260 POLITICAL HERESY.— THE STATE. the enterprise was a large one, secrecy and combined operations were requisite for its success, and Philippe, as soon as Clement's letter had shown him that he was not to expect immediate papal co-operation, lost no time. He always asserted that he had acted under requisition from the inquisitor, and excused his haste by de- claring that his victims were collecting their treasures and prepar- ing to fly. On September 14 royal letters were sent out to the king's representatives throughout France, ordering the simultane- ous arrest, under authority from Frere Guillaume. of all members of the Order on October 13, and the sequestration of all property. Frere Guillaume, on September 20, addressed all inquisitors and all Dominican priors, sub-priors, and lectors, commissioning them to act, and reciting the crimes of the Templars, which he charac- terized as sufficient to move the earth and disturb the elements. He had, he said, examined the witnesses, he had summoned the king to lend his aid, and he cunningly added that the pope was informed of the charges. The royal instructions were that the Templars when seized were to be strictly guarded in solitary con- finement ; they were to be brought before the inquisitorial com- missioners one by one ; the articles of accusation were to be read over to them ; they were to be promised pardon if they would confess the truth and return to the Church, and be told that other- wise they were to be put to death, while torture was not to be spared in extracting confession. The depositions so obtained were to be sent to the king as speedily as possible, under the seals of the inquisitors. AH Templar property was to be sequestrated and careful inventories be made out. In undertaking an act which would shock public opinion in no common fashion, it was neces- sary that it should be justified at once by the confessions wrung from the prisoners, and nothing was to be spared, whether by promises, threats, or violence, to secure the result.*
- Du Puy, pp. 18-19, 86. — Stemler, Contingent zur Geschichte der Templer,
Leipzig, 1783, pp. 36-50. — Pissot, Proems et Condamnation des Templiers, Palis, 1805, pp. 39-43. Clement V., in his letters of November 21 to Edward of England, and No- vember 22 to Robert, Duke of Calabria, describes Philippe as having acted under the orders of the Inquisition, and as presenting the prisoners for judgment to the Church (Rymer III. 30 ; MSS. Chioccarello, T. VIII.). The Holy Office was rec- ognized at the time as being the responsible instrumentality of the whole affair
