ocence and merit of this relative worship. He must
indeed have trusted to the ignorance of Leo, since he could assert the
perpetual use of images, from the apostolic age, and their venerable
presence in the six synods of the Catholic church. A more specious
argument is drawn from present possession and recent practice the
harmony of the Christian world supersedes the demand of a general
council; and Gregory frankly confesses, than such assemblies can only
be useful under the reign of an orthodox prince. To the impudent and
inhuman Leo, more guilty than a heretic, he recommends peace, silence,
and implicit obedience to his spiritual guides of Constantinople and
Rome. The limits of civil and ecclesiastical powers are defined by the
pontiff. To the former he appropriates the body; to the latter, the
soul: the sword of justice is in the hands of the magistrate: the more
formidable weapon of excommunication is intrusted to the clergy; and in
the exercise of their divine commission a zealous son will not spare his
offending father: the successor of St. Peter may lawfully chastise
the kings of the earth. "You assault us, O tyrant! with a carnal and
military hand: unarmed and naked we can only implore the Christ, the
prince of the heavenly host, that he will send unto you a devil, for the
destruction of your body and the salvation of your soul. You declare,
with foolish arrogance, I will despatch my orders to Rome: I will break
in pieces the image of St. Peter; and Gregory, like his predecessor
Martin, shall be transported in chains, and in exile, to the foot of the
Imperial throne. Would to God that I might be permitted to tread in the
footsteps of the holy Martin! but may the fate of Constans serve as a
warning to the persecutors of the church! After his just condemnation
by the bishops of Sicily, the tyrant was cut off, in the fullness of his
sins, by a domestic servant: the saint is still adored by the nations of
Scythia, among whom he ended his banishment and his life. But it is our
duty to live for the edification and support of the faithful people; nor
are we reduced to risk our safety on the event of a combat. Incapable as
you are of defending your Roman subjects, the maritime situation of the
city may perhaps expose it to your depredation but we can remove to
the distance of four-and-twenty stadia, to the first fortress of the
Lombards, and then--you may pursue the winds. Are you ignorant that the
popes are the bond of u