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QUI TOLLIS PECCATA MUNDI, SUSCIPE DEPRECATIONEM NOSTRAM

Now the Pope and all the Cardinals, with the exception of five Cardinals only, had taken divers offices, the which offices were named according to the Gloria in Excelsis Deo ; wherefore the Pope said to those five Cardinals that, accord¬ ing to the constitution of the Court of Rome, they should seek offices wherewith should be completed the number of the rubrics of the Gloria in Excelsis Deo. So one of these Cardinals rode through the city of Rome to seek what office he might take which should bear the name of Qui tollis peccata mundi. As he rode through the city of Rome and passed by the Court, he saw a man who wept and spake these words : “ Alas, thou wretched one ! How great dis¬ honour is done to the Holy Catholic Faith I For the Jew who denies and mocks and believes not in the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Chrift, Who is the foundation of Holy Church, finds reasoners and advocates to uphold him in his suit against thee, and thou haft no man who may defend thee nor uphold thy right againft him ; wherefore thou wilt of necessity become poor, and be compelled to go with thy

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wife and children from door to door begging for the love of God.”

2. Great marvel had the Cardinal at the words which that man spake, and he enquired of him wherefore he wept, and he spake these words. “ Lord 1 ” said that man : “ A certain Jew, by reason of his great wealth, wrongs me, and demands of me more money than I possess; and for a long time have we been at law together, and because I cannot give so great a recompense to the judge and to my advocate as can he, therefore can I not have juftice in the Court. And I have great shame because through lack of money my righteous cause is loft in the court of Rome, to the which court Jews are more opposed through their beliefs, and their evil will, than are other men.”

3. Great was the wonder of the Cardinal, and greatly was he displeased in his mind when he had heard the words that that man spake to him, and he began to think deeply. While the Cardinal was yet in thought, a certain bishop, who had an income of twenty thousand marks of silver, entered Rome, and passed through a square wherein the Cardinal was, and the people that were in the square with him said : “ Yonder is the bishop who has an income of twenty thou¬ sand marks of silver, and has purchased an annuity for his brother for thirty thousand marks of silver. When the Cardinal had heard these words, he heaved a great sigh and said within himself: “ Alas, poor in mind and in devotion and charity 1 To whom has God committed His place in the world? How ill are the possessions of Holy Church

divided!”

4. When the Cardinal had reflefted for a great space of time, he came before the Pope and the Cardinals, and put to them this queftion, saying as follows: “ It came to pass once that Undemanding was called upon to give judgment Undemanding had two sifters: the one was Memory, and the other was Will. And between these two sifters there was a dispute as to which of the two should accompany

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Understanding. Will made allegations againSt Memory, saying that, by her own virtue, Understanding is diligent in seeking out truth, and in desiring to judge according to right; yet, by overmuch remembrance, Understanding is oftentimes impeded in his comprehension; wherefore it seemed to Will that she herself should accompany Understanding ere he gave judgment. On the other side Memory alleged againSt Will that by overmuch desire Understanding is corrupted and inclined towards ignor¬ ance; wherefore it behoved rather that Memory and Understanding should be in agreement, than that Under¬ standing and Will should be so; and in this manner, according to natural right, it was reasonable that Memory rather than Will should accompany Understanding.” When the Cardinal had put forward these reasons upon either side, he prayed the Pope and the Cardinals that they would give judgment upon this matter.

5. The dispute was long, wherefore deliberation and counsel were needful that the true solution might be found. The Pope and the Cardinals, when they had reviewed the arguments upon either side, and had sought the juSt solution, gave sentence that in the firSt place Memory should go with Understanding, to the end that at the be¬ ginning Will should not incline Understanding to take one side, and that between either side there should be equality; and that Will should go after, to the end that the equality of Memory and U nderStanding should be preserved. Right pleasing to the Cardinal was the sentence which the Pope and the Cardinals had given, and he spake these words :

6. “ According to the nature of the three powers of the soul, it is ordained in law that a judge be granted, with whom firSt of all there company understanding and memory, and that the two advocates who conduft the case, the one againSt the other, should firSt of all have with them memory and will. But through the giving of gifts and bribes, will takes the place of memory in the judge,

SUSCIPE deprecationem nostram

and the advocates, through the taking of gifts, have ever more of will and less of remembrance; through the which decrease of remembrance their understanding is led away from comprehension ; and for this reason lawsuits are pro¬ longed, and oftentimes false sentences are given, and disputes and Strifes and wars and deaths and crimes are engendered in great number. Now, to the end that all the evils aforesaid may cease, it would be a seemlier thing to give to ten judges and to twenty advocates, from the possessions of Holy Church, such income that they should be ever in the court of Rome, and take naught else from any man, than it is to give to this bishop an income of twenty thousand marks of silver, for he has purchased for his brother an annuity of thirty thousand marks of silver, the which thirty thousand marks are alienated from the affairs of Holy Church.” Right pleasing to the Pope and to the Cardinals was that which the Cardinal had said, and establishment and ordinance were made that ten judges and twenty advocates should be ever in attendance at the court, and that the Pope should recom¬ pense them sufficiently from the wealth of Holy Church, in such manner that they should take naught else of any man, and that, if they took aught else, they should lose their benefices ; and by this ordinance the lawsuits in the court were greatly shortened, and many constitutions were made to expedite them.

7. Throughout every land went fame concerning the ordinances aforementioned, and many men came to plead at the court that their cases might be the more speedily concluded. So great was the number of those that came to the ten judges and the twenty advocates, that they sufficed not for all the cases which came to the court, and they had recourse to the Cardinal who was set over the office of the judges and of the advocates, and they said that they could not endure so much work; wherefore the Cardinal presented their petition to the Pope and to the

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Cardinals, saying how they were occupied above measure with the multitude of their cases. So the Pope and the Cardinals ordained that in each diocese there should be judges and advocates, who should judge and argue for the poor in their disputes, and that these should be paid from the possessions of Holy Church, and that they should take naught of any man for giving sentence or pleading for them.