THE TEMPLARS. 249 Suspicions of the kind might not unnaturally be excited, and yet be wholly without foundation. Modern writers have exer- cised their ingenuity in conjecturing that there was a plot on hand for the Templars to seize the south of France and erect it into an independent kingdom. The Order had early multiplied rapidly in the provinces from the Garonne to the Eh one ; it is assumed that they were deeply tinctured with Catharism, and held relations with the concealed heretics in those regions. All this is the sheer- est assumption without the slightest foundation. There was not a trace of Catharism in the Order,* and we have seen how by this time the Cathari of Languedoc had been virtually exterminated, and how the land had been Gallicized by the Inquisition. Such an alliance would have been a source of weakness, not of strength, for it would have brought upon them all Europe in arms, and had there been a shred of evidence to that effect, Philippe le Bel would have made the most of it. Neither can it be assumed that they were intriguing with the discontented, orthodox population. Ber- nard Delicieux and the Carcassais would never have turned to the feeble Ferrand of Majorca if they could have summoned to their assistance the powerful Order of the Temple. Yet even the Order of the Temple, however great might have been its aggregate, was fatally weakened for such ambitious projects by being scattered in isolated fragments over the whole extent of Europe ; and its inability to concentrate its forces for either aggression or defence was shown when it surrendered with scarce an effort at self-pres- ervation in one country after another. Besides, it was by no means so numerous and wealthy as has been popularly supposed. The dramatic circumstances of its destruction have inflamed the imagination of all who have written about it, leading to a not un- natural exaggeration in contrasting its prosperity and its misery. An anonymous contemporary tells us that the Templars were so 1887, I. 66,99; II. 38) sufficiently proves the incredibility of the story of the im- mense treasure brought to France by de Molay, and he further points out (I. 98) that the preservation of the archives of the Order in Malta shows that they could not have been removed to Fiance.
- Perhaps the most detailed and authoritative contemporary account ot the
downfall of the Templars is that of Bernard Gui (Flor. Chronic, ap. Bouquet XXI. 716 sqq.). It is impossible to doubt that had there been anything savoring of Catharism in the Order he would have scented it out and alluded to it.
