The-papacy-its-history-dogmas-genius-and-prospects-wylie

;70 RISE OF THE TEMPORAL SUPREMACY.tors and alms to her poor. No sooner did Constantinoembrace Christianity, than an imperial edict invested theChurch with a legal right to what she had possessed hithertoby tolerance only,*Neither under the empire, nor underany of the ten kingdoms into which the empire was ultimatelydivided, did the Church ever obtain a territorialestablishment ; but the ample liberality, first of the Christianemperors, and next of the barbarian kings, did more thansupply the want of a general provision. For ages, wealthhad been flowing in upon the Church in a torrent; and now,from being the poorest,she had become the wealthiest corporationin Europe. A race of princes had succeeded tothe fishermen of Galilee ; and the opulent nobles and citizensof the empire represented that society whose first bondshad been cemented in the catacombs under the city. Underthe Carlovingian family, and the Saxon line of emperors," many churches possessed seven or eight thousand mansi,"says Hallam." One with but two thousand passed for onlyindifferently rich.-f- This vast opulence represented theaccumulations and hoardings of many ages,and had beenacquired by innumerable, and sometimes not very honourable,means. When a wealthy man entered a monastery,his estate was thrown into the common treasury of the brotherhood.When the son of a rich man took the cowl, herecommended himself to the Church by a donation of land.To die without leaving a portion of one's worldly goods tothe priesthood came to be rare, and was regarded as a fraudupon the Church.The monks sometimes supplemented theincomes of their houses by intromitting with the funds ofcharities placed under their control. The wealthy sinner,when about to depart, expressed his penitence in a wellfilledbag of gold, or in a certain number of broad acresand the ravening baron was compelled to disgorge, withabundant interest, on the bed of death, the spoliationsof* Euseb. Vita Const, lib. ii. cap. xxi. xxxix.f Ilallam's Middle Ages, vol. i. p. 501.