might have redounded to the good of the universal Church, others of
them merely to the advantage of the sacred college itself; but these
election agreements were always quashed, and the evil was allowed to
increase without check. From the election of Sixtus IV. the tendency
was steadily downwards, till in the days of Alexander VI. the Papacy
reached its lowest point. At a time when even people indifferent to
religion were shocked by the state of affairs at the Roman Court, it
is no wonder that a zealous and holy ecclesiastic like the great
Dominican Savonarola[13] should have denounced these abuses in no
uncertain language, and should have warned Alexander VI. of the
terrible judgment in store for the Church unless some steps were taken
to avert the indignation of an offended Almighty. The threats and
warnings of Savonarola were, however, scoffed at as the unbridled
outbursts of a disappointed fanatic, and the cry for reform was put
aside as unworthy of attention.

Julius II. (1503-13) was personally above reproach, but the
circumstances of his time allowed him very little opportunity to
undertake a generous plan of reform. The recovery of the Papal States
that had been frittered away by his predecessors in providing
territories for their family connections, the wars in Italy, and the
schemes of Louis XII. forced the Pope to play the part of a soldier
rather than that of an ecclesiastic, and delayed the convocation of
the General Council to which right-minded Christians looked for some
relief. Louis XII., taking advantage of this general desire,
forestalled the Pope by inducing some of the cardinals to summon a
General Council to meet at Pisa (September 1511). The assembly met at
Pisa and adjourned to Lyons, but the feeling of loyalty to the Pope
was too strong for Louis XII., and the assembly at Lyons could count
on very little support outside France. Julius II. determined to summon