YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

LITERARY NOTICES
OF THE
FORMERS BEFORE THE REFORMATION,
BY
MON. DE BONNECHOSE.

THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY— JOHN HUSS— AND THE
COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE.

TRANSLATED PROM THE FRENCH
By CAMPBELL MACKENZIE, B.A.,
TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN.

" In its tone and spirit it is truly Protestant, while the narrative
is rich in heart-stirring incidents, gathered from the best authorities,
.... "What he relates of Huss is beautiful. The three rival Popes,
the resolute, but bigoted Sigismund, and others, stand out in high re
lief upon the canvass ; and at times both style and subject-matter ap
proach D'Aubignfi's immortal work." — -Christian Lady's Magazine,
April 1845.
" The Catholic spirit of the writer, — his keen eye for moral excel
lence and intellectual greatness, let them be found on what side they
may, — his devotional fervency of feeling, — the soundness of his prin
ciples, — will strike every reader. To the studious man, the author's ex
tensive reading, — the clearness and facility with which he musters his
facts, — the minute exactitude of his portraitures, and the effective
manner in which he recreates the various scenes through which he fol
lows his personages, will be equally apparent. In reviewing the
labours of the Council of Constance, the writer brings out the great
principles involved with much skill, and in a beautifully philosophic
manner. Then, coming to the condemnation of John Huss and Jerome
of Prague, he rises into his fine strain of dignified eloquence. The
book will be found an invaluable preparative for the reading of
D'Aubigne's History of the Reformation, with which it is worthy to
rank, — no mean praise." — Derbyshire Courier, January 25. 1845.
" It is impossible for us here to give any thing like an analysis of
M. De Bonnechose's book ; to learn its merits, it must be read ; and
we are sure no one will rise fi;om its perusal without deriving no ordi-
dinary amount both of pleasure and edification." — Edinburgh Adver
tiser, November 12. 1844.

" We cordially recommend this volume as a valuable contribution
to our ecclesiastical history." — Scotsman, 21st November 1844.
" The work does all that, is here represented ; and in a manner,
too — in a purity of style, and a force and eloquence of expression, — that
we have never seen surpassed in any work of history." — The Scottish .
Herald, 28th November 1844.
" This is an excellent book, and one which we are glad to see in
English dress. The preface, or preliminary essay, is itself an admi-!
rable work. The Frenchman writes in the spirit of Milton and Chan
ning. His discourse is an able and eloquent argument for the funda
mental principles of the Reformation, — namely, freedom of conscience,';
freedom of inquiry, and freedom from the sacerdotal yoke. It is, in
one word, written in the spirit of the most Catholic Christianity. . . .
We regret that we have not the power of speaking of this work with
the fulness due to its merits." — Tait's Magazine, December 1844.
" The subject of the work before us is the last part of the great
"Western Schism, and the religious wars in Bohemia, which were the
result of the fatal decrees of the Council of Constance. The task
which the author has undertaken is well and ably executed." — Banner,
December 6.
" This work of M. De Bonnechose sets before us events in the four
teenth and fifteenth centuries, which not only prepared the way for
the great movement of the sixteenth, to which Luther and Calvin have
given their names, but rendered such «. movement inevitable, even
though these great leaders had never been." — Athenaeum, December 14.
" The incidents connected with the history of John Huss, with his
trial, conviction, and death, are brought together with spirit and effect ;
and the character not only of Huss, but of the principal personages
mixed up with his trial, is sketched by the hand of a master." — Oxfdrd
University Herald, December 21.
" We gave, a few numbers back, a passage from this thrilling his
tory, relative to the martyrdom of John Huss. The work itself is a
translation from the French, and is apparently the first of a series, by
the same author. What D'Aubigne has done for Luther and his asso
ciates, Bonnechose has succeeded, although with less poetic imagery,
in doing for Huss. His work, although but lately published, has at
tracted much attention, having been favourably noticed by some of the
principal London and provincial journals. We have much gratifica-;
tion in introducing it to our readers, a duty which we should have dis
charged sooner, but that we had intended to bestow upon it a more ex
tended notice. Finding this impossible in the mean time, we are un
willing to withhold our commendation longer, satisfied, as we are, that
those who will peruse it, will unite with us in bearing testimony to its
intrinsic excellency." — Banner of Ulster, December 24. 1844.
" The account given by De Bonnechose of those illustrious martyrs,
the pioneers of the Reformation, who preceded and paved the way for:
that grand event in the history of European civilization, is compiled
with singular ability, and distinguished by the impartiality of an his
torian whose aim is the elucidation of the truth. . . . The period the ]
author has selected for illustration is full of the most eventful and in
teresting circumstances ; and his work will be found to comprise a very

complete history of the persecuted precursors of the Reformation." —
Morning Herald, December 24.
" In reading De Bonnechose's pages, you find yourself listening to
the great Reformer's words. You see Sigismund with the blush of
shame mounting on his cheeks ; you perceive, within the walls of the
same dungeon, the inoffensive and heroic martyrs ; and John XXIII.,
charged with every crime, deposed and condemned. Your admira
tion is excited by the generous sympathy of the manly Bohemian
noble, John de Chlum  We cordially recommend the work." —
The Critic, January 1845.
" We give our readers to understand, that this very valuable work
of M. De Bonnechose does not confine itself to a mere history of John
Huss ; on the contrary, it contains a full history of the Papal Schism
from its commencement down to the period of the election of Martin V.
The importance of this volume cannot be too highly rated ; and happy
should we be to hear that a copy of it existed in every house in Eng
land." — Church and State Gazette, January 3. 1845.
" Next to D'Aubigne, this is one of the most interesting and. able
' histories we have read since the life of John Knox and Andrew Mel
ville  With scarcely less eloquence and vigour, it opens up the
condition of the Church in those days when Huss and Jerome wit
nessed a good confession before many witnesses. It is altogether a
most remarkable book, and destined to occupy no inferior place in
our historical and ecclesiastical literature." — Presbyterian Review,
January 1845.
" This is truly a valuable and instructive work, eloquently written,
and detailing circumstances and events of surpassing interest. The
author seems quite equal to the task of discussing the occurrences of
this momentous period in the history of Christendom. His views are
liberal and enlightened. To both the author and the translator we
tender our thanks, and trust the public will patronise this well-timed
and useful work." — The Patriot, January 9, 1845.
" This historical work embraces n period of between 70 and 80
years, — that is to say, from the commencement of the Great Schism of
the West, in the year 1378, to the end of the war of the Hussites, to
wards the middle of the following century. A considerable portion is,
as might be expected from its subject, devoted to a biographical ac
count of John Huss, the famous Reformer, of whom the biographer
writes in a spirit of animated panegyric, though we are not aware that
his praises are, in any one instance, unduly exaggerated. It is per
vaded throughout by a fervent religious spirit." — The Sun, January
10. 1845.
" In the present state of religious controversy, especially as it shews
itself in this country, we consider the publication of Bonnechose's
work as peculiarly opportune. The great principles for which the
earliest reformers contended, — and which, now that they are clearly
developed, seem as natural to man's mental constitution as the air
which he breathes is to his physical existence, — are in this volume ela
borately expounded, and the causes which called them into being, and
aided their development, carefully and impartially traced. We take
leave of this excellent work, (here follows a quotation.) It is as truth
ful as it is eloquent." — The Atlas, January 18.

" The present volume is devoted principally to Huss, to Jerome of
Prao-ue, and to our own Wycliffe ; but it is also plentifully inter
spersed with historical and biographical anecdotes, which cannot fail,
in the present day especially, to draw attention to those principles of
sound and holy truth, on which our own Church, emerging from the
dark and gloomy errors of Papacy, was at last led firmly, and we trust,
permanently to rest." — Felix Farley's Bristol Journal, January 18.
1845. " The author has performed the same service for the age of Huss
and Jerome, as D'Aubigne has done for that of Luther and Calvin;
and the one production will form a meet and appropriate introduction
to the other. M. De Bonnechose brings a prodigious amount of his
torical research to bear upon his task ; and if he exhibits less perhaps
of the profound spirituality of D'Aubigne, he possesses no small share
of that eminent man's Christian philosophy and glowing eloquence of
style. The extreme candour and catholicity of feeling evinced by the
author, combined with the literary merits of the work, seem pecu
liarly fitted to gain access for it amongst many of the author's country
men, who might be repelled by a more formal and direct defence of
Protestantism ; and his repeated allusions to the condition of France,
as a nation without a faith, shew that he is deeply affected with the
state of his country in that point of view, and impressed with the ne
cessity of embracing the present opportunity, which is in many re
spects so favourable and inviting, of replacing the cast-off doctrines of
Popery with the pure faith of the gospel, and rescuing his countrymen
from the prevailing infidelity in which Popery has ingulphed them."
— Scottish Guardian, January 28. 1845.
" This important work, which is published at a time when it is
sought by some portion of the so-called ' Reformed Church,' to throw
discredit on the noble struggle which broke the adamantine fetters of
Roman despotism, deserves well of the friends of religious freedom.
The work is important and interesting, and we owe a debt of grati
tude to the writer and to the translator for its production." — Chelten
ham Free Press, February 1. 1845.
" There is something striking in the title-page, as well as the con
tents of this book . The author is a Frenchman, and while the fear enter
tained in England is a tendency of Protestantism to Romanism, this
book indicates the formation of a body of churchmen in France whose
tendency is from Romanism to Protestantism. The principal object ofl
the work is to celebrate the Reformers who lived before the Reforma
tion, and chiefly him who stands most prominent on the canvass, John
Huss, the disciple of Wycliffe, and the forerunner of Luther. But the
accessary objects of the work are scarcely less important. The object
of the author, as he avows, is not to engage in proselytism, at the ex
pense of any church ; — to advance no creed, and no particular formula,
as the only true one ; but to serve the only universal Catholic church,
and that 'one religion above Roman Catholicism as above Protestant
ism ; and that religion is Christianity.' In this bond of faith all good
Christians will concur." — Cambridge Advertiser, February 5. 1845.

LETTERS OF
JOHI HUSS,
WRITTEN DURING HIS EXILE AND IMPRISONMENT
WITH
MARTIN LUTHER'S PREFACE;
AND CONTAINING A
GENERAL VIEW OP THE WORKS OP HUSS.

EMILE DE BONNECHOSE,
AUTHOR OF " THE REFORMERS BEFORE THE REFORMATION," ETC,

Stranslateir ng
CAMPBELL MACKENZIE, B.A.,
TRIN. COLL. DUBLIN.

EDINBURGH:
WILLIAM WHYTE & CO.,
BOOKSELLERS TO THE QUEEN DOWAGER ;
LONDON: LONGMAN AND CO. ; DUBLIN: W. CtTKEY JUN., AND CO.

MPOCflXLyi.

PRINTED BY NEILL AND COMPANY, EDINBURGH.

CONTENTS.

Page
INTRODUCTION,  vii
PRELIMINARY NOTICE,  1
Preface of Dr Martin Luther, to the Letters of John Huss,
published by him in the year 1537, .... 3
LETTERS OF JOHN HUSS.
Attestation of Peter Maldoniewitz, called the Notary, 13
FIRST SERIES.
LETTERS WRITTEN AT THE PERIOD OP THE INTER
DICTION OP JOHN HUSS, AND OP HIS EXILE PROM
PRAGUE IN 1411 ;— SOME OP THEM MAY HAVE
BEEN WRITTEN IN 1410.
Letter I. To the College of Cardinals, ... 14
II. To Zawyssius, his Calumniator, ... 17
III. To Master Martin and to Master Nicolas
ofMyliezyn,  19
IV. To the Rector of the University of Prague, 2 1
V. To John Barbat,  24
VI. To the believers in Prague, ... 29
VII. To the same,  38
NviII. To the Church of Prague, ... 41
IX. To the Hearers of the Word of God at Prague, 43
X. To the same,  46
XI. To the same,  48
XII. To the same,  51
XIII. To the same,  54
XIV. To the Inhabitants of the town of Luna, . 58
XV. The Priest Wychewitze to John Huss and his
friends,  61

CONTENTS.

SECOND SERIES.
LETTERS WRITTEN BY JOHN HUSS, AND OTHER
PERSONS, AT THE PERIOD OP THE COUNCIL OP
CONSTANCE. Page
Letter I. To Master Martin,  67
II. John Huss to the Bohemians previously to his
setting out for the Council, ... 69
III. Letter written from Nuremberg to his Congre
gation at Prague,  72
IV. John, Cure of Janowitz, to the faithful believers
of Prague,  76
V. John Huss to the people of Bohemia and his
friends,  77
VI. * * * *  79
VII. To the people of Bohemia, .... 81
VIII. To the inhabitants of Prague, ... 84
_, t"g John Huss to a Priest,  86
X. To Peter Maldoniewitz, .... 88
XI. To the believers in Prague, .... 89
XII. To John of Chlum,  91
XIII. To the same,  94
XIV. To the same,  96
XV. To the same,  97
XVI. To the same,  101
XVII. To the same,  102
XVIII. John Huss to his Benefactors, . . 103
XIX. To John of Chlum,  107
XX. To Peter Maldoniewitz,  109
XXI. Peter Maldoniewitz to John Huss, . . . 110
XXII. Reply of John Huss to Peter, . . .113
XXIII. To John Huss,  115
XXIV. John Huss's Reply,  117
XXV. To the same,  119
XXVI. John of Chlum to John Huss, . . .121
XXVII. To John of Chlum,  123
XXVIII. John Huss's Reply to Peter the Notary; . . 126
XXIX. To one of his Friends,  129
XXX. To his Noble Benefactors, . ... 131
XXXI. John Huss's Reception by the Council, . . 135
XXXII. To his Friends,  137
XXXIII. To his Friends,  139

XXXIV. To the Noble Lord, Henry de Schopeek, 142
XXXV. To a Friend, 143
XXXVI. To the Faithful of Bohemia, 144
XXXVII. Profession of Faith, &c, 148
XXXVIIL To his Disciple, Master Martin, 150
XXXIX. To the Lord Haulikon, 153
XL. To some Friends, 155
XLI. To John Cardinal, 159
XLII. John Cardinal to John Huss, 161
XLIII. * * * * 163
XLIV. To a Friend, 165
XLV. To a Friend, 169
XLVI. To his Friends, 170
XL VII. To his Friends at Prague, ] 72
XLVIII. John Huss to the University of Prague, 177
XLIX. To his Friends, 179
L. To the same, 181
LI. To his Friends, 184
LII. To John of Chlum, 185
LIII. To the same, 186
LIV. To Master John Christian, 189
LV. To his Benefactors, 190
LVI. Toliis faithful Friend Ledertz, 191

INTRODUCTION.

Towards the end of the fourteenth century
there was born in Bohemia, a man whose name
is inseparably connected with one of the most
important revolutions of modern Europe. His
history I have narrated in a preceding work.*
I there placed before my readers the great
events of that memorable epoch, and exhibited
on the stormy stage of the world this Christian,
whose death, even more than his life, agitated
his country and all Germany. My object, in the
present work, is to complete the first, — to finish
the portrait of the illustrious reformer of Bohe
mia, by making him also known in his domestic
life — the effusions of his private intercourse.
* The Reformers hefore the Reformation. Fifteenth Century.
John Huss and the Council of Constance. 2 vols.

viii INTRODUCTION.
The man is completely revealed in his correspond
ence ; and I here publish all that the friends of
Huss have handed down to us.
These Letters, which are translated now for
the first time into our tongue, were never in
tended for the public eye, having been addressed
by Huss to his disciples and friends, to be per
used far from the view of his enemies, and
under the shade of the domestic roof. They
furnish most precious documents to history, and
are unquestionable testimonies of the spirit and
character of their author. Though they are not
remarkable either for profundity of thought, or
for style and singularity of doctrine, there, never-.
theless, exhales an innocent candour and an an
gelic piety, like a fragrant perfume, from every
page. What especially pervades them, are the
Christian thoughts on the fall of man, and his
regeneration through Jesus Christ ; — the convic
tion that all the things of this world pass away,
and are but the shadows of things eternal; — that
man is nothing without God; — that there is

INTRODUCTION. IX
nothing but darkness or false lights wherever the
divine flame does not penetrate ; — and, lastly,
above all these thoughts, subsists that which
embraces all the rest — that " Faith is life."
"We behold in his correspondence, a soul supe
rior to seduction as well as to terror ; a firm and
upright reason which penetrates every subtilty ;*
originates in the conscience alone ; clings tena
ciously to what appears to it to be the truth as
to man's most precious possession, as to the trea
sure which has nothing to fear, neither from rust
nor robber. (Matt. vi. 20.)
Huss was one of those spirits, more contem
plative than practical, which, after having recog
nised an idea as true, admit of no medium or ar
rangement in propagating it, and concern them
selves for the. consequences not more for others
than for themselves. The inflexibility of his
character equalled his probity of feeling ; and it
may be affirmed that, in all respects, both by
the heart and the intelligence, Huss was of the
* Consult, in particular, Letter xl. of the Second Series.
«2

X INTRODUCTION.
number of those who appear in the world as if
predestined to martyrdom. Yet he sought not
after it like a passionate sectarian or a blind en
thusiast ; he was as far from possessing that pride
which complacently feeds itself on its own con->
ceptions, as from that sullen fanaticism which
causes a man voluntarily to shorten his life by
useless rashness, through dint of persuading him
self that death is desirable. Before entering
into a contest with his superiors, John Huss
hesitated, consulted, and examined. Visited with
ecclesiastical censures at Prague, he knew not
whether he should obey and be silent, or con
tinue to preach the Gospel. " I burn," says he,
" with an ardent zeal for the Gospel, and my
soul is sad ; for I know not what to resolve on."*
At a later period at Constance, when condemned
and ready to die, he wrote, " I exhort you, in
the name of the Lord, to detest every error that
you may discover in my works ; but keeping in
mind this truth which I have ever had in view,
* First Series, Letter iii.

INTRODUCTION.

pray for me."* He faithfully depicts his feel
ings in a letter which he addressed at the same
period to the priest Martin, his disciple, an ad
mirable letter — a true model of prudence and
every Christian virtue. " Attach thy soul to the
reading of the Bible, and especially the New
Testament. Fear not death, if thou desirest to
live with Christ ; for he has said himself, Fear
not those who kill the body, but who cannot destroy
the soul. If they should trouble you on account
of thy adhesion to my doctrines, answer, I believe
my master to have been a good Christian ; and
touching what he has taught and written, I have
neither read nor understood all." Huss was
neither a superstitious man nor a visionary;
nevertheless he had visions and received warn
ings in his sleep ; he foresaw what came to pass,f
yet refused to attach faith to his dreams. He
does not dare to place trust in them, and distrusts
his senses rather than slight the authority of a
single precept of his God ; he repeats this text,
* Second Series, Letter xlviii.
t Ibid., Letter xxxiii.

xii INTRODUCTION.
" Place no confidence in dreams ;" and after
having related them to his friends, he adds, " I
write this not because I consider myself a pro
phet, or that I would exalt myself, but to shew
I have suffered bodily and mental temptations as
well as a great fear of transgressing the com
mandments of the Lord." Resignation was pre
dominant in his mind ; — the most absolute sub
mission to the Divine will, as well as an ardent
desire to become acquainted with it. " Pray,"
says he, " fervently to the Lord, that he may
grant me his Spirit, and that I may dwell in
truth, and be delivered from all evil. If my
death should add to his glorification, pray it may
arrive speedily, and that- he may enable me to
support my ills with constancy. But should it
be better for my salvation that I return amongst,g
you, we will implore of God to enable me to
return from the Council without a spot, viz., that
I may keep back nothing from the truth of the
gospel of Christ, in order to be enabled to dis
cover more surely its light, and bequeath to our

INTRODUCTION. xiii
brethren a good example to follow." The sacrifice
which he made of his life was the more exem
plary, and his martyrdom the more sublime,
because he had felt beforehand all the terrors
of death; it was in God that he sought for
support against them. " Beseech the Lord to
grant me the assistance of his Spirit, that I may
confess his name even unto death  I
shall stand in need of his Divine aid, although I
am confident he will not suffer me to be tried be
yond my strength."*
His confidence in God did not forsake him
to the last moment. "Our Saviour," says he,
" raised Lazarus from the dead after the fourth
day. He could also snatch me from prison and
death, — I, an unfortunate man, if it were for his
glory, for the advantage of the faithful, and my
own good."f And yet, when in chains, and
awaiting death, he is more occupied with the in
terests of others than his own ; his soul, calm,
pious, and compassionate, sympathizes with all
* Second Series, Letter xi. t Ibid. Letter xviii.

xiv INTRODUCTION.
around him ; his jailors are exhorted and in
structed by him. He thinks with tenderness!
of his disciples, of the faithful believers of his
church, of his friends ; the sight of his bene
factors draws tears from his eyes, and he writes
to them in these touching terms, " Generous:
Seigniors, my comforters and faithful defenders
of the truth, you whom God has sent me as my
angels, I cannot fully express how much I am
grateful for so much constancy, and for all
the charitable kindness you have shewn to me,
a weak sinner, but servant in hope of Jesus
Christ."* His poverty being great, he regrets not being
able to remunerate his friends who have assisted:
him with money. He bequeaths them all he: pos
sesses, which is but little ; for the surplus of his
debts he addresses an appeal, with a confidence
altogether Christian, to all who are rich, and con
jures them to pay for him those who are poor.
He promises them, in exchange for the worldly
* Second Series, Letter xviii.

INTRODUCTION.

riches which they advance to him, spiritual and
imperishable wealth.* Every word that falls
from his lips or his pen affords signs of that vir
tue so well defined by the apostle ; of that charity,
so mild, patient, and benevolent, to which nothing
is indifferent, because in everything it finds an
opportunity of exercising itself usefully, and ful
filling a duty. At the approach of death, he
feels his ardent zeal redoubled for the salvation
of his brethren and dear disciples, and includes
in the same solicitude all those who have listened
to his preaching ; and in his last exhortations
no one is excepted. When on the point of ap
pearing before the King of Heaven, all earthly
distinctions vanish before his eyes ; and the soul
of the obscure workman is to him as precious as
that of the monarch. His own soul presents an
unalterable calm amidst the most cruel pains,
and sometimes unbends to a sweet and tranquil
gaiety. Though a prey to so many outrages, he
utters neither threat nor murmur ; he pardons
* Second Series, Letter xxv.

xvi INTRODUCTION.
his enemies ; he blesses and adores the hand of
God which tries him, and sees in these rigours1
only marks of his love.
Shortly before his death he writes to his
friends thus : — " When we shall meet hereafter^
in a happy eternity, you will know with what
clemency the Lord deigns to assist me in my
trials."* Such does John Huss appear in the edifying
Letters of which we here present the translation ;
and it is impossible to peruse them without re
peating, with Luther, — " If this man was not a
generous and intrepid martyr and confessor of
Christ, certainly it will be difficult for any man
to be saved."f
We have penetrated in every direction into
this mind so eminently Christian ; we have shewnf;,
in all its aspects this soul so marked with can
dour and so powerful ; and it now remains to us
to assign to John Huss his place among the men
* Second Series, Letter xxx.
t Preface of Luther, page 12.

INTRODUCTION. xvii
who have agitated the world, and to determine
the work which is personal to him, what, in fact,
he has left behind him that is durable. To suc
ceed in such an endeavour, we must take into
account a prejudice which still prevailed at that
period. False notions had for centuries been in
circulation, and had taken root in Christendom,
relative to the authority of individual convic
tions, judgment, and conscience. It was denied
that man, sustained by Divine grace, could find
in himself any assistance ; it was believed to be
a meritorious act of Christian virtue to seek for
no direction in one's own internal feeling, and to
trample reason under foot ; an opinion was adopt
ed, not because in itself it had been found con
formable to the Scriptures or to truth, but be
cause it was considered to agree with the deci
sions of some great doctor, pope, or council, or
because it was found in Augustin, Origen, or
Jerome. Tradition alone was listened to ; and
it was altogether forgotten that the first Chris
tians, who had sprung from the Jews #,nd Gen-

Xviii INTRODUCTION.
tiles, were accustomed to consult their conscience
before all, in face of the altars of Paganism, or
of the temple still standing at Jerusalem, and
that they took for their only guide this secret
and inflexible monitor. A few eloquent men—
a few great minds — had, it is true, consulted their
individual opinions, rather than yield to cleri
cal and traditional authority. Abelard and Be-
renger, in France, had given proof of boldness
and independence in proclaiming their doctrines ;
but they grew timid when it was necessary to de
fend them; their voices died away, and their heads
were bowed low, before the menaces of popes and
councils. Inltaly, Armand de Bressehad ventured
openly to resist the pontifical power ; but the re
volution, of which he gave the signal, was a civil
rather than a religious one. Numerous sects and
whole populations had, in different countries!
emancipated themselves from the yoke, by de
pending on that irresistible force which the sym
pathy of the masses and the association with a
whole nation creates, in order to think, believej

INTRODUCTION. xix
and suffer. England, in fine, had witnessed a
powerful mind, — that of Wycliffe, nourished by
the Scriptures, — bring to light a body of doc
trine, from which, at a later period, sprang the
code of the Reformation ;* but Wycliffe escaped
alive the solemn sentence of an oecumenical
council ; f and many doubt whether he could
have passed triumphantly through that formi
dable ordeal.
It was reserved for the little town of Con
stance to afford a spectacle which the world had
not witnessed for ages. There, one man, weak
ened by sickness and long imprisonment, isolated
from a few friends dispersed and trembling, re
sisted, strong in the gospel and in his conscience,
all that external authority could display to in
timidate and subjugate souls. He yields not
before the efforts of all the spiritual and tem
poral powers united. John Huss, lastly, by his
* See The Reformers before the Reformation, Hist. Introduct.,
section v.
t Wycliffe died thirty-five years before the Council of Con
stance condemned his memory and works.

XX INTRODUCTION.
example, still more than by his doctrines, re
opened to the Christian world a path that had
been long closed ; and, if it is permitted to com
pare sacred things with profane, effected in the
sphere of religion and morality what, at a later
period, Columbus brought to pass in the external
and physical world ; he laid open a new empire, or,
to speak more correctly, he discovered a domain
which had been forgotten for ages — that of the
Conscience in matters of faith. Inquiry was a
field interdicted to all. Huss entered on it anew,
in the midst of hostile clamours, and re-opened
it amidst the noise of the thunder and the tem
pest. He fell in his attempt ; but it was impor
tant to prove that the conscience of the Christian
was stronger than all the powers of the earth ;
for that end one of those sublime sacrifices which
terminate in death was requisite. John Huss,
therefore, must die ; and in his death consisted
his victory.
It was the firmness of his character which gave1
him influence over the people, like most of those

INTRODUCTION. xxi
whose passage through the world has left the
most durable impression. He was great, espe
cially by the heart ; and although he was, by the
qualities of his mind, one of the most distin
guished men of his age, yet his greatness was
rather moral than intellectual. He established
no new system, nor attached his name to any re
ligious creed ; and his glory is, in consequence,
the purer. Not being the author of his doc
trines, he had no personal interest in their
triumph ; and the love of the truth did not, in
his heart, confound itself with vanity. He was
not able to obtain external liberty for religious
worship ; but he did more ; for by his faith, by
his courage before a tribunal the most elevated
in the opinions of men ; by the vast renown
of his virtues, condemnation, and martyrdom,
he caused a part of Europe to understand the
sacred right of that freedom of conscience which,
when properly employed, constitutes the Chris
tian equally on the throne as in chains. John
Huss, in a word, greatly contributed to bring

Xxii INTRODUCTION.
back Christianity to its primitive character, viz.,
that of being the religion of the heart, and to
restore its real spirit — a spirit of life, of pro
gress, and of liberty. If Religion be not this;
if it be the monopoly of a college of priests, or
the privilege of a sect, it becomes immediately
exclusive, intolerant, and oppressive. The his
tory of antiquity, as well as of modern times,
teaches us that men who constitute themselves
as infallible -interpreters of the Divinity, make
their gods after their own likeness. The Creator
of the world would soon be no longer in their
mouths a compassionate Father, who gives to
all his children on earth an equal right of ap
proaching him in adoration and prayer, and who
presents his word to all minds, like his Son, to
the regards of every creature; but a jealous
master, ever ready to punish and strike at the
will of his interpreters, at the cry of those who
call themselves the representatives of his power.
Religion would no longer be that celestial and
internal bond which attracts the soul to God by |

INTRODUCTION. xxiii
love ; it would become the yoke which masters
externally by constraint — a dreadful instrument
of punishment to the souls which it abases, by
placing them under restraint, and more destruc
tive, if possible, to men's minds than to their
bodies. It is on this account that the generous
Christians of all Churches who have heroically
resisted the oppressors of the conscience, are
justly entitled to the imperishable admiration
and gratitude of all who adore in spirit and in
truth. Among these no man was ever more re
markable than John Huss ; for no other ever did
more to restore to the Conscience, in the heart
of man, that throne which it ought never to have
abdicated.

PRELIMINARY NOTICE.

The Letters of John Huss were collected by his friend,
Peter Maldoniewitz, the notary, and it was the great Re
former of the sixteenth century, Martin Luther, who first
published them, rendering justice to the faith, doctrines,
and noble character of their author. Luther at first
translated into Latin four letters, written by Huss in
Bohemia, and published them in 1536, together with
those which the nobles of Bohemia and Moravia had ad
dressed to the Council of Constance. Wittemberg was
the place where he published them, on the occasion of a
general council being convoked by Paul III. * He joined
to these letters a preface, of which the following is an
extract : — " My object in publishing these letters," said
Luther, " is, if God should permit the council to assemble,
to warn such persons as might be present to beware of fol
lowing the example of the Council of Constance, in which
the truth was exposed to such lengthened and such vio-
* This council, which was first convoked at Mantua for the year
1537, then at Vicenza, did not open until 1542, in the city of Trent.
A

2 « PEELIMINAET NOTICE.
lent attacks ; nevertheless, it triumphs now, and, holding
erect its victorious head, shews forth that guilty assembly
in its true colours. Undoubtedly, God has sufBciently
manifested in that council bow he resists the proud, and
confounds the haughty, by their own imaginations, with
out paying any consideration to outward dignity." *
The following year, Luther published a complete edi
tion of the letters of John Huss, and prefixed to it a pre
face which we subjoin, and in which he enumerates, with
great power, the principal claims of Huss to the esteem
and admiration of posterity. This preface also contains
6ome interesting and curious details ; and Luther even
narrates in it the strong impression produced on himself
in his youth, at first reading, by chance, some of the writ
ings of that Christian whom he had been taught to exe
crate as a dreadful heretic. Luther is supposed to hare
drawn up the summary of contents which are found at
the head of most of the letters of John Huss, in the col
lection of his works, f and we have most carefully pre
served them.
The letters of John Huss are divided into two series,
each of which refers to a different period of his life : the
* The several editions of this Preface, which will be found at the
end of the volume (Note A), present numerous variations. We have
considered it best to follow the first edition, which was most kindly
communicated to us by M. Frederic Monod, one of the clergymen of
the Reformed Church at Paris.
f Hist, et Monum. Johan. Hus, vol. i. Nuremberg, 1715.

PRELIMINARY NOTICE.

first is that of his interdiction and exile from Prague in
the years 1410 and 1411 ; the second comprehends the
period which elapsed from his departure from the council
till his death.

PREFACE OF DR MARTIN LUTHER, TO THE LETTERS OF
JOHN HUSS, PUBLISHED BY HIM IN THE YEAR 1537.
In order to render more prudent, and to instruct, by means of
the tyrannical judgments of the Council of Constance, all theo
logians that may be hereafter called to sit in a council of the
Roman Church.
Should any man read these letters, or hear them
read, being, at the same time, in possession of a sound
intelligence, and, in the face of God, having a regard
for his own conscience, he will not, I am convinced,
hesitate to allow that John Huss was endowed with
the precious gifts of the Holy Spirit. Observe, in
fact, how firmly he clung, in his writings and his
words, to the doctrines of Christ ; wijh what courage
he struggled against the agonies of death ; with what
patience and humility he suffered every indignity; and
with what greatness of soul he at last confronted a cruel
death in defence of the truth ; — doing all these things
alone and unaided, before an imposing assembly of the

4 PRELIMINARY NOTICE.
most powerful and eminent men, like a lamb in the midst
of wolves and lions. If such a man is to be regarded as
a heretic, no person under the sun can be looked on as a
true Christian. By what fruits, then, shall we recognise
the truth, if it is not manifest by those with which John
Huss was so richly adorned?
The greatest crime of John Huss was his having de
clared that a man of impious life was not the head of the
universal Church: he allowed him to be the chief of a par
ticular church, but not of the universal one ; just the same
as a minister of the word, whose life is criminal, still re
mains minister according to external appearance, although
he is not, on that account, a member of the saints in his
church. In a similar manner, John Huss denied that an
impious and flagitious pontiff was a worthy one, although
seated on the throne of the Church ; it is as if we should
declare that Judas, being both traitor and robber, was
not an honest man, although he had been called to the
functions of an apostle. Every effort, in fact, was made
to prevail on John Huss to admit that a criminal pope
ought to be regarded as a saint, and was infallible ; that
his words and acts were alike holy, and ought to be re
ceived and respected as so many articles of faith. All
the men of the Council of Constance, wise as they were
considered, would have lent a favourable ear to such asser
tions, — they who, when they had dethroned three cul
pable pontiffs, did not allow to any one the right of con-

PRELIMINARY NOTICE. 5
demhing them to the flames ! But when John Huss said
the same things, they dragged him at once to the stake !
The door was (once more)* thrown open to similar
events, by the indulgences which the Roman pontiff scat
tered with such profusion over the whole world, and by
the jubilee which he instituted at Rome to build the
church of St Peter : for the pope, amongst his other
inventions, declared, and afterwards confirmed by his bulls,
that the souls of such persons as, having undertaken a
pilgrimage to Rome, should happen to die on the way,
should at once take flight to heaven ; and, in his quality
of God on earth, and God's viceroy, he orders, most per
emptorily, the angels to bear such souls upwards on rapid
cars. Tetzel, the bearer of the indulgences of the bishop
of Mentz, in like manner taught that the souls would spring
from purgatory to heaven, as soon as the clink ofthe money
paid into the treasury should be heard ; but when shortly
after he was confounded and put to shame, he shut his
impudent mouth.
It was to oppose such impieties, calculated as they were
to disgust even a brute animal, •"¦ that John Huss, preacher
of the "Word of God at the chapel of Bethlehem at Prague,
put himself forward. He denied that any such power was
given to the Roman pontiff, who, he boldly declared, might
* We add these words, omitted by Luther, but necessary to complete
the meaning of the passage.
f " Quos nullus neque asinus neque porens ferret."

6 PRELIMINARY NOTICE.
be mistaken in that as well as many other things. Hav
ing then taken the gTeat liberty of inculcating that the
pope can err (a heresy then considered far more fright
ful than to deny Jesus Christ), he was constrained by vio
lence to confirm what he had maintained in saying, that
an impious pope was not a pious one. All then were in
wild commotion, like so many wild boars, and they gnashed
their teeth, knit their brows, bristled up their coat, and,
at last, rushing precipitately on him, delivered him cruelly
and wickedly to the flames.
One of the first articles that it was necessary to admit
at that period was, that the Roman pontiff was infallible;
and such was the opinion of the jurisconsults of the Eo-
man court. It did not appear presumable that any error
could emanate from so elevated a quarter; but when per
sonal presumptions are formed, it often comes to pass too
much is presumed.
The extraordinary mistake of these men on so import
ant a point, and the manifest outrages which John Huss
suffered from them, only served to animate him with
greater courage. A conscience pure of all crime before
God and before the world, affords a man a great consola
tion in his misfortunes ; and if his suffering should be for
the name and glory of God, the Holy Spirit, the Com
forter of the afflicted, immediately comes to his aid, and
lends him assistance against the world and against de
mons, as Christ has promised (Matt, x.) in these words :

PRELIMINARY NOTICE. 7
" It is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Fathei
who speaks in you ;" and (Luke xxi.) " For I will give
you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall
not be able to resist and gainsay."
I have heard from some persons worthy of faith, that
the Emperor Maximilian said, in speaking of John Huss,
" They have done great injustice to that excellent man."
Erasmus of Rotterdam, in his early writings, now in my
possession, has declared that John Huss had been burned,
but not convinced; and the general opinion amongst pious
men of that day was, that he had been loaded with out
rage and violence. I will relate here what Dr Staupitz
narrated to me of a conversation which he had with his
predecessor, Andrew Prole's, a man of birth and merit,
relative to the rose of Dr John Zacharias. This Zacharias
was represented in the cloisters bearing a rose in his hat,
as a distinction for him, and an affront to John Huss.
Proles, seeing this image, said, " I would not consent to
wear that rose." Staupitz having inquired for what mo
tive, Proles replied, " When it was maintained before the
Council of Constance against John Huss, that the pope
could not be represented by any one, Dr Zacharias brought
forward the passage of Ezekiel (chap, xxxiv.), It is I
who am above the shepherds, and not the people.* John
* It is not easy to see, in reading this recital, what force the adver
saries of Huss could draw from the passage, for the Eternal is alone
spoken of, who announces that he comes himself in the place of bad

PRELIMINARY NOTICE.

Huss denied that these words could be found to form part
of the chapter alluded to ; and Zacharias offered to prove
the contrary, from the very Bible which John Huss had
brought from Bohemia : for Zacharias, like many others,
had often visited Huss for the purpose of convincing him,
and he had by chance happened to perceive the passage
in question. The Bible was then produced in the assem
bly, and it shewed that Zacharias was right. John Huss,
nevertheless, maintained that the Bible was not a correct
one, and that the other versions would not confirm it ; but
being overwhelmed by the clamours of his adversaries, he
lost his cause, and Zacharias received a rose from the
Council, in perpetual memory of this fact. And yet,"
observed Proles, " it is certain that these words are not
found in any correct Bible, whether manuscript or printed,
and that they all testify against Zacharias." Such was the
account of Proles to Dr Staupitz.
The verse alluded to is found in all German, Latin,
Greek, and Hebrew Bibles, as it was quoted by John
Huss ; but at Constance they could not admit it in any
other way than as quoted by Zacharias, who deserved
neither to receive the rose nor to wear it.
The adversaries of John Huss's opinions have them-
pastors. The argument of Zacharias cannot have any weight except
with those who absolutely behold God in the pope, and who imagine
that all that is said of the Eternal in the Scriptures is applicable tQ
the pope.

PRELIMINARY NOTICE. 9
selves testified to his learning. Thirty years back, I
heard several able theologians declare that " John Huss
was an exceedingly superior doctor, and that he sur
passed in erudition and knowledge all the persons com
posing the council." His writings, and, amongst others,
his Treatise on the Church, and his Sermons, confirm
this eulogium.
When I was a divinity student at Erfurt, my hand
happened to alight, one day, in the library of the monas
tery, on a volume of John Huss's sermons. Having
read, on the cover of the work, the words, Sermons of
John Huss, I was immediately inflamed with a desire to
ascertain, by perusing this book, that had escaped from
the flames, and was thus preserved in a public library,
what heresies he had disseminated. I was struck with
amazement as I read on, and was filled with an astonish
ment difficult to describe, as I sought out for what reason
so great a man — a doctor, so worthy of veneration, and
so powerful in expounding the Scriptures — had been
burned to death. But the name of Huss was, at that
period, such an object of execration, that I absolutely
believed that if I spoke of him in terms of praise, the
heavens would fall on me, and the sun veil his light.
Having then closed the book, I withdrew sad at heart,
and I remarked to myself, by way of consolation — " Per
haps he wrote those things before he fell into heresy."

10 PRELIMINARY NOTICE.
At that time I was still ignorant of what had passed in
the Council of Constance.
All that I could say would only add infinitely to the
high character of John Huss. His adversaries render
him a striking, though unintentional testimony; for if
their clouded eyes could open to the light, they would
blush at the remembrance of the things which they them
selves narrate. The author of a collection of the acts of
the council, written in German, and enriched with very
many remarkable details, endeavours, with all his power,
to cover with odium the cause of John Huss ; and yet
he declares, that when Huss beheld himself stripped of
all the dignities of his order, he smiled with intrepid
firmness. According to the same author, also, Huss,
when conducted to the funeral pile, constantly repeated —
" Jesus, Son of God, have pity on me !" At the sight of
the fatal stake to which he was to be fixed in order to he
burned, he fell on his knees and cried out — " Jesus, Son
of the living God, who suffered for us all, have pity on
me!" Beholding a peasant bringing some wood to feed
the flames, he again smiled with mildness, and uttered
these words of St Jerome — " 0 holy simplicity !" * A
priest having drawn nigh, and demanded if he desired to
* Luther here confounds two events. The touching expression which
he mentions is erroneously attributed to John Huss ; it fell from the
lips of Jerome of Prague. — ( Vide " The Reformers before the Reformation."
Vol. II., Book III., Chap. XII.

PRELIMINARY NOTICE. 11
confess, Huss replied, that he was ready to do so ; and
the priest having insisted on the necessity of abjuring,
John Huss refused, saying that he did not consider him
self guilty of any mortal sin.
The man who, in the agony of death, invoked, with so
firm a heart, Jesus the Son of God — who, for such a
cause, delivered up bis body to the flames with so strong
a faith, and so stedfast a constancy — if such a man, I
repeat, deserves not to be considered a generous and in
trepid martyr, and true follower of Christ, it will be diffi
cult for any one to be saved. Jesus Christ himself has
declared : — " He who confesses me before men, him will
I also confess before my Father." What more shall I
say 1 The Roman pontiff raises many men to the rank
of saints, of whom it would be difficult to predicate if
they are- with the elect or with the devils; and he pre
cipitates into hell a man like this, when it results, from
the examination of his whole life, that his place is in
heaven. *
I have again specified these matters, in order that
they may serve as a salutary warning to such of our
theologians as may repair to the approaching council ;
for should they resemble the men who assembled at
the Council of Constance, the same thing will happen to
them as to their predecessors — the acts which they will
* Luther adds : — " Sunt igitur in numero sanctorum tuorum diaboli,
et tu vicissim in ipsorum, mi pontifex Romane."

12 PRELIMINARY NOTICE.
be anxious to conceal and bury in oblivion shall be
dragged forth to the open day, aud published every
where. The doctors of Constance were convinced that
no person would ever presume to accuse them, either by
word or writing, and much less in the teeth of the cruel-
est menaces, to honour John Huss as a saint, and con
demn them for their conduct. Events have, on the
contrary, either by me or by others, verified the predic
tions of John Huss. Our theologians, strong in their
authority, anticipate no peril. I admit their power to
be equal to what they possessed in John Huss's time ;
but it is not less certain, that he who then stood at their
tribunal now sits in a place where his judges must give
way before him.

LETTERS OF JOHN HUSS.

ATTESTATION OF PETER MALDONIEWITZ, CALLED THE
NOTARY.
These pages are all faithfully copied from the Letters
of John Huss, written with his own hand, and they cor
respond, word for word, with the originals.*

FIRST SERIES.
LETTERS WRITTEN AT THE PERIOD OF THE INTERDIC
TION OF JOHN HUSS, AND OF HIS EXILE FROM
PRAGUE IN 1411 ;  SOME OF THEM MAY HAVE
BEEN WRITTEN IN 1410.
The letters of this series contain the greater part of
the admirable exhortations addressed by John Huss to
* This attestation of the faithful Maldoniewitz is found after John
Huss's letters, in the old collection of his works. — Johann. Hus. Hist.
et Monum. vol. i., p. 95.

14 LETTER I.
the believers of his church. They are not distinguished
either for the great diversity of incidents, or the dra
matic interest of those in the second series, but they
clearly evidence the great intrepidity, Christian piety,
love for his brethren, and true greatness, that pervaded
the mind of Huss. The writer already felt a presenti
ment of his martyrdom ; and it is easy to perceive in
reading them, that he would not give way when his time
was come.*

LETTER I.
TO THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS, t
[In this letter, John Huss complains of having been falsely de
nounced, and humbly demands to be dispensed from being
obliged to appear in person. For the same purpose, John
Huss makes an appeal to John XXIII. , J which has been in-
* For historical details relative to this period of the life of John
Huss, see The Reformers before ihe Reformation, vol. i., book i.
t Of all the letters that have been saved of John Huss, this is tho
only one addressed to his ecclesiastical superiors, the dignitaries of the
Church. It is valuable, inasmuch that it shews the respect with which
he addressed them, his ardent desire to convince them of the purity of
his doctrines, and the fear which he felt of a rupture, without any
mixture of weakness.
X It is in the text, Scripsit ejus totam; but this pretended letter is
the act of appeal drawn up at Prague before a notary, June 23. lilO^
— (Hist, et Monum. Johan. Hus. vol. i., p. 112-116.)

TO THE COLLEGE OP CARDINALS. 15
serted in his history, accompanied by the testimony of the
Academy of Prague.]
I write with the humble submission and respect that
is due to your commands, Reverend Fathers in Christ ;
you who are clothed with an apostolical character, who
shine as great lights to enlighten the nation, and who
are elevated to power in order to efface the sins of the
world, to snatch souls from the snares of Satan, and to
succour those who suffer in Christ's name.* I would
humbly have recourse to your fatherly counsels, incapable
as I am of supporting the burden which weighs me down.
The evils that overwhelm me date from the time that a
portion of the Church withdrew their obedience from
Gregory XII. I then recommended with success, in my
sermons before the Barons, Princes, Clergy, and People,
their adhesion to the College of Cardinals, for the union
of my holy mother- Church. It comes to pass that the
Reverend Father in Christ, Sbynko, Archbishop of
Prague, an adversary of the Sacred College, caused a
pastoral letter to be affixed to the doors of the churches,
prohibiting all the masters of the University of Prague,
and in particular myself, from exercising any functions
of the sacred ministry, under the pretext that the mas
ters of the University of Prague, who had adhered to the
* John Huss attached to the acts of good priests the efficacy which
the Roman Church attributes indefinitely to those of all priests. —
See The Reformers before ihe Reformation, vol. i., book i.

16 LETTER I.
Sacred College, had withdrawn their allegiance from our
Holy Father Gregory XII. and the Holy See. But facts
must be judged by their results, and it occurred that the
Archbishop was constrained, by the decrees of the Coun
cil of Pisa, to approve of the conduct of the masters. —
Such was the first origin of the accusation laid against
me, and of all my troubles.
The Sacred College of Cardinals having promised many
favours to their adherents, I have kept in remembrance
these promises, and have placed trust in them, as one
should do in the promises of those who are the pillars of
the Church. I therefore implore your Reverences, and
on my knees I conjure you, to cast a regard of kindness
on my misfortune, that I may be dispensed from appear
ing in person,* and from other most painful obligations
resulting from it. I am innocent of the things of which
my adversaries accuse me ; and of this I call to witness
our Lord Jesus Christ. I am willing to appear in the
presence of the University of Prague, of all the prelates,
and of all the people who came to hear me, and before
them to give, by word and by writing, a full and absolute
account of the faith that I guard in my heart, and to
confess it, even at the peril of being burned to death, f
Your Reverences may be assured of this confession by
public documents as well as by the testimony of the Uni
versity of Prague.
* Before the pope. f " Etiam igne ad audientiam posito."

TO ZAWYSSIT/S, HIS CALUMNIATOR. 17

LETTER II.
TO ZAWYSSIUS, HIS CALUMNIATOR.
Grace to you and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ.
It has come to my ears that you have accused me of
heresy. If this be true, send me word, and you shall
know then, by the grace of God, what is the faith which
I confess, which I defend, which I do not dissemble in
the shade, but which I profess as becomes a true Chris
tian. And, would to God that your eyes might be opened
as to the manner in which, for nearly thirty years, you
have shorn your flock in Praschatitz. Where do you
dwell \ How do you labour 1 How do you feed your
flock ? You have forgotten these words of the Lord : —
" Wo unto the shepherds, who only care for themselves,
and do not feed their sheep ! " Tell me, I pray you, are
you penetrated with that part of the gospel of Christ,
which says — " The good shepherd goeth before his sheep,
and his sheep follow him ; for they know his voice." The
time will come when you must render an account of your
sheep and of your numerous benefices, concerning which
it is said in your own ordinances, that he who can live
upon one, cannot retain another without committing a
mortal sin,

18 LETTER II.
Meditate, then, on these things, and accuse not your
neighbour of heresy. If you know him to be a heretic,
you ought to warn him, according to the Apostle's pre
cept, a first and a second time ; if he refuse to listen to
you, avoid him ; and even should you be chosen to con
demn him, still you must demonstrate by the Scriptures,
that you condemn him justly, and deliver over his books
to the flames.
I write you these few lines, to warn you fraternally,
according to the precept of Christ, which tells us : — " If
thy brother has just sinned, warn him in secret." "Re
ceive, then, my words, my brother, and declare, if you have
thus spoken of me. Prove that I am a heretic, and I
will, with humility, correct myself, and you shall receive
a reward for having rescued a man from error. Never
theless, I hope by the grace of Almighty God, that my
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is as great as yours, and
that I am not less prepared to die for it with humility.

TO MR MARTIN AND TO MR NICOLAS. 19

LETTER III.
TO MASTER MARTIN AND TO MASTER NICOLAS OF
MYLIEZYN.
[He consults them on the subject of the interdiction pronounced
against him from the pulpit.*]
May peace be with you, that peace that is not given
with the world, with the flesh, and the devil. The Lord
has said :— " You shall have tribulations in the world ;
but if you persevere in well doing, who can do you harm *? "
I burn with an ardent zeal for the gospel ; and my soul
is sad, for I know not what to resolve on. I have medi
tated on these evangelic words of our Saviour (John,
chap, x.) : — " The good shepherd giveth his life for the
sheep. But he that is an hireling and not the shepherd,
whose own the sheep are not,, seeth the wolf coming, and
leaveth the sheep and fleeth : and the wolf catcheth them
and scattereth the sheep."
I have also meditated on these words from St Mat
thew, (chap, x.) : — " But when they persecute you in
one city, flee ye into another." Of these two precepts,
so different to each other, which ought I to follow ? I
know not.
* He also asks his friends whether he ought to quit his church ; and
it is probable that he wrote this letter before leaving Prague.

20 LETTER III,
I have meditated on the letter of St Augustin, to afl
illustrious bishop, who consulted him in a like case.
Augustin thus terminates his answer : — " He who takes
to flight, and does riot deprive, in so doing, his church of
the evangelical ministry, does what the Lord has com
manded him ; but he who, in his flight, takes away spi
ritual food from the flock of Jesus Christ, is an hireling,
who, when he sees the wolf approaching, fleeth, because
he careth not for his sheep. It is because thou hast con
sulted me, well-beloved brother, that I write thee these
things, which appear to me to be according to both truth
and charity ; but I invite thee not to follow my counsel,
if thou findest a better. What can be more advisable,
in such an extremity, than to offer up prayers to God
to have pity on us, after the example of some holy men,
who have obtained by their prayer, not to abandon the
Church of God, and who have persevered in their good
resolutions, even in the very teeth of their enemies 1 "
Such is the opinion of St Augustin.
Inform me, then, if you acquiesce in these words ; for
although the necessary aliment of God's Word is not
wanting to my flock, my conscience reproaches me with
my absence, as a scandalous act.
I fear, on the other hand, that my presence during
the term of my interdiction might be the means of tear
ing this food away from my flock, and of depriving them
of the Holy Communion and other advantages, which con-

TO THE RECTOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PRAGUE. 21
cern Salvation. Therefore, let us pray humbly to Al
mighty God, that he may deign to reveal to us what I
ought to do in the present circumstance, in order that
I may dwell in the right way. The advice that the
blessed St Augustin expresses in his letter, is wise : he
establishes in fact, that in circumstances where we may
be anxious for ourselves alone, flight is permitted, and he
cites on the point the example of St Athanasius ; but
should the whole flock be exposed, we must resign our
selves to our lot, in order to do what may prove most
useful to the Church.

LETTER IV.
TO THE RECTOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PRAGUE.
Venerable Rector, I have received great consolation
from your letter, in which you declare, amongst other
things, that " the just man shall not be afflicted, what
ever may befall him;" from which you infer, that tempo
ral tribulations, and my separation from my friends, ought
not to discourage me, neither sadden nor cast me down,
but, on the contrary, should fortify and make me glad. I
accept with gratitude this consolation. I cling to the

22 LETTER IT.
words of Scripture, and say, If lam just, no trouble, what
ever it may be, could sadden me, so as to turn me from
the path of truth. If I live, and wish to live holy, in Chris
it is necessary that I suffer persecution in the name of
Christ ; for as it was necessary that Christ should suffer in
order to enter into glory, we also should bear our crosses,
miserable beings as we are, and should imitate him in his
passion. I protest, then, venerable Rector, that I have never
felt myself overwhelmed by persecution ; that I am only
borne down by my sins, and by the errors ofthe Christian
people. What, indeed, are the riches of the world to me!
What affliction can their loss cause me % What is it to
me to lose the favour of the world, which makes us swervo
from the path of Christ ? What signifies infamy, which
when supported with humility, proves, purifies, and illu
minates the childrea of God in such a manner, that they
shine and radiate, like the bright sun, in their Father's
kingdom 1 And, lastly, what is death, if this miserable
life be torn from me ? He who loses it in this world tri
umphs even over death, and finds true life in the next.
But men, blinded by luxury, vainglory, and ambition,
understand not these things. Others are turned away
from the truth by fear, and languish on in a strange per
plexity, deprived of charity, patience, and of every other
virtue. On the one hand, they are urged on by knowledge
of the truth ; and, on the other, by the fear of losing their

TO THE RECTOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PRAGUE. 23
reputation, or of exposing their wretched bodies to death.
For my own part, I will expose mine to it (I trust with
the assistance of our Lord Jesus Christ), if his mercy
comes to my assistance ; for I do not desire to live in this
corrupted age, unless I can lead to repentance myself and
others, according to the will of God. This is what I ar
dently desire for you ; and I exhort you, as well as all
those united to you, to hold yourselves ready for the com
bat ; for behold already appear the preludes to the be
ginnings of Antichrist : the combat is near, and the poor
bird* must flap his wings against the wings of Behemoth,
and against this tail of Antichrist, that always engenders
abominations. The prophet has shewn it to us when he declares, that
he who teaches falsehood is the tail of Antichrist, and
a grave old man is the head. The Lord will confound
both one and the other ; he will confound the pope and
his preachers, his officers and his doctors, who, under a
false name of holiness, conceive abominations. What
greater abomination is there than that of the prostitute,
who abandons herself publicly to every comer ? Never
theless, the abomination is greater still of him who, sit
ting in high places, offers himself, as if he were God, to the
adoration of all ;t traffics in spiritual things, and sells all
* John Huss alludes to his name, which, in the Bohemian, signifies
goose. f " Adhuc major est abominatio bestiae, qua? parata est a quocumqua
veniente adorari."

24 LETTER V.
that he possesses not. Woe, then, unto me if I preach not
against such an abomination ! "Woe unto me if I weep not,
if I write not against it ! Can you find one man for whom
such things are not a calamity ? Already the great eagle
takes its flight and cries to us : " Woe ! woe to the in
habitants of the earth !"

LETTER V.

TO JOHN BARBAT.

[Huss consoles him, and justifies himself by exposing why he
preferred obeying God, who had eommanded him to preach,
to the pope, the archbishop, and all those who had prohibited
him from so doing.]
I salute you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ !
I have learned, my beloved friends,* your grievous
affliction. Look upon it as for your good ; for it is to
bring to light your firmness and your constancy, that you
have fallen into various temptations.
I also, my very dear friends, have been tempted ; and
* Although this letter was more particularly addressed to John
Barbat, Huss intended it to be read to several others.

TO JOHN BARBAT. 25
I rejoice at last that I am called a heretic for the gos
pel's sake, and excommunicated like_ a rebellious and
wicked man. To fortify in me the sweet calm of my
soul, I have called to mind the life and words of Christ
and the Apostles (Acts, iv.). I remembered in what
manner Annas, the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John,
and Alexander, and all the kindred of the high priest,
when they addressed the Apostles, prohibited them from
speaking and teaching in the name of Jesus. " But
Peter and John answered and said unto them,, Whether
it be right in the sight of God, to hearken unto you more
than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the
things which we have seen and heard.'" And when the
same priests prohibited them a second time from preach
ing, they replied (Acts, v.), " We ought to obey God
rather than man."
It is true that the pagans, the Jews, and the heretics,
all regulate their conduct on this precept* of the obedience
that is due unto God. Alas ! this maxim blinds those
who are not Christians, but not the Apostles, nor the
true disciples of Christ.
St Jerome says : — " If the master or bishop pre
scribes what is not contrary to the faith or the Scrip
tures, the servant should obey. But if he commands
what is contrary to these, we must rather obey the Master
of the soul, than the master of the body." And in an
other place he adds : — " If the emperor orders you, to
B

26 LETTER V.
do that which is good, execute the will of the emperor;
should he require you to do ill, answer, ' It is better to
obey God than men.' "
St Augustin also says, in his Sermon on the Words of
the Lord : — " If my earthly presence commands that
which you ought not to do, despise this power, and fear
a higher one. Consider the different degrees of human
power. Do you obey the under officer, if the proconsul
orders you the contrary ? And if the proconsul orders
you to do one thing, and the emperor another, would
you attempt to disobey the latter for the former ? If
the emperor commands you to do that which is prohibit
ed by God, despise the emperor and obey God. We
ought, then, to resist the power of the devil or of men,
when they suggest any thing against God ; and in doing
so, we resist not, but obey even God's commands." Such
are the sentiments of St Augustin.
Gregory also says, in his last Treatise on Morality : —
" Know, therefore, that evil should never be done from
mere obedience." St Bernard writes in one of his let
ters : — " To do evil after the orders of any one, is not
to obey, but to disobey." And St Isidore maintains,
that if he who is in authority does and orders a thing
which is not according to the Lord, or violates the writ
ten law, and orders it to be overstepped, to him ought to
be applied these words of St Paul : " If an angel should
descend from heaven, and preach to you a gospel differ-

TO JOHN BARB AT. 27
ent from that which we preach, let him be accursed!"
He also declares, that whoever forbids you to do what is
commanded by the Lord, ought to be held in execration
by all who love the Lord — he ought to be regarded as a
false witness and a sacrilegious person.
It would appear from these words, that these names
are applicable to those who interdict the preaching of
the Divine Word, and that such persons are excommuni
cated according to the words of the Prophet, " Cursed
be those who resist thy commandments ! " Jerome ex
presses the same feeling as is experienced by myself,
when he thus writes to Rusticus, Bishop of Narbonne : —
" Let no bishop abandon himself to envy and anger,
through an infernal jealousy, because the priests exhort
the people, preach in the churches, and bless the multi
tude." I declare, then, to those who prohibit me to do
these things, that he who interdicts priests from doing
that which God commands, professes himself to be su
perior to Jesus Christ.
Bede, in speaking of our Saviour, repeats this pas
sage : — " Go ye into the village that is over against you,
and immediately you shall find an ass tied, and a colt
with him : loose them, and bring them to me : and if any
man say any thing to you, say ye, The Lord hath need of
them; and straightway he will let them go." Jesus
Christ, says Bede, teaches mystically the doctors, by these

28 LETTER V.
words, that if they meet with any obstacle, if any one
prevents them from freeing sinners from the bonds of the
devil, from drawing them to God in confessing the faith,
they ought not, for this reason, to renounce preaching
his word, but should, on the contrary, continue to insinu
ate it into their souls ; for the Lord has need of such
labourers to edify his Church. Who could, in fact, quote
all that the saints have written, when teaching us, that
it is better to obey God than man "*
__ Our oppressors^£pjoje_j^j^_^eje_words : — " All,
therefore, whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe
and do," (Matth. xxiii.); but they are reduced to silence
by the prohibition which follows : — " But do not ye after
their works." God says, (Deut. xxiv.) — " Do accord
ing to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you :
as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do." The
Lord desires, therefore, that he who obeys, should only
do so after his own commandments. It is also said,
(1 Pet. ii.) — " Servants be subject to your masters with
all fear." And the Apostle further adds : — " Not only
to the good and gentle, but also to the froward." Not,
however, in things in which they are wickedly inclined ;
for that would be to obey the devil. The will of God
and the Holy Scriptures, therefore, teach us, that obe
dience to superiors is obligatory only in lawful matters. I
have clung firmly to this truth, and have preferred in my

TO THE BELIEVERS IN PRAGUE. 29
sermons, to inculcate obedience to God, rather than to
the pope and the archbishop, or any others that may op
pose this saying of Christ.
I put my name to these words, in order to teach you
how to confront the emissaries of the devil.*

LETTER VI.
TO THE BELIEVERS IN PRAGUE.
[He felicitates them on the constancy with which they listen to
the word of God.]
John Huss, a servant of Jesus Christ in hope, to all
those who love God, who confess his law, in expectation
of the Saviour, with whom they desire to live for all
eternity !
Grace be with you, and the peace of the Lord Jesus
Christ, who offered himself as a victim for our sins, to de
liver us from this world of affliction, and from eternal
damnation, according to the will of God the Father, to
whom be glory for ever and ever !
Dearly beloved, — Having learned your zeal and your
* " Ut sciatis canibus diaboli obviare."

30 LETTER VI.
progress in the word of God, I render thanks unto the
Lord, that he has deigned to enlighten you to such a point
that, perceiving the frauds of antichrist and his ministers,
you may not allow yourselves to be turned away from the
truth. I feel a lively confidence that his mercy will crown the
work of regeneration commenced in you, and that he will
not permit you to turn aside from the truth, whence many
diverge through fear of danger, apprehending man, a weak
sinner as he is, more than the all-powerful God, who has
power both to kill and bring to life ; to destroy and to
save ; to preserve his faithful believers in the midst of
grave and numerous perils ; and to give them in exchange
for a brief space of suffering an eternal life of inexpres
sible happiness. Wherefore, beloved, do not let yourselves
be borne down by terror ; and do not be frightened if the
Lord should tempt some of you, by allowing the ministers
of antichrist to _exercisejtheir tyranny over you. God
himself has said to his servant, (Prov. iii.), " Be not
afraid of sudden fear, nor of the power of the wicked fall
ing upon thee ; for the Lord will be at thy side, and will
keep thy foot, that thou be not taken." And he has also
said, by the mouth of his prophet David, " I am with him
in his day of trial : I will deliver him."
Knowing that, dearly beloved, consider, with St James,
that it is fortunate for you to fall into various tempta
tions ; because the trial of your faith worketh in you pa-

TO THE BELIEVERS IN PRAGUE. 31
tience, and that contributes to render you perfect and
entire, failing in nothing.
St James also says, — " Blessed is the man that en-
dureth temptation ; for when he hath been proved, he
shall receive the crown of life, which God hath promised
to them that love him." Remain steadfast, therefore, in
the truth, and act in every thing like true children of
God. Have full confidence ; for Christ has overcome, and
you will overcome also. Remember always Him who suf
fered so much at the hands of sinners ; relax not in your
good resolution; but, laying down together the whole
burden of your sins, rush to the combat with your eyes
fixed steadfastly on Jesus, who established our faith, and
who, for a glorious object, despising shame, suffered the
ignominy of the cross, and is now seated on the right hand
of God. The Creator, the King, the Sovereign Master of the
world, without being forced to it by his Divine nature.
humbled himself, notwithstanding his perfection, to our
nature. He came to the assistance of us, wretched sin
ners, and supported hunger, and thirst, and cold, and heat,
and fatigue, and want of sleep ; he suffered, whilst in
structing us, sorrow, and grave affronts from the priests and
scribes, to such a point that they called him a blasphemer,
and declared him to be possessed of a devil, averring that
he was not God, whom they excommunicated as a heretic,

32 LETTER VI.
whom they drove out of their city, and crucified like one
accursed. If, then, Christ supported such things from the priests
— he who healed all kinds of diseases, without any earthly
recompense, by his word alone ; who cast out devils, raised
the dead, and taught the word of God ; who never did
injury to any one ; who committed no sin, and who en
dured every thing from his enemies, because he discover
ed their wickedness ; — if he supported such things, why
should we be astonished that the ministers of antichrist,
who are more avaricious, more debauched, more cruel,
and more cunning than the Pharisees, now persecute the
servants of God, overwhelm them with insult, excommu
nicate, imprison, and kill them 1
Remember what our Lord and our King said : — " If
the world hate you, know that it hated me before you.
If you were of the world, the world would love you as
being of it ; but because you are not of the world, and be
cause I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates
you. Remember what I say unto you ; the servant is not
greater than his master : if they have persecuted me, they
will persecute you also ; they will do all these things to
you on account of my name, because they have not known
Him who sent me."
Remember also the prophecy of our Divine Saviour,
which declares that his elect will suffer persecution from

TO THE BELIEVERS IN PRAGUE. 33
the world, that is, from the wicked, who know neither God
the Father, nor our Lord Jesus ; for although they con
fess with their lips that they know God, yet they deny
him by their reprobate actions. It is of them that St
Paul spoke to Titus, when he declared that their works
are avarice, simony, debauchery, and contempt of the
word- of God, placing human traditions above the word of
God, and performing no work of humility, charity, tem
perance, and Christian love.
Therefore is it, that the wicked will not cease to per
secute the saints as long as the war lasts between Christ
and antichrist ; for St Paul has told us, that all who de
sire to live purely in Christ shall suffer persecution, but
the wicked shall advance in the path of perdition, always
deceived, and deceiving others.
St Paul teaches us by these words, that all pious men
will suffer persecution for Christ's sake ; the wicked will be
seduced, and will seduce others, and their heart will swell
with malice for their own destruction. It is of them that
our Saviour has spoken in these words :— " Behold, I send
you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves ; be ye there
fore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But be
ware of men ; for they will deliver you up to the councils,
and they will scourge you in their synagogues. And ye
shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake,
for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. They
shall scourge you ; the brother shall deliver up the brother
b 2

34 LETTER VI.
to death, and the father the child ; and the children
rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put
to death ; and ye shall be hated of all men for my name's
sake, but he that endureth to the end shall be saved."
This persecution shall last till the day of judgment.
The Lord spoke in this way to his disciples, in order
that they might, if possible, escape from such evils. He
elevated their understanding, that they might be prudent,
and might be able to recognise, by their works, the de
vouring wolves whose voracity would swallow up the
whole world.
He also shewed them by what signs they might know
false prophets, the latter not agreeing with the true
prophets, either in the explanation of the Holy Scrip
tures, or in their works. There are false Christs, calling
themselves the chief disciples of Christ, and yet who
prove themselves, by their works, to be his greatest ad
versaries. These will seek, by every means, to smother
and suppress the Word of God ; for it condemns their in
solence, pride, avarice, simony, and other evil works.
They have made an irruption into the churches and
places of worship, to prevent the Word of God being
preached there ; but Jesus Christ has not permitted
them to bring their criminal undertaking to a prosperous
end. I understand that they intend destroying the
chapel of Bethlehem, and that they interdict sermons in
the other places where the Word of God is taught. But

TO THE BELIEVERS IN PRAGUE. 35
I feel a firm confidence that God will not permit them to
succeed. They wanted to entwine the simple bird * in
the snare of citations and anathemas ; and they have al
ready set their ambush even for some of you. But if
that bird, which is a mere domestic fowl, whose flight is
circumscribed, and far from lofty, has broken through
their nets, how much more will other birds, that soar
aloft as they announce the Word of God, despise such
ineffectual wiles. They have thrown their nets, and
displayed their anathemas, like the image of a bird of
prey, to cast terror all around ; they have flung about
their fiery darts from the quiver of antichrist, in order
to prohibit the Word of God and His worship ; but the
more they strove to disguise their real nature, the more
they rendered it visible ; and in seeking to stretch forth
their traditions like nets, they broke them to pieces ;
in their anxiety to gain the peace of the world, they de
stroyed not only it, but, at the same time, the spiritual
peace; and in their attempts to injure others, they
wounded themselves most.
What happened to the priests of the Jews has be
fallen them ; for they have lost that which they were en
deavouring to retain, and have fallen into what they were
striving to avoid. They hoped to succeed in stifling and
putting down the truth, which always conquers ; and they
* Huss alludes here to his own name, which, in Bohemia, signifies
" goose."

36 LETTER VI.
were ignorant that its very essence and characteristic
consisted in this, that the more attempts were made to
dim its lustre, the more it shone brightly forth — the
greater the endeavour to suppress it, the more it soared
aloft. Pontiffs and priests, the scribes and Pharisees, Herod
and Pilate, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, formerly
condemned the Truth ; they crucified it and buried it ;
but it rose from the tomb and conquered them all, send
ing forth in its stead twelve preachers of the Word.
This same Truth, instead of acting feebly and ineffi
ciently, has sent to Prague mighty eagles, surpassing all
other birds, by their piercing sight, and which, by the
grace of God, fly aloft in the air, and win over others to
Jesus Christ, who will strengthen all those who are faith
ful to Him. He has said — " I will be always with you,
even unto the end of the world." If, then, God, the
most powerful and just of defenders, is with us, what evil
work can prevail against us *? What fear, what death,
can separate us from Him 1 In what shall we be the
worse, if, for His sake, we were to lose our friends, the
honours of the world, or even our miserable life itself 1
We shall, at last, be delivered from our load of misery ;
we shall receive a hundredfold riches infinitely more
precious, friends more dear, delight more perfect, of
which death cannot despoil us ; for he who dies for Christ
will surely partake the triumph : he is freed from all

TO THE BELIEVERS IN PRAGUE. 37
misery of every kind, and enjoys eternal bliss, to which
our Lord Jesus Christ deigns to conduct us all !
Beloved brethren, and sisters no less dear to me, I
write you this letter, that you may remain fervent in the
truth, which you have acknowledged, and that you may
not pay less attention than before to the Word of God,
on account of the cruel threats of his enemies ; for God
is faithful to you, and will both strengthen you and keep
you from evil.
In fine, I beseech you, dearly beloved, to pray for
those who, with the grace of God, announce the truth ;
pray for me also, that I may write and preach still more
against the malice of hell, and that God may accord me
in this combat that support which is so necessary in
order properly to defend his Word. You know that I
do not hesitate to expose this miserable body to the
peril of death for God's truth, being well aware that
nothing will be wanting to us in his Word, and that his
Gospel must be propagated more and more every day.
Moreover, I desire to live for those who suffer violence,
and who have need of the preaching of the Word, in
order that the malice of antichrist may be laid open,
and the good not be made its victims. I preach, there
fore, in other places, and I officiate for those of whom I
speak, being convinced that God's will must be accom
plished in me, whether I suffer or die by antichrist.
But should I proceed to Prague, I am certain that snares

38 LETTER VII.
will be there laid for me, and that you will be persecuted
by my adversaries, who serve not God, but prevent others
from serving him. We pray to God for them, however,
that, if any of the elect should happen to be amongst
them, they may be converted to the truth. May God
accord you full understanding of these things which I
write you ; may he grant you perseverance ; and may
your heart be worthy of all these blessings, through the
merits of Jesus Christ, who suffered for us the most cruel
and ignominious death, leaving us his example, that we
may suffer the same, according to his holy will. Amen.

LETTER VII.

TO THE SAME.

[The same subject.]

The grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with
all the believers in Prague who sincerely love his holy
Gospel !
I, John Huss, the servant of God, do supplicate and
conjure you, well-beloved, not to abandon the truth which
God, in his mercy, has imparted to you. That power

TO THE SAME. 39
which has begun to operate in us, whom he has chosen
out, will continue, I feel convinced, still to do so, and
will give us, in our temptations, perseverance and
strength. I myself only live by his mercy and grace.
I can declare, with St Paul, " For me to live is
Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh,
this is the fruit of my labour : yet what I shall choose I
wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a
desire to depart and to be with Christ ; which is far bet
ter : nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful
for you. And having this confidence, I know I shall
abide and continue with you all, for your furtherance and
joy of faith." So did St Paul write from his prison in
Rome to the Philippians.
I also say unto you, dearly beloved, that although I
am not in prison, I would willingly die for Christ, and be
with him ; and I say also that I should be well pleased to
preach to you again the Word of God, for your salvation.
I do not know which of these would be for the best ; for
I have full confidence for myself in the mercy of God,
and also fear that some evil may arise amongst you,
which may occasion persecutions against the true be
lievers, and be the cause of eternal perdition to those
who believe not. These rejoice and desire most ardently
not only to smother in me the Word of God, but also to
shut the asylum of Bethlehem, where I have preached
the Gospel of Christ to you ; but if God consent not,

40 LETTER VII.
their efforts will be vain ; and if he permit it, such a
misfortune will come to pass on account of the wicked,
as Bethlehem, where the Lord was born, and Jerusalem,
where he redeemed us, were seen to be overwhelmed to
the lowest foundation.
As to us, let us render thanks to God, submitting
constantly to his divine power, which always assists those
who love Him, and sets those free who suffer for His sake,
allotting their persecutors to eternal torments. I he-
seech you, therefore, brethren, not to let yourselves be
cast down, but rather to pray to our Saviour Jesus
Christ to give you constancy to persevere in the faith to
the end ; and be persuaded that he will accord you the
free and unmolested preaching of his Word, and that he
will augment your strength in order to defend you from
the fury of that antichrist, against which he has pro
phesied in his holy Scriptures.

TO THE CHURCH OF PRAGUE, A. \

LETTER VIII.
TO THE -CHURCH OF PRAGUE.
Master John Huss, servant of God, to all who in
Prague are the elect of God, and who love our Lord Jesus
Christ and his Word, wishes mercy and peace from God
the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dearly beloved, I congratulate you on your listening
assiduously to the Word of God ; and our merciful
Saviour will assuredly send you firm and faithful guides.
May God, through our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ,
grant you mercy, peace, and grace, for all good things,
in order that what you have well commenced in him, you
may conclude in like manner, and may persevere in
doing so even unto the end. Acknowledge, therefore,
and draw on you the mercy of God, who sent his Son
into this world for our sakes ; who allowed his Son to
become man, and to be humiliated, despised, and con
demned by all, to such a point that, when the people
were called in by the priests to choose between two pri
soners, they delivered, in preference to Jesus Christ our
Saviour, a robber and murderer, and laughed to scorn
our Lord, who said, by the mouth of Jeremiah, " Lend
an ear, and behold my anguish ;" and again, " See if
any pain is comparable to mine."

42 LETTER VIII.
He cried out to his Father, " My God, Why hast thou
forsaken me V Such were his plaintive words whilst suf
fering on the cross an ignominious death, and exposed to
the blasphemies of the priests, who insulted him at the
foot of the cross, exclaiming, " He put his confidence in
God ; let God deliver him if he can ! Thou who couldest
destroy the temple, now come down from thy cross !" His
cry was, " My God, Why hast thou forsaken me ?" And
why did he utter that exclamation % In order that we
may recognise and admire his immense mercy ; and that,
supporting with him the outrages of the wicked, we may
look for our refuge in Him alone : in order, in fine, that
we may publicly shew our gratitude for his Divine com
passion, which has redeemed us from everlasting damna
tion. Such has been towards us the mercy of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who recommended his disciples to say, into what
ever house they entered, "Peace be with you!" And
when he raised up the dead, he said to them also, "Peace
be with you !" And before his death, when conversing
with his disciples, " I leave you my peace !" Wherefore,
dearly beloved, I implore him to accord you that same
peace. May peace be with you from the Lord, that you
may live honestly and soberly — in calm, in justice, and
in piety ; and that you may conquer your enemies and
those of God — the devil, the world, and the flesh. Peace
be with you from the Lord, that you may love each other,

TO THE HEARERS OF THE WORD OF GOD AT PRAGUE. 43
and your enemies also. Peace be with you, that you may
listen to his Word with attention and humility. Peace
be with you, that you may speak wisely and well, and that
you may escape from your enemies. Peace be with you,
that you may learn how to be silent with advantage ; for
whoever listens with humility never disputes evil-mindedly
with any one ; he who speaks prudently triumphs over
the fool ; and he who is silent in proper season, rarely
acts against his conscience.
On account of all these things, may peace, grace, and
mercy be with you ! peace, that you may have a tranquil
conscience ; grace, that your sins may be forgiven you ;
and mercy, that you may be delivered from unquenchable
fire ! May, then, peace be with you all, after this miser
able life, in the bosom of eternal felicity, from God, the
Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

LETTER IX.
TO THE HEARERS OF THE WORD OF GOD AT PRAGUE.
[He fortifies them, and inspirits himself against the anathemas
ofthe pope.]
I, Master John Huss, &c. &c, call on you, dearly
beloved, not to allow yourselves to be disturbed on ac-

44

LETTER IX.

count of my absence, or on account of the maledictions
with which the enemies of' God overwhelm me. I have
faith in my Saviour, and I feel confident that all things
will happen, both to you and to me, for our good. Only
beware of sin, and pity the fate of those who, believing
that they are acting well, oppose God and his holy Word :
like the Jews of old, who crucified Jesus Christ and
stoned Stephen, and of whom both Christ and Stephen
said, " They know not what they do." They cannot
hurt me, whether they prepare my cross with blasphemy ;
or overwhelm me, like another Judas, with abuse which
they shout out in public ; or, in fine, fling stones against
the gate of the temple, and overthrow it. In doing
such things, it is against themselves that they labour ; and
it is they who ought to tremble.
They have imagined certain practices of worship in
conformity with human ordinances, in order to subject
to their will men of simple niirfds, and induce such to
follow them ; but God will bestow on his believers the
knowledge necessary to discern such practices, and to
recognise in them mere human traditions, by means of
which their inventions lead astray weak minds, separat
ing them from the law of God, and crushing them to the
earth, by terrifying them with the thunders of anathemas,
God enjoins to pray for such men as we believe to be
in error, and to declare them condemned of God ; but he
has not ordered such snares to be laid in his temple

TO THE HEARERS OF THE WORD OF GOD AT PRAGUE. 45
against innocent men. Perhaps, to judge by their letters,
they act in memory of the eternal damnation of Dathan
and Abiram, who, unworthy as they were, had presumed
to pretend to the priesthood.
They designate, by these letters, all the priests who
improperly usurp the sacerdotal functions through love
of riches, pleasure, dignities, or other gratifications of
the flesh. They pour out anathemas, and vociferate
like senseless disciples of Judas, as simonists and repro
bates really are. Let us pray to God, dearly beloved,
that he may deign to continue to us his blessings : no
anathema will then be able to reach us, but the Sovereign
Pontiff, Jesus Christ, will bless us, saying, " Come ye,
blessed of my father, receive the kingdom which was pre
pared for you from the beginning of the world."
Let us eagerly long for this blessing, dearly beloved ;
let us seek for it and await its coming, living piously in
this world, in order to enjoy eternal life in the regions of
heaven, by the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord, blessed
for ever and ever.

46 LETTER X.

LETTER X.

[Huss, whilst reminding believers of all the benefits with which
the Lord has loaded us in his first coming, elevates their souls
to the expectation and hope of the second coming and final
judgment.] John Huss, servant of God, to all believers, peace
and mercy from God the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Strengthen your hearts, dearly beloved, for the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is nigh. You know
that Christ has come once already ; ponder on it there
fore, and fortify your hearts by grace, and by the trial
of affliction. Reflect, dearly beloved, that the Son of
God, himself God Eternal, became man, and humbled
himself in order to help us. The immortal Physician came
to heal our incurable sores : the all-powerful Lord came,
not to trouble the dead, but to vivify the living, and re
deem his elect from eternal death.
The King of the world, the Supreme Pontiff, came to
accomplish, by his works, the law of God. He came into
the world, not to rule over the world, but to give his life
for the redemption of a great number. He came, not like
a usurer, to swallow up the riches of the world, but to
redeem, by his blood, those whom sin had sold to the devil.
He came, omnipotent as he is, to suffer a bloody and ig-

TO THE SAME. 47
nominious death from the Pharisees under Pontius Pilate,
in order to free us from the power of Satan. He came
not to destroy the elect, but to save them ; as he himself
has said, " I have come that they may have life ;" that
they may have life here by his grace, and still more
abundantly in eternity ; that everlasting life, reserved for
all the elect, which is unattainable to the proud, the lux
urious, the avaricious, the violent, the ambitious, the in
temperate, the effeminate — all, in fact, who are opposed
to his words ; but which shall be enjoyed by the elect
alone, who listen to his law, who accomplish it by their
works, and who suffer persecution.
Meditate, therefore, in your souls on these benefits
which our Lord Jesus Christ has heaped on us by his first
coming, and strengthen your hearts, dearly beloved, by
grace and affliction ; for the second coming of Jesus Christ
is near, and, with it, the sentence of the Great Judge, in
finitely wise, infinitely just, infinitely formidable, from
whom neither the great nor the learned of this world can
escape ; whom they can neither move by favour nor by
gifts ; and with whom will come the just, the preachers
of his Word, and all that have been unjustly persecuted
in the world.
Nigh, then, draws the judgment of that severe and re
doubtable Judge, whose regard the wicked will not ven
ture to encounter ; the judgment of Him at whose word
all iniquity will be laid open : at his command the bodies

48 LETTER XI.
of the evil-doers shall be delivered to the flames, and their
souls shall dwell for all eternity with the devils, after hav
ing heard from the mouth of God that just and terrible
sentence, " Depart to the everlasting fire prepared for
the devil and his angels."
Meditate, then, dearly beloved, on these two things 
the benefits of the Saviour at his first coming, and his
justice and judgment at his second advent — and fortify
your hearts by grace and the cross. And when you suf
fer, arouse yourselves ; lift up your heads (that is to say,
your minds), for your deliverance is nigh at hand, — your
deliverance from every misery, and from the eternal dam
nation which we shall be saved from at the voice of that
equitable Judge, who has said, " Come to me, blessed of
my Father, receive the heavenly kingdom that is prepared
for you." Amen.

LETTER XI.

TO THE SAME.

[John Huss justifies himself, by the example of Christ, for
having quitted Bethlehem.]
Dearly beloved, the birth-day ofthe Son of God is near
at hand; purify, therefore, your dwelling, and let it be clean
2

TO THE SAME. 49
of all sin ; listen attentively and piously, according to your
opportunity, to the Word of God, and pay no attention
to the evil-doers who forbid you to meet at Bethlehem.
They have endeavoured to lead you astray on account of
me, and now they no longer have that motive. As for
those who declare that I took to flight, I can reply, that
I acted of my own free will, in order to obey the Divine
Word, and follow the example of him who has said —
'' And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your
words, when ye depart out • of that house or city, shake
off the dust of your feet as a testimony against it. And
if you are persecuted in one city, flee to another." And
when the Jews sought to put him to death before his hour
was come, he often withdrew himself from their hands.
St John, in fact, has written — " Jesus therefore walked
no more openly among the Jews ; but went thence unto a
country near to the wilderness, unto a city called Ephraim,
and there continued with his disciples." But the Jews
sought for him, and often asked amongst themselves —
" Why comes he not on a feast day ?" For the priests
and Pharisees had ordered whoever should discover his
retreat, to inform them of it, in order that he might be
followed. It is not, therefore, surprising that, in com
pliance with such an example, I should have withdrawn,
and that the priests should ask where I am.
Learn then, dearly-beloved, that it is through the ex
ample and recommendation of Christ that I removed to a

50

LETTER XI.

distance from you, through fear of being to the wicked an
occasion of eternal condemnation, and to the good a cause
of sadness and mourning. I fled, in order that impious
priests might not prohibit the preaching of the word of
God, and that you might not be deprived, on my account,
of the Divine truth, for which, by the grace of God, I am
ready to die. Know also, dearly beloved, that it was ne
cessary that Christ should suffer within the period pre
scribed by his Father. Be assured, that whatever God
may have determined in relation to me, his will shall be
done ; and should he deem me worthy to die for his name,
he will summon me to martyrdom ; but if, on the con
trary, my life is to be prolonged for the preaching of his
word, in like manner that is also in his will.
Undoubtedly, some of your priests desire my return to
Prague, and would willingly see me there again, in order to
their chanting the offices and the mass being dispensed
with : it is they whom the holy preaching of the Gospel
offends, on account of their avarice, their pride, and their
adulteries. But you, who love God's word, and who make
every effort to unite yourselves to him, would be well
pleased to see me, and would gladly have me amongst
you in a spirit of charity, like one of your dear friends.
For my part, I long to behold you again, in order to be
able to announce to you God's word ; for the principal
care of the ministers of the Church ought to be to an
nounce, in all sincerity and with fruit, the gospel of Christ,

TO THE SAME. 51
in order that the people may be acquainted with the will
of God, may avoid many evils, and be led into the right
path for living irreproachably. Woe, then, to such priests
as neglect the word of God ! Woe to them who, when
they can announce it, live nevertheless in effeminacy and
idleness ! Woe to them who prevent the word of God
from being preached and listened to !
Happy, on the other hand, are they who attend to it,
who guard it in their hearts, and who preserve it in them
selves by good works. Christ has blessed them, saying,
— " Happy are they who hear the word of God, and keep
it." May Christ, blessed for evermore, augment for us
all this great happiness ! Amen.

LETTER XII.

TO THE SAME.

[He celebrates the joys and blessings of our Lord's birth-day.]
My very dear brethren, Although I am separated from
you in body, not being perhaps worthy to preach to you
any longer the word of God, nevertheless, the love with
which I yearn towards you constrains me to approach and
address you in a few words. This is the day, dearly be-

52 LETTER XII.
loved, on which the angel of the Lord said to the shep
herds — " Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people." And immediately, a mul
titude of the heavenly host were heard to cry out, —
" Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good
will toward men."
Knowing that, dearly-beloved, rejoice ; for, this day a
Child is born of inestimable price, a man-God, in order
that glory may be to God in the highest, and on earth
peace, good-will toward men. Rejoice ; for, this day is
born for us a Mediator, that man may be reconciled with
God, and that this peace may be spread over the earth.
Rejoice ; for, to us is born a Physician, to make sinners
pure from sin, to deliver them from the power of Satan,
to redeem them from eternal damnation, to impart to all
a heavenly joy, that glory may be to God on high, and on
earth peace, good- will toward men. Rejoice ; for, to us is
born a King, to fill us with joy ; a High Priest, to pour on
believers the Divine blessing ; a Father, to adopt us as his
children for all eternity. To us is born a well-beloved
Brother, a Master in every kind of knowledge, a veritable
Chief, a Judge of most perfect equity, that glory may be
to God on high, and on earth peace, good-will toward
men. Rejoice, sinners, for He who is born is the Son of
God, the High Priest who absolves all that repent, in
order that glory may be to God on high, and on earth
peace, good-will toward men. Rejoice, for this day the

tO THE SAME. 53
holy bread, that is to say, God has made himself food
for men, in order to satisfy, with His body, all that
hunger. Rejoice ; for, this day is born the Redeemer of
the world, the Saviour of sinners. Rejoice ; for, this day
an immortal God is born, in order that mortal man may
live for ever. Rejoice, for the Lord of the universe lay
poor in a stable, in order that our poverty might be
changed into riches. Rejoice, dearly-beloved, that the
predictions of the prophets and of the saints have been
fulfilled. Rejoice, for the omnipotent Father and the
Son, abounding in wisdom and grace, are given to us,
that glory may be to God on high, and on earth peace,
good-will toward men. Rejoice, then, dearly-beloved,
for the angel said — " Behold, I bring you good tidings of
great joy." And what was that joy ? That a Saviour
was born who would deliver us from all our miseries, and
free us from sin. The Son of God is given us, that
great joy may be with us, and glory to God on high, and
on earth peace, good- will toward men. Let us endeavour
to insure that this Infant which is born to us may accord
us that good-will, that peace, and that joy, which lasts
for ever and ever. Amen.

54 LETTER XIII.

LETTER XIII.
[He impresses on the believers of Prague the necessity of zeal, and
of a desire to hear God's Word, and recommends them not to
renounce these things on account of the scandals arising from
wicked preachers.]
I desire ardently, dearly-beloved, that you may be de
livered by Jesus Christ from all your sins, and that, de
spising the vanities of this world, you may overcome the
world, the flesh, and the devil. I am anxious that,
through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, you may
suffer all things with patience, with a view to salvation,
and that you may persevere even unto the end in your
trials and afflictions. That is what I demand for you,
dearly-beloved, in my prayers ; for God is my witness
that I laboured for upwards of twelve years in the vine
yard of the Lord, and that my greatest consolation in
my ministry was to perceive your zeal in listening to the
divine Word, and the serious repentance of a great
number. Wherefore, dearly-beloved, I conjure you, by the pas
sion of Jesus Christ, to hold firmly to his Gospel, and so
to conduct yourselves that it may bring forth fruit in all
your actions. Be not shaken in your faith, and regard
not those who, having placed only an uncertain foot in

TO THE SAME, 55
the path, have turned aside elsewhere, and have become
the most violent enemies of God and of his disciples.
You know, dearly-beloved, that Christ's disciples, who
held converse with him, withdrew, and refused to follow
him farther. Yet Christ came to separate men from one
another, for he has said — " I have come to separate the
son from his father, and the daughter from her mother."
And also — " You shall be delivered up to men, and
persecuted for my name's sake." And in order that we
may not be shaken by this abandonment of his disciples,
or frightened by persecution or death, our Saviour added
— " A hair of your heads shall not fall without the will
of God." If, then, a single hair cannot perish, how can
believers themselves perish \ Wherefore, dearly-beloved,
preserve a real faith and a sure hope ; remain steadfast
in the love of God's Word ; listen with the most ardent
affection to those whom the Saviour has sent you, in
order that they may preach his Gospel with constancy,
and resist the devouring wolves and false prophets of
whom Christ has spoken, when he said — " False pro
phets will come, and will lead astray many." Christ
teaches believers to beware of them, and to recognise
them by their works, which are avarice, simony, con
tempt of God's Word, persecution of believers, calumny,
zeal for human traditions, &c. These men, in fact, wear
sheep's clothing: they assume the externals of the
Christian, and, as they are, within, devouring wolves,
they rend and devour Christ's flock. It is of such that

56 ' LETTER XIII.
Christ has said to his disciples : — " Behold, I send you
as sheep in the midst of wolves ; be, then, prudent as
serpents, and simple as doves." Let them be prudent,
said he, that they may avoid, like serpents, to allow
themselves to be crushed, and to permit the head of the
Church of Christ to perish in them : let them be simple
as doves, in order to suffer with patience the cruelty of
the wolves. And we, dearly-beloved, already behold
these wolves clearly before us ; but let us not suffer them
to lead us astray, and turn from the path by which we
are striving to arrive at heavenly joys.
Preserve firmly faith, hope, charity, humility, mild
ness, justice, modesty, temperance, sobriety, patience,
and the other virtues, adorning yourselves with good
morals and good works. Rejoice that you suffer perse
cution, for Christ has said — " Blessed are ye when men
shall hate you, and shall reproach you, and cast out your
name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in
that day, and leap for joy ; for behold your reward is
great in heaven." Who, then, is there that possesses faith,
hope, and charity, who will not support with patience,
contempt, and ignominy, for the love of his Saviour, when
he is well assured of receiving a hundredfold advantage
in everlasting life 1
In the expectation of these things, remember this
saying of Christ, that " an affliction shall come such as
never had been seen from the beginning of the world."

TO THE SAME. 57
And why ? the Apostle tells us — " that a time shall
come when men will not receive the sound doctrines, but
will listen to false teachers with greedy ears ;" they will
leave the truth and cling to fables. Thus is now accom
plished the prophecy of St Paul, who declares, that all
who desire to live purely in Christ will suffer persecution ;
and the impious will triumph in their ruin.
Receive, therefore, dearly-beloved, the exhortation of
St Peter ; beware of allowing yourselves to be led astray
with others, by the error of the wicked ; do not permit
your mode of life to be disturbed ; but increase in the grace
of God, in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and pray that
God may graciously accord happy success to my preach
ing, wherever a want of it may be felt, in the towns and
villages, fields and forests, in every place where I may be
useful, in order that the word of God may not be stifled
in my mouth ; uphold and console each other under the
protection of God the Father, of his well-beloved Son,
and of the Holy Spirit, who can preserve you from all
evil, and procure for you eternal joy. To him be praise
and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

c2

58 LETTER XIV.
LETTER XIV.
TO THE INHABITANTS OF THE TOWN OF LUNA.
[John Huss recommends union, and teaches them to endure in
sults rather than to avenge them.]
Master John Huss, an unworthy servant of God, to
the believers residing in the town of Luna. Peace, and
the protection of our Lord Jesus Christ, be with you !
My very dear brethren, Although I cannot see you ex
ternally with my eyes, but only with my mental vision, I am
nevertheless acquainted with your charity and your con
stant faith in God and in his Gospel. I know that the
Saviour has united you in faith, peace, charity, and at
tention to his word, so that I find amongst you, more
than in any other town of Bohemia, that concord which
so deeply rejoices my heart. I conjure you, therefore,
dearly-beloved, — I whose features are unknown to you,
but who am attached to you sincerely in God— I conjure
you, in the interest of your salvation, to love one another ;
to remain united, and to let no man come between and
divide you ; for this precious unity, which subsists be
tween you by the true faith, will save you in the presence
of God ; and God, through his mercy, will, in return,
give you strength to overcome the world, the flesh, and
the devil.

TO THE INHABITANTS OF THE TOWN OF LUNA. 59
Meditate on these things, dearly-beloved, and allow no
schisms, or treachery, or jealousy, or violence, to spring
up amongst you. Should any obstinate disseminator of
disturbance and discord arise amongst you, warn him
like a brother, but do not enter into any disputes before
the judges or courts of law ; for that would cause the de
struction alike of your fortune, body, and soul. Study
to avenge the insults offered to God, rather than your
own. Alas ! it is in this point that the whole world is
mistaken ; for all men are more ready to avenge their
own injuries than those of God. And that is the broad path
opened by Antichrist ; and, above all, dangerous to us who
are priests, and who desire to see the ordinances of men
more rigorously observed than the commandments of
God. Such, or such a priest, monk, or prelate, is a for
nicator or adulterer with impunity, and yet he insists on
having his own ordinances observed, under pain of excom
munication ! In like manner, they do not inflict punish
ment on the laity who sin against God ; but should one
of them presume to say — " My brethren, you have un
justly condemned me!" they at once strike with the
sword, because any one has raised his voice against the
injustice of his clerical judge.
I have full confidence that the Lord will keep you free
from these evils, so that you may observe his word rather
than the ordinances of men. As long as you observe his
word, no one can do you harm. Wherefore, dearly-

60 LETTER XIV.
beloved, meditate deeply on these two things, which
are eternal and imperishable — condemnation and ever
lasting life. The former will draw you into fire that
lasts for ever, dreadful torments, and a devouring and
endless sojourn with devils ; but in eternal life all will be
perfect joy, absence of affliction and suffering, and a resi
dence with God himself and his angels. For, as St Paul
says — " Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath
entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath
prepared for them that love him." We shall, therefore,
be indeed blessed when we enjoy this beatitude, of which
the delights will be perfect and without drawback, and
we shall then behold who shall be condemned ; — there
all sins hidden in the hearts of men shall be laid bare ;
there we shall reap a joy and a consolation of which we
shall never be deprived ; there, in fine, we shall be happy
if we suffer anything here for Jesus Christ ; for, as gold
is tried by fire, so shall we be proved by the cross and by
affliction, under the hand of Him that has produced the
world from nothingness. We shall therefore be happy,
if we persevere to the end in well-doing.
Let us bear in mind, dearly-beloved, that the world is
wasting away, that death is at hand, and that we are
here only on a pilgrimage. Live, therefore, first of all
piously, renouncing your sins ; next, aspire to heavenly
joys ; and, lastly, love God with all your heart, and
hare confidence in him, that he may deck you out with

WYCHEWITZE TO JOHN HUSS. 61
his glory, through the merits of Jesus Christ, and may
make you sharers in his reign. Amen.

LETTER XV.
THE PRIEST WYCHEWITZE TO JOHN HUSS AND HIS
FRIENDS.
To you, dearly-beloved in the Lord, be salvation and
all that is most precious in the bosom of Jesus Christ —
to you whom I love in the truth, and not I alone, but
all who have knowledge of the truth that dwells in you,
and will always remain there, through the grace of God !
I felt a most lively joy when our brethren came and bore
testimony to your true doctrine, informing us of the man
ner in which you walk in the light. I have learned,
dear brethren, with what rigour Antichrist is proving
you, by inflicting on believers various and most grievous
tribulations ; and I feel no astonishment, if, amongst you,
as already almost everywhere in the world, the law of
Christ has such violent assaults to sustain from his ene
mies. Let us, then, strengthen ourselves in the Lord
our God, and in his infinite goodness : and let us be con
fident that he will not permit his faithful followers to

62 LETTER XV.
wander aside from their object, provided we love him as
we ought to do, with all our heart. There would be no
suffering borne by you, if iniquity did not abound. Be
not, therefore, shaken by any tribulation, or any trial,
supported for the sake of Christ ; for we know with cer
titude, that they whom the Lord judges worthy to be his
children, are proved by him in affliction : our merciful
Father sends us persecutions in this miserable world, in
order to receive us afterwards into his grace. The great
Workman proves and purifies the gold, before he receives
it into his incorruptible treasury : the period of our life
here below is brief and transitory : the life which we
hope for hereafter is full of delight, and eternal. Let us,
therefore, labour whilst we can to secure our being ad
mitted into this happy rest. What do we behold in this
perishable life, if not grief and mourning, and what ought
above all to afflict the faithful, — a too great abandon
ment and contempt of the law of God.
Let us, then, strive to attain, as much as is necessary,
to durable and eternal things, detaching our souls from
those which pass away and perish. Consider the ancient
fathers, the saints of the old and new alliance : have
they not all traversed this same ocean of tribulation and
persecution 1 Were not some sawed in two, others
stoned, others put to death with the sword % All have
passed by a difficult road, and so followed the footsteps
of Christ, who said, " Let him who serves me, follow my

WYCHEWITZE TO JOHN HUSS. 63
steps." Wherefore, placing before you the example of
so many saints who have preceded us, and being pressed
on all sides by sin, let us patiently await the combat
which is offered us, our eyes fixed on the foundation of
our faith — on that Jesus who suffered the trial of the
cross ; let us implore him who suffered every indignity
from the hands of sinners to support our souls ; let us
combat firmly against his enemies, loving his law, and not
being false workmen ; but let us act faithfully, and la
bour for the Lord, in the hope of an eternal reward.
Thou, my dear Huss, my well-beloved brother in
Christ, although my eyes have never beheld thee, thy fea
tures are well known to me by faith and affection ; for
this world cannot disjoin those whom the love of Christ
strongly binds together. Rejoice in the grace that has
been accorded thee : exert thyself like a valiant soldier
of Christ : preach and exhort, by thy word and thy ex
ample : recall all that thou canst into the way of truth ;
for the truth of the gospel ought not to be held back on
account of some vain censures and antichristian excom
munications. Impart, then, strength to t>he members of
Christ that are enfeebled by Satan ; and even should An
tichrist be raised to the very topmost point of power, his
reign will soon finish. I rejoice, above all, that in your
kingdom, and elsewhere, God animates hearts, that sup
port with joy, captivity, exile, and even death, for Christ's
word.

64

LETTER XV.

What more shall I say to you, dearly-beloved"? I
know not ; but I confess that my heart would dissolve
with delight, if I could thus strengthen and console my
self under the law of the Lord. I salute, from the bot
tom of my soul, all the believers and faithful disciples of
the truth ; and, in particular, Jacobel, thy coadjutor in
the preaching of the Gospel, requesting him to pray in
his church to the Lord for me.
• May the God of peace, who raised from the dead the
Shepherd of the sheep, Jesus Christ; our Sovereign Lord,
render you capable of all well-doing, -in order that by his
acting with you as he may deem fit, you execute his will.
All your friends, who have heard your constancy spoken
of, salute you. I desire most ardently to receive a letter
from you ; for be assured that it affords me no trifling
consolation. Written at London, on the day of the Nativity of the
Virgin, in the year of our Lord .1410.*

* The signature runs thus : — " Vester servus cupiens in labore fieri
socius, Ricus Wychewitze, infimus Sacerdotum." — This letter has been
erroneously attributed by several historians to Wyckliff.

( 65 )

SECOND SEEIES.
LETTERS WRITTEN BY JOHN HUSS, AND OTHER PER
SONS, AT THE PERIOD OF THE 'COUNCIL OF CON
STANCE.
The letters of this Second Series were all written in the
nine months which elapsed between the departure of John
Huss for the Council, in October 1414, and the last day
of June 1415, which immediately preceded his execution.
They form one of the most curious monuments of this
celebrated period, and present an irrefragable testimony
in favour of John, Huss against his judges. We perceive
.in the early ones, by the eagerness qf the populations to
flock to him on his passage, how great was already the
authority of his name and doctrines in Germany. In
reading those which come after, we are present at the
grand scenes of the Council ; and had we not the con
cluding ones before us, we should never perhaps know to
what a degree this man, so intrepid arid so firm in his
faith before God and men, was to the end filled with gra
titude towards his benefactors, torn with solicitude for

( M )
his flock, full of love toward his friends, and actuated by
feelings of mercy towards his persecutors.
The letters of this series were collected without order
of date by Peter Maldoniewitz, and were so published by
Luther. We have classified them with great care, some
from the indications given by Huss himself, and the rest
in the order of the events which they narrate. Some let
ters of Huss's friends have been included in the collec
tion, and add to the interest of this correspondence, at
once so dramatic and so truly Christian.*

* For the history of this period of Huss's life, consult The Reformers
before the Reformation, vol. ii., book iii.

TO MASTER MARTIN. 67

LETTER I.

TO MASTER MARTIN.

[John Huss wrote this letter previous to his departure from Bo
hemia; and left it sealed up in the hands of the person to
whom it was addressed, requesting it not to be opened until
after his death.]
Master Martin, my much beloved brother in Christ, I
exhort thee to fear God, to keep his commandments, and
to watch over thyself when in female company. Be pro
vident in listening to their confessions, that Satan may
not deceive thee by honied words ; for Saint Augustin
has said — " Trust not thyself to devotion ; for corruption
is sometimes the greater in proportion as the devotion is
apparent; and disordered passions may conceal them
selves under a mask of piety. . . Beware, then, of incur
ring an irreparable loss : (and. I trust you will remain
pure from all commerce with women,\ for I have taught
thee, from thy youth upwards, to serve Jesus Christ.*
Know, therefore, it is for having condemned the avarice

* Ergo cave ne irrecuperabilem perdas, quam spero retines, virgi-
nitatem ; memento quia a juventate tua docui te servere Christo-Jesu.

OO LETTER I.
and disorderly life of priests, that, by the grace of God,
I suffer a persecution, which will soon be extinguished
by my death. I do not fear to be confounded for the
name of Jesus Christ.
I conjure thee not to seek after benefices. Never
theless, if thou art called to a cure, let the glory of God,
the salvation of souls, and labour alone, occupy you, and
not the possession of riches. If thou shouldst obtain a
church, take not a young woman for servant, and avoid
ornamenting thy house more than thy soul ; above all,
bestow thy cares on the spiritual edifice ; be pious and
humble with the poor, and consume not thy estate with
feasting. If thou dost not amend thy life, and abstain
from sumptuous clothing and superfluities, I fear that
thou mayest be chastened, as I myself am, — I who have
used such things, seduced by the custom and approbation
of the wicked, and troubled by a spirit of pride which is
in opposition to God. From thy youth, thou hast known
my preaching and private exhortations ; it is, therefore,
useless to write thee more ; (but I conjure thee, by the
mercy of our Lord, not to follow me in any of the vanities
into which thou hast seen me fall./ Know, alas ! that be
fore receiving the priesthood, I lost much time in playing
at chess, and through this game often suffered myself to
be provoked, as well as provoked others to anger. I re
commend myself to thy prayers before God, for this
sin, and for my other innumerable transgressions. I in-

JOHN HUSS TO THE BOHEMIANS. 69
voke his mercy for me, that he may deign to direct my
life, and that after the victory over the perverse powers
of this age, over the flesh, the world, and Satan, he may
open to me at the day of judgment the celestial country.
Adieu, then, in Jesus Christ, with all those who keep
his laws. Receive my grey gown as a mark of my re
membrance of thee ; nevertheless, if thou art ashamed of
the grey colour, dispose of it for the best, and as thou
thinkest proper. Thou wilt give my white gown to the
Cure, my disciple ; thou wilt also give to George or to
Suzikon, sixty silver groschen, or my grey gown, because
he has faithfully served me.
Outside the letter, Huss wrote —
I conjure thee not to open this letter before thou hast
ascertained the certainty of my death.

LETTER II.
JOHN HUSS TO THE BOHEMIANS PREVIOUSLY TO HIS
SETTING OUT FOR THE COUNCIL.*
I, John Huss, in hope, priest and minister of Jesus
Christ, to all our well-beloved and faithful brethren and
•* This letter was written in Bohemia by Huss ; several translations
of it were made by his adversaries to injure him before the Council.

70 LETTER II.
sisters, who have heard from my mouth the divine word,
and who have received the mercy and peace of God and
of the Holy Ghost, I pray they may continue to walk
without blame in the truth as it is in Jesus Christ.
You know, dear brethren, that for a long time I have
instructed you in the faith, teaching you the word of the
Lord, and not things foreign to the truth ; for I have
always sought, seek now, and shall seek unto the end,
your salvation. I had intended, before I set out for
Constance, to refute the false testimonies, and confound
the false witnesses, who wish to bring me to the scaffold,
but time has not permitted me, and I will do it at a later
period. You, then, who know these things, think not,
suppose not, that I encounter unworthy treatment for
any false doctrines. Dwell in the truth, and confide
yourselves to the mercy of God, who has given you the
truth through me, his faithful preacher, to know and de
fend the truth, and beware of false teachers  As
to me, I am setting out to travel with a safe -conduct from
the Emperor, to meet and confound my numerous and
mortal enemies, as will appear clearer than the day, when
they stand before me and produce against me their false
testimonies. Mine enemies in the Council, more numerous than
were Christ's, are found amongst the bishops, and doctors,
and also amongst the princes of this age, and the Phari
sees. But I confide myself entirely to Almighty God

JOHN HUSS TO THE BOHEMIANS. 71
and my Saviour ; I hope, therefore, he will grant my ar
dent prayer, and put prudence and wisdom in my mouth,
that I may be able to resist them ; that he may bestow
on me his Holy Spirit to fortify me in the truth ; so that
the gates of hell shall not be able to lead me from it, and
that I may face, with an intrepid heart, temptation, im
prisonment, and the sufferings of a cruel death.
Christ has suffered for his well-beloved ; should we,
then, be astonished at his leaving us his example, in order
that we may patiently suffer all things for our own sal
vation ? He is God, and we are his creatures ; he is the
Lord, and we are his servants ; he is the Master of the
world, and we are but frail mortals ; he is not in want of
anything, and we are utterly destitute ; be has suffered,
and should not we suffer also, especially when suffering
is unto us a purification 1 Truly, he who confides in
Christ, and dwells in his truth, cannot perish. There
fore, my beloved brethren, pray to him incessantly to
bestow his Spirit upon me, that I may dwell in the truth,
and be delivered from all evil ; and if my death should
contribute to his glory, pray that it may come quickly,
and that he may give me strength to support my afflic
tions with constancy. But if it be better, in the interest
of my salvation, that I should return amongst you, we
will ask of God, that I leave the -Council without a ble
mish ; that is to say, that I may keep back nothing of the
truth of the gospel of Christ, in order that we may dis-

72 LETTER III.
tinguish its light more purely, and leave to our brethren
a fine example. Probably you may never again see my
countenance at Prague ; but if the will of 'Almighty God
should deign to restore me to you, let us advance, then,
with a better heart in the knowledge and love of his law.
The Lord is merciful and just, and gives peace to his
children in this world and after death. Let him watch
over you who has purified us by the sprinkling of his
precious blood — of that blood which is the eternal pledge
of our salvation ! May he permit you to accomplish his
will ; and when you shall have accomplished it, may he
bestow on you peace and eternal glory, through Jesus
Christ, with all those who have dwelt in the truth !

LETTER III.
LETTER WRITTEN FROM NUREMBERG TO HIS
CONGREGATION AT PRAGUE.
Salvation be to you through Jesus Christ ! Learn that
from the day I left Bohemia, I have travelled on horse
back, and without concealment, my face being uncovered.
As I approached Pernau, I found the Cure* and his vicars
waiting my arrival. When I entered the town* he drank
* Huss adds, in stubam ; but the sense which he attached to this
word is doubtful.

TO THE CONGREGATION AT PRAGUE. 73
a large cup of wine to my health, and, with his vicars,
listened, in a spirit of charity, to my doctrine,, and said
that he had always been my friend. All the Germans
saw me afterwards with pleasure in the new town. We
went from thence to Weyden, where we beheld a great
crowd, as if in admiration ; and when we had come to
Saltzbach, I said to the consuls and ancients of the city :
" I am that John Huss, of whom, without doubt, you have
heard so much ill spoken. Behold me ; assure yourselves
of the truth, by interrogating me yourselves." After
much questioning, they received perfectly well all I said
to them. We afterwards traversed Inspruck, and passed
the night in the town of Lauff, where the Cure, a cele
brated purist, came, accompanied by his vicars. I had a
long conference with him ; and he also received my words
with great attention. We arrived next at Nuremberg,
where some traders, who preceded us, had announced my
arrival ; which caused the people to assemble in the
thoroughfares, demanding which was John Huss. The
Cure, John Heluvel, wrote to me before dinner, stating
his wish to have a long conversation with me. I invited
him to come, and he did so. The citizens and masters
afterwards assembled together, in the desire of seeing and
conferring with me. As soon as they came, I rose from
the table and went to meet them ; and as the masters
desired to argue with me, I told them that I spoke in
public, and that all who wished to listen should hear me ;
D

74 LETTER III.
and from that moment until night-time, we discussed re
ligious matters in the presence of the consuls and citizens.
Tnere was present a doctor whose words were deceitful;
and I perceived that Albert, Cure of Saint Sebold, saw,
with pain, the approbation given to my doctrines. Never
theless, all the citizens and masters remained satisfied.
" Master," said they, " truly, all that we have just heard
is catholic ; we have ourselves taught these things for
many years ; we have held them to be true, and still
consider them such ; truly you will return from this
Council with honour." We separated in the best terms
with each other. Know that I have not yet met with an
enemy ; and in all the hotels where I stop I am well re
ceived. No hatred is stronger against me than that of
some men from Bohemia. What more can I say to you ?
The nobles, Wenceslaus, and John de Chlum, act piously
and nobly towards me. They are like heralds and advo
cates of the truth. God assisting, all goes on well. The
Emperor is in the kingdom ; Wenceslaus Lesma follows
him, and we shall arrive in the night at Constance, where
Pope John is shortly expected. We understand he fol
lows the Emperor at a distance of sixty miles.
[Written at Nuremberg on the Sunday before the
festival ofthe Eleven thousand Virgins.]

TO THE FAITHFUL BELIEVERS OF PRAGUE. 75

LETTER IV.

/
JOHN, CURE OF JANOWITZ, TO THE FAITHFUL
BELIEVERS OF PRAGUE.

[Fragments of a letter attributed to John, Cure of Janowitz,
and inserted in the latin collection of John Huss's letters.*]
Very dear Friends, I desire you to be informed that
an auditor of the Sacred Apostolical Palace came to our
lodging with the Bishop and the Ecclesiastical Judge of
Constance. They conversed with the master ;t and there
has been a long debate between the Pope and the Cardi
nals on the subject of his interdiction. They have de
cided a messenger should go from them to the master,
and inform him that the Pope, of his full power, suspends
the interdiction and sentence excommunicating him, and
prays him, in order to prevent scandal and public rumour,
not to present himself in places where the Pope and the
Cardinals solemnly officiate ; granting him otherwise full
liberty to visit the town, the churches, and all other places
he pleases. We have understood that they all fear the
next sermon which Master John intends delivering to the
clergy ; and, in fact, some one yesterday — we know not
whether a friend or an enemy — spread the report that
* This letter is important, as it shews in what manner Huss was
treated during the early part of his stay at Constance.
t With John Huss.

76

LETTER IV.

John Huss will preach to the clergy next Sunday in the
Cathedral of Constance, and will give a ducat to all who
are present. We are at present entirely at liberty in
the town. The Master officiates every day, and acts
everywhere freely. He does not keep at a distance from
the king's council, that, in the cause of truth, which is
also his own, nothing may be undertaken against him be
fore the arrival of the King of Hungary.* The Council
has not yet taken the affair into consideration ; up to
this time there has not arrived any ambassador from the
king or prince, neither from Gregory nor Benedict ; and
we do not think the Council will open its sittings before
several weeks. Let all those who are personally cited be
careful of themselves, and know well that their names are
publicly affixed to the church-doors. Michael Causis
chants his' high deeds. The Seigniors John Lepka and
Wenceslaus of Lesnia are the intrepid and zealous de
fenders ofthe truth, f
[Written at Constance on the Sunday before Saint
Martin's day.]

* The King of Hungary, to whom John of Janowitz here alludes,
is Sigismund, the second son of Charles IV., and brother of Wenceslaus,
King of Bohemia. This prince succeeded Robert to the imperial throne;
and the distinguished part he took in the Council of Constance is well
known. At that period he had not yet been crowned, and was usually
only designated by the titles of King of Hungary, and King ofthe Romans,
although he was, in fact, Emperor. To avoid all confusion, we have
already given him his imperial title, and shall continue doing so
throughout. t John of Janowitz terminates his letter with the following jeu de

TO THE PEOPLE OF BOHEMIA AND HIS FRIENDS. 77

LETTER V.
JOHN HUSS TO THE PEOPLE OF BOHEMIA AND HIS
FRIENDS.
Salutation through Jesus Christ. We entered Con
stance after the festival of All-Saints' day, without hav
ing suffered injury in the towns we passed through, and
where we delivered public discourses in Latin and Ger
man. We lodge at Constance, in the Great Square, near
the Pope's hotel ; and we have arrived without a safe-
conduct.* The next day, Michael Causis stuck up a
notice on the church, containing an accusation against
me ; he affixed his signature to it, with a long commen
tary, which indicated, amongst other things, that this
accusation was directed against the obstinate John Huss,
excommunicated and suspected of heresy. I endeavour,
with God's aid, not to pay attention to it, knowing that
God has created him my enemy on account of my sins, in
order to judge whether I am willing or able to suffer
something for his name's sake.

mots : — " Auca nondum est assata, nee timet de assatione, quia prse-
senti anno, sabbato ante Martini festum, occurrit ipsius Celebris vigilia,
ubi ante non comeduntur.
* Without a safe-conduct from the Pope. See Letter VI.

78 LETTER V.
Lutzembock and John of Lepka have visited the Pope,
and spoken to him about me : he answered, that he did
not wish to resort to violent measures. It is rumoured,
though vaguely, that Pope Benedict is coming from Spain
to be present at the Council. We have learned to-day,
that the Dukes of Brabant and Burgundy have with
drawn from the camp. The Pope and the Council must
wait for the Emperor, who is to be crowned at Aix ; and
as this town is seventy miles distant from Constance, I
do not think the Emperor can be here before Christmas ;
the Council will be then near its close, unless it is broken
up about Easter. The living here is exceedingly expen
sive, a bed costing half a florin a-week. Horses are at a
high price, and seven florins are paid for a horse that
might be bought in Bohemia for six drachms. The
Seignior John and myself have sent ours to the town of
Ravensburg, four miles from here, and I think I shall
not be long before I shall want common necessaries.
Mention my uneasiness to our friends, whom it would take
too long to name severally. The Seignior Lutzembock
has gone to-day to rejoin the Emperor, and has prohi
bited me from undertaking any thing before the arrival
of Sigismund. I hope I shall answer before a public au
dience. Many Italians and Parisians are here, but few
bishops and archbishops : the cardinals, also, are nume
rous. When I traversed Constance on horseback, I was
surrounded by a large crowd of horsemen, and the multi-

TO THE PEOPLE OF BOHEMIA AND HIS FRIENDS. 79
tude pressed round me. Our Bohemians have spent all
their money on the road, and are already in want. I
pity greatly their distress, but I cannot give to all. I
have only kept my horse Robstein, the swiftest horse
here, and which I guard, in case I should wish to leave
this city, and rejoin the Emperor. Salute our friends,
without excepting any one. This letter is the fourth I
write from a foreign country, and I date it, Sunday night
after All-Saints' day. Not one of our Bohemian knights
is at Constance, with the exception of the Seignior John
Lepka, who has protected and conducted me like a true
knight. He preaches more than I do, and proclaims
everywhere my innocence. Pray to God to sustain my
.courage. John Huss, servant of God in hope.

LETTER VI.

Know, my well-beloved friends, that I am well in every
respect. I have arrived at Constance without any safe-
conduct from the Pope. Pray, then, to God that he may
grant me firmness ; for many and redoubtable adversaries
rise up here against me, excited especially by the seller
of indulgences, the Deacon of Padua, and Michael Causis,

80

LETTER VI.

who are unceasingly plotting against me. Nevertheless. I
fear them not, being in hope that, after a great combat
will come a great victory, and after the victory my re
ward, and the confusion of my persecutors.
The Pope will not put an end to the affair : " What,
can I dol" says he ; " it is you who are to act." Two
bishops, however, and a doctor, have conversed with John
Lepka, that we might agree without noise. I conceive
.they are afraid that I should answer in public, but I hope
I shall be permitted to do so when the Emperor is
present. We have been well received, and honourably treated in
all the towns we have passed through, and we have pub
lished declarations* in Latin and German. In the im
perial towns we held discussions with the masters. The
Bishop of Lubeck, who preceded us, and was a night in
advance of us, reported everywhere on the road that I
was conducted in chains, in a cart ; and told the people
he kept aloof from me, because I seduced the minds of
men. In consequence, whenever we approached a town,
the crowd ran to meet as, as if to a show. But this false
hood has turned to the confusion of my enemies, and the
people rejoiced on learning the truth. Truly Jesus
Christ is with me, like a valiant warrior, and I defy all
the power of my enemies. Live purely, and pray fer-
* Intimationes,

TO THE PEOPLE OF BOHEMIA. 81
vently, that the God of mercy may assist me, and defend,
through me, his Word.
Written on Saint Leonard's eve.
I think, should the Council be prolonged, I shall want
for common necessaries : ask, therefore, for some assist
ance for me, but only under condition agreed on, from
those whom you discover to be really my friends. Sa
lute our brethren and sisters, and invite them to pray to
God for me, since I am in need of it.

LETTER VII.
TO THE PEOPLE OF BOHEMIA.
May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be
with you, so that, being delivered from sin, you may walk
in grace, increase in modesty and virtue, and enjoy, after
this life, life eternal !
My well-beloved, I conjure you all who live according
to God's law, disdain not to occupy yourselves with the
salvation of souls : be careful, when listening to the word
of God, that you are not deceived by false apostles, who
do not condemn sins, but who excuse them : they flatter
the priests : they do not shew to the people their trans-
D 2

82 LETTER VII.
gressions : they glorify themselves, extol their works, and
exalt their own virtue ; but they deign not to imitate
Jesus Christ in his humility, in his poverty, in his cross,
in his sufferings. It is of them our merciful Saviour has
said — " False Christs and false prophets shall rise, and
deceive many." And to warn his elect against them,
he has said to them, " Beware of false prophets, which
come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are
ravening wolves ; ye shall know them by their fruits."
And truly the followers of Christ have the greatest need
to be prudent and careful ; for the Saviour has said, " in
somuch that if it were possible they shall deceive the
very elect." Watch, therefore, my beloved, through
fear of falling into the snares of Satan. It is necessary
you should be the more circumspect in proportion as
Antichrist places in your way greater obstacles. The
last judgment is nigh, death will swallow up many, but
the kingdom of God is waiting for his elect, since for
them he delivered up his body. Fear not death ; love
one another ; and endeavour, without ceasing, to under'
stand the will of God. Let the terrible and formidable
day of judgment be present ever before your eyes, for fear
that you may sin ; think also of the joys of eternal life,
to which all your efforts should be directed ; think also of
the passion of our Saviour, that you may bear with hu
mility all things with him and for him ; for if you bear
in mind his sufferings and his cross, nothing will appear

TO THE PEOPLE OF BOHEMIA. 83
too rigorous for you; you will accept, without murmurings,
tribulations, calumnies, outrages, chains ; and, should it be
required, you will not hesitate to lay down your life for
the holy truth. Know, dearly-beloved, that Antichrist
has recourse, in his rage against you, to divers persecu
tions ; but he has been powerless against a great num
ber ; he has not been able even to remove a single hair
from their heads ; learn to know him by my example,
although he is violently irritated against me. Wherefore,
I conjure you all to intercede for me in your prayers at
the throne of God, that he may grant me wisdom, mild
ness, patience, as well as strength, to keep always in the
heavenly truth. It is that which has already conducted
me to Constance ; and during the whole journey I have
publicly and openly declared my name, as became a ser
vant of God. Nowhere did I conceal myself ; but in no
place have I found more dangerous or declared enemies
than in this city ; and I should not have had them for ad
versaries, if some Bohemian impostors, for the money which
they had received, and seduced by avarice, had not per
suaded them that I mislead the people from the good
way. But I have good hope, by the mercy of our Saviour
and your prayers, that I shall persevere until death in the
immutable truth of our Heavenly Father.
Know, lastly, that every one here has his duty assigned
him ; I alone am neglected. It is the Pope who has regu
lated every thing here. I recommend myself to our

84 LETTER VIII.
sweet Lord Jesus Christ, to the true God, to the Son of
the Virgin Mary, who ransomed us by a bitter death,
and not through our merits, from eternal punishment,
from the power of the devil and sin.
On Saint Fabin's eve (January 19), written at Con
stance, 1415.

LETTER VIII.
TO THE INHABITANTS OF PRAGUE.
[Huss conjures them to remember his doctrines, and to cling to
the Word of God.]
May God be with you ! I conjure you, dearly-beloved,
to attach yourselves to the cause of the Lord ; for several
endeavour to stifle the word, and take away from you
the Gospel of Christ, which I have preached unto you, in
order to turn men from their salvation. Reflect, in the
second place, on the slights and outrages which your na
tion inflicts on you ; — which hypocrites wickedly excite
against you ; think of the infamies and insults heaped
upon you ; in a word, support all things with joy and
patience.

TO THE BELIEVERS IN PRAGUE. 85
If Satan insults you, if Antichrist holds you in deri
sion, he cannot harm you more than a dog tied-up, as
long as you love the Word of God and defend it with all
your power. Look at me ! Satan has persecuted me for
some years past, but he has not been able to do me any
harm, because I trust in God. I will even say more,
God strengthens in me every day joy and contentment.
Remember also, that to deny a thing, is to abjure what
one believes, be it the true faith or a heresy. If a man
is a Christian, and if, through fear of death or persecu
tion, and seduced by the wiles of the demon, he joins the
sect of Jews and Pagans, and declares on oath that he
does not wish to be a Christian, he denies the true faith.
But if another has adopted a heresy ; if, for example, he
does not believe Jesus Christ to be God ; if, in the end,
he abjures this opinion, it cannot be said of him that he
persists in his error. Acknowledging, therefore, how
much he sins who denies the truth when he has once
come to a knowledge of it, or who adheres to error or
heresy, and esteeming more than all, the Word of God,
let us celebrate his glory above all things, and live in
charity with all men. Wrestle courageously against the
imposture of Antichrist, having with you your Saviour,
who strengthens you, and whom no one can vanquish.
He will not forsake you, if you do not forsake him ; but
will bestow on all the faithful who believe in him, an

86 LETTER IX.
eternal reward. I wrote these things, not being able to
come to you in person — 1415.

LETTER IX.
[John Huss to a priest, whom he reminds of his duties.]
My very dear Brother, — Be zealous in preaching the
Scriptures, fill the office of a good preacher of the Gospel,
remember thy vocation, and work like a favoured soldier
of Christ. Live, first of all, piously and purely ; after
wards, teach faithfully and sincerely. Be unto others an
example in every good work ; leave nothing to be desired
in thy discourses ; recommend virtue, and bring back
those who live wickedly to the remembrance of eternal
punishment ; point out the joys of heaven to those who
live in faith and piety ; preach assiduously but briefly ;
explain, lastly, the Holy Scriptures prudently and with
profit. Take heed of affirming any thing uncertain and
doubtful, for fear of being taken up by adversaries who
delight to find their neighbour in fault, and bring con
tempt on God's ministers ; exhort to confession and to
the Communion of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ,
under both forms, that those who sincerely repent of their
sins may often communicate.

JOHN HUSS TO A PRIEST. 87
I exhort thee, dear brother, not to frequent taverns
or strangers, in order not to live like the common run
of men ; for the more the priest keeps aloof from public
places, and dissipation, the more he is acceptable to
God. Nevertheless, refuse not thine assistance to others,
according to thy means. Preach with all thy might
against voluptuousness ; it is a wild beast that devours
men, for whom the humanity of Christ has suffered.
Wherefore, my dear friend, I conjure you to avoid all
impurity ; for even when thou shalt most endeavour to
be useful, temptation will conceal itself, in order to lay
hold of thee. Shun entirely the company of young
women, and trust not to their devotion. Saint Augus
tin has said : " Quo religiosior, eo ad luccuriam pro-
clivior, et stib proztextu religionis latet dolus aut venenum
fomicationis.'" Know, my dear friend, that their society
has seduced many, whom the life of the age has not de
stroyed. Introduce not, under any pretext, women into
thy dwelling, and do not hold too frequent intercourse
with them ; lastly, whatever thou doest, fear God, and
keep his commandments, for so thou shalt be in the
right path; thou shalt not perish, but shalt curb thy
flesh, master the world, vanquish the demon, put on a
divine spirit, find life, strengthen others, and place on
thy own head a crown of glory, which shall be given
thee, by the equitable and sovereign Dispenser of all
justice.

88

LETTER X.

LETTER X.*

TO PETER MALDONIEWITZ.

[John Huss wrote the following letters in the prison where he
was first detained, at the Monastery of the Minor Brothers,
near the Lake of Constance, outside the city walls.]
I have written nothing at present on my captivity
except the letter, if, indeed, thou hast sent it, in which
I besought to be prayed for. Thou understandest, with
out doubt, that I allude to the letter I addressed to
Master Jacobel, and in which I wrote : " My enemies
have said that I shall not obtain an audience, unless I,
first of all, pay two thousand ducats to the ministers of
Antichrist for their expenses." t Michael J has brought a
copy of this letter, and the answer of Master Jacobel,
which, I have reason to believe, is severe for me. He
came with the patriarch, accompanied by scribes and
witnesses, amongst whom was Master Nicholas. Stoggis
stood up right in front of me. One ofthe commissioners
handing me the copy to read over, asked me to declare on
* This is the 43d in the collection of John Huss's Works.
¦)¦ The letter thus alluded to has not come down to us.
j Michael Causis.

TO PETER MALDONIEWITZ. 89
\ path if it was mine. I answered ; Yes, and I do not believe,
since the cruel salutations of Master Paletz, that any
thing troubled me more than these letters. I shudder
at the wickedness of Michael, and of his accomplices.
As to Master Jacobel, who preaches that we should be
ware of hypocrites, he is deceived by them more than
any one, and delivers himself up to them. I have not
read his letter, but I believe it to be severe. There
were two copies in the same paper, and I thought at
first it was not an answer to mine, but a copy of the
letter of the Cure of Janowitz.

LETTER XI.

TO THE BELIEVERS IN PRAGUE.
[A letter written from Constance, by John Huss, to the com
munity of Prague, during the early part of his imprison
ment.*] May God be with you ; so that, in wrestling against
Satan and the world, you may persevere to the end. I
* This letter was read at Prague, in the Chapel of Bethlehem, and
in the other churches.

90 LETTER XI.
conjure you, well-beloved, from the prison which I in
habit, to pray to God for me, who do not blush to bear
affliction for him rjpray that he may assist me ; for all
my life lies in him, and your prayers. Beseech him,
therefore, to grant his Spirit unto me, that I may con-
_fess_ his name, even unto death. I cling to his mercy and
truth ; and if at this time he deign to receive me, let his
holy will be done ! But if it be his will I should live
and be restored to you, let his holy will again be blessed.
I shall be in need of his Divine assistance, although I
am assured that he will not permit me to be tried be
yond my strength, and exposed to a peril that will not
ensure my salvation and yours ; for the end of tempta
tion, should we hold fast in the truth, is to effect our
salvation. Know, dearly-beloved, that the letters I have
left you, have been translated by my adversaries, who
have added to them many falsehoods. They write so
many articles and lies against me, that I have enough to
do to answer them from my prison. Their malice equals
their fury. Jesus Christ, our merciful Lord, has said to
them whom he loved, " I will give you a mouth and wis
dom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gain
say nor resist." Remember, beloved, that I have never
had anything more at heart from the beginning than
your salvation ; it is in his name that I have taught you
the Word of God, and I shall never cease doing so, even

TO JOHN OF CHLUM. 91
from the bottom of my prison. I do not doubt but that
you will make some mention of me.
[Written on the eve before St Fabin's day.]

LETTER XII.*

TO JOHN OF CHLUM.

[He exhorts him not to depart, as likewise his friends, before
the end of the trial.]
Excellent Lord, I rejoice greatly at your good health,
your presence here, and the firm perseverance of your
good and faithful heart in the trouble which you take for
me in my misfortunes. God has given you that constancy
to a higher degree than to any other person ; he bestows
you on me for my support, and I hope it will be for your
welfare in this life and in the next.
I beseech you, then, by the mercy of God, to wait for
the termination of the affair, like a soldier of Jesus
Christ. If the Seignior John of Janowitz, who lived with
us, is in good health, I ask you to keep him also near
you. * Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. li.

92 LETTER-XII.
I think often with pleasure of the noble Seignior Wen
ceslaus Duba. I pray you to transmit to him, saluting
him from me, what I say of him in my prison, and thank
him for his undeviating fidelity. Salute also all the other
faithful Bohemians.
I accuse myself, that, on the unexpected appearance of
Master Christian, my faithful master and benefactor, I
could not restrain the tears which flowed from my eyes.
I was told you had left some time since with all your
suite, but my soul is comforted. The God of all goodness
at one time consoles, at another afflicts me ; but I hope he
will not forsake me in my trials. I have again suffered
horribly from the stone, from which I had never suffered
previously to my imprisonment; I have also been at
tacked by fever, and seized with vomitings, and my
jailors, who took me out of the prison, thought I should
have died here.
There are now presented to me many articles, heaps of
falsehoods, besides those concerning which you have
already received many answers. I have not dared reply
to the writing which you transmitted to me, on the sub
ject of the articles of the Parisian Doctors ; for I could not
do it secretly, being closely watched. It is better for
me to abstain, rather than place in peril this faithful
friend whom I recommend to you.*
* John Huss speaks twice in this letter of a friend whom he does not
name,

TO JOHN OF CHLUM. 93
I would willingly see you with the Seignior Wences
laus and Master Christian. If you speak to the vice-
chamberlain, I think he will permit you to be admitted.
Converse before my guards in Latin  I did not
dare keep the articles about my person. Make Peter
copy what I have written on the Ten Commandments of
God. If I live I will answer the articles of the Chancellor of
Paris ;* if I die, God will answer them for me at the day
of judgment. I kn6w not where is my faithful brother in Christ. Is
Master Christian with you ? I pray you salute him, as
likewise the Seignior Wenceslaus, and the other faithful
Bohemians, "j"
Torment not yourself about the living being dear here.
Live as you can ; and should God permit me to leave the
prison, you will not repent these expenses.
If you see the Seignior Henry of Plumlovitz, or Sti-
bor of Botz, salute them for me.
It will be eight weeks to-morrow that John Huss has
been confined in this refectory, j
* John Gerson. Huss adds,— Scribet in manifesto Zeleznyian. The
meaning of this latter word is not clear.
f John Huss here repeats what he had said in a former part of
this letter, which is written in Latin, and is often very obscure, indi
cating a certain derangement, occasioned, without doubt, by acute suf
ferings. % In the refectory of the Minor Brothers. The date of this letter is
thus fixed as 22d January 1415.

94 LETTER.XIII.
Noble and good Seignior, and defender of the truth,
remain here with constancy, you and the Seignior Henry,
until the end arrives ; and I hope that our Saviour Jesus
Christ will permit it to contribute to his glory and to the
ransom of my sins.
I should behold with pleasure the Emperor command
ing me to transmit him my answers on the articles of
Wycliffe. Oh ! if God would deign to put wisdom in his
mouth, that he might comport himself amongst the princes
as the defender of the truth !
I have finished to-day an essay on the Body of Christ ;
yesterday I wrote another on Marriage. You will get
them copied. Some Polish knights, and a single Bohe
mian in their company, have visited me.

LETTER XIII.*

TO THE SAME.

[John Huss, so many times and so perfidiously questioned by his
adversaries, declares again what he acquiesces in.]
Noble and good Seignior, I have great consolation ex
perienced, and I implore you in tbe name of God not to
* Hist, et Monum.. Johann. Huss, Epist. Iii.

TO THE SAME. 95
lose patience in taking so much trouble about me for so
long a time ; the God of truth and of justice will reward
you for it.
The Commissioners during several days wished to con
fide my affair to twelve or thirteen head lawyers. I re
fused to consent to it. But, after having written my an
swers to the forty-five articles of Wycliffe, as well as to
those of my own, which are alleged against me, I wrote
with my own hand a protest, by which I declared that I
wished to appear before the whole Council, and there up
hold my faith. In it will be seen the articles which have
been falsely extracted from my treatise on The Church,
being added to and taken from, as well as the answer which
I wrote in prison, without the assistance of any book.
I have never in my life found in my misfortune a more
cruel comforter than Paletz.
All the clerks of the Pope's chamber, as well as my
keepers, treat me with great attention. The Lord deli
vered Jonas from the belly of the whale ; Daniel from
the lion's den ; the three young men from the fiery fur
nace : and Susanna from the sentence of false witnesses ;
he can also deliver me, if it should promote his glory and
the preaching of his word ; if, on the contrary, my death
is agreeable to the Lord, let God's name be blessed. If,
at least, I was permitted to see only once the Emperor
with our Bohemians, I should be consoled in my affliction.
I rejoiced in the news which I have received ; truly

96 LETTER XIV.
the Lord has comforted me. I was happy to hear of the
Seignior Henry Snopek being in good health. I wish to
have a Bible sent me. Do not grieve on my account. I
conjure you to treat well this faithful friend, to whom I
am under particular obligations.

LETTER XIV.*

TO THE SAME.

[Huss desires to have several things in his prison to beguile the
time, and fortify himself by the perusal of the Holy Scrip
tures.] My good Seignior, endeavour to obtain a Bible for me,
and send it by this excellent man ;¦"" and if Peter, your
secretary, has any ink, let him give me some, with a few
pens and an inkstand.
I have no news of my Polish servant, nor of Master
Cardinal ; I have learned only that your noblemen are here
with the Emperor ; wherefore, I conjure you to entreat
his Majesty in my favour, and in the name of Almighty
* Hist, et Monum. Johan. Huss, Epist. Iiii.
t Huss transmits, without doubt, this message by one of the keepers,
whom he praises in another letter.

TO THE SAME. 97
God, who has so generously bestowed his gifts upon him,
and on account of the justice and truth which ought to be
made manifest for the honour of God and the advance
ment of his Church ; beseech his Majesty to deliver me
from my chains, that I may be enabled to dispose of my
self, and appear before a public assembly. Learn that I
have been very ill, and have been obliged to take reme
dies, but that I am now better. Salute, I pray you, the
Bohemian noblemen who are at the King's court.
Written in prison, and by the well-known hand of
Peter our secretary. *

LETTER XV. t
TO THE SAME.
[He exhorts his friends to beware of the snares of his adversaries,
who, lite the Corycaeans, listen to and envenom all things.]!
I have passed nearly the whole of last night in an
swering in writing the articles that Paletz has drawn up ;
* Peter Maldoniewitz.
t Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. liv.
J Luther adds : " Male loquentes etiam Gardinali Hostiensi." Ho is
deceived when he takes the Cardinal Osti for Master John Cardinal,
referred to in this letter : the latter was a Doctor of Prague, and a
friend of John Huss. The manner in which Huss expresses himself on
this subject, suffices to shew Luther's error. H

98 LETTER XV.
he labours directly for the purpose of procuring my con
demnation. May God pardon him, and be my aid !
They affirm that the article concerning the depriving
the clergy of their property is heretical. Make the Em
peror understand that if this article is condemned as a
heresy, it will follow that he himself, as well as his father
the Emperor and King of Bohemia,* will be condemned
as heretics, for having stripped the bishops of temporal
wealth. Do not send a letter by any one whom you can
not answer for as for yourself.
Tell Doctor Schmitz to beware of coming here, or
Master Jerome, or any of our friends.
I am astonished that the Emperor has forgotten me,
and does not communicate with me. Perhaps I shall be
condemned before I have said a word to him. It is for
him to see if it is to his honour to act thus.
Noble and good Seignior John, my excellent benefac
tor, my intrepid defender, I conjure you not to let your
self be troubled on my account, nor for the losses from
which yon suffer ; Almighty God will reward you with
usury. Salute, I pray you, our Bohemian Lords ; I do
not know any thing concerning them, but I think that
the Seignior Wenceslaus Duba is here, as well as Henry
Latzembock. If you decide upon any thing, let me know of it. Let
* The Emperor Charles IV.

TO THE SAME. 99
John Bradazk, who is so dear to me, pray to God, with
all the others, for me, and cause the Emperor to ask for
the answers signed by my hand ; those I have drawn up
for the articles of Wycliffe, as well as for those imputed
to myself. Let these answers be copied, but not shewn more than
is necessary, and let the copies not be too much multi
plied, in order that the articles may remain quite dis
tinct. I know not if the petition will be read which
I forwarded to the Patriarch, to lay before the Coun
cil. I think he will not present it. If it pleased God,
the Emperor, by means of one or two articles, might re
duce to nothing the conclusions of the Doctors of Prague,
concerning the subtraction of property, the donation of
Constantine, and alms. I did not wish to deny these ar
ticles. It would be necessary for the Emperor to allege
some good motives, and that these were suggested to him
by some one who is not one of ours. If I was free, I
would speak alone with the Emperor. See him, in order
that the affair which concerns you, and to which you are
attached, should not be secretly transferred elsewhere, to
prevent your interfering in it any longer.
Let Master John Cardinal be prudent, for those he
imagines to be friends are spies; and I have beard it
said by several of those who questioned me, A certain
John Cardinal has confounded together the Pope and the
Cardinals, in saying that they were all simonists. Let

100

LETER XV.

Master Cardinal keep as much as possible under the im
perial roof, that his person may not be seized as mine
was. * No one has done me so much harm as Paletz.
May God forgive him ! Paletz has directed everything.
He insisted upon citing all the persons who adhered to
my opinions, that they might be constrained to abjure.
He has said, in my prison, that all those who came to
hear me, maintained that the material bread remained
after consecration.
I am surprised none of our Bohemians visit my pri
son ; perhaps they act all for the best. Let this paper
be torn directly after it is read.
Send by the bearer of this letter another shirt.
Seignior John, insist with the Bohemians, that the cita
tion of all those who are called upon to appear, may be
annulled ; that the Emperor may consider his heritage,
and not suffer any ill-disposed person to harm it. Why
can I not speak to him once before being condemned ?
for I came here after his desire, and with the promise
that I should be permitted to return safe and sound to
Bohemia. * This alone is sufficient to prove that the person in question was
not Cardinal Osti, President of the Council.

TO THE SAME. 101

LETTER XVI.*

TO THE SAME.

[He informs his friends of Pope John's flight, and requests the
Bohemian Nobles to employ their efforts to obtain his deliver
ance.] My keepers have already taken themselves away. I
am no longer supplied with food, and I am ignorant of
the fate that awaits me in my prison. I implore you to
go with the other Nobles to the Emperor, to induce him
to put an end to my captivity, that he fall not, on ac
count of me, into sin and confusion. I beseech you also '
to come and see me with our Nobles of Bohemia, for it is |
necessary that I should speak with you.
Noble Seignior John, go and speedily find the Emperor
with the Seignior Wenceslaus and all the others ; it would
be dangerous to wait : it is important for me that it
should be done as soon as possible. Come quickly, and
learn the other things which I desire you to do.
I fear that the Grand Master of the Papal Court may
carry me away with him this night, for he has remained
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. lvi.

102 LETTER XVII.
to-day at the monastery. The Bishop of Constance has
written to me that he would not treat any affair with
me. The cardinals have done the same.
If you love the unfortunate Huss,* take care the king
gives me guards of his own court, and that he delivers
me from prison this evening.
Written in prison on Sunday evening.
My noble lord, delay not !

LETTER XVII.f

TO THE SAME.

[He tells him of the consolation which he has received in prison.]
I have received great consolation from the visit of the
Bohemian noblemen, but I was much distressed at not
having been permitted to see you.| Master Christian
has left the city, bearing the message of Seignior Henry,
* Si diligitis miserum anserem.
f Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. Iv.
J The regret thus expressed by Huss would lead to the presumption
that this letter, like the preceding, was addressed to John of Chlum,
whose name is not found among those of the Seigniors and friends of
John Huss, mentioned by the latter as having visited him in prison.

TO THE SAME. 103
and also of Master Jessenitz. I think the Council is
much agitated on account ofthe Pope's flight.
In all things executed, or to be executed, God should
be consulted before human reason. This is what they
have not done, and it is why*
* * * * * * *
If God grants me a happy issue I will not forget this
faithful friend ;f but if my death is only deferred, it is
to you I recommend him.
I have discovered that the Seignior William is my
friend ; return him thanks for me.
I saw Wenceslaus Duba shedding tears when he spoke
to me, and the Seignior Mozka shewed me all the kind
ness of a friend.

LETTER XVIII. +
JOHN HUSS TO HIS BENEFACTORS.
[He returns them thanks; exhorts them to live purely; and reminds
them of the conduct of the Council towards Pope John XXIII.
after his flight.]
Most generous Lords, faithful defenders of the truth,
and my consolers ; you whom God has sent as angels to
* Here the text is deficient.
t It is probable that this friend, whom he does not name, is the one
to whom he has already alluded in several preceding letters.
"J Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xix.

104 LETTER XVIII.
me, I cannot fully express to you how grateful I feel for
all the constancy and charitable kindness that you have
shewn to me a poor sinner, but a servant in the hope of
our Lord Jesus Christ. I trust the Divine Jesus, our
Creator, Redeemer, and Saviour, will reward you in the
present life, and give himself unto you, as the most pre
cious gift in the life to come. I exhort you, therefore,
by his mercy, to bind yourselves strongly to his law and
holy commandments.
Noble Lord Wenceslaus, in taking a spouse, live purely
in marriage, and renounce the vanities of the age ; and
you, Lord John of Chlum, you who already serve no
longer the kings of the earth, dwell with your wife and
your children under the yoke of the Lord,
You behold how the wheel of the vanities of the world
turns round, raising one man and depressing another, but
giving to all whom it raises a fleeting joy ; after which
comes the eternal punishment in fire and darkness.
You know of what description are these spiritual
princes who call themselves the true vicars of Christ and
his Apostles ; who proclaim themselves the Holy Church,
and the very Sacred Council that is infallible ; and which,
nevertheless, transgressed in adoring John XXIII., and
in calling him most holy, when they knew him to be a
manslayer, impure, a simonist, and a heretic, as they
have declared him to be in the sentence which condemns
him. Behold how they have struck off the head of the

HUSS TO HIS BENEFACTORS. 105
Church ; they have torn out the heart of the Church ;
they have dried up the inexhaustible fountain of the
Church ; they have violated and destroyed the imperish
able refuge of the Church, where every Christian should
find a refuge !
May God pardon Stanislaus, Paletz, and their brethren ;
for they thus designated the Pope in the sentence which
they rendered by the mouth of Stanislaus. *
*****
And now Christendom is without a Pope ; it has Jesus
Christ for the Head, who directs it — for the heart that
vivifies it by grace — for the fountain which waters it with
the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost — for the imperishable
and never-failing refuge, to which I have recourse in my
misfortune, in the firm hope that there I shall always
find direction, assistance, and an all-sufficient regenera
tion, and that God will fill me with infinite joy, by de
livering me from my sins, and from this miserable life !
The Council erred several times in erroneously re
jecting some articles from my books, as tainted with
corruption, and mutilating several passages, as will be
seen on comparing these articles with my books. It is
there evident to both of us that Jesus Christ, the in
fallible Judge, will not sanction all that has been done
and said at this Council. Happy, then, are they who,
* John Huss repeats again here what he had previously said rela
tive to the Pope. We omit it as superfluous.

106 LETTER XVIII.
keeping his law, perceive, detest, and avoid vain pomp,
avarice, hypocrisy, the fraud of Christ's enemies, and who
wait with patience the coming of the Sovereign Judge
and his angels.
/ I conjure you, by the bowels of Jesus Christ, to
| avoid bad priests, and to love good ones, according to
j their works. I conjure you and the faithful Barons,
i not to permit, according to your power, worthy priests
\to be oppressed. It is for that purpose that God has
raised you above others ; and I think there will be
in Bohemia a great persecution of the faithful servants
(of God, if he does not relieve them by the arms of the
/secular lords whom he has enlightened by his Word,
\more than by our spiritual chiefs. Oh ! what madness
fcrcrnidemn as erroneous the Gospel of Christ and the
Epistle of St Paul, who professes to have received the
truth, not from men, but from God ; and to reject the
example of Jesus Christ himself, of his apostles, and of
the other saints, in condemning the Communion of the
Cup of our Lord, instituted for all adult believers. Do
they not say, the permission given to devout laymen to
participate with the lips in the Cup of Christ is an error!
And if a priest presents them this Cup to drink of, he is
reputed in fault, and, should he persist, is condemned as
a heretic !
0, St Paul, thou hast said unto all the faithful — " For
as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do

TO JOHN OF CHLUM. 107
shew the Lord's death till he come," that is to say, until
the judgment-day, when he shall come ; and, behold,
already the custom of the Romish Church opposes the
accomplishment of thy Word !

LETTER XIX.*

TO JOHN OF CHLUM.

[He alludes to the injuries which he had to suffer from the Coun
cil and deputies.]
If my letter has not yet been sent to Bohemia, keep
it, and do not send it, for harm might come from it.
The Emperor might well ask who was to be judge,
since the Council has not cited me to appear before him,
nor have I been accused in his presence. Nevertheless,
the Council has cast me into prison, and ordered its pro
curator to proceed against me.
If I obtain a public audience, I ask, noble and excellent
Seignior John, that the Emperor should be present, and
a place near him assigned to me, in order that he may
hear me with facility. I also pray, that you, with the
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xlix.

J~^" LETTER XIX.
Seignior Wenceslaus, and my other protectors, be present,
if you can, and hear the words that Jesus Christ, my
procurator, shall put in my mouth, that whether I live or
die, you may be unto me true witnesses, that impostors
may not say that I abjured the truth which I preached.
Know, that in presence of witnesses and notaries, I
demanded, in my prison, from the commissioners, that
they would send me an advocate and procurator ; they
promised to do so, and afterwards refused them to me.-
I then confided myself to the Lord Jesus, that he may
enlighten, plead, and judge my cause. I do not think
that there are other subjects of accusation against me
than these : First, The obstacle I raised against the
publication of the bull of the Crusades : they are in pos
session of my treatise ; they have read it to me, and I
have acknowledged it. Secondly, They accuse me of
having officiated when under excommunication. Thirdly,
My appeal to the Pope is imputed to me as a crime :
they read this appeal in my presence, and, before all, I
joyfully exclaimed that this appeal should be mine.
Lastly, in the fourth place, I am accused of having left
behind me at Prague a writing which my enemies have
interpreted against me, and in which I said — " I quit the
city without a safe-conduct." You will answer this by
saying, when I left Prague, I had no safe-conduct from
the Pope ; and, in fact, I had none ; and I was not aware,

TO PETER MALDONIEWITZ. 109
when I wrote that letter, that you were to accompany
me in my journey 
After the public audience, should I obtain it, may the
Emperor not permit me to be cast again into prison, —
may I gather the fruits of your good counsels, and of
those of your friends ; and, if it should please God, tell
the Emperor several things, for the advantage of Chris
tendom, and for his own good.

LETTER XX*

TO PETER MALDONIEWITZ.

[John Huss's Dream.]

Explain this night's dream. I thought they wanted
to destroy, at Bethlehem, all the representatives of
Christ, and that they destroyed them. The next morning,
on rising, I saw many painters, who were painting finer
and more numerous images. I looked at them with joy :
the painters said, with the crowd — " Let the bishops and
priests come now, and let them endeavour to destroy these
designs !" Upon this, great multitudes rejoiced at Beth-
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss. Epist. xliv.

110 LETTER XX.
lehem, and I with them ; and on awaking, I found that I
was laughing.
Several have published, that they wished to destroy
what is written at Bethlehem. I will send a copy of the
treatises, which I have transcribed in duplicate.

LETTER XXL*

PETER MALDONIEWITZ TO JOHN HUSS.
[Peter explains the dream to John Huss, according to the inter
pretation of John of Chlum, whom, in pleasantry, they used
to call the Doctor of Bibrach ; because, during John Huss's
stay in the imperial town of Bibrach, as John of Chlum fre
quently conferred with the priests and other lettered men, re
lative to the obedience due to the Pope, excommunication, and
other similar matters, the report was disseminated in the
town, that the nobleman, John of Chlum, had been created
Doctor in Theology.]
Dearest friend, Be not in any respect uneasy respect
ing the public audience, for it occupies more attention
than usual, as well as your affairs ; and we hope, with
the grace of God, that every thing will terminate happily.
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist., xiv.

PETER MALDONIEWITZ TO JOHN HUSS. UJ
But trouble not your head with phantoms ; forget them,
and think only in what manner you may reply to the ob
jections that will be made against you. And yet the
word of truth, which cannot err, forbids you to meditate
too much ; for it declares, that when you are brought be
fore men, it shall be suggested to you at the moment
what you ought to say.
This is the explanation of your dream :— -The image
of Christ, painted on the walls of the chapel, is his life,
which we ought to imitate ; it is the same for the holy
and ineffaceable Scripture which is represented on the
same place, and which, towards the evening, the enemies
of the cross endeavour to rub out, the sun withdrawing
itself from them on account of the iniquities of their life ;
all these things, then, appear forgotten in the eyes of the
world ; but the next day, when the sun of justice shall
have risen again, the preachers of Christ's word will re
new these same images, and will retrace them in a more
brilliant manner, then preaching on the house-tops what
was before only whispered in the ear, and, as it were,
delivered up to oblivion. The result will be a great
source of joy to believers ; and although the humble bird,*
at present placed on the altar, may be delivered up
to suffering in putting off a feeble body ; yet our firm
hope is, that hereafter awakening, after this miserable
life, as from a dream, it will live with Him who is in
* Auca, goose, the signification of Huss in Bohemia.

112

LETTER XXI.

Heaven, and will laugh to scorn those impious persons,
who endeavoured to destroy the image of Christ and the
Holy Scriptures ; and that at the last with the divine
protection, he will again, in a more remarkable manner,
retrace the latter, for his flock and his dear friends. This
is the explanation given by the Doctor of Bibrach,* in
comparing this dream with one of Daniel's visions.
*******
Your friends and faithful disciples are happy in receiv
ing your letters. The Ambassador of the King of France
has arrived to-day at Constance.
* Peter adds, " Correspondenter hunc locum visionis Danielis ex-
ponens eonformlter illi ; quo auca in mari natitans petrse inniti vide-
batur, quorum utrumque inconvulsam sustentaminis innuit firmita-
tem."

REPLY OV JOHN HUSS TO PETER. 113
LETTER XXII. *
REPLY OF JOHN HUSS TO PETER.
[He explains his dream himself, and comforts himself by the
Holy Scriptures.]
I have received much consolation from what the Doctor
of Bibrach has desired you to write to me ; his explana
tion is in accordance with my own ideas. I forget
neither this precept of Cato — " Disturb not thyself with
dreams ;" nor the order of God — " Pay not observance to
visions ;" and yet I hope that the life of Christ, which I
imprinted at Bethlehem by his word in the hearts of my
hearers, and which his enemies have endeavoured to de
stroy, by forbidding me to preach in that place, and by
wishing to pull it down, — I hope, I say, that this same
life shall be sketched hereafter far more effectively by
preachers of greater eloquence than myself, to the great
joy of the people who cling with all their might to the
life of Christ ; greatly shall I rejoice when I awake, as
our Doctor expresses it, — that is to say, when I shall
rise from the bosom of the dead !
And as to the Scripture printed on the walls of Beth
lehem, and relative to which Paletz is so much irritated,
declaring that I have abused the people about it, this
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xlvi.

114 LETTER XXII.
same Paletz insists on its being destroyed ; and in order
to overwhelm me as much as possible, he has greeted me
in a most dreadful manner, as I shall relate hereafter,
with God's permission.
With respect to what I ought to reply to the objec
tions that may be brought against me, I rely on the Di
vine Saviour, to whom I have appealed — whom, in pre
sence of the commissioners, I have chosen for my Judge
and Advocate, declaring firmly, that " I selected for my
advocate and judge the Lord Jesus, him who would soon
judge us all." I committed my cause to him, as he had
confided his to his Father. It is he who has declared,
as our doctoral lord of Bibrach remarks, — " Take no
heed of what you shall say ; for I will give you a wisdom
and eloquence which your enemies will not be able to re
sist." Jerome has written : — " The Lord has said to us, Do
not allow yourselves to be troubled ; fear nothing ; you
shall march to the combat, but it is I who will fight ;
your mouth shall open, but it is I who will speak ; you
shall be betrayed by your relations, your friends, your
brothers ; and they will deliver you up to death. The in
juries that we receive from the persons who are strangers
to us are less cruel than others ; our sufferings are so
much the more bitter, that we expected more from those
who inflicted them on us ; for we suffer not only in our
body, but also in our mind, from charity being destroyed."

TO THE SAME. 115
This is what Jerome says ; and as to me, my grief pro
ceeds, above all, from Paletz.
In truth, the Doctor of Bibrach has the advantage
over Lord Henry, and over Master John of Janowitz.
The other dreams will be also explained, if it please God. *
Let the Doctor of Bibrach keep to himself alone what
he has imparted to me, relative to my letters ; for Christ
has said, — " A man's enemies are of his own household,
and you shall be betrayed by your own relatives."
Farewell ! Be firm and constant all you that dwell in
this city of Constance, f Greet all my friends for me,
but prudently, for fear the question be asked, How you
know that I have sent them a greeting %

LETTER XXIII. +

TO JOHN HUSS.

[Huss is informed of several circumstances by his friends.]
Dearest friend, — Learn that your acts and the truth
have never been more the objects of secret and unjustifiable
* The Latin text has the word cmtera ; but it is probable that dreams
are meant.
t Habete constantiam in Constantia omnes qui simul estis.
J Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. 1.

116 LETTER XXIII.
snares than at present ; however, your affair is postponed
in consequence of a train of incidents that have occurred,
and which were not in any way connected with it.
All your friends, and particularly Christian, are most
attentive to the good widow, as to a second Sareptan.*
A bit of triangular paper has fallen into the hands of
your enemies : it has been the subject of a denunciation ;
and the informations were lodged so promptly, that it
was impossible to prevent the act.
The Doctor of Bibrach has been demanding, by what
means, and by what occasion, he can write to you : the
conclusion that has been drawn, is, that he is negligent
about doing so. Write, I pray you, a few words of con
solation for your most attached friends.
* This ia the person who received John Huss into her house at
Constance.

JOHN HUSS'S REPLY. 117
LETTER XXIV.*
JOHN HUSS'S REPLY.t
May the God of mercy preserve and strengthen you in
his grace ; and may he impart to you, as well as to me,
constancy in this city ; for if we continue constant, we
shall obtain the succour of the Lord. It is now that I
learn to understand the saying of the Psalmist : Pray
and meditate on the sufferings of Christ and the martyrs :
for Isaiah has declared, that experience gives intelligence,
* This letter has been, I own, classed under the same title and the
same figure as the preceding one in the collection of John Huss's Works,
t Huss commenced this letter by the foUowing verses, which he wrote
with his own hand, to console himself, and wile away the time; they
are, however, so filled with jeux de mots and abbreviations, that it is im
possible to translate them satisfactorily. We therefore give them in
the original.. — ¦
Litera gavisus, respondeo capiti istud,
Caetus, Iacus, ignis, ac testis restituere
Jonam, Danielem, tres Pu...Susaunam, quia fuere
Justus, castus, puri, usee conti...Spem retinentes
In Domino j usto, qui liberat in se sperantes.
Poterit qui aucam, Dominus pie, carcere tetro
Eripere clausam, qu£B se fcedaverit retro,
Quam purgat career, donat et instruit flere.
In lachrymas risus vertens, ut nunc sciat vere
Opprobria Christi, blasphemias, lumine recto
Cernere injurias et capite Sathanze secto
Vincere morte, vel ut sibi dederit optima vita.

118 LETTER XXIV.
and unless a man has undergone temptation, he can
know nothing.
I do not understand what the Doctor of Bibrach in
quires about ; and I form no conjectures relative to his
being negligent in writing. I only wish that he may be
in good health ; but that the health of the soul may be
first fortified in him by the Lord. What I desire most
ardently for him, is the improvement of his soul's health
as well as that of his body, and after this life, eternal
happiness with the saints.*
Rejoice all you who are united in the Lord ; salute
each other, and prepare yourselves to partake worthily of
the body of the Lord before the Feast of Easter. I have
not been able to participate in this holy sacrament for a
length of time ; and I shall still be deprived of it as long
as it shall be the good pleasure of the Lord. It was the
same with the apostles of Christ and a great number of
the saints, who were debarred from the sacrament in pri
son and in desert places.
I rejoice that you are together, and that Zelizna Brada
is with you in good health. I also am well, being, as I
hope, in Jesus Christ ; and I shall be still better after
* Iluss here adds the following verses : —
Nocturnus, gradus, litaniaa, singulse horse,
Career! sunt breves, vigiliaa dicere, leves.
Passo Christo patimur: sed hsec est passio nostra,
Nulla, vel modica, quse toUeret crnnina nostra,
Adjuvet vos Christus, ne glutiat nunc Antichristue.

TO THE SAME. 119
death, if I observe faithfully God's commandments. Oh !
that God would accord me sufficient time to reply to the
Chancellor of Paris, who so rashly and unjustly, and in
presence of so great an assembly, did not blush to accuse
his fellow-creature of errors ! But God, perhaps, by my
death, or by his, will render all writing on my part use
less, and in his last judgment will clear up every thing,
far better than I could do by any work of mine.

LETTER XXV.*

TO THE SAME.

[He again requests that the noblemen who have been his pro
tectors should obtain him a hearing ; and he prays earnestly
to have the Emperor and the Council applied to on the sub
ject.] Beloved friend in Christ, endeavour once more to per
suade all our noblemen to solicit the Emperor and the
Council, that what they promised may take place ; for
they declared to me, — " The facts alleged against you
shall be put down briefly in writing, and in an approaching
* Hist, et Mormm. Johann. Huss, Epist. xxxv.

120 LETTER XXV.
audience you shall reply." Our noblemen, by remind
ing the Emperor and the Council of their own words, can
constrain them to do what they have promised. Then
in the Council, with the assistance of God, will I loudly'
proclaim the truth ; for, rather than to be thus basely
stifled by them, I prefer to have my body burned with
fire ; but I am anxious that every Christian shall know
what are my last words. I, therefore, in the name of
the Most High, conjure my noble friends to act with
energy, and to give me a last proof of their firmness. My
trust in the Lord, noble John, my generous and most
faithful friend, is unchangeable. May God award you a
fitting recompense for all your kindness. I conjure you
not to withdraw until all has been consummated. Oh !
why am I not led forth to the funeral pile, rather than be
thus prevented from being heard ! I still hope that the
Almighty God will deliver me from their hands through
the merits of the saints. Let me know, I pray you, if I
shall to-morrow be heard before the Council. Salute, from
me, all my friends in Bohemia, and beseech them to pray
to God for me. Should I remain in prison, it will be a
great consolation to me, during my melancholy expecta
tion of death, to know that you have exhorted the mas
ters to remain steadfast in the truth, as well as the young
maiden Petra and all her family. Recommend Master
Jessenitz to take unto himself a wife. Pray my good
friend Guzikon and the cure not to be angry with me for

TO THE SAME. 121
not having paid what I owed them, for it was totally out
of my power. Let those persons who have aided me with
their money, salute my friends in Christ of both sexes,
and let them pray to God for me. No one will repay
them, as well as our Lord Jesus Christ, the money they
bad advanced to me, it having been done for his service.
I should, however, be well pleased that the richer persons
paid the poorer ; but I fear that in some this saying may
be confirmed, — Tzosoczy to Smyssli.*

LETTER XXVLt
JOHN OF CHLUM TO JOHN HUSS.
[He informs him in what terms the Emperor explained, before
the deputies of the Council, his views relative to the audi
ence. He afterwards gives him some intelligence of the posi
tion and health of his friends.]
Dearest friend, — Learn that the Emperor held a con
ference to-day with the deputies of all the nations of the
Council relative to your affairs, and in particular con
cerning the public audience. All at last replied to him
* Luther has not translated these words.
t Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xlvii.

122 LETTER XXVI.
that he had certainly promised you a hearing ; and your
friends insisted on your being placed in an airy and
wholesome place, that you may collect your strength and
allow your mind to become tranquil, in order that, by a
short respite, you may be better able to reply.
Therefore, in the name of God, quit not the truth in
the slightest degree, through any dread of losing this
miserable life ; for it is for your greatest good that God
has visited you with this trial.
Your friends in Prague are in good health, and parti
cularly the Lord Schopeek, who rejoices exceedingly that
you are shortly about to sustain the desired combat for
the truth. We pray you earnestly to consign to paper
your final opinion relative to the communion of the cup,
and your reasons therefor, in order that it may be com
municated to our friends in proper season ; for there
exists some difference of opinion on the subject amongst
the brethren, and many are troubled thereby. They refer
the matter to you and to your writings.
Your friends grieve at the reply of your jailor, and
particularly Jessewitz ; but the past cannot be recalled.
They praise amongst themselves, and admire greatly, your
firmness.

TO JOHN OF CHLUM. 123
LETTER XXVII.*
TO JOHN OF CHLUM. f
[John Huss replies separately to all the articles. He also enu»
merates the annoyances to which he is subjected by several
bishops relative to a quantity of gold pieces which they affirm
to be in his possession.]
As well as I can remember, I know nothing more, and
I am ignorant for what object the public hearing will be
given me. I have protested in writing in presence of
notaries ; I have also addressed to the whole Council a
petition which I shewed to the patriarch, and in which I
demand to have permission accorded me to reply sepa
rately to each article, as I had already replied by writing.
The public audience will perhaps be allowed me for the
purpose of replying in a scholastic form, or perhaps
God will graciously permit me to preach.
I hope that, by the grace of God, I shall never depart,
even slightly, from tbe truth, such as I know it. Pray to
Him, therefore, to protect me !
As to what touches the communion of the cup, you
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xlviii.
t This letter appears aB if it were a reply to the preceding one, from
what is said in it about the sacrament of the cup.

124

LETTER XXVII.

possess the writing in which I have advanced my opinion
on the subject, and my reasons for holding it. I have
nothing farther to say, except that the Scriptures and the
Epistles of Paul prescribe this practice, and that it was
in use in the primitive Church. D7 possible, obtain per
mission for those who are anxious to partake of it from
religious motives, to do so ;* but be guided in your con
duct therein by circumstances.
Let my friends not conceive any alarm at my replies
in private. I cannot see how these things could have been
otherwise, since all was decided by tbe Council, even pre
viously to my being thrown into prison. In a document
published by the Commissioners, and which has been read
to me, I am called a heresiarch, and a seducer of the peo
ple. But I hope that what I have uttered in the shade,
will be, at a later period, preached in the open day.-""
I was interrogated, the evening of the day on which I
saw John Barbat, respecting the forty-seven articles ; and
I replied as I had done in my preceding protest. Taking
each article separately, they asked me if I desired to de
fend it : my reply was, that I referred the matter to the
decision of the Council, as I had previously done, and I
asserted of each article, as previously, " It is true ; but
* Si potest fieri, attentetis ut sdltetn permittatur per buUam iUis dari,
qui ex devotione postulaverint. It is not easy to say what Huss meant by
the expression per bullam.
t Sed spero quod quse dixi sub tecto praedicabuntur super a tectu.

TO JOHN OV CHLUM. 125
in such and such a sense." " Will you defend it ?" they
asked me ; and my answer was, " No ; I abide by the
decision ofthe Council."
I call God to witness, that, under the circumstances,
I saw nothing better to reply, as I had antecedently given
it under my own hand that I should not defend any
thing obstinately, but that I was ready to be instructed.
These questions were put to me, because it was reported
that I had informed the Emperor that I wished to de
fend three or four articles. They even asked me what I
had declared to the Emperor, and I replied, that I had
not said anything of the nature attributed to me.*
Michael Causis was present, with a paper in his hand,
and urging on the patriarch to force me to reply to his
questions; and whilst this was going on, some bishops
entered. Michael has invented something new. God has
been pleased to allow him and Paletz to stand against me
for my sins. The former scrutinises my letters and my
writings ; and Paletz brings forward all the conversations
that we held together in bygone years.
The patriarch maintained openly that I was exceed
ingly rich ; and an archbishop said to me, " You have
seventy thousand florins." Michael asked me before them
all, " Eh ! what has become of that robe-full of florins ?
How much money of yours have the barons of Bohemia in
* John Huss adds, Sed sicut scitis, &c, " but as you know," &c, and
does not terminate the sentence.

126 LETTER XXVIII.
safe keeping ?" Oh ! certainly I suffered much to-day.
One bishop said to me, " You have established a new
law :" another, " You have preached all these articles ;"
and I replied warmly and strongly, with the aid of God,
and concluded by asking, " Why do you overwhelm me
with insults V
Write nothing to me of the witnesses cited to appear,
for no step has been taken about them, either by them
selves, or by the king, or by the citizens of Prague.

LETTER XXVIII.*
[Huss replies to Peter the notary, who had encouraged him to
give proofs of constancy.
This letter, says Luther, is a noble testimony in support of the
saying ofthe Apostle Paul, that virtue will improve in afflic
tion, and God brings forth fruits in us by temptation.]
May salvation come to thee from Jesus Christ ! I dare
not rashly say, with St Peter, since my fervour and cou
rage are infinitely inferior to his, that " though all men
shall be offended because of Christ, yet will I never be
offended." Jesus Christ has never, in express terms, declared me
to be blessed like Peter, and has not promised me such
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xxix.

HUSS REPLIES TO PETER. 127
precious gifts. I maintain, at the same time, against
several together, an attack more vigorous in its nature
and more terrible. I, however, can declare, that, having
placed my trust in Jesus Christ, I shall adhere to the
truth, even unto death, with the aid of the saints and his
own. If the Lord John of Chlum suffers any loss on my ac
count, do thou, my dear Peter, take thought to repair it
when thou shalt have returned. Pay attention to the
master of the mint, and his wife, who imprudently en
gaged themselves for me, and to all our other friends,
known to the Cure, my disciple. If any horse remains
still my property, it ought to come into the possession of
Lord John, with the car.
As to thee, if Master Martin or Master Christian live,
thou shalt receive from them a part of the sixty-four or
seventy pieces of money ; and I wish that this portion
were larger. Bear in mind, however, that I do not pre
tend, by this money, to recompense thy ardent and un
changeable love for the- truth, or the services that thou
hast rendered me, and the consolations which thou hast
lavished on me in my hours of difficulty. May God be
thy great recompense for all these things, for I possess
nothing that is worthy of thy acceptance. Should it be
granted me to live at Prague ; and if my return to that
city is not impossible, I would share every thing with
thee like a brother. I do not, however, form any wish

128 LETTER XXVIII.
to return thither, but inasmuch as it may be in accordance
with the will of the Lord in heaven. I do not know to
whom I can entrust the viatica which I still possess, and
which I had bequeathed to Master Martin. Dispose of
my books according to the directions that I sent to him,
and choose for thyself from amongst them such of those
written by Wycliffe as shall please thee. I am much
alarmed for our brethren, who, I fear, will be persecuted,
unless the Lord interpose in their favour ; and I am
apprehensive that many will be offended.
Salute, I pray thee, with a great affection, the Bohe
mian and Polish noblemen, and render thanks, in par
ticular, to the Lords Wenceslaus de Duba and John de
Chlum, who, I hope, will be present at the audience of
the Council.
Farewell in Jesus Christ !

HUSS TO ONE OE HIS FRIENDS. 129

LETTER XXIX.*
TO ONE OF HIS FRIENDS.
[He mentions what happened to him in the audience, which was
accorded him four days before the eclipse of the sun.t]
The Lord, to-day, gave me a firm and intrepid heart.
Two articles were struck out, and I am in hope that a
greater number will be treated in like manner. They
were all crying out, like the Jews against Jesus. They
have not yet come to the principal count, viz., to the
avowal that all the incriminated articles are found in my
writings. You committed an error in judgment in pre
senting the treatise against an unknown adversary. Do
not shew, with the treatise on the Church, anything be
sides that against Stanislaus and Paletz.
It is well that they had desired my book to be given
back to them ; for some persons cried out loudly to have
it burned, particularly Michael de Causis, whom I myself
heard. I never thought that I had, in that multitude of
priests, only the brother, and a Polish doctor whom I
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xxxvi.
t This is an error of Luther's ; the first audience was given the day
before the eclipse, on June 6.
F 2

130 LETTER XXIX.
knew to be such. I rendered thanks to the Bishop Ly-
temissel, for he said but these few words : " Atzo Huss
to bie utzmiV*
I am grateful to you for the manner in which you have
arranged the articles : it will be well to have them pub
lished under that form. The presidents have asserted
that I elsewhere published another definition of the
Church, and they wanted to know what it was.
Greet the lords who are believers, and the friends of
the truth, and pray to God in my behalf, for I have need
of it. I think they will not pardon me the opinion which
I quoted from St Augustin respecting the Church, the
predestinated members, the elect, and the bad bishops.
Oh ! that an audience may be accorded me, in order
that I may reply to the arguments by which they attack
the articles of my treatises ; many of them, now crying
out, would then be silent : but the will of God be done !
* The meaning of this does not appear.

TO HIS NOBLE BENEFACTORS. 131

LETTER XXX.*
TO HIS NOBLE BENEFACTORS.
[This letter teaches us in what consists the trial of spiritual
combats ; it shews how true is what we confess in the Creed,
that there is but one holy and universal Church,t and that
the riches of this Church are common to all. Man is for his
fellow-creature, an angel and a God in misfortunes.]
I am delighted that the treatise against an unknown
person has not been discovered, as well as several others.
I have been able these latter days to nourish my soul
with better things, j than since Easter day until last
Sunday. I imagined this Council to contain more order
and decency. May the noble John, my friend, be
blessed in eternity. I should with pleasure learn in
what state is Barbat, who refused to follow the counsels
of his friends.
Since they are in possession of my book, I have not
felt any want of the work. Preserve carefully the list
of the first articles, with the proofs ; and if you should
* Hist. et. Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xxxvii.
t Catholicism.
X De bonis plus eomedi. I did not think it possible to understand
these words but in a figurative manner.

132 LETTER XXX.
want any testimonies for any of the articles, assign wit
nesses. The most important article is that entitled All
that a virtuous man does, he does virtuously.
I am suffering from a toothach, and during the heat
have been seized with vomitings of blood. I suffered
also from the stone and headach. These are punish
ments for my sins, and signs of God's love. Since they
have condemned my treatises, I pray you to suppress
the last letter written in Bohemian, which I sent to-day,
in order that the people of God should not believe that
all my books are condemned, as I was afraid of, from a
letter I received yesterday.
It would be desirable that no letter written in this
prison should be known ; for what God intends to do
with me is still very uncertain. I fear that Ulric may
have published some of my letters. I conjure you,
therefore, in God's name, to pay the greatest attention
to the letters — to your words and acts. Oh! how much
I was consoled by receiving your letters, and in writing
you mine ! I hope, with the grace of God, that men
may one day derive instruction from them.
As long as I know you remain with the young
Seigniors at Constance, I shall be comforted, even though
I should be already condemned to death. I regard it as
certain that God has bestowed you on me, as angels to
strengthen and console me, — me, a weak and unfortunate
man, in the midst of my temptations. What they have

HUSS TO HIS NOBLE BENEFACTORS. 133
been, what they are, and will still be, the Almighty God
knows. He who has compassion on me, He who is my
refuge, my support, and my deliverer, in Him have I
placed my trust.
Two delegates of the Council asked me in prison, " If
I possessed several books which I had made use of in
my researches 1 " I answered, that " I possessed them."
They asked me, "Where?" "In Bohemia," I replied.
They inquired of me, " Whether I had none here ?" I
denied having any, which is the fact, although I had
previously brought with me the book of Sentences, the
Bible, and some other works. I learned from them that
John, my pupil, had withdrawn ; and they said to me,
"Have you no other observations to offer?" "No;
what I have said, is the truth." " Will you abjure and
recant ? " " No," I replied ; " but come to the Council;
there you shall hear me. I am to appear before it, and
there will I answer. Why do you tempt me ? Have
you come to console a prisoner, or add to his affliction V
Then, after having again exchanged some words, they
withdrew. Take care of the books, if you have any ; as
for me, I am not aware of any.
Tell Master Jessenitz, that the notary has perfidi
ously changed my evidence concerning the explanation of
the bull, which, as you have heard, I strongly affirmed
before the Council.

134 LETTER XXXI.

LETTER XXXI.

[John Huss relates with what horror and rage he was greeted by
the Council.]
I, Master John Huss, in hope, servant of Christ, and
ardently desiring that believers in Christ may not, when
I shall have ceased to live, find in my death an opportu
nity for scandal, and look on me as an obstinate heretic,
do take to witness Jesus Christ, for the sake of whose
word I have wished to die ; and I leave in writing the
remembrance of these things for the friends of truth.
I had often declared, both in private, in public, and
before the Council, that I would consent to an inquiry,
and would submit myself to instruction, abjuration, and
punishment, if it was demonstrated to me that I had writ
ten, taught, or disseminated, any thing contrary to the
truth. But fifty doctors, who stated that they were de
puted by the Council, having been frequently corrected by
me, and even in public, for having falsely extracted articles
from my works, refused me any private explanation, and
declared that they would not confer with me, saying
You ought to submit yourself to the decision of the Coun-
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xv.

JOHN HUSS'S RECEPTION BY THE COUNCIL. 135
cil. And the Council mocked when, in the public audi
ence, I quoted the words of Christ and the holy doctors ;
at one time they reproached me with misunderstanding
them, and, at another, the doctors insulted me.* ....
An English doctor, who had already said to me in pri
vate, that Wycliffe had wished to annihilate all science,
and had filled his books and his logic with errors, began
to discourse on the multiplication of the body of Christ
in the consecrated host, and, as his arguments were weak,
he was told to be silent ; then he cried out : " This man
deceives the Council ; take care that the Council be not
led into error as it was by Berenger." When he was
silent, another discussed noisily concerning the created
and common essence. All began to clamour against him.
I then demanded that he might be heard, and said to
him, " You argue well ; I will answer you most willingly."
He also broke down, and he added in a sullen voice :
" This man is a heretic." The Seignior Wenceslaus Duba,
* John Huss alludes here to a discussion, not very intelligible, on
the community of the essence in the Divine Persons. We give it in the
original : Quidam autem cardinalis supremus concilii, et a concilio de-
putatus in publica audientia, accepta una charta,' dixit : Ecce unus
magister sacree theologiae prsesentavit mihi argumentum istud, dicatis
ad illud. Erat autem argumentum de essentia communi, quam con-
cessi esse in divinis. Postea ipso deficiente, quamvis reputaretur doc
tor theologiae valentissimus, dixi sibi de essentia communi creata, quae
est primum esse creatum communicatum singulis creaturis : ex qua
ipse volebat probare remanentiam panis materialis, sed notabiliter ad
metam nescientico argumenti reductus obmutuit.

136 LETTER XXXI.
John de Chlum, and Peter the notary, valiant champions
and friends of the truth, know what clamours, what un
worthy raillery and blasphemies were poured upon me in
this assembly. Stunned by so much noise, I said, " I
thought there was to be found in this Council more de
cency, more piety, and more discipline." All then began
to listen, for the Emperor had commanded silence to be
observed.' The cardinal who presided said to me — " You spoke
more humbly in your prison." I answered — " It is true ;
for then no one clamoured against me, and now they are
all vociferous." He added — " Will you submit to an
investigation?" " I consent to it," replied I, "within
the limits which I have fixed." " Take this for the re
sult of the inquiry," resumed the cardinal, " that the
doctors have declared the articles extracted from your
books to be errors, which you ought to efface, in abjuring
those already testified against you by witnesses." The
Emperor afterwards said — " This will soon be committed
to writing for you, and you will answer it." " Let that
be done at the next audience," said the cardinal; and
the sitting closed. God knows how many trials I have
suffered since ! *
* For the detailed account of this second audience, consult The Re
formers before ihe Reformation, vol. ii. hook iv. chap. 4.

TO HIS FRIENDS. 1 37

LETTER XXXII.

TO HIS FRIENDS.

[He complains that the Emperor Sigismond had treated him
with less prudence than Pontius Pilate did Jesus Christ.]
Salutation in Jesus Christ. What I am informed by
Peter affords me pleasure. I do not keep his letters,
but destroy them immediately. Let not the sexternit
be sent me ; for I fear the danger that might accrue to
the messenger and some other persons, I still earnestly
entreat that all our Seigniors may solicit collectively for
me a last audience with the Emperor ; for, since he told
me at the Council, that an audience would shortly be
granted me, in order that I might reply briefly in writing,
it will be a shame for him should he violate the pro
mise which he has given me. But I believe his word on
this subject will be as stable and firm as in the safe-
conduct. Several persons warned me in Bohemia not to rely on
his safe-conduct ; others told me that Sigismond would
deliver me up to my enemies ; the Seignior Mykest
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xxxiv.
t Sexterni, a coin of these times.

138

LETTER XXXII.

was one of these. Duvoki said to me, in the presence
of Jessenitz, " Master, regard it as a certainty that you
will be condemned." I presume that he was aware of the
Emperor's intentions. I thought the latter was well
versed in the law of God and the truth. I understand
now that his wisdom is not great. He has condemned
me before my enemies. Why has he not done like
Pilate, who, after having heard the accusers, exclaimed
— I find nothing to condemn in this man. H", at least,
he had said — " I have given him a safe-conduct. If he
will not submit to the Council I will send him to the king
of Bohemia, with your sentence and the testimonies in
support of it, in order that he may be judged by this
prince and his clergy." Sigismond, in fact, intimated to
me by Leffl, and others, of his intention to grant me an
audience whenever it might be necessary, and of his re
solution to save me from all danger, should I not submit
to the judgment.

TO HIS FRIENDS. 139

LETTER XXXIII.*

TO HIS FRIENDS.

[He relates the frightful visions which diversely affected him,
although events have confirmed the truth of all his dreams.]
The Lord be with you ! The warning ofthe Lord is
more precious to me than gold and topaz. I hope, then,
in the mercy of Jesus Christ, that he will grant me his
Spirit, that I may hold fast in the truth. Pray to the
Lord ; for the spirit is willing and the flesh is weak.
May the Almighty God be the reward of my well-beloved
Nobles, who with a constant, fervent, and faithful heart,
persevere in justice. God will enable them to know the
truth in the kingdom of Bohemia. But that they may
cling to it, it is necessary they return to Bohemia,
forgetting vainglory in order to attach themselves to a
King who is neither mortal nor subject to our miseries,
but who is the King of Glory, giving eternal life.
Oh ! with what sweet pleasure did I press the hand
of the Seignior John, who did not blush to offer it to me,
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xxxiii.

140 LETTER XXXIII.
an unfortunate man — to me, a heretic, in chains, despised
and loudly condemned by all. I shall not much longer
hold discourse with you; salute, therefore, our faithful
Bohemians. Paletz came to visit me in prison, and accosted me in
my deep distress, by telling me, in presence ofthe Com
missioners, that since the birth of Christ, there had risen
no heretic more dangerous than Wycliffe and myself,
He further declared, that all those who have listened to
my preachings are infected with this heresy, which con
sists in affirming that the material bread remains in the
sacrament of the altar. " 0 Paletz," I answered, " how
cruel are these words ! and how much thou sinnest against
me. I am about to die ; perhaps when I rise from my bed
I shall be conducted to the stake. What reward will they
give thee in Bohemia ? " I should have perhaps abstained
from writing these things, for fear of appearing to hate
them. I have ever kept in mind these words, " Put not your
trust in princes;" and this other text, which says,
" Cursed is he who trusts in man only."
Be prudent, for the sake of God, whether you should
remain in this place, or whether you return ; do not carry
about you any of my letters, but disperse my writings
amongst all our friends.
Learn that. I have had a great combat to sustain, in
not wondering at my dreams. I dreamed of the Pope's

| to nis FRIENDS. 141
evasion before it took place, and after the event being re
lated, I heard, in the night-time, the Seignior John say,
" The Pope will return to you." I have dreamed of Master
Jerome's captivity, but not in what way it should occur ;
and likewise of the different prisons to which I should
be conducted, such as they were afterwards assigned to
me, but without any particular details  A multi
tude of serpents often presented themselves before me,
rolled up into a circle, the head forming the tail. I have
seen many other things besides.
I write this, not that I consider myself a prophet, or
that I should exalt myself, but in order to tell you I have
experienced both mental and bodily temptations, as well
as great fear of transgressing the precepts of our Lord
Jesus Christ. I think now of these words of Jerome,
who said to me, " If I go to Constance, I do not believe
I shall return thence." A worthy shoemaker, Andre
Polonus, said, whilst bidding me farewell, " May God be
with you : I can hardly hope that you will return safe
and sound, very dear Master John, you who cling with
so much force to truth. May the King, not he of Hun
gary,* but of Heaven, bestow on you his blessings for the
true and excellent doctrines I have learned from you."
* The Emperor Sigismund.

142 LETTER XXXIV.
LETTER XXXIV.
TO THE NOBLE LORD, HENRY DE SCHOPECK.
May God be with you, noble Henry ! I received
your letter on the Wednesday before the fete of Saint
Vitus, and it caused a great joy, although in prison, and
in the expectation of death. I conjure you, my dear
lord, to live according to God's law, keeping in your soul
those things which you have heard and learned of me,
If, nevertheless, some of them appear to you unworthy of
being preserved, reject them. I hope, however, I have
taught you nothing concerning our Lord which was
against the law of God. I could write at great length
on this subject ; but I will say in few words, " Keep the
commandments of God, be merciful unto the poor, shun
pride ; bear in mind these words, ' Remember what
thou art, what thou wert, and what thou shalt be. . . .' "
Beloved lord, keep me also in remembrance ; salute for
me your noble wife, your family, and all my friends ; for
I presume, that before my death, which is hastening on,
you will never see me more; and this death I am ready for.
Written on the fifth day before the festival of Saint
Vitus. May God be with you, my dear Bohemians, and with
me ! for I am suffering for his Word.

TO A FRIEND. 143

LETTER XXXV.*
TO A FRIEND.
[Huss alludes to the hymn noted down on parchment, which he
composed in Bohemian for Schopeek.]
You will forward the letter on parchment to the
Seignior Henry Schopeek ; I have kept it in my prison in
remembrance of him ; and I composed this hymn during
my leisure hours.
Noble Henry, my faithful friend, remember the words
you have heard from me, in order that you may obtain
eternal glory. Remember what I have said unto you : —
I am confident God will grant me his Spirit, that I may
be enabled to support some temptations, for his name's
sake. Written, the Sunday before Saint Vitus, in the ex
pectation of death.
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xiii.

144 LETTER XXXVI.

LETTER XXXVI.*
TO THE FAITHFUL OF BOHEMIA.
[John Huss wrote this letter in his own handwriting in his prison
at Constance, to console the king and kingdom of Bohemia,
and to warn them not to abandon the true Evangelical doctrine,
nor the Chapel of Bethlehem, nor the faithful doctors of the
Gospel, notwithstanding the rage of Satan and of the world,
but to live in piety and justice, each one according to his
calling.] I, John Huss, in hope servant of God, desire, that the
believers in Bohemia who love the Lord, may live and
die in grace, and at last obtain eternal life.
You who are high in dignity, you who are rich, and
you who are poor, you all who are the faithful and well
beloved disciples of the Lord, I conjure you all to obey
God, to glorify his word, and to elevate yourselves by
listening to his precepts. I conjure you to cling to the
divine word, which I have preached according to the law
and after the testimony of the saints ; I conjure you, if
any amongst you, either in public meetings or in private
conversations, have heard any words from me, or read
any writings of mine contrary to God's truth, not -to at-
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xi.

TO THE FAITHFUL OF BOHEMIA. 145
tach yourselves to such, although my conscience does not
reproach me with having said or written any thing of the
nature to which I refer. I conjure you besides, if any
one has remarked any thing trifling, either in my dis
courses or my writings, not to imitate me in that, but to
pray to God that he may pardon my frivolity ; I conjure
you to love priests of good morals, and to honour, in pre
ference, those who exert themselves in diffusing the word
of God ; I conjure you to beware of deceitful men, espe
cially impious priests, of whom the Lord has said, they
are outwardly dressed in sheep's clothing, while within
they are ravening wolves ; I conjure the powerful to treat
their poor servants with kindness, and to command them
with justice ; I conjure citizens to keep a good conscience
in their profession, artizans to apply themselves carefully
to their callings, and to keep before their eyes the fear of
God, and domestics faithfully to serve their masters ; I
conjure the masters of arts to live honestly, to instruct
their pupils faithfully ; first of all, teaching them to
fear God, afterwards exerting themselves for the glory of
God, the good of their country, and their own salvation,
and not to attach themselves strongly to mere rules of
propriety, whether for the sake of riches or for worldly
honours ; I conjure the pupils of the public school, and
all scholars, to obey their masters in all lawful things, and
to labour with the greatest zeal, in order to advance one
day the kingdom of God, their own salvation, and that of
G

1,46 LETTER XXXVI.
other men. I conjure you all to bestow your thanks on
the generous noblemen, Wenceslaus Duba, John of Chlum,
Henry Plumlovic, Wylem Zagee, Nicholas, and the other
Bohemian, Moravian, and Polish Seigniors, who, as zea
lous defenders of God's truth, opposed this Council with
all their power, endeavouring to obtain my deliverance ;
in particular, I mention Wenceslaus Duba and John of
Chlum, Believe all they may report to you, for they
were present at the Council on the days when I replied.
They know what Bohemians have risen against me ; they
are acquainted with the unworthy deeds which were im
puted to me by them ; they are aware how the whole
assembly vociferated against me whilst I was answering
all the questions that were asked. I conjure you to pray
for the King of the Romans, and for your own, and for
the Queen, in order that the God of mercy may dwell
with them and with you, now and for ever.
I write you this letter in my prison and with my fet
tered hand, expecting after to-morrow my sentence of
death, and having an entire confidence in God that he will
not forsake me ; that he will not suffer me to renounce
h's word, or abjure errors wickedly ascribed to me by
false witnesses. When we shall meet again in a happy
eternity you will know with what clemency the Lord
deigns to assist me in my cruel trials.
I know nothing concerning Jerome, my faithful friend,
unless that he is detained in a wretched prison, waiting,

TO THE FAITHFUL OF BOHEMIA. 147
like myself, for death, on account of that faith which he
so courageously spread through Bohemia. But the Bo
hemians, our most cruel adversaries, have delivered us to
the power of other enemies and to their chains. Pray to
God for them. I conjure you, inhabitants of Prague,
above all to love my Chapel of Bethlehem, and to have the
word of God preached there, should God permit it. The
fury of Satan is stirred up against that place. Seeing that
the power of darkness was weakened in it, he has excited
the parochial clergy against that temple. I hope God
will protect it, and that his word will be preached there
with more success by others than by me, a weak and in
firm man. [Lastly, I conjure you to love one another, to
[shut out no one from the path of divine truth, and to watch
that the upright be not oppressed by violence. Amen.
Written on the night of the Monday before Saint Vi
tus, and sent by a good and faithful German.

148 LETTER XXX VII.
LETTER XXXVII*
(NOT ADDRESSED TO ANY BODY.)
[The authentic profession of faith, in which John Huss declares,
with the assistance of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he will not
abjure the truth which he has acknowledged, unless further en
lightened by the Scriptures.]
My last and firm determination is, that I refuse to
confess as erroneous the articles which have been truly
extracted from my works, and that I refuse to abjure
those which have been attributed to me by false wit
nesses ; for to abjure implies that one has held errone
ous opinions — it is, in fact, to reject them, and adopt
others of a contrary tendency. God knows that I have
never taught these errors, imputed to me by those who
have retrenched from my works many truths and falsified
them. Were I aware that, in the articles I confess to,
there was one contrary to the truth, I would correct it,
and most heartily strike it out. Nay, I would teach and
preach the contrary. But, although some parts may be
considered scandalous and erroneous by those who are
displeased with such doctrines, yet I do not believe that
there is a single passage which is opposed to the law of
Christ or to the words of the holy apostles.
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xx.

PROFESSION OF FAITH, &C. 149
I detest and condemn all false interpretation imputed
to my articles against my intention, submitting myself to
the correction of our Divine Master, and confiding in his
infinite mercy, that he himself may deign to wash me
clean from such sins as I am ignorant of. * I return
thanks to all the Bohemian Barons, and especially to
King Wenceslaus, and to the Queen, my gracious Sove
reign, that they have loved me, have acted piously to
wards me, and have worked ardently to procure my de
liverance ; I render thanks also to the Emperor Sigis
mund, for his good intentions in my favour ; I render
thanks to all those Nobles of Bohemia and Poland who
have shewn themselves firm in defending the truth, and
in endeavouring to break my chains ; I desire the salva
tion of all, here below in grace, and afterwards in a glo
rious eternity.
May the God of all goodness bring you back into Bo
hemia with perfect health of body and soul, that, serving
in this world, Christ, our Sovereign, you may attain eter
nal life !
You will salute for me all my friends, to whom I can
not write ; if I saluted by name some, and not others,
I should appear to except some persons ; and those to
whom I did not write would think I did not keep them
in remembrance, or did not love them as I ought to do.
* Quod ab occultis peccatis meis ipse me mundavit.

] 50 LETTER XXXVIIL
Written in prison, and in chains, the sixth day before
the festival of St John the Baptist.
John Huss, in hope, servant of Christ.

LETTER XXXVIIL*
TO HIS DISCIPLE, MASTER MARTIN.
Master Martin, my dear disciple, my well-beloved
brother in Christ, live according to the law of Christ ; be
zealous in the preaching of God's Word. I conjure you,
in the name of the Lord, not to seek rich clothing like
unto that which I was fond of, alas ! and which I wore,
neglecting to shew an example of humility to the people
whom I instructed. Attach thy soul to the reading of
the Bible, and especially that of the New Testament ;
and in obscure passages, have recourse to commentators
as much as it is in thy power to do so.
Dread the intercourse of women, and be circumspect,
when thou listenest to them at confession, lest thou
shouldest be caught in the snares of unlawful desires ; for
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xxviii.

TO HIS DISCIPLE, MR MARTIN. 151
I hope thou hast guarded all thy purity, and that thou
belongest wholly to God.
Be not afraid of dying, if thou wouldest wish to live
with Christ, for he has said himself, Fear not those who
destroy the body, but cannot kill the soul. If they
should ask thee concerning thy adherence to my doc
trines, answer, " I believe my master has been a good
Christian, in what he has taught and written ; I have
neither read all, nor understood all. I speak as I think."
I hope that the mercy of God, with the aid of well-dis
posed people, will enable us to live in peace, although
Paletz labours with his associates to get all my adherents
condemned. But know that the Lord lives, who can in
his grace preserve you, and can confound and destroy all
the enemies of his word.
I recommend to thee my very dear brethren ; act to
wards them as thou knowest is right. Thou wilt salute
Peter, with his wife and family, and all those who belong
to the Church of Bethlehem : Catherine, that holy girl,
and the Cure Guzikon, Maurice Hatzer, and all the
friends of the truth ; Geskoniere, the Seignior Gregory,
all the Masters, Jessenitz, Kuba, the two Simons, and
Nicholas Haulikon. Let all those who possess, or shall
possess, my books be prudent. Thou wilt also salute all
my well-beloved brothers in Christ, the doctors, the
writers, the shoemakers, the tailors, in recommending
them to be zealous for the laws of Christ, to advance

152

¦LETTER XXXVIII.

humbly in wisdom, and not to make use of their own
commentaries, but to have recourse to those of the saints.
Thou wilt tell Henry Liffel to give to Jacob, the writer,
the piece of money which was promised him.
Salute Matthew, formerly my disciple at Bethlehem,
and especially Master Matthew Chudy, and the faithful
John Vitlis, that they may pray for me, a sinner.
Incline my brother's sons to exercise some worldly
calling ; for I should be afraid, if they took upon them
a spiritual charge, that they might not fill it as they
should do. Satisfy as well as thou canst, those to whom
I owe something ; should they wish, nevertheless, to for
get these debts for the love of the Lord, the Lord will
bestow on them much greater riches.
Keep in mind all the good thou hast heard from my
lips ; and if thou hast discovered in me any thing which
was not according to propriety, detest it, and pray to
God that he may deign to pardon me. Meditate with
out ceasing on what thou art, on what thou hast been,
and what thou mayest become. Deplore the past, amend
the present, dread the future, that is, sin.
May the God of grace console thee, as well as all our
above-mentioned brethren, that He may conduct you
with all the others to his glory, in which, I firmly hope,
of his mercy, all will rejoice before thirty years have
passed over.
Adieu, my well-beloved brother; dwell always with

TO THE LORD HAULIK.0N. 153'
Christ Jesus, thou, and all those who love the name of
our Lord.
Written in prison the Sunday after Saint Vitus.
John Huss, in hope, servant of God.

LETTER XXXIX.*

TO THE LORD HAULIKON.

[Huss invites him not to oppose administering the blood of Jesus
Christ to laymen under the form of wine.]
As a preacher of the word of Christ, my very dear
brother, do not oppose the administering of the Cup, it
being a Sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ and his
apostles. No text of Scripture is opposed to it, but
only custom ; and I think that this was established only
through negligence and forgetfulness. But it is not
custom which we should follow, but the example of Christ.
The Council, alleging custom as a motive, has declared
the Communion of the Cup by layman to be an error,
and has ordained, that whosoever should practise it, shall
* Hist. et. Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xvi.
g2

154 LETTER XXXIX.
be punished as a heretic, if he did not amend this
practice. Already, then, has the malice of men con
demned as an error an institution of Christ. I conjure
you, by the love of God, not to attack Master Jacobel,
that there may not be any division amongst the faithful,
and that Satan may not find a new subject for joy.
Prepare yourself as quickly as possible, my dear brother,
to suffer for the Communion of the Cup. Lay aside
all fears which is unworthy of you, and remain firm in
the truth of Christ, exhorting the other brethren by the
Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. I think that they
will give you, in support of the Communion of the Cup,
what I have written at Constance. Salute the faithful
in Christ, Written in irons, on the eve of the day of the Ten
Thousand.

TO SOME FRIENDS. 155
LETTER XL.*
TO SOME FRIENDS.
[Great victory over the gates of hell, and over those who, with
unexampled cunning, and under specious pretexts, solicited
John Huss to abjure the truth of the Lord.]
A multitude of people have come to exhort me, and
amongst them many doctors, but few brethren, as the
Apostle has said. They were prodigal in their counsels and
phrases ; they told me, that I coul d and I ought to abjure my
scruples in submitting my will to the Holy Church, which
the Council represents ; but not one of them can avoid
the difficulty, when I place him in my situation, and ask
him, if, being certain of having never preached, or de
fended, or entertained heresy, he could, in safe conscience,
formally confess that he abjured an error which he never
supported. Some of them stated, that it was not neces
sary to abjure, but merely to renounce the heresy held or
not held ; others maintain, that to abjure signifies to
deny what is attested rightly or erroneously. I would
willingly swear, I replied to them, that I have never
preached, held, or defended, the errors which are imputed
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xxx.

156 LETTER XL.
to me ; and that I will never preach, hold, or defend
them. And when I spoke thus, they immediately re
tired. Others insist that, supposing a man really innocent were
found in the Church, and this man, through humility, con
fess himself guilty, he would be well deserving : there
upon some one cited, amongst the ancient fathers, a cer
tain saint, in whose bed had been covertly put a prohi
bited book. Inculpated and examined on this subject,
the saint denied the fault, but his enemies answered,
" Thou hast concealed the book, and put it in thy bed ;"
and this book having been found there, the saint confessed
himself culpable. Some supported this opinion by the
example of a certain holy woman, who lived in a monas
tery in the disguise of a man. She was accused of being
the father of a child. She confessed it, and kept the
child : her innocence was afterwards discovered with her
sex. Many other means were also proposed to me.
An Englishman addressed me thus, " Were I in
your place, I would abjure ; for in -England, all the mas
ters, and all men held in consideration, who were sus
pected of adhering to the opinions of Wycliffe, have been
severally cited before the archbishop, and have abjured."
Lastly, yesterday they were all agreed in engaging me
to place myself at the mercy of the Council.
Paletz came at my entreaty, for I desired to confess
to him. I asked the commissioners, and those who ex-

TO SOME FRIENDS. 157
horted me, to give me for confessor either him or another.
And I said, " Paletz is my principal adversary ; I wish
to confess to him ; or, at least, give me in his stead a man
qualified to hear me : I conjure you to do so in the name
of the Lord." This last desire was accorded : I confessed
to a monk, who piously and most patiently listened to me ;
he gave me absolution, and counselled me, but did not
enjoin me, to follow the advice of others.
Paletz came : he wept with me when I besought him
to pardon me for having uttered before him some offensive
words, and especially for having called him a forger of
writings. And as I reminded him that, in a public au
dience, when he heard me deny the articles cited by the
witnesses, he rose up and cried : " This man does not
believe in God," — he denied it, but truly he said it,
and perhaps you heard him do so. I reminded him, in
what manner he said to me in prison, in presence of the
Commissioners, " Since the birth of Christ, no heretic
_has written more dangerously than Wycliffe and thou."
He also insisted, that all those who have read my sermons
are infected with the error concerning the sacrament of
the altar. He has now denied it, adding, " I did not
say all, but a great number." And yet it is certain that
he said it. And when I took him up by saying, " Oh!
Master Paletz, how much you wrong me in accusing my
auditory of heresy !" he did not reply anything, and he
exhorted me, like the others, always repeating, that

158 LETTER XL.
through me and mine much harm had been done. He
told me, also, that he possessed a letter addressed to the
Bohemians, in which was written, that, at the Chateau, I
sang some verses on my captivity. In the name of
Heaven, take great care of my letters : do not let them
be carried to any clerical person, and let our Seigniors
only trust some laymen. Inform me whether they ac
company the Emperor, Jesus Christ, by his grace, pre
serves me immoveable in my first resolution.
John Huss, in hope, servant of God,

TO JOHN CARDINAL. 159

LETTER XLL*

TO JOHN CARDINAL.
[John Huss replies to the Father, that is to say, to the Cardinal, t
clearly establishing, that it is better to die for the truth than
to depart from it, though only a nail's breadth, even under
the false pretext ofthe good of the Church,]
May the Almighty God, sovereignly good and wise,
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xxxix.
t Luther erroneously believed that the person whom John Huss
only designates under the name of Father, for fear of compromising
him, was the Cardinal of Osti. J. Lenfant has clearly demonstrated
that the person, to whom John Huss gives this name, was a monk
called John Cardinal. (See the History of the Council of Constance,
book iii.)
The following is the form of revocation he invited John Huss to
sign, and which Luther has inserted in the collection of John Huss's
letters, under the number xxxviii.
" I, the undersigned, besides the protest which I have already made,
and do here repeat, again protest, that although many things which I
have never thought of have been imputed to me ; nevertheless, for all
the things which I am accjled of, whether extracted from my works,
or obtained from the deposition of witnesses, I humbly submit myself
to the mercy, judgment, explanation, and correction of the Holy Coun-

160 LETTER XLI.
deign to bestow on my Father eternal life, for the sake of
our Lord Jesus Christ ! _
Reverend Father, I am most grateful for your benevo
lent and paternal interest. I dare not submit myself to
the Council in the limits that you trace out to me;
whether because I should be obliged to condemn many
truths that they term fraudulent; or because I should
be obliged to perjure myself by abjuring and confessing
that I had held errors, by which I have greatly scandalized
the people of God, who have heard me say the contrary
in my preaching.
If, then, in the Book of the Maccabees, it is written of
Eleazar, a man of the ancient law, that he refused to lie,
by confessing that he had eaten meats prohibited by the
ancient law, for fear of acting thus against God, and leav
ing a bad example to posterity ; how should I, a priest
of the new law, although unworthy, through the terror
of pain of a short duration, consent gravely to transgress
the law of God, by keeping back from the truth, by per
juring myself, and, lastly, by offending my neighbour ?
Truly, it is more advantageous to die than to fall into
the hands of God by flying from a momentary evil, and
perhaps afterwards to fall into the fire, and into eternal
cil General, in order to abjure, revoke, and retract them. I will sub
mit to penance, and will do all that the Holy Council shall decide in
its mercy for my salvation, throwing myself on its indulgence, and re
commending myself to it with entire discretion."

JOHN CARDINAL TO JOHN HUSS. 161
opprobrium. Therefore, since I have appealed to Jesus
Christ, to the Judge sovereignly just and powerful, con
fiding to him my cause, I am resolved to adhere to his
decision, and to his holy and sacred sentence, knowing
that he will judge all men, not according to false wit
nesses, or to the errors of councils, but according to the
truth, and their own merits.

LETTER XLII *
JOHN CARDINAL TO JOHN HUSS.
[The Father insists on the counsel which he has given : " who
ever thou mayest be who readest these pages, see how the false
title ofthe Church deceives the excellent Cardinal."!]
In the first place, my well-beloved brother, do not let
yourself be troubled by the fear of condemning truths ;
for it is not you who will condemn these, but those who
are your superiors and ours. Meditate on these words,
" Rely not on your own prudence." There are many wise
and conscientious men in the Council : " My son, listen to
thy mother's law." This is my point.
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xl.
t Luther falls again into the same error ; see note 2 of page 159.

162 LETTER XLII.
I come to the second, concerning the perjury of the
matter. This perjury, even if it be one, will not fall on
you, but on those who exact it. Heresy ceases where
obstinacy ends. Augustin, Origen, the Master of the
Sentences, and many others, have erred, and returned
with joy from their errors ; I also often thought that I
perfectly understood certain things, in which I was mis
taken. When better informed, I returned with eager
ness to a different opinion.
I write briefly ; for I write to an intelligent man. Do
not stray from the truth, but arrive at it ; you will not
perjure yourself but will become better. Do not offend,
but edify. The Jew Eleazar obtained a great glory, but
Judas with his seven sons, and the eight martyrs, ob
tained much greater. Paul did not hesitate to be let
down in a basket in order to propagate a better law.
May Jesus Christ, the Judge of your appeal, accord you
apostles like these.* Some combats for the faith of
Jesus Christ are still due from you.
* This passage is exceedingly obscure. It may be seen that it re
lates to what John Huss had said that he would appeal to Jesus Christ.
In law are called apostles certain letters which the appellant ought
to obtain from the judges to whom he has appealed ; because, if they
are not obtained after a. certain delay, he is supposed to have re
nounced his appeal, and is obliged to submit to his first judgment. —
Lenfant, History of the Council of Constance.

( 163 )

LETTER XLIIL*
[Huss relates another combat of the flesh and spirit for the con
fession of the truth, a combat worthy of fixing the attention of
pious men.]
Salutation to you, through Jesus Christ ! I beseech
you, for God's sake, not to shew my letters, nor to pub
lish them ; for I fear they might place several persons in
jeopardy. If Vitus remains, let him be prudent. I re
joice greatly to learn that my gracious Lord is coming to
me. Our Saviour raised up Lazarus to life on the fourth
day, when he already began to decay. He preserved
Jonas in the belly of the fish, and restored him to his
preaching ; he drew Daniel in safety from the lion's den
that he might write his prophecies ; he preserved from
the flames the three young men in the furnace ; and he
delivered Susannah, already condemned and on the point
of perishing. Wherefore, he could as easily snatch also from prison
and death me, unfortunate man that I am, were it conducive
to the glory and advantage of the faithful, and to my own
welfare. The power of Him who drew Peter out of prison
* Hist, et Monum. Johann Huss, Epist. xxxii.

164 LETTER XLIII.
by his angel, when condemned to die at Jerusalem,
and who caused the chains to fall from his hands, is not
diminished. But let the Lord's will be done ; may it be
fully accomplished in me for his glory and my sins !
A Doctor said to me — " If in all things I would submit
to the Council ; every thing would then be good and le
gitimate for me." He added — " If the Council asserted
you had but one eye, although you have two, still it would
be necessary to say the Council was right." " If the
whole world," replied I, " should affirm such a thing, I
could not, as long as I possess the use of my reason, assent
to it, without wounding my conscience." After other
conversation he abandoned his argument and said to me,
" I confess I have not chosen my example well."
The Lord is with me like a valiant warrior ; the Sa
viour is my light and salvation; whom should I fear?
The Lord defends my life ; who shall make me trem
ble 1 In these latter times I often repeat this sentence
— " Lord, I suffer violence, answer for me ; for
shall I say to my enemies *""
John Huss, servant in hope of Jesus Christ.

TO A FRIEND. 165

LETTER XLIV.*
TO A FRIEND.
[An admirable confession of the infirmities of human nature.
The latter does not struggle against evil only, for the flesh
strives perpetually against the Spirit, and is not easily brought
under its yoke. Reader, peruse this letter, and rejoice.f]
Salutation to you, through Jesus Christ ! Learn, very
dear friend, that Paletz, in endeavouring to persuade me,
told me that I ought not to dread the shame of an abju
ration, but to think only of the good which would ensue
from it. I answered, " The opprobrium of being con
demned and burned is greater than that of sincerely ab
juring. What shame should I fear, then, in abjuring ]
But tell me, Paletz, how wouldest thou act if thou wert
assured that err or s were falsely imputed to thee ? Wouldest
thou wish to abjure them V " That, in fact, would be
hard," replied he ; and he wept. We afterwards spoke
of many things which I refuted.
Michael de Causis, this miserable man, has appeared
several times before my prison with the deputies of the
Council, and whilst I was with them, said to the keepers,
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xxx.
t We remind the reader that the headings of the Letters being
written by Luther, we have not in any way changed them.

166

LETTER XLIV.

" By the grace of God, we shall soon burn this heretic,
on whom I have spent many florins." Know, my friend
that nevertheless I do not express in this letter a vow of
vengeance • I leave it to God, and I pray for this man
from the bottom of my heart.
I again exhort you to be prudent with my letters.
Michael has forbidden that any person should be intro
duced into my prison, even the wives of my keepers.
0 Great God ! how far does Antichrist extend his power
and cruelty ! but I trust that his reign will be cut short,
and his iniquity laid bare, in the midst of a faithful people.
The Almighty God will strengthen the hearts of the
faithful whom he has destined, from before the beginning
of the world, to the crown of immortal glory. Though
Antichrist shall exercise his fury as he pleases, never
theless he shall not be able to prevail against Christ, who,
according to the words of the Apostle, will destroy him
by a single breath of his mouth ; and the creature then
shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, and
clothe itself, says the Apostle, with the glorious liberty of
the sons of God ! . . . .
I am greatly consoled by these words of our Saviour, .
" Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and when they
shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach
you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man s
sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy ; for, be
hold, your reward is great in heaven." (Luke vi.) An

TO A FRIEND. 167
admirable consolation, though difficult, not to understand,
but to receive well ; for it invites us to delight in afflic
tions. Saint James observed this rule, with the other Apostles.
" Count it," says he, " all joy when ye fall into divers
temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your faith
worketh patience ; but let patience have her perfect
work." (St James, chap, i.) Truly it is difficult to re
joice thus with an unshaken heart, and to consider all
trials as subjects for rejoicing : it is easy to say, but
difficult to do it. He who was the most patient and the
most intrepid, who knew that he should rise again the
third day, should vanquish his enemies by his death, and
redeem his elect from condemnation, was, nevertheless,
troubled in mind after the Last Supper, and cried, " My
soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death." The Gospel in
forms us that he groaned and trembled ; that an angel
comforted him in his agony ; and that his sweat was, as
it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
But, in his agony, he said to his disciples : " Let not
your heart be troubled ; for I shall be with you to the end
of the world."
And his valiant soldiers, their eyes fixed upon their
Chief, the King of Glory, have endured a great combat.
They have passed through fire and water, and have not
perished ; and have received from the Lord that crown,
alluded to by St James, when he says, " Blessed is the

168 LETTER XLIV.
man that endureth temptation : for when he is tried, he
shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has pro
mised to them that love him." A glorious crown ! which
the Saviour will grant to me, I firmly hope, and to you also,
fervent defenders of the truth, and to all those who per
severe in the love of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who has
suffered for us, bequeathing us his example, that we might
follow in his footsteps. It was necessary that he should
suffer, as he himself has declared ; and we, who are his
members, must suffer with Him who is our Head ; for he
has said : " If any one will come with me, let him take
up his cross and follow me!"
0 Divine Jesus, draw us nigh unto thee, weak as we
are; for, if thou dost not draw us nigh unto thee, we cannot
follow thee. Fortify my spirit, that it may become strong
and resolute. The flesh is weak ; but let thy grace pro
tect, assist, and save us ; for without thee we can do
nothing, and are, above all, incapable of facing, on thy
account, a cruel death. Give me a determined mind, an
intrepid heart, a pure faith, and perfect charity, that I
may be enabled to lay down my life for thee, with pa
tience and joy. Amen.
Written in prison and in irons, on the eve of the fes
tival of St John the Baptist, who was decapitated for hav
ing risen up against the corruption of the wicked. May
he pray for us to Jesus our Lord !

TO A FRIEND. 169
LETTER XLV.*
TO A FRIEND.
To-morrow, at six o'clock, I am to answer on the fol
lowing points : — I am asked, in the first place, if I am
willing to acknowledge as erroneous all the articles ex
tracted from my books, if I abjure them, and if I engage
to preach the contrary? In the second place, whether
I am willing to confess that I have preached the articles
imputed to me by witnesses ? Thirdly, and lastly, if I
abjure them? God grant that the Emperor may hear
the words which God will put into my mouth ; and if I
am accorded pens and paper, as I hope I shall, by the
grace of God I will make the following answers in writ
ing : 
" I, John, servant of Jesus Christ, refuse to confess
that any of the articles extracted from my books are
erroneous, through fear of condemning the opinions of
the holy doctors, and, above all, of St Augustin. Se
condly, I refuse to admit that I have held or preached
the articles which are imputed to me by false witnesses.
Thirdly, I refuse to abjure, through fear of perjuring my
self." Iu the name of Heaven take great care of my letters,
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xxvii. H

170

LETTER XLVI.

and send them to Bohemia with precaution, lest they
may place many persons in danger. Keep me in re
membrance, should you not receive news from me again ;
and pray to God that he may bestow constancy on me
and Jerome, my brother in Christ ; for I believe, as I
understood from the deputies, that he will suffer death
with me.

LETTER XLVI.*
TO HIS FRIENDS.
[Last resolution of John Huss, to which, with the grace of God,
he desires to remain faithful.]t
* * * * * *
These are the things which the Council has often re
quired of me ; but they imply that I revoke, that I ab
jure, and that I accept a penance ; and I cannot do it,
without denying, in many things, the truth. In the
second place, I should perjure myself in abjuring and
confessing errors falsely imputed to me. In the third
place, I should afford a great scandal to the people of
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xiv.
f This letter, such as it has reached us, is, without doubt, only a
fragment; the first words indicate as much.

TO HIS FRIENDS. 171
God who have listened to my sermons ; and it would be
better that a millstone were tied round my neck, and
that I were plunged to the bottom of the sea. Lastly,
If I acted in this manner, to avoid a momentary con
fusion and a short trial, I should fall into disgrace and
much more terrible sufferings, unless, indeed, I repented
of them before my death. Wherefore, in order to fortify
myself, I have thought of the seven martyrs of the Macca
bees, who preferred rather to be torn in pieces than
partake of meats prohibited by God. I have thought of
St Eleazar, who, according to what is written, was not
willing to confess he had eaten of prohibited meats, for
fear of leaving a bad example to posterity, but preferred
martyrdom. Having, then, before my eyes many saints
of the new law, who accepted martyrdom rather than
consent to sin, how should I, who have exhorted others
in my preachings to patience and firmness, be thus
guilty of perjury, and of so many vile falsehoods, and
scandalize also, by my example, many children of the
Lord? Far, far from me be such a thought ! Our Saviour
Jesus Christ will reward me fully, and bestow on me in
my trials the assistance of patience.

172 LETTER XLVII.
LETTER XLVII.*
TO HIS FRIENDS AT PRAGUE.
[He encourages and exhorts them not to be frightened on account
of the Council having delivered his writings to the flames.
He reminds them of the corrupted morals of that assembly,
and of the condemnation of Pope John.]
I ought to warn you, my well-beloved, not to let your
selves be alarmed by the sentence of those who have con
demned my books to be burned. Remember that the
Israelites burned the writings of the prophet Jeremiah,
without, nevertheless, being able to avoid the lot which
he predicted for them. God even commanded, after the
destruction by fire of this prophecy, that a new and more
extended one should be written, which was done; for
Jeremiah dictated it in his prison, and Baruch wrote, as
it is written in chapter xxxvi. or xiv. of Jeremiah. It is
also written in the Book of Maccabees, that impious men
burned the law of God, and killed all those who were the
depositaries of it. Under the new alliance they burned
the saints with the books of the divine law. The Cardi
nals condemned and delivered to the flames many books
of St Gregory, and would have burned them all, if they
had not been preserved by his servant Peter. Two
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xiii.

TO HIS FRIENDS AT PRAGUE. 173
Councils of priests condemned St Chrysostom as a heretic ;
but God made their lie manifest after the death of him
who was surnamed St John of the Golden Mouth.
Knowing, therefore, these things, let not fear prevent
you from reading my books, and do not deliver them up
to my enemies to be burned. Remember that the Lord
has said, Before the day of judgment there shall be a
great desolation, such as has not been witnessed since the
beginning of the world to this day ; and such, if it were
possible, the elect themselves might be led astray ; but
on account of them these days shall be shortened. Think
of that, my well-beloved, and be firm. This Council of
Constance will not extend to Bohemia ; many of those
who compose it will die before they have succeeded in
forcing my books from you. The majority will be dis
persed on every side like storks ; and they will discover,
on the approach of winter, what they shall have done in
summer.* Consider that they have declared the Pope,
their chief, worthy of death for his enormous crimes.
Courage, and reply to these preachers who teach that the
Pope is God on earth ; that he can sell the sacraments,
as the canonists declare ; that he is the head of the
Church in administering it purely ; that he is the heart
of the Church in vivifying it spiritually ; that he is the
source whence springs all virtue and all good ; that he is
the sun of the holy Church, the certain asylum, where it
* John Huss was burned to death in the month of July.

174

LETTER XLVII.

is important that all Christians should find refuge. Be
hold! already this head is, as it were, severed by the
sword ; already this terrestrial god is enchained ; al
ready his sins are laid bare ; this never-failing source is
dried up — this divine sun is dimmed — this heart has been
torn and branded with reprobation, that no one should
seek an asylum in it. The Council has condemned its
chief, its own head, for having sold indulgences, bishop-
ricks, and other things. But among those who have
condemned him are to be found a great number of pur
chasers, who have, in their turn, engaged also in this un
worthy traffic. There was amongst them the bishop,
John Litomissel, who twice wished to buy the bishoprick
of Prague ; but others had the advantage over him. 0 !
corrupt men ! Why have they not, first of all, torn the
beam from their own eyes ; since it is written in their
own law : " Whoever shall purchase a dignity with money
shall be deprived of it." Sellers, therefore, and buyers,
and whosoever shall interfere in this shameful contract,
be ye condemned, as St Peter condemned Simon, who
wished to buy from him the virtue of the Holy Ghost.
They have anathematized the seller and condemned him,
and they themselves are the purchasers ; they have affixed
their hands to this pact, and they remain unpunished !
What do I say ? They traffic in this merchandise even
in their very dwellings ! There is in Constance one
bishop who has bought, another who has sold, and the

TO HIS FRIENDS AT PRAGUE. 175
Pope, for having approved of the bargain, has received
money from the two parties. * * If God had said to
the members of this Council, " Let him amongst you
who is without sin pronounce the sentence of Pope
John," undoubtedly they would have withdrawn one
after the other. Why did they formerly bend their knees
before him ? Why did they kiss his feet ? Why did they
term him most holy, when they saw in him a homicide, a
heretic, and a hardened sinner ? For in this manner did
they already speak of him in public. Why did the Cardi
nals elect him Pope, knowing that he had caused the
death of his predecessor?* Why did they suffer him,
since his accession to that office, to traffic in holy things ?
Do they not form his Council, to remind him of what is
just ? and are they not as much to blame as he for these
crimes, since they tolerated in him vices which were
common to them all ? Why did no one dare resist him
before his flight from Constance ? They all feared him
then, as their very holy father ; but when, with the per
mission of God, the secular power laid hold of him, then
they conspired and resolved that he should not escape
death. Truly, already have the malice, abomination, and
turpitude of antichrist been revealed in the Pope and
other members of this Council. The faithful servants of
God may now understand these words of the Saviour,
* See the Reformers before the Reformation, vol. i., book i.

176 LETTER XLVII.
who has said, " When you shall behold the abomina
tion of desolation foretold by the prophet Daniel," &c.
Truly, the supreme abomination is pride, avarice, and
simony in deserted places, — that is, in dignities, where
neither goodness nor humility, nor any virtue, is now to be
found, as we now witness in those who are high in honour
and places. Oh ! how much I desire to unveil all the
iniquities that I am acquainted with, in order that the
faithful servants of God may keep on their guard against
them ! But I hope that God will send after me more
vigorous champions ; and there are now already those who
will better expose all the cunning tricks of antichrist, and
who will expose themselves to death for the truth of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who will give unto you and me eternal
beatitude !
I write this letter on the day of St John the Baptist,
in prison and in chains, and I bear in mind that St John
was beheaded in prison for the word of God.

JOHN HUSS TO THE UNIVERSITY OP PRAGUE. 177

LETTER XLVIII.*
JOHN HUSS TO THE UNIVERSITY OF PRAGUE.
Honourable Masters, bachelors, and students, of the
University of Prague, you whom I cherish in Christ Jesus,
I exhort you all to love one another, to extirpate schism ;
to honour God above all things ; in reminding yourselves
how much I have always desired that the progress of our
University should turn to the glory of God ; how much I
have bewailed your discords and your violence, and how
I have always endeavoured to maintain united our illus
trious nation. Remember also how much my life has been
embittered by the outrages and blasphemies of some
amongst those whom I most loved, and for whom I would
willingly have exposed my life. And now they inflict on
me a cruel death ? May the Almighty God forgive them,
for they know not what they do ; and I pray with a sin
cere heart that he may spare them ! My well beloved in
Jesus Christ, dwell in the truth that you have known,
which triumphs over all, and which increases in strength
even unto eternity.
Know, also, that I have neither revoked nor abjured

* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xviii.
H 2

178 LETTER XLVIII.
any article. The Council wished that I should acknow
ledge as false and erroneous all the articles extracted
from my books. I have refused, unless they proved to me
their falsehood by the Scriptures. If there is really some
erroneous meaning in these articles I detest it, and refer
its correction to our Lord Jesus Christ, who knows my
sincerity, and is aware that my intention is not to main
tain an error. And all of you likewise do I exhort, in the
Lord, to detest every error that you may discover in my
works ; but in respecting that truth, which I have ever
kept in view, pray for me, and support each other in the
peace of God.
I, John Huss, in chains, and already on the verge of
the present life, awaiting to-morrow a cruel death, which,
I hope, will wash away my sins, not finding* in myself any
heresy, by the grace of God, confess with all my soul the
truth in which I believe.
Written five days before the Festival of St Peter.
I conjure you to love Bethlehem, and to put Gallus in
my place ; for I think the Lord is with him. I recom
mend to you Peter de Maldoniewitz, my very faithful and
courageous comforter.

TO HIS FRIENDS. 179

LETTER XLIX.*
TO HIS FRIENDS.
[He explains to them how God permits his elect to be put to
death, and cites several examples by which he sustains and
consoles himself,]
My well beloved in the Lord, many causes, and espe
cially the expectation of my speedy death, had made me
suppose that the letters I recently wrote to you would be
the last. Now that a delay is accorded — since it is per
mitted me to converse with you by letter, I write to you
again, to testify, at least, all my gratitude. In what con
cerns my death, God only knows why it is deferred, as
also that of my very dear brother Jerome, who, I hope,
will die in a holy manner, and without a stain. I know
that he acts and suffers now with more firmness than I,
infirm sinner that I am. God has granted us much time,
that we might better recall all our sins, and direct our
selves with greater energy to repentance ; he has given
us this time, that a long and great trial might efface our
sins, and thus bring consolation with it. He has granted
it to us, that we might meditate on the execrable out-
* Hist, et Monum, Johann. Huss, Epist. xiv.

180

LETTER XLIX.

rages and cruel death of our King and merciful Lord, Je
sus Christ, and that we should thus support our own evils
with greater constancy ; that we might at last remember
that the joys of eternal life do not immediately follow this
world's joys, but that it is by passing through great tri
bulations that the saints enter the kingdom of God.
Some of them have been, without shrinking, sawed in
twain ; others have been burned, stripped of their skin,
buried alive, stoned, crucified, crushed between millstones,
dragged here and there unto death, precipitated to the
bottom of the waters, strangled, cut into pieces, over
whelmed by outrages before their death, and tortured by
hunger in their prisons and in their chains. Who could
describe the torments and agonies which all the saints
have suffered for the divine truth under the old and new
covenant, and especially those who have branded the ini
quity of priests, and who have raised their voices against
it ? It would be a strange thing at present to remain
unpunished when attacking the perversity of priests, who
will not endure any blame.
I rejoice that they are now obliged to read my works,
where their corruption is depicted, and I know they read
them with greater attention than the Holy Scriptures, in
the ardent desire of finding out errors.
Written on the Thursday before the Festival of Saint
Peter.

TO HIS FRIENDS. 181

LETTER L.*

TO THE SAME.

[John Huss relates how the Council, on the deposition of false
witnesses, and on account of his works, has condemned him,
without having read them.]
I have resolved, dear and faithful friends in our Lord,
to make known to you in what manner the Council of
Constance, swelled with so much pride and avarice, has
condemned as heretical my books, written in the Bohemian
tongue, without ever having seen or read them, and which
it could not have understood, even when it had listened
to the reading of them. For this Council is filled with
Italians, French, Germans, Spaniards, and persons from
all countries, and of every different language, j They
could not be understood but by Bishop John de Lito-
missel, by several Bohemians, my enemies, and by a few
priests of Prague, who have first to calumniate the truth
of God, and afterwards our Bohemia, which I hope is a
country of a perfect faith, remarkable for its attachment
to the Word of God, as well as for its good morals. And
if you had been at Constance you would have witnessed
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xii.

182 LETTER L.
the detestable abomination of this Council, which calls
itself infallible and very holy ; an abomination of which,
many of the country of the Grisons have said, the
city of Constance could not wash herself of in thirty
years, and almost every body, supporting with great dif
ficulty the great corruption, which is to be seen in it, is
irritated against the Council. When I first appeared in
the presence of this assembly to reply to my adversaries,
seeing that every thing was done without order, and
hearing a general clamour, I cried aloud, " I thought the
Council had possessed more good breeding, charity, and
discipline." Then the first ofthe Cardinals answered,
" Is it thus that thou speakest ? Thy language was more
modest in prison." " Yes," I replied, " for in prison no one
vociferated against me ; and now you are all vociferous."
It is thus this Council, which has done more evil than
good, has acted towards me with inordinate violence. 0
my faithful friends, my well-beloved in God, suffer not
yourselves to be alarmed at the sentence these men have
delivered against my books. Like insects, they will dis
perse here and there, and there, like winged insects, their
ordinances will endure as long as the spiders' webs.
They endeavoured to shake my perseverance in the Word
of God, but they were not able to daunt the courage
which God had armed me with. They refused to ex
amine the Scriptures with me, although my words were
supported by the testimonies of several noble Seigniors

TO HIS FRIENDS. 183
ready to suffer ignominy with me for the cause of truth,
and who remained firm to my party, and especially Wen
ceslaus Duba and John of Chlum, introduced to the Coun
cil by the Emperor Sigismund himself.
Having said, that, if I had erred, I should be glad to
be instructed of my errors : " Since you desire to be in
structed," replied the Grand Cardinal, " you must first of
all abjure your doctrine, conformable to the sentence of
the fifty doctors and interpreters of the Holy Scriptures."
An excellent advice ! Therefore, St Catherine should
renounce the Word of God and faith in Jesus, because
fifty doctors opposed her ! But this sublime virgin did
not yield ; she remained faithful unto death ; she thus
gained over her judges to Christ ; but I cannot in the
same manner persuade mine ; it is wherefore I have
thought fit to write to you, in order you might be in
formed they have not vanquished me neither by the
Scriptures nor by reason, but tried me by terror and by
lies to extort an abjuration from me. The God of
mercy, whose justice I have glorified, was with me. He is
still with me now, and I am confident he will remain
with me unto the end.
Written the fourth day after the Festival of John the
Baptist, in prison, in chains, and in the expectation
of death ; and yet I dare not say, on account of the
hidden judgment of God, that this letter may be my
last ; for, even now, the Almighty God may effect
my deliverance.

184

LETTER LI.

LETTER LL*

TO HIS FRIENDS.

[He returns them thanks for their kindness.]
May God be with you, and grant you every felicity,
for the kindness yon have heaped on me. Suffer not
the Seignior John,* my best friend, my other self, to ex
pose himself to peril for my sake. I ask this of you,
of you, Seignior Peter, in particular, in the name of the
Lord. Lastly, I conjure you to live according to God's
word, and obey his precepts, as I have taught you to do.
Render thanks to his Royal Majesty for all the benefits
that I have received from him.
Salute for me your families and my other friends, whom
I cannot name here individually. I pray to God for you ;
pray to him for me, to that great God, near whom, with
his aid, we shall all yet arrive. Amen.
I think that I shall have to suffer for the word of
God. But you will not, I conjure you in his name,
permit his ministers and saints to be rigorously treated.
John Huss, in hope, servant of God.
* Hist. et. Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xxiv.
f John of Chlum.

TO JOHN OF CHLUM. 185
P. S.— Peter,* my very dear friend, keep, in remem
brance of me, my fur cloak. Seignior Henry, may you
live in health with your wife. I thank you for your
kindness : may God heap his riches upon you.

LETTER LIl.t
TO JOHN OF CHLUM.
I am greatly rejoiced that the Seignior Wenceslaus
desires to take to himself a wife, and to flee from the
vanities of the world. It is time he should retrace his
steps. He has for a long time travelled kingdoms,
played at the lance, wearied his body, spent his fortune,
and offended his soul. Let him then renounce such a
life, and dwell at home in peace with his wife and
servants, there to serve God. It is better, indeed, to
serve God without sin, in peace and tranquillity of mind,
than to serve any other master amidst great anxieties,
and to the peril of our souls. Give these lines to my
excellent friend to read.
The Lord still preserves the life of John Huss, and
* Peter Maldoniewitz, surnamed the Notary.
f Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xxiii.

186

LETTER LIII.

will continue to do so, as long as it is his good-will,
against the efforts of avaricious, proud, and impious men
of this Council, where there are but few (God knows if I
exaggerate) who obey his precept.
Written on the Festival ofthe Holy Apostles Peter and
Paul. John Huss, in hope, servant of Jesus Christ.

LETTER LIII.*

TO JOHN OF CHLUM.

My very dear benefactor in Jesus Christ, — It is no
slight satisfaction to me to be able to write to you.
Your letter, dated yesterday, has made me understand,
first, how will be unveiled and exposed to the light the
iniquity o'f this perverse assembly, of the great prostitute
spoken of in the Apocalypse, with whom, spiritually, the
kings of the earth pollute themselves, by quitting the
truth of the Lord, in order to assist the lies of antichrist,
by seduction, fear, or in the hope of acquiring by this
alliance the advantages of the world.
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xxii.

TO JOHN OF CHLUM. 187
I understood, secondly, that the enemies of the truth
begin to be alarmed. Thirdly, I recognized the charitable
order, the intrepid firmness, with which you confess the
truth ; and, lastly, I saw with joy that you wished to put
an end to the vanities and laborious servitude of the age,
and combat for our Lord Jesus Christ ; to serve whom,
is, as St Gregory expresses it, to reign. He who faith
fully serves him will be served by him in the celestial
realms. He has said, " Blessed is that servant whom
his° Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching ; verily I
say unto you, that he shall make him ruler over all his
goods." The kings of this world do not act in this
manner towards their servants ; they love them only as
long as they are useful and necessary to them. This is
not the conduct of Jesus, the King of Glory, who crowned
the holy apostles, Peter and Paul, introducing the former
into the celestial kingdom by crucifixion, &c, the latter
by decapitation ; the first after having been imprisoned
four times, and delivered by an angel ; the second after
having been beaten thrice with rods, once stoned, often
afflicted, and twice shipwrecked, and having lingered two
years in prison. Now they no longer suffer anxieties and
torments, but enjoy a sweet and unchangeable peace, as
well as infinite joy: Peter and Paul reign already with the
King of Heaven ; they are already among the angelic
choir, they behold the King of kings in his magnificence;
no sorrows afflict them, and they are filled with ineffable

188

LETTER LIII.

happiness. May these glorious martyrs, now united to
the King of Glory, deign to intercede for us, that,
strengthened by their assistance, we may participate in
their glory, after having suffered with humility ; since
the all-powerful God has declared it is for our welfare
that we suffer in this world. Amen.
Written on the Festival ofthe Holy Apostles Peter and
Paul. If you can, write to me again, I beseech you, in the
name of the Lord. I conjure you also to salute most
particularly the Queen, my sovereign ; advise her to hold
fast to the truth, and not to be scandalised on my ac
count, as if I were a heretic. Salute for me also your
wife, whom I conjure you to love in Christ ; for I trust
she is amongst the children of God, through observing his
commandments. Salute all the friends of the truth.

TO MASTER JOHN CHRISTIAN. 189

LETTER LI V.*
TO MASTER JOHN CHRISTIAN.
[Exhortation.]
Christian, my master and benefactor, keep steadfast in
the truth of Christ and in the love of his disciples. Fear
not ; for the Lord will shortly afford us his protection,
and augment the number of his faithful believers. Be
always kind to the poor, as thou wert wont ; guard thy
chastity ; flee avarice ; hold not several livings, but keep
thy church, that the faithful may find refuge in thee, as
in the bosom of a father. 0 thou, whom I love, salute
for me Jacobel, and all the friends of the truth.
Written in irons, and expecting to suffer death.
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xvii.

190 LETTER LV.

LETTER LV.*
TO HIS BENEFACTORS.
[He exhorts them to prefer serving our Saviour Jesus Christ,
who will not deceive them, rather than the princes of the
earth.] My excellent benefactors, I exhort you,t by the bowels
of Jesus Christ, you who defend the truth, to renounce
the vanities of the age, and to combat for our eternal
King, Jesus Christ. Put not your trust in princes, nor
in the children of men ; for the children of men are false
and full of lies. To-day they live, and to-morrow they
are no more : God alone is eternal. He has servants,
not for his own wants, but for the advantage even of his
servants, on whom he bestows the riches he has promised
them ; for he has said — " Where I am, there also shall
be my servant." The Lord renders his servants mas
ters of all he possesses, giving himself up to them, and
giving all with himself, in order that they may, without
weariness, and without anxiety, possess all things and re
joice with all the saints in eternal happiness. Blessed is
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xxi.
t Hortor vos per viscera Jesu Christi.

TO HIS FAITHFUL FRIEND LEDERTZ. 191
the servant who watches when Ms Lord cometh. For
tunate is the servant who shall joyfully repose on the bosom
ofthe King of Glory ! Serve, then, this King with fear, you
who love him with all your heart. He will conduct you
in safety to Bohemia in his, grace, and afterwards, I
trust, into eternal glory. Adieu ; for I believe this let
ter may be the last that I shall write to you ; to-morrow
I shall be cleansed from my sins by a cruel death, in the
hope of Christ. I cannot write what has occurred to
me this night. Sigismund has done all with trick and
cunning ; may God forgive him !  You have heard
the sentence which he delivered. Do not, I conjure you,
suspect in the slightest degree the faithful Vitus.

LETTER LVL, AND THE LAST.*
TO HIS FAITHFUL FRIEND LEDERTZ.
Seignior Ledertz, my faithful friend, you, Dame Mar
garet, and all of you who love me, may God bestow on
you all his riches, for the great trouble you have taken,
and for the many favours that I have received at your
hands ! Dear and faithful Master Christian, may God
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, Epist. xxv.

192 LETTER LVI., AND THE LAST.
be with you ! Master Martin, my disciple, forget not
the faithful manner in which I taught you the word of
God ! Master Nicholas, Peter, the priest of the Lord,
the King, the masters and heads of the University, pre
serve faithfully God's word ! May Gallus preach it, and
all of you, my beloved, listen attentively to it, and guard
it in your hearts !

END OF JOHN HUSS S LETTERS.

( 193 )

REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS.

The writings of John Huss, which have been handed
down to us, may be classed under four principal heads : —
His letters ; his works and commentaries on the Scrip
tures ; his sermons ; and, lastly, his moral and theologi
cal treatises. His letters have been given in this volume.
His particular works on the Scriptures are, —
1st, A History of the Life of Jesus Christ, according
to the Four Gospels.
2dly, The History of our Lord's Passion, as collected
from the Four Gospels, and augmented by notes and com
mentaries from the most celebrated Doctors of the Church.
3dly, The Explanation of the First Seven Chapters
of the First Epistle of St Paul to the Corinthians.
ithly, Commentaries on the Seven Canonical Epistles
ofthe Apostles St James, St Peter, St John, and St Jude.
bthly, Explanations and Developments of the Psalms
cix., ex., cxi., cxii., cxiii., cxiv., cxv., cxvi., cxvii., and
cxviii. All these writings reveal in their author a profound
knowledge of the sacred books, and of the works of the
Fathers, as well as a great zeal to diffuse the light of the
I

194 REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS.
Scriptures, and to draw from them salutary instruction.
They indicate, besides, an independence of views which
must have given umbrage to the clergy. It is thus that
Huss, in arranging the Epistles of the Apostles, names
first that of St James, who, he says, presided at the
Council of Jerusalem. He assigns the first place to this
Epistle, on account of the superior dignity which the
Apostle bears in the eyes of Christians by reason of
three different claims : — " First, In addressing himself
particularly to converted Jews, who were superior to the
pagans ; afterwards, in consideration of his personal
merit ; for although Peter was the first of the apostles,
nevertheless the first evangelical preaching is traced to
St James ; — and lastly, in consideration of the dignity of
the place where he held his See, which was Jerusalem,
where the first preaching of God's word took place."*
These works of John Huss on the Scriptures, so differ
ent in their nature, and so considerable in their extent,
are, however, like most of the theological writings of
the epoch, prolix and diffuse. The author subdivides
his matter without end, fatigues with his repetitions, and,
in his commentaries, presents, in general, subtile expla
nations and interpretations, sometimes trifling, and often
forced, in order to discover in each word of the sacred
books of the Old Testament, the type of our Saviour's
words in the New one.
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, t. ii., p. 176.

REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS. 195
The sermons and discourses of John Huss, collected
in his works, amount to about forty, amongst which
several were pronounced before his rupture with his
ecclesiastical superiors, and his interdiction. In them
might be already recognised that pure and ardent zeal
for morality, and that horror for the vices of the clergy,
which animated his bosom in every circumstance of his
life — a manifestation at once noble and rash in an age
when the clergy were as powerful as they were corrupt,
and which accumulated on the head of John Huss such
implacable resentment.
In some sermons, delivered at a later period, and when
he was already exposed to the attacks of his enemies, he
expresses himself openly against the abuses springing
from the doctrines of the Roman Church. He energeti
cally censures the pomp and ostentation displayed in the
festivals in honour of the saints. He reproves the lying
flatteries of funeral eulogiums, and the profit derived
from them by the priest. He alludes to this verse —
De morho medicus gaudet, de morte sacerdos ;*
and adds : " What is the use of multiplying vigils in the
house of a rich defunct, unless, indeed, for empty praise ?
Neither he who pays, nor he who is paid, care much
about the psalms that are sung. What utility is there
in this pompous cortege of the rich at the burial of a
corpse % Why are so many priests sitting luxuriously on
* The physician delights in disease, the priest in death.

1 96 REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS.
cushions round a coffin, whilst thou, 0 Christ ! stoodst
weeping over the tomb of Lazarus, and humbly invokedst
thy Father ? We do not weep, but make merry ; we
utter not pious groans, but vain clamours."*
John Huss believed in purgatory, although he placed
but little confidence in the efficacy of praying for the
dead ; and in the sermon already mentioned, he supports
his opinion on this point by the silence of the Scriptures.
" We find no mention made of it," he remarks, " except
in the Book of Maccabees, which is not placed by the
Jews in the canon of the Old Testament; neither the
prophets, nor Jesus Christ, nor the Apostles, nor the
saints who have followed their footsteps, have explicitly
taught that the dead should be prayed for ; but they
have publicly declared, that whoever lived without crime
should be deemed holy. For my part, I think that the
introduction of this custom originated in the avarice of
the priests, who, though but little desirous of teaching
men to live well after the examples of the prophets, of
Christ and the Apostles, carefully exhort them to make
rich offerings, in the hope of procuring celestial happiness,
and a speedy deliverance from purgatory." ]
The first nine sermons collected in the works of John
Huss j were preached by him in Prague at different
* Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss. Sermo habitus Pragse in Synodo ad
Clerum, t. ii., p. 77.
t Ubi supra, p. 82.
+ Hist, et Monum. Johann. Huss, t. ii.

REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS. 197
periods, and are followed by twenty-eight discourses re
lative to Antichrist, in which he openly designates the
Pope, and where he repeats most of the arguments of the
treatise, On the Anatomy of the Members of Antichrist.
The last two sermons of John Huss are those which
he composed on arriving at Constance ; the one on Faith,
the other on Peace. They breathe the desire of a re
conciliation, which his enemies repulsed, and he was not
permitted to deliver them.
The moral and theological treatises form the fourth
part of John Huss's works, and the most important of
the whole, for they especially shew his doctrines, and
were those which furnished his enemies and judges with
arguments and arms against him.*
The principal of the treatises are : — The Treatise on
the Church, publicly read in the city of Prague ; The
Refutation of the Bull of John XXIII., concerning Indul
gences for the First Crusade ;t Answer to Stephen
Paletz ; Answer to Stanislas Znoima ; Refutation of
the Writing of Eight Doctors of Prague ; The, Book of
Antichrist; and the Treatise on the Abominations of
Priests and Monks.
All the doctrines and peculiar opinions of John Huss are
to be met with in his celebrated Treatise on the Church,
* For the complete list of John Huss's treatises, see Note B.
t For this celebrated writing, consult Reformers before the Reforma
tion, vol. i., b. i.

198 REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS.
and in his Answers to Paletz, to Stanislas de Znoima,
and The Eight Doctors. It may be discovered, on per
using them, that on a great number of points, which, a
century later, separated the Reformers from the Ro
man Catholic Church, Huss shared the opinion of the
latter, or at least did not believe that it was allowable to
oppose it ; he attacked it, consequently, much more for
its abuses than for its errors.
The horror which he felt at the sight of evil, and es
pecially when it was committed by men who ought to set
an example of every virtue to others, often carried him
too far. Anger mingled its violence with his indigna
tion, and, in some treatises, amongst others The Anti
christ, and The Abominations of Priests and Monks, he
forgets himself so far as to indulge in abuse, and employ
insulting and offensive expressions. Nevertheless, it
would be unjust to see, on that account, an excuse for
those who condemned him ; for these treatises were not
known to them, and were only made public after his
death. Besides, the expressions to be blamed in them
belong less to John Huss than to the age in which he
lived. They are to be met with in the writings of the
most celebrated Doctors and orthodox priests ; and it
seems that, in hazarding a language which astonishes our
more sensitive ears, John Huss had adopted for his au
thority the Prophet Ezekiel, from whom he often drew
his inspirations.

REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS. 199
Among the doctrines signalized as heretical in the
works of Huss are those on Predestination and Election.
A heresy was seen in the definition which Huss gives of
the Catholic and the universal Church, " This Church,"
says he, " is the assembly of all the elect, present, past,
and future, including also the angels." * And lower
down he adds : — " No particular tie, no human election,
renders a person member of the universal Church, but
divine predestination alone ; this predestination is, ac
cording to St Augustin, election by the grace of the
Divine will, or preparation to grace in the present life,
and to glory in the future one^X
To these different passages has been opposed the ne
cessity of the sacraments for obtaining salvation ; and it
has thence been concluded, that, whoever admitted pre
destination, gratuitous safety of election and grace, or
communion with the universal Church — could attribute
no efficacy to the sacraments — to the communion of the
external and visible Church. :f Nevertheless, Huss no
where disputes the virtue of the sacraments, but, on the
contrary, recommends their frequent use. This doctrine
of predestination and election has often divided the Ca
tholic Church. It has been supported in every age by
some of its most illustrious members, and has had for in-
* He Eccles. t Ibid-
? Retrum Hussi doctrina fuerit haeresica. Dissert. Hist. Dogmat.

200 REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS.
terpreters St Augustin and Gerson. * The boldest opi
nions of John Huss have, almost all of them found parti-
zans among men whom Rome venerates as saints and
learned doctors. But he separated from them upon two
principal points : in his eyes, as in those of Wycliffe, the
authority of the Church could only direct the faith and
conduct, as long as the decisions of the Church agreed
with the Scriptures ; and the priest, whatever his exter
nal dignity might be, was not, in the sight of God, priest,
bishop, or pope, and representative of Jesus Christ, but
as far as he took for model and guide in his private life
the example of our Saviour. These two capital points,
on which repose all the doctrine of Wycliffe, are the real
basis of all Christian dissent. Huss, as we stated in a
previous work, acknowledged them without calculating
their importance, without clearly understanding the
abyss they opened between him and the Church of which
he believed himself a member. His opinion on this sub
ject strongly manifests itself in all the above-mentioned
treatises. Even his adversaries are forced to admit
that he derived it from the unshaken conviction that
morality and religion are inseparable, and that they who
have the mission of representing Jesus on earth could not
desire or order otherwise than what God himself had
willed and commanded.
On these two points, he goes beyond the limits of the
* Gers. Oper. De Conosolat. Theolog., t. i. p. 137.

REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS. 201
Roman Church, and openly subjects himself to the re
proach addressed to him by one of the Catholic writers,
who judged him most impartially. " It is greatly to be
lamented," says the writer alluded to, " that such a man
should have so frightful a destiny, and so bitter a death,
— he, who glowed with so ardent a love for Christ and
his doctrine, — who shone, by the integrity of his life, the
sincerity of his heart, the ardour of his mind, his elo
quence, and other precious gifts, to so high a degree,
that he might have become an illustrious Reformer, if,
after the example of some very eminent men, such as
Gerson, d'Ailly, or Clemangis, he had devoted his talents
to the work of reform in the Church itself, and not out
of its bosom." *
This reproach is best refuted by referring to John Huss's
life, and the history of his time. Both form the subject
of the work, which this one completes, and to which the
reader has been often referred, f It will be there seen
that the reform of abuses could not be accomplished by
* Maxime quidem dolendum esse ingenue confitemur quod tris-
tissimam sortem necemque acerbissimam vir ille perpessus est, qui
magno exarsit Christi reique christianae amore, vitae integritate
voluntate sincera, maximo animi ardore, praestantissima concionandi
facultate aliisque virtutibus mire excelluit, ita ut reformator extitisset
egregius si cum aequalibus viris praeclarissimis, Gersonio, Petro ab
Alliaco, Nicolao Clemangis ea qua potuit ac debuit ratione intra, non
extra Ecclesiae fines, reformandse Ecclesiae operam novasset. Dissert.
hist, dogmat. Cappenberg.
t The Reformers before the Reformation.

202 REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS.
those whose interests it was to perpetuate them, and that
the corruption of the external and visible Church was
then so profound, that to introduce a reform in it, it was
necessary first to leave it altogether.

Of all John Huss's treatises, that on The Church is
the most complete and celebrated. We must insert here
an analysis of it, which will terminate this work.
ANALYSIS OF THE TREATISE ON THE CHURCH.
John Huss defines the universal Church to be the
assembly of all the predestined, past, present, and to
come, including the angels. " The Church," writes he,
" is the most excellent thing created by God. We ought
not therefore to believe in the Church, because it is. not
God ; but we should believe that there is a holy univer
sal Church, of which Jesus Christ is the sole Chief.
The entire Church and all its parts ought to honour God ;
but it ought not to wish that divine worship should be
rendered her." *
" Reprobates," says Huss, " are not members of the
* Tota ecclesia et quaelibet ejus pars debet Deum colere et nee ipsa
nee ejus pars suit coli pro deo. — De Fccles. J. Huss, Hist, et Monum.,
t. i., p. 244.

REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS. 203
Church. It may occur that one is in the Church, with
out being of the Church. Such may be tbe case with the
popes, bishops, priests, and clergy, although they style
themselves the Church in particular, because it is pos
sible that they are reprobate : we may also belong to
the Church, without being exteriorly in the Church, like
those who commence to be converted to the faith."
Huss next examines the celebrated passage of St
Matthew : Thou art Peter, and on this rock will
I build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it ; and I will give thee the keys of the
kingdom of heaven, fyc. (Matthew xvi., 18, 19). He
" considers in it four things : The Church, its faith, its
foundation, and its power. He examines, first of all,
whether the Roman Church is the universal one, as is
affirmed by the canon law, where the Pope is called the
chief, and the cardinals, the body of tbe Church. He
denies this to be the case, for the reason that the Pope
and the cardinals do not compose the whole assembly
of the elect. Thou art Peter, and on this rock will I
build my Church, signifies, according to Huss, " Thou
art the confessor of the true Rock, which is Christ ; and
it is on this rock that I will raise my Church by faith
and by grace ; but this Church does not consist in men,
constituted in power and dignities, whether secular or
ecclesiastical, because several popes have fallen into error
and crime."

204 REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS.
Huss does not, however, contest great privileges to
the Roman Church, because St Peter founded it ; and he
does not oppose the Pope and the cardinals holding the
principal rank in the Church, provided they follow the
example of Jesus Christ, and that, stripping themselves
of pomp and ambition, they serve with humility the
common mother of all believers.
Yet the Roman Church can hardly be termed a uni
versal one, because, in reality, it is a particular Church ;
the first and most ancient being that of Jerusalem, and
the second that of Antioch, of which the faithful were
the first called Christians.*
As to faith, Huss distinguishes several kinds. " The
true faith," says he, "is faith formed by charity. f This,
when persevered in, is the foundation of all the other
Christian virtues ; it ought necessarily to be founded on
truth, which enlightens the understanding, and on autho
rity, which strengthens the soul. This authority can be
only that of God speaking by his word. If the Christian
is convinced that a truth has been dictated by the Holy
Ghost in the Scriptures, he ought, without hesitation, to
declare his opinion, and expose his life for it. The obli-
* De Eccles., p. 258. Compare this opinion with that of Gerson on
the same subject. Gers. Opera, v. 11. — De modis uniendi ac reform.
Eccles. en Condi. See also the Reformers before the Reformation, Intro
duction, sect. v.
f Unde quicumque habuerit fidem cl^aritate firmatam in communis
sufficit cum virtute perseverantiae, ad salutem,

REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS. 205
gation is not the same with regard to the words of the
saints, and popes' bulls : one is not held to believe them,
but only so far as they agree with the Holy Scriptures.
We may, besides, believe in them as in opinions, because
the Pope and his court might err, through ignorance of
the truth. It is, then, one thing to believe in God. be
cause he cannot err or be deceived, and another to be
lieve in the Pope, who is liable to error ; it is one thing
to believe the Holy Scriptures, and another to believe in
a bull, because the latter is of human invention. It can
never be permitted not to follow the Scriptures, or to
oppose them ; but it is sometimes allowable not to believe
in a bull, and even to oppose it, as, for instance, when it
has originated in avarice, when it raises to dignity un
worthy persons, or oppresses the innocent ; in a word,
when it is contrary to the instructions and command
ments of God.* As regards the foundation of the Church,
there is but one, which is Jesus Christ. If tbe Apostles,
therefore, are called the foundations of the Church, it is
in a figurative manner, as being subjected to Jesus Christ,
because it is he who has built the Church, and St Peter
is only its basis and foundation ; in the same manner is
the Apostles his colleagues. It must be admitted, that
Jesus Christ, who is the corner-stone of the Church,
* The doctrine of the Gallic Church is still more restrictive. It
only acknowledges bulls when they are not contrary to the laws of the
kingdom.

206 REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS.
established Peter in humility, poverty, and faith, and
that it was by these virtues he elevated the Church which
he governed. But to pretend, from these words, On this
rock will I raise my Church, that Jesus Christ intended
to found the entire Church in the person of Peter, is to
believe what is contrary to faith and reason. St Peter
never boasted of being the head of the whole Church, be
cause he never governed the whole of it ; yet there may
be allowed to him, with some of the Fathers, a priority
of order over the other Apostles, on account of the ex
cellence of his virtues ; and, in this sense, the words of
the blessed St Denis are true : St Peter was the Chief of
the Apostles,* which does not mean the Chief of the
Universal Church. The Bishop of Rome may be looked
upon as the vicar of St Peter, and the first in the church
which he governs, if he imitate the virtues of this
Apostle ; but if he follow an opposite path, he is only
the forerunner of Antichrist." Huss supports his opi
nion by citing several of the Fathers, and amongst others,
St Bernard, St Jerome, St Gregory, and St Chrysostom.
" It is not the post which he holds that makes the priest,"
says the last named saint, " but the priest which makes
the post ; it is not the place which sanctifies man, but
man that sanctifies the place."
" Lastly, As relates to the power of priests, it is purely
* Et dictum beati Dionysii est verum, quod Petrus fuit capitaneus
inter apostolos. De Eccles., cap. ix.

REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS. 207
spiritual ; it consists in instructing, in condemning the
culpable by spiritual punishment, in absolving the peni
tent, and announcing to them the remission of their sins ;
it dwells actually in Jesus Christ, and has been given, in
the person of Peter, to all the Church militant.
" Priests are only the ministers of the Church, and are
not able to bind or loose, remit or retain sins, if God
has not previously done so ; and the people greatly err,
if they believe that the priests first bind or unbind, and
that God only does so after them ; as if God executed the
sentence of priests, whereas, priests ought to execute the
judgment of God, only in accord with Jesus Christ. *
" There are two kinds of power : one legitimate, and
which should be obeyed ; the other pretended and
usurped, which ought to be resisted. Such is the power
of Simoniacs, who, through interest, take advantage of
the keys in order to condemn the innocent and absolve
the guilty ; who buy and sell holy orders, bishopricks,
canonries, and livings ; who make a traffic of the sacra
ments ; who live in avarice and voluptuousness, and sully
the authority of the priesthood." Huss maintains that
the power of binding or loosing was equally given to all
the Apostles, and contests the right of the popes to bear
the title of universal bishop and most holy. " They have no
right," he says, " to decorate themselves with it ;" and he
* De Eccles., cap. x. Compare this opinion of John Huss with that of
Wycliffe and Gerson on the same matter, Reformers before the Reformation.

REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS.

cites, as proofs, the example of the Apostles, the canons,
the councils, as well as the scandalous lives of several
popes, in whom there was no holiness. " As to the
cardinals, of whom it is said that they form the body of
the Church, it would be necessary, in order to acknow
ledge it, to know by revelation that they are predestined
to salvation, and that they live as becomes the successors
and vicars of the Apostles ; but do they shew themselves
as such \ Those men who accumulate livings, gain favours
by presents after the example of Giezi ; who go early in
the morning, dressed in splendid clothing, to visit the
Pope, mounted on horses richly caparisoned, not on ac
count of the distance or difficulty of the roads, but to
display their magnificence to the eyes of the world, in op
position to the example of Christ and his Apostles, who
visited on foot, and in humble clothing, the towns and
villages, preaching the Gospel, and announcing the king
dom of God. *
" The Church," says John Huss, "maybe governed with
out the Pope and cardinals, as was the case during three
hundred years. It was Constantine who established, in
the third century, the universal domination oiVthe Roman
Pontiff. Before the donation, the Bishop of Rome was
like the other bishops ;\ and for that reason, the Roman
* De Eccles., cap. xv.
t This illegality of the donation of Constantine was not then dis
covered.

REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS. 209
pontiffs who succeeded Sylvester, fearing to lose this
pre-eminence, besought the Emperors to confirm it." John
Huss afterwards quotes Gratian's decree, confirmed by
Lewis-le-Debonnaire, and adds — " St Peter never re
quired that Lewis-le-Debonnaire should bestow on him
the temporal domain of Rome ; he was in possession of
the kingdom of heaven, and consequently greater than
Lewis. Would to God that Peter had replied to him,
I accept not your concession. When I was Bishop of
Rome, I did not envy Nero the domination of Rome,
and I had no need of it. I believe it to have been inju
rious to my successors ; it turned them from the preach
ing of the Gospel, from prayer, and observing the com
mandments of God, and filled them with pride."
" It is the law of God, and not the arbitrary will of the
Pope and cardinals, that ought to regulate ecclesiastical
judgment." The adversaries of Huss considered this pro
position of his as a crime. He defends it against them,
and makes it a point of honour to acknowledge only the
Scriptures as authority, although he respects the holy
doctors, when their decisions are in harmony with the
Divine word. He rejects the application to Christians of
certain passages of Deuteronomy, in which God orders
the Israelites to have their disputes judged in the place
he had chosen, and sentences with death whoever should
not submit himself to the Pontiff and to the judge.* " It
* Deut. xvii.

210 REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS.
is here a question," says John Huss, "of civil affairs rather
than of religious ones, and the spirit of the Gospel, which,
only employing persuasion, differs greatly from the ancient
law, which was one of rigour. If these distinctions were
not established, it would follow that Jesus was justly con
demned, because the high priests Annas and Caiaphas
presided in the places designed by God himself."
Huss likewise rejects the accusation of wishing to ex
cite the people, and induce them to disobedience towards
their superiors, viz., the pope, bishops, priests, and all
the clergy. He distinguishes three kinds of obedience :
1st, Spiritual obedience, which is that which all Christians,
without exception, are expected at all times to render to
the law of Jesus Christ. 2dly, Secular obedience, which
is that which is due to civil laws, admitting them to be
conformable to the law of God. 3dly, Ecclesiastical
obedience, which is that paid to the laws invented by the
priests of the Church without any express authority of
the Scriptures. " This latter," he says, " is only obli
gatory as far as the things prescribed or forbidden are
in conformity with what is ordered or prohibited by the
Word of God ;" and he draws this inference, " that he
who knows of a certainty that the commandments of the
Pope are contrary to what is counselled and commanded
by Jesus Christ, or tends to the ruin of the Church,
ought boldly to resist them, for fear of sanctioning a
crime by his consent." He invokes, in support of this

REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS. 211
opinion the authority of the canon law, as well as the
Fathers, from whom he quotes many passages, extracted
especially from Nicholas Lyra and Saint Augustin.* In
the last chapters, Huss inveighs energetically against the
abuse of excommunication, suspensions, and interdicts.
" One ought not to be excommunicated," continues
Huss, " but on account of a mortal sin which separates
from the grace of God. The major excommunication is
pronounced against a public sinner, and it is that which
was pronounced against myself; but blessed be God, who
has not given to this excommunication the power of tak
ing away justice and virtue from a just man, and of
making him become a sinner. ... I am more afraid of
the greatest of all excommunications, viz. that by which
the Sovereign Pontiff, in presence of angels and men, will
eternally excommunicate the wicked from all participa
tion in eternal beatitude. ... It is on that One, that
he who judges should reflect, through fear of excommu
nicating unjustly ; for whoever shall excommunicate a
man from temporal interest or pride, or in order to re
venge himself of some injury, and against his conscience,
excommunicates himself, f
" As to suspension, it is God who pronounces it against
every bad priest who lives scandalously and criminally.
* Consult on this subject, and compare with this passage, Letter V.
ofthe First Series, pages 24-29.
t De Eccles., cap. xxii.

212 REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS.
It follows from hence, that there are but few preachers
whom God does not at present suspend from the ministry
of his Word, because there are few who do not reject
the knowledge of the Scriptures, and contradict, by their
lives, the duties which they teach unto others." Huss
concludes from this, that he was forced to preach against
the vices of the clergy. " Wo unto me," he exclaims,
" if I had remained silent ; for, according to the canon
law, * not to oppose an error is to approve of it ; and to
neglect denouncing the perverse when it is in our power
to do so, is to shew ourselves their accomplices, t"
Afterwards passing to the subject of interdicts, a
punishment which ecclesiastical dignitaries may inflict on
a country or town, simply for the fault of one individual,
and forbidding divine service to be celebrated in the
place, without distinguishing the innocent from the guilty,
John Huss adds : " One of the manifest proofs that these
censures, which are called fulminations, are derived from
Antichrist, is, that they are cast against those who preach
the Gospel, and expose the corruption of the clergy. In
terdicts began after the year one thousand, and by the
rage of Satan, when the clergy had become fat on the
misfortunes of the world, and had grown in voluptuous
ness, pride, and impatience of submitting to any restraint."
Huss calls to mind the worldly motives which led the
* Distinct. 83.
t Error cui non resistitur approbatur.

REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS. 213
pontiffs, Adrian IV., Alexander III., Innocent III.,
Boniface VIII., Innocent IV., and Clement IV., to inter
dict towns and countries, in the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries, and concludes by quoting, against this custom,
an admirable letter of St Augustin to a young bishop,
who, on account of the ill-conduct of a holy fathej, had
excommunicated his whole family. This is the letter : —
" Instruct me, I pray you, by strict reason or Scripture,
in what case, should you know of any, the child should be
excommunicated for the sin of the father, the wife for
that of the husband, the servant for the master, and even
the children that may be born in the house thus ex
communicated, since, as long as it remains so, it is im
possible to procure for the children, even when in danger
of death, the grace of regeneration produced by Baptism.
The chastisement which God inflicted on several of the
impious who had despised his law, and in which he in
cluded all belonging to them, was an external punish
ment, which fell only on the body, in order to fill the living
with dread ; but the excommunication resulting from the
power given us by these words : ' That which you shall
have bound on earth, shall be bound in heaven,' falls
even upon the soul ; and it is said of souls : ' The soul of
the father belongs to me, as likewise the soul of the son ;
and that which has sinned shall die.' Perhaps you have
heard of some bishops of great repute, who anathemised
sinners with the whole of their families ; but if they were

214 REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS.
asked to explain their conduct, it is likely they would be
embarrassed to assign a good reason for it; and as I should
not myself have known how to answer a similar inquiry,
I have never, on that account, dared to act in this man
ner, however great might have been the crimes committed
against the Church. Nevertheless, if God has revealed
to you that this may be done with justice, I shall not
despise your youth, and your little experience of the
weight of episcopacy. Behold me, then, an old man, and
for many years a bishop, ready to learn from a young
man, my colleague a year since only, how I should justify
myself before God and men, if I inflicted a spiritual
punishment on innocent souls for the sins of others."*
John Huss, after supporting his argument by the im
posing authority of St Augustin, energetically ad
dresses the doctors, his adversaries, and asks them if they
believe in their conscience that it is an unimportant
thing, keeping the middle path between good and evil, to
deprive the innocent of the sacraments, and of sepulture
— to prohibit divine service, and give rise, in consequence,
to so much scandal, calumny, and hatred. " 0 doctors !"
he exclaims, " to what church belongs this language 1 Is
it that of an apostolical church ? Say whether it be the
language of an apostle, or of a saint. Assuredly it is
not that of Jesus Christ, of the Chief of the Holy Church,
* De Eccles., cap. xxiii.
2

REMARKS ON THE WORKS OF JOHN HUSS. 215
in whose word is contained every truth useful to the
Church."* Huss terminates his celebrated treatise by alluding to
the condemnation of the forty-five articles of Wycliffe, by
the doctors, without their being able to demonstrate that
any of these articles were heretical, erroneous, or scan
dalous. He expresses his astonishment at his adversaries
abstaining from opposing too openly, at Prague, Wycliffe's
proposition, which authorizes lay lords to strip of their
wealth ecclesiastics of depraved morals. " They are
silent," says he, " like the priests and Pharisees, and fear
prevents them from condemning this article ; but what
they dreaded has occurred, and will again come to pass.
They shall lose their temporal wealth ; God grant they
may preserve their souls /"
* 0 doctores, cujus ecclesiae est ille stylus ? Numquam apostolicae ?
Dicite cujus apostoli est stylus ille, vel cujus sancti post apostolos ?
Numquam est Christi stylus, illius capitis Ecclesiae sanctae, in cujus
stylo omnis Veritas utilis Ecclesiaa est contenta. Cap. xxiii.

FINIS.

NOTES.

Note A., p. 2.
PREFACE OF MARTIN HITHER TO THE FOUR LETTERS OP JOHN HUSS,
WHICH HE CAUSED TO BE TRANSLATED INTO LATIN, AND WHICH
HE PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AT WIRTEMBERG, IN THE TEAR 1536.
Of these four Letters, written by John Huss in the Bohemian tongue,
I have procured a Latin translation, with the view of publishing them
forthwith, in the same year fixed for a General Council, at the earnest
request of our illustrious Emperor Charles. I have not taken this
trouble with the view of calling down indignation and contempt upon
the Council of Constance. This, on account of its culpable acts, I have
done elsewhere, and will always be ready to do, in defence of the in
terests of the whole Church. My motive in publishing these Letters,
is, if God permits the said Council to assemble, to warn the members to
take care not to follow the example of the Council of Constance, in
which the Truth was exposed to such lengthened and violent at
tacks ; and yet, nevertheless, now triumphs, and, raising its victorious
head, shews this unworthy assembly in its naked aspect, and stripped
of its tyrannical authority. In this Council, indeed, the cardinals
and most distinguished men aimed principally at extinguishing schism ;
they abandoned the came of religion as below their notice, and left it
to the perverse race of monks and sophists ; from whence has sprung,
as formerly from Babylon, all the evil which has produced, in Ger
many and in Bohemia, so many calamities, wars, massacres, and inex
tinguishable hatreds. The Papacy, freed from schism, did not after
wards behave less cruelly towards the world, filling the churches with
false doctrines, indulgences, mercenary masses, and all sorts of inven
tions of priests and monks. Such are the fruits of this sacred Coun
cil • it would, therefore, be dangerous to trust again, at this time, the
K

218 NOTES.
interests of religion to the rage of these perverse men ; but it is of
consequence that kings, princes, and bishops, combine all their ener
gies, in order that similar calamities, and more frightful ones, be not
the result of the new Council now summoned.
Certainly God has sufBciently shewn, in the Council of Constance,
how he resists the proud, how he confounds the lofty in their own de
signs, without regard to the external dignity of any one.
I publish, therefore, these Letters with the design of giving salutary
warning. He who, having been thus warned, will not listen to advice,
will perish dreadfully, but not through my fault. May Jesus Christ give
us the spirit of prayer, and grant to those who are called to direct this
Council, to seek first the things which are of God, and to neglect and
undervalue those which concern themselves.

Note B., p. 197.
TREATISES OF JOHN HUSS, ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF THEIR
DATES.
1°. Treatise on the Glorified Blood of Jesus Christ.*
2°. Treatise on the Books of Heretics which should be read and not
burned.
3°. Answer to the Englishman John Stokes, the Calmuniator of
Wycliffe.
4°. Vindication of some of the Articles of Wycliffe.
5°. On the Withdrawal of Temporal Goods from the Clergy.
6°. On Tithes.
7°. On the Crusade published by Pope John XXIII. against Ladislaus.
8°. Refutation of the Bull of John XXIII. touching the Indulgences
for that Crusade.
9". Answer to an Unknown Adversary.
k 10°. Answer to the Preacher in Plzna.
* This Treatise, approved of hy the Archbishop Sbinks, is as early as the year
1404 or 1405. It was written before John Huss had been denounced or persecuted
by the clergy.

NOTES. 219
11°. Of the Five Duties of a Priest.
12°. On the question of knowing whether it be allowable publicly to
denounce the Views of the Clergy.
.J.3°. Researches upon Three Doubts, namely, Whether we must believe
in the Pope ? Whether it be possible to be saved without Con
fession to a Priest ? and whether any learned Doctor has said
that any of those overtaken with Pharaoh, or destroyed with
Sodom, can he saved ?
14°. On what we must Believe ?
» 15°. Treatise on the Six Errors received in the Church.
/¦ 16°. Answer to Stephen Paletz.
, 17°. Answer to Stanislaus by Znoima.
* 18°. Refutation of the Writings of Eight Doctors of Theology.
• 19°. Treatise of the Church.
20°. The Book of Antichrist. — Anatomy of its Members.
21°. Of the Reign, the Life, and the Manners of Antichrist.
22°. Of the Abomination of Priests and Monks in the Church of Jesus
Christ.

TREATISES WRITTEN BY JOHN HUSS IN HIS PRISON, FOR THE EDIFI
CATION OF HIS KEEPERS.
1°. Explanation of the Apostles' Creed, of the Decalogue, and of the
Lord's Prayer.
2°. Of Mortal Sins.
3°. Of Marriage.
4°. Of the Knowledge and Love of Cjod.
5°. Of the Three Enemies of Man. •
6°. Of the Seven Mortal Sins.
7°- Of Penitence.
8°. Of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ.

220 NOTES.

TREATISES OMITTED IN THE FIRST EDITION OF THE WORKS OF JOHN
HUSS, THE DATES OF WHICH ARE UNKNOWN.
1°. Against the Opinion that the Body of Christ is Created in the
Sacrament of the Altar.
2°. Against the Worshipping of Images.
3°. Of the Abolition of Sects and Human Traditions.
4°. Of Schism and the Unity of the Church.
5°. Of Evangelical Perfection.
6°. A Fragment on the Mystery of Iniquity.
7°. A Fragment on the Revelation of Christ and Antichrist.
8°. Fragments on Diverse Subjects.

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By JOHN WILSON, D.D., M.R.A.S.,
Honorary President ofthe Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society,
and Missionary of the Free Church of Scotland, Bombay.
Published, in post 8vo, Second Edition, price 5s. 6d. cloth,
SERMONS ON PRACTICAL SUBJECTS.
By DAVID WELSH, D.D., F.R.S.E.
Professor of Divinity and Church History, New College, Edinburgh ;
formerly Regius Professor of Divinity and Church History
in the University of Edinburgh.
" We have seldom perused a volume of Discourses in every respect so excel
lent as this Characterised by profound thought, luminous arrangement, and
nhilosODhical precision, they are fitted to instruct the most intelligent, whilst
they possess the rare but invaluable charm of perfect simplicity in arrangement
and style."— Glasgow Courier.

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TREATISES ON THE LORD'S SUPPER.

In 12mo, price 2s. cloth,
THE COMMUNICANT'S COMPANION;
Or, Instruction for the Right Receiving of the Lokd's SuPPEK.
By the Rev. MATTHEW HENRY.
With an Introductory Essay,
By the Rev. JOHN BROWN, D.D., Edinburgh.

In 12mo, price 3s. cloth,
SACRAMENTAL MEDITATIONS AND ADVICES.
By the Rev. JOHN WILLISON,
Late Minister of the Gospel at Dundee.

New Edition, in 12mo, price 3s. cloth,
A CATECHISM ON THE NATURE AND USES OF THE
LORD'S SUPPER.
By the Rev. JOHN WILLISON,
» Late Minister of the Gospel at Dundee.

In 18mo, Fourth Edition, price Is. 6d. cloth,
FOUR ADDRESSES ON SUBJECTS CONNECTED WITH
THE LORD'S SUPPER.
By CHARLES WATSON, D.D.
Late Minister of Burntisland.

In 18mo, Fifteenth Edition, price Is. 6d. cloth,
SACRAMENTAL EXERCISES.
By JABEZ EARLE, D.D.
With an Introductory Essay,
By ANDREW THOMSON, D.D.,
Late Minister of St George's Church, Edinburgh.
Tn 18mo, price 3d. stitched,
CATECHISM FoR THE INSTRUCTION OF COMMUNI
CANTS IN THE NATURE AND USES OF
THE LORD'S SUPPER.
And in the Doctrines and Duties connected with that Ordinance.
By ANDREW THOMSON, D.D.,
Late Minister of St George's Church, Edinburgh.