They that will please themselves, let them read the Life of Urban, which has been inserted among the rest of the Lives of the Popes, composed by Platina, and there they will meet with such a quantity of his good works, that they cannot chuse but esteem him as one of the holiest Popes that ever was; but they that are otherwise inform’d, are mov’d to laugh both at the Pope and the Author.
There you shall meet with nothing but, that the Pope visited such a Church, confirmed such a Decree of his Predecessor, gave the people his Benediction from the Church of St. Jean of Lateran, visited the Hospital of the Trinity, made a great exhortation to the Bishops, excited the Monks to reform, beautified St. Andrè Avellino, received Ambassadors with great state, opened the Holy Year with Magnificence, consecrated the Church of the Vatican, gave the title of Cardinalate to the Church of St. Charles, re-built the Colledge of the Grecians, &c.
But all this while not a word of the Progress of Gustave Adolfe in Germany, of the Turk in the other parts of Christendom (while the Pope lets them both alone) of the excommunication of the Duke of Parma, of that of the State of Lucca, of the affront done to the State of Venice, of the disrespect show’d to the Crown of France in divers occasions, of the War begun in Italy, of the Catholick Religion declining in Poland, of the Artifices used in the War of the Valtolina, and in a word, of so many miscarriages, and offences given to Rome, the State, and all Christendom, by the extravagant passions of the Barberins: Of all this I say there is not a syllable, nor the least mention.
Every one knows that Germany, the Empire, and the Catholick Religion were upon the brim of their ruine, for want of succour; and yet at that very time the Barberins, did make War upon the Princes of Italy, with the treasure of the Church; their minde being more bent upon the raising of their Family, than upon the conservation of Christendom.
And the mischief was, that they did so besiege the Pope, that there was no means of informing him of the deplorable state of the Affairs of Christendom; for neither the Emperour, nor the King of Poland could ever obtain any answer to their demands, which I believe never came to the knowledge of the Pope, no more than their dangers. The Nipotismo answering their Ambassadors conformably to their own interest, without any regard to the Fatherly and Pastoral care, to which their Uncle was bound by the duty of his place.
But that which was worst of all, was, that they did not openly refuse their help, but by delayes and promises keeping still the Emperour and King of Poland in hopes, they made them neglect to make peace with their Enemies, and refuse those conditions, which else they would have accepted, had not the Barberins entertain’d them with the hopes now of an Army, then of a great summe of Money; and at last disappointed them of all.
However the people of the State belonging to the Church were the worse for it; for the Barberins taking occasion from the obligation the Pope was in, to assist these Princes, did thereupon lay most heavy Taxes and Impositions upon both Church-men and Layes: The simple people stirred up by the exhortations of some Preachers who made it their business to declare in their Sermons, That God could not be better pleased then by that assistance given to the distressed Catholicks, did sell all their Jewels and preciousest Houshold-stuff to give away to those that had the Commission of gathering their Benevolence.
Out of these summes which were thus raised, the Barberins did send it may be one or two in the hundred, and this after so long waiting, and by such chargeable wayes, that half of the money was absorbed in the exchange: which the Emperour and King of Poland having perceived, they were fain to give over their soliciting the Barberins, and defend themselves as well as they could.
The Protestants themselves, though much rejoycing at the decaying state of the Catholick Religion in Germany, were nevertheless infinitely scandalized at the Pope’s proceedings, saying, as it was true, That the Barberins did the Catholicks more mischief by denying them succour with such dilatory wayes, than the Protestants by the force of Arms.
In a word, I think it is not a hard thing to perswade that the Barberins in the time of their reign did the Church a great deal of mischief; it would be much a harder to convince any body of the good they have done: and it is so difficult a business, that for my part I shall not undertake it; only I will give the Barberins this good counsel, which is, that if they desire to make posterity lose the memory of their ill conduct under their Uncle, they endeavour to get Cardinal Francesco Barberino made Pope after the death of Alexander; for so it may be, that as in their Uncle’s time they did much more hurt then good, they will under Cardinal Francesco, who is pious and vertuous do more good than hurt.