Historical Defense of the Reformation, Part 2 · Chapter 1
CHAP. I.
That our Fathers could not expect a Reformation either from the hands of the Popes, or from thoſe of the Prelats.
WE may now, methinks, ſuppoſe it evident and proved, That our Fathers had a right and were bound to examine by themſelves the matters of Religion, and not to refer themſelves abſolutely to the Conduct and Authority of their Prelats. But from thence it manifeſtly follows, that they had a right to Reform themſelves. For ſince they could examine only in order to diſcern the good from the bad, and the true from the falſe, who can doubt, that they having a right to make that diſcernment, would not alſo have had a right to reject that which they ſhould have found to have been contrary to, or alienated from Chriſtianity, which is preciſely that which is called Reformation. I acknowledge that it yet remains to be inquired into, whether thoſe things which they have rejected are indeed Errors and Superſtitons, as they are pretended to be, and whether they did not deceive themſelves in the Judgment that they made. But who ſees it not neceſſary, for the deciding of that Queſtion, to go to the bottom, and to enter upon that diſcuſſion which our Adverſaries would avoid? From whence it may appear, as I have ſaid in the beginning, that all that Controverſy which they raiſe againſt us about the Call of our Reformers, is nothing elſe but a vain amuſement; and that to make a good Judgment of that Action of our Fathers, and to know whether it be juſt or unjuſt, we ought always to come to the bottom of the cauſe, and to thoſe things themſelves which are Reformed, for upon that the Queſtion doth wholly depend, whether they did well or ill.
Notwithſtanding to ſhew that we would forget nothing that may ſerve for our Juſtification, and that after the deſire to pleaſe God, we have not a greater then that of approving our ſelves to our Country-men, and in general to all men, we ſhall not fail to make yet ſome particular Reflexions upon the Circumſtances of the Reformation, which will more and more confirm the right of our Fathers, and manifeſt the Juſtice of their Conduct, and at the ſame time we ſhall anſwer to ſome Objections of the Author of the Prejudices. That ſhall be the buſineſs of this Second Part.
Our firſt Reflexion ſhall be, on that deplorable State of the Latin Church in the days of our Fathers, in reſpect of its Prelats; for its Condition was ſuch, that there was no more hope of ever ſeeing a good Reformation to ſpring up by their Miniſtry. In effect, what could be expected from a Body that had almoſt wholly abandoned the care of Religion, and of the Salvation of Souls, (which was plunged in the intrigues and intereſts of the World) which kept the People in the ignorance of the Myſteries of the Goſpel, and in the moſt groſs Superſtitions, and with which (the whole body) it ſelf did entertain it ſelf, and was found to be poſſeſt by Ambition, by Luxury, and by Covetouſneſs, and engaged in the vileſt manners, and living in almoſt a general oppoſition to overthrow of all Diſcipline? They will SEE then what a German Biſhop ſays in a Book intituled Onus Eccleſiae, who lived and wrote in the year, 1519. that is to ſay, Onus Eccleſ. Cap. 20. Sect. 2.near the very time of the Reformation, but one who was no ways Luthers friend, as it appears by his writings. I am afraid, ſays he, That the Doctrine of the Apoſtle touching the Qualifications of a Biſhop is but very ill obſerved in theſe days, or rather that we are fallen into thoſe Times, which he noted, when he ſaid, I know that after my departure, ravenous Wolves will come among you, not ſparing the flock: Where may one ſee a good man choſen to be a Biſhop? one approved by his works and his Learning, and any one who is not either a Child, or Worldly or Ignorant of ſpiritual things? The far greater number come to the Prelateſhip more by underhand canvaſſings, and ill ways, then by Election and lawful ways. That Diſorder which may be ſeen in the Eccleſiaſtical Dignities, ſets the Church in danger of periſhing; for Solomon ſays, There is one evil which I have ſeen under the Sun, as an Error which proceedeth from the Ruler, when a fool is raiſed to high dignity. It is therefore that I ſaid, that the Biſhops ought to excel in Learning, to the end that by their Inſtructions and their Preaching they might govern others profitably. But alas! What Biſhop have we now a days that Preaches, or has any care of the Souls committed to him? There are, beſides that, very few who are Sect. 3.contented with one Spouſe alone, that is to ſay, with one only Church, and who ſeek not to appropriate to themſelves more Dignities, more Prebends, and what is yet more to be condemned, more Biſhopricks. Our Biſhops are feaſting at their own Tables then when they ſhould be at the Altar, they are unwiſe in the things of God, but they love the wiſdom of the World, they are more intent on Temporal Affairs, ſay it may be, that I ſuffer my ſelf to be carried away by my Paſſion, and that all theſe clamourous Accuſations are but the effect of that Engagement in which we all are ſet againſt the Church of Rome. But to leave no ground for that Suſpicion, beſides what I have ſet down in general in the ſecond Chapters of my firſt Part, I will further produce here more particular Teſtimonies of that Truth, by applying them to the Ages of our Fathers. I will ſay nothing of my own head, I will make their Authors that are not ſuſpected by them, to ſpeak, whoſe paſſages I will faithfully relate, which they may ſee in the Originals if they will take the pains. And as I hope that they will not lay to my charge what may appear to be too vehement in their Expreſſions, ſo alſo I not do pretend to impute to the Prelats of theſe days, that which thoſe Authors cenſured in thoſe of the former Times.
then on the work of Jeſus Chriſt. Their Bodies are adorned with Gold, and their Souls defiled with filth, they are aſhamed to meddle with Spiritual things, and their glory lies in their Scurrilous humor and carriage. Whence it was that Catherine of Sienna told them, that in the blindneſs wherein they were, they placed their glory in that which was truly their ſhame, and that on the contrary they held thoſe things to be a reproach to them whereon their honour and Salvation did depend; to wit, in humbling themſelves under their Head, which was God. Furthermore they have no love for any but ſinners they deſpiſe the poor, and howſoever the Canons forbid them they keep about their perſons Pimps, debauchers of Women, Flatterers, Buffoons, Players, where they ſhould have had wiſe and holy men.—In fine, inſtead of the Law of Truth, the Law of Vanity is in the mouths of the Biſhops, and the lips of the Prieſts preſerve knowledge, but it is that of the World, and not of the Spirit. And a little after, At preſent, ſays he, Sect. 6.the State and Dignity of the Biſhops may be known by their Earthly riches, by their affairs and ſordid cares of the World, by their troubleſome Wars, and by their Temporal Dominion. Alas, the Lord Jeſus ſaid plainly that his Kingdom was not of this World, he retired himſelf alone into a Mountain, when he knew that they went about to make him a King. How then is it that he who holds the place of Jeſus Chriſt, not only accepts Dominion, but ſeeks it; and that he whom Jeſus Chriſt has taught to be meek and lowly in heart, ſhould reign in pleaſures, in luxury, in violence, in pride, in haughtineſs in riches and in rapines? And yet a little after, The Biſhops have renounced Hoſpitality, they neglect the poor of Jeſus Chriſt, but they Sect. 9.make themſelves fat, and feed their Dogs and other Beaſts, as if with a formed deſign, they would be in the number of thoſe to whom Chriſt ſhall ſay, I was poor and you relieved me not; go ye curſed into Eternal fire. For Generally almoſt all the Biſhops lie under the evil of Covetouſneſs, they are raviſhers of others goods, and but ill deſpencers of the Churches; turning aſide to other uſes, that which they ought to employ in Divine uſes, or the feeding of the poor. What Biſhop is there, adds he, who does not more love to be a rich Lord Sect. 13.and Honoured in the World, then to help the poor? The whole deſign of their lives is but for the things of the World, They love to array themſelves after the Faſhion of that, and as for the Eccleſiaſtical Ornaments, whether they be Corporal or Spiritual, they ſcarce make any account of them: and therefore it was that S. Brigit ſaid, That the Biſhops took the counſel of the Devil, who ſaid to them, Behold thoſe honours which I offer you, the riches that are in my hand. I diſpence pleaſures, the delights of the World are ſweet, you muſt enjoy them.—That ſame Saint ſays further that the Covetouſneſs of the Biſhops is a bottomleſs Gulph, and that their pride and their luxurious Lives was an unſavoury ſteam, which made them abominable before the Angels of Heaven, and before the Friends of God upon Earth.
As to the other Prelats and the Curats, the ſame Author repreſents them to us after this manner. In theſe Times, ſays he, Idem. Cap. 21.there are very few Elections that are Cononically made, and without under hand canvaſſings; on the contrary, the greateſt parts of the Prelats and Beneficed men, are made by Kings and Princes in an unlawful manner, and which is more, being brought in by Canvaſſings and Simony, they are confirmed by the Popes, againſt the Priviledges of the Churches, and the Statutes of Germany, and againſt all manner of Juſtice. Furthermore the Biſhops ordinarily promote to dignities and the Cure of Souls, their Cooks, their Collectors of their Tribute, their Penſionaries, the Grooms of their Stables: Hence Ubertine ſaid, That the Antient Holineſs of the Prelats waſted away by degrees, and that it began to fall by Canvaſſings, by Pomp, and by Simony, by unlawful Elections, by Covetouſneſs, and by the abundance and ſuperfluity of Temporal things, by the promotions that the Biſhops made of their Creatures, by neglecting the Divine-worſhip, and by other perverſe works; and that by Reaſon of thoſe ill diſpoſitions, the Devil was let looſe againſt the preſent State of the Church.—Now, none of them who are called to the Paſtors Charge and the Cure of Souls inform themſelves either of the quality of their Flock, or of their manners, or their vices. Not one Prelate called to the Government of a Monaſtery will take the pains to Obſerve either its Rules, or the Order of its Ceremonies, or the Diſcipline of the Religious, there is not wholly any more mention made of the Salvation and Edification of thoſe that are under them, but they only inform themſelves very exactly of the plenty of their Revenues, and what ſuch a Benefice may bring in Yearly, though yet they do not reſide there. It is theſe Curates that Vincentius cri'd out upon, when he ſaid, O what Obduration is there in the Church of God! The Prelats are Proud, Vain, Sumptuous, Simoniſts, Covetous, Luxurious Men, that regard only this Earth. They neglect their Eccleſiaſtical Duties, they are void of Charity, Intemperate, Lazy. For they neither perform Divine Offices, nor Preach, and do nothing but what creates Scandal. They deſpiſe the foreſight of their Holy Mother the Church, which ordains that when the Rectors of Churches ſhall not be able to Preach, they ſhould employ fit perſons, which ſhould in their ſtead edify the people by their word and their Example, and that they ſhould ſupply them with all needful things. But on the contrary the Prelats and Curates are only careful to put into their places, men that are very well skilled, not to feed the ſheep, but to poll them, to deſtroy, and flea them. He goes on with that vehemency throughout a large Chapter, where he relates the many complaints of the Abbot Joachim, Saint Catherine of Sienna, and of Saint Brigitt; Behold Ibid▪this laſt among the others; Thoſe who Rule the Churches commit three ſins, the one is that they live a beaſtly and luxurious, life the other that they have a Covetouſneſs as inſatiable as the Gulphs of the Sea, and the third is, That they are Prodigal to ſatisfy their own vanity, as the Torrents that pour forth their waters impetuouſly, ſuch horrible ſins which they commit aſcend up to Heaven before the face of God, and hinders the Interceſſion of Jeſus Chriſt as the black Clouds diſturb the purity of the Air? The Revenues of the Church are given, not to the Servants of God, but to thoſe of the Devil, to the Debauchers of Women, to Adulterers, Gameſters, Hunters, Flatterers, and ſuch like men, and hence alſo it is that the houſe of God is become Tributary to the Devil. The Abbot who ought never to be out of his Monaſtery, but to be the head and example to the reſt of the Religious, is become the head of a whole Troop of leud Women, with their Trains of Baſtards: inſtead of being an Example to and feeder of, the poor, he makes himſelf Maſter of their Alms, and he may be ſeen far oftner in the field with the Souldiers, then in his Cloiſter. He ought to be the Father and the Inſtructer of his Brethren, but he is their Seducer, and their Tyrant. For while he enjoys himſelf, and lives in Pomp and Delights, thoſe poor miſerable Religious, paſs away all their days in murmurings and afflictions. That Author deſcribes in the ſame Stile the Lives of the Canons, Monks and other Eccleſiaſticks, and that which he has ſaid does not leave us any more room to doubt that there was in the Church in thoſe days, as great and as general a diſorder as can be conceived.
He does not ſpare the Court of Rome, but on the contrary, Idem, Cap. 6. Sect. 6.he ſets forth livelily enough their exceſs, even to ſay, that that Court is the Seat of the Beaſt, that is to ſay, the Church of the wicked, that is, the Kingdom of darkneſs. That it is a loathſome pit that devours Riches, and is filled by Covetouſneſs, That the Law is far Sect. 8.from the Prieſt, the Viſions of the Prophet, and the Councel of the old men. That the heads of the Church ſerve themſelves by Simony and Ambition, and that in a word, the ſins of thoſe people are ſuch, that they cannot be either concealed or denyed, ſince Rome is become a Gulph of Crimes. Where the Pope ought to cry with Jeſus Chriſt, Sect. 12.Come, and you ſhall find reſt for your Souls; he cries, Come and ſee me in a far greater Pomp and Pride then ever Solomon was in, come to my Court, empty your purſes there, and you ſhall find deſtruction for your Souls.
The diſorder of that Court, and that of the whole Clergy of thoſe times was a thing ſo little to be conteſted, that Adrian the ſixth did not ſcruple to acknowledge it in the Memoirs that he gave his Nuntio for the Diet of Nuremberg, and which Raynaldus Relates. For he gave him an expreſs charge to confeſs, That the Troubles of Germany, about the matters of Religion, had fallen out by Reaſon of the ſins of Men, and particularly of the Prieſts and Prelats of the Church; That the Scripture ſhewed that the Roynald ad Anna, 1522.ſins of the people came from thoſe of their Prieſts, for which Reaſon it was, as Chryſoſtome ſays, that when our Saviour would heal Jeruſalem, he entered firſt into the Temple to correct the ſins of the Prieſts, doing like a wiſe Phyſitian, who goes to the root of the evil. That for many years paſt, abominable things had been committed in the holy See, that ſpiritual things had been abuſed, through the exceſs of its Injunctions, and that all things had been perverted there. That the evil had ſpread it ſelf from the Head to the Members, from the Popes to the Inferiour Prelats, and that as many as they all were, that is to ſay, Prelats and Eccleſiaſticks, they were come to that paſs that for a long Time there had not been any that were good, no not ſo much as one.
We could produce a multitude of other ſuch Teſtimonies if we did not hope that unbyaſs'd perſons would agree upon it, as not long ſince an Author in theſe Times has done in a Book Intituled, Motives to a Re-union to the Catholick Church. The cauſe Motifs de Reunion, premeir Motif. Pag. 6.of the Separation, ſays he, was the open abuſe of Indulgences, and the Ignorance, Covetouſneſs, and the Scandalous lives of the Churchmen. The Superſtition of the meaner ſort of people who had not been well inſtructed, the immenſe riches, and riotous profuſeneſs of the Prelats, their too great care in Externals, in their Magnificence, Ornaments, and increaſing of Ceremonies, and little Devotion in the Chief-worſhip of God, the indiſcreat zeal of ſome Brethren, who ſeemed to have caſt off all honour for the Maſter, to give it to his Servants. The Tyranny that Parents exerciſed over their Children to impriſon them in Cloiſters; the wickedneſs of thoſe who contrived falſe Miracles, to draw to themſelves the concourſe of the People. Add to that, Politick humane Conſiderations of ſome Princes and Kings, who had not received from the Pope all poſſible Satisfaction, or who took occaſion from thence to caſt themſelves among a Party of perſecuted men, the better to Eſtabliſh their affairs; in brief, all that which Ignorance, Superſtition and Covetouſneſs could Contribute, ſerved for a pretence to thoſe who would ſeparate themſelves to Reform thoſe Diſorders. The Ground was not only ſpecious, but it had been in a manner accompanied with Truth, if the Church in thoſe days had been throughout in that miſerable condition, which we have deſcribed, and principally ſo in thoſe places wherein that deteſtable Separation began. Thoſe who ſeparated were aided indirectly by the zeal of ſome good men, who cried out loudly againſt thoſe diſorders, abuſes, and corruptions of manners. The people who judged no otherwiſe then by the appearance ſuffered themſelves to be eaſily carried away with that Torrent, ſeeing that they did not complain but of thoſe things which they knew were but too true, and which the better ſort of Catholicks granted.
Behold then in what a condition the Church was in thoſe days, and we may from thence, methinks ask all rational perſons, whither they believe in good earneſt, that our Fathers ought to have expected a Reformation from the hands of a Clergy, which on the one ſide had ſo many worldly intereſts that bound them to oppoſe it, and which on the other found it ſelf ſo deeply ſunk into Ignorance, Superſtition, and Corruption.
But to urge that matter yet further, we need but to ſet down thoſe juſt complaints which they had made for a long time touching thoſe diſorders, and the continual demand that all the World made for a good Reformation, at leaſt in reſpect of manners, of Diſcipline, and thoſe moſt groſs abuſes, without ever being able to obtain it. I paſs by the complaints of the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries, which would be but too great, if they were compared, with thoſe juſt grounds that all honeſt men in thoſe days had for them. For thoſe two Centuries were famous for wickedneſs, (grievous) crimes, and thoſe who know any thing of Hiſtory cannot deny it. But, not to go ſo far, not to ſay any thing either of the Scandalous Lives of the Popes of that Time, or the Wars wherewith they filled all the Weſt, or of the Abuſes they committed in their Excommunications, or of the Baptizing of Bells: Wherewith they increaſed the Eccleſiaſtical Ceremonies, or of the vices which reigned then throughout all the Clergy, can they tell us what good effect thoſe ſmart Cenſures of Saint Bernard wrought, and thoſe of Petrus Clunienſis, of Abbot Joachim, of Petrus Bleſenſis, of Conrard Abbot of Ʋrſpurg, of Honorius of Autun, of Bernard Monk of Cluny, of Arnoul an Engliſh Monk, of John Biſhop of Salisbury, of Matthew Paris, of William Durandus Biſhop of Mande, of Robert Biſhop of Lincolne, of Francis Petrarch Archdeacon of Parma, of John Vitoduram of Dante, of Marſilius of Padua, and I know not how many others, who cried out as loudly againſt the abuſes of the Court of Rome, as thoſe of the reſt of the Prelats? Can they tell us what effect the complaints of Emperors, of Kings, of Princes, and of the People produced who for ſo long a Time panted after a Reformation? It is a hundred and fifty Years ſaid Arnald du Ferrier the Ambaſſador of France to the Council of Trent See his Oration ſet down by Thuanus, lib. 35.ſince a Reformation of the Church has been all along in vain demanded in divers Councils, at Conſtance, at Baſil, at Ferrara. Let them tell us what good change has hapned ſince St. Bernard wrote, That the Dignities of the Church were managed by a moſt diſhoneſt bartering, Bernard, Serm. 6. in Pſal. Qui habitat.and with a Trade of darkneſs, That the ſaving of Souls was no more ſought after, but the abundance of Riches. That it was for this that they took their Orders, that they frequented the Churches, and Celebrated Maſſes, and ſung Pſalms. Now a days, ſays he, they ſtrive without any ſhame for Biſhopricks, for Arch-Deaconries, and Abbies, and other Dignities, to the end they may diſſipate the revenues of the Church, in Superfluity and Vanity. What remains but that the Man of ſin, the Son of Perdition ſhould be Revealed? The Demon not only of the day, but of the noon day, who transforms himſelf into an Angel of Light, and lifts up himſelf above all that is called God, and worſhipped. What good change could they ſee ſince Cardinal Hugo borrowing the words of Saint Bernard, had wrote, That thoſe words of David could not be more properly applied to any, then Hugo Card. in Pſal. 72.to the Clergy, They are not in Trouble as other men. For every order of men has its Labours and its pleaſures, but I admire, ſays he, the wiſdom of our Clergy, who have choſen all the pleaſures for themſelves, and rejected the Labour. They are as proud as Souldiers, they have as great a train of Servants as they, and of Horſes, and Birds, and they live as merrily as they. They are arrayed like women with skins of great value, they have rich Bids, Baths, and all the Allurements of ſoft delights. But they take great heed leaſt they put on a Breaſt-plate with the Souldiers, or paſs away the nights in the Field, or to expoſe themſelves to Battels, and yet they take leſs heed to keep Modeſty and the Laws of Decency, which are proper to women, and to labour ſo much as they do. At the Reſurrection then, when men ſhall ariſe every one in his own order, what place do you imagine thoſe men will find? The Souldier will not own them, for they took no part with them in their Labours, nor in their dangers. The Labourers and Dreſſers of the Vineyard will not any more for the ſame Reaſon. What then can they look for? But to be driven from and accuſed by all Orders, and to go into thoſe places where there is no Order, but where Everlaſting horrour Dwels. Has it been amended ſince William Biſhop of Mande wrote theſe words, Alas! the Churches are reduced to that Condition, that when they come to be vacant, one can hardly find any perſons fit to be choſen to ſucceed. And if ſometimes, which rarely happens, there be found ſome good Man hid as a Lilly among the Thorns, the Number of the wicked and uncapable, exceeds ſo much, that they will never let a good man be choſen Prelate; but crying up ſuch as themſelves they chuſe men after their own hearts, to the Ruin of the Church, and the people that are under them. Elſe if the greater part in the Church were good, the Elections would be made by the Majority of voices, and they would be good and Canonical, for thoſe that would chuſe for God, would be the far greater number then thoſe who ſhould chuſe for the Devil. But in theſe days it is quite the contrary. It is the Faſhion, that there muſt be more wicked then good, ſo that uſually, the Elections are rather Diabolical then Canonical, and not made by the inſpiration of the Holy Spirit, but by a Conſpiracy, or Treacherous Machination. All theſe Complaints were to no purpoſe, the evil was too general, and too inveterate to be ſtopt or remedied.
In the Council of Conſtance, all thoſe Nations who liv'd under the diſorders of a long and obſtinate Schiſme, propounded ſome Articles to Reform as well the Head as the Members, and correct the ill manners of the Church. But Martin the Fifth, who was then Pope, eluded that Propoſition, with ſaying, That that Council Platin, in vit. Martin 5.had already laſted four years to the great damage of the Biſhops and the Churches, That it was needful to turn over that buſineſs to another Time, and that that Affair deſerved to be thought on more leiſurely; becauſe, ſays he, according to St. Jerome, every Province has its Maxims, and its opinions which cannot be changed without ſtirring up great Troubles. As if Juſtice, Piety, Holineſs, and good Diſcipline, were not the ſame among all people and in every Countrey.
The Council of Baſil aſſembled ſome Time after, with a deſign to proceed to a Reformation of the Head and the Members; A Declaration was made very Solemnly that there the very beginning, and their firſt Acts ſhould contain no other thing. But when they would have meddled with the Court of Rome, and the Popes Soveraign Authority, every one knows after what manner Eugenius the Fourth exalted himſelf againſt them, and what endeavours he uſed to ſeparate them, or at leaſt to render their deſigns unprofitable. That produced new Troubles, and new diſorders, and caſt the Latin Church into a new ſchiſm. For that Council declaring its right, depoſed Pope Eugenius, and choſe Amadeus Duke of Savoy; but all that came to nothing. For Eugenius remained Maſter, Amadeus was at length conſtrained to renounce the Papacy. The Council of Baſil and all its good deſigns, were brought to nothing, and things remained in the ſame State in which they were before. Which made an Author in thoſe Times ſay, That there could not be any thing expected from thoſe who preſided Jacob. de Paradiſo de Septem Statib. Eccleſ.in the Councils on the behalf of the Popes, unleſs that, when they ſaw the affairs of the Council ordered againſt their Maſters and againſt themſelves, they ſhould oppoſe their Decrees either by Diſſolving the Council, or making Diviſions ſpring up in it. So that, ſays he, matters come to nothing, and return into their old Chaos, that is to ſay, into Error and Darkneſs, which no man can be ignorant of, at leaſt, that has any knowledge of things paſt; and the Tragedy that hapned in our Age at the Council of Baſil, is a moſt manifeſt proof of.
Some Time after that, Pope Innocent the Eighth being dead, and all preparations made for a new Nomination, Lionel Biſhop of Concordia made a long and fine Oration to the Cardinals, who were to go into the Conclave to perſwade them to make a good Election, that might anſwer the deſires of the whole Church; he repreſented to them, That Chriſtianity was threatned every day by the Power of the Turk, that the Huſſites were in Arms againſt their Brethren the Catholicks, that pernitious Errors againſt the Orthodox Faith might be obſerved to increaſe in all places, That the Raynald ad Ann. 1492.Church of Rome, the Mother and Root of the Ʋniverſal Church, was every day more and more deſpiſed, that Luxury reigned in the Clergy, and that it was extream among the people. That the Patrimony of Saint Peter was waſted, That Chriſtian Princes, animated with a mortal hatred one againſt another, were juſt ready to deſtroy one another, and that in fine, to make uſe of the words of Jeremy, One deſolation called to another, which made him to weep over the Church, and ſay to it, Daughter of Sion thy Deſolation is great as the ſtretching out of the Sea; who is it that will bring thee any Remedy? After having repreſented thoſe things, he adds, That although the affliction of the Church was exceeding great, yet they might notwithſtanding mitigate it, if laying aſide their own paſſions, their Canvaſſings, and their Cabals, they would look to nothing elſe in chuſing a Pope, but Holineſs, Learning, and Fitneſs, or Capacity. That the Eyes of all the Church were upon them, to beg of them a Pope who might by the good odor of his Name allure the Faithful people to Salvation. He urged that diſcourſe much farther, in ſhewing them the neceſſity that the Church ſtood in of a Holy man, whoſe life ſhould be without reproach. He added to his Exhortations, threatnings on Gods part, and paſſed by nothing that might move the minds of thoſe Cardinals to do ſome good. Will you not ſay that words ſo weighty and ſo pungent ought to have made ſome Impreſſion on the minds of thoſe Cardinals, and that, at leaſt for that Time, they ſhould have done well? They ſaw the whole Church in diſorder, the Conqueſts that the Infidels made, Chriſtian Princes in Arms one againſt another, Church-Diſcipline overthrown, the lives of the Clergy profuſe, Piety violently beat down, and Chriſtianity degenerated in all places, could any one imagine that ſuch ſad repreſentations would not have been conſidered? But be not haſty, All the effect that they produced was the Creation of Alexander the ſixth. That Name alone, ſufficiently Celebrated in the Hiſtory of the Popes, was enough to make men underſtand of what diſpoſition thoſe Prelats were, and how little they were touched with the wounds of the Latin Church. Let us hear nevertheleſs what Raynaldus ſays, who in theſe kind of things is an Author that can no ways be ſuſpected. The greateſt part of the Cardinals, ſays he, were very remote from thoſe good Counſels: for Authors complain that ſome corrupted with Money, others gained by promiſes of Benefices and Places, and others drawn by the Conformity of a vitious and impure life, gave their Voices to Roderic Borgia. So that, in ſtead of chuſing a chaſte man, they choſe one who was infamous for his uncleanneſſes and fornications, for which he had been reproved by Pius the Second, yet was ſo far from amending under that reproof, that he took no care to conceal his impurities. For on the contrary he lived with Vacoſia a Courtiſan of Rome, as if ſhe had been his real Wife, and he had divers Children by her, upon whom he heape'd Riches and Honors as much as it was poſſible for him to do, as if they had been his Legitimate Children. Behold what the Court of Rome was then.
Alexander the Sixth being dead, and Pius the Third who ſucceeded him having lived but thirty days after his Election, the Cardinals met again in the Conclave. And becauſe the Life and Government of Alexander had given ſcandal to all the World, and that the Cardinals themſelves had been but very ill ſatisfied with it, before they proceeded to an Election, they drew up ſome Articles, which every one ſwore to obſerve upon condition the Nomination ſhould fall upon him; and there was one among the reſt which carried this with it, That the new Pope ſhould call at the end of two years a General Council for the Reformation of the Church in its Head and its Members. Julius the Second was Vide Raynalud in Jul.choſen, but he did not believe himſelf bound to keep his Oath, for ſeven years paſt away without any thing being talkt either of a Council or a Reformation. And therefore it was that this Pope thought the leſs of it. Nevertheleſs it fell out, that, having ill Treated one party of the Colledge of Cardinals, and having moreover ſtired up the Emperor Maximilian, and Lewis the Twelfth the King of France againſt him, thoſe two great Princes joyned with the diſgraced Cardinals, and called a Council at Piſa. The Act of that Convocation, on the part of the Princes, ſays expreſly, that it was for the Extirpation of Hereſies and Errors, which through the negligence of Superiors had ſprung up in divers parts of the World, and particularly for the Reformation of the manners of the Ʋniverſal Church in the Head and the Members, and for the amendment of many great, notorious, long continued, and almoſt incorrigible crimes, which had ſcandalized the Ʋniverſal Church. The Cardinals alſo alleaged the Oath that the Pope had took, juſt before his promotion, in theſe very words, I ſwear to obſerve and perform theſe Articles throughout, and in every particular, ſincerely, unfeignedly, ſeriouſly and in good earneſt, and under pain of falling under perjury and an Anathema, from which I cannot abſolve my ſelf, nor give power to any other perſon to abſolve me. They added to that, that by another Article they all, and Julius himſelf had ſworn, That if he who ſhould be choſen ſhould not perform his promiſe in good earneſt, he ſhould be held guilty of perjury, to be a breaker of his Vow and of his Faith, a diſturber of the Church, and the cauſe of Scandal to all Chriſtianity, and that then two thirds of the Sacred Colledge ſhould have power to aſſemble a General Council. The Council then being aſſembled, declared openly, That there was a moſt evident neceſſity of Reforming the Church in the Head and the Members; and made a Decree formed in theſe words, The Holy and ſacred General Synod of Piſa, lawfully called in the name of the Holy Ghoſt, compoſing a General Council, and repreſenting the Catholick Church, doth define and declare, That that Holy Synod would not, nor could not, diſſolve it ſelf, till the Ʋniverſal Church ſhould be Reformed in Faith and Manners, as well in the Head as the Members, and till the Hereſies and Schiſms that had ſprung up ſhould be Extinguiſhed.
Behold, hitherto, the faireſt hope in the World. It is not neceſſary for us to inquire, whether that Reformation was the true Cauſe of the Calling of that Aſſembly together, or whether it was only a pretence, and according to all appearances it was the latter. But whatſoever it might be, whether a pretence or not, three thing reſult from it; the one, That that Reformation was generally judged to be moſt neceſſary; the other, That it was extreamly deſired by the people, for they would never have contrived to have took up thoſe things for a pretence which did not appear neceſſary, and which were not wiſht for; and the Third is, That a Reformation ſo neceſſary and ſo much deſired ſhould extend it ſelf to Faith as well as to Manners, even, ſay they, 'till the Ʋniverſal Church ſhould be Reformed in Faith and Manners.
See then what was the ſucceſs of ſo weighty a buſineſs. Julius on his ſide, who according to the general mind of the Popes, mortally hated thoſe Propoſitions of a Reformation, diſplay'd all the Authority, Force, and Artifice that he had to elude that Council, and to turn all thoſe projects into Air. And firſt of all, he made void and diſanull'd that Convocation that had been called, he declared them the Authors of Schiſme, and Rebellion, as Dathan, and Abiram, and their Council, a Conventicle of Schiſmaticks, a Synagogue of Satan, and a Church of Malignants, he forbad all Prelats to go thither under pain of Anathema, and excommunicated all thoſe who ſhould afford them any help or aſſiſtance directly or indirectly, and in fine, he interdicted the Towns and Churches that ſhould receive them. But as that way of Authority alone could not produce the effect which he deſired, ſince the World did not care always to be frightned with the Papal Thunder, ſo it was neceſſary for him further to elude that pretence of a Reformation which thoſe of Piſa had taken up. He then had recourſe to that Ordinary Artifice of the Popes, which is, that when they cannot longer avoid a Council, they labour to make themſelves Maſters of it, to the end that nothing may paſs there but what agrees with their Intereſts and their deſires. For this Reaſon he called he called one at Rome it ſelf, and to make himſelf more ſure, taking up as well as his Adverſaries that pretence of the Reformation of the Church; the better to colour his Affairs, and to ſtrengthen his Party, he created ſome new Cardinals. Nevertheleſs as he would not omit any thing, he had recourſe to Arms, he made a League with Spain againſt France, he aſſaulted Ferrara that was held by the French, he went himſelf in Perſon into his Army, he filled all Italy with War, he drew the Switzers and Venetians to his Intereſts, he gave Battels, he Excommunicated the King of France and all his Confederates, and after having got off the Emperor Maximilian from them, he gave away their Kingdoms to him who ſhould firſt Conquer them, and in fine he ſet up his Conventicle at Lateran, where he and his Succeſſour Leo the Tenth made all things paſs that they would have. I ſay, he and his Succeſſour Leo the Tenth, For Julius dy'd after the fifth Seſſion, and Leo not being yet thirty ſeven years Old was choſen in his place, by the Faction of the young Cardinals, againſt the mind of the elder ſort, by Reaſon of which Alphonſus Petrucius, a young Cardinal, having had it given him in charge to declare the new Election to the people, he did it in theſe words, We have choſen Leo the Tenth for our Pope, Let the young men live. Leo then, continued that Council, in which, in favour of ſome light Reformations which conſiſted but in words without any effect, he more then ever eſtabliſhed the Soveraign Authority of his See, and confirmed the Abuſes of his Court, and the diſorders of the Latin Church. For he there Solemnly made void the Pragmatick Function, which was almoſt the only good thing that remained in the Government of the Latin Church, he there made the Council of Baſil to be declared a Conventicle, and cauſed it to be determined, That the Authority of the Popes is above all Councils; which obliged the Univerſity of Paris to reject that Decree, and to ſue forth an appeal made to a Council lawfully called.
After this, I know not whether they can any farther ſay with any confidence, that our Fathers ought to entertain good hopes of the Latin, Prelats, and that they ought to have expected a good Reformation from their hands. All the World deſired that there ſhould be a Reformation in the Government of the Church, they impatiently demanded it, they themſelves acknowledged the neceſſity of it, in the Head and the Members, the Pope found himſelf engaged to do it by a Solemn Oath, but when it was urged to be put in Execution, he choſe rather to enflame all Chriſtendome, then to deliberate to reform himſelf, and to re-eſtabliſh Order, and he managed his party ſo well, that he found a whole Council diſpoſed blindly to do whatſoever ſhould pleaſe him, without any regard had either of God or the Church, or of themſelves. Did not all that give a fair hope of a Reformation?
They will ſay, it may be, that Adrian the ſixth, Succeſſour to Leo, after having ingenuouſly confeſſed, in the Diet of Nuremberg, the diſorders of the Court of Rome, and of all the Prelats, as we have ſeen before, promiſed alſo to Reform them. For he declared. That he was reſolved, as well, from his own inclination, Raynald. in Adrian. 6.as from the duty of his place, to labour to correct ſo great an Evil; And he would do it in ſuch ſort, that firſt of all the Court of Rome, whence poſſibly the evil had grown ſo extream, and ſo deſtructive, ſhould be reformed; and ſo much the more, as he ſaw that all the World paſſionately deſired it. I confeſs thoſe Hiſtorians give a good Teſtimony enough of the Intentions of that Pope in that reſpect; but we ought alſo to adjoyn, what they add, to wit, that that Confeſſion and promiſe of his, which he made were very ill taken at Hiſtory of the Council of Trent. Book 1.Rome, and moreover, that they generally offended the Prelats, that they ſeemed to be too ignominious for them, ſaying, that it rendred them yet more odious to the Seculars, and contemptible to the People, and that eſpecially, they were amazed to ſee a door opened for the introducing a diminution of their conveniencies, or convincing them of an incorrigible obſtinacy. We ought not alſo to omit, that Adrian dyed ſoon after the Return of his Nuntio from Germany, not Vide Raynald. in Adrian.without a ſuſpition of being Poiſoned, as William Lochorſt, inſinuates in a Letter ſet down by Raynaldus, Seu nimio, ſays he, Estu labore que fatigatus, ſeu infeſto eſu aut potu refectus, incidit in Morbum; by Reaſon of which, Paulus Jovius relates, that immediately after the Death of Adrian, ſome young debauched perſons went by night and ſet up a wreathed Garland on the door of the Houſe of his Phyſitian, with this Inſcription, Liberatori Patriae S. P. Q. R. We ought not likewiſe to paſs by in ſilence what the Author of the Hiſtory of the Council of Trent has told us, That Clement the Seventh, who ſucceeded Adrian, ſaw clearly Hiſtory of the Council of Trent. Book 1.that Pope Adrian, having too far abandoned the Ordinary Stile of the wiſer Popes, had been too facil, as in Confeſſing the Faults of the Court of Rome, ſo in promiſing a Reformation, and that he was too mean ſpirited, in asking the Counſel of Germany how proviſion might be made againſt the Contentions of that Kingdom. For thereby he drew upon his back the demands of a Council, which was of great importance, eſpecially with a condition to Celebrate it in Germany, and had given too much courage to the Princes, that they dared not only to ſend, but to print alſo a Book which they called the Centum Gravamina, or Hundred Grievances, a writing that was ignominious to all the Eccleſiaſticks of Germany, but more to the Court of Rome. That notwithſtanding having conſidered all things well, he reſolved, that it was neceſſary to give ſome ſatisfaction to Germany, yet ſo, that his Authority might not be indangered, and that the advantages and profits of the Court of Rome might not any ways be diminiſhed. In effect, he ſent a Legat to Nuremberg, where the Princes of Germany were afreſh aſſembled, who propounded to them ſuch a Reformation, as ſhould only reſpect the inferiour Clergy; So that it was judged, that that Reformation would not only foment the evil as light and palliating Medicines uſually do; but that it would ſerve to enhance, and raiſe the Dominion of the Court of Rome, and the greater Prelats, to the Prejudice of the Secular Powers, and that it would open a door to a greater Extortion of Money, ſo that it was not received, being looked upon meerly as a mockery to elude the Expectations of Germany, and to reduce it to a greater Slavery.