Opinion for a time may make an erroneous judgment, but in one way or other the judgment of sensible men has a magic influence over mankind, and, in time, rallies the majority, and enables them to reverse a foolish or prejudiced opinion. The remark of Dr. Temple, that a barbarous or ignorant opinion is corrected by advancing wisdom, is, to be sure, liable to exceptions. The coast of Africa bordering on the Mediterranean shows no improvement over the time when St. Augustine was an inhabitant of Carthage, or when he was Bishop of Hippo. But with regard to the civilised portions of the globe, to England under her constitutional monarchy, to France and Germany, to Portugal under Dom John of Braganza, to Sweden and Denmark, to India under the British Government, to the United States of America, it may be said, as Galileo said of the earth when his torture had been relaxed, Nevertheless it moves.' •Increequent teraddle 166 ESSAY XI. LEO X. ADRIAN VI. CLEMENT VII. THE anarchy and violence which swayed everything in the middle ages had, in the process of time, yielded to the influence of letters; the improvement of manners had, in process of time, driven away these open and abominable scandals. Learned men had occupied the seat of St. Peter; the commerce of the Italian cities; the order which distinguished Venice; the talents which, in the persons of Dante, and Petrarch, had illustrated Florence; the revival of letters, and finally, the invention of printing, had prepared the mind of Europe for great changes. It seemed impossible that the dark superstitions which had gained strength and power during the middle ages, should not be visited, and in some degree dispersed by the coming light. It was, therefore, of the utmost importance that the see of Rome should be occupied by a prelate who might be at once pious and enlightened; who might reform the notorious abuses of the Roman Catholic Church, and reconcile the advancement of letters, the progress of society, and the refinement of manners, with the pure spirit of that religion over whose ministers it was his duty to preside; and whose ceremonies and sacraments it was in his power to elevate, and to direct to the worship of an Almighty God, and the practice of an unblemished morality. Who was Leo X., thus called upon to perform a most difficult task at a momentous crisis? The republic of Florence was one of the most powerful of those States which had brought to pass, by its wealth, its commerce, and its love of the fine arts, the civilisation of Italy, when the greater part of Europe was in the chains of the feudal system, divided by private wars, sunk in ignorance, and suffering from poverty and barbarism. Florence, with Venice, Genoa, Pisa, and some other cities, exhibited in those times the most costly articles of manufacture; and in its churches. displayed works of sculpture and painting, giving assurance of difficulties overcome, and promise of those wonders of art which in the days of Michael Angelo and Raphael astonished and enchanted Europe. The political constitution of Florence was far from perfection. It fluctuated, as Machiavel has observed, not between liberty and servitude, but between servitude and licence. Some of the richest merchants, placing themselves at the head of different political parties, gained by turns a supremacy which was not limited by law, or restrained by moderation. Among these, Cosmo de' Medici, while he was conspicuous by his wealth and extensive connections in various parts of Europe, was also remarkable for his political sagacity. Observing that the nobility availed themselves of their power to exempt their property from a due share of the public burthens, he made him self very popular by proposing what was called the Catasto; namely, a valuation of all landed property, and a tax of half per cent. on the capital which each landed estate was estimated to be worth. Supposing estates to have yielded 5 per cent., an income of 2,000 florins would have represented a capital of 40,000 florins, and would have paid 10 per cent. on the annual income. Supposing the capital to have returned only 2 per cent., 100,000 florins would have paid a tax of 500 florins, or 25 per cent. on the income. The Medici after this rose to unequalled power in the republic. It was usual in the peaceful revolutions of Florence, effected by a public assembly called a Balia, to expel the chiefs of the defeated party, who were what was called confinati-that is to say, banished to a fixed place in a foreign State, which they were bound not to leave. The cell or small chamber in which Cosmo was detained previously to his banishment, on one of the occasions when his party were routed, is still shown in the Palazzo Vecchio of Florence. Lorenzo succeeded quietly to the power of his father, and increased his power after the failure of the conspiracy of the Pazzi, for taking part in which the Archbishop Salviati was hanged out of the window. The authority of Lorenzo was long undisturbed. He governed with the assistance and by the influence of three hundred citizens of his own party, who met from time to time to deliberate on public affairs. It was at this period a question with the most patriotic statesmen of Florence whether the temperate authority of Lorenzo was not preferable to the turbulent liberty which had before prevailed. The manifest defect was that the merit of Lorenzo's rule depended on his own. personal moderation, his good sense, and his readiness to listen to the counsels of the best men of his party. While Lorenzo lived he was the Pericles of the Tuscan Athens. Laurentius Valla, Pico Mirandola, and other men of letters surrounded him, and shared in the discussions which revived the philosophy of Plato, and emulated the lyrics of Bion and of Moschus. More than one Aspasia welcomed Lorenzo as a favoured lover; and when he stood forth in the streets of Florence, reciting Ben venga Maggio È il Gonfalonier selvaggio, the age of political and social happiness seemed to have arrived. Nor was Lorenzo less careful of the peace of Italy, and its immunity from the invasion of foreigners. I have said that, before the Reformation was attempted, the Rome of Christianity had become as foul with crime and depraved morals as the pagan Rome, which St. Paul has described in terms of eternal reprobation. Thus, if Caligula and Nero had blasted the fame of the Roman empire by incest and murder, Alexander VI., and his son Cæsar Borgia, had given to sacerdotal Rome the same infamy of incest and murder. It is said that of the Pope's offspring, two of whom he acknow 1 Guicciardini. |