they have both a zealous and an able advocate: but he seems to concede, that so much spuriousness is proved on them, as to make them, when they stand alone, of no authority: nor do the Popes themselves appear to be over anxious to multiply opportunities of appealing to their authority. It is now almost universally acknowledged that they were forgeries of the 8th or 9th centuries, and no power is even pretended to be founded on them.* It The supposed Donation of Constantine stands upon the same authority as the Decretals. The learned Mr. Butler, calls it a fable. is, however, of somewhat later origin than the collection of Mercator; and even were it * They are often punned upon by Catholics, as the putrid wares of Mercator :-) -Mercatoris putidas Merces. + Revolutions of the Germanic Empire, p. 8, new ed. The learned Du Pin has ably summed up the evidence against the authenticity of this bungling forgery. Eccles. Writ. ii. p. 17. et seq. Eng. ed. The Orlando Furioso of Ariosto, a poem deservedly honoured with the approbation of Leo X. describes this famous donation as a huge mountain in the moon, found among the useless things once belonging to the earth, and which had, at one time, a pleasant smell: Di vari fiori ad un gran monte passa, Che Costantino al buon Silvestro fece. Orl. Fur. cant. 34. st. 80. That famous convert, the Cardinal du Perron tells us, that he ever of weight, the recent usurpations of the Emperor of the French have so completely destroyed its effects, that the Pope does not now possess an inch of ground in all Italy, and the donation itself is nearly forgotten. If the present Roman Catholics could, with any colour of argument shew that the Pope of Rome has still any power, civil or ecclesiastical, by virtue of the decretals or the donation of Constantine; or did they even pretend to support the power of the Church on any such grounds, then, indeed, there would be some reason for crying out against the usurpations and tyranny of popery, and a good argument would be adduced for using every lawful means to keep in subjection a power so enormous, and approaching so nearly to what would be the most dreadful of all general calamities,— universal domination. These facts would not have been alluded to, were it not that some persons, in writing against the Church of Rome, and hunting about for historical arguments to support the system of intolerance exercised by Protestants against their Catholic brethren, have thought it convenient to their purpose to he one day discussed this matter of the donation with the Pope, who, laughing and shrugging his shoulders, as is customary with the Italians, when they would express a contemptuous sneer, exclaimed "Che volette? i Canonici lo legono!" What will ye have of it? or make what you please of it. The Canonists will have it so! cast in the teeth of our present Catholics these ridiculous forgeries of some of their ambitious ancestors, who in this, as in many other instances, thought proper to promote their temporal interests by the sacrilegious use of a spiritual jurisdiction; contrary to the whole spirit and temper of their own church, whose prayers and religious services would have taught them, that the pure religion of Jesus Christ is incompatible with every species of fraud, and every inordinate thirst after the honour that cometh of man, and the love of riches, which is the root of evil. The morality of the Roman Catholic religion is the same, and to the full as strict, as the morality of any sect that has departed from her communion; and it allows not, either in the head or members of the Church, the slightest deviation from the known precepts of the gospel. From all which I infer, that the inventors of the decretals and the gift of Constantine, whether they were popes, kings, or private individuals, departed from the obligations of their own faith, and attempted to raise a superstructure of temporal power on a foundation untenable even on the grounds of their own religion; and that as these forgeries are now disowned by Catholics themselves, it is both cruel and unjust to adduce them as arguments against the freedom and rights of any class of Christians of the present day. Whereas, had they been fundamentals of Roman Church Government, a fear might naturally be excited, that should the Catholics ever regain an ascendancy in our councils, these documents would be immediately resorted to, on which to rebuild a temporal and spiritual hierarchy, once more to tyrannize over the minds and the persons of the whole Christian world. It is of greater importance than would appear at first sight, that the real power of the Pope should be thoroughly understood. It is of importance to Protestants, that they may judge of the propriety of confiding power to their Catholic neighbours; and it is of consequence to Catholics, that they may be able to shew not only the justice of their claims, but the perfect compatibility of their religion, with the constitution and government of the country in which they reside, whether Catholic, or Protestant. For these reasons, I would gladly have pursued this inquiry to a much greater length than I feel myself at liberty to do on the limited scale to which I have confined myself. A very slight attention to ecclesiastical history, particularly to the history of the celebrated Fleury, will shew that the popes of Rome have in reality no exclusive jurisdiction but what has been either usurped in the dark ages, or voluntarily conceded to them in honour of their ancient see, and the dignity of the chair they are supposed to fill, as the immediate successors of St. Peter. This fact of the primary power of the bishops of Rome is one, certainly, of infinite importance to the Christian world; inasmuch as it is essential to the peace of Christendom, that it should be clearly understood what extent of jurisdiction properly belongs to the spiritual Head of the whole Catholic Church, which forms too large a portion of the whole civilized world to be regarded with indifference or contempt. With respect to the real origin of the Pope's temporal authority, and of the union of that authority with the spiritual power which the Roman pontiffs had always enjoyed, the reader of taste will be obliged by my quoting the words of the elegant and impartial biographer of Leo X., although in that account some slight repetition will be observed. "As the power of the emperors declined," says Mr. Roscoe, "that of the popes increased; and in the contests of the middle ages, during which the Huns, the Vandals, the Imperialists, and the Franks, were successively masters of Italy, a common veneration among these ferocious conquerors for the father of the faithful, and the head of the christian church, not only secured his safety, but enlarged his authority.* From *The coining of money by the Roman pontiffs may be considered as a mark of sovereign and independent authority; but at what precise period they began to exercise this right, is not easily ascertained. Muratori, in his Annali d'Italia, vol. iv. p. 464, informs us, that the popes coined money, in gold, silver, and copper, from the time of Charlemagne (about the year 800), and that the city of Rome had enjoyed |