$27 



SISMONDI, JEAN CHARLES DE. 



SIXTHS IV. 



conscientious examination of authorities, and the absence of political 

 prejudices, that the value of the ' Re"publiques Italiennes,' as a faithful 

 historical record, is chiefly due. The style is pleasing and attractive, 

 but, though a good French scholar, he never hesitates to use an unau- 

 thorised or even ungrammatical phrase in order to convey his meaning 

 with greater precision. The part of the work, which is generally 

 considered to be most defective, is that which treats of the develop- 

 ment of the republican constitutions and the modifications which they 

 afterwards experienced ; for the full accomplishment of this portion 

 of his task, Sismondi is said not to have possessed sufficient legal know- 

 ledge. While engaged in writing this history he was likewise employed 

 as a contributor to the ' Biographie Universelle,' which was publishing 

 in Paris under the editorship of Michaud. The biographies which he 

 contributed to this valuable work were those of the principal historical 

 personages of Italy, for the composition of which the researches he 

 was then making in Italian history eminently fitted him. Sismondi 

 was accustomed regularly to read the manuscript pages of his history 

 to his mother, and, with the humility of filial obedience, to lend an 

 attentive ear to the corrections she suggested. To her pious care he 

 has gratefully acknowledged himself not a little indebted for the 

 eminence he attained as an author ; in his desponding moments she 

 was ever a present comforter, and the rough path to literary fame was 

 smoothed by her counsels and cheered by her example. In 1811 he 

 delivered at Geneva a course of lectures upon the Literature of the 

 South of Europe, which were printed at Paris in 1813, and a third 

 edition, in four volumes, was published in 1829. It comprises an 

 introductory history of the decline of the Latin language and the 

 formation of the languages of Southern Europe, and presents us with 

 a history of Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese literature to the end of 

 the eighteenth century. The portion of this work which treats of the 

 literature of Spain and Portugal is the most imperfect, as the 

 information which it contains is derived from secondary sources. 

 This work has been translated into English by Mr. Thomas Roscoe, 

 and forms two volumes of Bolm's Standard Library. 



In 1813 Sismondi visited Paris, which at that time presented an 

 interesting study for a political observer; he there formed an acquaint- 

 ance with an illustrious brother historian, M. Guizot, who, when, in 

 1819, he became minister of public instruction, made him the offer of 

 a valuable professorship at Paris, which however he declined. During 

 the Hundred Days a series of letters, which he published in the 

 ' Moniteur," on the French Constitution, attracted the attention of 

 Napoleon I., who requested an interview with the author. The inte- 

 resting details of this interview were immediately after reported by 

 Sismondi to his mother, and an abridgment of them may be seen in 

 the ' Quarterly Review' (vol. 72, p. 318-321). 



In 1819 Sismondi began his longest, and, as it is by some considered, 

 his best work, ' L'Uistoire des Frangais,' which occupied him till the 

 close of his life. It was not at first the intention of the author to 

 briug down this history to a later period than the Edict of Nantes, 

 which terminates the twenty-first volume ; he was induced to continue 

 it, on a more abridged scale, to the period of the Revolution, but he 

 carried it no further than the year 1750. His principal motives for 

 undertaking this important work were, the connection of French 

 history with Italian, and the fact that French literature possessed no 

 history of the kind which could be looked upon as a work of authority. 

 To these motives may be added the great interest which Sismondi 

 evinced in the affairs of a country which he had adopted as his own. 

 He has not, however, allowed his bias in favour of France and the 

 French to interfere with the investigation of truth and the declaration 

 of it. So little indeed did he seek to gratify in it the national vanity, 

 that he has not hesitated to expose the weak foundation on which had 

 rested undisturbed for centuries many traditional incidents in the 

 history of France, which, as they responded to the popular feeling, had 

 been fondly cherished in the memory of the people. 



The history is divided into eleven periods : the first three treat of 

 the early races of French kings, the Merovingian, Carlovingian, and 

 early Capetian races, to the accession of Louis IX. ; the fourth brings 

 it down to the death of Charles IV., 1328; the fifth, from the accession 

 of Philip le Valois to Charles V., 1422 ; the sixth, from 1422 to 1515; 

 the seventh, and most interesting, presents us with the reign of 

 Francis I., and is a beautiful specimen of historical portraiture, in 

 which the colours, though lively and pleasing, are never exaggerated ; 

 the eighth embraces the period of the religious wars of France, which 

 are treated of with an impartiality scarcely to be looked for in a 

 Genevan Protestant; the ninth is the reign of that favourite of 

 French kings, the first of the Bourbons, and here, more perhaps 

 than in any other part of his writings, may be seen the honest 

 spirit by which he was actuated; indeed in his endeavour to be 

 impartial, he has perhaps sometimes been unnecessarily severe on 

 the character of Henri IV. Tha last three periods embrace the 

 history of France under the Bourbona to the latter period of the 

 reign of Louis XV. 



In the year 1830 Siamondi published, in 'Lardner's Cabinet Cyclo- 

 paedia,' an abridgment, in Euglisn, of his ' Re"publiques Italiennes ; ' a 

 French edition of this work appeared in Paris in 1832, under the title 

 'Histoire de la Renaissance de la Libert^ en Italie.' 



The last and least known of his historical works is entitled ' Histoire 

 de la Chute de 1'Empire Remain et du De"clin de la Civilisation.' 



This work, which was published at Paris in 1835, embraces the history 

 of 750 years, from A.D. 250 to 1000. 



The other writings of Sismondi are, 1, 'Julie Severe,' an historical 

 novel in imitation of Sir Walter Scott, in which he describes the con- 

 dition of Gaul at the time that Rome was a prey to the barbarians ; 

 it was published at Paris in 1822: 2, 'Etudes sur les Sciences 

 Sociales,' published at Paris in 1836 ; this work contains a collection 

 of articles which he had previously contributed to various periodicals : 

 3, ' De la Vie et des Ecrits de Th. Mallet,' 8vo, 1807. 



The above is a brief account of the writings of Sismondi; but it 

 would be doing injustice to his memory to omit some of the details of 

 his private life and character which have been recorded by his bio- 

 graphers. Surrounded by a circle of all that was most distinguished 

 in literature, he was conspicuous among them for the amiability of his 

 disposition and the devotedness of his friendship. Though he never 

 reached a state of affluence, he was liberal iu contributing to the 

 necessities of the poor, and he is said to have spent considerable 

 sums in the furtherance of causes which had political freedom for 

 their object. Fond of society, he never allowed his inclination to 

 enjoy it to trespass upon the time he had marked out for study, 

 usually nine or ten hours a day. The time he allotted to tuis object 

 was never broken in upon, except to assist a friend or to alleviate mis- 

 fortune. As a public character he displayed considerable firmness in 

 the maintenance of his political opinions, and he was careless of the 

 unpopularity which this conduct often entailed upon him. 



About the year 1840 he felt the first symptoms of the cruel malady 

 to which he fell a victim, which was a cancer in the stomach. A short 

 journey which he made to England appears to have aggravated his 

 disease ; but his sufferings, though intense, scarcely interrupted hia 

 application to study, and he may almost be said to have died with 

 the pen in hand. Indeed three days before his death, which occurred 

 on the 25th of June, 1842, he was occupied in correcting the last 

 proof sheets of his ' Histoire des Frangais.' 



Sismondi married, in 1819, Miss Allen, sister to the late Mr. Allen 

 of Cressilly, member of parliament for Pembrokeshire, and to the 

 second wife of Sir James Mackintosh. 



S1XTUS I. is recorded as bishop of Rome after Alexander I., about 

 the beginning of the second century of our era, but the precise epoch 

 is not ascertained, and nothing more is known of him. 



SIXTUS II. succeeded Stephen I., A.D. 257. He is said to have 

 been by birth an Athenian, and a philosopher of the Academy until 

 he became a convert to Christianity. He suffered martyrdom in the 

 persecution of the Christians under the Emperor Valerianus, in 258. 



SIXTUS III. succeeded Celestine I., iu 431. He endeavoured, 

 though with little success, to settle the dispute between Cyril, bishop 

 of Alexandria, and John, bishop of Antioch, concerning the Nestorians. 

 Several of his letters are contained in Constant's collection. He died 

 in 440. 



SIXTUS IV. (Cardinal Francesco della Rovere), a Franciscan 

 monk, succeeded Paul II. in 1471. He greatly enriched his nephews, 

 or sons, according to some, one of whom was afterwards pope uuder 

 the name of Julius II. He seized Citta, di Castello from its lord, 

 Niccolo" Vitelli, and took Forli, Imola, and other places. He after- 

 wards supported the conspiracy of the Pazzl against Lorenzo de' 

 Medici, and his nephew Cardinal Riario was present in the church 

 when Uiuliano, Lorenzo's brother, was assassinated. The conspiracy 

 however failed of its principal objects, for Lorenzo was saved, and the 

 conspirators were put to death, including Salviati, archbishop of Pisa, 

 who was one of the leaders. Riario was saved by Lorenzo's interposi- 

 tion, and merely confined for a time. Sixtus, on hearing the news, 

 excommunicated Lorenzo, and all the magistrates of Florence and 

 their abettors, for having hung the archbishop. The clergy of Florence 

 took the part of Lorenzo, and being assembled in convocation or sjuod 

 held for the occasion, they signed an act of accusation grounded upon 

 depositions and statements of facts proving Sixtus to have been acces- 

 sory to the conspiracy and the murder of Giuliano. This curious 

 document, the original of which, in the hand-writing of Gentile 

 d'Urbino, bishop of Arezzo, exists in the archives of Florence, is given 

 by Fabroni and Roscoe in their respective biographies of Lorenzo. 

 The expressions used by the clergy of Florence, iu speaking of the 

 head of the church, are stronger than any of those used half a century 

 later by Luther and the other reformers. Another document, drawn 

 up by Bartolomeo Scala, chancellor of the republic of Florence, cor- 

 roborates the statements in the Florentine synod, by giving an histo- 

 rical memorial of all the proceedings of that celebrated conspiracy. 

 Pope Sixtus induced Ferdinand, king of Naples, to join his troops to 

 the papal forces against Florence, but the Florentines braved the 

 storm, until Lorenzo took the bold resolution of proceeding to Naples 

 alone, to plead the cause of his country before King Ferdinand, in 

 which he succeeded. Sixtus, being forsaken by his ally, and alarmed 

 at the same time at the progress of the Turks, who had landed at 

 Otranto, was fain to asree to a reconciliation with the Florentines. In 

 1482 Sixtus entered into another intrigue with the Venetians, for the 

 purpose of depriving Duke Ercole of Este of his dominion of Ferrara, 

 which he wished to bestow upon Count Girolamo Riario, another of 

 ais nephews. This led to a war, in which the king of Naples and 

 ;he Florentines supported the Duke of Ferrara against the pope and 

 the Venetians. The emperor however interposed, threatening to call 



