_The Church_, the
human church of popes, cardinals, bishops and priests, was his guide,
not the _divine Bible_. Hence his darkness of mind and his crimes. Pope
Innocent XI. deemed him worthy of canonization. But an indignant world
must in justice inscribe upon his tomb, "Tyrant and Persecutor."
He was three times married; first, to Margaret, daughter of Philip IV.
of Spain; again, to Claudia, daughter of Ferdinand of Tyrol; and a third
time, to Eleonora, daughter of Philip, Elector Palatine. The character
and history of his third wife are peculiarly illustrative of the kind of
religion inculcated in that day, and of the beautiful spirit of piety
often exemplified in the midst of melancholy errors.
In the castle of her father, Eleonora was taught, by priests and nuns,
that God was only acceptably worshiped by self-sacrifice and
mortification. The devout child longed for the love of God more than for
any thing else. Guided by the teachings of those who, however sincere,
certainly misunderstood the spirit of the gospel, she deprived herself
of every innocent gratification, and practiced upon her fragile frame
all the severities of an anchorite. She had been taught that celibacy
was a virtue peculiarly acceptable to God, and resolutely declined all
solicitations for her hand.
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