themselves, was
first founded by the doctrine of the separation of the temporal
and spiritual power, in the cradle of European civilization. It
is the Christian church which, by the necessities of its
situation to defend itself against the assaults of barbarism,
introduced and maintained it. The presence of a moral influence,
the maintenance of a Divine law, the separation of the temporal
and spiritual power, are the three great blessings which the
Christian church has diffused in the dark ages over European
society.

"The influence of the Christian church was great and beneficent
for another reason. The bishop and clergy erelong became the
principal municipal magistrates: they were the chancellors and
ministers of kings--the rulers, except in the camp and the field,
of mankind. When the Roman empire crumbled into dust, when the
central power of the emperors and the legions disappeared, there
remained, we have seen, no other authority in the state but the
municipal functionaries. But they themselves had fallen into a
state of apathy and despair; the heavy burdens of despotism, the
oppressive taxes of the municipalities, the incursions of the
fierce barbarians, had reduced them to despair. No protection to
society, no revival of industry, no shielding of innocence, could
be expected from their exertions. The clergy, again, formed a
society within itself; fresh, young, vigorous, sheltered by the
prevailing faith, which speedily drew to itself all the learning
and intellectual strength that remained in the state. The bishops
and priests, full of life and of zeal, naturally were recurred to
in order to fill all civil situations requiring thought or
information. It is wrong to reproach their exercise of these
powers as an usurpation; they alone were capable of exercising
them. Thus has the natural course of things prescribed for all
ages and countries. The clergy alone were mentally strong and
morally zealous: they became all-powerful. It is the law of the
universe."--(_Lecture_ iii. 27, 31; _Civilization Europeenne._)

Nothing can be more just or important than these observations; and
they throw a new and consoling light on the progress and ultimate
destiny of European society. They are as original as they are
momentous. Robertson, with his honest horror of