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 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Acknowledgements 12 List of Figures 14 Introduction 16 Interpretations and Historiographical Approaches 20 The ‘Middle Way’ 24 Historical and Intellectual Context 26 Networks, Languages, Involvement 30 Contexts and Texts 33 1 The Republic of Letters: Authors, Contexts, Networks 37 Religious Wars, Reconciliation and Coexistence 37 Between Conflict and Learning: Charron and the French Religious Experience 40 Living the Dutch Revolt: Humanism in Times of Public Adversity 46 Interlude: Truce 55 The View from Venice: Sarpi’s Life 60 The International Stage: The Venetian Interdict (1606–07) and the Controversy over the Oath of Allegiance (1605–07), Sarpi and James VI and I 64 The View from London and the Turn of the Century: James VI and I and the Anglo-Scottish Experience 70 Networks and Exchanges in the Republic of Letters at the Backdrop of Religious Wars 74 Observing the Wars 83 2 Human Wisdom and Moderation versus Indifference and Superstition: Charron’s Response to Religious Conflict 86 Les Trois Véritez: Founding God on Human Reason 90 Religious Wars, Indifference and Atheism 95 Religion and the State: A Necessary Bond 98 Christianity, One of Many (Religions) 99 Nature of Religion – Sagesse 102 From Polemics to the Search of Common Ground and Alternatives 106 Human Wisdom: De La Sagesse, Trois Livres 108 Human and Natural versus Divine Knowledge and Morality 111 Human Honesty: Nature or God? 121 Modifications, Reception, Interpretations and the Hardening of Confessional Lines 127 3 Prudence and Constancy: Justus Lipsius’s Advice for Times of Public Affliction 131 Constantia and Politica: Constancy and Prudence 134 Prudence, Constancy and Morality 139 (Neo)Stoicism as a Way Out of the Impasse: Stoic Elements in the Constantia 146 Lipsius on Religion and Politics in the Context of Religious Upheaval 155 A Response to Religious Strife: Lipsius’s Views in the Context of a Religious Landscape in a Constant State of Flux 168 4 The Limits between Lay and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction: Paolo Sarpi’s Reaction to a Century of Confessional Conflict 176 An Account of Religious Divisions: The Historia del Concilio Tridentino (1619) 180 The Historia del Concilio Tridentino and the Debate over Jurisdictions 188 Resolving Religious Divisions: From Dual Jurisdiction to Temporal Supremacy 194 Addressing Religious Divisions in the Temporal Sphere: Institutional over Doctrinal Reform 197 Intellectual Development and International Context, 1606–1619: Unresolved Questions 202 Doctrine, Politics, Christianity, and Acculturation: Sarpi on Religion 209 The Historia del Concilio Tridentino on the International Stage 216 5 Peaceful Coexistence through Lay Supremacy: James VI and I and the Struggle for a ‘Middle’ Way 220 ‘Render Therefore unto Caesar the Things Which Are Caesar’s’: The Controversy over the Oath of Allegiance and the International Milieu 225 The Oath, Texts and Reactions 225 Texts and Arguments 232 The Oath Exported 241 The Scottish Experience: Separating Jurisdictions or Keeping the Clergy at Bay 245 A ‘Moderate’ Approach: Princely Rule against Religious Extremism 251 Having to Realign the Middle Way: The Revival of Religious Divisions 258 Conclusions 263 Bibliography 270 Index 295 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.