say. Among them may be mentioned Mosheim, Baronius, Raymond, Cook, Launoy, Marianus Scotus, De Cormenin, Loughborough, etc.

The supremacy and infallibility of Mother Church rests upon the regular succession of the Roman pontiffs. There was never a devout Catholic who did not sincerely believe that Christ placed Peter in the papal chair and committed to him the keys. But the stubborn facts of history mock the claim that the successor of St. Peter-the vicegerent of God and the visible head of the Church on earth-has always been chosen by inspiration in the holy conclave and determined from on high. The most notable instance on record is the elevation of Joan to the pontifical throne. And all the pompous pretensions of the splendid papal hierarchy resting upon an unbroken chain founded upon the rock, Peter, becomes a fitting subject of scorn as history points her unerring finger to the fact of a female pope giving birth to a child in the streets of Rome. Says the Roman Catholic historian, De Cormenin: "The majesty of the priesthood, the pontifical infallibility, the pretensions of the holy see to universal rule, all that scaffolding of superstition and idolatry on which is placed the chair of St. Peter, falls before a female pope."

NICHOLAS I.

WE ARE now entering upon a period in which the popes play an important part in the politics of Europe. Their his tory is one of intrigue and unholy alliances, of pious plots,. oppression, and plunder. Their chief aim was to enlarge and confirm their temporal power and territories, that fatal gift which had been procured from the superstitious usurpers, Phocus and Pepin, and guaranteed by the policy of the Christian conqueror, Charlemagne. They arrogated to themselves the powers of war and peace, and, in their sublime excess of pride and presumption, set themselves above the judgment of men. For a thousand years the sovereign pontiffs of Rome ruled Europe with their rod of delegated power, and filled Christendom with fear and anarchy and bloodshed. Nicholas I came into power in 858. His insupportable pride and apostolic vigor give him a prominent place among the popes. He was born at Rome, and was the son of a poor physician. He was made subdeacon in the patriarchal palace by Pope Sergius II He was afterwards made private secretary to Benedict III, and was entrusted with the most secret affairs of the Church. Nicholas became very much attached to his protector, and at his death performed the last duties with his own hands, placing him in his shroud, and bearing nim, with the assistance of several other deacons, to his sepulchre.

During the delay of the Emperor Louis to reach Rome for the purpose of naming a successor, the holy see remained vacant an entire month. Immediately upon the arrival of the prince, the clergy and people proceeded to choose a new pontiff, and elected Nicholas by their united suffrages. The

cence.

ecessors.

ceremony of consecration was celebrated in the presence of the emperor with every circumstance of ostentatious magnifiUpon this august occasion the holy Father exhibited more presumption and pride than had been shown by his pred He was the first pope who caused his consecration to be celebrated by a brilliant enthronement. The audacious example of this proud pontiff became a precedent for posterity. He exacted of the emperor that he should come on foot to meet him, and conduct him by leading his horse by the bridle from the church of St. Peter to the palace of the Lateran. Upon taking leave of the pope, the superstitious monarch bent his forehead in the dust and kissed his sandals And thus he commenced his pontificate of nine years and a half, during which he commanded people and potentates as if he had been the sovereign of the universe. Indeed, he set himself up as God upon earth.

In the following decree he expressly declares himself co-equal with God: "It is evident that the popes can neither be bound nor unbound by any earthly power, nor even by that of the apostle if he should return upon earth; since Constantine the Great has recognized that the pontiffs held the place of God upon the earth, the divinity not being able to be judged by any living man. We are then infallible, and whatever may be our acts, we are not accountable for them but to ourselves."

During his reign Rome was agitated by a great scandal. The deacon Hubert had been surprised in the night in the bedchamber of Queen Thietberge, his sister, the wife of Lothaire, king of Lorraine. Nicholas was for a long time engaged in investigating this accusation of incest. The beauty and presents of Queen Theitberge prevailed with the pontiff in securing a judgment in her favor. He pronounced her innocent, and condemned the king to take back his discarded wife under penalty of excommunication. He also convoked a council at Milan, to try an accusation of adultery against the fair Ingeltrude, wife of Count Boson of Lombardy, whose treasures she had stolen before flying with her

lover. Failing to appear before the council, the beautiful sinner was condemned by the pope as an adulteress, and driven from the communion of the faithful. But the anathe ma of the holy Father produced no effect on the contumacious countess. When the papal envoys presented the decree to her she threw it into the fire, and laughing, returned this sarcastic reply: "If your pope Nicholas is about to assemble synods to make women faithful, and to prevent adultery, I declare to you he will lose his time and his Latin; he had better reform the abominable morals of his clergy, and extirpate sodomy from his own house." This rendered the holy Father furious. He excommunicated her the second time, and had her driven from the dioceses of his dominions. The obdurate adulteress retired to Cologne, where she contracted a criminal connection with a bishop.

Another important affair soon diverted the attention of the court of Rome from Ingeltrude. Baldwin, count of Flanders, smitten by the charms of Judith, the daughter of Charles the Bold, had carried off the princess, and took refuge with her on his estates. The troops dispatched after the fugitive were routed by the count. The French monarch, distracted by his defeat and the ravishment of his daughter, had recourse to Pope Nicholas, who straightway proceeded to anathematize Baldwin. The ravisher who had braved the armies of a powerful king now trembled in terror before the thunders of the papal throne. He submitted at once to the orders of Nicholas, and proceeded to Rome to appease the apostolic potentate. Having taken particular pains to provide himself with magnificent presents in gold and silver, he was perfectly successful. Melted by the richness of the presents, the pontiff immediately took back all the anathemas he had launched against Baldwin, proclaimed him a faithful son of the Church, and procured his pardon from the French king. Thus, for a large sum of money, Nicholas not only pardoned, but virtually endorsed the ravishment of Judith by the count of Flanders. Indeed, he was always ready to fulminate an execration or to flatter the worst of crimes when

ever presents or power could be thereby secured. He spent much of his time in excommunicating people far better than himself; in fighting the council of Metz, which he called a conclave of brigands and robbers, and in trying to defend himself against the too truthful accusations of the French bishops.

The following will serve to show the energetic character of letters the Gallican bishops of that day were wont to address to the head of the infallible Church: "Pontiff, you have treated us and our brethren contrary to the rights of nations and the decrees of the Church, and thou hast surpassed in thy conduct thy proudest predecessors. Thy council was composed of inimical monks and priests as debauched and infamous as thyself, and in their presence thou hast dared to pronounce against us a sentence, unjust, rash, and opposed to religion, of which thou pretendest to be chief, to the great scandal of the world. Like a greedy robber, thou hast seized upon the treasures of the Church, thou hast even ravished them from the altar of Jesus Christ; thou murderest Christians; thou snatchest from heaven the valiant and the good to hurl them into the abyss of hell; thou coverest with honey the blade of thy sword, and dost not permit the dead to return to life. Iniquitous and cruel priest, thou hast not but the vestments of a pontiff and the name of a pastor; for under thy sacred ornaments we perceive the sanguinary wolf which rends the flock. Cowardly tyrant, thou bearest the name of the servant of servants, and thou employest treason, gold, and iron to be the Lord of lords; but according to the doctrine of the apostles, thou art the most infamous of the ministers of the temple of God; thus, thy unbridled love of rule will cast thee into the abyss into which thou wouldest precipitate thy brethren. Dost thou think, thou who art born of man, that thou art above a man, and that crime is sanctified because thy hand shall have committed it? No, shameless cockatrice, thou hast become to Christians the venomous serpent which the Jews adored; thou art the dog whom rage pushes on to devour his kind. We dread neither thy venom nor thy bite;