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of the heresy, in implacable rage against its authors. Those venerable martyrs were imprisoned, arraigned, condemned; and then by the command, and in the presence of the majestic senate of the Church, the deposer of Popes, the uprooter of corruption, the reformer of Christ's holy Communion-they were deliberately consigned to the flames. Is there any act recorded in the blood-stained annals of the Popes more foul and merciless than that? . . . More than this. The guilt of the murder was enhanced by perfidy; and for the purpose of justifying this last offence (for the former, being founded on the established Church principles, required no apology) they added to those principles another, not less flagitious than any of those already recognized that neither faith nor promise, by natural, divine, or human law, was to be observed to the prejudice of the Catholic religion? Let us here recollect that this maxim did not proceed from the caprice of an arbitrary individual, and a Pope, -for so it would scarcely have claimed our serious notice-but from the considerate resolution of a very numerous assembly, which embodied almost all the learning, wisdom, and moderation of the Roman Catholic Church. General councils, claiming to act under the immediate influence of the Holy Spirit, were consequently infallible, as well as impeccable. We shall, therefore, mention one or two of the subjects to which their unerring judgment was directed. In the July of 1434, the council of Basle confirmed a Bull, previously published by Eugenius IV., respecting the veneration due to the sacrament of the Eucharist, and the indulgences granted at the feast of the holy sacrament; with an order for its universal observance in the Church. The thirty-sixth session (Sept. 17, 1439) of the same assembly was occupied in drawing up a decree in favour of the immaculate conception of the Holy Virgint. This article of faith was solemnly enjoined to all good Catholics; and an universal festival was instituted in its honour, according to the custom of the Roman Church.' Two years afterwards, at their forty-third meeting, the same fathers confirmed, after a very long deliberation, the feast of the visitation of the Holy Virgin. They enacted that it should be celebrated throughout the whole Church by all the faithful; and they accorded to those, who should assist at matins, at the processions, at the sermon, at mass, at the first and at the second vespers, a hundred days of indulgences for each of those offices. At the same time, while they were thus extending the reign of superstition over their obedient children, they were contesting the double communion with the Bohemian rebels, and refusing every conces sion to reason and to scripture, excepting such as was extorted from them

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*Cum tamen dictus Johannes Huss, fidem orthodoxam pertinaciter impugnans, se ab omni conductu et privilegio reddiderit alienum, nec aliqua sibi fides aut promissio de jure naturali, divino vel humano, fuerit in prejudicium Catholicæ fidei observanda : idcirco dicta sancta synodus declarat, &c.' The words are cited by Hallam (Middle Ages, chap. vii.), without suspicion. We find it asserted, however, by Roman Catholics, that they exist in no MS. except that in the Imperial Library at Vienna; and that even there the formal signatures, attached to the other articles, are not subscribed to this; hence they infer its spuriousness. We should remark that Von der Hardt has published it (tom. iv., p. 521), without any expression of doubt.

That is, that the holy Virgin was preserved in her conception from the stain of ori ginal sin. We observe that bachelors in theology, and others in the University of Paris, were compelled to subscribe, on oath, to their belief in this doctrine. In Spain it is considered an essential part of the Catholic faith at this moment.

The concession of the council respecting the double communion amounted, at last, only to this, that whether the sacrament was administered in one kind or in both, it was still useful to communicants-for there could be no doubt that Christ was entire in either

by force. Some individuals must certainly have existed among them, who had penetrated the inward depravity of their system and saw the tottering ground on which it stood; but they believed, no doubt, that things would continue to be, as they had been; they were blind to the slow but irresistible progress of inquiry and knowledge.

*

From the days of St. Bernard to those of Bossuet the extirpation of heresy formed a part or an object of every scheme of Church reform proposed by churchmen. The principle of toleration was unknown in the ecclesiastical policy; it may have guided the private practice of many enlightened individuals, but it was never inscribed in the code of the Church. Those very councils, from whose generous professions and popular constitution a wiser legislation might have been expected, did but exclude it more fiercely, and banish it more hopelessly. But, in return for their adherence to the favourite vice, of the Church, did they amend any maxim of its government? Did they uproot any unscriptural tenet, any superstitious belief, any profitable imposture, any senseless ceremony, or degrading practice? Did they wash away any spiritual stain from the sanctuary, now that the light from abroad was breaking in upon it? On the contrary, they not only persevered in maintaining every absurdity which had been transmitted to them, but showed a preposterous anxiety to increase the number. It is perfectly true that, in mere matters of discipline, they were fearless innovators, and that they assailed with ardour the more palpable iniquities of the Vatican. But this was the extent of their daring; this was the limit, as they thought, of safe and legitimate reform; all beyond it was inviolable ground. Thus it was, that to question the sanctity of their spiritual corruptions was deemed profane and heretical; and their eyes were wilfully closed against the unalterable truth, that the Church of Christ cannot permanently stand on any other foundation, than the gospel of Christ.

In the meantime, while the fathers of Basle, who saw some part of their danger, were ineffectually contending with an infatuated pontiff, who was blind to the whole, the art of printing was discovered; and the star of universal knowledge, the future arbiter of Churches and of Empires, arose unheeded from the restless bosom of Germany.

CHAPTER XXV.

History of the Hussites.

(I.) General fidelity of England to the Roman See-The beginnings of Wiclif, and the hostility he encountered-To what extent his opposition to Rome was popular-His death at Lutterworth, and the exhumation of his remains in pursuance of a decree of the Council of Constance-His opinions on several important points-He was calumniated by the high churchmen-His translation of the Bible.-(II.) The writings of Wiclif introduced into Bohemia-Origin and qualities of John Huss-His sermons in the Chapel of Bethlehem-Division in the University of PragueSecession of the Germans, in hostility against Huss-He incurs the displeasure of the Archbishop element; and that the custom of communicating the laity in one kind, introduced with reason by the Church and holy fathers, long observed and approved by theologians and canonists, should pass for a law, neither to be censured nor altered without the authority of the Church.' This decree was published in 1437, in the thirtieth session.

*For instance, at Constance it formed a part of the scheme of the reformers. To ' repress simony, and prosecute Jerome of Prague,' were joint subjects of the same remonstrances. To restore the unity of the Church was to reform the Church. But at Basle the reformation in discipline was chiefly recommended as the means of extirpating heresy. (See the passages above cited from Cardinal Julian's two letters.) But it never occurred to either council to consider, whether the heretics might not possibly be right; or, being wrong, whether they might not safely be tolerated.

of Prague-of John XXIII.-is summoned before the Council of Constance-His attachment to the character of Wiclif-Opinions ascribed to the Vaudois and Hussites by Æneas Sylviusmany of them disclaimed by Huss-Notion respecting tithes-The restoration of the cup to the laity-demanded not by Huss, but by Jacobellus of Misnia-The principle of persecution advocated by Gerson-Huss proceeds to Constance-The safe conduct of the Emperor-The motives of Huss-Assurances of protection-nevertheless Huss is placed in confinement-and eight articles alleged against him-Condemnation of Wiclif-A public trial granted to Huss-The insults and calumnies to which he is exposed-Three articles to which he adhered-Principles of the Council -Huss refuses to retract-Declaration of Sigismond-Various solicitations and trials to which Huss is subject during his imprisonment-Overture made to him by Sigismond-Interview between Huss and John of Chlum-The sentence passed on Huss-The process of his degradation -and execution-Two principal causes of his destruction.-(III.) Jerome of Prague appears before the Council-His retractation-Subsequent avowal of his opinions-and execution-Ob. servations. (IV.) Movements occasioned in Bohemia by these executions-The name of Thaborite assumed by the Insurgents-The triumphs of Zisca-Massacre of the Adamites-The Bohemian Deputies proceed to the Council of Basle-The four articles proposed by them—and the consequent ineffectual debate-The scene of negociation then removed to Prague-Various parties there-Defeat and massacre of the Thaborites—A compact concluded between Sigismond and the Separatists-Real principles of Rome-The Pope refuses to confirm the compact, and the dissensions continue-under Pius II. and Paul II.-Many of the opinions of the Hussites perpetuated by the Bohemian Brothers,' who became celebrated in the next century. I. THE Roman See had been long accustomed to consider the English as the most obedient and exemplary among its subjects—an equivocal merit, which it rewarded by more oppressive extortions and more contemptuous insult. It is true, that our kings and statesmen had made at various times some vigorous exertions to mitigate the Papal dominion; but the Popes were enabled to thwart or elude their efforts by the fidelity of the clergy and the people *. Nor was it only the praise of ecclesiastical obsequiousness that our Catholic ancestors deserved of the Holy See; that of immaculate doctrinal purity was ascribed to them with equal justice. They received with reverence every innovation in their belief, every demand on their credulity, which proceeded from the unerring oracles of the Church; but they faithfully discouraged any new opinions originating in any other quarter. The continental heresies of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries had not been allowed to defile their sanctuary; still less had it been profaned by any weeds of indigenous growth. The land, in which Wiclif was already preparing his immortal weapons for the contest, was that, on which the pontifical regards were fixed with the deepest complacency and most unsuspecting confidence.

Wiclif.

John of Wiclift was born in Yorkshire about the year 1324. He was educated at Oxford; and the great proficiency, which he made in the learning of the schools, did not prevent him from acquiring and deserving the title of the Evangelic, or Gospel, Doctor. His earlier life was distinguished by a bold attack on the corruptions of the clergy, and by great zeal in the contest with the Mendicants, which, in 1360, disturbed the university and the Church. He was raised to the theological chair in 1372; he had previously defended the cause of the Crown against the Pope, respecting the payment of the tribute imposed by Innocent III., and he was known to harbour many anti-papal opinions: but he was not yet committed in direct opposition to Rome. Soon afterwards he formed

*The statutes of provisors and præmunire, enacted in 1350, anticipated most of the articles of the Pragmatic Sanction of France,-since the first restrained the usurpation of Church patronage by the Pope, and the second protected the temporal rights of the Crown; but neither of them was observed, and the Pope continued to fill the Sees with foreign prelates.

We do not profess, in the present history, to treat in any detail the ecclesiastical affairs of England; and in the following short account of Wiclif there is little which may not be found much more fully and eloquently expressed in Professor Le Bas' ' Life of Wiclif.'

part of an embassy to Avignon, instructed to represent and remove the grievances of the Anglican Church. It was not till his return from that mission, when his language was heated by long-treasured indignation, or by the near spectacle of pontifical impurity, that the reformer first incurred the displeasure of the English hierarchy. He was cited before a convocation, held at St. Paul's in 1377; and it seems probable, that he owed his preservation to the powerful protection of John Duke of Lancaster. At the same time the Vatican thundered; and the heresy of Wiclif was compared to that of Marsilius of Padua and others, who had been sheltered against the oppression of John XXII. by the imperial patronage. But the Papal Bull was so little regarded at Oxford *, that it was even made a question, whether it should not be ignominiously rejected; and when the offender was subsequently summoned to Lambeth, he was dismissed with a simple injunction to abstain from diffusing his opinions. Howbeit, the Pope and his myrmidons continued eager and constant in the pursuit; and there are many who believe, that it was the timely circumstance of the schism, which alone defrauded persecution of its intended victim.

On the other hand, the ardour of Wiclift was still further inflamed by the appearance of this new deformity-when he saw the head of Antichrist cloven in twain, and the two parts made to fight against each other.' He even proceeded so far, as to exhort the princes of Europe to seize that signal opportunity of extinguishing the evil entirely. But in their eyes it did not perhaps appear to be an evil at all—at least it was still so deeply rooted in the prejudices of the people, that its extirpation, even had they thought it desirable, had not yet been practicable. It was the misfortune of Wiclif, as it was his greatest glory, that he anticipated, by almost two centuries, the principles of a more enlightened generation; and scattered his holy lessons on a soil, not yet prepared to give them perfect life and maturity.

As long as Wiclif confined, or nearly confined, his vehement reprehensions to the delinquencies of the clergy, or the anti-Christian spirit of the Court of Rome-so long he obtained many and powerful disciples, and could count on their attachment and fidelity. But no sooner did he rise from that manifest and intelligible ground of dissent, and advance into the region of doctrinal disputation, than the enthusiasm and number of his followers declined, and even John of Lancaster strongly enjoined him to desist. In 1381-2 he opened his Sacramentary Controversy; some considerable tumults followed; he was cited in consequence before the Convention at Oxford, and banished from that city. He retired to his rectory at Lutterworth; and after two more years diligently employed in the offices of piety, he died there in peaceful and honourable security-security which was alike honourable to his own character, to the firmness of his illustrious protectors, and to the moderation of the English prelacy. His opinions were never extinguished; and his name continued so formidable to the champions of the Church, that, after an interval of thirty years—after all personal malice and jealousy had long passed away-the Council of Re

*Diu in pendulo hærebant, utrum papalem Bullam deberent cum honore suscipere, vel omnino cum dedecore refutare.' Walsingham.

One of the latest labours of his life was another attack on the delinquencies of the clergy, which he described under thirty-three heads in the tract' How the office of curates is ordained of God.' The more profound sense of those delinquencies which he had derived from inveterate habits and principles of piety, gave an ardour to the expressions of his advancing age which surpassed that of his youthful enthusiasm.

formers at Constance published that memorable edict, by which the body and bones of Wiclif were to be taken from the ground, and thrown far away from the burial of any Church.'. . . . The decree met with a tardy obedience after the space of thirteen years, the remains were disinterred and burnt, and the ashes cast into the adjoining brook. The brook (says Fuller, in words which should be engraven on every heart) did convey his ashes into Avon; Avon into Severn; Severn into the narrow seas; they into the main ocean. And thus the ashes of Wiclif are the emblem of his doctrine, which now is dispersed all the world over.'

His doctrine was formed, with an entire disregard of all spiritual authority, on the foundation of Scripture alone-for 'the Scripture alone (as he said) is truth.' Various

His opinions.

innovations of the Roman Church were opposed by him with various degrees of confidence. Respecting images and the invocation of the saints he wrote at no great length, but with reasonableness and moderation. He rejected transubstantiation, according to the sense of the Church; but he admitted a sort of real presence, without affecting to determine the manner. His notion concerning purgatory seems to have gone farther from the belief in which he was educated, as he gradually advanced in knowledge; but he never entirely threw off his original impressions. At last, indeed, he might appear to have considered it as a place of sleep; but his expressions are vague and betray the ignorance, which he was not careful to conceal, either from others or from himself. On other matters he expressed much bolder opinions. He rejected auricular confession; he held pardons and indulgences to be nothing but 'a subtle merchandise of anti-Christian clerks, whereby they magnified their own fictitious power; and instead of causing men to dread sin, encouraged them to wallow therein like hogs.' Excommunication and interdicts were repudiated with equal disdain. He reprobated the compulsory celibacy of the clergy and the imposition of monastic vows; and visited with the austerity of a Puritan, not only the vain and fantastic ceremonies of the Church, but even the devout use of holy psalmody. In the granting of absolution he treated the office of the priest as strictly ministerial and declaratory; and he hastily pronounced confirmation to be a mere ecclesiastical invention, for the purpose of unduly elevating the episcopal dignity. He appears not to have disputed, that the Pope was the highest spiritual authority in the Church; but he rejected with equal scorn his ghostly infallibility and his secular supremacy; and his abhorrence of the court of antiChrist was so strong, as to be a continual incentive to the bitterest censure. According to the original institution he considered bishops and priests as the same order; and he ascribed (through a defect in historical knowledge) the distinction, which afterwards divided them, to the imperial supremacy. He objected to the possession of any fixed property by the clergy, and maintained that the ecclesiastical endowments were, in their origin, eleemosynary, and that they remained at the disposal of the secular government*.

Such were the opinions which Wiclif promulgated in the theological chair, and in the fourteenth century. His reputation and his dignity raised

It is observed that, with these opinions, Wiclif held the Divinity Professorship at Oxford, a Prebendal Stall, and the Rectory of Lutterworth. He thought it excusable, no doubt, to conform to the system which he found established, and his enemies at the time thought it no crime in him that he did so; yet he would have stood higher with posterity, had he disdained the plausible excuse, and placed the unequivocal seal of private disinterestedness and generosity upon his public principles.

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