WEBVTT

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To this wardenship Wycliffe was elected by
the Archbishop, but upon his demise he was

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displaced by his successor Stephen
Langham, Bishop of Ely.

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As there was a degree of flagrant
injustice in the affair, Wycliffe appealed

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to the Pope, who subsequently gave it
against him from the following cause.

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Edward III, then King of England,
had withdrawn the Tribune, which from the

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time of King John had been paid to the
Pope.

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The Pope menaced, Edward called a
Parliament.

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The Parliament resolved that King John had
done an illegal thing and given up the

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rights of the nation, and advised the King
not to submit whatever consequences might

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follow.

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The clergy now began to write in favour of
the Pope, and a learned monk published a

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spirited and plausible treatise,
which had many advocates.

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Wycliffe, irritated at seeing so bad a
cause so well defended, opposed the monk,

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and did it in so masterly a way that he
was considered no longer as unanswerable.

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His suit at Rome was immediately
determined against him, and nobody doubted

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but his opposition to the Pope at so
critical a period was the true cause of

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his being non-suited at Rome.

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Wycliffe was afterwards elected to the
chair of the Divinity Professor,

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and now fully convinced of the errors of
the Romish Church and the vileness of its

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monastic agents, he determined to expose
them.

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In public lectures he lashed their vices
and opposed their follies.

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He unfolded a variety of abuses,
covered by the darkness of superstition.

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At first he began to loosen the prejudices
of the vulgar, and proceeded by slow

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advances.

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With the metaphysical disquisitions of the
age, he mingled opinions in divinity

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apparently novel.

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The usurpations of the court of Rome was a
favourite topic.

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On these he expatiated with all the
keenness of argument joined to logical

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reasoning.

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This soon procured him the clamour of the
clergy, who with the Archbishop of

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Canterbury deprived him of his office.

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At this time the administration of affairs
was in the hands of the Duke of Lancaster,

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well known by the name of John of Gaunt.

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This prince had very free notions of
religion, and was at enmity with the

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clergy.

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The exactions of the court of Rome having
become very burdensome, he determined to

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send the Bishop of Bangor and Wycliffe to
remonstrate against these abuses,

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and it was agreed that the Pope should no
longer dispose of any benefices belonging

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to the Church of England.

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In this embassy Wycliffe's observant mind
penetrated into the constitution and

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policy of Rome, and he returned more
strongly than ever determined to expose

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its avarice and ambition.

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Having recovered his former situation,
he invaded in his lectures against the

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Pope, his usurpation, his infallibility,
his pride, his avarice and his tyranny.

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He was the first who termed the Pope
Antichrist.

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From the Pope he would turn to the pomp,
the luxury and trappings of the bishops,

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and compare them with the simplicity of
primitive bishops.

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Their superstitions and deceptions were
topics that he urged with energy of mind

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and logical precision.

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From the patronage of the Duke of
Lancaster, Wycliffe received a good

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benefice, but he was no sooner settled in
his parish than his enemies and the

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bishops began to persecute him with
renewed vigour.

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The Duke of Lancaster was his friend in
this persecution, and by his presence and

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that of Lord Percy, Earl Marshal of
England, he so overawed the trial that the

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whole ended in disorder.

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After the death of Edward III,
his grandson Richard II succeeded in the

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eleventh year of his age.

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The Duke of Lancaster not obtaining to be
the sole regent, as he expected,

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his power began to decline, and the
enemies of Wycliffe, taking advantage of

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the circumstance, renewed their articles
of accusation against him.

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Five bulls were dispatched in consequence
by the Pope to the king and certain

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bishops, but the regency and the people
manifested a spirit of contempt at the

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haughty proceedings of the pontiff,
and the former, at that time wanting money

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to oppose an expected invasion of the
French, proposed to apply a large sum

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collected for the use of the Pope to that
purpose.

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The question was submitted to the decision
of Wycliffe.

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The bishops, however, supported by the
papal authority, insisted upon bringing

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Wycliffe to trial, and he was actually
undergoing examination at Lambeth,

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when from the riotous behaviour of the
populace without, and awed by the command

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of Sir Lewis Clifford, a gentleman of the
court, that they should not proceed to any

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definitive sentence, they terminated the
whole affair in a prohibition to Wycliffe

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not to preach those doctrines which were
obnoxious to the Pope, but this was

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laughed at by our reformer, who going
about barefoot and in a long frieze gown

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preached more vehemently than before.

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In the year 1378 a contest arose between
two Popes, Urban VI and Clement VII,

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which was the lawful Pope and true
Vice-Regent of God.

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This was a favourable period for the
exertion of Wycliffe's talents.

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He soon produced a tract against Popery,
which was eagerly read by all sorts of

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people.

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About the end of the year, Wycliffe was
seized with a violent disorder,

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which it was feared might prove fatal.

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The begging friars, accompanied by four of
the most eminent citizens of Oxford,

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gained admittance to his bedchamber and
begged of him to retract for his soul's

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sake the unjust things he had asserted of
their order.

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Wycliffe, surprised at the solemn message,
raised himself in his bed and with a stern

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countenance replied, I shall not die but
live to declare the evil deeds of the

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friars.

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When Wycliffe recovered, he set about a
most important work, the translation of

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the Bible into English.

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Before this work appeared, he published a
tract wherein he showed the necessity of

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it.

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The zeal of the bishops to suppress the
scriptures greatly promoted its sale,

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and they who were not able to purchase
copies procured transcripts of particular

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gospels or epistles.

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Afterward, when lolody increased and the
flames kindled, it was a common practice

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to fasten about the neck of the condemned
heretic such of these scraps of scripture

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as were found in his possession,
which generally shared his fate.

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Immediately after this transaction,
Wycliffe ventured a step further and

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affected the doctrine of
transubstantiation.

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This strange opinion was invented by
Bascardet Radburt and asserted with

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amazing boldness.

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Wycliffe, in his lecture before the
University of Oxford in 1381, attacked

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this doctrine and published a treatise on
the subject.

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Dr Barton, at this time Vice-Chancellor of
Oxford, calling together the heads of the

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University, condemned Wycliffe's doctrines
as heretical and threatened their author

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with excommunication.

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Wycliffe could now derive no support from
the Duke of Lancaster, and being cited to

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appear before his former adversary William
Courtney, now made Archbishop of

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Canterbury, he sheltered himself under the
plea that, as a member of the University,

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he was exempt from episcopal jurisdiction.

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This plea was admitted, as the University
were determined to support their member.

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The court met at the appointed time,
determined at least to sit in judgment

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upon his opinions, and some they condemned
as erroneous, others as heretical.

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The publication on this subject was
immediately answered by Wycliffe,

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who had become a subject of the
Archbishop's determined malice.

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The King, solicited by the Archbishop,
granted a licence to imprison the Teacher

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of Heresy, but the Commons made the King
revoke this act as illegal.

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The Primate, however, obtained letters
from the King directing the Head of the

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University of Oxford to search for all
heresies and books published by Wycliffe,

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in consequence of which order the
University became a scene of tumult.

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Wycliffe is supposed to have retired from
the storm into an obscure part of the

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Kingdom.

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The seeds, however, were scattered,
and Wycliffe's opinions were so prevalent

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that it was said if you met two persons
upon the road you might be sure that one

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was a Lollard.

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At this period the disputes between the
two Popes continued.

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Urban published a bull in which he
earnestly called upon all who had any

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regard for religion to exert themselves in
its cause, and to take up arms against

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Clement and his adherents in defence of
the Holy See.

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A war, in which the name of religion was
so vilely prostituted, roused Wycliffe's

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inclination even in his declining years.

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He took up his pen once more, and wrote
against it with the greatest acrimony.

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He expostulated with the Pope in a very
free manner, and asks him boldly how he

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durst make the token of Christ on the
cross, which is the token of peace,

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mercy and charity, a banner to lead us to
slay Christian men for the love of two

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false priests, and to oppress Christendom
worse than Christ and his apostles were

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oppressed by the Jews.

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When, said he, will the proud priest of
Rome grant indulgences to mankind to live

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in peace and charity, as he now does to
fight and slay one another?

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This severe peace drew upon him the
resentment of Urban, and was likely to

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have involved him in greater troubles than
he had before experienced, but

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providentially he was delivered out of
their hands.

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He was struck with a palsy, and though he
lived some time, yet it was in such a way

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that his enemies considered him as a
person below their resentment.

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Wycliffe, returning within short space,
either from his banishment, or from some

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other place where he was secretly kept,
repaired to his parish of Lutterworth,

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where he was parson, and there,
quietly departing this mortal life,

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slept in peace in the Lord in the end of
the year 1384 upon Sylvester's day.

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It appeared that he was well aged before
he departed, and that the same thing

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pleased him in his old age which did
please him being young.

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Wycliffe had some cause to give them
thanks, that they would at least spare him

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until he was dead, and also give him so
long respite after his death, forty-one

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years, to rest in his sepulchre,
before they ungraved him and turned him

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from earth to ashes, which ashes they also
took and threw into the river.

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And so was he resolved into three
elements, earth, fire, and water,

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thinking thereby utterly to extinguish and
abolish both the name and doctrine of

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Wycliffe for ever.

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Not much unlike the example of the old
Pharisees and sepulchre knights,

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who when they had brought the Lord unto
the grave, thought to make him sure never

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to rise again.

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But these and all others must know,
that as there is no counsel against the

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Lord, so there is no keeping down of
verity, but it will spring up,

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and come out of dust and ashes,
as appeared right well in this man.

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For though they dug up his body,
burned his bones, and drowned his ashes,

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yet the word of God, and the truth of his
doctrine, with the fruit and success

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thereof, they could not burn.

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CHAPTER VIII An Account of the
Persecutions in Bohemia under the Papacy

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The Roman pontiffs, having usurped a power
over several churches, were particularly

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severe on the Bohemians, which occasioned
them to send two ministers and four

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laybrothers to Rome in the year 977,
to obtain redress of the Pope.

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After some delay, their request was
granted, and their grievances redressed.

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Two things in particular they were
permitted to do, namely, to have divine

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service performed in their own language,
and to give the cup to the laity in the

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sacrament.

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The disputes, however, soon broke out
again, the succeeding Popes exerting their

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whole power to impose on the minds of the
Bohemians, and the latter, with great

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spirit, aiming to preserve their religious
liberties.

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In A.D.

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1375, some zealous friends of the Gospel
applied to Charles, King of Bohemia,

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to call an ecumenical council for an
inquiry into the abuses that had crept

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into the Church, and to make a full and
thorough reformation.

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The King, not knowing how to proceed,
sent to the Pope for directions how to

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act.

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But the Pontiff was so incensed at this
affair that his only reply was,

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severely punish those rash and profane
heretics.

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The Monarch accordingly banished everyone
who had been concerned in the application,

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and, to oblige the Pope, laid a great
number of additional restraints upon the

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religious liberties of the people.

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The victims of persecution, however,
were not so numerous in Bohemia until

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after the burning of John Hus and Jerome
of Prague.

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These two eminent reformers were condemned
and executed at the instigation of the

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Pope and his emissaries, as the reader
will perceive by the following short

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sketches of their lives.

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Persecution of John Hus John Hus was born
at Husenitz, a village in Bohemia,

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about the year 1380.

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His parents gave him the best education
their circumstances would admit,

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and having acquired a tolerable knowledge
of the classics at a private school,

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he was removed to the University of
Prague, where he soon gave strong proofs

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of his mental powers, and was remarkable
for his diligence and application to

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study.

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In 1398 Hus commenced Bachelor of
Divinity, and was after successively

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chosen Pastor of the Church of Bethlehem
in Prague, and Dean and Rector of the

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University.

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In these stations he discharged his duties
with great fidelity, and became at length

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so conspicuous for his preaching,
which was in conformity with the doctrines

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of Wycliffe, that it was not likely he
could long escape the notice of the Pope

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and his adherents, against whom he invaded
with no small degree of asperity.

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The English reformist Wycliffe had so
kindled the light of Reformation that it

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began to illumine the darkest corners of
Popery and Ignorance.

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His doctrines spread into Bohemia,
and were well received by great numbers of

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people, but by none so particularly as
John Hus and his zealous friend and

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fellow-martyr Jerome of Prague.

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The Archbishop of Prague, finding the
reformists' daily increasing, issued a

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decree to suppress the further spreading
of Wycliffe's writings, but this had an

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effect quite different to what he
expected, for it stimulated the friends of

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those doctrines to greater zeal,
and almost the whole university united to

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propagate them.

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Being strongly attached to the doctrines
of Wycliffe, Hus opposed the decree of the

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Archbishop, who, however, at length
obtained a bull from the Pope,

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giving him commission to prevent the
publishing of Wycliffe's doctrines in his

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province.

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By virtue of this bull, the Archbishop
condemned the writings of Wycliffe.

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He also proceeded against four doctors,
who had not delivered up the copies of

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that divine, and prohibited them,
notwithstanding their privileges,

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to preach to any congregation.

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Dr. Hus, with some other members of the
university, protested against these

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proceedings, and entered an appeal from
the sentence of the Archbishop.

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The affair being made known to the Pope,
he granted a commission to Cardinal

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Colonna to cite John Hus to appear
personally at the Court of Rome,

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to answer the accusations laid against him
of preaching both errors and heresies.

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Dr. Hus desired to be excused from a
personal appearance, and was so greatly

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favoured in Bohemia that King Wenceslaus,
the Queen, the nobility and the

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university, desired the Pope to dispense
with such an appearance, as also that he

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would not suffer the Kingdom of Bohemia to
lie under the accusation of heresy,

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but permit them to preach the Gospel with
freedom in their places of worship.

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Three proctors appeared for Dr. Hus before
Cardinal Colonna.

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They endeavoured to excuse his absence,
and said they were ready to answer in his

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behalf.

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But the Cardinal declared Hus
contumacious, and excommunicated him

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accordingly.

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The proctors appealed to the Pope,
and appointed four cardinals to examine

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the process.

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These commissioners confirmed the former
sentence, and extended the excommunication

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not only to Hus, but to all his friends
and followers.

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From this unjust sentence, Hus appealed to
a future council, but without success.

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And notwithstanding so severe a decree,
and an expulsion in consequence from his

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church in Prague, he retired to Husnitz,
his native place, where he continued to

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promulgate his new doctrine, both from the
pulpit and with the pen.

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The letters which he wrote at this time
were very numerous, and he compiled a

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treatise in which he maintained that
reading the books of Protestants could not

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be absolutely forbidden.

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He wrote in defence of Wycliffe's book on
the Trinity, and boldly declared against

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the vices of the Pope the cardinals and
clergy of those corrupt times.

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He wrote also many other books,
all of which were penned with a strength

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of argument that greatly facilitated the
spreading of his doctrines.

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In the month of November 1414,
a general council was assembled at

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Constance in Germany.

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In order, as was pretended, for the sole
purpose of determining a dispute then

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pending between three persons who
contended for the papacy, but the real

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motive was to crush the progress of the
Reformation.

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John Hus was summoned to appear at this
council, and to encourage him,

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the Emperor sent him a safe conduct.

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The civilities and even reverence which
Hus met with on his journey were beyond

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imagination.

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The streets and sometimes the very roads
were lined with people whom respect rather

17:51.000 --> 17:52.760
than curiosity had brought together.

17:54.100 --> 17:58.460
He was ushered into the town with great
acclamations, and it may be said that he

17:58.460 --> 18:00.460
passed through Germany in a kind of
triumph.

18:01.640 --> 18:05.120
He could not help expressing his surprise
at the treatment he received.

18:05.680 --> 18:07.780
I thought, said he, I had been an outcast.

18:08.040 --> 18:10.800
I now see my worst friends are in Bohemia.

18:12.600 --> 18:16.660
As soon as Hus arrived at Constance,
he immediately took lodgings in a remote

18:16.660 --> 18:17.480
part of the city.

18:18.280 --> 18:22.960
A short time after his arrival came one
Stephen Pulletts, who was employed by the

18:22.960 --> 18:26.720
clergy at Prague to manage the intended
prosecution against him.

18:27.720 --> 18:31.320
Pulletts was afterwards joined by Michael
de Cassis on the part of the Court of

18:31.320 --> 18:31.640
Rome.

18:32.740 --> 18:36.920
These two declared themselves his accusers
and drew up a set of articles against him,

18:37.020 --> 18:39.500
which they presented to the Pope and the
prelates of the council.

18:40.860 --> 18:44.960
When it was known that he was in the city,
he was immediately arrested and committed

18:44.960 --> 18:46.780
prisoner to a chamber in the palace.

18:47.580 --> 18:52.740
This violation of common law and justice
was particularly noticed by one of Hus's

18:52.740 --> 18:57.120
friends, who urged the imperial safe
conduct, but the Pope replied that he

18:57.120 --> 19:01.020
never granted any safe conduct,
nor was he bound by that of the Emperor.

19:02.320 --> 19:06.740
While Hus was in confinement, the council
acted the part of inquisitors.

19:07.820 --> 19:12.140
They condemned the doctrines of Wycliffe
and even ordered his remains to be dug up

19:12.140 --> 19:15.720
and burned to ashes, which orders were
strictly complied with.

19:16.480 --> 19:21.640
In the meantime, the nobility of Bohemia
and Poland strongly interceded for Hus,

19:21.760 --> 19:26.840
and so far prevailed as to prevent his
being condemned unheard, which had been

19:26.840 --> 19:29.440
resolved on by the commissioners appointed
to try him.

19:30.620 --> 19:34.380
When he was brought before the council,
the articles exhibited against him were

19:34.380 --> 19:34.700
read.

19:34.960 --> 19:38.480
They were upwards of forty in number and
chiefly extracted from his writings.

19:39.360 --> 19:40.720
John Hus's answer was this.

19:41.380 --> 19:45.980
I did appeal unto the Pope, who being
dead, and the cause of my matter remaining

19:45.980 --> 19:52.020
undetermined, I appealed likewise unto his
successor, John XXIII, before whom,

19:52.180 --> 19:56.480
when, by the space of two years I could
not be admitted by my advocates to defend

19:56.480 --> 19:59.660
my cause, I appealed unto the High Judge
Christ.

20:01.300 --> 20:05.440
When John Hus had spoken these words,
it was demanded of him whether he had

20:05.440 --> 20:07.560
received absolution of the Pope or no.

20:07.880 --> 20:08.960
He answered, No.

20:10.120 --> 20:13.740
Then again whether it was lawful for him
to appeal unto Christ or no.

20:14.820 --> 20:19.820
Whereunto John Hus answered, Verily I do
affirm here before you all that there is

20:19.820 --> 20:24.020
no more just or effectual appeal than that
appeal which is made unto Christ.

20:24.660 --> 20:29.300
For as much as the law doth determine that
to appeal is no other thing than in a

20:29.300 --> 20:34.440
cause of grief or wrong done by an
inferior judge to implore and require aid

20:34.440 --> 20:38.340
at a higher judge's hand, who is then a
higher judge than Christ?

20:38.920 --> 20:42.620
Who, I say, can know or judge the matter
more justly or with more equity?

20:43.400 --> 20:48.560
When in him there is found no deceit,
neither can he be deceived, or who can

20:48.560 --> 20:50.660
better help the miserable and oppressed
than he?

20:51.380 --> 20:55.700
While John Hus, with a devout and sober
countenance, was speaking and pronouncing

20:55.700 --> 20:59.520
those words, he was derided and mocked by
all the whole council.

21:00.780 --> 21:05.440
These excellent sentences were esteemed as
so many expressions of treason intended to

21:05.440 --> 21:06.740
inflame his adversaries.

21:07.560 --> 21:11.040
Accordingly the bishops appointed by the
council stripped him of his priestly

21:11.040 --> 21:15.740
garments, degraded him, put a paper mitre
on his head on which was painted DEVILS,

21:16.060 --> 21:19.100
with this inscription, A RINGLEADER OF
HERETICS.

21:20.080 --> 21:24.900
Which when he saw, he said, My Lord Jesus
Christ, for my sake did wear a crown of

21:24.900 --> 21:30.240
thorns, why should not I then for his sake
again wear this light crown, be it ever so

21:30.240 --> 21:30.880
ignominious?

21:31.400 --> 21:32.960
Truly I will do it, and that willingly.

21:34.240 --> 21:38.120
When it was set upon his head,
the bishop said, Now we commit thy soul

21:38.120 --> 21:38.800
unto the devil.

21:39.680 --> 21:44.060
But I, said John Hus, lifting his eyes
towards the heaven, do commit into thy

21:44.060 --> 21:47.840
hands, O Lord Jesus Christ, my spirit
which thou hast redeemed.

21:50.080 --> 21:54.320
When the chain was put about him at the
stake, he said with a smiling countenance,

21:54.960 --> 21:58.700
My Lord Jesus Christ was bound with a
harder chain than this for my sake,

21:59.060 --> 22:01.540
and why then should I be ashamed of this
rusty one?

22:03.120 --> 22:07.780
When the faggots were piled up to his very
neck, the Duke of Bavaria was so officious

22:07.780 --> 22:09.420
as to desire him to abjure.

22:10.120 --> 22:14.420
No, said Hus, I never preached any
doctrine of an evil tendency, and what I

22:14.420 --> 22:16.680
taught with my lips I now seal with my
blood.

22:17.740 --> 22:21.800
He then said to the executioner,
You are now going to burn a goose,

22:22.360 --> 22:27.500
hus, signifying goose in the Bohemian
language, but in a century you will have a

22:27.500 --> 22:29.820
swan which you can neither roast nor boil.

22:30.880 --> 22:35.160
If he were prophetic, he must have met
Martin Luther, who shone about a hundred

22:35.160 --> 22:38.060
years after, and who had a swan for his
arms.

22:39.620 --> 22:43.560
The flames were now applied to the
faggots, when our martyr sung a hymn with

22:43.560 --> 22:47.700
so loud and cheerful a voice that he was
heard through all the cracklings of the

22:47.700 --> 22:49.580
combustibles and the noise of the
multitude.

22:50.800 --> 22:55.160
At length his voice was interrupted by the
severity of the flames, which soon closed

22:55.160 --> 22:55.820
his existence.

22:57.820 --> 23:01.820
Then, with great diligence, gathering the
ashes together, they cast them into the

23:01.820 --> 23:05.860
river Rhine, that the least remnant of
that man should not be left upon the

23:05.860 --> 23:10.440
earth, whose memory, notwithstanding,
cannot be abolished out of the minds of

23:10.440 --> 23:15.440
the godly, neither by fire, neither by
water, neither by any kind of torment.

23:19.720 --> 23:21.760
Persecution of Jerome of Prague.

23:23.500 --> 23:27.900
This reformer, who was the companion of
Dr. Hus, and may be said to be a co-martyr

23:27.900 --> 23:33.180
with him, was born at Prague and educated
in that university, where he particularly

23:33.180 --> 23:35.880
distinguished himself for his great
abilities and learning.

23:36.720 --> 23:41.100
He likewise visited several other learned
seminaries in Europe, particularly the

23:41.100 --> 23:44.740
universities of Paris, Heidelberg,
Cologne, and Oxford.

23:45.840 --> 23:50.100
At the latter place he became acquainted
with the works of Wycliffe, and being a

23:50.100 --> 23:54.160
person of uncommon application,
he translated many of them into his native

23:54.160 --> 23:58.320
language, having with great pains made
himself master of the English tongue.

23:59.800 --> 24:04.140
On his return to Prague he professed
himself an open favourer of Wycliffe,

24:04.600 --> 24:07.980
and finding that his doctrines had made
considerable progress in Bohemia,

24:08.380 --> 24:12.700
and that Hus was the principal promoter of
them, he became an assistant to him in the

24:12.700 --> 24:13.960
great work of reformation.

24:15.880 --> 24:22.010
On the 4th of April, 1415, Jerome arrived
at Constance about three months before the

24:22.010 --> 24:22.510
death of Hus.

24:23.070 --> 24:26.570
He entered the town privately,
and consulting with some of the leaders of

24:26.570 --> 24:30.390
his party, whom he found there,
was easily convinced he could not be of

24:30.390 --> 24:31.670
any service to his friends.

24:33.150 --> 24:36.830
Finding that his arrival in Constance was
publicly known, and that the council

24:36.830 --> 24:40.110
intended to seize him, he thought it most
prudent to retire.

24:41.470 --> 24:45.550
Accordingly, the next day he went to
Iberling, an imperial town about a mile

24:45.550 --> 24:46.390
from Constance.

24:47.250 --> 24:50.870
From this place he wrote to the Emperor,
and proposed his readiness to appear

24:50.870 --> 24:55.050
before the council if it would give him a
safe conduct, but this was refused.

24:55.670 --> 24:58.510
He then applied to the council,
but met with an answer no less

24:58.510 --> 25:00.430
unfavourable than that from the Emperor.

25:01.790 --> 25:04.110
After this he set out on his return to
Bohemia.

25:04.930 --> 25:08.750
He had the precaution to take with him a
certificate, signed by several of the

25:08.750 --> 25:13.150
Bohemian nobility then at Constance,
testifying that he had used all prudent

25:13.150 --> 25:15.070
means in his power to procure a hearing.

25:17.390 --> 25:19.730
Jerome, however, did not thus escape.

25:20.530 --> 25:24.910
He was seized at Hirschau by an officer
belonging to the Duke of Sulzbach,

25:25.250 --> 25:29.350
who, though unauthorised so to act,
made little doubt of obtaining thanks from

25:29.350 --> 25:31.390
the council for so acceptable a service.

25:32.790 --> 25:37.590
The Duke of Sulzbach, having Jerome now in
his power, wrote to the council for

25:37.590 --> 25:38.870
directions how to proceed.

25:39.490 --> 25:43.630
The council, after expressing their
obligations to the Duke, desired him to

25:43.630 --> 25:45.690
send the prisoner immediately to
Constance.

25:46.410 --> 25:50.250
The Elector Palatine met him on the way,
and conducted him into the city,

25:50.610 --> 25:54.730
himself riding on horseback with a
numerous retinue, who led Jerome in

25:54.730 --> 25:58.750
fetters by a long chain, and immediately
on his arrival he was committed to a

25:58.750 --> 25:59.730
loathsome dungeon.

26:01.470 --> 26:05.290
Jerome was treated nearly in the same
manner as Hoos had been, only that he was

26:05.290 --> 26:08.470
much longer confined and shifted from one
prison to another.

26:09.430 --> 26:13.330
At length, being brought before the
council, he desired that he might plead

26:13.330 --> 26:17.930
his own cause and exculpate himself,
which, being refused, he broke out into

26:17.930 --> 26:19.190
the following exclamation.

26:20.530 --> 26:22.110
"'What barbarity is this?

26:22.410 --> 26:26.290
For three hundred and forty days have I
been confined in a variety of prisons.

26:26.990 --> 26:30.330
There is not a misery, there is not a
want, that I have not experienced.

26:30.990 --> 26:35.230
To my enemies you have allowed the fullest
scope of accusation, to me you deny the

26:35.230 --> 26:36.670
least opportunity of defence.

26:37.050 --> 26:40.790
Not an hour will you now indulge me in
preparing for my trial.

26:41.270 --> 26:43.550
You have swallowed the blackest calumnies
against me.

26:43.850 --> 26:47.930
You have represented me as a heretic,
without knowing my doctrine, as an enemy

26:47.930 --> 26:52.450
of the faith, before you knew what faith I
professed, as a persecutor of priests,

26:52.570 --> 26:56.050
before you could have an opportunity of
understanding my sentiments on that head.

26:56.630 --> 26:58.150
You are a general council.

26:58.970 --> 27:03.210
In you centres all this world can
communicate of gravity, wisdom and

27:03.210 --> 27:03.810
sanctity.

27:04.270 --> 27:07.050
But still you are men, and men are
seducible by appearances.

27:07.890 --> 27:12.210
The higher your character is for wisdom,
the greater ought your care to be not to

27:12.210 --> 27:13.310
deviate into folly.

27:13.970 --> 27:18.110
The cause I now plead is not my own cause,
it is the cause of men, it is the cause of

27:18.110 --> 27:18.490
Christians.

27:19.050 --> 27:22.650
It is a cause which is to affect the
rights of posterity, however the

27:22.650 --> 27:28.710
experiment is to be made in my person.'
This speech had not the least effect.

27:29.610 --> 27:32.970
Jerome was obliged to hear the charge
read, which was reduced under the

27:32.970 --> 27:34.570
following heads, 1.

27:34.630 --> 27:37.170
That he was a derider of the papal
dignity, 2.

27:37.270 --> 27:38.970
An opposer of the Pope, 3.

27:39.090 --> 27:40.910
An enemy to the cardinals, 4.

27:40.970 --> 27:43.390
A persecutor of the prelates, and 5.

27:43.470 --> 27:45.430
A hater of the Christian religion.

27:46.830 --> 27:50.830
The trial of Jerome was brought on the
third day after his accusation,

27:51.190 --> 27:53.850
and witnesses were examined in support of
the charge.

27:54.650 --> 27:58.950
The prisoner was prepared for his defence,
which appears almost incredible when we

27:58.950 --> 28:02.650
consider he had been three hundred and
forty days shut up in loathsome prisons,

28:03.190 --> 28:06.630
deprived of daylight and almost starved
for want of common necessaries.

28:07.250 --> 28:11.450
But his spirit soared above these
disadvantages, under which a man less

28:11.450 --> 28:16.330
animated would have sunk, nor was he more
at a loss of quotations from the fathers

28:16.330 --> 28:20.130
and ancient authors than if he had been
furnished with the finest library.

28:21.390 --> 28:26.190
The most bigoted of the assembly were
unwilling he should be heard, knowing what

28:26.190 --> 28:29.490
effect eloquence is apt to have on the
minds of the most prejudiced.

28:30.290 --> 28:33.630
At length, however, it was carried by the
majority that he should have the liberty

28:33.630 --> 28:38.430
to proceed in his defence, which he began
in such an exalted strain of moving

28:38.430 --> 28:43.630
elocution that the heart of obdurate zeal
was seen to melt, and the mind of

28:43.630 --> 28:46.030
superstition seemed to admit a ray of
conviction.

28:47.550 --> 28:51.650
He made an admirable distinction between
evidence as resting upon facts,

28:52.030 --> 28:54.070
and as supported by malice and calumny.

28:54.870 --> 28:57.950
He laid before the assembly the whole
tenor of his life and conduct.

28:58.510 --> 29:02.170
He observed that the greatest and most
holy men had been known to differ in

29:02.170 --> 29:05.950
points of speculation, with a view to
distinguish truth, not to keep it

29:05.950 --> 29:06.470
concealed.

29:07.270 --> 29:11.330
He expressed a noble contempt of all his
enemies, who would have induced him to

29:11.330 --> 29:13.870
retract the cause of virtue and truth.

29:14.510 --> 29:18.990
He entered upon a high encomium of hoose,
and declared he was ready to follow him in

29:18.990 --> 29:20.530
the glorious task of martyrdom.

29:21.410 --> 29:26.070
He then touched upon the most defensible
doctrines of Wycliffe, and concluded with

29:26.070 --> 29:29.530
observing that it was far from his
intention to advance anything against the

29:29.530 --> 29:33.650
state of the Church of God, that it was
only against the abuse of the clergy he

29:33.650 --> 29:38.010
complained, and that he could not help
saying it was certainly impious that the

29:38.010 --> 29:41.370
patrimony of the Church, which was
originally intended for the purpose of

29:41.370 --> 29:45.630
charity and universal benevolence,
should be prostituted to the pride of the

29:45.630 --> 29:49.890
eye in feasts, foppish vestments,
and other reproaches to the name and

29:49.890 --> 29:51.070
profession of Christianity.

29:52.430 --> 29:56.710
The trial being over, Jerome received the
same sentence that had been passed upon

29:56.710 --> 29:57.870
his martyred countrymen.

29:59.590 --> 30:03.590
In consequence of this, he was,
in the usual style of popish affectation,

30:03.970 --> 30:08.050
delivered over to the civil power,
but as he was a layman, he had not to

30:08.050 --> 30:09.570
undergo the ceremony of degradation.

30:10.430 --> 30:15.330
They had prepared a cap of paper painted
with red devils, which being put upon his

30:15.330 --> 30:19.830
head, he said, Our Lord Jesus Christ,
when He suffered death for me a most

30:19.830 --> 30:24.210
miserable sinner, did wear a crown of
thorns upon His head, and for His sake

30:24.210 --> 30:25.450
will I wear this cap.

30:27.390 --> 30:31.530
Two days were allowed him in hopes that he
would recant, in which time the Cardinal

30:31.530 --> 30:35.610
of Florence used his utmost endeavours to
bring him over, but they all proved

30:35.610 --> 30:40.190
ineffectual, Jerome was resolved to seal
the doctrine with his blood, and he

30:40.190 --> 30:42.630
suffered death with the most distinguished
magnanimity.

30:43.810 --> 30:47.990
In going to the place of execution he sang
several hymns, and when he came to the

30:47.990 --> 30:52.270
spot, which was the same where Hoose had
been burnt, he knelt down and prayed

30:52.270 --> 30:52.850
fervently.

30:53.690 --> 30:57.390
He embraced the stake with great
cheerfulness, and when they went behind

30:57.390 --> 31:01.150
him to set fire to the faggots,
he said, Come here and kindle it before my

31:01.150 --> 31:04.510
eyes, for if I had been afraid of it I had
not come to this place.

31:05.810 --> 31:09.990
The fire being kindled he sang a hymn,
but was soon interrupted by the flames.

31:10.490 --> 31:15.670
And the last words he was heard to say
were these, This soul in flames,

31:15.870 --> 31:17.190
I offer Christ to thee.

31:18.450 --> 31:23.830
The elegant Poggio, a learned gentleman of
Florence, secretary to two popes,

31:23.870 --> 31:27.990
and a zealous but liberal Catholic,
in a letter to Leonard Aroutine,

31:28.590 --> 31:33.050
bore ample testimony of the extraordinary
powers and virtues of Jerome, whom he

31:33.050 --> 31:35.690
emphatically styles a prodigious man.

31:39.450 --> 31:45.450
Persecution of Žižka The real name of this
zealous servant of Christ was John de

31:45.450 --> 31:51.650
Trotsnov, that of Žižka is a Bohemian word
signifying one-eyed as he had lost an eye.

31:52.730 --> 31:57.170
He was a native of Bohemia of a good
family, and left the court of Wenceslaus

31:57.170 --> 32:00.990
to enter into the service of the King of
Poland against the Teutonic Knights.

32:01.950 --> 32:05.250
Having obtained a badge of honour and a
purse of ducats for his gallantry,

32:05.870 --> 32:09.930
at the close of the war he returned to the
court of Wenceslaus, to whom he boldly

32:09.930 --> 32:13.710
avowed the deep interest he took in the
bloody affront offered to His Majesty's

32:13.710 --> 32:16.430
subjects at Constance in the affair of
Hus.

32:17.550 --> 32:22.210
Wenceslaus lamented it was not in his
power to revenge it, and from this moment

32:22.210 --> 32:26.190
Žižka is said to have formed the idea of
asserting the religious liberties of his

32:26.190 --> 32:26.570
country.

32:27.690 --> 32:32.050
In the year 1418 the council was
dissolved, having done more mischief than

32:32.050 --> 32:35.950
good, and in the summer of that year a
general meeting was held of the Friends of

32:35.950 --> 32:40.570
Religious Reformation at the Castle of
Vizgrad, who, conducted by Žižka,

32:40.850 --> 32:44.990
repaired to the Emperor with arms in their
hands, and offered to defend him against

32:44.990 --> 32:45.510
his enemies.

32:46.210 --> 32:50.970
The King bid them use their arms properly,
and this stroke of policy first ensured to

32:50.970 --> 32:52.710
Žižka the confidence of his party.

32:54.910 --> 32:59.510
Wenceslaus was succeeded by Sigismund,
his brother, who rendered himself odious

32:59.510 --> 33:03.310
to the reformers, and removed all such as
were obnoxious to his government.

33:04.510 --> 33:08.350
Žižka and his friends upon this
immediately flew to arms, declared war

33:08.350 --> 33:12.510
against the Emperor and the Pope,
and laid siege to Pilsen with forty

33:12.510 --> 33:13.270
thousand men.

33:14.130 --> 33:18.550
They soon became masters of the fortress,
and in a short time all the southwest part

33:18.550 --> 33:22.450
of Bohemia submitted, which greatly
increased the army of the reformers.

33:23.450 --> 33:28.270
The latter, having taken the pass of
Moldavia, after a severe conflict of five

33:28.270 --> 33:32.170
days and nights, the Emperor became
alarmed and withdrew his troops from the

33:32.170 --> 33:34.650
confines of Turkey to march them into
Bohemia.

33:35.390 --> 33:40.190
At Bern in Moravia he halted and sent
dispatches to treat of peace, as a

33:40.190 --> 33:44.490
preliminary to which Žižka gave up Pilsen
and all the fortresses he had taken.

33:45.590 --> 33:49.550
Sigismund, proceeding in a manner that
clearly manifested he acted on the Roman

33:49.550 --> 33:54.030
doctrine, that no faith was to be kept
with heretics, and treating some of the

33:54.030 --> 33:58.470
authors of the late disturbances with
severity, the alarm bell of revolt was

33:58.470 --> 34:00.750
sounded from one end of Bohemia to the
other.

34:01.570 --> 34:06.250
Žižka took the castle of Prague by the
power of money, and on August 19,

34:06.490 --> 34:11.530
1420, defeated the small army the Emperor
had hastily got together to oppose him.

34:12.210 --> 34:16.630
He next took Osea by assault, and
destroyed the town with a barbarity that

34:16.630 --> 34:18.570
disgraced the cause in which he fought.

34:20.310 --> 34:25.270
Winter approaching, Žižka fortified his
camp on a strong hill about forty miles

34:25.270 --> 34:29.790
from Prague, which he called Mount Tabor,
whence he surprised a body of horse at

34:29.790 --> 34:32.050
midnight and made a thousand men
prisoners.

34:33.390 --> 34:37.130
Shortly after, the Emperor obtained
possession of the strong fortress of

34:37.130 --> 34:39.930
Prague by the same means Žižka had done
before.

34:40.430 --> 34:44.450
It was blockaded by the latter,
and want began to threaten the Emperor who

34:44.450 --> 34:45.930
saw the necessity of a retreat.

34:47.530 --> 34:51.870
Determined to make a desperate effort,
Zygismond attacked the fortified camp of

34:51.870 --> 34:54.990
Žižka on Mount Tabor and carried it with
great slaughter.

34:55.770 --> 35:00.670
Many other fortresses also fell,
and Žižka withdrew to a craggy hill which

35:00.670 --> 35:04.790
he strongly fortified, and whence he so
annoyed the Emperor in his approaches

35:04.790 --> 35:09.370
against the town of Prague, that he found
he must either abandon the siege or defeat

35:09.370 --> 35:09.890
his enemy.

35:10.990 --> 35:15.750
The Marquis of Mizna was deputed to effect
this with a large body of troops,

35:16.050 --> 35:18.390
but the event was fatal to the
imperialists.

35:18.790 --> 35:22.530
They were defeated, and the Emperor,
having lost nearly one third of his army,

35:22.790 --> 35:26.410
retreated from the siege of Prague,
harassed in his rear by the enemy.

35:28.050 --> 35:33.690
In the spring of 1421, Žižka commenced the
campaign, as before, by destroying all the

35:33.690 --> 35:34.790
monasteries in his way.

35:35.790 --> 35:40.190
He laid siege to the castle of Vizgrada,
and the Emperor coming to relieve it fell

35:40.190 --> 35:44.310
into a snare and was defeated with
dreadful slaughter, and this important

35:44.310 --> 35:45.270
fortress was taken.

35:46.590 --> 35:51.090
Our General had now leisure to attend to
the work of reformation, but he was much

35:51.090 --> 35:55.010
disgusted with the gross ignorance and
superstition of the Bohemian clergy,

35:55.550 --> 35:58.350
who rendered themselves contemptible in
the eyes of the whole army.

35:59.310 --> 36:03.510
When he saw any symptoms of uneasiness in
the camp, he would spread alarm in order

36:03.510 --> 36:05.890
to divert them and draw his men into
action.

36:07.110 --> 36:11.410
In one of these expeditions, he encamped
before the town of Rubi, and while

36:11.410 --> 36:15.770
pointing out the place for an assault,
an arrow shot from the wall struck him in

36:15.770 --> 36:16.190
the eye.

36:17.150 --> 36:21.570
At Prague it was extracted, but being
barbed, it tore the eye out with it.

36:22.170 --> 36:25.130
A fever succeeded, and his life was with
difficulty preserved.

36:25.830 --> 36:29.550
He was now totally blind, but still
desirous of attending the army.

36:30.530 --> 36:34.890
The Emperor, having summoned the states of
the Empire to assist him, resolved with

36:34.890 --> 36:39.270
their assistance to attack Žižka in the
winter, when many of his troops departed

36:39.270 --> 36:40.670
until the return of spring.

36:41.810 --> 36:46.590
The Confederate Princes undertook the
siege of Soisin, but at the approach

36:46.590 --> 36:49.030
merely of the Bohemian General they
retreated.

36:49.910 --> 36:54.630
Sigismund nevertheless advanced with his
formidable army, consisting of 15,000

36:54.630 --> 36:59.570
Hungarian horse and 25,000 infantry,
well equipped for a winter campaign.

37:00.450 --> 37:03.250
This army spread terror through all the
east of Bohemia.

37:04.090 --> 37:08.150
Wherever Sigismund marched, the
magistrates laid their keys at his feet

37:08.150 --> 37:12.190
and were treated with severity or favour
according to their merits in his cause.

37:13.110 --> 37:18.010
Žižka, however, with speedy marches,
approached, and the Emperor resolved to

37:18.010 --> 37:20.790
try his fortunes once more with that
invincible chief.

37:21.750 --> 37:27.190
On the 13th of January, 1422, the two
armies met on a spacious plain near

37:27.190 --> 37:27.790
Kremnica.

37:28.590 --> 37:32.590
Žižka appeared in the centre of his front
line, guarded, or rather conducted,

37:33.070 --> 37:35.790
by a horseman on each side armed with a
polax.

37:36.710 --> 37:40.230
His troops, having sung a hymn,
with a determined coolness, drew their

37:40.230 --> 37:41.550
swords and waited for a signal.

37:42.410 --> 37:45.490
When his officers had informed him that
the ranks were all well closed,

37:45.890 --> 37:48.810
he waved his sabre round his head,
which was the sign of battle.

37:50.790 --> 37:53.390
This battle is described as a most awful
sight.

37:54.230 --> 37:57.270
The extent of the plain was one continued
scene of disorder.

37:58.370 --> 38:02.970
The Imperial army fled towards the
confines of Moravia, the Taborites,

38:03.170 --> 38:05.050
without intermission, galling their rear.

38:06.110 --> 38:09.010
The river Igla, then frozen, opposed their
flight.

38:09.850 --> 38:13.610
The enemy, pressing furiously,
many of the infantry, and in a manner the

38:13.610 --> 38:15.970
whole body of the cavalry, attempted the
river.

38:16.750 --> 38:20.730
The ice gave way and not fewer than two
thousand were swallowed up in the water.

38:22.810 --> 38:27.670
Zizka now returned to Tabor, laden with
all the spoils and trophies which the most

38:27.670 --> 38:29.190
complete victory could give.

38:30.190 --> 38:32.870
Zizka now began again to pay attention to
the Reformation.

38:33.450 --> 38:38.230
He forbid all the prayers for the dead,
images, sacerdotal vestments, fasts and

38:38.230 --> 38:38.690
festivals.

38:39.530 --> 38:43.810
Priests were to be preferred according to
their merits, and no one to be persecuted

38:43.810 --> 38:44.930
for religious opinions.

38:44.930 --> 38:49.870
In everything Zizka consulted the
liberal-minded, and did nothing without

38:49.870 --> 38:51.050
general concurrence.

38:52.130 --> 38:55.910
An alarming disagreement now arose at
Prague between the magistrates,

38:56.010 --> 39:00.330
who were Calixtons, or receivers of the
sacraments in both kinds, and the

39:00.330 --> 39:04.810
Taborites, nine of the chiefs of whom were
privately arraigned and put to death.

39:05.810 --> 39:10.690
The populace, enraged, sacrificed the
magistrates, and the affair terminated

39:10.690 --> 39:15.270
without any particular consequence,
the Calixtons having sunk into contempt,

39:15.830 --> 39:20.710
Zizka was solicited to assume the crown of
Bohemia, but this he nobly refused,

39:20.930 --> 39:24.910
and prepared for the next campaign,
in which Sigismund resolved to make his

39:24.910 --> 39:25.710
last effort.

39:26.850 --> 39:31.610
While the Marquis of Misnia penetrated
into Upper Saxony, the Emperor proposed to

39:31.610 --> 39:33.710
enter Moravia, on the side of Hungary.

39:35.050 --> 39:39.850
Before the Marquis had taken the field,
Zizka sat down before the strong town of

39:39.850 --> 39:41.890
Ausig, situated on the Elbe.

39:42.610 --> 39:46.610
The Marquis flew to its relief with a
superior army, and after an obstinate

39:46.610 --> 39:50.170
engagement was totally defeated,
and Ausig capitulated.

39:51.550 --> 39:55.250
Zizka then went to the assistance of
Prokop, a young general whom he had

39:55.250 --> 39:59.350
appointed to keep Sigismund in check,
and whom he compelled to abandon the siege

39:59.350 --> 40:02.090
of Prunitz after laying eight weeks before
it.

40:03.730 --> 40:08.430
Zizka, willing to give his troops some
respite from fatigue, now entered Prague,

40:08.770 --> 40:12.410
hoping his presence would quell any
uneasiness that might remain after the

40:12.410 --> 40:13.130
late disturbance.

40:13.830 --> 40:17.250
But he was suddenly attacked by the
people, and he and his troop, having

40:17.250 --> 40:21.630
beaten off the citizens, effected a
retreat to his army, whom he acquainted

40:21.630 --> 40:24.150
with the treacherous conduct of the
Calixtons.

40:25.690 --> 40:29.750
Every effort of address was necessary to
appease their vengeful animosity,

40:30.370 --> 40:35.590
and at night, in a private interview
between Rokisan, an ecclesiastic of great

40:35.590 --> 40:40.090
eminence in Prague, and Zizka,
the latter became reconciled, and the

40:40.090 --> 40:41.870
intended hostilities were done away.

40:43.670 --> 40:48.390
Mutually tired of the war, Sigismund sent
to Zizka, requesting him to sheathe his

40:48.390 --> 40:49.730
sword and name his conditions.

40:50.610 --> 40:54.230
A place of congress being appointed,
Zizka, with his chief officers,

40:54.570 --> 40:56.110
set out to meet the Emperor.

40:57.590 --> 41:00.770
Compelled to pass through a part of the
country where the plague raged,

41:01.110 --> 41:06.310
he was seized with it at the castle of
Briskau, and departed this life October 6,

41:06.450 --> 41:07.290
1424.

41:09.070 --> 41:13.690
Like Moses, he died in view of the
completion of his labours, and was buried

41:13.690 --> 41:18.230
in the great church of Chozlov,
in Bohemia, where a monument is erected to

41:18.230 --> 41:19.950
his memory with this inscription on it.

41:20.730 --> 41:25.090
Here lies John Zizka, who, having defended
his country against the encroachments of

41:25.090 --> 41:29.290
papal tyranny, rests in this hallowed
place in despite of the Pope.

41:31.510 --> 41:36.770
After the death of Zizka, Prokop was
defeated, and fell with the liberties of

41:36.770 --> 41:37.230
his country.

41:39.730 --> 41:43.710
After the death of Hus and Jerome,
the Pope, in conjunction with the Council

41:43.710 --> 41:48.370
of Constance, ordered the Roman clergy
everywhere to excommunicate such as

41:48.370 --> 41:51.130
adopted their opinions or commiserated
their fate.

41:52.490 --> 41:56.370
These orders occasioned great contention
between the papists and reformed

41:56.370 --> 42:00.150
Bohemians, which was the cause of a
violent persecution against the latter.

42:00.950 --> 42:05.770
At Prague, the persecution was extremely
severe, until at length the reformed,

42:05.850 --> 42:09.870
being driven to desperation, armed
themselves, attacked the Senate House,

42:10.150 --> 42:14.610
and threw twelve senators, with the
Speaker, out of the Senate House windows,

42:15.050 --> 42:18.470
whose bodies fell upon spears,
which were held up by others of the

42:18.470 --> 42:20.190
reformed in the street, to receive them.

42:21.770 --> 42:25.570
Being informed of these proceedings,
the Pope came to Florence and publicly

42:25.570 --> 42:30.150
excommunicated the reformed Bohemians,
exciting the Emperor of Germany,

42:30.470 --> 42:34.570
and all kings, princes, dukes,
etc., to take up arms in order to

42:34.570 --> 42:39.830
extirpate the whole race, and promising by
way of encouragement full remission of all

42:39.830 --> 42:45.010
sins whatever to the most wicked person if
he did but kill one Bohemian Protestant.

42:46.250 --> 42:51.370
This occasioned a bloody war, for several
Popish princes undertook the extirpation,

42:51.970 --> 42:56.590
or at least expulsion, of the proscribed
people, and the Bohemians, arming

42:56.590 --> 43:01.230
themselves, prepared to repel force by
force in the most vigorous and effectual

43:01.230 --> 43:01.570
manner.

43:02.870 --> 43:06.810
The Popish army, prevailing against the
Protestant forces at the Battle of

43:06.810 --> 43:12.210
Kuttenberg, the prisoners of the reformed
were taken to three deep mines near that

43:12.210 --> 43:16.570
town, and several hundreds were cruelly
thrown into each, where they miserably

43:16.570 --> 43:17.210
perished.

43:18.430 --> 43:22.990
A merchant of Prague going to Breslau in
Silesia happened to lodge in the same inn

43:22.990 --> 43:24.050
with several priests.

43:24.910 --> 43:28.070
Entering into conversation upon the
subject of religious controversy,

43:28.730 --> 43:32.470
he passed many encomiums upon the martyred
John Hus and his doctrines.

43:33.030 --> 43:37.230
The priests, taking umbrage at this,
laid in information against him the next

43:37.230 --> 43:39.710
morning, and he was committed to prison as
a heretic.

43:40.770 --> 43:44.510
Many endeavours were used to persuade him
to embrace the Roman Catholic faith,

43:44.950 --> 43:48.270
but he remained steadfast to the pure
doctrines of the reformed church.

43:49.510 --> 43:53.570
Soon after his imprisonment, a student of
the university was committed to the same

43:53.570 --> 43:53.930
jail.

43:54.470 --> 43:58.570
When being permitted to converse with the
merchant, they mutually comforted each

43:58.570 --> 43:58.790
other.

43:59.770 --> 44:03.790
On the day appointed for execution,
when the jailer began to fasten ropes to

44:03.790 --> 44:07.610
their feet, by which they were to be
dragged through the streets, the student

44:07.610 --> 44:11.490
appeared quite terrified and offered to
abjure his faith and turn Roman Catholic

44:11.490 --> 44:12.590
if he might be saved.

44:13.470 --> 44:17.430
The offer was accepted, his abjuration was
taken by a priest, and he was set at

44:17.430 --> 44:17.750
liberty.

44:18.870 --> 44:21.930
A priest applying to the merchant to
follow the example of the student,

44:22.410 --> 44:26.050
he nobly said, Lose no time in hopes of my
recantation.

44:26.250 --> 44:27.850
Your expectations will be vain.

44:28.470 --> 44:32.570
I sincerely pity that poor wretch who has
miserably sacrificed his soul for a few

44:32.570 --> 44:34.950
more uncertain years of a troublesome
life.

44:35.730 --> 44:40.270
And so far from having the least idea of
following his example, I glory in the very

44:40.270 --> 44:42.290
thoughts of dying for the sake of Christ.

44:43.770 --> 44:47.830
On hearing these words, the priest ordered
the executioner to proceed, and the

44:47.830 --> 44:51.590
merchant, being drawn through the city,
was brought to the place of execution,

44:51.890 --> 44:52.630
and there burnt.

44:54.050 --> 44:59.210
Pichel, a bigoted, popish magistrate,
apprehended twenty-four Protestants,

44:59.210 --> 45:00.890
among whom was his daughter's husband.

45:01.770 --> 45:05.990
As they all owned they were of the
reformed religion, he indiscriminately

45:05.990 --> 45:08.470
condemned them to be drowned in the river
Abyss.

45:09.290 --> 45:13.070
On the day appointed for the execution,
a great concourse of people attended,

45:13.510 --> 45:15.010
among whom was Pichel's daughter.

45:15.970 --> 45:20.210
This worthy wife threw herself at her
father's feet, bedewed them with tears,

45:20.590 --> 45:24.530
and in the most pathetic manner implored
him to commiserate her sorrow and pardon

45:24.530 --> 45:25.130
her husband.

45:25.910 --> 45:30.910
The obdurate magistrate sternly replied,
Intercede not for him, child, he is a

45:30.910 --> 45:32.650
heretic, a vile heretic.

45:33.550 --> 45:38.310
To which she nobly answered, Whatever his
faults may be, or however his opinions may

45:38.310 --> 45:42.870
differ from yours, he is still my husband,
a name which, at a time like this,

45:42.950 --> 45:45.110
should alone employ my whole
consideration.

45:46.370 --> 45:49.630
Pichel flew into a violent passion,
and said, You are mad!

45:50.050 --> 45:52.750
Cannot you, after the death of this,
have a much worthier husband?

45:53.430 --> 45:58.350
No, sir, replied she, my affections are
fixed upon this, and death itself shall

45:58.350 --> 45:59.890
not dissolve my marriage vow.

46:01.730 --> 46:05.690
Pichel, however, continued inflexible,
and ordered the prisoners to be tied with

46:05.690 --> 46:08.930
their hands and feet behind them,
and in that manner be thrown into the

46:08.930 --> 46:09.130
river.

46:10.190 --> 46:14.310
As soon as this was put into execution,
the young lady watched her opportunity,

46:14.850 --> 46:19.570
leaped into the waves, and, embracing the
body of her husband, both sank together

46:19.570 --> 46:21.110
into one watery grave.

46:21.830 --> 46:26.750
An uncommon instance of conjugal love in a
wife, and of an inviolable attachment to

46:26.750 --> 46:28.910
and personal affection for her husband.

46:31.110 --> 46:36.470
The Emperor Ferdinand, whose hatred to the
Bohemian Protestants was without bounds,

46:36.910 --> 46:41.470
not thinking he had sufficiently oppressed
them, instituted a high court of reformers

46:41.470 --> 46:45.290
upon the plan of the Inquisition,
with this difference, that the reformers

46:45.290 --> 46:49.170
were to remove from place to place,
and always to be attended by a body of

46:49.170 --> 46:49.510
troops.

46:50.470 --> 46:54.970
These reformers consisted chiefly of
Jesuits, and from their decision there was

46:54.970 --> 46:58.870
no appeal, by which it may be easily
conjectured that it was a dreadful

46:58.870 --> 47:00.010
tribunal indeed.

47:01.590 --> 47:06.350
This bloody court, attended by a body of
troops, made the tour of Bohemia,

47:07.010 --> 47:11.190
in which they seldom examined or saw a
prisoner, suffering the soldiers to murder

47:11.190 --> 47:14.490
the Protestants as they pleased,
and then to make a report of the matter to

47:14.490 --> 47:15.070
them afterward.

47:16.350 --> 47:20.670
The first victim of their cruelty was an
aged minister, whom they killed as he lay

47:20.670 --> 47:21.470
sick in his bed.

47:22.130 --> 47:26.370
The next day they robbed and murdered
another, and soon after shot a third as he

47:26.370 --> 47:27.590
was preaching in his pulpit.

47:29.310 --> 47:33.950
A nobleman and clergyman, who resided in a
Protestant village, hearing of the

47:33.950 --> 47:37.910
approach of the high court of reformers
and the troops, fled from the place,

47:38.170 --> 47:39.290
and secreted themselves.

47:40.430 --> 47:44.830
The soldiers, however, on their arrival,
seized upon a schoolmaster, asked him

47:44.830 --> 47:48.090
where the lord of that place and the
minister were concealed, and where they

47:48.090 --> 47:48.990
had hidden their treasures.

47:49.770 --> 47:52.690
The schoolmaster replied that he could not
answer either of the questions.

47:53.290 --> 47:57.090
They then stripped him naked, bound him
with cords, and beat him most unmercifully

47:57.090 --> 47:57.810
with cudgels.

47:58.750 --> 48:03.110
This cruelty, not extorting any confession
from him, they scorched him in various

48:03.110 --> 48:04.030
parts of his body.

48:04.690 --> 48:07.930
When to gain a respite from his torments,
he promised to show them where the

48:07.930 --> 48:08.690
treasures were hid.

48:10.090 --> 48:14.270
The soldiers gave ear to this with
pleasure, and the schoolmaster led them to

48:14.270 --> 48:18.370
a ditch full of stones, saying,
beneath these stones are the treasures ye

48:18.370 --> 48:18.990
seek for.

48:19.530 --> 48:22.710
Eager after money, they went to work,
and soon removed those stones.

48:23.150 --> 48:26.890
But not finding what they sought after,
they beat the schoolmaster to death,

48:27.050 --> 48:30.810
buried him in the ditch, and covered him
with the very stones he had made them

48:30.810 --> 48:31.290
remove.

48:32.970 --> 48:36.210
Some of the soldiers ravished the
daughters of a worthy Protestant before

48:36.210 --> 48:38.650
his face, and then tortured him to death.

48:39.450 --> 48:42.170
A minister and his wife they tied back to
back and burned.

48:42.690 --> 48:46.470
Another minister they hung upon a
crossbeam, and making a fire under him,

48:46.630 --> 48:47.530
broiled him to death.

48:48.310 --> 48:52.550
A gentleman they hacked into small pieces,
and they filled a young man's mouth with

48:52.550 --> 48:55.810
gunpowder, and setting fire to it,
blew his head to pieces.

48:57.250 --> 49:01.030
As their principal rage was directed
against the clergy, they took a pious

49:01.030 --> 49:05.350
Protestant minister and tormented him
daily for a month together in the

49:05.350 --> 49:09.910
following manner, making their cruelty
regular, systematic, and progressive.

49:10.910 --> 49:14.730
They placed him amidst them, and made him
the subject of their division and mockery

49:14.730 --> 49:18.390
during a whole day's entertainment,
trying to exhaust his patience,

49:18.610 --> 49:22.210
but in vain, for he bore the whole with
true Christian fortitude.

49:23.010 --> 49:27.170
They spit in his face, pulled his nose,
and pinched him in most parts of his body.

49:27.770 --> 49:31.770
He was hunted like a wild beast until
ready to expire with fatigue.

49:32.630 --> 49:36.550
They made him run the gauntlet between two
ranks of them, each striking him with a

49:36.550 --> 49:36.850
twig.

49:37.450 --> 49:41.570
He was beat with their fists, he was beat
with ropes, they scourged him with wires,

49:41.690 --> 49:42.790
he was beat with cudgels.

49:43.370 --> 49:47.130
They tied him up by the heels with his
head downwards until the blood started out

49:47.130 --> 49:48.570
of his nose, mouth, etc.

49:49.230 --> 49:53.110
They hung him by the right arm until it
was dislocated, and then had it set again.

49:53.550 --> 49:55.330
The same was repeated with his left arm.

49:56.250 --> 49:59.730
Burning papers dipped in oil were placed
between his fingers and toes.

50:00.170 --> 50:02.410
His flesh was torn with red-hot pincers.

50:02.870 --> 50:06.930
He was put to the rack, they pulled off
the nails of his right hand, the same

50:06.930 --> 50:08.290
repeated with his left hand.

50:08.550 --> 50:10.470
He was bastinadoed on his feet.

50:11.010 --> 50:14.750
A slit was made in his right ear,
the same repeated on his left ear.

50:15.030 --> 50:18.450
His nose was slit, they whipped him
through the town upon an ass.

50:18.850 --> 50:23.170
They made several incisions in his flesh,
they pulled off the toenails of his right

50:23.170 --> 50:25.810
foot, the same they repeated with his left
foot.

50:26.490 --> 50:30.270
He was tied up by the loins and suspended
for a considerable time.

50:30.710 --> 50:34.230
The teeth of his upper jaw were pulled
out, the same was repeated with his lower

50:34.230 --> 50:34.550
jaw.

50:35.270 --> 50:39.630
Boiling lead was poured upon his fingers,
the same was repeated with his toes.

50:40.170 --> 50:44.210
A knotted cord was twisted about his
forehead in such a manner as to force out

50:44.210 --> 50:44.730
his eyes.

50:45.950 --> 50:49.850
During the whole of these horrid
cruelties, particular care was taken that

50:49.850 --> 50:54.750
his wound should not mortify and not to
injure him mortally until the last day,

50:55.230 --> 50:57.650
when the forcing out of his eyes proved
his death.

51:00.890 --> 51:04.910
Innumerable were the other murders and
depredations committed by those unfeeling

51:04.910 --> 51:09.310
brutes, and shocking to humanity were the
cruelties which they inflicted on the poor

51:09.310 --> 51:10.550
Bohemian Protestants.

51:11.470 --> 51:15.450
The winter being far advanced,
however, the High Court of Reformers,

51:15.530 --> 51:19.750
with their infernal band of military
ruffians, thought proper to return to

51:19.750 --> 51:20.190
Prague.

51:20.750 --> 51:24.130
But on their way, meeting with a
Protestant pastor, they could not resist

51:24.130 --> 51:28.590
the temptation of feasting their barbarous
eyes with a new kind of cruelty which had

51:28.590 --> 51:32.350
just suggested itself to the diabolical
imagination of one of the soldiers.

51:33.110 --> 51:37.690
This was to strip the minister naked,
and alternately to cover him with ice and

51:37.690 --> 51:38.690
burning coals.

51:39.450 --> 51:42.990
This novel mode of tormenting a fellow
creature was immediately put into

51:42.990 --> 51:47.790
practice, and the unhappy victim expired
beneath the torments which seemed to

51:47.790 --> 51:49.710
delight his inhuman persecutors.

51:51.670 --> 51:56.870
A secret order was soon after issued by
the Emperor for apprehending all noble men

51:56.870 --> 52:00.510
and gentlemen who had been principally
concerned in supporting the Protestant

52:00.510 --> 52:05.850
cause, and in nominating Frederick Elector
Palatine of the Rhine to be King of

52:05.850 --> 52:06.330
Bohemia.

52:07.530 --> 52:11.350
These, to the number of fifty,
were apprehended in one night and at one

52:11.350 --> 52:15.430
hour, and brought from the places where
they were taken to the castle of Prague,

52:15.950 --> 52:19.270
and the estates of those who were absent
from the kingdom were confiscated,

52:19.550 --> 52:23.830
themselves were made outlaws, and their
names fixed upon a gallows as marks of

52:23.830 --> 52:24.930
public ignominy.

52:26.470 --> 52:30.750
The High Court of Reformers then proceeded
to try the fifty who had been apprehended,

52:31.230 --> 52:34.410
and two apostate Protestants were
appointed to examine them.

52:35.410 --> 52:39.210
These examinants asked a great number of
unnecessary and impertinent questions,

52:39.850 --> 52:43.650
which so exasperated one of the noble men,
who was naturally of a warm temper,

52:44.150 --> 52:49.310
that he exclaimed, opening his breast at
the same time, Cut here, search my heart,

52:49.350 --> 52:51.910
and you shall find nothing but the love of
religion and liberty.

52:52.430 --> 52:55.790
Those were the motives for which I drew my
sword, and for those I am willing to

52:55.790 --> 52:56.450
suffer death.

52:58.490 --> 53:02.170
As none of the prisoners would change
their religion or acknowledge they had

53:02.170 --> 53:06.210
been in error, they were all pronounced
guilty, but the sentence was referred to

53:06.210 --> 53:06.630
the Emperor.

53:07.670 --> 53:11.450
When that monarch had read their names and
an account of the respective accusations

53:11.450 --> 53:15.950
against them, he passed judgment on all
but in a different manner, as his

53:15.950 --> 53:21.010
sentences were of four kinds, namely
death, banishment, imprisonment for life,

53:21.130 --> 53:22.630
and imprisonment during pleasure.

53:23.810 --> 53:28.270
Twenty, being ordered for execution,
were informed they might send for Jesuits,

53:28.690 --> 53:33.230
monks, or friars to prepare for the awful
change they were to undergo, but that no

53:33.230 --> 53:35.350
Protestant should be permitted to come
near them.

53:36.050 --> 53:40.110
This proposal they rejected, and strove
all they could to comfort and cheer each

53:40.110 --> 53:41.510
other upon the solemn occasion.

53:42.950 --> 53:47.490
On the morning of the day appointed for
the execution, a cannon was fired as a

53:47.490 --> 53:50.730
signal to bring the prisoners from the
castle to the principal marketplace,

53:51.350 --> 53:55.610
in which scaffolds were erected and a body
of troops were drawn up to attend the

53:55.610 --> 53:56.330
tragic scene.

53:57.370 --> 54:00.830
The prisoners left the castle with as much
cheerfulness as if they had been going to

54:00.830 --> 54:03.970
an agreeable entertainment, instead of a
violent death.

54:05.470 --> 54:09.550
Exclusive of soldiers, Jesuits,
priests, executioners, attendants,

54:09.610 --> 54:14.930
etc., a prodigious concourse of people
attended to see the exit of these devoted

54:14.930 --> 54:18.030
martyrs, who were executed in the
following order.

54:20.750 --> 54:25.050
Lord Schillick was about fifty years of
age, and was possessed of great natural

54:25.050 --> 54:26.190
and acquired abilities.

54:26.950 --> 54:30.350
When he was told he was to be quartered,
and his parts scattered in different

54:30.350 --> 54:35.370
places, he smiled with great serenity,
saying, The loss of a sepulcher is but a

54:35.370 --> 54:36.530
trifling consideration.

54:37.350 --> 54:42.490
A gentleman who stood by, crying,
Courage, my lord, he replied, I have God's

54:42.490 --> 54:45.270
favour, which is sufficient to inspire
anyone with courage.

54:45.790 --> 54:47.390
The fear of death does not trouble me.

54:47.850 --> 54:52.350
Formerly I have faced him in fields of
battle to oppose Antichrist, and now dare

54:52.350 --> 54:54.570
face him on a scaffold for the sake of
Christ.

54:55.650 --> 54:58.990
Having said a short prayer, he told the
executioner he was ready.

54:59.990 --> 55:03.270
He cut off his right hand and his head,
and then quartered him.

55:03.870 --> 55:07.750
His hand and his head were placed upon the
high tower of Prague, and his quarters

55:07.750 --> 55:09.850
distributed in different parts of the
city.

55:11.970 --> 55:16.730
Lord Viscount Wenceslaus, who had attained
the age of seventy years, was equally

55:16.730 --> 55:19.650
respectable for learning, piety,
and hospitality.

55:20.670 --> 55:24.670
His temper was so remarkably patient that
when his house was broken open,

55:25.130 --> 55:29.190
his property seized, and his estates
confiscated, he only said with great

55:29.190 --> 55:32.530
composure, The Lord hath given,
and the Lord hath taken away.

55:33.570 --> 55:38.110
Being asked why he could engage in so
dangerous a cause as that of attempting to

55:38.110 --> 55:41.810
support the elect of Palatine,
Frederick, against the power of the

55:41.810 --> 55:46.170
Emperor, he replied, I acted strictly
according to the dictates of my

55:46.170 --> 55:49.090
conscience, and to this day deem him my
king.

55:49.970 --> 55:53.990
I am now full of years, and wish to lay
down life, that I may not be a witness of

55:53.990 --> 55:56.270
the further evils which are to attend my
country.

55:56.730 --> 55:58.630
You have long thirsted for my blood.

55:58.950 --> 56:00.890
Take it, for God will be my avenger.

56:01.990 --> 56:05.070
Then, approaching the block, he stroked
his long grey beard, and said,

56:06.070 --> 56:08.790
Venerable Hares, the greater honour now
attends ye.

56:08.970 --> 56:10.710
A crown of martyrdom is your portion.

56:11.750 --> 56:16.070
Then, laying down his head, it was severed
from his body at one stroke, and placed

56:16.070 --> 56:18.530
upon a pole in a conspicuous part of the
city.

56:20.010 --> 56:24.610
Lord Harrant was a man of good sense,
great piety, and much experience gained by

56:24.610 --> 56:28.910
travel, as he had visited the principal
places in Europe, Asia, and Africa,

56:29.450 --> 56:32.610
hence he was free from national
prejudices, and had collected much

56:32.610 --> 56:33.090
knowledge.

56:34.030 --> 56:38.990
The accusations against this nobleman were
his being a Protestant, and having taken a

56:38.990 --> 56:42.090
note of allegiance to Frederick,
Elector Palatine of the Rhine,

56:42.390 --> 56:43.470
as King of Bohemia.

56:44.350 --> 56:48.510
When he came upon the scaffold,
he said, I have travelled through many

56:48.510 --> 56:53.150
countries, and traversed various barbarous
nations, yet never found so much cruelty

56:53.150 --> 56:53.810
as at home.

56:53.810 --> 56:58.890
I have escaped innumerable perils,
both by sea and land, and surmounted

56:58.890 --> 57:03.110
inconceivable difficulties, to suffer
innocently in my native place.

57:04.110 --> 57:08.670
My blood is likewise sought by those for
whom I and my forefathers have hazarded

57:08.670 --> 57:12.770
our estates, but Almighty God forgive
them, for they know not what they do.

57:13.770 --> 57:17.090
He then went to the block, kneeled down,
and exclaimed with great energy,

57:17.750 --> 57:19.970
Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my
spirit.

57:20.410 --> 57:21.990
In thee have I always trusted.

57:22.390 --> 57:24.530
Receive me, therefore, my blessed
Redeemer.

57:25.530 --> 57:29.790
The fatal stroke was then given,
and a period put to the temporary pains of

57:29.790 --> 57:30.350
this life.

57:32.790 --> 57:37.450
Lord Frederick de Beale suffered as a
Protestant and a promoter of the late war.

57:38.170 --> 57:41.630
He met his fate with serenity,
and only said he wished well to the

57:41.630 --> 57:46.310
friends whom he left behind, forgave the
enemies who caused his death, denied the

57:46.310 --> 57:48.430
authority of their Emperor in that
country.

57:48.450 --> 57:53.050
Acknowledged Frederick to be the only true
King of Bohemia, and hoped for salvation

57:53.050 --> 57:54.810
in the merits of his blessed Redeemer.

57:56.330 --> 58:00.370
Lord Henry Otto, when he first came upon
the scaffold, seemed greatly confounded,

58:01.010 --> 58:04.130
and said with some asperity, as if
addressing himself to the Emperor,

58:04.690 --> 58:08.910
Thou tyrant Ferdinand, your throne is
established in blood, but if you will kill

58:08.910 --> 58:12.490
my body and disperse my members,
they shall still rise up in judgment

58:12.490 --> 58:13.150
against you.

58:14.770 --> 58:18.870
He then was silent, and having walked
about for some time, seemed to recover his

58:18.870 --> 58:23.770
fortitude, and growing calm, said to a
gentleman who stood near, I was a few

58:23.770 --> 58:27.790
minutes since greatly discomposed,
but now I feel my spirit revive.

58:28.410 --> 58:30.710
God be praised for affording me such
comfort.

58:31.310 --> 58:35.250
Death no longer appears as the King of
terrors, but seems to invite me to

58:35.250 --> 58:37.390
participate of some unknown joys.

58:38.430 --> 58:43.070
Kneeling before the block, he said,
Almighty God, to thee I commend my soul.

58:43.470 --> 58:46.830
Receive it for the sake of Christ,
and admit it to the glory of thy presence.

58:48.270 --> 58:52.790
The executioner put this nobleman to
considerable pain by making several

58:52.790 --> 58:55.210
strokes before he severed the head from
the body.

58:57.590 --> 59:02.330
The Earl of Rugenia was distinguished for
his superior abilities and unaffected

59:02.330 --> 59:02.730
piety.

59:03.710 --> 59:08.130
On the scaffold he said, We who drew our
swords fought only to preserve the

59:08.130 --> 59:10.690
liberties of the people and to keep our
consciences sacred.

59:11.390 --> 59:15.070
As we were overcome, I am better pleased
at the sentence of death than if the

59:15.070 --> 59:19.550
Emperor had given me life, for I find that
it pleases God to have his truth defended,

59:19.890 --> 59:21.930
not by our swords, but by our blood.

59:22.530 --> 59:26.830
He then went boldly to the block,
saying, I shall now be speedily with

59:26.830 --> 59:30.070
Christ, and receive the crown of martyrdom
with great courage.

59:32.330 --> 59:35.290
Sir Gaspar Kaplitz was eighty-six years of
age.

59:35.990 --> 59:39.830
When he came to the place of execution,
he addressed the principal officer thus,

59:40.730 --> 59:45.410
Behold, a miserable ancient man,
who hath often entreated God to take him

59:45.410 --> 59:49.770
out of this wicked world, but could not
until now obtain his desire, for God

59:49.770 --> 59:54.010
reserved me until these years to be a
spectacle to the world and a sacrifice to

59:54.010 --> 59:54.430
himself.

59:55.330 --> 59:56.510
Therefore God's will be done.

59:58.030 --> 01:00:01.290
One of the officers told him, in
consideration of his great age,

01:00:01.550 --> 01:00:04.490
that if he would only ask pardon,
he would immediately receive it.

01:00:05.090 --> 01:00:06.110
Ask pardon!

01:00:06.490 --> 01:00:11.230
exclaimed he, I will ask pardon of God,
whom I frequently offended, but not of the

01:00:11.230 --> 01:00:13.190
Emperor, to whom I never gave any offence.

01:00:13.650 --> 01:00:16.990
Should I sue for pardon, it might be
justly suspected I had committed some

01:00:16.990 --> 01:00:19.350
crime for which I deserved this
condemnation.

01:00:19.770 --> 01:00:25.130
No, no, as I die innocent and with a clear
conscience, I would not be separated from

01:00:25.130 --> 01:00:26.830
this noble company of martyrs.

01:00:28.050 --> 01:00:30.810
So saying, he cheerfully resigned his neck
to the block.

01:00:33.550 --> 01:00:38.070
Procopius d'Orsecchi, on the scaffold,
said, We are now under the Emperor's

01:00:38.070 --> 01:00:42.370
judgment, but in time he shall be judged,
and we shall appear as witnesses against

01:00:42.370 --> 01:00:42.610
him.

01:00:43.710 --> 01:00:47.310
Then, taking a gold medal from his neck,
which was struck when the Elector

01:00:47.310 --> 01:00:51.490
Frederick was crowned King of Bohemia,
he presented it to one of the officers,

01:00:51.930 --> 01:00:57.230
at the same time uttering these words,
As a dying man, I request if ever King

01:00:57.230 --> 01:01:00.750
Frederick is restored to the throne of
Bohemia, that you will give him this

01:01:00.750 --> 01:01:05.370
medal, tell him for his sake I wore it
until death, and that now I willingly lay

01:01:05.370 --> 01:01:07.090
down my life for God and my King.

01:01:08.170 --> 01:01:11.730
He then cheerfully lay down his head and
submitted to the fatal blow.

01:01:15.470 --> 01:01:20.250
Dionysius Servius was brought up a Roman
Catholic, but had embraced the reformed

01:01:20.250 --> 01:01:21.450
religion for some years.

01:01:22.390 --> 01:01:26.570
When upon the scaffold, the Jesuits used
their utmost endeavours to make him recant

01:01:26.570 --> 01:01:30.350
and return to his former faith,
but he paid not the least attention to

01:01:30.350 --> 01:01:31.290
their exhortations.

01:01:31.930 --> 01:01:36.150
Kneeling down, he said, They may destroy
my body, but cannot injure my soul,

01:01:36.510 --> 01:01:40.950
that I commend to my Redeemer,
and then patiently submitted to martyrdom,

01:01:41.330 --> 01:01:43.530
being at that time fifty-six years of age.

01:01:45.650 --> 01:01:49.250
Valentine Cochran was a person of
considerable fortune and eminence,

01:01:49.650 --> 01:01:52.550
perfectly pious and honest, but of
trifling abilities.

01:01:53.490 --> 01:01:57.530
Yet his imagination seemed to grow bright,
and his faculties to improve on death's

01:01:57.530 --> 01:02:01.050
approach, as if the impending danger
refined the understanding.

01:02:01.950 --> 01:02:06.070
Just before he was beheaded, he expressed
himself with such eloquence, energy,

01:02:06.230 --> 01:02:10.770
and precision, as greatly amazed those who
knew his former deficiency and point of

01:02:10.770 --> 01:02:11.290
capacity.

01:02:13.730 --> 01:02:18.710
Tobias Stefik was remarkable for his
affability and serenity of temper.

01:02:19.450 --> 01:02:23.610
He was perfectly resigned to his fate,
and a few minutes before his death spoke

01:02:23.610 --> 01:02:28.390
in this singular manner, I have received
during the whole course of my life many

01:02:28.390 --> 01:02:29.390
favours from God.

01:02:29.930 --> 01:02:34.090
Ought I not therefore cheerfully to take
one bitter cup, when he thinks proper to

01:02:34.090 --> 01:02:34.710
present it?

01:02:35.390 --> 01:02:39.870
Or rather, ought I not to rejoice that it
is his will I should give up a corrupted

01:02:39.870 --> 01:02:41.470
life for that of immortality?

01:02:43.530 --> 01:02:48.490
Dr. Jesenius, an able student of physic,
was accused of having spoken disrespectful

01:02:48.490 --> 01:02:52.530
words of the Emperor, of treason in
swearing allegiance to the Elector

01:02:52.530 --> 01:02:54.870
Frederick, and of heresy in being a
Protestant.

01:02:55.710 --> 01:02:59.550
For the first accusation he had his tongue
cut out, for the second he was beheaded,

01:03:00.110 --> 01:03:03.610
and for the third and last he was
quartered and the respective parts exposed

01:03:03.610 --> 01:03:04.310
on poles.

01:03:05.950 --> 01:03:10.190
Christopher Coba, as soon as he stepped
upon the scaffold, said, I come in the

01:03:10.190 --> 01:03:11.990
name of God to die for his glory.

01:03:12.390 --> 01:03:16.450
I fought the good fight and finished my
course, so Executioner, do your office.

01:03:17.330 --> 01:03:21.110
The Executioner obeyed, and he instantly
received the crown of martyrdom.

01:03:23.050 --> 01:03:28.050
No person ever lived more respected or
died more lamented than John Schultes.

01:03:28.670 --> 01:03:33.450
The only words he spoke before receiving
the fatal stroke were, The righteous seem

01:03:33.450 --> 01:03:36.310
to die in the eyes of fools, but they only
go to rest.

01:03:36.970 --> 01:03:41.070
Lord Jesus, thou hast promised that those
who come to thee shall not be cast off.

01:03:41.590 --> 01:03:46.370
Behold, I am come, look on me,
pity me, pardon my sins, and receive my

01:03:46.370 --> 01:03:46.690
soul.

01:03:49.950 --> 01:03:54.350
Maximilian Hostelik was famed for his
learning piety and humanity.

01:03:55.150 --> 01:03:58.490
When he first came on the scaffold,
he seemed exceedingly terrified at the

01:03:58.490 --> 01:03:59.270
approach of death.

01:03:59.870 --> 01:04:04.650
The officer taking notice of his
agitation, Hostelik said, Ah, sir,

01:04:04.750 --> 01:04:09.010
now the sins of my youth crowd upon my
mind, but I hope God will enlighten me,

01:04:09.110 --> 01:04:13.510
lest I sleep the sleep of death,
unless mine enemies say we have prevailed.

01:04:14.910 --> 01:04:19.210
Soon after he said, I hope my repentance
is sincere and will be accepted,

01:04:19.710 --> 01:04:22.830
in which case the blood of Christ will
wash me from my crimes.

01:04:23.930 --> 01:04:28.270
He then told the officer he should repeat
the Song of Simeon, at the conclusion of

01:04:28.270 --> 01:04:30.190
which the executioner might do his duty.

01:04:31.350 --> 01:04:36.450
He accordingly said, Lord, let us now thou
thy servant depart in peace according to

01:04:36.450 --> 01:04:41.970
thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy
salvation, at which words his head was

01:04:41.970 --> 01:04:43.190
struck off at one blow.

01:04:45.430 --> 01:04:49.650
When John Kutnow came to the place of
execution, a Jesuit said to him,

01:04:50.110 --> 01:04:54.050
Embrace the Roman Catholic faith which
alone can save and arm you against the

01:04:54.050 --> 01:04:58.550
terrors of death, to which he replied,
Your superstitious faith I abhor,

01:04:58.630 --> 01:05:02.430
it leads to perdition, and I wish for no
other arms against the terrors of death

01:05:02.430 --> 01:05:03.350
than a good conscience.

01:05:04.050 --> 01:05:08.170
The Jesuit turned away, saying
sarcastically, The Protestants are

01:05:08.170 --> 01:05:09.470
impenetrable rocks.

01:05:10.350 --> 01:05:11.750
You're mistaken, said Kutnow.

01:05:12.270 --> 01:05:16.070
It is Christ that is the rock,
and we are firmly fixed upon him.

01:05:17.730 --> 01:05:22.650
This person, not being born independent,
but having acquired a fortune by a

01:05:22.650 --> 01:05:25.630
mechanical employment, was ordered to be
hanged.

01:05:26.330 --> 01:05:30.130
Just before he was turned off,
he said, I die not for having committed

01:05:30.130 --> 01:05:34.610
any crime, but for following the dictates
of my own conscience and defending my

01:05:34.610 --> 01:05:35.570
country and religion.

01:05:38.330 --> 01:05:42.770
Simeon Susicki was father-in-law to
Kutnow, and like him was ordered to be

01:05:42.770 --> 01:05:44.090
executed on a gallows.

01:05:44.890 --> 01:05:48.370
He went cheerfully to death and appeared
impatient to be executed, saying,

01:05:48.890 --> 01:05:52.150
Every moment delays me from entering into
the kingdom of Christ.

01:05:55.070 --> 01:05:59.590
Nathaniel Wodnianski was hanged for having
supported the Protestant cause and the

01:05:59.590 --> 01:06:01.710
election of Frederick to the crown of
Bohemia.

01:06:02.690 --> 01:06:06.530
At the gallows, the Jesuits did all in
their power to induce him to renounce his

01:06:06.530 --> 01:06:06.850
faith.

01:06:07.770 --> 01:06:11.770
Finding their endeavours ineffectual,
one of them said, If you will not adjure

01:06:11.770 --> 01:06:13.810
your heresy, at least repent of your
rebellion.

01:06:14.910 --> 01:06:19.910
To which Wodnianski replied, You take away
our lives under a pretended charge of

01:06:19.910 --> 01:06:23.150
rebellion, and not content with that,
seek to destroy our souls.

01:06:23.690 --> 01:06:27.130
Glut yourselves with blood and be
satisfied, but tamper not with our

01:06:27.130 --> 01:06:27.770
consciences.

01:06:29.850 --> 01:06:33.010
Wodnianski's own son then approached the
gallows and said to his father,

01:06:33.290 --> 01:06:38.490
Sir, if life should be offered to you on
condition of apostasy, I entreat you to

01:06:38.490 --> 01:06:41.470
remember Christ and reject such pernicious
overtures.

01:06:42.310 --> 01:06:47.190
To this the father replied, It is very
acceptable, my son, to be exhorted to

01:06:47.190 --> 01:06:52.330
constancy by you, but suspect me not,
rather endeavour to confirm in their faith

01:06:52.330 --> 01:06:56.670
your brothers, sisters, and children,
and teach them to imitate that constancy

01:06:56.670 --> 01:06:58.430
of which I shall leave them an example.

01:06:59.390 --> 01:07:03.850
He had no sooner concluded these words
than he was turned off, receiving the

01:07:03.850 --> 01:07:05.710
crown of martyrdom with great fortitude.

01:07:08.930 --> 01:07:13.830
Wenceslas Gizbitski, during his whole
confinement, had great hopes of life given

01:07:13.830 --> 01:07:16.910
him, which made his friends fear for the
safety of his soul.

01:07:17.650 --> 01:07:21.750
He, however, continued steadfast in his
faith, prayed fervently at the gallows,

01:07:22.090 --> 01:07:24.250
and met his fate with singular
resignation.

01:07:26.390 --> 01:07:31.110
Martin Foster was an ancient cripple,
the accusations against whom were being

01:07:31.110 --> 01:07:34.850
charitable to heretics and lending money
to the Elector Frederick.

01:07:35.710 --> 01:07:39.290
His great wealth, however, seemed to have
been his principal crime, and that he

01:07:39.290 --> 01:07:43.070
might be plundered of his treasures was
the occasion of his being ranked in this

01:07:43.070 --> 01:07:45.050
illustrious list of martyrs.

01:07:48.950 --> 01:07:55.850
CHAPTER NINE AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND
PERSECUTIONS OF MARTIN LUTHER This

01:07:55.850 --> 01:08:00.610
illustrious German divine and reformer of
the Church was the son of John Luther and

01:08:00.610 --> 01:08:05.210
Margaret Ziegler, and born at Eisleben,
a town of Saxony, in the county of

01:08:05.210 --> 01:08:07.870
Mansfield, November 10, 1483.

01:08:08.970 --> 01:08:14.150
His father's extraction and condition were
originally but mean, and his occupation

01:08:14.150 --> 01:08:14.990
that of a miner.

01:08:15.870 --> 01:08:19.810
It is probable, however, that by his
application and industry he improved the

01:08:19.810 --> 01:08:24.090
fortunes of his family, as he afterward
became a magistrate of rank and dignity.

01:08:25.090 --> 01:08:29.290
Luther was early initiated into letters,
and at the age of thirteen was sent to

01:08:29.290 --> 01:08:33.510
school at Magdeburg, and thence to
Eisenach in Thuringia, where he remained

01:08:33.510 --> 01:08:37.190
four years, producing the early
indications of his future eminence.

01:08:38.590 --> 01:08:43.350
In 1501 he was sent to the University of
Erfurt, where he went through the usual

01:08:43.350 --> 01:08:45.190
courses of logic and philosophy.

01:08:46.010 --> 01:08:50.510
When twenty, he took a master's degree,
and then lectured on Aristotle's physics,

01:08:50.950 --> 01:08:52.810
ethics, and other parts of philosophy.

01:08:54.030 --> 01:08:57.610
Afterward, at the instigation of his
parents, he turned himself to the civil

01:08:57.610 --> 01:09:02.530
law, with a view of advancing himself to
the bar, but was diverted from this

01:09:02.530 --> 01:09:04.110
pursuit by the following accident.

01:09:04.990 --> 01:09:09.370
Walking out into the fields one day,
he was struck by lightning, so as to fall

01:09:09.370 --> 01:09:14.070
to the ground, while a companion was
killed by his side, and this affected him

01:09:14.070 --> 01:09:18.010
so sensibly, that without communicating
his purpose to any of his friends,

01:09:18.390 --> 01:09:22.030
he withdrew himself from the world and
retired into the order of the hermits of

01:09:22.030 --> 01:09:22.810
St. Augustine.

01:09:23.810 --> 01:09:28.470
Here he employed himself in reading St.
Augustine and the schoolmen, but in

01:09:28.470 --> 01:09:32.510
turning over the leaves of the library,
he accidentally found a copy of the Latin

01:09:32.510 --> 01:09:34.390
Bible, which he had never seen before.

01:09:35.130 --> 01:09:37.430
This raised his curiosity to a high
degree.

01:09:38.210 --> 01:09:41.730
He read it over very greedily,
and was amazed to find what a small

01:09:41.730 --> 01:09:44.030
portion of the scriptures was rehearsed to
the people.

01:09:45.230 --> 01:09:49.470
He made his profession in the monastery of
Erfurt after he had been a novice one

01:09:49.470 --> 01:09:54.090
year, and he took priest orders and
celebrated his first Mass in 1507.

01:09:55.470 --> 01:09:59.090
Thereafter, he was removed from the
convent of Erfurt to the University of

01:09:59.090 --> 01:10:03.750
Wittenberg, for this university being just
founded, nothing was thought more likely

01:10:03.750 --> 01:10:07.790
to bring it into immediate repute and
credit than the authority and presence of

01:10:07.790 --> 01:10:11.510
a man so celebrated for his great parts
and learning as Luther.

01:10:12.870 --> 01:10:18.030
In this University of Erfurt there was a
certain aged man in the convent of the

01:10:18.030 --> 01:10:23.130
Augustines, with whom Luther, being then
of the same order, a friar Augustine,

01:10:23.410 --> 01:10:27.330
had conference upon divers things,
especially touching remission of sins,

01:10:27.810 --> 01:10:32.850
which article the said aged father opened
unto Luther, declaring that God's express

01:10:32.850 --> 01:10:36.650
commandment is that every man should
particularly believe his sins to be

01:10:36.650 --> 01:10:41.290
forgiven him in Christ, and further said
that this interpretation was confirmed by

01:10:41.290 --> 01:10:46.270
St. Bernard, this is the testimony that
the Holy Ghost giveth thee in thy heart,

01:10:46.730 --> 01:10:50.710
saying thy sins are forgiven thee,
for this is the opinion of the Apostle,

01:10:50.710 --> 01:10:53.410
that man is freely justified by faith.

01:10:55.130 --> 01:10:59.650
By these words Luther was not only
strengthened, but was also instructed of

01:10:59.650 --> 01:11:03.770
the full meaning of St. Paul, who
repeateth so many times this sentence,

01:11:04.010 --> 01:11:05.610
we are justified by faith.

01:11:06.470 --> 01:11:10.390
And having read the expositions of many
upon this place, he then perceived,

01:11:10.750 --> 01:11:14.710
as well by the discourse of the old man as
by the comfort he received in his spirit,

01:11:15.270 --> 01:11:19.470
the vanity of those interpretations which
he had read before of the schoolmen.

01:11:20.210 --> 01:11:25.070
And so, by little and little, reading and
comparing the sayings and examples of the

01:11:25.070 --> 01:11:29.910
prophets and apostles, with continual
invocation of God, and the excitation of

01:11:29.910 --> 01:11:34.110
faith by force of prayer, he perceived
that doctrine most evidently.

01:11:34.650 --> 01:11:39.290
Thus continued he his study at Erfurt the
space of four years in the convent of the

01:11:39.290 --> 01:11:39.890
Augustines.

01:11:41.590 --> 01:11:46.750
In 1512, seven convents of his order
having a quarrel with their vicar general,

01:11:46.750 --> 01:11:49.970
Luther was chosen to go to Rome to
maintain their cause.

01:11:50.890 --> 01:11:55.230
At Rome he saw the pope and the court,
and had an opportunity of observing also

01:11:55.230 --> 01:11:59.650
the manners of the clergy, whose hasty,
superficial, and impious way of

01:11:59.650 --> 01:12:01.810
celebrating mass he has severely noted.

01:12:03.090 --> 01:12:06.410
As soon as he had adjusted the dispute,
which was the business of his journey,

01:12:06.830 --> 01:12:11.450
he returned to Wittenberg, and was created
Doctor of Divinity at the expense of

01:12:11.450 --> 01:12:15.390
Frederick, Elector of Saxony, who had
often heard him preach, was perfectly

01:12:15.390 --> 01:12:18.050
acquainted with his merit, and reverenced
him highly.

01:12:19.590 --> 01:12:24.110
He continued in the University of
Wittenberg, where as Professor of Divinity

01:12:24.110 --> 01:12:26.330
he employed himself in the business of his
calling.

01:12:27.590 --> 01:12:31.750
Here then he began in the most earnest
manner to read lectures upon the sacred

01:12:31.750 --> 01:12:32.150
books.

01:12:32.750 --> 01:12:36.910
He explained the Epistle to the Romans and
the Psalms, which he cleared up and

01:12:36.910 --> 01:12:40.890
illustrated in a manner so entirely new,
and so different from what had been

01:12:40.890 --> 01:12:45.210
pursued by former commentators,
that there seemed after a long and dark

01:12:45.210 --> 01:12:49.750
night a new day to arise in the judgment
of all pious and prudent men.

01:12:51.750 --> 01:12:55.110
Luther diligently reduced the minds of men
to the Son of God.

01:12:55.730 --> 01:12:59.390
As John the Baptist demonstrated the Lamb
of God that took away the sins of the

01:12:59.390 --> 01:13:04.350
world, even so Luther, shining in the
church as the bright daylight after a long

01:13:04.350 --> 01:13:09.070
and dark night, expressly showed that sins
are freely remitted for the love of the

01:13:09.070 --> 01:13:12.810
Son of God, and that we ought faithfully
to embrace this bountiful gift.

01:13:14.190 --> 01:13:18.250
His life was correspondent to his
profession, and it plainly appeared that

01:13:18.250 --> 01:13:21.330
his words were no lip-labor but proceeded
from the very heart.

01:13:22.130 --> 01:13:26.570
This admiration of his holy life much
allured the hearts of his auditors.

01:13:28.370 --> 01:13:33.170
The better to qualify himself for the task
he had undertaken, he had applied himself

01:13:33.170 --> 01:13:37.250
attentively to the Greek and Hebrew
languages, and in this manner was he

01:13:37.250 --> 01:13:41.770
employed when the General Indulgences were
published in 1517.

01:13:43.510 --> 01:13:50.450
Leo X, who succeeded Julius II in March
1513, formed a design of building the

01:13:50.450 --> 01:13:54.870
magnificent church of St. Peter's at Rome,
which was indeed begun by Julius,

01:13:55.250 --> 01:13:57.670
but still required very large sums to be
finished.

01:13:58.930 --> 01:14:04.750
Leo therefore, in 1517, published General
Indulgences throughout all Europe in

01:14:04.750 --> 01:14:09.090
favour of those who contribute any sum to
the building of St. Peter's, and appointed

01:14:09.090 --> 01:14:13.090
persons in different countries to preach
up these indulgences and to receive money

01:14:13.090 --> 01:14:13.530
for them.

01:14:14.530 --> 01:14:19.310
These strange proceedings gave vast
offence at Wittenberg, and particularly

01:14:19.310 --> 01:14:24.390
inflamed the pious zeal of Luther,
who being naturally warm and active,

01:14:24.810 --> 01:14:29.850
and in the present case unable to contain
himself, was determined to declare against

01:14:29.850 --> 01:14:31.110
them at all adventures.

01:14:31.970 --> 01:14:37.530
Upon the eve of All Saints, therefore,
in 1517, he publicly fixed up at the

01:14:37.530 --> 01:14:42.290
church next to the castle of that town a
thesis upon the indulgences, in the

01:14:42.290 --> 01:14:45.950
beginning of which he challenged anyone to
oppose it either by writing or

01:14:45.950 --> 01:14:46.770
disputation.

01:14:48.210 --> 01:14:52.910
Luther's propositions about indulgences
were no sooner published than Tetzel,

01:14:53.010 --> 01:14:57.450
the Dominican friar and commissioner for
selling them, maintained and published at

01:14:57.450 --> 01:15:02.010
Frankfurt a thesis containing a set of
propositions directly contrary to them.

01:15:02.630 --> 01:15:03.190
He did more.

01:15:03.610 --> 01:15:07.930
He stirred up the clergy of his order
against Luther, anathematised him from the

01:15:07.930 --> 01:15:12.710
pulpit as a most damnable heretic,
and burnt his thesis publicly at

01:15:12.710 --> 01:15:13.150
Frankfurt.

01:15:14.230 --> 01:15:18.130
Tetzel's thesis was also burnt in return
by the Lutherans at Wittenberg,

01:15:18.450 --> 01:15:21.510
but Luther himself disowned having had any
hand in that procedure.

01:15:22.970 --> 01:15:29.010
In 1518, Luther, though dissuaded from it
by his friends, yet to show obedience to

01:15:29.010 --> 01:15:33.490
authority, went to the monastery of St.
Augustine at Heidelberg, while the chapter

01:15:33.490 --> 01:15:38.510
was held, and here maintained,
April 26, a dispute concerning

01:15:38.510 --> 01:15:43.710
justification by faith, which Butzer,
who was present at, took down in writing,

01:15:44.250 --> 01:15:48.430
and afterward communicated to Beatus
Renanus, not without the highest

01:15:48.430 --> 01:15:49.250
commendations.

01:15:50.650 --> 01:15:54.610
In the meantime, the zeal of his
adversaries grew every day more and more

01:15:54.610 --> 01:15:58.670
active against him, and he was at length
accused to Leo X as a heretic.

01:15:59.510 --> 01:16:02.950
As soon as he returned, therefore,
from Heidelberg, he wrote a letter to that

01:16:02.950 --> 01:16:06.330
pope in the most submissive terms,
and sent him at the same time an

01:16:06.330 --> 01:16:09.090
explication of his propositions about
indulgences.

01:16:09.810 --> 01:16:14.750
This letter is dated on Trinity Sunday,
1518, and was accompanied with a

01:16:14.750 --> 01:16:19.050
protestation, wherein he declared that he
did not pretend to advance or defend

01:16:19.050 --> 01:16:23.310
anything contrary to the Holy Scriptures,
or to the doctrine of the Fathers,

01:16:23.670 --> 01:16:27.990
received and observed by the Church of
Rome, or to the canons and decretals of

01:16:27.990 --> 01:16:28.510
the popes.

01:16:29.190 --> 01:16:32.530
Nevertheless, he thought he had the
liberty either to approve or disapprove

01:16:32.530 --> 01:16:37.270
the opinions of St. Thomas, Bonaventure,
and other schoolmen and canonists,

01:16:37.470 --> 01:16:39.530
which are not grounded upon any text.

01:16:40.610 --> 01:16:44.630
The Emperor Maximilian was equally
solicitous with the Pope about putting a

01:16:44.630 --> 01:16:48.970
stop to the propagation of Luther's
opinions in Saxony, troublesome both to

01:16:48.970 --> 01:16:50.070
the Church and Empire.

01:16:51.310 --> 01:16:55.770
Maximilian therefore replied to Leo,
in a letter dated August 5, 1518,

01:16:56.430 --> 01:17:01.730
and begged him to forbid by his authority
these useless, rash, and dangerous

01:17:01.730 --> 01:17:06.510
disputes, assuring him also that he would
strictly execute in the Empire whatever

01:17:06.510 --> 01:17:08.090
his holiness should enjoin.

01:17:09.330 --> 01:17:13.930
In the meantime, Luther, as soon as he
understood what was transacting about him

01:17:13.930 --> 01:17:18.430
at Rome, used all imaginable means to
prevent his being carried thither and to

01:17:18.430 --> 01:17:20.290
obtain a hearing of his cause in Germany.

01:17:21.410 --> 01:17:26.310
The elector was also against Luther's
going to Rome, and desired of Cardinal

01:17:26.310 --> 01:17:30.790
Cajetan that he might be heard before him
as the Pope's legate in Germany.

01:17:31.950 --> 01:17:35.610
Upon these addresses, the Pope consented
that the cause should be tried before

01:17:35.610 --> 01:17:39.010
Cardinal Cajetan, to whom he had given
power to decide it.

01:17:39.990 --> 01:17:43.910
Luther therefore set off immediately for
Augsburg, and carried with him letters

01:17:43.910 --> 01:17:44.570
from the elector.