172 THE MIDDLE AGES. A.D. 1294-1517,
side, and they were received by the synod. Tliey swore in their own names to accept and defend its decrees.
No revocation of a former decree could have been made more explicit. The Latin vocabulary was strained for words. Catholic historians refrain from makinor an aro-ument against the plain meaning of the bull, which is fatal to the dogma of papal inerrancy and acknowledges the superiority of general councils. At best they pass the decree with as little comment as possible, or content themselves with the assertion that Eugenius had no idea of confirming the synod's reaflirmation of the famous decrees of Constance, or with the suggestion that the pope was under duress when he issued the document. ^ Both assumptions are without warrant. The pope made no exception whatever when he confirmed the acts of the synod " from its opening." As for the explanation that the decree was forced, it needs only to be said that the revolt made against the pope in Rome, May, 1434, in which the Colonna took a prominent part, had not yet broken out, and there was no compulsion except that which comes from the judgment that one's case has failed. Cesarini, Nicolas of Cusa, ^neas Sylvius, John, patriarch of Antioch, and the other prominent personages at Basel, favored the theory of the supreme authority of councils, and they and the synod would have resented the papal deliverance if they had surmised its utterances meant something different from what they expressly stated. DoUinger concludes his treatment of the subject by saying that Eugenius' bull was the most positive and unequivocal recognition possible of the sovereignty of the council, and that the pope was subject .to it.
Eugenius was the laaL pope, witli Ihe exception of Pius I_X., who has liad to lice from Koine. Twenty-five popes had been obliged to escape from the city before him. Disguised in the garb of a Benedictine monk, and carried part
1 So Hergenrother-Kirsch, 11. 910, Pastor, I. 288, etc. Funk, Kirchengenrh., p. 374, with his usual fairness, says that Eugenius in his bull gave unconditional assent to the council. So verstand er sich emllirh zur mibedingten Annahme der Synode.
§ 17. THE COUNCIL OF BASEL. 14.31-1449. 17.3
of the way on the slioulders of a sailor, he reached a boat on the Tiber, but was recognized and pelted with a shower of stones, from which he escaped by lying flat in the boat, covered with a shield. Reaching Ostia, he took a galley to Livorno. From there he went to Florence. lie remained in exile from 1434 to 1443. '
In its efforts to pacify the Hussites, the synod granted them the use of the cup, and made other concessions. The causes of their opposition to the Church had been expressed in the four articles of Prag. The synod introduced an altogether new method of dealing with heretics in guaranteeing to the Hussites and their representatives full rights of discussion^. Having settled the question of its own authority, the synod took up measures to reform the Church " in head and members." The number of the cardinals was restricted to 2:^, and proper qualifications insisted upon, a measure sufficiently needed, as Eugenius had given the red hat to two of his nephews. Annates, payments for the pallium, the sale of church dignities, and other taxes which tlie Apf)stolic See had developed, were abolished. The right of appeal to Rome was curtailed. Measures of another nature were the reaffirmation of the law of priestly celibacy,^ and the prohibition of theatricals and other entertainments in church buildings and churcliyards. In 1439 the synod issued a decree on the immaculate con(;eption, by which .Mmi'\- \\;i_s • declared to havt; ;il\\,iys I)c<-n lVc<; from (.i'ii(iii;il inul uctuul sin. 2^ The interference with Lhc papal reveniu^s aifecting the entire papal household was, in a measure, atoned for by the promise to provide other sources. From the monarchical head of the Church, directly appointed by (jod, and responsible to no human tribunal, the supreme pontiff was reduced to an official of the council. Another class of measures sought to clear Basel of the offences attending a large and promiscuous gathering, such as gambling, dancing, and the arts of prostitutes, who were enjoined from showing themselves on the streets.
^ De connxbitiariis, Mansi, XXIX. 101 .si(.
2 Immunem spjnper fiiisse ah omni oriijinali et actuali culpa, etc., Mausi, XXIX. 18.3.