* SEP 1900 * 
 
 DG 121,^1 .053 1900 
 O'Neil, J. L. 
 Was Savonarola really 
 excommunicated? 
 
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AS SAYOXAROLA 
 
 REALLY 
 
 EXCOMMUXICATED ? 
 
By the same Author. 
 Jerome Savonarola* A Sketch* 
 
 Large i2mo. 240 pages, with numer- 
 ous illustrations. 
 
 Cloth, gilt top. 7tet $1.00. 
 
 " Wh-Yf When» How» and "W^hat we 
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SAVONAROLA PICTURED AS ST. PETER MARTYR. 
 (After the Painting by Era Bartolommeo.) 
 
WAS SAVONAROLA 
 
 REALLY 
 
 EXCOMMUNICATED ? 
 
 BY 
 
 REV. J. L. O'NEIL, O.P. 
 
 Thou hatest all the workers of iniquity; Thou wilt destroy all who 
 speak a lie. — Psalm v. 6. 
 
 Thou hast tried me by fire, and iniquity hath not been found in 
 me. — Psalm xvi. 4. 
 
 Wisdom hath shown them to be liars that accused him; and gave 
 him everlasting glory. — Wisdom x. 14. 
 
 BOSTON 
 MARLTER, CALLANAN & CO. 
 1900 
 
Nihil Obstat: 
 
 Fr. Reginaldus Newell, O.P., S.T.L. 
 Fr. Joannes Jones, O.P. 
 
 Eevisores, 
 
 Die 26* Octobris, 1899. 
 
 Imprimatur : 
 
 Fr. Pius Murphy, O.P. 
 Vicarius Congregationis Calif orniae. 
 
 Die 21^ Octobris, 1899. 
 
 Copyright, 1899, 
 By Rev. J. L. O'Xeil, O.P. 
 
JOHX A. MOOXEY, LL.D. 
 
A WORD TO THE READER. 
 
 " Now if, like one new in the controversy and 
 unacquainted with either side, you exercise your 
 judicial character, it will be easy for me to show 
 that all things human are dubious, and hang in 
 uncertainty, and that probabilities, not truths, are 
 (often) the result of our inquiries ; and, therefore, 
 it is the less wonderful that some, disgusted at 
 the trouble of thoroughly investigating the truth, 
 should have chosen to yield a hasty assent to any 
 opinion whatever, rather than to persevere with 
 unremitting diligence in the search." 
 
 In the spirit of Minucius Felix, whose words I 
 have quoted from the fifth chapter of liis " Octa- 
 vius," ^ I remind the reader that truth rewards 
 only the persevering seeker. Having sought it in 
 this inquiry, the result is offered to those who 
 can appreciate the Encyclical of our Holy Father 
 Leo XHl., on the study of history, in which he 
 applauds Cicero's famous dictum: "Dare not the 
 
 1 Page 244. 
 
viii A WORD TO THE READER. 
 
 mention of aught that is false ; fear not the men- 
 tion of aught that is true." In defence of a great 
 Dominican, who, could his voice now be heard, 
 would repeat the Pontiff's words, this volume is 
 sent forth by a fellow-Dominican who is mindful 
 of his Order's noble motto: Veritas. 
 
 Feast of S. Axtoninus, 
 May 10, 1899. 
 
 I 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introductiox 1 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 I. Facts, Briefs, and Letters 7 
 
 II. The Question of Censures 108 
 
 III. Did the Friar really Incur the Censure 
 
 of Excommunication? 123 
 
 IV. Did the Friar give Scandal ? 148 
 
 V. Conclusion 166 
 
 APPENDICES. 
 
 I. The Question of Obedience 175 
 
 II. Some Original Letters 181 
 
 III. A List of Works to which Special Refer- 
 ence IS made in this Volume . . . . 196 
 
NOTE. 
 
 The manuscript of the followiiig pages was placed 
 in the hands of the publishers during the summer 
 of 1899. 
 
 The difficulties attending the reading of the proofs, 
 on account of the author's absence, have delayed its 
 appearance until the present time. 
 
WAS SAVONAROLA REALLY 
 EXCOMMUNICATED ? 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 DURING a period of four hundred years, 
 writers who have discussed the life of 
 Savonarola have, Avith almost unvarying unanim- 
 ity, regarded as an admitted portion of the Friar's 
 eventful career the supposed fact of his excom- 
 munication. The question which we propose is 
 not new; it was raised and warmly discussed in 
 Savonarola's day; but with the exception of con- 
 temporary supporters, and of a few modern de- 
 fenders, advocates of the Friar have generally 
 confined themselves to a protest against the harsh- 
 ness and injustice of the censure. 
 
 The matter, therefore, seemed closed to all 
 discussion touching the validity of the excommu- 
 nication, and though earnest students of his life 
 have been sorely puzzled over the trying contra- 
 diction presented in Savonarola's history, — an 
 
 1 
 
2 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 excommunicated man the object of saints' venera- 
 tion, — they have deemed it more prudent, in 
 default of convincing evidence, and despite the 
 learning and vigor with which the Friar's cause 
 has been sustained, to follow what theologians 
 call " the safer side." Thus the case seemed des- 
 tined to remain in confusion, if not in mystery, 
 until an Italian Dominican, Father John Lot- 
 tini, the successor of Savonarola, as present Vicar 
 of Saint Mark's Congregation, re-opened the 
 question. 
 
 This writer does not enter into any canonical 
 contention as to defects in the Brief of excom- 
 munication ; he does not enlarge upon legal con- 
 ditions unfulfilled; he simply but clearly draws 
 attention to the nature of the pontifical command 
 and of the censure attached, and claims that the 
 Friar did not commit the prohibited acts, and that 
 consequently he did not render himself amenable 
 to the penalty of excommunication. 
 
 As a result of my investigations I believe that 
 Father Lottini has sustained his plea, that he 
 has shed light where it was most needed ; and I 
 availed of his argument. Believing, moreover, 
 that a precise presentation of all the facts bear- 
 ing on this case will serve the cause of true his- 
 tory, and that the interest awakened in the life 
 of Savonarola, coincidently with the celebration 
 of the fourth centenary of his deatli, is not only 
 sustained but enhanced ; and being eager, not for 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 3 
 
 partisan criticism or adulatory apology, but for 
 further' testimony in the name of Truth, I entered 
 on this study, having one aim and purpose, — the 
 finding of the truth. 
 
 With this end in view I have spared no pains 
 to make mj^self familiar with all the documents 
 bearing on the case. M}^ task was rendered com- 
 paratively easy by the work of Italian and French 
 scholars who have made the special^ study of 
 Savonarola the object of their devoted labor for 
 many years. In mentioning the names of Marchese, 
 Cappelli, Gherardi, Cittadella, Guasti, Villari, 
 Luotto, among others, I refer to men who have 
 vindicated the truth as contemporary letters, 
 despatches, and documents of Savonarola's time 
 and his own authentic writings have revealed it. 
 Father Louis Ferretti, editor of the Italian Maga- 
 zine Quarto Centenario della Morte di Fra Giro- 
 lamo Savonarola^ has also rendered praiseworthy 
 service in the same good cause. To Father Fer- 
 retti I am greatly indebted for unfailing courtesy 
 and for generous help in making researches for me 
 in Florence. 
 
 To the compilation of Father James Quetif, a 
 seventeenth-century French Dominican, I am also 
 under special obligations. Another Frenchman, 
 F. T. Perrens, was, in recent days, a diligent 
 student of the Friar, and his fellow-countryman 
 Father E. C. Bayonne, O. P., spent many years in 
 gathering original documents bearing on Savona- 
 
4 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 rola's life. Father Bayonne published in 1880 three 
 volumes of the Friar's spiritual writings which are 
 still available ; but his Study was withdrawn from 
 circulation in deference to the extreme sensibili- 
 ties of certain French prelates whose timidity 
 Avould scarcely allow them to grant a nihil obstat 
 to Pastor's Avork. But that was before Leo XIII. 
 had opened the secret archives of the Vatican. 
 Only within a few months have I been able to 
 command a copy of Father Bayonne's excellent 
 volume. Simultaneously I learned that I had been 
 misinformed, when I published my " Sketch," as 
 to the nature of the " censure " passed on his 
 Study. I take great pleasure in bearing testimony 
 to its moderate tone, its general merit, and in 
 paying a tribute to the devoted man whose gener- 
 ous labors deserve high praise. I have made 
 free use of this book. I have also studied the 
 Friar's sermons, particularly those delivered dur- 
 ing the period of the excommunication, so that I 
 might clearly know his own mind. Indeed, I 
 may have, at times, unconsciously presented his 
 sentiments and arguments without the formality 
 of special reference. 
 
 Prudent readers wdio may follow this inquiry 
 will, in a spirit of equity, consider these facts per- 
 taining to my authorities, and in this light their 
 calm judgment mil not be unduly swayed by the 
 too positive utterance, even of a great writer, with 
 whom Savonarola has been neither an object of 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 5 
 
 original research nor a factor of more than second- 
 ary and passing importance. Some of the letters 
 and documents given in this brochure have never 
 before, so far as I can ascertain, been translated 
 from their original Latin or Italian. A few have 
 been issued in English, but the series now appears, 
 for the first time, newly translated, complete, and 
 in chronological order, in one volume.^ 
 
 To enable the reader to group the evidence, I 
 consider it desirable to give a concise account of 
 the facts leading to the excommunication of Savona- 
 rola, and intimately connected with it. Into this 
 account and as the main part of it, the Briefs and 
 letters of Pope and Friar, with other documents of 
 essential testimony, are woven, without needless 
 comment or irrelevant gloss. Due reference is also 
 made to the evidence of men who actively shared 
 in Savonarola's struggle. 
 
 To this momentous chapter of the great preacher's 
 absorbing career I add such reflections on the 
 principles of canon law and theology as I judge 
 necessary for a proper elucidation of the case. 
 
 1 The Florentines began the year with the Feast of the 
 Annunciation, March 25, whereas the Romans commenced with 
 January 1, as we do. Forgetfuhiess or ignorance of this 
 fact has occasioned confusion in some liistories of the Friar. 
 Failure to assign the correct dates to several of Savonarola's 
 letters, and to Alexander's Briefs, has placed the former in a 
 false position and represented him as an aggressor, where his 
 attitude was only that of respectful defence. Gherardi and Bay- 
 onne liave rendered special service in the work of verifying the 
 dates of important documents. 
 
6 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 The application of these principles to the facts will 
 form my conclusion. As I hope to bring out, 
 within a short time, another small volume, answer- 
 ing the question Was Savonarola a prophet?" 
 and as I intend, please God, to give, later on, fuller 
 development to my recently published " Sketch," 
 embodying the Prior's letters and characteristic 
 extracts from his other -writings, with a viev/ of his 
 inner life, — practically new ground, at least for 
 those familiar only with English — the studious 
 reader will recognize that this seemingly frag- 
 mentary treatment is necessary for the harmo- 
 nious effect of my entire plan. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 7 
 
 I. 
 
 FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 ■ 1495. 
 
 WITHOUT narrating in detail all the events 
 preceding the supposed excommunication 
 of Savonarola I may remind the reader that the 
 " contradictions " which his sermons had occasioned, 
 the enmities which his reforms had aroused, the 
 " interests " ^ which his salutary measures had 
 threatened, uniting in a spirit of revenge, had 
 concentrated their embittered energies at the 
 Roman Court, where the Pope was overwhelmed 
 with misrepresentations and calumnies of the 
 zealous Florentine preacher. His opponents desired 
 to silence his powerful voice. Slanderously ac- 
 cusing Savonarola of teaching" heretical doctrine, 
 and of being the chief cause of the Florentines' 
 refusal to join the League against the French, in 
 which Alexander VI. was interested, they suc- 
 ceeded in awakening his suspicion and provoking 
 his anger against the Friar.^ For several months 
 
 1 Chiefly of usurers, keepers of immoral resorts, self-seeking 
 politicians, dishonest merchants, and libertines. 
 
 2 See Villari, ii. 2; Cappelli, pp. 65, 6(), 109; Burlamacchi, 
 p. 551 ; Nardi, L. ii., p. 58 ; Luotto, chap. 29. 
 
g WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 the flame had been diligently fanned by Cardinal 
 Ascanio Sforza, a brother of Ludovico " the Moor," 
 the usurping Duke of Milan, who, though he had 
 been the immediate cause of precipitating the 
 French expedition of 1494, had subsequently 
 become the political enemy of Savonarola because 
 the Florentines refused to relinquish the French alli- 
 ance. The Prior of St. Mark's was regarded as the 
 instigator of the policy of the Republic. Somenzi, 
 the Duke's ambassador to Florence, shamefully abus- 
 ing the privileges of his position, plotted against 
 the Friar, on whose " impious ways " as a friend 
 and supporter of the existing Florentine Govern- 
 ment Somenzi bitterly commented.^ Among the 
 Arrahhiati he found ardent co-operators, and he 
 was also ably assisted in his nefarious work by the 
 Milanese envoy at Bologna.^ 
 
 Shortly after Lent, 1495, the Pope made a special 
 effort to detach the Florentines from the French, 
 and sent an accredited agent for this purpose, 
 Master Albert of Orvieto. His diplomacy failing, 
 the Arrahhiati and other opponents of the re-es- 
 tablished Government easily succeeded in convinc- 
 ing the papal envoy that his want of success was 
 due to Savonarola, and that, as he was the greatest 
 obstacle to the Pope's plans, the Friar should be 
 driven from Florence.^ 
 
 1 Del Lungo, N. 5. Cappelli, p. 66. 
 
 ^ Id., pp. 64, 65. Tlie Arrahhiati had plotted for the same 
 end during the preceding year. (Luotto, p. 443.) 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AXD LETTERS. 
 
 9 
 
 Alexander's representative thereupon reported to 
 him that Savonarola's preaching was scandalous 
 and heretical, as well as most injurious to His Holi- 
 ness and to Italy in general, and he strongl}' urged 
 the Pontiff to order the Friar to proceed to Rome.^ 
 Yielding to the various influences that had so per- 
 sistently beset him, and being further prejudiced 
 against the Friar because of the erroneous or exag- 
 gerated reports of his sermons, Alexander de- 
 spatched to Savonarola the following Brief, which 
 bore date of July 21, 1495 : — 
 
 Beloved Son, — Health and Apostolic blessing! 
 We have learned from many sources that, among the 
 many who labor in the vineyard of the Lord, your 
 efforts have been especially earnest. This fills us with 
 great joy and gratitude to God, AVho so powerfullv works 
 tlirough us by His grace. Nor do we doubt that you, 
 by the Divine Spirit Who distributes imperishable 
 graces, will so sow the seed of the word of God among 
 the people that it will bear fruit a hundred-fold. 
 Moreover, recent letters on this very subject have 
 given us to understand that in all your sermons you 
 instruct the people in the service of God. And be- 
 
 1 Cappelli, 109, Consult also contemporary historians of 
 Florence, as Xardi, Pitti, Guicciardini ; and the correspondence 
 of the envoy of Liidovico " the Moor," as given by Del Lungo, in 
 Archivio Storico Italiano, vol. xvii., part ii., new series. Luotto, 
 chapter 29, shows how persistent slander, by enemies of the 
 Friar, had more effect in deceiving the Pope and deciding his 
 action than any of the political combinations. 
 
10 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 cause we are also informed that in jour public dis- 
 courses you announce future events, being moved 
 thereto, not b}^ human learning or wisdom, but by the 
 Spirit of God, and desiring, as becomes our pastoral 
 office, to confer with you on this, so that, knowing more 
 clearly, we may do what will be pleasing to God, we 
 exhort you to come to us as soon as possible, and to 
 that effect we command you in virtue of holy obedience. 
 We shall greet you with fatherly tenderness and 
 love.^ 
 
 To this Brief, Savonarola made answer on 
 July 31 : — 
 
 Most Holy Father, — I prostrate myself at the 
 feet of your Holiness. Although I am aware that we 
 must always obey the commands of our superiors, since 
 we read in Holy Scriptures that ^^he who heareth you, 
 heareth Me, still it is their meaning and not merely 
 their words that we have to consider. Hence, in the 
 chapter Si quando, etc., De rescript is,"^ your Holiness 
 will recall the manner in which one of your predeces- 
 sors, Alexander the Third, addressed the Archbishop 
 of Ravenna: '^Having maturely considered the sub- 
 
 1 The original Latin is given by Perrens, pp. 352, 353, and by 
 Villari : Appendix vol. i., document 23. From a letter of Man- 
 fredi to the Duke of Ferrara, dated July 26, we may conclude 
 that the Brief was received on that day in Florence. (Cappelli, 
 p. 65.) Luotto (pp. 442, 443) proves that Cardinal Sforza was 
 the author of this Brief, and that it was a snare skilfully laid 
 for the Friar by the "Moor's" scheming brother, in shameful 
 deception of the Pope. 
 
 2 Lib. i. Decretalium Gregorii Papae, tit. iii., cap. v. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AXD LETTERS. 
 
 11 
 
 ject of yonr letter, we sar, eitlier fulfil our com- 
 mand, with respect, or give to us a legitimate reason 
 for your refusal; because we shall be most indulgent 
 towards you. if we find that you are not culpable in 
 things of which evil men have caused us to suspect 
 you." ^ 
 
 And because I have long desired to visit Rome, 
 which I have never seen, and to worship at the shrine 
 of the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, to venerate the 
 relics of so many saints, and to see 3'our Holiness, these 
 ardent longings have redoubled since I received the 
 letter of your Holiness deigning to invite one so un- 
 worthy to your presence. But as there are many 
 difficulties in the way, I shall endeavor to lay before 
 your Holiness my reasonable excuses, so that you may 
 judge that it is necessity, and not unwillingness, 
 which prevents me from immediately obeying the 
 command which I received with the greatest joy and 
 reverence. 
 
 In the first place, fever and dysentery-, from which I 
 have lately suffered, have greatly weakened my health. 
 Then the constant strain of mind and bod}' because of 
 extraordinary labors during the past year for the wel- 
 fare of this city has so debilitated me, my stomach has 
 so failed me, that I am utterly unfitted for further 
 labor. The physicians have obliged me to relinquish 
 all study and preaching, for, in their opinion and that 
 of many others, I shall soon endanger my life unless 
 I submit to medical treatment.^ 
 
 1 Panormitanus, torn, i., cap. v., p. 41. 
 
 2 Und^r like circumstances Pope St. Gresrory the Great 
 jTraised a bishop for his declining to come to Rome when sum- 
 
12 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 Moreover, the Lord has used me to deliver this citj 
 from bloodshed and from many other evils, and for the 
 establishment of peace with holy laws. In consequence, 
 evil men in the city and beyond it, citizens and 
 strangers, eager for bloodshed and plunder, seeking 
 their own exaltation and the destruction of this city's 
 liberty, have become m}^ bitter enemies, because I have 
 frustrated their designs. Enraged against me, and 
 hating me, they so plot for my death, either by the 
 dagger or by poison, that I cannot leave the house 
 without an escort. And therefore, when I went to the 
 French king, though I was protected by a most faith- 
 ful guard, the Florentines who love the Eepublic would 
 not allow me to go beyond their territory. I trust in 
 God; nevertheless, that I may not seem to tempt Him, 
 I consider it well not to despise ordinary precautions ; 
 for it is written, " When they persecute you in one city, 
 flee into another." 
 
 Moreover, the recent reform in Florence which the 
 Lord has wrought is still only feebly rooted. It needs 
 daily care and strengthening, so that it may be able 
 to withstand the efforts of wicked men who seek its 
 injury and ruin. Since, therefore, in the, opinion of 
 all prudent and good men, my departure from the city 
 at this time would be an occasion of grave danger, I 
 believe that your Holiness will approve of this delay, 
 until the work which has been commenced will be per- 
 fected. For its benefit these impediments to my jour- 
 ney seem providential, for it is not the will of God 
 that I should be absent. 
 
 moned. (Lib. x., Ep. 45, p. 1102, torn. iii. of St. Gregory, torn. 
 Ixxii. of Patrology.) 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTFRS, 
 
 13 
 
 But I hope to be able, within a short time, to go to 
 Rome, bringing a fuller account of this apostolate. 
 And if in the meantime your Holiness desires to know 
 more fully what I have publicly predicted concerning 
 the misfortunes of Italy and the reformation of the 
 Church, I shall send to your Holiness a copy of the 
 book which I am now having printed, as soon as I shall 
 receive it from the publisher.^ This volume will full}^ 
 declare all that your Holiness could hear from me, for 
 I have said nothing that is not herein contained. I 
 have only announced what was committed to me; to 
 have attempted to unveil the hidden secrets of God 
 would have been sinful. I have arranged for the pub- 
 lication of these predictions so that the whole world 
 may know, if they are not fulfilled, that I am a false 
 prophet. But if these events come to pass, let thanks 
 be rendered to God our Saviour, Who shows such solici- 
 tude for our salvation that He wishes no one to perish 
 eternally. 
 
 Finally, I pray your Holiness to accept these my 
 excuses as most true and evident, and to believe that 
 I desire nothing more than to obey you and to fulfil 
 your commands ; and further, I entreat you not to 
 burden me beyond my strength. I shall need no other 
 spur than my own desire to satisfy your Holiness, as 
 soon as these obstacles are removed. I most humbly 
 commend myself to your Holiness.^ 
 
 To make clear Savonarola's position it is nec- 
 essary to state that on finishing the Lenten course 
 
 1 He refers to the " Compendium of Revelations." 
 
 2 Tlie Latin text is given by Villari, Appendix vol. i., Docu- 
 ment 24, and by Perrens, pp. 353-355. 
 
14 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED f 
 
 of 1495 his health was impaired. He had passed 
 through a trying ordeal of uninterrupted care and 
 anxiety ; and the strain of the year had borne so 
 heavily on him that he intimated to his audience 
 that he might be obliged to relinquish his work in 
 the pulpit. He spoke more clearly to this effect 
 on June 24, July 5, July 12,^ stating definitely on 
 this last named date that illness compelled him 
 to discontinue his preaching. When the Pope's 
 Brief of July 21 came, Savonarola w^as confined 
 to the convent, under the care of physicians.^ 
 
 On the 28th, despite his feeble health, he de- 
 livered a brief address to the magistrates and 
 leading citizens, warning them against impending 
 dangers, and exhorting them to renewed vigi- 
 lance in the defence of liberty, and to fidelity 
 in virtue, concluding with a touching prayer to 
 Jesus Christ that He would deign to preserve 
 in their reform of life the people of Florence, 
 and that he himself might be made worthy of 
 the reward which had ever been the portion of 
 the Prophets, Apostles, and Martyrs of his Divine 
 Master. 
 
 Savonarola w^as fully informed of the plots of 
 the Arrahhiati^ who were resolved to assassinate 
 him. The attempt made on his life in the open 
 street was still fresh in the minds of his friends, 
 who not only guarded him, but kept diligent watch 
 
 1 Sermons 23, 24, 25 on the Psalms. 
 
 2 Luotto, p. 450. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 15 
 
 on the movements and plots of his sworn enemies.^ 
 Considering, therefore, the mode of travel preva- 
 lent in those days, and that Savonarola made all 
 his journeys on foot, and mindful of the fact that 
 among his opponents were men of desperate purpose, 
 to whom a sacrilegious murdei" would be but as a 
 move on the political chess-board, it may be reason- 
 ably claimed that a visit to Rome by Savonarola was 
 then practically impossible. Indeed, had he set 
 out, it is extremely doubtful that he would ever 
 have reached the Eternal City. To expose himself 
 to almost certain murder was not an obligation; 
 nor is our Divine Lord's example wanting. " After 
 these things Jesus walked in Galilee, for He would 
 not walk in Judea because the Jews sought to kill 
 Him." 2 
 
 Though the Pope's reply, if he sent a written 
 one, is not preserved, we know from Savonarola's 
 own words that Alexander had conveyed to him 
 by some messenger, or probably through the Car- 
 
 1 He refers to their murderous purpose in his sermon for 
 the Tuesday after the Fourth Sunday of Lent, 1496, and in 
 several other discourses. Pico della Mirandola (chapter vii. of 
 his " Vita Savonarolse " ) declares that the Friar's friends, moved 
 by just anxiety and deep devotion, insisted on providing for 
 him an escort, though he himself was strongly averse to it. 
 Another contemporary, Landucci, tells us (Diary for May 24, 
 1495) of the attack made on Savonarola's life that day, and 
 adds that his followers had grave reason to fear that he would 
 again be assailed, either by dagger or poison, for these enemies, 
 who were also the foes of virtue and public decency, were bent 
 on his destruction. See also Yillari, ii. 25; Perrens, p. 176. 
 
 2 St. John vii. 1. 
 
16 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 dinal Protector of the Order, or the Master General, 
 his gracious acceptance of the Friar's excuses.^ 
 Thus the pontifical command to visit Rome was 
 practically suspended or revoked. 
 
 The month of August passed, and the Feast of 
 our Lady's Nativity, September 8, found Savona- 
 
 1 Sermon for February 18, 1498 ; Bayonne, p. 74, Luotto (pp. 
 457, 458) inclines to the belief that the Pope did not receive the 
 letter written by Savonarola on July 31, at least until after the 
 Brief of September 8 had been forwarded. It is only in such 
 an hypothesis that the professor can discover an explanation of 
 the harshness of this latter Brief, unless politics, under the 
 cloak of religion, be admitted as the sole promptmg motive, 
 and this he denies. Despite the fact that the Pope's own words 
 (see Briefs of October 16, 1495, and May 13, 1497) are in agree- 
 ment with Savonarola's statement, without mentioning the time 
 when the letter was received, the Friar's complaint (see his let- 
 ter of September 29, 12th section) that his letter was kept from 
 the Pontiff would seem to sustain Luotto's claim, who solves 
 the difl&culty as to time by suggesting that the letter subse- 
 quently came to Alexander's hands, after the issue of the Brief 
 of September 8. I confess I do not feel the convincing force of 
 the professor's argument, — it leaves too many difficulties un- 
 solved ; and yet I incline to his view that the letter was sup- 
 pressed, while Savonarola was still further misrepresented as a 
 religious innovator and disturber, disobedient and defiant to 
 the Holy See. Such pretexts, under the skilful manipulation 
 of the "Moor," his wily brother the Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, 
 the Medici, and other plotters determined to ruin Savonarola, 
 might well stir the Pope to indignation, after his gentle sum- 
 mons had been, as these malignant slanderers insinuated to 
 him, contemptuously treated by the Friar. Knowing the char- 
 acter, or rather, want of character of many of Savonarola's ene- 
 mies, utterly unscrupulous assassins of reputations, and often of 
 lives, our sympathies may be divided between the deceived and 
 liarassed Pontiff and the calumniated, persecuted, and helpless 
 Friar. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 17 
 
 rola still silent and in retirement. Father Domi- 
 nic had taken his place in the pulpit of the Duomo. 
 Suddenly, as by thunder from a clear sky, Florence 
 was aroused by the arrival of a second Brief, plainly 
 the work of the Friar's enemies, who had taken 
 advantage of his seclusion, and, redoubling their 
 efforts to effect his downfall, had abused the con- 
 fidence of the Pope, and deceived him through 
 a calumnious misrepresentation of Savonarola's 
 teaching.^ 
 
 A literal translation of the Pope's letter is here 
 given. Though addressed to his beloved sons, the 
 Prior and community of St. Mark's, Alexander 
 nevertheless directed and sent the Brief to the 
 Friars Minor of the Church of the Holy Cross, 
 Florence. It reads as follows : ^ — 
 
 1 Seeing that this first attempt had failed, the Mediceans 
 adopted more effectual means. They wrote most ingratiating 
 letters to Ludovico the Moor, Lord of Milan, to Piero de' Medici 
 and his brother the Cardinal, and to several other Roman prel- 
 ates, urging them to exert their influence with the Pope, not 
 only to have the preaching of Savonarola suspended, but also 
 to have him removed from Florence. It was not difficult to 
 obtain this from Alexander, who, in a threatening letter with- 
 drew from the Friar permission to preach, and commanded him 
 to leave Florence and Tuscany. But when the rumor of this 
 spread through the city, a great clamor arose among the people, 
 who well knew what was hidden under the pontificial command, 
 ajid what disorder and irreparable injury would be inflicted on 
 the new State, which had its best protection in the authority 
 and eloquence of Savonarola. For this reason "The Ten" 
 worked so industriously that the order was recalled. — Mar- 
 CHESE : San Marco, p. 118. 
 
 2 The original Latin may be found in Quetif, pp. 130 seq., 
 
 2 
 
18 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED ? 
 
 Alexander the Sixth, Pope^ to his beloved sons^ the 
 Prior and Community of St. 3Iark^s, Florence : 
 
 Beloved Soxs, — Health and Apostolic blessing ! 
 
 As the high and inscrutable design of God has placed 
 us, though unworthy, to rule His Holy Church in 
 these times, as Peter's successor, it behooves us, by all 
 the power of God's grace, with constant diligence and 
 zeal, so to guard religion that the peace and salvation of 
 Christians ma}^ not only be assured, but that they may 
 grow and flourish. 
 
 Novelties in doctrine, however (adopted under the 
 pretext of simplicitj^, from which, among clergy and 
 laity, schisms, heresies, and perversion of morals often 
 arise), must therefore be driven from the Church with 
 the rod of correction, lest the quiet of the faithful be 
 now disturbed, and the power of causing future tumults 
 be likewise placed in the hands of men by reason of this 
 example. 
 
 We have learned that a certain Jerome Savonarola 
 of Ferrara, of the Order of Preachers, seduced by this 
 novelty of evil doctrine, and led into a state of insjlne 
 folly through the disturbed condition of Italian affairs, 
 has announced to the people, without any canonical 
 authority, and against the canonical regulations, that 
 he is sent by God and that with God he liolds converse. 
 It is not sufficient that one will simply assert that 
 he is sent by God, since every heretic avows this, but 
 it is necessary that he confirm his invisible mission 
 
 and in Luotto, Appendix. The autograph copy was found by- 
 Father Bavonne, in 1874, and then the correct date — Septem- 
 ber 8 — was ascertained. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 19 
 
 by working miracles, or by special testimony of Holy 
 Writ. 
 
 We have also learned that, among other unbecoming 
 things which he has spoken or written, he has declared 
 that Jesus Christ Crucified lies and that God lies if he 
 tells not the truth, — certainly a horrible and execrable 
 adjuration, — and that whoever does not believe his 
 foolish assertions is outside the pale of salvation. 
 
 Were such things allowed to pass with impunity, 
 there would be no limit to the dangerous rashness of 
 false doctrine, and under the guise of virtues vices 
 would make headway among the faithful — a thing 
 fearful indeed ! After our long delay and continued 
 patience we thought that he would recognize the folly 
 of his claiming to be a prophet, and that he would 
 return to the way of solid truth, and wisely and faith- 
 fully recall the addresses, rashly and iniquitously 
 spoken, which have been the cause of such disturbance 
 in the Church. 
 
 We believed that the time had come when we might 
 think better of him, when the sorrow (which till this 
 present time has afflicted us) because of his unbridled 
 arrogance and scandalous separation from the Lombard 
 Fathers — an affair consummated through the craft and 
 cunning of certain perverse friars — would, through his 
 humble submission, be turned into joy. But, sad to say, 
 our hope was not realized. For, although by our letter 
 we admonished him in virtue of holy obedience that he 
 should come to us, so that we might learn the truth 
 from himself, nevertheless, he not only refused to obey 
 us, but rendered our sorrow more bitter by impudently 
 printing and publishing what he had previously only 
 
20 WAS SAVOXAROLA EXCOM^VUNICATED? 
 
 rashly spoken. Occupied as we are with the great 
 and laborious work of restoring peace to Italy, we have 
 decided to refer this matter to Father Sebastian Maggi, 
 of your Order, Vicar General of the Congregation of 
 Lombard}^, commissioning him by another Brief to 
 judge this case according to the laws of your Order, 
 and to inflict such penalties as he may deem necessary. 
 Moreover, we strictly command the said Jerome 
 Savonarola, in virtue of holy obedience, and under 
 penalty of excommunication latce sententice, that 
 with prompt and sincere obedience he will recognize 
 the said Vicar as the judge delegated by us to consider 
 his case, and that he will accept the Vicar's orders, 
 going wherever he is directed, ready without delay and 
 without appeal, to obey. 
 
 In the meantime, while this case is in review before 
 the said Vicar, we declare the aforesaid Jerome sus- 
 pended from every office of preaching to the people, 
 and from all manner of public speaking. Moreover, 
 lest the evil example of the same Jerome should en- 
 snare any of your friars, affording them an opportunity 
 of erring and of deceiving others, we reunite, incorpo- 
 rate, and join to the aforesaid Lombard Congregation 
 the Dominican Convent of St. Mark, Florence, and 
 that of St. Dominic, Fiesole, commanding all the 
 brethren of these communities, under pain of excom- 
 munication latce sententice, that they will consider and 
 obey as their legitimate superior the Vicar of the 
 aforesaid Congregation ; revoking now, and declaring 
 revoked, all authoritjT-, power, or faculties granted to. 
 others, even by Apostolic authority. We also enjoin, 
 under the same penalty of excommunication latce seU' 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 21 
 
 tentice^ that, on receipt of this letter, Fathers Dominic 
 of Pescia/ Thomas Busino, and Sylvester of Florence,^ 
 will set out for Bologna, arriving there within nine 
 days, when they will place themselves at the disposal 
 of the aforesaid Vicar of Lonibardy, who will assign 
 them to any convent of his jurisdiction, except within 
 the Florentine territory. 
 
 ° In contrarium, etc.. 
 
 Given, etc., September 8, 1495. 
 
 The reader will note, first, that between the issue 
 of the two Briefs of July 21 and September 8 a 
 period of less than seven weeks had elapsed; 
 secondly, that the Pope had excused Savonarola 
 from the requirements of the former Brief ; and, 
 thirdly, that the volume — the " Compendium of 
 Revelations " — of which the present letter com- 
 plains was in the printer's hands before the receipt 
 by Savonarola of the Brief of July 21, a fact which 
 he mentioned in his answer of July 31. 
 
 The reader is also reminded that the enjoyment 
 by St. Mark's of a jurisdiction independent of 
 Lombardy had been secured, not by any irregular 
 arrangement, but by a return to a former and con- 
 stitutional method of administration ; and that this 
 was a movement in behalf of religious reform and 
 stricter discipline, which had been effected by 
 the authority of Alexander himself.^ Of this 
 
 ^ Subsequently condemned to death with Savonarola. 
 2 BuUarium, iv. 100. 
 
22 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 Savonarola speaks in the answer which he for- 
 warded in due time to the Pope. 
 
 The Brief of September 8 Avas transferred to 
 St. Mark's by the Franciscans, Savonarola being 
 then at Fiesole for rest and cliange because of his 
 illness.^ On his return he at once made known to 
 his community the contents of the papal letter, 
 and addressed to His Holiness an answer which 
 we give in full : ^ — 
 
 Most Holy Father, — I prostrate myself at the 
 feet of your Holiness. Yesterday I received the Brief 
 in which your Holiness intimates that the convents 
 of St. Mark's and of Fiesole have been annexed to 
 the Lombard Congregation, and in which your Holi- 
 ness commands Fathers Dominic of Pescia, Thomas 
 Busino, and Sylvester of Florence to go to Bologna. 
 The reason given for these changes is that I, Brother 
 Jerome, have told and preached to the people (contrary 
 to canonical prescriptions) many foolish and extrav- 
 agant things capable of easily causing scandal in the 
 Church of God. 
 
 By other letters your Holiness has submitted my 
 cause to the judicial inquiry and judgment of the 
 Vicar of the said Congregation. I have read these 
 
 1 Gherardi, p. 388. 
 
 2 Quetif, p. 136 seq., gives the original Latin, the text of 
 which we have conformed to Bayonne's as given by him in 
 '^'(Euvres Spirituelles C/ioisies de Jerome Savonarole," iii., pp. 186- 
 200. Luotto, p. 457, claims that the date should be September 
 29, which we adopt as more probable than that of September 14, 
 as given by Bayonne. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 23 
 
 Briefs in a reverent spirit, and with all the respect 
 due to them, since they prove the solicitude of your 
 Holiness for the interests of the Church and for the sal- 
 vation of our souls. But I was deeply moved and am 
 still grieved to see how the malice of men could go so 
 far as not to fear suggesting things so false and so per- 
 versely interpreted, to the Sovereign Pontiff, the Vicar 
 of Christ on earth. Since, according to the tenor of the 
 Brief, these changes have been ordered on account of 
 myself and of tlie alleged fault, will your Holiness 
 deign to excuse me, if I, who am reputed to be the 
 author of this storm, endeavor to defend myself against 
 wrongful interpretations, assertions, and suggestions, 
 by a simple statement of facts, and by a true and sin- 
 cere account of the good which has already been wrought, 
 and which will, I hope, be accomplished in the future. 
 This will be no difficult task, because I have always 
 spoken openly to the world, I have always taught in 
 the Church and in the Temple, where all Christians 
 meet, and in secret I have said nothing. I have, 
 therefore, thousands of witnesses to my rectitude and 
 orthodoxy, so that I am confident of being able to 
 defend m}^ cause before your Holiness without the 
 slightest difficulty. Has not a philosopher said that 
 truth is ever in harmony with truth, never with 
 falsehood" ? 
 
 It has been suggested, therefore, to your Holiness 
 (for it is patent by 3'our Holiness's Briefs), first, that 
 I had allowed myself to be seduced b}' the novelty of 
 perverse doctrine. A falsehood on the very face of 
 it ! for it is of public notoriety that I neither adopt 
 
24 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 nor preach any perverse doctrine, but only the Holy 
 Scriptures and the Fathers, and that I have frequently 
 repeated from the pulpit, and have declared in writing, 
 that I submitted both myself and all that concerns me 
 to the Holy Eoman Church. If I remember aright, I 
 stated this in a letter to your Holiness, to which letter 
 reference is made in a Brief addressed to me by your 
 Holiness. Will it be said that to preach future events 
 is a new dogma ? This would be an error. Such 
 preaching has alwa3^s Qxisted in the Church of God, 
 which fact is clear to all who read ecclesiastical his- 
 tory. Such preaching is not injurious to the Christian 
 Religion, so long as it does not offend against faith, 
 morals, or right reason. Such preaching has never 
 been prohibited, nor can it be forbidden by any law. 
 For that would be to lay down a law for God, who 
 said by His prophet, The Lord God doth nothing 
 without revealing His secret to His servants the 
 prophets."^ 
 
 2d. The Brief says that I have come to this state 
 of madness in consequence of the disturbed condition 
 of Italian affairs. This is equally false. Everybody 
 knows that I prophesied these things more than five 
 years ago; yea, even more than ten years ago; and, 
 nevertheless, I did not speak them in consequence of 
 the upheaval of the Peninsula. 
 
 3d. I have been reproached with saying that I 
 was sent by God. Another untruth ! All my hearers 
 know that I never said anything of the kind; I have 
 declared in my writings, which all men may read, that 
 
 1 Amos iii. 7. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 25 
 
 I was sent by my superiors, just as nearly all the 
 other preachers were. I have never declared that I 
 was sent by God alone, as thousands of witnesses can 
 testify. 
 
 4th. I am blamed in the Brief for having said that 
 I spoke with God. I never positively said so, and 
 never used such an expression, as the entire Florentine 
 people can testify. Even if I had said so I would not 
 have thereby incurred an}' penalty, for neither canon 
 nor civil law nor any authentic book declares that he 
 who says he holds converse with God ought to be 
 punished. It would be both impious and foolish to 
 enact such a law, for no man can impose a law upon 
 God, Who can speak with whom He will and can 
 command him to say, " Thus saith the Lord," as did 
 the prophets. 
 
 5th. I have been denounced, likewise, as having 
 said: The Crucified God Himself lies, if I myself lie. 
 Now, I 7iever said this in a positive manner, as if I 
 wished to make myself equal to God. I spoke hypo- 
 thetically, as, for instance, a man who would sny, 
 
 There shall be signs in the sun, moon and stars,'' 
 and who would add, ^'If I lie, Christ lies also." Is this 
 a manner of execrable imprecation? Well, after 
 having announced some truth taught by Christ, I have 
 sometimes added simply, ''If I speak falsely, so also 
 does Christ." 
 
 6th. I have likewise been reproached with having 
 declared all those who should not have faith in my vain 
 assertions, as outside the way of salvation. This is 
 how I expressed myself: knowing that many of my 
 predictions come from God, I consider that any one 
 
26 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 who obstinately refuses to place faith in them, and 
 intends to contradict them absolutely, thereby proves 
 that he is not in a state of grace. As a matter of fact, 
 grace and the light of faith incline the mind to truth; 
 consequently^ whoever possesses grace could not oppose 
 a truth confirmed by God. As for those who, while 
 not believing my words, still do not obstinately con- 
 tradict them, I have said and publicly written, that in 
 spite of this, they can be in a state of grace, and in 
 the way of salvation. I have not affirmed, therefore, 
 that they sinned, but only that obstinacy and contra- 
 diction were a sign of deprivation of grace. 
 
 7th. The Brief then adds : " He has done, said, and 
 written other no less foolish things." Now the whole 
 people are a witness that I neither say nor do foolish 
 or scandalous things; that, on the contrary, my words 
 have great power and are very necessary^, that they 
 bring forth much fruit, and that they tend to the sal- 
 vation of souls, to the peace of the cit}^, and to the 
 reform of morals. And since it is written, "Every word 
 is confirmed by the mouth of two or three witnesses," 
 I undertake to produce, not two or three witnesses, but 
 two, three, or even ten thousand witnesses, who will 
 proclaim the truth, together with the works accom- 
 plished, not by myself, but by God and through my 
 ministry; and they will prove that I have never said 
 or done such things as wicked men have invented 
 against me. 
 
 8th. The Brief again adds: ''We had hoped that 
 our forbearance and great patience would have finally 
 brought him to disclaim this foolish declaration of 
 being a prophet.'' As for myself, I believe that no man 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AXD LETTERS. 
 
 27 
 
 lives who has ever heard fall from my lips these arro- 
 gant words : I am a prophet. Several thousand men 
 can certify to the contrary ; I have often declared that 
 I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet. And 
 if I had said it, I do not see why I should be punished ! 
 Xo law has ever been enacted, or could be enacted, 
 against the man who would declare that he was 
 announcing the future b}^ Divine inspiration, unless he 
 used it as a cloak to excite the people to evil, to heres}', 
 or to commit the other crimes mentioned in the eighth 
 chapter of Deuteronomy. Xow it is clear that nothing 
 of the kind could be imputed to me. ^loreover, if I am 
 wrong in my understanding of the matter, no prophet 
 could arise in the Church of God, and the gift of proph- 
 ecy would henceforth be banished from her bosom, 
 which is contrary to the words of Amos, already 
 quoted, and to what is said in Proverbs : " When 
 prophecy shall fail, the people shall be scattered." ^ 
 
 It will be objected that it is written in Deuteronomy, 
 ^'The prophet who being corrupted with pride shall 
 speak in My name things that I did not command him 
 to say, or in the name of strange gods, shall be slain. 
 Whatsoever that same prophet foretelleth in the name 
 of the Lord, and it cometh not to pass, that thing the 
 Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath forged it 
 b}^ the pride of his mind, and therefore thou shalt not 
 fear him." ^ 
 
 I reply that these words must not be interpreted in 
 the sense that the prophet ought to be put to death if 
 his prophecies are not immediately realized, otherwise 
 Isaiah, Jeremiah, and many other prophets ought to 
 
 1 rrov. xxix. 18. 2 p^ut. xviii. 20, 22. 
 
28 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 have been put to death, who lived on for many j^ears 
 before the realization of their predictions, and died 
 without seeing all of them accomplished. 
 
 This is how the above-quoted words are to be inter- 
 preted: If any man declares that he foretells future 
 events by Divine inspiration, and if his predictions are 
 not opposed to Faith, the Holy Scriptures, or to the 
 doctrine of the Catholic Church, the realization of such 
 must be patiently awaited; and this man must not be 
 despised, especially if he leads a holy life, because God 
 has many hidden and unknown servants, and because 
 the Apostle has said: '^Do not despise prophecies. 
 
 If, on the contrarj^, the prophecies are not accom- 
 plished at the time specified by the prophet, then he 
 must be severely corrected. This is how the law must 
 be interpreted; but, nevertheless, not in every case, 
 since Jonah could announce that Xineveh would be 
 destroyed in forty days, without anj^thing of the kind 
 happening, and without his deserving any chastise- 
 ment. If, therefore, I have foretold future events, and 
 if several of my predictions have already been realized, 
 there is no need to correct or punish me as yet. I 
 should only merit chastisement if my other predictions 
 were not verified in their season ; now I am confident 
 that they will be verified to the very letter. 
 
 It is certainly true, most Holy Father, and it is of 
 public notoriety, not only here, but in several other 
 cities of Italy, that my words have established peace in 
 Florence, and that, without this peace, the whole of 
 Italy would have been in a state of riot. More than 
 this, if faith had been placed in my words, Italy would 
 not be agitated as it is to-day. Foreseeing the tribula- 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 29 
 
 tions reserved for the country, I preaclied (although 
 many always scorned me) that the sword was about to 
 descend, and I showed that penance w^as the sole 
 remed}" so as to obtain peace. The whole Peninsula, 
 therefore, ought to thank God for ni}' preaching. I 
 taught it the certain remedy to obtain peace. Florence, 
 having adopted it, now enjo^'S a benefit which other- 
 wise it would not have known ; and if Italy had imitated 
 this city, the Peninsula would not be torn by wars 
 from one end to another. Xo man can truthfully say 
 that I have caused dissensions ; but many will bear 
 ■witness that I have sown good seed. The enemy, 
 however, has sown cockle. 
 
 9th. The Brief likewise speaks of the fraud and cun- 
 ning of certain brethren, etc. («) Such a qualification 
 applied to religious who, far from being branded with 
 infamy, enjoy an excellent reputation throughout the 
 entire city, sufficiently proves that it could only have 
 been suggested to your Holiness hy wicked men. Let 
 your Holiness deign to send here a faithful minister to 
 question the citizens and the people concerning the 
 reputation of the religious of St. Mark's and of Fiesole, 
 and your Holiness will recognize still better that these 
 wicked men have told grievous falsehoods, have been 
 guilty of a flagrant injustice. (6) It is false that their 
 separation from the Lombard Congregation was only 
 demanded by a few. It was asked for b}" all, as a pub- 
 lic document proves, (c) The separation was de- 
 manded, not that a freer and easier life might be led, 
 but a more strict and severe one, as was subsequently 
 proved, (d) Finally, the separation was not obtained 
 fraudulently-, but after prolonged discussion and mature 
 
30 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED f 
 
 examination, as the most reverend Protector of our 
 Order, Oliver Caraffa, Cardinal of the Holy Roman 
 Church, Archbishop of Naples, can bear witness. He 
 obtained the separation for us through his wisdom and 
 prudence. By the very terms of our Constitutions, the 
 Province of Tuscany is distinct from the Province of 
 Lombardy, and the one must not dominate the other. 
 The number of its religious having singularly dimin- 
 ished on account of a plague which devastated the Tus- 
 can convents, the Master General declared the Convent 
 of St. Mark united with, or rather commended to the care 
 of, the Lombard Congregation.^ Later on, a prior, un- 
 known to the religious, obtained a Brief which united, 
 by Apostolic authority, the convents of St. Mark, Fie- 
 sole, and San Gemignano to the Lombard Congregation. 
 Now, this Brief, having been surreptitiously obtained, 
 was invalid.^ If the religious of this province, whose 
 number had increased and multiplied, returned to their 
 original jurisdiction by your Holiness's authority, it 
 must be stated that this was not done fraudulently, but 
 conformably to the tenor of our Constitutions. 
 
 10th. This is another accusation: ^'Although we 
 had ordered him in writing to appear," etc., which is 
 likewise unfounded. Certainly, your Holiness called 
 me to Rome, but I hastened to submit to your Holi- 
 ness, according to canon law Si quando, De rescriptis, 
 the just motives which made this journey impossible : 
 
 1 In 1448 ; so Mazetti, " Monumenta et Antiquitates Veteris 
 Discipliiiae Ord. Praecl./' a work inaccessible to me, but the refer- 
 ence to which Father Ferretti verifies for me, as well as sug- 
 gests ; and Marchese : " San Marco," p. 91, and " Scritti Vari," I, 
 92, 93. 
 
 2 For particulars, see Luotto, 472, 473. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 31 
 
 first, because I was ill and an invalid and would have 
 thereby exposed myself to the danger of death; and in 
 the next place, because I have such powerful and im- 
 placable enemies that, according to the opinion of all 
 the citizens who are aware of it, I would never have 
 been able to arrive in Kome. This is an open secret in 
 Florence. Finally, there was danger for the city, 
 whose weak form of government still needs my advice 
 to maintain and develop itself. At the close of my 
 letter I besought your Holiness to excuse me because 
 on another occasion I would be able to go to Rome to 
 my greater satisfaction. I am surprised that your 
 Holiness did not receive my answer, and therefore took 
 care to enclose a copy of it in the letter sent to yowv 
 Holiness yesterday by the community, so that your 
 Holiness might see that they have spoken falsely who 
 said that I refused to obey. 
 
 11th. Besides, as your Beatitude is occupied with 
 very grave matters, your Holiness cannot keep an exact 
 account of details. Perverse men, knowing this, have 
 suggested to your Holiness to have my cause examined 
 and judged by the Vicar General of the reformed con- 
 vents of Lombardy. This judge is not above suspicion 
 in our eyes, and rightly so, because the afore-mentioned 
 separation has provoked the gravest dissensions between 
 his Congregation and ourselves, as is well-known, and 
 their Vicar, together with his subjects, never ceases to 
 attack us.^ 
 
 1 These words of Savonarola we must understand in a broad 
 sense. Even had Sebastian (as other saints have done) ob- 
 jected to a diminution of his jurisdiction, the purity of his 
 motives cannot be questioned, nor the reform he wished to 
 encourage, and hence he may liave been anxious to have the 
 
32 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 Your Holiness knows that to appoint as judge over 
 any one a person who is himself an adversary is to vio- 
 late all Divine and human rights. 
 
 12th. Every law exempts a man who has mortal 
 enemies from appearing personally in a place where 
 his life would be in jeopardy, because therein lies a 
 just cause for fear even to a courageous man. Who, 
 therefore, w^ould appear before such a tribunal, and how 
 could any one be expected to submit himself to it, to 
 place himself in the hands of his enemies, and sponta- 
 neousl}^ to offer himself to a death caused, not by jus- 
 tice, but by violence and wickedness ? These are the 
 identical expressions of the Clementine : Pastoralis cle 
 re judic. Then follows a motive for which a man 
 justly dreads these things and avoids such a death: 
 reason condemns it and nature abhors it. He who 
 
 Convent of St. Mark restored to his province. Savonarola's 
 earnestness, and the fact that he wrote under a sense of great 
 grievance, strengthen his words, perhaps unduly ; nor can they 
 be applied to B. Sebastian personally. Knowing, moreover, the 
 relations existing between the two men, their mutual esteem, the 
 fatherly and holy interest which the Lombard Vicar General 
 ever had in the welfare of Savonarola, of whom he declared 
 that it was his opinion that the Prior of St. Mark's had never 
 committed a deliberate sin, we must regard these charges 
 against the Lombard friars as levelled at the general body, 
 and not at B. vSebastian, whose appointment as judge is ques- 
 tioned on canonical grounds. Savonarola's complaints were 
 justified, for on June 18, 1493, and on November 16 of the same 
 year. Father Torriano, the Master General, found it necessary to 
 forbid, under threat of excommunication, molestation of St. 
 Mark's reformed brethren. The first letter was addressed to 
 the entire Order, the second to Fr. Vincent de Castro Novo 
 then Vicar General of the Lombard Congregation. Gherardi 
 (pp. 52, 53 and 56, 57) gives the Latin text of both documents. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 33 
 
 believed, therefore, that such a command to appear 
 obliged him to do so would be mistaken. Resting on 
 this rule, and on many others, which are in this 
 Clementine and in the chapter Si quando, and taking 
 my stand upon the interpretation of the doctors, espe- 
 cially D. Felino,^ the eminent Auditor of your Holi- 
 ness, I have a safe conscience, and I can with impunity 
 decline a command, after having submitted to your 
 Holiness so many just reasons. As I have already 
 stated, I have so many powerful and bitter enemies 
 that I cannot go outside the city, nor even from the 
 convent, without taking the greatest precautions, be- 
 cause of the countless snares laid to entrap me. How, 
 therefore, is it that the Brief summons me to appear 
 before the Lombard Vicar, wherever he may summon 
 me, when there are so many places in Italy where I 
 could not go without exposing myself to certain danger 
 of death? Why is this, save because wicked men have 
 craftily suggested falsehoods to your Holiness, and 
 have not given you my letter? ^ 
 
 These men are my enemies because I preached truth 
 to them, for truth arouses hatred. After having ban- 
 ished one faction, not out of love for the Common- 
 wealth, but to gratify their ambition, a great number 
 of wicked citizens, desirous of power, began to stir up 
 everywhere various parties and divisions, so that for 
 one head decapitated many others replaced it, as is 
 commonly related of the h3^dra. 
 
 Dissensions, license, discords, quarrels, vengeances, 
 seditions, and murders threatened the entire ruin of 
 
 * Felinus Sandaeus, the celebrated canonist, 
 ' See note, p. 10. 
 
 3 
 
34 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 the city, with the added misfortune of a powerful king 
 about to invade the Republic. Moved by these consid- 
 erations and for good reasons, 1 strove to prevent fur- 
 ther plunder. Beset by evils within and without, 
 Florence would have succumbed and the fire would have 
 been kindled for a general conflagration in Italy. See- 
 ing the grave dangers that overhung this city, I used 
 my best endeavors to disarm the wrath of the French 
 king, whom I exhorted to clemency, piety, and religion, 
 urging him to restrain his army from acts of cruelty 
 and pillage, not only in Florence, but in all other 
 places, and ever to keep before his eyes the fear of 
 God. 
 
 By His divine aid the citj'- was saved from its great 
 peril, and peace, concord, and the fear of God were 
 publicly established. To this important, even necessary 
 work, I gave unsparingly, by day and night, my 
 strength and energy. I sought the welfare and tran- 
 quillity of the citizens and, above all, the honor of God. 
 And behold how ingratitude rewards m}'^ labor ! But I 
 regret not this, if a great reward awaits me in Heaven. 
 The children of men are false and untrue, nor is there 
 hope in them. I do not fear, for I know that it is 
 written, "They shall hate you because of My Name; 
 nevertheless, I do not wish to tempt God, for it is also 
 written, ''When they persecute you in one place, flee 
 to another.'^ Three times did our Lord give us an 
 example of this, and the Apostle St. Paul frequently 
 defended himself by human means. 
 
 13th. The Divine law, canonists, and all the doctors 
 authorize a religious to pass from a less strict to a more 
 severe rule, especially in the same Order, because one 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AXD LETTERS. 
 
 35 
 
 is thus better able to keep the promises he made and 
 to strive for perfection. Such is the teaching of St. 
 Thomas. But to pass to a laxer observance is not 
 allowed. 
 
 If, therefore, your Holiness, who desires all re- 
 ligious to aim at perfection, had known that we lead 
 a stricter life than that of the friars in Lombardy, 
 your Holiness would not have commanded us to re- 
 unite with them, because such a fusion is possible only 
 b}- our conforming to their ways. We who are familiar 
 with both Congregations can affirm with certainty that 
 our observance is more severe than theirs, for on the 
 principle by their fruits ye shall know them " it is 
 clear (a) that with us poverty is more rigidly observed; 
 (b) in food and clothing we are more sparing; (c) in 
 silence we are more faithful, in prayer more frequent; 
 (d) the entire city can bear testimony to the different 
 manner of life now followed in St. Mark's from that prev- 
 alent when this convent was under Lombard jurisdic- 
 tion, for every one knows it is stricter ; and (e) finally, 
 tliough our members are free to leave if they wish, 
 no one has gone nor does any one wish to go; but in 
 Lombardy they have a penalty of excommunication 
 against those who separate from them without special 
 permission, and yet they can scarcely hold their best 
 friars, who flock to us. 
 
 It is evident, therefore, that the reading of tlie 
 Brief has caused great disturbance among our breth- 
 ren, who have unanimously resolved to protest to your 
 Holiness that they are determined to be faithful to 
 the promises which tliey made to God, and that 
 they not only desire no relaxation, but rather wish 
 
36 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 that they might be more strictly bound to the Divine 
 service. 
 
 14th. We feel certain that your Holiness does noo 
 intend to place over these your sheep unsuitable 
 shepherds, for your Holiness will know that as the 
 Lombard friars have so often troubled our peace, such 
 a reunion could not but produce evils, could not but be 
 disagreeable to our brethren, to whom no benefit would 
 come, but rather scandal and further disturbance. 
 Experience proves this, for when they were united, 
 Lombards and Tuscans disagreed. Hence, with good 
 reason, our Constitutions have divided them into two 
 provinces, and therefore your Holiness will not, with- 
 out a just motive, weld them together.^ 
 
 15th. As your Holiness declares that you have effected 
 this union lest the friars, being left free, would follow 
 my errors, and for that reason you have also ordered 
 three of our brethren to set out for Bologna (the 
 journey to be finished in nine days), and as it is clear 
 that I have not erred as my adversaries have arrogantly 
 claimed, we presume that we can confidently say that 
 it is not your Holiness's intention to insist on these 
 things, for ''the cause ceasing, the effect also ceases.'' 
 
 Thus, Holy Father, it is a truth that everything told 
 to your Holiness is false, all pure inventions of evil 
 men who, wishing for my death, seek cunningly to 
 make me leave this city, not that I may go and throw 
 
 1 For a full and satisfactory discussion of the principles 
 involved in this and the preceding number of Savonarola's let- 
 ter, the reader is referred to the learned Concina, who bears 
 out the truth of the argument made by the Friar. {DiscipJina 
 Apostolico-Monastica, Pars Prima, Diss, v., cc. 10-13, pp. 166-201.) 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 37 
 
 myself at your Holiness's feet, because they know how 
 easy it would be for me to justify myself wholly before 
 your Holiness, but so as to assassinate me during the 
 journey and to gratify their ambition. Your Holiness 
 will not disdain, therefore, to listen favorably to my 
 defence and to qualify my conduct as prudent rather 
 than disobedient. I defer, delay, awaiting your benign 
 reply and asking your Holiness to free us from these 
 difficulties. Such is the teaching transmitted by your 
 predecessors, and by the holy doctors, canonists, and 
 theologians, whose testimonies, especially in the chapter 
 ScribenteSf I would quote here, if they were not already 
 familiar to your Holiness's eminent Auditor, D. Felino 
 of Ferrara. As for the truth of all my affirmations, it 
 will not be difficult for me to prove it as soon as the 
 need arises. Let your Holiness send here a special 
 representative, a just man and one above suspicion, and 
 he will be promptly and fully informed by the whole 
 city. As for myself, I am ready to amend in all things 
 and in all places, and to retract publicly all my errors. 
 If your Holiness will deign to point out what I am to 
 retract in my writings and words, I shall hasten to 
 obey ; for now and always, as I have frequently written 
 and said, I submit my person, my words, and my writ- 
 ings to the correction of the Holy Roman Church and 
 of your Holiness, to whom I commend myself and my 
 brethren. Prostrate at your feet, 
 
 Your Holiness's son and servant. 
 
 In consequence of the papal letter, Savonarola 
 was declared suspended from preaching, while he 
 awaited the determination of his case by the Vicar 
 General of the Lombard Congregation. The 
 
38 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 reader is left to judge how far the surmise is 
 correct that a religious pretext was used for pick- 
 ing a political quarrel, for striking a blow at the 
 Florentine Republic. " It was the Pope's desire 
 to reunite the said Congregation of Tuscany (St. 
 Mark's) with the old and general Congregation of 
 Lombardy, in order to remove the Friar from the 
 City of Florence and to annul the Congregation of 
 his follovv^ers and adherents ; and all this had been 
 brought about by the adversaries of the present 
 government, and more especially by those who 
 hoped that the city would turn in favor of the 
 League and the Medici." These significant words 
 are quoted from the fair-minded Nardi ^ a contem- 
 porary Florentine, whose history was written in an 
 impartial spirit. Beyond doubt, had the plan been 
 consummated, Savonarola could have been dismissed 
 from Florence and from Tuscany by the ordinary 
 process of an assignation to a Lombard convent. 
 
 Complementary to the papal Brief addressed to 
 St. Mark's, we append a translation of the Brief 
 forwarded to Blessed Sebastian Maggi, the Vicar 
 General of the Lombard Congregation : — 
 
 Alexander the Sixth, Pope, to his beloved son, Brother 
 Sebastian Maggi, of the Order of Preachers, Vicar 
 General of the Congregation of Lombardy : 
 
 Beloved Sox, — Health and Apostolic blessing! 
 Since many and various accounts have been brought to 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 39 
 
 us, reports that are daily renewed, concerning the novel 
 doctrines and scandalous preaching of Brother Jerome 
 Savonarola of Ferrara, a member of your Order, and now 
 resident at Florence, we have been deeply moved and dis- 
 turbed in mind; and considering that such things, alto- 
 gether foreign to our religion and to human reason, 
 require a serious and exact examination, lest such inno- 
 vations as he has introduced both in speech and in his 
 writings, breed scandal to the Christian people, and en- 
 danger their salvation, as well as his own, and wishing, 
 according to our pastoral office, to make wholesome pro- 
 vision in this emergency, we admonished him, by 
 letter formerly sent, that he should come to us, so that 
 by word of mouth we might learn from him the cause 
 and truth of those things which he had set before his 
 people in preaching and writing. 
 
 But he refused to come, and therefore it is presumed 
 that he walks not according to the law of God, which 
 commands obedience and humility.-^ For this reason, 
 and that such an error may not pass unchecked, through 
 connivance and negligence, especially in our daj'', and 
 having special confidence in your sincerity and virtue, 
 we commission you by this letter, and command you, 
 that immediately on its receipt, by our Apostolic 
 authority, in virtue of holy obedience, and under 
 penalty of excommunication latce sententicB, you will 
 summon the said Jerome, warning him and requiring 
 him to appear personally before you within a given 
 
 1 Though this statement is in contradiction to the facts (see 
 note, page 16) the reader need not ascribe the want of truth to 
 Alexander. It is probable that he was not familiar with the 
 details of the Briefs drawn by secretaries, and sometimes in- 
 spired by enemies of the Friar. 
 
40 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 time, wliicli you will determine, and with all sincerity 
 and truth to give you a complete explanation of his 
 sermons and published works. 
 
 We grant to you full authority and power to insti- 
 tute a process, to judge and decide this case, and the 
 faculty, as justice and right may require, and accord- 
 ing to your Order's law and rule, to determine what 
 shall be done, so that you may punish him, or you may 
 refer the matter to the Apostolic See. 
 
 We have also written another Brief to the same 
 Jerome and to the Convent of St. Mark, Florence, of 
 which we enclose to you a cop}^, so that you may have 
 full knowledge of its tenor ; and for greater caution 
 and certainty, we transmit to you a second draft, which 
 you can transfer to the said Jerome and his community. 
 Thus, through you, we shall have more satisfactory in- 
 formation as to his answer and obedience, for, accord- 
 ing to the terms of the Brief mentioned, we have 
 united the monasteries of St. Mark and St. Dominic 
 of your Order to yo\iY Congregation of Lombardy, so 
 that you can in future accept them and exercise care 
 over them. Endeavor, therefore, so to conduct yoiir- 
 self in this affair that we may have the satisfaction of 
 knowing that the case of the aforesaid Brother Jerome, 
 which is so full of novelty and scandal, has been com- 
 mitted to a man of true religion who fears God.'^ 
 
 Given, etc., September 9, 1495. 
 
 1 The original Latin text is given in Luotto : Appendix. He 
 was the first to publish this Brief. It is a matter of regret that 
 no letters of the B. Sebastian Maggi are available ; we can 
 judge, therefore, only from his well known respect and even 
 veneration for Savonarola, and from the fact that the latter 
 resumed his office and soon received proof of the pontifical 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 41 
 
 During this trying period, Savonarola behaved 
 prudently; he keenly felt the sore dilemma in 
 which he had been placed, — that of a good man 
 put in the wrong, by the abused instrumentality of 
 religion, through calumny and persecution; but 
 his spirit was praiseworthy. We may judge it 
 from a letter written on the day following his com- 
 munication to the Pope. It was addressed to an 
 unknown Dominican in Rome, probably Father 
 Niccolo, who lived with the Cardinal Protector of 
 the Order.^ It was dated September 15. We give 
 the full text : 2 _ 
 
 Reverend Father in Christ, — Health and peace 
 in Christ Jesus ! 
 
 All who wish to live piously in Christ Jesus must 
 suffer persecution. If, therefore, I would offer fleshpots 
 
 favor, in the Prato affair (see opening paragraph, page 50), 
 that Sebastian's decision was favorable to his former subject, 
 and that Savonarola remained in Florence by his authority. 
 St. Mark's chronicle throws no light on this phase of our case, 
 nor do the archives of the Dominican Convent, Bologna, fur- 
 nish any help. Certain words of the Friar in the 19th sermon 
 on Amos (Lent, 1496) confirm our opinion that B. Sebastian's 
 judgment was in support of Savonarola; and we may infer 
 that the holy Vicar of Lombardy rendered the Prior of St. Mark 
 notable service at Rome. Gherardi (141-143) gives letters from 
 Becchi which also suggest a favorable conclusion to the work 
 of B. Sebastian. This is a notable feature, the value of which 
 we desire the reader to recognize. The fact that Savonarola 
 had expressed his doubt as to the fairness' of placing his case in 
 Sebastian's hands only emphasizes the issue as arranged and 
 effected by the latter. 
 
 1 Marchese : Documenti, p. 152. 
 
 2 The original Latin may be found in Perrens, pp. 356-359. 
 
42 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 no one would molest me, but because I give the bread 
 that does not fail, striving each day to free the needy 
 from the hands of the wicked, all curse me. I have 
 heard that certain pharisees have gone and entered 
 into a scheme with Herodians (that is, some religious 
 and Florentine citizens, who cannot bear the name of 
 peace), and plotting against me, have suggested to the 
 Pope many falsehoods, provoking him against me. 
 Urged by them His Holiness has sent to us a Brief 
 which has greatly disturbed the entire community, and 
 which, in almost all respects, contains many evident 
 untruths. 
 
 I believe that if His Holiness were aware of these 
 facts, he would annul the Brief and punish the perpe- 
 trators of fraud. Since it is not only public, but noto- 
 rious here in Florence that I have neither said nor done 
 the things of which I am accused, w411 not the people 
 say, when they learn the contents of this Brief, that 
 Rome persecutes the innocent and just ? And this 
 certainly will be a great disgrace to those prelates and 
 to the Roman people.^ 
 
 We have written to His Holiness, and I enclose to 
 your Paternity a copy of the letter, earnestly entreating 
 you to speak to the most Reverend Protector of the 
 Order, that he will plead our cause with the Sovereign 
 Pontiff, and that the just may not be oppressed. I 
 could mention certain religious and laymen who are at 
 the bottom of this trouble, and I marvel how they can 
 dare so treat me, after the great benefits I have con- 
 ferred on their country. Yet not I, but the grace of 
 
 1 Savonarola invariably ascribes his troubles, not to the 
 Pope, but to others who deceived His Holiness. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AXD LETTERS. 
 
 43 
 
 God in me I And further, these men should remember 
 that I could put their heads in danger, and their fam- 
 ilies if I wished, since I know well that they are 
 striking at the Eepublic. 
 
 But I wish to render them good for evil, as the 
 Gospel commands, and to pra}' for them. I fear, how- 
 ever, that the unexpected may happen to them, and 
 that they will fall -into the pit which the}' have dug 
 for others, because among the people there are strange 
 rumors concerning them. I write these things so that 
 it may be made known to them that there is nothing 
 hidden which will not be revealed. ^Yhile these accom- 
 plices were discussing their plots, they were secretly 
 watched by others who have reported the proceedings 
 through the city. They even spoke about your Pater- 
 nity in a manner which has caused us no little surprise, 
 but I count on our old friendship, and so I resolved 
 to let you know, that you might take steps to remedy 
 the evil. 
 
 I also send my answer, which is exhaustive, to D 
 Felino, so that he may know how unjust is the proceed- 
 ing against us. I ask your Paternity to join him in 
 defence of our innocence. But if this avails not, I am 
 ready, for the sake of the Lord Jesus, to bear all that 
 may happen ; for in patience I await His tribunal. I 
 know, T am certain, that they have attacked us without 
 cause, yea, that they stone me because of good works. 
 But I fear them not, nor, hy the grace of God, do I 
 fear their sword, for it is sufficient for me that a good 
 conscience and the grace of God sustain me before the 
 Lord. 
 
 • But the time will come when God will reveal the 
 
44 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMlINICATEDf 
 
 hidden things of darkness, and then each one will have 
 his due. Were I now alone concerned, I would laugh 
 at the plots against me, nor would I attempt any 
 defence, because, as Pope Gelasius wrote, ^'Whoever 
 receives a just penalty, let him put away his wrong 
 and error, and it will be blotted out ; but if it be 
 unjust he ought to disregard it, insomuch as, before 
 God and the Church, an unjust decree binds no one. 
 And, therefore, from such a sentence one ought not 
 to desire absolution, seeing that he is in no manner 
 bound." And St. Augustine : ^'What matters it if 
 evil conscience does not erase our name from the book 
 of life?" But I know the root of all these plots. I 
 know that they are devised by wicked men, in league 
 with certain Italian rulers, who seek to usurp a tyran- 
 nical rule ; and such men desire to kill me, considering 
 me an impediment to their plans. Thus at almost 
 every corner snares are set that my removal from the 
 city may be effected. Hence it is that I may not 
 leave the convent without a guard. 
 
 As yet the reform of the city is incomplete ; so like- 
 wise is that of our Congregation, and I feel certain, as 
 all admit and as prudent and good men advise, that my 
 departure at this time would mean the overthrow of the 
 Government and the destruction of our convent. In 
 this view, they cannot see how I can conscientiously leave 
 the city. Certainly it seems to me that if His Holi- 
 ness realized the situation he would not order me to go. 
 
 Since, therefore, the intention of a superior must be 
 regarded, rather than his words, and since all I have 
 written to yo.u is true, I ask your opinion as to what I 
 should do, before God. I entreat your Paternity to show 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 45 
 
 that 3'ou are not allied with those who have planned 
 against us; to defend the innocent before the most 
 Reverend Protector of the Order, lest many scandals 
 arise in this city, from which bloodshed might also 
 follow. 
 
 Xevertlieless, if I cannot otherwise save my con- 
 science than by obeying the Brief, certainly I will 
 obey, though the ruin of the whole world should be 
 the result ; for I do not wish to sin in this matter in 
 any manner, even venially. But in this affair I have 
 considered that it is well, as the doctors teach, to 
 wait. 
 
 The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.^ 
 
 News of the impending change in the juris- 
 diction of St. Mark's was soon spread tln^ough 
 Florence. " On the 17th of the same month, Septem- 
 ber, the Signory addressed a beautiful letter to the 
 Pope, highly extolling the merits of the Friar and 
 the generous benefits he had conferred on the 
 city, for the welfare of religion. They besought 
 Alexander not to press the matter, to leave St. 
 Mark's and St. Dominic's, Fiesole, independent, 
 and not to withdraw from Florence the blessing of 
 Savonarola's presence and work, for his very name 
 was in benediction with the people.^ 
 
 In the meantime his hope was gratified by a 
 cheering word from members of the Order in 
 Rome, that the papal Brief commanding and de- 
 
 1 What answer Savonarola received, we know not. There is 
 no letter to him preserved that would apply. 
 * Villari, ii., Appendix, p. 11. 
 
46 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED f 
 
 creeing the reunion with Lombardy would be 
 revoked. On October 26, he told the ambassador 
 of Ferrara that from day to day he expected a new 
 Brief, and that his friends in Rome had written 
 to him that all would be well, as he had been 
 vindicated and justified in the eyes of the Holy 
 Father.! But his expectations were not as yet to 
 be realized. On the contrary, he subsequently 
 received a third Brief, dated October 16. 
 
 The full text of the Pope's third letter is as 
 follows : ^ — 
 
 Beloved Son, — Health and Apostolic blessing ! 
 
 Although we have more fully explained to you, hy 
 another Brief, our great displeasure because of the dis- 
 turbances among the Florentine people especially arising 
 from your preaching, inasmuch as you, instead of con- 
 fining yourself to the work of extirpating vice and cul- 
 tivating virtue, have devoted your sermons to predic- 
 tions of future events, affirming that you had, as a 
 special light from God, the inspiration of the Holy 
 Ghost ; and because such things frequently lead simple 
 men from the way of salvation and of obedience to the 
 Holy Boman Church (on account of which you should 
 have striven in your preaching for peace and union, 
 and not for the announcement of your divinations 
 which the people call prophecies; you should have con- 
 sidered that the present condition of affairs is strongly 
 
 1 Cappelli, pp. 68, 69. 
 
 2 The Latin text with correct date and amendments is given 
 by Gherardi, p. 390. Quetif (p. 134) also prints the letter, but 
 with erroneous date. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AXD LETTERS. 47 
 
 averse to such doctrine as you set forth, which of itself 
 would he sufficient to raise discord where perfect peace 
 had heen, and how much more where dissensions and 
 factions abound), — we are moved, therefore, because of 
 the danger to many souls, because of our desire for the 
 tranquillity of the Florentines, and that we may be 
 faithful to our pastoral office, to write to you again. 
 
 It was not without mature deliberation that we 
 decided to call you to Eome, that you might clear 
 yourself of the charges made against you (for if they 
 were true they could not be allowed to pass with im- 
 punity) ; but, learning from several of our venerable 
 brethren. Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, and 
 from your own letter and messengers, that you were 
 ready to submit yourself, in your words and works, to 
 the correction of the Holy Eoman Church (which is 
 the duty of every good Christian and religious), we 
 were greatl}- rejoiced, and began to persuade ourselves 
 that you had preached such things, not from any evil 
 purpose, but through a kind of simplicity and out of 
 zeal for cultivating the vineyard of the Lord, although 
 experience might teach us the contrary. 
 
 Consequently, lest we should seem entirely negligent 
 in matters which suffer no carelessness, we resolved to 
 write to 3-0U this letter, in answer to yours. And 
 therefore we command you, in virtue of holy obedience, 
 to abstain altogether from preaching, whether public 
 or private, so that you cannot be charged with having 
 left the pulpit only to resort to private meetings. 
 
 And this condition you will faithfully observe, till 
 you are able, securely, conveniently, in honor as be- 
 comes a religious (and not guarded, as we understand 
 
48 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATEDf 
 
 by soldiers), to come and confer with us, when we shall 
 receive you with paternal gladness; or till we shall 
 have considered more maturely what our decision for 
 the future will be. It may be that we shall send some 
 suitable and honorable man to confer with you. 
 
 If you do as we hope you will, we shall then sus- 
 pend the Brief which we have written concerning you, 
 with all the conditions contained therein, so that you 
 may enjoy peace of conscience. 
 
 Given, etc., October 16, 1495. 
 
 On October 26, this Brief was received in 
 Florence, and Savonarola at once submitted to 
 the suspension from preaching, and remained in 
 the seclusion of St. Mark's, while Father Dominic 
 occupied the pulpit of the Cathedral during 
 Advent. ^ 
 
 The Prior was well aware of the political com- 
 plications that rendered his position more delicate ; 
 he knew that, under political cover, some of his 
 enemies sought to destroy the work of spiritual 
 reformation. Nevertheless a purely religious ques- 
 tion was the seeming issue, but without any 
 specific charge of false doctrine that he could 
 directly meet. He accepted the prohibition im- 
 posed by the Pontiff and bore the ignominy of an 
 accusation easily made, and with difficulty refuted, 
 — a general charge of dangerous and false teaching. 
 
 1 Luotto, 484. Father Bayonne (p. 87) says that Savona- 
 rola addressed a written answer to the Pope, on receipt of the 
 Brief of October 16, but Father Ferretti assures me that he 
 knows of no such letter. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 49 
 
 But his friends were not passive. The Signory 
 were unflagging in their efforts to secure permis- 
 sion for him to resume his preaching. Becchi, 
 their envoy in Rome, was instructed to secure this 
 favor either by Brief or by a vivce vocis (verbal) 
 concession. 1 The Cardinal of Naples, Protector of 
 the Dominican Order, was urged in most earnest 
 letters to prevail on His Holiness to grant to 
 Florence, as a crowning act of gracious indulgence, 
 the privilege and opportunity of again hearing 
 Savonarola, who was described by the Signory as a 
 man of rare virtues, of extraordinarily fruitful 
 labors, and as a singular benefactor of the Re- 
 public. They stigmatized the malice of his 
 enemies, and deplored the deception that had 
 been put upon the Sovereign Pontiff by wicked 
 men slandering a true servant of God.^ 
 
 For a long time the Pope continued inflexible. 
 Though his Briefs seem based on questions of 
 doctrine, the correspondence of ambassadors would 
 indicate that politics were the main spring. For 
 instance, the Florentine envoy wrote, on December 
 28, that Alexander was irritated against the Re- 
 public because Florence would not join the League, 
 and that he regarded the Florentines " as if they 
 had given up the Holy Sepulchre into the hands 
 of the infidels. "3 
 
 1 Gherardi, p. 132. 
 
 2 Letters of Nov. 13 and 17, 1405, and of Jan. 28 and Feb. 5, 
 1496. See Gherardi, pp. 130-133. 
 
 ® Bayonne, p. 87. 
 
 4 
 
50 
 
 WAS 
 
 SAVONAROLA 
 
 EXCOMMUiMCA TED ? 
 
 U96. 
 
 With the opening of the New Year, 1496, a 
 remarkable occurrence took place. The Domini- 
 can Convent of Prato, which had been sadly in 
 need of reform, was placed by Alexander's author- 
 ity, under the jurisdiction of Savonarola as Vicar 
 of St. Mark's Congregation. ^ This pontifical ac- 
 tion was not only an expression of high regard 
 and confidence, but by recognizing Savonarola as 
 Vicar, practically annulled the preceding Brief, 
 which had discontinued the independent Congre- 
 gation of Tuscany.2 Thus the condition of ad- 
 ministration and jurisdiction prevailing before 
 Alexander had summoned Savonarola to Rome 
 was restored. 
 
 It was probably at this time that, through 
 Fatlier Louis of Ferrara, Procurator General of 
 the Order, the offer of a Cardinal's hat was made 
 to the Friar, if he would change his method of 
 preaching.^ His answer is well known. Hearing 
 
 1 For all the documents, see Gherardi, pp. 69-84, 
 
 2 The pontifical letter of Oct. 16, 1495 had already suspended 
 this Brief of incorporation, as Savonarola had complied with 
 the conditions. The Brief of Nov. 7, 1496, not only does not 
 regard St. Mark's as then attached to Lombardy, but names, in 
 detail, the houses of that jurisdiction which, with St. Mark's and 
 other communities, were to form a new province. From this 
 we rightly infer that the Pontiff had quashed his order of Sept. 
 8, 1495, and that Savonarola's power as Vicar was recognized 
 on the occasion of the Prato reform, 
 
 3 Burlamacchi, ]). 551. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 51 
 
 it, Alexander remarked : " That man is perhaps 
 a great servant of God. Speak no more to me 
 about him, either good or ill." ^ 
 
 Among the brethren selected to renew the com- 
 munity at Prato was Father Antony d'OUandia, 
 who, as prior, at once requested that a preacher 
 be sent to him. Savonarola answered that if the 
 Sovereign Pontiff pennitted him to speak, he would 
 send them Father Dominic, who had been held in 
 reserve for Florence, because of his own enforced 
 silence. And that their hopes might be realized 
 he besought special prayers.^ 
 
 We emphasize this fact, illustrating, as it does, 
 Savonarola's submission and obedience. On Feb- 
 ruary 11, the Signory unanimously/ decreed that 
 "the Venerable Prior, Friar Jerome Savonarola 
 should resume his preaching during Lent, or 
 before, in the Cathedral, or in any other church of 
 the City."^ Savonarola refused, until he should 
 
 1 Bayonne, p. 90. 
 
 2 Gherardi (p. 85) gives this letter, in Latin, dated the Feast 
 of the Purilication. In it Savonarola tells Father Antony that 
 the special prayers of the Community of St. Mark's, begging for 
 the desired relief, will include tlie singing of the Alma Redemp- 
 toris Mater, each morning; ^f the Ave Retina and the Recordare 
 Virgo Mater, each evening ; and the recitation of the Seven 
 Penitential Psalms, after Complin. He directs that the Com- 
 munity of Prato shall offer the same devotions, adding : " I 
 believe that if we pray fervently we shall obtain this favor 
 from God, and that there will be great fruit for souls." 
 
 The piety of the Friar, and his marked veneration for our 
 Lady are here beautifully evidenced. 
 Gherardi, p. 133. 
 
52 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 receive the Pope's permission. The Signory had 
 expected this difficult}^ and fortunately were able 
 to meet it in a satisfactory way. Their persistent 
 efforts had finally prevailed. The Cardinals of 
 Naples and Perugia had persuaded the Pope to 
 relent in his opposition to the Friar, and Alexander 
 granted a verbal permission for Savonarola to re- 
 sume his preaching.! 
 
 1 Nardi, L. ii., p. 56 ; Andrea Bernardi, also a contemporary, 
 in his " Cronica Forlivese " quoted by the Quarto Centenario, 
 which discusses this point very clearly, pp. 140, 141 ; Marchese : 
 "San Marco," p. 118, and " Documenti," p. 151; Villari, ii. 47; 
 Bayonne, p. 88 ; Del Lungo, Letter v., p. 9 ; Gherardi, pp. 129- 
 148, gives a series of Becchi's letters, though none are abso- 
 lutely satisfactory ; Luotto, pp. 487-497, who is conclusive and 
 convincing. Against these competent authorities, men of scru- 
 pulously careful investigation, Pastor, who made no original 
 study of the Friar, sets the names of Cipolla, Cosci, and Perrens. 
 Let us judge their value. Cipolla's work, "Le Signorie Italians 
 dal 1300 al 1530" (Milano, 1881), as its name indicates, does not 
 deal particularly with Savonarola. In passing, Cipolla touches 
 the career of the Friar, and (p. 735) states that he resumed his 
 preaching without the consent of the Pope. This opinion, he 
 has, however, revised. I am informed by Father Ferretti that 
 a change in Cipolla's work, on this point, will follow, in a later 
 edition, the author's conviction that Luotto, to whose arguments 
 and testimonies he has yielded, was right. 
 
 As to Cosci's writings (embodied in the Archivio Storico 
 Italiano, torn, iv., D. V. e vi., del 1879, a pagine 282 e 429), it is 
 sufficient to remark that, while dissenting from the consensus of 
 historians in favor of the permission, he offers no convincing 
 argument, cites no determining authority in support of his own 
 statement; rather he expresses himself as disposed to admit 
 that the faculty was granted by the Pope. In other words, 
 Cosci gives no authority to Pastor. Perrens, in his "Life of 
 Savonarola" (p. 158), seems to allow that the Friar had the papal 
 license to resume his preaching, but he does not discuss the 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 53 
 
 On F'ebruary 16, he announced that, having 
 received the pontifical authorization, he would 
 
 question. Pastor refers to him as against it, in his " History of 
 Florence," ii. 205. I have consulted the passage. The French- 
 man is clear in his statement, but it is notable that he leans 
 chiefly on Cosci, a broken reecl, as we have seen. Moreover, 
 Perrens's bias is apparent, and as he fails to support his positive 
 dicti^ by any contemporary evidence, and as he wrote, moreover, 
 in ignorance of the latest testimonies brought to light, prudent 
 and fair-minded readers will not be influenced by his peremp- 
 tory declaration, against the weight of authority cited in favor 
 of the Friar, as well as against the Friar's own reputation for 
 sincerity and truth. 
 
 Our readers who consider these facts and references will 
 recognize that neither Cosci nor Perrens nor both of them can 
 give Pastor any authority. They will also rightly estimate the 
 value of Pastor's sneering conclusion that the religious, who 
 found so many excuses for evading the commands of his 
 supreme spiritual superior, was prompt to comply with the 
 commands of a temporal authority in regard to ecclesiastical 
 matters, (" History of the Popes," Eng. trans, vi. 11; and his 
 "Zur Beurtheilung Savonarolas," p. G5.) In both works he 
 quotes Cosci and Cipolla, and in the latter, Perrens. Had he 
 availed of Luotto's study which he vainly attempted to answer, 
 he should at least, have modified his reference to Cosci. On 
 the German historian's added charge " that the Friar never ven- 
 tured to maintain that any sucli permission had been granted" 
 (History of the Popes, vi. 10), we remark: The letter (see Del 
 Lungo) of Somenzi to the Duke of Milan, states the direct con- 
 trary ; and unless Savonarola is to be accused of utter insin- 
 cerity and falsehood we must take his positive word that he had 
 received permission, with his former declaration that he would 
 not preach unless tlie Pope consented. Nor has Pastor a right 
 to demand any formal announcement to this effect in his ser- 
 mons. To have awaited a gathering of the people in the 
 church, and then to have informed them, was not only not 
 necessary, for in talkative Florence news soon spread, and the 
 throng that greeted the Friar in the Duomo was proof sufficient 
 that they had heard the tidings of his restoration, but besides, 
 
54 WAS SAVOXAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 accede to the Signory's request. His Lenten 
 sermons were extremely vigorous. The Pope 
 was incensed, and freely expressed his indignation 
 to Becchi, the Florentine envoy, because the 
 Republic, supported by the Friar, would not join 
 the League against the French ; and he was even 
 more vehement in an interview with Bishop Pan- 
 dolfini, who had gone to Rome, as a special ambas- 
 sador of the Florentines, to placate Alexander.^ 
 
 Savonarola's energetic denunciations of the vices 
 of Italian prelates and tyrants were skilfully used 
 by the Arrahhiati and the ^ledici to stir up the 
 neighboring princes against him. The scheming 
 politicians were joined by the Tepidi and the 
 
 lie neither could nor -would have taken such a step, for till the 
 people knew it was lawful for him to preach it was not lawful 
 for them to hear. However, had Pastor not been content, 
 before passing such a rigorous sentence, with second-hand author- 
 ities, had he consulted the Friar's sermons, he would have 
 found positive evidence against himself, and positive evidence 
 that the Friar did make public the fact that his preaching Avas 
 licit. In the first discourse for that Lent, Savonarola refers to 
 the mercy of God in his return to the pulpit, obtained through 
 the prayers of the devout. And in the thirty-fifth of the series 
 he is even more explicit. 
 
 Moreover, we find that shortly after Lent, he was formally 
 delegated by the Master General, to confer the veil on certain 
 nuns. In this document the Master General addresses him not 
 onl}' as Vicar General of St. Mark's Congregation, but further 
 he employs the unusual and marked title of the " Venerable 
 Father Jerome." See Gherardi, pp. 68, 69, for letter. Had 
 Savonarola's Lenten discourses been delivered in defiance of the 
 Pope, the head of the Dominican Order would not have so acted 
 or written. But enough for our present purpose ! 
 ^ Marchese : Documenti, pp. 140-1")1 ; Villari, ii. 91. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AXD LETTERS. 
 
 55 
 
 Compagnacci, who with exquisite irony and cyni- 
 cism constituted themselves the champions of 
 insulted (?) religion, and poured into the Roman 
 Court a torrent of accusations against the fearless 
 Friar. " Of all the infamous deeds which are 
 told of the closing years of the fifteenth century, 
 there is not one more characteristic nor worse 
 than this, in w^hich infamous calumny, fraud, im- 
 piety, contempt for everything sacred, and, above 
 all, for the Vicar of Christ and of His Church, 
 seem triumphant." ^ 
 
 Towards the end of Lent, the Pope ordered two 
 Cardinals and two Bishops, with the General of 
 the Dominicans and several masters in theology, 
 to institute a judicial process against the Prior. 
 He convoked a meeting of these ecclesiastics in 
 his own palace on April 3. He declared to them 
 that he was determined to punish Savonarola 
 as superstitious, disobedient to the Holy See, sehis- 
 maticcd, and heretical?' Through the entreaties of 
 the Florentine ambassador the Bishop of Capaccio 
 obtained a respite, and shortly afterwards the 
 Pope expressed himself as satisfied with the case 
 of Savonarola, because of the answers from the 
 Signory, wdio had assured him of the Friar's good 
 
 1 Luotto, p. 527. 
 
 2 Bayonne, p. 89; Gherardi, 142; Perrens, p. 184; and never- 
 theless, as Becchi, tlie Florentine envoy, informed his Govern- 
 ment, the chief charge against Savonarola was that he u-gs the 
 cause of all the miseries of Picro tic' Medici. His letter (Italian) is 
 published by Perrens, pp. 301, 3G2. 
 
56 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED^ 
 
 dispositions. So Becclii wrote to " The Ten " on 
 April 4.i 
 
 But by plots and slanders, which in that age 
 dis|)uted with poison and dagger a place of emi- 
 nence in Italian politics, the campaign against 
 Savonarola was continued during the summer. 
 Contemporary political events, the sermons of 
 the Friar, and those of his rivals Avould have to 
 be presented in detail to bring this fact out vividly ; 
 suffice it to say that zeal for truth, for the welfare 
 of Florence, and for the honor of the Church shine 
 conspicuous in the life and words of the Prior of 
 St. Mark's, and in noble contrast to the deportment 
 and utterances of those opponents who skilfully 
 wove a web for his ruin.^ Even in his own 
 Order he was not spared sharp comment and 
 active hostility. During the early autumn the 
 Pope had occasion to speak of Savonarola to a 
 certain Father Francis Mei, afterwards Procuratoi 
 General of the Dominican Order, who had suc- 
 ceeded Father Louis of Ferrara as visitor to some 
 of the Tuscan convents in which grave disorders 
 were prevalent. Father ]\Iei had conceived a dis- 
 like for Savonarola, because the latter had revealed 
 to him some secret fault, saying, " You lean upon 
 a reed that will yet pierce your hand. One day 
 
 1 Gherardi, pp. 142-144; Bayonne, p. 89. 
 
 - Luotto, p. 527, note. In chapter 32, this author draws a 
 striking picture of the unhappy condition resulting from the 
 plots of Savonarola's enemies. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 57 
 
 you will go to Rome, and there you will fight 
 against me." 
 
 He fulfilled the prophecy, for it was he who 
 persuaded the Pope that the only way to over- 
 come all resistance on the part of the Florentines 
 would be to institute a new Congregation or 
 Province, in which would be fused all the con- 
 vents belonging to the Tuscan Congregation which 
 included St. Mark's. By this means Savonarola, 
 having been stripped of his dignity of Vicar 
 General, would, at the close of his term of office 
 as Prior of St. Mark's, be reduced to the rank of 
 a simple religious. As such he could be sent 
 from Florence by the Superior of the new Con- 
 gregation, and then the city could be easily 
 diverted from the French alliance.^ This advice 
 decided the Pope's action. The extraordinary, 
 entirely unexpected, and hitherto unthought-of 
 change was decreed by Alexander, who on 
 November 7, signed the following Brief : ^ — 
 
 Beloved Sons, — Health and Apostolic blessing! 
 Being anxious for the reformation and increase of 
 your holy Order, as is our duty, and as is most pleasing 
 
 1 Bayonne, pp. 90, 91. 
 
 2 Bullarium, iv., 124, 125. The Brief was addressed to the 
 priors and communities of the sixteen convents which were 
 to compose the new province : The Minerva and St. Sabina's, 
 Rome; St. Mary ad Gradus, Viterbo ; St. Mary of the Oak, near 
 Viterbo ; The Holy Spirit, Siena ; St. Catherine, Pisa ; St. Domi- 
 nic, San Gemignano ; St. Dominic, Pistoia ; St. Dominic, Prato ; 
 St. Remain, Lucca ; St. Agnes, Montepulciano ; St. Dominic 
 Perugia ; St. Dominic,- Corbara ; St. Mary of the Rock ; St. 
 Dominic, Fiesole ; and St. Mark, Florence. 
 
58 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUyiCATED? 
 
 to the great Creator, and advantageous to the piety of 
 the devout faithful, we cheerfully undertake whatever 
 may provide, usefully and profitably, under God, for 
 the laudable preservation of rites, customs, and religious 
 observance in all your houses, and for their more 
 vigorous growth and prosperity. 
 
 Moved by this desire, and hopiiig that by forming a 
 new Congregation out of the houses withdrawn from 
 the Lombard Province, with those of . . . ^ to be known 
 as the Tusco-Eoman Province, and to be under its own 
 Yicar, we have so arranged, trusting that from this 
 fusion there will come great increase of piety and 
 observance, to the advantage of these communities. 
 The nearness to one another of these convents will 
 enable the Yicar more easily to make his visitations, 
 and the brethren, with less difficulty, to confer with 
 him. 
 
 Of our own prompting, therefore, and not at the 
 instance of any petition, of our own kindness and 
 knowledge, we separate these convents from the Con- 
 gregation of Lombardy and from the jurisdiction of its 
 Yicar, nor by this do we wish that any loss or injury 
 should accrue to these houses. 
 
 And by our Apostolic authority we also decree, for 
 now and for all future time, that the said houses, as 
 well as the others named, from the Eoman and Tuscan 
 provinces, are united in one Congregation of regular 
 observance, to be known as the Tusco-Roman, immedi- 
 ately subject to a Yicar and the Master General of your 
 
 1 See preceding foot-note. The houses that had been under 
 Lombard jurisdiction were those of St. Sabina, St. Mary of the 
 Oak, Pisa, Siena, San Gemignano. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 59 
 
 Order. For this first time and for a period of two years, 
 the Vicar shall be appointed by our A'enerable Brother, 
 Oliver Caraffa, Bishop of Sabina, Cardinal of Naples, 
 after consultation with our beloved son, your Master 
 General. On the expiration of this term said Vicar 
 will be considered absolved from office, at whicli time 
 an election will be held according to the manner pre- 
 scribed in your Constitutions for the election of a 
 Provincial. . . } 
 
 Moreover, we order and strictly command, in virtue 
 of holy obedience, all the brethren belonging in any way 
 to these houses to return at once, nor can any one 
 leave this Tusco-Roman Congregation without the 
 special permission of the Vicar. . . . ^ 
 
 We wish, moreover, and in virtue of holy obedience 
 by this present letter we strictly command, under 
 penalt}^ of excommunication latce sententlcB, each and 
 ever}' one, no matter of what condition state, dignity, 
 or grade, forbidding all concerned either to presume 
 or dare, directly or indirectly, of themselves or by 
 others, in any manner whatsoever, under an}'- color or 
 pretext, to contradict or impede this our letter. And 
 should aught such be attempted, either knowingly or in 
 ignorance, we here and now pronounce it null and 
 void. 
 
 Thus the work of reform committed to the Con- 
 gregation of St. Mark's, was, as the chronicler of 
 
 1 Here follow certain instructions as to elections and 
 vacancies. 
 
 Here follows an enumeration of privileges to the newly 
 formed Congrejjation. 
 
60 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 the Convent of Pisa wrote, "smothered in its 
 cradle;"^ while the community of St. Mark's, 
 numbering almost three hundred (many of them 
 young), chiefly recruited from the noblest families 
 of Tuscany, and leading a life of strictest observ- 
 ance, were ordered to fraternize with men whom 
 the chronicle of the Convent of Siena designates 
 as " vagabond friars who were the refuse of the 
 Order, utterly unworthy,'^ and who were to be 
 gathered in from various parts of the country," ^ to 
 form a part of the new province. 
 
 Father Mei well knew that neither Savona- 
 rola nor his religious could justly approve such 
 an arrangement, because perfect observance (for 
 which they had suffered and had detached them- 
 selves from the Lombard Congregation) would 
 have been impracticable, on account of the unruly 
 elements thus brought together in the proj)osed 
 fusion. This plotting religious politician argued, 
 therefore, that Savonarola would thus become 
 responsible for the expected resistance of his 
 community, thereby arousing the Pope's anger, 
 and, as disobedient, incurring the severe pontifical 
 penalties. And so it happened that Savonarola 
 was betrayed by one of his own, and after his 
 death, to certain persons who complained of the 
 cruel treatment inflicted on him, Alexander re- 
 
 1 Luotto, p. 511. 
 
 2 Mirandola, ii. 4, who refers to their houses as dens of 
 robbers. 
 
 * Bayonne, p. 93. 
 
PACTS, BRIEFS, AXD LETTERS. 
 
 61 
 
 plied, ill the words of Pilate : -'It was your nation 
 and your high-priests who delivered him into my 
 hands." 1 
 
 On December 12, the new Vicar General, Father 
 James^ of Sicily, was appointed, and to him Savona- 
 rola at once rendered obedience,^ though he re- 
 tained, as by right, his office of Prior of St. Mark's 
 Convent (wliich was distinct from that of Vicar 
 of St. Mark's Congregation), in which he had not 
 been disturbed. 
 
 U97. 
 
 In March, 1497, Bracci, the special Florentine 
 envoy who had been sent to Rome to negotiate the 
 affair of the League against the French, reported 
 an interview with the Pope, during which the 
 latter promised the restoration of Pisa to the 
 Republic, "if the Florentines would show them- 
 selves good Italians by renouncing the French 
 alliance, and by ceasing to confide in the parable- 
 making Friar." Alexander also complained that 
 the Signory permitted Savonarola to revile him ; ^ 
 
 1 Bavonne, p. 95. 
 
 2 Luotto, p. 514; Gherardi, p. 146; Burlamacchi, 580, who 
 says that Father James, himself a man of sanctity, entertained 
 a marked veneration for Savonarola. 
 
 ^ So the plotters had falsely declared to the Pope. It was 
 also sought to excite irritation against the Friar in Florence, 
 through the Florentine merchants in Rome who wrote appeal- 
 ingly to the Signory of the danger to their interests, by threat- 
 ened reprisals on the part of the angry Pontiff, because of the 
 
62 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED^ 
 
 and added, If the Friar refuses to obey the Brief 
 commanding him to join the Tusco-Roman Con- 
 gregation, I shall compel him by censures, and 
 even by excommunication." ^ 
 
 The Florentines answered, through the proper 
 office, that they were good Italians; recounted the 
 great services of the Friar ; denied that he had 
 insulted His Holiness or mentioned any one by 
 name in his sermons, and branded those who spoke 
 against him as slanderers and opponents of the 
 moral reform which Savonarola had wrought.^ The 
 Arrahhiati, the Compagnacei^ all the enemies of 
 good government and of public decency, rejoiced 
 to see the Friar under the pontifical displeasure, 
 and about to be " crushed," as he himself expressed 
 it, "between the keys of Peter." ^ 
 
 The political hatred and the moral malignity of 
 these unworthy men received help from a quarter 
 
 Republic's defence of Savonarola. See Gherardi (pp. 205, 206) 
 for their letter (Italian) in full. 
 
 1 We suggest that this declaration of the Pope indicates that 
 he had not previously intended to excommunicate Savonarola, 
 despite the terms of the Brief of May 13, 1497, which may have 
 been surreptitiously inserted. The discrepancies and contra- 
 dictions apparent in the various pontifical letters and the fact 
 that forgeries had occurred at this time, perpetrated by un- 
 worthy secretaries, arouse the suspicion that the over-taxed 
 Pope was not familiar with the contents of all the documents 
 regarding the Prior of St. Mark's. 
 
 2 Gherardi (pp. 148-100) gives the correspondence, including 
 letters from Becchi, as well as instructions from the Florentine 
 Department of State. 
 
 3 Bayonne, p. 99. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AXD LETTERS. 
 
 63 
 
 not usually fomid in alliance with such forces. 
 During Lent two Augustinian preachers used the 
 pulpit as a political platform from which they 
 reviled Savonarola. One spoke in Florence, the 
 other in Home. The latter was tlie well-known 
 Mariano of Gennezzano, who had been condemned 
 for his participation in ]\Iedicean plots, and dared 
 not return to Florence, but who nursed in Rome, 
 with the exiled and dissolute Piero, the chagrin of 
 his defeat by Savonarola, till it became a furious 
 passion of vindictiveness. Even in th^ Pope's 
 presence he outraged the proprieties of the pulpit 
 b}' demanding of the Holy Father th^it he should 
 " cut off this monster from the Church."' ^ 
 
 That Savonarola expected the fulmination of 
 a censure, as the result of the political plots of 
 his enemies and of the enemies of the Republic, 
 who were unflagging in repeating their calumnies 
 to the Pope, we can judge, in a special manner, 
 from his own words. " Many declare," he said, 
 "that the excommunication will come. Do you 
 not know that they who seek usually find ? Last 
 year they did not succeed, but now I pray God 
 that it may soon come. I fear it not, for I have 
 done no wrong. Let it be borne in on the point 
 of a spear; open the gates for it. Then I shall 
 
 1 Xardi, 1. ii., p. 58; Quetif, p. 224; Marchcse : Scritti Vari, i. 
 225. Gentle and religious lancruage, assuredly! It is not 
 strange that the Pope did not approve snob insolence, or that 
 the Cardinals who were present expressed their marked dis- 
 pleasure. 
 
64 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 answer it, in such manner that you will wonder 
 at the multitude who will turn pale. In Rome 
 one ^ fights against me, but religion is not his in- 
 spiration. They would excommunicate me because 
 I have done good. Had I wished to be a flatterer, 
 I Avould not now be in Florence, endangered, nor 
 would I wear this patched cloak. ^ Thy Cross, O 
 Lord, is my only ambition. For it I pray. Grant 
 me, O Lord, that I may not die on my bed, but 
 that I may shed my blood for Thee Who hast 
 poured out all Thine for me."^ 
 
 About the end of Lent a new calumniator took 
 the field, — J ohn Victor de Camerino, a theologian 
 of some repute, who "exposed "what he called the 
 false teaching of Savonarola. Having received as 
 pay for his labor a measure of Florentine justice, 
 first a prison and then banishment, he went to 
 Rome, and there made common cause with Mariano. 
 Both waited on the Pope, and urged him to strike 
 the decisive blow. The Florentine ambassador 
 endeavored to counteract their efforts by assur- 
 ing Alexander that the two were not only calumnia- 
 tors of Savonarola, but enemies also of Florence, 
 the interests of which His Holiness professed to 
 have at heart.* 
 
 The conspiracy, represented at Rome by Piero 
 
 1 Mariano, to whom Nardi, 1. ii., pp. 62, 63, ascribes much of 
 Savonarola's trouble. 
 
 2 A reference to the offer of the Cardinalate. 
 
 3 Sermon 22 on Ezechiel. 
 
 * Bayonne, p. 102 ; Gherardi, p. 158, 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 65 
 
 de' Medici, his brother the Cardinal, Cardinal 
 Sforza, Mariano, and the exiled Mediceans, and at 
 Florence by the Arrabhiati and the libertines, had 
 been well planned.^ These worthies had slandered 
 their victim too viciously, the Pontiff they had 
 too cunningly deceived, too persistently harassed 
 and angered, to suffer defeat of their foul purpose. 
 Savonarola was doomed.^ As Becchi wrote to 
 Florence, the affair had been so well arranged by 
 the Friar's enemies that " the medicine took imme- 
 diate effect," ^ — the conspirators' final appeal to the 
 Pope to sign the long expected anathema meeting 
 with success on May 13.* Previously to the recep- 
 tion in Florence of the sentence, and indeed be- 
 fore its despatch from Rome was known, " The 
 Ten" or State Department, as we may freely 
 designate this branch of the Republic's govern- 
 ment, having been warned by Bracci, the special 
 envoy at Rome, of the impending blow, addressed 
 to the Pope a respectful protest and expostula- 
 tion.^ They declared that " Friar Jerome never 
 pointed his reproaches at any one in particular, 
 that his preaching had borne abundant fruit in the 
 
 1 Nardi, pp. 62, 63 ; Gherardi, pp. 163, 166, 167. 
 
 2 Burlamacchi (p. 551) says that the Pope had been brought 
 to a mortal hatred of the Friar. 
 
 3 Gherardi, p. 163. 
 
 * News of the Ascension Day outrage had reached Rome 
 shortly before this, — with the usual calumnies, Savonarola the 
 victim, being represented as the aggressor. See foot-note to his 
 letter of May 8, page 70. 
 
 6 Dated May 20. 
 
 5 
 
66 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 city, both on account of his high reputation for 
 virtue and for the excellence of his dogmatic and 
 moral teaching. No one, therefore, can be sur- 
 prised, if we deplore, by anticipation, aught that 
 might be attempted against him because of calum- 
 nious charges, for we do not wish to be guilty of in- 
 gratitude, and we must bear witness to the truth." ^ 
 
 Alexander was so prejudiced or so completely 
 deceived concerning Savonarola that when the 
 Florentine representative submitted to His Holi- 
 ness this protest of the Republic, he answered: 
 
 The Signory are unwilling to admit that the 
 Friar has spoken evil against me, and I am not 
 surprised at this, seeing their great devotion to 
 him. I am as certain of the contrary as I am of 
 being Pope. I have many witnesses worthy of 
 belief, and it ought to be admitted that I have not 
 acted without just cause. Besides, I await his 
 rej)ly to the Brief, and shall act afterwards as God 
 may inspire me." ^ 
 
 Here we must retrace our steps for a few days, 
 in order to resume the connected narrative, admon- 
 ishing the reader that the Brief issued on May 13 
 did not reach Florence till June 18. As we have 
 already stated, anticipations of the censure were 
 prevalent in Florence. Painfully conscious as he 
 was of the perilous condition of the times, Savo- 
 narola wished to prepare the people for the worst, 
 that they might not be surprised when the inevi- 
 1 Gherardi, pp. 103, lG-4. - Id., p. 165. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AXD LETTERS. 
 
 67 
 
 table blow should be struck. He rightly estimated 
 the power of the movement against him, and de- 
 cided, on ^lay 8, five days before the date of the 
 Brief of excommunication, and six weeks previ- 
 ously to its publication in Florence, to address the 
 following letter to his disciples and friends : ^ — 
 
 Brother Jerome Savonarola, the unworthj/ servant of 
 Jesus Christ, wishes grace, peace, and the consola- 
 tion of the Holy Spirit, to all the elect of God and 
 children of the Eternal Father : 
 
 Dearly Beloved, — Wishing to follow the example 
 of our Saviour, Who often yielded to the mad and uncon- 
 trolled fury of the Scribes and Pharisees, we have 
 ceased to preach, and we shall remain silent as long as 
 it will please God. Knowing, however, that the demon, 
 desiring not our bodies but our souls, continues to 
 excite such persecutions, that, the preaching of the word 
 of God having ceased,^ he will stir up the tepid, ^ who 
 will not fail to witlidraw souls from the way of truth, 
 and fearing that you may have allowed yourselves to 
 be deceived, my solicitude for your salvation urges me 
 to do by letter what 1 cannot do by word of mouth. 
 Perhaps this will be a more useful method, being more 
 general, since many may read this letter who could not 
 hear the word. 
 
 1 beseech you, then, dearly beloved, not to be dis- 
 
 ^ Quetif (pp. 170 seq.) gives the orij^inal Italian text. 
 
 2 By prohibition of the Signory. Decree is given (Latin) by 
 Villari, ii, xxxvi. 
 
 ^ Savonarohi applied this word, in a general way, to the 
 opponents of his reform. 
 
68 
 
 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 turbed by the tribulations and persecutions which I 
 suffer for you. Ratlier rejoice with me, because our 
 Saviour has made us worthy to suffer for His love and 
 for the sake of truth, for you well know that I have 
 always told you of the persecutions we should have to 
 bear, fighting as we do against a twofold power, a two- 
 fold wisdom, and a twofold malice. For these reasons 
 you ought to be confirmed in the truth preached by us, 
 seeing the fulfilment, successively, of the things which 
 we have foretold. Believe me, the promised grace and 
 consolation will yet come. 
 
 Kead carefully the Scriptures and the history of the 
 Church, and you will find that she has ever advanced 
 under persecution. Hence, though small, almost as 
 nothing in the beginning, the Church spread during 
 the great persecutions, and after these she did not 
 increase, but at times diminished in numbers and in 
 merit. Now it seems that God wishes to renew and 
 increase the Church, and therefore we must not wonder 
 that persecutions begin again, through which she will 
 be made perfect in every way. Reflect, moreover, on 
 the goodness and benignity of our Saviour, Who sweetly'- 
 leads us, not allowing great persecutions to come on us 
 suddenly, for in the past He trained us to such, 
 gradually. 
 
 At first, as you know, wicked men, by God's permis- 
 sion derided me; then they calumniated me; and 
 finally, being convicted of falsehood in this, they strove 
 by many crooked ways to have me excommunicated or 
 interdicted without cause. Unable to accomplish this, 
 they laid many plots against me, even attempting to 
 assassinate me. And yet not a drop of blood has been 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 69 
 
 shed, because our Saviour, Who knows my weakness, 
 does not allow me to be tempted above my strength. 
 But as the tribulations increase by degrees, our Lord 
 increases Faith and virtue, strengthening the soul to 
 sustain greater trials. In this way persecutions seem 
 much less to us, because, seeing that by them our con- 
 stancy is not overcome, men wonder, and begin to think 
 that we could not suffer such trials if there were not a 
 better world beyond ; and they are even moved to live 
 well and to follow the way of truth. Thus the light 
 will be spread by means of our tribulations, and the 
 hopes of the enemies of the Cross of Christ will be dis- 
 appointed. They wish to extinguish this light, but 
 they will be the means of spreading it, for as a fire 
 burns the better the more it is stirred up, so these 
 persecutions, instead of diminishing or extinguishing 
 the work begun by God, will rather increase it. 
 
 Great has been the mercy of God in choosing us to be 
 sharers in this light of Faith, in which good Christians 
 are never wanting, and because of which the evil- 
 minded never cease to strive against them, following 
 their father, the demon. These wicked men manifest 
 their life in their speech and works when, as his min- 
 isters, with so much audacity, without fear or shame, 
 they profane the very house of God, making jest and 
 even blasphemy of Christ's words. Instead of follow- 
 ing in the wa}^ of truth, they have done much evil ; the 
 praises of Christ they have turned into derision, mak- 
 ing odious "the word of God, opposing its efficacy, seek- 
 ing vengeance on me, or my death (which God has thus 
 far prevented), so that they may more freely sin and 
 open a broader path to vice and licentiousness. In 
 
70 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 fine, those men do what pagans or infidels would not do, 
 for these hold their temples in the highest esteem, and 
 severely punish insults to their gods.^ 
 
 Keflect also tliat there are others who, while not 
 openly joining with such wicked men, encourage them, 
 urge them on in their evil way. And that you may be 
 certain that I have pointed out to you the way of truth, 
 observe the manner of life of our followers — in virtue, 
 good works; and so we are persecuted only by the 
 synagogue of Satan. For we live in a perverse genera- 
 tion, with those among whom you shine as stars in the 
 darkness of the night. You must, therefore, follow our 
 
 1 In this paragraph Savonarola particularly refers to the 
 dreadful scene on the Feast of the Ascension, when the pulpit 
 of the Duomo was defiled with unmentionable filth. His 
 libertine enemies, worse, as Nardi writes, than Turks or Moors, 
 dead to all sense of public decency, as well as of reverence for 
 the house of God, had also draped the pulpit with the skin 
 of an ass, and into the desk or table which the Friar, under 
 the impulse of his eloquence, was accustomed to strike with 
 his hand, the cruel and cowardly wretches had driven spikes 
 whose points were inverted. Around the pulpit so foully dis- 
 honored, an armed band was gathered, ready to assassinate him 
 even in the Cathedral ! But he did not falter. He came brave- 
 ly, and his loyal friends, men of decency and religion, stood 
 willing to defend him to the death. The vicious Arrabhiati had 
 secured control of the Signon-, and on the pretext of this dis- 
 turbance which their followers had caused, tliey interdicted all 
 preaching. Hence Savonarola's statement in tlie beginning of 
 this letter. Scenes of great disorder naturally followed in the 
 city, all of which were a part of the skilfully laid plot, in which 
 the infamous Compar/nacci were the able co-operators of the 
 more cunning but not less wic'ked Arrabhiati, for the overthrow 
 of the Friar. For the shameful incident in the Cathedral, we 
 refer our readers to Yillari, ii. 181 ; Quetif , p. 150 ; Nardi, 
 p. 63 ; and we ask them to give due weight to these sad facts 
 at this critical juncture of Savonarola's career. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 71 
 
 Saviour, His disciples and martyrs, who did not turn 
 back on account of persecutions, but on the contrary 
 were more confirmed in patience, in joy, by the truth, 
 strengthening others in like manner by their example. 
 
 Be not ashamed of the Cross of Christ ; yea, glorj^ 
 in it. Instead of looking for happiness here, we should 
 be glad because we are persecuted by the agents of the 
 devil. Now is the time of merit, dearly beloved, be- 
 cause the judgment of God always begins with His 
 elect, whom He afflicts and tries in many waj's, as gold 
 is tested in the fire; and afterwards judgment will come 
 upon the reprobate. Consider, therefore, that if God 
 sends so many tribulations to His elect, how many 
 more He will send to the reprobate, because His judg- 
 ment of the elect is tempered with mercy, but His 
 judgment of the reprobate will be without merc3^ And 
 be not surprised that God allows so much evil and 
 impiety to pass unpunished at present, because greater 
 anger could not be shown to the wicked than to allow 
 them to prosper in their sins. 
 
 Moreover, know that God uses these instruments of 
 Satan to exercise the good in the virtue of patience. 
 For as He keeps a great multitude of demons in the 
 air, and not in hell, in order to exercise His elect in 
 the faith, so also He allows the reprobate to live and 
 prosper, for the same reason. His severe judgment 
 Avill come later, and will be eternal. 
 
 But chastened and mortified in this world, as were 
 the Saints and Martyrs, whose sufferings we have not 
 experienced, we shall not complain, as abandoned by 
 God; rather shall our tribulations be our ground of 
 hope for a great reward in Heaven, with God, as His 
 
72 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 children for eternity. Let us rejoice, therefore, in the 
 richness of our expected glory, accounting as nothing 
 the sufferings of this life. 
 
 And wonder not, in an age so blinded, to find your- 
 selves among the tepid. Was it not so in the time. of 
 the Apostles, who lived among scribes and pharisees, 
 pagans and idolaters? Therefore arm 5^ourselves 
 against their malice, by faith, patience, prayer, per- 
 severing and increasing in godly living, for by these 
 wdll our enemies be confounded and overcome. 
 
 Grieve not because the word of God is no longer 
 preached to you, for you are deprived of this through 
 the Divine permission, that you may realize the evil 
 these men would do if they had the power. They have 
 not faith, they are not Christians, for they have inter- 
 dicted our Saviour's command to preach the gospel. 
 While depriving the people of God's word, they have 
 opened to them profane places, the works of the devil. 
 However, pray that God may be pleased to renew the 
 preaching of His word, for if the wicked wish to live as 
 pagans, we must show ourselves as Christians, ready, as 
 were the Apostles when forbidden to speak the Name of 
 Jesus, to declare that God must be obej^ed rather than 
 man, and that every tribulation must be borne for the 
 love of Him Who was crucified for our salvation. 
 
 I beseech you, then, through the bowels of the piety 
 of Jesus Christ, that during this solemnity of the Holy 
 Ghost, you will prepare for the most holy Communion, 
 by a true confession of your sins and a purification of 
 your hearts, so that the Eternal Father, through the 
 merits of the Passion of our Saviour, may send to you 
 the gifts of His Divine Spirit. Thus you will be 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 73 
 
 enabled to suffer, not only patiently but with joy, even 
 greater tribulations, meriting the crown of everlasting 
 life. Be cheerful, humble, chaste, sincere, upright, 
 charitable, constant in prayer, free from all anger or 
 hatred, defending the truth and showing the folly of 
 men who are led by sin to their ruin. 
 
 And during this most sweet solemnity prepare your 
 hearts for the coming of the Holy Ghost, invoking Him 
 with faith, hope, and loving desire, so that by the gift 
 of understanding He will teach you to know the in- 
 visible and eternal things; by the gift of knowledge 
 He will bring you to despise earthly things which pass 
 in a moment; by the gift of counsel He will direct you 
 in the way of truth and justice; by the gift of piety 
 He will make you pious and gentle towards your 
 neighbor, especially towards the miserable and even 
 more so towards sinners (comj^assionating their 
 blindness, and exciting yourselves to pray more fer- 
 vently for your enemies) ; by the gift of fortitude that 
 He will make you strong to bear with joy, for His 
 love and for the truth, all tribulations; and by the 
 gift of fear that He will preserve you in the right way, 
 in all humility and subjection, in true jo}^, neither 
 desiring nor fearing aught in this world, knowing that 
 it shall pass quicklj^ away. 
 
 And may you so continue that you will merit to 
 rejoice with God our Saviour, and with the blessed, 
 possessing that which eye hath not seen nor hath it 
 entered into the heart of man to conceive, the glory that 
 God has promised to those who love Him. The grace 
 of the Father, the peace of the Son and the consolation 
 of the Holy Spirit be with you all forever ! Amen. 
 
74 ir.l.S SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 Up to May 22, no news had come to Florence of 
 the issue of the Brief of excommunication. Igno- 
 rant therefore of the turn affairs had taken, Savo- 
 narola wrote on that day the following touching 
 letter : ^ — 
 
 Most Holy Father, — I prostrate myself at the 
 feet of your Holiness. AVhy is my Lord angry with 
 his servant, or what is the wrong that I have done? If 
 the sons of iniquity have spoken falsely of me, why 
 does not my Lord inquire of his servant, and hear his 
 account hefore helieving them? It is a difficult thing 
 to persuade a mind already prejudiced. 
 
 ^'Many dogs have encompassed me; the assembly of 
 the wicked has enclosed me, and they say : * Behold, his 
 God cannot help him or save him.' " Your Holiness 
 holds the place of God on earth, and they accuse me of 
 treason towards you, saj^ing that I do not cease to 
 reproach you and to assail you ; and in many ways they 
 distort and sacrilegiously pervert the meaning of my 
 words. 
 
 The same thing was done two years ago, hut thou- 
 sands who heard me can bear witness to my innocence as 
 well as to my own words, faithfully reported at the time, 
 and printed and scattered abroad. Let these be brought 
 forward, read, and examined, that it may be seen if in 
 them there is anything offensive to your Holiness, as has 
 been so often falsely asserted. Is it likely that I would 
 
 1 Quetif (p. 125) gives the Latin text. Owing to a confusion 
 of dates and a groundless presumption tliat the Brief of May 
 13 had readied Florence a few days after its issue, this letter 
 of Savonarola has been erroneously regarded as an answer to 
 the Pope. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 75 
 
 say one tiling and write another, and so lay myself 
 open to the charge of flagrant contradiction? What 
 could be the motive or benefit of such a line of conduct? 
 It would be folly. I only wonder that your Holiness 
 does not see tlieir wickedness and madness. As for the 
 great and renowned preacher,^ he must have little shame 
 or honesty to accuse an innocent man of the very crime 
 of which he is guilty. His public speeches cannot be 
 denied. Numerous witnesses have heard him furi- 
 ously attacking your Holiness, and lest I might be 
 accused of falsehood, I could, if necessary, produce 
 legal proof. But I have not forgotten that his insolence 
 has already -been silenced and condemned, since it is 
 not lawful to calumniate any one, no matter how lowly 
 he may be, and much less one who is the E,uler and 
 Pastor of all. Who is so senseless as to be ignorant of 
 this? 
 
 Thanks to God, I am not so abandoned, so utterly 
 forgetful of my duty. To the teaching of the Eoman 
 Church I have ever been faithful ; to her correction I 
 have ever submitted myself, and shall again submit 
 myself whenever I may be summoned. And this is 
 what I have always taught, and shall continue to teach 
 with all my strength, at the same time doing my best 
 to rouse men to sorrow for sin and to an amendment of 
 life by awakening their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 a faith almost extinct in many hearts. The work 
 which I hope soon to issue, on " The Triumph of the 
 Cross " will be a witness to my faith. From it will be 
 seen whether I teach heresy, or in any way am opposed 
 to the Catholic Church, which God forbid! 
 
 1 Mariano of Gennezzano, already mentioned, page 63. 
 
76 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 Will your Holiness, therefore, turn a deaf ear to 
 those envious and lying tongues, and believe only what 
 has been examined and proved, since many of their 
 falsehoods have already been detected and exposed? 
 But if all human help fail me, and the wickedness of 
 these impious men gain the day, I shall still hope in 
 God, and by His help shall manifest their evil to the 
 world, so that at the last moment they may, perhaps, 
 repent of their bad purposes. I most humbly commend 
 myself to your Holiness. 
 
 Your Holiness's humble son and servant. 
 
 When this letter arrived in Rome, though the 
 Brief of excommunication had been despatched, 
 the Pope was in a relenting mood, even favorably 
 disposed towards the Friar, whose cause the Car- 
 dinals of Naples and Perugia and the Bishop of 
 Capaccio had pleaded earnestly and with seeming 
 success. Savonarola's appeal to the Pope pro- 
 duced an excellent impression. ^ To the Cardinal 
 of Naples, Protector of the Dominican Order, 
 Alexander said that he regretted having sent the 
 Brief by an avowed enemy of the Friar ; and he 
 would probably have withdrawn it, had he not 
 supposed that it was already published. ■ 
 
 1 Gherardi, pp. 167, 168. On May 23 and 24 respectively 
 Sa^vonarola also wrote to the Chancellor of the Duke of 
 Ferrara, and to Madame Angiola Sforza d' Estc, in a spirit of 
 tender and reverent piety betokening the man of God over 
 wliom hung the shadow of the cross. Gherardi (pp 279-281, 
 285, 286) gives the Italian text. Father Bayonne (p. 106) states 
 that Savonarola also wrote at this time to the Cardinal of 
 Perugia ; but Father Ferret ti informs me that he has no knowl- 
 edge of such a communication. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AXD LETTERS. 
 
 77 
 
 Having presented the important facts bearing 
 on the subject, we now give the text of the Brief, 
 on the correct understanding of which the proper 
 solution of the Priors case depends : ^ — 
 
 Alexander the Sixth, Pope. 
 Beloved Soxs. — Health and Apostolic blessing! 
 From many men, both lay and ecclesiastic, all learned 
 and worthy of credence, and at various times, we have 
 heard that a certain Friar Jerome Savonarola, from 
 Ferrara, of the Order of Preachers, and at present, as 
 it is said. Vicar of St. Mark's, Florence, has sown cer- 
 tain pernicious doctrine in that city, to the scandal, 
 loss, and destruction of unsuspecting souls recleemed 
 by the Blood of Jesus Christ ; and this, assuredly, 
 has occasioned us displeasure of soul. But, hoping 
 that when his error was made known to him, he would 
 soon withdraw from the dangerous path, and return, 
 in true simplicity of heart and with becoming humility 
 and obedience, to Christ and His Hol}^ Church, we 
 commanded the said Friar Jerome, by a Brief, and in 
 virtue of holy obedience, to come to us and justify 
 himself regarding certain errors alleged against him. 
 We also commanded him entirely to suspend his 
 preaching, but he would not obey. However, moved 
 by kind consideration for him, and treating him more 
 gently than, perhaps, the affair demanded, we accepted 
 some excuses which he offered; ^ we also bore with his 
 disobedience in continuing to preach, contrary to our 
 
 1 The Brief was addressed to the Benedictines, Franciscans, 
 and Servites of Florence. Villari (II, xxxix) gives the Latin 
 text, as does Perrens, pp. 3G2-3G4. 
 
 2 These words prove that the Friar was not disobedient. 
 
78 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED f 
 
 aforesaid prohibition, hoping that our clemency would 
 turn him to the right path of obedience.-^ 
 
 But it happened otherwise, for he persisted in his 
 obstinacy. Wherefore, by another Brief (dated Novem- 
 ber 7, 1496, the fifth year of our pontificate), we or- 
 dered him, in virtue of holy obedience and under penalty 
 of excommunication latce sententice, to be incurred 
 ipso facto, to obey in uniting the Convent of St. IVIark, 
 Florence, to a certain new Congregation called the 
 Tusco-Roman Province, by us lately formed and insti- 
 tuted.^ This he in no way performed; nor was he 
 willing, in any manner, to obe}^ our letter, disregard- 
 ing the ecclesiastical censure which he thus incurred 
 by this very fact, and under which, with damnable 
 pertinacity, he still lies. Wishing, therefore, to apply 
 such opportune remedies as the welfare of souls re- 
 quires, to which we are bound by our pastoral office, 
 that their blood may not be demanded of us at the 
 day of judgment, we command you, in virtue of holy 
 obedience and under penalty of excommunication lat(B 
 sententicB, that in your churches, on feast days, when 
 there will be a congregation of the people, you will 
 
 1 Consult text and foot-note, p. 16, for proof of the Friar's 
 good faith and obedience. 
 
 2 The reader is here referred to the Brief of November 7, 
 1496, in which the pontifical mandate forbade any one to impede 
 or hinder liis letter regarding tlie Congregation newly formed, of 
 which by His Holiness's authority and precept St, Mark's was then 
 constituted a portion. Savonarola, therefore, had received no 
 command to do what the papal power had already accomplished. 
 The contradictions evident in different Briefs concerning 
 Savonarola point to tlie work of the Friar's enemies unscrupu- 
 lously deceiving the Pope, and varying their mode of attack, as 
 behooved slanderers who, like the wretched men called against 
 our Blessed Lord, could not agree in their lies. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 79 
 
 pronounce and declare the said Friar Jerome excom- 
 municate, and that all shall hold and consider hira as 
 excommunicate because he would not obey our Apos- 
 tolic admonitions and precepts. 
 
 Under like penalty of excommunication you will 
 warn all, of both sexes, clerics or lait}^, priests or 
 religious, of whatever order or grade or ecclesiastical 
 dignity, that they must entirely avoid the said Friar 
 Jerome as one excommunicate and suspected of heresj^; 
 nor may they hold speech or converse with him; nor 
 may they listen to his preaching which we have inter- 
 dicted, or in any other manner hear him; nor may they 
 assist him or show him any kind of favor, or go to places 
 where he may be or to the convent in which he lives. 
 
 We command you also, and each one individually, to 
 obey and assist our beloved son and intimate commis- 
 sary, John Victor de Camerino, Professor of Theology, 
 in what we have commissioned and ordered him to do 
 against the said Friar Jerome, in so far as he may 
 call upon you. 
 
 Given, etc., May 13, 1497. 
 
 The commissary, an avowed enemy ^ of the Friar, 
 undertook to carry the important document to 
 Florence. Mindful, however, of his experience in 
 that city, and not aware that the Arrahhiati had 
 secured a majority in the Signory, he prudently 
 stopped at Siena, whence on June 16 he wrote to 
 Florence, asking the Republic's safe-conduct, to 
 enable him to fulfil the Sovereisrn Pontiff's com- 
 mission. Before the receipt of an answer, he de- 
 
 1 Nardi, p. 64. 
 
80 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 cided on a different line of action. He wrote to 
 the Florentine clergy, ordering them to publish the 
 Brief without delay.^ 
 
 Through respect for the canonical conditions 
 which they considered unfulfilled, some of the 
 clergy declined to obey him.^ Others, however, 
 were more compliant, and the terrible tidings were 
 known in Florence, on June 18, that the Friar had 
 been declared excommunicate.^ On the following 
 day, Savonarola issued an address to the faithful, 
 and at once withdrew from all public ecclesiastical 
 functions through respect for the Brief and for 
 fear of scandal. We give the full text of this 
 letter to the people : ^ — 
 
 ^'To all Christians and the Elect of God, Brother 
 Jerome Savonarola addresses himself in charity, desir- 
 
 1 Gherardi, pp. 168, 169. 
 
 2 The Brief was signed by the unfortunate Archbishop of 
 Cosenza, as secretary. Four months later, on the denunciation 
 of the Spanish sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella, he was con- 
 fined to the Castle of St. Angelo, as a forger of papal Briefs. 
 (Cappelli, p. 96.) How far he may have sinned in the case of 
 Savonarola, it is not necessarj'^ to consider. After ten months 
 of confinement, death released him. 
 
 3 Nardi (p. 64) tells us that as soon as the tidings of the 
 excommunication had spread, all kinds of villainous and 
 libellous publications began to appear against the humiliated 
 Prior ; and the persecution went so far that the Franciscans, 
 Augustinians, and other friars protested to the Signory that if 
 ani) of the Dominicans of St. Mark's, or of St. Dominic's, Fiesole, 
 took part in the procession on St. John's day, they would decline 
 to walk. Savonarola's sons showed their Christian forbearance 
 and dread of scandal by remaining in their convents on the great 
 feast of Florence's Patron ! 
 
 * Quetif (p. 185 seq.) gives the original Italian. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 81 
 
 ing their salvation, their joy in tribulation, and as a 
 servant of Jesus Christ, sent by Him to Florence to 
 announce the great scourge that is to come upon Italy 
 and particularly on Eome, and that will fall, more- 
 over on the whole world, in order that His elect may 
 be prepared for such great tribulations, and on this 
 account may realize the great anger of God, "Who is 
 pleased in this wa}^ to root out deplorable abuses, and 
 to purify His Church and the world. 
 
 May His goodness be always blessed, and may it be 
 granted to the minister of this truth, for which I will- 
 ingly suffer many persecutions, and struggle night and 
 day, if it be God's will that the knowledge of this proph- 
 ecy may be spread among all Christian people and in 
 every part of the world, so that no one may have any 
 excuse for his errors; so that the minds of those who 
 deign to read of this renovation in the Church, as well 
 as among infidels, may be disposed to receive the grace 
 of the Holy Spirit which is the form of this renewal. 
 
 Bad men, reserved in this world for the persecution 
 of the just, thinking to extinguish this truth and to 
 destroy the prophecies, only fulfil them. So the 
 brothers of Josepli believed that by selling him to 
 the Madianites he could not become their lord, and 
 yet this very selling fulfilled the prophecy. Herod, 
 believing that he was destroying the prophecy of Christ 
 by slaughtering the infants, fulfilled the prophecies 
 of Jeremiah and Osee. The Jews, by persecuting and 
 afterwards crucifying our Lord, fulfilled all the prophe- 
 cies written of Him. The persecutions of the Apostles 
 and the Martyrs have fulfilled the prophecies of both 
 the Old Testament and the New. 
 
 6 
 
82 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED ? 
 
 Thus at the present time the prophecies announced 
 by me are being accomplislied, among which you can 
 see expressly fulfilled that of the excommunication, 
 about which, many years before, when no one thought 
 of it, I preached to you many times, saying that we 
 had to combat against a double power and wisdom and 
 wickedness. From this and from many others which 
 with your own eyes you already see fulfilled, you are 
 able to believe that all those not yet fulfilled will be 
 realized, and that God will free us from every danger, 
 and will, in the end, give us a glorious victory. 
 
 Eemember that I have told you how a great benefit 
 would be rewarded by great ingratitude, and that for 
 such great labors I expected nothing from Florence 
 but tribulation; and that to Rome ^ and the other 
 adversaries of the truth, nothing was wanting to fill 
 the sack ^ but the persecution of the servants of Christ. 
 But because the tepid do not cease to go about, deceiv- 
 ing simple women, by whatever means will serve their 
 own ends, continuing to speak evil and to persecute 
 the good and truth itself, I desire that you be not 
 thereby deceived, and that you abandon not the way of 
 truth. 
 
 Remember our Lord Jesus Christ, the Proj^hets, the 
 Apostles, and the Saints. Bear in mind what I told 
 j^ou of St. John Chrysostom, St. Jerome, St. Hilarj^, 
 and many others who have suffered greater persecu- 
 tions than have fallen to our lot. Do not believe, then, 
 dearly beloved, that such excommunications have any 
 
 1 By " Rome" Savonarola means his enemies at the Roman 
 Court, and tlie prehites Avhose lives were scandalous. 
 Their cup of iniquity. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AXD LETTERS. 
 
 83 
 
 weight,- either with God or in the Church. They have 
 been fulminated on the false suggestions of men who 
 desire to do evil, to act against God and the truth. 
 Nevertheless, being unable to allege a just cause for 
 excommunicating me, they have laid before the Pope 
 falsehood for truth, ^ saying that I am disseminating 
 pernicious doctrine and heresy, whereas the world is 
 witness that I have preached the true doctrine of Jesus 
 Christ, in the Church wliere Christians assemble, and 
 if this doctrine preached by me and by the Holy Spirit 
 be, as our enemies have suggested, perverse, let them 
 hold what they please. But for this teaching, I am 
 willing to die. 
 
 And because they accuse me of disobedience, know 
 ye that I have never been disobedient to the Holy 
 Roman Church, nor to the Pope, nor to any of my 
 superiors, up to this present hour; and this I say, not 
 in self-praise, but for the sake of truth. And for truth 
 also I have resolved to speak in this letter; and I am 
 satisfied, if I have not said the truth, that it may be 
 against me on the day of judgment before the tribunal 
 of Jesus Christ. It seems to some that when a man 
 does not obey in those things which are expressly 
 against God, he is disobedient, because they find it hard 
 to believe tliat we are not bound to obey our superiors 
 in everj'thing, but only in so far as they represent God; 
 for when superiors command anything against God, 
 they do not, in that, represent Him. And this case 
 having arisen, I have not felt obliged to ohey, knowing- 
 
 1 In the second sermon on Exodus, Savonarola frequently 
 refers to the deception of the Pope by enemies who dishonored 
 the Holy See. On these wicked men the Friar threw the weight 
 of blame, and in this lie was consistent throughout. 
 
84 WAS SAVOXAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 that neither God nor the Church would ^yish me to 
 obey against their commands.-^ I have frequently dis- 
 cussed this matter in my sermons, knowing that it 
 would happen, so that you might be ready with an 
 answer. 
 
 Eead the first sermon for Lent, 1495, and those for 
 IMonday and Wednesday after the fourth Sunday, and 
 you will find the solution of this question. Our adver- 
 saries have objected that I have been unwilling to 
 consent to the union of St. Mark's with the rest of 
 Tuscany, and I have often answered that those who 
 persuaded the Pope to this union did not act from zeal 
 for religion, but only to persecute me, and by this 
 means to find an opportunity of proceeding against 
 me, believing that I would not consent to such an 
 improper move. Their own consciences told them that, 
 this union being pernicious, I could not approve it. 
 
 I gave them twelve reasons which satisfy and con- 
 vince my mind, which they have never been able to 
 answer, demonstrating that this union is contrary to 
 the honor of God and to the salvation of souls. I told 
 them that they asked of me what was not in my power, 
 because the consent of all our brethren was required,'^ 
 
 1 It is necessary to explain these words of the Friar. He is 
 referring to the union of St Mark's with the new Congrega- 
 tion, in which, strictly speaking, there was no question of 
 ohedience. He refuses to surrender his own just views sanc- 
 tioned b}^ canon law and theology. And this stand he too 
 freely designates as one of refusal to obey. His words must 
 not be taken literally. See his letter to the Pope, September 
 29, 1495. The fact of his actual obedience we have already 
 recorded. Compare also our foot-note to the Brief of May 
 13, 1497, page 78. 
 
 2 Not for the union, as a thing quite within the power of the 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AXD LETTERS. 
 
 85 
 
 and all ' of them refused, regarding the affair as per- 
 nicious. Besides, it seemed proper to call the fathers 
 of our 3'oung men who had come to live a regular life 
 under our protection, so that they, as well as the city, 
 having learned the conditions of the union, could never 
 complain that we had deceived their children, who 
 certainly would have been deceived by me had I 
 approved of this union, for they might have been scat- 
 tered among those tepid friars whom we have proved 
 to be unworthy. And rather than have this happen, 
 I would prefer that they had never left their fathers' 
 houses. I also answered that, being a stranger here, 
 if the community wished to consent I could not hinder 
 them, nor unwilling could I force them. So the mat- 
 ter was in their hands, and, as they wrote to the Pope, 
 rather than consent they would suffer excommunica- 
 tion, imprisonment, martyrdom. 
 
 Since, therefore, such is the case, why is disobe- 
 dience imputed to me? Is it not because our adver- 
 saries seek one man whom they hate because of the 
 truth ? So you see, beloved, how great is their audac- 
 ity, for they do not scruple to state manifest falsehoods 
 to the Pope. Therefore such an excommunication is 
 of no avail, nor is it according to the intention of Holy 
 Church. And if they say that the sentence of the 
 Pastor, whether just or unjust, must be feared, you 
 have the answer to this in the sermon for the above- 
 mentioned ^yednesday. 
 
 Pope, and an accomplished fact, not at all depending on such 
 consent for validity or legality, but for passing from a life of 
 strict regularity to one of laxity, which they assumed would 
 be the result of the change. 
 
86 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUSICATED? 
 
 But I beseech you to pray to God to give us more 
 than reasons,^ since these men are so malicious that 
 with shameful contradiction of the truth and of reason 
 itself, they intend to live riotously. But if our reasons 
 are rejected, and if these men wish to proceed further, 
 I shall take care to make the truth heard b}^ the whole 
 world, in such a way that no one will be able to deny 
 it; because God, in His own good time, for the con- 
 fusion of Christians who do not wish to use their 
 reason, will ordain that irrational creatures will do 
 reverence to the truth, to which rational creatures are 
 averse. Pray that it may be so soon. May the grace 
 of Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. 
 
 A few days after the assassination of the Duke 
 of Gandia (June 14), and probably on the 19th,2 
 the Pope called a consistory, to which he also sum- 
 moned the ambassadors of the States forming the 
 Italian League. His sorrow for the murder of the 
 young Duk^ was great. Under its influence he 
 announced a complete reform of the Church in its 
 head and members, and having, as we have already 
 stated, been favorably impressed by Savonarola's 
 letter of May 22, he directed a secretary to read 
 it to the assembled cardinals and envoys, to wdiom 
 he warmly commended it. The stunning blow of 
 his son's death had so bruised his heart that he 
 felt favorably disposed towards the Friar, whose 
 cause he then confided to the commission, com- 
 
 1 He means by this that fjrace- may move their licarts, for 
 their minds have been sufficiently enlightened, 
 
 2 Bayonne, p. 109. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 87 
 
 posed of six cardinals, wliicli lie had appointed for 
 the work of reform. He also expressed annoy- 
 ance at the promulgation of the excommunication 
 under existing conditions. The Florentine envoy, 
 Bracci, wrote two days previously that the Pope 
 seemed even willing to revoke the Brief, but that 
 private letters sent from Florence and against the 
 Friar, had been received and had influenced Alex- 
 ander. Nevertheless Bracci added that, to the Car- 
 dinal of Perugia, Alexander had said that the 
 publication of the Brief, at that time, was entirely 
 against his intention.^ Other letters of Bracci and 
 of Becchi, written at this time, prove that the vin- 
 dictiveness of Mariano and of certain cardinals, 
 as well as the persistent calumny of the Arrabbiati, 
 kept the Pope in a state of constant irritation. 
 The League and the restoration of Pisa to Flor- 
 ence, are frequently mentioned as the great diffi- 
 culties. Alexander felt that in these things Sa- 
 vonarola had thwarted his polic}^^ 
 
 These political embarrassments, coupled with the 
 hostility of the Friar's opponents, soon modified 
 the Pope's feelings. The plotters denounced to 
 Alexander, as an act of rebellion, Savonarola's 
 letter of June 19, and the "Apology" for his atti- 
 tude on the question of the new province, which 
 he had published about this time. The exact date 
 is not determined, but we know from the text of 
 
 1 Bayonne, p. 113 ; Gherardi, li., pp. 171, 172. 
 
 2 Ibid. 
 
88 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATEDf 
 
 his preface and from Nardi ^ that it was subsequent 
 to the promulgation of the Binef of Excommunication?' 
 Indeed, the categorical answers with which, in the 
 " Apology " itself, the counts in the Brief of ]\Iay 
 13 are met, clearly prove that the papal letter 
 had appeared first. This fact is important. Had 
 Savonarola published the "Apology" immediately 
 after the reception of the Pope's letter of Novem- 
 ber 7, 1496, proclaiming the erection of the new 
 province, or before the receipt of the Brief of May 
 13, 1497, it might have subjected him to the cen- 
 sure announced by the Sovereign Pontiff. Issued 
 after the reception in Florence of the papal letter de- 
 claring him excommunicate^ Savonarola's " Apol- 
 ogy" cannot be considered as the occasion of a 
 censure already promulgated. By assigning this 
 " Apology " to the preceding year, certain writers 
 have made out, to their seeming satisfaction, a 
 clear case against the Friar. Had Alexander, after 
 the publication of the " Apology " of Savonarola, 
 issued a Brief declaring that because of this " Apol- 
 ogy," he had fallen under the censure, there would 
 probably be no room for controvers}^ But as dates 
 and facts are ; as the Pope issued no Brief of ex- 
 communication against Savonarola save that of 
 May 13, 1497, and as this Brief was issued before 
 the appearance of the Friar's " Apology," it is evi- 
 
 1 Page 69. 
 
 2 For further particulars, see Luotto, p. 513; and Quarto 
 Centenario, p. 227. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 89 
 
 dent that, so far as the " Apology " is concerned, 
 the aspect of the Friar's case remains unchanged. 
 We give his introduction or preface without ab- 
 breviation ; the substance of the " Apology " will 
 duly follow : ^ — 
 
 ' For if my enemy had reviled me, I would verily 
 have borne with it.' ^ But now when the word is in 
 contempt of religion and to the injury of souls, because 
 of the vilification of our ministry, it would be wrong 
 for us to remain silent. I am obliged to refute openly 
 the calumnies of our adversaries, whose malignity has 
 gone so far that not only have they endeavored to turn 
 the Sovereign Pontiff against us, but in the streets and 
 lanes they gossip about us and pervert the minds of 
 simple folk. 
 
 ^'I hope, for the dignity and justice of the Apostolic 
 See, that the Pope, on learning the truth, will take our 
 side; now nothing remains but to declare our innocence, 
 which is known to God and to this entire city ; for 
 necessity compels us to oppose our loud and insulting 
 opponents. 
 
 Excessive tolerance, I fear, would breed great scan- 
 dal, and I should be accused on the day of judgment 
 of neglecting truth and of endangering the public wel- 
 fare. Invoking, therefore, as witnesses, God and the 
 blessed in Heaven, I shall not cease to proclaim the 
 truth, nor for this can any one be displeased with me, 
 unless he wishes openly to profess himself its enemy. 
 
 1 Quetif (pp. 74-90) gives the full Latin text. The Introduc- 
 tion contains three pages ; tlie Apology, twenty-two. We sum- 
 marize it without substantial change. 
 
 2 Psalm liv., 12. 
 
90 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED^ 
 
 Three points are alleged against us by our detrac- 
 tors: first, that I taught perverse dogma; secondly, 
 that having been summoned to Eome, to justify myself 
 (ad me 2^urgandum), I refused to go; thirdly, that I 
 would not obey the command of the Sovereign Pontiff 
 in the matter of the union of our Congregation with 
 the newly formed Tuscan Congregation.^ 
 
 ^^Two of these points refer to me alone, but they 
 have so often been made clear, as all know, that it is 
 not well to dwell on them at length. The third, as will 
 be seen, does not concern me alone. As to the first, — 
 teaching perverse dogma, — the publications of my dis- 
 courses reported by a rapid and faithful writer, will 
 bear witness that it is false. And in all that I have 
 thus far published, which I have alwaj's submitted to 
 the correction of the Holy Roman Church, no error has 
 been found ; and this will also be evident in my ' Tri- 
 umph of the Cros^,' which the booksellers will soon 
 bring out. God forbid that our Order, which has ever 
 been known as the vigorous opponent of error and 
 heresj'-, should be stained b}'- false teaching.^ 
 
 Touching the summons to Kome, the Pope's letter 
 will prove that I was not called* ^ ad me purgandum? 
 The Sovereign Pontiff graciously invited me to an 
 agreeable conference; and nothing could or would have 
 been more acceptable to me had I been able to go. But 
 the conspiracies of those to whom the truth is hateful, 
 
 1 These are the particular charges specified in the Brief of 
 excommunication. In no previous document are they found in 
 tliis precise form, and thus it is clear that Savonarola's letter is 
 an answer to these points. 
 
 2 The Church has vindicated the Friar on this point, and be- 
 yond cavil, after a thorough examination of his writings. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 91 
 
 powerful enemies, endangered my life. Scarcely among 
 the people of the city can I move freely, or even to the 
 churches, because of the plots and snares against me. 
 The merest tyro in theology knows that one is not 
 obliged to go where his life will be in jeopardy. 
 
 ''The difficulty centres about the third charge, which, 
 as I said, does not concern me alone, because it is not a 
 matter left to my judgment, but to that of two hundred 
 and fifty friars, of whom many belong to the nobilit}^ 
 and are men venerable for their piety, prudence, and 
 learning, among whom I am a stranger, and not their 
 master, but their servant in humble charity. 
 
 ''They have appealed to the Sovereign Pontiff, unani- 
 mously declaring by letter that they will suffer the 
 extreme penalty rather than consent to the union, which 
 is repugnant to their profession.^ 
 
 "From this honest and holy design I know not how 
 to dissuade them, nor could I. The reasons which they 
 give are here presented, though I know that this will 
 be displeasing to some religious. But they have only 
 themselves to blame. They have forced this difficulty 
 on us, who have been reluctant to meet it. Hitherto we 
 have kept silent, concealing, so far as we could, the state 
 of affairs. But now, as they have persisted, it would be 
 to the prejudice of truth if we held our peace. 
 
 "They have disturbed our quiet, and in this they 
 have not spared God and Religion. We, therefore, 
 who struggle for the honor of Divine worship and for 
 justice, owe them no further consideration. Hear then 
 the reasons of our brethren. . . . 
 
 It is immaterial to our purpose to j)resent the 
 long and detailed statement of the community of 
 
 1 The text of their letter has not been preserved. 
 
92 ir.l-S SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 St. Mark's. We give rather its substance, em- 
 bodying as an introduction a summary of the argu- 
 ments against St. Mark's position ; — 
 
 (ft) The relaxed and irregular friars wish, for 
 their own reform, to be united to St. 
 Mark's. 
 
 (&) This reform is in itself a good to be desired. 
 
 (c) It cannot injure St. Mark's. 
 
 (d) All Tuscany ought to be united in one prov- 
 
 ince. 
 
 (e) We ought to obey our superiors. 
 
 Against these points the arguments of the 
 " Apology " are that if a little leaven ferments the 
 whole mass,^ the lax Tuscans, who, according to 
 their own admission, are a considerable leaven, 
 would simply corrupt St. Mark's, thus effecting, 
 not a reformation, but a deformation, certainly a 
 thing neither good nor reasonable.^ Then follows 
 
 1 1 Corinthians v. 6 ; Galatians v. 9. Savonarola is also sus- 
 tained in his argument by the words of our Blessed Lord : " No- 
 body putteth a piece of new cloth into an old garment, for it 
 taketh away the fulness thereof from the garment, and there is 
 made a greater rent. Neither do they put new wine into old 
 bottles. Otherwise the bottles break, and the wine runneth out 
 and the bottles perish. But new wine they put into new 
 bottles, and both are preserved." (St. Matthew ix. 16, 17.) 
 
 ^ We supplement this moderate statement regarding the 
 scandalous friars by a few facts, on which probably Savonarola 
 did not consider it necessary to dwell. Many of these friars so 
 stubbornly resisted what they thought might be a reformation 
 that some of them were threatened with censure, with punish- 
 ment by the secular arm, and several priors of these lax com- 
 munities were summoned to Rome by the Cardinal Protector of 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 93 
 
 a scholastic disquisition as to the meaning of re- 
 form, and detailed arguments are vigorously set 
 forth to show that the new union would not be 
 good. The other points, except the last, the " Apol- 
 ogy" summarily dismisses. 
 
 On 'that of obedience the brethren of St. Mark's 
 dwell at some length. We give the substance of 
 the argument. We are not, they write, obliged to 
 obey our superiors in all things, but only when 
 they command according to the Gospel, or the Rule 
 and Constitutions to which we have vowed obedi- 
 ence. When they command what is contrary to 
 these, there is no obligation of obedience. The 
 " Apology " declares that Savonarola and his 
 brethren are certain that the fusion commanded, 
 of St. Mark's with relaxed convents, is contrary 
 to truth and charity and against a real union of 
 heart and soul. They know well that the evils 
 already' mentioned would follow, and that other 
 scandals and greater losses would also result from 
 the movement. 
 
 The brethren believe, therefore, that it is neither 
 the intention nor the will of their Superior, the 
 Pope, to bind them by obligations which it would 
 be wrong to observe. We ought, they add, to fol- 
 low the mind of the law-giver rather than his 
 words, and as no good can come from the new 
 province, but only harm, the evil design of those 
 
 the Order, and deposed from office because of their resistance 
 to the movement. See Bayonne, pp. 95, 98. 
 
94 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 Avho, under a pretence of good, have urged this 
 union, is apparent.^ 
 
 Towards the end of June, in an audience granted 
 to the Florentine ambassador by the Pope, the 
 latter angrily protested that he would employ all 
 the canonical means in his power against Savona- 
 rola, as a contumacious subject. Then, speaking 
 more gently, Alexander bade the envoy write to 
 the Signory to ask that the Friar be sent to Rome, 
 to clear himself, adding that a safe conduct would 
 be furnished. "I wish," he concluded, "to hear 
 him ; if he is innocent I shall give him my bless- 
 ing; if he is guilty I shall exercise justice and 
 mercy." ^ 
 
 The Signory would not accede to the request. 
 The Florentine politicians declined to accept as 
 sufficient the papal guaranty for Savonarola's pro- 
 tection, for they had good reason to fear that paid 
 Mediceans or Arralhiati assassins would beset him 
 on the road. At this time the Friar's letter of 
 sympathy for the death of the Duke of Gandia was 
 on its way to the Pope, a frank and friendly utter- 
 
 1 In his sermon for Septuagesima, 1498, Savonarola fully 
 discusses all the points in the "Apology." 
 
 2 Gherardi, p. 172. We call the reader's special attention 
 to the Pontiff's clearly expressed doubt, " If he is innocent.'* 
 Alexander's mind was not satisfied. He was not convinced of 
 the Friar's guilt ; and therefore he was not certain that the cen- 
 sure had been incurred. No other conclusion may be drawn 
 from the Pope's words. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 95 
 
 ance, showing the character of the man. For this 
 reason we present the full text : ^ — 
 
 Most Holy Father, — I kiss your blessed feet. 
 Divine Faith, resting as it does on unnumbered mir- 
 acles and ever strengthened by the holy works, preach- 
 ing, arguments, doctrine, and blood of numberless 
 glorious martyrs, is the only true peace and consolation 
 of the human heart. For while Faith transcends sense 
 and reason, and rests on the Divine power and goodness, 
 lifting our souls to the things that are invisible, trans- 
 porting us above this world, it gives us such nobility of 
 spirit and courage that we not only bear all trials 
 patiently, but even glory in our tribulations ; for it is 
 written that the just man shall not be sad, no matter 
 what may happen to him. The just man is one who 
 lives in Faith, as the Lord has declared. Blessed, 
 therefore, is he who is called by the Lord to this grace 
 of Faith, without which no one can have peace, accord- 
 ing to the words of Isaiah : There is no peace for the 
 wicked, saith the Lord my God." 
 
 May your Holiness, Most Blessed Father, realize 
 how quickly soirow may be turned into joy ! Sweet, 
 indeed is the Lord, Whose goodness is infinitely above 
 our sins. Every other consolation is transitory and 
 deceitful, because time is short, and we are passing to 
 eternit3\ Faith alone brings joy from the heavenly 
 land. I speak from experience, from what I have 
 heard and seen and felt, for which I willingly suffer 
 persecution that I may gain Christ, and escape eternal 
 
 1 Perrens (pp. 364, 305) gives the Latin. 
 
96 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED 
 
 punishment, knowing that it is a terrible thing to fall 
 into the hands of the living God. 
 
 May your Holiness, therefore, help the work of 
 Faith, for which I labor constantly, even unto bonds. I 
 pray your Holiness not to give ear to the wicked ; and 
 may God grant to 3''ou the oil of joy instead of the 
 spirit of mourning. I have spoken in this the truth; 
 for who has ever resisted God and found peace ? 
 
 These things, Most Holy Father, I humbly write to 
 you under the inspiration of charity, desiring that 
 your Holiness may be truly consoled in the Lord, and 
 not deceitfully. For soon His anger will flame out, 
 and blessed shall they be who trust in Him. May the 
 God of all consolation. Who raised from the dead the 
 great Pastor of His sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 deliver you from all tribulation, in the Blood of His 
 Eternal Testament. Farewell ! 
 
 Florence, June 25, 1497. 
 
 The Pope seemed to receive this letter with 
 good-will, though the Friar's enemies pretended to 
 regard it as insolent. The conspirators distorted 
 every utterance of Savonarola, and not only did 
 they put an evil construction on all his actions, 
 however meritorious, but, usurping the judgment 
 of God, they unscrupulously condemned his mo- 
 tives and imputed evil to him in his holiest works. 
 
 In July two petitions were drawn up, one by the 
 brethren of St. Mark's, the other by Florentine 
 citizens, both bearing generous testimony to the 
 Prior's virtues and great services to religion. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 
 
 97 
 
 and praying relief from the ban against liim.^ The 
 Signory elected for July and August, and com- 
 posed of the Friar's friends, also redoubled their 
 efforts for the same purpose.^ About this time a 
 proposition was made to Savonarola that if five 
 thousand scudi were paid to a certain creditor of 
 the Cardinal of Siena, he would procure the revo- 
 cation of the Brief.^ With righteous indignation 
 the Friar spurned the offer. 
 
 1 Villari (ii. xlii-xliv) gives the full Italian text. Also in his 
 *' Scelta/' pp. 512-519, this latter including the names of the 
 citizen signatories. 
 
 2 Quetif (pp. 127 seq.) gives the full text (Latin) of an ad- 
 mirable letter, reverential in language, dignified in tone, religious 
 in spirit, which the Signory despatched to the Pope, eulogizing 
 the Friar, whose shining virtues had made him the target of 
 envy, and pleading, for liis sake, for the welfare of souls, for 
 the honor of the Florentine people ever loyal to the Holy See, 
 that the ban should be raised, — a favor they would welcome 
 as the highest proof of pontifical good-will, greater than any 
 other His Holiness could grant. The original of this letter, 
 witli others, we give in an appendix. 
 
 3 Burlamacchi, p. 553 ; Villari, ii. 198. The statement of 
 these writers we find confirmed by the prudent and fair-minded 
 Father Marchesc, who discovered a letter from Savonarola to the 
 Chancellor of the Duke of Ferrara, in which he said, " I would 
 consider myself far more heavily censured if I accepted the rev- 
 ocation of the ban under such terms." He added that the 
 Sovereign Pontiff was personally well disposed towards him, 
 but that powerful and malevolent individuals were endeavoring 
 to sway the Pope. Henceforth, therefore, he must abandon 
 himself to God, in Whose hands are all things, with the firm con- 
 viction that He will bring what is best, and that no adversity 
 can prevail against one who has done no iniquity. (Marchese, 
 Scritti Vari, i, 287). Certainly he was making a brave fight, for 
 the noblest of ends; but how uneven Avas the contest! 
 
 7 
 
98 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 It is not necessary to give all the letters that 
 passed between Florence and Rome during this 
 troubled time. Those from Florence had the same 
 determined purpose : the Friar's friends, led by the 
 Signory, strove manfully to have the Brief re- 
 voked ; his enemies were unwearied, not in fair 
 opposition, but in continued and often malignant 
 misrepresentation. In all this, Savonarola saw 
 only the development of what he had predicted, 
 the working out, in orderly fashion, of the plan 
 permitted by God for the purification of His true 
 servants. Hence he proclaimed the jubilant spirit 
 of himself and his brethren whose prayers were 
 constant for their adversaries.^ 
 
 As demonstrating the humility, obedience, and 
 truly religious spirit of Savonarola, the following 
 letter written by him on October 13, 1497, five 
 months after the issue of the Brief of excommuni- 
 cation, is of great value : ^ — 
 
 1 Letter to della Mirandola, dated July 2. The full text 
 (Italian) is given in " Miscellanea," p. 589. 
 
 2 The original (Latin) of this important letter was discovered 
 in the early part of 1898, on the occasion of special researches 
 in view of the fourth-centenary celebrations of the Friar's death. 
 For interesting details and for the original draft, see pp. 83, 8-4 
 of the Quarto Centenario Magazine. It is not known whether the 
 Pope received this appeal. Considering the probably favorable 
 disposition of Alexander, as previously noted, and finding no 
 record of an answer, or any reference to Savonarola's commu- 
 nication, we believe that it did not reach the Holy Father, who 
 could scarcely have declined to notice so touching a proof of 
 reverence and submission. We are of the opinion that the 
 letter was intercepted by the Friar's enemies. As the latter 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AXD LETTERS. 
 
 99 
 
 ]\IosT Holt Father, — I kiss your blessed feet ! 
 As a child, grieving for having incurred the displeasure 
 of his father, seeks and craves every means and 
 opportunity of appeasing his anger (nor can any 
 repulse make him despair of regaining his wonted affec- 
 tion, since it is written, Ask and it shall be given 
 to you, knock and it shall be opened unto you"), so I 
 also, more anxious because your Holiness has with- 
 drawn your favor from me than for any other loss, eagerly 
 fly to your feet, beseeching you that at last ^ my cry 
 may be heard in your sight, and that I may no longer 
 be deprived of your embrace. 
 
 To whom shall I go, if not, as one of his sheep, to 
 the Shepherd whose voice I long to hear, whose bless- 
 ing I implore, whose saving presence I ardently 
 desire ? I would at once go and cast myself at your 
 feet if I could make the journey, free from the attacks 
 and plots of wicked men. As soon as I can do so with- 
 out risk, I intend to start, and with all my heart I 
 wish it, so that at last I may clear myself from every 
 calumny. 
 
 In the meantime, T most humbly submit, in all 
 things, as I have ever done, to your supreme author- 
 ity; for if through want of judgment or inadvertence 
 I have erred, you will not find in me wilful malice. I 
 
 were capable of any iniquity against him, and as they had on 
 various occasions waylaid his couriers, stolen his correspond- 
 ence, and forged despatches in his name, we are not rash in 
 suspecting them of a like offence on this occasion. For in- 
 stances of this dishonorable method of opposition, characteristic 
 of the age, we refer the reader to Villari, ii. 119, 20o. 
 
 1 The natural inference is that vSavonarola had previously 
 written without avail; the letters were probably intercepted 
 or lost. 
 
100 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 humbly implore forgiveness. I beseech your Holiness, 
 therefore, that you will deign not to close against me 
 the fountain of your clemency and benignity, for did 
 you know me you would find me not less devoted to 
 your Holiness than sincere, and ever your most 
 obedient servant. I humbly commend mj-self to your 
 Holiness. 
 
 Your Holiness's most devoted son and servant. 
 
 The efforts of his friends continued in unabated 
 zeal, and their hope of relief was general. As late 
 as November 19, according to a letter written by 
 the Roman envoy of the Duke of Ferrara, Savona- 
 rola had reason to expect a speedy and favorable 
 settlement of the unhappy affair, for even then the 
 Pope seemed kindly disposed towards him.^ But 
 the spirit of revenge and the conflicting interests 
 of politics were destined to spoil all.^ 
 
 Towards the end of the year the Republic be- 
 came impatient on account of hopes so long 
 deferred, and arranged to send Dominic Bonsi, as 
 a second special envoy to Rome, instructed to 
 co-operate with Bracci for three purposes : the re- 
 lief of Savonarola, the restoration of Pisa through 
 the Pope's influence, and an authorization to levy 
 a tax on church property, to enable the government 
 to meet extraordinary expenses. 
 
 The new year, 1498, was drawing near, with 
 
 1 Cappelli, pp. 98, 99. 
 
 2 Bonsji's letter (Gherardi,- p. 208), sent later, proves this. 
 See also Marcliese, Scritti Vari, i. 238. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AND LETTERS. 101 
 
 Savonarola still in retirement and entering on the 
 seventh month of his public submission to the 
 Brief of excommunication, though in his own con- 
 vent he held his office of Prior (and no contrarj^ 
 orders had come from the Master General) , and had 
 celebrated Mass daily.^ It was his deference for 
 the papal mandate, his fear of possible scandal to 
 the weak, that dictated his public course, and with- 
 held him, during the plague in the summer of 
 1497, from ministering sacramentally to the afflicted 
 people.^ 
 
 The period of silence had, however, been well 
 utilized. Some of Savonarola's best literary work 
 was then done, including the completion of the 
 " Triumph of the Cross." Moreover, the nature of 
 the difficulty between himself and the Pope had 
 been explained and made clear through various 
 publications. The question had been fully dis- 
 cussed pro and con^ the most notable contribution 
 to the controversy, after the Friar's own writings, 
 
 1 Among his own brethren he had not ceased to discharge 
 any of the offices of religion. The Chronicle of St. Mark re- 
 cords, among other incidents of this period, several receptions 
 to the habit and professions of novices made under Savonarola 
 as Prior of the convent. 
 
 2 Ignorance on this point has led incompetent writers to 
 charge Savonarola with cowardice, tiie last accusation that 
 could be brought against him. Two beautiful letters breathing 
 the spirit of a true servant of God, not only ready to lay down his 
 life, but even eager for death, are his own clear evidence. They 
 were written in July, and were addressed to the Brethren of St. 
 Mark's, and to a Father Paul. See E pi stolen, pp. 179 seq. 
 
102 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 having been John Francis Pico della Mirandola's 
 "Defence against the Unjust Excommunication." ^ 
 
 The majority of the people were, therefore, not 
 only instructed, prepared against scandal, but were 
 eager for the reappearance in the pulpit of the 
 Friar. " We die of hunger," they said ; " when 
 will you preach ? " ^ Since Jul}^ they had wit- 
 nessed the results of his suspension, for, in less than 
 a month after the excommunication had been pub- 
 lished, Florence had gone back to the days of 
 Lorenzo. " Immoral practices had returned, as if 
 by magic; the churches had been deserted, and 
 the taverns filled." ^ The contemporary historian 
 Nardi paints a sad picture ; and the drawing of 
 other writers of the time is equally graphic. 
 
 The libertines, who thoroughly understood the sit- 
 uation, were for their own vile purposes delighted at 
 the great preacher's humiliation and powerlessness. 
 The cold-blooded politicians, who had no standard 
 save that of selfishness and expediency, though they 
 were aware of the facts governing the case, were 
 ready to play politics against religion, Pisa against 
 the Friar, as might best suit their present purpose.^ 
 
 1 Quetif gives the original Latin, — the first of his "Addi- 
 tiones." 
 
 2 Bayonne, p. 142. 
 
 ^ Villari, ii. 193. The Friar himself enters into details in his 
 second sermon on Exodus, showing the fearful backsliding of 
 the people. 
 
 4 The sad ending of May, 1498, would prove how few real 
 friends Savonarola had among the public men of Florence. 
 His passing was to be another illustration of the painful truth 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AXD LETTERS. 103 
 
 CHRISTMAS, 1497 — FEBRUARY 11, 1498. 
 
 Having taken careful measure of the state of 
 affairs, having deliberately weighed all the circum- 
 stances, in the light, not of conscience onty, but of 
 theology and canon law, and after counsel with 
 competent men in his own community and with 
 other friends, Savonarola determined to assert 
 what he believed to be his right, to fulfil what 
 he regarded as a duty. 
 
 On Christmas, 1497, he publicly celebrated Mass, 
 administered Communion to a large number of the 
 faithful, and conducted a grand procession through 
 the cloister and square of St. IMark's.^ 
 
 On Epiphany, 1498, the Signory in a body sol- 
 emnly went to St. Mark's to attend the Mass, which 
 was sung by the Prior. Tliis demonstration was 
 intended by the officials to be a public manifesta- 
 tion of their veneration for Savonarola, whose hand 
 each one in turn afterwards kissed. Three days 
 later Bonsi started for Rome. 
 
 For almost a month the political fencing was 
 continued. On February 8, the envoy was able to 
 report to his Government that the Pope, having 
 
 that not many politicians are capable of genuine friendship 
 when their interests are endangered. 
 
 1 This procession was but a part of the extraordinary devo- 
 tions that had been offered by request of Savonarola, in all the 
 convents of the Congregation, from All Saints, 1497, in suppli- 
 cation for light and for the special mercy of God on His 
 afflicted Church. 
 
104 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 received guaranties, was prepared to settle the 
 affair of Pisa, and that then he would do everything 
 possible to gratify the Republic.^ In the meantime 
 the Signory had ordered that benches should be 
 provided for the Cathedral, as during the Lent of 
 1496. The Vicar General,^ the Archbishop being 
 then absent, made a protest, and published a letter 
 forbidding attendance at the sermons, under pen- 
 alty of excommunication. The Signory gave him 
 two hours to withdraw his threats and prohibi- 
 tions, and to resign his post, or they would deal 
 with him as a rebel.^ This decisive stand had the 
 desired effect. 
 
 Savonarola was then in the Convent of Fiesole. 
 Thither the ambassador of the Duke of Ferrara 
 went to interview him as to his feelings and wishes. 
 To the ambassador's objection that if he preached 
 he would give scandal, Savonarola answered that 
 had the censure been justly inflicted, no one would 
 more fully respect it. He commented on the de- 
 plorable condition of the Roman Court, and added 
 that his speaking would provoke neither scandal 
 nor disorder.* 
 
 On Septuagesima Sunday, February 11, he 
 
 1 Gherardi, p. 176. 
 
 2 A member of the Medici family. 
 2 Nardi, 1. ii., p. 60. 
 
 * Cappelli, pp. 101, 102. The reader who consults Pastor, 
 " History of the Popes/' vi. 104-106, will learn of one most 
 painful incident which then kindled anew and justly the fire of 
 Savonarola's indignant zeal. 
 
FACTS, BRIEFS, AXD LETTERS. 105 
 
 mounted the pulpit of the Duomo, and delivered a 
 remarkable sermon, during which he explained 
 and defended his position with regard to the ex- 
 communication. 
 
 Here, we believe, our narration of the historical 
 facts should close, with the presentation of one 
 letter, that written by the Friar on March 13, and 
 promptly forwarded to the Pope. We pass by the 
 " ordeal," the foolish and unhappy spectacle that 
 was the immediate occasion for the mob's out- 
 break ; we do not consider the treachery of the 
 selfish politicians who bartered away the life of an 
 unselfish benefactor and genuine patriot; we do 
 not chscuss Savonarola's letters to the sovereigns, 
 touching a Council, — an occasion of great alarm to 
 Alexander, ^ of renewed anger against the bold 
 friar, a7id the final cause of Ids death? We do not 
 enter on a criticism of his preaching following his 
 appearance in the pulpit on Septuagesima Sunday 
 
 What Savonarola said or did subsequently has 
 no bearing on the validity of the censure. An in- 
 telligent judgment of his case can be formed only 
 after a consideration of the essential facts as we 
 have given them ; and only after a studious exami- 
 nation of these facts under the light of admitted 
 principles of canon law and theolog}^ can a satis- 
 
 1 Nardi, 1. ii., p. 70. 
 
 2 In a subsequent volume, I hope to discuss these questions 
 freely, when I shall give important documents. 
 
 3 We shall, however, refer to these sermons in the course of 
 our argument. 
 
106 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 factory answer be made to our inquiry. Still, a 
 letter written by the Friar at a time when he fore- 
 saw rapidly approaching the end which for years 
 he had predicted, affords an insight into his soul 
 and the purpose of his mission, that may not be 
 valueless in our estimate of his conduct. We 
 give the full text : ^ — 
 
 Most Holy Father, — Having seen some pastors 
 of the Church leading into error, through evil example 
 and unsound doctrine, the sheep committed to their 
 care, yea, by their many crimes going forward to hell, 
 I considered it part of my duty, for the honor of God 
 and for the exaltation of the most Holy Faith, to de- 
 fend the truth of Catholic teaching, to denounce im- 
 morality, to correct sinners, and to recall them to a 
 Christian manner of living. But while I so preach, 
 endeavoring, by the announcement of impending 
 scourges for the wicked, to draw the people to the 
 narrow way, ^'tribulation and distress have seized 
 me, and there is no one who will console or help me." 
 
 At least, I hoped that your Holiness would come to 
 my aid, and that you would arise and fight for me, 
 against the enemies of the Faith. The contrary, alas, 
 has happened ! Since your HoUness rejected so many 
 vindications of my innocence, so many reasons sub- 
 mitted to you, not to excuse sin, but to demon- 
 strate the purity of my teaching, the truth of my 
 preaching, and to show the humility with which I 
 venerate your Holiness and the Holy Eoman Church ; 
 
 1 For the Latin text, see Qiietif, pp. 298-300. 
 
FACTS, BBIEFS, AND LETTERS. 107 
 
 and since, as it seems, you gave ear to my adversaries, 
 so that it was hopeless for me to look for any help from 
 your Holiness, which of right I should receive from 
 the Supreme Pastor, I consider myself as abandoned to 
 the fierce wolves who rage against me. 
 
 However, my hope is in Him who chooses the weak 
 things of this world that He may confound the strong. 
 He will hear me, because of the truth for which I 
 have borne and suffered so much. And He will punish 
 those who have persecuted me, who have prevented the 
 work of God which I strove to do, after the example 
 of Christ; for never did I seek my own glory nor do I 
 seek it now, but on]y death, and that with the most 
 ardent longing. 
 
 Let your Holiness not fail to take measures for 
 your own salvation. 
 
 Your useless servant in Jesus Christ. 
 
 March 13, 1498. 
 
 There was no answer to this letter ; its effect on 
 Alexander cannot be judged, but succeeding events 
 were calamitous for the Friar. 
 
108 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 II. 
 
 THE QUESTION OF CENSURES. 
 
 THAT our readers may have before them the 
 principles of canon law regarding ecclesias- 
 tical censures, as these affect Savonarola's case, we 
 present such principles with sufficient fulness for 
 an intelligent understanding. A censure is a spir- 
 itual and medicinal penalty, inflicted by competent 
 ecclesiastical authority, on those of the faithful 
 who are delinquent and contumacious, through 
 which penalty they are deprived, for a time, of the 
 use of certain spiritual goods, for the purpose of 
 just punishment, but chiefly to induce them to 
 relinquish their obstinacy or contumacy in sin. 
 Our definition embodies the points generally in- 
 cluded by canonists.^ 
 
 Of the three kinds of censures that are employed 
 by the Church, we are concerned with one only, 
 excommunication, which is defined as a separation 
 
 1 Billuart, de Censuris, D. i., art. i., torn, ix., p. 482 ; Schmalz- 
 grueber, pars iv., t. 39, n. 1 seq. ; Reiffenstuel, 1. v. Decret. 
 t. 89, c. 1, n. 1-6, torn, v., p. 320 ; Zallinger, 1. v., t. 39, torn. 
 V. p. 255; Stremler, prem. partie, s. iv., c. 1, p. 171; Leander, 
 Tr. i., D. i., q. 1 seq., torn, iv., pp. 3, 4 ; and canonists and 
 moral theologians in general. Leander enters into details not 
 generally available, on every phase of the intricate question of 
 Censures. 
 
THE QUESTION OF CENSURES. 109 
 
 from the communion of the Church as to fruit and 
 general suffrages. ^ 
 
 We may enhirge on this language of the schools, 
 so as to render it more clearly intelligible to the 
 general reader, by stating that the drawing of this 
 sword, as the Council of Trent ^ designates excom- 
 munication, whereby a diseased member is severed 
 from the spiritual Body of Christ, is the gravest 
 penalty that the Church can impose ; ^ it implies 
 the most grievous deprivation, an ejection, for a 
 time, from the household of God on earth, and a 
 denial of certain spiritual favors and blessings 
 which are the happy portion of the faithful. 
 
 We say an ejection /o?- a tinie^ because, while an 
 excommmiication might endure, on account of the 
 obstinacy of the sinner, until death, its purpose, in 
 the mind of the Church, is of salutary punishment, 
 leading to a change of life, ui'ging a return to God in 
 penitence ; and, therefore, as a disciplinary and me- 
 dicinal remedy, this separation of a member from 
 the Body of Christ, is not intended to be perpetual.^ 
 
 1 St. Thomas, In 4 Sent. Y). xviii., q. 2, a. 2, and Supple- 
 mentum, q. xxi., a. 1; St. Raymundus, 1. iii., t. 33, s. 6, p. 380. 
 
 2 Sess. XXV., cap, 3, de Reforniatione, where the Conciliar 
 Fathers speak of excommunication as the very nerves of eccle- 
 siastical discipline. Several of the early Fathers also use the 
 figure of a sword to signify the spiritual weapon of excommuni- 
 cation. Thus St. Cyprian, Epistle (32, to Pomponius, n. 4, tom. 
 iv., p. 371, and St. Jerome, Epistle 14, to Hcliodorus, n. 8, tom. 
 1. (xxii. of Patrology), p. 3-32. 
 
 3 St. Augustine, Lib. de Correptione et Gratia, cap. xv., p. 
 944, tom. X. (xliv. of Patrology) ; Benedict XIV., 1. x., c. 1, p. 343. 
 
 * St. Antoninus, cap. 7G, n. 1, p. 383 (secundo) ; St. Angus- 
 
110 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 We also say a denial of certain spiritual favors, be- 
 cause, though excommunication deprives the person 
 so censured, either wholly or in part, of the com- 
 mon spiritual goods of the Church, — as Mass, the 
 Sacraments, — it does not strip him of those which 
 proceed directly from Christ the Head, — as Faith 
 and Hope, — over which the Church does not exer- 
 cise control, nor does it shut him out from the 
 private prayers of the faithful, since the Church 
 does not wish to raise such a barrier against his aid. 
 A member thus rejected from the household of the 
 Faith is, while the censure endures, as "the 
 heathen and the publican," ^ as one given over to 
 Satan.2 
 
 As the right of fulminating such a censure 
 arises from the authority with which Jesus Christ 
 has enriched His Church, for her proper gov- 
 ernment and for just defence against unruly mem- 
 bers, this power is not a personal, absolute right, 
 subject to the mere will of prelates, but it must 
 be exercised " with great sobriety and modera- 
 
 tine (loc. cit.), who speaks of it as a pastoral necessity, a separa- 
 tion from the healthy sheep of one who has been contaminated, 
 in the hope of its cure, a separation with love (Enarratio in 
 Ps. liv., N. 9, tom. iv., 635), and as a merciful severity (De 
 Fide et Operibus, c. iii., tom. vi,, 199), respectively tom. xxxv. 
 and xxxvii. of Patrology ; Craisson, tom. iv., lib. iii., pars 
 3, cap. 2, N. 6300, p. 308. 
 
 1 St. Matthew xviii. 17. 
 
 2 1 Corinthians v. 5 ; St. Augustine (De Verbis Evangelii 
 Matthaei, Sermo 68, n. 4, p. 1876, tom. v., altera pars, xxxix. 
 of Patrology) says that such a one has gone down by the broad 
 and spacious way, as to hell. 
 
THE QUESTION OF CENSURES. 
 
 Ill 
 
 tion ; " 1 it is safeguarded by well-defined condi- 
 ditions in respect to which ecclesiastical law is 
 explicit. We shall, therefore, present some points 
 as taught by canonists on censures in general, 
 confining ourselves to those which are available 
 in excommunication, and which are particularly 
 applicable in the special case of Savonarola. 
 
 The infliction of this penalty presupposes a very 
 grave offence against Faith, morals, or ecclesiasti- 
 cal discipline. Such a sin must be not only mortal 
 internally, or in conscience, but it must also be ex- 
 ternally evident in its enormity, complete of its 
 kind, and specially prohibited by the Church, under 
 censure. Moreover, in case of an individual ex- 
 communicated, his crime must be entirely personal, 
 his own alone, so to speak, and even notorious, 
 before he can be denounced as having incurred 
 such a penalty. Finally, in this unhappy state of 
 guilt the delinquent must be truly obstinate or 
 contumacious, before he can be bound in conscience, 
 though the just presumption of such a state of 
 mind would suffice for the external effects of a 
 censure.2 
 
 1 Cone. Trid. Sess. XXV., cap. 3, de Reformatione. 
 
 2 The reader is referred to the following authorities : Con- 
 cilium Lateranensc, cap. 48, de Scntentia Exc. ; Concilium Luf?- 
 dunense, cap. Const/tutionem, 9 de Sent. Exc. in 6°; Concil. Trid. 
 Sess. XXV., c. 3, de Reformatione ; St. Raymundus, 1. iii.,t. 33, s. 
 7, p. 391 ; Sclimalzgrueber, pars iv., t. 39, de Sent. Exc. tom. xi., 
 p. 397, no. 34, pp. 403, 405, 400, nn. 57, 62-66; Billuart, de 
 Censuris, D. i., a. 4, tom. ix., pp. 482 seq. ; St. Alphonsus, 1. vii., c. 
 1., n. 31, 48, 49, tom. ii., pp. 791, 795 ; Fagnanus, cap. liesponso, in 
 
112 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 The note of contumacy is warranted only when 
 a warning has been given, and has not been heeded. 
 For censures attached to a fixed law, the pro- 
 mulgation of the statute constitutes a standing 
 warning, though a more formal or canonical admo- 
 nition is necessary for due order and for the justice 
 of such a penalty. For the valid infliction of 
 censures emanating from a superior commanding 
 a particular thing by way of a personal precept,^ 
 
 ii. par. de Sent Exc. n. 92, torn. iv. 194, secundo; Bucceroni, p. 7 ; 
 D'Annibale, t. vi., tit. xi., c. 1, torn, i., p. 321 ; Castro Palao, de 
 Censuris, pars vi., D. 1, p. 7, nn. 6, 7 ; Concina (Theologia), 1. iii., 
 c. 4, de Censuris, torn, x., p. 254; Leander, t. i. D. 8, q. 2 seq., 
 torn, iv., pp. 58 seq. ; Stremler, prem.p. c. vi., s. 4, p. 189 ; Cabas- 
 sutius, 1. v., c. 10, n. 11, torn, ii., p. 172; Eeiffenstuel, 1. v. Decret. 
 t. 39, de Sent. Exc. c. 1., nn. 8, 9, p. 320; Bailly, torn, ii., 5, a. 5 ; 
 Berardi, pars ii., D. 3, c. 4, torn, iv., p. 237 ; Praelectiones S. 
 Sulpitii, pars iv., s. 7, a. 1, torn, iii., pp. 227 seq.; Benedict XIV., 
 1. ix., c. 6, and c. 14, pp. 299, 329, 1. x. c. 1, p. 343 ; Craisson, torn, 
 iv., lib. iii. pars 3, n. 0321 seq., pp. 294, 295, and cap. 2, sec. iv., n. 
 6394 seq.., pp. 319-324. On tlie rashness and injustice of supe- 
 riors indiscreetly imposing censures, especially those latce sen- 
 tenti(e, Gerson writes plainly. " To whom," asks this celebrated 
 doctor, "shall I liken such men, who, for political convenience 
 or for avoiding slight trouble, act in this manner ? To one 
 who, wishing to brush from his neighbor's forehead a fly, strikes 
 him with an axe and dashes out his brains." (Quoted by Van 
 Espen, torn, ix., p. 15.) Vigorous and picturesque ! 
 
 We do not consider in this discussion, what is known as 
 minor excommunication, which may be inflicted for venial sin. 
 It is "not only irrelevant, but, strictly speaking, it is not ex- 
 communication as generally understood, wliich, as St. An- 
 toninus says, cap. 74, n. 9, following the canons, cap. Si qiiem, 
 59, de Sent. Excom. is always considered major when there is 
 no distinction ; nor is it any longer of practical purpose. 
 
 1 Which is considered temporary, as distinguished from a 
 law that is stable and fixed ; and thus penalties announced by 
 
THE QUESTION OF CEXSURES. 113 
 
 some warning is necessary. The obligation of a 
 canonical or triple and written admonition rests 
 on Scriptural grounds ^ and has a solenui historical 
 confirmation in the case of Nestorius, who was 
 thrice warned by tlie Fathers of Ephesus, and in 
 that of Dioscorus, who was treated in like manner 
 by the Fathers of Clialcedon. 
 
 According to the doctors in canon law, this 
 thi'eefold admonition is necessary for the legal 
 justice of a sentence (unless the urgent gravity 
 of the case would warrant a superior in giving 
 only one warning and that peremptorily), and 
 according to the present discipline, a period of two 
 days at least should intervene between the formal 
 written announcements,^ 
 
 the former are known as censures ah homine, and the latter, 
 censures a jure. For this distinction as to the efficient cause of 
 censures, the reader is referred to any of our canonist authori- 
 ties, but St. Raymond (1. iii., t. 33, s. 7, pp. 381, 392) treats this 
 point in extenso and very clearly. 
 
 1 St. Matthew xviii. 15-18 ; 2 Thessalonians iii. 11-15. 
 
 2 St. Antoninus, cap. 74, n. 5, p, .382 (secundo) ; St. Thomas, 
 In 4 Sent. D. xix., q. 1, art. 3; St. Alphonsus, 1. vii., c. 1, n. 52 
 seq., torn. ii. pp. 790 se(j. : Billuart, loc. cit. ; Panormitanus, torn, 
 viii., pp. 182, 183, cc. 18, 19, 23, who claimed tliat four days' in- 
 terval should be given ; Reiffenstuel, loc. cit., p. 321, n. 24, n. 37, 
 p. 322, tom. V. ; Schmalzgrueber, pars iv. t. 39, de Sent. Exc, 
 tom. xi., pp. 394-390, n. 20-31 ; D'Annibale, Tr. vi., tit. 1, 
 tom. i., pp. 323, 324; Sand<T?us, cap. 48, Sacro, de Sent. Exc. ii. 
 1224 ; Bucceroni, pp. 8, 9 ; Leander, t. i., D. 5, qq. 1 seq., tom. 
 iv., pp. 36 seq. ; Innocentius IV., in cap. Cum medicinalis, de Sent. 
 Exc, 1. v., p. cxlix (2) ; Stremler, prem. p., s.iv., chap. 9, pp. 212, 
 213; Cabassutius, 1. v., c. 10, n. 18 seq., pp. 175 seq.; Benedict 
 XIV., 1. ix., c. 14, p. .329; De Palude, In 4 Sent. D. xviii., q. 1, 
 art. 4. This feature of contumacy (which cannot be imputed 
 
 8 
 
114 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 But, without ani/ warning, at least verbal, an 
 alleged delinquent cannot be declared contuma- 
 cious, or in contempt, even virtual, of ecclesiasti- 
 cal authority commanding under censure by way 
 of a particular precept. Therefore, as an essential 
 condition (that of contumacy) would be wanting, 
 a censure ab homine, so promulgated, would be 
 invalid.^ 
 
 Considering the formal terms in which they are 
 expressed, censures are distinguished as latce sen- 
 tentice^ and ferendce sententice. In doubt, the 
 latter, as the milder, is always to be understood.- 
 By censures latce sententice those are meant that 
 are so joined to a law or a precept that by the very 
 fact of disobedience to such law or precept, the 
 penalty is incurred, in conscience and before God. 
 For the public brand and effect before men there is 
 required, however, a due statement, by competent 
 authorit}^ of the admitted or proved fact of such 
 disobedience. Such a statement, or sentence, does 
 not require a judicial process ; it is simply a formal 
 
 where there is no warning) is so essential that it is only when it 
 is present and grave that, according to the general opinion of 
 canonists, excommunication can be inflicted for sins altogether 
 past and having no relation to the future. And then the 
 penalty strikes directly, not the sin, but the persistence in it by 
 the obstinate sinner. 
 
 1 Consult authorities named in preceding note (2, p. 113,) 
 and canonists in general. 
 
 2 Schmalzgrueber, pars iv., t. 39, de Sent. Exc. toni. xi., p. 388, 
 n. 11; Bucceroni, p. 8; Cabassutius, 1. v., c. 10, n. 0, torn, ii., 
 p. 171. 
 
THE QUESTION OF CENSURES. 115 
 
 declaration, an official announcement to the public 
 that the delinquent named has already brought upon 
 himself the penalty imposed. ^ In no manner does 
 the validity of the censure or its binding force, in 
 conscience, depend on this declaratory sentence.^ 
 
 Censures ferendce sententice are promulgated, 
 not as operative on the commission of the prohib- 
 ited act, but as threats, and as involving liability 
 to such penalties, after due process against the 
 offender by the superior, who thus gives effective 
 force, through a judicial sentence, to the menace 
 accompanying the command.^ 
 
 As to censures a jure^ being attached to laws 
 which are presumed to be just, there can be no ques- 
 tion of injustice ; it is only in censures ab homine that 
 the distinction is necessary between /ws^ and unjust. 
 
 That a censure ah homme may be considered 
 just and valid, the following conditions are 
 required : jurisdiction, a legitimate motive, a cause 
 sufficiently proved, and a right and lawful order 
 of procedure. Lacking either of these which are 
 not substantial (as a legitimate motive or the acci- 
 dentals of right order), the censure is valid before 
 the Church, but unjust. Lacking any of the con- 
 
 1 For details, the reader is referred to Schmalzgrueber, pars 
 iv., t. 39, de Sent. Exc., torn, xi., p. 388, n. 11 ; Vecchiotti, torn, 
 ii. p. 334; Cuniliati, ii.353, and canonists generally. 
 
 2 Even were the sentence otherwise null, its nullity would 
 affect only the public consequences of the censure. Stremler, 
 prem. p., s. iv., c. 9, p. 213. 
 
 8 Stremler, prem. p., s. iv., chap. 2, p. 177, and others. 
 
IIG WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 ditioiis that are substantial (as jmisdiction, a cause 
 sufficiently proved, or the essentials of right order), 
 such censures are invalid as well as unjust; and 
 this must, therefore, be said of all fulminated 
 either against an innocent person, or without a7i7/ 
 Avarning or citation to a delinquent, or without 
 juridical proof of the offence.^ 
 
 Thus a person must be considered as legally 
 innocent, not only wdien in conscience he is really 
 free from the guilt of the alleged offence, but 
 also when, though really guilty, he is juridically 
 acquitted or not juridically proved guilty On 
 this conclusion there is no dispute ; all canonists 
 agree that a censure uttered against such a person 
 would be an abuse of power, and of no binding 
 force. In the case of one really innocent, but 
 through untoward circumstances and weight of 
 evidence, juridicall}^ convicted, canonists disagree 
 as to the binding power of a censure fulminated 
 on such a conviction. The more probable opinion, 
 supported by eminent authorities, holds that though 
 such a censure, resting on a false presumption and 
 
 1 St. Raymond, 1. iii., t. 33, s. 8, p. 403 ; Van Espen, c. v., s. 
 1, 3, torn, ix., pp. 16, 17 ; and other authorities, as in note 3, 
 p. 113. 
 
 2 Even if the judge has private or personal knowledge of the 
 guilt of the accused, a sentence based on it alone would be null ; 
 the condemnation must rest on information oflBcially recognized 
 and juridically admitted and proved. This holds for censures 
 in general ; our discussion does not touch the disputed question 
 as to ordinary judicial proceedings, nor do we include suspen- 
 sion ex injunnata conscientia. 
 
THE QUESTIOX OF CENSURES. 
 
 117 
 
 on error, would be invalid in conscience, yet out 
 of respect for the atitliority of the Church, and to 
 avoid scandal, the one thus unjustly censured 
 should pay external respect to the censure, until 
 it is withdrawn or its invalidity is made evident. ^ 
 
 Canonists also hold that a censure notoriously wn- 
 just is invalid,^ as are likewise those promulgated 
 against the will of the superior,^ or for alleged 
 disobedience in maintaining a privilege,* or which 
 contain an intolerable error, — as when something 
 unlawful 01 impossible is commanded, or something 
 good in itself is forbidden.^ 
 
 Having stated these principles which must be 
 otir guides, it remains to consider what should be 
 the conduct of one of the faithful who has been 
 subjected to the penalty of an excommunication. 
 
 1 Innocent IV., loc. cit., cap. DrAet a tJounuUis, and cap. Per 
 super., p. clix; Keiffenstuel, tit. 39, t. v., p. 388; Zitelli, cap. v., 
 art.. 1, p. 50-5 ; Billuart, de Censuris, 1). i,, a. 5, torn, ix., p. 489. 
 The reader will find Schmalzgrueber (pars iv., t. 39, de Sent. 
 Exc, torn, ix., pp. 412, 413, n. 80-83) very clear on these points. 
 St. Augustine (in his sermon 351, on the utility of doing 
 penance) has a beautiful passage embodying this teaching, and 
 entreating the accused to submit in humility and patience, 
 though reprobating condemnation that is imposed outside the 
 law and order of the Church. (Tom. v., altera pars, pp. 
 154.3-(>, cap. iv., Nos. 9 and 10. Tom. xxxix. of Patrology.) 
 Panormitanus, c. vi., torn, vii.. Ill; Prieras, i. .356. 
 
 ^ Prieras, loc. cit. 
 
 * Panormitanus, viii., 180 ; Fagnanus, cap. Responso, 98, 115, 
 torn, iv., 195; St. Antoninus, c. 73, n. 11, p. 382 (2). 
 
 5 Sandaeus, c. xl., Per tuns, ii. 1213; St. Antoninus, c. 73, n. 
 8, p. 382 (1); Prieras, i. 358; Schmalzgruebev, pars iv., t. 39, 
 tom. xi., 420, n. 115; Bucceroni, p. 13. 
 
118 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 Unless the sentence is revoked by a qualified power, 
 there is only one way of release from the bonds of 
 ^ a censure really incurred, and that is through the 
 absolution granted by competent autliority, which, 
 in the case of a censure ab liomine^ by the Pojoe, 
 means only the Sovereign Pontiff, or one especially 
 delegated by him for this purpose. Neither the 
 amendment nor the death of the delinquent can 
 raise the ban. The contrary proposition was 
 formally condemned by the Holy See.^ Only the 
 power of the Keys, by which the bond is formed, 
 can break it. If one is bound hy different censures, 
 the absolution must express the cause of these. 
 As a reparation for the sake of the people who 
 have known the offence, the absolution and the 
 oath or solemn promise of amendment by the 
 accused must be made public. If absolution be 
 given, as it can be, in danger of death (articulo 
 mortis) by any priest, he must exact from the 
 delinquent a promise of amendment and reparation 
 for the scandal given; and there must be some 
 authentic announcement to this effect.^ 
 
 1 Decrees of March 18, 1666, and August 28, 1794. 
 
 2 On the subject of absolution from censures, the reader is 
 referred to St. Raymundus, 1. iii., t. 33, s. 3, pp. 393, 395; St. 
 Thomas, In 4 Sent. D. xviii., q. 2, a. 5, and Sui)plementum, q. 
 xxi., a. 4; q. xxiv., a. 1-3; Devoti, 1. iv., t. 21, Leander, t. 1, 
 1). xi., qq. 1 seq., torn, iv., pp. 77, 78; Schmalzgrueber, pars iv. 
 t. 39, de Sent. Exc. xi., 423, n. 107 ; Ferraris, art. vii., n. 23, tom. 
 iii. p. 363; Zitelli, cap. v., art. 1, p. .505; Fagnanus, de Sent. 
 Excom., cap. 27, iv., pars 2, p. 159 ; Baillj, de Censuris, art. viii. ; 
 Scavini, de Censuris, n. 82; St, Alphonsus, 1. vii., c. 1, n. 116 
 
THE QCESTION OF CENSURES. 119 
 
 Regarding censures which are unjust or invalid, 
 the following principles are sound : An unjust but 
 valid censure binds in conscience and before the 
 Church, and therefore absolution must be ob- 
 tained.^ An unjust and notoriomly invalid cen- 
 sure binds neither before God nor man, and 
 therefore there is no need for absolution.^ A 
 sentence that is invalid, but whose invalidity is 
 not notorious, does not bind in conscience, but, 
 according to that law which forbids us to give 
 scandal, one who is so censured must imhliely 
 hold himself as excommunicated, until he is ab- 
 solved or until he has sufficiently demonstrated 
 the nullity of the censure so as to remove the 
 
 seq.^ torn. ii. pp. 820 seq ; Leander, Tr. ii. D. xvii. passim, torn, 
 iv., pp. 203 seq. ; Bonacina, de Censuris, D. i., q. 3, p. 1, torn. i. 301 
 seq. ; and canonists generally. Some authors contend that the 
 delinquent must, as a necessary condition, ask to be absolved, 
 but the more probable opinion follows the Angelic Doctor who 
 teaches (loc. cit.) that as excommunication is a penalty, not 
 depending on our will alone, as does sin, absolution from the 
 'former may be given even to an unwilling person, but it must 
 be given, in order to free him. On this latter point there is no 
 dissenting canonist or theologian. As to the obligation under 
 which one censured lies of seeking freedom from his bond and 
 sin by restoration to grace and communion, see Patuzzi, Tr. x., 
 c. 0, con. 4, de Sacramentis, tom. vi,, 325 ; St. Alphonsus, 1. vii., 
 c. 1, n. 130, tom. ii. 823; Craisson, tom. iv., lib. iii., c. 2, s. 8,-n. 
 6438, p. 330. 
 
 1 St. Antoninus, c. 73, n. G, p. 382 (primo) ; St. Kaymundus, 
 1. iii., t. 33, s. 8, p. 402; Fagnanus, de Sent. Excom., cap. Per 
 titas, n. 11, tom. iv., 175 (2), and authorities generally. 
 
 '■^ St. Kaymundus, loc. cit.; canonists and theologians cited 
 in note 2, p. 118. 
 
120 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 danger of scandal, and to refute the charge of 
 acting in disrespect to authority.^ 
 
 1 Gelasius, causa xii., q. 3, c.4G (torn, lix., p. 150 of Patro- 
 logy; and pp. 102-110, tie Anatliematis Vinculo); St. Antoni- 
 nus, cap. 73, n. 12, p. 382 (secundo) ; De Palude, D. xviii., q. i., 
 a. 3 (three authorities cited by Savonarola ; see his letter, 
 page 153, in which I have corrected some mistakes in Quetif's 
 version) ; Innocent IV., 1. v., p. cxlix, cap. Cam voluntate ; Reif- 
 fenstuel, tit. 39, n. 42, torn, v., 388 ; Schmalzgrueber, pars iv., 
 t. 39, de Sent. Exc. xi., 412, 413, n. 80-83; Salzano, c. viii., n. 12. 
 p. 272 ; Leander, t. L, D. x., q. 31, tom. iv., p. 74 ; Lacroix, 1. vii., 
 c. 4, n. 84, tom. ii., 437 ; Bailly, de Censuris, art. 7 ; Cuniliati, ii., 
 358, 359 ; Billuart, de Censuris, D. i., a. v., torn, ix., 489 seq . ; 
 Concina (Theologia), 1. iii., D. 1, c. 5, tom. x., p. 263. The oft- 
 repeated sentiment of St. Gregory : "The sentence of the Pastor, 
 whether just or unjust, must be feared," Concina and other 
 authorities quote. They conclude tliat the Holy Pope is to be 
 understood simply in the sense that the subject must respect 
 authority, nor should he rashly or proudly contemn it, even 
 when it is unjustly exercised. And this last-named canonist 
 adduces the w^ords of St. Augustine, to which Savonarola had 
 appealed : " What matters it if a defiled conscience does not 
 blot me out from the Book of Life? " and St. Jerome : " Before 
 the Judgment, inquiry will be made, not according to the sen- 
 tence of priests, but according to the manner of our lives." 
 
 We also deem it well to refer to the great Bishop of Hippo 
 (de Vera Religione, c. 6, n. 11 ; torn, iii., pars prior, p. 128 
 (xxxiv. of Patrology)), who writes that, though examples are 
 rare, they are more frequent than might be believed, of unjust 
 and invalid exclusion from the Church of God. But the holy 
 Doctor exhorts the persecuted one to patience, and adds that 
 God, who sees in secret, will reward him, even while under the 
 ban, for such trials work for the greater good of souls. 
 
 And that St. Gregory intended only this is evident from his 
 own words in the same Homily (26th on the Gospels, n. 5 and 6, 
 pp. 1200, 1201, tom. ii., of Patrology, Ixvi.) : "The case must be 
 examined, before the powder of binding and loosing is exercised, 
 for then only is the absolution of the prelate true, when it fol- 
 lows the judgment of the Eternal Judge. The prelate deprives 
 
THE QUESTION OF CENSURES. 
 
 121 
 
 We have said he must publicly hold himself 
 as excommunicated, because, privately and in the 
 presence of those who know his innocence, he may 
 continue to act according to his rights and privi- 
 leges, be they peculiar to the clergy or laity.^ 
 
 There remains one more point for consideration. 
 We shall dismiss it with a few words. With a 
 person who has been declared excommunicated, 
 and denounced as one to be avoided, it is not 
 lawful for the faithful to hold religious commun- 
 ion before absolution has been granted or suf- 
 ficient proof has been given that . the censure 
 inflicted was invalid. In the former case, the 
 fact of absolution may be attested by general re- 
 port, or on the evidence of even one witness who 
 is reliable. Indeed, the statement by the accused 
 himself that he has been freed from the censure 
 will justify the people in holding communion with 
 such a man if he is of delicate conscience, and 
 otherwise worthy of belief.^ 
 
 himself of the power of binding and loosing (that is, God does 
 not ratify his act) when he exercises it merely after his own 
 will, or througli favor or hatred, and not for the rights of his 
 subjects, binding the worthy, and loosing the undeserving, 
 ' killing souls which should not die, and saving souls alive which 
 should not live,' as saith the Prophet Ezechiel " (xiii. 19). 
 
 1 Billuart, de Censuris, loc. cit. ; Cuniliati, Tr. xv., c. 1, s. G, 
 ii., 358, 359 ; Cabassutius, 1. v., c. 10, n. 12, p. 173. There is 
 only one authority (Navarre) against this common opinion of 
 canonists and theologians. 
 
 2 St. Alphonsus, 1. vii., c. 1, n. 140, tom. ii., p. 828, who quotes 
 in support of his ruling Lacroix, Navarre, and other eminent 
 authors. 
 
122 WAS SA] ONAROLA EXCOMMUNlCATEDf 
 
 From this teaching it is evident that the con- 
 dition of one who has been invalidly excom- 
 municated opens even an easier way to a just 
 recognition of liis freedom from censure, by the 
 faithful, to whom the true state of the case has 
 been made known. Once the facts have been 
 established, such a person is in possession of all 
 his rights as a Cliristian in full communion with 
 the Church. 
 
DID THE FRIAR INCUR THE CENSURE? 123 
 
 III. 
 
 DID THE FRIAR REALLY INCUR THE CENSURE 
 OF EXCOMMUNICATION? 
 
 "IX 7ITH the facts, as proved by history, un- 
 
 V V derstoocl, and having before us the prin- 
 ciples of canon hiw that must guide us in our 
 judgment of the case, we shall endeavor to apply 
 these principles to the admitted facts, in the hope 
 of finding a satisfactory answer to our inquiry. 
 Our thesis proceeds entirely in the spirit of dis- 
 cussion of an open question. We have no inten- 
 tion to pass judgment, or to assume, even in the 
 most remote way, to speak authoritatively. A deci- 
 sion on such a matter rests entirely with the Holy 
 See, and it is not for us either to intimate what the 
 action of the Church might be, or even to suggest 
 that the question should be presented for con- 
 sideration. We merely offer an argument bearing 
 on a historical discussion in which points of canon 
 law must be applied, and in this we are abso- 
 lutely in submission to the mind and heart of 
 Holy Mother Church. 
 
 That our readers may approach the consideration 
 of this delicate problem in a becoming spirit, with 
 clearness of mind and calmness of judgment, we 
 ask them to dismiss all preconceived thoughts or 
 
124 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 convictions as to the merit or demerit of the Friar, 
 and to concentrate their attention on the essential 
 facts which we have faithfully narrated, and on the 
 principles stated of canon law^ and theology. All 
 else is irrelevant. What Savonarola said or did be- 
 fore the issue of the Brief of excommunication, ex- 
 cept as embodied in our narrative, has no bearing on 
 the terms and conditions of this document, to 
 which we must confine ourselves. All that he did 
 or said subsequently to the issue of the ban has no 
 bearing as to the validity of the censure, which must 
 depend entirely on previous offences, and can in 
 no manner be affected by succeeding acts. We 
 also ask our readers to bear in mind that our dis- 
 cussion is one of law and fact, and that in such 
 matters, neither faith nor morals being directly 
 involved, the pontifical power, because of false 
 information or deliberate deception imposed upon 
 the Pope by wicked men,i or for other reasons,^ 
 might be exercised erroneously, unjustly, inval- 
 idly, without the infallibility of the Pope being 
 questioned. 
 
 It is further necessary to recall the condition 
 
 1 Sandasus, de Sent. Exc. cap. A nobis, 28, torn, ii., 1189 ; Fag- 
 nanus, de Sent. Exc. iv., 164 ; Benedict XIV,, 1. ix., cap. 8, p. 307. 
 
 Speaking of the guiding power of God, watching over the 
 Popes, Cardinal Newman adds : " In saying this, I am far from 
 saying that Popes are never in the wrong, and are never to be 
 resisted, or that their excommunications always avail. I am 
 not bound to defend the policy or the acts of particular Popes, 
 whether before or after the great revolt from their authority in 
 the sixteenth century." (Letter to Duke of Norfolk, pp. 33 
 and 34.) 
 
DID THE FRIAR IXCCR THE CSNSURE? 125 
 
 of the times and place with which we are dealing : 
 the fifteenth century ; ^ a country entirely Catho- 
 lic, in which a peculiar combination of Church and 
 State begot relationships between the spiritual and 
 the civil authorities quite foreign to certain modern 
 notions ; in which a generous margin of liberty of 
 speech prevailed among preachers and people ; in 
 which a familiarity on the part of the latter with 
 ecclesiastical laws and usages was quite general ; 
 in which, finally, a deplorable laxity of discipline 
 and morals prevailed, the history of which appals 
 Catholics living under a saintly Pope, ruled by 
 venerable Bishops, and served by a devoted clergy. 
 
 We must transport ourselves to Florence as it 
 was more than four hundred years ago ; we must 
 close our eyes to the life and times around us, and 
 opening them wide on the old life that is long 
 dead, amid the scenes and among the men and 
 the women of Savonarola's day, who were not 
 easily scandalized because the}^ had been so ter- 
 ribl}^ scandalized ; who were intimately acquainted 
 with the facts and circumstances of the Friar's 
 case ; who loved and admired the great preacher, 
 from whose hands they had received the Bread of 
 
 1 The words of the English historian Freeman, writing of St. 
 Thomas of Canterbury, are applicable : " The cause of diversity 
 and controversy — a diversity and controvers}^ most fatal to 
 historic truth — is to be traced to the unliappy metliod of look- 
 ing at the men of the twelfth century with the eyes of the nine- 
 teenth." (Historical Essays, first series, by Edward A. Freeman, 
 London, 1871.) We warn our readers against this tendency and 
 error. We are dealing with the fifteenth century, not with the 
 nineteenth. 
 
126 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED f 
 
 Life, while an absentee Archbishop left his flock 
 to the care of a Vicar. The precise elate cannot 
 be ascertained, but shortly after the excommunica- 
 tion Brief was announced, there appeared a strik- 
 ingly pathetic pleading, which Savonarola called 
 the " Lamentation of the Spouse of Christ against 
 lukewarm and false preachers; or an exhortation 
 to the faithful to pray to the Lord for the renewal 
 of the Church." ^ Of the unhappy condition of 
 spiritual life then j)i'evailing, the Friar's picture 
 is not overdrawn. We deem its insertion here 
 to be appropriate : — 
 
 ^'To whom shall I speak, or whither shall I turn, 
 assailed as I am on all sides with rej)roach and con- 
 tumely? The watchmen who go round about the city 
 have found me, they have stricken and wounded me; 
 they who keep watch upon the walls have taken my 
 cloak from me. The tails of the venomous scorpions 
 have fixed their stings in me. Wolves in the clothing 
 of sheep have deceived my flock; and foxes are leagued 
 with them by a mutual compact. The bleatings of the 
 sheep, suspicious of deceit, are silenced by fear. The hire- 
 lings liave deserted the flock, or have made a compact 
 with the wolves. The watch-dog, faitliful to his master, 
 has revealed the enemy by his ceaseless barking, and 
 all their indignation is turned against him. And now 
 the war is waged in the light of da}^; and with hard- 
 set brows, battling in their rage, they belch forth fire, 
 
 1 In the supplement to Pico's Life of Savonarola, pp. 381- 
 385, the original Latin is found, edited by Father Quetif. 
 
DID THE FRIAR IXCCR THE CEXSTRE? 127 
 
 and witli dreadful gnashing of teeth tlieir foaming 
 madness burns, and their fetid breath is blown forth 
 with portentous yawnings. The earth is torn up with 
 their crooked claws, and the bristling-up of their back 
 aiUl of their hair}^ tails threatens terrible things. 
 
 "For they have said : 'Let us circumvent him, be- 
 cause he is unprofitable to us, and opposed to our 
 works, and he reproaches us with our crimes against 
 the law, and speaks evil against the sins of our way 
 of life. lie is burdensome to us even to behold, 
 because his life is unlike other men's! For by the 
 envy of the devil death entered into the world. But 
 those who are on his side do like as he.' 
 
 But whilst they are striving to do him greater hurt, 
 they strike against the solid rock in which lie lies hidden 
 in security, and their rebounding darts are flung back 
 against themselves. But what evil spirit has sown 
 conflicting purposes among the ranks of brethren once 
 inseparable? Who has nourished hatred? Is Christ 
 divided among you? Is He the God of dissension and 
 not of peace? Who has taught a new and adulterous 
 generation to lie in wait for the favor of princes, to 
 solicit the rich with tickling of the ears (flattery), to 
 go round about the streets and squares, to deceive the 
 souls of silly women and of the simple-minded, to 
 calumniate good works out of envy? 
 
 Is this what we learn from the example of our an- 
 cestors? Does our holy calling countenance such 
 deeds as these? Does your state and profession, does 
 the humility that appears in youv inclined shoulders, 
 does that outward show of sanctity portend such con- 
 duct? Should you not rather have stretched forth 
 
128 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED^ 
 
 helpful liands to gain Christ crucified; to gain Him for 
 3'oiirselves, and also to plant Him in the hearts of men, 
 — Christ, whom only the pious watcher and the devout 
 multitude proclaim together; whom they follow; whose 
 steps they trace to imitate Him? Do the ways of men 
 and these fatal times call for approval and applause, 
 that the truth may lurk in hiding and be utterly 
 trodden down? 
 
 " Of course I am not ignorant that there are many 
 good men in every Order; but violence is done them 
 lest they^ should know the truth; or else, overwhelmed 
 by the lukewarm, they are forced to be silent. ' How 
 long wilt Thou be mindful of us unto the end? ' 
 
 '^Yea, rather: 'Arise, and have mercy on Sion; for 
 it is time to have mercy on her, for the time has come.' 
 But do you, ' generation of vipers ' and, as the 
 Lord saith, ' like unto whited sepulchres, which 
 without, indeed, seem to men beautiful, but within are 
 full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness,' blush 
 at least at jomv own consciences, which cry out against 
 you with us, and restrain your virulent tongues. Be 
 ashamed of your rivalries, dissensions, and discords, 
 which can no longer be disguised nor hidden. Behold, 
 I pray you, the fruits of the meek flock, and the good 
 works which are forced upon your eyes like a wall, 
 flung against them like brazen battering-rams. Behold 
 the men of kindly heart, humble, tranquil, joyful even 
 in adversity, of one mind, sober, chaste, modest, fre- 
 quent at the Divine worship and at the Sacraments, 
 constant in deeds of charity. 
 
 " On the other hand, look at your own fellows and your 
 followers, who are set against the truth and the faithful 
 
DID THE FRIAR INCUR THE CENSURE? 129 
 
 watch-dog of Christ; behold them, proud, ambitious, 
 greedy of gain, adulterers, gluttons, and idlers; and 
 worse than all these are they who, forgetful of their 
 profession, secret apostates in sheep's clothing, lie 
 rotting in malice and ambition. Look, then, and see 
 at last, if only a voice may prevail to pierce the hard- 
 ened ears of the asps. 
 
 But come, ye good priests and religious, and also ye 
 good secular people, of whom I know there is every- 
 where a great multitude,^ 'Pray the Lord of the 
 harvest that He send good laborers into His field; ' 
 yea, that He winnow His corn and cleanse it and sepa- 
 rate the husks and burn the cockle; for the days are 
 near and they are rapidly coming on, when my Beloved 
 will reveal his Arm, to execute judgment and mercy 
 on the earth. Lift up yowv heads and see that the 
 summer is nigh and the harvest is whitening. 
 
 Therefore my little cliildren, my \oy and my crown, 
 looking for the blessed hope, for the sake of all the 
 faitliful and of even these your adversaries, do ye ever 
 implore Him whom my soul loveth, that He quickly 
 return to me. 
 
 Come, come, my Beloved, for I languish with love, 
 that I may repose with Thee in the midday, and my 
 soul ma}^ find rest in t\\j bosom. 
 
 Who livest and reignest unto ages of ages. Amen." 
 
 1 Here and in the third preceding paragraph, not to men- 
 tion other portions of the Friar's writings, we find a refutation, 
 in his orcn icords, of Pastor's wliolesale condemnation : " He (Sa- 
 vonarola) overlooked, in his passionate indignation, the immense 
 amount of good wliicli remained, and seehu/ ouli/ the evil," etc. 
 (History of the Topes, vol. v., p. 18-'], Eng. trans.) 
 
 9 
 
130 WAS SAVOXAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 Realizing, in a manner, the condition of affairs 
 to which Ave have adverted, our readers will 
 have an intelligent understanding of a distant 
 prospect that otherwise must mean confusion con- 
 founded. 
 
 Having thus placed before them the facts of 
 history and the principles of canon law, they will 
 be fully prepared to hear our answer to the ques- 
 tion : Did Savonarola really incur the censure of 
 excommunication ? 
 
 The situation, sad and delicate, in which Sa- 
 vonarola found himself on the publication of the 
 Brief of May 13, 1497, is probably unique in the 
 history of the Church. ^ But we believe that he 
 conducted himself according to the rules which 
 saintly and learned men had drawn, and according 
 to principles which are higher than personal sanc- 
 tity or science, namely, those of right and law ; and 
 that, in following the accepted authorities of his 
 time, names still famous and venerable, he did 
 not err. 
 
 Let us briefly summarize. Having, during an 
 apostolate of extraordinary zeal and unsparing 
 labor, wrought a great change in the spiritual life 
 of Florence, the contradictions and persecutions of 
 which St. Paul speaks arose against the Friar. 
 Powerful influences set to work to have him re- 
 moved from Florence, unscrupulous maligners car- 
 rying their deception even into the Pope's palace, 
 
 1 Bayoune, p. 110. 
 
DID THE FRIAR INCUR TUB CENSURE? l3l 
 
 persuading Alexander that Savonarola's doctrine 
 was pernicious, that he disturbed the State, that he 
 was insulting to the Holy See. They hoped, hav- 
 ing induced Alexander to call the Friar to Rome, 
 to kill him on the wa}' and this was well known 
 to Savonarola, through his friends. Failing, they 
 had his preaching in Florence interdicted, and 
 an inquiry made into his false doctrine " by an 
 Apostolic Commission. Then came the reunion 
 with Lombardy, next the letter of the Pope, in 
 which the Friar's doctrine was denounced as per- 
 nicious, though Alexander had before praised his 
 preaching; and finally the Tusco-Roman scheme, 
 by which the irregular were to be mixed up with 
 the fervent, the latter to be scattered about as a 
 leaven among the disorderly friars. This scheme 
 Savonarola held to be against charity, nor would 
 he approve, though he submitted to, the new 
 law. Having been stigmatized as a son of perdi- 
 tion, and declared excommunicated, he kept silent 
 for six months, so far as preaching or publicly 
 celebrating jNIass was concerned. Meanwhile he 
 tried to defend himself, showino- the evil work of 
 enemies, who only raged the more. They claimed 
 that his silence was the result of human fear, not 
 of piety; and as vice grew and flourished, Savo- 
 narola determined to prove to them, not only how 
 little fear he knew, but how truly from piety he 
 had acted ; and this witli danger to his life, as the 
 event proved. During the whole contest the 
 
132 WAS SAVOXAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 Friar, with much moderation and prudence, charged 
 that the wicked men who misinformed Alexander 
 were the cause of all the trouble, and on them he 
 threw all blame. 
 
 In the Brief of JVIay 13, 1497, addressed to vari- 
 ous bodies, of none of which was Savonarola a 
 member, we have the first evidence of the official 
 announcement that he had incurred the penalty 
 threatened by the Pope against all who would 
 oppose his commands and regulations, as pro- 
 mulgated on November 7, 1496. Thus, without 
 warning, without citation of the accused, without 
 proof of the offence,^ by a document irregularly 
 published, Savonarola was denounced as " a son of 
 perdition " and declared excommunicate, on the 
 following grounds : because " he preached perni- 
 cious doctrine, to the scandal and loss of souls ; " he 
 refused to go to Rome, when summoned by the 
 Pope ; he declined to imite St. Mark's Convent 
 with the newly formed Tusco-Roman Congregation. 
 
 From the terms of this Brief it is plain that 
 Alexander did not, by it, inflict any censure on 
 Savonarola ; he simply announced to Florence and 
 the general public that Savonarola, because of the 
 alleged offences, was excommunicated ; and as 
 such he was solemnly branded for having violated 
 the pontifical decree of November 7, 1496. No 
 other papal documents have been discovered, nor 
 do contemporary writers or subsequent historians 
 
 1 See pages 113, 114. 
 
DID THE FRIAR IXCUR THE CENSURE? 133 
 
 refer to any other Briefs bearing on the case. 
 There was no Bull of excommunication issued 
 against him, either of inflictive or declaratory 
 sentence. There was no process, proof, or judg- 
 ment, according to canonical requirements.^ There 
 was no sentence of any kind. The letter to the 
 Florentine communities, commonly known as the 
 Brief of excommunication, was simpl}' a command 
 by the Pontiff to proclaim as excommunicated 
 one who had been represented to Alexander as 
 haying incurred the censure promulgated by him 
 on November 7, 1496. On this false information 
 the Pope was induced to authorize an order giving 
 to such alleged fact publicity, and declaring that 
 the censure said to have been incurred had public 
 binding force. As we have already seen, it is 
 probable that this Brief was subsequently issued 
 against the intention and will of Alexander. In 
 an age of forgeries, when even papal documents 
 were not always free from the terrible taint,^ and 
 under the peculiar circumstances with which this 
 document was smuggled into Florence, while its 
 accredited bearer, the bitter ejiemy of the vener- 
 able man whom it stigmatized as a son of perdition, 
 failed to discharge his canonical duty, the people, 
 following many of the clergy, were justified in 
 doubting it and regarding it as of questionable 
 authenticity. Thus, as Xardi, an eye-witness, tells 
 us, the Brief was puljlislied only in the churches 
 1 See page 11(5. ^ t^^p page 80, note 2. 
 
134 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 of those Avlio were inimical to St. Mark's by ene- 
 mies of the Friar for their own base purposes. ^ 
 
 Let us examine the Brief in detail. Grave 
 objections may be brought against it, as desti- 
 tute of canonical requirements safeguarding the 
 rights of the members of Christ's Mystical Body, 
 but we have no desire to press them unduly. We 
 desire only to set in a clear light the facts of 
 the case. 
 
 The reader is reminded that to no one of the 
 offences charged against Savonarola nor to all 
 combined was the penalty of excommunication 
 attached by law. Hence a simple declaration even 
 by the Pope that such faults had been committed 
 by an individual would not subject that individual 
 to the penalty of excommunication. To one of 
 these offences 2 a censure ah Jiomim had been 
 attached, and in such form that the Pope's an- 
 nouncement of the fact of contumacious guilt 
 would have been sufficient to have designated 
 the sinner named as excommunicated, provided 
 such declaration had been based on truth. 
 
 A careful reading of the Brief will also convince 
 one that no date is assigned as indicating the time 
 when Savonarola fell under the ban. In what way 
 
 1 L. ii., p. 64 ; Quetif, p. 275. 
 
 2 Kamely, Savonarola's alleged refusal to unite St. Mark's 
 to the new Congregation. Here we designate the count as it 
 is presented in the Brief ; but in the succeeding text we shall 
 duly note a grave discrepancy, showing that this olfence was 
 impossible. 
 
DID THE FRIAR INCUR THE C ENSURE ? 135 
 
 he incurred the censure is not precisely stated, nor 
 is the vagueness relieved by the recitation of the 
 charges, covering, as they do, a period of almost 
 sixteen months, and embracing some counts to 
 which no penalty of censure had been attached by 
 the Pope. And this indefiniteness, this lack of par- 
 ticulars stands to-day as it did in the Friar's hour 
 of humiliation, of trial, of condemnation. History 
 has revealed no fact, document, or point of law 
 that can add one iota of proof against him. 
 
 The first indictment is that Savonarola preached 
 pernicious doctrine to the loss of souls. We 
 feel morally certain that Alexander VI. did not 
 dictate this cruelly unjust and untruthful dec- 
 laration. It is clearly the work of the Friar's 
 enemies. Several times, previously and subse- 
 quently to the excommunication, the Pope had 
 stated that he found no fault with the Friar's 
 doctrine,^ and intelligent readers of his life and 
 works know now that his writings contain no 
 erroneous doctrine. The necessity of defending 
 the great preacher from the accusation of being a 
 forerunner of Luther, is no longer urgent. The 
 charge of " pernicious teaching, scandalous, and 
 dangerous to souls," has no basis whatever. Even 
 Avere the charge sustained, it is not one that nec- 
 essarily brought in its train excommunication 
 effective by the fact, and tlierefore on this count 
 Savonarola could not have been excommunicated. 
 
 1 Letter of March 4, 1497, in Glierardi, 194 seq. 
 
136 WAS SAVOXAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 The next item is that of disobedience to a papal 
 command, given on July 21, 1495, requiring Sa- 
 vonarola to proceed to Rome, to which command, 
 as imposed under the obligation of obedience only, 
 no censure had been attached, and through which, 
 therefore, no censure could be incurred, even had 
 such command been disobeyed. Furthermore, his 
 reasonable excuses had been promptly sent and 
 graciously accepted by the Pope.^ The renewal ^ 
 of the precept renewed the obligation, but under 
 the conditions expressed by the Pontiff, and on 
 the evidence already submitted, it is clear that 
 Savonarola's enemies rendered the fulfilment of 
 Alexander's conditions impossible. That a jour- 
 ney to Rome by the Friar "in honor and safety" 
 Avas not subsequently in his power is beyond con- 
 tradiction. We reject, not only as abhorrent, but 
 as utterly without proof, tiie view of those who 
 claim that the Pope had ordered Savonarola to 
 Rome, that he might be killed, either there or on 
 the way. As to his resumption of " preaching in 
 the Lent of 1496, we have given the authorities 
 proving his obedience and submission to the Holy 
 See.3 
 
 1 See Brief of October 16, 1495, His Holiness repeated this 
 fact in the Brief of May 13, 1497. 
 
 2 By Brief of October 10, 1495. 
 
 3 See note on page 52. Consult also Appendix : " The Ques- 
 tion of Obedience." 
 
 After recounting the plots and slanders of the enemies of 
 Savonarola to effect his excommunication Pico della Miran- 
 
DID THE FRIAR INCUR THE CENSURE? 137 
 
 The charge of hindering the union of St. ^Mark's 
 with the newly devised Tusco-Roman province 
 alone remains, and if this point can be settled in 
 favor of the Friar, the difficulties of the case, so 
 far as the validity of the censure is concerned, dis- 
 appear. The Brief of excommunication issued 
 May 13, 1497, declares that, Savonarola having 
 persisted in the course of action which he had pre- 
 viously followed, the Pope, ''therefore, in a sec- 
 
 dola writes : " For myself, having: learned of the excommuni- 
 cation, I could scarcely believe that from so celebrated a place 
 such a sentence would be fulminated against a man whom I 
 know to be enriched with learning, and adorned with all virtues, 
 and especially obedience (obedientissimus), without at least the 
 appearance of truth to support it." (Quetif, p. 32.) And this 
 was the opinion of the learned and the virtuous of the time. 
 Against them were the Arrahhiati, the Compagnacci, the Medici, 
 and all the enemies of good government, personal morality, and 
 public decency. And as, according to an established canon, the 
 opinion and judgment of the virtuous in such matters should 
 be preferred to that of the wicked, it is easy to decide as to the 
 character and importance of Savonarola's supporters and op- 
 ponents. Tor other contemporary testimony to his obedience, 
 see Scelta, p. 3. To the words of Pico we add an apposite re- 
 flection of the scholarly Luotto : " When I recall by what hypoc- 
 risy, calumny, fraud, Alexander was induced to sign sucli a Brief, 
 1 can believe without further evidence all that Pastor and 
 others tell us of the wickedness of the Renaissance period. 
 And I can better understand how the worst in Machiavelli could 
 be the product of such an age. Some might feel surprised that 
 the Faith did not utterly decline. I always prefer to remem- 
 ber that the Church is a Divine institution, and that the i)ower 
 and dignity of the papacy are impersonal. I understand more 
 clearly than ever why God has not permitted the action of men 
 to have power over His Vicar in matters of dogma and Chris- 
 tian morals" (p. 528). 
 
138 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 Olid letter of November 7, 149G, commanded that 
 ill virtue of holy obedience and nnder pain of ex- 
 communication latce sententice, to be incurred ijjso 
 facto, he should unite the Convent of St. Mark 
 with the Tusco-Roman Congregation recently 
 formed and erected by us/' ^ 
 
 These words would indicate that the Pontiff's 
 motive was to punish Savonarola, to inflict a 
 penalty on him because of alleged disobedience, 
 by forcing him into a condition of life repugnant 
 to the strict and reformed observance he then 
 followed. However, let us compare the terms of 
 command, as expressed in the Brief of excommuni- 
 tion. May 13, 1497, with the definite and precise 
 words of the Brief of precept, November 7, 1496. 
 As penal and odious things, by an axiom of theol- 
 ogy, are to be rigorously interpreted, we shall 
 confine ourselves to the decisive clause of the 
 Brief of precept, taken in its strict and legal sense, 
 for on the proper understanding of this clause we 
 must consider the excommunication. The words 
 of the Pope are : " Moreover we wish, and by the 
 tenor of this present letter strictly commanding, 
 in virtue of holy obedience and under penalty of 
 excommunication latoe sente7itice, we forbid each and 
 every one, of whatsoever condition, state, dignity, 
 or grade, to contradict this letter, in any way, 
 either themselves or through others, directly or 
 indirectly, on any assumed title or color, or to 
 1 See Brief of May 13, 1497, 
 
DID THE FRIAR INCUR THE CENSURE? 139 
 
 dare or presume to place any impediment in the 
 way of its fulfilment." ^ 
 
 The distinction between the two sentences which 
 we have quoted respectively from the Briefs of 
 May 13, 1497, and November 7, 1496, is one of 
 marked and important difference, especially in 
 view of the penalty attached. Savonarola was not 
 commanded to unite the Convent of St. Mark to 
 the new Congregation. The fusion had been 
 accomplished by the Pope, whose power was all- 
 sufficient, nor did its exercise depend, in any man- 
 ner, on the consent of the Dominican Order in its 
 head or members. It was needless, therefore, and it 
 would have been superfluous for the Sovereign Pon- 
 tiff to have commanded a subordinate to do what 
 he by his supreme power had already effected: 
 " And by our Apostolic authority we decree that 
 liereafter, for all future time, the five convents 
 mentioned, as separated by us from the said Con- 
 gregation, and the other said convents of the 
 Tuscan and Roman Province, as well as you, 
 priors and brethren now living in these convents, 
 are hy us constituted as one Congregation^ to be 
 known as the Tusco-Roman Province of regular 
 observance." 
 
 Of the charge, therefore, as mentioned in the 
 Brief of excommunication, ^lay 13, 1497, of hav- 
 ing- refused to unite St. Clark's with the new 
 province, Savonarola was not guilty, because he 
 
 1 See tlie Brief of Xoveniber 7, 1496. 
 
140 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 had received no command to tliat effect in the 
 Brief of precept, November 7, 1496, to which the 
 excommunication had been attached, and conse- 
 quently he could not have incurred a censure on 
 such a ground. 
 
 But he was ordered, with all the other members 
 of his community, and with all concerned, that he 
 should place no obstacle in the way of the pontifical 
 decree, and this precept obliged him under pain of 
 excommunication. If he disobeyed it, in any man- 
 ner, directly, or indirectly, he incurred the censure 
 and was excommunicated. We are now at the 
 vital point of our inquiry. 
 
 Remembei'ing Savonarola as a religious bound 
 by vows, many have assumed from general prin- 
 ciples of the spiritual life that he should have 
 labored to remove all obstacles, to persuade his 
 community to submit to the union without ap- 
 peal. He had not been commanded to do this, 
 and therefore by failing to do it, no matter 
 how he may seem to have been wanting in the 
 perfection of religious obedience, he was not 
 disobedient, nor did he incur a censure. Moreover, 
 he was entitled to his honest, intelligent opinion 
 as to the motive, purpose, and feasibility of ' the 
 union ; and, knowing the facts as he did, and hav- 
 ing the instinct as well as the experience of the 
 religious reformer, he could not conscientiously 
 applaud the work that had been done, nor could he 
 urge others to an opposite view. In allowing the 
 
DID THE FRIAR INCUR THE CENSURE ? 141 
 
 respectful petition of the community to be ad- 
 dressed to the Pope, he simply abstained from in- 
 fringing on their absolute right to have recourse to 
 the Supreme Pa.stor. In a like spirit he dealt with 
 the Florentine people, many of wliom were strongly 
 and. personally interested in the ncAv Congregation, 
 because of their friends and relatives who belonged 
 to the Community of St. Mark. 
 
 This attitude towards others he maintained 
 throughout. He sought neither directly nor in- 
 directly to oppose tlie Pope's plan ; he sti'ove only 
 by prayer and just appeal to the Sovereign Pontiff, 
 to have the acknowledofed union rescinded. We 
 say acknowledged union, because the Brief of 
 Alexander had received its most effectual recogni- 
 tion from Savonarola, who, on its receipt, at once 
 made known its contents and obligations to the 
 community, — assuredly an evidence of submission 
 and obedience, of a spirit absolutely sincere, open, 
 and honomble. On the appointment of the Vicar 
 for the new province, Savonarola at once relin- 
 quished his office as head of St. Mark's Congrega- 
 tion and accepted the jurisdiction placed over him, 
 in the same spirit in which he had acknowledged 
 the authority of B. Sebastian Maggi, when St. 
 Mark's Convent was attached to the Lombard 
 Congregation. And in the same spirit of esteem 
 and reverence which Sebastian had manifested for 
 Savonarola, Father James of Sicily, the new Vicar 
 General, also held him, and declined to transfer 
 
142 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 him from Florence. In fact, though no one dis- 
 obeyed the Pope, the Tusco-Roman province was 
 never fully organized. All concerned knew the 
 situation as one extremely precarious, and those 
 in authority made no changes.^ 
 
 What was Savonarola's attitude towards the 
 new Congregation ? ^ We set aside the canonical 
 plea of intolerable error, touching the purpose 
 under command, when the fusion was accom- 
 plished. The plan of union was neither evil nor 
 immoral in itself, nor may it be asserted that it 
 was not within the competence of the Pope to 
 merge the various convents included in the 
 scheme. And as there can be no question of the 
 possibility of fulfilling Alexander's commands, sup- 
 posing he had desired their fulfilment, we believe 
 that the censure cannot be considered invalid on 
 this score. But it is now evident that Savona- 
 rola's view of the case Avas judicious, that there 
 was an inherent defect in the papal command; 
 and history has vindicated the Friar's judgment. 
 Moreover, his inalienable right of conscience, his 
 
 1 After Savonarola's death the independence of St. Mark's 
 Congregation was restored, and for more than one hundred years 
 it continued to be the model, the nucleus, the strength, and the 
 glory of the entire Dominican Order. (Marchese : San Marco, 
 p. 111.) And to the present time it preserves its integrity, 
 despite the misfortunes that have befallen religious life in 
 Italy. The actual Vicar is Father John Lottini, who has made 
 so just and skilful a defence of his persecuted predecessor. 
 
 2 The reader will recur, with advantage, to our historical re- 
 view of the facts, and to the chapter " Question of Censures." 
 
DID THE FRIAR INCUR THE CENSURE? 143 
 
 right to pass judgment, not on his superior's com- 
 mands, but on his own conscientious relationship 
 to them, must not be impugned. Xor can it be 
 justly alleged that his maintenance of his opinion, 
 his strong appeal in a canonical way to the Sover- 
 eign Pontiff, constituted opposition of a kind liable 
 to censure. Had he failed in any respect that 
 would have rendered him amenable to the penalty, 
 his watchful enemies would have promptly noti- 
 fied the fact to Alexander. There is no evidence 
 of any such charge nor even of any forgery, from 
 which they would not have shrunk, had it been 
 considered advisable. Savonarola might well doubt 
 that the Pope had been wisely counselled in the 
 move ; he had a right to feel that the Vicar of 
 Christ wotild not wish to undo the work of Saints. 
 In his own conscience he had a tribunal delicate 
 and trustworthy, and, enlightened as it was by ex- 
 perience, by true piety and great learning, he could 
 have resisted what he believed to be an infringe- 
 ment of a sacred privilege, namely, the opportunity 
 of rigorously observing his Order's laws ; he could 
 justly have refused a change which foreboded evil, 
 loss of reputation and honor, as well as other seri- 
 ous injuries to himself and to those whom he had 
 received in religion's name, under certain solemn 
 pledges ; he could have legally declined to accept 
 an arrangement inspired by the hatred of his 
 enemies, which threatened the peace of religion, 
 which indeed practically represented a dispensa- 
 
144 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 tion against the greater good, a diminution of his 
 obligations, against his will, and without present 
 advantage or probable future compensation.' Ac- 
 cordingly he would have been justified in a posi- 
 tive refusal had the matter been placed before 
 him as a command. But he had not been allowed 
 any choice ; he yielded, therefore, and was not 
 disobedient. He waived, in practice, all the -rights 
 conferred on him by canon law^ and chose the 
 highest standard, that of submission, — full, sin- 
 cere ; and then he appealed. In the meantime, 
 while his will was subordinated, in complete 
 acceptance of a condition of affairs imposed upon 
 him, his conscience, his intellect were not able to 
 reject the light, nor could he refuse to yield assent 
 to the truth as he saw it. In deploring the threat- 
 ened ruin of his beloved St. Mark's, — a gloomy 
 prospect unrelieved by the hope of reform among 
 the irregular to whom his lot was joined, — he was 
 sustained by authorities and principles that are 
 essential to the religious life. His attitude was 
 that of sound piety and impressive edification. 
 
 We may describe his critical position as one of 
 complete submission to the Pope in all that con- 
 cerned the- externals, as jurisdiction and the recog- 
 nition of the nev/ly formed province ; but in his 
 conscience he claimed the right to be faithful to 
 
 1 Consult Appendix on Obedience ; Ferraris, torn, vii., p. 246, 
 n. 22. 
 
 ^ Compare conclusions in Appendix on Obedience. 
 
DID THE FRIAR INCUR THE CENSURE? 145 
 
 his hig'lier pledges, his \ow to lead a truly fervent, 
 religious life ; and from this principle, though the 
 Pope might disband the whole Order, he could not 
 oblige the humblest subject to depart. 
 
 Let the reader remember that the Pope's Brief 
 of November 7, 1496, dealt with no question of the 
 universal discipline of the Church, nor with a mat- 
 ter of faith or morals; his action was not ex cathe- 
 dra. The question was one purely local and partic- 
 ular, touching disciplinary measures in one portion 
 of a religious Order. Even had Savonarola denied 
 the authority of the Pope in this particular case, 
 had he opposed Alexander's proceedings, such re- 
 sistance could not have the odious character that 
 is rightly attributed to opposition to a papal act of 
 universal jurisdiction, or regarding a matter of uni- 
 versal import in the domain of faith or morals. 
 
 Thus far, as we have seen, Savonarola acted with 
 extreme caution. An expert canonist,^ a profound 
 theologian, well advised by capable men, he made 
 no slip, he kept his feet in the path of safety, free 
 from the entanglements of the ban. He did not 
 waver in his steadfast opinion as to the unwisdom 
 of the recent amalgamation, but he remained pas- 
 sive. No acts can be alleged against him as fall- 
 ing under tlie pontifical prohibition. It cannot be 
 proved that he ridiculed the new Congregation. 
 
 1 Savonarola was not only learned in the law, civil and ec- 
 clesiastical, but among his unpublished Avritings are several 
 treatises on the canons, in which his mastery of the subject is 
 clear. See Villari, i., pp. xxii, xxiv ; and Luotto, chapter xxvi. 
 
 10 
 
146 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 One passage in a sermon ^ in which he referred 
 to the various orders that liad been given, and com- 
 pared them to moves on a chess-board, has been 
 so misunderstood. But it must be observed that 
 in this sermon, as always, he attributes all his 
 troubles, not to the Pope himself, but to the 
 calunuiiators who made the Pontiff- the uncon- 
 scious instrument of their perverse intentions. In 
 this judgment we think he was right. In their 
 day they specified no charge ; they did what cow- 
 ardice and vindictiveness have often done ; they 
 persistently slandered, sweepingly maligned, in 
 the hope that some at least of their defilement 
 would cleave to the object of their hatred. But 
 they acted not wisely, though they extorted from 
 a harassed Pontiff a declaration of whose falsity 
 he was not aware. 
 
 A strong light has since been shed on their dark 
 deeds ; and history, walking under the guidance of 
 canon law, and seeking only the truth, has made 
 manifest that Savonarola was neither disobedient 
 nor heretical, and that no excommunication lay 
 against him on any of the counts enumerated in 
 the Brief of May is, 1497. He did not defy the 
 papal summons ordering him to go to Rome ; he 
 did not resume his preaching until he had been 
 assured of Alexander's permission ; he did not re- 
 sist the formation of the Tusco-Roman Province, 
 in an}^ manner prohibited by law or riglit ; he did 
 
 1 The .sc'coiul on Exodus, 
 
DID THE FRIAR INCUR THE CENSURE? 147 
 
 not teach heresy or scandalous doctrine. These 
 facts we have clearly established. 
 
 To the question, therefore, which we have placed 
 at the head of this chapter, the reader is prepared 
 to answer negatively and emphatically. And this 
 conclusion receives a solemn confirmation from the 
 Friar's own declaration that he was not entangled 
 in any censures, — a declaration that comes to us 
 with an impressiveness peculiarly sacred in the 
 light of his ending. 1 
 
 1 See his letter of June 19, 1497. 
 
148 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED'^ 
 
 DID THE FRIAR GIVE SCANDAL? 
 AVING proved that Savonarola was not 
 
 X 1 excommunicated, we desire to meet the 
 objection of those who ask, did not the Friar 
 give scandal by openly defying the Brief of 
 excommunication ? 
 
 For the guidance of the reader we consider it 
 necessary to summarize the teaching of theology 
 on scandal. The popular understanding of scan- 
 dal is often inexact. Its precise meaning, as given 
 by divines, is conveyed in the definition of 
 St. Thomas which is recognized as standard by 
 all teachers of theology : " Any word or deed less 
 correct giving to another the occasion of spiritual 
 ruin." 1 Paraphrasing the Angelic Doctor's pithy 
 and comprehensive expression, we say that as 
 scandal etymologically signifies a stumbling-block 
 or an impediment, theologically it means any 
 occasion in the spiritual life bringing spiritual 
 harm, by stumble or fall, because of the words or 
 actions of another who has set a hindrance to good, 
 or an inducement to evil, before his neighbor. 
 
 TV. 
 
 1 2« 2«, q. 4"1, nrt. 1. 
 
DID THE FRIAR GIVE SCANDAL? 
 
 149 
 
 Tliuti, as scandal is opposed to mercy and char- 
 ity, the obligation of avoiding it is grave ; the pre- 
 cept of the Apostle is precise, even as to the 
 appearance of evil, from which we must abstain.^ 
 A distinction, however, must be made. Scandal 
 truly given^ namely, that which comes from the 
 Avorcls or deeds of another, evil in themselves or 
 having the appearance of e^■il, is different from 
 scandal simply taken^ quite beyond another's inten- 
 tion, and quite apart from the nature of his words 
 or deeds. This received scandal arises either from 
 ignorance or weakness, and then it is known as 
 scandalum pusillorum^ or " the scandal of the 
 weak ; " or it is, by evil interpretation, the off- 
 spring of malice, and as such it is called pliari- 
 saiccd scandal, in memorj' of the Pharisees who 
 declared that they were scandalized by the most 
 holy words and deeds of our Blessed Redeemer.'^ 
 This brings us to the root of our question, 
 namely, to what extent is one obliged to relin- 
 quish spiritual goods, to avoid passive scandal, or 
 the scandal that people might take. St. Thomas 
 will be our guide. 
 
 Spiritual goods necessary for salvation, and 
 which cannot be abandoned without sin, must not 
 be relinquished to avoid scandal of any kind or to 
 anyone, because charity first obliges a man to seek 
 his own chief spiritual welfare before that of his 
 neighbor. 
 
 1 Tliessalonians v. 22. 
 - St. Matthew xv. 12. 
 
150 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 Spiritual goods which are not necessary for sal- 
 vation, and which can therefore be relinquished 
 without sin, should not be renounced on account 
 of Pharisaical scandal, if there is sufficient cause 
 for immediate action or for not delaying such 
 works. , The reason of this conclusion the Angelic 
 Doctor finds in the malice from which persons so 
 scandalized would sin, a condition not of necessity 
 requiring the help of others, and from which they 
 can easily deliver themselves. Otherwise such 
 persons would be encouraged in impeding their 
 neighbor's spiritual welfare, and consequently the 
 scandal that they would take must not be con- 
 sidered, according to otir Blessed Lord's own 
 declaration w^heu His disciples feared that the 
 Pharisees would be scandalized by His words and 
 works. " Let them alone ; they are blind and the 
 leaders of the blind." ^ 
 
 In this conclusion of the Angelic Doctor a con- 
 dition is expressed, — " if there is sufficient cause 
 for immediate action, or for not delaying such 
 works ; " because it is the dictate of charity, which 
 shrinks from aught that may offend God, that 
 without cause we should not give even to one who 
 will sin of his own malice, an occasion for Avrong- 
 doinof. 
 
 spiritual goods which are not necessarj* for sal- 
 vation, if no danger threatens us, or if the welfare 
 of the public does not otherwise demand, should 
 1 St. Matthew xv. 14. 
 
DID tup: friar give scandal? 151 
 
 he concealed or (Icferved, on account of scandal of 
 the weak, till the likelihood of such scandal is 
 removed, through explanation or instruction. This 
 obligation springs from charity, which commands 
 us to aid our neighbor in spiritual need, whenever 
 we can conveniently succor him. 
 
 Having given an explanation that reasonable 
 men would regard as satisfactory, it may be pre- 
 sumed that tliose who still take scandal hyq 
 actuated by malice, and for them we should not 
 sacrifice such spiritual goods, though they are only 
 of counsel. Should it happen, however, that be- 
 cause of stupidity, or because they are swayed by 
 other reasons, or led by force of old habit, some 
 persons cannot grasp our explanation, it may be 
 urged that, if the spiritual goods in question 
 can be deferred, without serious loss to our- 
 selves or danger to the public weal, we should 
 wait in the hope of further enlightening such 
 " weak ones." But having given ample time and 
 sufficient instruction in the spirit of meekness,^ 
 having gravely considered all the circumstances 
 urging us to action or restraining us from it ; leav- 
 ing discreetly and maturely decided that matters 
 of great private utility are involved, our own spir- 
 itual interests are at stake, the Faith is threatened, 
 or the welfare of souls is seriously endangered, 
 — we may judge that only does the word of the 
 Apostle then specially hold, Be ye zealous for 
 
 1 Galatians Vi. 1. 
 
152 WAS SAVONAROLA EXC0MMCN1CATED9 
 
 the better gifts," ^ but that works otherwise of 
 counsel have become of necessity, and therefore 
 must not be omitted. Thus theologians stand on 
 the well-known sentiment of the great Pope St. 
 Gregory : " If scandal is taken from the truth, it 
 is better to let such scandal come, rather than to 
 relinquish the truth." And this is according to 
 our Lord's own words,^ and to the declaration of 
 that great champion of authority, " the last of the 
 Fathers," St. Bernard, who quotes these words of 
 Pope Gregory, and commenting on them says : " I 
 would not be silent when vice was to be rebuked, 
 and truth defended." ^ This salutary principle does 
 not affect the question of the mere timeliness of a 
 sermon, or of the advisability of preaching in 
 general; it concerns rather the Gospel vitally, and 
 involves the interests of souls supremely consid- 
 ered in a grave emergency. 
 
 Nor can it be charged against those who act 
 according to the principles enunciated, that through 
 their knowledge the weak brother perishes,^ for 
 after such instruction the Aveak brother becomes a 
 pharisee, and the scandal wdiich he maliciously 
 takes may be permitted. ^ 
 
 1 1 Corinthians xii. 31. 
 
 2 St. Matthew xiii. 14. 
 
 3 Epistola 78, torn, i., p. 38. 
 1 Corinthians viii. 11. 
 
 ^ We give tlie doctrine of St. Thomas, 2a 2«, q. 43, art. 1-8, on 
 which the reader may also consult tlie fuller comment of Caje- 
 tan and Sylvius ; St. Alphonsus, 1. ii., t. 3, c. ii., a. 1 and 2, tom. 
 
DID THE FRIAR CIVE SCANDAL? 153 
 
 Having laid down these admitted principles of 
 moral theology, we now proceed to answer the per- 
 tinent question which forms this chapter-heading 
 by presenting the Friar's argument as expressed in 
 a letter of uncertain date, but written subsequently 
 to the publication of the ban. and addressed to a 
 Dominican who had submitted to him a question 
 as to the validity of the censure : ^ — 
 
 i., pp. 239-245 ; Billuart, de Vitiis Cliaritati Oppositis, D. vii., 
 a. vi., sec. 4, torn, v., pp. 378 seq. ; Concilia (Theologia), 1. i., D., 9, 
 c. 5, torn. 2, pp. Ill seq.; Wigandt, Tract, vii, Ex. vii., q. 32, 
 p. 161 ; Castro Palao, t. vi., D. vi., p. 16, n. 3-6, torn, i., pp. 484, 
 485; Salraanticenses, t. xxi., de Prseceptis, c. viii., p. 5, torn, v., 
 p. 304; Layman, 1. ii., t. iii., c. 13, n. 8, torn. i. p. 182; Sporer, 
 t. V. in V. Prsecept. c. 1, s. ], Reg. 2 and 3, torn, ii., p. 89; An- 
 toine, c. vi., s. 4, q. 4, torn, i., p. 207 ; Suarez, de Charitate, D. x., 
 s. 3, n. 7, 9, torn, xii., p 727 ; Lacroix, 1. ii., t. 3, c. 2, D. 5, a. 2, 
 torn, i., pp. 112, 113; Palmieri (who says that not even indiffer- 
 ent works are to be abandoned), p. 212 ; Patuzzi, Tract, iv., de 
 Virt. c. xviii., torn, iii., 100-112 ; Varceno, t. viii., a. 3, s. 3, torn, i., 
 p. 375; Aertnys, 1. ii., t. iii., p. ii, torn. i. pp. 143 seq. ; Haine, de 
 Virtutibus, s. 3, art. 1 seq., tora. !., pp. 320 seq. ; Lehmkuhl, torn, 
 i., 379 ; Claremontenses, torn, v., 521, 522 ; Cuuiliati, Tr. iv., c. 9, 
 s. 6, de Decal. Prteceptis ; Kenrick, Tr. xiii., de Virt. Theol. 
 p. iii, c. 6, n. 125; Reiffenstuel (Theologia), Tr. iv., D. vii , q. 2, 
 n. 26, 28, tora. i, 107 ; Roncaglia, Tr. vi., c. 6, q. 7, torn, i., p. 185; 
 Neyraguet, pp. 108, 109. 
 
 The tract on Charity, as it deals with scandal, by these 
 authors, may be more fulh' consulted, as well as moral theolo- 
 gians in general. We have given the strictest teaching, for in 
 favor of an easier interpretation of the law on scandal and the 
 omission of good works, we could refer to names not inconspic- 
 uous among theologians. 
 
 1 Quetif (pp. 191 seq.) gives the Latin. The name of the 
 Fatiier to wliom the letter was addressed is not known. We 
 refer the reader to Savonarola's letter of June 19, 1497. 
 
154 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 You ask mo, dearly beloved Brother, whether an ex- 
 communication of this kind, which, within the past 
 few days we have shown to be unjust,^ ought to be ob- 
 served, at least in public. On this point I shall let 
 Peter de Palude^ and the Archbishop of Florence^ 
 speak openly for me in their own clear words: 'An 
 unjust excommunication need not be feared on account 
 of the penalty of the law, because according to truth he 
 incurs no penalty of law who does not observe a sen- 
 tence that is null,^ but on account of fault, by reason 
 of scandal. Bat, as Boetius says,^ 'there are some 
 ideas or notions common to all, others that are special 
 to the learned.' When, therefore, it is known to the 
 learned that a sentence is null, although among the 
 people it is not understood, a man may disregard such 
 a sentence in private, but in public he ought to observe 
 it, until the danger of scandal has been reasonably re- 
 moved ] as when one who has been publicly excommun- 
 
 1 Savonarola uses this word after the manner of the older 
 canonists, in the same sense as invalid. Modern doctors distin- 
 guish the terms, but their conclusions substantially agree with 
 those of the writers who preceded the Council of Trent. In his 
 sermons, the twenty-second on Amos, the first and the second 
 on Exodus, the tenth on Ruth and Micheas, and that on Ag- 
 geus, Savonarola develops the teaching of St. Thomas on law, 
 justice, and charity in an admirable manner, clearly sliowing 
 how all ordinations against justice and charity lack binding 
 force, because they are contrary to the natural and the Divine 
 law, which is eternal. 
 
 In 4 Lib. Sent. 1). xviii., q. 1, art. 3. 
 
 ^ St. Antoninus, Summa, pars, iii., t. 24, c. 73. 
 
 * Thus Savonarola shows that he is in harmony with the 
 ancient canonists in using the terms "unjust" and "null" 
 indifferently. 
 
 ^ In Librum Quomodo Substantias Bonas Sunt, p. 1317. 
 
DID THE FRIAR GIVE SCAXDAL? 
 
 155 
 
 icated- and pnbliclj' denounced shows to the contrary 
 and publicly that the sentence does not hold (for ex- 
 ample, because of an appeal, or for any other just rea- 
 son), for then there can no longer be the scandal of the 
 weak, but onl}^ pharisaical scandal, and this is to be 
 contemned.' 
 
 " In the Decretals, Gelasius ^ says : ' If one is censured, 
 let him put away his error (or sin) and the sentence 
 will be cancelled. But if he has been unjustly (in- 
 validl^') sentenced, he ought not to regard it, insomuch 
 as no one can be bound hy an unjust sentence before 
 God and His Church. He, therefore, who knows that 
 he is in no manner bound, ought not to desire ab- 
 solution.' 
 
 Wherefore, since it has been for some time evident 
 to all the people that this excommunication has been 
 extorted by the wicked, through false accusations and 
 persistent importunity, that they might have an easier 
 way to follow their evil course ; and since, through the 
 letter recently published by me, I have shown the whole 
 truth of this affair, thus removiug from the people 
 the danger of scandal and proving clearly the injustice 
 of the sentence, I am not obliged to observe it in pub- 
 lic, nor can any one be scandalized unless he wishes 
 obstinately to jDroclaim himself a pharisee. And this 
 can also be more fully understood from the words of 
 John Gerson, that most learned and most religious 
 man, whom the Parisians call the most Christian Doctor. 
 In his Tract on Excommunications and Irregularities, 
 he writes among other points, and elegantly-, as fol- 
 
 ^ Gelasius, Episcopis Orientalibiis de Damnatione Dioscori, 
 p. 150. 
 
156 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 lows : ^ ' Contempt of the Keys ^ can be traced only 
 from legitimate power and from the legitimate use of 
 that power by him who commands under threat of ex- 
 communication or interdict; for otherwise prelates 
 would be able to impose w^hatever servitude they chose 
 upon their subjects, if, even in their erroneous and un- 
 just sentences, they should be always obe3^ed. And 
 thus it is evident that the common saying, " The sen- 
 tence of the prelate or judge, even when unjust (in- 
 valid) must be feared," needs qualification. Otherwise, 
 it is not generally true that this means such a sentence 
 must be sustained and not refuted; indeed there might 
 be cases wherein such submission would be asinine 
 patience and timidit}^, as foolish as that of the hare. 
 
 '''Contempt of the Keys ^ involves greater danger 
 when the Sovereign Pontiff is concerned, because from 
 the abuses of inferiors tliere is recourse to the Pope, 
 on appeal. And if it b'e said that in like manner an 
 appeal can be made from the Pope to a General Council, 
 it w^as formerly declared, before the Councils of Pisa and 
 Constance, that this was in no manner lawful, and they 
 who so hold bring forward laws which to them seem 
 very clear; but now it is vigorously asserted that this 
 is heresy, condemned by a most special Constitution in 
 the aforesaid Council of Constance, as elsewhere we 
 have fully shown. It is admitted that, though lawful, 
 yet for light matters there ought not to be an appeal to 
 
 1 Tom. ii. 423. 
 
 2 A canonical and theological expression signifying disre- 
 gard or disobedience and contempt of the binding and loosing 
 power of the Church. 
 
 3 Gerson here uses this expression in the sense of abuse of 
 power. 
 
DID THE FRIAR GIVE SCANDAL? 
 
 157 
 
 a Council, to whicli there cannot be such eas}' recourse 
 as there can be to the Pope.-^ 
 
 ' Contempt of the Keys is not incurred in those 
 cases in which the commands of the Pope ought not to be 
 obeyed, if, namely, he enormously and most scandalouslj^ 
 abuses his power, unto destruction and not unto edifi- 
 cation, for which, as the Apostle says, power has been 
 conferred on him. For instance, if the Pope wished to 
 appropriate the treasures of the Church or to usurp her 
 inheritance, or to reduce to abject slavery the clergy 
 and their goods, despoiling them of their rights with- 
 out cause, who would say that this should be toler- 
 ated ? ^Yho would not admit that the Pope might be 
 asked, Why do 3'ou do this ? Who would not agree 
 that he should be resisted to his face ? 
 
 " ^Contempt of the Keys is likewise not always found 
 with those who do not obe}^ sentences of excommunica- 
 tion promulgated by the Pope or his agents, nor with 
 those who seek the help of the secular arm in defence 
 against such sentences; for the natural law declares 
 that we can repel force by force, and it is evident that 
 such excommunications are not right and law, but force 
 and violence, against which it is just for one to defend 
 himself.^ 
 
 1 Gerson's view on tliis point, tliat a Council is superior to 
 tlie Pope, is no longer tenable among Catholics ; nor was it in 
 his day, the sad period of the Great Schism of the West, a gen- 
 erally admitted opinion. 
 
 - Gerson's words must be read in the gloomy light of tlie 
 fifteenth century, when, among other grave abuses, that of the 
 Church's spiritual weajjons was also of too frequent occurrence, 
 — an evil which drew from the Fatliers of Trent, who witnessed 
 the calamities born of that unhappy period, the prudent admo- 
 
158 n^^KS' SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 ^' 'Contempt of the Keys, and consequently excom- 
 munication or irregularity, is not incurred when in the 
 aforesaid cases any canonist or theologian declares on his 
 conscience that such sentences are not to be feared or 
 observed; and this' especially holds if due caution has 
 been taken to instruct the people, so that there will be 
 no scandal of the weak among those who suppose that 
 the Pope is as God, having all power in Heaven and on 
 earth. But such stupidity is to be removed by suitable 
 instruction; and then if they are unwilling to abide by 
 it, the scandal they may take is to be accounted as 
 Pharisaical and from malice, not the scandal of the 
 weak, from simplicity or ignorance. 
 
 " ' Contempt of the Ke3^s is rather encouraged than 
 abated, when those who ought to resist the abuse of the 
 Keys are divided, and thus become an impediment, 
 either through stupidity^ or sluggishness (some favoring 
 abuses, others wishing to remove them), preventing an 
 expression of united opinion, whereby it would be seen 
 that there is no ground for exclusion from the house of 
 God. 
 
 'It is, indeed, of truth that every promising means 
 should be humbly used with the Sovereign Pontiff, 
 when he has been deceived and thus induced to impose 
 an unjust censure, in the hope that he may reconsider 
 and recall it; but if humble perseverance avails nought, 
 then may manly liberty be courageously^ followed.' 
 
 nition with which they charged prelates to ohscrve great re- 
 straint and forbearance in fulminating censures. 
 
 Writing of the period with which we are dealing, Pastor 
 justly remarks: "The punislmients inflicted by the Church had 
 certainly less effect than formerly, partly through the fault of 
 the clergy, wlio employed them too freely and for trifling 
 causes." (History of tlie Popes, v. 92. Eng. trans.) 
 
DID THE FRIAR GIVE SCANDAL? 
 
 159 
 
 Behold how well «Tohii Gerson speaks to our case. 
 To believe, therefore, that all censures should be ob- 
 served proceeds from ignorance, which is especially 
 unbecoming and harmful in priests and religious who 
 have undertaken the office of preacliing and instructing 
 the people. But such ignorance has waxed so strong 
 in our day that many rashly and blindly atlirm that all 
 who come to our convent, or spealv with us, are, by the 
 very fact, excommunicated. This, at least, is very 
 doubtful, because in the words of the Brief ^ this is not 
 expressly stated; the Pope only so admonishes them 
 under a like penalty of excommunication. But canon- 
 ists commonly hold that when such an adrtionition is 
 given, unless it is added, 'you will incur excommuni- 
 cation' by the very fact of disregarding, one so acting 
 is not excommunicated, but may be excommunicated. 
 And this is according to general i)ractice. But to af- 
 firm as certain what is doubtful in this case proceeds 
 either from malice and presumption or from ignorance, 
 particularly because penal things are to be restricted, 
 nor may any one in doubt be condemned by law. 
 
 '•In this affair the ignorance and blindness of these 
 men are further manifested when they preach that 
 they who speak to me or go to our convent must be 
 avoided, not knowing that Pope Martin the Fifth, in 
 the Council of Constance (and it was renewed in that 
 of Basle), decreed that the faithful are by no nuiaus 
 obliged to avoid excommunicated persons, whether 
 in matters divine or otherwise, unless such persons 
 have been expressly named and denounced, excepting 
 the case of those who have notoriously assaulted an 
 ecclesiastic. 
 
 1 Of May 18, 14U7. 
 
IGO WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 Hence, even if we admitted that the excommunica- 
 tion was valid, it would not be necessary to avoid those 
 to whom I have referred. But these priests and re- 
 ligious, who spend the whole day in idleness, seldom or 
 never devote themselves to study or prayer, and there- 
 fore they are grossly ignorant, to say nothing worse. 
 However, do you pray for the Church, that God may at 
 length deign to illumine her as in the beginning. 
 Farewell in Christ." ^ 
 
 By recalling the principles of canon law and 
 theology bearing on our inquiry, and which we 
 have already given ; and by considering in their 
 light the story of Savonarola's conduct as narrated 
 in the first part of our essay, the reader can judge 
 whether he gave scandal. That his pharisaical 
 enemies took scandal after their kind concerns us 
 not, for it concerned him not. The representa- 
 tive men of the State, after grave deliberation, and 
 the virtuous citizens, were not only fully prepared 
 for his preaching, at the end of the Friar's long 
 seclusion, but they were also eager to listen to him.^ 
 
 1 Quetif (pp. 191 seq.) pul)lishes the Latin text of this 
 letter. The date of its writing is not known, but it was prob- 
 ably late in June or early in July, shortly after the Brief of 
 May 13, 1497, had been received in Florence. 
 
 2 Even before the faithful spoke, telling of their spiritual 
 hunger, the nuns of the Monastery of St. Vincent, Florence, 
 had begged him to give tliem conferences ; but he declined, 
 judging that tliey were under no special need, nor was the time 
 ripe when there would be no scandal of the weak. (Epistolae 
 Spirituales et Asceticae, xii., p. 229 seq.) After he had resumed 
 his preaching the nuns of the monastery known as the Fuligno, 
 
DID THE FRIAR GIVE SCANDAL? 
 
 161 
 
 The suppression of all sermons, coupled with tlie 
 renewed activity of the wicked, had thrown Flor- 
 ence back to the deplorable conditions from which 
 Savonarola's apostolate had rescued the people. 
 Under the impulse of charity, that supreme virtue, 
 which tlie Apostle has described as the greatest,^ 
 Savonarola, who was ready to lay down his life 
 for souls, was moved to speak. Under this uni- 
 versal law and after mature counsel with holy 
 and learned men, he broke the silence he had so 
 long maintained on account of the weak,^ and 
 beholding the spiritual interests of the flock en- 
 dangered, realizing that it was not a question as 
 to the timeliness or expediency of preaching, but 
 that the doctrine which he had taught was stig- 
 matized, that the truth of Jesus Christ was branded, 
 as pernicious, that further silence would be a 
 
 Elorence, who were under tlie jurisdiction of the Archbishop 
 and the direction of the Canons of San Lorenzo's, attended 
 Savonarola's sermons, coming two at a time to each discourse. 
 (Lottini, p. 23.) Both of these Communities were noted for 
 their piety and fervor. The testimony of their esteem is not 
 without marked value when it is asked if Savonarola neglected 
 any precaution against scandal. 
 
 1 1 Corinthians xiii. 13 ; St. Thomas, 1^ 2«, q. 66, art. 6 ; and 
 2^ 2* q. 23, art. 6. 
 
 2 In the second sermon on Exodus, he puts to himself the 
 objection: "0 Friar, you have observed the excommunication. 
 You have remained shut up in your convent, and you have cele- 
 brated Mass in private without coming before the public." 
 And he answered : " I have never o]),served it on my own 
 account, and I have said Mass every day, but I have made use 
 of some ])recautions, outwardly and through regard for the 
 weak," 
 
 U 
 
162 WAS SAVOXAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 confession of the justice of the slanders published 
 against him, he resolved to mount the pulpit, 
 lie folloAved the teaching of St. Thomas,^ of St. 
 Gregory, of Catholic theology. 
 
 Had it been merely a question of the advisabil- 
 ity of then preaching, he should have been silent ; ^ 
 it was, however, a case of the truth of his doc- 
 trine, of public morality, of the welfare of souls, 
 of supreme charity.^ Having given ample instruc- 
 tion, in which learned and eminent men of the 
 time joined, having removed lingering doubts, and 
 set forth the injustice and invalidity of the excom- 
 munication, he was free to disregard the hypocrites 
 and pharisees who persecuted him, and sought the 
 destruction of the reform which he had inaugurated. 
 
 Not only did he not give scandal in this, but 
 he sought to avert the scandal given by others.* 
 Following the teaching of the Angelic Doctor he 
 would administer paternal correction, even to those 
 
 1 In 4 Sent. D. xxxviii., q. ii., a. 4. 
 
 2 St. Matthew vii. 6. 
 
 3 His sermons for Septuagesima and Sexagesima, 1498, make 
 clear this point. 
 
 * What held after the Friar's death was true during tlie sad 
 days of the excommunication : " It was a common saying that 
 since the days of Mahomet no such scandal had ever disgraced 
 Christianity as the wickedness then rife amongst the Floren- 
 tines. Vice revelled in all its forms as if virtue had been pro- 
 hibited by law, and no crime was held so abominable, so 
 shameful or reprehensible as that of having believed in the 
 Friar, or advocated a reform of the Court of Rome. Vices of 
 tlie most disgusting nature, then but too common in Florence, 
 now revived in all the filth of their unnatural character, and 
 again poisoned society." Kapler, bk. ii., chap. 7, vol. iii., pp. 
 617, 618. 
 
DID THE FRIAR GIVE SCAXDAL ? 
 
 163 
 
 above him.^ Like St. Bernard he would not shrink, 
 because of the age, power, or dignity of any man, 
 from reproaching him, for the avoidance of scandal. 
 The greater tlie name and dignity, he argued with 
 the Saint, the greater the scandal. Therefore he 
 would reprove his elder, he would try to teach a 
 master, he would give counsel to the wise.^ 
 
 The extraordinary^ character of Savonarola's 
 mission had rendered his position singular. The 
 conditions that prevail in the usual work of a 
 preacher did not hold as to his influence, nor as 
 to the necessity of his labors. Though the Flor- 
 entines had many instructors, he had been their 
 spiritual foster father ; and outraged virtue and 
 derided piety, witnessing the wreck of his wonder- 
 ful work, grieved, with the Friar himself, over 
 the destruction of the building he had with so 
 much care erected, over the desolation of the 
 vineyard he had cultivated in labor and teai-s ; 
 and they cried out to the silenced leader, and 
 begged him to speak once more, to fight against 
 religion's enemies, who had abused religion's power, 
 " practical infidels, corrupt themselves and cor- 
 rupting others, into whose hands, as many felt, 
 the authority of the Church had fallen." * It was 
 not against the Pope that he stood forth, nor 
 
 1 2» 2«, q. .33, art. 2, 3, 4, and Qusestiones Disputatae, de 
 Virtutibus, q. vi., art. 1, ad. 18. 
 ^ Epistola cc, torn, i., p. 8-5. 
 ^ 1 Corinthians iv. 15. 
 4 Lottini, p. 21. 
 
164 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 against the authority of the Holy See. He con- 
 tended that he was following what would have 
 been the Pope's directions, had Alexander not 
 been so shamefully deceived. 
 
 On this point, let us hear the Friar himself. 
 In the last sei^mori he preached, on March 18, 
 1498, he objects in the name of the people : O 
 Friar, we must not oppose the ecclesiastical 
 power ! " "I say that when it destroys the Church, 
 it is not ecclesiastical power, but it is an infernal 
 power, and is given by Satan. I say to you that 
 when it fosters harlots, profligates, and robbers, 
 and persecutes the good and destroys good-living 
 Christians, then it is an infernal and diabolical 
 power, and must be firml}^ resisted and corrected, 
 as St. Peter and St. Paul did. But because you 
 say, 'O Friar, you are weakening ecclesiastical 
 power,' I answer that this is not true. I also 
 wish not to be above the ecclesiastical authority, 
 and thus I submit myself, and all that I have 
 ever said, to the correction of the Roman Church 
 and the ecclesiastical power. And I do not weaken 
 it ; in fact, I even increase it and wish to remain 
 subject to it, but not under infernal power, and 
 not under diabolical power. I defend the ecclesi- 
 astical power and the Roman Church and the 
 doctrine of Jesus Chiist." 
 
 The reader is here asked to refer to the teaching 
 of theology as embodied in the first part of the 
 chapter. In the light of these sound principles, 
 
DID THE FRIAR GIVE SCANDAL? 165 
 
 follow the Friar, step by stex), through the perils 
 that beset religion because of the attack on his 
 ministry, and the calumnies against his preaching ; 
 consider the grave interests that were endangered ; 
 observe the care and prudence with which he met 
 the difficult problem, the solid foundation on which 
 he rested, of doctrine, learning, and counsel, in the 
 conclusion on vrhich he resolved; and note well 
 that only when the preparation of the people had 
 met their own earnest longing, did the Friar break 
 the silence which had cost Florence so dearly. 
 We are satisfied that the serious judgment of the 
 reader will not only acquit Savonarola of the 
 charge of having given scandal, but it will eulo- 
 gize the piety, humility, and courage of the man 
 who thus ''stood forth for manly liberty in Christ," 
 for the truth of his wonderful preaching, and for 
 the maintenance of his marvellous reform. 
 
 *■ 
 
166 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 V. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 A CAREFUL study of the intricate question 
 to which we have endeavored to give a 
 satisfactory answer convinces tlie writer that 
 Savonarohi's career, during the trying period of 
 the ban, was one of religious prudence, and noble 
 consistency. His own conscience had acquitted 
 him of guilt or offence that might entail a censure. 
 The people soon learned that the excommunica- 
 tion was invalid, and though his enemies strove to 
 influence public opinion, they carried little weight 
 bej^ond their own circles. 
 
 The Holy See, when the sad end came, confirmed 
 the attitude of the determined Friar, who had never 
 asked for absolution, who had scorned the offer of 
 freedom from censure, a freedom depending on a 
 simoniacal bribe ; for Alexander, though he gave 
 Savonarola permission to celebrate Mass on the 
 day of his execution, granted no absolution from 
 the bond of excommunication, and allowed the 
 condemned man, sacramentally absolved, and en- 
 riched with a plenary indulgence, to expire under 
 the ban ! ^ 
 
 1 Consult chapter " The Question of Censures." 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 167 
 
 This fact proves that Alexander did not regard 
 the Friar as excommunicated. Nor can it be said 
 that his confessor had been authorized to absolve 
 Savonarola from the censure, for what is freely as- 
 serted is as freely denied, and as the Friar was not 
 in articulo mortis (in the ordinary sense of the word) 
 the ordinary power of a confessor would not suffice. 
 Moreover, the Apostolic judges were present, and 
 on them would have devolved the exercise of the 
 delegated faculty had any such faculty been 
 granted. And even assuming that such a faculty 
 had been granted, it is certain that there was no 
 retraction by Savonarola of errors charged, there 
 was no expression of repentance for scandal that 
 would have been given by offences for which he 
 had been declared excommunicate. A private 
 apology and regret would not have availed. From 
 a man validly and notoriously excommunicated an 
 open reparation was due, if not by a personal, 
 verbal declaration before his death, at least, by an 
 authentic writing for subsequent publication ; and 
 from this obligation there could be no release by 
 the Apostolic commissaries. Had these men not 
 acted in conformity with the Pope's views and 
 according to his instructions, is it likely that the 
 omission of absolution and the neglect of repara- 
 tion would have passed without rebuke from 
 Alexander? There was no rebuke from him, nor 
 complaint from any one authorized to speak. 
 
 Savonarola made no apology. With serene con- 
 
168 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 sistency he went unfalteringly to that death for 
 which he had long prepared, and which he willingly 
 endured for principles of which his life had been a 
 beautiful exemplification. He went with the ban 
 still upon him, such as it was ; the ban from which 
 he had solemnly announced that he would never 
 seek absolution,^ because he knew that he had 
 done no wrong meriting such a penalty, and be- 
 cause he believed that the censure was unjust and 
 invalid, without binding force before God or man.^ 
 
 1 Sermon for Septuagesima, 1498. 
 
 2 Savonarola's various appeals for the lifting of the ban 
 were not for absolution. He strove to have a serious impedi- 
 ment to his work removed, and through respect for the Holy 
 See, and fearing lest scandal might come to the "little ones," he 
 labored, till hope was cast down, to secure the recall of the 
 Brief. In the second sermon on Exodus he put the objection 
 to himself : " 0 Friar, you have written and asked for absolu- 
 tion." He answered : " For myself I liave not done this, though 
 they asked me to write and admit that I had erred, but in no 
 manner would I do so. In other things I have erred, for I am a 
 sinner, but not in this, because I have preached the doctrine of 
 Jesus Christ. I have indeed written for fear of scandal, and I 
 have tried to have the excommunication removed, for love of 
 the ' little ones.' " And in his third sermon on Exodus he 
 declared : " Believe me, I am not foolish, not knowing how I am 
 placed. If I desired human expedients I would know how to 
 free myself. I recognize their cunning and craft. If I were 
 satisfied to trample on conscience I also could be as cunning; 
 but knowing that the Lord is with me, I fear nothing." See 
 also Quetif, p. 252. In this spirit he pleaded with the Pope, but 
 as has been already noted, it is probable that some of his letters 
 were kept from Alexander b}' determined enemies who dreaded 
 the pontifical favor in behalf of their victim. It may also be 
 stated that the Florentine authorities held the same view as 
 that of the Friar, and in the same spirit labored to have the 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 169 
 
 By those wlio coudemn Savonarola as really 
 excommunicated, much stress has been laid on the 
 fact that he was a member of a Religious Order, 
 and the question of the obedience which he thereby 
 owed to his superiors is discussed in a manner 
 altogether unfavorable to him. AVith that cj^ues- 
 tion we have dealt in an Appendix. Here we 
 merel}- desire to emphasize the fact that the atti- 
 tude of the Friar, at the close of his life, touching 
 the excommunication, finds singular approval from 
 his own Order, which has practically 'taken the same 
 stand as that which Pope Alexander took, that 
 Savonarola was not excommunicated; and as the 
 latter judged that he needed not absolution, so his 
 Order has always regarded his acts of jurisdiction 
 as valid, a thing not sufferable had he been really 
 excommunicated, for then he would have been 
 deprived of all jurisdiction.^ Xeither the Master 
 General of the Order nor the Cardinal Protector 
 nor the Commissioner especially appointed to con- 
 sider his case, declared him deposed from his post 
 of Prior of St. Mark's ; and during the sad period 
 following the publication of the Brief of Excommu- 
 nication, up to the time of his arrest, he discharged 
 the duties of his office, in all its details, including, 
 as the chronicle of his convent informs us, the im- 
 
 Brief of May 13, 1407 recalled ; in this effort tliev were advised 
 by eminent theologians and canonists. See Quetif, pp. 52 seq., 
 and Miscellanea of Bahizius, torn, i., 594. 
 
 1 Schmalzgrueber, t. 39, n. 164, torn, xi., 445; Reiffenstuel, 
 t. 39, n. 68, torn, v., 391. 
 
170 WAS SAVOXAnOLA EXCOMMUNICATED-? 
 
 portant work of reception to the habit and to pro- 
 fession of various candidates and novices. 
 
 Of all the principles which w^e have noted, 
 Savonarola was well aware. Witnessing as he 
 did the tragedy that was enacted, of which he was 
 the hero and the victim, seeing with a clearness 
 that to us is impossible, with the mists of four hun- 
 dred years obscuring our view, he was certain that 
 no law obliged him publicly to acknowledge him- 
 self as excommunicate, when the conviction had 
 become general that the censure was invalid, not 
 only because of substantial defects in juridical 
 order, and because the Brief was extorted from the 
 Pope through falsehood and slander, and published 
 against his will, but chiefly because the alleged 
 fault, interdicted under the penalty of excommuni- 
 cation, did not exist, because the Friar had not 
 done that for which he was declared anathema. 
 
 Having exhausted all means of patient submis- 
 sion, of silent humiliation, of respectful petition, 
 and finding the way to the Sovereign Pontiff 
 closed against him by wicked men who had shame- 
 fully abused the papal confidence, Savonarola fol- 
 low^ed the counsel of Gerson, and stood for his 
 manly liberty, for the doctrine of his Divine Mas- 
 ter, and, in charity that was ready unto death, for 
 the welfare of souls. 
 
 Here it may be pertinent to observe that no one 
 has ever supposed that the Communities of St. 
 Mark's and St. Dominic's, Fiesole, were excom- 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 171 
 
 municated, individually or collectively. Yet in 
 that troubled time, so far as history has unfolded 
 the record of the words and deeds of the friars of 
 these two houses, we are safe in affirming that if 
 Savonarola was in conscience excommunicated, so 
 also were they, for their stand was in agreement 
 with, his, nor could the penalty of their actions 
 have fallen on their Prior, but must have been 
 borne by themselves. No one at the time enter- 
 tained any erroneous notions on this point. De- 
 spite the fact that the terms of the Brief of union, 
 November 7, 1496, were general, that an excom- 
 munication was launched against any and every one, 
 of whatsoever dignity, who would antagonize the 
 scheme, it was understood that Savonarola was the 
 object of attack. All knew the significance of the 
 stigma put uj3on the Prior, who had clearly stated 
 it : " These adversaries seek one man out of hatred 
 for the Truth." ^ They desired to restore a reign 
 under which license would have sway. To accom- 
 plish their object, it was necessary for the libertines 
 and infidels to destroy Savonarola's influence over 
 the people, and this could be effected only by de- 
 stroying himself. Against libertine and infidel he 
 fouglit bravely. That he failed, and in failing lost 
 his life, is in the record of every martyr. Savonarola 
 was put to death in hatred of virtue, under cover of 
 a political necessity. It was like to an older story, 
 that of the Divine Master Himself. 
 
 1 Letter of June 19, 1497. 
 
172 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 Savonarola was one of those victims that from 
 time to time justice demands of humanity.^ He 
 was persecuted for justice's sake, he was made 
 anathema for his brethren ; ^ and the iron entered his 
 soul in a manner supremely agonizing — through 
 attempted ejection from the household of the 
 Faitli, because of his unbending devotion to the 
 highest ideals of the doctrines of Jesus Christ, Who 
 had predicted this form of trial as the crowning 
 sorrow of His disciples : " They will put you out 
 of the synagogues ; yea, the hour cometh that 
 whosoever killeth you will think that he doth a 
 service to God." ^ 
 
 " If these explanations, which seem to me reason- 
 able, be admitted, it will be understood why persons 
 of great worth cherished such deep esteem and 
 loving veneration for Father Jerome, and even went 
 so far as to invoke him as a martyr and a saint. 
 If this solution be rejected, I shall always see an 
 inextricably contradictory enigma in this love and 
 veneration, since certain cavils have been set forth 
 to account for it, belittling the saints, lessening 
 respect for them, even discrediting the very 
 authority of the Church which has placed them on 
 her altar, and suggesting doubts regarding Divine 
 Providence itself, as having permitted that some 
 
 1 Lottini, p. 23. 
 
 2 Romans ix. 3. , 
 
 3 St. John xvi. 2. See also the same Gospel, ix. 22, 34, and 
 xii. 42. 
 
CONCLUSION. 173 
 
 leading heroes of Christianity, in whom sanctity 
 shone forth from the cradle to the grave, should 
 show, not only by occasional acts, but throughout 
 the course of their lives, veneration and devotion 
 to a man who had been disobedient, excommuni- 
 cated, and condemned, for guilt true and real, which 
 he would not acknowledge even in the presence of 
 death." 1 
 
 St. Catherine of Ricci, St. Philip Neri, and 
 others of the crowned soldiers of Christ, were 
 familiar with all the facts ; they lived among the 
 living memories of the illustrious Prior; they 
 shared the traditions that were sacredly handed 
 down, in the Florence and Rome of their day, 
 even by some who had known the Friar or his 
 immediate disciples. To these Saints we cannot 
 deny holiness eminent and solemnly proclaimed by 
 the Church, nor may their intelligence or judg- 
 ment be questioned. Familiar as they were with 
 the facts, a full knowledge of which cannot be 
 ours, prudence, at least, requires that we hold 
 their devotion to Savonarola in respect. Other- 
 wise the unpleasant conclusion will be forced upon 
 us, of facing the inexplicable problem which Father 
 Lottini piesents, an irreverence from which our 
 Catholic instincts shrink.''^ 
 
 Hearing, therefore, the solemn words of Savona- 
 
 1 Lottini, p. 23. 
 
 2 In a subsequent work I intend to discuss this subject in 
 detail. 
 
174 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 rola that rise as a last testament from gallows-tree 
 and fire, — "I have never been disobedient to the 
 Roman Church, nor to the Pope, nor to any of my 
 superiors up to this present hour ; and this I say, 
 not to praise myself, but for truth's sake, and if I 
 clo not speak the truth, I am satisfied that it will 
 stand against me at the tribunal of Jesus Christ," ^ 
 — we conclude, with Father Lottini, that "this 
 leaves no middle course. Either the innocence of 
 the Friar must be recognized, or to so many other 
 charges against him must be added those of liar 
 and perjurer." 2 
 
 1 Letter of June 19, 1497 ; see page 83. 
 
 2 Page 15. 
 
APPENDIX I. 
 
 THE QUESTION OF OBEDIEXCE. 
 
 FOR a better iinderstanding of our inquiry, it is 
 deemed advisable to consider briefly the obliga- 
 tions and limits of obedience, especially for an ecclesi- 
 astic or religious. Faith does not repudiate reason, nor 
 does religion abrogate justice. Eather is religion fidel- 
 ity to reason and justice. Our service of God must be 
 reasonable.-^ Thus the clerical state or that of a reli- 
 gious Order does not impose an arbitrar}' burden on the 
 man vowed to its service. The '-blind obedience '' of 
 which the Saints speak in terms of ardent praise does not 
 mean an actual submission to any and every possible 
 command ; it signifies, rather, that disposition of heart 
 and mind whereby the subject holds himself in constant 
 readiness to fulfil all that obedience will lawfully im- 
 pose on him, without question as to the superior's 
 motives or as to the opportuneness of his order. 
 
 After quoting the xlpostolic words, " it bohooveth us to 
 obey God rather than man,"^ St. Thomas explicitly 
 teaches that we are not obliged to obe}^ superiors in all 
 things, as when they command what is wrong, or be- 
 yond their right or jurisdiction. He says that re- 
 
 1 Romans xii. 1. 
 
 2 Acts of the Apostles v. 9. 
 
176 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 ligious profess obedknce so that they may lead a 
 regular life according to a rule by which they are 
 subject to superiors ; and obedience following this is 
 sufficient for salvation. If in other things they wish 
 to obey, provided it is not against their rule or contrary 
 to God's law, for this would be sinful, such obedience 
 belongs to the domain of perfection. Hence the An- 
 gelic Doctor concludes that obedience may be dis- 
 tinguished as threefold: («) that which is sufficient 
 for salvation, (b) that which is perfect, in all things 
 lawful, and (c) that which is indiscreet, even in things 
 unlawful.^ Hence the accepted phrase as to the strict 
 obligation of things according to the rule, but not of 
 those against, above, or beyond the scope of the rule. 
 
 To the teaching of the Angelic Doctor on the rights 
 of conscience, we shall also briefly refer. Conscience 
 is the divine law of the intellect, first and supreme, 
 and as interior, antecedent, spiritual, and eternal, it is 
 in itself superior to the exterior, subsequent, corporal 
 bond of obedience to a prelate, which is temporarj^, and 
 which will not enter into eternity. Conscience is as 
 the light of God's countenance signed upon us,^ and, 
 when certain, obliges us simply and absolutely, as 
 against a superior's command in contradiction to it.^ 
 
 It is also one thing to judge a superior's commands, 
 and another to judge ourselves as to their fulfilment. 
 In this latter case the tribunal of conscience is supreme.'* 
 And this principle holds with special force when re- 
 
 1 2a 2«, q. 104, art. 5. 
 
 2 Psalm iv. 7. 
 
 ^ Qusestiones Disputatae : de Veritate, q. 17, quinque articuli 
 de conscientia, torn, ii., 89-92. 
 
 4 St. Thomas, loc, cit., art. 5, concl. ad 4. See also 1* 2*, q. 
 71, art. 6, ad 4 ; In 2 Sent. D. 24, q. 2, a. 4, and D. 39, q. 3, a. 3. 
 
APPENDIX I. 
 
 177 
 
 sistance brings with it no convenience or selfish benefit, 
 but rather leads to humiliation and death. 
 
 To this teaching of St. Thomas we add a few selec- 
 tions from St. Bernard and from eminent canonists 
 and theologians treating ex professo of obedience. 
 The Mellifluous Doctor, as the great Founder of the 
 Cistercians is called, discusses the question of obedience 
 in various parts of his writings, and we quote from one 
 and another of these the foHowing: The command or 
 prohibition of a prelate may not exceed the limits of the 
 profession made by the subject, so that a religious may 
 not be forbidden the fulfilment of what he has vowed 
 to perform, nor may obligations exceeding the weight of 
 this burden be put upon him. Thus the superior can 
 neither increase one's vow against his will, nor diminish 
 it without certain necessity." ^ In another place the 
 holy abbot declares that we must resist aught enjoined 
 that is against the Divine law, crjnng out with the 
 Apostle, that it is better to obe}^ God than man.^ From 
 a long letter addressed to a monk named Adam who went 
 on a pilgrimage, contrary to his rule, but with the Pope's 
 license, several extracts will be pertinent:^ ^'It is 
 very perverse to claim to be obedient when one knows 
 that the Divine Superior (God above man) dissolves 
 such obligations," as are permitted or imposed by an 
 earthly superior, against our pledged rule. Speaking 
 with all reverence of the Sovereign Pontiff on whose per- 
 mission this monk had based his justification for what he 
 called an act of obedience, St. Bernard indignantly re- 
 minds Adam of the scandal of such obedience, and of 
 
 ^ De PraBcepto et Dispensatione, c. v., p. 75, torn. iv. 
 2 Sermones do Diversis, xli., p. 281, torn. ii. 
 ^ Epistola 7, pp. 11-14, toni. 1. 
 
 12 
 
178 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 the rights of the great High Priest, who shed His 
 Blood for our ransom. Happy disobedience," cries 
 out the holy doctor, " which wounds neither charity nor 
 unity, which is to be preferred to that obedience that 
 leads to scandal ! " And he adds that if he had to 
 choose, under such conditions, he would be disobedient. 
 
 "Conscience," he writes elsewhere, "is man's in- 
 separable companion, bearing with him the deposit 
 committed to his keeping ; ^ it is a book superior to all 
 other books." ^ 
 
 To these vigorous words of a Saint eminent as the 
 uncompromising vindicator of the rights of authority, 
 we add the following: Against conscience, even the 
 Pope is not to be obeyed.^ But where conscience is 
 not certain, if the Pope commands an ecclesiastic in 
 spiritual matters, to do what seems unjust, he must be 
 obeyed, unless the precept would involve sin, or savor 
 of heresy ; or unless it was very strongly presumed 
 that the peace of the Church would be disturbed, or 
 occasion would be given from which future evils might 
 spring, to the harm of religion.'* Even should a 
 
 1 De Moribus et Officio Epis. et Praelat., cap. vi., torn, iv., p. 29. 
 
 2 De Interiori Domo, cap. xv., torn, v., p. 152. 
 
 3 Panormitanus, c. 44, Inquisitioni, torn, vii., 248. 
 
 * Panormitanus, loc. cit. ; Innocentius IV., 1. v., t. 89, cap- 
 Inquisitioni, p. cxlvi (primo) ; Sandaeus, c. 44, ii., 1220 ; Prieras, 
 Obedientia, q. v., ii., 250, who adds that obedience is not to be 
 yielded to such commands as are excepted in the text, even 
 though imposed under threat of excommunication latre senten- 
 tioi, to be incurred by the very fact of refusal. In other re- 
 spects the language of Pope Innocent the Fourth, Sandneus, and 
 Prieras is almost identical. In sentiment all are as a unit. 
 Gerson (Consideratio 6, Circa Materiam Excommunieationum 
 et Irregularitatum) stood for the same principle. It is the 
 general teaching of theology. 
 
APPENDIX I. 
 
 179 
 
 superior command what is just if the subject, with a 
 certain: conscience, believes that the precept is unjust, 
 and cannot bring himself to another mind, he should 
 follow his interior light, despite its erroneousness.^ Of 
 course, such erroneousness must be inculpable. How- 
 ever, as Panormitanus adds, the superior has the 
 right to inflict punishment for such resistance, because 
 he is not obliged to see things with the subject's eyes. 
 In doubt as to the justice or lawfulness of a precept, 
 the subject should obey, because the right to command 
 rests with the superior; nor can he be denied this, on 
 a mere doubt. "But," writes St. Alphonsus, ''the 
 doctors generally limit this princii^le, and teach that 
 a subject is not bound to obey when he would thereby 
 expose himself or others to the danger of grave loss in 
 reputation, honor, possessions, or life." ^ 
 
 Passerini, who is an eminent authority of modern 
 times, proposes a question: Is a subject bound to obey 
 a prelate commanding him to do a prohibited work, in 
 which the prelate can dispense?" After giving differ- 
 ent solutions in which an affirmative answer would hold, 
 he concludes : ''If the dispensation is neither useful nor 
 necessary /or a greater good, the prelate, being bound 
 to remove impediments to such good, would rather put 
 these in its way by unreasonably dispensing, and 
 therefore the subject would be justified in refusing." ^ 
 
 1 Panormitanus, c. v., Ad Aures, torn, ii., 38, and doctors 
 generally. 
 
 2 L. v., c. i., diih. 4, n. 47, 1, 803, where he cites Lessius, San- 
 chez, Castro-Palao, Soto, Bannez, the Salnianticenses, and other 
 eminent doctors. See also Passerini, q. 186, art. 8, n. 329, tom. 
 i., 15:3. 
 
 Passerini, q. 18-5, a. 2, n. Gl, tom. i., 134, Compare also St. 
 Alphonsus, 1. jv., c. i., dub. 4, n. 40, i., 799. 
 
180 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED^ 
 
 As our discussion is not on the extreme perfection of 
 obedience in theory, but on the principles that are to be 
 applied in a grave practical difficulty, we dismiss this 
 portion of the subject with a summary, in the words 
 of Cardinal iS^ewman : " Co-nscience is a messenger from 
 Him Who both in nature and in grace speaks to us 
 behind a veil, and teaches and rules us by His repre- 
 sentatives. Conscience is the aboriginal vicar of Christ, 
 a prophet in its informations, a monarch in its peremp- 
 toriness, a priest in its blessings and anathemas; and 
 even though the eternal priesthood throughout the 
 Church could cease to be, in it the sacerdotal principle 
 would remain, and would have a sway." ^ 
 
 The reader will thus understand the imperative 
 power and binding force of this law of nature, from 
 which even God will not dispense,^ against which no 
 one can act without incurring the risk of eternal death,^ 
 and according to which one must regulate all his 
 thoughts, words and actions, since ''all that is not of 
 faith (or conscience) is sin." * 
 
 The reader is also asked to make careful application 
 of these principles to Savonarola's case. Our argument 
 and conclusion, insomuch as obedience is in question, 
 are based on these. 
 
 1 A letter addressed to His Grace the Duke of Norfolk, p, 57 
 (London, 1875). 
 
 ^ Salmanticenses, Tr. xx., cap. iv., punct. 3, n. 11-18, torn, v., 
 pp. 19-21. 
 
 3 The Fourth Council of Lateran, quoted by Cardinal New- 
 man, loc. cit. 
 
 * Romans xiv. 23. So St. Thomas interprets and explains 
 the Apostle's word. See Quaestiones Disputatse, de Veritate, 
 q. xvii., art. 3. 
 
APPENDIX II. 
 
 SOilE OEIGIXAL LETTEES. 
 
 The two following letters were addressed bv the Signory to the 
 Cardinal Prot-ector of the Dominican Order in behalf of Savona- 
 rola that he might be permitted to resume his preaching. See 
 Chapter I., p. 49. 
 
 Keverexdissime IX Christo Pater et Domixe, — 
 Ilia tandem multo esse gratiora beneficia videntur quae 
 iiltro coiifemntur, neque expectant ut emantiir precibus ; 
 ut modo evenit : quod ex litteris quas ad fratrem Hie- 
 ronymum Ferrariensem Vestra reverendissima Pater- 
 nitas scripsit plane percepimus. Dum enim illi merito 
 favet R. D. V. et iure defendit, nobis favet atque affert 
 beneficium ; per quem, Deo clementissimo indulgente, 
 atque eas sua ineffabili misericordia subministrante 
 vires, ex multis magnisque periculis evasimus. Hunc 
 certe virum suum ad nos praemisit Deus (cum, quo nos 
 ducerent nostra errata, multo ante praevideret), ne fun- 
 ditis periremus : qui saepe praedixit nobis quae Ven- 
 tura super nos essent, neque a vero quicquam aberravit ; 
 iuvit consilio, bonitate ac religione ; erexit doctrina 
 ac praedicatione continua in timore Dei. Et tamen 
 ausi sunt malivoli quidam atque invidi tantae virtuti 
 detrahere et ingerere crimina, et adducere eum pro 
 viribus in Pontificis Maximi indignationem. Nos me- 
 lius qui mores sint huius viri novimus, quae pietas, 
 quae religio, quae sanctitas, quibuscum vixit, apud 
 
182 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 quos tot tantaque bona opera exercuit exercetqiie et 
 plane divina ; qiiibus adliibenda fides videtiir magis 
 quam fiigitivis quibusdam, nt ita dixerimus, qui nec 
 quae recte fiunt cognoscunt, et ab Dei timore aberrant. 
 Agimus ergo imniortales gratias K. P. V., qui iustis- 
 simum eius patrocinium susceperit apud Pontificis 
 Maximi Sanctitatem ; et raultum etiam atque etiam 
 rogamus, ut in eo incoepto perseveret E.. D. V., quae 
 nihil quod magis secundum Deum sit facere potest. 
 Nos certe, nihil est quod aeque cupiamus quam audire 
 eum ut solemus praedicantem, et divina nobis prae- 
 cepta aperientem. Rogamus ergo P. V. ut in dando 
 nobis, beneficio perseveret V. R. D., detque operam 
 apud Summum Pontificem, et quam citius fieri potest, 
 ut ante adventum Domini liceat nobis, per vestram 
 operam et pontificiam benignitatem, redire ad eius 
 audiendas frequentandasque praedicationes : nihil om- 
 nibus ex rebus magis expetimus, nihil ex quo magis 
 nos sibi obnoxios V. P. reddere possit. Multa sunt 
 vestra in nos et innumerabilia maxima boneficia ; sed 
 huic certe comparari nullum potest. Commendamus 
 R. P. V. urbem et populum nostrum. Ex Palatio nos- 
 tro, die 13 novembris 1495. 
 
 Reverendissimo IX Christo Patri, Cardixali 
 Neapolitaxo, — Quantum nos, universusque populus 
 Florentinus fratrera Hieronymum Ferrariensem, prae- 
 dicantem et divina nobis aperientem praecepta, ante 
 adventum Domini, audire cupiamus, aliis nostris litteris 
 ad reverendissimam Dominationem Vestram praescri[)- 
 simus. Cui desiderio nostro etsi certo scimus, Earn 
 totis viribus, ut satisfiat, operam ad Summum Pontifi- 
 
APPEXDIX II. 
 
 183 
 
 cem daturam ; brevitas tamen temporis diibitare nos 
 facit, ce ante ipsius adventus incipiat dies decurrere 
 qiiam Poutilicis litterae ad hoc irapetrentur. Itaqiie 
 reverendissimam Dominationem Vestrain plurimum 
 etiam atque etiam rogamiis oramiisqne, ut vivae vocis 
 oraculo id, interim, a Summo Pontifice ut concedatur 
 impetrare curet. Xihil profecto est quod hoc tempore 
 magis desideretur a nobis ; nihil ex quo magis E. D. 
 V. nos sibi reddat obnoxios. Cumulabit certe hoc in- 
 numerabilia ac maxima beneficia P. V. erga nos, quae 
 hoc uno immortal ia utique reddentur. Ex Palatio nos- 
 tro, die 17 novembris 1495. 
 
 The three following letters bear testimony to Savonarola's great 
 merits as a preaclier, to his noble efforts for virtue, and to the 
 ingratitude and calumny of those who had accused him. The 
 Ten also deny that Savonarola had attacked any one by name. 
 See Chapter I., pp. 62, 66. 
 
 The Ten to Bef^chi} 
 
 DoMixo RicciARDO DE Becchis, die prima aprilis 
 1497. 
 
 Li di Sancti et poi le feste sono suti causa che hab- 
 biamo qualche di differito lo scrivervi, Farenlo al 
 presente, rispondendo a ii vostre de' xxiiii et all'ultima 
 de' xxYii ec. Li amorevoli ricordi di quello amico di 
 auctorita, che vi commisse ci confortassi ad essere uniti 
 ec, ci sono stati gratissimi, perche questo e il nostro 
 principale instituto e desiderio: benche qui nella terra, 
 intra tucti li cittadini universalraente, non si intenda 
 alchuna discordia ne disuuione, perche tucti tendiamo 
 ad uno medesimo tine, di conservare la nostra liberta- 
 ^ From Gherardi. pp. 157. 158. 
 
l84 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED^ 
 
 et il presente governo del la cittk ; et a questo ognuno 
 promptamente concorre. Et se di costa fussi riferito o 
 scritto altrimenti, se si riguardera bene la qualita delli 
 anctori, si cognoscera quanto debole foiidamento sia 
 quello di Pietro de' Medici, sforzandosi farsi credito 
 con andare ampliando alchuni abbaiamenti di persone 
 disperati et passionati sanza conditione o credito al- 
 chuno. Ma noi ci rendiarao certissimi, essere tale la 
 gravita et prudentia di quelli che lui si ingegna ridurre 
 a' propositi suoi, che non si lascieranno imbarchare 
 facilmente sanza bischotto. Cosi alia parte del lasci- 
 arci noi governare al Frate, quando di costk s'intenda il 
 vero, non bisogna fare altra risposta ; perclie facendo il 
 Frate egregiamente lo officio di buono et amorevole pre- 
 dicatore, di detestare i vitii et ridurre il popolo ad 
 vivere cliristianamente, come ha continuaraente facto 
 et con grande fructo et utile universalmente di tiitta la 
 citta, sanza impacciarsi di alchuno particulare circa il 
 governo nostro ; non dobbiamo ne possiamo se non 
 essere maximamente obligati alle sua proficue et sancte 
 opere : et tucto quello che fussi referito o scripto in 
 contrario e alieno dalla verita et fondato da passione di 
 alchuni a' quali displace il ben vivere. Et cosi circa 
 V una parte et 1' altra iustificherete con quello amico, 
 ringratiandolo nondimeno dello amore dimostra portare 
 alia citta nostra. 
 
 The Ten to Bracci} 
 Ser Alexandro Braccio, die vi maii 1497. 
 . . . Havendo, ad questi di passati, li nostri excelsi 
 Signori considerato che la era comincia pure ad riscal- 
 1 From Gherardi, pp. 159, 160. 
 
APPESDIX II. 
 
 185 
 
 dare, et che qui e grande concorso di po'veri huomini 
 del coutado che venghoiio per il pane, iudicorono essere 
 bene ad proposito obviare clie numero di gente non si 
 coadunassino insieme in luoglii strecti, per obviare 
 ogni sospecto di morbo. Et per questo generalmente 
 sospesono, dal di dell' Ascensione innanzi, il predicare 
 in tanti luoglii. Di clie segui che, dovendo giovedi 
 mactina predicare fra Girolamo, per alchuni giovani 
 schaprestati, che mal volentieri odono le reprehensioue 
 de' vitii lore, fu per diversi modi tentato impedirli il 
 predicare : il che dispiacque a molti che desiderano bene 
 vivere, et funne qualche poco di romore : a che fu per 
 la Signoria subito provisto. Di che ci e parso darvi 
 notitia, ad fine che, se etiara di questo si parlassi di 
 costa altrimenti, possiate iustificare la verita. Et alia 
 Sautita di Xostro Signore farete intendere, che fra 
 Girolamo, per le cagioni sopradecte, soprasedera in 
 questi caldi il predicare ; ancor che nel predicare suo 
 circa la particularity della Sua Santita si sia sempre 
 portato prudentemeute et gravemeute ; et chi li ha 
 exjjosto costa altrimenti, lo ha facto mosso piii dal la 
 passione che dalla propria verita ec. Circa la querela 
 factaci dal Papa, secondo ne significate per lettere ad 
 parte, del modo del predicare di fra Girolamo, sanza 
 quella reverentia si convieue verso la Sua Santita, ben- 
 che di sopra incidentemente vi se ne dica qualche cosa, 
 pure, per maggiore expressioue dell' animo et buona 
 mente nostra, potete liberamente affermare alia Sua 
 Beatitudine, che le relationi li sono facte non sono 
 vere ; perche essendo la prefata Signoria prudentissima, 
 non incorrerebbe in tale errore, ne etiam noi lo soppor- 
 teremo. Lui fa modestamente lo officio di buon predi- 
 
186 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 catore^ sanza offeiulcre iiominatanieiite alcliuiio : et 
 nondimeno di niiovo li sara ricordato quando ricomin- 
 ciassi ad predicare. 
 
 The Ten to Bracci,^ 
 
 Ser Alexandro Braccio, die xx maii 1497. 
 Per due vostre lettere da parte, una de' 15 1' altra de' 
 17, intendiamo quello che costi havessi ritracto dal 
 Cardinale di Napoli, prima, et dipoi dalla Saiitita del 
 Papa, circa quello si tentava di costa di operare contra 
 a fra Girolatno : della qual cosa habbiamo hauto non 
 mancho admiratione che dispiacere, cognoscendo tutto 
 procedere da male relation! et information i che sono 
 state fatte di costa, et veramente aliene da ogni verita. 
 Perche, come altre volte vi s' e scripto, chi investighera 
 il vero del modo del predicare, quale ha sempre obser- 
 vato fra Girolamo nelle sue predicbe, troverra certa- 
 mente lui non havere mai particularmente taxato ne 
 ripreso alchuno, ma generalmente ripresi et detestati e 
 vitii, come e concesso a' predicatori et e loro proprio 
 officio ; et non si potra provare mai che lui expressa- 
 mente, ne della Santita del Papa ne Cardinali, o di 
 qualunque altri nominatamente, habbi fatto alchuna 
 spetiale mentione. Le predication! sua nella citta 
 nostra hanno fatto grandissimo fructo, si per essere 
 fondate in singulare dotrina, et theologica et morale, si 
 etiam per essere reputato di vita continentissima et 
 religiosissima : in modo che veramente si puo affer- 
 mare, la citta nostra essere assai obligata alia Sua 
 
 ^ From Gherardi, pp. 163, 164. 
 
APPENDIX it. 
 
 187 
 
 Paternita, per haverla ridocta a una buona regola et 
 norma di vivere, assai honestamente et con qiialche 
 timore di Dio. Et pero, se dimonstriamo di havere 
 dispiacere di qualunque cosa fussi tentata contro ad 
 lui, per qualche sinistra informatione, nessuno se ne 
 debta maravigliare, perche, non volendo essere ingrati, 
 siamo obligati rendere vero testimone della verita, et 
 aiutarlo in quello clie per noi si potessi. Et pero, pre- 
 glierete la Santita del Papa et il reverendissimo Cardi- 
 nale di Napoli, et qualunque altro bisognassi, die, per 
 la sapientia et dementia loro, procedino in questa cosa 
 gravemente, et con quelle considerationi die alia dig- 
 nity loro et alia verita della cosa si richiede : ad cio 
 che qualche perverso spirito, con qualche mala sugges- 
 tione, non fussi causa di alchuno scandolo et disordine: 
 di che di poi la Santita del Papa siamo certi, per la 
 sua bonta, sarebbe malissima contenta, et similmente 
 il reverendissimo Cardinale di Napoli. A' quali, 
 quanto piu efficacemente potrete raccomanderete questo 
 caso. 
 
 The Florentine Signory to Pope Alexander VI. 
 
 A letter from the Signory of Florence, to Pope Alexander VI., 
 ill defence of Savonarola, and in commendation of his work. 
 See Chapter I., p. 96. 
 
 Sancttsstme et P)EAt^^ Pater, — Nihil unquam 
 dubitare potuimus de clementissimo animo et benefi- 
 centissimo S. V*^ in nos. Tot tantisque in rebus 
 pontificiam clementiam semper sumus experti, ut nihil 
 potuerit accidere nostrae Civitati, quod turbare nos 
 
188 WAS SAVOXAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED J 
 
 posset, quod idem noii sit S. Clementiaeque V. mo- 
 lestiim faturiim. Qua de re scribimus etiam modo 
 ad S. V'", majore cum spe impetrandi quae sup- 
 plicaturi sumus. Est autem inter ea, quae hoc tem- 
 pore Reipublicae nostrae, aliter quam nos voluerimus, 
 acciderunt non iuter postrema, quod modo evenit, 
 quod Frater Hieroiiymus Ferrariensis iudignationem 
 S. Y% quod censura signilicatum est, incurrerit. 
 Duae nos causae potissimum movent — altera est quod 
 non parum id nobis et populo ferme omni nostro per- 
 raolestum fuit, ut puta, qui ecclesiasticas censuras, 
 propter Apos. Sedis reverentiam consuetudine vetus- 
 tissima nostrae Civitatis, inter primus Ttaliae gentes 
 semper fuimus abominati ; altera causa est quod moleste 
 tulimus ferimusque insectatam esse boni viri quantum 
 nos cognoscimus, virtutem, et dilata fuisse ad S. V'" ea 
 nulla honesta de causa, quae merito excitare pontificales 
 in F. Hieronj-mum censuras, si ea vera extitissent, 
 debuissent. 
 
 Nos, S™^ Pater, multo aliter censemus; bonum nos 
 hunc virum, beneque religiosum peritumque rerum 
 Christianarum existimamus. Diversatus est in urbe 
 nostra, aliquot annos, praedicationibus intentus, ple- 
 beque ad meliores mores instruenda, neque notari potuit 
 (modo careat affectibus delatio) quidquam in quo vel 
 exemplo vitae vel excellenti doctrina aberraverit ; sed 
 ut novit V. Beatitudo, rix inveniri potest ubi praeclara 
 •virtus careat invidia. Sunt et in nostra Urbe tanquam 
 in magno populo, qui etiam virtutem invertant, seu 
 naturae levitate, seu alio quovis morbo, et tunc sibi 
 'plus placeant, doctique esse magis viri videantur, cum 
 quid in doctos bonosque viros liberius audent, quibus 
 
APPENDIX It. 
 
 189 
 
 magis. venia dancla, quam graviore aliqno periculo id 
 vindicare erroris. 
 
 Supplicamus ergo S. Clementiaeque Y^' pro ea qua 
 onmibus in rebus semper fuit in nos vestra paterna et 
 divina charitas, ut totum hoc negotium ad gravitatem 
 sapientiamque V. S""", referatur, tollaturque haec ani- 
 morum displiceutia Civitati, atque ista censurarum 
 pontificalium gravitas ne plus posse' videatur paruni 
 religiosa quorumdam levitas, quam bona studia bonae- 
 que artes hominum religiosorum. 
 
 Xihil est, Sanctissime et Beatissime Pater, quod possit 
 fieri hoc tempore a clementissimo Pontifice Christique 
 Vicario in nos atque urbem nostram gratius, quam si 
 istae pontificiales censurae fuerint benigiiitate, donoque 
 Sanctitatis Y. sublatae ; neque illae solum quae seorsum 
 F. ipsum Hier"'"" taxaverunt, sed et quaecunque aliae 
 quae ab eandem causam alios quoque complexae fuis- 
 sent. Xiliil majore studio magisque piis animi affectibus 
 supplicare Sauctitati Clementiaeque Y. possumus. Et 
 quia rem, ut videtur nobis, piam supplicamus, dubitare 
 vix possumus S. Y"' benigne esse largiturum, ne quid 
 animabus periculi, hoc praesertim pestilentiae tempore 
 possit contingere. Munus, ut videtur nobis, petimus 
 dignum S*^ Y* et Clementia adquam potissimum perti- 
 net Christianae Salutis cura, ut quantum est in S**^ Y", 
 nulla ovis pereat. Id tandem veri Pastoris Christique 
 Yicarii videtur officium, ad Redemptoris N. J. C. imi- 
 tationem, qui sese niorti spontaneus obtulit, ut nos 
 ejus redempti sanguine viveremus. Neque nos hac in 
 re tantum volumus oratam esse S. Y'", ut nobis indul- 
 geat banc gratiam, sed ut coeteris quoque in rebus omni- 
 bus, ut semper ab ea factum est. Meminerit Y. Sanctitas 
 
190 WAS SAVONAkOLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 hujus devotissimae civitatis et popiili Sedis Ap. et S"' 
 Clementiaeque V* cui iios et rempublicam istam liu- 
 millime commendaimis. 
 
 Ex Palatio Nostro die octavo Julii 1497. 
 
 Another from Same to Same. 
 
 In respectful protest against the censure of excommunication, and 
 in strong appeal for the recall of the Brief of May 13, 1497. 
 This letter also bears eloquent testimony to the merits of the 
 Friar. 
 
 Sanctissime AC Beatissime Pater, — Ut primnm 
 de Uteris vestrae Sanctitatis nuncium accepit Hieroii- 
 ymus Savonarola, qui in his ^^filius iniquitatis " appel- 
 latur, ab Ecclesia majori ubi populum religionem et 
 bonos mores docebat, in monasterium suum rediit, tan- 
 tisperque falsis detrahentium calumniis cedere decrevit, 
 donee defervesceret ira Sanctitatis V., et certiore nuncio 
 intelligeret non esse vera haec in quibus accusatur: 
 
 in periculum animarum Christi fidelium perniciosos 
 gravesque errores disseminare et in plurimorum scan- 
 dalum praedicationes suas afferre." 
 
 ISTos enim testari possumus hunc optimum in vinea 
 Domini fossorem, eos fructus ex ea colligisse, quos 
 nulli hactenus nostra aetate colligerunt. Et ut repeta- 
 mus altius, si vera sunt quae dicuntur ''annunciate 
 quae futura sunt nobis, et dicemus quod dii estis vos," 
 hunc certe supra hominem existimare nos oportet, qui 
 octo jam annis multa praedixit quae eventura nobis 
 erant. Interim nunqiiara cessans ad meliorem religi-" 
 onis cultum nos emendare facileque docendo, scribendo, 
 praedicandoque effecit, ut deleto omni malo habitu, si 
 
APPENDIX II. 
 
 191 
 
 quis erafc in nobis, ad sanctiorein vitam proficeremus, 
 idque- continue peragens zelo domus Dei, facile mul- 
 torum iniraicitias in se contraxit qui magis oderunt 
 lucem quam tenebras," quorum falsis calumniarum sug- 
 gestionibus permota Sanctitas V. noxium hunc Chris- 
 tianae Religioni credidit, cujus tamen in ea fructus hi 
 sunt : docere omnes justitiam, hortari cives nostros 
 aequali quodam jure et populari uti, insidias omnium 
 in rempublicam nostram detegere, nec pati contra jus 
 Civitatis nostrae jura aliquem sibi occupare ; docere 
 parentes optimam filiorum educationem et eruditionem, 
 ut digni Christiano nomine evadant, persuadere mulier- 
 ibus, deposito omni ornatu corporis, sequi Christum 
 pueros, nihil magis nosse quam gesta Christi et Sanc- 
 torum, et omnes indignos Christiano nomine e societate 
 et coetu nostro expellere, pro quibus facile multorum 
 civium et alienorum olfensionem subi-^ns, accusatus est 
 "demoliri muros Jerusalem," non tam quia nos perea- 
 mus de via justa, amisso relrgionis duce, quam quia 
 civilium discordiarum banc causam habeant, quae unica 
 illis relicta est via ad ambitionem suam et nocendura 
 nobis. 
 
 Dolemus autem non posse nos mandatis S. V. facile 
 parere, ne rem indignam Civitate nostra videamur 
 fecisse, et tamquam ingrati in hominem de nobis op- 
 time meritum arguamur. Accedit hoc, non posse hoc 
 sine populari discordia et multorum periculo tentari, tot 
 tantorumque animos sua integritate sibi conciliavit a 
 qua re scimus V. Sanct'" abhorrere, nec passuram un- 
 quam nos nostro tam ingenti cum periculo mandatis 
 suis parere. Grave etiam nobis est S. V'" a vol nu- 
 tate sua in nos destitisse ob haec, si quidem paucis 
 
192 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 diebus antea accepimus ex literis oratoris iiostri qiiam 
 parato animo ea esset ad insiaurationem Reipublicae 
 nostrae. Nunc vero, ut aiunt, momento temporis ea 
 nobis mandari audimus, quae sine dedecore et periculo 
 nostro praestare non possumiis. Quod reliquum est, 
 gme palter, oraraus S. ne derelinquat iios, sed 
 
 causaui nostram eo favore prosequatur quo hactenus 
 proseqauta est, nec velit his mandatis Civitatem nos- 
 tram iniscere et in aliorum utilitatem ruinas nostras 
 augere. Nos in his earn rationem servabimus ut quales 
 in ecclesiam semper fuimus et fidem Catholicam, tales 
 etiam nunc reperiamur, id tamen significantes magis 
 nobis cordi esse Rempublicam npstram quam aliorum 
 commoda, quo animo desideramus esse etiam S. Y™. 
 Sic enim securius illi et utilius toti Italiae fiat. 
 
 Commendamus nos Urbem populumque nostrum 
 clementiae S. V^*^. 
 
 Ex Palatio nostro, die 4* Martii, 1498.^ 
 
 The following letters bear eloquent testimony to the Friar's 
 merits. They are the work of St. Mark's Community and of 
 Florentine citizens. See Chapter I., pages 96, 97. 
 
 Beatissime Pater, post pedum oscula beato- 
 RUM, — Havendo noi inteso, dopo altre nostre lettere 
 scritte a V. Santitk, che po' (che) alcuni della nostra 
 citta che poco temono Dio, hanno quella sinistrameiite 
 informata, et irritatola contra il nostro f. Girolamo, 
 
 i These letters are given by Quetif, pp. 127 seq. and 122 seq., 
 and by Marchese : Document!, pp. 155 and 156, and 165-167. 
 Quetif gives May 4, 1497, as the date of the second letter, but 
 this is erroneous. We follow Marchese in assigning it to 
 March, 1498. 
 
APPENDIX 11. 
 
 193 
 
 havendo scritto alia Santita V. clie la dottrina sua e 
 repugnante alia dottrina Cattolica et al ben commune 
 della citta, et che la residenza sua in questa citta e la 
 distmctione di essa, con altre cose false et inique, ne 
 e parso, per maggior chiarezza della verita et per 
 giustificatione della innocenza sua, di par plena testifi- 
 catione a quella come la dottrina di esso f. Girolamo 
 e stata la salute di questa citta, et spirituale et cor- 
 porale, secondo che per I'opere manifestate appare, cosi 
 in detta citta come ne' Conventi nostri, dove per le sue 
 predicationi et essortationi e introdotto il vero vivere 
 Cliristiano, et sempre ha essortato ne cessa di essortare 
 alia legge evangelica et alia vera pace tutti gli huomini, 
 li quali se seguitassino quello che egli predica, saria 
 beata la nostra citta" et di questo ne rendiamo testi- 
 monio tutti noi, che siamo piu di dugento cinquanta 
 frati, la piu parte della terra, li quali ogni hora con- 
 versiamo con lui. Et essendo par noi di qualche cogni- 
 tione et esperienza, et havendo abbandonato il mondo 
 per servire a Die, non creda la Santita V. che volessimo 
 diffendere et sostenere un forastiero se non fossimo 
 certi della vita et bonta sua, vedendosi certamente la 
 mano di Dio esser con lui, et che il suo stare et predi- 
 care nella citta e la salute di quella et I'augumento 
 della religione Christiana, come appare per molti huo- 
 mini prudenti et letterati et di stimatione, convertiti 
 per lui alia religione, et che continuamente si conver- 
 tono et vivono sotto I'ombra sua, crescendo in perfet- 
 tione di vita et dottrina, in tal modo che in brevi tempo 
 speriamo che habbino a far gran frutto nella Chiesa di 
 Dio. Et, se il testimonio nostro non e accetto, a tanta 
 certezza habbiamo fatto sottoscrivere molti cittadini 
 
 13 
 
194 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 nobili et boni della terra; accio che la Santita V. 
 intenda che ella e stata male informata di queste cose 
 da chi lion lia timor di Dio. Et quando ella ne vorrk piti 
 di questi, saremo apparecchiati a darne non solo centi- 
 naia ma migliaia. Pregbiamo dunque V. S. si degni 
 rivocare le censure fatte contra detto f. Girolamo et 
 favorirlo in quest' opera, percbe certo ne avra merito 
 appresso Dio; et a questa citta, massime a quelli che 
 ban no voglia di ben vivere, fara cosa gratissima, 
 essendosi molto contristati di tali scommunica. Et noi 
 pregberemo di continuo per lo stato di Vostra Santita, 
 alia quale bumilimente ei raccomandiamo, et baciamo 
 li S*"' piedi. 
 
 j^nis Yestrae devotissimi servuli fratres to- 
 tius Congregationis T. Marci, Ord. Praed. 
 Ex Conventu T. Marci, de Flore ntia, etc. 
 
 To the sentiments expressed in this letter, not only did the two 
 hundred and fifty friars of St. Mark's subscribe, but several 
 hundred Florentine nobles and other leading citizens hastened 
 to attach their names, with the following testimony added : 
 
 j^me Pater, — Noi cittadini infrascripti, a corrobora- 
 tione della sopradette cose, a Vostra Santita per gli 
 detti religiosi et venerandi Padri esposte et narrate, 
 attestiamo essere la sincera et indubitata verita che 
 dalla dottrina del detto P. f. Girolamo, nella nostra 
 citta predicata, non la destrutione ma la vera salute et 
 pace sempre e proceduta. Per la qual cosa, con ogni 
 debita bumilita, pregbiamo Vostra Santita si degni 11 
 detto Padre dalle detto censure liberare, come li sopra- 
 scritti religiosi et venerandi Padri piamente a quella 
 hanno supplicato. 11 che per la sua solita clemenza 
 
APPENDIX II. 
 
 195 
 
 facendo, siamo certissimi, non solo la gloria et honore 
 di Dio doverne risultare, ma la salute et spirituale et 
 corporal e, con la universale pace et vera unione, di 
 tutta la nostra et vostra citta. 
 
 I nomi de quali cittadini, che tal cosa attestano et 
 confermano di propria mano ciascuno di loro, in pre- 
 senza di noi sottoscritti, sono questi, cive : 
 
 Then follow the signatures. Villari gives this text in his life 
 of Savonarola, Volume II., Appendix, xlii-xliv, and in his " Scelta 
 di Prediche e Scritti di Fra Girolamo Savonarola," pp. 512-514. 
 The full list of signatories is also there printed. 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 A LIST OE WOEKS TO WHICH SPECIAL 
 EEFERENCE IS MADE IN THIS VOLUME. 
 
 I. Historical. 
 
 1. Archivio Storico Italiano — containing Documents 
 relating to Savonarola, as follows : Appendix 25, Marchese ; 
 No. 36, Del Lungo ; Nos. 113 and 114, Cosci. 
 
 2. Bayonne, Pere Emmanuel-Ceslaus (O.P.): Etude 
 Sur Jerome Savonarole, des Freres-Precheurs d'apres de 
 Nouveaux Documents (Paris, 1879). 
 
 3. BuLLARiUM Ordinis F F. Praedicatorum (Romse, 1732), 
 8 volumes. 
 
 4. BuRLAMACCHi Fra Pacificus (O.P.) : Vita di Girolamo 
 Savonarola. This is contained in Volume L, pp. 527-583, of 
 the " Miscellanea " of Stephen Baluzius, edited by J. D, Mansi 
 (Lucca, 1761), 4 volumes. 
 
 5. Cappelli, Antonio : Fra Girolamo Savonarola e Notizie 
 Intorno il Suo Tempo (Modena, 1869). 
 
 6. Gherardi, Alessandro : Nuovi Documenti e Studi 
 Intorno a Girolamo Savonarola (Firenze, 1887). 
 
 7. LoTTiNi, Padre Giovanni (O.P.): Fu Veramente 
 Scomunicato il Savonarola? (Milano, 1898.) 
 
 8. LuoTTO, Paolo : II Vero Savonarola e il Savonarola di 
 L. Pastor (Firenze, 1897). 
 
 9. Marchess, Padre Vincenzo (O.P.) : (a) San Marco, 
 Convento dei P. Predicatori in Firenze, illustrato e inciso 
 (Firenze, 1853) ; (6) Scritti Vari (Firenze, 1860), 2 volumes. 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 197 
 
 10. Napier, Henry E. : Florentine History (London, 1847), 
 6 volumes. 
 
 11. ^Jardi, Jacopo : Le Storie della Citta di Firenze 
 (Firenze, 1584). 
 
 12. Perrens, F. T. : (a) Jerome Savonarole d'aprfes des 
 pieces justificatives, etc. (Paris, 1856) ; (6) Histoire de 
 Florence. 3 vols., Paris, 1888-1890. 
 
 13. Pico, della Mirandola, J. F. : VitaR. P. Fr. Hieronymi 
 Savonarolse (Paris, 1674). This volume contains also the 
 Compendium Revelationum and the Lamentatio Sponsse 
 Christi — edited by Father James Quetif, O.P. who also 
 compiled the *' Additiones," comprising Pico's argument 
 against Savonarola's excommunication, various letters of the 
 Friar, of Alexander VI., of the Signory, etc., — a valuable 
 collection, from which we quote under the heading Quetif. 
 
 14. Quarto Centenario della morte di Fra Girolamo 
 Savonarola, — a bi-monthly magazine, issued in Florence from 
 January to the close of December, 1898, and edited by Padre 
 Lodovico Ferretti, O.P., a member of the Congregation of 
 St. Mark. The student of Savonarola's life will find this an 
 interesting and helpful periodical. 
 
 15. ViLLARi, Pasquale : La Storia di Girolamo Savonarola e 
 de' suoi tempi (Firenze, 1887), 2 volumes, with appendices 
 containing many documents which are omitted from the 
 English translation of the work published in New York, 1890. 
 
 II. Canon Law and Theology. 
 
 This list of authorities includes not only some of the great 
 theologians and canonists, the giants whose names are identi- 
 fied with the science of divinity and ecclesiastical law, as 
 leaders by eminence, but others whose more popular manuals 
 may be accessible to readers unable to consult the voluminous 
 works of the masters which are not usually found outside 
 of large or specially selected libraries. Various ages and 
 schools arc represented, before and after the Council of Trent. 
 
198 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 1. Alphonsus, S. (Founder of the Redemptorists and Doc- 
 tor of the Church) : Theologia Moralis (Augustse Taurinorum, 
 1879), 2 volumes. 
 
 2. Anto2s'INUS, S. (O.P.) de Exeommunicatione, — in Vol- 
 ume XIV. of the " Tractatus Illustrium in utra(|ue turn 
 Pontificii turn Csesarei Juris Facultate Juriseonsultorum 
 (Venetiis, 1584). This edition may be more easily consulted 
 than the older editions of his " Summa." 
 
 3. Bernardus, S., Claravellensis Abbas: Opera Omnia 
 (Lugduni, 1679), 6 volumes. 
 
 4. Raymundus, de Pennafort, S. (O.P.) : Summa textu 
 Sacrorum Canonum, etc., opera et studio R. P., H. V. Laget, 
 ejusdem ordinis (Parisiis, 1720). 
 
 5. Thomas Aquinas, S. (O.P.) : Summa, edition of Caje- 
 tan (Romae, 1570), and Qusestiones Disputatse (Antverpiae, 
 1569). 
 
 6. Aertnys, Joseph (C. SS. R.) : Theologia Moralis (Tornaci, 
 1890). 
 
 7. Antoine, Paul G. (S.J.): Theologia Moralis (Romae, 
 1757), 2 volumes. 
 
 8. Bailly, Ludovicus: Theologia Moralis (Dublinii, 1829), 
 5 volumes. 
 
 9. Benedictus, Papa XIV. : De Synodo Dioecesana (Romse, 
 1755). 
 
 10. Berardi, Carolus S. : Commentaria in Jus Ecclesiasti- 
 cum Universum (Taurini, 1767), 4 volumes. 
 
 11. Billuart, Carolus R. (O.P): Summa S. Thomae (Paris 
 et Lugduni, 1855), 10 volumes. 
 
 12. BoN'ACina, Martinus : Omnia Opera Theologica (Ant- 
 verpiae, 1654), 3 volumes. 
 
 13. BuccEKONi, Januarius (S.J.) : De Censuris, etc. 
 (Romae, 1895). 
 
 14. Cabassutius, Joannes (Cong. Orat.) : Juris Canonici 
 Theoria et Praxis (Dublinii, 1824) 2 volumes. 
 
 15. Claremontenses Under this head " Theologia Dog- 
 matica et Moralis ad mentem S. Thomae Aquinatis et S. Al- 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 199 
 
 phonsi de Ligorio," by the Sulpitian Professors of Theology in 
 the Seminary of Clermont, France (Parisiis, 1899), 6 volumes. 
 
 16. CoxciNA, Daniel (O.P.) : (a) Disciplina Apostolico- 
 Monastica (Venetiis, 1750) ; (b) Theologia Christiana Dogmat- 
 ico-Moralis (Romae, 1755), 12 volumes. 
 
 17. Craissox, D. : Manuale Totius, Juris Canonici (Parisiis, 
 1894), 4 volumes. 
 
 18. CuxiLiATi, Fulgentius (O.P.) : Universae Theologias 
 Moralis Accurata Complexio (Matriti, 1780), 2 volumes. 
 
 19. D'AxxiBALE, Joseph: Summula Tlieologiae Moralis 
 (Romae, 1896), 3 volumes. 
 
 20. De Castro PALAO,'rerdinandus (S.J.) : Opus Morale 
 (Lugduni, 1669), 7 volumes. 
 
 21. De Palude, Petrus (O.P.) : In Quartum Librum Sen- 
 tentiarum (Parisiis, 1514). 
 
 22. De Tudeschi, Nicholas (O.S.B.) : Commentaria Super 
 Libris Decretalium (Venetiis, 1697), 9 volumes. He is 
 usually quoted under the name of the Abbot, or of Panormita- 
 nus. He had been abbot, and subsequently became Arch- 
 bishop of Panorma. 
 
 23. De Varcexo, Gabriel (O.S.F.): Theologia Moralis 
 (Augustas Taurinorum, 1880), 2 volumes. 
 
 24. Devoti, Joannes : Institutiones Canonicae (Florentiae, 
 1817), 4 volumes. 
 
 25. Fagxaxus, Prosper: Commentaria in Libros Decreta- 
 lium (Romae, 1661), 5 volumes. 
 
 26. Ferraris, Lucius, (O.S.F.) : Bibliotheca Canonica, 
 etc. (Romse, 1785), 9 volumes. 
 
 27. Gersox, Joannes: Omnia Opera (Antwerpiae, 1706), 
 5 volumes. His tract " Circa Materiam Excommunicationum 
 et Irregularitatum Resolutio " and his discussion of S. Greg, 
 ory's " Sententia Pastoris etiam injusta timenda est," are in 
 Volume n., pp. 422-426. 
 
 28. Haixe, a. J. F. : Theologia Moralis Elementa ex S. 
 Thoma (Lovanii, 1889), 4 volumes. 
 
 29. IxxocEXTius, Papa IV. : Apparatus Mirificus Juris 
 Canonici (Parisiis, 1514), 2 volumes. 
 
200 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 30. Kenrick, F. p. : Theologia Moralis (Mechliniae, 18G0;, 
 2 volumes. 
 
 31. La Croix, Claudius (S.J.) : Theologia Moralis (Ra- 
 vennae, 1747), 2 volumes. 
 
 32. Layman, Faulus (S.J.) : Theologia ]\Ioralis (Venetiis, 
 1740) 2 volumes. 
 
 33. Leander, R. p. (Ord. Disc. SS. Trin.) : Queestiones 
 Morales Theologicae de Censuris Ecclesiasticis (Lugdiini, 
 1678), 10 volumes. 
 
 34. Lemhkuhl, Augustus (S. J.) : Theologia Moralis 
 (Friburgi BrisgoviEe 1888), 2 volumes. 
 
 35. Neyraguet, Deod. : Theologia MoraUs (Tornaci, 
 1841). 
 
 36. Palmieri, Dominicus (S.J.) : Theologia Moralis (Prati, 
 1894), 2 volumes. 
 
 37. Passerini, Petrus (O.P.) : De Hominum Statibus et 
 Officiis Inspectiones Morales (Lucas, 1732), 3 volumes. 
 
 38. Patuzzi, Joannes V. (O.P.) : Ethica Christiana (Bas- 
 sani, 1770), 6 volumes. 
 
 39. Prieras, Sylvester (O.P.) : Summa (Lugduni, 1552), 
 2 volumes. Prieras, a contemporary of Savonarola, became 
 Master of the Apostolic Palace under Leo X. 
 
 40. Reiffenstuel, Anacletus (O.S.F.): (a) Jus Canon- 
 icum Universum (Romae, 1834), 6 volumes ; and {d) Theologia 
 Moralis (Antverpiae, 1743), 2 volumes. 
 
 41. RoNCAGLiA, Coustantinus (Cong. Matris Dei): Uni- 
 versa Moralis Theologia (Venetiis, 1749), 2 volumes. 
 
 42. Salmanticenses : Cursus Theologise MoraUs Collegii 
 Salmanticensis FF. Discalceatorum B. M. de Monte Carmeli 
 (Matriti, 1714), 6 volumes. 
 
 43. Salzano, Thomas M. (O.P.): Institutiones Juris 
 Canonici (Neapoli, 1843). 
 
 44. Sandjeus, Felinus : Commentaria in Decretalium 
 Libros Quinque (Basiliae, 1567), 2 volumes. Sandaeus was 
 Auditor of the Rota under Alexander VL 
 
APPENDIX 111. 201 
 
 45. ScAVixi, Petrus : Tlieologia Moralis Universa (Parisiis 
 et Lugduni, 186 7), 4 volumes. 
 
 46. ScHMALZGRUEBER, Franciscus (S.J.) : Jus Ecclesias 
 ticum Universum (Romae, 1845), 11 volumes. 
 
 47. Semixarium, S. Sulpitii : Praelectiones Juris Canonici 
 habitae 1857, '8, '9 (Parisiis). 
 
 48. Sporer, Patricius (O.S.F.): Theologia Moralis 
 (Venetiis, 1704), 3 volumes. 
 
 49. Stremler, J: Traite des Peines Ecclesiastiques 
 (Paris, 1860). 
 
 50. SuAREZ, Franciscus (S.J.) : Omnia Opera (Parisiis, 
 1858), 18 volumes. 
 
 51. Vecchiotti, Septimus M. : Institutiones Canonicae 
 (Augustse Taurinorum, 1875). 
 
 52. WiGAXDT, Martinus (O.P.): Tribunal Confessariorum 
 et Ordinandorum (Venetiis, 1748). 
 
 53. Zallixger, J. A.: Institutiones Juris Ecclesiastici 
 (Romae, 1823), 5 volumes. 
 
 54. ZiTELLi, Zephyrinus: Apparatus Juris Ecelesiastici 
 (Romae, 1888). 
 
 III. Savonarola's Works. 
 
 1. Epistolae Spirituales et Asceticae, edited by Father 
 Quetif (Paris, 1674). 
 
 2. CEuvres Spirituelles Choisies, edited by Father Bayonne 
 (Paris, 1880), 3 volumes. 
 
 3. I have also been able to command the following editions 
 of various sermons : — 
 
 a. Prediche Sopra Diversi Salmi e Scritture Ecclesiastiche 
 
 (Firenze, 1833). 
 
 b. Sermoni e Prediche (Prato, 1846). 
 
 c. Prediche di Fra Girolamo Savonarola, edited b^ 
 
 Giuseppi Baccini (Firenze, 1889). 
 
202 WAS SAVONAROLA EXCOMMUNICATED? 
 
 d. Scelta di Prediche e Scritti di Fra Girolamo Savona- 
 rola, edited by Villari and E. Casanova (Firenze, 
 1898). 
 
 IV. Pathology. 
 
 I have consulted the " Patrologiae Cursus Completus," edited 
 by J. P. Migne (Paris, 1844 seq.) for the works of S. Augus- 
 tine, S. Jerome, S. Cyprian (all in Volume IV.), S. Gregory 
 the Great, Boetius (all in Volume LXIV.), Gelasius (all in 
 Volume LIX.), Minucius Fehx (all in Volume III.). 
 
 I have verified all the references in Savonarola's letters as 
 given in this volume, and where his references were general, 
 I have identified and particularized them. 
 
 For verifications and for references to older editions of Savo- 
 narola's Sermons I am indebted to Father Ferretti. 
 
Date Due 1