Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/149

Rh Temple, and that by it the expectant Pope pledged himself to exercise the whole authority of his new position, to support the king in effecting the speedy and complete destruction of that fraternity. Between the Templars and Philip a bitter hatred had gradually been engendered, much fostered by the numerous acts of arrogance and insubordination of which its members bad been so frequently guilty.

In order to carry out this design, Bertrand, as soon as he had been elected to the Papacy, under the title of Clement V., prepared to take the first step towards their annihilation by securing the person of the Grand-Master, James de Molay. For this purpose he wrote, as we have already seen, to the chiefs of both Orders, requiring their immediate presence at Lyons, where his court was at that time established. The ostensible purpose for which the summons was issued was to deliberate as to the propriety of organizing a new Crusade. John de Vihiers declined obeying the mandate, not from any suspicion of treachery or danger, but because he was at the moment deeply engaged in his designs upon Rhodes. James de Molay, who was really the person Clement desired to entrap, most unfortunately for himself and his Order, proved more obedient, and lost no time in repairing to France, where he arrived in the early part of the year 1307. He took with him a large accumulation of treasure, the property of the fraternity, which, for greater security, he lodged in the Temple at Paris. He was at first treated with every consideration by both king and pontiff. Various discussions took place between Clement and himself, both as to the advisability of a new Crusade and also as to a projected union of the two Orders. Indeed, Clement was so urgent on this latter point that it seems not unlikely he trusted by some such amalgamation, in which the Templars might lose all individuality, and become merged in the Order of St. John, to avoid proceeding to those extremities against them which the ruthless Philip contemplated, and to the execution of which he stood pledged by his promises to that monarch. Be this as it may, Molay strenuously opposed the suggestion, and in a lengthy document which history has preserved, he adduced numerous arguments to support his antagonism to the measure. From this moment his fate was sealed. If the Pope made