Note 485 — THE DISCOURSE OF LORENZO VALLA ON THE FORGERY OF THE ALLEGED DONATION OF CONSTANTINE (continued 2)
Christopher Bush Coleman translation
Valla’s text of the Donation in this paragraph differs greatly from Zeumer’s, Hinschius’, and Friedberg’s. It is not very clear in any of the texts whether the intent is to give the Pope power to take any one whomsoever into the clergy and thus relieve him from civil and military duties, or to prevent the Roman nobility from forcing their way into ecclesiastical offices against the will of the Pope.