 The conciliarists were those who argued that, at least in extraordinary circumstances, a council could be called, if necessary without papal permission, to deal with schism, with authority over even a true pope. They included Pierre d’Ailly, Jean Gerson, Henry of Langenstein, John Maior, Jaques Almain, Nicholas of Cusa, and others. They argued that every corporation has the power to take the measures that may be necessary if its survival is endangered by failure in its head. The Church must be able to deal with situations in which the papacy is vacant or uncertain or corrupt; otherwise its existence would be more precarious than the existence of a secular body politic, which can replace its head if necessary. The analogy between the Church and a secular body politic ran through much conciliarist thinking.