友情提示:如果本网页打开太慢或显示不完整,请尝试鼠标右键“刷新”本网页!
合租小说网 返回本书目录 加入书签 我的书架 我的书签 TXT全本下载 『收藏到我的浏览器』

part05+-第43部分

快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部! 如果本书没有阅读完,想下次继续接着阅读,可使用上方 "收藏到我的浏览器" 功能 和 "加入书签" 功能!





the third; Galileo; who 〃taught the world what dogmatic theology



is worth when it can be tested by science。〃







I purpose now to present the second of these。 As a MAN; he was by



far the greatest of the three and; in various respects; the most



interesting; for he not only threw a bright light into the most



important general council of the Church and revealed to



Christendom the methods which there prevailed;in a book which



remains one of the half…dozen classic histories of the



world;but he fought the most bitter fight for humanity against



the papacy ever known in any Latin nation; and won a victory by



which the whole world has profited ever since。 Moreover; he was



one of the two foremost Italian statesmen since the Middle Ages;



the other being Cavour。







He was born at Venice in 1552; and it may concern those who care



to note the subtle interweaving of the warp and woof of history



that the birth year of this most resourceful foe that Jesuitism



ever had was the death year of St。 Francis Xavier; the noblest of



Jesuit apostles。







It may also interest those who study the more evident evolution



of cause and effect in human affairs to note that; like most



strong men; he had a strong mother; that while his father was a



poor shopkeeper who did little and died young; his mother was



wise and serene。







From his earliest boyhood; he showed striking gifts and



characteristics。 He never forgot a face once seen; could take in



the main contents of a page at a glance; spoke little; rarely ate



meat; and; until his last years; never drank wine。







Brought up; after the death of his father; first by his uncle; a



priest; and then by Capella; a Servite monk; in something better



than the usual priestly fashion; he became known; while yet in



his boyhood; as a theological prodigy。 Disputations in his youth;



especially one at Mantua; where; after the manner of the time; he



successfully defended several hundred theses against all comers;



attracted wide attention; so that the Bishop gave him a



professorship; and the Duke; who; like some other crowned heads



of those days;notably Henry VIII。 and James I。;liked to



dabble in theology; made him a court theologian。 But the duties



of this position were uncongenial: a flippant duke; fond of



putting questions which the wisest theologian could not answer;



and laying out work which the young scholar evidently thought



futile; apparently wearied him。 He returned to the convent of the



Servites at Venice; and became; after a few years' novitiate; a



friar; changing; at the same time; his name; so that; having been



baptized Peter; he now became Paul。







His career soon seemed to reveal another and underlying cause of



his return: he evidently felt the same impulse which stirred his



contemporaries; Lord Bacon and Galileo; for he began devoting



himself to the whole range of scientific and philosophical



studies; especially to mathematics; physics; astronomy; anatomy;



and physiology。 In these he became known as an authority; and



before long was recognized as such through out Europe。 It is



claimed; and it is not improbable; that he anticipated Harvey in



discovering the circulation of the blood; and that he was the



forerunner of noted discoveries in magnetism。 Unfortunately the



loss of the great mass of his papers by the fire which destroyed



his convent in 1769 forbids any full estimate of his work; but it



is certain that among those who sought his opinion and advice



were such great discoverers as Acquapendente; Galileo;



Torricelli; and Gilbert of Colchester; and that every one of



these referred to him as an equal; and indeed as a master。 It



seems also established that it was he who first discovered the



valves of the veins; that he made known the most beautiful



function of the iris;its contractility;and that various



surmises of his regarding heat; light; and sound have since been



developed into scientific truths。 It is altogether likely that;



had he not been drawn from scientific pursuits by his duties as a



statesman; he would have ranked among the greater investigators



and discoverers; not only of Italy; but of the world。







He also studied political and social problems; and he arrived at



one conclusion which; though now trite; was then novel;the



opinion that the aim of punishment should not be vengeance; but



reformation。 In these days and in this country; where one of the



most serious of evils is undue lenity to crime; this opinion may



be imputed to him as a fault; but in those days; when torture was



the main method in procedure and in penalty; his declaration was



honorable both to his head and heart。







With all his devotion to books; he found time to study men。 Even



at school; he had seemed to discern those who would win control。



They discerned something in him also; so that close relations



were formed between him and such leaders as Contarini and



Morosini; with whom he afterwards stood side by side in great



emergencies。







Important missions were entrusted to him。 Five times he visited



Rome to adjust perplexing differences between the papal power and



various interests at Venice。 He was rapidly advanced through most



of the higher offices in his order; and in these he gave a series



of decisions which won the respect of all entitled to form an



opinion。







Naturally he was thought of for high place in the Church; and was



twice presented for a bishopric; but each time he was rejected at



Rome;partly from family claims of less worthy candidates;



partly from suspicions regarding his orthodoxy。 It was objected



that he did not find the whole doctrine of the Trinity in the



first verse of Genesis; that he corresponded with eminent



heretics of England and Germany; that he was not averse to



reforms; that; in short; he was not inclined to wallow in the



slime from which had crawled forth such huge incarnations of evil



as John XXIII。; Julius II。; Sixtus IV。; and Alexander VI。







His orthodox detractors have been wont to represent him as



seeking vengeance for his non…promotion; but his after career



showed amply that personal grievances had little effect upon him。



It is indeed not unlikely that when he saw bishoprics for which



he knew himself well fitted given as sops to poor creatures



utterly unfit in morals or intellect; he may have had doubts



regarding the part taken by the Almighty in selecting them; but



he was reticent; and kept on with his work。 In his cell at Santa



Fosca; he quietly and steadily devoted himself to his cherished



studies; but he continued to study more than books or inanimate



nature。 He was neither a bookworm nor a pedant。 On his various



missions he met and discoursed with churchmen and statesmen



concerned in the greatest transactions of his time; notably at



Mantua with Oliva; secretary of one of the greatest ecclesiastics



at the Council of Trent; at Milan with Cardinal Borromeo; by far



the noblest of all who sat in that assemblage during its eighteen



years; in Rome and elsewhere with Arnauld Ferrier; who had been



French Ambassador at the Council; Cardinal Severina; head of the



Inquisition; Castagna; afterward Pope Urban VII。; and Cardinal



Bellarmine; afterward Sarpi's strongest and noblest opponent。







Nor was this all。 He was not content with books or conversations;



steadily he went on collecting; collating; and testing original



documents bearing upon the great events of his time。 The result



of all this the world was to see later。







He had arrived at middle life and won wide recognition as a



scholar; scientific investigator; and jurist; when there came the



supreme moment of a struggle which had involved Europe for



centuries;a struggle interesting not only the Italy and Europe



of those days; but universal humanity for all time。







During the period following the fall of the Roman Empire of the



West there had been evolved the temporal power of the Roman



Bishop。 It had many vicissitudes。 Sometimes; as in the days of



St。 Leo and St。 Gregory; it based its claims upon noble



assertions of right and justice; and sometimes; as in the hands



of pontiffs like Innocent VIII。 and Paul V。; it sought to force



its way by fanaticism。 Sometimes it strengthened its authority by



real services to humanity; and sometimes by such monstrous frauds



as the Forged Decretals。 Sometimes; as under Popes like Gregory



VII。 and Innocent III。; it laid claim to the mastership of the



world; and sometimes; as with the majority of the pontiffs during



the two centuries before the Reformation; it became mainly the



appanage of a party or faction or family。







Throughout all this history; there appeared in the Church two



great currents of efficient thought。 On one side had been



developed a theocratic theory; giving the papacy a power supreme



in temporal as well as in spiritual matters throughout the world。



Leaders in this during the Middle Ages were St。 Thomas Aquinas



and the Dominicans; leaders in Sarpi's days were the Jesuits;



represented especially in the treatises of Bellarmine at Rome and



in the speeches of Laynez at the Council of Trent。'1'











'1' This has been admirably shown by N。 R。 F。 Brown in his



Taylorian Lecture; pages 229…234; in volume for 1889…99。











But another theory; hostile to the despotism of the Church over



the S
返回目录 上一页 下一页 回到顶部 0 0
快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部!
温馨提示: 温看小说的同时发表评论,说出自己的看法和其它小伙伴们分享也不错哦!发表书评还可以获得积分和经验奖励,认真写原创书评 被采纳为精评可以获得大量金币、积分和经验奖励哦!