ABSTRACT
Whatever judgment may be formed of the popes of the earlier ages, it is certain that they always had important interests in view – the duty of upholding an oppressed religion, that of contending with paganism, of diffusing Christianity among the nations of the North, and of establishing an independent hierarchical government. To will, and to achieve some great object, is proper to the dignity of human nature; and while such was their tendency, the popes were sustained in their lofty efforts; but this spirit had passed with the times by which it had been awakened.
