wealth and culture, he was eager that his reign should equal that of
Solomon and the Cæsars. He sought to aggrandize his relatives, to
honor and enrich men of genius, and to surround himself with costly
splendors and pleasures. These demanded extraordinary revenues. The
projects of his ambitious predecessors had depleted the papal coffers.
He needed to do something on a grand scale in order adequately to
replenish his exchequer.

As early as the eleventh century the popes had betimes resorted to the
selling of pardons and the issuing of free passes to heaven on
consideration of certain services or payments to the Church. From
Urban II. to Leo X. this was more or less in vogue--first, to get
soldiers for the holy wars,[4] and then as a means of wealth to the
Church. If one wished to eat meat on fast-days, marry within
prohibited degrees of relationship, or indulge in forbidden pleasures,
he could do it without offence by rendering certain satisfactions
before or after, which satisfactions could mostly be made by payments
of money.[5] In the same way he could buy remission of sins in
general, or exemption for so many days, years, or centuries from the
pains of Purgatory. Bulls of authority were given, in the name of the
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, to issue certificates of exemption from
all penalties to such as did the service or paid the equivalent.
Immense incomes were thus realized. Even to the present this facile
invention for raising money has not been entirely discontinued. Papal
indulgences can be bought to-day in the shops of Spain and elsewhere.

Leo seized upon this system with all the vigor and unscrupulousness
characteristic of the Medici. Had he been asked whether he really
believed in these pardons, he would have said that the Church always
believed the pope had power to grant them. Had he spoken his real mind