Old Testament, Psalter, and Breviary.

But the most active scene of his life began about the year 1615, when
pope Paul the fifth, exasperated by some decrees of the senate of
Venice, that interfered with the pretended rights of the church, laid
the whole state under an interdict.

The senate, filled with indignation at this treatment, forbade the
bishops to receive or publish the pope's bull; and, convening the
rectors of the churches, commanded them to celebrate divine service in
the accustomed manner, with which most of them readily complied; but
the jesuits, and some others, refusing, were, by a solemn edict,
expelled the state.

Both parties having proceeded to extremities, employed their ablest
writers to defend their measures: on the pope's side, among others,
cardinal Bellarmine entered the lists, and, with his confederate
authors, defended the papal claims, with great scurrility of
expression, and very sophistical reasonings, which were confuted by
the Venetian apologists, in much more decent language, and with much
greater solidity of argument.

On this occasion father Paul was most eminently distinguished, by his
Defence of the Rights of the Supreme Magistrate; his treatise of
Excommunications, translated from Gerson, with an Apology, and other
writings, for which he was cited before the inquisition at Rome; but
it may be easily imagined that he did not obey the summons.

The Venetian writers, whatever might be the abilities of their
adversaries, were, at least, superiour to them in the justice of their
cause. The propositions maintained on the side of Rome were these:
that the pope is invested with all the authority of heaven and earth:
that all princes are his vassals, and that he may annul their laws at
pleasure: that kings may appeal to him, as he is temporal monarch of
the whole earth: that he can discharge subjects from their oaths of
allegiance, and make it their duty to take up arms against their
sovereign: that he may depose kings without any fault committed by
them, if the good of the church requires it: that the clergy are
exempt from all tribute to kings, and are not accountable to them,
even in cases of high treason: that the pope cannot err; that his
decisions are to be received and obeyed on pain of sin, though all the
world should judge them to be false; that the pope is God upon earth;
that his sentence and that of God are the same; and that to call his
power in question, is to call in