144
NOTES AND QUERIES. [io* s. m. FEB. 25, iocs.
.FATHER PAUL SARPI IN EARLY
ENGLISH LITERATURE.
(See ante, pp. 44, 84.)
IN 'The Epistle to my dear Lucilius,' before his 'Historical Memoires on the Reigns of Queen Elizabeth and King James,' 1658, Francis Osborn remarks :
"And he that desires a more exemplary mani- festation of this infallible (though for ought I ever observed, seldome practised) Truth, may tinde it in that learned Italian's ' History of the Council of Trent' ; a Piece that challenges all the veneration our partial Modern Readers do or can offer at the Shrines of Antiquity."
- Qregorio Letti, in his 'II Nipotismo di
Roma : or, The History of the Popes Nephews,' thus writes (I quote from the English translation of 1G73, p. 133) :
"In the interim, -it ds worth the Readers curiosity to be inform'd of an accident that befell Padre Pallavicino, the Popes Confessor, a Jesuite, in hopes of obtaining a Cardinals .Cap, which at last he got, had undertaken to write the 'Story of theCouncelof Trent ; which indeed may justly be call'd his, for the greatest part of it is not History and Relation, but an abundance of words, by which he endeavours to .prove, that the History of Fra. Paulo, upon the same subject, was and is false ; but he stumbles at every step he goes, and is so ill furnish'dwith Argu- ments, that for my part, I must confess, that I never believ'd Fra. 'Pa,ulo's History to be real, sin- cere and true, but since I read the Jesuites : And he that will profit by them, let him read them both with an equal disinteressment."
Walton's 'Life of Bishop Sanderson' ap- peared in 1678 ; and the following passage, taken from it, is simply delightful. 1 quote from the edition of ' Walton's Lives,' 1858 (p. 410) :-
"At this happy time of enjoying his [Sander- sons company and this discourse, he expressed a sorrow by -saying to me, 'Oh that I had gone Chaplain to that excellently accomplished gentle- man, your friend, Sir Henry Wotton ! which was once intended, when he first went Ambassador to tile State of Venice : for by that employment I had been forced into a necessity of conversing, not with him only, but with several men of several nations ; and might thereby have kept myself from my un- manly bashfulness, which has proved very trouble- some, and not less inconvenient to me; and which ,1 now fear is become so habitual as never to leave me : and by that means 1 might also have known, or at least have had the satisfaction of seeing, one of the late miracles of general learning, prudence, and modesty, Sir Henry Wotton's dear friend, Padre Paulo, who, the author of his life says, was born with a bashfulness as invincible as I have found nay own to be : a man whose fame must never die, till virtue and learning shall become so useless as not to be regarded.'"
From " The Modest Critick, &c , By One of the Society of Port-Royal," 1689, we have the following references to Father Paul. The .preface was evidently written by the trans-
lator, and he seems to have taken exception
to the strictures passed on the Father in the
body of the work. He goes on to say :
" It is not to be wondred, that one of the Romish Church should so sharply censure the incomparable Fra Paolo, whose Judgment and Learning carried him beyond their Argument*, and whose Honesty was above Calumny : But the History of the Council of Trent is sufficient to maintain that Author's Credit against all their Suggestions."
Here is the passage in the text referred to in the foregoing extract (p. 125) :
"Fra Paolo, in his 'History of the Council of Trent,' gives what Colours he pleases to what he says : No body ever had that Art in a more eminent degree. He shews also a great Capacity, in search- ing to the bottom the Matters of Learning which he has in hand, to give his Readers a perfect know- ledge thereof : No body ever writ with more Skill, nor with more Wit, and never with less Justice and Truth. He is a passionate man, who employ'd all his Art in hiding his Passion : He made a jest in every thing, that he might not be thought to be angry; but he falls into another D'efect : He raileth too much, in a Subject so serious as his is ; for his Passion is seen in every thing he speaks. So that Historian, with his great Genius, has the most Vicious Character that can be in the way of writing History, where nothing is less pardonable than Enmity. An Historian is no longer believ'd, when once he is thought too passionate ; which gives occasion of examining the Honesty which is neces- sary for him that pretends to write."
I have tried, but in vain, to find out the name of the author of this truly excellent little book : ib extends to only 151 pages, small octavo, excluding "The Preface" and address "To the Reader." Anthony Arnauld and Pierre Nicole, both members of the Port- Royal Society, were alive for several years after its publication, and from some acquaint- ance with the ' Moral Essays ' I should not be astonished if it were yet discovered that the last named was in reality the author. I do not forget that De Tillemont was also a member of the Society : he died on 10 Jan., 1698. At the same time, we must not forget Addison's remark in The Spectator (No. 562) ;
"The Gentlemen of Port Royal, who were more eminent for their learning and humility than any other in France, banished the way of speaking in the first person out of all their works, as arising from vain-glory and self-conceit. To show their particular aversion to it, they branded this form of writing with the name of an egotism ; a figure not to be found among the ancient rhetoricians."
It is well known that Pierre Nicole edited ' Les Provinciales, ou Lettres Ecrites par Louis de Montalte,' published at Amsterdam in 1735, under the pen-name of " Guillaume Wend rock." In the copy before me there is a beautiful portrait of that distinguished and lovable man, with this inscription, "Pierre Nicole Connu Sous Le Nom de Guillaume
