ically
at his disposal. The Church, therefore, required him to possess in a
pre-eminent degree the qualities of an impartial judge. Bernard Gui,
the most experienced Inquisitor of his time (1308-1323), thus paints
for us the portrait of the ideal Inquisitor: "He should be diligent
and fervent in his zeal for religious truth, for the salvation of
souls, and for the destruction of heresy. He should always be calm in
times of trial and difficulty, and never give way to outbursts of
anger or temper. He should be a brave man, ready to face death if
necessary, but while never cowardly running from danger, he should
never be foolhardy rushing into it. He should be unmoved by the
entreaties or the bribes of those who appear before his tribunal;
still he must not harden his heart to the point of refusing to delay
or mitigate punishment, as circumstances may require from time to
time.

"In doubtful cases, he should be very careful not to believe too
easily what may appear probable, and yet in reality is false; nor, on
the other hand, should he stubbornly refuse to believe what may
appear improbable, and yet is frequently true. He should zealously
discuss and examine every case, so as to be sure to make a just
decision.... Let the love of truth and mercy, the special qualities
of every good judge, shine in his countenance, and let his sentences
never be prompted by avarice or cruelty."[1]

[1] _Practica Inquisitionis_, pars 6a, ed. Douais, 1886, pp. 231-233.

This portrait corresponds to the idea that Gregory IX had of the true
Inquisitor. In the instructions which he gave to the terrible Conrad
of Marburg, October 21, 1223, he took good care to warn him to be
prudent as well as zealous: "Punish if you will," he said, "the
wicked and perverse, but see that no innocent person suffers a your
hands:" _ut puniatur sic temeritas perversorum, quod innocentiae
puritas non laedatur_. Gregory IX cannot be accused of injustice, but
he will ever be remembered as the Pope who established the
Inquisition as a permanent tribunal, and did his utmost to enforce
everywhere the death penalty for heresy.

This Pope was, in certain respects, a very slave to the letter of the
law. The protests of St. Augustine and many other early Fathers did
not affect him in the least. In the beginning, while he was legate,
he merely insisted upon the enforcement of the penal code of Innocent
III, which did not decree any punishment severer than banishment, but