THE POPES IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.

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to its proposed ends of any system ever devised by the craft Ch. 8. and wisdom of man.

A. D.

to

The great patrons of the Jesuits-the Popes of the latter 1540 half of the sixteenth century,-now demand some notice. The Catholic Church, during this time, was remarkable for the 1600. reformation it attempted within its own body; and for the zeal, ability, and virtue which marked the character of many of the Popes themselves. Had it not been for this counter reformation, Protestantism would have obtained a great ascendency in Europe.

At the close of the sixteenth century the Popes possessed a The well situated, rich, and beautiful province. All writers cele- Popes. brated its fertility. Scarcely a foot of land remained uncultivated. Corn was exported, and the ports were filled with ships. The Popes were generally virtuous, and munificent patrons of genius. Gregory XIII. kept a list of men in every country who were likely to acquit themselves as bishops, and exhibited the greatest caution in appointing them. Sixtus V., whose father was an humble gardener, encouraged agriculture and manufactures, husbanded the resources of the State, and filled Rome with statues. He raised the obelisk in front of St. Peter's, and completed the dome of the cathedral. Clement VIII. celebrated the mass himself, and scrupulously devoted himself to religious duties. He was careless of pleasure; and admitted every day twelve poor persons to dine with him. Gregory XIV. had all the severity of an ancient monk. The only religious peculiarity of the Popes, at the latter end Their of the sixteenth century, which must unhesitatingly be condemned, was their religious intolerance. But they saw that their empire would pass away, unless they used vigorous and desperate measures to retain it. During this period the great victories of the Jesuits, the establishment of their colleges, and the splendid endowments of their churches, took place. In the beginning of the next century Gregory XV. built, at his own cost, the celebrated church of St. Ignatius,

mode

ration.

94

THE POPES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

Ch. 8. at Rome; and instituted the Propaganda, a missionary institution, under the control of the Jesuits.

A. D.

1600

to

The Popes, whether good or bad, did not, however, relinquish their nepotism; in consequence of which great families 1700. constantly arose, and supplanted the old aristocracy. They vied with each other in titles and pomp, in ceremony and pride. The ladies of the Savelli family never quitted their palace walls, except in closely veiled carriages. The Visconti decorated their walls with the portraits of the Popes of their line. The Gaetana dwelt with pride on the memory of Boniface VIII. The Colonna and Orsini boasted that for centuries no peace had been concluded in Christendom, in which they had not been expressly included. But these old Great families had become gradually impoverished; and yielded, in wealth and power, though not in pride and dignity, to the Cesarini, Borghesi, Aldobrandini, Ludovisi, Giustiniani, Chigi, and the Barberini. All these families, from which Popes had sprung, had splendid palaces, villas, pictures, libraries, and statues; and they contributed to make Rome the centre of attraction throughout Europe. It was still the moral and social centre of Christendom.

Roman

families.

REFERENCES.-Ranke's "History of the Popes ;" Father Bonheur's "Life of Ignatius Loyola ;" "A Life of Xavier," by the same author Charlevoix's "History of Paraguay;" "Secreta Monita;" "Histoire des Jesuites;" " Spiritual Exercises." The works on the Jesuits are very numerous; that of Ranke is the most impartial.

FOLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE REFORMATION.

95

CHAPTER IX.

THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR.

A. D.

THE contests which arose out of religious discussion did Ch.9. not close with the sixteenth century. They were, on the contrary, continued with still greater acrimony. Protestantism 1618 had been suppressed in France, but not in Germany. In to England the struggle was continued, not between Catholics 1648. and Protestants, but between different parties among the Protestants themselves. In Germany a long and devastating war of thirty years had to be carried on before religious liberty could be guaranteed.

Thirty

This struggle is the most prominent event of the seventeenth The century prior to the English Revolution; and was attended Years with the most important religious and political consequences. War. The event itself was one of the chief political consequences of the Reformation. Indeed, all the events of this period either originated in, or became mixed up with, questions of religion.

From the very dawn of the Reformation, the house of Austria devoted against it the whole of its immense political power. Charles V. resolved to suppress Protestantism; and would have perhaps succeeded, had it not been for the various wars which distracted his attention, and for the decided stand which the Protestant princes of Germany took respecting Luther and his doctrines.

The year of the resignation of Charles V. found Germany divided into two great political and religious parties, each recognizing the independence of the other. The Protestants were no longer looked upon as rebels, but as men who had a

H

96

A. D.

COMMENCEMENT OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR.

Ch. 9. right to worship God as they pleased. Still, in reality, all that the Lutherans had gained was toleration, not equality. The 1555 concessions of the Catholics were made to necessity, not to justice. Hence the treaty of Augsburg (1555), on which this arrangement was based, proved only a truce, not a lasting peace. The boundaries of both parties were marked out by the sword, and by the sword only were they to be preserved.

to

1612.

Divi

sions among

For a while, however, peace was preserved, and might have continued longer, had it not been for the dissensions of Prothe Protestants among themselves. The Lutherans would not include testants the Calvinists in their communion; and the Calvinists would not accede to the demands of the Lutheran Church. During these dissensions, the Jesuits sowed tares; and the Protestants lost all chance of establishing themselves on an equality with the Catholics.

II. and

Notwithstanding, however, all the bitterness and jealousy which existed between sects and parties, the peace of Germany, in a political sense, was preserved during the reign of Ferdinand, the founder of the German branch of the house of

Austria, who had succeeded his brother, Charles V. On his Maxi- death, in 1564, his son Maximilian II. was chosen Emperor; milian and until his death, in 1576, Germany enjoyed tranquillity. Rodolph His successor was his son Rodolph, a weak prince, and incapable of uniting the various territories which were hereditary in his family, Austria, Hungary, Transylvania, Bohemia, Moravia, and Styria. Each of these provinces, in turn, revolted, until Rodolph was left with little more than the empty title of Emperor. They would only acknowledge the sway of his brother Matthias, who had delivered them from the Turks, and had granted the Protestants liberty of conscience. The Emperor was weak enough to confirm his brother in his usurpation. In 1612, he died; and Matthias mounted the imperial throne. It was thias. during the reign of this prince that the Thirty Years' War

Mat

commenced.

In proportion as the Reformed religion gained ground in

REVOLT IN BOHEMIA.

Evan

97

Hungary and Bohemia-two provinces very difficult to rule― Ch. 9. the Protestant princes of the empire became desirous of A. D. securing and extending their privileges. Their demands were 1612 refused, and they entered into a new confederacy, called the to Evangelical Union. This association, formed on the 4th of 1620. May, 1608, was opposed by another, called the Catholic League. The former was supported by Holland, England, and Henry gelical IV. of France: the latter by the Catholic powers. The humi- Union liation of Austria was the great object of Henry in supporting the Protestant princes of Germany; and for this end he lic League. assembled an army of forty thousand men, which he designed to head himself. But just as his preparations were completed, he was assassinated; and his death, added to dissensions in the Austrian family, prevented the war breaking out with the fury which afterwards characterized it.

and

Catho

hemia.

The Emperor Matthias died in 1619, and was succeeded by his cousin Ferdinand, Duke of Styria, who was an inveterate enemy to the Protestant cause. His first care was to suppress an insurrection of the Protestants, which, just before his accession, had broken out in Bohemia, under the celebrated Revolt Count Mansfeldt. The Bohemians renounced allegiance to in BoFerdinand II., and chose Frederic V., Elector Palatine, for their King. Frederic unwisely accepted the crown, which confirmed the quarrel between Ferdinand and the Bohemians. Frederic was seconded by all the Protestant princes, except the Elector of Saxony; by two thousand four hundred English volunteers; and by eight thousand troops from the United Provinces. But Ferdinand, assisted by the King of Spain and all the Catholic princes, was more than a match for Frederic, who wasted his time and strength in vain displays of sovereignty.

Maximilian, Duke of Bavaria, commanded the forces of the Catholics, who, with twenty-five thousand troops from the Low Countries, invaded Bohemia. The Bohemian forces, amounting to about thirty thousand, intrenched themselves near Prague, where they were attacked (1620) and routed,