 Chapter 6 Part 7 of Fox's Book of Martyrs, Volume 1. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Tricia G. Fox's Book of Martyrs, Volume 1 by John Fox, edited by William Byron Forbush. Chapter 6 A Narrative of the Piedmontese War, Chapter 7 A narrative of the Piedmontese War continued. Soon after, Captain Jayhear came to Ingrodne and joined his forces to those of Captain Giannavel, giving sufficient reasons to excuse his before-mentioned failure. Captain Jayhear now made several secret excursions with great success, always selecting the most active troops belonging both to Giannavel and himself. One day he had put himself at the head of forty-four men to proceed upon an expedition when entering a plane near Osak, he was suddenly surrounded by a large body of horse. Captain Jayhear and his men fought desperately, though oppressed by odds, and killed the commander-in-chief, three captains, and fifty-seven private men of the enemy. But Captain Jayhear himself being killed, with thirty-five of his men, the rest surrendered. One of the soldiers cut off Captain Jayhear's head, and carrying it to Turin, presented it to the Duke of Savoy, who rewarded him with six hundred duke-o-tunes. The death of this gentleman was a signal lost to the Protestants, as he was a real friend to and companion of the Reformed Church. He possessed a most undaunted spirit, so that no difficulties could deter him from undertaking an enterprise or dangers terrify him in its execution. He was pious without affectation and humane without weakness, old in a field, meek in a domestic life, of a penetrating genius active in spirit and resolute in all his undertakings. To add to the affliction of the Protestants, Captain Giannaval was, soon after, wounded in such a manner that he was obliged to keep his bed. They, however, took new courage from misfortunes, and determining not to let their spirits troop attack the body of popish troops with great intrepidity. The Protestants were much inferior in numbers, but fought with more resolution than the Papists, and at length routed them with considerable slaughter. During the action a sergeant named Michael Bertino was killed, when his son, who was close behind him, leaped into his place and said, I have lost my father, but courage, fellow soldiers, God is a father to us all. All skirmishes likewise happened between the troops of La Torre and Tagliaretto, and the Protestant forces, which in general terminated in favor of the latter. A Protestant gentleman named Andrion raised a regiment of force and took the command of it himself. The seer John Laser persuaded a great number of Protestants to form themselves into volunteer companies, and an excellent officer named Michelin instituted several bands of light troops. This being all joined to the remains of the veteran Protestant troops, for great numbers had been lost in the various battles, skirmishes, sieges, etc., composed a respectable army which the officers thought proper to encamp near St. Giovanni. The Roman Catholic commanders, alarmed at the formidable appearance and increased strength of the Protestant forces, determined, if possible, to dislodge them from their encampment. With this view they collected together a large force consisting of the principle part of the garrisons of the Roman Catholic towns, the draft from the Irish brigades, a great number of regulars sent by the Marquis of Pionessa, the auxiliary troops and the independent companies. These having formed a junction, encamped near the Protestants and spent several days in calling councils of war and disputing on the most proper mode of proceeding. Some were for plundering the country in order to draw the Protestants from their camp, others were for patiently waiting till they were attacked, and a third party were for assaulting the Protestant camp and trying to make themselves master of everything in it. The last of them prevailed, and the morning after the resolution had been taken was appointed to put it into execution. The Roman Catholic troops were accordingly separated into four divisions, three of which were to make an attack in different places, and the fourth to remain as a body of reserve to act as occasion might require. One of the Roman Catholic officers, previous to the attack, thus harangued his men, quote, Fellow soldiers, you are now going to enter upon a great action which will bring you fame and riches. The motives of your acting with spirit are likewise of the most important nature, namely, the honor of showing your loyalty to your sovereign, the pleasure of spilling heretic blood, and the prospect of plundering the Protestant camp. So my brave fellows, fall on, give no quarter, kill all you meet, and take all you come near," end quote. After this inhuman speech the engagement began, and the Protestant camp was attacked in three places with inconceivable fury. The fight was maintained with great obstinacy and perseverance on both sides, continuing without intermission for the space of four hours, for the several companies on both sides relieved each other alternately, and by that means kept up a continual fire during the whole action. During the engagement of the main armies, a detachment was sent from the body of reserve to attack the post of Castellus, which if the papists had carried it would have given them the command of the valleys of Carosa, Saint Martino, and Lucerne. But they were repulsed with great loss and compelled to return to the body of reserve from once they had been detached. Soon after the return of this detachment, the Roman Catholic troops, being hard pressed in the main battle, sent for the body of reserve to come to their support. These immediately marched to their assistance, and for some time longer held the event doubtful, but at length the valour of the Protestants prevailed, and the papists were totally defeated with the loss of upwards of three hundred men killed and many more wounded. When the syndic of Lucerne, who was indeed a papist but not a bigoted one, saw the great number of wounded men brought into that city, he exclaimed, quote, ah, I thought the wolves used to devour the heretics, but now I see the heretics eat the wolves, end quote. With this expression being reported to Monsignor Moroles, the Roman Catholic commander-in-chief at Lucerne, he sent a very severe and threatening letter to the syndic, who was so terrified that the fright threw him into a fever, and he died in a few days. The great battle was fought just before the harvest was got in, when the papists, exasperated at their disgrace, and resolved on any kind of revenge, spread themselves by night in detached parties over the finest cornfields of the Protestants and set them on fire in sundry places. Some of these straggling parties, however, suffered for their conduct, for the Protestants, being alarmed in the night by the blazing of the fire among the corn, pursued the fugitives early in the morning and, overtaking many, put them to death. The Protestant captain Bellin, likewise by way of retaliation, went with a body of light troops and burnt the suburbs of Latorre, making his retreat afterwards with very little loss. A few days later, captain Bellin, with a much stronger body of troops, attacked the town of Latorre itself, and making a breach in the wall of the convent, his men entered, driving the garrison into the citadel and burning both town and convent. After having affected this, they made a regular retreat as they could not reduce the citadel for want of canon. In account of the persecutions of Michael de Molinos, a native of Spain, Michael de Molinos, a Spaniard of a rich and honorable family, entered when young into priests' orders, but would not accept of any preferment in the church. He possessed great natural abilities, which he dedicated to the service of his fellow creatures without any view of emolument to himself. His course of life was pious and uniform, nor did he exercise those austerities which are common among the religious orders of the Church of Rome. Being of a contemplative turn of mind, he pursued the track of the mystical divines, and having acquired a great reputation in Spain and being desirous of propagating his sublime mode of devotion, he left his own country and settled at Rome. Here he soon connected himself with some of the most distinguished among the literati, who so approved of his religious maxims that they concurred in assisting him to propagate them, and in a short time he obtained a great number of followers who, from the sublime mode of their religion, were distinguished by the name of quietists. In 1675, Molinos published a book entitled Il Guida Spirituale, two which were subjoined recommendatory letters from several great personages. One of these was by the Archbishop of Regio, a second by the General of the Franciscans, and a third by Father Martin de Esparza, a Jesuit who had been Divinity professor both at Salamanca and Rome. No sooner was the book published than it was greatly read and highly esteemed both in Italy and Spain, and this so raised the reputation of the author that his acquaintance was coveted by the most respectable characters. Letters were written to him from numbers of people so that a correspondence was settled between him and those who approved of his method in different parts of Europe. Some secular priests, both at Roman Naples, declared themselves openly for it and consulted him as a sort of oracle on many occasions, but those who attached themselves to him with the greatest sincerity were some of the fathers of the oratory, in particular three of the most eminent, namely Caleradi, Viseri, and Petrucci. Many of the cardinals also courted his acquaintance and thought themselves happy in being reckoned among the number of his friends. The most distinguished of them was the cardinal de Estreis, a man of very great learning who so highly approved of Molino's maxims that he entered into a close connection with him. They conversed together daily and notwithstanding the distrust a Spaniard has naturally of a Frenchman, yet Molino's, who was sincere in his principles, opened his mind without reserve to the cardinal, and by this means a correspondence was settled between Molino's and some distinguished characters in France. Whilst Molino's was thus laboring to propagate his religious mode, Father Petrucci wrote several treatises relative to a contemplative life, but he mixed in them so many rules for the devotions of the Romish Church as mitigated that censure he might have otherwise incurred. They were written chiefly for the use of the nuns, and therefore the sense was expressed in the most easy and familiar style. Molino's had now acquired such reputation that the Jesuits and Dominicans began to be greatly alarmed and determined to put a stop to the progress of this method. To do this it was necessary to decry the author of it, and as Heresy is an imputation that makes the strongest impression at Rome, Molino's and his followers were given out to be heretics. Books were also written by some of the Jesuits against Molino's and his method, but they were all answered with spirit by Molino's. These disputes occasioned such disturbance in Rome that the whole affair was taken notice of by the Inquisition. Molino's and his book and Father Petrucci, with his treatises and letters, were brought under a severe examination, and the Jesuits were considered as the accusers. One of the society had indeed approved of Molino's book, but the rest took care that he should not be seen again at Rome. In the course of the examination both Molino's and Petrucci acquitted themselves so well that their books were again approved, and the answers which the Jesuits had written were censured as scandalous. Petrucci's conduct on this occasion was so highly approved that it not only raised the credit of the cause but his own emolument, for he was soon after made Bishop of Jessus, which was a new declaration made by the Pope in their favor. Their books were now esteemed more than ever, their method was more followed, and the novelty of it, with the new approbation given, after so vigorous an accusation by the Jesuits, all contributed to raise the credit and increase the number of the party. The behavior of Father Petrucci in his new dignity greatly contributed to increase his reputation, so that his enemies were unwilling to give him any further disturbance, and indeed there was less occasion given for censure by his writings than those of Molino's. Some passages in the latter were not so cautiously expressed, but there was room to make exceptions to them, while on the other hand Petrucci so fully explained himself as easily to remove the objections made to some parts of his letter. The great reputation acquired by Molino's and Petrucci occasioned a daily increase of the quietists. All who were thought sincerely devout, or at least affected the reputation of it, were reckoned among the number. If these persons were observed to become more strict in their lives and mental devotions, yet there appeared less zeal in their whole deportment at the exterior parts of the church ceremonies. They were not so assiduous at mass, nor so earnest to procure masses to be said for their friends, nor were they so frequently either at confession or in processions. Though the new approbation given to Molino's book by the Inquisition had checked the proceedings of his enemies, yet they were still inveterate against him in their hearts and determined if possible to ruin him. They insinuated that he had ill designs and was, in his heart, an enemy to the Christian religion, that under pretense of raising men to a sublime strain of devotion, he intended to erase from their minds a sense of the mysteries of Christianity. And because he was a Spaniard, they gave out that he was descended from a Jewish or Mahometan race, and that he might carry in his blood, or in his first education, some seeds of those religions which he had since cultivated with no less art than zeal. This last calumny gained but little credit at Rome, though it was said an order was sent to examine the registers of the place where Molino's was baptized. Molino's finding himself attacked with great vigor and the most unrelenting malice took every necessary precaution to prevent these imputations being credited. He wrote a treatise entitled Frequent and Daily Communion, which was likewise approved by some of the most learned of the Romish clergy. This was printed with his spiritual guide in the year 1675, and in the preface to it he declared that he had not written it with any design to engage himself in matters of controversy, but that it was drawn from him by the earnest solicitations of many pious people. The Jesuits, failing in their attempts of crushing Molino's's power in Rome, applied to the court of France, when, in a short time, they so far succeeded that an order was sent to Cardinal de Estreis, commanding him to prosecute Molino's with all possible rigor. The Cardinal, though so strongly attached to Molino's, resolved to sacrifice all that is sacred in friendship to the will of his master. Finding however there was not sufficient matter for an accusation against him, he determined to supply that defect himself. He therefore went to the Inquisitors and informed them of several particulars, not only relative to Molino's, but also Petrucci, both of whom, together with several of their friends, were put into the Inquisition. When they were brought before the Inquisitors, which was the beginning of the year 1684, Petrucci answered the respective questions put to him with so much judgment and temper that he was soon dismissed, and though Molino's examination was much longer, it was generally expected he would have been likewise discharged, but this was not the case. Though the Inquisitors had not any just accusation against him, yet they strained every nerve to find him guilty of heresy. They first objected to his holding of correspondence in different parts of Europe, but of this he was acquitted, as the matter of that correspondence could not be made criminal. They then directed their attention to some suspicious papers found in his chamber, but Molino's so clearly explained their meaning that nothing could be made of them to his prejudice. At length, Cardinal de Estres, after producing the order sent to him by the King of France for prosecuting Molino's, said he could prove against him more than was necessary to convince them he was guilty of heresy. To do this he perverted the meaning of some passages in Molino's books and papers, and related many false and aggravating circumstances relative to the prisoner. He acknowledged he had lived with him under the appearance of friendship, but that it was only to discover his principles and intentions that he had found them to be of a bad nature and that dangerous consequences were likely to ensue. But in order to make a full discovery he had assented to several things which in his heart he detested, and that by these means he saw into the secrets of Molino's, but determined not to take any notice until a proper opportunity should offer of crushing him and his followers. In consequence of de Estres' evidence Molino's was closely confined by the inquisition where he continued for some time, during which period all was quiet and his followers prosecuted their mode without interruption. But on a sudden the Jesuits determined to extirpate them and the storm broke out with the most inveterate vehemence. The Count Vespiniani and his lady, Don Paolo Roche, confessor to the Prince Borghese, and some of his family with several others, in all seventy persons, were put into the inquisition among whom many were highly esteemed for their learning and piety. The accusation laid against the clergy was there neglecting to say the breviary, and the rest were accused of going to the Communion without first attending confession. In a word it was said they neglected all the exterior parts of religion and gave themselves up wholly to solitude and inward prayer. The Countess Vespiniani exerted herself in a very particular manner on her examination before the inquisitors. She said she had never revealed her method of devotion to any mortal but her confessor, and that it was impossible they should know it without his discovering the secret. That, therefore, it was time to give over going to confession if priests made this use of it to discover the most secret thoughts entrusted to them, and that for the future she would only make her confession to God. From this spirited speech and the great noise made in consequence of the Countess's situation, the inquisitors thought it most prudent to dismiss both her and her husband, lest the people might be incensed, and what she said might lessen the credit of confession. They were, therefore, both discharged but bound to appear whenever they should be called upon. Besides those already mentioned, such was the inveteracy of the Jesuits against the quietists, that, within the space of a month, upwards of two hundred persons were put into the inquisition, and that method of devotion which had passed in Italy as the most elevated to which mortals could aspire, was deemed heretical, and the chief promoters of it confined in a wretched dungeon. In order, if possible, to extirpate quietism, the inquisitors sent a circular letter to Cardinal Sibo as the chief minister to disperse it through Italy. It was addressed to all proletes, informed them that whereas many schools and fraternities were established in several parts of Italy, in which some persons, under the pretense of leading people into the ways of the spirit and to the prayer of quietness, instilled into them many abominable heresies, therefore a strict charge was given to dissolve all those societies and to oblige the spiritual guide to tread in the known paths, and, in particular, to take care that none of that sort should be suffered to have the direction of the nunneries. Orders were likewise given to proceed in the way of justice against those who should be found guilty of these abominable heresies. After this, a strict inquiry was made into all the nunneries of Rome when most of their directors and confessors were discovered to be engaged in this new method. It was found that the Carmelites, the nuns of the Conception, and those of several other convents, were wholly given up to prayer and contemplation, and that instead of their beads and the other devotions to saints or images, they were much alone and often in the exercise of mental prayer. That when they were asked why they had laid aside the use of their beads and their ancient forms, their answer was that their directors had advised them so to do. Information of this being given to the inquisition, they sent orders that all books written in the same strain with those of Molinos and Perturci should be taken from them and that they should be compelled to return to their original form of devotion. The circular letter sent to Cardinal Sibo, produced but little effect, for most of the Italian bishops, were inclined to Molinos' method. It was intended that this, as well as all other orders from the inquisitors, should be kept secret, but notwithstanding all their care, copies of it were printed and dispersed in most of the principal towns in Italy. This gave great uneasiness to the inquisitors, who used every method they could to conceal their proceedings from the knowledge of the world. They blamed the Cardinal and accused him of being the cause of it, but he retorted on them and his secretary laid the fault on both. During these transactions Molinos suffered great indignities from the officers of the inquisition, and the only comfort he received was from being sometimes visited by Father Perturci. Though he had lived in the highest reputation in Rome for some years, he was now as much despised as he had been admired, being generally considered as one of the worst of heretics. The greater part of Molinos' followers, who had been placed in the inquisition, having abjured his mode, were dismissed, but a harder fate awaited Molinos, their leader. After lying a considerable time in prison, he was at length brought again before the inquisitors to answer to a number of articles exhibited against him from his writings. As soon as he appeared in court, a chain was put round his body and a waxed light in his hand, when two friars read aloud the articles of accusation. Molinos answered each with great steadiness and resolution, and notwithstanding his arguments totally defeated the force of all, yet he was found guilty of heresy and condemned to imprisonment for life. When he left the court he was attended by a priest who had borne him the greatest respect. On his arrival at the prison he entered the cell allotted for his confinement with great tranquility, and on taking leave of the priest thus addressed him, quote, Adieu, Father, we shall meet again at the day of judgment, and then it will appear on which side the truth is, whether on my side or on yours, end quote. During his confinement he was several times tortured in the most cruel manner until at length the severity of his punishments overpowered his strength and finished his existence. The death of Molinos struck such an impression on his followers that the greater part of them soon abjured his mode, and by the assiguity of the Jesuits quietism was totally extirpated throughout the country. CHAPTER VII. An account of the life and persecutions of John Wycliffe. It will not be inappropriate to devote a few pages of this work to a brief detail of the lives of some of those men who first step forward, regardless of the bigoted power which opposed all reformation, to stem the tide of papal corruption and to seal the pure doctrines of the gospel with their blood. Among these Great Britain has the honor of taking the lead and first maintaining that freedom in religious controversy which astonished Europe and demonstrated that political and religious liberty are equally the growth of that favored island. Among the earliest of these eminent persons was John Wycliffe. This celebrated reformer, denominated the morning star of the Reformation, was born about the year 1324 in the reign of Edward II. Of his extraction we have no certain account. His parents designing him for the church sent him to Queen's College, Oxford, about that period founded by Robert Eaglesfield, confessor to Queen Philippa. But not meeting with the advantages for study in that newly established house which he expected he removed to Merton College, which was then esteemed one of the most learned societies in Europe. The first thing which drew him into public notice was his defense of the university against the begging friars, who about this time from their settlement in Oxford in 1230 had been troublesome neighbors to the university. Feuds were continually fomented, the friars appealing to the pope, the scholars to the civil power, and sometimes one party and sometimes the other prevailed. The friars became very fond of a notion that Christ was a common beggar, that his disciples were beggars also, and that begging was of gospel institution. This doctrine they urged from the pulpit and wherever they had access. Wycliffe had long held these religious friars in contempt for the laziness of their lives, and had now a fair opportunity of exposing them. He published a treatise against Abel Begary, in which he lashed the friars, and proved that they were not only a reproach to religion, but also to human society. The university began to consider him one of their first champions, and he was soon promoted to the Mastership of Balliol College. About this time Archbishop Islip founded Canterbury Hall, in Oxford, where he established a warden and eleven scholars. To this wardenship Wycliffe was elected by the Archbishop, but upon his demise he was displaced by his successor, Stephen Langham, Bishop of Eli. As there was a degree of flagrant injustice in the affair, Wycliffe appealed to the pope, who subsequently gave it against him from the following cause. Edward III, then king of England, had withdrawn the tribute which from the time of King John had been paid to the pope. The pope menaced, Edward called the parliament. The parliament resolved that King John had done an illegal thing and given up the rights of the nation, and advised the king not to submit whatever consequences might follow. The clergy now began to write in favour of the pope, and a learned monk published a spirited and plausible treatise which had many advocates. Wycliffe, irritated at seeing so bad a cause so well defended, opposed the monk, and did it in so masterly a way that he was considered no longer as unanswerable. His suit at Rome was immediately determined against him, and nobody doubted but his opposition to the pope, at so critical a period, was the true cause of his being non-suited at Rome. Wycliffe was afterward elected to the chair of the Divinity Professor, and now fully convinced of the errors of a Romish church and the vileness of its monastic agents he determined to expose them. In public lectures he lashed their vices and opposed their follies. He unfolded a variety of abuses covered by the darkness of superstition. At first he began to loosen the prejudices of the vulgar and proceeded by slow advances. With the metaphysical disquisitions of the age he mingled opinions in Divinity, apparently novel. The usurpations of the court of Rome was a favourite topic. On these he expatiated with all the keenness of argument, joined to logical reasoning. This soon procured him the clamour of the clergy, who, with the archbishop of Canterbury, deprived him of his office. At this time the administration of affairs was in the hands of the Duke of Lancaster, well known by the name of John of Gaunt. This prince had very free notions of religion and was at enmity with the clergy. The exactions of the court of Rome having become very burdensome he determined to send the bishop of Banger and Wycliffe to remonstrate against these abuses, and it was agreed that the Pope should no longer dispose of any benefices belonging to the Church of England. In this embassy Wycliffe's observant mind penetrated into the constitution and policy of Rome, and he returned more strongly than ever determined to expose its avarice and ambition. Having recovered his former situation he invade in his lectures against the Pope, his usurpation, his infallibility, his pride, his avarice, and his tyranny. He was the first to term the Pope anti-Christ. From the Pope he would turn to the pomp, the luxury, and trappings of the bishops, and compared them with the simplicity of primitive bishops. Their superstitions and deceptions were topics that he urged with energy of mind and logical precision. From the patronage of the Duke of Lancaster, Wycliffe received a good benefice, but he was no sooner settled in his parish than his enemies in the bishops began to persecute him with renewed vigor. The Duke of Lancaster was his friend in this persecution, and by his presence and that of Lord Percy, Earl Marshall of England, he so overawed the trial that the whole ended in disorder. After the death of Edward III, his grandson Richard II succeeded in the eleventh year of his age. The Duke of Lancaster not obtaining to be the sole regent, as he expected, his power began to decline, and the enemies of Wycliffe, taking advantage of the circumstance, renewed their articles of accusation against him. Five bulls were dispatched in consequence by the Pope, to the King, and certain bishops, but the regency and the people manifested a spirit of contempt at the haughty proceedings of the pontiff, and the former at that time wanting money to oppose an expected invasion of the French proposed to apply a large sum, collected for the use of the Pope, to that purpose. The question was submitted to the decision of Wycliffe. The bishops, however, supported by papal authority, insisted upon bringing Wycliffe to trial, and he was actually undergoing examination at Lambeth when, from the riotous behavior of the populace without, and awed by the command of Sir Louis Clifford, a gentleman of the court, that they should not proceed to any definitive sentence, they terminated the whole affair in a prohibition to Wycliffe, not to preach those doctrines which were obnoxious to the Pope. But this was laughed at by our reformer, who, going about barefoot, and in a long-freezed gown, preached more vehemently than before. In the year 1378, a contest arose between two Popes, Urban VI and Clement VII, which was the lawful Pope, and true vice-regent of God. This was a favorable period for the exertion of Wycliffe's talents. He soon produced a tract against Popery, which was eagerly read by all sorts of people. About the end of the year, Wycliffe was seized with a violent disorder, which it was feared might prove fatal. The begging friars, accompanied by four of the most eminent citizens of Oxford, gained admittance to his bedchamber, and begged of him to retract for his soul's sake the unjust things he had asserted of their order. Wycliffe, surprised at the solemn message, raised himself in his bed, and with a stern countenance replied, I shall not die, but live to declare the evil deeds of the friars. When Wycliffe recovered he set about a most important work, the translation of the Bible, into English. Before this work appeared he published a tract wherein he showed the necessity of it. The zeal of the bishops to suppress the scriptures greatly promoted its sale, and they who were not able to purchase copies procured transcripts of particular Gospels or Epistles. Afterward, when Lollardy increased, and the flames kindled, it was a common practice to fasten about the neck of the condemned heretic such of these scraps of scripture as were found in his possession, which generally shared his fate. Immediately after this transaction, Wycliffe ventured a step further and affected the doctrine of transubstantiation. This strange opinion was invented by Pascade Radbert and asserted with amazing boldness. Wycliffe, in his lecture before the University of Oxford, 1381, attacked this doctrine and published a treatise on the subject. Dr. Barton, at this time Vice Chancellor of Oxford, calling together the heads of the university, condemned Wycliffe's doctrines as heretical, and threatened their author with excommunication. Wycliffe could now derive no support from the Duke of Lancaster, and being cited to appear before his former adversary, William Courtenay, now made Archbishop of Canterbury, he sheltered himself under the plea that, as a member of the university, he was exempt from Episcopal jurisdiction. This plea was admitted as the university were determined to support their member. The court met at the appointed time, determined at least to sit in judgment upon his opinions, and some they condemned as erroneous, others as heretical. The publication on this subject was immediately answered by Wycliffe, who had become a subject of the Archbishop's determined malice. The king, solicited by the Archbishop, granted a license to imprison the teacher of heresy, but the commons made the king revoke this act as illegal. The primate, however, obtained letters from the king, directed at the head of the University of Oxford, to search for all heresies and books published by Wycliffe, in consequence of which order the university became a scene of tumult. Wycliffe is supposed to have retired from the storm into an obscure part of the kingdom. The seeds, however, were scattered, and Wycliffe's opinions were so prevalent that it was said, if you met two persons upon the road, you might be sure that one was a lullard. At this period, the disputes between the two popes continued. Urban published a bull, in which he earnestly called upon all who had any regard for religion to exert themselves in its cause and to take up arms against Clement and his adherents in defense of the Holy See. A war, in which the name of religion was so vilely prostituted, roused Wycliffe's indignation, even in his declining years. He took up his pen once more and wrote against it with the greatest acrimony. He expostulated with the pope in a very free manner, and asks him boldly, how he durst make the token of Christ on the cross, which is the token of peace, mercy, and charity, a banner to lead us to slay Christian men, for the love of two false priests, and to oppress Christendom worse than Christ and his apostles were oppressed by the Jews? When, said he, will the proud priest of Rome grant indulgences to mankind to live in peace and charity, as he now does to fight and slay one another? This severe peace drew upon him the resentment of Urban, and was likely to have involved him in greater troubles than he had before experienced, but providentially he was delivered out of their hands. He was struck with the palsy, and though he lived some time, yet it was in such a way that his enemies considered him as a person below their resentment. Wycliffe returning within short space, either from his banishment, or from some other place where he was secretly kept, repaired to his parish of Lutterworth, where he was parson, and there, quietly departing this mortal life, slept in peace in the Lord, in the end of the year, 1384, upon Sylvester's Day. It appeared that he was well aged before he departed, and that the same thing pleased him, in his old age, which did please him being young. Wycliffe had some cause to give them thanks, that they would at least spare him until he was dead, and also give him so long respite after his death, forty-one years to rest in his sepulcher before they ungraved him, and turned him from earth to ashes, which ashes they also took and threw into the river. And so he was resolved into three elements, earth, fire, and water, thinking thereby utterly to extinguish and abolish both the name and doctrine of Wycliffe forever. Not much unlike the example of the old Pharisees and sepulcher knights, who, when they had brought the Lord unto the grave, thought to make him sure never to rise again. But these and all others must know that, as there is no counsel against the Lord, so there is no keeping down of verity, but it will spring up and come out of dust and ashes, as appeared right well in this man. For though they dug up his body, burnt his bones, and drowned his ashes, yet the word of God, and the truth of his doctrine, with the fruit and success thereof, they could not burn. The Roman Pontiffs, having usurped a power over several churches, were particularly severe on the Bohemians, which occasioned them to send two ministers and four lay brothers to Rome in the year 977 to obtain redress of the pope. After some delay, their request was granted, and their grievances redressed. Two things in particular they were permitted to do, to have divine service performed in their own language, and to give the cup to the laity in the sacrament. The disputes, however, soon broke out again, the succeeding popes exerting their whole power to impose on the minds of the Bohemians, and the latter with great spirit, aiming to preserve their religious liberties. In AD 1375, some zealous friends of the gospel applied to Charles, king of Bohemia, to call an ecumenical council for an inquiry into the abuses that had crept into the church, and to make a full and thorough reformation. The king, not knowing how to proceed, sent to the pope for directions how to act, but the Pontiff was so incensed that this affair that his only reply was, severely punish those rash and profane heretics. The monarch, accordingly, banished everyone who had been concerned in the application, and, to oblige the pope, laid a great number of additional restraints upon the religious liberties of the people. The victims of persecution, however, were not so numerous in Bohemia, until after the burning of John Huss and Jerome of Prague. These two eminent reformers were condemned and executed at the instigation of the pope and his emissaries, as the reader will perceive by the following short sketches of their lives. Persecution of John Huss John Huss was born at Hussonitz, a village in Bohemia, about the year 1380. His parents gave him the best education their circumstances would admit, and, having acquired a tolerable knowledge of the classics at a private school, he was removed to the University of Prague, where he soon gave strong proofs of his mental powers, and was remarkable for his diligence and application to study. In 1398, Huss commenced Bachelor of Divinity, and was after successively chosen Pastor of the Church of Bethlehem in Prague, and Dean and Rector of the University. In these stations he discharged his duties with great fidelity, and became, at length, so conspicuous for his preaching, which was in conformity with the doctrines of Wycliffe, that it was not likely he could long escape the notice of the pope and his adherents, against whom he invaded with no small degree of asperity. The English reformist Wycliffe had so kindled the light of reformation that it began to illumine the darkest corners of popery and ignorance. His doctrines spread into Bohemia, and were well received by great numbers of people, but by none so particularly as John Huss, and his zealous friend and fellow martyr Jerome of Prague. The Archbishop of Prague, finding the reformist's daily increasing, issued a decree to suppress the further spreading of Wycliffe's writings, but this had an effect quite different to what he expected, for it stimulated the friends of those doctrines to greater zeal, and almost the whole university united to propagate them. Being strongly attached to the doctrines of Wycliffe, Huss opposed the decree of the Archbishop, who, however, at length, obtained a bull from the pope, giving him commission to prevent the publishing of Wycliffe's doctrines in his province. By virtue of this bull, the Archbishop condemned the writings of Wycliffe. He also proceeded against four doctors, who had not delivered up the copies of that divine, and prohibited them, notwithstanding their privileges, to preach to any congregation. Dr. Huss, with some other members of the university, protested against these proceedings, and entered an appeal from the sentence of the Archbishop. The affair being made known to the pope, he granted a commission to Cardinal Colana to cite John Huss to appear personally at the court of Rome to answer the accusations laid against him of preaching both errors and heresies. Dr. Huss desired to be excused from a personal appearance, and was so greatly favored in Bohemia that King Wenceslas, the queen, the nobility, and the university desired the pope to dispense with such an appearance, as also that he would not suffer the kingdom of Bohemia to lie under the accusation of heresy, but permit them to preach the gospel with freedom in their places of worship. Three Procters appeared for Dr. Huss before Cardinal Colana. They endeavored to excuse his absence, and said they were ready to answer in his behalf, but the Cardinal declared Huss consumatious, and excommunicated him accordingly. The Procters appealed to the pope and appointed four Cardinals to examine the process. These commissioners confirmed the former sentence, and extended the excommunication not only to Huss, but to all his friends and followers. From this unjust sentence, Huss appealed to a future council, both out success, and notwithstanding so severe a decree, and an expulsion in consequence from his church in Prague, he retired to Hussonitz, his native place, where he continued to promulgate his new doctrine, both from the pulpit and with the pen. The letters which he wrote at this time were very numerous, and he compiled a treatise in which he maintained that the reading of the books of Protestants could not be absolutely forbidden. He wrote in defense of Wickliffe's book on the Trinity, and boldly declared against the vices of the pope, the Cardinals and clergy, of those corrupt times. He wrote also many other books, all of which were penned with a strength of argument that greatly facilitated the spreading of his doctrines. In the month of November 1414 a general council was assembled at Constance, in Germany, in order, as was pretended, for the sole purpose of determining a dispute then pending between three persons who contended for the papacy, but the real motive was to crush the progress of the Reformation. John Huss was summoned to appear at this council, and, to encourage him, the emperor sent him a safe conduct. The civilities and even reverence which Huss met with on his journey were beyond imagination. The streets and sometimes the very roads were lined with people whom respect rather than curiosity had brought together. He was ushered into the town with great acclamations, and it may be said that he passed through Germany in a kind of triumph. He could not help expressing his surprise at the treatment he received. I thought, said he, I had been an outcast. Now I see my worst friends are in Bohemia. As soon as Huss arrived at Constance, he immediately took lodgings in a remote part of the city. A short time after his arrival came one Stephen Paletz, who was employed by the clergy at Prague to manage the intended prosecution against him. Paletz was afterwards joined by Michael de Cassis on the part of the Court of Rome. These two declared themselves his accusers and drew up a set of articles against him which they presented to the pope and the prelates of the council. When it was known that he was in the city, he was immediately arrested and committed prisoner to a chamber in the palace. This violation of common law and justice was particularly noted by one of Huss's friends, who urged the imperial safe conduct, but the pope replied he never granted any safe conduct nor was he bound by that of the emperor. While Huss was in confinement, the council acted the part of inquisitors. They condemned the doctrines of Wycliffe and even ordered his remains to be dug up and burned to ashes, which orders were strictly complied with. In the meantime, the nobility of Bohemia and Poland strongly interceded for Huss, and so far prevailed as to prevent his being condemned unheard, which had been resolved on by the commissioners appointed to try him. When he was brought before the council, the articles exhibited against him were read. They were upwards of forty a number and chiefly extracted from his writings. John Huss's answer was this. I did appeal unto the pope, who being dead, and the cause of my matter remaining undetermined, I appealed likewise unto his successor, John the twenty-third, before whom, when, by the space of two years, I could not be admitted by my advocates to defend my cause, I appealed unto the high judge, Christ. When John Huss had spoken these words, it was demanded of him whether he had received absolution of the pope or no. He answered, no. Then again, whether it was lawful for him to appeal unto Christ or no, were unto John Huss answered, verily I do affirm here before you all that there is no more just or effectual appeal than that appeal which is made unto Christ, for as much as the law doth determine that to appeal is no other thing than in a cause of grief or wrong done by an inferior judge to implore and require aid at a higher judge's hand. Who is then a higher judge than Christ? Who, I say, can know or judge the matter more justly or with more equity? When in him there is found no deceit, neither can he be deceived, or who can better help the miserable and oppressed than he. While John Huss, with a devout and sober countenance, was speaking and pronouncing those words, he was derided and mocked by all the whole council. These excellent sentences were esteemed as so many expressions of treason and tended to inflame his adversaries. Accordingly the bishops appointed by the council stripped him of his priestly garments, degraded him, put a paper mitre on his head, on which was painted devils, with this inscription, a ringleader of heretics, which when he saw he said, My Lord Jesus Christ, for my sake, did wear a crown of thorns, why should not I then, for his sake, again wear this light crown, be it ever so ignominious? Truly I will do it, and that willingly. When it was set upon his head, the bishop said, Now we commit thy soul unto the devil. But I, said John Huss, lifting his eyes towards the heaven, do commend into thy hands, O Lord Jesus Christ, my spirit which thou has redeemed. When the chain was put about him at the stake, he said with a smiling countenance, My Lord Jesus Christ was bound with a harder chain than this, for my sake, and why then should I be ashamed of this rusty one? When the faggots were piled up to his very neck, the duke of Bavaria was so officious as to desire him to abjure. No, said Huss, I never preached any doctrine of an evil tendency, and what I taught with my lips I now seal with my blood. He then said to the executioner, You are now going to burn a goose, Huss signifying goose in the Bohemian language, but in a century you will have a swan, which you can neither roast nor boil. If he were prophetic, he must have meant Martin Luther, who shone about a hundred years after, and who had a swan for his arms. The flames were now applied to the faggots when our martyrs sung a hymn with so loud and cheerful a voice that he was heard through all the cracklings of the combustibles and the noise of the multitude. At length his voice was interrupted by the severity of the flames which soon closed his existence. Then, with great diligence, gathering the ashes together, they cast them into the river Rhine, that the least remnant of that man should not be left upon the earth, whose memory notwithstanding cannot be abolished out of the minds of the godly, neither by fire, neither by water, neither by any kind of torment. Persecution of Jerome of Prague This reformer, who was the companion of Dr. Huss, and may be said to be a co-martyr with him, was born at Prague and educated in that university, where he particularly distinguished himself for his great abilities and learning. He likewise visited several other learned seminaries in Europe, particularly the universities of Paris, Heidelberg, Cologne, and Oxford. At the latter place he became acquainted with the works of Wycliffe, and, being a person of uncommon application, he translated many of them into his native tongue, having, with great pains, made himself master of the English tongue. On his return to Prague he professed himself an open favourer of Wycliffe and finding that his doctrines had made considerable progress in Bohemia and that Huss was the principal promoter of them, he became an assistant to him in the great work of reformation. On the 4th of April, 1415, Jerome arrived at Constance about three months before the death of Huss. He entered the town privately, and consulting with some of the leaders of his party, whom he found there, was easily convinced that he could not be of any service to his friends. Finding that his arrival in Constance was publicly known, and that the council intended to seize him, he thought it most prudent to retire. Accordingly the next day he went to Eiberling, an imperial town, about a mile from Constance. From this place he wrote to the emperor and proposed his readiness to appear before the council, if he would give him a safe conduct, but this was refused. He then applied to the council, but met with an answer no less unfavourable than that from the emperor. After this he set out on his return to Bohemia. He had the precaution to take with him a certificate signed by several of the Bohemian nobility, then at Constance, testifying that he had used all prudent means in his power to procure a hearing. Jerome, however, did not thus escape. He was seized at Hirsau by an officer belonging to the Duke of Soltzbach, who, though unauthorised so to act, made little doubt of obtaining thanks from the council for so acceptable a service. The Duke of Soltzbach, having Jerome now in his power, wrote to the council for directions how to proceed. The council, after expressing their obligations to the Duke, desired him to send the prisoner immediately to Constance. The Elector Palatine met him on the way and conducted him into the city, himself riding on horseback, with a numerous retinue, who led Jerome in fetters by a long chain, and immediately on his arrival he was committed to a lonesome dungeon. Jerome was treated nearly in the same manner as Hoss had been, only that he was much longer confined and shifted from one prison to another. At length, being brought before the council, he desired that he might plead his own cause and exculpate himself, which, being refused him, he broke out into the following exclamation. What barbarity is this? For three hundred and forty days have I been confined in a variety of prisons. There is not a misery, there is not a want that I have not experienced. To my enemies you have allowed the fullest scope of accusation. To me you deny the least opportunity of defense. Not an hour will you now indulge me in preparing for my trial. You have swallowed the blackest columnies against me. You have represented me as a heretic, without knowing my doctrine, as an enemy of the faith, before you knew what faith I professed, as a persecutor of priests, before you could have an opportunity of understanding my sentiments on that head. You are a general council. In you center all this world can communicate of gravity, wisdom, and sanctity. But you are still men, and men are seducible by appearances. The higher your character is for wisdom, the greater ought your care to be, not to deviate into folly. The cause I now plead is not my own cause. It is the cause of men. It is the cause of Christians. It is a cause which is to affect the rights of posterity, however the experiment is to be made in my person. This speech had not the least effect. Jerome was obliged to hear the charge read, which was reduced under the following heads. One, that he was a derider of the papal dignity. Two, an opposer of the pope. Three, an enemy to the cardinals. Four, a persecutor of the prillettes. Five, a hater of the Christian religion. The trial of Jerome was brought on the third day after his accusation, and witnesses were examined in support of the charge. The prisoner was prepared for his defense, which appears almost incredible when we consider that he had been three hundred and forty days shut up in loathsome prisons, deprived of daylight, and almost starved for want of common necessaries. But his spirit soared above these disadvantages under which a man less animated would have sunk, nor was he more at a loss of quotations from the fathers and ancient authors than if he had been furnished with the finest library. The most bigoted of the assembly were unwilling, he should be heard, knowing what effect eloquences apt to have on the minds of the most prejudiced. At length, however, it was carried by the majority that he should have liberty to proceed in his defense, which he began in such an exalted stream of moving elocution, that the heart of obdurate zeal was seen to melt, and the mind of superstition seemed to admit array of conviction. He made an admirable distinction between evidence as resting upon facts, and as supported by Malice and Calumny. He laid before the assembly the whole tenor of his life and conduct. He observed that the greatest and most holy men had been known to differ in points of speculation, with a view to distinguish truth, not to keep it concealed. He expressed a noble contempt of all his enemies, who would have induced him to retract the cause of virtue and truth. He entered upon a high encomium of huss, and declared he was ready to follow him in the glorious task of martyrdom. He then touched upon the most defensible doctrines of Wycliffe, and concluded with observing that it was far from his intention to advance anything against the state of the Church of God, that it was only against the abuse of the clergy he complained, and that he could not help saying it was certainly impious that the patrimony of the Church, which was originally intended for the purpose of charity and universal benevolence, should be prostituted to the pride of the eye in feasts, foppish vestments, and other reproaches to the name and profession of Christianity. The trial being over, Jerome received the same sentence that had been passed upon his martyred countrymen. In consequence of this, he was, in the usual style of popish affectation, delivered over to the civil power, but as he was a layman, he had not to undergo the ceremony of degradation. They had prepared a cap of paper painted with red devils, which, being put upon his head, he said, Our Lord Jesus Christ, when he suffered death for me a most miserable sinner, did wear a crown of thorns upon his head, and for his sake I will wear this cap. Two days were allowed him in hopes that he would recant, in which time the cardinal of Florence used his utmost endeavours to bring him over, but they all proved ineffectual. Jerome was resolved to seal the doctrine with his blood, and he suffered death with the most distinguished magnanimity. In going to the place of execution he sang several hymns, and when he came to the spot, which was the same where Huss had been burnt, he knelt down and prayed fervently. He embraced the stake with great cheerfulness, and when they went behind him to set fire to the faggots he said, Come here and kindle it before my eyes, for if I had been afraid of it I had not come to this place. The fire being kindled he sang a hymn, but was soon interrupted by the flames, and the last words he was heard to say, these, This soul in flames I offer Christ to thee. The elegant pog, a learned gentleman of Florence, secretary to two popes, and a zealous but liberal Catholic, in a letter to Leonard Aroton bore ample testimony of the extraordinary powers and virtues of Jerome whom he emphatically styles a prodigious man. End of Chapter 8, Part 1 Chapter 8, Part 2 of Fox's Book of Martyrs, Volume 1 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. This recording by Anna Roberts. Fox's Book of Martyrs, Volume 1 by John Fox Edited by William Byron Forbush Chapter 8 An Account of the Persecutions in Bohemia under the Papacy, Part 2 Persecution of Zisca The real name of this zealous servant of Christ was John Detroxnow that of Zisca is a Bohemian word signifying one eye as he had lost an eye. He was a native of Bohemia, of a good family, and left the court of Wenceslas to enter into the service of the King of Poland against the Teutonic Knights. Having obtained a badge of honor and a purse of Ducats for his gallantry at the close of the war, he returned to the court of Wenceslas to whom he boldly avowed the deep interest he took in the bloody affront offered to his majesty subjects at Constance in the Affair of Huss. Wenceslas lamented it was not in his power to revenge it, and from this moment Zisca is said to have formed the idea of asserting the religious liberties of his country. In the year 1418 the council was dissolved having done more mischief than good, and in the summer of that year a general meeting was held of the Friends of Religious Reformation at the Castle of Wiscrade who, conducted by Zisca, repaired to the emperor with arms in their hands and offered to defend him against his enemies. The King bid them use their arms properly and this stroke of policy first ensured to Zisca the confidence of his party. Wenceslas was succeeded by Sigismond, his brother, who rendered himself odious to the reformers and removed all such as were obnoxious to his government. Zisca and his friends upon this immediately flew to arms, declared war against the emperor and the pope and laid siege to Pilsen with forty thousand men. They soon became masters of the fortress and in a short time all the southwest part of Bohemia submitted which greatly increased the army of the reformers. The latter having taken the Pass of Moldau after a severe conflict of five days and nights the emperor became alarmed and withdrew his troops from the confines of Turkey to march them into Bohemia. At burn in Moravia he halted and sent dispatches to treat of peace as a preliminary to which Zisca gave up Pilsen and all the fortresses he had taken. Sigismond proceeded in a manner that clearly manifested he acted on the Roman doctrine that no faith was to be kept with heretics and treating some of the authors of the late disturbances with severity the alarm bell of revolt was sounded from one end of Bohemia to the other. Zisca took the castle of Prague by the power of money and on August 19th, 1420 defeated the small army the emperor had hastily got together to oppose him. He next took Asya by assault and destroyed the town with a barbarity that disgraced the cause in which he fought. Winter approaching Zisca fortified his camp on a strong hill about forty miles from Prague which he called Mount Tabor whence he surprised a body of horse at midnight and made a thousand men prisoners. Shortly after the emperor obtained possession of the strong fortress of Prague by the same means Zisca had before done. It was blockaded by the latter and want began to threaten the emperor who saw the necessity ever retreat. Determined to make a desperate effort Sigismond attacked the fortified camp of Zisca on Mount Tabor and carried it with great slaughter. Many other fortresses also fell and Zisca withdrew to a craggy hill which he strongly fortified and whence he so annoyed the emperor in his approaches against the town of Prague that he found he must either abandon the siege or defeat his enemy. The Marquis of Misnia was deputed to affect this with a large body of troops but the event was fatal to the imperialists. They were defeated and the emperor having lost nearly one third of his army retreated from the siege of Prague harassed in his rear by the enemy. In the spring of 1421 Zisca commenced the campaign as before by destroying all the monasteries in his way. He laid siege to the castle of Whiskrade and the emperor coming to relieve it fell into a snare and was defeated with dreadful slaughter and this important fortress was taken. Our general had now leisure to attend to the work of the Reformation but he was much disgusted with the gross ignorance and superstition of the Bohemian clergy who rendered themselves contemptible in the eyes of the whole army. When he saw any symptoms of uneasiness in the camp he would spread alarm in order to divert them and draw his men into action. In one of these expeditions he encamped before the town of Ruby and while pointing out the place for an assault an arrow shot from the wall and struck him in the eye. At Prague it was extracted but, being barbed, it tore the eye out with it. A fever succeeded and his life was with difficulty preserved. He was now totally blind but still desirous of attending the army. The emperor, having summoned the states of the empire to assist him, resolved with their assistance to attack Zisca in the winter when many of his troops departed until the return of spring. The Confederate princes undertook the siege of Soysin but at the approach merely of the Bohemian general they retreated. Sigismund nevertheless advanced with his formidable army consisting of fifteen thousand Hungarian horse and twenty-five thousand infantry well equipped for a winter campaign. This army spread terror through all the east of Bohemia. Wherever Sigismund marched the magistrates laid their keys at his feet and were treated with severity or favour according to their merits in his cause. Zisca, however, with speedy marches approached and the emperor resolved to try his fortune once more with that invincible chief. On the thirteenth of January, fourteen-twenty-two, the two armies met on a spacious plain near Crennitz. Zisca appeared in the centre of his front line, guarded or rather conducted, by a horseman on each side, armed with a pole-axe. His troops having sung a hymn with a determined coolness drew their swords and waited for a signal. When his officers had informed him that the ranks were all well closed, he waved his sabre around his head, which was the sign of battle. This battle is described as a most awful sight. The extent of the plain was one continued scene of disorder. The imperial army fled towards the confines of Morovia, the Taborites without intermission galling their rear. The river Igla, then frozen, opposed their flight. The enemy pressing fiercely, many of the infantry, and in a manner, the whole body of the cavalry, attempted the river. The ice gave way, and not fewer than two thousand were swallowed up in the water. Zisca now returned to Tabor, laden with all the spoils and trophies which the most complete victory could give. Zisca now began to pay attention to the Reformation. He forbid all the prayers for the dead, images, sacerdotal vestments, fasts, and festivals. Priests were to be preferred according to their merits, and no one to be persecuted for religious opinions. In everything, Zisca consulted the liberal-minded, and did nothing without general concurrence. An alarming disagreement now arose at Prague between the magistrates, who were Calyxtians, or receivers of the sacraments in both kinds, and the Taborites, nine of the chiefs of whom were privately arraigned and put to death. The populace, enraged, sacrificed the magistrates, and the affair terminated without any particular consequence. The Calyxtians having sunk into contempt, Zisca was solicited to assume the crown of Bohemia. But this he nobly refused, and prepared for the next campaign, in which Sigismund resolved to make his effort last. While the Marquis of Misnia penetrated into Upper Saxony, the Emperor proposed to enter Moravia on the side of Hungary. Before the Marquis had taken the field, Zisca sat down before the strong town of Osig, situated on the Elbe. The Marquis flew to its relief with a superior army, and, after an obstinate engagement, was totally defeated, and Osig capitulated. Zisca then went to the assistance of Prokop, a young general whom he had appointed to keep Sigismund in check, and whom he compelled to abandon the siege of Pernits after laying eight weeks before it. Zisca, willing to give his troops some respite from fatigue, now entered Prague, hoping his presence would quell any uneasiness that might remain after the late disturbance, but he was suddenly attacked by the people, and he and his troop, having beaten off the citizens, effected a retreat to his army, whom he acquainted with the treacherous conduct of the Calyxtians. Every effort of address was necessary to appease their vengeful animosity, and at night, in a private interview between Rokesan and Ecclesiastic of great eminence in Prague and Zisca, the latter became reconciled, and the intended hostilities were done away. Mutually tired of the war, Sigismund sent to Zisca requesting him to sheath his sword and name his conditions. A place of Congress being appointed, Zisca, with his chief officers, set out to meet the emperor. Compelled to pass through a part of the country where the plague raged, he was seized with it at the castle of Briská and departed this life October 6, 1424. Like Moses he died in view of the completion of his labours, and was buried in the great church of Zalso, in Bohemia, where a monument is erected to his memory, with this inscription on it. Here lies John Zisca, who, having defended his country against the encroachments of Papal tyranny, rests in this hallowed place in spite of the Pope. After the death of Zisca, Procop was defeated and fell with the liberties of his country. After the death of Huss and Jerome, the Pope, in conjunction with the Council of Constance, ordered the Roman clergy everywhere to excommunicate such as adopted their opinions, or commiserated their fate. These orders occasioned great contentions between the Papis and reformed Bohemians, which was the cause of a violent persecution against the latter. At Prague the persecution was extremely severe, until, at length, the reformed being driven to desperation, armed themselves, attacked the Senate House, and threw twelve senators with the speaker out of the Senate House windows, whose bodies fell upon spears which were held up by others of the reformed in the street, to receive them. Being informed of these proceedings, the Pope came to Florence and publicly excommunicated the reformed Bohemians, exciting the Emperor of Germany and all kings, princes, dukes, etc., to take up arms in order to extirpate the whole race, and promising, by way of encouragement, full remission of all sins whatever to the most wicked person if he did but kill one Bohemian Protestant. This occasioned a bloody war, for several Popish princes undertook the extirpation, or at least expulsion, of the prescribed people, and the Bohemians, arming themselves, prepared to repel force by force in the most vigorous and effectual manner. The Popish army prevailing against the Protestant forces at the Battle of Cuttenburg, the prisoners of the reformed were taken to three deep mines near that town, and several hundreds were cruelly thrown into each, where they miserably perished. A merchant of Prague, going to Breslau, in Cilicia, happened to lodge in the same inn with several priests. Entering into conversation upon the subject of religious controversy, he passed many encomiums upon the martyr John Hus and his doctrines. The priests, taking umbrage at this, laid an information against him the next morning, and he was committed to prison as a heretic. Many endeavors were used to persuade him to embrace the Roman Catholic faith, but he remained steadfast to the pure doctrines of the reformed Church. Soon after his imprisonment, a student of the university was committed to the same jail, when, being permitted to converse with the merchant, they mutually comforted each other. On the day appointed for execution, when the jailer began to fasten ropes to their feet, by which they were to be dragged through the streets, the student appeared quite terrified and offered to abjure his faith, and turn Roman Catholic if he might be saved. The offer was accepted, his abjuration was taken by a priest, and he was set at liberty. A priest applying to the merchant to follow the example of the student, he nobly said, Lose no time in hopes of my recantation, your expectations will be vain. I sincerely pity that poor wretch, who has miserably sacrificed his soul for a few more uncertain years of a troublesome life, and so far from having the least idea of following his example, I glory in the very thoughts of dying for the sake of Christ. On hearing these words, the priest ordered the executioner to proceed, and the merchant, being drawn through the city, was brought to the place of execution, and there, burnt. Pyshel, a bigoted popish magistrate, uppreended twenty-four Protestants, among whom was his daughter's husband. As they all owned, they were of the reformed religion, he indiscriminately condemned them to be drowned in the river Abbas. On the day appointed for the execution, a great concourse of people attended, among whom was Pyshel's daughter. This worthy wife threw herself at her father's feet, bedewed them with tears, and in the most pathetic manner implored him to commiserate her sorrow and pardon her husband. The obdurate magistrate sternly replied, intercede not for him, child, he is a heretic, a vile heretic, to which she nobly answered, whatever his faults may be, or however his opinions may differ from yours, he is still my husband, a name which, at a time like this, should alone employ my whole consideration. Pyshel flew into a violent passion and said, you are mad, cannot you after the death of this have a much worthier husband? No, sir, replied she, my affections are fixed upon this, and death itself shall not dissolve my marriage vow. Pyshel, however, continued inflexible and ordered the prisoners to be tied with their hands and feet behind them, and in that manner be thrown into the river. As soon as this was put into execution, the young lady watched her opportunity, leaped into the waves, and embracing the body of her husband, both sank together into one watery grave, an uncommon instance of conjugal love in a wife, and of an inviolable attachment to, and personal affection for, her husband. The Emperor Ferdinand, whose hatred to the Bohemian Protestants was without bounds, not thinking he had sufficiently oppressed them, instituted a high court of reformers upon the plan of the Inquisition, with this difference that the reformers were to remove from place to place, and always to be attended by a body of troops. These reformers consisted chiefly of Jesuits, and from their decision there was no appeal, by which it may be easily conjectured that it was a dreadful tribunal indeed. This bloody court, attended by a body of troops, made the tour of Bohemia, in which they seldom examined or saw a prisoner suffering the soldiers to murder the Protestants as they pleased, and then to make a report of the matter to them afterward. The first victim of their cruelty was an aged minister, whom they killed as he lay sick in his bed. The next day they robbed and murdered another, and soon after shot a third, as he was preaching in his pulpit. A noble and clergyman, who resided in a Protestant village, hearing of the approach of the high court of reformers and the troops, fled from the place and secreted themselves. The soldiers, however, on their arrival, seized upon a schoolmaster, asked him where the Lord of that place and the minister were concealed, and where they had hidden their treasures. The schoolmaster replied that he could not answer either of the questions. They then stripped him naked, bound him with cords, and beat him most unmercifully with cudgels. This cruelty, not extorting any confession from him, they scorched him in various parts of his body. When, to gain a respite from his torments, he promised to show them where their treasures were hid. The soldiers gave ear to this with pleasure, and the schoolmaster led them to a ditch full of stones, saying, Beneath these stones are the treasures you seek for. Eager after money they went to work, and soon removed these stones, but not finding what they sought after, they beat the schoolmaster to death, buried him in the ditch, and covered him with the very stones he had made them remove. Some of the soldiers ravaged the daughters of a worthy Protestant before his face, and then tortured him to death. A minister and his wife, they tied back to back and burnt. Another minister they hung upon a cross-beam, and making a fire under him, broiled him to death. A gentleman they hacked into small pieces, and they filled a young man's mouth with gunpowder, and setting fire to it, blew his head to pieces. As their principal rage was directed against the clergy, they took a pious Protestant minister, and tormenting him daily for a month together in the following manner, making their cruelty regular, systematic, and progressive. They placed him amidst them, and made him the subject of their derision and mockery, during a whole day's entertainment, trying to exhaust his patience but in vain, for he bore the whole with true Christian fortitude. They spit in his face, pulled his nose, and pinched him in most parts of his body. He was hunted like a wild beast, until ready to expire with fatigue. They made him run the gauntlet between two ranks of them, each striking him with a twig. He was beat with their fists. He was beat with ropes. They scourged him with wires. He was beat with cudgels. They tied him up by the heels with his head downwards, until the blood started out of his nose, mouth, etc. They hung him by the right arm until it was dislocated, and then had it set again. The same was repeated with his left arm. Burning papers dipped in oil were placed between his fingers and toes. His flesh was torn with red-hot pincers. He was put to the rack. They pulled off the nails of his right hand. The same repeated with his left hand. He was bastonadoed on his feet. A slit was made in his right ear. The same repeated on his left ear. His nose was slit. They whipped him through the town upon an ass. They made several incisions in his flesh. They pulled off the toenails of his right foot. The same they repeated with his left foot. He was tied up by the loins and suspended for a considerable time. The teeth of his upper jaw were pulled out. The same was repeated with his lower jaw. Boiling lead was poured upon his fingers. The same was repeated with his toes. A knotted cord was twisted about his forehead in such a manner as to force out his eyes. During the whole of these horrid cruelties, particular care was taken that his wounds should not mortify, and not to injure him mortally until the last day, when the forcing out of his eyes proved his death. Inumerable were the other murders and depredations committed by those unfeeling brutes, and shocking to humanity were the cruelties which they inflicted on the poor Bohemian Protestants. The winter being far advanced, however, the High Court of Reformers, with their infernal band of military ruffians, thought proper to return to Prague. But on their way, meeting with a Protestant pastor, they could not resist the temptation of feasting their barbarous eyes with a new kind of cruelty, which had just suggested itself to the diabolical imagination of one of the soldiers. This was to strip the minister naked, and alternately to cover him with ice and burning coals. This novel mode of tormenting a fellow creature was immediately put into practice, and the unhappy victim expired beneath the torments, which seemed to delight his inhuman persecutors. A secret order was soon after issued by the Emperor, for apprehending all noblemen and gentlemen, who had been principally concerned in supporting the Protestant cause, and denominating Frederick Elector Palatine of the Rhine to be king of Bohemia. These, to the number of fifty, were apprehended in one night, and at one hour, and brought from the places where they were taken to the castle of Prague, and the estates of those who were absent from the kingdom were confiscated, themselves were made outlaws, and their names fixed upon a gallows, as marks of public ignominy. The High Court of Reformers then proceeded to try the fifty, who had been apprehended, and two apostate Protestants were appointed to examine them. These examinants asked a great number of unnecessary and impertinent questions, which so exasperated one of the noblemen, who was naturally of a warm temper, that he exclaimed, opening his breast at the same time, Cut here, search my heart, you shall find nothing but the love of religion and liberty. Those were the motives for which I drew my sword, and for those I am willing to suffer death. As none of the prisoners would change their religion, or acknowledge that they had been in error, they were all pronounced guilty, but the sentence was referred to the Emperor. When that monarch had read their names, and in account of the respective accusations against them, he passed judgment on all, but in a different manner, as his sentences were of four kinds, that is, death, banishment, imprisonment for life, and imprisonment during pleasure. Twenty being ordered for execution were informed they might send for Jesuits, monks, or fires to prepare for the awful change they were to undergo, but that no Protestants should be permitted to come near them. This proposal they rejected, and strove all they could to comfort and cheer each other upon the solemn occasion. On the morning of the day appointed for the execution, a cannon was fired as a signal to bring the prisoners from the castle to the principal marketplace in which scaffolds were erected, and a body of troops were drawn up to attend the tragic scene. The prisoners left the castle with as much tearfulness as if they had been going to an agreeable entertainment, instead of a violent death. Exclusive of soldiers, Jesuits, priests, executioners, attendants, etc., a prodigious concourse of people attended to see the exit of these devoted martyrs who were executed in the following order. Lord Shilik was about fifty years of age, and was possessed of great natural and acquired abilities. When he was told he was to be quartered, and his parts scattered in different places, he smiled with great serenity, saying, The loss of a supple court is but a trifling consideration. A gentleman who stood by crying, Courage, my lord, he replied, I have God's favour, which is sufficient to inspire anyone with courage. The fear of death does not trouble me. Formerly I have faced him in fields of battle to oppose antichrist, and now dare face him on a scaffold for the sake of Christ. Having said a short prayer, he told the executioner he was ready. He cut off his right hand in his head, and then quartered him. His hand and his head were placed upon the high tower of Prague, and his quarters distributed in different parts of the city. Lord Viscount Wenceslas, who had attained the age of seventy years, was equally respectable for learning, piety, and hospitality. His temper was so remarkably patient that when his house was broken open, his property seized and his estates confiscated, he only said with great composure, The Lord hath given, and the Lord hath taken away. Being asked why he could engage in so dangerous a cause as that of attempting to support the elector Palatine Frederick against the power of the Emperor, he replied, I acted strictly according to the dictates of my conscience, and to this day deem him my king. I am now full of years, and wish to lay down life, that I may not be a witness of the further evils which are to attend my country. You have long thirsted for my blood. Take it, for God will be my avenger. Then approaching the block, he stroked his long gray beard and said, Venerable Hares, the greater honor now attends ye, A crown of martyrdom is your portion. Then laying down his head, it was severed from his body at one stroke, and placed upon a pole in a conspicuous part of the city. Lord Harant was a man of good sense, great piety, and much experience gained by travel, as he had visited the principal places in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Hence he was free from national prejudices, and had collected much knowledge. The accusations against this nobleman were, his being a Protestant, and having taken an oath of allegiance to Frederick, Elector Palatine of the Rhine, as King of Bohemia. When he came upon the scaffold, he said, I have traveled through many countries, and traversed various barbarous nations, yet never found so much cruelty as at home. I have escaped innumerable perils, both by sea and land, and surmounted inconceivable difficulties, to suffer innocently in my native place. My blood is likewise sought by those for whom I, and my forefathers, have hazarded our estates, but Almighty God forgive them, for they know not what they do. He then went to the block, kneeled down, and exclaimed with great energy, Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit, In thee have I always trusted, receive me therefore my blessed redeemer. The fatal stroke was then given, and a period put to the temporary pains of this life. Lord Frederick de Beel suffered as a Protestant, and a promoter of the late war. He met his fate with serenity, and only said he wished well to the friends whom he left behind, forgave the enemies who caused his death, denied the authority of the Emperor in that country, acknowledged Frederick to be the only true King of Bohemia, and hoped for salvation in the merits of his blessed Redeemer. Lord Henry Otto, when he first came upon the scaffold, seemed greatly confounded and said, with some asperity, as if addressing himself to the Emperor, Thou tyrant Ferdinand, your throne is established in blood, but if you will kill my body and disperse my members, they shall still rise up in judgment against you. He then was silent, and having walked about for some time, seemed to recover his fortitude, and growing calm said to a gentleman who stood near, I was, a few minutes since, greatly discomposed, but now I feel my spirits revive. God be praised for fording me such comfort. Death no longer appears as the King of Terror, but seems to invite me to participate of some unknown joys. Kneeling before the block, he said, Almighty God, to thee I commend my soul, receive it for the sake of Christ, and admit it to the glory of thy presence. The executioner put this nobleman to considerable pain by making several strokes before he severed the head from the body. The Earl of Rugenia was distinguished for his superior abilities and unaffected piety. On the scaffold, he said, We who drew our swords fought only to preserve the liberties of the people, and to keep our consciences sacred. As we were overcome, I am better pleased at the sentence of death than if the Emperor had given me life, for I find that it pleases God to have his truth defended, not by our swords, but by our blood. He then went boldly to the block, saying, I shall now be speedily with Christ, and receive the crown of martyrdom with great courage. Sir Gaspar Kaplitz was eighty-six years of age, when he came to the place of execution, he addressed the principal officer thus, Behold a miserable ancient man, who hath often entreated God to take him out of this wicked world, but could not until now obtain his desire, for God reserved me until these years to be a spectacle to the world, and a sacrifice to himself. Therefore, Gods will be done. One of the officers told him, in consideration of his great age, that if he would only ask pardon, he would immediately receive it. Ask pardon, exclaimed he, I will ask pardon of God, whom I have frequently offended, but not of the Emperor, to whom I never gave any offence. Should I sue for pardon, it might be justly suspected I had committed some crime, for which I had deserved this condemnation. No, no, as I die innocent, and with a clear conscience, I would not be separated from this noble company of martyrs. So, saying, he cheerfully resigned his neck to the block. Procopius Dorzecchi on the scaffold said, We are now under the Emperor's judgment, but in time he shall be judged, and we shall appear as witnesses against him. Then, taking a gold medal from his neck, which was struck when the Elector Frederick was crowned King of Bohemia, he presented it to one of the officers, at the same time uttering these words. As a dying man I request, if ever King Frederick is restored to the throne of Bohemia, that you will give him this medal. Tell him for his sake I wore it until death, and that now I willingly lay down my life for God and my King. He then cheerfully lay down his head and submitted to the fatal blow. Dionysius Servius was brought up a Roman Catholic, but had embraced the Reformed religion for some years. When upon the scaffold, the Jesuits used their utmost endeavors to make him recant and return to his former faith, but he paid not the least attention to their exhortations. Kneeling down, he said, they may destroy my body but cannot injure my soul, that I commend to my Redeemer, and then patiently submitted to martyrdom, being at that time fifty-six years of age. Valentin Cocan was a person of considerable fortune and eminence, perfectly pious and honest, but of trifling abilities. Yet his imagination seemed to grow bright and his faculties to improve on death's approach, as if the impending danger refined the understanding. Just before he was beheaded, he expressed himself with such eloquence, energy, and precision as greatly amazed those who knew his former deficiency in point of capacity. Tobias Stefik was remarkable for his affability and serenity of temper. He was perfectly resigned to his fate, and a few minutes before his death spoke in this singular manner. I have received, during the whole course of my life, many favours from God, ought I not therefore cheerfully to take one bitter cup, when he thinks proper to present it, or rather, ought I not rejoice that it is his will I should give up a corrupt life for that of immortality? Dr. Jesenius, enable student of physics, was accused of having spoken disrespectful words of the Emperor, of treason in swearing allegiance to the Elector Frederick, and of heresy in being a Protestant. For the first accusation he had his tongue cut out, for the second he was beheaded, and for the third and last he was quartered, and the respective parts exposed on poles. Christopher Chober, as soon as he stepped upon the scaffold, said, I come in the name of God, to die for his glory, I have fought the good fight and finished my course, so, Executioner, do your office. The Executioner obeyed, and he instantly received the crown of martyrdom. No person ever lived more respectful, or died more lamented, than John Shultas. The only words he spoke before receiving the fatal stroke were, the righteous seemed to die in the eyes of fools, but they only go to rest. Lord Jesus, thou hast promised that those who come to thee shall not be cast off. Behold, I am come. Look on me, pity me, pardon my sins, and receive my soul. Maximilian Hastialik was famed for his learning, piety, and humanity. When he first came on the scaffold, he seemed exceedingly terrified at the approach of death. The officer, taking notice of his agitation, Hastialik said, Ah, sir, now the sins of my youth crowd upon my mind, but I hope God will enlighten me lest I sleep the sleep of death and lest my enemies say we have prevailed. Soon after, he said, I hope my repentance is sincere and will be accepted, in which case the blood of Christ will wash me from my crimes. He then told the officer he should repeat the song of Simian, at the conclusion of which the executioner might do his duty. He accordingly said, Lord, now let us thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, at which words his head was struck off at one blow. When John Kuttenauer came to the place of execution, a Jesuit said to him, Embrace the Roman Catholic faith, which alone can save an army against the terrors of death. To which he replied, Your superstitious faith I abhor, it leads to perdition, and I wish for no other arms against the terrors of death than a good conscience. The Jesuit turned away, saying sarcastically, the Protestants are impenetrable rocks. You are mistaken, said Kuttenauer, it is Christ that is the rock, and we are firmly fixed upon him. This person, not being born independent, but having acquired a fortune by a mechanical employment, was offered to be hanged. Just before he was turned off, he said, I die not for having committed any crime, but for following the dictates of my own conscience and defending my country and religion. Simeon Susicki was father-in-law to Kuttenauer, and like him was ordered to be executed on a gallows. He went cheerfully to death, and appeared impatient to be executed, saying every moment delays me from entering into the kingdom of Christ. Nathaniel Wodniansky was hanged for having supported the Protestant cause, and the election of Frederick to the Crown of Bohemia. At the gallows the Jesuits did all in their power to induce him to renounce his faith. Finding their endeavors ineffectual, one of them said, If you will not adjure your heresy, at least repent of your rebellion. To which Wodniansky replied, You shall take away our lives under a pretended charge of rebellion, and, not content with that, seek to destroy our souls. Glut yourselves with blood and be satisfied, but tamper not with our consciences. Wodniansky's own son then approached the gallows and said to his father, Sir, if life should be offered to you on condition of apostasy, I entreat you to remember Christ, and reject such pernicious overtures. To this the father replied, It is very acceptable, my son, to be exhorted to constancy by you, but suspect me not, rather endeavor to confirm in their faith your brothers, sisters, and children, and teach them to imitate that constancy of which I shall leave them an example. He had no sooner concluded these words than he was turned off, receiving the crown of martyrdom with great fortitude. Wenceslas Gizbitsky, during his whole confinement, had great hopes of life given him, which made his friends fear for the safety of his soul. He, however, continued steadfast in his faith, prayed fervently at the gallows, and met his fate with singular resignation. Martin Foster was an ancient cripple, the accusations against whom were, being charitable to heretics, and lending money to the elector Frederick. His great wealth, however, seemed to have been his principal crime, and that he might be plundered of his treasures was the occasion of his being ranked in this illustrious list of martyrs. End of Chapter 8 This illustrious German divine and reformer of the Church was the son of John Luther and Margaret Ziegler, and born at Eiselman, a town of Saxony, in the county of Mansfield, November 10, 1483. His father's extraction and condition were originally but mean, and his occupation that of a minor. It is probable, however, that by his application and industry he improved the fortunes of his family as he afterward became a magistrate of rank and dignity. Luther was early initiated into letters, and at the age of 13 was sent to school at Magdeburg, and thence to Isenok, in Thuringia, where he remained four years, producing the early indications of his future eminence. In 1501 he was sent to the University of Erfurt, where he went through the usual courses of logic and philosophy. When 20 he took a master's degree, and then lectured on Aristotle's physics, ethics, and other parts of philosophy. Afterward, at the instigation of his parents, he turned himself to the civil law, with a view of advancing himself to the bar, but was diverted from his pursuit by the following accident. Walking out into the fields one day, he was struck by lightning so as to fall to the ground, while a companion was killed by his side. And this affected him so sensibly that without communicating his purpose to any of his friends, he withdrew himself from the world, and retired into the order of the Hermits of St. Augustine. Here he employed himself in reading St. Augustine and the Schoolman, but in turning over the leaves of the library, he accidentally found a copy of the Latin Bible, which he had never seen before. This raised his curiosity to a high degree. He read it over very greedily, and was amazed to find what a small portion of the scriptures was rehearsed to the people. He made his profession in the monastery of Erfurt after he had been in novice one year, and he took priests' orders and celebrated his first Mass in 1507. The year after, he was removed from the convent of Erfurt to the University of Wittenberg. For this university being just founded, nothing was thought more likely to bring it into imminent repute and credit than the authority and presence of a man so celebrated for his great parts and learning as Luther. In this University of Erfurt, there was a certain aged man in the convent of the Augustines, with whom Luther, being then of the same order, a friar Augustine, had conference upon diverse things, especially touching remission of sins, which article the said aged father opened unto Luther, declaring that God's express commandment is that every man should particularly believe his sins to be forgiven him in Christ, and further said that this interpretation was confirmed by St. Bernard. This is the testimony that the Holy Ghost giveth thee in thy heart, saying, Thy sins are forgiven thee, for this is the opinion of the Apostle, that man is freely justified by faith. By these words, Luther was not only strengthened, but was also instructed of the full meaning of St. Paul, who repeated so many times this sentence, we are justified by faith. And having read the exposition of many upon this place, he then perceived, as well by the discourse of the old man, as by the comfort he received in his spirit, the vanity of those interpretations, which he had read before, of the schoolmen. And so, by little and little, reading and comparing the sayings and examples of the prophets and apostles, with continual invocation of God, and the excitation of faith by force of prayer, he perceived that doctrine most evidently. Thus continued he his study at Urfert, the space of four years in the convent of the Augustans. In 1512, seven convents of his order having a quarrel with their vicar general, Luther was chosen to go to Rome to maintain their cause. At Rome he saw the pope and the court, and had an opportunity of observing also the manners of the clergy, whose hasty, superficial, and impious way of celebrating mass he has severely noted. As soon as he had adjusted the dispute, which was the business of his journey, he returned to Wittenberg, and was created Doctor of Divinity at the expense of Friedrich, a Lecter of Saxony, who had often heard him preach, was perfectly acquainted with his merit, and reverenced him highly. He continued in the University of Wittenberg, where as Professor of Divinity, he employed himself in the business of his calling. Here then he began in the most earnest manner to read the lectures upon the sacred books. He explained the epistle to the Romans and the Psalms, which he cleared up and illustrated in a manner so entirely new, and so different from what had been pursued by former commentators that, there seemed, after a long and dark night, a new day to arise in the judgment of all pious and prudent men. Luther diligently reduced the minds of men to the Son of God, as John the Baptist demonstrated the Lamb of God that took away the sins of the world. Even so Luther, shining in the church as the bright daylight after a long and dark night, expressly showed that sins are freely remitted for the love of the Son of God, and that we ought faithfully to embrace this bountiful gift. His life was correspondent to his profession, and it plainly appeared that his words were no lip-labor, but proceeded from the very heart. This admiration of his holy life much allured the hearts of his auditors. The better to qualify himself for the task he had undertaken, he had applied himself attentively to the Greek and Hebrew languages, and in this manner was he employed when the general indulgences were published in 1517. Leo X, who succeeded Julius II in March 1513, formed a design of building the magnificent Church of St. Peter's at Rome, which was indeed begun by Julius, but still required very large sums to be finished. Leo therefore, in 1517, published general indulgences throughout all Europe in favor of those who contribute any sum to the building of St. Peter's, and appointed persons in different countries to preach up these indulgences, and to receive money for them. These strange proceedings gave vast offense at Wittenberg, and particularly inflamed the pious zeal of Luther, who, being naturally warm and active, and in the present case unable to contain himself, was determined to declare against them at all adventures. Upon the eve of all Saints, therefore, in 1517, he publicly fixed up at the church next to the castle of that town a thesis upon indulgences, in the beginning of which he challenged anyone to oppose it either by writing or disputation. Luther's propositions about indulgences were no sooner published than Tetzel, the Dominican friar and commissioner for selling them maintained and published at Frankfurt a thesis containing a set of propositions directly contrary to them. He did more. He stirred up the clergy of his order against Luther, anathematized him from the pulpit, as a most damnable heretic, and burnt his thesis publicly at Frankfurt. Tetzel's thesis was also burnt, in return, by the Lutherans at Wittenberg, but Luther himself disowned having had any hand in that procedure. In 1518, Luther, though dissuaded from it by his friends, yet to show obedience to authority, went to the monastery of St. Augustine at Heidelberg, while the chapter was held, and here maintained, April 26, a dispute concerning justification by faith, which Beuser, who was present at, took down in writing and afterward communicated to Betus Reneus, not without the highest commendations. In the meantime, the zeal of his adversaries grew every day more and more active against him, and he was at length accused to Leo X as a heretic. As soon as he returned therefore from Heidelberg, he wrote a letter to that pope in the most submissive terms, and sent him at the same time an explication of his propositions about indulgences. This letter is dated on Trinity Sunday, 1518, and was accompanied with a protestation, wherein he declared that he did not pretend to advance or defend anything contrary to the holy scriptures, or to the doctrine of the fathers, received and observed by the Church of Rome, or to the canons and decretals of the popes. Nevertheless, he thought he had the liberty either to approve or disprove the opinions of St. Thomas, Bonaventura, and other schoolmen and canonists, which are not grounded upon any texts. The Emperor Maximilian was equally solicitous, with the pope about putting a stop to the propagation of Luther's opinions in Saxony, troublesome both to the Church and Empire. Maximilian therefore applied to Leo in a letter dated August 5, 1518, and begged him to forbid, by his authority, these useless, rash and dangerous disputes, assuring him also that he would strictly execute in the Empire whatever his holiness should enjoin. In the meantime, Luther, as soon as he understood what was transacting about him at Rome, used all imaginable means to prevent his being carried thither, and to obtain a hearing of his cause in Germany. The elector was also against Luther's going to Rome, and desired of Cardinal Cajetan that he might be heard before him, as the pope's legate in Germany. Upon these addresses, the pope consented that the cause should be tried before Cardinal Cajetan, whom he had given power to decide it. Luther therefore set off immediately for Augsburg, and carried with him letters from the elector. He arrived here in October 1518, and upon an assurance of his safety, was admitted into the Cardinal's presence. But Luther was soon convinced that he had more to fear from the Cardinal's power than from disputations of any kind, and therefore apprehensive of being seized if he did not submit, withdrew from Augsburg upon the 20th. But before his departure, he published a formal appeal to the pope, and finding himself protected by the elector, continued to teach the same doctrines at Wittenberg, and sent a challenge to all the inquisitors to come and dispute with him. As to Luther, Militias, the pope's chamberlain, had orders to require the elector to oblige him to retract, or to deny him his protection. But things were not now to be carried with so high a hand, Luther's credit being too firmly established. Besides, the Emperor Maximilian happened to die upon the 12th of this month, whose death greatly altered the face of affairs, and made the elector more able to determine Luther's fate. Militias thought it best, therefore, to try what could be done by fair and gentle means, and to that end came to some conference with Luther. During all these treaties, the doctrine of Luther spread, and prevailed greatly, and he himself received great encouragement at home and abroad. The Bohemians about this time sent him a book of the celebrated John Huse, who had fallen at martyr in the work of Reformation, and also letters in which they exhorted him to constancy and perseverance, owing that the divinity which he taught was the pure sound and orthodox divinity. Many great and learned men had joined themselves to him. In 1519 he had a famous dispute at Leipzig with John Achaus, but this dispute ended at length like all others, the parties not the least nearer in opinion, but more at enmity with each other's persons. About the end of this year, Luther published a book in which he contended for the communion being celebrated in both kinds, which was condemned by the Bishop of Messinia, January 24, 1520. While Luther was laboring to excuse himself to the new emperor and the bishops of Germany, Achaus had gone to Rome to solicit his condemnation, which it may be easily conceived, was now become not difficult to be attained. Indeed, the continual importunities of Luther's adversaries with Leo caused him at length to publish a formal condemnation of him, and he did so accordingly in a bowl dated June 15, 1520. This was carried into Germany and published there by Achaus who had solicited it at Rome, and who, together with Jerome Alexander, a person imminent for his learning and eloquence, was entrusted by the Pope with the execution of it. In the meantime, Charles V of Spain, after he had set things to rights in the Low Countries, went into Germany and was crowned emperor, October the 21st at Eyelashapel. Martin Luther, after he had been first accused at Rome upon Monday Thursday by the Pope's censure, shortly after Easter speedeth his journey toward Worms, where the said Luther, appearing before the emperor in all the states of Germany, constantly stuck to the truth, defended himself, and answered his adversaries. Luther was lodged, well entertained, and visited by many earls, barons, knights of the order, gentlemen, priests, and the commonality who frequented his lodging until night. He came, contrary to the expectation of many, as well adversaries as others. His friends deliberated together, and many persuaded him not to adventure himself to such a present danger, considering how these beginnings answered not the faith of promise made, who, when he had heard their whole persuasion and advice answered in this wise, as touching me, since I am sent for, I am resolved and certainly determined to enter Worms, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yea, although I knew there were as many devils to resist me as there are tiles to cover the houses in Worms. The next day the herald brought him from his lodging to the emperor's court, where he abode until six o'clock, for that the princes were occupied in grave consultations, abiding there and being environed with a great number of people, and almost smothered for the press that was there. Then after, when the princes were set, and Luther entered, Achias, the official, spake in this manner, answered now to the emperor's demand, Wilt thou maintain all thy books which thou has acknowledged, or evoke any part of them and submit thyself? Martin Luther answered modestly and lowly, and yet not without some stoutness of stomach and Christian constancy. Considering your sovereign majesty and your honors require a plain answer. This I say and profess, as resolutely as I may, without doubting or sophistication, that if I be not convinced by testimonies of the scriptures, for I believe not the pope, neither his general councils, which have aired many times and have been contrary to thyself, my conscience is so bound and captivated in these scriptures and the word of God, that I will not, nor may not revoke any manner of thing, considering it is not godly or lawful to do anything against conscience. Hereupon I stand and rest. I have not what else to say. God have mercy upon me. The princes consulted together upon this answer given by Luther, and when they had diligently examined the same, the protocutor began to repel him thus. The emperor's majesty requireth of thee a simple answer, either negative or affirmative, whether thou mindest to defend all thy works as Christian or no. Then Luther, turning to the emperor and the nobles, besought them not to force or compel him to yield against his conscience, confirmed with the holy scriptures, without manifest arguments alleged to the contrary by his adversaries. I am tied by the scriptures. Before the deed of forms was dissolved, Charles V caused an edict to be drawn up, which was dated the 8th of May, and decreed that Martin Luther be, aggrievedly to the sentence of the pope, henceforward looked upon as a member separated from the church, a schismatic and an obstinate and notorious heretic. While the bull of Leo X executed by Charles V was thundering throughout the empire, Luther was safely shut up in the castle of Wittenberg, but weary at length of his retirement, he appeared publicly again at Wittenberg, March 6, 1522, after he had been absent about 10 months. Luther now made open war with the pope and bishops, and that he might make the people despise their authority as much as possible. He wrote one book against the pope's bull, and another against the order falsely called the Order of Bishops. He published also a translation of the New Testament in the German Tongue, which was afterward corrected by himself and Melanchthon. Affairs were now in great confusion in Germany, and they were not less so in Italy, for a quarrel arose between the pope and the emperor, during which Rome was twice taken and the pope imprisoned. While the princes were thus employed and quarreling with each other, Luther persisted in carrying on the work of the Reformation, as well by opposing the papists as by combating the Anabaptists and other fanatical sects, which, having taken the advantage of his conquest with the Church of Rome, had sprung up and established themselves in several places. In 1527, Luther was suddenly seized with a coagulation of the blood about the heart, which had liked to have put an end to his life. The troubles of Germany being not likely to have any end, the emperor was forced to call a deed at Spires in 1529, to require the assistance of the princes of the empire against the Turks. Fourteen cities, Viz Strasburg, Nuremberg, Olm, Constance, Rettlingen, Winsheim, Mimingen, Lindo, Kempten, Hallebron, Isthni, Weissenberg, Nortlingen, Esgall, joined against the decree of the Diet protestation, which was put into writing and published April 1529. This was the famous protestation which gave the name of Protestants. To the reformers in Germany. After this the Protestant princes labored to make a firm league and enjoined in the elector of Saxony and his allies to approve of what the Diet had done, but the deputies drew up an appeal and the Protestants afterwards presented an apology for their confession, that famous confession which was drawn up by the temperate Melanchthon as also the apology. These were signed by a variety of princes and Luther had now nothing else to do but to sit down and contemplate the mighty work he had finished, for that a single monk should be able to give the Church of Rome so rude a shock, that they are needed but such another entirely to overthrow it. Maybe well esteemed a mighty work. In 1533 Luther wrote a consolatory epistle to the citizens of Oschatz, who had suffered some hardships for adhering to the Augsburg Confession of Faith, and in 1534 the Bible translated by him into German was first printed as the old privilege dated at Bibliopolis under the elector's own hand shows, and it was published in the year after. He also published this year a book against masses and the consecration of priests. In February 1537 an assembly was held at Smallcald about matters of religion to which Luther and Melanchthon were called. At this meeting Luther was seized with so grievous an illness that there was no hope of his recovery. As he was carried along he made his will, in which he bequeathed his detestation of popery to his friends and brethren. In this manner he was employed until his death which happened in 1546. That year, accompanying by Melanchthon, he paid a visit to his own country which he had not seen for many years, and returned again in safety. But soon after he was called thither again by the earls of Manfeld to compose some differences which had arisen about their boundaries, where he was received by one hundred horsemen or more and conducted in a very honorable manner. But was at the same time so very ill that it was feared he would die. He said that these fits of sickness often came upon him when he had any great business to undertake. Of this, however, he did not recover, but died in February 18 in his sixty-third year. A little before he expired he admonished those that were about him to pray to God for the propagation of the Gospel, because, said he, the Council of Trent which has set once or twice, and the Pope will devise strange things against it. Feeling his faithful hour to approach, before nine o'clock in the morning, he commended himself to God with this devout prayer. My Heavenly Father, eternal and merciful God, thou hast manifested unto me thy dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, I have taught him, I have known him, I love him as my life, my health and my redemption, whom the wicked have persecuted, maligned, and with injury afflicted, draw my soul to thee. After this, he said as in Sueth, Thrice, I commend my spirit into thy hands, thou hast redeemed me, O God of Truth. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have life everlasting. Having repeated off-times his prayers, he was called to God. God so praying his innocent ghost peaceably was separated from the earthly body.