The Mistery of Belicena Villca less importance . In it , Boniface violently criticized the legal and administrative reform of the King : “ Come back , my beloved son , to the path that leads to God , and from which you have departed , either by your own fault or at the instigation of malevolent advisers . Above everything , do not be persuaded that you do not have a superior and that you are not subject to the Pope , who is the head of the ecclesiastical hierarchy . Such an opinion is foolish , and whoever encourages it is an infidel already segregated from the flock of the Good Shepherd ”. Those " malevolent advisers " certainly would be no other than the Domini Canis . Next , Boniface expresses that , in order to consider the disorders caused by Philip ' s misconduct , and find a just remedy for them , summons all the Bishops to a Council in Rome for November 1302 : during which , the King , who is invited to appear , will be prosecuted for his " crimes " and called to correction . Philip IV , of course , not only would not show up , but would forbid the Bishops to leave France without his consent .
The " crimes " that were charged to the King in Ausculta fili , today would seem to us perfectly sovereign : it accused him of " having changed the monetary system "; of " creating taxes hitherto unknown "; of " taxing the income that the Church of France remitted to Rome ”; to " impose on his subjects national borders ”; etc . Copies of this bull were read and burned publicly throughout France , sparking a popular movement of outrage against the theocratic despotism of the Pope .
As I said , Dr . Siegnagel , with Ausculta fili there was the opportunity to exhibit the Mystic Nation , with that new structure of the State patiently created by the legists Domini Canis . That demonstration was held exactly on April 10 , 1302 , in the Cathedral of Notre Dame of Paris , and can be considered as the first Constitution of the modern French State . Representatives from all the French provinces met there , reason why that congress was called " of the Estates General ". But what was really new consisted of the Three Estates that made up the Assembly ; that is , the representatives of the Nobility , of the Clergy , and of the Cities . The latter , present for the first time in a Council presided by the King . We must place ourselves at that time in the fourteenth century to appreciate in its true dimension the innovation it meant to include together with Nobles and Ecclesiastics the representatives of the plebeian class ; and this not as a " Democratic right ", torn by force from bloody Tyrants or weak Kings , but by the real recognition that the people participate in the sovereignty , as affirmed by the Hyperborean Wisdom . Naturally , in the third Estate , were represented the different strata that made up the people of the Mystic Nation : mainly the new and thriving bourgeoisie , formed by traders , merchants and small owners ; the guilds of artisans and builders ; free peasants , etc .
Outstanding performance in the organization of that first Assembly of the Three Estates fit the Lords of the Dog , especially the three named , Pierre Flotte , Robert de Artois and the Count of Saint Pol . Pierre Flotte spoke to the parliament on behalf of the King , and his words are still remembered : -- “ The Pope has sent us letters in which he declares that we must submit to him as far as the temporal government of our Kingdom is concerned , and that we must abide not only by the crown of God , as has always been believed , but also by that of the Apostolic See . In accordance with this declaration , the Pontiff summons the prelates of this Kingdom to a Council in Rome , to reform the abuses he says have been committed by us and our officials in the administration of our States . You know , on the other hand , in what way the Pope impoverishes the Church of France by granting at his discretion benefits whose proceeds go to foreign hands . You are not unaware that the churches are overwhelmed by demands for tithes ; that metropolitans no longer have authority over their suffragans ; nor the Bishops on their clergy ; that , in a word , the court of Rome , reducing the episcopate to nothing , draws everything to itself ; power and money . These excesses must be stopped . We beg you , therefore , as Lords and as Friends , may you help us to defend the freedoms of the Kingdom and those of the Church . As for us , we will not hesitate , if necessary , in sacrificing for this double reason our goods , our life and , if the
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