After the deposition of John XXII. Poggio still remained at Constance, anxiously hoping that the appointment of a successor to that ill-fated pontiff would enable him once more to establish himself in the Roman chancery. In the prosecution of his interests, he had great dependance upon the support and patronage of Zabarella, cardinal of Florence. But his expectations of preferment from this quarter were unfortunately destroyed by the death of that illustrious ecclesiastic. [A. D. 1417.] This event, which occurred on the twenty-sixth of September, 1417, deprived the council of one of its ablest members, and Poggio of a kind and zealous friend. The obsequies of Zabarella were celebrated with extraordinary pomp; and on this occasion, Poggio fulfilled the last duties of friendship, by commemorating his virtues in a funeral oration. Impressed by the solemnity of the subject, and the dignity of his audience, he exerted in the composition of this oration the full powers of his eloquence and learning. After a modest exordium, he proceeded to give a brief account of his departed friend—he then entered into the detail of his good qualities, and concluded by an impassioned burst of sorrow for the loss which the lovers of union and peace had sustained; and by an exhortation to the assembled dignitaries to pay to their deceased brother the honours due to his virtues, and to imitate the moral graces which they had so much admired in his conduct. Francesco Zabarella was a native of Padua. His parents, who moved in the superior circles of society, readily indulged his early love of literature, and procured him the best instructions which their city could afford. Having finished his preparatory education, Francesco applied himself to the study of the civil law, tempering the severity of this pursuit by the cultivation of polite letters. When he was arrived at years of maturity, he delivered public lectures on the science of jurisprudence. In discharging the duty of instruction, he gained the respect and love of his pupils, by the variety of his knowledge and the benevolence of his disposition. The celebrity which he acquired by the ability with which he filled the professor’s chair, attracted the notice of John XXII., who, without any solicitation on his part, nominated him to the bishopric of Florence, and afterwards raised him to the dignity of cardinal. Stimulated by an earnest desire to put an end to the schism, he successfully exerted his influence with the pontiff to induce him to assent to the wishes of the emperor of Germany, by summoning a general council; and being deputed on the part of the pope, to confer with the representatives of Sigismund, concerning the place where the council should assemble, he concurred with them in fixing, for that purpose, upon the city of Constance. He entered with great zeal into the discussion of the various subjects which engaged the attention of that renowned synod. The ardour of his mind indeed hastened his end.