oo !NNO 
that of a difhonoui'able trick, to frriooth the road to his 
advancement. From his fubfequent conduct he derives 
greater credit. He made it his bufmefs to coi*re6t many 
of the abufes which had been introduced or connived at 
by his predeceffors. As foon as he had taken poffeffion 
of his fee, he revoked the refervations and commendams 
granted by his predeceflor, which had proved the means 
of depriving the officiating clergy of their revenues, arid 
jiroftituting them to the ufe of idle drones ; and he abo¬ 
lished the heavy impoiitions laid upon the clergy, when 
referred to any new benefice or dignity. He obliged the 
ifhops and other dignitaries, who flocked to Avignon 
from all parts to hunt after new preferments, to return to 
their fees and churches, and reflde there, upon pain of ex- 
communication. He retrenched all the unneceflary ex- 
pences of the papal court, contenting himfelf with a fmall 
number of attendants ; and lie obliged the cardinals to 
follow his example, telling them, that to fpend their re¬ 
venues in idle parade, and public entertainments, was 
fcancteloufly to milufe that wealth whjch v/as bellowed 
upon them for beneficial and charitable purpofes. He al¬ 
lowed the judges for the decifion of caufes, known by the 
name of the auditors of the rota, who had no falary till 
his time, handfome appointments, that they might lie un¬ 
der no-temptation to be diflioneft or partial; being ac- 
cuftomed to fay, “Hungry men will be apt to make free 
with the food of others, if they have none of their own.” 
At the time when Innocent afcended the papal throne, 
almofi: all the cities that belonged to the Roman church 
in Italy had either erected themfelves into republics, or 
been feized by different tyrants; in confequencepf which 
Rate of things the papal revenues had fuffered a confider- 
able defalcation. With a view of reftoring the eccleiiafti- 
cal ftate to its former condition, in the firfl year of his 
pontificate Innocent fent cardinal Alvarez, archbifhop of 
Toledo, in the character of his legate a latere into Italy ; 
Vv'here, partly by force of arms, and partly by his indefa¬ 
tigable induftry and addrefs, he brought all the rebel ci¬ 
ties to their duty in the fpace of four years, but at an ex¬ 
pence which quite impoverifhed the Roman cliurrh. In¬ 
nocent maintained the decrees of his predeceffors againft 
trhofe individuals of the Minorite friars who aflumed the 
name of fpiritual brethren, maintaining that neither Chrift 
nor his apoftles had any property either in particular or 
in common, and that it was abfolutely inconfiftent with 
the poverty which they profefled to keep in their grana¬ 
ries the grain, or in their cellars the wine, which they had 
obtained by begging in harveft and. vintage time. Two 
of tlris defcription, who were arrefled at Montpellier in 
the year 135.'!-, and perfifted in maintaining their opinions 
in oppofition to the pope's perfonal labours for their con- 
verfion, were given up by him to the inquifitors, and 
burnt alive. Nothing occurs during the remainder of In¬ 
nocent’s pontificate which is deferving of being recorded. 
He died at Avignon in the year 1362, after he had filled 
the papal chair nine years and nearly nine months. Fie 
is chiefly commended by contemporary writers for his 
probity, and the fanclity of his life. He was a generous 
friend to the poor, an enemy to vice, punifhing it with 
the utmofl feverity, and, according to one of the authors 
of his life in Baluze’s colleltion, fetting no bounds to his 
venerofity in rewarding virtue. But, with' a)l his good 
qualities, he is chargeable with fhovving an unbecoming- 
partiality towards bis, own family ; finqe he promoted 
bis nephew and his grand nephew ,to the purple, and left 
none of his,more diitant relations, whether ecclefialtics or 
laymen, unprovided for.. Two of his Epifiles are infected 
in the eleventh volume of the Coilcdl. Concil. twenty- 
. three in Bzovius’s Anna). Eccl. under the years 1353, See. 
thirty in Wadding,US's Annal. Minor, under, the fame 
date ; and feveral are pfeferved in the Vatican library. 
IN'NOCENT VII. (pope), formerly named Cosmo de 
Meliora-ti, was born at Salmons, in the nearer Ahruz- 
7.0, about the year 1339. He recommended diimfelf to 
iwtics by his learning, particularly his knowledge of the 
CENT. 
civil and canon law, and the high chara&er which he ac¬ 
quired for virtue and probity. He was made clerk of the 
apoftolic chamber by pope Urban VI. and was afterwards 
employed by him to collefl the revenues of the apoftolic 
fee in England. As a reward for his fervices in thefe 
fituations, upon his return to Italy he was preferred to 
the arclibifhopric of Ravenna, and not long afterwards to 
the bifhopric of Bologna. In the year 1389, Boniface IX. 
raifed him to the facred college, under the title of cardi¬ 
nal prefbyter of Santa Croce. On the death of that pon¬ 
tiff in 1404, Meliorati was unanimoufly chofen pope, and 
took the name of Innocent VII. Scarcely had he been, 
cor.fecrated, when a dreadful tumult broke out in Rome 
between the parties of the Gliibellines, headed by John 
and Nicholas. Colonna, and the Guelfs, fupported by the 
Urfini; the former of whom were for reftoring to the peo¬ 
ple the powers of government, which they had bafely 
yielded up, for the fake of prefent intereft, under the pon¬ 
tificate of Boniface IX. and the latter ftrove to prelerve 
them to the pope and the church. Thefe difputes lafted 
almoft the whole time of the pontificate of Innocent VII. 
he died in-November 1406, in. the fixty-eighth year of his 
age, after a pontificate of not much more than two years. 
Fie is represented to have been a perfon of a mild and pa¬ 
cific dilpofitiop, of a generous and beneficent temper, an 
enemy to all pomp and fliow, free from pride and ambi¬ 
tion, and of great addrefs arid experience in negociations 
and ftate affairs. But thofe who commend him moft Blame 
him for his nepotilin, in Confequence of which, perfons 
unworthy of thofe ftations were advanced to the higheft 
polls both in the ftate and the church. No writings of 
liis have reached our times, excepting a difeourfif On 
Church Union ; and fome Letters, prefferved in Sponda- 
nus’s Contin. Annal. Eccl. rind Raynaldu3’s Annal. Eccl. 
under the years 1404. 
IN'NOCENT VIII. (pope), originally called John 
Baptist Cibo, was a native of Genoa, and born in the 
year 1432.. Authors differ widely in their ftatements re- 
fpedting his defeent; fome reprefenting him to have been 
of obfeure extraction, and others the fon of a nobleman, 
illuftrious for his military actions, whofe family originally 
came from Greece, and had for feveral ages made a film¬ 
ing figure in the Genoefe republic. Be the truth as it 
may, it is generally acknowledged that the fubject of this 
article was fent when young to the court of Naples, 
where he lived feveral years during the' reigns of Alplionfo 
and his fon and fucceffor Ferdinand, and received marks 
of favour from both' princes. Conceiving, however, that 
lie was more likely to prove a fuccefsfui- candidate for 
valuable preferments at Rome, he removed to that city, 
where by his parts and addrefs he foon recommended 
himfelf to the confidence of Philip cardinal of Bologna, 
and_ brother to pope Nicholas V. who took him into his 
family. Through the intereft of this patron, he was pre¬ 
ferred by pope Paul II. to the bifhopric of Savona. By 
Sixtus IV. he was tranfiated to the fee of Meifi, in the 
kingdom of Naples,; conftituted his datary; employed on 
different legations ; and raifed to the purple by the title 
of cardinal of St. Bajbina, in the year 1473. Upon the 
death of Sixtus IV. in 1484, our cardinal was elefted his 
fucceffor by a great majority of the conclave, and at his 
con fee ration took the name of Innocent VIII. As foon 
as he was flatted in his government, lie" endeavoured to 
promote peace and union among the different Chriftian 
princes, and to engage them to make a common caule 
. againft the Turks ; but his efforts were attended with no 
better fuccefs than thofe of his predeceffors, as far as re- 
fpelted the objelf which he profeffed (o'have primarily at 
heart. They contributed, however, to bring-much wealth 
into the apoftolic treafury, pretendedly for the purpofe of 
defraying the expences of a holy war ; part of which was 
appropriated by the pope to liis own life, and the reft ei¬ 
ther fpent on the repair of ancient works of art, or in flip- 
port pf a war in which he foon became involved with Fer¬ 
dinand king ofNaples,.for which fee tile article Naples. 
Innocent 
