Page:The Fall of Constantinople.djvu/413

 ATTITUDE OF INNOCENT. 305 justify himself in this manner was carried to Rome by a spe- cial messenger.* His arguments and excuses were answered by Innocent, who holds him responsible as the leader of the expedition for the horrors of the plunder of Constantinople, and refuses to absolve him from his vow to make the pilgrim- age to the Holy Land. In truth, the designs of Innocent had completely failed. His long and careful preparations had been defeated by Phil- ip, Boniface, and Dandolo. All the efforts he had made to strike a deadly blow at Islam had come to nought. The prep- arations made at so much cost had resulted in an attack upon Christians, and not upon Moslems. Constantinople had been captured instead of Jerusalem. The opportunity, so favorable from many causes, had been lost, and no other presenting equal advantages was ever to occur again. The internal quarrel be- tween the Saracen leaders, and the weakening of Egypt by the non-rising of the Nile during a succession of years, were accidental circumstances which were never repeated. The su- preme moment for striking a blow at the Saracens at a time when it could have been struck with effect had passed. In- nocent's energy was too great to allow him to sit idle under the failure, but all his efforts were unable to create an expe- dition equal in strength to that of 1202. Innocent had been humiliated by Philip, and in order to accomplish the design of his life was compelled to accept his humiliation, and, by declaring for Philip, to acknowledge that he had been defeat- ed. On the other hand, the Duke of Swabia had failed in the principal object of his intrigues, and had only succeeded in defeating the plans of the pontiff. But, though his design of becoming Emperor of East and West had failed, he never ceased until his assassination in 1208, by 0th o of AYittelsbach, to intrigue against Baldwin and his successor on the throne. He claimed the booty collected in Constantinople as belong- ing to him, and took possession of a considerable portion which had been taken into Germany. When the short reign of Bald- win was terminated in 1205 by his capture before Adrianople ilnno. "Ep." viii. p. 133.