CONCERNINGECCLESIASTICALPRINCIPALITIES
Itonlyremainsnowtospeakofecclesiasticalprincipalities, touchingwhichalldifficultiesarepriortogettingpossession, becausetheyareacquiredeitherbycapacityorgoodfortune, andtheycanbeheldwithouteither; fortheyaresustainedbytheancientordinancesofreligion, whicharesoall-powerful, ; andtheyhavesubjectsanddonotrulethem; andthestates, althoughunguarded, arenottakenfromthem, andthesubjects, althoughnotruled, donotcare, , towhichthehumanmindcannotreach, Ishallspeaknomoreofthem, because, beingexaltedandmaintainedbyGod, itwouldbetheactofapresumptuousandrashmantodiscussthem.
Nevertheless, ifanyoneshouldaskofmehowcomesitthattheChurchhasattainedsuchgreatnessintemporalpower, seeingthatfromAlexanderbackwardstheItalianpotentates (notonlythosewhohavebeencalledpotentates, buteverybaronandlord, thoughthesmallest) havevaluedthetemporalpowerveryslightly—yetnowakingofFrancetremblesbeforeit, andithasbeenabletodrivehimfromItaly, andtoruintheVenetians—althoughthismaybeverymanifest, itdoesnotappeartomesuperfluoustorecallitinsomemeasuretomemory.
