cruelties practised by both parties; but it is neither just nor generous to make the Catholics all sanguinary and the revolting Bohemians all merciful. The pope sought other means than the sword to bring the infatuated disciples of Huss and Jerome to their senses. He employed the proper weapons of the church to bring them to a sense of duty and truth. He sent preachers among them, armed with eloquence and persuasion, one of whom, St. John Capistran, is stated by Mr. Alban Butler to have converted, in Moravia alone, four thousand of these deluded creatures. While these pious missionaries were occupied in wielding the arm of reason among the disciples of Huss, the leaders of his sect were engaged in spreading blood and carnage over the country. "To revenge the death of John Huss," writes Mr. Butler, "Zisca (whose true name was John of Trocznou) a veteran general, "assembled an army of his followers, and plundered the whole country "with unheard-of barbarity. After the death of king Wenceslas, in "1417, he opposed the election of Sigismund, who was emperor of Germany, defeated his armies eight times, built the strong fortress "which he called Thabor, amidst waters and mountains, and died in "1424. Sigismund had made peace with him before his death, and at the council of Basil promised the archbishopric of Prague to John "Rockysana, a clergyman, who had been deputed by the Hussites to the "council of Basil, but who abjured that heresy, upon condition that the laity in Bohemia might be allowed to communicate in both kinds. "The deputies of the council of Basil, and the catholic assembly at "Iglaw, in the diocess of Olmutz, in 1436, acquiesced; but required "this condition, that in case of such a concession, the priest should de"clare before giving the communion in both kinds, that it is an error "to believe that Christ's body or blood is alone under either kind. This Rockysana boggled at: nor would the pope ever grant him his bulls. "His partisans, however, styled him archbishop, and he appeared at "their head till his death, which happened a little before that of George Pogebrac, in 1471, who had been king of Bohemia from the "year 1458; though secretly a Hussite, he demolished the fortress of Thabor, that it might not serve for a retreat to rebels."

Thus it appears that religion was made a cloak for sedition and rebellion, which has been the case in almost every instance with the innovators of truth. The reform, as it is called, meditated by John Huss and Jerome of Prague, was a system of the most pernicious licentiousness, and would no more be tolerated in the united states of America at this day, than it was in Bohemia in the fifteenth century. The doctrines preached by these dogmatizers struck at the foundation of all order and authority, and in the course of time must have rendered society a chaos of confusion and outrage. For example:-One of their tenets was, that the clergy ought to have no temporal possessions; now what would the clergy of the church of England, and the preachers of the sectarians in this same country, who are unanimous in their opposition to Catholicism, say, were a person to start up and maintain such a doctrine as this? Would they not call for a prosecution; or at least would they not oppose him with all the force they possessed? There cannot be a doubt but they would. And yet the resistance to such a doctrine in the fifteenth century by the fathers and professors of the

OF

For's Book of Martyrs,

CRITICAL AND HISTORICAL.

No. 22. Printed and Published by W. E. ANDREWS, 3, Chapter Price 3d. house-court, St. Paul's Churchvard, London.

CONTINUATION OF THE REVIEW.

Catholic faith, is made a charge of persecution, by men too who are at the same time combined to continue the persecuting laws against the Catholics, imposed for conscience sake.

Another of the tenets was, that persons in authority forfeited all claim to jurisdiction and power, while in a state of sin. Thus, then, supposing the president of the united states of America to be in the habit of tippling to excess, he would, according to John Huss's notions, be divested of his power. But were a citizen of America to disseminate such a doctrine at this day, and were he to get some people to believe him, would he be allowed to propagate his error under the cloak of religion, in these states, where perfect religious freedom is established? We are convinced there is not a reader endowed with a rational mind that would answer us in the affirmative: why then should the Catholics of the fif teenth and present centuries be reproached for doing that which Protestants would do for their own personal security at the time we are writing? What would a by-stander say, if a criminal, on being taken

before a police magistrate to answer some charge preferred against him, were to deny the power of the justice to take cognizance of the offence, because he, the magistrate, had committed some breach of the commandments of God, and therefore had forfeited all power vested in him by the state? Would he not be struck with dread and astonishment that such an idea should be entertained, and immediately perceive that, were it to become general, society would be disorganized? Most assuredly he would, and applaud the man who should endeavour to remove such pernicious prejudices from the mind of the offender.

The editors conclude this section "with an account of a pretended "PERSECUTION BY THE EMPEROR FERDINAND."-Such is the head or title they have selected, and they usher in their account with the following statement :-"The emperor Ferdinand, whose hatred to the "Protestants was unlimited, not thinking he had sufficiently oppressed "them, instituted a high court of reformers, upon the plan of the in"quisition, with this difference, that the reformers were to remove "from place to place. The greater part of this court consisted of Je"suits, and from its decisions there was no appeal. Attended by a "body of troops, it made the tour of Bohemia, and seldom examined "a prisoner; but suffered the soldiers to murder the Protestants as they "pleased, and then to make report of the matter afterwards." Such is the introductory account of this persecution, which no doubt has obtained innumerable believers. But it must be observed, that there were three emperors bearing the name of Ferdinand; the first reigned in the sixteenth century, and the other two in the seventeenth; how then are we to trace the accuracy of this account, when there is no clue left us for that purpose? Not a date, not an authority, and no specification in which of the three reigns this affair occurred. Is this the way an honest historian would go to work to obtain credit We think not. None but those well acquainted with the gullibility of Protestant prejudice would dare to send forth such a tale. The institution of a high court of reformers, upon the plan of the inquisition,, to reform the reformers of religion, is a clever idea to work upon the imagination; and the composing this court of reformers with Jesuits completes the climax. Then the summary mode of proceeding is calculated to excite the compassion of the reader: only think of this court of reforming Je suits making the tour of Bohemia, and leaving the work of slaughter to the soldiers. A tour of pleasure to the court and a journey of labour to the soldiers. The Protestants murdered in the first instance and reported afterwards: something like the Irish chairmen knocking a passer-by down, and begging his leave to pass when the course is clear. There being no time specified, we are at a loss to know whether the sufferers were Hussites or Protestants; the editors say the latter, but we have our doubts on the subject. After some further improbable relations, a list is given of twenty prisoners who are said to have been executed in regular order, among whom are five lords, one earl, one knight, one doctor of physic, four gentlemen, a cripple, and seven without rank. All of them are described as making use of some commonplace talk, very suitable to delude the enthusiast, but, as we have so frequently had occasion to remark, not a date nor a voucher is produced, but all is mere assertion. It would therefore be a waste of time to

enter into any criticism on such unauthenticated relations, and we shall proceed to the next section.

"SECTION II

LIFE, SUFFERINGS, AND MARTYRDOM OF JOHN HUSS."

As the life and conduct of this n'an have been an almost endless source of vilification of Catholic principles, and wishing to put the question at rest in future, we shall go at some length into the affair, and then leave the reader to form his own conclusions. Fox has devoted this section wholly to John Huss, and we cannot better illustrate the propensity which Fox has to lying than to give his own account as it appears, in this modern edition, and compare it with an account before us from another Protestant martyrologist. Fox writes thus :--

"John Huss was born in the village of Hussenitz, in Bohemia, about the year 1380. His parents gave him the best education they could bestow, and having acquired a tolerable knowledge of the classics, at a private school, he was sent to the university of Prague, where the powers of his mind, and his diligence in study, soon rendered him conspicuous! "In 1408, he commenced bachelor of divinity, and was successively chosen pastor of the church of Bethlehem, in Prague, and dean and rector of the university. The duties of these stations he discharged with great fidelity, and became at length so conspicuous for the boldness and truth of his preaching, that he attracted the notice, and raised the malignity of the pope and his creatures.

“His influence in the university was very great, not only on account of his learning, eloquence, and exemplary life, but also on account of some valuable privileges he had obtained from the king in behalf of that seminary.

The English reformer, Wickliffe, had so kindled the light of reformation, that it began to illumine the darkest corners of Popery and ignorance. His doctrines were received in Bohemia with avidity and zeal, by great numbers of people, but by none so particularly as John Huss, and his friend and fellow-martyr, Jerome of Prague.

"The reformists daily increasing, the archbishop of Prague issued a decree to prevent the farther spreading of Wickliffe's writings. This, however, had an effect quite the reverse to what he expected, for it stimulated the converts to greater zeal, and, at length, almost the whole university united in promoting them.

"Strongly attached to the doctrines of Wickliffe, Huss strenuously opposed the decree of the archbishop, who, notwithstanding, obtained a bull from the pope, authorizing him to prevent the publishing of Wickliffe's writings in his province. By virtue of this bull, he proceeded against four doctors, who had not delivered up some copies, and prohibited them to preach. Against these proceedings, Huss, with some other members of the university, protested, and entered an appeal from the sentences of the archbishop. The pope no sooner heard of this, than he granted a commission to cardinal Colonna, to cite John Huss to appear at the court of Rome, to answer accusations laid against him, of preaching heresies. From this appearance, Huss desired to be excused, and so greatly was he favoured in Bohemia, that king Winceslaus, the queen, the nobility, and the university, desired the pope to dispense with such an appearance; as also that he would not suffer the kingdom of Bohemia to lie under the accusation of heresy, but permit them to preach the gospel with freedom in their places of worship.

"Three proctors appeared for Huss before cardinal Colonna. They made an excuse for his absence, and said, they were ready to answer in his behalf. But the cardinal declared him contumacious, and accordingly excommunicated him. On this the proctors appealed to the pope, who appointed four cardinals to examine the process: these commissioners confirmed the sentence of the cardinal, and extended the excommunication not only to Huss, but to all his friends and followers. Huss then appealed from this unjust sentence to a future council, but without success; and, notwithstanding so severe a decree, and an expulsion from his church in Prague, he retired to Hussenitz, his native place, where he continued to promulgate the truth, both from the pulpit and with the pen.

"He here compiled a treatise, in which he maintained, that reading the books of Pró

testants could not be absolutely forbidden. He wrote in defence of Wickliffe's book on the Trinity and boldly declared against the vices of the pope, the cardinals, and the clergy of those corrupt times. Besides these, he wrote many other books, all of whish were penned with such strength of argument, as greatly facilitated the spreading of his doctrines.

"In England, the persecutions against the Protestants had been carried on for some time with relentless cruelty. They now extended to Germany and Bohemia, where Huss and Jerome of Prague were particularly singled out to suffer in the cause of religion.

"In the month of November, 1414, a general council was assembled at Constance, in Germany, for the purpose of determining a dispute then existing between three persons who contended for the papal throne.

John Huss was summoned to appear at this council; and to dispel any apprehensions of danger, the emperor sent him a safe-conduct, giving him permission freely to come to, and return from the council. On receiving this information, he told the persons who delivered it, That he desired nothing more than to purge himself publicly of the imputation of heresy; and that he esteemed himself happy in having so fair an opportunity of it, as at the council to which he was summoned to attend.'

"In the latter end of November, he set out to Constance, accompanied by two Bohemian noblemen, who were among the most eminent of his disciples, and who followed him merely through respect and affection. He caused some placards to be fixed upon the gates of the churches of Prague, in which he declared, that he went to the council to answer all allegations that might be made against him. He also declared, in all the cities through which he passed, that he was going to vindicate himself at Constance, and invited all his adversaries to be present.

"On his way he met with every mark of affection and reverence, from people of all descriptions. The streets, and even the roads, were thronged with people, whom respect, rather than curiosity, had brought together. He was ushered into the towns with great acclamations; and he passed through Germany in a kind of triumph. ‘I thought,' said he, I had been an outcast. I now see my worst friends are in Bohemia.'

"

"On his arrival at Constance, he immediately took lodgings in a remote part of the city. Soon after, came one Stephen Paletz, who was engaged by the clergy at Prague to manage the intended prosecution against him. Paletz was afterwards joined by Michael de Cassis, on the part of the court of Rome. These two declared themselves his ascusers, and drew up articles against him, which they presented to the pope, and the prelates of the council. Notwithstanding the promise of the emperor, to give him a safe-conduct to and from Constance, he regarded not his word; but, according to the maxim of the council, that Faith is not to be kept with heretics,' when it was known he was in the city, he was immediately arrested, and committed prisoner to a chamber in the palace. This breach wa's particularly noticed by one of Huss's friends, who urged the imperial safe-conduct; but the pope replied, he never granted any such thing, nor was he bound by that of the emperor.

"While Huss was under confinement, the council acted the part of inquisitors. They condemned the doctrines of Wickliffe, and, in their impotent malice, ordered his remains to be dug up, and burnt to ashes; which orders were obeyed.

"In the mean time the nobility of Bohemia and Poland used all their interest for Huss; and so far prevailed as to prevent his being condemned unheard, which had been resolved on by the commissioners appointed to try him.

"Before his trial took place, his enemies employed a Franciscan friar, who might entangle him in his words, and then appear against him. This man, of great ingenuity and subtlety, came to him in the character of an idiot, and with seeming sincerity and zeal, requested to be taught his doctrines. But Huss soon discovered him, and told him that his manners wore a great semblance of simplicity; but that his questions discovered a depth and design beyond the reach of an idiot. He afterwards found this pretended fool to be Didace, one of the deepest logicians in Lombardy.

"At length, he was brought before the council, when the articles exhibited against him were read: they were upwards of forty in number, and chiefly extracted from his writings. "On his examination being finished, he was taken from the court, and a resolution was formed by the council, to burn him as an heretic, unless he retracted. He was then com