ONE THOUSAND FAMOUS THINGS	881
Peter: Have you been diligent in your prayers ?
Julius: The invincible Julius ought not to answer a beggarly
fisherman, but you shall know who and what I am. I have done more
for the Church and Christ than any pope before me. I have set all
the princes of Europe by the ears, torn up treaties, kept great armies
in the field, covered Rome with palaces, and left five millions in
the Treasury.
Peter : Invincible warrior ! All this is quite new to me, pardon
my simplicity, but how comes it that the princes are so ready to take
up arms for you, while to us they were the worst enemy we had ?
Julius : By my triple crown and by my victories I will make you
know who Julius is if you provoke me farther,
Peter: Poor worldly madman, will you boast of your treaty-
breaking and your accursed wars ? These are Satan's arts. Power
with you*ls joined with madness and vanity. What sign have you
ever shown of an apostle ? Have you increased the Church ?
Julius : I found it poor : I have made it splendid, I have filled
Rome with palaces, trains of mules and horses, troops of servants,
armies and officers ; with purple and gold, with revenues so vast
that kings are poor beside the pope.
Peter: Pray, inform me. The Church had nothing of all this
when it was founded by Christ.
Julius : You are thinking of the old affair, when you starved as
pope with a handful of poor hunted bishops about you. Time has
changed all that. Look now at our gorgeous churches, bishops like
kings, cardinals in purple gloriously attended, horses decked with
jewels, and shod with gold and silver.
Peter : He who was Lord of all became the scorn of all, and ended
with a death of shame.
Julius : He will not find many imitators in these times. The world
will not respect us and the Church will go to pieces if we are poor
and cannot defend ourselves. Money is power.
Peter: If the world saw the gifts of Christ in you it would think
more of you and not less for being poor. Then the Church would
flourish again. You call the Church flourishing when it is drunk
with luxury. We are not of your communion in this place. You
have an army of sturdy rogues behind you ; go build a paradise of
your own.
Julius: I will do better than that. I will wait till I have a
larger force and will take your place by storm.
1$ It Nothing to You, All Te fliat Pass By ?
H
ow doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people !    She that
was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces,
how is she become tributary !    She weepeth sore in the night, and
her tears are on her cheeks.