A baseless accusation of baseness?

I'm cataloguing Christina's books in the order in which they come out of the boxes, so this may seem somewhat random!

Delle Lettere Familiari del Commendatore Annibal Caro, edited by Antonfederigo Seghezzi, in three volumes. Padua, 1753

Annibal (or Annibale) Caro (1507-1566) was an Italian poet, best known for his translation of Virgil's Aeneid. He was also employed as confidential secretary by the Farnese family - by Pietro Lodovico, Duke of Parma, then by his sons, duke Ottavio and cardinals Ranuccio and Alexander. His letters, written both in his own name and on behalf of the cardinals Farnese, were, according to the revered 11th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'remarkable both for the baseness they display and for their euphemistic polish and elegance.' However, the latest edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica describes his letters only as 'free and graceful', while in The History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages, by Ludwig Pastor (courtesy of Google Books) it is said of them: 'they are always appropriate to their subject, always composed in a finished style, filled with true Italian grace, and, with all their charm, simple and clear.' Unfortunately, my knowledge of Italian is too exiguous for me to judge from the letters themselves whether there are any grounds for the accusation of baseness!