he strove to purify the sanctuary, and revive the apostolic spirit in its ministers. St. Celestine V. adorned the thirteenth century. Benedict XI., who reigned in the early part of the following age, is styled Blessed in the Roman martyrology.

The sixteenth century was edified by the austere virtues of St. Pius V. From earliest youth he was devoted to the service of God, and in the highest station he "preserved all his austerity, poverty, and humility."* He is the last of the Popes whose names have been enrolled among the Saints, although since his time, as well as before, many not canonized have been eminent for holiness of life.

Ranke, History of the Popes, 1. iii. 2 viii. p. 217.

CHAPTER IX.

Charges against the Popes.

THE charges brought against the Popes are, in many instances, totally destitute of foundation. In the fifth century, a schismatical rival accused Symmachus of many crimes: of which, however, he was declared innocent by a council, to which he voluntarily submitted the cause for examination.

The first serious scandal that occurs in the papal history, took place at the close of the ninth century, when Stephen, who had forcibly taken possession of the See, offered indignities to the corpse of Formosus, the deceased Pontiff, by cutting off the fingers with which he was wont to bless the Roman people. The barbarity of this act, which reflects disgrace on the age in which it was perpetrated, cannot be extenuated by the plea then put forward to justify it, namely, that Formosus had violated the canons, through immoderate ambition, by passing from the See of Porto to that of Rome. His promotion appears to have been the just reward of a long life of virginal purity and Apostolic zeal. The outrage offered to his memory was atoned for by the solemn act of a Roman Council under John IX. It may relieve our feelings somewhat from the horror of this outrage, to know that it was committed by an intruder into the See, not by one who entered by canonical election; and though his name still appears on the list of Popes, Graveson, a judicious historian, disputes the propriety of its insertion. In the scarcity of documents of that period, and in the confusion which was caused by the violent struggles of secular nobles for the mastery of the Church, it is in some cases difficult to distinguish with certainty, whether the intrusion was remedied by the subsequent acquiescence of the canonical electors. These may have yielded to the dire necessity of the times, and borne the shame of tolerating an unworthy incumbent in the apostolic chair, rather than endanger the unity of the Church, by an effort to expel him from a place which he had no right to occupy. We must, in such circumstances, remember, with St. Leo, that the merit of Peter does not totally fail in the unworthy heir of his authority; and with St. Augustine, that occasion of schism must not be taken from the bad examples of those who are in high station: "of which," he says, "our Heavenly Master so carefully forewarned us, as to give the people an assurance in regard to bad prelates, lest on their account the chair of saving doctrine should be abandoned, in which even bad men

* Serm. II. de assumpt. sua ad pontif.

:

are forced to utter what is good for what they say is not their own: it is of God, who has placed the doctrine of truth in the chair of unity."*

The moral character of Sergius III. is grievously assailed by Luitprand, a contemporary author, whose testimony, however, is weakened by his known adherence to a schismatical rival of John XII., and his devotedness to the imperial interests. Flodoard, another contemporary writer, represents Sergius as a favorite with the Roman people, and a kind pastor of the flock. It is doubtful whether Lando, whose character is also traduced, should be ranked among the Popes. John X. is charged with licentiousness, and with having been accessary to the death of Benedict VII.: but Baronius, who believed the charges, admits that his administration was better than the means used for his promotion would have led us to expect. Muratori, who with great independence of mind, canvassed facts of history, praises him as a worthy Pontiff. He also proves that John XI. was son of Albericus, Roman consul, and marquis of Tuscany, although Luitprand brands him as a bastard-son of Sergius. Ratherius of Verona bears testimony to the noble and excellent disposition of John, whom he styles, "gloriosa indolis." John XII., of the same family, at the age of sixteen or eighteen years, seized on the papal crown, and wore it without shame during seven years, in which he is said to have indulged the worst excesses. The account of his death is marked with the character of fable. The following century witnessed similar scandals in Theophylact, son of Alberic, count of Tusculum, who, whilst yet a youth, was intruded into the chair of St. Peter by bribery and family influence, and thence ejected several times by the Romans, weary of his disorders, till at length he resigned all pretensions to the See, and passed to the monastery of Grotta Ferrata, to expiate his sins by penance. Benedict IX. is his name among the pontiffs.

The struggles for the Papacy in those evil times, were sometimes fierce and sanguinary, the power of the petty potentate, who ruled at Rome as patrician, being often employed in behalf of some member of his family, or some corrupt favorite. The occupant of the chair held it by a very uncertain tenure, and was not unfrequently cast into a dungeon to make room for a successful rival. If such horrors affright us, we should reflect on the general state of Italy at that period, when Saracens and other barbarians spread desolation around, imparting to the oppressed Italians something of their own savage character. The rival princes when unrestrained by the imperial power, which during forty years had been suspended, knew no limits to their ambition, and rushed wildly into excesses which make us shudder. We need not be surprised, that daring and licentious men under such circumstances were sometimes seen to occupy the highest

Ep. cv., alias clxvii., c. v. n. 16.

† Annali d'Italia, an. 928.

He quotes: Anonymus Salernitanus, in chron. c. cxliii., et Ostiensis, in chr. casin., 1. i. c. lxi.

places in the church: but we must admire the overruling providence of God, which preserved the succession of chief pastors, and gave from time to time bright examples of Christian virtue. The tenth century numbers Theodore, Benedict IV., Anastasius III., and Marin II., among the occupants of St. Peter's See, men worthy of their Apostolical calling; and the eleventh justly boasts of a brighter line of holy pontiffs. The scandals of those ages menaced indeed with destruction the church, which drifted like a shattered vessel, whose pilot had no power or care to direct her course, whilst wave on wave dashed over her, and no light beamed on her but the lightning flash, as bolt after bolt struck her masts: but He who controls the tempest slept within her, and in His own good time, He bade the storm be still, and all was calm and sunshine.

To the causes which produced conflict and disorder we must add national jealousy and love of independence. "The Germans," says Voltaire, "held the Romans in subjection, and the Romans sought every opportunity to break their chains. A Pope chosen by the order of the emperor, or named by him, was an object of execration to the Romans. The idea of restoring the republic was cherished by them: but this noble ambition produced only humiliating and frightful results.*

The charges of ambition, arrogance, and impetuosity, which have been made against Boniface VIII., do not appear to be well founded. If he advised the holy Pontiff Celestine to abdicate an office to whose duties he was inadequate, it need not be ascribed to secret aspirations after the tiara, for which, however, his eminent knowledge and determination of character qualified him. The imprisonment of the unambitious hermit, which has brought censure on Boniface, may have been necessary to guard against the wiles of bad men, who might abuse his simplicity to cause a schism, by persuading him that he could not lawfully part with the power which God had committed to him. In the proceedings against Philip the Fair, Boniface contended for justice and the immunities of the Church, advancing no claim which his predecessors had not put forward, and proceeding with the deliberation and maturity which always distinguish the Holy See. When the emissaries of the monarch prepared to seize on his person, he acted with composure and dignity, declaring, that like his Divine Master, he was betrayed, but that he would die as a Pope; with which view he robed himself in the ornaments of his ministry, and, wrapped in his pontifical mantle, with the tiara on his head, the keys in one hand and the cross in the other, he awaited, with majestic air, the approach of the rebel Colonna, and the daring Nogaret. It is not surprising that the indignities offered to his sacred person should have resulted in his death; but the dis

It must be acknowledged, that the worst scandals of those times were given by Romans, or other Italians, raised to that high eminence by the prejudices and partiality of their countrymen, or still more by the swords of their kinsfolk: and that the splendor and glory of the pontificate were restored by Popes of German origin, or who rose to office under imperial favor and protection.

covery of his body entire three centuries afterwards, was a splendid refutation of the fable that he had died in the writhings of despair. In the person of this magnanimous Pontiff, God gave us the example of noble demeanor under wrongs, that resemble the insults of the pretorian hall,

To hide with direr guilt

Past ills and future, lo! the flower-de-luce

Enters Alagna, in His vicar, Christ
Himself a captive, and His mockery

Acted again. Lo! to His holy lip

The vinegar and gall once more applied;

And He twixt living robbers doomed to bleed.-Cary's Translation.*

The memory of Clement V. comes down to us charged with having ambitiously intrigued for the tiara, by promising to Philip the Fair to rescind the acts of Boniface, and to condescend to his will on some important point, not then disclosed. This compact originally rests on the authority of Villani, a partisan of the schismatical Louis of Bavaria. On the same suspicious testimony, his supposed amours with the countess of Perigord have been too lightly credited, notwithstanding the silence of his early biographers, six in number. But the suppression of the Knights Templars, which resulted in the capital punishment of a large number of them, by the authority of Philip, was a measure of fearful responsibility, the justice of which is an historical problem, perhaps never to be solved. His permission for the opening of the process against the memory of Boniface, which is objected to him as an act of criminal condescension, was probably given in the confidence that it would result, as in fact it did, in his entire acquittal. "All this grand display of Philip the Fair," it is Voltaire who speaks, "resulted in his shame. On the great theatre of the world, you will never see a king of France prevail, in the end, over a Pope." Villani has attacked the moral character of Clement VI., but I feel dispensed from vindicating it, whilst it is assailed only by the professed enemy of the lawful Pontiffs.

11*

The sudden death of Paul II., who was found dead in his bed, arose from an unwholesome supper on melons; and was not attended with any disgraceful circumstances. Although his life was not austere, there is not any ground for censuring his conduct, unless, perhaps, his failure to observe the conditions to which, in common with the other cardinals in conclave, he had bound himself. This, however, may be accounted for by the necessity of his situation, in which he deemed it injurious to observe

*Perchè men paja il mal futuro e'l fatto,
Veggio in Alagna entrár lo fiordaliso,

E nel vicario suo Cristo esser catto.

Veggiolo un altra volta esser deriso ;

Veggio rinnovelár l'aceto e'l fele,

E tra vivi ladroni éssere anciso.

Dante, Purgatorio, c. xx. 85.

* Essai sur l'Histoire Générale, t. ii. ch. Ixi.