Roman Catholic, and the way to favour at Dresden was through Romish ecclesiastics. Probably the thought of a profession of the Romish religion was not new to Winckelmann. At one time he had thought of begging his way to Rome, from cloister to cloister, under the pretence of a disposition to change his faith. In 1751 the papal nuncio, Archinto, was one of the visitors at Nöthenitz. He suggested Rome as a stage for Winckelmann's attainments, and held out the hope of a place in the papal library. Cardinal Passionei, charmed with Winckelmann's beautiful Greek writing, was ready to play the part of Mæcenas, on condition that the necessary change should be made. Winckelmann accepted the bribe and visited the nuncio at Dresden. Unquiet still at the word 'profession,' not without a struggle, he joined the Romish Church, July the eleventh, 1754.
Goethe boldly pleads that Winckelmann was a pagan, that the landmarks of Christendom meant nothing to him. It is clear that he intended to deceive no one by his disguise; fears of the inquisition are sometimes visible during his life in Rome; he entered Rome notoriously with the works of Voltaire in his possession; the thought of what Bünau might be thinking of him seems to have been his greatest difficulty. On the other hand, he may have had a sense of something grand, primeval,
