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the mathematics, canon and civil law, and all parts of 
natural philofophy and chemiftry that were then purfued 
by men of fcience. He now took prieft’s orders; and was 
diftinguilhed by the illuftrious cardinal Borromeo with 
his confidence, and employed by him on many occafions, 
which excited the enmity of his contemporaries, who, 
jealous of his celebrity, and having nothing to urge 
again ft his conduct, charged him with denying that the 
Trinity could be proved from the firft chapter of Genefis: 
the Inquifition, however, before whom the accufation 
was brought, thought the charge too ridiculous to be 
attended to for a moment. After this he palled fuccef- 
fively through the dignities of his order, of which he was 
chofen provincial for the province of Venice at the age 
of twenty-fix years; and he difcliarged this poll with 
fuch honour, that in 1579 he was appointed, with two 
others, to draw up new regulations and ftatutes for his 
order. He performed this bufinefs with much fuccefs; 
and, when his office of provincial was expired, he retired 
for three years to the ftudy of natural and experimental 
philofophy and anatomy, in which he made many import¬ 
ant difcoveries. Aquapendente, the famous anatomift, 
fays that he was indebted to father Paul for his know¬ 
ledge of the principles of vifion; and there are pretty 
good proofs that he Was not unacquainted with the cir¬ 
culation of the blood. He was now chofen procurator- 
general of his order, and during his refidence at Rome 
was greatly efteemed by pope Sixtus V. and contracted 
an intimacy with cardinal Bellarmine and other eminent 
perfons. 
His enemies were ftill on the alert, and accufed him of 
having written a letter in ciphers, which they explained, 
and faid the true meaning was, that “he hated the court 
of Rome, in which preferment was not to be obtained 
but by dilhoneft and corrupt means.” This accufation 
was palled over, but not forgotten ; and it made fuch 
imprelfion on that court, that he was afterwards denied a 
bifhopric by Clement VIII. He now retired from public 
life, and fpent much of his time in ftudies devoted to 
practical piety. The molt aCtive fcene of his life began 
about the year 1615, when pope Paul V. exafperated by 
lome decrees of the fenate of Venice, that appeared to him 
to interfere with the rights of the church, laid the whole 
ftate under an interdict. (See the preceding article.) This 
quarrel with the pope foon called into the field a holt of 
writers, on both fides of the queftion. Among others 
Father Paul, who had been appointed theologian and one 
of the counfellors of the republic, finding that not only 
many of the people, but even fome of the fenators, were 
filled with confternation by the papal interdict, thought 
it his duty to dilfipate their groundlefs terror, by drawing 
a comparifon between the pontifical authority and the 
rights of fovereigns in their own Hates. With this view 
he drew up a treatife, entitled, “ Confolation of Mind to 
tranquillize the Confidences of good Men, and to pre¬ 
vent their entertaining any dread of the Interdict pub- 
lifhed by Paul V.” As this work was defigned for the 
foie ufe of government, it was not publilhed by the au¬ 
thor, but locked up in the archives of the republic ; 
whence a copy having fome years afterwards been clan- 
deftinely obtained, it tvas publilhed at the Hague in 1725, 
in the Italian and French languages. In the lame year an 
Englilh verfion of it appeared at London, under the title 
of “ The Rights of Sovereigns and Subjects, argued from 
the civil, canon, and common, Law, under the feveral 
Heads of Excommunications, Interdicts, Perfecution, 
Councils, Appeals, Infallibility, defcribing the Bounda¬ 
ries of that Power which is claimed throughout Chriften- 
dom by the Crown and the Mitre ; and of the Privileges 
which appertain to Subjects, both Clergy and Laity, ac¬ 
cording to the Laws of God and Man.” 
But on this occafion Father Paul did not confine him¬ 
felf to the compofition of the work above mentioned, 
which was for the ufe of the fenate. As a means of con¬ 
tributing towards the public tranquillity, he thought it 
U L. 
alfo necelfary to encourage and enlighten the general 
mafs of citizens; and for this purpofe he publilhed a 
tranllation of “A Treatife on Excommunication,” by 
Gerfon, both in Latin and Italian, with an anonymous 
letter prefixed to it, in which he exhorted the priefts regu¬ 
larly to perform their functions, without any apprehen- 
fion that by fo doing they Ihould violate their duty. No 
fooner had this work made its appearance than it was 
condemned by the Inquifition ; wiiofe judgment cardinal 
Bellarmine undertook to fupport, in a ftrain of reafon- 
ing adapted to make imprelfion only on timid and fuper- 
ftitious minds, prejudiced in favour of the paramount 
authority of the popes. The fallacy of this reafoning 
our author ably detected in “ An Apology for Gerfon,” 
which fully juftified that writer’s doCtrine, and the pro¬ 
ceedings of the Venetians in the prefent conteft. To the 
fucceeding champions for the papal fee, among whom 
wereBaronius and Bzovius, Father Paul made an unan- 
fwerable reply, in a piece, entitled, “ Confiderationson 
the Cenfures of Paul V.” in which the author’s argumen¬ 
tative talents, erudition, and moderation, are eminently 
difplayed. Father Paul had alfo a fnare in fome other 
treadles in this memorable controverfy; particularly in 
“A Treatife on the Interdict,” publilhed in the names 
of feven divines of the republic. 
At length the court of Rome, perceiving that its caufe 
was daily loling ground, while the credit of the writings 
which oppofed its claims was proportionably increafing, 
thought it advifable to diminilh their circulation and in¬ 
fluence, by preferring the charge of herefy againft their 
authors. Accordingly, after the Inquifition had con¬ 
demned the Confiderations on the Cenfures of Paul V 
as containing ralh, calumnious, fcandalous, feditious, 
fchifmatical, erroneous, and heretical, proportions, Fa¬ 
ther Paul was cited by a decree. Oft. 30, 1606, under 
penalty of excommunication, to appear in perfon at 
Rome, and juftify himfelf from the excelfies and herefies 
of which he was accufed. Defpifing, however, the thun¬ 
ders of the Vatican, he refufed to iubmit to the citation, 
the invalidity of which he proclaimed in a manifefto ad- 
drefled to the ir.quifitors 5 and he offered to maintain 
the caufe which he had avowed, as well as to defend 
himfelf againft the articles laid to his charge, in oppofi- 
tion to the advocates for the papal claims, in any place 
where he could be alfured of perfonal fafety. This no¬ 
ble intrepidity, while it rendered him the objeft of the 
raoft bitter hatred at Rome, defervedly fecured to him. 
the increafing relpecl and efteem of the republic whofe 
caufe he fo ably defended, and was highly applauded in 
molt foreign countries, Catholic as well as Proteftant. 
The pope, finding that his menaces had not the efteft of 
bringing the republic to fubmiflion, was defirous of an 
accommodation, left, in imitation of the Proteftant 
ftates, it Ihould break off all connexion with his fee j 
but he wms not willing to make the firft advances, for 
fear of appearing to condemn his own condudt and to 
difavow his pretenfions. The republic was likewife de¬ 
firous of peace 5 but would take no fteps to fecure it, 
which might feem to facrifice its honour cr its rights. 
In thefe circumltances different foreign princes offered 
their mediation ; and Henry IV. of France, by employ¬ 
ing Cardinal Joyeufe in negociations with both parties, 
brought about a reconciliation between them, in the 
year 1607. 
Had the divifion between the pope and fenate conti¬ 
nued much longer, it is nor improbable but fhat the Ve¬ 
netians, by the advice and boldnefs of Father Paul, 
would have been encouraged to feparate themfelves from 
the Romilli communion. Such a refult was expected, 
and might have taken place, according to Welvvood, had 
the negociations of James I. of England with the repub¬ 
lic been wifely condudted. This author informs us, in 
his Memoirs, p. 34, See. that “ there appeared at that 
time a wonderful difpofition in that ftate to work a re¬ 
formation in the church, and throw off the papal yoke. 
In 
3 
