“But the Papacy at this day, taught by woful experience what damage this license of writing among themselves hath done them and that their speeches are not only weapons in the hands of their adversaries, but eyesores and stumbling blocks also to their remaining friends; under show of purging the world from the infection of all wicked and corrupt books and passages which are either against religion or against honesty and good manners, for which two purposes they have several officers who indeed do blot out much impiousness and filth, and therein well deserve both to be commended and imitated (whereto the Venetians add also a third, to let nothing pass that may be justly offensive to princes), have in truth withal pared and lopped off whatsoever in a manner their watchful eyes could observe, either free in disclosing their drifts and practices, or dishonourable to the clergy, or undutiful to the Papacy. These editions only authorised, all other are disallowed, called in, censured; with threats to whosoever shall presume to keep them; that no speech, no writing, no evidence of times past, no discourse of things present, in sum, nothing whatsoever may sound aught but holiness, honour, purity, integrity to the unspotted spouse of Christ and to his unerring Vicar; to the Mistress of Churches, to the Father of Princes ... and they brought forth in fine those _Indices Expurgatorii_ whereof I suppose they are now not a little ashamed, they having by misfortune lit into their adversaries’ hands from whom they desired by all means to conceal them.”[174] D’Aguesseau, in a _Mémoire_ written in 1710, says: “It is well understood that the Index possesses in France no authority. It is sad to understand that it is still permitted to control literature in certain countries which have not known, as has France, how to uphold the freedom of a national Church. The Index has in fact been so misused as a power that it makes prohibition of not a few books which are by no means deserving of so much honour.” In an essay by Villers on the _Spirit and Influence of the Reformation of Luther_ (which obtained the prize offered in 1802 by the French Institute for the best treatise on the question) the author finds ground for no little indignation concerning the restrictions upon books by a pope who, while issuing fulminations against Luther, gave full license to Ariosto. The writer goes on to say: