serving his fellow-creatures, he will bear with our caution, call for our inquiry. Only let us take heed to our own spirit.'"

Farther, an observer cannot help sometimes having his doubts whether the true obligations of Christian charity have been sufficiently considered by some among us, when he sees that sympathy with and interest in whole ranks of their fellow-creatures is put out of sight, as a thing almost out of the question. There are stern politicians of all sorts, steady and inflexible in their own ideas of what is right, who really seem to make it a principle to know none but their own people, who now and then perhaps complain of being treated with disdain by others, but take no pains to examine into some of the grounds of this treatment. It is difficult to imagine how these can reconcile themselves to the spirit of estrangement they thus cultivate. If we are "to do unto others as we would that they should do unto us," we certainly should take care to keep open as wide a field for our charitable exertions as possible; and why the rich and great, any more than the poor and unhappy, should be excluded from our sympathies, may well be the subject of our candid investigation.

Again, with regard to religious principle. Whatever the Christian's opinion about truth or error may be, one principle, one most important principle, he never can or will forget; wherever else he may err, he knows that the eternal welfare of his brother is a consideration more important than all beside. When, therefore, he wishes to correct an error of a speculative kind, it will be his business, above all things, so to do it as most carefully to guard the grand principles of religion; so as not, if possible, to weaken the feelings of genuine piety in a single bosom. It must be owned that in an abrupt transition from a grossly erroneous to a purer system of faith, sacrifices of this sort always have been, and it is feared always must be made. Infidelity must have a few victims where superstition has long bound her ten thousands in chains; but "woe be to him by whom the offence," through wilful inattention or sinful carelessness for the best interests of his fellow-creatures, "cometh." Anxiety about the spread of truth, is not unfrequently accompanied by remissness in pressing that truth home to the conscience. Let us guard this point well. Of what moment is the poor and paltry triumph of gaining a convert to our opinions, in comparison with having awakened devout feelings, pressed home the admonitions of scripture to the conscience, Yet it is not that instrucand turned the sinner from the error of his ways? tion in DOCTRINES is either needless or exceptionable, for it may be carried a great way if combined with charity; but it is, that charity itself does not urge us on far enough in those private endeavours to recommend our principles which will alone make our preaching and teaching available. Unwearied solicitude to conciliate by every lawful means those, high or low, who oppose themselves, sympathy with the feelings of different orders and ranks, extensive acquaintance with human nature,-all these things are ne cessary in him who would do good as far as it is possible. A due regard to religious reputation, a desire not to appear light where we know that in our hearts we must be serious, a full, free, large allowance for the motives of those whom mistaken duty may lead to banish us from their society and almost friendship, are also clearly incumbent upon the Christian who wishes to put on "the bond of charity."

Once more: true Christian benevolence will check the spirit of criticism in our own circles. We elect ministers, and our reputation is much involved in theirs; yet we allow ourselves to criticise their foibles openly, forgetting

that we thereby reflect upon ourselves. If this were done in the spirit of earnest and severe rebuke, it would be far more tolerable than when we lightly make their infirmities the matter of our discourse. Our children and servants are of course led to make the inference, that a man may be a popular and approved minister among us, whose claims to respect and esteem are not sufficient to shield him from disrespectful remark. We ought to remember that the character of our ministry does, in a great measure, depend upon ourselves. Such as we are, such will our ministers be. It is the many who govern-the few will always, in free religions, be what is acceptable to them. If the ministerial office were made more inviting, if reciprocal duties were better performed, things would alter greatly; but this will never be, unless we are brought, as a body, to feel more strongly what we owe to our fellowcreatures with regard to religion, till the powerful among us are led to acknowledge that the duty of "doing to others as they would be done by," involves the duty of doing what they can to raise the tone of religious feeling. If they complain that our provisions for the maintenance of religion do not keep pace with what the spirit of a liberal age requires, if they think education is not so complete, nor the candidates for the ministry sufficient either in number or station in life to answer the demands of a period that is characterized by improvements of all sorts, why do they not feel that duty calls on them to make efforts to supply the deficiency? From no other quarter can it emanate. Let us not see them forsaking our places of worship in search of a more genteel religion until they have done what they can to give their own the advantages it wants, for herein "walk they not charitably."

To return, then, to the point from which we set out-charity willeth "that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth." How extensive is the duty hereby imposed upon us! How incessant its calls upon us! It is a great point to know both our greatness and our littleness; to feel that there is scarce an event in the round of our lives which may not be made to serve the best interests of Christian truth; to be sensible that in our grandest schemes for doing good there may be a lurking error which will overturn the whole. "God does not want our sinful acts," said the excellent Lindsey. We are not to fancy that the sacredness of a cause will excuse our want of Christian temper in upholding it, nor that any thing is too mean to require our attention, if religion is to be served by it, and the habits of obedience strengthened. "A deep sense of personal deficiencies, a wakeful jealousy, a profound humility, a disposition to see the worst of our case, are the very means of Christian improvement." Let us not shrink from using them both in public and in private, for our cause will most assuredly prosper, both outwardly and inwardly, in proportion to our faithful employment of them.

M.

MEMOIRS OF THE SOCINI.

THE name of SOCINUS has obtained preeminent celebrity in the religious world. By many persons it has, indeed, been always regarded with strong feelings of antipathy, because associated in their minds with doctrines and sentiments which they judged to be dangerous heresies; but others have been disposed to hold it in high respect, as connected with honourable struggles in the cause of religious truth, with costly sacrifices voluntarily made at the call of conscience, with an integrity of heart which remained inflexible in seasons

22

Memoirs of the Socini.

of imminent danger, and with talents and attainments of the most splendid description. Two distinguished individuals of this name, Lælius and Faustus Socinus, are frequently mentioned in the ecclesiastical annals and religious controversies of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It may, however, be questioned, whether much is actually known of them in this country, by the majority either of those who habitually vilify, or of those who commend and eulogise them, beyond the vague and uncertain information conveyed by public rumour, which is often corrupted and falsified by prejudice and bigotry. Of Lælius there exists no good account that is accessible to the English reader; and the memoirs that are extant of Faustus, though in many respects valuable, are not, in their arrangement and style, very inviting to modern taste; not to add, that at present they are to be classed among scarce books.* For these reasons it may be gratifying to many to insert, at the commencement of a New Series of the Monthly Repository, a detailed and faithful account of these Unitarian confessors. It may probably add to the interest of these Memoirs to prefix to them some biographical notices of such other members of their family as are known to history by their learning, their talents, their character, and their literary celebrity.

The Socinit were natives of Siena in Tuscany. For many generations they maintained a high reputation in their native city, and connected themselves by marriage with some of the principal families in the north of Italy. On the female side they were allied to the Salvetti, a Florentine family of rank; to the Petrucci, who were for some time at the head of the republic of Siena; and to the Piccoluomini, who gave to the papal chair two pontiffs in the persons of Pius the second and third.

The Socini possessed a handsome mansion in Siena. It has now disappeared, and the site is occupied by the Palazzo Malevolti. About six miles from the city, proceeding from the Porta Ovile, they had also a country residence called Scopeto, a name which it derived from a heath (Erica Scoparia, LIN.) growing in bushes two or three feet high, with which the neighbouring land is covered. The house stands on a gentle elevation by the side of a forest, and commands a fine view in the direction of the town. The mansion is old, and the tower, which is of stone, appears to be of still greater antiquity. Attached is a small chapel, containing a picture of St. Bernardin, and St. Catherine of Siena. The garden, contrary to the usual style of Italian villas, is laid out somewhat in the English manner. A walk, shaded by ancient cypresses, connects it with a wood, which is intersected by avenues. In one of these stood a venerable Ilex (the holm oak), which long formed an object of particular attention to travellers, being marked out by tradition as the tree under which Faustus Socinus had sate and studied. This Ilex was surrounded by a low-walled seat, which still remains, and now alone marks the spot where it had reared its mighty trunk. Having fallen into decay, it was condemned to the axe and the fire. Portions of it were, howtaken away by the curious, as relics sacred to the memory of those who were supposed to have been once its proprietors. Scopeto continued, until a very recent period, to be the residence of a branch of the Socinus family.

ever,

The works here referred to are the Life of Faustus Socinus, by a Polonian Knight (Przypcovius), of which Biddle published an English translation in 1653; and Memoirs of his Life, Character, Sentiments and Writings, by Doctor Toulmin, printed in 1777; both of which will be more particularly noticed hereafter.

In Italian, the name is variously written-Zozini, Sozzini, Soccini, &c. The latinized form Socinus, being most familiar, will be used in these papers.

One Bartolomeus Socinus held it within the recollection of persons now living. After him, Portia Socinus, apparently the last survivor of the race, married a Marciani. Her son, and only child by this union, dying before her, she bequeathed the estate to the present possessor.*

In tracing the history of the Socini, it is curious to observe, that the first of the family of whom we find any mention held the office of principal inquisitor at Siena. This was Fra. Pietro Soccini, a dominican friar, who lived about the beginning of the fourteenth century. Next occurs the name of Niccolo Soceini, who was doctor of decrees, and provost of the Cathedral of Siena. He was living in 1413. Contemporary with him was Soccino Soccini, of whom the chief particular that is known is, that he is to be regarded as the parent stock of all the branches of the Socini, who will be commemorated in these Memoirs.

MARIANUS SOCINUS,

styled Marianus the elder, to distinguish him from another Marianus who will be noticed hereafter, was the son of Soccino Soccini, by Margaretta Malavolta. He was born in 1401, at Siena, where he commenced his studies with very brilliant success. From hence he removed to the university of Padua, but shortly returned, and placed himself under the tuition of Niccolo Tedeschi. After taking his doctor's degree, he was invited to Padua, and there appointed to the honourable office of professor of Canon Law, From Padua he again removed to his native city, where he continued to reside till the time of his death.

Marianus was esteemed a man of prodigious learning, and an able and accomplished jurist. From the variety and the extent of his attainments, he was designated by his countrymen, un arca di scienza, a treasury of know

I am indebted for this account of Scopeto, and for some interesting information relating to the earlier members of the Socinus family, to an intelligent friend who lately visited Siena; and who, during his stay there, devoted much of his time to examine the books and manuscripts, to which he could obtain access, that promised to furnish any particulars of their history. With an enthusiasm which some would deem scarcely compatible with the alleged coldness of an Unitarian creed, he brought away, as a prized relic, a part of the Ilex Scopetiana. I had before seen a piece of this oak, which was saved by a gentleman who was at Scopeto soon after it had been felled. He had it formed into a round box, and on the cover he caused to be inlaid a highly finished miniature, copied from a picture still preserved at Siena, of one of the Socini, the name not known. In this state it was presented to an acquaintance, who, he knew, would value the gift.

My friend writes, that the Fattore who shewed him Scopeto "knew all about Fausto and Lelio, and spoke as if he knew more than was good; repeating some saying from Rome, Lutero e Calvino d'un ramo, ma Sozzino dal fondamento, adding, as his own comment, Sozzino fù peggio di Lutero o Calvino." He states, that among the MSS. which he consulted in the public library at Siena, was one by an Alessandro di Girolamo Sozzini, who appeared to have lived in the 17th century. He will, I trust, excuse me for inserting here the following interesting extract from his valuable communication:

"It is not surprising that Siena should have produced such men as the Sozzini and Ochino. In the time of the Albigenses, these opinions had taken such root, that the town was divided between two parties, the Catholics and Heretics. Civitas Senarum dividebatur in duas societates, quarum una erat Albigensium hereticorum, contra quorum falsitatem Dominicus Sanctus disputaverat Tolosa, quæ malignè in Italiam et Senas pervenerat; altera dicebatur DELLA SCARPETTA, quæ constabat ex veris Catholicis sequentibus fratres Predicatores, talis impiæ opinionis persecutores, propterea adhuc in vulgo denominantur SCARPETTONI."

Jugurta Tomasi, in MSS. Carapelli.

ledge. Such was his reputation as a jurist, that his opinions were held to carry with them the authority of a divine oracle. I suoi consigli, so his historians write of him, erano stimati come se fossero proceduti dalla bocca di Dio.

Eneas Sylvius, his townsman and personal friend, who was afterwards elevated to the popedom under the title of Pius the Second, describes his 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 [Piccol uomini. 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 with the 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 him 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 Epistolæ et Varii Tractatus Pii Pont. Max. dum esset in Minoribus. Epist. cxii. ad Gasparum 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. Eneas 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 Bull, 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, Eneam rejicite, Pium audite—“Reject Æneas, 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 secretarius. He was frequently employed in diplomatic affairs. His first ecclesiastical preferment was to the Bishopric of Trieste, from which he was translated to that of Siena. Calixtus the Third gave him a Cardinal's hat, and in 1458