The sacred college had assembled, and the princes of the Church, robed in purple, had examined the affair. To deprive a bishop of his temporal principality ... what a dangerous example for the papacy itself! Who knows whether princes will not some day desire to do as much by his Holiness? To hear them, you would have fancied, that catholicism would decline and disappear if it did not join the sceptre of the Cæsars with the shepherd’s crook. The cardinals resolved that for it to be lawful for a prince of the Church to alienate his temporal jurisdiction, it was necessary, ‘first, that subjects be in rebellion against their prince; second, that the prince be not strong enough to reduce them; third, that he should have a better recompense.’ Was this _recompense_ to be another _temporality_ or simply a pecuniary compensation? This the documents do not say. In any case, the sacred college refused its consent to the papal decision, and the bull was recalled.[83] The duke was surprised and irritated. His counsellors reassured him: they pointed out to him that, according to the decision of the cardinals, it only required a revolt in order to withdraw the temporal jurisdiction from the bishop. ‘The Genevans, who are hot-headed and big talkers,’ said they, ‘will commit some imprudence by means of which we shall prove to the sacred college that it needs _a stronger shepherd than a bishop_ to bring them back to their duty.’ To these representations they proposed adding certain crafty devices. The judicial officers of the ducal party would draw up long, obscure, unintelligible indictments against the citizens; my lords the cardinals at Rome, who are indolence itself, would waive the reading of these tiresome documents, the matter would be explained to them _vivâ voce_; they would be told that the only means of saving the bishop was to give the duke the sovereignty over the city. Charles felt comforted and sent his cousin fresh instructions. ‘Since I cannot have the tree,’ he said, ‘I wish at least to taste the fruit. Set about plundering right and left (_ab hoc et ab hac_) to fill my treasury.’ By means of this plundering, the Genevans would be irritated; they would be driven to take up arms, and thus the duke would succeed in confiscating their independence with the consent not only of the pope but of the cardinals also.[84] CHAPTER V. BERTHELIER AND THE YOUTH OF GENEVA AROUSED BY THE BISHOP’S VIOLENCE. (1515-1517.)