CHAPTER I

Anyone with experience knows that human interests have many zealots while divine have none or very few. For as Gregory testifies, “Those who love this world are strong in earthly matters but weak in heavenly” (quoted dist. 47, c. Omnes). Accordingly, although the right order in dealing with errors arising from the fullness of power which some attribute to the pope would be to deal with errors about divine matters before those about human affairs, I will nevertheless begin from errors about human affairs, so that when lovers of temporal things and rights have clearly seen that some called Roman pontiffs have erred about human affairs they will not regard it as certain that they could not err about the divine, considering the words of Jerome, “For how can one be a faithful steward of the goods of the Lord who cannot show faith to a human lord?” (quoted 23, q. 5, Si apud).

First I will ask whether the pope has by Christ's ordinance any power over the Empire. There are indeed some who say that the Empire is from the pope in such a way that no one can be true emperor unless he has been confirmed or chosen by the pope. Some try to base this assertion on this, that (according to them) outside the Church there is no true lordship of temporal things or any true temporal jurisdiction, because outside the Church all things build toward hell, and outside the Church there is therefore no ordinate power but only power permitted and not granted.