a little beard and Paulus is written by his head there is another reaching him a Garland and by his head Laud is written and this is repeated in another place right over against it In another place I found a cross Painted and about the upper part of it these Letters J. C. X. O. and in the lower part N J K A are Painted A learned Antiquary that went with me agreed with me that the manner of the Painting and Characters did not seem to be above six hundred years old but neither of us knew what to make of these Letters The lower seemed to relate to the last word of the Vision which it is said that Constantine saw with the Cross that appeared to him But tho the first two Letters might be for Jesus it being ordinary in old Coins and Inscriptions to put a C. for an S. and X. stands for Christ yet we knew not what to make of the O. unless it were for the Greek Theta and that the little line in the bosom of the Theta was worn out and then it stands for Theos and thus the whose Inscription is Jesus Christ God overcometh Another Picture in the Wall had written over it S. Johannes which was a clâ—ar sign of a barbarous Age In another place there is a Picture high in the Wall and three Pictures under it that at top had no Inscription those below it had these Inscriptions S. Katharina S. Agape and S. Margarita these Letters aâ—e clearly modern besides that Margaret and Katherine are modern names and the addition of ta a little above the S. were manifest Evidences that the highest Antiquity that can be ascribed to this Painting is six hundred years I saw no more Painting and I began to grow weary of the darkness and the thick Air of the place so I staid not above an hour in the Catacombs This made me reflect more particularly on the Catacombs of Rome than I had done I could imagine no reason why so little mention is made of those of Naples when there is so much said concerning those of Rome and could give my self no other account of the matter but that it being a maxim to keep up the reputation of the Roman Catacombs as the Repositories of the Reliques of the primitive Christians it would have much lessened their credit if it had been thought that there were Catacombs far beyond them in all respects that yet cannot be supposed to have been the work of the primitive Christians and indeed nothing seems more evident than that these were the common burying places of the ancient Heathens One enters into them without the Walls of the Towns according to the Laws of the twelve Tables and such are the Catacombs of Rome that I saw which were those of S. Agnes and S. Sebastian the entry into them being without the Town this answers the Law tho in effect they run under it for in those days when they had not the use of the needle they could not know which way they carried on those works when they were once so far ingaged under ground as to lose themselves It is a vain imagination to think that the Christians in the primitive times were able to carry on such a work for as this prodigious digging into such Rocks must have been a very visible thing by the Mountaines of Rubbish that must have been brought out and by the vast number of hands that must have been employed in it so it is absurd to think that they could hold their Assemblies amidst the annoyance of so much corruption I found the steams so strong that tho I am as little subject to vapours as most men yet I had all the day long after I was in them which was not near an hour a confusion and as it were a boiling in my head that disordered me extreamly and if there is now so much stagnating Air there this must have been sensible in a more eminent and insufferable manner while there were vast numbers of bodies rotting in those niches But besides this improbability that presents it self from the nature of the thing I called to mind a passage of a Letter of Cornelius that was Bishop of Rome after the middle of the third Century which is preserved by Eusebius in his sixth Book Chapter 43. in which we have the State of the Church of Rome at that time set forth There were forty six Presbiters seven Deacons as many Sub-deacons and ninety four of the Inferiour Orders of the Clergy among them there were also fifteen hundred Widows and other poor maintained out of the publick Charities It may be reasonably supposed that the numbers of the Christians were as great when this Epistle was writ as they were at any time before Constantine's dayes for as this was writ at the end of that long peace of which both S. Cyprian and Lactantius speak that had continued above a hundred years so after this time there was such a succession of Persecutions that came so thick one upon another after short intervals of quiet that we cannot think the numbers of the Christians increased much beyond what they were at this time Now there are two particulars in this State of the Clergy upon which one may make a probable estimate of the numbers of the Christians the one is their poor which were but fifteen hundred now upon an exact survey it will be found that where the poor are well looked to their number rises generally to be the thirtieth or fortieth part of mankind and this may be well believed to be the proportion of the poor among the Christians of that Age For as their Charity was vigorous and tender so we find Celsus Julian Lucian Porphiry and others object this to the Christians of that time that their Charities to the poor drew vast numbers of the lower sort among them who made themselves Christians that they might be supplied by their Brethren So that this being the State of the Christians then we may reckon the poor the thirtieth part and so fifteen hundred multiplied by thirty produce five and forty thousand And I am the more inclined to think that this rises up near to the full sum of their numbers by the other Character of the numbers of the Clergy for as there were forty six Presbyters so there were ninety four of the inferior Orders who were by two more then the double of the number of the Priests and this was in a time in which the care of Souls was more exactly looked after then it has been in the more corrupted Ages the Clergy having then really more work on their hands the instructing of their Catechumenes the visiting their Sick and the supporting and comforting the weak being tasks that required so much application that in so vast a City as Rome was in those dayes in which it is probable the Christians were scattered over the City and mixed in all the parts of it we make a conjecture that is not ill
many Pillars of Porphiry and Jasp and above all with the four Horses of Corinthian Brass that Tiridates brought to Tiberius which were carried afterwards to Constantinople and were brought from thence to Venice and in which the gilding is still very bright that when all this is considered one doth no where see so much cost brought together I did not see the Gospel of St. Mark which is one of the valuablest things of the Treasure but they do not now open it to strangers yet Doctor Grandi a famous Physitian there told me that by a particular order he was suffered to open it he told me it was all writ in Capital Letters but the characters were so worn out that though he could discern the ends of some Letters he could not see enough to help him to distinguish them or to know whether the M. S. was in Greek or Latin I will not say one word of the Arsenal for as I saw it in its worst state the War that is now on foot having disfurnished a great deal of it so it hath been often described and it is known to be the Noblest Magazine the best ordered and of the greatest variety that is in the whole World its true it is all that this State hath so that if the Magazines of other Princes which lie spread up and down in the different places of their dominions were gathered together they would make a much greater shew The Noblest Convent of Venice is that of the Dominicans called St. John and S. Paul the Church and Chapels are vastly rich there is one of St. Luke's Madona 's here as they pretend the Dormitory is very great the Room for the Library and every thing in it except the Books is extream fine But St. George which is a Convent of the Benedictines in an Isle intirely possessed by them over against the St. Mark 's square is much the richest the Church is well contrived and well adorned and not only the whole building is very magnificent but which is more extraordinary at Venice they have a large Garden and noble walks in it The Redemptore and the Salute are two Noble Churches that are the effects of Vows that the Senate made when they were afflicted with the Plague the latter is much the finer it is to the Virgin and the other is only to our Saviour so naturally doth the devotion of that Church carry it higher for the Mother than the Son It is true the Salute is later than the other so no wonder if the Architecture and the riches exceed that which is more ancient The School of St. Roch. and the Chapel and Hall are full of great pieces of Tintorets a Cena of Paulo Veronese in the Refectory of St. George and the Picture of St. Peter the Martyr of Titians are the most celebrated pieces of Venice Duke Pesaro's Tomb in the Frairy is the Noblest I ever saw But if the riches of all the Convents and the Parish Churches of Venice amazed me the fronts especially many of which are of white Marble beautified with several Statues the meanness of the Library of St. Mark did no less surprize me There are in the Antichamber to it Statues of vast value and the whole roof of the Library is composed of several pieces of the greatest Masters put in several frames but the Library hath nothing answerable to the riches of the case for the Greek Manuscripts are all modern I turned over a great many and saw none above Five Hundred Years old I was indeed told that the last Library-keeper was accused for having conveyed away many of their Manuscripts and that Four Years ago being clapt in Prison for this by the Inquisitors he to prevent further severities poysoned himself I went to the Convent of the Servi but I found Father Paul was not in such consideration there as he is else where I asked for his Tomb but they made no account of him and seemed not to know where it was it is true the Person to whom I was recommended was not in Venice so perhaps they refined too much in this matter I had great discourse with some at Venice concerning the memorials out of which F. Paul drew his History which are no doubt all preserved with great care in their Archives and since the transactions of the Council of Trent as they are of great importance so they are become now much controverted by the different relations that F. Paul and Cardinal Pallavicini have given the World of that matter the only way to put an end to all disputes in matter of fact is to print the Originals themselves A Person of great credit at Venice promised to me to do his utmost to get that proposition set on foot tho the great exactness that the Government there hath always affected as to the matter of their Archives is held so sacred that this made him apprehend they would not give way to any such search The affinity of the matter brings into my mind a long Conversation that I had with a Person of great Eminence at Venice that as he was long at Constantinople so was learned far beyond what is to be met with in Italy he told me he was at Constantinople when the Inquiry into the Doctrine of the Greek Church was set on foot occasioned by the famous Dispute between Mr. Arnaud and Mr. Claude he being a zealous Roman Catholick was dealt with to assist in that business but being a Man of great Honour and Sincerity he excused himself and said he could not meddle in it He hath a very low and bad opinion of the Greeks and he told me that none of their Priests were more inveterate enemies to the Church of Rome than those that were bred up at Rome for they to free themselves of the prejudices that their Countrey-men are apt to conceive against them because of their education among the Latines do affect to shew an opposition to the Latin Church beyond any other Greeks He told me that he knew the ignorance and corruption of the Greeks was such that as they did not know the Doctrines of their own Church so a very little Money or the hope of Protection from any of the Ambassadors that come from the West would prevail with them to sign any that that coâ—ld be desired of them He added one thing that though he firmly believed Transubstantiation himself he did not think they believed it let them say what they pleased themselves he took his measures of the Doctrine of their Chuâ—ch rather from what they did than from what they said For their Rites not being changed now for a great many ages were the true Indications of the doctrines received among them whereas they were both ignorant of the tradition of their doctrine and very apt to â—revaricate when they saw advantages or protection sâ—t before them therefore he concluded that since they did not adore the Sacrament after the Consecration that was an evident sign that
design and going back another way could not see the bottom of this It is true the Famous Magliabecchi who is the Great Dukes Library-keeper and is a Person of most wonderful civility and full of candour as well as he is learned beyond imagination assured me that this could be no other than a mistake of the Library-keepers he said such a discovery could not have been made without making so much noise that he must have heard of it He added there was not one Man in Florence that either understood Greek or that examined Manuscripts so that he assured me I could not build on what an Ignorant Library-keeper had told me So I set down this matter as I found it without building much on it Florence is much sunk from what it was for they do not reckon that there are above Fifty thousand Souls in it and the other States that were once great Republicks such as Siena and Pisa while they retained their liberty are now shrunk almost into nothing It is certain that all three together are now not so numerous as any one of them was Two hundred Years ago Legorn is full of People and all round Florence there are a great many Villages but as one goes over Tuscany it appears so dispeopled that one cannot wonder to find a Country that hath been a Scene of so much action and so many Wars now so forsaken and so poor and that in many places the Soil is quite neglected for want of hands to cultivate it and in other places where there are more People they look so poor and their houses are such miserable ruines that it is scarce accountable how there should be so much poverty in so rich a Country which is all over full of beggars and here the style of begging was a little altered from what I found in Lombardy for whereas there they begged for the sake of S. Anthony here all begged for the Souls that were in Purgatory and this was the stile in all the other parts of Italy through which I passed In short the dispeopling of Tuscany and most of the Principalities of Italy but chiefly of the Popes Dominions which are more abandoned than any other part of Italy seemed to flow from nothing but the severity of the Government and the great decay of Trade for the greatest Trade of Italy being in Silk the vast importation of Silks that the East-India Companies bring into Europe hath quite ruined all those that deal in this manufacture Yet this is not the chief cause of the dispeopling of those rich Countries the severity of the Taxes is the true reason notwithstanding all that decay of Trade the Taxes are still kept up Besides this the vast Wealth of the Convents where the only People of Italy are to be sound that live not only at their ease but in great plenty and luxury makes many forsake all sort of Industry and seek for a retreation of those seats of pleasure so that the People do not encrease fast enough to make a new Race to come instead of those whom a hard Government drives away It must needs surprize an unattentive Traveller to see not only the Venetian Territory which is indeed a rich Country but the Baliages of the Switzers and the Coast of Genoa so full of People when Tuscany the Patrimony and the Kingdom of Naples have so few Inhabitants In the Coast of Genoua there is for many miles as it were a constant tract of Towns and Villages and all those are well peopled though they have scarce any Soil at all lying under the Mountains that are very barren and that exposed them to a most uneasie Sun and that they lie upon a boistrous Sea that is almost always in a storm and that affords very few Fish and yet the gentleness of the Government draws such multitudes thither and those are so full of Wealth that Money goes at Two per cent But on the other hand to ballance this a little so strange and wild a thing is the nature of Man at least of Italians that I was told that the worst People of all Italy are the Genoeses and the most generally corrupted in their Morals as to all sorts of Vice so that though a severe Government and Slavery are contrary to the nature of Man and to human Society to Justice and Equity and to that essential equality that Nature hath made among Men yet on the other hand all Men cannot bear that ease and liberty that becometh human Nature The superstition of Italy and the great wast of Wealth that one sees in their Churches particularly those prodigious masses of Plate with which their Altars are covered on Holy-days doth also sink their Trade extreamly for Silver being in Commerce what blood is in the Body when so much of that is dead and circulates no more it is no wonder if such extravasation if I may use so long and hard a word of Silver occasions a great deadness in Trade I had almost forgot one Remark that I made in the Hill of the Appenins just above Florence that I never saw such tall and big Cypresses as grew over all that Hill which seemed a little strange that Tree being apt to be starved by a cold Winter among us and there the Winters are severe All the way in Tuscany is very rugged except on the sides of the Arne But the uneasiness of the Road is much qualified by the great care that is had of the High-ways which are all in very good case The Inns are wretched and ill furnished both for Lodging and Diet. This is the plague of all Italy when once one hath passed the Appennins for except in the great Towns one really suffers so much that way that the pleasure of Travelling is much abated by the inconveniences that one meets in every Stage through which he passes I am SIR Yours BOOK II. The Fourth Letter From Rome the Eight of December 1685. I Am now in my last stage of my Voyage over Italy for since my last from Florence I have not only got hither but have been in Naples and have now satisfied my Curiosity so fully that I intend to leave this Place within a day or two and go to Civita-vecchia and from thence by Sea to Marseilles and to avoid an unpleasant Winters Journey over the Alps. It is true I close the sight of Turin Genoa and some other Courts but tho I am told these deserve well the pains of the Journey yet when one rises from a great Meal no Delicacies how much soever they might tempt him at an other time can provoke his appetite so I confess freely that the sight of Naples and Rome have so fil'd my stomack that way that the Curiosity of seeing new Places is now very low with me and indeed these that I have of last seen are such that Places which at an other time would please me much would now make but a slight and cold Impression All the way
those this Decree concerning the Superiority of the Council is not named this seemed to be of much more importance and therefore I desired to see the Original of the Bull for their seem to be just reasons to apprehend a forgery here He promised to do his endeavours tho he told me that would not be easie for the Bulls were strictly kept and the next day when I came hoping to see it I could not be admitted but he assured me that if that had not been the last day of my stay at Rome he would have procured a Warrant for my seeing the Original so this is all I can say as to the Authenticalness of that Bull But supposing it to be genuine I could not agree to M. Schelstrate that the General Bull of Confirmation ought to be limited to the other that enumerates the particular Dâ—crees but since that particular Bull was never diâ—covered till he hath found it out it seems it was sâ—cretly made and did not pass according to the forms of the Consistory and was a fraudulent thing of which no noise was to be made in that Age and therefore in all the dispute that followed in the Concel of Basil between the Pope and the Council upon this very point no mention was ever made of it by either side and thus it can have no force unless it be to discover the Artifices and fraud of that Court that at the same time in which the necessity of their affairs obliged the Pope to confirm the Decrees of the Council he contrived a secret Bull which in another Age might be made use of to weaken the Authority of the General Confirmation that he gave and therefore a Bull that doth not pass in due form and is not p oâ—ulgated is of no Authority and so this Pretended Bull cannot limit the other Bull. There were some other things relating to this debate that were shewed me by M. Schelstrate but thâ—se being the most important I mention them only I will not give you here a large account of the learned men at Rome Bellori is dâ—servedly Famous for his knowledge of the Greek and Aegyptian Antiquities and for all that belongs to the Mythologies and superstitions of the Heathens and hath a Closet richly furnished with things relating to those matters Fabrelti is justly celebrated for his Understanding of the Old Roman Architecture and Fabricks Padre Fabri is the chief Honour of the Jesuit's Colledge and is much above the common rate both for Philosophy Mathematicks and Church History And he to whom I was the most obliged Abbot Nazari hath so general a view of the several parts of learning tho he hath chiefly applied himself to Philosophy and Mathâ—maticks and is a man of so ingaging a civility and used my self in so particular a manner that I owe him as well as those others whom I have mentioned and whom I had the Honour to see all the acknowledgments of esteem and gratitude that I can possibly make them One sees in Cardinal d'Estrees all the advantages of a high birth great parts a generous civility and a measure of knowledge faire above what can be expected from a person of his rank but as he gave a noble protection to one of the leardnest men that this Age hath produced Mr. Launnoy who lived many years with him so it is visible that he made a great progress by the conversation of so extraordinary a pe son and as for Theological learning there is now none of the Colledge equal to him Cardinal Howard is too well known in England to need any character from me The Elevation of his present condition hath not in the least changed him he hath all the sweetness and Gentleness of temper that we saw in him in England and he retains the unaffected simplicity and humility of a Frier amidst all the dignity of the Purple and as he sheweth all the generous care and concern for his Countreymen that they can expect from him so I met with so much of it in so many obliging marks of his goodness for my self that wenâ— far beyond a common civility that I canâ—oâ— enough acknowledge it I was told the Popes Confessor was a very extraordinary man for the Oriental Learning which is but little known in Rome He is a Master of the Arabick Tongue and hath writ as Abbot Nazari told me the learned'st Book against the Mahometan Religion that the World hath yet seen but it is not yet Printed He is not so much esteemed in Rome as he would be elsewhere for his Learning is not in vogue and the School Divinity and Casuistical Learning being that for which Divines are most esteemed there He whose Studies lead him another way is not so much valued as he ought to be and perhaps the small account that the Pope makes of learned men turns somewhat upon the Confessor for it is certain that this is a Reign in which Learning is very little encouraged Upon the general contempt that all the Romans have for the present Pontificate one made a pleasant reflection to me he said those Popes that intended to raise their Families as thâ—y saw the censure that this brought upon them so they studied to lessen it by other things that might soften the Spirits of the people No man did more for beautifying Rome for finishing St. Peters and the Library and for furnishing Rome with water then Pope Paul the V. tho at the same time he did not forget his Family and tho the other Popes that have raised great Families have not done this to so eminent a degree as he did yet there are many remains of their Magnificeâ—ce whereas those Popes that have not raised Families have it seems thought that alone was enough to maintain their reputation and so they have not done much either to recommend their Government to their Subjectâ— or their Reign to posterity and it is very plain that the present Pope taketh no great care of this His life hath been certainly very innocent and free of all those publick scandals that make a noise in the World and there is at present a regularity in Rome that deserveth great commendation for publick Vices are not to be seen there His personal sobriety is a so singular One assured me that the expence of his Table did not amount to a Crown a day tho this is indeed short of Sisto V. who gave order to his Steward never to exceed five and twenty Bajokes that is eighteen pence a day for his Diet. The Pope is very carefull of his health and doth never expose it for upon the least disorder he shuts himself up in his Chamber and often keepeth his Bed for the least indisposition many dayes but his Government is severe and his Subjects are ruined And here one thing cometh into my mind which perhaps is not ill grounded that the poverty of a Nation not only dispeoples it by driving the people out of it but by weakning the natural