The Sleepwalkers (275 page)

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Authors: Arthur Koestler

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Petrieus'
answer
is
lost,
but
it
is
evident
that
he
made
out
a
good
case
against
Giese's
accusation
that
he
had
acted
against
the
author's
wishes.
It
is
equally
evident
that
if
Copernicus
had
given
his
explicit
or
silent
consent
to
the
compromise
suggested
by
Osiander,
he
would
have
kept
the
matter
from
Giese
who,
in
the
light
of
their
past
arguments,
would
be
certain
to
disapprove.

71

Zinner,
op. cit., p. 246.

72

Prowe
II, pp. 419-421.

73

Orationes
de
Astronomia
Geographica
et
Physica
(
Nuremberg,
1542),
reprinted
in
Prowe
II,
pp.
382-386.

74

Eng.
Brit. XVIII-162c.

75

Prowe
I, 2, p. 334.

76

Loc.
cit.

77

The
full Latin texts are published by Prowe II, pp. 157-168.

78

Prowe
II, p. 157.

79

Prowe
II, pp. 158-9.

80

Prowe
I, 2, p. 325.

81

Oxford,
1934.
The
Oxford
Glossary
of
Later
Latin
(
1949)
has
"Soldier's
concubine".

82

See
note 55.

83

Prowe
I, 2, p. 364.

84

Ibid.,
p. 360
.

85

Zinner,
op. cit., p. 222 f.

86

Prowe
I, 2, p. 366 f.

87

Shortly
after
he
took
possession
of
the
Ermland
see,
in
January
1538,
Dantiscus
procured
a
canonry
for
one
of
his
favourites.
This
was
the
future
Cardinal
Stanislaw
Hosius
(
1504-79),
the
moving
spirit
of
the
Counter-reformation
in
Poland,
the
man
who
introduced
the
Jesuit
Order
into
Prussia,
and
had
a
decisive
part
in
bringing
the
semiautonomous
parts
of
Prussia
under
Polish
and
Catholic
rule.
He
was
variously
known
as
"the
Hammer
of
the
Heretics"
and
"the
Death
of
Luther";
the
Polish
Queen
described
him
as
a
person
who
united
the
innocence
of
a
dove
with
the
cunning
of
a
snake.
He
was
the
symbol
of
the
new
age
of
fanaticism
and
godly
massacre,
which
followed
the
age
of
humanism
and
tolerance,
of
Erasmus
and
Melanchton.
Dantiscus,
the
friend
of
Melanchton,
was
a
child
of
that
earlier
age,
and
himself
never
became
a
fanatic;
but
as
an
experienced
diplomat
he
knew
the
forces
that
were
active
in
Europe,
and
he
was
aware
that
the
Prussian
border
province
which
he
ruled
must
either
become
Protestant
and
German,
or
Catholic
and
Polish.
Not
only
his
religious
and
national
allegiance,
but
his
whole
philosophy
made
him
opt
for
the
continuity
and
traditions
of
the
Roman
Church,
and
the
civilizing
influence
of
Poland
in
the
golden
age
of
the
Jagellones.
Accordingly,
when
he
accepted
the
vacant
Bishopric
of
Kulm,
his
efforts
were
already
aimed
at
Ermland;
for
Kulm,
which
belonged
to
"Royal"
Prussia,
was
safe
for
Poland,
whereas
Ermland
was
the
strategical
and
political
key
to
the
whole
of
East
Prussia,
the
former
domain
of
the
Teutonic
Knights.
The
Bishop
of
Ermland
enjoyed
de
facto
the
status
of
a
ruling
Prince;
he
had
great
influence
in
the
Prussian
Diet,
over
which
he
presided,
and
his
Chapter
fulfilled
the
functions
of
government
and
administration.

By
arranging
a
canonry
for
Hosius,
Dantiscus
introduced
a
kind
of
Trojan
horse
into
the
Chapter.
A
bare
few
months
later,
Hosius
was
nominated
as
a
candidate
for
a
precentorship,
which
had
become
vacant.
The
Chapter,
jealous
of
its
quasi-autonomous
status
towards
the
Polish
Crown,
blocked
this
move
by
electing
to
the
post
another
member:
Alexander
Sculteti.
In
spite
of
considerable
pressure
by
Dantiscus,
Sculteti
refused
to
yield.
This
was
the
beginning
of
a
long
and
bitter
struggle,
apparently
between
two
individuals,
Hosius
and
Sculteti,
in
fact
between
the
Polish
Crown
on
the
one
hand,
and
certain
powers
at
the
Papal
Court
on
the
other,
who
backed
Sculteti
in
an
attempt
to
thwart
Polish
ambitions
and
to
keep
Ermland
under
the
direct
influence
of
Rome.
Though
Sculteti
did
have
several
children
by
his
housekeeper,
the
accusations
brought
against
him
of
leading
an
improper
life,
and
holding
heretical
views,
must
be
seen
against
this
political
background.
In
1540,
he
was
expelled
from
the
Chapter
and
banished
by
royal
edict
from
all
territories
under
Polish
sovereignty.
The
next
six
or
seven
years,
Sculteti
lived
in
Rome,
fighting
various
legal
actions,
which
ended
with
his
vindication
by
the
Papal
Court.
The
Ermland
Chapter,
however,
under
Polish
pressure,
refused
to
acknowledge
this,
with
the
result
that
all
its
members
in
residence
at
Frauenburg
were
excommunicated.
The
whole
complicated
intrigue
ended
with
the
victory
of
Hosius,
who,
in
1551,
became
Bishop
of
Ermland,
and
made
it
safe
for
the
Polish
Crown.

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