Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/355

 LEO pope's real design, broke off the pending ne- gotiations, and Leo openly united his forces with those of the emperor for the avowed pur- pose of wresting from the French the duchy of Milan and Genoa. By a treaty concluded with Charles V., May 8, 1521, Francesco Sforza was to be restored to his dominions, Parma and Piacenza were to be given back to the church, and the emperor was to aid the pope in annex- ing Ferrara, and to bestow the duchy of Civita di Penna in the kingdom of Naples on the son of the late duke of TTrbinO. The treaty was not made public till July 8. Prospero Colon- na with the Spaniards from Naples joined the papal forces at Bologna, crossed the Po at Casalmaggiore, and joined the Swiss, whose countrymen in the French service now deserted to the papal standard. After a series of suc- cesses the allied army entered Milan Nov. 19 ; Parma and Piacenza were next occupied ; but the duke of Ferrara defended his dominions to the last extremity against the spiritual and temporal arms of the pontiff. Leo received the intelligence of the capture of Milan and the recovery of Parma and Piacenza on Nov. 23. Amid the rejoicings consequent on these events he felt a sudden indisposition on the 24th, which excited no alarm, and died unexpectedly on Dec. 1, it is said without the sacraments of the church. His death has been by some writers attributed to poison ; but nothing certain about its cause or manner is found in authentic con- temporary accounts. The character of Leo has been judged with more prejudice and dis- crepancy than that of almost any other per- son known in history. He has been accused of political insincerity, of adding treachery to injustice in his annexation of neighbor- ing states, of an inordinate anxiety for the ag- grandizement of his family, and of many fail- ings which, however readily pardoned in a great prince, become odious in a Christian priest. But whatever estimate we form of his foreign policy, it must be acknowledged that he governed his own subjects with wis- dom and justice, and his reign was long grate- fully remembered by the Romans as an era of happiness and prosperity. Engaging and affable in manners, gay or dignified as occa- sion demanded, and gifted with great powers of conversation, he charmed all with whom he came in contact. His private life both be- fore and after his elevation to the throne was chaste and decorous. He was generous to ex- cess, magnificent in his tastes, passionately fond of the chase, but temperate in the pleasures of the table. Though not a profound scholar, and accused of neglecting the studies best fitted to his station, he was well versed in the lighter branches of literature and a proficient in the art of music. He delighted above all things in the society of artists, poets, and learned men. He increased the Vatican library, and restored the celebrated library of his family (the Lau- rentian at Florence), which had been plundered and dispersed at the time of their expulsion. LEO I. 349 He employed Michel Angelo and Eaphael in the execution of some of their greatest works. His munificence might well entitle the reign of Leo X. to rank as the golden age of Italian art and letters. " Happy is it for the world," says Roscoe, " when the pursuits of such individ- uals, instead of being devoted, through blind ambition, to the subjugation or destruction of the human race, are directed toward those beneficent and generous ends which, amid all his avocations, Leo the Tenth appears to have kept continually in view." See Audin, His- toire de Leon X. (2 vols. 8vo, Paris, 1844), and Roscoe's u Life and Pontificate of Leo X." (6th ed. revised, 2 vols. 8vo, London, 1853). V. Leo XII. (ANNIBALE BELLA GENOA), born in the territory of Spoleto, Aug. 2, 1760, died Feb. 10, 1829. Before his elevation to the pontifi- cate he was papal nuncio at several German courts, and was sent to France on a special mission by Pius VII., whom he succeeded in the papacy, Sept. 28, 1823. He governed the church with a firmness which involved him in disputes with France and Austria, and ad- ministered the affairs of his temporal domin- ions with great zeal for the good of his sub- jects. He exerted himself to suppress brigan- dage and mendicity, promote education and literature, and suppress secret societies. He published a jubilee for the year 1825, and in a circular letter to the Christian nations at- tacked Bible societies. He entered into nego- tiations with the republics of South America for the purpose of filling up the many sees left vacant during their wars with Spain ; or- ganized in a most efficient manner the Sapi- enza university in Rome, and regulated its five faculties of theology, law, medicine, phi- losophy, and philology ; increased the number of professors, and raised their salaries. He manifested the design of reforming thoroughly church and state, and published in October, 1824, a motu proprio or decree reorganizing the administration of the Papal States. He corrected abuses in the convents and monas- teries of Rome, and established order and se- curity by means of a good police. LEO I., Flayius, surnamed the Thracian and the Great, a Byzantine emperor, born in Thrace about A. D. 400, died in January, 474. At the death of Marcian in 457 he was only a military tribune ; bat being proclaimed emperor by the soldiers, the choice was confirmed by the sen- ate, and he was crowned by the patriarch Ana- tolius, this being the first instance of a prince receiving his crown from the hands of a bishop. He continued the measures of his predecessor against the Eutychians in Alexandria, success- fully encountering the opposition of his minis- ter, the Arian chief Aspar, by whose influence he had been raised to the throne. In 466 the Huns invaded Dacia and threatened the eastern empire, but were defeated by the generals of Leo, their principal chief Dengizec, a son of Attila, being killed. In 468 he concerted with Anthemius, the emperor of the West, an ex-