Northern Gaul; the Visigoths made Spain and the region
south of the Loire their own; the Burgundians took possession
of the upper valley of the Rhone; the Vandals made conquests
in Africa. The Ostrogoths and Lombards were waiting for
their turn to come. Among these new invaders, some were
heretics, others were pagans. What is to become of the
Church? Are its days numbered, and is the Empire to
bring it down as its companion into an open tomb?

No, the Church will not descend into the tomb. It will
survive the Empire. It will have to pass through days of
distress. It will witness calamity after calamity, ruins heaped
upon ruins. But in the midst of the greatest sadness, it will
receive precious consolations. One after another, these
barbarian peoples will submit to its laws, and will count it
a glory to be the Church's children. The frontiers of the
Church will be extended; its institutions, for a moment
shaken by the Barbarians, will be consolidated, developed, and
will adapt themselves to their surroundings. The papacy,
most sorely tried of all, will make a new advance. At length
a second empire will arise, and of this empire the Pope will
be the master--more than this, he will be the master of
Europe. He will dictate his orders to kings who will obey
them. Such is the picture of which this book is intended to
be the outline.

-vi-