[hprints-00683151, v2] Enea Silvio Piccolomini (Pius II ... - Hprints.org

hprints-00683151, version 2 - 19 Mar 2013
[70] [Secondly], who will not loudly applaud that Emilia, which we now call
Romagnola 677 , was freed from the hands of the local tyrants 678 , who had conquered
it by force, and willingly given back to the pope.
Never did this prince fight the Supreme Pontiffs, never did he refuse to help the
Church, and never did he reject the apostolic commands. The present pope he
always obeyed as Pontiff, father, lord, and Vicar of Christ, and he was the first of the
princes to declare his obedience to him. Even if later there was some disagreement
between them, this is how their relationship actually began. The duke never refused
to serve the pope since he considers that the person who occupies the Holy See
should never be shown disrespect.
4.3.2. The duke´s love of the council
[71] I believe that none of you can be unaware of the duke’s attitude towards the
council, and nobody will rebuke me if I call him Defensor of the Council. For
everybody knows that from the beginning he has required his prelates to attend the
council and has kept them here at great cost so that the council would not collapse
due to lack of participants.
And at the time when the council solicited the support of the princes, his prelates
were ready to undertake, at their own cost, the necessary missions: none of them
spared any effort or money.
677
Romagnola: a region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna and forming and
important part of the then papal state. The capital is Bologna
678
Not in the sense of cruel rulers, but in the sense of self-made, local rulers without the sanction of the Empire or the
Church
133