[1] _Sexto_, lib. v, tit. ii, cap. 17, _Per hoc_; Clementin. lib v. tit. iii, cap. i, _Multorum querela_.
Another way in which the Popes labored to render the sentences of the Inquisition just, was the institution of experts. As the questions which arose before the tribunals in matters of heresy were often very complex, "it was soon found requisite to associate with the Inquisitors in the rendering of sentences men versed in the civil and canon law, which had by this time become an intricate study, requiring the devotion of a lifetime. Accordingly they were empowered to call in experts to deliberate with them over the evidence, and advise with them on the sentence to be rendered."[1]
The official records of the sentences of the Inquisition frequently mention the presence of these experts, _periti_ and _boni viri_. Their number, which varied according to circumstances, was generally large. At a consultation called by the Inquisitors in January, 1329, at the Bishop's palace in Pamiers, there were thirty-five present, nine of whom were jurisconsults; and at another in September, 1329, there were fifty-one present, twenty of whom were civil lawyers.
"At a comparatively early date, the practice was adopted of allowing a number of culprits to accumulate, whose fate was determined and announced in a solemn _Sermo_ or _auto-da-fé_. In the final shape which the assembly of counsellors assumed, we find it summoned to meet on Fridays, the _Sermo_ always taking place on Sundays. When the number of criminals was large, there was not much time for deliberation in special cases. The assessors were always to be jurists and Mendicant Friars, selected by the Inquisitor in such numbers as he saw fit. They were severally sworn on the Gospels to secrecy, and to give good and wise counsel, each one according to his conscience, and to the knowledge vouchsafed him by God. The Inquisitor then read over his summary of each case, sometimes withholding the name of the accused, and they voted the sentence, "Penance at the discretion of the Inquisitor"--"that person is to be imprisoned, or abandoned to the secular arm"--while the Gospels lay on the table to so that our judgment might come from the face of God, and our eyes might see justice."[1]