ion of her authority.

Her doctrine is, that as man by his _own free will_ fell from grace, so of
his _own free will_ must he return to grace. Conversion and coercion are
two terms that can never be reconciled. It has ever been a cardinal maxim,
inculcated by sovereign Pontiffs and other Prelates, that no violence or
undue influence should be exercised by Christian princes or missionaries
in their efforts to convert souls to the faith of Jesus Christ.

Pope Gregory I. in the latter part of the Sixth Century, compelled the
Bishop of Terracina to restore to the Jews, the synagogue which he had
seized, declaring that they should not be coerced into the Church, but
should be treated with meekness and charity. The great Pontiff issued the
same orders to the Prelates of Sardinia and Sicily in behalf of the
persecuted Jews.

St. Augustine and his companions, who were sent by Pope Gregory I. to
England for the conversion of that nation, had the happiness of baptizing
in the true faith King Ethelbert and many of his subjects. That monarch,
in the fervor of his zeal, was most anxious that all his subjects should
immediately follow his example; but the missionaries admonished him that
he should scrupulously abstain from violence in the conversion of his
people, for the Christian religion should be voluntarily embraced.

Pope Nicholas I. also warned Michael, king of the Bulgarians, against
employing force or constraint in the conversion of idolaters.

The fourth Council of Toledo, held in 633, a synod of great authority in
the Church, ordained that no one should be compelled against his will to
make a profession of the Christian faith. Be it remembered that this
Council was composed of all the Bishops of Spain, that it was assembled in
a country and at a time in which the Church held almost unlimited sway,
and among a people who have been represented as the most fanatical and
intolerant of all Europe.

Perhaps no man can be considered a fairer representative of the age in
which he lived than St. Bernard, the illustrious Abbot of Clairvaux. He
was the embodiment of the spirit of the Middle Ages. His life is the key
that discloses to us what degree of toleration prevailed in those days.
Having heard that a fanatical preacher was stimulating the people to deeds
of violence against the Jews as the enemies of Christianity, St. Bernard
raised his eloquent voice against him, and rescued those persecuted people
from the danger to whic