REFORMATION. 



fche Lateran ; when the address and per- 

 severance of Leo the Tenth had sur- 

 mounted a thousand difficulties, and giv- 

 en peace to his dominions ; when Rome 

 had begun once more to assume its an- 

 cient grandeur, and was again become 

 the centre of genius, letters, and tiie arts ; 

 when the dark clouds of the middle ages 

 were scattered before the rays of science, 

 and the light of genius had begun to il- 

 lumine the moral horizon, the attention of 

 the whole Christian world was directed 

 to an event that threatened nothing less 

 than the speedy ruin of the Papal authori- 

 ty, and the complete demolition of that 

 fabric of religious magnificence which the 

 labours of myriads had united to raise, 

 and which the lapse of centuries had left 

 rather established than impaired. It is 

 curious to reflect, that what bid fair to 

 have been the glory and security of the 

 church, conspired to her destruction, and 

 threatened her total overthrow. Leo the 

 Tenth, in aiming to enhance the glory of 

 his pontificate by the encouragement of 

 literature and the patronage of the arts, 

 was fostering in his bosom an enemy to 

 destroy his peace and degrade his power. 

 The seeds of learning which his father, 

 Lorenzo de' Medici, had sown, and he so 

 plentifully watered, sprung up to choak 

 his pleasures, and reward him with trou- 

 ole. No sooner had the human mind be- 

 gwi to be emancipated from its slavery, 

 than it employed its newly restored liber, 

 ty in bold and presumptuous investiga- 

 tigations into the conduct of the Roman 

 Pontiffs, the extravagances of the Papal 

 court, the foundations of church govern- 

 ments, and the truth of established doc- 

 trines. The errors and misconduct of 

 the clergy were exposed to the shafts of 

 ridicule and the remonstrances of reason. 

 The hardy and intrepid genius of Dante, 

 rrhich placed the vicars of Christ in the 

 infernal regions, lighted up the fire ofPe- 

 trarca, and encouraged him to identify 

 the court of Rome with that of ancient 

 Babylon. He made the vices and errors 

 of the Church the subject of his sonnets, 

 and the constant theme of his abuse. 

 Protected by their genius, and respected 

 JOF their character, these two great men 

 not only escaped the censures of the Holy 

 See, but emboldened the populace to ques- 

 tion the infallibility of a church which had 

 ttothtngbut luxury in its train, and learn- 

 rug for its boast. The entertaining work 

 <tf Boccaccio exposed the debaucheries of 

 the religious, and opened the eyes of the 

 ;>cople ; and the emancipation of the hu- 

 'man race, from the ignominious shackles 



of ignorance and priestcraft, was hasten- 

 ed by the celebrated Facetiae of Poggio, 

 and the writings of Burchiello, Pulci, and 

 Franco. To the light which these men 

 threw upon the corruptions of the church, 

 and the licentiousness of the Holy See, 

 the patronage of painters, sculptors, and 

 poets, and the protection and maintenance 

 of buffoons and jesters, afforded but a 

 poor defence. Leo X. loved and admired 

 men of learning, notwithstanding their 

 learning was often employed to expose 

 his extravagances, and endanger the 

 church. 



These exposures had begun to be made 

 during the pontificate of SixtusIV. and 

 that Pope, and his immediate successors, 

 less remiss to the concerns of the church 

 than Leo X. had taken some measures 

 to ward off the danger ; but instead of 

 applying the only prevcntative, by re- 

 forming their morals and their lives, 

 the heads of the church sought to 

 stifle investigation by threatenings and 

 punishment. Several very severe re- 

 strictions had been laid upon the publi- 

 cation of those works which had a tenden- 

 cy to open the eyes of the people, and 

 expose the errors and vices of the church. 

 These restrictions were, however, in a 

 great measure neglected, by the ardent 

 love of literature which so eminently cha- 

 racterised the conduct of Leo X. That 

 pontiff forgot even his own safety, amidst 

 poets, painters, sculptors, wits, and en- 

 tertainments. 



What tended also to pave the way for 

 the reformation, was the rage which at 

 that time, prevailed among the learned 

 for Grecian literature and the Pagan my- 

 thology. The barbarous latinity of the 

 middle ages gave way to the refined beau- 

 ties of poetry and classical learning-. The 

 paganism of Cicero, and the beauties of 

 Virgil, were made to illustrate and adorn 

 the sublime mysteries of the Christian 

 faith ; and Jupiter, Apollo, and Diana, 

 were deemed fit representatives of the 

 persons of the Blessed Trinity, and lumi- 

 nous illustrations of Christian platonism. 

 The doctrine of atonement, by the suf- 

 ferings of Christ, was explained and en- 

 force'd by the examples of the Decii and 

 of Curtius ; of Cecrops, Mensecius, and 

 Iphigenia ; of Socrates and Phocion ; of 

 Epaminondas, Scipio, and Aristides. The 

 doctrines and practices of Paganism he- 

 ing thus honoured by the ministers of the 

 church, no wonder that the poets, par- 

 ticularly Pontano, Sanazzaro, and Marul- 

 lus, should constantly endeavour to adorn 

 even their sacred poems with a refer 



