Dante's arguments are not stranger than his omissions. No suspicion is breathed against Constantine's donation; no proof is adduced, for no doubt is felt, that the Empire of Henry the Seventh is the legitimate continuation of that which had been swayed by Augustus and Justinian. Yet Henry was a German, sprung from Rome's barbarian foes, the elected of those who had neither part nor share in Italy and her capital. FOOTNOTES: [279] See esp. Ægidi, _Der Fürstenrath nach dem Luneviller Frieden_, and the passages by him quoted. [280] The archbishop of Mentz addresses Conrad II on his election thus: 'Deus quum a te multa requirat tum hoc potissimum desiderat ut facias iudicium et iustitiam et pacem patriæ quæ respicit ad te, ut sis defensor ecclesiarum et clericorum, tutor viduarum et orphanorum.'--Wippo, Vita Chuonradi, c. 3, _ap._ Pertz. So Pope Urban IV writes to Richard: 'Ut consternatis Imperii Romani inimicis, in pacis pulchritudine sedeat populus Christianus et requie opulenta quiescat.' Compare also the 'Edictum de crimine læsæ maiestatis' issued by Henry VII in Italy: 'Ad reprimenda multorum facinora qui ruptis totius debitæ fidelitatis habenis adversus Romanum imperium, in cuius tranquillitate totius orbis regularitas requiescit, hostili animo armati conentur nedum humana, verum etiam divina præcepta, quibus iubetur quod omnis anima Romanorum principi sit subiecta, scelestissimis facinoribus et rebellionibus demoliri,' &c.--Pertz, _M. G. H._, legg. ii. p. 544. See also a curious passage in the Life of St. Adalbert, describing the beginning of the reign at Rome of the Emperor Otto III, and his cousin and nominee Pope Gregory V: 'Lætantur cum primatibus minores civitatis: cum afflicto paupere exultant agmina viduarum, quia novus imperator dat iura populis; dat iura novus papa.' [281] 'Imperator est monarcha omnium regum et principum terrenorum ... nec insurgat superbia Gallicorum quæ dicat quod non recognoscit superiorem, mentiuntur, quia de iure sunt et esse debent sub rege Romanorum et Imperatore.'--Speech of Boniface VIII. It is curious to compare with this the words addressed nearly five centuries earlier by Pope John VIII to Lewis, king of Bavaria: 'Si sumpseritis Romanum imperium, omnia regna vobis subiecta existent.' [282] So Alfonso, king of Naples, writes to Frederick III: 'Nos reges omnes debemus reverentiam Imperatori, tanquam summo regi, qui est Caput et Dux regum.'--Quoted by Pfeffinger, _Vitriarius illustratus_, i. 379. And Francis I (of France), speaking of a proposed combined expedition against the Turks, says, 'Cæsari nihilominus principem ea in expeditione locum non gravarer ex officio cedere.'--For a long time no European sovereign save the Emperor ventured to use the title of 'Majesty.' The imperial chancery conceded it in 1633 to the kings of England and Sweden; in 1641 to the king of France.--Zedler, _Universal Lexicon_, _s. v._ Majestät.