History of the Catholic Church from the Renaissance to the French

R >> Rev. James MacCaffrey >> History of the Catholic Church from the Renaissance to the French

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34

The ruin of Italy and Rome, caused in great measure by the absence of
the Popes during their residence at Avignon, roused all the patriotic
instincts of Petrarch, and urged him to strive with all his might for
the restoration of the ancient glory of his country. Hence in his
politics he was strongly nationalist, and hence, too, he threw the
whole weight of his influence on the side of Cola di Rienzi, when in
1347 the latter proclaimed from the Capitol the establishment of the
Roman Republic. Nor did he hesitate to attack the Popes, to whom he
was indebted so deeply, for their neglect of Rome and the Papal
States, as well as for the evils which he thought had fallen upon
Italy owing to the withdrawal of the Popes to Avignon. He himself
strove to awaken in the minds of his countrymen memories of the past
by forming collections of old Roman coins, by restoring or protecting
wherever possible the Pagan monuments, and by searching after and
copying manuscripts of the classical writers. In poetry, Virgil was
his favourite guide. As a rule he wrote in Italian, but his writings
were saturated with the spirit of the early Pagan authors; while in
his pursuit of glory and his love for natural, sensible beauty, he
manifested tendencies opposed directly to the self-restraint,
symbolism, and purity of the Middle Ages. His longest poem is
/Africa/, devoted to a rehearsal of the glories of ancient Rome and
breathing a spirit of patriotism and zeal for a long lost culture, but
it is rather for his love songs, the /canzoni/, that he is best
remembered.

Petrarch, though a Humanist,[4] was no enemy of the Christian
religion, nor did he imagine for a moment that the study of the Pagan
classics could prove dangerous in the least degree to revealed
religion. It is true that his private life did not always correspond
to Christian principles of morality, and it is equally true that at
times his patriotism led him to speak harshly of the rule of the Popes
in Italy and Rome; but he never wavered in his religious convictions,
and never recognised that Pagan literature and ideals should be judged
by other than current Christian standards.

The example of Petrarch was not followed, however, by several of the
later Humanists. His friend and disciple, Boccaccio (1313-75),
imitated his master in his love for the classics and in his zeal for
classical culture, and excelled him by acquiring, what Petrarch had
failed utterly to acquire, a good knowledge of Greek. Like Petrarch,
he was assisted largely by the Popes, and took service at the papal
court. But his views of life and morality were coloured by Paganism
rather than by Christianity. Many of his minor poems are steeped in
indecency and immorality, and reflect only too clearly the tendency to
treachery and deceit so characteristic of the Italian rulers of his
day; while the /Decameron/, his greatest work, is more like the
production of a Pagan writer than of one acquainted with Christian
ethics and ideals. He delighted in lampooning the clergy, particularly
the monks, charging them with ignorance, immorality, and hypocrisy.
Such a line of conduct was not likely to recommend the apostles of the
new learning to the admirers of Scholasticism, nor to create and
foster a friendly alliance between the two camps. Yet, personally,
Boccaccio was not an enemy of Christianity, and never aimed, as did
some of the later Humanists, at reviving Paganism under the guise of
promoting literature. He was unshaken in his acceptance of the
Christian revelation, and, as the years advanced, he began to realise
the evil of his ways and the dangerous character of his writings.
Strange to say, it was to a body of the monks, whom he delighted in
attacking, that he bequeathed the valuable library which he had
brought together with such labour.

Had the Humanists contented themselves with advocating merely a return
to classical studies, and had the Scholastics recognised that
philosophy was not the only path to culture, it might have been
possible to avoid a conflict. But, unfortunately for religion, there
were extremists on both sides. On the one hand, some of the later
Humanists, influenced largely by the low moral tone of the age, aimed
at nothing less than the revival of Paganism, pure and simple; while,
on the other, not a few of the Scholastics insisted strongly that
Pagan literature, however perfect, should have no place in Christian
education. Between these two conflicting parties stood a large body of
educated men, both lay and cleric, who could see no irreconcilable
opposition between Christianity and the study of the classics, and who
aimed at establishing harmony by assigning to the classics the place
in education willingly accorded to them by many of the Fathers of the
Church.

But the influence of this latter body could not effect a
reconciliation. A large section of the Humanists openly vindicated for
themselves freedom from the intellectual and moral restraints imposed
by Christianity. Laurentius Valla[5] (1405-57) in his work, /De
Voluptate/, championed free indulgence in all kinds of sensual
pleasures, attacked virginity as a crime against the human race, and
ridiculed the idea of continence and self-denial, while in his own
life he showed himself a faithful disciple of the Epicurianism that he
propounded in his writings. His denunciations, too, of the Popes as
the usurping tyrants of Rome in his work on the Constantine Donation
were likely to do serious injury to the head of the Church in his
spiritual as well as in his temporal capacity. But bad as were the
compositions of Valla, they were harmless when compared with the books
and pamphlets of Beccadelli, the Panormite, who devoted himself almost
exclusively to what was indecent and repulsive. Poggio Bracciolini in
his work, /Facetiae/, and Filelfo, though not equally bad, belong to
the same category. In the hands of these men the Renaissance had
become, to a great extent, a glorification of Pagan immorality. Their
books were condemned by many of the religious orders, but without
avail. They were read and enjoyed by thousands, in whom the wholesale
corruption prevalent in Florence, Siena, and Venice, had deadened all
sense of morality.

A large number of the later Renaissance school were Christians only in
name. If the great body of them were judged by the heathen figures and
phraseology with which their works abound, they could hardly be
acquitted of Pagan tendencies; but in case of many of them these
excesses are to be attributed to pedantry rather than to defection
from the faith. In case of others, however, although they were wary in
their expressions lest they might forfeit their positions, Christian
teaching seems to have lost its hold upon their minds and hearts.
Carlo Marsuppini, Chancellor of Florence, Gemistos Plethon, the well-
known exponent of Platonic philosophy, Marsilio Ficino, Rinaldo degli
Albizzi, and the members of the Roman Academy (1460), under the
leadership of Pomponius Laetus, were openly Pagan in their lives and
writings. Had the men in authority in Italy been less depraved such
teaching and example would have been suppressed with firmness; or had
the vast body of the people been less sound in their attachment to
Christianity, Neo-Paganism would have arisen triumphant from the
religious chaos.[6]

But not all of the Humanists belonged to the school of Valla,
Beccadelli, Poggio, and Marsuppini. The Camaldolese monk, Ambrogio
Traversari, his pupil Giannozzo Manetti (1431-59), a layman thoroughly
devoted to the Church, and the first of the Humanists to turn his
attention to the Oriental languages, Lionardo Bruni, so long Apostolic
Secretary at the papal court and afterwards Chancellor of Florence,
Maffeo Vegio (1407-58), the Roman archaeologist, who in his work on
education endeavoured to combine classical culture with Christian
revelation, Vittorino da Feltre, a model in his life and methods for
Christian teachers, Pico della Mirandola, Sadoleto, and Bida, were all
prominent in the classical revival, but at the same time thoroughly
loyal to the Church. They were the moderate men between the Pagan
Humanists and the extreme Scholastics. Their aim was to promote
learning and education, and to widen the field of knowledge by the
introduction of the ancient literary masterpieces, not at the expense
of an abandonment of Christianity, but under the auspices and in
support of the Catholic Church. Following in the footsteps of Origen,
St. Gregory, St. Basil, and St. Augustine, they knew how to admire the
beauties of Pagan literature without accepting its spirit or ideals,
and hence they have been called the Christian Humanists.

The revival of Greek in Italy, where Greek literature was practically
unknown, is due in great measure to the arrival of Greek scholars, who
were induced to come by promises of a salary and position, or who
travelled thither on political or ecclesiastical missions. Of these
the principal were Manuel Chruysoloras engaged at work in Florence
from 1396, Cardinal Bessarion (1403?-72) who came westward for the
Council of Florence and ended his days in Venice to which he
bequeathed his library, Gemistos Plethon (1355-1450) the principal
agent in the establishment of the Platonic academy at Florence, George
of Trebizond, Theodore Gaza, Lascaris, Andronicus Callistus, and
others who fled from Greece to escape the domination of the Turks.
With the help of these men and their pupils a knowledge of Greek and
of Greek literature was diffused through Italy, and in a short time
throughout the Continent. Everywhere collections of Greek manuscripts
began to be formed; agents were sent to the East to buy them wherever
they could be discovered, and copyists and translators were busy at
work in all the leading centres of Italy. The fall of Constantinople
in 1453 tended to help the Greek revival in the West by the dispersion
of both scholars and manuscripts through Italy, France, and Germany.

Humanism owes its rapid development in Italy not indeed to the
universities, for the universities, committed entirely to the
Scholastic principles of education, were generally hostile, but rather
to the exertions of wandering teachers and to the generous support of
powerful patrons. In Rome it was the Popes who provided funds for the
support of Humanist scholars, for the collection and copying of
manuscripts, and for the erection of libraries where the great
literary treasures of Greece and Rome might be available for the
general public; in Florence it was the de' Medici, notably Cosmo
(1429-64) and Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449-92), by whose exertions
Florence became the greatest centre of literary activity in Europe; in
Milan it was the Viscontis and the Sforzas; in Urbino Duke Federigo
and his friends; and in Ferrara and Mantua the families of d'Este and
Gonzaga. Academies took the place of universities. Of these the
academy of Florence, supported by the de' Medici and patronised by the
leading Greek and Italian scholars, was by far the most influential
and most widely known. The academy of Rome, founded (1460) by
Pomponius Laetus, was frankly Pagan in its tone and as such was
suppressed by Paul II. It was revived, however, and patronised by
Sixtus IV., Julius II., and Leo X. Similar institutions were to be
found in most of the Italian States, notably at Venice and Naples. In
nearly all these cities valuable manuscript libraries were being
amassed, and were placed generously at the disposal of scholars.

Another important aid to the popularisation of the works of the Greek
and Latin writers was the invention of printing and its introduction
into Italy. The first printing press in Italy was established at the
Benedictine monastery of Subiaco, whence it was transferred to Rome.
From this press were issued editions of the Latin classics, such as
the works of Lactantius, Caesar, Livy, Aulus Gellius, Virgil, Lucan,
Cicero, and Ovid. Aldo Manuzio, himself an enthusiastic student of
Greek literature, settled at Venice in 1490, and established a
printing press with the intention of bringing out editions of the
principal Greek authors. His house was the great centre for Greek
scholars from all parts of Italy, and from the Aldine Press were
issued cheap and accurate editions of the Greek classics. Later on
when Florence and Milan were disturbed by the invasion of Charles
VIII. of France (1483-98), and when Naples was captured by the
Spaniards the Humanist movement found a generous patron in Leo X., a
scion of de' Medici family. From the press founded by Leo X. many
classical texts were issued till the pillaging of the city by the
imperial troops in 1527 dealt a death blow to the revival in Italy.

That there was no opposition between the study of the classics and the
teaching of Christianity is evidenced by the friendly attitude adopted
by the Papacy towards the Humanist movement. The Avignon Popes,
Benedict XII. (1334-42) and Clement VI. (1342-52), heaped honours and
emoluments upon Petrarch and provided him with the means of acquiring
manuscripts and of meeting scholars likely to assist him. A similar
attitude towards the movement was adopted by Urban V. (1362-70). The
leading classical scholars such as Coluccio, Salutati, Francesco
Bruni, Lionardo d'Aretino, etc., were employed at the Papal court, and
the apostolic college of secretaries became one of the greatest
centres for the propagation of Humanism. The troubles that fell upon
the Church during the Great Western Schism diverted the attention of
the rival Popes from literary pursuits; but as soon as peace had been
restored by the Council of Constance Martin V. (1417-31) assembled
around him in Rome many of the ablest classical scholars, and vied
with his cardinals in his protection of the Humanist movement. Eugene
IV. (1431-47) was, if anything, more favourable, but yet his
sympathies did not blind him to the dangerous tendencies of the
revival as manifested in the books of men like Beccadelli.[7]

With the election of Nicholas V. (1447-55)[8] the triumph of Humanism
at Rome seemed secure. The new Pope was himself one of the party. As a
tutor in Florence he had been brought into contact with the great
literary men of the time and had become an ardent student of the
classics, nor did his enthusiasm lose any of its ardour when he
ascended the Papal throne. His aim was to make Rome the intellectual
as well as the religious capital of the world, and with this object in
view he invited to his court the most distinguished scholars of the
age, and bestowed upon not a few of them, such as Albergati,
Capranica, and Caesarini the rank of cardinal. That he fully
recognised the advantages which religion might derive from the revival
of letters, and that he aimed at employing the services of the
Humanists in defence of Christianity is evident from the works to
which he directed the attention of scholars. The texts of the
Scripture, the translations of the Greek Fathers, and the preparation
of critical studies on the Lives of the Saints were amongst the works
recommended to his literary friends. At the same time he did not
proclaim war upon the less orthodox of the Humanist school. Men like
Valla, Poggio, Filelfo, and Marsuppini were treated with friendliness
and even with favour. Whether such a line of conduct was dictated by
prudence and by the hope of winning over these scholars to a better
understanding, or whether his anxiety for the success of his own
literary schemes blinded him to the serious excesses of such leaders
it is difficult to say; but, at any rate, it serves to show the great
liberty enjoyed by literary men at this period even in the very city
of the Popes.

As a means of ensuring to Rome the most prominent place in the
revival, agents were dispatched to Greece, Turkey, Germany, France,
and even to Sweden and Norway, to hunt for manuscripts. No expense was
spared to secure everything that could be purchased or to have copies
made where purchase was impossible. In order to preserve these
treasures and make them available for scholars the Vatican Library was
undertaken by orders of the Pope. Though long before this time the
library of the Popes was of considerable importance, yet on account of
the immense number of volumes produced by Nicholas V. he is generally
regarded as the founder of the Vatican Library. The number of volumes
which it contained at the time of his death is variously estimated at
from one to nine thousand. The works of the Fathers of the Church, and
the Scholastics and Canonists were well represented.[9]

After the death of Nicholas V. the Pagan side of the Humanist movement
became more and more apparent. Pius II. (1458-64), who, as Aeneas
Sylvius, was well known as a clever writer of the Humanist school,
seems as Pope to have been decidedly suspicious of his former friends.
His own private library was filled with Christian authors, and care
was taken to show favour only to those classical scholars whose
writings were above reproach. Yet the cares of his office and the
promotion of the crusade on which he had set his heart prevented him
from taking the necessary steps for the purification of his court,
and, as a result, many of the members of the College of Abbreviators
were allowed to remain in office though they were really Pagan at
heart. Paul II. could not tolerate such a state of affairs. He
promptly abolished the College of Abbreviators, suppressed the Roman
Academy, and arrested its two prominent leaders, Pomponius Laetus and
Platina.

If Paul II. erred on the side of severity some of his successors went
to the other extreme of laxity. The period of the political Popes,
from Sixtus IV. to Julius II. (1471-1513), was marked by a serious
decline in the religious spirit, nor can it be said that the policy of
the Popes was calculated to check the downward tendency. Their
attention was occupied too much by the politics of the petty Italian
States to permit them to fulfil the duties of their high office; and,
as a consequence, the interests of religion were neglected. Sixtus IV.
adopted the friendly attitude of Nicholas V. towards the Renaissance.
The College of Abbreviators was restored, the Roman Academy was
recognised, and Platina was appointed librarian. The manuscripts in
the Vatican Library were increased, more ample accommodation was
provided, and every facility was given to scholars to consult the
papal collection. Hence it is that Sixtus IV. is regarded generally as
the second founder of the Vatican Library.

The revolutions and wars, caused by the invasion of Italy by the
French and the Spaniards during the closing years of the fifteenth
century and the early portion of the sixteenth, dealt a serious blow
to Humanism in Florence, Milan, Venice, and other Italian centres. But
the misfortunes of those cities served to strengthen the movement at
Rome. Julius II. (1503-13) proved himself a generous patron of
literature and in a special manner of art. Men like Giuliano da
Sangello, Sansovino, Bramante, Michael Angelo, and Raphael were
invited to Rome and induced to devote their genius to the service of
religion and the glory of the Papacy. On the death of Julius II. in
1513 the complete triumph of the Humanist movement in Rome was assured
by the election of Giovanni de' Medici who took the name of Leo X.
(1513-21).[10] As the son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, to whom Florence
owes its literary renown, and as the pupil of the celebrated
Humanists, Poliziano and Marsilio Ficino, he was committed almost of
necessity to the Humanist movement. Scholars and artists flocked to
Rome from all sides to greet the new Pope and to assure themselves of
his favour and protection. Under the new regime literary merit was the
principal qualification sought for in candidates aspiring to the
highest ecclesiastical honours. The Roman University was reorganised;
the search for manuscripts was renewed with vigour; a new college for
the promotion of Greek studies in Rome was founded, and the services
of Lascaris and Musuro were secured; and artists like Raphael and
Bramante received every encouragement. Humanism was at last triumphant
in Rome, but, unfortunately, its triumph was secured at the expense of
religion. Nor was Humanism destined to enjoy the fruits of the victory
for a lengthened period. The outbreak of the Reformation and the
capture of Rome by the soldiers of Charles V. turned the attention of
the Popes to more pressing concerns.

The Renaissance movement in Germany is due largely to the influence of
Italian scholars and to the teaching of the Brothers of the Common
Life in their school at Deventer.[11] The close political relations
existing between the German States and the cities of Northern Italy,
the mission of Petrarch to the court of Charles IV., the intermingling
of German and Italian scholars at the councils of Constance, Florence,
and Basle, and the exertions of Aeneas Sylvius, afterwards Pius II.,
during his term of office as Chancellor of Frederick III., helped
largely to promote the study of the classics in Germany, especially
when the invention and development of the art of printing had solved
the difficulty of procuring manuscripts. As in Italy, Humanism owes
much of its success to the generosity of powerful patrons such as the
Emperor Maximilian I., Frederick Elector of Saxony and his kinsman,
Duke George, Joachim I. of Brandenburg, and Philip of the Palatinate,
Bishop John von Dalberg of Worms, and Archbishop Albrecht of Mainz;
and as in Italy the academies were the most powerful means of
disseminating classical culture, so also in Germany learned societies
like the /Rhenana/, founded by Bishop Dalberg, and the /Danubiana/ in
Vienna, were most successful in promoting the literary propaganda.

But, unlike the Italian, the German revival was assisted largely by
the universities. Basle, Erfurt, Heidelburg, and Leipzig showed
unmistakably their sympathy towards the movement, and in a short time
the programmes of university studies in nearly all the leading centres
were modified in accordance with the new ideas of education.
Scholasticism was obliged to make way for the classics and natural
science. Cologne, alone in Germany, refused to abandon its old system,
and, though not unfriendly to the classics, as is evident by the
presence of Ortwin Gratius on its list of professors, still it showed
itself highly distrustful of the tendencies of some of the Humanist
leaders. Yet German Humanism had little, if anything, in common with
the flagrant irreligion and immorality of the Italian school. With one
or two exceptions German Humanists never assailed revealed religion as
such, but attacked instead the prevailing educational system, which
they held to be responsible for the widespread ignorance and general
decline of the religious spirit. Many of the leading German scholars
were exemplary in their moral character and in their loyalty to the
Church, and few, even of those who were regarded as hostile, showed
any sympathy with Luther once they understood that he aimed at revolt
rather than reform.

Some of the greatest of the German Humanists differed from their
Italian contemporaries also in the fact that they turned the
intellectual revival into scientific channels, and made the study of
the classics subservient to mathematical and astronomical research.
Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa (1400-64), George Peurbach of Vienna (d.
1461), John Muller of Konigsberg (1436-76), better known by his Latin
name Regiomontanus, and the great churchman and astronomer Copernicus
(1473-1543) belonged to this section, which prepared the way for
modern scientific developments. With these men religion and science
went hand in hand.

On the purely literary side the most famous of the German Humanists
were Conrad Celtes (1459-1508) the most active of the promoters of the
classical revival beyond the Alps and one of the earliest of the
German poets; Pirkeimer (1470-1528), who hoped for great things from
the Lutheran movement at first, but having realised its real nature
remained loyal to the Church; Mutianus Rufus (1471-1526), a canon of
Gotha and at the same time a well-known free-thinker; Grotus Rubeanus
(1480-1504), who at first favoured Luther; Jakob Wimpheling (1450-
1528), and Johannes Trithemius (1462-1516), the learned historian and
abbot of Sponheim; Ulrich von Hutten (1488-1523), and Johann Reuchlin
(1455-1522).

Of these the most important from the point of view of ecclesiastical
history are von Hutten[12] and Reuchlin. The former was born in the
year 1488 and was sent for his education to the monastery of Fulda,
from which he fled with very little mental equipment except a lasting
hatred and distrust for all monks and ecclesiastics. As a wandering
student he visited the leading centres of learning in Germany and
Northern Italy, where he was particularly remarkable for his dissolute
life, his ungovernable temper, and his biting sarcasm. Taking
advantage of the rising spirit of unfriendliness between the Teuton
and the Latin countries, he posed as a patriot burning with love for
Germany and the Germans, and despising the French, the Italians, and
in particular the Pope. Against the monks and theologians he directed
his bitterest satires, to the delight of many, who did not foresee the
dangers of such attacks at a time when the German nation generally was
growing less friendly to the Papacy.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34