Nowitwasindeed，inthemidstofferociousattacksuponhisreputationandcunningattemptsuponhislife，thatheenteredanewandmosteffectiveperiodofactivity。Foryears，astheadviserofVenice，hehadstudied，bothasahistorianandasastatesman，thegreatestquestionswhichconcernedhiscountry，andespeciallythosewhichrelatedtothepersistenteffortsoftheVaticantoencroachuponVenetianself—government。TheresultsofthesestudieshehadembodiedinreportswhichhadshapedthecourseoftheRepublic;andnow，hislearningandpowersofthoughtbeingbroughttobearuponthepolicyofEuropeingeneral，asaffectedbysimilarpapalencroachments，hebeganpublishingaseriesoftreatises，whichatonceattractedgeneralattention。[1]
[1]Fortheextenttowhichtheseattackswerecarried，seethelargenumberintheSarpicollectionattheCornellUniversityLibrary，especiallyvolumeix。
Firstofthese，in1608，camehisworkontheInterdict。Clearlyandconciselyitrevealedthenatureoftherecentstruggle，thebaselessnessoftheVaticanclaims，andthesolidarityofinterestbetweenVeniceandallotherEuropeanstatesregardingthequestionthereinsettled。Thisworkofhisasahistorianclenchedhisworkasastatesman;fromthatdayforwardnonationhasevenbeenseriouslythreatenedwithaninterdict。
Subsidiaryworksfollowedrapidlyfromhispen，strengtheningthecivilpoweragainsttheclerical;butin1610cameatreatise，whichmarkedanepoch，——hisHistoryofEcclesiasticalBenefices。[2]Inthishedealtwithaproblemwhichhadbecomeveryserious，notonlyinVenice，butineveryEuropeanstate，showedtheprocessbywhichvasttreasureshadbeentakenfromthecontrolofthecivilpowerandheapedupforecclesiasticalpompandintrigue，pointedoutspecialwrongsdonebythesystemtotheChurchaswellastheState，andadvocatedareformwhichshouldrestorethiswealthtobetteruses。Hisargumentsspreadwidelyandsankdeep，notonlyinItaly，butthroughoutEurope，andthenineteenthcenturyhasseenthemappliedeffectivelyineveryEuropeancountrywithintheRomanobedience。
[2]TheoldEnglishtranslationofthisbook，publishedin1736