neither the Pope's fault, nor his own, if matters did not improve. These matters Lippomano summed up by saying: "Here in this country, everyone acts exactly as he pleases, without fear of punishment."1

The following occurrence at the Diet at Warsaw shows that the nuncio was not too severe in his judgment. Paul IV., in an encyclical of December 4th, 1556, had earnestly admonished the Polish bishops to use every means to prevent disadvantageus decisions being arrived at in the assembly.2 The result of this was that the demand for complete religious liberty, which was presented by the Prussian cities, in union with the Polish knighthood, was refused, the king declaring that the Diet must occupy itself only with the defence of the country. Before his departure, Sigismund even issued a prohibition of all religious changes; this edict, however, was neither published nor carried out !3

At the beginning of 1557 Lippomano left the Polish kingdom,"

14 Ognuno fa ciò che gli piace nec est qui visitet aut qui cor rigat." Lippomano to the Duke of Paliano, dated Lowicz' September 22, 1556 (Cod. Barb. lat. 822, p. 355 of the Vatican Library, and It., V., 16, p. 292 seq. of the Library of St. Mark's, Venice). The letter in which Lippomano points out that he had not made use of his faculties, as he did not wish to take a certain Heller away with him from Poland, is in the RELACYE, I., 32-40, in a Polish translation.

2 RAYNALDUS, 1556, n. 41. 3 See EICHHORN, I., 273-274; cf. Hosi epist., II., 879. 4 Cf. EICHHORN, I., 275 n. I. On March 7, 1557, Lippomano *reports to Paul IV. from Verona that he is very much fatigued from the journey, and is also suffering from gout, for which reason he sends his auditor to report for the time being (Original in the Cod. Barb. lat. 5715 of the Vatican Library). In a *letter dated Verona, May 18, 1557, he expresses the hope of soon being able to go to Rome. Navagero reports concerning his arrival there on June 26, 1557: *Gionse qui domenica il rev. di Verona; "to-day he is only two leagues away from the Pope."; (Court Library, Vienna, loc. cit.). Lippomano's *Relatione di Polonia (widely circulated in manuscript, e.g., in the Cod. Urb. 822, p. 634 seq.; Ottob. 2433, p. 172 seq., 2510, p. 69 seq. Vatican

A NEW MISSION TO POLAND.

333 which then remained without a nuncio for six months.1 When, however, in the summer of 1558, another attack upon the Catholic Church in Poland was declared to be imminent, Paul IV. recognized that Lippomano's advice, to leave Poland without a Papal representative, had been a mistake. On July 14th, the eminent Cardinal Rebiba was appointed legate to the Emperor and the King of Poland. As obstacles to his departure presented themselves, the appointment of a new nuncio for Poland was made on August 11th.2 This was Camillo Mentuato, who had already been in Poland under Julius III. His experiences were no better than those of Lippomano. Paul IV. had decided that two members of the Jesuit order, Peter Canisius and Theodoric Gerhard, should accompany the nuncio. Gerhard had to be replaced by another Jesuit, owing to illness. As the latter also fell ill on the way, Canisius arrived alone with the nuncio in Cracow, after a most difficult journey, on October 12th, 1558. He found the Catholic Church there flourishing externally, but dangerously threatened with an attack by the innovators. The powerful nobles had almost all fallen away, but the great mass of the people were

Library. Copies also in the Chigi and Corsini Libraries ; translated in the RELACYE, I., 64 seq.) is of no great import

ance.

1 WIERZBOWSKI (Synopsis legat. nuntior., etc., in Polonia, Rome, 1880. 59) also supposes that Pamfilo Strasoldo was only intended as nuncio in 1557. The instructions for him in the Altieri Library, Rome, Miscell. VI., 161 seq., printed in CIAMPI, II., 33. What horrible lies about Paul IV. were circulated in Poland in the summer of 1557, is evident from the letter in the Opera ined. St. Orzechowski, ed. KORZENIOWSKI, I., Cracow, 1891, 481 seq.

2 See PIEPER, Legaten, 117 seq., where, however, the briefs of Paul IV. concerning Mentuato's appointment, which are printed in the RELACYE, I., 69 seq., 71 seq., are overlooked; cf. also L. LATINIUS, Lucubrat., I., 131 seq.; COGGIOLA, Capitolazione, 126; EHRENBERG, 76 seq.; the statements in CIAMPI, I., 169 are quite erroneous. Concerning Rebiba see DEMBINSKI, Rzym,

true to the old faith, and gave numerous proofs of their pious dispositions.1

The nuncio was not found wanting in zeal,2 and Canisius supported him faithfully.3 After a meeting with the Archbishop of Gnesen, he betook himself, accompanied by Canisius, to Petrikau, where the Diet was again to be held.

The longer Canisius remained in Poland, the more clearly did he understand the danger threatening the Church and her interests. "Everything here," he reports to Rome, “depends on the king and the bishops. The king has fair words for us, but nobody who knows his character more intimately expects anything from him. He puts the whole blame for the religious disasters of the last four years on the bishops; they, in their turn, complain of the king."4 These complaints appear to have been justified, for, as had previously been the case, no deeds followed his words. The bishops themselves, however, were also much to blame. Canisius points this out, and says that it almost appeared as if, despairing of anything being possible, they had made up their minds for the worst, and thought only of one thing, which was to save what they could for themselves from the general shipwreck. Many of them, moreover, were very old men, and several of them were not to be trusted, especially a certain Uchanski, to whom the Pope had very properly refused confirmation, and from whom more was to be feared than was to be hoped from all the rest. The heretics now dared to hold divine service quite publicly, and hardly anyone, with the exception of the nuncio, raised any protest. The representatives of the Pope met everywhere with great mistrust; Canisius had only one consolation: the newly appointed Archbishop of Gnesen, Przezembski, the

1 BRAUNSBERGER, II., 294 seq., 301 seq., 303, 310 seq., 319 seq., 831; cf. ZALESKI in the publication Przeglad Powszechny, LI. (1896), 155 seq., 326 seq.

2 BraunsbergER, II., 325.

3 Cf. Anz. der Krakauer Akad. der Wissensch., 1894, 228 seq. 4 BRAUNSBERGER, II., 341.

Cf. Lippomano's opinion in the letter of September 30, 1557, in Hosi epist., II., 879.

MENTUATO IN POLAND.

335

primate of the kingdom, came to him of his own initiative, in order to confer with him about the foundation of a Jesuit college in Poland.1

The principal duty of Mentuato was to prevent anything happening at the Diet which would be disadvantageous to the Church. As the General Council was still in the distant future, the idea of a national synod again sprang up. Canisius endeavoured to rob the plan of its danger by proposing that the synod should be held under the presidency of a Cardinal. The fact that not only the nobles, but the cities as well, demanded the exclusion of the bishops from the forthcoming election of the king, on the ground that their oath to the Pope was not compatible with their oath of allegiance to the king,3 shows the dangerous state of mind disclosed in the Diet. When the latter was safely concluded without any injury having resulted to the Church, the nuncio was very much to be congratulated on the fact. He did not, it is true, succeed in getting the king to prohibit heretical preaching. The reason for this was that Mentuato had now to reckon with the jealousy of the Catholic bishops, as had previously been the case with Lippomano, for they endeavoured to exclude him from their conferences, and, on the whole, adopted an ambiguous attitude. On February 11th, 1559, the nuncio announced that the Diet had closed in great disorder, without having arrived at any decision.5 This much, at least, had been gained, that the king had allowed no steps to be taken against the bishops, nor any change to be made in the religion of the country ;6 in other respects, however, heretics like Lasco could continue their propaganda undisturbed. Religious conditions, reports

1 See BRAUNSBERGER, II., 341 seq., 346, 351 seq., 359.

2 Cf. ZAKRZEWSKI, Powstanie i wzrost reformacyi w Polsce, Lipsk, 1870, 260 seq.; DEMBINSKI, Rzym, 196 seq.

3 See BRAUNSBERGER, II., 342, 355; DEMBINSKI, 196.

4 See Mentuato's *report from Petrikau of January 28, 1559 (Lett di princ. XI., 252 seq. Secret Archives of the Vatican); cf. DembinskI, 197 seq.

5 *Letter of Mentuato, loc. cit., XI., 254-256.

Cf. BRAUNSBERGER, II., 361.

Mannuato from Crow a April 15, 1855 were stably *** ***, he sold accomplish nothing owing to the pares d the king1 won wcbody wished to TEL

At the same time Pall IV. made application, in an extremely wiker. *er, to the king himself. His duty be said as onet reprend of the Church, compelled him to speak frankly SZKATUNA BE things which were reported to him from Poland. These were to the effect that the king favoured the heretics, whom one world not even salute, according to the precepts A the apostle, St. John; he had them at his table, was in correspondence with them, allowed their writings to be disseminated, and permitted them to hold meetings and to preach publicly against the Catholic faith. It filled him with the deepest sorrow to think that the king, instead of defending the Church, supported its adversaries with his favour. “Have you then," said the Pope," so far forgotten your parents and your forefathers, those celebrated kings, that you take upon yourself to favour heretics, and live on friendly terms with those people whose writings should be avoided like the plague?" The Pope specially reproached the king with having given the bishopric of Kujaiwien to that Uchanski, Bishop of Chelm, who was infected with the most detestable heresy, without waiting for the confirmation of the Holy See, and with having appointed Prince Radziwill, the open defender and leader of the heretics, as his first minister of state. The dissemination of heresy would bring about the downfall of his kingdom. There was still time, however, to change, and remove the innovations introduced into his dominions. The Pope concluded by saying that he hoped his exhortations would be listened to. Should they remain without effect, then he would not only recall his nuncio, but would also employ such means as God should inspire him to adopt.2

1 Tanto mite che difficilmente s'induce a dispiacere ad alcuno (Lett, di princ. XI., 263-264. Secret Archives of the Vatican).

2 The undated letter in RAYNALDUS, 1556, n. 34, belongs, as the contents show, not to the year 1556, but to the spring of 1559. (Kindly pointed out to be by Dr. Kuntze). With regard to the dispute concerning the filling of the bishopric of Kujawien cf.