Page:Readings in European History Vol 1.djvu/544

 508 Readings in European History 212. Nicho- las Clatnan- ges on the three vices which have corrupted the Church. reputed to be the chief fountain of belief of the Christian faith, because of the noble churches and prelacies that be therein. . . . The Christian realms were in variation and the churches in great difference because of the popes. Urban had the greater part, but to speak of the most profitable revenues and plain obedience, Clement had it. And so Clement, by consent of the cardinals, sent to Avignon to make ready the palace there for him, for his intent was to go thither as soon as he might. The disorders of the Great Schism offered little oppor- tunity for improvement in the Church, so that during the generation preceding the opening of the Council of Constance the complaints are as loud as ever that the popes, whether those at Rome or their rivals at Avignon, are hopelessly corrupt. In a work on The Downfall of the Church, a cleric connected with the court of the popes at Avignon writes as follows : After the great increase of worldly goods, the virtues of our ancestors being quite neglected, boundless avarice and blind ambition invaded the hearts of the churchmen. As a result they were carried away by the glory of their position and the extent of their power, and soon gave way to the degrading effects of luxury. Three most exacting and troublesome masters had now to be satisfied. , Luxury de- mands sundry gratifications, wine, sleep, banquets, music, debasing sports, courtesans, and the like. Display requires fine houses, castles, towers, palaces, rich and varied furni- ture, expensive clothes, horses, servants, and the pomp of luxury. Lastly is Avarice, which carefully brings together vast treasures to supply the demands of the above-mentioned vices or, if these are otherwise provided for, to gratify the eye by the vain contemplation of the coins themselves. So insatiable are these lords, and so imperious are their demands, that the Golden Age of Saturn, which we hear of in stories, should it now return, would hardly suffice to meet