§ 55. JULIUS II., THE WAERIOR-POPE. 1603-1513. 475
The synod also reaffirmed the decrees of the 5th session of the Council of Constance, placing general councils over the pope.
Very different in its constitution and progress was the Fifth Lateran, the last oecumenical council of the Middle Ages, and the 18th in the list of oecumenical councils, as accepted by the Roman Catholic Church. It lasted for nearly five years, and closed on the eve of the nailing of the XCV theses on the chufchr dooF th^Wlttmihgrg. It is chiefly notable for whatjt failed to do, rather than for anything it did. The only one of its declarations which is of more than temporary interest was the deliverance, reaffirming Boniface's theory of the supremacy of the Roman pontifif over all potentates and individuals whatsoever.
In his summons calling the council, Julius deposed the cardinals, who had entered into the Pisan synod, as schismatics and sons of darkness. 1 The attendance did not compare in weight or numbers with the Council of Constance. Atjthe 1st session, held May 3jJJ12, there were^pr^sent lj6^rdjiials^ 12 paf riarchs, 10 archbishops, 70 bishops and S^nerals of orders. The opening address by ^gidius of Viterbo, general of the Augustinian order, after dwelling upon the recent glorious victories of Julius, magnified the weapons of light at the council's disposal, piety, prayers, vows and the breastplate of faith. The council should devote itself to placating all Christian princes in order that the arms of the Christian world might be turned against the flagrant enemy of Christ, Mohammed. The council then declared tlie adherents of the^Pisan conventicle schismatics and laid Francp under the interdict. Julius, who listened to the eloquent address, was present at 4 sessions.
At the 2d session, Cajetan dilated at length on the pet papal theory of the two swords.
In the 4th session, the Venetian, Marcello, pronounced a eulogy upon Julius which it would be hard to find excelled for
^ A pamphlet war was waged over the council. Among the writers on the papal side was Thomas de Vio Gaeta, general of the Dominican order and afterwards famous as Cardinal Cajetan, who had the colloquies with Luther. His tracts were ordered burnt by Louis XII. He took the ground that no council can be oecumenical which has not the pope's support. An account of this literary skirmish is given by Hefele-Hergenrother, VIII. 470-480.
476 THE MIDDLE AGES. A.D. 1294-1517.
fulsome flattery in the annals of oratory. After having borne intolerable cold, so the eulogist declared, and sleepless nights and endured sickness in the interests of the Church, and having driven the French out of Italy, there remained for the pontiff the greater triumphs of peace. Julius must be pastor, shepherd, physician, ruler, administrator and, in a w^ord, another God on earth. ^
At the 5 th session, held during the pope's last illness, abull was read, severely condemning simony at papal elections. The remainingsessions ofthe council wereheld under Julius' successor.
When JuUusjjame tojliejjie wasnot yet 70. No man of his time had been an actor in so many stirring scenes. On his deathbed he called for Paris de Grassis, his master of ceremonies, and reminded him how little respect had been paid to the bodies of deceased popes within his recollection. Some of them had been left indecently nude. He then made him promise to see to it that he should have decent care and burial.^ The cardinals were summoned. The dying pontiff addressed them first in Latin, and implored them to avoid all simony in the coming election, and reminded them that it was for them and not for the council to choose his successor. He pardoned the schismatic cardinals, but excluded them from the conclave to follow his death. And then, as if to emphasize the tie of birth, he changed to Italian and besought them to confirm his nephew, the duke of Urbino, in the possession of Pesaro, and then he bade them farewell. A last remedy, fluid gold, was administered, but in vain. H[ejiifid_E©b« 20, 15i.3J
^ Tu pastor, tu mpclicus, tu giibernator, tu cnltor, tu denique alter Dens in terris, Mansi, XXXII. 7G1. Hefele-IIergenrother, VII. 528-531, pronounce this expression, God on earth, used before by Gregory II., a rhetorical flourish and nothing more. See also Pastor, III. 725.
2 De Grassis reports the rumors abroad concerning tlie pope's mortal malady. One of them was the Gallic disease, and another that the pope's .stomach had given way under excessive indulgence. lie also speaks of the great number who went to look at the pope's corpse and to ki.ss his feet. Diilllnger, III. 432.
^ A .satire, called Julius errlusus, which appeared after the pontiff's death, represented him as appearing at the gate of heaven with great din and noise. Peter remarked tliat, as he was a brave man, had a large army and much gold and was a busy builder, he might build his own paradi.se. At the same time the Apostle reminded him he would have to build the foundations deep and strong