714 THE MIDDLE AGES. A.D. 1294-1517.
revered him, and Benedict XIV. seejMJoJiaifiJ^garded hini worthy of canonization. ^
Within the Dominican order, the feeling toward its greatest preacher lias undergone a great change. Respect for the papal decision led it, for a hundred years after Savonarola's death, to make official effort to retire his name to oblivion. The Dominican general, Sisto Fabri of Lucca, in 1585, issued an order forbidding every Dominican monk and nun mentioning his name and commanded them to give up any article to their superiors which kept warm admiration for him or aroused it. In the latter half of the 19th century, as the 400th anniversary of his execution approached. Catholics, and especially Dominicans, in all parts of the world defended his memory and efforts were made to prepare the way for his canonization. In the attempt to remove all objections, elaborate arguments have been presented to prove that Alexander's sentence of excommunication was in fact no excommunication at all.^ The sound and judicious Catholic historians, Ilefele-Knopfler, do not hesitate to pronounce his death a judicial murder.^
B^J]ie general conseiit of £cQtestauts,_Jerome SayonaxQla.iff numbei;ed amon^ the_precursors of the Reformation, — the view taken by Ranke. He wasnot an advocate of its distinguish-
of Savonarola and wrote a laud to liirn. This was the chief objection to her beatification in 1716,butthe arguments for an unfavorable judgment of Savonarola were answered on that occasion.
1 Villari, II. 417, following Schwab and other Catholic writers. The interpretation put upon Benedict's words is denied by Pastor: Beurtheiluny, p. 16 sq., and Lucas.
2 Father O'Neil, a Dominican, in his work, Was Savonarola really orommunicated? takes this position and says, p. 132, " Alexander did not inflict any censure on Savonarola." The fact, however, is that in his letters to th.e signory, Alexander proceeded on the basis of his brief of excommunication. He .stated distinctly the reasons for his being excommunicated and he called upon tiie priests of Florence to publicly announce his sentence of May 12, 1497, upon pain of drawing ecclesiastical censure upon themselves. O'Neil replies that a papal decision, based upon a false ciiarge, is invalid, p. 175 sqq.
* Bechtlos hingemordert, Kircheugesrh., p. .503. Ranke's statement that the view making Savonarola a hero is a Dominican legend "worked out after the preacher's death" has been rendered untenable by the latest research by the eminent Savonarola scholar, the Catholic Professor Schnitzer. See his Fp.uerprobe, p. 162.
§ 7G. GIROLAMO SAVONAROLA. 715
ing tenet of justification by faith. The Roman church was for him the mother of all other churches and the pope its head. In his Triumph of the Cross, he distinctly asserts the seven sacraments as an appointment of Christ and that Christ is " wholly and essentially present in each of the eucharistic elements." Nevertheless, he was an innovator and his exaltation of divine grace accords with the teaching of the Reformation. Here all Protestants would have fellowship with him as when he said : ^ —
It is untrue that God's grace is obtained by pre-existing works of merit as though works and deserts were the cause of predestination. On the contrary, these are the result of predestination. Tell me, Peter ; tell me, O Magdalene, wherefore are ye in paradise ? Confess that not by your own merits have ye obtained salvation, but by the goodness of God.
Passages abound in his Meditations like this one. " Not by their own deservings, O Lord, or by their own works have they been saved, lest any man should be able to boast, but because it seemed good in Thy sight." Speaking of Savonarola's Exposition of the Psalms, Luther said that, although some clay still stuck to Savonarola's theology, it is a pure and beautiful example of what is to be believed, trusted and hoped from God's mercy and how we come to despair of works. And the whole-souled German Reformer exclaimed, " Christ canonizes Savonarola through us even though popes and papists burst to pieces over it."^
The sculptor has given him a place at the feet of Luther and at the side of Wy^if^ajidHuss j^n the^ monument of the Reformation ^^ Worms. When Catholics, who heard that this was proposed, wrote to show the impropriety of including the Florentine Dominican in such company, Rietschel consulted Hase on the subject. The venerable Church historian replied, " It makes no difference whether they counted Savonarola a heretic or a saint, he was in either case a precursor of the Reformation and so Luther recognized him." ^
^ Sermon VIII. in Prato ed. quoted by Rudelbach. Bayonne wrote his work in 1879 to dispose of this charge and to prepare the way for Savonarola's canonization.
2 Canonizat eum Christus per nos, rumpanter etiam papce et papistoe simul. Weimar ed. XII. 248.
3 Kirchengesch. , II. 566.