570 ■ P I 
a ferious illnefs made his removal impoffihle, This ma¬ 
lady difarmed for a time the jesloufy of the directory; 
and, after his health returned, Pius was permitted to re¬ 
main in peace at the Carthufian convent, till the renewal 
of the war between France and Aultria, which had been 
terminated by the peace of Campo Formio, when it was 
determined that he (hould be removed into the interior 
of France. Accordingly, in the month of March 1799, 
he was conduced from Florence to Parma, and from 
that city, after a fhort ffay, to Turin. Hence he was car¬ 
ried over the Alps to Briancon in Dauphine, and from 
that place to Valence in the fame province, where it was 
decreed by the direftory that lie fhould take up his refi- 
dence. But the mortification, however, and fatigue 
which he had undergone, in being tranfported from place 
to place like a malefactor, and frequently expofed to the 
contumely and infults of the rude, illiberal, and unfeel¬ 
ing, who could not exult in the deftrudlion of the papal 
power without ungeneroufly triumphing ever an old 
man’s diftrefles, brought on afeverifh diforder, which car¬ 
ried him off on t lie 29th of Auguff, 1799, in the eighty, 
fecondyear of his age, and the twenty-fifth of his ponti¬ 
ficate. To his remains the accuftomed fepulchral rites 
were reftifed by the directory; but, about four months 
after his death, a change of government having taken 
place in France, the confuls of the republic ordered that 
he fhould be buried, with the honours commonly due to a 
perfon of his rank, and that a fimple monument fhould 
he eredled over the place of his interment, with an inscrip¬ 
tion expreffing the dignity which he bore. In 1802, his 
fuccefifor, Pius VII. obtained permifiion to remove his 
body to Rome. 
“ Pius VI.” fays the excellent writer of his article in 
the General Biography', to whom we have very frequently 
referred in our own, “ though poflefled of many eftima- 
ble qualities as a private man, had few of thofe talents 
which are neceffary to govern in times of difficulty and 
danger. Yielding often to the impulfe of the moment, 
the impetuofify of his character led him into fome errors, 
which were followed by a fpeedy repentance. Prefump- 
tuous with refpeft to his own opinion, he was blind to 
the future, where men of common fagacity had the 
cleared forefight; and, naturally'filled with ideas of the 
importance and dignity of his office, he prepared for 
Isimfelf many mortifications and infults, which he had 
neither the addrefs to avoid, nor the power to avenge. 
As the vifible head of the church, his attention to the 
duties of his ftation was uniform and exemplary; 
Isis piety, though fouVewlsat olientatious, was devoid of 
Isypocrify or fanaticifm ; and his morals were irreproach¬ 
able. In his youth, he (sad been one of the hand.fomeft 
men of his time. To a very lofty ftature he joined a no¬ 
ble and e?;prefiive fet of features, a benign countenance, 
a fonorous voice, and an elegant engaging manner. Of 
thefe advantages he was but too fenlible, and he beti'ayed 
a puerile vanity in difplaying them on public occaftons, 
which expofed him to nsany bitter farcafms, and which 
the feriouffy devout were at a lofs to reconcile with the 
acknowledged fanffity and gravity of his character.” 
See alfo New Ann. Regifter. Monthly and Gent. Mag. 
1 799 * 
PRO’S VII. (Pope), whofe original name was Barnabi 
Gregorio Cmaramonte, was born at Cefena in Roma¬ 
gna, on the 14th of Auguff, 1740. He was' defeended 
from ancient and isoble families. At fixteen years cf 
age he entered into the religious rtate in the monaftery 
of Benedidlines at Cefena. At the monaftery attached 
to that magnificent church which has been fo lately de- 
ftroyed by fire, (July 1823.) the church of St. Paul, in 
Rome, he ftudied plsilofophy, theology, and the canon 
lawj and fpeedily afforded fignal proofs of Isis great at¬ 
tainments in thofe excellent and fubiime purfnits. No¬ 
minated profeflbr of theology at Rome, he filled that 
diflinguiflsed chair for the fpace of nine years; and, his 
reputation being by that time vseil known to Pius VI. he 
u s. 
was, by that pope, inftalied, in the'year 1782, hilltop of 
Tivoli ; early in 1785, he was made bifisop of Insoli, and 
in April of the fame year he was created a cardinal. He 
was living at Isis bifhopric of Imola in 1796, when Bona¬ 
parte entered that town with his army ; and the reception 
which the French experienced from this prelate was fo 
charitable and mild as to fecure him the favour of tltb 
republican genes'al, whofe influence was fuppofed to have 
been afterwards employed iis promoting him to the pope¬ 
dom. Pius VI. died in captivity, as we have feen, in 
Auguff: 1799 ; but it was not till March 1800, that it was 
fouisd poffible to proceed to the election of Isis fuccefTor; 
when cardinal Chiaramonti being chofen on the 14th, and 
his enthronization taking place on the 21ft, he aflfumed 
the name of Pius VII. He did not take polfeffion of 
Romeitfelf till November 1801, when a medal was ffruck 
there, with the infeription Sol rrfulyet. His occupation 
of the throne was marked by ats a£t of liberality, in re¬ 
mitting to the diftrefled inhabitants of Pefaro their tax?es. 
He alfo made many promotions, particularly conferring 
the honour of knighthood on the celebrated Can ova. In 
the years 1800 and 1801 he caufed no lefs than ten va¬ 
cancies in the College of Cardinals to be filled up, among 
which was the nomination of his private fecretary, Her¬ 
cules Gonfalvi, whom he alfo appointed fecs'etary of ffate. 
In February 1802, he received at Rome with great pomp 
the body of his venerable predeceffor, which Bonaparte 
caufed to be tranfported thither, wifhing to conciliate 
the good opinion of the catholics. Steps indeed had al¬ 
ready been taken by the Firft Conful to reconcile France 
to the church of Rome, and with this view a Concordat 
was figned on the 25th of July 1801, and Pius VII. in 
September following, fer.t cardinal Caprara as his legate 
latere to Paris, together wills the bull of ratification 
of the concordat. A new circunsfcription of diocefes 
was agreed upon, and the legate was authorifed to infti- 
tute the new archbiflsops and biffsops. On the 24th of 
May, 1802, his holinefsdelivered a remarkable allocution 
oss this fubject in a fecret confiftory. 
When Bonaparte aflumed the imperial title, he perfua- 
ded Pius VII. to come to Paris to crown him. The latter 
delivered an allocution on this fubjefton the 29th of Oc¬ 
tober, 1804; left Rome on the 2d of November, and 
reached Fontainebleau, where Napoleon received him in 
great ffate, on the 25th of that month. On the 2d of 
December, the coronation took place; and, from this 
time, Napoleon, having obtained all that he wanted of 
the pope, began to prepare for depriving him of all his 
power. “ At one time,” fays he to Mr. O'Meara, 
“ I had in contemplation to take away all his temporal 
power, and make him my almoner.” In the third volume 
of Las Cafes’ Journal, Napoleon is deferibed as fpeak- 
ing in nsoft contemptuous terms of the difeuffions 
which took place on the part of the pope with him at this 
period. 
On the 16th of May, 1805, the pope reached Rome on 
his return, and was received with great joy by his fubjedis. 
In the courfe of 1807, Napoleon having made many de¬ 
mands on Pius VII. with a threat of occupying his ca¬ 
pital on non-compliance, the latter, on the 2d of Febru¬ 
ary, 1808, publiflsed a foleissn proteft againft fuch dccu- 
pation. This was anfwered on the 2d of April following 
by a decree, in which Bonaparte faid, “ Confidering that 
the pope had conftantly refufed to make w’aron the Eng- 
lifls, the provinces of Ancona, Urbino, and Macerata, 
fhould be annexed to the kingdom of Italy.” His holi¬ 
nefs fent a deputation to pray that the rigour of this de¬ 
cree might be foftened, but Napoleon replied, “Your 
bifhop is the fpiritual chief of the church, but I am its 
emperor;” and on the 17th of May, 1805, he iflued a de¬ 
cree, annexing the pontifical (fates to the French empire. 
Pius VII. oppofed to all thefe violences nothing but the 
purelt Chriltian humility, but lie combined with it the 
mod unbending firmnefs. He never would anathematize 
the Engliffi nation ; he never would make war on them ; 
3 
