The new politick lights of modern Romes church-government: or The new Gospel according to Cardinal Palavicini revealed by him in his history of the Council of Trent. Englished out of French.

Reason XVII.

In every natural Body, animate, and live∣ing, there must be two distinct sort of hu∣mours, one courser, as the blood, flegm, the two biles yellow and black: now in the Body of the Church, the Prelates be as these humours. The other humours are subtile and are called Spirits, which are most puri∣fied, and the most active parts of the blood; these be the Instruments which serve the Soul to give the Body all its motion. The Monks and Religious Orders in the Church are as the Spirits: They live purified from all love, and esteem of things of the Earth,* 1.1 dispreg∣giatrici d'ogni cosa terrena.

These two sorts of humours in the Body

are so necessary, the one to the other, that he that should go about to separate the Spi∣rits from the grosser humours, and to keep nothing but pure Spirits, upon pretence that they be the purest, and contribute most to action, would quickly see those Spirits to fail and evaporate for lack of matter to vegetate them and feed them, gli spiriti soli nell'ani∣male fanno le funzioni vitali, adunque direbbe taluno,* 1.2 e che servono tanti umori più grossi? Ser∣vono à molto; senza questi non formerebbono e non si conserverebbono gli spiriti, cosí accade nel proposto nostro.

If you ask to what purpose then do Car∣dinals, Arch-Bishops, and Bishops and other Prelates, full of felicity according to the flesh, serve? You will be answered they are very useful, because without their car∣nal felicity, the Priests, which are bred up in the Seminaries, or in the Religious Or∣ders, and which be in the state of perfecti∣on, would not be maintained, protected or directed as they be, and upheld by the Pre∣lates, who govern the Church and who ne∣vertheless cannot, or will not bring them∣selves to live like them,* 1.3 un tal numero di sa∣cerdoti perfeti si va formando nelle scuole ò degli ordini religiosi ò de' Seminarii chiericali, e questi non durerebbono al mondò, se non fossero alimentati da' Prelati che governano la chiesa, i quali non possono, ò diciamo ancora, non vog∣liono ridursi à quel rigore di vita.

Thus then, as there would be no Priests perfect in the World, if there were no

Rich Prelates able to maintain them, it is evident that the perfection of the Church, who is the Body of Jesus Christ, and his Ho∣ly, and altogether pure Spouse, is totally founded upon the vast Riches of the Roman Court; and upon those sweet, gentle, and yet efficacious means, which she is able to invent to heap them up.

After a Body hath well considered these two sort of Persons, which make up the Church, the Priests Spiritual, who are animated with zeal altogether pure, di purissimo zelo;* 1.4 and the Rich Prelates, who are carnal, and who would not serve God, if they were not very Rich; because they have no mind to strain up themselves unto the Priests perfection. One ought to conclude that these two parts of the Church have need one of the other, In somma chi ben considera ogni parte di quella republica, l'una è bisognosa dell'altra.* 1.5 And as it would be an Atheistical impiety; see∣ing the Body, even but of a fly, to maintain, that all the parts which compose it came to∣gether after that fashion casually, or by chance; neither can it be any less but im∣piety,* 1.6 to have such like thoughts of the Bo∣dy of the Church, s'è impietà d'ateista il tener che sia casuale il corpo naturale d'una mosca, non sarà il creder tale il corpo civile della chiesa? So that 'tis clearly to be an Atheist, to be perswaded, that the carnal felicity of the Court of Rome, is not conforma∣ble to the intention of God, or that t'were better for the Church, to convert the cheif

and best part of its vast riches, for relieving the poor and miserable, rather than before all things to found the felicity according to the flesh of the Roman Court.

Notes

• * 1.1

  l. 8. c. 17.
• * 1.2

  l. 9. c. 9.
• * 1.3

  Ibid.
• * 1.4

  l. 9. c. 9.
• * 1.5

  Ibid.
• * 1.6

  Ibid.