Page:A history of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, volume 3.djvu/232

 216 POLITICAL HERESY.— THE CHURCH. on the ground of severe fever and dysentery ; the republic, more- over, would not permit him to leave its territories for fear of his enemies, as his life had already been attempted by both poison and steel, and he never quitted his convent without a guard ; besides, the unfinished reforms in the city required his presence. As soon as possible, however, he would come to Rome, and meanwhile the pope would find what he wanted in a book now printing, contain- ing his prophecies on the renovation of the Church and the de- struction of Italy, a copy of which would be submitted to the holy father as soon as ready. * However lightly Savonarola might treat this missive, it was a warning not to be disregarded, and for a while he ceased preaching. Suddenly, on September 8, Alexander returned to the charge with a bull intrusted to the rival Franciscans of Santa Croce, in which he ordered the reunion of the Tuscan congregation with the Lombard province ; Savonarola's case was submitted to the Lombard Yicar general, Sebastiano de Madiis ; Domenico da Pescia and Salvestro Maruffi were required within eight days to betake themselves to Bologna, and Savonarola was commanded to cease preaching until he should present himself in Rome. To this Savonarola replied September 29, in a labored justification, objecting to Sebastiano as a prejudiced and suspected judge, and winding up with a request that the pope should point out any errors in his teaching, which he would at once revoke, and submit whatever he had spoken or written to the judgment of the Holy See. Almost immediately after this the enterprise of Piero de' Medici against Florence ren- dered it impossible for him to keep silent, and, without awaiting the papal answer, on October 11 he ascended the pulpit and ve- hemently exhorted the people to unite in resisting the tyrant. In spite of this insubordination Alexander was satisfied with Sa- vonarola's nominal submission, and on October 16 replied, merely ordering him to preach no more in public or in private until he could conveniently come to Rome, or a fitting person be sent to Florence to decide his case ; if he obeyed, then all the papal briefs were suspended. To Alexander the whole affair was simply one of politics. The position of Florence under Savonarola's influence -Landucci, p. 106.
 * Guicciardini Lib. in. c. 6. — Burlamacchi, p. 551. — Villari, T. I. pp. civ.-cvii.