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io4 III. THE ROMANIZED CHURCH (A.D. 11301389).
which had never been, or had only partially been, subjects
of the ancient empire of the West ; and on the whole, the
thoroughness of their acceptance of the Reformation varied
inversely with the thoroughness of their previous incor
poration into the empire. The reason of this distinction is
to be found in the fact that conversion inside the Roman
Empire had been very largely formal and superficial con
version outside it was more the result of persuasion or
conviction.
Even to the present day the instinctive attitude of dif
ferent European nations towards the papacy is very
remarkable* It is noticeable even in many who are per
sonally alienated from the practice of religion. Men of
Latin and Celtic race, especially in France and Ireland,
appear often unable to conceive of any other system of
Church government than an autocracy. They have little
personal interest in theology, little sense of personal re
sponsibility for the faith and life of the Church, but the
papacy seems to them a natural and logical outcome of
the only Christianity which they know. Their sense of
the value of unity and orderliness outweighs all other con
siderations. It is not, of course, so with Teutonic nations,
and we shall see that in the end the rejection of this system
in Sweden was more complete than in Germany and
England.
7. INTRODUCTION OF THE PAPAL SYSTEM INTO SWEDEN.
This survey has carried us rapidly to the eve of the
Reformation. We must now retrace our steps to mark in
detail the manner in which the Romanized Church
developed in Sweden.
To the Northern nations at first the distant power of
Rome came with an immense and imposing prestige.
Let me quote to you two of the Norse poets who represent
the idea which was formed of the relation of Christ to
Rome, and of Rome to the world. One of them, Eilif,
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