Chapter VII: The First Series of Indexes, 1510–1559

1. Louvain, 1510 (doubtful). 2. Paris, 1544. 3. Venice, 1543.
4. Louvain, 1546. 5. Louvain, 1550. 6. Lucca, 1545. 7. Venice,
1549. 8. Florence, 1552. 9. Valentia, 1551. 10. Valladolid,
1554. 11. Venice, 1554. 12. Louvain, 1558. 13. Valladolid, 1559.
14. Rome, 1559.

_1._ _1510._ _Louvain._ Panzer makes reference[111] to a catalogue of prohibited books printed in Louvain in the year 1510. The title cited is, _Die Catalogen oft Inventaryen van den Quaden Verboden Bouken; na advis dar Universiteyt van Louen. Met een Edict oft Mandement der Keyserlycker Majesteyt. Te Louen, deprint bej Servaer van Sassen. MCCCCCX._ This catalogue, no copy of which is at this time known to be in existence, is also referred to by Gesner. The heresies which at that time were to be controlled had not as yet been very clearly classified. Martin Luther, in a letter written February 8, 1516, says: _Nec cessant universitates bonos libros cremare et damnare, rursum malos dictare, immo somniare_.[112]

_2._ _1544._ _Paris._ The first schedule of prohibited books printed under the name of an Index was, as far as is at present known, that issued by the University of Paris, in 1544. The faculty of the Sorbonne had been instructed, under an order of the Parliament of July, 1542, to prepare a list of the books that the college had thus far condemned. No copy of the original list has been preserved, but a supplementary list is in existence, bringing the record down to 1543. This supplement contains sixty-five titles, printed without any order or arrangement, and presenting the names of the leading German and French Reformers. There is also a list of anonymous French works. In 1544, the college printed an alphabeted list with about 170 titles. This was reprinted, with additions, in 1547, in 1551, and in 1556. This is the last Index published by the Sorbonne.[113]

_3._ _1543._ _Venice._ _Index Generalis Scriptorum Interdictorum._ This Index is cited by Reimann in his _Catalogus Bibliothecae Theologicae_. The entry of title is connected with the following specification: _Atque ab hoc tempore conquievit haec libros excommunicandi ratio usque ad A. D. 1543, quo primus Scriptorum interdictorum Index Generalis prodiit Venetiis, quem plures postea secuti sunt_. The previous reference had been to the decree of Gelasius of 493. Mendham is inclined to doubt the existence of this Venetian Index, and it is not cited by Reusch.

_4._ _1546._ _Louvain._ Compiled by the theological faculty of the University of Louvain, under the instructions of the Emperor (Charles V) and under the authority of the Bull issued April 13, 1536 (_Bulla Coenae Domini_) by Paul III. Title-pages in Flemish. Lists of books in Latin repeated in Dutch. An edition was also printed in which the lists are given in Flemish.[114]

Title-pages (in part):

_Copie uten mandamente_ | _aengaende den statuten._ | _Onlãex gemaect_ | _Eerst op die leengoeden Erfgoeden._ | _Chijsen Eygen goeden Kenten oft an_ | _der onberoerlicke goeden_ | _ghelegen_ | _inden lande van Brabant_ | _Lemborch_ | _Vlaenderẽ Hollant Zeelant eñ Ouer_ | _mase. Le Datmen dve selue voortaen_ | _niet en sal moghen ver coopen_ | _opdraghen transporteren_ | _verthieren_ | _of per_ | _mitteren_ | _eenighen gheestelijken per_ | _soonen oft godshuysen Ende onlancx _| _ghepubliceert inder stadt van Ant_ | _werpen_ | _ende in anderen_ | _hooftsteden van Brabant._ | ¶_Men vinste te Coope Thantwer-_ | _pen In onser lieuer Vrouwen_ | _Pant Bi my Claes de_ | _Graue._ |

_Ordinancien en Statuten_ | _dye-de Keyserlijke Maiesteyt in zijnder teghe-_ | _woordicheyt op den. vij. dach Octobris Int iaer MCCCCCXXXI._

_Gheprint te Loeuen by Seruaes Sassenus_ | _ghe_ | _sworen printer._ | _Met Gracie ende Preuilegie der Keyserlijcker Maiesteyt._ |

_The authority of the Index was emphasised by an imperial mandate, printed in Flemish, Spanish, and French, and ordered to be connected with the catalogue. _Mandement de l’Impériale Majesté donné et publié en l’an MDXLVI Avecq Catalogue. Intitulation ou déclaration des livres reprouvés, faiete par Messieurs les Docteurs en Sacrée Théologie de l’université de Louvain, a l’ordonnance et commandement de la susdicte Maiesté Impériale. Imprimé à Louvain par Servais de Sassia. MDXLVI cum gratia et privilegio._

This Index of Louvain is distinctive in being the first of the long series of catalogues of books and of authors condemned as heretical which were issued with the sanction of the Church. It antedates by thirteen years the first of the Indexes produced in Rome, under the immediate supervision of the pope, and may possibly be considered as an example of the special zeal against heresy on the part of the ecclesiastical authorities of the Spanish realm and of the effectiveness of the Spanish Inquisition. As the later records give evidence, it was only in the territory in which the authority of the Inquisition remained unquestioned and by means of its machinery that it proved practicable to carry out with any thoroughness the policy of the Church in regard to the ecclesiastical control of literary productions. The faith of the believing subjects of the Emperor Charles was threatened most seriously by heretical writings coming from Holland and from Germany, and it was therefore quite fitting that the first official protest of the Church should be made from a place like Louvain, the university of which stood like a picket-post of orthodoxy confronting the perilous heresies advancing from the North and from the East. The name of the Inquisition is not directly connected with this first Index of Louvain, but it appears on that printed at the same place four years later, which is in substance a reissue of the catalogue of 1546, and it is probably the case that the command of the Emperor for the preparation of the earlier publication may be credited to the Senate of the Inquisition.

The _Mandement_ makes reference to _Ordonnances_ for the restraint of the press, issued in 1540 and 1544. It complains of the continued publication of heretical books, and particularly of corrupt editions of the Scriptures; and it accordingly subjects booksellers to new restrictions, under penalty of death if they sell any books containing error, without the previous inspection and mark of the appointed inspectors. No books could be printed except by a duly certified printer who was a member of the guild. The Index itself comprises, 1, a list of Bibles and New Testaments in Latin, low German, and French editions; 2, a list of works in Latin, chiefly the writings of the German Reformers (these titles are repeated in Flemish); 3, a list of heretical works in German and French; and, 4, a list of books which had been condemned in the rescript of 1540.

The introduction by the theological faculty states that the Emperor has charged the faculty with the duty of examining all the libraries and bookshops, and of taking out from these the books classed as heretical, together with those which bordered upon heresy, and also all writings which might prove dangerous for the unlearned. A separate class was to be made of the books which, while not condemned as heretical, were not to be left available for the use of the general public or of young people. The writers of the introduction admit that their lists might be more comprehensive. They point out, however, that the compilers had undertaken to condemn only those books which they had themselves had an opportunity of examining. They add a remark, which might to advantage have received further consideration on the part of the producers of later Indexes, to the effect that it was wiser to ignore books of a certain character rather than, in calling attention to them, to incite curiosity and risk bringing them into influence. The writers point out that the devout reader is in a position to judge, through the titles presented, as to the class of literature that he is instructed to avoid.

The list of titles is arranged alphabetically, but the arrangement confuses together the surnames and the forenames of the authors and the titles of the books. A list is given of authors all of whose writings are prohibited. In certain instances, as with the names of Bucer, Bullinger, and Brenz, certain titles are specified and are followed by a general word to the effect that “as these authors are now known as notorious heretics, all of their writings are prohibited.”

This first Index of the series makes a precedent, which was followed but very seldom in the later Indexes, in adding a list of works the use of which was commended and which were permitted for the schools.

_5._ _1550._ _Louvain._ Index, prohibitory and permissive. Compiled, under the instructions of the emperor and by authority of the Senate of the Inquisition, by the University of Louvain. Title-pages and text in Flemish.

_1550._ _Louvain._ The same, with Latin text. S. Sassenus.

_Catalogi Librorum reprobatorum et praelegendorum ex judicio Academiae Lovaniensis. Cum Edicto Caesareae Majestatis evulgati Jussu, Gratia et Privilegio Caesaris Majestatis. Lovanii ex officina Servatii Sasseni._

_Les Catalogues des livres reprouvés, Et de ceux que l’on pourra enseigner aux enfans es escholles particulières selon le jugement de l’université de Louvain. Avec l’édict et mandement de la Maiesté Impériale._

The list of books condemned is closed with the words: _solam fidem sufficere ad salutem_. The condemned Bibles and New Testaments, in editions printed in various languages, aggregate forty-eight titles.

The introduction, addressed to “Christian readers,” is written over the signatures of the rector and the members of the general faculty of the university. The writers point out that the lists of prohibited books include not only such as are to be classed as heretical or as very suspicious, but also others which, under the cover of religious instruction, are likely to mislead the unlearned or to convey erroneous views concerning the pope, the ceremonials of the Church, confession, mass, and the saints. Of the chief heretics, all the writings are prohibited, the names being in the main those that appear in the catalogue of 1540. The list includes Brunfels, Brenz, Bucer, Bullinger, Corvinus, Calvin, Petrus Martyr, Urbanus Regius, and Musculus. The names of Luther and Melanchthon are not included. The suggestion is made to students whose work would be hampered through the want of certain scholarly treatises, important in themselves and marred possibly only through a small proportion of heretical error, and in the case of texts from the Latin, Greek, Hebrew, or Chaldean, the annotations to which may contain error, that permission can be secured, by properly accredited applicants, from commissioners to be appointed for the purpose, for a restricted use of such volumes; or the commissioners will, at their discretion, eliminate from the volumes the heretical or dangerous portions, thus rendering them available for use in the class-room.

This Louvain Index of 1550 was, in 1551, reprinted in Spain under the direction of Valdes, Inquisitor-General. Its lists (in the Latin text) were included in the Valdes Index of 1559, and in a number of other of the Indexes produced in Spain. The Latin lists were also utilised in the first of the Venetian Indexes and from this the titles were transferred to the Roman Index of 1559. The work of the theologians of Louvain was in fact accepted as the foundation or general model for the whole series of Indexes which were produced prior to the Council of Trent, and was indeed, through the Index of Paul IV, utilised by the compilers of the Tridentine Index of 1564.

The Roman compilers, in including in their schedules the titles from the Louvain volume, transferred to Class I (comprising authors of acknowledged heresy, all of whose works were condemned) the names of a number of writers of whose productions the Louvain doctors had found but a few examples deserving of condemnation. These general heretics of Class I belong, with but one or two exceptions, to Germany and the Low Countries. From the heretical writers of France are selected Dolet and Marot, and from Italy, Ochinus and Curio.

_6._ _1545._ _The Senate of Lucca._ The earliest catalogue issued in Italy of books condemned as heretical, which is entitled to be classed as an Index, was published in Lucca in 1545. This was seventy-one years after the introduction of printing into Italy, and fourteen years earlier than the first papal Index. The catalogue is published under the authority not of the bishop but of the Senate or Council of Magistrates, but the initiative probably came from the Inquisition. The edict orders that all copies of the books specified in the lists are, within fourteen days, to be delivered for burning, to the confessors or to the vicar of the bishop, under penalty of confiscation of property.

_1549._ A supplementary edict of the Senate includes among the works condemned all anonymous works treating of religion or the Scriptures that have not secured the approval of the vicar. The catalogue, which is printed in Latin, presents the names of twenty-eight writers all of whose works are condemned, the list including Wyclif, Huss, Zwingli, Oecolampadius, Melanchthon, Carlstadt, Hütten, Hessius, Bomelius, and other less well-known names. Calvin does not appear. There are in addition the titles of about one hundred other pernicious books. A brief of Pius IV, issued in 1562, commends the Senate of Lucca for its “pious and praiseworthy decree.”

Paul V takes a different position. Under an order issued by him in 1605 the Lucca decree is annulled on the ground that the repression of heresy is a matter that belongs exclusively to the Church, and concerning which laymen have no authority to take action. At the same time, he orders the institution in Lucca of an Inquisition tribunal.

_7._ _1549._ _Venice._ _Il catalogo de’ Libri li quali nuovamente nel mesi di maggio nell anno presente MDXLVIIII, sono stati condannati et scommunicati per heretici, da Giovan della Casa, legato di Venetia et d’Alcani frati. E aggiunto sopra il medesimo catalogo un judicis et discorso del Vergerio, 1549._ (In dating this Index 1549 instead of 1548 as stated by Reusch, I take the authority of Mendham, who cites the _catalogus Bibliothecae Banavianae_.) This Index is known by the name of Casa. No copies of the original have been found, and the references to it are based upon the reprint issued by Vergerio in 1550. John della Casa was the Archbishop of Benvenuto, and papal Nuncio at Venice. His Index was, according to Vergerio, prepared by the command of Pope Paul III. It must in that case take rank as the first Index issued under direct papal authority. The lists are preceded by the statement that: “All works produced by the heretics and heresiarchs whose names follow, which have to do with theology or kindred subjects, are condemned and prohibited.” The names of authors include Luther, Huss, Marsilius of Padua, and Nicholas Clemangis. The catalogue presents 142 titles--of which twenty-five are those of books issued (in Latin) anonymously. There is also a general prohibition of “Bibles and New Testaments containing notes or comments opposed to the faith, and of all works which within the preceding twenty-four years have been printed without the name of the author and address of the printer.” Vergerio is able to point out that this Index is a very clumsy compilation which contains a full measure of errors and which compares unfavourably with the catalogues recently issued in Louvain and in Paris. In certain instances, the names of the authors or of their books are so carelessly worded as to render identification difficult. The titles of a number of the Latin books are given in Italian, and those of some of the few Italian books in Latin. There does not appear to be any arrangement of the titles, alphabetical or other. Of certain authors, as, for instance, of Giusto Giona, all the writings are condemned, and later are given for separate condemnation the titles of selected books of the same author. Casa speaks of having secured the assistance of some of the most learned of the Italian theologians, but their work appears to have been most carelessly done, particularly in view of the fact that they had available for use the comparatively accurate lists of the Louvain Catalogue of 1546.

Vergerio wrote (in Italian) an analysis pointing out the ignorance, and occasional impiety, of which this catalogue gave evidence. He speaks of it as “the first monster of the kind which had appeared in Italy,” a statement which ignores an edition said to have been printed in Venice in 1543.[115] In 1552, the catalogue was reprinted in Florence with some additional titles and with correction of certain of the errors previously pointed out by Vergerio. Concerning this catalogue, also, Vergerio printed a criticism as a result of which a third edition with further revisions was published in 1554, in Milan. In the same year, a fourth edition was issued in Venice, the many blunders in which (Vergerio uses the terms “folly” and “madness” of the compilers) provoked the commentator to a new exposure which was printed in Latin. Vergerio points out the omission from the lists of obscene books and of books of magic, etc. In the former class ought, as he claims, to have been included a work by Casa himself, _Capitolo del Forno_.

This Index of Casa has importance, notwithstanding its slightness and bad workmanship, as well because the responsibility for its production rested with Paul III, as because its lists, imperfect as they were, are in part reproduced, errors included, in the Index of Paul IV.

It would have been impossible to present any account of the work of these earlier Italian Index-makers except for the scholarly and critical labours of Vergerio, who charged himself with the duty of recording and of characterising these first efforts of the Church to supervise the literature of the time and to control the output of the printing-presses.

Peter Paul Vergerio had been papal Nuncio to Germany in 1530, and Bishop of Capo d’Istria in 1536. He became, in 1544, a convert to Protestantism, and in 1553 was a preacher in Tübingen, where the greater part of his later literary work was done. His collected works were printed in Tübingen in 1563.

What is possibly the first recorded list of heresiarchs is given in a catalogue compiled under the instructions of the Archbishop of Benevento and printed in Venice in the year 1549. It is printed under the title of _Il catalogo de’ Libri, li quali nuovamente nel mese di maggio ... sono stati condannati et scommunicati per heretici_. The catalogue is known through the reissue by Vergerio, printed at Strasburg in 1553.

_Heresiarchs, as recorded in 1549._

(The names are printed partly in the nominative and partly in the genitive of the Latin form.)

Martin Luther.
Martini Buceri.
Martini Borrhai.
Melanchthonis.
Eccolampadii.
Zuinglii.
Joannis Hus.
Bullingeri.
Erasmi Sarcerii.
Joannis Brentii.
Pellianai (sic)
Antonii Corvini.
M. Antonii Bodii.
Hermani Bodii.
Hieronimi Saonensis.
F. Julii de Mediolano.
Petri Vireti.
Gulielmi Farelli.
Petri Artopei.
Arsatii Schoffer.
Conradi Lagii.
Claudii Guilandi.
Joan. Lorichii.
Hadmarii.
Justi Jonae.
Jo. Pauperii.
Gerziani.
Joan. Malter in Apoc.
Joan Spangelbergii Herdesioni.
Petri Artophagi.
Andreae Althameri.
Othonis Brunfelsii.
Joan. Calvini.
Huld. Hutteni.
Urbani Rhegii.
F. Bernadini Ochini.
F. Petri Martyris Flor.
Martini Morhai.
Clementis Maroti.
Victoris de Bordellai.
Theodori Bibliandri.
Hermetis Zetmarii
Jo. Oldenthorpo
Heliae Pandochei.
Hippoliti Melangei.

_8._ _1552._ _The Inquisition of Florence_ issues an _Index Prohibitorius_ which, like that of Casa, is known to us only through Vergerio. It contained the titles collected by Casa, with a few additions, and with certain corrections based upon the strictures made by Vergerio on Casa’s lists.

_9._ _1554._ _The Archbishop of Milan, Giovanni Angelo Arcimboldi_, publishes an Index, preserved only through the reprint in a controversial pamphlet of Vergerio. The title reads: _Catalogo del Arcimboldo Arcinescovo di Milano, one egli condanna et di ffama per heretici la magior parte de figliuoli de Dio, et mebri di Christo, quali ne loro, scritti cercano la reformatione della chiesa Christiana. Con una riposta fattagli in nome d’ una parte di quei ualenti nomini. Nello anno MDLIII._ The Index bears, in addition to the name of the Archbishop, that of Castiglione, Commissary General of the Inquisition for Lombardy, and the announcement that it is issued “with the approval of the Senate of Milan.”

Under the responsibility of these three authorities, is issued, in a preamble to the catalogue, an edict, with the following regulations: Ecclesiastics and laymen alike are prohibited, under penalty of excommunication and of bodily punishment, from preaching or reading (aloud?) the Scriptures, either in church or elsewhere, without a written permit from the archbishop. The printing, selling, possessing, reading, etc. of books classed as heretical is prohibited. The penalty is for each offence, excommunication, and a fine of one hundred scudi. The fine is to be divided equally between the informer, the Inquisition, and the imperial representative. Persons concealing books, or withholding information, incur the same penalties. Printers, binders, and booksellers must, within a term of two months, deliver to the authorities a sworn schedule of the books handled by them, with supplementary lists from month to month, and the sale, or the possession of, any book not specified in such schedules brings upon the dealer excommunication and a fine of ten scudi for each book. Dealers who deliver up within ten days after receipt copies of prohibited or of heretical books are freed from the penalties. Any person having knowledge of the presence in the diocese of Milan of a heretic or of one suspected of heresy, and failing to give information within thirty days, falls under excommunication plus a fine of fifty scudi. The same penalty comes to one who renders assistance to a Lutheran or other heretic. A Lutheran or other heretic who recants and who denounces a fellow heretic receives one fourth of the penalty.

The Index contains nearly five hundred titles, arranged alphabetically, the names of the authors and those of the books being listed together. It is therefore much more considerable than that of Casa. The list of authors all of whose works (present and future) are condemned (corresponding to Class I of the Roman Indexes) is proportionately large.

_10._ _1551._ _Valentia, Valladolid, and Toledo._ _Emperor Charles V and Archbishop Valdes.--Index prohibitory._ Compiled under the supervision of Fernando Valdes, Archbishop of Seville and Inquisitor-General. The Emperor Charles sent to Valdes the Louvain Index of 1550 with instructions to have the same published in Spain. The Spanish issue includes as a supplement a list of the books which up to that date had been prohibited in Spain. The title reads: _Catalogi librorum reprobatorum, et praelegendorum ex judicio Academiae Louaniensis. Cum edicto Caesarae maiestatis evulgate. Valentiae, typis Joannis Mey Flandri MDLI, mandato Dominorum de consilio sanctae generalis Inquisitionis._ (Portions of the edition bear the imprints of Valladolid and Toledo).

The first list in the volume bears the title: _Catalogus librorum jampridem per sanctum officium Inquisitionis reprobatorum_. This is followed by the Latin lists of the Louvain Index, with the anonymous works alphabeted in, and a supplement with eleven further titles. This Valdes Index is the first of the Spanish series, and forms the foundation of the Index of 1559.

Llorente mentions[116] an Index prepared in 1555 under the instructions of the Inquisition, but states that this was kept in the form of manuscript for the use only of the inquisitors. Valdes was concerned with the compilation of two further Indexes, those of 1554 and 1559.

The supplement to the lists of 1551 presents certain general prohibitions; such as of Bibles in Spanish or in any vernacular versions; (these are entered curiously under the letter “N,” “New and Old Testaments”); pictures, figures or statues by means of which the Virgin or the Saints might be brought into ridicule; all books tainted with heresy (_sapiento haeresim_); works having to do with necromancy; books (whatsoever their text) which had been printed within twenty-five years, and which failed to present the name and address of the printer. A separate prohibition is provided for books written against the proceedings of the Diet of Ratisbon (1541). This is directed against a monograph by Calvin, published anonymously, in which this Diet is sharply handled. The lists report the authors given in the Louvain Index, in some instances with fresh errors (“Bronzins” for “Brentius”). The new names include Michael Servetus (his first appearance in any Index), connected with his tract on the Trinity; Simon Essius, for Simon Hessus, connected with his _Apologia_; John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester (possibly the earliest English author prohibited outside of England); Ulrich von Hutten, _libri omnes_ (Hutten, while not listed in Louvain, had been recorded by Casa); Alcoranus _vel alii libri in arabigo ubi sunt errores sectae Mahometicae_ (this is the first appearance in an Index of Arabic heresy). As late as 1790, the _Koran_, in every version, finds place in the Spanish Index, while there is a special prohibition of the Latin translation of the same that had been made in the 12th century by Peter of Cluny, and had been printed, _cum refutationibus variorum_, in Basel in 1543. In the Index of Quiroga, the _Koran_ appears under the title _Machumetis ... ejusque successorum vitae ac doctrina ipseque Alcoran ... adjunctae sunt confutationes multorum una cum M. Lutheri praemonitione_, etc.

Reusch points out that this prohibition has to do not with the doctrines of the _Koran_ but with the godless (_impia_) undertakings of the publisher, Theodor Bibliander of Basel. In the Index of Clement VIII, the entry appears, _Instructionum et rituum sectae Mahometanae libri omnes_. Since Benedict XIV, the prohibition comes under the general decree I, 11.

The antagonism on the part of the Protestant authorities of Basel to the circulation of the _Koran_ appears to have been more decided than that of the Inquisition. In 1536, the magistrates refused permission to Heinrich Petri to print an edition; and, in 1542, an edition printed by Oporinus was confiscated. The publisher appealed to the scholars, and the question of permitting the publication was discussed from the pulpits. On the receipt of an opinion from Luther in favour of Oporinus, the books were released on condition that when published they should not bear the imprint of Basel and that copies should not be sold within the city.

This Valdes Index contains but four Spanish titles, the writings of Enzinas and of Urrea, an anonymous _Dialogue of Christian Doctrine_, and a Spanish version, printed in Geneva, of Calvin’s _Catechism_. This last title does not appear in later lists.

_11._ _1554._ _Valladolid._ _Senate of the Inquisition.--Index expurgatorius. Censura generalis contra errores quibus recentes haeretici sacram scripturam asperserunt. Edita a supremo Senatu Inquisitionis, constituto adversus haereticam pravitatem, et apostasiam in Hispania, et aliis regnis, et dominis Caesareae majestatis subjectis. Pinciae, ex officina Francis Ferdinan. Corduben. cum privilegio Imperiali. 1554._

The text is known through the reprint by Ziletus in Venice, in 1562.

The lists in this Index are devoted exclusively to Bibles, of which 103 editions are specified. Many of these find place in Louvain, 1550, and in Valdes, 1554, among the books entirely prohibited. Here, however, these Bibles are presented as open to censure on the ground of certain errors and heresies contained in the notes and introductions, which notes, etc., are ordered to be cancelled or expunged. Copies thus corrected (by cancellations) are permitted to be left in the hands of their owners. This Index of Valdes is the first example of an _Index expurgatorius_. A number of such expurgatory Indexes were produced later under the authority of the Spanish Inquisition, but outside of Spain, the attempts to control literature through the expurgation of books already printed were but few. The futility of such attempts came to be recognised at an early date.

The editorial responsibility for this Index of 1554 rested with the Dominican, Alfonso Martinez, who was also the author of the _censura generalis_. The editor had the co-operation of the theological faculty of Alcala. The possessors of copies of the works specified are directed to deliver these within sixty days to the bishop of the diocese or to the local inquisitors. These officials are to take measures to cancel (_obliterare_) the offending notes, etc., so that they can no longer be read. The penalty for retaining uncorrected copies beyond the period of sixty days is _excommunicatio major latae sententiae_. The books themselves are to be destroyed, and their delinquent owners are to pay (apparently for each offence) a fine of thirty ducats. A similar punishment comes upon the bookseller who imports copies of these condemned editions. The publishing centres at that time actively engaged in the production of editions of the Scriptures are indicated by the imprints represented in the lists of this Index as follows: Antwerp, 14; Basel, 3; Lyons, 35; Paris, 11 (including 4 from Robert Estienne); Zurich, 1 (Froschover); Venice, 3. Two examples may be cited to illustrate the principles and the method of the censure.

Deuteronomy v, 9. _Solus Deus adorandus._

_Haec propositio, excludens adorationem sanctorum, est erronea._

Deut. xv, 11. _Alendi pauperes nec permittendi ut mendicant._

_Et ibidem. Prohibetur mendicitas._

_Hae et similes propositiones injuriosae sunt et malitiose annotatae in odium religiosorum mendicantium._

Special condemnation is placed upon the Bibles printed by Estienne (Stephanus) as edited by Vatablus. The New Testament division is to be cancelled altogether, the errors being too many to expunge. The Old Testament can be retained with the cancellation of the notes (_scholia_).

_12._ _1554._ _Venice._ _The Inquisition._ A few months after the publication of the Index of Milan, an Index was issued in Venice under the authority of the Venetian Inquisition. The papal Nuncio, Filippo Archinto (who succeeded Arcimboldi as Archbishop of Milan), shared with the inquisitors the responsibility for the preparation of the lists. Of the original issue no copy is known to exist. The description given by Reusch is based on the reprint published by the persistent Vergerio. The Index is accompanied by no decree. The catalogue bears as a heading the words: _Nomina eorum qui male de fide scripserunt quorum scripta a catholicis legi prohibentur_. The lists comprise a reprint of the titles of the Milan Index with the addition of some seventy entries. An appendix gives the decree of Gelasius (492) together with a few of the book prohibitions of the Middle Ages taken from Eymeric. This Venetian Index was utilised as the basis of the lists compiled for the Index of Paul IV.

The Venetian and Milan compilers themselves made use of the material collected by the Louvain compilers of 1550, and of the titles in the Casa Index of 1549. They had also taken from the catalogue of Lutzenburg and from the _Bibliotheca_ of Gesner the names of a number of the heretics of the Middle Ages. Further names were secured, curiously enough, from the letters of Oecolampadius and Zwingli, and these last were cited so heedlessly that they include those of a number of persons who were not, in any respect, authors.[117] Reusch points out that in the endeavour, without adequate knowledge, to make their lists comprehensive, the compilers had been led to include a number of unimportant persons some of whom had published nothing religious or theological, while others were, as said, not authors at all. In some instances, large sounding entries cover simply the Latin rendering of the titles of insignificant German tracts (_flügschriften_).

The Venetian Index was reprinted (from Vergerio’s reprint) in London, 1840, by Joseph Mendham, in connection with a reprint of the Index of Gregory XXI of 1835. Mendham uses as a general title, _The Literary Policy of the Church of Rome_. The compilers of this Index, like those of Milan, have included the names of a number of persons classed as heretics in the earlier Middle Ages and before the invention of printing, some of whom had never written anything, while of others no writings had been preserved. To this class belong the Wycliffite Richard “Anglicus,” the Hussite, Mathias Boemus, Desiderius Longobardus, Joh. de Poliaco, Petrus de Aragonia, Joh. de Stuma, and Petrus de Luna. These names are taken from Lutzenburg. Of the series of names taken from the Louvain Index of 1550, a number are so altered (either by scribes or by printers) as to be identified with difficulty. From the Index of 1546 are taken Petrus Lignius, and the _Facetiae_ of Poggio and of Bebel. From Gesner are taken thirty writers some of whom are responsible for no books at all either in theology or religion.[118] The list includes Maturin Cordier, the instructor of Calvin, who appears for the first time in the Venetian Index. Other names and titles to be noted are Dante, for the _De Monarchia_ (which was printed for the first time in 1559, in Germany, and first in Italy in 1658), Laurentius Valla, Hubmeyer (whose name was secured from a letter of Zwingli), Botzheim (friend of Erasmus), _Dialogi Obscurorum Virorum_, Eckstein, and Murnarus for his _Leviathan_.

The appendix contains a prohibition, taken from Eymeric, of all works on the subjects of geomancy, necromancy, and pyromancy.

_13._ _1558._ _Louvain._ In December, 1557, an _ordonnance_ of King Philip II directed the preparation by the theological faculty of Louvain of a revised and enlarged issue of the Index of 1550. This was printed, in Flemish and in French, in 1558. The preface, signed by the Rector of the University, states:

“It is well known to all that, since 1550, avowed heretics and others whose catholicity is not to be trusted, have brought secretly into the land pernicious and dangerous books, through the influence of which the heretics are confirmed in their errors and the faithful are led astray. It is the purpose of the present work to secure the destruction of the existing copies of this baneful literature and to protect the land against the introduction of further similar books. _Le Catalogue des livres reprouvéz et des livres que l’on pourra lire aux enfans és escholles particulières, selon le jugement de l’université de Louvain. Imprimé par ordonnance de la Majesté Royale. Á Louvain. Par Martin Verhassett. Imprimeur juré. L’an de grace MDLVIII. Avec Grace et Privilège du Roy._

(Then follows a second title-page in Flemish.)

The lists contain, with some corrections, the titles printed in 1550. The additions (distributed alphabetically) comprise about one hundred titles. The bibliography is much more correct, in the matter of names, book-titles, freedom from duplicate entries, and consistency of arrangement, than that of the Italian lists of the same period. Among the new names in Class I (authors all of whose works are condemned) are those of Jo. Athanisius Veluanus, Jo. Sleidanus, and Memno Symonis. The first should read: Jo. Anastasius (Jan Geeraerds ter Stege), Veluanus (Pastor in Veluve). There are twelve additional titles in the list of anonymous works.

The material of this Louvain Index was undoubtedly utilised by the compilers of the Index of Paul IV, but they managed to bring into their transcripts a number of errors that did not find place in the original.

_14._ _1559._ _Valladolid._ _Valdes._--_Catalogus Librorum qui prohibentur mandato Illustrissimi et Reverend. D. D. Ferdinand de Valdes, Hispalen., Archiepi., Inquisitoris Generalis Hispaniae. Nec non et Supremi Sanctae ac Generalis Inquisitionis Senatus. Hoc Anno MDLIX editus. Quorum jussu et licentia Sebastianus Martinez, Excudebat Pinciae._ The industrious Inquisitor-General had already, as we have seen, brought into print two Indexes; for the first of these he had utilised the lists of the Louvain compilers, while the titles in the second were restricted to editions of the Scriptures.

This Index of 1559 is the first Spanish publication in which the lists represent original work on the part of the Spanish editors in the selection of literature to be condemned. The brief of Paul IV, printed in the Valdes Index, which bears date January 4, 1559, gives an indication of the independent character of the actions of the Spanish Inquisition. Paul states that the Inquisitor-General had informed him that the measures taken by the Inquisition against heretical and suspicious books had been hampered because of the licenses that had been accorded by the Curia, not only to divines but to many laymen, for the reading of such books. The Pope had, however (under his brief of December 21, 1558), recently recalled and cancelled all such licenses. He therefore charges Valdes to prohibit absolutely the printing, selling, reading, or possessing of such books, and to order, under the customary penalties, the delivery and destruction of all copies of the same. To the Inquisitor-General is given the fullest authority in the matter and no appeals from his decisions will be entertained. Paul makes no reference in the brief to the Index that had, under his instructions, just been brought into print in Rome, and while this is in form addressed to the whole world, the Pope appears to assume that as far as the Spanish dominions are concerned, the matter of heretical literature is to be left in the charge of the Spanish Inquisition. On his part, Valdes makes no reference to the Index of Paul, although it is hardly to be supposed that he had failed to examine it. In the editorial preface, Valdes informs the scholars and others who may, through ignorance of their character, have been led into possessing and reading heretical books that these lists have been prepared for their help and guidance. He says further that those who, with the information presented in these catalogues, may continue to print, import, sell, read, or possess copies of the books specified shall be punished with a fine of two hundred gold ducats and with the greater excommunication (_latae sententiae_.) Those who may take part in the translating of these works shall be liable to the same penalties. A curious exception is given in favour of Seb. Martinez, who is permitted, under the instructions of the Inquisition, to print certain of the forbidden works. At the close of the Index, the statement is made that there are many heretical and dangerous books in addition to those whose titles are here given, and that lists of these will be issued later. In connection with the enforcement of the provisions of the Index (a task which was carried out by the Inquisition of Spain with a thoroughness that was never attempted elsewhere), the confessors were instructed, under penalty of the “reserved excommunication,” to secure from all their penitents information concerning heretical literature possessed either by themselves or by others.

Through a brief of January 7th, Valdes is given authority, for a term of two years, to take measures against bishops who may be charged with the utilising of heretical literature, and, if necessary, to relieve them of their duties and to place them in confinement. He is instructed to report to the Curia such cases of arrest and to send to Rome the record of the evidence. This special authority appears to have been secured by Valdes for the particular purpose of proceeding against Carranza, Archbishop of Toledo. Through a brief of January 11th, King Philip II is instructed to take such measures as might be necessary for confirming and carrying into effect the regulations of the Inquisition. Professors who had been applying themselves to the study of Oriental languages were not to be freed from the obligation to deliver up, under penalty of excommunication, (possibly for revision or for the cancellation of heretical notes,) copies of the Scriptures in Hebrew or in Greek. Such copies in the hands of the booksellers were to be destroyed. Among the books specially marked out for sequestration, were works of grammar containing the notes of Melanchthon (who was at the time largely engaged in the compilation of school-books to replace the earlier monkish texts); all Bibles printed in Germany since 1519 without the imprint of the publishers; the editions of St. Chrysostom by Oecolampadius and Musculus (the first complete editions, by the way, of the works of this Father that had yet appeared), and the Commentaries of Vadiamus on Pomponius Mela.

The editions with heretical imprints, which had been proscribed by Paul, of such authors as Lucian, Aristotle, Plato, and Seneca, were not forbidden by Valdes.

The Index of Valdes differs from that of Paul in two respects:

First, the books are classified according to languages, the order of arrangement being Latin, Spanish, Flemish, Low German, High German, French, and Portuguese. The arrangement of titles is roughly alphabetical, with frequent confusion in connection with forenames and surnames.

Secondly, Valdes does not undertake to present the three classes which had been accepted as a precedent for the Roman Indexes. Class I may be said, however, to find place in the general alphabet in which appear the names of a number of authors with the prohibition of _opera omnia_. The formula _donec corrigatur_ does not find place in the Valdes Index.

A large portion of the titles in this Valdes Index are taken from the lists in the Spanish reprint of the Louvain Index of 1550. It is difficult to trace the principle on which either the omissions or the selections of these Louvain titles have been arrived at. The additions made by the compilers of the Inquisition cover in the main such of the Reformation writings as had found their way into Spain through the Low Countries. The editors make no reference to preceding Indexes but present this as if it could be accepted as a substantially complete guide for believing readers. The _Historia Ecclesiastica_ of Albert Kranz (1517) finds place in the Valdes Index for the first time among prohibited books. Bellarmin writes later that the editions of this historian are to be condemned simply on the ground of the godless notes added by heretical editors.

A noteworthy title which also here first finds condemnation is that of the _Gesta Romanorum_. The compilation of these old legends of the Church has been ascribed to the Cistercian Helimand (†1227). This book was first condemned in 1472, when the first printed edition was issued in Cologne. It was often reprinted. An edition was issued in New York as late as 1901.

Another prohibited title is that of _Hortulus Animae Absque Nomini Authoris_. Of this book there had been a great variety of editions, in one or more of which heretical editors had included scoffing pictures. The text included fifteen prayers of St. Bridget. Of these prayers it was said that if they should be repeated during an entire year, fifteen souls would be saved from everlasting punishment. In the same edition, there is a prayer to the Virgin to which was ascribed especial soul-saving value. In Aragon, for instance, in the year 1290, one sinner who had during the preceding year sung this hymn daily, was able, after being beheaded, to retain his soul in the body until all his sins had been confessed and he had received absolution. It would seem as if this book belonged to the class that should have been retained _donec corrigatur_.[119]

Llorente, in his description of this Index, refers to a story of Saint Theresa, who, when she complained of the unjust proscriptions of certain orthodox books, was answered by the Lord: “Disturb not thyself, I will give thee the book of life.”

The entry in the Index of 1559 under the name Desiderius Erasmus is noteworthy. The name is placed in Class I, comprising authors all of whose writings are prohibited. After the name of Erasmus however, there follows a specific prohibition as follows: _Cum universis Commentariis, Annotationibus, Scholiis, Diologis, Epistolis, Censuris, Versionibus, Libris et Scriptis suis, etiam si nil penitus contra Religionem vel de Religione contineant_. This specific condemnation, in addition to that expressed under the term _opera omnia_, would appear to have included the edition prepared by Erasmus of the Greek Testament. It may be borne in mind, however, that the latter had secured the approval and very cordial commendation of Pope Leo X, to whom the work had been dedicated. The Pope wrote, in 1516, a letter in which he emphasises the exceptional service rendered by Erasmus in this work to the study of sacred theology and to the maintenance of the true faith. A curious comment made upon this action of the Pope, in the Spanish Index of 1612, may be inserted here. In the expurgatory division, under the article devoted to _Erasmi Roterodami Opera_, at the beginning of the censures on the sixth volume, is printed: _Ad marginem Epistolae Leonis P. P. X. ad Erasmum, quae incipit, Dilecte Fili, salutem, et adscribe: Dulcibus encomiis pius Pater nutantem ovem allicere conatur_ (“With gracious commendations the Holy Father endeavours to attract [win back] the wandering sheep”).[120]

Another noteworthy detail in the Index of 1559 is the entry in the list of works condemned of the title _Liber inscrip. consilium * * * de emendanda ecclesia_. This _Consilium_ was a report presented by an assembly of four cardinals (including the Englishman, Pole) and five prelates, which had been instructed by Pope Paul III, in 1537, to give him counsel in regard to the reform of the Church. The report or _Consilium_ was more outspoken (in regard to corruptions, etc.) than was considered desirable, and when one of the body, Cardinal Caraffa, assumed the tiara (as Paul IV) he caused his own _Advice_ to be placed on the list of prohibited books. The Index of 1559 also contains a condemnation of the work by Aeneas Sylvius (afterwards Pius II), _Commentaria de actis et gestis Concilii Basileen_. In the Tridentine Index, this condemnation is modified to read, _In actis Aeneae Silvii prohibentur ea quae ipse in bulla retractationis damnavit_. It is not out of order to assume that when a man has become a pope, he may be in a position to see things more clearly and to correct the errors of his fallible days.

_14._ _1559._ _Rome._ This is the year of the accession of Paul IV, by whose name the Index of 1559 is known. Its lists were in part based upon the Louvain Index of 1558, and were themselves utilised in the preparation of the Tridentine Index of 1564. It was published during the second interregnum in the council, 1552–1562. The title is:

_Index Auctorum et Librorum qui ab officio Sanctae Rom. et Universalis Inquisitionis caveri ab omnibus et singulis in universa Christiana Republica mandantur, sub censuris contra legentes, vel tenentes libros prohibitos in Bulla quae dicta est in Coena Domini expressis et sub aliis poenis in Decreto ejusdem Sacri officii contentis. Index venundatur apud Antonium Bladum. Cameralem impressorem de mandato speciali Sacri Officii, Romae Anno Domini, 1559, Mense Jan._

This is followed by the prohibitory decree of the Inquisition, with a specification of the punishments for transgression as set forth in the _Bulla Coenae Domini_. To these penalties are added others, _nostro arbitrio infligendis_. The chief penalty was the _excommunicatio latae sententiae_. The Index itself is presented in three schedules or divisions arranged alphabetically: I. Authors, all of whose writings, past or future, are condemned. II. Books, classified by authors. III. Anonymous works.

Then follows a list of _Biblia Prohibita_, and of New Testaments, with a general prohibition of all similar translations; and finally a list of sixty-one printers (printer-publishers) all of whose publications are condemned. The formula _donec corrigatur_, later so general, occurs in this Index but once. It is connected with Boccaccio’s _Decameron_. In Trent, the prohibition was confirmed subject to expurgation. The text of the _Decameron_ was duly corrected by a commission of five, and thus corrected was published in Florence in an authorised and privileged edition in 1572. The revision eliminated from the _Decameron_ the obnoxious references to ecclesiastics, but left in the text a number of episodes _contra bonos mores_ which had to do only with laymen. The revisers had, in some of the stories, changed the nuns into noble ladies, the monks to conjurers, an abbess to a countess, etc.[121] Paul includes in his Index a prohibition of the treatise or report that had been prepared in 1538, under the instructions of Paul III, by a commission of nine and printed in the papal printing office under the title of _Consilium delectorum cardinalium et aliorum praelatorum de emendanda ecclesia_. Cardinal Caraffa, later Paul IV, was a member of the commission. The _Consilium_ was issued by Luther, in 1539, in a German version, with a polemical commentary. It was again printed by the ever-watchful Vergerio in 1559, the year of Caraffa’s elevation to the Papacy. Vergerio did not fail to point out that the Pope was condemning a work for the production of which he was himself in part responsible. The prohibition remained on the Index until 1758. In the Index of this year, the prohibition was modified so as to cover only the editions printed with heretical commentaries. The work closes with a form of license to be secured for the reading of the works prohibited. This license was, for some reason, omitted from the later reprints of the Index.

The Index of Paul is described by the Catholic historian Gretser, but he admits that his information concerning it is derived from the Protestant critic Vergerio. This is the first Index prepared under the direct supervision of the Pope, and the first which bears the official designation of “Index,” the previous lists having been termed catalogues. Editions of Paul’s Index appeared within the year 1559 in Bologna, Venice, Genoa, and Avignon. In 1560, the indefatigable Vergerio reprinted it with a critical, or rather polemical introduction. In the same year, Vergerio published, separately, a treatise (in Latin and Italian) devoted to an attack upon the inquisitors who were responsible for the Index of Paul IV.

The title of the Latin edition of Vergerio’s work reads: _Postremus Catalogus Haereticorum Romae Conflatus. 1559. Continens Alios Quatuor Catalogos qui post Decennium in Italia nec non eos omnes qui in Gallia et Flandria post renatum Evangelium fuerunt editi. Cum Annotationibus Vergerii, MDLX Colophon, Corvinus excudebat Pfortzheimii, 1560._ The volume is dedicated to Count Stanislaus. The Italian edition was printed at Ulm and dedicated to the King of Bohemia. The author’s preface is dated from Tübingen. The author states that the Index or Catalogue of 1559 was concocted by the Pope with the concurrence of six inquisitors only. Vergerio goes on to say that when, ten years back, the Pope observed that the Gospel and books favourable to the Gospel were making their way into Italy, he published, in imitation of the divines of the Sorbonne and of Louvain, a small catalogue condemning seventy books.

The _Annotations_ of Vergerio, irrespective of the interest of their severe criticisms on the judicial action and the bibliographical blunders of the inquisitors, have proved of service in preserving the most complete enumeration of the Italian Indexes prior to 1559. The sources of information concerning these earlier Indexes are, in fact, so scanty and in the main so untrustworthy that the papal historians themselves have been under the necessity of accepting the record of their Protestant critic.

The task of compiling the Index of 1559 had been confided by Paul to Cardinal Caraffa and his associates of the Roman Inquisition. An impression was struck off in 1557, but was cancelled on account of errors that had come to light. The lists as reprinted in 1559 had had the advantage of collation with the Louvain Index of 1558. The papal brief (dated December 21, 1558) follows in the main the text of that of Julius III, of 1550, but there is some new material. One of the earlier sentences is typical of the difficulty of the problems with which the Church found itself confronted:

“A number of ecclesiastics, both regular and secular, who were
hopeful of being able to combat the Lutherans and the other
heretics of our time and to overthrow their heretical doctrines,
and who secured for the purpose permission from the Apostolic
Chair to read the works of these heretics, found themselves
confused and influenced by these writings so that they were
quite largely led astray and perverted into the acceptance of
heretical errors. It has therefore, been found necessary to
recall and to cancel all such permits issued in Briefs or in
Bulls, whether given to bishops, archbishops, or cardinals, to
marquises, dukes, kings, or emperors.”

The only exceptions to this general cancellation are in the case of the inquisitors-general and certain cardinals, who may, from time to time, be charged by the Curia with special duties in the examination and classification of literature. Copies of the books condemned are to be delivered to the officials appointed by the Inquisition for the purpose. All the faithful are charged with the duty of giving information concerning such copies as may become known to them. The brief is to be published in Rome by the Inquisition and elsewhere by each bishop in his own diocese. The lists in the first class include (given, for the most part, in two places under both surname and forename) Calvin, Luther, Melanchthon, Zasius, Pirckheimer. Cassander, Blaurerus, Oecolampadius, Zwingli, Islebius, and Hütten (printed Huldrychus Huttenus). English names to be noted are John Rogers (printed John Rochors), Nicholas Ridley (Nic. Ridlaeus), and Thos. Cranmer. The name of Erasmus, omitted here, finds place in Class II against several of his works. These lists are, says Vergerio, marked by many errors and inconsistencies. In the third class, under the heading _Libri_ are given certain general prohibitions of which the following may be cited as examples:

All books and tracts (pamphlets) are forbidden, whatever may be their titles, or their subject-matter, and in whatever language they may be written ... and whether they be original productions or translations, which have been written by heretics, or which may be printed by heretics ... even when such books contain no material bearing upon faith or religion.[122] Also all books which, within the preceding forty years have been issued without the name of the author, and the name and address of the printer, or for which have not been secured the approval and license of the bishop or inquisitor, or of some other official appointed for the purpose by the pope or by the inquisitors. Record of such permit must be printed in each copy of the book. Forbidden also are all books having to do with the subjects of aeromancy, cheiromancy, physiognomy, geomancy, hydromancy, oneiromancy, pyromancy, or necromancy, divination, magic, or astrology, (exceptions are made in favour of treatises on natural science planned for the guidance of mariners, agriculturists, or physicians); and all books which have been or shall be condemned under the decrees of popes or of councils.

The prohibition of every work that had been produced, or that might thereafter be produced, from the presses of printers classed as heretics (of whom sixty-one were specified by name) constitutes a new feature in the system of Indexes, and is evidence of the importance that had come to be associated with the influence of the printer-publishers of the time. The list is alphabeted by forenames. It comprises: for Augsburg 1, Sig. Grym; for Basel 15, the most important being the brothers Petri, Oporinus, Cratander, and Wolfius; for Frankfort 1, Brubachius; for Genoa 5; for Marburg 2; for Hagenau 1; for Leipzig 2, Blum and Wohlrab; for Nuremburg 5, including Montanus; for Poschlav (Bohemia) 3; for Strasburg 9, including Ulricher and the brothers Richelius; for Tübingen 1, Morhadius; for Venice 1, Brucciolus; for Wittenburg 5, including Rau, Crato, and Klug; for Zurich 3, including Gesner; for Paris 1, but that one noteworthy, Robert Estienne, the most scholarly publisher of his generation; without specification of place, 5. The selection of firms gives an indication of the places which in this matter of heretical publishing were at that time considered to be the sources of danger for the doctrines and for the believers of the Church. The omission of any name from the Low Countries would indicate that the books from the Dutch and Flemish presses were not making their way into Italy and were not known to the members of the Roman Inquisition.

Christopher of Padua, General of the Augustinians, who had had to do with this Index, stated at Trent that in the work of its preparation, careful examination had been made of all the heretical books in the library of the Vatican. The compilers had utilised, in addition to the lists of Louvain, of Venice, and of Casa, certain lists which Reusch traces to the “Library” (Bibliothek) of Gesner, and to Cochlaeus’s _Historia de Actis et Scriptis M. Lutheri_. Further titles are taken from the “Letters” of Oecolampadius and of Zwingli. Certain omissions of noteworthy and “deserving” names or titles, which were available in previous lists, such as Beza, recorded in the Venice Index, and the _Epistolae Obscurorum Virorum_, which appears in Louvain, were due doubtless simply to oversights in transcribing. A curious entry in Class II is _Arturus Britannus_, which stands for the _Legend of King Arthur_ and which is responsible for the appearance in later Indexes of the heretical author “Thomas Arturus.” The entry in Class I of the name of an author was not permitted to stand in the way of a separate condemnation in Class II or in Class III (under individual titles) of his more pernicious productions.

This Index of Paul IV seemed to call for some special measure of attention in this schedule, because it is the first prepared in Rome under the direct instructions of the pope, and because in its general purpose and policy, in the method of its compilation, in its characteristic features, and its bibliographical errors, it was typical of the whole series of Indexes, and was in fact quite closely followed not only by that of Trent, but by not a few of those that came later. The policy of the Church in its contest with the perils of an uncontrolled printing-press may be said to have been marked out in 1559 by Paul IV and his associates. The fact that the lists included, in addition to works by admitted heretics and to those concerned with matters of theology, faith, and dogma, a number of books by Catholic writers in good standing, others whose subjects were entirely outside of theology and religion, and a further number whose only fault was that of being printed by heretical printers, is an indication of the wide view taken by the framers of the Index, and doubtless by Paul himself, as to the responsibilities of the Church in the supervision of literature. The Index of Paul may also be considered as a declaration that the responsibility for the supervision and characterisation of literary productions belonged properly to the head of the Church and could not safely be left to be cared for by princes, universities, or local inquisitors. It seems very probable that Paul and his advisers of the Roman Inquisition had such a contention in mind, but as the record of the production of later Indexes makes clear, the authorities in Rome proved unequal to the task of controlling the prohibition of books, and were obliged to accept, with more or less protest, a considerable series of Indexes compiled under the direction of kings, princes, universities, local inquisitors, and local ecclesiastics. The fact that the work came to be carried on by a number of authorities of varying character and with certain inevitable differences of purpose, of policy, and of method, caused the results to be more or less inconsistent and incongruous. An obedient believer, whose desire was simply to accept and be guided by the instructions of the authorities, might easily have found himself not a little perplexed at the conflicting instructions that came to him in regard to this matter of pernicious literature, in the two centuries between the Index of Louvain and that of Benedict XIV. An example of the effect produced by this Index on the mind of one Roman scholar is given in a letter written in January, 1559 (immediately after the publication of the Index) by Latinus Latinius to Andrea Masius[123]:

“Why should you be planning for the publication of any new
works at a time when nearly all the books which have thus far
appeared (_qui adhuc sunt editi_) are being taken away from
us? It seems to me that at least for some years to come, no one
among us will dare to write anything but letters. There has
just been published an Index of the books which, under penalty
of excommunication, we are no longer permitted to possess. The
number of those prohibited (particularly of works originating
in Germany) is so great that there will remain but few. On
this ground, I advise you to put to one side your variants of
the Bible and the translation of Demosthenes. Faernus has been
devoting some days to the ‘purifying’ of his library; I shall
begin to-morrow going over my own collection so that nothing may
be found in it which is not authorised. Should I describe the
process as a shipwreck or a holocaust of literature? In any case
this [censorship] must have the result of deterring many of your
group from the production of books, and will serve as a warning
to the printers to be cautious in making selections for their
presses.”

It may be understood, although it is not specifically so stated, that the books delivered over to the bishops or inquisitors were burned. Natalis Comes writes (possibly with some rhetorical exaggeration), “There was everywhere such a conflagration of books, that one was reminded of the burning of Troy. Neither private nor public libraries were spared, and many were nearly emptied.... In all the cities of Italy, readers were mourning for their lost treasures.”[124] A letter from Bologna dated February 11, 1559, says: “The prescriptions of the Index are obeyed here. Nothing is permitted but the _Thesaurus linguae latinae_ and the _Commentaries_ of Dolet. Of the writings of Erasmus, one is permitted to retain nothing but one or two of the translations [of the Fathers] and in these the name of the translator must be cancelled.”[125]

Bullinger writes to Ambrose Blaurer: “In Rome, Paul IV is burning books, and among others, all the writings of Erasmus. Even the works of Cyprian, Jerome, and Augustine are included because they have been rendered pernicious through the notes of Erasmus.”[126]

Paul IV died in August, 1559, and after his death, the enforcement of the provisions and regulations of his Index was very materially relaxed. In Venice (a State which in connection with its early and important interests in the production of books maintained from the outset a protest against the efforts of Rome to control the work of the printing-press) this Index was never put into force. The Viceroy of Naples and the Governor of Milan refused to permit the publication of the Index in their territories, but referred the matter to the King of Spain. The magistrates of Basel, Zurich, and Frankfort and of other centres of book-production made application to Cosmo, Duke of Tuscany, to protect the interests of their printers. A report prepared for Cosmo by the jurist Livio Torelli stated that the execution of the papal decree would bring upon Florence an immediate loss in property of 100,000 ducats, and would cause the ruin of the printer-publishers and booksellers whose business was of increasing importance to the city; while it would also call for the destruction of the supplies of Bibles and classics and of other valuable literature which had been produced for Italian scholars by the printers of Germany and of France. Under pressure from the Cardinal of Alessandria, the Duke finally ordered the burning of all books which were opposed to religion and of those having to do with magic and astrology, which order was duly carried out on the 8th of March on the Piazza San Giovanni. The Duke refused to permit the destruction of books outside of those two classes, and (as patron of the monastery) prohibited the monks of San Marco, who wanted to carry out the decree in full, from burning any of the volumes presented by his predecessors to the library of the monastery. Outside of Italy, excepting in the town of Avignon, very little attempt was made to put into force the provisions of the Index. In Spain, it was never brought into print. In France, the application for a privilege to print was referred to a committee of doctors of the Sorbonne, and from this committee no report appears to have been made. Arias Montanus writes November 16, 1571: “This Index has caused indignation to all scholars, and not only in France and in Spain, but in many portions of Italy, they decline to respect its injunctions.”[127] Even in the preface to the Index of Trent, it is noted that the Index of Paul IV had failed to secure acceptance in many provinces because it included in its lists of prohibited books many whose use was essential for scholars. In several respects, the framers of the Index of Trent, which became the authority for the Church, found occasion to modify and to mitigate the sweeping severity of the provisions of the Index of Paul, while Valdes, Inquisitor-General of Spain, refused to permit these provisions to be put into force within that kingdom. It is evident that the officials who had, under the instructions of Paul, compiled this first Roman Index were considered by many of their contemporaries, as well as by their successors, to have done their work in too sweeping a fashion, and with an ignorance, or a disregard of, the legitimate requirements of scholars in good standing within the Church, who had a just claim to consideration.

A repeated complaint on the part of the critics of the censorship operations under Paul IV was the ignorance and the heedlessness of the examiners who had in their hands the responsibility for passing upon the works of scholars. The books of the great leaders of thought were, it was charged, placed under the control of ignorance and mediocrity. The work of a learned commentator of St. Chrysostom or of the Psalmist was to be condemned by examiners who had no knowledge either of Greek or of Hebrew. Under such a system, it might still be possible for scholars to carry on their researches with a patience adequate for the production of compilations, but it was not possible to preserve for original thinkers the serenity of soul and the independence of spirit required for the production of really great works.