⁹ Pelag. 1 Concilior. vol. 5. p. 803. Greg. Mag. vol. 2. p. 675, 676, 677. ¹⁰ Nihil ecclesia sibi nisi fidem possidet.—Ambros. Op. tom. 2, p. 837. ¹¹ Abr. Chron. History of France, years 753, 754, 755. In the twelfth century, Gratian and Theodore Balsamon copied it into their canonical compilations; and St. Bernard did not consider if apocryphal.¹² It had its origin before the tenth century, notwithstanding what many critics say: for in 776 Pope Adrian avails himself of it in an exhortation to Charlemagne. But, in 755, Stephen II. had also an open to make use of it, as we shall shortly see; but as he neither mentions it, nor refers to it in any way, it follows that it was unknown to him as it had been to all his predecessors. It was therefore after the middle, and before the end of the eighth century, that it must have been fabricated. For the rest, the falsity of this piece is according to Fleury more universally recognized than that of the decretals of Isidore: and if the donation of Constantine could still preserve any credit, to strip it of such credit, it would be sufficient to transcribe it: here follow some lines: “We attribute to the see of St. Peter all the dig− “nity, all the glory, all the authority of the imperial “power. Furthermore we give to Sylvester and to “his successors our palace of the Latran, which is “incontestibly the finest palace on earth; we give “him our crown, our mitre, our diadem, and all “our imperial vestments: we transfer to him the “imperial dignity. We bestow on the Holy Pontiff “in free gift the city of Rome and all the western “cities of Italy; also the western cities of every “other country. To cede precedence to him, we “divest ourselves of our authority over all those “provinces, and we withdraw from Rome, trans− “ferring the seat of our empire to Byzantium; “inasmuch as it is not proper, that an earthly “emperor should preserve the least authority, where “God has established the head of his religion.” ¹² De Consider, ad Eugen. book 4. ch. 4.—Dante de Monarchiâ, book 3, proves that this donation could not bind the successors of Constantine; he declares it null, but without disputing its authenticity. The respect which we owe to our readers, forbids all observation on such palpable absurdities: but we have believed it not altogether useless to relate them here, as they may give an idea of the means resorted to in the eighth century to establish the temporal power of the popes. They also furnish a standard of the public ignorance during the succeeding centuries, in which this strange concession, revered by the people, and even by their kings, effectually contributed to the developement of the power of the Holy See. But we must also state, that at the restoration of literature the first rays of light sufficed to dissipate so contemptible an imposture.¹³