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 oppression, the organisation of the Church itself had grown monarchical; and an organisation which might be useful in time of conflict was destructive when the battle was over. "Rome only you will have, and Rome will destroy you," was a prophecy early made to the English Bishops. The authority of the Pope was a useful refuge against the overweening power of the King and lords. But the Papacy, which had grown strong as the defence of the Church, undertook its entire government, and so ran counter to the rising spirit of national consciousness. It was in opposition to the claims of the Papacy that the theories of the modern state were first distinctly formulated. But political theories could afford no practical remedy till the foundations of the ecclesiastical system were shaken by a doctrinal revolt. The theology of the Middle Ages was a massive structure which might well enthral men's minds. Proceeding on a method of deduction, it gave scope for bold speculation, while it slowly built up a powerful system which seemed impregnable. But the rise of the New Learning turned men's minds to new fields of discovery. Theology was no longer the only important science, and the criticism which was at first applied to other subjects was carried to the foundation of theology itself.

Ecclesiastical history is concerned with the ideas round which mediæval civilisation centred, and from which modern ideas took their rise. It is not too much to say that till the end of the seventeenth century, ecclesiastical history is the surest guide to the comprehension of European history as a whole. After a long period of religious conflict the State asserted