“ The most deplorable weakness of Paul was his nepotism. Parma and Piacenza, states of the Church, he bestowed upon his natural son Pier Luigi (1545) . But in 1549 Pier Luigi was assassinated by his outraged subjects, and the emperor thereupon claimed the two duchies for his son-in-law Ottavio Farnese, Paul’s grandson. This led to a family quarrel which greatly embittered the last days of the pope and hastened his death (Nov. 10, 1549) . Parma and Piacenza continued to be a bone of contention for two hundred and fifty years.
Paul was gifted and cultured, a lover and patron of art. ”

“ By the promotion to the cardinalate of such men as Contarini, Caraffa, Pole and Morone, and the appointment of a commission to report upon existing evils and their remedy, the way was opened for reform; while by the introduction of the Inquisition into Italy (1542) , the establishment of the censorship and the Index (1543) , and the approval of the Society of Jesus (1540) , most efficient agencies were set on foot for combating heresy.
But in the matter of a general council, so urgently desired by the emperor, Paul showed himself irresolute and procrastinating. ”

“ The pope talked of coercion by arms; but Spain, to whom he looked for support, refused to be drawn into war, and the quarrel was finally settled by the mediation of France (March 22, 1607) . Notwithstanding certain concessions, the victory remained with the republic (see Sarpi) .
Paul became involved in a quarrel with England also. After the Gunpowder Plot parliament required a new oath of allegiance to the king and a denial of the right of the pope to depose him or release his subjects from their obedience. Paul forbade Roman Catholics to take the oath ”

“ These measures only increased Paul’s unpopularity, so that when he died, on the 18th of August 1559, the Romans vented their hatred by demolishing his statue, liberating the prisoners of the Inquisition, and scattering its papers. Paul’s want of political wisdom, and his ignorance of human nature aroused antagonisms fatal to the success of his cause.
See Panvinio, continuator of Platina, De vitis pontiff. rom.; Ciaconius, Vitae et res gestae summorum pontiff. rom. (Rome, 1601–1602, both contemporaries of Paul IV.) ”

“ The principal contemporary lives of Paul II., including that by Platina, are in L. Muratori, Rerum ital. scriptores, iii. pt. 2, and in Raynaldus, Annales ecclesiastici (1464–1471) . The inventory of his personal effects, published by E. Müntz (Les Arts, ii., 1875) , is a valuable document for the history of art. See also L. Pastor, History of the Popes, vol. iv.; trans, by F. I. Antrobus (London, 1898) ; M. Creighton, History of the Papacy, vol. iv. (London, 1901) ; F. Gregorovius, Rome in the Middle Ages, vol. vii. (trans, by Mrs G. W. Hamilton, London, 1900–1902) ”

“ Intended for a business career, he took orders during the pontificate of his uncle, Eugenius IV., and was appointed successively archdeacon of Bologna, bishop of Cervia, bishop of Piacenza, protonotary of the Roman Church, and in 1440 cardinal-deacon of Sta Maria Nuova. ”