Page:A new and general biographical dictionary; containing an historical and critical account of the lives and writings of the most eminent persons in every nation v1.djvu/127

 JE N E A S. 91 " open to you the emperor's intention ." This wns the pre- lude to the famous retradion which Aliens SylvKlimade after- wards. The pope pardoned every thing that w.is pall ; nnJ in a (hort time made him his fccrctnry, without obliging him. to quit the port which he had with the emperor. He was lent a fecond time by the emperor on an cmhafTy to Eugenius, on the following occafion : The pope having depofed Thierry and James, archbifhops and electors of Co- lo<me and Treves, becaufe they had openly declared lor Felix and the council of Dafil, the electors of the empire were highly offended at this proceeding; and at their dcfirc the emperor lent /Eneas Sylvius to prevail on the pope to revoke the fen- tence of dcpolition. Upon the dcceafe of pope Eugenius, ^neas was chofen br the cardinals to prefide in ihe conclave, till another pope mould be elected. He was made bimop of Targeftum by pope Ni- cholas, and went again into Germany, where he was ap- pointed counfellor to the emperor, and bnd the direction of all the important affairs of the empire. Four years after, he was made archbi(hop of Sienna; and in 14.52, he attended Frederic to Rome, when he went to receive the imperial crown. ./Eneas, upon his return, was named legate of Bo- hemia and Auftria. About the year 1456, being fent by the emperor into Italy, to treat with pope Callixtus III. about a war with the Turks, he was made a cardinal. Upon the deceafe of Callixtus, in the year 1458, he was elected pope, by the name of Pius II. After his promotion to the papal chair, he publifhed a bull, retrading all he had written in defence of the council of Bafil ; and thus he apologizes for his former condud: We are men, (frys he) and we have " erred as men ; we do not deny, but that many things which ' we have faid or written, may jufi.lv be condemned : we have " been feduced, like Paul, and have perfecuted the church 01 " God through ignorance ; we now follow Sr Atiftin's exam- " pie, who, .having fuffered fcverai erroneous femiments to ' efcape him in his writings, retraded them ; we do jult th- ' fame thing : we ingenuoufly confefs our ignorance, being " apprchenfive left what we have written in our youth, fhoulj " occafion fome error, which may prejudice the holy lee. " Forifit is fuitable to any perfon's charader to maintain the " certainly fo to ours, whom the merciful God, out of pure " goodnefs, has raifed to the dignity of vicegerent of Chrilr, " without any merit on our part. For all thefe reafor.s, we 9 t(
 * ' eminence and glory of the firft throne of the church, it is
 * ' exhort you and advife you in the Lord, not to pay any re-