But historical
criticism will not allow itself to be led astray. The Catholic King and
Emperor owed it to his luck and nothing else that Pope and cardinals
were not murdered by his troops. Had this happened, no sophistry in the
world could clear him of his share in the guilt. The massacre of
countless people of less consequence, the plunder of the rest, and all
the horrors of torture and traffic in human life, show clearly enough
what was possible in the 'Sacco di Roma.'
Charles seems to have wished to bring the Pope, who had fled a second
time to the Castel Sant' Angelo, to Naples, after extorting from him
vast sums of money, and Clement's flight to Orvieto must have happened
without any connivance on the part of Spain. Whether the Emperor ever
thought seriously of the secularization of the States of the Church,
for which every body was quite prepared, and whether he was really
dissuaded from it by the representations of Henry VIII of England, will
probably never be made clear.
But if such projects really existed, they cannot have lasted long: from
the devastated city arose a new spirit of reform both in Church and
State. It made itself felt in a moment. Cardinal Sadoleto, one witness
of many, thus writes: 'If through our suffering a satisfaction is made
to the wrath and justice of God, if these fearful punishments again
open the way to better laws and morals, then is our misfortune perhaps
not of the greatest.
Pages:
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155