CHAPTER IX

THE CONCORDAT WITH FRANCE

SHORTLY after the election of Pius VII, General Bonaparte crossed the Little St Bernard, and entered Italy. A few days before Pius left Venice, he made his entry into Milan, and before the Pope reached Rome, Bonaparte had won the victory of Marengo (14th June).

After the entry into Milan, Bonaparte gave orders that Te Deum should be sung in the churches, "as a thanksgiving for the deliverance of Italy from heretics and infidels". This was an allusion to the fact that the Austrians had accepted the help of the English to blockade the port of Genoa, and that of the Turks to bring provisions into Venice. On 5th June he spoke at Milan to the priests of the town. "I wished," he said, "to see you all gathered here that I might have the satisfaction of disclosing in my own person the feelings which I entertain for the Catholic Apostolic Roman religion. I am convinced that this religion is the only one that can bring true happiness to a well-ordered community, and lay firm the foundations of government. I assure you that I shall strive to guard and defend it at all times, and by all means. I look upon you as my dearest friends. I declare here before you, that if any one ventures to use any disparaging language about our common religion, or dares to show the smallest disrespect to your sacred persons, I shall hold him as a disturber of the public peace, and as an enemy of the common weal. As such, I shall punish that man in the severest and most notable fashion, even with death, if necessary. It is my intention that the Christian Catholic Roman religion in its entirety shall be maintained and publicly exercised, and that it shall have as full, as extensive, and as inviolable an exercise, as it had at the time when I first entered this happy country ... France, by the lessons which she has learnt from misfortune, has her eyes at last opened; she has recognised that the Catholic religion is the only anchor that can give her stability amidst the surges and save her from the storm. She has, therefore, called back that religion to her bosom. I will not deny that I myself have had a share in this excellent work. I can give you this information, upon which you may rely, that the churches in France are being re-opened, that the Catholic religion there has regained its old splendor, and that the people look with reverence upon their sacred priests, who, full of zeal, are returning to their bereaved flocks. Let not the treatment of the late Pope cause you any fear whatever. Pius VI owed the misfortunes which befell him partly to the intrigues of his counsellors, partly to the cruel policy of the Directory. If I should be able to talk with the new Pope, I hope to succeed in removing all the obstacles that may still hinder the complete reconciliation of France with the head of the Church". This communication was not at all to be kept as a secret by the priests. Bonaparte's address was printed, in order "that not only Italy and France, but all Europe, might become acquainted with the designs of the First Consul"; and a week after the victory of Marengo and the truce with Melas, Bonaparte had the victorious banners blessed with great solemnity in the cathedral of Milan, "without paying any heed to what the atheists of Paris might say to it."

BONAPARTE'S FIRST PROPOSALS

On the way from Marengo he came to Vercelli, and there he- had an important meeting with the bishop of the town, Cardinal Martiniana, the last cardinal who had seen Pius VI when the captive Pope passed through Crescentino. On 25th June, Martiniana paid the victorious general a visit, which he returned the next day surrounded by the whole of his staff. He asked Martiniana to go to Rome and tell the new Pope "that he would make him a present of 30,000,000 of French Catholics; that he wished to have religion in France; that the intruded bishops and priests were a set of discreditable robbers, of whom he wished to get rid as soon as possible; that there had formerly been too many bishoprics in the country, and that their number ought to be restricted; that he wished for a fresh priesthood altogether (un clergé vierge); that some of the old bishops were held in little esteem in their dioceses, where they never resided; that several had only emigrated in order to weave intrigues, and that he would never have such bishops back again; their dismissal ought to be considered, and he would give them a suitable pension; as time went on, he would secure for the priests an honorable but not luxurious living; the worst paid bishop should have 15,000 francs a year; the exercise of the spiritual jurisdiction of the Pope in France should hereafter be free; the Pope alone should have the power of giving the bishops canonical institution, but they should be nominated by the possessor of the sovereign power; finally, he would reinstate the Pope in the possession of all his dominions."

In this proposal of Bonaparte, made on 26th June 1800, lies the germ of the later Concordat. The news of the meeting between Martiniana and Bonaparte must, of course, have disturbed Louis XVIII very much; for several things seemed to indicate that the victor of Marengo would not be satisfied with being another General Monk. Maury, after communicating this proposal, writes cautiously : "One does not yet see anything that is monarchical in it, although, at the first glance, it might seem to be the first step to the throne." And as if he would comfort his King, whom he had already gone far towards betraying, he adds: "What strange bishops would not Bonaparte appoint! Whence would he choose them, if indeed he does not mean to make use of them to crush religion altogether? How will one be able to reconcile Catholicism with the decades, the oaths, and the unstable position of a state-paid priesthood, with divorce and other laws now in force, with the destruction of schools, seminaries, and so forth."

But Cardinal Maury can scarcely have thought that the difficulties which he thus piled up for the reassurance of his King were quite insuperable. Cardinal Martiniana, of whose powers Maury had but a poor opinion, sent his nephew, Count Altiaci, to Rome with a copy of the proposal, and one of Bonaparte' couriers waited at Vercelli for Rome's answer. Pius VII immediately laid the important message before the cardinals, and these, according to Consalvi, had no doubt that they ought to grasp the outstretched hand, which opened a way to effect a settlement of religious affairs in a country where the revolutionary spirit had nearly extinguished religion.

On 8th July, Maury reported to his King, that it was rumored that Spina: Archbishop of Corinth in partibus, had been chosen to conduct negotiations with Bonaparte, and he promised to keep a vigilant eye on the matter. On 16th August he related that a full congregation of cardinals had been appointed to prepare instructions for Spina, but that, in his opinion, a happy solution of this matter would be "exceedingly difficult to arrive at". Later on he told Louis XVIII that he had at once put himself into communication with the Archbishop of Corinth whom he found mild and moderate, but wanting in all theological and canonical knowledge, very badly informed about the French Revolution, but perfectly convinced that the Catholic religion could only be established in a monarchical France, and "full of zeal and admiration for the exiled King". Spina had, however, the usual weaknesses of the Italians; he thought it was the greatest folly to join a minority, and he was very distant with Maury, who was not much thought of in Rome. Maury, therefore, went out to Montefiascone, and there ascertained that the necessary instructions to Spina had been drawn up with the greatest secrecy, and that only Consalvi: and two other cardinals had obtained knowledge of them,under oath of secrecy. Concerning this, too, he had a comforting word for his King: "This secrecy, which is disturbing to superficial people, in no way disturbs me. On the contrary, it reassures me. Your Majesty's acuteness will easily guess the reason".

NAPOLEON'S RELIGION

It was no easy task that was imposed upon the Archbishop of Corinth, and many rumors were spread about, which were calculated to awaken doubt as to the sincerity of the First Consul's kindly feelings towards the Church.

It was, for instance, no secret that Bonaparte in 1797 in a speech at Luxembourg had classed religion, and monarchy, and aristocracy amongst the prejudices, which the French people should conquer. Yet he belonged in no wise to the most advanced section of the freethinkers. A few months after the peace of Campo Formio, he had commanded his sister Pauline, General Leclerc's wife, to have her new-born son christened in the Capucin church at Milan by a priest who had not taken the oath, before the celebration of the birth took place in the government palace. While his friends, who had kept aloof from the excesses of the Revolution, held very radical opinions on religious questions, it was otherwise with him. He liked to converse with Monge, Lagrange, and Laplace on philosophical and religious matters, and he often brought them to confusion by his remonstrances against their unbelief. "My religion", he once said to Monge, "is very simple. I look upon this grand complicated splendid universe, and then I say to myself that it cannot have been produced by chance, but it must be the work of an unknown Almighty Being, who is as much above man as the universe is superior to our finest mechanism". It was the riddles of the world that brought him to approach religion. On another occasion he said : "My nerves are in sympathy with the feeling of God's existence."

A disciple of Voltaire might express himself thus, but a materialist never. Bonaparte was also far from sharing the materialist's view of the historical religions. When, for example, Volney concluded that all the positive religions rested on fraud and chimera because of the great differences between them, Bonaparte drew another conclusion. He found something of an universal religion behind the different specific religions, and this something was his religion. He was convinced of the truth of religion; but in the positive religions he saw only symbols and images of the true religion.

Nevertheless, the religious question for him, as for Voltaire, was not in the least a matter of sentiment; he approached it through logical conclusions. The memories of his childhood, Catholic Corsica, and his pious mother, all of which circumstances Thiers uses to explain his attitude towards the Church, certainly influenced him but little. He knew well, that such religious memories might mean something to other people—thus he would not introduce Protestantism into France, because Protestantism had no associations for the French—but for himself it was otherwise. In him, mind and will were superior to sentiment, and we find in him but small trace of religious feeling. At Malmaison, one Sunday, he was touched on hearing the church bells of Rueil, but his emotion quickly gave way to a speculation as to what impression the familiar sound of the bells might make upon simple and believing people. In his attitude towards the positive religions he was above all a politician. To his mind they were of value only in so far as they might help him to reach the goal at which he aimed. On the banks of the Nile, he bowed to Muftis and Imams; on the plains of Lombardy he showed reverence for Catholic priests; but to him, the peculiarity of Islamism was only a curious dress; and the special features ofi Catholicism consisted only in certain ceremonies. His devotion ceased the moment his power was imperilled. He was, therefore, in the end led to desire a sort of Caliphate, that he might be sure of absolute submission in everything.

NAPOLEON AND ISLAM

When he went to Egypt, he commanded his soldiers "to show the same respect to Muftis and Imams as they had shown in Italy towards Rabbis and Bishops". In a proclamation of 2nd July 1798, he says to the inhabitants of Egypt:"We also are true Mussulmans. Is it not we that have crushed the Pope, who said that war ought to be waged against the Mahommedans?". He even prides himself upon having "overturned the cross". He has himself given us the key to the understanding of such language. "It might have been possible for circumstances to have converted me to Islam ... A change of religion, indefensible for private reasons, may be excused when immense political results follow. Henry IV was right when he said: 'Paris is well worth a Mass.'Would not the dominion of the East, perhaps the subjection of the whole of Asia, be worth a turban and a pair of slippers?" It was greed of power and ambition that led him to flatter Islam—"charlatanism, but not of the common sort," as he himself said afterwards. He dreamt a fantastic dream of an Oriental Empire. The dream was most powerful when he lay before St John of Acre. The hill tribes wished to join him, and the Arabic portion of the people needed a leader. If Acre fell into his hands he would hold the key to Damascus; Constantinople could not hold out in the West, and in the East India would lie open. An order of the day would suffice, he thought, to make all the French soldiers Mahommedans. He subsequently propounded the theory that polygamy, as permitted by Islam, is an effectual means of extinguishing racial differences by gathering the various races within the same family; and even Oriental slavery had to his mind a pleasing side, when he compared it to that of the West.

Neither polygamy nor slavery, at the latter of which the French certainly became adepts, were enough to frighten the French soldiers from Islam; but there were other difficulties, as was shown by the strange discussion on the subject between Bonaparte and the Sheikhs at the great mosque.

"Publish a Fetam commanding the people to obey me," said Bonaparte on that occasion.

"Why do you and all your army not become Mussulmans?" answered the venerable Sheikh Sherkavi. "Do so, and 100,000 men will immediately rally to your banners. You will restore the old empire of the Caliphs, and become the Ruler of the East."

"God", objected Bonaparte, "has not adapted Frenchmen for circumcision, and it is impossible for them to abstain from wine".

"Circumcision is not absolutely necessary", answered the Sheikhs, "but every Mussulman who drinks wine goes to hell".

Bonaparte asked the Sheikhs to consider whether some concession could not be made on that point. He received the answer: "You can be a good Mussulman without circumcision, and without abstaining from wine; but you must then compensate for the wine-drinking by good works, and especially by alms-giving".

"Then we are all good Mussulmans and friends of the Prophet!" exclaimed Bonaparte.

The Sheikhs thereupon issued the Fetam with regard to submission, and Bonaparte had the ground marked out for an immense mosque, bigger than the Jemel Azar, which was to be built in memory of the conversion of the army. By this means he gained time; but the intended wholesale conversion to Islam never took place, because the expedition to Syria failed. Menou was the only general who became a Mahommedan; he called himself Abdallah, and married an Egyptian wife. It was a sacrifice; but he hoped by that step to further the success of the expedition. The other generals felt no inclination to follow his example, and even the French soldiers smiled when they read the proclamations of Bonaparte, which had been translated into the figurative language of the East by Oriental poets. But the Arabs said of the foreign general, "Strong is his arm, and his words are honey."

The dream of an Eastern Empire was not realized; it was in the West that the ambitious dreamer was to raise up his throne. When he returned to France, he found, instead of Muftis and Imams, the Pope and the bishops, and with them negotiations had to be conducted in another way than with the Sheikhs at the great mosque. "People will say," as he then expressed himself, "that I am a Papist. I am nothing. I was a Mussulman in Egypt for the welfare of my people. I will be a Catholic here. I do not believe in religion. Buw the idea of a God"—here he raised his hands towards heaven—"who made that? Around this great name imagination has woven its legends; let us hold fast to those that have already taken shape."

A national religion was to his mind a form of inoculation, which might satisfy mankind's love of the miraculous, and at the same time be a security against charlatans and sorcerers. "The priests," he said, "are better than all the Cagliostros, the Kants, and all the dreamers of Germany." The existing religions had also, in his eyes, the advantage that both their direction and their strength were well known. And some religion is a national necessity.

NAPOLEON AND CATHOLICISM

Society cannot exist without inequality of wealth, nor inequality of wealth without religion. When one man is dying of hunger beside another who has abundance, it is impossible for him to disregard this inequality, unless there exists an authority which says : "God so wills it!". Therefore Bonaparte found that he must of necessity strive for the recognition of a religion, and this, in his opinion, could only be Christianity in the form of Roman Catholicism.

But the religion of the French nation must be in the hands of the French government. In this respect the religion of the Pope presented certain difficulties, which had to be removed, and the Pope himself did not at that time feel much inclined to negotiate with the victorious general. Pius VII had read in the Moniteur the Egyptian army orders of Bonaparte, and they gave him great offence. They confirmed the rumor current in Europe that Bonaparte had gone over to Islam. This rumor was repeated when Bonaparte returned, and his friends at Rome did all they could to make Pius VII believe that the impious proclamations were mischievous inventions. As soon as Bonaparte's entourage perceived that he had designs with regard to the Church, some of them advised him to abstain, and to let religion alone. This, however, in his opinion, would be an unwise policy, because in that case Catholicism would become a dangerous power. Everything possible ought to be done to attach the priesthood to the new order of things and to break the last thread that still bound the country to the old royal line. Others wished him to place himself at the head of a French Church. But would he do that? He had a feeling that he would make himself ridiculous, if he, the soldier, were to play the part of a pope. Had not Robespierre become ridiculous by his worship of the Supreme Being, and the Directory by its Theophilanthropism? Others again advised him to introduce Protestantism. Were he to do so, he was of opinion that the country would turn against him. Francis I might have introduced Protestantism; but in the year 1800 it was an impossibility. Protestantism was not the religion of France; past centuries had decided its fate in that country. "Have we Protestant associations?", he asked. "How can a man be moved by sermons when he has not heard them in his youth, and how little do the cold Protestant churches invite to devotion?"

There is an echo of the polemics of Bossuet in this objection. Bonaparte had the Latin writings of the Bishop of Meaux translated for his benefit, and at the same time he sought for thorough information regarding the Gallicanism of the Parliaments. Before he began negotiations with the old hierarchy, which, to his mind, was too royalist, he had long conversations with Grégoire. But he soon discovered that the bishops and priests who had taken the oath, were sincere Republicans, who would scarcely follow him to the goal which he already had in view. It was Bossuet's Catholicism, which on consideration he decided to establish in France. It could be reconciled with a war policy and with autocracy. He would not work for a servile Catholicism, which anxiously waited for the word from Rome, but for a freeborn Gallicanism, obedient to Rome in spiritual matters, but independent in church policy.

NAPOLEON AND THE POPE

But it was far safer first to endeavour to win the Pope over than to raise at once the banner of Gallicanism. Catholicism, in Bonaparte's view, was the best religion, just because it had a pope. In 1797 he had written to his brother Joseph: "When the Pope is dead, you must do all you can to hinder the election of a new Pope and to bring about a revolution." Later, he came to think differently! "If there had not been a pope, it would have been necessary to create one for this occasion, just as the Roman Consuls in times of difficulty created a dictator." Bonaparte's victories, in Italy would easily bring the Pope into his power, and thereby he would gain influence over the whole Roman Catholic world. The Papacy, which he had formerly called "a rusty old engine," now suddenly became "a lever of great importance"; the irreverent expression, "the old fox," which he had formerly used of the Pope, was now exchanged for "the Most Holy Father," and the "priestly mob" and the "weak brained fools" were now addressed and spoken of as venerable, and holy men. When Cacault was sent as ambassador to Rome, he asked how the Pope should be treated. "As if he commanded 200,000 men," Bonaparte answered; that is to say, as a power of the magnitude of Prussia. The generals were not capable of such a change of face, they had lived too long in the atmosphere of the Clubs. They feared, as Thiers says, the ridiculous position they might appear in at the altar. Consalvi in his despatches always describes Bonaparte as fighting alone against "the fury of the Jacobins and the laughter of the philosophers." But just because he stood alone in this matter, he attached to himself the great mass of the people, and he had no wish to share either power or honour with others. He well knew that the philosophers would laugh at him, but he was convinced that the people would bless him. And he needed the people's blessing in order to realise his dream. La Fayette guessed aright what was in his mind, when, on hearing of his ecclesiastical policy, he said to him: "Confess! You want the little flask broken over your head." A Concordat with the Pope was an indispensable preliminary for an Empire. Before power could be gathered into one man's hand, the religious division in France must be healed. The Concordat was a mariage de convenance between the Revolution, no longer very young, and old France represented by its old religion.

Archbishop Spina was chosen to negotiate with the French government, because he had accompanied Pius VI in exile, and had become acquainted with Bonaparte at Valence. He had expected to meet Bonaparte in Italy, but the general had been some time in Paris when the Archbishop finally started. Spina was accompanied on his journey by the former General of the Servites, Caselli, one of the most learned theologians of the Roman Church; they did not arrive in Paris till the month of November,1800. The negotiations were conducted on behalf of France by the Abbé Bernier, an energetic but exceedingly ambitious priest, who originally played an important part amongst the Royalists of Vendée, but had afterwards attached himself closely to Bonaparte, thereby hoping for promotion. It might have been thought that the First Consul could have found a better man for this difficult task; but he could scarcely have found a priest possessed of a more soldier-like notion of obedience.

MATTERS FOR A CONCORDAT

The programme which Bonaparte had proposed to the Cardinal of Vercelli served as a basis for the negotiations between France and the Papacy, which began on 8th November. The first important point in the negotiations was the formation of a new French episcopate; but great difficulties lay in the way. Bonaparte could not possibly allow the whole of the old episcopate to be reinstated. It would anger the country too greatly, and would be dangerous for his own projects, for the old bishops were all attached to the old régime. The reinstatement of the episcopate might easily become the first step towards the restoration of the old monarchy. From among the bishops who had not taken the oath, he could only select those who had maintained a moderate attitude, and who were not too much hated in Paris. The rest of them would have to be forced, with the aid of the Pope, to resign their episcopal position. As a precedent it was possible to point to the procedure of the bishops at the time when the Donatist movement in the early Church was quelled. Indeed Bernier even dared to point to the Council of Constance, which, for the sake of peace, deposed three popes. But, on the other hand, some of those who had taken the oath had to be included in the episcopate about to be created. It was possible to choose those who had taken a small part, or at least an honourable part, in the Revolution, and who were well known for their moral purity. The people would never consent to the choice of bishops, unless those who had advocated liberty were included amongst the number. But would Rome consent to this, and what conditions would she impose?

Further, an agreement had to be arrived at as to the temporal position of the priesthood. The church property had been confiscated, and there could be no question of giving it back; but could Rome acquiesce in such a "robbery" of the "gifts of the faithful" and the "heritage of the poor?" Spina proposed at the outset to reintroduce tithes; but it would have been certain to provoke new disturbances. The abolition of the tithes was to many Frenchmen one of the best achievements of the Revolution, and their reintroduction in the France of the period was an impossibility.

Finally, a Concordat required a term to describe the position of the French people towards the Catholic religion. Catholicism could not be called "a State religion"; but even such a term as "the religion of the majority", used of the Catholic religion, would encounter much opposition. Mirabeau had once expressed himself against all such terms, as containing either the notion of privilege or else merely statistical information, and so being either inadmissible or superfluous. This last point, which obviously had to be settled in the first article of the Concordat, became therefore a special point of contention. At the first audience Bonaparte had told Spina that he would again make the Catholic religion the ruling one (dominante) in France, but it was not long before Spina discovered that the First Consul had no intention whatever of fulfilling his promise.

It was altogether very difficult to arrive at an agreement. Spina rejected one proposal after another, and it soon became evident that he had not sufficient instructions. After having frightened and threatened the Archbishop who was not furnished with sufficient powers, Bonaparte arrived at the conclusion that it would be best to send the fifth edition of the proposed Concordat to Rome. Cacault was despatched, provided with full powers for both ecclesiastical and political negotiations a and the intention was, that the proposal, after having been signed in Rome by him and by a representative of the Pope, should be returned to Paris, to be ratified by Spina within twenty-four hours after the arrival of the courier. Not before 10th March 1801 did the courier arrive at Rome with this fifth proposed Concordat. He also brought with him, as a token of friendship, the sacred image of Loretto, which the French at a former time had carried away. The Pope immediately summoned together twelve of the cardinals and laid the proposal before them; but it did not please the princes of the Church, and it was therefore returned, together with an explicit statement of the reasons that led to its rejection. Cacault, although an old Republican, was devoted to Pius VII and Consalvi. He wrote at the same time a letter to Talleyrand, in which he assured him that the proposal was rejected not from any evil intention, but because people in Rome were "awkward, slow by nature, and theologians by profession; still there was hope that things might by degrees improve."

CONSALVI SENT TO PARIS

But Bonaparte would not wait any longer. Cacault was ordered to break off diplomatic relations, and to leave Rome, if the Pope did not within five days agree to the proposal as it stood. This order reached Cacault on 28th May, and on the same day Consalvi received letters from Spina and Bernier, announcing Bonaparte's decision. Consalvi was so overcome by the news that he had to take to his bed. In the evening Cacault was admitted, although the Cardinal was in bed with high fever. Consalvi assured Cacault that it would mean death to the Pope if Bonaparte's threats were carried out. But the French delegate could do nothing else but inform the Papal Court next day of France's ultimatum.

Pius VII took the matter more serenely than his secretary had expected, and he showed then, as always, a real and true piety under misfortune. But he dared not sanction the proposal as it stood, and a breach was therefore inevitable. Cacault then advised that Consalvi should be sent to Paris; it would, he thought, flatter Bonaparte to see a cardinal and a Papal Secretary of State seeking audience in the Tuileries, and possibly the persuasions of "the Siren" might make the general once more disposed to be friendly. Trusting to Cacault's friendship, and his knowledge of the situation, both the Pope and the cardinals agreed to this proposal. On 3rd June, Consalvi presented to Cacault the Papal rejection of the proposal, but next day he and Cacault left Rome in the same carriage. They hoped thereby to prevent the disquietude which might easily arise if it became generally known that a breach had occurred between Rome and France. Cacault relates how Consalvi did all he could on the journey to make known to the people that it was the French ambassador with whom he was sharing a carriage on such friendly terms. They travelled to Florence, where Consalvi met Murat, with whom he spent a day "in the greatest amity." Cacault remained in Florence, but Consalvi continued to journey to Paris as quickly as possible. It caused him much pain as he travelled to see many churches destroyed, and others dedicated to Youth, Friendship, Commerce, Power, and the like.

On 20th June, Consalvi arrived in Paris at night, and put up at the Hotel de Rome, where Spina and Caselli lived. Next day he reported to Cardinal Doria, who had been made Papal Secretary of State for the time being, that he had found Spina occupied in examining a sixth proposal for a Concordat not very different from the fifth rejected at Rome. Bernier came at once, on the morning after Consalvi's arrival, to arrange for the audience with Bonaparte, who wished to see the Cardinal as soon as possible.

After receiving Bonaparte's orders at Malmaison, Bernier returned with the message that the Cardinal could be admitted the next day at seven in the evening; he added that Bonaparte wished to see him in the dress worn by the cardinals at Rome. The Master of the Ceremonies fetched Consalvi from the hotel, and drove in through the big gate of the Tuileries to the salon of the ambassadors.

Consalvi, dressed in black with red stockings and red skull-cap, was then led up the grand staircase, and through several rooms where troops saluted him. In the last ante-chamber he was received by Talleyrand, who accompanied him to the salon where Bonaparte awaited him. The First Consul, who was surrounded by ministers and a great many officials placed with theatrical effect, advanced a few steps, with Talleyrand beside him, to meet Consalvi. He addressed him in gentle and calm tones; at the beginning he was rather grave, but by and by he became smiling and lively. He spoke of the Pope with much friendliness, but with regard to the ecclesiastical negotiations he offered no bright prospects. A new proposal had been drawn up, which must be accepted within five days. Very important considerations forbade him to grant the least delay. If the proposal were not agreed to, he would break off negotiations and introduce a national religion. He added that he had the most certain means of obtaining success in such an undertaking. Consalvi answered, "respectfully, but also with the assurance which innocence and truth inspires"; but he could not manage to get the respite extended. Nevertheless, he derived the impression from the whole reception that it was very solemn, and intended to do great honour to the Pope.

BONAPARTE AND GRÉGOIRE

What did the First Consul mean by his ambiguous expressions about the adoption of a "national religion", which he hoped to succeed in introducing? As we learn from Consalvi's despatch that Talleyrand stood by his side when he uttered this threat, we may conclude that he referred to the synod of the bishops and priests who had taken the oath, which assembled a week later in Paris.

Shortly before Consalvi arrived in Paris, Bonaparte had had a conversation with a bishop, who is characterised by Grégoire as one "who was unyielding in his devotion to religion and to liberty, who had never flattered the possessor of power, and who was therefore persecuted by him, and was afterwards the object of the despot's fierce anger." There is no doubt that this bishop was Gregoire himself. The conversation was opened by the First Consul, who said: "Catholic France is divided into two parties; in order to unite them I intend to make a Concordat with the Pope. Give me your sincere opinion about it." The bishop answered that the schism was much to be regretted in itself; but that to remove it no Concordat was needed. The Catholic Church had stood for 1,200 years without Concordats; she had apostolic traditions and canonical authority, and these were enough; the first four ecumenical Councils were at that time as much honoured as the four Gospels. Thereupon the bishop criticised the Concordat between Francis I and Leo X; and his criticism was especially directed against the privileges accorded to high­born bishops, and against the withdrawal of the election of bishops from the laity. It was the programme of those who had taken the oath which the bishop thus explained. Bonaparte listened patiently to the learned explanation, but the party of the bishops and priests who had taken the oath formed only the second alternative in his designs. They had no pope. It is true he gave permission to hold a new Constitutional Council in Paris; but it was nothing more than a political move. In his entourage it was mostly Talleyrand who spoke up for the Constitutional clergy, and Bonaparte in religious matters had not much confidence in the former Bishop of Autun. It seemed to him, therefore, quite a seasonable thing that Talleyrand, shortly after the arrival of Consalvi, should leave Paris to take the baths.

The negotiations between Bernier and Consalvi proceeded meanwhile, and Bonaparte often discussed the questions with Consalvi personally in Bernier's presence, but it was not possible to reach entire agreement. Bonaparte would not allow it to be stated in any way in the Concordat that the government professed the Catholic religion. He several times called attention to the fact that he himself was born a Catholic, and that he had never rejected Catholicism. Consalvi thought at such moments that it would be unwise and dangerous, tempting though it was, to remind him of the proclamations in Egypt. When Consalvi one day expressed his dislike for the Constitutional Synod, Bonaparte said, with a smile : "When you cannot agree with God, you must try to come to an understanding with the devil." However, on 3rd July, Consalvi was able to report home that there appeared to be agreement upon certain important points. The only misfortune was that the First Consul, with the best will himself in the matter, had to take into consideration all shades of opinions. The official class, the philosophers, the libertines, and the majority of the officers, were against the Concordat, and they declared openly to Bonaparte that a Concordat would be a sure means to restore the monarchy. It was in view of the strength of this resistance that Consalvi exclaimed: "I was prepared for rain, but not for such a deluge."

At last the happy moment seemed to draw near when the Concordat might be signed, and this ceremony was fixed for 13th July. Consalvi, Spina, and Caselli were to sign on behalf of the Pope; Joseph Bonaparte, Cretet, Conseiller d'État, and Bernier on behalf of France. The signing was to take place in Joseph Bonaparte's house. Consalvi wrote in a despatch to Doria, that this happy consummation was due to two circumstances—Talleyrand's absence, and the approach of 14th July. This day, with its festivities in memory of the storming of the Bastille, was in the future, according to Bonaparte's design, to be the anniversary of the peace between France and the Pope. He asked in the above-mentioned despatch to have the Concordat returned as soon as possible with the signature of the Pope, but he expressed at the same time a fear lest new difficulties should arise. And they arose.

D'HAUTERIVE'S DRAFT CONCORDAT 

Unfortunately, Bonaparte had already, on 10th July, in an announcement about the festivities on the day of the Bastille, declared that "the scandal of religious dissensions should soon be put an end to". On 13th July, he had further caused the following announcement to appear in the Moniteur: "Cardinal Consalvi has been successful in the negotiations which the Holy See has commissioned him to conduct with the government". This was enough to set all the antagonists of the Concordat in motion. The synod of those who had taken the oath issued a sort of proclamation with the heading : "Liberty, Equality", which was a direct protest against a Concordat with the Pope. In spite of all precautions the contents of the Concordat had become generally known, so that in the evening of 13th July an invective against it was handed to Bonaparte. At the same time "Citizen," formerly Count Blanc d'Hauterive, a friend of Talleyrand and Grégoire, had made a new sketch of a Concordat, which was of such a nature that the Pope would never be able to agree to it. They attempted to get Bonaparte to place this new draft before Consalvi as the ultimatum of the French government, since the one which Consalvi and Bernier had agreed upon "brought the negotiations back again to the first difficulties". On the morning of 13th July, Consalvi received a communication from Bernier, asking him to meet him at Joseph Bonaparte's in the afternoon of the same day. He enclosed a copy of the Gallican Concordat which the enemies of the Papacy wished to enforce. Afterwards the Abbe Bernier arrived himself, to pacify Consalvi with the assurance that everything would end happily in spite of the intrigues of the opposition.

At four o'clock Consalvi, accompanied by Spina, Caselli, and Bernier, repaired to the house of Citizen Joseph Bonaparte in the Rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré. The First Consul's brother received them cordially and declared that the matter would soon be settled, inasmuch as everything was agreed upon. They seated themselves round a table, and when a little dissension as to who should sign first had been settled in favour of Consalvi, he took the pen to sign his name. On running his eye through the first articles, he discovered immediately that it was the Concordat of D'Hauterive which was placed before him, and he therefore positively refused to sign. Joseph and Cretet, who was also present, did not seem to know anything of it, and at their earnest entreaty Consalvi declared himself ready to draw up then and there a proposal for a new Concordat. They began forthwith, and after nineteen hours incessant work, they finished it. Only as to the first article were they unable to agree. The Pope had explicitly demanded as the main points liberty of worship for the Catholic Church and permission to hold their services publicly. This last point had encountered opposition from Bonaparte. He wished to have the paragraph concerning it drafted as follows: Son culte sera public, en se conformant toutefois aux règlements de police, a form which Consalvi had consistently opposed, because he feared that the Church would thereby be subjected to the arbitrary action of the police. Consalvi proposed that the rest of the Concordat should be signed, but that this article should stand over until Pius VII had given a decision. Since the Concordat could not be published without his final signature, such an arrangement could do no harm. Joseph hastened to the Tuileries with the new draft, but an hour later, he returned with the tidings that the First Consul had torn up the Concordat and thrown the pieces into the fireplace. He would have the Concordat as last proposed, or else break off all negotiations. It was two o'clock when Joseph returned; at five the banquet in honour of the Bastille day was to take place, and during that festivity Bonaparte wished to be able to report either the completion of the Concordat or a breach. For two consecutive hours Joseph and Bernier exhausted every means to induce the Cardinal to give in, but he refused. At four he returned to the hotel to dress, and an hour later he presented himself at the Tuileries with Spina, for the banquet.

BONAPARTE'S THREATS

He had scarcely entered the room where the First Consul was, before the latter said to him in a scornful voice: "So then, Monsieur le Cardinal, you have wished for a rupture. Very well! I have no need of Rome. I will act independently. If Henry VIII, who had not a twentieth part of my power, could successfully change the religion of his country, surely I can do the same. When I change the religion of France, I change it at the same time in nearly the whole of Europe, so far does my influence reach. .Rome will discover what losses she has suffered; she will weep over them, but she will find no compensation for them. You may go away; it is the best thing you can do. You wished for a rupture, and since you wish for it, you shall have it".

In answer to these words which were uttered so loudly that everybody could hear then, Consalvi said that he could neither transgress his authority nor give his consent to anything contrary to the principles of the Holy See. Thereupon, the First Consul commenced a conversation with the Cardinal, and demanded the adoption of the article in question just as it stood without the alteration of a single syllable. Consalvi repeated that he would never subscribe to it as it stood. "Well, then", said Bonaparte in conclusion, "I have a right to say that you have sought a breach, and that I look upon the matter as closed. Rome will come to feel it, and to weep tears of blood over this breach."

While uttering these words, Bonaparte had approached the Austrian ambassador, Count Cobenzl. He turned towards him and repeated his threats against Rome, adding that he would alter the ways of thinking and religion in every European state. He would certainly not be the only one that would turn his back upon the Roman Church. He would soon set Europe on fire from top to bottom, and the blame and the hurt would fall upon the Pope. Thereupon he mingled with his guests, and repeated similar words to several of them. Afterwards, Count Cobenzl came to Consalvi and remonstrated with him anew. When Bonaparte saw it, he joined them and said it was waste of time to try to overcome the obstinacy of the Papal minister. Cobenzl, however, contrived to give such a turn to the conversation that Bonaparte gave permission for a new meeting next day as a last attempt, and Consalvi arranged to meet the other representatives next day at noon at the house of Joseph Bonaparte. In hopes of a successful result of this meeting Bonaparte allowed the Papal banner to keep its place amongst the flag of friendly powers which decorated the balloon that ascended inthe evening from the Champs Elysées. This was the first time since the Revolution that the Papal flag had floated over French soil.

The Cardinal spent a restless night. In the morning Spina returned mournful and bewildered.& Padre Caselli had come to him early and had said that he dared not be a party to making any further resistance, and, as Spina knew that Caselli was as much more learned theologian than himself, he was now quite of the same opinion. If Consalvi did not agree with them that they ought to give in, they would give a separate vote. This was but little encouraging to Consalvi; but he determined in spite of all to maintain his position, and he asked his two helpers to conceal their inclination to submit as long as possible. Themeeting at Joseph's house began at twelve o'clock, and only at night did they come to an agreement; Consalvi had got thearticle altered as he desired, and Joseph had decided to sign it in this form, hoping to be able to induce his brother to accept what he had done. The signing took place at two o'clock in the morning—at the same time as Joseph's wife gave birth to a daughter, who, although good fortune was prophesied for her by the envoy of the vicar of Christ, met with but a poor fate. The next day Joseph came to Consalvi and told him the result of his conversation with his brother. Bonaparte had at first been very angry, then he had become absorbed in thought, and after a long silence, he had promised to accept the Concordat as it stood. The idea had just then occurred to him of carrying his war through by the so-called "organic articles".

THE CONCORDAT

The Concordat of Messidor 26th in the ninth year (15th July 1801) opens with the declaration that the Roman Church is "the religion of the majority". As such it must have liberty of worship and a public service within certain limits, which are mentioned. There is to be a redistribution of the French dioceses, and the Pope undertakes to notify the French bishops that he confidently expects, that, "for the sake of peace and unity, they are ready to undergo any sacrifices, even if it were of their own sees". If the bishops, contrary to expectation, refuse to make such a sacrifice they must be compelled to do it. The First Consul shall, in the course of three months, nominate new bishops and archbishops to the dioceses according to the new divisions, and the Pope shall give them canonical institution according to the ancient forms; but no period of time was fixed for this. Bishops and priests are to swear on the Gospel allegiance to the Republic, and in all churches the following prayer shall be recited at each service: Domine, salvam fac Rempublicam. Domine, salvos fac consules.

The bishops are to select the parish priests; but their choice must only fall upon men who are pleasing to the government. All the necessary churches shall be placed at the disposal of the bishops, but the Pope is to promise that neither he nor his successors will in any way injure the owners of the church property which has been confiscated. The government will, on the other hand, grant to the ministers of the Church suitable stipends, and French Catholics have permission to make gifts to the Church. The First Consul shall enjoy the same privileges as the ancient government, but if any of his successors leaves the Catholic Church, a new arrangement must be made. The binding document shall be delivered in Paris within the course of forty days.

This Concordat was, as Count Chaptal says, the most daring enterprise which Bonaparte carried out during the first years of his rule. "The idea of giving to the Pope jurisdiction once more over Frenchmen was so repulsive to the prevailing state of mind and public opinion that he alone could have formed the plan and carried this great work through". The Abbé de Pradt, indeed, relates that Napoleon repeatedly called the Concordat "his greatest mistake"; but here, as on many other points, this tainted source of information is refuted by Napoleon's own expressions at St Helena. It can with greater reason be maintained that this daring move was the beginning of the extraordinary success of the First Consul. Bonaparte, in fact, reaped as great political advantage from the treaty of peace with the Pope as Constantine the Great: and Pepin from their alliance with the Church.

Yet the advantage lay still more with Rome, and on this account Pius VII remembered to the end "this saving deed of Christian heroism", in spite of all the hard things which he experienced later on at Napoleon's hands. Rome did not only regain for the Church a firm footing in France; but by the Concordat the Curia gained a victory in a land, from which up till now had gone forth the most energetic protest against the absolute power of the Papacy. The way in which Pius VII forced the whole French episcopate to resign and submit to a complete rearrangement of all the sees, could only be defended on Bellarmine's theory of Papal Supremacy. In spite of his Gallicanism and his studies in Bossuet, Bonaparte inflicted by his action a deadly wound on the liberties of the Gallican Church, and Roman Ultramontanism could congratulate itself on having got the French government to accept the ultramontane theory of the supremacy of the Pope over the episcopate, and to silence every appeal to the old Gallican canon I law. Later attempts of Bonaparte to revive Gallicanism had no lasting importance, but the Concordat was and remained a great victory for Ultramontanism.

When the negotiations about the Concordat were finished, Consalvi was received by Bonaparte in a farewell audience. When he entered in the cardinal's urple, Bonaparte could with difficulty keep his laughter back; "if a single one had laughed, we should all", says De Pradt, "have been in danger of falling into irrepressible laughter, like the gods of Homer".

CONSALVI'S RETURN TO ROME

Consalvi pointed out during the audience that the Papal See had shown clearly in this case that it did not at all covet temporal power or other worldly things, and the First Consul listened to him civilly and without impatience. The following day, however, he was recalled to the Tuileries, and Bonaparte asked him very searching questions about the Papal States. In the course of the conversation he remarked, in passing, that he had difficulty in choosing between the bishops who had and who had not taken the oath in the appointments to the new dioceses. Consalvi was much alarmed at this utterance, and maintained that it had been an understood thing during all the negotiations that none of those who had taken the oath should again become bishops, because they were not in communion with the Pope. Bonaparte answered coldly that he could not entirely pass them by, because a strong party was on their side. Consalvi maintained firmly that it would be impossible to give them canonical institution, unless, at any rate, they made ample apology; but Bonaparte wished to save them from humiliation. This conversation made bad blood, and the First Consul showed his anger some days later at a review by passing Consalvi in silence, as he stood at the head of the diplomatic circle. When Consalvi had drafted a Bull to accompany the publication of the Concordat, he finally obtained permission to leave, and on 6th August he arrived in Rome, "more dead than alive, overcome by fatigue and want of sleep." Bonaparte afterwards sent him a magnificent casket as a reward for his work, and both Spina and Caselli received presents. The Papal See was obliged to make a gift in return, but it was very difficult, for, as Cacault says in a despatch, "they have left the Pope nothing but the relics of saints, and that stuff is of little value now in France." The Pope, however, did his best; Madame Bonaparte received a splendid rosary of lapis lazuli, with a cameo, surrounded by diamonds, "of the same kind as the Pope is accustomed to give to great princesses." So writes Cacault with evident satisfaction.

The news of the conclusion of the Concordat, according to Consalvi, created great rejoicing in Paris, and outside France also it was welcomed by Catholics and Protestants. There were not a few Catholics, however, who were not at all satisfied. The Royalists were very unwilling to see the Pope concluding a concordat with the Revolution, for the strife between revolutionary France and Rome had given them their firmest hope of the restoration of the old régime. In Italy the words went from mouth to mouth: "To save his faith Pius (VI) lost his throne. To save his throne Pius (VII) abandoned his faith".

The National Church Council at Paris was highly exasperated, but it was commanded to dissolve a few weeks after Consalvi's departure. It broke up with bitter denunciations of "the faithless and cunning Rome, which always derives benefit from everything", but yet with the promise that the bishops would apply for their discharge if the Pope publicly demanded it. That the Freethinkers were not satisfied is natural enough. Many of them had hoped to attain freedom of belief in France as in North America, and from that moment they lost faith in the republican sentiments of Bonaparte. But what did Bonaparte think himself? He was the politician. With Consalvi and the Pope he touched the ecclesiastical chords, but to Cabanis he declared : "Do you know what the Concordat which I have recently signed means? It is a religious vaccination. In fifty years' time there will be no religion in France".

LEGATE SENT TO FRANCE

On 25th July, the Concordat reached Rome, and there it was secretly placed before a congregation of cardinals and theologians to be examined by them. Some of the cardinals objected strongly to one or two of the articles, but it was from personal motives, which were ill-concealed behind a theological disguise; jealousy of Consalvi was for certain of them the real ground of their criticism. But in spite of these somewhat lengthy and wearisome discussions at Rome, the Papal envoy reached Paris, bringing the document, magnificently got up, and signed by the Pope, before the forty days had expired.

Bonaparte was then occupied in reading Fleury'sChurch History, and the reading made it clear to him that it would now be very useful to him to have a Legate (a latere) sent to France. He saw from Fleury's account what power the Papal Legates had in the Middle Ages, how they had been like little popes in the various countries; if such a Legate, endued with sufficient authority, came to Paris, the First Consul would have him in his power, and then everything would be gained. He therefore asked the Pope to send a Legate to Paris, and suggested Cardinal Caprara for the post. Caprara, Bishop of Jesi, then a man of sixty-eight years of age, had been nuncio at Cologne, Lucerne, and Vienna and was said to have Febronian sympathies. The Pope complied with the desire of the First Consul, and in the evening of 4th October, the Cardinal drove into Paris quietly, according to his own wish. The next day he had an audience with Talleyrand, and the latter communicated to him the happy news that Theophilanthropism in France was now entirely suppressed.

But difficulties were in store for Caprara like those which Consalvi had met with, and the Cardinal Legate had neither the Papal Secretary's genius nor his energy. The hard task had been entrusted to him of demanding the restoration of the Legations and of opposing to the utmost the appointment of those who had taken the oath as bishops under the new regime. Bonaparte had entrusted Portalis to conduct the negotiations on behalf of France. He was a Gallican by sympathy, a disciple of the Oratorians, well versed in canon law. Afterwards he became Minister of Public Worship. But the First Consul followed the business step by step. With his wonderful acuteness, he soon got on so far with it that Caprara could say of him: "He judges as if he were a canonist and theologian by profession." It was Bonaparte's wish that the publication of the Concordat should take place on Brumaire 18th (9th November), but it was impossible to have everything arranged for that day. Both the bishops who had and those who had not taken the oath were to lay down their office; a Bull had to be published about the rearrangement of the dioceses; and finally, the new bishops had to be nominated—a matter of great difficulty, because Bonaparte still insisted on choosing some of those who had taken the oath to be amongst the new bishops.

As soon as the Concordat was signed, the Pope sent a brief to the bishops of France, begging them to resign. Circumstances even forced him to ask their resignation within ten days. The bishops who had not taken the oath, and who were in France, immediately obeyed the admonition, and the bishops who were in Italy at once followed their example. Only one of them, the Bishop of Beziers, first asked permission of Louis XVIII to resign. The French bishops who had been hospitably received in Spain, Switzerland, and Germany, likewise sent compliant answers forthwith to the Papal brief; but the eighteen bishops who had taken refuge in England hesitated. They criticised the Concordat sharply, and some of them doubted whether the Pope had any right to make such a demand upon bishops; others thought that he ought first ta have obtained leave of Louis XVIII. Twelve of them would not submit for a good while—some of them probably under political influence from the English government, which did nofi wish to see the religious division healed, because it weakened, the country.

Their opposition encouraged Louis XVIII to speak also, and on 6th October he sent from Warsaw to all the bishops in the kingdom a protest against the Concordat, whose wording he did not know. But this protest made an impression on only a very few of the bishops.

The bishops who had taken the oath, like most of the others, were not unwilling to resign their sees. With the exception of Savines of Viviers, they signed a joint letter, in which they declared themselves ready to make the heavy sacrifice freely and without reserve. But they said besides, that they wished to show to the Pope, as the successor of St Peter, the obedience and submission that was due to him according to canons and holy decrees of the Church, and that they adhered firmly to the faith of the Apostles.

A distinction between the decrees of the Church and those of the Pope, and the acknowledgment of the "faith of the Apostles", sounded in ultramontane ears like "pure Jansenism", and the letter which they forwarded was not according to the formula that Rome had wished them to sign. Some of those who had taken the oath, moreover, in separate letters to Pius VII used expressions which wounded the Pope, because, as Theiner puts it, they bore "the stamp of Jansenism." Thus Grégoire declared in his own name and another bishop's: "Although called by a free election, we only agreed after the utmost reluctance to take upon us the heavy burden of the episcopate and to receive the holy consecration; but we see with joy the moment approaching, in which we can quit our posts without doing harm either to the cause of religion or to that of the Republic. Our faith has always been the faith of the Apostles, to which God has given us grace to bear witness, even with the guillotine before our eyes."

REARRANGEMENT OF DIOCESES 

Since the episcopal sees were vacant, it was necessary to fill them again, and, according to the Concordat, the selection was placed in the hands of Bonaparte, while the canonical institution rested with the Pope. The rearrangement of the dioceses was first put in hand, and Bonaparte took an active share in it. He went into the most minute details, decided which churches should be the principal ones, and where the new parsonages should be placed. When he saw that ten metropolitans and forty diocesans were not enough, he generously added ten new dioceses, which the Cardinal Legate of course gladly accepted. Then the new bishops were selected. It must be said in praise of the old lawful bishops, that they did not intrigue to get back into office; most of them would not accept the new sees until a great pressure had been brought to bear upon them.

Bernier, who had hoped to receive the Archbishopric of Paris as a reward for his services, had to content himself with Orleans, and there he died soon after, of grief at not having been made a cardinal.

From the bishops who had taken the oath, Pius VII required an explicit declaration, that "they adhered and submitted to the Pope's judgment concerning ecclesiastical affairs in France," or, in other words, that they acknowledged the Pope's condemnation of the Revolution and of the Civil Constitution of the clergy.

Bonaparte did not wish to go so far; but at Rome the demand of the Pope seemed too mild. A bogus Moniteur was printed, in which was seen a proclamation of Bonaparte to the Egyptians, in which he says that he has expelled the vicar of Jesus Christ on earth out of Rome. The intention was to excite the popular mind; and there were those who suggested that Pius VII should flee to Malta and seek helpi from the English, rather than come to terms with the ungodly First Consul.

ACTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL BISHOPS 

At Paris the Pope's requirement was considered altogether exorbitant; those who had taken the oath were friends of the Revolution, and must at any cost be saved from humiliations. It was pointed out to Bonaparte that there were several of these bishops for whom public opinion demanded seats in the new episcopate, and there were moments at which it looked as if there would be serious disturbances in the capital. Bonaparte was compelled to abuse his powers to eject fifty members of the Legislative Assembly, because they were enemies of the Concordat, before he could expect to get it approved by the majority of the Assembly. But the Pope was more difficult to deal with. Two out of the ten Constitutional bishops whom Bonaparte had singled out to receive French bishoprics again, were already reconciled to the Pope; but the other eight were not, and did not care about reconciliation. As soon as their nomination was communicated to them, they went to the Cardinal Legate on the morning of Maundy Thursday, to arrange for the canonical institution. Caprara showed them a letter addressed to the Pope, that contained amongst other things the above-mentioned expressions, and he demanded that each of them should forward it, signed with his own name, before there could be any idea of institution. The bishops refused to sign a recantation couched in such strong language, but promised to draw one up themselves in a milder form. From Caprara they went to Portalis to complain, and afterwards to other powerful personages, and as they found support everywhere, they grew bolder.

At this point everything seemed about to break down again. The Legate dared not to give in to the request of the bishops, because it was against his instructions; Bonaparte neither could nor would agree to the requirement of the Legate, because its fulfilment would make the opposition to the Concordat far stronger. At this difficult juncture Bernier reappeared as mediator. He proposed that the bishops in his and another's presence should secretly and orally make the recantation which the Pope required; and both Caprara and Bonaparte agreed to this proposal. It is said that the eight bishops made the recantation in hot haste on Easter Even, in the presence of Pancemont, Bishop of Vannes, and of Bernier. But as Rome carelessly divulged the secret, in spite of the promise of silence, the eight bishops declared that they had never recanted in such a way. We are here placed in the difficulty of doubting the veracity of either Bernier or of the bishops; and in spite of Theiner's clever attempt yet again to save Bernier's honour, D'Haussonville, even if he be wrong in some of his premises, is no doubt right when he attaches greater credence to the eight bishops than to the shrewd Bernier. It is most difficult to understand how the Bishop of Vannes, who was considered a saint, could acquiesce in such an untruth.

However this may be, Bernier's account of the meeting with the eight who had taken the oath helped to remove the last difficulties on the part of Rome. On 3rd April 1802 Bernier reported to Consalvi that the Concordat had been passed in the Conseil d'État on the previous day "without discussion". On the following Monday, 5th April, it was to be laid before the Legislative Assembly "not to be approved or to be rejected, but to be published as the law of the Republic". No difficulty was to be expected from that quarter. "It is the first work of the Assembly", Bernier adds, "and it will do it well. Lucien Bonaparte, who is appointed tribune, is preparing to support it in a speech". It was to Portalis, however, that the duty of removing the last opposition in the Legislative Assembly wad entrusted. He did so in a brilliant speech, so far as its form is concerned. First he pointed out the necessity of religion, which is really founded upon the necessity of having a scheme of morality. But a scheme of morality without dogmas would be une justice sans tribunaux. The multitude cannot be satisfied! with proofs. It must have commandments—religion and not merely philosophy. The positive religions have this advantage, that they possess ceremonies. An abstract religion can never be a popular religion, and atheism is more dangerous to the State than superstition. But could not a new religion be formed? No, it is impossible. It is their antiquity which give splendor to religions; men must believe that they are the work of God. Everything is lost, as soon as people catch a glimpse of the hands of man. Why then not go on with Christianity? Can the religion of Descartes, Newton, Pascal, Bossuet, and Fénelon be opposed to enlightenment and good morals? Christianity, no doubt, has certain dogmas of its own; but they fill up the space which reason leaves empty, and which imagination would be sure to fill up in a worse manner. Furthermore, the State must aid religion in order to have some control of it. The Concordat, now concluded, must therefore be considered very successful, from the point of view of the State, particularly because of the organic articles which were added to it.

THE ORGANIC ARTICLES

Such a speech was needed when Bonaparte "erected the altars" in France. The "organic articles" to which Portalis alludes, were certain regulations which the French government had made with regard to the carrying out of the Concordat. They were drawn up without the knowledge of the Pope, and gave him occasion afterwards to make the strongest remonstrances; for they actually made the Church the slave of the State. No Bull, no brief, or any other missive from the Pope, so those articles enact, may be published or printed without the permission of the government. Legates and nuncios must obtain authority from the French government to work in France. Not even ecumenical Councils can obtain validity in France, unless they are first examined and ratified by the government, and no ecclesiastical synod may be called together there without its permission. All services of the Church must be given without remuneration, with the exception of those for which the government has fixed the allowance. In all matters the Conseil d'État may be appealed to as a kind of final Court. There are no longer any legal exemptions for the clergy. Archbishops and bishops may add to their names "Citizen" or "Monsieur"; all other titles are abolished. If an archbishop refuses to consecrate his suffragans, the senior bishop may do it instead of him. No one may be made a bishop before thirty years of age, and only if he be a Frenchman born. The bishops may not leave their dioceses without permission of the First Consul. All the teachers in the seminaries must sign the Gallican declarations of 1682, and promise to communicate to their pupils the teaching embodied in them. No foreigner may be made a priest in France without special permission. There must be one catechism and one liturgy for the whole of France, and no festival except Sunday can be celebrated without special permission of the government. All ministers of the Church must wear French dress, and be clothed in black; the bishops, however, have permission to wear a cross and purple stockings. No religious ceremony must take place outside the churches in regions where there are several forms of belief. The church ceremony of marriage may only be performed when the couple has first contracted civil marriage. The archbishops are to have 15,000 francs a year, the bishops 10,000 francs, and the priests 1,500 or 1,000, besides parsonage and garden.

In spite of these organic laws, which were to restore the Gallican liberties to the Church of France, the Legislative Assembly did not relish swallowing the bitter pill, which the Concordat was to them. On the same day that Portalis delivered his speech, a deputation from the Assembly had an audience of Bonaparte. The spokesman made a speech in which he dwelt upon the peace of Amiens, which was now finally concluded, but he did not by a single syllable allude to the Concordat. It was a demonstration, the object of which was clear enough; but Bonaparte was not slow in answering. After thanking them he spoke as follows : "The session of the Legislative Assembly opens with the most important work that can engage the attention of a popular assembly. The whole French nation is desirous of seeing an end of religious strife, and a settlement of the form of public worship. You must, like the nation itself, be unanimous about the result of your deliberations. The French nation will hear with the greatest satisfaction that it has not a single legislator who has not voted for the peace of conscience, and the peace of family life, which is more important for the welfare of the people than the peace upon which you have just now congratulated the government." It was a speech, which, in point of clearness, left nothing to be desired; and two days after, the Legislative Assembly passed the Bill by 228 votes to 21. On the same day the tribunate passed it by 78 to 9. The mob of Paris and the zealous revolutionaries revenged themselves by hooting a play, which one of the tribunes, who had spoken in favor of the Concordat, produced just at the same time in the Theatre Francais; and the generals and the soldiers were astonished at hearing "the little corporal" speaking as if he were delivering a sermon.

On Friday, 9th April, Caprara was officially received at the Tuileries as Legate of the Holy See. He had requested that a man on horseback should carry a cross of gold in front of him, as old custom demanded when legates went to Court; but the authorities did not yet dare to present such a spectacle to the inhabitants of Paris. The cross was placed in one of the closed carriages, which preceded that of the Cardinal Legate. The First Consul received him at the head of a splendid assemblage, and listened graciously to his speech. He then took the oath. Bonaparte on the previous day had promulgated a decree, which acknowledged Caprara's function as Legate, as soon as, "according to the usual formula," he had promised to conform to the laws of the State and "the liberties of the Gallican Church." This expression was at the time undoubtedly understood by most of the outside world, as though the Legate was to acknowledge the four propositions of 1682; but such was not the case. The oath was only a general promise of obedience. After the taking of the oath, Bonaparte expressed his appreciation of the Legate's person, and also the hope that the result of his mission would be "hailed with joy by all enlightened philosophers and true philanthropists." On the following Sunday, which was Palm Sunday, four new prelates were canonically instituted, amongst them Cambaceres as Archbishop of Rouen, and Bernier as Bishop of Orleans. Each of the new bishops received a gift of money, a cross, a pastoral staff, and a mitre. The ceremony took place in the church of Notre Dame, which, until then, had been under the charge of those who had taken the oath. The unusual spectacle attracted a great multitude of people. The church, says Thiers, was full of a numerous band of Christians, who had been sighing over the unhappy state of religion, and who, without belonging to any party, accepted that day with gratitude the First Consul's gift to them.

BONAPARTE'S PROCLAMATION 

On Easter Even, Bonaparte issued a proclamation, in which he invited the French to take part in the next day's festival, the publication of the Concordat. "Frenchmen!" says the proclamation, "in the midst of a revolution which was inspired by patriotism, there suddenly arose religious dissensions, which have become a scourge to your families, an incitement to party strife, and the cause of hope to our enemies. A foolish policy attempted to stifle these dissensions under the fragments of the altars, under the ruins of religion itself. At its bidding the pious festivals ceased, at which citizens called each other by the tender name of brother, and acknowledged each other as fellow-men under the hand of that God who made them; the dying who was alone with his pain no longer heard the voice of comfort that calls Christians to a better life; God Himself seemed to have been banished out of Nature ... It was to the Pope that the example of centuries, and reason, bade us go to make peace between divided opinions, and to reconcile estranged-hearts."

Then the clergy are addressed: "Ministers of the religion of peace! Let the deepest oblivion hide your strifes, your misfortunes, and your faults.... Let the citizens learn from you that the God of peace is also the God of armies, and that He fights against those who wish to forbid France to be independent and free."

At last that Easter Day came, 18th April 1802, which at one and the same time was to be marked by the publication of the peace of Amiens and of the Concordat. Whilst the First Consul in the morning hours exchanged the documents relating to the peace of Amiens with the ambassadors of the foreign powers, a crowd, partly civil, partly military, paraded the streets to publish the Concordat. At eleven o'clock Caprara went to the church of Notre Dame followed by archbishops and bishops in full canonicals, and on that day the golden cross was carried before the Legate. Louis XV's gilded chariots and state carriages drove to the church, full of ladies in brilliant costumes, and on Madame Bonaparte's carriage were seen, for the first time, footmen in green livery with gold lace, which came afterwards to be the colours of the Napoleons. The First Consul went to church at the head of his faithful admirers. On the way, the splendid procession met Berthier and the generals, and, at a sign from Bonaparte, these joined his suite. It was a stratagem. To make the generals join in, Berthier had invited them to diner, and after diner requested them to go to the Tuileries to congratulate the First Consul. He took care that this request was accomplished at the moment when Bonaparte was on his way to church; and thus the generals were tricked into going to church likewise. They took part in the service, but they were, as Thiers says, more obedient than converted.

The former Archbishop of Aix, De Boisgelin, preached, and his sermon was a panegyric upon the General and the First Consul. The speaker drew a comparison between him, Pepin, and Charles the Great. The whole thing was a prelude to the coronation, and Bonaparte had specially chosen the Archbishop of Aix because he had preached in the cathedral of Reims when Louis XVI was crowned. It seemed on that day as if France had only one ruler, and not three consuls.

DISSATISFACTION WITH CONCORDAT

Bonaparte was also the only one for whom incense was literally burnt. When the priests asked in the morning whether the censer should not be swung for the other two consuls, Bonaparte answered: "No; the perfume will still be too strong for them." The presage of autocracy which was linked with the restoration of the Catholic religion evoked still more repugnance amongst the friends of liberty. Madame de Stael shut herself up in order to avoid seeing "the hateful show," and dissatisfaction smouldered among many of those nearest to Bonaparte. On returning from church the First Consul said to one of the generals: "Did not everything seem to be in the old order again today?" He received the answer: "Yes; except that two millions of Frenchmen have died for liberty, and cannot be restored to life." But Pasquier, afterwards Chancellor, writes in his Memoires: "Never did Bonaparte show himself greater than on that day. It was the most magnificent victory that could be gained over the Revolution. All the rest, without exception, were only results of this." And Talleyrand saw in the Concordat the best proof of Napoleon's strength of character; for in concluding it he defied both the scorn of the army and the opposition of his brother consuls.

After the conclusion of the Concordat, which was received with great joy, especially in the provinces, Bonaparte sent Pius VII a letter in which he signed himself de Vôtre Sainteté le très-dévoué fils. But there were still two subjects of controversy between the First Consul and Rome—the Organic Articles, and the Legations, which Pius VII constantly hoped to regain. Rome was greatly annoyed at the Organic Articles, but still more at the deceitful manner in which they were put forth. A paper was published in Paris, of which the title was Concordat, printed in capitals. In this the Organic Articles, were printed immediately after the articles of the Concordat and under the same date, so that it looked as if they formed part of the Concordat concluded with the Pope. Consalvi passed the following judgment upon their contents: "They overthrew nearly the whole new edifice, which we had built up with so much pains. The regulations which the Concordat had made as to the liberty of the Church and of Divine Service, were again exposed to the decisions of Gallican jurisprudence, and the Church of France was in danger off being once more enslaved."

Consalvi's anxieties were fully shared by Pius VII and his theologians, but nothing could be done. All representations, all prayers, all threats were in vain. The Organic Articles continued in force. And they were not quite without their advantages. They diminished the number of the parishf priests, and increased the number of assistant clergy, and since these could be removed simply at the bidding of the bishop, a very large part of the clergy became altogether dependent upon the bishops. Bonaparte purposed by this regulation to extend his supremacy over the episcopate to the whole of the French clergy, but the dependence of the clergy upon the bishops in reality opened to Rome a sure prospect of ruling the French priesthood.

This regulation in the Organic Articles contributed not a little to making Ultramontanism victorious in France, after the Gallican leaven had been purged out of the French episcopate.

But it was not at all easy to carry into practice the regulations of the Concordat, and to reconcile in detail the Church of the Revolution with the Church of the Monarchy. The priests and bishops who had not taken the oath could not forget the past of those who had done so, and the latter often saw in the former traitors to the cause of France and of liberty. The exiled bishops in England, and some of those in Spain, Germany, and Poland sent pastoral letters to their old flocks; in order tostir up resistance to the new administration. Bonaparte was furious with these rebels, and Talleyrand was ordered to take measures against them through diplomatic channels. Nevertheless, the happy relationship with Rome was not disturbed by this means, because the protesting bishops by their attitude acted as much against the bidding of the Pope as against that of the First Consul. Yet even down to our own days, a small schismatic body has continued in several of the French departments, called the petite église, whose special feature is resistance to the Concordat. At first this "little church" had both bishops and priests; it now consists only of lay people, and more and more of them seem to reconcile themselves to Rome, except in the cases where they have gone to yet further extremes in their resistance to the Papacy.

In order to show Pius VII his satisfaction with the Concordat, Bonaparte presented him with two ships, whose names were changed to St Peter and St Paul. The Pope went wild with joy, as Cacault writes, and the Romans began little by little to forget that there had ever been a revolution in their own town, as well as in France.

"The Pope's subjects," reports Cacault a little later, "weep with joy because they find the French such good Catholics, and they exult to see them taking their places as the Eldest Sons of the Church."

Pius VII, for his part, supported Bonaparte so earnestly that he made five Frenchmen cardinals, amongst others Fesch, the half-brother of Laetitia Ramolino, and therefore half-uncle to the First Consul. On 27th March 1803 there was again an ecclesiastical fête in the Tuileries, at which Madame Laetitia experienced the uncommon pleasure of seeing her son present the Cardinal's hat to his uncle in just the same way as Louis XIV had presented it to the great cardinals in the days of old. Nine months previously Pius VII had given Bonaparte another sign of his good­will by issuing a brief, in which he made a layman of Talleyrand, who had worked so faithfully for the conclusion of the Concordat. The former Bishop of Autun considered it a sign of perfect forgiveness on the part of Rome, when he heard that Pius VII. had said to Consalvi, M. de Talleyrand! ah! ah! Que Dieu ait son âme, mais moi je I'aime beaucoup?

CHATEAUBRIAND

At the same time as the Concordat was published, a young, as yet unknown, nobleman of Brittany, Chateaubriand by name, put forth a work, which under the title of Le ginie du Christianisme praised the beauty of Christianity. The book was very highly spoken of in the Moniteur, but sharply criticised by the Freethinkers. The author wished to convert. infidels into believers by showing that Christianity is neither absurd, nor coarse, nor petty, as people had been taught by Voltaire and the Encyclopedia, "that Tower of Babel of Science and Reason." He had himself attained to faith through tears, and he strove to move others to tears by casting the splendour of poetry upon the "beauties" of Faith and of Divine Service. The essay was far more a poetical than an apologetic work, and the author was richer in images than in ideas, just as he had penetrated further into the works of the great poets than into the Holy Scriptures. But these poetic effusions had their effect. Many Frenchmen required to see the beauty of Christianity, before they could acknowledge its truth.

  And as poetry was employed through Chateaubriand's work to glorify the Concordat, so also was art likewise. Wicar made a drawing, representing Pius VII in the act of signing the Concordat, which Consalvi was holding out to him. On Cacault's suggestion that it might prove a means of honor and profit to giv this drawing a further publicity, it was etched on copper, and 5,000 copies were struck off. In a cheaper edition the etching was distributed in all ;the parsonages, in order to proclaim the peace between Bonaparte and Rome.

But could this peace last long? In June 1803, after being present at an ordination at Lyons, conducted by Cardinal Fesch, Chateaubriand writes the following words to a friend: "If an all-powerful man were to draw his hand back today, Philosophism would tomorrow execute the priests with the sword of Tolerance, and reopen on their behalf the philanthropic deserts of Guiana". On such weak foundations did the peace rest! There was still a possibility of new dangers to the Church, which Chateaubriand did not think of: the all-powerful man might not only draw his hand back, but might lay it upon the Church. Before this could happen, Pius VII had to render him the greatest service that could be asked of a pope. He must cast the glory of legitimacy over the crown which the daring soldier had seized.