Reprinted here in its most complete form, it brings to life the days when "a noble army, men and boys, the matron and the maid," "climbed the steep ascent of heaven, 'mid peril, toil, and pain."
"After the Bible itself, no book so profoundly influenced early Protestant sentiment as the Book of Martyrs. Even in our time it is still a living force. It is more than a record of persecution. It is an arsenal of controversy, a storehouse of romance, as well as a source of edification."
2. The Ten Primitive Persecutions
3. Persecutions of the Christians in Persia
4. Papal Persecutions
5. An Account of the Inquisition
6. An Account of the Persecutions in Italy Under the Papacy
7. An Account fo the Life and Persecutions of John Wycliffe
8. An Account of the Persecutions in Bohemia Under the Papacy
9. An Account fo the Life and Persecutions of Martin Luther
10. General Persecutions in Germany
11. An Account of the Persecutions in the Netherlands
12. The Life and Story of the True Servant and Martyr of God, William Tyndale
13. An Account of the Life of John Calvin
14. An Account of the Persectuion in Great Britain and Ireland, prior to the Reign of Queen Mary
15. An Account of the Persectuions in Scotland During the Reign of Henry VIII
16. Persecutions in England During the Reign of Queen Mary
17. Rise and Progress of the Protestant Religion in Ireland; With an Account of the Barbarous Massacres of 1641
18. The Rise, Progress, Persecutions, and Sufferings of the Quakers
19. An Account of the Life and Persecutions of John Bunyan
20. An Account fo the Life of John Wesley
21. Persectuions of the French Protestants in the South of France, During the Years 1814 and 1820
22. The Beginnings of American Foreign Missions
During his residence at this place, he was distinguished for the excellence
and acuteness of his intellect, which was improved by the emulation of
his fellow collegians, united to an indefatigable zeal and industry on
his part. These qualities soon gained him the admiration of all; and as
a reward for his exertions and amiable conduct, he was chosen fellow of
Magdalen College; which was accounted a great honor in the university,
and seldom bestowed unless in cases of great distinction. It appears that
the first display of his genius was in poetry; and that he composed some
Latin comedies, which are still extant. But he soon directed his thoughts
to a more serious subject, the study of the sacred Scriptures: to
divinity, indeed, he applied himself with more fervency than circumspection,
and discovered his partiality to the Reformation, which had then commenced,
before he was known to its supporters, or to those who protected them;
a circumstance which proved to him the source of his first troubles.
He is said to have often affirmed that the first matter which occasioned
his search into the popish doctrine was that he saw divers things, most
repugnant in their nature to one another, forced upon men at the same time;
upon this foundation his resolution and intended obedience to that Church
were somewhat shaken, and by degrees a dislike to the rest took place.
His first care was to look into both the ancient and modern history
of the Church; to ascertain its beginning and progress; to consider the
causes of all those controversies which in the meantime had sprung up,
and diligently to weigh their effects, solidity, infirmities, etc.
Before he had attained his thirtieth year, he had studied the Greek
and Latin fathers, and other learned authors, the transactions of the Councils,
and decrees of the consistories, and had acquired a very competent skill
in the Hebrew language. In these occupations he frequently spent a considerable
part, or even the whole of the night; and in order to unbend his mind after
such incessant study, he would resort to a grove near the college, a place
much frequented by the students in the evening, on account of its sequestered
gloominess. In these solitary walks he was often heard to ejaculate heavy
sobs and sighs, and with tears to pour forth his prayers to God. These
nightly retirements, in the sequel, gave rise to the first suspicion of
his alienation from the Church of Rome. Being pressed for an explanation
of this alteration in his conduct, he scorned to call in fiction to his
excuse; he stated his opinions; and was, by the sentence of the college
convicted, condemned as a heretic, and expelled.
His friends, upon the report of this circumstance, were highly offended,
when he was thus forsaken by his own friends, a refuge offered itself in
the house of Sir Thomas Lucy, of Warwickshire, by whom he was sent for
to instruct his children. The house is within easy walk of Stratford-on-Avon,
and it was this estate which, a few years later, was the scene of Shakespeare's
traditional boyish poaching expedition. Fox died when Shakespeare was three
years old.
In the Lucy house Fox afterward married. But the fear of the popish
inquisitors hastened his departure thence; as they were not contented to
pursue public offences, but began also to dive into the secrets of private
families. He now began to consider what was best to be done to free himself
from further inconvenience, and resolved either to go to his wife's father
or to his father-in-law.
His wife's father was a citizen of Coventry, whose heart was not alienated
from him, and he was more likely to be well entreated, or his daughter's
sake. He resolved first to go to him; and, in the meanwhile, by letters,
to try whether his father-in-law would receive him or not. This he accordingly
did, and he received for answer, "that it seemed to him a hard condition
to take one into his house whom he knew to be guilty and condemned for
a capital offence; neither was he ignorant what hazard he should undergo
in so doing; he would, however, show himself a kinsman, and neglect his
own danger. If he would alter his mind, he might come, on condition to
stay as long as he himself desired; but if he could not be persuaded to
that, he must content himself with a shorter stay, and not bring him and
his mother into danger."
No condition was to be refused; besides, he was secretly advised by
his mother to come, and not to fear his father-in-law's severity; "for
that, perchance, it was needful to write as he did, but when occasion should
be offered, he would make recompense for his words with his actions." In
fact he was better received by both of them than he had hoped for.
By these means he kept himself concealed for some time, and afterwards
made a journey to London, in the latter part of the reign of Henry VIII.
Here, being unknown, he was in much distress, and was even reduced to the
danger of being starved to death, had not Providence interfered in his
favor in the following manner:
One day as Mr. Fox was sitting in St. Paul's Church, exhausted with
long fasting, a stranger took a seat by his side, and courteously saluted
him, thrust a sum of money into his hand, and bade him cheer up his spirits;
at the same time informing him, that in a few days new prospects would
present themselves for his future subsistence. Who this stranger was, he
could never learn; but at the end of three days he received an invitation
from the Duchess of Richmond to undertake the tuition of the children of
the Earl of Surry who, together with his father, the Duke of Norfolk, was
imprisoned in the Tower, by the jealousy and ingratitude of the king. The
children thus confided to his care were, Thomas, who succeeded to the dukedom;
Henry, afterwards Earl of Northampton; and Jane who became Countess of
Westmoreland. In the performance of his duties, he fully satisfied the
expectations of the duchess, their aunt.
These halcyon days continued during the latter part of the reign of
Henry VIII and the five years of the reign of Edward VI until Mary came
to the crown, who, soon after her accessiopn, gave all power into the hands
of the papists.
At this time Mr. Fox, who was still under the protection of his noble
pupil, the duke, began to excite the envy and hatred of many, particularly
Dr. Gardiner, then Bishop of Winchester, who in the sequel became his most
violent enemy.
Mr. Fox, aware of this, and seeing the dreadful persecutions then commencing,
began to think of quitting the kingdom. As soon as the duke knew his intention,
he endeavored to persuade him to remain; and his arguments were so powerful,
and given with so much sincerity, that he gave up the thought of abandoning
his asylum for the present.
At that time the Bishop of Winchester was very intimate with the duke
(by the patronage of whose family he had risen to the dignity he then enjoyed,)
and frequently waited on him to present his service when he several times
requested that he might see his old tutor. At first the duke denied his
request, at one time alleging his absence, at another, indisposition. At
length it happened that Mr. Fox, not knowing the bishop was in the house,
entered the room where the duke and he were in discourse; and seeing the
bishop, withdrew. Gardiner asked who that was; the duke answered that he
was "his physician, who was somewhat uncourtly, as being new come from
the university." "I like his countenance and aspect very well," replied
the bishop, "and when occasion offers, I will send for him." The duke understood
that speech as the messenger of some approaching danger; and now himself
thought it high time for Mr. Fox to quit the city, and even the country.
He accordingly caused everything necessary for his flight to be provided
in silence, by sending one of his servants to Ipswich to hire a bark, and
prepare all the requisites for his departure. He also fixed on the house
of one of his servants, who was a farmer, where he might lodge until the
wind became favorable; and everything being in readiness, Mr. Fox took
leave of his noble patron, and with his wife, who was pregnant at the time,
secretly departed for the ship.
The vessel was scarcely under sail, when a most violent storm came on,
which lasted all day and night, and the next day drove them back to the
port from which they had departed. During the time that the vessel had
been at sea, an officer, despatched by the bishop of Winchester, had broken
open the house of the farmer with a warrant to apprehend Mr. Fox wherever
he might be found, and bring him back to the city. On hearing this news
he hired a horse, under the pretence of leaving the town immediately; but
secretly returned the same night, and agreed with the captain of
the vessel to sail for any place as soon as the wind should shift, only
desired him to proceed, and not to doubt that God would prosper his undertaking.
The mariner suffered himself to be persuaded, and within two days landed
his passengers in safety at Nieuport.
After spending a few days in that place, Mr. Fox set out for Basle,
where he found a number of English refugees, who had quitted their country
to avoid the cruelty of the persecutors, with these he associated, and
began to write his "History of the Acts and Monuments of the Church," which
was first published in Latin at Basle in 1554, and in English in 1563.
In the meantime the reformed religion began again to flourish in England,
and the popish faction much to decline, by the death of Queen Mary; which
induced the greater number of the Protestant exiles to return to their
native country.
Among others, on the accession of Elizabeth to the throne, Mr. Fox returned
to England; where, on his arrival, he found a faithful and active friend
in his late pupil, the Duke of Norfolk, until death deprived him of his
benefactor: after which event, Mr. Fox inherited a pension bequeathed to
him by the duke, and ratified by his son, the Earl of Suffolk.
Nor did the good man's successes stop here. On being recommended to
the queen by her secretary of state, the great Cecil, her majesty granted
him the prebendary of Shipton, in the cathedral of Salisbury, which was
in a manner forced upon him; for it was with difficulty that he could be
persuaded to accept it.
On his resettlement in England, he employed himself in revising and
enlarging his admirable Martyrology. With prodigious pains and constant
study he completed that celebrated work in eleven years. For the sake of
greater correctness, he wrote every line of this vast book with his own
hand, and transcribed all the records and papers himself. But, in consequence
of such excessive toil, leaving no part of his time free from study, nor
affording himself either the repose or recreation which nature required,
his health was so reduced, and his person became so emaciated and altered,
that such of his friends and relations as only conversed with him occasionally,
could scarcely recognize his person. Yet, though he grew daily more exhausted,
he proceeded in his studies as briskly as ever, nor would he be persuaded
to diminish his accustomed labors. The papists, forseeing how detrimental
his history of their errors and cruelties would prove to their cause, had
recourse to every artifice to lessen the reputation of his work; but their
malice was of signal service, both to Mr. Fox himself, and to the Church
of God at large, as it eventually made his book more intrinsically valuable,
by inducing him to weigh, with the most scrupulous attention, the certainty
of the facts which he recorded, and the validity of the authorities from
which he drew his information.
But while he was thus indefatigably employed in promoting the cause
of truth, he did not neglect the other duties of his station; he was charitable,
humane, and attentive to the wants, both spiritual and temporal, of his
neighbors. With the view of being more extensively useful, although he
had no desire to cultivate the acquaintance of the rich and great on his
own account, he did not decline the friendship of those in a higher rank
who proffered it, and never failed to employ his influence with them in
behalf of the poor and needy. In consequence of his well-known probity
and charity, he was frequently presented with sums of money by persons
possessed of wealth, which he accepted and distributed among those who
were distressed. He would also occasionally attend the table of his friends,
not so much for the sake of pleasure, as from civility, and to convince
them that his absence was not occasoned by a fear of being exposed to the
temptations of the appetite. In short his character as a man and as a Christian
was without reproach.
Although the recent recollection of the persecutions under Bloody Mary
gave bitternes 6ce s to his pen, it is singular to note that he was personally
the most conciliatory of men, and that while he heartily disowned the Roman
Church in which he was born, he was one of the first to attempt the concord
of the Protestant brethren. In fact, he was a veritable apostle of toleration.
When the plague or pestilence broke out in England, in 1563, and many
forsook their duties, Fox remained at his post, assisting the friendless
and acting as the almsgiver of the rich. It was said of him that he could
never refuse help to any one who asked it in the name of Christ. Tolerant
and large-hearted he exerted his influence with Queen Elizabeth to confirm
her intention to no longer keep up the cruel practice of putting to death
those of opposing religious convictions. The queen held him in respect
and referred to him as "Our Father Foxe."
Mr. Fox had joy in the fruits of his work while he was yet alive. It
passed through four large editions before his decease, and it was orderred
by the bishops to be placed in every cathedral church in England, where
it was often found chained, as the Bible was in those days, to a lectern
for the access of the people.
At length, having long served both the Church and the world by his ministry,
by his pen, and by the unsullied luster of a benevolent, useful, and holy
life, he meekly resigned his soul to Christ, on the eighteenth of April,
1587, being then in the seventieth year of his age. He was interred in
the chancel of St. Giles', Cripplegate; of which parish he had been, in
the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, for some time vicar.
CHAPTER 1
back to Table of Contents Which prophecy of Christ we see wonderfully to be verified, insomuch
that the whole course of the Church to this day may seem nothing else but
a verifying of the said prophecy. First, that Christ hath set up a Church,
needeth no declaration. Secondly, what force of princes, kings, monarchs,
governors, and rulers of this world, with their subjects, publicly and
privately, with all their strength and cunning, have bent themselves against
this Church! And, thirdly, how the said Church, all this notwithstanding,
hath yet endured and holden its own! What storms and tempests it hath overpast,
wondrous it is to behold: for the more evident declaration whereof, I have
addressed this present history, to the end, first, that the wonderful works
of God in His Church might appear to His glory; also that, the continuance
and proceedings of the Church, from time to time, being set forth, more
knowledge and experience may redound thereby, to the profit of the reader
and edification of Christian faith.
As it is not our business to enlarge upon our Savior's history, either
before or after His crucifixion, we shall only find it necessary to remind
our readers of the discomfiture of the Jews by His subsequent resurrection.
Although one apostle had betrayed Him; although another had denied Him,
under the solemn sanction of an oath; and although the rest had forsaken
Him, unless we may except "the disciple who was known unto the high-priest";
the history of His resurrection gave a new direction to all their hearts,
and, after the mission of the Holy Spirit, imparted new confidence to their
minds. The powers with which they were endued emboldened them to proclaim
His name, to the confusion of the Jewish rulers, and the astonishment of
Gentile proselytes.
Upon this a great persecution was raised against all who professed their
belief in Christ as the Messiah, or as a prophet. We are immediately told
by St. Luke, that "there was a great persecution against the church which
was at Jerusalem;" and that "they were all scattered abroad throughout
the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles."
About two thousand Christians, with Nicanor, one of the seven deacons,
suffered martyrdom during the "persecution that arose about Stephen."
And yet, notwithstanding all these continual persecutions and horrible
punishments, the Church daily increased, deeply rooted in the doctrine
of the apostles and of men apostolical, and watered plentously with the
blood of saints.
CHAPTER 2
back to Table of Contents This dreadful conflagration continued nine days; when Nero, finding
that his conduct was greatly blamed, and a severe odium cast upon him,
determined to lay the whole upon the Christians, at once to excuse himself,
and have an opportunity of glutting his sight with new cruelties. This
was the occasion of the first persecution; and the barbarities exercised
on the Christians were such as even excited the commiseration of the Romans
themselves. Nero even refined upon cruelty, and contrived all manner of
punishments for the Christians that the most infernal imagination could
design. In particular, he had some sewed up in skins of wild beasts, and
then worried by dogs until they expired; and others dressed in shirts made
stiff with wax, fixed to axletrees, and set on fire in his gardens, in
order to illuminate them. This persecution was general throughout the whole
Roman Empire; but it rather increased than diminished the spirit of Christianity.
In the course of it, St. Paul and St. Peter were martyred.
To their names may be added, Erastus, chamberlain of Corinth; Aristarchus,
the Macedonian, and Trophimus, an Ephesians, converted by St. Paul, and
fellow-laborer with him, Joseph, commonly called Barsabas, and Ananias,
bishop of Damascus; each of the Seventy.
Among the numerous martyrs that suffered during this persecution was
Simeon, bishop of Jerusalem, who was crucified; and St. John, who was boiled
in oil, and afterward banished to Patmos. Flavia, the daughter of a Roman
senator, was likewise banished to Pontus; and a law was made, "That no
Christian, once brought before the tribunal, should be exempted from punishment
without renouncing his religion."
A variety of fabricated tales were, during this reign, composed in order
to injure the Christians. Such was the infatuation of the pagans, that,
if famine, pestilence, or earthquakes afflicted any of the Roman provinces,
it was laid upon the Christians. These persecutions among the Christians
increased the number of informers and many, for the sake of gain, swore
away the lives of the innocent.
Another hardship was, that, when any Christians were brought before
the magistrates, a test oath was proposed, when, if they refused to take
it, death was pronounced against them; and if they confessed themselves
Christians, the sentence was the same.
The following were the most remarkable among the numerous martyrs
who suffered during this persecution.
Dionysius, the Areopagite, was an Athenian by birth, and educated in
all the useful and ornamental literature of Greece. He then travelled to
Egypt to study astronomy, and made very particular observations on the
great and supernatural eclipse, which happened at the time of our Savior's
crucifixion.
The sanctity of his conversation and the purity of his manners recommended
him so strongly to the Christians in general, that he was appointed bishop
of Athens.
Nicodemus, a benevolent Christian of some distinction, suffered at Rome
during the rage of Domitian's persecution.
Protasius and Gervasius were martyred at Milan.
Timothy was the celebrated disciple of St. Paul, and bishop of Ephesus,
where he zealously governed the Church until A.D. 97. At this period, as
the pagans were about to celebrate a feast called Catagogion, Timothy,
meeting the procession, severely reproved them for their ridiculous idolatry,
which so exasperated the people that they fell upon him with their clubs,
and beat him in so dreadful a manner that he expired of the bruises two
days later.
In this persecution suffered the blessed martyr, Ignatius, who is held
in famous reverence among very many. This Ignatius was appointed to the
bishopric of Antioch next after Peter in succession. Some do say, that
he, being sent from Syria to Rome, because he professed Christ, was given
to the wild beasts to be devoured. It is also said of him, that when he
passed through Asia, being under the most strict custody of his keepers,
he strengthened and confirmed the churches through all the cities as he
went, both with his exhortations and preaching of the Word of God. Accordingly,
having come to Smyrna, he wrote to the Church at Rome, exhorting them not
to use means for his deliverance from martyrdom, lest they should deprive
him of that which he most longed and hoped for. "Now I begin to be a disciple.
I care for nothing, of visible or invisible things, so that I may but win
Christ. Let fire and the cross, let the companies of wild beasts, let breaking
of bones and tearing of limbs, let the grinding of the whole body, and
all the malice of the devil, come upon me; be it so, only may I win Christ
Jesus!" And even when he was sentenced to be thrown to the beasts, such
as the burning desire that he had to suffer, that he spake, what time he
heard the lions roaring, saying: "I am the wheat of Christ: I am going
to be ground with the teeth of wild beasts, that I may be found pure bread."
Trajan being succeeded by Adrian, the latter continued this third persecution
with as much severity as his predecessor. About this time Alexander, bishop
of Rome, with his two deacons, were martyred; as were Quirinus and Hernes,
with their families;
Zenon, a Roman nobleman, and about ten thousand other Christians.
In Mount Ararat many were crucified, crowned with thorns, and spears
run into their sides, in imitation of Christ's passion. Eustachius, a brave
and successful Roman commander, was by the emperor ordered to join in 1000
an idolatrous sacrifice to celebrate some of his own victories; but his
faith (being a Christian in his heart) was so much greater than his vanity,
that he nobly refused it. Enraged at the denial, the ungrateful emperor
forgot the service of this skilful commander, and ordered him and his whole
family to be martyred.
At the martyrdom of Faustines and Jovita, brothers and citizens of Brescia,
their torments were so many, and their patience so great, that Calocerius,
a pagan, beholding them, was struck with admiration, and exclaimed in a
kind of ecstasy, "Great is the God of the Christians!" for which he was
apprehended, and suffered a similar fate.
Many other similar cruelties and rigors were exercised against the Christians,
until Quadratus, bishop of Athens, made a learned apology in their favor
before the emperor, who happened to be there and Aristides, a philosopher
of the same city, wrote an elegant epistle, which caused Adrian to relax
in his severities, and relent in their favor.
Adrian dying A.D. 138, was succeeded by Antoninus Pius, one of the most
amiable monarchs that ever reigned, and who stayed the persecutions against
the Christians.
The cruelties used in this persecution were such that many of the spectators
shuddered with horror at the sight, and were astonished at the intrepidity
of the sufferers. Some of the martyrs were obliged to pass, with their
already wounded feet, over thorns, nails, sharp shells, etc. upon their
points, others were scourged until their sinews and veins lay bare, and
after suffering the most excruciating tortures that could be devised, they
were destroyed by the most terrible deaths.
Germanicus, a young man, but a true Christian, being delivered to the
wild beasts on account of his faith, behaved with such astonishing courage
that several pagans became converts to a faith which inspired such fortitude.
Polycarp, the venerable bishop of Smyrna, hearing that persons were
seeking for him, escaped, but was discovered by a child. After feasting
the guards who apprehended him, he desired an hour in prayer, which being
allowed, he prayed with such fervency, that his guards repented that they
had been instrumental in taking him. He was, however, carried before the
proconsul, condemned, and burnt in the market place.
The proconsul then urged him, saying, "Swear, and I will release thee;--reproach
Christ."
Polycarp answered, "Eighty and six years have I served him, and he never
once wronged me; how then shall I blaspheme my King, Who hath saved me?"
At the stake to which he was only tied, but not nailed as usual, as he
assured them he should stand immovable, the flames, on their kindling the
fagots, encircled his body, like an arch, without touching him; and the
executioner, on seeing this, was ordered to pierce him with a sword, when
so great a quantity of blood flowed out as extinguished the fire. But his
body, at the instigation of the enemies of the Gospel, especially Jews,
was ordered to be consumed in the pile, and the request of his friends,
who wished to give it Christian burial, rejected. They nevertheless collected
his bones and as much of his remains as possible, and caused them to be
decently interred.
Metrodorus, a minister, who preached boldly, and Pionius, who made some
excellent apologies for the Christian faith, were likewise burnt. Carpus
and Papilus, two worthy Christians, and Agatonica, a pious woman, suffered
martyrdom at Pergamopolis, in Asia.
Felicitatis, an illustrious Roman lady, of a considerable family, and
the most shining virtues, was a devout Christian. She had seven sons, whom
she had educated with the most exemplary piety.
Januarius, the eldest, was scourged, and pressed to death with weights;
Felix and Philip, the two next had their brains dashed out with clubs;
Silvanus, the fourth, was murdered by being thrown from a precipice; and
the three younger sons, Alexander, Vitalis, and Martial, were beheaded.
The mother was beheaded with the same sword as the three latter.
Justin, the celebrated philosopher, fell a martyr in this persecution.
He was a native of Neapolis, in Samaria, and was born A.D. 103. Justin
was a great lover of truth, and a universal scholar; he investigated the
Stoic and Peripatetic philosophy, and attempted the Pythagorean; but the
behavior of our of its professors disgusting him, he applied himself to
the Platonic, in which he took great delight. About the year 133, when
he was thirty years of age, he became a convert to Christianity, and then,
for the first time, perceived the real nature of truth.
He wrote an elegant epistle to the Gentiles, and employed his talents
in convincing the Jews of the truth of the Christian rites; spending a
great deal of time in travelling, until he took up his abode in Rome, and
fixed his habitation upon the Viminal mount.
He kept a public school, taught many who afterward became great men,
and wrote a treatise to confuse heresies of all kinds. As the pagans began
to treat the Christians with great severity, Justin wrote his first apology
in their favor. This piece displays great learning and genius, and occasioned
the emperor to publish an edict in favor of the Christians.
Soon after, he entered into frequent contests with Crescens, a person
of a vicious life and conversation, but a celebrated cynic philosopher;
and his arguments appeared so powerful, yet disgusting to the cynic, that
he resolved on, and in the sequel accomplished, his destruction.
The second apology of Justin, upon certain severities, gave Crescens
the cynic an opportunity of prejudicing the emperor against the writer
of it; upon which Justin, and six of his companions, were apprehended.
Being commanded to sacrifice to the pagan idols, they refused, and were
condemned to be scourged, and then beheaded; which sentence was executed
with all imaginable severity.
Several were beheaded for refusing to sacrifice to the image of Jupiter;
in particular Concordus, a deacon of the city of Spolito.
Some of the restless northern nations having risen in arms against Rome,
the emperor marched to encounter them. He was, however, drawn into an ambuscade,
and dreaded the loss of his whole army. Enveloped with mountains, surrounded
by enemies, and perishing with thirst, the pagan deities were invoked in
vain; when the men belonging to the militine, or thundering legion, who
were all Christians, were commanded to call upon their God for succor.
A miraculous deliverance immediately ensued; a prodigious quantity of rain
fell, which, being caught by the men, and filling their dykes, afforded
a sudden and astonishing relief. It appears that the storm which miraculously
flashed in the face of the enemy so intimidated them, that part deserted
to the Roman army; the rest were defeated, and the revolted provinces entirely
recovered.
This affair occasioned the persecution to subside for some time, at
least in those parts immediately under the inspection of the emperor; but
we find that it soon after raged in France, particularly at Lyons, where
the tortures to which many of the Christians were put, almost exceed the
powers of description.
The principal of these martyrs were Vetius Agathus, a young man; Blandina,
a Christian lady, of a weak constitution; Sanctus, a deacon of Vienna;
red hot plates of brass were placed upon the tenderest parts of his body;
Biblias, a weak woman, once an apostate. Attalus, of Pergamus; and Pothinus,
the venerable bishop of Lyons, who was ninety years of age. Blandina, on
the day when she and the three other champions were first brought into
the amphitheater, she was suspended on a piece of wood fixed in the ground,
and exposed as f ood for the wild beasts; at which time, by her earnest
prayers, she encouraged others. But none of the wild beasts would touch
her, so that she was remanded to prison. When she was again produced for
the third and last time, she was accompanied by Ponticus, a youth of fifteen,
and the constancy of their faith so enraged the multitude that neither
the sex of the one nor the youth of the other were respected, being exposed
to all manner of punishments and tortures. Being strengthened by Blandina,
he persevered unto death; and she, after enduring all the torments heretofore
mentioned, was at length slain with the sword.
When the Christians, upon these occasions, received martyrdom, they
were ornamented, and crowned with garlands of flowers; for which they,
in heaven, received eternal crowns of glory.
It has been said that the lives of the early Christians consisted of
"persecution above ground and prayer below ground." Their lives are expressed
by the Coliseum and the catacombs. Beneath Rome are the excavations which
we call the catacombs, whivch were at once temples and tombs. The early
Church of Rome might well be called the Church of the Catacombs. There
are some sixty catacombs near Rome, in which some six hundred miles of
galleries have been traced, and these are not all. These galleries are
about eight feet high and from three to five feet wide, containing on either
side several rows of long, low, horizontal recesses, one above another
like berths in a ship. In these the dead bodies were placed and the front
closed, either by a single marble slab or several great tiles laid in mortar.
On these slabs or tiles, epitaphs or symbols are graved or painted. Both
pagans and Christians buried their dead in these catacombs. When the Christian
graves have been opened the skeletons tell their own terrible tale. Heads
are found severed from the body, ribs and shoulder blades are broken, bones
are often calcined from fire. But despite the awful story of persecution
that we may read here, the inscriptions breathe forth peace and joy and
triumph. Here are a few:
"Here lies Marcia, put to rest in a dream of peace."
"Lawrence to his sweetest son, borne away of angels."
"Victorious in peace and in Christ."
"Being called away, he went in peace."
Remember when reading these inscriptions the story the skeletons
tell of persecution, of torture, and of fire.
But the full force of these epitaphs is seen when we contrast them
with the pagan epitaphs, such as:
"Live for the present hour, since we are sure of nothing else."
"I lift my hands against the gods who took me away at the age of
twenty though I had done no harm."
"Once I was not. Now I am not. I know nothing about it, and it is
no concern of mine."
"Traveler, curse me not as you pass, for I am in darkness and cannot
answer."
The most frequent Christian symbols on the walls of the catacombs, are,
the good shepherd with the lamb on his shoulder, a ship under full sail,
harps, anchors, crowns, vines, and above all the fish.
But, though persecuting malice raged, yet the Gospel shone with resplendent
brightness; and, firm as an impregnable rock, withstood the attacks of
its boisterous enemies with success. Tertullian, who lived in this age,
informs us that if the Christians had collectively withdrawn themselves
from the Roman territories, the empire would have been greatly depopulated.
Victor, bishop of Rome, suffered martyrdom in the first year of the
third century, A.D. 201. Leonidus, the father of the celebrated Origen,
was beheaded for being a Christian. Many of Origen's hearers likewise suffered
martyrdom; particularly two brothers, named Plutarchus and Serenus; another
Serenus, Heron, and Heraclides, were beheaded. Rhais had boiled pitch poured
upon her head, and was then burnt, as was Marcella her mother. Potainiena,
the sister of Rhais, was executed in the same manner as Rhais had been;
but Basilides, an officer belonging to the army, and ordered to attend
her execution, became her convert.
Basilides being, as an officer, required to take a certain oath, refused,
saying, that he could not swear by the Roman idols, as he was a Christian.
Struck with surpsie, the people could not, at first, believe what they
heard; but he had no sooner confirmed the same, than he was dragged before
the judge, committed to prison, and speedily afterward beheaded.
Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, was born in Greece, and received both a polite
and a Christian education. It is generally supposed that the account of
the persecutions at Lyons was written by himself. He succeeded the martyr
Pothinus as bishop of Lyons, and ruled his diocese with great propriety;
he was a zealous opposer of heresies in general, and, about A.D. 187, he
wrote a celebrated tract against heresy. Victor, the bishop of Rome, wanting
to impose the keeping of Easter there, in preference to other places, it
occasioned some disorders among the Christians. In particular, Irenaeus
wrote him a synodical epistle, in the name of the Gallic churches. This
zeal, in favor of Christianity, pointed him out as an object of resentment
to the emperor; and in A.D. 202, he was beheaded.
The persecutions now extending to Africa, many were martyred in that
quarter of the globe; the most particular of whom we shall mention.
Perpetua, a married lady, of about twenty-two years. Those who suffered
with her were, Felicitas, a married lady, big with child at the time of
her being apprehended, and Revocatus, catechumen of Carthage, and a slave.
The names of the other prisoners, destined to suffer upon this occasion,
were Saturninus, Secundulus, and Satur. On the day appointed for their
execution, they were led to the amphitheater. Satur, Saturninus, and Revocatus
were ordered to run the gauntlet between the hunters, or such as had the
care of the wild beasts. The hunters being drawn up in two ranks, they
ran between, and were severely lashed as they passed. Felicitas and Perpetua
were stripped, in order to be thrown to a mad bull, which made his first
attack upon Perpetua, and stunned her; he then darted at Felicitas, and
gored her dreadfully; but not killing them, the executioner did that office
with a sword. Revocatus and Satur were destroyed by wild beasts; Saturninus
was beheaded; and Secundulus died in prison. These executions were in the
205, on the eighth day of March.
Speratus and twelve others were likewise beheaded; as was Andocles in
France. Asclepiades, bishop of Antioch, suffered many tortures, but his
life was spared.
Cecilia, a young lady of good family in Rome, was married to a gentleman
named Valerian. She converted her husband and brother, who were beheaded;
and the maximus, or officer, who led them to execution, becoming their
convert, suffered the same fate. The lady was placed naked in a scalding
bath, and having continued there a considerable time, her head was struck
off with a sword, A.D. 222.
Calistus, bishop of Rome, was martyred, A.D. 224; but the manner of
his death is not recorded; and Urban, bishop of Rome, met the same fate
A.D. 232.
The principal persons who perished under this reign were Pontianus,
bishop of Rome; Anteros, a Grecian, his successor, who gave offence
to the government by collecting the acts of the martyrs, Pammachius and
Quiritus, Roman senators, with all their families, and many other Christians;
Simplicius, senator;
Calepodius, a Christian minister, thrown into the Tyber; Martina, a
noble and beautiful virgin; and Hippolitus, a Christian prelate, tied to
a wild horse, and dragged until he expired.
During this persecution, raised by Maximinus, numberless Christians
were slain without trial, and buried indiscriminately in heaps, sometimes
fifty or sixty being cast into a pit together, without the least decency.
The tyrant Maximinus dying, A.D. 238, was succeeded by Gordian, during
whose reign, and that of his successor Philip, the Church was free from
persecution for the space of more than ten years; but in A.D. 249, a violent
persecution broke out in Alexandria, at the instigation of a pagan priest,
without the knowledge of the emperor.
These reasons stimulated Decius to attempt the very extirpation of the
name of Christian; and it was unfortunate for the Gospel, that many errors
had, about this time, crept into the Church: the Christians were at variance
with each other; self-interest divided those whom social love ought to
have united; and the virulence of pride occasioned a variety of factions.
The heathens in general were ambitious to enforce the imperial decrees
upon this occasion, and looked upon the murder of a Christian as a merit
to themselves. The martyrs, upon this occasion, were innumerable; but the
principal we shall give some account of.
Fabian, the bishop of Rome, was the first person of eminence who felt
the severity of this persecution. The deceased emperor, Philip, had, on
account of his integrity, committed his treasure to the care of this good
man. But Decius, not finding as much as his avarice made him expect, determined
to wreak his vengeance on the good prelate. He was accordingly seized;
and on January 20, A.D. 250, he suffered decapitation.
Julian, a native of Cilicia, as we are informed by St.
Chrysostom, was seized upon for being a Christian. He was put into a
leather bag, together with a number of serpents and scorpions, and in that
condition thrown into the sea.
Peter, a young man, amiable for the superior qualities of his body and
mind, was beheaded for refusing to sacrifice to Venus. He said, "I am astonished
you should sacrifice to an infamous woman, whose debaucheries even your
own historians record, and whose life consisted of such actions as your
laws would punish. No, I shall offer the true God the acceptable sacrifice
of praises and prayers." Optimus, the proconsul of Asia, on hearing this,
ordered the prisoner to be stretched upon a wheel, by which all his bones
were broken, and then he was sent to be beheaded.
Nichomachus, being brought before the proconsul as a Christian, was
ordered to sacrifice to the pagan idols. Nichomachus replied, "I cannot
pay that respect to devils, which is only due to the Almighty." This speech
so much enraged the proconsul that Nichomachus was put to the rack. After
enduring the torments for a time, he recanted; but scarcely had he given
this proof of his frailty, than he fell into the greatest agonies, dropped
down on the ground, and expired immediately.
Denisa, a young woman of only sixteen years of age, who beheld this
terrible judgment, suddenly exclaimed, "O unhappy wretch, why would you
buy a moment's ease at the expense of a miserable eternity!" Optimus, hearing
this, called to her, and Denisa avowing herself to be a Christian, she
was beheaded, by his order, soon after.
Andrew and Paul, two companions of Nichomachus, the martyr, A.D.
251, suffered martyrdom by stoning, and expired, calling on their blessed
Redeemer.
Alexander and Epimachus, of Alexandria, were apprehended for being Christians:
and, confessing the accusation, were beat with staves, torn with hooks,
and at length burnt in the fire; and we are informed, in a fragment preserved
by Eusebius, that four female martyrs suffered on the same day, and at
the same place, but not in the same manner; for these were beheaded.
Lucian and Marcian, two wicked pagans, though skilful magicians, becoming
converts to Christianity, to make amends for their former errors, lived
the lives of hermits, and subsisted upon bread and water only. After some
time spent in this manner, they became zealous preachers, and made many
converts. The persecution, however, raging at this time, they were seized
upon, and carried before Sabinus, the governor of Bithynia. On being asked
by what authority they took upon themselves to preach, Lucian answered,
'That the laws of charity and humanity obliged all men to endeavor the
conversion of their neighbors, and to do everything in their power to rescue
them from the snares of the devil.'
Lucian having answered in this manner, Marcian said, "Their conversion
was by the same grace which was given to St. Paul, who, from a zealous
persecutor of the Church, became a preacher of the Gospel."
The proconsul, finding that he could not prevail with them to renounce
their faith, condemned them to be burnt alive, which sentence was soon
after executed.
Trypho and Respicius, two eminent men, were seized as Christians, and
imprisoned at Nice. Their feet were pierced with nails; they were dragged
through the streets, scourged, torn with iron hooks, scorched with lighted
torches, and at length beheaded, February 1, A.D. 251.
Agatha, a Sicilian lady, was not more remarkable for her personal and
acquired endowments, than her piety; her beauty was such, that Quintian,
governor of Sicily, became enamored of her, and made many attempts upon
her chastity without success. In order to gratify his passions with the
greater conveniency, he put the virtuous lady into the hands of Aphrodica,
a very infamous and licentious woman. This wretch tried every artifice
to win her to the desired prostitution; but found all her efforts were
vain; for her chastity was impregnable, and she well knew that virtue alone
could procure true happiness. Aphrodica acquainted Quintian with the inefficacy
of her endeavors, who, enaged to be foiled in his designs, changed his
lust into resentment. On her confessing that she was a Christian, he determined
to gratify his revenge, as he could not his passion. Pursuant to his orders,
she was scourged, burnt with red-hot irons, and torn with sharp hooks.
Having borne these torments with admirable fortitude, she was next laid
naked upon live coals, intermingled with glass, and then being carried
back to prison, she there expired on February 5, 251.
Cyril, bishop of Gortyna, was seized by order of Lucius, the governor
of that place, who, nevertheless, exhorted him to obey the imperial mandate,
perform the sacrifices, and save his venerable person from destruction;
for he was now eighty-four years of age. The good prelate replied that
as he had long taught others to save their souls, he should only think
now of his own salvation. The worthy prelate heard his fiery sentence without
emotion, walked cheerfully to the place of execution, and underwent his
martyrdom with great fortitude.
The persecution raged in no place more than the Island of Crete; for
the governor, being exceedingly active in executing the imperial decrees,
that place streamed with pious blood.
Babylas, a Christian of a liberal education, became bishop of Antioch,
A.D. 237, on the demise of Zebinus. He acted with inimitable zeal, and
governed the Church with admirable prudence during the most tempestuous
times.
The first misfortune that happened to Antioch during his mission, was
the siege of it by Sapor, king of Persia; who, having overrun all
Syria, took and plundered this city among others, and used the Christian
inhabitants with greater severity than the rest, but was soon totally defeated
by Gordian.
After Gordian's death, in the reign of Decius, that emperor came to
Antioch, where, having a desire to visit an assembly of Christians, Babylas
opposed him, and absolutely refused to let him come in. The emperor dissembled
his anger at that time; but soon sending for the bishop, he sharply reproved
him for his insolence, and then ordered him to sacrifice to the pagan deities
as an expiation for his ofence. This being refused, he was committed to
prison, loaded with chains, treated with great severities, and then beheaded,
together with three young men who had been his pupils. A.D. 251.
Alexander, bishop of Jerusalem, about this time was cast into prison
on account of his religion, where he died through the severity of his confinement.
Julianus, an old man, lame with the gout, and Cronion, another Christian,
were bound on the backs of camels, severely scourged, and then thrown into
a fire and consumed. Also forty virgins, at Antioch, after being imprisoned,
and scourged, were burnt.
In the year of our Lord 251, the emperor Decius having erected a pagan
temple at Ephesus, he commanded all who were in that city to sacrifice
to the idols. This order was nobly refused by seven of his own soldiers,
viz. Maximianus, Martianus, Joannes, Malchus, Dionysius, Seraion, and Constantinus.
The emperor wishing to win these soldiers to renounce their faith by his
entreaties and lenity, gave them a considerable respite until he returned
from an expedition. During the emperor's absence, they escaped, and hid
themselves in a cavern; which the emperor being informed of at his return,
the mouth of the cave was closed up, and they all perished with hunger.
Theodora, a beautiful young lady of Antioch, on refusing to sacrifice
to the Roman idols, was condemned to the stews, that her virtue might be
sacrificed to the brutality of lust. Didymus, a Christian, disguised himself
in the habit of a Roman soldier, went to the house, informed Theodora who
he was, and advised her to make her escape in his clothes. This being effected,
and a man found in the brothel instead of a beautiful lady, Didymus was
taken before the president, to whom confessing the truth, and owning that
he was a Christian the sentence of death was immediately pronounced against
him. Theodora, hearing that her deliverer was likely to suffer, came to
the judge, threw herself at his feet, and begged that the sentence might
fall on her as the guilty person; but, deaf to the cries of the innocent,
and insensible to the calls of justice, the inflexible judge condemned
both; when they were executed accordingly, being first beheaded, and their
bodies afterward burnt.
Secundianus, having been accused as a Christian, was conveyed to prison
by some soldiers. On the way, Verianus and Marcellinus said, "Where are
you carrying the innocent?" This interrogatory occasioned them to be seized,
and all three, after having been tortured, were hanged and decapitated.
Origen, the celebrated presbyter and catechist of Alexandria, at the
age of sixty-four, was seized, thrown into a loathsome prison, laden with
fetters, his feet placed in the stocks, and his legs extended to the utmost
for several successive days. He was threatened with fire, and tormented
by every lingering means the most infernal imaginations could suggest.
During this cruel temporizing, the emperor Decius died, and Gallus, who
succeeded him, engaging in a war with the Goths, the Christians met with
a respite. In this interim, Origen obtained his enlargement, and, retiring
to Tyre, he there remained until his death, which happened when he was
in the sixty-ninth year of his age.
Gallus, the emperor, having concluded his wars, a plague broke out in
the empire: sacrifices to the pagan deities were ordered by the emperor,
and persecutions spread from the interior to the extrem e parts of
the empire, and many fell martyrs to the impetuosity of the rabble, as
well as the prejudice of the magistrates. Among these were Cornelius, the
Christian bishop of Rome, and Lucius, his successor, in 253.
Most of the errors which crept into the Church at this time arose from
placing human reason in competition with revelation; but the fallacy of
such arguments being proved by the most able divines, the opinions they
had created vanished away like the stars before the sun.
Rufina and Secunda were two beautiful and accomplished ladies, daughters
of Asterius, a gentleman of eminence in Rome. Rufina, the elder, was designed
in marriage for Armentarius, a young nobleman; Secunda, the younger, for
Verinus, a person of rank and opulence. The suitors, at the time of the
persecution's commencing, were both Christians; but when danger appeared,
to save their fortunes, they renounced their faith. They took great pains
to persuade the ladies to do the same, but, disappointed in their purpose,
the lovers were base enough to inform against the ladies, who, being apprehended
as Christians, were brought before Junius Donatus, governor of Rome, where,
A.D. 257, they sealed their martyrdom with their blood.
Stephen, bishop of Rome, was beheaded in the same year, and about that
time Saturninus, the pious orthodox bishop of Toulouse, refusing to sacrifice
to idols, was treated with all the barbarous indignities imaginable, and
fastened by the feet to the tail of a bull. Upon a signal given, the enraged
animal was driven down the steps of the temple, by which the worthy martyr's
brains were dashed out.
Sextus succeeded Stephen as bishop of Rome. He is supposed to have been
a Greek by birth or by extraction, and had for some time served in the
capacity of a deacon under Stephen. His great fidelity, singular wisdom,
and uncommon courage distinguished him upon many occasions; and the happy
conclusion of a controversy with some heretics is generally ascribed to
his piety and prudence. In the year 258, Marcianus, who had the management
of the Roman government, procured an order from the emperor Valerian, to
put to death all the Christian clergy in Rome, and hence the bishop with
six of his deacons, suffered martyrdom in 258.
Let us draw near to the fire of martyred Lawrence, that our cold hearts
may be warmed thereby. The merciless tyrant, understanding him to be not
only a minister of the sacraments, but a distributor also of the Church
riches, promised to himself a double prey, by the apprehension of one soul.
First, with the rake of avarice to scrape to himself the treasure of poor
Christians; then with the fiery fork of tyranny, so to toss and turmoil
them, that they should wax weary of their profession. With furious face
and cruel countenance, the greedy wolf demanded where this Lawrence had
bestowed the substance of the Church: who, craving three days' respite,
promised to declare where the treasure might be had. In the meantime, he
caused a good number of poor Christians to be congregated. So, when the
day of his answer was come, the persecutor strictly charged him to stand
to his promise. Then valiant Lawrence, stretching out his arms over the
poor, said: "These are the precious treasure of the Church; these are the
treasure indeed, in whom the faith of Christ reigneth, in whom Jesus Christ
hath His mansion-place. What more precious jewels can Christ have, than
those in whom He hath promised to dwell? For so it is written, 'I was an
hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was
a stranger, and ye took me in.' And again, 'Inasmuch as ye have done it
unto one of the least of these my brethren , ye have done it unto
me.' What greater riches can Christ our Master possess, than the poor people
in whom He loveth to be seen?"
O, what tongue is able to express the fury and madness of the tyrant's
heart! Now he stamped, he stared, he ramped, he fared as one out of his
wits: his eyes like fire glowed, his mouth like a boar formed, his teeth
like a hellhound grinned. Now, not a reasonable man, but a roaring lion,
he might be called.
"Kindle the fire (he cried)--of wood make no spare. Hath this villain
deluded the emperor? Away with him, away with him: whip him with scourges,
jerk him with rods, buffet him with fists, brain him with clubs. Jesteth
the traitor with the emperor? Pinch him with fiery tongs, gird him with
burning plates, bring out the strongest chains, and the fire-forks, and
the grated bed of iron: on the fire with it; bind the rebel hand and foot;
and when the bed is fire-hot, on with him: roast him, broil him, toss him,
turn him: on pain of our high displeasure do every man his office, O ye
tormentors."
The word was no sooner spoken, but all was done. After many cruel handlings,
this meek lamb was laid, I will not say on his fiery bed of iron, but on
his soft bed of down. So mightily God wrought with his martyr Lawrence,
so miraculously God tempered His element the fire; that it became not a
bed of consuming pain, but a pallet of nourishing rest.
In Africa the persecution raged with peculiar violence; many thousands
received the crown of martyrdom, among whom the following were the most
distinguished characters:
Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, an eminent prelate, and a pious ornament
of the Church. The brightness of his genius was tempered by the solidity
of his judgment; and with all the accomplishments of the gentleman, he
blended the virtues of a Christian. His doctrines were orthodox and pure;
his language easy and elegant; and his manners graceful and winning: in
fine, he was both the pious and polite preacher. In his youth he was educated
in the principles of Gentilism, and having a considerable fortune, he lived
in the very extravagance of splendor, and all the dignity of pomp.
About the year 246, Coecilius, a Christian minister of Carthage, became
the happy instrument of Cyprian's conversion: on which account, and for
the great love that he always afterward bore for the author of his conversion,
he was termed Coecilius Cyprian. Previous to his baptism, he studied the
Scriptures with care and being struck with the beauties of the truths they
contained, he determined to practise the virtues therein recommended. Subsequent
to his baptism, he sold his estate, distributed the money among the poor,
dressed himself in plain attire, and commenced a life of austerity. He
was soon after made a presbyter; and, being greatly admired for his virtues
and works, on the death of Donatus, in A.D. 248, he was almost unanimously
elected bishop of Carthage.
Cyprian's care not only extended over Carthage, but to Numidia and Mauritania.
In all his transactions he took great care to ask the advice of his clergy,
knowing that unanimity alone could be of service to the Church, this being
one of his maxims, "That the bishop was in the church, and the church in
the bishop; so that unity can only be preserved by a close connexion between
the pastor and his flock."
In A.D. 250, Cyprian was publicly proscribed by the emperor Decius,
under the appellation of Coecilius Cyprian, bishop of the Christrians;
and the universal cry of the pagans was, "Cyprian to the lions, Cyprian
to the beasts." The bishop, however, withdrew from the rage of the populace,
and his effects were immediately confiscated. During his retirement, he
wrote thirty pious and elegant letters to his flock; but several schisms
that then crept into the Church, gave him great uneasiness. The rigor of
the persecution abating, he returned to Carthage, and did everything in
his power to expunge erroneous opinions. A terrible plague breaking out
in Carthage, it was as usual, laid to the charge of th e Christians;
and the magistrates began to persecute accordingly, which occasioned an
epistle from them to Cyprian, in answer to which he vindicates the cause
of Christianity. A.D. 257, Cyprian was brought before the proconsul Aspasius
Paturnus, who exiled him to a little city on the Lybian sea. On the death
of this proconsul, he returned to Carthage, but was soon after seized,
and carried before the new governor, who condemned him to be beheaded;
which sentence was executed on the fourteenth of September, A.D. 258.
The disciples of Cyprian, martyred in this persecution, were Lucius,
Flavian, Victoricus, Remus, Montanus, Julian, Primelus, and Donatian.
At Utica, a most terrible tragedy was exhibited: three hundred Christians
were, by the orders of the proconsul, placed round a burning limekiln.
A pan of coals and incense being prepared, they were commanded either to
sacrifice to Jupiter, or to be thrown into the kiln. Unanimously refusing,
they bravely jumped into the pit, and were immediately suffocated.
Fructuosus, bishop of Tarragon, in Spain, and his two deacons, Augurius
and Eulogius, were burnt for being Christians.
Alexander, Malchus, and Priscus, three Christians of Palestine, with
a woman of the same place, voluntarily accused themselves of being Christians;
on which account they were sentenced to be devoured by tigers, which sentence
was executed accordingly.
Maxima, Donatilla, and Secunda, three virgins of Tuburga, had gall and
vinegar given them to drink, were then severely scourged, tormented on
a gibbet, rubbed with lime, scorched on a gridiron, worried by wild beasts,
and at length beheaded.
It is here proper to take notice of the singular but miserable fate
of the emperor Valerian, who had so long and so terribly persecuted the
Christians. This tyrant, by a stretagem, was taken prisoner by Sapor, emperor
of Persia, who carried him into his own country, and there treated him
with the most unexampled indignity, making him kneel down as the meanest
slave, and treading upon him as a footstool when he mounted his horse.
After having kept him for the space of seven years in this abject state
of slavery, he caused his eyes to be put out, though he was then eighty-three
years of age. This not satiating his desire of revenge, he soon after ordered
his body to be flayed alive, and rubbed with salt, under which torments
he expired; and thus fell one of the most tyrannical emperors of Rome,
and one of the greatest persecutors of the Christians.
A.D. 260, Gallienus, the son of Valerian, succeeded him, and during
his reign (a few martyrs excepted) the Church enjoyed peace for some years.
Agapetus, a young gentleman, who sold his estate, and gave the money
to the poor, was seized as a Christian, tortured, and then beheaded at
Praeneste, a city within a day's journey of Rome.
These are the only martyrs left upon record during this reign, as it
was soon put to a stop by the emperor's being murdered by his own domestics,
at Byzantium.
Aurelian was succeeded by Tacitus, who was followed by Probus, as the
latter was by Carus: this emperor being killed by a thunder storm, his
sons, Carnious and Numerian, succeeded him, and during all these reigns
the Church had peace.
Diocletian mounted the imperial throne, A.D. 284; at first he showed
great favor to the Christians. In the year 286, he associated Maximian
with him in the empire; and some Christians were put to death before any
general persecution broke out. Among these were Felician and Primus, two
brothers.
Marcus and Marcellianus were twins, natives of Rome, and of noble descent.
Their parents were heathens, but the tutors, to whom the education of the
children was intrusted, brought the m up as Christians. Their constancy
at length subdued those who wished them to become pagans, and their parents
and whole family became converts to a faith they had before reprobated.
They were martyred by being tied to posts, and having their feet pierced
with nails. After remaining in this situation for a day and a night, their
sufferings were put an end to by thrusting lances through their bodies.
Zoe, the wife of the jailer, who had the care of the before-mentioned
martyrs, was also converted by them, and hung upon a tree, with a fire
of straw lighted under her. When her body was taken down, it was thrown
into a river, with a large stone tied to it, in order to sink it.
In the year of Christ 286, a most remarkable affair occurred; a legion
of soldiers, consisting of six thousand six hundred and sixty-six men,
contained none but Christians. This legion was called the Theban Legion,
because the men had been raised in Thebias: they were quartered in the
east until the emperor Maximian ordered them to march to Gaul, to assist
him against the rebels of Burgundy. They passed the Alps into Gaul, under
the command of Mauritius, Candidus, and Exupernis, their worthy commanders,
and at length joined the emperor. Maximian, about this time, ordered a
general sacrifice, at which the whole army was to assist; and likewise
he commanded that they should take the oath of allegiance and swear, at
the saame time, to assist in the extirpation of Christianity in Gaul. Alarmed
at these orders, each individual of the Theban Legion absolutely refused
either to sacrifice or take the oaths prescribed. This so greatly enraged
Maximian, that he ordered the legion to be decimated, that is, every tenth
man to be selected from the rest, and put to the sword. This bloody order
having been put in execution, those who remained alive were still inflexible,
when a second decimation took place, and every tenth man of those living
was put to death. This second severity made no more impression than the
first had done; the soldiers preserved their fortitude and their principles,
but by the advice of their officers they drew up a loyal remonstrance to
the emperor. This, it might have been presumed, would have softened the
emperor, but it had a contrary effect: for, enraged at their perseverance
and unanimity, he commanded that the whole legion should be put to death,
which was accordingly executed by the other troops, who cut them to pieces
with their swords, September 22, 286.
Alban, from whom St. Alban's, in Hertfordshire, received its name, was
the first British martyr. Great Britain had received the Gospel of Christ
from Lucius, the first Christian king, but did not suffer from the rage
of persecution for many years after. He was originally a pagan, but converted
by a Christian ecclesiastic, named Amphibalus, whom he sheltered on account
of his religion. The enemies of Amphibalus, having intelligence of the
place where he was secreted, came to the house of Alban; in order to facilitate
his escape, when the soldiers came, he offered himself up as the person
they were seeking for. The deceit being detected, the governor ordered
him to be scourged, and then he was sentenced to be beheaded, June 22,
A.D. 287.
The venerable Bede assures us, that, upon this occasion, the executioner
suddenly became a convert to Christianity, and entreated permission to
die for Alban, or with him. Obtaining the latter request, they were beheaded
by a soldier, who voluntarily undertook the task of executioner. This happened
on the twenty-second of June, A.D. 287, at Verulam, now St. Alban's, in
Hertfordshire, where a magnificent church was erected to his memory about
the time of Constantine the Great. The edifice, being destroyed in the
Saxon wars, was rebuilt by Offa, king of Mercia, and a monastery erected
adjoining to it, some remains of which are still visible, and the church
is a noble Gothic structure.
Faith, a Christian female, of Acquitain, in France, was ordered to be
broiled upon a gridiron, and then beheaded; A.D. 287.
Quintin was a Christian, and a native of Rome, but determined to attempt
the propagation of the Gospel in Gaul, with one Lucian, they preached together
in Amiens; after which Lucian went to Beaumaris, where he was martyred.
Quintin remained in Picardy, and was very zealous in his ministry. Being
seized upon as a Christian, he was stretched with pullies until his joints
were dislocated; his body was then torn with wire scourges, and boiling
oil and pitch poured on his naked flesh; lighted torches were applied to
his sides and armpits; and after he had been thus tortured, he was remanded
back to prison, and died of the barbarities he had suffered, October 31,
A.D. 287. His body was sunk in the Somme.
The fatal day fixed upon to commence the bloody work, was the twenty-third
of February, A.D. 303, that being the day in which the Terminalia were
celebrated, and on which, as the cruel pagans boasted, they hoped to put
a termination to Christianity. On the appointed day, the persecution began
in Nicomedia, on the morning of which the prefect of that city repaired,
with a great number of officers and assistants, to the church of the Christians,
where, having forced open the doors, they seized upon all the sacred books,
and committed them to the flames.
The whole of this transaction was in the presence of Diocletian and
Galerius, who, not contented with burning the books, had the church levelled
with the ground. This was followed by a severe edict, commanding the destruction
of all other Christian churches and books; and an order soon succeeded,
to render Christians of all denomination outlaws.
The publication of this edict occasioned an immediate martyrdom, for
a bold Christian not only tore it down from the place to which it was affixed,
but execrated the name of the emperor for his injustice. A provocation
like this was sufficient to call down pagan vengeance upon his head; he
was accordingly seized, severely tortured, and then burned alive.
All the Christians were apprehended and imprisoned; and Galerius privately
ordered the imperial palace to be set on fire, that the Christians might
be charged as the incendiaries, and a plausible pretence given for carrying
on the persecution with the greater severities. A general sacrifice was
commenced, which occasioned various martyrdoms. No distinction was made
of age or sex; the name of Christian was so obnoxious to the pagans that
all indiscriminately fell sacrifices to their opinions. Many houses were
set on fire, and whole Christian families perished in the flames; and others
had stones fastened about their necks, and being tied together were driven
into the sea. The persecution became general in all the Roman provinces,
but more particularly in the east; and as it lasted ten years, it is impossible
to ascertain the numbers martyred, or to enumerate the various modes of
martyrdom.
Racks, scourges, swords, daggers, crosses, poison, and famine, were
made use of in various parts to dispatch the Christians; and invention
was exhausted to devise tortures against such as had no crime, but thinking
differently from the votaries of superstition.
A city of Phrygia, consisting entirely of Christians, was burnt, and
all the inhabitants perished in the flames.
Tired with slaughter, at length, several governors of provinces represented
to the imperial court, the impropriety of such conduct. Hence many were
respited from execution, but, though they were not put to death, as much
as possible was done to render their lives miserable, many of them having
their ears cut off, their noses slit, their right eye s put out, their
limbs rendered useless by dreadful dislocations, and their flesh seared
in conspicuous places with red-hot irons.
It is necessary now to particularize the most conspicious persons who
laid down their lives in martyrdom in this bloody persecution.
Sebastian, a celebrated martyr, was born at Narbonne, in Gaul, instructed
in the principles of Christianity at Milan, and afterward became an officer
of the emperor's guard at Rome. He remained a true Christian in the midst
of idolatry; unallured by the splendors of a court, untained by evil examples,
and uncontaminated by the hopes of preferment. Refusing to be a pagan,
the emperor ordered him to be taken to a field near the city, termed the
Campus Martius, and there to be shot to death with arrows; which sentence
was executed accordingly. Some pious Christians coming to the place of
execution, in order to give his body burial, perceived signs of life in
him, and immediately moving him to a place of security, they, in a short
time effected his recovery, and prepared him for a second martyrdom; for,
as soon as he was able to go out, he placed himself intentionally in the
emperor's way as he was going to the temple, and reprehended him for his
various cruelties and unreasonable prejudices against Christianity. As
soon as Diocletian had overcome his surprise, he ordered Sebastian to be
seized, and carried to a place near the palace, and beaten to death; and,
that the Christians should not either use means again to recover or bury
his body, he ordered that it should be thrown into the common sewer. Nevertheless,
a Christian lady named Lucina, found means to remove it from the sewer,
and bury it in the catacombs, or repositories of the dead.
The Christians, about this time, upon mature consideration, thought
it unlawful to bear arms under a heathen emperor. Maximilian, the son of
Fabius Victor, was the first beheaded under this regulation.
Vitus, a Sicilian of considerable family, was brought up a Christian;
when his virtues increased with his years, his constancy supported him
under all afflictions, and his faith was superior to the most dangerous
perils. His father, Hylas, who was a pagan, finding that he had been instructed
in the principles of Christianity by the nurse who brought him up, used
all his endeavors to bring him back to paganism, and at length sacrificed
his son to the idols, June 14, A.D. 303.
Victor was a Christian of a good family at Marseilles, in France; he
spent a great part of the night in visiting the afflicted, and confirming
the weak; which pious work he could not, consistently with his own safety,
perform in the daytime; and his fortune he spent in relieving the distresses
of poor Christians. He was at length, however, seized by the emperor Maximian's
decree, who ordered him to be bound, and dragged through the streets. During
the execution of this order, he was treated with all manner of cruelties
and indignities by the enraged populace. Remaining still inflexible, his
courage was deemed obstinacy. Being by order stretched upon the rack, he
turned his eyes toward heaven, and prayed to God to endue him with patience,
after which he underwent the tortures with most admirable fortitude. After
the executioners were tired with inflicting torments on him, he was conveyed
to a dungeon. In his confinement, he converted his jailers, named Alexander,
Felician, and Longinus. This affair coming to the ears of the emperor,
he ordered them immediately to be put to death, and the jailers were accordingly
beheaded. Victor was then again put to the rack, unmercifully beaten with
batoons, and again sent to prison. Being a third time examined concerning
his religion, he persevered in his principles; a small altar was then brought,
and he was commanded to offer incense upon it immediately. Fired with indignation
at the request, he boldly stepped forward, and with his foot overthrew
both altar and idol. This so enraged the emperor Maximian, who was present,
that he ordered the foot with which he had kicked the alta r to be
immediately cut off; and Victor was thrown into a mill, and crushed to
pieces with the stones, A.D. 303.
Maximus, governor of Cilicia, being at Tarsus, three Christians were
brought before him; their names were Tarachus, an aged man, Probus, and
Andronicus. After repeated tortures and exhortations to recant, they, at
length, were ordered for execution.
Being brought to the amphitheater, several beasts were let loose upon
them; but none of the animals, though hungry, would touch them. The keeper
then brought out a large bear, that had that very day destroyed three men;
but this voracious creature and a fierce lioness both refused to touch
the prisoners. Finding the design of destroying them by the means of wild
beasts ineffectual, Maximus ordered them to be slain by the sword, on October
11, A.D. 303.
Romanus, a native of Palestine, was deacon of the church of Caesarea
at the time of the commencement of Diocletian's persecution. Being condemned
for his faith at Antioch, he was scourged, put to the rack, his body torn
with hooks, his flesh cut with knives, his face scarified, his teeth beaten
from their sockets, and his hair plucked up by the roots. Soon after he
was ordered to be strangled, November 17, A.D. 303.
Susanna, the niece of Caius, bishop of Rome, was pressed by the emperor
Diocletian to marry a noble pagan, who was nearly related to him. Refusing
the honor intended her, she was beheaded by the emperor's order.
Dorotheus, the high chamberlain of the household to Diocletian, was
a Christian, and took great pains to make converts. In his religious labors,
he was joined by Gorgonius, another Christian, and one belonging to the
palace. They were first tortured and then strangled.
Peter, a eunuch belonging to the emperor, was a Christian of singular
modesty and humility. He was laid on a gridiron, and broiled over a slow
fire until he expired.
Cyprian, known by the title of the magician, to distinguish him from
Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, was a native of Natioch. He received a liberal
education in his youth, and particularly applied himself to astrology;
after which he traveled for improvement through Greece, Egypt, India, etc.
In the course of time he became acquainted with Justina, a young lady of
Antioch, whose birth, beauty, and accomplishments, rendered her the admiration
of all who knew her. A pagan gentleman applied to Cyprian, to promote his
suit with the beautiful Justina; this he undertook, but soon himself became
converted, burnt his books of astrology and magic, received baptism, and
felt animated with a powerful spirit of grace. The conversion of Cyprian
had a great effect on the pagan gentleman who paid his addresses to Justina,
and he in a short time embraced Christianity. During the persecutions of
Diocletian, Cyprian and Justina were seized upon as Chrisitans, the former
was torn with pincers, and the latter chastised; and, after suffering other
torments, both were beheaded.
Eulalia, a Spanish lady of a Christian family, was remarkable in her
youth for sweetness of temper, and solidity of understanding seldom found
in the capriciousness of juvenile years. Being apprehended as a Christian,
the magistrate attempted by the mildest means, to bring her over to paganism,
but she ridiculed the pagan deities with such asperity, that the judge,
incensed at her behavior, ordered her to be tortured. Her sides were accordingly
torn by hooks, and her breasts burnt in the most shocking manner, until
she expired by the violence of the flames, December, A.D. 303.
In the year 304, when the persecution reached Spain, Dacian, the governor
of Terragona, ordered Valerius the bishop, and Vincent the deacon, to be
seized, loaded with irons, and imprisoned. The prisoners being firm in
their resolution, Valerius was banished, and Vincent was racked, his limbs
dislocated, his flesh torn with hooks, and he was laid on a gridiron, which
had not only a fire placed under it, but spikes at the top, which ran into
his flesh. These torments nei ther destroying him, nor changing his
resolutions, he was remanded to prison, and confined ina small, loathsome,
dark dungeon, strewed with sharp flints, and pieces of broken glass, where
he died, January 22, 304. His body was thrown into the river.
The persecution of Diocletian began particularly to rage in A.D. 304,
when many Christians were put to cruel tortures and the most painful and
ignominious deaths; the most eminent and paritcular of whom we shall enumerate.
Saturninus, a priest of Albitina, a town of Africa, after being tortured,
was remanded to prison, and there starved to death. His four children,
after being variously tormented, shared the same fate with their father.
Dativas, a noble Roman senator; Thelico, a pious Christian;
Victoria, a young lady of considerable family and fortune, with some
others of less consideration, all auditors of Saturninus, were tortured
in a similar manner, and perished by the same means.
Agrape, Chionia, and Irene, three sisters, were seized upon at Thessalonica,
when Diocletian's persecution reached Greece. They were burnt, and received
the crown of martyrdom in the flames, March 25, A.D. 304. The governor,
finding that he could make no impression on Irene, ordered her to be exposed
naked in the streets, which shameful order having been executed, a fire
was kindled near the city wall, amidst whose flames her spirit ascended
beyond the reach of man's cruelty.
Agatho, a man of a pious turn of mind, with Cassice, Philippa, and Eutychia,
were martyred about the same time; but the particulars have not been transmitted
to us.
Marcellinus, bishop of Rome, who succeeded Caius in that see, having
strongly opposed paying divine honors to Diocletian, suffered martyrdom,
by a variety of tortures, in the year 324, conforting his soul until he
expired with the prospect of these glorious rewards it would receive by
the tortures suffered in the body.
Victorius, Carpophorus, Severus, and Severianus, were brothers, and
all four employed in places of great trust and honor in the city of Rome.
Having exclaimed against the worship of idols, they were apprehended, and
scourged, with the plumbetae, or scourges, to the ends of which were fastened
leaden balls. This punishment was exercised with such excess of cruelty
that the pious brothers fell martyrs to its severity.
Timothy, a deacon of Mauritania, and Maura his wife, had not been united
together by the bands of wedlock above three weeks, when they were separated
from each other by the persecution. Timothy, being apprehended, as a Christian,
was carried before Arrianus, the governor of Thebais, who, knowing that
he had the keeping of the Holy Scriptures, commanded him to deliver them
up to be burnt; to which he answered, "Had I children, I would sooner deliver
them up to be sacrificed, than part with the Word of God." The governor
being much incensed at this reply, ordered his eyes to be put out, with
red-hot irons, saying, "The books shall at least be useless to you, for
you shall not see to read them." His patience under the operation was so
great that the governor grew more exasperated; he, therefore, in order,
if possible, to overcome his fortitude, ordered him to be hung up by the
feet, with a weight tied about his neck, and a gag in his mouth. In this
state, Maura his wife, tenderly urged him for her sake to recant; but,
when the gag was taken out of his mouth, instead of consenting to his wife's
entreaties, he greatly blamed her mistaken love, and declared his resolution
of dying for the faith. The consequence was, that Maura resolved to imitate
his courage and fidelity and either to accompany or follow him to glory.
The governor, after trying in vain to alter her resolution, ordered her
to be tortured, which was executed with great severity. After this, Timothy
and Maura were crucified near each other, A.D. 304.
Sabinus, bishop of Assisium, refusing to sacrifice to Jupiter, and pushing
the idol from him, had his hand cut off by the order of the gover 1000
nor of Tuscany. While in prison, he converted the governor and his family,
all of whom suffered martyrdom for the faith. Soon after their execution,
Sabinus himself was scourged to death, December, A.D. 304.
Tired with the farce of state and public business, the emperor Diocletian
resigned the imperial diadem, and was succeeded by Constantius and Galerius;
the former a prince of the most mild and humane disposition and the latter
equally remarkable for his cruelty and tyranny. These divided the empire
into two equal governments, Galerius ruling in the east, and Constantius
in the west; and the people in the two governments felt the effects of
the dispositions of the two emperors; for those in the west were governed
in the mildest manner, but such as resided in the east felt all the miseries
of oppression and lengthened tortures.
Among the many martyred by the order of Galerius, we shall enumerate
the most eminent.
Amphianus was a gentleman of eminence in Lucia, and a scholar of Eusebius;
Julitta, a Lycaonian of royal descent, but more celebrated for her virtues
than noble blood. While on the rack, her child was killed before her face.
Julitta, of Cappadocia, was a lady of distinguished capacity, great virtue,
and uncommon courage. To complete the execution, Julitta had boiling pitch
poured on her feet, her sides torn with hooks, and received the conclusion
of her martyrdom, by being beheaded, April 16, A.D. 305.
Hermolaus, a venerable and pious Christian, or a great age, and an intimate
acquaintance of Panteleon's, suffered martyrdom for the faith on the same
day, and in the same manner as Panteleon.
Eustratius, secretary to the governor of Armina, was thrown into a fiery
furnace for exhorting some Christians who had been apprehended, to persevere
in their faith.
Nicander and Marcian, two eminent Roman military officers, were apprehended
on account of their faith. As they were both men of great abilities in
their profession, the utmost means were used to induce them to renounce
Christianity; but these endeavors being found ineffectual, they were beheaded.
In the kingdom of Naples, several martyrdoms took place, in particular,
Januaries, bishop of Beneventum; Sosius, deacon of Misene; Proculus, another
deacon; Eutyches and Acutius, two laymen; Festus, a deacon; and Desiderius,
a reader; all, on account of being Christians, were condemned by the governor
of Campania to be devoured by the wild beasts. The savage animals, however,
would not touch them, and so they were beheaded.
Quirinus, bishop of Siscia, being carried before Matenius, the governor,
was ordered to sacrifice to the pagan deities, agreeably to the edicts
of various Roman emperors. The governor, perceiving his constancy, sent
him to jail, and ordered him to be heavily ironed; flattering himself,
that the hardships of a jail, some occasional tortures and the weight of
chains, might overcome his resolution. Being decided in his principles,
he was sent to Amantius, the principal governor of Pannonia, now Hungary,
who loaded him with chains, and carried him through the principal towns
of the Danube, exposing him to ridicule wherever he went. Arriving at length
at Sabaria, and finding that Quirinus would not renounce his faith, he
ordered him to be cast into a river, with a stone fastened about his neck.
This sentence being put into execution, Quirinus floated about for some
time, and, exhorting the people in the most pious terms, concluded his
admonitions with this prayer: "It is no new thing, O all-powerful Jesus,
for Thee to stop the course of rivers, or to cause a man to walk upon the
water, as Thou didst Thy servant Peter; the people have already seen the
proof of Thy power in me; grant me now to lay down my life for Thy sake,
O my God." On pronouncing the last words he immediately sank, and died,
June 4, A.D. 308. His body was afterwards taken up, and buried by some
pious Christians.
Pamphilus, a native of Phoenicia, of a considerable family, was a man
of such extensive learning that he was called a second Origen. He
was received into the body of the clergy at Caesarea, where he established
a public library and spent his time in the practice of every Christian
virtue. He copied the greatest part of the works of Origen with his own
hand, and, assisted by Eusebius, gave a correct copy of the Old Testament,
which had suffered greatly by the ignorance or negligence of former transcribers.
In the year 307, he was apprehended, and suffered torture and martyrdom.
Marcellus, bishop of Rome, being banished on account of his faith, fell
a martyr to the miseries he suffered in exile, January 16, A.D. 310.
Peter, the sixteenth bishop of Alexandria, was martyred November 25,
A.D. 311, by order of Maximus Caesar, who reigned in the east.
Agnes, a virgin of only thirteen years of age, was beheaded for being
a Christian; as was Serene, the empress of Diocletian. Valentine, a priest,
suffered the same fate at Rome; and Erasmus, a bishop, was martyred in
Campania.
Soon after this the persecution abated in the middle parts of the empire,
as well as in the west; and Providence at length began to manifest vengeance
on the persecutors. Maximian endeavored to corrupt his daughter Fausta
to murder Constantine her husband; which she discovered, and Constantine
forced him to choose his own death, when he preferred the ignominious death
of hanging after being an emperor near twenty years.
Constantine was the good and virtuous child of a good and virtuous father,
born in Britain. His mother was named Helena, daughter of King Coilus.
He was a most bountiful and gracious prince, having a desire to nourish
learning and good arts, and did oftentimes use to read, write, and study
himself. He had marvellous good success and prosperous achieving of all
things he took in hand, which then was (and truly) supposed to proceed
of this, for that he was so great a favorer of the Christian faith. Which
faith when he had once embraced, he did ever after most devoutly and religiously
reverence.
Thus Constantine, sufficiently appointed with strength of men but especially
with strength of God, entered his journey coming towards Italy, which was
about the last year of the persecution, A.D. 313. Maxentius, understanding
of the coming of Constantine, and trusting more to his devilish art of
magic than to the good will of his subjects, which he little deserved,
durst not show himself out of the city, nor encounter him in the open field,
but with privy garrisons laid wait for him by the way in sundry straits,
as he should come; with whom Constantine had divers skirmishes, and by
the power of the Lord did ever vanquish them and put them to flight.
Notwithstanding, Constantine yet was in no great comfort, but in great
care and dread in his mind (approaching now near unto Rome) for the magical
charms and sorceries of Maxentius, wherewith he had vanquished before Severus,
sent by Galerius against him. Wherefore, being in great doubt and perplexity
in himself, and revolving many things in his mind, what help he might have
against the operations of his charming, Constantine, in his journey drawing
toward the city, and casting up his eyes many times to heaven, in the south
part, about the going down of the sun, saw a great brightness in heaven,
appearing in the similitude of a cross, giving this inscription, In hoc
vince, that is, "In this overcome."
Eusebius Pamphilus doth witness that he had heard the said Constantine
himself oftentimes report, and also to swear this to be true and certain,
which he did see with his own eyes in heaven, and also his soldiers about
him. At the sight whereof when he was greatly astonished, and consulting
with his men upon the meaning thereof, behold, in the night season in his
sleep, Christ appeared to him with the sign of the same cross which he
had seen before, bidding him to make the figuration thereof, and to carry
it in his wars before him, and so should we have the victory.
Constantine so established the peace of the Church that for th 75d e
space of a thousand years we read of no set persecution against the Christians,
unto the time of John Wickliffe.
So happy, so glorious was this victory of Constantine, surnamed the
Great! For the joy and gladness whereof, the citizens who had sent for
him before, with exceeding triumph brought him into the city of Rome, where
he was most honorably received, and celebrated the space of seven days
together; having, moreover, in the market place, his image set up, holding
in his right hand the sign of the cross, with this inscription:
"With this wholesome sign, the true token of fortitude, I have rescued
and delivered our city from the yoke of the tyrant."
We shall conclude our account of the tenth and last general persecution
with the death of St. George, the titular saint and patron of England.
St. George was born in Cappadocia, of Christian parents; and giving proofs
of his courage, was promoted in the army of the emperor Diocletian. During
the persecution, St. George threw up his command, went boldly to the senate
house, and avowed his being a Christian, taking occasion at the same time
to remonstrate against paganism, and point out the absurdity of worshipping
idols. This freedom so greatly provoked the senate that St. George was
ordered to be tortured, and by the emperor's orders was dragged through
the streets, and beheaded the next day.
The legend of the dragon, which is associated with this martyr, is usually
illustrated by representing St. George seated upon a charging horse and
transfixing the monster with his spear. This fiery dragon symbolizes the
devil, who was vanquished by St. George's steadfast faith in Christ, which
remained unshaken in spite of torture and death.
CHAPTER 3
back to Table of Contents The emperor Sapores, being naturally averse to Christianity, easily
believed what was said against the Christians, and gave orders to persecute
them in all parts of his empire. On account of this mandate, many eminent
persons in the church and state fell martyrs to the ignorance and ferocity
of the pagans.
Constantine the Great being informed of the persecutions in Persia,
wrote a long letter to the Persian monarch, in which he recounts the vengeance
that had fallen on persecutors, and the great success that had attended
those who had refrained from persecuting the Christians.
Speaking of his victories over rival emperors of his own time, he said,
"I subdued these solely by faith in Christ; for which God was my helper,
who gave me victory in battle, and made me triumph over my enemies. He
hath likewise so enlarged to me the bounds of the Roman Empire, that it
extends from the Western Ocean almost to the uttermost parts of the East:
for this domain I neither offered sacrifices to the ancient deities, nor
made use of charm or divination; but only offered up prayers to the Almighty
God, and followed the cross of Christ. Rejoiced should I be if the throne
of Persia found glory also, by embracing the Christians: that so you with
me, and they with you, may enjoy all happiness.
In consequence of this appeal, the persecution ended for the time, but
it was renewed in later years when another king succeeded to the throne
of Persia.
In Egypt and Lybia, thirty bishops were martyred, and many other Christians
cruelly tormented; and, A.D. 386, George, the Arian bishop of Alexandria,
under the authority of the emperor, began a persecution in that city and
its environs, and carried it on with the most infernal severity. He was
assisted in his diabolical malice by Catophonius, governor of Egypt; Sebastian,
general of the Egyptian forces;
Faustinus, the treasurer; and Heraclius, a Roman officer.
The persecutions now raged in such a manner that the clergy were driven
from Alexandria, their churches were shut, and the severities practiced
by the Arian heretics were as great as those that had been practiced by
the pagan idolaters. If a man, accused of being a Christian, made his escape,
then his whole family were massacred, and his effects confiscated.
Constantius, dying the year 361, Julian succeeded him, and had no sooner
attained the imperial dignity than he renounced Christianity and embraced
paganism, which had for some years fallen into great disrepute. Though
he restored the idolatrous worship, he made no public edicts against Christianity.
He recalled all banished pagans, allowed the free exercise of religion
to every sect, but deprived all Christians of offices at court, in the
magistracy, or in the army. He was chaste, temperate, vigilant, laborious,
and pious; yet he prohibited any Christian from keeping a school or public
seminary of learning, and deprived all the Christian clergy of the privileges
granted them by Constantine the Great.
Biship Basil made himself first famous by his opposition to Arianism,
which brought upon him the vengeance of the Arian bishop of Constantinople;
he equally opposed paganism. The emperor's agents in vain tampered with
Basil by means of promises, threats, and racks, he was firm in the faith,
and remained in prison to undergo some other sufferings, when the emperor
came accidentally to Ancyra. Julian determined to examine Basil himself,
when that holy man being brought before him, the emperor did every thing
in his power to dissuade him from persevering in the faith. Basil not only
continued as firm as ever, but, with a prophetic spirit foretold the death
of the emperor, and that he should be tormented in the other life. Enraged
at what he heard, Julian commanded that the body of Basil should be torn
every day in seven different parts, until his skin and flesh were entirely
mangled. This inhuman sentence was executed with rigor, and the martyr
expired under its severities, on June 28, A.D. 362.
Donatus, bishop of Arezzo, and Hilarinus, a hermit, suffered about the
same time; also Gordian, a Roman magistrate. Artemius, commander in chief
of the Roman forces in Egypt, being a Christian, was deprived of his commission,
then of his estate, and lastly of his head.
The persecution raged dreadfully about the latter end of the year 363;
but, as many of the particulars have not been handed down to us, it is
necessary to remark in general, that in Palestine many were burnt alive,
others were dragged by their feet through the streets naked until they
expired; some were scalded to death, many stoned, and great numbers had
their brains beaten out with clubs. In Alexandria, innumerable were the
martyrs who suffered by the sword, burning, crucifixion and stoning. In
Arethusa, several were ripped open, and corn being put into their bellies,
swine were brought to feed therein, which, in devouring the grain, likewise
devoured the entrails of the martyrs, and in Thrace, Emilianus was burnt
at a stake; and Domitius murdered in a cave, whither he had fled for refuge.
The emperor, Julian the apostate, died of a wound which he received
in his Persian expedition, A.D. 363, and even while expiring, uttered the
most horrid blasphemies. He was succeeded by Jovian, who restored peace
to the Church.
After the decease of Jovian, Valentinian succeeded to the empire, and
associated to himself Valens, who had the command in the east, and was
an Arian and of an unrelenting and persecuting disposition.
In religion the Goths were Arians, and called themselves Christians;
therefore they destroyed all the statues and temples of the heathen gods,
but did no harm to the orthodox Christian churches. Alaric had all the
qualities of a great general. To the wild bravery of the Gothic barbarian
he added the courage and skill of the Roman soldier. He led his forces
across the Alps into Italy, and although driven back for the time, returned
afterward with an irresistible force.
The first part of the bloody entertainment was finished; the bodies
of the dead were dragged off with hooks, and the reddened sand covered
with a fresh, clean layer. After this had been done the gates in the wall
of the arena were thrown open, and a number of tall, well-formed men in
the prime of youth and strength came forward. Some carried swords, others
three-pronged spears and nets. They marched once around the walls, and
stopping before the emperor, held up their weapons at arm's length, and
with one voice sounded out their greeting, Ave, Caesar, morituri te salutant!
"Hail, Caesar, those about to die salute thee!"
The combats now began again; the glatiators with nets tried to entangle
those with swords, and when they succeeded mercilessly stabbed their antagonists
to death with the three-pronged spear. When a glatiator had wounded his
adversary, and had him lying helpless at his feet, he looked up at the
eager faces of the spectators, and cried out, Hoc habet! "He has it!" and
awaited the pleasure of the audience to kill or spare.
If the spectators held out their hands toward him, with thumbs upward,
the defeated man was taken away, to recover if possible from his wounds.
But if the fatal signal of "thumbs down" was given, the conquered was to
be slain; and if he showed any reluctance to present his neck for the death
blow, there was a scornful shout from the galleries, Recipe ferrum! "Receive
the steel!" Privileged persons among the audience would even descend into
the arena, to better witness the death agonies of some unusually brave
victim, before his corpse was dragged out at the death gate.
The show went on; many had been slain, and the people, madly excited
by the desperate bravery of those who continued to fight, shouted their
applause. But suddenly there was an interruption. A rudely clad, robed
figure appeared for a moment among the audience, and then boldly leaped
down into the arena. He was seen to be a man of rough but imposing presence,
bareheaded and with sun-browned face. Without hesitating an instant he
advanced upon two gladiators engaged in a life-and-death struggle, and
laying his hand upon one of them sternly reproved him for shedding innocent
blood, and then, turning toward the thousands of angry faces ranged around
him, called upon them in a solemn, deep-toned voice which resounded through
the deep inclosure. These were his words: "Do not requite God's mercy in
turning away the swords of your enemies by murdering each other!"
Angry shouts and cries at once drown ed his voice: "This is no
place for preaching!--the old customs of Rome must be observed!--On, gladiators!"
Thrusting aside the stranger, the gladiators would have again attacked
each other, but the man stood between, holding them apart, and trying in
vain to be heard. "Sedition! sedition! down with him!" was then the cry;
and the gladiators, enraged at the interference of an outsider with their
chosen vocation, at once stabbed him to death. Stones, or whatever missiles
came to hand, also rained down upon him from the furious people, and thus
he perished, in the midst of the arena.
His dress showed him to be one of the hermits who vowed themselves to
a holy life of prayer and self-denial, and who were reverenced by even
the thoughtless and combat-loving Romans. The few who knew him told how
he had come from the wilds of Asia on a pilgrimage, to visit the churches
and keep his Christmas at Rome; they knew he was a holy man, and that his
name was Telemachus-no more. His spirit had been stirred by the sight of
thousands flocking to see men slaughter one another, and in his simple-hearted
zeal he had tried to convince them of the cruelty and wickedness of their
conduct. He had died, but not in vain. His work was accomplished at the
moment he was struck down, for the shock of such a death before their eyes
turned the hearts of the people: they saw the hideous aspects of the favorite
vice to which they had blindly surrendered themselves; and from the day
Telemachus fell dead in the Colosseum, no other fight of gladiators was
ever held there.
Hermenigildus, a Gothic prince, was the eldest son of Leovigildus, a
king of the Goths, in Spain. This prince, who was originally an Arian,
became a convert to the orthodox faith, by means of his wife Ingonda. When
the king heard that his son had changed his religious sentiments, he stripped
him of the command at Seville, where he was governor, and threatened to
put him to death unless he renounced the faith he had newly embraced. The
prince, in order to prevent the execution of his father's menaces, began
to put himself into a posture of defence; and many of the orthodox persuasion
in Spain declared for him. The king, exasperated at this act of rebellion,
began to punish all the orthodox Christians who could be seized by his
troops, and thus a very severe persecution commenced: he likewise marched
against his son at the head of a very powerful army. The prince took refuge
in Seville, from which he fled, and was at length besieged and taken at
Asieta. Loaded with chains, he was sent to Seville, and at the feast of
Easter refusing to receive the Eucharist from an Arian bishop, the enraged
king ordered his guards to cut the prince to pieces, which they punctually
performed, April 13, A.D. 586.
Martin, bishop of Rome, was born at Todi, in Italy. He was naturally
inclined to virtue, and his parents bestowed on him an admirable education.
He opposed the heretics called Monoth elites, who were patronized
by the emperor Heraclius. Martin was condemned at Constantinople, where
he was exposed in the most public places to the ridicule of the people,
divested of all episcopal marks of distinction, and treated with the greatest
scorn and severity. After lying some months in prison, Martin was sent
to an island at some distance, and there cut to pieces, A.D. 655.
John, bishop of Bergamo, in Lombardy, was a learned man, and a good
Christian. He did his utmost endeavors to clear the Church from the errors
of Arianism, and joining in this holy work with John, bishop of Milan,
he was very successful against the heretics, on which account he was assassinated
on July 11, A.D. 683.
Killien was born in Ireland, and received from his parents a pious and
Christian education. He obtained the Roman pontiff's license to preach
to the pagans in Franconia, in Germany. At Wurtzburg he converted Gozbert,
the governor, whose example was followed by the greater part of the people
in two years after. Persuading Gozbert that his marriage with his brother's
widow was sinful, the latter had him beheaded, A.D. 689.
After due study, the abbot seeing him qualified for the priesthood,
obliged him to receive that holy order when he was about thirty years old.
From which time he began to preach and labor for the salvation of his fellow
creatures; he was released to attend a synod of bishops in the kingdom
of West-Saxons. He afterwards, in 719, went to Rome, where Gregory II who
then sat in Peter's chair, received him with great friendship, and finding
him full of all virtues that compose the character of an apostolic missionary,
dismissed him without commission at large to preach the Gospel to the pagans
wherever he found them. Passing through Lombardy and Bavaria, he came to
Thuringia, which country had before received the light of the Gospel, he
next visited Utrecht, and then proceeded to Saxony, where he converted
some thousands to Christianity.
During the ministry of this meek prelate, Pepin was declared king of
France. It was that prince's ambition to be crowned by the most holy prelate
he could find, and Boniface was pitched on to perform that ceremony, which
he did at Soissons, in 752. The next year, his great age and many infirmities
lay so heavy on him, that, with the consent of the new king, and the bishops
of his diocese, he consecrated Lullus, his countryman, and faithful disciple,
and placed him in the see of Mentz. When he had thus eased himself of his
charge, he recommended the church of Mentz to the care of the new bishop
in very strong terms, desired he would finish the church at Fuld, and see
him buried in it, for his end was near. Having left these orders, he took
boat to the Rhine, and went to Friesland, where he converted and baptized
several thousands of barbarous natives, demolished the temples, and raised
churches on the ruins of those superstitious structures. A day being appointed
for confirming a great number of new converts, he ordered them to assemble
in a new open plain, near the river Bourde. Thither he repaired the day
before; and, pitching a tent, determined to remain on the spot all night,
in order to be ready early in the morning. Some pagans, who were his
inveterate enemies, having intelligence of this, poured down upon him and
the companions of his mission in the night, and killed him and fifty-two
of his companions and attendants on June 5, A.D. 755. Thus fell the great
father of the Germanic Church, the honor of England, and the glory of the
age in which he lived.
Forty-two persons of Armorian in Upper Phyrgia, were martyred in the
year 845, by the Saracens, the circumstances of which transactions are
as follows:
In the reign of Theophilus, the Saracens ravaged many parts of the eastern
empire, gained several considerable advantages over the Christians, took
the city of Armorian, and numbers suffered martyrdom.
Flora and Mary, two ladies of distinction, suffered martyrdom at the
same time.
Perfectus was born at Corduba, in Spain, and brought up in the Christian
faith. Having a quick genius, he made himself master of all the useful
and polite literature of that age; and at the same time was not more celebrated
for his abilities than admired for his piety. At length he took priest's
orders, and performed the duties of his office with great assiduity and
punctuality. Publicly declaring Mahomet an impostor, he was sentenced to
be beheaded, and was accordingly executed, A.D. 850; after which his body
was honorably interred by the Christians.
Adalbert, bishop of Prague, a Bohemian by birth, after being involved
in many troubles, began to direct his thoughts to the conversion of the
infidels, to which end he repaired to Dantzic, where he converted and baptized
many, which so enraged the pagan priests, that they fell upon him, and
despatched him with darts, on April 23, A.D. 997.
The see of Winchester being vacant by the death of Ethelwold, Dunstan,
archbishop of Canterbury, as primate of all England, consecrated Alphage
to the vacant bishopric, to the general satisfaction of all concerned in
the diocese.
Dustain had an extraordinary veneration for Alphage, and, when at the
point of death, made it his ardent request to God that he might succeed
him in the see of Canterbury; which accordingly happened, though not until
about eighteen years after Dunstan's death in 1006.
After Alphage had governed the see of Canterbury about four years, with
great reputation to himself, and benefit to his people, the Danes made
an incursion into England, and laid siege to Canterbury. When the design
of attacking this city was known, many of the principal people made a flight
from it, and would have persuaded Alphage to follow their example. But
he, like a good pastor, would not listen to such a proposal. While he was
employed in assisting and encouraging the people, Canterbury was taken
by storm; the enemy poured into the town, and destroyed all that came in
their way by fire and sword. He had the courage to address the enemy, and
offer himself to their swords, as more worthy of their rage than the people:
he begged they might be saved, and that they would discharge their whole
fury upon him. They accordingly seized him, tied his hands, insulted and
abused him in a rude and barbarous manner, and obliged him to remain on
the spot until his church was burnt, and the monks massacred. They then
decimated all the inhabitants, both ecclesiastics and laymen, leaving only
every tenth person alive; so that they put 7236 persons to death, and left
only four monks and 800 laymen alive, after which they confined the archbishop
in a dungeon, where they kept him close prisoner for several months.
During his confinement they proposed to him to redeem his liberty with
the sum of 3000 pounds, and to persuade the king to purchase their departure
out of the kingdom, with a further sum of 10,000 pounds. As A lphage's
circumstances would not allow him to satisfy the exorbitant demand, they
bound him, and put him to severe torments, to oblige him to discover the
treasure of the church; upon which they assured him of his life and liberty,
but the prelate piously persisted in refusing to give the pagans any account
of it. They remanded him to prison again, confined him six days longer,
and then, taking him prisoner with them to Greenwich, brought him to trial
there. He still remained inflexible with respect to the church treasure;
but exhorted them to forsake their idolatry, and embrace Christianity.
This so greatly incensed the Danes, that the soldiers dragged him out of
the camp and beat him unmercifully. One of the soldiers, who had been converted
by him, knowing that his pains would be lingering, as his death was determined
on, actuated by a kind of barbarous compassion, cut off his head, and thus
put the finishing stroke to his martyrdom, April 19, A.D. 1012. This transaction
happened on the very spot where the church at Greenwich, which is dedicated
to him, now stands. After his death his body was thrown into the Thames,
but being found the next day, it was buried in the cathedral of St. Paul's
by the bishops of London and Lincoln; from whence it was, in 1023, removed
to Canterbury by Ethelmoth, the archbishop of that province.
Gerard, a Venetian, devoted himself to the service of God from his tender
years: entered into a religious house for some time, and then determined
to visit the Holy Land. Going into Hungary, he became acquainted with Stephen,
the king of that country, who made him bishop of Chonad.
Ouvo and Peter, successors of Stephen, being deposed, Andrew, son of
Ladislaus, cousin-german to Stephen, had then a tender of the crown made
him upon condition that he would employ his authority in extirpating the
Christian religion out of Hungary. The ambitious prince came into the proposal,
but Gerard being informed of his impious bargain, thought it his duty to
remonstrate against the enormity of Andrew's crime, and persuade him to
withdraw his promise. In this view he undertook to go to that prince, attended
by three prelates, full of like zeal for religion. The new king was at
Alba Regalis, but, as the four bishops were going to cross the Danube,
they were stopped by a party of soldiers posted there. They bore an attack
of a shower of stones patiently, when the soldiers beat them unmercifully,
and at length despatched them with lances. Their martyrdoms happened in
the year 1045.
Stanislaus, bishop of Cracow, was descended from an illustrious Polish
family. The piety of his parents was equal to their opulence, and the latter
they rendered subservient to all the purposes of charity and benevolence.
Stanislaus remained for some time undetermined whether he should embrace
a monastic life, or engage among the secular clergy. He was at length persuaded
to the latter by Lambert Zula, bishop of Cracow, who gave him holy orders,
and made him a canon of his cathedral. Lambert died on November 25, 1071,
when all concerned in the choice of a successor declared for Stanislaus,
and he succeeded to the prelacy.
Bolislaus, the second king of Poland, had, by nature, many good qualities,
but giving away to his passions, he ran into many enormities, and at length
had the appellation of Cruel bestowed upon him. Stanislaus alone had the
courage to tell him of his faults, when, taking a private opportunity,
he freely displayed to him the enormities of his crimes. The king, greatly
exasperated at his repeated freedoms, at length determined, at any rate,
to get the better of a prelate who was so extremely faithful. Hearing one
day that the bishop was by himself, in the chapel of St. Michael, at a
small distance from the town, he despatched some soldiers to murder him.
The soldiers readily undertook the bloody task; but, when they came into
the presence of Stanislaus, the venerable aspect of the prelate struck
them with such awe that they could not perform what they had promised.
On their return, the king 19c , finding that they had not obeyed his orders,
stormed at them violently, snatched a dagger from one of them, and ran
furiously to the chapel, where, finding Stanislaus at the altar, he plunged
the weapon into his heart. The prelate immediately expired on May 8, A.D.
1079.
CHAPTER 4
back to Table of Contents The principal among these was Berengarius, who, about the year 1000,
boldly preached Gospel truths, according to their primitive purity. Many,
from conviction, assented to his doctrine, and were, on that account, called
Berengarians. To Berengarius succeeded Peer Bruis, who preached at Toulouse,
under the protection of an earl, named Hildephonsus; and the whole tenets
of the reformers, with the reasons of their separation from the Church
of Rome, were published in a book written by Bruis, under the title of
"Antichrist."
By the year of Christ 1140, the number of the reformed was very great,
and the probability of its increasing alarmed the pope, who wrote to several
princes to banish them from their dominions, and employed many learned
men to write against their doctrines.
In A.D. 1147, because of Henry of Toulouse, deemed their most eminent
preacher, they were called Henericians; and as they would not admit of
any proofs relative to religion, but what could be deduced from the Scriptures
themselves, the popish party gave them the name of apostolics. At length,
Peter Waldo, or Valdo, a native of Lyons, eminent for his piety and learning,
became a strenuous opposer of popery; and from him the reformed, at that
time, received the appellation of Waldenses or Waldoys.
Pope Alexander III being informed by the bishop of Lyons of these transactions,
excommunicated Waldo and his adherents, and commanded the bishop to exterminate
them, if possible, from the face of the earth; hence began the papal persecutions
against the Waldenses.
The proceedings of Waldo and the reformed, occasioned the first rise
of the inquisitors; for Pope Innocent III authorized certain monks as inquisitors,
to inquire for, and deliver over, the reformed to the secular power. The
process was short, as an accusation was deemed adequate to guilt, and a
candid trial was never granted to the accused.
The pope, finding that these cruel means had not the intended effect,
sent several learned monks to preach among the Waldenses, and to endeavor
to argue them out of their opinions. Among these monks was one Dominic,
who appeared extremely zealous in the cause of popery. This Dominic instituted
an order, which, from him, was called the order of Dominican friars; and
the members of this order have ever since been the principal inquisitors
in the various inquisitions in the world. The power of the inquisitors
was unlimited; they proceeded against whom they pleased, without any
consideration of age, sex, or rank. Let the accusers be ever so infamous,
the accusation was deemed valid; and even anonymous informations, sent
by letter, were thought sufficient evidence. To be rich was a crime equal
to heresy; therefore many who had money were accused of heresy, or of being
favorers of heretics, that they might be obliged to pay for their opinions.
The dearest friends or nearest kindred could not, without danger, serve
any one who was imprisoned on account of religion. To convey to those who
were confined, a little straw, or give them a cup of water, was called
favoring of the heretics, and they were prosecuted accordingly. No lawyer
dared to plead for his own brother, and their malice even extended beyond
the grave; hence the bones of many were dug up and burnt, as examples to
the living. If a man on his deathbed was accused of being a follower of
Waldo, his estates were confiscated, and the heir to them defrauded of
his inheritance; and some were sent to the Holy Land, while the Dominicans
took possession of their houses and properties, and, when the owners returned,
would often pretend not to know them. These persecutions were continued
for several centuries under different popes and other great dignitaries
of the Catholic Church.
A friar, named Peter, having been murdered in the dominions of the earl
of Toulouse, the pope made the murder a pretense to persecute that nobleman
and his subjects. To effect this, he sent persons throughout all Europe,
in order to raise forces to act coercively against the Albigenses, and
promised paradise to all that would come to this war, which he termed a
Holy War, and bear arms for forty days. The same indulgences were likewise
held out to all who entered themselves for the purpose as to such as engaged
in crusades to the Holy Land. The brave earl defended Toulouse and other
places with the most heroic bravery and various success against the pope's
legates and Simon, earl of Montfort, a bigoted Catholic nobleman. Unable
to subdue the earl of Toulouse openly, the king of France, and the queen
mother, and three archbishops raised another formidable army, and had the
art to persuade the earl of Toulouse to come to a conference, when he was
treacherously seized upon, made a prisoner, forced to appear barefooted
and bareheaded before his enemies, and compelled to subscribe an abject
recantation. This was followed by a severe persecution against the Albigenses;
and express orders that the laity should not be permitted to read the sacred
Scriptures. In the year 1620 also, the persecution against the Albigenses
was very severe. In 1648 a heavy persecution raged throughout Lithuania
and Poland. The cruelty of the Cossacks was so excessive that the Tartars
themselves were ashamed of their barbarities. Among others who suffered
was the Rev. Adrian Chalinski, who was roasted alive by a slow fire, and
whose sufferings and mode of death may depict the horrors which the professors
of Christianity have endured from the enemies of the Redeemer.
The reformation of papistical error very early was projected in France;
for in the third century a learned man, named Almericus, and six of his
disciples, were ordered to be burnt at Paris for asserting that God was
no otherwise present in the sacramental bread than in any other bread;
that it was idolatry to build altars or shrines to saints and that it was
ridiculous to offer incense to them.
The martyrdom of Almericus and his pupils did not, however, prevent
many from acknowledging th e justness of his notions, and seeing the
purity of the reformed religion, so that the faith of Christ continually
increased, and in time not only spread itself over many parts of France,
but diffused the light of the Gospel over various other countries.
In the year 1524, at a town in France, called Melden, one John Clark
set up a bill on the church door, wherein he called the pope Antichrist.
For this offence he was repeatedly whipped, and then branded on the forehead.
Going afterward to Mentz, in Lorraine, he demolished some images, for which
he had his right hand and nose cut off, and his arms and breast torn with
pincers. He sustained these cruelties with amazing fortitude, and was even
sufficiently cool to sing the One hundredth and fifteenth Psalm, which
expressly forbids idolatry; after which he was thrown into the fire, and
burnt to ashes.
Many persons of the reformed persuasion were, about this time, beaten,
racked, scourged, and burnt to death, in several parts of France, but more
particularly at Paris, Malda, and Limosin.
A native of Malda was burnt by a slow fire, for saying that Mass was
a plain denial of the death and passion of Christ. At Limosin, John de
Cadurco, a clergyman of the reformed religion, was apprehended and ordered
to be burnt.
Francis Bribard, secretary to cardinal de Pellay, for speaking in favor
of the reformed, had his tongue cut out, and was then burnt, A.D. 1545.
James Cobard, a schoolmaster in the city of St. Michael, was burnt, A.D.
1545, for saying 'That Mass was useless and absurd'; and about the same
time, fourteen men were burnt at Malda, their wives being compelled to
stand by and behold the execution.
A.D. 1546, Peter Chapot brought a number of Bibles in the French tongue
to France, and publicly sold them there; for which he was brought to trial,
sentenced, and executed a few days afterward. Soon after, a cripple of
Meaux, a schoolmaster of Fera, named Stephen Poliot, and a man named John
English, were burnt for the faith.
Monsieur Blondel, a rich jeweler, was, in A.D. 1548, apprehended at
Lyons, and sent to Paris; there he was burnt for the faith by order of
the court, A.D. 1549. Herbert, a youth of nineteen years of age, was committed
to the flames at Dijon; as was also Florent Venote in the same year.
In the year 1554, two men of the reformed religion, with the son and
daughter of one of them, were apprehended and committed to the castle of
Niverne. On examination, they confessed their faith, and were ordered to
execution; being smeared with grease, brimstone, and gunpowder, they cried,
"Salt on, salt on this sinful and rotten flesh." Their tongues were then
cut out, and they were afterward committed to the flames, which soon consumed
them, by means of the combustible matter with which they were besmeared.
The soldiers were appointed at a certain signal to burst out instantly
to the slaughter in all parts of the city. When th ey had killed the
admiral, they threw him out at a window into the street, where his head
was cut off, and sent to the pope. The savage papists, still raging against
him, cut off his arms and private members, and, after dragging him three
days through the streets, hung him by the heels without the city. After
him they slew many great and honorable persons who were Protestants; as
Count Rochfoucault, Telinius, the admiral's son-in-law, Antonius, Clarimontus,
marquis of Ravely, Lewes Bussius, Bandineus, Pluvialius, Burneius, etc.,
and falling upon the common people, they continued the slaughter for many
days; in the three first they slew of all ranks and conditions to the number
of ten thousand. The bodies were thrown into the rivers, and blood ran
through the streets with a strong current, and the river appeared presently
like a stream of blood. So furious was their hellish rage, that they slew
all papists whom they suspected to be not very staunch to their diabolical
religion. From Paris the destruction spread to all quarters of the realm.
At Orleans, a thousand were slain of men, women, and children, and six
thousand at Rouen.
At Meldith, two hundred were put into prison, and later brought out
by units, and cruelly murdered.
At Lyons, eight hundred were massacred. Here children hanging about
their parents, and parents affectionately embracing their children, were
pleasant food for the swords and bloodthirsty minds of those who call themselves
the Catholic Church. Here three hundred were slain in the bishop's house;
and the impious monks would suffer none to be buried.
At Augustobona, on the people hearing of the massacre at Paris, they
shut their gates that no Protestants might escape, and searching diligently
for every individual of the reformed Church, imprisoned and then barbarously
murdered them. The same curelty they practiced at Avaricum, at Troys, at
Toulouse, Rouen and many other places, running from city to city, towns,
and villages, through the kingdom.
As a corroboration of this horrid carnage, the following interesting
narrative, written by a sensible and learned Roman Catholic, appears in
this place, with peculiar propriety.
"The nuptials (says he) of the young king of Navarre with the French
king's sister, was solemnized with pomp; and all the endearments, all the
assurances of friendship, all the oaths sacred among men, were profusely
lavished by Catharine, the queen-mother, and by the king; during which,
the rest of the court thought of nothing but festivities, plays, and masquerades.
At last, at twelve o'clock at night, on the eve of St. Bartholomew, the
signal was given. Immediately all the houses of the Protestants were forced
open at once. Admiral Coligny, alarmed by the uproar jumped out of bed,
when a company of assassins rushed in his chamber. They were headed by
one Besme, who had been bred up as a domestic in the family of the Guises.
This wretch thrust his sword into the admiral's breast, and also cut him
in the face. Besme was a German, and being afterwards taken by the Protestants,
the Rochellers would have brought him, in order to hang and quarter him;
but he was killed by one Bretanville. Henry, the young duke of Guise, who
afterwards framed the Catholic league, and was murdered at Blois, standing
at the door until the horrid butchery should be completed, called aloud,
'Besme! is it done?' Immediately after this, the ruffians threw the body
out of the window, and Coligny expired at Guise's feet.
"Count de Teligny also fell a sacrifice. He had married, about ten months
before, Coligny's daughter. His countenance was so engaging, that the ruffians,
when they advanced in order to kill him, were struck with compassion; but
others, more barbarous, rushing forward, murdered him.
"In the meantime, all the friends of Coligny were assassinated throughout
Paris; men, women, and children were promiscuously slaughtered and every
street was strewed with expiring bodies. Some priests, holding up a crucifix
in one hand, and a dagger i n the other, ran to the chiefs of the
murderers, and strongly exhorted them to spare neither relations nor friends.
"Tavannes, marshal of France, an ignorant, superstitious soldier, who
joined the fury of religion to the rage of party, rode on horseback through
the streets of Paris, crying to his men, 'Let blood! let blood! bleeding
is as wholesome in August as in May.' In the memories of the life of this
enthusiastic, written by his son, we are told that the father, being on
his deathbed, and making a general confession of his actions, the priest
said to him, with surprise, 'What! no mention of St. Bartholomew's massacre?'
to which Tavannes replied, 'I consider it as a meritorious action, that
will wash away all my sins.' Such horrid sentiments can a false spirit
of religion inspire!
"The king's palace was one of the chief scenes of the butchery; the
king of Navarre had his lodgings in the Louvre, and all his domestics were
Protestants. Many of these were killed in bed with their wives; others,
running away naked, were pursued by the soldiers through the several rooms
of the palace, even to the king's antichamber. The young wife of Henry
of Navarre, awaked by the dreadful uproar, being afraid for her consort,
and for her own life, seized with horror, and half dead, flew from her
bed, in order to throw herself at the feet of the king her brother. But
scarce had she opened her chamber door, when some of her Protestant domestics
rushed in for refuge. The soldiers immediately followed, pursued them in
sight of the princess, and killed one who crept under her bed. Two others,
being wounded with halberds, fell at the queen's feet, so that she was
covered with blood.
"Count de la Rochefoucault, a young nobleman, greatly in the king's
favor for his comely air, his politeness, and a certain peculiar happiness
in the turn of his conversation, had spent the evening until eleven o'clock
with the monarch, in pleasant familiarity; and had given a loose, with
the utmost mirth, to the sallies of his imagination. The monarch felt some
remorse, and being touched with a kind of compassion, bid him, two or three
times, not to go home, but lie in the Louvre. The count said he must go
to his wife; upon which the king pressed him no farther, but said, 'Let
him go! I see God has decreed his death.' And in two hours after he was
murdered.
"Very few of the Protestants escaped the fury of their enthusiastic
persecutors. Among these was young La Force (afterwards the famous Marshal
de la Force) a child about ten years of age, whose deliverance was exceedingly
remarkable. His father, his elder brother, and he himself were seized together
by the Duke of Anjou's soldier. These murderers flew at all three, and
struck them at random, when they all fell, and lay one upon another. The
youngest did not receive a single blow, but appearing as if he was dead,
escaped the next day; and his life, thus wonderfully preserved, lasted
four score and five years.
"Many of the wretched victims fled to the water side, and some swam
over the Seine to the suburbs of St. Germaine. The king saw them from his
window, which looked upon the river, and fired upon them with a carbine
that had been loaded for that purpose by one of his pages; while the queen-mother,
undisturbed and serene in the midst of slaughter, looking down from a balcony,
encouraged the murderers and laughed at the dying groans of the slaughtered.
This barbarous queen was fired with a restless ambition, and she perpetually
shifted her party in order to satiate it.
"Some days after this horrid transaction, the French court endeavored
to palliate it by forms of law. They pretended to justify the massacre
by a calumny, and accused the admiral of a conspiracy, which no one believed.
The parliament was commended to proceed against the memory of Coligny;
and his dead body was hanged in chains on Montfaucon gallows. The king
himself went to view this shocking spectacle. So one of his courtiers advised
him to retire, and complaining of the stench of the corpse , he replied,
'A dead enemuy smells well.' The massacres on St. Bartholomew's day are
painted in the royal saloon of the Vatican at Rome, with the following
inscription: Pontifex, Coligny necem probat, i.e., 'The pope approves of
Coligny's death.'
"The young king of Navarre was spared through policy, rather than from
the pity of the queen-mother, she keeping him prisoner until the king's
death, in order that he might be as a security and pledge for the submission
of such Protestants as might effect their escape.
"This horrid butchery was not confined merely to the city of Paris.
The like orders were issued from court to the governors of all the provinces
in France; so that, in a week's time, about one hundred thousand Protestants
were cut to pieces in different parts of the kingdom! Two or three governors
only refused to obey the king's orders. One of these, named Montmorrin,
governor of Auvergne, wrote the king the following letter, which deserves
to be transmitted to the latest posterity.
"SIRE: I have received an order, under your majesty's seal, to put to
death all the Protestants in my province. I have too much respect for your
majesty, not to believe the letter a forgery; but if (which God forbid)
the order should be genuine, I have too much respect for your majesty to
obey it."
At Rome the horrid joy was so great, that they appointed a day of high
festival, and a jubilee, with great indulgence to all who kept it and showed
every expression of gladness they could devise! and the man who first carried
the news received crowns of the cardinal of Lorraine for his ungodly
message. The king also commanded the day to be kept with every demonstration
of joy, concluding now that the whole race of Huguenots was extinct.
Many who gave great sums of money for their ransom were immediately
after slain; and several towns, which were under the king's promise of
protection and safety, were cut off as soon as they delivered themselves
up, on those promises, to his generals or captains.
At Bordeaux, at the instigation of a villainous monk, who used to urge
the papists to slaughter in his sermons, two hundred and sixty-four were
cruelly murdered; some of them senators. Another of the same pious fraternity
produced a similar slaughter at Agendicum, in Maine, where the populace
at the holy inquisitors' satanical suggestion, ran upon the Protestants,
slew them, plundered their houses, and pulled down their church.
The duke of Guise, entering into Blois, suffered his soldiers to fly
upon the spoil, and slay or drown all the Protestants they could find.
In this they spared neither age nor sex; defiling the women, and then murdering
them; from whence he went to Mere, and committed the same outrages for
many days together. Here they found a minister named Cassebonius, and threw
him into the river.
At Anjou, they slew Albiacus, a minister; and many women were defiled
and murdered there; among whom were two sisters, abused before their father,
whom the assassins bound to a wall to see them, and then slew them and
him.
The president of Turin, after giving a large sum for his life, was cruelly
beaten with clubs, stripped of his clothes, and hung feet upwards, with
his head and breast in the river: before he was dead, they opened his belly,
plucked out his entrails, and threw them into the river; and then carried
his heart about the city upon a spear.
At Barre great cruelty was used, even to young children, whom they cut
open, pulled out their entrails, which through very rage they gnawed with
their teeth. Those who had fled to the castle, when they yielded, were
almost hanged. Thus they did at the city of Matiscon; counting it sport
to cut off their arms and legs and afterward kill them; and for the entertainment
of their visitors, they often threw the Protestants from a high bridge
into the river, saying, "Did you ever see men leap so well?"
At Penna, after promising them safety, three hundred were inhumanly
butchered; and five and forty at Albia, on the Lord's Day. At Nonne,
though it yielded on conditions of safeguard, the most horrid spectacles
were exhibited. Persons of both sexes and conditions were indiscriminately
murdered; the streets ringing with doleful cries, and flowing with blood;
and the houses flaming with fire, which the abandoned soldiers had thrown
in. One woman, being dragged from her hiding place with her husband, was
first abused by the brutal soldiers, and then with a sword which they commanded
her to draw, they forced it while in her hands into the bowels of her husband.
At Samarobridge, they murdered above one hundred Protestants, after
promising them peace; and at Antsidor, one hundred were killed, and cast
part into a jakes, and part into a river. One hundred put into a prison
at Orleans, were destroyed by the furious multitude.
The Protestants at Rochelle, who were such as had miraculously escaped
the rage of hell, and fled there, seeing how ill they fared who submitted
to those holy devils, stood for their lives; and some other cities, encouraged
thereby, did the like. Against Rochelle, the king sent almost the whole
power of France, which besieged it seven months; though by their assaults,
they did very little execution on the inhabitants, yet by famine, they
destroyed eighteen thousand out of two and twenty. The dead, being too
numerous for the living to bury, became food for vermin and carnivorous
birds. Many took their coffins into the church yard, laid down in them,
and breathed their last. Their diet had long been what the minds of those
in plenty shudder at; even human flesh, entrails, dung, and the most loathsome
things, became at last the only food of those champions for that truth
and liberty, of which the world was not worthy. At every attack, the besiegers
met with such an intrepid reception, that they left one hundred and thirty-two
captains, with a proportionate number of men, dead in the field. The siege
at last was broken up at the request of the duke of Anjou, the king's brother,
who was proclaimed king of Poland, and the king, being wearied out, easily
complied, whereupon honorable conditions were granted them.
It is a remarkable interference of Providence, that, in all this dreadful
massacre, not more than two ministers of the Gospel were involved in it.
The tragical sufferings of the Protestants are too numerous to detail;
but the treatment of Philip de Deux will give an idea of the rest. After
the miscreants had slain this martyr in his bed, they went to his wife,
who was then attended by the midwife, expecting every moment to be delivered.
The midwife entreated them to stay the murder, at least till the child,
which was the twentieth, should be born. Notwithstanding this, they thrust
a dagger up to the hilt into the poor woman. Anxious to be delivered, she
ran into a corn loft; but hither they pursued her, stabbed her in the belly,
and then threw her into the street. By the fall, the child came from the
dying mother, and being caught up by one of the Catholic ruffians, he stabbed
the infant, and then threw it into the river.
On the accession of Louis XIV the kingdom was almost ruined by civil
wars.
At this critical juncture, the Protestants, heedless of our Lord's admonition,
"They that take the sword shall perish with the sword," took such an active
part in favor of the king, that he was constrained to acknowledge himself
indebted to their arms for his establishment on the throne. Instead of
cherishing and rewarding tha t party who had fought for him, he reasoned
that the same power which had protected could overturn him, and, listening
to the popish machinations, he began to issue out proscriptions and restrictions,
indicative of his final determination. Rochelle was presently fettered
with an incredible number of denunciations. Montauban and Millau were sacked
by soldiers. Popish commissioners were appointed to preside over the affairs
of the Protestants, and there was no appeal from their ordinance, except
to the king's council. This struck at the root of their civil and religious
exercises, and prevented them, being Protestants, from suing a Catholic
in any court of law. This was followed by another injunction, to make an
inquiry in all parishes into whatever the Protestants had said or done
for twenty years past. This filled the prisons with innocent victims, and
condemned others to the galleys or banishment.
Protestants were expelled from all offices, trades, privileges, and
employs; thereby depriving them of the means of getting their bread: and
they proceeded to such excess in this brutality, that they would not suffer
even the midwives to officiate, but compelled their women to submit themselves
in that crisis of nature to their enemies, the brutal Catholics. Their
children were taken from them to be educated by the Catholics, and at seven
years of age, made to embrace popery. The reformed were prohibited from
relieving their own sick or poor, from all private worship, and divine
service was to be performed in the presence of a popish priest. To prevent
the unfortunate victims from leaving the kingdom, all the passages on the
frontiers were strictly guarded; yet, by the good hand of God, about 150,000
escaped their vigilance, and emigrated to different countries to relate
the dismal narrative.
All that has been related hitherto were only infringements on their
established charter, the edict of Nantes. At length the diabolical revocation
of that edict passed on the eighteenth of October, 1685, and was registered
the twenty-second, contrary to all form of law. Instantly the dragoons
were quartered upon the Protestants throughout the realm, and filled all
France with the like news, that the king would no longer suffer any Huguenots
in his kingdom, and therefore they must resolve to change their religion.
Hereupon the intendants in every parish (which were popish governors and
spies set over the Protestants) assembled the reformed inhabitants, and
told them they must, without delay, turn Catholics, either freely or by
force. The Protestants replied, that they 'were ready to sacrifice their
lives and estates to the king, but their consciences being God's they could
not so dispose of them.'
Instantly the troops seized the gates and avenues of the cities, and
placing guards in all the passages, entered with sword in hand, crying,
"Die, or be Catholics!" In short, they practiced every wickedness and horror
they could devise to force them to change their religion.
They hanged both men and women by their hair or their feet, and smoked
them with hay until they were nearly dead; and if they still refused to
sign a recantation, they hung them up again and repeated their barbarities,
until, wearied out with torments without death, they forced many to yield
to them.
Others, they plucked off all the hair of their heads and beards with
pincers. Others they threw on great fires, and pulled them out again, repeating
it until they extorted a promise to recant.
Some they stripped naked, and after offering them the most infamous
insults, they stuck them with pins from head to foot, and lanced them with
penknives; and sometimes with red-hot pincers they dragged them by the
nose until they promised to turn. Sometimes they tied fathers and husbands,
while they ravished their wives and daughters before their eyes. Multitudes
they imprisoned in the most noisome dungeons, where they practised all
sorts of torments in secret. Their wives and children they shut up in monasteries.
Such as endeavo red to escape by flight were pursued in the woods,
and hunted in the fields, and shot at like wild beasts; nor did any condition
or quality screen them from the ferocity of these infernal dragoons: even
the members of parliament and military officers, though on actual service,
were ordered to quit their posts, and repair directly to their houses to
suffer the like storm. Such as complained to the king were sent to the
Bastile, where they drank the same cup. The bishops and the intendants
marched at the head of the dragoons, with a troop of missionaries, monks,
and other ecclesiastics to animate the soldiers to an execution so agreeable
to their Holy Church, and so glorious to their demon god and their tyrant
king.
In forming the edict to repeal the edict of Nantes, the council were
divided; some would have all the ministers detained and forced into popery
as well as the laity; others were for banishing them, because their presence
would strengthen the Protestants in perseverance: and if they were forced
to turn, they would ever be secret and powerful enemies in the bosom of
the Church, by their great knowledge and experience in controversial matters.
This reason prevailing, they were sentenced to banishment, and only fifteen
days allowed them to depart the kingdom.
On the same day that the edict for revoking the Protestants' charter
was published, they demolished their churches and banished their ministers,
whom they allowed but twenty-four hours to leave Paris. The papists would
not suffer them to dispose of their effects, and threw every obstacle in
their way to delay their escape until the limited time was expired which
subjected them to condemnation for life to the galleys. The guards were
doubled at the seaports, and the prisons were filled with the victims,
who endured torments and wants at which human nature must shudder.
The sufferings of the ministers and others, who were sent to the galleys,
seemed to exceed all. Chained to the oar, they were exposed to the open
air night and day, at all seasons, and in all weathers; and when through
weakness of body they fainted under the oar, instead of a cordial to revive
them, or viands to refresh them, they received only the lashes of a scourge,
or the blows of a cane or rope's end. For the want of sufficient clothing
and necessary cleanliness, they were most grievously tormented with vermin,
and cruelly pinched with the cold, which removed by night the executioners
who beat and tormented them by day. Instead of a bed, they were allowed
sick or well, only a hard board, eighteen inches broad, to sleep on, without
any covering but their wretched apparel; which was a shirt of the coarsest
canvas, a little jerkin of red serge, slit on each side up to the armholes,
with open sleeves that reached not to the elbow; and once in three years
they had a coarse frock, and a little cap to cover their heads, which were
always kept close shaved as a mark of their infamy. The allowance of provision
was as narrow as the sentiments of those who condemned them to such miseries,
and their treatment when sick is too shocking to relate; doomed to die
upon the boards of a dark hold, covered with vermin, and without the least
convenience for the calls of nature. Nor was it among the least of the
horrors they endured, that, as ministers of Christ, and honest men, they
were chained side by side to felons and the most execrable villains, whose
blasphemous tongues were never idle. If they refused to hear Mass, they
were sentenced to the bastinado, of which dreadful punishment the following
is a description. Preparatory to it, the chains are taken off, and the
victims delivered into the hands of the Turks that preside at the oars,
who strip them quite naked, and stretching them upon a great gun, they
are held so that they cannot stir; during which there reigns an awful silence
throughout the galley. The Turk who is appointed the executioner, and who
thinks the sacrifice acceptable to his prophet Mahomet, most cruelly beats
the wretched victim with a rough cudgel, or knotty r ope's end, until
the skin is flayed off his bones, and he is near the point of expiring;
then they apply a most tormenting mixture of vinegar and salt, and consign
him to that most intolerable hospital where thousands under their cruelties
have expired.
John Calas was a merchant of the city of Toulouse, where he had been
settled, and lived in good repute, and had married an English woman of
French extraction. Calas and his wife were Protestants, and had five sons,
whom they educated in the same religion; but Lewis, one of the sons, became
a Roman Catholic, having been converted by a maidservant, who had lived
in the family about thirty years. The father, however, did not express
any resentment or ill-will upon the occasion, but kept the maid in the
family and settled an annuity upon the son. In October, 1761, the family
consisted of John Calas and his wife, one woman servant, Mark Antony Calas,
the eldest son, and Peter Calas, the second son. Mark Antony was bred to
the law, but could not be admitted to practice, on account of his being
a Protestant; hence he grew melancholy, read all the books he could procure
relative to suicide, and seemed determined to destroy himself. To this
may be added that he led a dissipated life, was greatly addicted to gaming,
and did all which could constitute the character of a libertine; on which
account his father frequently reprehended him and sometimes in terms of
severity, which considerably added to the gloom that seemed to oppress
him.
On the thirteenth of October, 1761, Mr. Gober la Vaisse, a young gentleman
about 19 years of age, the son of La Vaisse, a celebrated advocate of Toulouse,
about five o'clock in the evening, was met by John Calas, the father, and
the eldest son Mark Antony, who was his friend. Calas, the father, invited
him to supper, and the family and their guest sat down in a room up one
pair of stairs; the whole company, consisting of Calas the father, and
his wife, Antony and Peter Calas, the sons, and La Vaisse the guest, no
other person being in the house, except the maidservant who has been already
mentioned.
It was now about seven o'clock. The supper was not long; but before
it was over, Antony left the table, and went into the kitchen, which was
on the same floor, as he was accustomed to do. The maid asked him if he
was cold? He answered, "Quite the contrary, I burn"; and then left her.
In the meantime his friend and family left the room they had supped in,
and went into a bed-chamber; the father and La Vaisse sat down together
on a sofa; the younger son Peter in an elbow chair; and the mother in another
chair; and, without making any inquiry after Antony, continued in conversation
together until between nine and ten o'clock, when La Vaisse took his leave,
and Peter, who had fallen asleep, was awakened to attend him with a light.
On the ground floor of Calas's house was a shop and a warehouse, the
latter of which was divided from the shop by a pair of folding doors. When
Peter Calas and La Vaisse came downstairs into the shop, they were extremely
shocked to see Antony hanging in his shirt, from a bar which he had laid
across the top of the two folding doors, having half opened them for that
purpose. On discovery of this horrid spectacle, they shrieked out, which
brought down Calas the father, the mother being seized with such terror
as kept her trembling in the passage above. When the maid discovered what
had happened, she continued below, either because she feared to carry an
account of it to her mistress, or because she busied herself in doing some
good office to her master, who was embracing the body of his son, and bathing
it in his tears. The mot her, therefore, being thus left alone, went
down and mixed in the scene that has been already described, with such
emotions as it must naturally produce. In the meantime Peter had been sent
for La Moire, a surgeon in the neighborhood. La Moire was not at home,
but his apprentice, Mr. Grosle, came instantly. Upon examination, he found
the body quite dead; and by this time a papistical crowd of people were
gathered about the house, and, having by some means heard that Antony Calas
was suddenly dead, and that the surgeon who had examined the body, declared
that he had been strangled, they took it into their heads he had been murdered;
and as the family was Protestant, they presently supposed that the young
man was about to change his religion, and had been put to death for that
reason.
The poor father, overwhelmed with grief for the loss of his child, was
advised by his friends to send for the officers of justice to prevent his
being torn to pieces by the Catholic multitude, who supposed he had murdered
his son. This was accordingly done and David, the chief magistrate, or
capitol, took the father, Peter the son, the mother, La Vaisse, and the
maid, all into custody, and set a guard over them. He sent for M. de la
Tour, a physician, and MM. la Marque and Perronet, surgeons, who examined
the body for marks of violence, but found none except the mark of the ligature
on the neck; they found also the hair of the deceased done up in the usual
manner, perfectly smooth, and without the least disorder: his clothes were
also regularly folded up, and laid upon the counter, nor was his shirt
either torn or unbuttoned.
Notwithstanding these innocent appearances, the capitol thought proper
to agree with the opinion of the mob, and took it into his head that old
Calas had sent for La Vaisse, telling him that he had a son to be hanged;
that La Vaisse had come to perform the office of executioner; and that
he had received assistance from the father and brother.
As no proof of the supposed fact could be procured, the capitol had
recourse to a monitory, or general information, in which the crime was
taken for granted, and persons were required to give such testimony against
it as they were able. This recites that La Vaisse was commissioned by the
Protestants to be their executioner in ordinary, when any of their children
were to be hanged for changing their religion: it recites also, that, when
the Protestants thus hang their children, they compel them to kneel, and
one of the interrogatories was, whether any person had seen Antony Calas
kneel before his father when he strangled him: it recites likewise, that
Antony died a Roman Catholic, and requires evidence of his catholicism.
But before this monitory was published, the mob had got a notion that
Antony Calas was the next day to have entered into the fraternity of the
White Penitents. The capitol therefore caused his body to be buried in
the middle of St. Stephen's Church. A few days after the interment of the
deceased, the White Penitents performed a solemn service for him in their
chapel; the church was hung with white, and a tomb was raised in the middle
of it, on the top of which was placed a human skeleton, holding in one
hand a paper, on which was written "Abjuration of heresy," and in the other
a palm, the emblem of martyrdom. The next day the Franciscans performed
a service of the same kind for him.
The capitol continued the persecution with unrelenting severity, and,
without the least proof coming in, thought fit to condemn the unhappy father,
mother, brother, friend, and servant, to the torture, and put them all
into irons on the eighteenth of November.
From these dreadful proceedings the sufferers appealed to the parliament,
which immediately took cognizance of the affair, and annulled the sentence
of the capitol as irregular, but they continued the prosecution, and, upon
the hangman deposing it was impossible Antony should hang himself as was
pretended, the majority of the parliament were of the opinion, that the
prisoners w ere guilty, and therefore ordered them to be tried by
the criminal court of Toulouse. One voted him innocent, but after long
debates the majority was for the torture and wheel, and probably condemned
the father by way of experiment, whether he was guilty or not, hoping he
would, in the agony, confess the crime, and accuse the other prisoners,
whose fate, therefore, they suspended.
Poor Calas, however, an old man of sixty-eight, was condemned to this
dreadful punishment alone. He suffered the torture with great constancy,
and was led to execution in a frame of mind which excited the admiration
of all that saw him, and particularly of the two Dominicans (Father Bourges
and Father Coldagues) who attended him in his last moments, and declared
that they thought him not only innocent of the crime laid to his charge,
but also an exemplary instance of true Christian patience, fortitude, and
charity. When he saw the executioner prepared to give him the last stroke,
he made a fresh declaration to Father Bourges, but while the words were
still in his mouth, the capitol, the author of this catastrophe, who came
upon the scaffold merely to gratify his desire of being a witness of his
punishment and death, ran up to him, and bawled out, "Wretch, there are
fagots which are to reduce your body to ashes! speak the truth." M. Calas
made no reply, but turned his head a little aside; and that moment the
executioner did his office.
The popular outcry against this family was so violent in Languedoc,
that every body expected to see the children of Calas broke upon the wheel,
and the mother burnt alive.
Young Donat Calas was advised to fly into Switzerland: he went, and
found a gentleman who, at first, could only pity and relieve him, without
daring to judge of the rigor exercised against the father, mother, and
brothers. Soon after, one of the brothers, who was only banished, likewise
threw himself into the arms of the same person, who, for more than a month,
took every possible precaution to be assured of the innocence of the family.
Once convinced, he thought himself, obliged, in conscience, to employ his
friends, his purse, his pen, and his credit, to repair the fatal mistake
of the seven judges of Toulouse, and to have the proceedings revised by
the king's council. This revision lasted three years, and it is well known
what honor Messrs. de Grosne and Bacquancourt acquired by investigating
this memorable cause. Fifty masters of the Court of Requests unanimously
declared the whole family of Calas innocent, and recommended them to the
benevolent justice of his majesty. The Duke de Choiseul, who never let
slip an opportunity of signalizing the greatness of his character, not
only assisted this unfortunate family with money, but obtained for them
a gratuity of 36,000 livres from the king.
On the ninth of March, 1765, the arret was signed which justified the
family of Calas, and changed their fate. The ninth of March, 1762, was
the very day on which the innocent and virtuous father of that family had
been executed. All Paris ran in crowds to see them come out of prison,
and clapped their hands for joy, while the tears streamed from their eyes.
This dreadful example of bigotry employed the pen of Voltaire in deprecation
of the horrors of superstition; and though an infidel himself, his essay
on toleration does honor to his pen, and has been a blessed means of abating
the rigor of persecution in most European states. Gospel purity will equally
shun superstition and cruelty, as the mildness of Christ's tenets teaches
only to comfort in this world, and to procure salvation in the next. To
persecute for being of a different opinion is as absurd as to persecute
for having a different countenance: if we honor God, keep sacred the pure
doctrines of Christ, put a full confidence in the promises contained in
the Holy Scriptures, and obey the political laws of the state in which
we reside, we have an undoubted right to protection instead of persecution,
and to serve heaven as our consciences, regulated by the G a2 ospel rules,
may direct.
CHAPTER 5
back to Table of Contents At the head of these inquisitors was one Dominic, who had been canonized
by the pope, in order to render his authority the more respectable. Dominic,
and the other inquisitors, spread themselves into various Roman Catholic
countries, and treated the Protestants with the utmost severity. In process
of time, the pope, not finding these roving inquisitors so useful as he
had imagined, resolved upon the establishment of fixed and regular courts
of Inquisition. After the order for these regular courts, the first office
of Inquisition was established in the city of Toulouse, and Dominic became
the first regular inquisitor, as he had before been the first roving inquisitor.
Courts of Inquisition were now erected in several countries; but the
Spanish Inquisition became the most powerful, and the most dreaded of any.
Even the kings of Spain themselves, though arbitrary in all other respects,
were taught to dread the power of the lords of the Inquisition; and the
horrid cruelties they exercised compelled multitudes, who differed in opinion
from the Roman Catholics, carefully to conceal their sentiments.
The most zealous of all the popish monks, and those who most implicitly
obeyed the Church of Rome, were the Dominicans and Franciscans: these,
therefore, the pope thought proper to invest with an exclusive right of
presiding over the different courts of Inquisition, and gave them the most
unlimited powers, as judges delegated by him, and immediately representing
his person: they were permitted to excommunicate, or sentence to death
whom they thought proper, upon the most slight information of heresy. They
were allowed to publish crusades against all whom they deemed heretics,
and enter into leagues with sovereign princes, to join their crusades with
their forces.
In 1244, their power was further increased by the emperor Frederic II,
who declared himself the protector and friend of all the inquisitors, and
published the cruel edicts, viz., 1. That all heretics who continue obstinate,
should be burnt. 2. That all heretics who repented, should be imprisoned
for life.
This zeal in the emperor, for the inquisitors of the Roman Catholic
persuasion, arose from a report which had been propagated throughout Europe,
that he intended to renounce Christianity, and turn Mahometan; the emperor
therefore, attempted, by the height of bigotry, to contradict the report,
and to show his attachment to popery by cruelty.
The officers of the Inquisition are three inquisitors, or judges, a
fiscal proctor, two secretaries, a magistrate, a messenger, a receiver,
a jailer, an agent of confiscated possessions; several assessors, counsellors,
executioners, physicians, surgeons, doorkeepers, familiars, and visitors,
who are sworn to secrecy.
The principal accusation against those who are subject to this tribunal
is heresy, which comprises all that is spoken, or written, against any
of the articles of the creed, or the traditions of the Roman Church. The
inquisition likewise takes cognizance of such as are accused of being magicians,
and of such who read the Bible in the common language, the Talmud of the
Jews, or the Alcoran of the Mahometans.
Upon all occasions the inquisitors carry on their processes with the
utmost severity, and punish those who offend them with the most un 1000
paralleled cruelty. A Protestant has seldom any mercy shown him, and a
Jew, who turns Christian, is far from being secure.
A defence in the Inquisition is of little use to the prisoner, for a
suspicion only is deemed sufficient cause of condemnation, and the greater
his wealth the greater his danger. The principal part of the inquisitors'
cruelties is owing to their rapacity: they destroy the life to possess
the property; and, under the pretence of zeal, plunder each obnoxious individual.
A prisoner in the Inquisition is never allowed to see the face of his
accuser, or of the witnesses against him, but every method is taken by
threats and tortures, to oblige him to accuse himself, and by that means
corroborate their evidence. If the jurisdiction of the Inquisition is not
fully allowed, vengeance is denounced against such as call it in question
for if any of its officers are opposed, those who oppose them are almost
certain to be sufferers for the temerity; the maxim of the Inquisition
being to strike terror, and awe those who are the objects of its power
into obedience. High birth, distinguished rank, great dignity, or eminent
employments, are no protection from its severities; and the lowest officers
of the Inquisition can make the highest characters tremble.
When the person impeached is condemned, he is either severely whipped,
violently tortured, sent to the galleys, or sentenced to death; and in
either case the effects are confiscated. After judgment, a procession is
performed to the place of execution, which ceremony is called an auto da
fe, or act of faith.
Of these prisoners, twenty men and women, with one renegade Mahometan,
were ordered to be burned; fifty Jews and Jewesses, having never before
been imprisoned, and repenting of their crimes, were sentenced to a long
confinement, and to wear a yellow cap. The whole court of Spain was present
on this occasion. The grand inquisitor's chair was placed in a sort of
tribunal far above that of the king.
Among those who were to suffer, was a young Jewess of exquisite beauty,
and but seventeen years of age. Being on the same side of the scaffold
where the queen was seated, she addressed her, in hopes of obtaining a
pardon, in the following pathetic speech: "Great queen, will not your royal
presence be of some service to me in my miserable condition? Have regard
to my youth; and, oh! consider, that I am about to die for professing a
religion imbibed from my earliest infancy!" Her majesty seemed greatly
to pity her distress, but turned away her eyes, as she did not dare to
speak a word in behalf of a person who had been declared a heretic.
Now Mass began, in the midst of which the priest came from the altar,
placed himself near the scaffold, and seated himself in a chair prepared
for that purpose.
The chief inquisitor then descended from the amphitheater, dressed in
his cope, and having a miter on his head. After having bowed to the altar,
he advanced towards the king's balcony, and went up to it, attended by
some of his officers, carrying a cross and the Gospels, with a book containing
the oath by which the kings of Spain oblige themselves to protect the Catholic
faith, to extirpate heretics, and to support with all their power and force
the prosecutions and decrees of the Inquisition: a like oath was administered
to the counsellors and whole assembly. The Mass was begun about twelve
at noon, and did not end until nine in the evening, being protracted by
a proclamation of the sentence of the several criminals, which were already
separately rehearsed aloud one after the other.
After this followed the burnings of the twenty-one men and women,
whose intrepidity in suffering that horrid death was truly astonishing.
The king's near situation to the criminals rendered their dying groans
very audible to him; he could not, however, be absent from this dreadful
scene, as it is esteemed a religious one; and his coronation oath obliged
him to give a sanction by his presence to all the acts of the tribunal.
What we have already said may be applied to inquisitions in general,
as well as to that of Spain in particular. The Inquisition belonging to
Portugal is exactly upon a similar plan to that of Spain, having been instituted
much about the same time, and put under the same regulations. The inquisitors
allow the torture to be used only three times, but during those times it
is so severely inflicted, that the prisoner either dies under it, or continues
always after a cripple, and suffers the severest pains upon every change
of weather. We shall give an ample description of the severe torments occasioned
by the torture, from the account of one who suffered it the three respective
times, but happily survived the cruelties he underwent.
At the first time of torturing, six executioners entered, stripped him
naked to his drawers, and laid him upon his back on a kind of stand, elevated
a few feet from the floor. The operation commenced by putting an iron collar
round his neck, and a ring to each foot, which fastened him to the stand.
His limbs being thus stretched out, they wound two ropes round each thigh;
which ropes being passed under the scaffold, through holes made for that
purpose, were all drawn tight at the same instant of time, by four of the
men, on a given signal.
It is easy to conceive that the pains which immediately succeeded were
intolerable; the ropes, which were of a small size, cut through the prisoner's
flesh to the bone, making the blood to gush out at eight different places
thus bound at a time. As the prisoner persisted in not making any confession
of what the inquisitors required, the ropes were drawn in this manner four
times successively.
The manner of inflicting the second torture was as follows: they forced
his arms backwards so that the palms of his hands were turned outward behind
him; when, by means of a rope that fastened them together at the wrists,
and which was turned by an engine, they drew them by degrees nearer each
other, in such a manner that the back of each hand touched, and stood exactly
parallel to each other. In consequence of this violent contortion, both
his shoulders became dislocated, and a considerable quantity of blood issued
from his mouth. This torture was repeated thrice; after which he was again
taken to the dungeon, and the surgeon set the dislocated bones.
Two months after the second torture, the prisoner being a little recovered,
was again ordered to the torture room, and there, for the last time, made
to undergo another kind of punishment, which was inflicted twice without
any intermission. The executioners fastened a thick iron chain round his
body, which crossing at the breast, terminated at the wrists. They then
placed him with his back against a thick board, at each extremity whereof
was a pulley, through which there ran a rope that caught the end of the
chain at his wrists. The executioner then, stretching the end of his rope
by means of a roller, placed at a distance behind him, pressed or bruised
his stomach in proportion as the ends of the chains were drawn tighter.
They tortured him in this manner to such a degree, that his wrists, as
well as his shoulders, were quite dislocated. They were, however, soon
set by the surgeons; but the barbarians, not yet satisfied with this species
of cruelty, made him immediately undergo the like torture a second time,
which he sustained (though, if possible, attended with keener pains,) with
equal constancy and resolution. After this, he was again remanded to the
dungeon, attended by the surgeon to dress his bruises and adjust the part
dislocated, and here he continued until their auto da fe, or jail del 1000
ivery, when he was discharged, crippled and diseased for life.
He then well perceiving that they were not able to burden or charge
him that he had written, spoken, or done any thing there in that country
against the ecclesiastical or temporal laws of the same realm, boldly asked
them what they had to lay to his charge that they did so arrest him, and
bade them to declare the cause, and he would answer them. Notwithstanding
they answered nothing, but commanded him with threatening words to hold
his peace, and not speak one word to them.
And so they carried him to the filthy common prison of the town of Cadiz
where he remained in irons fourteen days amongst thieves.
All which time he so instructed the poor prisoners in the Word of God,
according to the good talent which God had given him in that behalf, and
also in the Spanish tongue to utter the same, that in that short space
he had well reclaimed several of those superstitiuous and ignorant Spaniards
to embrace the Word of God, and to reject their popish traditions.
Which being known unto the officers of the Inquisition, they conveyed
him laden with irons from thence to a city called Seville, into a more
cruel and straiter prison called Triana, where the said fathers of the
Inquisition proceeded against him secretly according to their accustomable
cruel tyranny, that never after he could be suffered to write or speak
to any of his nation: so that to this day it is unknown who was his accuser.
Afterward, the twentieth of December, they brought the said Nicholas
Burton, with a great number of other prisoners, for professing the true
Christian religion, into the city of Seville, to a place where the said
inquisitors sat in judgment which they called auto, with a canvas coat,
whereupon in divers parts was painted the figure of a huge devil, tormenting
a soul in a flame of fire, and on his head a copping tank of the same work.
His tongue was forced out of his mouth with a cloven stick fastened
upon it, that he should not utter his conscience and faith to the people,
and so he was set with another Englishman of Southampton, and divers other
condemned men for religion, as well Frenchmen as Spaniards, upon a scaffold
over against the said Inquisition, where their sentences and judgments
were read and pronounced against them.
And immediately after the said sentences given, they were carried from
there to the place of execution without the city, where they most cruelly
burned them, for whose constant faith, God is praised.
This Nicholas Burton by the way, and in the flames of fire, had so cheerful
a countenance, embracing death with all patience and gladness, that the
tormentors and enemies which stood by, said, that the devil had his soul
before he came to the fire; and therefore they said his senses of feelin
g were past him.
It happened that after the arrest of Nicholas Burton aforesaid, immediately
all the goods and merchandise which he brought with him into Spain by the
way of traffic, were (according to their common usage) seized, and taken
into the sequester; among which they also rolled up much that appertained
to another English merchant, wherewith he was credited as factor. Whereof
as soon as news was brought to the merchant as well of the imprisonment
of his factor, as of the arrest made upon his goods, he sent his attorney
into Spain, with authority from him to make claim to his goods, and to
demand them; whose name was John Fronton, citizen of Bristol.
When his attorney was landed at Seville, and had shown all his letters
and writings to the holy house, requiring them that such goods might be
delivered into his possession, answer was made to him that he must sue
by bill, and retain an advocate (but all was doubtless to delay him,) and
they forsooth of courtesy assigned him one to frame his supplication for
him, and other such bills of petition, as he had to exhibit into their
holy court, demanding for each bill eight reals, albeit they stood him
in no more stead than if he had put up none at all. And for the space of
three or four months this fellow missed not twice a day attending every
morning and afternoon at the inquisitors' palace, suing unto them upon
his knees for his despatch, but especially to the bishop of Tarracon, who
was at that very time chief of the Inquisition at Seville, that he of his
absolute authority would command restitution to be made thereof; but the
booty was so good and great that it was very hard to come by it again.
At length, after he had spent four whole months in suits and requests,
and also to no purpose, he received this answer from them, that he must
show better evidence, and bring more sufficient certificates out of England
for proof of this matter, than those which he had already presented to
the court. Whereupon the party forthwith posted to London, and with all
speed returned to Seville again with more ample and large letters testimonial,
and certificates, according to their requests, and exhibited them to the
court.
Notwithstanding, the inquisitors still shifted him off, excusing themselves
by lack of leisure, and for that they were occupied in more weighty affairs,
and with such answers put him off, four months after.
At last, when the party had well nigh spent all his money, and therefore
sued the more earnestly for his despatch, they referred the matter wholly
to the bishop, of whom, when he repaired unto him, he made answer, 'That
for himself, he knew what he had to do, howbeit he was but one man, and
the determination appertained to the other commissioners as well as unto
him;' and thus by posting and passing it from one to another, the party
could obtain no end of his suit. Yet for his importunity's sake, they were
resolved to despatch him: it was on this sort: one of the inquisitors,
called Gasco, a man very well experienced in these practices, willed the
party to resort unto him after dinner.
The fellow being glad to hear this news, and supposing that his goods
should be restored unto him, and that he was called in for that purpose
to talk with the other that was in prison to confer with him about their
accounts, rather through a little misunderstanding, hearing the inquisitors
cast out a word, that it should be needful for him to talk with the prisoner,
and being thereupon more than half persuaded, that at length they meant
good faith, did so, and repaired thither about the evening. Immediately
upon his coming, the jailer was forthwith charged with him, to shut him
up close in such a prison where they appointed him.
The party, hoping at the first that he had been called for about some
other matter, and seeing himself, contrary to his expectation, cast into
a dark dungeon, perceived at length that the world went with him far otherwise
than he supposed it would have done.
But within two or three day s after, he was brought into the court,
where he began to demand his goods: and because it was a device that well
served their turn without any more circumstance, they bid him say his Ave
Maria: Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum, benedicta tu in mulieribus,
et benedictus fructus ventris tui Jesus Amen.
The same was written word by word as he spake it, and without any more
talk of claiming his goods, because it was needless, they commanded him
to prison again, and entered an action against him as a heretic, forasmuch
as he did not say his Ave Maria after the Romish fashion, but ended it
very suspiciously, for he should have added moreover; Sancta Maria mater
Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus: by abbreviating whereof, it was evident
enough (said they) that he did not allow the mediation of saints.
Thus they picked a quarrel to detain him in prison a longer season,
and afterward brought him forth upon their stage disguised after their
manner; where sentence was given, that he should lose all the goods which
he sued for, though they were not his own, and besides this, suffer a year's
imprisonment.
Mark Brughes, an Englishman, master of an English ship called the Minion,
was burned in a city in Portugal.
William Hoker, a young man about the age of sixteen years, being an
Englishman, was stoned to death by certain young men in the city of Seville,
for the same righteous cause.
Some Private Enormities of the Inquisition Laid Open, by a Very Singular
Occurrence
When the crown of Spain was contested for in the beginning of the present
century, by two princes, who equally pretended to the sovereignty, France
espoused the cause of one competitor, and England of the other.
The duke of Berwick, a natural son of James II who abdicated England,
commanded the Spanish and French forces, and defeated the English at the
celebrated battle of Almanza. The army was then divided into two parts;
the one consisting of Spaniards and French, headed by the duke of Berwick,
advanced towards Catalonia; the other body, consisting of French troops
only, commanded by the duke of Orleans, proceeded to the conquest of Arragon.
As the troops drew near to the city of Arragon, the magistrates came
to offer the keys to the duke of Orleans; but he told them haughtily that
they were rebels, and that he would not accept the keys, for he had orders
to enter the city through a breach.
He accordingly made a breach in the walls with his cannon, and then
entered the city through it, together with his whole army. When he had
made every necessary regulation here, he departed to subdue other places,
leaving a strong garrison at once to overawe and defend, under the command
of his lieutenant-general M. de Legal. This gentleman, though brought up
a Roman Catholic, was totally free from superstition; he united great talents
with great bravery; and was the skilful officer, and accomplished gentleman.
The duke, before his departure, had ordered that heavy contributions
should be levied upon the city in the following manner:
The money levied upon the magistrates and principal inhabitants, and
upon every house, was paid as soon as demanded; but when the persons applied
to the heads of convents and monasteries, they found that the ecclesiastics
were not so willing, as other people, to part with their cash.
Of the donatives to be raised by the clergy:
The College of Jesuits to pay - 2000 pistoles.
These proceedings greatly perplexed the Jesuits, who despatched an express
to court to the king's confessor, who was of their order; but the dragoons
were much more expeditious in plundering and doing mischief, than the courier
in his journey: so that the Jesuits, seeing everything going to wreck and
ruin, thought proper to adjust the matter amicably, and paid the money
before the return of their messenger. The Augustins and Carmelites, taking
warning by what had happened to the Jesuits, prudently went and paid the
money, and by that means escaped the study of military arguments, and of
being taught logic by dragoons.
But the Dominicans, who were all familiars of, or agents dependent on,
the Inquisition, imagined that that very circumstance would be their protection;
but they were mistaken, for M. de Legal neither feared nor respected the
Inquisition. The chief of the Dominicans sent word to the military commander
that his order was poor, and had not any money whatever to pay the donative;
for, says he, "The whole wealth of the Dominicans consists only in the
silver images of the apostles and saints, as large as life, which are placed
in our church, and which it would be sacrilege to remove."
This insinuation was meant to terrify the French commander, whom the
inquisitors imagined would not dare to be so profane as to wish for the
possession of the precious idols.
He, however, sent word that the silver images would make admirable substitutes
for money, and would be more in character in his possession, than in that
of the Dominicans themselves, "For [said he] while you possess them in
the manner you do at present, they stand up in niches, useless and motionless,
without being of the least benefit to mankind in general, or even to yourselves;
but, when they come into my possession, they shall be useful; I will put
them in motion; for I intend to have them coined, when they may travel
like the apostles, be beneficial in various places, and circulate for the
universal service of mankind."
The inquisitors were astonished at this treatment, which they never
expected to receive, even from crowned heads; they therefore determined
to deliver their precious images in a solemn procession, that they might
excite the people to an insurrection. The Dominican friars were accordingly
ordered to march to de Legal's house, with the silver apostles and saints,
in a mournful manner, having lighted tapers with them and bitterly crying
all the way, "heresy, heresy."
M. de Legal, hearing these proceedings, ordered four companies of grenadiers
to line the street which led to his house; each grenadier was ordered to
have his loaded fuzee in one hand, and a lighted taper in the other; so
that the troops might either repel force with force, or do honor to the
farcical solemnity.
The friars did all they could to raise the tumult, but the common people
were too much afraid of the troops under arms to obey them; the silver
images were, therefore, of necessity delivered up to M. de Legal, who sent
them to the mint, and ordered them to be coined immediately.
The project of raising an insurrection having failed, the inquisitors
determined to excommunicate M. de Legal, unless he would release their
precious silver saints from imprisonment in the mint, before they were
melted down, or otherwise mutilated. The French commander absolutely refused
to release the images, but said they should certainly travel and do
good; upon which the inquisitors drew up the form of excommunication, and
ordered their secretary to go and read it to M. de Legal.
The secretary punctually performed his commission, and read the excommunication
deliberately and distinctly. The French commander heard it with great patience,
and politely told the secretary that he would answer it the next day.
When the secretary of the Inquisition was gone, M. de Legal ordered
his own secretary to prepare a form of excommunication, exactly like that
sent by the Inquisition; but to make this alteration, instead of his name
to put in those of the inquisitors.
The next morning he ordered four regiments under arms, and commanded
them to accompany his secretary, and act as he directed.
The secretary went to the Inquisition, and insisted upon admittance,
which, after a great deal of altercation, was granted. As soon as he entered,
he read, in an audible voice, the excommunication sent by M. de Legal against
the inquisitors. The inquisitors were all present, and heard it with astonishment,
never having before met with any individual who dared to behave so boldly.
They loudly cried out against de Legal, as a heretic; and said, "This was
a most daring insult against the Catholic faith." But to surprise them
still more, the French secretary told them that they must remove from their
present lodgings; for the French commander wanted to quarter the troops
in the Inquisition, as it was the most commodious place in the whole city.
The inquisitors exclaimed loudly upon this occasion, when the secretary
put them under a strong guard, and sent them to a place appointed by M.
de Legal to receive them. The inquisitors, finding how things went, begged
that they might be permitted to take their private property, which was
granted; and they immediately set out for Madrid, where they made the most
bitter complaints to the king; but the monarch told them that he could
not grant them any redress, as the injuries they had received were from
his grandfather, the king of France's troops, by whose assistance alone
he could be firmly established in his kingdom. "Had it been my own troops,
[said he] I would have punished them; but as it is, I cannot pretend to
exert any authority."
In the mean time, M. de Legal's secretary set open all the doors of
the Inquisition, and released the prisoners, who amounted in the whole
to four hundred; and among these were sixty beautiful young women, who
appeared to form a seraglio for the three principal inquisitors.
This discovery, which laid the enormity of the inquisitors so open,
greatly alarmed the archbishop, who desired M. de Legal to send the women
to his palace, and he would take proper care of them; and at the same time
he published an ecclesiastical censure against all such as should ridicule,
or blame, the holy office of the Inquisition.
The French commander sent word to the archbishop, that the prisoners
had either run away, or were so securely concealed by their friends, or
even by his own officers, that it was impossible for him to send them back
again; and, therefore, the Inquisition having committed such atrocious
actions, must now put up with their exposure.
Some may suggest, that it is strange crowned heads and eminent nobles
did not attempt to crush the power of the Inquisition, and reduce the authority
of those ecclesiastical tyrants, from whose merciless fangs neither their
families nor themselves were secure.
But astonishing as it is, superstition hath, in this case, always overcome
common sense, and custom operated against reason. One prince, indeed, intended
to abolish the Inquisition, but he lost his life before he became king,
and consequently before he had the power so to do; for the very intimation
of his design procured his destruction.
This was that amiable prince Don Carlos, son of Philip the Second, king
of Spain, and grandson of the celebrated emperor Charles V. Don Car 1000
los possessed all the good qualities of his grandfather, without any of
the bad ones of his father; and was a prince of great vivacity, admirable
learning, and the most amiable disposition. He had sense enough to see
into the errors of popery, and abhorred the very name of the Inquisition.
He inveighed publicly against the institution, ridiculed the affected piety
of the inquisitors, did all he could to expose their atrocious deeds, and
even declared, that if he ever came to the crown, he would abolish the
Inquisition, and exterminate its agents.
These things were sufficient to irritate the inquisitors against the
prince: they, accordingly, bent their minds to vengeance, and determined
on his destruction.
The inquisitors now employed all their agents and emissaries to spread
abroad the most artful insinuations against the prince; and, at length
raised such a spirit of discontent among the people that the king was under
the necessity of removing Don Carlos from court. Not content with this,
they pursued even his friends, and obliged the king likewise to banish
Don John, duke of Austria, his own brother, and consequently uncle to the
prince; together with the prince of Parma, nephew to the king, and cousin
to the prince, because they well knew that both the duke of Austria, and
the prince of Parma, had a most sincere and inviolable attachment to Don
Carlos.
Some few years after, the prince having shown great lenity and favor
to the Protestants in the Netherlands, the Inquisition loudly exclaimed
against him, declaring, that as the persons in question were heretics,
the prince himself must necessarily be one, since he gave them countenance.
In short, they gained so great an ascendency over the mind of the king,
who was absolutely a slave to superstition, that, shocking to relate, he
sacrificed the feelings of nature to the force of bigotry, and, for fear
of incurring the anger of the Inquisition, gave up his only son, passing
the sentence of death on him himself.
The prince, indeed, had what was termed an indulgence; that is, he was
permitted to choose the manner of his death. Roman-like, the unfortunate
young hero chose bleeding and the hot bath; when the veins of his arms
and legs were opened, he expired gradually, falling a martyr to the malice
of the inquisitors, and the stupid bigotry of his father.
Aegidio, however, had his enemies, and these laid a complaint against
him to the inquisitors, who sent him a citation, and when he appeared to
it, cast him into a dungeon.
As the greatest part of those who belonged to the cathedral church at
Seville, and many persons belonging to the bishopric of Dortois highly
approved of the doctrines of Aegidio, which they thought perfectly consonant
with true religion, they petitioned the emperor in his behalf. Though the
monarch had been educated a Roman Catholic, he had too much sense to be
a bigot, and therefore sent an immediate order for his enlargement.
He soon after visited the church of Valladolid, and did every thing
he could to promote the cause of religion. Returning home he soon after
fell sick, and died in an extreme old age.
The inquisitors having been disappointed of gratifying their malice
against him while living, determined (as the emperor's whole thoughts were
engrossed by a military expedition) to wreak their vengeance on him when
dead. Therefore, soon after he was buried, they ordered his remains to
be dug out of the grave; and a legal process being carried on, they were
condemned to be burnt, which was executed accordingly.
His eloquence rendered him pleasing, and the soundness of his doctrines
a profitable preacher; and he was so popular that he never preached but
to a crowded audience. He had many opportunities of rising in the Church,
but never would take advantage of them; for if a living of greater value
than his own was offered him, he would refuse it, saying, "I am content
with what I have"; and he frequently preached so forcibly against simony,
that many of his superiors, who were not so delicate upon the subject,
took umbrage at his doctrines upon that head.
Having been fully confirmed in Protestantism by Dr. Aegidio, he preached
boldly such doctrines only as were agreeable to Gospel purity, and uncontaminated
by the errors which had at various times crept into the Romish Church.
For these reasons he had many enemies among the Roman Catholics, and some
of them were fully determined on his destruction.
A worthy gentleman named Scobaria, having erected a school for divinity
lectures, appointed Dr. Constantine to be reader therein. He immediately
undertook the task, and read lectures, by portions, on the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes,
and Canticles; and was beginning to expound the Book of Job, when he was
seized by the inquisitors.
Being brought to examination, he answered with such precaution that
they could not find any explicit charge against him, but remained doubtful
in what manner to proceed, when the following circumstances occurred to
determine them.
Dr. Constantine had deposited with a woman named Isabella Martin, several
books, which to him were very valuable, but which he knew, in the eyes
of the Inquisition, were exceptionable.
This woman having been informed against as a Protestant, was apprehended,
and, after a small process, her goods were ordered to be confiscated. Previous,
however, to the officers coming to her house, the woman's son had removed
away several chests full of the most valuable articles; among these were
Dr. Constantine's books.
A treacherous servant gave intelligence of this to the inquisitors,
and an officer was despatched to the son to demand the chests. The son,
supposing the officer only came for Constantine's books, said, "I know
what you come for, and I will fetch them to you immediately." He then fetched
Dr. Constantine's books and papers, when the officer was greatly surprised
to find what he did not look for. He, however, told the young man that
he was glad these books and papers were produced, but nevertheless he must
fulfill the end of his commission, which was to carry him and the goods
he had embezzled before the inquisitors, which he did accordingly; for
the young man knew it would be in vain to expostulate, or resist, and therefore
quietly submitted to his fate.
The inquisitors being thus possessed of Constantine's books and writings,
now found matter sufficient to form charges against him. When he was brought
to a re-examination, they presented one of his papers, and asked him if
he knew the handwriting? Perceiving it was his own, he guessed the whole
matter, confessed the writing, and justified the doctrine it contained:
saying, "In that, and all my other writings, I have never departed from
the truth of the Gospel, but have always kept in view the pure precepts
of Christ, as He delivered them to mankind."
After being detained upwards of two years in prison, Dr. Constantine
was seized with a bloody flux, which put an end to his miseries in this
world. The process, however, was carried on against his body, which, at
the ensuing auto da fe, was publicly burnt.
At the age of twenty-six years, he was, by his master, sent to Lisbon
to act as factor. Here he applied himself to the study of the Portuguese
language, executed his business with assiduity and despatch, and behaved
with the most engaging affability to all persons with whom he had the least
concern. He conversed privately with a few, whom he knew to be zealous
Protestants; and, at the same time cautiously avoided giving the least
offence to any who were Roman Catholics; he had not, however, hitherto
gone into any of the popish churches.
A marriage being concluded between the king of Portugal's son, and the
Infanta of Spain, upon the wedding-day the bridegroom, bride, and the whole
court went to the cathedral church, attended by multitudes of all ranks
of people, and among the rest William Gardiner, who stayed during the whole
ceremony, and was greatly shocked at the superstitions he saw.
The erroneous worship which he had seen ran strongly in his mind; he
was miserable to see a whole country sunk into such idolatry, when the
truth of the Gospel might be so easily obtained. He, therefore, took the
inconsiderate, though laudable design, into his head, of making a reform
in Portugal, or perishing in the attempt; and determined to sacrifice his
prudence to his zeal, though he became a martyr upon the occasion.
To this end, he settled all his worldly affairs, paid his debts, closed
his books, and consigned over his merchandise. On the ensuing Sunday he
went again to the cathedral church, with a New Testament in his hand, and
placed himself near the altar.
The king and the court soon appeared, and a cardinal began Mass, at
that part of the ceremony in which the people adore the wafer. Gardiner
could hold out no longer, but springing towards the cardinal, he snatched
the host from him, and trampled it under his feet.
This action amazed the whole congregation, and one person, drawing a
dagger, wounded Gardiner in the shoulder, and would, by repeating the blow,
have finished him, had not the king called to him to desist.
Gardiner, being carried before the king, the monarch asked him what
countryman he was: to which he replied, "I am an Englishman by birth, a
Protestant by religion, and a merchant by occupation. What I have done
is not out of contempt to your royal person, God forbid it should, but
out of an honest indignation, to see the ridiculous superstitious and gross
idolatries practiced here."
The king, thinking that he had been stimulated by some other person
to act as he had done, demanded who was his abetter, to which he replied,
"My own conscience alone. I would not hazard what I have done for any man
living, but I owe that and all other services to God."
Gardiner was sent to prison, and a general order issued to apprehend
all Englishmen in Lisbon. This order was in a great measure put into execution,
(some few escaping) and many innocent persons were tortured to make them
confess if they knew any thing of the matter; in particular, a person who
resided in the same house with Gardiner was treated with unparalleled barbarity
to make him confess something which might throw a light upon the affair.
Gardiner himself was then tormented in the most excruciating manner;
but in the midst of all his torments he gloried in the deed. Being ordered
for death, a large fire was kindled near a gibbet, Gardiner was drawn up
to the gibbet by pulleys, and then let down near the fire, but not so close
as to touch it; for they burnt or rather roasted him by slow degrees. Yet
he bore his sufferings patiently and resigned his soul to the Lord cheerfully.
It is observable that some of the sparks that were blown from the fire,
(which consumed Gardiner) towards the haven, burnt one of the king's ships
of war, and did other considerable damage. The Englishmen who were taken
up on this occasion were, soon after Gardiner's death, all discharg 1000
ed, except the person who resided in the same house with him, who was detained
two years before he could procure his liberty.
During his residence here, he contracted with the master of a French
ship for his passage to Alexandria, but was prevented from going by the
following circumstances. In the evening of the seventeenth of October,
1620, the English fleet, at that time on a cruise against the Algerine
rovers, came to anchor before Malaga, which threw the people of the town
into the greatest consternation, as they imagined them to be Turks. The
morning, however, discovered the mistake, and the governor of Malaga, perceiving
the cross of England in their colors, went on board Sir Robert Mansel's
ship, who commanded on that expedition, and after staying some time returned,
and silenced the fears of the people.
The next day many persons from on board the fleet came ashore. Among
these were several well known by Mr. Lithgow, who, after reciprocal compliments,
spent some days together in festivity and the amusements of the town. They
then invited Mr. Lithgow to go on board, and pay his respects to the admiral.
He accordingly accepted the invitation, was kindly received by him, and
detained till the next day when the fleet sailed. The admiral would willingly
have taken Mr. Lithgow with him to Algiers; but having contracted for his
passage to Alexandria, and his baggage, etc., being in the town, he could
not accept the offer.
As soon as Mr. Lithgow got on shore, he proceeded towards his lodgings
by a private way, (being to embark the same night for Alexandria) when,
in passing through a narrow uninhabited street, he found himself suddenly
surrounded by nine sergeants, or officers, who threw a black cloak over
him, and forcibly conducted him to the governor's house. After some little
time the governor appeared when Mr. Lithgow earnestly begged he might be
informed of the cause of such violent treatment. The governor only answered
by shaking his head, and gave orders that the prisoner should be strictly
watched until he (the governor) returned from his devotions; directing,
at the same time, that the captain of the town, the alcade major, and town
notary, should be summoned to appear at his examination, and that all this
should be done with the greatest secrecy, to prevent the knowledge reaching
the ears of the English merchants then residing in the town.
These orders were strictly discharged, and on the governor's return,
he, with the officers, having seated themselves, Mr. Lithgow was brought
before them for examination. The governor began by asking several questions,
namely, of what country he was, whither bound, and how long he had been
in Spain. The prisoner, after answering these and other questions, was
conducted to a closet, where, in a short space of time, he was visited
by the town captain, who inquired whether he had ever been at Seville,
or was lately come from thence; and patting his cheeks with an air of friendship,
conjured him to tell the truth, "For (said he) your very countenance shows
there is some hidden matter in your mind, which prudence should direct
you to disclose." Finding himself, however, unable to extort any thing
from the prisoner, he left him, and reported the same to the governor and
the other officers; on which Mr. Lithgow was again brought before them,
a general accusation was laid against him, and he was compelled to swear
that he would give true answers to su ch questions as should be asked
him.
The governor proceeded to inquire the quality of the English commander,
and the prisoner's opinion what were the motives that prevented his accepting
an invitation from him to come on shore. He demanded, likewise, the names
of the English captains in the squadron, and what knowledge he had of the
embarkation, or preparation for it before his departure from England. The
answers given to the several questions asked were set down in writing by
the notary; but the junto seemed surprised at his denying any knowledge
of the fitting out of the fleet, particularly the governor, who said he
lied; that he was a traitor and a spy, and came directly from England to
favor and assist the designs that were projected against Spain, and that
he had been for that purpose nine months in Seville, in order to procure
intelligence of the time the Spanish navy was expected from the Indies.
They exclaimed against his familiarity with the officers of the fleet,
and many other English gentlemen, between whom, they said, unusual civilities
had passed, but all these transactions had been carefully noticed.
Besides to sum up the whole, and put the truth past all doubt, they
said he came from a council of war, held that morning on board the admiral's
ship, in order to put in execution the orders assigned him. They upbraided
him with being accessory to the burning of the island of St. Thomas, in
the West Indies. "Wherefore (said they) these Lutherans, and sons of the
devil, ought to have no credit given to what they say or swear."
In vain did Mr. Lithgow endeavor to obviate every accusation laid against
him, and to obtain belief from his prejudiced judges. He begged permission
to send for his cloak bag which contained his papers, and might serve to
show his innocence. This request they complied with, thinking it would
discover some things of which they were ignorant. The cloak bag was accordingly
brought, and being opened, among other things, was found a license from
King James the First, under the sign manual, setting forth the bearer's
intention to travel into Egypt; which was treated by the haughty Spaniards
with great contempt. The other papers consisted of passports, testimonials,
etc., of persons of quality. All these credentials, however, seemed rather
to confirm than abate the suspicions of these prejudiced judges, who, after
seizing all the prisoner's papers, ordered him again to withdraw.
In the meantime a consultation was held to fix the place where the prisoner
should be confined. The alcade, or chief judge, was for putting him into
the town prison; but this was objected to, particularly by the corregidor,
who said, in Spanish, "In order to prevent the knowledge of his confinement
from reaching his countrymen, I will take the matter on myself, and be
answerable for the consequences"; upon which it was agreed that he should
be confined in the governor's house with the greatest secrecy.
This matter being determined, one of the sergeants went to Mr. Lithgow,
and begged his money, with liberty to search him. As it was needless to
make any resistance, the prisoner quietly complied, when the sergeant (after
rifling his pockets of eleven ducatoons) stripped him to his shirt; and
searching his breeches he found, inclosed in the waistland, two canvass
bags, containing one hundred and thirty-seven pieces of gold. The sergeant
immediately took the money to the corregidor, who, after having told it
over, ordered him to clothe the prisoner, and shut him up close until after
supper.
About midnight, the sergeant and two Turkish slaves released Mr. Lithgow
from his then confinement, but it was to introduce him to one much more
horrible. They conducted him through several passages, to a chamber in
a remote part of the palace, towards the garden, where they loaded him
with irons, and extended his legs by means of an iron bar above a yard
long, the weight of which was so great that he could neither stand nor
sit, but was obliged to lie continually on his back. They lef t him
in this condition for some time, when they returned with a refreshment
of food, consisting of a pound of boiled mutton and a loaf, together with
a small quantity of wine; which was not only the first, but the best and
last of the kind, during his confinement in this place. After delivering
these articles, the sergeant locked the door, and left Mr. Lithgow to his
own private contemplations.
The next day he received a visit from the governor, who promised him
his liberty, with many other advantages, if he would confess being a spy;
but on his protesting that he was entirely innocent, the governor left
him in a rage, saying, 'He should see him no more until further torments
constrained him to confess'; commanding the keeper, to whose care he was
committed, that he should permit no person whatever to have access to,
or commune with him; that his sustenance should not exceed three ounces
of musty bread, and a pint of water every second day; that he shall be
allowed neither bed, pillow, nor coverlid. "Close up (said he) this window
in his room with lime and stone, stop up the holes of the door with double
mats: let him have nothing that bears any likeness to comfort." These,
and several orders of the like severity, were given to render it impossible
for his condition to be known to those of the English nation.
In this wretched and melancholy state did poor Lithgow continue without
seeing any person for several days, in which time the governor received
an answer to a letter he had written, relative to the prisoner, from Madrid;
and, pursuant to the instructions given him, began to put in practice the
cruelties devised, which were hastened, because Christmas holy-days approached,
it being then the forty-seventh day since his imprisonment.
About two o'clock in the morning, he heard the noise of a coach in the
street, and sometime after heard the opening of the prison doors, not having
had any sleep for two nights; hunger, pain, and melancholy reflections
having prevented him from taking any repose.
Soon after the prison doors were opened, the nine sergeants, who had
first seized him, entered the place where he lay, and without uttering
a word, conducted him in his irons through the house into the street, where
a coach waited, and into which they laid him at the bottom on his back,
not being able to sit. Two of the sergeants rode with him, and the rest
walked by the coach side, but all observed the most profound silence. They
drove him to a vinepress house, about a league from the town, to which
place a rack had been privately conveyed before; and here they shut him
up for that night.
At daybreak the next morning, arrived the governor and the alcade, into
whose presence Mr. Lithgow was immediately brought to undergo another examination.
The prisoner desired he might have an interpreter, which was allowed to
strangers by the laws of that country, but this was refused, nor would
they permit him to appeal to Madrid, the superior court of judicature.
After a long examination, which lasted from morning until night, there
appeared in all his answers so exact a conformity with what he had before
said, that they declared he had learned them by heart, there not being
the least prevarication. They, however, pressed him again to make a full
discovery; that is, to accuse himself of crimes never committed, the governor
adding, "You are still in my power; I can set you free if you comply, if
not, I must deliver you to the alcade." Mr. Lithgow still persisting in
his innocence, the governor ordered the notary to draw up a warrant for
delivering him to the alcade to be tortured.
In consequence of this he was conducted by the sergeants to the end
of a stone gallery, where the rack was placed. The encarouador, or executioner,
immediately struck off his irons, which put him to very great pains, the
bolts being so closely riveted that the sledge hammer tore away half an
inch of his heel, in forcing off the bolt; the anguish of which, together
with his weak condition, (not having the least su stenance for three
days) occasioned him to groan bitterly; upon which the merciless alcade
said, "Villain, traitor, this is but the earnest of what you shall endure."
When his irons were off, he fell on his knees, uttering a short prayer,
that God would be pleased to enable him to be steadfast, and undergo courageously
the grievous trial he had to encounter. The alcade and notary having placed
themselves in chairs, he was stripped naked, and fixed upon the rack, the
office of these gentlemen being to be witness of, and set down the confessions
and tortures endured by the delinquent.
It is impossible to describe all the various tortures inflicted upon
him.
Suffice it to say that he lay on the rack for above five hours, during
which time he received above sixty different tortures of the most hellish
nature; and had they continued them a few minutes longer, he must have
inevitably perished.
These cruel persecutors being satisfied for the present, the prisoner
was taken from the rack, and his irons being again put on, he was conducted
to his former dungeon, having received no other nourishment than a little
warm wine, which was given him rather to prevent his dying, and reserve
him for future punishments, than from any principle of charity or compassion.
As a confirmation of this, orders were given for a coach to pass every
morning before day by the prison, that the noise made by it might give
fresh terrors and alarms to the unhappy prisoner, and deprive him of all
possibility of obtaining the least repose.
He continued in this horrid situation, almost starved for want of the
common necessaries to preserve his wretched existence, until Christmas
day, when he received some relief from Mariane, waiting-woman to the governor's
lady. This woman having obtained leave to visit him, carried with her some
refreshments, consisting of honey, sugar, raisins, and other articles;
and so affected was she at beholding his situation that she wept bitterly,
and at her departure expressed the greatest concern at not being able to
give him further assistance.
In this loathsome prison was poor Mr. Lithgow kept until he was almost
devoured by vermin. They crawled about his beard, lips, eyebrows, etc.,
so that he could scarce open his eyes; and his mortification was increased
by not having the use of his hands or legs to defend himself, from his
being so miserably maimed by the tortures. So cruel was the governor, that
he even ordered the vermin to be swept on him twice in every eight days.
He, however, obtained some little mitigation of this part of his punishment,
from the humanity of a Turkish slave that attended him, who, when he could
do it with safety, destroyed the vermin, and contributed every refreshment
to him that laid in his power.
From this slave Mr. Lithgow at length received information which gave
him little hopes of ever being released, but, on the contrary, that he
should finish his life under new tortures. The substance of this information
was that an English seminary priest, and a Scotch cooper, had been for
some time employed by the governor to translate from the English into the
Spanish language, all his books and observations; and that it was commonly
said in the governor's house, that he was an arch-heretic.
This information greatly alarmed him, and he began, not without reason,
to fear that they would soon finish him, more especially as they could
neither by torture or any other means, bring him to vary from what he had
all along said at his different examinations.
Two days after he had received the above information, the governor,
an inquisitor, and a canonical priest, accompanied by two Jesuits, entered
his dungeon, and being seated, after several idle questions, the inquisitor
asked Mr. Lithgow if he was a Roman Catholic, and acknowledged the pope's
supremacy? He answered that he neither was the one nor did the other, adding
that he was surprised at being asked such questions, since it was expressly
stipulated by the articles of pe ace between England and Spain that
none of the English subjects should be liable to the Inquisition, or any
way molested by them on account of diversity in religion, etc. In the bitterness
of his soul he made use of some warm expressions not suited to his circumstances:
"As you have almost murdered me (said he) for pretended treason, so now
you intend to make a martyr of me for my religion." He also expostulated
with the governor on the ill return he made to the king of England, (whose
subject he was) for the princely humanity exercised towards the Spaniards
in 1588, when their armada was shipwrecked on the Scotch coast, and thousands
of the Spaniards found relief, who must otherwise have miserably perished.
The governor admitted the truth of what Mr. Lithgow said, but replied
with a haughty air that the king, who then only ruled Scotland, was actuated
more by fear than love, and therefore did not deserve any thanks. One of
the Jesuits said there was no faith to be kept with heretics. The inquisitor
then rising, addressed himself to Mr. Lithgow in the following words: "You
have been taken up as a spy, accused of treachery, and tortured, as we
acknowledge, innocently:
(which appears by the account lately received from Madrid of the intentions
of the English) yet it was the divine power that brought those judgments
upon you, for presumptuously treating the blessed miracle of Loretto with
ridicule, and expressing yourself in your writings irreverently of his
holiness, the great agent and Christ's vicar upon earth; therefore you
are justly fallen into our hands by their special appointment: thy books
and papers are miraculously translated by the assistance of Providence
influencing thy own countrymen."
This trumpery being ended, they gave the prisoner eight days to consider
and resolve whether he would become a convert to their religion; during
which time the inquisitor told him he, with other religious orders, would
attend, to give him such assistance thereto as he might want. One of the
Jesuits said, (first making the sign of the cross upon his breast), "My
son, behold, you deserve to be burnt alive; but by the grace of our lady
of Loretto, whom you have blasphemed we will both save your soul and body."
In the morning the inquisitor, with three other ecclesiastics, returned,
when the former asked the prisoner what difficulties he had on his conscience
that retarded his conversion; to which he answered, 'he had not any doubts
in his mind, being confident in the promises of Christ, and assuredly believing
his revealed will signified in the Gospels, as professed in the reformed
Catholic Church, being confirmed by grace, and having infallible assurance
thereby of the Christian faith.' To these words the inquisitor replied,
"Thou art no Christian, but an absurd heretic, and without conversion a
member of perdition." The prisoner then told him that it was not consistent
with the nature and essence of religion and charity to convince by opprobrious
speeches, racks, and torments, but by arguments deduced from the Scriptures;
and that all other methods would with him be totally ineffectual.
The inquisitor was so enraged at the replies made by the prisoner, that
he struck him on the face, used many abusive speeches, and attempted to
stab him, which he had certainly done had he not been prevented by the
Jesuits; and from this time he never again visited the prisoner.
The next day the two Jesuits returned, and putting on a very grave,
supercilious air, the superior asked him what resolution he had taken.
To which Mr. Lithgow replied that he was already resolved, unless he could
show substantial reasons to make him alter his opinion. The superior, after
a pedantic display of their seven sacraments, the intercession of saints,
transubstantiation, etc., boasted greatly of their Church, her antiquity,
universality, and uniformity; all of which Mr. Lithgow denied: "For (said
he) the profession of the faith I hold hath been ever since the first days
of the apostles, and Christ had ever h is own Church (however obscure)
in the greatest time of your darkness."
The Jesuits, finding their arguments had not the desired effect, that
torments could not shake his constancy, nor even the fear of the cruel
sentence he had reason to expect would be pronounced and executed on him,
after severe menaces, left him. On the eighth day after, being the last
of their Inquisition, when sentence is pronounced, they returned again,
but quite altered both in their words and behavior after repeating much
of the same kind of arguments as before, they with seeming tears in their
eyes, pretended they were sorry from their heart he must be obliged to
undergo a terrible death, but above all, for the loss of his most precious
soul; and falling on their knees, cried out, "Convert, convert, O dear
brother, for our blessed Lady's sake convert!" To which he answered, "I
fear neither death nor fire, being prepared for both."
The first effects Mr. Lithgow felt of the determination of this bloody
tribunal was, a sentence to receive that night eleven different tortures,
and if he did not die in the execution of them, (which might be reasonably
expected from the maimed and disjointed condition he was in) he was, after
Easter holy-days, to be carried to Grenada, and there burnt to ashes. The
first part of this sentence was executed with great barbarity that night;
and it pleased God to give him strength both of body and mind, to stand
fast to the truth, and to survive the horrid punishments inflicted on him.
After these barbarians had glutted themselves for the present, with
exercising on the unhappy prisoner the most distinguished cruelties, they
again put irons on, and conveyed him to his former dungeon. The next morning
he received some little comfort from the Turkish slave before mentioned,
who secretly brought him, in his shirt sleeve, some raisins and figs, which
he licked up in the best manner his strength would permit with his tongue.
It was to this slave Mr. Lithgow attributed his surviving so long in such
a wretched situation; for he found means to convey some of these fruits
to him twice every week. It is very extraordinary, and worthy of note,
that this poor slave, bred up from his infancy, according to the maxims
of his prophet and parents, in the greatest detestation of Christians,
should be so affected at the miserable situation of Mr. Lithgow that he
fell ill, and continued so for upwards of forty days. During this period
Mr. Lithgow was attended by a negro woman, a slave, who found means to
furnish him with refreshments still more amply than the Turk, being conversant
in the house and family. She brought him every day some victuals, and with
it some wine in a bottle.
The time was now so far elapsed, and the horrid situation so truly loathsome,
that Mr. Lithgow waited with anxious expectation for the day, which, by
putting an end to his life, would also end his torments. But his melancholy
expectations were, by the interposition of Providence, happily rendered
abortive, and his deliverance obtained from the following circumstances.
It happened that a Spanish gentleman of quality came from Grenada to
Malaga, who being invited to an entertainment by the governor, informed
him of what had befallen Mr. Lithgow from the time of his being apprehended
as a spy, and described the various sufferings he had endured. He likewise
told him that after it was known the prisoner was innocent, it gave him
great concern. That on this account he would gladly have released him,
restored his money and papers, and made some atonement for the injuries
he had received, but that, upon an inspection into his writings, several
were found of a very blasphemous nature, highly reflecting on their religion,
that on his refusing to abjure these heretical opinions, he was turned
over to the Inquisition, by whom he was finally condemned.
While the governor was relating this tragical tale, a Flemish youth
(servant to the Spanish gentleman) who waited at the table, was struck
with amazement and pity at the suf ferings of the stranger described.
On his return to his master's lodgings he began to revolve in his mind
what he had heard, which made such an impression on him that he could not
rest in his bed. In the short slumbers he had, his imagination pointed
to him the person described, on the rack, and burning in the fire. In this
anxiety he passed the night; and when the morning came, without disclosing
his intentions to any person whatever, he went into the town, and inquired
for an English factor. He was directed to the house of a Mr. Wild, to whom
he related the whole of what he had heard pass the preceding evening, between
his master and the governor, but could not tell Mr. Lithgow's name. Mr.
Wild, however, conjectured it was he, by the servant's remembering the
circumstance of his being a traveller, and his having had some acquaintance
with him.
On the departure of the Flemish servant, Mr. Wild immeidately sent for
the other English factors, to whom he related all the paritculars relative
to their unfortunate countryman. After a short consultation it was agreed
that an information of the whole affair should be sent, by express, to
Sir Walter Aston, the English ambassador to the king of Spain, then at
Madrid. This was accordingly done, and the ambassador having presented
a memorial to the king and council of Spain, obtained an order for Mr.
Lithgow's enlargement, and his delivery to the English factor. This order
was directed to the governor of Malaga; and was received with great dislike
and surprise by the whole assembly of the bloody Inquisition.
Mr. Lithgow was released from his confinement on the eve of Easter Sunday,
when he was carried from his dungeon on the back of the slave who had attended
him, to the house of one Mr. Bosbich, where all proper comforts were given
him. It fortunately happened that there was at this time a squadron of
English ships in the road, commanded by Sir Richard Hawkins, who being
informed of the past sufferings and present situation of Mr. Lithgow, came
the next day ashore, with a proper guard, and received him from the merchants.
He was instantly carried in blankets on board the Vanguard, and three days
after was removed to another ship, by direction of the general Sir Robert
Mansel, who ordered that he should have proper care taken of him. The factor
presented him with clothes, and all necessary provisions, besides which
they gave him two hundred reals in silver; and Sir Richard Hawkins sent
him two double pistoles.
Before his departure from the Spanish coast, Sir Richard Hawkins demanded
the delivery of his papers, money, books, etc., but could not obtain any
satisfactory answer on that head.
We cannot help making a pause here to reflect how manifestly Providence
interfered in behalf of this poor man, when he was just on the brink of
destruction; for by his sentence, from which there was no appeal, he would
have been taken, in a few days, to Grenada, and burnt to ashes; and that
a poor ordinary servant, who had not the least knowledge of him, nor was
any ways interested in his preservation, should risk the displeasure of
his master, and hazard his own life, to disclose a thing of so momentous
and perilous a nature, to a strange gentleman, on whose secrecy depended
his own existence. By such secondary means does Providence frequently interfere
in behalf of the virtuous and oppressed; of which this is a most distinguished
example.
After lying twelve days in the road, the ship weighed anchor, and in
about two months arrived safe at Deptford. The next morning, Mr. Lithgow
was carried on a feather bed to Theobalds, in Hertfordshire, where at that
time was the king and royal family. His majesty happened to be that day
engaged in hunting, but on his return in the evening, Mr. Lithgow was presented
to him, and related the particulars of his sufferings, and his happy delivery.
The king was so affected at the narrative, that he expressed the deepest
concern, and gave orders that he should be sent to Bath, and his wants
properly supplied from his royal munificence. By these means, under
God, after some time, Mr. Lithgow was restored from the most wretched spectacle,
to a great share of health and strength; but he lost the use of his left
arm and several of the smaller bones were so crushed and broken, as to
be ever after rendered useless.
Notwithstanding that every effort was used, Mr. Lithgow could never
obtain any part of his money or effects, although his majesty and the ministers
of state interested themselves in his behalf. Gondamore, the Spanish ambassador,
indeed, promised that all his effects should be restored, with the addition
of Pounds English money, as some atonement for the tortures he had
undergone, which last was to be paid him by the governor of Malaga. These
engagements, however, were but mere promises; and although the king was
a kind of guarantee for the well performance of them, the cunning Spaniard
found means to elude the same. He had, indeed, too great a share of influence
in the English council during the time of that pacific reign, when England
suffered herself to be bullied into slavish compliance by most of the states
and kings in Europe.
After a long and bitter review of Galileo's writings, in which many
of his most important discoveries were condemned as errors, the charge
of the inquisitors went on to declare, "That you, Galileo, have upon account
of those things which you have written and confessed, subjected yourself
to a strong suspicion of heresy in this Holy Office, by believing, and
holding to be true, a doctrine which is false, and contrary to the sacred
and divine Scripture- viz., that the sun is the center of the orb of the
earth, and does not move from the east to the west; and that the earth
moves, and is not the center of the world."
In order to save his life. Galileo admitted that he was wrong in thinking
that the earth revolved around the sun, and swore that-"For the future,
I will never more say, or assert, either by word or writing, anything that
shall give occasion for a like suspicion." But immediately after taking
this forced oath he is said to have whispered to a friend standing near,
"The earth moves, for all that."
Such was the Inquisition, declared by the Spirit of God to be at once
the offspring and the image of the popedom. To feel the force of the parentage,
we must look to the time. In the thirteenth century, the popedom was at
the summit of mortal dominion; it was independent of all kingdoms; it ruled
with a rank of influence never before or since possessed by a human scepter;
it was the acknowledged sovereign of body and soul; to all earthly intents
its power was immeasurable for good or evil. It might have spread literature,
peace, freedom, and Christianity to the ends of Europe, or the world. But
its nature was hostile; its fuller triumph only disclosed its fuller evil;
and, to the shame of human reason, and the terror and suffering of human
virtue, Rome, in the hour of its consummate grandeur, teemed with the monstrous
and horrid birth of the INQUISITION!
CHAPTER 6
back to Table of Contents which has been, and still is,
A learned man, and an excellent orator of Brescia, named Arnold, came
to Rome, and boldly preached against the corruptions and innovations which
had crept into the Church. His discourses were so clear, consistent, and
breathed forth such a pure spirit of piety, that the senators and many
of the people highly approved of, and admired his doctrines.
This so greatly enraged Adrian that he commanded Arnold instantly to
leave the city, as a heretic. Arnold, however, did not comply, for the
senators and some of the principal people took his part, and resisted the
authority of the pope.
Adrian now laid the city of Rome under an interdict, which caused the
whole body of clergy to interpose; and, at length he persuaded the senators
and people to give up the point, and suffer Arnold to be banished. This
being agreed to, he received the sentence of exile, and retired to Germany,
where he continued to preach against the pope, and to expose the gross
errors of the Church of Rome.
Adrian, on this account, thirsted for his blood, and made several attempts
to get him into his hands; but Arnold, for a long time, avoided every snare
laid for him. At length, Frederic Barbarossa arriving at the imperial dignity,
requested that the pope would crown him with his own hand. This Adrian
complied with, and at the same time asked a favor of the emperor, which
was, to put Arnold into his hands. The emperor very readily delivered up
the unfortunate preacher, who soon fell a martyr to Adrian's vengeance,
being hanged, and his body burnt to ashes, at Apulia. The same fate attended
several of his old friends and companions.
Encenas, a Spaniard, was sent to Rome, to be brought up in the Roman
Catholic faith; but having conversed with some of the reformed, and having
read several treatises which they put into his hands, he became a Protestant.
This, at length, being known, one of his own relations informed against
him, when he was burnt by order of the pope, and a conclave of cardinals.
The brother of Encenas had been taken up much about the same time, for
having a New Testament in the Spanish language in his possession; but before
the time appointed for his execution, he found means to escape out of prison,
and retired to Germany.
Faninus, a learned layman, by reading controversial books, became of
the reformed religion. An information being exhibited against him to the
pope, he was apprehended, and cast into prison. His wife, children, relations,
and friends visited him in his confinement, and so far wrought upon his
mind, that he renounced his faith, and obtained his release. But he was
no sooner free from confinement than his mind felt the heaviest of
chains; the weight of a guilty conscience. His horrors were so great that
he found them insupportable, until he had returned from his apostasy, and
declared himself fully convinced of the errors of the Church of Rome. To
make amends for his falling off, he now openly and strenuously did all
he could to make converts to Protestantism, and was pretty successful in
his endeavors. These proceedings occasioned his second imprisonment, but
he had his life offered him if he would recant again. This proposal he
rejected with disdain, saying that he scorned life upon such terms. Being
asked why he would obstinately persist in his opinions, and leave his wife
and children in distress, he replied, "I shall not leave them in distress;
I have recommended them to the care of an excellent trustee." "What
trustee?" said the person who had asked the question, with some surprise:
to which Faninus answered, "Jesus Christ is the trustee I mean, and I think
I could not commit them to the care of a better." On the day of execution
he appeared remarkably cheerful, which one observing, said, "It is strange
you should appear so merry upon such an occasion, when Jesus Christ himself,
just before his death, was in such agonies, that he sweated blood and water."
To which Faninus replied: "Christ sustained all manner of pangs and conflicts,
with hell and death, on our accounts; and thus, by his sufferings, freed
those who really believe in him from the fear of them." He was then strangled,
his body was burnt to ashes, and then scattered about by the wind.
Dominicus, a learned soldier, having read several controversial writings,
became a zealous Protestant, and retiring to Placentia, he preached the
Gospel in its utmost purity, to a very considerable congregation. One day,
at the conclusion of his sermon, he said, "If the congregation will attend
to-morrow, I will give them a description of Antichrist, and paint him
out in his proper colors."
A vast concourse of people attended the next day, but just as Dominicus
was beginning his sermon, a civil magistrate went up to the pulpit, and
took him into custody. He readily submitted; but as he went along with
the magistrate, he made use of this expression: "I wonder the devil hath
let me alone so long." When he was brought to examination, this question
was put to him: "Will you renounce your doctrines?" To which he replied:
"My doctrines! I maintain no doctrines of my own; what I preach are the
doctrines of Christ, and for those I will forfeit my blood, and even think
myself happy to suffer for the sake of my Redeemer." Every method was taken
to make him recant for his faith, and embrace the errors of the Church
of Rome; but when persuasions and menaces were found ineffectual, he was
sentenced to death, and hanged in the market place.
Galeacius, a Protestant gentleman, who resided near the castle of St.
Angelo, was apprehended on account of his faith. Great endeavors being
used by his friends he recanted, and subscribed to several of the superstitious
doctrines propogated by the Church of Rome. Becoming, however, sensible
of his error, he publicly renounced his recantation. Being apprehended
for this, he was condemned to be burnt, and agreeable to the order was
chained to a stake, where he was left several hours before the fire was
put to the fagots, in order that his wife, relations, and friends, who
surrounded him, might induce him to give up his opinions. Galeacius, however,
retained his constancy of mind, and entreated the executioner to put fire
to the wood that was to burn him. This at length he did, and Galeacius
was soon consumed in the flames, which burnt with amazing rapidity and
deprived him of sensation in a few minutes.
Soon after this gentleman's death, a great number of Protestants were
put to death in various parts of Italy, on account of their faith, giving
a sure proof of their sincerity in their martyrdoms.
The Calabrian lords were highly pleased with their new subjects and
tenants, as they were honest, quiet, and industrious; but the priests
of the
country exhibited several negative complaints against them; for not
being able
to accuse them of anythying bad which they did do, they founded accusations
on
what they did not do, and charged them,
With not being Roman Catholics.
With not making any of their boys priests.
With not making any of their girls nuns.
With not going to Mass.
With not giving wax tapers to their priests as offerings.
With not going on pilgrimages.
With not bowing to images.
The Calabrian lords, however, quieted the priests, by telling them that
these people were extremely harmless; that they gave no offence to the
Roman Catholics, and cheerfully paid the tithes to the priests, whose revenues
were considerably increased by their coming into the country, and who,
of consequence, ought to be the last persons to complain of them.
Things went on tolerably well after this for a few years, during which
the Waldenses formed themselves into two corporate towns, annexing several
villages to the jurisdiction of them. At length they sent to Geneva for
two clergymen; one to preach in each town, as they determined to make a
public profession of their faith. Intelligence of this affair being carried
to the pope, Pius the Fourth, he determined to exterminate them from Calabria.
To this end he sent Cardinal Alexandrino, a man of very violent temper
and a furious bigot, together with two monks, to Calabria, where they were
to act as inquisitors. These authorized persons came to St. Xist, one of
the towns built by the Waldenses, and having assembled the people, told
them that they should receive no injury, if they would accept of preachers
appointed by the pope; but if they would not, they should be deprived both
of their properties and lives; and that their intentions might be known,
Mass should be publicly said that afternoon, at which they were ordered
to attend.
The people of St. Xist, instead of attending Mass, fled into the woods,
with their families, and thus disappointed the cardinal and his coadjutors.
The cardinal then proceeded to La Garde, the other town belonging to the
Waldenses, where, not to be served as he had been at St. Xist, he ordered
the gates to be locked, and all avenues guarded. The same proposals were
then made to the inhabitants of La Garde, as had previously been offered
to those of St. Xist, but with this additional piece of artifice: the cardinal
assured them that the inhabitants of St. Xist had immediately come into
his proposals, and agreed that the pope should appoint them preachers.
This falsehood succeeded; for the people of La Garde, thinking what the
cardinal had told them to be the truth, said they would exactly follow
the example of their brethren at St. Xist.
The cardinal, having gained his point by deluding the people of one
town, sent for troops of soldiers, with a view to murder those of the other.
He, accordingly, despatched the soldiers into the woods, to hunt down the
inhabitants of St. Xist like wild beasts, and gave them strict orders to
spare neither age nor sex, but to kill all they came near. The troops entered
the woods, and many fell a prey to their ferocity, before the Waldenses
were properly apprised of their design. At length, however, they determined
to sell their lives as dear as possible, when several conflicts happened,
in which the half-armed Waldenses performed prodigies of valor, and many
were slain on both sides. The greatest part of the troops being killed
in the different rencontres, the rest were compelled to retreat, which
so enraged the cardinal that he wro te to the viceroy of Naples for
reinforcements.
The viceroy immediately ordered a proclamation to be made thorughout
all the Neapolitan territories, that all outlaws, deserters, and other
proscribed persons should be surely pardoned for their respective offences,
on condition of making a campaign against the inhabitants of St. Xist,
and continuing under arms until those people were exterminated.
Many persons of desperate fortunes came in upon this proclamation, and
being formed into light companies, were sent to scour the woods, and put
to death all they could meet with of the reformed religion. The viceroy
himself likewise joined the cardinal, at the head of a body of regular
forces; and, in conjunction, they did all they could to harass the poor
people in the woods. Some they caught and hanged up upon trees, cut down
boughs and burnt them, or ripped them open and left their bodies to be
devoured by wild beasts, or birds of prey. Many they shot at a distance,
but the greatest number they hunted down by way of sport. A few hid themselves
in caves, but famine destroyed them in their retreat; and thus all these
poor people perished, by various means, to glut the bigoted malice of their
merciless persecutors.
The inhabitants of St. Xist were no sooner exterminated, than those
of La Garde engaged the attention of the cardinal and viceroy.
It was offered, that if they should embrace the Roman Catholic persuasion,
themselves and families should not be injured, but their houses and properties
should be restored, and none would be permitted to molest them; but, on
the contrary, if they refused this mercy, (as it was termed) the utmost
extremities would be used, and the most cruel deaths the certain consequence
of their noncompliance.
Notwithstanding the promises on one side, and menaces on the other,
these worthy people unanimously refused to renounce their religion, or
embrace the errors of popery. This exasperated the cardinal and viceroy
so much, that thirty of them were ordered to be put immediately to the
rack, as a terror to the rest.
Those who were put to the rack were treated with such severity that
several died under the tortures; one Charlin, in particular, was so cruelly
used that his belly burst, his bowels came out, and he expired in the greatest
agonies. These barbarities, however, did not answer the purposes for which
they were intended; for those who remained alive after the rack, and those
who had not felt the rack, remained equally constant in their faith, and
boldly declared that no tortures of body, or terrors of mind, should ever
induce them to renounce their God, or worship images.
Several were then, by the cardinal's order, stripped stark naked, and
whipped to death iron rods; and some were hacked to pieces with large knives;
others were thrown down from the top of a large tower, and many were covered
over with pitch, and burnt alive.
One of the monks who attended the cardinal, being naturally of a savage
and cruel disposition, requested of him that he might shed some of the
blood of these poor people with his own hands; when his request being granted,
the barbarous man took a large sharp knife, and cut the throats of fourscore
men, women, and children, with as little remorse as a butcher would have
killed so many sheep. Every one of these bodies were then ordered to be
quartered, the quarters placed upon stakes, and then fixed in different
parts of the country, within a circuit of thirty miles.
The four principal men of La Garde were hanged, and the clergyman was
thrown from the top of his church steeple. He was terribly mangled, but
not quite killed by the fall; at which time the viceroy passing by, said,
"Is the dog yet living? Take him up, and give him to the hogs," when, brutal
as this sentence may appear, it was executed accordingly.
Sixty women were racked so violently, that the cords pierced their arms
and legs close to the bone; when, being remanded to prison, their wounds
mortified, and they died in the most miserable manner. Many others
were put to death by various cruel means; and if any Roman Catholic, more
compassionate than the rest, interceded for any of the reformed, he was
immediately apprehended, and shared the same fate as a favorer of heretics.
The viceroy being obliged to march back to Naples, on some affairs of
moment which required his presence, and the cardinal being recalled to
Rome, the marquis of Butane was ordered to put the finishing stroke to
what they had begun; which he at length effected, by acting with such barbarous
rigor, that there was not a single person of the reformed religion left
living in all Calabria.
Thus were a great number of inoffensive and harmless people deprived
of their possessions, robbed of their property, driven from their homes,
and at length murdered by various means, only because they would not sacrifice
their consciences to the superstitions of others, embrace idolatrous doctrines
which they abhorred, and accept of teachers whom they could not believe.
Tyranny is of three kinds, viz., that which enslaves the person, that
which seizes the property, and that which prescribes and dictates to the
mind. The two first sorts may be termed civil tyranny, and have been practiced
by arbitrary sovereigns in all ages, who have delighted in tormenting the
persons, and stealing the properties of their unhappy subjects. But the
third sort, viz., prescribing and dictating to the mind, may be called
ecclesiastical tyranny: and this is the worst kind of tyranny, as it includes
the other two sorts; for the Romish clergy not only do torture the body
and seize the effects of those they persecute, but take the lives, torment
the minds, and, if possible, would tyrannize over the souls of the unhappy
victims.
Though they were harmless in their behavior, inoffensive in their conversation,
and paid tithes to the Roman clergy, yet the latter could not be contented,
but wished to give them some distrubance: they, accordingly, complained
to the archbishop of Turin that the Waldenses of the valleys of Piedmont
were heretics, for these reasons:
At Turin, one of the reformed had his bowels torn out, and put in a
basin before his face, where they remained in his view until he expired.
At Revel, Catelin Girard being at the stake, desired the executioner to
give him a stone; which he refused, thinking that he meant to throw it
at somebody; but Girard assuring him that he had no such design, the executioner
complied, when Girard, looking earnestly at the stone, said, "When it is
in the power of a man to eat and digest this solid stone, the religion
for which I am about to suffer shall have an end, and not before." He then
threw the stone on the ground, and submitted cheerfully to the flames.
A great many more of the reformed were oppressed, or put to death, by various
means, until the patience of the Waldenses being tired out, they flew to
arms in their own defence, and formed themselves into regular bodies.
Exasperated at this, the bishop of Turin procured a number of troops,
and sent against them; but in most of the skirmishes and engagements the
Waldenses were successful, which partly arose from their being better acquainted
wi th the passes of the valleys of Piedmont than their adversaries,
and partly from the desperation with which they fought; for they well knew,
if they were taken, they should not be considered as prisoners of war,
but tortured to death as heretics.
At length, Philip VII, duke of Savoy, and supreme lord of Piedmont,
determined to interpose his authority, and stop these bloody wars, which
so greatly disturbed his dominions. He was not willing to disoblige the
pope, or affront the archbishop of Turin; nevertheless, he sent them both
messages, importing that he could not any longer tamely see his dominions
overrun with troops, who were directed by priests instead of officers,
and commanded by prelates instead of generals; nor would he suffer his
country to be depopulated, while he himself had not been even consulted
upon the occasion.
The priests, finding the resolution of the duke, did all they could
to prejudice his mind against the Waldenses; but the duke told them, that
though he was unacquainted with the religious tenets of these people, yet
he had always found them quiet, faithful, and obedient, and therefore he
determined they should be no longer persecuted.
The priests now had recourse to the most palpable and absurd falsehoods:
they assured the duke that he was mistaken in the Waldenses for they
were a wicked set of people, and highly addicted to intemperance, uncleanness,
blasphemy, adultery, incest, and many other abominable crimes; and that
they were even monsters in nature, for their children were born with black
throats, with four rows of teeth, and bodies all over hairy.
The duke was not so devoid of common sense as to give credit to what
the priests said, though they affirmed in the most solemn manner the truth
of their assertions. He, however, sent twelve very learned and sensible
gentlemen into the Piedmontese valleys, to examine into the real character
of the inhabitants.
These gentlemen, after travelling through all their towns and villages,
and conversing with people of every rank among the Waldenses returned to
the duke, and gave him the most favorable account of these people; affirming,
before the faces of the priests who vilified them, that they were harmless,
inoffensive, loyal, friendly, industrious, and pious: that they abhorred
the crimes of which they were accused; and that, should an individual,
through his depravity, fall into any of those crimes, he would, by their
laws, be punished in the most exemplary manner. "With respect to the children,"
the gentlemen said, "the priests had told the most gross and ridiculous
falsities, for they were neither born with black throats, teeth in their
mouths, nor hair on their bodies, but were as fine children as could be
seen. And to convince your highness of what we have said, (continued one
of the gentlemen) we have brought twelve of the principal male inhabitants,
who are come to ask pardon in the name of the rest, for having taken up
arms without your leave, though even in their own defence, and to preserve
their lives from their merciless enemies. And we have likewise brought
several women, with children of various ages, that your highness may have
an opportunity of personally examining them as much as you please."
The duke, after accepting the apology of the twelve delegates, conversing
with the women, and examining the children, graciously dismissed them.
He then commanded the priests, who had attempted to mislead him, immediately
to leave the court; and gave strict orders, that the persecution should
cease throughout his dominions.
The Waldenses had enjoyed peace many years, when Philip, the seventh
duke of Savoy, died, and his successor happened to be a very bigoted papist.
About the same time, some of the principal Waldenses proposed that their
clergy should preach in public, that every one might know the purity of
their doctrines: for hitherto they had preached only in private, and to
such congregations as they well knew to consist of none but persons of
the reformed religion. < /P>
On hearing these proceedings, the new duke was greatly exasperated,
and sent a considerable body of troops into the valleys, swearing that
if the people would not change their religion, he would have them flayed
alive. The commander of the troops soon found the impracticability of conquering
them with the number of men he had with him, he, therefore, sent word to
the duke that the idea of subjugating the Waldenses, with so small a force,
was ridiculous; that those people were better acquainted with the country
than any that were with him; that they had secured all the passes, were
well armed, and resolutely determined to defend themselves; and, with respect
to flaying them alive, he said, that every skin belonging to those people
would cost him the lives of a dozen of his subjects.
Terrified at this information, the duke withdrew the troops, determining
to act not by force, but by stratagem. He therefore ordered rewards for
the taking of any of the Waldenses, who might be found straying from their
places of security; and these, when taken, were either flayed alive, or
burnt.
The Waldenses had hitherto only had the New Testament and a few books
of the Old, in the Waldensian tongue; but they determined now to have the
sacred writings complete in their own language. They, therefore, employed
a Swiss printer to furnish them with a complete edition of the Old and
New Testaments in the Waldensian tongue, which he did for the consideration
of fifteen hundred crowns of gold, paid him by those pious people.
Pope Paul the third, a bigoted papist, ascending the pontifical chair,
immediately solicited the parliament of Turin to persecute the Waldenses,
as the most pernicious of all heretics.
The parliament readily agreed, when several were suddenly apprehended
and burnt by their order. Among these was Bartholomew Hector, a bookseller
and stationer of Turin, who was brought up a Roman Catholic, but having
read some treatises written by the reformed clergy, was fully convinced
of the errors of the Church of Rome; yet his mind was, for some time, wavering,
and he hardly knew what persuasion to embrace.
At length, however, he fully embraced the reformed religion, and was
apprehended, as we have already mentioned, and burnt by order of the parliament
of Turin.
A consultation was now held by the parliament of Turin, in which it
was agreed to send deputies to the valleys of Piedmont, with the following
propositions:
They then solicited a considerable body of troops of the king of France,
in order to exterminate the reformed entirely from the valleys of Piedmont;
but just as the troops were going to march, the Protestant princes of Germany
interposed, and threatened to send troops to assist the Waldenses, if they
should be attacked. The king of France, not caring to enter into a war,
remanded the troops, and sent word to the parliament of Turin that he could
not spare any troops at present to act in Piedmont. The members of the
parliament were greatly vexed at this disappointment, and the persecution
gradually ceased, for as they could only put to death such of the reformed
as they caught by chance, and as the Waldenses daily grew more cautious,
their cruelty was obliged to subside, for want of objects on whom to exercise
it.
After the Waldenses had enjoyed a few years tranquillity, they were
again disturbed by the following means: the pope's nuncio coming to Turin
to the duke of Savoy upon business, told that prince he was astonished
he had not yet either rooted out the Waldenses from the valleys of Piedmont
entirely, or compelled them to enter into the bosom of the Church of Rome.
That he could not help looking upon such conduct with a suspicious eye,
and that he really thought him a favorer of those heretics, and should
report the affair accordingly to his holiness the pope.
Stung by this reflection, and unwilling to be misrepresented to the
pope, the duke determined to act with the greatest severity, in order to
show his zeal, and to make amends for former neglect by future cruelty.
He, accordingly, issued express orders for all the Waldenses to attend
Mass regularly on pain of death. This they absolutely refused to do, on
which he entered the Piedmontese valleys, with a formidable body of troops,
and began a most furious persecution, in which great numbers were hanged,
drowned, ripped open, tied to trees, and pierced with prongs, thrown from
precipices, burnt, stabbed, racked to death, crucified with their heads
downwards, worried by dogs, etc.
Those who fled had their goods plundered, and their houses burnt to
the ground: they were particularly cruel when they caught a minister or
a schoolmaster, whom they put to such exquisite tortures, as are almost
incredible to conceive. If any whom they took seemed wavering in their
faith, they did not put them to death, but sent them to the galleys, to
be made converts by dint of hardships.
The most cruel persecutors, upon this occasion, that attended the duke,
were three in number, viz. 1. Thomas Incomel, an apostate, for he was brought
up in the reformed religion, but renounced his faith, embraced the errors
of popery, and turned monk. He was a great libertine, given to unnatural
crimes, and sordidly solicitous for plunder of the Waldenses. 2. Corbis,
a man of a very ferocious and cruel nature, whose business was to examine
the prisoners. 3. The provost of justice, who was very anxious for the
execution of the Waldenses, as every execution put money in his pocket.
These three persons were unmerciful to the last degree; and wherever
they came, the blood of the innocent was sure to flow. Exclusive of the
cruelties exercised by the duke, by these three persons, and the army,
in their different marches, many local barbarities were committed. At Pignerol,
a town in the valleys, was a monastery, the monks of which, finding they
might injure the reformed with impunity, began to plunder the houses and
pull down the churches of the Waldenses. Not meeting with any opposition,
they seized upon the persons of those unhappy people, murdering the men,
confining the women, and putting the children to Roman Catholic nurses.
The Roman Catholic inhabitants of the valley of St. Martin, likewise,
did all they could to torment the neighboring Waldenses: they destroyed
their churches, burnt their houses, seized their properties, stole
their cattle, converted their lands to their own use, committed their ministers
to the flames, and drove the Waldenses to the woods, where they had nothing
to subsist on but wild fruits, roots, the bark of trees, etc.
Some Roman Catholic ruffians having seized a minister as he was going
to preach, determined to take him to a convenient place, and burn him.
His parishioners having intelligence of this affair, the men armed themselves,
pursued the ruffians, and seemed determined to rescue their minister; which
the ruffians no sooner perceived than they stabbed the poor gentleman,
and leaving him weltering in his blood, made a precipitate retreat. The
astonished parishioners did all they could to recover him, but in vain:
for the weapon had touched the vital parts, and he expired as they were
carrying him home.
The monks of Pignerol having a great inclination to get the minister
of a town in the valleys, called St. Germain, into their power, hired a
band of ruffians for the purpose of apprehending him. These fellows were
conducted by a treacherous person, who had formerly been a servant to the
clergyman, and who perfectly well knew a secret way to the house, by which
he could lead them without alarming the neighborhood. The guide knocked
at the door, and being asked who was there, answered in his own name. The
clergyman, not expecting any injury from a person on whom he had heaped
favors, immediately opened the door; but perceiving the ruffians, he started
back, and fled to a back door; but they rushed in, followed, and seized
him. Having murdered all his family, they made him proceed towards Pignerol,
goading him all the way with pikes, lances, swords, etc. He was kept a
considerable time in prison, and then fastened to the stake to be burnt;
when two women of the Waldenses, who had renounced their religion to save
their lives, were ordered to carry fagots to the stake to burn him; and
as they laid them down, to say, "Take these, thou wicked heretic, in recompense
for the pernicious doctrines thou hast taught us." These words they both
repeated to him; to which he calmly replied, "I formerly taught you well,
but you have since learned ill." The fire was then put to the fagots, and
he was speedily consumed, calling upon the name of the Lord as long as
his voice permitted.
As the troops of ruffians, belonging to the monks, did great mischief
about the town of St. Germain, murdering and plundering many of the inhabitants,
the reformed of Lucerne and Angrogne, sent some bands of armed men to the
assistance of their brethren of St. Germain. These bodies of armed men
frequently attacked the ruffians, and often put them to the rout, which
so terrified the monks, that they left the monastery of Pignerol for some
time, until they could procure a body of regular troops to guard them.
The duke not thinking himself so successful as he at first imagined
he should be, greatly augmented his forces; he ordered the bands of ruffians,
belonging to the monks, to join him, and commanded that a general jail-delivery
should take place, provided the persons released would bear arms, and form
themselves into light companies, to assist in the extermination of the
Waldenses.
The Waldenses, being informed of the proceedings, secured as much of
their properties as they could, and quitted the valleys, retired to the
rocks and caves among the Alps; for it is to be understood that the valleys
of Piedmont are situated at the foot of those prodigious mountains called
the Alps, or the Alpine hills.
The army now began to plunder and burn the towns and villages wherever
they came; but the troops could not force the passes to the Alps, which
were gallantly defended by the Waldenses, who always repulsed their enemies:
but if any fell into the hands of the troops, they were sure to be treated
with the most barbarous severity.
A soldier having caught one of the Waldenses, bit his right ear off,
saying, "I will carry this member of that wicked heretic with me into
my own country, and preserve it as a rarity." He then stabbed the man and
threw him into a ditch.
A party of the troops found a venerable man, upwards of a hundred years
of age, together with his granddaughter, a maiden, of about eighteen, in
a cave. They butchered the poor old man in the most inhuman manner, and
then attempted to ravish the girl, when she started away and fled from
them; but they pursuing her, she threw herself from a precipice and perished.
The Waldenses, in order the more effectually to be able to repel force
by force, entered into a league with the Protestant powers of Germany,
and with the reformed of Dauphiny and Pragela. These were respectively
to furnish bodies of troops; and the Waldenses determined, when thus reinforced,
to quit the mountains of the Alps, (where they must soon have perished,
as the winter was coming on,) and to force the duke's army to evacuate
their native valleys.
The duke of Savoy was now tired of the war; it had cost him great fatigue
and anxiety of mind, a vast number of men, and very considerable sums of
money. It had been much more tedious and bloody than he expected, as well
as more expensive than he could at first have imagined, for he thought
the plunder would have dischanged the expenses of the expedition; but in
this he was mistaken, for the pope's nuncio, the bishops, monks, and other
ecclesiastics, who attended the army and encouraged the war, sunk the greatest
part of the wealth that was taken under various pretences. For these reasons,
and the death of his duchess, of which he had just received intelligence,
and fearing that the Waldenses, by the treaties they had entered into,
would become more powerful than ever, he determined to return to Turin
with his army, and to make peace with the Waldenses.
This resolution he executed, though greatly against the will of the
ecclesiastics, who were the chief gainers, and the best pleased with revenge.
Before the articles of peace could be ratified, the duke himself died,
soon after his return to Turin; but on his deathbed he strictly enjoined
his son to perform what he intended, and to be as favorable as possible
to the Waldenses.
The duke's son, Charles Emmanuel, succeeded to the dominions of Savoy,
and gave a full ratification of peace to the Waldenses, according to the
last injunctions of his father, though the ecclesiastics did all they could
to persuade him to the contrary.
The pope being informed of the great increase of Protestantism, in the
year 1542 sent inquisitors to Venice to make an inquiry into the matter,
and apprehend such as they might deem obnoxious persons. Hence a severe
persecution began, and many worthy persons were martyred for serving God
with purity, and scorning the trappings of idolatry.
Various were the modes by which the Protestants were deprived of life;
but one particular method, which was first invented upon this occasion,
we shall describe; as soon as sentence was passed, the prisoner had an
iron chain which ran through a great stone fastened to his body. He was
then laid flat upon a plank, with his face upwards, and rowed between two
boats to a certain distance at sea, when the two boats separated, and he
was sunk to the bottom by the weight of the stone.
If any denied the jurisdiction of the inquisitors at Venice, they were
sent to Rome, where, being committed purposely to damp prisons, and never
called to a hearing, their flesh mortified, and they died miserably in
jail.
A citizen of Venice, Anthony Ricetti, being apprehended as a Protestant,
was sentenced to be drowned in the manner we have already described. A
few days previous to the time appointed for his execution, his son went
to see him, and be gged him to recant, that his life might be saved,
and himself not left fatherless. To which the father replied, "A good Christian
is bound to relinquish not only goods and children, but life itself, for
the glory of his Redeemer: therefore I am resolved to sacrifice every thing
in this transitory world, for the sake of salvation in a world that will
last to eternity."
The lords of Venice likewise sent him word, that if he would embrace
the Roman Catholic religion, they would not only give him his life, but
redeem a considerable estate which he had mortgaged, and freely present
him with it. This, however, he absolutely refused to comply with, sending
word to the nobles that he valued his soul beyond all other considerations;
and being told that a fellow-prisoner, named Francis Sega, had recanted,
he answered, "If he has forsaken God, I pity him; but I shall continue
steadfast in my duty." Finding all endeavors to persuade him to renounce
his faith ineffectual, he was executed according to his sentence, dying
cheerfully, and recommending his soul fervently to the Almighty.
What Ricetti had been told concerning the apostasy of Francis Sega,
was absolutely false, for he had never offered to recant, but steadfastly
persisted in his faith, and was executed, a few days after Ricetti, in
the very same manner.
Francis Spinola, a Protestant gentleman of very great learning, being
apprehended by order of the inquisitors, was carried before their tribunal.
A treatise on the Lord's Supper was then put into his hands and he was
asked if he knew the author of it. To which he replied, "I confess myself
to be the author of it, and at the same time solemnly affirm, that there
is not a line in it but what is authorized by, and consonant to, the holy
Scriptures." On this confession he was committed close prisoner to a dungeon
for several days.
Being brought to a second examination, he charged the pope's legate,
and the inquisitors, with being merciless barbarians, and then represented
the superstitions and idolatries practised by the Church of Rome in so
glaring a light, that not being able to refute his arguments, they sent
him back to his dungeon, to make him repent of what he had said.
On his third examination, they asked him if he would recant his error.
To which he answered that the doctrines he maintained were not erroneous,
being purely the same as those which Christ and his apostles had taught,
and which were handed down to us in the sacred writings. The inquisitors
then sentenced him to be drowned, which was executed in the manner already
described. He went to meet death with the utmost serenity, seemed to wish
for dissolution, and declaring that the prolongation of his life did but
tend to retard that real happiness which could only be expected in the
world to come.
He was then sent to Ferrara, where, after pursuing his studies six years
longer, he was made theological reader in the university of that city.
He now, unhappily, exerted his great talents to disguise the Gospel truths,
and to varnish over the error of the Church of Rome. After some years residence
in Ferrara, he removed to the university of Behonia, where he became a
professor. Having read some treatises written by ministers of the reformed
religion, he grew fully sensible of the errors of popery, and soon became
a zealous Protestant in his heart.
He now determined to expound, accordingly to the purity of the Gospel,
St.
Paul's Epistle to the Romans, in a regular course of sermons. The concourse
of people that continually attended his preaching was surprising, but when
the priests found t he tenor of his doctrines, they despatched an
account of the affair to Rome; when the pope sent a monk, named Cornelius,
to Bononia, to expound the same epistle, according to the tenets of the
Church of Rome. The people, however, found such a disparity between the
two preachers that the audience of Mollius increased, and Cornelius was
forced to preach to empty benches.
Cornelius wrote an account of his bad success to the pope, who immediately
sent an order to apprehend Mollius, who was seized upon accordingly, and
kept in close confinement. The bishop of Bononia sent him word that he
must recant, or be burnt; but he appealed to Rome, and was removed thither.
At Rome he begged to have a public trial, but that the pope absolutely
denied him, and commanded him to give an account of his opinions, in writing,
which he did under the following heads:
Original sin. Free-will. The infallibility of the church of Rome. The
infallibility of the pope. Justification by faith. Purgatory. Transubstantiation.
Mass. Auricular confession. Prayers for the dead. The host. Prayers for
saints. Going on pilgrimages. Extreme unction. Performing services in an
unknown tongue, etc., etc.
All these he confirmed from Scripture authority. The pope, upon this
occasion, for political reasons, spared him for the present, but soon after
had him apprehended, and put to death, he being first hanged, and his body
burnt to ashes, A.D. 1553.
The year after, Francis Gamba, a Lombard, of the Protestant persuasion,
was apprehended, and condemned to death by the senate of Milan. At the
place of execution, a monk presented a cross to him, to whom he said, "My
mind is so full of the real merits and goodness of Christ that I want not
a piece of senseless stick to put me in mind of Him." For this expression
his tongue was bored through, and he was afterward burnt.
A.D. 1555, Algerius, a student in the university of Padua, and a man
of great learning, having embraced the reformed religion, did all he could
to convert others. For these proceedings he was accused of heresy to the
pope, and being apprehended, was committed to the prison at Venice.
The pope, being informed of Algerius's great learning, and surprising
natural abilities, thought it would be of infinite service to the Church
of Rome if he could induce him to forsake the Protestant cause. He, therefore,
sent for him to Rome, and tried, by the most profane promises, to win him
to his purpose. But finding his endeavors ineffectual, he ordered him to
be burnt, which sentence was executed accordingly.
A.D. 1559, John Alloysius, being sent from Geneva to preach in Calabria,
was there apprehended as a Protestant, carried to Rome, and burnt by order
of the pope; and James Bovelius, for the same reason, was burnt at Messina.
A.D. 1560, Pope Pius the Fourth, ordered all the Protestants to be severely
persecuted throughout the Italian states, when great numbers of every age,
sex, and condition, suffered martyrdom. Concerning the cruelties practiced
upon this occasion, a learned and humane Roman Catholic thus spoke of them,
in a letter to a noble lord:
"I cannot, my lord, forbear disclosing my sentiments, with respect to
the persecution now carrying on: I think it cruel and unnecessary; I tremble
at the manner of putting to death, as it resembles more the slaughter of
calves and sheep, than the execution of human beings. I will relate to
your lordship a dreadful scene, of which I was myself an eye witness: seventy
Protestants were cooped up in one filthy dungeon together; the executioner
went in among them, picked out one from among the rest, blindfolded him,
led him out to an open place before the prison, and cut his throat with
the greatest composure. He then calmly walked into the prison again, bloody
as he was, and with the knife in his hand selected another, and despatched
him in the same manner; and this, my lord, he repeated until the whole
number were put to death. I leave it to your lordship's feelings to judge
of my sensa tions upon this occasion; my tears now wash the paper
upon which I give you the recital. Another thing I must mention-the patience
with which they met death: they seemed all resignation and piety, fervently
praying to God, and cheerfully encountering their fate. I cannot reflect
without shuddering, how the executioner held the bloody knife between his
teeth; what a dreadful figure he appeared, all covered with blood, and
with what unconcern he executed his barbarous office."
A young Englishman who happened to be at Rome, was one day passing by
a church, when the procession of the host was just coming out. A bishop
carried the host, which the young man perceiving, he snatched it from him,
threw it upon the ground, and trampled it under his feet, crying out, "Ye
wretched idolaters, who neglect the true God, to adore a morsel of bread."
This action so provoked the people that they would have torn him to pieces
on the spot; but the priests persuaded them to let him abide by the sentence
of the pope.
When the affair was represented to the pope, he was so greatly exasperated
that he ordered the prisoner to be burnt immediately; but a cardinal dissuaded
him from this hasty sentence, saying that it was better to punish him by
slow degrees, and to torture him, that they might find out if he had been
instigated by any particular person to commit so atrocious an act.
This being approved, he was tortured with the most exemplary severity,
notwithstanding which they could only get these words from him, "It was
the will of God that I should do as I did."
The pope then passed this sentence upon him.
When he came to the church door, where he trampled on the host, the
hangman cut off his right hand, and fixed it on a pole. Then two tormentors,
with flaming torches, scorched and burnt his flesh all the rest of the
way. At the place of execution he kissed the chains that were to bind him
to the stake. A monk presenting the figure of a saint to him, he struck
it aside, and then being chained to the stake, fire was put to the fagots,
and he was soon burnt to ashes.
A little after the last-mentioned execution, a venerable old man, who
had long been a prisoner in the Inquisition, was condemned to be burnt,
and brought out for execution. When he was fastened to the stake, a priest
held a crucifix to him, on which he said, "If you do not take that idol
from my sight, you will constrain me to spit upon it." The priest rebuked
him for this with great severity; but he bade him remember the First and
Second Commandments, and refrain from idolatry, as God himself had commanded.
He was then gagged, that he should not speak any more, and fire being put
to the fagots, he suffered martyrdom in the flames.
Soon after the mar quisate fell into the possession of the duke
of Savoy, who sent circular letters to all the towns and villages, that
he expected the people should all conform to go to Mass. The inhabitants
of Saluces, upon receiving this letter, returned a general epistle, in
answer.
The duke, after reading the letter, did not interrupt the Protestants
for some time; but, at length, he sent them word that they must either
conform to the Mass, or leave his dominions in fifteen days. The Protestants,
upon this unexpected edict, sent a deputy to the duke to obtain its revocation,
or at least to have it moderated. But their remonstrances were in vain,
and they were given to understand that the edict was absolute.
Some were weak anough to go to Mass, in order to avoid banishment, and
preserve their property; others removed, with all their effects, to different
countries; and many neglected the time so long that they were obliged to
abandon all they were worth, and leave the marquisate in haste. Those,
who unhappily stayed bheind, were seized, plundered, and put to death.
The Protestants petitioned the duke of Savoy against these missionaries,
whose insolence and ill-usage were become intolerable; but instead of getting
any redress, the interest of the missionaries so far prevailed, that the
duke published a decree, in which he declared, that one witness should
be sufficient in a court of law against a Protestant, and that any witness,
who convicted a Protestant of any crime whatever, should be entitled to
one hundred crowns.
It may be easily imagined, upon the publication of a decree of this
nature, that many Protestants fell martyrs to perjury and avarice; for
several villainous papists would swear any thing against the Protestants
for the sake of the reward, and then fly to their own priests for absolution
from their false oaths. If any Roman Catholic, of more conscience than
the rest, blamed these fellows for their atrocious crimes, they themselves
were in danger of being informed against and punished as favorers of heretics.
The missionaries did all they could to get the books of the Protestants
into their hands, in order to burn them; when the Protestants doing their
utmost endeavors to conceal their books, the missionaries wrote to the
duke of Savoy, who, for the heinous crime of not surrendering their Bibles,
prayer books, and religious treatises, sent a number of troops to be quartered
on them. These military gentry did great mischief in the houses of the
Protestants, and destroyed such quantities of provisions, that many families
were thereby ruined.
To encourage, as much as possible, the apostasy of the Protestants,
the duke of Savoy published a proclamation wherein he said, "To encourage
the heretics to turn Catholics, it is our will and pleasure, and we do
hereby expressly command, that all such as shall embrace the holy Roman
Catholic faith, shall enjoy an exemption, from all and every tax for the
space of five years, commencing from the day of their conversion." The
duke of Savoy, likewise established a court, called the council for extirpating
the heretics. This court was to enter into inquiries concerning the ancient
privileges of the Protestant churches, and the decrees which had been,
from time to time, made in favor of the Protestants. But the investigation
of these things was carried on with the most manifest partiality; old charters
were wrested to a wrong sense, and sophistry was used to pervert the meaning
of everything, which tended to favor the reformed. 1000
As if these severities were not sufficient, the duke, soon after, published
another edict, in which he strictly commanded, that no Protestant should
act as a schoolmaster, or tutor, either in public or private, or dare to
teach any art, science, or language, directly or indirectly, to persons
of any persuasion whatever.
This edict was immediately followed by another, which decreed that no
Protestant should hold any place of profit, trust, or honor; and to wind
up the whole, the certain token of an approaching persecution came forth
in a final edict, by which it was positively ordered, that all Protestants
should diligently attend Mass.
The publication of an edict, containing such an injunction, may be compared
to unfurling the bloody flag; for murder and rapine were sure to follow.
One of the first objects that attracted the notice of the papists was Mr.
Sebastian Basan, a zealous Protestant, who was seized by the missionaries,
confined, tormented for fifteen months, and then burnt.
Previous to the persecution, the missionaries employed kidnappers to
steal away the Protestants' children, that they might privately be brought
up Roman Catholics; but now they took away the children by open force,
and if they met with any resistance, they murdered the parents.
To give greater vigor to the persecution, the duke of Savoy called a
general assembly of the Roman Catholic nobility and gentry when a solemn
edict was published against the reformed, containing many heads, and including
several reasons for extirpating the Protestants, among which were the following:
This severe edict was followed by a most cruel order, published on January
25, A.D. 1655, under the duke's sanction, by Andrew Gastaldo, doctor of
civil laws. This order set forth, "That every head of a family, with the
individuals of that family, of the reformed religion, of what rank, degree,
or condition soever, none excepted inhabiting and possessing estates in
Lucerne, St. Giovanni, Bibiana, Campiglione, St. Secondo, Lucernetta, La
Torre, Fenile, and Bricherassio, should, within three days after the publication
thereof, withdraw and depart, and be withdrawn out of the said places,
and translated into the places and limits tolerated by his highness during
his pleasure; particularly Bobbio, Angrogne, Vilario, Rorata, and the county
of Bonetti.
"And all this to be done on pain of death, and confiscation of house
and goods, unless within the limited time they turned Roman Catholics."
A flight with such speed, in the midst of winter, may be conceived as
no agreeable task, especially in a country almost surrounded by mountains.
The sudden order affected all, and things, which would have been scarcely
noticed at another time, now appeared in the most conspicuous light. Women
with child, or women just lain-in, were not objects of pity on this order
for sudden removal, for all were included in the command; and it unfortunately
happened, that the winter was remarkably severe and rigorous.
The papists, however, drove the people from their habitations at the
time appointed, without even suffering them to have sufficient clothes
to cover them; and many perished in the mountains through the severity
of the weather, or for want of food. Some, however, who remained behind
after the decree was published, met with the severest treatment, being
murdered by the popish inhabitants, or shot by the troops who were quartered
in the valleys. A particular description of these cruelties is given in
a letter, written by a Protestant, who was upon the spot, and who happily
escaped the carnage. "The army (says he) having got footing, became very
numerous, by the addition of a multitude of the neighboring popish inhabitants,
w ho finding we were the destined prey of the plunderers, fell upon
us with an impetuous fury. Exclusive of the duke of Savoy's troops, and
the popish inhabitants, there were several regiments of French auxiliaries,
some companies belonging to the Irish brigades, and several bands formed
of outlaws, smugglers, and prisoners, who had been promised pardon and
liberty in this world, and absolution in the next, for assisting to exterminate
the Protestants from Piedmont.
"This armed multitude being encouraged by the Roman Catholic bishops
and monks fell upon the Protestants in a most furious manner. Nothing now
was to be seen but the face of horror and despair, blood stained the floors
of the houses, dead bodies bestrewed the streets, groans and cries were
heard from all parts. Some armed themselves, and skirmished with the troops;
and many, with their families, fled to the mountains. In one village they
cruelly tormented one hundred and fifty women and children after the men
were fled, beheading the women, and dashing out the brains of the children.
In the towns of Vilario and Bobbio, most of those who refused to go to
Mass, who were upwards of fifteen years of age, they crucified with their
heads downwards; and the greatest number of those who were under that age
were strangled."
Sarah Ratignole des Vignes, a woman of sixty years of age, being seized
by some soldiers, they ordered her to say a prayer to some saints, which
she refusing, they thrust a sickle into her belly, ripped her up, and then
cut off her head.
Martha Constantine, a handsome young woman, was treated with great indecency
and cruelty by several of the troops, who first ravished, and then killed
her by cutting off her breasts. These they fried, and set before some of
their comrades, who ate them without knowing what they were. When they
had done eating, the others told them what they had made a meal of, in
consequence of which a quarrel ensued, swords were drawn, and a battle
took place. Several were killed in the fray, the greater part of whom were
those concerned in the horrid massacre of the woman, and who had practiced
such an inhuman deception on their companions.
Some of the soldiers seized a man of Thrassiniere, and ran the points
of their swords through his ears, and through his feet. They then tore
off the nails of his fingers and toes with red-hot pincers, tied him to
the tail of an ass, and dragged him about the streets; they finally fastened
a cord around his head, which they twisted with a stick in so violent a
manner as to wring it from his body.
Peter Symonds, a Protestant, of about eighty years of age, was tied
neck and heels, and then thrown down a precipice. In the fall the branch
of a tree caught hold of the ropes that fastened him, and suspended him
in the midway, so that he languished for several days, and at length miserably
perished of hunger.
Esay Garcino, refusing to renounce his religion, was cut into small
pieces; the soldiers, in ridicule, saying, they had minced him. A woman,
named Armand, had every limb separated from each other, and then the respective
parts were hung upon a hedge. Two old women were ripped open, and then
left in the fields upon the snow, where they perished; and a very old woman,
who was deformed, had her nose and hands cut off, and was left, to bleed
to death in that manner.
A great number of men, women, and children, were flung from the rocks,
and dashed to pieces. Magdalen Bertino, a Protestant woman of La Torre,
was stripped stark naked, her head tied between her legs, and thrown down
one of the precipices; and Mary Raymondet, of the same town, had the flesh
sliced from her bones until she expired.
Magdalen Pilot, of Vilario, was cut to pieces in the cave of Castolus;
Ann Charboniere had one end of a stake thrust up her body; and the other
being fixed in the ground, she was left in that manner to perish, and Jacob
Perrin the elder, of the church of Vilario, and David, his brother, were
flayed alive.
An inhabitant of La Torre, na med Giovanni Andrea Michialm, was
apprehended, with four of his children, three of them were hacked to pieces
before him, the soldiers asking him, at the death of every child, if he
would renounce his religion; this he constantly refused. One of the soldiers
then took up the last and youngest by the legs, and putting the same question
to the father, he replied as before, when the inhuman brute dashed out
the child's brains. The father, however, at the same moment started from
them, and fled; the soldiers fired after him, but missed him; and he, by
the swiftness of his heels, escaped, and hid himself in the Alps.
Magdalen, the daughter of Peter Fontaine, a beautiful child of ten years
of age, was ravished and murdered by the soldiers. Another girl of about
the same age, they roasted alive at Villa Nova; and a poor woman, hearing
that the soldiers were coming toward her house, snatched up the cradle
in which her infant son was asleep, and fled toward the woods. The soldiers,
however, saw and pursued her; when she lightened herself by putting down
the cradle and child, which the soldiers no sooner came to, than they murdered
the infant, and continuing the pursuit, found the mother in a cave, where
they first ravished, and then cut her to pieces.
Jacob Michelino, chief elder of the church of Bobbio, and several other
Protestants, were hung up by means of hooks fixed in their bellies, and
left to expire in the most excruciating tortures.
Giovanni Rostagnal, a venerable Protestant, upwards of fourscore years
of age, had his nose and ears cut off, and slices cut from the fleshy parts
of his body, until he bled to death.
Seven persons, viz. Daniel Seleagio and his wife, Giovanni Durant, Lodwich
Durant, Bartholomew Durant, Daniel Revel, and Paul Reynaud, had their mouths
stuffed with gunpowder, which being set fire to, their heads were blown
to pieces.
Jacob Birone, a schoolmaster of Rorata, for refusing to change his religion,
was stripped quite naked; and after having been very indecently exposed,
had the nails of his toes and fingers torn off with red-hot pincers, and
holes bored through his hands with the point of a dagger. He then had a
cord tied round his middle, and was led through the streets with a soldier
on each side of him. At every turning the soldier on his right hand side
cut a gash in his flesh, and the soldier on his left hand side struck him
with a bludgeon, both saying, at the same instant, "Will you go to Mass?
will you go to Mass?" He still replied in the negative to these interrogatories,
and being at length taken to the bridge, they cut off his head on the balustrades,
and threw both that and his body into the river.
Paul Garnier, a very pious Protestant, had his eyes put out, was then
flayed alive, and being divided into four parts, his quarters were placed
on four of the principal houses of Lucerne. He bore all his sufferings
with the most exemplary patience, praised God as long as he could speak,
and plainly evinced, what confidence and resignation a good conscience
can inspire.
Daniel Cardon, of Rocappiata, being apprehended by some soldiers, they
cut his head off, and having fried his brains, ate them. Two poor old blind
women, of St. Giovanni, were burnt alive; and a widow of La Torre, with
her daughter, were driven into the river, and there stoned to death.
Paul Giles, on attempting to run away from some soldiers, was shot in
the neck: they then slit his nos e, sliced his chin, stabbed him,
and gave his carcass to the dogs.
Some of the Irish troops having taken eleven men of Garcigliana prisoners,
they made a furnace red hot, and forced them to push each other in until
they came to the last man, whom they pushed in themselves.
Michael Gonet, a man of ninety, was burnt to death; Baptista Oudri,
another old man, was stabbed; and Bartholomew Frasche had holes made in
his heels, through which ropes were put; then he was dragged by them to
the jail, where his wounds mortified and killed him.
Magdalene de la Piere being pursued by some of the soldiers, and taken,
was thrown down a precipice, and dashed to pieces. Margaret Revella, and
Mary Pravillerin, two very old women, were burnt alive; and Michael Bellino,
with Ann Bochardno, were beheaded.
The son and the daughter of a counsellor of Giovanni were rolled down
a steep hill together, and suffered to perish in a deep pit at the bottom.
A tradesman's family, viz.: himself, his wife, and an infant in her arms,
were cast from a rock, and dashed to pieces; and Joseph Chairet and Paul
Carniero were flayed alive.
Cypriania Bustia, being asked if he would renounce his religion and
turn Roman Catholic, replied, "I would rather renounce life, or turn dog";
to which a priest answered, "For that expression you shall both renounce
life, and be given to the dogs." They, accordingly, dragged him to prison,
where he continued a considerable time without food, until he was famished;
after which they threw his corpse into the street before the prison, and
it was devoured by dogs in the most shocking manner.
Margaret Saretta was stoned to death, and then thrown into the river;
Antonio Bartina had his head cleft asunder; and Joseph Pont was cut
through the middle of his body.
Daniel Maria, and his whole family, being ill of a fever, several papist
ruffians broke into his house, telling him they were practical physicians,
and would give them all present ease, which they did by knocking the whole
family on the head.
Three infant children of a Protestant, named Peter Fine, were covered
with snow, and stifled; an elderly widow, named Judith, was beheaded, and
a beautiful young woman was stripped naked, and had a stake driven through
her body, of which she expired.
Lucy, the wife of Peter Besson, a woman far gone in her pregnancy, who
lived in one of the villages of the Piedmontese valleys, determined, if
possible, to escape from such dreadful scenes as everywhere surrounded
her: she, accordingly took two young children, one in each hand, and set
off towards the Alps. But on the third day of the journey she was taken
in labor among the mountains, and delivered of an infant, who perished
through the extreme inclemency of the weather, as did the two other children;
for all three were found dead by her, and herself just expiring, by the
person to whom she related the above particulars.
Francis Gros, the son of a clergyman, had his flesh slowly cut from
his body into small pieces, and put into a dish before him; two of his
children were minced before his sight; and his wife was fastened to a post,
that she might behold all these cruelties practiced on her husband and
offspring. The tormentors at length being tired of exercising their cruelties,
cut off the heads of both husband and wife, and then gave the flesh of
the whole family to the dogs.
The sieur Thomas Margher fled to a cave, when the soldiers shut up the
mouth, and he perished with famine. Judith Revelin, and seven children,
were barbarously murdered in their beds; and a widow of near fourscore
years of age, was hewn to pieces by soldiers.
Jacob Roseno was ordered to pray to the saints, which he absolutely
refused to do: some of the soldiers beat him violently with bludgeons to
make him comply, but he still refusing, several of them fired at him, and
lodged a great many balls in his body. As he was almost expiring, they
cried to him, "Will you call upon the saints? Will you pray to t he
saints?" To which he answered "No! No! No!" when one of the soldiers, with
a broadsword, clove his head asunder, and put an end to his sufferings
in this world; for which undoubtedly, he is gloriously rewarded in the
next.
A soldier, attempting to ravish a young woman, named Susanna Gacquin,
she made a stout resistance, and in the struggle pushed him over a precipice,
when he was dashed to pieces by the fall. His comrades, instead of admiring
the virtue of the young woman, and applauding her for so nobly defending
her chastity, fell upon her with their swords, and cut her to pieces.
Giovanni Pulhus, a poor peasant of La Torre, being apprehended as a
Protestant by the soldiers, was ordered, by the marquis of Pianesta, to
be executed in a place near the convent. When he came to the gallows, several
monks attended, and did all they could to persuade him to renounce his
religion. But he told them he never would embrace idolatry, and that he
was happy at being thought worthy to suffer for the name of Christ. They
then put him in mind of what his wife and children, who depended upon his
labor, would suffer after his decease; to which he replied, "I would have
my wife and children, as well as myself, to consider their souls more than
their bodies, and the next world before this; and with respect to the distress
I may leave them in, God is merciful, and will provide for them while they
are worthy of his protection." Finding the inflexibility of this poor man,
the monks cried, "Turn him off! turn him off!" which the executioner did
almost immediately, and the body being afterward cut down, was flung into
the river.
Paul Clement, an elder of the church of Rossana, being apprehended by
the monks of a neighboring monastery, was carried to the market place of
that town, where some Protestants had just been executed by the soldiers.
He was shown the dead bodies, in order that the sight might intimidate
him. On beholding the shocking subjects, he said, calmly, "You may kill
the body, but you cannot prejudice the soul of a true believer; but with
respect to the dreadful spectacles which you have here shown me, you may
rest assured, that God's vengeance will overtake the murderers of those
poor people, and punish them for the innocent blood they have spilt." The
monks were so exasperated at this reply that they ordered him to be hanged
directly; and while he was hanging, the soldiers amused themselves in standing
at a distance, and shooting at the body as at a mark.
Daniel Rambaut, of Vilario, the father of a numerous family, was apprehended,
and, with several others, committed to prison, in the jail of Paysana.
Here he was visited by several priests, who with continual importunities
did all they could to persuade him to renounce the Protestant religion
and turn papist; but this he peremptorily refused, and the priests finding
his resolution, pretended to pity his numerous family, and told him that
he might yet have his life, if he would subscribe to the belief of the
following articles:
Peter Gabriola, a Protestant gentleman of considerable eminence, being
seized by a troop of soldiers, and refusing to renounce his religion, they
hung a great number of little bags of gunpowder about his body, and then
setting fire to them, blew him up.
Anthony, the son of Samuel Catieris, a poor dumb lad who was extremely
inoffensive, was cut to pieces by a party of the troops; and soon after
the same ruffians entered the house of Peter Moniriat, and cut off the
legs of the whole family, leaving them to bleed to death, as they were
unable to assist themselves, or to help each other.
Daniel Benech being apprehended, had his nose slit, his ears cut off,
and was then divided into quarters, each quarter being hung upon a tree,
and Mary Monino had her jaw bones broke and was then left to anguish till
she was famished.
Mary Pelanchion, a handsome widow, belonging to the town of Vilario,
was seized by a party of the Irish brigades, who having beat her cruelly,
and ravished her, dragged her to a high bridge which crossed the river,
and stripped her naked in a most indecent manner, hung her by the legs
to the bridge, with her head downwards towards the water, and then going
into boats, they fired at her until she expired.
Mary Nigrino, and her daughter who was an idiot, were cut to pieces
in the woods, and their bodies left to be devoured by wild beasts: Susanna
Bales, a widow of Vilario, was immured until she perished through hunger;
and Susanna Calvio running away from some soldiers and hiding herself in
a barn, they set fire to the straw and burnt her.
Paul Armand was hacked to pieces; a child named Daniel Bertino was burnt;
Daniel Michialino had his tongue plucked out, and was left to perish
in that condition; and Andreo Bertino, a very old man, who was lame, was
mangled in a most shocking manner, and at length had his belly ripped open,
and his bowels carried about on the point of a halbert.
Constantia Bellione, a Protestant lady, being apprehended on account
of her faith, was asked by a priest if she would renounce the devil and
go to Mass; to which she replied, "I was brought up in a religion by which
I was always taught to renounce the devil; but should I comply with your
desire, and go to Mass, I should be sure to meet him there in a variety
of shapes." The priest was highly incensed at what she said, and told her
to recant, or she would suffer cruelly. The lady, however, boldly answered
that she valued not any sufferings he could inflict, and in spite of all
the torments he could invent, she would keep her conscience pure and
her faith inviolate. The priest then ordered slices of her flesh to be
cut off from several parts of her body, which cruelty she bore with the
most singular patience, only saying to the priest, "What horrid and lasting
torments will you suffer in hell, for the trifling and temporary pains
which I now endure." Exasperated at this expression, and willing to stop
her tongue, the priest ordered a file of musqueteers to draw up and fire
upon her, by which she was soon despatched, and sealed her martyrdom with
her blood.
A young woman named Judith Mandon, for refusing to change her religion
and embrace popery, was fastened to a stake, and sticks thrown at her from
a distance, in the very same manner as that barbarous custom which was
formerly practiced on Shrove-Tuesday, of shying at rocks, as it was termed.
By this inhuman proceeding, the poor creature's limbs were beat and mangled
in a terrible manner, and her brains were at last dashed out by one of
the bludgeons.
David Paglia and Paul Genre, attempting to escape to the Alps, with
each his son, were pursued and overtaken by the soldiers in a large plain.
Here they hunted them for their diversion, goading them with their swords,
and making them run about until they dropped down with fatigue. When they
found that their spirits were quite exhausted, and that they could not
afford them any more barbarous sport by running, the soldiers hacked them
to pieces, and left their mangled bodies on the spot.
A young man of Bobbio, named Michael Greve, was apprehended in the town
of La Torre, and being led to the bridge, was thrown over into the river.
As he could swim very well, he swam down the stream, thinking to escape,
but the soldiers and the mob followed on both sides of the river, and kept
stoning him, until receiving a blow on one of his temples, he was stunned,
and consequently sunk and was drowned.
David Armand was ordered to lay his head down on a block, when a soldier,
with a large hammer, beat out his brains. David Baridona being apprehended
at Vilario, was carried to La Torre, where, refusing to renounce his religion,
he was tormented by means of brimstone matches being tied between his fingers
and toes, and set fire to; and afterward, by having his flesh plucked off
with red-hot pincers, until he expired; and Giovanni Barolina, with his
wife, were thrown into a pool of stagnant water, and compelled, by means
of pitchforks and stones, to duck down their heads until they were suffocated.
A number of soldiers went to the house of Joseph Garniero, and before
they entered, fired in at the window, to give notice of their approach.
A musket ball entered one of Mrs. Garniero's breasts, as she was suckling
an infant with the other. On finding their intentions, she begged hard
that they would spare the life of the infant, which they promised to do,
and sent it immediately to a Roman Catholic nurse. They then took the husband
and hanged him at his own door, and having shot the wife through the head,
they left her body weltering in its blood, and her husband hanging on the
gallows.
Isaiah Mondon, an elderly man, and a pious Protestant, fled from the
merciless persecutors to a cleft in a rock, where he suffered the most
dreadful hardships; for, in the midst of the winter he was forced to lie
on the bare stone, without any covering; his food was the roots he could
scratch up near his miserable habitation; and the only way by which he
could procure drink, was to put snow in his mouth until it melted. Here,
however, some of the inhuman soldiers found him, and after having beaten
him unmercifully, they drove him towards Lucerne, goading him with the
points of their swords. Being exceedingly weakened by his manner of living,
and his spirits exhausted by the blows he had received, he fell down in
the road. They again beat him to make him proceed: when on his knees, he
implored them to put him out of his misery, by despatching him. This they
at last agreed to do; and one of them stepping up to him shot him
through the head with a pistol, saying, "There, heretic, take thy request."
Mary Revol, a worthy Protestant, received a shot in her back, as she
was walking along the street. She dropped down with the wound, but recovering
sufficient strength, she raised herself upon her knees, and lifting her
hands towards heaven, prayed in a most fervent manner to the Almighty,
when a number of soldiers, who were near at hand, fired a whole volley
of shot at her, many of which took effect, and put an end to her miseries
in an instant.
Several men, women, and children secreted themselves in a large cave,
where they continued for some weeks in safety. It was the custom for two
of the men to go when it was necessary, and by stealth, procure provisions.
These were, however, one day watched, by which the cave was discovered,
and soon after, a troop of Roman Catholics appeared before it. The papists
that assembled upon this occasion were neighbors and intimate acquaintances
of the Protestants in the cave; and some were even related to each other.
The Protestants, therefore, came out, and implored them, by the ties of
hospitality, by the ties of blood, and as old acquaintances and neighbors,
not to murder them. But superstition overcomes every sensation of nature
and humanity; so that the papists, blinded by bigotry, told them they could
not show any mercy to heretics, and, therefore, bade them prepare to die.
Hearing this, and knowing the fatal obstinacy of the Roman Catholics, the
Protestants all fell prostate, lifted their hands and hearts to heaven,
prayed with great sincerity and fervency, and then bowing down, put their
faces close to the ground, and patiently waited their fate, which was soon
decided, for the papists fell upon them with unremitting fury, and having
cut them to pieces, left the mangled bodies and limbs in the cave.
Giovanni Salvagiot, passing by a Roman Catholic church, and not taking
off his hat, was followed by some of the congregation, who fell upon and
murdered him; and Jacob Barrel and his wife, having been taken prisoners
by the earl of St. Secondo, one of the duke of Savoy's officers, he delivered
them up to the soldiery, who cut off the woman's breasts, and the man's
nose, and then shot them both through the head.
Anthony Guigo, a Protestant, of a wavering disposition, went to Periero,
with an intent to renounce his religion and embrace popery. This design
he communicated to some priests, who highly commended it, and a day was
fixed upon for his public recantation. In the meantime, Anthony grew fully
sensible of his perfidy, and his conscience tormented him so much night
and day that he determined not to recant, but to make his escape. This
he effected, but being soon missed and pursued, he was taken. The troops
on the way did all they could to bring him back to his design of recantation;
but finding their endeavors ineffectual, they beat him violently on the
road. When coming near a precipice, he took an opportunity of leaping down
it and was dashed to pieces.
A Protestant gentleman, of considerable fortune, at Bobbio, being nightly
provoked by the insolence of a priest, retorted with great severity; and
among other things, said, that the pope was Antichrist, Mass idolatry,
purgatory a farce, and absolution a cheat. To be revenged, the priest hired
five desperate ruffians, who, the same evening, broke into the gentleman's
house, and seized upon him in a violent manner. The gentleman was terribly
frightened, fell on his knees, and implored mercy; but the desperate ruffians
despatched him without the least hesitation.
As the work of blood grew slack in other places, the earl of Christople,
one o f the duke of Savoy's officers, determined, if possible, to
make himself master of it; and, with that view, detached three hundred
men to surprise it secretly.
The inhabitants of Roras, however, had intelligence of the approach
of these troops, when captain Joshua Gianavel, a brave Protestant officer,
put himself at the head of a small body of the citizens, and waited in
ambush to attack the enemy in a small defile.
When the troops appeared, and had entered the defile, which was the
only place by which the town could be approached, the Protestants kept
up a smart and well-directed fire against them, and still kept themselves
concealed behind bushes from the sight of the enemy. A great number of
the soldiers were killed, and the remainder receiving a continued fire,
and not seeing any to whom they might return it, thought proper to retreat.
The members of this little community then sent a memorial to the marquis
of Pianessa, one of the duke's general officers, setting forth, 'That they
were sorry, upon any occasion, to be under the necessity of taking up arms;
but that the secret approach of a body of troops, without any reason assigned,
or any previous notice sent of the purpose of their coming, had greatly
alarmed them; that as it was their custom never to suffer any of the military
to enter their little community, they had repelled force by force, and
should do so again; but in all other respects, they professed themselves
dutiful, obedient, and loyal subjects to their sovereign, the duke of Savoy.'
The marquis of Pianessa, that he might have the better opportunity of
deluding and surprising the Protestants of Roras, sent them word in answer,
'That he was perfectly satisfied with their behavior, for they had done
right, and even rendered a service to their country, as the men who had
attempted to pass the defile were not his troops, or sent by him, but a
band of desperate robbers, who had, for some time, infested those parts,
and been a terror to the neighboring country.' To give a greater color
to his treachery, he then published an ambiguous proclamation seemingly
favorable to the inhabitants.
Yet, the very day after this plausible proclamation, and specious conduct,
the marquis sent five hundred men to possess themselves of Roras, while
the people as he thought, were lulled into perfect security by his specious
behavior.
Captain Gianavel, however, was not to be deceived so easily: he, therefore,
laid an ambuscade for this body of troops, as he had for the former, and
compelled them to retire with very considerable loss.
Though foiled in these two attempts, the marquis of Pianessa determined
on a third, which should be still more formidable; but first he imprudently
published another proclamation, disowning any knowledge of the second attempt.
Soon after, seven hundred chosen men were sent upon the expedition,
who, in spite of the fire from the Protestants, forced the defile, entered
Roras, and began to murder every person they met with, without distinction
of age or sex. The Protestant captain Gianavel, at the head of a small
body, though he had lost the defile, determined to dispute their passage
through a fortified pass that led to the richest and best part of the town.
Here he was successful, by keeping up a continual fire, and by means of
his men being all complete marksmen. The Roman Catholic commander was greatly
staggered at this opposition, as he imagined that he had surmounted all
difficulties. He, however, did his endeavors to force the pass, but being
able to bring up only twelve men in front at a time, and the Protestants
being secured by a breastwork, he found he should be baffled by the handful
of men who opposed him.
Enraged at the loss of so many of his troops, and fearful of disgrace
if he persisted in attempting what appeared so impracticable, he thought
it the wisest thing to retreat. Unwilling, however, to withdraw his men
by the defile at which he had entered, on account of the difficulty and
danger of the enterpris e, he determined to retreat towards Vilario,
by another pass called Piampra, which though hard of access, was easy of
descent. But in this he met with disappointment, for Captain Gianavel having
posted his little band here, greatly annoyed the troops as they passed,
and even pursued their rear until they entered the open country.
The marquis of Pianessa, finding that all his attempts were frustrated,
and that every artifice he used was only an alarm signal to the inhabitants
of Roras, determined to act openly, and therefore proclaimed that ample
rewards should be given to any one who would bear arms against the obstinate
heretics of Roras, as he called them; and that any officer who would exterminate
them should be rewarded in a princely manner.
This engaged Captain Mario, a bigoted Roman Catholic, and a desperate
ruffian, to undertake the enterprise. He, therefore, obtained leave to
raise a regiment in the following six towns: Lucerne, Borges, Famolas,
Bobbio, Begnal, and Cavos.
Having completed his regiment, which consisted of one thousand men,
he laid his plan not to go by the defiles or the passes, but to attempt
gaining the summit of a rock, whence he imagined he could pour his troops
into the town without much difficulty or opposition.
The Protestants suffered the Roman Catholic troops to gain almost the
summit of the rock, without giving them any opposition, or ever appearing
in their sight: but when they had almost reached the top they made a most
furious attack upon them; one party keeping up a well-directed and constant
fire, and another party rolling down huge stones.
This stopped the career of the papist troops: many were killed by the
musketry, and more by the stones, which beat them down the precipices.
Several fell sacrifices to their hurry, for by attempting a precipitate
retreat they fell down, and were dashed to pieces; and Captain Mario himself
narrowly escaped with his life, for he fell from a craggy place into a
river which washed the foot of the rock. He was taken up senseless, but
afterwards recovered, though he was ill of the bruises for a long time;
and, at length he fell into a decline at Lucerne, where he died.
Another body of troops was ordered from the camp at Vilario, to make
an attempt upon Roras; but these were likewise defeated, by means of the
Protestants' ambush fighting, and compelled to retreat again to the camp
at Vilario.
After each of these signal victories, Captain Gianavel made a suitable
discourse to his men, causing them to kneel down, and return thanks to
the Almighty for his providential protection; and usually concluded with
the Eleventh Psalm, where the subject is placing confidence in God.
The marquis of Pianessa was greatly enraged at being so much baffled
by the few inhabitants of Roras: he, therefore, determined to attempt their
expulsion in such a manner as could hardly fail of success.
With this view he ordered all the Roman Catholic militia of Piedmont
to be raised and disciplined. When these orders were completed, he joined
to the militia eight thousand regular troops, and dividing the whole into
three distinct bodies, he designed that three formidable attacks should
be made at the same time, unless the people of Roras, to whom he sent an
account of his great preparations, would comply with the following conditions:
The three armies were then put in motion, and the attacks ordered to
be made thus: the first by the rocks of Vilario; the second by the pass
of Bagnol; and the third by the defile of Lucerne.
The troops forced their way by the superiority of numbers, and having
gained the rocks, pass, and defile, began to make the most horrid depradations,
and exercise the greatest cruelties. Men they hanged, burned, racked to
death, or cut to pieces; women they ripped open, crucified, drowned, or
threw from the precipices; and children they tossed upon spears, minced,
cut their throats, or dashed out their brains. One hundred and twenty-six
suffered in this manner on the first day of their gaining the town.
Agreeable to the marquis of Pianessa's orders, they likewise plundered
the estates, and burned the houses of the people. Several Protestants,
however, made their escape, under the conduct of Captain Gianavel, whose
wife and children were unfortunately made prisoners and sent under a strong
guard to Turin.
The marquis of Pianessa wrote a letter to Captain Gianavel, and released
a Protestant prisoner that he might carry it him. The contents were, that
if the captain would embrace the Roman Catholic religion, he should be
indemnified for all his losses since the commencement of the war; his wife
and children should be immediately released, and himself honorably promoted
in the duke of Savoy's army; but if he refused to accede to the proposals
made him, his wife and children should be put to death; and so large a
reward should be given to take him, dead or alive, that even some of his
own confidential friends should be tempted to betray him, from the greatness
of the sum.
To this epistle, the brave Gianavel sent the following answer.
My Lord Marquis,
But having said thus much, my lord, I assure you that the purchase of
their lives must not be the price of my salvation. You have them in your
power it is true; but my consolation is that your power is only a temporary
authority over their bodies: you may destroy the mortal part, but their
immortal souls are out of your reach, and will live hereafter to bear testimony
against you for your cruelties. I therefore recommend them and myself to
God, and pray for a reformation in your heart. -- JOSHUA GIANAVEL.
This brave Protestant officer, after writing the above letter, retired
to the Alps, with his followers; and being joined by a great number of
other fugitive Protestants, he harassed the enemy by continual skirmishes.
Meeting one day with a body of papist troops near Bibiana, he, though
inferior in numbers, attacked them with great fury, and put them to the
rout without the loss of a man, though himself was shot through the leg
in the engagement, by a soldier who had hid himself behind a tree; but
Gianavel perceiving whence the shot came, pointed his gun to the plac 1000
e, and despatched the person who had wounded him.
Captain Gianavel hearing that a Captain Jahier had collected together
a considerable body of Protestants, wrote him a letter, proposing a junction
of their forces. Captain Jahier immediately agreed to the proposal, and
marched directly to meet Gianavel.
The junction being formed, it was proposed to attack a town, (inhabited
by Roman Catholics) called Garcigliana. The assault was given with great
spirit, but a reinforcement of horse and foot having lately entered the
town, which the Protestants knew nothing of, they were repulsed; yet made
a masterly retreat, and only lost one man in the action.
The next attempt of the Protestant forces was upon St. Secondo, which
they attacked with great vigor, but met with a strong resistance from the
Roman Catholic troops, who had fortified the streets and planted themselves
in the houses, from whence they poured musket balls in prodigious numbers.
The Protestants, however, advanced, under cover of a great number of planks,
which some held over their heads, to secure them from the shots of the
enemy from the houses, while others kept up a well-directed fire; so that
the houses and entrenchments were soon forced, and the town taken.
In the town they found a prodigious quantity of plunder, which had been
taken from Protestants at various times, and different places, and which
were stored up in the warehouses, churches, dwelling houses, etc. This
they removed to a place of safety, to be distributed, with as much justice
as possible, among the sufferers.
This successful attack was made with such skill and spirit that it cost
very little to the conquering party, the Protestants having only seventeen
killed, and twenty-six wounded; while the papists suffered a loss of no
less than four hundred and fifty killed, and five hundred and eleven wounded.
Five Protestant officers, viz., Gianavel, Jahier, Laurentio, Genolet
and Benet, laid a plan to surprise Biqueras. To this end they marched in
five respective bodies, and by agreement were to make the attack at the
same time. The captains, Jahier and Laurentio, passed through two defiles
in the woods, and came to the place in safety, under covert; but the other
three bodies made their approaches through an open country, and, consequently,
were more exposed to an attack.
The Roman Catholics taking the alarm, a great number of troops were
sent to relieve Biqueras from Cavors, Bibiana, Feline, Campiglione, and
some other neighboring places. When these were united, they determined
to attack the three Protestant parties, that were marching through the
open country.
The Protestant officers perceiving the intent of the enemy, and not
being at a great distance from each other, joined forces with the utmost
expedition, and formed themselves in order of battle.
In the meantime, the captains, Jahier and Laurentio, had assaulted the
town of Biqueras, and burnt all the out houses, to make their approaches
with the greater ease; but not being supported as they expected by the
other three Protestant captains, they sent a messenger, on a swift horse,
towards the open country, to inquire the reason.
The messenger soon returned and informed them that it was not in the
power of the three Protestant captains to support their proceedings, as
they were themselves attacked by a very superior force in the plain, and
could scarce sustain the unequal conflict.
The captains, Jahier and Laurentio, on receiving this intelligence,
determined to discontinue the assault on Biqueras, and to proceed, with
all possible expedition, to the relief of their friends on the plain. This
design proved to be of the most essential service, for just as they arrived
at the spot where the two armies were engaged, the papist troops began
to prevail, and were on the point of flanking the left wing, commanded
by Captain Gianavel. The arrival of these troops turned the scale in favor
of the Protestants: and the papist forces, though they fought with the
most obstinate intrepidity, were totally defeated. A great number
were killed and wounded, on both sides, and the baggage, military stores,
etc., taken by the Protestants were very considerable.
Captain Gianavel, having information that three hundred of the enemy
were to convoy a great quantity of stores, provisions, etc., from La Torre
to the castle of Mirabac, determined to attack them on the way. He, accordingly,
began the assault at Malbec, though with a very inadequate force. The contest
was long and bloody, but the Protestants at length were obliged to yield
to the superiority of numbers, and compelled to make a retreat, which they
did with great regularity, and but little loss.
Captain Gianavel advanced to an advantageous post, situated near the
town of Vilario, and then sent the following information and commands to
the inhabitants.
The Protestant commanders having called a council of war, resolved to
make an attempt upon the town of La Torre.
The papists being apprised of the design, detached some troops to defend
a defile, through which the Protestants must make their approach; but these
were defeated, compelled to abandon the pass, and forced to retreat to
La Torre.
The Protestants proceeded on their march, and the troops of La Torre,
on their approach, made a furious sally, but were repulsed with great loss,
and compelled to seek shelter in the town. The governor now only thought
of defending the place, which the Protestants began to attack in form;
but after many brave attempts, and furious assaults, the commanders determined
to abandon the enterprise for several reasons, particularly, because they
found the place itself too strong, their own number too weak, and their
cannon not adequate to the task of battering down the walls.
This resolution taken, the Protestant commanders began a masterly retreat,
and conducted it with such regularity that the enemy did not choose to
pursue them, or molest their rear, which they might have done, as they
passed the defiles.
The next day they mustered, reviewed the army, and found the whole to
amount to four hundred and ninety-five men. They then held a council of
war, and planned an easier enterprise: this was to make an attack on the
commonalty of Crusol, a place inhabited by a number of the most bigoted
Roman Catholics, and who had exercised, during the persecutions, the most
unheard-of cruelties on the Protestants.
The people of Crusol, hearing of the design against them, fled to a
neighboring fortress, situated on a rock, where the Protestants could not
come to them, for a very few men could render it inaccessible to a numerous
army. Th us they secured their persons, but were in too much hurry
to secure their property, the principal part of which, indeed, had been
plundered from the Protestants, and now luckily fell again to the possession
of the right owners. It consisted of many rich and valuable articles, and
what, at that time, was of much more consequence, viz., a great quantity
of military stores.
The day after the Protestants were gone with their booty, eight hundred
troops arrived to the assistance of the people of Crusol, having been despatched
from Lucerne, Biqueras, Cavors, etc. But finding themselves too late, and
that pursuit would be vain, not to return empty handed, they began to plunder
the neighboring villages, though what they took was from their friends.
After collecting a tolerable booty, they began to divide it, but disagreeing
about the different shares, they fell from words to blows, did a great
deal of mischief, and then plundered each other.
On the very same day in which the Protestants were so successful at
Crusol, some papists marched with a design to plunder and burn the little
Protestant village of Rocappiatta, but by the way they met with the Protestant
forces belonging to the captains, Jahier and Laurentio, who were posted
on the hill of Angrogne. A trivial engagement ensued, for the Roman Catholics,
on the very first attack, retreated in great confusion, and were pursued
with much slaughter. After the pursuit was over, some straggling papist
troops meeting with a poor peasant, who was a Protestant, tied a cord round
his head, and strained it until his skull was quite crushed.
Captain Gianavel and Captain Jahier concerted a design together to make
an attack upon Lucerne; but Captain Jahier, not bringing up his forces
at the time appointed, Captain Gianavel determined to attempt the enterprise
himself.
He, therefore, by a forced march, proceeded towards that place during
the whole, and was close to it by break of day. His first care was to cut
the pipes that conveyed water into the town, and then to break down the
bridge, by which alone provisions from the country could enter.
He then assaulted the place, and speedily possessed himself of two of
the outposts; but finding he could not make himself master of the place,
he prudently retreated with very little loss, blaming, however, Captain
Jahier, for the failure of the enterprise.
The papists being informed that Captain Gianavel was at Angrogne with
only his own company, determined if possible to surprise him. With this
view, a great number of troops were detached from La Torre and other places:
one party of these got on top of a mountain, beneath which he was posted;
and the other party intended to possess themselves of the gate of St. Bartholomew.
The papists thought themselves sure of taking Captain Gianavel and every
one of his men, as they consisted but of three hundred, and their own force
was two thousand five hundred. Their design, however, was providentially
frustrated, for one of the popish soldiers imprudently blowing a trumpet
before the signal for attack was given, Captain Gianavel took the alarm,
and posted his little company so advantageously at the gate of St. Bartholomew
and at the defile by which the enemy must descend from the mountains, that
the Roman Catholic troops failed in both attacks, and were repulsed with
very considerable loss.
Soon after, Captain Jahier came to Angrogne, and joined his forces to
those of Captain Gianavel, giving sufficient reasons to excuse his before-mentioned
failure. Captain Jahier now made several secret excursions with great success,
always selecting the most active troops, belonging both to Gianavel and
himself. One day he had put himself at the head of forty-four men, to proceed
upon an expedition, when entering a plain near Ossac, he was suddenly surrounded
by a large body of horse. Captain Jahier and his men fought desperately,
though oppressed by odds, and killed the commander-in-chief, three captains,
and fifty-seven private men, of the enemy. But Captain Jahier himself
being killed, with thirty-five of his men, the rest surrendered. One of
the soldiers cut off Captain Jahier's head, and carrying it to Turin, presented
it to the duke of Savoy, who rewarded him with six hundred ducatoons.
The death of this gentleman was a signal loss to the Protestants, as
he was a real friend to, and companion of, the reformed Church. He possessed
a most undaunted spirit, so that no difficulties could deter him from undertaking
an enterprise, or dangers terrify him in its execution. He was pious without
affectation, and humane without weakness; bold in a field, meek in a domestic
life, of a penetrating genius, active in spirit, and resolute in all his
undertakings.
To add to the affliction of the Protestants, Captain Gianavel was, soon
after, wounded in such a manner that he was obliged to keep his bed. They,
however, took new courage from misfortunes, and determining not to let
their spirits droop attacked a body of popish troops with great intrepidity;
the Protestants were much inferior in numbers, but fought with more resolution
than the papists, and at length routed them with considerable slaughter.
During the action, a sergeant named Michael Bertino was killed; when his
son, who was close behind him, leaped into his place, and said, "I have
lost my father; but courage, fellow soldiers, God is a father to us all."
Several skirmishes likewise happened between the troops of La Torre
and Tagliaretto, and the Protestant forces, which in general terminated
in favor of the latter.
A Protestant gentleman, named Andrion, raised a regiment of horse, and
took the command of it himself. The sieur John Leger persuaded a great
number of Protestants to form themselves into volunteer companies; and
an excellent officer, named Michelin, instituted several bands of light
troops. These being all joined to the remains of the veteran Protestant
troops, (for great numbers had been lost in the various battles, skirmishes,
sieges, etc.) composed a respectable army, which the officers thought proper
to encamp near St. Giovanni.
The Roman Catholic commanders, alarmed at the formidable appearance
and increased strength of the Protestant forces, determined, if possible,
to dislodge them from their encampment. With this view they collected together
a large force, consisting of the principal part of the garrisons of the
Roman Catholic towns, the draft from the Irish brigades, a great number
of regulars sent by the marquis of Pianessa, the auxiliary troops, and
the independent companies.
These, having formed a junction, encamped near the Protestants, and
spent several days in calling councils of war, and disputing on the most
proper mode of proceeding. Some were for plundering the country, in order
to draw the Protestants from their camp; others were for patiently waiting
till they were attacked; and a third party were for assaulting the Protestant
camp, and trying to make themselves master of everything in it.
The last of them prevailed, and the morning after the resolution had
been taken was appointed to put it into execution. The Roman Catholic troops
were accordingly separated into four divisions, three of which were to
make an attack in different places; and the fourth to remain as a body
of reserve to act as occasion might require.
One of the Roman Catholic officers, previous to the attack, thus haranged
his men:
"Fellow-soldiers, you are now going to enter upon a great action, which
will bring you fame and riches. The motives of your acting with spirit
are likewise of the most important nature; namely, the honor of showing
your loyalty to your sovereign, the pleasure of spilling heretic blood,
and the prospect of plundering the Protestant camp. So, my brave fellows,
fall on, give no quarter, kill all you meet, and take all you come near."
After this inhuman speech the engagement began, and the Protestant camp
was attacked in three places with inconceivable fury. The fight was maintained
with great obstinacy an d perseverance on both sides, continuing without
intermission for the space of four hours: for the several companies on
both sides relieved each other alternately, and by that means kept up a
continual fire during the whole action.
During the engagement of the main armies, a detachment was sent from
the body of reserve to attack the post of Castelas, which, if the papists
had carried, it would have given them the command of the valleys of Perosa,
St. Martino, and Lucerne; but they were repulsed with great loss, and compelled
to return to the body of reserve, from whence they had been detached.
Soon after the return of this detachment, the Roman Catholic troops,
being hard pressed in the main battle, sent for the body of reserve to
come to their support. These immediately marched to their assistance, and
for some time longer held the event doubtful, but at length the valor of
the Protestants prevailed, and the papists were totally defeated, with
the loss of upwards of three hundred men killed, and many more wounded.
When the Syndic of Lucerne, who was indeed a papist, but not a bigoted
one, saw the great number of wounded men brought into that city, he exclaimed,
"Ah! I thought the wolves used to devour the heretics, but now I see the
heretics eat the wolves." This expression being reported to M. Marolles,
the Roman Catholic commander-in-chief at Lucerne, he sent a very severe
and threatening letter to the Syndic, who was so terrified, that the fright
threw him into a fever, and he died in a few days.
This great battle was fought just before the harvest was got in, when
the papists, exasperated at their disgrace, and resolved on any kind of
revenge, spread themselves by night in detached parties over the finest
corn fields of the Protestants, and set them on fire in sundry places.
Some of these straggling parties, however, suffered for their conduct;
for the Protestants, being alarmed in the night by the blazing of the fire
among the corn, pursued the fugitives early in the morning, and overtaking
many, put them to death. The Protestant captain Bellin, likewise, by way
of retaliation, went with a body of light troops, and burnt the suburbs
of La Torre, making his retreat afterward with very little loss.
A few days later, Captain Bellin, with a much stronger body of troops,
attacked the town of La Torre itself, and making a breach in the wall of
the convent, his men entered, driving the garrison into the citadel and
burning both town and convent. After having effected this, they made a
regular retreat, as they could not reduce the citadel for want of cannon.
Being of a contemplative turn of mind, he pursued the track of the mystical
divines, and having acquired great reputation in Spain, and being desirous
of propagating his sublime mode of devotion, he left his own country, and
settled at Rome. Here he soon connected himself with some of the most distinguished
among the literati, who so approved of his religious maxims, that they
concurred in assisting him to propagate them; and, in a short time, he
obtained a great number of followers, who, from the sublime mode of their
religion, were distinguished by the name of Quietists.
In 1675, Molinos published a book entitled "Il Guida Spirituale," to
which were subjoined recommendatory letters from several great personages.
One of these was by the archbishop of Reggio; a second by the general of
the Franciscans; and a third by Father Martin de Esparsa, a Jesuit, who
had been divinity-profes sor both at Salamanca and Rome.
No sooner was the book published than it was greatly read, and highly
esteemed, both in Italy and Spain; and this so raised the reputation of
the author that his acquaintance was coveted by the most respectable characters.
Letters were written to him from numbers of people, so that a correspondence
was settled between him, and those who approved of his method in different
parts of Europe. Some secular priests, both at Rome and Naples, declared
themselves openly for it, and consulted him, as a sort of oracle, on many
occasions. But those who attached themselves to him with the greatest sincerity
were some of the fathers of the Oratory; in particular three of the most
eminent, namely, Caloredi, Ciceri, and Petrucci. Many of the cardinals
also courted his acquaintance, and thought themselves happy in being reckoned
among the number of his friends. The most distinguished of them was the
Cardinal d'Estrees, a man of very great learmning, who so highly approved
of Molinos' maxims that he entered into a close connection with him. They
conversed together daily, and notwithstanding the distrust a Spaniard has
naturally of a Frenchman, yet Molinos, who was sincere in his principles,
opened his mind without reserve to the cardinal; and by this means a correspondence
was settled between Molinos and some distinguished characters in France.
Whilst Molinos was thus laboring to propagate his religious mode, Father
Petrucci wrote several treatises relative to a contemplative life; but
he mixed in them so many rules for the devotions of the Romish Church,
as mitigated that censure he might have otherwise incurred. They were written
chiefly for the use of the nuns, and therefore the sense was expressed
in the most easy and familiar style.
Molinos had now acquired such reputation, that the Jesuits and Dominicans
began to be greatly alarmed, and determined to put a stop to the progress
of this method. To do this, it was necessary to decry the author of it;
and as heresy is an imputation that makes the strongest impression at Rome,
Molinos and his followers were given out to be heretics. Books were also
written by some of the Jesuits against Molinos and his method; but they
were all answered with spirit by Molinos.
These disputes occasioned such disturbance in Rome that the whole affair
was taken notice of by the Inquisition. Molinos and his book, and Father
Petrucci, with his treatises and letters, were brought under a severe examination;
and the Jesuits were considered as the accusers. One of the society had,
indeed, approved of Molinos' book, but the rest took care he should not
be again seen at Rome. In the course of the examination both Molinos and
Petrucci acquitted themselves so well, that their books were again approved,
and the answers which the Jesuits had written were censured as scandalous.
Petrucci's conduct on this occasion was so highly approved that it not
only raised the credit of the cause, but his own emolument; for he was
soon after made bishop of Jesis, which was a new declaration made by the
pope in their favor. Their books were now esteemed more than ever, their
method was more followed, and the novelty of it, with the new approbation
given after so vigorous an accusation by the Jesuits, all contributed to
raise the credit, and increase the number of the party.
The behavior of Father Petrucci in his new dignity greatly contributed
to increase his reputation, so that his enemies were unwilling to give
him any further disturbance; and, indeed, there was less occasion given
for censure by his writings than those of Molinos. Some passages in the
latter were not so cautiously expressed, but there was room to make exceptions
to them; while, on the other hand Petrucci so fully explained himself,
as easily to remove the objections made to some parts of his letter.
The great reputation acquired by Molinos and Petrucci occasioned a daily
increase of the Quietists. All who were thought sincerely devout, or at
least affected the reputatio n of it, were reckoned among the number.
If these persons were observed to become more strict in their lives and
mental devotions, yet there appeared less zeal in their whole deportment
at the exterior parts of the Church ceremonies. They were not so assiduous
at Mass, nor so earnest to procure Masses to be said for their friends;
nor were they so frequently either at confession, or in processions.
Though the new approbation given to Molinos' book by the Inquisition
had checked the proceedings of his enemies; yet they were still inveterate
against him in their hearts, and determined if possible to ruin him. They
insinuated that he had ill designs, and was, in his heart, an enemy to
the Christian religion: that under pretence of raising men to a sublime
strain of devotion, he intended to erase from their minds a sense of the
mysteries of Christianity. And because he was a Spaniard, they gave out
that he was descended from a Jewish or Mahometan race, and that he might
carry in his blood, or in his first education, some seeds of those religions
which he had since cultivated with no less art than zeal. This last calumny
gained but little credit at Rome, though it was said an order was sent
to examine the registers of the place where Molinos was baptized.
Molinos finding himself attacked with great vigor, and the most unrelenting
malice, took every necessary precaution to prevent these imputations being
credited. He wrote a treatise, entitled "Frequent and Daily Communion,"
which was likewise approved by some of the most learned of the Romish clergy.
This was printed with his Spiritual Guide, in the year 1675; and in the
preface to it he declared that he had not written it with any design to
engage himself in matters of controversy, but that it was drawn from him
by the earnest solicitations of many pious people.
The Jesuits, failing in their attempts of crushing Molinos' power in
Rome, applied to the court of France, when, in a short time, they so far
succeeded that an order was sent to Cardinal d'Estrees, commanding him
to prosecute Molinos with all possible rigor. The cardinal, though so strongly
attached to Molinos, resolved to sacrifice all that is sacred in friendship
to the will of his master. Finding, however, there was not sufficient matter
for an accusation against him, he determined to supply that defect himself.
He therefore went to the inquisitors, and informed them of several particulars,
not only relative to Molinos, but also Petrucci, both of whom, together
with several of their friends, were put into the Inquisition.
When they were brought before the inquisitors, (which was the beginning
of the year 1684) Petrucci answered the respective questions put to him
with so much judgment and temper that he was soon dismissed; and though
Molinos' examination was much longer, it was generally expected he would
have been likewise discharged: but this was not the case. Though the inquisitors
had not any just accusation against him, yet they strained every nerve
to find him guilty of heresy. They first objected to his holding a correspondence
in different parts of Europe; but of this he was acquitted, as the matter
of that correspondence could not be made criminal. They then directed their
attention to some suspicious papers found in his chamber; but Molinos so
clearly explained their meaning that nothing could be made of them to his
prejudice. At length, Cardinal d'Estrees, after producing the order sent
him by the king of France for prosecuting Molinos, said he could prove
against him more than was necessary to convince them he was guilty of heresy.
To do this he perverted the meaning of some passages in Molinos' books
and papers, and related many false and aggravating circumstances relative
to the prisoner. He acknowledged he had lived with him under the appearance
of friendship, but that it was only to discover his principles and intentions:
that he had found them to be of a bad nature, and that dangerous consequences
werre likely to ensue; but in order to make a full discovery, he had
assented to several things, which, in his heart, he detested; and that,
by these means, he saw into the secrets of Molinos, but determined not
to take any notice, until a proper opportunity should offer of crushing
him and his followers.
In consequence of d'Estree's evidence, Molinos was closely confined
by the Inquisition, where he continued for some time, during which period
all was quiet, and his followers prosecuted their mode without interruption.
But on a sudden the Jesuits determined to extirpate them, and the storm
broke out with the most inveterate vehemence.
The Count Vespiniani and his lady, Don Paulo Rocchi, confessor to the
prince Borghese, and some of his family, with several others, (in all seventy
persons) were put into the Inquisition, among whom many were highly esteemed
for their learning and piety. The accusation laid against the clergy was
their neglecting to say the breviary; and the rest were accused of going
to the Communion without first attending confession. In a word, it was
said, they neglected all the exterior parts of religion, and gave themselves
up wholly to solitude and inward prayer.
The Countess Vespiniani exerted herself in a very particular manner
on her examination before the inquisitors. She said she had never revealed
her method of devotion to any mortal but her confessor, and that it was
impossible they should know it without his discovering the secret; that,
therefore it was time to give over going to confession, if priests made
this use of it, to discover the most secret thoughts intrusted to them;
and that, for the future, she would only make her confession to God.
From this spirited speech, and the great noise made in consequence of
the countess's situation, the inquisitors thought it most prudent to dismiss
both her and her husband, lest the people might be incensed, and what she
said might lessen the credit of confession. They were, therefore, both
discharged, but bound to appear whenever they should be called upon.
Besides those already mentioned, such was the inveteracy of the Jesuits
against the Quietists, that, within the space of a month, upwards of two
hundred persons were put into the Inquisition; and that method of devotion
which had passed in Italy as the most elevated to which mortals could aspire,
was deemed heretical, and the chief promoters of it confined in a wretched
dungeon.
In order, if possible, to extirpate Quietism, the inquisitors sent a
circular letter to Cardinal Cibo, as the chief minister, to disperse it
through Italy. It was addressed to all prelates, informed them, that whereas
many schools and fraternities were established in several parts of Italy,
in which some persons, under the pretence of leading people into the ways
of the Spirit, and to the prayer of quietness, instilled into them many
abominable heresies, therefore a strict charge was given to dissolve all
those societies, and to oblige the spiritual guide to tread in the known
paths; and, in particular, to take care that none of that sort should be
suffered to have the direction of the nunneries. Orders were likewise given
to proceed, in the way of justice, against those who should be found guilty
of these abominable errors.
After this a strict inquiry was made into all the nunneries of Rome,
when most of their directors and confessors were discovered to be engaged
in this new method. It was found that the Carmelites, the nuns of the Conception,
and those of several other convents, were wholly given up to prayer and
contemplation, and that, instead of their beads, and the other devotions
to saints, or images, they were much alone, and often in the exercise of
mental prayer; that when they were asked why they had laid aside the use
of their beads and their ancient forms, their answer was that their directors
had advised them so to do. Information of this being given to the Inquisition,
they sent orders that all books written in the same strain with those of
Molinos and Petrucci should be taken from them, and that they shoul ac5
d be compelled to return to their original form of devotion.
The circular letter sent to Cardinal Cibo, produced but little effect,
for most of the Italian bishops were inclined to Molinos' method. It was
intended that this, as well as all other orders from the inquisitors, should
be kept secret; but notwithstanding all their care, copies of it were printed,
and dispersed in most of the principal towns in Italy. This gave great
uneasiness to the inquisitors, who used every method they could to conceal
their proceedings from the knowledge of the world. They blamed the cardinal,
and accused him of being the cause of it; but he retorted on them, and
his secretary laid the fault on both.
During these transactions, Molinos suffered great indignities from the
officers of the Inquisition; and the only comfort he received was from
being sometimes visited by Father Petrucci.
Though he had lived in the highest reputation in Rome for some years,
he was now as much despised as he had been admired, being generally considered
as one of the worst of heretics.
The greater part of Molinos' followers, who had been placed in the Inquisition,
having abjured his mode, were dismissed; but a harder fate awaited Molinos,
their leader.
After lying a considerable time in prison, he was at length brought
again before the inquisitors to answer to a number of articles exhibited
against him from his writings. As soon as he appeared in court, a chain
was put round his body, and a wax light in his hand, when two friars read
aloud the articles of accusation. Molinos answered each with great steadiness
and resolution; and notwithstanding his arguments totally defeated the
force of all, yet he was found guilty of heresy, and condemned to imprisonment
for life.
When he left the court he was attended by a priest, who had borne him
the greatest respect. On his arrival at the prison he entered the cell
allotted for his confinement with great tranquillity; and on taking leave
of the priest, thus addressed him: "Adieu, father, we shall meet again
at the Day of Judgment, and then it will appear on which side the truth
is, whether on my side, or on yours."
During his confinement, he was several times tortured in the most cruel
manner, until, at length, the severity of the punishments overpowered his
strength, and finished his existence.
The death of Molinos struck such an impression on his followers that
the greater part of them soon abjured his mode; and by the assiduity of
the Jesuits, Quietism was totally extirpated throughout the country.
CHAPTER 7
back to Table of Contents Among these, Great Britain has the honor of taking the lead, and first
maintaining that freedom in religious controversy which astonished Europe,
and demonstrated that political and religious liberty are equally the growth
of that favored island. Among the earliest of these eminent persons was
The first thing which drew him into public notice, was his defence of
the university against the begging friars, who about this time, from their
settlement in Oxford in 1230, had been troublesome neighbors to the university.
Feuds were continually fomented; the friars appealing to the pope, the
scholars to the civil power; and sometimes one party, and sometimes, the
other, prevailed. The friars became very fond of a notion that Christ was
a common beggar; that his disciples were beggars also; and that begging
was of Gospel institution. This doctrine they urged from the pulpit and
wherever they had access.
Wickliffe had long held these religious friars in contempt for the laziness
of their lives, and had now a fair opportunity of exposing them. He published
a treatise against able beggary, in which he lashed the friars, and proved
that they were not only a reproach to religion, but also to human society.
The university began to consider him one of their first champions, and
he was soon promoted to the mastership of Baliol College.
About this time, Archbishop Islip founded Canterbury Hall, in Oxford,
where he established a warden and eleven scholars. To this wardenship Wickliffe
was elected by the archbishop, but upon his demise, he was displaced by
his successor, Stephen Langham, bishop of Ely. As there was a degree of
flagrant injustice in the affair, Wickliffe appealed to the pope, who subsequently
gave it against him from the following cause: Edward III, then king of
England, had withdrawn the tribune, which from the time of King John had
been paid to the pope. The pope menaced; Edward called a parliament. The
parliament resolved that King John had done an illegal thing, and given
up the rights of the nation, and advised the king not to submit, whatever
consequences might follow.
The clergy now began to write in favor of the pope, and a learned monk
published a spirited and plausible treatise, which had many advocates.
Wickliffe, irritated at seeing so bad a cause so well defended, opposed
the monk, and did it in so masterly a way that he was considered no longer
as unanswerable. His suit at Rome was immediately determined against him;
and nobody doubted but his opposition to the pope, at so critical a period,
was the true cause of his being non-suited at Rome.
Wickliffe was afterward elected to the chair of the divinity professor:
and now fully convinced of the errors of the Romish Church, and
the vileness of its monastic agents, he determined to expose them. In public
lectures he lashed their vices and opposed their follies. He unfolded a
variety of abuses covered by the darkness of superstition. At first he
began to loosen the prejudices of the vulgar, and proceeded by slow advances;
with the metaphysical disquisitions of the age, he mingled opinions in
divinity apparently novel. The usurpations of the court of Rome was a favorite
topic. On these he expatiated with all the keenness of argument, joined
to logical reasoning. This soon procured him the clamor of the clergy,
who, with the archbishop of Canterbury, deprived him of his office.
At this time the administration of affairs was in the hands of the duke
of Lancaster, well known by the name of John of Gaunt. This prince had
very free notions of religion, and was at enmity with the clergy. The exactions
of the court of Rome having become very burdensome, he determined to send
the bishop of Bangor and Wickliffe to remonstrate against these abuses,
and it was agreed that the pope should no longer dispose of any benefices
belonging to the Church of England. In this embassy, Wickliffe's observant
mind penetrated into the constitution and policy of Rome, and he returned
more strongly than ever determined to expose its avarice and ambition.
Having recovered his former situation, he inveighed, in his lectures,
against the pope-his usurpation-his infallibility-his pride-his avarice-
and his tyranny. He was the first who termed the pope Antichrist. From
the pope, he would turn to the pomp, the luxury, and trappings of the bishops,
and compared them with the simplicity of primitive bishops. Their superstitions
and deceptions were topics that he urged with energy of mind and logical
precision.
From the patronage of the duke of Lancaster, Wickliffe received a good
benefice; but he was no sooner settled in his parish, than his enemies
and the bishops began to persecute him with renewed vigor. The duke of
Lancaster was his friend in this persecution, and by his presence and that
of Lord Percy, earl marshal of England, he so overawed the trial, that
the whole ended in disorder.
After the death of Edward III his grandson Richard II succeeded, in
the eleventh year of his age. The duke of Lancaster not obtaining to be
the sole regent, as he expected, his power began to decline, and the enemies
of Wickliffe, taking advantage of the circumstance, renewed their articles
of accusation against him. Five bulls were despatched in consequence by
the pope to the king and certain bishops, but the regency and the people
manifested a spirit of contempt at the haughty proceedings of the pontiff,
and the former at that time wanting money to oppose an expected invasion
of the French, proposed to apply a large sum, collected for the use of
the pope, to that purpose. The question was submitted to the decision of
Wickliffe. The bishops, however, supported by the papal authority, insisted
upon bringing Wickliffe to trial, and he was actually undergoing examination
at Lambeth, when, from the riotous behavior of the populace without, and
awed by the command of Sir Lewis Clifford, a gentleman of the court, that
they should not proceed to any definitive sentence, they terminated the
whole affair in a prohibition to Wickliffe, not to preach those doctrines
which were obnoxious to the pope; but this was laughed at by our reformer,
who, going about barefoot, and in a long frieze gown, preached more vehemently
than before.
In the year 1378, a contest arose between two popes, Urban VI and Clement
VII which was the lawful pope, and true vicegerent of God. This was a favorable
period for the exertion of Wicliffe's talents: he soon produced a tract
against popery, which was eagerly read by all sorts of people.
About the end of the year, Wickliffe was seized with a violent disorder,
which it was feared might prove fatal. The begging friars, accompanied
by four of the most eminent citizens of Oxford, gained admittance to his
bed cham ber, and begged of him to retract, for his soul's sake, the
unjust things he had asserted of their order. Wickliffe, surprised at the
solemn message, raised himself in his bed, and with a stern countenance
replied, "I shall not die, but live to declare the evil deeds of the friars."
When Wickliffe recovered, he set about a most important work, the translation
of the Bible into English. Before this work appeared, he published a tract,
wherein he showed the necessity of it. The zeal of the bishops to suppress
the Scriptures greatly promoted its sale, and they who were not able to
purchase copies, procured transcripts of particular Gospels or Epistles.
Afterward, when Lollardy increased, and the flames kindled, it was a common
practice to fasten about the neck of the condemned heretic such of these
scraps of Scripture as were found in his possession, which generally shared
his fate.
Immediately after this transaction, Wickliffe ventured a step further,
and affected the doctrine of transubstantiation. This strange opinion was
invented by Paschade Radbert, and asserted with amazing boldness. Wickliffe,
in his lecture before the University of Oxford, 1381, attacked this doctrine,
and published a treatise on the subject. Dr. Barton, at this time vice-chancellor
of Oxford, calling together the heads of the university, condemned Wickliffe's
doctrines as heretical, and threatened their author with excommunication.
Wickliffe could now derive no support from the duke of Lancaster, and being
cited to appear before his former adversary, William Courteney, now made
archbishop of Canterbury, he sheltered himself under the plea, that, as
a member of the university, he was exempt from episcopal jurisdiction.
This plea was admitted, as the university were determined to support their
member.
The court met at the appointed time, determined, at least to sit in
judgment upon his opinions, and some they condemned as erroneous, others
as heretical. The publication on this subject was immediately answered
by Wickliffe, who had become a subject of the archbishop's determined malice.
The king, solicited by the archbishop, granted a license to imprison the
teacher of heresy, but the commons made the king revoke this act as illegal.
The primate, however, obtained letters from the king, directing the head
of the University of Oxford to search for all heresies and books published
by Wickliffe; in consequence of which order, the university became a scene
of tumult. Wickliffe is supposed to have retired from the storm, into an
obscure part of the kingdom. The seeds, however, were scattered, and Wickliffe's
opinions were so prevalent that it was said if you met two persons upon
the road, you might be sure that one was a Lollard. At this period, the
disputes between the two popes continued. Urban published a bull, in which
he earnestly called upon all who had any regard for religion, to exert
themselves in its cause; and to take up arms against Clement and his adherents
in defence of the holy see.
A war, in which the name of religion was so vilely prostituted, roused
Wickliffe's inclination, even in his declining years. He took up his pen
once more, and wrote against it with the greatest acrimony. He expostulated
with the pope in a very free manner, and asks him boldly: 'How he durst
make the token of Christ on the cross (which is the token of peace, mercy
and charity) a banner to lead us to slay Christian men, for the love of
two false priests, and to oppress Christiandom worse than Christ and his
apostles were oppressed by the Jews? 'When,' said he, 'will the proud priest
of Rome grant indulgences to mankind to live in peace and charity, as he
now does to fight and slay one another?'
This severe piece drew upon him the resentment of Urban, and was likely
to have involved him in greater troubles than he had before experienced,
but providentially he was delivered out of their hands. He was struck with
the palsy, and though he lived some time, yet it was in such a way that
his enemies considered him as a person b 684 elow their resentment.
Wickliffe returning within short space, either from his banishment,
or from some other place where he was secretly kept, repaired to his parish
of Lutterworth, where he was parson; and there, quietly departing this
mortal life, slept in peace in the Lord, in the end of the year 1384, upon
Silvester's day. It appeared that he was well aged before he departed,
"and that the same thing pleased him in his old age, which did please him
being young."
Wickliffe had some cause to give them thanks, that they would at least
spare him until he was dead, and also give him so long respite after his
death, forty-one years to rest in his sepulchre before they ungraved him,
and turned him from earth to ashes; which ashes they also took and threw
into the river. And so was he resolved into three elements, earth, fire,
and water, thinking thereby utterly to extinguish and abolish both the
name and doctrine of Wickliffe forever. Not much unlike the example of
the old Pharisees and sepulchre knights, who, when they had brought the
Lord unto the grave, thought to make him sure never to rise again. But
these and all others must know that, as there is no counsel against the
Lord, so there is no keeping down of verity, but it will spring up and
come out of dust and ashes, as appeared right well in this man; for though
they dug up his body, burned his bones, and drowned his ashes, yet the
Word of God and the truth of his doctrine, with the fruit and success thereof,
they could not burn.
CHAPTER 8
back to Table of Contents The disputes, however, soon broke out again, the succeeding popes exerting
their whole power to impose on the minds of the Bohemians; and the latter,
with great spirit, aiming to preserve their religious liberties.
In A.D. 1375, some zealous friends of the Gospel applied to Charles,
king of Bohemia, to call an ecumenical Council, for an inquiry into the
abuses that had crept into the Church, and to make a full and thorough
reformation. The king, not knowing how to proceed, sent to the pope for
directions how to act; but the pontiff was so incensed at this affair that
his only reply was, "Severely punish those rash and profane heretics."
The monarch, accordingly banished every one who had been concerned in the
application, and, to oblige the pope, laid a great number of additional
restraints upon the religious liberties of the people.
The victims of persecution, however, were not so numerous in Bohemia,
until after the burning of John Huss and Jerome of Prague. These two eminent
reformers were condemned and executed at the instigation of the pope and
his emissaries, as the reader will perceive by the following short sketches
of their lives.
In 1398, Huss commenced bachelor of divinity, and was after successively
chosen pastor of the Church of Bethlehem, in Prague, and dean and rector
of the university. In these stations he discharged his duties with great
fidelity; and became, at length, so conspicuous for his preaching, which
was in conformity with the doctrines of Wickliffe, that it was not likely
he could long escape the notice of the pope and his adherents, against
whom he inveighed with no small degree of asperity.
The English reformist, Wickliffe, had so kindled the light of reformation,
that it began to illumine the darkest corners of popery and ignorance.
His doctrines spread into Bohemia, and were well received by great numbers
of people, but by none so particularly as John Huss, and his zealous friend
and fellow martyr, Jerome of Prague.
The archbishop of Prague, finding the reformists daily increasing, issued
a decree to suppress the further spreading of Wickliffe's writings: but
this had an effect quite different to what he expected, for it stimulated
the friends of those doctrines to greater zeal, and almost the whole university
united to propagate them.
Being strongly attached to the doctrines of Wickliffe, Huss opposed
the decree of the archbishop, who, however, at length, obtained a bull
from the pope, giving him commission to prevent the publishing of Wickliffe's
doctrines in his province. By virtue of this bull, the archbishop condemned
the writings of Wickliffe: he also proceeded against four doctors, who
had not del ivered up the copies of that divine, and prohibited them,
notwithstanding their privileges, to preach to any congregation. Dr. Huss,
with some other members of the university, protested against these proceedings,
and entered an appeal from the sentence of the archbishop.
The affair being made known to the pope, he granted a commission to
Cardinal Colonna, to cite John Huss to appear personally at the court of
Rome, to answer the accusations laid against him, of preaching both errors
and heresies. Dr. Huss desired to be excused from a personal appearance,
and was so greatly favored in Bohemia, that King Winceslaus, the queen,
the nobility, and the university, desired the pope to dispense with such
an appearance; as also that he would not suffer the kingdom of Bohemia
to lie under the accusation of heresy, but permit them to preach the Gospel
with freedom in their places of worship.
Three proctors appeared for Dr. Huss before Cardinal Colonna. They endeavored
to excuse his absence, and said they were ready to answer in his behalf.
But the cardinal declared Huss contumacious, and excommunicated him accordingly.
The proctors appealed to the pope, and appointed four cardinals to examine
the process: these commissioners confirmed the former sentence, and extended
the excommunication not only to Huss but to all his friends and followers.
From this unjust sentence Huss appealed to a future Council, but without
success; and, notwithstanding so severe a decree, and an expulsion in consequence
from his church in Prague, he retired to Hussenitz, his native place, where
he continued to promulgate his new doctrine, both from the pulpit and with
the pen.
The letters which he wrote at this time were very numerous; and he compiled
a treatise in which he maintained, that reading the books of Protestants
could not be absolutely forbidden. He wrote in defence of Wickliffe's book
on the Trinity; and boldly declared against the vices of the pope, the
cardinals, and clergy, of those corrupt times. He wrote also many other
books, all of which were penned with a strength of argument that greatly
facilitated the spreading of his doctrines.
In the month of November, 1414, a general Council was assembled at Constance,
in Germany, in order, as was pretended, for the sole purpose of determining
a dispute then pending between three persons who contended for the papacy;
but the real motive was to crush the progress of the Reformation.
John Huss was summoned to appear at this Council; and, to encourage
him, the emperor sent him a safe-conduct: the civilities, and even reverence,
which Huss met with on his journey were beyond imagination. The streets,
and sometimes the very roads, were lined with people, whom respect, rather
than curiosity, had brought together.
He was ushered into the town with great acclamations, and it may be
said that he passed through Germany in a kind of triumph. He could not
help expressing his surprise at the treatment he received: "I thought (said
he) I had been an outcast. I now see my worst friends are in Bohemia."
As soon as Huss arrived at Constance, he immediately took logdings in
a remote part of the city. A short time after his arrival, came one Stephen
Paletz, who was employed by the clergy at Prague to manage the intended
prosecution against him. Paletz was afterwards joined by Michael de Cassis,
on the part of the court of Rome. These two declared themselves his accusers,
and drew up a set of articles against him, which they presented to the
pope and the prelates of the Council.
When it was known that he was in the city he was immediately arrested,
and committed prisoner to a chamber in the palace. This violation of common
law and justice was particularly noticed by one of Huss's friends, who
urged the imperial safe-conduct; but the pope replied he never granted
any safe-conduct, nor was he bound by that of the emperor.
While Huss was in confinement, the Council acted the part of inquisitors.
They condemned the doctrines of Wickliffe, and even ordered his
remains to be dug up and burned to ashes; which orders were strictly complied
with. In the meantime, the nobility of Bohemia and Poland strongly interceded
for Huss; and so far prevailed as to prevent his being condemned unheard,
which had been resolved on by the commissioners appointed to try him.
When he was brought before the Council, the articles exhibited against
him were read: they were upwards of forty in number, and chiefly extracted
from his writings.
John Huss's answer was this: "I did appeal unto the pope; who being
dead, and the cause of my matter remaining undetermined, I appealed likewise
unto his successor John XXIII: before whom when, by the space of two years,
I could not be admitted by my advocates to defend my cause, I appealed
unto the high judge Christ."
When John Huss had spoken these words, it was demanded of him whether
he had received absolution of the pope or no? He answered, "No." Then again,
whether it was lawful for him to appeal unto Christ or no? Whereunto John
Huss answered: "Verily I do affirm here before you all, that there is no
more just or effectual appeal, than that appeal which is made unto Christ,
forasmuch as the law doth determine, that to appeal is no other thing than
in a cause of grief or wrong done by an inferior judge, to implore and
require aid at a higher Judge's hand. Who is then a higher Judge than Christ?
Who, I say, can know or judge the matter more justly, or with more equity?
when in Him there is found no deceit, neither can He be deceived; or, who
can better help the miserable and oppressed than He?" While John Huss,
with a devout and sober countenance, was speaking and pronouncing those
words, he was derided and mocked by all the whole Council.
These excellent sentences were esteemed as so many expressions of treason,
and tended to inflame his adversaries. Accordingly, the bishops appointed
by the Council stripped him of his priestly garments, degraded him, put
a paper miter on his head, on which was painted devils, with this inscription,
"A ringleader of heretics." Which when he saw, he said: "My Lord Jesus
Christ, for my sake, did wear a crown of thorns; why should not I then,
for His sake, again wear this light crown, be it ever so ignominious? Truly
I will do it, and that willingly." When it was set upon his head, the bishop
said: "Now we commit thy soul unto the devil." "But I," said John Huss,
lifting his eyes towards the heaven, "do commend into Thy hands, O Lord
Jesus Christ! my spirit which Thou has redeemed."
When the chain was put about him at the stake, he said, with a smiling
countenance, "My Lord Jesus Christ was bound with a harder chain than this
for my sake, and why then should I be ashamed of this rusty one?"
When the fagots were piled up to his very neck, the duke of Bavaria
was so officious as to desire him to abjure. "No, (said Huss;) I never
preached any doctrine of an evil tendency; and what I taught with my lips
I now seal with my blood." He then said to the executioner, "You are now
going to burn a goose, (Huss signifying goose in the Bohemian language:)
but in a century you will have a swan which you can neither roast nor boil."
If he were prophetic, he must have meant Martin Luther, who shone about
a hundred years after, and who had a swan for his arms.
The flames were now applied to the fagots, when our martyr sung a hymn
with so loud and cheerful a voice that he was heard through all the cracklings
of the combustibles, and the noise of the multitude. At length his voice
was interrupted by the severity of the flames, which soon closed his existence.
Then, with great diligence, gathering the ashes together, they cast
them into the river Rhine, that the least remnant of that man should not
be left upon the earth, whose memory, notwithstanding, cannot be abolished
out of the minds of the godly, neither by fire, neither by water, neither
by any kind oof torment.
On his return to Prague, he professed himself an open favorer of Wickliffe,
and finding that his doctrines had made considerable progress in Bohemia,
and that Huss was the principal promoter of them, he became an assistant
to him in the great work of reformation.
On the fourth of April, 1415, Jerome arrived at Constance, about three
months before the death of Huss. He entered the town privately, and consulting
with some of the leaders of his party, whom he found there, was easily
convinced he could not be of any service to his friends.
Finding that his arrival in Constance was publicly known, and that the
Council intended to seize him, he thought it most prudent to retire. Accordingly,
the next day he went to Iberling, an imperial town, about a mile from Constance.
From this place he wrote to the emperor, and proposed his readiness to
appear before the Council, if he would give him a safe-conduct; but this
was refused. He then applied to the Council, but met with an answer no
less unfavorable than that from the emperor.
After this, he set out on his return to Bohemia. He had the precaution
to take with him a certificate, signed by several of the Bohemian nobility,
then at Constance, testifying that he had used all prudent means in his
power to procure a hearing.
Jerome, however, did not thus escape. He was seized at Hirsaw by an
officer belonging to the duke of Sultsbach, who, though unauthorized so
to act, made little doubt of obtaining thanks from the Council for so acceptable
a service.
The duke of Sultsbach, having Jerome now in his power, wrote to the
Council for directions how to proceed. The Council, after expressing their
obligations to the duke, desired him to send the prisoner immediately to
Constance. The elector palatine met him on the way, and conducted him into
the city, himself riding on horseback, with a numerous retinue, who led
Jerome in fetters by a long chain; and immediately on his arrival he was
committed to a loathsome dungeon.
Jerome was treated nearly in the same manner as Huss had been, only
that he was much longer confined, and shifted from one prison to another.
At length, being brought before the Council, he desired that he might plead
his own cause, and exculpate himself: which being refused him, he broke
out into the following exclamation:
"What barbarity is this! For three hundred and forty days have I been
confined in a variety of prisons. There is not a misery, there is not a
want, that I have not experienced. To my enemies you have allowed the fullest
scope of accusation: to me you deny the least opportunity of defence. Not
an hour will you now indulge me in preparing for my trial. You have swallowed
the blackest calumnies against me. You have represented me as a heretic,
without knowing my doctrine; as an enemy of the faith, before you knew
what faith I professed: as a persecutor of priests before you could have
an opportunity of understanding my sentiments on that head. You are a General
Council: in you center all this world can communicate of gravity, wisdom,
and sanctity: but still you are men, and men are seducible by appearances.
The higher your character is for wisdom, the greater ought your care to
be not to deviate into folly. The cause I now plead is not my own cause:
it is the cause of men, it is the cause of Christians; it is a cause which
is to affect the rights of posterity, however the experiment is to be made
in my person."
T his speech had not the least effect; Jerome was obliged to hear
the charge read, which was reduced under the following heads: 1. That he
was a derider of the papal dignity. 2. An opposer of the pope. 3. An enemy
to the cardinals. 4. A persecutor of the prelates. 5. A hater of the Christian
religion.
The trial of Jerome was brought on the third day after his accusation
and witnesses were examined in support of the charge. The prisoner was
prepared for his defence, which appears almost incredible, when we consider
he had been three hundred and forty days shut up in loathsome prisons,
deprived of daylight, and almost starved for want of common necessaries.
But his spirit soared above these disadvantages, under which a man less
animated would have sunk; nor was he more at a loss of quotations from
the fathers and ancient authors than if he had been furnished with the
finest library.
The most bigoted of the assembly were unwilling he should be heard,
knowing what effect eloquence is apt to have on the minds of the most prejudiced.
At length, however, it was carried by the majority that he should have
liberty to proceed in his defence, which he began in such an exalted strain
of moving elocution that the heart of obdurate zeal was seen to melt, and
the mind of superstition seemed to admit a ray of conviction. He made an
admirable distinction between evidence as resting upon facts, and as supported
by malice and calumny. He laid before the assembly the whole tenor of his
life and conduct. He observed that the greatest and most holy men had been
known to differ in points of speculation, with a view to distinguish truth,
not to keep it concealed. He expressed a noble contempt of all his enemies,
who would have induced him to retract the cause of virtue and truth. He
entered upon a high encomium of Huss; and declared he was ready to follow
him in the glorious task of martyrdom. He then touched upon the most defensible
doctrines of Wickliffe; and concluded with observing that it was far from
his intention to advance anything against the state of the Church of God;
that it was only against the abuse of the clergy he complained; and that
he could not help saying, it was certainly impious that the patrimony of
the Church, which was originally intended for the purpose of charity and
universal benevolence, should be prostituted to the pride of the eye, in
feasts, foppish vestments, and other reproaches to the name and profession
of Christianity.
The trial being over, Jerome received the same sentence that had been
passed upon his martyred countryman. In consequence of this, he was, in
the usual style of popish affectation, delivered over to the civil power:
but as he was a layman, he had not to undergo the ceremony of degradation.
They had prepared a cap of paper painted with red devils, which being put
upon his head, he said, "Our Lord Jesus Christ, when He suffered death
for me a most miserable sinner, did wear a crown of thorns upon His head,
and for His sake will I wear this cap."
Two days were allowed him in hopes that he would recant; in which time
the cardinal of Florence used his utmost endeavors to bring him over. But
they all proved ineffectual. Jerome was resolved to seal the doctrine with
his blood; and he suffered death with the most distinguished magnanimity.
In going to the place of execution he sang several hymns, and when he
came to the spot, which was the same where Huss had been burnt, he knelt
down, and prayed fervently. He embraced the stake with great cheerfulness,
and when they went behind him to set fire to the fagots, he said, "Come
here, and kindle it before my eyes; for if I had been afraid of it, I had
not come to this place." The fire being kindled, he sang a hymn, but was
soon interrupted by the flames; and the last words he was heard to say
these, "This soul in flames I offer Christ, to Thee."
The elegant Pogge, a learned gentleman of Florence, secretary to two
popes, and a zealous but liberal Catholic, in a letter to Leonard Arotin,
bore ample testimon y of the extraordinary powers and virtues of Jerome
whom he emphatically styles, A prodigious man!
Winceslaus was succeeded by Sigismond, his brother, who rendered himself
odious to the reformers; and removed all such as were obnoxious to his
government. Zisca and his friends, upon this, immediately flew to arms,
declared war against the emperor and the pope, and laid siege to Pilsen
with 40,000 men. They soon became masters of the fortress, and in a short
time all the southwest part of Bohemia submitted, which greatly increased
the army of the reformers. The latter having taken the pass of Muldaw,
after a severe conflict of five days and nights, the emperor became alarmed,
and withdrew his troops from the confines of Turkey, to march them into
Bohemia. At Berne in Moravia, he halted, and sent despatches to treat of
peace, as a preliminary to which Zisca gave up Pilsen and all the fortresses
he had taken. Sigismond proceeding in a manner that clearly manifested
he acted on the Roman doctrine, that no faith was to be kept with heretics,
and treating some of the authors of the late disturbances with severity,
the alarm-bell of revolt was sounded from one end of Bohemia to the other.
Zisca took the castle of Prague by the power of money, and on August 19,
1420, defeated the small army the emperor had hastily got together to oppose
him. He next took Ausea by assault, and destroyed the town with a barbarity
that disgraced the cause in which he fought.
Winter approaching, Zisca fortified his camp on a strong hill about
forty miles from Prague, which he called Mount Tabor, whence he surprised
a body of horse at midnight, and made a thousand men prisoners. Shortly
after, the emperor obtained possession of the strong fortress of Prague,
by the same means Zisca had before done: it was blockaded by the latter,
and want began to threaten the emperor, who saw the necessity of a retreat.
Determined to make a desperate effort, Sigismond attacked the fortified
camp of Zisca on Mount Tabor, and carried it with great slaughter. Many
other fortresses also fell, and Zisca withdrew to a craggy hill, which
he strongly fortified, and whence he so annoyed the emperor in his approaches
against the town of Prague, that he found he must either abandon the siege
or defeat his enemy. The marquis of Misnia was deputed to effect this with
a large body of troops, but the event was fatal to the imperialists; they
were defeated, and the emperor having lost nearly one third of his army,
retreated from the siege of Prague, harassed in his rear by the enemy.
In the spring of 1421, Zisca commenced the campaign, as before, by destroying
all the monasteries in his way. He laid siege to the castle of Wisgrade,
and the emperor coming to relieve it, fell into a snare, was defeated with
dreadful slaughte r, and this important fortress was taken. Our general
had now leisure to attend to the work of reformation, but he was much disgusted
with the gross ignorance and superstition of the Bohemian clergy, who rendered
themselves contemptible in the eyes of the whole army. When he saw any
symptoms of uneasiness in the camp, he would spread alarm in order to divert
them, and draw his men into action. In one of these expeditions, he encamped
before the town of Rubi, and while pointing out the place for an assault,
an arrow shot from the wall struck him in the eye. At Prague it was extracted,
but, being barbed, it tore the eye out with it. A fever succeeded, and
his life was with difficulty preserved. He was now totally blind, but still
desirous of attending the army. The emperor, having summoned the states
of the empire to assist him, resolved, with their assistance, to attack
Zisca in the winter, when many of his troops departed until the return
of spring.
The confederate princes undertook the siege of Soisin, but at the approach
merely of the Bohemian general, they retreated. Sigismond nevertheless
advanced with his formidable army, consisting of 15,000 Hungarian horse
and 25,000 infantry, well equipped for a winter campaign. This army spread
terror through all the east of Bohemia. Wherever Sigismond marched, the
magistrates laid their keys at his feet, and were treated with severity
or favor, according to their merits in his cause. Zisca, however, with
speedy marches, approached, and the emperor resolved to try his fortune
once more with that invincible chief. On the thirteenth of January, 1422,
the two armies met on a spacious plain near Kremnitz. Zisca appeared in
the center of his front line, guarded, or rather conducted, by a horseman
on each side, armed with a pole-axe. His troops having sung a hymn, with
a determined coolness drew their swords, and waited for a signal. When
his officers had informed him that the ranks were all well closed, he waved
his sabre round his head, which was the sign of battle.
This battle is described as a most awful sight. The extent of the plain
was one continued scene of disorder. The imperial army fled towards the
confines of Moravia, the Taborites, without intermission, galling their
rear. The river Igla, then frozen opposed their flight. The enemy pressing
furiously, many of the infantry and in a manner the whole body of the cavalry,
attempted the river. The ice gave way, and not fewer than two thousand
were swallowed up in the water. Zisca now returned to Tabor, laden with
all the spoils and trophies which the most complete victory could give.
Zisca now began again to pay attention to the Reformation; he forbid
all the prayers for the dead, images, sacerdotal vestments, fasts, and
festivals. Priests were to be preferred according to their merits, and
no one to be persecuted for religious opinions. In everything Zisca consulted
the liberal minded, and did nothing without general concurrence. An alarming
disagreement now arose at Prague between the magistrates who were Calixtans,
or receivers of the Sacraments in both kinds, and the Taborites, nine of
the chiefs of whom were privately arraigned, and put to death. The populace,
enraged, sacrificed the magistrates, and the affair terminated without
any particular consequence. The Calixtans having sunk into contempt, Zisca
was solicited to assume the crown of Bohemia; but this he nobly refused,
and prepared for the next campaign, in which Sigismond resolved to make
his last effort. While the marquis of Misnia penetrated into Upper Saxony,
the emperor proposed to enter Moravia, on the side of Hungary. Before the
marquis had taken the field, Zisca sat down before the strong town of Aussig,
situated on the Elbe. The marquis flew to its relief with a superior army,
and, after an obstinate engagement, was totally defeated and Aussig capitulated.
Zisca then went to the assistance of Procop, a young general whom he had
appointed to keep Sigismond in check, and whom he compelled to abandon
the siege of Pernitz, after layin g eight weeks before it.
Zisca, willing to give his troops some respite from fatigue, now entered
Prague, hoping his presence would quell any uneasiness that might remain
after the late disturbance: but he was suddenly attacked by the people;
and he and his troop having beaten off the citizens, effected a retreat
to his army, whom he acquainted with the treacherous conduct of the Calixtans.
Every effort of address was necessary to appease their vengeful animosity,
and at night, in a private interview between Roquesan, an ecclesiastic
of great eminence in Prague, and Zisca, the latter became reconciled, and
the intended hostilities were done away.
Mutually tired of the war, Sigismond sent to Zisca, requesting him to
sheath his sword, and name his conditions. A place of congress being appointed,
Zisca, with his chief officers, set out to meet the emperor. Compelled
to pass through a part of the country where the plague raged, he was seized
with it at the castle of Briscaw, and departed this life, October 6, 1424.
Like Moses, he died in view of the completion of his labors, and was buried
in the great Church of Czaslow, in Bohemia, where a monument is erected
to his memory, with this inscription on it-"Here lies John Zisca, who,
having defended his country against the encroachments of papal tyranny,
rests in this hallowed place, in despite of the pope."
After the death of Zisca, Procop was defeated, and fell with the liberties
of his country.
After the death of Huss and Jerome, the pope, in conjunction with the
Council of Constance, ordered the Roman clergy everywhere to excommunicate
such as adopted their opinions, or commiserated their fate.
These orders occasioned great contentions between the papists and reformed
Bohemians, which was the cause of a violent persecution against the latter.
At Prague, the persecution was extremely severe, until, at length, the
reformed being driven to desperation, armed themselves, attacked the senate-house,
and threw twelve senators, with the speaker, out of the senate-house windows,
whose bodies fell upon spears, which were held up by others of the reformed
in the street, to receive them.
Being informed of these proceedings, the pope came to Florence, and
publicly excommunicated the reformed Bohemians, exciting the emperor of
Germany, and all kings, princes, dukes, etc., to take up arms, in order
to extirpate the whole race; and promising, by way of encouragement, full
remission of all sins whatever, to the most wicked person, if he did but
kill one Bohemian Protestant.
This occasioned a bloody war; for several popish princes undertook the
extirpation, or at least expulsion, of the proscribed people; and the Bohemians,
arming themselves, prepared to repel force by force, in the most vigorous
and effectual manner. The popish army prevailing against the Protestant
forces at the battle of Cuttenburgh, the prisoners of the reformed were
taken to three deep mines near that town, and several hundreds were cruelly
thrown into each, where they miserably perished.
A merchant of Prague, going to Breslau, in Silesia, happened to lodge
in the same inn with several priests. Entering into conversation upon the
subject of religious controversy, he passed many encomiums upon the martyred
John Huss, and his doctrines. The priests taking umbrage at this, laid
an information against him the next morning, and he was committed to prison
as a heretic. Many endeavors were used to persuade him to embrace the Roman
Catholic faith, but he remained steadfast to the pure doctrines of the
reformed Church. Soon after his imprisonment, a student of the university
was committed to the same jail; when, being permitted to converse with
the merchant, they mutually comforted each other. On the day appointed
for execution, when the jailer began to fasten ropes to their feet, by
which they were to be dragged through the streets, the student appeared
quite terrified, and offered to abjure his faith, and turn Roman Catholic
if he might be saved. The offer was accepted, his abjuration was taken
by a priest, and he was set at liberty. A priest applying to the merchant
to follow the example of the student, he nobly said, "Lose no time in hopes
of my recantation, your expectations will be vain; I sincerely pity that
poor wretch, who has miserably sacrificed his soul for a few more uncertain
years of a troublesome life; and, so far from having the least idea of
following his example, I glory in the very thoughts of dying for the sake
of Christ." On hearing these words, the priest ordered the executioner
to proceed, and the merchant being drawn through the city was brought to
the place of execution, and there burnt.
Pichel, a bigoted popish magistrate, apprehended twenty-four Protestants,
among whom was his daughter's husband. As they all owned they were of the
reformed religion, he indiscriminately condemned them to be drowned in
the river Abbis. On the day appointed for the execution, a great concourse
of people attended, among whom was Pichel's daughter. This worthy wife
threw herself at her father's feet, bedewed them with tears, and in the
most pathetic manner, implored him to commisserate her sorrow, and pardon
her husband. The obdurate magistrate sternly replied, "Intercede not for
him, child, he is a heretic, a vile heretic." To which she nobly answered,
"Whatever his faults may be, or however his opinions may differ from yours,
he is still my husband, a name which, at a time like this, should alone
employ my whole consideration." Pichel flew into a violent passion and
said, "You are mad! cannot you, after the death of this, have a much worthier
husband?" "No, sir, (replied she) my affections are fixed upon this, and
death itself shall not dissolve my marriage vow." Pichel, however, continued
inflexible, and ordered the prisoners to be tied with their hands and feet
behind them, and in that manner be thrown into the river. As soon as this
was put into execution, the young lady watched her opportunity, leaped
into the waves, and embracing the body of her husband, both sank together
into one watery grave. An uncommon instance of conjugal love in a wife,
and of an inviolable attachment to, and personal affection for, her husband.
The emperor Ferdinand, whose hatred to the Bohemian Protestants was
without bounds, not thinking he had sufficiently oppressed them, instituted
a high court of reformers, upon the plan of the Inquisition, with this
difference, that the reformers were to remove from place to place, and
always to be attended by a body of troops.
These reformers consisted chiefly of Jesuits, and from their decision,
there was no appeal, by which it may be easily conjectured, that it was
a dreadful tribunal indeed.
This bloody court, attended by a body of troops, made the tour of Bohemia,
in which they seldom examined or saw a prisoner, suffering the soldiers
to murder the Protestants as they pleased, and then to make a report of
the matter to them afterward.
The first victim of their cruelty was an aged minister, whom they killed
as he lay sick in his bed; the next day they robbed and murdered another,
and soon after shot a third, as he was preaching in his pulpit.
A nobleman and clergyman, who resided in a Protestant village, hearing
of the approach of the high court of reformers and the troops, fled from
the place, and secreted themselves. The soldiers, however, on their arrival,
seized upon a schoolmaster, asked him where the lord of that place and
the minister were concealed, and where they had hidden their treasures.
The schoolmaster replied that he could not answer either of the questions.
They then stripped him naked, bound him with cords, and beat him most unmercifully
with cudgels. This cruelty not extorting any confession from him, they
scorched him in various parts of his body; when, to gain a respite from
his torments, he promised to show them where the treasures were hid. The
soldiers gave ear to this with pleasure, and the schoolmaster led them
to a ditch full of stones, saying, "Beneath these stones are the treasures
ye seek for." Eager after money, they went to work, and soon removed those
stones, but not finding what they sought after, they beat the schoolmaster
to death, buried him in the ditch, and covered him with the very stones
he had made them remove.
Some of the soldiers ravished the daughters of a worthy Protestant before
his face, and then tortured him to death. A minister and his wife they
tied back to back and burnt. Another minister they hung upon a cross beam,
and making a fire under him, broiled him to death. A gentleman they hacked
into small pieces, and they filled a young man's mouth with gunpowder,
and setting fire to it, blew his head to pieces.
As their principal rage was directed against the clergy, they took a
pious Protestant minister, and tormenting him daily for a month together,
in the following manner, making their cruelty regular, systematic, and
progressive.
They placed him amidst them, and made him the subject of their derision
and mockery, during a whole day's entertainment, trying to exhaust his
patience, but in vain, for he bore the whole with true Christian fortitude.
They spit in his face, pulled his nose, and pinched him in most parts of
his body. He was hunted like a wild beast, until ready to expire with fatigue.
They made him run the gauntlet between two ranks of them, each striking
him with a twig. He was beat with their fists. He was beat with ropes.
They scourged him with wires. He was beat with cudgels. They tied him up
by the heels with his head downwards, until the blood started out of his
nose, mouth, etc. They hung him by the right arm until it was dislocated,
and then had it set again. The same was repeated with his left arm. Burning
papers dipped in oil were placed between his fingers and toes. His flesh
was torn with red-hot pincers. He was put to the rack. They pulled off
the nails of his right hand. The same repeated with his left hand. He was
bastinadoed on his feet. A slit was made in his right ear. The same repeated
on his left ear. His nose was slit. They whipped him through the town upon
an ass. They made several incisions in his flesh. They pulled off the toe
nails of his right foot. The same they repeated with his left foot. He
was tied up by the loins, and suspended for a considerable time. The teeth
of his upper jaw were pulled out. The same was repeated with his lower
jaw. Boiling lead was poured upon his fingers. The same was repeated with
his toes. A knotted cord was twisted about his forehead in such a manner
as to force out his eyes.
During the whole of these horrid cruelties, particular care was taken
that his wounds should not mortify, and not to injure him mortally until
the last day, when the forcing out of his eyes proved his death.
Innumerable were the other murders and depredations committed by those
unfeeling brutes, and shocking to humanity were the cruelties which they
inflicted on the poor Bohemian Protestants. The winter being far advanced,
however, the high court of reformers, with their infernal band of military
ruffians, thought proper to return to Prague; but on their way, meeting
with a Protestant pastor, they could not resist the temptation of feasting
their barbarous eyes with a new kind of cruelty, which had just suggested
itself to the diabolical imagination of one of the soldiers. This was to
strip the minister naked, and alternately to cover him with ice and burning
coals. This novel mode of tormenting a fellow creature was immediately
put into practice, and the unhappy victim expired beneath the torments,
which seemed to delight his inhuman persecutors.
A secret order was soon after issued by the emperor, for apprehending
all noblemen and gentlemen, who had been principally concerned in supporting
the Protestant cause, and in nominating Frederic elector Palatine of the
Rhine, to be king of Bohemia. These, to the number of fifty, were apprehended
in one night, and at one hour, and brought from the places where they were
taken, to the castle of Prague, and the estates of th ose who were
absent from the kingdom were confiscated, themselves were made outlaws,
and their names fixed upon a gallows, as marks of public ignominy.
The high court of reformers then proceeded to try the fifty, who had
been apprehended, and two apostate Protestants were appointed to examine
them. These examinants asked a great number of unnecessary and impertinent
questions, which so exasperated one of the noblemen, who was naturally
of a warm temper, that he exclaimed, opening his breast at the same time,
"Cut here, search my heart, you shall find nothing but the love of religion
and liberty; those were the motives for which I drew my sword, and for
those I am willing to suffer death."
As none of the prisoners would change their religion, or acknowledge
they had been in error, they were all pronounced guilty; but the sentence
was referred to the emperor. When that monarch had read their names, and
an account of the respective accusations against them, he passed judgment
on all, but in a different manner, as his sentences were of four kinds,
viz. death, banishment, imprisonment for life, and imprisonment during
pleasure.
Twenty being ordered for execution, were informed they might send for
Jesuits, monks, or friars, to prepare for the awful change they were to
undergo; but that no Protestants should be permitted to come near them.
This proposal they rejected, and strove all they could to comfort and cheer
each other upon the solemn occasion.
On the morning of the day appointed for the execution, a cannon was
fired as a signal to bring the prisoners from the castle to the principal
market place, in which scaffolds were erected, and a body of troops were
drawn up to attend the tragic scene.
The prisoners left the castle with as much cheerfulness as if they had
been going to an agreeable entertainment, instead of a violent death.
Exclusive of soldiers, Jesuits, priests, executioners, attendants, etc.,
a prodigious concourse of people attended, to see the exit of these devoted
martyrs, who were executed in the following order.
Lord Schilik was about fifty years of age, and was possessed of great
natural and acquired abilities. When he was told he was to be quartered,
and his parts scattered in different places, he smiled with great serenity,
saying, "The loss of a sepulchre is but a trifling consideration." A gentleman
who stood by, crying, "Courage, my lord!" he replied, "I have God's favor,
which is sufficient to inspire any one with courage: the fear of death
does not trouble me; formerly I have faced him in fields of battle to oppose
Antichrist; and now dare face him on a scaffold, for the sake of Christ."
Having said a short prayer, he told the executioner he was ready. He cut
off his right hand and his head, and then quartered him. His hand and his
head were placed upon the high tower of Prague, and his quarters distributed
in different parts of the city.
Lord Viscount Winceslaus, who had attained the age of seventy years,
was equally respectable for learning, piety, and hospitality. His temper
was so remarkably patient that when his house was broken open, his property
seized, and his estates confiscated, he only said, with great composure,
"The Lord hath given, and the Lord hath taken away." Being asked why he
could engage in so dangerous a cause as that of attempting to support the
elector Palatine Frederic against the power of the emperor, he replied,
"I acted strictly according to the dictates of my conscience, and, to this
day, deem him my king. I am now full of years, and wish to lay down life,
that I may not be a witness of the further evils which are to attend my
country. You have long thirsted for my blood, take it, for God will be
my avenger." Then approaching the block, he stroked his long, grey beard,
and said, "Venerable hairs, the greater honor now attends ye, a crown of
martyrdom is your portion." Then laying down his head, it was severed from
his body at one stroke, and placed upon a pole in a conspicuous part of
the city.
The accusations against this nobleman, were, his being a Protestant,
and having taken an oath of allegiance to Frederic, elector Palatine of
the Rhine, as king of Bohemia. When he came upon the scaffold he said,
"I have travelled through many countries, and traversed various barbarous
nations, yet never found so much cruelty as at home. I have escaped innumerable
perils both by sea and land, and surmounted inconceivable difficulties,
to suffer innocently in my native place. My blood is likewise sought by
those for whom I, and my forefathers, have hazarded our estates; but, Almighty
God! forgive them, for they know not what they do." He then went to the
block, kneeled down, and exclaimed with great energy, "Into Thy hands,
O Lord! I commend my spirit; in Thee have I always trusted; receive me,
therefore, my blessed Redeemer." The fatal stroke was then given, and a
period put to the temporary pains of this life.
Lord Frederic de Bile suffered as a Protestant, and a promoter of the
late war; he met his fate with serenity, and only said he wished well to
the friends whom he left behind, forgave the enemies who caused his death,
denied the authority of the emperor in that country, acknowledged Frederic
to be the only true king of Bohemia, and hoped for salvation in the merits
of his blessed Redeemer.
Lord Henry Otto, when he first came upon the scaffold, seemed greatly
confounded, and said, with some asperity, as if addressing himself to the
emperor, "Thou tyrant Ferdinand, your throne is established in blood; but
if you will kill my body, and disperse my members, they shall still rise
up in judgment against you." He then was silent, and having walked about
for some time, seemed to recover his fortitude, and growing calm, said
to a gentleman who stood near, "I was, a few minutes since, greatly discomposed,
but now I feel my spirits revive; God be praised for affording me such
comfort; death no longer appears as the king of terrors, but seems to invite
me to participate of some unknown joys." Kneeling before the block, he
said, "Almighty God! to Thee I commend my soul, receive it for the sake
of Christ, and admit it to the glory of Thy presence." The executioner
put this nobleman to considerable pain, by making several strokes before
he severed the head from the body.
The earl of Rugenia was distinguished for his superior abilities, and
unaffected piety. On the scaffold he said, "We who drew our swords fought
only to preserve the liberties of the people, and to keep our consciences
sacred: as we were overcome, I am better pleased at the sentence of death,
than if the emperor had given me life; for I find that it pleases God to
have his truth defended, not by our swords, but by our blood." He then
went boldly to the block, saying, "I shall now be speedily with Christ,"
and received the crown of martyrdom with great courage.
Sir Gaspar Kaplitz was eighty-six years of age. When he came to the
place of execution, he addressed the principal officer thus: "Behold a
miserable ancient man, who hath often entreated God to take him out of
this wicked world, but could not until now obtain his desire, for God reserved
me until these years to be a spectacle to the world, and a sacrifice to
himself; therefore God's will be done." One of the officers told him, in
consideration of his great age, that if he would only ask pardon, he would
immediately receive it. "Ask pardon, (exclaimed he) I will ask pardon of
God, whom I have frequently offended; but not of the emperor, to whom I
never gave any offence; should I sue for pardon, it might be justly suspected
I had committed some crime for which I deserved this condemnation. No,
no, as I die innocent, and with a clear conscience, I would not be separated
from this noble company of martyrs:" so saying, he cheerfully resig 1000
ned his neck to the block.
Procopius Dorzecki on the scaffold said, "We are now under the emperor's
judgment; but in time he shall be judged, and we shall appear as witnesses
against him." Then taking a gold medal from his neck, which was struck
when the elector Frederic was crowned king of Bohemia, he presented it
to one of the officers, at the same time uttering these words, "As a dying
man, I request, if ever King Frederic is restored to the throne of Bohemia,
that you will give him this medal. Tell him, for his sake, I wore it until
death, and that now I willingly lay down my life for God and my king."
He then cheerfully laid down his head and submitted to the fatal blow.
Dionysius Servius was brought up a Roman Catholic, but had embraced
the reformed religion for some years. When upon the scaffold the Jesuits
used their utmost endeavors to make him recant, and return to his former
faith, but he paid not the least attention to their exhortations. Kneeling
down he said, "They may destroy my body, but cannot injure my soul, that
I commend to my Redeemer"; and then patiently submitted to martyrdom, being
at that time fifty-six years of age.
Valentine Cockan, was a person of considerable fortune and eminence,
perfectly pious and honest, but of trifling abilities; yet his imagination
seemed to grow bright, and his faculties to improve on death's approach,
as if the impending danger refined the understanding. Just before he was
beheaded, he expressed himself with such eloquence, energy, and precision
as greatly amazed those who knew his former deficiency in point of capacity.
Tobias Steffick was remarkable for his affability and serenity of temper.
He was perfectly resigned to his fate, and a few minutes before his
death spoke in this singular manner, "I have received, during the whole
course of my life, many favors from God; ought I not therefore cheerfully
to take one bitter cup, when He thinks proper to present it? Or rather,
ought I not to rejoice that it is his will I should give up a corrupted
life for that of immortality!"
Dr. Jessenius, an able student of physic, was accused of having spoken
disrespectful words of the emperor, of treason in swearing allegiance to
the elector Frederic, and of heresy in being a Protestant. For the first
accusation he had his tongue cut out; for the second he was beheaded; and
for the third, and last, he was quartered, and the respective parts exposed
on poles.
Christopher Chober, as soon as he stepped upon the scaffold said, "I
come in the name of God, to die for His glory; I have fought the good fight,
and finished my course; so, executioner, do your office." The executioner
obeyed, and he instantly received the crown of martyrdom.
No person ever lived more respected or died more lamented than John
Shultis. The only words he spoke, before receiving the fatal stroke, were,
"The righteous seem to die in the eyes of fools, but they only go to rest.
Lord Jesus! Thou hast promised that those who come to Thee shall not be
cast off. Behold, I am come; look on me, pity me, pardon my sins, and receive
my soul."
Maximilian Hostialick was famed for his learning, piety, and humanity.
When he first came on the scaffold, he seemed exceedingly terrified
at the approach of death. The officer taking notice of his agitation, Hostialick
said, "Ah! sir, now the sins of my youth crowd upon my mind, but I hope
God will enlighten me, lest I sleep the sleep of death and lest mine enemies
say we have prevailed." Soon after he said, "I hope my repentance is sincere,
and will be accepted, in which case the blood of Christ will wash me from
my crimes." He then told the officer he should repeat the Song of Simeon;
at the conclusion of which the executioner might do his duty. He accordingly,
said, "Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to
Thy word: For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation;" at which words his head
was struck off at one blow.
When John Kutnaur came to the place of execution, a J bb8 esuit said
to him, "Embrace the Roman Catholic faith, which alone can save and arm
you against the terrors of death." To which he replied, "Your superstitious
faith I abhor, it leads to perdition, and I wish for no other arms against
the terrors of death than a good conscience." The Jesuit turned away, saying,
sarcastically, "The Protestants are impenetrable rocks." "You are mistaken,"
said Kutnaur, "it is Christ that is the Rock, and we are firmly fixed upon
Him."
This person not being born independent, but having acquired a fortune
by a mechanical employment, was ordered to be hanged. Just before he was
turned off, he said, "I die, not for having committed any crime, but for
following the dictates of my own conscience, and defending my country and
religion."
Simeon Sussickey was father-in-law to Kutnaur, and like him, was ordered
to be executed on a gallows. He went cheerfully to death, and appeared
impatient to be executed, saying, "Every moment delays me from entering
into the Kingdom of Christ."
Nathaniel Wodnianskey was hanged for having supported the Protestant
cause, and the election of Frederic to the crown of Bohemia. At the gallows,
the Jesuits did all in their power to induce him to renounce his faith.
Finding their endeavors ineffectual, one of them said, "If you will not
adjure your heresy, at least repent of your rebellion?" To which Wodnianskey
replied, "You take away our lives under a pretended charge of rebellion;
and, not content with that, seek to destroy our souls; glut yourselves
with blood, and be satisfied; but tamper not with our consciences."
Wodnianskey's own son then approached the gallows, and said to his father,
"Sir, if life should be offered to you on condition of apostasy, I entreat
you to remember Christ, and reject such pernicious overtures." To this
the father replied, "It is very acceptable, my son, to be exhorted to constancy
by you; but suspect me not; rather endeavor to confirm in their faith your
brothers, sisters, and children, and teach them to imitate that constancy
of which I shall leave them an example." He had so sooner concluded these
words than he was turned off, receiving the crown of martyrdom with great
fortitude.
Winceslaus Gisbitzkey, during his whole confinement, had great hopes
of life given him, which made his friends fear for the safety of his soul.
He, however, continued steadfast in his faith, prayed fervently at the
gallows, and met his fate with singular resignation.
Martin Foster was an ancient cripple; the accusations against whom were,
being charitable to heretics, and lending money to the elector Frederic.
His great wealth, however, seemed to have been his principal crime; and
that he might be plundered of his treasures was the occasion of his being
ranked in this illustrious list of martyrs.
CHAPTER 9
back to Table of Contents In 1501 he was sent to the University of Erfurt, where he went through
the usual courses of logic and philosophy. When twenty, he took a master's
degree, and then lectured on Aristotle's physics, ethics, and other parts
of philosophy. Afterward, at the instigation of his parents, he turned
himself to the civil law, with a view of advancing himself to the bar,
but was diverted from this pursuit by the following accident. Walking out
into the fields one day, he was struck by lightning so as to fall to the
ground, while a companion was killed by his side; and this affected him
so sensibly, that, without communicating his purpose to any of his friends,
he withdrew himself from the world, and retired into the order of the hermits
of St. Augustine.
Here he employed himself in reading St. Augustine and the schoolmen;
but in turning over the leaves of the library, he accidentally found a
copy of the Latin Bible, which he had never seen before. This raised his
curiosity to a high degree: he read it over very greedily, and was amazed
to find what a small portion of the Scriptures was rehearsed to the people.
He made his profession in the monastery of Erfurt, after he had been
a novice one year; and he took priest's orders, and celebrated his first
Mass in 1507. The year after, he was removed from the convent of Erfurt
to the University of Wittenberg; for this university being just founded,
nothing was thought more likely to bring it into immediate repute and credit,
than the authority and presence of a man so celebrated, for his great parts
and learning, as Luther.
In this University of Erfurt, there was a certain aged man in the convent
of the Augustines with whom Luther, being then of the same order, a friar
Augustine, had conference upon divers things, especially touching remission
of sins; which article the said aged father opened unto Luther; declaring
that God's express commandment is that every man should particularly believe
his sins to be forgiven him in Christ: and further said that this interpretation
was confirmed by St. Bernard: "This is the testimony that the Holy Ghost
giveth thee in thy heart, saying, thy sins are forgiven thee. For this
is the opinion of the apostle, that man is freely justified by faith."
By these words Luther was not only strengthened, but was also instructed
of the full meaning of St. Paul, who repeateth so many times this sentence,
"We are justified by faith." And having read the expositions of many upon
this place, he then perceived, as well by the discourse of the old man,
as by the comfort he received in his spirit, the vanity of those interpretations,
which he had read before, of the schoolmen. And so, by little and little,
reading and comparing the sayings and examples of the prophets and apostles,
with continual invocation of God, and the excitation of faith by force
of prayer, he perceived that doctrine most evidently. Thus continued he
his study at Erfurt the space of four years in the convent of the
Augustines.
In 1512, seven convents of his order having a quarrel with their vicar-general,
Luther was chosen to go to Rome to maintain their cause. At Rome he saw
the pope and the court, and had an opportunity of observing also the manners
of the clergy, whose hasty, superficial, and impious way of celebrating
Mass, he has severely noted. As soon as he had adjusted the dispute which
was the business of his journey, he returned to Wittenberg, and was created
doctor of divinity, at the expense of Frederic, elector of Saxony; who
had often heard him preach, was perfectly acquainted with his merit, and
reverenced him highly.
He continued in the University of Wittenberg, where, as professor of
divinity, he employed himself in the business of his calling. Here then
he began in the most earnest manner to read lectures upon the sacred books:
he explained the Epistle to the Romans, and the Psalms, which he cleared
up and illustrated in a manner so entirely new, and so different from what
had been pursued by former commentators, that "there seemed, after a long
and dark night, a new day to arise, in the judgment of all pious and prudent
men."
Luther diligently reduced the minds of men to the Son of God: as John
the Baptist demonstrated the Lamb of God that took away the sins of the
world, even so Luther, shining in the Church as the bright daylight after
a long and dark night, expressly showed that sins are freely remitted for
the love of the Son of God, and that we ought faithfully to embrace this
bountiful gift.
His life was correspondent to his profession; and it plainly appeared
that his words were no lip-labor, but proceeded from the very heart. This
admiration of his holy life much allured the hearts of his auditors.
The better to qualify himself for the task he had undertaken, he had
applied himself attentively to the Greek and Hebrew languages; and in this
manner was he employed, when the general indulgences were published in
1517.
Leo X who succeeded Julius II in March, 1513, formed a design of building
the magnificent Church of St. Peter's at Rome, which was, indeed, begun
by Julius, but still required very large sums to be finished. Leo, therefore,
in 1517 published general indulgences throughout all Europe, in favor of
those who contribute any sum to the building of St. Peter's; and appointed
persons in different countries to preach up these indulgences, and to receive
money for them. These strange proceedings gave vast offence at Wittenberg,
and particularly inflamed the pious zeal of Luther; who, being naturally
warm and active, and in the present case unable to contain himself, was
determined to declare against them at all adventures.
Upon the eve of All-saints, therefore, in 1517, he publicly fixed up,
at the church next to the castle of that town, a thesis upon indulgences;
in the beginning of which he challenged any one to oppose it either by
writing or disputation. Luther's propositions about indulgences were no
sooner published, than Tetzel, the Dominican friar, and commissioner for
selling them, maintained and published at Frankfort, a thesis, containing
a set of propositions directly contrary to them. He did more; he stirred
up the clergy of his order against Luther; anathematized him from the pulpit,
as a most damnable heretic; and burnt his thesis publicly at Frankfort.
Tetzel's thesis was also burnt, in return, by the Lutherans at Wittenberg;
but Luther himself disowned having had any hand in that procedure.
In 1518, Luther, though dissuaded from it by his friends, yet, to show
obedience to authority, went to the monastery of St. Augustine, at Heidelberg,
while the chapter was held; and here maintained, April 26, a dispute concerning
"justification by faith"; which Bucer, who was present at, took down in
writing, and afterward communicated to Beatus Rhenanus, not without the
highest commendations.
In the meantime, the zeal of his adversaries grew every day more and
more active against him; and he was at length accused to Leo X as
a heretic. As soon as he returned therefore from Heidelberg, he wrote a
letter to that pope, in the most submissive terms; and sent him, at the
same time, an explication of his propositions about indulgences. This letter
is dated on Trinity Sunday, 1518, and was accompanied with a protestation,
wherein he declared, that he did not pretend to advance or defend anything
contrary to the Holy Scriptures, or to the doctrine of the fathers, received
and observed by the Church of Rome, or to the canons and decretals of the
popes: nevertheless, he thought he had the liberty either to approve or
disapprove the opinions of St. Thomas, Bonaventure, and other schoolmen
and canonists, which are not grounded upon any text.
The emperor Maximilian was equally solicitous, with the pope about putting
a stop to the propagation of Luther's opinions in Saxony; troublesome both
to the Church and empire. Maximilian, therefore, applied to Leo, in a letter
dated August 5, 1518, and begged him to forbid, by his authority, these
useless, rash, and dangerous disputes; assuring him also that he would
strictly execute in the empire whatever his holiness should enjoin.
In the meantime Luther, as soon as he understood what was transacting
about him at Rome, used all imaginable means to prevent his being carried
thither, and to obtain a hearing of his cause in Germany. The elector was
also against Luther's going to Rome, and desired of Cardinal Cajetan, that
he might be heard before him, as the pope's legate in Germany. Upon these
addresses, the pope consented that the cause should be tried before Cardinal
Cajetan, to whom he had given power to decide it.
Luther, therefore, set off immediately for Augsburg, and carried with
him letters from the elector. He arrived here in October, 1518, and, upon
an assurance of his safety, was admitted into the cardinal's presence.
But Luther was soon convinced that he had more to fear from the cardinal's
power than from disputations of any kind; and, therefore, apprehensive
of being seized if he did not submit, withdrew from Augsburg upon the twentieth.
But, before his departure, he published a formal appeal to the pope, and
finding himself protected by the elector, continued to teach the same doctrines
at Wittenberg, and sent a challenge to all the inquisitors to come and
dispute with him.
As to Luther, Miltitius, the pope's chamberlain, had orders to require
the elector to oblige him to retract, or to deny him his protection: but
things were not now to be carried with so high a hand, Luther's credit
being too firmly established. Besides, the emperor Maximilian happened
to die upon the twelfth of this month, whose death greatly altered the
face of affairs, and made the elector more able to determine Luther's fate.
Miltitius thought it best, therefore, to try what could be done by fair
and gentle means, and to that end came to some conference with Luther.
During all these treaties, the doctrine of Luther spread, and prevailed
greatly; and he himself received great encouragement at home and abroad.
The Bohemians about this time sent him a book of the celebrated John Huss,
who had fallen a martyr in the work of reformation; and also letters, in
which they exhorted him to constancy and perseverance, owning that the
divinity which he taught was the pure, sound, and orthodox divinity. Many
great and learned men had joined themselves to him.
In 1519, he had a famous dispute at Leipsic with John Eccius. But this
dispute ended at length like all others, the parties not the least nearer
in opinion, but more at enmity with each other's persons.
About the end of this year, Luther published a book, in which he contended
for the Communion being celebrated in both kinds; which was condemned by
the bishop of Misnia, January 24, 1520.
While Luther was laboring to excuse himself to the new emperor and the
bishops of Germany, Eccius had gone to Rome, to solicit his condemnation;
which, it may easily be co nceived, was now become not difficult to
be attained. Indeed the continual importunities of Luther's adversaries
with Leo, caused him at length to publish a formal condemnation of him,
and he did so accordingly, in a bull, dated June 15, 1520. This was carried
into Germany, and published there by Eccius, who had solicited it at Rome;
and who, together with Jerome Alexander, a person eminent for his learning
and eloquence, was intrusted by the pope with the execution of it. In the
meantime, Charles V of Spain, after he had set things to rights in the
Low Countries, went into Germany, and was crowned emperor, October the
twenty-first at Aix-la-Chapelle.
Martin Luther, after he had been first accused at Rome upon Maunday
Thursday by the pope's censure, shortly after Easter speedeth his journey
toward Worms, where the said Luther, appearing before the emperor and all
the states of Germany, constantly stuck to the truth, defended himself,
and answered his adversaries.
Luther was lodged, well entertained, and visited by many earls, barons,
knights of the order, gentlemen, priests, and the commonalty, who frequented
his lodging until night.
He came, contrary to the expectation of many, as well adversaries as
others. His friends deliberated together, and many persuaded him not to
adventure himself to such a present danger, considering how these beginnings
answered not the faith of promise made. Who, when he had heard their whole
persuasion and advice, answered in this wise: "As touching me, since I
am sent for, I am resolved and certainly determined to enter Worms, in
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; yea, although I knew there were as many
devils to resist me as there are tiles to cover the houses in Worms."
The next day, the herald brought him from his lodging to the emperor's
court, where he abode until six o'clock, for that the princes were occupied
in grave consultations; abiding there, and being environed with a great
number of people, and almost smothered for the press that was there. Then
after, when the princes were set, and Luther entered, Eccius, the official,
spake in this manner: "Answer now to the Emperor's demand. Wilt thout maintain
all thy books which thou hast acknowledged, or revoke any part of them,
and submit thyself?"
Martin Luther answered modestly and lowly, and yet not without some
stoutness of stomach, and Christian constancy. "Considering your sovereign
majesty, and your honors, require a plain answer; this I say and profess
as resolutely as I may, without doubting or sophistication, that if I be
not convinced by testimonies of the Scriptures (for I believe not the pope,
neither his general Councils, which have erred many times, and have been
contrary to themselves), my conscience is so bound and captivated in these
Scriptures and the Word of God, that I will not, nor may not revoke any
manner of thing; considering it is not godly or lawful to do anything against
conscience. Hereupon I stand and rest: I have not what else to say. God
have mercy upon me!"
The princes consulted together upon this answer given by Luther; and
when they had diligently examined the same, the prolucutor began to repel
him thus:
"The Emperor's majesty requireth of thee a simple answer, either negative
or affirmative, whether thou mindest to defend all thy works as Christian,
or no?"
Then Luther, turning to the emperor and the nobles, besought them not
to force or compel him to yield against his conscience, confirmed with
the Holy Scriptures, without manifest arguments alleged to the contrary
by his adversaries. "I am tied by the Scriptures."
Before the Diet of Worms was dissolved, Charves V caused an edict to
be drawn up, which was dated the eighth of May, and decreed that Martin
Luther be, agreeably to the sentence of the pope, henceforward looked upon
as a member separated from the Church, a schismatic, and an obstinate and
notorious heretic. While the bull of Leo X executed by Charles V was thundering
throughout the empire, Luther was safely s hut up in the castle of
Wittenberg; but weary at length of his retirement, he appeared publicly
again at Wittenberg, March 6, 1522, after he had been absent about ten
months.
Luther now made open war with the pope and bishops; and, that he might
make the people despise their authority as much as possible, he wrote one
book against the pope's bull, and another against the order falsely called
"The Order of Bishops." He published also a translation of the New Testament
in the German tongue, which was afterward corrected by himself and Melancthon.
Affairs were now in great confusion in Germany; and they were not less
so in Italy, for a quarrel arose between the pope and the emperor, during
which Rome was twice taken, and the pope imprisoned. While the princes
were thus employed in quarrelling with each other, Luther persisted in
carrying on the work of the Reformation, as well by opposing the papists,
as by combating the Anabaptists and other fanatical sects; which, having
taken the advantage of his contest with the Church of Rome, had sprung
up and established themselves in several places.
In 1527, Luther was suddenly seized with a coagulation of the blood
about the heart, which had like to have put an end to his life. The troubles
of Germany being not likely to have any end, the emperor was forced to
call a diet at Spires, in 1529, to require the assistance of the princes
of the empire against the Turks. Fourteen cities, viz., Strassburg, Nuremberg,
Ulm, Constance, Retlingen, Windsheim, Memmingen, Lindow, Kempten, Hailbron,
Isny, Weissemburg, Nortlingen, S. Gal, joined against the decree of the
Diet protestation, which was put into writing, and published April, 1529.
This was the famous protestation, which gave the name of "Protestants"
to the reformers in Germany.
After this, the Protestant princes labored to make a firm league and
enjoined the elector of Saxony and his allies to approve of what the Diet
had done; but the deputies drew up an appeal, and the Protestants afterwards
presented an apology for their "Confession"-that famous confession which
was drawn up by the temperate Melancthon, as also the apology. These were
signed by a variety of princes, and Luther had now nothing else to do,
but to sit down and contemplate the mighty work he had finished: for that
a single monk should be able to give the Church of Rome so rude a shock,
that there needed but such another entirely to overthrow it, may be well
esteemed a mighty work.
In 1533, Luther wrote a consolatory epistle to the citizens of Oschatz,
who had suffered some hardships for adhering to the Augsburg confession
of faith: and in 1534, the Bible translated by him into German was first
printed, as the old privilege, dated at Bibliopolis, under the elector's
own hand, shows; and it was published in the year after. He also published
this year a book, "Against Masses and the Consecration of Priests."
In February, 1537, an assembly was held at Smalkald about matters of
religion, to which Luther and Melancthon were called. At this meeting Luther
was seized with so grievous an illness that there was no hope of his recovery.
As he was carried along he made his will, in which he bequeathed his detestation
of popery to his friends and brethren. In this manner was he employed until
his death, which happened in 1546.
That year, accompanied by Melancthon, he paid a visit to his own country,
which he had not seen for many years, and returned again in safety. But
soon after, he was called thither again by the earls of Manfelt, to compose
some differences which had arisen about their boundaries, where he was
received by one hundred horsemen, or more, and conducted in a very honorable
manner; but was at the same time so very ill that it was feared he would
die. He said that these fits of sickness often came upon him, when he had
any great business to undertake. Of this, however, he did not recover,
but died in February 18, in his sixty-third year. A little before he expired,
he admonished those that were about him 47b to pray to God for the propagation
of the Gospel, "Because," said he, "the Council of Trent, which had set
once or twice, and the pope, will devise strange things against it." Feeling
his fatal hour to approach, before nine o'clock in the morning, he commended
himself to God with this devout prayer:
"My heavenly Father, eternal and merciful God! Thou hast manifested
unto me Thy dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. I have taught Him, I have
known Him; I love Him as my life, my health and my redemption; Whom the
wicked have persecuted, maligned, and with injury afflicted. Draw my soul
to Thee."
After this he said as ensueth, thrice: "I commend my spirit into Thy
hands, Thou hast redeemed me, O God of Truth! 'God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should
not perish, but have life everlasting.'" Having repeated oftentimes his
prayers, he was called to God. So praying, his innocent ghost peaceably
was separated from the earthly body.
CHAPTER 10
back to Table of Contents The Protestant princes, in the meantime, formed a powerful confederacy,
in order to repel the impending blow. A great army was raised, and the
command given to the elector of Saxony, and the landgrave of Hesse. The
imperial forces were commanded by the emperor of Germany in person, and
the eyes of all Europe were turned on the event of the war.
At length the armies met, and a desperate engagement ensued, in which
the Protestants were defeated, and the elector of Saxony and the landgrave
of Hesse both taken prisoners. This fatal blow was succeeded by a horrid
persecution, the severities of which were such that exile might be deemed
a mild fate, and concealment in a dismal wood pass for happiness. In such
times a cave is a palace, a rock a bed of down, and wild roots delicacies.
Those who were taken experienced the most cruel tortures that infernal
imaginations could invent; and by their constancy evinced that a real Christian
can surmount every difficulty, and despite every danger acquire a crown
of martyrdom.
Henry Voes and John Esch, being apprehended as Protestants, were brought
to examination. Voes, answering for himself and the other, gave the following
answers to some questions asked by a priest, who examined them by order
of the magistracy.
Priest. Were you not both, some years ago, Augustine friars?
Voes. Yes.
Priest. How came you to quit the bosom of the Church at Rome?
Voes. On account of her abominations.
Priest. In what do you believe?
Voes. In the Old and New Testaments.
Priest. Do you believe in the writings of the fathers, and the decrees
of the Councils?
Voes. Yes, if they agree with Scripture.
Priest. Did not Martin Luther seduce you both?
Voes. He seduced us even in the very same manner as Christ seduced the
apostles; that is, he made us sensible of the frailty of our bodies, and
the value of our souls.
This examination was sufficient. They were both condemned to the flames,
and soon after suffered with that manly fortitude which becomes Christians
when they receive a crown of martyrdom.
Henry Sutphen, an eloquent and pious preacher, was taken out of his
bed in the middle of the night, and compelled to walk barefoot a considerable
way, so that his feet were terribly cut. He desired a horse, but his conductors
said, in derision, "A horse for a heretic! no no, heretics may go barefoot."
When he arrived at the place of his destination, he was condemned to be
burnt; but, during the execution, many indignities were offe red him,
as those who attended not content with what he suffered in the flames,
cut and slashed him in a most terrible manner.
Many were murdered at Halle; Middleburg being taken by storm all the
Protestants were put to the sword, and great numbers were burned at Vienna.
An officer being sent to put a minister to death, pretended, when he
came to the clergyman's house, that his intentions were only to pay him
a visit. The minister, not suspecting the intended cruelty, entertained
his supposed guest in a very cordial manner. As soon as dinner was over,
the officer said to some of his attendants, "Take this clergyman, and hang
him." The attendants themselves were so shocked after the civility they
had seen, that they hesitated to perform the commands of their master;
and the minister said, "Think what a sting will remain on your conscience,
for thus violating the laws of hospitality." The officer, however, insisted
upon being obeyed, and the attendants, with reluctance, performed the execrable
office of executioners.
Peter Spengler, a pious divine, of the town of Schalet, was thrown into
the river, and drowned. Before he was taken to the banks of the stream
which was to become his grave, they led him to the market place that his
crimes might be proclaimed; which were, not going to Mass, not making confession,
and not believing in transubstantiation. After this ceremony was over,
he made a most excellent discourse to the people, and concluded with a
kind hymn, of a very edifying nature.
A Protestant gentleman being ordered to lose his head for not renouncing
his religion, went cheerfully to the place of execution. A friar came to
him, and said these words in a low tone of voice, "As you have a great
reluctance publicly to abjure your faith, whisper your confession in my
ear, and I will absolve your sins." To this the gentleman loudly replied,
"Trouble me not, friar, I have confessed my sins to God, and obtained absolution
through the merits of Jesus Christ." Then turning to the executioner, he
said, "Let me not be pestered with these men, but perform your duty," on
which his head was struck off at a single blow.
Wolfgang Scuch, and John Huglin, two worthy ministers, were burned,
as was Leonard Keyser, a student of the University of Wertembergh; and
George Carpenter, a Bavarian, was hanged for refusing to recant Protestantism.
The persecutions in Germany having subsided many years, again broke
out in 1630, on account of the war between the emperor and the king of
Sweden, for the latter was a Protestant prince, and consequently the Protestants
of Germany espoused his cause, which greatly exasperated the emperor against
them.
The imperialists having laid siege to the town of Passewalk, (which
was defended by the Swedes) took it by storm, and committed the most horrid
cruelties on the occasion. They pulled down the churches, burnt the houses,
pillaged the properties, massacred the ministers, put the garrison to the
sword, hanged the townsmen, ravished the women, smothered the children,
etc., etc.
A most bloody tragedy was transacted at Magdeburg, in the year 1631.
The generals Tilly and Pappenheim, having taken that Protestant city by
storm, upwards of twenty thousand persons, without distinction of rank,
sex, or age, were slain during the carnage, and six thousand were drowned
in attempting to escape over the river Elbe. After this fury had subsided,
the remaining inhabitants were stripped naked, severely scourged, had their
ears cropped, and being yoked together like oxen were turned adrift.
The town of Hoxter was taken by the popish army, and all the inhabitants
as well as the garrison were put to the sword; the houses even were set
on fire, the bodies being consumed in the flames.
At Griphenberg, when the imperial forces prevailed, they shut up the
senators in the senate chamber, and surrounding it by lighted straw suffocated
them.
Franhendal surrendered upon articles of capitulation, yet the inhabitants
were as cruelly used a s at other places; and at Heidelberg many were
shut up in prison and starved.
The cruelties used by the imperial troops, under Count Tilly in Saxony,
are thus enumerated.
Half strangling, and recovering the persons again repeatedly. Rolling
sharp wheels over the fingers and toes. Pinching the thumbs in a vice.
Forcing the most filthy things down the throat, by which many were choked.
Tying cords round the head so tightly that the blood gushed out of the
eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. Fastening burning matches to the fingers,
toes, ears, arms, legs, and even the tongue. Putting powder in the mouth
and setting fire to it, by which the head was shattered to pieces. Tying
bags of powder to all parts of the body, by which the person was blown
up. Drawing cords backwards and forwards through the fleshy parts. Making
incisions with bodkins and knives in the skin. Running wires through the
nose, ears, lips, etc. Hanging Protestants up by the legs, with their heads
over a fire, by which they were smoke dried. Hanging up by one arm until
it was dislocated. Hanging upon hooks by the ribs. Forcing people to drink
until they burst. Baking many in hot ovens. Fixing weights to the feet,
and drawing up several with pulleys. Hanging, stifling, roasting, stabbing,
frying, racking, ravishing, ripping open, breaking the bones, rasping off
the flesh, tearing with wild horses, drowning, strangling, burning, broiling,
crucifying, immuring, poisoning, cutting off tongues, noses, ears, etc.,
sawing off the limbs, hacking to pieces, and drawing by the heels through
the streets.
The enormous cruelties will be a perpetual stain on the memory of Count
Tilly, who not only committed, but even commanded the troops to put them
in practice. Wherever he came, the most horrid barbarities and cruel depredations
ensued: famine and conflagration marked his progress: for he destroyed
all the provisions he could not take with him, and burnt all the towns
before he left them; so that the full result of his conquests were murder,
poverty, and desolation.
An aged and pious divine they stripped naked, tied him on his back upon
a table, and fastened a large, fierce cat upon his belly. They then pricked
and tormented the cat in such a manner that the creature with rage tore
his belly open, and gnawed his bowels.
Another minister and his family were seized by these inhuman monsters;
they ravished his wife and daughter before his face; stuck his infant son
upon the point of a lance, and then surrounding him with his whole library
of books, they set fire to them, and he was consumed in the midst of the
flames.
In Hesse-Cassel some of the troops entered an hospital, in which were
principally mad women, when stripping all the poor wretches naked, they
made them run about the streets for their diversion, and then put them
all to death.
In Pomerania, some of the imperial troops entering a small town, seized
upon all the young women, and girls of upwards of ten years, and then placing
their parents in a circle, they ordered them to sing Psalms, while they
ravished their children, or else they swore they would cut them to pieces
afterward. They then took all the married women who had young children,
and threatened, if they did not consent to the gratification of their lusts,
to burn their children before their faces in a large fire, which they had
kindled for that purpose.
A band of Count Tilly's soldiers meeting a company of merchants belonging
to Basel, who were returning from the great market of Strassburg, attempted
to surround them; all escaped, however, but ten, leaving their properties
behind. The ten who were taken begged hard for their lives: but the soldiers
murdered them saying, "You must die because you are heretics, and have
got no money."
The same soldiers met with two countesses, who, together with some young
ladies, the daughters of one of them, were taking an airing in a landau.
The soldiers spared their lives, but treated them with the greatest indecency,
and having stripped them all stark naked, bade the coachman drive
on.
By means and mediation of Great Britain, peace was at length restored
to Germany, and the Protestants remained unmolested for several years,
until some new disturbances broke out in the Palatinate, which were thus
occasioned:
The great Church of the Holy Ghost, at Heidelberg, had, for many years,
been shared equally by the Protestants and Roman Catholics in this manner:
the Protestants performed divine service in the nave or body of the church;
and the Roman Catholics celebrated Mass in the choir. Though this had been
the custom from time immemorial, the elector of the Palatinate, at length,
took it into his head not to suffer it any longer, declaring, that as Heidelberg
was the place of his residence, and the Church of the Holy Ghost the cathedral
of his principal city, divine service ought to be performed only according
to the rites of the Church of which he was a member. He then forbade the
Protestants to enter the church, and put the papists in possession of the
whole.
The aggrieved people applied to the Protestant powers for redress, which
so much exasperated the elector, that he suppressed the Heidelberg catechism.
The Protestant powers, however, unanimously agreed to demand satisfaction,
as the elector, by this conduct, had broken an article of the treaty of
Westphalia; and the courts of Great Britain, Prussia, Holland, etc., sent
deputies to the elector, to represent the injustice of his proceedings,
and to threaten, unless he changed his behavior to the Protestants in the
Palatinate, that they would treat their Roman Catholic subjects with the
greatest severity. Many violent disputes took place between the Protestant
powers and those of the elector, and these were greatly augmented by the
following incident: the coach of the Dutch minister standing before the
door of the resident sent by the prince of Hesse, the host was by chance
being carried to a sick person; the coachman took not the least notice,
which those who attended the host observing, pulled him from his box, and
compelled him to kneel; this violence to the domestic of a public minister
was highly resented by all the Protestant deputies; and still more to heighten
these differences, the Protestants presented to the deputies three additional
articles of complaint.
These things he did through fear; but to show his resentment to his
Protestant subjects, in other circumstances where Protestant states had
no right to interfere, he totally abandoned Heidelberg, removing all the
courts of justice to Mannheim, which was entirely inhabited by Roman Catholics.
He likewise built a new palace there, making it his place of residence;
and, being followed by the Roman Catholics of Heidelberg, Mannheim became
a flourishing place.
In the meantime t 46b he Protestants of Heidelberg sunk into poverty
and many of them became so distressed as to quit their native country,
and seek an asylum in Protestant states. A great number of these coming
into England, in the time of Queen Anne, were cordially received there,
and met with a most humane assistance, both by public and private donations.
In 1732, above thirty thousand Protestants were, contrary to the treaty
of Westphalia, driven from the archbishopric of Salzburg. They went away
in the depth of winter, with scarcely enough clothes to cover them, and
without provisions, not having permission to take anything with them. The
cause of these poor people not being publicly espoused by such states as
could obtain them redress, they emigrated to various Protestant countries,
and settled in places where they could enjoy the free exercise of their
religion, without hurting their consciences, and live free from the trammels
of popish superstition, and the chains of papal tyranny.
CHAPTER 11
back to Table of Contents Wendelinuta, a pious Protestant widow, was apprehended on account of
her religion, when several monks, unsuccessfully, endeavored to persuade
her to recant. As they could not prevail, a Roman Catholic lady of her
acquaintance desired to be admitted to the dungeon in which she was confined,
and promised to exert herself strenuously towards inducing the prisoner
to abjure the reformed religion. When she was admitted to the dungeon,
she did her utmost to perform the task she had undertaken; but finding
her endeavors ineffectual, she said, "Dear Wendelinuta, if you will not
embrace our faith, at least keep the things which you profess secret within
your own bosom, and strive to prolong your life." To which the widow replied,
"Madam, you know not what you say; for with the heart we believe to righteousness,
but with the tongue confession is made unto salvation." As she positively
refused to recant, her goods were confiscated, and she was condemned to
be burnt. At the place of execution a monk held a cross to her, and bade
her kiss and worship God. To which she answered, "I worship no wooden god,
but the eternal God who is in heaven." She was then executed, but through
the before-mentioned Roman Catholic lady, the favor was granted that she
should be strangeled before fire was put to the fagots.
Two Protestant clergymen were burnt at Colen; a tradesman of Antwerp,
named Nicholas, was tied up in a sack, thrown into the river, and drowned;
and Pistorius, a learned student, was carried to the market of a Dutch
village in a fool's coat, and committed to the flames.
Sixteen Protestants, having receive sentence to be beheaded, a Protestant
minister was ordered to attend the execution. This gentleman performed
the function of his office with great propriety, exhorted them to repentance,
and gave them comfort in the mercies of their Redeemer. As soon as the
sixteen were beheaded, the magistrate cried out to the executioner, "There
is another stroke remaining yet; you must behead the minister; he can never
die at a better time than with such excellent precepts in his mouth, and
such laudable examples before him." He was accordingly beheaded, though
even many of the Roman Catholics themselves reprobated this piece of treacherous
and unnecessary cruelty.
George Scherter, a minister of Salzburg, was apprehended and committed
to prison for instructing his flock in the knowledge of the Gospel. While
he was in confinement he wrote a confession of his faith; soon after which
he was condemned, first to be beheaded, and afterward to be burnt to ashes.
On his way to the place of execution he said to the spectators, "That you
may know I die a true Christian, I will give you a sign." This was indeed
verified in a most singular manner; for after his head was cut off, the
body lying a short space of time with the belly to the ground, it suddenly
turned upon the back, when the right foot crossed over t he left, as did
also the right arm over the left: and in this manner it remained until
it was committed to the flames.
In Louviana, a learned man, named Percinal, was murdered in prison;
and Justus Insparg was beheaded, for having Luther's sermons in his possession.
Giles Tilleman, a cutler of Brussels, was a man of great humanity and
piety. Among others he was apprehended as a Protestant, and many endeavors
were made by the monks to persuade him to recant. He had once, by accident,
a fair opportunity of escaping from prison and being asked why he did not
avail himself of it, he replied, "I would not do the keepers so much injury,
as they must have answered for my absence, had I gone away." When he was
sentenced to be burnt, he fervently thanked God for granting him an opportunity,
by martyrdom, to glorify His name. Perceiving, at the place of execution,
a great quanity of fagots, he desired the principal part of them might
be given to the poor, saying, "A small quantity will suffice to consume
me." The executioner offered to strangle him before the fire was lighted,
but he would not consent, telling him that he defied the flames; and, indeed,
he gave up the ghost with such composure amidst them, that he hardly seemed
sensible of their effects.
In the year 1543 and 1544, the persecution was carried on throughout
all Flanders in a most violent and cruel manner. Some were condemned to
perpetual imprisonment, others to perpetual banishment; but most were put
to death either by hanging, drowning, immuring, burning, the rack, or burying
alive.
John de Boscane, a zealous Protestant, was apprehended on account of
his faith, in the city of Antwerp. On his trial, he steadfastly professed
himself to be of the reformed religion, which occasioned his immediate
condemnation. The magistrate, however, was afraid to put him to death publicly,
as he was popular through his great generosity, and almost universally
beloved for his inoffensive life, and exemplary piety. A private execution
being determined on, an order was given to drown him in prison. The executioner,
accordinly, put him in a large tub; but Boscane struggling, and getting
his head above the water, the executioner stabbed him with a dagger in
several places, until he expired.
John de Buisons, another Protestant, was, about the same time, secretly
apprehended, and privately executed at Antwerp. The numbers of Protestants
being great in that city, and the prisoner much respected, the magistrates
feared an insurrection, and for that reason ordered him to be beheaded
in prison.
A.D. 1568, three persons were apprehended in Antwerp, named Scoblant,
Hues, and Coomans. During their confinement they behaved with great fortitude
and cheerfulness, confessing that the hand of God appeared in what had
befallen them, and bowing down before the throne of his providence. In
an epistle to some worthy Protestants, they expressed themselves in the
following words: "Since it is the will of the Almighty that we should suffer
for His name, and be persecuted for the sake of His Gospel, we patiently
submit, and are joyful upon the occasion; though the flesh may febel against
the spirit, and hearken to the council of the old serpent, yet the truths
of the Gospel shall prevent such advice from being taken, and Christ shall
bruise the serpent's head. We are not comfortless in confinement, for we
have faith; we fear not affliction, for we have hope; and we forgive our
enemies, for we have charity. Be not under apprehensions for us, we are
happy in confinement through the promises of God, glory in our bonds, and
exult in being thought worthy to suffer for the sake of Christ. We desire
not to be released, but to be blessed with fortitude; we ask not liberty,
but the power of perseverance; and wish for no change in our condition,
but that which places a crown of martyrdom upon our heads."
Scoblant was first brought to his trial; when, persisting in the profession
of his faith, he received sentence of death. On his return to prison, he
earnestly requested the jailer not to permit any friar to come near him;
saying, "They can do me no good, but may greatly disturb me. I hope my
salvation is already sealed in heaven, and that the blood of Christ, in
which I firmly put my trust, hath washed me from my iniquities. I am not
going to throw off this mantle of clay, to be clad in robes of eternal
glory, by whose celestial brightness I shall be freed from all f58 errors.
I hope I may be the last martyr to papal tyranny, and the blood already
spilt found sufficient to quench the thirst of popish cruelty; that the
Church of Christ may have rest here, as his servants will hereafter." On
the day of execution, he to0ok a pathetic leave of his fellow prisoners.
At the stake he fervently said the Lord's Prayer, and sung the Fortieth
Psalm; then commending his soul to God, he was burnt alive.
Hues, soon after died in prison; upon which occasion Coomans wrote thus
to his friends: "I am now deprived of my friends and companions; Scoblant
is martyred, and Hues dead, by the visitation of the Lord; yet I am not
alone, I have with me the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob; He is
my comfort, and shall be my reward. Pray unto God to strengthen me to the
end, as I expect every hour to be freed from this tenement of clay."
On his trial he freely confessed himself of the reformed religion, answered
with a manly fortitude to every charge agai
SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR
John Fox (or Foxe) was born at Boston, in Lincolnshire, in 1517, where
his parents are stated to have lived in respectable circumstances. He was
deprived of his father at an early age; and notwithstanding his mother
soon married again, he still remained under the parental roof. From an
early display of talents and inclination to learning, his friends were
induced to send him to Oxford, in order to cultivate and bring them to
maturity.
FOX'S BOOK OF MARTYRS
History of Christian Martyrs to the First General Persecutions
Under Nero
Christ our Savior, in the Gospel of St. Matthew, hearing the confession
of Simon Peter, who, first of all other, openly acknowledged Him to be
the Son of God, and perceiving the secret hand of His Father therein, called
him (alluding to his name) a rock, upon which rock He would build His Church
so strong that the gates of hell should not prevail against it. In which
words three things are to be noted: First, that Christ will have a Church
in this world. Secondly, that the same Church should mightily be impugned,
not only by the world, but also by the uttermost strength and powers of
all hell. And, thirdly, that the same Church, notwithstanding the uttermost
of the devil and all his malice, should continue.
I. St. Stephen
St. Stephen suffered the next in order. His death was occasioned by the
faithful manner in which he preached the Gospel to the betrayers and murderers
of Christ. To such a degree of madness were they excited, that they cast
him out of the city and stoned him to death. The time when he suffered
is generally supposed to have been at the passover which succeeded to that
of our Lord's crucifixion, and to the era of his ascension, in the following
spring.
II. James the Great
The next martyr we meet with, according to St. Luke, in the History of the Apsotles' Acts, was James the son of Zebedee, the elder brother
of John, and a relative of our Lord; for his mother Salome was cousin-german
to the Virgin Mary. It was not until ten years after the death of Stephen
that the second martyrdom took place; for no sooner had Herod Agrippa been
appointed governor of Judea, than, with a view to ingratiate himself with
them, he raised a sharp persecution against the Christians, and determined
to make an effectual blow, by striking at their leaders. The account given
us by an eminent primitive writer, Clemens Alexandrinus, ought not to be
overlooked; that, as James was led to the place of martyrdom, his accuser
was brought to repent of his conduct by the apostle's extraordinary courage
and undauntedness, and fell down at his feet to request his pardon, professing
himself a Christian, and resolving that James should not receive the crown
of martyrdom alone. Hence they were both beheaded at the same time. Thus
did the first apostolic martyr cheerfully and resolutely receive that cup,
which he had told our Savior he was ready to drink. Timon and Parmenas
suffered martyrdom about the same time; the one at Philippi, and the other
in Macedonia. These events took place A.D. 44.
III. Philip
Was born at Bethsaida, in Galilee and was first called by the name of "disciple."
He labored diligently in Upper Asia, and suffered martyrdom at Heliopolis,
in Phrygia. He was scourged, thrown into prison, and afterwards crucified,
A.D. 54.
IV. Matthew
Whose occupation was that of a toll-gatherer, was born at Nazareth. He
wrote his gospel in Hebrew, which was afterwards translated into Greek
by James the Less. The scene of his labors was Parthia, and Ethiopia, in
which latter country he suffered martyrdom, being slain with a halberd
in the city of Nadabah, A.D. 60.
V. James the Less
Is supposed by some to have been the brother of our Lord, by a former wife
of Joseph. This is very doubtful, and accords too much with the Catholic
superstition, that Mary never had any other children except our Savior.
He was elected to the oversight of the churches of Jerusalem; and was the
author of the Epistle ascribed to James in the sacred canon. At the age
of ninety-four he was beat and stoned by the Jews; and finally had his
brains dashed out with a fuller's club.
VI. Matthias
Of whom less is known than of most of the other disciples, was elected
to fill the vacant place of Judas. He was stoned at Jerusalem and then
beheaded.
VII. Andrew
Was the brother of Peter. He preached the gospel to many Asiatic nations;
but on his arrival at Edessa he was taken and crucified on a cross, the
two ends of which were fixed transversely in the ground. Hence the derivation
of the term, St. Andrew's Cross.
VIII. St. Mark
Was born of Jewish parents of the tribe of Levi. He is supposed to have
been converted to Christianity by Peter, whom he served as an amanuensis,
and under whose inspection he wrote his Gospel in the Greek language. Mark
was dragged to pieces by the people of Alexandria, at the great solemnity
of Serapis their idol, ending his life under their merciless hands.
IX. Peter
Among many other saints, the blessed apostle Peter was condemned to death,
and crucified, as some do write, at Rome; albeit some others, and not without
cause, do doubt thereof. Hegesippus saith that Nero sought matter against
Peter to put him to death; which, when the people perceived, they entreated
Peter with much ado that he would fly the city. Peter, through their importunity
at length persuaded, prepared himself to avoid. But, coming to the gate,
he saw the Lord Christ come to meet him, to whom he, worshipping, said,
"Lord, whither dost Thou go?" To whom He answered and said, "I am come
again to be crucified." By this, Peter, perceiving his suffering to be
understood, returned into the city. Jerome saith that he was crucified,
his head being down and his feet upward, himself so requiring, because
he was (h ac3 e said) unworthy to be crucified after the same form and
manner as the Lord was.
X. Paul
Paul, the apostle, who before was called Saul, after his great travail
and unspeakable labors in promoting the Gospel of Christ, suffered also
in this first persecution under Nero. Abdias, declareth that under his
execution Nero sent two of his esquires, Ferega and Parthemius, to bring
him word of his death. They, coming to Paul instructing the people, desired
him to pray for them, that they might believe; who told them that shortly
after they should believe and be baptised at His sepulcher. This done,
the soldiers came and led him out of the city to the place of execution,
where he, after his prayers made, gave his neck to the sword.
XI. Jude
The brother of James, was commonly called Thaddeus. He was crucified at
Edessa, A.D. 72.
XII. Bartholomew
Preached in several countries, and having translated the Gospel of Matthew
into the language of India, he propagated it in that country. He was at
length cruelly beaten and then crucified by the impatient idolaters.
XIII. Thomas
Called Didymus, preached the Gospel in Parthia and India, where exciting
the rage of the pagan priests, he was martyred by being thrust through
with a spear.
XIV. Luke
The evangelist, was the author of the Gospel which goes under his name.
He travelled with Paul through various countries, and is supposed to have
been hanged on an olive tree, by the idolatrous priests of Greece.
XV. Simon
Surnamed Zelotes, preached the Gospel in Mauritania, Africa, and even in
Britain, in which latter country he was crucified, A.D. 74.
XVI. John
The "beloved disciple," was brother to James the Great. The churches of
Smyrna, Pergamos, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea, and Thyatira, were founded
by him. From Ephesus he was ordered to be sent to Rome, where it is affirmed
he was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil. He escaped by miracle, without
injury. Domitian afterwards banished him to the Isle of Patmos, where he
wrote the Book of Revelation. Nerva, the successor of Domitian, recalled
him. He was the only apostle who escaped a violent death.
XVII. Barnabas
Was of Cyprus, but of Jewish descent, his death is supposed to have taken
place about A.D. 73.
FOX'S BOOK OF MARTYRS
The Ten Primitive Persecutions
The First Persecution, Under Nero, A.D. 67
The first persecution of the Church took place in the year 67, under Nero,
the sixth emperor of Rome. This monarch reigned for the space of five years,
with tolerable credit to himself, but then gave way to the greatest extravagancy
of temper, and to the most atrocious barbarities. Among other diabolical
whims, he ordered that the city of Rome should be set on fire, which order
was executed by his officers, guards, and servants. While the imperial
city was in flames, he went up to the tower of Macaenas, played upon his
harp, sung the song of the burning of Troy, and openly declared that 'he
wished the ruin of all things before his death.' Besides the noble pile,
called the Circus, many other palaces and houses were consumed; several
thousands perished in the flames, were smothered in the smoke, or buried
beneath the ruins.
The Second Persecution, Under Domitian, A.D. 81
The emperor Domitian, who was naturally inclined to cruelty, first slew
his brother, and then raised the second persecution against the Christians.
In his rage he put to death some of the Roman senators, some through malice;
and others to confiscate their estates. He then commanded all the lineage
of David be put to death.
The Third Persecution, Under Trajan, A.D. 108
In the third persecution Pliny the Second, a man learned and famous, seeing
the lamentable slaughter of Christians, and moved therewith to pity, wrote
to Trajan, certifying him that there were many thousands of them daily
put to death, of which none did any thing contrary to the Roman laws worthy
of persecution. "The whole account they gave of their crime or error (whichever
it is to be called) amounted only to this-viz. that they were accustomed
on a stated day to meet before daylight, and to repeat together a set form
of prayer to Christ as a God, and to bind themselves by an obligation-not
indeed to commit wickedness; but, on the contrary-never to commit theft,
robbery, or adultery, never to falsify their word, never to defraud any
man: after which it was their custom to separate, and reassemble to partake
in common of a harmless meal."
The Fourth Persecution, Under Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, A.D. 162
Marcus Aurelius, followed about the year of our Lord 161, a man of nature
more stern and severe; and, although in study of philosophy and in civil
government no less commendable, yet, toward the Christians sharp and fierce;
by whom was moved the fourth persecution.
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The Fifth Persecution, Commencing with Severus, A.D. 192
Severus, having been recovered from a severe fit of sickness by a Christian,
became a great favorer of the Christians in general; but the prejudice
and fury of the ignorant multitude prevailing, obsolete laws were put in
execution against the Christians. The progress of Christianity alarmed
the pagans, and they revived the stale calumny of placing accidental misfortunes
to the account of its professors, A.D. 192.
The Sixth Persecution, Under Maximus, A.D. 235
A.D. 235, was in the time of Maximinus. In Cappadocia, the president, Seremianus,
did all he could to exterminate the Christians from that province.
The Seventh Persecution, Under Decius, A.D. 249
This was occasioned partly by the hatred he bore to his predecessor Philip,
who was deemed a Christian and was partly by his jealousy concerning the
amazing increase of Christianity; for the heathen temples began to be forsaken,
and the Christian churches thronged.
The Eighth Persecution, Under Valerian, A.D. 257
Began under Valerian, in the month of April, 257, and continued for three
years and six months. The martyrs that fell in this persecution were innumerable,
and their tortures and deaths as various and painful. The most eminent
martyrs were the following, though neither rank, sex, nor age were regarded.
The Ninth Persecution Under Aurelian, A.D. 274
The principal sufferers were: Felix, bishop of Rome. This prelate was advanced
to the Roman see in 274. He was the first martyr to Aurelian's petulancy,
being beheaded on the twenty-second of December, in the same year.
The Tenth Persecution, Under Diocletian, A.D. 303
Under the Roman emperors, commonly called the Era of the Martyrs, was occasioned
partly by the increasing number and luxury of the Christians, and the hatred
of Galerius, the adopted son of Diocletian, who, being stimulated by his
mother, a bigoted pagan, never ceased persuading the emperor to enter upon
the persecution, until he had accomplished his purpose.
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FOX'S BOOK OF MARTYRS
Persecutions of the Christians in Persia
The Gospel having spread itself into Persia, the pagan priests, who worshipped
the sun, were greatly alarmed, and dreaded the loss of that influence they
had hitherto maintained over the people's minds and properties. Hence they
thought it expedient to complain to the emperor that the Christians were
enemies to the state, and held a treasonable correspondence with the Romans,
the great enemies of Persia.
Persecutions Under the Arian Heretics
The author of the Arian heresy was Arius, a native of Lybia, and a priest
of Alexandria, who, in A.D. 318, began to publish his errors. He was condemned
by a council of Lybian and Egyptian bishops, and that sentence was confirmed
by the Council of Nice, A.D. 325. After the death of Constantine the Great,
the Arians found means to ingratiate themselves into the favor of the emperor
Constantinus, his son and successor in the east; and hence a persecution
was raised against the orthodox bishops and clergy. The celebrated Athanasius,
and other bishops, were banished, and their sees filled with Arians.
Persecution Under Julian the Apostate
This emperor was the son of Julius Constantius, and the nephew of Constantine
the Great. He studied the rudiments of grammar under the inspection of
Mardonius, a eunuch, and a heathen of Constantinople. His fa ther
sent him some time after to Nicomedia, to be instructed in the Christian
religion, by the bishop of Eusebius, his kinsman, but his principles were
corrupted by the pernicious doctrines of Ecebolius the rhetorician, and
Maximus the magician.
Persecution of the Christians by the Goths and Vandals.
Many Scythian Goths having embraced Christianity about the time of Constantine
the Great, the light of the Gospel spread itself considerably in Scythia,
though the two kings who ruled that country, and the majority of the people
continued pagans. Fritegern, king of the West Goths, was an ally to the
Romans, but Athanarich, king of the East Goths, was at war with them. The
Christians, in the dominions of the former, lived unmolested, but the latter,
having been defeated by the Romans, wreaked his vengeance on his Christian
subjects, commencing his pagan injunctions in the year 370.
The Last Roman "Triumph"
After this fortunate victory over the Goths a "triumph," as it was called,
was celebrated at Rome. For hundreds of years successful generals had been
awarded this great honor on their return from a victorious campaign. Upon
such occasions the city was given up for days to the marching of troops
laden with spoils, and who dragged after them prisoners of war, among whom
were often captive kings and conquered generals. This was to be the last
Roman triumph, for it celebrated the last Roman victory. Although it had
been won by Stilicho, the general, it was the boy emperor, Honorius, who
took the credit, entering Rome in the car of victory, and driving to the
Capitol amid the shouts of the populace. Afterward, as was customary on
such occasions, there were bloody combats in the Colosseum, where gladiators,
armed with swords and spears, fought as furiously as if they were on the
field of battle.
Persecutions from About the Middle of the Fifth, to the Conclusion of the
Seventh Century
Proterius was made a priest by Cyril, bishop of Alexandria, who was well
acquainted with his virtues, before he appointed him to preach. On the
death of Cyril, the see of Alexandria was filled by Discorus, an inveterate
enemy to the memory and family of his predecessor. Being condemned by the
council of Chalcedon for having embraced the errors of Eutyches, he was
deposed, and Proterius chosen to fill the vacant see, who was approved
of by the emperor. This occasioned a dangerous insurrection, for the city
of Alexandria was divided into two factions; the one to espouse the cause
of the old, and the other of the new prelate. In one of the commotions,
the Eutychians determined to wreak their vengeance on Proterius, who fled
to the church for sanctuary: but on Good Friday, A.D. 457, a large body
of them rushed into the church, and barbarously murdered the prelate; after
which they dragged the body through the streets, insulted it, cut it to
pieces, burnt it, and scattered the ashes in the air.
Persecutions from the Early Part of the Eighth, to Near the Conclusion
of the Tenth Century
Boniface, archbishop of Mentz, and father of the German church, was an
Englishman, and is, in ecclasiastical history, looked upon as one of the
brightest ornaments of this nation. Originally his name was Winfred, or
Winfrith, and he was born at Kirton, in Devonshire, then part of the West-Saxon
kingdom. When he was only about six years of age, he began to discover
a propensity to reflection, and seemed solicitous to gain information on
religious subjects. Wolfrad, the abbot, finding that he possessed a bright
genius, as well as a strong inclination to study, had him removed to Nutscelle,
a seminary of learning in the diocese of Winchester, where he would have
a much greater opportunity of attaining improvements than at Exeter.
Persecutions in the Eleventh Century
Alphage, archbishop of Canterbury, was descended from a considerable family
in Gloucestershire, and received an education suitable to his illustrious
birth. His parents were worthy Christians, and Alphage seemed to inherit
their virtues.
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FOX'S BOOK OF MARTYRS
Papal Persecutions
Thus far our history of persecution has been confined principally to the
pagan world. We come now to a period when persecution, under the guise
of Christianity, committed more enormities than ever disgraced the annals
of paganism. Disregarding the maxims and the spirit of the Gospel, the
papal Church, arming herself with the power of the sword, vexed the Church
of God and wasted it for several centuries, a period most appropriately
termed in history, the "dark ages." The kings of the earth, gave their
power to the "Beast," and submitted to be trodden on by the miserable vermin
that often filled the papal chair, as in the case of Henry, emperor of
Germany. The storm of papal persecution first burst upon the Waldenses
in France.
Persecution of the Waldenses in France
Popery having brought various innovations into the Church, and overspread
the Christian world with darkness and superstition, some few, who plainly
perceived the pernicious tendency of such errors, determined to show the
light of the Gospel in its real purity, and to disperse those clouds which
artful priests had raised about it, in order to blind the people, and obscure
its real brightness.
Persecutions of the Albigenses
The Albigenses were a people of the reformed religion, who inhabited the
country of Albi. They were condemned on the score of religion in the Council
of Lateran, by order of Pope Alexander III. Nevertheless, they increased
so prodigiously, that many cities were inhabited by persons only of their
persuasion, and several eminent noblemen embraced their doctrines. Among
the latter were Raymond, earl of Toulouse, Raymond, earl of Foix, the earl
of Beziers, etc.
The Bartholomew Massacre at Paris, etc.
On the twenty second day of August, 1572, commenced this diabolical act
of sanguinary brutality. It was intended to destroy at one stroke the root
of the Protestant tree, which had only before partially suffered in its
branches. The king of France had artfully proposed a marriage, between
his sister and the prince of Navarre, the captain and prince of the Protestants.
This imprudent marriage was publicly celebrated at Paris, August 18, by
the cardinal of Bourbon, upon a high stage erected for the purpose. They
dined in great pomp with the bishop, and supped with the king at Paris.
Four days after this, the prince (Coligny), as he was coming from the Council,
was shot in both arms; he then said to Maure, his deceased mother's minister,
"O my brother, I do now perceive that I am indeed beloved of my God, since
for His most holy sake I am wounded." Although the Vidam advised him to
fly, yet he abode in Paris, and was soon after slain by Bemjus; who afterward
declared he never saw a man meet death more valiantly than the admiral.
From the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, to the French Revolution, in
1789
The persecutions occasioned by the revocation of the edict of Nantes took
place under Louis XIV. This edict was made by Henry the Great of France
in 1598, and secured to the Protestants an equal right in every respect,
whether civil or religious, with the other subjects of the realm. All those
privileges Louis the XIV confirmed to the Protestants by another statute,
called the edict of Nismes, and kept them inviolably to the end of his
reign.
Martyrdom of John Calas
We pass over many other individual maretyrdoms to insert that of John Calas,
which took place as recently as 1761, and is an indubitable proof of the
bigotry of popery, and shows that neither experience nor improvement can
root out the inveterate prejudices of the Roman Catholics, or render them
less cruel or inexorable to Protestants.
1000
FOX'S BOOK OF MARTYRS
An Account of the Inquisition
When the reformed religion began to diffuse the Gospel light throughout
Europe, Pope Innocent III entertained great fear for the Romish Church.
He accordingly instituted a number of inquisitors, or persons who were
to make inquiry after, apprehend, and punish, heretics, as the reformed
were called by the papists.
The following is an account of an auto da fe, performed at Madrid in the
year 1682.
The officers of the Inquisition, preceded by trumpets, kettledrums, and
their banner, marched on the thirtieth of May, in cavalcade, to the palace
of the great square, where they declared by proclamation, that, on the
thirtieth of June, the sentence of the prisoners would be put in execution.
An Account of the Cruel Handling and Burning of Nicholas Burton, an English
Merchant, in Spain
The fifth day of November, about the year of our Lord 1560, Mr. Nicholas
Burton, citizen sometime of London, and merchant, dwelling in the parish
of Little St. Bartholomew, peaceably and quietly, following his traffic
in the trade of merchandise, and being in the city of Cadiz, in the party
of Andalusia, in Spain, there came into his lodging a Judas, or, as they
term them, a familiar of the fathers of Inquisition; who asking for the
said Nicholas Burton, feigned that he had a letter to deliver into his
own hands; by which means he spake with him immediately. And having no
letter to deliver to him, then the said promoter, or familiar, at the motion
of the devil his master, whose messenger he was, invented another lie,
and said he would take lading for London in such ships as the said Nicholas
Burton had freighted to lade, if he would let any; which was partly to
know where he loaded his goods, that they might attach them, and chiefly
to protract the time until the sergeant of the Inquisition might come and
apprehend the body of the said Nicholas Burton; which they did incontinently.
18,000 pistoles.
The two last contributions to be appropriated to the maintenance of the
army.
M. de Legal sent to the Jesuits a peremptory order to pay the money immediately.
The superior of the Jesuits returned for answer that for the clergy to
pay money for the army was against all ecclesiastical immunities; and that
he knew of no argument which could authorize such a procedure. M. de Legal
then sent four companies of dragoons to quarter themselves in the college,
with this sarcastic message. "To convince you of the necessity of paying
the money, I have sent four substantial arguments to your college, drawn
from the system of military logic; and, therefore, hope you will not need
any further admonition to direct your conduct."
The Persecution of Dr. Aegidio
Dr. Aegidio was educated at the university of Alcala, where he took his
several degrees, and particularly applied himself to the study of the sacred
Scriptures and school divinity. When the professor of theology died, he
was elected into his place, and acted so much to the satisfaction of every
one that his reputation for learning and piety was circulated throughout
Europe.
The Persecution of Dr. Constantine
< P>Dr. Constantine, an intimate acquaintance of the already mentioned
Dr. Aegidio, was a man of uncommon natural abilities and profound learning;
exclusive of several modern tongues, he was acquainted with the Latin,
Greek, and Hebrew languages, and perfectly well knew not only the sciences
called abstruse, but those arts which come under the denomination of polite
literature.
The Life of William Gardiner
William Gardiner was born at Bristol , received a tolerable education,
and was, at a proper age, placed under the care of a merchant, named Paget.
An Account of the Life and Sufferings of Mr. William Lithgow, a Native
of
Scotland
This gentleman was descended from a good family, and having a natural propensity
for travelling, he rambled, when very young, over the northern and western
islands; after which he visited France, Germany, Switzerland, and Spain.
He set out on his travels in the month of March, 1609, and the first place
he went to was Paris, where he stayed for some time. He then prosecuted
his travels through Germany and other parts, and at length arrived at Malaga,
in Spain, the seat of all his misfortunes.
The Story of Galileo
The most eminent men of science and philosophy of the day did not escape
the watchful eye of this cruel despotism. Galileo, the chief astronomer
and mathematician of his age, was the first who used the telescope successfully
in solving the movements of the heavenly bodies. He discovered that the
sun is the center of motion around which the earth and various planets
revolve. For making this great discovery Galileo was brought before the
Inquisition, and for a while was in great danger of being put to death.
Summary of the Inquisition
Of the multitudes who perished by the Inquisoition throughout the world,
no authentic record is now discoverable. But wherever popery had power,
there was the tribunal. It had been planted even in the east, and the Portuguese
Inquisition of Goa was, until within these few years, fed with many an
agony. South America was partitioned into provinces of the Inquisition;
and with a ghastly mimickry of the crimes of the mother state, the arrivals
of viceroys, and the other popular celebrations were thought imperfect
without an auto da fe. The Netherlands were one scene of slaughter from
the time of the decree which planted the Inquisition among them. In Spain
the calculation is more attainable. Each of the seventeen tribunals during
a long period burned annually, on an average, ten miserable beings! We
are to recollect that this number was in a country where persecution had
for ages abolished all religious differences, and where the difficulty
was not to find the stake, but the offering. Yet, even in Spain, thus gleaned
of all heresy, the Inquisition could still swell its lists of murders to
thirty-two thousand! The numbers burned in effigy, or condemned to penance,
punishments generally equivalent to exile, confiscation, and taint of blood,
to all ruin but the mere loss of worthless life, amou 5a7 nted to three
hundred and nine thousand. But the crowds who perished in dungeons of torture,
of confinement, and of broken hearts, the millions of dependent lives made
utterly helpless, or hurried to the grave by the death of the victims,
are beyond all register; or recorded only before HIM, who has sworn that
"He that leadeth into captivity, shall go into captivity: he that killeth
with the sword must be killed with the sword."
FOX'S BOOK OF MARTYRS
An Account of the Persecutions in Italy, Under the Papacy
We shall now enter on an account of the persecutions in Italy, a country
persecutions which have happened, and the cruelties which have been practised,
In the twelfth century, the first persecutions under the papacy began in
Italy, at the time that Adrian, an Englishman, was pope, being occasioned
by the following circumstances:
An Account of the Persecutions of Calabria
In the fourteenth century, many of the Waldenses of Pragela and Dauphiny,
emigrated to Calabria, and settling some waste lands, by the permission
of the nobles of that country, they soon, by the most industrious cultivation,
made several wild and barren spots appear with all the beauties of verdure
and fertility.
Account of the Persecutions in the Valleys of Piedmont
Many of the Waldenses, to avoid the persecutions to which they were continually
subjected in France, went and settled in the valleys of Piedmont, where
they increased exceedingly, and flourished very much for a considerable
time.
Upon these charges the archbishop ordered a persecution to be commenced,
and many fell martyrs to the superstitious rage of the priests and monks.
To each of these propositions the Waldenses nobly replied in the following
manner, answering them respectively:
These pointed and spirited replies greatly exasperated the parliament of
Turin; they continued, with more avidity than ever, to kidnap such Waldenses
as did not act with proper precaution, who were sure to suffer the most
cruel deaths. Among these, it unfortunately happened, that they got
hold of Jeffery Varnagle, minister of Angrogne, whom they committed to
the flames as a heretic.
An Account of the Persecutions in Venice
While the state of Venice was free from inquisitors, a great number of
Protestants fixed their residence there, and many converts were made by
the purity of the doctrines they professed, and the inoffensiveness of
the conversation they used.
An Account of Several Remarkable Individuals, Who Were Martyred in Different
Parts of Italy, on Account of Their Religion
John Mollius was born at Rome, of reputable parents. At twelve years of
age they placed him in the monastery of Gray Friars, where he made such
a rapid progress in arts, sciences, and languages that at eighteen years
of age he was permitted to take priest's orders.
When he heard this sentence pronounced, he implored God to give him strength
and fortitude to go through it. As he passed through the streets he was
greatly derided by the people, to whom he said some severe things respecting
the Romish superstition. But a cardinal, who attended the procession, overhearing
him, ordered him to be gagged.
An Account of the Persecutions in the Marquisate of Saluces
The Marquisate of Saluces, on the south side of the valleys of Piedmont,
was in A.D. 1561, principally inhabited by Protestants, when the marquis,
who was proprietor of it, began a persecution against them at the instigation
of the pope. He began by banishing the ministers, and if any of them refused
to leave their flocks, they were sure to be imprisoned, and severely tortured;
however, he did not proceed so far as to put any to death.
An Account of the Persecutions in the Valleys of Piedmont, in the Seventeenth
Century
Pope Clement the Eighth, sent missionaries into the valleys of Piedmont,
to induce the Protestants to renounce their religion; and these missionaries
having erected monasteries in several parts of the valleys, became exceedingly
troublesome to those of the reformed, where the monasteries appeared, not
only as fortresses to curb, but as sanctuaries for all such to fly to,
as had any ways injured them.
Rome.
Further Persecutions in the Valleys of Piedmont, in the Seventeenth Century
Giovanni Pelanchion, for refusing to turn papist, was tied by one leg to
the tail of a mule, and dragged through the streets of Lucerne, amidst
the acclamations of an inhuman mob, who kept stoning him, and crying out,
"He is possessed with the devil, so that, neither stoning, nor dragging
him through the streets, will kill him, for the devil keeps him alive."
They then took him to the river side, chopped off his head, and left that
and his body unburied, upon the bank of the stream.
M. Rambaut told the priests that neither his religion, his understanding,
nor his conscience, would suffer him to subscribe to any of the articles,
for the following reasons:
The priests were so highly offended at M. Rambaut's answers to the articles
to which they would have had him subscribe, that they determined to shake
his resolution by the most cruel method imaginable: they ordered one joint
of his finger to be cut off every day until all his fingers were gone:
they then proceeded in the same manner with his toes; afterward they alternately
cut off, daily, a hand and a foot; but finding that he bore his sufferings
with the most admirable patience, increased both in fortitude and resignation,
and maintained his faith with steadfast resolution and unshaken constancy
they stabbed him to the heart, and then gave his body to be devoured by
the dogs.
A Narrative of the Piedmontese War
The massacres and murders already mentioned to have been committed in the
valleys of Piedmont, nearly depopulated most of the towns and villages.
One place only had not been assaulted, and that was owing to the difficulty
of approaching it; this was the little commonalty of Roras, which was situated
upon a rock.
The inhabitants of Roras, on being acquainted with these conditions, were
filled with an honest indignation, and, in answer, sent word to the marquis
that sooner th an comply with them they would suffer three things,
which, of all others, were the most obnoxious to mankind, viz.
To the Obstinate Heretics Inhabiting Roras
You shall have your request, for the troops sent against you have strict
injunctions to plunder, burn, and kill. PIANESSA.
With respect to my wife and children, my lord, nothing can be more
afflicting to me than the thought of their confinement, or more dreadful
to my imagination, than their suffering a violent and cruel death. I keenly
feel all the tender sensations of husband and parent; my heart is replete
with every sentiment of humanity; I would suffer any torment to rescue
them from danger; I would die to preserve them.
The Protestants, in general immediately left the town, and joined Captain
Gianavel with great satisfaction, and the few, who through weakness or
fear, had abjured their faith, recanted their abjuration and were received
into the bosom of the Church. As the marquis of Pianessa had removed the
army, and encamped in quite a different part of the country, the Roman
Catholics of Vilario thought it would be folly to attempt to defend the
place with the small force they had. They, therefore, fled with the utmost
precipitation, leaving the town and most of their property to the discretion
of the Protestants.
An Account of the Persecutions of Michael de Molinos, a Native of Spain
Michael de Molinos, a Spaniard of a rich and honorable family, entered,
when young, into priest's orders, but would not accept of any preferment
in the Church. He possessed great natural abilities, which he dedicated
to the service of his fellow creatures, without any view of emolument to
himself. His course of life was pious and uniform; nor did he exercise
those austerities which are common among the religious orders of the Church
of Rome.
FOX'S BOOK OF MARTYRS
An Account of the Life and Persecutions of John Wickliffe
It will not be inappropriate to devote a few pages of this work to a brief
detail of the lives of some of those men who first stepped forward, regardless
of the bigoted power which opposed all reformation, to stem the time of
papal corruption, and to seal the pure doctrines of the Gospel with their
blood.
John Wickliffe
This celebrated reformer, denominated the "Morning Star of the Reformation,"
was born about the year 1324, in the reign of Edward II. Of his extraction
we have no certain account. His parents designing him for the Church, sent
him to Queen's College, Oxford, about that period founded by Robert Eaglesfield,
confessor to Queen Philippi. But not meeting with the advantages for study
in that newly established house which he expected, he removed to Merton
College, which was then esteemed one of the most learned societies in Europe.
FOX'S BOOK OF MARTYRS
An Account of the Persecutions in Bohemia Under the Papacy
The Roman pontiffs having usurped a power over several churches were particularly
severe on the Bohemians, which occasioned them to send two ministers and
four lay-brothers to Rome, in the year 977, to obtain redress of the pope.
After some delay, their request was granted, and their grievances redressed.
Two things in particular they were permitted to do, viz., to have divine
service performed in their own language, and to give the cup to the laity
in the Sacrament.
Persecution of John Huss
John Huss was born at Hussenitz, a village in Bohemia, about the year 1380.
His parents gave him the best education their circumstances would admit;
and having acquired a tolerable knowledge of the classics at a private
school, he was removed to the university of Prague, where he soon gave
strong proofs of his mental powers, and was remarkable for his diligence
and application to study.
Persecution of Jerome of Prague
This reformer, who was t he companion of Dr. Huss, and may be said
to be a co-martyr with him, was born at Prague, and educated in that university,
where he particularly distinguished himself for his great abilities and
learning. He likewise visited several other learned seminaries in Europe,
particularly the universities of Paris, Heidelburg, Cologne and Oxford.
At the latter place he became acquainted with the works of Wickliffe, and
being a person of uncommon application, he translated many of them into
his native language, having, with great pains, made himself master of the
English tongue.
Persecution of Zisca
The real name of this zealous servant of Christ was John de Trocznow, that
of Zisca is a Bohemian word, signifying one-eyed, as he had lost an eye.
He was a native of Bohemia, of a good family and left the court of Winceslaus,
to enter into the service of the king of Poland against the Teutonic knights.
Having obtained a badge of honor and a purse of ducats for his gallantry,
at the close of the war, he returned to the court of Winceslaus, to whom
he boldly avowed the deep interest he took in the bloody affront offered
to his majesty's subjects at Constance in the affair of Huss. Winceslaus
lamented it was not in his power to revenge it; and from this moment Zisca
is said to have formed the idea of asserting the religious liberties of
his country. In the year 1418, the Council was dissolved, having done more
mischief than good, and in the summer of that year a general meeting was
held of the friends of religious reformation, at the castle of Wisgrade,
who, conducted by Zisca, repaired to the emperor with arms in their hands,
and offered to defend him against his enemies. The king bid them use their
arms properly, and this stroke of policy first insured to Zisca the confidence
of his party.
< P>Lord Harant was a man of good sense, great piety, and much
experience gained by travel, as he had visited the principal places in
Europe, Asia, and Africa. Hence he was free from national prejudices and
had collected much knowledge.
FOX'S BOOK OF MARTYRS
An Account of the Life and Persecutions of Martin Luther
This illustrious German divine and reformer of the Church was the son of
John Luther and Margaret Ziegler, and born at Isleben, a town of Saxony,
in the county of Mansfield, November 10, 1483. His father's extraction
and condition were originally but mean, and his occupation that of a miner;
it is probable, however, that by his application and industry he improved
the fortunes of his family, as he afterward became a magistrate of rank
and dignity. Luther was early initiated into letters, and at the age of
thirteen was sent to school at Magdeburg, and thence to Eisenach, in Thuringia,
where he remained four years, producing the early indications of his future
eminence.
FOX'S BOOK OF MARTYRS
General Persecutions in Germany
The general persecutions in Germany were principally occasioned by the
doctrines and ministry of Martin Luther. Indeed, the pope was so terrified
at the success of that courageous reformer, that he determined to engage
the emperor, Charles V, at any rate, in the scheme to attempt their extirpation.
To this end
Thus prompted and supported, the emperor undertook the extirpation of the
Protestants, against whom, indeed, he was particularly enraged himself;
and, for this purpose, a formidable army was raised in Germany, Spain,
and Italy.
The Protestant deputies at length became so serious as to intimate to the
elector, that force of arms should compel him to do the justice he denied
to their representations. This menace brought him to reason, as he well
knew the impossibility of carrying on a war against the powerful states
who threatened him. He therefore agreed that the body of the Church of
the Holy Ghost should be restored to the Protestants. He restored the Heidelberg
catechism, put the Protestant ministers again in possession of the churches
of which they had been dispossessed, allowed the Protestants to work on
popish holy days, and, ordered, that no person should be molested for not
kneeling when the host passed by.
FOX'S BOOK OF MARTYRS
An Account of the Persecutions in the Netherlands
The light of the Gospel having successfully spread over the Netherlands,
the pope instigated the emperor to commence a persecution against the Protestants;
when many thousand fell martyrs to superstitious malice and barbarous bigotry,
among whom the most remarkable were the following: