New-York tribune., 1888-04-15
LEA'S INQUISITION.
CONCLUSION OF A GREAT WORK.

Vol. I'LL Svo.. pp ix-7So Harper ~ Df"'"o's
In the concluding volume of his great work
Mr.. Lea shows, in the destruction of the Templars'
how the methods of the Inquisit!on were used by
the State for the most iagitious purposes and
the extent to which the iniquitous practice OF te
Church had depraved society An examination
Of the cases Of the Fraticeli, Of Joan OF Are,
Of the Witch Prosecutions, and Of the spiritual
heresies which cropped up so abundantly under
the stimulus Of ecclesiastical corruption, empha-
sizes the lesson of the whole inquest while q
survey Of the fierce quarrcls OF the Schoomen
over inAnitesimal details and preposterous fanta-
sizes illustrates the perversion Of authority and
intellectual energy which plunged all Europe into
spiritual darkness and converted the shepherds OF
souls into ravening wolves.
The history Of the spiritual Francscans the
Guglielmites and Dolcinites, the Fraticelh, and
other orders and sects which one after another
came to attract the vengeance OF Rome and the
Inquisiton, only confirms the central fact OF
this most melancholy record. namely. that the
Church cared only to secure such unanm1ty OF
profession as would leave no formidable body
Of virtuous men free to combat the hideous
corruption which saturated the hierarchy from
top to bottom. Belief, or not indeed belief but
pretence Of belief, in Church doctrine, was the
test Of orthodoxy: and Church doctrine did not
signify any creed founded upon Scripture, but
whatever the reigning Pope chose to put forward
as articles Of faith. That the Popes fatty con-
tradicted one another; that one Pope revoked
another's bulls; that the same dogmas were re-
peatedly affirmed and as repeatedly denied during
successive pontifcates; mattered nothing. 1t was
the duty of the faithful to accept the newest
Interpretation, whatever it might be, and hesita-
tion or refusal was heresy, to be punished with
torture the stake, and confscation
The fntolerable sufferings Of the poor in most
European countries during the Middle Ages nat
urally made them reckless Of life, while their
dense ignorance led them to accept almost any
spiritual fanatic or adventurer who promised re-
form or the millennium. The iniquites of the
Church would have justified the most revolution
ary proceedings Ecclesiastical government Was
so bad as to make lay government appear mild
and equitable by contrast. During some 200
years IL seemed as if all the worst villany and
profigacy Of Europe had been gathered into the
Church. The pictures Of the Roman Curia
painted by Savonarola in his fiery discourses
were in no respect overdrawn. The crimes OF
the Popes and Cardinals were notorious and
shameless Every trace Of evangelical teaching
and life disappeared from the Church in those
evil days The Popes openly sold benefices alb
beys, bishoprics cardinalates. The bishOrs, hav-
ing been plundered at Rome, returned naked to
their sees, and forthwith robbed the people Re
ligion had no meaning with the priesthood be-
yond it's utility for money making. Every office
and privilege of the Church was put up to sale.
There was no crime so horrible that an indul-
gence for it could not be purchased; and pro
fessional thieves, brigands and braves were 40
customed to procure absoution in advance Tor
contemplated infamies Infidelity was rife IN
the Church. Priests ridiculed the mystery of
the Eucharist. Cardinals scoffed at the doctrine
of future life. Yet SO warped was the moral
standard Of the age that even austere saints pub
ficly declared no degree of vice in the ministers
of religion to be incompatible with effective per-
formance of their spiritual functions and no In
fanny to offset profession of faith
Mr. Lea has 20 fully analyzed the evidence In
the case of the Tempars that his conclusions
appear necessary. Notwithstanding the fact that
the guilt or innocence of that body has been for
centuries treated as an open question, the meth
DDS Of the American historian leave no room lor
further doubt on the subject That Philippe lie
Bel deliberately undertook the overthrow or the
Templars partly through jealousy Of their grow
ing power, partly through desire to obtain their
property, is now conclusively demonstrated. They
were rich powerful, naughty and arrogant
Their order had been fostered by the Popes until
r. excited the keenest jealousy Of the Franclscans
and Dominicans as well as the hierarchy gener
allv. Philippe determined to destroy them, ana
he was helped by the secrecy attending thelr ri1eS
of initiation; q secrecy which gave opportunity
for the invention Of just such slanderous reports
as have always gathered about esoterlclsm
Enough of these false reports were collected 10
form o foundation for indictment; a NUMBER OIL
black sheep-expelled Templars and lay brothers
rtc.-were found TO back up the ISLANDERS; and
III 49, Franco
we're arrested and many in other countries. The
Investigation which followed could not indeed be
called o farce for it was the prelude to most
awful tragedy But it was shameless mocKery.
Torture was freely employed to make the accused
confess to the monstrosities alleged. They were
not allowed to defend themselves. Pope Oiem-
ont who had at first some cOmpunction ABOUT
Joining Philippe in the atrocity he was penU
upon. invited the Templars to bring Forward
champions; but the French King soon put an ena
to that squeamishness by clapping all the aovo-
Gates into prison and burning fifty OF them out
of hand
All the evidence against the Templars consists
Ia the confessions which were made under torture
The inevitable conclusion must be that they
have no value as testimony, and that they must DC
thrown out altogether Every jot and title OF
valid evidence attainable goes to show that the
TemplarS were deliberately consplreo aeoihD0 ~
Philippe and Clement; that they were convicted
on false and suborned evidence; that they were
innocent OF the crimes laid to their charge; and
that the caitif prince who coinpassed their de-
struction was himself the perpetrator Of an in
fanny neither less cruel nor less perfdious than
the massacre OF St. Bartholomew. In the course
OF his inquiry Mr.. Lea shows that the number
of the Templar Knights has been much over
estimated, the explanation being that the ma
jority of the Order consisted in lay-brothers, who
were as three or four to one of the Knights THESE
lay brothers shared many Of the privileges OF
the knights, but they took no part In their
military movements. and were, in fact, little more
than servants. Neither was the Order so wealthy
as has been supposed. Its possessions were small
COMPARED with those Of its rivals, the Hospital