book iv

. chap. 4.

LETTER XXXII.[102]

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 sexterni[103] 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 promise which he has given me. But I believe his word on this subject will be as stable and firm as in the safe-conduct.

Several persons warned me in Bohemia not to rely on his safe-conduct; others told me that Sigismond would deliver me up to my enemies; the Seignior Mykest 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_. If, at least, he had said--“I have given him a safe-conduct. If he will not submit to the Council I will send him to the king of Bohemia, with your sentence and the testimonies in support of it, in order that he may be judged by this prince and his clergy.” 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 resolution to save me from all danger, should I not submit to the judgment.

FOOTNOTES:

[102] _Hist. et Monum. Johann. Huss_, Epist. xxxiv.

[103] Sexterni, a coin of these times.

LETTER XXXIII.[104]

TO HIS FRIENDS.

[He relates the frightful visions which diversely affected him, although events have confirmed the truth of all his dreams.]

The Lord be with you! The warning of the Lord is more precious to me than gold and topaz. I hope, then, in the mercy of Jesus Christ, that he will grant me his Spirit, that I may hold fast in the truth. Pray to the Lord; for the spirit is willing and the flesh is weak. May the Almighty God be the reward of my well-beloved Nobles, who with a constant, fervent, and faithful heart, persevere in justice. God will enable them to know the truth in the kingdom of Bohemia. But that they may cling to it, 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, 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 of the Commissioners, that since the birth of Christ, there had risen no heretic more dangerous than Wycliffe and myself. He further declared, that all those who have listened to my preachings are infected with this heresy, which consists in affirming that the material bread remains in the sacrament of the altar. “O 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 evasion before it took place, and after the event being related, 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 multitude of serpents often presented themselves before me, rolled up into a circle, the head forming the tail. I have seen many other things besides.

I write this, not that I consider myself a prophet, or that I should exalt myself, but in order to tell you I have experienced both mental and bodily temptations, as well as great fear of transgressing the precepts of our Lord Jesus Christ. I think now of these words of Jerome, who said to me, “If I go to Constance, I do not believe I shall return thence.” A worthy shoemaker, André 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 Hungary,[105] but of Heaven, bestow on you his blessings for the true and excellent doctrines I have learned from you.”

FOOTNOTES:

[104] _Hist. et Monum. Johann. Huss_, Epist. xxxiii.

[105] The Emperor Sigismund.

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.

LETTER XXXV.[106]

TO A FRIEND.

[Huss alludes to the hymn noted down on parchment, which he composed in Bohemian for Schopeck.]

You will forward the letter on parchment to the Seignior Henry Schopeck; 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 expectation of death._

FOOTNOTE:

[106] _Hist. et Monum. Johann. Huss_, Epist. xlii.

LETTER XXXVI.[107]

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 attach 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 discourses or my writings, not to imitate me in that, but to pray to God that he may pardon my frivolity; I conjure you to love priests of good morals, and to honour, in preference, those who exert themselves in diffusing the word of God; I conjure you to beware of deceitful men, especially impious priests, of whom the Lord has said, they are outwardly dressed in sheep’s clothing, while within they are ravening wolves; I conjure the powerful to treat their poor servants with kindness, and to command them with justice; I conjure citizens to keep a good conscience in their profession, 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 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 zealous 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 imputed to me by them; they are aware how the whole assembly vociferated against me whilst I was answering all the questions that were asked. I conjure you to pray for the King of the Romans, and for your own, and for the Queen, in order that the God of mercy may dwell with them and with you, now and for ever.

I write you this letter in my prison and with my fettered 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 his 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, like myself, for death, on account of that faith which he so courageously spread through Bohemia. But the Bohemians, our most cruel adversaries, have delivered us to the power of other enemies and to their chains. Pray to God for them. I conjure you, inhabitants of Prague, above all to love my Chapel of Bethlehem, and to have the word of God preached there, should God permit it. The fury of Satan is stirred up against that place. Seeing that the power of darkness was weakened in it, he has excited the parochial clergy against 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 infirm man. Lastly, I conjure you to love one another, to shut out no one from the path of divine truth, and to watch that the upright be not oppressed by violence. Amen.

_Written on the night of the Monday before Saint Vitus, and sent by a good and faithful German._

FOOTNOTE:

[107] _Hist. et Monum. Johann. Huss_, Epist. xi.

LETTER XXXVII.[108]

(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 enlightened 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 witnesses; for to abjure implies that one has held erroneous opinions--it is, in fact, to reject them, and adopt others of a contrary tendency. God knows that I have never taught these errors, imputed to me by those who have retrenched from my works many truths and falsified them. Were I aware that, in the articles I confess to, there was one contrary to the truth, I would correct it, and most heartily strike it out. Nay, I would teach and preach the contrary. But, although some parts may be considered scandalous and erroneous by those who are displeased with such doctrines, yet I do not believe that there is a single passage which is opposed to the law of Christ or to the words of the holy apostles.

I detest and condemn all false interpretation imputed to my articles against my intention, submitting myself to the correction of our Divine Master, and confiding in his infinite mercy, that he himself may deign to wash me clean from such sins as I am ignorant of.[109] I return thanks to all the Bohemian Barons, and especially to King Wenceslaus, and to the Queen, my gracious Sovereign, that they have loved me, have acted piously towards me, and have worked ardently to procure my deliverance; I render thanks also to the Emperor Sigismund, 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 salvation of all, here below in grace, and afterwards in a glorious eternity.

May the God of all goodness bring you back into Bohemia with perfect health of body and soul, that, serving in this world, Christ, our Sovereign, you may attain eternal life!

You will salute for me all my friends, to whom I cannot write; if I 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.

_Written in prison, and in chains, the sixth day before the festival of St John the Baptist._

+John Huss+, in hope, servant of Christ.

FOOTNOTES:

[108] _Hist. et Monum. Johann. Huss_, Epist. xx.

[109] Quod ab occultis peccatis meis ipse me mundavit.

LETTER XXXVIII.[110]

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 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 doctrines, answer, “I believe my master has been a good Christian, in what he has taught and written; I have neither read all, nor understood all. I speak as I think.” I hope that the mercy of God, with the aid of well-disposed 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 towards 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 Curé Guzikon, Maurice Hatzer, and all the friends of the truth; Geskonière, 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 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 forget 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 without ceasing on what thou art, on what thou hast been, and what thou mayest become. Deplore the past, amend the present, dread the future, that is, sin.

May the God of grace console thee, as well as all 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 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.

FOOTNOTE:

[110] _Hist. et Monum. Johann. Huss_, Epist. xxviii.

LETTER XXXIX.[111]

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 be punished as a heretic, if he did not amend this practice. Already, then, has the malice of men condemned 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._

FOOTNOTE:

[111] _Hist. et Monum. Johann. Huss_, Epist. xvi.

LETTER XL.[112]

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 could and I ought to abjure my scruples in submitting my will to the Holy Church, which the Council represents; but not one of them can avoid the difficulty, when I place him in my situation, and ask him, if, being certain of having never preached, or defended, or entertained heresy, he could, in safe conscience, formally confess that he abjured an error which he never supported. Some of them stated, that it was not necessary to abjure, but 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 to me; and that I will never preach, hold, or defend them. And when I spoke thus, they immediately retired.

Others insist that, supposing a man really innocent were found in the Church, and this man, through humility, confess himself guilty, he would be well deserving: thereupon some one cited, amongst the ancient fathers, a certain saint, in whose bed had been covertly put a prohibited book. Inculpated and examined on this subject, the saint denied the fault, but his enemies answered, “Thou hast concealed the book, and put it in 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 monastery in the disguise of a man. She was accused of being the father of a child. She confessed it, and kept the child: her innocence was afterwards discovered with her sex. Many other means were also proposed to me.

An Englishman addressed me thus, “Were I in your place, I would abjure; for in England, all the masters, and all men held in consideration, who were suspected of adhering to the opinions of Wycliffe, have been severally cited before the archbishop, and have abjured.”

Lastly, yesterday they were all agreed in engaging me to place myself at the mercy of the Council.

Paletz came at my entreaty, for I desired to confess to him. I asked the commissioners, and those who exhorted me, to give me for confessor either him or another. And I said, “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 audience, 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 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 accompany the Emperor. Jesus Christ, by his grace, preserves me immoveable in my first resolution.

+John Huss+, in hope, servant of God.

FOOTNOTE:

[112] _Hist. et Monum. Johann. Huss_, Epist. xxx.

LETTER XLI.[113]

TO JOHN CARDINAL.

[John Huss replies to the Father, that is to say, to the Cardinal,[114] 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 of the good of the Church.]

May the Almighty God, sovereignly good and wise, deign to bestow on my Father eternal life, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Reverend Father, I am most grateful for your benevolent and paternal interest. I dare not submit myself to the 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 leaving a bad example to posterity; how should I, a priest of the new law, although unworthy, through the terror of pain of a short duration, consent gravely to transgress the law of God, by keeping back from the truth, by perjuring myself, and, lastly, by offending my 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 opprobrium. Therefore, since I have appealed to Jesus Christ, to the Judge sovereignly just and powerful, confiding to him my cause, I am resolved to adhere to his decision, and to his holy and sacred sentence, knowing that he will judge all men, not according to false witnesses, or to the errors of councils, but according to the truth, and their own merits.

FOOTNOTES:

[113] _Hist. et Monum. Johann. Huss_, Epist. xxxix.

[114] 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_,