trifling Conjectures concerning this Wand concludes that Moses carried it to the Mountain where he dy'd and that it was afterwards plac'd in his Tomb. But after all it was never known what became either of this or of the Ark. Moses's Rod. The ‡ 'T is the Opinion of some Authors That Theodosius the Great gave this Nail to St. Ambrose others say that Saint went to look for it in the Shop of a certain Ironmonger at Rome call'd Paolino where he was warn'd in a Dream that he should find it Nail of the Crucifixion of which they say Constantine made a Bit for a Bridle is the most respected Relick in Milan 'T is kept on the great Altar surrounded with five Lights which burn night and day In the year 1576. Cardinal Borromeo call'd St. Charles carried it in a solemn procession to stop the Plague he walk'd bare-foot with a great Rope about his Neck tho' he was also cloth'd with the usual Ornaments of a Cardinal The * This Pavement is not yet finish'd The Charge of it will amount to Threescore and six thousand Two hundred and ninety Crowns without reckoning that of the Quire which has already cost Five thousand Two hundred and fifty Morigi Pavement of this Church is finer and more solid than that of St. Peter's at Rome where the Floor is laid with thin Leaves of Marble which begin already to cleave and will in a short time be quite rais'd up whereas here the pieces are very thick There are always Masons hewing Stone and Women spinning sewing and selling Fruit in the middle of the Church besides 't is dark and many parts of it imperfect All which Considerations laid together will easily convince you that the inside of it can neither charm nor surprize the Eye of a curious Beholder We went up to the Steeple from whence we had a view not only of Milan but of four or five other Cities in the vast Plain of Lombardy We discover'd also the Alps which are united to the Appennine Mountains towards Genoua The great Bell bears the name of St. Ambrose it contains seven feet in diameter and weighs Thirty thousand pounds Over against the Church there is a pretty large Place where in the Evening I usually observ'd about thirty Coaches which mov'd and stopp'd from time to time that the People within 'em might see those who pass'd along The place for taking the Air in Coaches is a great unpav'd Street in the Suburbs which is sprinkl'd every day with water * And therefore call'd Strada Marina as the Voorhout is at the Hague The Ambrosian Library was so nam'd by Cardinal Frederic Borromeo Ph. Vannemachero and Ch. Torre affirm That this Library contains Fourteen thousand Manuscripts but mention not the number of the printed Books It was much augmented by the addition of Vincent Pinelli's Library R. Lassels Rufinus's Version of Josephus is one of the oldest Manuscripts in this Library G. Burnet Fabio Mangoni built it It contains several Apartments The great Hall is 75 foot long and 30 broad It could not be made larger because of the Churches and Houses that surround it Besides the Books and Pictures 't is enrich'd with several Collections of very fair Medals and with rare and curious Pieces of antique Sculpture and Architecture with others moulded on the Originals Boschi wrote a Treatise De Origine Statu Bibliothecae Ambrosianae C. Torre Archbishop of Milan who founded it and dedicated it to St. Ambrose I read in a little Description of this Library printed at Tortona That it contains twelve thousand Manuscripts and seventy two thousand printed Volumes but we must not depend on that Author's Testimony for it appears plainly to the Eye that there are not so many and besides the Library-keeper told us that there were not above Forty thousand in all This Library is kept open two hours every Morning and Afternoon there is a Fire in it during the Winter and there are also Seats and Desks with all the other Conveniencies that are to be found in the Library of St. Victor at Paris They shew'd us a great Book of Mechanical Draughts which they told us Leonard de Vinci wrote with his own hand The Writing is extreamly awry and can hardly be read without a Perspective-glass There is an Inscription on the Wall which says That a certain King of England whose Name is not mention'd offer'd Three thousand Pistols for this Volume Adjoining to this Library there is an Academy for Painting where we saw many good Pictures Among the rest I remember one of Clement the Tenth which resembles a Print so exactly that we were all deceiv'd by it The Citadel is a regular Hexagon well lin'd furnish'd with store of Cannon and surrounded with a good Ditch and Counterscarps but the old Walls should be pull'd down with all those Towers Forts and other antique Works which are contain'd in the Citadel besides a considerable number of Houses for if all this useless Rubbish were taken away the place would be infinitely better After we had walk'd round the Ramparts we enter'd into a Hall in the Governor's Lodgings to see a score of Soldiers who were exercising their Postures and practising Spanish Sarabands against the Solemnity of Corpus-Christi-day when they were to dance before the Procession The principal Buildings in Milan without mentioning the Churches and Convents are the Palaces of the Governor and Archbishop the Houses of the Marquess Homodeo Count Barth Arese and Signior T. Marini the * This Structure was founded by Charles Borromeo and built by Joseph Mela. A double Portico 176 foot and 3 inches long and 16 foot 10 inches and a half broad goes round the great square Court on the inside The first Order is Doric and the second Ionic Over the great Portal stands Piety having on her Breast the Sun who is the Father of Light and on the other side Wisdom with swelling Breasts full of Provision for her Children C. Torre Seminary the Colleges of the Switzers of Breva and of the Jesuits the Town-house and the chief Hospital the great Court of the last-nam'd Structure is a Hundred and twenty paces square with two rows or stories of Portico's about the inside both which are supported on every side by Two and forty Pillars of a kind of Marble found in the neighbouring Alps every Pillar consisting of a single Piece The Body of the Edifice is of Brick moulded and fashion'd into several Ornaments of Architecture The old Hospital is join'd to this and both together make but one The †Begun 1489 by Duke Lewis Sforza call'd the Moor and finish'd by Lewis XII 1507. Bramante was the Architect of this Structure Lazaret or place appointed for the entertainment of those that are sick of Pestilential Distempers depends on the great Hospital and is situated about two or three hundred paces from the City It consists of four Galleries join'd in a square each containing Ninety two Chambers and
Places they have plenty of Fish Abundance of things are naturally wanting in Holland But Foreign Countries plentifully supply them with Corn as well as Wines and all other Necessaries for Life All the World knows how far their Trade extends And it may well be said that as it in part gave the original Strength to the State so it is still its principal or only support Every Man in Holland is a kind of Amphibious Creature equally accustomed both to Sea and Land I remember I have read it in a good Author That this sole Province hath more †The number of Vessels in the common Opinion is esteemed so great that it is thought to equal all the rest of Europe together Card. Bentivoglio Pufendorf saith the same and others bave writ that the Vnited Provinces have as many Ships as Houses I cannot think any Person hath exactly Calculated them every one speaks as he imagines or hath heard so that little heed is to be given to Discourses of this nature Shipping than all the rest of Europe It is true that if on one side the Sea is the cause of all the Riches of Holland it must also be confessed that it hath sometimes caused terrible Damages It is stopped with Banks of Earth which we call Dams and all care imaginable is taken to maintain them They have Mills to empty the Water and use all imaginable Industry to prevent Mischief or to remedy it when it hath happened Yet some places of these Banks are often broken and the rolling of the Waves makes most furious Ravages So that as to the * On the 17th of April 1420. one hundred thousand People were drowned at Dort or thereabouts There were fifteen Parishes drowned Seb. Munster The Sea carried away 121 Houses of the Villages of Scheveling and 1574. S. Parival at this day the Church is near the Sea whereas formerly it was in the midst of the Village Sea they may well use the Device of a Torch Reversed That which feeds me kills me This Sir is the fatal Mischief of Holland a strange inconveniency of which all that can be said is That they labour to help it as much as they can but can never restore the drowned Cities nor the lives of many Millions of Men who have from time to time perished by these Deluges It is not without some regret that I disturb your former and more pleasing Idea's but I fansie that to apprehend things well we must know both what 's for and what 's against them Nor is this the only defect For the Air is no where very good Sometimes in the fairest Weather it suddenly becomes Cold and this inequality admits of no great difference between the Summer and Winter Cloaths †The Gabel of Salt is the least considerable Salt costs but two Pence or three Pence the Pound of sixteen Ounces The greatest Imports are on Wine Beer and Corn. The Impositions are great which partly cause the dearness of Victuals But the People of this Country who are born under the Yoak and whom their great Trade hath made live at ease scarce think of it I confess I should not long admire those continued Meadows of which Holland is composed They seem very fine for a few hours but one grows weary of their perpetual uniformity And I am perswaded the variety of your Province of Kent must be far more grateful We were at the same time surpris'd and charm'd at the first thing which we observ'd at our arrival at Rotterdam This City having this singular Qualification that many of its Canals are broad and deep enough to receive the greatest Vessels nothing can compare with the effect produced by the extraordinary mixture of Chimnies tops of Trees and Streamers of Vessels One is astonished at the Port to behold so rare a confusion as is that of the tops of the Houses and Trees and Penons of the Masts one cannot tell whether it be a Fleet a City or a Forest at least one sees a thing seldom heard of a Convention of those three things the Sea the City and the Campagne ROTTERDAM Rotterdam is not accounted as one of the Principal Cities of the Province because it hath not been always in such a flourishing condition as we see it at this day but without doubt it ought to be the second of the first Rank whereas now it is but the first of the second It s Port is most commodious and fair and is always fill'd and encompass'd with Shipping and its Trade increases daily It is very large well Peopled rich and pleasant and hath the neatness I have represented the situation is flat as you are to suppose of the rest of the Cities The Magazines for the equipping of Ships The Town-house aad that of the Bank are all most stately Structures When you come into the Glass-house you see them at work on little enamell'd Bowls and I know not how many Children's Baubles with which they drive a great Trade amongst the Savages Also near this you have the curious Works in Paper of the Sieur Van Uliet as Ships Palaces and whole Landskips in Basso relievo all as they say done and made out with the point of a Pen-knife There are at present two French Churches at Rotterdam which the Magistrates take care particularly to see furnished with Ministers of exemplary Merit It is certain that this City is become famous for its Learned Men as well as by its Trade and Beauty It is this which bestowed on us the Novels of the Republick of Learning a work so accepted and esteemed I might even say a Work which is ready to be lamented since the Indisposition of the Author gives us reason to fear he will be no more able to apply himself to so painful an undertaking I am informed that Mr. Basnage de Beauval intends the continuation He is indowed with a great deal of Learning an extraordinary Wit and all the sharpness which can be thought necessary for the well-ordering such a Work Erasmus was born in Rotterdam Octob. 27. 1467. he died at Basil June 12. 1536. They erected a Statue of Wood An. 1540. one of Stone Anno 1557. and at last that of Brass which is seen this day Anno 1622. The brazen Statue of Erasmus is in the Place called the great Bridge This Statue is on a Pedestal of Marble encompassed with Rails of Iron Erasmus is in a Doctors Habit with a Book in his Hand Hard by you may see the House in which he was born it is a very little one having this Distich wrote on the door Aedibus his Ortus Mundum decoravit Erasmus Artibus ingenuis Relligione Fide Being for some Reasons induced to visit a Village called Leckerkeck three Leagues distant from hence upon the River Leck I will impart to you three or four curious things which I observed there The Lord of the Place told us That the Salmon Fishing the fifth part whereof only belongs to
they make much of it as a precious Memorial if they do not worship it as a Relique Their Lance puts me in mind of their Arsenal which is one of the most renowned in Germany In the Year 1453 Mahomet II. besieged Constantinople and battered it with many Pieces of Cannon of Four hundred pound Ball there was one amongst the rest so heavy that there were twenty Yoke of Oxen to draw it Calvisius There are two great Halls in it each of two hundred and fifty paces long and well replenished with Arms. We counted three hundred Pieces of Cannon but to speak truth the greatest part of the other Arms savour of Antiquity Musquets and Harquebuses Casks and Cuirasses in great Number fine Hangings for Arsenals and this is all There are many of those great Cannons of a monstrous Bore which they call Mermaids and Basilisks and the biggest of these Pieces carries a three hundred pound Ball. We also saw the Library it is in a Cloyster which formerly belonged to the Dominicans and contains as they tell you twenty thousand Volumes This was collected out of the Ruines of many Convents in the Time of the Reformation The most ancient Manuscript is of nine hundred Years it is a Copy of the Gospels with the Prayers and Hymns formerly used in the Greek Church The Character is very different from that now in use It is a Treatise of Predestination I observed a Book which was printed at Spire in the Year 1446. but there might be an Errour in the Cyphers for they shewed us another of the Impression of Faustus at Mentz in 1459. at the End whereof there is an Advertisement by which it is said That this Book was not written by the Hand but was printed by an admirable Secret newly invented 'T is probable that this was the first Impression which was made at Mentz and if it be so there is no ground to suppose that another Book was printed at Spire thirteen Years before nor had Faustus any reason to boast so much of his new Secret I have heard that there is another Impression of Durandus's Officiale at Basil printed by Faustus in the same Year 1549. They keep in this Library many Rarities and curious Antiquities but they are not comparable to those that are in the Cabinet of Mr. Viati We saw it in a great Chamber quite fill'd with divers Arms of all Countries all Uses and all Fashions It is scarce to be conceived how a single Man and he a private Person who hath not the Means of a Prince or a very great Lord could heap together so many things for the Number is very great and I believe brought from all the four Quarters of the World He shewed us the Experiment of a Wind-Gun which is a very pretty but a most destructive Invention because with this Engine great Mischiefs may be done a far off and without any Noise From this Chamber you may go into another where there are rare Pictures Medals curious Works ancient and modern Idols Shells Plants Minerals and other natural Productions The Town-House is very great and has a very beautiful and well-proportion'd Front but it wants a Court before it When we went from thence our Friends brought us to the City Cellar which is two hundred and fifty Paces long and contains as they tell us Twenty thousand Aums of Wine that is to say Twenty thousand middle-siz'd Tuns We must allow it to be a very fair Cellar but the truth is such People as we know not how to enjoy all the Pleasures of it The Germans are you know Germanorum vivere bibere est strange Drinkers but there are no People in the World more obliging more civil or more officious and yet they have terrible Customs as to the Point of Drinking Every thing is done there by drinking and they drink in all they do There is not time given to speak three Words in a Visit but presently comes the Collation or at least some large Jacks of Wine with a Plate full of Crusts of Bread hash'd with Pepper and Salt a fatal Preparative for puny Topers But before we proceed I must give you an account of those sacred and inviolable Laws that are afterwards to be observ'd Every Draught must be a Health and assoon as you have emptied your Glass you must present it full to him whose Health you drunk You must never refuse the Glass which is presented and you must drink it off to the last drop Do but reflect a little on these Customs and see how it is possible to leave off drinking And indeed they never make an end * The Duke of Rohan sai h in his Voyage that the Germans have succeeded better than all the Mathematicians of the World in finding out the perpetual Motion by the continual Agitation of their Cups but carouse in a perpetual Round to drink in Germany is to drink eternally Pardon my Digression and judge of our troublesome Entertainment in the Cellar You must do penance there for some time and at last hide your self behind the Casks steal away and make your escape You must further know that the Glasses are as much respected in this Country as the Wine is beloved They place them all en Parade The greatest part of the Chambers are wainscotted even to two thirds of the Walls and the Glasses are ranged all about upon the Cornish of the Wainscot like Pipes of Organs They begin with the Little and end with the Great ones and these Great ones are always us'd and must be empty'd at a draught when there is any Health of Importance At going out of the Cellar we went to Consort where we hoped we should do nothing but sing but the Bread the Pepper the Salt and the Wine followed in such abundance that an Air was no sooner finished but the whole Company rose up to drink Divers Habits of the Women at Nuremberg Vol. 1. P. 73. The Husband was in Black Cloaths with a Cloak over-laid with Lace a great Ruff and a little Crown of Gold Plate-Lace above his Peruke But the Wife's Dress will be a little more difficult to describe The best Account I can give you of it is to tell you That in framing to your self an Idea of her Head-Tire you must fansie a Mixture of Plate-Wire gilded like a Bob-Peruke half a Foot higher than her Forehead and very much frizzed and swelled out on the Sides This was ordered after such a manner that in all the Thickness of this Bush there was no more space or distance between the Threads than was sufficient to fasten to them an infinite Number of little Plates of Gold round polished and shining which hung both within and without and waved with the least Motion Her Habit was Black with long Skirts resembling the Hongrelines which were not very long since used in France The Body of this little Cassock which was cut very short had a Gold Lace over all the Seams
Constantinople at the same time with the Brazen Horses which I mentioned before I shall only name some of the most considerable Pieces The two Crowns of the Kingdoms of Candia and Cyprus many fine Vessels of Agat the Root of an Emerald and of Crystal of the Rock These Vessels say they belong'd to the Cupboard of Constantine a kind of Seal Eight Inches deep and as many diameter made of one only Granat a very fair Saphire which they say weighs Ten Ounces Twelve Croslets of Gold garnished with Pearls Twelve Head-Tires in form of Crowns which served in certain Ceremonies for the Maids of Honour of the Empress Helena to wear a Cup of one onely Turquoise with Egyptian Characters this Cup is Seven Inches in diameter and Three and a half in depth a Picture of St. Jerome in fine Mosaick consisting of Pieces that are not above one Line square and many other most rare and rich things Camerarius saith this Coronet is not esteemed worth more than Two hundred Thousand Crowns The Duke's Coronet is in my Opinion the finest of them all the Circle is of Gold the Bonnet of Crimson Velvet and the whole enrich'd with Stones and Pearls of great price Charles Paschal pretends to prove that this Coronet is nothing but the Phrygian Bonnet or Trojan Miter which Antenor brought into this Country the form whereof may yet be seen in divers Antick Pieces as in the Statue of Ganymede which is in the Porch of the Library of St. Mark upon some Medals of the God Lunus in some others where you see Aeneas carrying the good Man Anchyses You may see the form of this Coronet in the Figure of the Duke and in Miniatures of the Ancient Manuscript of Virgil in the Vatican This Manuscript puts me in Mind of that which they call The Gospel of St. Mark Mr. Payen hath written that it is of the Bark of a Tree he hath been mis-informed as well as P. Mesrie who said they were Leaves and is here esteem'd one of the most precious things in the Treasury I had time to consider it by a particular Favour It consists of old Leaves of Parchment loosed from each other worn torn defaced and so rotted with Moisture and other injuries of Time to which this Book without doubt hath been expos'd that one cannot touch it without some bits sticking to one's Fingers and it is a hard matter to discern any thing in it This Manuscript was in 4to about Two Fingers thickness The Remainders of it are shut up in a Box of Vermillion gilded made in form of a Book There remain still some traces of imperfect Characters but so little that scarce any thing can be distinguish'd but by turning over the Leaves I found Three or Four Letters well form'd I also met with the Word KATA written as you see I was with the Abbot Lith Library-Keeper of St. Mark and we search'd as much as we could without being able to discover any thing only that the Margent was broad and the Lines at a great distance and ruled with Two little Parallel Scores to make the Writing streight and equal This KATA with one Δ and one Σ which I also observ'd in it prove that it is a * Alfonsus Ciaconiâ—s positively affirms that this Manuscript is Latin and this was one of the Reasons upon which Baronius grounded his Opinion that St. Mark wrote his Gospel in Latin Greek Manuscript But the bare Tradition is not a sufficient Demonstration that it is the Hand of St. Mark The manner of Writing which I observ'd makes me fansie that it 's rather the Work of some professed Transcriber As to the rest we must rely on common Fame to believe it a Gospel rather than any thing else since it is difficult to decypher any Letters in it †This History is reported by Sabellicus Garon Larutti and many others The Treasury was robb'd in the Year 1427 by a certain Candiot named * Stamati having made known his designed Robbery to one Zachary Grio that Grio discovered the Affair and receiv'd a great Reward but the Theif was hanged between Two Columns or Marble Pillars which are at the Entrance of the Palace over-against the Loggietta Louis Garon affirms the Theft was valued at Two Millions of Gold They say that the Well in the Court of this Palace cannot be Poisoned because Two Vnicorn's Horns were cast into it See To. II. Let. XXXVI Stamati who broke thro' the Wall they recover'd every thing but the Thief was sentenced to be hanged and they say he begg'd the Favour of the Judges that he might have a Golden Halter which Civility they granted him Against the Wall over the first Door of the Treasury are two Figures in Mosaick which as they tell you represent St. Dominick and St. Francis and which they add were made a long time before either of them was born according to the Prophecy of the Abbot Joachim The Palace of St. Mark joins to the Church It is a great Building after the Gothick manner yet 't is very Magnificent It hath been burned four or five times and the various Reparations of it have spoiled the Uniformity of the Structure The side which is on the Canal is built of a kind of hard Stone brought from Istria and the Architecture of it is highly esteem'd Were the rest of the Building suitable it would be a most excellent Piece The Duke is lodg'd in this Palace and here it is that the Council of State and all the Magistracy do meet The Apartments are large lofty and well wainscotted but dark in comparison of the Light now a-days required in Buildings The Hall where the Body of the Nobles assemble which as you know composes the Grand Council in which the Sovereignty of the State resides is extraordinary large and adorn'd with Pictures among which are the Portraitures of the Dukes the History of the Conquest of Constantinople which was taken in the Year 1192 and lost about Threescore Years after the Picture of Frederick and Alexander is there also of the largest size and they have not forgot the Circumstance of the Foot on the Neck What I observ'd on this Picture gives me opportunity to add something to what I have already told you on the same Subject I think we ought not to take it in a rigorous and strictly literal Sence what is commonly said That the Pope set his †His Cloaths of Gold being laid down at the Feet of Alexander he begg'd Pardon and the Pope putting his Right Foot on his Neck said the Words of the Psalm Super Aspidem Basiliscum ambulabis conculcabis Leonem Draconem At which Provocation the Emperour answer'd Non tibi sed Petro. And the Pope treading harder said Et mihi Petro. Theodor. Valle Lit. di Pip. ch 10. The same Story is unanimously related by a Thousand other Authors Foot on the Emperour's Neck This Action would become less odious and easier
the same Story These Books will also inform you how the Jesuits of Mentz having suffer'd only two Copies to be wrought off conform to the Original had the Impudence to * This they themselves confess to be true suppress all that displeas'd 'em in the rest of this Edition Anastasius wrote the Lives of the Popes to Nicholas ◠who succeeded Benedict the Third Before I take leave of Anastasius I must entreat you seriously to weigh the Authority of his Testimony He was a man of Learning he liv'd at Rome and was co-temporary with our Popess He speaks as an Eye-witness and two words of such an Author are sufficient to destroy all the frivolous Objections and little Shifts of those who contradict the Truth of this Relation In the next place I shall proceed to consider Mr. Chevreau's Reflexions on †M. Polonus flourish'd in the middle of the Thirteenth Age. Martinus Polonus or the Polander Archbishop of Cosenza and Penitentiary to ‖ Some Authors write That he discharg'd the same Office under Nicholas III. Innocent IV. M. Chevreau calls him a silly Monk and alledges three or four poor Reasons to prove his Simplicity Since that Monk says he in his Treatise of the Wonders of Rome mistakes the Gate of Ostia or of St. Paul and of Capena and St. Sebastian for another which he calls Collina instead as we may probably suppose of Collatina or Pinciana the Pantheon for a Temple of Cybele and the Amphitheater for a Temple of the Sun we may the more easily forgive that Blunder in his History where he mistakes a Pope for a Popess In answer to these Reflexions I say in the general That tho' M. Polonus were really guilty of some Errors in giving an account of things of little importance or in explaining some hard and obscure Questions we could not from thence infer that he had given us a false Relation of the Female Pontiff He took one Gate for another and therefore he took a Pope for a Popess is rather a Jest than an Argument or if it must pass for an Argument it may be easily retorted upon its Author for I may with equal reason affirm that if Mr. Chevreau's Reflexions on M. Polonus be false and groundless therefore all his Arguments against the Story that is the subject of our Controversie are meer Sophisms and he mistakes a Popess for a Pope That the Antecedent is certainly true will appear from the following Considerations 1. 'T is plain that Mr. Chevreau knew not that there was a Gate call'd Collina when he wrote That Polonus takes the Gate of Ostia and the Gate Capena for another which he call'd Collina instead of Collatina or Pinciana But 't is certain that Collina was the name of a Gate as well as Collatina it took its name à Colle Quirinali and is mention'd by Ovid Templa frequentari Collinae proxima portae Nunc decet Fast 4. This Gate is now call'd Salara 2. The Gate Collatina so call'd from the Town of Collatium is different from the Pinciana as F. Nardin has clearly demonstrated 3. Mr. Chevreau had no reason to find fault with Martinus Polonus for calling the Pantheon a Temple of Cybele since several learned Antiquaries are of the same opinion 'T is true indeed and I think I have already told you that Authors are not agreed in their Conjectures concerning the Denomination of the Pantheon But there are many who believe that it was so call'd because it was consecrated by Agrippa to Jupiter * Jupiter the Avenger and to †'T is not altogether improbable that Cybele her self was a multiply'd Deity for she was worship'd under the several Names of Ops Rhea Vesta Berecynthia Dindymena Tellus Magna Pales and Magna Mater She was also call'd Natura rorum Parens Cybele the Mother of all the Gods However since Opinions are divided and the Question is at the best problematical Polonus cannot without Injustice be accus'd of an Error for what he has written on this subject 4 Mr. Chevreau is not easily to be understood when he talks of the Roman Amphitheater for there were several Amphitheaters in that City and the Ruins of some of 'em are still remaining I suppose he meant the great Amphitheater call'd Colliseum which was built by Vespasian and dedicated by Titus 5. I confess I have not read Polonus's Treatise concerning Rome but 't is very improbable that he took the Colliseum for a Temple This is certainly too great an Absurdity to be believ'd and I vehemently suspect that some of his Expressions are misunderstood He might indeed speak of a Temple of the Sun near that Amphitheater but he could not possibly imagin that the Colliseum was its self a Temple I must further tell you that what you relate concerning a Manuscript Polonus which you have seen where this Story is written on the margin and by another Hand does not at all reach the bottom of our Controversie You may easily conceive that some interess'd Person having gelded our Author that Defect was afterwards supply'd by a more equitable Hand And thus your Manuscript is only a particular Instance from which nothing can be concluded against the Credit of other Copies If some person should think fit to restore the History of our Popess by way of a marginal Note in the mutilated Copies of Anastasius this could not destroy the Authority of those Originals where the same Relation is to be found in the Text. Thus we may reasonably suppose that the Story of Pope Joan was left out in your Manuscript and afterwards restor'd by another Hand And even Bellarmin confesses that Martinus Polonus wrote the History of our Popess But to return to Mr. Chevreau You may observe how much he was puzzl'd to give some probable account of the first occasion of that Controversie since he is forc'd to have recourse to the Opinion or rather Evasion of Onuphrius tho' he conceals the Name of the Author He pretends that Pope John the Twelfth had a Concubine call'd Joan who was his Favourite and govern'd him so absolutely that he was usually nick-nam'd Joan. Besides he goes further than Onuphrius for whereas that Author speaks only conjecturally Mr. Chevreau asserts positively That John the Twelfth was call'd Pope Joan because of the blind Complaisance that he had for his Concubine Onuphrius's Conjectures are meer airy Notions and groundless Suspicions and Mr. Chevreau's Assertion is rash and precarious he can produce no other Argument to prove that John the Twelfth was call'd Pope Joan but his own bare Authority and neither Onuphrius nor he can make it appear that * Platina calls him the most pernicious and infamous of all the Popes that preceeded him Some Writers relate adds that Author That he was slain in the act of Adultery ever Pope John had such a Concubine 'T is true they both cite Luitprand to confirm their Hypothesis but they cite him falsly The Name
since I perceive you insist on this Argument I must tell you plainly that it is a very unwarrantable piece of Partiality not to give it a worse name blindly to embrace the Opinions of any Man not divinely inspir'd whatever figure he may make in the World A Man of Sence will never suffer his Judgment to be byass'd either by the Voice of the Publick or by the Numbers or pretended Authority of Writers that are dignified by great Titles Three quarters of the Christian World are meer Slaves to those ancient Writers whom they call The Fathers tho' 't is certain the good Instructions they have left us are mix'd with a great number of dangerous false insipid and ridiculous Opinions I thought to have ended our Controversie here but I believe it will not be improper to remove another Difficulty before I leave this Subject I must confess I was somewhat surpriz'd to find that instead of Mr. Chevreau you had conjur'd up against me so terrible an Adversary as the famous * David Blondel Blondel who is the Pillar and Bulwark of Antipopessism and whose bare Name has gain'd abundance of Proselytes to his Opinions He was a man of Learning and Wit besides he was a Protestant and consequently was believ'd to have no other Interest than that of Truth in the Success of the Quarrel which he had espous'd 'T is certain his Authority has been always a Stone of Stumbling to those who are wont to make Prejudice their Rule of Faith The Name of the Author is the strongest Argument in his Book and it is that alone which has given the greatest Blow to his Enemies I have read this Piece over and over with attention and can assure you it is written after a manner very proper to blind the Eyes and confound the Judgments of the generality of Readers But those who will not suffer themselves to be impos'd upon and still look for something that is solid and material will not find any thing in the whole Book worthy of that Character I could fill a Volume with Observations and Criticisms on this Work for I have made some Reflexions on every Page and perhaps every Period in it This is not a proper place for 'em but I may find an opportunity hereafter to communicate 'em to you in the mean time I shall content my self with giving you a general Idea of it accompanied with a few particular Remarks according to the method by which I have anatomiz'd it Mr. Blondel begins with a Declaration that gives a wound to his Cause which all his Artifices can never palliate The Force of Truth and of authentick Testimonies which he receiv'd from * He means Salmasius those to whom he neither would nor durst refuse to give credit extorted this ingenuous Confession from him That the History of the Female Pope is contain'd in the Augsburg Copies of Anastasius which I mention'd before You see what Advantage he has given to his Enemies and what Stratagem d' ye think he uses to recover his Ground Could you imagine that a man of his parts would have recourse to the poorest Evasion that ever baffl'd Author was guilty of or that he would start an imaginary Difficulty that he might afterwards the more easily grapple with this Wind-mill in his own Brain He is sensible there is nothing but dry Blows to be got by meddling with these original Manuscripts and that they would be too hard for all his Rhetoric and therefore he e'en very fairly leaves 'em as he found 'em without ever mentioning 'em afterwards and finds out another Anastasius at Paris written about Two hundred years ago which contains also the same History but accompanied with some circumstances which he assures us imply several Contradictions And It seems adds he that the Parisian Anastasius should give light to those of Augsburg At first he dares not advance such a Paradox but with an it seems and without considering whether that which seems to him does also seem so to others he builds his Discourse on this uncertain Foundation and at the same time tho' tacitely establishes his Supposition for a certain Truth Thus with his Anastasius of Two hundred years he has found the Secret to confute all the other Copies of that Author without citing one of ' em But what is still worse his Anastasius is a private Piece which he shews only by Shreds and dares not produce If I were not restrain'd by fear of injuring Mr. Blondel's Sincerity I should be strongly tempted to suspect that his Manuscript was never seen by any Man but himself and at least I think I may be allow'd to suppose that he durst not quote the whole passage lest it might furnish his Adversaries with Weapons against himself In the first place then we must believe Mr. Blondel upon his own single Testimony that there was really such an Anastasius and such a Passage in it as he cites but his Manuscript might have been supposititious or at least a modern and even by his own confession an uncertain Copy since he tells us it had been often taken for a Platina 'T is strange that any man that can read should not be able to distinguish Anastasius from Platina Secondly After we have blindly believ'd all that this Author is pleas'd to tell us concerning his pretended Anastasius we must extend our Complaisance further and upon the credit of his bare it seems either believe or suppose his tacite Inference that this Manuscript not only may serve to illustrate the Anastasius's of Augsburg as he pretends at first but is a true Copy of these and even of the most ancient and exact Anastasius's for if this supposition be false all his Arguments must fall to the Ground I may venture to affirm that this Consideration alone is sufficient to discredit Mr. Blondel's famous Book the main design of which should have been to destroy and confute by clear and solid Reasons the positive Testimony of such a learn'd and uninteress'd Eye-witness as Anastasius Before I proceed to communicate to you some other Remarks on Mr. Blondel's Treatise I must desire you not to expect to find 'em all accompanied with Demonstrations I may perhaps for brevity's sake omit the Proofs of some of my Assertions but I shall be ready to supply that Defect when you please In the general 't is certain that this Book may be entirely and unanswerably confuted out of it self and that far from destroying the History of the Popess the Truth of that Event may be solidly demonstrated by Reasons drawn from this very Treatise These are two Positions which I dare confidently assert and undertake to maintain Among all the Contradictions with which this Discourse is stuff'd I shall only desire you to observe that two thirds of it are spent in litigious Chronological Cavils and vain Rhodomontadoes against the Authors of our History After which he forgets himself so far Above all the Chronology of the Bishops or
at Vienna or follows the Imperial Court This ‖ This Council is alâ—o compos'd of Members of both Religions Council is not perpetual nor in all respects of equal Dignity with the Imperial Chamber yet Cases of the same nature are also debated and soveraignly determin'd here No Suits can be remov'd from one of these Chambers to the other only in some cases a review of the Judgment may be obtain'd before the Emperor himself The express Orders which the Mareschal de Turenne receiv'd during the last Wars not to disturb or interrupt the ordinary course of Justice in the Chamber of Spire makes the Members of that Court believe that they shall be still treated with the same Respect And they are so firmly perswaded of the * A little after the first Edition of this Book Spire and Worms were plunder'd by the French Troops without the least regard to the Imperial Chamber French Civility that tho' they lye open to an Invasion in case of a Rupture they never think of removing either the Court or Original Records I shall pass from Spire to Colen having nothing to add to the account I have already given you of the Cities that lye between ' em JULIERS At our departure from Colen we took the Road to Juliers the Motropolis of the Dutchy of the same Name As far as we could judge by the slight view we had of it 't is pretty well fortified Here the Protestants enjoy the free exercise of their Religion by vertue of the Treaty which I mention'd before AIX LA CHAPELLE an Imperial City 't is also call'd Royal being perhaps honour'd with that Title because according to the Tenor of the Golden Bull the King of the Romans ought to receive his first Crown here Heiss Leaving Juliers we pass'd thro' a good and pleasant Country and in four or five hours came to Aix la Chapelle That famous City is still large and beautiful tho' it has lost much of its ancient lustre It has also preserv'd its Liberty entire only the Duke of Newburg as Duke of Juliers within whose Lands it lies has a Right to name the Burgo-master 'T is under the Protection of the King of Spain as Duke of Brabant This * This City is double the inward City call'd Carolina is enclos'd with its ancient Walls Blond City was almost wholly rebuilt by Charles the Great having lain desolate for almost four Ages after it was sack'd by Attila The same Emperor endow'd it with several Privileges made it the capital City of Gaul beyond the Alps and honour'd it with his usual Residence He built also the great Church from which the Town took the Name of Aix la Chapelle whereas before it was call'd Aquisgranum from a †The old Tower join'd to the Town-house on the East side does still retain the name of Granus or Granius Idem Roman Prince nam'd Granus a Brother or Kinsman of Nero who having discover'd Mineral Waters in this place built a Castle and laid the first Foundations of the City Charles the Great ‖ At the age of 72 years in the Fourteenth year of his Empire the Forty eighth of his Reign and of Christ 814. dy'd here and his Tomb remains to this day For the space of above Five hundred years several Emperors that succeeded Charles the Great were desirous to be Crown'd at Aix and I think I told you that Charles IV. made a positive regulation of this Ceremony by one of the Constitutions of the Golden Bull which ordain'd that the Emperors should afterwards receive their first Crown here but that Custom has been laid aside for some time and there remain only two Marks of the ancient Privileges of this City first there are Deputies sent both to Aix and Nuremburg to acquaint 'em with the Election of a new Emperor that they may send the Imperial * Ornaments and other things necessary for the Solemnity of the Inauguration Aix sends some Relicks a book of the Gospels written in Letters of Gold and one of Charles the Great 's Swords with the Brit I have already given an account of the Ornament that are kept at Nuremburg that are deposited in their hands And secondly wheresoever the Ceremony is perform'd the Emperor declares solemnly That tho' for some particular Reasons he could not receive his first Crown at Aix that Omission shall not be interpreted to the prejudice or diminution of the Privileges of that City The Emperor is always a Canon of Aix and takes an Oath for that purpose on the day of his Coronation Some Persons here assure me that both Religions enjoy equal Privileges at Aix but I must confess I forgot to enquire when I pass'd by that City and therefore I will affirm nothing positively I read t'other day in a short description of the Country of Juliers 〈◊〉 Monulsus and St. Godulrus Bishops of Liege that two Canoniz'd Prelates gave themselves the trouble of rising from the Dead on purpose to be present at the Dedication of the Chapel of Aix after which they march'd back to their Tombs Does not this Story put you in mind of L. Q. Cincinnatus who after he had been Dictator and gain'd a Battel return'd peaceably to his Plough MASTREICHT We stay'd but two or three hours at Mastreicht a City of an indifferent largeness pretty well built and strongly fortified the Garrison consists of between Nine and Ten thousand Men and we saw the †The present King of England Prince of Orange take a review of ' em Some Battalions perform'd several Martial Exercises and they are all extreamly well disciplin'd The little part of the City on the right Bank of the Meuse is call'd Wyek I know not whether you have observ'd that the Names of Mastreicht and Vtrecht are both deriv'd from the word Trajectum which is their common Name in Latin Vtrecht was call'd inferius or ulterius Trajectum and was the passage of the Rhine And Mastreicht was nam'd Mosae Trajectum the passage of the Meuse and Trajectum superius or the upper Passage About Three a-clock in the Afternoon we left Mastreicht LIEGE and arriv'd the same Evening at Liege which we found so full of People The Bishop's Seat was formerly at Tongres from whence it was transferr'd to Mastreicht and from thence to Liege Heiss by reason of the Ceremony of the Bishop's Election that we could not be accommodated with Beds Liege is a pretty large City populous and adorn'd with some fine Structures of which the Cathedral Church and the Bishop's Palace are the two principal Formerly there was not a Chapter in the whole Empire so honourable as that of Liege The Annals of this City relate that in the year 1131 when the Emperor Lotharius II. was crown'd in this place by Pope Innocent II the Chapter that assisted at the Ceremony was compos'd of nine Sons of Kings fourteen Sons of Dukes who were Soveraign Princes nine and twenty
Generals of Armies all descended from the noble and ancient House of the Colonna's There are in the same Palace nine great Apartments Eight thousand original Pictures a little Arsenal Busts antique Basso-relievo's Statues and a great deal of rich Furniture I will not insist upon the Architecture of these Palaces for I 'm perswaded I cannot inform you of any thing of that nature with which you are not already acquainted I think I told you before that 't is much more usual in this place to cover the Houses with ridg'd than flat Roofs tho' people generally differ much in their Opinions concerning these two ways of building Those sharp-pointed Roofs that are almost equal in heighth to the Body of the Edifice are in some measure contrary to Reason by destroying the symmetry and decent proportion that ought to be between the whole or at least the main body and the other less remarkable parts of a Building But since you are desirous to know my Opinion I must tell you that I prefer the middle way found out by our famous Mansard before your flat Roofs Besides you must give me leave to entreat you to lay aside that partial Opinion you seem to have of the Roman Architecture in general It must be acknowledg'd that there are in this place very beautiful Structures both ancient and modern but you must not imagine that every thing is in perfection for here as well as in other places there are certain modes of Building peculiar to the Age and Country and not at all conformable either to the Regularity or Magnificence of Architecture I thank you for your excellent Remarks on those admirable Egyptian Obelisks which are at present to be seen in this City and ought in my Opinion to be reckon'd among its noblest Ornaments I have learn'd many curious things from what you have written on this subject and therefore am oblig'd in Justice to answer the Questions you propose and at the same time to give the best solution I can of some of your Doubts concerning those rare Monuments All the Obelisks in Rome are quadrangular and end in a sharp point They resembl'd the Rays of the Sun that great Divinity ador'd by the Egyptians under the name of Osiris and esteem'd by 'em to be the Habitation of Beings Genius's and the Souls of the Vniverse Their Angles respected the four Corners of the World and denoted the four Elements The Hieroglyphic Characters on these Obelisks have been suppos'd by some to contain the Elogies of some Princes or Histories of certain memorable Transactions and they believe that these Monuments were erected by the Egyptians both to serve for Ornaments and to honour the Heroes of their Nation but those who have penetrated furthest into these Mysteries have in my opinion demonstrated clearly that these were open Books which expos'd to the Eyes of the publick the Secrets of their Divinity Astrology Metaphysics Magic and all the other Sciences that were cultivated by the Egyptians 'T is certain that the Vulgar was not capable of unriddling the Mysteries of these Oracles but then as well as now the unthinking part of Mankind amus'd themselves with Shadows and Obscurities All these Obelisks are of Granite which is a kind of very hard and lasting Marble and able as they assur'd us to resist the Fire for a considerable time There is not one of 'em that was made at Rome Without doubt the solidity of the Matter was one of the Reasons that recommended it to their choice The Obelisk of St. John de Lateran has subsisted Three thousand years and that of * We were inform'd that it weighs 956148 pounds St. Peter is Nine hundred years older The first is the greatest of 'em all being 108 foot high without reckoning either the Pedestal or the Cross There are also some Granites of Corsica in this place but they have not so fine a Grain as those of Egypt I am SIR Your c. Rome April 24. 1688. LETTER XXVI SIR YEsterday upon a second perusal of your Letter I observ'd a marginal Note that I had not taken notice of before in which you desire me to consider what Mr. Chevreau has written concerning Pope Joan in the second part of his History of the World and to give you an account of my Thoughts of his Arguments against that Story which makes me conclude that you have a good opinion of ' em However Sir I am ready to obey you for I have read Mr Chevreau's Book and have made some Reflexions on that passage in it In the first place he acknowledges that a considerable number of famous Authors have mention'd that Story and positively asserted the Truth of it Now according to the known Rules of Justice and Reason this concession alone is sufficient to decide the Controversie for when several Witnesses of unquestion'd credit do unanimously attest a Matter of Fact we are oblig'd to believe their Testimony if the thing be possible and we have no Evidence to the contrary more especially if these Witnesses speak against their own Interest These Authorities says Mr. Chevreau have made a strong impression on credulous Minds but the more judicious and cautious part of Mankind relying on the Silence of several other Authors have examin'd and rejected this Fable This is certainly a very strange and surprizing Maxim Seventy or Eighty Men who cannot with the least appearance of Justice be suspected of a Design to cheat the World who were all of the Roman Religion almost all Clergy men and even some of 'em Canoniz'd Saints all these Authors I say * This is acknowledg'd by the Roman Catholicks do positively affirm That there was a Female Pope Other Authors make no mention of her and the Silence of these must invalidate the Testimony of the former May we not probably suppose that †That Pope was made a Cardinal at the age of fourteen years It is agreed by all Historians that he was an impious Person Leo X. reason'd after the same manner when he call'd the Gospel The Fable of Christ Some Authors bear witness to the History of our Saviour others who liv'd at the same time do not mention it and that judicious and cautious Pope relying on the Silence of so many Writers examin'd and rejected the Story I will not lose time to demonstrate the weakness of this way of reasoning it destroys it self and does not merit a serious confutation Mr. Chevreau assures us that Anastasius the Bibliothecary makes no mention of our Popess which is also the great and boasted Argument of Onuphrius but they are both mistaken you may consult Mr. le Sueur's Ecclesiastical History and Colomesius's Historical Miscellanies where you will find an Anastasius of the French King's Library containing an exact account of the Female Pope besides two other Copies of * Mar. Freher and Salmasius saw these Copies nor does Blondel disown ' em the same Author at Augsburg and one at Millain which relate