WHERE THE REASON IS GIVEN WHY THE APOSTOLIC SEE HOLDS THE FIFTH PLACE
I will refute the opinion of these men in the theological schools and, as I hope, by the force of my arguments, if they are weighed with open minds and free of the contention and hatred that usually blind all judgment. To make the great error of this opinion clearer, let us imagine one Luther alone, against whom our pen is sharpened. The multitude of those who err does not create support for error. Let him, then, be the first and only man who dares to assert that the Supreme Pontiff and the Roman Church can err against the Gospel when deciding controversies of faith. Unless I prove this erroneous with arguments more certain than those by which Catholics prove either purgatory or the divine authority of papal indulgences, my authority, slight as it may be, will be at risk with my readers. I shall show this better if, to establish this topic firmly, I lay its foundations deeper. Before that, however, I must briefly explain why we have placed this topic fifth. Some may think the order more fitting if this topic came before the preceding one, which contains the authority of councils. Although they may be mistaken in their conjecture, I understand the consequence they have in mind: if the authority of the Apostolic See is removed, all councils not only waver but fall; yet the Apostolic See has its authority in itself even without councils. The authority of the Apostolic Church would therefore come before the authority of councils. But nature requires that each thing keep its proper place, just as each element has its own proper place: earth occupies the lowest, water floods above it, the ether lies higher, and the highest regions are given to fire. We answer briefly that, given the limits of human understanding, we often disregard nature’s order. Human beings, however,
are so constituted, as Aristoteles has often observed, that they proceed from what is better known to what is less known. Since the authority of councils is more acceptable and familiar to most people, it is no wonder that we have put the natural order aside. Besides, councils represent the Church, and it would not have been orderly to separate Catholic councils from the Catholic Church. We therefore rightly joined the Church’s councils to it. Enough of this. Let us now pursue the matter we set out to treat.