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

66
HISTORY OF THE POPES.
because he had not had the necessary experience.^ The
consciousness that God had called him to the supreme dignity,
and that he was ignorant of these less important matters,
often led him to act, even in worldly affairs, with a determination
that was quite wanting in consideration for others, and
which refused to listen to any arguments suggested by human
prudence. Starting from this idealistic standpoint, and looking
at everything merely from the supernatural point of view,
it was natural to him to pay too little attention to the actual
conditions with which he was faced.
Pius V. was no diplomatist, nor did he profess to be one.
He was as sharply marked off from his predecessor, Pius IV.,
by his complete indifference to political considerations as he
was by the strictness of his own life. It has rarely happened
in a Pope that the sovereign has been so subordinated to the
priest, as was the case with this son of St. Dominic, who now
sat on the throne of St. Peter. One thing alone was dear to
his heart, the salvation of souls ; to this he devoted all his
energies, and he estimated the value of every institution
and every act in accordance with its usefulness for that
purpose.
The reputation for ruthless severity which attached to Pius
V. as a former Grand Inquisitor, roused the fear of the Romans
during the days that followed his election, lest they should be
entering upon a pontificate like that of Paul IV. The Pope,
who fully realized this feeling with regard to himself, sought
to calm men's minds by declaring that he knew very well
that he had to deal with men and not with angels. ^ The
generosity which the Pope displayed during the first days of
^With the " Informatione," etc.. loc. cit., 194, cf. especially
TiEPOLO, 179 and Soriano, 202. See also Corresp. de Granvelle,
ed. PouLLET, I. 519, 595
; Corresp. dipl., I., 161, and the *letter
of Serristori of May 16, 1566, quoted supm p. 65, n. i.
2 See the *report of Arco of January 12, 1566, State Archives,
Vienna, the *Avviso di Roma of January 12, 1566, Vatican Library
(see App, n. 3), and Catena, 24. Cf. also the *letter of Babbi
of January 8, 1566, State Archives, Florence. P. Paschini, Note
per la biografia del card. G. Sirleto. Naples, 1918, 56 seq.