Page:The Church, by John Huss.pdf/205

Rh of Christ spurned. It is thus clear how weak the argumentation is: namely, the Roman church obtained the primacy not from the apostles, but from the Lord himself. For this reason every Roman pontiff ought to have pre-eminence in the matter of mundane glory and have secular rule, when, in fact, it ought rather to follow from the Decretum that the Roman pontiff is charged with serving the people not by ruling for his own ends, or suspending the people, but by praying efficiently for the people, as according to the Decretum |Friedberg, 1: 74] Paul did, Romans 1:8. He says: "A prayer may be poured out for all to the Lord of all the saints, and in these words Paul, most blessed, promised the Romans over his own signature, 'God is my witness whom I serve in my spirit, in the Gospel of his Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you always in my prayers.'" From this decretal it is seen that Pope Anacletus did not intend to affirm that he himself was to have civil rule over all others or hold a primacy of government over all other persons of the church militant. Because, in thus seeking his own glory he would show most clearly the mark of antichrist. John 5:41 sqq. Yea, even Boniface VIII, in his bull Unam sanctam, did not dare expressly to affirm this, for then he alone would have borne witness that he was the most holy man and, in this case, the faithful as well as unbelievers might appositely object against him: "Thou bearest witness of thyself; thy witness is not true” [John 5:31].

Therefore, the Roman pontiffs have become involved in this difficulty by reason of the dotation and exaltation derived from Cæsar, because, when the emperor asks them, whether, in the matter of government, they excel all mortals living, in power, primacy and dignity, they have to admit it to be so, for otherwise, as they say, no one is under obligation to believe that they are popes. But Peter and Paul did not make any such statement about themselves, for they did not have any power given them by Cæsar. For this