The event of these negociations demonstrated the prudence of Poggio, in not precipitately rejecting the invitation of Adimaro. Some obstacle intervened to prevent the execution of the plan proposed by Lamberteschi; and we may estimate the impatience with which Poggio endured his exile from Italy, by the undoubted fact, that notwithstanding the above confession of his dislike of the pontifical court, he accepted the office of Secretary to Martin V. He accordingly quitted England, where his hopes had been so severely disappointed, and after a journey, of the incidents of which no record appears in his works, he once more took up his residence at Rome.
It is very probable, that Poggio communicated to his Italian correspondents an account of the remarkable circumstances which he observed in the course of his journey to England, and of his return to his native land. It is also reasonable to suppose, that some of the letters which he wrote from this country would contain his opinion of the manners and customs of our ancestors. If this was the case, we have reason to lament that these interesting documents are not yet made public. Though incidental mention is frequently made in the works of Poggio, of his residence in Britain, he never dwells upon this topic. A trait of the manners of the English in the fifteenth century occurs in his dialogue on Nobility, in which he thus notices the English aristocracy.—“The nobles of England deem it disgraceful to reside in cities, and prefer living in retirement in the country. They estimate the degree of a man’s nobility by the extent of his estates. Their time is occupied in agricultural pursuits, and they trade in wool and sheep, not thinking it at all derogatory to their dignity to be engaged in the sale of the produce of their lands. I have known a wealthy merchant, who had closed his mercantile concerns, vested his money in land, and retired into the country, become the founder of a noble race; and I have seen him freely admitted into the society of the most illustrious families. Many persons also of ignoble blood have been advanced to the honours of nobility by the favour of their sovereign, which they have merited by their warlike achievements.”[124]
In his Historia Disceptativa Convivialis, he relates another trait of the manners of our forefathers, which he records as an instance of their politeness. A splenetic traveller would probably have quoted it as a proof of their love of good living. “The English,” says he, “if they meet with any one at whose table they have dined, even if the rencounter should take place ten days after the feast, thank him for his good entertainment; and they never omit this ceremony, lest they should be thought insensible of his kindness.”[125]
From the following story, which Poggio has chronicled in his Facetiæ, we learn, that at this early period the English were addicted to the practice of diverting themselves at the expense of their brethren on the other side of St. George’s channel, and that when he visited this country, an Irishman was already become the common hero of an English tale of absurdity.
“When I was in England, I heard a curious anecdote of an Irish captain of a ship. In the midst of a violent storm, when all hands had given themselves over for lost, he made a vow, that if his ship should be saved from the imminent danger which threatened to overwhelm her, he would make an offering at the church of the Virgin Mary of a waxen taper, as large as the main-mast. One of the crew observing that it would be impossible to discharge this vow, since all the wax in England would not be sufficient to make such a taper,—hold your tongue, said the captain, and do not trouble yourself with calculating whether I can perform my promise or not, provided we can escape the present peril.”[126]
CHAP. IV.
State of Italy during Poggio’s residence in England—Martin V. retires to Florence—Retrospect of the history of that city—Martin is dissatisfied with the conduct of the Florentines—Baldassare Cossa is liberated from confinement, and submits to the authority of Martin V.—His death—Martin V. transfers his court to Rome—A reconciliation is effected between Leonardo Aretino and Niccolo Niccoli—Poggio’s letter to Leonardo on this event—Council of Pavia—The council is transferred to Siena, and there dissolved—Hostility of Alfonso of Arragon against Martin V.—Unsuccessful attempts to crush the reformers in Germany—Termination of the schism—Poggio’s dialogue on Avarice—The Fratres Observantiæ satirized by Poggio—Poggio excites displeasure by curbing the zeal of the Fratres Observantiæ—His letter on this subject—His opinion of the monastic life and itinerant preachers—Reflections.