405 
PAUL. 
account, who fpeaks of him as profufe in his expences in 
buildings; in entertaining diftinguiflied perfonages; in 
relieving the poor and decayed nobility; in purchafing, 
at any price, jewels and precious ftones to adorn the pa¬ 
pal crown, and in exhibiting public fliows for the enter¬ 
tainment of the Roman people. Paul fee ms to have been 
more accurately characterized by another contemporary 
writer, Mathieu, the hiftorian of Louis XI. who fays of 
him that he was greedy of money, and little cared by 
what means he acquired it; but was too fond of pomp 
and fliow to hoard it up in his coffers. To make a more 
auguft appearance, fays Platina, he loaded the papal 
crown with fuch quantities of precious ftones, that one 
would rather have taken him for the Phrygian goddefs 
Cybele with turrets on her head, than for the vicar of 
Chrift, who fliould teach, by his example, the contempt 
of all worldly .grandeur. That he might reconcile the 
cardinals to this oftentation, he granted them the exclu- 
five privilege of wearing purple habits, with red fdk hats, 
and illk mitres of the fame fafhion with thofe formerly 
worn only by the fovereign pontiffs. Of his enmity to 
learning, if there needed any other proof befides his 
perfecution of the moft eminent literary characters, al¬ 
ready mentioned, it would be afforded by his exhortation 
to the Romans to content themfelves with having their 
children taught to read and write. He created eleven 
cardinals during the time of his pontificate, and among 
them his two nephews, although he had, previoufly to 
his election, taken a folemn oath not toincreafe the num¬ 
ber of cardinals, or introduce more than one relation to 
that high dignity. Two of the letters of this pontiff are 
in the thirteenth volume of the ColleCt. Concil. and fe- 
veral others in the fourth volume of d’Achery’s Speci- 
legium, and in Cherubini’s Bullarium Magnum. This 
pope met with a zealous apologift in one of the moft 
learned men of the laft century, (Cardinal Luirini,) who 
publifhed a work entitled “Pauli II. Vita ex Codice 
Anglicae Bibliothecre defumpta, prtemiflis ipfius Vindi- 
ciis adverfus Platinam, aliofque Qbtreftatores,” 1740, 
Rofcoe's Life of Lorenzo tie Medici. Cave, vol. ii. 
PAUL III. (Pope), originally called AlexandriaFarnefe, 
was of Roman defcent, from an ancient and noble family, 
and born about the year 1467, at Carino in Tufcany. 
He purfued his ftudies under the celebrated profeffors 
whom the Medici family had invited to Florence, where 
he was, at a very early age, diftinguiflied by his applica¬ 
tion to, and proficiency in, the different branches of li¬ 
terature. By pope Innocent VIII. he was appointed 
, apoftolical prothonotary, and by Alexander VI, he was 
advanced to the bifhopric of Monte Fiafcone, and in 
1493 raifed to the dignity of cardinal, when he was but 
twenty-fix years of age. He was warmly patronized 
likewife by Julius II. Leo X. and Clement VII. By the 
latter he was fucceffively nominated to the bifhoprics of 
Paleftrina, Sabina, Porto, and Oftia. The fame pope 
appointed him to the legation of Viterbo, and received 
importantfervices from him during the time of his im- 
prifonment. So highly did Clement eftimate the cha¬ 
racter of Alexander, that, when he was fenfible that his 
end was approaching, he recommended him to the cardi¬ 
nals as the moft worthy of the whole college to be his 
fuoceffor. The death of Clement happened on the 25th 
of September, 1534; hnd on the 13th of October follow¬ 
ing, the thirty-fourcardinals prefent in the conclave con¬ 
curred unanimoufly in voting for the cardinal Farnefe. 
To this unanimity two circumftances contributed : one 
was his having arrived to the advanced age of fixty-feven; 
and the other, a report of the weaknefs and decay of his 
conftitution, which he is faid to have countenanced with 
confiderable art. 
At his coronation the new pope affumed the name of Paul 
III. The firft objefts to which he directed his attention, 
were the progrefs of the Reformation, and the means of 
crufhing a re volution pregnant with ruin to the authority 
and interefts of the papal fee. He wasnolefs enraged than 
his predeceffor at the innovations in Germany, and no 
lefs averfe to any fcheme for reforming either the doc¬ 
trines of the church or the abufes in the court of Rome. 
But, having been a witnefs of the univerfal cenfure 
which Clement had incurred by his obftinacy on thefe 
points, and knowing how much the meeting of a Gene¬ 
ral Council was deiired by all Chriftendom, he hoped to 
avoid all reproach by a feeming alacrity in complying 
with the univerfal wifh. So early as the third day after 
his election, therefore, his intention was announced by 
the nomination of commifiioners to deliberate about the 
time, the place, and the manner of proceeding; while he 
had no doubt but that from thedifcuftion of thofe points 
circumftances might arife, which would either prevent 
fuch a council from meeting at all, or place the fecret ma¬ 
nagement of it in his hands. In the article Luther, vol. 
xiii. p. 795, we have given an account of the fteps which 
were taken to convene this council, and of its indefinite 
prorogation ; as we likewife have of the partial and ina¬ 
dequate reformation of abufes in the court of Rome, 
which Paul pretended to fet on foot. • 
In the mean time, the pope had concluded an alliance 
with the emperor Charles V. and the Venetians againft 
the Turks; and is faid to have entertained fuch confi¬ 
dence of ultimate fuccefs, that he even made a partition 
of theTurkifh empire with hisallies. This objeft, as well 
as the extirpation of the Lutheran herefy, he had much at 
heart; but he confidered peace between the emperor and 
the king of France, who werethen at war, to be an effential 
preliminary to both. Nor was he without hopes that, if he 
ihould prove the inftrument of promoting it, he might fe- 
cure important advantages to his own family. Influenced 
by thefe confiderations, he propofed an interview between 
the two monarchs at Nice, and offered to repair thither 
in perfon, that he might aft as a mediator in compofing 
all their differences. Such apropofal could not decently 
be declined by either of the contending princes ; and he 
prevailed upon them to fign a truce for ten years, and in 
the mean time to fend ambalfadors to Rome, tp difcufs 
their pretenfions at leifure. During the private confe¬ 
rences of the pope with the emperor at this interview, a 
marriage-treaty, which had been fome time negociating, 
was at Taft concluded between Oftavio Farnefe, the pope’s 
grandfon,and Margaret, the emperor’s natural daughter, 
and the widow of Alexander de Medici, who had been 
lately murdered by one of his own family. Soon after 
Paul’s return to Italy, he difpatched cardinal de Medici 
with a grand retinue to Florence, who condufted the 
princefs to Rome, where fhe was received by the pope, 
the cardinals, and the Roman nobility; and the nuptials 
u'ere celebrated with extraordinary pomp and magnifi¬ 
cence. 
In the year 1538, the pope, finding from the proceed¬ 
ings of king Henry VIII. of England, in diflolving the 
monafteries, and compelling the monks to refume the 
lay-habit, that all hopes of coming to an agreement with 
him were defperate, thundered out his bull of excommu¬ 
nication againft that prince. By this bull Henry was 
pronounced deprived of his kingdom; his fubjefts were 
not only abfolved from their oaths of allegiance, but 
commanded to take up arms againft him, and drive him* 
from the throne; the whole kingdom was laid under an 
interdift; all treaties of commerce or friendfhip with him 
or his fubjefts were declared null; his kingdom was grant¬ 
ed to any one who fliould invade it; and all were allowed 
to feize the effects of fuch of his fubjefts as adhered to 
him, and enflave their perfons, &c. But Henry’s power 
W3S not to be Ihaken by fuch an inftrument; and the in- 
folence of the pope only fthnulated the king to imitate 
his tyranny, by perfecuting with more feverity than ever 
all without diftinftion who refufed to renounce the papal 
fupremacy, and acknowledge his own. 
The year 1540 was rendered memorable by the eftablilh- 
ment of the order of the Jesuits ; (fee that article, and 
Loyola.) During the fame year different diets were 
held 
