Responses to Religious Division, C. 1580-1620 : Public and Private, Divine and Temporal

In Responses to Religious Division, c. 1580-1620 Natasha Constantinidou considers the views articulated by the scholars Pierre Charron, Justus Lipsius, Paolo Sarpi and James VI and I in reaction to the impact of the religious wars. Responses to Religious Division, c. 1580–1620: Public and Private, Divine and Temporal 3 Copyright 4 Dedication 5 Contents 7 Acknowledgements 11 List of Figures 13 Introduction 15 Interpretations and Historiographical Approaches 19 The ‘Middle Way’ 23 Historical and Intellectual Context 25 Networks, Languages, Involvement 29 Contexts and Texts 32 1 The Republic of Letters: Authors, Contexts, Networks 36 Religious Wars, Reconciliation and Coexistence 36 Between Conflict and Learning: Charron and the French Religious Experience 39 Living the Dutch Revolt: Humanism in Times of Public Adversity 45 Interlude: Truce 54 The View from Venice: Sarpi’s Life 59 The International Stage: The Venetian Interdict (1606–07) and the Controversy over the Oath of Allegiance (1605–07), Sarpi and James VI and I 63 The View from London and the Turn of the Century: James VI and I and the Anglo-Scottish Experience 69 Networks and Exchanges in the Republic of Letters at the Backdrop of Religious Wars 73 Observing the Wars 82 2 Human Wisdom and Moderation versus Indifference and Superstition: Charron’s Response to Religious Conflict 85 Les Trois Véritez: Founding God on Human Reason 89 Religious Wars, Indifference and Atheism 94 Religion and the State: A Necessary Bond 97 Christianity, One of Many (Religions) 98 Nature of Religion – Sagesse 101 From Polemics to the Search of Common Ground and Alternatives 105 Human Wisdom: De La Sagesse, Trois Livres 107 Human and Natural versus Divine Knowledge and Morality 110 Human Honesty: Nature or God? 120 Modifications, Reception, Interpretations and the Hardening of Confessional Lines 126 3 Prudence and Constancy: Justus Lipsius’s Advice for Times of Public Affliction 130 Constantia and Politica: Constancy and Prudence 133 Prudence, Constancy and Morality 138 (Neo)Stoicism as a Way Out of the Impasse: Stoic Elements in the Constantia 145 Lipsius on Religion and Politics in the Context of Religious Upheaval 154 A Response to Religious Strife: Lipsius’s Views in the Context of a Religious Landscape in a Constant State of Flux 167 4 The Limits between Lay and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction: Paolo Sarpi’s Reaction to a Century of Confessional Conflict 175 An Account of Religious Divisions: The Historia del Concilio Tridentino (1619) 179 The Historia del Concilio Tridentino and the Debate over Jurisdictions 187 Resolving Religious Divisions: From Dual Jurisdiction to Temporal Supremacy 193 Addressing Religious Divisions in the Temporal Sphere: Institutional over Doctrinal Reform 196 Intellectual Development and International Context, 1606–1619: Unresolved Questions 201 Doctrine, Politics, Christianity, and Acculturation: Sarpi on Religion 208 The Historia del Concilio Tridentino on the International Stage 215 5 Peaceful Coexistence through Lay Supremacy: James VI and I and the Struggle for a ‘Middle’ Way 219 ‘Render Therefore unto Caesar the Things Which Are Caesar’s’: The Controversy over the Oath of Allegiance and the International Milieu 224 The Oath, Texts and Reactions 224 Texts and Arguments 231 The Oath Exported 240 The Scottish Experience: Separating Jurisdictions or Keeping the Clergy at Bay 244 A ‘Moderate’ Approach: Princely Rule against Religious Extremism 250 Having to Realign the Middle Way: The Revival of Religious Divisions 257 Conclusions 262 Bibliography 269 Index 294 In this study Natasha Constantinidou considers the views articulated by the scholars Pierre Charron (1541-1603), Justus Lipsius (1547-1606), Paolo Sarpi (1552-1623) and King James VI and I (1566-1625), in response to the religious ruptures of their time. Though rarely juxtaposed, all four authors were deeply affected by the religious divisions. In their works, they denounced religious zeal, focusing on non-dogmatic piety. Drawing on classical tradition and church history, they set out to offer consolation to the people of a war-torn continent and to discuss means of reconciliation. Their responses sought to define the role of religion in public and private. They emphasised the need for lay control of religious affairs as the only way of ensuring peace, whilst circumscribing belief and its practice to the private realm. In this study Natasha Constantinidou considers the views the scholars Pierre Charron (1541-1603), Justus Lipsius (1547-1606), Paolo Sarpi (1552-1623) and King James VI and I (1566-1625) articulated in response to the religious ruptures of their time. Though rarely juxtaposed, all four authors were deeply affected by the religious divisions. They denounced religious zeal, focusing on non-dogmatic piety. Drawing on classical tradition and church history, they set out to offer consolation to the people of a war-torn continent and discuss means of reconciliation. Their responses sought to define the role of religion in public and private. They emphasised the need for lay control of religious affairs as the only way of ensuring peace, whilst circumscribing belief and its practice to the private realm