404 
PAUL. 
kingdom. At this jun&ure, when a fenfe of his obliga¬ 
tions to his holinefs was yet frefli in the king’s memory, 
Paul applied to him for the arrears of the tribute due 
from the kings of Naples to the papal fee, which had 
never yet been paid either by himfelf or his father Al- 
phonfo. In anfwer, Ferdinand complained of the un- 
feafonablenefs offuch an application, when the exhaufted 
Hate of his treafury, owing to the expeniive war in which 
he bad been engaged ever fince he came to the crown, 
rendered hint unable to comply with it: and he point¬ 
edly added, that he would, neverthelefs, difcharge the 
arrears, as foon as his holinefs reftored to him the city of 
Benevento, and all the other places held by the church 
within the limits of the kingdom of Naples, which, he 
maintained, belonged to that crown. Exafperated at 
this reply, Paul threatened the king with excommunica¬ 
tion, and the kingdom, with a general interdict; Upon 
this Ferdinand, to lliow how little he dreaded the pontiff’s 
menace, fent a body of troops to lay fiege to Benevento; 
which fiep compelled Paul, unable to repel force by force, 
to fend cardinal Rovarella to the king, that matters might 
be accommodated. With this view the cardinal had fe- 
veral conferences with Ferdinand, and was at laft 
obliged to acquiefce in the king’s promife to pay what 
was in juftice due to the apoftolic chamber, whenever he 
conveniently could. •> 
The next circumftance which engages our notice in the 
hiftory of Paul’s adminiftration, exhibits his temper and 
condudf, after he had obtained the higheft objedft of his 
ambition, in a very unfavourable point of view. Among 
the departments of the Roman government, one was filled 
by perfons called abbreviators, whofe bufinefs it was to 
abridge the bulls and letters of the pope. This employ¬ 
ment the pope confidered to be unneceffary and ufelefs, 
and not long after his election difcharged the perfons 
who filled it, though mod: of them were men of great 
learning and abilities. In this number was the hiftorian 
Platina, who, having with much difficulty obtained an 
audience of his holinefs, reprefented the injuftice of dif- 
miffing them from offices, when not chargeable with any 
negleft of duty, without returningthe money with which 
they had been purchafed. This remonflrance offended 
the pope; but Platina went farther; for, having in vain 
endeavoured to obtain another audience, he wrote a letter 
to Paul, in which he intimated his refolution to apply for 
redrefs to the kings and princes of Chriftendom, exhort¬ 
ing them to call a General Council, which would do juf¬ 
tice to the oppreffed, and take cognizance of his holinefs’s 
conduft. This letter Paul pronounced to be high trea- 
fon, commanding that Platina fhould be arrelted and 
thrown into fetters. The prifoner was afterwards con¬ 
fined in a high tower, expofed to all the winds, without 
fire, though in the depth of winter. When he had fuf- 
fered the miferiesof this fituation for four whole months, 
he with great difficulty obtained his releafe. The pope, 
however, did not forgive him for the boldnefs with 
which he dared to refill injuftice; but, in the year 1467, 
gave orders for arrefting him a fecond time, under the 
pretence of being engaged in a dangerous confpiracy 
againft his perfon and government. Upon his being ex¬ 
amined by Paul himfelf, and vindicating his own inno¬ 
cence, without betraying any fymptom of fear or guilt, 
the mercilefs pontiff ordered him to be put to the rack, 
and he was accordingly tortured with the utmoft barba¬ 
rity, but without fubduing his fortitude. Among his 
friends who were alfo arrefted, were fome of the molt 
eminent literary charadlers in Rome. Thefe perfons met 
with the fame inhuman treatment, which proved fatal to 
feveral of them. We ffiall prefent our readers with Mr, 
Rofcoe’s concife and elegant account of the pope’s ini¬ 
quitous conduct on this occafion. “ During the pontifi¬ 
cate of Paul II. letters and fcience experienced at Rome 
a cruel and unrelenting perfecution, and their profefi'ors 
exhibited in their fufferings a degree of conftancy and re¬ 
folution, which in another caule might have advanced 
them to the rank of martyrs. The imprifonment of the 
hiftorian Platina, who, on being arbitrarily deprived of a 
refpeflable office to which he was appointed by Pius II. 
had dared to thunder in the ears of the pope the dreaded 
name of a General Council, might perhaps admit of fome 
juftification ; but this was only a prelude to the devafta- 
tion which Paul made amongft the men of learning, who, 
during his pontificate, had chofen the city of Rome as 
their refidence. A number of thefe, uniting together, 
had formed a fociety for the refearch of antiquities, 
chiefly with a view to elucidate the works of the ancient 
authors, from medals, infcriptions, and other remains of 
art. As an incitement to, or as charadteriftic of, their 
lludies, they had affumed claffic names, and thereby gave 
the firft inftance of a practice which has fince become ge¬ 
neral among the academicians of Italy. Whilft thefe 
men were employing themfelves in a manner that did 
honour to their age and country, Paul was indulging 
his folly and his vanity in ridiculous and contemptible 
exhibitions; and happy had it been if lie had confined his 
attention to thefe amufements; but, on the pretext of a 
confpiracy againft his perfon, he feized upon many mem¬ 
bers of the academy, which he was pleafed toconfider as a 
dangerous and feditious aflembly, accufing them of hav¬ 
ing, by the adoption of heathen names, marked their 
averfion to the Chriftian religion. Not being able to ob¬ 
tain any evidence of their guilt, and finding that they 
had refolution to fuffer the laft extremity rather than ac- 
cufe themfelves, Paul thought proper at length to acqtiit 
them of the charge ; but at the fame time, by a wanton 
ab.ufe of power, he ordered that they fiiould be detained 
in prifon during a complete year from the time of their 
commitment, alleging that he did it to fulfil a vow which 
he had made when he firft imprifoned them.” 
I11 the year laft mentioned, Paul fent a legate intc- 
France to procure a decree from the parliament of Paris, 
confirming the abrogation of the Pragmatic Sanction ; 
but in this defign he failed of fuccefs, notwithftanding 
that he obtained a royal edidt to that purpofe, fince the 
parliament fteadily oppofed it, and the univerfity of Paris 
appealed from the legate and the edift to a General 
Council. During the following year he was more fuc- 
cefsful in a better caufe, having brought about a recon¬ 
ciliation between feveral ftates of Italy, which had taken 
up arms as auxiliaries to theoppofite factions in Florence. 
Soon after this event, the emperor Frederic arrived at 
Rome, in confequence of a vow, and was entertained 
with great magnificence by the pope. .As a proper expe¬ 
dient to engage the Chriftian princes in a league againft 
the Turks, it was agreed that letters fliould be written, 
in the emperor’s name and his own, to the princes and 
ftates in Chriftendom, inviting them to fend their atnbaf- 
fadors to Rome, in order to treat about the means of de¬ 
fending the faith. About the fame time, Paul was.infti- 
gated by his ambition to obtain pofleffion of the city of 
Rimini, and prevailed upon his countrymen the Vene¬ 
tians to afford him their affiftance. The Roman and Ve¬ 
netian troops were fpeedily oppofed in the field by a for¬ 
midable army, led by the duke of Urbino, and fupported 
by the duke of Calabria. An engagement took place, 
which terminated in the total rout of the army of the 
pope, who found himfelf compelled to accede to fuch 
terms of peace as the conquerors thought proper to dic¬ 
tate. In the year 1471, Paul publifhed a bull, by which 
he reduced the jubilee circle to twenty-five years, and 
thus accelerated the return of that moft abfurd and fu- 
perftitious ceremony. To him, however, it was of little 
moment, as he died fuddenlv of an apoplexy, in July 
of the fame year, after a pontificate of almoft feven 
years, in the fifty-fourth year of his age. 
The hiftorian Platina, who could fcarcely be deemed 
an impartial judge, charges him with avarice and fimony ; 
with felling even bifhoprics to the higheft bidders. With 
refpeft to the former of thefe charges, that there was no 
folid foundation for it, is quite clear from Platina’s own 
account 3 
