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    ledge . Such was his reputation ad a jurist , that his opinions were held ft * carry with them the authority of a divine oracle . / suoi consiqli , so his historians write of him , erano stimati come se fosseto proceduti dalla bocca di Dio . jEneas Sylvius , bis townsman and personal friend , who was afterwards elevated to the popedom under the title of Pius the Second , describes hi * erudition , accomplishments and character in terms of the highest eulogy , and , as a testimony of his regard , dedicated to him his celebrated romance

    of Euriolus and Lucretia , which he had composed at his-request . He represents him as a man whose equal in his moral and intellectual endowments he did not expect to behold . " Nature / ' he writes , " has denied him nothing but the advantages of personal form . He is small of stature , and Ought to have been born of my family , who bear the surname of little men [ Piccoluomini ) . He is signalized by his eloquence and by his knowledge of both laws . With history he is perfectly familiar : as a skilful poet he has distinguished himself by his poems in the Latin and Tuscan languages . In philosophy he is as erudite as Plato . He is another Boethius in geometry , and in numbers another Macrobius . There is no musical instrument with

    which he is not acquainted . In agriculture he is as well versed as Virgil , and there is no liberal art in which he is not a proficient . Whilst he retained his youthful strength , no one could surpass him in running , dancing and wrestling . If the gods had granted him form and immortality , he also would have been a god . But to no mortal is it given to possess every excellence : I have , however , known no individual to whom so few are wanting . He paints like another Apelles . Nothing can be more beautiful than the writing of his manuscripts . As a sculptor he is a Praxiteles ; and he is well skilled in medicine . To these accomplishments may be added his moral virtues */ He is exceedingly hospitable , his house being continually

    filled withihe most worthy guests . He is no man ' s enemy . He is the protector / of the common people : the sick look to him for relief ; the poor find in / nim a benefactor he is the widow's stay and comfort ; and all who are in need share his kindness . His countenance , like that of Socrates , is always serene . His fortitude is unshaken in adversity , and he is never elated in prosperity . He employs his wit , not to molest others , but to guard against their wiles . He is beloved by his countrymen and esteemed by strangers . He has incurred no man ' s hatred , nor has he been to any one the occasion of grief . * *

    * Vide Epistolts et Varii Tractatus Pii Pont . Max . dum esset in . Minoribus . Epiat . cxli . ad Oasparum Schlick . The edition of this very curious work , from which I have translated the above extract , is a folio volume printed at Milan in 1496 , and is of extreme rarity . JSneas Sylvius was born of an illustrious family at Corsignano , in the territory of Siena , in 1405 . His great talents obtained for him the appointment of secretary to the Council of Basle , at which he strenuously maintained the Superiority of councils over the authority of the Roman pontiff . With his elevation to the papal chair he changed his views on this subject , and endeavoured in vain to

    Suppress what he had written upon it . He retracted his sentiments by a Pull , in which he ingenuously confesses , however , that he had defended an ancient opinion . Tuebamur antiquam sententiam . To meet the objections of his friends and others , his direction was , JEneam rejicitef Pium audite— " Reject iEneas , listen to Pius / ' The Emperor Frederic made him his secretary , and conferred upon him the poetical laurel , on which account he styles himself in his epistles , Poeta , imperialisque secretaries . He was frequently employed in diplomatic affairs . His first ecclesiastical preferment was to the Biwhopric of Trieste , from which he was translated to that of Siena . Calixftis the Thi »; d gave him a Cardinal ' s hat , and in 1458

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    S 8 Memoirs of the Sociffl .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Jan. 2, 1827, page 24, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1792/page/24/