peace with paying the Armies of his Enemy Nor was the advantage which he gained at the conclusion acquired by the valour of his Arms or Virtue and Conduct of his Captains for they being men of lewd lives cowardly and base were prosperous in nothing all their actions tending to increase disorders and multiply errors whereby the Pope being at length forced to crave the assistance of all men paid dearly for the purchase of Vrbin In this manner the year 1518. began and continued with peace and with an unusual calmness in all the Regions of Italy only the success of Sultan Selim Emperor of the Turks who had been victorious in Persia Syria and Egypt alarm'd the Pope and the Christian Princes who apprehending with great dread the progress of his Arms the number of his Ships and Gallies which he was building and all other Provisions necessary for War feared lest he should invest Rhodes the Bulwark of Christendom in the Eastern parts or perhaps fall into Hungaria which tho formerly defended by the Valor of the Inhabitants yet now lay exposed by its own Civil and Intestine Dissentions and by the minority of a King governed by Priests and Jesuitical Councils Nor was Italy free from the like fears of Invasion by that Potent Prince which had under meaner circumstances of power entered the City of Otranto and put all Italy into a fear and consternation And therefore now to obviate and prevent the like dangers at a distance the Pope caused most devout Processions with the solemn Pomp of Images and Relicks of Saints to be made at Rome and in person walked bare-foot with all his Court from S. Peters to the Minerva where Prayers were made to God that he would be pleased to divert the fury of this Common Enemy to Christendom And because Prayers without human endeavours are not available Letters were wrote to all Christian Princes to joyn in this War for the more orderly management of which the task and enterprise which every one was to undertake was allotted and contrived in the Consistory and an Universal Truce for five years was published amongst all Christian Princes and States with grievous censures on those who should be repugnant thereunto In pursuance of this method and design the Emperor and King of Poland were to invade the Turk on the parts of Servia and Bulgaria The French King Venetians and other Princes of Italy were to Embark at the Port of Brundusium and pass into Albania and invade Greece on that side The Kings of England Spain and Portugal were to Rendezvous at Carâ—agena in Spain and with a Fleet of 200 Sail enter the Heliespont and attack Constantinople it self and for carrying on of this Holy War voluntary Contributions were to be made and Impositions to be laid as well on the Clergy as the Laity Now tho these matters were begun with great expectation and the Universal Truce accepted with a specious show and mighty promises made of advancing this Enterprise with ostentation and bravery of words yet at length private Interests over-ruling the zeal for Religion and the Universal Union the minds of the Princes became slackned in the design and the thoughts of War vanished every one looking at the peril as uncertain and far distant The Peace still continuing in Italy until the year 1520. Martin Luther a Frier of the Order of S. Austin began to make some disturbances in Germany which greatly opposed the Authority of the Church of Rome The beginnings thereof had their original from certain Indulgences which Pope Leo exercised in a more ample and licentious manner than was customed and practised by former Popes For in the year 1100. being in the Reign of Vrban II. Plenary Indulgences for Pardon and Remission of Sins were bestowed on those only who went to the Holy War with intent to deliver the Sepulchre of Christ out of the hands of Infidels These Indulgences were afterwards in like manner dispensed unto those who either were not able or willing to undertake the design in person provided that they entertained or payed another at their own charge Afterwards Indulgences and Pardons of this nature became more common being enlarged to those who took part in the Wars against those who resisted the Secular Arms of the Pope tho the same were Christians and Princes who in defence of their own Kingdoms and States opposed the Encroachments and Extravagancies of the Ecclesiastical Claims But now Pope Leo by the Counsel of Cardinal Puccio bestowed his Indulgences in more ample form and dispersed them in all parts of the Christian World without distinction of times persons or places not only for the help of such who were yet living but with power to deliver the souls of the Dead from the pains of Purgatory it being manifestly known that the design of these Indulgences was only to obtain money from the people which the Collectors exacted with an unparallel'd impudence the matter became scandalous especially in Germany where the Officers set the Indulgences to sale at a small price and sometimes in a Tavern this power of redeeming Souls out of Purgatory were set for a Stake at a Game at Tables This shame and dishonor was increased in the Country of Saxony and other parts of Germany when it was known that the proceed and benefit of those Indulgences extorted with great rigor and avarice by the Bishop of Arembauld a man fit to be employed in such a Commission was not to be paid in to the Apostolical Chamber at Rome but given to Magdalen Sister to the Pope and devoted to the avarice of a Woman for then the matter became detestable and the cries and exclamations lowed in all parts of Germany Luther being supported by the favour of the Duke of Saxony took this occasion to contemn these Indulgences and preach every where against them which being a matter very plausible his Sermons were heard with great attention by the people and his Doctrin approved by his Auditors who came from all parts to hear him Having this encouragement he began to question the Power of the Church and the Authority of the Pope and as matters grew higher he disputed against Pardons and Penance and Purgatory upon which the Doctrin of Indulgences had its foundation on the truth of which Doctrins he laid so much stress and was so positive in the certainty of all his Conclusions that he would often say he would not refer or submit them to the judgment of Angels After these beginnings which seemed plausible and honest and which made great noise and were highly controverted in the world by the most acute and subtil Wits of that Age Luther proceeded to preach against Images in Churches against Prayers to Saints to question Transubstantiation in the Holy Eucharist and to allow Marriage to Priests Monks and Friers the which he not only maintained by force of Argument but confirmed by his own example The Pope in opposition hereunto sent many Religious and learned men into
Assembling was deferred from May until the first of November following The month of November approaching near the Pope published an other Bull appointing the Council to be held at Vicenza a City under the Jurisdiction of the Venetians upon the first of May next in the year 1538. deputing for his Legates the Cardinals Campeggio Simonetta and Jeronimo Alexandro alledging for cause of such prolongation the nearness of the Winter which would be very incommodious to those who were to travel thither from remote parts Howsoever upon divers obstacles and inconveniences thereupon occurring the place for meeting of this Council was altered and the time deferred for some years after as will appear by the sequel hereof In the mean time Henry the Eighth King of England who in the year 1535. was by Act of Parliament Authorized Head of the Church of England did now absolutely throw off all Obedience to the Papal Sea at which time the whole Clergy of England was charged by the Kings Learned Council to be in a Praemunire for supporting and maintaining the Legantine power of Cardinal Wolsey and were thereupon called by Process into the Kings Bench but before that day of appearance came they in their Convocation concluded an humble submission in writing and offered the King a hundred thousand pounds to have their Pardon by Parliament which offer after some pause and deliberation was accepted and their pardon promised Until this time the Popes that is Clement VII and this present Paul the third had subtilly dissembled matters between them and Henry King of England intending if necessity had required to have confirmed his Divorce from Queen Catharine to which end Cardinal Campeggio was sent into England and joyned in Commission with the Cardinal of York with Authority to give Sentence in favour of the King and that the matter might receive a speedy dispatch and not be spun out by length of time required in the solemnity of Judgment and passing Sentence a Brief was ready framed and drawn up and the Bull or Seal thereunto affixed whereby the Marriage with Queen Catherine was made null and void in the most ample manner and with Terms and Clauses so full as nothing could be more expressive nor more large than that Instrument with instructions notwithstanding not to present or publish the same unless they received assurances that Henry would continue firm and constant in his Obedience to the Authority of the Church and in this manner things stood and thus far had proceeded in the year 1528. Clement the Seventh being then Pope and so remained in suspense until the time of this present Paul the Third when Henry bidding defiance to the Papal Authority proceeded to actions never to be reconciled with that Church whereupon the Pope issued out his Bull dated the 30th of August 1535. whereby he cited King Henry to appear personally before him and the College of Cardinals at Rome to give answer to all those Cruelties Sacrileges Adulteries and other Crimes whereof he stood accused and in case of refusal he pronounced him and all his Subjects to remain under censure of Excommunication declaring him actually deprived of his Crown and Kingdom his Subjects absolved from all Obedience all actions of Religion interdicted and forbidden to be performed or celebrated in his Dominions commanding all Ecclesiastical persons to depart from his Kingdoms and the Nobles to rise up in Rebellion against him But all this lightning and thunder of Excommunication did little terrifie the resolved mind of King Henry but rather incensed him to proceed in that course which since that time hath laid the happy beginning of that blessed Reformation under which by Gods mercy we enjoy the true and glorious light of the Gospel On these terms England stood in reference to the Pope when publication was made of a General Council to be held at Mantoua and then altered to Vicenza in which case King Henry judging himself concerned in despight of his Excommunication published a Manifesto in his own name and in the name of all his Nobility whereby he protested against any such Convocation assembled by the Popes Authority as being in it self of none effect excepting also against the place as unsecure and the Country as infested with continual Wars But whereas he was desirous of a General Council as being the only means whereby to reform the dissolute matters of the Clergy and suppress the exorbitant Tyrannies and Usurpations of the Clergy he should willingly give his consent thereunto provided that such Convocation were assembled by the Authority of the Christian Kings and Princes who had the sole power and disposal of such matters for as to the Pope he esteemed him only as a Bishop in his own Diocess with no farther extent of Jurisdiction than that which reacheth thereunto the which also was most reasonable at this time when the abuses of the Court of Rome were the chief matters to be reformed and to be presented to the cognisance and censure of such a Council Besides this great defection of England from the Papal Obedience which gave a fatal blow to the Church of Rome the Doctrin of Luther daily grew and dilated it self in all parts of Germany and France with much disturbance for allaying of which and establishment of the truth of the Gospel there was no other remedy mentioned and cried up by all parties but a General Council but this admitted of so many scruples disputes and nicities as to the time and place that nothing could as yet be resolved In the mean time the Turks taking advantage upon the discord amongst Christians entered Dalmatia with Fire and Sword and took the strong Town of Clissa which the pope had fortified with all sorts of Provisions and Ammunition which misfortune the Pope greatly resenting ordered solemn Processions to be made in Rome at which he was present in person and walked on foot and sent his Legates to most Christian Princes exhorting them to lay aside the Quarrels and Wars amongst themselves and unite together against the Common Enemy in order whereunto a League was made between the Pope the Emperor and the Venetians the conditions whereof were that the Emperor should set 82 Gallies to Sea and the Venetians the like number and the Pope 38 with which force of 200 Sail they agreed to invest the Turks Dominions in some parts of Greece Andrea D'Oria was constituted Admiral of the Emperors Fleet Vicenzo Capello of the Venetians and Marco Grimano Patriarch of Aquileia of the Popes and in case any descent were made or Forces landed then Fernando Gonzaga Vice-King of Sicily was to be Generalissimo or Commander in Chief but the success did not answer so great preparations which proved rather dishonorable than advantagious for this formidable Fleet being at Sea near the Promontory of Antium had sight of the Fleet of Barbarosso and might with much ease have charged and vanquished them but Andrea D'Oria the Emperors Admiral refused to engage so that leaving the
the Cardinals the Hymn is sung He hath put down the mighty from their Seats and hath exalted the humble and meek he hath raised the needy from the dust that he may set him amongst the Princes of his People After which several other Ceremonies being performed and the Pope receiving again the Adoration of the Cardinals and Prelats returns towards the Evening to his Palace of Monte-cavallo This is in short the sum of those Ceremonies practised at the Coronation of Popes which we have extracted from the Book entitled the Sacred Ceremonies used in the Roman Church The Popes Elected and Crowned as we have said are for the most part old and decrepit with age or of a weak and tender constitution that so they may not live long to the disappointment of others who live and breath passionate desires after this Sublime exaltation and being thus decayed with years and unable to support the weight of Government have commonly called to their aid some Nephew or near Relation with the Title of Cardinal-Nephew or Cardinal-Patron on whose Wit and dexterous management of Affairs the fortune and success of the Papal Dominion doth depend And indeed a person under such circumstances had need to be qualified with great endowments of Mind and Body for being always obliged to afford his personal attendance on the Pope who is to see and hear with his Eyes and Ears he can never be at leisure or free from thoughts and business either relating to the Palace within or direction of Affairs without He is ever the Chief or President of Councils he assists at all Congregations he appoints the days for Consistories of Chappels Visits Audiences and regulates every thing which relates to the Spiritual or Temporal Government The Pope being established in his Throne begins at first to cast about by what way and means to raise and establish his Family by strong Alliances with Princes and Noble Houses He also divides the great Offices of the Church amongst his Kindred one is made Governour in one place and an other in another The chief Favourite is made General of the Forces of the Church an other General of the Gallies a third Governour of the Castle of St. Angelo and in like manner all the preferments are dispensed amongst the Relations according to that degree and quality that every one possesses in the good will and esteem of the Pope But the great Atlas of State is the Cardinal-Nephew whofe Wisdom is most exerted in his comportment towards the Ministers of forein Princes and especially in taking true measures of Interest between France and Spain which is of such great concernment that in a Book called il Livello Politico it is affirmed That the Glory and happiness of the Popedom the security and honour of the Cardinal-Nephew the Grandieur and prosperity of the City of Rome consists in this one point of a happy correspondence with forein Ambassadours the failure in which hath produced many unhappy Events witness the Government of the Barberini who for not knowing the true means and Methods how and in what manner to maintain a right and good understanding with Christian Princes and especially with those of Italy reduced as is notorious to all the World the Church unto a most unhappy and turbulent Estate And farther in case we reflect with serious thoughts on the Reigns of divers Popes in these latter Ages we shall find the truth of this assertion proved by plain and manifest experience We shall find the Reigns of some Popes full of Lustre and Glory as those of Paul the 2d and Clement the 8th others buried in obscurity and abased with sordid meanness as those of Adrian the 6th and Gregory the 13th Others have passed away in a quiet silent and smooth currant of affairs as those of Celestine and Clement the 9th Others have been engulfed in a thousand troubles and intrigues as were the Reigns of Alexander the 6th Clement the 7th of Paul the 3d and 4th and Urban the 8th And if we will search into the depth hereof we shall find that the Ambition covetousness and exorbitances of the Cardinal-Nephews to be the original cause of all the troubles and misfortunes which have rendered the Lives of some Popes inglorious or perhaps infamous Though indeed to speak true it is almost impossible for a Cardinal-Nephew to hold the ballance of his deportment towards foreign Representatives residing in the Court of Rome so equal as not to give a cause or occasion of offence to some one or other considering that what is pleasing and acceptable to one dissatisfies and interferes with the interest of an other Howsoever there are some Men so dexterous and happy in their Negotiations that they carry all with a good Air and if they are enforced to disoblige some it is done with such circumstances and in such manner as takes off much of the anger and acrimony of the person offended Most Princes of Christendom who are of the Roman Religion maintain their Ambassadours Residents or Agents at the Court of Rome and though many of these Princes have no great zeal or kindness for that Court being disobliged perhaps by some action of the Cardinal-Nephew or some other prejudice taken against the Pope yet it may be that on some score of Interest of State or of their Clergy or for the sake or support of Monasteries or for the determination of differences which arise between them and their Subjects which are to be decided at the Spiritual Judicatures it is necessary for them to conserve an Agent or Resident at Rome The Emperour hath seldom maintained an Ambassadour at that Court because he ordinarily makes use of a Protector of the German Nation to manage his Affairs and in case any matter of great importance occurs which is to be addressed unto the Pope it is performed by some Cardinal in whom his Imperial Majesty reposes a great confidence unless he dispatches an Express The King of Poland follows almost the same Maxim but yet professes a profound Obedience to the Papal See and exercises the power and interest he hath there with such modesty and caution that though like other Kings he might pretend to a Right of nominating Cardinals of his own Nation yet he seldom imposes any but such as the Pope shall offer of his own accord unto him Portugal for the most part maintains a Resident at Rome The State of Venice and the G. Duke of Tuscany make greater applications than the other Princes of Italy to that Court perhaps from a sence of the Pope's temporal power whose Dominions border upon theirs rather than out of an affection to his Spiritual capacity But it is certain that amongst all the Christian Princes none so warmly interest themselves in the Affairs of the Roman Court as France and Spain the Kings of which do always maintain and keep up the honour of their respective Embassies with splendid Equipage And yet these two Kings do
Popedom or any other Bishoprick should undergo the same Penalty He decreed likewise that the choice of any Bishop should be by the Clergy and People and that the Election should then stand good when it were approved by the Civil Magistrate and when the Pope had interposed his Authority in these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Command An Institution in part very necessary for our times especially so many corruptions daily creeping in For it is probable that the Election being free the Clergy and People will chuse and the Magistrate approve of no other than such an one as deserves and is fit to be Governour in the Church Though if I may speak it without offence to any that are good the truth is multitudes do now aspire to the Dignity of Bishops not as they ought to do for the sake of the publick good but that they may satisfie their own Covetousness and Ambition For the great Question is what any Bishoprick is worth not how great a Flock there is to take the charge of But enough of this I return to Boniface whose Decrees as it appears were extinct with his Life He died in the ninth month of his Pontificate and was buried in the Church of S. Peter The See was then vacant one month six days BONIFACE IV. BONIFACE the fourth born in Valeria a City of the Marsi the Son of John a Physician obtained of the Emperour Phocas the Pantheon a Temple so called because it was dedicated to Cybele and all the Gods and having cast out all the Heathen Images that were in it he consecrated it on May the 12th in honour to the Blessed Virgin and all the Martyrs 〈◊〉 it was afterwards called S. Maria Rotunda and Virgo ad Martyres At this time the Persians under the Conduct of their King 〈◊〉 making an irruption into the Roman Provinces and having routed Phocas's Army possess themselves of Jerusalem prophane and pillage the Churches of the Christians carry away the Wood of our Saviour's Cross and take Captive Zacharias the holy Patriarch of that City Hereupon Phocas falling into contempt with all men but especially the Senate was deprived of his Empire and Life by Heraclius General of the Forces and Governour of the Province of Afrique Now also Caganus King of the Avares forcing his entrance through Pannonia and Illyricum into Italy was so much too hard for the Lombards that he was very near making himself Master of the Province it self and through the treachery of Romilda who was enamour'd of him he did actually take Friuli and sack'd it in such a manner that scarce any footsteps of it were left remaining While things went thus in Italy John Bishop of Girone proved a great Defence to Christianity both by his Preaching and Writings He being a Goth born in Portugal so soon as he came to the years of discretion travelled to Constantinople and parted thence so well skill'd in Greek and Latin Learning that at his return into Portugal he was able easily to 〈◊〉 the Arian Heresie which very much prevailed there For this reason he was by the Hereticks confined in Barcellona But afterwards upon the death of King Lemungildus who countenanced those Hereticks he came back into his own Countrey and both wrote very much concerning the Christian Religioon and also founded a Monastery and prescribed Rules of living which the Monks thereof were to guide themselves by Eutropius also Bishop of Valentia was now by his Learning and Example very instrumental to keep the Spaniards sound in the Faith Moreover Columbanus an Abbat a very holy man by descent a Goth coming first out of Scotland into Burgundy built there the stately Monastery of Luxevil and thence passing into Italy built another fair one at Bobio Pope Boniface that he might not be behind-hand in this matter with either of them converted his Father's House into a Monastery and gave his Estate for the maintenance of the Monks in it But not long after he died having been in the Chair six years eight months seventeen days and was buried in the Church of S. Peter in a time of Dearth Pestilence and great Innundation of Waters By his Death the See was vacant seven months twenty 〈◊〉 days DEUS-DEDIT I. DEUS-DEDIT a Roman Son of Stephen a Sub-deacon being unanimously chosen to the Pontificate proved a great Lover and Encourager of the Clergy 'T is reported that he was a person of so great Sanctity that meeting with a man who had a Leprosie he cured him of that Disease with a Kiss He ordained that the Son should not marry any Woman to whom his Father had been Godfather At this time Heraclius with a great Army recovered several Provinces which the Persians had possess'd themselves of dismounted and slew their General in a single Combat vanquish'd their King Chosdroës and took his Son Prisoner whom having first Christned he released and sent home again Entring Persia he took a strong Tower in which 〈◊〉 's Treasure lay part of which he distributed among his Soldiers and assign'd another part for the repairing of the Churches which the Persians had pillaged and spoil'd Returning to Jerusalem with seven Elephants loaded with other great Booty he brought along with him the Cross of our Blessed Saviour which the Persians had taken away and laid it up in the place where it was before Those of the Persians whom he had taken Prisoners he suffered to return into their own Countrey After this being arrived at Constantinople and taking delight in study he applied himself to Astrology But yet this great Emperour against all Law both Divine and Humane married his own Sister's Daughter and to add one Crime to another as is usual when men once become guilty he falls off to the Eutychian Heresie This happened at the time when Anastasius a Persian being converted to Christianity and having entred upon a Monastick Life was seized by his own Countrey-men and suffered Martyrdom for the sake of his Religion whose body was afterwards conveyed to Rome and reposited in the Monastery of S. Paul 'T is said that at this time Sisebute King of the Goths reduced several Cities of Spain which had revolted to the Romans and that by Torment he forced all the Jews which he discovered in his Kingdom to profess the belief of Christianity This it is reported he did at the request of Heraclius who had been fore-warn'd to beware of the Circumcised but yet afterwards he being not sufficiently careful to prevent his Fate was crush'd by the Saracens who observed Circumcision Thus things went in the East nor did the West want it's Assertours of the Christian Faith For Arnulphus Bishop of Metz by his Piety and Prudence kept Dagobert the French King within the bounds of his Duty being therein assisted by Amandus an excellent person and a vigorous defender of the Christian Religion Among the Spaniards Isidore Bishop of Sevil successour to Leander wrote several things very beneficial to the State of Christianity particularly of the
publickly put to Death Many of his Enemies he cut off by sundry kinds of Death and many he imprison'd some one or other of which he would every day order to be kill'd when the wiping of his Nose put him in mind of the injury that had been done him Moreover having caused the eyes of Callinicus the Patriarch of Constantinople to be put out he banish'd him to Rome and made Cyrus an Abbat who had maintain'd him in Pontus Patriarch in his stead Being acted by the same foolish humour as he had been before his loss of the Empire in the time of Pope Sergius he sends to Rome two Metropolitans to persuade Pope John to hold a Synod wherein they of the Western Church might confirm the truth of what those of the East believed concerning the Consubstantiality of the Son with the Father sending to him the Articles to which he would have him Subscribe The Pope sends the Men back again to the Emperour without doing any thing in the matter but yet he did not by his Censures and Interdicts correct the erroneous 〈◊〉 concerning God as it was fit he should and as it would have become a steady and resolute Pope to have done Some write though without good authority that Arithpertus King of the Lombards from a religious Principle gave the Cottian Alpes and all the Tract that reaches from Piedmont to the Coast of Genoa to the Church of Rome Others say that this Donation was only confirmed by Arithpertus But since there is no certainty concerning the Donation it self and the Lawyers call it the Chaff because it yields no Corn and it appears in no respect to have been the Gift of Constantine how can there be any evidence of its Confirmation I return to Pope John a Person who spake and lived very well and who built an Oratory in the Church of S. Peter in honour to the Blessed Virgin upon the Walls of which on each hand were wrought in Mosaick Work the 〈◊〉 of several of the holy Fathers Moreover he repaired the Church of S. Eugenia which had long before been decayed through Age. He adorn'd also the Coemeteries of the Martyrs Marcellinus and Marcus and Pope Damasus Finally he beautified divers other Churches with the Pictures and Statues of the Saints wherein the Painters and Statuaries had so well imitated the Gravity and Majesty of his own aspect that whosoever looked upon them thought they saw the Pope himself Having been in the Chair two years seven months seventeen days he died and was buried October the 18th in the Church of S. Peter before the Altar of the Blessed Virgin which himself had built The See was then vacant three months SISINNIUS SISINNIUS or as others call him Sozimus a Syrian his Fathers name John lived in the Pontificate no more than twenty days in which time 't is said the body of S. Benedict was by stealth conveyed away from Mount Cassino by reason of the solitude of the place and carried into France Now Sisinnius though he were so afflicted with the Gout both in his Hands and Feet that he could neither walk nor feed himself yet he took such 〈◊〉 both of the City and Church of Rome as to leave nothing undone which became a good Pope He had already prepared all materials for the raising the decayed Walls of the City and the repairing and beautifying of the old ruined Churches but he died suddenly and was buried in S. Peter's February the 6th The See was then vacant one month eighteen days CONSTANTINE I. CONSTANTINE another 〈◊〉 his Father's name likewise John was created Pope at the time when there happened to be a Famine at Rome which lasted three years in which exigence he was so charitable to all but especially the poorer sort that men thought him to have been sent down from Heaven for their relief In the mean time 〈◊〉 out of the hatred he bore to the name of Pontus sends Mauritius one of the Patrician Order and Helias one of his Guards with a Fleet to the Chersonese where he had been in Exile with Commission to put all above the age of fourteen to the Sword which to glut the Emperours Rage they accordingly put in execution And that we may not think that Cruelty was his only Vice he became guilty of so great Ingratitude as in an hostile manner to surprize King Trebellius by the Aid of whose Forces he had been restored to the Empire at a time when he was engaged in a War with the Thracians But Trebellius not only bore the Choque but also forced him to retreat with Loss There was no alteration from his former course of Life wrought in him by the Calamities he had underwent in any thing save in this that he now venerated and defended the Apostolick See contrary to 〈◊〉 he had formerly used to do For when Felix having been consecrated Arch-Bishop of Ravenna by the Pope was required according to custom to send in writing his ackowledgment of the Papal Authority and Money to Rome which he stifly refused to do Justinian upon knowledg of the matter presently sends order to Theodorus a Patrician his Admiral with the first opportunity to leave Sicily and go against the Ravennates He obeying the Emperours Order and having in 〈◊〉 gain'd a Victory over them exercises the greatest cruelty towards them and sends Felix bound in Chains to Constantinople whom Justinian afterwards banish'd into Pontus having first deprived him of his sight after this Manner He caused him to fix his Eyes long upon a red-hot Concave-vessel of Brass out of which there issued a firey Pyramid which easiy overcame his Eyes and blinded him Yet Constantine did by no means approve of this Cruelty being more desirous of his 〈◊〉 than his Punishment While the Pope and Emperour were thus employed Aisprandus endeavouring with the Aid of the Bavarians to recover the Kingdom of his Ancestours comes into Italy and engaging in a pitch'd Battel with Arithpertus vanquishes him and gains the Kingdom of the Lombards Arithpertus himself by a too fearful and hasty flight being drown'd in a swift River But Aisprandus not long after dying did with general approbation leave his Son Luithprandus Successour to his Kingdom Justinian being now very desirous to see Pope Constantine having sent Ships to convey him safely makes it his request that he would come to him Constantine yielding thereunto and approaching now near to Constant inople Tiberius Justinian's Son with a Princely Retinue and Cyrus the Patriarch with all the Clergy in honour to him go out eight miles to meet him and being dress'd in his Pontificalibus they conduct him with solemn Pomp into the City and lead him into the Palace Going from thence to Nicomedia whither also the Emperour was to come from Nice he was received there after the same manner as at Constantinople Justinian entring the City soon after 〈◊〉 only embraced the Pope but also kiss'd his Feet in sign of honour Having on the days following
Pope raised on his Confines a Fort called della Bocchette to which the Venetians opposed another calling it della Donzella so all things looked turbulent as if they would have proceeded farther than words But to give a stop to the heat of Arms the French Ministers interposed and both the Pope and the Republick giving their promise to King Lewis not to offend each other in a hostile manner there remained a large field for Treaty The Pope assured the French Ambassadour Monsieur Brisac that of what had hapned at Rome to Pesarâ— he had had no information until afterwards much less that his Nephew had been concerned in the rescue of the Coachman and was a stranger to both matters expressing himself much discontented for what had hapned and that for evidence hereof he had punished the Offenders with banishment That as to the Title given to Cardinals of Illustrissimo by the Republick he was well satisfied nor did he require them to alter their Stile for that the Republick having always been connumerated with crowned Heads they were comprehended with Kings in exception of the Title of Eminence and so commanded the Cardinals to receive Letters from the State of Venice in the usual Form with which the Senate being satisfied admitted the Nuntio to Audience But the Dispute about the Confines being of more Antient date admitted of greater difficulties For the Pope came to lay claim to certain Lands which the Po and the Sea had left called Alluvioni the contest seemed of no great value but the Parties especially the Venetians judged it of great importance because it carried with it the rights and jurisdiction of the Sea The business at last was brought into Venice by the mediation of the French Ministers and the Treaty continued part of the year following at length the Venetians declaring themselves ready to accept any Conditions which were consistent with the jurisdiction of the Sea to which also the mouths of Rivers and the Sacca di Goro did appertain preserved the antient Covenants with those of Ferrara and the Power to divert the prejudices of Ports and Channels which are the Veins and life of the Capital City Yet still the differences continued and though they broke not forth into acts of violence and War yet the Dispute was not determined In the year 1633. one Centini a Cardinals Nephew hoping that if Vrban were dead his Uncle would be chosen into his place contrived the Pope's death by Witchcraft and Negromancy for having fashioned the Pope's Image in Wax he wounded it with Pins and Needles after the antient manner of Witchcraft In jecur urget acus but the Villany being discovered Centini and a Frier his associate were punished according to their demerit But we must not omit to mention in the great Hall of the Vatican where the Embassies of Kings termed the Embassies of Obedience are received by the Pope there is that famous Picture representing the History of Alexander III. and under it was written an Elogy in honour of the Venetian Commonwealth by whose assistance the Pope prevailed over the Emperour Frederick Barbarossa which Elogy this Pope Vrban caused to be blotted out and defaced Rome it self was amazed at such a Novelty because the Inscriptions by which the Picture in the Hall of the most memorable Actions of Christendom were explained had been chosen and selected in the time of Pope Pius IV. and had been approved by a Consultation of Cardinals and other learned Persons and that in particular had been extracted out of the most Antient proofs the consent of Authors Inscriptions Pictures Marbles and out of Authentick and infinite Memorials and though in these later times Cardinal Baronius who would justifie the Pope and the Church in all things which either they would say or act hath called the truth thereof in question yet the credit of the History remains and the praise of that Republick never to be forgotten Now in regard this Pope Vrban had defaced and blotted out the Elogium he seemed to deny the matter of Fact and suppress the fame of that Victory which the Venetians had gained and deprive them of that merit and gratitude which was owing to them from the Church abolishing out of the World the memorials and as much as he was able cancelling the glory of their Ancestors to which his Predecessours had not disdained to confess themselves obliged The advice hereof greatly disturbed matters at Venice and gave an interruption to the Negotiation about the Confines which in the year 1635. was again reassumed by the French Ambassadour Monsieur de la Thuillerie at Venice and by Nani and Soranzo deputed by the Senate the Treaty was far advanced it being agreed to draw a line which should terminate the Land so that there remained no difficulty concerning the change which the Po should make in its Channels for that if the Po should change its course and pass the line to the Donzella then it should be esteemed to belong to the Ecclesiastical State but if contrariwise it should pass to the Goro then it should belong to the Venetians but this and all other Negotiations were broken off by defacing the Elogium which was so hainously resented at Venice that the Senate immediately commanded their Ambassadour Rossi from Rome with Orders neither to take leave of the Pope nor of his Nephews nor Cardinals and that Audience also should be denied to the Pope's Nuntio at Venice for all confessed that the Republick could no more send Ambassadours to venerate in that Hall as was customary the Vicars of Christ so long as their Illustrious Memorials were suspended if not condemned wherefore the Republick would maintain no other Minister at Rome than onely Girolamo Bono with Title of Secretary Whilest these matters were acting in Italy all other Countries of Christendom were for the most part engaged in War for composing of which and in performing acts of mediation tending to Peace the Pope was engaged until towards the year 1640. the War and troubles came nearer home caused by Contests and resentments between him and Edward Duke of Parma the beginning and end whereof we shall here relate Vrban being much impaired with age and weakened in the vigour of his Authority and Power the Barberins his Nephews took upon them to manage all matters with an excess of Arbitrary Command He that possessed most of the Pope's favour and affection was Cardinal Francisco who was deep in his Designs conceited of his own Counsels and eager and violent in the prosecution of what he affected On the other side Edward Duke of Parma was of a high and active Spirit apt to resentments but yet being adorned with Arts both Civil and Military might have been esteemed a most admirable Prince had either fortune given him an Empire and Power equal to his mind or prudence equalled his mind to his power and fortune Many secret piques and disgusts had for some time passed between him and the Barberins which
of which was consented unto by his Majesty and summoned to meet the first of October following Thus far concerning the Regale we have extracted in short by way of Epitome from the Treatise of Dr. Burnet on that Subject Now as to what follow'd The Assembly met at the time appinted at the opening of which the Bishop of Meaux preached a most Eloquent Sermon with much applause After which the point of the Regale was put to the question and argued learnedly on both sides and in conclusion the greatest part were of Opinion that the Right unto the Regalia were inherent in the Crown and that the pretensions thereunto were Usurpations by the Church as appears by this following Declaration The Declaration of the Clergy of the Gallican Church concerning the Ecclesiastical Power We the Arch-Bishops and Bishops Representatives of the Gallican Church being by command of his Majesty assembled at Paris together with others of the Clergy in the same manner delegated with us after long debate and mature consideration have thought fit to declare and determine these several particulars following 1. First That a Power is given by God to St. Peter and his Successours who are the Vicars of Christ and to the Church to order and regulate all Spiritual matters but not to intermeddle in Civil or Temporal matters according to that saying of our Lord My Kingdom is not of this World And again Give unto Caesar the things that are Caesars and unto God the things which are Gods And agreeable hereunto is that of the Apostle Let every Soul be subject to the higher powers for there is no power but of God the powers which are are ordained of God and whosoever resisteth the power resisteth the Ordinance of God Wherefore Kings and Princes by the Law of God are not liable in Temporal matters to the Ecclesiastical Power nor by the Power of the Keys can they be Deposed either directly or indirectly or can their Subjects be absolved from their Fealty and Obedience to them or from their Oaths of Allegiance the which we confirm and determine as principles not onely necessary for conservation of the publick peace and tranquillity but for the better government of the Church and as truths agreeable to the Word of God the tradition of the Fathers and to the example and practise of Saints and Holy Men. 2. Secondly That the Apostolical See and the Successours of St. Peter who are the Vicars of Christ have a full and plenary power in all Spiritual matters in such manner as is given to them by the Holy Oecumenical Synod of Constance which is received by the Apostolical See and in such manner as hath been confirmed by the constant use and practise of the Popes of Rome and the whole Church and observed by the Religion of the Gallican Church and decreed by the Authority of the General Councils in the fourth and fifth Sessions And the Gallican Church doth condemn the Opinions of those who esteeming those Decrees of doubtful Authority do endeavour to restrain them to certain times of Schism and to invalidate the present power thereof 3. Thirdly Hence it is that the 3d exercise of the Apostolical power is to be regulated by Canons established by the Spirit of God and thereunto all the World is to bear respect and Reverence Likewise the Rules Manners and Institutions received by the Kingdom and Church of France as also the customs of our Forefathers are to remain unalterable the which is a clear demonstration of the greatness of the Apostolical See that the Statutes and Ordinances thereof are established and confirmed by and with the consent of the Churches 4. Fourthly In questions of Faith the Pope is Chief Judg and his Decrees extend themselves to the Churches in general and to every one in particular nor can his judgment be repealed unless by the consent and determination of the Universal Church 5. Fifthly These particulars received from the Doctrine of our Fore-fathers we have by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost Decreed to send unto all the Gallican Churches and the Bishops presiding over them And we do all concur in the same sence and meaning of them Subscribed by Arch-Bishops and Bishops and Clergy as before related and registred as required by the King's Attorney General March 23. 1682. The Pope who during his Reign had not as yet assumed any to the degree of Cardinal to supply the places of those who were dead the College was diminished twenty six in their number which when the Pope considered and that old Men were every day dying and falling off he was inspired to replenish the places with a supply of sixteen new Cardinals which were these that follow 1. John Baptista Spinola of sixty seven years of Age a Genoese who was Governour of Rome and Secretary of the Congregation of Regulars 2. Anthony Pignatelli a Napolitan of sixty six years of age Bishop of Lecca and Master of the Pope's Chamber 3. Stephen Brancaccio a Napolitan of sixty four years of age 4. Stephen Agostini of sixty five years of age Arch-Bishop of Heraclea and Datary to the Pope 5. Francis Bonvisi of Luca aged sixty three years Arch-Bishop of Thessalonica and Nuntio residing at Vienna 6. Savo Mellini a Roman aged thirty seven years Arch-Bishop of Cesarea and Nuntio in Spain 7. Frederick Visconti of Milan aged sixty three Auditor of the Rota and Arch-Bishop of Milan 8. Marco Gallio of Como aged sixty nine years Bishop of Rimini and Vice-gerent of Rome 9. Flaminio del Tayo of Siena aged eighty years Auditor of the Rota and Chief Penitentiary 10. Raymond Capizucchi a Roman aged sixty nine years Master of the Palace 11. John Baptista de Luca a Napolitan aged sixty four years Auditor to the Pope 12. Laurentio Brancati of Laurea in Calabria aged sixty four years Library-keeper of the Vatican 13. Vrbano Lacchetti of Florence aged forty four years Auditor of the Apostolical Chamber 14. John Francisco Ginetti a Roman aged sixty years Treasurer of the Apostolical Chamber 15. Benedict Pamfilio aged twenty eight years Grand Prior of Rome 16. Michael Angelo Ricci aged sixty five years Secretary of the Congregation of Indulgences The other ten Hats remaining were kept in the hand of the Pope for a reserve wherewith to gratifie Kings and Princes whensoever they should desire to have some of their own Creatures preferred to that Dignity All the sixteen preceding Cardinals took their promotion very patiently and without much reluctancy excepting Tayo who was eighty years of age and Ricci both which made some modest refusals as unworthy of that great honour but the Pope instantly constraining them they with humility submitted And here it is observable that this Pope is not very forward to create Cardinals but rather inclinable to lessen and reduce their number which of late years hath increased to that degree as to become a burthen to the Church But to return unto the Assembly at Paris which after many Debates and deliberate
Consultations held upon the point of the Regale At length by the Arch-bishop of Paris they offered these several Proposals by way of accommodation between his Majesty and the Pope That those on whom the King in Right of his Regality bestows any Ecclesiastical Benefices shall in the vacancy of the Sees have their approbation and Mission from the Vicars General That the Chapters which are in possession of bestowing Prebends and other Dignities shall continue to dispose of them whilst the See is vacant That in the Churches where the collation is alternative between the Bishops and the Chapters the same shall be observed during the vacancy of the Sees that are under the Regality the King having the turn which the Bishop should have had That where the Bishops dispose of the Prebends jointly with the Chapter the King shall in the vacancy of the See appoint a Commissioner who shall have the same power and place in the Chapter as the Bishop had Howsoever no farther proceedings were made in this matter because the Pope appeared resolute to maintain his priviledg and jurisdiction and the Cardinal d' Estrée who had ever since the beginning of this year been at Rome to try and bend the mind of the Pope gave little hopes to prevail with him wherefore it was thought fit that the Controversie should remain in suspence rather than be farther pressed to the breach of that amity which interceded between the common Father and the eldest Son of his Church so the King holds his Right and the Pope hath not relinquished his Claim but remains still in a capacity to reassume the same when either he or his Successours are strengthened with circumstances of time and force to make good their Demands It is known to all the World that in the Church of Rome vain and superstitious Opinions have been ever growing for divers Centuries of years some of the most wild and extravagant of which certain Popes have been weeding out but with that negligence and inattention that where one hath been destroyed twenty have arisen Hereof the present Pope Innocent the XI being sensible who is certainly one of the most understanding and most worthy of those that ever sate in the Papal Chair hath suppressed an Office called The Office of the Immaculate conception of the most Holy Virgin approved by Paul V. who granted unto whosoever should devoutly recite the same an hundred days Indulgence as may appear by his Bull of July 10th 1615. printed at Milan This Office he entirely abolished Decreeing That no person of what Order Degree or Condition soever should dare to keep read print or cause to be printed the said Book and requiring that whosoever should have the said Office in his keeping should forthwith deliver the same to the Ordinary or to the Inquisitors of the place The which Decree was published Feb. 19. 1678. Moreover this Pope in his Wisdom hath suppressed a multitude of idle and foolish Indulgences which many cheating Priests carried into remote Countries and raised Money thereupon from the ignorant people Of which kind were those Indulgences granted by John II. and Sixtus IV. to those who should recite the Prayer of Charity of our Lord Jesus Christ By Eugenius the 3d. to the Revelation made to St. Bernard of a blow or stroak on the shoulder of our Lord Jesus Christ By John the 22th to those who kiss the measure of the Soal of the foot of the Blessed Virgin By Leo the 10th to those who wear the Cord of St. Francis printted first at Rome and then at Milan Anno 1665. To them that shall say the Angelical Prayer when the Clock strikes to the Image of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary printed in a Circle with the Moon under her feet By Paul V. and Gregory XV. to those who say Blessed be the Holy Sacrament Likewise those Indulgences for fourscore thousand years copied out of the Antient Table which is said to be kept in the Lateran Church to those who say this truly pious Prayer O God who for the Redemption of the World c. Besides which this Pope suppressed a multitude of other Indulgences as vain and idle as the foregoing and declared that though according to the Doctrine of the Council of Trent the use of Indulgences may be useful to the people and doth Anathematize such as shall deny that there is not a power in the Church to grant them yet he is desirous that the Doctrine thereof be rightly understood and a moderation used in the granting of them lest by a too great facility or easiness the discipline of the Church be corrupted and enfeebled This Doctrine of Indulgences hath been a prickly and a contentious point and the Original cause of the present divisions and separations amongst Christians for from thence Luther began his quarrel and took the first rise and ground for a Reformation and indeed the matter on the part of the Church of Rome was so scandalous and abusive that the very common people in all their ignorance were able to discover the fraud and Cheat that was in them so that the wise and Learned Men at the Council of Trent knowing that this Doctrine was not solid and would not hold water they slightly touched thereupon and though it was the chief matter for which that Council was assembled yet nothing was farther determined therein than onely that Indulgences be used with such moderation as was approved by the Antient Custom of the Church of God Now it is a most certain and an undeniable truth that Indulgences were never in use with any Nation of the Eastern Churches either in the Primitive times or afterwards And indeed neither were they in practice in the Western Churches from times of Ancient date that is from before the time of Vrban II which was about the year of Christ 1095. and then also they were not very common and granted onely to remit the rigour and severity of Penance enjoined by the Confessour which reasons this Pope Innocent XI wisely considering and the many abuses of this Doctrine did attempt the means to regulate the extravagance thereof Besides the suppression of these Indulgences this Pope condemned sixty five Propositions about Cases of Morality which were scandalous and divers of them maintained by the subtle distinctions of the Jesuits the preamble to which condemnation saith that this present Innocent XI in pursuance of the same work commenced by his Predecessour Alexander VII did by and with the advice concurrence and assistance of the most Reverend and Eminent the Cardinals as also of the Inquisitors General and many other Divines gather and weed out from several Books Theses and other Papers lately written a great number of scandalous and pernicious Doctrines in Morality tending to the debauchery of Manners and to the encouragement of a loose and a dissolute life in Mankind But in nothing more hath the Vertue Piety and care of this Pope been conspicuous than in those large
mix'd with Salt and consecrated by Prayer should be kept in Churches and in private Houses as a guard against evil Spirits Moreover he instituted that Water should be mingled with the Wine at the consecration of the Elements to signifie the Union of Christ with his Church and that the Host should not be of leavened bread as was formerly used but of unleavened only as being the more pure and by which all occasion of cavilling would be taken away from the Ebionite Hereticks who were very much addicted to Judaism In his time lived Agrippa Castor who learnedly and effectually confuted the books which Basilides the Heretick wrote against the Holy Gospel exposing to derision his Prophets Barcabas and Barthecab and his great God Abraxas names invented by him to amuse and terrifie the ignorant This Basilides died at that time when the Christians were very much perfecuted and tormented by Cochebas the Head of the Jewish Faction But Adrian soon repress'd the pertinacy of this Rebel and the whole Nation of the Jews by an almost incredible slaughter of them and then commanded that no Jew should be suffered to enter Jerusalem permitting only Christians to inhabit that City and having repaired the Walls and buildings of it he called it after his own name Aelia Marcus being after the expulsion of the Jews chosen the first Gentile Bishop of it In the time of this Bishop also Sapphira of Antioch and Sabina a Roman Lady suffer'd martyrdom for the faith of Christ and Favorinus Palaemon Herodes Atheniensis and Marcus Byzantius were famous Rhetoricians Our Alexander having at three Decembrian Ordinations made five Presbyters three Deacons five Bishops was together with his Deacons Euentius and Theodulus crowned with Martyrdom on the third day of May and buried in the Via Nomentana where he suffered seven miles from the City He was in the Chair ten years seven months two days After his Death the See was vacant twenty five days S. SIXTUS I. SIXTUS a Roman the Son of Pastor or as others will have it of Helvidius held the Pontificate in the time of Adrian to the Consulship of Verus and Anniculus Which Adrian is reckoned in the number of the good Emperours upon the account of his Liberality Splendour Magnificence and Clemency an eminent instance of the last of which good qualities was this That when a Servant run madly upon him with his Sword he took no farther notice of the Action than to order him a Physician to cure his Phrenzy He visited the Sick twice or thrice in a day at his own charge he repair'd Alexandria when it had been ruined by the Romans he rebuilt the Pantheon in Rome and made Aromatick Presents to the People Being at the point of Death he is said to have uttered these Verses Animula vagula blandula Hospes comesque corporis Quae nunc abibis in loca Pallidula rigida nudula Nec ut soles dabis jocos He died of a Dropsy in the two and twentieth year of his Reign and was buried at Puteoli in Cicero's Villa Sixtus out of his care of the Church ordained that the Elements and Vessels of the Altar should not be touched by any but the Ministers but especially not by Women and that the Corporal as it is called should be made of Linnen-cloth only and that of the finest sort That no Bishop who had been cited to appear before the Apostolick See should at his return be received by his Flock unless he brought with him Letters Communicatory to the People At the Celebration he instituted the Hymn Holy holy holy Lord God of Sabaoth Anciently the Office of the Communion was performed in a plain manner and unclog'd with humane mixtures St. Peter after Consecration used the Paternoster James Bishop of Jerusalem added some Rites Bazil more and others more still For Celestine brought in the Introitus of the Mass Gregory the Kyrie Eleyson Telesphorus The Glory be to God on High Gelasius the first the Collects and Hierom the Epistle and Gospel The Alelujah was taken from the Church of Jerusalem the Creed was instituted by the Council of Nice Pelagius introduced the Commemoration of the Dead Leo the third the Incense Innocent the first the Kiss of Peace and Sergius ordered the Agnus Dei to be sung During the time of Sixtus the Persecution being so sharp that few had courage enough to own the Profession of Christianity and the Christian Gauls desiring a Bishop to them he sends Peregrine a Citizen of Rome who having confirmed them in the Faith at his return suffered Martyrdom in the Via Appia at the place where Christ appeared to Peter as he was leaving the City His body was by the faithful carried into the Vatican and buried near S. Peter Aquila also by birth a Jew of Pontus who with his Wife Priscilla had been banish'd by the Edict of Claudius is said by some to have lived till this time he was the second Translatour of the Old Testament after the Seventy who lived in the time of Ptolomey Philadelphus As for Sixtus having at three Decembrian Ordinations made eleven Presbyters eleven Deacons and four Bishops he was crowned with Martyrdom and buried in the Vatican near St. Peter having been in the Chair ten years three months and one and twenty days Upon his Death the See was vacant only two days S. TELESPHORUS TELEPHORUS a Grecian the Son of an Anchorete lived in the time of Antoninus Pius This Emperour was by his Fathers side a Cisalpine Gaul and together with his Sons Aurelius and Verus he ruled twenty two years and three months with so much moderation and Clemency that he deservedly gain'd the name of Pius and Father of his Countrey He was never severe or rigorous towards any man in the recovery of his own private Debts or the exaction of publick Taxes but would sometimes wholly remit them by burning the Bonds of his Debtors What shall I need say more of this Prince who in the opinion of all good men was for Religion Devotion Humanity Clemency Justice and Modesty equal to Numa Pompilius himself When the River Tiber had by an inundation much impaired many private and publick buildings he was at vast expence to assist the Citizens in restoring the City to its former state again Moreover it was he who carried on those prodigious Works which appear to this day for improving the Havens of Tarracina and Cajeta and I believe that the famous winding Pillar from which the principal Ward of the City is denominated was built at his charge As for our Telesphorus he ordained that a Quadragesimal Fast should be observed before Easter and that on the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord there should be three Masses one at Midnight at which time Christ was born in Bethelehem another at break of Day when he was discovered to the Shepherds the third at that hour wherein the light of Truth and our Redemption shone in the World i. e. when
our Saviour was crucified whereas at other times the celebration of the Mass was forbidden till the third hour or between the hours of nine and twelve a Clock the time when as St. Mark tells us he was fastned to the Cross. He also appointed that the Hymn Glory be to God on High should be sung before the Sacrifice In his time Justinus a Philosopher of Neapolis a City of Palestine labour'd successfully in the defending Christianity presented to Antoninus and his Sons a book which he had written against the Gentiles and held a Dialogue with Tryphon a principal Jew He wrote also very warmly against Marcion who adhering to the Heresie of Cerdo affirmed that there were two Gods the one good the other just as two contrary principles of Creation and Goodness He opposed likewise Crescens the Cynick as a person gluttonous fearful of Death given over to Luxury and lust and a blasphemer of Christ. But being at length by this mans treacherous practices betray'd he suffered in the cause of Christianity Eusebius writing of this Cynick allows him only to have been a vain-glorious Pretender but not a Philosopher At the same time the Valentinian Hereticks prevail'd who were the followers of one Valentinus a Platonist and held that Christ took nothing of the body of the Virgin but passed clean through her as through a Pipe Now also Photinus Bishop of Lyons a man of singular Learning and Piety as Isidore tells us suffered Martyrdom with great resolution being ninety years old Telesphorus having at four Decembrian Ordinations made fifteen Presbyters eight Deacons thirteen Bishops died a Martyr and was buried in the Vatican near Saint Peter He was in the Chair eleven years three months twenty two days By his Death the See was vacant seven days S. HYGINUS HYGINUS an Athenian Son of a Philosopher succeeded Telesphorus during the Empire of Antoninus Pius Wâ—â—â—se extraordinary merit compels me to add something farther in his praise 〈…〉 I come to give an account of Hyginus He was so far from the vanity of valuing himself upon the glory of his Arms that he made it his business rather to defend the Provinces of the Empire than to encrease them and had often that saying of Scipio in his mouth that he had rather save one Citizen than destroy a thousand Enemies being herein of a quite contrary temper to that of Domitian who from a consciousness of his own cruelty did so hate and fear a multitude that he would expose the Roman Army to the fury of its Enemies on purpose that it might return home thinner and less formidable Moreover Pius was so famous for his Justice that several Princes and Nations did at his Command cease their Hostilities making him the Arbitratour of their differences and standing to his determination as to the Justice of their Pretensions For these admirable qualities the Romans after his much lamented death in honor to his memory appointed Cirque-shews built a Temple and 〈…〉 a Flamen with an Order called by his name At this time Hyginus prudently setled and confirm'd the several Orders and Degrees of the Clergy and ordain'd the Solemn Consecration of Churches the number of which he would not have encreas'd or diminish'd without leave of the Metropolitan or Bishop He forbad also that the Timber or other Materials prepared for the building any Church should be converted to prophane uses yet allowing that with the Bishop's consent they might be made use of towards the erecting any other Church or Religious House He likewise ordained that at least one Godfather or one Godmother should be present at Baptism and that no Metropolitan should condemn or censure any Bishop of his Province until the cause were first heard and discussed by the other Bishops of the Province though some make this latter an Institution of Pelagius not Hyginus In his time lived Polycarp a Disciple of St. John the Apostle and by him made Bishop of Smyrna the most celebrated man for Religion and learning in all Asia He coming to Rome reduc'd to the Orthodox Faith multitudes who had been seduc'd into the Errours of Marcion and Valentinus the former of which by chance meeting him and asking whether he knew him Polycarp answered that he knew him to be the first-born of the Devil For this Heretick denied the Father of our blessed Saviour to be God the Creatour who by his Son made the World But afterwards in the time of M. Antoninus and L. Aurclius Commodus who raised the fourth Persecution Polycarp was burnt at Smyrna by order of the Proconsul Melito also an Asian Bishop of Sardis and a Disciple of Fronto the Oratour presented to M. Antoninus a book written in desence of the Christian Doctrine Tertullian highly extols his Parts and says that most of the Christians look'd upon him as a Prophet Moreover Theophilus Bishop of Antioch wrote a book against the Heresie of Hermogenes who asserted an uncreated eternal matter co-eval to God himself As for Hyginus himself having deserved well of the Church and at three Decembrian Ordinations made fifteen Presbyters five Deacons six Bishops he died and was buried in the Vatican by S. Peter January 11. He was in the Chair four years three months four days The See was then vacant four days S. PIUS I. PIUS an Italian of Aquileia son of Ruffinus lived to the time of M. Antoninus Verus who together with his Brother L. Aurelius Commodus jointly exercis'd the Government nineteen years These two Princes undertook a War against the Parthians and manag'd it with such admirable courage and success that they had the honour of a Triumph decreed to them But not long after Commodus dying of an Apoplexy Antoninus was sole Emperour a person who so excell'd in all good qualities that it is more easie to admire than to describe him for both because from his very youth no change of his Fortune made any alteration in his mind or his countenance and because it is hard to determine whether the sweetness of his natural temper or the knowledg he learnt from Cornelius Fronto were more conspicuous in him he deservedly gain'd the surname of Philosopher And indeed as Capitolinus tells us he was often wont to use that saying of Plato That then the World would be happy when either Philosophers were Princes or Princes would be Philosophers He was so great a lover of Learning that even when he was Emperour he would be present at the Lectures of Apollonius the Philosopher and Sextus Plutarch's Nephew and he set up the Statue of his Tutour Fronto in the Senate-house as a Testimony of the Honour he had for him At this time Pius maintain'd a strict friendship and familiarity with Hermes who wrote the book called Pastor in which book he introduces an Angel in the form of a Shepherd who commanded him to persuade all Christians to keep the Feast of Easter on a Sunday which Pius accordingly did Moreover he ordained that every