Just as, moreover, it is necessary and expedient that the harmonious and united temporal resources of the whole commonwealth of Catholics should be brought together for so great a recovery and preservation, so it will be necessary, by the devout prayers of the universal Church, to seek and obtain this great blessing of the recovery and maintenance of so great a peace, from Him from whom all good proceeds, who is God and the Lord of armies, who alone is the cause of peace and victory. For if the leaders of warfare and the fighting men entrusted to them should be confident in their own strength, and should think that this strength suffices to obtain and keep so great a victory, and to resist the evil spirits fighting against them, with their persuasions and temptations ... it will not be possible in this way to recover and keep the Holy Land. For this reason, it seems expedient that the council should seek to reform and improve the condition of the Church Universal, so that the prelates both greater and lesser may abstain from that which is forbidden by the holy fathers; that they may guard their precepts, commandments, and counsels, as they are understood, according to the saying of the prophet, “Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” And then, when the true peace of the heart has been attained, all Catholic prelates, with all the clergy and people committed to their care, should form one spiritual commonwealth, in order to approach what the apostle says, “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul.” ...
If, indeed, it will seem good to strengthen the bonds of universal peace in the manner prescribed, it should be resolved, by agreement of the council of prelates and princes, that all prelates, of whatever rank, and also the secular knights in their own ranks, will firmly swear that they will observe, with all their strength, the covenants of this peace with its penalties, and that they will take care that it is observed, in every way in which they can. Thus anyone who will scorn or neglect to fulfil this oath, because of this, by the apostolic authority and that of the sacred council, will ipso facto incur sentence of major excommunication. Thus anyone who assails this covenant of peace in the future will be strongly attacked by all those knights of the spiritual and temporal army, with all their strength, so that he will not be able to resist....
It seems necessary to arrange that four armies should be formed, of which three should go by sea, and the fourth, larger than the others, by dry land, following the example of Charles the Great, of the Emperor Frederick I, and of Godfrey of Bouillon. Then when the enemies of the faith in many places have been besieged and crushed, and thus divided, they may the more easily be driven out. And it is likely that these enemies, knowing that the aforesaid covenant of peace has been confirmed for their ruin, and that so many people are coming and will come against them, will gladly depart from the entire Promised Land without fighting. If they should do this, and if the fortified places and other habitations have not been destroyed, and the relics and sacred vessels of the Church have been left, it seems that they should be spared from violent death, under the threat, that, if they should attack the Christians in any way, they will be destroyed root and branch, and that no place will be left for them in the land. And then it seems best for the princes to leave an army in the Holy Land sufficient to safeguard it, and to return by way of Greece, in order to fight bravely, with the counsel of the Roman Church, on behalf of the Lord Charles [Charles of Valois], against the Paleologus [Andronicus II], the unlawful ruler of the [Byzantine] Empire, unless he should wish to surrender. It should be agreed that, when victory and the possession of the Empire have been obtained, the same Lord Charles should give suitable aid, as much as may be necessary, to the defence of the Holy Land, since he is nearer to it than the others. Thus he will strongly relieve the more distant princes, except the king of Germany, so that in the future all the wars of Christians for the aid of the Holy Land may be effectively organized.
After the aforesaid matters have been arranged by God’s grace, the harmonious Catholics will possess the entire shore of the Mediterranean Sea, from the west side to the northeast, and the better part of that touching on the Land of Promise to the south. Thus the Arabs will not be able to live well even physically, unless they have relations with the Catholics for the exchange of their goods, and it will be the same among the eastern peoples, and concerning them.
When this great goal, then, has been perceived by the legislator of Christians, the vicar on earth of the Lord Jesus Christ, the successor of the blessed Peter, prince of the apostles, in order to consummate it successfully, with the help of God, the Lord of armies, it may please the most experienced royal majesty [Philip IV of France], after his own wars have been successfully carried out, to request that these things be done, and with those reinforcements ordained by the Fount of Life from whom all good proceeds, to provide for their accomplishment. In order that these things which have been planned may be begun, it seems expedient to entreat the lord pope to establish a general council, on this side of the Alps, having called the prelates and princes obedient to him to deliberate on these matters, especially the kings and others who do not recognize superiors in their lands. The Paleologus who holds the empire at Constantinople, and he who holds the kingdom of Castile, and his nephews who are striving to obtain it, and the king of Germany with his electors, should by no means be overlooked. And in order that advice, aid, and remedy may be had concerning the recovery, reformation, and preservation of the Holy Land, and also concerning the condition of the whole commonwealth of Christians ... the present little work should be sent to the lord pope, after it has been corrected by more prudent men with the foresight of the most experienced leader in warfare [Philip IV]. Care should be taken that it should not be shown to the pope except by trusted secretaries who have sworn an oath. For it is certain that such a pious work will have, at the instigation of Satan and his nefarious army, many rivals wickedly opposing it....
After this has been thus accomplished, it may happen that men will be very much dissatisfied, and will murmur together about this plan, saying that it does not seem to them, or is not wont to seem to them, that the legacies bequeathed to the Holy Land and other property, in the names of the Templars and Hospitallers, for the aid of the Holy Land, and other things collected in various ways, have been clearly of advantage in aiding it. For this reason, they will for the most part be in favour of stopping the gifts which have been secured, which is a thing to be condemned. Lest they should stop these, it seems expedient that there should be in the cathedral church of each diocese, that is, in its treasury, a public chest, in which moneys belonging in any way whatsoever to this aid for the Holy Land may be kept. And when it is necessary for the sake of this aid, money should be given, with the counsel of the diocesan of the place and of the masters of the said Provisio [i.e., du Bois’ scheme], to the fighting men of the place who are to go to the Holy Land, that is, to the natives of that diocese or to others who are about to cross the sea. This should be done after the elders of the same diocese, province, or kingdom have knowledge of it and have taken counsel with the diocese. On account of these things, if they are done, many more and also far larger donations to the aid of the Holy Land may be made ... and, because of this, the resources for sending fighters, when it is necessary, will everywhere be acquired far more easily....
It is very likely that after wars have been extinguished in the manner prescribed, and after the lord pope has perpetually entrusted the government, possession, and occupation of his temporalities, in return for a certain annual pension, to the lord king of the French, to be governed, as it will seem expedient, by his brothers and sons, and after the poisonous treacheries of the Romans and Lombards have ceased, the lord pope will live long and healthily in his own native land, the kingdom of France. Thus he will have leisure for the government only of souls, and will avoid the intemperance of the Roman air, which is not native to him. This will be forever advantageous, more than can now be believed, to all friends of the same lord pope, both far and near, and especially for the whole kingdom of the Frenc
h. For the ultramontanes [Italians] would not use the wealth of the fat benefices of churches on this side of the Alps, as they have been wont to do, in building towers for themselves; and the churches which have been robbed would not be lacking in divine services, and the Italians would not have fat benefices. Also the highest office of the Church would not escape the hands of the French, as has been the case for a long time now, through the craftiness and natural cunning of the Romans, who, striving by their own arrogance to trample underfoot the humility of the French, have presumed to attempt that which otherwise would have been unheard of, to claim temporal lordship over the kingdom of France and its chief prince, by damnably inciting the kingdom from the heights of peace and concord to perpetual sedition. The presumptuous beginning of their attack has wholesomely been stilled, the King of Peace bestowing the greatest peace among His own vicars.
And since the Roman pope has abused power, and has done this in as much as he is a Roman, it is expedient and just, with regard for what has been established by the holy fathers, and saving and augmenting in all things the dignity of the papacy, that the Romans should for a very long time, although unwillingly, allow this great office to be exercised by those who would not strive to seize the highest office of a most Christian prince; who would not transcend the limits which the holy fathers have set; who would allow each Caesar to reign in his own place, to rule, and to rejoice in his own possessions. This is as our Saviour taught that it ought to be done, as evangelical truth witnesses, since in order to avoid scandal for Himself and Peter, He ordered the tribute that was owed to be paid, saying and leaving this example for Peter and his successors: “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.”
From De recuperatione Terre Sancte, C. V. Langlois, ed. (Paris: A. Picard, 1891); trans. M.M.M.
On the Supremacy of General Councils in Church and Empire
NICHOLAS OF CUSA
1433
IN SHORT, one conclusion can be drawn from the laws, based in part on the endorsement of the signatories and partly on the reasoning in the councils: that the Roman pontiff does not have, in the making of general statutes, the authority which certain flatterers attribute to him—namely, that he alone has the power to legislate while the others merely serve as counsellors. I do not deny that the pope has always had authority to respond to a consultation, to advise, and to address [the council] in writing; I am talking of statutes that have the force of canons and of decretals that are universally binding in the Church. Whether even today the pope alone may decree, as universally binding, that which has been transmitted by long usage, I am not at present considering. I do say that even though he has such power it does not contradict our thesis, which holds merely that the authority of enacting canons depends, not on the pope alone, but on common agreement.
No rule or custom can prevail against this conclusion any more than against the divine or natural law upon which the conclusion depends. The pre-eminent power of the Roman pontiff in respect to this matter in a general or universal council is no different from that of a metropolitan in a provincial council; or rather the pontiff’s power, in respect to authoritative action, is less in a universal council of the whole Catholic Church than in a patriarchal council. In the latter, indeed, the pope is rightly likened to the metropolitan in a provincial council, as we have shown. Accordingly, the Roman pontiff is frequently called “archbishop” by the ancients. Indeed a lesser pre-eminence is attributable to the Roman pontiff in a universal council of the whole Church than to the same pontiff in a patriarchal council or to a metropolitan in a provincial council, as will be shown below.
This will perhaps appear strange to any who have read the writings of Roman pontiffs declaring that plenitude of authority is in the Roman pontiff and that all others may be called by virtue of his favour; as well as to those who have read Gelasius, Sylvester, Nicholas, Symmachus, and other Roman pontiffs, maintaining that the pope passes judgment on other ecclesiastical authorities but that none passes judgment on him: since the authority of the pope is divine, transmitted to him by God with the words “Whatsoever ye shall bind,” and accordingly, the pope, as vicar of Christ, presides over the universal Church; and since he himself holds this supreme authority and is known to have condemned and absolved subjects of any bishops whatsoever even when their own bishops were not negligent; and he may be appealed to without any intermediary. The power of making statutes depends on a power of jurisdiction; therefore [according to this argument] it is absurd to say that something more than his will is necessary to the validity of any statute, since what pleases the prince has the force of law. Furthermore: it cannot be doubted that the head of a corporation has authority to exercise jurisdiction, although jurisdiction itself remains ostensibly in the corporation. And no one doubts that the pope is the “rector” of the ship of St. Peter and of the universal Church; wherefore the validity of fundamental laws depends upon him, just as it is impossible to legislate for a corporation without the head....
However, in order to discover the truth of this statement that inferior prelates hold jurisdiction under positive law papa derivative—that is derived from the pope himself, it would be necessary, if that were true, that in the beginning Peter should have received something special from Christ and that the pope was his successor in this. Yet we know that Peter received from Christ no more authority than the other apostles; for nothing was said to Peter that was not also said to the others. Is it not true that just as it was said to Peter, “Whatsoever thou shalt bind upon the earth,” it was also said to the others, “Whomsoever ye shall bind”? And although it was said to Peter, “Thou art Peter and upon this Rock”; nevertheless by rock we understand Christ, whom Peter confessed. And if by petra (“rock”), Peter is to be understood as the foundation stone of the church, then, according to St. Jerome, all the other apostles were similarly foundation stones of the church (concerning which there is a discussion in next to the last chapter of the Apocalypse, wherein by the twelve foundation stones of the city of Jerusalem—that is, the holy Church—no one doubts that the apostles are meant). If it was said to Peter, “Feed the sheep,” it is nevertheless clear that this feeding is by word and example. So also, according to St. Augustine in his gloss upon the same passage, the same command was given for all. In the verse—“Go ye into all the world” (Matthew and Mark, at the end), it does not appear that anything was said to Peter that implied any supremacy. Therefore, we rightly say that all the apostles are equal in authority with Peter. It should also be remembered that at the beginning of the Church there was only one general episcopate, diffused throughout the whole world, without division into dioceses....
Therefore, since the power of binding and loosing, on which all ecclesiastical jurisdiction is founded, is immediately from Christ, and since from this power comes the power of divine jurisdiction, it is evident that all bishops, and perhaps even presbyters, are of equal authority in respect to jurisdiction, although not in respect to the execution, which is confined within certain positive limits....
In order that everyone may be better satisfied, I add another consideration, which, if it were practicable, should be set forth at greater length. Seeking to be brief and to please the reader, I shall definitely compress the matter.
Every constitution is founded on natural law (jure naturali), and if it contradicts this it cannot be valid. Wherefore, since natural law exists by nature in reason, every law (lex) is basically congenital with man. Accordingly, those who are wiser and more excellent than others are chosen as rulers, in order that, endowed with a naturally clear reason and with wisdom and prudence, they may choose just laws and by these govern others and hear cases, so as to preserve the peace; such are the judgments of the wise. Thus those who are strong in reason are by nature masters and rulers of others, yet not by means of coercive laws or of judgments rendered against an unwilling subject.
Since by nature all men are free, all government—whether based on writ
ten law or on law embodied in a ruler through whose government the subjects are restrained from evil deeds and their liberty regulated, for a good end, by fear of punishment—arises solely from agreement and consent of the subjects. For if men are by nature powerful and equally free, a valid and ordained authority of any one person, whose power by nature is like that of the rest, cannot be created save by election and consent of the others, just as law is established by consent....
From the foregoing then it is clear that laws and canons constitute the norms for every judge, and that every law or canon is superior to any judge in rendering judgments. Furthermore, if a canon is approved by agreement, usage, and acceptance, then the stability of any constitution rests on acceptance. Accordingly, ecclesiastical canons are rightly decreed by a common council; for the Church is a congregation. A single person cannot rightly issue ecclesiastical canons. Wherefore we see that in councils, canons issue from agreement, acceptance, consent, and approval; and that decretals or judicial decisions of the Roman pontiffs, or of contested incumbents in emergencies, have received the strength of stability and justness, not from a merely powerful will, but from the fact that in accordance with the canons it was right that those decisions should be made....
It is sufficient to know that free election, depending on natural and divine law, does not have its origin in positive law or in any man, in such way that the validity of an election—especially the election of a king or emperor, whose existence and power depend on no one man—should rest in his discretion.
Thus the electors—who were created in the time of Henry the Second by common agreement of all the Germans and other subjects of the empire—have their authority fundamentally from the common consent of all those who could by natural law have created the emperor, not from the Roman pontiff, who has no authority to give to any region in the world a king or emperor without its consent. Gregory V concurred in the arrangement, but in the role of a particular Roman pontiff, who has to participate, according to his rank, in agreeing to the common emperor. So also in general councils, the pontiff’s authority rightly concurs by consent, in the first degree, with all others attending the same council. The force of a decree depends, nevertheless, not on the chief pontiff, but on the common consent of himself and the others. The fact that in setting up a king or emperor the consent of priests as well as of laymen must be obtained, is not because the authority of kings is outweighed by the priesthood in matters of government, for we know that the priesthood of the sun and the imperium of the moon are equal, but because the temporal possessions of the Church, without which the priesthood cannot survive in this perishable life, are subject to the imperium and its laws....
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