LEO X. is a pontiff to whom learning, and art, and science, are so deeply indebted, that not to give a sketch of his life and character, in a Work of this kind, would
be an unpardonable omission. A character of him is indeed given in the Encyclopaedia; but it is so far from the truth, that it is difficult to conceive the prejudices under which he must have laboured by whom such a libel was drawn up.
Leo, whose name, before his elevation to the pontificate, was Giovanni de Medici, was the second son of Lorenzo de Medici, justly styled the Magnificent. In the life of that great man published in this Supplement, the reader will see by what means, and for what purpose, he got Giovanni raised to the dignity of cardinal at so early a period of life; and in the elegant work of Roscoe, to which we there refer, he will find such instructions of Lorenzo to the cardinal as must have made a deep impression on his youthful mind.
Speaking of his promotion, Lorenzo says, "The first thing that I would suggest to you, is, that you ought to be grateful to God, and continually to recollect that it is not through your merits, your prudence, or your solicitude, that this event has taken place, but through his favour, which you can repay only by a pious, chaste, and exemplary life; and that your obligations to the performance of these duties are so much the greater, as in your early years you have given some reasonable expectation that your riper age may produce such fruits. It would indeed be highly disgraceful, and as contrary to your duty as to my hopes, if at a time when others display a greater share of reason, and adopt a better mode of life, you should forget the precepts of your youth, and forsake the path in which you have liberally trodden."—"I well know (continues Lorenzo), that as you are now to reside at Rome, that sink of all iniquity, the difficulty of conducting yourself by these admonitions will be increased. The influence of example is itself prevalent; but you will probably meet with those, who will particularly endeavour to corrupt and incite you to vice; because, as you yourself may perceive, your early attainment of so great a dignity is not observed without envy, and those who could not prevent your receiving that honour, will secretly endeavour to diminish it, by inducing you to forfeit the good estimation of the public."—"You are not unacquainted with the great importance of the character which you have to sustain; for you well know, that all the Christian world would prosper if the cardinals were what they ought to be; because in such a case there would always be a good pope, upon which the tranquillity of Christendom so materially depends."
As this was a confidential letter from Lorenzo to his son, the first of these extracts furnishes very sufficient evidence, that Giovanni had been at least a well behaved boy, diligent in his studies, and regular in his conduct; and without supposing him remarkably religious, the admonitions of such a father, aided by his own ambition and love of letters, would surely guard him against such gross licentiousness as that of which he is accused in the Encyclopaedia. How much he revered his father, is apparent from the letter which he wrote to his brother immediately after Lorenzo's death. "What a father (says he) have we lost! How indulgent to his children! Wonder not, then, that I grieve, that I lament, that I find no rest. Yet, my brother, I have some consolation in reflecting that I have thee, whom I shall always regard in the place of a father." Surely this is not the language of a gross sensualist, or of one who could soon forget
forget the salutary admonitions of such a parent as Lorenzo de' Medici. But it is needless to infer the decency of his character by such reasonings as these. The story published in the Encyclopædia, of the manner in which the Cardinal de' Medici obtained the tiara, cannot possibly be true. The reader, who shall turn to the article POPE in that Work, will find that the conclave, when fitted up for an election, is so large a place, that we may safely affirm, that had the cardinal's ulcer discharged matter so fetid as to poison all the cells, the assertion of the physicians would have been verified, and that in the then state of the healing art, the new pope could not have survived a month. Let it be remembered, too, that Leo, at his accession, was not 30, but 37 years of age, and that he had long ruled in Florence with sovereign sway by the same means which had upheld the authority of his father. The follies of youth, therefore, had he ever been remarkable for such follies, must have been over with him; and in such a state as Florence he could not have maintained the authority of Lorenzo, without exhibiting not only Lorenzo's liberality, but likewise his decency of manners.
The next charge brought against Leo in the Encyclopædia is, that he published general indulgences throughout Europe; and this is so expressed as to lead the ill-informed reader to suppose, either that no such indulgences had ever been published by any of his predecessors, or that there was something peculiarly scandalous in Leo's mode of publishing them. Both suppositions, however, are erroneous. The historian of the council of Trent, who certainly was not partial to the court of Rome, or to the dispensing power of the pope, has shewn, that the practice of raising money by the publication of indulgences, had prevailed ever since the year 1100; that many former popes had raised money in this manner for purposes much less laudable than those which Leo had in his eye; and that the real cause of Luther's attack upon Leo's indulgences was, that they were preached through Saxony by the Dominican friars; whereas the preaching of former indulgences had been committed to the hermits of St Augustine, the order to which Luther himself belonged!
Leo is likewise accused in the Encyclopædia of being a professed infidel, and of having called Christianity "a fable very profitable for him and his predecessors." But of the truth of this accusation there seems not to be the shadow of evidence. Leo had too much sense to utter expressions of this kind, even had he been an unbeliever in his heart; for he could not possibly expect that his indulgences and pardons would be purchased, had he declared in such strong terms that they were of no value. Father Paul indeed says, that he was not a deep divine, or so pious as some of his predecessors; but he affirms, that he adorned the papacy with many admirable qualities; that he was learned, affable, liberal, good; that he delighted in healing differences, and that his equal had not, for many years, filled the chair of St Peter. Surely this is not the character of a profane infidel!
Leo has been charged with raising his own family to grandeur at the expense of justice; and of dealing treacherously, in order to effect this purpose, both with the emperor and with the French king. But the charge is either false or greatly exaggerated. He lost no opportunity indeed of aggrandizing his relations, well knowing, that in order to secure to them any lasting be-
nefit, it was necessary that they should be powerful enough to defend themselves, after his death, from the rapacious aims of succeeding pontiffs; but, in prosecuting this plan, he was so far from acting tyrannically or injuriously to others, that during his pontificate, the papal dominions enjoyed a degree of tranquillity superior to any other Italian state. During the contests that took place between the emperor and the French king, so far from acting treacherously, he distinguished himself by his moderation, his vigilance, and his political address; on which account he is justly celebrated by an eminent historian of our own*, as "the only prince of the age who observed the motions of the two contending monarchs with a prudent attention, or who discovered a proper solicitude for the public safety."
We trust that no zealous Protestant will think we have employed our time ill, in vindicating the character of this splendid pontiff; for good learning, and, of course, true religion, are more indebted to Leo X. than to any other individual of the age in which he lived, his father Lorenzo alone excepted.