J u L 
pafllcm for war and bloodlhecL Eayle obferves, that, “ if 
he wanted the qualities of a good bilhop, he had at leaft 
thole of a conquering prince. He had great courage and 
a political head, by which he formed leagues, and broke 
them, as it fuited his intereft.” He is faid to have loved 
wine to excefs ; and women, at leall before his.promotion 
to the pontificate. The fatirifts of his time, indeed, ac- 
cufe him of every vice and crime, without excepting the 
moll unnatural. It is not improbable, however, that they 
have exaggerated his faults ; and it Ihould not be conceal¬ 
ed that he"was lefs chargeable with nepotifm than many 
preceding popes. Of the twenty-feven cardinals whom he 
created, four only were in any degree related to him, and 
they were men of untainted charafters. Guicciardini re¬ 
lates, that when a daughter, whom he had by one of his 
concubines, earneftly entreated him, on his death-bed, to 
confer that dignity on her uterine brother, he fternly an- 
fwe'red, that he was not worthy of the honour, and, turn¬ 
ing away from her, expired in a few minutes. He was an 
encourager of the arts of painting, fculpture, and archi¬ 
tecture ; and began the erection of the magnificent church 
of St. Peter at Rome. 
JU'LIUS III. pope, formerly known by the name of 
John-Maria del Monte, was a perfon of low extraction, and 
born in Rome about the year 1488. He had an uncle, 
named Anthony del Monte, who was made a cardinal by 
Julius II. and proved the means of railing his family from 
obfcurity. Under his patronage John-Maria was educated 
for the church, and diilinguiflied himfelf by his profici¬ 
ency in literature and jurifprudence. By his uncle’s in¬ 
fluence he obtained the archbilhopric of Siponto, and af¬ 
terwards filled various polls under the holy fee ; being 
fuccellively appointed adminiftrator of different bilhop- 
rics, created auditor of the apoftolical chamber, and twice 
made governor of Rome. He was given as a holtage when 
Rome was facked by the troops of Charles. V. In the year 
1536, pope Paul III. created him a cardinal; and after¬ 
wards employed him on different legations to Lombardy, 
Romagna, and Bologna. By the manner in which he ac¬ 
quitted himfelf in thefe employments, he obtained the cha- 
rafter of a perfon of great application and uncommon abi¬ 
lities, and recommended himfelf fo powerfully to his lioli- 
uefs, that, in the year 1545, he appointed him his principal 
legate in the council of Trent, and confided to him liis 
moll fecret intentions. Upon the death of Paul in 1549, 
the conclave affembled for the choice of a fucceffor was 
divided into three parties, the Imperial, the French, and 
the Farnefe. The two former llrove, with great emulation, 
to promote cardinals of their refpeftive factions ; but were 
each of them defeated in their object by cardinal Farnefe, 
who had the command of a powerful and united fquadron, 
zealoufly devoted to the interefts of his family. He pro- 
poled cardinal del Monte, and, by his addrefs and firmnefs, 
procured his election, in February 1550. The new pope 
took the name of Julius III. out of reipeft to the memory 
of the pontiff, who by raifing his uncle to the cardinal- 
Ihip had laid the foundation of his own fortune. In or¬ 
der to exprefs his gratitude towards his benefactor cardi¬ 
nal Farnefe, the firft aft of his adminillration was to put 
Oftavio Farnefe in poffeflion of the duchy of Parma. 
When fome of the cardinals remonltrated with him, on 
the injury which he did to the holy fee, by alienating a 
territory of fuch value, he brilkly replied, “ that he had 
rather be a poor pope, with the reputation of a gentleman, 
than a rich one, with the infamy of having forgotten the 
obligations conferred Upon him, and the promifes which 
he had made.” Whatever luftre he might derive from 
this candour or generofity, was quickly effaced by an ac¬ 
tion mod Ihockingly indecent, which was viewed by Ca¬ 
tholics as well as Proteftants with horror. It is confidered 
to be the privilege of every pope upon his eleftion, to be¬ 
llow on whom he pleafes the cardinal’s hat which falls to 
be difpofed of by his inveltment with the tiara. To the 
aftonifhment of the facred college, Julius conferred this 
VOL. XL No. 772, 
I u S. 513 
mark of diftinftion, together with ample ecelefiaftical re¬ 
venues, and the right of bearing his name and arms, upon 
one Innocent, a youth of fixteen, born of obfcure parents, 
and known by the name of the Ape, from his having been 
trulled with the care of an animal of that fpecies in the 
cardinal del Monte’s family. Such a promotion was looked 
upon by the cardinals as a grols affront offered to their 
body ; but, when they reproached his holinefs for introdu¬ 
cing fuch an unworthy member into the facred college, 
who had neither learning nor virtue, nor merit of any 
kind, he impudently replied by alking them, “ What vir¬ 
tue or merit they had found in him, that could induce 
them to place him in the papal chair ?” The flagrant vio¬ 
lation of decorum which Julius manifefled in this proce* 
dure, occafioncd Rome to be filled with libels and pafqui- 
nades, which imputed, not without reafon, the pope’s ex¬ 
travagant regard for io mean and defpicable a perfon to the 
mod criminal paflions. The fubfequent conduft of Julius 
correfponded with his lhamelefs behaviour at the com¬ 
mencement of his pontificate. Having reached the fiummit 
of ecclefiallical ambition, he gave himfelf up the unre- 
ffrained indulgence of his defires; feldom could be brought 
to attend to ferious bufinefs, excepting in cafes of extreme 
necefiity; and fpent his whole time, as well as the reve¬ 
nues of the church, in amufements, difiipation, and licen- 
tioufnels of every kind. In the conclave which elected 
him, he had taken an oath, in common with the reft of 
the cardinals, that, if the choice Ihould fall on him, he 
would immediately call the general council, which Paul 
III. had removed to Bologna, to re-aflemble at Trent. 
After his election he difcovered no inclination to obferve 
his oath, and gave an ambiguous anfwer to the firft pro- 
pofals which were made to him by the emperor on that 
fubjeft. The latter, however, preffed fo earneftly that a, 
new bull of convocation ffiould be iffued, that Julius 
found himfelf obliged to comply, and the ill of May, 1551, 
was the day appointed for opening the affembly. Accor¬ 
dingly, at the time appointed the council re-afiembled at 
Trent, where the papal legate fuccefsfully employed his 
art, addrefs, and means of corruption, in difappointing the 
endeavours of the Imperial ambaffadors to procure an au¬ 
dience for the Proteftant divines, and in obtaining confir¬ 
mation of the mod obnoxious tenets and rites of popery. 
The war in Germany during the following year, between 
the emperor and Maurice eleftor of Saxony, produced 
fuch a confirmation among the fathers of the council, that 
the German prelates immediately returned home, in order 
to provide for the fafety of their refpeftive territories ; and 
the reft were fo impatient to begone, that the legate feized 
with joy fuch a plaufible pretext for difmilfing the affem¬ 
bly. Accordingly, a decree was iffued proroguing the 
council during two years, and appointing it to meet at 
that time, if peace were then re-eftablilhed in Europe ; but 
this prorogation continued no lefs than ten years. In the 
mean time Julius continued abandoned to his pleafures 
and amufements, rioting and feafting in his gardens with 
felect companions of the fame (lamp with himfelf, until 
he had contrafted fuch habits of diffipation, that any fe- 
rious occupation, efpecially if attended with difficulty, be¬ 
came an intolerable burden to him. Owing to this, he 
long refilled the felicitations of his nephew to hold a con- 
fillory, for the purpofe of confirming fome grant which 
he had promifed to bellow upon him, becaule he knew 
that the cardinals would make a violent oppofition to his' 
fchemes in favour of that young man. When all the pre¬ 
texts which he could invent for eluding his nephew’s re¬ 
quell were exhaufted, he feigned indifpofition rather than, 
yield to his importunity ; and, that he might give the de¬ 
ceit a greater colour of probability, he confined himfelf 
to his apartment, and changed his ufual diet and manner 
of life. By perfifting too long in acting this farce he 
contrafted a real difeale, of which he died in a few days, 
in 1555, at the age of about fixty-eight, leaving his infa¬ 
mous minion the cardinal del Monte to. bear his name,' 
6 I 1 and 
