of this monstrous Pope, and so many histori- cal writers who have furnished the materials, that I do not know which to follow. Perhaps it would be better if I laconically say, that he was a com- pound of demoniacal spirit, with beastly propensities, shaped in human form, impetuously enterprising, indomitably audacious, with such a dose of egotis- tical propensities, that he conceived no other man or dignity could be greater than himself. He proclaimed himself Pope, Emperor ; and would not have objected to be adored as God, if he could have found those who would have considered him such. He deposed, stripped, and robbed the princely family of Sarra Colonna ; he refused to recognise the two Emperors who were named by the factions after the death of the Emperor Eudolph, because, as he said, in the absence of the Emperor he himself was the Emperor ; he deposed King Philippe of France, and declared that he was the master of the French, as France be- longed to the Holy See ; he fomented and made war against Adolphe and Albert, but, as he required an ally to make war against King Philippe, he was compelled to recognise Albert as Roman Emperor. Adolphe was killed by the army of Albert during 586 the time the civil war was raging in Germany. The war began against Philippe, but Boniface could not persuade the Emperor Albert to take arms against him, because he had determined to marry the daughter of the French King, which he actually did. Boniface was besieged at Agnani, conquered, and taken prisoner. Before I relate how he ended his career, I will state that he was condemned by a great Synod which was held at Paris, and attended by the elite of the Ecclesiastical hierarchy. This Synod was presided over by the Archbishop of Mtrbonne, and the absent Boniface was convicted of all the crimes for which he was indicted. See Al- bertus Argentinus, in Chronicon., and Krantzius, in Saxon., lib. 8, c. 37. Primo, quod sit Simoniacus. Secundo, quod dicat se non posse commitere Simo- niam. Tertio, Quod homicida sit. Quarto, quod usurarius, idque esse manifestissimum. Quinto, quod non adhibebat fideni conficientibus Eucharistiam. Sexto, Quod anima sit mortalis, et quod aliud gau- dium non sit, nisi vitee presentis. Septimo, Quod sit revelator Confessionum. Nam. coegit quemdam Cardinalem, ut confessionem a quodam Hispaniae Episcopo sibi factam revelaret, qua cognita, Episco- pum loco movit, sed post pecunia placatus Papa eundem restituit. Octavo, quod habeat duas nepotes concubinas, et ex utraque Alios progenuerit. (0 ! fcecundum immaculatum Patrem, or I should rather say, Oh, proline Uncle ! that explains why you did a little bit of business in the pawnbroker' 's line.) !Nono, quod Pegi Anglic concesserit omnes decimas de Ecclesiasticis bonis in Subsidium belli contra Erancorum Begem. Deeinio, quod stipendio allexerit Saracenos ad invadendam Siciliam. Itaque ad Sedem Apostolicam, tum a ut ipse dicebat vacantem, futu- rumque Concilium appellat. It would repay any writer fond of extravagant and daring enterprises to take in hand the epoch of Boniface the Eighth, and read his life and exploits ; some of them are told in 587 the Chronique de St Denis, anno 1301; by Paulus Emilius, in Philip Pulchro ; Blondus, Decad. 2, lib. 9 ; JNanclerus, toI. 2 ; Gener. 44 ; Bochellus, Decret. Gallic. Ecclesise, lib. 2, c. 32 j Chronic. Montfort. Theodor. A. Nyem-Gulielm. ; De JNangis, Jean le Maire Eelge ; Platina, in Bonifacio VIII ; Chronic. Martini MS. Albert. Argentia. in Chron. ; Krant- zius, in Saxon., lib. 8, c. 37; and Thomas Walsing- ham, in Chronica, Monfortense. To relate the close of the life of Boniface, I must borrow from "Walsingham, who, in the Chronicle of Montfort, states that JSogaretus arrested him at Agnani in his Pontifical dress, and, in the name of the King, told him that he must come to Lyons, there to be degraded and punished ; that he then dragged him by the neck, placed an uncomfortable iron cravat round his throat, an unbearable iron vice upon his tongue, and ordered him to march for Eome. History tells us — that as soon as he was arrested and loaded with these torments, he was placed upon an unbridled horse, with his face turned towards the tail, and marched along until he was driven almost to the last breath. Thus this Boniface (so says the Montfort Chronica), who had made Kings, Emperors, and all the Prelates and people tremble with fear, was seized all at once, in one single day, with terror, pain, and paralytic trembling throughout his whole frame, which reduced him to a state of agony. Pontificalia indutus in Throno sese collocaret, cum ingressusNogaretus, appellationem Begis nomine edit, Pontificique, Lugdunum veniendum significat, unde in penitiorem Galliam exactorandus deducatur, colloque tractum, ferrea chirotheca renitenti in os impacta eum Eomam adduci jubet. Cum eum apprehendissent, in equum posuisse effrenum, ad caudam versa facie, sic discurrere fere usque ad novissimum halitum actum ; Bonifacium ilium, qui Eeges et Pontifices ac religiosos plerumque ac popu- lum horrende tremere fecerat, et pavere, repente 588 timor, tremor, ac dolor uno die pariter, invenerunt : aurumque nimis sitientem aurura perdidit, ut ejus exemplo discant superiores Praelati, non superbe dominari in Clero, et populo, sed forma facti gregis, ex animo curam gerere subditorum, plusque amari appetant, quam timeri. Qui, Id quit Platina, Imperatoribus Regibus, Principibus, nationibus, populis terrorem potius, quam religionem injicere conabatur, quique regna dare, et auferre, pel- lere homines, ac reducere pro arbitrio animi conabatur, aurum undique conquisitum, plus quam dici potest, sitiens. Boniface fell into such despair, grief, and rage, that, after thirteen days, he died. His life was sketched in an epigram, which is referred to by Eanulphus, in Polychronico, lib. 7, c. 39, thus : that he entered the Pontificate like a fox, that he lived like a lion, and died like a dog. Intravit ut Vulpes — vixit ut Leo, et mortuus est ut Canis. Almost as much as this was said of Celestinus. The Fasciculus Temporum contains the following con- cerning Boniface : Papse iste in tantam arrogantiam erexit se ipsum, ut Dominum totius mundi se diceret, tarn in temporalibus, quam in spiritualibus. Et multa magnifice fecit, quse in fine miserabiliter de- fecerunt. I pause here to ask whether Pope Alex- ander the Sixth, by the acts of which he was guilty in the year 1500, did not prove himself as infamous a monster as Boniface ? Did he not claim as his own the discovery of America and various other places, and did he not dispose of the former according to his pleasure, and for as much money as he could get from his two favourites, the Kings of Spain and Portugal? — Well, Boniface, as I have said, was a miser abile monstrum sui generis, who, according to the Fasciculus Temporum, in his haughtiness and vanity, swelled himself bigger than the frog in the fable (Rana et Bos), and in spiritual and temporal matters believed himself Master of all the World. Amongst all his atrocities this Pontiff could not help 589 doing some good actions, but they melted away miserably like snow in the sunshine, thus afford- ing an illustration to the words of Solomon : " Vanitas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas." Benedict the Eleventh succeeded Boniface the Eighth. He was elected at Perugia, and had only reigned nine months when he was poisoned wdth a fig. Had this ex -Dominican lived longer, he might have done much mischief, for he was a partizan of his predecessor. As soon as he arrived at St Peters Chair, he excommunicated Nogaretus and the people of Agnani; but he could not help removing the censures and restoring to the French King, Philippe Le Bel, the privileges and everything that had been taken from him by Boniface. I may here remark that the Waldcnses deserve Guido Per- honourable mention in these pages, because they HerSibus. were the only truly good Christians ; in spite of the horrible persecutions to which they were subjected, Biondus De- with the Evangels in their hands, they lit up that ca ' ' 1 ' dark firmament which was ever pregnant with pes- tiferous storms and eclipses. The learned and honest Guiieimus de Christians of that time were all Waldenses in heart Nan s iaco - and principle, and two hundred years of persecution had not succeeded in destroying them ; on the con- trary, they had gained ground in every part of Europe, though they were compelled to keep quiet and avoid notoriety. INogaretus revenged the death of his father, who was burned by §rder of Boniface. A whole confra- ternity of young students, under the celebrated theologist, Gerard Sagarelli, of Parma, were also burned by order of Boniface. Sagarelli, however, evaded the fate that awaited him, and went to Eerrara, where he died. By the brutal orders of this Pope his body was exhumed and burned, and with it also was sacrificed Dulcinus Novarensis, who was the brother of another victim. Under the Pontificate of Nicholas the Fourth, the E E E 590 Franciscan monk, Peter, son of Joannis Biterrensis, wrote the Postillas in Apocalypsim, and in those celebrated passages in reference to the Eoman ^^oPerpin. Church, he called it-— quam Ecclesiam carnalem et Sl ' Synagogem Satanae, Papam Antichristum, Praelatos Antichristi membra. For these avowals the In- quisition condemned him to death, but failing to arrest him while he was alive, his body was ex- humed after his ueath and burial and then burned. Lutzenb de ^ similar act of desecration was perpetrated upon de Heresibf the body of the celebrated Italian, Peter Cassiodorus, who wrote and addressed to the Anglican Clergy that famous letter — Super Cathedram Mosis sedent scribse et Pharisaei; cuinam illos equiparabo ? &c. All these brutalities were perpetrated before the year 1300. I have not named the innumerable instances in which the Popes have accused various Bishops and Princes of heresy, merely as a pretext for their spoliation. This was an ancient invention with them, and was the cause of all the Ecclesiastical dissentions and separations which occurred with the Waldenses. I must observe that the Waldenses were the honest Christians, the real fathers and founders of Protestantism, who feared no danger, spared themselves no trouble, and endured all sorts of miseries. They were modest, sincere, and affec- tionate towards humanity. They shared their bread in charity, in the hope and faith that their simple sacrifice would be agreeable to the Divine Re- deemer. They never drove their chariots in the public roads and promenades ; richly caparisoned equipages and vari- coloured dressed valets were strangers to them. They never dreamt of having livery servants for their attendants; they called their menials, brothers. I regret I must now quit the Waldenses, and return to the relation of further Papal iniquities. We shall see that successive Popes have always kept in step with those who went before them. 591 After ten months of contention for the berth, in 1305, the Cardinals elected a Gascon named Ray- mond Gothus, who was Archbishop of Bordeaux. Upon his election he assumed the name of Clement the Fifth. This lusty Ecclesiastic had a number of concubines, who were unwilling to quit France, and so, to please them, and at the same time be far from the censures of the Roman Senate, and out of the way of the most observant of the Roman people, he selected the secluded and convenient spot of Avignon for his Episcopal habitation, feeling sure that there he would be at liberty to commit any enormity, unob- served and untrammelled — Causam quidam asserunt, quod voluptatibus suis, quam alibi liberius indulgeret. For the truth of this assertion, I refer the reader to the works of those celebrated theologians, Her- manus and Ockam, to Villani, the Florentine his- torian, and to the writings of Archbishop Antoninus. These writers did not scruple to assert in their histories that Clement publicly lived with a con- cubine at Avignon, and that she was the daughter of the Count de Fois : Concubinam publice Avenioni habuisse, Comitis Foxensis tradunt filiam fuisse. Now, Prince Bishops, hear the rest — Caeterum, cuncta turn vitia, crimina, scelera, ilagitia quae hactenus sub virtutis specie pietatisque nomine Romanam Eccle- siam incesserant, impudentissime, apertissimeque et inolevisse et invaluisse commemorant. I am almost tired of translating and repeating these expositions of diabolical crimes which, as usual, were practised so openly and impudently by the Holy Roman Ecclesiastics under the mask of virtue. An honest Ecclesiastic, who was an eye-witness of what he relates, Nicolaus Cle- mangis, the French Archidiaconus Bajocensis, in his book, "De Corrupto Ecclesiae Statu," says : — Ex illo plane suam cladem imminere praenosse Roma debuit, ex quo propter suas fornicationes odibiles urbe relicta, Avenionem confugit : TJbi quanto liberius, tanto apertius et impudentius, vias suae 592 Simoniee et prostitutions exposuit, peregrinosque et perverse s mores calamitatum inductores in nostrarn Galiiain vexit. These were the acts which consti- tuted the theological virtues of the Popes. In order that they might practise their iniquitous abomina- tions far from the observance of the more vigilant and potent of the Italian critics, they transferred the Roman See to the humble, secluded Aviguon, where they practised most openly, most audaciously, and most ruffianly the vilest fornications of all sorts and degrees by day and by night, without fear or shame either of their own degradation, or of the scandal which they brought upon the Church, that Church which they blasphemously called of God. Although I am not an Ecclesiastic, it is really painful to my feelings to translate some of the materials that I have collected concerning the de- baucheries of the pretended anointed of God, the Vicars of Christ, the followers of the Apostles. You mad Satanic monsters, you have polluted everything that* has come in contact with you. The eternal God created everything, and you have destroyed everything. With His holy breath He vivifies all things, animates them, sanctities them, ennobles them, and endows them with angelic feelings and sentiments. You cramp, pervert, paralyze, demoralize, vituperate, corrupt, and putrify everything that you approach, touch, or manage ; your thoughts even affect humanity like a horrid pestilence. Therefore, I say to you, return to Pales- tine, which is wide, and if that does not suit you, convert the parish of St Bock into a second Avignon. You will not have been there long before you will give occasion to a second Petrarch to compose another sonnet, with the good reasons that moved the first immortal poet to write : The flames of Heav'n thy wanton tresses blast, Wicked one ! for they shame, who, sea and land Draining, at others' cost, art rich and grand, And in thine evil deeds such pleasure hast : 593 Foul nest of treason ! whence o'er earth are cast All vices that man's heart has ever plann'd Wine, sloth, and surf ei tings at thy right hand And ev'ry luxury emptied to the last. Lust grey and mitred, women lost to shame Dance in thy halls, where Beelzebub accurst Holds the lewd glad and fans the impure flame. 'Not thus of yore on down, in secret nurst, But bare on thorns and naked to the wind — Now live that more than lees thy God may find. Andrea Gesualdo, in a note, commented upon this sonnet, and in that note he explained an occur- rence which goes so far to support my statements that I cannot refrain from translating it. The burden of his statement was this — that whilst the Cardinals were staying at the Court of Avignon, a young and pretty lady was induced to make her appearance there under the supposition that she was to become the mistress of a prelate, also young and rich, and who stood high in the Church. Upon her arrival, to her great dismay, she was introduced to an elderly Cardinal, who was of very ordinary ap- pearance, and who proceeded to bestow upon her various kind attentions, much against her will, inas- much as she repulsed his advances. Upon this, her admirer, in order to intimidate her and convince her that opposition was useless, suddenly withdrew and left her to her reflections. He speedily returned, however, attired in his Cardinalian dress, and renewed his overtures, saying, " Cardinalis sum, Cardinalis sum, ne timeas fllia." All that remains to be said is that the young lady, becoming fully sensible of the danger to which she was exposed, was forced to submit. Clement the Fifth made a law, on the occasion of the coronation of the Roman Emperor, Henry the Seventh, to the effect that the Kings of the Romans elected in Germany should not be considered E E E 2 594 Emperors, nor style themselves so, until they had received that title from the Popes; and that, during the interregnum, the Popes alone should maintain the Imperial power and jurisdiction in the whole of the towns and provinces of the Empire. This law appears to me to have been an intole- rable usurpation of rights, and was exactly in keeping with that made by Boniface when he refused to crown as Emperors the Kings of the Romans ; because (as he said) in the absence of the Emperors, "Ego sum Imperator." ^ero^An Reges Romanorum in Germania electi, pro naUbus sub Imperatoribus non habeantur, nec sese gerere possint, an. 1313. donee a Papa Imperatoris nomen acceperint ; Quin et uti in interregno, Papa in Urbibus et ditionibus Im- Clemens Ne perii potestatem habeat. It was for this reason that aif q e uidim- te the Emperor Henry the Seventh (when returning movetur. from Rome after his Coronation, and whilst stopping at Bonconvento) was poisoned. The treacherous draught was prepared by Bernard, the Imperial Do- minican Confessor, who administered it to the Emperor whilst he was taking the Sacrament. The Emperor, of course, died a few days afterwards, and one of the critics of that time wrote this expressive distich : Jure dolet mundus, quod Jacobita secundus Judas nunc extat, mors Csesaris hsec manifestat. This barbarous Dominican treason is still a capital Avviso al PubllicOy to be particularly remembered in these times of fanatical and politico-religious in- See Coiienue. trigues. At the time I am writing about, the ques- Hen b 'stero in tion of Transubstantiation was much discussed by Trithemiusin ^ e Dominicans and the Holy See. Henry, Count of Ghronico U Elanders, the Papal Legate, and the other conspira- tors covered the flight of the Dominican traitor, Notat Aventinus, Clementem Henrico ex eo hostem factum, quod coronam suscepturus Cardinalibus Sacramentum praestare denegasset, fatus — contra 595 majorum morem, libertatemque religionis Christianas esse, Principem Principum, orbisque terrarum Domi- num, servo servorum Sacramentum dicere. Before Clement was elected Pope, through the in- fluence of Charles de Yalois, he agreed that he would do, order, execute, enact, and establish six conven- tional articles between himself and the Comes Valesii, in which should be stipulated everything concerning the welfare of the Temporal and the Spiritual Power. He also took an oath that he would re-establish the peace and tranquillity of the Poman Empire. Anto- ninus (parte 3°, tit. 21, c. 1) says: Eidem suam Sacramento obstrinxerat, to maintain the agreement and peace between the Church and the State, to restore the Cardinalate to the two Colonnas, to rein- state all those who had been persecuted by Boniface, to exhume the body of Boniface, to condemn his memory, and erase his name from the Pontifical Catalogue ; to restore all' the honours to the French King Philippe, of which he had been stripped, &c. All these facts and many others are narrated in the Florentine history by Villani, in the Chronicles of Martinus, and in those of Thomas Walsingham when treating of the events of the year 1310. At this time all Europe was in a state of political conflagration, and, as a means of quelling the agitation, a new atrocity was invented — the result of the unnatural connuhium between Philippe le Bel and Clement, who, under the pretext of heresy, hit upon the scheme of spoliating the Knight Templars, as they were very rich, and so numerous as to promise the realization of a good harvest. They succeeded pretty well in their impious work, and pocketed the spoils, and had very few expenses to pay in the bargain, as the logs of wood were cheap enough, and the monks and friars who prepared the rogus (who were rogues enough) were very expert in roasting bucks, oxen, and sheep, whether they were or were not under the care of these anti-divine shepherds. 596 At this period the persecutions of the Waldenses and the Albigenses were almost suspended ; but the true reason of that respite was because most of them were exceedingly poor, and the King and the Pope could not afford to set their armies in motion for nothing, alias for their love of God. I will say without fear that the Pope's and the King's religion was all my eye, and nothing more nor less than money or power, or power and money. All the histories are full of proofs of this fact, that when a war was made under the pretext of religion, it always turned out that religion was profaned, and trampled upon most sacrilegiously for the most valu- able current coin of the invaded country, and the property and liberties of the subjects. Another important reason why the Templars were doomed to a general auto-da-fe was the influence and power which they exercised in the political affairs of Europe, and the Popes and Monarchs agreed to retain the monopoly of religio-political affairs in their own hands without the concurrence of others who in course of time might have damaged the Eeclesiastico-Eoyal prerogatives. The Popes, Kings, and Emperors had quite sufficient to put up with from the Knights of Malta as overseers of that amphibious power ; much mistrust had been expe- rienced at the Vatican on several occasions; and if the Empire had concurred, as it did against the Templars, their doom would have been sealed long ago, though that congregation was rich and potent, prce cceteris — being the superlative Jesuits, the fore- runners of Loyola and all evil. At the Council of Vienna it was agreed to give Philippe due satisfaction for the damages that he had sustained through the villany of Boniface. I am of opinion that it was perfectly just that he should have had all the honours restored which were due to him, and of which he had been bereft ; but I do not concur with the demand which he made through his 597 Legates at that Council, viz., to have the cadaver of Boniface exhumed, excommunicated, and burnt. Although it may have been the fashion, yet I think it was derogatory to the Eoyal prerogative, and an unchristian revenge ; and that degradation, inflicted upon the real or pretended representative of the Christian Vicariate, was carried so far as to insult humanity and religion also. Thomas Walsingham, in his Chronica, speaks of this act in the following words : Philippus, ut petierit per suos Nuncios a Domino Papa ossa predecessioris sui Bonifacii, ad comburen- dum tamquam haeretici, impoi tuna instantia, &c. When I by chance meet a certain old hypocrite of my acquaintance, who talks to me of the good old religious times, I always tell him that they have passed, and will not return again until our Saviour, disgusted with the mystifications of some of His pretended High Priests and Yicars, reappears and upsets the tables. I should like to know at what period the so- much -talked -of good old times were prevalent ! With the single exception of the time of the Apostles, w r ho really meant and did do good, I know of no other instance. Boniface and his suc- cessor, Clement, were two demons of almost the same calibre. Let the reader pause a moment, and ob- serve the character of Clement. At the Vienna Council, after the decree was issued for the destruc- tion of the Templars, it was agreed that the wars in Palestine should be renewed, and the Church re- formed. Therefore a Bull was issued, which guaran- teed to those Crusaders who should go to the Orient, a number of indulgences, and that none of those Knights should go to hell. It also granted to each of them, at their pleasure, the power to extract from purgatory three or four souls of any persons whom they pleased to name. But all this did not exhaust this Bull. It further ordered that, immediately a soul was delivered from purgatory, the Angels were 598 to introduce it to the glories of Paradise. Bravo, Clement ! "Well done, well- written farce, worthy of the Pavilion Theatre for the next Christmas panto- mime. I suppose this was the beginning of the Church Information by the great Brama of Avignon. My dear friends, Dupanloup, Cullen, and Co., does not this beat you out of the field entirely, and altogether surpass your powers of invention ? Neither before nor after Clement has it been recorded that any other Pope, however miscreant or barefaced, sacrilegiously dared to order any one of the Angels. I have never heard before this of angel valets. I have read of Angeli Incubi f and others Sucubiy but have understood that they meant Demons ; such being the case, I have just reason to presume that Clement was well acquainted with them, and that he wanted to employ them, as I do when I employ a poor devil to go and buy the newspaper for me to see what the Popes are doing. It was said that various copies of this extra- celebrated Bull still existed two hundred years ago ; that one was preserved or pickled at Vienna, another at Pictavii, and a third at Lemovici — of course in the Episcopal Archives. I regret that I have not a copy of this Bull in extenso in my possession. I have, however, the following short passage in its own identical words, which I quote : JNfolumus ut poena inferni sibi aliquatenus in- fligatur ; concedens insuper Cruce Signatis, ad eorum vota,tres aut quatuoranimas, quas velint, e Purgatorio posse eripere. " Mandamus Angelis quatenus animam a Purgatorio penitus absolutam, in Paradisi gloriam introducant." Just as a Master of the Ceremonies or a valet would announce to Mrs X. the arrival of the guests to a tea-party. Of this angelically-acquainted Pope the most horrible things are related by several historians, whilst others have not dared to sully their pages with his nefarious and bestial propensities. I 599 will here extract a slight biographical sketch from the works of one of the highest Ecclesiastical authorities, Cardinal Antonini, and these few lines will condemn Clement as' long as humanity and religion last. These are Antoninus words: Post Concilium generale celebratum, anno Domini 1313. Clemens iter agens a Vienna ut perveniret Burde- galem, in via infirmatus diem clausit extremum. Hie ut Chronica referunt, fuit nimis cupiditatibus deditus, propter quod, scelus Simonisem axime a Canonibus detestatum et punitum multum viguit in curia sua circa beneficia. Quod autem quidam dicunt in Papam non esse cadere simoniam, beatus Thomas hos reprobat, &c, Insuper refertur, quod cum ex hoc seculo migrasset quidam suus nepos, quern multum diligebat sensualiter (take note of the italics, which constitute the epigramma of Clement's life) induxit quendam peritum in arte Necromantise, ut inquireret per maleficium ilium, qualiter illi Nepoti suo esset in alia vita. Qui artem exercens, fecit quendam Capellanum Papse, audacem valde videre inferni loca, ibique Palatium in quo erat lectus ignitus, vidit, ubi quiescebat nepos ille Papse Clementis. Quod cum Papas retulisset, nunquam postea visus est laetus; sed paulo post decessit : Cujus cadaver cum positum fuisset in quadam Ecclesia cum multisluminaribus, nocte ignis Ecclesiam combussit, et corpus ejus a lumbis usque ad pedes. The above is another particular instance in which the Necromancers have told the Popes what would become of them, and death taking place soon after, the remainder of the catastrophe miraculously- happened, and verified the foretold story of the Necromancers, which I will not call prophecy. Now, my dear French Bishops (I mean the rebels to the State and the dreamers of Empire and supremacy over all other mortals — I am determined to respect the good Bishops, if there are any, there- fore I make this distinction), I will ask you or any 600 good Ecclesiastics what is your or their opinion about this Clement, who had the impudence, in one of his Pastorals, to declare that, on account of his supremacy, in the absence of the Emperor, or in the interregnum , he claimed the full power to succeed to the plenitude of the Imperial rights and jurisdiction, and to statute such by decree, as reported in his Clementinas, lib. 2, Tit. 11, De Sententia et Re Judieiaria. Can any honest man, Ecclesiastic or Secular, believe that such a disgrace- ful vagabond as Clement had any right or title to such an assumption ? Yet he assumed it ! Here is another quotation from the same Pastoral— Nos tarn ex superioritate, quarn ad imperium non est dubium nos habere, quam ex potestate in qua (vacante Imperio) succedimus Imperatori, et nihilo- minus ex illius plenitudine potestatis, quam Christus Rex Regum et Dominus Doniinantium nobis, licet im- meritis (well said), in persona beati Petri concessit, Ac, Decrevimus, &c. I have nothing to oppose to this, except the repetition of the old proverb, which has been and is still suitable to this occasion — " Give him rope enough to satisfy his caprices, and he will know how to use it." God and St Peter most certainly would disclaim such a blackguard follower, and would crush such an infamous successor to the Papacy. It is stated that Erederick the Third, King of Sicily, was a learned, good, and conscientious man, and that after his mother's death he had a dream, in which he fancied his mother reappeared to him ; that she blessed him, and admonished him to live a honest, christian, and exemplary life. He communi- cated his dream to the celebrated Arnaldus de Villa- nova, and had with him a splendid colloquium, which was written by that philosopher, and concerning which the King asked advice and explanation upon some doubts that he entertained upon these heads : Dubium hoc ei prsecipuum : Evangelii doctrina 601 inventum ne humanum esset, an divina Traditio. Et hie tria potissimum animum ejus conturbabant. Primum, quod Clerus universus magni pariter et parvi, ad Evangelium vitam suam non conformarent, officio sacro aut perfunctorie tantum, aut etiam per ludibrium defungerentur, de animarum regimine nullam curam haberent, in vanam gloriam contra, toto impetu ferrentur. Secundum, quod Monachi ipsi qui simplicitati Apostolicee propiores viderentur, a via Dei tanto magis essent alieni, ut eorum respectu non Clerici tantum seculares, sed laici ipsi justificari possent, serpentes, viperse sine ullo spiritu pietatis ; ibique eos ab omnibus notis describit improbitatis hypocrisis, impietatis, crudelitatis, rapinse, lasciviae contemptus divini, incredulitatis, et quidem circa Evangelium — Tertium, &c. It is useless to quote farther, as the reader can find the continuation in the works of Villanova. I have merely given the above short extract, as it is appropriate to this new edition of the characters of the Ecclesiastics of all sorts — I was going to say lame, crooked, and blind, but that would be a blunder, as none of these are admitted in any religious confraternity, in accordance with ancient rules and regulations ; and it is quite right that the Divinity should not be represented by human deformity. I now return to the text, and ask why the whole of the Clergy, high and low, do not conform their lives to the rules set down in the Evangels ? They read the Sacred Office, but they do so merely as a blind ; they do not care for the salvation of the soul ; vanity only is their great aim. Why do the Monks, who ostentate the Apostolic life, travel so far from the celestial road to earn the contempt of the Clergy and of laymen ! Every one is justified in calling them serpents, vipers, without sentiment or piety, dishonest vaga- bonds, hypocrites, wicked, barbarous, lusty thieves, without fear of God, incredulous even of the . FFF 602 Evangels. Now, my dear Mr Antonelli, do not say that this is an invention of mine, you see here that the truth is rather under than overdrawn, and that, to spare you a little from this severe censure, I have given you the adjective version instead of the substantive one. The above is the true portraiture of what the Eccle- siastics were at the time of Clement ; and now that the master is gone, and the immortal God only knows where, I leave him wherever that may be, just saying that, after his death, the Cardinals were in great contention amongst themselves about the vacant berth which was tantalizing several of them, in consequence of which the votes were constantly split amongst the candidates and the elections, through the seditions and other accidents which resulted, became null and void, and continued so for an interregnum of two years, three months, and seventeen days, when, at last, Jacobus de Ossa Cadurcensis was confirmed by the few Cardinals present at his self-election at Lyons. I will mention that while the unsuccessful Papal elections were going on, Cardinal Napoleon Orsini, a personal friend of Jacob, to the astonishment of all the others present, knowing that his candidate had an uncommon share of assurance, and that such a precedent had been established by other Cardinals, advised and solicited Jacobus de Ossa to step on the Pontifical Throne and proclaim himself Pope. " Ego sum Papa," said Jacob, and so wrote Antonini (Part 3, tit. 21, c. 4), and by this bold manoeuvre Jacob Uardbone won the Derby. Although Jacob was of a very obscure family, yet he was extraordinarily ambitious, fond of innovations of all sorts, and something else. We shall see that Christianity .had not yet found its proper representative, and that this John the Twenty- third, as he called himself at his installation in 1316, after the death of the Emperor Frederick the Seventh (which occurred soon after), profited by the indelicate political intrigues of his 603 time, and endorsing the precedents of his rebel predecessors, he refused to confirm and crown the elected Emperor for the sake of pocketing the Imperial income. Duke Ludowick of Bavaria, and Duke Frederick of Austria, were the Imperial can- didates, as well as Rudolph and Albert of the Imperial family; but Ludowick was elected and suc- ceeded to the Imperial dignity in spite of the Episcopal opposition, excommunication, schism, and wars. He conquered Frederick, and was crowned in Rome by Cardinals Stephanus, Colonna, and TJrsinus de Ursinis, who consecrated him. Pope John Hardbone suscitated many long and sanguinary wars, and of course, like a good Christian, and a saint out of the mould of Dupanloup and Com- pany, modestly assumed both dignities, the Empire and the Papacy, as the best means and a most excellent opportunity for making money without any comptroller and with unlimited authority, having found fools and rogues enough to support him in his demoniacal schemes. It would occupy too much time to report all the events of that extraordinary epoch ; I must therefore refer the reader to the 7th book of the " Annales " of Aventinus, who in his history spared none of the belligerents, and bestowed upon John the entire catalogue of superlative epi- thets which he deserved on account of his infamous and anti-Christian conduct. He reproached the Pope with having fomented the wars by having sometimes supported the Austrian Duke, and at others Frederick, as well as Ludowick — imo magis discordiam aluit, modo mihi, modo Austriaco studebat ; nunc Friderico, nunc Ludovico favere se simulabat, ut quisque imbe- cillior erat, ita magis huic operam suam pollicebatur. This was capital policy on the part of this " infallible " rogue, the pretended representative of Christ and fol- lower of the Apostles ; he occupied himself in this un- charitable work for the sake of obtaining the Imperial as well as the Papal revenue, and for this reason he 604 endeavoured to exhaust all those Princes who might aspire to the throne, and put a stop to the fountain of his badly-gotten riches. Aventinus was very feli- citous in his nomenclature of the Court of Avignon, the decrees of which he styles Decreta Pharisceorum, pseudo-Christos, pseudo-Prophetas, pseudo-Apostolos a mendacio simulatse religionis ita appellatos. The Emperor Ludowick, in confutation of a Bull of Pope John, wrote the following sentences, which I extract from the works of Aventinus ; they con- tain the whole of that Bull : — XJt interea, dum domes- ticis armis, cognatisque bellis atterimur, imperium pessundaret, labefactaret, urbes, castella, populos, Eempublicam invaderet in cujus perniciem conspi- ravit, populumque Christi in servitutem redigeret, adversus Dei Sanctos pugnaret, &c. Sibi liceret absque mora actutum, vel in nos indemnatos senten- tia ferre jactitat. Cum capitalis sit inimicus, publi- cusque hostis, tamen in propria causa actor, testis et judex est, id quod nec apud Turcas, neque Judseos, neque Saracenos, neque Sarmatas fieri solet. Eos, qui fldem Caesari servant, et Christo Servatori nostro praecipienti obtemperant, nec ullam aliam ob causam heereseos nota inurit. Quicquid libet licitum judicat, metitur opibus licentiam, &c. Satanse spiritum sibi sumit, se similem Altissimo facit, se adorari (quod ccelitum quidam sibi a Johanne fieri prohibuit) pedes sibi osculari more Diocletiani atque Alexandri, crudelissimorum tyrannorum per- mittit. Cum Christus manceps, divinitatis Dominus et Deus noster pedes comitum suorum piscatorumque laverit, ut nuncii sui vicissim illis, ad quos missi sunt faciant. Una maj estas atque Divina Pro videntia, ipsa suis pollens opibus, nihil indigna nostri, ubique presens, universis rebus incubat, rebus omnibus per se consulit, &c. Imperatores quoque terris, neque forte, neque casu, neque a mortalibus, neque occulta fatorum potestate dantur, sed a supremo numine eliguntur, atque divinitus constituuntur, rebusque 605 humanis a Patre indulgentissimo imponuntur. Et porro Romanus Sacerdos cujus conversatio in coelis esse debet, urbes, castella, vicos, regiones opes potentiam, tantum splendorem, jus gladii, adventitia non jure suo, sed alieno beneficio occupat, possidet ; nempe benevolentia atque liberalitate, ne dieam socordia atque ignavia rectorum Germanise. At mortalium ingratissimi de optime meritis pessime merentur. Ensern cujus manubrium nostra munifi- centia tenent, in nostra viscera, quorum beneficiarii sunt stringere non verentur. Jam egregii illi pastores, opibus et splendore a Mnjoribus nostris aucti, ferre parem nequeunt. Csesarem Italia, Roma, Christum terris extrusere ; illi coelum quidem permittunt, inferos atque terras sibi asseruere, Deosque terrarum hominumque non solum dici, sed etiam credi volunt, quasi perinde animis atque linguis imperare possint, atque di visum cum Jove habeant Imperium. Repug- nant, et maxime diversa sunt Crucifixus et summa potestas, miles et Sacerdos, Imperator et Pastor, Regnumet Patibulum, corporalia et spiritualia, arma et sacra, bellum et pax, Caesar et nuncius, Princeps et minister, Dominus et servus : Qui vult esse maximus inter vos (ait supremus arbiter coeli Legatis suis) infimus omnium, atque vester servus sit, &c. Belluamultorumcapitum monstrum biceps est Augus- tus et Pontifex Maximus, id quidem fuisse Decium atque ^eronem et hujusrnodi Tyrannos falsorum Deorum cuitores, in numismatis et epigrammatis legimus, &c. Ludibrium naturaa abominabile, ira Dei, socordia atque ignavia nostra est, Principem Principum servo servire servorum. Si servus ser- vorum Dei est, cur non servit ? cur non ministrat ? cur non amat ? cur non pascit ? cur non docet ? non nunciat, &c. Avididate potentise, pecunia ima summis miscet, omnia venalia, Deum et Inferos habet, &c. This is more than plain speaking; it is honest and superlatively good, grandiosely logic, and rhetorically and cleverly said. Bravo, Ludowick, fpp2 606 bravo, I would have said, " To it again." I cannot help applauding the situation, which is as good as that of the opponent of Antonelli, of the Wolf, the Pie and Co. At the time I am writing I see by the paper that the Phariseus of Nice has made his debut with the rebels. Let him be welcome to this last scene. I will dedicate it to him, on condition that he makes a sermon upon it, and translates it into Proven 9al patois for his faithless flock, I mean the unnatural pickled cucumbers, oranges, peaches, melons, and company. If I were a schoolmaster, I would give it to the boys as a task to translate, as I am sure they would learn something by it. In his confutation Ludowick says many things about John's depravity, in fomenting the civil wars, abusing the faith of the people, of Princes, and of the Church. After having invited all of them to consecrate and celebrate a peace, and seeing them inclined and ready to consummate it, in hope of re- establishing the welfare and happiness of Europe, all at once this Pope persuaded most of the Princes to take up arms against each other and the Empire, undermining and overthrowing it in the cities, in the castles, and in the country ; demoralising and corrupting the people and Government officers, whom he intended to exterminate, under the pretext of reducing them to submit under the service of God, by exciting them to fight against the laws and the saints of God. This Pope arrogates to himself the right of acting so suddenly, and boasting of launching sentences against us (Ludowick), untried and uncondemned ; while he is the principal, the mortal enemy of the human race. In his own cause he acts as the accuser, the witness, and the judge, which is not permitted nor used even amongst the Turks, the Jews, the Saracens, or the Sarmatians. Those who keep faith with the Emperor, and comply with the commandments of Christ, our Saviour, for no cause of any sort shall 607 be branded with heresy. Let him judge or decree whatsoever he likes, his arbitrary power is gathered with gold, &c. John assumes the Devil's spirit, and making himself equal to the Most High, allows himself to be adored and his feet to be kissed, like Diocletian and Alexander ; whilst Christ, who had given proof of his Divinity, He, our real God, washed the feet of his companions, and of the fisher- men, that they might do the same one after another to those to whom they are sent as God's messengers, Divine Providence — the unique Majesty, the power- ful Might, mastering all things superior to us, every- where present, presiding at everything, by itself providing everything, &c. The Emperors are not given to rule the earth by chance or peradventure, by mortals, or by the occult power of destiny ; they are selected for that office by the Supreme God, and are divinely con- stituted and placed above others to superintend human affairs by the kindest and most benevolent Father. Henceforth the Roman Priest, whose actions should be directed to Heaven, turns his mind to the occupation of cities, castles, boroughs, provinces, riches, power ; to all vain splendour, the right to ad- minister justice. These extraordinary events occur, not legally, but by his intrigues and the assist- ance of others ; he possesses all, not by the benevo- lence or liberality, but by the indolence and coward- liness of the German rulers. These most ungrateful of mortals gain the utmost with the worst merits. The sword which they handle by our grace, being our vassals, they would thrust it into our ' breasts without blushing. Already these egregious shep- herds, elevated and enriched to shining splendour by our forefathers, cannot tolerate any equal. They must drive out from Rome, Italy, and the other States, the Emperor and Christ ; to Him they allow the Celestial and Infernal regions, and to themselves the possession and submission of the earth; and 608 they pretend not only to be the Gods of earth and of mankind, but they insist that people should believe so, as if they could impose upon the human minds and tongues such thoughts — as if they had divided the Empire with Jupiter. There is an immense difference and repugnance between the Crucifix and the Temporal power, the Soldier and the Priest, the Emperor and the Shep- herd, the Empire and the Cross, the Body and the Soul, the Sword and the Pastoral, War and Peace, the Caesar and the Messenger, the Prince and the Minister, the Master and the Servant. He amongst you who desires to be the chief (so said the God of Heaven to his Legates) shall be the very last, and shall be your servant, &c. The Caesar, Great Pon- tiff, is a beast with two heads ; the monster of the Apocalypse, I suppose. Decius and Nero were both of them Pontifices and Emperors, tyrants and worshippers of false Divinities, as may be seen by the various epigrams and by their coins, &c. It would be an abominable perversion of nature and contempt of God, if by our indolence and want of thought the Prince of Princes should serve the Servant of all Servants. Now, you dirtily anointed Roman mitred rebels, approach and listen to this piece of logic, and once for all learn something of your master, who spoke to you long ago with the rod in his hand, saying, — If the Pope is the servant of the servants of God, why does he not serve ? why does he not attend to his business ? why does he not like it ? why does he not feed his flock ? why does he not teach them ? why does he not preach the words of God ? &c. The reason lies in his avidity for power and accumulating as much gold as he can, selling all he can— God and the Devil, if he could. This apology of the Emperor Ludowick is not finished yet. In allusion to another Papal Bull, he says : Me haereticorura, in quit, fautorem falso vocat, 609 Christianus sum : at ipse Haeresiarcha est, non enim discipulus Christi, cujus vitam irridet, paupertatem floccifacit pietatem aspernatur, religionem polluit, sacra prophanat, mores spernit, instituta condemnat, dogmata vilipendit : Nam Divum Eranciscum veri- tatis Divinae praeconem paupertatis Christian 83 ante- signanum, consecraneos ejus universos, Avenione, Sexto Idus Decembris anno ab urbe servato 1322, impietatis condemnavit. Audite obsecro quam ob causam ; Homo perniciosus, avidusque Imperii, Argentum Evangelio (ubi opes scelera vocantur) aurum Christi impie prefer!, Eranciscanos frater- culos ignominioso apud se cognomine, item stolidas pecudes, perniciosas vulpeculas, quae simulata reli- gione mundo imponant, populum fallant nuncupat ; illorum religionem exscindere, quod Christum, comites ejus nihil possedisse in terris, doceant, asserant, praedicent, conatur : Sed contra ccetus Franciscanorem Perusiac Celebris universis suffragan- tibus Theologis, probe ejus facta depinxere, verita- temque sacris literis, testimonio divino tutati sunt, quamvis magis carcere et vinculis, quern disputa- tionibus hujusmodi genus hominum castigandum foret ; tamen eundem suis depinxere coloribus, atque insatiabile avaritiae barathrum, et simula- chrorum cultorem declararunt. Nam et auri pondus ingens, aiunt, quod ab orbe Christiano, praecipue Alemanniae, Arelatensi Kegno, Italia, sub specie Expeditionis Asiaticae emunxit, Saracenis, ut Christi- anis Armeniae, qui ab eo compilari atque venire detrectarant, arma inferrent, distribuit, &c. At last, at the peroration, he concluded thus : Ut Anti- christus non sit, tamen ejus antecursorem atque anteambulonem esse necesse est, a quo ad propug- nandum Templum Dei (cujus cura nobis ccelitus a Deo Opt. Max. data est) ad universum totius orbis Senatum Christianura provocamus. Every one will understand that, in the relation of the political affairs of that time (I cannot say politico- 610 religious affairs, because there was no religion at all practised by the Ecclesiastical dignitaries, and much less by the Pope himself), I cannot help showing each belligerent under his proper flag. Although I am not a partizan of the Bavarian Ludowick, who unwillingly brought many misfortunes upon Italy in particular, yet I cannot condemn him for them, as he was defending his rights and the monarchical princi- ples which, however absolute they might have been, were nevertheless preferable to the tyrannous and absolutely unprincipled, mutable and immoral rules of that lustful Pharisaical clique, which basely repre- sented the Church. We have seen that Ludowick was crowned and consecrated Emperor by two mem- bers of those families which I may style Roman Kings, on account of the secular and Ecclesiastical power which they exercised for many consecutive centuries. We shall see now that, through their in- fluence and persuasion, the whole of the Roman population was in favour of the Emperor, and that they arrayed themselves in full opposition to John the Twenty-third. Ludowick re-established Matthew Yisconti as his Imperial Vicar at Milan. He also established others of his partizans in the other pro- vinces. Pope John stimulated his Guelphs to rebel- lion, and Priests, Monks, and Eriars of every descrip- tion preached, and played the devil with the populations and themselves. The Ghibelline Roman Barons, who were instituted and invested as Impe- rial Vicars, were called upon to oppose many Eccle- siastical rebellious strifes, and to support on St Peter's chair the Minorite Monk, Peter Corbari, of Rieti, who was elected Pope by the clergy and the Roman people in the year 1327, and who took the name of St* Nader., Nicholas the Eifth. He was approved of and sup- 3327/andAn- ported by the Emperor Ludowick. At the instigation tonin., P art3. 0 f p 0 p e j 0 ] 1U} he was made prisoner by the Imperial deserters, the Pisans, and was locked up for some time, in spite of the intercession of the Bohemian 611 King in his favour. I may say that he presided See A^nti- at various Councils before his incarceration, where Guiieim. dc the Eoman Curia condemned the other Pope to be J^f* 00 '* 1 burned as an Heresiarch, and he was actually burned in effigy. I leave others to name the virtues of [Nicholas, and the exploits of the Count Philippe Yalesius, the protege of Pope John, against the Im- perial arms of Ludowick. At that period almost all Europe was in a state of conflagration, and the quar- rels were not limited to the Papal and Imperial arms. The various Monks and Friars, as well as all the other classes of Ecclesiastics, were in open con- tention and rebellion amongst themselves and with everybody else, and they fought with swords and pamphlets, just as they would do at the present time (if they could). When I reflect a little, I think that I have not only named in this work the really good Eoman Catholic clergymen, but I have also freely quoted the various points in which they have so admi- rably expressed their opinions about their Ecclesi- astical brothers, and their own theological principles, unfortunately at variance with those inculcated for consecutive centuries upon the masses by the incon- sistencies of the Cardinalian and Episcopal digue. The reader will find, from the quotations which con- stitute this book, that the strong language and the hor- rors contained in it are the Papal and Ecclesiastical crimes which have been exposed by Ecclesiastical writers, who were more or less determined to sup- press the abuses and monstrosities committed by the high clergy under the name of God and Religion ; and if they have not succeeded in their pious work of reforming them, they have at least bequeathed to posterity their principles and theological knowledge, that we may follow them, and prosecute them per- severingly, until we attain the ultimately desired end — the purification of the Church of God, the re- edification of the new temple, and the expulsion 612 from it of the pestiferous demons who have infested it until now. "When the Bavarian Emperor Ludowick arrived in Italy, in the year 1327, after he had been crowned at Rome, a Synod was held there, at which many serious things were said against the proceedings of Pope John the Twenty-second (according to Platina, 23rd). Aventinus (lib. 7) reports those proceedings in full, and the Decree also, the principal points of which, as already prepared by others, I here tran- scribe. Ludowick ordered that the following decree should be made known to all Christianity, so that the people might judge what were the doings of the Popes, and how they had been, and were still, the principal enemies of Christianity and of humanity. Here is a portion of the decree : Lupo (inquit) pellem ovinam jure nostro detrahemus, et ut pacis miseris ambagibus, rem aperiam, aures arrigite, favete, omnium res agitur. Universi vulgus sine authoritate sine gratia, domi atque foris, venales sumus: majestas et authoritas, religionis libertas, imperiumque populi Christiani, leges, divina, hu- mana prodita sunt hosti acerrimo : Quies in sedi- tionibus, in pace turbae sunt, homines sceleratissimi, cruentis manibus, immani avaritia nocentissimi, et iidem superbissimi, itidem luxu effeminati, atque ambitione perditi, quibus fides, decus, pietas, pos- tremo vitia, virtutes, honesta atque inhonesta omnia quaestui sunt, arcem Reipublicae Christianae occupant, tumultum ex tumultu, bellum ex bello serunt : Caput factionis Jacobus ille de Cadurco, qui se Papam nomi- nat, ingentem vim pecuniae, quam undique a Chris- tiana plebe fraudulentur corrasit, adversus sanctos Dei, imperio Christiano devotos, sicut Abiathar Sacer- dos (qui Absalonem contra Davidem sectabatur) ense Caesareo nobis a Coeli numine commisso abutitur, temporalibus hujus seculi curis contra divinum prae- ceptum incubat, regno mundano inhiat, sicuti pastor est personatus, ita mysticus est Antichristus, canis 613 pellicula tectus, in gregem Christi Lupina rabie grassatur, vendit seclera, inferos, superos, beneficia coelestia componantur cum Saracenis, Armenios Christianos quinque annis continentur ejus opem implorantes infestantibus fcedus, societatemque iniit ; Boruscorum primarium pra3sidem diras, inferiasque Gomminatus, cum Lituanis hostibus pietatis Christi- ans acerrimis, atrocissimis Latronibus, inducias facere ccegit, hosti regionem prodit, fenestram inva- dendi Brandeburgenses Christianos aperuit. Lituani conjurati Cadurci, ultro citroque impune per fines Brandeburgensium commearunt, Christianos ferro, csede extinxerunt, vagientes in cunis, in sinu parentum crudelissime contrucidati sunt. Templa, csenobia, collegia Sacerdotum, Monachorum, com- pilata, incensa, aversa Yirgines Sanctee per vim stupratse hostia sacra hasta transfixa, insultante hoste, hoc convivicio sublata, en hie est Deus Christianorum, &c. Atque haec omnia scelera vice- simi secundi acta sunt, &c. Monstrum biceps, mundanus et spiritualis esse contendit ; Christus Servator noster, cui omnis potestas in ccelo atque terra data est, tamen imperium atque regnum terrarum a populo sibi oblatum suscipere detrectavit, Sec. Atque satis constat inter omnis divinse Philo- sophise, legum et Pontificii juris scientissimos, penes Pontificem Romanum nunquam esse utramque dignitatem, sacram atque prophanam, &c. Sacro- santum Romanum Imperium cui Christus, cui comites ejus obtemperarunt, et vectigales fuerunt Sacrificuli fastuosi beneficium esse pernegamus, &c. Jacobum igitur antea a Sacrarum literarum an- tistibus hseresiarcham declaratum, ex Concilii De« creto, more majorum Pontificatu submotum, atque a Christo repudiatum renunciamus : Habemus bonorum exempla quibus nobis licere id facere, quod illi fecerunt, putamus. [Do you hear this bell, Mr Antonelli ? It sounds like that which accompanies a culprit to execution for a capital offence ; and this G G G 614 should be the basis for the new treaty between the Temporal and Spiritual Power. But I must con- tinue the extract.] Otho primus cum populo Romano Sacerdotum ejus tribu, Johannem duodeci- mum ex albo Pontificum Eomanorum ob scelera (quae si ad flagitia Yicesimi secundi comparaveris, ludus est) erasit, alium pastorem urbis et orbi im- posuit : Idem alios complures Imperatores, optimos- que Principes fecisse, in Annales Fastosque relatum est : Proinde Jacobum ilium crimine verse irreligio- sitatis, nota haereseos, an tea a Franciscanis, caeteris- que Theologis injustum, contemptorem paupertatis Christianas Imperii Antichristi authorem, jure nostro, consilio, sententia, consensu communi Principum, Pontificum, Germanise, Italiae efflagitantibus Saeer- dotibus populoque Eoniano, exauguratum, abdicatum, hoereseos condemnatum declaramus, proscribimus acta ejusdem rescindimus. Universi ergo Christiani eundem in numero impiorum atque sceleratorum habeant, ab eo omnes clecedant aditum, sermonem defugiant, velut contagionem, ne quid incommodi accipiant, devitent : Eidem nullus honor communi- cetur, et ab his quorum interest, opera detur, ut deprehensus more majorum puniatur. Qui adversus haec feceret hostis Eeipublice esto. Mos confestim cum Sacerdotum Curia, populoque Eomano urbi atque orbi pastorem communi consilio atque veterum institute, juxta sacrae historise leges allegemus. Hoc edictum ab Imperatore, item in Sacerdotum Senatu populoque Eomanum signatum est, publicatumque in celeberrimo mystarum populi Eomani regulorum Dynastarum, Tetrarcharum, Flaminum, Pontific. Max., Minorum Antistitum conventu. Datum et factum extra Templum Augustissimum, divis Petro atque Paulo Legatis Christi dedicatum, octavo die Aprilis in Urbe Eomano anno 1328. The above document is another masterpiece in proof of ignominious Papal fraud and heresy, and by this Pope John was condemned and deposed, agreeably to 615 the old-established usages, by the Imperial Power, and by the popular and Ecclesiastical acclamations and concurrence in the above Council and condemna- tion. Qui patriam tradere tentat — now-a-days should be treated in the same manner ; and I recommend the above to the wisdom of the Italian Minister. At this period of Pope John the Twenty-second (or Twenty- third), the Theologians and the Juris- consultes were discussing in various theses the defini- tion of the Imperial and the Papal powers. The Chan- cellor Udalric wrote a thesis, which was copied and edited by the theologians of his time, as an Apology for the Emperor Ludowick, in which he styled the Pope a marine monster. — Bestiam de mari aseen- dentem, de qua in Apocalipsi appellasse. In this thesis Udalric proved that no Pope could arrogate to himself the rights of the Temporal Power — Quod nullus Papa potestatis plenitudinem in temporalibus sibi arrogare potest, ne dum in Imperium, ne dum Johannes Papatu manifeste indignus, &c. As the Pope sinned against the Faith, it is clear there were other mortals superior to him. The Universal •Church congregated in Council to try him ; which, by its authority, it was competent to do. The fact that he had to appeal to this Council, is a direct proof of his fallibility. The celebrated William Ockam, an English Franciscan, who supported the Imperial rights against the Papal encroachments and blunders, with most valiant intelligence and learning assailed the heretical Pope. He said to the Emperor, "Defend me with thy sword from the insidies of the Pope, and I will return the defence with words and writings, and with such convincing reasons that the Pope will not be able to evade." In fact, he proved that the Pope was heretical and schismatic, and that his censures should be treated with con- tempt. (See his books of Dialogues in defence of the Emperor Ludowick. ) These Dialogues are ninety-three in number : 616 Capita hasc sunt — Quod Papa ex Jure divino nullum Primatum habet: Quod Petrus nunquam habuit, nunquam. Romae Episcopus sedit, proinde nec Papa : Quod Papa errare potest ; quin et Ecclesia Romana tota, inque Concilio judicari debet. Sed Papae cum Imperatore controversiam quod attinet, octo ques- tiones edisserit. Primo : An munus Pontificum simul et Caesareum administrari possint. 2. An Caesar a solo Deo, non etiam a Pontifice Romano potestatem acceperit. 3. An Authore Christo Pon- tifex et Ecclesia Bomana facultatem habeant, ut Caesari, caeterisque Regibus jurisdictionem exer- cendam committant. 4. An Caesar electus, plenum habeat hoc ipso jus administrandi Rempublicam. 5. An caeteri Reges praeter Caesarem et Romanorum Regem, eo quod a successoribus inaugurentur, aliquam ab eis accipiant potestatem. 6. An ejus- modi Reges ullo modo subjecti sint inaugurantibus. 7. An si novum abhiberent sacrificium aut diadema sibi submerent ac imponerent ipsi, titulum atque potestatem regalem amittant. 8. An septemviri Principes electores tan turn juris conferant electo Caasari, quantum caeteris Regibus legittima succes- sio; Quas omnes quaestiones in utramque partem disceptans, pro Magistratu Civili, pro Regibus inquam et Principibus maximam partem pronunciat, Johannis XXII obiter Extravag antes proterens, tanquam haereticas, falsas, a plerisque damnatus; qui secus judicent ad tempus illud pertinere, cujus 2 ad Tim. 3 c.3 } nos Apostolus ad Timotheum praemonuit : Tempus v. 3 and 4. cum san8e doctrinae non auscultabunt, sed juxta concupiscentias suas coacervabunt sibi ipsis dolores in pruritu auditus ipsorum, et a veritate avertent aures suas, ad fabulas vero inclinabunt. Hie enim est presentis temporis status, ut plerique omnes non quae Christi, quae Apostolorum, quae Patrum doctrina fuerit inquirant, sed quid Pontifex fieri velit atque jubeat, auscultent. Dicit Ascentius in Praefatione, sex alios eum Tractatus scripsisse, quos €17 consulto prsetermigit, quod essentaliquanto asperiores, nempe in Pontificem Pomanum. Ab eadem vena Marsilius Patavinus aurei illius Editus Bas i_ Tractatus author, cujus titulus ; Defensor Pads de lese, an.1522 Imperatoris et Papa potestate. Ibique ex Sacris Scripturis, legibus Canonibus, historia turn Sacra, turn Civili, Theses, quae sequuntur asserit et edisserit. Quod Christus unicum Ecclesise caput et fundamentum, non Petrus. Quod Apostolorum neminem, non Petrum ipsum universalem Ecclesise . Vicarium instituit, quodque eum titulum omnes eodem jure usurpare possunt. Quod Petrus nunquam Christi Yicarius universalis fuit, nec Christus alios Apostolos Petro subjecit. Quod verisimilius est Petrum nunquam fuisse Eomae, nedum ut sedem ibi tenuerit, cui, ut nec eseteris, sedes ulla peculiaris fuit. Quod Papa Primatum ex successione sibi deberi contendens, nullo jurenititur, cum ilia exinde nulla sit. Quod non illi plenior, quam eseteris Episcopis potestas, etiam in eo quod remissionem peccatorum et indulgentias spectat; e contra omnes ei jure divino coequantur, Mogurtinus, Coloniensis, Trevirensis, non minus Primates quam ille. Quod plenitudo ilia potestatis mendacium apertum, titulus execrabilis, omnium malorum origo, ejusque usus Pontificibus in bono Concilio sit interdicendus. Ad Temporalia vero; Quod Christus, cujus Yicarius credi vult, nullam in terra authoritatem exercuit ; Ipse contra et Apostoli sese magistratui subjecerunt, eo in coelum assumpto et Principibus paruerunt et discipulos parere jusserunt ; Quare ad Papam nullam jurisdictionem temporalem in quemquam pertinere, ne dum in Principes, ne dum in Imperatorem. 4Juod si earn usurpet, tenentur illi ex jure divino ei resistere, verbo, facto, omni ratione, omni conatu : injusti et Deo iujurii ni fecerint, ut qui pro eo pugnent Diaboli satellites censendi sint. Quod ad Papam non pertinet Imperatoris confirmatio, multo minus electio : Quin et nos ille coronandi propter Q Q Q 2 618 abusus qui inde consequuntur, ♦imperium periculo exponit. E contra Imperatoris est, Principis Christiani, ex Cleri et Populi consensu Papam nominare, absente se nominatum, confirmare : Si arguatur aut accusetur in viam reducere, in Con- cilio judicare. QuodPetrus, utpote homo dum vixit potuit labi, potuit et errare, nec Papa ullo previlegio adversus errorem tutus est. Quod vero Petri dictum fuit. Oravi pro te, ad casteros Apostolos extenditur peraaque. Quare de sua fide et firmitate, quam caBteros Episcopos certiorem esse non potest. Quod solus Bibliorum Canon, fons veritatis est, in cujus fraudem non licet credere Papa3, non Ecclesia3. Quod de ipso Scripture SacraB sensu aut de aliquo fidei capite, Papre aut Cardinalibus solis rainime creden- dum, cum non raro pravis suis dogmatibus, miseros homines in infernum abduxerint. Quod Ecclesia Christiana proprie fidelium universitas, non Papa et Cardinales, non Rom ana ipsa : Ilia vero in legitimo et generali Ecclesiarum Christianorum Concilio raprsesentatur : quod ab Imperatore et consensu Principum Christianorum convocandum, olim per- petuo convocatum, &c. Eor brilliant lucidity of thought, as well as the truth which is so admirably exposed, nothing can be compared to this splendid exposition of the Papal abuse of power. There is no great difference between the political times of the Emperor Ludowick and the present, and I do not see any reason why these last pages might not be used as a political pro- gramme, and adopted in the New Era of 1862. You will observe, Mr Antonelli, that these excerpta which I have brought out are taken from the Ancient Ecclesiastical Writers, men who were endowed with the highest mental faculties, who had devoted their lives to theological studies, who had abandoned the luxury and pomp of this world to devote themselves entirely to the care of human souls and their own salvation, as well as for the exaltation of that 619 religion and that truth which yon seem to vilify and contemn with yonr mercenary mundane affairs, monopolising commercially everything re- quired for the use of the Roman States, which you do with the assistance of some other individuals of your acquaintance, and with whom, under the rose, you divide the profits. You promote the hella inten- tina, cades, rapince, because out of the destruction which ensues more wants are required, and con- sequently more profits are to obtained. By the decimation of the population, and the terror and misery brought by your anti- Christian orders upon the martyred people, whom you hope will submit and side with you in the fear of their utter ruin and perdition — you intimidate them. At last, with your criminal administration and your infernal proceedings, you have stabbed again, in the other side, the Christ, and washed your hands and daubed your faces with his precious blood, as the Pontifiees Maximi of old did in their consecration feasts ; with this difference, that the Gentiles, not knowing better, intended to do homage to their Divinity, while you wantonly trample under foot and destroy that Divinity, and inebriate yourself with the blood of His Christian Martyrs, as Michael Cesennas, the Franciscan General, wrote in his Trac- tatus de Translatione Imperii, printed in Paris, 1540: Quod Papa anti- Christus, Ecclesia Romana Babylon, Sanctorum sanguine inebriata. Before I quit the work of the Paduan Marsilius, in defence of the Emperor, it is necessary that I should furnish the reader with this extract from the chapter on the Roman See, or Curia Romana : Qui Romanse Curiae (inquit) imo verius eum veritate dicam, domus negotiationis et ea quae latronum horribiloris speluncse limina visitarunt, aut qui ab hac abstinuerunt, numerosse fide digniorum multi- tudinis relatione discent, earn pene sceleratorum omnium et negotiatorum, tarn spiritualium quam 620 temporalium receptaculum esse factam. Quid enim aliud ibi, quam Simoniacorum concursus ? Quid aliud, quam causidicorum strepitus et calumniatorum insultus, et justorum impulsus ? Ibi periclitatur innocentium justitia, vel in tan turn differtur, si earn prsetio redimere nequeant, ut tandem exhausti, innumeris fatigati laboribus justas et miserabiles ipsorum causas cogantur deserere. Ibi namque alte * intonant leges humanae silent, aut rarius resonant divinse doctrine, ibi tractatus et scrutinia inva- dendi provincias Christianorum, et per armatam et violentam potentiam obtinendi et eripiendi ab his, quorum custodise licite sunt commissse. Acquirendarum animarum nulla solicitudo neque consilia. Et adde quod ibi nullus ordo, sed sempi- ternus horror inhabitat. Qui vero, vidi et affui, videre videor, quam Danielis secundo Nabucodonosor terribilem statuam in somnio recitatur yidisse : caput siquidem habentem aureum, brachia vero et pectus argentea, ventrem autem et foemora serea, tibias quidem ferreas, pedum partem unam ferream, et reliquam fictilem ; Yentrem et foemora senea, sonora permission e, ac peccatorum et poenarum vocali quamvis fallaci absolutione : propriam vero libertatem defendentium, suis Princibus debitam fidem observare volentium, injusta, quamvis Eeo protegente prorsus innocua condemnatione ac maledictione. Of course this work, as well as those written by Johannes Gandavensis de Lauduno (published at Yenice and at Florence), by Leopoldus Bebemburgensis, and particularly the Episcopus Bambergensis, were strictly forbidden, and noted in the Index Expurgatorius. [Nevertheless, they were copied, circulated, and, later, printed, to reveal to the world the iniquitous Papal system of fraud and treason, both to God and humanity. At this very time, as I have said, Protestantism was vigorously spreading its immortal light in this universe, which had been invaded and ruled by the Hydra of Avignon, who was opposed 621 by the Bavarian Ludowick with partial success only, on account of the fears of his rivals suscitated against him by the Episcopal intrigues. In England, France, Germanjr, Italy, and everywhere else where civiliza- tion had penetrated, a great number of energetic- minded and clever Christian writers sprung up, and denounced the Episcopal Babylon, while they pro- claimed the Evangelical Truth, and the Christ Redeemer the only fount of salvation for humanity. The Prelate, Antoninus, in his Ecclesiastical works, proves that many illustrious writers, the learned heads of the pious Christian "Waldenses, suffered Martyrdom — in diversis mundi partibus combusti ; and amongst them — inter alios ejusdem occasione Johannem Castillonem et Eranciscum de Harcatara Eranciscanos crematos memorat. Paulus JEmilius in Carolo Pulchro Eege fuere ingenia sublimia eruditissimique viri. Seculum illud literatura floruit : erant ex iis viri vere sancti, erant qui dum cseteros anteire improvide contendunt, nec modum faciunt, impii evasere. Erant de quorum moribus consilioque anceps sit conjectura Sanctis malae temporum dolori erant, taciti mcerebant: Ii vero qui Eraterculi vocabantur, divitias Ecclesiasticas fando scribendoque damnabant, purpuram, opes dominatum a religione aliena esse predicabant, &c. The testimony of these contemporary authors is incontrovertible, and neither the Index Expurgatorius, nor the Papal sword or poisoned poignard, will prevent now the republication of the abominable, lustful, 'Papal crimes ; as the age of civilization is supported by public opinion, which is ever ready to protect the truth, however unpalatable it may be to anyone. It is useless to recount here the quarrel between the French King Charles le Bel and Pope John. I will, therefore, only mention that the Papal Envoys were sent to treat with the King's messengers for an arrangement at a Council which was held in the month of December, in the Bois de Vincenne, near 622 Paris ; Magister Petrus de Cugneto, on the part of the King, kept his ground with energetic historical and Canonico-Ecclesiastical arguments, which were strengthened by fundamental Biblical texts, against the Papal argumentations, expounded and supported by Bertrandus Episcopus Augustodunensis. The King would not give way, or abandon any of those rights and privileges which he had inherited from his fathers ; nor would he countenance any of the abuses which had been introduced into his kingdom by the Ecclesiastics. He declared it was useless to repeat that prescription constituted rights; as he would not allow prescriptive rights, nor permit the destruction of the fiscal rights, because the King himself could not abdicate such rights, as can be proved by many texts of law which are contained in the Decima distinctione. — Quare, inquit, cum Rex in sua coronatione juravit jura Eegni non alienare, et alienata ad se revocare, si per Ecclesiam aut per quemcumque alium erant usurpata, tenetur Rex juramenta ad se ilia revocare. lie then handed to the Papal Yicar a protestation claiming redress for sixty- six articles of Papal offences and Papal usur- pations. Bishop Bertrand invoked uselessly several prece- dents, but the King's mind was immovable and irre- vocably fixed, and he answered the Bishop's solicita- tions thus : u That he would rather increase and support the rights of the Clergy than diminish them ; but he would not permit or countenance any of their usurpations.' • — Turn Rex, Jura, inquit, Ecclesiarum auxerim potius, quam imminuta velim, Jura inquam, non usurpation es. It was at this epoch that an opuscule was freely circulated amongst literary men depicting what the Popes, Cardinals, Bishops, and other Prelates had been, what they were, and in what consisted their labours, instead of attending to their flocks. This work, which was evidently written and issued anonymously from the Sorbonne, 623 was called, " Epistola Luciferi ad Papam et Cardi- nales ministros ejus." It seems that this same letter of the Devil to the Pope and Cardinals was a little altered and reproduced in the year 1351. I regret that I have been unable to obtain a copy of either of these, and have therefore been compelled to content myself with the mere mention of them by various ecclesiastical historians. This letter was date ! anno Palatii sui ever si, circiter ad annum a Nativitate Christi 1318, and treated of the luxum, fastum, las- civium, malas artes, Simoniam, &c, protesting that the Homan Church had become a Synagogue : Eccle- sia Eomana Synagoga Satanae lacta sit : Meretrix purpurata cum Regibus terrse fornicata : de matre noverca, de Sponsa Adultera primas charitatis et castimonias oblita fidem Christianam potissimum destruat quam olim aedificabat, &c. The learning displayed in the development of the above proposi- tions would highly amuse the readers of the present day. As we have to put up with the loss of the original Document in full, we must find consolation in the substitute, written by no less a person than the learned divine Petrarch, who we shall see in his letters and sonnets pours out a river of fine expres- sions, as indignant and as destructive to the Episco- palian monsters as liquid lava would be to a bed of flowers. Yet all this was to no purpose ; our ances- tors were none the better for it, and we are worse, although the unholy Tablet says that we labour under a great mystification, and that we are quite well and happy, and points out Perugia, Eome, and the Abruzzi in proof of the happiness of the country. At this inglorious, unchristian period (anno 1318) the prepotent criminal, Pope John, was desirous of rising another step higher, and to this end he could conceive nothing better than the dream of uniting the Greek with the Roman Church, and so consti- tuting himself the highest mortal upon earth and the absorber of every prerogative and faculty. Eor the 624 accomplishment of this object he sent an Ecclesias- tico-Diplomatic Envoy to treat about it. John de Handeville, a celebrated English quasi-contempora- neous writer, relates that the Greek Bishops, upon hearing that Pope John assumed that he possessed all the attributes of St Peter, with plenitude of right and power to do and undo what he liked, after a little deliberation, gave to Pope John's messenger the following highly significant and laconic answer : " We firmly believe your unlimited power upon your poor victims ; 4 we will not tolerate your immo- derate boldness ; we will not satiate your avarice. The Devil is with you, while God is with us." "Why do you not say, Amen, Mr Antonelli, to this brief quasi- oracular answer touching you so deeply in your hard teguments? You will do very well to deny this altogether, like a true Roman Bishop ; but before you do so, pause, and read the original sen- tences ; they are equally brief : Respondent ipsi laconice ; Potentiam tuam summam circa tuos sub- ditos firmiter credimus, superbiam tuam summam tolerare non possumus, avaritiam satiare non volu- mus : Diabolus tecum, quia Dominus nobiscum. The next Pharisee to the Erench Babylon was elected in sixteen days. He was the son of a baker of Toulouse, and took the name of Benedict the Twelfth. Like the rest of the Papal humbugs, this baker knew how to raise the yeast and make good bread at home ; therefore, he gave his numerous poor relatives the greatest part of the immense trea- sure which had been accumulated by John the Twenty-third, and reserved the rest with the pre- tence of making war against the Turks. This is the Pope who carried the Papal diadem to the third storey, and enriched it with jewels. The intriguing Philip Yalesius continued his friendly manoeuvres with the new Pope, and was anxious to become the Papal Yicar in Italy, or in any other part of the world, and to become collector 625 of the Papal tithes. The Bavarian Emperor Ludo- wick thought he should be released from the Ecclesi- astical persecutions by the death of John, and sent friendly salutations to the newly-elected Maledict (I beg his pardon, Benedict) by his relative vassal, Robert, Prince Palatine of the Rhine, and Duke "William Juliacensem. Benedict received them be- nignantly, and seemed inclined to settle all the diffi- culties between the Church and the Empire, when the old Cardinals interfered, and prevented peace- ful arrangements by introducing new quibbles and contentions, demanding full Imperial submission to the Church. They were instigated and supported in this proceeding by Robert, King of Sicily, and Philippe, King of France. The Emperor had no other alternative than to appeal to the Electors, who decreed at a Diet, held in 1338, in Oppido Reinesey ad ripam Rheni (in which all the Electors concurred), that the Empire depended upon God, to whom only the Emperor was responsible, and, whoever the Electors had chosen, that one was absolutely the Emperor, &c. I have extracted and placed in another chapter the most important part of this Decree ; and need not, therefore, pursue the subject any further here. A short time after this Electoral Decree was issued, King Edward of England, brother-in-law of the Em- peror Ludowick, went to Erankfort to meet him. After they had conferred together, they held a Coun- cil, in which many Church dignitaries of Erance, Germany, England, and other countries, concurred, as well as the Electors in that Council, and they issued a decree condemnatory of all the acts of the deceased Pope John and the living Benedict, and declared guilty of Lcesce Majestatis any one who obeyed or abided by the miscreant Papal orders, &c. Albertus Argentin. in Chron., scripsit : £Tono post die Principes Imperii Lenstenii in Moguntina Dio- cesi rursum eonveniunt, seseque mutuo ad Decreti HUH 626 illius defensionem Sacramento devinciunt, et execra- bilem sehelem, qui secus fecerit, pronunciant : Extat hoc Decretum apud Albericum de Rosate in Legem 3 Cod. De quadrienni prsescriptione, et apud Hiero- nymum Balbum Episcopum Curcensem, in lib. de Coronatione ad Carolum Y Imperatorem. The celebrated theologian, William Ockam, took great interest in all those transactions, and so also did many other celebrated Dominicans, so that Ludowick had no peace with any Pope. Benedict was a man much inclined to voluptuousness of all sorts, and much addicted to drink. He was no saint of the old or modern hypocritical school ; he was a free, frank, and barefaced debauchee of no ordinary character, and indisputably occupied the first position amongst the lowest of scamps, as well as the most exalted amongst the degraded gentlemen of his and subse- quent generations. This accounts for his having been elevated to the Papal chair, where he held sway, blaspheming against law, humanity, and God. These Pope Caesars grasped the temporal and spiritual power with such tenacity, and such determined and villainous audacity as to defy the coalesced Imperial armies, and with the assistance of the ignorant mobs, and the corrupted Princes who were in expectation of obtaining better berths under the Papal investitures, they regularly robbed the Emperors for a long time of their Imperial rents and States ; until some of them, fatigued with wars and the accompanying dangers to their lives and families, allowed themselves to be partially spoliated of their power. This Pope Bene- dict was the villainous impostor who violated Pe- trarch's sister, and it was through his nefarious actions that the immortal poet raised his voice in revealing the sinful and filthy Papal abominations at the Court of Avignon, and stamped upon the whole of their mitred foreheads the brand of iniquity so deeply and so perceptibly, that the water of Jordan could not wash the mark away even by twenty or more consecutive baptisms. 627 I cannot help believing what Jerome Squarzaficus wrote about the seduction of Petrarch's sister by Pope Maledict, particularly as he protested that he was not writing rashly nor without ample testimony ; and it is very likely he wrote only half the truth, as he was advanced in years, and was perhaps desi- rous of avoiding the exposure of such criminal Ec- clesiastical proceedings. However, in writing the life of Petrarch he could not pass over the disgraceful transaction, and wrote that while Petrarch was much praised and courted at the Palace of Avignon by the Prelates, by the foreign princes, and by the Pope, who promised him many honours, his sister, who was born at Avignon, was living there with her brother Gerard, and was twenty-two years of age. She was pretty, elegant, well-educated, and virtuous, and the Pope was madly in love with her beauty and her appearance. He tried many experiments to possess her. He also thought of gaining Petrarch's consent by loading him with honours and praises, and pro- mising to make him a Cardinal, provided he would place his sister in his power. Petrarch, who always had God present to his mind in everything that he did, and from whom nothing could be concealed, like one who does not know how to charge his enemy, or to feign and dissimulate, as he felt his wrath pro- voked, answered what his tongue and soul prompted him, saying that such a stinking hat should never abominate his head, that he would avoid receiving it, as it was disgraceful and heinous ; and, although speaking with reverence of the name of God's Vice- gerent on earth, he never would wear that hat. He said that he would revindicate his honour with pen and ink from such ignominy ; and he'did so (as Philelphus asserts he did) in one of his sweetly moral cantilenas, which begins thus : "lo non vo piu cantare come solea." Nevertheless the Pope, transported by his blind furor, began to captivate to his madness Gerard. With a few presents he conquered him, and he sold his sister. 628 Petrarch hearing of this treason, and seeing the Church of God dragged through such filthy streams, abandoned Avignon and went to Italy. His brother Gerard, in penance for his crime, married his sister to some one, and retired to a Carthusian convent near Marseilles, having renounced pomp and all mun- dane affairs, and affiliated himself to that order. Hieronymus Inquit, Namque dum Petrarcha, in curia Papali, in Vita Pe- pretio esset, et undique a Principibus et a Pontifice trarchse. pollicerentur honores, erat Soror Petrarchse quae jam duodeviginti habebat annos, quae Avinioni, ubi orta, cum Gerardo morabatur, eleganti forma insignis moribus, et virtu tibus praedita, cujus pulchritudine et forma perdite deperibat Pontifex. Ut ilia poti- retur multa fieri fecit experimenta. Cogitavit prae- miis et honoribus Petrarcham in suam trahi opinio- nem, Cardinalem se facturum promittit, dummodo ilia suo concederetur arbitrio ; Pranciscus Pet. qui in omni re Deum prae oculis habebat, cui nihil occul- tum, ut ille qui nihil comere, nihil fingere, nihil dis- simulare didicerat, ut debuit ira commotus, et id quod lingua, fronte utque animo habebat, respondit, tarn fcetidum galerum capiti, non esse ponendum, sed fugiendum, abominandum omnibus, tanquam nefan- dum, et dedecorosum, etsi reverentia nominis, quando vices Dei in terris gerebat, non teneret, calamo tantae rei se vendicaturum, et fecit prout Philelpho placet, in una sua morali cantilena, quae incipit — " lo non vd pin cantare come solea." Nichilo minus Pontifex furoris impatiens, alteram fratrem Girardum tempe- rare coepit, qui paucis muneribus captus sororem vendidit, quo facinore audito et Ecclesiam Dei videns, per abruptu vitiorum sic trahi Avinioni aufugit: Italiani versus ire coepit, frater poenitentia ductus, nupta sorore, sanctae religionis habitum quaesivit et Cartusiensi ordinis in conventu Materno, qui est prope Massiliam, rebus mundanis rejectis. se devovit. This was one of the prettiest and most glorious works of the most Holy and Reverend the Pather of 629 the Eoman Catholic Church, the successor of St Peter, the Yicar of Christ, Pope Benedict XII. In- famous hypocrite ! Had I been Petrarch, I would have revenged my sister's honour in spite of any danger, even the forfeit of my life. I have trans- lated the narration of this villainous proceeding of Pope Benedict, to give it notoriety ; and you infernal rogues who wear the white omelet on your heads, and who are accustomed to deny everything, contro- vert it if you can. I have referred to the opinion which Petrarch entertained of the Eoman Curia, alias the so-called Holy See ; but as I have not given sufficient extracts, I will now take some others from his letters and sonnets, after which all remarks would be useless, for it would be impossible to find stronger words in condemnation of the deeds of the Holy Eom. Cath. and Apost. tribe. Petrarcha in Epist. 80 inter eas quae vocantur sine titulo, inquit, de Curia Eom. : In summa, scito non modo hunc, sed ne Ciceronianum, quidem calamum rebus parem. Quicquid de Assyria vel JEgyptia Babylone, quicquid de quatuor labyrinthis, quicquid denique de Averni limine, de tartareis sylvis, sul- phureisque paludibus legisti, huic Tartaro admotum fabula est. Hie turrificus simul atque terribilis Nemrod, hie pharetra Semiramis, hie inexorabilis Minos, hie Eadamantus (the first cousins of the present Governor of Eome), hie Cerberus universa consumens, hie Tauro supposita Pasiphae, mixtumque genus, prolesque biformis Minotaurus inest, Yeneris monimenta nephandae hie postremo quicquid confu- sum, quicquid atrum, quicquid horribile usquam est, aut fingitur, aspicias. 0 semper virtutibus tuis fcelix, nunc absentia etiam fcelicior tua: putasne civitatem hanc esse quam vidisti ? Longe alia est, longe dissimilis. Puit ilia equidem omnium pessima, eaque tempestate foedissima; hsec vero non jam civitas, sed larvarum ac lemurum domus est, et ut IHI2 630 breviter dicam, scelemm atque dedecorum omnium sentina atque ille viventium infernus tanto ante Davidico ore notatus, quam fundatus aut cognitus. Ah quoties redit ad memoriam ilia tua penitus paterna vox, et salutaris admonitio, dum digressum parenti diceres ; Quo abis ? Quid moliris ? Quae te tui immemorem tradit ambitio ? &c. This letter was written to an elderly friend to whom it seems Petrarch was indebted for advice, &c. It contains the strongest expressions, and the severest invectives upon the Koman Curia, all which they deserved. All that I have said throughout this work is condensed in the above few lines ; and if some of the Reverends are not satisfied, I will give them the opportunity of extracting as much from the ninth letter of the same stock, which was directed to his at present unknown adviser (probably Cardinal Colonna ?) in which he subscribed himself as the Hierosolymitanum exulem, and in his tenth letter he explains as follows why he did so : Subscriptions epistolarum mearum miraris,nec im- ' merito, non nisi geminam enim Babylona cum legeris, alteram apud Assyrios olim, ubi clarum Semiramis nomen habet, alteram apud JEgyptios nostra aetate florentem : Desine jam mirari. Et sua Babylon huic terrarum tractui est (Avenio), ubi enim quseso dig- nius, quam in Occidentali plaga Civitas confusionis existeret ? A quibus quidem condita incertum, sed a quibus habitata notissimum, certe ab iis, a quibus jure optimo nomen hoc possidet, et si vis, mihi crede. Hie Semroth potens in terra et robustus venator contra Dominum ac superbe turribus ccelum petens, &c. Hie Orientali quoque vesanior Cambyses et ipso adeo Turca, &c. Consule Catholicos tractatores, sed praecipue Augustinum invenies, quid sibi velit Babylonicum nomen, quod cum legeris, dices non minus Rhodano quam Euphrati debitum, quam Nilo, &c. He quinque Labyrinthis potes enim mirari cum apud casteros scrip tores nonnisi de quatuor 631 mentionem in veneris, omnium inextricabilissimum ac pessimum, sive quia nondum erat, sive quia nondum noscebatur, &c. Quam juste autem qui noscere cupit, hoc properet, non hie career horrendus, non tenebrosse domus error, non fatalis urna humani generis fata permiscens, denique non imperiosus Minos, non Minotaurus vorax, non damnatse Veneris monimenta defuerint, &c. Una salutis spes in auro est, auro placatur Bex ferus, auro immane monstrum vincitur, auro salutare lorum texitur, auro durum limen ostenditur, auro vectes et saxa franguntur, auro tristis janitor mollitur, auro ccelum panditur, quid multa ? atjko Chkistus venditor, &c. - I should like to know what the Holy See can oppose to these incontestable truths told by such a contemporary as Petrarch ? I should like to know also if there ever existed any greater abomination than the above described extra- infamous Holy See ? I have got hold of you, my dear Prelates of notorious prostitution, and I am pleased to flog you now. The proverb says, " Eevenge is sweet," and this will account for my continuing to take extracts from Petrarch. As long as I hold the whip in hand you may depend upon it you will not again be able to sell Jesus Christ for gold. It is true there is still a great deal of mystification prevalent now-a-days, and much pretended religious feeling is also intro- duced and mixed with the true Christian Churches. My object is to collect all these wasted and mis- applied religious principles, and bring them to the Evangelical Temple for the Glory of the Immortal God. I therefore beg the reader will give me his assistance and support in the exposure of the evils of the Roman Catholic and un-Apostolie Hierarchy. Although Petrarch laboured very hard, it is evident from his letter No. 11 (directed to an unnamed friend) that he knew he exposed himself and his friend to great danger ; and for that reason, in con- cluding it, he says, " I shall not sign this letter, nor 632 put ray seal to it, nor date it, or say from where I write it, as you know who and where I am, and the voice of him who speaks to you." In this fragment of his eleventh letter Petrarch thus complains of the danger of telling the truth, on account of the perfect death and burial of virtue, &c. He says : " Siquidem extra virtutis regnum, imbecillis semper et nuda Veritas, atque omnis praesidii inops fuit: Quid eventurum censes, ubi extincta prorsus et sepulta pridem virtus ? Ibi profecto summum crimen est Veritas, et sola sufficiens ad querenda multorum odia, cum unius hominis amor multis obsequiis sit querendus, &c. Ubi nulla pietas, nulla charitas, nulla fides habitat, ubi tumor, livor, luxus, avaritia cum artibus suis regnant, ubi pessimus quisque pro- vehitur, et munificus praedo ad coelum tollitur justus pauper opprimitur : Ubi simplicitas amentiae, malitia sapientiae nomen habet : Ubi Deus spernitur, adoratur nummus, calcantur leges, irridentur boni, usque adeo, ut jam fere nullus, qui irridere possit, appareat, &c. Unum ego libenter huic scelerum universali diluvio eximerem, et mereretur fateor, sed ridiculum visum est, tam solidam et tam latam regulam unius nominis exceptione convellere. Julius hinc igitur Noe, nullus Deucalion enatabit, ac ne Pyrrham putes felicius navigasse, prorsus scito, nullam emergere : civitatem simul obscoenissimarum voluptatum fluctus involvit, atque incredibilis quaedam muliebrium criminum procella, pudici- tiaeque fcedissimum sine exceptione naufragium, haec pauca de multis ausa Veritas, &c. Letters 12, 13, and 14 are equally strongly worded against that most corrupted body of persons who style themselves the Holy Eoman Curia or See. It would be waste of time to quote any more of them, therefore I forbear ; but as this is the opportune place to insert some more of Petrarch's sonnets — to give the reader some idea of his poetical spirit, and by what means he chastised the Roman See, and revenged the honour of his sister, I avail myself of the opportunity. From impious Babylon, where all shame is dead, And ev'ry good is banisht to far climes, Nurse of rank error, centre of worst crimes, Haply to lengthen life, I too am fled. Alone, at last alone, and here, as led At love's sweet will, I posies weave, or rhymes, Self-parleying, and still on better times Wrapt in fond thoughts whence only hope is fed. Cares for the world or fortune I have none, Nor much for self, nor any common theme : Nor feel I in me, nor without great heat. Two friends alone I ask, and that the one More merciful and meek to me may seem, The other well as erst, and firm of feet. Fountain of sorrows, centre of mad ire, Rank error's school, and fane of heresy, Once Rome, now Babylon, the false and free, Whom fondly we lament and long desire. 0 furnace of deceits, 0 prison dire, Where good roots die, and the ill weed grows a tree, Hell upon earth, great marvel will it be If Christ reject thee not in endless fire. Founded in humble poverty and chaste, Against thy founders lift'st thou now thy horn, Impudent harlot ! Is thy hope then plac'd In thine adult' ries, and thy wealth ill-born ? Since comes no Constantine his own to claim, The next world must endure or end its shame. Covetous Babylon, of wrath Divine, By its worst crimes has drain' d the full cup now, And for its future Gods, to whom to bow, Not Power nor Wisdom ta'en, but love and wine. 634 Though hoping reason, I consume and pine, Yet shall her crown deck some new Soldan brow, Who shall again build up, and we avow One faith in God, in Rome one Head and Shrine. Her idols shall be shatter'd, in the dust Her proud tow'rs, enemies of Heav'n, be hurled, Her wardens into flames and exile thrust. Fair souls and friends of virtue shall the world Possess in peace : and we shall see it made All gold, and fully its old works displayed. I have now pursued the historical evidences in proof of the fictitious nature of the Donations, and in substantiation of the fact that the Popes never possessed the temporal power in Rome, or any of its provinces, up till the proper point. I have also given precedents sufficient against the Non possumus, non volumus. All my statements are built upon sure bases, because history has been my guiding rule in all my animadversions. I should likewise mention here, once for all, that this work completely refutes the whole of the Episcopal pamphlets, bulls, and pastorals, as well as many other hallucinations which have been pub- lished during the last three years by the Papal scribes, both bribed and unbribed. I have shown that Boniface the Eighth, Clement V and VI, John, and Benedict, put into practice the theory of aut Ccesar, aut melius, proclaimed them- selves Popes and Emperors, and enacted laws for the purpose of usurping the Imperial rights. And these are the points from whence the usur- pations of the occupiers of St Peter's Chair have principally proceeded. What a catalogue have the crimes of the Holy Roman See comprised ! Have not their forgeries, their usurpations, their spoliations, murders, and crimes of all kinds as- sumed a dye so deep, so impenetrable in the 635 nature of their villainy, that common humanity is called upon to put an iron hoof upon the head of the venomous monster which, serpent-like, has entangled, enfolded, and sacrificed so many innocent victims, and crush it ? How much longer shall the sins of such a diabolical institution be permitted to blot the page of history ? Ought not the groans of martyred thousands be the watchword, the battle-cry, for the extinction of such a race of libidinous monsters ? Italy can never be wholly free until power is ceded to her in Rome, her rightful capital, which her people is debarred from entering by that chevaux de frise of Gallic bayonets set up there. These removed, the Pope would be com- pelled to abdicate or do the Italians justice ; and this is a matter for the serious consideration of the great Hector of Italian liberty (?) who is the author of that strategic enterprise. The time may not be* far distant when the great Puppet of the drama of Usurpation may be removed from the scene in which he is so miserable a figure, and that will be a time of rejoicing for the Italians. " To this complexion he must come at last !" In closing this chapter I may remark as one more proof that the Temporal Power never belonged to the Pope, that Tivoli — so pleasantly situated near Borne, — up till the period of 1155, when Frederick the First was on friendly terms with Pope Adrian the Fourth, was still an Imperial feud. It may be remarked that this Pope begged Frederick to give him that town as an Imperial Donation to the Holy See. Frederick complied with the request of Adrian, and addressed a letter to the authorities and the people of the town, in which he released them from their oath of fidelity to him. Let it be understood, however, that he still reserved to himself the Im- perial Dominion. " Absolvimus a juramento fideii- tatis, quod nuper nobis jurastis j salvo in omnibus jure Imperiali." 636 A Slight Project for Eefoeming the Papal Sway. Amongst the selections which I have made from various of the ancient authors whose writings I have referred to and extracted from in this work, there are many passages and circumstances which I have been compelled to forbear translating verbatim et literatim , in consequence of the exceeding lewdness of the matters to which they relate, and for fear myself of offending public decency. Something of the kind gleams even in the works of Eusebius, Ciprianus, and Hieronymus, men who were eminent for their piety and strict Christian virtues, and who dedicated their lives to the sole purpose of sup- pressing the vices and reforming the lives of their Ecclesiastical contemporaries. Although I extend this act of generosity towards the Clergy, yet I think I act unfairly to those who are not acquainted with the Latin language, and who by chance may open this book precisely where quotations occur from Cyprianus, or other authors. In order that you may not be totally deluded in the notion of Cyprianus, and his clear expose of the manners, habits, and irreligious characters of the Clergy and high Ecclesiastic Dignitaries of the time of Constantine the Great, just at the very epoch that this monarch committed the blunder of enriching the Churches in the manner which I have demon- strated in the translation of his gifts to Sylvester for the exaltation of the Eoman See, take notice, reader, that there did not occur in his Donations a single word with relation to the territorial appanage to the Pope of St Peter's Patrimony, as that was invented.after the destruction of the Lombard kings. If the reader has perused this work attentively, he will have observed how, and when, the career of 637 the last Lombard King ended, and when the Patri- mony was invented. The only revenue, or appanage, or rents that Constantine fixed for two Churches merely were two small yearly sums to be deducted from the income of the Governors of the Asian city of Tyre, which were to be paid to the Roroan See, and which sums put together would have made a corresponding amount in English coins of the present time to the yearly rent of 701. sterling, or about that, calculating that money now is of less value than it was then. It will be seen by this statement, which I have proved historically, and from the very Donations of Constantine which I have also fully described in this work, that the Emperor did not enrich the Bishop of Rome, nor the Clergy, but that he enriched the Churches with gold and silver, and precious marbles and gems, and everything that was then costly and fashionable, for the sake of attracting the Pagans to the Christian Churches, and degrading, isolating, and treating with contempt the Gentile ministers and their churches, which he had spoliated and stripped of everything valuable. Their best temples he converted into Christian Churches, as I have minutely described by contemporary historical evidence, and by the quotations which I have given from my copy of the celebrated and very ancient MS. Chronica, containing Constantine's real Dona- tions, and other very valuable historical facts relative to the Origin of Christianity. If the high and low Priests, taking advantage of these favourable circum- stances, have enriched themselves by all sorts of impositions, and impudent and swindling actions, stripping the people, and occasionally the churches — this was, indirectly, Constantine' s fault ; yet I must exonerate him, because it was not done with his consent, nor during his life-time. Whilst Constantine was alive the grossest immo- ralities of which men could be guilty were com- iii 638 mitted by the Eoman Catholic Priests', and were the emanations of their corporeal and mental endow- ments, which only served to augment their vices. Constantine probably attempted to elevate their characters by his concessions, and kind generosity to the Church ; but he was mistaken, and so would any other Sovereign Euler be who ventured to trust them now, for as long as the Priests have abundant pecuniary means at their disposal, so long will they continue to look forward for the means of accumula- ting still more, no matter how soiled or how polluted the means of obtaining it may be. Therefore, the only way to arrest the impetuous pestilence which has so long corrupted humanity and devastated the best European States, is to change in toto the old and rotten system. I propose that, in future, the Pope should be paid, say, for instance, half a million of francs (£20,000 sterling), and that he should be permitted to take freely all the money that the credulity of the idiots might subscribe and pay him, under any miraculous shape or pretext, Besides this, I propose that he may be allowed to open as many holy shops for in- dulgences as he likes, and sell as many Yirgins, Saints, and other images, and all the etccetera delta Santa hottaga. Parliament should reduce the number of Cardinals to twelve, and not allow anyone, under any pretext whatever, to become a Cardinal except through the highest mental attainments. If a Car- dinal should be elected belonging to the middle classes who is poor, and unable to support the dignity to which he has been elevated, he should be allowed a yearly subvention, at a similar rate to that which is paid to a General of Division. Six or eight thou- sand francs per annum are quite sufficient for any gentleman. At the same time should be abolished all the exuberant and intriguing Archbishops and Bishops. For instance, three Archbishops would be the proportionate number to twenty-four Eishops, 639 who should, for the future, be selected to work. There should be no more idlers. Let each Arch- bishop have the pay of a General, and each Bishop that of a Colonel on actual service. The Abbots have been, and are still an abomination ; therefore the word even should be erased from the dictionary. The Monsiguori are a monstrous superfluity, that have always poked their noses into the best families, and brought disunion, disseminated discord, and abused the women, young and old. Let them all go to Paris, to court the discarded old lionesses who have ceased to shine in the drawing-rooms, and who yearly retreat to St Eock, there to affect and osten- tate those virtues which they never possessed, and to concoct political cabals and intrigues under the rose of religion. As for the Archpriests, Arch- deacons, Deacons, Canons, and Parochial Priests, let them each have the pay of a Captain ; and, as the number is now exceedingly superabundant, do away with the exuberance by enacting a law that for twelve, or the next twenty years, no Priest shall be ordained except under penalty of remaining in prison until a vacant place is at the disposal of the Government. By this means, in course of time, the proper proportion of Priests would be obtained to equilibrate their duty towards the population, which should be at the rate of one Priest to three thousand souls. The Priest, the real working man, upon whose head and shoulders rests all the responsible labour of Christianity, treat him according to his merit — and his salary for the first five years should be that of a Sub-Lieutenant. If he should prove a zealous, active, and honest Christian, giving proofs of his care for the welfare of humanity, immediately raise his pay to that of a First-Lieutenant. The same ratio of pay should be observed with any other of the above-named Ecclesiastics, according to their merit. All the other religious corporations should be suppressed and dispersed, and only those men 640 and women who are noted for the good they have done, and may still do, should be retained. The Nuns should be employed in the schools, and the Monks and Friars should be incorporated with the Priestly branch. The convents, monasteries, and all other religious establishments, of whatever denomination they may be, should be given up to the Government ; which should close them, and convert them into national establishments for the most necessary pur- poses of their actual localities, and for the benefits and advantages of the populations. If the women of the monasteries should be really inclined to main- tain their religious character, they should practise the religious duty of assisting humanity in the hospitals of each town and village, and in the asylums ; and for this purpose they should be properly trained in the superficial medico-chirurgical duties, so that they should obtain the proper knowledge, and, in case of need, be able to do many trifling things, and all the preparatory work, and take care of the hospital fur- niture, linen, instruments, apparatus, and everything, in fact, belonging to this class of really Christian establishments. Care should be taken that the Priests who visit the hospital to administer their Ecclesiastical duties should be watched, and not allowed either to stay, or hold unnecessary conversa- tion with the women of the establishment ; and never under any pretext should they be allowed to stay and sleep in the hospitals, or to visit the apartments of the attending Nuns, all of whom should sleep in a dormitory except the Abbess, or head woman, who should have a private room where she could take care of and keep all the books and registers and accounts of the daily work of her subordinate assistants. In every town, great and small, of Italy there are a great number of independent, honourable, and most trustworthy gentlemen, always disposed to assist, with person and means, the suffering poor. A Philan- 641 thropic Society should be constituted, which should have strong roots, and as numerous branches as there are establishments to provide for with their benevo- lent actions ; and it should be considered an honour to become a member of that society. Great caution should be observed as to who should be introduced into it ; they should be only independent, rich, and most honoured gentlemen, whose characters would bear the highest and most satisfactory investigation. Ko salary or indemnity for expenses should be given to them. Their only reward should be the honour conferred upon them by their admittance to such an honourable society, and by being permitted to intro- duce in their coats of arms, if they have them, and if they have not, they should have, a signet, with the white cross in red field, and the word humanitas engraved perpendicularly upon it. I have already stated that the Nuns, or religiously-trained women, should attend to the hospitals, to take care of and assist in conducting everything. I will now give my opinion as to what the duties of the gentlemen should consist in. I would delegate no less than seven of them to each hospital, great or small, as the case might be. If the hospital were situate in a large town, where there happened to be an abundance of independent gentlemen, their number should be increased to eleven. They should sit in committee weekly, and the Secretary should attend, at least, three hours a- day in the hospital, and inspect all the books and accounts in connection with the administration of everything necessary for the use of the hospital. Should the time which the Secretary could dedicate be in- sufficient to review and see to all that is to be done, two more of the gentlemen should likewise attend daily, to assist him, and inspect the books and register every- thing, so as to exercise a proper control over the daily proceedings of the Nuns. The hospital should be open to the inspection of the Committee at any time of day or night ; the books, and registers of the 1 1 1 2 642 Committee, also ; and under no consideration whatever should such books and registers ever be removed from the Committee-rooms. The same rule should be observed with regard to the books of the Nuns. The Committee should consult the medical gentlemen attached to the institution, and provide everything according to their advice, and go hand-in-hand with them in every respect. The physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries-in-chief and assistants, should content themselves with the honour of being elected to those functions, and, under no circumstances what- ever, should a gentleman be elected in any of these three functions, except by concurrence and by the majority of votes, which should be given to the cleverest candidate, who should not be allowed to be elected by the vote and interest of this or that party, whoever they might be. The citizens of the local towns are the best judges of the merits of the candi- dates ; and only those citizens who pay rates'and taxes in those towns should have the right of voting in those elections. The medical officers and the appointed Priest should visit the hospital daily, and attend the gentlemen of the Committee weekly, if they should desire it. The medical staff should also advise in Committee, but not influence the adminis- trating Committee in any way, nor vote in any of the deliberations. The Priest in particular, under no circumstances, though present, should be per- mitted to advise, vote, deliberate, or interfere in any- thing with regard to the administration of the hos- pital ; and should he be present when the votes were to be taken, he should take his hat and depart, as it is strictly forbidden by the Canonic laws that a Priest should take part in any secular affairs of any description, his business being limited to the care of souls, and not of bodies, corporate or incorporate. This law was properly understood in England in 1641, when it was enacted that the Eishops should have a seat in the House of Lords, but that they 643 should not take part in the civil and political affairs of the country, and that at the moment of voting upon any of these questions they should absent them- selves from the room. This law was subsequently abrogated, as I perceive they now take part in every- thing, and vote against whatever they please. Imagining myself a Bishop of that time, I shall abstain from voting here my opinion about them, because I have nothing whatever to do with the English Bishops, who are entirely out of my criti- cism, and do not come under the strictures which I have passed upon the name of Eishop ; because, whenever I have used that word, as well as those of Prelate and Clergy, it has only been with reference to the Italian, French, and Spanish, Eoman Catholic, Apostolic and unapostolic, Christian and unchristian, Clergy. Therefore, I here apologise for anything which I may have said that might be construed to be offensive to those who are not guilty of any of the misdeeds which I have animadverted upon, par- ticularly to the Protestant Eishops and Clergy in general, as well as to the English Clergy. Now that I am relieved from the nightmare of having offended most involuntarily the innocent Protestant Clergymen, I return to the new broom, and continue to sweep away the Stygian filth that has so long abominated and polluted the fertile soil of Europe's garden. If any of you, my dear friends, were to ask me what I would do with that exces- sive number of Bishops and other Prelates, I would answer, first of all, most of the Cardinals are old men ; consequently their lease is a short one, and when they are gone the popular veto should step in to prevent the nomination of others until their proper number is fixed. With regard to the Eishops, I would limit them to twenty -four. These, with the three Archbishops and the Pope, would be quite sufficient for twenty-six millions of persons, as about 240 would then remain to be jubilated with 644 the half-pay already fixed by the State ; and amongst them there are one-half that should be tried, destituted, and dismissed as felons for the crimes of lescB Majestatts, as it was customary in France, Spain, and Germany whenever there was an Emperor who entertained proper self-esteem, and cared for the safety and honour of his person and interest, as well as the spiritual and material advantages of his peaceful and industrious subjects. Do not ask me what should become of the immense wealth of the Ecclesiastical property, because it is natural enough how that should be employed. Upon a little reflec- tion, the first thing that presents itself to an Italian mind is the want of proportionate and proper roads, canals, and bridges ; the desiccation of the Maremme, and other marshes ; the navigation of the Po, from the fauces to theAppennines above Turin; the construction of railways, or any other great or useful works which the Government might undertake, to promote and to facilitate commercial enterprise and the exportation and importation of the necessary things for the wants of the nation, which would organise and distribute the labour throughout each district to the local poor, who could be surveyed in their works by the citizen soldiers. If the modem Romans would not imitate the old Consulars, and employ the soldiery in time of peace and idleness in making roads and upon other works, they should employ the poor people to do it, while the military citizens would assist in directing the works and surveying the labourers. By this scheme industry and economy might be combined, to the pacification of the poor and the advantage of the Government. "With regard to the Monks and Friars, of all colours and of all sorts, as I have said, the really religious and good for some- thing might become Priests and do Christian acts, and be deservedly esteemed according to their merit; and the lazy, the vagabond, begging idlers, if turned out of the refectories, would be compelled to make I 645 themselves industrious in some way or other, that is if they wanted to fill their scrip regularly an hour before the vesper bell reminded them of the expired dinner and supper hours. No sale of houses, lands, farms, and congrega- tional religious property should be valid unless such sale had taken place in the year 1846, two years previous to the political movements of 1848, when an enormous amount of property belonging to Eccle- siastical parties passed nominally into the hands of the secular friends of the Clergy as a precautionary measure. When these things shall be properly settled, there are many accounts which will require revision. I will say nothing further about this subject at present. Prom my work it will be seen that the Old Pontifices of Paganism had their Palaces, and of course the Christian Pontiff ought, and shall have one ; and to mark the generosity of the modern Christians, he shall have one in Kome, and Castle Gandolfo as a summer residence out of Pome, that being the delightful Pontifical summer retreat. I am reluctant to write about this subject, but as I have broken the ice, I feel that I must go on or else sink in it ; therefore, as it is the general intention of every one to treat the Pope with respect, on account of his being the representative of religion, and out of veneration to that, I would humbly sug- gest that when a palace is assigned to him, a Noble Guard of 1,000 independent Gentlemen Cadets of noble families should be organised, the whole of them to be of pure Italian blood. I would exclude all and every one who was not Italian, by at least four generations. These gentlemen should be engaged in that Guard for the space of two years only ; the whole of them should be changed after that period, to avoid being corrupted by proximity with the Priests. During their two years of service, they should maintain them- 646 selves at their own expense ; and they should have a caserme facing or near the Papal Residence. Two hundred of them should do duty daily to the Popes only. The remaining 800 should be alternately changed daily ; and on those days when they were not on service, they should attend military instruc- tion, which should be regulated. This school should be organised on a similar basis,, and conducted upon the same principles, as the Scuola del Genio di Modem, where General Fanti was brought up with about forty or fifty others whom I have known for more than thirty years. These Cadets should be liberally educated, and brought up under military discipline ; but not of so severe a description as that practised at Modena, under Coronini, Cavedoni, and Co., as that was too brutal in every respect. A genial liberty and milder measures would be more preferable to entice the pupils to do duty, and more satisfactory, while they would learn the whole of the mathematical branches which form the basis of the military art, and open their minds to any other noble and scientific sub- jects. This method would not interrupt their syste- matic course of education. After the service of two years they could continue their military career in other Colleges, but not in Rome. This should be a point upon which the Government should insist, in order to prevent the pupils being corrupted by the insinuating promises of the Priests, or any other Jesuitical manoeuvres tending to excite the young gentlemen to rebellion. The whole of the Officers of this Sacro Battaglione should be well- seasoned, sober-minded Officers, who had seen better service, and who would consider themselves flattered and happy in having the opportunity to command a corps of first-rate gentlemen ; upon whom, during their two years' service, they would bestow all their care, like fathers, and be as vigilant and zealous in promoting their education, and instilling 647 Into their young minds the principles, discipline, rules, and regulations of the military art, which, in course of time, would open to them every gate to military honours. The Superior Officers, being nominees of the Parliament, might remain confirmed from five to five years, according to circumstances ; and might also be removed before the expiration of the first five years, if the Parliament had reason for "warranting such removal. The great object of these necessary laws would be to prevent those Jesuitical insinuations which tend to corrupt officers and men ; who, though attached to the Papal Service for the time, should 3 r et remain independent and free, deaf to all Episcopal or Papal orders, and be obedient, zealous, and punctual in the execution of the orders of the Constitutional Sovereign. I have stated that none but the sons of pure Italian nobility, or the sons of the Patrician Families of Italy, should be admitted to this Sacred Battalion. The choice of the aspirants should be reserved also to the Government, who should take care to exclude all foreigners, and the sons of Episcopal partisans. These are my propo- sitions for the reform of the Papal sway. I will now give a project which was actually written by Pope Clement when he proposed to reform the Papal Curia. In the year 1545 was printed at Paris a work called ' Tractatus, De Consilio Celebrando, &c. in which treatise were laid down the various texts of the Reforms which were to be introduced by Pope Clement the Fifth at the Council of Vienna, with regard to the Roman See, which was then (anno 1313) omnipotent at Avignon. I will extract all these texts, as such a reform would be very desirable and useful now that things cannot remain as they are. I will quote the propositions as they were written, without making any altera- tions or remarks : 648 Inde quae via ad reformationem tenenda sit, summatim explicat : " In Sacro, in quit, Concilio, in earn conspirantibus Eegibus simul et Pontifi- cibus. — L Uti ad Legem Dei, ad Evangelium, ad Concilia instineta Spiritus S. approbata, ad bonas leges etiam humanas, recurratur ; Et quicquid per alios invenitur, in regimine mundi in contrarium attentatum, corrigatur et reformatur, prout melius possit, nee in contrarium impune attentetur. Tol-* lantur etiam abusus, consuetudines, dispensations, privilegia, liber tates, exemptiones, quae illis adver- santur, utpote quae merae corruptelse censendce sint. II. Papas ipsi, se suaque facta et dicta divinis et humanis legibns conforment, et se per imitationem eis subjiciant, et exempla eorum quae agenda sunt, subse- quentibus et subditis demonstrent ; aliter, si a legibus et doctrinis illis discedant, et dominari, quam subditis consulere malunt, honorem eorum inflari in superbiam et quod provisum est ad concordiam, tender e ad noxam, — III. ISTegari non posse, quin Ecclesia Eomana in multis a sacra Primitivae Ecclesiae institutione, Sanctorumque Patrum Conciliorum et Decretorum sententia deflexerit, in tantum, ut primce institutionis videantur obliti ; cum tamen sacrarum Scripturarum veritatem consuetudini euicumque, etiam perantiquae, anteferre debeamus. — IV. Papam non debere facile pati, causas ex provinciis in Curiam transferri : Ecclesiasticum ordinem manifeste eonfundi, cum Papse beneficia ab Episcopis pendentia, etiam ante vacationem conferunt, ut metuendum sit, cum Eomana Ecclesia sibi universa vindicet, ne proverbio locus fiat : Qui vult totum, perdit totum ; Et hie in extraneorum promotionem invehitur, quorum vocem subditi non audiunt, qui nec subditos intelligunt, nee ab ipsis intelliguntur, indigni caeci caecoruin duces : Unde tola Ecclesia subvertatur. Y. In Simoniam quo- que, quae in Curia Eomana perinde regnat, inquit, ac si nullum peccatum esset. Pluralitatem proinde beneficiorum, pensiones Cardinalium, quibus Episco- 649 patus onerantur, et alia beneficia quae in Pontificnm propinquis et nepotibus perennata, quae nunquam moriantur. S. Gregorium Magnum Episcopi Univer- salis titulum repudiasse, nec alium quemquam eo nomine vocari voluisse. Quin et veteres Papas in suis Epistolis solitos alios Episcopos sihi preferre, quod etiam exemplis probat : Quare, ita honorandam esse Ecclesiam Bomanam, ut honor aliis debitus eis non denegetur; Adeo, ut Milevitani Concilii Canonem confirmandum dicat: Ut unaquaque causa in sua provincia terminetur. VI, Utile videri, ut in Concilio Matrimonium Sacerdotibus concedatur : Cum plane frustra et incassum hactenus sint ad castitatem coacti, cumque Graeciae Sacerdotes jus matrimonii habeant, idque etiam Apostolorum tempore in usu fuerit. VII, Cogendos esse Monachos ad laborem manuum, ut olim in Ecclesiis iEgypti, quae nullum plane Monachum reciperent, qui aliquam artem non nosset. At in primis nullatenus ferendum esse, ut officio Pastorum fungantur, Sacramenta administrent, segros visitent, mortuos sepeliant, &c. Et Mendicantes tanto minus. VIII, Keprimi opus esse abusum imaginum, mundinationem indulgentiarum et pceni- tentiaram, Monachorum vagam in concionibus licen- tiam, qui sacras Scripturas relinquunt, ut hominum inventa depraedicent. IX, sed eo semper redit, refor- mandse Ecclesiae, seu in politeia, seu in disciplina, seu in moribus nullam spem nullam rationem esse, ni Eomana exemplo praeeat, cujus corruptelas per omnes partes exequitur : Ni Papa ante omnes sibi legem prsescribat, intra sacras leges turn divinas, turn humanas sese contineat ; nihil ullo modo in con- trarium indulgeat, nihil etiam inconsultis fratribus coepiscopis faciat : quippe qui Apostolorum locum obtinet, quibus Christus parem cum Petro Digni- tatem, parem potestatem contulit : non autem curia- libus Eomanis ; Nisi etiam Ecclesiae Romanse Pri- matus, per Jura Ecclesiastica, et secularia distingua- tur, nec Papa universalis Ecclesiae Pontifex vocetur, KKK 650 proque eo se gerat, quod Gregorius prohibuit. Verum, inquit, Dcclesia Universalis malis exemplis JEcclesice Eomanoe scandalizatur et quasi injicitur populus universalis, et nomen Domini, Dominatores populi, secundum Esaiam, ex "hoc sinunt hlasphemari : Nam secundum Augustinum, nihil magis confundit Ecclesiam Dei, vel ei officit, quam dicere pejores sunt Clerici quam Laid; Indeque excurrit in rapinas Lega- torum, INuntionum omnium, Curias Romance minis- trorum, exactiones indulgentiarum, privilegiorum, dispensationum in luxum et superbiam Papas et Prselatorum, quocumque gradu, majorem quam quorumcumque Kegum et Principum : Ignorantiam inter hsec et negligentiam plerorumque : Unde in- numerae animee pereant : Et hie identidem exclamat, tanquam in deplorato morbo, spem omnem abjiciens : Droit dolor, quia videtur in ipsa Dcclesia verificari dictum JEsaice 34, infiguram Babylonicw Civitatis, gloriosce in Regnis et inclytce in superbia Ohaldceorum, de qua dicitur : HJrit cubile Draconum, et pascua Stuthionum, et occurrent Dwmonia, Onwcentaurus et pilosus clamabit alter ad alterum, ibi cubavit lania, et invenit sibi requiem, ibi habuit foveam ericius et enutrivit catulos, illic congregati sunt milvi, alter et alterum. Item, utinam non verificetur nerbum in clero, Dsaice dicentis : Dopulus hie labiis me Jionorat, cor autem eorum longe est a me. Many other equally interesting propositions were printed in this valuable project of reform, which, as usual, had no effect whatever ; because when the Popes and Prelates have been pushed into a corner, and compelled to do, or to agree to do anything, they have always promised, and invariably failed to keep their words, as well as their written promises and obligations, whenever they have been able to procras- tinate for a few days the fulfilment of the stipulated conventions, of whatever nature they may have been, except only when they have been pecuniarily and pompously advantageous to themselves. In this 651 case, only, their words have been as good as their signatures ; otherwise they have always been and are still incorrigibly and proverbially known as perjured liars, without religion and without faith. This Clement the Fifth was a first-rate exponent of the tribe, and instead of carrying out Ecclesias- tical reform according to his promise, he soon altered his mind, and, at a Council, issued a famous Deere- talis, by which he assumed power above the Emperor, and with Bulls and Pastorals he appointed the Angels to serve and obey his caprices, as I have already explained. The recently-discovered MS. in Germany. — A eew Prophecies concerning Italy. — A Genealogical Notion concerning the Family of Garibaldi. A few months ago the public Press announced that an ancient and valuable MS. had been discovered in Germany, and that it had been given to a commission of learned men to translate. It was even remarked that this MS. was probably the identical one which had been used by the celebrated Erasmus, and that that writer had not dealt fairly with it. I have several copies of the first editions of the works of Erasmus and some MS. I have no time now to compare these works with the MS. Chronica de JEtatibus in my possession. It is possible that these works bear some analogy to each other, and after the publication of this book I will engage myself to examine all the various works of Erasmus and other authors, and if I find anything important to relate, or if they cor- respond with the MS. Chronica, I will give a public account of the fact. I cannot however yet abandon the MS. Chronica. The arrival of Phidias and Praxiteles at Rome deserves honourable mention. There is a mystic anecdote connected with their 652 presence in Borne, and as I feel satisfied that it bears some analogy to present circumstances, I hope I may be excused if I introduce it in this work. I quote from the Appendix of the MS. de iEtatibus : Cavalli Marmorei [sic] quod facti fuerint nudi, et quid nun- cient, et quid sit quod ante cabellos quedam fsemina serpentibus circumdata sedet, habens concham ante se. Temporibus Tiberii Imperatoris venerunt Bo- mam duo philosophi juvenes, Praxiteles et Phidias, quos Imperator agnoscens esse tantse sapientiae, caros in palatio suo' habuit. Qui dixerunt ei esse se tantse, sapientiae ut quidquid nolit absentibus in die, Tel in nocte in camera sua consiliaverit, dicemus ei usque ad unum verbum. Quibus Imperator ait, si facitis quod dixistis, dabo vobis quidquid vultis. Qui re- spondentes dixerunt. Nullum pecuniam, sed nos- trorum memoriam postulamus. Yeniente altero die, per ordinem retulerunt Imperatori quodquod in illam preteritam noctem consiliatus est. Unde fecit eis promissam prelibatam memoriam eorum, sicut postu- laverunt. Equos videlicet nudos qui calcant terram, idest potentes Principes hujus seculi, qui dominantur homines hujus mundi. Veniet Hex potentissimus qui ascendet super equos, idest super potentiam prin- cipum hujus seculi. In hoc semi nudi qui stant supra equos et altis brachiis, et replicatis digitis nun- ciant ea quas futura erant, et sicut ipsi sunt nudi, ita omnes mundiales sci... [sic — illegible] nudaetaperta est mensibus eorum. Fsemina circumdata serpentibus sedens, concam habens ante se, prsedicatores quipree- dicaverunt ea ut quisquis ad earn ire voluerit non poterit, nisi prius lavet in concha ilia. This parabolic quotation is perfectly consonant with the present state of Italy, in spite of the word which I cannot read. I do not know who wrote the above originally, nor when it was written, but I find it has some analogy with the prophecy of Dante and Petrarch. It is also perfectly consistent with the prophetic description of the Beast on the Seven Hills, 653 which is more diffusely explained in the book of Revelations. The allegorical meaning is the same, though expressed in other words, and giving a dif- ferent comparison. Perhaps it will be opportune to give here the six lines of Dante, in which he predicted that in 515 years Italy would be free from the reign of Papal corruption. In these six lines Dante prophetically foretold us what has now happened, and according to my explanation (given in a long letter which was kindly published in the Daily News on the 16th of October, 1860), nearly everything is now clearly demonstrated by words and facts. Here are the oracular words so much and so deservedly venerated by the Italians. Dante, Purgat., Canto 33 : " Ch'io veggo certamente, e per 6 il narro, A darne tempo gia stelle propinque, Sicure d'ogni intoppo e d'ogni sbarro, Nel quale un cinquecento diece e cinque, Messo di Dio ancidera la fuia, E quel gigante che con lei delinque." The translation of the above reads thus : I speak positively, as I see that a propitious star will appear, free and unbarred from any power, to give notice that a messenger from God shall come and destroy the corruption, and the giant who sins with it, in five hundred and fifteen years. Petrarch, who had been long enough at the Court of Avignon, where he had seen the most revolting abuses of power, and the most disgraceful and dis- gusting outrages against religion and humanity, after reproving and reproaching many Cardinals and high clergymen with their foul proceedings, with- drew and wrote the famous Sonnet which begins, — " I/Avara Babilonia ha colmo il sacco," — and in which is embodied the thought of Dante. The Nuovo Soldan of Petrarch is the Messo di Dio 654 named by Dante, who shall appear to destroy the corruption, &c. These predictions have been partly realised. The remainder will be accomplished with the assistance of the Eternal God, who is ever- merciful to those who are willing to labour for their own redemption from ignominious slavery. I therefore hope that the nation will collect all its strength and wisdom, and complete the noble work by a decisive blow on the head of the monster, which shall smash and disperse all its horns. The following few lines, which I have since found, I copy from the MS. Chronica de iEtatibus (p. 213), to show that the name of Garibaldi is old and illustrious in Italian blasonic annals. I will not undertake to assert or deny that the glorious Cincin- natus the Second is or is not a distant descendant of that illustrious family which, on the fourteenth year of King Dagobert's reign, lived and ruled at Turin, and was a relative and friend of Grimoaldus Due Benevenianorum : About the year 660 of the Chris- tian era, Arripertus the First, King of Lombardy, after nine years' reign, died, and left two sons still minors. The eldest was named Pertasi, and resided at Ticino, the Lombard metropolis ; the youngest, Godebert, lived at Milan and Ticino, as he re- signed his share of public administration (regendum relinquit). As soon as Grimoaldus, the Duke of Eenevento, heard of the death of Arripert, at the suggestion of Garibaldi, Duke of Turin, he hastened to Lombardy and had an interview with Godebert. During the usual salutations and kissing each other, Grimoaldus discovered that Godebert had a poignard concealed beneath his dress ; without loss of time he unsheathed his sword and passed it through Gode- bert* s body, and then took possession of Lombardy, as Pertasi had fled directly he discovered the fate of his brother : Grimoaldus Dux Eeneventanorum hoc audiens suggestione Garipaldi Taurinensium Ducia 655 mox animum ad Eegnum Logobardorum obtinendum ere xit, &c. The letter p for h was frequently mis- use d by the ancient writers, and particularly by the Germans, who cannot forget it yet. By this affair, on Easter- day, Duke Garibaldi lost his life ; a little man, a familiar of Godebert, knowing that Gari- baldi was going to the Church, posted himself behind the Baptistry and threw himself violently upon him, striking him upon the head, and de- capitating him immediately after : Erat autem quidam parvulus homunculus de propria familia Godeberti ; is cum Garipaldum Ducem in ipso sacratissimo die Paschali ad Eccles. venturum sciret, supra sacrum Baptisterii fontem contemnens laevaque manu se ad colunellum teguri tenens, unde Gari- paldus venerat toto annixu eum in cervice percussit, et protinus caput ejus amputavit. I could extract many more valuable notes from this MS. with regard to Lombardy, but must refrain, as they would be extraneous to this work. At the end of my letter, published in the Daily News, I added a postscript, which stated that whilst making the catalogue of my rare books, I took up one called the Poliocreticon, sive de Machinis, Tor- mentis, Telis, by J. Lipsius, publish ed at Antwerp Offic. Plantin. dedicated to Ernest, Archbishop of Cologne, Prince Bishop of Lodi; and, in the fourth page of the dedication, I was surprised to read the following : " Quid alios commemorare opus, Tassi- lones, Utilones, Garibaldos et tot illustria nomina ?" I concluded at once that there had been more than one illustrious general of the name of Garibaldi, and that they were in the service of the Bishop of Lodi, in the sixteenth century, or before, and were of Lombard origin. I hope Garibaldi will take care of himself, and avoid the snares of his enemies, par- ticularly the priests; and that his precious life will be preserved, to the terror of the barbarian hordes who still infest the sacred soil of Italy. A 656 little more union is required for the last Mow, and then everything will he free, and for ever. I am sure that the great soul of Garibaldi desires no other honourable distinction than that of being one of the Patres Patrtw, and seeing Italy united, strong, and free. Before I quit you, Messrs Herode and Company, I will here give you an oraeular sentence, just taken out of my pocket, and you shall tell me if it is prosodiaeally correct, and to your taste. Mind, I do* not mean to speak of the last judgment-day, I mean the month previous to it, like next April ; it will he very fine indeed, a beautiful spring. I know you will grumble, but we do not care for that, and we shall see then, " Omnia nunc fiorent, nunc est nova temporis setas you shall pack up your things and bolt, the devil knows where, and the Messo di Dw, of Dante, or the Nwov& BoMan i of Petrarch, has appeared, to hasteB your forced march to Palestine, or to , as we shall have the " Judicii signum, tellus sudore madeseet E ccelo Eex adveniet, per secla futurus Silicet in earne presens, ut vindicet TJrbem/* THE PAPAL INFALLIBILITY. As in other chapters I have slightly alluded to these subjects, I think I ought here to recapitulate and discuss them more fully. Juno sine viro fcecunda Martem Gra&imm peperit; and the Gentile philosophers took it for granted that it was so, and never troubled themselves about it with useless disputations. With them there were minds of wider range and sounder judgment, who admitted the mythological origin of their gods, how- ever strangely fabulous it might have been, because 657 with them religion was not a warehouse for the sale of stolen things, or bubbles and puppets with or without heads, nailed on boards or walls, blinded, roasted, stabbed, or scourged, &c. With them it was a sound politico-religious principle to esteem religion as the principal of all the virtues, and they had the highest veneration and respect for their gods ; so much so, that we see, for this reason, up to the first 160 years of the Eoman era, it was for- bidden either to paint or sculpture the images of the gods, for fear of offence, by putting them on a level with the animals of creation, in attempting to imitate their forms. Besides, the Eoman and Greek Pontifiees being paid by the State, and elevated to that dignity by talent, nobility of soul and blood, had no fear of opposition, or jealousy of their con- temporaries, as they knew what talent was required for that honourable position. But when Christianity came by the God-Father's Messenger to redeem the world from a state of immorally fictitious worship, that Christian and Apostolic Mission undertook at first to point out to the people the errors and inconsisten- cies of the notions that they had of the Immortal God, and pointed out the proper path by which the soul's divinity, after its disembodiment in this world, would return to the Great Father, the Causa Causarum. We inherited then from Christ the godly humanisation which was instinctively felt by the Apostles, and by them transmitted to their dis- ciples. How long the transfusion of that sublimely delicate and exquisitely divine sentiment continued to permeate from soul to soul amongst the growing generations, and spread and generalised itself in the various countries, we have seen ; and we have seen also what corruptions, what monstrous criminalities gradually crept up and kept pace with it, in constant opposition, ever attempting to overthrow the truth with falsehood, reason with blasphemy, and God with Popes. After the death of Hieronymus, 658 Eu sebius, Aligns tin, John Crisostomus, Ambrosius, and other real Christians, the grossest mystifications were substituted for Christianity. These had already began to creep in at the end of the second century, but the above-named Saints, in the third and fourth centuries, by their exemplary conduct, aided by their powerful pens, and during their Episcopacies, preaching in their respective provinces, kept in check abuses and innovations, and the whole of the fourth century was controlled by their mightily inspired actions, without much damage to Christianity. The fifth century gave birth to many monstrosities, and redoubled the criminal debaucheries and clerical orgies of the third and fourth centuries, and the Christian world became affected by a general mournful chaos, from which humanity has not yet been able to free itself, although there have been occasional mitigations in various countries by the help of the sword of state. The priestly innovations originated under variously shaped and coloured religious cloaks, one more in- consistently unbecoming than the other, another yet more offensive to God and humanity, repugnant at once to decent common sense and human reason. The mammiferus atque ovtparus Dog-man of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception laid the egg a long time ago, and had it hatched for several cen- turies under the Pontifical Pallium, but could never find a fitting opportunity or congenial atmosphere to make its appearance before the world and stand bare- facedly in the ludicrous false position of its unlimited impudence. The incubus and the incubation were sung, ridiculed, and scouted out of society for suc- cessive ages by the intellectually active-minded men who followed God and Christianity, real Christians who never filled their pockets mercenarily and sanctimoniously with gold. At the Council of Trent there was an attempt made to force the old dog-man down the throats of the public, but, fortunately, the 659 presence of the Hungarian Bishops prevented the Papal President opening the carpet-bag to let it out. After that repulse it remained hidden in Papal darkness for an extra hatching, until it finally made its supremely comical appearance' in the year 1855, It was thought that Savonarola and Paleario had now been forgotten, and that the time was opportune and safe to bring it out under the protection of the German Concordat. The Immaculate Pontiff was still infected with the perfumes of the German Messalina, who pereginated with him towards the Avernian Lake, when he returned to Rome inebriated with demoniacal rage, and was reinstated in the sullied Chair of St Peter, forgetting that God said to Peter, " Si me am as, pa see oves meas." This unworthy successor, instead of taking care of his flock, as soon as he returned issued from the Vatican Stables a mad Bull, branding with damnation and whoredom the noblest work of God, the noble Boman ladies, who did the kindest Christian work that should have been done by the ruffian Priests who skulked away at the moment of distress and calamity. Pive years after his reinstallation, still filthily immersed in sins, with hands and garments ensan- guined from the blood of his flock, his mouth slob- bering poisonous froth, the lie on his tongue, with the affectation of humility and sanctimonious words of peace, he perversely and hypocritically unbagged the Dog of the Immaculate Conception, as a per- petual farce, to the amazement of educated people, and as a new bait to many of the innocent and honest portion of the populations who do not under- stand or trouble their heads about it ; also as a flat- tering sanctimonious testimonial of his power to the rogues, his Saint Knights of the Roads, Chiavone, Merode, Borgia, Antonelli, and Co., and would gladly have martyrized the unbelievers of the revived old imposture. This frantic old Priest has forgotten 660 apparently that, for a thousand years, such prepos- terous humbug had been publicly and privately dis- cussed, and condemned as an inconsistent dogma, an imposture, and that the expounders of the reasons why such dogma is a mad dog, or a man-dog, or both, hermaphrodite-like, spiritual and temporal — the ancient expounders and controversialists on this sub- ject have always been unmolested and free, even in times when the Papal debaucheries and concubi- nage, public and private, were omnipotent at the Courts of Eome and Avignon, when they used to say, " I am the Second Jupiter." The aforesaid dogma is inconsistently wrong, spiritually and materially, if it is possible to say so ; a perfectly absurd notion, intended merely to support other cabalistic and mythological principles, stored up altogether in that carpet-bag many years ago, and reproduced at the apple-season of the year 1855. The fundamental proposition was wrong, absurd, and false before and after that dogma's dogmatisation. Here is the proposition of St Paul, who stated it, and never thought that his words would be tossed and turned and set up as a speculative proposition to bring an Income-tax to a set of vicious idlers, who live at the expense of that humanity whom St Paul intended to benefit by his noble and disinterested devotion. He wrote: " Omnes homines peccaverunt in Adamo," — every man sinned with Adam. St Paul excepted nobody, nor did he intend to except any person, male or female, young or old. If he had contemplated any exception he would have named it; and had he thought of excepting the Virgin Mary, two words only (Excepta Maria) would have been quite sufficient, and such exception would have been undoubtedly expressed in the said propo- sition, and transmitted to the New Testament. The old Popes, however, with their coherent ideas of mystification, and desire to reduce Christianity to a mythological state by their attacks and opposition to 661 the Bible, saw in the above dogma the opportunity of satisfying their intent and purpose, and deter- minedly framed an amendment to St Paul's proposi- tion with these words : " Except a Maria Virgine sine labe concepta." By this amendment it can be seen at once that they found the Philosopher's Stone by which they could command not only a respectful credulity on the part of ignorant Christians, bat also a new California to keep up permanent supplies to their housekeepers for the Ccenas Saliares, and the means to ascend a step higher in the estimation of the blessed half-blinded people. Therefore it was they framed it afresh as a new dogma, though it had been ridiculed long ago, and could not be made acceptable. However, as political circumstances were much in favour of Pio Nono a few years back, and reaction was successfully re-established every- where on the Continent, he presented the Mad Bull by smuggling it in at a Council without any discus- sion at all, simply announcing it, and at once rose a step higher in the opinion of the Kaiser, and of his faithful subjects, who believed that such a precedent, established without the disapprobation of a single member of the Ecclesiastical Council, constituted the Pope's Infallibility. Before quitting this subject I should like to make some remarks upon it. Suppose that to-morrow I marry, and next year I become a parent, of course I should be annoyed with the thought that my child is born in sin, though I know it to be innocent, and though I presume that I have lived an exem- plary life. JNow imagine that the ecclesiastics who ordained Merode, Antonelli, Cullen, Dupanloup, Pie, Tail, Horn, and Company, were alive, and were perfectly acquainted with the stock of iniquities that these reverends had committed, would they be equally sorry or annoyed at their paternity as I am, or not ? This is the first question ; but another question arises from this proposition, which may be stated thus : If 662 the sacraments are all equal, why does sin originate from the celebration of matrimony, and not from the celebration of the Sacred Orders ? Why is an infant born in sin, and why is an ordained barterer, a marauder, a Simoniac, a lewd profligate, exempt from sin ? According to my views and limited intelligence, it appears that my paternity is less culpable than the episcopal, and if there is a place for the punish- ment of the sin of the first, there ought to be one also for the second. It appears also that as the sins of the second are greater than that of the first, that they ought to be more severely punished : and in such case it would not be inconsistent with Divine justice should it fall heavily upon the heads of the ordainiDg bishops as well as upon the ordained sinful priests. I take it for granted that Divine justice pays everybody with the proper coins, and according to their merit. Now, for instance, Bishop Cullen, who wants to keep a population in ignorance ; Merode, who strives to subjugate and cut to pieces another population ; and Antonelli, who wishes to roast alive those who escape the barbarism of Merode, — these three first- rate specimens of proverbially known An- tichristianity, will the}' be rewarded, or will they be punished ? And the Bishops who ordained them, will they be answerable for their deeds, or will they be exempt from punishment? These are proper theological questions which I should like to hear duly discussed by persons who can see much farther than I can with my limited penetration. As Antonelli is too much engaged in the politics of the day, the crossed lamb of Or- leans might explain them : as he is compelled to attend to his business, and has given up the pamph- leteering episcopal system, he might condescend to explain these propositions with some theological reasoning. Now, Mr Double X of Orleans, what is the differ- 663 ence between the sin of a baby and the gigantically swindling transactions of Bishops A. B. C. of Holy Boman Catholic and dog Apostatic confederation? You may answer, that the proposition will not stand because the comparison is not good, inasmuch as religion admits that the child is born in sin, and that, however criminal he may be, the Church does not contemplate the ordained priest or bishop as a sinner ; and to your answer I reply that logically and rhetor- ically speaking, though apparently there is no sin in the ordination of the Sacred Orders, yet many sins, scandals, and crimes have originated by your enticing and provoking ignorant people to oppose the laws of the country, to promote intestine wars and disunion in the various countries, and set up a barrier of perpetual strife and discord between the human and the Divine laws. Therefore my impression is that the difference consists in this, that the child is born in venial sin, and that prelates like you commit willingly mortal sins ; and I prove it by your being diametrically opposed to the decree of St Peter, who orders and forbids ecclesiastics, under whatever circumstances, to meddle, accept, or admi- nister any affair concerning the temporal power. But, as this is out of my comprehensibility, I return to the Papal infallibility, alias the new dogma lately established by Pio Nono, under the name of the Im- maculate " Juno sine labe concepta," when she gave birth to Martem Gradivum. Pio Nono, to please his dear friends the Jesuits, who were the real authors of the Immaculate Con- ception, fell into a vortex from which he cannot now liberate himself, because this is the real sub- stance of the matter, which I will explain as briefly as possible. The B. B. P. P. Jesuits wanted the establishment of the Papal infallibility, because in their own doctrines they have established, or think that they have established, their own infallibility. The honest Christian believers have in good faith often questioned the Jesuits if it were possible that a 664 Christian sect could be infallible, while the head of Christianity was still considered fallible. Pio Nono, seeing the contradiction, desirous to assist his friends and to rise another step himself, commissioned the right reverend Jesuits to prepare the plan for carrying out the scheme, and by the assistance of various Concordats with other Jesuitical secular Powers, when the reign of terror was estab- lished everywhere, except at three Courts of Europe, it was done as quietly as possible, as it was proposed in the Jesuitical programme of 1855. At a council (I forget the day and month) Pio Nono simply proposed the thing, and the Cardinals and Bishops present having been already instructed to assent to it, the proposition was carried nemine dissentiente, and the Papal infallible dogma of the Immaculate Con- ception came out of the hole of the Stercorarian chair in the shape of an egg without a shell, and was received by the zanies and credulous worshippers of Papism as a real article of faith ! — I ought, perhaps, to say something about the my- thological origin of the Holy Water, but I am afraid of fatiguing the reader. However, I will briefly men- tion that the old Romans had their holy water, which was invariably used by the Pontifices to wash, their heads, faces, and hands, before making any sacrifice to their divinities, as Strabo says, in lib. 6, Geogr., " Purgamenta inde superstitiosissimus Numa peregit, et comatum longa caput csesarie aspergit unda." "Bis caput intonsum fontana perluit unda, Bis sua faginea tempora fronde tegit." So says Ovid : Purity was particularly required in everything that was sacred ; and it is confirmed by Jamblicus in the i Mysteries/ by Plautus, Virgil, Tibullus, &c. Persius, Satyr 2 : " Ha3c sancte ut poscas Tiberino in gurgite mergis Mane caput bis, terque et noctem fluraine purgas." 665 Ovid, lib. 5, Fastor : " Cumque maims puras fontana permit unda Vertitur et nigras accipit ore fabas." Virgil, lib. 6, JEneid : " Idem ter socios pura circumluit unda Occupat JEneas aditum corpusque recenti Spargit aqua." It is not many years since that I read in some Roman Catholic newspaper the praises and the use- fulness of the Holy Water ; it was described most grandiloquently, and given out as a great nostrum of the Holy Roman Catholic shop, of course with the usual amphibious power, like everything else pertaining to that stock. Its Spiritual utilities con- sisted in " washing the venial sins, shortening the pains of Purgatory, and giving strength to resist all sorts of temptations." The Material utilities con- sisted in " Curing sterility (like the Lupercalian feast), purging the atmospheric air from pestilences, and curing all sorts of diseases." Dulcamara, in this case, is beaten out of the field, although his specific cures a great number of human infirmities, com- prising the renovation of the skin to the old maids of St Rococo, as he says in his song : " 0 voi matrone rigide Ringiovinir bramate Le vostre rughe incomode Con esso cancellate," &c. But the Pope's Holy Water does more than this ; and it is said by Herodes that he uses it as a lotion to his bad legs, and expects a miraculous cure. Setting aside badinage, and returning to the clas- sics, it is evident (and I have also demonstrated this in the Consecration of the Pontifices Maximi) that the Mola Salsa used to be sprinkled on the altars and on the victims before they were immolated at the various K K k 2 666 sacrifices by the Gentiles, just in the same way that the Priest uses the holy water for every modern ecclesiastical purpose, whether in blessing one thing or in damning another. Horace, Satyr 3, says : " Tu cum pro vitula statuis dulcem Aulide natum Ante aras, spargisque mola caput improbe salsa." Et Tiresias apud Senecam, ubi Mantum, et (Edipum alloquitur : . . hue prospere admove Et sparge salsa colla Taurorum mola Placido ne vultu sacra, et admotas manua Patiuntur." Yirgil, iEneid, lib. 4, also says : * f Ipsa mola manibusque piis altaria juxta, Unum exuta pedem vinclis in veste recincta, Testatur monittjea Deos." These facts prove that the ancient Greeks and Romans were the original patentees and administra- tors of the Holy Water, which was superseded by the Apostles when the latter instituted Christianity. Regretting that I am not able to trace when the Eoman Catholic Episcopate re-introduced the Holy Water into use, I transfer any further investigation of the subject to the Right Reverend Prelate, Bishop Cullen ; and for the present I suspend this portion of my work, and take my leave of the kind reader, wishing him happiness. VENICE: ITS PEESENT MAETYEDOM AND ITS EOEMEE GLOEIES. The events of the whole of last year proved to be a general castigation to the human race ; probably on account of the anti- Christian and monstrous literary abortions of that class of society which, malevolently mistaking their proper mission on this earth, had set up an unreasonable and doggedly obstinate resistance, not only to that which is good and reasonable in general, but to all material and spiritual progress, setting at defiance a Voutrance both public opinion and law, thereby proving themselves to be the positive Incommoda sceculi, and incorrigibly mad. First of all, we have had the Pope in several Consistories in hysterical fits, thumping and tearing his embroidered petticoats, merely because the sun insisted on rising in the east, and continued in its course to illuminate the universe, in spite of the Bulls issued from the Vatican telling it to stop at the antipodes until further orders were issued by the said Holy shop. This modern thundering Jupiter forgets the fiasco y and that he has not the power of a Jupiter Stator, as he could not even stop the merce- nary knights to pick up the pagnotte before Castel- fidardo, and convert the rout into a victory. His last allocution had only the effect of renewing the Carnival before its proper time in Italy ; and in other European countries it had the miraculous power of setting to bark a goodly number of a 2 interested persons who feed and fatten upon the produce of the Holy shop, which is kept supplied with tolerable stock by the insensible and gentle lifts which are practised daily and nocturnally, to the detriment of their husbands and families, by a number of credulous and idiotic women, sprinkled also with a small portion of rogues of both sexes, the whole of them being enticed to these saintly works by the invisible mask of the confessional. In Germany, France, Ireland, the pretended Cavalieri rli Cristo, and even Sancho Panza, all cried out jplag as —miserere mei, against the progress of civilisation and constitutional freedom ; and having leagued themselves together under the chiefs of the Sanfedistes Society (spread all over the various States and Provinces of Europe, whose Grand Masters are the Bishops), have determined (as they think thej are still in time, on account of the great superstition and ignorance that has prevailed for so many consecutive centuries with the abject popula- tions) to rally their strength, and by means of their secret Propaganda, corruption, and immorality, pecuniary means, and promises, impudently false inventions, and Jesuitical insinuations, together with the assistance of the public press and the pulpit (the latter no longer the area for the exposition of the Eternal Truth and the teaching of the sublime morals of the Omnipotent Benefactor of mankind), and, lastly, by every means that opportunity offers them, even the upsetting of thrones and the murder of their Sovereigns (as is insinuated in divers Jesuitical works printed at various epochs, and particularly in the seventeenth century), they have determined, I say, to make a last effort to upset and stop the progress of civilization. In order to give credence to this awful announcement, the people need only take in their hands the daily papers, and read the every-day preaching and printed circulars of the Bishops ; and, as it would be impossible, on 3 account of the great number of them known, and of the greatest cipher unknown, secular and Ecclesiastic, males and females, to name the total, I shall only extract from the public papers the names of a few of those who seem more impudent and more barefaced than the others, more timid or Macchiavellic. The great archpharisaical, pro-igno- rant, and anti-Christian Cullen, and the incessant eminently Satanic writer Dupanloup (both of them the standard-bearers of the Eoman Catholic and anti- Apostolic hypocrisy) stand in the first order, supporting right and left Cardinal Eaucher, who leads his Imperial Master in a Barathro tnfernale, while he thinks of going to Florence, Eome, and Naples to eat the figs and grapes that never will ripen for him because the climate is too warm ! Three yards behind follow the new public criers, the Bishops of Agen, of St Die, of St Claude, of Metz, of Yerdun, of St Denis, and the remainder of the Sacra Caterva of superior and inferior Priests, who quietly grin through their hypocritical teeth and do their business in the style of Don Basiglio. I shall not take any notice of these pretended Fidei Defensores, but let them meditate and do what they can for the accomplishment of their politico- religious and interested schemes of conspiracy against public opinion and moral progress ; and while they busy themselves in their works, I will undertake to acquaint my readers with certain facts and black deeds which are uncontroverted, and which posi- tively establish the bad faith, impiety, avarice, simony, falsification, unchristian revenge, and un- godliness, as well as the robberies and murderous spoliations and usurpations, which have been perpe- trated by the Popes and other Ecclesiastics of every hierarchic degree, and which have always been committed most sacrilegiously under the mantle and the name of God and the Saints, but, in truth, only and really for the advancement of themselves and their relatives. 4 As these Ecclesiastics are determined to go per vetitum nefas, so,/#s est, et ah oste doceri ; and it is quite time to take up the challenge, and apply to these secular and Ecclesiastical incorrigibles the lex talionis, with or without asking them how they like it, — therefore, Made animo virtute, Baron Eicasoli, and you, too, Count Persigny, do not be afraid of acting unconstitutionally, by entirely removing and dismissing from their prebends and stipendiary emoluments, or parochial incomes, all those Bishops, Prelates, Canons, and Yicars who, meddling and speculating with the politics of the day, transgress the rules and regulations of the State, and, by their fanaticism, attempt to subvert public order and the laws of the country ; unmindful, at the same time, of their duty to their flocks, and to the Sovereign who protects them and guarantees to them their incomes, and traitorous to the Divinity whom they pretend to represent, but most unworthily. After a sufficient trial, then, unhesitatingly give these open-mouthed verbiloquent enemies the sack ; and if that should not prove sufficient to satisfy them, you might resort to harder measures. Remember that they form a tenacious sect, and a compact of such strength and means, that as long as a branch of them, however small, remains, they will fight, and by prosely tism ripullulate, like the cardus maledictus; and that they may return to the attack while you are asleep, and eventually succeed in attaining their objects. In the course of this abrege of historical Ecclesiastical usurpation, I shall touch upon several examples that have occurred which confirm this statement ; therefore, I inculcate the application of the remedy before the disease spreads any farther, and thus becomes constitutionally chronic. Besides, where would be the justice, if only the liberals, or suspected liberals, are to be imprisoned and fined for simply transgressing this or that law? Up to a few years since thousands and thousands of victims were sacrificed in every country, sometimes upon 5 conviction, at others upon suspicion, and many poor innocents were the victims of the most abominable torture of both mind and body, the perpetration of which involved the entire wreck of their families. I have been accustomed for many years now to see fair play in everything, and I have lived long enough to see many political events, but I have no remembrance of having read, or seen, or heard of the political persecution of aristocratic retrogades, however criminal they have been. The only popular retribution that has come under my notice in late years against a tyrant who richly deserved it (and which gave me a good and satisfactory appetite for at least six weeks), took place here in London, and was most spontaneously administered by the good and honest- hearted sons of John Bull, upon the notorious Field-Marshal Haynau, who, I say, richly deserved the dish, as he had ordered the flogging of numerous Italian women in several towns, and in the public places, and had also burned many villages during the Italian war of 1848, and ordered the un- fortunate peasants who attempted to escape to be shot. In the late Italian war the brave Kaiser produced in the field another specimen of the Haynau breed, bearing the name of General Urbain, who had a pre- dilection for shooting whole families, and levying such heavy contributions upon the towns and villages through which he passed that his depredations were equal to those of a swarm of locusts after settling on a fresh field of corn in the month of May. All these inglorious and rascally in-TJrbain deeds were perpetrated by this General because he had under his command twenty or twenty-five thousand Austrian marauders, who were repeatedly thrashed and dis- comfited by Garibaldi and three thousand of his brave Volunteers, to whom Urbain, after fighting for a couple of hours or so, was always compelled to show his heels, and the prodigious elasticity of his confederate gambini (Croats). a 2 6 The liberal Governments of the present day need hesitate no longer to put a strong bar against the false and hypocritical rules of a few persons who are prone to keep the universe in convulsive suspense by their threats of war and ruin to the population, under the plea of possessing the right to do these things by Divine gift and will. The people know well enough now-a-days that this is all moonshine, and that the Eulers themselves must go hand -in - hand with the populations, upon whose common sense and actions that popular sovereignty is built which places the crown upon the head of the monarch most disposed to sustain their honour and interests, and thus afford the most material advan- tages for their comfort, civilisation, and freedom. Let the reader glance a few years back, and recall to mind the conduct of Francis the Fourth, of Este, at Modena ! He did not even spare the Ecclesiastic Andreoli, nor many others suspected of liberalism ; they were doomed, unconvicted. The same cruelties marked the conduct of the idiotic ex- Emperor of Austria in 1850 towards the flower of the liberal- minded Germans and Italians who had the mis- fortune to be credulous, and were confident in the justice of that cause and their Euler ; and who awaited firmly in their places the result of the political con- flagration in 1848 — the absentees only saved their lives, and lost their substances. The sleek and san- guinary hypocrite, the Arch-Priest of Eome, acted the same towards the Ecclesiastic Ugo Bassi at Bologna, and hundreds of others in many other towns. ISTot content with the victims which he had provoked by his own folly, and the recantation of the humane programme which he issued after he had been consecrated in his place (after his restoration to Eome, which he had deserted), he went hand-in - hand with the whole of the other traitors to the liberal cause; and, to show his contempt for liberalism, issued a Bull stigmatising as prostitutes 7 all those noble Eoman ladies who had with generous hearts and motherly feelings, like good Samaritans, sacrificed their means, their time, and their lives to afford their constant care and assistance to the Volunteers of Garibaldi who so nobly defended Eome. I will not say anything of the number of victims who were shot and hanged, nor even of one, a liberal, an Anconitan Jew, who was there publicly burned alive a few years ago. Now, granted that he was a liberal, that he had taken up arms against the Popish rule, where was the Christian justification for such a revenge ? It is not true that Kingly and Sovereign institutions were ordained by God for the oppression of the populations ; it is not true that God created the populations at one time, and at another ordered their destruction by fire and sword ; it is not true that God is revengeful, because such absurd notions are monstrously insulting to God himself, and to His consistent Divine will and power. When such things have happened, it has been through the abuse of power, and the barbaric fear which Kings have entertained of their enemies ; and because, not satis- fied with spoliating those enemies of their goods and chattels, they have taken their lives in the bargain. Let the reader observe the new martyrology of the Venetians, and reflect a little on the number of victims from the year 1815 to the present day. Let him observe, also, the abuse of power in every way, not only in over-taxation and fines, in forced contri- butions and loans, in the confiscation of houses and landed property, in the suppression of the issue of metallic coins of the proper value, and the issue in- stead of paper invalid twenty miles out of the place, and in the compulsion of the citizens to pay the taxes and impositions in coins; but observe, also, how justice is administered in Venice by judges who do not understand the language of the country, and who judge, not according to evidence, but according to superior orders ; the forced conscriptions of overdrawn 8 young men, on account of the suspicion of their being liberals ; the suppression of the free port of Venice, whioh was for centuries the first emporium of the world, and which was ordered for the sake of at- tracting the commercial speculations towards, and of enriching the incommodious and dangerous port and city of Trieste, where a number of Tudesques and Germans have settled lately, in league to absorb with the Government every sort of profit that might be obtained by enterprise : the overcrowding the cities and villages with Austrian troops, station- ing the soldiers in most of the citizens' houses, to consume and enhance the value of food, and shorten the means of the citizens : and the inconvenience of having in their houses, according to their means, a number of vile, rapacious, filthy, and abominably- savage barbarians, who take and do whatever they like with property and person, threatening the lives of and accusing their victims of liberalism, as a palliation or as an excuse for their t Kelts and brutality ; thus intimidating and impoverishing the population, once most opulent and happy, most educated, and susceptible of the highest inspiration of delicacy, honesty, virtue, and ail other honourable qualities attributed to the aspirations of mankind. Xow this population, according to the evidence of Charlemagne ( given in his biography \ was at his time the most skilled and learned in arts and sciences, and from them he selected many masters ot all sorts, to transport them to various cities of his Empire, to teach there, as he said, out of Italy n U cog nit a erat. Yet Venice at the time of Charle- magne was not four hundred years old, and from its very infancy it stood firmly watching and imperturb- ably guarding and defending its shores and lares from those ferocious barbarians the Huns, the Goths, the Vandals, as well as other savage tribes, which had, one after the other, devastated and de- stroyed the towns and populations of the noble peninsula. When the old Italian Patricians first congregated in those lagunes, they conceived and adopted the best means for self-defence ; and they fortified themselves so ably as to resist the attempt of any stranger to deprive them of their indepen- dence. Indeed, they actually defended themselves so valiantly that neither the Roman Empire, nor the French Kings, or any other, could conquer them. We see, also, from the ancient MS. and printed histories of Italy, that the Venetians began early to have political and commercial treaties with the Greek and Roman Empire, and the rest of the European States, and that they never signed any treaty derogatory to their freedom and independence. This can be proved by the MS. Chronica of the cele- brated Doge Dandolo, and by the Libri Pactorum, besides the historians Eossi, Guicciardini, Muratori, and all the Venetian historians, such as RafFaino Caresini, Gio. Jac. Caroldo, Daniel Chinazzo, Biondo Flavio, Ant. Donato, Paul Morosini, Jac. Zeno, Ber. Giustiniano, and those who wrote by public decree ; and I am happy to repeat here that the Venetians supported their dignity and independence with eclat and grandeur in their territory near home, as well as in all their colonies, even when they were quite young amongst the nations. With their prudence and wis- dom, and their skilful knowledge and courage in the fourth century of their existence, they gave a moral lesson to Pipin, and afterwards gained his esteem, as well as the friendship of that great man Charlemagne. The Venetians soon attained the fame of a first- rate power, and they became the greatest defenders of the Christian faith. It was the Venetians, too, who first conveyed its Ministers and the Knights to Palestine, and various other parts of the globe, to spread the Evangels. They twice conquered Con- stantinople and the Black Sea, the Syrian coasts, and the coast of Morea ; they also conquered many towns, as I shall demonstrate in course of time in these 10 historical sketches. They likewise undertook many warlike expeditions single-handed ; and they some- times, leagued with other Powers, sustained, at intervals, for consecutive centuries, the wars with the Turks. For an example of their heroism I may refer the reader to the siege of Candia, which lasted for nearly five-and- twenty years. Yenice was also perpetually molested by the other Turk-leeches of Europe ; that is, by the insatiable sucking animals rolled down from the German, French, and Spanish Alps ; who, not satisfied with having a good share each of the Italian States, stimulated by the caprices of the Popes, either to satisfy their holy grasping motives, or to fatten some kindred of their own, legitimate or not, or by their natural cupidity of spoliation and pomp, — sometimes instigated also by the political schemes of the Imperial vassals, in con- junction with the Popes, to wage war against this or that State, — they endeavoured to bring in, in o ■way or another, the Venetians, with the sole object of weakening and exhausting their strength and means, hoping thereby to reduce them, so that they might become an easy prey. The Yenetians, how- ever, armed with virtue and political wisdom, stood every battle valiantly, repelling the ambitious Papal or Imperial schemes ; and not only defended them- selves and their allies, but at other times stood single- handed, and bravely defended themselves against the combination of all the great Powers of Europe. During the whole of the fifteenth century the Venetians were engaged in wars, principally with the Turks, when Pope Julius the Second, in the year 1508, originated the League of Cambrai against them, for the sake of spoliation, and in jealousy of their really great and supreme domination in every part of the civilised world. I should state that the Venetians, with their money and influence, materially contributed to the elevation of Julius the Second to the Papal Chair ; 11 and out of gratitude for these services and assistance, lent to him before and after his assumption of power, this monstrous priestly scamp laid a snare and originated the League against them, with all the then great Powers of Europe, assisted by the minor Powers, and the Imperial vassals who joined them with their land and naval forces. Henry the Eighth of England was the only one who did not appear against the Venetians ; and his exclusion from taking part in the League was justified by other political motives, which can be read in French or in English History. Besides, England had always been on good terms with the Yenetians ; there was no jealousy between the two governments, and there was a mutual sympathy between them with regard to political affairs, as well as a popular and friendly fellow-feeling with regard to industrial speculations and commercial enterprises. I shall speak further of this League in a future page. The Yenetians were at this time in the zenith of their opulence and legislative wisdom, on account of the great num- ber of celebrated, modest, honest, and virtuous men who sustained and represented at the European Courts the high dignity of the Serenissima Repub- lica, with splendid and spotless glory, while the seas were loaded with their vessels, importing and export- ing the merchandise of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The English had for some centuries admired the Yenetians, followed many of their noble examples, and had many of their young noblemen and gentle- men educated at the Yenetian Colleges. England was then in her first stage of political and commer- cial greatness, and Henry the Eighth thought it necessary to be a constant friend of the Yenetians, in order to keep in check the ambition of the French Monarchs, as well as the Aragonian Sancho Panza. % As it is not my intention to write the Yenetian history, there is no occasion for me to state here when, how, and by whom the Yenetian Republic 12 was founded ; though when very young, and not yet 200 years old, in the year 558, as stated by Cassio- dorus, a contemporary historian, the Venetians had numerous ships, arsenals, storehouses, and a great number of shipbuilders and artificers of all sorts, and that those citizens were already celebrated everywhere as commercial men, as well as gallant warriors. I will now pass on to the seventh century, when the Venetians were feared as powerful foes by their neighbours and by the Greeks, who had much esteem for them, and highly valued their friendship, having seen how firmly they stood, and how intrepidly they defended their shores from foreign insult or inva- sion. The celebrated historian Rossi tells us that, in 729, they took Ravenna by assault from Luit- prand, the Lombard King, who had driven away the Exarch, the alter ego of the Greek Emperor in Italy. In the year 804, King Pipin, the father of Charle- magne, having established Ravenna as the metropolis of his Italian kingdom, after the spoliation of the Lombard Kings (as I have shown elsewhere), as he resided there frequently, conceived the idea of pos- sessing Venice and doing away with the Republic, thinking he should find as easy a task as he did with those of Lombardy, Tuscany, and the Roman Estates ; however, he was mistaken in his calcula- tions, and was tremendously defeated. He had no other motive for that war but that of conquest. Constantine, Perfirogenitus, Rubeus, and other his- torians say that he went to attack the Venetians with a naval army and with large ships of war. I will here give a sketch of the battle. In the year 804 Pipinus started from Ravenna for Venice with a powerful army and fleet ; he had already by force occupied Brondolo, Chioggia, and driven out the Venetians from Malamocco, who withdrew in order of battle, with their ships of all sorts and sizes, to the front of Rialto, determining to stand there and perish in preference to giving way to the enemy ; 13 who soon came there and attacked them with great impetuosity and determined courage, which the Venetians, with equally determined valour and ability, resisted, assisted by the command of their General, who ordered them to separate and break the line of the French ships while the tide was flowing down, and so take advantage of the impossi- bility of manoeuvring the large French vessels, and board them. The signal was given, and the Vene- tians threw themselves upon the French with such ardour, dealing death with almost every blow, that the French began to disband, seeing the number of their companions slain, and instead of recognising the voice of their Commander, hearing those of their wounded comrades ; seeing, likewise, that the waters were reddened with their blood, and their King pre- cipitously retreating towards Eavenna to save his life, they dispersed, and abandoned the Venetian waters. This war, which lasted but a few days, terminated with a tremendous loss on the part of the French j but it cost a great number of the Venetians dearly also, mostly artificers of all sorts, and Arsenalotti, who had retired at first from the above- named places on account of the superior number of the French. The French King was so surprised at the bravery of his enemy, that a short time after he wrote a letter from Eavenna to the Doge, offering to treat for peace, and expressing his desire to go there personally to see and admire the place. The victorious Doge accepted this flattering proposal, and sent a good number of fine vessels to Malamocco to meet him. The King, dressed up with the utmost of his magnificent pomp at Malamocco, ascended the largest Venetian ship, and as there were a great many spectators, he faced the curious population that was watching him, and with a loud voice, and throwing his gold sceptre in the sea, he said : — " As I have thrown into the sea my sceptre, which will never again appear, so I will never any more I 14 disturb their happiness or offend this community. Without cause, and without any just reason, I did provoke you ; and as the anger of God fell only upon me, so may it fall upon the heads of all those who may unjustly come to offend you in future centuries." He was then escorted, amidst acclamations, to the Ducal Palace, where he was most sumptuously received ; peace, independence, and liberty were re- confirmed, and the Eepublic acquired greater stability and lustre from that time. Although it is somewhat out of place, it is well to state here that the Greek and Eoman people, in diffi- cult times, that is, in times of scarcity of food and of political commotion, used to assemble riotously before the Senate-houses, crying out loudly for panem et circenses. The Venetian people, on the contrary, always seemed to better understand the position of their own Government, and with acute political intelligence, in the greatest as well as in the smallest difficulties of the Eepublic, the Gondo- liers, the Arsenalotti, the Armourers, and every trades' corporation, inspired by the dulcis amor Patrice and their liberties, proud of co-operating with the nobility and the authorities for the welfare of the country in every case of attempted or real invasion, this orderly, silent, and meditatively obedient popu- lation, with virtuous and intelligent intrepidity, exe- cuted, veteranlike, the most difficult and dangerous orders of their Commanders without hesitation or murmur, evinced deeds of heroic bravery, with self-abnegation of ccmfort, property, and life ; con- tributing also their wealth to swell the public treasury, depositing there all the gold and silver vessels or jewels they could afford as a holocaust to their country's liberty and independence. These are the great examples that the Venetians have left us, and the world in general, to be fol- lowed by every people nobly inspired for the main- tenance of their immaculate Lares, their wise, liberal 15 laws, and the honourable crown of their King, or supreme magistrate. It was a great and sublime spectacle to see the whole of the Venetian family, rich and poor, all aiming, labouring, and struggling so indefatigably to save their country's honour. In the supreme moments of danger they never tumul- tuated for panem et cir censes, like other people used to do. Such a thing never occurred with them, and they never distressed the Government in troublesome times ; yet this population, — so obedient to the laws, so respectful to the authorities, so familiar with the nobility, and so ready to answer the call to defend their country's liberties, so great and so feared by its enemies, so excessively jealous that one corporation should be more favoured than another, or that any arbitrary tyranny should be exercised against this or that class of persons, endowed also with highly ex- citable spirits, easily inflamed in two or three in- stances, — have terribly tumultuated, and sacrificed the lives of their Doges, and other authorities to their jealous vengeance. I feel bound to say a few words only with regard to the feminine sex, as I can find no words that are adequate, and have not the space to dedicate to them in this small work ; therefore I will laconically say that the Yenetian ladies most heartily concurred in everything with extraordinary promptitude, self-de- votion, and abnegation of every kind, in the critical moments of the Republic, and that their cheerful presence was met everywhere, and their assistance much appreciated by the whole population. Their greatest pride was that of having generated and brought up to sentiments of glory and patriotism a population which from infancy had rivalled the renowned and extinct Republics of Greece and Borne. Vanity was invariably banished in every momentous question. Every woman felt that her heart palpitated in its proper place, and that she was the worthy companion of the man who enchanted 16 her life, and drank out of her cup. God immortal was reflected on the men whom she venerated, while he blessed her existence. Love and charity pre- vailed in the midst of the population, led by Divine Wisdom, which seemed almost to take part in the general spectacle of a people who were determined to maintain their redemption from tyranny. These were the feelings which animated all those who took part in the tragic scene, while the lands and waters were newly baptised in blood to strengthen and perpetuate their sacred liberties. No despair, no confusion, interfered in those struggling moments. God, I repeat, was ever present, benignantly smiling upon them, and no mystification, no superstitious, idiotic bigotry, seized the minds of the women — as happened in various other places; their minds- were free, their hearts open to receive the godly inspirations, and they were already occupied with elevated thoughts, and the exquisiteness of the pro- portioned sentiments of the soul which constituted the virtuous programme of life harmonising with God and humanity, prompted by Him with the sweetest vibrations upon the most delicately and ingeniously complicated instrument, that is, the beautiful and sublime masterpiece of God — woman. Yes, the Venetian ladies, with their mental attainments, largely contributed to the civilisation of the world, and deserve my poor tribute of admiration for their past honourable, virtuous, and glorious deeds ; and I am happy to say that I had personal knowledge of the patriotism and national devotion of the modern ladies, who in 1848 emulated the glory of the ancients in spite of the exhaustion and miseries of the martyrdom that they suffered, and have suffered since 1815 — under the barbaric rule of his Impious Majestically Bam Cadaveric Apostate, who has never thought for a moment that the day of retribution is fast approaching, and that his best title really means Caro data vermis, or to the pigs, no matter to which, 17 as it amounts to the same thing, et in pulverem revertetur serius ocius. Ca va sens dire that I should say something also of the illustrious Venetian Senate ; hut what shall I say first of all, as so many ideas suggest themselves to my mind all at once that I do not know which to choose! On the extraordinary wisdom of that illuminated corporation depended all the merit and the greatness of that little nationality. Their steady, calculated political prevoyance; their energetic actions; their ambition for supremacy; their enormous wealth ; their love of liberty and independence ; their prudence in political transactions with other nations; their unstained, honourable word, which was reli- giously maintained in every civil and commercial transaction, and in the affairs of State ; the severity and the just administration of their laws, and their polite manner to strangers and to the neighbouring populations, which captivated their esteem and admiration, whilst it impressed them with fear and respect. The jealousy of their national honour was almost elevated to the rank of Deification, and as long as this lasted, Venice was great and powerful ; the foundations of that Empire sunk when they became indifferent to that honour at the end of the seventeenth century, when gorged with gold and possessed of a greater territory than they could manage to look after or administer with their usual intelligence, moderation, and wisdom. From the earliest stage of the Venetian welfare, the civic authorities contrived to secure the affections of the people, and the nobility and gentry ; and they never neglected any opportunity of commingling with them. The better to ensure to themselves popular sympathy and obedience, they instituted a great number of religio-political festivals for all the year round, as a permanent means of amusing the population, and keeping them in a healthy state of agility, and in good training for martial valour. 5 2 18 For this purpose they also revived the whole of the Greek and Roman Gymnastic and Olympian games. The Doge and all the other public officers in- variably attended upon these occasions, robed in their magnificent official costumes, to enhance the pomp of the proceedings by their presence, and to participate in the public rejoicings, as well as to better regulate order, and maintain proper decorum and friendly feeling with all classes of the people, who were invariably the actors in every public representation illustrative and commemora- tive either of a land or a naval victory over various people whom they had conquered at different epochs. Besides this, the regular Olympic and other kinds of games afforded the people the opportunity of dis- tinguishing themselves in everything that was manly and honourable. Thus, whilst the applause and the ovations of the people were bestowed upon the victors, others were excited to emulate them, and with the ambition to aspire to noble actions, and make themselves expert in every mode of fighting and self- defence. Music, dancing, and theatrical representa- tions were accessory amusements on such occasions, and were equally appreciated by every class of the citizens. The expenses of these national festivals were defrayed by the Government, though most of the Nobles voluntarily contributed largely to them out of their private means ; in some instances, also, at various epochs, several Senatorial families have entertained at their private expense the Doge, the Senate, and the people in the grandest style. It was by their generous liberality that the Noble3 showed the people how pleased and how proud they were of their disinterested and popular friendship ; and the grateful population, happy to receive the protection, generosity, and friendly sympathy of the Nobles, returned their thanks and the high esteem which they entertained for their Nobles, by making common cause with them in every political necessity 19 for war, and in every case of need for popular assistance. If I were not afraid of going too far, I might state here that from the tenth century the Nobles had adopted the habit of standing godfathers to such of the children of artizan families as they liked to choose, and that these children were always well brought up ; morepver, that in course of time they used to accustom themselves to look upon these Noblemen as their shields and protectors, who in return looked upon those they had adopted as mem- bers of their families, not as menials or vassals, but as personal friends upon whom they could rely, and who would most devotedly and sincerely con- secrate to them their affectionate esteem and interest. Many instances in proof of this could be illustrated by reference to historical facts, but it would be superfluous to quote them here. On the Genius of the Venetians. In the year 808 the Venetians went with a large fleet to frighten the inhabitants of the coast of Dalmatia. In 827 they fought two great naval battles with the Saracen Arabs, and made other wars against the Sclavonians. Towards the end of the ninth century they gained that famous victory over the Tfgres (or the Ungarians), and another equally famous one over the Narentanians, which entirely humiliated that people and destroyed their country. These naval victories were not accomplished by means of small ships, but mostly by large vessels of 1.200 lotti (tons) each. (This Venetian measure- ment was subsequently adopted by all other nations in their navies.) We read that the Venetian ships used to sail with three masts, while those of the Greeks, who at that time were capital sailors, had only two. The Greek and Norman contemporary historians, though enemies to the Venetians, used to 20 call their ships amlulant fortifications, most terrible to meet on the high sea, and asserted that the Venetian lagunes were full of ships, sailors, and rich merchandise. In reading their history in the tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, we find ample testimony of their perfection, and of all kinds of improvements in their naval architecture, either in their mercantile or in their war ships, with which they undertook many long, perilous, and exploring navigations and wars. However, in the year 1255, when some of the great nations of the present day had scarcely half-a-dozen large ships each on the sea, and others had none at all, the Venetians brought out a Nautical Code of Laws, which has since been of immense service in the regulation of the shipping and commercial interests of the world. The Genoese Republic followed in the steps of the Yenetians in building vessels, and in sailing, and were for centuries the only rivals that could contend with them. I must observe that, unfortunately for both, and for Italy in general, their rivalry lasted too long, and produced many desperate wars, which invariably turned out profit- able to others, never to themselves. Had they understood their interests better, and leagued them- selves together with one or more Italian Princes, they might have averted the calamities of twelve centuries by ruling confederately with wisdom and freedom. The rivalry and wars between the Yenetians and the Genoese lasted nearly 300 years. The intre- pidity of these illustrious rivals for a long time per- plexed almost all the historians with admiration of their bravery and achievements, until at last the Yenetians mastered these then victorious people, who had the temerity to push their fleet and besiege the Yenetians at Chioggia. It was a terrible affair on both sides. Before, or even after this battle, these nations might have set aside all rivalry, and, 21 by means of their opulence, the intelligence and the strength of their armies and their citizens, by the insti- tution of wise laws, and with the assistance of two or three other confederates, they might have cleared Italy of all foreign intruders, and ruled fairly and freely without dependence upon or submission to strangers. The Greeks, the French, the Austro-Germans, and later the Spaniards, have all of them, more or less, always found pretexts for invading Italy ; sometimes to satisfy their own caprices, but mostly at the call of the Popes, who appear to have been pleased to see the population decimated, for the reason that they could better keep it in subjection and easier spoliate it, according to their capricious whims. These Popes were never in want of a cause for war ; they had imagination enough to invent one, and suf- ficient relatives to enrich at the expense of the Cobles, and those who had good patrimonies. The swords of the Imperial Vicars, Kings, and Emperors (when they were not against the Popes) were always ready to be used on their behalf, to the detriment of the innocents who were to be immolated, as I have said, for the sake of dividing the spoils. Knowledge at any time was a crime in the eyes of the Popes, unless it were prostituted to their pur- poses ; otherwise they would not have succeeded in inculcating and rivetting ignorance so firmly in the people's minds that they were idiots enough to swallow the most gigantically incredible stories, wholly inconsistent with truth and common sense. Mysticism and ignorance have always gone hand- in-hand, the first in the shape of the master, the second as the most humble servant of the first ; and, strange to say, they have never disagreed, for fear that the sword should level the difference. We may trace this truth historically from the Egyptians, the Hebrews, the Etruscans, the Greeks, and the Eomans down to the present day. If this were not 22 so, we should not now find people pretending to a certain degree of civilization who still believe in the wonderful performances of Jonas with the whale, and that St Denis, after having been decapitated in Paris, took his head under his arm and walked back to St Denis, a distance of six miles. The same might be said of a thousand other equally inconsistent farces. There is very little difference between the above and the poetical Episodes of Ariosto ; the only variation is that the first are warranted by the Priestcraft to impose upon the people and stupefy them ; and that the second is told by the poet to please and at the same time to astonish human credulity, and, by his wonderfully poetical imagina- tion, to criticise and moderate that same credulity of the people in the old mystical and poetical farces. At the present era there are many speculators on the human conscience, and many people without any principle whatever except that of roguery. With a tolerably good education, and a capital position in society, they go hand-in-hand with the masses of these all-believers, and are always intent to narrow their intelligence by foisting superstitions and igno- rant principles upon the unguarded and deluded people. If by chance they are put to the test in anything, their superior education and social position afford them every means of escape from the dilemma they might be brought into by their affectation of a creed or principle which they never believed. At this present epoch, too, of so-called high civilization, it appears to me that there still exists amongst some people evidences of great delusion, or, properly speak- ing, of great mystification. Now and then, when I read the morning papers, certain facts come under my notice which throw my mind into suspense, and I find myself speculating as to whether they are real, or whether I am undergoing a transitory delusion. At such moments my mind often wanders ; when I frankly confess I should like to go back and have a 23 peep at the barbaric age of Cicero, Cato, Virgil, Horace, Caesar, and Company, just merely for the sake of observing and comparing their times of posi- tive greatness with the present, and witnessing how heroism and virtue were then venerated and pre- miated, and how patriotic and virtuous were the honest, learned, and noble Pontifices. In such a case I should have observed the brave Caesar, when he conceived the idea of putting his sword between his teeth and swimming across the Rubicon, after having reflected that, if he were to go back, he would be sure to be lost, and that it was necessary to go forward in spite of the difficulties and the mis- fortunes he was sure to encounter, although fully alive to them and forewarned. As I am not dreaming now, however, I must return to my dear Venetians, and state that, to their glory and credit, they were undoubtedly the earliest and greatest navigators and travellers in the Middle Ages; and that they were the most proficient astronomers also, as is attested by the works of P. Ximenes, who tells us that in the year 873 he had many Italian followers in the study of that science ; and it could not have been otherwise, when we come to consider the great number of fearless Venetian navigators that were then living. The conviction that they were so becomes further strengthened when we look back to the events of the twelfth and the thirteenth centuries, and find that the Venetian family of MafTeus Polo were travelling in China and Tartary, and that, on their return, twenty years after, Marco Polo, the son of Mcolaus, joined them in several excursions ; and that he afterwards went to China and brought from thence the compass, where, in the opinion of many modern writers, it had been in use for a long time previously by the Chinese navigators, of which Marco Polo made no mention in his writings, although he made the in- strument known, and although he described places, 24 populations, and manners so minutely and so accu- rately that most of his contemporaries believed his narrations to be mere fiction. However, we have lately seen that in their works many English navi- gators have confirmed the truth of the assertions of Marco Polo. His excursion to Asia from the Capri- corn tropic to the Arctic Pole, his penetrating into the glacial zone further on before any other traveller, his description of the Polar Star, and his minute observations upon many phenomena, were all looked upon as incredible stories, and have only been lately confirmed. "Whilst referring to Marco Polo, I will notice that silk and velvet dresses were worn by gentlemen before and at his time, though I cannot trace the origin of these fabrics. At page 6 of the Preface written by Gio. Bat. Eamusio to the second volume of the Travels and Navigations of Marco Polo, I find it stated that when Maffio, Mcolo, and Marco Polo returned to Venice after twenty years of navigation, their rela- tives scarcely recognised them, on account of the changes which they had undergone in their physi- ognomies and costumes. The travellers on their arrival alighted at their own house, which was occupied by their relatives, to whom they gave a sumptuous dinner. Before sitting down to dine they withdrew to another room, washed their hands, changed their long dresses of raso cremosino (crimson silk), and put on other dresses of Damasco cremosino. These may have been of linen, wool, or silk. They then returned to the dining-room, and ordered their first dresses to be cut to pieces, and distributed to the servants of the house. After having partaken of a few viands, the travellers again withdrew to another room, again changed their dresses, and put on long velvet ones, also crimson-coloured ; they then divided the second set of dresses amongst the servants. Upon the conclusion of their repast they retired once more, changed their velvet dresses for common cloth ones, 25 •which they wore every day, and then ordered the distribution of the velvet ones as before. The ser- vants were then directed to leave the room, when Marco went into an adjoining apartment to take in the most inferior dresses with which they were clad when they arrived at Venice. Their relatives were already astonished at the proceedings of the travel- lers, but were still farther surprised when they beheld them undo the seams of their dresses with knives, and disentangle and produce therefrom an immense quantity of most valuable jewels, consisting of rubies, sapphires, carbuncles, diamonds, and eme- ralds of immense value. This enormous wealth, which they brought home with them in jewels, was the produce of the munificent presents which they received in gold from the Great Khan of Tartary, who it appears was on the most friendly terms with them, and treated them with the munificence of one of those Princes spoken of in the i Thousand and One Nights.' Marco Polo states in his first book that the people of Campion, under the Great Khan of Tartar} 7 , printed their boohs. Maffio and Nicolo were well received by this Great Khan, and were commissioned by him to return to Europe and be his messengers to the Pope, and ob- tain from him some Eoman Catholic Legates for his States, and also to bring him some of the sacred oil from the lamp of the sepulchre of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Maffio and Nicolo executed the commission, in spite of the difficulties and dangers attending so long a voyage ; and when they arrived at Venice, Nicolo found that his wife, who upon his departure in 1250 he had left enceinte, had died after giving birth to a son, whom she had baptised and named Marco, and who was then nineteen years of age. This is the hero who at the age of nineteen wrote and spoke four different languages, and joined his father and uncle in their second voyage to Asia at o 26 the court of the Great Khan, where he was honoured by that Emperor by being inscribed as one of the first gentlemen of his Court, and where he remained up to the period of 1296 or 7. When the Genoese fleet went to attack the Vene- tians in 1298, under the Admiral Lampa Doria, Marco Polo, being then young, vigorous, and renowned for his travelling exploits, was nominated Captain of a ship of war for the defence of the country. During the engagement his intrepidity led him too far, and, surrounded by a superior force, he was wounded and taken prisoner, then chained, and taken to Genoa. Though kept in captivity, he was kindly treated, and received frequent visitations from the principal authorities of the town, who were delighted to hear iiim narrate his travels and the customs of the Asiatics. It was whilst a prisoner here that he dic- tated his Book of Travels to a young Genoese gentle- man, who showed him much friendship, and fre- quently visited him in his prison. In the prohemio of this book, dedicated to the Princes, Dukes, &c, Marco Polo says that they will find in it the description of the manners and habits of the people of Armenia, Major and Minor, of Persia, Media, Tartaria, India, and many other provinces of Asia, from east to west, all which places (he observes) " I have seen and described." Marco Polo begins his book by saying that Maflfio and ]N~icolo Polo, his father and uncle, in the year 1250, were at Constantinople, where at that time resided a Venetian Major,, whose duty was to govern the city under the Empire of Baldwin, Count of Elanders, who was then Emperor. They deliberated about departing from there, and resolved on navigating the Mar Maggiore in search of towns for better exchanging or selling their various articles of merchandise. At last they arrived at the sea-port called Soldadia. Erom thence they travelled by land to the Court of the Grand Signor of West Tartary, 27 named Barcha, who resided in the towns of Bolgara and Assara. Marco Polo did not believe in astrology and necro- mancy, or any branch of these diabolical arts, as he calls them; but, nevertheless, at page 17 of the first book of his Viaggi, he relates of the necromancers at the Court of the Great Khan, that when the weather changes and indicates a storm, they accomplish a wonderful feat, which, when he saw it, surprised him ; it consists in getting on the top of the Khan's palace, and, by virtue of their art, preventing the rain or hail from falling upon the palace, while it showers and storms most furiously all around the said palace. As the mission of my work is to treat of the origin of religion and of its mystification by the Popes, I will not contaminate it with frivolities and absurdities which I do not believe. If it were my intention to mislead the reader, I might entertain him with other stories equally surprising with the above. Marco Polo ends his book of Viaggi with the description of Kussia, which he calls a Province, exceedingly wide, and divided in many parts ; he likewise terms it a tenebrous region, where the men and women are fine and fair, with long hair. They are of the Greek religion, and pay tribute to the King of West Tartary. He also remarks that there are many silver mines, that it is a very cold region, and that various skins of animals, Armelini, Arco- lini, Zelelini, Vari, Volpi, and much wax (perhaps- spermaceti), &c, abound there. In the second part of the History of the Tartars, written by the celebrated Armenian, Hayton, son of Churchi, a relative of the King of Armenia, at page 64, I find that in 1244, Sultan Guyadin, when he was defeated in a battle in Asia, by the Tartarian General Baydo, the Turkish Emperor had at his service two thousand Latin troops, who were com- manded by two Christian Captains, John du Liminda^ 28 native of Cipro, and Boniface da Molin, of Venice, These two Venetians were probably the first Euro- peans who had penetrated into the innermost regions of Asia. There is also the voyage of Josaphat Barbaro to Tana, and from thence to Persia, in 1428. At the city of Derbent, near the Caspian Sea, this traveller found several Venetian merchants established. At that time Piero Lando, a Venetian gentleman, was Consul of the Republic of Venice at Cairo. Josaphat Barbaro, in commencing the description of his voyage, says, " In the year 1436, I began to travel to Tana, where I have resided for sixteen years, and have surveyed and visited all these coasts by sea, and diligently crossed and recrossed that region by land for curiosity sake." After this he describes the plains of Tartary, &c. Much later came John and his son, the renowned Sebastian Cabotta, the discoverer of the magnetic needle, which completed the improvements of the compass. The two brothers Zeni, in the year 1390, a century before Columbus, discovered North America and Iceland. Alvise Cadamosto, another Venetian, in 1455, whilst navigating the Atlantic Ocean, approached the Equator; and Joseph Contarini, Josaphat Barbaro, Marinus Sanudo, and the above- named Sebastian Cabotta, and his brother Antony, could not have undertaken long and dangerous voyages unless they had been most expert astrono- mers, and able to find their way back after many years of toil and constant observation. In the Venetian History honourable mention is made of these celebrated travellers, unknown to or forgotten by other countries. With regard to Geography, the ancient maps, delineated according to the descriptions of Marco Polo, and others of his contemporaries, and which were placed at that time in the Ducal Palace, satis- factorily prove that the Venetians were the first people 29 of that period who studied geography and were masters of that science. Besides these there still exists in the Public Library of Venice the celebrated Planisphere, in which Africa is correctly delineated in the shape of a peninsula from the maps made by Marco Polo when he was in Kitay, and which he brought with him when he returned to Venice in the beginning of the year 1296. History demonstrates by facts that for some centuries, while the other nations were living in leisure at their homes, the Venetians, with their illuminato sjpirito of enterprise and their know- ledge, were exploring distant and unknown lands and seas, providing the people of Europe with all kinds of novelties of foreign produce and most useful to humanity. With reference to the Arts, I need say nothing, further than this, that the Venetian Schools are very ancient and renowned in every branch, and that many of their men of genius have not yet been excelled by any other nation. See Canova's works, for instance,, which rival the sculptures of Phidias and Praxiteles. I have debarred myself from namiDg the Paintings of Titian, Paul Veronese, and the other great men of their class ; therefore, I will say nothing either of the great works of Palladio, Sansovino, Scammozzi, and others, who were endowed with the gifts of superior genius in Architecture. I cannot refrain, however, from saying a word about the ancient, celebrated, and immovable Murazzi, which have withstood a thousand times the furious attacks of Neptune, and baffled the attacks of the fleets of invaders for many consecutive centuries. The Palaces speak for themselves, even to the idiots who> cannot help admiring them, particularly if they have resided in other towns. Poetry and Eloquence reigned supreme in the earliest days of Venice, and it was a custom with the Venetians to send orators as Ambassadors to the great Courts of Europe. Bembo, Bernardo Capello^ c2 30 and Navagero, are sufficient representatives of the class. The commerce of the Venetians with Constanti- nople, Alexandria, and Damascus was so great and so regular, that their merchants had frequent oppor- tunities of seeing the ateliers of the East, and buying and exchanging all sorts of useful articles ; and as the Easterns, instead of improving in the production of these things, degenerated very much, particularly in the sixth and seventh centuries, the Venetians, being expert, intelligent, and assiduous, imitated and perfected them, making a variety of improve- ments of all kinds ; and in a short time they excelled and surpassed their masters. In the fair of Pavia, in the year 775, the Venetians exposed for sale, not only the objects they had purchased in the East, but all sorts of magnificent tissues in silks and cloths, worked in gold and silver, which had been made and improved in the Venetian Lagunes. The officers of the army of Charlemagne and his Paladins, rich with the spoils of the Lombard King, flocked there, and bought almost everything, even the imi- tated carpets of Damascus, the woollen tissues of Angora, the gilt leathers prepared at Venice (used as hangings for rooms and coverings for chairs), and many other kinds of fine works, spending their money most happily upon objects of which they had no idea, on account of their novelty. It is said that Charlemagne himself was pleased to have and to wear frequently a heavy dress of Venetian manufacture ; I presume that he provided himself with light dresses also, as he was so much pleased with the workman- ship and the quality of the stuff. The Venetian smiths were most anciently estab- lished, and were uncommonly skilled in forging arms, in inlaying them, engraving them, and con- verting various metals into any shape or form they liked, and tempering them according to the con- sistence which each article required. Their forges 31 and foundries were numerous, and they were con- stantly employed in supplying strangers with every- thing they wanted. The goldsmiths and silversmiths were also clever and expert in all kinds of work, and we read that as early as the year 1123 they worked gold bracelets, which became objects of luxe. Most minute gold chains and ear-rings followed in the train of luxury, and the Yenetian ladies did not abandon their use until bracelets, ear-rings, and chains enriched with precious gems were substituted in their place, when the rich and noble ladies cast aside for ever the simple gold ornaments to the exclusive use of the wives and daughters of artificers and the middle classes, particularly the women of the gondoliers, with whom they would be still in use had they not been lately spoliated of everything by the Austrians. The bell- founders, brass- workers, and smelters were also very industrious, and the campanologic art of Venice is honourably mentioned in history from the fact that Doge Partecipatius, in the year 868, sent as a present twelve brass bells of different tones and sizes to the Emperor Basilius, the Mace- donian. Another scientific branch of manual industry very early in vogue amongst the Venetians,, and not then known or practised any where else, was that of organ-building. A celebrated priest, Don Gregorio, who had his atelier in the Lagunes of Venice, built, in the year 824, an exquisitely-toned organ, which, gained him such renown that he was presented to the Emperor Ludowick, who received him most courteously, and in order to retain him in his service presented him with a rich abbey in Erance. Nicholas Conti, a celebrated Italian traveller of the fifteenth century, who visited the places de- scribed by Marco Polo, found the Venetian zequins in great estimation in the Indies, along the Ganges and the coast of Malabar. When Vasco de Gama 32 went to Calcutta he found them current there, and in great estimation, as well as the Venetian ducats. Colonel Cooper, in one of his Memorials, asserts that from the Mediterranean Sea to the Chinese the Asiatic people knew no other coins than the Venetian zequins. Even in Arabia Felix the zequins were very early known and appreciated by the ScherifFs, who used to keep them under glass shades as objects of valuable rarity. What shall I say of the practice of the vitreous art, which though very well known to the ancient Etrus- cans, Romans, Greeks, and Arabs, yet when barbarism tyrannised over Greek civilization it degenerated in beauty of form and composition, and so much so that it almost fell into disuse. The Venetians began to practise the art about the tenth century, and rapidly improved upon it, in so many varieties of shape, form, and composition that they almost made it a new art. The manufacture increased so much through out Venice, and the demand for samples became so great in every part of the world, that the Senate considered it convenient to fix the factories in a suburban part of the town ; which was accordingly done, as may be seen by a Decree of the thirteenth century, which assigned Murano for that purpose, after which period this island became very rich, and much populated by a very industrious and skilful class of people, who were constantly exercising their ingenuity in the display of colours, and who exhibited much taste in the objects they produced, competing amongst themselves only, as there were then no other es- tablishments in Europe or anywhere else, of any note, where their art was practised. Beads in imitation of the Egyptians were first made ; then followed all other sorts of beads, of various sizes, shapes, and colours; vases, chalices, vario-painted flowers in bouquets and festoons, capricious objects, and objects of ordinary use ; and, in fact, everything was produced there with elegance and in profusion. 33 The cut glasses in imitation of diamonds, the fine lustres, the small and great chandeliers, radiating and reflecting the colours, all contributed to create cheerfulness amongst the artificers, who were as happy as any other mortals could be better situated than they were. I must not forget to mention the mirrors and large looking-glasses, which stood un- rivalled almost to the end of the last century, and which brought so much to the coffers of the Govern- ment and to the pockets of the industrious artificers. I should state here that the Yenetian Government, finding the manufacture of beads and fictitious pearls so profitable to the State, issued severe laws against any one who should divulge the secret of the way in which they were manufactured ; which secret was so zealously kept by every one, that for several centuries it continued to remain, as I have said, a great source of wealth, on account of the vast number of travellers who flocked to Yenice to purchase them, as well as by the quantity that was exported yearly by the Yenetian merchants to distant lands, and from which they used most fre- quently to take in exchange the real pearls, bril- liants, rubies, and other valuable stones. Yasco de Gama reported 'that he found these beads and pearls were profusely circulated as coins in Calcutta ; and Lord Macartney, the English Ambassador, stated that the Tartars and Chinese of rank, such as the Mandarins, for instance, used Yenetian paste-buttons ornamented with works of Marguerites, or beads, as an honourable distinction, according to their grades. As early as the ninth century the market was held weekly in Olivolo, and at Murano two yearly fairs were held for the sale of looking-glasses and every other object in vitreous art. The great annual fair, which lasted eight days, and in which all sorts of produce were exhibited and sold to the commercial travellers of Europe and other parts of the world, was instituted in the year 1180, and was opened 34 regularly on the Ascension-days with great pomp and extraordinary effect, on account of the enormous display of every kind of wealth and examples of industry in every branch of manufacture, and even of the Fine Arts. It would be useless to attempt to give a description of this great fair in this trifling work, for the mere description of the sublime mechanical work which was used every year for the construction of the portable shops, or rather galleries, which were placed on the occasion in the Piazza of St Marco would occupy more space than could be afforded. I will close this chapter ^by saying that until the downfall of the Venetian Republic, there was no branch of manufacture or art that had not at- tained the highest perfection at the hands and heads of the Venetian artificers. Do not ask me, dear reader, what has become of all this magnificence, where and when it disappeared. I have already partly told you ; and Venice, unconquered in her cities and provinces, was ignominiously bartered in the treaty of Campo Forniio. "With the treaty of 1815, her final doom was signed and sealed; when towns and populations were consigned by brutal force to the hands of the actual executioners, whose savage and infernal brutality, and extreme avidity for lucre and spoliation by the means I have already stated, has reduced her to her present state, and left her people with only exhausted eyes to shed tears upon their late opulence, comfort, and greatness. Fancy for one moment if Orseolo, Dandolo, Moro- sini, Zeno, Vittor Pisani, Michiel, Andrea Gritti, lEoccinigo, Loredano — fancy, I say, if one or all of these, or any others of the illustrious warriors and heads of the Eepublic, could rise from their tombs and peep out at the place of St Mark now, what a sorrowful grief, what a mockery to their great and glorious deeds, to their patriotic affections, and their humane civilization it would be. Their great souls 35 would be so terribly afflicted, that I do not think they would be able to find words sufficiently strong or adequate to condemn those who stand inert, thus morally approving the work of spoliation by their atrocious ruling friends. Good Symptoms foe the Italian Brotherhood. The press of to-day (the 9 th of Jan., 1861) reports that the Municipality of Spalatro, and six- teen other towns in Dalmatia, have protested against the Ministerial Austrian pragramme for annexing Dalmatia to Croatia. I congratulate the Dalmatians for their spirit in refusing to have connection with a population which, even at the present day, in spite of the fact that civilization has spread itself to all other provinces of neighbouring kingdoms, have remained and still remain the only savage cannibals of Europe, as they were 900 years ago. This is not at all an exaggerated assertion, particularly when we come to consider the many acts of barbarism and the most sanguinary actions of which they have been guilty, wherever they have been stationed in execution of their military duty during the last forty-five years. Eor these reasons I sympathise with the demonstration of the Dalmatians, and applaud them. I give them credit for refusing the Croatians, for the sake of keeping themselves in reserve for junction again with their very old and dear friends, benefactors, and protectors, the Yenetians. Ey the treaty of Campo Formio, Kapoleon the First gave to Austria what did not belong to him, because he had not conquered Venice, and he had neither bought it nor engaged it for other States ; and because Dalmatia and Istria were part and parcel of the Venetian Dominions, and had been so since the year 997. It was, therefore, an 36 anjMtih fcbfc barter to which he gave way, a? a momentary military stratagem, which I am sure it must have been his intention to redeem afterwards, if he had had the opportunity of so doing. As he failed to do so, however, his Xephew is universally considered in duty bound to redeem the action of his illustrious ancestor, by reconquering, and reinstating the real owners to their properties, and they are the Sovereign people of Italy [the S. P.Q.I. '. that is if he wishes to follow the steps of his illustrious Uncle, I remember the old Patrician Cornaro of Venice, who held a distinguished position in the army of Bapoleon the First, and who had been also one of his pages. He was here in London in exile some twenty-rive years ago : we used to meet as friends frequently at a table d'hote, and had many long walks together. I used to make him talk about the illustrious Eepxiblic of Venice, I being inebriated with its sublimity, and he being as ambulant his- tory, fall of details the most minute, and could recount everything that had been done that was great and glorious in his own country. He liked to talk about, and I liked to hear anything relating to the old wars : and though he was an enthusiast for Napoleon, and recognised in him the cause of his own and his country's miseries, yet he often ex- ci aimed that the Bonapartes were not yet dead, and that one day or another one of them would redeem the pledge. Another of my old friends, Colonel Araldi, also a most distinguished soldier of the Em- pire, used to tell me in 1S48 the same thing, as positive fact, just as i: he had foreseen the advent of Napoleon the Third to the throne of France. "We were also travelling one day together along the Po, by the side of Ferrara, in 1848, when he told me of this event before Xapoleon had entered France ; and in 1851 3 he wrote to me that he was coming to see me in London at the time of the Exhibition. On his departure from London he renewed his oracle by 37 telling me that he would go to. Paris to see Napoleon the Third, from whom he expected great events. The advent of Napoleon the Third to the throne of Prance destroyed the compact of the Holy Alliance, and rendered null and void the Treaty of Vienna. I merely name this as a precedent, and because I do not see the justice or the reason why Italy should not possess the same right as Prance to emancipate herself from her enemies and claim her own property and independence. Neither past nor present history gives the pre-eminence to the French on account of her men of genius in any epoch, though the population of France is more numerous than that of Italy. With regard to civilisation and liberty, the Italians are not indebted to the French. It is true that the genius of Napoleon the First gave the death-blow to feudalism in France and Italy, and that from that time a new European political era began ; but it is also true, that as soon as the French Eevolution broke out, towards the end of the last century, it re-echoed in many central Italian towns. I will instance Eeggio as the most patriotic town of Europe, although endowed with a population of about 20,000 souls. The Italian nation was ripe for liberty, and had it not been that they were waiting to see other nations engaged elsewhere, so that they should not plunge upon them and put them down (which has always been the case), they would have begun the revolution much earlier than the French did, as they had good cause for complaint against their Government. The Florentine Bonaparte family, during the last part of the seventeenth century, produced an eminent writer, a lady, and two other literary characters, who had contributed to the spread of civilisation when the father of Napoleon the First was sent to Corsica to occupy the honourable berth of Judge ; and it was on account of his foreign extraction that that Emperor was induced to be naturalised as a Frenchman. Now, since d 38 this Emperor disposed of Venice, Istria, and Dalmatia, the people have been subjected to the greatest and most humiliating tortures, without any cause or disgrace on their part ; and this is why it becomes an honourable duty on the part of the present ruler, Kapok on the Third, to restore them to their own freedom, rights, and privileges. The Invasion oe Venice by the Taetaeian TJgbes. ]S~ow, as liberty is the order of the day with the Dalmatians, as well as with the Venetians and others determined to regain it, it may not be out of place to open the Yenetian history, and observe that in the year 906, after many other invasions in Italy, the Tartarian Ugres, a ferociously savage tribe, invaded Italy, and committed the most wanton acts, destroying the towns, killing men and women, eating the raw human flesh of their victims, and taking away everything they could carry, finding no resis- tance in Eriul and Lombardy, as those States were neither organized nor prepared to meet an invasion. This is corroborated by Sabellicus, in his History of Venice (Dec. I, lib. 3), the following passage from which I quote : — Hunni non modo pietatis, sed hu- maDitatisetiam contemptores : quippequine csesorum quidem cadaveribus parcerent, immaniumque ferarum more hum ana membra laniarent, laniataque man- derent. Hie nefandus gentis mos, &c. These Tartarian Ugres, knowing that the Venetians were rich, and had never been conquered, had directed themselves there by sea and land, and had already destroyed Eraclea, Capo d'Argine, and Chioggia, when the Doge Peter Tribunus, with the Venetian citizens, on the 29th of June, undertook the defence of the city, and fell upon them with such prompt and valorous effect, cutting and wound- ing those on the land and destroying and sinking those who were in their boats on the sea, that the 39 remainder of them took to flight, some in their little boats, others by means of their horses and carts which they had assembled on the land ready to be loaded with the spoils had their navy succeeded in entering Yenice as victors. They were so terribly defeated, however, in both places, that the remainder were compelled to quit hastily (as I have said) upon their horses, which were accoutred almost the same as themselves, that is covered with skins, tanned or untanned, as they were ; when they took the quickest and straightest road to Hungary, where they finally established themselves, and from which time Pannonia took the name of Hungary. The historians say that these barbarians had an extraordinary number of carts and little horses, and that they were so fami- liarized with the latter that they used to eat, drink, and sleep together, making almost a family circle, and understanding each other like St Patrick and the pig, or St Rock and his dog. Although the slaughter was great, yet some few escaped also by their boats, and went to settle in the Adriatic Isles ; from whence, now and then, they issued and com- mitted acts of piracy upon any commercial vessels that happened to strand upon the coast, and upon the islanders who were not strong enough to defend themselves. I should have stated that, at the end of the sixth century, a very powerful horde of savages emigrated from Scythia, and that, after crossing the Danube, they divided themselves into two branches, the largest of which went about to conquer and settle themselves in Illyria and Sclavonia. After visiting the coast of the Black Sea, and finding that it was not a suniciently good place to settle in, they continued their peregrinations, and upon arriving in Sclavonia they began to run about to acquire new lands towards the coasts of the Adriatic, settling and dividing them- selves in groups of families. At last they found a good situation to build their chief town in, which they called jSarenta, and themselves the Narentanians. 40 These ferocious barbarians, after having fortified themselves here, made incursions into Istria, and subdued by force the defenceless populations ; they then built vessels, and began to exercise their industry as pirates, and to commit depredations upon the Yenetian vessels, and the people of the coasts. The Venetians, the Istrians, and the Dalmatians soon discovered the atrocious dispositions- of the ^Narentanians, and began to defend themselves and their properties. The Yenetian Republic was com- pelled for a long time to keep a number of vessels of war employed for the protection of their mer- chantmen to and from the Adriatic, which now and then punished the JNTarentanians. During a period of at least two centuries of hard and most obstinate struggles with these pirates, the above populations, instead of living in prosperity and happiness, were always kept in consternation and in jeopardy. At last, tired as well as exhausted of their means of self-defence, the Illyrians and the Dalmatians sent deputations from every town to the Doge, begging that they might dedicate themselves to him, and throw themselves upon the protection of the Venetians, provided the Eepublic would undertake to wage war and destruction to those barbarians who were constantly making predatory incursions upon their coasts. The Doge, Peter Orseolo the Second, received the deputations with pleasure. The Senate accepted with transport the offer of the annexation of those provinces, and assured the Deputies that they should soon be assisted in the revindication of their rights. To this effect the Doge ordered a large fleet to be got in readiness ; which was done accord- ingly, when he himself took command of it, and went on board of the Admiral's vessel on the Ascension- day of the year 997, amidst the ovations of the whole of the Venetian people. He started with full sails for Aquileja; he then proceeded to Grado, and afterwards set sail straight for Istria, where he was 41 met and saluted with immense joy and acclamation by the entire inhabitants of the towns of that pro- vince ; who, like the people of Grado and Aquileja, had congregated there to cheer him as their Libera- tor. The whole of the Communes then took the oath of fidelity with alacrity, and were full of hap- piness from the annexation, and the protection they expected to enjoy from such a glorious and powerful Republic. Soon after this, the Doge and his fleet went to Zara, where he found the whole of the re- presentatives of the various towns of Dalmatia, and of the isles (except the representatives of the isles of Curzola and ofLesina) congregated to meet him. The SebeEicus, transport which those Dalmatians then experienced J^f/ His was indescribable ; and the islanders and citizens, as well as their orators or Deputies, displayed so much spontaneous affection in their dedications and annex- ation to the Eepublic, that they offered themselves, their cities, their public and private fortunes, with most unanimous and affectionate brotherhood and warmth of heart. The Doge, seeing that the islanders of Curzola and Lesina did not come forward to be annexed, or to offer any treaties of friendship, but that, on the contrary, they appeared to be disposed to resist (on account of their situation, and because they har- boured a great many of the [Narentanians, as well as for the reason that they thought from the security of their seaports and fortifications they could safely carry on their depredations and piracies), went there with his fleet, and invited and exhorted them to friendship. They evaded him, and would neither listen to terms of friendship, to threats, or to inti- midations ; upon which theJDoge determined to de- stroy the nest which generated all the miseries. He thereupon attacked Curzola, which soon fell, and was compelled to surrender on account of its bad fortifications. Lesina, however, was very strongly fortified, and its forts were situated on a high rock, d2 42 surrounded by inaccessible and strong walls. They were also garrisoned by a great number of Naren- tanians. In consequence of this it was necessary to take all precautionary means in approaching the place. "When everything was ready and in order to commence the assault, the Doge gave the signal, and the troops and sailors mounted the ramparts with fury and indomitable valour, encountering the most tremendous resistance and destruction on both sides ; the Eepublicans, however, speedily mastered the whole place, and the town was compelled to beg for mercy, and surrender at discretion to their glorious conquerors. Orseolo lost no time in following up his victory, and carried destruction into all their villages, forts, and cities on terra firma ; whereby the I^arentanians were reduced to such a pitiable state, that they were glad to beg for peace at any price, saving only their lives, which the Doge accorded with conditions so stringent that for the future the IS'aren- tanians lost all hope of rebellion or resistance. From that time the Adriatic became free from pirates and thieves of all kinds, and the whole of the Gulf of Venice submitted to the government and laws of the Venetians, who treated the people with kindness. In proof of the benevolence of the Doge towards them, and of gratitude and fidelity towards the Venetians, I will state that he did not garrison any of the towns of the coast or of the islands ; nor did he compel them to adopt the Venetian laws ; he left them their autonomy, and treated them as friends, not as conquered subjects. His only condition was a treaty which he concluded with every town of the coast and isles, by which the inhabitants bound themselves to furnish to the Venetian Government an annual sum of money, and in case of war to supply a proportionate number of men for the defence of the States. The Venetians also left them all their commercial advan- tages, and the same security in their ports as if they were natives of Venice, and the Venetian Eepublic 43 guaranteed to them the exchange of the same pri- vileges and their protection. The whole of the Venetian Gulf, Istria, Dalmatia, and the islands were thus, in that year, friendlily annexed, and became happy and faithful to San Marco, and from Venice round the Gulf and down towards Greece the whole of that side of Dalmatia, extending over a space of 370 miles, enjoyed all the advantages of Italian civilization for many centuries. The Senate ordered that Orseolo and the future Doges should assume the titles of Doge of Venice and Duke of Dalmatia, to which the people unani- mously agreed. To commemorate this triumph it was decreed that an annual and sumptuous festivity should take place on the Ascension-day, with such splendour only as could be attained at Venice, and nowhere else. [Nothing like it ever took place before ; and on such days the Doge, in the presence of all the highest authorities and the populations, who came from all parts of the world to witness the spectacle, used to marry the sea, pronouncing, as he threw tiown the ring, these words — "We marry thee, 0 Sea, as a mark of our true and perpetual dominion. ' ' "What a change has taken place now; even the fishes have almost withdrawn from that coast, on account of the filthiness and the smell of the Austro-Germans who infest the coasts and islands. Lately the Austrians dreamt (whilst drunk) of a German Sea in those waters ; but they have forgotten the last grand historical demonstration which took place on the 22nd of August, 1796, in the city of Perasto, when General Rukovina, in exe- cution of the treaty of Campo Formio, disembarked a thousand men from a small fleet at Petana, in Dalmatia, took possession of the place, and marched to Perasto to take down the Insignia and Standards of St Marco. That mournful ceremony took place entirely against the desires, and in spite of the tears of the whole of the supplicating population, who 44 had hastily assembled in the square, and begged and prayed uselessly that the general would leave them their auspicious emblems, and not substitute those of the hated Austrians. However, the Flag of San Marco was inexorably lowered, while the population was on its knees, and saluted with twenty-one guns from the fortress for the last time, amidst the universal consternation and grief of the citizens and villagers, all of whom had assembled to pay homage of sympathy, and to take the last farewell of those dearest symbols of their past long glory and happi- ness. The Captain Commander of Perasto, over- grieved and in tears, took the Mag, and uttered a patriotic apostrophe upon it, expressing the noblest sentiments, and protesting and appealing to all Europe and to history that the Perastians had for a long and uninterrupted space of 377 years sustained most gloriously the honour and the fortunes of the most honourable and illustrious Venetian Bepublic, of which they had been the obedient and dutiful children, and that in return that illustrious Senate had protected them, assisted them liberally and freely, and that they had ruled them with incessant care, and as zealous fathers. To resume : By citing historical facts, I have proved that the Adriatic Islands, Istria, and Dal- matia, and all its littorals, had been under the protec- tion of the laws and government of Venice, from the time of the defeat of the Tartarian Ugres (now called Hungarians), until the conclusion of the treaty of Campo Formio in 1796. In 1815 they were given over to the rule of Austria, which power has mis- ruled them so constantly that the population still cry out most loudly " Murder, murder." Is it not time, then, to go to their rescue ? and is it not unchristian, inhuman, and ungrateful of Europe and Italy to leave to such a fate that most worthy and glorious people, who, in spite of the muskets, swords, and cannons of their executioners, succeeded in 45 expelling them in the year 1848, and forcibly kept them out of the place, and most valiantly defended themselves against superior force, although unassisted by any Eoyal or Imperial army, for nearly eighteen consecutive months; when, through want of pro- vision for the support of the people, want of ammu- nition, and through the cholera morbus, which was ravaging the population (converted into militas patriot), and finally abandoned and besieged by that double-faced lady called Diplomacy, they were compelled to capitulate ? The Austrians again entered, and the Venetians were bound to submit once more to the unmerciful, double-headed, ever- starved monster of prey, who, with another cholera morbus sui generis, still occupies the marble halls, whilst he threatens to devour the foundations of the palaces that support his despised carcass. But the time fortunately approaches when the tocsin will sound his precipitate retreat, and when the people will get hold of him and drown him ; then I shall say, Amen. To any one who is engaged in writing upon any particular subject, it is very consoling when he chances to find, just at the very moment he has executed his task, by the reports of the public press, that a Member of Parliament had enunciated and supported those very ideas which he has already written to appear in his book. Such a coincidence of opinions has happened to me to-day (the 12th of September, 1861), and I cannot resist inserting the extract which follows. The remarks which I refer to were made in an interesting debate which took place in the Lower House of the Eeichsrath, . and the speaker was Signor Lapenna, in answer to M. Gljubissa. Signor Lapenna said : " Being generally acquainted with the tenor of his predecessor's political creed, he did not require any special knowledge of his arguments for opposing him in the most determined manner. Although 46 inhabited by a good many Croats, Dalmatia, lie urged, possessed a number of Italian towns, and moreover had to thank the people of Italy for what- ever civilisation it possessed. He then expatiated upon the political past of the country, which for three centuries had been a dependency of Venice, and without any relation except of an international character to Croatia. When he concluded his speech, he was greeted with the applause of the Germans; who hastened to express their gratification at this utterance of anti-Croatian and pro-centralisation feelings from the mouth of an Italian. Yet there was evidently no cause for the Teutonic majority to exult.. It is a public secret that, if subjection to Austria in preference to Croatia is preferred by the Italian element in that maritime province, the only reason influencing them in this choice is the hope that the Empire will go to the wall sooner than the new and aspiring kingdom of Sclavonian nationality/ ' At this point I feel bound to state that I cannot help digressing from the various periods which it was my intention to describe in these chapters; although I feel at the same time irresistibly com- pelled to continue my narrative of the succeeding centuries. I suppose these things are consequent, either upon my inexperience as a writer, or through the want of having the proper knowledge how to compile this work. And I will take this oppor- tunity of saying here that I never before this attempted to write a book, and that I did not sup- pose for a moment at one time that, from several letters which I had prepared at my leisure for the press for anonymous publication, I should at this date have increased them to such an extent as to form the present historical volume, but which I fear the reader has found disjointed, sometimes in most particular positions. Besides the perplexity which these incoherencies 47 must have caused to the reader, there is another serious discrepancy to be taken into consideration — and which I am perfectly aware pervades the book from beginning to end — and that is the audacity of a person undertaking to write a book in a language, with a knowledge of the construction of which he is lamentably deficient. This is the position I feel bound to state I am guilty of having placed myself in. The only excuse I can offer in palliation, therefore, of the numerous errors which I know I must have committed is that I have never taken a single lesson in the English language, and that my knowledge of it has resulted only from reading the daily news- papers, and my intercourse with the English people. I should farther state, that when I decided upon forming the various papers which I had prepared for the press into a book, I discovered that by accumula- tion they had become so numerous that I could not find time to lay them in strict chronological order, or to revise them. I have been obliged, therefore, to print them promiscuously, for fear that some change might occur in the political world which would render the publication of the work useless. I remember some years ago I used to say, that as soon as I could gain a slight knowledge of its pro- nunciation, and the most familiar expressions of the English language, I would study it. During the time that I have learnt sufficient to express myself in many different arguments, however, I have for- gotten my resolve, and boldly adopted the Latin maxim, audaces fortuna juvat ; and dared to write this book as a political essay, adapted to the circum- stances of the time we live in. Trusting that, as there is mercy for all repentant sinners, there will also be mercy for me, I will now proceed with my task, promising to do my best in amending my faults, my expressions, and, if possible, upon another oppor- tunity — should it be offered me— the book itself. 48 The Eikst Expedition to the Holy Land. Anno 1099. The political ability of the Venetian Senate, the regular and steady increase of the population, the extension of their commercial transactions with Africa, Asia, and Europe, and their commercial tariffs, which facilitated the importation into Venice of all kinds of useful articles of consumption and luxe, attracted to that port all the foreign merchants and their merchandise, and constituted Venice the emporium of the world. It was, therefore, necessary to institute just and equitable laws ; and to keep in order and submission a floating and promiscuous foreign population, as well as the natives, that those laws should be administered with prompt and stern reso- lution. Eor the protection of such immense capital and wealth it was necessary to maintain, also, a powerful naval army. The commercial faith of the Venetian citizens was strictly kept, at home and abroad, and sacredly maintained by the traders and the Government, which appears to have attained the highest glory and the first rdSnk in the scale of powerful naval nations at about the one-thousandth year of the Christian era. "With the Venetians the whole of the eleventh cen- tury passed in peaceful navigation and great com- mercial enterprises, which contributed much to increase the riches and the influential power of the Eepublic ; and to its credit let it be said that that Eepublic was ever ready to extend the band of friendship towards any human family, however far distant they were situated. Towards the end of the eleventh century Godefroy de Bouillon had conquered Jerusalem, and was enthroned King of that city. All his reward was justly due to him for his bravery, his successful 49 achievements, and his superior merit. In this first expedition of the Crusaders, to deliver the Holy Land from the tyranny of the Turks, the Emperor, Henry the Fourth, King William of England, the French King, Philippe the First, the Kings of Spain, Den- mark, Poland, Sweden, and even Hildehrand (who had so much intrigued and stirred this affair, which had been invented by the Lombard hermit, Peter, pour detumer lesarmes Imperiales from Italy, so that those States should be left at the mercy of Pope Hildehrand and his concubine, the great Countess Mathilde) did not join. As a matter of course, the Venetians did not dare to co-operate either, for the reason that the Pope and the Emperor had made war and carried fire and death into every quarter of Italy ; and it would have been a great political blunder on the part of the Venetians to have taken their naval army so far away at a moment of such great peril at home, or near there. The Venetians were, nevertheless, anxious and ready to assist in the liberation of the Holy Land, and had unofficially aided the first expedition. In the year 1099, as the affairs of the liberators were almost at a stand- still, an appeal was made to the European Knights, and two great fleets started from Italy. The Pisan Republic, which had at that time elevated itself into a powerful and respectable State, and had already acquired several possessions, also sent a large fleet, which was met near Eodi by a Venetian fleet of 200 sail, com- manded by the Doge, Dominic Michiel. Between these two Republics there existed a great deal of rivalry, and at this very epoch a quarrel arose, which had been provoked by the Pisans about pre-eminence. From words they came to blows, and a great naval battle ensued between them, which ended in the destruction of nearly two-thirds of the Pisan fleet. The Venetians captured twenty-two of their ships, with 4,000 Crusaders on board. They retained thirty hostages, and gave back the ships and the e 50 remainder of the prisoners, in order that they might proceed with the expedition to the Holy War. After this encounter the Pisans never had any further dis- pute with the Venetians, and always recognised their superiority. It is worthy of being remarked that the Pisans, the Genoese, the Florentines, and other States, which have, either more or less* favoured the quarrels of the Holy See, have invariably lost their power and liberties before any other State, although those w r ho sided with the Empire, or remained neutral, gained very little in proportion to the sacrifices which they made to support themselves and others. After the above tremendous battle the victorious Venetian fleet, in 1099, entered the Archi- pelago, took possession of Smyrna, and opened the road for the Crusaders to conquer Jaffa by assault in the same year. In the following year, 1100, the Venetians materially assisted to conquer Tiber iade, and almost all GaJilea. Godefroy attacked Jaffa by land, whilst Doge Michiel, with his fleet, assaulted it by the seaside, and compelled the besieged to surrender. This expedition ended gloriously, and in favour of the Venetians ; and the Crusaders and the Doge, full of glory, returned to Venice, to receive the popular and Senatorial ovations. Upon the death of King Godefroy, his son, Bald- win, was crowned at Jerusalem ; but he was not so expert in politics as his father, with regard to the management of his kingdom. He, therefore, lost ground with the Turks to such an extent that he was obliged to apply to the Venetians for assistance, which was readily proffered him by the illustrious Doge, Michiel, in the shape of a fleet, which he again personally commanded ; and by his valour and the assistance which was also rendered by the Crusaders, they conquered Acre, Sydon, and Berito. After everything was settled, the Venetians returned home, and remained inactive, as far as any expedition was concerned, until the year 1117, when Baldwin again 51 applied for assistance, as he had at that time lost nearly the whole of Syria. The Doge again set sail, this time with a fleet of one hundred sail and up- wards. King Baldwin was imprisoned by the Turks. As he passed Dalinatia, the Doge took on board re- inforcements. He speedily reached Cyprus, and then Jaffa, where he came up with a Turkish fleet, which he had followed there. He immediately gave them battle, which turned out a tremendous one, and lasted many hours, inasmuch as he completely de- stroyed and sunk the whole of their ships and men ; after which he entered the port of Jaffa, to restore his valiant sailors, and take on board the necessary provisions for the remainder of his campaign. Soon after his defeat of the Turks the Doge went to Jerusalem to preconcert measures with that Patriarch and the Magnates, with regard to the campaign, and to obtain his signature to certain stipulated conditions which had been already agreed upon by both parties. As soon as this political treaty was concluded, in order to give eclat to the first military operation, Michiel proposed that a child should draw lots to determine which city should be the first to be captured. This the Patriarch agreed to do, and accordingly celebrated a festival in the Temple ; the urn which contained the names of the cities stood upon the altar, and the child appointed for the task drew forth the name of the city of Tyre. The siege, which proved a long and difficult one, was immediately undertaken, and after a constant and severe struggle, which lasted for five months, the troops of Yenice and of Baldwin entered the city. King Baldwin was then restored to liberty and to his throne, and for these obligations he paid a ransom to the Venetians, and accorded them certain privileges, &c. The Greek Emperor, Carlogianus, was at this time jealous of the greatness of the Venetians, and he ordered his navy to assail their ships in any of the 52 Greek waters. Upon discovering this treasonable intention, the Doge presented himself with his fleet before Rhodium, when the population of that city opposed his entrance into the port. Michiel, with- out the least perturbation, thereupon availed himself ^f the opportunity to enter forcibly and chastise his opponents, which he did. He then sacked the town, after having first carefully removed into his ships a great many of the best and most ancient monu- ments of Fine Arts. From thence the victorious Doge went to pay a visit to the islands of Scio, Samos, and to all the Cyclades ; when he took possession of all those places, to the great happiness of the popula- tions, and to the glory of the Yenetian Eepublic. This Doge was so highly honoured and so much esteemed by the nations and by his army, that, being in want of money, without troubling the Senate for it, and in order to meet his necessities and keep his troops in good supply of everything they required, without abusing the confidence or deluding the people, or extorting anything from them (they furnishing him voluntarily with the necessary material), he conceived the scheme of stamping his name upon little bits of leather, and giving them in payment to his troops and to the provision-dealers, and promised all those who took them that, on his arrival at Yenice, they should be exchanged for real money. Ey this stratagem he averted mutiny and starvation, and on the return of the troops to Yenice the Senate approved his wisdom, and honoured his credited leather coins, which were faithfully repaid. This glorious, honest, and true Eepublican, in repatriating, had crossed the Archipelago, come along the sea coast of Morea, conquered Modone, garrisoned it, and brought his fleet to an anchor off Sicily for a few days. The arrival of this great warrior there filled the hearts of the population with joy and admiration. The people and the Nobles, as a tribute of their enthusiasm and esteem for him, 53 offered to his illustrious brows the Sicilian crown, which he modestly refused, saying that it would be unbecoming a true Eepublican Venetian citizen to accept it. The honour which attached itself to a Venetian Doge was not inferior to that of any other potentate, and Michiel, by refusing the proferred crown, proved himself a worthy prototype of Garibaldi, and an excellent exemplar of disinterested and human wisdom. I will now leave the Doge Dominic Michiel safely landing from his ships with his valiant army, rich in honours and the precious spoils of antiquity, taken in the conquered places, to enjoy the festival instituted in honour of their glorious deeds. The monuments which they there set up taught, and will still teach, posterity what the nature of their heroism was. In the year 1125, from the coast of Syria up to Venice, the whole of the populations bowed to the name of the Venetian Senate. The Wealth and Grandeur or the Venetians in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries. The repeated barbarian invasions in Italy had not only suspended and destroyed the regular course and development of the arts and all scientific pursuits, but had completely upset law and order, and divided the compact union of the Eoman Empire by sepa- rating it from those great families or communities which were its tributaries, and substituting in their place new, and independent, and lawless masters. Charlemagne had partly remedied this evil, but his collegiate institutions in each of the States of his Empire proved insufficient for any great progress of civilisation. It was the great commercial enter- prises of the Venetians to and from the East to the "West of Europe which so materially assisted and e 2 54 contributed more than any other of the arts or sciences to civilize the populations, to polish their manners and improve their tastes, while at the same time they enriched them, and made them industrious and happy. Their great expeditions to Egypt, Syria, and Turkey, and their constant intercourse with the Greeks, rendered them the principal European carriers for the transport and exchange of the produce of those countries, and later even of India, in the various European ports. It is a well-known and long- established fact, too, that the Baltic, and particularly the Hanseatic ports, were always open to the Vene- tians ; and in these latter, as well as in the harbours of Great Britain, they were under the immediate protection of the Governments of the respective cities, and enjoyed many immunities and privileges on account of their honest and useful speculations, which, at the time of the Crusaders, had reached such an apex, and had resulted in such prosperity and benefit to them and their correspondents, that their wealth became almost fabulous. This was particularly evinced in the establishment of their Banks in the various Metropoles, and the number of manufactories established by them in Italy and abroad. When I open the Erench, the English, and the Italian histories, and find so many testimonials of the virtues and the industry of the Yenetians (who were then known under the appellation of Lombards), and reflect upon what they were then and what they are now, my heart becomes so filled with grief that I am almost compelled to break the bounds of moderation and give way to tears. At such times I often say to myself, surely there is a possibility that some one will one day or other make a propo- sition in some liberal European Parliament of redeeming Venice from the barbarous treatment to which she has been subjected. Is there no descend- ant left of the noble Volunteers who went to the 55 Holy Land with the Venetians, in the Venetian boats, and who, probably, experienced the hos- pitality of this once glorious people in the hospital which was built for the reception of them in expectation of the passage to Palestine ? Did not any one of those Volunteers leave any memorandum or any family record of the companionship of the Venetians, testifying to their sincerity, their disinterested conduct, their love of gallant enter- prises, their many virtues, the generous feeling by which they were ever ready to assist those who were oppressed, and release those who were slaves, and their intrepid determination to* keep up a per- petual war with the barbarians, and thus prevent them becoming the masters of Europe ? I should like to know what would be the state of things at the present day with those Germanic patriots of so much renown if the Venetians had not made war with the Turks in 1684, when they were on the road to Vienna ? We shall see that the Venetians were engaged from the year 1652 to the 27th of May, 1667, in defending Candia ; that in 1684 they took up the quarrel betwixt Poland, Austria, and the Pope, whilst the Turks and the Hungarians were under the walls of Vienna, and that the brave Morosini, with his Venetian sailors and soldiers, after a number of successive battles, conquered Greece, its islands, and all the Morea, and that he liberated the populations from the Turkish dominion, thereby completely breaking up the Mussulman power every- where, thus saving Europe ; all which was the glorious result of his noble and disinterested naval and military actions. We shall likewise see that Austria and Poland -profited by the achievements of Morosini, which through the ingratitude of those nations, and of Europe likewise, were unhappily the means of building up that monumental sarcophagus in which Venetian glory lies buried ! 56 The Conquest of Constantinople. Towards the end of the twelfth century the Christians had lost almost ail the cities that they had previously taken from the Turks in Asia. Entire regiments of Christians, commanded by the Crusaders, had been cut to pieces. The famous Prince Lusignan had likewise been taken prisoner, upon which the Venetian Doge, Henry Dandolo (who was a man of the highest miad, a genius in war and legislative science, an octogenarian, expert in every civil art, and who was universally admired and esteemed by his compatriots and by strangers), conceived the idea of entering into a convention with the Crusaders (who were then passing through Yenice to embark for the Holy Land), by which they should lend him their assistance in the capture of Zara, the metro- polis of Dalrnatia, which had been forcibly occupied by the Hungarians, to the detriment of the Venetian Government, to which that province had belonged for two centuries. For their services, the Doge agreed to compensate them by paying their expenses, and by giving them credit for the expenses of their embarcation and transport to Asia, until their return from the Holy Wars. All this was duly agreed upon. In the meantime, Dandolo conceived the idea of liberating Constantinople from the power of the usurper Alessius, the brother of the Emperor Isaac, who had been dethroned, blinded, and incar- cerated in a tower at Constantinople. His son Alessius had sufficient time to save himself by going on board a Venetian ship, disguised as a Venetian sailor. Young Alessius applied for help, but use- lessly, to the Emperor, to the Pope, and to the Crusaders. The Emperor Philippe and the Pope advised him, as they could not assist him, to confide his cause to and rely upon the Venetians. He thereupon applied to the Venetian Senate for the 57 recovery of Constantinople, and the restoration of his father to liberty and to his throne, and obtained Dandolo' s assistance. At the moment of departure most of the Crusaders had disappeared, so that the French and Flanders Yolunteers, and the Venetians and Savoyards only departed. They arrived safely, and afterwards took Constantinople, in which they were assisted by an internal revolution. They then liberated Isaac : and reinstated him on the throne, when he took his son as partner. The people most gratefully acknowledged the valour and glory of the Venetians, and recognised them as their liberators. After a short time, however, young Alessius, instead of supporting and fulfilling his conventions honourably, indignantly repudiated the treaty which he had made with Dandolo in compensation for his recovery of the Empire ; which he was enboldened, flattered, and instigated to do by a traitorous courtier named Murtzulphus, who shortly afterwards dethroned Alessius, who had attempted to incendiate and destroy the Venetian fleet. Dandolo, with extraordinary presence of mind, most cleverly evaded the impending evil by taking prompt measures of precaution. He immediately collected his troops, with the French and other Crusaders, and determined to take vengeance upon the perfidious reprobate whom they had crowned as Emperor, and take Constantinople as a conquest. All this was accomplished in a very short time. Isaac and Alessius were killed by the people, Constantinople was sacked, many persons were slain, and the traitorous Murtzulphus was proclaimed Emperor, while the Venetians were masters of the city with their 20,000 men, who could not be restrained by any means from sacking the town and robbing the citizens. Dandolo, seeing the destruction by fire and sword was so great, issued an order that the sacking might be continued, 58 provided everything was deposited in three churches, that nothing was sold to the Greeks (to whom the French troops were selling the most precious objects for the most trifling considerations), and that the soldiery should cease setting fire to the houses. This happened on the 12th of April, 1204. An aide-de-camp of Count S. Paul was hanged with his arms and his shield pending from his neck, for having disregarded the orders of Dandolo, and con- victed of having sold the precious objects stolen during the sack. This example checked the melting and the destruction of the most valuable objects, and the precious monuments of antique ingenuity in the arts of chiselling and sculpture in metal and precious stones. Nevertheless, great destruction had already taken place ; and it is attested in a letter of Bald- vinus, written by him to the Pope, that the quantity of valuable things accumulated by the Crusaders was so enormous that all the remainder of the other cities could not possibly possess as much. And when we come to consider that when Constantine transferred his Imperial family to Constantinople he stripped Borne of all the best monuments of art that it contained to embellish his new metropolis ; and besides this that it had continued to.be the Imperial residence for nine consecutive centuries ; that it became the metropolis of Europe and of the world ; and that, situated as it is, it was the most convenient place to receive the manufactures, and a grand depot for the commercial transactions of Asia, Africa, and every other empire, it could scarcely have been otherwise. "When they began to divide the precious spoils, the Yenetians, observing that the French were destroy- ing and selling their share of valuable objects of art for any consideration, or for the sake of making money, they agreed to buy the respective shares of such objects at the rate of 400 silver marks for the share of each Knight Crusader, 200 for that of each Prelate or officer, and 100 for that of each soldier. 59 By these means they saved from dispersion and destruction the finest, the most ancient, and the most precious jewels. Thus the gold, silver, brass, and other metal works of art were secured, and transferred to the Yenetian Museum ; where they remained to the admiration of the public, and served as models of instruction, for many consecutive centuries, to the Yenetian artificers. The land possessions were also divided. Dandolo took regular possession of half of Constantinople, also of the islands of the Archipelago, several seaport towns on the coast of the Hellespont, as well as Frisia and Morea. Murtzulphus then gave way to Baldwin, who was proclaimed and installed Emperor. Louis, Count of Savoy, was at the taking of Constan- tinople, as well as Boniface, Marquis of Monferrato, with many of their troops and retainers ; Count San Paul, with his valiant troops, and Baldvinus, the Count of Flanders, and a great number of followers and other knights, were also there, and all distinguished themselves in that glorious enterprise. I may here remark that neither Dandolo (who gave an Empire to the Count of Flanders), nor Louis of Savoy, would ever have thought for a moment that one of the successors of Baldwin, in course of future centuries, would have hesitated to recognise the right of a descendant of Count Louis to the throne of Italy ! Yet such is the fact, and the youngest of Kings and Kingdoms ungratefully refuses to pay the tribute that he owes to the eldest of Kingdoms and to the Kingly friend. It may be stated that the fleet, which was com- manded by the illustrious Dandolo, in the above expedition, consisted of 100 ships of the line, 120 gallies, alias frigates, and 60 transport ships. It appears also that 20,000 men were landed in Con- stantinople ; therefore, there must have been a crew of at least 16,000 to man and attend to the Fleet while the others were engaged on the land. 60 In closing this short chapter, I append this brief foreign certificate of a contemporary historian : That the state of government and manners were much more improved in Italy than in the other coun- tries of Europe is evident, not only from the facts recorded in history, but it appears that the more in- telligent leaders of the Crusaders were struck with the difference. Jacobus de Vitriaco, a French his- torian of the Holy Wars, makes an elaborate pane- gyric on the character and manners of the Italians. He viewed them as a more polished people, and par- ticularly celebrates them for their love of liberty and civil wisdom. " In consiliis circumspecti, in re sua publica procuranda diligentes et studiosi ; sibi in pos- terum providentes ; aliis subjici renuentes ; ante omnia libertatem sibi defendentes ; sub uno quern eligunt capitaneo, communitati suae jura, et insti- tuta dictantes, et similiter observantes." (Hist. Hierosol. ap. Gesta Dei per Franc. Yol. II.) The Feench and Venetian Expedition to the Holy Land. A correct idea of the naval power of the Venetian [Republic may be easily formed by glancing at the historical period of 1268, when the rage for spolia- ting the Jews was still prevalent ; that is, I mean to say, when the Christian Princes, at the instigation of the Pope and in conformity with his injunctions, pretended to free the Holy Land from the Turks, Jews, Arabs, &c. The Venetians appear to have been the general conveyers of the European troops to the most convenient places of landing, and they appear to have kept in almost constant readiness a small corps d'armee to pioneer the new comers. In the 1st volume of the Traitez de Paix de Treve, &c, p. 81, is to be found the Convention between St Louis, King of France, and the D. Dux 61 et homines Veneticorum, by which the Venetians engaged themselves to convey to the Holy Land a French corps d'armee, composed of four thousand cavalry and ten thousand infantry, with all their provisions, horses, forage, &c, and to keep the ships there, at the most convenient ports, for the period of a full year, and at the disposition of the French Commander of the army, with specified conventions between the French General and the Yenetian Ad- miral, &c, for a stipulated sum of money, &c. The Venetians also agreed to furnish the large ships and the crews to man them, &c, so that, instead of the 14,000 French troops, I presume the total number of men must have amounted to, at least, about 20,000, particularly when we come to consider the number of transport- ships they employed to convey the provisions. It is somewhat tedious to transcribe this treaty, which details the names of the Venetian vessels, and gives their dimensions, and begins thus :■ — Navis quae vocatur Sancta Maria, est longa pedibus 108, quae longitudo est de pedibus 70, in columba ; in largore prorae et puppis est de 38, et est ampla in fundo pedibus novem et dimidio, et est alta in se- cunda coperta pedibus sex et dimidio, et est alta in corridoriis pedibus quinque et dimidio, et a corri- doriis in superius pedibus tribus et dimidio, et est alta in capitibus columbe, et habet duos paradisos et unum bannum et unum super bannum coopertum et duos pontes, et unum super pontem et unum bellato- rium amplum de quatuor vel quinque pedibus retro de puppim ; quae navis cum omnibus corredis et ap- paratibus suis et cum centum et decern Marinariis dabitur pro mille quadringentis marcis argenti, ejus bonitatis cujus est Venetiae grossus ad pondus de Parisius. 2. Navis, quae vocatur Eoccafortis est -longa pedi- dus 110, quae longitudo est de pedibus 70, in co- lumba, &c. &c. 62 There are only eight of these ships so described, but I imagine they must have employed many more of them to convey so large a number of men and provisions, and whatever munitions were used in war before gunpowder was invented. At all events, the implements and engines of war were voluminous enough, and required a great space in the ships ; and so it would also in this book were I to describe them. My intention, however, is simply to name the fact, in order to show the vast means and power of the Venetian naval army of that period, as well as her influence, and the fact that alliance with, her was courted by most of the European Monarchs. I should not omit to mention here the numerous wars of the Venetians against the Genoese. These two powerful republics, jealous of each other's glory, have done considerable damage to themselves and to the Italian nation, as I have already said. They never would or could understand that their own, as well as the general political interests of Italy, would have been much better served by a mutual and commercial intercourse, secured by a good and sin- cere treaty of alliance and peace, than by keeping up a constant state of warfare with each other. In- stead of following the vicissitudes of the Empire, upset by Papism, siding either with the one or the other, and in opposition to themselves, as they have done, the Genoese and the Venetians should have arrayed themselves against both Pope and Emperor ; and, in course of time, they would have succeeded in mastering each of them, and, in addition, have secured their mutual interests and independence. "With regard to the Imperial Vicars, there would not have been the least difficulty, as it has been proved that some of them were indifferent as to whom they paid feudal tribute ; as we have seen frequently by one or the other feudal lord receiving the investiture of his Estates, sometimes by the Emperors, and at others by the Popes. This proves that a little 63 diplomacy would have easily arranged all the in- terests of the Imperial Vicars, by securing to them their States, which would have become consolidated by their forming part of the Italian league. After the extinction of the line of the French Monarch s, after Otho the Fourth, Henry the Fifth, Frederick the First, or, at any other time, as there was a state of constant schism kept up for many consecutive centuries, such a league could not have failed to be successful ; particularly if they had put the Popes in their proper places, and kept them there, with short nails and short commons. Instead of doing this, the two republics waged an inexorable war against each other, which materially contributed to enforce their servitude, either to the Pope or the Emperor ; and when the Genoese could no longer sustain, single-handed, the opposition of the Venetians, the former sold her independence to the Lombard Vicar, so that the usual rivalry might be continued. I wall say nothing further on this subject now, as it is painful to recur to the thought of such great human sacrifices which were made without any good cause and any good effect. Most happily those times are now buried in the past, and will return no more. The brotherhood of the Italian family is recognised by themselves, and by those strangers whose delight and whose interest it was to set them to fight each other, until they were sufficiently exhausted and prostrated for them to come in for the best share of the spoils, if not the whole, according to the old pro- verb, Inter duos litigantes, tertius gaudet. I will not say anything material at the present moment, but I have some slight doubt about these Eomano- JSTeapolitan affairs. Napoleon the Third neither ig- nores the law which compelled him, a proprietor and a citizen Swiss, to quit that territory, nor the month and year ; therefore there are reasons as enigmatical as they are suspicious about this Italo-French and cosmopolistic holy brigandage which should be seen into, and watched with the eyes of an Argus, and 64 guai alio straniero che osera usurpare il suoh di Cirillo e di Pagano, e di tin millione di altri martiri. I give the following passages, though not strictly belonging to my present subject, as it affords an in- teresting illustration of the political state of things in Italy at the time of Frederick the First. The different steps taken by the cities of Italy in order to extend their power and dominion are remarkable. As soon as their liberties were established, and they began to feel their own importance, they endea- voured to render themselves masters of the territory round their walls. Under the Eomans, when the cities enjoyed municipal privileges and jurisdiction, the circumjacent lands belonged to each town, and were the property of the communities. But as it was not the genius of the feudal policy to encourage cities, or to show any regard for their possessions and immunities, these lands had been seized and shared among the conquerors. The Barons to whom they were granted erected their castles almost at the gates of the cities, and exercised their jurisdiction there. Under the pretence of recovering their ancient pro- perty, many of the cities in Italy attacked these troublesome neighbours, dispossessing them, and an- nexed their territories to the communities, and made thereby a considerable addition to their power. Several instances of this occur in the eleventh, and in the beginning of the twelfth centuries. (lEuratori Aut. Ital., vol. 4, p. 159, &c.) Their ambition increasing together with their power, the cities afterwards attacked several Barons situated at a greater distance from them, and obliged them to engage to become members of their commu- nity ; that they should take oath of fidelity to their magistrates; that they should subject their lands to all the burdens and taxes imposed by common consent ; that they should defend the community against all its enemies ; and that they should reside within the city during a certain specified time of each year. — (Aluratori ibidem.) This subjection of 65 the nobility to the municipal government established in cities became almost universal, and was often ex- tremely grievous to persons accustomed to consider themselves as independent. Otto Frisingensis thus describes the state of Italy under Frederick the First : The cities so much affect their liberties, and are so solicitous to avoid the insolence of power, that almost all of them have thrown off every other authority, and are governed by their own magis- trates. Insomuch that all that country is now filled with free cities, each of which have compelled their Bishops to reside within their walls, and there is scarcely any nobleman, how great soever his power may be, who is not subject to the laws and govern- ment of some city. (De Gestis Frider. I, Imp, lib. 2, c. 13.) In another place he observes of the Marquis of Montferrato, that he was almost the only Italian Earon who had preserved his independence, and had not become subject to the laws of any city. I will now pass over the three succeeding centuries, during which the Venetians were in the zenith of their glory, and pass to — The League oe Cambeay. At the commencement of this work I have named the League of Cambray, but said very little about it, as it was then out of chronological order. The point at which I have now arrived is an opportune one to state that the struggles of the Venetian Eepublic, as well as those of her invidious rivals who had leagued themselves together for her destruction, were great on both sides, and that the war lasted from the year 1507 to that of 1516. Pope Julius the Second had already recovered from the Venetians the cities of Faenza, Rimini, Ravenna, and Cervia, which had formerly belonged to the Eoman Empire, and were ruled by Imperial Vicars, when they were forcibly taken from them, by stratagem, treason, and war, by 66 Valentino, who was instigated to that dirty work by his father, Pope Alexander the Sixth, and assisted in the first instance by the arms of the French King Charles the Eighth, and afterwards by Louis the Twelfth, each of whom in their turn formed a con- federacy to conquer and partition amongst themselves the whole of Italy, after expelling the Emperor, the Yicars, the Spanish King, and extinguishing the Republics. Valentino, however, had them taken from him by the Venetians. With the assistance of the League, they were afterwards recovered by Julius, who (seeing that the Venetians were fast re- gaining possession of many of the Lombard towns which they had lost on the first attacks of the con- federate army), for fear of closing them again, meddled, and hastened to propose peace, which was concluded whilst the Republic had recovered almost every town which she had previously lost by the treason of its friend the King of Erance, who was allied with it, and had no cause for disagreement with it. Without notice, or any declaration of war, he sent orders to his Generals suddenly to occupy with a strong corps d'armce the lands of Trevi and Casal Maggiore ; which was actually acoinplished before the Venetians had time to collect and reunite their forces at Ponte Vico. After his occupation the Erench withdrew a portion (the surplus) of those troops to Milan, and there awaited the arrival of the Erench king, Charles the Twelfth. As soon as he arrived, he sent a herald to declare war against the Republic, which did not care about his declaration, as he had broken faith, and the laws established by civilization. I will here make bold to ask what European State besides Venice could Jiave resisted, for so many con- secutive years, the coalization of nearly all Europe, defending itself, as it has done, by land and sea, in so many places simultaneously, and after all losing nothing of great consequence either in power or 67 territory except the towns detailed above ? The cele - brated Eerabo says that they spent more than five millions of gold ducats in that war, which was a large sum for those times. The allies must have consumed even more than that to contribute, after all, to the enhancement of the military glory of the illustrious Eepublic. At the end of the fifteenth century (the period of the discovery of America and the Cape of Good Hope), the naval power of Venice was considerable, and is described to have consisted of 330 great ships {alias men-of-war), a much larger number of smaller ships, as well as an infinite number of mercantile vessels. The war fleet was manned by not less than 36,000 sailors, and there were besides 16,000 men employed in her arsenals. Notwithstanding all their immense power and wealth, the discoveries in the INew "World opened to the other nations such vast fields for enterprise that the old stream of wealth was diverted from Venice ; and the Venetians, being rich, grew indolent, continued only upon the old roads and streams, lost the greatest part of their traffic and their profits, and by degrees saw the other naval powers progress, while subsequently to that time they were almost constantly engaged in glorious wars, which I must say victoriously contributed to their ruin. The Quakeel of Paul the Fifth with the Vene- tian Senate, defended by Feiae Paul. I will now speak of the quarrel between Paul the Fifth and the Venetian Eepublic ; the history of which was carefully written by the celebrated historian of the Council of Trent, Friar Paul, who also wrote the clever and energetic defence of the Venetian Senate against the said attempted usurpa- tion by Clement the Eighth and Paul the Fifth. 68 I have in my possession both of these works, — the History of the Quarrel, and the Defence, alia* ' A Evil and Satisfactorie Answer to the late Vnadvised Bull, thundered by Pope Paul the Fifth,' &c, modestly entitled by the author, 'Considerations upon the Censures of Pope P./ — and I shall not take many extracts from these books, on account of the orthography of the English language at that time, but will pick out a few paragraphs, so as to give the reader an idea as to what were the inten- tions of that celestial and terrestrial jewel. The first book begins thus : " Pope Paul the Eift was addicted from his youth and nourished in those studies, which have no other end but to acquire unto the Pope the Spirituall and Temporall Monarchie of all the world : and to advance the order of the Clergie so farre, as not only to exempt them from all power and jurisdiction of Princes, but further to exalt them above Kings themselves, and submit unto them secular men in all kindes of services and commodi- ties/' &c. This was very good as far as it concerned the Priests in their houses, but out of doors, and even in the churches, as they were public property, the Popes and the Priests found out that it was a mistake. It then goes on to say that the Papacy, and Paul in particular, were much averse to Kings and Monarchs, and that they strongly detested the Eepubliques or " Common weal thes, because consider- ing the Gouvernours thereof in their private persons (in which respect they are without power) he might hope to attaine his end, howsoever they were joyned in one body, and assisted by authoritie which accom- panieth public forces. But above all, he had a par- ticular designe of revenge against the State of Venice, as well because it alone sustaineth the Dignitie, and hath the true markes of a Prince inde- pendent, as because the Ecclesiastiques have no deal- ing in that Estate, and yet farther, it alone (among all Princes) doth not give pensions to any of the 69 Court of Eome : which being by them interpreted a contempt, is the cause that they carry all an especiall hatred, and nourish in themselves an evill will against that State, he proposed no other thing for his end, but to enlarge the Ecclesiasticall authoritie, (or as he termed it) to restore it unto that condition from which it was fallen by negligence of his predecessors, and particularly Clement the Eighth. Wherefore his first purpose was to establish a congregation at Eome, whose only charge and studie should be to consider of the meanes whereby this authoritie might be main- tained and augmented, or at least by examining all writings upon these matters to raise new difficulties, and to prepare occasions for his successors to give perfection unto that which he could not finish, and in the meane while to mortifie the presumption (as he called it) of Secular Estates" This was the pro- gramme of that terrestrial and infernal thief who ruled at Eome, scaring and upsetting the world because the Yenetians would not support at their own expense any vagabond he chose at the Court of Eome, and because they would not, in addition to that, pay large annual sums of money to the Holy Shop. It is not necessary to give any further ex- tracts, as those above given are, in my opinion, quite sufficient to show the cause, or rather the pretence, upon which Paul the Fifth grounded his casus belli. This alone was the real cause of quarrel, and the arrest and imprisonment of Scipio Saraceno, Canon at Vicenza, and the Abbot of Ner- vese, Count Be Valmarino, for criminal offences against the laws and humanity, merely afforded a pretext for making war. I will resume here, in a few lines, the statement written in old English, and give the act of accusa- tion of the two criminals. I should like also to insert here a copy of the Circular Letter of the Venetian Senate, which was addressed to all their Ministers and Consuls at the foreign Courts and 70 States ; but as my eyes are fatigued, I must limit myself to an extract from it. I must also say that I regret much to omit here the frank and loyal opinion of the English King and Ambassador given to the Yenetian Senate, as well as the highest testimonials given by them of sincere friendship, and their disinterested offer of assistance with troops, ships, and sailors at a moment's notice. The Sultan acted with the same determined spirit as the English Government, to the confusion of the Spanish Government, which acted in a most underhanded manner, and urged the Pope forward in his scheme for plunging Europe into a conflagration, hoping, amidst the general confusion, to spoliate the "Venetians of their wealth, and somebody else in the bargain. But they were disappointed in their expectations. This affair happened in September, 1605, and continued till the 9th of May, 1607. The Senate of Yenice did not give pensions to the High Clergy of Borne, nor had they any dealing with that craft. The Doges and the Senate main- tained always their dignity and independence from the Court of Borne, and when Paul the Eifth was created Pope, seeing that in the States of that illus- trious Bepublic he could not enlarge the Eccle- siastical authority at the expense of its citizens, and that it was useless to say there, " I am the Pope, and I will be obeyed," there remained to him no other alternative but to seek a pretext for a quarrel to compromise that Government in the face of all Europe, and attempt to humiliate them if he could not obtain anything else, either by fair or foul means. The machinery of the Jesuits was in its full play, with full power, and the whole of the other religious sects aided them and assisted them with as much as their means permitted. The Venetian Senate was full of wisdom and very cir- cumspect, and would not fall into any pit or trap laid by the hasty imprudence of Paul the Eifth. 71 Therefore he lost his temper, and sought a quarrel with them on account of their having two laws, one touching the building of churches, the other against the alienating of laymen's goods unto Ecclesias- tics; and also because one Canon and an Abbot had been arrested, and were to be judged by the secular laws of the Eepublic. These three heads constituted the basis of the quarrel, which threat- ened to become an European conflagration, on account of the interference of all the great and small European Powers. "With regard to the two laws, the Venetian Ambassador answered the Pope, saying that God had given the power to all Princes to govern their States according to their wisdom and necessities, and as it did not appertain to the Vene- tians to govern the States of the Church, so it did not appertain to the Church to govern the States of Venice. The two Ecclesiastics were under trial for criminal actions, and could not be given up to the Ecclesias- tical Courts : " The incrimination of Scipio Serrano, Canon of a Church of Vicenza, consisted in having with great contempt defaced the Seals of the Magis- trate which had been put to, for the custody of the Bishop's Court of Chancery, at the request of the Chancellor (the See being vacant) ; that he did his utmost endeavour to seduce a demoiselle, his kins- woman, and prevailing not with her, after he had long molested and pursued her in public, and even in the Church, at last, in a despitefull outrage, he shamefully defiled her portall and house doores [decency forbids me to state what with] ; for which cause, being assisted by some gentlemen of her family, she came to Venice, and there put in her complaint against this Canon, who being called readily presented himself. Count Marc Antony Brandolino de Valdimarino, Abbot of IN^ervese, was accused to exercise a most unjust and cruel tyranny upon the country near about his dwelling; taking up the goods of any man at what price himself was 72 pleased ; and to committ vile rapes and impurities with all sorts of women ; and withall to practise in sorcery and other magicall operations. That he studied the art of tempering and composing of subtill poysons, whereby he had wrought the death of his brother, of a Prior of St Augustine's Order, and of his servant : these two latter because they were conscious of his crimes, and the first because he was his competitor in the House ; and that with the same poyson he had brought his own father in extreme danger of his life ; that he had for a long time the carnall knowledge of his owne sister, and had empoisoned her maide, fearing by her to be discovered ; that he had caused an enemie of his to be killed, and after that empoisoned the murtherer, lest he might accuse him. Shortly, that he was guiltie of many more murthers and notorious vile crimes.' ' It appears that these two pretty jewels of the Holy Roman Catholic Church amply deserved the benevolence and kindness of the hangman, instead of the protection and interference of the Pope ; never- theless, for nearly three years, and after going to great expense, the Pope could not be removed from his obstinacy to revoke the interdict or the excom- munication of the Doge and Senate. It would be worth while for the reader to peruse the whole seven books of the History of the Quarrels of Pope Paul V with the Senate of Venice, and the Defence. I am happy to say that the dignity which was evinced in its answers, and the wisdom and spirit displayed by the Senate, were much above the in- trigues and subtlety of the Pope and his supporters ; in fact, the Pope gained nothing, and the Venetians won the esteem of every honest man in every State throughout Europe. France interposed as a medi- ator, and out of courtesy to the King, the Senate at the last moment, after the withdrawing of the inter- dict, gave up to him the two culprits. In this political 73 imbroglio the only two powers which acted from the beginning with consistence, or with a frank, free, and liberal spirit, and which would have sided with Venice in the event of a general war, were England and Turkey, both of which nations had spontaneously and resolutely offered their assistance in the most disinterested manner, and had got their ships and sailors in readiness. The Turkish Admiral, with a fleet of sixty sail, when in search of the Spanish Admiral, met some of the ships of the Maltese Knights, and began to comb them, and it required all the prayers of the Venetian Admiral to stop him from doing any further damage to those black rooks. When the Pope and the Spaniards heard of the de- termination of the Turks and the English (well knowing that Holland in course of time would have joined the Venetians likewise), they shrank into nothing, and all their verbose bravados and cabalis- tical projects were converted into a miraculous smoke which darkened the horizon for a long time. There was a party which gained a great victory, that is, as they say in England, " over the left that party was the Jesuits, who busied themselves with books and pamphlets after the manner of th« present time, and gained their expulsion from Venice and the Vene- tian States. A law emanated from the Senate of Venice against them as severe as the statutes of Henry the Eighth, and by that law they were regu- larly and properly treated as they deserved. Notes taken erom the Defence by Eeiak Paul. Eegnum de gente in gentem transfertur, propter Eccie?.;*. injustitias, injurias contumelias et di versos dolos. Rex qui judicat in veritate pauperos, tronus ejus fW.xxix, in sternum firmabitur. In the olden time the Ecclesiastical Benefices were void by the death of the Intendants, and therefore 9 74 the Court of Borne hath the first-fruits, and the price of the Bulls. Many Benefices belonged to Monasteries, Chapters, and other fraternities ; the Popes perceived that by such a dependence they lost that benefit which otherwise by the Curates' deaths came into their hands, and they considered that, under every fifteen years, such a vacancy might fall out; and, therefore, they ordained that all benefices thus depending, should pay every fifteen years a fifteenth. So, in like manner, may a Prince suppose that every hundred years a possession may become confiscated, and so make them pay every hundred years a valuable confiscation. To prevent which, in some kingdoms there is a custom that w 7 hen anything stable is conveyed over to the Church, the same is bound to give homine, vivente moriente, and confiscabile till the stabilitie be by royal authority extinct. Stable possession, also, is sometimes sold, and paid for the same by some duty to the Prince, or * goeth to strange heirs, for which likewise a certain portion is paid ; as, in like manner, if after the term of many years one of these accidents should occur, would it be Reason that the Prince without any consent given thereunto, should be deprived of these his rights ? &c. (Priar Paul in defence of the Vene- tian Senate against Pope Paul the Pifth, p. 21. London : John Bill., 1606.) Traitez de Lettre du Senat de Yenise ecrite aux Eecteurs Treves 6 &c ^ onsu ^ s e ^ Communautez des Villes, &c. : Vol.3, p. 29. Dieu Eternel voulant et ayant ordonne que les Princes ses Lieutenans et immitateurs paroissent au monde pour Gouverner les hommes et maintenir la societe civile : de la vient que comme lui, Pere et Conservateur universel, assiste et prouvoid a tous par sa grande bonte et sapience : qu'ainsi les subjets des Princes soyent maintenus et gavantis par les loix, et par la prudence d'iceux es gouvernemens par- ticuliers. La Eepublique ayant l'oeil continuelle- 75 ment ouvert sur cela, et non moins soigneuse des biens et commoditez des villes et communautez a elles sousmises que de la propre cite de Venise, a voulu d'un zele paternel que les habitans d'icelles villes et communautez comme membresbien — aimezet portion de son corps d'Etat, eussent part aux statuts et a Tordre qu'elle a cognu leur estre advantageux et profitables. Estant doncques, &c. It goes on enumerating various abuses introduced in Venice by the various pretended religious corporations, and then it comes to say, that as the laws do not permit such innovations, and the stoppage of human progress, that to maintain — la conservation de la liberte publique, quoi faisant nous estimons servir a Dieu, assurer et maintenir de nouveau cette Seigneurie et les subjects que sa Majeste Divine lui a raccomandez. Outre plus il convient pour vivre paisiblement et a recoi, exercer indifferemmeiit justice contre les scandaleux et perturbateur du repos public : contre lesquels, comme chacun sait, se trouvent souvent des Eeligieux et Ecclesiastiques en grand nombre aujourd'hui, devenu si audacieux et debauchez, qu'avec tres-grand scandale ils troublent et tourmentent non seulement les citadins, mais les cites mesmes, ravissent les biens, l'honneur, la vie du prochain, et se licentient a cela pour assouvir leurs appetits insa- tiables, outres les litigieuses et cauteleuses plaideries, leurs meurtres et empoisonnements, attentates contre- le sang plus prochain, pour courir avec tant plus d'audace en la voye de leurs pensees diaboliques. Mais nos ancestres qui ont catholiquement et reli- gieusement gouverne la Eepublique, ont toujours- chastie et punis tels debauchez, quoi qu'ils se no- massent Eeligieux Ecclesiastiques, telle joustice etant permise par les lois Divines et humaines a l'honneur de Dieu et de l'Eglise, et au soulagement des oppres- sez : dont nos dits predecesseurs ont en divers terns ete toujour louez et approuvez par plusieurs tres- 76 saincts Papes en leurs Erefs et Bulles Pontificates. Or nous etans deliberez et resolus, selon notre devoir, de maintenir la tres-juste loi susmentionnee, et ceste si ancienne cousturne de justice, sur tout a. present contre personnes souspeetes de plus grands excez que les paravant mentionnez, Paul V de present ncuveau Pane a ete circonvenu et persuade par des flattens, ennemis du bien public, de vouloir empecher tel oeuvre, enterompre les coustumes tres-anciennes et francs privileges, ensemble le cours regulier de nos tre-joustes loix, ce que aucune puissance du monde n'a ose entreprandre en l'espace de douze cent ans. 1200. This political affair speaks for itself ; therefore comment is unnecessary. If any publisher should think it worth while to issue a new edition of the History of this Quarrel, and the Defence, I am open to any proposition. The Siege of Caneia. — The Conquest oe Moeea, of Athens, and othee Places. The Siege of Candia, which commenced in 1652, and lasted nearly twenty-five years, and cost the illustrious Venetian Republic many millions of ducats, as well as an enormous sacrifice of life on their part, and one hundredfold more to the Turks, cannot fail to afford the historical reader the highest satisfaction, because the events of that siege will convince him of the grandeur and sublimity of the naval and military science of the Venetians, which ranked far above that of their enemies, and must have offered a luminous example to the other European powers, which, before that time, possessed neither the means nor a man who was able to cope single-handed with the Turks, much less with the Venetians. It would require too much time and space to insert here a description of the heroic deeds of arms 77 which were effected by the email republican army under that great hero Morosini, who, after the death of Generals Poscoio, Mocenigo, and Foscarini, was named to command in chief. The chivalric deeds achieved by the Venetian army in defending themselves against the attacks of the Turks, from the year 1652 to the 22nd of May, 1667 (on which day the Turks succeeded in opening a breach in the town) were innumerable, and of the most heroic description ; and from that day in particular the most courageous and extraordinary efforts were made by them in the defence of their lives and in their struggle with death. Their deeds of this kind were too numerous for recapitulation here. It must therefore suffice to say that in less than six months they sustained and warded off no less than thirty-two regular assaults by the Turks, they themselves making seventeen sorties during that time. The Turks also blew up the mines no less than 618 times. All this failed to subdue the Venetians, who would rather have suffered death than have surrendered the place, although they had lost in defending it 3,200 soldiers, and 400 officers ; amongst them were a few volunteers from all nations, who were attracted there by the fame of this celebrated siege. The Generalissimo Morosini, and the Governor Barbaro, though repeatedly wounded, never gave way either to the propositions for peace by the Turks, or to the daily decrease of their provisions, ammunition, and men. At last the Pope, the Kings of Spain and Trance, and the Emperor of Austria thought it was time to interest themselves on behalf of the Vene- tians, for fear of losing their interest and influence through the successful spreading of the Turks. Accordingly, they ordered their fleets and armies to proceed to the assistance of the Venetians, as they were by this time nearly exhausted ; however, they did not proceed there in sufficient force nor in time. A corps oVarmee of only six or seven hundred French 9* 78 volunteers appeared on the scene, under that valorous and really clever General, the Duke La Feuillade, who, through jealousy, would not submit to the views of the more expert Morosini ; he therefore decided to have a brush with the Turks by himself, which he really did, and afterwards returned to France, in spite of the supplications to the contrary of the citizens and of Morosini. He had quite sufficient of the affair, and his pride and obstinacy were cured by a single action, which, however, it is just to say, he fought most resolutely and gallantly. The Spaniards sent a fleet, which, however, did not appear on the scene of action, on account of the winter weather. The Austrian Emperor sent 4,000 troops, belonging to various States ; after which Louis the Fourteenth, the Pope, and the Knights of Malta sent a fleet. France also sent 6,000 men ? under the command of the Duke of Beaufort, who, like his predecessor, La Feuillade, would not listen to the experience of Morosini, and insisted upon acting in his own way ; in consequence of which he brought out his troops against the Austrians, mistaking them for the Turks. As soon as he discovered his error, he recalled his men, and valiantly led them upon the Turks, with such impetuosity that they were very shortly forced to abandon their places and run to the mountains. The French, in their anxiety to possess themselves of the redoubts and batteries of the Turks, unfortu- I nately set fire to some barrels of powder, mistaking them for mines; they began to cry out that the mines were on fire. Siezed by a panic, they abandoned the place, and their arms, and fled with such confusion and rapidity that Morosini had scarcely sufficient time to send them a detachment of his soldiers to protect their hasty retreat into Candia. As the loss of the French consisted of thirty or forty men only, Morisini flattered himself that, upon the arrival of the Duke of Mirandola with other rein- forcements of the confederates, they would soon 79 undertake some grand, decisive action. The French General, however, obstinately decided upon departing immediately with his troops for France ; and neither the tears of the women, the deputation of the clergy, nor the prayers and exhortations of Morisini, could prevail upon him to remain. After this, single- handed, Morosini made new efforts with his army, displaying great valour; but all was useless, on account of the great number of the Turks, who soon discovered that the French had departed. The last attack of the Turks was valiantly repulsed in a sortie by Morosini ; who, though severely wounded, pursued the Turks up to their encampment with a tremendous loss of men. Morosini felt as sure that the departure of the French and the other allies had emboldened the Turks, as he was cognizant of his scanty means of defence, and of his small number of available troops ; therefore, as the Grand Yizier had several times pro- posed a treaty of peace, before succumbing to pres- sure and want of means, after due consideration, and after having called a Council of War and heard their opinion, he wrote to the Grand Yizier telling him that he could not sign the conditions of peace which had been sent to him by Chevalier Molin (the Vene- tian Envoy at Constantinople), except as Captain- General of the Army, and that, if the Grand Yizier was really disposed to treat for the establishment of a general peace, he would send Commissioners to him for that purpose. Morosini, in the meantime, com- municated with Chevalier Molin, so that he might also contribute his quota to the most advantageous negociations, which lasted from the 28th of August to the 6th of September, 1668. The treaty was signed, by which the Yenetians ceded to the Turks the city of Candia. The necessary time was accorded them for the embarkation of their arms, ammunition, and various stores. Permission was also given the inhabitants to embark with the garrison, as well as 80 to take with theni their effects, and any property that they could carry away. Besides this, the Republic reserved to itself the three principal ports of the kingdom of Candia, with, the adjacent Isles, and all those towns and lands which belonged to them in Dalmatia and Bosnia, including even the very im- portant fortress of Clissa. Such was this most honour- able capitulation, as concluded by this brave and in- domitable soldier, who was at the very extremity of being buried in the ruins of the town with a mere handful of men, which was all that remained of a small corps oVarmeewhi^h bad defeated and destroyed an enemy fifty times superior to them in numbers. The admirers of heroic actions should read the siege and defence of Candia, no matter by what author. The result would sufficiently compensate them for the time employed in the perusal. The population of Candia, in consequence of the siege, was reduced to 4,000 souls only, and they unanimously demanded that the Yenetians should convey them elsewhere, which they preferred rather than remain where they had lost their friends, relations, and substances. The General granted them provisions and money, as well as free passage to and the gift of lands in Istria, in compensation for their fidelity to and affection for the Yenetian Government, which approved and con- firmed his generous acts. In 1684, war was raging in Europe; Prance and England were fighting against Holland, and the Turks and the Hungarians against Austria, Poland, and Innocent the Eleventh. The Yenetians could no longer tolerate the violation of their treaty by the Turks, who had audaciously trespassed in many different ways; consequently they leagued them- selves with Austria and Poland, and Prancis Morosini was again elected Generalissimo of the Republic, which placed at his disposal twenty-four ships of the line, twenty-eight other smaller vessels, and six more of minor sizes. These were all in a state of 81 completion and fully manned, and with this fleet Morosini sailed from Venice on the 8th of June, 1684. The whole of the authorities were present to witness the departure, as well as the entire popula- tion, which flocked from every part, to give the warriors the cheerful Yale. In the course of a few days this fleet arrived at Corfu, where it received reinforcements from the Venetian General Purveyor of the Isles, and was joined by some Maltese and Pontifical ships. Prom this point Morosini directed his expedition upon the celebrated island of Santa Maura, where was situate a fortress of considerable importance ; upon reaching the island he commenced the assault upon this fortress, which, however, after uninterruptedly re- sisting the assaults of the intrepid Venetians for eighteen consecutive days, was compelled to sur- render. This victory was the prelude to many others, which were successively gained in a very few days, on account of the activity and military valour of Morosini ; in fact, the Castles of Vomizza, Valpo, jNatolico, Missolungi, and others in the country of Acarnania, were all of them dexterously conquered by assault, and with but trifling losses. Thus emboldened by his successes, Morosini under- took to besiege Prevesa, in spite of the greatest difficulties which stood in the way of opening a breach there ; but by his skill and ingenuity, sup- ported by the valour of his troops, he soon mastered this place also, and there stationed himself for a short time, thus ending the campaign of 1684. In the following year he formed the project of com- mencing the campaign by attacking Corona, one of the most important places of Morea, and to carry out his project he disembarked 8,000 of his men, and encircled it ; but at the very moment that he was about to master the place, he found that the arrival of Bashaw Mustapha, with a reinforcement of 9,000 men, was immediately expected. Upon 82 learning this, Morosini immediately determined to raise his camp, and go to meet and defeat him before he could approach the town ; in fact, he fled to meet his rival, whom he surprised whilst sleeping in his camp, and who was so frightened and astonished, that he took to flight without offering to defend himself, abandoning his artillery, arms, and baggage, standards, and horses, all which fell into the hands of the Venetians, who followed him and massacred a great number of his followers. Morosini then re- turned to Prevesa, and called upon the garrison to surrender. They answered him with insult; upon which he blew up a mine containing 150 barrels of gunpowder, which had hardly any injurious effect upon the Turks, though a breach was opened. The Venetians then pressed on the assault of the forti- fications ; but they were repulsed with great loss. Nevertheless, they were not daunted, but determined on repeating the assault on the following day, which forced the garrison to display the white flag. "While the articles of the capitulation were being discussed, a cannon was fired from the town, which wounded several Venetians whilst they were standing near their glorious chieftain. Upon this the Venetian soldiers became furious, and resolved to summarily punish this infamous treason. In a moment they flew upon the Turks in the most desperate manner, dealing blows right and left, upon men, women, and everyone they met in the streets, thus taking full vengeance upon them for their treachery and bar- barism. The massacre became general, and the irated soldiers were not calmed until those Turks who had escaped with their lives were chained and made prisoners. A considerable quantity of artillery, ammunition, and provisions, as well as a great number of slaves, were taken as trophies and sent to Venice, together with the standards of two tails of the Seraskier and numerous other things, which were duly received by the Venetians ; who held a great 83 feast and jubilee in honour of their brave country- men, at which the trophies were displayed. Of course the Senate, as usual, decreed an annual feast in commemoration of these splendid victories, &c. I must not leave the hero Morosini with his victorious army inert. Being at a trifling distance from the much- renowned and classic Sparta, the people, in remembrance of their former glory, and feeling acutely the debased condition to which they had been brought by the oppression of their Turkish conquerors, leagued themselves, in conjunction with the peoples of the Province of Maina, with the Venetians (who they looked upon as their liberators and friends), and united together made a powerful attack upon the city of Zamata, which was soon con- quered. The Aga, who was the Commander-in- Chief of the place, was also compelled to surrender his sword into the hands of Morosini, to whom he presented his humiliation. Not yet tired of victories, Morosini continued his march to accomplish the conquest of Calamata. He found the Captain (Bashaw) strongly and firmly shut up in that fortress, with 12,000 troops to defend it. They fought ; they lost the battle, and the fortress too. After this Morosini went further on and took Chielafa and Passava, and in a short time he conquered all the places and forts of Maina, freed that province entirely from the Turkish dominion, and made the entire population Venetian citizens. I may here remark that the Venetians were exceedingly liberal to the peoples they conquered, and gave them the Venetian laws, and even the rights of citizens of the Republic, with the same privileges which were enjoyed by the old citizens. The season was advancing, and Morosini, as well as his valiant troops, required some rest. He then directed his fleet to sail for Corfu, as that was a convenient place for winter quarters. On ar- riving there Morosini wrote to the Senate for per- mission to return to Venice to rest a few days. The 84 Senate, with the most honourable expressions of gratitude to the hero, replied u that they found it most useful that he should stay there,'' flattering him, and leaving to him the option cf finding another enterprise worthy of himself, and as great or greater than the others. Upon this Morosini conceived the idea of conquering all the Morea ; and as that sacred land had been the birthplace of so many heroes and geniuses of all kinds, he thought he could not do anything better than follow his own inspiration, and redeem them from Turkish abomination and rule. This project was highly approved of by the w^hoie of his army, who enthusiastically swore to make every effort to accomplish such a noble project. Finding his troops so well disposed, and determined to sup- port him in his liberal Christian plan for emancipat- ing a people w r ho had been great and noble-minded, but who had been unfortunately subdued by force of arms, and degraded by the brutality of the Turks (in the same way that the Yenetians themselves are now Austro-germanised, and stripped and plundered of everything, excepting the extreme miseries under which they live), the Captain-General, who was ready for this great and noble work, conducted the greater part of the fleet to Lepanto. so as to attract the attention of the Turks there, whilst a portion of it took Navarino, and afterwards Modone, though the latter was well fortified, and furnished with a great many cannons and a very numerous garrison, but all which was useless when opposed to Yenetian bravery. Modone proved to be of great advantage to the Yenetians, on account of its position on the sea, and for the reason that 4,000 prisoners were taken there, and afterwards employed as free men in manning the ships, besides the ammunition, and arms, and pro- visions found there. Although Morosini was aware that the Seraskier was marching his great army to Napoli di Romania, and that that town and its forts, 85 also, were well provided with troops, and exceedingly difficult to take by assault, yet he unhesitatingly determined to follow the fortune of war, and accord- ingly set sail for that place. Upon arriving at Tulone (four miles from ISTapoli), he disembarked his land troops, and blockaded the place. The defenders resisted, but were compelled to surrender before the arrival of the Seraskier, who soon appeared with 4,000 horsemen and 3,000 infantry, which were instantly placed in order of battle. Upon observing the superior number of the Turks, Morosini ordered 2,000 of his sailors to disembark and join the infantry, which hastily marched straight upon the Turks, whose cavalry, after attempting to break the Venetian battalions, in front and flank, suffered horrible losses by their artillery, by which they became so dismembered, and the horses and men so terrified, that the Seraskier and horsemen ignomi- niously turned their backs upon their conquerors, leaving a great number of dead and wounded on the field of battle. Immediately after this the fortress of Argos was also taken. Morosini then brought all his forces against Naples, and commenced a regular siege, throwing into the town and forts from five hundred to six hundred shells per day. The Turks defended themselves most valiantly, whilst the Venetians redoubled their efforts, which were wonderfully suc- cessful ; and at the moment that their artillery had almost silenced the fire of the Turks, the defeated Seraskier came from Mount Palamida with ten thou- sand new troops, and, presenting himself upon the scene of action, put his troops in order of battle. Morosini collected his men together in good order, and met the Turks, who fought most obstinately, with bayonets and swords in hand, for three hours, and, for the second time, were defeated, after an extraordinary loss of men. They again quitted the place, and once more took to the mountains. h 86 Morosini lost no time in again commencing the siege of Napoli di Romania, and, to frighten the Turks, he momentarily adopted the Turkish system, and showed some Turks' heads, fixed upon halberds, in order to give them to understand that, unless they sur- rendered, they could expect no other treatment. Fully understanding the intentions of the Venetians, the Turks shortly afterwards planted the white flag upon the walls. Hostilities then ceased, and the town and forts surrendered, when the Venetians entered the metropolis of the Morea, which was well provided with everything, as it was the residence of the Pachas. Mustapha and his brother Alexander, who had surrendered the fortress of Chielafa in the previous year, fearing the Sultan's resentment, asked and obtained permission from Morosini to go and reside in Venice, which the Senate duly approved of, and received them and their families with due dis- tinction. After the achievement of these new victories, the Senate conferred fresh honours upon Morosini, who, with his fleet and army, had by that time opened a new campaign at Petrasso, where he found the Turks ready, and awaiting his attack. Morosini soon set them to rights, after a fight which lasted only two hours, as is attested by the historians. This great warrior next took Lepanto, with its fortifications and its famous Dardanelles. In addition to this he visited, with his fleet, the whole of the shore of the Gulf of Lepanto, extending over a space of nearly two hundred miles. He destroyed the nest of pirates which infested those places, and restored the inhabi- tants to freedom and Venetian protection. Having learnt that the grand Seraskier had taken refuge at Corinth, together with some of the troops that re- mained with him, Morosini directed his fleet thither. Before he could arrive there he heard that the Seras- kier had abandoned the place, and crossed the Isthmus. He thereupon disembarked some of his 87 troops, took possession of Corinth, and installed some of his soldiers in its forts, as that place was of great importance, and was the key to all the Morea. With his fleet he then visited the entire coast of the Morea, and found it free, and under the Venetian protection, except Malvasia, where the Turks showed opposition and resistance. The bad season was now approaching, and the great Morosini, to avoid exposing his fleet to the chances of severe winds and tempests on such rocky shores, directed his course to the Gulf of Egina, in- tending again to visit Malvasia as soon as the weather would permit. Here he wrote to the Senate, giving them an account of all his proceedings. Having calculated the immense advantages arising to civilisation in general on account of his splendid victories, and in particular to the illustrious Bepublic by the capture of so many cannons, ammunitions, stores of all sorts, and men fitted for navigation, as well as ships, standards, and spoils of every kind, not knowing how to convey to Morosini their high appreciation of his merit, as they had already ex- hausted in his favour all their homages, and all the dignities they could confer on him, the Senate decreed, on account of such luminous actions, that the standard of three tails of the great Seraskier, and a full statue in bronze of the hero, Morosini, should be erected in the Great Hall of the Council of Ten, with the following inscription under it : " Francisco Mavroceno Peloponesiaco Adhvc viventi Senatvs.'* They thus rewarded him after the manner of the Eomans, who paid the highest honours to their living heroes. Morosini, hearing how he was appre- ciated by the Senate, and that his deeds were applauded by the whole nation, inflamed by the 88 highest spirit of republican patriotism and devoted to the welfare of humanity in general, was highly pleased, and, with the general approbation of the Senate, which voted him some pecuniary means' for that purpose, he handsomely rewarded his soldiers and sailors. The season getting better, Morosini determined again to set forth with his warriors to conquer other places, and accordingly set sail for the Morea. As he passed Malvasia (which still resisted), he bombarded it; but, as it was entirely unprotected by other Turkish places and forces, instead of losing time there, he proceeded to Misistra, which was situated where the celebrated ancient Sparta stood. He opened a bombardment upon this place, and took it in so short a space of time that he was almost ashamed of gaining so easy a victory in so renowned a place, where he expected to have to display his military skill. Here he took 700 Turks, and for- warded them to Yenice as prisoners of war. As the weather was now very bad, and it would have involved much danger to undertake any great enterprise, he called a council of war to deliberate upon what was best to be done. The result of the deliberation was that they should attack Athens, with the view of freeing it from the Turks. The Captain-General gave the order, and the fleet got under sail: On the 2nd of September, 1687, it arrived in the famous Pireus, which was then called the Porto Lzone, from an ancient and great lion, carved in stone, which is placed there as a monument. Arrived here, the General in Chief called upon the Turks to surrender the place. The answer was that they would resist to the death, for they felt confident in themselves, on account of being well fortified and well armed and provisioned ; in addition to which, they were in daily expectation of the arrival of the great Seraskier, with a number of fresh troops, for their assistance, who were to come from Tebe. 89 Morosini was not a man to trifle time with words, nor to attempt to persuade anybody to surrender, except by force of his cannons ; therefore, he lost no time in disembarking his men and military weapons and everything ready for the siege and assault of the fortress, although it was an arduous task, on account of being situated on a high and inaccessible mountain. In consequence of the rocky nature of the soil it was impossible to excavate trenches, but their military genius found a means of constructing superficial galleries and redoubts, by which the besiegers could work under some protec- tion. These completed, the bombardment began with all its terrific effects, and when the Venetians were thinking that their cannons and shells did not have sufficient effect upon the besieged, suddenly a terrific explosion was heard, when it was discovered that the Turkish gunpowder magazine had blown up. This produced considerable destruction and dismay amongst the Turks engaged in the forts, and unfortunately, also, the partial demolition of the exquisite and admirable Temple of Minerva, which was situated near the magazine, and in which two hundred Turkish families, who had taken refuge there, perished by the explosion and through fear. A portion of the fortress itself also fell down; other buildings were much shaken, and reduced to a dangerous condition. When the soldiers recovered from the shock, they conceived that they had no other alternative but that of being buried in the ruins if they did not at once capitulate ; therefore they showed the white flag, and sent to the Com- mander-in-Chief five of their superior officers, as hostages to obtain the suspension of hostilities, and a capitulation. It was agreed that the Turks should quit the town and fortress, and proceed to Smyrna, embarking in ships hired at their own expense, and they were allowed only to take away whatever they could carry upon their backs. The Moors and the h 2 90 Christian slaves were to remain there ; many Turkish families supplicated and obtained permission to remain, also agreeicg to be baptised as Christians. Morosini, who had the highest sense of Christianity, and an exquisite feeling of civilisation and freedom, highly approved of the conversion of the Turks to Christianity, and ordered the religious ceremony of baptism to be celebrated with the greatest pomp and the most magnificent show consistent with religion, so as to attract by those means others who might feel inclined to follow the same example. Upon the suspension of hostilities, Morosini, with his sailors and soldiers, went to admire the so-much renowned Athens, and felt much grieved when they found that the majestic Parthenon had been so materi- ally damaged by the explosion of the gunpowder depot, which had been placed so near to it by the igno- rance and barbarism of the Turks. Morosini would have remained there for some time, had he not been afraid of a pestilence which was raging just at the time. He therefore decided upon abandoning the Pireus, and wintering at Egina. Whilst here he learned the death of Doge Giustiniani, and that the Senate had all given their votes in his favour, and elected him Doge. The Senate sent to him one of their Secretaries, to announce his election to that supreme dignity, and to present him with the Ducal Diadem, and the Gold Pang with the Seal which by prescription the Doge was obliged to wear constantly on his finger, and begged that he should remain with his fleet where he thought most convenient in those parts. On the 26th of May, 1688, Morosini appeared for the first time on a throne, which was erected on board his ship, with all his insignia as Doge ; and there received the ovations of all the officers, and the felicitations and homage of all the nobility and gentry, and the authorities of Egina and many other towns, who had congregated there, and obtained 91 permission to be presented to him. They were all regaled by the Doge with the most exquisite re- freshments, and the whole of his army and navy received from his private treasure a small sum of money, and an abundance of wines and provisions of all sorts for three days. After this followed a regular number of sumptuous feasts, arranged with the greatest and the most exquisite taste, but which it is unnecessary to describe here. After the feasts the Doge, with his army, left Egina, and proceeded to invest Negroponte ; upon reaching which place he gave a terrible battle to the Turks, in which the latter lost a great number of men. Soon after this, Morisini was assailed by severe indisposition, and his ships' crews were also so severely affected by dis- ease, that he resolved to quit the place, and go to Napoli di Romania, where he duly arrived with all his fleet. Here Morosini partly recovered, and wrote to the Senate to inform them of the state of his health, and to ask their permission to repatriate. The Senate had already heard of his indisposition, and for fear of some misfortune ensuing in conse- quence, had sent there another Proveditor-Generale to assist and direct, or to take the command in case of need. While Morosini was waiting the answer of the Senate, he went with his fleet to blockade Malvasia ; which he did so effectively that the place surrendered directly afterwards to his suc- cessor, as Morosini himself had already quitted the fleet for Venice, on account of his illness, which arose from several old wounds, through want of proper rest, having increased. After the lapse of sixty days, he arrived at Malamocco. I must leave the reader to find the description of the most grandiose triumphant entry of Doge Morosini himself into Venice. All historians agree pretty well as to the extraordinary sumptuousness and eclat of the feasts ; I have not space to say anything further than that the entire walls of every room of the Ducal 92 Palace were decorated and entirely covered with the trophies and spoils of those enemies which had been conquered by the Doge Francesco Morosini. So much for the past and present Jesuitic detrac- tors of the Venetian Eepublic. The present genera- tion should read the histories of two or three great nations, and then compare their deeds with those of the Venetians ; they would then see which of them has done the most towards the progress of civiliza- tion and the good of humanity. In reading those histories throughout, it would be found that in many instances the Venetians went to war, not only to obtain redress for offences which they had received themselves, but for those which had been suffered by other nations, particularly in defence of Chris- tianity. The rivalry and the invidious enmity of the Monarchs (especially of the Popes) were always un- accountable, because these last, more especially, have always been propped up, when in distress, by those same Venetians, whom the Popes, in the excess of their ingratitude, instead of thanking and re- paying or compensating them for their trouble and expenses, only studied new means for in- flicting ruin and calamity on their benefactors; and when they could not find an ambitious Prince who was ready to attack them under some pretext, they themselves provoked and attacked them, in the expectation of creating such a chaos, that with the help of the leagues of the Church, the con- fessional, or by any other iniquitous, demoniacal invention, they might invade and destroy them. I regret to repeat here that, for nearly three hun- dred years, the Popes, availing themselves of the hypocrisy, the religious superstition, and the jealousy of the Genoese, maintained a constant and fratrici- dal war against the Venetians, thus materially pre- venting the advance of each other's prosperity, and their progress in the work of Christianity. Turn for one moment to the oriental Venetian conquests, for 93 instance, and it will be readily seen that the Ge- noese and the Popes were more formidable enemies to the Venetians than the Turks themselves. The League of Cambray is corroborative of this assertion. With regard to the siege of Candia, there is no doubt that the military valour of the Venetians would have victoriously and promptly terminated it had they had proper assistance from the other friendly rulers ; but they had not, and it ended, as I have related, in consequence of the invidious rivalry of some, and the open enmity of the other sovereign Powers. After this short expose of such brilliant and glorious political facts, I need not make a peroration in favour of the rights and liberties of Venice, as a reward due to the genius of her citizens. Humanity, common sense, and justice will plead their cause with greater eloquence than would be contained in my poor and humble expressions ; therefore I leave the case in the hands and heart of the reader, with almost the certainty of his sympathy, and his appro- bation of the right of the Venetians to their resur- rection. I might still further illustrate the claims of this great and brave people, by citing many other valiant, humane, and praiseworthy Christian acts ; but what I have already said would be sufficient to place any nation upon the highest pinnacle of fame. I will, therefore, abstain from any further illustration of their heroic deeds, and pass over the remainder of Morosini's triumphs and his death. I am sorry to be compelled to make an alteration in this portion of my work, on account of Cavour's death. I am truly grieved by this irreparable loss, particularly at this time and stage of the political Italian resurrection. Acknowledging gratefully, as I do, the patriotic spirit of the Liberal Minister, I hope the nation will have his name and his worthy acts recorded, in proper time and place, in the Roman 94 Capitol or in the Pantheon, as a great luminary for the enlightenment of his political successors who have to traverse the dark and dangerously encum- bered footpath, which is ever infested by the predomi- nant black vermin. I have no doubt that the illus- trious and happily-energetic-minded Kicasoli (who gave such splendid proofs of his ability in the con- duct of political affairs two years ago, — so well disposed and so well seconded, by the flower of the nation'constituted in the revival of the glorious old S. P. Q. I.), will be equal to the task, equally liberal, and equally enterprising and successful as the la- mented Cavour, to whom most sympathetically (as the distance prevents me spreading a flower upon his tomb) I wish, corpori terra laevis, spiritui pax, We must, then, devote all our energies to the welfare of the JSTation; and every Italian should help, in proportion to his intelligence and means, to reconstruct that noble edifice, which was unfortu- nately knocked down at the time of Pliny, in spite of the support and patches kindly tendered by several Caesars, until one of them, more generous and good- natured than the rest (Constantine), in his benevo- lent attempt to give more assistance than required, Samson-like, and ignorant of his strength, over- balanced and crumbled to pieces the towering edifice of the Roman Empire, which lay in a heap till two years ago. Through the assistance and benevolence of another Caesar, however, it is now in a fair way of successful reconstruction. I will here relate that I had a dream lately, which I will recount (though it may not be believed as a fact), that Cavour did not die, but merely took an excursion to Olympus to tell Jupiter and Minerva that their favourite country, the Grecia Magna, is now free, and disencumbered from the monstrous bipeds who had inhabited, perverted, and polluted that classic soil for so many ages ; that henceforth it would be inhabited by a genial people, anxious for f 95 civil and moral progress ; and that, out of gratitude to their old benevolent deeds, the people would be happy to see them reinstated in their old places, not exactly as before, but merely as friends and convi vials, as the Nation did not intend in future to trouble them with any sort or form of worship as they used to do. The fact is, Cavour has got carte blanche to invite them all to return even to Rome, where they shall be respectably entertained, but not in the same manner as of old, as we have changed the style. I dare say he will apologise by telling them that they must excuse the barbarians who expelled them from the Pantheon and other favourite places, and darkened with various inglorious and imaginary things the great Eternal Truth. He will tell them that those places are not yet ready, on ac- count of the immense number of repairs they re- quire ; and besides, that so many whitewashings are necessary to obliterate all the black spots ; that the black deeds and even the black men must undergo whitewashing outre-d-ca ; there are so many cart- loads of filth accumulated in that town, and so many monstrous things to destroy by fire, sword, or water, that it will take at least six months to purge the place, even if they were to be drowned in the Tiber — like the Chouans were in the Loire. But I must put aside my dream, and return to the positive. I, there- fore, congratulate myself, in common with the Italian population, upon the acquisition of the illustrious statesman Eicasoli. His diplomatic genius, the versatility of his talents, his assiduity, and patriotic inspirations will all endear him to the nation, who already highly esteemed him before he assumed the Portfolio of Foreign Affairs. Since his installation to the pinnacle of diplomatic honour, too, by his two already published official documents he has elevated himself in the universal esteem and, admiration of the political world, and it will not be too much to say that posterity will hereafter venerate his memory 96 as we now do that of his old and illustrious com- patriot, P. Capponi. I will avail myself of the opportunity to insert here his two public documental declamations, in order to perpetuate his straightfor- ward policy, as well as honest zeal and desire for the welfare of the Italian nation. The people, with these programmes under their consideration, will see who contributed materially to develope their interest and prosperity ; in the meantime they will have present to their mind who have been, and who are their spiritual and material mortal enemies. Tubin, July the 2nd, 1861. (House of Commons, present the S.P.Q.L) Baron Eicasoli, after having spoken of the inten- tion of the Government as to the administration of the interior, said : — " We arm not only for the defence of the national territory such as it actually is, but also to complete it — to restore it to its natural and legitimate boundaries." The Minister then said : — "The Government has the happiness to an- nounce to Parliament that, with the exception of Austria, its friendly relations with the principal Powers of Europe are of the most satisfactory kind. The Italian cause enlists general sympathy, and can still count upon having allies. The recognition of the Kingdom of Italy by England and France and other Powers is a solemn proof of the confidence which we inspire in our friends, and we have reason to believe that it will not be long before these ex- amples are followed by Europe generally. Thanks to the principle of non-intervention, our nationality will very soon be universally and solemnly acknow- ledged, as well as our incontestable right to complete our independence. I have heard some mention of a project of cession. Permit me, who represent by word and thought the Government of the King, to repel with disdain such an idea. I say, once for ever, that I do not know of a foot of Italian soil 97 which was to be ceded, that I should not wish to cede it, and absolutely will not cede it. The King's Government sees a national territory to defend and to recover. It sees Rome and Venice, and addresses them in words expressing the grief, wishes, hopes, and intentions of the nation. The Government is sensible of the great task expected of it, has decided upon fulfilling it, and, God be thanked, will fulfil it. The opportunity which time is preparing will open the way to Yenice ; meanwhile let us think of Rome. We wish to go to Rome. Rome, politically separated from the rest of Italy, will continue to be the centre of intrigues and conspiracies, and a per- manent menace to public order. Eor Italians, there- fore, it is not only a right but an inexorable neces- sity. But we do not wish to go to Rome aided by rash and inopportune insurrectionary movements, which might compromise the national work. We wish to go to Rome in accord with Erance, not des- troying but building up, and at the same time opening to the Church a way of reform by giving her that liberty and independence which will invite her to regeneration — a task to be accomplished by the purity of religious sentiment and simplicity of manners — by that severity of discipline which in the primitive ages rendered her glorious and vene- rated, and by the frank and loyal abandonment of that power which is opposed to the great idea of her institution. The Government does not believe this to be an easy path to tread, but draws courage and faith from the very greatness of the work and the strength of public opinion. The Italian revolution is great because it founds a new era. " I hope that the justice of our cause, our prudence, our firmness, our perseverance, and our boldness at the right moment will enable us to maintain our end." Sig- nori Cordova, Crispi, and Mordini also spoke on the subject. I will now quote the important Circular issued by i 98 Baron Eicasoli, dated Turin, August 24, 1861, to the Foreign Courts, in which, as Prime Minister, he condemns and exposes the enemies of Italy and of civilization : — In the Circular despatches which I have had the honour of addressing to the representatives of his Majesty abroad, I alluded to the troubles and diffi- culties which exist in the Southern provinces of the kingdom; and whilst declaring that I would neither dissimulate nor extenuate them, I expressed the hope that those provinces, warmed by the sun of liberty, would soon be cured of their evils, and would add force and honour to the Italy to which they belong. JNo new circumstances have arisen calculated to diminish the hopes which the King's Government placed in the vigour of the measures it was adopting, and in the patriotism of the popula- tions. But as the brigandage by which those pro- vinces are desolated, feeling itself more closely pressed, has redoubled its efforts — as the co-operation of its auxiliaries has become more powerful (no one is now ignorant who they are), and as in these efforts, which we are inclined to believe will be the last, acts of cruelty which ought to be unknown to our times and our civilization have been eommitted, and to which, consequently, by a deplorable necessity we Tiave had to order a corresponding repression — as all this is so, our enemies have regarded it as a new rea- son for protesting more strongly against the oppression, as they say, which Piedmont imposes on that unfor- tunate country, forced by trick and violence from its legitimate master, to whom it desires to return even at the cost of martyrdom and blood. To these male- volent allegations of our enemies have been added, it is painful to say, imprudent language of men who are honourable and strongly Italian by old affection and profound conviction ; which men, seeing the fatal conflict prolonged in the Neapolitan provinces, incline to the belief that the union of those districts 99 to Italy was made inconsiderately, and that, con- sequently, it is necessary to look on it as of no effect until after a new and more certain experience. For our part, we can never accept the point of view of these persons, though we do not question either their patriotism or the uprightness of their intentions, since we cannot doubt either the legiti- macy or the efficacy of the plebiscite, by means of which those provinces declared that they would form part of the Italian Kingdom, and since the nation cannot in any way admit that it possesses the right of declaring itself separated from the other provinces, and a stranger to their fate. The Italian nation is constituted, and all that is Italy belongs to it. In this state of things, and in this situation of public opinion, the King's Government thinks that its representatives abroad should be informed of the real condition of the Neapolitan provinces, and of the considerations by which they will be able to correct the inexact judgments which may exist on the subject in foreign countries. Wherever the form of government and the reigning dynasty have had to be changed by a revolution, there always remains, to trouble the new order of things for a period more or less long, a leaven of the past which cannot be removed from the body of the nation without fratri- cidal conflicts and bloodshed. Spain, after the lapse of thirty years, has not yet seen the wounds of civil war healed up which, at every moment, threaten to break out afresh. England, after having recovered her liberties with the House of Orange, had to struggle during nearly fifty years against the Stuarts, whose partisans were able to march from Scotland to the gates of London. France also sacrificed the Girondists to the cause of the federation, devastated Lyons, was rendered desolate by invaders, and was afterwards distracted by the troubles at La Vendee, which province, scarcely vanquished in the terrible and sanguinary war under the Eepublic, took up 100 arms in the Hundred Days, and did the same against the Monarchy of July; and yet no one, in the midst of those difficulties of Spain, England, and Prance, dared deny the right of repression possessed by the Governments fully constituted and approved of by the great majority of the nation ; and no one con- sidered the armed resistance to the national will as anything else than rebellion against the national sovereignty, although that rebellion had regular armies, brave and experienced generals, possessed towns and territories in which it exercised authority, and to put it down a regular war and pitched battles were necessary. You cannot have failed to remark the immense difference which exists between the Neapolitan acts of brigandage and the facts which I have just men- tioned. On no account can we do the former the honour of comparing them to the latter. The par- tisans of Bon Carlos, and of the Stuarts, and also the Vendeans, who combated for a principle, would have considered themselves insulted if they had been placed in comparison with the vulgar assassins who invade different parts of certain Neopolitan provinces solely for the sake of pillage and rapine. It is in vain that you would demand from them a political programme ; in vain that you would seek among the persons who guide — if, indeed, there are any who do so — one man who can even be distantly com- pared to Cabrera or Larochejaquelin, or even to the priest Merino, to Stofflet, or Charette. Among the general and superior officers who have remained faithful to the Bourbons there is not one who has ventured to take the command of the Neapolitan brigands, and the responsibility of their acts. The absolute want of political principle which is proved by the events which have occurred and the acts of the Neapolitan brigands, is also clearly evidenced by the testimony of the English consuls and vice-consuls in the Southern provinces, and by the official cor- 101 respondence recently presented to Parliament by the Government of her Britannic Majesty. To this correspondence I venture to direct your attention, and particularly to the dispatch written from the Capitinate by Mr Bonham on the 8th of June, and to that of Mr Severn, dated the 12th June; which latter says textually, "The bands of malefactors are not so numerous as they seem ; but they go about everywhere, and everywhere their ferocious acts are complained of. They rob travellers and pillage hamlets ; they cut electric wires, and sometimes set fire to crops. The old Bourbonian flag has been raised in some places, but it is certain that the movement has no political character, and that it is a system of agrarian vandalism embraced as a pro- fession by a great part of the disbanded troops, who prefer pillage to labour.' ' Still, Neapolitan brigandage may certainly be an instrument in the hands of the reaction which ex- cites and pays it, in order to keep up agitation in the country, encourage foolish hopes, and mislead public opinion in Europe. But as it would be an error to regard it as an armed protest of the country against a new order of things, so it would be contrary to truth to represent it, on the faith of newspaper ac- counts, as possessing the importance and extent ascribed to it. Of the fifteen provinces which com- posed the kingdom of Naples, live only are infested by brigands. That does not mean that they occupy these provinces or that they are established in any town or village, but they live in small bands in the mountains, and from them rush on defenceless places to seek their prey. Never do they dare to attack even a third-rate town, or a position guarded by any soldiers, however few the latter may be ; and if they arrive without resistance in any place, they deliver malefactors from the prisons, and, reinforced by them and peasants accustomed to such sort of enterprises, rob and pillage and then take to flight. Brigandage, i2 102 as it is practised in the province of Naples, is neither a political reaction nor a new thing ; it is the fruit of the wars which have continually taken place in that province, of very frequent political commotions, of rapid changes of rule, and of governments which have always been bad. Brigandage desolated those provinces during the Spanish and Austrian viceroy al- ties up to 1734, and did not cease during the reign of the Bourbons, of Joseph Napoleon, and of Murat. Brigandage in the Neapolitan provinces, therefore, is accounted for by historical precedents and the habits of the country, to say nothing of the excitement of political revolutions, to which in the present case other causes are added. I- will not dwell upon the bad government of the Bourbons in the Southern provinces ; I will not be more severe than the repre- sentatives of the European Powers at the Congress of Paris in 1856, who denounced it to the judgment of civilised Europe as barbarous and savage, nor more stringent than the Hon. Mr Gladstone, who, in his place in the British Parliament, called it the negation of God ; I will only say that the Bourbon Government had for principle the corruption of everything and everybody — a corruption so univer- sally carried out, and with such persistence, that it appears to us almost miraculous that those noble populations should ever have been able to extricate themselves from it ; everything which in tolerably organised governments serves to strengthen, to disci- pline, and to moralise, there only served to weaken and deprave. The police was a privilege accorded to an association of malefactors to harass and plunder the people as they pleased, and to exercise espionage for the Government. Such was the Camoria. The army, with certain exceptions, was composed of elements carefully selected, scrupulously trained by the Jesuits and chaplains in the most abject and servile idolatry of the King, and in the blindest superstition. No idea of duty towards the country : 103 their only duty was to defend the King against the citizens, considered essentially as enemies, and in a continuous state of rebellion, at least in intention. And if this rebellion became real, the army knew that the life and resources of the citizens belonged to it, and that it would have every facility for gra- tifying its ferocious and brutal instincts, and all the cupidity which was fostered in its heart. Moreover, there were no regulations to maintain discipline and give the soldier the esprit de corps becoming his noble mission, his importance, and dignity ; he had no love for his country ; he was only required to be submissive to the King, who, to gain his goodwill, did not even spare the most ignoble flatteries. They were 100,000, well supplied with arms and money, possessors of formidable fortresses aod unbounded militan^ resources ; and yet they did not fight ; they continually retreated before a handful of heroes who had the courage to advance against them ; regiments, and even a complete corps d'armee, submitted to be taken prisoners. It was concluded that men who did not fight would never make soldiers worthy of the name, and especially Italian soldiers ; they were, accordingly, offered the opportunity of returning to their homes, and were disbanded ; but, accustomed to a life of idleness and dissipation in barracks, and unused to labour, they revived with equal fe- rocity, but with greater cowardice, the traditions of Hammone and Mona — they became brigands.' If in their atrocious enterprises they sometimes displayed the Bourbon banners, it was merely from habit, and not from affection. They dishonoured themselves by not defending their flag, and now they dishonour their flag by making it an emblem of murder and rapine. It was thus that was formed the Neapolitan brigandage ; and at the present moment the de- throned King of Naples is its champion, and Naples the apparent object. The dispossessed King resides in Rome at the Quirinal, and he there coins the 104 false money with which the Neapolitan brigands are freely supplied. The offerings extorted from the Catholics throughout the different countries of Eu- rope, in the name of St Peter, are employed to enrol these brigands in every part of Europe. They go to Eome to inscribe their names publicly, to receive the word of order, and the blessings which make these ignorant and superstitious men hasten with greater alacrity to commence their career of murder and pillage. Erom Eome they obtain the immense quantities of arms and ammunition which they require. On the Eoman and Neapolitan frontiers there are depots, places of rendezvous and refuge, where they reassemble, and whence they return with renewed ardour to their rapine. The perquisitions and arrests made within the last few days by the Erench troops leave no doubt on this subject. The hostile attitude assumed, and the language used on these solemn occasions, by a part of the clergy — the arms, powder, and proclamations found in certain convents — the priests and monks taken in the ranks of the brigands in the execution of their enterprises — prove beyond all doubt whence and in whose name all these instigations proceed. And as there are here no religious interests to defend — and even if there were it would not be with such arms, nor with such champions, nor with such means, that their defence could be tolerated — it is evident that the connivance and complicity of the Eoman Court with the Neapo- litan brigandage are founded on the solidarity of temporal interests, and that the object now is to keep the Southern provinces in a state of revolt, and to prevent the establishment of a regular govern- ment capable of repairing so great evils, both recent and of long standing, in order that the sovereignty of the Pope may not be deprived of its last support in Italy. We trust that this will furnish a new and powerful argument to demonstrate that the temporal 105 power is condemned, not only by the irresistible logic of the national unity, but also that it has become incompatible with civilisation and humanity. "Were it even to be admitted that the Neapolitan brigandage is of a character essentially political, the consequences to be drawn would still be contrary to those which our enemies would fain infer. In the first place, no argument can be drawn from its duration ; it must not be forgotten that it is impos- sible for us to surround the brigands on all sides, as would be requisite to effect their complete destruc- tion, since, when beaten and dispersed on the Neapo- litan territory, they find a convenient asylum in the Eoman States, which lie close at hand ; and there they form again, and then, strengthened by fresh succours, return to their work of devastation. "What provinces, towns, or villages have risen to join these new liberators ? Will it be said that the Government distrusts the populations and represses their sentiment by terror? Look at the press of Naples ; it may rather be accused of licence than of abstaining from commenting as it pleases on public affairs. The Government has armed the country in the National Guard ; the Government has appealed to the country for volunteers. The country has amply responded to this appeal. Already have several batta- lions been organised and mobilised, and National Guards and Mobilised Guards, townspeople and peasants, hasten to encounter the brigands, and often expose their lives. At the present moment differences of opinion are disappearing, the various sections of the Liberal party rally round the Govern- ment, so that neither the regular nor local forces have experienced a single defeat. For more than a year, in the midst of so much uncertainty, anxiety, and change, in the full exercise of a new and unrestricted liberty, Naples, that great city of 500,000 inhabit- ants, has not raised a single cry of disunion, has not permitted the extension and realisation of a single 106 one of the thousand Bourbonist conspiracies which are continually springing up, to disappear imme- diately. I think that, from the whole of these facts, it will be evident to you, Sir, that the Neapolitan brigandage has no political character ; that the European reaction established and countenanced at Eome foments and supports it in the name of the dynastic interests of Divine right, in the name of the temporal power of the Pope, taking an abusive advantage of the Trench arms placed there to guarantee more elevated and more spiritual in- terests ; that the Neapolitan populations are not hostile to national unity, nor unworthy of liberty, as some persons would have it believed. We must not forget that these victims of a corrupting system of government supplied heroes and martyrs in 1799, and that they were quite prepared, at the moment of the new regeneration, to take their position beside their other brethren of Italy. What the civilisation and the humane sentiments of the present age cannot tolerate is, that schemes of subjugation should be prepared at the seat and centre of Catholicity, not only with the connivance, but with the countenance, of the ministers of him who represents on earth the God of meekness and peace. Truly religious minds are indignant at the abuse made of sacred things for ends altogether temporal ; weak consciences are seriously alarmed to see the discordances arising between the precepts of the Gospel and the acts of him who ought to in- terpret and teach them. Rome, by advancing in the path on which she has now entered, compro- mises her religious, without promoting her worldly interests. Every upright mind is already pro- foundly convinced, and this universal conviction will greatly facilitate the task of the Italian Government, which it cannot decline, and which is that of restoring to Italy, and also to the Church, her liberty and dignity. — Accept, &c, Eicasoli. 107 The following letter by Garibaldi, in answer to one received from Princess Ghika, paved the way to cor- roborate the statements of Baron Ricasoli's Circular: Caprera, July 16, 1861. Madam — I have read your splendid letter with admiration and gratitude. It confirms the opinion which I have long held, that woman is appointed by Providence to take the first part in the emancipation of oppressed nationalities, and in the destruction of despotism and superstition. You are right. The Papal theocracy is the worst scourge which afflicts my poor country. Eighteen centuries of untruth, of persecution, and of complicity with all the tyrants of Italy, have made its wounds incurable. Now, as ever, this vampire of the country of the Scipios raises its corrupt carcase, and, by discord, reaction, depre- dations, and civil war, offers a pretext for the presence of foreign arms, while, with its accursed influence, it prevents a noble nation from establishing itself. Our mission is difficult. "We have yet many obstacles to overcome ; but the mutual sympathies of the different nations of Europe, the unanimity of purpose and progress which binds them, so that with clasped hands they hasten to the same goal of freedom — are sure guarantees of the final success of this crusade of humanity. So many causes of affection exist between your country and the Italian people, that it will appear to you only natural if, through you, I should address to your noble fellow-citizens a word of advice, which, I think, will benefit the general interest. The present position of Hungary is very delicate. The Hungarian people, who in the field of battle of Italian liberty cemented their friendship with us, especially deserve the co-operation of the nations of Eastern Europe, whose cause is identical with their own. Servians, Croats, Dalmatians, join in the national aspirations of the Magyars. The Moldo-Wallachians should follow this example, and I put unlimited faith 108 in your influence with your compatriots, and in your ability to unite in a fraternal and everlasting bond the Oriental families and their sister races of Central and Western Europe. When, by the wicked designs of tyrants, the people were forced to combat one another, they increased the power of these tyrants themselves. Let them now live together in love and peace, according to the laws of Christ and of humanity, and they will by themselves realise those dreams of prosperity which have been dear to us throughout our lives. G. Garibaldi. The whole of the Liberal press of England and Prance, as well as of other countries, has most severely censured the acts of the highest Ecclesias- tics, in league with the Bourbons who maintain brigan- dage in Italy. As this state of things is both intolerable and inexplicable, the Liberal press re- monstrates against the patient calm, amounting to nothing less than indifference on the part of the Italian and the French Governments. I extract the following article from the public newspapers of the 15th of July, 1861, which will serve as evidence of this, and exclaim, in unison with the learned Editors, " Quousque tandem Papa abutere patientia nostra ?" The French in Eome. — The Opinion Nationale ventures to make the following outspoken observa- tions upon the extraordinary conduct of the French Government in cherishing a focus of reaction at Eome : u The state of things in Italy since the taking of Gaeta will certainly furnish one of the most curious and extraordinary chapters of history that was ever registered in its annals. In the name of the great principles proclaimed in '89, in the name of justice, in the name of the sacred right of people to choose the form of their Government, we have permitted Yictor Emmanuel to realise the desires of Italy, and to create national unity. France, England, Switzerland, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, 109 the Scandinavian States, have recognised the new kingdom. Our desire is that it may consolidate itself, progress peacefully and with order; but by the strangest of all possible contradictions, we stand between Italy and the exercise of the most essential of all her rights — that right which nature has en- graved in the hearts and conscience of all creatures — the right of self-preservation and legitimate de- fence. We allow her bitterest enemies, those who hope for her ruin and sigh for her death, to fix their camp in the very centre of her provinces, to foment rebellion, to suborn brigands, and furnish supplies for civil war; and when the elected King would defend himself — when he would punish his enemies and sweep them out of Italy — we stop him under the pretext of religion, and require from him a degree of patience which God would not exact from saints in Paradise. Such an abnormal situation cannot long continue. It is pregnant with danger, and in keeping it up, we run the risk of goading the Italian people — if not the Italian Government — to some extreme resolution, likely to compromise the general peace. This is a truth which must strike every one. We must assure the future of Italy and the triumph of liberal principles ; we must at length allow Victor Emmanuel's Government to emerge from the stifling atmosphere in which he is pent up ; and our opinion is that it would be for our own in- terest and dignity to hasten the desired solution with or without the concurrence of other Powers — whether Catholic or Legitimist." Tukin", July 14, 1861. According to news received here from Rome to the 11th inst., Prancis II had had a secret confer- ence with Chiavone. The arms of the late Bourbon army, which were stored in the Castle of Saint An- gelo, had been distributed among the reactionary- bands. h 110 English Precedents against the Innovations of the Clergy. As I have particular reasons for thus digressing from the order of this work, and that which I am now about to introduce will give a beneficial lesson to the Eoman Catholic priestcraft, I trust the reader will bear with me, and not consider that that which will follow is altogether out of place. In England, where Constitutionalism has now become Patriarchal, at various ages uncommonly wise laws have been mooted and passed to put a stop to abuses of trust and power, not only by the lay class, but by the Ecclesiastics also. Should there- fore Baron Eicasoli and Count Persigny want pre- cedents at law in such cases, they can easily obtain them. Eor their immediate necessities I will here quote a few acts or proposals, which I extract from MSS. 4 vols, in folio, which were began about 170 years ago, afterwards discontinued, and then taken up again by the Amanuensis of Sir Eobert "Walpole during the twenty-eight years he held the Premier- ship in the administration of the country. The contents of these volumes are a calendar of the journals of the House of Lords, from the beginning of King Henry the Eighth's reign, &c, and they end in 1787, still incomplete. They are alphabetically arranged under the heads of substantives, such as Academy, Address, Army, Alum Mines, Attorney- General, &c. Under the word Impeachment, I find the trial of the thirteen bishops for crimes and mis- demeanours, dated the 4th of August, 1641. It is much too long to be copied here; as the volume con- tains many other things which are much shorter and equally suited to my purpose, I will content myself with giving only the cause which brought on or ac- celerated the Act of Accusation against the Bishops. Ill I take it from the MS., vol. 2, p. 34, under the head Bishops, and it begins thus : " The Lord Keeper by Command of His Majestie Delivered a Petition which was presented to Him being stiled, a Petition and Protestation of all the Bishops and Prelates called by writ to attend in Par- liament, Protesting against all Laws, &c, which since the 29th Instant should pass during the time of their forced Absence, and the same being Eead, was in regard the Lords conceived it contained matters of High and Dangerous Consequence, and Intrenched upon the fundamental Priviledges and Being of Parliament, Communicated to the Commons at a Con- ference, 30th Dec. The Commons by Message returned their Lordships Thanks for Communicating the said Petition to them, and accused the respective Bishops who signed it of High Treason for preferring the same, and thereupon they, being Twelve in Number, were ordered to be brought before the House and Committed to Safe Custody, 30th Dec. 1641, post mend." Vide Impeachment in the same book, where there is all the rest, &c. I will now copy some of them, and at the same time will avail myself of this opportunity to remark that long since I adopted the rule of never inter- fering with the religion or politics of any country where I might happen to reside. I have always adhered by that rule hitherto, and hope I shall not be materially departing from it upon the present occasion by referring to these historical facts, which occurred about 210 years ago, and which now form part and parcel of the pillars and founda- tions upon which is so firmly built and so equally poised the religio-political edifice of glorious Albion. As a mark of my appreciation, and the esteem and consideration which I feel I owe to those great men, the citizens, and the martyrs who baptised and christened with their blood the religious liberties of this country, and as a tribute of veneration to them 112 and their noble deeds, and as an encouragement to other countries to follow in the same steps for the attainment and accomplishment of like ends, I take the liberty of copying the following from page 26, Yol. the 2nd, of the MS. above-named, under the word Bills. " For disabling Persons in Holy Orders to Exercise Temporal Jurisdiction, brought from the Commons, and Speed in the Passing of it Eecommended, and the Bill was read the first time 23rd October. It being moved to Bead the second time, it was desired by some Lords that it might be deferred till another Session, they Alledging the Substance of it was voted against in a former Bill this Session, but the matter being debated, the Bill was ordered to be taken into Consideration the next day peremptorily, 27th Oc- tober. The Commons by Message desire the Lords to proceed in the Bill 14th June. The Bill was Bead a second time, and committed 4th February, post merid. The Committee of the whole House having gone through the Bill with Amendments, the same were Eeported, and the Bill was read the third time and Pass'd, and Dissent, 5th Feb. The Com- mons signified their Agreement to the Amendments, and desired some Lords might be sent to the King to desire Him to Crown this Bill with the Boyal Assent, 7th Feb. Reasons of both Houses sent to His Majesty for passing it, 8th Feb. Passed by Com- mission, 14th Feb, 1641." The substance and wisdom of this law was entirely extracted by the English legislators from the Decree issued by Pope Paschal the Second in the year 1111, after he had been tamed of his impertinent arrogance, and subdued by war, by the Emperor of the Holy Eoman Empire, Henry the Fifth. This Decree (of which I have already made a copy, as well as of the whole of those transactions resulting from that war of usurpations, by the Pope) is a masterpiece of castiga- tion and self-condemnation of that and of all the other 113 succeeding Popes. As I have submitted to the reader this Decree in its entirety, in its chronological order, I shall here simply quote the preamble of it, which commences thus : Paschalis Papas Deere turn. "Pas- chalis Episcopus, Servus Servorum Dei, dilecto filio Henrico Kegi, et ejus Successoribus Imperatoribus," &c. Divinse legis institutionibus sancitum est, et sacris canonibus interdictum, ne Sacerdotes curis seculari- bus occupentur, neve ad Comitatum, nisi pro dam- natis eruendis, atquepro aliis, qui injuriampatiuntur, accedant. TJnde ad Apost. Paulus inquit : Judicia si l Corinth., &. habueritis, contemptibiles qui sunt in Ecclesia, illos constituite ad judicandum, &c. It will be plainly seen that Paschal even quotes the Bible to serve his purpose, though he forbids it to the secular people. I begin to wonder what the saints of the almanack for next year will say to me for disinterring such old documents and conventions, which had been agreed upon after a schism and a war. My answer will be that this Paschal knew very well both before and at that time, what he contemplated doing and what] he did, when he took without permission that which did not belong to him ; for he was well aware what belonged to him, and what to Caesar. Neither admonition nor advice on the part of the Emperor, however, could prevail upon him to desist and make restitution of the sacred Caesarian rights. This was a bold attempt to revive the old constitutional fever of the Popes — the pilfering fever — which, however, gave way to the prompt and successfully-administered doses of emetico-cathartic medicines, and he was soon purged and cleared by the disgorgement of the greedily swal- lowed heterogeneous bodies which had produced that mad fever. Erom vol. 2, p. 31, of the MS. Calendar, under the head of Bill, I take the following : — "Against Scandalous Clergymen, and four private Bills brought from the Commons 12th April. The Bill Read the first time 26th ApriL A 2nd time and Jc2 114 Committed 2nd May. The Commons desired the Bill might be hastened 1st June. The House was in Committee on it 20th June. A Select Committee was appointed to Consider of the Amendment? 23rd June. The Commons desired the Bill might be Dispatch' d 25th June, and 30th July. The Bill was referrd to two Judges 24th Jan. The Commons by Message desired expedition might be given to the Bill, and thereupon the Committee for it was Ordered to Meet in the Afternoon 27th Jan. The said Bill was reported with Amendments and Approv'd of 28th Jan. Eead the 3rd time and Pass'd 30th Jan. 1642. The Commons Signified their Agreement to the Amendments the same day in the Afternoon." Here is a further specimen, which relates to an- other matter in connection with the Clergy. I take it from the same book, p. 30, under the head of Bill. "For Suppressing divers Innovations in Churches, and brought up 24th March 1641. — Head the first time 25th of March. A 2nd time, and Committed, 29th March. The Commons desired the Lords would give Expedition to the Bill 1st and 12th April, 1st and 25th June. The said Bill was Debated in a Com- mittee 14th July. The House having been again in a Committee on it, 'twas referrd to Justice Crauley to draw a Proviso that the taking down Glass Win- dow may be done by such Commissioners as shall be appointed by both Houses 15th July. The Amend- ments were Bead, as also the Bill with them, and then the Bill was read the 3rd time, and Pass'd, and sent to the Commons 16th July. A free Conference was had at the desire of the Commons concerning some Alterations in the Bill, 30th July, 1542." Again, under the head of Bill, in the same rolume, p. 23, occurs this : — '' For Regulating Archbishops, Bishops, Deans, and Chapters— Read the first time 1st Julv, post merid. A 2nd time and Committed 3rd July, 1641." From the said MS. vol. ii, p. 48, under the head Conference : — 115 " Another Conference desired by the Commons concerning some reasons to be offered to His Majes- tie for the speedy Passing of the Bill to take away the Yotes of Bishops, and had, and the Commons Reasons being Reported, the Lords Agreed to joyn therein, and directed the same to be presented to His Majestic 8th Feb. 1611, post merid." In the same volume, p. 49, also occurs this: — " Another Conference desired by the Lords touching the Amendments in the Bill against Pluralities 12th Feb. The Commons by Message Signified they were ready for the Conference, and the Lords Agreed to meet with them in the Afternoon, 14th Feb. The Conference was accordingly had the 14th Feb., post merid. A free Conference was desired by the Com- mons touching the Bill, 24th Feb., post merid. An- other free Conference was desired by Commons, 22nd March. The same was agreed to, and the Bill was Recommitted, 23rd March, 1641. The Commons de- sired Expedition might be given to it, 1st and 12th April. The former Alterations waived, and a Proviso was added and sent to the Commons, and a Conference being had at their desire they signify ed their Agreement to the Proviso, and the Lords, at the Commons' request, changed the word (June) to (August), and immediately Signified the same to them in the Painted Chamber, 3rd May. The Bill was Read the 3rd time and Pass'd, 4th May. It was ordered to be sent to the King to be Pass'd, 20th June. His Majestie to be desired to Pass it, 14th July, 1642." I am resolved to make no remark or comment whatever upon these affairs, notwithstanding I am of opinion that, even at the present time, they might be of some service to those upon whom is placed the responsibility of conducting the public weal in moral order, not only in the public streets, but particularly in the Churches. I will therefore transcribe some chapters ad rem from the said second volume of MSS., 116 under the head Church. I take the following from p. 78 i " Eites or Ceremonies in the Church which may give Offence not to be Introduced, 16th Jan. 1640. " Church of Halsted in Essex, the Examination of a great Disorder and Riot Committed in it by one Poole, and Haward was Eecommended by the King, and they were ordered to be sent for as Delinquents, 30th Nov. 1640. The Lord-Lieutenants to command the Deputy-Lieutenants to take care to apprehend them, 10th Dec. They w^ere brought to the Ear, and denying the Eact were committed to the Eleet till the Matter be heard, 12th Dec. Examination had, and they ordered to make their submission, and to be discharged, 19th Dec. They having made their Submission accordingly, the Proceedings against them were Ordered to be Stopp'd, 13th March, 1640." "Were I to ask the Mr Poole who occupied so con- spicuous a place in the Police reports during the winter or summer of 1860 (I forget which), with re- gard to his inquisitory and extra- amatorial impudic questions at the Confessional of St Earabbas, if I were to ask him, I say, whether he is a distant relative and descendant of the above-named gentleman, he might assert his right to refuse an answer, and upbraid me with impertinent inquisitiveness in interfering with that which I must confess I myself think derogatory to my present business. I therefore leave him fixed on the cross upon Mount Calvary, to contemplate the stars in lieu of Earabbas, and proceed to take another quotation from the Constitutional MSS. in my possession, to establish the rights and prece- dents of liberal Governments, to bring to trial and destitute and punish, according to the evidence adduced, the Eight Eeverend Transgressors of Secular and Canonic Laws ; and I do so for the sake of doing homage, and encouraging the present enlightened Erench and Italian Ministers in their administration of the Laws and Justice of the Eealms. 117 *t A Committee appointed to consider all Innova- tions in the Church concerning Religion, 1st March, They were Iin powered to send for the Learned men to assist them, 6th March. Directed to meet on par- ticular Day, 10th March. They were Ordered peremptorily to Meet on the 29th and 24th March, 1640. Order' d to meet that day sev'night peremp- torily, 29th March. [Although I do understand this, it reads like a puzzle to me ; nevertheless, I will be a faithful copyist, and nothing more.] An- other time appointed for meeting, 5th April, 1641. [The next case is this.] Divine Service having been Disturbed in Churches in Cheshire, it was Ordered to be performed according to Law, and Such as Disturb it to be severely punished, 23rd April. Upon a Certificate of the Magistrates that they found no such Disturbances as was complained of, 'twas referr'd to the Committee for Innovations, 31st May, 1641." There is no ambiguity whatever about this ; it is clear enough. I will now proceed to the next case, also under the head of Church : " A Petition Complaining of Certain Disorders in Churches in South wark Road, and the Offenders' names to be given in, 9th June. Given in accordingly, and they were ordered to be sent for as Delinquents, 10th June. Counsel and Witnesses heard, and new Rails Ordered forthwith to be set up about the Com- munion Table in the same manner as they have been for 50 years past, at the cost of the Delinquents, who were publicly to acknowledge their faults, and to be committed to the Fleet, and one Waineman and Bonace, for Making a great Tumult in the time of the Administration of the Sacrament, were Com- mitted to the King's Bench, to stand on a Stool in the Streets and Acknowledge their faults, and to pay a Fine of 20 S. to the King, 17th June. One Sheplieard who was Committed to the Fleet, Acknow- ledging the Sentence to be just, was set at liberty, 5th July. The other Persons Sentenced, upon 118 Acknowledging the same to be just, to be also Released, and in regard to their Poverty they were Excused from Setting up the Rails, 19th July. Upon their Petition to the purpose aforementioned they were Released accordingly. Waineman and Bonace, upon their Acknowledgment, were Dis- charged, and their fine Remitted, 22nd July, 1641." I will here give it as my humble opinion that these few extracts from this English History (I call it so, from the fact that it is the most accurate his- torical collection of documents, proposed, past, or rejected in the Senate of these Realms from the beginning of the reign of King Henry the Eighth to the end of the political career of Sir Robert Walpole, extant) should be quite sufficient for the present, as I have said, to show the leaders of modern Consti- tutional Government what steps might be safely taken by them in imitation of other illustrious Constitutional predecessors, who at various times had recourse to the prompt and energetic wisdom which was contained in these measures to disentangle and clear the way from the political obstructions, ma- chinations, and snares invented by the then mutinous Clergy. If I were not afraid of indirectly offending the present class of Clergymen, I would select further extracts from various other chapters ; but I desist for this reason, as well as from the fact that they might be deemed superfluous. I will therefore apologise to the reader for what I have already tran- scribed, and then resume the subject of my work. The Right of the House of Savoy to the Italian Throne. The election of Victor Emmanuel to the throne of Italy was responded to by every true Italian heart. Of all others, Victor Emmanuel was the fittest monarch to wear the crown of that country, for the 119 liberties and rights of which he so nobly fought, and scorned to think of danger when " Liberty, glorious liberty, to the soil of Italy " was the battle-cry. There are other reasons too, besides these, why the Italians would have none other than Victor Em- manuel, or his successors, for their King : first, be- cause he is the oldest Sovereign Euler in any part of the Italian dominions, and, rhetorically speaking, the pars pro toto is the same as to turn pro parte ; par- ticularly when derived by a legitimate lineal descent of about forty consecutive generations. There is no other legitimate Italian Sovereign, and, for this reason alone, he is fully entitled to the Italian throne. The Lorraines, the Bourbons, and the ex- Este Sovereigns are all spurious branches, and hetero- geneous to the Italian elements, never having reigned to the hearts' content of the populations, nor with their consent. The Este family only had a prescrip- tive right, which was of very ancient date, like the Savoy Carignan ; but their rights died away with the grandmother (who was the last of the Este family) of the late Erancis the Eifth, the ex-Duke of Modena. I say late, because the Eternal God, in his merciful Providence, decreed that this last abortion of that family, in punishment for the crimes of his ancestors, should, like a mule, be impotent to generate ; there- fore, dead or alive, it is all the same for him, and, if there is any sense or feeling in him, he will endure remorse for his forefathers' crimes, committed to the detriment of those unfortunate Modenese people, who had to bear their absolute and despotic rules in Eerrara, Modena, Eeggio, and other towns for nearly a thousand years. Secondly, because, at various epochs, the House of Savoy had waited the oppor- tunities, and attempted to redeem Italy from the stranger's oppression, and, two or three centuries back, not only re-established the glory of the Italian arms at home, and freely and liberally (as far as was permitted by contemporary Sovereigns) ruled in her 120 own States, but actually rebuked and baffled the Papal impostures sent to her in ancient times in the shape of Bulls or monitories, and maintained her rights and privileges at home for the welfare of her subjects; she also harboured the Waldenses at various times with a tolerance worthy of applause, though at others she was compelled, through the imposition of the powerful States, to persecute them. Thirdly, and lastly, because Victor Emmanuel, like an old Paladin, is brave, honest, and free — as desirous of his own liberty as he is of that of his subjects — gentle and generous, valiant as were Poland, Pichard Cceur-de- Lion, Orseolo, Morosini, Mocenico, Dandolo, &c. of old, and equally heroic as the modern warriors, Napo- leon and Garibaldi. Therefore no one shall presume to reign in Italy but he, the chosen of the nation, the honourable sword of Italy, the defender of the faith of regenerated, resuscitated Italy. It is not my intention in what follows hereafter to entertain my readers with a story or an allusion ; far from it. I am about to furnish the real truth, which I intend to borrow in the shape of facts from old and authentic diplomatic documents, and which will go to prove incontestable the right of Yictor Emma- nuel's succession to the throne of Italy. I shall not give the history of his illustrious house, although I shall extract from the ancient historian of that family a few facts with relation to the diplomatic transac- tions of nine or ten hundred years ago. The illustrious House of Savoy is one of those which presents an uncommonly old genealogical tree, and as early as the opening of the thirteenth century was intimately connected by marriages with Philippe the Guichenon, Second, King of the Pomans, with the Poman Empe- offrom tht 8 ' rors, the French and English Kings, and other Paixdexfeve Sovereigns. I will now extract from Guichenon' s d'AUiance!^' 1 Histoire Genealogique de ia Maison de Savoy e,' a 827 afetife ^ ew ** nes ^ rom ^ e concess ^ on ma de by Philippe the Preamble. Second to Thomas de Savoye, Comte de Murienne, 121 who went to Basilea to meet him. — Quod accedens ad presentiam nostram Carissimus consanguineus noster Thomas Comes Sabaudice apud Easileam, &c, and there the King gave and confirmed to the Count a diploma of the investiture of the towns of Kario and Testona. — Et quo incessanter ad ipsius utilitatis et honoris augment um intenti esse eupimus, de gratia Kegiae liberalitatis feudo suo, quod prius ab Imperio tenuit, addimus sibi, eoncedimus et confirmamus Yillam de Kario, nec non Yillam de Testona, cum omnibus appendiciis et tenimen- tis earum, et cum omni jure et integritate, quem- admodum ad Imperium spectare dignoscuntur ut ipse Comes et sui haeredes, easdem possessiones, ab Im- perio et a nobis, nostrisque successoribus Juere Feudi, teneant et recognoscant. Sciendum quoque est, quod memoratus Consanguineus noster Comes Sahaudice, Castrum Meldani a nobis recepit in Eeudo ; et nos fideliter promisimus, in ipso Castro et omnibus per- tinentiis ejus, eum manutenere et contra omnes homines defensare. Statuimus igitur et Begio Edicto firmiter praeeipimus ut nulli unquam personam altse vel humili, Ecclesiasticao, sive seculari, licitum sit saspe fatum consanguineum nostrum in hac nostra, donatione et concessione molestare aut ei aliquo im- probitatis ausa contraire : quod qui facere ausus fuerit, in vindictam transgressionis centum libras auri puri componat, quarum medietas Camera) nostras reliquum possis injuriam persolvatur. Ad cujus rei certam imposterum notitiam, hanc Ducalem paginam exinde conscribi jussimus et Majestatis notrse bulla aurea insigniri. Then follow the signatures of the King and of his noble witnesses, &c. I have omitted the preamble for the sake of brevity, and limited myself to name this Investiture by the King of the Eomans to Thomas, Count de Maurienne, one of his relatives, and an Imperial Vicar, to whom h§ gave as a feud the above-named -towns to honour and increase the interest of that I 122 noble family, and make them more illustrious. I will first take notice of a treaty of peace and alliance between Othenin de Bourgogne, Sire de Sarins, et Eenaud de Bourgogne Freres, d' une part : et Thomas de Savoye Comte de Piemont, et Ame de Savoye Freres, &' autre. Fait a Paris en Fan 1071. This treaty is written in Patois, or rather the lingua Franca of that time and place, as it is still spoken by the French people of the South ; it is also familiar to an Italian of the North. I will give here the exordium, as it will serve as a specimen of the idiom of the ancient Troubadours : Nous Othonins de Bourgogne et Sires de Sarins, et Benaux Freres fommes a savoir a tous cens qui verront ces presentes Lettres, Que nous regardee la grand esperance d' amour, laquelle nous avons eue toujours et aurons en enpres a Nobles Barons et nostres chiers et ames Thomas et Ame de Savoie Freres, prometons a iceus maimes en bone foy donnes sermenz corporeement a saintes Evangiles de Dieu, valoir et conseiller et aider tant cum nous vivrons de toute guerre et de touz plaiz, de toutes querailes contre tous homes dou monde de totes noz forces, de tous nos povoirs, exceptez nobles Barons Philippe de Savoye et de Bourgogne Conte, Aaliz de Savoye et de Bourgogne Comtesse, Hugue Due de Bourgogne, Thebaut Conte de Bar, et en seur que tout nous prometons per le serment devant donne, que s' il avenoit par aucun cas, &c. If I do not mis- take, this Thebaut, Conte de Bar, was a celebrated musician, a poet troubadour, and a Maecenas of the Middle Ages. I have quoted this treaty to show that Baron Philippe de Savoye was also Count of Bourgogne, and the Counts of Savoy continued for several consecutive centuries to possess part of the lands and the title of Count of Bourgogne, as I shall demonstrate after the close of this note. The treaty of Othenin and Thomas ends with these words : Ce fut fait a Paris en len Cloistre Nostre 123 Dame en l'Ostel lois de Savoye en l'an de l'incarna- tion notre Seigneur mil lxxi. xxi le jour da mercredy devant ]a Teste S. Mcolas ; apres la Teste S. Andrier L'Apostre. S. Guichenon reports another early treaty of peace s. Guichenon between Bodolph, King of theBomans, and Philippe, SmS- Count of Savoy, made — datum in Castris ante Pater- son de Sa- niacum in die Beat. Joan. Apost., anno 1083. In ^ye.Preuves, this treaty the King of the Bomans promises the Count he will not have any quarrel nor war with him, and that he will maintain peace for all his life, in consideration of the cession and assignment to him of the towns Ifuratum and Contaminum. This has all the appearance of an imposition by a strong party upon a weak one, who is compelled to buy the friendship of his neighbour. I also find in the c Becueil des Traitez de Paix, de Treve, de Neutrality, de Suspension d'armes, d' Alliance/ &c, a treaty of peace between Thomas, Count of Savoy, and Maurienne and Marquis of Italy, and Albert Seigneur de la Tour du Pin. This treaty was made in the Chateau de S. Symphorien le 30 Janvier, 1218. In the same year, 1218, also in the Becueil des Traitez, in the same page, 828, I find the Marriage Contract between Margarette of Savoy and Herman, Count of Kibourg. This treaty was made apud Melducium,, Calend. Junii. The high esteem which the illustrious Thomas, Count of Savoy, enjoyed from Frederick, the Boman Emperor, is attested by the trust and confidence which he placed in him in making a treaty on his behalf with Hugolinus, Mayor of Marseilles, and this will be the proper place to show the Count's ability in the transaction of political and civil affairs. This treaty is to be found in i Guichenon' sHistoire Genea- logique de la Maison de Savoye/ Preuves, p. 54, and commences thus : In Nomine Domini nostri Jesu Christi, Amen. Ego Thomas Comes Sabaudise, Yica- rius in Lombardia Domini Eriderici, per Dei Gratiam 124 Romanorum Imperatoris, et Regis Siciliae et Suriae, promitto tibi Hugolini Done Dame, Potestas Mas- siliae nomine Communis Massiliae, et pro eo stipulanti et recipienti, &c. This was done and sealed anno Domini, 1226. After this I find numerous instances of treaties of Political and of Matrimonial alliances with the highest reigning families in Europe, almost forming a precedent ad instar of the present illustrious family of Cobourg. I may name here that Anie, of Savoy, gave to Margaret, his sister, Countess of Kibourg, as a donation, the Chateau de Monteys, in the year 1239. Shortly after this the same Amedeus, Count of Savoy, gave to the said sister, Margaret, the Town of Saint Maurice on Chablais, as reported by S. Guichenon, and inserted in the ' Recueil des Traitez de Paix/ &c, p. 830. That donation conveyed only the useful Dominion, and the Sovereign power was reserved as well as the coining of money by the donor. I^cheuon, The said Count Amadeus the Fourth, in the year reuves,p. . ^42, gave to his brother, Thomas of Savoy, Count of Flanders, as a donation, the Chateau de Bard en la Yal d'Aouste : Hoc donationis et Infeudationis Instrumento dedit, et tradidit dilecto Fratri suo Domino Thomae Comiti Flandriae et Haynaut, et ipsius haeredibus in perpetuum. Then there was a Marriage Contract between Amedeus the Fourth and Cecile de Baux, which was effected in the year 1244 ; and in 1247 Mainfroy (Manfredus), the Son of the Emperor Frederick, mar- ried Beatrice, Countess of Saluzzo, and daughter of Amedeus the Fourth. This last treaty was signed at Chambery on the 21st of April, 1247. After this, in the year 1251, Aymon, Seigneur de Faucigny, fait donation a — Illustri Yiro Domino Petro de Sabaudia Marito Agnetis carissimae filiae nostrae, pro ipsa Agnete, omnia Castra nostra, omnes Terras, Possessiones nostras, cum Juribus, feudis, 125 Dominiis, usagiis appenditiis et pertinentiis eorun- dem ; and he divested himself of his Castles, Lands, Possessions, &c, to invest the above-named Count Peter, husband of Agnes, his daughter. Now comes the best part, or the greatest Donation, and I can assure the reader, and even the Wolf of Orleans, Antonelli and Co., that this is a positive one, and entirely different in its nature from the imaginary vision of St Peter's Patrimony. It con- veyed the Sovereign and useful Dominion, and it was given as a grateful recompense for benefit received by the King of the Romans from the Counts of Savoy. It may not be out of place if I quote here two or three lines from the exordium of the Document of Donation and Investiture, which says : Ut Mobiles, et Magnates Imperii gratis praeveniamus beneficiis, ac dignis honoribus exaltemus, promotionibus eorun- dem, tarn benigne, tamque favorabiliter insistendo, ut ad obsequendum nobis alii eorum exemplo facilius inducantur. What do you say to this, you incorri- gible blacks ? Your Roman Curia, in spite of the many opportunities offered it, never did an atom of good to anybody ; and in attempting to do too much for itself, spoiled even its own interest. Is not this the truth ? But I must not lose sight of the Diploma of Donation made by Guillaume, Rois de Eomains, a Thomas de Savoye, Comte de Maurienne, des Yilles et Chateaux de Turin, de Montalier, de Rivoles, de Colegno, Cavours, Ivree, du Pays de Canavais et autres lieux — Paite le 22 Mai, 1252, which is to be found, in extenso, in S. Guichenon's 'Histoire Geneal.,' &c, Preuves, p. 93, and in the ' Recueil des Traitez de Paix,' &c, p. 833. Neither must I forget to name the Testament of Eubal de Geneve, son of Humbert, Count of Geneve, who, in the year 1259, bequeathed to his relative, Count Peter of Savoy, the Comitatum Gebennensem. That Will was made in London in the year 1259. The Will of Agnes, Dame de Fou- cigny, Countess of Savoy, is important on account 126 that she bequeathed her estates to her husband, Count Peter of Savoy, and her other properties to Beatrice, her daughter, who was married to the Dauphin, as reported by Guichenon, Preuves, p. 78 : instituo mihi Heeredem carissimam Piliam meam Beatriceni uxorem IllustrisViri G.DelfiniYiennensis, et Alboni Comitis. This Will was made on October the 17th, 1262. Neither is the Testament of Beatrice of Savoy, Countess of Provence, made in March, 1263, less interesting on account of the great wealth of that lady, who was the widow of the illustrious Eeymond Berengarius, Count of Provence. Her daughter, Margaret, was married to the Prench King, and Aiconora was married to the King of England. It will be recollected that I have taken some slight notice of the strong and reasoning letters written by this lady to the Pope and to the Emperor when the latter arrested her son as he was passing through the Imperial territory on his return from the wars in Pa- lestine. This was not a Papal-Imperial blunder ; but it was a Papal and an Imperial grassassion on the highway, just after the style of Chiavone, and the modern Cavalieri di Cristo ! Again, the English and French Queens inherited, during their lifetime, their mother's property, which, after their respective deaths, reverted to the two sons of Thomas Amedeus, the brother of Beatrice, Countess of Provence. (See Guichenon's ' Histoire,' or the ' Becueil des Traitez/ in which the Wills are reported in full.) In 1263 the Emperor Bichard made a Donation " a Pierre Conte de Savoye, des biens d'Herman Le Jeune, Comte de Kibourg." (See Guichenon, Preuves, p. 74.) This was a capital Donation, and the Counts of Savoy possessed already the right of suc- cession by consanguinity. The next step was a matrimonial alliance between Philippe, Count de Savoye, et Alix, Comtesse Pala- I 127 tine de Bourgogne. In the marriage settlement it was stipulated that the Count should receive for life 3,000 livres of the current money per annum, to be deducted from her estates ; and that, after his death, they should be paid yearly to their heirs, or to any party that they should name. (Guichenon, Preuves, p. 88.) The wealth and extension of territory of the illus- trious house of Savoy had assumed almost the pro- portions of an Empire, and their political importance, influence, and power were great, not only in Italy, as Imperial Vicars in Lombardy, but also in Erance and England, where they possessed lands ; and by their consanguineous alliances also with the Imperial family, those Counts were entitled to the respect of the remainder of the ruling Sovereigns, as well as to the admiration of the populations. Instead of copying the Testament of Count Peter of Savoy, made in the month of June, 1268, and reported in the ' Eecueil des Traitez de Paix de Treve/ &c, lib. 1, p. 838, I will extract merely a few lines, just to prove this statement. Peter, after saying that he desired to be buried apud Altam Combam, Beatricem carissimam filiam nostram Uxorem Illustris Yiri DelfLni Viennensis, hseredera nostram instituimus in tota Terra nostra, quam habemus in Gebennesio, et in Vuando (the Cantons of Geneve and Vand), usque ad Mosternen- sem, et in Alemania, quocumque titulo in predictis terris, aliquid possideamus, vel quasi excepto jure quod habemus apud Scyssellum, etStontem-Ealeonem. — Item domus, et legamus eidem Beatrici Eilise nostrse, homagium quo tenetur nobis Albertus Do- minus de Turre, cum feudis quae a nobis tenet. — Item feudum quod a nobis tenet Comes Eorensis. Item castra sancti Baneberti et de Lommes, cum mandamentis, et pertinentiis universis, et feuda quae a nobis tenentur omnibus et singulis praadictis. Item damus et legamus dilectis Nepotibus JNostris, Eiliis 128 Domini Thomae de Sabaudia, carissimi Fratris nostri Yillam-Eranchiam in terra Pedemontis, et Jus quod habemus in ipso Castro, et pertinentiis ejus, et terrain quam habemus in Essex et in honore Aquiliae in Anglia. Item carissimae Dominae nostrae Alienorae Eeginae Angliae, donamus et legamus Comitatum Eichemontensem, ita tamen quod ipsa solvat, et satisfaciat integraliter de omnibus debitis, quibus tenemur Mameto Spinae, etejus sociis eivibus, et mer- catoribus Elorentinis. This seems to me one of the highest examples of honesty and generosity, on his part, that could possibly be offered ; but I have been unable to find, as yet, in history how the house of Savoy came to possess the lands in Essex and the County of Eichmond in Yorkshire, unless they were acquired by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who was a great uncle of Count Peter of Savoy. In the Coun- ties of Savoy, on this and the other side of the Alps, he constituted as his heir his brother Philippe, Count of Savoy and of Bourgogne, &c, and to his wife, during her lifetime, he gave " dilectae uxori nostrae Agneti Doming Eaucigniaci Castra de Yer- soya, de Alingio, de Eesterna, de Charrossa, de Albona cum eorem pertinentiis universis." To his sister, Dominae Margaretae Comitisse de Quiburgo, and to the daughter of his brother, Amedeus, he be- queathed money, and to one hundred and twelve other personages, as well as to hospitals, churches, and monasteries, he also left money, &c. Up till the year 1290 several conventions, mar- riages, and treaties took place with the Counts of Savoy and Bourgogne, and the Dukes of Bourgogne. The marriage of Gaston, Yicomte de Beam, with Beatrice de Savoye, Dame de Eoucigny, took place in the year 1273. The treaty of League between the Counts of Savoy and Bourgogne, and Ay mar de Poictier, Comte de Yalentinois, and that of the alliance be- tween the Count Philippe of Savoy and the Abbot 129 Jean de la Eaulme, are dated 1281 and 1282. In those treaties, the Count of Savoy takes under his protection the Abbot and the Abbacy of Ambronai. In the year 1291, the Ligue entre Aime Y, Comte de, et Archeman, et Kodolphe Comte d'Haspurg, B. d'Haspurg Eveque de Constance — prometrant pour Archeman dont il etait tuteur et Oncle, par laquelle ligue Archeman s' engage a assister Ame de tout son pouvoir, pour recouvrer les Chasteaux de Loyes et de Condamine au Pays de Vaud, la tenir pour son pere, defendre sa personne, et ses terres, et particulierement le Ville et les Habitans de Berne. Eudolph, King of the Eomans, and his children had usurped it. This treaty was made at Chierces in 1291. I have passed over other minor treaties and matri- monial alliances of the illustrious House of Savoy, and will take notice here of the Donation made by Beatrix de Savoye, Dame de Eoucigny a Ame le Grand, Comte de Savoye, de tout ce que ladite Dame possedoit depuis le Lac de Geneve et Seissel jousque a Fribourg, which was made in the year 1294. The Ligue entre Ame, Comte de Savoye, &c, and Bertrand de Eaux, Prince d 7 Orange, against the Dauphin, was signed in May, 1300. In the year 1306, the Union of the Counties of Piedmont, of Provence, and Forcalquier, which was effected by Charles the Second, King of Sicily and Jerusalem, at Naples, on the 14th of January of the above year. I omit noticing other treaties, and come to the Investiture faite a Ame le Grand Comte de Savoye, du Comte de Savoye, de Duchez de Sablais et d 7 Aouste, du Marquisat d'ltalie, et de Seigneuries de Eauge et de Coligny, par TEmpereur Henry VII, fait a Pise le 11 Juin, 1313. In the year 1314, the treaty between Ame, le Grand, of Savoy, and Jean the Dauphin, of Vienna, 130 followed, and many other marriage alliances, leagues, and treaties with the other noble ruling families followed, which for brevity's sake I will not name here. I will, however, notice the Trait e entre Jean, Eois de Prance, au nom du Dauphin son Tils, et Ame YI du nom Comte de Savoye, surnomme le Yerd, par lequelle Traite entre Aymon Comte de Savoye et Humbert Dauphin, est confirme ; et il est porte, que le Eoi de Prance, ni le Dauphin ni leurs successeurs ne pourrons aquerir aucune terres en Savoye, ni le Comte en Dauphine. Pait a Ville — Neuve d' Avignon, le 27 d'Octobre, 1351. After a page of preamble it states : Item convenerunt et componunt dicti procuratores prsedictis nominibus, quod Eex idem vel successores sui, Eegesque alii qui erunt Prancise pro temporibus in futurum per se vel alium tacite vel expresse directe vel indirecte quovis colore quaesito non possint, nec sibi liceat perpetuo quicquid acquirere de novo in Comitatu Sabaudise, terris, baroniis, juribus, feudis, retro- feudis dicti Comitis suecessorum, vassal, hominum vel subditorum ejusdem qui nunc sunt de Imperio et inter limites Comitatus, terrarum et Earoniarum eorundem per gardas, feuda, retrofeuda, homagia, conventiones, tractatus alios sive causas : Et si con- trarium (quod absit) fieret in futurum, acquisita non teneant ipso facto in commodum acquirentis, eaque statim et omnino acquirens dimittere teneatur; et ex nunc prout ex tunc contractus invalidus cen- seatur et sit: Et hoc potissime quia ex talibus acquisitionibus per potentiores Dominos in minus potentum terris inter ipsos suscitantur discordise ssepias et dissentiones non parvas, quas inter Eeges et Comites prsedictos evitare cupiunt et inter eos nutriti perpetuum amoris et fidei vinculum co- operante gratia Salvatoris. Insuper dictus Comes aut sui perpetuo successores, per se vel alium tacite vel expresse quovis colore qusesito, non possint nec sibi 131 liceat perpetuo quicquam acquirere in Dalphinatu Yiennesio, terris, baroniis, jnribus, feudis retrofeudis dicti Dselphini, successor um, vassallorum, &c. This treaty is pretty clear, and without reticences, as it also gives the reason why, for the future and in perpetuity, both parties ought to abstain from acquiring ulterior possessions in other States, and that, if by chance they shall do so, the contracts should be considered null and void, and quashed. I omit marriage treaties, alliances, and wills, as usual, and take up the Convention between Ame the Seventh, surnomme le Eouge, ou le Eouge Comte de Savoye, et ceux du Comte de Nice par lesquelles ils se donnent a lui. This convention was made before the Church of St Ponce, in that monastery, on the 28th of September, 1388. The document is a very long one, by which the Maire and the Com- munity of Nice, the Counts of Yintimilli, that is of Tenda and of Briga, together with the primary citizens of those places, as well as of Nice, by com- mon accord, gave themselves up to the Count Eouge, Ame the Seventh, of Savoy and Bourgogne, Prince d'Achaja, Marquis of Italy, and Imperial Yicar, &c, so that they might be protected from the constant aggressions of their enemies, and from pillage, and starvation, as there was a prospect of great scarcity of victuals, on account of the destructive wars which they had suffered and were still likely to suffer, as they were unprotected, and because the King of Jerusalem and Sicily was impotent to assist them, they being his subjects. In order to avoid these sad contingencies, they agreed to a spontaneous dedition, 8fc. This convention, which occupies five full pages, contains many other stipulations, but as they are irrelevant to the present purpose, I will quote only a few words from the preamble, which will give the reader some idea of the ingratitude which those provincials showed to the illustrious House of Savoy in return for the benefits and 132 advantages which they had derived from its pro- tection, besides the prescriptive rights acquired by five consecutive centuries of dominion upon that little State. " Ex tenore hujus veri et publici instrumenti universis praesentibus et futuris elucescat. Quod cum Universitas et homines Civitatis Xicice atten- dentes et considerantes oppressiones et damna leesiones, injurias, praedas, rapinas, offensas et vasta factas et facta, illatas et iilata hujus temporis guerrarum discrimine, dictae civitati civibus et sin- gularibus personis tarn dicta3 civitatis, quain dis- trictus et Yicariae ejusdem, in personis et in bonis eorundem ; et quae futuro tempore fortius inferri parabantur per Illustrem Dominum Ludovicum filium Illustris Domini Ludovici quondam AndegLiviae Ducis, ex eo quod se Begem Jerusalem et Siciliae, et Comitatum Provincire et Forcalquerii Comitem se asserit ; adeo videlicet, quod fames et caristia in dictate Civitate yicias jam insurgebat et fortius insurgere spectabatur, propter dicrarum guerrarum discrimina, et inimicorum potentiam suorum. Tidentes et ab experto cognoscentes succursum SerenissimiPrincipisDominiLadislausSegis Jerusalem et Siciliae et Comitatuum Provincial et Forcalquerii praedictorum Comitatuum eorum Domini naturalis, habere non posse, propter ipsius impotentiam, et dictorum suorum inimicoram robur et potentiam rapacem qui jam majorem partem dictoruni Comita- tuum Provincial et Forcalquerii vi sua usurparunt, et suo subjugarunt Dominio; et quod ulterius vivere non poterant quin succursum alicujus Domini im- plorarent habendum; habito super hoc, inquam, pluribus colloquiis et consiliis deliberato proposito elegerint unanimes et Concordes viam eligentes saniorem, implorare succursum Illustris et Incliti Principis et Domini Domini Amedei Comitis Sabaudiae, Sacrii Imperii Yicaerii Generalis a quo/' &c. 133 I will now pass over many documents of im- portance up till the year 1401, and extract from the Convention of Sale of the County of Geneva a few lines (as reported by Guichenon), to show the reader that the Canton of Geneve, or County of Geneve, had two masters, and that both of them had rights upon the same State by anterior treaties, and family rights of inheritance. Odo de Yillars had inherited the previous year the said County from his nephew, Humbert de Villars, and we have seen that the Counts and Dukes of Savoy had anterior family feudal rights. The two Counts, to avoid contention, strife, and law- suits, arranged in a friendly way to disentail that estate, and so concluded the — Yente du Comte de Geneve faite a Ame VIII, Comte de Savoye, par Odo de Villars Seigneur de Baux et Comte d'Avelin, faite a, Paris en l'Hotel de JNesle le 6 Aout, 1401, for the sum of 45,000 francs. — u Idem Dominus Comes Sabaudise promisit et convenit preefato Domino Odoni stipulanti et recipienti ut supra, dare et solvere realiter in pecunia numerata, semel tantum ac simul et non per partes 45,000 francorum auri boni et legitimi ponderis," &c. I must still pass over many other interesting affairs, and take my stand at the year 1514, when Charles the Eighth, Duke of Savoy, surnamed Le Bon, infeudated the County of Geneve and the Baronies of Eoucigny and of Beaufort to his brother, Count Philippe of Savoy. This document was made at Chambery on the 14th of August, and is reported in full in the * Traitez de Paix de Treves, d' Alliance/ &c. After the twenty- two lines of preface, it says— • Cogitans et animo revolvens, quod etsi dicti Ducatus Sabaudiae dignitas, tarn ex forma Juris, quam ex vetustissima et antiqua consuetudine, hujus Sere* nissimse et inclitte Domus ac Prosapias Sabaudiae Indivisibilis sit, et Ducatus ipse cum suis pertinentiis quibuscumque integfo Statu ad Primogenitum m 134 Jfasculum, secundum divinas et humanas leges pertinere dignoscitur, quern vel aliquod ejus notabile membrum, alienare, vel in totum appropriare, non conveniat, sciens tamen quod proprium et peculiare Dominorum Principum se infeudare et liberalitate et munificentia, uti in eos maxime qui sibi sanguine juncti sunt et Statui suo afficiciuntur, ut ilium ne dum tueri et protegere, sed et ampliare dilatareque semper studuerunt, &c. I need not proceed any farther* as the above quotation is sufficient to show- that this infeudation was made for the sake of taking better care and of bestowing more attention upon the provinces composing the States of Savoy, and that the infeudation was not an alienation nor a sale. Having, therefore, established this point, I will take the liberty to make a few remarks on the late transaction, the cession of part of Savoy. I was in a fever during the whole of the time that the Parliamentary debates and the political discus- sions were going on in the newspapers upon that question, but condemned myself to silence, for fear of causing embarrassment, and the suspension of those political affairs. Now that the public mind is directed somewhere else, like an old woman, I must state my invalid opinion. First of all, I will put the question to Italian Statesmen, whether, before ac- ceding to the agreement of cession to Napoleon the Third of the territory of Savoy, the Diplomatist had tried verbally to infeudate the said territory to Prince Napoleon on account of his alliance with the Italian family, giving it as a dowry, or marriage settlement, to the Princess of Savoy, and in the absence of any issue, making it revertible to the parent State, reserving only a life-interest to Prince Napoleon, and to his lawful heir. Should the Princess die, and the Prince marry again and have children, all such rights to cease and determine. If such a treaty as this had been concluded, in- stead of absolute cession, it would have been more 135 advantageous to both parties, and would have dissi- pated all the aspersions and suspicious omens that were raised as to the intentions and political deeds of Napoleon the Third. It would also have removed from the minds of Italian and foreign political men the suspicion that he intends, or contemplates, mak- ing another annexation. Another great cause for Imperial satisfaction would likewise have arisen, that is, the certainty of having gained for himself the esteem and grati- tude of the whole of the Italian population, with the exception of a section of dissentient Priests, Jesuits, and Co. A treaty of this kind would have conciliated arid disarmed the Eepublicans, and broken the hearts of the retrograde and discarded Sovereigns, as well as those of the Ecclesiastical rebels. Be certain, Sire, your generous act towards Italy would have put all your enemies into a corner, without the hope of raising their heads. Then you would have had the right to tell the Italians, and any other nation, that France was grateful to the former for upwards of twenty years' services in the supply of men and means for the campaigns of your illustrious Uncle, and that, in token of sympathy, after you had revindicated your rights and privileges in France, you had acknowledged and rewarded their former services, by assisting them to recompose and firmly unite the whole of their family. There is another consideration, which I will state here as briefly and submissively as I can, beiag disposed to applaud in every way, and to assist in and contribute to the maintenance and development of liberal principles in Europe, particularly in Italy, France, and England. To be able to explain my thoughts, I must be permitted to ask this question of the Emperor of the French : How long will your dynasty on the throne of France last, if you abandon your natural allies, Italy and England ? I have said natural allies, because the difference between these nations is not great in any particular respect as 136 regards intelligence, propensities, languages, industry, and commercial intercourse. Germany might be included in the same category, but she has been in- variably the opponent of France, and is still consi- dered its particular enemy, though that population aims at her own emancipation as other people do; consequently, Napoleon cannot be happy with them, nor trust to their alliance, as he would have more to fear from them as friends than as enemies, or neutrals. I now arrive at another question : How long have the various French Governments lasted within this century? Why, for very short periods only. What were the causes of this ? For certain, it does not require the knowledge of a Pythagoras, nor of a Thales, to explain them, as they have evidently been the results of the two great discre- pant principles which prevail in France. First, the fanatically ignorant cagotique principles, which are inculcated upon the popular masses by the Ecclesiastics ; and, secondly, the unbounded spirit of patriotic progress of civilisation, unrolled and radiated like the light of the firmament, warming the bodies and the souls of men, who are fully aware that they are entitled to freedom. These are the two demons of the century, and it is these which give the veto to the regular investitures of the French Monarchs. One of them must be subdued for a time, at least ; and you, Sire, are the only person who can find the proper means to quiet them, without the assistance of an opiate. You are well versed in the history of past events in France and everywhere else, and need no suggestion ; you have seen (God forbid that you should see a repetition of them) events that would change even the staium quo sumus. Your existence is necessary to France, and to Italy in particular ; you are at the Rubicon, and have stopped longer than Caesar, and I hope you have not forgotten that your illustrious model said, 137 " If I stop here, I am lost." The eyes of all Europe are upon you, however distant you may be ; and millions of free-minded persons would willingly assist you in the responsible onus that you have undertaken. There are now none of those sects whose object was to destroy everything, without building up a new organization. The real Re- publicans, if there are any left, would help you ; yes, the sober-minded, austere lovers of the public "welfare would applaud your actions ; but you should not suspect them, or mistrust them. Tempe- rate freedom conciliates the minds of mankind to noble actions, and I am sure Prance fully deserves that latitude which other countries have, and which Prance will have in future. There is no returning to past rules in any country now, and woe to the modem Polignacs or the Sovereign who should attempt it. As Sovereigns will league themselves for political and private alliances, so also will the populations for their mutual support, and the maintenance of their constitutional privileges and their popular rights ; and, before I die, I entertain the hope of seeing established in Europe the uni- versal constitutional principles, as also in each nation that sovereign tribunal of public opinion, wjhich will guide the masses to walk in step and harmony with their respective Sovereigns. Sire, though I may appear bold, I protest in advance that my object is peace and happiness to every one, and obedience to the constitutional laws. These thoughts, and that it is time to remodel and modernise society, are the true- aspirations of every honest man at the present day. Accordingly, as you are master of the situation, and have the power of doing all this, upon you de- volves the duty of accomplishing the will of God, who has prepared the way for you. Therefore, as viUe summa brevis est, and Europe is prepared to witness and to assist in the resurrection of various oppressed peoples, do not delay, or hesitate to achieve that m 2 138 honourable task, "which would immortalize you and your nobilissima proles. Three short months of com- bined and well-directed political movements would conveniently and properly settle everything, without effusion of blood, and with only very few sacrifices to the inexorable Manes. I dare not say more, though I have much to relate, in this chapter ; but, before I close it, I will state that, until the public instruction is entirely secu- larized in Prance and everywhere else, so long as the Jesuits reign supremely in the churches and out of them, and even in the Ministries and public offices, — that until Europe is completely expurgated and emancipated from them — there will be no peace or happiness, and their mischievous veto will threaten and prevent the regular succession of the Investi- tures to the Monarchs of France and other coun- tries. I am of opinion that another continental 1848 is in progress, though the Liberals do not believe it, and will not have anything to do with the blacks who will head the movement, having at their dispo- sition a long cohort of idiotic sheep, to offer in holo- caust to the ambitious attempt to regenerate their already lost power. I sound the alarm, to warn the few exalted youths who, through want of experience and reflection, might fall into the nets of the old black foxes, who want to use them and to sacrifice them at the same time. Beware of them, I say. If the Pope, the Queen of Spain, the Emperor of Austria, the dismissed Princes, secular and ecclesiastic, as well as the other old rococos saintly recorded in the Tablet, and who reside in the best houses of every State in Europe ; if all these, I say, want to be rein- stated in that power which they once had, but which they did not know how to use, they must wait until their Messiah arrives ; then they may congregate, and arrange their accounts, and see what they can do by contributing all their means to raise 139 sufficient funds to support the expenses of their nefarious enterprises ; until then, they may address themselves and pray to the ex-Don Fulcinello of Naples, and, through his relations, to the other expelled ex-Italian Divinities, with the assistance of a Nymph, a Driad, an Hamadriad, a Nun, or one of those Ladies who sport the medal of the Sacred Heart ; they may seduce Jupiter to send another golden rain, to fill their pockets and their strong boxes, and to provide and pay for the new million of soldiers that they want to employ to extinguish liberty and Christianity. Before committing myself to this long digression, I was remarking that the infeudation of Savoy might have proved more advantageous to both par- ties, French and Italians. According to the ex- perience of the last seventy years, a political convul- sion occurs in Prance, on an average, every fifteen years. To prevent all this, it should be the study of the master-minded Legislator who desires to found his dynasty upon that throne, to leave his works to the admiration of posterity, and carry with himself ad Elisios the palm of satisfaction and self- content of his own merit at the end of his imperial and mortal career. Suppose, then, that, in spite of his vigilance, his Proconsuls, either through indifference or care- lessness, on account of being rich and easy, or through ambitious motives betray him, as did Phocas against Mauritius, or as in the case of Charles the Tenth, or as happened to Louis Philippe. In such case, if Savoy had been infeudated to Prince Napoleon by the King of Italy, and the Imperial Prince (Count of Savoy) could reckon at a moment of noed to have at his dis- position 100,000 men, ready for an excursion to Paris, to reinstate the Imperial heir on the throne of Prance, do you not see clearly that such a scheme would be more materially advantageous to both countries and to both dynasties; that one would support the otter, and that, as V union fait la force, 140 the success would be undoubted on both sides ? By these powerful auxiliary means, and these only, would both Monarchies be rendered safe and durable, and strong enough to resist and successfully op- pose external and internal political machinations. If things remain as they are now, in case of need, where is Prance to look for help ? To Germany, Spain, or England? Certainly not. It remains, then, that Italy, which is the next and most handy friend, and which could do that service with promptness, and as energetically as the circumstances would require, is the very nation that France would have to look to ; but unless things are changed, and brighter prospects are manifested for Italy, and unless she is repossessed of what belongs to her, she will say, " I sympathise with you, but for the service that you have done me I paid you in money and lands, and, therefore, I am exonerated from any obligation for the future." This is the language I speak to the Maw- worms of Saint Eoche, who would see Italy stripped of every- thing, for the sake of possessing themselves of what is hers. The Government is illuminated enough to understand and interpret the meaning of an inexpert writer, half puzzled, as I am, to express his thoughts, compelled by circumstances to make reticences, perhaps, to the best of his own ideas. Of course new treaties would be required, which could be easily effected, as Ministers have nothing to do, and there are plenty of materials, cheap enough, in the Offices, and the most important matters to transact ; and the first to be concluded is the liberation of Borne and the Venetian States. When this is accomplished, the Senatus Populusque Italicus alt a voceplaudentes te salutantAugustumPontificemque Maximum. "What constitutes a good omen for Napoleon the Third is, that the actual political circumstances of the present moment are almoBt identical with those of 1900 years ago, when Csesar 141 bad pacified Italy and Egypt, and would have demanded that province of the Senate, when he conceived the idea of becoming Pontifex Maximus. Therefore, macte animo, and give us the opportunity qf singing your praises, as did old Ovid in Fastis, lib. 3, where Pridie Nonas Martias August. Pont. Max. festive decantavit — " Csesaris innumeris quos maiuit ille mereri Accessit tituiis Pontificalis honor. Ignibus ceternis seterni numina prsesunt Caesaris : Imperii pignora juncta vides." I know that so long as you are not crowned, all 3'our public and private, political and civil acts might be quashed or disavowed by the coalesced Sovereigns who might undertake such a conspiracy. I know that you were renitenily recognized as Sovereign of France by the Austro-German Powers. I know, also, that you were slighted by one of them, who pre- vented you from marrying the lady of your choice, and that the same antagonistic power opposed your Coronation as Emperor of France ; and, moreover, that the Pope, supported and encouraged by that veto, refused your Coronation. Again, I know that the Lombard Crown belongs to the Italian Kings, and is no more to be found in its Saneta Sanctorum at Monza ; which almost tempts me to inquire, who stole that Crown ? In addition to all this, I know many other things ; but as there are climateric days, in which I cannot remember them, much less write about them in a passive manner, without some trifling remarks upon the facts, and this being one of those days, I will abstain from inquiring upon certain things, and proceed towards the Caput Urbis et Orbis, and there I will begin to cry out, procul o procul este profani to all those miscreants, the sweepings of all the European lupanaria ; and with the assistance of some of the valiant Bersaglieri, and of the brave, uncorrupted Trasteverini, and other 142 Eoman citizens who have kept aloof from that de- graded stream of impurity, earnestly work to purify and expurgate the roads, places, temples, and palaces, and clear the Via Sacra, so that your access to the Capitol should he free from all trammels ; therefore, to you, Priest, I say : Tibniius, Vos quoque ahesse procul juheo, discedite ab aris ; Eieg.i,Ub.2. we d 0 no £ wan t sullied, unchaste Priests here, who spend their nights in the arms of Venus. " Queis tulit hesterna gaudia nocte Yenus." Go, quit the sacred temples, and leave them free to men who are devoted to humanity, and well disposed to do homage to the Eternal God. Though amongst the Invalides, I already fancy myself amongst the ovantem populum, escorting the Imperial cortege through the Yia Sacra to the Capitol, and see you Pontificem Maximum, Caesaremque indutum Sacra Stola equitantem, like the Persian Cyrus, and all the other ancient Eoman Emperors and Pontifices. Delay no longer, come to Borne, inunctus eris, sceptrum et coronam accipies munere Christi. Come to Eome, Senatus Populusque Italicus te Pontificem Maximum salutahit, et insignitum Imperio, et Ponti- ficatu fulgebis in Templis, in castris et arvis, et nomen Patris Patriae habebis. My inexperience and enthusiasm have again driven me out of my argument, and I find I have omitted to mention how the Counts of Savoy renounced to the Erench Kings the counties of Bourgogne, of Bresse, of Provence, &c. I have also omitted to make honourable mention of several of the Counts of Savoy, who signalised themselves in many noble ways and in war at all times. As it is impossible, in this short sketch, to find space for all of them, I shall name only the illustrious Thomas, Philippe, and Amedeus the Eourth. I find a short biographical sketch of this valiant Prince in a MS. which formerly belonged to the Colonna family. I will extract the following few lines from page 113 in 143 the life of Friar Folco de Yillaret the Twenty-Sixth, Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, who was severely engaged against the Turks before Eodi, in the year 1308 and in 1309. I quote from the MS. history of the Pope, and of the Knights of Malta, in my possession. u When Amedeus, Count of Savoy, arrived with troops, he displayed so much valour that the Turks were compelled to give up and abandon Eodi ; and in memory of that valorous action, that Prince placed on his shield and arms the white Cross in the red field, with the four letters, F.E.E.T., which signify, Fortitudo Ejus Eodum Tenuit, and that motto and armorials remain still as a mark of chivalrous veneration to that noble family." Ame- deus, or Ame le Grand, was one of the cleverest and most successful warriors of his time. Ame the Eighth was also a great soldier, politician, and Pope. Philibert, Prince Eugene, and others, are also most honourably recorded in history. In closing this sketch of the rights and privileges of the House of Savoy to the Italian kingdom, and which shows that no person has any right, under any pretext whatever, to possess or take from that illustrious House any part or parcel of their estates, particularly the French nation, with whom these Princes had so many family alliances and exchanges of possessions, of towns, lands, and provinces, I will quote here the " Declaration de Francois I, Eoi de France, par laquelle il se depart de tous les droits qu'il pouvoit avoir contre la Maison de Savoye." This document was made at Lyons the 10th of September, 1523, and is reported by S. Guichenon, and in the \ Eecueil des Traitez de Paix,' &c, vol. 2, p. 651 : " Frangois par la grace de Dieu Eoy de France, Due de Milan, Seigneur de Gennes, Conte de Provence, Forcalquier et Terres adjacentes. A tous ceux qui les presentes lettres verront ; salut Sgavoir faisons que nous ayant regard et consideration a la proximite de lignaige dont nous attient nostre tres- 144 eher, et tres-ame, Oncle Charles, Due de Savoye* et pour la tres-cordiale et reciproque amour et entiere affection qui est entre nous et luy, desirans qu'elle soit indissoluble. A cette cause et occasions qui pourroient causer la rompture d'icelle; Par l'advis et conseil des Princes de nostre sang, et gens de nostre Conseil, apres qui nous est venu a memoire et recor- dation que avons et pretendons avoir contre nostredit Oncle, tante comme Comte de Provence, que Due de Milan aucunes querelles, la poursuite desquelles pourroient enfraindre icelle amour et benivolence. Nous, pour y obvier avons de nostre certaine science, plaine puissance et authorite Royal cedde, quitte, remis, delaisse et transporter Quittons, cedons, re- mettons, delaissons pour nous, nos hoirs et successeurs d perpetuite a nostredit Oncle et a ses successeurs les droits, actions et querelles qui nous compettent et appartiennent, peuvent competer et appartenir comme a Comte de Provence et Due de Milan, a rencontre de luy et de ses successeurs touchant le Comte de Nice, ses terres et appartenances, et aussi la Seigneurie et territoire de Yerceil, et les autres terres et Seigneuries qu'il tient et possede a present cle la les Monts. Lesquelles actions et querelles combien qu'elles de soient icy autrement declare e& et specifiers, quittons et remettons, et voulons icelle quittance estre de tel effet et vertu, comme si estoient de mot a mot declairees ; et si avons promis et promettons pour nous et nos successeurs ne luy ferons pour raison des ehoses dessusdites, ne aux siens directement ne indirectement par voye de Jus* tice, ne de guerre, ne autrement en fagon que ce soit aucune question, querelle, poursuitte ne demande ; et ainsi 1' avons accorde et accordons en bonne foy et parolle de Eoy, et sur nostre honneur et consience pour ces presentes que nous avons signees de nostre main; et fait sceller de nostre grand seel. Si donnons en mandement par ce pre- sente a nos amez et feaulx les Grouverneurs de Milan 145 et de Provencs ou leurs Lieutenants seant a Aix, President et Maistres des Archifs de nosdit Duche et Comte, qu' ilz facent lire publier et registrer ces presentes en leurs Registres et laisser jouyr nostre- dit Oncle, et ses successeurs de V effect de ces presentes. Car ainsi Nous plaist-il estre fait, nonobstant toutes choses qu'on pourrait alleguer au contraire, esquelles Nous avons renonce renongons par ces presantes. Donne a Lyon le X jour de Septembre Fan de grace 1523, et de nostre Eegne le 9, Signe Francois. Par le Roy Due de Milan Comte de Provence, de Neufville, visa." With such historical documents as these in his hands, the Minister of his Majesty, Victor Emmanuel, should have acted differently in the transaction of the cession of Savoy ; and I repeat that the infeuda- tion could still be effected by an act of generosity on the part of the Emperor Napoleon the Third. Such an act would also materially contribute to increase his popularity in France and Italy, for it would dis- arm those enemies who accuse him of ambitious motives of conquest ; it would really bind the Italian nation in perpetual obligation to the French ; and, in case of need, it would open a place of safe asylum for the Imperial family, where they could rally their strength, and, with the assistance of the Italian arms, in tbe event of any accident, reconquer the throne of France. I will now resume my remarks upon the rights of the illustrious House of Savoy to the Italian throne, and then close this historical article. The political intrigues of Spain and France brought on a terrible war at the end of the sixteenth century, into which, of course, was drawn also Charles Emmanuel of Savoy. Peace was established in 1598 by a treaty, in which Henry the Fourth, King of France, Philippe the Second, of Spain, and Charles Emmanuel agreed to what is stated in that long treaty, inserted in vol. 2, p. 616, of the 'Becueil de Traitez de Paix/ &c. n 146 Though that treaty apparently purported to establish peace, yet the Spaniards aimed for a long time at the ambition of establishing a Supreme Universal Monarchy in Europe, and Ferdinand and Philip the Second had supported Charles the Fifth as much as they could, and as long as he lived. After his death, though Philip the Second and the Third were more active and domineering, yet they were not so successful. It is true that, by auda- city, impetuous presumption, and by the right which their strength gave them, together with the assistance of the Popes, and the practice of priestly intrigues, they had cowed down and bullied out of their States many of the old Italian Barons, and absorbed some of the Eepublics. Embol- dened by these successes Philip thought he could do the same with the States of Savoy, and prepared himself with all his leisure and all his means to attempt the accomplishment of his atrocious misdeed. Charles Emmanuel of Savoy did not at all understand the prospect of becoming a Spanish vassal, nor of losing his forefathers' inheritance ; and firm in the conviction of his rights of most ancient Sovereignty in those States, mindful also of the glorious deeds of his illustrious predecessor, of the value of his sword, and of the bravery of his own subjects, who were as anxious for independence and liberty as he was himself, he frankly appealed to the patriotic feelings of his own people, and of other Italian volunteers, who had ample reason for disaffection towards the Spanish usurpers. He then resolutely trusted his honour to the point of his sword, and met the numerous Spaniards at Asti, where, after an obstinate battle with great carnage, the glorious Charles Emmanuel, with his little Italian army, destroyed and routed the remainder of his pompous enemies ; thus freeing his States from the fear of any ulterior attempts of that new incubus, and gaining for himself the merit and credit of being the 147 Propugnalor of Italian liberty. By these means he restored happiness to his subjects, and emancipated them from the corruptions and robberies of the Spanish mercenaries. The celebrated Trajano Bocca- lini, a contemporary Italian author, a witty, prolific, and fashionable writer, who was endowed with a liberal spirit — a gentleman, in fact, who might be compared as a twin brother in thoughts and feelings with Mr Charles Dickens, — nauseated with the oppressions and the ignoble deeds of the Spaniards, and well acquainted with the sentiments and the strength of the Italian population, — in- cluded in one of his satirical works, called the Pietra del Paragone Politico, several satirical chapters Upon the Spanish Monarchy, in which he most plainly foretold the complete prostration and downfall of that incompetent, pompous usurper, Philip the Second, describing and condemning that monarchy to the actual state to which it is now reduced, as if he had been possessed of the actual power of reading through a horoscope the realization at the present time of that which he wrote in 1614. I have the original MSS. Auto- graph (and, I regret, only one volume of it) from which I could translate and introduce here the — "Convocation of the College of Physicians by Apollo, for the sake of knowing the cause of the sudden death of Madame the most Serene Reputation of Spain.' ' 4 'The Order of the Funeral and Burial of the Most , Serene Reputation of Spain, in the Certosa of Asti, out of the city, with certain stipulated conditions." — How excessively beautiful and true is this chapter, and what a moral lesson he gave to Lorenzo de Medici by the explanation that Pietro Aretino made to him of the oracular answer, " Non bene pro toto liber tas venditur auro," and " the General Inspection of the troops of Parnassus by Apollo" — and " the Epitaph recited by Virgil upon 148 the Tomb of the most Serene Reputation of Spain/ 7 — and many other chapters, politico-comical and prophetic, which in Italy contributed to reduce them to that state of political incapacity and demoraliza- tion in which they have since been plunged by the imbecility of a corrupted Government, that never knew exactly the definition of the meum, much less wiTX as t0 °^ ^ e tuum > a ^ non g n they promised their creditors, Spanish e l° n g a go (particularly their English ones) that they ?een dS a^d Ve wott ^ stu ^J arithmetic and moral philosophy. I n pai ' have all the works published by T. Boccalini, but do not know whether they have been translated into English. They are uncommonly well written, and spiritually witty, and would amuse any one fond of retrospective literature and political history. This clever man, who was the incubus of the Popes, the Jesuits, and the tyrants of his age, I regret to say, was at last kidnapped by the Jesuits, who put him out of the way by giving him repeated blows upon his chest with bags filled with sand. In such a manner was extinguished a luminary who had en- lightened more nations than one, and to whose memory, I hope, free Italy will yet erect a monu- ment if none has been reared. This gentleman fully predicted, two hundred and fifty years ago, that only the illustrious House of Savoy had attempted to be, and would be, the regenerator and defender of Italian liberties, j^t all events, at his time, they maintained the honour and glory of Italian arms; and they have done so in more recent affairs, in the Crimea, in Lombardy, and everywhere they have appeared sword in hand. I must beg the reader to excuse me if I now discontinue this portion of my subject, and refer him to Guichenon for what I have omitted. Note. — Lady Quixotta, with the Pastoral in hand, has inexorably extinguished all traces of moral pro- gress and Christian liberty — a mockery to the mar- tyrs who sustained for more than thirty years a fratricidal war to place her on a perjured throne. 149 It would be needless for me to trace the m any- other historical evidences of the talent and bravery of the Venetians, or of their genius as a people ; what I have already advanced amply proves that they have from the earliest times been one of the most powerful as well as one of the most ingenious nations in the world, and that they have ever been the most steadfast friends to the progress and the support of Christianity. Without increasing the length of this already voluminous work, therefore, and with the sincere trust that what I have here put forth has amply proved tny arguments, I will only further say that I hope the reader will kindly pardon the many faults which I am sure must have resulted from my inexperience as a writer, and my imperfect knowledge of the language in which it is chiefly written. PROPOSAL OF A TRIPLE ALLIANCE. The European reconstitution of the Nationalities, or the resurrection and emancipation of the Nations, was foreseen before the end of the last century by many liberal-minded politicians. Napoleon the First predicted " that in fifty years to come Europe would be either all free or all Cossack. " I accept the first and reject the last part of this prophecy, because human progress is the dowry of well-constituted minds directed by the Will of God, and no cannons or bombs can bar the moral progress of that Will which irresistibly overthrows all the material and momentary obstacles raised up by the trembling hand of the tyrant. The innate principle of freedom be- queathed to humanity has never manifested itself more powerfully, or been more generally diffused than at the present time, and a grand opportunity now presents itself, directed by that invisibly potent n 2 Finger, that tire few wise, liberal Sovereigns should coalesce (as well for the sake of their own families, and the due transmission of their inheritance to their kindred, as for the good and protection of the inte- rests of their subjects), and, with the assistance of God's wisdom, frame a new pact of alliance, doubly bound by the Boyal and Ministerial manual signa- ture, and by the fraternal sympathy and good -will of those great human families who understand now that their mutual interest, safety,, and prosperity depend only upon themselves. I will endeavour to explain myself after stating, that Austria delenda est, by self- exhaustion, want of means, and by the emancipation of its martyrs. Of Eome it is useless to say anything, as that m already morally conquered, in spite of the presence of the foreign arms that support it. Such being a? matter of fact, though not quite accomplished, I will suppose that Italy is reconstituted in its unity, and admitted to the consensus of the great liberal nations. I trust, therefore, to be excused if I here suggest & proposal for a Political and Commercial Treaty of Alliance, offensive and defensive, between the three Sovereigns and their respective nations— England r France, and Italy. It seems to me that the union* of these nations to mutually support each other in every sort of moral and political interest, in every sort of commercial enterprise and religious liberty y — that the accomplishment of such a great fact would be the greatest historical monument of glory to the three illustrious Sovereigns ; that it would besides help to consolidate and bind their dynasties to their respective thrones; make their Princes feared and esteemed abroad, and respected and beloved at home. It would consummate the greatest triumph of Chris- tianity and civilisation, maintaining peace and abun- dant prosperity to the people, who would rapidly develope commercial intercourse by the mutual ex- change of the natural productions of their respective 151 countries, at the same rated commercial tariffs agreed to by the Ministers of the three Powers, who would be equally bound to protect each other in commercial and political affairs, should any stranger trespass in any way or manner upon the honour, rights, or privileges of one of the Allies. For the accomplish- ment of this programme it will require two separate treaties, one political and the other commercial ; but both of them framed with the same liberal views towards each other, and written word by word equally for all parties, except only the name of the Sovereign and Ministers subscribing thereto. It should be noticed here, that for the mutual interest of each party the political treaty of alliance, offensive and defensive, should be construed in a new manner. For instance, the nations A, B, C. Suppose a foreign Power, or the subject of a foreign Power, X, has attacked or damaged the honour or the interest either of the Sovereign B, or of his commercial or non- commercial subjects. The Minister or Consul of the Sovereign B makes a circumstantiated report of the case to the Ministers of the nations A and C, whose diplomatic agents at the court of the offending Sove- reign or subject will mutually make the proper re- monstrances to redress the wrong and exact repara- tion. As soon as the first step is taken at that foreign court by the allies A and C, then come in also jointly the personal demands of the accredited Minister B at the court of the said foreign offending Power. Should this foreign court deny the proper satisfaction, then the allied Powers A and C declare war in the name of their own Sovereigns against the offender ; and twenty-four hours after that declara- tion shall follow also the declaration of the offended ally B. By this proceeding the allied Powers A and C will prove to the offending Power X that they, the allies A and C, are determined to vindi- cate the honour and interest of B, making the fait et cause their own, suspending immediately the exequa- 152 iar in the States of the Power X, and beginning the usual warlike diplomatic demonstration, preliminary to actual war. What I have said, for example, in regard of the Power E, applies equally to the allied Powers C and A. The first energetic demonstrations by these allies, A and C, would soon persuade the disturber of the peace, X, and in course of time many wars would be avoided, through fear of a general conflagration. Of course the prudence and wisdom of the Allies would dictate to them the abstinence from provoking or taking advantage of other Powers, great or small; and would induce them rather to be the mediators for peace between other foreign belligerent or dis- puting States, than the promoters of wars. These Allies having agreed to this political com- bination, and secured themselves on their thrones, supported entirely by the affection of the benefited populations, would be spared many anxieties, and leisurely enjcy that happiness of which they now feel the want as much as any ordinary mortal, whose only cares are about his little family. Once banished the envy, animosity, and jealousy between the Allies, if any exist, and a spirit of friendly emulation would be substituted ; commercial speculations would be safe ; the farmer would no longer dream of foreign horses' hoofs trampling his corn-fields ; the women and children would have time for education ; indus- trious artizans would be properly remunerated for their labour to support themselves and families ; and peace and plenty would then be easily realised. The secure navigation to distant lands would bring home the fruits of their respective industrial occupa- tions, and the result of sagacious enterprises would tend to promote domestic economy and comfort. Thus, in a comparatively short space of time the popu- lations would acquire and find out so gigantic differ- ence, such material improvement in their interests, that little more would remain to be desired. 153 England, France, and Italy, — these three old sisters, who saw the birth of Christianity, and saw it strangled in its cradle, — ashamed of their past inglo- rious inaction, at last awaken to their ancient glory ; the three, united in friendly compact as one, would take up again the proper Christian civilisation, and by due care and nursing they would ultimately suc- ceed in elevating the now prostrated humanity, in- spiring it with adoration for the real God, the Eternal Father of the creatures, without distinction, without crosses on the front or on the back, without confes- sional, without Seraglios of Nuns, and other Eccle- siastical luxuries, too numerous to mention. Surely charitable feelings, and humanly and kind brother- hood, as well as a true love of God and veneration for His noble works, would spring up in the breasts of mankind, and would serve to moderate- regulate, and constitute the basis of that improved state of society, which, the more it spreads, the more it would link itself closer and firmer together ; and by the will of God, with the consummation of time, it might almost renew the so-much vaunted Golden Age. I am sure that the ninety-six millions of fellow- men of these three great human families, — France, Italy, and England, — occupied in the noble mission of peace, guided by the ever-watchful wisdom of their liberally -provident rulers, would be able to infuse almost a new life in some of the now degraded portions of the populations, and a new and simple organization in this old world. The confidence of their own people, and that of strangers, would rest on the honourable conduct of the Governments, and on the tolerance and good feelings of their subjects. Peace promotes industry, and industry abundance of the comforts and happiness of life. Certainly Europe requires reorganization, for history has shown that it is impossible longer to endure the present rate of misery and uncertainty of life. I would inquire if it is to be permitted for 154 Sovereigns to continue to make human sacrifices for the sake of maintaining upon a throne Kings who have no States of their own, and in opposition to the people ? Happily the days of Rudolph the First have passed away ; and though it was politic at that time to set upon the Imperial Throne the little Count of Hapsbourg, who had only a small castle near Berne, that arrangement, having long ago become a nuisance, ought to be removed for ever, as unfit for the times. The German Electors have lost the chance now of bestowing on one of their number the Roman Em- pire ; that institution died long ago, and the descend- ants of the Majordomo of the King of Bohemia have so entirely mismanaged the Empire that the public have lost all confidence in their politics and unscru- pulous intrigues without faith, or parole de RoL That line is extinct ; but see the base subterfuges the Aus- trian Emperor now practises towards the Hungarians, who have listened to his promises ! See how he is j ustly rewarded by all his varied subjects for his cajoleries and false promises ! These different nationalities have been so constantly deceived that they are deter- mined to be deaf and imperturbably mute for the present. They await the sound of the tocsin for the general resurrection, and that will not be long delayed. Besides the yearly human sacrifices of blood, there are the ruinous expenses of keeping up an enormous standing army ; which consumes much, and produces nothing. It removes 600,000 men from their daily toils and avocations, demoralizes them, and makes them unfit for their moral duties, and creates a berth for at least two or three other hundred thousand bureaucratic employes of police and chancelleries In the meantime the labour of those men is diverted from the fields and the ateliers, and causes the want of the produce required for their consumption. Such things may last a long time in a wealthy country, but where there are only moderate riches to be had from the result of con- 155 stant toil, such a system cannot endure, and this is the reason why everything is mortgaged, and many unfortunate proprietors were fined and dis- possessed, under the pretext of being Liberals ; also where there is only a limited commerce, arising from the general want of confidence, the people being over-taxed to supply the unlimited, ever-pressing wants of the Government, whose forced loans are levied upon the same over-taxed people to fill the pockets of Government creatures, and the unscrupu- lous Ministers and Sovereign, ever thirsting for gold, extorting the precious metals, and issuing base, de- preciated coin and paper, worth only half its nominal value, and, out of the Imperial States, nothing. What felicity can the subjects enjoy under such a ruler, and how long is that Government to last? Thus everything going to perdition, the people, tired and exhausted, at last call out for Reform ; and the Reform that they demand will be the con- demnation and suppression of that corrupted Govern- ment. Serius ocius exitura locum, says Horace ; and no doubt, sooner or later, Europe must be relieved of such an incubus, through whose misdeeds the various States are kept in suspense, and the populations remain in a state of fermentation and oppression. Prussia is armed, and compelled to be so, through the insincerity of Austria, and the fear of France. England is in the same predicament, seeing the con- stant armaments of France and Spain. Without a motive for war, Prance still remembers 1815, and knows what she can expect from the other Govern- ments ; Italy is not yet emancipated from the peni- tentiary shirt that was put upon her in 1815, for having assisted and made common cause with France; for that very offence, and for fear that she should again make France stronger, Italy was scourged and partitioned among the various (excuse the word) executioners. -Now if France, the chief delinquent 156 in the eyes of the Holy Alliance, has emancipated herself from that treaty, a majori, Italy ought to be reinstated in her rights. The force of this proposi- tion was sustained by Lord Ellenborough, in the House of Lords, last session, though he was one of the party in opposition to Italy at the time of that treaty. It is evident that the whole of the European States must retrench their expenses, and this cannot be accomplished except by tranquillising the peoples, and giving them the legitimate constitutional rights so much desired and demanded. France and Italy must have a definite Constitution, according to their wishes, in the style of the English ; one which has withstood so many tempestuous seasons, and which, I hope, will never be wrecked. Once upon the same con- stitutional footing, and as soon as the political and the commercial treaties of alliance, offensive and defensive, are made, the three Foreign Ministers should prepare themselves for another work, consist- ing of the reform and dismissal of the superfluous army. They would diminish it by degrees, as by degrees they would create another element as a sub- stitute for its home duty. Only the cadres of the various regiments should be maintained ; so that, in case of need, the ranks could be easily filled up with volunteers, or regulars, according to the necessity of the case. The whole of the Artillery, the Marine, and other scientific arms should be maintained in its complement for the various services in the colonies, and at sea, and for the instruction of the volunteers, &c. A few practical men in France, and an equal number in England and Italy, should set themselves to work out this scheme, preparing the treaties and the new organisation, and the almost equalisation of the constitutional law. I know the difficulties and the opposition that might be raised to this particular point ; and I should say that it will be almost an im - possible work to conciliate the political men of the 157 day to three consitutions in three different countries, with analogous rules and regulations. A conqueror might do it by the power of his mighty sword ; but we are now in peace, and here arises the great difficulty. Still I am not afraid of that, because we have arrived at an era when men understand that if a thing can be done compulsorily with great advan- tage to humanity, the same thing ought to be done by peaceful persuasion and rationalism. It is useless, however, my wasting time to illustrate this point, which is so greatly comprehensive and elastic as to overpower my dwarf intelligence. But to continue: suppose the statesmen of the day at work at this scheme, and that England retains only twenty thousand men in or about Ireland, and sends the cadres of her regiments to the colonies to be filled with natives, leaving an opening to the volunteers who may aspire to an active military career ; suppose, also, that the Volunteer institution has become the order of the day, the institution of the land, where all patriotic efforts unite for the support of order, of the Constitution, and of the ever-to-be-admired honourably liberal Sovereign. When I say England, I mean to comprise in it Ireland and Scotland too. As I have stated, I would retain all the Artillery, the Marines, and other scientific corps, and send them wherever they may be wanted, keeping at home purely and simply the veterans and invalids, who would be honourably employed in the general instruction of the younger generation, to inspire them with the noble sentiments of glory and military honour. Having made these suppositions, I should like to ask the opinion of the Chancellor of the Exchequer what advantages he would derive from these retrench- ments in his annual budget ? After two or three years of this new organisation, I am positive that this country would save an annual sum of twenty millions. But my scheme is not yet completely told. As the o 158 Marine remains complete as it is, it must have some duties to perform, partly in Europe, and in the Colonies ; and another portion to be employed in convej T ing the excess of the poor population which crowds the workhouses. This is another sore point, which I should not have touched ; but how can the domestic economy be improved in a country where the population is in excess of the production of food for its maintenance ? I feel how difficult it would be to conciliate the different political sections on this point, and what storms it would raise in certain quarters ; therefore I will explain myself, and say that the Government should undertake to colonise certain fertile lands in fine climates easily accessible at all seasons, where the young European people would settle, and being put in possession of plots of ground sufficient to produce their maintenance by proper labour and cultivation, being chartered there by Government free of all expenses, and provisioned with sufficient means to outstand the first nine months of the year. In a very short space of time many fathers, with large families, without sufficient means for their maintenance in this country, and many orphans, would avail themselves of the opportunity of improving their social position, and relieve the workhouses from the present enormous expenses. There is also a certain numerous class, without the means to live in luxury and idleness, who have to undergo sometimes great privations, many of whom would voluntarily avail themselves of the opportunity of possessing a tract of land to live by the fruit of their own labour. What I have said of England I must say also of Erance and of Italy, too, when she shall be entirely reconstructed. But in France, at present, with the expenses for keeping up 600,000 men under arms of all sorts, without the items of arsenals and Imperial forges, &c, the question is a more difficult one, on account of the discordant political elements, the extreme ignorance of the 159 peasants, and the rebellious league of the High Priests. However, it is a question of life and death with Napoleon the Third ; whatever he may do for the latter nothing will satisfy them. The Priests are revengeful, and never forget. Now the Emperor knows well the Roman history, and one day or another he may remember the incident of a Roman Consul listening to an inopportune mutinous report, to which he answered by cutting with a stick the heads of some alta papavera that happened to be in the way ; and as that hint answered then, it will answer now, because only one of two powers can subsist, and the two in opposition cannot last long without one submitting to the other. It remains only, then, to give to the people the full Constitutional rights that the English and the Italians have. By that means jealousy will cease amongst the people, the newspaper diatribes and offensive critiques on this and that other topic will gradually subside, mutual sympathies will arise from mutual interest, and one will assist the other in quantum et per quan- tum, if he can without detriment to himself. To facilitate labour and economise time, as time is a most important item in a commercial country, let there be introduced in the three allied countries the Decimal System, in all its varied branches of weight, measure, and distance ; make the coins of equal quality, weight, and value, the only difference being the effigy of the Sovereign who issued them. When these populations have experienced the benefits that would inevitably arise from this new system, supported by equal laws, civil, commercial, and political (in course of time the Governments might also change or modify the Criminal Codes), the ma- terial interests and progress of these nations would be felt by every citizen ; and to win the confidence, friendship, and sympathy of the populations, let there be printed in the respective languages the treaties stipulated by the Sovereign allies; they 160 should be framed in chapters easily accessible to the popular intelligence, and distributed to the people at a nominal price, to facilitate the learning of them like a catechism. Have your treaties duly recon- firmed every seven years, and any improvement or amelioration of the political principles which it may be necessary to adopt post factum, add them as an appendix ; so that the people may be constantly au fait of the earnest care and wisdom of their Govern- ment. There is nothing to fear from liberty ; liberty kills tyranny only, as is proved by the history of every country. As I have said somewhere else, a real Eepublican is the most honourable and liberal- minded man, who loves his country and humanity in general without interested motives ; and he is entitled to the same public esteem as is an honour- able Royalist. Those who are to be feared are the ambitious, the avaricious, selfish hypocrites who insti- gate the people to disunion and discord amongst them- selves, and contempt and rebellion towards their Go- vernment, in a clandestine manner fomenting discord between the people and the Governments whom they pretend to support, and betray at the same time with equally incredible hypocritical faces. These are the miscreants of society, who are ever ready to embarrass, embroil, upset, destroy, and stab both people and Go- vernments, for the sake of grasping anyhow, — never mind which party wins the day, — the best sinecures and the most lucrative honorary places. Society must be weeded first of this elass of malefactors, before it can be improved in any sensible way, and before any Government can safely say it is fairly and firmly constituted. There is no security for the Government who harbours near its docks and ware- houses such vermin. They destroy and rot every- thing that comes in contact with them ; and history has proved and confirmed it in every country for the last one thousand years. Therefore, before the inauguration of the new system, before disarming 161 and depriving oneself of the means of protection, and of enforcing the new laws, separate the chaff from the wheat, like the husbandman before he puts down the new seeds in expectation of a good harvest. Such things have been repeatedly done in every European State, but in vain in Italy and France ; and now that these Governments know who are their enemies, it is the time to destitute them all without further ceremony or reserve. Without the expensiveness of trials, with a well-considered law firmly applied by the Home Secretary, one single decree is perfectly sufficient to settle everything as quietly as possible ; and if any symptoms of commo» tion should develope themselves, there are many Islands in the Pacificum mare which require popula- tion and manual labour, which could be improved on the occasion. Jt is only after this that Europe in general, and particularly Italy and France, could rest and enjoy the tranquillity they desire, and France could safely dissolve, and restore to their foyers, 300,000 men, who would resume their industry, and contribute to civilize their superstitious countrymen ; and some of them might even teach the Cure how to make the miracles on the most modern principles. Europe, as well as France, would be inspired with real hopes and faith in a durable peace. The benefits of domes - tic economy would soon be felt by every class of society ; the State debts, in the course of time, would be liquidated ; the Government, relieved from the pressure within and without, would apply itself to the material improvements the country may re- quire, and study new projects tending to ameliorate every class of society, executing everything at leisure and in the most economical manner, without dispossessing its ceraria of the pecuniary means deposited there for other urgent wants. I have alluded to the keeping at home the veterans and invalids of all sorts of arms ; and now I will suggest, 162 as they have learned more or less in the military schools, according to their intelligence and capacities, that they be employed in the national schools in the towns, provinces, and villages, to teach and instruct the populations in the use of arms and manoeuvres, or in any other branch of knowledge they may be com- petent to" impart to others. Secularize every branch of public instruction, and dismiss all the Ecclesiastical teachers, except at the theological schools. I said also that the scientific arms, and the Marines, must be maintained in their complement ; and my object was, and is, that the three Governments, hand-in- band, should open new fields of enterprise, and people distant colonies with the excess of their population, thus relieving the poor at home, and the householders who now support them. The Replete terram of Genesis might be attained in the course of a couple of centuries by this means, to the great relief, advantage, and comfort of the European nations ; and the fulfilment of God's commandment would no longer be a reproach or a stain to the poli- tical character of the present European rulers. If I were to look upon the atlas, and count the spots and spaces which are stated to be almost abandoned, and others, though well populated, yet so mismanaged and so horribly misgoverned that the continuation of such atrocities constitute the highest grievance and offence to Almighty God, and put the question, —Why do the civilised European Sovereigns tolerate such monstrosities, equally derogatory to human nature and degrading to the character of the Kings of the earth who permit the continuation of such brutalities? — though I would deviate a little from my argument, yet I would not lose sight of it, and would say — Why, for instance, does European civi- lisation countenance any further the abominations of the King of Dahomey ? Why do not the most civi- lised nations organise an expedition, and go direct to the West Coast of Africa to dethrone and hang 163 that miscreant, whose capricious delights are to float on human blood? The populations would receive them as liberators, and would be grateful ; and I am persuaded that some good spot for Europeans to settle there could be found, and by their means, in course of time, to open communications with the interior parts of that unexplored region ; and from these European ingenuity and enterprise might suc- ceed to find the materials for new sources of wealth and commodities, and open new markets for the exchange of our goods with their produce. An expedition of 10,000 men, composed of French, Italian, and English, could meet at Malta, and in six weeks they would settle everything and return, leaving two or three steamers to cruize thereabout, in case of need for further assistance, should a reaction take place after the departure of the fleet. Perhaps four or five thousand men would be suf- ficient ; but with savages it is better to show them numbers, as they are easily impressed by a large force, which would cause them fear, and persuade them to reason. I hope that the Italian Kingdom will inaugurate and initiate this Christian Crusade, as a work of peace and civilisation; and that the Trench, English, and Italian flags will float in the African plains as gloriously as they did at the time of Scipio (minus the destruction of cities and citizens), and that the names of Palmerston, Thouvenel, and Ricasoli will be accepted as a godsend by those poor Africans, who, gladdened by emancipation under their auspices, will venerate them in future like the emancipated Italian nation. Initiate, then, these new treaties of alliance, as proposed here, or as you think most convenient, and hasten to conclude this new pact, this triumph of modern civilization ; and you, Thouvenel, Eicasoli, and Palmerston, crown this glorious work, and have the merit of doing so before you descend to your honourable tombs, and accept from a grateful Nation 164 a conspicuous place by the side of your respective Monarchs in the Koman Pantheon, with the other illustrious contemporaries who have laboured and so much contributed to the Italian resurrection, — Glad- stone, Lord John Russell, Sir J. Hudson, Garibaldi, Minghetti, Cialdini, Farini, Panti, et quamplurimis aliis. P.S. This book was written upwards of a year since. In consequence of the death of the lamented Cavour, I have been compelled to make several alte- rations, substituting in his place the equally glorious and liberal Bicasoli. As the Italian Ministry is changed now, it would require still further altera- tion, — which I cannot make, as the preceding sheets are in print. Although the Ministry is changed, yet the principle of liberalism will continue immutable and unalterable, under the protection and surveillance of those well-known and well-tried Liberals, Tecchio and Eatazzi. FINIS. INDEX. Pa® is Chronology op Numa Pompilius, and his Election op King op the Romans— Definition op Religion - 1 Pythagoras teaches Numa on the Laws and Religion — Hydro- rnancy, Necromancy, and other Diabolical Superstitions — The Sybilline Books — The Educated Eagle of Pythagoras — The Pythagoric Silence ; he forbids Painting or Sculpturing the Gods — The Nynipba Egeria, and Numa's Nocturnal Congresses and Supposed Marriage— The Institution of Reli- gion — The Pontifices— The Salii — The Vestales — Romulus Venerated J upiter Stator - - - 2 The Arts of Statuary and Painting.— Tarquin Builds the Capitol— The Names of the most Ancient Artists — Hydro- mancy, Necromancy, and many other Superstitions of the kind— The Pretor L. Petilius " - 9 The Oath. — The Priests of Jupiter take no Oath— The Roman Catholic and Apostolic High Priests Violate their Oath at Pleasure - - - - - -19 The Priests or Arch-Priests op Jupiter, and their Man- ners, their Supremacy, their Attributes - 21 The College of the Augures Instituted by Numa.— The Temple of Vesta— The Vestales ; their Sacred Duties, their Punishment, and Two Miracles performed by the Vestales - 23 Numa Institutes the Dancing Priests, Salios. — Their Num- ber ; their Crooked Staffs 5 their Shield ; their Suppers ; their Temple (now converted into the Church of Santa Maria in Aquirio) - - - •* 35 De Pontifice Maximo, et de Pontificum Jure. — The Attri- butes and the Etymology of the Pontif'ex Maximus; his Functions, his Consecration of the Temples, and his Conse- cration as Great Pontiff - - - 40 Fjsciales e pr^stantissimis pamiliis assumuntur a Numa PRO PACIS FffiDERE AC JUSTO BELLO DECERNENDO ; with SOUie Remarks upon the American Ambassador's Speech, &c» - 81 On the Hebrew and Roman History.— Of the first Translat ion of the Bible — Of Jesus, son of Pontiff Sirach — Of the Four Expunged Hebrew Kings, Pontifices— Of Jesus Christ's Brother, first Ordained Bishop — Concerning the Origin of Christianit} r and the Apostles John, Paul, Peter ; his Decree to Clement, &c. — The Biography of Ceesar— all from the MS. Chronica de ^Etatibus (a Copy of the^MS. Code of the Va- tican—The first, second, and third Persecutions of the Christians — Memoranda * - - 97 p 166 The Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ— The Apostles— On the Perversion of the Primitive Roman Catholic Clergy after the Death of the Apostles - - - 125 Historical Lay, Ecclesiastic, and Diplomatic Evidences that Constantine did not give to Silvester, St Peter's Patri- mony, or the Temporal Power — Ancient and Incontestable Proofs Negativing the Donation of the Patrimony — Arripert the Second gives to Pope John the Seventh the Cottian Alps as a Donation, and King Luitprand revokes the Gift— Opi- nion of Cardinal Navagero upon the Temporal Power of the Pope — Pope Adrian obtains from Charlemagne the right of Levying the Tithes upon certain States, and takes the Oath of Fidelity to the Emperor - - - - 136 Constantine's Real Donations to Bishop Silvester (from a Copy of the Ancient MS. Code of the Vatican Library in the Author's possession).— Description of the Enormous Wealth and Precious Gifts— Only two small Yearly Sums given as an Endowment - - - 147 Criminal History of the Popes.— The first great Quarrel between Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, and Arius — Athanasius and Bishop Liberius Exiled at the time of the Emperor Constant — The Roman Bishop Felix Decapi- tated by order of Constant, &c. — The Great Synod of Sardinia in 341— A Great Contention between Damasus and Ursicinus, Candidates for the Roman Episcopal Chair — A Great Slaughter amongst the Clergy, and the true Origin of the Cardinals— Marcellinus and other Ancient Writers — Pope Celestinus and his Cardinals ride upon Asses— He is Strangled by Cardinal Gaetani — Hieronymus plainly Un- masks the Clergy — Baronius Reports the Law against the Clergy Inheriting from the Women (the Venetian Senate made a similar law in the thirteenth century, the mortemain law now in universal usage)— Valentinianus, Valens, and Theodosius make or confirm the Laws against the Clergy and other Religious Corporations— At the Great Synod at Constantinople in 381, a Canonic Law enacted to prevent the Bishops Encroaching on other People's Property — The Third Carthaginian Synod takes place in the year 397, and it is forbidden that any Bishop should style himself First Bishop, or Prince, or Pope, &c— Eusebius Emissenus reproves the Roman Bishop who attempts at the Primate — Bishop Boni- face 1st usurps the Primate, and rebels, anno 418, and is ex- pelled—He Supplicates to be readmitted — At the time of Gratianus lived Bishop Eusebius at Milan, in France Bishop Martinus, Hieronymus in Palestine, Augustin in Spain, J ohn Crisostonus at Constantinople, Orosius at Rome, Hilarius in Pictavia ; all true Christians — Valentinianus and Thodosius T Law enacted to subject the Clergy to the Secular Judges in Criminal Affairs— The usual Contentions and Strife by Sym- machus and Laurentius, candidates for the Roman Chair — The Emperor Theodoricus expels them both, and elects Peter Altinus— The Schism Suppressed and Theodoricus convokes 167 a great Synod in 501— The French Bishops also in a state of insubordination against King Clodoveus — The Emperor Jus- tinus writes to Bishop Hormisidas, styling him " Archie- piscopus et Patriarca;" this is the first real title given to the Roman Bishop— Belisarius is corrupted with money by Au- gusta Eutychiana — Another great Schism — Onuphrius Re- ports the Law by which the Election of the Popes depended by the Clergy, the Senate, and the Roman People, and the Emperors either confirm or annul the Election — The Elect Pope pays a regular sum of money to the Exarch before consecration — Vigilius Exiled; these are the best proofs that the Popes had not yet dreamed of St Peter's Patrimony — In anno 589 a Law issued to compel the Clergy to dress simply and avoid purple colours, as a sign fit only for laymen — Gregorius Magnus, a good Roman Bishop, is elected anno 590 — Although a friend of the Emperor Mauritius, he does not attempt to defend him or his family from the assassins of Phocas— The Impudent Boniface the Third obtains from Phocas the title of " Universal Bishop," or the Roman Primate, and was the first to use u volumus et jubemus " — The Book of Revelations Sanctioned at the Fourth Synod of Toledo — Pope Vitalianus Excommunicates the Archbishop Maurus of Ravenna, who retorts with another Excommunication, anno 680— Phocas's Decree still Rejected by the Bishops, except the Roman ones— The Sum fixed at this time which the Popes should Pay to the Emperors before their Consecration —Peter and Theodorus, two new Rivals for St Peter's Chair, appear ; both Rejected by the People, who Elect Conon— More Schism and Contentions after Conon — Theodorus and Paschal — The People again Reject both Candidates, and Elect Sergius as Roman Bishop, a Priest selected by them from the Crowds— The Exarch John, anno 690, goes to" Rome, Strips the Altars of the Silver and Gold and other Valuables, and Pawns them — Again Schism, and Anasthasius names Pas- chalis, another Candidate and a Great Magician — Innovation in the Papal Consecration — The Code of Digest of Constan- tine contained the Laws of the Sixth Universal Synod — An Apology to the French Nation— Arripertus the Second gives to Pope John the Seventh, anno 704, the Cottian Alps— The Emperor Justinianus sends a Fleet to Blockade and Subject Ravenna, Cervia, Comacchio, Forli, Cesena, &c, the Exarch Felix having Subornated those Citizens against the Pope and Emperor — The Exarch Blinded and Exiled — The Intriguing Conspirator Helias kills the Emperor Justinianus the Second and his son Tiberius, and sends their heads to Philippicus, who forwards that of Justinian to the Roman Pope Constan- tine — Philippicus ordered the Immaculate Tablet of the Sixth Synod to be Removed from under the Portico of St Sophy, also the Images from the Churches — Pope Constantine makes this a Pretext for a Revolution, and Emancipates from the Imperial Power a lot of Dirty Tablets— The Pope Refuses to Consecrate Philippicus, and the Revolution begins 168 "PAGE Tub Origin of the Papal Intrigues with the French King, Charles Martel, to Spoliate and Destroy the Lombard Kings, and the Greek Empire — Of Power and "States in Italy — The Towns Usurped by the Pope during these Wars against the Emperor, and the Lombard King — The Non-existence of St Peter's Patrimony — The Emperor Leo, Gregory the Second, and King Charles Martel die, anno 741— Pope Stephanus's Hy- pocritical Letter to King Pipin— Pope Zaccharia continues the Conspiracy with Pipin against the Greek and Lombard Monarchs — The Successful Plot of Pipin and Zaceharias to Dethrone King Chilperic — The Lombard King Aistulfus Invades Ravenna, and the Exarch goes to Greece - 23S EriscoPAL, Papal, and Charlemagne's Elections. — Repeti- tion of the Evidence already given by other Historians, and several Imperial Laws pointed out - - - 247 Diplomatic, Lay, and Ecclesiastical Negative Proofs op the Papal Temporal Power. — Gregory the Second implores the Assistance of the Venetians, who recover Ravenna from the Lombards, and restore it to the Greek Emperor. Anno 800, Charlemagne Crowned Emperor— Consecutive Proofs of the Imperial Power in Rome, &c. - - 265 Charlemagne's Will and Testament - 283 Pope Gregory the Fourth is tried by the Imperial Judges and Juries for the Spoliation of Towns and Lands in the so-called St Peter's Patrimony — He is Condemned to Transfer, by Deeds, the said States, <&c. - 298 Continuation of Diplomatic Lay and Ecclesiastical Con- futations of the Papal Temporal Power — A Complete Confutation of all the Pretended Donations to the Holy See 31$ The Doctrine of Substantiation, and the Invention of Purgatory - 367 On the Origin of the Cardinals.— Several Quotations from Cardinal Navagero's MS. in the Author's possession, and from other Authors ----- 373 Evidences of Ecclesiastical and Secular History* in con- tinuation of the Papal Criminal History - - 385 Evidences of the Popess Joanna's Reign - «* 388 How the Pope Usurped the Supreme Ecclesiastical Juris- diction. — The Pope Prevaricates— Reorganisation of the Roman Senate — Nicholas the First issues Laws on the Celi- bacy of the Clergy (I would advise the contrary, and compel them to marry)— Theodora and her daughters,. Maroaia and Theodora's reign, a pretty story — The Concubinage of Hilde- brand with the Great Countess Math ilde— The Schism and Wars with the Emperor Henry the Fourth ; his Degradation* —The Death of the Usurper Rudolph— Gregory Condemned by the Synod of Worms, and of Brescia— The Death of Gregory— The Schism Continued- Young Henry or Conrad Marries the Daughter of his Father's Enemy through til© Intrigues of Mathilde, and set in Opposition to his Imperial Father— Urban goes to Milan, and with Peter the Hermit Invents the Scheme for the Recovery of Palestine,, um» 169 1093— The First General Council held at Clermont, 1095, where they decided to Organise an Army for Palestine — The Emperor Henry the Fourth dies, anno 1099 — Conrad, or Henry the Fifth, succeeds him— His Excommunication, and War against Paschal the Second — Schism continued — Three Popes at this time ----- 395 Petbus Blesiensis de Institutione Episcopi — A Lecture to a Rebel Bishop paid with his own Coin - - 469 A Miraculous Bottle, and other Episcopal Absurdities, &c. — Continuation of the Papal Criminal History — The Emperor Frederick the First, alias Barbarossa, maintains his Imperial Power in Italy — Diplomatic and other Historical Proofs of this fact — Schism and Horrible Wars — Diplomatic and Secular Historical Proofs of the Imperial Power, and Proofs that the Regalia or Donations to the Holy See did not con- vey the Temporal Power — Pope Nicolaus the Third attempts to "Create two of his Nephews of the Orsini family Kings of Italy, and Expel the French and Germans — A Precedent against " Non Possumus" — Ecclesiastical Forgers of Bulls and Diplomas - 474 Precedents and Confutations op the Non Possumus, Non Volumus — A few Remarks about Scandiano — Continuation of Precedents against " Non Possumus " — Pope Alexander the Sixth Invents the Income-tax, anno 1500, and with the assistance of Valentino and the French Kings Poisons and Murders the Principal Noblemen of Italy, and Spoliates their Families — Julius, Leo, and Paul Succeed, and Supply more Precedents against the " Non Possumus " - - 540 Continuation op the Papal Criminal History. — Pope Martin the Fourth and Boniface the Eighth Emancipate themselves from the Empire — Boniface says, "Ego sum Imperator " — The usual Schism continued, and Wars rage for a long time ; Boniface is taken prisoner, and brought ignomi- niously to Rome — Clement the Fifth, another of his class — He is succeeded by John the Twenty-third— Horrible Wars renewed between the Pope and the Emperor Ludowick — Pope Nicholas the Fifth, at the instigation of John the Twenty- third, is Imprisoned by the Pisans— John the Twenty- third and his Wars with Charles le Bel — Benedict the Twelfth, the Seducer of Petrarch's Sister, &c— Petrarch's Exposition of the Crimes of the Holy See - - - 582 A Slight Project for Reforming the Papal Sway, and the Project for Reforming the Roman See made by Pope Clement the Fifth in 1313 - - - - - 630 The Recently Discovered MS. in Germany.— A few prophecies concerning Italy — A Genealogic Notion concerning the Familv of Garibaldi - - - - 651 The Papal Infallibility - 656 170 VENICE. PAGE Its present Martyrdom and its former glories - I On the Genius of the Venetians - - 19 Good Symptoms for the Italian Brotherhood - 35 The Invasion of Venice by the Tartarian Ugres ; and by Pipin 38 The First Expedition to the Holy Land - - 48 The Wealth and Grandeur of the Venetians in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries - - - 53 The French and Venetian Expedition to the Holy Land - 60 The League of Cambray - - - 65 The Quarrel of Paul the Fifth with the Venetian Senate, defended by Friar Paul - - - 67 The Siege of Candia — The Conquest of the Morea of Athens and other places — Honourable mention of Cavour's and Kicasoli's Policy — Ricasoli's Memorable Circular and Gari- baldi's Letter to Princess Ghika, &c. — Opinions of the Press 76 English Precedents against the Innovations of the Clergy - 110 The Right of the House of Savoy to the Italian Throne - 118 Proposal for a Triple Alliance - - - 149 Since the completion of this work, the Author regrets to find that from his inexperience in reading for the press, numerous errors have escaped his notice ; but as they are chiefly literals, and of an obvious hind, he trusts that the intelligent and critical reader will readily cor- rect them as he proceeds. A few, however, may affect the Author's meaning, and these he has noted in the following ERRATA: Page 2, for Athaenientium, read Athaeniensium. P. 3, Fuit, Fecit. P. 7, Valiis, Vallis. P. 16, Valerias, Valerius ; repesti, reperti ; in- criptas, inscriptas. P. 19, Flamina, Flamine; itque, itaque. P. 21, adalatione, adulatione. P. 23, Autulorum, Rutulorum. P. 25, motur, motus. P. 26, numam, Numam. P. 27, matre, mater. P. 29, Nantae, Naute. P. 30, mancre, manere. P. 38, in, ni. P. 40, rerum, verum. P. 44, catenus, catenas. P. 48, piacularum, piaculorum. P. 49, purum, parum. P. 51, area, area. P. 54, vulnu, vulnus. P. 57, 171 consecrationes, consecrationis. P. 61, Cuput, caput. P. 75, amanda- tus, emendatus. P. 85, afiirmate, affirmante. P. 94, ca, ea. P. 95, conoratos, coronatos. P. 99, occhozia, Occhozia. P. 100, attare, altare. P. 114, demandant, demendam. P. lis, emixit, enixit. P. 116, amiciam, amicitiam. P. 118, persequutione, persecutione. P. 119, alias, alius ; successiorem, successorem. P. 120, exitio, exilio. P. 123 (marginal note), These three more Kings, There are three other Kings. P. 131,nenitus, penitus. P. 133, Conabatur, conabitur. P. 163, Avcutinus, Aventinus. P. 177, Baptisto a, Baptista. P. 184, excursaturum, excusaturum. P. 216, es, eo. P. 221, cum, eum. P. 225—804, 704; Nance, France ; ce, ea. P. 236, Franck, French. P. 244, intucatur, intueatur. P. 255, Caesaris, Carsareis. P. 290, ternis, termis; Bajone, Bajoar. P. 295, Romanium, Romanum. P. 309, terra, terna ; par, per. P. 324, Torea, Ivrea. P. 327, Comado, Comaclo. P. 329, quattre, quatre. P. 340, die, die. P. 344, cum, eum. P. 347, ud, ut. P. 353, Henry the Fifth became Emperor and was called Henry the Sixth, Conrad became Emperor and was called Henry the* Fifth. P. 368, immanaam, immanem. P. 382, Suisse, fuisse. P. 398, terre, ferre. P. 399, Lactanias, Lsetanias (twice). P. 411, Testandur, Testantur. P. 425, Regnum, Regum ; Imperiis, Imperii. P. 429, noblis, nothi. P. 431, Ipse, Ipsa. P. 432, domina- runtur, dominarentur ; abi, ab. P. 438, bellarat, bellaret. P. 440, scortse, scorta; vous (dele); de, des. P. 442, Coranam coronam. P. 444, proprius, propius ; quondam, quendam. P. 445, comma after ducem, dele full-point. P. 451, cum, eum. P. 452, indignisset, in- diguisset ; fantoribus, fautoribus ; voluntaretur, volutaretur, P. 453, cestitudinem, certitudinem. P. 457, oblitu, oblita. P. 461, conside- runt, conciderunt. P. 466, Cassineus, Cassinen. P. 469, Blasiensis, Blesiensis. P. 479, Blasius, Blesius. P. 488, partitientes, perti- nentes. P. 490, Nice, Nicea. P. 497, illo, ilia. P. 509, Estates, States. P. 514, quos, quas. P. 544, Vallioneri, Vallisnieri. P. 574, Ebarard, Eberard. P. 578, Vienna, Viana. P. 587, Argentia, Argentin; adduci, abduci. P. 588, Papse, Papa. P. 612, corrasit, corrosit. P. 614, feceret, fecerit. P. 628, utque, atque; Ecclesim, Ecclesiam. VENETIA. Page 28, for in 1428, read established in 1428. P. 113, ad, et. P. 121, Juere, Jure; imposterum, in posterum. P. 127, domus, damus. A COLLECTION OP RARE AND VERY EARLY PRINTED WORKS. The Author proposes to Sell, by Private Contract, to any Gentleman who is forming a Library, all his Collection of RARE BOOKS, MSS., AND AUTOGRAPHS, the total consisting of about 4,000 Lots, 3,500 of which are Rare First Editions of the Latin and Greek Classics, Theology, History, the Arts and Sciences, THE EARLY ITALIAN DRAMATIC WORKS, Gems of Early Italian Literature (Prose and Verse), Numismatics, Archaeology, Bibliography, Philology, and ITALIAN TRANSLATIONS OF THE CLASSICS. Amongst the collection are 125 Aldine Editions, and a great many Works printed in Black Letter Types ; also many Editions of the Fifteenth Century, as well as Ancient, Raee, and Early- Printed Bibles. The MS. and Autographs comprise about 500 Lots, by various Celebrated Authors and Distinguished Per^ sonages. NOTICE. The Half of the Profits arising out of the Pub- lication of this Work will he devoted to the funds in aid of the Support of the Expatriated Roman and Venetian Families; and the Author sincerely trusts that the liberality of his Compatriots and the Supporters of Con* stitutional Freedom will induce them to aid in the circulation of the Work in promotion of the object which he has in view. The Author further proposes to Dispose of the Copyright of this Work, and to appropriate One-Half the amount obtained for it to the furtherance of a Project which he will in due time divulge, and which he is sure will be agreeable to the King, to Garibaldi, and to the entire Population of Italy* Direct, post paid, to Dr Beggi, Hobnry Street, Chelsea, S.W. j>2 9 1996 1-62000 tuh i3dVH0 iv "o;n do AiisdHAiNn