[Sidenote: SECULARISATION OF THE POPEDOM.] This answer vexed Francis considerably. His proposition failing, it became a weapon in the hands of his rival to destroy him. He therefore sought to justify himself. 'I cannot help being surprised,' he said, 'that, with a view to calumniate me, my opinion has been misrepresented to the emperor. Is it not more reasonable to have this business managed by ambassadors who can arrive speedily in Rome, than to wait for a council which at the soonest cannot meet within a year?... And as for everything depending upon the Holy Ghost, assuredly my proposal has been wickedly and malignantly interpreted; for as we shall send ambassadors guided by a sincere affection for the Church, is it not evident that this assembly cannot be without the Holy Ghost?'[390] Thus the king, in defending himself, took shelter under the _inspiration_ of his diplomatists. We may well admit that the Holy Ghost was less with the pope than with the king; but He was really with neither of them. Thus for a moment the idea of Francis I. fell to the ground; it was premature, and only began to be realised in after days by the force of circumstances and in the order of time. It was in 1562, when the council which had been so much discussed, and which opened at Trent in 1545, met for the third time, that this new fashion was introduced into Roman catholicism. The prelates could not come to an understanding, the Italian deputies wishing to maintain everything, while the French and German deputies demanded important concessions with a view to a reconciliation between the princes and their subjects. There were struggles, jests, and quarrels: they came to blows in the streets. The majority of the council were angry because the Roman legates regularly delayed to give their opinions until the courier arrived from Rome. 'Their Inspiration,' said the French, who were always fond of a joke, 'their Inspiration comes to Trent in a portmanteau.' The meeting was about to be broken up, when the papacy, being obliged to choose between two evils, resolved to come to an understanding with the princes. The pope agreed that all important questions should be previously discussed in the secular courts, and the secondary questions be left to the council, provided that all proper respect was shown to the papacy. Rome triumphed within the walls of Trent, but she ceased to be a pure hierarchy. From that hour the political element has had the precedence, and the papacy has become more and more dependent on the secular power. The scheme of Francis I. has been partly realised. There remains, however, one step more to be taken. Instead of the interested decisions of kings, it is the sovereign and unchangeable Word of God which ought to be placed on the throne of the Church.