voltaire xxix

8/20/2019 Voltaire XXIX

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E D I T I O N D E L A P A C I F I C A T I O N

T H E W O R K S O F

VOLTAIRE A CONTEMPORARY VERSION

W ITH N OTES BY TOBIAS SMOLLETT , R EVISED AND M ODERNIZEDN EW TRANSLATIONS BY W ILLIAM F . FLEMING, AND AN

INTRODUCTION BY OLIVER H . G . LEIGH

A CRITIQUE AND BIOGRAPHY BY

T H E R T . H O N . J O H N M O R L E Y

F O R T Y- T H R E E V O L U M E S

ONE HUNDRED ANS SIXTY-EIGHT DESIGNS, COMPRISINGS REPRODUCTIONSOF RARE OLD ENGRAVINGS, STEEL PLATES, PHOTOGRAVURES,

AND CURIOUS FAC-SIMILES

VOLUME XXIX

AKRON, OHIOTHE WERNER COMPANY

1 !"


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I am a heritage because -I


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brine, you years of tboupbt

and tbe lore of time ~>

I Impart yet I can pot s|

I have traveled arnot^ tbe

peoples o^ tbe eartb ^ J

am a rover-^ Oft-tlrpes

I strqy rorr! tbe "lreslde>

of tbe OI#$ iubo loves ar^

cberlsbes rpe-uabo

#O%O&'& n!e u ber! I an!(gor!e ^-$hould you"lpd

rt!e vagrai!t please send

brothers -on tbe boo)*

sbelves of

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#he 0O 1$ of 2O%#3I


4/440

&I#IO4 & %3 +3'I/I'3#IO4

%imited to one thousand sett

for 3merica and 5reat 6ritain7

8 6et9een t9o servants of :umanity, 9ho appeared

eighteen hundred years apart, there is a mysterious relation7

; ; ; %et us say it 9ith a sentiment of

profound respect< J $=$ 0 +#< 2O%#3I $ I% &7

Of that divine tear and of that human smile is composed the

s9eetness of the present civili?ation7 @ @

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9/440

#: second protector, ichard 'rom9ell, not hav-

ing the talents of the Lrst, could not have the same

fortune7 :is sceptre 9as not supported by the

s9ordM and as he 9anted the resolution and dis-

simulation of Oliver, he )ne9 not either ho9 to

ma)e himself feared by the army, nor ho9 to man-

age the diNerent sects and parties 9hich divided the

nation7

ichard, Lnding himself treated 9ith contemptand even insolence by his father@s military council,

thought to secure his authority by convo)ing a par-

liament, consisting of t9o houses M one of 9hich

9as formed by the principal o cers, representing

the peers, and the other of deputies from the coun-

ties of ngland, $cotland, and Ireland, representing

Phe three )ingdomsM but the leaders of the army

soon obliged him to dissolve this parliament, and of

their o9n authority restored that parliament 9hich

G 3ncient and odern :istory7

had brought 1ing 'harles I7 to the scaNold, and

9hich Oliver after9ard so disgracefully dismissed7


10/440

#his parliament, 9hich, as 9ell as the army, 9as

entirely independent, 9ould have neither )ing nor

protector7 3t its Lrst meeting, the general council

of o cers presented an address to this assembly of

their o9n ma)ing, petitioning, that all cavaliers

should be forever eQcluded from their employs, and

that the o ce of protector might be ta)en from

ichard 'rom9ell, 9hom they, ho9ever, treated

9ith great mar)s of respect, requiring a pension of

t9enty thousand pounds sterling to be settled uponhim, and eight thousand upon his motherM but the

parliament only granted him t9o thousand pounds, Q

and sent him an order to leave 0hitehall in siQ days,

9hich he obeyed 9ithout murmuring, and ever

after9ard led a private life7 3t that time the names

of peers and bishops seemed 9holly forgotten7

'harles II7 appeared abandoned by all the 9orld, as

9ell as ichard 'rom9ellM and it 9as thought by

all the courts of urope, that the nglish common-

9ealth 9as Lrmly established7 :o9ever, the regal

dignity 9as at length restored by an o cer of 'rom-

9ell@s, called on), 9ho commanded the army

9hich had conquered $cotland7 #he nglish parlia-

ment having formed a design to cashier the o cers

of that army, on), being apprised of their inten-

tion, marched directly to ngland, to try his fortune7


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D #his is a mista)e M they granted him t9enty thousand

pounds to pay his debts7

ngland =nder 'harles II7 H

#he three )ingdoms 9ere at that time in a general

state of anarchy7 on) had left part of his armyin $cotland, but this 9as not su cient to )eep that

nation in sub ection7 #he other part, 9hich

marched under his command into ngland, had the

parliament@s forces to encounter7 #he parliament

itself, 9hich 9as equally apprehensive of either

army, endeavored, if possible, to ma)e itself master

of both7 :ere 9as su cient cause for rene9ing all

the horror of the civil 9ars7

on), Lnding himself not su ciently po9erful to

succeed to the protectorship, determined to restore

the royal family M and instead of shedding blood, he

found means to perpleQ aNairs in such a manner by

his negotiations, and increased the confusion in the

)ingdom to such a degree, that the nation of itself

began to 9ish for a )ing7 In a 9ord, the restoration


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9as eNected 9ithout the least bloodshed7 %ambert,

one of 'rom9ell@s generals, and a most ?ealous

republican, in vain attempted to rene9 the 9arM he

9as prevented before he could assemble a su cient

number of his veterans, and 9as defeated and ta)en

prisoner by on)7 3 ne9 parliament 9as no9

called7 #he peers, 9ho had so long remained an

idle and useless body, no9 returned to the house,

and resumed their functions in the state7 6oth

houses ac)no9ledged 'harles II7 as their la9fulsovereign, and he 9as accordingly proclaimed )ing

in %ondon, on ay R, DGGF7

'harles II7 thus invited to ngland, 9ithout hav-

R 3ncient and odern :istory7

ing in the least contributed to this restoration by

any means of his o9n, and 9ithout having been

restricted by any conditions, departed from 6reda,

the place of his retirement, and arrived in ngland

amidst the shouts and acclamations of all the people M

in a 9ord, it hardly seemed that there had ever been

a civil 9ar7


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#he parliament ordered the bodies of 'rom9ell,

Ireton, his son-in-la9, and 6radsha9, president of

the high court of ustice, to be dug out of their

graves, and dragged through the streets on a sledge

to the gallo9s7 Of all those concerned in the bloody

trial of 'harles I7 9ho 9ere yet living, ten only 9ere

eQecuted7 3ll suNered 9ithout the least signs of

repentance, refusing to ac)no9ledge the )ing@s

authority, and returning 5od than)s, 9ho hadchosen them to die 8 for the most glorious and ust

of all causes78 #hese 9ere most of them either of

the obstinate sect of independents, or else 3nabap-

tists, 9ho loo)ed for the second coming of 'hrist,

and the establishment of the Lfth monarchy7

#here 9ere only nine bishops living at that time in

ngland< the )ing soon completed the number7

#he ancient order and discipline 9as restored both

in 'hurch and $tate, and a round of magniLcence

and pleasures succeeded the gloomy ferocity 9hich

had so long ta)en possession of all minds7 'harles

introduced an eQcess of gallantry and diversions into

the palace, yet stained 9ith the blood of his father7

#he independents 9ere no longer heard of7 #he


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ngland =nder 'harles II7 E

+uritans hid themselves7 #he spirit of the nglish

nation under9ent so total a change, that the late

civil 9ar became a sub ect of ridicule7 #he austere

and gloomy sectaries, 9ho had Llled the )ingdom

9ith their enthusiastic notions, 9ere no9 the butts

of raillery to the gay and licentious courtiers7 &eism,9hich the )ing himself seemed openly to profess,

became the reigning religion among the many others

then in the )ingdom7

#he oyal $ociety, 9hich had been already

formed, but 9as not established by the )ing@s letters

patent till DGGD, began to soften the manners, by

improving the understanding7 #he belles-lettres

9ere revived, and made daily advances to9ard per-

fection7 In 'rom9ell@s time all the learning in the

nation 9as conLned to the application of a fe9 pas-

sages of the Old and 4e9 #estaments, to feed the

Same of public animosities, and screen the purposes

of the blac)est revolutions7 6ut no9 the study of

nature and her 9or)s 9as encouraged, and the plan

of the famous 'hancellor 6acon 9as closely pur-


15/440

sued7 #he science of mathematics 9as in a short

time carried to a degree of perfection that had never

entered into the imagination of former adepts7 3

great man at length investigated the Lrst principles

of the general system of the universe, 9hich till then

had remained hidden M and 9hile the other nations

amused themselves 9ith idle fables, the nglish

found out the most sublime truths7 3ll that the

inquiries of past ages had eNected in natural phi-

io 3ncient and odern :istory7

losophy 9as nothing in comparison 9ith that one

discovery of the nature of light7 In the space of

t9enty years, the arts and sciences made the most

ama?ing progress M this is a merit and a glory 9hich

9ill never pass a9ay7 #he fruits of genius and

industry are permanent, 9hile the eNects of ambi-

tion, fanaticism, and reigning passions, are s9al-

lo9ed up in the times 9hich produced them7

#he spirit of the nation acquired immortal reputa-

tion under the reign of 'harles II7 though the

administration did not7


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#he /rench spirit, 9hich reigned at court, ren-

dered it agreeable and brilliant M but by introducing

a change in the manners, it sub ected it to the

designs of %ouis CI27, and the nglish government,

9hich 9as 9holly biassed by /rench money and

/rench councils, made the thin)ing part of the people

regret at times the days of 'rom9ell, 9ho had ren-

dered his nation so respectable in the eyes of all

urope7

#he parliaments of ngland and $cotland, after

the )ing@s restoration, vied 9ith each other in giving

him all the mar)s of condescension in their po9er,

by 9ay of reparation for the murder of his father7

#he nglish parliament in particular, in 9hose

breast it chieSy lay to ma)e him a po9erful prince,

granted a revenue of t9elve hundred thousand

pounds sterling, for the support of his dignity and

administrationM eQclusive of the sum destined for

the support of the navy, 9hich far eQceeded any-

ngland =nder 'harles II7 II

thing that had been granted to Bueen li?abeth7


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4evertheless, 'harles@s prodigality made him al9ays

in 9ant M and the nation never forgave him the salu

of &un)ir), 9hich 'rom9ell had acquired for the

)ingdom by his negotiations and arms, and 9hich

'harles parted 9ith for the sum of t9o hundred and

forty thousand pounds sterling7

#he 9ar 9hich he engaged in against the &utch

at the beginning of his reign, proved not only very

burdensome, as it cost the nation up9ard of sevenand a half millions sterling, but it 9as li)e9ise dis-

honorable M for 3dmiral de uyter sailed up as far

as 'hatham, and burned all the nglish ships lying

in that harbor7

#hese miscarriages 9ere intermiQed 9ith most

terrible calamities7 In DGGG, %ondon 9as ravaged

by a plague, and the city almost entirely destroyed

by a dreadful Lre7 #his calamity follo9ing upon a

plague, and in the height of an unsuccessful 9ar

9ith the &utch, seemed almost irreparable7 4ever-

theless, to the astonishment of all urope, %ondon

9as rebuilt in three years, and arose more beautiful,

regular, and commodious than it had been before7 3

taQ upon coal, and the un9earied industry of the

citi?ens, proved alone su cient to eNect this


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immense 9or)7 #his 9as a mighty eQample of 9hat

man)ind are capable of doing, and gave a degree of

authenticity to the reports of the ancient cities in

3sia and gypt, 9hich 9ere so quic)ly rebuilt7

4ot all these accidents, these mighty labors, the

DK 3ncient and odern :istory7

9ar of DGHK against the &utch, nor the cabals 9ith

9hich the court and parliament 9ere Llled, made

any diminution in the pleasures and gallantry 9hich

'harles had brought 9ith him into ngland, and

9hich 9ere the productions of the /rench climate,

9here he had resided for several years7 3 /rench

mistress, /rench manners, and, above all, /rench

money lorded it at court7 #hough all things under-

9ent such a change in ngland, the love of liberty

did not change among the people, nor that passion

for absolute po9er 9hich prevailed in the )ing and

his brother, 9ho succeeded him7 #his proved the

source of numberless intrigues and plots, 9hich

embittered the general taste for pleasure, and

clouded the festivities of the court 9ith sundry eQe-


19/440

cutions7 Aeal for religion or enthusiastic fury had

no share in the eNort made by %ord $haftesbury

and several other persons of distinction, to eQclude

the du)e of .or) from the succession7 %ord

$haftesbury 9as a declared deist7 #he du)e of .or)

9as charged 9ith being a +apistM but it 9as only

the arbitrary +apist they stood in fear of7

'harles II7 seems to have been the Lrst )ing of

ngland 9ho bought the votes of the members ofparliament by private pensions, at least in a country

9here there is hardly anything secret7 #his method

9as never publicly carried on M 9e have no proof

that any of his predecessors had fallen on this 9ay

to shorten di culties and prevent opposition7

#he second parliament, 9hich assembled in DGHE,

ngland =nder 'harles II7 DT

began by impeaching eighteen members of the house

of commons of the preceding parliament, 9hich had

sat eighteen years7 #hey 9ere accused of having

accepted pensions M but as there 9as no la9 9hich


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prohibited the receiving of gratuities from the sov-

ereign, they could not do anything against them7

#his ne9 system of politics adopted by the court

did not prevent the house of commons from voting

unanimously, that the du)e of .or), as being a

professed +apist, should be eQcluded from the

cro9n, in li)e manner as the 'atholic leaguers in

/rance had pretended to eQclude :enry I27 #he

du)e of onmouth, son of 'harles II7 attempted toplay the same part as the du)e of 5uise, by 9hich

he after9ard brought his o9n head to the bloc) M

and the same motives 9hich had engaged the 0higs

to eQclude the du)e of .or) from the throne urged

them to drive him thence, after he had ascended it7

:o9ever, 'harles, Lnding that that house 9hich had

deposed and murdered his father no9 9anted to

disinherit his brother in his lifetimeM and ustly

apprehensive of the consequences of such a design

in regard to himself, dissolved the parliament, and

never called another during his reign7

verything 9as restored to quiet in DGRD, the

instant the royal authority and the privilege of par-

liament ceased to oppose each other7 #he )ing 9as

no9 forced to live 9ith economy upon his revenue


21/440

and a pension of one hundred thousand pounds

sterling, 9hich 9as paid him by %ouis CI27 :e

D 3ncient and odern :istory7

)ept only four thousand soldiers in pay, and he 9as

reproached for )eeping this small guard as if it had

been a po9erful standing army7 6efore him the)ings of ngland 9ere 9ont to have only one hun-

dred men for their ordinary guard7

3t that time there 9ere only t9o opposite fac-

tions in the )ingdom M the #ories, 9ho possessed a

blind submission to the royal authority, and the

0higs, 9ho defended the rights of the people, and

9ere for restricting the sovereign po9er7 #he latter

has almost al9ays had the superiority7

6ut 9hat has established the po9er of the ng-

lish nation is, that all the diNerent parties since the

time of li?abeth have unanimously concurred in

encouraging trade7 #hat very parliament 9hich cut

oN the head of its )ing, 9as employed in settling

maritime aNairs, as if it had been a time of profound


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peace7 #he blood of this murdered prince 9as yet

smo)ing upon the scaNold, 9hen this parliament,

9hich 9as almost entirely composed of fanatics,

passed the famous act of navigation, in DGUF, 9hich

has been falsely attributed to 'rom9ell, and in

9hich he had no other concern than being highly

displeased 9ith it M because this act, 9hich 9as very

pre udicial to the interest of :olland, proved one of

the causes of the 9ar bet9een ngland and that

republicM and as the operations of this 9ar 9ouldbe chieSy by sea, the great eQpense of the navy

might oblige the parliament to lessen the army, of

9hich 'rom9ell 9as general7 #his act has al9ays

ngland =nder 'harles II7 DU

continued in force7 #he chief advantage the nation

derived from this act 9as that it prohibited all

nations from importing any merchandise into ng-

land but 9hat 9as the produce of the country to

9hich the ships belonged7

3s early as the reign of Bueen li?abeth the ng-

lish had an India 'ompany, prior to that of the


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&utch, and there 9as also a ne9 one established

after9ard in 1ing 0illiam@s reign7 /rom DUEH till

DGDK, the nglish had the sole possession of the

9hale Lshery M but their greatest riches lay in their

Soc)s7 3t Lrst they )ne9 only ho9 to sell their

9ool M but since li?abeth@s time they have manu-

factured the Lnest cloths in urope7 3griculture,

9hich 9as for a long time neglected, is no9 better

than the mines of +eru to them7 #he culture of

lands 9as chieSy encouraged by the act of parlia-ment in DGRE, for the eQportation of grain M and since

that time the government has al9ays allo9ed a

bounty of Lve shillings for every measure of 9heat

eQported to foreign mar)ets, 9hen such measure,

9hich contains t9enty-four of our +aris bushels,

shall not be 9orth more than t9o livres eight sous

sterling in %ondon7 #he eQportation of all other

)inds of grain has been encouraged in li)e propor-

tion M and not long since it 9as proved in parlia-

ment that the eQportation of grain brought the )ing-

dom in four years the sum of one hundred and

seventy millions three hundred and thirty thousand

/rench livres7


24/440

D G 3ncient and odern :istory7

ngland had not all these great resources in

the time of 'harles II7 < it 9as still indebted to the

industry of /rance, to 9hom it paid over eight mil-

lions every year upon the balance of trade7 #he

nglish had no manufactories for cloth, plate glass,

copper, brass, steel, paper, or even hats7 It 9as to

the revocation of the dict of 4antes that they 9ere

indebted for almost all these ne9 and importantbranches of trade7

6y this single circumstance 9e may udge ho9

right the Satterers of %ouis CI27 9ere in praising

him for thus depriving /rance of so many useful

sub ects7 3ccordingly in DGRH, the nglish govern-

ment, sensible of the advantage it should gain by

granting an asylum and support to the /rench

artiLcers, made a collection for them amounting to

Lfteen hundred thousand francs, and maintained

thirteen thousand of these ne9 sub ects in the city

of %ondon for one 9hole year7

#his attention to commerce in a 9arli)e nation has

in the end enabled it to pay subsidies to half of

urope against the /rench M and 9ithin our )no9l-


25/440

edge its credit has increased to such a degree 9ith-

out any augmentation in its funds, that the govern-

ment debt to private persons has in some years

amounted to more than seventy millions of our

money7 #his is precisely the situation of the )ing-

dom of /rance at present, 9here the government

o9es nearly the same yearly sum in the )ing@s name

to the annuitants and purchasers of public employs7

Italy in the C2I7 'entury7 DH

#his eQpedient, 9hich is un)no9n to many other

nations, especially to the 3siatics, is the melancholy

fruit of our 9ars, and the last eNort of political

industry7

':3+# '%II%

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$IC# 4#: ' 4#= . #: 'O=4'I% O/ # 4#

#: 'O '#IO4 O/ #: '3% 4&3 , #'7


26/440

0:I% /rance and 5ermany, almost subverted at

the end of the siQteenth, and beginning of the seven-

teenth centuries, lay languishing 9ithout trade,

deprived of arts and police, and plunged in anarchy M

the Italians in general began to taste the s9eets of

repose, and vied 9ith each other in cultivating the

liberal arts, 9hich 9ere either un)no9n to other

nations, or practised by them in a rude manner7

4aples and $icily 9ere free from revolutions, and

9holly undisturbed7 0hen +ope +aul I27, at theinstigation of his nephe9s, undertoo) to deprive

+hilip II7 of these t9o )ingdoms, by the arms of the

/rench )ing, :enry II7, he pretended to ma)e them

over to the du)e of 3n ou, after9ard :enry III7,

in consideration of the payment of t9enty thousand

gold ducats a year instead of the former annual

tribute of siQ thousand, and on the special condition

that his nephe9 should en oy certain large and inde-

pendent principalities in those )ingdoms7

#his 9as at that time the only tributary )ingdom

2ol7 KE K

lR 3ncient and odern :istory7


27/440

in the 9orld7 It 9as pretended that the court of

ome determined it should be no longer so, and pro-

posed to anneQ it to the papal see, 9hich 9ould have

given the popes such a degree of 9eight and author-

ity, as 9ould have made them masters of the balance

of po9er in Italy < but it 9as impossible that +ope

+aul I27, or all Italy together, could ta)e 4aples

from +hilip II7, and after9ard from the )ing of

/rance, and thus strip the t9o most po9erful mouarchs of 'hristendom7 #his 9as only an unhappy

rash pro ect of +ope +aul, 9ho 9as insulted at his

Lrst setting out by the famous du)e of 3lva, at that

time viceroy of 4aples, 9ho ordered all the bells and

other brass 9or) in 6enevento, 9hich belonged to

the holy see, to be melted do9n and cast into cannon7

#his 9ar 9as Lnished almost as soon as it 9as

begun7 #he du)e of 3lva Sattered himself 9ith the

hope of ta)ing ome, as 'harles 27 had done M but

at the end of a fe9 months he 9ent thither to )iss

the pontiN@s feet, restored the bells of 6enevento,

and all 9as quiet7

In DUGF, a shoc)ing scene 9as eQhibited after the

death of +ope +aul I27, by the condemnation of his

t9o nephe9s, the prince of +alliano, and 'ardinal


28/440

'araNaM and the sacred college could not, 9ithout

horror, behold the death of this cardinal, 9ho 9as

strangled by the orders of +ope +ius I27, as 'ardinal

+oli had been by those of %eo C7 M but one act of

cruelty does not ma)e a cruel reign, and the oman

nation 9as not oppressed7

Italy in the C2I7 'entury7 DE

#he 'ouncil of #rent closed in DUGT, under the

pontiLcate of +ius I27, in a peaceable manner, 9ith-

out having produced any ne9 eNects either among

the 'atholics, 9ho held all the articles of faith

taught by that council, nor among the +rotestants,

9ho re ected them < it made no change in the cus-

toms of those 'atholic nations 9ho adopted certain

rules of discipline diNerent from those of the council7

/rance in particular retained 9hat are called the

liberties of the 5allican 'hurch, 9hich are in eNect

the liberties of the nation7 #9enty-four articles of

this council, 9hich 9ere repugnant to the rights of

the civil urisdiction, 9ere never admitted in that

)ingdom< by these articles the superintendence of

all hospitals 9as vested in the bishops only7 #he


29/440

pope alone 9as to give sentence in criminal causes

on the bishops, and the laity 9ere in several cases

made sub ect to the episcopal urisdiction7 #hese

9ere the reasons 9hy the /rench governments

re ected the discipline established by the council7 #he

)ings of $pain received it into their dominions 9ith

the greatest respect, but at the same time 9ith con-

siderable private modiLcation7 2enice follo9ed

the eQample of $pain7 #he oman 'atholics of

5ermany insisted upon the use of the consecratedcup, and that priests should be allo9ed to marry7

+ope +ius I27, by his briefs to the emperor, aQi-

milian II7, and the archbishop of ent?, allo9ed

communicating in both 9ays M but remained inSeQ-

ible in the article of the marriage of the priests7

KO 3ncient and odern :istory7

8 :istory of the +opes 8 gives us for a reason that

+ius, having gotten rid of the council, had nothing

more to fearM hence it came, adds the 9riter of

this history, that this pope, 9ho made no scruple of

violating all la9s, divine and human, 9as so strict

9ith regard to celibacy7 It is very false to say that


30/440

+ius I27 violated all la9s, divine and human M and

it is very evident that by preserving the ancient

discipline of sacerdotal celibacy, 9hich had been

so long established in the 0est, he acted in con-

formity 9ith an opinion 9hich had become a la9 in

that 'hurch7

3ll the other customs of church discipline pecul-

iar to 5ermany remained on their original founda-

tion7 #he disputes pre udicial to the secular po9erno longer raised those 9ars they had formerly done M

there 9ere still some fe9 di culties, some intricate

points bet9een the 'hurch of ome and the oman

'atholic statesM but these little disputes did not

cost any bloodshed7 #he interdict 9hich +ope +aul

27 laid upon the republic of 2enice 9as the only

quarrel of moment 9hich happened after9ard7 #he

religious 9ars in /rance and 5ermany found them

other employments M and the court of ome usually

)ept fair 9ith the oman 'atholic princes, for fear

they should turn +rotestant M but 9retched 9as the

fate of those 9ea) princes 9ho had such a po9erful

monarch as +hilip to oppose, 9ho 9as master in the

conclave7

Italy 9as deLcient in respect to general policeM


31/440

Italy in the C2I7 'entury7 KD

this 9as its real scourge7 $urrounded by the arts,

and in the very bosom of peace, it had been a long

time infested 9ith public robbers, li)e ancient 5reece

in the more barbarous times7 0hole troops of

armed banditti marauded from one province toanother, from the frontiers of ilan to the farther

end of the )ingdom of 4aples, either purchasing

the protection of the petty princes, or obliging them

to 9in) at their rapines7 #he papal see could not

clear its dominions of them, till the time of $iQtus

27, and even after his pontiLcate they appeared

sometimes7 #he eQample of these freebooters

encouraged private persons to put in practice the

shoc)ing custom of assassination < the use of the

stiletto 9as but too common in to9ns, 9hile the

country 9as overrun by banditti7 #he students

of +adua used to )noc) people on the heads as they

9ere passing under the pia??as, 9hich ran along

each side of the street7

4ot9ithstanding these disorders, 9hich 9ere but


32/440

too common, Italy 9as the most Sourishing country

in urope, if it 9as not the most po9erful7 #hose

foreign 9ars 9ere no longer heard of 9hich had

Llled it 9ith desolation after the reign of 'harles

2III7 , nor the intestine commotions 9hich had

armed principality against principality, and to9n

against to9n M nor those conspiracies 9hich had for-

merly been so frequent7 4aples, 2enice, ome,

and /lorence, attracted the admiration of for-

eigners, by their magniLcence and encourage-

DD 3ncient and odern :istory7

ment of all the arts7 #he more reLned pleasures

9ere truly )no9n only to this climate, and religion

presented itself to the people under that specious

dress 9hich is so necessary for nice imaginations7

Italy alone abounded 9ith temples 9orthy of the

ancient grandeur, and they 9ere all surpassed by

$t7 +eter@s at ome7

If superstitious ceremonies, false traditions, and

feigned miracles still prevailed among these people,

the 9ise despised them, 9ho 9ell )ne9 that errors


33/440

have in all times been the amusement of the vulgar7

+erhaps our northern 9riters, 9ho have eQclaimed

so violently against these erroneous customs, have

not rightly distinguished bet9een the people and

those by 9hom they are led7 'ertainly no one 9ould

entertain a contemptible idea of the ancient oman

senate, because the temples of ysculapius 9ere

lined 9ith the oNerings of those 9hom nature

cured of their maladies M because a thousand votive

tablets of travellers escaped from ship9rec) adornedor rather disLgured the altars of the god 4eptune M

and that in gnatia the incense burnt and smo)ed

of its o9n accord on the holy stone7 any a +rot-

estant, after having tasted the delights of a resi-

dence at 4aples, has, at his return, eQhausted h9n-

self in invectives against the three miracles 9hich

are performed on certain appointed days in that

city, 9hen the blood of $t7 Januarius, $t7 John the

6aptist, and $t7 $tephen, 9hich is )ept in bottles,

liqueLes on approaching the heads of these saints7

Italy in the C2I7 'entury7 KT

#hey accuse the chiefs of those churches 9ith ascrib-


34/440

ing these idle miracles to the &eity7 #he 9ise and

prudent 3ddison says that he never sa9 8 a more

blundering tric)78 3ll these 9riters might have

observed that these institutions have no bad eNects

upon the morals of the people, 9hich should be

the principal concern of every government, civil

and ecclesiastical M that in all probability the 9arm

imaginations of the natives of those hot climates

stand in need of visible signs to convince them that

they are continually under the immediate hand of+rovidenceM and lastly, they should consider that

these signs cannot be laid aside till they have fallen

into contempt 9ith those 9ho no9 hold them in so

much reverence7

#o +ope +ius I27 succeeded the &ominican, 5is-

leri, 9ho too) the name of +ius 27 and 9as so

hated even in ome itself for the rigorous manner

in 9hich he enforced the eQercise of the inquisitorial

urisdiction, 9hich 9as in all other places so stren-

uously opposed by the secular courts7 #he famous

bull in 'cena &omini, that Lrst appeared under +ope

+aul III7 and 9as after9ard published by +ius

27, and in 9hich the prerogative of cro9ned

heads 9as insulted, disgusted every court, and 9as

much censured by the universities7


35/440

#he eQtinction of the order of the :umiliati 9as

one of the principal events of his pontiLcate7 #he

mon)s of this order, 9hich 9as chieSy established

in the duchy of ilan, led very scandalous lives7

K 3ncient and odern :istory7

$t7 'harles 6orromeo, archbishop of ilan,

endeavored, in D HD, to 9or) a reformation in them,

upon 9hich four of them entered into a conspiracy

against his life M one of them Lred upon him 9ith a

mus)et as he 9as at prayers in his o9n house, but

9ounded him only slightly7 #he good man inter-

ceded 9ith the pope in their behalf M but his holiness

punished their crime 9ith death, and abolished the

9hole order7

+ius 27 immortali?ed his memory by his vigorous

defence of 'hristianity against the #ur)s7 :is

greatest eulogium 9as made in 'onstantinople itself,

9here they ordered public re oicings on account of

his death7


36/440

5regory CIII7, of the family of 6uoncampagno,

succeeded +ius 27, and rendered his name famous

to posterity by the correction of the calendar, 9hich

is called after him M in 9hich he imitated Julius

'aesar7 #he continual need there 9as of correcting

the year in all nations sho9s the slo9 progress of

the useful arts7 an)ind had found the 9ay to

ravage the 9orld from one end to the other before

they )ne9 ho9 to compute time or regulate their

days7 #he ancient omans had only ten lunarmonths at Lrst, and their year consisted of no more

than three hundred and four days, and after9ard

of three hundred and Lfty-Lve7 #he attempts to

remedy this false computation 9ere so many errors7

3ll the high priests, from the time of 4uma +om-

pilius, 9ere the astronomers of their nation, as they

Italy in the C2I7 'entury7 KU

9ere also among the 6abylonians, the gyptians,

the +ersians, and almost all the 3siatics7 #heir

)no9ledge of time rendered them more venerable

to the peopleM for nothing gives a greater degree

of authority than the )no9ledge of useful things


37/440

9hich are un)no9n to the vulgar7

3s the pontiLcal dignity among the omans 9as

al9ays vested in a senator, Julius 'aesar, in quality

of high priest, corrected the calendar so far as he

9as able M in 9hich he had recourse to the assist-

ance of $osigenes, a 5ree) mathematician of 3leQ-

andria, 9hich city had been made the centre of

sciences and commerce by 3leQander the 5reat< it

9as the most famous school for the mathematicsin those times M and thence the gyptians, and even

the :ebre9s themselves, had learned a great part of

their useful )no9ledge7 #he gyptians )ne9 before

ho9 to raise enormous masses of stoneM but the

5ree)s taught them all the polite arts, or rather

practised them among them 9ithout ever being able

to produce imitators7 In fact, 9e do not Lnd any

one person of this slavish and eNeminate nation dis-

tinguished for the 5recian arts7

#he 'hristian pontiNs had the regulating of the

year as 9ell as the pontiNs of ancient ome, because

it 9as -their province to LQ the time for observing the

festivals7 #he Lrst 'ouncil of 4ice, held in TKU,

observing the confusion introduced by time into

the Julian calendar, consulted, as 'aesar had done,


38/440

the 5ree)s of 3leQandria, 9ho returned for ans9er

KG 3ncient and odern :istory7

that the vernal or spring equinoQ happened in that

year on the t9enty-Lrst day of arch M the fathers

then regulated the time for celebrating the feast of

aster according to that principle7

#9o very slight mista)es in 'aesar@s computa-

tion, and in that of the astronomers consulted by

this council, increased considerably in a number of

ages7 #he Lrst of these mista)es happens from

the famous golden number of eton the 3thenian,

9hich allo9s nineteen years for the revolution 9hich

the moon ma)es in returning to the same point in

the heavens< there 9anted only an hour and a

half, an error almost imperceptible in one century,

but 9hich in a succession of ages became very con-

siderable7 #he same may happen 9ith regard to

the sun@s apparent course, and the points 9hich

determine the equinoQ and solstices7 #he vernal or

spring equinoQ, 9hich at the time of the 'ouncil

of 4ice happened on the t9enty-Lrst day of arch,


39/440

had gained an advance of ten days, and happened

the eleventh of the same month7 #his precession

of the equinoQes, the cause of 9hich 9as un)no9n

to all the ancients, and 9as not discovered till of

late years, is occasioned by a particular motion in

the earth, 9hich motion is completed in the space of

t9enty-Lve thousand nine hundred years, and occa-

sions the equinoQes and solstices to pass successively

through all the points of the ?odiac7 #his motiorl

is the eNect of gravity, of 9hich 4e9ton alontfhas discovered and calculated the phenomena, 9hich

Italy in the C2I7 'entury7 KH

seemed beyond the reach of human understanding7

In the time of 5regory CIII7 they never troubled

themselves about guessing at the cause of this pre-

cession of the equinoQes M the question 9as to rem-

edy the error 9hich began to ma)e a sensible con-

fusion in the civil year7 5regory on this occasion

consulted all the famous astronomers of urope7

3 physician named %ilio, a native of ome, had the

honor of furnishing the most simple and easy method

for restoring the order of the year, such as 9e no9


40/440

see it in the ne9 calendar7 It 9as only to ta)e ten

days from that year PDURKV, and by this easy pre-

caution to prevent any disorder in the ages to come7

#his %ilio has since been forgotten, and the calendar

bears the name of +ope 5regory, ust as $osigenes@s

name 9as lost in that of 'aesar7 It 9as not thus

among the ancient 5ree)s< 9ith them every artist

en oyed the honor of his o9n invention7

It is, ho9ever, to the honor of 5regory that he9as indefatigable in establishing this necessary cor-

rection M for he met 9ith more di culty in getting

it received in other nations than in having it settled

by the mathematicians7 /rance held out for some

months M till at last upon an edict issued by :enry

III7, and registered by the +arliament of +aris,

they began to pec)on as they should7 6ut aQ-

imilian II7 could i-ot persuade the &iet of 3ugs-

burg that the equinoQ 03$ advanced ten days7 It

9as feared that the court pf ome, in ta)ing upon

itself to instruct other natioos, 9ould pretend to a

KR 3ncient and odern :istory7


41/440

right of governing them7 #hus the old calendar

continued to be used for some time even by the

'atholic states of 5ermany7 #he +rotestants of all

communions have obstinately refused to admit a

truth coming from the pope, 9hich should have been

embraced, even had it been proposed by the #ur)s7

#he latter part of 5regory CIII7@s pontiLcate 9as

rendered famous by the embassy of submission

9hich he received from Japan7 ome eQtendedits spiritual conquests to the farther end of the globe,

9hile it suNered losses at home7 #hree )ings or

princes of Japan, 9hich 9as at that time divided into

several sovereignties, sent each one of their nearest

relatives to compliment +hilip II7, )ing of $pain,

as the most po9erful of all 'hristian )ings, and

the pope as the father of all )ings7 #he letters

9ritten by the princes to the pope all began 9ith

an act of adoration7 #he Lrst, 9hich 9as from the

)ing of 6ungo, began < 8 #o the adorable, 9ho holds

the place of the )ing of heaven upon earthM8 and

ended 9ith these 9ords < 8 I address your holiness

9ith reverence and a9e, 9hom I adore, and 9hose

most holy feet I )iss78 #he other t9o 9ere nearly

in the same style7 $pain at that time hoped that

Japan 9ould become one of its provinces M and the


42/440

holy see already beheld one-third of that vast empire

sub ect to its ecclesiastical urisdiction7

#he people of ome 9ould have been very happy

under 5regory@s government had not the public

tranquillity been troubled by banditti7 :e abolished

+ope $iQtus 27 KE

some grievous imposts, and did not dismember the

state to provide for his bastard, as some of his

predecessors had done7

':3+# '%I27

+O+ $IC#=$ 27

#: pontiLcate of $iQtus 27 is more famous in

history than those of 5regory CIII7 and +ius 27,

though these t9o pontiNs performed greater things M

the one having signali?ed himself by the battle of

%epanto, of 9hich he 9as the principal cause, and


43/440

the other by his correction of time7

It sometimes happens that one man, by his char-

acter and the singularity of his elevation, shall attract

the regard of posterity more than others by the most

memorable actions7 #he great disproportion 9hich

appeared bet9een the birth of $iQtus 27, 9ho 9as

the son of a poor day-laborer, and his elevation to

the supreme pontiLcate, adds a double lustre to his

reputationM ho9ever, 9e have already observedthat meanness or obscurity of birth 9as never

loo)ed upon as an obstacle to this dignity by a

religion and a court 9here merit is entitled to

employments of every ran), not9ithstanding that

they may sometimes be the re9ards of intrigue and

cabal7 +ius 27 9as of mean originM 3drian 2I7

9as the son of an artiLcerM 4icholas 27 9as

obscurely born M the father of the famous John

CCI%, 9ho added a third circle to the tiara, and

TF 3ncient and odern :istory7

9ore three cro9ns 9ithout possessing a foot of land,

9as a cobbler at 'ahors M as 9as li)e9ise the father


44/440

of +ope =rban7 3drian I27, one of the greatest

of the pontiNs, 9as the son of a beggar, and fol-

lo9ed that profession himself7 #he history of the

'hurch is Llled 9ith instances of this nature, to the

encouragement of private virtue and the confusion

of human pride7 #hose 9ho have endeavored to

eQalt the birth of $iQtus 27 do not consider that

in so doing they lessen his personal merit, by ta)ing

from him the praise of having overcome the Lrst

obstacles7 #here is a greater distance bet9een as9ineherd, 9hich he 9as in his childhood, and the

lo9est places he held in his orders, than bet9een

that place and the papal throne7 emoirs of his

life have been composed at ome from ournals,

9hich furnish little more than dates, and from

panegyrics, 9hich inform us of nothing at all7 #he

'ordelier 9ho has 9ritten the life of $iQtus 27

begins by saying that he has 8 the honor to treat of

the noblest, best, and greatest of all pontiNs, princes,

and philosophers, the glorious and immortal $iQ-

tus < 8 and by this very beginning destroys all credit

in himself7

#he spirit of $iQtus 27 and of his reign is the

essential part of his history < 9hat particularly dis-

tinguishes him from other popes is, that he never


45/440

acted in any respect li)e others7 :is behaving in the

most haughty, and even oppressive manner, 9hile

he 9as a private mon) M the subduing of the heat of

+ope $iQtus 27 TD

his temper, as soon as he 9as made a cardinal M the

appearing for the space of Lfteen years incapable ofall )ind of public business, especially that of com-

manding as a superior, in order to determine one

day in his favor the suNrages of all those 9ho

thought to govern under his nameM the resuming

of all his pride the instant he ascended the throneM

the unheard-of severity he eQercised in his pontiL-

cate, and the nobleness of his underta)ings M the

embellishing of the city of ome, and his leaving

the oman treasury immensely rich at his deceaseM

the disbanding of the troops, and even of the body-

guards of his predecessors, and the dispersing of

the numerous banditti, by the sole po9er of his

la9sM and his ma)ing himself feared by everyone,

by his place and character, 9ere actions that made

his name illustrious, even among the illustrious ones

of :enry I27 and li?abeth, his contemporaries7


46/440

Other sovereigns at that time ran the ha?ard of

losing their thrones, by engaging in any underta)ing

9ithout the assistance of the numerous armies 9hich

they after9ard )ept on foot7 It 9as not thus 9ith

the sovereigns of ome, 9ho, by uniting the priestly

9ith the )ingly dignity, did not even stand in need

of a guard7

$iQtus 27 gained a great reputation by the im-

provements he made in the buildings and policeof the city of ome M :enry I27 had done the same

in that of +aris M but this 9as the least of :enry@s

merits, 9hereas it 9as the principal one of $iQtus

TK 3ncient and odern :istory7

27, and 9e Lnd that this pope eQecuted greater

things in this 9ay than the /rench monarch7 :e

ruled over a peaceable, and at that time a very

industrious people M he found amidst the ruins, and

in the eQample, of ancient ome, and also in the

labors of his predecessors, everything he could 9ish

to further his great designs7


47/440

In the time of the oman 'aesars, fourteen immense

aqueducts, supported upon arches, conveyed 9hole

rivers to 2enice, for the length of several miles, and

supplied a hundred and Lfty fountains and one hun-

dred and eighteen public baths in that city 9ith

9ater, besides 9hat 9ent to form those artiLcial

seas, on 9hich they represented naval combats7 3

hundred thousand statues adorned the public

squares, high9ays, temples, and houses7 4inety-

siQ colossuses all raised on porticos, and forty-eight obelis)s of granite, cut in the quarries of

=pper gypt, Llled the beholder 9ith ama?ement,

and pu??led the imagination to conceive ho9 such

immense masses could have been transported from

the tropics to the ban)s of the #iber7 #here

remained a fe9 of these aqueducts to be restored

by the popesM some obelis)s to raise, 9hich 9ere

buried under ruins, and some statues to dig up7

$iQtus 27 restored the fountain of artia, 9hose

spring is near ancient +raeneste, t9enty miles dis-

tant from ome, and brought it over an aqueduct

thirteen thousand paces in length, for 9hich it 9as

necessary to raise arches upon a road seven miles


48/440

+ope $iQtus 27 TT

long7 #his, 9hich 9ould have been a triSing 9or)

for the oman mpire, 9as a great deal for mod-

ern ome in its poor and circumscribed state7

6y his care Lve of the ancient obelis)s 9ere raised7

#he name of the architect, /ontana, 9ho raised

them, is still famous at omeM 9hile the artists9ho cut them, and those 9ho transported them to

so great a distance, are no longer )no9n7 0e read

in some travellers, and in a hundred 9riters 9ho

have copied after them, that 9hen the 2atican obe-

lis) 9as being raised on its pedestal, the ropes used

for that purpose 9ere found too short, upon 9hich,

not9ithstanding that it had been eQpressly prohib-

ited, under pain of death, for anyone to spea) dur-

ing the operation, one of the common people cried

out, 8 0et the ropes78 #hese idle tales, 9hich

ma)e history ridiculous, are the eNects of ignorance7

#he capstans 9hich they made use of on this occa-

sion left no room for having recourse to so triSing

an assistance7

#he 9or) 9hich gave modern ome some degree


49/440

of superiority over the ancient, 9as the cupola of

$t7 +eter@s church7 #here 9ere but three monu-

ments of this )ind remaining in the 9orld < part of

the dome of the temple of inerva at 3thens, that

of the +antheon at ome, and of the great mosque

at 'onstantinople, formerly the church of $t7

$ophia, built by Justinian < but these domes, though

su ciently lofty 9ithin, 9ere too Sat and lo9 on

the outside7 6runeleschi, 9ho restored architecture2ol7 KE T

T 3ncient and odern :istory7

in Italy, in the fourteenth century, had, by an eNort

of art, remedied this defect in the cathedral of

/lorence, by raising t9o cupolas one upon the other <

but these cupolas had still something of the 5othic

in them, and 9anted the grand proportions7 ichel-

angelo 6uonarroti, 9ho 9as a painter, sculptor,

and architect, and equally great in all three branches,

had, as early as the pontiLcate of Julius II7, given

the designs of the t9o domes of $t7 +eter@sM and

$iQtus 27 caused this 9or), 9hich eQceeds all of


50/440

its )ind, to be built in the space of t9enty-t9o

months7

#he library, 9hich 9as Lrst set on foot by +ope

4icholas 27, 9as so considerably augmented by

$iQtus, that he might very 9ell pass for the true

founder7 #he immense building 9hich contains the

boo)s, is itself a beautiful monument7 #here 9as

not at that time the equal of this library in urope,

either for the largeness or curiosity of the collec-tion M but the city of +aris has greatly eQcelled ome

in this respectM and though the )ing@s library at

+aris is not to be compared to the 2atican, in regard

to the architecture, there is a much greater number

of boo)s M they are disposed in better order, and

strangers can much more easily have the reading of

them7

It 9as the misfortune of $iQtus 27 and his domin-

ions, that he impoverished his sub ects by all these

great foundations, 9hereas :enry I27 eased his of

their load7 6oth of them left nearly the same sum

+ope $iQtus 27 TU


51/440

in ready money in the public treasury at their

deaths M for although :enry I27 had forty millions

in reserve, 9hich he could dispose of as he pleased,

there 9as not above t9enty in the vaults of the

6astilleM 9hereas the Lve millions of gold cro9ns

deposited by $iQtus 27 in the castle of $t7 3ngelo,

amounted to very nearly t9enty millions of our

livres at that time7 $uch a sum could not be ta)en

out of the circulation, in a state almost 9holly voidof manufactures and commerce, such as ome is,

9ithout impoverishing the inhabitants < and to

amass this treasure, and supply all other eQpenses,

$iQtus 9as obliged to give a greater latitude to

the sale of public employs, than either $iQtus I27 or

Julius II7 %eo C7 began this practice M $iQtus aggra-

vated the burden7 :e raised annuities at eight,

nine, and ten per cent7, for the payment of 9hich

an addition 9as made to the taQes7 #he people for-

got that he 9as embellishing ome, and only felt

that he 9as impoverishing them M so that this pon-

tiN 9as more hated than he 9as admired7

0e should al9ays consider the popes in t9o

points of vie9 < as sovereigns of a $tate, and as the

heads of the 'hurch7 $iQtus 27 in quality of chief


52/440

pontiN, 9anted to revive the times of 5regory 2II7

:e declared :enry I27, at that time )ing of 4avarre,

incapable of succeeding to the cro9n of /rance7 :e

deprived Bueen li?abeth of her )ingdoms by a

bull, and, had +hilip@s Invincible 3rmada landed

in ngland, the bull might have been carried into

TG 3ncient and odern :istory7

eQecution7 #he manner in 9hich he behaved

to9ard :enry III7, after the murder of the du)e

of 5uise, and the cardinal, his brother, 9as not

quite so violent7 :e contented himself 9ith only

declaring him eQcommunicated, unless he did pen-

ance for those t9o murders7 #his 9as imitating

$t7 3mbrose, and acting li)e 3drian I27, 9ho

required :enry II7 of ngland to do public penance

for the murder of 6ec)et, after9ard canoni?ed

under the name of $t7 #homas of 'anterbury7 #he

/rench )ing, :enry III7, had ust caused t9o

princes to be murdered in his o9n palaceM they

9ere dangerous sub ects indeed, but they had not

been allo9ed a trial M and it 9ould even have been a

very di cult matter to have them regularly con-


53/440

victed of any absolute crime7 #hey 9ere the leaders

of a fatal league, but a league 9hich the )ing him--

self had signed7 3ll the circumstances of this t9o-

fold assassination 9ere truly horrible M and 9ithout

entering upon such eQcuses as might be alleged

from the politics and unhappy situation of aNairs

in those times, the safety of human)ind seemed to

require that a curb should be put to such violences7

$iQtus lost the fruit of his austere and inSeQible

behavior, by supporting only the rights of the triplecro9n and the sacred college, and not those of

humanity M and by not censuring the murder of the

du)e of 5uise so strongly as that of the cardinal M

by insisting only on the pretended immunity of the

'hurch, and the right claimed by the popes of try-

+ope $iQtus 27 TH

ing the cardinalsM by ordering the )ing of /rance

to release the cardinal of 6ourbon and the arch-

bishop of %yons, 9hom he detained in prison from

the strongest reasons of stateM and lastly, by com-

manding him to repair 9ithin siQty days to ome, to

eQpiate his oNence7 It is undoubtedly true, that


54/440

$iQtus, as head of all 'hristians, might say to a

'hristian prince, 8 'lear yourself before 5od of this

t9ofold homicideM 8 but he had not po9er to say to

him, 8 It belongs to me alone to try your ecclesias-

tical sub ects M it belongs to me to try you in my

court78

#his pope seemed still less to preserve the great-

ness and impartiality of his o ce, 9hen, after the

murder of :enry III7 by the mon), James 'lement,he used these very 9ords, in a speech 9hich he made

to the cardinals, 9hich has been faithfully trans-

mitted by the secretary of the consistory7

@ #his death, 9hich occasions so much surprise

and admiration, 9ill hardly be credited by posterity7

3 po9erful )ing surrounded by a numerous army,

9ho had compelled the city of +aris to sue to him

for mercy, is slain by a single stro)e of a )nife, by a

poor mon)7 'ertainly this great eQample has been

given, in order that everyone might )no9 the po9er

of 5od@s udgment78

$iQtus 9as right in refusing the empty honors of a

funeral service to :enry III7, 9hom he considered as

eQcluded from the beneLt of prayers7 3ccordingly


55/440

he said in the same consistory < 8 I o9e them to the

TR 3ncient and odern :istory7

)ing of /rance, but not to :enry of 2alois, 9ho

died impenitent78

3ll things yield to interest< this very pope, 9hohad so proudly deprived li?abeth and the )ing of

4avarre of their )ingdoms M 9ho had signiLed to

1ing :enry III7 that he eQpected him at ome to

ans9er for his conduct, 9ithin siQty days, or else

he 9ould eQcommunicate him, refused after all to

oin 9ith the league and the )ing of $pain against

:enry I27, though at that time a heretic7 :e 9as

sensible that if +hilip II7 succeeded, this prince,

master of /rance, ilan, and 4aples, 9ould quic)ly

become master li)e9ise of the papal see, and of all

Italy7 $iQtus, then, did 9hat every prudent man

9ould have done in his placeM he chose rather to

eQpose himself to all +hilip@s resentment than to ruin

himself by lending a hand to ruin :enry7

:e died in this state of uncertainty, not daring


56/440

to assist :enry, and fearing +hilip7 #he people

of ome, 9ho groaned beneath the 9eight of taQes,

and 9ho hated so oppressive and cruel an adminis-

tration, gre9 outrageous upon the death of $iQtus

3ug7 KG, DGEF and 9ere 9ith great di culty

restrained from disturbing the funeral ceremony, and

tearing to pieces the person 9hom they had adored

on their )nees7 #he riches he left behind him 9ere

squandered 9ithin less than a year after his death,

li)e those of :enry I27, a common consequence,9hich su ciently evinces the vanity of all human

designs7

#he $uccessors of $iQtus 27 TE

':3+# '%27

#: $='' $$O $ O/ $IC#=$ 27

0 may see ho9 much men are governed by educa-

tion, country, and pre udices of every )ind7 5regory

CI27, a native of ilan, and a sub ect of the )ing


57/440

of $pain, 9as governed by the $panish faction,

9hom $iQtus, a native of ome, had al9ays

opposed7 #his pope sacriLced everything to +hilip

II7 3n army of Italians 9as raised to carry desola-

tion into /rance, 9ith the very money 9hich $iQtus

had amassed in order to defend ItalyM and this

army being beaten and dispersed, 5regory had

nothing left but the shame of having impoverished

himself for +hilip II7 and being tyranni?ed over by

him7

'lement 2III7 3ldobrandini a /lorentine,

behaved 9ith more spirit and address M he )ne9 very

9ell that it 9as to the interest of the papal see to

hold, as much as possible, the balance of po9er

bet9een /rance and the house of 3ustria7 #his

pope added the duchy of /errara to the ecclesiastical

demesnes7 #his 9as another eNect of those feudal

la9s, so intricate and so contested, and an evident

consequence of the 9ea)ness of the empire7 #he

countess athilda, of 9hom 9e have so largely

treated in the foregoing part of this 9or), had

given the popes /errara, odena, and eggio,

together 9ith several other lands7 #he emperors


58/440

O 3ncient and odern :istory7

al9ays disputed the donation of these demesnes,

9hich 9ere Lefs to the cro9n of %ombardy7 #hey

became, in spite of the empire, Lefs to the papal

see M as 9ell as 4aples, 9hich 9as also held of the

popes, after it had been held of the emperors7 It

is but of late years that odena and eggio have

been formerly declared imperial Lefs< but eversince the time of 5regory 2II7 they, as 9ell as

/errara, had been dependent on the see of omeM

and the house of odena, 9hich had been formerly

proprietor of these lands, only held them by the

title of vicars to the holy see7 #he courts of 2ienna

and the imperial diets in vain pretended to be lords

paramount7 'lement 2III7 too) /errara from the

house of ste, and 9hat might have occasioned a

violent 9ar produced nothing but protests7 $ince

that time /errara has been almost a desert7

#his pope performed the ceremony of giving abso-

lution and discipline to :enry I27, in the persons

of the cardinals &uperron and OssatM but it 9as

evident ho9 much the see of ome stood in a9e of

+hilip II7 by the management and artiLces 9hich


59/440

+ope 'lement made use of to bring about :enry@s

reconciliation to the 'hurch7 #his prince had sol-

emnly ab ured the reformed religionM and yet t9o-

thirds of the cardinals in the consistory refused to

grant his absolution7 :is ambassadors could 9ith

great di culty prevent the pope from ma)ing use

of this formula < 8 0e restore :enry to his royalty78

#he pope@s ministry 9ould gladly have ac)no9l-

#he $uccessors of $iQtus 27 D

edged :enry as )ing of /rance, and have opposed

this prince to the house of 3ustria M but at the same

time it supported, as far as it 9as able, its ancient

pretension to dispose of )ingdoms7

=nder +aul 27 6orghese the old quarrel

about the secular and ecclesiastical urisdiction,

9hich had formerly cost so much blood, 9as revived7

#he senate of 2enice prohibited any ne9 donations

to be made to churches, 9ithout the concurrence

of the state M in particular, the alienations of landed

estates in favor of mon)s7 It li)e9ise thought it

had a right of arresting and trying a canon of


60/440

2icen?a, and an abbot of 4ervese, 9ho had been

convicted of eQtortion and murder7

#he pope 9rote to the republic, that the sentence

and imprisonment of the t9o ecclesiastics 9as an

in ury oNered to 5od@s honor, and required that the

decree of the senate should be delivered to his

nuncio, together 9ith the persons of the t9o cul-

prits, 9ho could be tried only by the oman courts7

+aul 27, 9ho, but a little time before, had obliged

the republic of 5enoa to submit on a similar occa-

sion, thought to meet 9ith the same pliability in that

of 2enice7 #he senate sent an ambassador eQtraor-

dinary to defend its privileges7 +aul ans9ered the

ambassador, that neither the arguments nor the

privileges of the 2enetians 9ere of any consequence,

and that they must obey7 #he senate 9ould not

obey7 =pon this the doge and senators 9ere all

eQcommunicated, and the 9hole state laid under

K 3ncient and odern :istory7

an interdict, on 3pril, DH, DGFGM that is to say, the


61/440

clergy 9ere prohibited, under pain of eternal dam-

nation, from saying mass, celebrating divine service,

administering the sacraments, or giving their assist-

ance in burying the dead7 #his 9as the manner in

9hich 5regory 2II7 and his successors had treated

several emperors, being sure at that time that the

people 9ould rather abandon their emperors than

their churchesM and depending upon having some

potentate ready to invade the dominions of those

9ho 9ere eQcommunicated7 6ut the times 9ere no9changed7 +aul 27 by this violent procedure, ran the

ris) of not being obeyed, and of urging the 2ene-

tians to shut up their churches, and renounce the

oman 'atholic religion7 #hey might easily have

embraced either the 5ree), the %utheran, or the

'alvinistic faithM and there 9as actually a motion

made to separate from the pope@s communion7 6ut

the change could not have been eNected 9ithout

some troubleM of 9hich the )ing of $pain might

have ta)en advantage7 #he senate contented itself

9ith prohibiting the reading of the mandate

throughout its territories7 #he chief vicar of the

bishopric of +adua, 9hen this prohibition 9as inti-

mated to him, made ans9er to the +odesta, that he

9ould act as 5od inspired him< but the +odesta

replying, that 5od had inspired the council of ten


62/440


63/440

#he cities of 2erona, +adua, 6ergamo, and 6rescia,

too) up arms M and the republic raised four thousand

soldiers in /rance7 #he pope on his side ordered

four thousand 'orsicans and some 'atholic $9iss

to be raised7 #his little army 9as to be commanded

by 'ardinal 6orghese7 #he #ur)s gave public

than)s to 5od for this misunderstanding bet9een

the pope and the 2enetians7 :enry I27 had the

honor, as I have already mentioned, of being the

arbiter in this diNerence, and of eQcluding +hilipfrom the mediation7 +aul 27 had the mortiLcation

of not being able even to get the arrangement con-

cluded at ome7 'ardinal de Joyeuse, 9ho 9as sent

envoy to 2enice by the )ing of /rance, revo)ed, in

3ncient and odern :istory7

the pope@s name, the sentence of eQcommunication

and interdiction, in DGFH7 #he pope, thus abandoned

by $pain, behaved 9ith greater moderation, and the

Jesuits continued banished from the republic for

more than Lfty yearsM till at length they 9ere

recalled in DGUH, at the instance of +ope 3leQander

2II7, but they have never been able to re-establish


64/440

their credit there7

+aul 27 from that time 9ould never ma)e any

decision 9hich could call his authority in question7

:e 9as in vain importuned upon the article of

faith, concerning the immaculate conception of the

holy virgin M he contented himself 9ith forbidding

anyone to teach the contrary in public, that he

might not give oNence to the &ominicans, 9ho pre-

tend that she 9as conceived li)e others, in originalsin7 #he &ominicans 9ere at that time very po9er-

ful both in $pain and Italy7

#his pontiN applied himself to the embellishment

of ome, and collected the best 9or)s in sculpture

and painting7 ome is indebted to him for its Lnest

fountains, particularly that 9hich thro9s its 9aters

out of an antique vase, ta)en from the baths of 2es-

pasian, and that 9hich is called the 3qua +aola, an

ancient 9or) of 3ugustus, 9hich +aul 27 restored,

and caused 9ater to be brought to it by an aqueduct

thirty-Lve thousand paces long, li)e that of $iQtus

27 #here seemed to be a contest 9ho should leave

the most beautiful monuments behind him in ome7

#his pope Lnished the palace of onte 'avallo7


65/440

#he $uccessors of $iQtus 27 U

#he palace of 6orghese is one of the most consider-

able7 ome became the most beautiful city in the

9orld7 =rban 2III7 built the high altar in $t7

+eter@s, the columns and ornaments of 9hich 9ould

every9here else appear stupendous 9or)s, but 9hich

here are only in a ust proportion7 It is the master-piece of the /lorentine, 6ernini, D 9hose 9or)s are

9orthy of being admitted among those of his coun-

tryman, ichelangelo7

#his =rban 2II%, 9hose name 9as 6arberino,

9as a lover of all the arts M and 9as particularly suc-

cessful in %atin poetry7 #he people of ome during

his pontiLcate en oyed all the s9eets 9hich talents

D John %aurentius 6ernini 9as born at 4aples, though

of a #uscan family M he eQcelled in the diNerent arts of

painting, sculpture, architecture, and mechanics7 +ope

5regory C27 procured his admittance as a )night into the

Order of 'hrist in +ortugal M and =rban 2II% made him

overseer of the ediLce of $t7 +eter@s7 In this church there

are Lfteen diNerent pieces of his 9or)manship7 #he prin-


66/440

cipal of these are the altar-piece and the tabernacle, the

chair of $t7 +eter, the tombs of =rban 2II% and 3leQander

2II7 the equestrian statue of 'onstantine, the colonnade,

consisting of three hundred and t9enty vast pillars of

freestone M and having on its Sat roof eighty-siQ statues of

saints t9ice as large as life7 :e also designed the fountain

in the square of 4avonna, the church of $t7 3ndre9 of the

novitiate of the Jesuits, 9hich is esteemed a perfect model

in architecture7 In the year DGGU, he 9as invited to /rance,

to design the %ouvre, and there he made an eQcellent bustof :enry I27 9ho re9arded his merit 9ith an ample pen-

sion7 :e after9ard undertoo) an equestrian statue of that

monarch, 9hich did not ans9er eQpectation, and 9as con-

verted into the representation of 'urtius leaping into the

gulf7

G 3ncient and odern :istory7

diNuse through society, and the reputation 9hich

attends them7 =rban incorporated the duchy of

=rbino, +esaro, and $enigaglia, 9ith the ecclesias-

tical state, after the eQtinction of the house of

overe, 9hich held these principalities in fee of the

holy see7 #he dominion of the oman pontiNs had


67/440

received a continual increase of po9er ever since

the time of 3leQander 2I7 4othing no9 troubled

the public tranquillityM for hardly any notice 9as

ta)en of the little 9ar 9hich this +ope =rban, or

rather his nephe9s, made upon d9ard, du)e of

+arma, for the money 9hich that du)e o9ed the

apostolic chamber for his duchy of 'astro7 #his

9ar 9as but short, and attended 9ith little blood-

shed, such as might be eQpected from these ne9

omans, 9hose manners necessarily 9ere in con-formity to the spirit of their government7 'ardinal

6arberino, the author of these troubles, marched

at the head of his little army, fraught 9ith indul-

gences7 #he sharpest battle 9as fought bet9een

four and Lve hundred men on each side7 #he

fortress of +iegaia surrendered at discretion as

soon as it sa9 the artillery approach M this artillery

consisted of t9o culverins7 4evertheless, more

negotiations 9ere required to put an end to these

triSing broils, 9hich hardly deserve a place in his-

tory, than if the contest had concerned ancient

ome and 'arthage7 0e mention this event only to

give an insight into the genius of modern ome,


68/440

#he $uccessors of $iQtus 27 H

9ho ended all aNairs by negotiation, as ancient

ome did by conquest7

#he omans employed their leisure time in cere-

monials of religion and precedencies, the arts, antiq-

uities, public buildings, gardens, music, and assem-

blies, 9hile a thirty years@ 9ar ruined 5ermany,

9hile ngland 9as bathed in the blood of its )ingand its natives, and 9hile /rance 9as laid 9aste

by the succeeding civil 9ars M but though ome

itself 9as thus happy in its tranquillity, and famous

by its noble monuments, the people 9ere in the main

miserable7 #he money 9hich 9as eQpended in rais-

ing so many masterpieces of architecture returned

to other nations, by its 9ant of trade7

#he popes 9ere obliged to buy of foreigners all

the corn 9anted for the city, 9hich they after9ard

retailed out to the inhabitants7 #his custom con-

tinues to this day7 #here are some states that are

enriched by luQury, and others that are impov-

erished by it7 #he magniLcence of some of the

cardinals, and the pope@s relatives, served to ma)e

the indigence of the lo9er people more visible,


69/440

9ho, nevertheless, at the sight of so many beautiful

ediLces, seemed to glory amidst their poverty, in

being inhabitants of ome7

#hose 9ho travelled to ome to admire its curi-

osities 9ere surprised to Lnd from Orvieto to #erra-

cina, 9hich is a tract of more than a hundred miles,

only a desert country, destitute both of men and

cattle7 #he campagna di oma is indeed an unin-

R 3ncient and odern :istory7

habitable country, infected 9ith Llthy marshes and

standing pools, 9hich the ancient omans had dried

up7 ome itself is situated on a barren spot, and

on the ban)s of a river 9hich is not navigable7 Its

situation upon seven hills, is rather that of a

den for 9ild beasts than a city7 Its Lrst 9ars 9ere

the ravages of a people 9ho had nothing to subsist

upon but plunderM and 9hen the dictator 'amillus

had ta)en 2eii, in =mbria, some fe9 leagues from

ome, all the people 9ere for quitting their barren

soil and their seven mountains to transplant them-

selves to the more fertile and pleasant country of


70/440

2eii7 #he environs of ome 9ere after9ard made

fertile only by the money of conquered nations, and

the labor of an immense number of slaves7 6ut this

spot 9as covered 9ith palaces instead of corn7 3t

length it has resumed its former state, and is again

a desert country7

#he papal see possessed several rich territories

else9here, particularly that of 6ologna7 6urnet,

bishop of $alisbury, attributes the misery of thepeople in the best parts of this country to the taQes

and the form of government7 :e pretends, 9ith

almost all other 9riters, that an elective prince 9ho

reigns only a fe9 years has neither the po9er nor

the 9ill to form those useful establishments 9hich

require time to ma)e them advantageous to a state7

It has been found easier to raise obelis)s and build

palaces and temples than to ma)e the nation trading

and opulent7 ome, though the capital of the 'ath-

#he $uccessors of $iQtus 27 E

olic 9orld, 9as nevertheless more thinly peopled

than 2enice and 4aples, far inferior to +aris and


71/440

%ondon in that respect, and did not come near to

3msterdam in opulence, or the useful arts, 9hich

produce riches7 3t the end of the seventeenth cen-

tury it 9as computed that there 9ere no more than

one hundred and t9enty thousand inhabitants in

ome, according to the printed list of the families M

and this computation 9as veriLed by the register of

births7 #here 9ere born on an average annually

three thousand siQ hundred children M this number

of births, multiplied by thirty-four, gives nearlythe sum of the inhabitants, 9hich here is found to

amount to one hundred and t9enty-t9o thousand

four hundred7 #here 9ere about eight thousand

Je9s settled in ome, 9ho 9ere not comprised in

the above lists7 #hese Je9s have al9ays lived

peaceably both at ome and %eghorn, 9ithout ever

being sub ected to those cruelties 9hich have been

eQercised upon them in $pain and +ortugal7 #here

9as no country in urope 9here religion inspired

so general a mildness of disposition as in Italy7

ome 9as the centre of arts and politeness till the

age of %ouis CI27 and this it 9as that determined

Bueen 'hristina of $9eden to LQ her residence

there < but Italy 9as soon equalled in more than one

branch by /rance, and far eQcelled in some others M


72/440

ngland 9as as much superior to her in the sciences

as in commerce7 ome, ho9ever, preserved the

reputation of its antiquities and Lne 9or)s, for

2ol7 KE

UF 3ncient and odern :istory7

9hich it had been distinguished ever since the time

of +ope Julius II7

':3+# '%2I7

2 4I' 7

#=$'34., as being an ecclesiastical state, en oyed

a state of peace and tranquillity ever since the thir-

teenth century7 /lorence, the rival of ome, dre9

as great a concourse of strangers, 9ho came to

admire the masterpieces of art, both ancient and

modern, 9ith 9hich she abounded7 #here 9ere

a hundred and siQty public statues7 #he only


73/440

t9o 9ith 9hich +aris 9as adorned namely, that

of :enry I27 and the horse 9hich bears the statue

of %ouis CIII7 9ere cast in /lorence, and 9ere

presents made by the grand du)es7

#uscany became so Sourishing by its trade, and its

sovereigns so rich, that the grand du)e 'osmo II7

9as able to send t9enty thousand men to the assist-

ance of the du)e of antua, against the du)e of

$avoy, in DGDT, 9ithout laying any taQ upon hissub ectsM an eQample hardly to be found in the

most po9erful nations7

#he city of 2enice possessed a still more singular

advantage M this 9as, that since the fourteenth cen-

tury its internal quiet had not been disturbed for

a single moment, the city 9as 9holly eQempt from

any disorder, sedition, or alarms7 #hose strangers

9ho 9ent to ome and /lorence to see the noble

2enice7 U D

monuments of the polite arts in those cities 9ere

generally fond of ma)ing a visit to 2enice, to en oy


74/440

the freedom and pleasures 9hich reign there, and

9here there are several eQcellent paintings to amuse

the curious, as 9ell as at ome7 #he liberal arts

9ere cultivated 9ith care, and the magniLcent

sho9s attracted strangers7 ome 9as the city of

ceremonies, 2enice the city of diversions7 $he had

made peace 9ith the #ur)s after the battle of

%epanto, and her trade, though fallen oN, 9as still

very considerable in the %evant7 $he 9as in pos-

session of 'andia and several other islands, of Istria,&almatia, a part of 3lbania, and all that she no9 has

in Italy7

In DGDR, in the midst of her prosperities this

republic 9as on the point of being ruined by a

conspiracy, the li)e of 9hich had not been )no9n

since her Lrst foundation7 #he abbot of $t7 eal,

9ho has related this memorable event in a style

9orthy of $allust, has embellished his narration

9ith some romantic incidentsM but the foundation

is undoubtedly true7 #he 2enetians had had a

gmall 9ar 9ith the house of 3ustria on the coast of

Istria7 #he $panish )ing, +hilip III7, 9ho 9as

possessed of the duchy of ilan, 9as al9ays the

secret enemy of this republic7 #he du)e of Ossuna,

viceroy of 4aples, &on +edro of #oledo, governor


75/440

of ilan, and the marquis of 6edemar, after-

9ard 'ardinal de 'ueva, +hilip@s ambassador at

2enice, entered into a plot for totally destroying

UK 3ncient and odern :istory7

this state7 #he measures 9ere so eQtraordinary, and

the scheme so far eQceeded probability, that thesenate could not possibly conceive suspicion7 2enice

9as guarded by its situation and the lagoons 9ith

9hich it 9as surrounded7 #he 9eeds and mud

9hich are continually thro9n upon these lagoons

by the sea, prevent vessels from ever entering t9ice

by the same passage, so that it is necessary to point

out a ne9 one almost every day7 #he republic had

a formidable Seet on the coast of Istria, 9here she

9as carrying on the 9ar against the archdu)e of

3ustria, 9ho 9as after9ard the emperor /erdinand

II7 It seemed impossible to get entrance into 2en-

ice, and yet the marquis of 6edemar found means

to assemble a body of strangers in the city, the one

dra9n in by another, to the number of Lve hun-

dred7 #hese 9ere all engaged under diNerent pre-

tences by the principal conspirators, 9ho secured


76/440


77/440

been sei?ed, on hearing enaud, their chief, har-

angue them for the @last time, 9ho painted the hor-

rors of their intended enterprise in such lively colors

as struc) Jassier 9ith dismay instead of encouraging

him7 #hese speeches are generally the inventions of

the 9riters themselves, and therefore everyone 9ho

reads history should distrust them7 It is neither

probable nor in the nature of things that the head

of a conspiracy should give his accomplices so

pathetic a description of the horrors they 9ere toencounter, or terrify the imaginations of those 9hom

he should embolden7 #he senate ordered every one

of the conspirators 9hom they could apprehend to

be instantly dro9ned in the canals of the city7 #hey

sho9ed some respect to 6edemar@s character of

ambassador, 9hich they could not 9ell infringe,

and caused him to be privately conveyed out of the

city to save him from the fury of the populace7

2enice, after escaping from this danger, contin-

ued in a Sourishing condition till the ta)ing of the

island of 'andia7 #his republic sustained a 9ar

U 3ncient and odern :istory7


78/440


79/440

dinia and 'orsica had not the least tincture of the

manners or improved genius for 9hich the Italians

9ere so distinguished7 It 9as 9ith Italy as 9ith

ancient 5reece, 9ho in the height of her politeness

and glory had savage nations inhabiting her borders7

alta7 UU

3%#37

#he 1nights of alta maintained themselves in

this island, 9hich had been given them by the

emperor 'harles 27, after they had been driven

out of hodes by $ultan $olyman in DGKT7 3t that

time the grand master of the order, 2illiers de D@Isle-

3dam, 9ith his )nights and the fe9 hodians 9ho

9ere attached to them, 9ere 9anderers from city

to city, at essina, 5allipoli, ome, and 2iterbo7

%@Isle-3dam made a ourney to adrid to implore

the assistance of 'harles 27 /rom there he travelled

into /rance and ngland, endeavoring to collect the

scattered remains of his order, 9hich 9as thought

to be entirely ruined7 'harles 27 made these )nights

a present of the Island of alta in DUKU, together


80/440

9ith #ripoli M but #ripoli 9as soon ta)en from them

again by $olyman@s admirals7 alta 9as only a

barren roc)7 #he soil seemed to have been made

fruitful formerly by great labor, 9hen the 'artha-

ginians 9ere in possession of this islandM for the

ne9 possessors found the ruins of several columns

and grand buildings of marble, 9ith inscriptions in

the +unic language7 #hese remains of grandeur

9ere proofs that it had once been a Sourishing coun-

try7 #he omans did not thin) it un9orthy of theirnotice 9hen they too) it from the 'arthaginians7

#he oors became masters of it in the ninth cen-

tury, and oger the 4orman, count of $icily,

anneQed it to that island to9ard the end of the

UG 3ncient and odern :istory7

t9elfth century7 0hen 2illiers D@Isle-3dam re-

moved the seat of his order to this island, the afore-

mentioned $ultan $olyman, enraged to see his ships

still eQposed to the attac)s of those enemies 9hom

he thought he had rooted out, resolved to ma)e the

conquest of alta, as he had done that of hodes,

and, in DUGU, sent an army of thirty thousand men to


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lay siege to this small place, 9hich 9as defended

only by seven hundred )nights, and about eight

thousand foreign soldiers7 John de la 2alette, then

grand master, 9ho 9as seventy-one years of age,

sustained a siege of four months7

#he #ur)s assaulted the to9n in several places at

once M but 9ere al9ays repulsed by a machine of a

ne9 invention, formed of great 9ooden hoops, cov-

ered 9ith 9oollen cloths, dipped in spirits of 9ine,oil, saltpetre, and gunpo9der M these hoops 9ere set

on Lre, and thro9n all Saming into the midst of the

assailants7 3t length a reinforcement of siQ thou-

sand men being sent from $icily to their assistance,

the #ur)s 9ere forced to raise the siege7 #he

principal to9n of alta, 9hich had 9ithstood the

most assaults, 9as called the 8 victorious to9n,8

9hich name it still preserves7 5rand aster de la

2alette ordered a ne9 citadel to be built, 9hich is,

after him, called %a 2alette, and has made alta

impregnable7

#his small island has ever since bid deLance to

all the Ottoman force M but the order has never been

rich enough to attempt great conquests, or Lt out


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:olland7 UH

numerous Seets7 #his convent of 9arriors subsists

chieSy upon the rents of those beneLces it possesses

voltaire xxix

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