This was in so far justifiable as
Romagna, with its princes and civic despots, threatened to shake off
the papal supremacy altogether, and ran the risk of shortly falling a
prey to Sforza or the Venetians, when Rome interfered to prevent it.
But who, at times and in circumstances like these, could guarantee the
continued obedience of 'nipoti' and their descendants, now turned into
sovereign rulers, to Popes with whom they had no further concern? Even
in his lifetime the Pope was not always sure of his own son or nephew,
and the temptation was strong to expel the 'nipote' of a predecessor
and replace him by one of his own. The reaction of the whole system on
the Papacy itself was of the most serious character; all means of
compulsion, whether temporal or spiritual, were used without scruple
for the most questionable ends, and to these all the other objects of
the Apostolic See were made subordinate. And when they were attained,
at whatever cost of revolutions and proscriptions, a dynasty was
founded which had no stronger interest than the destruction of the
Papacy.
At the death of Sixtus, Girolamo was only able to maintain himself in
his usurped principality of Forli and Imola by the utmost exertions of
his own, and by the aid of the House of Sforza, to which his wife
belonged. In the conclave (1484) which followed the death of Sixtus--
that in which Innocent VIII was elected--an incident occurred which
seemed to furnish the Papacy with a new external guarantee.
Pages:
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137