 The relationship between secular and spiritual power is discussed briefly at the end of an early work, the Scripta super libros sententiarum (see  2, dist. 44, Expositio textus).  When two authorities conflict, Thomas asks, how should we decide which to obey? He answers that if one authority originates totally from the other (as, he says, the authority of a bishop derives from the pope), greater obedience in all matters is due to the originating authority. If, however, both powers originate from a higher authority, the higher authority will determine which of them takes precedence on which occasion. Spiritual and secular power, he says, both come from God, so we should obey the spiritual over the secular only in matters which God has specified, namely matters concerning the salvation of the soul, and in civic matters we should obey the secular power— 