the festival of John the Baptist, when he says: "Much consoles me that word of our Saviour, Blessed be 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 behold your reward is great in heaven,' Luke vi. 22, 23. A good consolation; nay, the best consolation; difficult, however, if not to understand, yet perfectly to fulfil, to rejoice amid those sufferings. This rule James observes, who says, 'My beloved brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your faith, if it is good, worketh patience,' James i. 2, 3. Assuredly is it a hard thing to rejoice without perturbation, and in all these manifold temptations to find nothing but pure joy. Easy it is to say this, and to expound it, but hard to fulfil it in very deed. For even the most patient and stedfast warrior, who knew that he should rise on the third day, who by his death conquered his enemies, and redeemed his chosen from perdition, was after the Last Supper troubled in spirit, and said, My soul is troubled even unto death; as also the Gospel relates, that he began to tremble and was troubled; nay, in his conflict he had to be supported by an angel, and he sweat as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground; but he who was in such trouble said to his disciples, Let not your heart be troubled, and fear not the cruelty of those that rage against you, because ye shall ever have me with you to enable you to overcome the cruelty of your tormentors. Hence his soldiers, looking to him as their king and leader, endured great conflicts, went through fire and water, and were delivered. And they received from the Lord the crown of which James speaks, i. 12. That crown will God bestow on me and you, as I confidently hope, ye zealous combatants for the truth, with all who truly and perseveringly love our Lord Christ, who suffered for us, leaving behind an example that we should follow in his steps. It was necessary that he should suffer, as he tells us himself; and we must suffer, that so the members may suffer with the head; for so he says, Whoever would follow me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Oh most faithful Christ, draw us weak ones after thee; for we cannot follow thee, if thou dost not draw us. Give us a strong mind, that it may be prepared and ready. And if the flesh is weak, let thy grace succour us beforehand, and accompany us, for without thee we can do nothing; and least of all can we face a cruel death. Give us a ready and willing spirit, an undaunted heart, the right faith, a firm hope, and perfect love, that patiently and with joy we may for thy sake give up our life." He subscribes this letter as follows: "Written in chains, on the vigils of St. John, who, because he rebuked wickedness, was beheaded in prison. May he pray for us to the Lord Jesus Christ!"* Huss requested permission before his death to confess himself, and at first chose his most violent opponent Paletz. He had so far overcome every feeling of indignation and revenge, as to be willing to confess to him. He begged the commissioners to grant him Paletz, or some other one. They sent him a doctor of theology, who was a monk. This person heard the confession of Huss, and spoke to him kindly and piously, as Huss relates. He counselled him, as the others had done, to recant; he did not make it, however, a condition of absolution, but gave him the latter without it. This is worthy of notice, since Huss, if he did not recant, if the ban under which he had lain was not removed, being still an obstinate heretic, could not properly obtain absolution. We may conclude therefore, with some probability, that this monk too, like the above-mentioned unknown friend, belonged to the number of those whose judgment of Huss differed from that of the council. In the prospect of death Huss expressed the pain he felt at not having succeeded in bringing together his beloved Bohemian nation under a common Christian and national interest, at being forced into a controversy on that subject with those who were his dearest friends. Accordingly he writes to the masters and bachelors and students of the Prague university: “I admonish you in the most gracious Jesus, that you mutually love one another, lay aside divisions and seek before all things the glory of God, remembering me, how I ever had * Opp. I. fol. 67, 1 et 2; Ep. 30. + Ibid. fol. 67, 2; Ep. 31. On the 27th June. in view the advancement of the university for the glory of God, how much I was troubled at your dissensions and your false steps, how I strove to knit together our excellent nation in unity. And behold how this nation in some of those, who were dearest to me, for whom I would willingly have sacrificed my life, has become bitter to me by the shame it has brought on me and by their calumnies, and at length they bring me to a bitter death. May the Almighty God forgive them, because they knew not what they did! For the rest, stand fast in the truth ye have known, which will triumph over all and is mighty through eternity.' When Paletz last visited Huss, and the latter besought his forgiveness for any abusive or scornful language which he might have used towards him, particularly for his language in the tract written against him, where he had styled him the " Fictor," the hardened man was moved to tears; but he always firmly held that much evil had been wrought in Bohemia by Huss and his adherents. † It characterises Huss that in spite of the weighty cares and interests of a general nature that occupied his mind, and in the midst of his own personal sufferings and conflicts, he still preserved in his heart the tenderest regard for his friends who were to survive him, following in this respect also the pattern of his Saviour, who showed forth his love to his own even unto death. In one of his last letters,‡ he expresses to the knight of Chlum his delight at learning that he meant to renounce the vanities and toilsome service of the world, and retiring to his estate, devote himself wholly to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose service was perfect freedom. In like manner he expresses joy at learning that the knight Wenceslaus of Duba had resolved to retire from the world and to marry. "It is even time for him," he writes, "to take a new course; for he has already made journeys enough through this kingdom and that, jousting in tournaments, wearing out his body, squandering his money, and doing injury to his soul. It only remains for him therefore to renounce all these things, and remaining quietly at home with his wife, serve God, * Opp. I. fol. 63, 1; Ep. 18. † Ibid. fol. 67, 2; Ep. 31. On the 29th June, ibid. fol. 64, 2; Ep. 22. He with his own domestics around him. Far better will it be thus to serve God, without cares, without participation in the sins of the world, in good peace and with a tranquil heart, than to be distracted with cares in the service of others, and that, too, at the imminent risk of his salvation." He wrote as a postscript: "This is to be placed in the hands of my most trusty friend, that he may read it." writes to his friend Christann :† "My friend and special benefactor, stand fast in the truth of Christ, and embrace the cause of the faithful. Fear not, because the Lord will shortly bestow his protection and increase the number of his faithful. Be gentle to the poor as thou ever wast. Chastity, I hope, thou hast preserved; covetousness thou hast avoided, and continue to avoid it; and for thy own sake do not hold several benefices at once; ever retain thy own church, that the faithful may resort for help to thee, as to an affectionate father." He salutes Jacobellus and all the friends of the truth. The letter is subscribed: "Written in prison, awaiting my execution at the stake."‡ Last of all, he addressed, while still in the immediate expectation of death, a letter to his friends in Prague, with his farewell salutations and commissions. He besought them that for his sake, who would be already dead as to the body, they would do all that lay in their power to prevent the knight of Chlum from coming into any danger. "I entreat you," he writes, "that you would live by the word of God, that you would obey God and his commandments as I have taught you. Express to the king my thanks for all the kindnesses he has shown me. Greet in my name your families and your friends, each and all of whom I cannot enumerate. I pray to God for you; do you pray for me? To Him we shall all come, since he gives us help." Thus wrote Huss, probably on the 4th of July, when he was expecting his martyrdom on the next day. He added, "Already I trust I shall suffer for the sake of the word of God." He begged his friends for God's sake not to suffer that any cruelty whatever should be practised against the servants and the saints of God. In a postscript, * Opp. I. fol. 65, 1; Ep. 23. † See above, page 448. he sent his fur cloak as a token of remembrance to Peter of Mladenowic.* Thus wrote Huss in the prospect of death; for already was his fate decided by his constant refusal to recant. On the 1st of July, an official deputation of the council led by John of Wallenrod, bishop of Riga, appeared before Huss and invited him once more to recantation; when he declared his resolution in writing, as he had already declared it by word of mouth to individuals. The document concluded with these words: "Were it possible that my voice could now reach to the whole world, as each one of my sins and every falsehood I have uttered will, on the day of judgment, be made known before all, I would most joyfully before the whole world recant everything false and erroneous which I have ever had it in my thoughts to say, or have ever said. This I say and write of my own free will." On the 5th of July, appeared a deputation from the emperor, consisting of four prelates, among whom were the cardinals d'Ailly and Zabarella, accompanied by the two Bohemian knights so often mentioned; and Huss was led out from his cell. Chlum addressed Huss in these words: "I am an unlettered man, and know not how to advise you, who are a learned man. Yet I beseech you, if you are conscious of any error in that which has been publicly brought against you by the council, do not shrink from altering your opinion according to their will; but if you are not, I shall not lead you to the false step of doing aught contrary to your conscience; I much rather advise you to suffer any punishment sooner than deny the truth of which you are well assured." Huss answered weeping: "I call God the Almighty, as I have often done, to witness that from my heart I am ready, whenever the council teaches me anything better by testimonies from holy Scripture, to change my opinion at once, and to confess publicly under oath that I was previously in an error." Thereupon one of the bishops standing by remarked in a bitter tone," He would never be so arrogant as to set his own judgment above the decision of the whole council." To this Huss replied, "Nor am I of any other mind; for if he who is least in the * Opp. I. fol. 65, 1; Ep. 24. |