I know that for a long time now men’s ears are waiting to hear the offense with which I charge the Roman pontiffs. It is, indeed, an enormous one, due to supine ignorance, or to gross avarice which is the slave of idols, or to pride of empire of which cruelty is ever the companion….They say that the city of Rome is theirs, theirs the kingdom of Sicily and of Naples, the whole of Italy, the Gauls, the Spains, the Germans, the Britons, indeed the whole West; for all these contained in the instrucment of the Donation [of Constantine] itself. So all these are yours, supreme pntiff? And it is your purpose to recove them all? To despoil all kings and princes of the West of their cities or compel them to pay you a yearly tribute, is that your plan?

I, on the contrary, think it fairer to let the princes despoil you of all the empire you hold. For as I shall show, the Donation whence the supreme pontiffs will have their right derived was unknown equally to [Pope] Sylvester and to Constantine….it is true that the latter did not give nor the former receive possession of what is said to have been granted, but that it always remained under the sway and empire of the Caesars.