Thus Nicholas had bequeathed to Marin the sentiments which the latter had bequeathed to Stephen. As for the acts of John VIII., they were completely ignored. Photius did not change as easily as the Popes, and he followed the rules of ancient law with moderation and intelligence.
It appears from the letter of Stephen V. that the Papacy was no longer so very defiant toward the emperors of the East. The Roman empire of the West had crumbled with Charlemagne. From its fragments had sprung a thousand little independent states, for ever quarreling among themselves. The feudal system was organizing; The Papacy no longer saw a powerful prince at hand to protect it. Rome itself was a prey to the quarrels of several hostile parties. Meanwhile the Mussulmans continued their conquests. Checked in the East by the Emperor Basil, they were pouring in upon the West, and Rome itself was threatened. John VIII. knew that Rome could obtain better aid from the Emperor of the East than from the divided princes of the West. His successors, with less cleverness, implored the same assistance without sacrificing any of their contemptible personal grudges. It was only fair that they should not succeed.
Had the Papacy been happily inspired, it might have availed itself of its influence in the West to arouse the Princes against the Mussulmans, and unite them with the Emperor of the East in that great struggle. But Rome preferred to indulge her antipathies against a Church which set up the doctrine and laws of the primitive Church in opposition to her usurpations. She aroused the West as much against the Eastern Christians as against the Mussulmans, and thus introduced a radical fault in those great movements of nations known as the Crusades. The conception of these .expeditions was grand, and for the West it led to some useful results.
