6 1 o Bijhop B u R N E T’i* travels Book If, 
the Outfide anfwer’d the Infide, it would be one of the 
beft Churches of Italy i but the Building is of Brick, 
and it hath no Frontifpiece : There are many new Al- 
tars, made as fine as they are idolatrous, all full of 
Statues of Marble. This Abbey hath an hundred thou- 
fand Ducats Revenue ; and fo by its Wealth one may 
conclude that it belong’d to the BenedMne Order. Car- 
dinal Barherigo is Bifhop here •, he feems to fet Sc. Carlo 
before him as his Pattern ; he hath founded a noble 
Seminary for fecular Priefts j he lives in a conflant Dif- 
cipline himfelf, and endeavours to reform his Clergy all 
he can ; but he is now on ill Terms with his Canons, 
who are all noble Venetians^ and fo allow themfelves 
great Liberties, of which they will not willingly be 
abridg’d. He is charitable to a high Degree, and is, 
in all Refpefts, a very extraordinary Man. 
In the Venetian Territory their Subje6ls live eafy 
and happy, if they could be fo wife as to give 
over their Quarrels *, but though the Taxes are not 
high, they opprefs their Tenants fo feverely, that 
the Peafants live miferably. Yet on all Hands round 
about them, the Oppreffions being more intoler- 
able, they know not where to fly for Eafe •, where- 
as on the contrary, the Miferies under which their 
Neighbours groan, chiefly thofe of the Ecclefiaftical 
State, fend in Numbers among them, fo that they are 
well flock’d with People. But the Venetians d.rt fo jealous 
of their Subjects underflanding military Matters, which 
may difpofe them to revolt, that they never make any 
Levies among them for their Wars. This Jealoufy is 
the true Ground of that Maxim, though another is pre- 
tended that is more plaufible, which is, their Care of 
their own People, whom they fludy to preferve •, and 
therefore they hire Strangers, rather than expofe their 
Subjedls. It is certain, a Revolt here were no hard 
Matter, for the Garrifons and Fortifications are fo 
flight, that thofe great Towns could eafily fhake off 
their Yoke, if it were not for the Faflions that reign 
among them, by which one Party would choofe rather 
to expofe the other to the Rigour of the Inquifitors, 
than concur with them in aflerting their Liberty : And 
the Inquifitors, in fuch Cafes, proceed fo fecretly, and 
fo effeiflually, that none dares truft another with a Se- 
cret of fuch Confequence ; and the opprefTed Nobility 
of thofe States retain flill fo much of their old and un- 
fubdued Infolence, and treat fuch as are under them 
fo cruelly, that the Venetians are as fecure, as if they 
had many flrong Citadels and numerous Garrifons 
among them. From Padua down to Venice^ all along 
the R^ver Brenty'ihf^xt are many Palaces of the noble 
Venetians on both Sides of the River, built with fo great 
a Variety of Architecture, that there is not one like 
another. There is alfo the like Diverfity in the laying 
out of their Gardens ; and here they retire during the 
hot Months, and fome allow themfelves all the Excefles 
of diffolute Liberty that can poflibly be imagined. 
From Pizza Fucina, which is at the Mouth of the 
Brent, we pafs for five or fix Miles on the Lagunes, 
or Shallows, to Venice. Thefe Shallows fink of late fo 
much, that the preferving Venice flill an Ifland is like 
to become as great a Charge to the Venetians, as the 
keeping out the Sea is to the Butch ; for they ufe all 
poflible Induflry to clean fe the Channels of the Lagunes, 
and to keep them full of Water : And yet many think, 
that the Water hath failed fo much in this laft Age, 
that if it continues to abate at the fame Rate, within 
arl Age or two more, Venice may become a Part of 
the ’Terra Firma. It is certainly the moft furprizing 
Sight in the whole World to fee fo vafl a City fituated 
in the Sea, and fuch a Number of Iflands fo united to- 
gether by Bridges, brought to fuch a regular Figure, 
the Pilotty fupplying the Want of Earth to build on, 
and all fo nobly built, which is, of all the Things that 
one can fee, the moft arrrazing. And though this Re- 
publick is much funk from what it was, both by the 
great LoflTes fuflered in their Wars with the Turks, and 
.by the great Decay of Trade, yet there is an incredible 
Wealth, and a vaft Plenty of all Things in this Place. 
I will not offer to deferibe either the Church or the Pa- 
lace of St. Mark, which are too v/ell known. The 
Painting of the Walls, and the Roofs of the Halls and 
publick Rooms in the Palace, are of vaft Value. Here 
I faw that Story of Pope Alexander III. treading on the 
Neck of the Emperor Frederick Barbarojja. The No- 
blenefs of the Stair-cafes, the Riches of the Halls, and 
the Beauty of the whole Building, are much prejudiced 
by the Beaftlinefs of thofe that v/alk there, and leave 
their Marks behind them, as if this were rather a com- 
mon Houfe of Office, than fo noble a Palace. 
I went to the Convent of the Servi, but I found Fa- 
ther Paul was not in. fuch Confideration there as he is 
elfewhere. I asked for his Tomb, but they made no 
Account of him, and feemed not to know where it 
was. It is true, the Perfon to whom I was recom- 
mended was not in Venice, fo perhaps they refined too 
much in this Matter. I had great Difcourle with fome 
at Venice concerning the Memorials out of which Father 
Paul drew his Hiftory, which are, no doubt, preferved 
with great Care in their Archives ; and fince theTranf- 
ablions of the Council of Trent, as they are of Im- 
portance, fo they are become now much controverted, 
by the different Relations that Father Paul and Cardi- 
nal Pallavicini have given the World, the only Way to 
put an End to Difputes, in Matter of Fact, is to print 
the Originals themfelves. A Perfon of great Credit at 
Venice promifed me to do his utmoft to get chat Pro- 
pofition fet on Foot, though the Exadnefs that the 
Government hath always affeded, as to the Matter of 
their Archives, is held fo facred, that this made him 
apprehend they would not give Way to any fuch Search. 
The Affinity of the Matter brings into my Mind a 
Converfation I had vfith a Perfon of great Eminence 
at Venice, that had been long at Confiantinople, and was 
learned far beyond what is to be met with in Italy. 
He was at Confiantinople, when the Enquiry into the 
Dodrine of the Greek Church was fet on Foot, occa- 
fioned by the famous Difpute between Mr, Arnaud and 
Mr. Claude ; And being a zealous Roman Catholick, 
was dealt with to affift in that Bufinefs ; but as a Man 
of great Honour and Sincerity, he excufed himfelf, 
and faid he could not meddle in it. He hath a very 
bad Opinion of the Greeks, and told me, that none 
of their Priefts were more inveterate to the Church of 
Rome, than thofe that were bred up at Rome for they, 
to free themfelves of the Prejudices that their Coun- 
trymen conceive againft them, by reafon of their Edu- 
cation, affed to fhew an Oppofition to the Latin 
Church beyond any other Greeks. He told me, that 
he knew the Ignorance of the Greeks was fuch, that as 
they did not know the Dodrines of their own Church, 
fo a very little Money, or Hope of Protedion from any 
of the Ambaffadors that came from the Weft, would 
prevail with them to fign any Thing defired of them. 
He added one Thing, that though he firmly believed 
Tranfubftantiation himfelf, he did not think they be- 
lieved it, let them fay what they pleafed. He took his 
Notions of the Dodrine of their Church, rather from 
what they did, than from what they faid *, for their 
Rites, not being changed for a great many Ages, were 
the true Indications of Dodrines received among them ; 
whereas they were ignorant of Tradition, and apt to 
prevaricate when they faw Advantages or Protedion 
fet before them. Therefore he concluded, that fince 
they did not adore after the Confecration, that was an 
evident Sign they did not believe the corporal Pre- 
fence, and was well able to balance all their Subferip- 
tions. He added, he was often fcandalized to fee 
them open the Bag in which the Sacrament was, 
and fhew it with no Sort of Refped, more than 
when they ffiewed any Manufeript •, and he looked 
on Adoration as fuch a neceffary Confequent of Tran- 
fubftantiation, that he could not imagine that the 
latter was received in a Church that did not pradife 
the former. To this I will add wffiat an eminent Catho- 
lick at Paris told me, that the Originals of thofe Attef- 
tations were in too exad and too corred a Style to have 
been formed in Greece. He affured me they were 
penn’d at Paris, by one that was a Mafter of the Puri- 
ty 
