The history of the popes, from the close of the middle ages : drawn ...

306 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
commission, to Rome. Borromeo sent three answers, the
first on December 12th, a second, in greater detail, on December
26th, 1562, and finally, a third on January loth, 1563. These
contained among other things, the instruction that, in order
to secure the necessary clearness, the definition of the Council
of Florence as to the primacy, should be renewed.^
How necessary it was that renewed prominence should be
given, just at that time, to the authority of the Holy See, and
its inalienable rights, assailed as they were, and not by the
Protestants alone, was shown by the discussion which followed,
during the course of which the Gallican current in the Council
appeared clearly on the surface. The French prelates refused,
in the most violent manner, to acknowledge that the bishops
held a position dependent on the Pope, nor would they allow
it to be stated in the seventh canon that the Pope had the
power to govern the Church, as that would prejudice the
view which placed the Council above the Pope.^
On January 24th, 1563, the French envoys, Lansac and
Ferrier, appeared before the legates and protested against the
words " the Pope governs the Church." They wished, they
expressly stated, to stand up for " their religion," which
taught that the Pope is subject to the Council, and in proof
of this they appealed to the Council of Constance. The
answer of the legates left nothing to be desired in the way of
firmness. Cardinal Gonzaga replied that if the envoys thought
of defending the opinion they submitted, he and other legates
were equally determined to defend the truth, and this truth
was that the Pope was above the Council ; they were ready to
sacrifice their lives before they would allow the supremacy
of the Pope to be inpugned. Seripando then invalidated
^ Borromeo's instructions, only summarized by Pallavicini,
of December 12 and 26, 1562, and January 10, 1563, have been
given in a translation by Grisar, Primat, 762 seq., and afterwards
in the original in Disput., I., 455 seq., 457 seq., 461 seq., 467 seq.
Cf. SusTA, III., 116, 141 and 153, where, in addition to several
textual corrections from the original (Ambrosiana Library,
Milan, J. 141, inf. p. 167) the date of the last instruction is corrected.
8 See Paleotto in Theiner, II., 614 ; Grisar, Primat, 768 $eq.