Thus, in the way of favors, his clerical
body has nothing to expect from anybody but himself. - And, on the
other hand, they no longer enjoy any protection against his harshness;
the hand which punishes is still less restrained than that which
rewards; like the cathedral chapter, the ecclesiastical tribunal has
lost its consistency and independence, its efficiency; nothing remains
of the ancient bishop's court but an appearance and a name.[35]
At one time, the bishop in person is himself the whole court; he
deliberates only with himself and decides ex informata conscientia
without a trial, without advice, and, if he chooses, in his own
cabinet with closed doors, in private according to facts, the value of
which he alone estimates, and through motives of which he is the sole
appreciator. At another time, the presiding magistrate is one of his
grand-vicars, his revocable delegate, his confidential man, his
megaphone, in short, another self, and this official acts without the
restraint of ancient regulations, of a fixed and understood procedure
beforehand, of a series of judicial formalities, of verifications and
the presence of witnesses, of the delays and all other legal
precautions which guard the judge against prejudice, haste, error, and
ignorance and without which justice always risks becoming injustice.
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