And might not the most sensible be overcome?
Might not the bravest be dismayed by the thought of that universal engine of conquest and domination, which worked with the stubbornness of eternity, not merely content with the gain of souls, but ever seeking to ensure its future sovereignty over the whole of corporeal humanity, and--pending the time when it might rule the nations itself--disposing of them, handing them over to the charge of this or that temporary master, in accordance with its good pleasure.

And then, too, what a prodigious dream! Rome smiling and tranquilly awaiting the day when she will have united Christians, Mahommedans, Brahmanists, and Buddhists into one sole nation, of whom she will be both the spiritual and the temporal queen! However, a sound of coughing made Pierre turn, and he started on perceiving Cardinal Sarno, whom he had not heard enter.

Standing in front of that map, he felt like one caught in the act of prying into a secret, and a deep flush overspread his face.

The Cardinal, however, after looking at him fixedly with his dim eyes, went to his writing-table, and let himself drop into the arm-chair without saying a word.

With a gesture he dispensed Pierre of the duty of kissing his ring.
"I desired to offer my homage to your Eminence," said the young man.