true that he violated, without any known necessity, certain solemn obligations respecting the time of commencing his Crusade. His reluctance to engage at all in such sanguinary and fruitless enterprises may be acknowledged and justified; but his repeated breach of faith gave some reason to the Holy See for suspecting his subsequent promises. It is also true that he exiled some bishops, and imprisoned others, and even proceeded to greater extremities against some individuals of the inferior orders of the clergy; and also that he levied contributions and imposts on all classes of his ecclesiastical subjects*. But those who felt his rigour may probably have deserved it by moral or political misconduct; and it was just and legal † that the clergy should contribute some proportion to the support of the state. It may seem strange that, while his adversaries heap upon him the bitterest charges of impiety and blasphemy‡, his friends persist in asserting the unalterable fidelity and affection which he bore to his mother church, the protectress of his infancy; that he was ever eager to advocate her cause, and promote her interests. In support of this singular pretension, it is advanced, that he was the inflexible and implacable extirpator of heresy. This fact, though urged by his admirers, is not disputed by his enemies. It is faithfully recorded, that at an early period (in 1224) he published three constitutions, which aggravated the guilt and punishments of heresy even beyond those of treason, and placed the temporal authorities at the disposal of the ecclesiastical inquisitors §. Those (he ordained) who have been arrested for heresy, and who, being moved by the fear of death, are desirous to return to the Church, shall be condemned to the penance of perpetual imprisonment. The judges shall be bound to seize the heretics discarded by the inquisitors of the holy See, or by others zealous for the Catholic faith, and to confine them closely until their execution, according to the sentence of the Church We also condemn to death those who, having abjured to save their life, shall return into error. We deprive heretics, and all who abet them, of all benefit of appeal; and it is our will that heresy be entirely banished from the whole extent of our empire. And as the crime which assails God is greater than that of treason, we ordain that the children of heretics, to the second generation, be deprived of all temporal benefits, and all public offices, unless they come forward and denounce their parents. ||'

Such were the measures by which an independent, and powerful, and

*Hence (says Giannone) probably arose the report, that he had commonly proclaimed his intention of reducing the clergy to primitive poverty; so that Matthew Paris, who, before Frederic's deposition, had always adhered to his party, as soon as he understood that such were his common expressions, as he was himself abbot of Monte Albano (St. Alban's), in England, and wealthy and well beneficed, was displeased with such a proposition, and so began to change his style, and to write against him, in a manner different from his former.' Stor. di Nap., lib. xvii., c. 4.

+ Giannone proves that such had been the invariable custom, at least in the southern provinces of the empire of Frederic.

One of these is the celebrated expression respecting the Three Impostors, then commonly attributed to Frederic, though solemnly and publicly denied by him. Another is a tale, recorded by certain monks, that, when they requested him to spare their crop of wheat, Frederic commanded his soldiers to desist, and to respect those ears of corn, since some day the grains which they contained might become so many Christs.' Giannone, loc. cit., on authority of Simon Hanh, Hist. Germ. in Frederico II.

§ Several authors assert that, in virtue of a promise made to Innocent III., he established a permanent Inquisition in Sicily in the year 1213. Stor. di Nap. loc. cit. This, however, is scarcely probable, for the Inquisition was not at that time permanently established even at Toulouse.

Fleury, Hist. Eccl., lib. lxxviii., sec. lxv.

(for those days) an enlightened monarch, evinced his affection for the Church of Rome! Such were the favours by which he courted her friendship, and sought to merit her gratitude! by feeding her fiercest passion -by sanctioning the most fatal of all her evil principles. It is true that Frederic may thus have established some claims on the sympathy of the furious zealots of his time; but his indulgence to those churchmen was no deed of friendship to the Church. To protect and foster the vices of a system, is to prevent its permanence, and poison its prosperity; and if ever, during his long reign, he appeared as the real friend of Rome, it was the time when he least professed that name-at the time when he exposed her abuses, and proclaimed her shame, and called upon her to repent and amend. And assuredly, when he lent his obsequious sword to swell the catalogue of her crimes, he was already preparing for his latter years the tempest which disturbed and tormented them; nor did it happen without the spirit of God, that his calamities were inflicted by that same hand, whose darkest atrocities had been approved and directed by himself.

Disputes between Church and Empire.

It is strange, too, that among the four reasons by which the Pope justified his sentence of deposition, it was one, that Frederic had rendered himself guilty of heresy, by his contempt of pontifical censures, and his unholy alliance with the Saracens. Thus, then, did that prince, according to the strict letter of his own constitutions, become liable, on his condemnation by the Church, to the monstrous penalties contained in them. Another *, perhaps a more plausible reason, was this, that he had been deficient in that fidelity, which he owed to the Pope, as his vassal for the kingdom of Sicily; for that claim, however absurd in origin and principle, had been previously asserted and acknowledged. But, in truth, when we compare the character and causes of this second conflict between the Church and the Empire with those which marked the contest of Henry with Gregory VII. and his successors, we find it much more difficult to discover what was the specific and tangible ground of quarrel. In the former instance there existed one grand and definite object, for which both parties perseveringly struggled; in the latter, many vague complaints and indeterminate offences were advanced and retorted; but no single great principle was avowedly contested, nor was any one additional right or privilege acquired or confirmed to the Church by its final triumph. Only the power and influence of Rome were made more manifest; and other nations were taught to tremble at the omnipotence of the double sword.

This leads us to remark another distinction-that, in the contest with Henry, it was, in reality, the Church of Rome which rose in opposition to the empire-the spiritual, or, at least, the ecclesiastical, interests of the See were those most consulted and most prominent in the debate. In that with Frederic, it was rather from the Court of Rome, that the spirit and motives of policy proceeded. In the former case, the material sword was introduced as secondary and subsidiary to the spiritual; but in the latter, if the contrary was not actually the case †, at least the two weapons were

*See Sismondi, Rep. Ital., ch. xvi.

In the year 1251, Christianus, (or Conrad,) Archbishop of Mentz, was actually deposed by Innocent, for reluctance to use arms in the defence of the Church. He said, that the works of war did not become the sacerdotal character; but that he was ever willing to use the sword of the spirit, which was the word of God. The Scriptures had

so dexterously substituted and interchanged for each other-the one was so continually presented under the holy semblance of the other-as to show the proficiency which the See had latterly made in the art of deluding the human race.

Again the avarice or the necessities of Rome compelled her, during these disputes, to a measure which, however expedient at the moment, was finally very injurious to her-that of levying taxes rigidly and generally upon the clergy. It was not in England only (though there most successfully*) that Gregory IX. exacted from all ranks of ecclesiastics the tenth of their moveables immediately on his breach with the emperor; and every one recollects with what repugnance his second requisition (in 1240) was admitted by our clerical forefathers. From the moment that the Pope was found so infatuated as to publish a Crusade† against a Catholic emperor, and to feed his own temporal ambition by despoiling his faithful Catholic clergy, the minds of all reasonable laymen were startled and revolted by the former outrage, while the hearts of the clergy, being touched by the injustice of the latter, began gradually to close against so rapacious a protector.

When Innocent received the news of the death of Frederic, his exultation broke forth without restraint or moderation;

Conduct of Innocent. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be in festivity; for the thunder and the tempest with which a powerful God has so long threatened your heads, are changed by the death of that man into refreshing breezes and fertilizing dews ‡.'

commanded him to put his sword in the sheath.' Of this offence (and no other charge is mentioned) he was accused by the king and certain of the laity before the Pope, and was immediately degraded from his See. Pagi, Innoc. IV., see. xlvii.

*The pages of Matthew Paris abound with instances of pontifical rapacity and insolence. See ad annos 1244, 1245, 1246, 1247, 1250, 1252, &c. Sometimes a legate à latere was the instrument; sometimes the Mendicants acted as tax-gatherers; and even Ireland did not escape their visitations. In 1247, the complaints both of the French and English clergy assumed a formidable shape for that age. The lasting effect was, that the former devotion to Rome was turned into execrabile odium et maledictiones occultas."' For all both saw and felt that the Pope was insatiable in his extortions, to their great loss and impoverishment. And there were many who began to question whether he had really received from heaven the power of St. Peter to bind and to loose, seeing how very unlike he was to that apostle. Resolutum est igitur os iniqua loquentium, &c.' this as well in France as in England.

and

The same indulgences were promised to those who armed against the emperor as against the sultan; and the apostolic preachers, under Innocent at least, even pointed out the former as the easier and broader road to salvation. Sismondi, Rep. Ital., chap. xvi. Fleury, Hist. Eccl., lib. lxxxiii., sec. xxxiii. The nobility of France, and the Queen Blanche, were highly offended by this measure of Innocent, during the Crusade of St. Louis. The Pope (they complained) is preaching a new Crusade against Christians for the extension of his own dominions, and forgets the king, our master, who is suffering so much for the faith,' Let the Pope (the queen replied) keep those who go into his ser vice; and let them depart, never to return. The nobles also reprimanded the Mendicants who had preached this Crusade. We build for you churches and houses: we receive, nourish, and entertain you. What good does the Pope for you? He fatigues and torments you; he makes you his tax-gatherers, and renders you hateful to your benefactors.' They excused themselves on the plea of the obedience due to him. . Here we discover the elements of the Gallican liberties.

In a similar spirit of Christian forgiveness, the same Pope is related to have expressed his exultation at the death of Grosstete, bishop of Lincoln. I rejoice; and let every true son of the Church rejoice with me—that my great enemy is removed.' Assuredly that admirable prelate had gone very far in disaffection, not hesitating to denounce Innocent, almost with his dying breath, as Antichrist; For by what other name are we to designate that power, which labours to destroy the souls that Christ came to

save ?'

It was thus that he addressed the clergy of Sicily, while, at the same time, he prepared to reduce that province, together with the kingdom of Naples, under his own immediate government, and attach it in perpetuity to the dominions of the Church. In pursuance of this project, he quitted Lyons, his constant residence* during the uncertainties of the war, and visited, in a sort of triumphal procession, the Guelphic cities of Italy. He was everywhere received with an enthusiasm which he had not merited by any regard for any interests except his own; and he is even supposed somewhat to have chilled the misplaced gratitude of his allies by the unexpected assertion of some spiritual pretensions over themselves. In Sicily, and the south of Italy, he succeeded in creating a powerful party; but it was overthrown by the arms of Conrad and Manfred, the sons of Frederic. Foiled by force, the Pope had recourse to intrigue; and he began to treat successively with the kings of England and France, with a view to bestow the crown of the Sicilies on a branch either of the one family or the other. In the meantime, the death of Conrad revived in him the expiring hope of uniting it to his own. Ambition resumed her sway; and he broke off the imperfect negotiations. The kingdom of Naples was again thronged with his emissaries; seditions were in every quarter excited in his favour; and even Manfred himself, in the belief that resistance would be vain, advanced to the frontiers to offer his submission, and deigned to lead by the bridle the horse of the pontiff as he crossed the Garigliano.

This event, which seemed to secure to the Court of Rome the throne of Naples and Sicily, and thus to extend its dominions beyond any limits which it had at any time reached, or, till lately, aspired to, took place in the summer of 1254. The duration of this unnatural prosperity was even shorter than could have been predicted by the most penetrating statesman; for before the conclusion of the very same year, Manfred had again possessed himself of the keys of the kingdom. But Innocent did not live to witness this second reverse; -he had already expired t at Naples, in mature old age, and in the confident persuasion that he had achieved the dearest object of his ambition, and that he died the most powerful prince who had ever filled the throne of St. Peter.

During a pontificate of eleven years and five months, he had displayed

On the departure of the Pope from Lyons, the Cardinal Hugo made a valedictory address to all the population of both sexes; and it contained the following sentence :'Amici, magnam fecimus, postquam in hanc Urbem venimus, utilitatem et eleemosynam. Quando enim primo huc venimus, tria vel quattuor prostibula invenimus. Sed nunc recedentes unum solum relinquimus. Verum ipsum durat continuatum ab orientali parte civitatis usque ad occidentalem.' This is related as fact by Matthew Paris. Ad ann. 1251.

Soon after Innocent's death, (of which the exact day, it is proper to remark, is disputed-Pagi, Inn. IV., sec. lxv.) à cardinal had the following vision. He saw a noble matron, on whose brow the word Ecclesia was written, present her petition at the Judgment-seat, saying, Justissime Judex, justè judica. She then brought forward these charges against Innocent IV. (1.) At the foundation of the Church, Thou didst give it liberties proceeding from Thyself; but he has made it the vilest of slaves, (ancillam vilissimam). (2.) It was founded to benefit the souls of the miserable;--he has made it a table of money-gatherers. (3.) It was founded in Faith, Justice, and Truth;-but he has staggered Faith, destroyed Justice, and clouded Truth. Justum ergo judicium redde mihi. Then the Lord said to him, Go and receive thy reward according to thy merits. And thus he was carried away. The cardinal then woke, through the terror of this sentence, and shouted so loud, as to excite the suspicion of insanity. Ista visio (continues Matthew Paris) (nescitur si fantastica) multos perterruit; et utinam cum effectu castigans emendavit. That it was generally propagated, and perhaps believed at the time, is sufficient to prove to us (if we needed indirect proof) what was the sort of reputation which Innocent IV. possessed among his contemporaries.

all the qualities which consummate an artful politician, and which disgrace a bishop and a Christian. As a statesman, he deThe Character of signed daringly, he negotiated skilfully, he intrigued Innocent IV. successfully; he perfectly comprehended the means at his disposal, and adapted them so closely to his purposes, that his reign presented a series of those triumphs *which are usually designated glorious. As a churchman, he bade defiance to the best principles of his religion; he set at nought the common feelings of humanity. The spiritual guide to eternal life, he had no fixed motive of action, except vulgar temporal ambition. The servant of the servants of God,' he rejected with scorn the humiliation of Frederic †, and spurned a suppliant emperor, who had been his friend. And lastly, when the infant son of Conrad was presented to his tutelary protection by a dying father, the prayer was haughtily refused; and the father of all Christians, and the protector of all orphans,' hastened to usurp the hereditary rights of a Christian child and orphan. These circumstances duly considered, with every allowance for times and prejudices, seem, indeed, almost to justify the expression of the sultan of Egypt, in his answer to a letter of Innocent-the taunt of a a Mussulman addressed to Christ's vicar upon earth;— We have received your epistle, and listened to your envoy: he has spoken to us of Jesus Christ-whom we know better than you know, and whom we honour more than you honour him ‡.' Alexander IV. succeeded to the chair, to the passions, and to the pro

jects of Innocent; and it was the leading object of his Alexander IV. reign of six years to maintain or recover the temporal possession of the kingdom of Manfred. But he possessed neither the firmness of character nor the various talents necessary for success. The machine, which had not always moved obediently even to the hand of Innocent, seemed to lose, in his feebler grasp, all the elasticity of its action; and it became evident, before the end of his pontificate, that the sceptre of Naples and Sicily was not destined to a bishop of Rome. At the same time, Alexander was celebrated for the exercise of some of those virtues, which were not found in his predecessor for earnestness of piety, or, at least, for assiduity in prayer, and the strict observance of Church regulations §. The favours which he bestowed upon the Mendicant orders will prove his zeal, indeed, rather than the wisdom of his policy. But the Crusade which he preached, from whatsoever motive, against Eccelino, the tyrant, was almost justified

* We should mention, however, that the fall of Frederic is not wholly attributable to Innocent's influence. A very strong republican and anti-imperial spirit previously prevailed in many, especially the northern, cities of Italy, which the Pope could not have created, though he very well knew how to avail himself of it. Another remark we may here make-that Innocent was much more successful in fomenting seditions, and making parties in foreign states, than in securing the subordination of his own capital. There were few cities in Italy where he had less influence than at Rome; which may account for his continual absence from it. See Sismondi, Rep. Ital., chap. xviii. Matthew Paris, Hist. Angliæ, ann. 1254.

Sismondi, Rep. Ital., chap. xvii.

De quo Christo plus scimus quam vos sciatis, et magnificamus eum plusquam vas magnificatis. Bzov., Ann. Eccles, ad ann. 1264. Matthew Paris, Hist. ad ann. eundem. The letter is a very sensible composition, and deals very directly with the subjects on which it treats.

§ Alexander IV. is thus characterised by Matthew Paris ;-Satis benignus et bene religiosus; assiduus in orationibus, in abstinentia strenuus, sed sibilis adulantium seducibilis et pravis avarorum suggestionibus inclinitivus. Pagi is very much offended by the qualification of the praise.