260 
SIX 
this view he sent some of his most distinguished cardinals as 
his legates to different courts, with instructions to endeavour 
to compose the disputes existing between the several sove¬ 
reigns ; but, as usual in such cases, with small effect. He 
procured to be fitted out an allied fleet of gallies, which re¬ 
covered Smyrna from the Turks, but he did little besides. 
He was more successful at home, in an attempt to expel a 
number of petty tyrants who had seized upon the cities be¬ 
longing to the church, and governed them as independent 
sovereigns. With the aid of Ferdinand, king of Naples, he 
effectually cleared the ecclesiastical states of these usurpers, 
and thereby almost doubled his revenue. The year 1475 
was that of the Jubilee, which was celebrated with great 
magnificence by Sixtus, and was dignified by an unusual 
assemblage of crowned heads, though the resort of pilgrims 
in general was less than on former occasions. 
This pontiff carried the vice of nepotism to as great a de¬ 
gree as any of his predecessors, and it was one of his first ob¬ 
jects to make a splendid provision for his natural children, 
under the name of nephews, out of the dignities and offices 
of the church. It is said, that one leading motive for his 
expelling the independent possessors of towns in the eccle¬ 
siastical state was, that he might have territories to form 
principalities for his nephews; and in pursuance of this plan, 
he sent Giulano de Rovere, afterwards Julius II., to take 
the city of Castello from Niccolo Vitelli. Niccolo, having 
obtained the assistance of the duke of Milan and the Floren¬ 
tines, made a vigorous resistance, but was at length obliged 
to capitulate. This produced an alarm in the neighbouring 
states, and occasioned a defensive league between the duke of 
Milan, the Venetians, and the Florentines. The latter 
people were under the influence of Lorenzo de Medici, whose 
political conduct could not but be highly displeasing to the 
pope; and he displayed his resentment by depriving Lorenzo 
of the office of treasurer of the holy see, which he had con¬ 
ferred upon him in the days of their friendship. This, how¬ 
ever, was not sufficient, and he determined upon an attempt 
entirely to subvert the power of the Medici in Florence. In 
conjunction with his nephew, Girolamo Riario, he formed a 
most detestable conspiracy. By means of the powerful fa¬ 
mily of the Pazzi, rivals to the Medici in Florence, a revo¬ 
lution was to be effected in the government of that city, 
commencing with the assassination of Lorenzo and Giuliano 
de Medici, when assisting at mass in one of the churches, 
and the elevation of the host was to be the signal. Fortu¬ 
nately their plans miscarried, but the pope thundered out an 
excommunication against Lorenzo and the magistrates of 
Florence, and laid the city and its territories under an inter¬ 
dict. Having in vain endeavoured by menace to induce the 
Florentines to deliver up Lorenzo, he formed a league with 
the king of Naples, whose troops, in conjunction with those 
of the church, invaded the territory of Florence, and spread 
devastation through it. They were, however, encountered 
by an opposite league, and the pope was at length, by the 
interposition of the king of France, and the alarm excited 
throughout Italy in consequence of the capture of Otranto 
by the Turks, obliged to consent to a peace. Italy did not 
long remain in peace. In 1482, Sixtus joined with the Ve¬ 
netians in an attempt to dispossess the duke of Ferrara of 
his territories, for which his motive was a hope of vesting the 
government of that city in one of his own family. The 
consequence was an invasion of the ecclesiastical state by the 
duke of Calabria, son of the king of Naples, which how¬ 
ever terminated in the duke’s total defeat. The success of 
the Venetians rendering them formidable to their neighbours, 
a league was formed against them, which the pope was per¬ 
suaded to join, and he issued a solemn excommunication 
against his allies. The confederates, however, receiving 
proposals from the Venetians,, concluded a peace without 
consulting Sixtus. This affected his holiness so much, that 
it occasioned a severe fit of the gout, which put an end to 
his life in 1484, just after he had completed his 70th year, 
and in the 13th of his pontificate. “ Sixtus IV.” says his 
biographer, “ ranks among the most unprincipled of the Ro¬ 
man pontiffs with respect to political conduct, which seems 
T U S. 
to have been governed by no other motive than the passion 
for aggrandizing his family, and indulging a rapacious dis¬ 
position. His concurrence in the detestable conspiracy of 
the Pazzi, and the eagerness with which he fomented the 
wars which disquieted Italy almost through the whole of his 
reign, shew him to have been steeled against all sentiments 
of public justice and humanity. He has been taxed with 
avarice, but the imputation has been refuted by recounting 
the splendid edifices, and the numerous charitable and use¬ 
ful establishments of which he was the founder. He was v in 
truth, liberal and magnificent in his expenditure; and having 
like many other arbitrary princes of that character, ex¬ 
hausted his resources, he scrupled no means of replenishing 
them. In no pontificate were the offices and employments 
about the papal court more shamelessly set to sale, or the ex¬ 
actions in passing bulls and other official instruments from 
that court more scandalously augmented. The most favour¬ 
able light in which he can be viewed, is as a munificent en- 
courager of literature. He may almost be regarded as the 
founder of the Vatican library ; for he not only enriched it 
with books, collected from various parts of the world, but 
caused them to be properly disposed for the convenience of 
the public, to which he opened the library, placed them 
under the care of men deeply learned in different languages, 
with competent salaries, and assigned funds for the purchase 
of new books. It is, on the other hand, to be mentioned, 
that he was the first who instituted inquisitors of the press, 
without whose licence no work was suffered to be printed.” 
Sixtus was author of some theological pieces: several of his 
letters are extant, and he published some decrees, one of 
which had for its object to put an end to the disputes then 
subsisting relative to the conception of the Virgin Mary. 
SIXTUS V., Pope, was born in 1521, in the Marche of 
Ancona, at La Grotte, a village in the territory of Mon- 
talto. His father, whose name was Peretti, was a vine¬ 
dresser, who not being able to maintain his son, placed him, 
when he was only nine years old, in the service of a farmer, 
by whom he was, at first, chiefly employed in attending to 
his swine. While he was occupied in this low office, a 
Franciscan friar passing that way, took the lad for his guide 
on a journey to Ascolia. Pleased with the boy’s vivacity, he 
caused him to accompany him to his convent, and intro¬ 
duced him to his father guardian, who admitted him into 
the convent in the quality of a lay brother. He soon mani¬ 
fested a great inclination for learning, and was taught the 
elements of the Latin language. He was soon admitted 
into the order, went through the usual courses of philoso¬ 
phy and theology, was ordained priest in 1545, and shortly 
afterwards, being made a doctor in theology, he was ap¬ 
pointed to a professorship at Sienna, underthe name of Mon- 
talto. He acquired a high reputation as a preacher in seve¬ 
ral Italian cities, and was in a very short time nominated 
commissary-general at Bologna, and inquisitor at Venice. 
In the exercise of the latter office he quarrelled with the se¬ 
nate, always jealous of ecclesiastical authority, and thought 
proper to make his escape from Venice by night. Going to 
Rome, he became one of the council of the congregation, 
and afterwards procurator-general of his order. He ac¬ 
companied Cardinal Buoncompagno to Spain, in quality of 
theologian to the senate, and counseller of the holy-office. 
Thus elevated, he suddenly changed his demeanour, which 
had been harsh and petulant, and put on an appearance of 
extraordinary gentleness and humility. Cardinal Alexan- 
drini, formerly his pupil, being raised to the papal dignity 
by the name of Pius V., sent him the brief of general of 
his order, and soon after honoured him with the purple, 
when he took the name of Cardinal Montallo. The suc¬ 
cessor of Pius was Gregory XIII., formerly cardinal 
Buoncompagno. 
Montalto, without influence or connections to push him 
forward at the next vacancy, determined to appear entirely 
void of wishes and expectation of farther elevation, in order 
that he might not become an object of jealousy to any party. 
He accordingly withdrew from all public affairs, shut himself 
up like one entirely devoted to study and religious retirement, 
