BISHOP OF ROME 29
seemed willing to conform gradually to the ordinary laws of human association so that mere humdrum earthly realities could have their part in the Christian life and the peril of ecstatic self-immolation be warded off. Charisma was now no longer a tongue of fire coming suddenly from heaven, but the simple implication of every personal gift and situation. Strength but also weakness was charisma it sought to be riches but also poverty. In a spirit of solidarity, Chris- tians should seek to equalize their charisma. The strong were to help the weak and the weak were to obey the strong; the rich were to give to the poor and the poor were to pray that a blessing might rest upon their benefactors. The anarchy of all mere urges, the re- ligious urge also, is now subordinated to the desire for form. The words congregation, corpus (society in the sense of the Roman law) , unity, order, sound almost like military terms. Paul, too, had drawn upon the language of the army and of the world of sport in order to characterize the manner in which the inner man must now respond to the commands given by Christ. But the Roman Bishop writing forty-three years later had good reason to set the example of the army before a communion of saints spread over the whole world, divided among nations, threatened by all cults, schools, myths and systems. Thus would the whole receive an impulse to discipline and unity. Christ sent from God is the King. He in turn sent forth His disci- ples, and these disciples selected elders and bishops who in turn chose their successors in office. It is as if a heritage passed from hand to hand, with the assent of the whole community it is true, but not by reason of their choice. The office proceeds from the King, is a power beyond the ken of men, but is lodged in the bearers and after them in the succession of those who receive it and pass it on. The leaders, like their King, also issue commands. Their law, the canon, is the written or oral tradition of faith. Yet Clement speaks as the Bishop of Rome, in the tone of a higher authority. True enough he still spoke in the name of his community when asking for obedience to the coun- sels advanced in his letter. Herewith the foundations of the Catholic Church, which rest on Jewish, antique and primitive Christian ground become plainly visible. They are the rules of faith, the apostolic or- igin and dignity of the episcopal office, the hierarchical ordering of the representatives of the Divine authority who are sundered from the
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