The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-08-13

classic policy Of rendering the foreigner
impoteut 1t rome, while usinR him 10 keep
Italy divided. Thus Roms became tho
focus Of political intrigues ira every great
historical crisis and Italy the hpna where
empires were TO he won or los't
After the greatest OF the Glrloyipgians
had been crowned In A. y. SS0 Emperor
Of the Romans In the widest H,nse Of the
phrase, diplomatic intercourss between
the East and West was for lSon,s time
embarrassed by the difficulty Of recon-
cling his proteps!ons viii, those Of the
Byzantine sovereign. Not until "A. ID sli.
after the Frankish feet had failed to capture
the Rialto, was q treaty Of peace with
Byxantium concluded by whidl'tise Eastern
Emperor formally recognized Charles the
Great as his coequal In atrisosity. Two
years later Charles was saluted at Aaohen
az 'Basileus. or Emperor, blythe byzantine
ambassadors, and In q letter subsequently
written by Charles TO his brother sovereign
he employed the expression the Empire
Of the East and the Empire ofthe West.
In an OK position Of the relatNns OF the
Western Empire and the Papacy our author
points cut thAt the circumstances under
which Charles the Great became Emperor
contained he seeds OF discord and con-
troversy, which were TO produce q bitter
harvest for future times. Wac the I'm
perial Crown bestowed on Charles by the
Pope. or. was the title derived, from the
election OF the Roman peoplef DR.. hill
cites on pages lll-1l2 the answers given
to this question by divers mbdern au-
thorities. Ee recalls, for instance. the de-
cision Of I-ugo 0rotlus that Charles the
Great was legally elected to the Empire
on tho ground that Roms continued 70
poesew. the sno!snt right Of choosing an
Emperor. Puisndorf, on the other hand
denied tho legality of the election, on the
ground that the Emporium had bean trans
ferrcd to ByEantium. Our suthor does
not regard as conclusive the elaborate
argument OF wilhelm Siokel TO prove
legal election by the Romans % conclusive,
yet he does not accept tho attempt OF Onr
10 show that the soclauntion OF Charles
% Emperor was the work Of . small clique
Of Popo Leo's friends. ohr's assertion
ooutrsdiots, he says, the general docu-
msutary testimony TO tbs unanimtty OF
tho Romans In soolslmtng Charles. and
ovsriooks tho fsot that thsrv were motives
other than friendship for the Pops, Tor
Charlss's Acceptance Of the imperial title.
The Papaoy, OF oourse, insisted that
Charles owed tho title exclusively to his
coronation by tho Pope. from which aver
ment the inference was drawn that the
Pope possessed the power TO crown and
unofown kings and emperors.
Tho embarrassment In which tho OWL
authority was involved by then cdroum-
stances under which the empire was revived
LII the West yes profound and lasting
When, In tho course Of time. The Empire
essayed to declare it, Independence Of the
Papaoy not only had historical events
impaired plausibillty to the Papal' claims
OF supremacy, but the Empire could o1er
no justification for its existence and
authority but tho assumption that II ex-
pressed the direct will OF Heaven, inde-
pendently Of the mediation Of The Pspsoy.
which clained to be Heaven's solo inter
prefer. As Dr.. Hill observes the weakness
Of this theory was that 1t could not main
tain its exclusive character. for every ruler
d. focso could present tho Same theoretical
claim to divine authority. Thus. In point
Of fact, came to be developed the dogma
Of the divine right Of kin@. Recourse to
tho true origin Of the Empire-the soyer-
dignity Of the Roman peoples q justtfica-
ton OF iis authority hs1 ~ th.s Tine
become seriously discredited by dynastio
pretsnsions which tended to substitute the
principle Of inheritance for that OF election.
The treaty signed at verdun In s4s by
the three sons Of Lewis the Pious-the
Emperor Lothian. Lewis the German and
Charles the Bald-is here, as In most works
dealing with European history, looked upon
a. the most momentous international docu-
ment ever composed. Unquestionably, it
not only bequeathed to Europe It's two
most coherent national units, France and
Germany, but created an intermediate field
Of contention--the SO called Kingdom OF
Lothair-on which they were to fight out
their int rmnable conflicts. The king
doms Of Charles the Bald and Lewis the
German, corresponding in a broad sense
to the two nitslcrn nationalities OF France
and Germany, possessed each q certain
racial unity and geographical ooherence;
but the Kingdom OF Lothair was O mis-
oellaneous aggregate of disparate territories
without any natural bond or principle Of
unity. Composed Of the most diverse
populations, . prey to tho cupidity OF its
neiehbors on both sides, its extremes re-
mote from one another and separated by
tho great barrier Of tho Alps. it was e1-
posed to every danger and devoid Of every
natural protection. The fertile valleys OF
tho Rhine, the Ehone and the Pc; the whole
Of the Netherlands. Alsace-Lorrs!ne. Bur
eundy, the Lyonnais, Dauphiny, Provence,
Switzerland, Savoy and Italy-an these
theaters Of dynastio struggle and inter
national tragedy were within the limits
OF the III fated realm Of Iothar.
II falls within the scope Of our authors
narrative to show how quickly its fictitious
unity was broken and its doom OF dis
memberrnent pronounced. Predestined by
the treaty Of verdun to be the gage and
pawn OF nations and to be divided into
small border States separating the ter
ritories, while at the same time tempting
tho ambitions Of great anita gonists, it was
to be for upward Of . thousand years the most
nercely contested battle-ground Of Europe.
Its possession being essential to the pre-
tensions OF empires, It has been the prize
aimed at by every great European con-
oueror and tho victim Of nearly every