ors of St.
Peter; and Pope Adrian threatens them with a sentence of excommunication
unless they speedily abjure this practical heresy. The Greeks were
now orthodox; but their religion might be tainted by the breath of the
reigning monarch: the Franks were now contumacious; but a discerning
eye might discern their approaching conversion, from the use, to the
adoration, of images. The name of Charlemagne was stained by the polemic
acrimony of his scribes; but the conqueror himself conformed, with the
temper of a statesman, to the various practice of France and Italy. In
his four pilgrimages or visits to the Vatican, he embraced the popes
in the communion of friendship and piety; knelt before the tomb, and
consequently before the image, of the apostle; and joined, without
scruple, in all the prayers and processions of the Roman liturgy. Would
prudence or gratitude allow the pontiffs to renounce their benefactor?
Had they a right to alienate his gift of the Exarchate? Had they power
to abolish his government of Rome? The title of patrician was below
the merit and greatness of Charlemagne; and it was only by reviving the
Western empire that they could pay their obligations or secure their
establishment. By this decisive measure they would finally eradicate
the claims of the Greeks; from the debasement of a provincial town, the
majesty of Rome would be restored: the Latin Christians would be united,
under a supreme head, in their ancient metropolis; and the conquerors of
the West would receive their crown from the successors of St. Peter.
The Roman church would acquire a zealous and respectable advocate; and,
under the shadow of the Carlovingian power, the bishop might exercise,
with honor and safety, the government of the city.

Before the ruin of Paganism in Rome, the competition for a wealthy
bishopric had often been productive of tumult and bloodshed. The people
was less numerous, but the times were more savage, the prize more
important, and the chair of St. Peter was fiercely disputed by the
leading ecclesiastics who aspired to the rank of sovereign. The reign of
Adrian the First surpasses the measure of past or succeeding ages; the
walls of Rome, the sacred patrimony, the ruin of the Lombards, and the
friendship of Charlemagne, were the trophies of his fame: he secretly
edified the throne of his successors, and displayed in a narrow space
the virtues of a great prince. His memory was revered; but in the next
election, a