ter, Nicholas, Pope of the old Rome: Photius, Bishop of Constantinople, the new Rome:
"When I consider the grandeur of the priesthood; when I think of the distance between its perfection and the baseness of man; when I measure the weakness of my powers, and recall the ideas I have had all my life of the sublimity of such a dignity — thoughts which inspired me with wonder, with stupefaction, when I saw the men of our times, not to mention those of ancient times, accepting the dreadful yoke of the pontificate, and, though men of flesh and blood, undertaking, at their great peril, to fulfil the ministry of the pure-spirited cherubim; when my mind dwells upon such thoughts, and I find myself in that position in which I have trembled to see others, I cannot express the pain and the grief I experience. In childhood I took a resolution that age has only strengthened, to keep myself aloof from business and noise, and to enjoy the peaceful delights of private life; still (I should confess it to your Holiness, since in writing to you I owe you the truth) I have been obliged to accept dignities from the imperial court, and thus break my resolutions. Yet have I never been so bold as to aspire to the dignity of the priesthood. It seemed to me too venerable and formidable; above all, when I recalled the example of St. Peter, head of the Apostles, who, after having given to our Lord and our true God, Jesus Christ, so many evidences of his faith, and showed how ardently he loved him, regarded the honour of being raised by his Master to the priesthood as the crowning glory of all his good works. I also recall the example of that servant who had received one talent, and who, having hid it, because his master was a hard man, that he might not lose it, was obliged to give an account of it, and was condemned to the fire and to Hades for having permitted it to lie idle.
