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PIUS 153 14, 1464, in his death as in his life a figure picturesque and significant far beyond the wont of Roman pontiffs. He was succeeded by Paul II. Pius, indeed, regarded as a man and not merely as an historical personage, is the most interesting of all the successors of St Peter. It is easy to take his character to pieces, but the aroma of something exquisite lingers around every fragment. He had a healthy, sincere, loving nature, frank and naive even in his aberrations and defects, which seem after all sufficiently venial. The failings of other popes have most frequently been those of the priest, and therefore in the true sense of the term inhuman. It is a refreshing transition to the faults of the adventurer, the diplomatist, the man of letters and pleasure. The leading trait of Pius s character was his extreme impressionable- ness. Chameleon-like he took colour from surrounding cir cumstances, and could always depend on being what these circumstances required him to be. As, therefore, his prospects widened and his responsibilities deepened, his character widened and deepened too ; and he who had entered upon life a shifty adventurer quitted it a model chief shepherd. His virtues were not only great, but the most conspicuous were those especially characteristic of the finer natures. While he vied with any man in indus try, prudence, wisdom, and courage, he excelled most men in simplicity of tastes, constancy of attachments, kindly playfulness, magnanimity, and mercy. As chief of the church he was able and sagacious, and showed that he comprehended the conditions on which its monopoly of spiritual power could for a season be maintained ; his views were far-seeing and liberal ; and he was but slightly swayed by personal ends. He is especially interesting as the type of the scholar and publicist who wins his way by intellectual strength, foreshadowing the age to come when the pen should be mightier than the sword ; and no less as the figure in whom the mediaeval and the modern spirit are most distinctly seen to meet and blend, ere the latter definitively gains the mastery. Pins was a versatile and voluminous author, one of the best and most industrious of his period. His most important work is his Commentaries of Ms oivn Times, published in 1584 under the name of Gobelinus, to whom it has been ascribed, but who was in fact only the copyist. It appears to have been altered to some slight extent by his secretary Campanus. Numerous passages suppressed at the time of publication have been recently published in the Trans actions of the Accademia de Lineei by Signor Cngnone, together with other inedited works. Pius s Commentaries are delightful reading, and their historical value is very great. " Pius II., says Creighton, " is the first writer who attempted to represent the present as it would look to posterity, who consciously applied a scientific conception of history to the explanation and arrange ment of passing events." His Epistles, which were collected by himself, are also an important source of historical information. The most valuable of his minor historical writings are his histories of Bohemia and of the emperor Frederick III., the latter partly autobiographical. He sketched geographical treatises on Europe and Asia, and in early and middle life produced numerous tracts on the political and theological controversies of his day, as well as on ethical subjects. Pius was greatly admired as a poet by his contemporaries, but his reputation in belles lettres rests princi pally upon his Eurialus and Lucretia, which continues to be read to this day, partly from its truth to nature, and partly from the singularity of an erotic novel being written by a pope. He also composed some comedies, one of which alone is extant, and as yet only in MS. All these works are in Latin. Pius was not an eminent scholar : his Latin is frequently incorrect, and he- knew little Greek ; but his writings have high literary qualities, and will always be prized as vivid and accurate reproductions of the spirit of a very remarkable age. All the chief authorities for Pius s life are sifted and condensed in the admir able biography by Voigt (3 vols., Berlin, 1856-63). Professor Creighton, in his masterly History of the Papacy during the Reformation (vol. ii., London, 1882); has given the English reader the substance of Voigt s narrative, while preserving a full independence of judgment. (R. G.) PIUS III. (Francesco Todeschini), pope from September 22 to October 18, 1503, was born at Siena, May 9, 1439. As the nephew of Pius II. by his sister Laodamia, he was received into favour by that pontiff, who permitted him to assume the name and arms of the Piccolomini, and raised him, when only twenty-two years of age, to the see of Siena and the cardinalate. He was employed by subse quent popes in several important legations, as by Paul II. at the diet of Ratisbon, and by Sixtus IV. to secure the restoration of ecclesiastical authority in Umbria. Amid the disturbances consequent upon the death of Alexander VI. he was, by the not wholly disinterested influence of Cardinal Rovera, elected pope on September 22, 1503, his installation taking place on the 8th October following. He at once took in hand the reform of the papal court and arrested Cresar Borgia ; but after a brief pontificate of twenty-six days he died (October 18, 1503) of an ulcer in the leg, or, as some have alleged, of poison administered at the instigation of Pandolfo Petrucci, governor of Siena. He was succeeded by Julius II. PIUS IV. (Giovanni Angelo Medici), pope from 1559 to 1565, was born of humble parentage at Milan, March 31, 1499. His early career connects itself in some measure with the romantic rise of his elder brother from the position of bravo to that of Marchese di Marignano. After studying at Bologna and acquiring reputation as a jurist, he went in 1527 to Rome, and as the favourite of Paul III. was rapidly promoted to the governorship of several towns, the archbishopric of Ragusa, the vice- legateship of Bologna, and in April 1549 to the cardinal- ate. On the death of Paul IV. he was elected pope on December 28, 1559, and installed on the 6th January 1560. His first public acts of importance were to grant a general pardon to the participators in the riot which had closed the previous pontificate, and to bring to trial the nephews of his predecessor, of whom Cardinal Carlo Caraffa was strangled, and the duke Paliano, with his nearest connexions, beheaded. On the 18th January 1562 the council of Trent, which had been suspended by Julius III., was opened for the third time. Great skill and caution were necessary to effect a settlement of the ques tions before it, inasmuch as the three principal nations taking part in it, though at issue with regard to their own special demands, were prepared to unite their forces against the demands of Rome. Pius, however, aided by Morone and Borromeo, proved himself equal to the emer gency, and by judicious management and concession brought the council to a termination satisfactory to the disputants and favourable to the pontifical authority. Its definitions and decrees were confirmed by a bull dated January 26, 1564; and, though they were received with certain limitations by France and Spain, the famous Creed of Pius IV., or Tridentine Creed, remained the authorita tive expression of the Catholic faith. The more marked manifestations of stringency during his pontificate appear to have been prompted rather than spontaneous, his personal character inclining him to moderation and ease. Thus a monitory, issued in 1564, summoning the queen of Navarre before the Inquisition on a charge of Calvinism, was withdrawn by him in deference to the indignant pro test of Charles IX. ; and in the same year he published a bull granting the use of the cup to the laity of Austria and Bohemia. One of his strongest passions appears to have been that of building, which somewhat strained his resources in contributing to the adornment of Rome, and in carrying on the work of restoration, erection, and forti fication in various parts of the ecclesiastical states. A conspiracy against him, headed by the Catholic fanatic Benedetto Accolti, was discovered and crushed in 1565. He died shortly afterwards, on December 9th of that year, and was succeeded bv Pius V. PIUS V. (Michele" Ghislieri), pope from 1566 to 1572, was born at Bosco in the duchy of Milan, January 17,

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