Chapter I. That the Papacy is more a Stewardship than a Dominion, and that the Pope's first Duty is to Propagate the Faith

This third book begins at the point where the second concluded ; for in accordance with the promise made at the close of the latter, I will now propose for thy consideration the things that are beneath thee. O Eugenius, best of priests, do not imagine there is any necessity to ask me what these are. Perhaps it would [be more reasonable to inquire what they are not. For he who wishes to discover something which does not appertain to thy charge, will have to go outside the world. Thy predecessors, the holy apostles, were sent forth to conquer for Christ, not this or that particular nation, but the whole universe. " Go ye into the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature " (Mark xvi. 15) — such was their commission. Immediately they sold their coats and bought them swords (Luke xxii. 36), that is to say, they received and used the "ignited word" (Ps. cxviii. 140), and the "vehement spirit " (Job i. 19), which are the powerful arms of God. To what region of the earth did they not carry the standard of their King, those glorious victors, those " children of them that have been cast forth " (Ps. cxxvi. 4) ? Whither did not fly " the sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals that lay waste " (Ps. cxix. 4) ? "Yea, verily, their sound hath gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the whole world " (Rom. x. 18 ; Ps. xviii. 5). All aglow with the fire which the Lord came to " cast on the earth " (Luke xii. 49), with their words they penetrated everywhere and set everything in flames. And although they fell at last, those noble warriors, they were never defeated, for they triumphed even in death. " Their principality is exceedingly strengthened " (Ps. cxxxviii. 17) ; they have been made "princes over all the earth " (Ps. xliv. 17). Thou hast succeeded them in their inheritance. Consequently, thou art the heir of the apostles, and thy inheritance is the whole world. But in what respect this portion has fallen to thee, or in what respect it fell to them, is a matter which calls for thy most serious consideration. For not in all respects, as I think, but only in some, has it been made thine or thy predecessors' : thou hast been charged with its admin- ■/ istration, not endowed with it as a possession. And!^ shouldst thou dare to usurp the possession of it as well, thou wouldst contradict Him Who hath said, " The world is Mine and the fulness thereof " (Ps. xlix. 12). Surely it is not of thee the Prophet says, ' The whole earth shall be His possession " (Ps. ciii. 24) ? No, he is speaking of Christ, Who claims for Himself this domain by the right of creation, by the merit of redemption, and on the title of the Father's donation. For to whom else hath it been said at any time, " Ask of Me, and I will give thee the gentiles for thy inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession " (Ps. ii. 8) ? Therefore, leave to the Son the dominion and possession of the earth, and take for thyself the administration thereof. This is thy portion : beware of appropriating anything more.

r" What ? " I can hear thee replying, " thou dost not deny that I am the Head of the Church, and nevertheless thou wilt not have me to claim the dominion thereof ? " Exactly. It is enough for the Head of the Church to have the greatest share of the solicitudes of government. May not an estate be administered by a steward, and the lord, during his minority, be subject to a guardian ? And yet surely the steward is not proprietor of the estate, nor is the guardian lord of his lord. It is in this sense, therefore, as steward or guardian, that thou oughtest to consider thyself the Head of the Church, with the duty of watching over it, of guarding its interests, promoting its well-being and ministering to its necessities. Thou art bound to govern it for its advantage, to govern it as " a faithful and wise servant whom his Lord hath appointed over His family " (Matt. xxiv. 45). Appointed for what purpose thinkest thou ? "To give them meat in season." That is, to act as an administrator and not as a master. Let this be thy way of acting. Bein gbut a man thyself, do not desire to dominate over men, so that no iniquity may dominate over thee (Ps. xciii. 133). I remember, indeed, to have sufficiently urged this point in a previous chapter, when discussing the question as to who thou art. Nevertheless, I have returned to the subject here, because there is no poison, there is no sword I fear more for thee than this passion for dominion. Consequently, I should like to impress upon thee that, however great and exalted thou mayest consider the prerogatives of thy pontifical office, thou art under a grievous delusion, if thou thinkest thou hast inherited anything more from the great apostles than the administration of the Church. Remember now the words of St. Paul, " To the wise and to the unwise I am a debtor" (Rom. i. 14). And if thou deemest it a duty to make them thine own, remember this also, that the unattractive name of debtor more properly designates a servant than a master. For it is to a servant we hear it said in the Gospel, " How much dost thou owe my lord ? " (Luke xvi. 5). Consequently, if thou dost acknowledge thyself to be, not the lord, but the debtor of the wise and the unwise, it becomes thy bounden duty to direct all thy efforts and to devote thy most serious consideration to this object : that they who are foolish may become wise, that the wise may not become foolish, and that where wisdom has been lost it may be recovered. Now there is no kind of folly more foolish — if I may so speak — than infidelity. Therefore thou art a debtor to the infidels also, whether Jews, Greeks, or Gentiles.

From this it follows that thou art obliged to do all in thy power that unbelievers may be converted to the faith, that they may not fall away after conversion, and that they who have lapsed may return. Let them that have gone astray be brought back to the right road ; let them that have been perverted be restored to truth ; and let the seducers be confounded with invincible arguments, so that they may correct themselves— if that is possible : otherwise let them be deprived of all authority, and therewith of the power to lead others astray. Thy zeal must by no means refuse to occupy itself even with that class of the unwise which is the worst of all : I mean heretics and schismatics, who are perverted themselves and the perverters of others, who rend and tear like dogs, and deceive like foxes. These, I say, ought particularly to

J engage thy attention, so that they may either be converted and saved, or at least prevented from propagating their errors. With regard to the Jews, I allow that the time excuses thine inactivity : they have " appointed for them their bounds which cannot be passed " (Job xiv. 5). " The fulness of the gentiles must come in " before the blindness is taken away that hath happened in Israel (Rom. xi. 25). But concerning the gentiles, what excuse canst thou make ? And what answer does thy consideration suggest when thou askest thyself such questions as these: "Why has it seemed good to my more immediate predecessors to set bounds to the Gospel, and to interrupt the preaching of the word of faith, whilst the nations were hardening in their infidelity ? What shall I suppose is the reason why the word that was wont to run swiftly (Ps. cxlvii.), has now halted in its career ? Who was the first to place obstacles to its salutary course ? But perhaps my predecessors had reasons of which I know nothing for desisting from the work of evangelisation, or it may be they were prevented by necessity : yet what justification can I find for my own negligence ? What hope can I have or what security of conscience, if I do not at least offer Christ to such as do not possess Him ? Am I not ' detaining the truth of God in injustice' (Rom. i. 18) ? No doubt, sooner or later, ' the fulness of the gentiles must come in ' (Rom. xi. 25). But does this justify me in waiting in idleness until faith is infused into them somehow ? Who ever wandered into the Church by chance ? ' How shall they believe Him of Whom they have not heard ? And how shall they hear without a preacher ? ' (Rom. x. 14.) Thus Peter was sent to Cornelius (Acts x. 20) and Philip to the Eunuch (Act viii. 26) ; and if I want a more recent example, Augustine was sent by the blessed Gregory to instruct the English in the v doctrines of faith."

Reflect thus with thyself on these matters. I should also like to direct thy attention to the obstinacy of the Greeks, who are with us in a sense and in a sense are not with us : united with us in faith, divided from us in communion. Although even in matters of faith they have not continued to walk in the right way but ' have halted from their paths " (Ps. xvii. 46). Nor would I have thee to neglect the new heresy which in * secret is spreading itself in almost all directions, and in some places rages openly, devouring voraciously the little ones of Christ wherever it finds them, and without any concealment, f Dost thou inquire where f He means the Henricians, who denied the validity of infant baptism. Of these heretics and their doings in Provence the Saint wrote to Count Hildefonsus in 1147 : " 'Oh, how great evils have we heard and known ' (Ps. lxxvii. 3) concerning the heretic Henry and what he has done and is still doing daily in the Church of God I He traverses the land as a ravenous wolf in sheep's clothing, but, instructed by the Lord, we know him by his fruits (Matt. vii. 15-16). The churches are deserted, the people without priests, the priests without honour, and Christians without Christ. Basilicas are no more regarded than synagogues ; the sanctuary of God is profaned, His holy Sacraments treated without reverence, His solemn days robbed of their solemnity. Men are allowed to die in their sins ; their souls appear before the divine tribunal without having been reconciled by penance or fortified by the these things are being done ? Thine own envoys who visit so often the countries of the south, " ask them, behold they know " (John xviii. 21), and can tell thee. They go and return through the midst of these here- *J tical regions, or at any rate pass close to them. But what good they have accomplished there we have still to learn. Perhaps we should have heard of happy results from their labours were it not for the fact that Spanish gold is more an object with them than the people's salvation. It should be thy care to provide a speedy remedy for this pestilence also.

But there is a kind of folly which almost renders foolish the very wisdom of our faith. I speak now of ambition. How has it come to pass that this deadly poison has spread its venom throughout the whole Christian Church ? For even within the true fold we all of us seek the things that are our own (Philipp. ii. 21) ; and hence, through mutual envy and mutual rivalry, we are excited to hatred of each other, provoked to injure each other, animated to wrangle with each other, disposed to deceive each other, urged on to slander each other, impelled to malign each other : we oppress them that are weaker than ourselves and are in turn oppressed ourselves by the stronger. How worthily and laudibly would the meditation of thy heart occupy itself with devising a remedy against this most pestilential species of folly, which, as thou per-

Holy Viaticum. The children of Christian parents are not permitted to participate in the life of Christ, for the grace of baptism is refused them, and the way to salvation closed \ although the Saviour Himself has espoused their cause in the words of the Gospel, ' Suffer the little children and forbid them not to come to Me ' (Matt. xix. 14)." See also Sermons on the the Canticle, LXV. and LXVL— (Translator.)

ceivest, has invaded the very body of Christ, that is to say, the multitude of believers ! 0 ambition, torment of thy devotees ! How thou dost lacerate all that love thee, and still art loved of all ! Surely nothing else can torture so excruciatingly, nothing else engender such bitter cares. And nevertheless there is nothing so much in honour amongst miserable mortals as that which appertains to ambition ! Can it be denied that nowadays it is rather ambition than devotion that wears the Apostles' threshold ? Does not thy palace all the day long resound with its language ? Is it not for the advancement of its interests that the lawyers! and the canonists study so hard ? Is it not for its spoils that that rapacious greed, characteristic of Italians, • hungers with insatiable avidity ? What so much as ambition, yea, what else in any degree interrupts or rather precludes altogether thine own exercises of piety ? How often has not this unquiet and disquieting evil sterilised thy sacred and otherwise fruitful repose ! There is a great difference between the just appeals which the oppressed make to thy tribunal, and the cunning intrigues of ambition to obtain, through thy means, the sovereignty of the Church. It is thy duty not to refuse the former a hearing, nor in any way to yield assent to the latter. What a crime, then, would it be wert thou to encourage the ambitious and to contemn the oppressed ! Nevertheless thou art a debtor to both, owing the one class a debt of defence and deliverance and the other a debt of correction.

So ON CONSIDERATION