The history of the popes, from the close of the middle ages : drawn ...

CLEMENT XI. II
But there were limits to his gentleness and goodness, when
the interests of the Church were at stake : on such occasions
he showed himself a decided adherent of the party of the
" Zelanti ".
The same dispositions were apparent in the Pope's private
life, which was wholly given up to prayer and work. He
said Mass daily ; daily also he went to confession. Sleep
and food were reduced to the indispensable minimum. His
recreation lay in frequent visits to churches and hospitals
and in zealously preaching the word of God.^
The zeal with which Clement XL apphed himself not only
to his ecclesiastical functions but to affairs also, could not
have been greater. ^ As he was only fifty-one years old, be
beheved himself strong enough to deal personally with all
important affairs. The number of documents written with
his own hand or corrected by him, which are preserved in the
Papal Secret Archives or in the Corsini Library, is astonishing.
Few Popes have written so much with their own hand and of
no Pope do we possess so many autographs.^ Even those who
deU'eco che sempre ripete I'altrui voce senza forma della propria,
lo rende sempre amabile a chi che sia." Ihid.
^ Report of Giov. Francesco Morosini, 1707, State Archives,
Venice (extract in Ranke, III., 211*) ; Lafitau,
I., 58 seq.
2 An Avviso Alarescotti of December 18, 1700, reports : " II
Papa aveva una febbre leggera ;
credesi cagionatagli dalla grand'
applicatione che mette negl' affari, de' quali non traspirano le
determinationi, mentre opera senza I'intiera confidenza d'alcuno,
scrivendo di proprio pugno e passeggiando con la penna in mano
va notando_ secondo si ricorda." Bibl. Vittorio Emanuele,
Rome.
3 The greater part of these autographs are preserved in the
large collection *Miscell. di Clemente XI., Papal Secret Archives ;
others are in the Bibl. Corsini, Rome. The former were especially
utilized by Pometti, the latter by Sentis (141 seqq.). Numerous
other materials are in the Bibl. Albani, Urbino, which, unfortu-
nately, is inaccessible, on which cf. E. Gherardi, Guida di
Urbino, Urbino, 1890, in seqq. ; E. Calzini, Urbino, Rocca
S. Casciano, 1897, 125 seq. ; Mazzatinti, Inventari, 73 seqq.