Page:The Fall of Constantinople.djvu/250

232 land had made war on Philip of France. Innocent sent a cardinal to France to conclude a treaty for five years between the two sovereigns, and wrote himself to his legate in France : "If men perish, if the churches are weakened, if the poor are oppressed, if the French and the English incur danger on account of their kings — all this is of less consequence than the loss of Palestine, than the extermination of the Christian name ; and yet this is what will happen if these kings prevent their warriors from going to reconquer what has been lost, from protecting those who have been threatened." If the treaty were not accepted by the two kings, his firm resolution and that of his cardinals was to place the kingdom of the offender under an interdict, and to forbid, with the utmost rigor and severity, without regard to privileges and indulgences, the celebration of divine worship. Innocent pointed out that the time was opportune. "By the dissensions which divide the Saracens, the Lord gives to Christian people the signal for the crusade."

Innocent, in his determination to leave no stone unturned for the accomplishment of his purpose, wrote also to Alexis, the Emperor in the New Rome, asking for his aid. "Who," he asked, "can do more than you, seeing your nearness to the field where the battle must be fought, your riches and your power? Will your majesty put all other considerations on one side, and come to the help of Jesus Christ and of the country which he has won by his blood? The Pagans will flee before you, before your army, and you — you will share with the others in the pontifical favors." The assumption of an authority was not likely to be welcome at Constantinople, but the letter shows at least how strong was the determination of the pope to make the expedition a success. Legates were sent to the New Rome to negotiate with the emperor and the patriarch on the subject of the expedition and of the union of the two churches. The letter and the legates were treated with the utmost respect. The haugh