Page:Illustrations of the history of medieval thought and learning.djvu/261

Rh natural judge. But if the pope was fallible, so also was a general council. Even such an assembly, of the most perfect composition, – strictly representative, according to Marsiglio's scheme, both of clergy and laity, both (this is his own addition) of men and women, – he would not entrust with the absolute, final decision in matters of faith. Any man, all men, may err; and Ockham is disposed in the last resort to find consolation in the scriptural paradox which speaks of the truth vouchsafed to little children. He is convinced that the faith must live, but cannot admit without qualification any of the suggested sureties for its maintenance. He is so embarrassed by the various alternatives that have been propounded, so persuaded of the elements of truth that each contains in different degrees, that he seems unable to form any fixed resolution on the whole subject. Revelation of course cannot but be infallible, but he is not sure, or at least he does not tell us his opinion, of the limits to which the name is to be restricted. All that we can conclude with certainty is that Ockham does not extend its authority to the Decretals or to any part of the special Roman tradition.

One of the reasons why it is so difficult to affirm any thing in detail about Ockham's views is that his principal works on the subject with which we are concerned are