362

1HE DECLINE AND FALL

chap, had remained at Avignon; eleven Frenchmen ,one Spaniard, and four Italians , entered thecon-Eiection of chive in the usual form. Their choice was notApruV^’ yet limited to the purple; and their unanimousvotes acquiesced in the archbishop of Bari, asubject of Naples, conspicuous for his zeal andlearning, who ascended the throne of St. Peterunder the name of Urban the sixth. The epis-tle of the sacred college affirms his free and re-gular election, which had been inspired, asusual, by the Holy Ghost: he was adorned, in-vested, and crowned, with the customary rights;his temporal authority was obeyed at Rome andAvignon , and his ecclesiastical supremacy wasacknowledged in the Latin ivorld. During se-veral weeks, the cardinals attended their newmaster with the fairest professions of attachmentand loyalty, till the summer heats permitted adecent escape from the city. But as soon asthey were united at Anagni and Fundi, in aplace of security, they cast aside the mask, ac-cused their own falsehood and hypocrisy, ex-communicated the apostate and antichrist ofRome , and proceeded to a new election of RobertElection of 0 f Geneva, Clement the seventh, whom they an-vii. nounced to the nations as the true and rightful

Sept. 21 v j car 0 f Christ. Their first choice, an involun-tary and illegal act, was annulled by the fear ofdeath and the menaces of the Romans; andtheir complaint is justified by the strong evi-dence of probability and fact. The twelveFrench cardinals, above two thirds of the votes,were masters of the election; and whatever