part05+-第46部分

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！





orders　to　search　every　wandering　friar　or　other　suspicious　person



who　might；　by　any　possibility；　bring　in　a　forbidden　missive；　a



special　patrol　was　kept；　night　and　day；　to　prevent　any　posting　of



the　forbidden　notices　on　walls　or　houses；　any　person　receiving　or



finding　one　was　to　take　it　immediately　to　the　authorities；　under



the　severest　penalties；　and　any　person　found　concealing　such



documents　was　to　be　punished　by　death。







At　first　some　of　the　clergy　were　refractory。　The　head　of　the



whole　church　establishment　of　Venice；　the　Patriarch　himself；　gave



signs　of　resistance；　but　the　Senate　at　once　silenced　him。　Sundry



other　bishops　and　high　ecclesiastics　made　a　show　of　opposition；



and　they　were　placed　in　confinement。　One　of　them　seeming



reluctant　to　conduct　the　usual　church　service；　the　Senate　sent　an



executioner　to　erect　a　gibbet　before　his　door。　Another；　having



asked　that　he　be　allowed　to　await　some　intimation　from　the　Holy



Spirit；　received　answer　that　the　Senate　had　already　received



directions　from　the　Holy　Spirit　to　hang　any　person　resisting



their　decree。　The　three　religious　orders　which　had　showed　most



oppositionJesuits；　Theatins；　and　Capuchinswere　in　a



semi…polite　manner　virtually　expelled　from　the　Republic。＇2＇











＇2＇　For　interesting　details　regarding　the　departure　of　the



Jesuits；　see　Cornet；　Paolo　V。　e　la　Republica　Veneta；　pp。　277…279。











Not　the　least　curious　among　the　results　of　this　state　of　things



was　the　war　of　pamphlets。　From　Rome；　Bologna；　and　other　centres



of　thought；　even　from　Paris　and　Frankfort；　polemic　tractates



rained　upon　the　Republic。　The　vast　majority　of　their　authors　were



on　the　side　of　the　Vatican；　and　of　this　majority　the　leaders　were



the　two　cardinals　so　eminent　in　learning　and　logic；　Bellarmine



and　Baronius；　but；　single…handed；　Sarpi　was；　by　general　consent；



a　match　for　the　whole　opposing　force。＇3＇











＇3＇　In　the　library　of　Cornell　University　are　no　less　than　nine



quartos　filled　with　selected　examples　of　these　polemics　on　both



sides。











Of　all　the　weapons　then　used；　the　most　effective　throughout



Europe　was　the　solemn　protest　drawn　by　Sarpi　and　issued　by　the



Doge。　It　was　addressed　nominally　to　the　Venetian　ecclesiastics；



but　really　to　Christendom；　and　both　as　to　matter　and　manner　it



was　Father　Paul　at　his　best。　It　was　weighty；　lucid；　pungent；　and



deeply　in　earnest；in　every　part　asserting　fidelity　to　the



Church　and　loyalty　to　the　papacy；　but　setting　completely　at



naught　the　main　claim　of　Pope　Paul：　the　Doge　solemnly　declaring



himself　〃a　prince　who；　in　temporal　matters；　recognizes　no



superior　save　the　Divine　Majesty。〃







The　victory　of　the　friar　soon　began　to　be　recognized　far　and



near。　Men　called　him　by　the　name　afterward　so　generally　given



him；the　〃terribile　frate。〃　The　Vatican　seemed　paralyzed。　None



of　its　measures　availed；　and　it　was　hurt；　rather　than　helped；　by



its　efforts　to　pester　and　annoy　Venice　at　various　capitals。　At



Rome；　it　burned　Father　Paul's　books　and　declared　him



excommunicated；　it　even　sought　to　punish　his　printer　by　putting



into　the　Index　not　only　all　works　that　he　had　ever　printed；　but



all　that　he　might　ever　print。　At　Vienna；　the　papal　Nuncio　thought



to　score　a　point　by　declaring　that　he　would　not　attend　a　certain



religious　function　in　case　the　Venetian　Ambassador　should　appear；



whereupon　the　Venetian　announced　that　he　had　taken　physic　and



regretted　that　he　could　not　be　present；whereat　all　Europe



laughed。







Judicious　friends　in　various　European　cabinets　now　urged　both



parties　to　recede　or　to　compromise。　France　and　Spain　both



proffered　their　good　offices。　The　offer　of　France　was　finally



accepted；　and　the　French　Ambassador　was　kept　running　between　the



Ducal　Palace　and　the　Vatican　until　people　began　laughing　at　him



also。　The　emissaries　of　His　Holiness　begged　hard　that；　at　least；



appearances　might　be　saved；　that　the　Republic　would　undo　some　of



its　measures　before　the　interdict　was　removed；　or　at　least　would



seem　to　do　so；　and　especially　that　it　would　withdraw　its　refusals



before　the　Pope　withdrew　his　penalties。　All　in　vain。　The



Venetians　insisted　that　they　had　committed　no　crime　and　had



nothing　to　retract。　The　Vatican　then　urged　that　the　Senate　should



consent　to　receive　absolution　for　its　resistance　to　the　Pope's



authority。　This　the　Senate　steadily　refused；　it　insisted；　〃Let



His　Holiness　put　things　as　before；　and　we　will　put　things　as



before；　as　to　his　absolution；　we　do　not　need　it　or　want　it；　to



receive　it　would　be　to　acknowledge　that　we　have　been　in　the



wrong。〃　Even　the　last　poor　sop　of　all　was　refused：　the　Senate



would　have　no　great　〃function〃　to　celebrate　the　termination　of



the　interdict；　they　would　not　even　go　to　the　mass　which　Cardinal



Joyeuse　celebrated　on　that　occasion。　The　only　appearance　of



concession　which　the　Republic　made　was　to　give　up　the　two



ecclesiastics　to　the　French　Ambassador　as　a　matter　of　courtesy　to



the　French　king；　and　when　this　was　done；　the　Ambassador　delivered



them　to　the　Pope；　but　Venice　especially　reserved　all　the　rights



she　had　exercised。　All　the　essential　demands　of　the　papacy　were



refused；　and　thus　was　forever　ended　the　papal　power　of　laying　an



interdict　upon　a　city　or　a　people。　From　that　incubus；



Christendom；　thanks　to　Father　Paul　and　to　Venice；　was　at　last　and



forever　free。







The　Vatican　did；　indeed；　try　hard　to　keep　its　old　claim　in　being。



A　few　years　after　its　defeat　by　Fra　Paolo；　it　endeavored　to



reassert　in　Spain　the　same　authority　which　had　been　so　humbly



acknowledged　there　a　few　years　before。　It　was　doubtless　felt　that



this　most　pious　of　all　countries；　which　had　previously　been　so



docile；　and　which　had　stood　steadily　by　the　Vatican　against



Venice　in　the　recent　struggle；　would　again　set　an　example　of



submission。　Never　was　there　a　greater　mistake：　the　Vatican



received　from　Spanish　piety　a　humiliating　refusal。







Next　it　tried　the　old　weapons　against　the　little　government　at



Turin。　For　many　generations　the　House　of　Savoy　had　been　dutifully



submissive　to　religious　control；　nowhere　out　of　Spain　had　heresy



been　treated　more　cruelly；　yet　here；　too；　the　Vatican　claim　was



spurned。　But　the　final　humiliation　took　place　some　years　later



under　Urban　VIII。；the　same　pontiff　who　wrecked　papal



infallibility　on　Galileo's　telescope。　He　tried　to　enforce　his



will　on　the　state　of　Lucca；　which；　in　the　days　of　Pope　Paul；　had



submitted　to　the　Vatican　decrees　abjectly；　but　that　little



republic　now　seized　the　weapons　which　Sarpi　had　devised；　and



drove　the　papal　forces　out　of　the　field：　the　papal



excommunication　was；　even　by　this　petty　government；　annulled　in



Venetian　fashion　and　even　less　respectfully。＇1＇











＇1＇　The　proofsand　from　Catholic　sourcesthat　it　was　the　Pope



who　condemned　Galileo's　doctrine　of　the　earth's　movement　about



the　sun；　and　not　merely　the　Congregation　of　the　Index；　the



present　writer　has　given　in　his　History　of　the　Warfare　of　Science



with　Theology；　vol。　i。　chap。　iii。











Thus　the　world　learned　how　weak　the　Vatican　hold　had　become。　Even



Pope　Paul　learned　it；　and；　from　being　the　most　strenuous　of



modern　pontiffs；　he　became　one　of　the　most　moderate　in　everything



save　in　the　enrichment　of　his　family。　Thus　ended　the　last　serious



effort　to　coerce　a　people　by　an　interdict；　and　so；　one　might



suppose；　would　end　the　work　of　Father　Paul。　Not　so。　There　was　to



come　a　second　chapter　in　his　biography；　more　instructive；



perhaps；　than　the　first；a　chapter　which　has　lasted　until　our



own　day。　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　A。　D。　White。











｛February；　1904；　number　DLVI。｝　II。











The　Venetian　Republic　showed　itself　duly　grateful　to　Sarpi。　The



Senate　offered　him　splendid　presents　and　entitled　him　〃Theologian



of　Venice。〃　The　presents　he　refused；　but　the　title　with　its　duty；



which　was　mainly　to　guard　the　Republic　against　the　encroachments



of　the　Vatican；　he　accepted；　and　his　life　in　the　monastery　of



Santa　Fosca　went　on　quietly；　simply；　laboriously；　as　before。　The



hatred　now　felt　for　him　at　Rome　was　unbounded。　It　corresponded　to



the　gratitude　at　Venice。　Every　one　saw　his　danger；　and　he　well



knew　it。　Potentates　were　then　wont　to　send　assassins　on　long



errands；　and　the　arm　of　the　Vatican　was　especially　far…reaching



and　merciless。　It　was　the　period　when　Pius　V；　the　Pope　whom　the



Church　afterwards　proclaimed　a　saint；　commissioned　an　assassin　to



murder　Queen　Elizabeth。＇1＇











＇1＇　This　statement　formerly　led　to　violent　denials　by



ultramontane　champions；　but　in　1870　it　was　made　by　Lord　Acton；　a



Roman　Catholic；　one　of　the　most　learned　of　modern　historians；　and



when　it　was　angrily　denied；　he　quietly　cited　the　official　life　of



Pope　Pius　in　the　Acta　　Sanctorum；　published　by　the　highest　church



authority。　This　was　final；　denial　ceased；　and　the　statement　is　no



longer　questioned。　For　other　proofs　in　the　line　of　Lord　Acton's



citation；　see　Bellarmine's　Selbstbiographie；　cited　in　a　previous



article；　pp。　306；　et　seq。











But　there　was　in　Father　Paul　a　trust　in　Providence　akin　to



fatalism。　Again　and　again　he　was　warned；　and　among　those　who　are



said　to　have　advised　him　to　be　on　his　guard　against　papal



assassins　was　no　less　a　personage　than　his　greatest　controversial



enemy；Cardinal　Bellarmine。　It　was　believed　by　Sarpi's　friends



that　Bel