otected against the violence
of princes, or rigor of the laws, were well pleased to adhere to a
foreign head, who, being removed from the fear of the civil authority,
could freely employ the power of the whole church in defending her
ancient or usurped properties and privileges, when invaded in any
particular country. The monks, desirous of an independence on their
diocesans, professed a still more devoted attachment to the triple
crown; and the stupid people possessed no science or reason which they
could oppose to the most exorbitant pretensions. Nonsense passed for
demonstration: the most criminal means were sanctified by the piety of
the end: treaties were not supposed to be binding, where the interests
of God were concerned: the ancient laws and customs of states had no
authority against a divine right: impudent forgeries were received as
authentic monuments of antiquity: and the champions of holy church, if
successful, were celebrated as heroes; if unfortunate, were worshipped
as martyrs; and all events thus turned out equally to the advantage of
clerical usurpations. Pascal himself, the reigning pope, was, in the
course of this very controversy concerning investitures, involved in
circumstances, and necessitated to follow a conduct which would
have drawn disgrace and ruin on any temporal prince that had been so
unfortunate as to fail into a like situation. His person was seized by
the emperor Henry V., and he was obliged, by a formal treaty, to resign
to that monarch the right of granting investitures, for which they
had so long contended.[*] In order to add greater solemnity to this
agreement, the emperor and pope communicated together on the same
host; one half of which was given to the prince, the other taken by the
pontiff. The most tremendous imprecations were publicly denounced on
either of them who should violate the treaty; yet no sooner did Pascal
recover his liberty, than he revoked all his concessions, and pronounced
the sentence of excommunication against the emperor, who, in the end,
was obliged to submit to the terms required of him, and to yield up all
his pretensions, which he never could resume.[**]

The king of England had very nearly fallen into the same dangerous
situation: Pascal had already excommunicated the earl of Mallent, and
the other ministers of Henry who were instrumental in supporting
his pretensions:[***] he daily menaced the king himself with a like
sentence, and he suspended the