Page:A history of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, volume 3.djvu/609

 THE BEATIFIC VISION. 593 tion on the accepted belief as to Christ's poverty, and the manner in which his resolute purpose had carried that dogma against all opposition. On this occasion he was the conservator of the pre- viously received faith of the Church, but the political conjunct- ure was against him. Not only was Louis of Bavaria consolidat- ing the empire in resistance to the aggressiveness of the papacy, but France, the main support of the Avignonese popes, was in- disposed. Philippe de Valois had been offended by the rejection of his excessive demands in compensation of fulfilling his vows of a new crusade, and had been alienated by John's yielding to the schemes of John of Bohemia, who was endeavoring to secure the imperial territories in Italy. Both monarchs took active steps to turn to the fullest account the papal heresy. It was a received principle that, as a dead man was no longer a man, so a pope detected in heresy was no longer a pope, seeing that he had ipso facto forfeited his office. Nothing better could serve the purpose of Louis of Bavaria and his junto of exiled Francis- cans. Under the advice of Michele da Cesena he took steps to call a German national council, for which Bonagrazia drew up a summons based upon the papal heresy, and the plan was approved by Cardinal Orsini and his dissatisfied brethren. This came to nought, however, through the still greater promptness of Philippe de Yalois to avail himself of the situation. He made the cele- brated William Durand, Bishop of Mende, write a treatise in op- position to the papal views, and protected him when John sought to punish him. He assembled the University of Paris, which, January 3, 1333, pronounced emphatically in favor of the Beatific Vision, and addressed to the pope a letter asserting it without equivocation. Gerard Odo, the time-serving Franciscan General, was despatched, ostensibly to make peace between England and Scotland, but instructed to dally in Paris and endeavor to win over public opinion. He ventured to preach in favor of John's conservative views, but only succeeded in arousing a storm before which he was forced to bow and humbly to declare that his argu- ment was only controversial and not assertive. Philippe took the boldest and most aggressive position. He wrote to John that to deny the Beatific Vision was not only to destroy belief in the intercession of the Virgin and saints, but to invalidate all the par- dons and indulgences granted by the Church, and so firmly was III.— 38