"
"And if one reads the history of the Papacy, it is the same."
"No, hush!" said a fat Cardinal, "you must let the papal throne
remain till I have sat in it."
"After a Borgia, it would suit as well to have a Medici like you,
and especially a son of Lorenzo the Magnificent."
"Will not the cardinals dance?" asked one, who seemed to be Chigi
himself.
"Yes, after supper, in the pavilion, and behind closed doors,"
answered the Cardinal de Medici, "and after I have hung up the red
hat."
So much was clear to Luther from the foregoing conversation,--that
he had seen and heard the representatives of the highest ranks of the
priesthood, and that the stout man was John de Medici, the
candidate for the papal chair.
He went quickly through several other rooms where half-intoxicated
women were coquetting with their paramours. At last he came into the
great banqueting hall. There stood groups of ambassadors and
pilgrims, representing all nations of the world. They were looking
at the ceiling and admiring the paintings on it. Luther followed
their example, while he listened to their remarks.
"This is like looking at the sky; one has to lie on one's back."
"I know nothing more beautiful than sunrise and the nude."
"Raphael is indeed a divine painter.
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