 Letters 26 to 30 of series 2 of the Letters of John Huss by Emil de Bona Showes, translated by Campbell Mackenzie. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Letters 26 to 30. Letter 26 John of Chlum to John Huss He informs him in what terms the emperor explained before the deputies of the council his views relative to the audience. He afterwards gives him some intelligence of the position and health of his friends. Dearest friend, learn that the emperor held a conference today with the deputies of all the nations of the council relative to your affairs, and in particular concerning the public audience. All at last replied to him that he had certainly promised you a hearing, and your friends insisted on your being placed in an airy and wholesome place, that you may collect your strength and allow your mind to become tranquil. In order that, by a short respite, you may be better able to reply. Therefore, in the name of God, quit not the truth in the slightest degree, through any dread of losing this miserable life, for it is for your greatest good that God has visited you with this trial. Your friends in Prague earn good health, and particularly the Lord Shopec, who rejoices exceedingly that you are shortly about to sustain the desired combat for the truth. We pray you earnestly to consign to paper your final opinion relative to the communion of the cup, and your reasons, therefore, in order that may be communicated to our friends in proper season, for there exists some difference of opinion on the subject amongst the brethren, and many are troubled thereby. They refer the matter to you and to your writings. Your friends grieve at the reply of your jailer, and particularly yes-of-its. But the past cannot be recalled. They praise amongst themselves and admire greatly your firmness. John Hust replies separately to all the articles. He also enumerates the annoyances to which he is subjected by several bishops relative to a quantity of gold pieces which they affirm to be in his possession. As well as I can remember, I know nothing more, and I am ignorant for what object the public hearing will be given me. I have protested in writing in presence of notaries. I have also addressed to the whole council a petition which I showed to the patriarch, and in which I demand to have permission, according to me, to reply separately to each article, as I had already replied by writing. The public audience will perhaps be allowed me for the purpose of replying in a scholastic form, or perhaps God will graciously permit me to preach. I hope that by the grace of God I shall never depart even slightly from the truth such as I know it. Pray to him, therefore, to protect me. As to what touches the community of the cup, you possess the writing in which I have advanced my opinion on the subject and my reasons for holding it. I have nothing farther to say, except that the scriptures and the epistles of Paul prescribed this practice, and that it was in use in the primitive church. If possible, obtain permission for those who are anxious to partake of it from religious motives to do so, but be guided in your conduct therein by circumstances. Let my friends not conceive any alarm at my replies in private. I cannot see how these things could have been otherwise, since all was decided by the counsel, even previous to my being thrown into prison. In a document published by the commissioners, and which has been read to me, I am called a heresyarch, and a seducer of the people. But I hope that what I have uttered in the shade will be, at a later period, preached in the open day. I was interrogated the evening of the day at which I saw John Barbott, respecting the forty-seven articles, and I replied as I had done in my preceding protest, taking each article separately they asked me if I desired to defend it. My reply was that I referred the matter to the decision of the counsel as I had previously done, and I asserted of each article as previously. It is true, but in such and such a sense. Will you defend it? They asked me, and my answer was no, I abide by the decision of the counsel. I called God to witness that under the circumstances I saw nothing better to reply, as I had antecedently given it under my own hand that I should not defend anything obstinately. Like that I was ready to be instructed. These questions were put to me because it was reported that I had informed the emperor that I wished to defend three or four articles. They even asked me what I had declared to the emperor, and I replied that I had not said anything of the nature attributed to me. Michael Caussis was present, with a paper in his hand, and urging on the patriarch to force me to reply to his questions. And whilst this was going on, some bishops entered. Michael has invented something new. God has been pleased to allow him and palates to stand against me for my sins. The former scrutinizes my letters and my writings, and palates brings forward all the conversations that we held together in bygone years. The patriarch maintained openly that I was exceedingly rich, and an archbishop said to me, You have seventy thousand florins. Michael asked me before them all, Eh? What has become of the robe full of florins? How much money of yours have the barons of Bohemia in safekeeping? Oh, certainly I suffered much today. One bishop said to me, You have established a new law. Brother, you have preached all these articles. And I replied warmly and strongly with the aid of God, and concluded by asking, Why do you overwhelm me with insults? Write nothing to me of the witnesses cited to appear, for no step has been taken about them, either by themselves, or by the king, or by the citizens of Prague. Chapter 28 Hust replies to Peter the notary, who had encouraged him to give proofs of constancy. This letter, says Luther, is a noble testimony in support of the saying of the apostle Paul, that virtue will improve in affliction, and God brings forth fruits in us by temptation. May salvation come to thee from Jesus Christ. I dare not rashly say with St. Peter, since my fervor and courage are infinitely inferior to his, that, though all men shall be offended because of Christ, yet will I never be offended. Jesus Christ has never, in express terms, declared me to be blessed like Peter, and has not promised me such precious gifts. I maintain, at the same time against several together, and attack more vigorous in its nature and more terrible. I, however, can declare that, having placed my trust in Jesus Christ, I shall adhere to the truth, even unto death, with the aid of the saints and his own. If the Lord John of Chlum suffers any less on my account, do thou, my dear Peter, take thought to repair it when thou shalt have returned, pay attention to the master of the mint and his wife, who imprudently engaged themselves for me, and to all our other friends, known to the curie, my disciple. If any horse remains still my property, it ought to come into the possession of Lord John, with the car. As to thee, if master Martin or master Christian live, thou shalt receive from them a part of the sixty-four or seventy pieces of money, and I wish that this portion were larger. Bear in mind, however, that I do not pretend by this money to recompense thy ardent and unchangeable love for the truth, or the services that thou hast rendered me, and the consolations which thou hast lavished on me in my hours of difficulty. May God be thy great recompense for all things, for I possess nothing that is worthy of thy acceptance. Should it be granted to me to live at Prague, and if my return to that city is not impossible, I would share everything with thee, like a brother. I do not, however, form any wish to return thither, but in as much as it may be in accordance with the will of the Lord in heaven. I do not know to whom I can entrust the viatica, which I still possess, and which I had bequeathed to master Martin. Dispose of my books, according to the directions that I sent to him, and choose for thyself from amongst them such of those written by Wycliffe, as shall please thee. I am much alarmed for our brethren who I fear will be persecuted, unless the Lord interpose in their favor, and I am apprehensive that many will be offended. Salute, I pray thee, with great affection the Bohemian and Polish noblemen, and render thanks in particular to the Lords Wenceslas de Duba and John de Chloem, who, I hope, will be present at the audience of the Council. Farewell in Jesus Christ. Letter 29. He mentions what happened to him in the audience, which was accorded to him four days before the eclipse of the sun. The Lord today gave me a firm and intrepid heart. Two articles were struck out, and I am in hope that a greater number will be treated in like manner. They were all crying out like the Jews against Jesus. They have not yet come to the principal count, viz, to the avowal that all the incriminated articles are found in my writings. You committed an error in judgment in presenting the treatise against an unknown adversary. Do not show, with the treatise on the church, anything besides that against Daneslas and palates. It is well that they had desired my book to be given back to them, for some persons cried out loudly to have it burned, particularly Michael de Kausus, whom I myself heard. I never thought that I had, in that multitude of priests, only the brother and a Polish doctor, whom I knew to be such. I render thanks to the bishop Litomysel, for he said but these few words. Azo ha'z tobi utzmi. I am grateful to you for the manner in which you have arranged the articles. It will be well to have them published under that form. The presidents have asserted that I elsewhere published another definition of the church, and they wanted to know what it was. Greet the lords who are believers and the friends of the truth, and pray to God in my behalf, for I have need of it. I think they will not pardon me the opinion which I quoted from St. Augustine respecting the church, the predestinated members, the elect, and the bad bishops. Oh, that an audience may be accorded me in order that I may reply to the arguments by which they attack the articles of my treatises. Many of them, now crying out, would then be silent. But the will of God be done. Letter 30 This letter teaches us in what consists of the trial of spiritual combats. It shows how true is what we confess in the creed, that there is but one holy and universal church, and that the riches of this church are common to all. Man is for his fellow creatures an angel and a God in misfortunes. I am delighted that the treatise against an unknown person has not been discovered, as well as several others. I have been able these latter days to nourish my soul with better things, than since Easter Day until last Sunday. I imagine this council to contain more order and decency. May the noble John, my friend, be blessed in eternity. I should with pleasure learn in what state is Barbat, who refused to follow the councils of his friends. Since they are in position of my book, I have not felt any want of the work. Preserve carefully the list of the first articles, with the proofs, and, if you should want any testimonies for any of the articles, assign witnesses. The most important article is that, entitled, All that a virtuous man does, he does virtuously. I am suffering from a toothache. During the heat have been seized with vomiting of blood. I suffered also from the stone and headache. These are punishments for my sins and signs of God's love. Since they have condemned my treatises, I pray you to suppress the last letter written in Bohemian, which I sent today in order that the people of God should not believe that all my books are condemned, as I was afraid of, from a letter I received yesterday. It would be desirable that no letter written in this prison should be known, for what God intends to do with me is still very uncertain. I fear that Ulrich may have published some of my letters. I conjure you, therefore, in God's name to pay the greatest attention to the letters, to your words and acts, oh, how much I was consoled by receiving your letters, and in writing you mine. I hope, with the grace of God, that men may one day derive instruction from them. As long as I know you remain with the young seniors at Constance, I shall be comforted, even though I should be already condemned to death. I regard it as certain that God has bestowed you on me as angels to strengthen and console me, a weak and unfortunate man, in the midst of my temptations. What they have been, what they are, and will still be the Almighty God knows. He who has compassion on me, he who is my refuge, my support, and my deliverer, in him have I placed my trust. Two delegates of the council asked me in prison, if I possessed several books which I had made use of in my researches. I answered that I possessed them. They asked me, where? In Bohemia, I replied. They inquired of me, whether I had none here. I denied having any, which is the fact, although I had previously brought with me the book of sentences and the Bible and some other works. I learned from them that John, my pupil, had withdrawn. And they said to me, have you no other observations to offer? No, what I have said is truth. Will you abjure and rickhead? No, I replied. But come to the council, there you shall hear me. I am to appear before it, and there I will answer. Why do you tempt me? Have you come to console a prisoner or to add to his affliction? Then, after having again exchanged some words, they withdrew. Take care of the books, if you have any. As for me, I am not aware of any. Tell Master Yesenitz that the notary has perfidiously changed my evidence concerning the explanation of the bull, which, as you have heard, I strongly affirmed before the council. End of Letter 30 Of Series 2 of the Letters of John Huss by Emil de Bona Showes, translated by Campbell McKenzie. Letters 31 to 35 of Series 2 of the Letters of John Huss by Emil de Bona Showes, translated by Campbell McKenzie. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Letters 31 to 35 Letter 31 John Huss relates with what horror and rage he was greeted by the council. I, Master John Huss, in hope, servant of Christ, and ardently desiring that believers in Christ may not, when I shall have ceased to live, find in my death an opportunity for scandal, and look on me as an obstinate heretic. To take to witness Jesus Christ, for the sake of whose word I have wished to die, and I leave in writing the remembrance of these things for the friends of truth. I had often declared, both in private, in public, and before the council, that I would consent to an inquiry and would submit myself to instruction, abjuration, and punishment if it was demonstrated to me that I had written, taught, or disseminated anything contrary to the truth. But fifty doctors who stated that they were deputed by the council having been frequently corrected by me, and even in public for having falsely extracted articles from my works, refused me any private explanation, and declared that they would not confer with me, saying, you ought to submit yourself to the decision of the council. And the council mocked when, in the public audience I quoted the words of Christ and the holy doctors, at one time they reproached me with misunderstanding them, and at another the doctors insulted me. An English doctor who had already said to me in private that Wycliffe had wished to annihilate all science, and had filled his books and his logic with errors, began to discourse on the multiplication of the body of Christ in the consecrated host, and, as his arguments were weak, he was told to be silent. Then he cried out, This man deceives the council. Take care that the council be not led into error, as it was by Beringer. When he was silent, another discussed noisily concerning the created and common essence. All began to clamor against him, I then demanded that he might be heard, and said to him, You argue well, I will answer you most willingly. He also broke down, and he added in a solid voice, This man is a heretic. Then Signor Wenceslas Duba, John Nechlum, and Peter the Notary, valiant champions and friends of the truth, know what clamors, what unworthy railway and blasphemies were poured upon me in this assembly. Stunned by so much noise, I said, I thought there was to be found in this council more decency, more piety, and more discipline. All then began to listen, for the emperor had commanded silence to be observed. The cardinal who presided said to me, You spoke more humbly in your prison. I answered, It is true, for then no one clamored against me, and now they are all vociferous. He added, Will you submit to an investigation? I consent to it, replied I, within the limits which I have fixed. Take this for the result of the inquiry, resumed the cardinal, that the doctors have declared the articles extracted from your books to be errors, which you ought to afface in abjuring those already testified against you by witnesses. The emperor afterwards said, This will soon be committed to writing for you, and you will answer it. Let that be done at the next audience, said the cardinal, and the sitting was closed. Had knows how many trials I have suffered since. Let her thirty-two. He complains that the emperor Sigismund had treated him with less prudence than Pontius Pilate did Jesus Christ. Salutation in Jesus Christ. What I am informed by Peter affords me pleasure. I do not keep his letters, but destroy them immediately. Let not the sex tyranny be sent to me, for I fear the danger that might accrue to the messenger and some other persons. I still earnestly entreat that all our seniors may solicit collectively for me a last audience with the emperor. For since he told me at the council that an audience would shortly be granted me, in order that I might reply briefly in writing, it will be a shame for him, should he violate the promise which he has given me. But I believe his word on this subject will be as stable and firm as in the safe conduct. Several persons warned me in Bohemia not to rely on his safe conduct. Others told me that Sigismund would deliver me up to my enemies. That senior Micas was one of these. Duvalki said to me, in the presence of Jesenits, Master, regarded as a certainty that you will be condemned. I presume that he was aware of the emperor's intention. I thought the latter was well versed in the law of God and truth. I understand now that his wisdom is not great. He has condemned me before my enemies. Why has he not done like Pilate, who, after having heard the accusers exclaimed, I find nothing to condemn in this man? If at least he had said, I have given him a safe conduct, if he will not submit to the council I will send him to the king of Bohemia, with your sentence and the testimonies in support of it, in order that he may be judged by this prince and his clergy. Sigismund, in fact, intimated to me, by the level, and others, of his intention to grant me an audience whenever it might be necessary, and of his resolution to save me from all danger, should I not submit to the judgment. Letter 23 to his friends. He relates the frightful visions which diversely affected him, although events have confirmed the truth of all his dreams. The Lord be with you. The warning of the Lord is more precious to me than gold and topaz. I hope then, in the mercy of Jesus Christ, that he will grant me his spirit, that I may hold fast in the truth. Pray to the Lord, for the spirit is willing and the flesh is weak. May the Almighty God be the reward of my well-beloved nobles, who with a constant fervent and faithful heart persevere in justice. God will enable them to know the truth in the kingdom of Bohemia. But that they may cling to it is necessary that they return to Bohemia, forgetting vain glory in order to attach themselves to a king who is neither mortal nor subject to our miseries, but who is the king of glory, giving eternal life. O, with what sweet pleasure did I press the hand of Senor John, who did not blush to offer it to me, an unfortunate man to me, a heretic in chains, despised and loudly condemned by all? I shall not much longer hold discourse with you. Therefore, our faithful Bohemians, pallets came to visit me in prison and accosted me in my deep distress by telling me in the presence of commissioners that since the birth of Christ there had risen no heretic more dangerous than Wycliffe and myself. He further declared that all those who have listened to my preachings are infected with this heresy, which consists in affirming that the material bread remains in the sacrament of the altar. O, pallets I answered! How cruel are these words, and how much thou sinnest against me! I am about to die! Perhaps when I rise from my bed I shall be conducted to the stake. What reward will they give thee in Bohemia? I should have perhaps abstained from writing these things, for fear of appearing to hate them. I have, o ever kept in mind these words. Put not your trust in princes. And this other text, which says, Cursed is he who trusts in man only. Be prudent for the sake of God, whether you should remain in this place or whether you return. Do not carry about you any of my letters, but disperse my writings amongst all our friends. Learn that I have had a great combat to sustain, in not wondering at my dreams. I dreamed of the pope's evasion before it took place, and after the event being related I heard in the night time the senior John say, The pope will return to you. I have dreamed of Master Jerome's captivity, but not in what way it should occur, and likewise of the different prisons to which I should be conducted, such as they were afterwards assigned to me, but without any particular details. A multitude of serpents often presented themselves before me, rolled up into a circle, the head forming the tail. I have seen many other things besides. I write this, not that I consider myself a prophet, or that I should exalt myself, but in order to tell you I have experienced both mental and bodily temptations, as well as great fear of transgressing the precepts of our Lord Jesus Christ. I think now of these words of Jerome, who said to me, If I go to Constance, I do not believe I shall return thence. A worthy shoemaker, Andre Polona said, What's bidding me farewell? May God be with you. I can hardly hope that you will return safe and sound, very dear Master John. You who cling with so much force to truth, may the King, not he of Hungary, but of heaven, bestow on you his blessings for the true and excellent doctrines I have learned from you. Letter 34 To the noble Lord Henry Deschopec May God be with you, noble Henry. I received your letter on the Wednesday before the Fet of St. Vitus, and it caused a great joy, although in prison and in the expectation of death. I conjure you, my dear Lord, to live according to God's law, keeping in your soul those things which you have heard and learned of me. If nevertheless some of them appear to you unworthy of being preserved, reject them. I hope, however, I have taught you nothing concerning our Lord which was against the law of God. I could write a great length on this subject, but I will say in a few words, keep the commandments of God, be merciful unto the poor, shun pride, bear in mind these words, remember what thou art, what thou wert, and what thou shalt be. Beloved Lord, keep me also in remembrance. Shoot for me, your noble wife, your family, and all my friends, for I presume that before my death, which is hastening on, you will never see me more, and this death I am ready for, written on the fifth day before the Fet of St. Vitus. May God be with you, my dear Bohemians, and with me, for I am suffering for his word. CHAPTER 35 TO A FRIEND Hustleludes to the hymn noted down on the parchment which he composed in Bohemian for Shopec. You will forward the letter on parchment to the senior Henry Shopec. I have kept it in my prison in remembrance of him, and I compose this hymn during my leisure hours. Noble Henry, my faithful friend, remember the words you have heard from me in order that you may obtain eternal glory. Remember what I have said unto you, I am confident God will grant me his spirit, that I may be enabled to support some temptations for his name's sake. Written the Sunday before St. Vitus in the Expectation of Death. END OF LETTER 35 END OF LETTERS 31 TO 35 OF SERIES 2 OF THE LETTERS OF JOHN HUSTS BY A MEAL DE BUNNA SHOWS TRANSLATED BY CAMBELL MACKENZIE LETTERS 36 TO 40 OF SERIES 2 OF THE LETTERS OF JOHN HUSTS BY A MEAL DE BUNNA SHOWS TRANSLATED BY CAMBELL MACKENZIE LETTER 36 TO 46 TO THE FAITHFUL OF BOHEMIA John Hust wrote this letter in his own handwriting, in his prison at Constance, to console the king and kingdom of Bohemia, and to warn them not to abandon the true evangelical doctrine, nor the chapel of Bethlehem, nor the faithful doctors of the gospel, notwithstanding the rage of Satan and of the world, but to live in piety and justice, each one according to his calling. I, John Hust, in hope, servant of God, desire that the believers in Bohemia who love the Lord may live and die in grace, and at last obtain eternal life. You who are high in dignity, you who are rich, and you who are poor, you all who are the faithful and well-beloved disciples of the Lord, I conjure you all to obey God, to glorify his word, and to elevate yourselves by listening to his precepts. I conjure you to cling to the divine word, which I have preached according to the law and after the testimony of the saints. I conjure you, if any amongst you, either in public meetings or in private conversations, have heard any words from me or read any writings of mine, contrary to God's truth, not to attach yourselves to such, although my conscience does not reproach me for having said or written anything of the nature to which I refer. I conjure you, besides, if anyone has remarked anything trifling, either in my discourses or my writings, not to imitate me in that, but to pray to God that he may pardon my frivolity. I conjure you to love priests of good morals, and to honor, in preference, those who exert themselves in defusing the word of God. I conjure you to beware of deceitful men, especially impious priests, of whom the Lord has said they are outwardly dressed in sheep's clothing, while within they are ravening wolves. I conjure the powerful to treat their poor servants with kindness, and to command them with justice. I conjure citizens to keep a good conscience in their profession, artisans to apply themselves carefully to their callings, and to keep before their eyes the fear of God, and domestics faithfully to serve their masters. I conjure the masters of arts to live honestly, to instruct their pupils faithfully. First of all, teaching them to fear God. Afterwards, exerting themselves for the glory of God, the good of their country, and their own salvation, and not to attach themselves strongly to mere rules of propriety, whether for the sake of riches or for worldly honors. I conjure the pupils of the public school and all scholars to obey their masters in all lawful things, and to labor with the greatest zeal in order to advance one day the kingdom of God, their own salvation, and that of other men. I conjure you all to bestow your thanks on the generous noblemen, Wenceslas Duba, John of Clum, Henry Plumlovic, Vilem Zaghe, Nicholas, and the other Bohemian Moravian and Polish Seniors, who, as zealous defenders of God's truth, opposed this council with all their power, endeavoring to obtain my deliverance. In particular, I mention Wenceslas Duba and John of Clum. Believe all they may report to you, for they were present at the council on the days when I replied. They knew what Bohemians have risen against me. They are acquainted with the unworthy deeds which were imputed to me by them. They are aware how the whole assembly vociferated against me whilst I was answering all the questions that were asked. I conjure you to pray for the king of the Romans, and for your own, and for the queen in order that the God of mercy may dwell with them and with you now and forever. I write you this letter in my prison, and with my fettered hand, expecting after tomorrow my sentence of death, and having an entire confidence in God that he will not forsake me, that he will not suffer me to renounce his word, or abjure errors wickedly inscribed to me by false witnesses. When we shall meet again in a happy eternity you will know with what clemency the Lord deigns to assist me in my cruel trials. I know nothing concerning Jerome, my faithful friend, unless that he is detained in a wretched prison waiting, like myself, for death, on account of that faith which he so courageously spread through Bohemia. But the Bohemians, our most cruel adversaries, have delivered us to the power of other enemies and to their chains. Pray to God for them. I conjure you inhabitants of Prague above all to love my chapel of Bethlehem, and to have the word of God preached there should God permit it. The fury of Satan is stirred up against that place. Seeing that the power of darkness was weakened in it, he has excited the parochial clergy against the temple. I hope God will protect it, and that his word will be preached there with more success by others than me, a weak and infirm man. Lastly, I conjure you to love one another, to shut out no one from the path of divine truth, and to watch that the upright be not oppressed by violence. Amen. Written on the night of the Monday before St. Vitus, and sent by a good and faithful German. Letter 37. Not to just anybody. The authentic profession of faith in which John Hus declares, with the assistance of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he will not abjure the truth which he has acknowledged and less further enlightened by the scriptures. My last and firm determination is that I refuse to confess as erroneous to articles which have been truly extracted from my works, and that I refuse to abjure those which have been attributed to me by false witnesses. Or to abjure implies that one has held erroneous opinions. It is, in fact, to reject them, and adopt others of a contrary tendency. God knows that I have never taught these errors, imputed to me by those who have retrenched from my works many truths and falsified them. Were I aware that, in the articles I confess to, there was one contrary to the truth, I would correct it, and most heartily strike it out. Nay, I would teach and preach the contrary. But although some parts may be considered scandalous and erroneous by those who are displeased with such doctrines, yet I do not believe that there is a single passage which is opposed to the law of Christ or to the words of His holy apostles, I detest and condemn all false interpretation imputed to my articles against my intention, submitting myself to the correction of our Divine Master, and conviting in His infinite mercy that He Himself may deign to wash me clean from such sins as I am ignorant of. I return thanks to all the Bohemian barons and especially to King Wenceslas and to the Queen, my gracious sovereign, that they have loved me, have acted piously toward me, and have worked ardently to procure my deliverance. I render thanks also to the Emperor Sigismund for his good intentions in my favor. I render thanks to all those nobles of Bohemia and Poland who have shown themselves firm in defending the truth and in endeavoring to break my chains. I desire the salvation of all, here below in grace and afterwards in a glorious eternity. May the God of all goodness bring you back into Bohemia with perfect health of body and soul that, serving in this world, Christ our sovereign, you may attain eternal life. You will salute for me all my friends, to whom I cannot write, if I salute it by name some and not others, I should appear to accept some persons, and those to whom I did not write would think I did not keep them in remembrance, or did not love them as I ought to do, written in prison and in chains the sixth day before the festival of Saint John the Baptist. John Huss, in hope, servant of Christ. Letter 38 To his disciple, Master Martin. Master Martin, my dear disciple, my well-beloved brother in Christ, live according to the law of Christ. Be zealous in the preaching of God's word. I conjure you in the name of the Lord not to seek rich clothing, like unto that which I was fond of, alas, and which I wore, neglecting to show an example of humility to the people whom I instructed. Attach thy soul to the reading of the Bible, and especially that of the New Testament, and in obscure passages, have recourse to commentators, as much as is in my power to do so. 3 Dread the intercourse of women, and be circumspect when thou listenest to them at confession, lest thou shouldst be caught in the snares of unlawful desires, for I hope thou hast guarded all thy purity, and that thou belongs holy to God. Be not afraid of dying, if thou wouldst wish to live with Christ, for he has set himself. Fear not those who destroy the body, but cannot kill the soul. If they should ask thee concerning thy adherence to my doctrines, answer, I believe my Master has been a good Christian in what he has taught and written. I have neither read all, nor understood all. I speak as I think. I hope that the mercy of God with the aid of his well-disposed people will enable us to live in grace, although palates labors with his associates to get all my adherence condemned. But know that the Lord lives, who can in his grace preserve you, and can confound and destroy all the enemies of his word. I recommend to thee, my very dear brethren, act towards them as thou knowest his right. Thou wilt salute Peter, and his wife and family, and all those who belong to the Church of Bethlehem, Catherine, that holy girl, and the curae Guzicon, Maurice Hotzer, and all the friends of the truth. Giscognier, the said Nior Gregory, all the Masters, Yesenitz, Kuba, the two Simons, and Nicholas Howlican. Let all those who possess or shall possess my books be prudent. Thou wilt also salute all my well-beloved brothers in Christ, the doctors, the writers, the shoemakers, the tailors, in recommending them to be zealous for the laws of Christ, to advance humbly in wisdom, and not to make use of their own commentaries, but to have recourse to those of the saints. Thou wilt tell Henry Liffel to give to Jacob the writer the piece of money which was promised him. Salute Matthew, formerly my disciple at Bethlehem, and especially Master Matthew Chudy, and the faithful John Vitalis, that they may pray for me a sinner. Incline my brother's sons to exercise some worldly calling, for I should be afraid if they took upon them a spiritual charge that they might not fill it as they should do. Satisfy as well as thou canst, those to whom I owe something, should they wish, nevertheless, to forget those debts for the love of the Lord, the Lord will bestow on them much greater riches. Keep in mind all the good thou hast heard from my lips, and if thou hast discovered in me anything which was not according to propriety, detest it, and pray to God that he may deign to pardon me. Mediate without ceasing on what thou art, on what thou hast been, and what thou mayest become. Deplore the past, amend the present, dread the future, that is, sin. May the God of grace console thee as well as all are above mentioned, brethren, that he may conduct you with all the others to his glory, in which I firmly hope of his mercy all will rejoice before thirty years have passed over. Adieu, my well-beloved brother, dwell always with Christ Jesus, thou and all those who love the name of our Lord. Written in prison, the Sunday, after St. Vitus. John Huss, in hope, servant of God. Let her 39, to the Lord howlicon, Huss invites him not to oppose administering the blood of Jesus Christ to laymen under the form of wine. As a preacher of the word of Christ, my very dear brother, do not oppose the administering of the cup, it being a sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ and his apostles. No text of Scripture is opposed to it, but only custom, and I think that this was established only through negligence and forgetfulness. But it is not custom which we should follow, but the example of Christ. The counsel, a legend custom as a motive, has declared the communion of the cup by laymen to be an error, and has ordained that whosoever should practice it shall be punished as a heretic, if he did not amend this practice. Already then has the malice of men condemned as an error and institution of Christ. I conjure you by the love of God not to attack Master Yacobel, that there may not be any division amongst the faithful, and that Satan may not find a new subject for joy. Prepare yourself as quickly as possible, my dear brother, to suffer for the communion of the cup. Lay aside all fears which is unworthy of you, and remain firm in the truth of the Christ, exhorting the other brethren by the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. I think that they will give you, in support of the communion of the cup, what I have written at Constance. Salute the faithful in Christ. Written in irons on the eve of the day of the 10,000. Let her 40. To some friends. Great victory over the gates of hell, and over those who, with unexampled cunning, and under specious pretext, solicited John Hust to abjure the truth of the Lord. A multitude of people have come to exhort me, and against them many doctors, but few brethren, as the apostle has said. They were prodigal in their councils and phrases. They told me that I could, and I ought to, abjure my scruples in submitting my will to the holy church, which the council represents. But not one of them can avoid the difficulty when I place him in my situation, and ask him if, being certain of having never preached, or defended, or entertained heresy, he could, in safe conscience, formally confess that he abjured an error which he never supported. Some of them stated that it was not necessary to abjure, but mainly to renounce the heresy held, or not held. Others maintained that to abjure signifies to deny what is attested rightly, or erroneously. I would willingly swear, I replied to them, that I have never preached, held, or defended the errors which are imputed to me, and that I will never preach, hold, or defend them. And when I spoke thus, they immediately retired. Others insist that supposing a man really innocent were found in the church, and this man, through humility, confess himself guilty, he would be well deserving. Thereupon someone cited amongst the ancient fathers a certain saint in whose bed had been covertly put a prohibited book, inculpated, and examined on this subject the saint denied the fault, but his enemies answered, Thou hast concealed the book and put it in my bed. And this book, having been found there, the saint confessed himself culpable. Some supported this opinion by the example of a certain holy woman who lived in a monastery in the disguise of a man. She was accused of being the father of a child. She confessed it, and kept the child. Her innocence was afterwards discovered with her sex. Many other means were also proposed to me. An Englishman addressed me thus. Were I in your place, I would am sure. For in England, all the masters and all men held in consideration who were suspected of adhering to the opinions of Wycliffe have been severally cited before the Archbishop and have abjured. Lastly, yesterday they were all agreed in engaging me to place myself at the mercy of the Council. Palates came at my entreaty, for I desired to confess to him. I asked the commissioners and those who exhorted me to give me for confessor either him or another. And I said, Palates is my principal adversary. I wish to confess to him. Or at least give me, in his stead, a man qualified to hear me. I conjure you to do so in the name of the Lord. This last desire was accorded. I confessed to a monk, who piously and most patiently listened to me. He gave me absolution and counseled me, but did not enjoin me to follow the advice of others. Palates came. He wept with me when I besought him to pardon me for having uttered before him some offensive words, and especially for having called him a forger of writings. And, as I reminded him that, in a public audience, when he heard me deny the article cited by the witnesses, he rose up and cried, This man does not believe in God. He denied it. But truly he said it. And perhaps you heard him do so. I reminded him in what manner he said to me in prison, in the presence of the commissioners. Since the birth of Christ, no heretic has written more dangerously than Wycliffe and Thou. He also insisted that all those who have read my sermons are infected with the air concerning the sacrament of the altar. He has now denied it, adding, I did not say all, but a great number. And yet it is certain that he said it. And when I took him up by saying, Oh, Master Palates, how much you wronged me in accusing my auditory of heresy. He did not reply anything. And he exhorted me, like the others, always repeating that, through me and mine, much harm has been done. He told me also that he possessed a letter addressed to the Bohemians, in which was written that, at the chateau, I sang some verses on my captivity. In the name of heaven take great care of my letters. Do not let them be carried to any clerical person, and let our Seniors only trust some layman. Inform me whether they accompany the Emperor. Jesus Christ, by his grace, preserves me immovable in my first resolution. John Huss, in hope, servant of God. End of Letter 40. End of Letters 36-40 of Series 2 of The Letters of John Huss by Emil de Bona Showes, translated by Campbell McKenzie. Letters 41-45 of Series 2 of The Letters of John Huss by Emil de Bona Showes, translated by Campbell McKenzie. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Letters 41-45. Letter 41. To John Cardinal. John Huss replies to the Father, that is to say to the Cardinal, clearly establishing that it is better to die for the truth than to depart from it, though only a nail's breath even under the false pretext of the good of the Church. May the Almighty God, sovereignly good and wise, deign to bestow on my Father eternal life for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Reverend Father, I am most grateful for your benevolent and paternal interest. I dare not submit myself to the counsel in the limits that you trace out to me, whether because I should be obliged to condemn many truths that they term fraudulent, or because I should be obliged to purge myself by abjuring and confessing that I had held heirs, by which I have greatly scandalized the people of God who have heard me say the contrary in my preaching. If, then, in the book of Maccabees it is written of Eleazar, a man of the ancient law, that he refused to lie by confessing that he had eaten meats prohibited by the ancient law, for fear of acting thus against God, and leaving a bad example to posterity, how should I, a priest of the new law, although unworthy, through the terror of pain of a short duration, consent gravely to transgress the law of God, by keeping back from the truth, by perjuring myself, and, lastly, by offending my neighbor. Truly it is more advantageous to die than to fall into the hands of God by flying from a momentary evil, and perhaps afterwards to fall into the fire, and into eternal oprogram. Therefore, since I have appealed to Jesus Christ, to the judge sovereignly just and powerful, confiding to him my cause, I am resolved to adhere to his decision, and to his holy and sacred sentence, knowing that he will judge all men, not according to false witnesses, or to the errors of counsels, but according to the truth, and their own merits. Letter 42 John Cardinal to John Huss The Father insists on the counsel which he has given, whoever thou mayest be who readest these pages, see how false the title of the Church deceives the excellent Cardinal. In the first place, my well-beloved brother, do not let yourself be troubled by the fear of condemning truths, for it is not you who will condemn these, but those who are your superiors, and ours. Meditate on these words, rely not on your own prudence. There are many wise and conscientious men in the counsel. My son listened to their mother's law. This is my point. I come to the second concerning the perjury of the manner. This perjury, even if it be one, will not fall on you, but on those who exact it. Heresy ceases where obstinacy ends. Augustine, origin, the master of the sentences, and many others have erred and returned with joy from their errors. I also often thought I perfectly understood certain things in which I was mistaken. When better informed, I returned with eagerness to a different opinion. I write briefly, for I write to an intelligent man. Do not stray from the truth, but arrive at it. You will not perjure yourself, but will become better. Do not offend, but edify that you, Eleazar, obtained a great glory, but Judith, with his seven sons and eight martyrs, obtained much greater. Paul did not hesitate to be let down in a basket in order to propagate a better law. May Jesus Christ, the judge of your appeal, accord you apostles like these. Some combats for the faith of Jesus Christ are still due from you. Letter 43. Huss relates another combat of the flesh and spirit for the confession of the truth, a combat worthy of fixing the attention of pious men. Salutation to you through Jesus Christ. I beseech you for God's sake, not to show my letters, nor to publish them, for I fear they might play several persons in jeopardy. If Vetus remains, let him be prudent. I rejoice greatly to learn that my gracious Lord is coming to me. Our Savior raised up Lazarus to life on the fourth day, when he already began to decay. He preserved Jonas in the belly of the fish and restored him to his preaching. He drew Daniel in safety from the lion's den that he might write his prophecies. He preserved from the flames his three young men in the furnace, and he delivered Susanna already condemned and on the point of perishing. Wherefore he could as easily snatch also from prison and death me, unfortunate man that I am, were it conducive to the glorious advantage of the faithful and to my own welfare. The power of him who drew Peter out of prison by his angel, then condemned to die at Jerusalem and who caused the chains to fall from his hands, is not diminished. But let the Lord's will be done. May it be fully accomplished in me for his glory and my sins. A doctor said to me, if in all things I would submit to the council, everything would then be good and legitimate for me. He added, if the council asserted you had but one eye, although you have two, still it would be necessary to say the council was right. If the whole world replied, I should affirm such a thing, I could not as long as I possess the use of my reason assent to it without wounding my conscience. After other conversation, he abandoned his argument and said to me, I confess I have not chosen my example well. The Lord is with me like a valiant warrior. The Savior is my light and salvation. Whom should I fear? The Lord defends my life. Who shall make me tremble? In these latter times I often repeat the sentence, Lord, I suffer violence. Answer for me, for what shall I say to my enemies? John Hus, a servant in hope of Jesus Christ. Letter 44, to a friend, an admirable confession of the infirmities of human nature. The letter does not struggle against the evil only, for the flesh strives perpetually against the spirit and is not easily brought under its yoke. Reader, peruse this letter and rejoice. Salutation to you through Jesus Christ. Learn, very dear friend, that palates in endeavoring to persuade me told me that I ought not to dread the shame of an abjuration, but to think only of the good which would ensue from it. I answered, the opprobrium of being condemned and burned is greater than that of sincerely abjuring. What shame should I fear then in abjuring? But tell me, palates, how would as thou act if thou were assured that errors were falsely imputed to thee? Would as thou wish to abjure them? That, in fact, would be hard, replied he, and he wept. We afterwards spoke of many things which I refuted. Michael DeCauses, this miserable man, has appeared several times before my prison, with the deputies of the council, and whilst I was with them, said to the keepers, By the grace of God we shall soon burn this heretic on whom I have spent many florins. Know, my friend, that nevertheless I do not express in this letter a vow of vengeance. I leave it to God, and I pray for this man, from the bottom of my heart. I again exhort you to be prudent with my letters. Michael has forbidden that any person should be introduced into my prison, even the wives of my keepers. Oh, great God, how far does Antichrist extend his power and cruelty, but I trust that his reign will be cut short, and his iniquity laid bare in the midst of a faithful people. The Almighty God will strengthen the hearts of the faithful whom he has destined from before the beginning of the world to the crown of immortal glory. Though Antichrist shall exercise his fury as he pleases, nevertheless he shall not be able to prevail against Christ, who, according to the words of the apostle, will destroy him by a single breath of his mouth. And the creature then shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption and clothe itself, says the apostle, with the glorious liberty of the sons of God. I am greatly consoled by these words of our Savior. Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you and cast out your name as evil for the son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. Luke 6 An admirable consolation, though difficult not to understand, but to receive well, for it invites us to delight in afflictions. St. James observed this rule with the other apostles. Count it, says he, all joy when ye fall into diverse temptations, knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh with patience, but let patience have her perfect work. St. James, chapter one. Truly it is difficult to rejoice thus with an unshaken heart, and to consider all trials of subjects for rejoicing. It is easy to say, but difficult to do it. He who was the most patient and most intrepid, who knew that he should rise again the third day, should vanquish his enemies by his death, and redeem his elect from condemnation, was, nevertheless, troubled in mind after the last supper, and cried, my soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death. The gospel informs us that he groaned and trembled, that an angel comforted him in his agony, and that his sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground. But in his agony he said to his disciples, let not your heart be troubled, for I shall be with you to the end of my life. And his valiant soldiers, their eyes fixed upon their chief, the king of glory, have endured a great combat. They have passed through fire and water, and have not perished, and have received from the Lord that crown, alluded to by St. James, when he says, Blessed is the man who endureth temptation, for when he has tried he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him. A glorious crown, which the Savior will grant to me, I firmly hope, and to you also, fervent defenders of the truth, and to all those who persevere in the love of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has suffered for us, bequeathing us his example that we might follow in his footsteps. It was necessary that he should suffer, as he himself has declared, that we who are his members must suffer with him who is our head. For he has said, if any will come with me, let him take up his cross and follow me. O divine Jesus, draw us nigh unto thee, weak as we are, for if thou dost not draw us nigh unto thee, we cannot follow thee. Fortify my spirit, that it may become strong and resolute. The flesh is weak, but let thy grace protect, assist, and save us, for without thee we can do nothing, and are above all incapable of facing on thy account a cruel death. Give me a determined mind, an intrepid heart, a pure faith, and perfect charity that I may be able to lay down my life for thee with patience and joy. Amen. Written in prison and in irons on the eve of the Festival of St. John the Baptist, who was decapitated for having risen up against the corruption of the wicked, may he pray for us to Jesus our Lord. Letter 45 to a friend. Tomorrow at six o'clock I am to answer on the following points. I am asked in the first place if I am willing to acknowledge as erroneous all the articles extracted from my books, if I abjure them, and if I engage to preach to the contrary. In the second place, whether I am willing to confess that I have preached the articles imputed to me by my witnesses. Thirdly, and lastly, if I abjure them. God grant that the Emperor may hear the words which God will put into my mouth, and if I am accorded pens and paper, as I hope I shall, by the grace of God I will make the following answers in writing. I, John, servant of Jesus Christ, refuse to confess that any of the articles extracted from my books are erroneous, through fear of condemning the opinions of the holy doctors and above all of St. Augustine. Secondly, I refuse to admit that I have held or preached the articles which are imputed to me by false witnesses. Thirdly, I refuse to abjure through fear of perjuring myself. In the name of heaven, take great care of my letters, and send them to Bohemia with precaution, lest they may place many persons in danger. Keep me in remembrance should you not receive news from me again, and pray to God that he may bestow constancy on me and to roam my brother in Christ, for I believe, as I understood from the deputies, that he will suffer death with me. End of Letter 45. End of Letters 41-45 of Series 2 of the Letters of John Huss by Emil de Bona Showes, translated by Campbell McKenzie. Letters 46-56 of Series 2 of the Letters of John Huss by Emil de Bona Showes, translated by Campbell McKenzie. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Letters 46-56. Letter 46. To his friends. Last resolution of John Huss to which, with the grace of God, he desires to remain faithful. These are the things which the council has often required of me. But they imply that I revoke, that I abjure, and that I accept a penance, and I cannot do it without denying in many things the truth. In the second place I should perjure myself in abjuring and confessing errors falsely imputed to me. In the third place I should afford a great scandal to the people of God who have listened to my sermons. And it would be better that a millstone were tied around my neck, and that I were plunged to the bottom of the sea. Lastly, if I acted in this manner to avoid a momentary confusion and a short trial, I should fall into disgrace and much more terrible sufferings, unless indeed I repented of them before my death. Wherefore, in order to fortify myself, I have thought of the seven martyrs of the Maccabees, who preferred rather to be torn in pieces than partake of the meats prohibited by God. I have thought of Saint Eleazar, who, according to what is written, was not willing to confess that he had eaten of prohibited meats for fear of leaving a bad example to posterity, but preferred martyrdom. Having then before my eyes many saints of the new law, who accepted martyrdom rather than consent to sin, how should I, who have exhorted others in my preachings to patience and firmness, be thus guilty of perjury, and of so many vile falsehoods, and scandalize also by my example many children of the Lord? Far, far from me be such a thought. Our Savior Jesus Christ will reward me fully and bestow on me in my trials the assistance of patience. Letter 47 to his friends at Prague. He encourages and exhorts them not to be frightened on account of the counsel having delivered his writings to the flames. He reminds them of the corrupted morals of that assembly and of the condemnation of Pope John. I ought to warn you, my well-beloved, not to let yourselves be alarmed by the sentence of those who have condemned my books to be burned. Remember that the Israelites burned the writings of the Prophet Jeremiah, without, nevertheless, being able to avoid the lot which he predicted for them. God even commanded, after the destruction by fire of this prophecy, that a new and more extended one should be written, which was done. For Jeremiah dictated it in his prison, and Baruch wrote, as it is written in chapter 36 or 45, of Jeremiah. It is also written in the book of Maccabees, that impious men burned the law of God, and killed all those who were the depositaries of it. Under the new alliance, they burned the saints with the books of the Divine Law. The Cardinals condemned and delivered to the flames many books of St. Gregory, and would have burned them all if they had not been preserved by his servant Peter. Two councils of priests condemned St. John Chrysostom as a heretic, but God made their lie manifest after the death of him who was surnamed Saint John of the Golden Mouth. Knowing therefore these things, let not fear prevent you from reading my books, and do not deliver them up to my enemies to be burned. Remember that the Lord has said, before the day of judgment there shall be a great desolation, such as, has not been witnessed since the beginning of the world to this day, and such if it were possible the elect themselves might be led astray, but on account of them these days shall be shortened. Think of that, my well beloved, and be firm. This council of consonants will not extend to Bohemia. Many of those who compose it will die before they have succeeded in forcing my books from you. The majority will be dispersed on every side like storks, and they will discover on the approach of winter what they shall have done in the summer. Consider that they have declared the pope, their chief, worthy of death for his enormous crimes. Courage, and reply to these preachers who teach that the pope is God on earth, that he can sell the sacraments as the canonists declare, that he is the head of the church in administering it purely, that he is the heart of the church in vivifying it spiritually, that he is the source whence springs all virtue and all good, that he is the son of the holy church, the certain asylum, where it's important that all Christians should find refuge. Behold, already this head is, as it were, severed by the sword. Already this terrestrial God is enchained. Already his sins are laid bare. This never-failing source is dried up. This divine son is dimmed. This heart has been torn and branded with reprobation, that no one should seek an asylum in it. The council has condemned its chief, its own head, for having sold indulgences, bishoprics, and other things. But among those who have condemned him are to be found a great number of purchasers who have, in their turn, engaged also in this unworthy traffic. There was amongst them, the bishop, John Little Missile, who twice wished to buy the bishopric of Prague, but others had the advantage over him. O corrupt men, why have they not, first of all, torn the beam from their own eyes, since it is written in their own law, whoever shall purchase a dignity with money shall be deprived of it? Sellers, therefore, and buyers, and whosoever shall interfere in this shameful contract, be ye condemned, as St. Peter condemns Simon, who wished to buy from him the virtue of the Holy Spirit. They have anathematized the seller and condemned him, and they themselves are the purchasers. They have affixed their hands to this pact, and they remain unpunished. What do I say? They traffic in this merchandise, even in their very dwellings. There is in Constance one bishop who has bought, another who has sold, and a pope for having approved of the bargain has received money from the two parties. If God had said to the members of this council, let him amongst you who is without sin, pronounce the sentence of Pope John. Undoubtedly they would have withdrawn one after the other. Why did they formerly bend their knee before him? And why did they kiss his feet? Why did they term him most holy when they saw in him a homicide, a heretic, and a hardened sinner? For in this manner did they already speak of him in public. Why did the cardinals elect him pope, knowing that he had caused the death of his predecessor? Why did they suffer him since his ascension to that office, to traffic in holy things? Do they not form his council to remind him of what is just? And are they not as much to blame as he for these crimes since they tolerated in him vices which were common to them all? Why did no one dare resist him before his flight from Constance? They all feared him then as their holy father, but when, with the permission of God, the secular power laid hold of him, then they conspired and resolved that he should not escape death. Truly already have the malice, abomination, and turpitude of antichrist been revealed in the pope and the other members of this council. The faithful servants of God may now understand these words of the Savior, who said, When you shall behold the abomination of desolation foretold by the prophet Daniel, etc. Truly the supreme abomination is pride, avarice, and simony in deserted places. That is, indignities where neither goodness nor humility nor any virtue is now to be found, as we now witness in those who are high in honor and places. Oh, how much I desire to unveil all the iniquities that I am acquainted with in order that the faithful servants of God may keep on their guard against them. But I hope that God will send after me more vigorous champions, and there are now, already, those who will better expose all the cunning tricks of antichrist, and who will expose themselves to death for the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will give unto you and me eternal beatitude. I write this letter on the day of St. John the Baptist, in prison and in chains. And I bear in mind that St. John was beheaded in prison for the Word of God. Letter 48, John Huss to the University of Prague. Honorable masters, bachelors, and students of the University of Prague, you whom I cherish in Christ Jesus, I exhort you all to love one another, to extirpate schism, to honor God above all things, in reminding yourselves how much I have always desired that the progress of our university should turn to the glory of God, how much I have bewailed your discords and your violence, and how I have always endeavored to maintain united in our illustrious nation. Remember also how much my life has been embittered by the outrageous and blasphemies of some amongst those whom I most loved, and for whom I would willingly have exposed my life. And now they inflict on me a cruel death? May the Almighty God forgive them, for they know not what they do, and I pray with a sincere heart that he may spare them. My well beloved in Jesus Christ, dwell in the truth that you have known, which triumphs over all, and which increases in strength even unto eternity. Know also that I have neither revoked nor abjured any article, the counsel wished that I should acknowledge as false and erroneous all the articles extracted from my books. I have refused, unless they prove to me their falsehoods by the scriptures. If there is really some erroneous meaning in these articles, I detest it, and refer its corrections to our Lord Jesus Christ, who knows my sincerity, and is aware that my intention is not to maintain an error. And all of you likewise do I exhort in the Lord to detest every error that you may discover in my works. But in respecting that truth which I have ever kept in view, pray for me. And support each other in the peace of God. I, John Huss, in chains and already on the verge of the present life, awaiting tomorrow a cruel death which I hope will wash away my sins. Not finding in myself any heresy by the grace of God confess with all my soul the truth in which I believe. Written five days before the festival of St. Peter. I conjure you to love Bethlehem, and to put Galas in my place, for I think the Lord is with him. I recommend to you Peter de Moldenevitz, my very faithful and courageous comforter. Letter 49 to his friends. He explains to them how God permits his elect to be put to death and cite several examples by which he sustains and consoles himself. My well-beloved and the Lord, many causes and especially expectation of my speedy death, had made me suppose that the letters I recently wrote to you would be the last. Now that a delay is accorded, since it has permitted me to converse with you by letter, I write to you again to testify at least all my gratitude. In what concerns my death, God only knows why it is deferred, as also that of my very dear brother Jerome, who I hope will die in a holy manner without a stain. I know that he acts and suffers now with more firmness than I, in firm sinner that I am. God has granted us much time that we might better recall our sins and direct ourselves with greater energy to repentance. He has given us this time that a long and great trial might face our sins, and thus bring consolation with it. He has granted it to us that we might meditate on the executable, outrageous, and cruel death of our King and merciful Lord Jesus Christ, and that we should thus support our own evils with greater constancy, that we might at least remember that the joys of eternal life do not immediately follow this world's joys, but that it is by passing through great tribulations that the saints enter the kingdom of God. Some of them have been, without shrinking, sod in twain. Others have been burned, stripped of their skin, buried alive, stoned, crucified, crushed between millstones, dragged here and there unto death, precipitated to the bottom of waters, strangled, cut into pieces, overwhelmed by outrages before their death and tortured by hunger in their prisons and their chains. Who could describe the torments and agonies which all the saints have suffered for the divine truth under the old and new covenant, and especially those who have branded the iniquity of priests and who have raised their voices against it? It would be a strange thing at present to remain unpunished when attacking the perversity of priests who will not endure any blame. I rejoice that they are now obliged to read my works, where their corruption is depicted, and I know they read them with greater attention than the Holy Scriptures in the ardent desire of finding out errors. Written on Thursday, before the Festival of St. Peter, letter 50 to the same, John Huss relates how the Council on the deposition of false witnesses and on account of his works has condemned him, without having read them. I have resolved, dear and faithful friends and our Lord, to make known to you in what manner the Council of Constance, swelled with so much pride and avarice, has condemned as heretical my books, written in the Bohemian tongue, without ever having seen or read them, and which you could not have understood, even when it had listened to the reading of them. For this Council is filled with Italians, French, Germans, Spaniards, and persons from all countries and of every different language. They could not be understood but by the Bishop John de Lito Missal, by several Bohemians, my enemies, and by a few priests of Prague, who have first to columniate the truth of God, and afterwards are Bohemia, which I hope is a country of a perfect faith, remarkable for its attachment to the Word of God, as well as for its good morals. And if you had been at Constance, you would have witnessed the detestable abomination of this Council, which calls itself infallible and very holy, an abomination of which many of the country of the Grissons have said the city of Constance could not wash herself of in 30 years, and almost everybody supporting with great difficulty the great corruption, which is to be seen in it, is irritated against the Council. When I first appeared in the presence of this Assembly to reply to my adversaries, seeing that everything was done without order, and hearing a general clamour, I cried aloud. I thought the Council had possessed more good breeding, charity, and discipline. When the first of the Cardinals answered, is it thus that thou speakest? That language was more modest in prison? Yes, I replied, for in prison no one vociferated against me, and now you are all vociferous. It is thus this Council, which has done more evil than good, has acted toward me with inordinate violence. Oh, my faithful friends, my well-beloved and God, suffer not yourselves to be alarmed at the sentence these men have delivered against my books, like insects, they will disperse here and there, and there, like winged insects, their ordinances will endure as long as a spider's webs. They endeavored to shake my perseverance in the Word of God, but they were not able to daunt the courage which God has armed me with. They refused to examine the Scriptures with me, although my words were supported by the testimony of several noble Seniors, ready to suffer ignominy with me for the cause of truth, and who remain firm to my party, and especially Wenceslas Duba and John of Clome, introduced to the Council by the Emperor Sigismund himself. Having said that, if I had erred, I should be glad to be instructed in my errors. Since you desire to be instructed, replied the Cardinal, you must, first of all, abjure your doctrine, conformable to the Scriptures of the Fifty Doctors and the Interpreters of the Holy Scriptures. An excellent advice! Therefore, St. Catherine should renounce the Word of God and faith in Jesus because the Fifty Doctors opposed her, but this sublime virgin did not yield. She remained faithful unto death. She thus gained over her judges to Christ. But I cannot in the same manner persuade mine. It is wherefore I have thought fit to write you, in order that you might be informed. They have not vanquished me, neither by Scripture nor by reason, but tried me by terror and lies to extort an abjuration from me. The God of mercy, whose justice I have glorified, was with me. He is with me now, and I am confident he will remain with me to the end. Written the fourth day after the Festival of John the Baptist, in prison, in chains, and in the expectation of death. And yet I dare not say, on account of the hidden judgment of God, that this letter may be my last. For even now, the Almighty God may affect my deliverance. Letter 51 To his friends. He returns some thanks for their kindness. May God be with you and grant you every felicity for the kindness you have heaped on me. Suffer not that, senior John, my best friend, my other self, to expose himself to peril for my sake. I ask this of you, senior Peter, in particular, in the name of the Lord. Lastly, I conjure you to live according to God's word and obey his precepts, as I have taught you to do. Render thanks to his royal majesty for all the benefits that I have received from him. Salute for me your families and my other friends, whom I cannot name here individually. I pray to God for you. Pray to him for me, to that great God, near whom, with his aid, we shall all yet arrive. Amen. I think that I shall have to suffer for the word of God. But you will not. I conjure you in his name, permit his ministers and saints to be rigorously treated. John Haas, in hope, servant of God. P.S. Peter, my very dear friend, keep in remembrance of me my fur cloak. Senior Henry, may you live in health with your wife. I thank you for your kindness. May God heap his riches upon you. Letter 52 to John of Chlumb I am greatly rejoiced that the senior Wenceslas desires to take to himself a wife, and to flee from the vanities of the world. In his time he should retrace his steps. He has, for a long time, traveled kingdoms, played at the lance, wearied his body, spent his fortune, and offended his soul. Let him then renounce such a life and dwell at home in peace with his wife and the servants, there to serve God. It is better, indeed, to serve God without sin, in peace and tranquillity of mind, than to serve any other master amidst great anxieties and to the peril of our souls. Give these lines to my excellent friend to read. The Lord still preserves the life of John Huss, and will continue to do so, as long as it is his good will, against the efforts of avarice, proud, and impious men of this council, where there are, but few. God knows if I exaggerate who obey his precept. Written on the Festival of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul John Huss in Hope Servant of Christ Letter 53 to John of Clum My very dear benefactor in Jesus Christ, it is no slight satisfaction to me to be able to write to you. Your letter dated yesterday has made me understand, first, how will be unveiled and exposed to the light, the iniquity of this perverse assembly, of the great prostitutes spoken of in the Apocalypse, with whom, spiritually, the kings of the earth pollute themselves, by quitting the truth of the Lord in order to assist the lies of Antichrist, by seduction, fear, or in the hope of acquiring by this alliance the advantages of the world. I understood, secondly, that the enemies of the truth begin to be alarmed. Thirdly, I recognized the charitable order, the intrepid firmness with which you confess the truth. And lastly, I saw with joy that you wished to put an end to the vanities and laborious servitudes of the age and combat for our Lord Jesus Christ, to serve whom is, as St. Gregory expresses it, to reign. He who faithfully serves him well will be served by him in the celestial realms. He has said, Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching. Verily I say unto you, that he shall make him ruler over his goods. The kings of this world do not act in this manner toward their servants. They love them only as long as they are useful and necessary to them. This is not the conduct of Jesus, the king of glory who crowned to the holy apostles Peter and Paul, introducing the former into the celestial kingdom by crucifixion, etc. The latter by decapitation, the first after having been imprisoned four times and delivered by an angel, the second after having been beaten thrice with rods, once stoned, often afflicted, and twice shipwrecked, and having lingered two years in prison. Now they no longer suffer anxieties and torments, but enjoy a sweet and unchangeable peace, as well as infinite joy. Peter and Paul reign already with the king of heaven. They are already among the angelic choir. They behold the king of kings in his magnificence, no sorrows afflict them, and they are filled with ineffable happiness. May these glorious martyrs, now united to the king of glory, deign to intercede for us that, strengthened by their assistance, we may participate in their glory after having suffered with humility since the all-powerful God declared it is for our welfare that we suffer in this world. Amen. Written on the Festival of the Holy Apostles, Peter and Paul. If you can, write to me again, I beseech you, in the name of the Lord, I conjure you also to salute most particularly the queen, my sovereign, advise her to hold fast to the truth, and not be scandalized on my account, as if I were a heretic. Salute for me also your wife, whom I conjure you to love in Christ, for I trust she is amongst the children of God, through observing his commandments. Salute all the friends of the earth. Letter 54 To Master John Christian An Exertation Christian, my master and benefactor, keep steadfast in the truth of Christ, and in the love of his disciples. Fear not, for the Lord will shortly afford us his protection and augment the number of his faithful believers. Be always kind to the poor, as thou wilt want. Guard thy chastity. Flea avarice. Hold not several livings, but keep thy church, that the faithful may find refuge in thee, as in the bosom of a father. O thou whom I love, salute for me Yacobel and all the friends of the truth. Written in irons and expecting to suffer death. Letter 55 To his benefactors He exhorts them to prefer serving our Savior Jesus Christ, who will not deceive them rather than the princes of the earth. Letter 56 My excellent benefactors, I exhort you by the bowels of Jesus Christ, you who defend the truth to renounce the vanities of the age, and to combat for our eternal King Jesus Christ. Put not your trust in princes, nor in the children of men, for the children of men are false and full of lies. Today they live, and tomorrow they are no more. God alone is eternal. He has servants, not for his own wants, but for the advantage even of his servants, on whom he bestows the riches he has promised them. For he has said, Where I am, there also shall be my servant. The Lord renders his servants masters of all he possesses, giving himself up to them and giving all with himself in order that they may, without weariness and without anxiety, possess all things and rejoice with all the saints in eternal happiness. Blessed is the servant who watches when his Lord cometh. Fortunate is the servant who shall joyfully repose on the bosom of the King of glory. Serve then this King with fear, you who love him with all your heart. He will conduct you in safety to Bohemia in his grace, and afterwards I trust into eternal glory. Adieu, for I believe this letter may be the last that I shall write to you. Tomorrow I shall be cleansed from my sins by a cruel death in hope of Christ. I cannot write what has occurred to me this night. Sigismund has done all with trick and cunning. May God forgive him. You have heard the sentence which he delivered. Do not, I conjure you, suspect in those slightest degree the faithful vitus. Letter 56 and the last to his faithful friend, Lederitz. Senor Lederitz, my faithful friend, you, Day Margaret, and all of you who love me, may God bestow on you all his riches for the great trouble you have taken and for the many favors that I have received at your hands. Dear and faithful Master Christian, may God be with you. Master Martin, my disciple, forget not the faithful manner in which I taught you the word of God. Master Nicholas, Peter, the priest of the Lord, the king, the masters, and the heads of the university preserve faithfully God's word. May Gaius preach it, and all of you, my beloved, listen attentively to it and guard it in your hearts. End of Letter 56. End of Letters 46 to 56 of Series 2 of the Letters of John Huss by Emil de Bona-Scholes, translated by Campbell McKenzie.