Chapter III. That the Prelates of the Church are appointed, not for the purpose OF exercising Dominion or of aggrandising Themselves, but in order to promote the Spiritual Interests of their Flocks go

The first question for consideration that occurs to me on turning from the subject of appeals, is one which I think should not belightly passed over. Thou hast been appointed Head, and the sole visible Head of the Church. But for what purpose ? The question, I assure thee, requires consideration. Thinkest thou that it is for thine own sake, that thou mayest derive advantage from those under thee ? No, surely not, but rather that they may derive advantage from thee. They have made thee their prince for their own profit, not for thine. For how couldst thou regard thyself as the superior of those upon whom thou wert dependent • for benefits ? Listen to the words of the Lord, " The kings of the gentiles lord it over them ; and they that have power over them are called beneficent" (Luke xxii. 25). " There is question here/* perhaps thou wilt say, " only of them that are without : these words can have no application to me." Well, in so far at any rate they concern thee : that thou canst not justly be given the title of ruler at all, unless thou makest it thy aim to be rather the benefactor than the beneficiary of those whom thou governest. Besides, it is a sign of a mean and grovelling soul to seek profit for ourselves from those we govern, instead of seeking to benefit them. But in the case of the Sovereign Pontiff such selfishness is most particularly mean. How beautifully the Doctor of Nations teaches us this, where he says that " neither ought the children lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children " (2 Cor. xii. 14) ! It was no small glory for the same Apostle to have been able to say to his disciples, " Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that may abound to your account " (Philipp. iv. 17).

But now let us pass on from this question also, lest by dwelling upon it further I should seem to charge thee with avarice : although in the preceding book I have borne witness to thy immunity from this vice, being aware of what great sums thou hast refused to accept, and in what great necessity. Therefore what ! I have written on the subject is not intended for thy correction solely or principally, even though it is addressed to thee. For it is right to expect that an instruction composed for the Sovereign Pontiff shall profit others no less than him. In this place, then, I have been denouncing the vice of avarice, from which thy reputation, at all events, is clear enough : whether thy conscience is equally clear, is best known to thyself. However, to say nothing of the gifts offered by the poor which thou never consentest to touch, I have myself seen the German money-bags emptied in thy presence, not of their contents but of all appreciation, j The silver was no more valued than so much chaff. And the pack-horses, unrelieved of their burdens, laden as they had come, went sadly home to their native country. 1a strange phenomenon, surely. Has there ever been [ an instance until now of money being refused at Rome ? And even in this case I have no doubt that it was not by the counsel of the Roman people that the bribe was rejected.

On a certain day two men arrived in Rome, both of them rich, and both of them labouring under serious accusations. One of them was a native of Mayence, the other came from Cologne. The former obtained, free of cost, a favourable verdict. But to the latter — he having been proved, as I suppose, unworthy of a similar sentence — it was said, " With what raiment thou earnest in, with the like thou shalt go out " (Exod. xxi. 3). O magnificent sentence, well worthy of »- apostolic liberty ! In what respect does it come short [of that of St. Peter, " Keep thy money to thyself to perish with thee " (Acts viii. 20) ? Perhaps, however, it may be said that whereas the latter expresses more zeal, the former has in it more moderation. What shall I say of him who came to Rome from overseas, almost from the ends of the earth, travelling in haste by land and water in order to buy of thee with his own and other people's money, the bishopric which he had already purchased at home ? * He brought with him much gold, but was obliged to take it back again — not all of it, however, for the miserable wretch fell into the hands of others who had more power to accept his bribes than to grant his petition. Thou hast done well in keeping thy hands pure from a twofold stain, in that, namely, thou hast refused to impose them on an ambitious man or to extend them for the " mammon of iniquity " (Luke xvi. 9). But not in the same manner didst thou deal with a certain indigent bishop, whom thou didst furnish with the means of making presents, lest he should be esteemed parsimonious. He received privately what he distributed publicly. Thus, at thine own expense, thou didst prevent this good man from being put to shame ; and it was through thy bounty that he was able to make the customary largesses to the members of thy court and so escaped the displeasure of them that love gifts. Thou canst not conceal this act of charity : for both the bishop concerned and the circumstances of the case are all known to me. Does * it embarrass thee to hear me speak of it ? But the more unwilling thou art to hear of it, the more gladly do I proclaim it. For if it is expedient for thee to wish thy good works unknown, it is not less expedient for me to reveal them. I am as much bound to proclaim the glory of Christ as thou art bound not to seek thine own glory. But if this does not satisfy thee, and if thou continuest to complain, I will justify myself by an example which I find in the Gospel, where Christ, after curing the deaf mute, " charged them, that they should tell no man. But the more He charged them so much the more a great deal did they publish it, and so much the more did they , wonder, saying : He hath done all things well" (Mark vii. 36-7).